Skype Qnd the Chqnge of the Value Curve in Voip Industry global history essay help

Ransom Death Essay personal essay help: personal essay help

The power of death as a common experience for mortals is further compounded as Malouf advocates that men, even from different socio-economic backgrounds can forge a connection based on their similar emotions, as depicted through Priam’s connection with the ‘ordinary’ carter, Somax. Death, as the final experience of all mortals, is shown to be able to catalyse deeply human connections between men, through which Malouf draws an allusion to the cyclical nature of life and death.

Malouf begins his novel by demonstrating the overarching significance of death, and the emotional turmoil it causes, especially to those close to it. Achilles is first displayed not as a mighty warrior, as one would expect from The Illiad, but as a ‘man’, looking out to the shore, with his mind as ‘the most active part of him’. Malouf immediately signals his own interpretation of the text, as he details emotional transformations that are the result of such underlying turmoil.

Malouf here demonstrates that the seemingly impenetrable warrior Achilles, who had learnt ‘never to betray what he felt’, can experience truly human emotions. The murder of Patroclus on the battlefield serves as an emotional trigger for Achilles, who is reduced to ‘weep[ing] without restraint’. Such expression of raw, unmediated emotion subverts typical Homeric ideals of role, and hence Malouf establishes that an experience of death can catalyse emotional change which transcends the more simplistic traditional expectations. Similarly, Priam, who is deeply roubled by the murder and savage desecration of his son’s noble body, undergoes a significant emotional change when he receives a vision from the goddess Iris. From his role as a ‘ceremonial figurehead’ who ‘stands still at the centre’, his radical plan can be also be attributed to the significant turmoil he experienced as he watched his son being brutally dragged under the city walls. Priam undergoes such a change that even Hecuba, ‘who knows all [his] doubts and foibles, is shocked by his seemingly outrageous plan to ransom Hector’s body.

Hence, Malouf demonstrates the extent of change which can be caused by the heartache associated with loss. The overwhelming power of death in inducing change in humans is advocated throughout Ransom, as Malouf parallels the resulting heartache felt by men, and hence foreshadows the forthcoming unity that men can form over their common experience. Somax’s reaction to the loss of his children is juxtaposed with that of both Achilles and Priam who are extraordinary people living extraordinary lives.

Somax is the epitome of simpleness, of humility as he ‘is dazzled by the whiteness’ and ‘hangs his head’. Being ‘A simple folk like him’, Somax is unable to provide for his children as Priam can. He cannot grieve as Priam does as when ‘it’s done, the fleas go biting and the sun comes up again’. Having said this, both can relate to being fathers and to ‘knowing what it is like to lose a son’. Somax too, ‘has a broken heart’ as he ‘stares off into the distance’ and the pain he feels for watch lost son and daughter is palpable.

Malouf utilises this connection to highlight the way in which everyone experiences loss in a similar way, no matter status, origin or wealth. The ability to respond to loss varies from person to person, but the reaction of utter sadness is felt by everyone who experiences such tragedy. In the patriarchal society of 8th century Greece, social and class structures played a major role on the lives of its inhabitants, yet through the sharing of their common experience of death, Priam and Somax are able to overcome them to form a basic human connection.

At the end of part 2, Malouf chooses to emphasise the contrast between the two men by juxtaposing the regal ‘high ones’ with the ‘rough-cut’ Somax. The significant difference between the two men is highlighted when what Somax perceives as a ‘chickenhawk’ is referred to by his royal company as ‘Jove’s emblem’. Hence, Malouf emphasises the disparity between the ‘representational, ideal’ world of Priam with the more ‘earthly’ Somax. However, once the two men leave their ordinary surroundings and set off on their journey, they are able to connect through the ‘fellow-feeling’ of a ‘father’.

In fact, from the very first interaction between the two men, Malouf shows that they find common ground as fathers, with Priam mistaking the physical ransom for his restored son. Immediately, Somax’s ‘heart softens’, as he empathises with the feelings of a lost son. This is further compounded through Somax’s vivid and emotive recollections of his sons’ deaths, which results in Priam’s ‘eyes moisten[ing]’. Priam, who was previously held aloof from truly human interactions in his role as king is finally able to express honest emotion, predominantly catalysed by the evocations of the tragic deaths of Somax’s sons.

Through this newfound unity which these two men share through their tragic experiences of their sons’ death, Priam is able to be ‘restored’ as ‘a man remade’. In doing so, Malouf endorses the ideal that men can forge connections based on common experience, of which the most intrinsic is death. Malouf demonstrates the liberation achieved when one can finally accept their death, a ‘fee paid in advance’ for mortals. He suggests that grief can only be sated when one truly accepts the undeniable nature of death as a part of the human life cycle.

The release of this outrage is the source of monumental emotional change, as shown by the shift in Achilles’ thinking. Hector, as an ‘implacable enemy’ to Achilles is ultimately ‘no longer an affront’ to him as they sit in ‘perfect amity’, demonstrating the extent of Achilles’ change. Where initially he could not even entertain the thought of respect for Patroclus’ killer, through his meeting with Priam he understands the value of honour in death, and is united not only to Priam, but also to Hector himself.

This change can also be attributed to the effects of the modern re-assessment of The Illiad, where the traditional black-and-white world the characters inhabit changes dynamically into a shifting one, where conventional roles become less defined. Through this confrontation, Malouf is able to reiterate that “death is in our nature… and for that reason… we should have pity for one another’s losses”, thus alluding to the inevitability of death, and the power acceptance of this fate can have on drastically changing one’s life.

Armenian Genocide and the Rape of Nanking scholarship essay help: scholarship essay help

I believe that one of the best ways to do this is to educate people about these terrible crimes and make sure that we do not forget the things that happened, and all of the people that unnecessarily lost their lives. The Rape of Nanking was a horrible event that took place in 1937 when the Japanese occupied the Chinese province of Manchuria. The Japanese first invaded this province in 1931 and it wasn’t for six more years until they took their next step in their plan of conquest. In early July 1937 the Japanese and Chinese troops clashed in Peking in an incident at the Marco Polo Bridge.

The Japanese troops used this to justify launching a full blown attack on the city at the end of the month utilizing massed infantry, tanks and airstrike. With all of this it did not take ling at all for the city and the surrounding area to fall to the Japanese. The first concern of the Japanese soldiers was to eliminate any threat from the 90,000 Chinese soldiers. Although the Japanese were greatly outnumbered with their 50,000 troops they were able to defeat the Chinese with their great amount of infantry and the fact that the Chinese troops were so loosely organized.

The Japanese were instructed to inflict as much possible pain on the Chinese soldiers as possible to toughen them up for future battles and get rid of any civilized notions of mercy. There is film footage and photographs taken by the Japanese documenting smiling soldiers conduction bayonet practice on live prisoners, decapitating them with severed heads as souvenirs. Some of the remaining Chinese POW’s were mowed down by machine gun fire, and others were tied-up, soaked with gasoline and burned alive. After the Japanese had completed the destruction of the Chinese soldiers, they turned their attention to the woman of Nanking.

Old women over the age of 70 as well as little girls even younger than the age of 8 were dragged off to be sexually abused. As many as 20,000 females, with some estimates as high as 80,000 were gang raped by the Japanese soldiers. They were then stabbed to death with bayonets or shot so that they were unable to bear witness to these terrible crimes. These terrible acts of of citywide burnings, stabbings, drowning, strangulation, rapes, theft, and mass murder continued on for the next 6 weeks. No man, woman, or child was safe at this time and could be shot on a whim at any time.

The streets of Nanking were said to have literally run red with blood. After this period of extreme violence the Japanese slightly eased off and settled in for the duration of the war. To pacify the population during the long occupation highly addictive narcotics including opium and heroin were distributed to the people regardless of the age. An estimated 50,000 persons because notorious Comfort Women system was introduced which forced young Chinese women slave –prostitutes, existing solely for the sexual pleasure of the Japanese soldiers.

In the course of just six weeks the Japanese soldiers brutally murdered 300,000 out of the 600,000 in the population. This was a horrible event in our world’s history and it is very important that we remember what happened so that it does not happen again. The Armenian genocide was the first genocide to take place in the 20th century. The Armenians were attacked in their homelands of Turkey, by the Turkish people. The Armenians had been targeted in this area for a very long time and had been persecuted by the other religions in this area for many years leading up to this genocide.

The genocide began when the forty thousand men serving in the Turkish army had their weapons confiscated and they were put into slave labor battalions building roads, being used as human pack animals. With these brutal work conditions they suffered a very high death rate and those that did survive would soon be shot outright. Next 300 Armenian political leaders, educators, clergy men, and dignitaries were taken from their homes and were briefly jailed and tortured then hung or shot. Then came mass arrests of Armenian men in the country by Turkish soldiers, police and volunteers.

The men were tied together in small groups and then taken to the outskirts of town and were shot or bayoneted by death squads. Local Turks often joined in the killing armed with knives and sticks. Next it was the turn of the Armenian women, children, and elderly. On very short notice they were taken from their homes with the understanding that they were being taken to a non-military zone for their own safety. What they were really being taken on however were death marches. Turkish gendarmes escorted individual caravans consisting of thousands of deported Armenians.

These guards allowed criminals known as the “Special Organization” to attack the defenseless people killing anyone that they pleased. They were encouraged to raid the caravans and steal anything they wanted. A very large amount of sexual abuse and rape of girls and young women occurred at the hands of the Special Organization. Most of the attractive young females were kidnapped for a life of involuntary servitude. An estimated 75 percent of the Armenians on these marches died, especially children and the elderly. Those who did survive were thrown off cliffs, burned alive, or drowned in rivers.

During this genocide the Turkish countryside became extremely littered with corpses. Leaders advised that the corpses be buried and gotten rid of, but this advice was generally ignored. This left foreigners including German government liaisons, American missionaries, and U. S. diplomats in the country to be chocked and appalled at what was left out for anyone to see. Two million Armenians lost their ability to live in their historic homeland of Turkey from the time of 1915-1918 through forced deportations and massacres.

These two genocides both had many similarities. They were both acts of hate against a group of people that had been building for many years leading up to the genocides. They both experienced extreme hate without any reason or viable justification on either the end of the Turkish or the Japanese. Some differences are that the Rape of Nanking took place over a shorter period of time, and with less people in the original population, although it was just as brutal, if not more so than the Armenian genocide.

These horrible acts need to be remembered and people need to be educated about the horrible things that have taken place. I believe that it is the only way we can prevent something like this from happening, and it is important that we are aware of what is happening so that there are not any more lives unnecessarily lost. There have been far more t genocides in our worlds history than there ever should have been. We can only take comfort in the fact that hopefully humanity will learn from its mistakes and not allow anything like this to happen again.

Comparing Freedom of Expression in the Statutory Law and the Sharia Law a level english language essay help: a level english language essay help

Getting in touch with media law during the first semester of my Masters gave me a sense of the importance of law in general because it consists of acts and articles which organise most issues in the human’s life in a way that protects ethics and morals. Regardless of the hypocrisy and double-standards of the countries which raise high the slogan of Human Rights, I liked the Human Rights Conventions that were laid down by these countries. Therefore, I decided to research some points in these conventions that are related to my study in order to nurture my knowledge in this great field of the human sciences.

Then, I thought deliberately about the benefit of exerting much effort to get such knowledge since it is existed, well-explained and well-organised, in handy books. But after looking by historical and religious study as far back as some centuries ago, I found that my own culture, Islam, had plenty of law provisions that helped its people not only to protect their ethics and morals, but also to spread them all over the world. Through deliberate and objective study, I found that many of the social reformers, whose thoughts led to the emergence of the modern criteria of human rights, were originally affected by the roots of the Islamic ulture. I also found a lot of those old and even modern reformers who praised the old provisions of the Sharia Law and they also praised the prosperity which was an outcome of implementing it. The Western writer Patricia Crone (2005: p. 218-219) said referring to how those old provisions of law were true bases of a moral society: “Medieval Muslims did not write utopias in the sense of imaginary travel accounts or other descriptions of ideal societies which do not exist, … they were not given to seeking ideals outside their own civilisation at all.

But they did place a golden age right at the beginning of their own history, and their numerous accounts of this age add up to a detailed utopia of great emotive power… It was a time when the Muslims had all the virtues of tribesmen and none of their vices, for thanks to Islam there was no feuding, no factionalism, and no disorder, just austerity, solidarity, and total devotion to the truth. Therefore, I decided to look for the provisions of that old law which are related to my study and compare them with their counterparts in the modern human rights’ conventions. In order to limit my research, I decided to take the articles related to my study, media law, in the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) of the British Law to represent the leading international human rights conventions. Part one: Preface Main Argument In this dissertation I am going to explain how both the HRA and the Sharia Law deal with the concept of freedom of expression.

As long as such argument is new and uncommon because of the lack of references that studied it, which resulted in an ambiguous perception in the minds of people towards the Sharia Law and its sources, there must be a kind of primary definition of the Sharia Law, its sources and how the Sharia scholars (Sharia Jurists) deal with these sources to regulate law items. Sharia Law This expression is going to be referred to as a theological-historical concept since the Sharia was revealed through a prophet, this makes it a theological subject matter, and it is 15 centuries old, this gives it a historical background.

Sharia (sari? ah) is all religious rituals that Allah (SWT) has imposed on Muslims, via his Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) regarding beliefs, rules and day-to-day life among Muslims themselves, and between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is “designed to govern the relations of Muslims with non-Muslims, whether inside or outside the territory of Islam. ” Mahmoud Kamali says that Sharia is “the Islamic law as contained in the divine guidance of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Yet, the expression Sharia Law is modern if compared with the word Fiqh, which historically used to mean “the awareness of Islamic rules from its sources by true inference. ” Kamali defined the word Fiqh: “Islamic law as developed by Muslim Jurists. The term is often used synonymously with Sharia. ” Therefore, like other contemporary researchers of similar topics, I am going to use the expression Sharia Law to mean the old word: Fiqh. Sources of the Sharia Law

There is no difference between any of the Muslim scholars that the main sources of all information, not only about the details of the life of mankind, but also about the details of the whole universe are the Holy Qur’an, then, the Holy Sunnah. In addition, it is a matter of a universal belief among Muslims and many of non-Muslims that the Holy Qur’an in the hands of people is the real book revealed by Allah (SWT) to his Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) fourteen centuries ago. The same is the 100% authenticity of certain books of Hadith, i. e. Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim.

These references are not considered comprehensive works; however, I feel that they could draw raw guidelines for me in my research in two ways: * They give me hints about how this issue is being taken by researchers who are not specialists in Sharia studies, but they are lawyers or journalists; like me. * They draw raw guidelines of the comparative methodology of research between articles of the Sharia Law and those of the statutory law.

Throughout this dissertation, I am going to take articles of the British Media Law and compare them with the related provisions of the Sharia Law, giving enough examples in order to be able to make clear-cut conclusions about the main question of this dissertation which is: (The question of the dissertation) Can the modern Islamic movements, who are apparently going to rule the Arab countries after the Arab Spring, implement the Sharia Law and achieve the absolute justice which they raise as a slogan for their revolutions and electoral campaigns?

Or would they worsen the already worsened situation of media law? Of course, regarding the other part of this dissertation, which is the statutory law, libraries are full of texts of law articles starting from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789, passing through the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ending with daily huge volumes of books, journals and articles studying new amendments and proposing new laws regarding recent details of the life of people in general and the work of media specifically. Terminology

In order to have a good understanding for the real meaning and connotation of the Sharia Law concepts and cases, they have to be denoted by their names. Therefore, it is necessary here to have a list of the original names of the Sharia concepts and their definitions. The Holy Qur’an: defined previously. Surah: one complete chapter from the Holy Qur’an. Sowar: the plural of Surah. Sowar are different in length. Some are 1/3 a page and others exceed 40 pages. Aya: one verse from the Holy Qur’an. Ayat: a plural of aya. The Holy Sunnah: defined previously.

Hadith: a verified saying for the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Ahadith: a plural of Hadith. Tafseer: the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Sunnah by professional credible Muslim scholars. Fatwa: a certain judgement on a certain case by a Sahaba, Tabe’een or confident Muslim scholars in a certain time or place. Plural is Fatawa. Ibada: the act of worshiping Allah (SWT) whether by heart or body. Any act of heart or body needs to start with intention of solely worship for Allah in order to be a true Ibada. Da’wah: the flow of activities Muslims do in illuminating the teachings of Islam.

Dhimmi: the name of a non-Muslim citizen in the Islamic State. Ahludhimmah or Dhimmiyeen: plural of Dhimmi. Jezyah: the name of the religious tax for non-Muslims in the Islamic State. It is equivalent to the religious tax taken from Muslims, but Jezyah is a lesser amount of money that has many exceptions. Part Two: The Situation of Freedom of Expression Historical Background It is very important, before starting writing about the situation of freedom of expression in the statutory and the Sharia Law, to explore the general historical climates which preceded the emergence of both laws.

That will give a kind of understanding of how much the improvements on the situation of freedom of expression both laws have achieved. * A Glimpse on Freedom of Expression in the West before the Renaissance The period which preceded what is known in Europe as the Renaissance was full of conflicts among the different castes of the European communities in general. That conflict took several forms. A prime one was the conflict between the Church and scientists and that between authority and people.

Howard Turner describes a side of such conflicts: “The Middle Ages in Europe had long been dominated by an unending conflict between Church dogma and a kind of humanistic and individual quest for intellectual liberation. ” Church and authority used to be allies and each institution worked for the protection of the other at the expense of people’s lives. They used to impose restriction on freedom of expression and there used to be no respect for people’s privacy. There was also a kind of blackout on external knowledge, fearing that it might undermine their power or alliance.

The Thirteenth century was an “age in which kings and barons reacted to an insult by lopping off the offending tongue- or head… The crime of ‘scandalum magnatum’ expressly protected ‘the great men of the realm’ from any statements that might arouse the people against them. ” In France, for example, the king used to say “I am the state” and gave no space for people to have control in running their own or private life. The Church used to control science. Therefore, knowledge it saw as right, used to be spread, and that it saw as wrong, used to be damaged.

A blockage was imposed on scientists and thinkers. In 1614, Galileo was accused of heresy by the Church for his scientific theories. Eighteen years later, in 1632, he was sentenced to life imprisonment which was reduced to permanent house arrest after he had been obliged to withdraw his theories before the public by the Church. That time was the worst for women’s freedom. Women were inferior to men, troubled with Eve’s sin. They were subject to the authority of their fathers or their husbands. Violence in marriage did occur and was even encouraged. ” The dark life of that age pushed people to seek a kind of salvation through knowledge, especially, after the appearance of new thinkers affected by the Muslims’ civilisation. According to Turner, the “Christian West” inherited the “scientific legacy from Islam. Thanks to increasing cultural traffic with Muslim lands via the busy Spanish and Sicilian gateways, the thriving routes of Mediterranean and overland commerce, and the contacts left over from the Crusades. People sought to reinforce the principles of freedom and justice, which was clear in the slogan of the French revolution which was: liberty, equality and fraternity. The revolution in real freedom of expression has been from the Renaissance until today. However, there are still some issues which emerge from time to time that necessitate amendments of the existing laws or constituting new ones. * Freedom of Expression in Arabia before the Sharia Law In Arabia, there used to be kind of freedom of expression, but there was no justice.

For example, men used to sit with each other and think about issues related to their tribes. But that right to give an idea or express an opinion was only for masters. Societies there used to consist of three castes: masters, subjects or alliances and slaves. In addition, that right among the masters was only for men. Women used to be suppressed and were not allowed to share opinions either in public affairs or even in family affairs. Women were used in the same way as goods. There used to be a diversity of religions. Arabia included pagans, Jews and Christians.

But the most common was paganism. Surely, that kind of diversity hints at a kind of freedom of religion, but the opposite was the norm. Paganism, represented in worshiping idols, was the religion of the mainstream Arabs in Arabia and they used to keep an eye on those who converted to other religions. If they were young, they used to be fought; if they were old, they used to be left free since they could not affect others. Of course, chiefs and masters of tribes used to be happy with that kind of life because it helped them keep strong control over their subjects.

However, suppressed castes needed any kind of powerful justice to liberate them from the chains of the different forms of slavery. From amongst that darkness, the message of the Sharia was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to spread the justice and freedom among people. It is widely known among historians that a reasonable number of the people who joined the Da’wah at the early stages were from the ordinary people or alliances and slaves. Some of the masters asked the Prophet (PBUH) to dismiss them from around him if he wanted them, the masters, to join the Da’wah.

Of course, ordinary people always lead reforms. A group of Muslim emigrants fled the persecution of their relatives in Mecca to Abyssinia and there was a short dialogue in the court of Abyssinia’s king, who was a true Christian. Their representative described the situation of Arabs before the Sharia and what the Sharia came with: “O king! We were plunged in the depth of ignorance and barbarism; we adored idols; we lived in unchastity; we ate dead animals, and we spoke abomination. We disregarded every feeling of humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighbourhood. We knew no law but that of the strong.

At that time, God raised from among us a man of whose birth, truthfulness, honesty and purity we were aware, and he called us to the Unity of God and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us to worship idols and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful, and to regard the rights of neighbours. He forbade us to speak ill of women and to eat the substance of orphans. He ordered us to flee from vices, to abstain from evil, to offer prayers, to render alms, and to observe the fast. ” Constituted Rights to Freedom of Expression * Freedom of Expression in British Media Law

As I have mentioned from the beginning, I am going to take the British law as an exemplar to represent the statutory law in this research. Therefore; I see that I have to propose an overall look at the British law and to see the situation of freedom of expression through it. British Law Unlike other countries, Britain does not have a written constitution. Referring to Britain, Tom Baistow says: “This country is the only one in the EEC without a written constitution and the only one without the press laws that form one of the most important guarantees of freedom of expression. However, it has a good record regarding the respect of freedom of expression. It got this reputation throughout historical fights of the British nation to attain freedom and adopt democracy. And as an ideal example of the fight to reach this situation, journalism in Britain “went through a brave battle against constitutional restrictions on publishing in the 19th century and could extract the right to comment and publish. ” Freedom of expression became one of the most respected freedoms as a kind of a social norm among the British people.

It is believed in Britain that free speech is a significant pillar of a free democracy. The Royal Commission on the Press in 1977 defined freedom of expression “as that degree of freedom from restraint which is essential to enable proprietors, editors and journalists to advance the public interest by publishing the facts and opinions without which a democratic electorate cannot make responsible judgement. ” This definition shows how the British believe in the vital role that freedom of expression plays in educating the public to be able to take right decisions in elections.

It means that it is the main guarantor of a free democracy which is the main principle of a free State. Therefore, Solaiman Saleh described the situation of freedom of expression in Britain, despite the lack of a written constitution, saying: “The principle of a free press is reinforced in the collective conscience of the British. That forms a better protection which outweighs any written constitution. ” Saleh continued explaining that it became a part of the British understanding of freedom of speech that the government does not have the right to interfere in the workflow of mass media.

It cannot issue warrants, for example, to close any news platform, have pre-publishing restrictions/instructions or suggest amendments in the administrative systems or editorial policy. This is how James Curran portrayed the British press after the Second World War: “The press became fully independent of political parties and hence government. ” The independence of the press gave it a great deal of space for free speech as well as unlimited power against governments.

This was clear when the best wartime leader, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, demanded an immediate closure of the Daily Mirror over its coverage of the conduct of war. That decision was followed by rough debates in the House of Commons and huge popular protests in Trafalgar Square and London’s Central Hall that pushed Churchill’s government to withdraw the decision against the Daily Mirror and, even, lift a ban previously imposed on the Daily Worker. Mass media regulation is only the role of the Parliament and Judiciary.

In reply to the argument that the parliamentarian majority which forms the government may adopt any law suggested by it, Saleh argues that people who believe in the concept of freedom of expression will protest against the parliament and oblige it to stop the new law or to dissolve. The incident of the Daily Mirror mentioned above is a very clear example of that. The main pressure was represented by ‘organised protests’ in Trafalgar Square and London’s Central Hall.

In addition, Hanna and Banks say in McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists: “Section 19 of the Human Rights Act created a requirement that a Minister introducing a Bill into Parliament must declare that its provisions are compatible with the European Convention, including thereby a commitment to freedom of expression. ” Despite all the facts mentioned about the battles towards the freedom of expression in the English society, a sufficient protection for that freedom, which keeps up with the public-interest journalism, “from attacks for discomfiting the government or the judiciary or the wealthy private litigants” was not completely guaranteed.

It is guaranteed by the adoption of international treaties, in which English writers and lawyers took a big part in constituting them, into the British law. Since then, clear articles of these treaties have become legal codes in the British law that guarantee a better freedom of expression. Throughout these facts, I can come to a conclusion that freedom of expression in Britain has certain principles that are clear. The main three principles could be summed up as following: 1. Government has no power against mass media.

Robertson and Nicol explain how a government official does not have any privilege over the public in this regard. They say that if any official wanted to stop a news story, he has to go to the court the same as the public do. It means that government cannot control or suppress the voice of any single person directed to the public via any medium. It is believed that this is a sign of a free democratic State, but not in an arbitrary sense. Therefore, mass media have to be credible, and offenders should not escape punishment.

John Whale quoted Sir William Blackstone, the eighteenth-century jurist, saying: The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free State; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publication, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter when published. ” 2. Mass media are owned by the private sector and, therefore, it represents citizens before the government. However, citizens are stronger than the government in the democratic regimes; it means that mass media can publish any kind of opposite opinions without fearing suppression or oppression of the government. 3.

Mass media turn to the public to face censorship. Robertson and Nicol say: “The best antidote to censorship is publicity. ” When the government wishes to practice a kind of censorship, journalists can publicise that practice and the government does not have any power to punish them. The incident of the Daily Mirror mentioned above is a clear example on the three points mentioned. It shows how mass media are stronger than governments, how mass media speak on behalf of the public and how the public exerted pressure through protests that pushed the government to retreat from the closure warrant against the newspaper. Freedom of Expression in the Sharia Law The most prominent characteristic of the Sharia Law is that it is a religious law. It means that it has more emphasis, in all branches, on religious and moral values than other laws. Mohmmad Kamali says: “This can, perhaps, be clearly seen in reference to the Sharia rules pertaining to blasphemy, heresy and disbelief, where the dominant concern is to defend the dogma and belief-structure of Islam. ” Muslim scholars and thinkers believe that this characteristic of the Sharia Law gives it a spiritual power, which is effective to keep stability of societies.

Based on his understanding of the Islamic beliefs and to confirm that defending the dogma and belief-structure of Islam achieves social stability, 20th century Muslim thinker and reformer Sayyed Qutb, who interpreted the Holy Qur’an, says: “Social, economic and religious organisation goes side by side with a true ethical code and dogmatic belief… in a complete, comprehensive, balanced and precise way. ” Regarding freedom of expression and to show how much positive effect religion has on it, the Western writer, Patricia Crone, shed light on the way Muslim thinkers understand the relationship between freedom and religion.

Patricia Crone reported Al-Ghazali, a famous medieval Muslim philosopher and reformer, explaining freedom in the Sharia as “no humans had the right to impose obligations on other humans, whether they were rulers, masters, fathers or husbands, or for that matter prophets; only God could do so. ” Of course, Al-Ghazali’s understanding of that concept of freedom was based on the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Sunnah. Allah (SWT) asked his Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in the Holy Qur’an, to tell people that he is a human like them.

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The U. S. Government Should Tax Junk Food According to the Health and Medical Research Foundation, the U. S. is the fattest country in the world. The percentage of over weight people has been doubled in the last fifty years. So that today an incredible 2/3 of the American population is over weight and 1/3 is obese. Fast food of little nutrition value is cheap, but it is a major cause of obesity. In an article by Kathleen Parker, entitled “Time to Tax Junk Food” the author, proposes that the U. S. government should tax junk food. Parker believes that junk food is of little nutritional value and high in fat, sugar, and calories.

Thus, three of every five adult Americans are obese or over weight which cause diabetes, heart disease and/or inability to exercise. She goes on to argue that high taxes on cigarettes have turned out to be the most effective weapon in the effort to reduce smoking so we should definitely tax junk food top stop obesity just like we tax cigarettes to stop cancer. I believe that the U. S. government should tax junk food because it can help obese children to have healthy food habits, and there will be fewer medical problems for obese people. First, the U. S. government should tax junk food because it can help obese people to stop eating junk food.

Most obese people have high blood sugar because of eating unhealthy foods and little or no exercise. For example, when junk food is cheap and good food is expensive, obese people want to buy food because they can get more food for a low price. When the U. S. government taxes junk foods, people who like to eat junk food or cheap food will try to buy healthy food instead of cheap food. For example, if a bowl of chicken salad costs $3 dollars and a burger is $3 dollars, too, obese people will start to eat healthy food, not cheap or junk food because they know it will lead to being over weight and unhealthy.

Taxing junk food can help obese people to make a right decision and stay away from obesity. Furthermore, the U. S. government should tax the junk food to achieve the goal of having fewer obese children and more healthy families. Junk food is not good for anybody, especially for children. Junk food makes people tired, and it can make them very unhealthy. When the U. S. government taxes all the junk foods, parents will try to get healthy food for their children and family. Parents will teach children how to put nutritious lunches and snacks.

Of course, parents can’t control what children eat outside of home, but once children see how great they feel after eating a healthy meal, they will want to eat healthy food outside of home too. According to the American Health Association, children who eat healthy food feel more awake and energized. Also, children who eat healthy food had significantly high math scores than kids who didn’t eat as healthy. The U. S. government taxes junk food, it can help parents of obese children to eat healthy and change their children’s’ and families life style. Another reason the U. S. overnment should tax junk food is because obese people will have fewer medical problems. Too many people in the U. S. are over weight, and too many children are obese. If the government taxes fatty foods, people would think twice before buying fatty foods that aren’t healthy and that can lead to medical problems. Obese people have a much higher chance of getting a long list of diseases, including: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, strokes and breathing problems. It is difficult to care for obese patients properly in the hospital. Also, it can be trouble-moving patients to an ambulance and through hospitals. So, when the U.

S. government taxes junk food, people will start thinking before buying that food. They will make better choices to eat healthy foods and eat less food. In order to stop the growth of medical problems, obese people need to start eating healthy. In conclusion, taxing junk food can help obese people to change their lifestyle and build healthier habits and choices. Parents can help their obese children to eat healthy, which can effect their education. Eating the right kinds of food instead of unhealthy food can help obese people to stay healthy with fewer medical problems. Also, people will live longer and look forward to new things.

Beck Hopelessness Scale Assessment essay help us: essay help us

Beck Hopelessness Scale * Authors: a) Aaron T. Beck and Robert A. Steer (A. Beck, A. Steer, 1978-1993). * Publisher: a) The Psychological Corporation * Date of Publication: b) 1978-1993. * Current Version: * Reasons for any revisions: 2) Logistical Information * Cost of manual: a) 1997 price data: $49. 50 per complete kit including 25 record forms and manual; $27. 50 per 25 record forms; $24 per manual; $6. 50 per scoring key. b) 2013 price data: BHS Complete Kit- Includes Manual, 25 Record Forms, and Scoring key for the price of $121. 50 * Test materials: ) Paper-and-pencil or online administration. * Computer-based version: d) Available on the Pearson Assessments website; duration is 5 to 10 minutes; this can be self-administered or be given verbally by a trained administrator. 3) Purpose for which the test was developed a) This self-report inventory was developed to measure three major aspects of hopelessness to better understand to what extent individuals experience negative attitudes or pessimistic views about their future. b) The inventory measures the three categories of hopelessness: expectations, feelings about the future, and loss of motivation.

This inventory is a tool that a clinically trained professional can use to indicate how likely an individual is to commit suicide (A. Beck, R. S, 1978-1993). These test items, I assume, were selected by determining what the definition of hopelessness was and what factors best fit within that explanation. 4) Demographic Characteristics * Age: b) Ages recommended were adolescents and adults (A. Beck, A. Steer, 1978-1993) c) Ages recommended: 17 through 80 years (Pearson ,2013) * Gender: a) Both male and female * Culture: ) From my readings, I understand that the test is available in both English and Spanish. The test has also been translated into Dutch and Hebrew (Test Inventory, 7). So I am lead to believe that the span of individuals, who take the scale assessment, can vary in cultural backgrounds. Hispanic, Aboriginal, Caucasian, and African-American were all listed. The diversity in the cultural and geographical samples of this inventory varies (Test Inventory, 7). People with history in drug abuse, delinquency, and MDD’s were also mentioned and targeted. * Sample size : ) I could not find sample sizes in the reading 5) Recommended use(s) of the test: * This test is recommended time and time again, to be used as just one tool in the vast tools accessible to a clinically trained professional in finding suicidal prevalence in an individual’s life (Mental Measurements Yearbook, 1992). b) The use of this test is not to be used in a test battery necessarily, but again, it is recommended to not be used as the only diagnostic tool in determining treatment or diagnosis of any individual (Mental Measurements Yearbook, 1992).

So while it is not necessarily categorized in the test battery field it can be used with various other tests and tools to ultimately reach a conclusion and plan of action for treatment to better improve an individual’s life. The test is also encouraged to be administered to individuals willing to be honest and take the assessment. c) Typical settings for the exam would be when a clinical professional wants to know the ideas and outlooks an individual has about their future. To also discover how severe and how influential negative thoughts play a role into those ideas and outlooks of their future. ) Method and time for administering and scoring the test: * Method and time for administering the test I imagine would happen when the individual decides to start it if they are conducting an online based inventory. If in person with a clinically trained professional is present, when the professional decides to administer the inventory. Scoring would take place after the inventory is completed and submitted for review. a) Examinee behaviors and responses necessary are ability to be honest and must be able to complete a 5 to 10 minute, 20 T/F questionnaire inventory.

Examinees would have to be honest and prepared to answer as truthfully as possible. b) Optimal setting for administration would have to be one where the Examinee is comfortable and able to reflect and respond appropriately to the questionnaire. c) No exact “reading level” was mentioned or recommended but in order to answer the questions, examinees would have to have average reading skills to finish and understand the material presented. d) Recommendations are to see greater variety in the types of norms that are used as well as a larger size other than just seven groups (Mental Measurements Yearbook, 1992).

Also, see Question 4 7) Recommended interpretation of the test data for: * All major Scales * Any subscales 8) Training needed to administer the test; Training needed to interpret the test. Do these differ? * Training to administer the test and score the test is not needed and can be done so by paraprofessionals. However, the data collected after the administration and scoring of the test have been done; the information must be interpreted and only used by a clinically trained professional. The reason why, is because clinically trained professionals are the only ones that can implement and apply psychotherapeutic interventions. These two differ very much so because while one is doing the task of providing the simple 20 T/F questionnaire it the job of the other to interpret those results. By using the results received from the test and combining that information with information from other tools available and used, the professionals can then take the next step with an individual. A paraprofessional’s job is done once the individual is completed with the test and the professional’s job only just begins, when the test is completed. 9) Coefficients: * Construct validity for the BHS is rather shaky.

The BHS consistently has had high internal consistency ranging in coefficients of around . 87s to . 90s which simply means that what they collected in the test they believe caused what they observed. That does not mean however that there is causation, these numbers mean that there is a strong correlation between a mindset of “hopelessness” and suicide, it doesn’t necessarily mean that “hopelessness” causes suicide. Test- retest reliability ranged from coefficients of . 60 to . 68 which means more data could be added in to strengthen the consistence of the test.

If the same test is given to the same group of people over a span of 6 weeks and the numbers are showing that they are receiving different results that are dramatically different that puts the reliability of the tests results into question. 10) Evaluation of the test: The common theme with theme I noticed in my readings was that there needed to be a stronger number in reliability, particularly the test-retest. The test has proven to have internal validity and shows strong correlations between hopelessness and suicide but the area of causation is very shaky.

I do believe that this test is useful and that with the right combination of tools professionals can help individuals who feel hopeless find other alternatives to deal with those feelings/emotions as opposed to using suicide as an option. This test could be used for a wide variety of populations, I think if more cultural aspects were to be taken into account as well as more norms in the test the potential to make the test stronger is very high. At the time being, the norm/standardizations might be too narrow and could really be hindering the results one might get across the board if the test was not limited in that way.

An individual’s interpretation of what hopelessness means to them on an interpersonal level can have a tremendous impact on the results of this test. Definitions can differ from person to person and in the end, definitions will affect the way individuals answer the test questions as well as affect the interpretation of those results. Specific improvements suggest to “…add more normative data and other uses should be develop din the future, as well as further data on the stability of hopelessness in various populations “(Mental Measurements Yearbook, 1992). The furthering research of outside variables is also suggested and ore awareness of “cross-validation” in other clinical groups. While I agree that this test is useful, I also agree that many other variables and possible research is not being considered in this test. I would recommend furthering research in the meaning of “hopelessness” across a wide variety of populations and determine whether other possible biases are causing results to be affected. This test is not one to use on its own in forming a conclusion about an individual’s mental state in regards to suicide but is a great and available resource to use in combination with other more reliable and accurate tests.

Recourses Impara, J. C. , & Plake, B. S. (1998). The Thirteenth mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, Neb. : The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Kramer, J. J. , & Conoley, J. C. (1992). The Eleventh mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, Neb. : Buros Institute of Mental Measurements, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Pearson. (n. d. ). Pearson Education. Retrieved May 20, 2013, from http://www. pearsonassessments. com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail. htm? Pid=015-8133-609&Mode=summary

Heritage Assessment college essay help online: college essay help online

It is becoming more challenging to practice nursing due to the multicultural diversity and less awareness of their culture making it even harder to provide safe and appropriate patient care. Hence as Nurses, it is very important to learn and understand the various culture and heritage to provide quality care to the individual in need. The care is provided based on their culture, acknowledging it and respecting their beliefs, values and customs.

This paper here will compare the differences in health traditions between the Indian, African-American and Pilipino heritages, addressing their approach towards health maintenance, health protection and health restoration. The Heritage assessment tool is a tool used in clinical nursing practice by nurses and other health care workers to understand the social factors, values, beliefs, and traditions of the multicultural groups for whom they provide quality care. These tools enable us nurses to provide effective transcultural nursing care.

Identification of cultural details is highly crucial to diagnose, manage and treat the patient. If unknown, it would delay patient care and put patients at risk. It is recommended that, health care workers identify the cultural needs as early as possible on admission, in order to plan the right care based on the individuals and families cultural beliefs and needs. When compared the cultural differences amongst Indian, Nigerian and Pilipino, it was revealed that there were few similarities and few differences noted amongst the three cultures.

The few similar things noted were, all cultures were close to the family. The parents get to stay with their son or daughter until they die and never had to live alone. They all preferably marry from their own ethnic background and continue their relationship, thus maintaining contact with their extended family in a close manner and by visiting them more frequently. Most of all, they lived as a big joint family which develops the closeness in everyone, and helping each other with whatever they can. Indian Culture

Health was maintained by means of practicing certain routines like, everyday first thing in the morning bath and pray to the Sun God and perform “Surya Namaskar” in a way like yoga, eating freshly cooked meals everyday and manually doing their work at home rather than using washing machines and dishwashers, use a broom and sweep the house and sit and wipe the floor rather than mopping, another way to ensure one exercises. Men practically did everything outside the house; they are the breadwinner of the house.

In India, most of the people practice Hinduism, the aspects of Hinduism that commonly affect health decisions and communications between the patient, family and healthcare provider includes certain specifics like, Karma a law of behavior and one’s consequences resulted from the actions of the past lives is related directly to the illness in this life, caused by Karma. Disease which is caused by an imbalance of the bodily humors called dosha is cured by restoration of balance through meditation, diet, oil massages and natural medicine.

Most patients are treated holistically, by means of herbal remedies through treatment called Ayurvedic . Lately trend is different with the modern people going to hospitals and seeking medical attention as and when needed. Food – Mostly vegetarians but few non vegetarians. It is important to be aware that non-vegetarian food is not permitted on certain days like Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. Overeating is generally avoided because of the risk of decreased life span. Most of the ladies practice fasting regularly in the name of God/Goddess, which is said to have a way of neutralizing or minimizing chaos in the body.

Fasting helps to discipline the senses and cultivate control over them. Slowly desires are controlled and we feel more peaceful and it minimizes the demands of the body. Health promotion is practiced by means of reaching out in the community and immunizing everyone, educating and providing birth control to prevent HIV/STD diseases, prevention and control of local endemic diseases, prevention of malnutrition are a few. Malnutrition is prevented by providing free healthy school lunches in public schools, which follows the food pyramid strictly.

Community Health has Primary care centers, where free clinics are open to the public for Health promotion and prevention. Health is restored by consuming healthy food and following a healthy lifestyle. Pilipino Culture Health according to the Pilipino culture was based on the principle of balance and harmony. Rapid shifts from “hot” to “cold” lead to illness. Their theory of illnesses could be due to behaviors such as retribution from ancestors or unfulfilled obligations, retribution by supernatural beings like evil spirit or a sorcerer or naturalistic causes like infection.

Their beliefs are oriented towards protection of the body and follow the concept of flushing (induce sweating, vomiting), heating (staying warm) and protecting. They had strong family beliefs due to which maintaining health was viewed as a responsibility to the family. This led the Pilipino people to seek medical attention when needed for the family, and follow medical treatment plans. Exercising, walking, body awareness were few other important aspect towards health maintenance, they were said to follow strict healthy diet except for which became difficult when guests were around most of the times.

It is disrespectful and brings shame to the culture if food was rejected or turned off. Pilipino stresses the importance of balance and moderation as key concepts to maintain health and prevent diseases. They insist on cleanliness, orderliness, appropriate social conduct in various situations, and avoidance of social, emotional, or psychological distress helps to keep one’s body strong. Elders seek medical attention as and when needed until rejected by the family members due to the fear and obligation towards protecting the elders from external forces.

Health promotion is by means of regular health screenings, immunizations, counseling and health education. Nigerian culture Western and traditional forms of medicine are popular in Nigeria where the traditional medicine, known as “juju” is common at the rural level, treats using variety of plants and herbs. Traditional healers called surgeons. The sign of disease and illness is seen as a sign of imbalance with the natural or the spirit world. Rural people do not trust modern medicine, so prefer traditional ways.

According to them, the traditional medicine is very effective and produces fewer side effects than modern drugs. They gave importance to cleanliness, personal hygiene, proper food handling etc. Health care centers are used only as a secondary source when traditional medicine has failed. Clinics in Nigeria have limited facilities, but consultations are free, while they have to pay for treatment and hospital admission. Their food consists of lot of fried items and they consume food high in fat and traditionally people view obesity as positive.

They preferably like their same gender person take care of them. People when they migrate and become modernized don’t go looking for traditional therapies; instead seek medical attention as needed. They try to exercise and practice healthy lifestyles and eating habits to promote health. They are very religious and consider health improvement as a miracle. Health promotion was noticed in areas of breast feeding, nutritious food for mom after child birth and immunizations promote treatment of epidemic diseases, improve food supply and nutrition and support maternal and child care.

Conclusion Overall the heritage assessment tools improve nursing care delivery and patient satisfaction. In this modern world filled with multicultural people all around, it is important that nurses be prepared, respectful, acknowledge and accept the multiple cultures all around. With the latest development in modern science and technology, it would be great to have a tool which would generate the cultural information and details of the individuals on admission, to deliver efficient care.

Amusement Parks assignment help sydney: assignment help sydney

The second reason to spend your vacation in Florida is that Florida has a lot of amusement parks. For instance, Bush Gardens in Tampa have a theater and they do shows on Halloween. Florida also has Disneyland in Orlando, which is the most popular amusement park in the whole world. It has all the cartoon characters, and you can meet them face to face and take pictures with them. As soon as you get to Disneyland, you can go to the Disney hotel and rent a room for couple days.

Third, Florida has nice parks for picnics. For example, Eagle Lake Park is in Clearwater. This park offers many activities including: lighted baseball, softball, basketball, and football. It also has picnic shelter. Largo Central Park is another park in Florida where you can go and enjoy your picnic. In conclusion, Florida is a good place to spend your vacation because of the beaches, amusement parks, and parks for picnics. You can enjoy your vacation and get enough fun and rest before you come back to your house.

Naruto Rpg Setup Stuff college essay help nyc: college essay help nyc

To be able to comprehend and use the game to its full extent, you should purchase the d20 Modern Core Rulebook if you do not already own it. An alternative solution would be to read the System Reference Document (SRD) which contains every OGC portion of the rulebook, minus any artwork and flavor text shown in the original product. The Naruto: d20 Guidebook contains in depth information about the Naruto™ world and its inhabitant, namely the deadly shinobi and kunoichi.

It contains a wealth of information about their different techniques, the famous “Chakra” and even the geography. With a proficient Game Master, one could even recreate the whole Naruto series if he or she so wished! While the primary inspiration for this guidebook is Naruto, it also finds roots in many other anime or manga, such as Samurai Deeper Kyo, Bleach, Rurouni Kenshin, and several others. These characters and ideas are copyright of their rightful owners. This project is distrubuted for free, and if you purchased this, you have been scammed. Naruto: d20″ is Copyright ©2004-2011, Frankto Vinneti. Unauthorized distribution of this entirely free product is strictly forbidden unless you have the authorization of both Frankto Vinneti and Masashi Kishimoto. All characters related to, and the world of Naruto, are copyright Masashi Kishimoto. Visit us online at www. narutod20. com! OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1. 0a 3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, License.

Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved. 4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, 1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open Gameexact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content. Content; (b)”Derivative Material” means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations 5.

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Notice of License Copyright: You must update the otherwise distribute; (d)”Open Game Content” means the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open processes and routines to the extent such content does not Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any any original Open Game Content you Distribute. work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically 7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any excludes Product Identity. (e) “Product Identity” means Product Identity, including as an indication as to product and product line names, logos and identifying compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; independent Agreement with the owner of each element of stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, that Product Identity.

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This chapter contains some of the most relevant information found in the game, and is quite possibly the most important chapter to read for a most enjoyable gameplay experience. This information affects you, the player, more than you may know. This information also affects you, the GM, because you must know these rules by heart for the smoothest possible game development. Chakra Every living being possesses some measure of chakra, no matter how small. It represents the life energy of a being, the fuel of the soul. The more chakra an individual has, the stronger has the potential to become. Chakra is essentially divided in two parts: Chakra Pool, and Chakra Skills. Chakra Skills

The “skill” aspect of chakra is divided in four parts: Chakra Control, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, one for each type of technique shinobi are known to perform. Chakra Control serves a character the most in that it represents his ability to mold and control the flow of chakra in his body. A character with no ranks in this skill cannot tap into his chakra reserve to gain extra energy. Chakra Control techniques tend not to be offensive or defensive, but rather perform sometimes gravity-defying feats such as walking up walls or on water. Genjutsu serves a character the most in that it alters the perception of reality in a creature, causing illusions, and sometimes deadly hallucinations.

Genjutsu also serves to identify illusions cast by another to avoid being caught in them, or to gain bonuses in resisting them. Ninjutsu serves a character the most in that it allows him to blow plumes of flames, heal wounds or simply vanish without a trace. It is the most basic shinobi skill and benefits the most from strong chakra control. Taijutsu serves a character the most in that it focuses the most on the character’s physical strengths rather than how many techniques it possess, or how good his chakra control is. Although at its root, Taijutsu represents hand-to-hand combat, all forms of physical and non-mystical combat arts are represented by this skill.

Skill threshold allows a character to perform techniques without making a check as part of the technique’s perform requirements. Chakra Pool The Chakra Pool of a character essentially represents much energy it can expend on techniques or supernatural abilities before running out, and is represented by a set number that grows as the character advances in level, gains new abilities or ability score increase. A character has a reserve of chakra to supplement his chakra pool called simply the Chakra Reserve. The Chakra Control skill is crucial for any character who wishes to tap into that reserve and make the most of his abilities. Chakra Pool: A heroic character’s chakra pool is 2 chakra per level, doubled at first level.

A character whose Constitution score is high enough gains a certain amount of bonus chakra depending on his Constitution score. An ordinary character does not gain this bonus chakra. Your Constitution score grants you bonus chakra equal to your Con modifier ? your character level or hit dice. A Constitution modifier of 0 or less results in no bonus chakra. Ability Score 11 or less 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-23 24-25 26-27 28-29 30-31 32-33 34-35 36-37 38-39 40-41 1st — 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 2nd — 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 3rd — 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 4th — 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 5th — 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 Bonus Chakra (by character level or hit ice) 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th 20th — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 70 85 90 95 100 36 42 48 54 60 66 72 78 84 90 96 102 108 114 120 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 91 98 105 112 119 126 133 140 48 56 64 72 80 88 96 104 112 120 128 136 144 152 160 54 63 72 81 90 99 108 117 126 135 144 153 162 171 180 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 66 77 88 99 110 121 132 143 154 165 176 187 198 209 220 72 84 96 108 120 132 144 156 168 180 192 204 216 228 240 78 91 104 117 130 143 156 169 182 195 208 221 234 247 260 84 98 112 126 140 154 168 182 196 210 224 238 252 266 280 90 105 120 135 150 165 180 195 210 225 240 255 270 285 300 Chakra Reserve: A heroic character gains 2 chakra reserve every level. That chakra reserve replenishes normally while he rests (see Chakra Recovery below). Ordinaries only gain 1 chakra reserve that does not increase with levels.

Ordinaries: An ordinary character only has half as much chakra as a Heroic character from levels, and only 1 chakra reserve. Bonus chakra from class abilities, feats or other abilities are applied normally. Chakra Pool and Nonabilities: A creature without a Constitution score, such as an undead or a construct, does not have a chakra pool or reserve unless explicitly specified otherwise. If so, it uses its Wisdom score to determine the amount of Chakra it has. Chakra Signature: Every creature with a chakra pool has its own chakra signature. It is embedded in its genetic code and is proper to its owner; every chakra signature is unique, no matter how slight the variation.

Chakra Signatures can be modified with abilities or technique, though those are few and far in-between. Abilities that disguise one’s appearance, such as Henge no Jutsu, do not change a creature’s chakra signature unless explicitly specified. After death, a creature’s chakra and chakra signature fades and quickly disappears. Though some things, such as aging or a dramatic growth in ability, may slightly alter a Chakra Signature, it typically remains recognizable to those familiar to it. A creature who can Sense Chakra remembers Chakra Signatures like a dog would scents, or humans would sights. Generally, one can identify whether or not the signature is human, demonic, animal or simply alien. Chakra Recovery

Once a character experiences a loss of chakra, it recovers when resting in the same manner as it would hit points. A character’s chakra pool is recovered fully after an evening of rest (approximately 8 hours). A character recovers his chakra reserve at a rate equal to his character level every evening of rest. Bed rest does not affect the rate at which a character recovers his chakra reserve. A character whose chakra reserve is 0 suffers from chakra depletion (see below). Low Reserve: A character whose chakra reserve is reduced below 50% is fatigued until his chakra reserve is over that threshold again. If the character’s reserves were depleted during an encounter, the fatigue does not take until the encounter ends.

If the chakra reserve falls below one-quarter (25%), even during an encounter, the character is immediately fatigued. Ingesting a soldier pill will allow the character to negate fatigue from low reserves. No Chakra: When a character’s chakra pool reaches 0, its chakra reserves are instantly reduced to 0 as well to replenish his chakra pool back to 1, and it suffers chakra depletion (see below). If the character takes chakra damage while at 0 chakra, the chakra damage is doubled and taken from his hit points instead. A character with chakra pool 0 can only take a single move or attack action every round, and cannot run or charge. Ability damage or drain cannot lower a character’s chakra pool below 1.

A character whose maximum chakra pool reaches 0 suffers Constitution damage instead (or Wisdom, if the character has no chakra score or the Will Over Flesh feat). Chakra Depletion When a character’s chakra reserve is 0, it suffers from chakra depletion until it recovers fully. While in chakra depletion, the character is exhausted until his chakra reserve recovers to the 50% threshold, when it is fatigued until it recovers fully. In addition, the character only recovers one-quarter of his chakra pool every night during chakra depletion. Complete bed rest doubles that amount. A character suffering from chakra depletion does not regain chakra when taking a short rest.

Chakra reserve recovery coming from a source other than normal rest does not alleviate chakra depletion. Chakra Damage When a character takes chakra damage, he risks suffering chakra depletion (see above). There are other ways in which chakra pool can go up or down, as described below. Chakra Coils Damage: This type of damage is very rare and difficult to cure. Chakra Coil Damage lowers the character’s current and total chakra pool and chakra reserves. Temporary chakra coil damage heals at the rate of 1 point per week of complete bed rest, unless aided by a medical ninjutsu technique. Permanent chakra coil damage does not heal naturally and requires the aid of specific techniques or methods.

Temporary Chakra and Bonus Chakra: Temporary increase of the relevant ability score does not increase the character’s chakra pool, unless explicitly states in the ability. Temporary chakra does not increase the chakra pool but instead serves as a buffer for it. It is generally spent first. If a temporary effect that directly increased the character’s chakra pool fades, the character’s chakra pool is not reduced below 1 when it does. The character cannot have more than his maximum chakra pool in temporary chakra at any one time. Bonus Chakra or Chakra Reserve permanently increases a character’s maximum chakra pool or reserve. Elemental Chakra Nature

All living beings are born with a specific animal affinity determined at birth. That affinity allows the character to perform elemental Ninjutsu of a certain subtype and greater resistance against that same type. There are 5 chakra types a being can have: Earth, Fire, Lightning, Water and Wind and many combinations between the five. Each chakra type, called nature, is defeated by another, and so on. When a character gains a specific elemental affinity, he becomes able to learn, perform and copy Ninjutsu techniques of that subtype. For instance, a character who gains the fire affinity is able to learn and perform Katon Ninjutsu. Affinities are gained at 1st level, then at 11th, 16th, and 21st level afterwards.

The first affinity gained is called a primary affinity, while the others are secondary affinities. See the table below for details. Level Learn Energy Affinities Bonus Resistance 1st +1 — Primary 6th +2 — — 10th +2 5 — 11th +3 5 Secondary 15th +3 10 — 16th +4 10 Secondary 20th +4 15 — 21st +5 15 Secondary Learn Bonus: This column represents the bonus gained to Learn checks gained from the primary affinity only. Energy Resistance: This column represents the energy resistance conferred by the primary affinity. See the table below for details. Affinities: This column serves as a marker for the character’s progression in acquiring new elemental affinities.

Variant: Each new elemental affinity requires a number of days of training equal to the level it was obtained at to be used (11 days at 11th level, 16 days at 16th level, etc. ) Each element has a weakness and a specific descriptor it is strong against. For example, a character with the wind affinity would gain penalties to saves against techniques with the fire descriptor. Chakra Weak Strong Descriptor Nature against? against? Earth Lightning Water Earth Fire Water Wind Fire Ice? — — Cold Lightning Wind Earth Electricity Water Earth Fire Water Wind Fire Lightning Wind Wood? — — Wood ? This affinity can only be acquired through special circumstances. Chakra nature penalties, weakness and strength only apply to primary elemental affinities. Weak/Strong against: An elemental affinity is always strong against another affinity, and weak against another. The “weak against” column notes the affinity which the character will suffer a chakra nature penalty from a chakra-based attack with the appropriate descriptor. The “strong against” column notes the affinity which will cause other characters to suffer a chakra nature penalty from a chakra-based attack with the appropriate descriptor. The element a character is strong against also determines what energy resistance he gains. A fire-natured character would gain wind resistance.

A secondary affinity does not grant particular strength or weakness. A chakra-based form of attack that strikes an object created by chakra which the attack is strong against deals normal damage, regardless of the normal damage penalty for that energy type (see below). Chakra Nature Penalty: A chakra nature penalty, as mentioned above, is a -2 penalty to saving throws against a chakra-based attack of the specific descriptor. Descriptor: This column notes the descriptor associated with the specified affinity, for the purpose of powers, spells, techniques and determining energy resistance. Fire affinity grants wind resistance, for example, but wood affinity does not grant energy resistance.

Ice and Wood Elements: These two special elements can only be obtained by selecting special feats or bloodlines. These elements are combinations of other elements and do not have a specific weakness or strength. Hyouton Prerequisite: Primary elemental affinity (water or wind), can only be taken at 1st level, heroic character. Benefit: You gain an elemental affinity to Ice as well as Water or Wind (whichever you didn’t select as your primary elemental affinity). Your Ice affinity may replace your primary elemental affinity, which is then downgraded to a normal affinity. You do not gain elemental affinities from levels. Mokuton Prerequisite: Primary Elemental Affinity (Earth or Water), can only be taken at 1st level, heroic character.

Benefit: When gaining a secondary elemental affinity to earth or water (whichever you didn’t select as your primary elemental affinity), you also gain a Mokuton affinity. Chakra Resistance Chakra resistance is the ability to negate all effects of a chakra-based technique— although not all techniques are affected by chakra resistance. In the simplest sense, chakra resistance counts as a Defense score that technique users must pass to affect a resistant creature. To affect a creature with chakra resistance with a technique, the origin of the technique must make a level check (1d20 + character level) against the creature’s chakra resistance score. If the check fails, the technique does not affect the creature.

Chakra resistance is always active and does not require the creature’s attention to function, meaning it will work even if he is not aware of the threat. Only techniques and spell-like abilities that allow the use of techniques are affected by chakra resistance; extraordinary abilities, supernatural abilities, spells and powers are not. Techniques originating from objects are also affected by chakra resistance, but mystical effects such as the extra damage of a cold snap enhancement seal is not. Some techniques also ignore chakra resistance, namely Taijutsu techniques, see below. A creature can choose to freely lower its chakra resistance as part of an swift action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Once the chakra resistance has been lowered, it remains down until the creature’s next turn. At the beginning of the creature’s next turn, it can choose to keep its chakra resistance down as an swift action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A creature’s chakra resistance does not interfere with its own abilities. For example, a creature with chakra resistance attempting to use a Medical ninjutsu technique is not hampered. Chakra resistance cannot be shared and does not stack. Use whichever source of chakra resistance is strongest given the circumstances of the attack. Applying Chakra Resistance: As a general rule, chakra resistance applies to spell fueled completely by chakra, such as a great gout of flame.

The Techniques chapter contains a specific entry for each technique that allows you to determine whether or not chakra resistance applies. Area Techniques: In the case of area techniques, chakra resistance only protects a single creature. If a creature in the lot has chakra resistance the origin of the technique fails to pass, only that creature is protected from the technique. Effects: Effects techniques do not always generate effects that are affected by chakra resistance. For example, techniques that create a simple weapon allow a creature to attack another creature with chakra resistance normally. Summoned creatures are also able to attack a creature with chakra resistance normally. For lingering and ongoing effects with a duration, chakra resistance is only checked once.

If the origin successfully rolls against chakra resistance, the resistant creature will always be affected by the technique; otherwise, the creature will always be protected. This only applies to that instance of the technique. If the technique is used again, chakra resistance must be checked as well. Chakra resistance can protect a creature from techniques that have already been used. For instance, if the creature steps within a square that was set on fire by Amaterasu, chakra resistance is checked. If the origin fails, the creature is not damaged by the fire. Chakra resistance does not generally apply to effects that fool the senses, unless it directly interacts with the creature.

The Kakusu Nioi technique, which allows the character to hide his scent, will not trigger chakra resistance, but Funran no Jutsu which can disable the Scent ability would. Finally, chakra resistance applies only if the effect is forming. If the end result of a technique is to create a stone wall, a creature with chakra resistance cannot simply touch it to disrupt it if it has already formed. Resolving Chakra Resistance: Chakra resistance negates the effect of a technique on the resistant creature, but it cannot remove or negate a chakra-based effect, such as most Genjutsu, from another creature. Against a lingering effect, a failed check against chakra resistance allows the resistant creature to ignore the effects of the technique, but others continue to be affected normally. Basic Game Mechanics

This section contains all the basic game mechanics of the d20 Modern system that were modified or simply taken out, as well as important element of the Naruto d20 system. Energy Damage Four new types of energy damage were added to the Naruto d20 system, earth, water, wind and holy damage. Optional Rule: When a Earth damage is common to the Doton ninjutsu subtype and Earth dragons. Water is common in Suiton ninjutsu and Water dragon, and finally Wind damage is common in Fuuton techniques and Wind dragons. character attempts to destroy an object with an unarmed strike without the proper feats, the attack only deals half damage, before applying hardness.

Holy damage is a very uncommon type of damage found only in very few techniques, and techniques enhanced by special feats or abilities. Each of the new damage type has an energy resistance equivalent of the same name, that acts in the same way energy resistance would for typical damage types. Wind damage deals normal damage against object with hardness; earth and water deal one-quarter damage against objects with hardness, and holy deals no damage to objects. Learn This element is essential in the learning and mastering of techniques, though it can be employed elsewhere also. Learn checks are made to learn, Optional Rule: Since develop, create and master techniques. To make a Learn check, the character rolls 1d20 + character level + relevant ability modifier.

The learn bonus presented in a creature’s description does not include relevant ability modifier, but includes any bonus to Learn checks the creature may have, such as Chakra Affinity, Genius Nin or Grand Master. Naruto: d20 is a completely non-FX setting, mastercraft bonus can go up to +5 at the cost of +7 to the Purchase DC per point above 3. A character can take 10 but not take 20 when making a Learn check. Learning Techniques: The process of learning a technique is explained in details in Chapter X: Techniques. The character must succeed a number of times based on the technique’s complexity rating, and each attempt takes a number of days equal to the technique’s rank. Starting Techniques: During character creation, the player does not typically roll Learn checks. Most characters start with 1d4 techniques, plus 1 per level.

Typically, the character gains the three basic Ninjutsu as bonus techniques, so long as it has ranks in the Ninjutsu skill: Bunshin no Jutsu, Henge no Jutsu and Kawarimi no Jutsu. Actions Naruto d20 uses several new different types of action to perform feats, techniques or abilities, described in detail below. Instant Actions: A character can use an instant action even when it is not his turn. An instant action can be used to perform a defensive or counter-attack technique such as Kirikaesu no Waza, or Kawarimi no Jutsu. The character only has one instant action per round. Swift Action: A character can only use one instant and one swift action per round, but must use a swift action on his turn.

It can be used to perform a techniques, or other actions such as making a Chakra Control check to tap one’s reserves. Special Creatures: Special creatures such as elite, boss and solo creatures gain additional actions. See the Friends and Foes chapter for more detail. Combat Many combat situation calls for a particular rule that was altered for the purpose of Naruto d20, explained in detail below. Optional Rule: Heroic Short Rests and Encounter-based Abilities: Some abilities can only be used a certain number of times per encounter. Those abilities become available again as soon as the character rests for 5 minutes, called short resting periods.

The character can rest any number of resting periods in a day as he wishes. During a resting period, the character can perform no strenuous activity that would disrupt normal rest. If interrupted, the character must rest again for a full 5 minutes to complete a resting period. Afterwards, abilities such as techniques or class abilities that can only be used a certain number of times per encounter can be used again. characters running all-out can now run at 5 times their normal speed instead of 4 times. An encumbered character’s maximum run speed is x4 instead of x5 using these rules. Optional Rule: A creature with greater reach is unable to attack another if it is blocked by a creature or object in front of it.

The creature can, however, reach the creature behind the obstacle if it is at least twice as tall as it. This rule goes for attacks of opportunity as well. Up to twice per day, the character may regain his Constitution modifier in chakra during a resting period. The character’s chakra pool cannot be exceeded by this means. Action Points: In addition to their standard uses, a character can spend an action point to gain 1d6 points of Chakra for 1 minute, which can exceed his maximum Chakra Pool. More than one action point can be spent, but only the duration is refreshed, the actual chakra gained uses the highest rolled results. Action points can be applied to Learn checks (see above).

Reflex Saves: A creature can make a Reflex save at any time except when held, immobilized or unable to move. A creature with a Dexterity score of 1 or higher can move. A creature with no Dexterity score fails all Reflex saves and Dexterity checks, and cannot move. Aid Another: A character cannot aid or have someone aid him to perform or identify a technique, though some exceptions, such as Summoning, are possible. Optional Rule: Nonlethal Damage Option When the amount of nonlethal damage taken is equal to your hit points, you become staggered and Bonus Types: There are many ways to gain bonuses to an may only take a move or attack action each round (but not both). bility score, checks, saving throws or any number of things, When it exceeds your current hit and many come from different sources. Multiple different points, you fall unconscious. It bonus types stack, but typically only a few named bonus stack doesn’t matter whether the with themselves. For example, a mastercraft bonus to Defense nonlethal damage exceeds your current hit points because the and the Mystical Armor enhancement seal are both enhancement bonus, and do not stack. A brief description of the nonlethal damage has gone up or because your current hit points different bonus types is included below. have gone down. Armor: This bonus comes from wearing a piece of nonNonlethal damage heals at the rate enhanced armor and increases the character’s Defense.

It does of 1 hit points per hour per character level; spells, techniques not apply against touch attacks. or effects that heal normal Circumstance: This modifier enters play in a situation that damage remove an equal amount provides a specific advantage or disadvantage, and is of nonlethal damage also. sometimes provided by a technique. Multiple circumstance The Brawl feat allows the bonus stack with each other, unless they are provided by the character’s attacks when he deals nonlethal damage to deal 1d4 same source. Competence: This bonus increases the character’s ability with points instead of 1d3, and the improved brawl increases that skills checks and ability checks. damage to 1d6.

Deflection: This bonus increases the character’s Defense by Staggered: A character whose deflecting attacks. nonlethal damage exactly equals his current hit points is staggered. Dodge: This bonus increases the character’s ability to dodge A staggered character may cannot and quickly avoid attacks. Dodge bonuses stack with other run or charge dodge bonuses. A character whose current hit Enhancement: This bonus represents an increase in points exceed his nonlethal damage is no longer staggered; a effectiveness of the targeted weapon, armor or the selected character whose nonlethal damage ability score. Inherent: An inherent bonus to an ability score is one granted exceeds his hit points becomes unconscious. by training techniques and shinobi drugs.

A character is limited Regeneration: The regeneration to a +5 inherent bonus to any ability score. quality treats all damage of the Insight: An insight bonus increases the character’s ability from non-vulnerable type as nonlethal a precognitive sense pertaining to the ability itself, such as the damage rather than ignoring damage equal to the character’s Sharingan Eye’s ability to perceive movement from reading massive damage threshold. Any chakra. nonlethal damage taken is healed Luck: This bonus represents good fortune for the character. at the rate specified in the monster Morale: A morale bonus or penalty comes from greater hope, entry. See Friends and Foes Special Qualities for details. ourage and determination or from moments of despair and helplessness. Natural Armor: A natural armor bonus increases Defense, typically from hardened skin, tough scales or chitinous armor. Natural armor does not apply to touch Defense. Racial: A racial bonus is typically granted to a skill check, based on the race or species of the creature. Resistance: A resistance bonus increases the character’s ability to defend from harm and chakra techniques. It is usually applied to saving throws. Shield: A shield bonus increases the Defense through wearing a shield in combat, or sometimes through force techniques. Shield bonus do not apply to touch Defense.

Size: This modifier applies when a creature or character increases or decreases in size. Typically applies to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution scores as well as Defense, Hide checks, Grapple checks and attack rolls. Chakra Created Objects and Creature: A chakra created creature or object only has as much chakra as was spent during their creation, based on the technique or effect cost, unless otherwise specified in its description. For example, a standard Kage Bunshin has 2 point of Chakra, while a Tajuu Kage Bunshin only has one. When an object’s chakra pool is reduced to 0, it is automatically destroyed, regardless of its physical condition.

The fact that a creature or object has a Chakra Pool doesn’t mean it can use technique or perform chakra-demanding activities, however. Losing an eye: When a character loses one eye, or covers one of his eyes, he suffers a -2 penalty to Spot and Search checks, and the penalty from distance is doubled. Flanking creatures gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls when flanking a one-eyed character. A character used to this condition may remove or alleviate some or all of the disadvantages of the condition (GM’s discretion. ) Massive Damage Threshold (MAS): The massive damage threshold entry has been excluded from the characters’ statistics entries because it cannot be triggered from damage.

A massive damage save is always a Fortitude save (DC 15) to avoid being reducing to -1 hit points and dying. New Conditions: Following standard conditions, these states describe ill effects and ailments a character may encounter: Dazzled: The creature is unable to see well because of overstimulation of the eyes. A dazzled creature takes a -1 penalty on attack rolls, Search checks, and Spot checks. Fascinated: A fascinated creature is entranced by a technique or supernatural effect. The creature stands or sits quietly, taking no actions other than to pay attention to the fascinating effect, for as long as the effect lasts. It takes a -4 penalty on skill checks made as reactions, such as Listen and Spot checks.

Any potential threat, such as a hostile creature approaching, allows the fascinated creature a new saving throw against the fascinating effect. Any obvious threat, such as someone drawing a weapon, performing a technique, or aiming a ranged weapon at the fascinated creature, automatically breaks the effect. A fascinated creature’s ally may shake it free of the condition as a standard action. Paralyzed: A paralyzed character cannot move, speak, or take any physical action. He is rooted to the spot, frozen and helpless. Not even friends can move his limbs. He may take purely mental actions, such as performing a technique requiring only concentration (some limitations may apply). Paralysis works on the body, and a character can usually resist it ith a Fortitude saving throw (the DC is given in the creature’s description). Unlike hold person and similar effects, a paralysis effect does not allow a new save each round. A winged creature flying in the air at the time that it becomes paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A swimmer can’t swim and may drown. Sickened: The character takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls and damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. Staggered: A staggered character cannot run or charge. Shinobi Skills Ninja have abilities most mundane character cannot even fathom. These ability include the ability to detect hostility and read thoughts, sense chakra signatures or even see chakra.

Although they may not often come into play, these are also critical elements of the Naruto d20 system, and are described in detail below. Detect Emotions (Su): Some ability may grant a character the ability to sense a sentient creature’s mood and emotions, as long as the creature has an Intelligence score and is capable of sentient thoughts. If a character is aware of a creature that is within 30 feet, he may make a Sense Motive check (DC 20) to determine whether or not the creature is hostile or its current mood without having to interact with it. Targets of this ability must have an Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma score of at least 1. By concentrating further, the character is able to detect surface thoughts of a creature, providing it is sufficiently weak willed.

Further concentration requires an attack action and focuses on one creature at a time. 1st round: Character is able to determine whether the creature is capable of sentient thoughts. 2nd round: Character detects emotions on a basic level, such as anger, frustration, contentment, relief or happiness. 3rd round: Character is able to probe into the creature’s surface thoughts and read them, providing that the character’s level or sense motive bonus is higher than the creature’s Will save modifier. This is a gaze attack with a range equal to the Detect Emotions ability’s range, and has a Will save DC of 10 + ? character’s level + character’s Wis modifier.

Succeeding the save prevents the character from reading the target’s thoughts for 24 hours. Surface thoughts can be read and will show the character certain images, but will not be able to determine complicated and structured sentences, such as “the enemy will attack from the seventh door to the west at midnight, and will come in small numbers, with a captain. ” Creatures of animal intelligence have simple, instinctual thoughts that the character can also pick up. A creature that realizes its thoughts are being read may attempt a new save every round. The character is only able to read the thoughts of a struggling creature for 1 minute per day, though there is no limit if the creature is willing.

See Chakra (Su): The character is able to see chakra being used, chakra auras and lingering chakra and allows him to attempt to identify the effect of the lingering chakra, though usually not precisely unless he is particularly familiar with the technique. The character can use the Spot skill instead of making a Genjutsu check or a Wisdom check to detect Genjutsu or see chakra activity (see Sense Chakra for detail). In addition, he can focus his sight to examine a creature or object to detect traces of lingering chakra from it with a Spot check. Those traces are the result of an active effect that was placed on the target from a technique or ability that required the use of chakra. Success allows the character to make a second check to identify the effect to get a rough idea of the source, but requires him to have a clear line of sight to the target.

The check difficulty is based on the amount of chakra used to create the effect and requires the target to be within 30 feet. Source Strength Spot check DC Faint (5 chakra or less) 20 Moderate (6 to 15 chakra) 15 Strong (15 to 25 chakra) 10 Overwhelming (26 chakra or more) 5 The character can also see a creature’s chakra pool and can determine the strength of the chakra signature, but does not gain a bonus to Spot checks to detect a creature regardless of the strength of its chakra aura. Each chakra signature has an individual color to it, but it is typically not plausible for the character to remember each one. This ability depends on sight and does not function when blinded. Chakra is normally invisible to a character without this ability or See Through Chakra.

See Through Chakra (Su): This ability functions like See Chakra, but the character gains a +4 circumstance bonus to Spot checks to detect lingering chakra, genjutsu and see chakra activity, and a +2 resistance bonus to Will saves to disbelieve Genjutsu techniques. The character knows whether a creature is a noncorporeal chakra construct or a physical entity, and can tell most summons and clones by sight, though some exceptions exist (such as Kage Bunshin no Jutsu). Furthermore, the character can see internal uses of chakra such as active bloodline abilities and strength or speed ranks as lingering chakra (see above). Sense Chakra (Su): The character can sense lingering chakra in places and chakra signatures. The ability is something of a sixth sense, but it isn’t visual nor does it depend on other senses like touch, or hearing.

To manifest the ability, the character must concentrate for an attack action. He will be able to sense chakra for as long as he concentrates, plus 1d3 rounds. Unless otherwise specified, the character’s Sense Chakra ability has a range of 5 feet per level or hit dice. Chakra Activities: The source comes from a technique that was just used or that has a lasting effect on the target. To detect chakra activity, the character must make a Wisdom check (DC 15–chakra spent). The strength of the aura is based on the chakra cost of the technique used. Chakra Signature: The source of this Source Faint Moderate Strong Overwhelming Chakra comes from a creature directly.

A Chakra Activity 5 or less 6-15 16-25 Higher than 26 character able to detect Chakra Signatures Chakra Signature 18 or less 19-35 36-75 Higher than 76 can easily identify the source of the chakra and remembers chakra signatures just as normal humans do sight, though it may take quite some time for a creature to get used to a specific Chakra Signature. The strength of the source is based on the creature’s current Chakra Pool. Suppressed: A suppressed Chakra Signature is undetectable and cannot be identified. It always counts as Chakra Pool 0. Faint: The source is very weak and barely detectable at all. It can be identified if the character is intimately familiar with the signature, but the character cannot pinpoint its location nor the distance which it is at.

Moderate: The source is easily detectable and decently strong. The character can identify it easily and gains a +2 bonus to checks made to detect its physical presence. Strong: The chakra source is powerful and can easily be picked apart from the rest. It can be identified and the character gains a +4 bonus to checks to detect its approach, even in low lighting and concealment. Overwhelming: The source is overwhelmingly powerful and whole, and can be instantly picked apart even in a room packed with Strong signatures. The character gains a +10 bonus to checks to detect it even without lighting and in total darkness or concealment, even if he is blind. Miss chance due to lack of sight is not affected.

Dormant Sense: The character is able to sense chakra instinctively when he touches a living creature, even if he is not concentrating on Sensing Chakra. The character will be able to determine how strong the chakra signature was, but will not be able to recognize if it is familiar—only that it is. This ability does not work of the character is fatigued or exhausted. Suppress Chakra (Su): The characters puts a hold on his chakra and burrows it within himself until, with enough skill, it is completely snuffed out. The ability requires a full-round action to manifest. At this point, the strength of the character’s chakra signature is decreased by 1 category (for example, from Strong to Moderate). If the character’s chakra pool changes, or if he uses a technique whose chakra Source’s Strength ost was not concealed, he must make a Concentration or Chakra Control check (DC 10+chakra lost or gained) or lose control and end the effect prematurely. The character is able to lower his chakra signature further by 1 additional category every 5 level or hit dice, by spending 5 full-round actions concentrating. The character can suppress his chakra for as long as he concentrates (as a swift action when not stressed or endangered, or an attack action otherwise) plus 10 minutes/level, or until cancelled. Sealing Tenketsu: Dealing tenketsu damage forces a progressive paralyzation of the chakra coil system on the target, making it difficult to utilize techniques to a certain degree.

The paralysis impedes the target’s ability to perform Chakra Control, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu techniques of a progressively higher rank, starting from Rank 1, and also implies a penalty to perform checks. When performing a technique after suffering tenketsu damage, the character must check to see if the technique’s rank is equal to or lower than the technique rank relevant to the amount of tenketsu damage taken (see table below). If so, he must make a Chakra Control check to see if he can perform the technique; on a failed check, the character automatically fails his perform check. If the character succeeds or the technique’s rank is higher than the rank impeded by the tenketsu damage, he performs the technique normally but suffers a penalty to his Perform checks (see table below).

The penalties increase with the tenketsu damage (sealed tenketsu) taken, starting from 2, to 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 and every additional 8 from then on. Refer to the table below to determine the penalties for the amount of tenketsu damage taken. Tenketsu Damage: This entry relates to the amount of tenketsu damage taken by the character. The penalties are not cumulative. Chakra Control DC: The difficulty of the chakra control check the character must succeed to perform a technique of a rank impeded by tenketsu damage (see below). Technique Rank: The rank of techniques impeded by tenketsu damage, for which the character must succeed a Chakra Control check in addition to a perform check. If the performed technique’s rank is equal to or lower than this entry, it is impeded.

Check and Threshold Penalty: The penalty to the character’s effective skill threshold and perform checks in Chakra Control, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu suffered from tenketsu damage. This penalty does not apply to the chakra control check made to tap one’s reserves, but it does apply to Chakra Control checks made to perform a Chakra Control technique (assuming the check was a success or the technique is not affected by tenketsu damage). Tenketsu Chakra Technique Check and Tenketsu Chakra Technique Check and Damage Control DC Rank Threshold Damage Control DC Rank Threshold Penalty Penalty 2 11 1 — 232 23 12 -8 4 12 2 — 240 24 13 -9 8 13 3 -1 248 24 13 -9 6 32 64 128 136 144 152 160 168 176 184 192 200 208 216 224 14 15 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 -1 -2 -2 -3 -3 -4 -4 -5 -5 -6 -6 -7 -7 -8 -8 -8 256 264 272 280 288 296 304 312 320 328 336 344 352 360 361 26 26 27 27 29 29 30 30 32 32 33 33 35 35 40 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 20 -9 -9 -10 -10 -10 -10 -11 -11 -11 -11 -12 -12 -12 -12 -15 128 or more tenketsu damage: A character with 128 or more tenketsu damage is fatigued until tenketsu damage taken is reduced to 127 or lower. Healing Tenketsu: Recovering from tenketsu damage outside of techniques is done while the character rests.

The character heals his character level or hit dice in tenketsu damage every evening of rest. Tenketsu damage is healed twice as fast during bed rest. Complete bed rest triples the amount of tenketsu damage healed. Strength Ranks and Speed Ranks When a character performs certain types of speed and strength training, his body develops enhanced muscles. This translates in mechanic as Strength ranks and Speed ranks. Temporary Speed or Strength Ranks: If the character gains temporary Speed or Strength ranks, the ability cannot be suppressed and is always active, but costs no chakra. If the character already has a Speed or Strength rank, the abilities do not stack, use whichever is highest.

Speed or Strength Rank Bonus: When the character gains a bonus to Speed or Strength ranks, such as from the Speed or Strength armor seals, this bonus increases the efficiency of the ability, but not the cost. For example, a +2 bonus to Speed ranks allows Speed rank 0 to function as Speed rank 2, but the ability can be suppressed to Speed rank 1 or 0 as normal. Activation: During an encounter, or when a character is threatened or stressed, he must choose to consciously suppress his Strength and Speed ranks to conserve energy, otherwise the ability is automatically active. The opportunity comes into play as soon as the ability activates when the character is no longer flat-footed, at the start of his turn, or at the start of the battle following a surprise ound taken against the character, even if he did not win the initiative, as a free action. Activating a previously suppressed strength or speed rank during an encounter, after the first round of combat, is a free action on the character’s turn. Outside of an encounter, a character has to concentrate for a full-round action to call upon his strength and speed. Suppressing strength and speed ranks is a free action on the character’s turn. The character may choose to activate or suppress his strength and speed ranks to any degree he desires. A character with 2 strength ranks and 2 speed ranks can choose to suppress his speed rank fully (speed rank 0) but only suppress 1 strength rank, or suppress them both fully if he desires.

Activating strength and speed ranks outside of an encounter works in the same manner, in that the character may choose to call upon some of his strength but none of his speed, or vice-versa. The chakra cost from strength and speed ranks is spent the moment they are activated—if the character moves from one strength or speed rank to a higher one before he has to pay the chakra cost again, he must still immediately pay the higher rank’s chakra cost in full. If a character’s chakra pool would be reduced to 0 or below from strength or speed ranks, the ability is immediately suppressed and cannot be reactivated until the character recovers chakra, unless it can be activated at no cost. When inactive during combat, the ability is referred to as suppressed; outside of combat, it is simply dormant.

Penalties: When a character suffers a penalty to strength or speed rank, his maximum strength or speed rank is immediately lowered until the effect ends (see effect’s description for details). A permanent strength or speed rank penalty can only be removed by medical techniques. Strength and Speed ranks cannot go below 0. If the character’s strength or speed ranks are lowered to 0 because of a penalty, it immediately counts as suppressed and costs no chakra. The chakra cost of strength or speed rank with a penalty is equal to the actual rank, not what the effective rank should be without the penalty. An encumbered character suffers a -1 strength and speed rank penalty, increasing to -2 if heavily encumbered.

A fatigued character suffers a -1 strength and speed rank penalty, increasing to -2 if exhausted. A character wearing medium armor suffers a -1 speed rank penalty, and a character wearing heavy armor suffers a -3 speed rank penalty. An entangled character suffers a -4 penalty to speed ranks, while helpless, paralyzed, immobilized, grappled or pinned creatures are automatically treated as having speed rank 0. Penalties from fatigue, encumbrance, armor and conditions stack. Speed Ranks: The speed ranks are numbered from 0 to 10, where an untrained character has a speed rank of 0 and a fully trained character has a speed rank of 5. Some highly specialized, epic characters may gain Speed ranks of up to 10, but such a thing is extremely rare.

Kawarimi Defense: An attack that gains kawarimi defense means a character cannot use defensive maneuver or the ‘avoid an attack’ maneuver against that attack unless he is moving at a certain speed rank (for example, a character with 4 speed ranks cannot avoid an attack with a kawarimi defense 4 if he is suppressing any of his speed ranks). High Speed Sight (Ex): A character with the high speed sight ability negates any speed bonus to Hide checks a character gains by having speed ranks up to a certain degree mentioned in the character’s statistic block, but only for his person. A character with high speed sight 3 spotting against a character with speed rank 5 would negate +3 of the character’s +5 speed bonus to Hide checks. – Speed Rank 0 (Ex): The character moves at normal speed and gains no benefits from this speed rank. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 0 costs no chakra. Speed Rank 1 (Ex): The character gains a +2 bonus to Jump checks, a +1 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves. The character’s land speed increases by 10 feet, and gains a +1 speed bonus to Hide checks. A character loses his dodge bonus to Defense when caught flat-footed. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 1 costs 1 point of chakra every 5 rounds. The speed bonus to Hide only applies to situations where fast movement would help. – Speed Rank 2 (Ex): The character gains a +3 bonus to Jump checks, a +2 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +1 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 15 feet, and gains a +2 speed bonus to Hide checks..

When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 2 costs 2 points of chakra every 5 rounds. – Speed Rank 3 (Ex): The character gains a +4 bonus to Jump checks, a +3 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +1 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 20 feet, and gains a +3 speed bonus to Hide checks. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 3 costs 3 points of chakra every 5 rounds. – Speed Rank 4 (Ex): The character gains a +5 bonus to Jump checks, a +4 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +2 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 25 feet, gains a +4 speed bonus to Hide checks, and his attacks have a kawarimi defense 1.

When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 4 costs 4 points of chakra every 5 rounds. – Speed Rank 5 (Ex): The character gains a +6 bonus to Jump checks, a +5 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +2 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 30 feet, gains a +5 speed bonus to Hide checks, and his attacks have a kawarimi defense 2. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 5 costs 1 point of chakra every round. – Speed Rank 6 (Ex): The character gains a +7 bonus to Jump checks, a +6 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +3 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 35 feet, gains a +6 speed bonus to Hide checks, and his attacks have a kawarimi defense 3.

He gains an additional attack when making a full-attack action, at his highest attack bonus but at a -5 penalty. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 6 costs 3 points of chakra every 2 rounds. – Speed Rank 7 (Ex): The character gains a +8 bonus to Jump checks, a +7 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +3 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 40 feet, gains a +7 speed bonus to Hide checks, and his attacks have a kawarimi defense 3. He gains an additional attack when making a full-attack action, at his highest attack bonus. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 7 costs 2 points of chakra every round. Speed Rank 8 (Ex): The character gains a +9 bonus to Jump checks, a +8 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +4 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 45 feet, gains a +8 speed bonus to Hide checks, and his attacks have a kawarimi defense 4. He gains an additional attack when making a full-attack action, at his highest attack bonus. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 8 costs 5 points of chakra every 2 rounds. – Speed Rank 9 (Ex): The character gains a +10 bonus to Jump checks, a +9 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +4 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 50 feet, gains a +9 speed bonus to Hide checks, and his attacks have a kawarimi defense 5.

He gains an additional attack when making a full-attack action, at his highest attack bonus. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 9 costs 3 points of chakra every round. – Speed Rank 10 (Ex): The character gains a +10 bonus to Jump checks, a +10 dodge bonus to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +5 bonus to attack rolls. The character’s land speed increases by 60 feet, gains a +10 speed bonus to Hide checks, and his attacks have a kawarimi defense 6. He gains an additional attack when making a full-attack action, at his highest attack bonus, and a second additional attack at a -5 penalty. When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 10 costs 6 points of chakra every round.

The character cannot activate the Speed rank 10 ability if he is fatigued, exhausted, or suffers from Dexterity or Constitution damage. Strength Rank: As with speed ranks, strength ranks are numbered from 0 to 10 and untrained character stand at strength rank 0, while only truly epic characters ever reach strength rank 10. The bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls granted by Strength rank is treated as a bonus granted by the Strength score for the purpose of multiplying or dividing it, and deciding whether to use the Strength or Dexterity score with attack rolls. – Strength Rank 0 (Ex): The character gains no particular benefits from enhanced strength. When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 0 costs no chakra. Strength Rank 1 (Ex): The character gains a +1 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls (if he is able to apply his Strength modifier to damage for that weapon—for example, to a katana or shuriken attack, but not a throwing needle). When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 1 costs 1 points of chakra every 5 rounds. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 1 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +1. – Strength Rank 2 (Ex): The character gains a +1 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +2 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks. His carrying capacity increases by one-half (round down). In addition, a character with Strength Rank 2 ignores hardness from objects with 2 or less hardness.

When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 2 costs 2 points of chakra every 5 rounds. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 2 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +2. – Strength Rank 3 (Ex): The character gains a +2 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +4 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks. His carrying capacity doubles. In addition, a character with Strength Rank 3 ignores hardness from objects with 4 or less hardness. When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 3 costs 3 points of chakra every 5 rounds.

Whether active or dormant, strength rank 3 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +3. – Strength Rank 4 (Ex): The character gains a +2 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +6 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks. His carrying capacity doubles. In addition, a character with Strength Rank 4 ignores hardness from objects with 6 or less hardness. When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 4 costs 4 points of chakra every 5 rounds. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 4 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +4. Strength Rank 5 (Ex): The character gains a +3 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +8 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks. His carrying capacity is multiplied by 2. 5 (round down). In addition, a character with Strength Rank 5 ignores hardness from objects with 8 or less hardness. When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 5 costs 1 point of chakra every round. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 5 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +5. – Strength Rank 6 (Ex): The character gains a +4 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +10 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks.

His carrying capacity is multiplied by 2. 5 (round down) and he gains a damage reduction 2/dark iron. In addition, a character with Strength Rank 6 ignores hardness from objects with 8 or less hardness. When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 6 costs 3 points of chakra every 2 rounds. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 6 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +6. – Strength Rank 7 (Ex): The character gains a +4 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +10 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks.

His carrying capacity triples and he gains a damage reduction 3/dark iron. In addition, a character with Strength Rank 7 ignores hardness from objects with 8 or less hardness. When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 7 costs 2 point of chakra every round. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 7 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +7. – Strength Rank 8 (Ex): The character gains a +5 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +11 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks. His carrying capacity triples and he gains a damage reduction 5/dark iron.

In addition, a character with Strength Rank 8 ignores hardness from objects with 8 or less hardness. When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 8 costs 5 points of chakra every 2 rounds. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 8 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +8. – Strength Rank 9 (Ex): The character gains a +5 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +11 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks. His carrying capacity is multiplied by 3. 5 (round down) and he gains a damage reduction 6/dark iron.

In addition, a character with Strength Rank 9 ignores hardness from objects with 8 or less hardness. When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 9 costs 3 point of chakra every round. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 9 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +9. – Strength Rank 10 (Ex): The character gains a +6 bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls, and a +12 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks, strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks. His carrying capacity quadruples and he gains a damage reduction 8/dark iron. In addition, a character with Strength Rank 10 ignores hardness from objects with 10 or less hardness.

When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 10 costs 6 point of chakra every round. The character cannot activate the Strength rank 10 ability if he is fatigued, exhausted, or suffers from Strength or Constitution damage. Whether active or dormant, strength rank 10 increases the character’s effective Strength score to determine his carrying capacity by +10. Variants There are many variant rules offered to enhance gaming experience in Naruto d20, from the Simplified Chakra Pool to the Elemental Affinities. These variants are all completely optional and should be considered carefully with both the players’ and GM’s best interest in mind before using them in a campaign.

Empathic Learning Variant: This variant allows the character to learn techniques on the spot by spending points which he has earned in combat or by distinguishing himself. In fast-paced action, the characters don’t always have time to train. In fact, a warrior’s best teacher is the field of battle. This variant comes into play when the players overcome a challenge, and when the need strikes for a dramatic or well-timed display of creativity and awesome power. As the players progress through a story or defeat a challenge, they earn empathy points. Empathy points can be spent during a battle or in a situation where gaining a specific ability will serve the character well. Awarding Empathy Points: As a general rule, follow the table below to determine when to award the player empathy points.

In other situations, when the player is particularly clever or when the character shines, empathy points should also be awarded. Award empathy points when… the character gains a level the players defeat an encounter the players defeat a boss creature the players defeat a solo creature the players reach an adventure landmark Empathy Points Earned 2 1 1 2 2 to 5 Spending Empathy Points: In dramatic situations, such as an encounter or during pursuit, the player can spend empathy points to instantly learn a technique that is relevant to his situation in only the time it takes to perform the action. Outside of dramatic situations, it takes 1 minute to learn a technique by spending empathy points.

To learn a technique, the player must spend a number of empathy points equal to the technique’s skill threshold (see Perform Requirements. ) The character cannot gain mastery in a technique by spending empathy points. It can be helpful for the GM to set a list of a limited number of technique that can be renewed or updated every adventure or everytime a character gains a level, and enforce that specific list for each player outside of very dramatic situations. Optional: In dramatic situations, the GM may determine that the character may spend the normal amount of ETP to perform a technique he already knows without spending chakra chakra, and halve the chakra spent to empower it, if at all. In certain situation, the GM may decide that empowering the technique has no chakra cost.

Hostage Maneuver Variant: When a character is holding a creature hostage, it is able to react quickly and deal critical damage, which is primarily what makes hostage situations so tricky. The hostage can serve as a shield against anyone who dares to direct their attack the character. To qualify as a hostage, the creature must be helpless, prone, grappled or pinned, and be up to two size category smaller than the character, or up to two size category larger and prone. The hostage maneuver is a full-round action each round that may provoke an attack of opportunity. If the hostage is willing or simply not resisting, holding it is an attack action. Taken Hostage: When a creature is taken hostage, it may take an attack of opportunity against the character if it retains its Dexterity bonus to Defense.

If the attack hits, the hostage attempt has 50% chance to fail. While taken hostage, the creature can still take any action (see The Certain Death Rule, below. ) The Certain Death Rule: The certain death rule dictates that the character is able to react with an attack of opportunity against the hostage against any action it takes, including speaking or dodging from an attack, before it is able to complete the action. In addition, the character is able to take an attack of opportunity against the hostage at any time he wishes to. That attack is always considered a coup de grace. A creature immune to critical hits and sneak attacks is also immune to the effects of a coup de grace.

Staggered: If the character takes more than 1 point of damage per level per round while maintaining the hostage maneuver, it will become staggered and unable to make attacks of opportunity against the hostage for 1 round. If the hostage was grappled or pinned, it may make an opposed Grapple check (as a free action) to break the hostage maneuver. Doing so will also break the grapple. Hostage Shield: Each attack directed at the character has a 75% chance of hitting the hostage instead during the hostage maneuver, unless the attack would miss by 10 or more (this penalty is reduced to 25% if the character is not aware of the attack. ) The attack does not check against the hostage’s defense unless it attempts to dodge (see The Certain Death Rule, above. ) Some conditions might lower or negate the chance of hitting the hostage entirely (at the GM’s discretion).

At Sword Point: Initiating the hostage maneuver against an unaware opponent requires a touch attack against the creature who is denied its Dexterity modifier to Defense and a successful level check (DC is the target’s level +11). Performing the hostage maneuver in this manner does not result in the target being grappled or hindered and is a full-round action. Grappled Hostage: Initiating the hostage maneuver during a grapple requires a successful Grapple check against the creature, which provokes an attack of opportunity if the target is carrying a light weapon, has a natural attack or if its unarmed attacks are treated as armed. If the attack hits, the hostage maneuver has a 50% chance to fail. The character gains a +4 bonus to his Grapple check if the creature is pinned.

Reflex Saves and Movement Penalties Variant: For increased realism, some conditions may reduce a character’s ability to dodge attacks. All of these penalties stack. Cowering: Character takes a -2 penalty to Reflex saves. Dazed: Character cannot use evasion or improved evasion. Disabled: Character takes a -1 penalty to Reflex saves. Flat-footed: Character takes a -4 penalty to Reflex saves (Uncanny Dodge negates). Grappled: Character takes a -2 penalty to Reflex saves. Panicked: Character takes a -1 penalty to Reflex saves. Staggered: Character takes a -2 penalty to Reflex saves and cannot use evasion; improved evasion works as evasion. Stunned: Character takes a -2 penalty to Reflex saves and cannot use evasion or improved evasion.

Save Scores Variant: This variant differs from the normal rules in that when a character uses a technique or an effect that, the players must roll against the opponent’s save scores. In effect, this means the attacker makes most of the rolls and thus relieves a good deal of pressure from the game master. Anytime a character casts a spell, manifests a power, performs a technique, or uses an ability or item that provokes a saving throw, the attacker rolls a save check against the defender’s save score. If the result of the save check exceeds or equals the defender’s save score, the defender is affected as though it had failed its save. If the result is lower than the save score, the defender is affected as though it had succeeded its save.

A natural roll of 1 is always considered a successful save, and a natural roll of 20 is always considered a failed save. Save check: 1d20 + technique rank + ability modifier + other modifier. Fortitude score: 11 + Fortitude save modifier. Reflex score: 11 + Reflex save modifier. Will score: 11 + Will save modifier. Abilities and Items: If an ability or a specific item has a saving throw DC, the attacker rolls a save check with a bonus equal to the ability or item’s DC minus 10. A firecracker tag would have a +5 save check modifier Simplified Chakra Variant: With the Chakra Control system being understandably complicated, the Naruto: d20 supplement offers an optional rule to greatly simplify and quicken gameplay for inexperienced players.

The Chakra Pool of a character is calculated as such: 2 plus the character’s Constitution modifier (minimum 1) every level (therefore, a level 2 character with a Constitution of 13 would have 6 points of Chakra, while a level 10 character with a Constitution score of 16 would have a Chakra Pool of 50). Ordinaries still have half that amount. Learning Genjutsu and Ninjutsu techniques now requires 1 rank of Chakra Control per rank of the technique the character seeks to learn (4 ranks for a Rank 4 technique). Furthermore, Soldier Pills grant a bonus to Chakra Pool of 2d6+2 instead of 2d4+1. Trump Card Variant: The player characters gain abilities called trump card under this variant.

A trump card is a special technique known by the character held in reserves for dramatic situations. The trump card variant enables the character to use that technique for free in certain situations. Gaining a Trump Card: The character gains a trump card ability when reaching certain levels. Each time, he selects a class ability or technique he learned previously and applies the trump card to that ability or technique. A technique the GM judges is too commonly used should not be allowed to be made a trump card. Alternatively, the GM may allow a technique or ability that is commonly used to become a trump card when used in very specific circumstances.

Techniques that can call summon creatures must be targeted at a specific summon creature (see Kuchiyose no Jutsu variants). Trump Card (Sp): Once per day, you may use the trump card at no cost to yourself if it was not used before during the encounter. A technique trump card costs no chakra to perform or empower, and a class ability that requires an action point or chakra costs none. A technique or class ability with a limited number of uses per day or encounter is not expended. Trump Card (Lesser): This trump card is earned at 5th level and is a technique of rank 4 or lower, or a class ability obtained from any class obtained with 4 or fewer levels in that class.

Trump Card (Superior): This trump card is earned at 10th level and is a technique of rank 9 or lower, or a class ability obtained from any class obtained with 7 or fewer levels in that class. Trump Card (Greater): This trump card is earned at 15th level and is a technique of rank 14 or lower, or a class ability obtained from any class obtained with 10 or fewer levels in that class. Retraining a Trump Card: The character can retrain any existing trump cards each time he obtains a new trump card or when he reaches 21st level. In effect, this allows the character to apply a trump card spell-like ability to a different technique or class ability. Unarmed Lethal Damage Variant: As an optional rule, all heroic shinobi are able to deal lethal damage and count as armed when making an unarmed attack.

The shinobi still deals 1d3 point of damage, though, unless he has a special feat increasing that amount (such as combat martial arts). This rule does not change the benefits of Brawl, as it still deals non-lethal damage. Power Units (PU): Power units functions in such a way to allow a character greater freedom within a game. They serve to make the inexperienced prodigy stronger and still somewhat of a challenge to the seasoned veteran. A character with more power units is capable of greater prowesses, both mental and physical, but distinctly has less experience than a character of higher level. The only true way to acquire a power unit is for the GM to give one or to benefit from a non-permanent effect that increase one’s power unit.

One should always be mindful of game balance when considering using power units, and they are a completely optional portion of the Naruto: d20 system. Nevertheless, implementing them can add distinct flavor to a game and add that edge combat needs to be just that much more interesting. Optional Rules: Because of the obvious advantage a Power Unit grant to a character, it may be a good idea to increase the character’s ECL and CR by 0. 5 point per permanent Power Unit (rounded down). Power Units add up to each other and all bonuses listed below stack: – +0. 5 dodge bonus to Defense (rounded down) – +0. 5 hit points per level (rounded down) – +1 to his Learn checks – +2 bonus to Chakra Pool +1 bonus to attack rolls – +1 bonus to saving throws – +2 bonus to Balance, Climb, Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, Swim and Tumble checks – +2 bonus to Initiative – +2 feet movement increase (rounded to the nearest 5-feet unit) For example, a character with 3 Power Units (PU) would gain the following: a +1 dodge bonus to defense, +1 hit points per level, +3 bonus to his Learn checks, +3 bonus to his Chakra Pool, attack rolls, saving throws, +6 bonus to Initiative and Balance, Climb, Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, Swim and Tumble checks as well as a 5 feet movement increase. Credits goes to Critical Strike Press for the original idea, although it was mostly modified by yours truly. They can be reached on their website (www. criticalstrikepress. com). Note that the Power Units are not Open Game Content and cannot be used without permission of their respective owner, in this case Critical Strike Press and Frankto Vinneti. Create a True Ninja: In the following paragraph, you will find details on how to create a true Naruto ninja for a high powered campaign.

Be warned that this can, and likely will, result in a very high powered game and should be used only by an experienced GM or a person seeking to play in that kind of universe. A true Naruto ninja has to be strong, cunning, agile and have the ability to come up with thorough plan on the fly. He, or she, must be experienced and talented, wise and collected. He must always be prepared for the worst case scenario and have the ability to deal with anything life throws his way. To be a true Ninja, one must: – be built using 40-point buy or 5d6, taking the three best, rerolling ones. – have at least 1 power unit. – be able to learn techniques with only half the normal time. be able to move at up to 5 times his normal speed. – count as armed and deal lethal damage with unarmed strikes even without the Combat Martial Arts feat (as per optional rule). – begin play with the three basic techniques, Bunshin, Henge and Kawarimi, as well as 2d4 +1 technique per level. – have Balance, Chakra Control, Climb, Disguise, Genjutsu, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Ninjutsu, Search, Spot, Survival and Taijutsu as permanent class skills. – be able to recover Chakra loss twice as fast. Seeing how this can obviously unbalance the whole game, it should not be used unless one is looking for a “legal” way to create truly powerful characters. Character Creation

Creating a character can sometimes be a tricky thing to do, especially using a system so heavily modified as this one. Below are some tips and advice, and the general process rewritten to serve as an aid to new players. Ask Your GM! Always have the GM “ok” the build or direction you wish to send your character in! Not meeting the GM’s approval without having him know can cause trouble later on! Ability Scores Generating your ability score is generally done through the point-buy system (see below). Heroes and villains typically use 36- or 32-point buy, while NPCs use 25-point buy, and civilian and creatures 12 or 15-point buy. Point Buy System: Each ability score starts at 8.

The character must spend points to purchase the ability score he desires; ability scores from 8 to 14 cost 1 point. 15 and 16 cost 2 points, and 17 and 18 both cost 3 points. For example, 36-point buy can generate the following array: 16, 14, 14, 14, 14, 10. The 16 score costs 10, while all four 14 cost 6, and the 10 costs 2; adding together makes 36. Rolling the Die: Other ability generation systems including rolling the die, picking the best three of 4d6. For high-power campaign, picking the best three of 4d6, rerolling 1s is usually preferred. Race Is your character a normal human, or does he gain special benefit from his ancestor’s body manipulation and experiments? Is he abnormally tall, or small? See chapter 2 for more details on the new races!

Basic Class Choosing what basic class you take first will determine the foundation you will base your character upon. See chapter 3 for more details. Hit Points The amount of hit point a character has is determined by what class he takes. At first level, a character always get maximum hit points from the hit die, but each subsequent level must be rolled. Chakra Pool A character’s chakra pool is equal to 2 per level, doubled at first level, plus his Constitution modifier (minimum 0) every level. Starting Occupation Most shinobi character—the heroes, generally—choose from the four starting occupations offered in this book: Academy Student, Mentored, Ninja Law Enforcement or Wandering Ninja.

What occupation you choose determine the benefits you gain from it —choose wisely! Action Points All basic class offer the same number of action points: 5 + half the character’s level in the class (rounded down). Characters starting at higher than 1st level typically gain what action points their last level in the last class their character has taken rather than the number of action points it would have if it had progressed normally in all classes without spending an action point (left at the GM’s discretion). Skills and Feats Choosing skills and feats can determine what advanced and prestige classes, techniques and later feats are available to you. A character gains skill oints every level (times four at 1st level) depending on what class he takes, and one feat at first level plus any bonus his class and occupation may grant. See chapters 2, 3 and 4 for details. Wealth Roll 2d4 and add whatever bonus your character’s starting occupation may grant to determine wealth at first level. Feats and skills, such as windfall and Profession may add to your wealth bonus. See page 204 of the d20 Modern Core Rulebook for wealth of characters after 1st level. Equipment After determining wealth, a character must then spend it on what equipment he can, being mindful of the item’s restriction. See page 91 of the d20 Modern Core Rulebook for rules on spending and losing wealth. See chapter 7 for equipment and new items unique to Naruto d20.

Techniques Finally, a character begins with a number of techniques at 1st level equal to 1d4+1. See chapter 10 for more details on techniques. CHAPTER II: NONHUMAN HEROES Most shinobi coming from clans of their respective country are not typical, average humans due to the nature of their training and alterations inherited from their ancestors’ bodies due to their training, either through various drugs or several generations following specific training methods and chakra manipulations. While a civilian wouldn’t typically have a shinobi race, the offspring of a man whose family background includes 4 generations of extensively trained shinobi might.

The term nonhuman hero is used loosely: these creatures are both human and not, lacking the adaptability of the average man but gaining abilities from the blood running through their veins. Such a creature is not treated as human and does not gain extra skill points, as shown on the table below. TABLE 2-1: HON-HUMANS AND SKILL POINTS Class Basic Classes Strong Fast Tough Smart Dedicated Charismatic Advanced Classes Soldier Martial Artist Gunslinger Infiltrator Daredevil Bodyguard Field Scientist Techie Field Medic Investigator Personality Negotiator Beastmaster Blinkstrike Medical Specialist Ninja Police Ninja Scout Puppeteer Sacred Fist Shinobi Adept Shinobi Bodyguard Shinobi Swordsman Shuriken Expert Soul Edge Squad Captain Sword Savant Taijutsu Master Prestige Classes Beastlord Blinkstrike

Skill Points Human Shinobi Races 3+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 9+Int modifier 8+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 7+Int modifier 6+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 7+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 7+Int modifier 7+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 7+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 6+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 6+Int modifier 6+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 6+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 2+Int modifier Devastator Exarch Exemplar Elementalist Genjutsu Master Livewire Ninja Operations Counter Shade Summoner Technique Analyst Weaponmaster 5+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 7+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 5+Int modifier 3+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 6+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier 4+Int modifier 2+Int modifier

Skills and Feats Nonhumans species gain 4 fewer skill points at 1st level, and 1 fewer every level thereafter, as well as one feat fewer at 1st level. Languages Known Nonhuman species in general gain one bonus language in addition to Common, that of their own country. Shinobi Species Following the descriptive text of each species is a summary of special traits and abilities. Size: The species’ size. Species that are exceptionally large or small receive modifiers to their Defense, attack rolls, grapple checks, and Hide skill checks. Ability Modifiers: These modifiers adjust the ability scores of every member of the species. Size modifier to ability scores are already taken into account.

Base Speed: The distance an average member of the species can move (in feet) during a move action. In general, Medium and Large characters have a base speed of 30 feet, while Small characters have a base speed of 20 feet. Special Qualities: Special qualities include species bonuses to skill checks and saving throws, bonus feats, and natural armor bonuses to Defense (if any). This section also describes any special abilities of the species, including special combat bonuses, the ability so see in low light or utter darkness, and the ability to resist magic. Elemental Affinity: Using the elemental affinity optional rules, the species automatically gains the specified entry instead of chosing.

Free Language Skills: Nonhuman species receive a certain number of Read/Write Language and Speak Language skills for free, without spending any skill points. These free language skills are listed here. Other Languages: Other languages commonly known to members of the species. Shinobi may learn additional languages, following the rules presented under the Speak Language and Read/Write Language skill descriptions. Small and Large characters Small characters gain a +1 size bonus to Defense, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks. They suffer a –4 penalty on grapple checks. Large characters suffer a -1 size penalty to Defense, attack rolls and a -4 size penalty on Hide checks. They gain a +4 bonus on grapple checks.

Small characters’ lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium characters. Large characters’ lifting and carrying limits are twice that of Medium characters. Small characters generally move about two-thirds as fast as Medium characters. Large characters generally move the same speed as Medium characters. Small characters must use smaller weapons than Medium characters. They must use two hands to wield a weapon of Medium, and a weapon must be of Tiny size or smaller for them to consider it as a light weapon. Large characters must use weapons larger than Medium characters. They may wield Large weapons with one hand, and must use a Medium or smaller for them to consider a light weapon.

Armor for Small characters can be chopped down from existant protective outfits. It costs the same as Medium armor and weighs half as much. A Medium or larger creature cannot wear armor sized for a Small character. Armors for Large characters can be pieced together with existant protective outfits. It costs one-half again as Medium armor and weighs twice as much. A Medium or smaller creature cannot wear armor sized for a Large character. Gigantic These humans are just like typical humans except that they are unusually large. They grow up to be anywhere between 8 and 14 feet tall. Size: Large. Large characters suffer a -1 size penalty to Defense, attack rolls and a -4 size penalty on Hide checks.

They gain a +4 bonus on grapple checks. Ability Modifiers: +8 Strengh, +4 Constitution, -2 Dexterity. Base Speed: 30 feet. Natural Armor: Gigantic humans gain a +2 natural armor bonus to Defense. Humans: Gigantic humans still counts as humanoids, though the type does not generally allow creatures of Large size. Their slam deals 1d4 points of damage, claws 1d6, bites 1d6 and gores 1d8. Bonus Feat: Gigantic humans receive Simple Weapons Proficiency as a bonus feat. Elemental Affinity: Any. Free Language Skills: Read/Write Common (or local language), Speak Common (or local language). Other Languages: Any. Challenge Rating: +1. Level Adjustment: +2. Human

This species is the typical, adaptable human. They gain additional skill points and feats, and no other special bonuses. The default race in d20 Modern is human and the bonus feat and skill points are already represented in the Basic Classes section, therefore no adjustments need to be made from selecting this race. Size: Medium. Humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Ability Modifiers: — Base Speed: 30 feet. Bonus Skills: Humans gain 4 more skill points at 1st level, and 1 more every level thereafter. Bonus Feat: Humans gain an additional feat to choose from at 1st level, as well as Simple Weapons Proficiency. Elemental Affinity: Any.

Free Language Skills: Read/Write Common (or local language), Speak Common (or local language). Other Languages: Any. Human/Earth Humans native from the earth country, they are generally sturdier and larger than their peers. Size: Medium. Humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Ability Modifiers: +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom. Base Speed: 30 feet. Tremorsense (Ex): A human/earth can concentrate for 1 swift action to activate a tremorsense 30 ft. ability once per day. The tremorsense lasts for 1 minute or the duration of an encounter (whichever is shorter). This ability can be used twice per day at 10th level, and three times per day at 20th level. Skill Bonus: The human/earth gains a +2 racial bonus to Climb checks.

Saving Throw Bonus: The human/earth gains a +1 racial bonus to saves against earthbased attacks. Bonus Feat: Humans receive Simple Weapons Proficiency as a bonus feat. Elemental Affinity: Earth. Free Language Skills: Read/Write Common, Speak Common, Speak Earth. Other Languages: Sign Earth Common, Sign Common, Fire, Lightning, Water, Wind. Human/Fire Humans native from the fire country do not differ from the norm in sizes, but favor lighter-colored hair and tan more easily. Size: Medium. Humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Ability Modifiers: +2 Charisma, -2 Strength. Base Speed: 30 feet. Inspire Courage (Sp): The human/fire may inspire courage in all allies within 30 feet once per day.

As a swift action, he may grant himself and his allies a +1 morale bonus to attack rolls, saves and skill checks, and a +4 morale bonus to saves against fear effects for 1 minute or the duration of an encounter (whichever is shorter). This ability can be used twice per day at 10th level, and three times per day at 20th level. Skill Bonus: The human/fire gains a +1 racial bonus to Diplomacy and Gather Information checks. Saving Throw Bonus: The human/fire gains a +1 racial bonus to saves against fire-based attacks. Bonus Feat: Humans receive Simple Weapons Proficiency as a bonus feat. Elemental Affinity: Fire. Free Language Skills: Read/Write Common, Speak Common, Speak Fire. Other Languages: Sign Fire Common, Sign Common, Earth, Lightning, Water, Wind. Human/Lightning Humans native from the lightning country are generally short and stout, favor

Coins and Paper Money Will Soon Be Replaced by Credit and Bank Cards mba essay help: mba essay help

With the technological advancements in the banking system, nowadays people are presented with numerous ways of paying for purchases. It is often said that electronically operated banking cards will displace the use of paper money and coins. However, I don’t believe that modern payment methods will take over completely from traditional banknotes and coins.. There are various advantages of modern monetary exchange. Firstly, it is now increasingly common for people to shop online where they cannot use paper money and coins to pay.

Thus, people eventually embrace the modern method of payment to be able to participate in online commerce. Secondly, the security features of credit cards and online method of monetary exchange give authorities the capability of tracing the use of the cards. However, if the person carrying money is robbed then it is difficult to find out where the stolen money is used. Furthermore, the safety features of modern monetary exchange will be invaluable for people who want to keep their hard earned money safe.

Even though electronic cards have brought tremendous comforts and convenience to people, these can not entirely replace the traditional money exchange. Paper money and metal coins have long been used as a medium of exchange and a standard of value in almost all societies. Thus, traditional monetary system has a cultural, historical and social background that are impossible to change. Internet banking is not always fully secured. There are ample evidence of computer viruses, hackers and crimes.

Human have developed a certain emotional bonding with paper money and coins. Coin collectors for example will inevitably get hurt after entire replacement of traditional money and coins. In conclusion, modern monetary exchange has certainly benefited people by bringing convenience and avoiding certain problems from using paper money and coins. However, the entire replacement of traditional paying method by credit cards is only theoretical as the later cannot change the certain aspects of the paper money and coins.

Memorandum of Agreement a level english language essay help: a level english language essay help

WITNESSETH THAT: WHEREAS, that the Republic Act 9003 of 2000 mandates the City to promote, preserve and protect the health of its constituency by way of determining the manner of disposal and recycling of solid waste generated by the CITY residents; WHEREAS, that the CITY OF SAN PABLO, has the desire to Purchase a MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITY (“MRF”), ELECTRICAL LINE WIRINGS, WATER SYSTEM, ROOFED BUILDING and AUTO-SORTING MACHINERY with the contractor. WHEREAS, that the GREEN HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATION INC. for valuable consideration hereinafter specified, shall SUPPLY, FABRICATE, INSTALL AND OPERATE THE MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITY (“MRF”) and perform solid waste recycling and disposal services as contemplated herein; NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties have mutually agreed to be bound by the following terms and conditions, A. NATURE OF THE PROJECT: The primordial goal of the project is to promote, preserve and protect the health of the City’s constituents and its environment through an efficient way of waste disposal as mandated by Republic Act 9003 of 2000.

The project will be undertaken through the Purchase of the CITY of the MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITIES (“MRF”), ELECTRICAL LINE WIRINGS, WATER SYSTEM, ROOFED BUILDING and AUTO-SORTING MACHINERY to be Supplied, Install, and Operate scheme of the contractor, wherein the Contractor will provide a highly innovative approach in solving the City’s predicament in waste management and disposal through the introduction of a modern Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and other allied services. B. LOCATION OF THE MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITIES (MRF)

It is strategically located at Barangay San Ignacio, San Pablo City, with a approximate area of five hectares. C. DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE CONTRACTOR: B. 1. PROVISION OF MRF AND RELATED SERVICES: a. To supply one (1) lot of a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) that will be installed at the designated Service Area. The duly approved mechanical and technical specification of the MRF is hereto attached and marked as Annex “A”; b. To operate the MRF and provide Waste Recycling Services. These specific recycling services is detailed in Annex “B” hereof; c.

To provide Operational and Safety Training for all parties involved, both for the City and the Contractor; d. To rehabilitate the City’s existing old MRF. Rehabilitation cost will be paid by the CITY, and it will be considered operating cost deducted against the city. e. To provide qualified personnel such as drivers, mechanical, supervisory, clerical and other personnel that may be necessary to provide the Recycling Services in a safe, economical and efficient manner. The names, qualifications and other personal data of these personnel is detailed in Annex “C”, hereof.

The Contractor may, from time to time, change the list of personnel depending on the requirement of the MRF operations after considering the varying gravity of daily waste disposal f. To supply and install Electrical Line Wirings (from the MERALCO MAINLINE to the MRF Machineries), SUFFICIENT Water System, Roofed Building and Auto Sorting Machine. The mechanics and installation cost, will be paid by the CITY as agreed upon by both parties is detailed in Annex “D” hereof; g. To provide additional facilities, equipments and other machine to meet the increasing demand of the disposal of waste on the facility.

B. 2. MRF’S TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: a. To provide a five (5) days operation per week with a working hour of 8:00 am to 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. An overtime work rate will be charged. b. To prepare and submit a monthly report of the production and sales of the MRF to the CITY. c. To issue a TICKET with a corresponding amount of every truck load. The ticket will be purchase from the contractor. NO TICKET NO ENTRY will be strictly imposed. see ANNEX E; d. To implement the complete working outfit, uniforms, identification card, safety shoes, safety helmet during the working hours inside the MRF. e.

To issue company rules and regulation and company guidelines. B. 3. MRF’S OPERATIONS’ COSTS AND EXPENSES: a. The Contractor SHALL deduct the Operating Cost or all Expenses incurred during the operation of the MRF from the Gross Income on a monthly basis; b. The “CITY” shall reimburse “The CONTRACTOR” for all the costs and expenses incurred during the construction and installation of the Electrical line wirings, Water System facilities, Roofed Building and Auto Sorting Machine being constructed. Payment for this purpose shall be made within a period of one (1) year on a prorated monthly deduction on the monthly Gross Income.

Delivery by the Contractor of Electrical line wirings, Water System, Roofed Building and auto Sorting Machine shall be permitted to charge additional Service Fee. The Electrical Line Wirings, Water System, Roofed Building and Auto Sorting Machine, will remain the property of the Contractor, until the time “The City” is fully paid. B. 4. CONTRACTOR’S CONSULTANCY AND PERSONNEL: The Contractor, shall: a. That the contractor shall Assign Consultants and Qualified Personnel before and during the Operations. See detailed descriptions listed in ANNEX C; . That the contractor shall Process, dispose the Household Solid Waste material into Pellets, Fertilizer, and Hollow-Blocks using the supplied “Equipment”; c. Not later than the tenth (10th) day of each calendar month, the CITY will pay the Contractor’s Consultant, the list of which is hereto attached as Annex “C”. Provided, however, that the Contractor retains the right to change the name of designated Consultants from time to time, in order to accomplish its duties and responsibilities to the City.

Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Statement of Account issued by the Contractor, the City shall notify the Contractor of any dispute it may arise with respect to the Contractor’s Statement of Service Fees; D. DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE CITY: C. 1. PAYMENT OF MRF AND OTHER RELATED SERVICES: a. Upon the execution of this Agreement, the City shall pay the Contractor the amount of ____________________ (P___________) representing down payment of 50% from the total amount of the equipment (MRF) and a prorated monthly billing up till one(1) week before it’s delivery for the Contractors Fabrication, Delivery and Installation Cost; . Subsequent of the City payments will be based on the Contractor’s Prorated Billing of _____________________ (P___________) during the MRF’s construction and installation. c. The CITY must be able PAY IN FULL the total Cost of the MRF and settle all billings one (1) week before its delivery; d. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Statement of Account issued by the Contractor, the CITY will pay the Contractor all payables due with respect to the Contractor’s Statement of Account. e. The City will issue a PURCHASE ORDER after the signing of the Contract. f.

The City will pay on a prorated billing for the installation of: 1. Electrical Line Wirings (Meralco line connection from the main to the MRF), 2. Water System (water line from main to MRF) 3. Roofed Building (housing infrastructure) 4. Auto Sorting Machine Refer to Annex D g. The City shall purchase the vouchers or tickets from the Contractors assigned personnel for every entry of each truck load. See Annex E for the Cost of Tipping Fees and per Truck Capacity. h. Fabrication, construction Delivery and Installation shall be done by the Contractor. See details on ANNEX A.

C. 2 ON MRF OPERATIONS: a. The City shall deliver 50 trucks of solid waste per day which will start on the dry run in order to calculate the recycled output and projected income; b. Dry run shall start in three (3) months, couponing and ticket collection shall be imposed so that the contractor will be able to prepare the estimated projected income. c. The City under the engineering department shall provide sufficient payloader and trucks during the operation; d. The City shall assist additional manpower under the solid waste management of the City of San Pablo, Laguna. re-employment of old or previous employee which is subject for evaluation of the contractor); e. During the time that the Contractor is on the early stages the City will help the contractor in promoting and marketing the finish products through provision on mutual cooperation and bidding process; f. The City will provide perimeter fence around the assigned area of the MRF. g. The City is responsible for the expenses incurred during the training of personnel before the operation of the MRF. h.

The City will assign only a certified “BUY-BACK CENTER” a private entity or a non-government organization that will purchase or buy the “processed materials” or “finished product” like Firewood Pellets, Fertilizer, Hollow-Blocks, and Bricks. h. 1 In the event that there is no buyer for the finished products , the CITY will provide sufficient storage area. The Finished products will be considered SOLD and it will be reported as SALE of the “Contractor” which will be audited by the “Contractor” and “The City” in a monthly basis. C. 3 HAULING a.

The City shall be responsible for all the Hauling operations by providing equipment, vehicle, transportation, expenses and salaries and wages of the personnel. The Hauling personnel will be under the supervision of the CITY during the operation; b. The City will provide adequate security personnel on the area to secure the entry and the outgoing trucks. C. 4 PERMITS AND LICENSES a. The City shall help and provide all required government permits such as DENR permits, ECC, ETV, local permits and any permit and licenses required by other government agencies.

The City shall provide the Contractor all permits and licenses required by law or ordinance and maintain the same in full force and effect. The CITY shall likewise exempt the CONTRACTOR from payment of local taxes imposed by the City and other fees for regulatory purposes; C. 5 SECURITY a. The City shall provide adequate security personnel with a round the clock or twenty four hours operations within the perimeter area of the MRF. C. 6 ENDORSEMENT TO COOPERATIVES AND DIFFERENT MUNICIPALITIES a. PROVISION ON MUTUAL COOPERATION: The City shall provide this provision to the Contractor, because the CITY has all the potential buyers.

The City shall invite bidders for the sale of the FINISHED PRODUCTS, like cooperatives and other entity of the same industry. b. The City shall encourage other municipalities and cities to dispose their soild waste on our MRF, or make an endorsement. A proper Endorsement of Sanggunian Resolution may be made in order to increase sales and revenues of the CITY. D. FINISHED PRODUCTS D. 1 The main product of the Facility will be FIRE WOOD PELLETS. The “MRF” will also produce Organic Fertilizer, Hollow-Blocks and bricks. The Contractor has all the prerogative on how the MRF will operate;

D. 2 The City will provide and assign one “BUY-BACK-CENTER” through bidding process. However, a Provision on Mutual Cooperation shall be provided by the City. In the event that there is no assigned “BUY-BACK-CENTER”, The CITY will provide a sufficient storage area to all Finished Products, Recycled wastes, which they are considered sold; D. 3 The Contractor will be responsible for all the maintenance and repair of the MRF during the contract period. The City has the option to pay the extended warranty fees after the termination of the contract; D. The Contractor will provide a quarterly STATUS REPOR of operation to The City. The City and the Contractor is responsible of providing status reports to any Government Agencies; E. INCOME SHARING E. 1 The sharing is 50% to the Contractor and 50% to the City on the income derived from all revenues of the MRF. However, overhead expenses, administrative expenses and ongoing construction costs incurred by the Contractor such as the following: MERALCO electrical wirings with transformer of 450KVA ( from Main Line to “MRF Facility”), Roofed housing for the MRF, (estimated 1,540 sq. eters) Auto Sorting Machine and interest, Consultation fees, Inoculants, Transportation allowances, Office Supplies, Maintenance Cost and Consumables of the Equipment, Water and Electrical Billing, Salaries and Wages and Benefits will be deducted from the proceeds. E. 2 Estimated projected Income will be submitted after the three months dry run operations; E. 3 Contact Person – All business dealings, contacts, notices, and payments between the Contractor and the City shall be identified and designated by both parties.

The financial Statement herein mentioned shall be reported annually by the Contractor and submitted to the City on or before May 1, 2012 of each Contract Year commencing May of 2013. F. EXCLUSIVITY: F. 1 It is hereby expressly agreed, accepted and understood by the City that the Contractor shall provide exclusive solid waste Material Recovery Facility and disposal services within the area of San Pablo City, Laguna for the contract period of the project, specifically from April 1, 2012 until March 31, 2013 herein specified as the “Initial Term”.

Upon the expiration of the Initial Term, this Contract shall be automatically renewed for an additional two (2) years term specified as the “Renewal Term”. Both parties shall provide at least ninety (90) days period, a written notice to both parties of its intent to renew or not to renew the Contract before the expiration of the renewal Term. The City shall not enter into agreement with any other entity for Waste Recycling Services specified in this contract. F. 2 The Contractor shall have all the exclusive rights in receiving and operating the Solid Waste within the City of San Pablo.

G. SERVICE FEE AND OPERATIONAL EXPENSES ADJUSTMENTS G. 1 That the city willfully agrees, the contractor will increase tipping fee to augment in the increase in operational costs and expenses incurred by the Contractor as a result of a “Change In Law,” and Stipulation beyond the City’s Administrative and Electoral Term whether imposed retroactively or prospectively, that changes, modifies, and alters requirements upon: (i) performing the Recycling Services; or (ii) the operation of the applicable Facility, (iii) Processing Facility. H. UNDUE HARDSHIPS AND LOSSES

Contractor may provide a notice to the City that the expenses and other expenses beyond uncontrollable circumstances on the operation of the MRF are overly burdensome. Upon such notice, the CITY and the CONTRACTOR will negotiate in good faith to amend in a commercially reasonable manner how both parties will get a profit from the operations. Furthermore, if at any time after the first Contract Year the MRF is modified, The City and Contractor will agree to negotiate in good faith to modify and determine the possibilities for the good operation of the MRF. I.

NATURAL DISASTERS AND UNCONTROLLABLE CIRCUMSTANCES I. 1 NATURAL DISASTERS a. In the event of fire, hurricane, tornado, major storm, high winds or any ACTS OF GOD, the Contractor has no responsibility for any damages. The CITY will negotiate with the CONTRACTOR to assess the damages and submit to the city the report how much the total amount of the repair. The contractor will submit a quotation to the city. I. 2 UNCONTROLLABLE CIRCUMSTANCES a. The City or Contractor shall be considered to be not in Default of this Contract if delays or failure of performance, was due to Uncontrollable Circumstances.

The non- performing party shall give a written notice to other party describing the circumstances and the uncontrollable forces preventing continued performances of the obligations of this contract. J. TERMINATION OF SERVICE J. 1 The contractor have the right to suspend the operation of the MRF immediately, due to the non-compliance of the Duties and Responsibilities of the City and Exclusivity, the Contractor shall have the right to pursue all other rights and remedies available to the Contractor pursuant to this Contract.

K. DEFAULT OF CONTRACT K. 1 RIGHTS AND REMEDIES UPON DEFAULT If a party is in Default, at the option of the non-Defaulting party, this Contract may be immediately terminated or suspended upon written notice to the Defaulting party. The defaulting party has no any obligations caused by the default. This Contract may be continued in force and the non-Defaulting party shall have the right to negotiate again with the defaulting party and apply the rights and remedies for the benefit of both parties. K. EVENTS OF DEFAULT BY CONTRACTOR – The contractor is in default if there is a failure to comply with any material provision of this Contract. After a written notice from the City setting forth the specific provision and noncompliance, the notice shall be mailed to Contractor to its principal address of business by certified mail courier and return receipt requested. The City, upon notice to the Contractor and negotiation was held, for good cause, may declare this Contract forfeited and exclude the Contractor from further operation and shall thereupon surrender all rights in and under this Contract.

K. 3 EVENTS OF DEFAULT BY THE CITY The CITY is in default if a failure to perform obligations under the terms of this Contract or the Ordinance for the execution of this Contract, and the continuance of such failure after (i) written notice thereof has been provided by the Contractor, specifying such failure and requesting that such condition be remedied, and (ii) City’s failure to cure the Default. L. INDEPENDENCE OF PARTIES TO AGREEMENT

It is understood and agreed that nothing herein contained is intended or should be construed as in any way establishing a partnership relationship between the parties hereto, or as constituting the Contractor as the agent, representative or employee of the City for any purpose whatsoever. The Contractor is to be and shall remain an independent contractor with respect to all services performed under this Contract. M. CONSTRUCTION AND MODIFICATION This Contract is to be construed consistent with the Ordinance duly executed and approved by the “Sangguniang Panlungsod”.

Dove essay help: essay help

The advertising endorsement of this campaign was different from the normal advertising campaign in this industry. For example, Dove hired some normal or even slightly over-sized women instead of celebrities as their models to ask the pubic to define whether it is oversized or outstanding. As the matter of fact, this campaign successfully attracted the public attention but it still has certain potential risks. In that case, should the Unilever continue the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty?

My answer is positive but with certain reservations due to the fact that the campaign didn’t properly response the issue of culture differences in the global environment. In the following essay, I will analyse the situation and provide some suggestions to illustrate my point of view. SITUATIONAL DIAGNOSIS – Should Unilever continue the “Campaign for Real Beauty”? Nature of the Problem The Campaign for Real Beauty indeed achieved the brand awareness and broke people’s tradition definition of real beauty. However this campaign was controversial to the board of directors of Unilever.

From one hand, some people hold the view that this advertising campaign was effective due to the fact that it improved the sales volume of Dove product by increasing the public product awareness. From another hand, some other people argued that this advertising campaign would be too risky for Unilever to continue and suggested that it might receive negative outcome in Asian countries. Because the culture differences in various countries might cause the reverse definition of beauty. Here comes the conflict for the decision-making of Unilever to decide whether to continue this campaign. ADVANTAGES

From the Perspective of Public a) New technology changes the social value In the contemporary society, new technology, such as new media, plays an important role on reforming the value system of the public especially for the younger or middle generation. Dove utilised the new technology commercial channel and released this advertising campaign on YouTube. This new social media changes the social value by giving them questions on the topic of what is real beauty and generate discussions of the current trends of social value, for example, the interrelationship between parents and children. It generated volumes of discussion on chat rooms, with contributions on topics like anorexia and heartfelt interchanges between fathers and daughters. ” (Deighton, J 2008, p. 6) Therefore, the Unilever should continue the Dove Campaign of Real Beauty because the campaign is beneficial to the public in terms of positively changing the social value. b) Social Trends – New role of women Dove proposed the significance of the natural beauty and tried to change the way people view beauty by carrying out its advertisements. Dove’s mission is to make more women feel beautiful every day by broadening the narrow definition of beauty and inspiring them to take great care of themselves. ” (Deighton, J 2008, p. 4) Consequently, this campaign successfully motivated the women to increase their self-confidence and esteem and encouraged them to pay more attention to their outlook. It is advisable for Unilever to support this campaign from the perspective of public because it broke people’s stereotypical value of beauty and generated the new role of women which changes the self-expression value themselves in a positive way and rebuild the self-esteem for women.

From the Perspective of the Dove Company a) New technology improves the product awareness Social media has a huge number of audiences and it provides an effective tool to generate the public interest and boost the sales volume by increasing the product awareness of one company. Dove released this campaign on YouTube instead of the traditional way of carrying out the advertisements which was cost-effectively and functional-effective. “It was among the most downloaded commercials ever to appear on YouTube, and its popularity was the subject of considerable newspaper, radio and television coverage. (Deighton, J 2008, p. 6) Dove improved its brand popularity by using the new media channel which is one of the main reasons that the Unilever should continue the advertising campaign. b) Benefit The beauty and health industry has mass market. According to the survey, only 2% women considered themselves as beauty and more and more females become interested in applying for plastic surgery to change their outlook. The Dove Real Beauty Campaign increased the sale volume of Dove which was beneficial to the turnover of company. And the evidences are obvious according to the revenue growth of Dove Company. It computed that the brand had grown by $1. 2 billion. Much of the growth was attributable to its extension into personal care categories which could be credited to this campaign. ” (Deighton, J 2008, p. 7) As we all know, the interest of share holders is the priority for one company to consider when making the decision. Therefore, it is feasible for Unilever to continue the campaign for its own sake. DISADVANTAGES It is conceded that the Dove Real Beauty Campaign was effective and beneficial from the perspectives of both public and the company itself.

However, there are two main disadvantages of this campaign which might cause undesirable effect. And Unilever should fairly address these two factors before making any further decisions. a) Negative outcome in the Asian market The Campaign of Real Beauty successfully attracted their target customers and tried to give the public a broader definition of real beauty which reached their own expectation. The problem existed when Unilever launched this campaign all over the world. They neglected the issue of cultural differences and the different way of define beauty between Eastern and Western countries.

For example, a lady as the model of Dove might seem to be attractive from the view of people in the Western countries, because feminine beauty in Western countries, a plentiful body with tan skin is considered as a beautiful and sexy lady but it is surprisingly reversed in the Eastern countries. In the Asian countries, this lady might be definitely oversized. In Asian countries, such as China, they define the character of slim body and fair skin as feminine beauty. The model of this campaign might be not attractive from the view of Asian people which cause a negative outcome in the Asian market. b) Potential risk for Dove

Continuing the campaign might have potential risk for Unilever to some degree. The advertisement was criticized by some people for choosing some old or heavily freckled ladies as their super model. And some people viewed the models of Dove was too natural and not appealing. “Taking up the cudgels for reality is a risky strategy for Dove. The underlying idea is appealing; the difficulty is in how to express it. ” (Clegg, A 2005) And other example of the undesirable effect is that Dove sponsored the series “Ugly Betty” in order to improve their product awareness by telling the public that all the girls are beauty as long as you have confident.

However, it might ruin the impression of the brand value and lost their target customers if Dove became a brand only for the old, fat and heavily freckled ladies. SUGGESTIONS a) Continue this campaign It is suggested that Unilever should continue the Dove Real Beauty Campaign from the aspects of the public and the company itself. As mentioned above, this campaign used new technology advertising channel to change people’s social value in a positive way and improve the self-esteem for women which was beneficial to the public.

And for its own sake, this campaign improved the sales volumes which generate the avenue for the company by using this campaign to improve their product awareness. Therefore, Unilever should support this campaign and manage to achieve greater progress and win the larger market share in the health and beauty sector. b) Adjust the issue of Localization Localization is one of the essential issues to adapt to the external changeable environment. Dove should adjust the issue of cultural difference as the strategy of localization.

In order to better adapt to the Asian market, Dove should redesign its advertisement campaign and hire some slim lady with fair skin as their model to attract the Asian customers. “In spite of variation in the description of beauty, the marker of health and fertility – a small waist – has always been an invariant symbol of feminine beauty in Asian countries. “(Agence France-Press 2007) Therefore, Unilever should make adjustment on localization when launching this campaign. CONCLUSION To sum up, in my opinion, it is advisable for Unilever to continue the Dove Real Beauty Campaign.

Because it changed the social value positively and achieved satisfied profit for the company. Besides that, Unilever should also address the issue of cultural differences when launching this advertisement campaign. References: Agence France-Press (2007) ‘Beauty is defined as a waist” viewed 7th November 2012< http://www. cosmosmagazine. com/news/961/beauty-defined-a-waist> Clegg, A (2005) ‘Dove Gets Real’ viewed 7th November 2012 <http://w ww. brandchannel. com/features_effect. asp? pf_id=259> Deighton, J (2008) ‘Dove: Evolution of a Brand’ HBS 9-508-047, 25 March.

Management Information System of a Bus Company english essay help: english essay help

From its first invention which is known as “carriage” up to now Bus companies are still blending to the changing economy and responding to the needs and wants of its passengers. Management Information System is one of the new innovations of technology which is commonly used by most business firms and other institution. Bus companies also engaged in using Management Information System to its day-to-day operations. Applying systems and procedures to improve their services and making it effective and efficient for the benefit of the management and the valued passengers.

MIS helps operators in transmitting information while in the road, easy access in reporting incidents and making the operation easier than before. This study will show how Management Information System being utilized in a Bus Operating company. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM OF A BUS COMPANY MODEL 1 The sculpt shows the Processes and Actors involved in a Bus Company. TICKETING SYSTEM YSY Passenger FINANCE SYSTEM PAYROLL SYSTEM OPERATION SYSTEM Employee MAINTAINANCE AND REPAIR SYSTEM

HUMAN RESOURCE SYSTEM Bus Company composed of processes that affect the whole system of the operation of their services. The first process is the ticketing which involves the releasing of tickets to the passengers and where transaction scheduling is happening. Then, Finance process where allocating and disposing of funds occur, also the Payroll process in which the accounting and salary computation is being assessed and releasing of salaries with the connection of the third party which is the bank.

Operation process is one of the most important courses to this type of business because their services depend on how the management information system is being applied. Renewal and maintenance of facilities are being monitored and also updating the availability of their assets is part of the Maintenance and Repair process. Lastly, the Human Resource process where management of the most sensitive asset of a business happen which is the man labor. To further explain and understand the whole Bus company system Model II is presented with specific details. MODEL II

The following illustration elaborates the processes involved in the system to further show the whole operation of a Bus company. 2. 1 TICKETING SYSTEM OF A BUS COMPANY TICKETING Passenger ISSUANCE PAYMENT INSPECTION REMITTANCE Inspector Bus Conductor The identified actors in the ticketing system are the bus conductor, inspector and the passenger. Bus conductors has a range responsibilities of a bus operation, which include collecting fares, issuing ticket, helping passenger of their baggage, advising on destinations and ensuring the safety of passengers.

In the ticketing process the bus conductor will receive a ticket from the ticketing outlet of a bus company. The ticket will be issued to the passenger and it will return with the passenger then they will give the fair to the conductor and they will issue the ticket to the passenger’s correctly and the last process, the conductor will remit the money to the ticketing outlet of the bus company. 2. 2 PAYROLL SYSTEM OF A BUS COMPANY DTR REQUEST DTR in Charge Employee BOOKEEPING Book Keeper COMPUTATION Deduction Officer

RELEASING Bank Employee has a direct intervention to the process of DTR Request which is organized by the DTR in-charge of the man hour of employee, daily, bulk attendance and leave and other employee details so that it will be pass to the final form/list of employees to the bookkeeper which is in-charge of the bookkeeping process. The book keeper will itemized allotment of funds, time, and will budget the salary of employee, trial balance, and adjusting the accounts and keep detailed records of business transaction.

Bookkeeping process has a direct intervention to the bank. Book keeper goes to bank and transfer funds from the employee into the bank account of the recipient. After this process, next will be the computation process. Deduction officer will subtract all the employee expenditures that can be deducted from their salary and breakdown all employees claim. After computation process the salaried employees list will pass to releasing officer. Finally, the employee can claim his salary. 2. 3 FINANCE SYSTEM OF A BUS COMPANY BUDGETING Budgeting Officer

Accounting Clerk ACCOUNTING PROCUREMENT OF FUNDS Bank FINANCE & BANK ACCOUNTING Financial Manager Financial Analyst FINACIAL REPORTING Finance system involves processes that relates with the financial matters of a bus company. The processes include budgeting which is the first process of the system which the budgeting officer is in-charge of all the allocation of funds to different expenses then, accounting process which in this part the accounting clerk is responsible for relating the funds entries into the right figures.

After accounting the procurement of funds is the next to the flow which is headed by the financial officer and also he is involved to the finance and bank accounting in which the bank and the company has a mutual agreement in funding a proposed expense. When all those process have been done then, financial reporting takes place in which the financial analyst evaluate all the financial transaction have been made in a particular time. 2. 4 OPERATION SYSTEM OF A BUS COMPANY SCHEDULING Scheduler Passenger TICKETING Conductor DISPATCHING Dispatcher Operations Manager DRIVING TO LOCATION

Driver Bus operating system involves processes such as Scheduling where the scheduler is responsible for assisting the passenger in selecting the most convenient schedule for the passenger. Then, Ticket collecting will be the next process and the assigned officer is the conductor who’s responsible for collecting the tickets from the passengers upon entering the bus. When the bus has already reached its passenger capacity, the dispatcher takes place in dispatching the bus for travel. Lastly, the dispatcher gives the driver a signal to start the ride to the location.

In every process the Operating manager intervenes to the operating system where he is checking every process to their services to ensure that his people is doing their responsibilities and to make sure that their facilities are still working in accordance to its use. That is the typical flow of a bus operation system. 2. 5 MAINTAINANCE AND REPAIR SYSTEM REPLENISHING MAINTAINANCE Maintenance Personnel UPGRADES DIAGNOSTICS REPAIR Applying an appropriate MIS to the maintenance and repair system of a bus company makes all the operation manageable.

Through MIS it is easy to detect where the risk is coming from in which maintenance personnel is responsible for the physical condition of the tangible assets of the bus company. In this system the maintenance personnel must be dedicated to his job because the services of their business depend upon to how he took care of the utilities of the company. Replenishing, Upgrading and Diagnostics are the process involved in maintenance and repair system. 2. 6 HUMAN RESOURCE SYSTEM RECRUITMENT Human Resource Manager Training Manager UPDATING HUMAN RESOURCE RECEIVE REPORTS PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEEE APPRAISAL EVALUATION MONITORING

Human resource plays an integral part in operating the business. This system involves processes such as Recruitment where screening and interviewing the applicant if they are capable and deserving to the type of position they admire to have. Then, updating Human Resource is next in which the data’s from recruiting the employee are compared to how the he is doing to his assigned task. After that is Receiving Reports from the training manager in which he gets data’s from updating the feat of the employee. Appraisal of the employees Performance is next to the process to which reviewing the employees performance to his job is being done.

Next to Performance Employee Appraisal is evaluation where in the human resource manager will evaluate all the performance of the employee inside the operation and his behavior while at work. Lastly, monitoring the employee in his all day activity and observing if he is efficient and effective to his job. All of the processes are being intervened by the HR manager that he have to be careful in every steps he makes because HRM focuses on the most sensitive and critical assets in the company which are the employees . Case Study 1. Matters and information to be contained in the MIS of an accredited bus operator? Bus safety policy Bus Company must develop a safety policy which defines the safety aims and objectives of the organization. The policy articulates the organization’s commitment to risk management, the development of a positive safety culture and continuous safety improvement. The safety policy is reviewed every year by the management team. The review involves consultation with the Bus Company’s staff and any changes to the policy are submitted to the management team for approval. The safety policy is a controlled document, requiring the signature of the chief executive officer on behalf of the management team to take effect.

The safety policy is displayed at various prominent locations around the organization so it is available to staff, passengers and the public. * Governance and internal control arrangements Governance The management team of a Bus Company is made up of the following positions: * chief executive officer (CEO) * manager * Supervisor. The management team is elected annually at the Bus Company’s annual general meeting. The management team reviews its standards and procedures on a regular basis at its monthly meetings in order to monitor the effectiveness of document control processes as well as other issues. Another standard genda item at the committee meetings is the review of the risk register. The supervisor provides an update on the risk register at each meeting and aspects of the risk register are discussed by the management team. The manager provides the CEO and management team with appropriate safety information to assist them in their decision making. The management team is provided with copies of internal audits to give them sufficient knowledge about the level of compliance displayed by the organization. Internal control arrangements The responsibility for implementing and maintaining the MIS at a Bus Company has been given to the manager.

The overall management of operational safety is the responsibility of the supervisor, who has responsibility for applying risk management processes to maintain a safe operational and work environment. The major safety responsibilities and accountabilities within the Bus Company are set out in individual job descriptions. * Documented safety accountabilities and authorities Bus Company’s must have documented the job descriptions and safety relevant responsibilities for all job functions that complete bus safety work and had the position holder sign the document to signify they have read and understood their obligations. Bus safety worker competence Management team develops and regularly reviews position descriptions for all bus safety work. These reviews identify the competencies deemed necessary to ensure that persons undertaking the bus safety work have the knowledge, skills and experience to carry out their duties in a safe manner. All personnel hold safety qualifications and/or competencies appropriate for their positions and are regularly assessed for necessary competencies related to their work responsibilities.

Competencies and training requirements for bus safety workers are detailed in the training matrix with courseware, training materials, and assessment materials located in the training resources folder. Competency assessments are organized by the relevant managers and whenever possible, assessments are carried out using a registered training organization. In cases where there is no appropriate course available, assessments are carried out by people within the organization who have qualifications and/or experience in the field of expertise being assessed.

Records of training and records of qualifications and competencies are held in personnel files in a secure location. * Incident reporting and investigation The manager has familiarized himself with the reporting criteria, as described in the Bus Safety Regulations 2010 (Vic) and printed a copy of the relevant section, which he keeps in a folder in his briefcase. He has produced a bullet point checklist which describes what he must do should an incident occur and placed this in the folder. When the manager takes leave, he delegates the reporting responsibility to his assistant manager and gives him/her the folder.

Internal audits (a) Safety audit program The management committee is responsible for establishing and managing the annual audit program. Two levels of auditing may be undertaken: 1. Workers with relevant experience and knowledge of position responsibilities, but independent of the position being audited, carry out internal audits to ensure individuals who are assigned safety responsibilities are effectively carrying out their responsibilities. 2. Where appropriate, external auditors with relevant experience may carry out audits of specific MIS policies and procedures. Audits are conducted according to the audit procedure.

The manager is responsible for internal audit arrangements and for reviewing the risk register to make sure high risks are given priority. (b) Audit scheduling The management team prioritizes the audit program, taking into account various factors, including: * previous audit findings and recommendations * recent safety performance * status and importance of activities to be audited * scope of previous audit * Industry trends. The program is run on a financial year basis according to a prepared audit scope planner. This schedule may vary as a result of changes to audit priorities or if additional audit requirements are identified.

The audit schedule makes provision for all safety related activities to be audited at least once during every financial year. The audit program is monitored at meetings of the management team, which inspects the audit log to ensure audits are proceeding according to schedule. Annual audits are conducted to ensure the entire Management Information System is reviewed every year. (c) Audit reporting Audit findings are initially documented on an audit checklist and report form before being finalized on the audit report form with non-conformance/non-compliance report forms completed, as necessary.

The scope for annual independent audits includes the requirement to provide a written audit report. Audit reports are given to the manager and are reviewed at management team meetings until all corrective action items have been completed. Where findings from audits require urgent attention the manager can assign corrective action items to the relevant workers or arrange to convene a management team meeting to review the findings and assign action. 2. Importance of MIS to safety information communication of a bus company? * Safety information communication

To ensure the timely and effective communication of safety related information: * holds regular management team meetings and circulates the meeting minutes to all personnel * ensures that controlled copies of the MIS and all procedures and standards are readily accessible to personnel at relevant places throughout the business * regularly disseminates safety related information through regular newsletters * circulates safety bulletins to all operational staff when particular safety issues are identified, which may require an acknowledgement receipt to be returned * Uses electronic media, such as emails and the organization’s website, to disseminate information. If a bus operating company ensures that this information will be utilized in to their operating process is also having an assurance that their passengers are riding in with the safe hands. Efficient and effective way of serving people reflects to the feedback that would surely affect the whole operating process in the safety information process of a bus company. 3. What is the common management information process of a credited bus company? Information management process (a) Document identification Controlled documents are allocated a unique identification number. Where there is more than one copy of a controlled document these are numbered in sequence. (b) Document registration and storage A document register is kept in the manager’s office and includes the following information as a minimum: * unique document number * title of document, standard, procedure or form * person responsible for maintaining document * issue date * document status, for example, draft, revision number, superseded or obsolete * risk register cross reference, where appropriate * retention period * Disposal protocol.

The safety records retention schedule lists the records to be retained, how long these are to be retained and the name of the manager or supervisor who is responsible for monitoring storage and retention. Hard copy records are kept in the manager’s office for the required period and then either retained or destroyed and the safety records retention schedule updated accordingly. Documents are securely stored to guard against the risk of loss through deterioration or damage. Electronic records are backed up. Back-up records are kept secure at a location remote from the main office, where the master records are kept. (c) Document and data approval and issue

The manager reviews and approves all new and amended bus safety documents before they are issued. The manager records that review and approval has taken place by signing the relevant column of the document control form at the front of each master control document. The identity of individual holders of manuals and procedures is recorded on the document control form at the front of each controlled master copy. The manager distributes controlled documents by hand to each person on the document distribution list for storage in agreed locations, for example, workshop, and company office. The manager removes obsolete documents and then updates the document register to indicate the current status of each document. (d) Document changes

The relevant supervisors are responsible for issuing any amendments to the documents for which they have responsibility to the manager for inclusion in controlled manuals and for distribution to workers as appropriate. Amendments to documents are identified by the inclusion of a vertical line in the margin against each paragraph containing current changes in the revised version. When subsequent amendments are required the vertical lines against the previous amendments are deleted and new vertical lines included against the current changes. Any amendments to bus safety documents are reviewed and approved by the management team. 4. How do a Bus Company Established Customer needs regarding to the improvements of their travel services?

There are numbers of factors to be considered in establishing the passenger needs. Determining what it is that customers actually want in terms of passenger information and the overall journey experience. Identifying the passenger profile and how information needs and expectations change depending on day, date and time. Reviewing strategies that have been implemented for engaging with the customer and enhancing experience based on an understanding of their needs. Also, highlighting the ongoing strategy for coping up with changing customer preferences and expectations is also being measured to. Determining what information passengers actually want, need and expect to improve the entire journey experience.

Reviewing the different mediums that are used to engage with passengers to extract useful and useable data about their expectations Exploring passenger information services and initiatives that have been implemented based on an understanding of customer needs. Revealing current view of customer expectations regarding information is one of the measurement in establishing costumer needs. 5. Why there is a need to improve and develop manual transaction processing into MIS processing conforming service quality to passengers? Bus Company now a day is also using high definition technology for their advantage in giving efficient and effective services for their valued passengers.

In developing manual transaction to new technology system which is the Management Information system which denotes that the company is responding well to the needs and wants of the passengers. Modern businesses have been leveraging management information systems (MIS) to manage order, organize and manipulate the gigabytes and masses of information generated for various purposes. MIS helps businesses optimize business processes, address information needs of employees and various stakeholders and take informed strategic decisions. However, budget allocation and monitoring issues can affect the efficacy of MIS. MIS have changed the dynamics of running businesses efficiently.

Decentralization is one of the biggest advantages; it allows monitoring of operations at low levels and frees up resources for departmental managers to devote time to strategic activities. Coordination of specialized projects and activities is much better and decision makers in the organization are aware of issues and problems in all departments. Webliography http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Bus http://www. transforming-passenger-information. com/3/agenda/23/agenda/ http://www. ehow. com/about_5494879_advantages-disadvantages-informationmanagement-systems. html http://www. transportsafety. vic. gov. au http://www. designforsuccess. co. uk/infotec/index. php? page=bus-2 http://www. journal. univagora. ro/download/pdf/138. pdf http://management. about. com

K12 Program argumentative essay help online: argumentative essay help online

There is also the dramatic framework set up by Northrop Frye, Hayden White and others: * Spring/Comedy/Conservative/Hero succeeds in reforming a corrupt society of some kind and in romance and/or other personal endeavors–the story line is considered conservative because it suggests that our society is basically all right, at the core, although individual injustices must be met and defeated (and that this can be done through wit and the uncovering of hypocrisy and vanity rather than through action, particularly radical and violent action). Summer/Romance/Anarchistic/Hero abandons or fails to reform a corrupt society but succeeds in romance; the genre is considered anarchistic because it presumes that victory can only take place on the level of personal success or failure; often, the best way to deal with a corrupt society is to simply go away, to escape and create one’s own society. * Autumn/Tragedy/Radical/Hero restores order but is destroyed or endures personal loss because of it; the genre is considered radical because it suggests that changes in society can be made, should be made, must be made with action, and must be made even at great personal cost. Winter/Satire/Liberal/Hero neither restores order nor succeeds in personal goals; often, the hero is as corrupt as the society he would, in other genres, be attempting to reform, or he becomes corrupt in his attempt to create reform; the genre is consider “liberal” because it suggests that political change is a myth, that no change in the system will produce fundamental changes in society–although perhaps we can achieve small victories by living well–but we must accept an “I’m okay, you’re okay” attitude about things and accept that heroic plans to make big changes are doomed to failure.

It is important, by the way, to keep the political aspect of literature in mind. Nothing is more political than literature, even when it does not overtly makes an argument about a particular political issue, because so much of literature is concerned with power and morality, about what is true, good, and possible, about what is just and beautiful, about who has power and who should have power in society and in the family, and how that power should be employed, and for what ends.

It is hard to find a work of literature that does not ask us to join with or join against certain characters (or the narrator); in doing this, a work of literature becomes an argument for (or against) a particular political, ethical, social, and/or moral agenda.

Another idea is that of the text as verbal object, as self-contained universe of verbal logic, whose artistic impact comes not so much from the ideas themselves but from how those ideas and characters operate as a self-contained system, in the way that a symphony is not so much about tone but about structures of tones, and the way a sculpture is not so much about image as about the cooperation of many images to create a single effect. 2. Questions of motifs and symbols Motifs are another important aspect of fictional form. Images or themes may e repeated or, as often occurs in music, employed as a series of variations on a central image or theme. As in cluster criticism, the use may not have to refer to any meaning outside the text, although in some cases this is of central importance to the meaning and impact of the text, but it is always true that they create a sense of connection between different aspects or moments in the text itself. For example, if we know that roses are important to the hero, any use of roses or rose imagery may be a sign of this kind of connection. Symbols are, of course, a central aspect of literature.

Anything that is not literally what it is, that may have some hidden meaning or meanings, can be a symbol. Symbols, of course, can be used to create a resonance or connection of meaning(s) throughout the text through repetition and variation. 3. Questions of character One of the most important issues in literature is that of character. After all, one of the main reasons we enjoy and think about literature is because we are interested in the fictional people who inhabit the invented worlds we visit when we read or watch stories, plays, films, etc.

It is not unusual to become emotionally invested in certain characters (and this often says as much about who we are as it does about the characters themselves). We often need to consider who the characters are and what kinds of characters they are: hero, anti-hero, protagonist, villain, antagonist, heroine, main character, secondary or minor or supporting character, etc. In short, we need to consider the role each character plays in the story. How do they affect the action of the story and what is the author trying to say with these characters?

In addition, one can consider the depth of character development. Often you will have archetypal or stock characters: virginal heroine, innocent child, ambitious general, fallen woman who tempts the hero, etc. Some stock characters are tied to certain genres. More modern works usually try to develop characters in far greater psychological depth; it is seen as a sign of good writing that the characters are more than stock figures but fully realized individuals. (A heroine can still be virginal, and often is, but she should be a particular virginal heroine, an individual rather than a mere type. Of course, some stories deliberately draw upon stock characters and then do something different with them, such as a noble cowboy who is treated as a comic figure because he is also dumb as a rock. Another issue is the role of secondary characters and their relationship with the main characters. Often, secondary characters are used to complement the main characters or to contrast with them in some way. A system outlined by Northrop Frye–see Anatomy of Criticism, pages 172-173–has four basic character types… The first is the eiron (the self-deprecator).

There are several kinds of eirons, including the neutral hero and/or heroine and the witty side-kick (originally in Roman drama, this was a tricky slave–if you’ve seen Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein you get the idea) Other types of characters in Frye’s discussion of drama (which can probably cross over to fiction some- what) are: * the alazon (the blocking force, often a hypocritical boaster, and sometimes a father figure in competition with the hero for the girl (Frye points out that comedies often combine both sexual and political triumphs: boy saves world and gets girl) * the buffoon (who increases the festivity of the mood rather than contributing to the story) * the churl (sometimes a straight man, often a naive rustic, sometimes simply someone who refuses to enter into the cheerful spirit of events) We should always consider how a character fits into a story, how they further the plot, what the author might be trying to teach us by including certain characters. We may also want to examine whether characters are fully developed and “three dimensional,” stock character types (“the brash soldier,” “the stoic gunslinger,” “the sage,” “the virginal princess,” etc. , or entirely symbolic or allegorical. Sometimes authors use deliberately complicated characters–the character who suddenly does the reverse of what we expect to draw attention to the whole notion of stereotypes and stock characters (e. g. , the virginal princess who is also a better shot than the hero). In addition, one should consider how “public” or “private” a view we have of the characters–do we only see what they do and say, or do we get a chance to see what they think and feel, too? 4. Questions of style Style is one of those fuzzy terms that can mean a lot of things. It is, however, worth considering the actual diction, syntax, and presentation of the text.

This can cover an enormous range of textual features, including the length and complexity of sentences, the variation of sentence forms, the relative degree of abstract or concrete language employed by the text, the use of images, the length of paragraphs, pacing, the division of the text in chapters or sections, even the physical layout and production values of the text (the size and font of the typeface, the quality of paper used, etc. ), although this last may be outside the control of the author. All of these factors can influence how we experience the text, how realistic we find the story, how we view the characters and their actions, and so on. 5.

Questions of genre (“definition”) Genre literally means “kind” or “class. ” Almost every text can be described as belonging to one or more genres; the few texts–if any exist–that are unclassifiable can still be approached based on the genres to which they may be responses (including rejections). Genres are useful to readers and critics because every genre establishes a set of guidelines, expectations, etc. , about the text’s form, content, goal, people who are allowed to create such texts in the first place, people who are supposed to read the text once it is completed, how important the text is, what themes might be explored in the text, and so on.

Some basic questions include the following: What makes this a “novel,” as opposed to some other form, like a novelette, an epic, a drama, a ballad poem (in prose form), and so on? What makes this a certain kind of novel, e. g. , historical, western, science fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery, etc.? Is the essential dramatic quality of the story comedic, tragic, romantic, or satiric? Another issue is whether the genre is one that uusally (although not always) treats the subject seriously–tragedy, drama, epic, horror, romantic tales, hard science fiction, some kinds of comedy, etc. –or which is deliberately absurd, humorous, and/or unrealistic–parody, some types of satire, etc.

Of course, with genre, it is always important to remember that some stories fit perfectly into one genre or another, while others are not so easily categorized because they seem to fit into more than one genre or violate some of the expected conventions of their genre, and some deliberately blur the boundaries between genres, levels of realism, etc. because the author is trying to make a point of some kind. 6. Questions of universals One approach to literature is that it addresses universal questions of human experience. Some critics argue that what makes a text literature, the reason it stands the test of time, is that it addresses issues that are of common concern to all (or, at least, most) human beings. Some of these questions might be classified as considering “What is the human experience? What does it really mean to be alive and to be human? What does it mean to grow from childhood into adulthood, and to grow old and face death? What does it mean to be in love? What are the universal experiences that are generally true for all people in all times? A related set of questions often explored in literature might come under the heading of “What is the meaning of life? ” Why are we here? What does it all mean? What is a good life and how shall we live it? What does God (or the gods, nature, the universe, etc. ) ask of us? 7. Questions of morality (or ethics) (“Is it good art? “) Many critics believe that literature must have a moral or ethical component.

Samuel Johnson was concerned about the new genre of the novel in the 18th century because he was concerned about it being a bad moral influence. He and other writers believed that true art “instructs while pleasing. ” John Gardner believed that literature, real art, should present “valid models for imitation, eternal verities worth keeping in mind, and a benevolent vision of the possible which can inspire and incite human beings toward virtue, towards life affirmation as opposed to destruction or indifference. ” (Three of the most common of these “eternal verities,” discussed by various critics as the central aims and subjects of art, are Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. What those terms mean are, of course, open to interpretation. Like Johnson, he says, and I believe both of these authors are right, that “Art instructs. ” This is, I think a central issue. Books are not responsible for making us better people. We are responsible for making us better people. But authors, through their books–and songwriters through their songs and directors through their films and so on–might be considered responsible for giving good advice. One of the most important things the arts can do is to help us live a good life. Literature cannot force us to be something, we are ultimately responsible for who we are and what we do, but literature and other forms of art can guide us and advise us and steer us towards certain beliefs and certain choices.

In fact, that might be a good definition of literature: literature is good advice given in a compelling way. To what extent does the text teach, and what does it teach, and do you believe it is a good thing that the text is teaching these ideas? Why or why not? (Often, questions about what is erotic or pornographic are based on this notion. ) It is worth mentioning that art may be able to teach “by accident. ” Often, a writer or a director has a message they want to send; they are trying to teach a specific idea or lesson. However, in some cases, the author or director is only trying to tell a good story. Their main goal is simply to enterain.

Regardless of intent, storytellers frequently rely on standard characters (the stalwart hero, the femme fatale, the eccentric genius, the sleezy politicisan, etc. ) and plot elements (the great man with a secret, the pretty girl in danger, etc. ). These things are often used for no other reason than that they “feel right” to the storyteller and/or allow the storyteller to create tension, provide the hero with an obstacle, etc. However, in doing this, storytellers may still be teaching… after all, through the reptition of common or stock story elements, they may be reinforcing existing beliefs (some valid, some not) about good and evil, gender roles, our rights and responsibilities as human beings or as members of a society, and so on.

In short, even when the story was created only to entertain, the author, director, etc. retains some responsibility to make sure they are not giving “bad advice. ” Literature can usually be examined in terms of good and evil. Each work of literature is usually an argument, explicit or implicit, in favor of certain kinds of thinking and certain kinds of behavior, and as an argument against other kinds of thinking and behavior. I suppose one way of thinking about this is that a work can be examined (and perhaps praised or condemned) not on the basis of whether or not it makes people better, but rather on the basis of what kind of advice it gives people and how well it gives that advice.

It is, in my opinion, ridiculous to judge a work on whether or not it makes people better. Books are not responsible for making us better people; we are responsible for making ourselves better people. Authors may be able to help by giving good, life-affirming advice, but it is then the responsibility of the reader to first decide if that advice is appropriate to his or her situation (not all good advice is good for all people and/or good all the time) and, if it is, to then follow that advice. This is another question that has become more important for me as a teacher of literature over time. Edmund Burke is reputed to have said that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Sometimes the best way to fight evil is to simply tell people why they should not do something or how to make up for what they have done wrong. As an example, Rabbi Hillel is reputed to have said, when asked about the meaning of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), “What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. ” Sometimes the best way to give good advice is to explore the nature of evil, to show us what not to do and what not to be. And examining how literature treats evil can be a rich area for discussion (or, as I like to tell my students, “Evil is a many-splendored thing. “) What is evil?

How is “evil” different from “sinful” or “naughty” or “failing to be as good as one should be” and so on? What kinds of evil exist in the world? What makes something or someone evil? What might cause an otherwise good person to behave in an evil manner? How should we respond when others do evil to us? Can some kinds of evil be excused or forgiven? If someone does evil, is it possible for them to redeem themselves, and, if so, what must they do? 8. Questions of heroism, villainy, and monstrosity Literature often asks questions like these: Who are the heroic figures and why? What is the author trying to say about the nature of humanity and heroism that these people are the heroic figures? How heroic is the protagonist? The antagonist?

What is the author trying to say by using heroic and unheroic figures in these positions within the story? Who are the villainous figures and what makes them villainous? Who are the anti-heroic figures? What makes them anti-heroic? Is it simply a quality of being somehow ordinary, normal, etc.? Finally, literature examines questions of the normal and the abnormal, and asks: Who are the monstrous figures? What makes them monstrous or grotesque (as opposed to “evil”)? The “monster” is often used to address such questions as “What does it mean to be human? ” and “What makes something or someone a monster? ” Replace the term “monster” with “foreigner” or “outsider” and you have an entirely new set of questions.

Often, of course, stories that involve monsters suggest that the “monsters” may be more human than they appear; some of them also suggest that someone who looks like a perfectly ordinary person (or a hero) might be far more monstrous than a creature or person who is simply strange or ugly. Fantasy, science fiction, and horror are often concerned with this last issue. Examining the “other” (monster,alien, immortal, ghost, etc. ) is often a way to address certain aspects of being human. In addition, horror as agenre is frequently concerned with examining the relationship between the normal and the abnormal, the wholesome and the taboo, etc. In fact, horror often frightens or disturbs us not only by putting certain characters in danger, but by blurring or violating the boundaries between the normal and the abnormal, etc. For more on this, see the works of critics like Marie-Helene Huet and Barbara Creed. ) 9. Questions of power In recent years, I have come to rely more and more on the issues related to this question. Cicero’s “On Duties” and “On Friendship” are important works for many reasons, but I think one of them is that they identify two of the critical issues explored in literature. The first is the issue of power.? Human relationships are often hierarchical; some people have power of some kind over other people. It may be because they are kings, or parents, or employers, or landowners, or teachers, or officers, or some other kind of political or community leader. What does it mean to be a leader? What makes a leader a good leader?

What are the rights and the obligations of a leader? The other side of the question is what are the rights and obligations of someone who is ruled or commanded or guided or protected? What makes a good child, a good subject, a good soldier, a good community member, and so on? 10. Questions of relationship Another issue addressed by Cicero and other writers is one of friendship. Human societies are full of relationships where people are not connected by power, but by some kind of kinship or friendship. What is a good friend? A good brother? A good wife? A good husband? How should we treat those to whom we are related not by power, but by affection, by kinship, by friendship, or by marriage? 11.

Questions of reality and depiction (“mimetic criticism” and other issues) One approach to literature is the relationship between art and the real world, between “art” and “truth. ” A great deal has been written about whether or not art should be “truthful” or not, whether realism is the real measure of art, or if art is more “real” than reality because it allows us to see the essence of things that we can only experience in terms of material or social aspects. Some critics have recommended that writers use “nature” as their guide, that the stories and characters they invented must be plausible or “true to life. ” Many writers believe that literature should try to be as realistic as possible, to try to record and express (or perhaps to “capture”) real life in verbal form.

Of course, some writers turn this question on its head and deliberately write stories or poems or plays that are not “realistic. ” Sometimes they are doing this to explore some kind of symbolism or to explore what they think an experience like passionate love or drug addiction or dreaming might be like. Sometimes they do this to draw attention to the relationship between art and real life, to show that while they are related, they may not be exactly the same thing. Some questions that might be considered are as follows: What view of the world is being presented in the text? How “realistic” is the text and why do we believe it to be realistic? How does the style and arrangement of the text serve to create or destroy a sense of “realism,” “surrealism,” etc.?

Another issue is to consider if and how the text calls attention to its existence as a text, rather than text that pretends to be a literal translation of reality into a linguistic structure. 12. Questions of narration and silence (“viewpoint”) Every story is narrated. Someone, whether it is one of the characters in the story, or an unseen narrator, or the point of view provided by a film’s director, is relating the events of the tale to us, letting us experience those events in one particular way, while blocking out other viewpoints. This blocking out of alternatives is usually not malicious, although authors are frequently aware of the significance of having the story told from one point of view and not another.

Ultimately, the choice of one narrator over another is unavoidable; there is no way for a single narrator or author to present the totality of everything that takes place in a story, but we need to be aware that every story can be told in an infinite number of ways. Some of the questions one can consider are as follows: Who is telling the story and how does that influence how the story gets told? What kind of narrative techniques are being used and how does that influence the way the story is told? Who is not getting to speak and how does that influence how we view the story and the ideas it contains? Whose point of view is being valorized? Whose point of view is being silenced? 13.

Questions of change (“process, history, and relationship with text”) Novels and dramas are dynamic forms of literature; almost always, the action described by a novel or a play takes place over a period of time and describes some kind of change. So we can look at the following: How does the plot develop? We are used to the traditional description of plot as one of introduction, crisis, climax, and anticlimax or conclusion (although in some non-Western societies we do not see this kind of development, suggesting a more spatial/static relationship with the world rather than the dynamic/process/progress/change-oriented relationship common in Western societies). How do things change in the novel. In particular, how do people change? As I mentioned earlier, Orson Scott Card has said his main character s always “the person in the most pain” and implied that the story is not over until that pain is somehow resolved. (Gardner talks about writing as a response to woundedness. ) Who or what is responsible for the changes that take place? Another issue is that we are involved in a relationship with the text. Consider the very process of your reading of the text. How have you changed (in knowledge, attitude, etc. ), if you have changed, during the course of reading the text, and now, afterwards, having finished it? 14. Questions of rhetoric (“rhetorical criticism”) Every text can be treated as an argument, explicit or implicit, for certain things.

The author wants us to believe certain things or do certain things. The author wants us to feel certain things about certain characters. The author wants us to experience the ideas and themes of the story in a certain way. How does all this happen? How does the text operate as an explicit or implicit argument for a certain agenda? What is the author trying to prove and how does he or she go about proving it? How successful is the text as an explicit or implicit argument? Why does it succeed (or fail)? A related issue is text as semiotic–how does it go about communicating its meaning to the audience? How does it operate as or within a system of symbols?

One can also adapt the classical treatment of rhetoric to literature, examining the text as a kind of persuasive speech and exploring the three types of Aristotelian arguments: A Ethos: Who is the “narrator” and why do we trust both the narrator and mode of presentation? What relationship is established between text/narrator and audience? Logos: What ideas are established and how are they established, implied, or proved? Pathos: How does the author (through the narrator and/or the events of the text) appeal to the audience’s values or emotions? Why is this done? What does the author hope to accomplish by doing this? How does it help in her attempt to persuade the audience? Kenneth’s Burke pentad and notion of identification are also valuable for considering how a text might attempt to persuade or argue with an audience.

What kind of dramatic structures are being set up in the text, what is being identified with what, and for what purpose? Finally, one can consider how a text might influence an audience in ways the author may not have originally intended (for example, do slasher films encourage violence towards women? if so, how? ) 15. Questions of race, gender, and class (“multicultural, feminist, and Marxist criticism”) This is a cluster of questions related to the views of the author and the possible influence of the text on topics concerning power and relationships between different groups of people in society. What does the text say about masculine and feminine roles in society? What does the text say about the relationship between races and the concept of race?

What does the text say about working class people, “white collar” workers, bosses and laborers, masters and slaves, the relationship between classes, and the very concept of class? 16. Questions of tradition, culture, and canon? Every text can be considered in relationship with a canon, a hierarchy of works that are considered the core of a genre, either because of their quality, or originality, or influence, or representativeness. Those most central to the canon are those which represent the best in what that culture or discourse community considers best and most beautiful among a certain set of texts; they reflect ideological assumptions about a genre or a set of genres.

What place does any specific text have within that hierarchy? Is it primary, secondary, minor, marginal, or outside the canon? A related question is how a text fits within a tradition or genealogy. One way of looking at this is to consider that texts are responses not only to the real world, but also to other texts which they imitate, draw upon, react to, refer to, and so on. In other words, texts have meaning to us because we have read other texts, so the relationship, implied or explicit between a text and other texts, in or out of its own genre, is worth exploring. For example, how does our concept of Frankenstein’s monster affect our reaction to the monster in Grendel?

In short, how does the writer refer to and draw upon (and perhaps even comment on) other stories, myths, etc. in his own stories? Another way of looking at this issue is to ask what literary or aesthetic or rhetorical traditions the text belongs to and how it fits into those traditions. What does it mean, for example, to say that a novelist has written an “absurdist play” or a “picaresque novel”? One can argue whether or not tradition is another name for “genre,” but it is sometimes useful to treat the two issues as separate 17. Questions of culture (“cultural criticism”) What does the text tell us, either directly or by implication, about the society in which it was composed or the audiences for whom it was intended?

Ideology here refers to the underlying assumptions about what is true, good, and possible (and the opposite: what is false, bad, and impossible) used by individuals or groups. All people and all groups have some kind of ideology, although certain ideologies are more flexible than others. In addition, ideologies are often “invisible,” the assumptions are so basic to our understanding of reality that we are not aware of them or, if we are aware of them, never think of questioning them. Regardless of what the text seems to say on the surface, what appear to be the ideological assumptions that the text is based upon? What can we say about the community in which the text was originally written? What can we say about the community for which the text was written? Authors who write for “the universal audience” still have some assumptions about what that audience is and what they expect, and will write in reaction to these assumptions. ) The image we might use here is the text as a window onto the lives and minds of a particular culture. Finally, it is worth asking how a text relates to the culture in which and for which it was produced. How is a text typical (or atypical) not only of a genre, but of a historical period and locale. For example, to say that James Joyce is a “modern Irish writer” tells us something about him, just as to say that Joyce was an “experimental novelist” also tells us something.

What exactly does it mean to say that a writer is typical of a certain period, geographical location, etc.? (The term “community” or “culture” can refer to any group of people who share a set of assumptions about the true, the good, and the possible. Many critics and philosophers use the term “discourse community” to discuss some of these issues.? This is based on two notions.? First, they believe that all communities are discourse communities since people can only operate as groups through the use of language and texts in the first place–as I recall, Cicero made this argument about two thousand years ago.? Second, the word ? community? sometimes implies a specific time and place.?

However, as the Internet has shown, a community can bevirtual; it can consist entirely of words and ideas and feelings and arguments shared by and between people who might never physically meet. )? 18. Questions of Critical Approach There are a variety of specific critical approaches that provide ways of approaching literature. One of these is what is sometimes called Burkean approaches to literature, drawing upon the theories of Kenneth Burke.? This includes the notion of form as the arousal and fulfillment of expectations (from Kenneth Burke). What expectations does the text create and how does it ultimately fulfill them, if it does indeed do so? We can also employ a tool referred to as the Pentad.

Developed by Kenneth Burke, the Pentad addresses any dramatic (or fictional) work in terms of looking at any action within the text as a combination of agent, agency, act, purpose, and scene (Who did it? By what means? What did he or she do? Why? Where and when? ) See A Grammar of Motives (and, also, A Rhetoric of Motives) for more information. One important aspect of the pentad is that by breaking the fiction down into its dramatistic elements, we can see which ones are most important to an author (for example, if circumstances drive a character to certain actions, if “scene” and not “agent” or “purpose” determines the “act,” then this tells us something about the way the author views and is portraying reality. ) In addition, Burke talks about “identification,” by which he means how one thing is associated (or identified) with other things.

This is useful in determining how the author creates certain effects or feelings in the audience–repeated images of life are used to describe books in Fahrenheit 451, for example, identifying books (and their ideas) with life and living things, a symbol that works on several levels (books and ideas are the “life” of a society, ideas are “alive,” books are not simply dead pieces of paper and cardboard but are living things because of the ideas contained within them). Related to all this is another form of criticism designed by Burke called cluster criticism. Here, one looks for clusters of terms, themes, and images and attempts to outline the network of connections between them.

They need not really refer to the meanings of these ideas outside of the text, what matters is that within the text they are creating their own interlocked system of meanings. Another approach is use the text as a way of understanding the author (usually because the author is seen as a kind of ? wisdom figure? or because he or she is seen as having a coherent philosophy about one or more issues or concepts).? What can we learn about the author’s views by examining the text? What is the author trying to say about the nature of heroism, beauty, truth, reality, justice, etc. in this text? How is the text typical or atypical of a particular author’s works, viewpoints, etc. How does it show his or her growth or progress as an author? Finally, many critics are interested in the metatextual aspects of a piece of art.

Modern linguistic theory argues that linguistic meaning takes place within the “free play between signifiers,” that words are meaningful not only because they refer to something in the world, but because of their place in the enormous network of meaning that is a language. In fact, words have meaning because of their difference from other meanings. But if this is true, if there is no “center of language,” no final anchor of meaning, texts can be approached by asking how the meaning of the text deconstructs itself through the internal contradictions created by assuming any final structure of language or meaning. 19. Questions of comparison and contrast This is one of the easiest and broadest of all the questions. Quite simply, one should consider how any one particular work is similar to or different from any other work.

Often, it is by comparing one work with another that the unique features of both works will come into sharp focus. Because this is such a broad question, however, it is often useful to compare the work in question with another work that you are familiar with, and to combine it with other questions from this list, but only one question at a time. For example, one can explore how the Hero in Shakespeare’s Henry V differs from Dorimant, the protagonist in the Restoration comedy, The Man of Mode. Or, one can consider the treatment of evil in Frankenstein, as compared to the treatment of evil in To Kill a Mockingbird. 20. Questions of reaction (“reader response”)

One of the new theories of criticism is based on the very real factor that we do not simply passively absorb experiences; instead, what we experience as reality is mediated, the raw sensory experience goes through several filters (sensory, linguistic, cultural, etc. ) and our own personal desires, quirks, interests, memories, etc. , operate upon the information to construct what we think reality is. Reading is, under this view, not a simple communication of data; we are as responsible for what we see in the text as the writer who originally transmitted the information. We are all translators. In other words, we not only receive the information, but participate in constructing our understanding of what we have read. For this reason, all individual reactions to the text are potentially valuable. And, although the “affective fallacy” (a term invented by W. K.

Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley) reminds us that our own emotional reactions to a text do not automatically prove anything about it, I would argue that these reactions (e. g. , enjoying a movie, hating a character, wanting a story to have a certain outcome, being shocked or confused by a certain method of storytelling, etc. ) can be a very good place to start. What do you personally think about the text? What do you find in it? Why do you feel this way? Your view is as important as any other critic; the only difference between you and the so-called professional critics is often nothing more than that they took a lot more English courses than you have and, as a result, have somewhat more experience (i. e. , they have developed their own system for looking at texts).

Michael Porter: Operations Strategy At 7 Days Inn college admission essay help: college admission essay help

Days Inn Case Analysis Questions 1. Based on Michel Porter’s views on operations strategy, please analyze how 7 Days Inn obtains competitive advantages by determining the portfolio of services through the vertical cutting approach. The traditional situation in hotel industry is that, the more you pay, the higher quality you get. But actually, most of the businessman just needs a comfortable bed and a hot water in bath. The vertical cutting approaches make this available and the price is lower than the traditional hotel.

With this strategy, 7 Days Inn obtains a great competitive advantages against its competitors and earn the opportunity to the following fast expend. 2. “Management first, franchise later “has been the expansion strategy frequently used by international chain enterprises. However 7 Days Inn creatively come up the “franchising with management “in 2008. Please analyze the network economic effect of chain, and the characteristics and appropriate conditions of leased and operated hotel ,managed hotel and traditional franchised hotel. The network economic effect of chain benefit 7 Days from 3 angles.

Firstly, it reduce the cost of purchase and management. Secondary, it helps to occupy and maximize the market share. Last, it is a good approach to promote the 7 Days brand by open more and more branch hotels. Lease is a more flexible way to run the business, and it will use less cash flow and get more net income. But the franchising with management approach is a more flexible way for their expend. In this way, they use the investor’s investment and keep the control at the same time. It is a better way comparing with the traditional franchised hotel. 3. 7 Day Inn implements operations dept. anagement ,matrix management, and shepherd management sequentially to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of chain management. Referring to Amit and Zott(2012),please discuss how an enterprise constantly makes business model innovation ,how to turned business innovation into enterprise values and how to derive, sustain and enforce the capability of innovation. As the company become bigger, some problems are inevasible. The supervisor of company should make some change to deal with these problems. Sometime, they need an innovation of their business model.

To turn business innovation into enterprise value, the supervisor should take all the changing situation into account. In this way, you will find one or two key factors for you to improve and abandon the others. In the 7 days inn case, the supervisor will focus on the encouragement, so the shepherd management strategy born. 4. Please analyze the psychological impact of shepherd management of on the hotel managers. Then, please identify the possible reasons why such a number of hotel managers resign. What do you think Lin Yuezhou should do to solve the resignation problems

Most of the managers will treat it as their own business and try their best to run the hotel. In the way, the talent managers can show their ability, and benefit company at the same time. The possible reasons for the managers’ resign are: a)They frustrate with the conditions they face, either because of their ability or the limit resource. b)They earn enough money and experience, and they think they can run their own hotel. c)They get a better offer form the competitors. Mr Lin should put more focus on this problem because it is a drain of talent person.

Lin should find the main reason of their resignation and do the relatively disposal. 5. What do you think of shepherd management? As 7 Days Inn come into the thousands hotels era, do you believe that the bonus of shepherd management has been used up? How to solve the problem of management inefficiency? Where should the operations strategy of 7 Days Inn head? The shepherd management benefit 7 days in the relatively small scale. But when the branch hotel number become bigger, the shepherd management strategy will do harm to the management team for it increase the difficulty of control.

I agree that the bonus of shepherd management has been used up when 7 Days Inn come into the thousands hotels. As the hotel numbers become bigger, the 7 days inn’s management team is losing control of their branch hotel because they give to much power to the managers. They can’t easily valuation the performance of each hotel. To solve the problem of management inefficiency, I suggest 7 days inn to setup an command sub-system in their internal system. Since 7 days inn’s internal system is powerful, adding a sub-system is easy and most of the manager will use this system to get news form management team.

History of Green Tea in Japan college application essay help online: college application essay help online

In 1191, the famous Zen monk Eisai brought back tea seeds to Kyoto. Eisai started to introduce green tea in Japan. He popularized the idea the idea of drinking tea for good health. Around the same time, the Japanese farmers began growing green tea in Uji, Kyoto. Besides that, Eisai also wrote a book about how to stay health by drinking tea in 1211. He professed “A medicine is for one disease only but green tea is a kind of panacea that can prevent and treat all sorts of aliments. Because the effort of Eisai, green tea was introduced to the public and samurai warriors and common people began to enjoy the new drink.

In the early 9th century, Chinese author Lu Yu wrote the Cha jing which was a treatise on tea focusing on its cultivation and preparation. Lu Yu’s ideas would have a strong influence in the development of the Japanese tea ceremony. Around the end of the 12th century, the style of tea preparation called “tencha”, in which powdered tea was placed in a bowl, hot water poured into the bowl, and the tea and hot water whipped together was introduced by Eisai. He also brought tea seeds back with him, which eventually produced tea that was of the most superb quality in all of Japan.

This powdered green tea was first used in religious rituals in Buddhist monasteries. By the 13th century, Samurai warriors had begun preparing and drinking matcha as they adopted Zen Buddhism, and the foundations of the tea ceremony were laid. There are 6 main type of green tea which is Matcha, Sencha, Houjicha, Genmaicha, Gyokuro and Bancha. • Matcha green tea is another highly prized green tea made from finely ground Gyokuro tea. This is the tea used in the famous Japanese green tea ceremony known as chanoyu.

The powder can also be used in a variety of recipes including the making of green tea lattes, green tea ice cream, and even green tea cookies. Its versatility and unique flavor make have earned it a loyal following. • Sencha tea is the loose leaf tea for everyday use. This needle-shaped tea has a floral fragrance which is relaxing and energetic at the same time. It’s an energy boost to hold you through the day. • Houjicha is another variation of Bancha green tea that’s been lightly roasted giving it a nutty flavor.

It tends to be brown in color with smoky undertones that pairs nicely with a variety of Japanese foods, particularly those flavored with soy sauce. It tends to be quite reasonable in price and is lower in caffeine than other green teas. • Genmaicha is a tea with a smoky, nutty flavor made from Bancha mixed with toasted brown rice and popped corn. Although it’s not considered a high quality tea, its distinctive nut flavor is appealing and enhances a variety of Japanese dishes. Like Bancha, this tea is widely available and is reasonable in price. • Gyokuro tea, rare, expensive, considered the finest Japanese Green Tea.

Higher chlorophyll content gives it a sweeter taste and less caffeine content. This comes from the fact that it is grown in the shade. • Bencha is one of the lower quality green teas to come out of Japan. It’s more of an every day type tea rather than one used for special occasions due to its rather dark appearance and faintly astringent taste. It’s made from lower quality parts of the Camellia sinensis plant including the twigs and stems. The advantage of this tea is it tends to less expensive than higher end Japanese teas and some people prefer its robust flavor over sweeter, milder green teas.

Objective The objective for us to do this assignment is to be able to understand the production methods and the knowledge of the product. Besides that, it also undertakes research in acquiring new information and trends in the beverage industry. From this assignment I really can learn something new about green tea. I know the history of Japanese green tea, the production method and how to prepare the perfect cup of green tea. Although I am doing about Japanese green tea, but I am also know about Chinese green tea while I am doing my research. The Production Method of Japanese Green Tea

Green tea is made from the top two leaves and buds of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, of the family Theaceace and the order Theales. This order consists of 40 genera of trees or shrubs that have evergreen leaves, flowers with five sepal or leaf-like structures and petals. The genus Camellia consists of 80 species of East Asian evergreen shrubs and trees. Besides the leaves, other ingredients may be added to create special scents or flavors during the drying process, such as jasmine, flowers, or fruits. In Japan, the tea harvesting begins around the end of April, with the leaves picked by hand or machine.

A bud and several leaves are picked from each plant. The first crop is harvested in April and May, the second crop in June, the third crop in July and the final crop in September. For gyokuro or matcha tea, the plants are shaded for two weeks after the first bud comes out in spring before picking. The leaves are then shipped to the factory for processing. Since not all can be processed at once, the leaves are stored in a large bin that is kept at the proper temperature by blowing cool air into the bottom. After the tea leaves are plucked, they must be dried to prevent fermentation, which stops any enzyme activity that causes oxidation.

Steaming is normally used in Japan. Before the steaming process begins, the tea leaves are sorted and cleaned. The steaming time determines the type of tea that is produced. Sencha tea is normally steamed for 30-90 seconds. Another type of sencha called fukamushi is steamed for 90-150 seconds to produce a flaky light yellowish green tea. Steaming is conducted in a bamboo tray over water or by a revolving or belt-conveyor type machine. After mechanical steaming, the leaves go into a cooling machine that blows the water from the leaves. After drying, a number of rolling and drying steps take place.

A special machine is used to accomplish the first rolling and drying steps simultaneously and takes about 48 minutes. The tea leaves are dried to improve their strength so they can be pressed during the next drying process. Moisture from both the surface and from the inside of the tea leaves is removed using this machine. This machine consists of a spindle with finger-shaped extensions that stir the leaves while heated air (at 93. 2-96. 8° F [34-36° C]) is blown into the machine. Though the rolling temperature is automatically controlled by the computer, it is still important.

After shaping, green tea must be dried for about 30 minutes after the final rolling step for storage. The tea is spread on a caterpillar-type device and dried slowly to about 5% moisture content or less. At this stage the half-processed tea, called aracha, is shipped to tea merchants or wholesalers for final processing. Aracha is not uniform in size and still contains stems and dust. After the tea is shipped to the wholesalers in Japan, it undergoes several other steps to produce the final product. A special machine grades and cuts the tea by particle size, shape, and cleanliness, depending on the final qualities desired.

The machine uses mechanical sieves or sifters fitted with meshes of appropriate size, as well as cutting devices to achieve a quality tea. Another drying step follows to produce the aromatic flavor, followed by blending per customer’s specifications, packing and finally shipping to retail shops. [pic] Green tea contains a large number of ingredients which are tannins (catechins), caffeine, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, theanine, plant pigments, alkalinity, fluorine and saponins. Tannins give green tea its astringent flavour. They have antioxidant and antibacterial properties, and also act as detoxicants.

Theanine is an amino acid that produces an umami taste. The better the tea, the more theanine it contains. Saponins is a special ingredient in green tea that has anti-inflammatory properties. How to make a perfect cup of green tea The first step of make green tea is do not use boiling water for green tea. Especially sencha and other delicate green tea. Instead, bring water to a boil then let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Water temp should be around 60-80 C. The optimum brewing temperature for Gyokuro is 50 -60 C and Sencha is 70-90 C. For Bancha, Genmaicha and Houjicha is 100 C.

The second step is put roughly 2 teaspoonfuls of tea leaves into a teapot. The best quality for Gyokuro is about 10g, Sencha is 8g. For Bancha, Genmaicha and Houjicha is 9g. After that, pour the hot water from the teacups into the teapot and let the tea leaves steep until fully brewed. The brewing time for Gyokuro is about 2 minutes and Sencha is 60 seconds. For Bancha, Genmaicha and Houjicha is 30 seconds. After brewed, pour a little bit of the brewed tea into each teacup, in turn, and repeat this process until the teapot is empty. In this way, the tea in each cup will have equal strength.

How is green tea normally being served Green tea’s traditional role in Japanese society is as a drink for special guests and special occasions. Green tea is served in many companies during afternoon breaks. Japanese often buy sweets for their colleagues when on vacation or business trips. These snacks are usually enjoyed with green tea. Tea will also be prepared for visitors coming for meetings to companies and for guests visiting Japanese homes. A thermos full of green tea is also a staple on family or school outings as an accompaniment to bento (box lunches).

Families often bring along proper Japanese teacups, to enhance the enjoyment of the traditional drink. The strong cultural association the Japanese have with green tea has made it the most popular beverage to drink with traditional Japanese cuisine, such as sushi, sashimi and tempura. At a restaurant, a cup of green tea is often served with meals at no extra charge, with as many refills as desired. The best traditional Japanese restaurants take as much care in choosing the tea they serve as in preparing the food itself. What makes green tea so special The most important reason makes green tea special is the benefits of drinking green tea.

Green tea’s beneficial effects on health have been acknowledged for centuries. With a unique harmony of sweet and astringent flavour, green tea contains rich natural nutrients that can work effectively on maintaining our health. The benefits of drinking green tea may help us keeping the skin healthy and preventing diseases because it contains Catechin, Vitamin B, C and E, which can work as antioxidants in the human body. Other than that, drinking green tea on a daily basis can help to relieve chronic and habitual constipation, by activating the small intestine, encouraging regular bowel movements.

To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six – eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee. How is green tea being advertised Green tea weight loss programs are starting to pop up in health clubs nationally. It is a simple, easy and inexpensive way to incorporate into a standard weight loss program.

Now green tea weight loss programs are being advertised as such, Green Tea Weight Loss. These weight loss programs tend to follow a more organic and vegetarian diet. But at least it is another choice for the overweight individual. Losing the weight is the most important issue and if green tea is the component that makes it work for you, than green tea weight loss is a success. Conclusion Green tea is a delicious calorie-free hot beverage that can be a great substitute for coffee. There are many health benefits associated with the consumption of green tea that humans just don’t get from other beverages.

Incorporating green tea into daily routine will promote longevity and good health because the chemical makeup of green tea gives it the capability to positively affect so many different systems of the human body, it makes sense to use it in achieving those health benefits. Now that science agents in green tea, those interested in achieving or maintaining good health can use green tea to an even greater advantage. And for those who think that 4 to 10 cups of tea a day sounds like a little too much, green tea is currently available in a convenient about drinking green tea can now benefit the entire world.

“A Worn Path” Elements essay help 123: essay help 123

There are five elements to a story: characterization, theme, setting, plot, and point of view. Each of the elements are a part of every story, but some may play a more important role in the telling of each individual tale. The setting is the most prevalent element in Eudora Welty’s short story, “A Worn Path. ” The setting is more than just the location of the story, but it also sets the social setting as well as the mood or atmosphere.

The setting in “A Worn Path” is significant in that not only does it give the story life it also helps the reader understand Phoenix Jackson’s reasoning as well as giving the reader a vivid description of what the characters are seeing. Eudora Welty gives “A Worn Path” life not only through her characters, but mainly through her description of the setting. She opens up her story by describing a “bright frozen day” in December. The reader soon learns that the main character, Phoenix Jackson, is making her way to town along a path through the pinewoods. The constant imagery and symbolism keeps fresh visualization in the mind of the reader.

Throughout the rest of the story, Welty continues to give precise descriptions of every part of the surroundings. As Phoenix Jackson made her way through a field of dead corn, Welty brings the setting to life, as she says, “It whispered and shook and was taller than her head. ” Without the extreme details of what is going on around the characters, the story would be a bore. From the beginning, it was apparent that Phoenix Jackson was not in very good health. Welty describes her as “very old and small and she walked slowly… she carried a thin, small cane made from an umbrella, and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her. Phoenix Jackson has made this trip a number of times, and she uses her surroundings to find her way. The setting, the path, can be compared to an old well-known friend helping her get to town to accomplish her goal. The setting also set the time period from which the reader can assume Phoenix Jackson was possibly raised in a time of slavery. The path not only contains inanimate objects but has a human element as well. The social setting is depicted when old Phoenix comes face to face with a gun in the hands a white hunter. The hunter acts as if he is in authority over Phoenix, based on the color of his skin.

She shows her lack of fear in her response, “I’ve seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done. ” The path taken represents one more social challenge in the life of old Phoenix. The narration of “A Worn Path” is surely not typical. Due to the main character’s lack of eyesight, the setting of the whole story is described in the way Phoenix sees it. For example, when she runs into what happens to be a thorn bush, she says, “Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush. ” Welty has done a tremendous job in writing so the reader can actually think and see like Phoenix Jackson.

The narrator uses other senses to describe what is in the surroundings rather than just sight. These vivid descriptions give the reader a deeper connection with the story. The setting of this short story paints a vivid picture. It gives “A Worn Path” life and keeps an interest alive in the reader. Not only does the locational setting have significance in the story, but also the social setting. The social setting helps the reader understand the reasoning of Phoenix Jackson. The reader walks to town along with old Phoenix and sees the path through her eyes. Without this powerful setting, “A Worn Path” would be just another tale.

Us Relations with South Korea nursing essay help: nursing essay help

The United States maintains about 28,500 troops in the ROK and South Korea is included under the U. S. “nuclear umbrella. ” Second, Washington and Seoul cooperate over how to deal with the challenges posed by North Korea. Third, South Korea’s emergence as a global player on a number of issues has provided greater opportunities for the two countries’ governments, businesses, and private organizations to interact and cooperate with one another. Fourth, the two countries’ economies are closely entwined and are joined by the Korea-U. S.

Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), the United States’ second-largest FTA. South Korea is the United States’ seventh-largest trading partner. The United States is South Korea’s third-largest trading partner. Since late 2008, relations between the United States and South Korea (known officially as the Republic of Korea, or ROK) have been arguably at their best state in decades. Much of the current closeness between Seoul and Washington is due to the convergence of interests between the Obama Administration and the government of former President Lee Myung-bak, who left office at the end of February 2013.

The overall U. S. -South Korean relationship is expected to remain healthy under new President Park Geun-hye, although she has hinted at policy moves that could cause intense bilateral discussions, particularly over North Korea policy and the renewal of a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement. Strategic Cooperation and the U. S. -ROK Alliance Dealing with North Korea is the dominant strategic element of the U. S. -South Korean relationship. The two countries’ coordination over North Korea was exceptionally close under the Lee and Obama Administrations.

Bilateral cooperation is expected to work well under President Park, but it remains to be seen whether her calls for a new combination of toughness and flexibility toward Pyongyang will challenge Washington and Seoul’s ability to coordinate their policies. Perhaps most notably, Park has proposed a number of confidence-building measures with Pyongyang in order to create a “new era” on the Korean Peninsula. Two key questions will be the extent to which her government will link these initiatives to progress on denuclearization, which is the United States’ top concern, and how much emphasis she will give to North Korea’s human rights record.

Likewise, an issue for the Obama Administration and Members of Congress is to what extent they will support—or, not oppose—initiatives by Park to expand inter-Korean relations. Since 2009, the United States and South Korea have accelerated steps to transform the U. S. -ROK alliance’s primary purpose from one of defending against a North Korean attack to a regional and even global partnership. Washington and Seoul have announced a “Strategic Alliance 2015” plan to relocate U. S. troops on the Peninsula and boost ROK defense capabilities.

Some Members of Congress have criticized the relocation plans, and Congress has cut funds for a related initiative that would “normalize” the tours of U. S. troops in South Korea by lengthening their stays and allowing family members to accompany them. In the first half of 2013, the United States and South Korea are expected to negotiate a new Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that includes always-contentious discussions over how much South Korea should pay to offset the cost of stationing U. S. forces in Korea. Developments in Late 2012 and Early 2013 From 2009-2012, U.

S. -South Korea relations were exceptionally strong, as evidenced by close coordination over North Korea policy, by the entry into force of a bilateral trade agreement in March 2012, and by the positive personal relationship forged by Presidents Barack Obama and Lee Myung-bak. It remains to be seen whether this combination of shared interests, priorities, and personal chemistry will continue under South Korea’s new President, Park Geun-hye, who took office in February 2013. Park is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on May 8, the day after she nd President Obama hold their first summit meeting. 2013 is the 60th anniversary of the U. S. -ROK alliance. Park Geun-hye Wins South Korean Presidential Election In December 2012, South Koreans narrowly elected the 61-year-old Park, the candidate of the ruling conservative Saenuri (“New Frontier”) Party (NFP), as president. She will serve until February 2018. By law, South Korean presidents serve a single five-year term. Park defeated Moon Jae-in, the candidate of the opposition, left-of-center Minjoo (“Democratic United”) Party (DUP), capturing 51. % of the vote, compared with Moon’s 48%. Park not only became the first woman to be elected as South Korea’s president, but also the first presidential candidate to receive more than 50% of the vote since South Korea ended nearly three decades of authoritarian rule in 1988. At nearly 76%, turnout was the highest in over a decade. The substance of the campaign revolved around overcoming South Korea’s economic difficulties and strengthening the social safety net, issues that Park championed in what many analysts regard as a successful attempt to co-opt the DUP’s agenda.

The voting revealed stark demographic schisms in South Korean society, with voters over 50 overwhelmingly choosing Park and those under 40 favoring Moon by a wide margin. In general, Park’s victory makes it more likely that South Korea-U. S. relations will remain relatively strong. Moon had advocated a number of policies that would likely have placed South Korea and the United States at odds. In particular, he had called for renegotiation of provisions of the KORUS FTA and for South Korea to return to a policy of largely unconditional engagement with North Korea.

On most major issues Park generally appears to have a similar outlook to the Obama Administration, although as discussed in the North Korea and civilian nuclear agreement sections below, there are some areas in which the two sides are expected to take different approaches. Park is the daughter of the late Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea from the time he seized power in a 1961 military coup until 1979. State of the Alliance and Outlook Under Park During Lee Myung-bak’s term, the U. S. ROK alliance came to be labeled by U. S. officials as a “linchpin” of stability and security in the Asia-Pacific. This designation reflected an overall deepening of defense ties and joint coordination, particularly in response to provocations from North Korea. Joint statements issued from a series of high-level meetings emphasized the commitment to modernize and expand the alliance while reaffirming the maintenance of current U. S. troop levels on the peninsula and the U. S. security guarantee to protect South Korea.

In 2012, these occasions included a June “2+2” meeting of the foreign and defense ministers from both countries and a follow-up U. S. -ROK Security Consultative Meeting between Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his counterpart. Considered by most analysts to be a strong supporter of the alliance, Park is expected to continue close defense coordination with the United States despite her campaign promises to engage North Korea more than her predecessor. For both sides, however, the alliance faces a range of budgetary issues.

The new budget approved by the South Korean National Assembly in January 2013 cut proposed defense procurement funding in order to pay for social programs that Park had pledged to establish during her campaign. The vote drew complaints from outgoing Lee Administration security officials and could hinder some cooperative efforts with the United States. The U. S. Congress has also voiced concern about the price tag for the troop relocation and tour normalization plans; the FY2012 and FY2013 National Defense Authorization Acts freeze funding for tour normalization. For more, see the “Security Relations and the U. S. -ROK Alliance. ”) In addition, budget constraints could intensify upcoming negotiations for Korean cost- sharing; the current Special Measures Agreement expires on January 1, 2014. In April 2013 the Senate Armed Services Committee issued a report that examined U. S. costs associated with the American military presence overseas, including in South Korea. 13 The report was critical of the has been fabricated into fuel or irradiated in a reactor with U. S. technology.

The majority of South Korea’s spent fuel would need U. S. consent before it could be reprocessed. U. S. -South Korea Relations rising costs of relocation plans, as well as the South Korean contribution to those costs. It also found weak oversight of the projects, due to limited review by the Army, the Pentagon, and Pacific Command, in addition to no authorization from Congress. Background on U. S. -South Korea Relations Overview While the U. S. -South Korea relationship is highly complex and multifaceted, ive factors arguably drive the scope and state of relations between the two allies: •the challenges posed by North Korea, particularly its weapons of mass destruction programs and perceptions in Washington and Seoul of whether the Kim Jong-un regime poses a threat, through its belligerence and/or the risk of its collapse; •the growing desire of South Korean leaders to use the country’s middle power status to play a larger regional and, more recently, global role; U. S. -South Korea Relations •China’s rising influence in Northeast Asia, which has become an increasingly integral consideration in many aspects of U.

S. -South Korea strategic and (to a lesser extent) economic policymaking; •South Korea’s transformation into one of the world’s leading economies—with a very strong export-oriented industrial base—which has led to an expansion of trade disputes and helped drive the two countries’ decision to sign a free trade agreement; and •South Korea’s continued democratization, which has raised the importance of public opinion in Seoul’s foreign policy. Additionally, while people-to-people ties generally do not directly affect matters of “high” politics in bilateral relations, the presence of over 1. million Korean-Americans and the hundreds of thousands of trips taken annually between the two countries has helped cement the two countries together. Members of Congress tend be interested in South Korea-related issues because of bilateral cooperation over North Korea, a desire to oversee the management of the U. S. -South Korea alliance, South Korea’s growing importance on various global issues, deep bilateral economic ties, and the interests of many Korean-Americans.

The 112th Congress held over 15 hearings directly related to South and North Korea. Since late 2008, relations between the United States and South Korea have been arguably at their best state in decades, if not ever. Coordination over North Korea policy under the Obama Administration and the former government of Lee Myung-bak was particularly close, with one high-level official in late 2009 describing the two countries as being “not just on the same page, but on the same paragraph. 18 At a summit in June 2009, the two parties signed a “Joint Vision” statement that foresees the transformation of the alliance’s purpose from one of primarily defending against a North Korean attack to a regional and even global alliance, in which Washington and Seoul cooperate on a myriad of issues, including climate change, energy security, terrorism, economic development, and human rights promotion, as well as peacekeeping and the stabilization of post-conflict situations. Much of the U. S. South Korean closeness was due to the policies of President Lee, including his determination after assuming office in 2008 to improve Seoul’s relations with Washington. However, by the end of his term, there was considerable dissatisfaction in South Korea with many of Lee’s policies, and he exited office with public approval ratings in the 25%–35% level. On North Korea, for instance, the United States and South Korea often have different priorities, with many if not most South Koreans generally putting more emphasis on regional stability than on deterring nuclear proliferation, the top U. S. riority. These differences have been masked by North Korea’s general belligerence since early 2009 and to a large extent were negated by President Lee’s consistent stance that progress on the nuclear issue is a prerequisite for improvements in many areas of North-South relations. As mentioned above, while bilateral coordination over North Korea policy is expected to remain strong under President Park, it remains to be seen whether she will maintain the same linkage. Moreover, while large majorities of South Koreans say they value the U. S. -ROK alliance, many South Koreans are resentful of U. S. nfluence and chafe when they feel their leaders offer too many concessions to the United States. South Koreans also tend to be wary of being drawn into U. S. policies that antagonize China. These critiques are particularly articulated by Korea’s progressive groups, who bitterly opposed much of President Lee’s policy agenda and his governing style. They can be expected to have the same attitudes toward President Park. Historical Background The United States and South Korea have been allies since the United States intervened on the Korean Peninsula in 1950 and fought to repel a North Korean takeover of South Korea. Over 33,000 U.

S. troops were killed and over 100,000 were wounded during the three-year conflict. On October 1, 1953, a little more than two months after the parties to the conflict signed an armistice agreement, the United States and South Korea signed a Mutual Defense Treaty, which provides that if either party is attacked by a third country, the other party will act to meet the common danger. The United States maintains about 28,500 troops in the ROK to supplement the 650,000- strong South Korean armed forces. South Korea deployed troops to support the U. S. -led military campaign in Vietnam. South Korea subsequently has assisted U.

S. deployments in other conflicts, most recently by deploying over 3,000 troops to play a non-combat role in Iraq and over 300 non- combat troops to Afghanistan. Beginning in the 1960s, rapid economic growth propelled South Korea into the ranks of the world’s largest industrialized countries. For nearly two decades, South Korea has been one of the 18 December 2009 CRS interview in Seoul. United States’ largest trading partners. Economic growth, coupled with South Korea’s transformation in the late 1980s from a dictatorship to a democracy also has helped transform the ROK into a mid-level regional power that can influence U.

S. policy in Northeast Asia, particularly the United States’ approach toward North Korea. Security Relations and the U. S. -ROK Alliance The United States and South Korea are allies under the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty. Under the agreement, U. S. military personnel have maintained a continuous presence on the peninsula since the conclusion of the Korean War and are committed to help South Korea defend itself, particularly against any aggression from the North. The United States maintains about 28,500 troops in the ROK. South Korea is included under the U.

S. “nuclear umbrella,” also known as “extended deterrence” that applies to other non-nuclear U. S. allies as well. In an October 2011 visit to South Korea, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta reassured South Korea and Japan of the strength of the U. S. security commitment amidst uncertainty over the size of possible cuts to the U. S. military budget. Among other items, Panetta reiterated the Obama Administration’s commitment to maintain the current U. S. troop level in Korea. Since 2009, the two sides have accelerated steps to transform the U. S. ROK alliance, broadening it from its primary purpose of defending against a North Korean attack to a regional and even global partnership. At the same time, provocations from North Korea have propelled more integrated bilateral planning for responding to possible contingencies. Increasingly advanced joint military exercises have reinforced the enhanced defense partnership. According to U. S. officials, defense coordination at the working level as well as at the ministerial level has been consistent and productive. In June 2012, the two sides held their second so-called “2+2” meeting between the U. S.

Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense and their South Korean counterparts. Among other policy areas, the joint statement emphasized new initiatives on cyber security and missile defense, and the United States reiterated its commitment to maintain current troop levels. The first ever “2+2” meeting in July 2010, which featured a visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. The massive joint military exercises held immediately after the U. S. -South Korea Relations meeting, featuring a U.

S. aircraft carrier and F-22 aircraft, signaled to North Korea and others that the American commitment to Korea remains strong. In the past, issues surrounding U. S. troop deployments have been a flashpoint for public disapproval of the military alliance. Recently, however, analysts point out that even potential irritants to the relationship have been dealt with skillfully by the military officials in charge. In 2011, United States Forces Korea (USFK) and South Korean environmental officials worked expeditiously to address public concern about buried chemicals on U. S. military bases from the post-Korean War era.

Also in 2011, the USFK handed over a U. S. soldier accused of raping a South Korean woman to the Korean authorities, in addition to issuing high-level apologies and pledging full cooperation. Although both of these examples have drawn criticism and sparked renewed interest in revising the U. S. -ROK status of forces agreement (SOFA), it appears as though officials on both sides have been able to quell distrust of the U. S. military among the Korean public. Budgetary and Operational Challenges Despite these indicators of strength, the alliance faces a host of significant challenges in the months and years ahead.

Delays and increasing price tags have slowed the implementation of agreements to relocate the U. S. troop presence in South Korea. (See “U. S. Alliance and ROK Defense Reform Plans” below. ) Differences over burden sharing remain, but analysts note that these issues tend to be prevalent in all alliance relationships. Although the political atmospherics of the alliance have been positive, defense analysts note that the Lee Administration slowed significantly the defense budget increases planned under the earlier Roh Administration. U. S. Alliance and ROK Defense Reform Plans

Current security developments are taking place in the context of several concurrent defense plans. The June 2009 Obama-Lee summit produced the broadly conceived “Joint Vision for the Alliance,” which promised to enhance and globalize future defense cooperation. After the decision to delay the transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon) from U. S. to ROK forces, the operational “Strategic Alliance 2015” roadmap (announced in September 2010) outlined the new transition, including a path forward for improvements in ROK capabilities and changes U. S. troop relocation and tour normalization.

The U. S. military is also undergoing a broad transformation of its forces in the region; the 8th Army is moving toward becoming a war fighting headquarters that can deploy to other areas of the world while still serving as a deterrent to any possible aggression from North Korea. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Defense Reform 2020 bill passed by the National Assembly in 2006 laid out a 15-year, 621 trillion won (about $550 million) investment that aimed to reduce the number of ROK troops while developing a high-tech force and strengthening the Joint Chiefs of Staff system.

In addition, a plan known as “Defense Reformation Plan 307,” is intended to enhance collaboration among the ROK military branches. Driven by the North Korean provocations in 2010, the new “proactive deterrence” approach calls for a more flexible posture to respond to future attacks, as opposed to the “total war” scenario that has driven much of Seoul’s defense planning in the past. However, political wrangling in the National Assembly blocked the passage of a set of defense reform bills in April 2012, leaving the future of reform unclear.

The bills, which focused on overhauling the military command system, have been pending in the parliamentary body for over a year. In addition, the budget passed by the National Assembly in January 2013 cut proposed funding for military procurement but still raised the overall defense budget by 3. 8% over 2012 levels. The “proactive deterrence” posture—in other words, a greater willingness among South Korean leaders to countenance the use of force against North Korea—has made some analysts and planners more concerned about the possibility that a small-scale North Korean provocation could escalate.

Former President Lee has said that after the Yeonpyeong-do attack, he asked China to tell North Korea that Seoul would respond to a future attack by mobilizing its military and by retaliating against North Korea’s supporting bases, not just the source of the attack. Lee also U. S. -South Korea Relations relaxed the rules of engagement to allow frontline commanders greater freedom to respond to a North Korean attack without first asking permission from the military chain of command. U. S. defense officials insist that the exceedingly close day-to-day coordination in the alliance ensures that U.

S. -ROK communication would be strong in the event of a new contingency. In July 2011, General Walter Sharp, then-U. S. commander of the Combined Forces Command (CFC) in South Korea, confirmed to press outlets that the alliance had developed coordinated plans for countermeasures against North Korean aggression. Economic Relations South Korea and the United States are major economic partners. In 2012, two-way trade between the two countries totaled around $100 billion (see Table 1), making South Korea the United States’ seventh-largest trading partner. For some western states and U. S. ectors, the South Korean market is even more important. South Korea is far more dependent economically on the United States than the United States is on South Korea. In 2012, the United States was South Korea’s third-largest trading partner, second-largest export market, and the third-largest source of imports. It was among South Korea’s largest suppliers of foreign direct investment (FDI). As both economies have become more integrated with the world economy, economic interdependence has become more complex and attenuated, particularly as the United States’ economic importance to South Korea has declined relative to other major powers.

In 2003, China for the first time displaced the United States from its perennial place as South Korea’s number one trading partner. In the mid-2000s, Japan overtook the United States, and since that time South Korean annual trade with the 27-member European Union has caught up with ROK-U. S. trade. In October 2011, the House and Senate passed H. R. 3080, the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, which was subsequently signed by President Obama. 4 The law authorized the President to implement the KORUS FTA by an exchange of notes with South Korea, after he determined that South Korea had taken the necessary measures to implement its obligations under the agreement. On March 6, 2012, the President issued a proclamation ordering federal agencies to implement the KORUS FTA, and the agreement entered into force on March 15, 2012. The George W. Bush and Roh Administrations initiated the KORUS FTA negotiations in 2006 and signed an agreement in June 2007. Implementation of the KORUS FTA Upon the date of implementation of the KORUS FTA, 82% of U.

S. tariff lines and 80% of South Korean tariff lines were tariff free in U. S. -South Korean trade, whereas prior to the KORUS FTA, 38% of U. S. tariff lines and 13% of South Korean tariff lines were duty free. By the tenth year of the agreement, the figures will rise to an estimated 99% and 98%, respectively, with tariff elimination occurring in stages and the most sensitive products having the longest phase-out periods. Non-tariff barriers in goods trade and barriers in services trade and foreign investment are to be reduced or eliminated under the KORUS FTA.

At the time of this writing, the KORUS FTA had been in force for just over one year; therefore it is too early to ascertain its impact on U. S. -South Korean bilateral trade. Nevertheless, Table 1 53 Iran data from Economist Intelligence Unit, Iran Country Report, April 2012. 54 The House vote was 278-151. In the Senate, the vote was 83-15. U. S. -South Korea Relations below presents U. S. -South Korea merchandise trade data for selected years, including the first 11 months of 2012 (the latest data available) and comparative data for the corresponding period in 2011. The data indicate that total trade grew by 1. % in 2012 from 2011, continuing a trend that began in 2010 as the United States, South Korea, and other major economies recovered from the global downturn. U. S. exports to South Korea declined by 2. 8% during that period, while U. S. imports increased by 4. 1%. As part of the implementation process, 19 binational committees and working groups were formed to implement the various chapters of the agreement. About one half of those bodies have met at least once since the March 15, 2012, entry-into-force date. The committees on pharmaceuticals and medical devices and the committee on small and medium-sized enterprises have met twice. Autos

A major issue in the negotiations leading up to the KORUS FTA concerned access to the South Korean market for exports of U. S. -made cars. Under the agreement, the U. S. tariff of 2. 5% on South Korean cars will be eliminated in the fifth year of the agreement. The South Korean tariff of 8% was reduced to 4% when the agreement entered into force and will be eliminated completely in the fifth year of the agreement. South Korea also agreed to allow U. S. -based car manufacturers to sell in South Korea up to 25,000 cars per year per manufacturer as long as they met U. S. safety and environmental standards. This concession addressed U.

S. manufacturers’ concern that having to meet South Korean standards added costs to the production of cars for the South Korean market, placing them at a price disadvantage vis-a-vis domestic producers. In 2012, sales of U. S. -made cars in South Korea increased sharply. For example, in 2012, sales of cars made by Ford increased 22. 5%, sales of cars made by Chrysler increased 24. 3%, and sales of manufacturing equipment; specialized cars made by Cadillac increased 32. 4%, compared to sales in 2011. 55 It is not clear to what degree the increases in sales can be attributed to the KORUS FTA or to other factors.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea has claimed that lower tariffs and consumption taxes on U. S. cars and the concession on safety and environmental standards have allowed manufacturers to reduce prices on their cars in the South Korean market, making them more competitive. Two auto-related issues have emerged as the two sides implement the KORUS FTA. In one case, the South Korean government has proposed introducing new safety regulations for replacement parts even if the cars in which they would be used have qualified under the 25,000 equivalency concession.

Assistant USTR (AUSTR) Wendy Cutler indicated that the issue is the subject of discussion between the two sides. In the second case, the South Korean government has proposed to introduce a program to reward South Korean buyers of low-emission vehicles with a tax credit and to penalize buyers of high-emission vehicles with a tax penalty (the so-called “bonus-malus” system). U. S. and European car manufacturers claim that this tax program would make it more difficult for them to sell their cars in South Korea and would undermine the benefits that were negotiated under the KORUS FTA and the Korea-EU FTA, which went into effect in 2011.

According the AUSTR Wendy Cutler, South Korea agreed to a two-year grace period and to consult further on the issue. Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Under the KORUS FTA, South Korea agreed to form an independent review board (IRB) that would allow appeals from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers on South Korean government policies pertaining to reimbursement under the government health insurance program. South Korea has established an IRB. However, the government was going to allow up to 60 days for the review.

The government had indicated that the window would apply to all decisions, including reimbursement prices for individual medicines. U. S. manufacturers said that 60 days would be too long and could inhibit their ability to market their products. South Korea agreed to make the decision period 20 days on individual pricing decisions and 60 days for decisions on overall reimbursement policies. The issue remains the subject of additional discussions. Other Issues Both South Korea and the United States have made it a priority to ensure that small- and medium- sized companies are able to take advantage of the KORUS FTA.

They have formed a binational committee to explore efforts to do so. U. S. officials will be monitoring South Korea’s implementation of a provision under the KORUS FTA that allows for the transfer of financial and other data freely from one country to the other. This provision is to go into effect two years after the agreement entered into force (i. e. , March 15, 2014). In 2011 and 2012, members of South Korea’s largest opposition party, the Democratic United Party (DUP) called for renegotiating parts of the KORUS FTA.

The most prominent issue for the DUP was the agreement’s investor-state dispute provisions. 60 However, the push to renegotiate this and other parts of the KORUS FTA appears to have faded significantly following Park’s defeat of the DUP’s presidential candidate in December, combined with the DUP’s disappointing showing in parliamentary elections earlier in the year. Some analysts have called on South Korea to join the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement negotiations, in which the United States is participating.

The TPP talks are a key element of the Obama Administration’s strategy of “rebalancing” to Asia by pushing for more internationally-based rules and norms in the region. To date, South Korea has not indicated a desire to join the talks, preferring to concentrate on implementing the recently enacted FTAs with the United States and European Union, and on negotiating a bilateral FTA with China and a trilateral FTA with China and Japan. South Korea’s Economic Performance South Korea has recorded relatively strong economic growth since the global financial crisis began in late 2008.

After GDP real growth declined to 0. 2% in 2009, the South Korean economy roared back and grew by 6. 2% in 2010. Initially, the crisis hit the South Korean economy hard because of its heavy reliance on international trade and its banks’ heavy borrowing from abroad. The Lee government took strong countermeasures to blunt the crisis’ impact, engaging in a series of fiscal stimulus actions worth about 6% of the country’s 2008 GDP, by some measures the largest such package in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) group of industrialized countries.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) also acted aggressively, lowering interest rates from over 5% to a record low 2% and engaging in a range of other operations, estimated by the OECD to be worth over 2. 5% of GDP, designed to infuse liquidity in the Korean economy. The BOK negotiated currency swap agreements with the United States, Japan, and China. 61 The South Korean won, after depreciating to around 1,500 won/dollar—a fall of nearly one-third from early 2008 to early 2009—has gradually strengthened against the dollar, to the 1,000-1,100 won/dollar range.

The won’s depreciation in 2008 and 2009 helped to stimulate South Korea’s economic recovery by making its exports cheaper relative to many other currencies, particularly the Japanese yen. Since the second half of 2010, South Korean real GDP growth has slowed, in part due to a slowdown in its foreign trade and the won’s appreciation. South Korea’s economy is highly dependent upon capital inflows and exports, the latter of which are equal to around half of the country’s annual GDP.

Thus, South Korean officials have expressed concern that their country could be hit hard by a recurrence of a major European debt crisis, the possibility of a “double- dip” recession in the United States, and a slowing of growth in China. GDP growth in 2011 was 3. 6% and is estimated to have fallen close to 2% for 2012. 60 Similar to other U. S. FTAs, the KORUS FTA establishes procedures for the settlement of investor-state disputes involving investments covered under the agreement where the investor from one partner-country alleges that the government of the other partner-country is violating his rights under the FTA.

The FTA stipulates that the two parties should try to first resolve the dispute through consultations and negotiations. But, if that does not work, the agreement provides for arbitration procedures and the establishment of tribunals. 61 The October 2008 swap agreement with the U. S. Federal Reserve gave Bank of Korea access to up to $30 billion in US dollar funds in exchange for won. Although South Korea’s economic performance may look favorable to many around the world, former President Lee’s handling of economic issues has come under criticism from many inside South Korea.

Complaints have risen in recent years that only Korea’s rich individuals and large conglomerates (called chaebol) have benefitted from the country’s growth since the 2008-2009 slowdown. The 2012 presidential election was largely fought over the issues of governance (in the wake of a number of corruption scandals), social welfare, and rising income inequality. Leading figures in both parties, as well as President Park and former President Lee, have proposed ways to expand South Korea’s social safety net. Growth is expected to be in the 3% range for 2013.

As mentioned above, South Korea’s 2012 presidential campaign focused on economic and social welfare issues. Park Geun-hye has made economic democratization and raising South Korea’s science and technology “to world-class levels” two of her priorities. South Korean Politics A Short History of South Korean Presidential Changes For most of the first four decades after the country was founded in 1948, South Korea was ruled by authoritarian governments. The most important of these was led by Park Chung-hee, a general who seized power in a military coup in 1961 and ruled until he was murdered by his intelligence chief in 1979.

The legacy of Park, President Park Geun-hye’s father, is a controversial one. On the one hand, he orchestrated the industrialization of South Korea that transformed the country from one of the world’s poorest. On the other hand, he ruled with an iron hand and brutally dealt with real and perceived opponents, be they opposition politicians, labor activists, or civil society leaders. For instance, in the early 1970s South Korean government agents twice tried to kill then- opposition leader Kim Dae-jung, who in the second attempt was saved only by U. S. intervention.

The divisions that opened under Park continue to be felt today. Conservative South Koreans tend to emphasize his economic achievements, while progressives focus on his human rights abuses. Ever since the mid-1980s, when widespread anti-government protests forced the country’s military rulers to enact sweeping democratic reforms, democratic institutions and traditions have deepened in South Korea. In 1997, long-time dissident Kim Dae-jung was elected to the presidency, the first time an opposition party had prevailed in a South Korean presidential election.

In December 2002, Kim was succeeded by a member of his left-of-center party: Roh Moo-hyun, a self-educated former human rights lawyer who emerged from relative obscurity to defeat establishment candidates in both the primary and general elections. Roh campaigned on a platform of reform—reform of Korean politics, economic policymaking, and U. S. -ROK relations. He was elected in part because of his embrace of massive anti-American protests that ensued after a U. S. military vehicle killed two Korean schoolgirls in 2002.

Like Kim Dae-jung, Roh pursued a “sunshine policy” of largely unconditional engagement with North Korea that clashed with the harder policy line pursued by the Bush Administration until late 2006. Roh also alarmed U. S. policymakers by speaking of a desire that South Korea should play a “balancing” role among China, the United States, and Japan in Northeast Asia. Despite this, under Roh’s tenure, South Korea deployed over 3,000 non-combat troops to Iraq—the third-largest contingent in the international coalition—and the two sides initiated and signed the KORUS FTA.

In the December 2007 election, former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak’s victory restored conservatives to the presidency. During the final two years of his presidency, Lee’s public approval ratings fell to the 25%-35% level, driven down by—among other factors—a series of scandals surrounding some of his associates and family members, and by an increasing concern among more Koreans about widening income disparities between the wealthy and the rest of society.

Since the end of military rule in 1988, every former South Korean president has been involved in scandal and in some cases criminal investigation within several months of leaving office. It remains to be seen if the abuse-of-power allegations that have swirled around some of Lee’s family members and supporters will expand to include Lee himself. By law, South Korean presidents serve one five-year term. The country’s next presidential election is to be in December 2017. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for April 2016.

Individual Success and Importance of Ei and Ci college application essay help: college application essay help

Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) refer to EI as the ability to manage oneself and social relationships in mature and constructive ways. CI is another form of intelligence that represents the experience of common intelligence at work like memory, analytical skills, vocabulary, academic success and multilingual skills (Schaie, 2001). It has been acknowledged that CI is important for achieving task goals that need individual wisdom, whereas emotional intelligence is a more relevant criterion for effectiveness where social interaction and leadership are required (Antonakis, Ashkanasy & Dasborough, 2009).

This essay will argue that EI is more important than CI for an individual’s success, especially in an organisational environment. Next few paragraphs will support this argument based on the characteristics of EI that directly influence on an individual’s success such as teamwork, job satisfaction, performance and leadership. It is difficult to define success because different people have different meanings for this terminology. Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) claim that it is not possible to define success for everyone because it depends on personal history, expectations, goals, dreams and opportunities.

Therefore, this essay is based on the assumption that in the organisational environment first layer directors, managers and CEOs are considered as the most successful individuals. Collaboration and teamwork are very important for the performance of an organisation as in most, if not all jobs; organisation members interact with supervisors, coworkers, support staff, and outsiders such as customers, clients, or patients. Farh, Seo and Tesluk (2012) conduct a research on a sample of 212 professional from various organisations and find that there is a strong relationship between EI, performance and teamwork.

The easiest way to understand the importance of EI and its relative advantage over CI is to consider an example from a specific industry. The example of Mr X and Ms Y who were working in the same IT department of a company is presented below (Dunn, 2012): “Mr X was brilliant in his field and the best IT person in the office as to technical skills, but his people skills were very low. He was abrasive, arrogant, short-tempered, and a perfectionist. Other people did not like to work with him, and he was unable to explain things in terms other people could understand.

Ms Y, who was also in the IT department, had average technical skills and a good education, though it was less than Mr X. However, her EI more than made up for this. She was able to handle herself and other people well and to explain things calmly and clearly. People loved to work with her and requested her by name. She received promotion after promotion because of her high emotional intelligence”. It can be easily observed from the above example that control over EI can overcome shortage of CI skills in many scenarios.

Therefore, EI skills are required to become a better team player, which is an initial requirement for success in a company. The topic of job satisfaction is very important for the success of an individual. Rue and Byars (2005) show that individuals with high level of job satisfaction have a tendency to exhibit higher level of commitment to their workplace. Self-efficacy (one key dimension of EI) contributes positively to job satisfaction by visualising success. People program themselves for success by enacting their self-efficacy expectations (Kreitner & Kinicki , 2013, p 127).

It is also a known fact (Boyatzis & Saatcioglu, 2008) that even with high levels of job satisfaction but dissatisfaction with the team in which an employee needs to work seriously affects the overall performance and success. EI comprises of those competencies that employees require to overcome such potential negative outcomes to positive organisational outcomes. Furnham, McClelland and Mansi (2012) conducted an interesting research which allows employees of the organisations to select their boss hypothetically on the basis of four factors (age, sex, EI and CI).

Results of this survey show that there is no significant preference for gender or age of a boss but a strong preference for high EI and CI, with EI more powerful that CI. EI helps individuals to achieve job satisfaction by controlling their negative and positive emotions. Furthermore, personal and social competencies can be developed through EI skills such as self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness and relationship-management.

Many researchers (Rao 2006) believe that professions with higher CI scores are not only successful individually but also have traditionally performed at the top level in all areas including business leadership. Colfax, Rivera and Perez (2010) negate this notion and illustrate that not all who have a high CI are successful neither not all those who are successful have a high CI. Bradberry and Grieves (2009) conduct a research and their calculations show that EI is “the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence”.

In addition, EI is a dynamic capability which continuously changing with time, perspective, individual or environment. However, “after the age of fifteen or so, CI changes little over the course of a lifetime. This means that one’s CI is the relatively the same at age fifteen, as it is at fifty” (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). Finally, EI is very vital for the professionals where individual performance is important, such as many sports like swimming, tennis, golf and racing.

In sports the influence of emotions are crucial to success, athletes also experience anxiety and stress when they try to reach a high performance (Mellalieu, Neil, Hanton, & Fletcher, 2009). Eventually, athletes who control their emotions during stress perform better in the ground. Similarly, EI is equally important for the academic performance and real world stressful tasks. Self-awareness (a key EI dimension) is used for training individuals in stressful environment and professional coaches use this trait for better performance in grounds.

In conclusion, success is not easy to define and meaning of success varies individually based on personal history, expectations and dreams. Although, it is clear that teamwork, job satisfaction, commitment and emotional control are necessary characteristics for an individual for a successful career. These characteristics are achievable by learning and improving EI skills. Importantly, EI skills are not only required for group performance but also desirable for individual success. In contrast, CI does not change with age or experience. However, this is not the case with EI. Emotional competencies are learned and can be taught.

The mastery of EI skills evolve over a lifelong growth. The growth of one’s emotional intelligence can be seen as becoming more mature with age, experience and the willingness to change. Hence, based on the literature discussed, it can be easily concluded that EI is more important than CI in influencing an individual success. References Adrian, F, Alistair, M & Angela, M 2012, ‘Selecting your boss: Sex, age, IQ and EQ factors’, Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 552-556. Antonakis, J, Ashkanasy, NM & Dasborough TM 2009, ‘Does leadership need emotional intelligence? , The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 20, no 2, pp 247-261. Barchard, KA & Hakstian, AR, 2004, ‘The Nature and Measurement of Emotional Intelligence Abilities: Basic Dimensions and Their Relationships with Other Cognitive Ability and Personality Variables’, Educational and Psychological Measurement, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 437-462. Bradberry, T & Greaves, J, 2009, ‘Emotional intelligence 2. 0, California’, Talent Smart Brody, N 2004, ‘What Cognitive Intelligence Is and What Emotional Intelligence Is Not’, Psychological Inquiry, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 234-238.

Boyatzis, RE & Saatcioglu, A 2008, ‘A 20-year view of trying to develop emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies in graduate management education’, The Journal of Management Development, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 92-108. Colfax, RS, Rivera, JJ & Perez, KT 2010, ‘Applying Emotional Intelligence (Eq-I) in the Workplace: Vital to Global Business Success’, Journal of International Business Research, vol. 9, pp. 89-98. Cote, S & Miners, CTH 2006, ‘Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Intelligence, and Job Performance’, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 1-28. Dunn S, 2012, Ignitepoint, viewed on 13 April 2012,

International Marketing Strategies of Hyundai in India my essay help uk: my essay help uk

The automobile sector of India is no exception and has seen drastic change in the last decade. Some of the largest and successful automobile companies in India are Maruti Suzuki Udyog, Hyundai India ltd, Honda India ltd, Fiat India ltd, etc. the completion in this market is sky high. Therefore to survive in such a competitive market every company needs to provide better services than the competitor with almost of the same price as of the competitor, which is not an easy job to do.

The development of this sector is developing the economy of India as a whole, which is why government of India is allowing the foreign automobile companies to enter into Indian market with not many formalities. Competing in the Indian automotive industry is not an easy job as the largest portion of the population is middle class which cannot afford the luxurious vehicles. So, a company needs to analyse the Indian automotive market and should consider the segment strategies carefully. Relying just on one segment of vehicles is very risky in Indian automotive sector.

Hyundai Motor India ltd is one of the successful automotive companies in India. It has been successful in winning the hearts of Indian customers and maintains its goodwill in the country. There are many internal and external environment factors which influence the performance of an automotive company. An automobile company should put more focus on the internal factors such as policies, plans or strategies of the company as they can be controlled, on the other hand external factors like government policies, competition, etc cannot be controlled.

Hyundai has been able to strengthen its roots in the Indian automobile industry. However it still needs to modify some of its strategies to compete with other big players. 3 | P a g e PREFACE This paper is focussed on the Hyundai Motor India ltd which is one the leading automotive companies in India. This research discusses the growth of Hyundai Motor India in last few years. Also in this research Hyundai Motor India has been compared with the other players in the Indian automobile market to see where it stands. This paper shows which areas Hyundai Motor India needs to put more efforts in order to beat its competitors.

They adopted new marketing Strategies to advertise their product in overseas markets such as from the year of 2002, Hyundai became one of the worldwide sponsors of FIFA World Cup and in united states they start giving 10 years or 100000 miles warranty for their manufactured cars. And at present Hyundai motor company is a sixth largest automobile manufacturer of the world and one of the top 100 most valuable brands worldwide. (Wikipedia, 2008) Hyundai philosophy- From the global point of view, Hyundai motor company? s philosophy is to give wealthy nd comfortable lifestyle to people of the world and contributing the harmony and co- 18 | P a g e prosperity with its shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders of the automotive industry. As the sprit of creative challenge was visited in the company from beginning, which helps to drive people lifestyle toward modernization and had also solved various challenges for company in business environment. Based on this strength Hyundai motor company is playing its part to provide wealthy, comfortable, and stylish life style to people.

In 2005, Hyundai launched its new corporate vision, which was based on „innovation for humanity? and due to this vision Hyundai motor company had created five core strategies •Global orientation- the strategy is to lead in the field of automobile makers, to build trust of people, and become first choice of everyone. •New culture creation-to create such an automobile culture among people so that they feel stylish with in there budget and needs. •Technical innovation- they had provided new advance technology in their vehicles while keep in mind the needs and mentality of people. Customers moving-they had given importance to customers to create good business culture which attracts more customers towards them. •Human respect-by providing environment friendly technology Hyundai had shown great interest in human co-prosperity. (Hyundai Company Website, 2008) 2. 2Research and development facilities As there is lots of competition in automobile industry due to its fastest growth and highly competitiveness, manufacturers always tries to provide best and new thing in market and this shorten the product lifecycle of the product.

To provide competitive advantage to other competitors and to meet the desires of customers Hyundai motor company had invested in research and development centres in Europe, North America, and Japan. Hyundai motor company? s engineers and researchers always trying to provide stylish, good and quality cars within reasonable prices . they always tries to attract their customers by providing style, comfort and new technologies in their cars which add values in the people lives. Hyundai motor has their research centre named HATCI 19 | P a g e Hyundai America technical centre) was established in 1986 and wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai motor co. Hyundai had also opened design and technical centre in Irvine and California. Hyundai motor has spent US$ 1. 92 billion on R&D for one year in order to introduce four or five new models. (Hyundai motor world) 2. 3Manufacturing facilities and capacity Hyundai has their manufacturing plants all over the world and they are selling their vehicles in 193 countries by around 5000 dealers and showrooms.

Hyundai has their manufacturing plant in United States, china, India, and turkey and KIA is also upgrading its plants in china and completed an in Slovakia. In 2006, Hyundai had produce 964,842 units in their overseas plants and in 2005, Hyundai had sold 3715096 units and got the position of sixth largest automaker of the world(Hyundai Company Website, 2008) 2. 4Hyundai motor in India Hyundai motor India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Korea based Hyundai motor company and in India it is second largest and fastest growing car manufacturer presently serving market with 30 variants of passenger cars in 6 segments.

Hyundai came to India in 1996 and opened their wholly owned manufacturing plant in Chennai and in 2008 Hyundai had opened second manufacturing plant in India. Company manufacture cars in their plants for both domestic and overseas markets. HMIL is distributing their motor vehicles and providing services to their customers in all over India by their strong network. At present Hyundai motor India is having 230 dealers and 138 service centres in 181 cities of India and planning to increase dealers up to 300 this year. With the opening of new manufacturing plant Hyundai motor? anufacturing capacity increased up to 600,000 units per year. In India Hyundai is having six different models in different segments which includes santro, getz, accent, Verna, elantra, sonata, and Tucson . At present Hyundai only produce passenger cars in India but now Hyundai is going to set commercial vehicles manufacturers plant in India. In 1998 Hyundai motor came in the market with Santro that became India? s largest selling car of India in 2005. ((Hyundai Company Website, 2008) 20 | P a g e 3 LITERATURE REVIEW 21 | P a g e 3. 1“The factors influences in development of a marketing strategy” . 1. 1Development of a marketing strategy To succeed in market it? s very necessary for an organisation to develop a proper marketing strategy and appropriate planning while introducing a new product. Strategy itself long term planning which is decided by the top management of the company and to develop an effective marketing strategy, organization needs to do a lot of research about market environment which includes targeting profitable customers and to create marketing mix plan and more importantly satisfy the needs of customers as well as make profits for corporation.

It is next to impossible for an organisation to stick on same strategies. With the change of environment, organisations need to change their marketing strategies. Marketing strategies of the corporation are different from place to place and country to country. It can also be different by the thinking or mentality of customers. For example some people drink coffee because it keeps them alert and wakeup. But some drink it to relax and view it as a way to socialize (coffee breaks). Sometimes Company could not change their internal strategy but something are not in the hands of company they require changes to meet customers? atisfaction and to get desired output. There is an important issue to be considered by the companies? weather they will standardize its marketing mix strategies or will adopt or customize according to the local environmental structure. Then the question arise that how to build a proper marketing strategy and what are the key element which requires keeping in mind while developing marketing strategy. 3. 1. 2Standardization versus localization of international marketing strategy As we see from last four decades most of the companies have started their business in multination and became globalized.

So the biggest problem that the companies are facing is standardization versus adaptation. There are lots of researches done on this topic but fails to get an appropriate conclusion. There are lots of factors in decision making when companies get confused that either they go for standardized or adopt the present situation. Whenever a firm decided to approach international markets, they basically got for alternatives to introduce their products (Carter, 1997) No change in product, sell the same product in international markets 22 | P a g e ? Upgrade or modify the product for international markets as per the countries or egion? s need. ? Produce new product for foreign countries. ? Or to fit in all the differences, they can design and introduce one global product. 3. 1. 3Factors encouraging standardization ? Saving of scale in production ? Cost-cutting measure in product R & D ? Reduction of cost in marketing ? Make the whole world as one big market ? Global competition 3. 1. 4Factors encouraging adaptation ? Incompatible use conditions ? Influence of government and regulatory policies ? Different customer behaviour ? Local competition ? True general market concept ? History 3. 1. 5Standardisation potential of marketing programme

These days most of the companies using standardisation tool to build their brand image. The core benefit of standardisation is to sell the same product worldwide which saves large cost in production and marketing. By standardizing marketing mix globally, marketers can make everything very simple but in terms of sales and profit it is consider as a false step of managing the complexities. If we conclude this in general companies are more customers oriented and they are always ready to adapt their mix according to the desire market to meet customer? s needs and to give as best they can to customers.

If we look at automobile industry cars may be different by their body colour, shapes or sizes as per local demands but engine could be same in every county. The factors which cause an organisation to adapt according to the local awareness of the country are as follows 23 | P a g e MACRO-ENVIRONMENT Legal regulationsPolitical sensitivityTechnical and social Norms Geographical similarity Stage of life cycle Degree of urbanization Structure ofM A distribution R TechnologyK orientationE T Price sensitivity STANDARDIZATION OF MARKETING PROGRAME Nature of the product PProduct Runiquen Oess D U C TCultural specifici ty

International Attitude of INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Goals of Cost of R &D experience corporate mgmt internationalizati Figure 2 Standardization of marketing program source: (CIBS, 1999) 24 | P a g e 3. 1. 6Factors influencing the standardization potential of marketing program Organisation needs to consider all the above factor if they want to design successful marketing mix strategy for global markets, but these factors always different from place to place and to get better result organisations needs to change their strategies as per the local needs, then the adaptation comes in front of standardisation.

Companies always consider three sets of factors while deciding which product have to market abroad- targeted market, product and its characteristics and companies resources and policies. Organisations always consider that, is the adaptation of local market is cost worth or beneficial for the company but more or less most of the companies always adapt local responsiveness. These adaptation may includes change in packaging of a product or modify the company? s whole international strategy. While planning and deciding a marketing mix of a company, organisation needs to consider on lots of factors.

The first step towards development of a strategy is to scan external and internal environment of the company. These influences include technology, economical, social and political factors on any company. Not only this, organisation? s human and physical resources, reputation, market served and related market share of an organisation are also consider while constructing international strategy of a company. Therefore when a company decide to trade in international markets they have to consider all these issues very carefully to get a desired and better output from their business.

It depends upon the organisation that they are going to stick on the standardisation or they find to adapt local responsiveness is more beneficial for their business. 3. 1. 7Interplay of three Cs while developing marketing strategy Due to globalization, the whole world looks like a one local big market. Most of the companies are doing their business in multi nations but every time while doing business in different countries, companies need to design market strategies while considering lots of factors.

While designing a market strategy a company have to consider three factors- 25 | P a g e ¬ Customer – It includes targeted market, customers desires and countries laws and policies ¬ Competition – it includes completion with local and international brands ¬ Corporation – it includes company? s own polices, funds and resources These three C plays an important role while developing a fine market strategy and to get better and profitable results. 3. 1. 8Characteristics of good marketing strategy ¬ Satisfied market definition ¬ Good combination of corporate strength and market needs Better performance among competitors 3. 1. 9Key elements of marketing strategy development In the development of marketing strategy, customer, corporation, and competitor are interrelated with each other. The best relation and satisfaction from all the factors result to good business output. While developing marketing strategy there are three decisions should have to fallow to get better result: ¬ Where to compete- it need the description of market where you have to compete either you have to compete whole market or you only have to compete one or more segment. How to compete- it needs the meaning of competing, how to compete either by introducing new product in market or to set up new positions to existing product. ¬ When to compete-it needs the proper timing for market entry, when you have to enter into the market either being 1st in the market or have to wait for the development of primary demand. 26 | P a g e 3. 1. 10 Key elements of marketing strategy formulation CUSTOMER MARKETING STRATEGY CORPORATIONCOMPETATION Figure 3 Key elements of marketing strategy formulation (Jobber and Fahy, 2006)

It is necessary for an organisation to keep in mind the above factors while designing an international marketing strategy. All these factors may differ by countries, regions or by the laws and policies of the nation but without considering all these factors it? s not easy to design good marketing mix strategies. In nut shell to develop a good international marketing strategy, organisation needs to scan all the internal and external environments, they have to consider local responsiveness and the company? s human and physical resources, company? market values, policies and brand reputation while keeping these 3c in mind . Therefore while developing market strategy all the thing should follow and consider for getting the positive response from market. 3. 2Environmental analysis Without scanning and understanding environment, a company cannot intelligently plan for future. Environmental analysis of company is a first and very important step in the development marketing mix of a company. Thus most of the organisation creates a team of specialists to analyse environment before making marketing mix for any market. 27 | P a g e

Environment analysis is consist of two parts: 1) external market audit 2) internal marketing audit 3. 2. 1External market audit External market audit means analysing the external factors of the company. To control these factor are not in the hands of company although the marketers can modify marketing mix according to these factors. In contrast managers can modify or reshape marketing mix to influence target market, such an environment is called as macro environment. On the other hand the elements which are totally in control of an organisation come under micro environment.

Market environmental analysis helps to develop competitive market strategy and helps to identify future market opportunities and their 28 | P a g e [pic] Figure 4 External market Audit Source : (Wheelen and Hunger, Edition 1) 3. 2. 2Macro environment A market orientated firm looks outer to the environment in which it operates, adapt to gather advantages of rising opportunities and to minimize possible threats. Macro environment consist of number of factors which not only affect company but the other actor of microenvironment. While developing competitive market strategies there are so many factors should eep in mind which may affect performance of an organisation in its market. These factors differ according to markets, customers, laws, countries, and so 29 | P a g e many things but according to management terms PEST is a best model to assist external environment of an organisation. PEST stands for political, economical, social and technological factors. There is another model also for the assessment of external environment it includes same factors but just two new factors added in that these are environmental and legal factors and it is called as PESTEL.

PESTLE analysis is a best business measurement tool for analysing external factors of the organisation and we are using this one in our research. PESTLE ANALYSIS Political factor -Government polices -leadership style -international relations -taxation policies -political groups -inter-country relationships -international or national pressure group – countries political issues -trade union powers -foreign trade laws -trade union laws -wars ,conflicts, terrorism Economical factors -inflation rates -specific industry factors -international trade and monetary policies -cash flow within country -unemployment and job growth exchange rates -finance within the country -production level -energy cost 30 | P a g e | | | |Social/culture factor |Technological factor | | | | | | | |-people? lifestyles |-technological development and research funding | | | | |-technology access, licensing , patents | |-education | | | | | | |-advance information technology | |-media views | | | | | | |- product lifecycle | |-consumer attitudes, opinion, trends and buying access | | | | | |-diversification, fads, and lifestyle changes |-joint ventures | | | | |-demographic | | | |-e-learning, m-learning, emails, and software changes | | | | |-staff attitude and management style | | |Legal factors |Environmental factor | | | | | | | |-current company laws at home country market |-environmental issues-international, national, local | | | |-future legislations |-environmental laws | | | | | | | |-employment laws |-staff attitude, management style, organisational culture ,etc | | | | | |-market and stakeholders/investors values | |-trade union laws | | | | | | |-EU based factors | |-international business laws | | | | | | | | |-competitive regulations | | Table 1 PESTEL analysis for environmental scanning- (Wilson and Gilligan, 1998) 31 | P a g e 3. 2. 3Micro environment Microenvironment acts as an environment that affects the capacity of the organisation to operate effectively and efficiently in its selected market. Modification of these elements of environment is totally in the hands organisation.

Microenvironment is the set of factors and forces which influence on marketing opportunities of particular enterprise, its customer, competitors, suppliers, intermediaries, and other contact audience. It includes the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, there physical and human resources, buyers, sellers, competitors and distribution channels of the company. The nature of microenvironment is considered as very important function of the microenvironment. It is very important for marketers to deal with all these situations to develop an efficient market strategy. 32 | P a g e 3. 2. 4Porter’s approach The competitive strategy is the firm? relative positions within the industry. Buying power of buyers and suppliers their bargaining power and the threats of new entrants and substitutes in the market. These all may be more less all depend upon the nature of industry you are dealing with. The state of competition in an industry is the effect of five forces as shown below. It is very difficult for a company to operate business activities in perfectly competitive industry with a no difficulty of entry, as weaker the effect of five forces on the market more opportunities for industry will come out. Threat of New entrants Industry competitor Bargaining power of suppliers Intensity of rivalry

Bargaining power of customers Threat of substitute product or services Figure 5- Porter? s five force model source- (Jobber and Fahy, 2006) 33 | P a g e 3. 2. 5Internal market audit Internal marketing audit is all about analysing the issues inside the company and to find the way to cover up from them. So if we talk product standardization of the company, internal marketing environment also plays a major role in the process of decision making of company? s strategies. There are some factors below in internal market environment which effect decision making policy of a company: -Company? s own reputation in market -Company? international goals -Cost and R & D -Company? s physical and human resources -Companies own policies and ethics When a company decide to go globalized, company have to decide their brand image. How they want to appear in international market, do they have enough recourse to maintain brand image, how do company design price and promotion strategies and where company want to be after few years company? s aim mission and vision. 3. 2. 6Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning After analysing internal and external environment, company needs to analyse market segmentation so that the company can position themselves to serve targeted market.

Market segmentation refers to the process of dividing a market into meaningful, relatively, similar, and identifiable segments or groups and Targeting is selecting one or more market segments for which an organisation designs, implements, and maintains distinctive marketing manner (Lamb, Hair et al. , 2005). In today? s epoch, the concept of STP is a tool to get desire result in the business in very efficient manner but there are still so many companies who do not show such believe in this concept. If we consider past researches on this concepts it shows that the organisation segmentation of market always play a major role in the success story of any company. Figure below show the eight stages of STP process in a very efficient manner. (Wilson and Gilligan, 1998) 34 | P a g e Situation analysis: Identify the organisation’s current position, capabilities, objectives and constraints. Market segmentation: •Identify the segmentation of variables and segment of the markets. •Develop profiles of each segment. Market targeting: •Evaluate the potential and attractiveness of each segment. •Select the target segment(s). Product positioning: •Identify the positioning concept within each target segment. •Select and develop the appropriate positioning concepts. The marketing mix: •Develop the marketing mix strategy. Table 2 stages of the segmentation, targeting and positioning process source- (Wilson and Gilligan, 1998) 35 | P a g e Market segmentation Market segment is a subgroup of people or organization sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product”(Lamb, Hair, McDaniel, 4th edition). Everyone in this world, it may be individual or organisation all comes under a market segment because they are only one of their kinds. As every human or organization have some similar characteristics among them, so the market segmentation helps marketers to identify and divide segments or groups in a very meaningful and respectable manner. It is the process of dividing a diverse market into a number of small sub-markets of common characteristics, so that they make marketing mix plan according to the nature of market and serve them efficiently.

All the steps in segmenting a market is discuss in figure below: Select a market or product category for study. Choose basis or bases for segmenti ng the market. Select segment ation descripto rs. Profile and analyze segme nts Select target marke ts. Design, implemen t, and maintain appropria te marketing Steps in segmenting a market and subsequent activities (Lamb, Hair et al. , 2005) The core benefit of market segmentation drives a company to get hold and strengthen its position in market so that company can work more effectively and become a threat for their competitor. Beside these entire things this also provides a great knowledge about market and customer? s choice.

There are three major approaches to marketing strategies which are: -Undifferentiated Marketing -Differentiated marketing -Focused marketing 36 | P a g e -Customized marketing 3. 2. 6. 1Undifferentiated marketing – In this approach firms view whole market as one big market without any individual segments. These companies have a vision that the cost of developing separate marketing mix for different segments is much more useful then the gain occurs by meeting customer needs more closely. Mainly company with no completion adopt this kind of approach and develop same marketing mix for all the segments. Microsoft and coca-cola are the best example of this approach. 3. 2. 6. Differentiated marketing – Differentiated marketing approach is very well- known market targeting strategy in cars, cosmetics, and fashion retailing industries. In this kind of approach company develops specific marketing mixes to meet with all or some of the market segments mainly when marketing segmentation expose several potential targets. A cost economy is the one on of the potential drawback of this approach. 3. 2. 6. 3Focused marketing – When a company identify lots of segments in market, it? s not necessary for the company to serve them all, depending on the company and nature of business that to which segment they want to target. Instead of targeting unattractive or non- profitable segment company target only one market and develop marketing mix for that. 3. 2. 6. Customized marketing – In this type of approach the individual requirement of the customer is very rare but their purchasing power is more than sufficient that company can create different marketing mix for each customer. For example advertising and marketing research agencies, architects, solicitors. 37 | P a g e Undifferentiated marketing MARKETING MIXWHOLE MARKET Differentiated marketing MARKETING MIX 1Segment 1 MARKETING MIX 2Segment 2 MARKETING MIX MARKETING MIX 3 Segment 3 Customized marketing MARKETING MIX 1Customer 1 MARKETING MIX 2Customer 2 MARKETING MIX 3Customer 3 Figure 6 Target marketing strategies source – (Lamb, Hair et al. , 2005) 38 | P a g e 3. 2. 7Market segmentation approach

Different markets are segmented in different ways; market segmentation is all depend upon the nature of business and strategy builders of the company. Marketers have to decide where they can find potential of company? s growth. After studying and analysing market, organisations have made the best segments to take the customers in to concern. If we talk about car industry, this market has a variety of segments. Whole market is split into different segments by their sizes, technical, or class to satisfy customers. When a company wants to launch its product in market the first thing they consider is segmented market and in car industry it is normally categorized with the following descriptions. CATEGORY |DESCRIPTIONS | |A |MINI CARS | |B |SMALL CARS | |C |LOWER MEDIUM CARS | |D |UPPER MEDIUM CARS | |E |EXECUTIVE CARS | |F |LUXURY CARS | |G |CABRIOLETS | |J |SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLES | |M |MINI VANS | |S |SPORT COUPES | | | | Table 3 Categorization of cars source- (Rawel, 2005) 39 | P a g e 3. 2. 7. 1Criteria for successful segmentation After segmenting a market, if a company want to determine whether company has properly segmented its market, five criteria are mainly consider: -Effective -Measurable -Accessible -Actionable -Profitable 3. 2. Target marketing Once the identification and selection of best market segmentation is done by marketer, the next step is to target market. By targeting a market company decide choice of particular market segment to serve customers efficiently so that they can meet the criteria of that particular segment. Before targeting any market a company need to consider some issues like organization? s objective and there physical and human resources ,structural attractiveness , size and growth potential of each segment. Organisation needs to evaluate their segments while considering all the criteria of successful segmentation.

By evaluating segments, company gets the choice to enter into one or more segments and target market is the decision making moment for company to decide what and how many market segment in which to compete. 3. 2. 9Positioning After marketing segmentation and target market we come to 3rd important aspect of marketing management process. It is one of the most important and challenging aspect of marketing called as positioning. “The act of designing the company? s offering so that it occupies a meaningful and distinct position in the target customer? s mind. ” (Jobber and Fahy, 2006) Positioning is all about holding a position in customer? s mind, so if customer thinks about such need the first image comes in his mind is your brand name. Positioning is a process of designing an image and value in customer? mind so that they can seek and ensure solution only from your brand rather then your competitor. For example if we talk about car industry, Volvo got a prestige image of safest car in the world, Porsche 40 | P a g e got image of fastest car in the word so if we think about these needs these are the product which are going to come in mind first. Once the positioning strategy is decided then the next challenge is to develop successful positioning and the keys for successful positioning is described in figure below: [pic] Figure 7Keys to successful positioning (Jobber and Fahy, 2006) 41 | P a g e 3. 3MARKETING MIX STRATEGIES 3. 3. 1Marketing mix Marketing mix is defined as a tool used to reach company? objectives and goals in the target market. After analysing internal and external market, segmenting the market, targeting market, the next big and important step in formulation of marketing strategy is marketing mix. The marketing mix is a term used to describe the combination of tactics used by a business to achieve its objectives by marketing its products or services effectively to a particular target customer group. (Charted Institute of Marketing, 2001) After knowing the target market, next task is then to describe what the target buys. The target buys a product at a place for a price after promotion brings it to the attention of the target market.

Your marketing effort will not be centred around advertising alone because all components of marketing programs are essential, these components are generally known as the marketing mix, which are product, price, place, promotion. An effective marketing mix create effective product image in the minds of customers and also led company to be in the position to meet the needs and desires of the target market. Without having a good balance between the components of marketing mix, it? s very tough for any company to serve target market efficiently (Compucanada, 2008). Marketing mix is a mixture of marketing tools that are used to satisfy customers and company objectives.

It is a framework for tactical management of the customer relationship, including product, place, price, promotion (the 4-Ps); but in the case of service three more elements are included in this model these are process, people, and physical evidence. (Jobber and Fahy, 2006) 3. 3. 2Components of marketing mix After a long time it is still the matter of debate that is marketing mix is consist of four, seven or ten elements. In general we consider there are only four Ps in marketing mix but if we talk about service sectors there are seven and ten in corporate marketing mix. 42 | P a g e Marketing mix is a framework which guides marketers to implement their marketing concept successfully. In general there is four component product, place, price and promotion that play a major role in decision making areas of company to at least satisfy customer? s need.

According to (Kotler, 1998) The mix is a set of “controllable tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market”. So by the effective mixture of element of marketing mix will led company to successfully achieve their marketing objectives. 3. 3. 3The 4-Ps of marketing The traditional marketing mix is consisting of four major elements, the “4-Ps of marketing”. These are defined below: 1. Product: “Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, places, organizations and ideas”. (Kotler, 1999) 2. Price: whatever values customers exchange while using any product or services is called as price.

Usually it is the amount of money but it may be in different forms as well. 3. Promotion: Any activities that communicate advantages of the product or services to the target market and make insist customers to buy that product. 4. Place: where ever company offer their product or services to targeted customers. It represents the location where customers can buys product or services. (Centre, 2008a) As this dissertation is focused on automobile sector, so in this sector there is the need for marketing mix of product and services as well. They sell cars to customers as a product and processing the product till it reaches the customer, after sale services as the services to customers.

These days almost every company is stressing on providing excellent service to customers and making service marketing mix because it helps company to compete in the fast competitive environment and build long term contact/relation with customers by providing best value to satisfy their needs better than competition. So in service marketing mix we consider three more elements and these elements are: The 7-Ps of services marketing 43 | P a g e 1. People: anyone who is directly or indirectly related to the consumption of service comes under people, e. g. employees or other consumers. 2. Process: “this is the procedure mechanisms and flow of activities by which a service is acquired. (Jobber and Fahy, 2006)Process decisions totally influence on how a service is provided to customers. 3. Physical evidence: the environment in which service is delivered which includes tangible goods and they help them to communicate and perform the service. The seven Ps are the factors that marketing can control, for better than as in internal and external marketing environment. The main aim of these factors is to make marketing mix strategies while keeping all these elements so that the company will get positive response. So these some elements of seven Ps which can be consider while decision making process as below: Product decisions: -Brand name and Functionality -Styling, quality and safety -Packaging -Repairs and support -Warranty Accessories and services Price decisions: -Pricing strategy (skim, penetration, etc) -Suggested retail price -Volume discounts and wholesale pricing -Cash and early payment discount -Seasonal pricing and Bundling -Price flexibility and discrimination Place decisions: -Distribution channel and market coverage -Specific channel members 44 | P a g e -Inventory and warehousing management -Distribution centres -Order processing and transportation -Reverse logistics Promotional decisions: -Promotional and advertising strategy -Personal selling, sales promotions and sales force -Public relations and publicity -Marketing communications budget (centre, 2008b)

People decisions: -Employee selection -Employee training -Employee motivation Physical evidence: •Layout, decor and ease of access •Forms of presentation Process management: How customers are handled and managed the point of very first contact with the organization though to the point of very last contact. Product: The term Product doest only refer to physical goods but it includes intangible stuff as well that could be services or good? s packaging, warranty, after-sale services, brand name, company image, value and many more factors. It depend upon business to business that what they are offering to their customers, e. g. oca cola sells their cold drink as a physical good and Barclays bank sells financial services which are purely 45 | P a g e intangible but if u recognize they both are selling their brand name, company image, values and many more factors. Basically there are three levels of product: •Core product •Actual product •Augmented product(Marketing Teacher, 2008) Core product: core product is intangible, not a physical product. No one can touch it, because core product is the benefit of the product. It is the benefit that makes that product valuable to customers. In case of car, convenience of transportation, speed of the car is the core benefit of car.

Las Vegas Trip english essay help online: english essay help online

Finding your going to the wrong Las Vegas, having to drive a car that looked more like a dump than a motor vehicle, and almost getting hit by lighting. Couldn’t be any worse right? When I finally got to my hotel, I realized that I was dead wrong. Words cannot describe how horrific the place was, but I’ll do my best to get you close to what it looks like. Imagine your typical haunted house. Got it? Okay, now take that house, sink it in a mud hole, pull it out, and let wild dogs run through it.

I think you get the picture. After I had gotten over the shock of where I was to stay, Louis took my luggage up to my room, I gave him a tip, and he drove off. That was the last time I saw Louis. Now I didn’t know what to do? This was not the Las Vegas everyones knows, this was the las vegas that people didn’t think even exist. “grrrr”my stomach growled. ”Oh man! I am hungry” I then left my hotel room and started to explore the hotel. I was on the top floor of the hotel so I took an elevator down to the lobby area.

When I was walking around the only sound of life I saw was these guys talking to each other, but I couldn’t understand a word they said. So I left to go check their outdoor swimming pool. I knew something was going to go wrong at the swimming pool and I was right. “Wow! ” I said so surprisingly. There it was a 12 ft deep pool of weird-looking water with seaweed looking stuff all around. “Howdy” someone said. There he was a crinkle-up little man sunbathing in the sun. “Ummm…. hey”I said shyly. “Wanna come hangout with me? hLas Vegas Trip Who knew that a trip to Las Vegas could be so tragic? As a matter of fact, who knew that an all-expense-paid-three-day-vacation to Las Vegas would be a mistake to accept? I really should read the fine print – or any print for that matter, But when I called the radio station as the 95th caller. I won. When I got to the airport, I noticed that my plane ticket was to Albuquerque. Albuquerque? Are you serious? Remember when Bugs Bunny used to always take wrong left turns there? It turns out that I was about to do the same.

I read the radio station’s letter as I sat on the Plane. “Las Vegas , New Mexico? Are you serious? ” I yelled at the flight attendant. “Bushleague. ” 6 hours later i finally arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As I got my luggage I saw a man with my name on it so I started to head his way. “Hi. ” I said. “Hola Senor” He said in his spanish accent. “Are you Tom John? ” “Why, yes I am. ”I said back. “Welcome to Albuquerque. ” He said cheerfully. “May I ask? What is your name? ” I asked. “My name is Luis the 3rd. ” Luis replied. “So how far is Las Vegas from here? I questioned. “It is 120 Miles Tom” Luis said. “Well Lets get to it! ” I said trying to sound excited. “Luis and I started to head out of the airport. I then saw the machinery we were taking it ws a small red truck that looked like it was going to fall apart at any minute. I got into the truck hesitantly, and Luis smiled as he took my luggage from me and put it in the bed of the truck. “Have you ever visited Las Vegas before? ” Luis asked me as he got in the car and began driving. We continued making small talk until the rain started.

It started pouring rain and we could see lightning hitting trees that happened to be in the field we were dining next to. The next flash of lightning of thunder came at almost the exact same time and lit a tree on fire that was literally less than 10 feet away from us. e said. “Ummm…. I have to go soon. So probably next time I see you. ”I said then quickly left. “ok boy”he said as I quickly left the room. I then went up to my room and just lay on the bed. I couldn’t believe that I have to stay here for another 3 days. From a tiring day I then fell into a deep sleep. All of a sudden I woke up. yawnnnn” I said as I stretched. I then looked at my phone and saw I had slept for 12 hours. It was just about the afternoon. I then got up and got ready for the day. I then tried to think of things I could do in this place but none came in mind. I then decided to stay in my room for the rest of my vacation. When it got time to go I quickly as possible tried to go to the airport and fly home. I finally arrive home. “Hi, how was your trip? ” curiously said my mom. “Oh it was ok. ” I explained. Now for the rest of my life I will never listen to the radio station. THE END.

Life english essay help online: english essay help online

I think that these events foreshadowed Okonkwo’s and the Ibo tribe’s demise because every single one of the events affected Okonkwo negatively and led to some of change in his life. It starts with Okonkwo’s father being a bum in the tribe and neglecting his responsibility to his family. His death was also degrading because his body was thrown in the forbidden forest and Okonkwo always worked towards not becoming someone like him. However, at the end Okonkwo’s “burial” is the same and he becomes the failure he tried to avoid.

He considered himself a failure because he was unable to rid the tribe of the colonists because he could see that the culture was diminishing but he failed to bring the tribe to fight after his exile. He was exiled because he killed a boy at the wedding which he was invited to after he killed Ikemefuna so that he could clear his mind with a distraction. Overall, every event led to something which foreshadowed Okonkwo’s demise as well as the tribe’s. 13. How does the last chapter of the book differ from the other chapters? Why do you think Achebe chooses to narrate the last chapter from the point of view of someone who has et to be introduced in the novel? The last chapter of the book is different from the rest because Achebe allows the colonists to have the last words which were, “The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger,” the name of another book that would be in the perspective of the colonists which degraded the Africans as uneducated and barbaric individuals who lacked the basic understanding of religion and government. The title refers to the killing of numerous Africans to take their resources and “pacifying” the people because they were savage and didn’t know the ways of civil life.

The pacification is not peace, but it the ruin of the culture and tradition set forth so long ago and trampled on by the colonists. Achebe’s focus throughout the novel was to debate the colonist’s view on his people and the reader can see that the colonists were people who took over and negatively impacted some tribes with the biased viewpoint from Achebe which is good and bad. The positive aspect is that we get to see how many Africans felt about the colonists and how power-hungry they might’ve been.

On the other hand, the negative part is that we do not know the colonists’ perspectives on the same events that Okonkwo sees such as the killing of the messenger. Achebe wants to change the focal point of the last chapter to other novels written by the white men who he wrote about because he wants to leave a biased impact on the reader. The reader can see how the commissioner is “evil” when Obierika gets mad which is weird for him because he is usually so neutral/calm. He blames him for Okonkwo’s death and praises his friend’s greatness.

The commissioner decides to honor the group’s request, but he leaves and orders his messengers to do the work. As he departs, he congratulates himself for having added to his store of knowledge of African customs. Achebe makes the colonists seem like the villains with this biased view and the reader feels resentment towards them and sympathy towards the tribes. We do not know the colonists’ point of view on everything just from this chapter. It is true that the colonists brought change upon the tribes but they brought both good and bad, however, Achebe chose to focus on the bad.

Sienkiewicz V Greif essay help site:edu: essay help site:edu

From 1966 until 1984 she was an office worker at the defendant’s factory premises. The defendant manufactured steel drums and during the course of this process, asbestos dust was released into the factory atmosphere. Although Mrs Costello did not work on the factory floor, her duties took her all over the premises. In common with other inhabitants of the local area, however, she would also have been exposed to a low level of asbestos in the general atmosphere.

Causation The general rule at common law is that a person suffering injury must show on the balance of probabilities that the defendant’s tort (most commonly negligence) caused the injury or condition. But for the defendant’s wrongdoing, the claimant would not have suffered the damage (this is sometimes called the “but for” test). There is an important exception to this rule. In the case of a “divisible” disease such as pneumoconiosis, the amount of dust inhaled operates cumulatively to cause the disease and determine its severity.

If exposure to the dust is partly due to the defendant’s negligence and partly not, the defendant will be liable to the extent that his breach of duty has materially contributed to the disease. If there is more than one defendant, liability can be apportioned. This approach, however, causes difficulties in mesothelioma claims because, unlike pneumoconiosis or asbestosis, mesothelioma is an “indivisible” disease. It is still uncertain whether its contraction or its severity can be related to the amount of asbestos fibres ingested, or even which fibres triggered the disease.

In Fairchild v Glenhaven [2003], the House of Lords (as it then was) recognised that, in a mesothelioma case where the claimant had been exposed to asbestos at different times while working for different employers, it would be impossible to satisfy the conventional “but for” test and prove which exposure was the cause of the disease. Consequently, the Law Lords created another exception to the normal causation rule. In mesothelioma cases, it would be enough for the claimant to show that a negligent exposure ad materially increased the risk of his developing the disease. In Barker v Corus [2006], the House of Lords went on to decide that, in cases where there had been successive negligent exposures, liability should be apportioned between defendants. Each employer would be liable for that proportion of the damage which represented his contribution to the risk that the employee would contract mesothelioma. Parliament, however, swiftly intervened to pass section 3 of the Compensation Act, which allows the claimant to obtain full compensation from any one of them.

The section applies where (1) a person has negligently or in breach of statutory duty exposed the victim to asbestos and (2) the victim has contracted mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos, but (3) it is not possible to determine with certainty whether it was this or another exposure which caused the disease and (4) the person in question is liable in tort “whether by reason of having materially increased a risk or for any other reason.   The defendant in this case said that any negligent exposure to asbestos fibres while Mrs Costello was at work would have been minimal and far less than the environmental exposure, which was not negligent. It argued that the Fairchild exception did not apply because this was a “single exposure”– in other words, the defendant was the sole known source of occupational exposure to asbestos dust. In any event, the exposure was not “material”. According to the defendant, the appropriate causation test to apply was a “doubles the risk” test.

Only if the occupational exposure could be shown to have at least doubled the risk of Mrs Costello contracting mesothelioma could the defendant be held liable. The judge at first instance agreed and concluded that Mrs Costello’s exposure to asbestos at work increased the risk by only 18%. The claimant appealed, arguing that the judge had failed to apply the law correctly. The Court of Appeal judgment The Court of Appeal found that the proper test was whether the occupational exposure had materially increased the risk of contacting the disease.

In its view, Fairchild effectively created a new tort limited to cases of mesothelioma – the tort of negligently materially increasing the risk of injury. Section 3 of the Compensation Act made it law that, provided all four conditions were satisfied, causation could be proved by demonstrating that the defendant wrongfully “materially increased the risk” of the victim contracting mesothelioma. It did not matter whether the “other exposure” was negligent or non-negligent. The claimant could prove causation by any available method, including showing a material (i. e. ore than minimal) increase in risk.

The defendant appealed. The Supreme Court judgment The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal. The Fairchild exception was developed for mesothelioma cases because of ignorance about the biological cause of the disease. Under it, a defendant is liable if it materially increases the risk of the claimant contracting mesothelioma. The same principle applies whether it is a case of single exposure or multiple exposure. The Court of Appeal, however, had misread the Compensation Act as creating a statutory rule of causation.

Section 3 merely provides that, if a defendant negligently exposed the claimant to asbestos and the claimant contracts mesothelioma, the defendant would be liable in tort “whether by reason of having materially increased a risk or for any other reason. ” Whether and in what circumstances liability attached to the defendant was still a matter for the common law. The Supreme Court, however, considered that the “doubles the risk” test put forward by the defendant was unsuitable as a test for causation in mesothelioma cases.

The idea is borrowed from epidemiology, which is the study of the occurrence and distribution of events such as disease over human populations. If statistical evidence indicates that the wrongdoer’s act has more than doubled the risk that the victim would suffer the injury, the argument goes that it is more likely than not that the wrongdoer caused the injury. The Supreme Court concluded that, as long as medical science is unable to demonstrate the exact origin of mesothelioma, data relating incidence to exposure was not a satisfactory basis for making findings of liability. What constitutes a material increase in risk?

Something more than minimal. But Lord Phillips said: “I doubt whether it is ever possible to define in quantitative terms what for the purposes of the application of any principle of law is de minimis. This must be a question for the judge on the facts of the particular case. ”  He continued: “In the case of mesothelioma, a stage must be reached at which, even allowing for the possibility that exposure to asbestos can have a cumulative effect, a particular exposure is too insignificant to be taken into account, having regard to the overall exposure that has taken place. ” This case involved low levels of exposure.

But currently there is no known lower threshold of exposure that determines whether or not a person contracts the disease. In any event, the Supreme Court was satisfied that the exposure in this case materially increased Mrs Costello’s risk of developing mesothelioma. Commentary The decision could pave the way for claims by mesothelioma victims who have been exposed to levels of asbestos that, until now, might have been considered too low to be actionable. The Supreme Court judges resisted any attempt to limit the applicability of the Fairchild exception or the Compensation Act to “multiple exposure” mesothelioma cases.

As Lord Phillips commented: “The 2006 Act, coupled with Fairchild, has draconian consequences for an employer who has been responsible for only a small proportion of the overall exposure of a claimant to asbestos dust, or his insurers, but it would be wrong to have regard to that fact when considering the issues raised by these appeals. Parliament has willed it so. ” Comments made by some members of the Supreme Court, however, questioned the wisdom of creating special causation rules, even for such a disease as mesothelioma.

Lord Brown doubted whether special treatment could be justified. “Although […] mesothelioma claims must now be considered from the defendant’s standpoint a lost cause, there is in my mind a lesson to be learned from losing it: the law tempers with “but for” test of causation at its peril. ” Lord Rodger looked forward to a day when medical science can identify which fibre or fibres caused the disease, at which point the problem that gave rise to the Fairchild exception “will have ceased to exist”.

Wendell Berry Essay writing an essay help: writing an essay help

To Buy A Computer,” in the 1987 edition of Harper’s, Wendell Berry was critiqued by readers who felts he was using his wife as a “drudge. ” Berry writes that, “My wife types my work. She sees things that are wrong and marks them with small checks in the margins. She is my best critic because she is the one most familiar with my habitual errors and weaknesses.

She also understands, sometimes better than I do, what ought to be said. ” (Pg. 180) But his readers seemed to miss this. To make a full response to them, Berry writes “Feminism, The Body, and the Machine. ” Through his use of quotation marks, tone, and diction, Berry defines and defends his marriage. He illustrates the ironies in how we think and live that have turned us from a sense of mutual belonging to one of individual ownership. Quotation marks can be used to imply a different meaning than a word would normally be associated with. Marriage, in what is evidently its most popular version, is now on the one hand an intimate ‘relationship’ between two successful careerists in the same bed…” (Pg. 180) The word relationship tends to have a positive connotation because typically, it’s used to describe friendships, lovers, husbands and wives, mothers and daughters. The word implies something good, something sacred, and something intimate. However, Berry puts the word in quotation marks to essentially make the statement that this particular relationship is a lie.

The relationship is not truly a relationship if each partner’s focus is on himself or herself. The same idea is applied to ‘… the ‘married’ couple will typically consume a large quantity of merchandise and a large portion of each other. ” (Pg. 180) Marriage insinuates a helpful attitude between a husband and wife, a giving rather than taking. The definition of “consume” means to destroy. Comparing it to marriage confirms that Berry believes the world’s idea of marriage is a lie.

After defining marriage’s most popular version, he writes to confirm that there are some marriages that still believe in the household as an economy. “To them, ‘mine’ is not so powerful or necessary a pronoun as ‘ours. ’” (Pg. 181) While he doesn’t allude to a different meaning with this use of quotation marks, he does use them to continue to differentiate between his marriage and the rest. “Ours” means sharing, giving, and working together in a way to allows for quality time and growth within the home.

Berry uses tone to undermine and expose the logic of his detractors. “Their accusation rests on a syllogism of the flimsiest sort…” (Pg. 180) Here, Berry uses a mix of sarcasm and a mocking attitude to make his point against the readers. Speaking in regards to their comments, he writes “… the sort of razor-sharp philosophical distinction that could cause a person to be elected president. ” (Pg. 179) By mocking them right off the bat, Berry disarms the comments he can’t bother to take seriously before he defends the things that do take priority.

Moving onto a paternal tone, Berry says “It is clear to me from my experience as a teacher, for example, that children need an ordinary daily association with both parents. ” (Pg. 182) He takes on this tone because aside from defining his marriage, he also takes responsibility for educating the people he’s responding to and the people that are reading. I find that Berry uses a lot of irony in his essay. He makes an interesting statement early on in his essay where he says his “offense” is that he receives help from his wife. Most often, an offense implies a breaking of a social or moral rule.

The readers believe that help in a marriage is the same as exploitation or subservience. The irony is that having something uncommon, such as a marriage where the focus is mutual help rather than subservience doesn’t mean a moral rule is being broken. It simply means that Berry and his wife work together rather than using each other. Speaking on feminists, Berry uses irony by writing, “That feminists or any other advocates of human liberty and dignity should resort to insult and injustice is regrettable. ” This statement could arguably be the most ironic of them all.

Because advocates of human liberty are standing for fairness and equal rights to all people, it is more than regrettable that they would lower themselves to attacking Berry. It contradicts what they supposedly stand for. Berry redefines words to make the reader truly understand his thoughts. “… Involving (ideally) two successful careerists in the same bed…” (Pg. 180) The word “career” is most often associated with people who put their job before anything else. “I can’t date, I’m really into my career right now. ” It’s an implication that it’s more important than relationship.

Using the word “bed” strips away all ideas of intimacy and love. Later, Berry writes, “… a prolonged and impassioned negotiation as to how things shall be divided. ” Berry uses to the word “impassioned” to imply a lot more than just the long process of divorce; he’s saying that passion is only really shown when assets are being divided. Marriage involves vaguely sharing your bed with that guy from that one time, and divorce is when you remember how many times he forgot to make his side of the bed. It’s what works for that time, and Berry knows it.

After laying out the common beliefs of marriage, Berry writes on what marriage ought to be in regards to the household as an economy. He doesn’t necessarily compare it to an actual economy so much as say that in order for a marriage to function well, each must do their part. He goes into some detail about working outside the home versus working inside the home, but I think his primary focus involves “… the work of both wife and husband, that gives them a measure of economic independence and self-protection, a measure of self-employment, a measure of freedom, as well as a common ground and a common satisfaction. (Pg. 181) It’s all about working in harmony with one another.

Careers aren’t as important as jobs within the home. Berry knows that what you do isn’t nearly as important why and how you do it. Wendell Berry’s essay, “Feminism, the Body, and the Machine,” focuses in part on marriage with his wife and marriage in its most popular version. His use of stylistic devices shows more than what is written and implies deeper meaning that rounds off his stance.

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Compare two psychological approaches to health and social care service provision. Kathryn Lamb Tuesday 14th May 2013 In this assignment, I am going to be comparing the humanistic perspective and the biological perspective in a health and social care service provision.

The humanistic perspective is “an innate tendency we all possess as human beings to become the best that we can be in all aspects of personality and intellectual, social and emotional life. ” Moonie, N (2010) Health and Social Care Level 3 Book 1, p. 348. Whereas the biological theory looks at the genes of people and also says that it is what determines who a person is and how they develop, so development is more drawn to nature (or genetics) rather than nurture (or the environment).

In health and social care settings, the humanistic and the biological approaches contradict each other and can also affect a person’s health in different ways. For example, if someone is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, the humanistic approach says that for someone to develop, a person must follow through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs where they must achieve the basic necessities of life fists such as good housing, good quality food and health which are all included in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Cystic fibrosis is an incurable disease, which means that once an individual has been diagnosed with the disease, they will have it for the rest of their life, which would make it impossible for them to develop and reach their full potential, although there are medications that can help the sufferer of the disease have a more decent health status, but it will be much harder for them to reach and achieve the self-actualisation stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs because of the nature of the disease and the short life expectancy it causes.

They may also be affected emotionally, as they will be going to several hospital visits which may make them feel depressed which will affect the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as they will not feel safe if they are aware of the genetic disease they have. The biological perspective also influences the sufferer of cystic fibrosis but in a different way.

This is because the perspective feels that each person goes through a set stage of development in their life drew to genetics, for example include the steps of development that a fertilised egg goes through in the womb; the heart is the first organ to form, followed by the rudimentary nervous system and so on, or puberty for both girls and boys throughout adolescence.

But, since cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease, it can decrease or sometimes stop development in several ways for example, sufferers of cystic fibrosis have a short life expectancy of there thirties. The biological perspective also says that development in general is due to genetics “rather than being dependant upon the environment to mature. ” Moonie, N (2010) Health and Social Care Level 3 Book 1, p. 351. This would mean that medication would not help the sufferer develop.

Because of this, cystic fibrosis sufferers may start to become depressed and may need counselling or treatment from their doctor at the hospital to help them feel good about themselves and keep a good outlook, despite what is happening to them. Doctors and equipment in the hospital will be required from the hospital to help more for sufferers to keep concentrating on their health so they can develop to the best of their ability.

Book Monster Essay by Walter Dean Meyers common app essay help: common app essay help

Steve Harmon is a high school student, who is sent to jail and is being tried for murder. The plot takes place in Steve’s jail cell and the court room. The lesson to be learned from the book is, if someone does something wrong they have to pay for it. The book is a murder mystery, that can entertain anyone. This book is a must read in my opinion. The plot of the book Monster includes setting, main character, and conflicts. First, the story takes place in the jail cell and courtroom.

Steve is on trial for the robbery and murder of Mr. Nesbitt. Next, is Steve Harmon, who is sent to jail for being involved with the crime. Steve is a high school student. He is walking around his neighborhood, looking for places to shoot a movie for his film class, on the day of the crime. At last, Steve does not know whether he did something wrong or not, there is also conflict between him and the others being tried for the murder and robbery. He is starting to think he did do something wrong. It is hard for him to separate himself from everyone else.

Steve and his attorney are having a hard time showing he did nothing wrong. To conclude, there are many things that go into the plot of the book Monster. The lesson of the story includes a lesson, quote, and an example. In the first place, if someone does something wrong they have to pay the price for their mistake. Being Steve is involved with the crime, he is put in jail. He will go on trial and see if he will get capital punishment, or even a punishment at all. Still, “My job is to makes sure the law works for you as well as against you, and to make human in the eyes of the jury. Steve’s lawyer wants him to look like an average teenager going to high school, rather than a killer.

For example, Steve is nervous, and he shows emotion unlike the others on trial. Steve is not used to being in jail. He talks about how bad it is, along with the trial. Most of the others are not afraid of what is to come, because they know they are in the wrong. Steve does not know if he did something wrong or not. To summarize, the lesson of the story has three components. Some reasons why I would recommend the book includes what I liked about it, ow it compares to other books by Walter Dean Myers, and how it appeals to me. First, I liked how after Steve is done journaling he always shares how he feels. After every day Steve journal, and say everything that is on his mind, good or bad. Then, there are many books that are similar to Monster, that are written by Walter Dean Myers. One of the many books that are similar Monster, is Kick which is about a young person who gets into trouble with the law because of drugs. At last, Monster is written like a screenplay, and that appeals to me by showing a different way of writing a book.

The book is written in Steve’s point of view, and Steve wants to turn the case into a movie. Therefore, there are some differences and similarities between this book and others, that make this book unique. This book should be at the top of anyone’s list of books to read. Steve make it feel like reader is in the jail cell or the court room on trial. The lesson is very strong and true. If someone want a good book worth the time, this is a must. Monster is for many people with different interests. “Ain’t no use putting the blanket over your head, man, You can’t cut this out; this is reality. This is the real deal. ”

Exploring the Hospitality Industry free college essay help: free college essay help

Hospitality businesses are open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day – Constant strive for outstanding guest satisfaction – leads to guest loyalty – leads to more pro? t – Services are mostly intangible – the product is for the guest’s use – not possession – only – Inseparability: – characteristic of services that makes them inseparable (1) from their means of production, and (2) from the customer’s experience of them. Inseparability requires that a consumer of a service interacts (sometimes physically) with its producer to receive its bene? s – Perishability: – one of the four fundamental characteristics of a service, it refers to the fact that (in general) services cannot be produced and stockpiled (inventoried) before consumption: they exist only at the time of their production

The hospitality business is selling an intangible and perishable product Perfecting service – Service is ‘the act or means of serving’, to serve is to ‘provide goods and services for’ and ‘be of assistance of’ – Guest expectations have increased and the realisation that ‘we buy loyalty with service’ have caused the hospitality industry to be re-vamped – The essence of teamwork: – ‘if you are not serving the guest, you had better be serving someone who is’ – someone in the back of the house is serving someone in the front of the house, who is serving the guest (employees are sometimes called internal guests; one employee serves another employee who serves the guest) – helps to achieve the common goal: guest satisfaction – External guests – the people who are willing to pay for a company’s service – their satisfaction ultimately measures a company’s success – Internal guests – The people inside a company who receive or bene? from the output of work done by others in the same company – Steps for success in service 1. focus on the guest 2. understand the role of guest service 3. weave a service culture into education and training systems 4. emphasise on high touch instead of high tech 5. thrive on change – leadership involves change, because the external environment is changing – when implementing change: 1. State the purpose of the change 2.

Involve all employees in the process 3. Monitor, update and follow up – Total quality management (TQM) helps improve service to guests by empowering employees to give service that exceeds guest expectations – Works best when managers are lso good leaders, they have to create a stimulating work environment in which guests and employees become an integral part of the mission by participating in goal and objective setting – Achieving TQM is a top-down, bottom-up process that must have the active commitment and participation of all employees from the top executives down to the bottom of the corporate ladder – TQM focusses on error prevention – Quality control (QC) focusses on error detection – By empowerment employees will feel responsible for their jobs and have a stake in the company’s success – To empower employees, managers must: 1. Take risks 2. Delegate 3. Create a learning environment 4. Share information and encourage self-expression 5. Involve employees in de? ning their own vision 6. Be thorough and patient with employees The hospitality industry is a service industry; this means that we take pride in caring about others as well as ourselves.

Ensuring that guests receive outstanding service is a goal of hospitality corporations CHAPTER 3 Pleasure travel – 82% of domestic travel is leisure travel (leisure, recreation, holidays and VFR) – Nearly half visits friend and relatives – Reasons for travel – To experience new and different surroundings – To experience other cultures – To rest and relax – To visit friends and family – To view or participate in sporting / recreational activities – Reason for increasing travel – Longer life span – Flexible working hours – Early retirement – Greater ease of travel – Tendency to take shorter, more frequent trips – Increase in the standard of living – The appeals of travel – Scenic beauty – Pleasant attitudes of local people – Suitable accommodation – Rest and relaxation – Airfare cost – Historical and cultural interest – Cuisine – Water sports – Entertainment (e. g. , nightlife) – Shopping facilities – Sports (golf and tennis) – Factors in? encing travel – Entertainment – Purchase opportunities – Climate for comfort – Cost – Travel is an experience, not a tangible object –

The experience and the memory occur in the mind, leaving no concrete evidence as to why travel was undertaken and why the trip is experienced in so many different ways by different people Business travel – Amount of business travel has declined – General economic climate – Acts of terrorism – Companies’ reduced travel budgets – These days business travel is often combined with leisure travel – Business travellers for business purposes such as – Meetings – All kinds of sales – Conventions – Trade shows – Exhibitions – Compared to leisure travellers, they tend to be young, spend more money, travel farther and in smaller groups. However, they do not stay as long – Business travel will gradually decline even further and leisure travel will increase – Many people have more leisure time and higher level of education – More disposable income –

The cost of travel has remained constant or dropped The social and cultural impact of tourism – Tourism can leave both positive and negative impact of communities – Tourism has made signi? ant contributions to international understanding – Tourism is a means of enhancing: – International understanding – Peace – Prosperity – Universal respect for, and observance of human rights – Fundamental freedom for all, without distinction to race, sex, language, or religion – Tourism is a sociocultural phenomenon, exchanging sociocultural values – The competitiveness of international destinations is based on such attributes as – Service quality – Price – Safety – Security – Entertainment – Weather – Infrastructure – Natural environment –

Political stability What is ecotourism? – ‘Responsible tourism’ – A reaction to the negative consequences on natural resources, ecosystems and cultural destinations – Environmentally responsible travel and visitations to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides bene? ially active socioeconomic involvement of local populations – Ecotourism is more focused on individual values – Promotes biodiversity – Promotes conservation – Minimises the environmental impact of tourism – Increases knowledge of culture and the environment – Sustains the livelihood of locals Cultural tourism – Visits motivated wholly or in part by interest in the historical, artistic, scienti? c, or lifestyle / heritage offerings of a community, region, group or institution – It bene? ts from the United Nations Educational, Scienti? c, and Cultural Organisations (UNESCO), which designated a number of World Heritage Sites worthy of protection and preservation due to outstanding value of humanity – Placing local arts and crafts in hotel lobbies, guest rooms, and restaurants increases the demand for them and at the same times creates a desirable local ambience in the hotels –

Cultural tourism enhances the arts and crafts of a destination by roviding new markets for artisans, often reviving a fading art or craft and fostering the development of traditional forms Heritage tourism – Tourism that respects natural and built environments, the heritage of the people and place, and appreciation for historical milestones and ‘heritage trails’ – The purpose of preservation is to protect those assets for the enjoyment of present and future generations – The challenge is heritage tourism is ensuring that the increased number visitations does not destroy the very qualities that attracts tourists in the ? rst place – Four steps to a comprehensive heritage program – Assessing the potential – Planning and organising – Preparing, protecting, and managing – Marketing for success

Nature tourism – Tourism motivated by nature, such as visits to a national park – Baby boomers have increasingly become interested in nature tourism CHAPTER 4 Franchising – A concept that allows a company to quickly expand by using other’s money instead of own ? nancing. For a fee, the franchiser grants certain rights such as the trademark, signs, proven operating systems, operating procedures and reservation system and purchasing discounts – The franchisee agrees (under contract) to operate in accordance with the franchiser’s guidelines Management contracts – A management contract is an arrangement under which operational control of an enterprise is vested by contract in a separate enterprise which performs the necessary managerial functions in return for a fee.

Management contracts involve not just selling a method of doing things (as with franchising) but involve actually doing them – Responsibility for rapid hotel industry boom since the 1970s – Popularity because they involve little or no up-front ? nancing or equity Types and location of hotels 1. Based on location – City centre – Generally located in the heart of the city within a short distance from business centre, shopping arcade – Resort hotels – They are also termed as health resort or beach hill resort and so depending on their position and location. They cater a person who wants to relax, enjoy themselves at hill station. Most resort work to full capacity during peak season.

Sales and revenue ? ctuate from season to season – Freeway Hotels and Motels – (Motor) hotels offer a convenient place to stay that are reasonably priced with few frills. Guest can simply drive up park outside the of? ce, register, rent a room and park outside the room 2. Based on the level of service (Classi? ed into economy, and luxury on the basis of the level of service they offer) – Economy / Budget hotels – These meet the basic need of the guest by providing comfortable and clean room for a comfortable stay 3. Based on the length of stay – Transient Hotel – These are where guest stays for a day or even less, they are usually ? ve star hotels. The occupancy rate is usually very high. These hotels are situated near airport Residential hotels – These are the hotel where guest can stay for a minimum period of one month and up to a year. The rent can be paid on monthly or quarterly basis. They provide sitting room, bed room and kitchenette – Semi residential hotels –

These hotels incorporate features of both transient and residential hotel 5. Based on target market – Commercial hotel – They are situated in the heart of the city in busy commercial areas so as to get good and high business. They cater mostly businessmen. – Convention hotels – These hotels have large convention complex and cater to people attending a convention, conference – Suite hotels – These hotel offer rooms that may include compact kitchenette.

They cater to people who are relocating act as like lawyers, executives who are away from home for a long business stay. – Casino hotels – Hotel with predominantly gambling facilities comes under this category, they have guest room and food and operation too. These hotels tend to cater leisure and vacation travellers. Gambling activities at some casino hotels operate 24 hours a day and 365 days a year Vacation Ownership – Political correct way of saying time-share – A person purchases the use of a unit for block of time, usually in weeks – The idea is that you bene? t by “pre-paying” for a vacation place rather than renting it, as you might otherwise do. The pro? t that would have gone to the rental stays in your pocket.

Under a Vacation Ownership plan you agree to a one-time purchase price and an annual maintenance fee, Vacation Ownership purchasers own their accommodation time and purchase the right-to-use it for a speci? ed number of years CHAPTER 5 Function and departments of a hotel – The main function of a hotel is to provide an outstanding lodging experience – Provide all the comforts of home to those away from home – A large hotel is run by a General Manager and executive committee, key associates: – Rooms Division director – F&B director – Marketing and Sales director – Human Resources director – Chief accountant – Chief engineer Role of the hotel General Manager – Large hotels can be impersonal, but the GM has to make sure that he / she gets to know the guests and makes their stay memorable. GMs can be present in the lobby of the hotel or in F&B outlets at peak times – Guests like the feeling that the GM has personal interest in their well-being – Qualities of a GM – Leadership – Attention to detail – Follow-through – People skills – Patience –

Ability to delegate ef? ciently – The GM sets the tone, selecting and training the best people, and others try to match it Management structure – The GM, with the input from the executive committee, makes all the major decisions affecting the hotel – These executives compile the occupancy forecast together with all revenues and expenses to make up the budget The departments – The rooms division’s director is responsible to the GM for the ef? cient and effective leadership and operation of all the rooms division departments – This includes ? ancial responsibility, employee satisfaction goals, guest satisfaction goals, guest services, guest relations, security and the gift shop – The front of? ce is the hub or nerve centre of the hotel – It is the ? rst impression that the guest gets from the hotel –

The guest relies on the front of? ce for information and service throughout the stay – The duty of the FOM is to provide outstanding guest services to exceed needs – Main functions of the front of? ce staff – To sell rooms – To maintain balanced guest accounts – To offer service such as handling mail, faxes, messages, and local hotel information – A hotel balances their accounts at the end of each business day – The night auditor waits until the hotel quiets down at 1. 0 AM and begins the task of balancing the guests’ accounts receivable – The daily report contains rooms occupancy percentage (ROP) and average daily rate (ADR) – ROP is rooms occupied, divided by the number of rooms available – ADR is the total rooms revenue, divided by the number of rooms sold Property management systems –

A system that help the hotel to accept, store, and retrieve guest reservations, history, requests and billing arrangements electronically – It is designed to assist front of? ce employees with – Reservation management – Rooms management – Guest account management Revenue management – It is a demand-forecasting technique used to maximise room revenue – Based on supply and demand principle – To increase pro? tability Management would like to sell every room at rack rate (= published rate that the hotel wants to get for the room) – But most of the rooms are sold at discount on the rack rate – To allocate the right type of capacity to the right guest at the right price so as to maximise revenue or yield per available room – Yield is ROP * rate achievement factor – Rate achievement factor is ADR divided by rack rate – Revenue per available room (rev par) is total room revenue, divided by the number of available rooms Communications CBX or RBX – Telecommunications department – Guest communication.

Manufacturing Beauty essay help fairfax: essay help fairfax

What does your critical analysis of the website reveal to you about Cindy Jackson’s sense of her social self, her self-concept, her self-esteem and her self-presentation? Self concept refers to a set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself. Self-concept can also be referred to as identity and plays a key role in determining individuals’ behaviour. She attributed the desire to drastically change her appearance to a strict father and low self-esteem. The website reveals that as a child she had very low self-esteem. She felt and believed that she was unattractive and like a complete misfit.

She did not like her physical appearance, and hence could not give favourable descriptions of herself using observable characteristics. To me I think she had issues with her Identity as a child. As a child she lived a fantasy Barbie life since she was 6 years old after her parents gave her a Barbie doll.

Through Barbie she could glimpse an alternative life. As Cindy Jackson grew older, her self-concept changed, and she was readily willing to do all she could to make herself attractive. She wanted to look better, and believed that by transforming herself, she could perfectly fit into the society. urning point for her to be who she always dreamed of was in 1988 after she inherited some money. She was able to change herself with a help of the plastic surgeries. She has undergone 52 plastic surgeries to attain what she perceived to be a perfect image or physique (Cindy Jackson’s Website). The numerous plastic surgeries have had a positive effect on a social self and self-presentation. 2. How does the physical attractiveness stereotype of interpersonal attraction factor into your findings about Cindy Jackson? Cindy Jackson numerous interviews on how her life has changed after the multiple plastic surgeries.

She believed that plastic surgeries changed her life, men find her to be physically attractive, and hence desirable. Prior to undergoing plastic surgeries Cindy Jackson was unpopular, so her current popularity is the result of her physical attractiveness after the surgery. This is a clear illustration of the physical attractiveness stereotype. Some people think that if you are attractive then they are more happy, outgoing and confident with themselves. After the multiple plastic surgeries Cindy Jackson seems to have gained happiness, fame, and success.

She now considers her life to be more valuable. She is so confident with herself that she has books and advises people how to better themselves with plastic surgery. 3. How does the mass media influence Cindy Jackson’s lifeworld? Cindy Jackson had 52 operations over 23 years with the sole objective of looking like Barbie. When Cindy Jackson was six years old, she looked at a Barbie doll and decided that that was how she wanted to look like. She has spent thousands of dollars on numerous operations so as to look better. The ideals set by the media have a fundamental effect in the society.

For example the ideal body type depicted in advertisements is what the society would perceive as beautiful. Hence, media had a key influence on Cindy Jackson’s decision to have multiple plastic surgeries to attain that ideal body figure. All the media attention how she changed her life how she looks like the famous Bridgett Bardot, all the talk shows all the newspaper article promoted her believe that all her efforts paid off, she is famous and people like her because she looks attractive. 4. What do you perceive that the theme of “manufacturing beauty” me

I think that plastic surgeries and cosmetic products are forms of manufacturing beauty. People buy and use such products with the sole of objective of attaining a certain degree of beauty as dictated by the society. Most of us use cosmetic products to look and feel attractive and beautiful, but some like Cindy Jackson go to the extreme of spending thousands of dollars on operations aimed at enhancing their beauty. This tends to give a notion that you don’t have to be born beautiful you can make yourself beautiful by other means. This implies that beauty can be manufactured, and hence the theme of manufacturing beauty.

Atticus Finch essay help us: essay help us

Everyone needs a role model in life, someone to teach them morals and lessons. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch just happens to be the perfect role model for not only his own children but the entire Maycomb County. He sets examples not only as lawyer, but as a father and teaches his children the necessary morals to function as model citizens in society. Atticus was proven as a fantastic lawyer throughout the book, and everyone in the county could attest to it.

Well he can make somebody’s will so airtight can’t nobody meddle with it,” Miss Maudie told Jem and Scout. (Pg. 95) People from all around the county would come to Atticus to write their Last Will and Testament. This points to the respect that Atticus has and the almost father figure that he is to many people around Maycomb. In addition Atticus is a role model to society, because he did the right thing in the Tom Robinson case. He knew Tom was innocent, however he knew it would be very controversial to represent a black man.

Even though representing Tom went against what was acceptable in society, he did it anyway and stood up for his morals and beliefs. This served as a lesson to both his kids and society. Atticus was a great role model for his children and positively influenced them over the course of the book. He treats his children like normal human-beings and because of this, Jem and Scout are very well grounded. He teaches his kids how to read and stresses the importance of school and their education. “If you’ll concede the necessity of going to school, we’ll go on reading every night just as we always have. (Pg. 31)

Even though Scout’s teacher tells him not to teach her to read, he not only stands up for what he believes in, he is able to use his understanding of Scout and how she functions and use that to teach her the importance of school and a good education. Atticus is a great parent and lawyer. He is able to teach his children the skills and behaviors to succeed, all while balancing a successful career and serve as a role model to society. By being an honest man and following his heart, Atticus Finch is a model citizen.

Caribbean Studies Ia Guide Cape scholarship essay help: scholarship essay help

The School Based Assessment section of Caribbean Studies accounts for 40% of the final grade. This section of the paper is internally assessed and externally moderated. This section of the examination gives candidates the chance to maximize their performance on the final examination. To this end, candidates are encouraged to explore possible topics to choose from the syllabus. At the back of the syllabus (pgs. 42-44) there are a number of broad topics that can be used to explore in the school base assessment.

Beginning the Research Process 1. First look at your immediate surroundings for issues you would like to discuss, or better yet, choose an issue you feel passionately about. In identifying a research problem one should keep the following in mind: * It should be of interest to you; * It should be within your expertise; * It should be worthwhile or significant; * It should be ‘do-able’; * It should be manageable. (Source: Leacock, Coreen et al, (2009). Research Methods for Inexperienced Researchers. Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers. .

The next step is to gather as much information as possible on the topic (literature). There are several sources where you can find information; you can first start by looking at some books, journals, etc. In the age of the electronic media, the internet is the most popular place you may want to look. There may be a number of persons in your community you may want to talk to on the subject matter. Depending on the nature of the study, you may be fortunate enough to visit a website based on the subject you may be doing research on.

Ensure that for the subject matter you have chosen there is enough material around for you to build your research. If this is not the case, do not give up, choose another topic. 3. After you have decided on a broad topic that you would like to research, you need to start the more difficult part of the paper which is narrowing the topic. Very often students have very interesting topics but they fail to obtain a comfortable grade due to the fact that their topic would have been too wide.

Owing to the limitation on length, students must be very selective as to how they choose their area so as to maximize on the word limit. Please note that candidates would be penalized for exceeding the word limit. 4. The next step is to formulate a PROBLEM STATEMENT. The problem statement identifies the intent of purpose of the research (Leacock et al, 2009). This process involves thinking, discarding and re-formulating the problem so that it meets the criteria necessary for a researchable problem (Caribbean Studies, Study Guide, 2004).

Therefore, the problem statement refers to a logical and concise sentence which expresses the topic that the researcher is investigating. 5. Below are examples of problem statements. Please note how the topics are narrowed: a. The economic effects of increased gang-related activities in the McKnight community in St. Kitts. b. The effects of the rise in the pre-school population upon the pre-school system in Charlestown, Nevis. c. Rastafarian children in the Basseterre area face unfair discrimination in school. OR d.

Do Rastafarian children who attend school in Basseterre face discrimination in school? e. There is a significant relationship between the age of voters and their preference of political party, [ in St. Kitts] , ( Leacock et al, 2009) A well written problem statement usually identifies the variables, in which you are interested, the specific relationship between those variables that you are examining, and where possible, the types of participants involved (Leacock et al, 2009, pg. 26). Note in the above topics the focus is very specific.

First of all the geographic location is identified and a very specific area of the topic is chosen. The possibilities are limitless; the student with some guidance from the lecturer can be as creative as they wish in doing the topic. 6. Below are some examples of topics that would be too wide to be examined: a. An examination of crime in the Caribbean. b. Religion in Basseterre. c. The impact of the Mass Media on St. Kitts The first problem with topics in the above is that they are too wide; the student undertaking topics worded like this would never complete the research.

In the limited time space given they would not produce a paper of an acceptable standard. How can these topics be corrected? Let us use “Religion in Basseterre” as an example. To correct this topic in order for it to be used as School-Based Assessment we first need to decide on which religion we would be examining, after which, we need to choose a specific area in Basseterre we wish to examine. The religion, for example, that we can explore is Rastafarianism and the location, for example, in Basseterre that we can research on is New Town.

We can even be more specific and examine what area of Rastafarianism we would want to explore; for this purpose, we can probably examine women in Rastafarianism. Now that we have all the specific areas, we can now structure our topic. The topic should read as follows” An examination of Rastafarian women in the New Town Community”. The topic now has a narrowed focus, hence, the student can now proceed to select their information from which they could have gathered to fit their topic. FORMAT OF THE RESEARCH PAPER a. Length: 2000-2,500 words. b.

Structure: Cover Page ( Title , Name, Date, Registration number, Territory, Centre Number); c. Acknowledgements d. Table of Contents: i. Introduction and Purpose of Research ii. Literature Review iii. Data Collection Sources and Methodology iv. Presentation of Data and Analysis of Data v. Discussion of Findings vi. Conclusion/Limitations of Research/ Recommendations vii. Bibliography viii. Appendices The Structure of the Research Paper Candidates are strongly advised to use the structure and sequence outlined in the syllabus to prepare their study (page 35).

The Introduction The introduction is the face of the paper since this is what the reader would see first, therefore the candidate should make a good first impression. (An introduction is the opening of the paper that introduces the reader to the topic addressed by the paper and why it is significant. ) The introduction should be focused, interesting and linked to the topic. A weak introduction can turn off the reader. What then should be in the introduction? The introduction should have several parts which are as follows: a.

Background of Study. This section of the introduction would provide information about the topic that would assist the reader in understanding the context in which the topic is being discussed, for example using the topic we choose previously, “An examination of Rastafarianism women in the New Town community” we may wish to discuss the location of New Town, the development of Rastafarianism in the community, and also any significant or outstanding issue that would link Rastafarianism to that community.

We can also look at the socio-economic background of the community and the age of the community. b. Problem Statement. The problem statement identified the intent or purpose of the research. Formulating one calls for much thought on your part because this statement guides what data you collect, from whom you collect it, how you analyse it and how you interpret the results of your analysis. A good problem statement tells the reader what the focus of your research is, and clues them to the types of questions that you are going to try to answer.

A well written problem statement usually identified the variables, in which you are interested, the specific relationship between those variables that you are examining, and where possible, the types of participants involved. Remember each statement must be a grammatically stated sentence that is clear and concise. (Leacock et al, 2009) c. Statement of the Problem. The Statement of the Problem is an opportunity for the candidate to provide background information on how they identified the problem as a synopsis of what the research will entail. A good statement of the problem elaborates and extends the problem statement. ) d. Purpose of the Research. The purpose of the research clearly outlines why the candidates choose to write on the topic, what about the topic or the issue which interested the candidate. Some students may wish to examine this section by doing some research questions. e. The Educational Value of the Research. This section follows next. As the title implies this section seeks to describe what educational importance this study has for the candidate and the wider reading public.

The student may wish to indicate that the project enables them to develop research skills, the topic chosen would be providing the general community with information about Rastafarianism women in Irish Town. f. Definition of Technical Terms used in the study. This section is the last in the introduction which most students take for granted, but this section is very important to the study. Candidates are required to define any technical terms used in the study, also the meaning of the words used in the tile or topic.

Candidates are instructed to ensure that they include all sections indicated in the above in the Introduction of the School-Based Assessment. Literature Review [A] Literature review summarizes and evaluates a body of writings about a specific topic. In general, a literature review has two key elements. First, it should concisely summarize the findings or claims that have emerged from prior research efforts on a subject.

Second, a literature review should reach a conclusion about how accurate and complete that knowledge is; it should present your considered judgments about what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s inconclusive, and what’s missing in the existing literature. Conducting a literature review can have several benefits: i. It can give you a general overview of a body of research with which you are not familiar. ii. It can reveal what has already been done well, so that you do not waste time “reinventing the wheel. ” iii.

It can give you new ideas you can use in your own research. iv. It can help you determine where there are problems or flaws in existing research. v. It can enable you to place your research in a larger context, so that you can show what new conclusions might result from your research. (Knopf, 2006). The literature review places the research clearly in context. Also, analyze all quotations. Do not cut and paste information- (does not allow for the flow of the argument). Candidates must also correctly cite the work used in this section.

For example, if you are using a text by Eric Williams the name of the text should be underlined and the year the text was published and if possible the page, if it is a direct quotation in brackets. The citation should look like the following below: Eric Williams (1977) in his text Capitalism and Slavery argued that slavery built industrialization and industrialization in turn destroyed slavery. NB. Candidates should use a variety of sources (books, journals, internet, television documentary, newspapers, magazines, leaflets/ brochures from UN, UNESCO, CARICOM, PAHO, etc. ) Data Collection Sources and Methodology

For some time this section seems to be the most difficult to grasp by candidates. The Data Collection Sources are a critique of the sources from which the data was obtained for the study. This section demands that the student exam the strengths and the weaknesses of the sources. Hence, for example, the candidate should state whether or not the sources contained any biases, and give reasons to why the sources may be biased, or the student may discuss if the documents / sources are credible or not and likewise say why it may be or may be not credible. Methodology The methodology is a bit more straightforward.

This section is used if the candidate chose to collect his/her own data (primary data). This section should describe how the data was collected, the specific time the data was collected, the sample group from which the data was collected. Presentation and Analysis Data The presentation is very basic and most students’ performance is exceptional in this area. Students who have access to the electronic media use many creative ways of presenting their data. Whatever graphs /tables/charts are used must be well labeled and clearly outlined. The section is not merely restricted to graphs only.

It must also be noted that while graphs should be used these graphs must be of various kinds. The analysis of data demands that the candidates effectively and efficiently analyze the data they would have collected. Marks are often lost in this section because students merely describe what the graphs or tables are showing; this is in no way enough, and candidates MUST give reasons for what is shown in the tables and on the graphs. For example, a graph might show that in May of 2001 there were 5 road fatalities, in June of that same year there were 20 and in December, 25.

It would not be enough in the analysis of data to merely state that the road fatalities increased steadily over the period. The candidates must move on further to state why there might have been increases in these road fatalities. From the data candidates might want to suggest that since December is the period for Carnival on St. Kitts, the increased uses of the road around this time might increase the chances of road fatalities. The previous example of analysis is the type which this section is demanding. Candidate’s failure to do so would result in a poor grade. NB: Analysis of Data MUST be placed under each graph/ table/chart.

Discussion of Findings This section can be very difficult for the candidate who has failed to properly research his/her topic. The Discussion is fairly simple; this section demands a comparison between the Literature Review and what the candidates would have discovered from their research. The students who failed to effectively research material to obtain a proper Literature Review would find that their Discussion of Findings would be weak. Candidates should also discuss the implications of their findings. For example, the student should be able to state what their findings suggest.

Conclusion/ Limitations and Recommendations Conclusion The conclusion is the summary of the main findings and the present implications, and how the findings relate to previous studies on the problem. Tips for a strong Conclusion * Bring out the significance of your research paper. Show how you have brought closure to the research problem, and point out remaining gaps in knowledge by suggesting issues for further research. Deal with issues at the level of the whole paper rather than with issues at the level of a paragraph. * Make the significance brought out in the conclusion congruent with the argument of your paper.

Do not oversell or undersell the significance of your paper. The conclusion cannot reach any farther than the paper’s main argument. The conclusion is the place to put the final, proper perspective on the paper as a whole. * Bring closure to the entire paper, not only by summarizing the arguments, but also by bringing out the significance of the paper. Avoid using terms related to specific elements of the paper—look at the paper as a whole and pull it all together in the conclusion. * Make the conclusion sell a worthwhile paper to interested readers.

Exercise integrity in your conclusion—do not exaggerate the conclusion to bring strength to a weak paper. There should be a strong correlation between the arguments in your paper and your stated significance(s) in the conclusion. In the case of a thesis or dissertation, readers will likely turn first to the conclusion. Do not let your readers get motivated by your conclusion to read the rest of the document—only to experience disappointment. * Use key terms, concepts and phrases from the introduction and body of the paper—but do not just repeat them. Use them to bring out the new insight gained from your research.

The conclusion should provide more than a flat-footed re-statement of the [research] statement articulated in the introduction—it should take the entire paper a step ahead toward a new level of insight on the research problem. * Make the tone of the conclusion match the tone of the rest of the paper. For most of your … papers, keep the tone serious—omit jokes and anecdotes from the conclusion. In the context of an academic argument, humor is generally inappropriate and could seriously detract from your paper’s credibility. * Write the conclusion at a level of specificity/generality that matches the introduction.

Do not use the conclusion to summarize the previous paragraph—rather, pull the entire paper together and make its significance clear. A concluding chapter should draw conclusions for each major issues raised in the document. For any type of paper, do not overreach the conclusion—make statements that can be fully supported by your evidence. * Do not introduce any new information into the conclusion. The conclusion signals readers that the writer will point out the significance of the paper at this point, and bring the entire paper to a clear and definite end.

Just as the minister should never introduce a new point in the concluding remarks of a sermon, the writer should not introduce another point in the conclusion. Expecting the end, readers will be disappointed—or annoyed—to find yet more new information. * Put your best writing skills into the conclusion … Never allow the first draft to stand as the final product—revise the conclusion again and again until its integrity is practically unassailable. All studies have limitations. It is imperative that the candidates restrict their discussion to limitations related to the research problem under investigation. Mentions must be made of some factors identified to be limitations of the research. For example, the size of the sample, type of sample used, lack of available data, cultural bias, time frame of the study, access etc. NB: Do not list concerns, explain fully. Recommendations

This section of the research the candidates should clearly express their recommendations-focusing on what more can be done in the area of study. The recommendations must be related to the issue/ problem being studied. Reference / Bibliography At the end of the study candidates should have a list of scholarly works cited in alphabetical order by author. The bibliography provides the reader with the sources of the information.

New Historicism essay help online free: essay help online free

It began probably at the University of California at Berkeley under the auspices, in part, of Stephen Greenblatt, whose brief essay you’ve read for today. Greenblatt and others founded a journal, still one of the most important and influential journals in the field of literary study, calledRepresentations–always has been and still is an organ for New Historicist thought. It’s a movement which began primarily preoccupied with the Early Modern period, the so-called “Renaissance.

The New Historicism is, in effect, responsible for the replacement of the term “Renaissance” with the term “Early Modern. Its influence, however, quickly did extend to other fields, some fields perhaps more than others. It would be, I think, probably worth a lecture that I’m not going to give to explain why certain fields somehow or another seem to lend themselves more readily to New Historicist approaches than others. I think it’s fair to say that in addition to the early modern period, the three fields that have been most influenced by the New Historicism are the eighteenth century, British Romanticism, and Americanist studies from the late colonial through the republican period.

That age–the emergence of print culture, the emergence of the public sphere as a medium of influence, and the distribution of knowledge in the United States–has been very fruitfully studied from New Historicist points of view. So those are the fields that are most directly influenced by this approach. When we discuss Jerome McGann’s essay, you’ll see how it influences Romantic studies. Now the New Historicism was–and this probably accounts for its remarkable popularity and influence in the period roughly from the late seventies through the early nineties–was a response to an increasing sense of ethical ailure in the isolation of the text as it was allegedly practiced in certain forms of literary study.

Beginning with the New Criticism through the period of deconstruction, and the recondite discourse of Lacan and others in psychoanalysis, there was a feeling widespread among scholars, especially younger scholars, that somehow or another, especially in response to pressing concerns-post-Vietnam, concerns with globalization, concerns with the distribution of power and global capital–all of these concerns nspired what one can only call a guilt complex in academic literary scholarship and led to a “return to history. ” It was felt that a kind of ethical tipping point had been arrived at and that the modes of analysis that had been flourishing needed to be superseded by modes of analysis in which history and the political implications of what one was doing became prominent and central. I have to say that in debates of this kind there’s always a considerable amount of hot air, perhaps on both sides.

In many ways it’s not the case that the so-called isolated approaches really were isolated. Deconstruction in its second generation wrote perpetually about history and undertook to orient the techniques of deconstruction to an understanding of history, just to give one example. The New Historicism, on the other hand, evinced a preoccupation with issues of form and textual integrity that certainly followed from the disciplines, the approaches, that preceded them.

Also to a large degree–and 1 of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.? PRINT Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. edu/transcript/469/engl-300 this is, of course, true of a good many other approaches that we’re about to investigate, approaches based in questions of identity also–to a large degree, appropriated the language of the generation of the deconstructionists and, to a certain extent, certain underlying structuralist ideas having to do with the binary relationship between self nd other, and binary relationships among social entities, as opposed to linguistic entities; but still, as I say, essentially inheriting the structure of thought of preceding approaches. So, as I say, it was in a polemical atmosphere and at a moment of widespread self-doubt in the academic literary profession that the New Historicism came into its own–a response, as I say, to the isolation of the text by certain techniques and approaches to it.

Chapter 2. The New Historicist Method and Foucault [00:06:16] Now very quickly: the method of New Historical analysis fell into a pattern, a very engaging one, one that’s wonderfully exemplified by the brief introduction of Greenblatt that I have asked you to read: a pattern of beginning with an anecdote, often rather far afield, at least apparently rather far afield, from the literary issues that are eventually turned to in the argument of a given essay.

For example: a dusty miller was walking down the road, thinking about nothing in particular, when he encountered a bailiff, then certain legal issues arise, and somehow or another the next thing you know we’re talking about King Lear. This rather marvelous, oblique way into literary topics was owing to the brilliance in handling it of Greenblatt, in particular, and Louis Montrose and some of his colleagues.

This technique became a kind of a hallmark of the New Historicism. In the long run, of course, it was easy enough to parody it. It has been subjected to parody and, in a certain sense, has been modified and chastened by the prevalence of parody; but it nevertheless, I think, shows you something about the way New Historicist thinking works. The New Historicism is interested, following Foucault–and Foucault is the primary influence on the New Historicism.

I won’t say as much about this today as I might feel obliged to say if I weren’t soon be going to return to Foucault in the context of gender studies, when we take up Foucault and Judith Butler together–but I will say briefly that Foucault’s writing, especially his later writing, is about the pervasiveness, the circulation through social orders, of what he calls “power. ” Now power is not just–or, in many cases in Foucault, not even primarily– the power of vested authorities, the power of violence, or the power of tyranny from above.

Power in Foucault–though it can be those things and frequently is–is much more pervasively and also insidiously the way in which knowledge circulates in a culture: that is to say, the way in which what we think, what we think that it is appropriate to think–acceptable thinking–is distributed by largely unseen forces in a social network or a social system. Power, in other words, in Foucault is in a certain sense knowledge, or to put it another way, it is the explanation of how certain forms of knowledge come to exist–knowledge, by the way, not necessarily of something that’s true.

Certain forms of knowledge come to exist in certain places. So all of this is central to the work of Foucault and is carried over by the New Historicists; hence the interest for them of the anecdotes. Start as far afield as you can imaginably start from what you will finally be talking about, which is probably some textual or thematic issue in Shakespeare or in the Elizabethan masque or whatever the case may be.

Start as far afield as you possibly can from that, precisely in order to show the pervasiveness of a certain kind of thinking, the pervasiveness of a certain social constraint or limitation on freedom. If you can show how pervasive it is, you reinforce and justify the Foucauldian idea that power is, as I’ve said, an insidious and ubiquitous mode of circulating knowledge. All of this is implicit, sometimes explicit, in New Historicist approaches to what they do. 2 of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.?

Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. edu/transcript/469/engl-300 Chapter 3. The Reciprocal Relationship Between History and Discourse [00:10:56] So as I said, Foucault is the crucial antecedent and of course, when it’s a question of Foucault, literature as we want to conceive of it–perhaps generically or as a particular kind of utterance as opposed to other kinds–does tend to collapse back into the broader or more general notion of discourse, because it’s by means of discourse that power circulates knowledge.

Once again, despite the fact that New Historicism wants to return us to the real world, it nevertheless acknowledges that that return is language bound. It is by means of language that the real world shapes itself. That’s why for the New Historicist–and by this means, I’ll turn in a moment to the marvelous anecdote with which Greenblatt begins the brief essay that I’ve asked you to read–that’s why the New Historicist lays such intense emphasis on the idea that the relationship between discourse–call it literature if you like, you ight as well–and history is reciprocal.

Yes, history conditions what literature can say in a given epoch. History is an important way of understanding the valency of certain kinds of utterance at certain times. In other words, history is–as it’s traditionally thought to be by the Old Historicism, and I’ll get to that in a minute–history is a background to discourse or literature. But by the same token there is an agency, that is to say a capacity, to circulate power in discourse in turn.

Call it “literature”: “I am Richard II, know you not that? ” says Queen Elizabeth when at the time of the threatened Essex Uprising she gets wind of the fact that Shakespeare’s Richard II is being performed, as she believes, in the public streets and in private houses. In other words, wherever there is sedition, wherever there are people who want to overthrow her and replace her with the Earl of Essex, the pretender to the throne, Richard II is being performed.

Well, now this is terrifying to Queen Elizabeth because she knows–she’s a supporter of the theater–she knows that Richard II is about a king who has many virtues but a certain weakness, a political weakness and also a weakness of temperament–the kind of weakness that makes him sit upon the ground and tell sad tales about the death of kings, that kind of weakness, who is then usurped by Bolingbroke who became Henry IV, introducing a whole new dynasty and focus of the royal family in England.

Queen Elizabeth says, “They’re staging this play because they’re trying to compare me with Richard II in preparation for deposing me, and who knows what else they might do to me? ” This is a matter of great concern. In other words, literature–Fredric Jameson says “history hurts”–literature hurts, too. [laughs] Literature, in other words, has a discursive agency that affects history every bit as much as history affects literature: literature “out there,” and theater–especially if it escapes the confines of the playhouse because, as Greenblatt argues, the playhouse has a certain mediatory effect which defuses the possibilities of sedition.

One views literary representation in the playhouse with a certain objectivity, perhaps, that is absent altogether when interested parties take up the same text and stage it precisely for the purpose of fomenting rebellion. Literature, especially when escaped from its conventional confines, becomes a very, very dangerous or positive influence, depending on your point of view on the course of history. So the relationship between history and discourse is reciprocal. Greenblatt wants to argue with a tremendous amount of stress and, I think, effectiveness that the New Historicism differs from the Old Historicism.

This is on page 1443 in the right-hand column. John Dover Wilson, a traditional Shakespeare scholar and a very important one, is the spokesperson in Greenblatt’s scenario for the Old Historicism. The view I’m about to quote is that of John Dover Wilson, a kind of consensus about the relationship between literature and history: Modern historical scholarship [meaning Old Historicism] has assured Elizabeth [laughs] that she had [this is the right-hand column about two thirds of the way down] [laughs] nothing to worry 3 of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.?

Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. edu/transcript/469/engl-300 about: Richard II is not at all subversive but rather a hymn to Tudor order. The play, far from encouraging thoughts of rebellion, regards the deposition of the legitimate king as a “sacrilegious” act that drags the country down into “the abyss of chaos”; “that Shakespeare and his audience regarded Bolingbroke as a usurper,” declares J. Dover Wilson, “is incontestable. ” But in 1601 neither Queen Elizabeth nor the Earl of Essex were so sure…

Greenblatt wins. It’s a wonderful example. It’s the genius of Greenblatt to choose examples that are so telling and so incontrovertible. We know Queen Elizabeth was scared [laughs] on this occasion, which makes it quite simply the case that John Dover Wilson was wrong to suppose that Richard II was no threat to her. It’s not at all the point that a broad, ideological view of Richard II was any different from what Wilson said; that was perfectly true.

Bolingbroke wasconsidered a usurper. It was considered tragic that Richard II was deposed; but that doesn’t mean that the text can’t be taken over, commandeered and made subversive. Wilson doesn’t acknowledge this because his view of the relationship between history and literature is only that history influences literature, not that the influence can be reciprocal. You see, that’s how it is that the New Historicism wants to define itself over and against the Old Historicism.

If there is a political or ideological consensus about the legitimacy of monarchy, the divine right of kings, the legitimacy of succession under the sanction of the Church of England and all the rest of it–all of which is anachronistic when you’re thinking about these history plays–if there is this broad consensus, that’s it, that’s what the play means according to the Old Historicism, even though plainly you can take the plot of the play and completely invert those values, which is what the Essex faction does in staging it in those places where Queen Elizabeth suspects that it’s being staged.

Chapter 4. The Historian and Subjectivity [00:19:24] Okay. Now another way in which the Old Historicism and the New Historicism differ–correctly, I think– according to Greenblatt is that in the Old Historicism there is no question–I’m looking at page 1444, the right-hand column about a third of the way down–of the role of the historian’s own subjectivity. “It is not thought,” says Greenblatt, “to be the product of the historian’s interpretation…” History is just what is. One views it objectively and that’s that. Now notice here that we’re back with Gadamer.

Remember that this was Gadamer’s accusation of historicism, the belief of historicism–what Greenblatt calls the Old Historicism–that we can bracket out our own historical horizon and that we can eliminate all of our own historical prejudices in order to understand the past objectively in and for itself. This is not the case, said Gadamer, remember. Gadamer said that interpretation must necessarily involve the merger of horizons, the horizon of the other and my own horizon as an interpreter. I cannot bracket out my own subjectivity.

Okay. If that’s the case, then Gadamer anticipates Greenblatt in saying that the naivete of the Old Historicism is its supposition that it has no vested interest in what it’s talking about–that is to say, its supposition that it wants history to accord in one way or another with its own preconceptions, but isn’t aware of it. The anecdote–again, wonderfully placed in the polemical argument–that after all, John Dover Wilson delivered himself of these opinions about Richard II before a group of scholars in Germany in 1939 is, after all, ather interesting. Hitler is about to be the Bolingbroke of Germany. John Dover Wilson wants his audience to say, “Hey, wait a minute. Stick with vested authority. [laughs]

You have a weak democracy, but it is a democracy. Don’t let it get away from you. ” And so he is speaking, the horse already having escaped from the barn, in this reassuring way about German politics as a means of sort of reinforcing his own view of the politics of Elizabethan England. of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.? Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. edu/transcript/469/engl-300 But this, Greenblatt supposes, is something about which he has very little self-consciousness. That is to say, his own interest, as of course it should be on this occasion, is in the preservation of vested authority, and his own interest then folds back into his understanding of Elizabethan ideology in such a way that it can conform to that interest.

He has, in other words, as we say today, a hidden agenda and is very little aware of it, unlike the New Historicist who, following Gadamer in this respect, is fully cognizant of the subjective investment that leads to a choice of interest in materials, a way of thinking about those materials, and a means of bringing them to life for us today and into focus. In other words, it’s okay for Greenblatt, as it was for Gadamer–much to the horror of E. D. Hirsch–to find the significance of a text, as opposed to the meaning of a text. The significance of the text is that it has certain kinds of power invested in it.

Those kinds of power are still of interest to us today, still of relevance to what’s going on in our own world. All of this is taken up openly as a matter of self-consciousness by the New Historicists in ways that, according to Greenblatt and his colleagues, were not available consciously in the older Historicism. Now the world as the New Historicism sees it–and after I’ve said this, I’ll turn to McGann–is essentially a dynamic interplay of power, networks of power, and subversion: that is to say, modes of challenging those networks even within the authoritative texts that generate positions of power.

The Elizabethan masque, for example, which stages the relation of court to courtier, to visitor, to hanger-on in wonderfully orchestrated ways, is a means–because it’s kind of poly-vocal–of containing within its structure elements of subversion, according to the argument that’s made about these things: the same with court ritual itself, the same with the happenstance that takes place once a year in early modern England, in which the Lord of Misrule is so denominated and ordinary authority is turned on its ear for one day. Queen for a day, as it were, is something that is available to any citizen once a year.

These are all ways of defusing what they, in fact, bring into visibility and consciousness–mainly the existence, perhaps the inevitable existence, of subversion with respect to structures and circulatory systems of power. It’s t Chapter 5. Jerome McGann and Bakhtin [00:26:12] his relationship between power and subversion that the New Historicism, especially in taking up issues of the Early Modern period, tends to focus on and to specialize in. Now it’s not wholly clear that Jerome McGann has ever really thought of himself as a New Historicist.

He has been so designated by others, but I think there is one rather important difference in emphasis, at least between what he’s doing and what Greenblatt and his colleagues do in the Early Modern period. McGann doesn’t really so much stress the reciprocity of history and discourse. He is interested in the presence of history, the presence of immediate social and also personal circumstances in the history of a text. His primary concern is with–at least in this essay–textual scholarship. He himself is the editor of the new standard works of Byron.

He has also done a standard works of Swinburne, and he has been a vocal and colorful spokesperson of a certain point of view within the recondite debates of textual scholarship: whether textual scholarship ought to produce a text that’s an amalgam of a variety of available manuscripts and printed texts; whether the text it produces ought to be the last and best thoughts of the author–that’s the position that McGann seems to be taking in this essay–or whether the text, on the contrary, ought to be the first burst of inspiration of the author.

All the people who prefer the earliest versions of Wordsworth’s Prelude, for example, would favor that last point of view. In 5 of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.? Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. edu/transcript/469/engl-300 other words, McGann is making a contribution here not least to the debates surrounding editing and the production of authoritative scholarly texts. It’s in that context that the remarks he’s making about Keats have to be understood.

I think the primary influence on McGann is not so much Foucault, then, with the sense of the circulation of power back and forth between history and literary discourse, as it is Bakhtin, whom he quotes on pages eighteen and nineteen; or whose influence he cites, I should say rather, in a way that, I think, does pervade what you encounter in reading what he then goes on to say at the bottom of page eighteen in the copy center reader:

What follows [says McGann] is a summary and extrapolation of certain key ideas set forth by the so-called Bakhtin School of criticism, a small group of Marxist critics from the Soviet Union who made an early attack upon formalist approaches to poetry [just as he, McGann, is, and as the New Historicists are themselves, in their turn, doing]. The Bakhtin School’s socio-historical method approaches all language utterances–including poems–as phenomena marked with their concrete origins and history.

That is to say, phenomena voiced by the material circumstances that produce them or phenomena, in other words, in which the voice of the Romantic solitary individual is not really that voice at all, but is rather the polyglossal infusion of a variety of perspectives, including ideological perspectives, shaping that particular utterance and also, in the case of the textual scholar, shaping which of a variety of manuscripts will be chosen for publication and for central attention in the tradition of the reception of a given text.

So all of this McGann takes to be derived from Bakhtin rather than from Foucault. I do think that’s a significant difference between our two authors. Chapter 6. McGann on Keats [00:30:28] Now McGann’s most important contribution to the return to history of the seventies and eighties is a short book calledThe Romantic Ideology, and this book–well, what it is is an attack on Romanticism. At least it’s an attack on certain widely understood and received ideas about Romanticism–ideas ith which, by the way, I don’t agree, but this course isn’t about me. The Romantic Ideology is an amalgam of two titles. One of them is the important early critique of Romanticism by the German poet and sometime Romantic Heinrich Heine called Die romantische Schule, or The Romantic School, in which the subjectivity, even solipsism, and the isolation from social concern and from unfolding historical processes of the Romantic poets is emphasized and criticized.

In addition to that–that’s where the word “Romantic” comes from in the title The Romantic Ideology–the other title that it amalgamates is Marx’s book The German Ideology, which is about many things but is in particular about Lumpenproletariat intellectuals who think with Hegel– still following Hegel despite believing themselves to be progressive–who think with Hegel that thought produces material circumstances rather than the other way around: in other words people, in short, who are idealists and therefore, under this indictment, also Romantic.

McGann’s title, as I say, cleverly amalgamates these two other titles and sets the agenda for this short book, which is an attack not just on Romanticism but on what he believes to be our continued tendency still to be “in” Romanticism, still to be Romantic. There his particular object of attack is the so-called Yale school, which is still under attack in the essay that you’ve read for today.

Paul de Man and Geoffrey Hartman’s well-known essay on Keats’s “To Autumn” are singled out for particular scorn and dispraise, all sort of on the grounds that yes, it’s all very well to read Romanticism, to come to understand it, and even to be fascinated by it; but we can’t be Romantic. In other words, our reading of Romanticism–if we are to be social animals, politically engaged, and invested in the world as a social community–must 6 of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.? Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. edu/transcript/469/engl-300 necessarily be an anti-Romantic critique.

This is, as I say, still essentially the position taken up by McGann. All right. So I’ve explained the ways in which he differs from Greenblatt in leaning more toward Bakhtin than toward Foucault. I have explained that McGann is engaged primarily in talking about issues of textual scholarship in this particular essay, that he defends Keats’s last deliberate choices, that he believes the so-called “indicator” text of 1820 of “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” is Keats’s last deliberate choice, as opposed to the 1848 text published by Monckton Milnes in the edition of Keats’s poems that he brought out at that time.

Now I think that in the time remaining to sort of linger over McGann, I do want to say a few things about what he says about Keats. I want to emphasize that his general pronouncements about the historicity of texts, about the permeation of texts by the circumstances of their production, their conditioning by ideological factors, is unimpeachable. It seems to me that this is a necessary approach at least to have in mind if not, perhaps, necessarily to emphasize in one’s own work of literary scholarship.

The idea that a text just falls from a tree–if anybody ever had that idea, by the way [laughs] –is plainly not a tenable one, and the opposite idea that a text emerges from a complex matrix of social and historical circumstances is certainly a good one. So if one is to criticize, again it’s not a question of criticizing his basic pronouncements. It seems to me nothing could be said really against them.

The trouble is that in the case of McGann–who is a terrific, prominent Romantic scholar with whom one, I suppose, hesitates to disagree–everything he says about the text that he isolates for attention in this essay is simply, consistently, wrong. It’s almost as if by compulsion that he says things that are wrong about these texts, and the reason I asked you in my e-mail last night to take a look at them, if you get a chance, is so that these few remarks that I make now might have some substance. Take for example “La Belle Dame Sans Merci. ” In the first place, who says we only read the 1848 text?

A scholarly edition–and his main object of attack is Jack Stillinger’s scholarly edition of Keats–gives you basically a variorum apparatus. Yeah, maybe it gives you a particular text in bold print, but it gives you the variant text in smaller print in a footnote. It doesn’t withhold the variant text from you. It says, “No, look, there’s this too. Take your choice. ” Really the atmosphere of a variorum scholarly edition is an atmosphere of take your choice, not a kind of tyrannical imposition on the public of a particular version of the text.

Everybody knows the 1820 Indicator text. “What can ail thee, wretched wight? ” is at least as familiar to me, as a Romanticist, as “What can ail thee, knight at arms? ” the way in which the 1848 text begins; and frankly how many people who aren’t Romanticists know anything about either text? What are we talking about here? [laughter] [laughs] The Romanticists know what’s going on. They’re not in any way hornswoggled by this historical conspiracy against the 1820 indicator text, and people who aren’t Romanticists don’t care.

That’s what it comes down to; but, if it’s not enough simply to say that, turning to the question of which text is better–well, it’s hard to say which text is better. McGann’s argument is that the 1820 version is better because it’s a poem about a guy and a girl who sort of meet, and the next thing you know they’re having sex and that doesn’t turn out so well. In other words, it’s about the real world.

These things happen. It’s not a romance, whereas the “What can ail thee, wretched knight? in the 1848 version–and all of its other variants, the “kisses four” and so on–the 1848 version is a kind of unselfconscious–in McGann’s view–romance subscribing to certain medieval ideas about women, simultaneously putting them on a pedestal and fearing, at the same time, that they’re invested with a kind of black magic which destroys the souls and dissipates the sap of deserving young gentlemen: all of this is ideologically programmed, 7 of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.? Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. du/transcript/469/engl-300 according to McGann, in the 1848 version. Why? Because Charles Brown behaved despicably toward women, he didn’t like Fanny Brawne, and because Monckton Milnes, the actual editor of the 1848 edition, loved pornography and was a big collector of erotica. So that’s why the 1848 text with its fear of and denigration of women, in contrast to the 1820 text, is inferior. Well, two things: first of all, who’s to say the 1848 text wasn’t Keats’s last thoughts? In other words, yes, he was already ill when the Indicator text was published in 1820.

It is pretty close to the end of his ability to think clearly about his own work and to worry very much about the forms in which it was published, but at the same time we don’t know when Brown received his version of the text. We can’t suppose, as McGann more than half implies, that Brown just sort of sat down and rewrote it. [laughs] Nobody has ever really said that, and if he didn’t rewrite it, then Keats must have given it to him in that form. Who’s to say that wasn’t his last and best thoughts?

Who’s to say Keats didn’t really want to write a poem of this kind? After all, the title, taken from a medieval ballad by Alain Chartier, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” bears out the “What can ail thee, knight at arms? ” version. It’s about a Morgan Le Fay-type. For better or worse, whatever we think of that ideologically, it is about, if the title is right, the kind of woman who is evoked in the 1848 version, as opposed to the kind of woman who is evoked in the 1820 version. So the 1848 version is simply more consistent with the title.

That’s one point to be made, but the additional point to be made is that taking advantage of the New Historicist acknowledgement that one’s own subjectivity, one’s own historical horizon, is properly in play in thinking about these things, McGann is then able to infuse Keats’s text and therefore Keats’s intentions with a pleasing political correctness. That is to say, Keats can’t possibly have thought in that demeaning way about women. By the way, everything– I like Keats, but everything in his letters suggests that he did–but back to McGann: Keats can’t possibly have thought in that demeaning way about women.

Therefore, the 1820 text is the text that he intended and preferred. Okay. That, of course, makes Keats more consistent with our own standards and our own view of the relations between the sexes, but does it, in other words, make sense vis-a-vis the Keats whom we know and, despite his weaknesses and shortcomings, love? There is a great deal, in other words, to be said over against McGann’s assertions about this textual issue, not necessarily in defense of the 1848 text but agnostically with respect to the two of them, saying, “Yeah, we’d better have both of them.

We’d better put them side-by-side. We’d better read them together; but if by some fiat the 1820 were somehow subsequently preferred to the 1848, that would be every bit as much of an historical misfortune as the preference, insofar as it has actually existed, of the 1848 or the 1820. ” I think that’s the perspective one wants to take. Now I was going to talk about “To Autumn. ” I’ll only say about his reading of “To Autumn” that McGann, who doesn’t seem to like the poem very much–he likes “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” so he makes it politically correct.

He doesn’t like “To Autumn” because he thinks that “Autumn” was published in collusion with Keats’s conservative friends in the Poemsof 1820, which bowdlerized everything he had to say of a progressive political nature. He thinks that “To Autumn” is a big sellout, in other words, and that yes, 1819 happened to be a year of good harvest, and so Keats turns that year of good harvest into something permanent, into a kind of cloud cuckoo-land in which the fruit falls into your basket and the fish jump into your net and everything is just perfect.

Well, do you think the poem is really like that? You’ve read the third stanza, which McGann totally ignores apart from “Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? ” In other words, he gives you 8 of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.? Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. edu/transcript/469/engl-300 the opening but he doesn’t give you any sense of the rest of the stanza, because for him “To Autumn” is all about the first stanza. For him, Keats seems to identify with the bees who think warm days will never cease, “for Summer has o’er-brimmed their clammy cells. Keats is like a bee. He’s all into the sensuous. Well, again just in terms of historical evidence, this is outmoded by at least eighteen months if we consult Keats’s letters. He was like that early in his career, but he has had severe misgivings about a point of view which is represented in what he said in an early letter: “Oh, for a life of sensations rather than thoughts…”

That’s no longer Keats’s position when writing “To Autumn. Keats’s position when writing “To Autumn” is the position of a guy who has a sore throat just as his tubercular brother did, who is increasingly afraid that he’s going to die soon and is trying to confront mortality in writing what is in fact–and I say “in fact” advisedly–the most perfect lyric ever written in the English language, and which is most certainly not a celebration of sort of wandering around like an aimless bee, thinking that the autumn is perfect but that autumn is always perfect, that warm days will never cease, and that everything is just lovely in the garden.

It is not that kind of poem, and it’s really a travesty of it to suppose that it is simply on the grounds that it was published in the Poemsof 1820 as a kind of sellout to the establishment under the advice of Keats’s conservative friends. Chapter 7. Tony the Tow Truck Revisited [00:45:54] All right. So much then for McGann’s remarks on Keats, which I want to say again in no way impugn or undermine the general validity of the claims that he’s making about taking historical circumstances into account. Precisely, we need to take them into account and we need to get them right.

That’s the challenge, of course, of working with historical circumstances. You have to get it right. With that said, let me turn quickly to a review of Tony from Bakhtin to the New Historicism. I may glide over Tonyaccording to Jameson, because we did that at the end of the last lecture, so let me go back to Bakhtin. You can see the way in which in the structure of Tony the Tow Truck the first part of the poem is absolutely saturated with the first person singular: I do this, I do that, I like my job, I am stuck–I, I, I, I.

Then as you read along through the text you see that the “I” disappears, or if it still appears, it’s in the middle of a line rather than at the beginning of a line. In other words, the “I,” the subjectivity, the first person singular, the sense of having a unique voice–this is gradually subsumed by the sociality of the story as it unfolds. I am no longer “I” defined as a Romantic individual. I am “I,” rather defined as a friend–that is to say, as a person whose relation with otherness is what constitutes his identity, and in that mutuality of friendship, the first person singular disappears.

What is spoken in Tony the Tow Truck, in other words, in the long run is not the voice of individual subjectivity but the voice of social togetherness, the voice of otherness. According to Jauss, the important thing about Tony the Tow Truck is that it is not the same story as The Little Engine that Could. In other words, in each generation of reception, the aesthetic standards that prevail at a given time are reconsidered and rethought, reshuffled. A new aesthetic horizon emerges, and texts are constituted in a different way, much also as the Russian formalists have said, only with the sense in Jauss of the historical imperative.

The Little Engine that Could is all about the inversion of power between the little guy and the big guy, so that the little guy helps the big guy and that is unequivocal, showing, as in Isaiah in the Bible, that the valleys have been raised and the mountains have been made low. That’s not the way Tony the Tow Truck works. The little guy himself needs help. He needs the help of another little guy. There is a reciprocity not dialectically between little and big, but a mutual reinforcement of little-by-little, and that is the change in aesthetic horizon that one can 9 of 10 03/24/2012 11:47 ?.?

Open Yale Courses http://oyc. yale. edu/transcript/469/engl-300 witness between The Little Engine that Could and Tony the Tow Truck. In Benjamin the important thing, as I think we’ve said, is the idea that the narrator is the apparatus. The humanization of a mechanized world, through our identification with it, is what takes place in Tony the Tow Truck. In other words, all these cars and trucks, all these smiling and frowning houses, of course, have as their common denominator their non-humanity, but the anthropomorphization of the cars and trucks and of the houses constitutes them as the human.

They are precisely the human. We see things, in other words, from the point of view of the apparatus. Just as the filmgoer sees things from the point of view of the camera, so we see Tony the Tow Truck from the point of view of the tow truck, right? And what happens? Just as the camera eye point of view leaves that which is seen, as Benjamin puts it, “equipment-free”–so, oddly enough, if we see things from the standpoint of equipment, what we look at is the moral of the story: in other words, the humanity of the story.

What we see, in other words, surrounded by all of this equipment, is precisely the equipment-free human aspect of reality. So Tony the Tow Truck works in a way that is consistent with Benjamin’s theory of mechanical reproduction. For Adorno, however, the acquiescence of this very figure–the apparatus of mechanical reproduction, of towing again and again and again–in the inequity of class relations, rejected as always by Neato and Speedy, proves that the apparatus which Benjamin’s theory takes to be independent of the machinations of the culture industry, that the apparatus in turn can be suborned and commandeered by the ulture industry for its own purposes. All right. I will skip over Jameson. The Old Historicist reading of Tony simply reconfirms a status quo in which virtue is clear, vice is clear, both are uncontested, and nothing changes–in other words, a status quo which reflects a stagnant, existent, unchanging social dynamic.

The New Historicism in a lot of ways is doing this, but let me just conclude by suggesting that if literature influences history, Tony the Tow Truck might well explain why today we’re promoting fuel-efficient cars, why the attack on the gas guzzler and the SUV or minivan–remember the car that says “I am too busy”–is so prevalent in the story, and why if we read today’s headlines we need to get rid of the Humvee if GM is to prosper, and we need to downsize and streamline the available models.

The little guys, Tony and Bumpy, reaffirm the need for fuel-efficient smaller vehicles and you can plainly see that Tony the Tow Truck is therefore a discourse that produces history. All of this, according to the prescription of Tony, is actually happening. All right. Thank you very much.

Sociology Investigation write essay help: write essay help

With the use of covert participant observation and study of secondary data, I will be analyzing and investigation the question “Why do girls do better at school than boys? ” I will come to a conclusion on whether this question is correct and if it is true or not, then explaining the reasons why they do better or why they do not. Hypothesis – We believe that girls do better in school and this is because most girls can multi task and think about their future much more than boys who are trying to “live in the moment”.

Boys are also socialized into being violent and being slightly rebellious so will not concentrate enough in lessons. Girls are however socialized to be respectable and get a good job to help the family and also to be sensible so they can raise children. Finally I feel girls generally can be distracted one day for many reasons but keep quiet and everyone knows not to annoy them, but on the other hand boys if they get distracted tend to disturb everyone around them. Why do girls do better than

Investigation Discussion of Secondary Data – In some research it highlights how boys by the age of eight are meant to have adopted these boys by the age of eight are meant to have adopted these perceptions and that from that age the perceptions and that from that age the gap between intelligence is visible. They saw that boys could become products of self-fulfilling prophecy. The research also shows that boys lag behind girls in nearly all subjects at A-level and GCSE.

Girls from reception to year 5 said that girls were cleverer, performed better and more focused and respectful. Boys in reception, yr1 and yr2 had an equal split between boys and girls and in yr3 they all said girls were better showing as they get older the gap is bigger and more visible to see. Adults that also believe girls do better the research showed. In a separate investigation two groups we held both full of boys, the first was told that girls performed better than girls and the second were not.

The first group performed significantly worse than the second. This could show how their poor performance could be because of low expectations of teachers. Stats – 25. 5% of entries by girls were A/A* compared with 19. 5% for boys. The gap narrows at A-level, with 27. 6% of entries which are girls were awarded A/A* compared with 26. 1%. Method – I am going to use covert participant observation to investigate my hypothesis. This will involve watching a lesson and recording notes on how behavior and attention differ between boys and girls.

I will make sure that no one knows I’m doing this so they don’t change their behavior to make them look better or alter what they would do because they know they are being watched. It important to control these to make accurate results are noted down. I will then record my results in a need and structure paragraph using qualitative analysis. I am also going to do a survey asking an equal amount of boys and girls from a range of years asking if they think boys or girls do better in school.

This will be good to do as a comparison could be made between my results and secondary data. The pros of this method are that we can easily compare secondary data and also with the survey being quantitative we can make a graph and with the qualitative data we can make a clear and detailed conclusion. The cons are when asking the survey it may be hard to get real opinions as boys may say boys do better in school because of their “honor” but really they believe girls do better.

Ethical issues – Some issues I might face with this investigation is the use of covert participant observation because some people may feel they are being involved with something they don’t want to be involved with and that we are going behind their back as we have not asked them to be involved. They may not feel comfortable with being involved and we have to think about and respect that. Finally if we are watching teacher they may not feel that it appropriate for us to watch them and make notes as they are our elders and they may believe we are judging them.

Pilot Study – I made my first pilot study in the first lesson of planning. Something I noticed were that the group behind us of all girls was planning and mind mapping ideas about how they could go about their investigation and started writing the norms. However the group of boys at the back we getting distracted said they would do it after the holiday and were clearly bored so tried to practice the covert participant observation method but were laughing and not doing it properly by as they were laughing and we knew they were watching us In turn automatically changing our behavior towards them.

Evaluation of pilot study – From the pilot study we see that our hypothesis was correct and girls are more focused which maybe a reason why they have been shown to do better in school than boys. The study also highlighted how if you are caught using covert participant observation then people will change their behavior distracting them as well from their work also confirming my ideas about how boys distract everyone around them when they are bored. Presentation of results – Notes: * Girls seemed to settle in a lot quicker than boys. * More boys got more penalties than girls * Boys asking for pens and equipment Couples of boys and girls work better than two boys sitting together *

Boys seen to distract a lot of people around then and the whole class are disturbed and the teacher had to stop * Boys are always the once making funny comments and trying to be the jokers * Some boys got a bad result in the end of term test they seem to just be fine with it and even use it as something to laugh about, also some girls do that and on one hand they may have struggled and then they get help but on the other they do sometimes use it as an excuse maybe just because they didn’t revise or concentrate in lessons Conclusion and discussion of results – My results strongly collaborate my hypothesis as they indicate that boys’ behavior is a lot worse than those of girls and this I feel is directly related to the lower grades on average that girls get.

My results also show how boys have been socialized into being the class clowns and that to be popular they have to make rude or annoying comments that people laugh at. This highlights the idea about some boys just thinking about the current time and not there future, whereas on the other hand girls are thinking about their future. On the whole my results did collaborate with my hypothesis and from the results I got I feel girls are more focused and doing this investigation opened my eyes up to this fact and how boys do seem to be a lot less bothered and this in turn affects their school in terms of grades and results they receive at the end of their schooling lives.

Evaluation of method – I used covert participant observation to gather qualitative information, this gave me detailed results that a structured conclusion would be made from. There were no problems with the use of the covert participant observation method and at the end I also spoke to some people and told them they had been filmed, they seemed fine about it but I was weary that some people may have not liked being watched and that is understandable so I was careful. The use of the survey allowed me to compare data that was gathered in research and the results we found out. Although next time I feel I could have asked a wider range of people and also a wider range of ages because students can often lie to make their sex or the opposite sex seem better and have biases because of one reason or another.

Is Cricket Killing Other Sports in India? aqa unit 5 biology synoptic essay help: aqa unit 5 biology synoptic essay help

It is a fact that people in India eat, live, sleep, talk and walk cricket. Some feel that Cricket in India is becoming an obstacle in the progress of other sports. M. S Gill, the sports minister of the country painstakingly said, “Television, commercialization and the advertising world have promoted cricket to an extent that it has become a Mount Everest, which is badly affecting other sports in the country. ” Cricket has become the religion of India and the national anthem of the country, so much so that the word “sports” has become synonymous with cricket.

Cricket runs as the life flowing blood through the veins of the multitude. Yes, cricket is the “god of sports” in India. I am not being even the least sarcastic when I say this, but unfortunately this is the sorry state of affairs in our country. Cricket has sounded a death knell to the growth of other sports. Traditional Indian games like hockey, kabaddi, kushti have been demoted to a bygone era. Even international sports like tennis, badminton and football have not been shown any mercy despite us being so “West-crazy”. We hail cricket as the be all and end all of all sports.

Hockey, the so called National Sport of India has shown the most inconsistent progress, if it can actually be called progress. There was a time when India did win the Hockey World Cup in 1975 and people showed a keen interest in the sport, but not so anymore. The sport has died a natural death from lack of leadership and sponsorship. (Rather, it would be more apt to say due to a diversion of sponsors to cricket) We do have a Sania Mirza, a Leander Paes and a Mahesh Bhupati bringing laurels to the country in the field of tennis; a Vishwanathan Anand in the field of chess.

Then why have chess and tennis not been accorded their true status as cricket has been? Why aren’t they put on the same pedestal and worshipped as cricket? Millions throng the cricket stadium when there is an India-Pakistan match to boost the morale of their country but where does this “morale boosting brigade” disappear when sportsmen other than cricketers need them. Don’t Mirza, Paes, Bhupati and Anand also play for their country just as cricketers do? Prime time on television is given to cricket.

Even a toddler is able to detail at length, the rules of this sport. All ace cricketers are forever in the news, be it for their promotion of various brands which has regretfully become a second money minting business for them, or for their liaison with some damsel from Bollywood. There is full truth that an equal exposure is not given to all sports in the country. There is a need to reform the other sports too. Let’s take inspiration from cricket and allow sports persons from other fields to have the same opportunities, earnings and affections as well.

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay college application essay help online: college application essay help online

Discrimination is a topic many authors have focused on for a long time. It has been the basis of many arguments, and has been around for thousands of years. Prejudice still currently affects our society today. In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird, prejudice is evident in the form of social, and racial discrimination through the characters of Scout, Atticus, and Tom and some other characters in the novel. The most prominent form of racial discrimination in the book is Tom’s trial.

Tom, a black male, was wrongly accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Bob Ewell comes up with this story to convince the jury that Tom is guilty, and to cover his tracks of domestic abuse. Mayella Ewell was attacked by a person who is left handed, and Tom’s left hand was crippled by an accident with a cotton gin. Although Tom had a reason for being perfectly innocent, the jury sentenced him just because it was a white woman’s words over a black male’s. Using the example above, one finds that black men are at the lowest part of the totem pole. Page 226 says “There’s four kinds of folks in the world.

There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes. ” Women in this time were also discriminated against. Scout is reprimanded for being a tom boy. She is told by her aunt several times that she couldn’t be a woman if she wore breeches. Her aunt also reckons that Scout should participate in feminine activities such as: playing with stoves, tea sets, and necklaces. Atticus Finch, Scouts Dad, also somewhat discriminates against women. Page 221 voices Atticus telling Jem women are not to serve on a jury.

Dill explains to Scout that if girls did something that normally only boys do, she is going to be slandered for it. Scout being a tomboy is socially against the rules of this time. Discrimination will continue to be present for a long time. The novel gives hope for the future, and that there will be no more prejudice in the modern and future world. Many characters of Maycomb want to change the views of the prejudiced townsfolk, even though discrimination is a difficult force to defeat. People who have read this novel are sure to become aware of things, such as prejudice, happening all around them.

Deviance and violence in schools custom essay help: custom essay help

The article outlines the nature and development of the debate about deviance and violence in schools in England. It explains disciplinary differences in the use of terminology. The focus is on summarising the most recent evidence about the nature and extent of these issues. Policy and practice developments targeted at reducing problem behaviour in and around schools are discussed.

The article concludes that there is a great deal of survey and monitoring data in England but a relative lack of in-depth and ethnographic research. KEYWORDS England, deviance and violence, schools The focus is on England, rather than Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) or the United Kingdom (which includes Northern Ireland). Although the four countries have the same government there is a degree of devolution of power that means that there are important differences in the way that the education systems are run, as well as differences in legal governance.

The central government Department for Children Families and Schools (DCSF) covers England and Wales only. A few references include evidence from Wales, as well as England; there is one reference to an important longitudinal survey carried out in Scotland. 1 International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 8 BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION FOCUS AND APPROACH OF THE REVIEW This review is focused on England and on the most recent research and developments, referring to older research and reports only when they are considered to be landmark or seminal studies.

As shorthand this paper will at times refer to ‘problem behaviour’ when not specifically referring to criminal behaviour (that is behaviour that breaks the criminal law) or specific types of behaviour that are clearly defined in research, as in the concept of bullying. The approach taken in this review is inter-disciplinary, but it is most centrally informed by criminology, social policy and education research. The move to Children’s Departments in England in recent years has meant that a more inter-disciplinary approach is increasingly appropriate and particularly in relation to the focus of this review.

It is acknowledged that there are mental health issues that may relate to the behaviour of young people in schools (Cowie et al, 2004) but this is not the main focus of this review. There is a great deal of research (Gillborn, 2008) as well as government monitoring data on ethnicity and schools (see for example, DfES, 2006). Monitoring gender and special educational need is an aspect of various annual national reports on schools and the educational system (see the www. dcsf. gov. k for a range of relevant reports). Research on gender (Osler et al, 2001) and special educational need (Visser et al, 2001) is also plentiful. These are all highly complex issues that cannot be covered adequately in a single review. The review was undertaken by updating existing reviews and collections (see for example Debarbieux and Blaya, 2001) on the subject of violence and various forms of ‘behaviour’ problems in schools in England (see relevant concepts and terminology in Figure 1).

The social science bibliographic database ‘Assia’ was searched in order to located the most up-to-date published research. Research commissioned and published by the relevant government departments was located through their websites; as was that commissioned by the largest teaching unions. TERMINOLOGY The terminology used in England is quite complex and inevitably influenced by disciplinary, professional and political perspectives.

‘Deviance’ as a concept is strongly associated with criminology but is also recognised as including non-criminal infringements of social norms. Deviance’ as a concept, in both popular and academic discourse in England, has been replaced to a large extent by the concept of ‘anti-social behaviour’ (Home Deviance and violence in schools 9 Office, 2004; Rutter et al, 1998). The use of the word ‘violence’ generally refers to physically aggressive or threatening behaviour in England (Wright and Keetley, 2003). Figure 1 gives an overview of the concepts and terminology used in this review. Teachers and schools focus most on various pupil ‘behaviours’.

Most often they refer to ‘disruptive’, ‘disaffected’ and ‘bullying’ behaviours, or sometimes behaviour is said to be ‘challenging. ’ These terms are associated with the particular focus of the behavioural description: for example, ‘disruptive’ refers to the interruption of the work of the teacher and other pupils, or even the smooth working of the school; ‘disaffected’ relates to a range of behaviours that imply a lack of affection for school and may include disruptive behaviour and non-attendance. Challenging’ or ‘inappropriate’ behaviour are other terms used by teachers in relation to how a behaviour impacts on them, or the school context. ‘Bullying’ behaviour is a strong and specific focus of research and campaigns in relation to pupil behaviour. Bullying is usually seen as a particular subset of aggressive and violent behaviours. The very serious nature of some bullying has led Hall and Hayden (2007) to debate whether some forms of bullying could be conceptualised as ‘hate crime. ’ International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 10

This review will cover the key evidence about the various problematic behaviours (shown in Figure 1) that together make up the available research on ‘deviance’ and ‘violence’ in English schools. It should be borne in mind whilst reading this review that the boundaries between behaviours that break with social norms or rules and those that break the criminal law have become increasingly blurred in recent years in England. This has happened partly as a result of the focus on ‘crime prevention’ (and the criminalisation of social policy, Rodger, 2008) and, partly because there is in any case the ossibility for interpreting actions in more than one way. For example, when does a playground ‘fight’ become ‘assault’? CONTEXT – DEVELOPMENT OF CONCERNS Although there is evidence of some concern about the behaviour of young people in school wherever there are historical records (see Tubbs, 1996). A more specific concern began to grow in England following the raising of the school leaving age in 1973. At the time this concern focussed on ‘disruptive’ behaviour and ‘discipline’ problems and led to a government enquiry, known as The Elton Report (DES/WO, 1989).

The specific problem of bullying in schools was increasingly recognized during the 1990s and has been a focus of school based research and interventions ever since. In recent years there has been a national annual Anti-Bullying Week. The Education Reform Act 1988 is often seen as a watershed in relation to how schools are evaluated and what teachers can do to motivate all pupils. Prior to this Act, teachers had more freedom in what they taught and could devise courses for young people who did not respond well to traditional academic study.

The Act led to the imposition of a National Curriculum on schools, this resulted in direct comparisons of test results between schools and the creation of ‘league tables’ of school test and examination results. The lack of flexibility in curriculum design and the pressure to achieve test and exam results is associated with increased evidence of ‘disaffection’ in schools and a rising rate of exclusion from school. The publication of the first national data on exclusion from school in 1992 and subsequent annual data is one measure of the limits of teacher tolerance of young people’s behaviour.

Since the mid 1990s there have been broader concerns about safety in and around schools, following very varied and high profile events. For example, the fatal stabbing at the school gates of head teacher Philip Lawrence, by a teenager from another school, whilst trying to defend one of his pupils in 1995; ‘the Dunblane massacre’ (16 primary age children killed by an adult intruder in 1996); the fatal stabbing of Luke Walmsley, by another pupil, in a school corridor, in a rural secondary school in 2003; the abduction and murder of two schoolgirls by their school caretaker in 2002 (‘the Soham Deviance and violence in schools 11 urders’).

More recently there has been a variety of high profile examples of children attacked by other children in and around schools (Lewis, 2005; Wainwright, 2005). Crime prevention and reducing social exclusion have been key themes applied to various areas of social policy, since the election of a ‘New Labour’ government in 1997. From 1997 to date, work with schools and young people is a mix of crime prevention and attempts to open up opportunity through education.

The increased focus on crime prevention through education and schools could be seen as part of the wider debate about the criminalisation of social policy (Rodger, 2008). UNDERSTANDING PUPIL BEHAVIOUR: CHANGING EMPHASIS IN GOVERNMENT POLICY Official explanations of problematic behaviour within schools have evolved rapidly in recent years. One of the last Conservative administrations saw the issue as Pupils with Problems (DfEE, 1994) – illustrating a belief in the individual nature and location of ‘the problem’.

The first New Labour administration changed the focus to Social Inclusion: Pupil Support (DfEE, 1999) – in keeping with the strong policy emphasis on combating social exclusion (see for example SEU, 1998). More recent reviews and guidance emphasise the quality of the teaching and learning environment, raising levels of school attendance and expectations (Steer, 2005) – highlighting the role of teachers and schools.

The Department for Children, Families and Schools (DCSF2) website illustrates this latter perspective, referring to the behaviour and attendance strand of the Key Stage 3 strategy3: This programme will help schools promote positive behaviour and tackle the issue of low-level disruption. The aims are to ensure that all schools have the skills and support that they need to maintain creative and positive learning environments for all children to give support in developing positive behaviour throughout the school and to help schools to develop pro-active policies (DCSF, 2008a, para 1, my emphasis).

There have been several changes in the name of this government Department in the last twenty years: DES/WO (Department of Education and Science/Welsh Office); DfEE, (Department for Education and Employment); DfES (Department for Education and Skills). At the time of writing DCSF refers to the department that covers child and family welfare, as well as education in schools. ?470 million was made available from 2003, to support the development of this strategy. Key Stage 3, refers to the educational stage for 11-14 year olds. 2 International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 12 There is some resistance to this emphasis on teaching and learning as the key to countering disruptive and violent behaviour in schools, from teaching unions, for example: Teachers cannot teach and pupils cannot learn in an environment where there is disruption and violence and where such behaviour occurs it cannot be explained away simply by attributing it to teachers’ ability to plan and deliver lessons appropriately (NAS/UWT, 2007, para 1).

In the last few years, there is an increasing awareness of the need to have strategies in place to address the more extreme issues of weapons carrying and youth gangs in schools (see for example guidance to schools, DCSF, 2007a, 2008b; research sponsored by a teaching union, Broadhurst, Duffin and Taylor, 2008; and, academic research Hayden, 2008). METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES OF EVIDENCE There is a wide variety of evidence that can inform this review.

Some of the research is undertaken by independent academic researchers, some is undertaken for (and by) government departments, charitable organisations, as well as statutory agencies. Surveys of school pupils are common. Research into bullying behaviour has a long history with the annual ‘Anti-Bullying Week’ adding an additional impetus to all kinds of monitoring and research activities. Surveys have also been conducted within schools in relation to criminal and anti-social behaviour.

Some national surveys have been repeated a number of times in recent years, allowing the accumulation of trend data on offending and victimisation: such as the cross-sectional survey for the Youth Justice Board, carried out six times between 1999-2008, see summary, MORI (2006) and most recent reports at the time of writing (MORI 2008a, 2008b). The MORI survey includes a mainstream pupil sample (11-16 year olds) and a sample of young people attending Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and similar facilities for excluded pupils.

There is also an ongoing annual survey of 10-25 year olds, undertaken by the Home Office, since 2003 (see for example Roe and Ashe, 2008). The Home Office survey includes a panel sample and a fresh sample each year, weighted to ensure that it is representative. Other research is longitudinal and tracks a cohort of over 4,000 secondary school children in one city (Edinburgh, Scotland), with a focus on youth transitions and crime (Smith and McVie, 2003).

Key government-led enquiries about pupil behaviour that involve consultations with experts and practitioners have been undertaken at intervals: as in the Elton Report (DES/WO, 1989) and ongoing Steer Committee (see for example Steer, 2005). Interviews with teachers, pupils and parents are also relatively common (Hayden, 1997; Parsons, 1999; Hayden and Dunne, 2001). These Deviance and violence in schools 13 studies explore experience and perspective and provide insights into causes and potential solutions to problem behaviour.

There has been a range of government-led programmes and interventions, as well as initiatives led by individual institutions and organisations, aimed at preventing or responding to problem behaviour in and around schools in the last decade alongside a great deal of evaluative research. Such research is often multi-method and includes analysis of secondary (organisational) data, as well as primary data from questionnaire surveys, interviews and observations. Some of this research has been funded by government departments, sometimes by agencies and organisations running the programmes.

There has been increasing pressure since the late 1990s in England to adopt a more rigorous approach to evaluation, within what has often been referred to as the ‘What Works’ debate (Davies et al, 2000). Organisational and monitoring data is very plentiful in England, with a whole range of data being available as annual statistical reports: for example, data on exclusion from school is reported by special educational need and ethnicity; data on vulnerable groups such as children in care is also monitored and compared with the general school population in annual reports (see www. csf. gov. uk for a wide range of national statistical reports, as well as funded research reports). A great deal of data is available both at the local authority level and at that of the individual school. For example, inspection reports for individual schools are available on the internet – such reports include observations and information about pupil behaviour. KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS ON THE SCALE AND NATURE OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR

There are various ways in which we might try to estimate how big an issue ‘deviant and violent’ behaviour is in schools, some of this behaviour could be viewed as criminal, some could be seen as anti-social whilst other behaviour may be simply part of the growing up process and ‘testing the boundaries’ with adults. It should also be emphasised that some of the behaviour that is viewed as problematic or ‘deviant’ in a school (such as ‘disruptive’ behaviour) may not be viewed in quite the same way in other settings.

This section will review the evidence and indicators about a number of problem behaviours. Differences in opinion are evident, between parents and teachers, about the extent to which a particular behaviour constitutes a problem severe enough (or deviant enough) to warrant school exclusion (Hayden and Dunne, 2001). Low-level disruption to lessons and harassment of teachers are a major feature of surveys focussing on pupil behaviour from the perspective of International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 14 eachers; but it is evident that pupils are reported to be the most frequent victims of the more severe events – physical violence, bullying and harassment in schools (DES/WO, 1989; Gill and Hearnshaw, 1997; Neill 2002; Wright and Keetley, 2003; Neill, 2008). Neill (2002, 2008) has conducted a national survey of NUT (National Union of Teachers) members twice in recent years. Interestingly, in terms of his use of terminology, the first survey referred to ‘unacceptable behaviour’, the second survey refers to ‘disruptive behaviour’.

Neill (2008) concluded that the overall pattern of behaviour was similar. Some serious behaviours did show an increase though: such as, pushing and touching teachers; teachers witnessing a pupil in possession of a weapon in school. Furthermore the tendency was for experiences of these sorts of behaviours to have polarised between 2001 and 2008, with some teachers experiencing more severe problems in 2008. Table 1 shows that disruption to lessons and offensive language are frequent experiences for teachers, with over 60% of teachers experiencing this form of behaviour weekly.

On the other hand pushing, touching and other unwanted physical contact was not experienced by two-thirds of teachers, within a year; although 11. 6% (in 2008) experienced this weekly. Deviance and violence in schools 15 Research into personal safety and ‘violence’ in schools (Gill and Hearnshaw, 1997) provides a picture of what a random sample of 3,986 schools experienced in one school year. This latter study was undertaken by criminologists and is one of the earliest examples of using the word ‘violence’ in relation to the behaviour of school pupils.

Selected findings from this research are presented in Table 2. Martin et al (2008) found that over two-thirds (68. 3%) of teachers in a small scale survey had suffered some form of ‘physical assault’ at some point during their career. These ‘assaults’ included: being bitten, pushed, having chairs thrown at them, having doors slammed in their faces. Tables 1 and 2 (and the work of Martin et al, 2008) are examples of perceptions of the prevalence of certain deviant and violent behaviours from the teacher perspective.

Pupil-based self-report surveys present another perspective. Blaya (2002) reports an overall victimisation rate of 55% of pupils in a year, in a sample of English schools (within a comparative study of French and English schools in socially deprived areas). Recent MORI (2008 a, 2008b) surveys show similarly high rates of victimisations of school age pupils in their nationally representative samples: 51% of mainstream pupils and 61% of excluded pupils in PRUs had been a victim of a crime in the last twelve months.

Again there are problems of definition and comparability across such surveys. For example, ‘physical violence, pupil to pupil’ (as referred to in Table 2) may be one-off acts of aggression; they may on the other hand be more sustained and may then be seen as ‘bullying’. Research on bullying is highly pertinent to this review. Such research is very well established and defined in England. According to Smith (2002, 11718) and based on the pioneering work of Olweus (1993) ‘bullying is a subset of aggressive behaviours, characterised by repetition and power imbalance’.

Bullying takes various forms – physical, verbal, social exclusion and indirect forms such as spreading rumours. Technology is helping to increase the forms International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 16 bullying might take: for example ‘cyber- bullying’, where young people use text messages from mobile phones and the internet to bully others (DCSF, 2007b). Attacks on young people are sometimes filmed, again using mobile phones; these events may then be posted on the internet (these events are known as ‘happy slapping’).

The MORI (2008a, 2008b) surveys show the high prevalence of threatening messages sent by voicemail or text (22%) and ‘happy slapping’ (16%) by mainstream pupils. Table 3 illustrates how bullying surveys still produce fairly wide ranging estimates of prevalence, depending on the way questions are asked and the timescale involved. Although, overall, Smith and Myron-Wilson (1998, p. 406) estimate that: ‘around 1 in 5 children are involved in bully-victim problems’ in the UK, with similar incidences reported in other countries.

Furniss (2000) discusses whether some forms of bullying should be considered to be a crime, rather than as a school disciplinary matter. Furniss considers the issue both from the standpoint of existing legal provisions as well as from the point of view of the level of protection afforded to children. She points out that assaults on teachers (though less frequent than pupil to pupil assaults) are often reported to the police; whereas in pupil to pupil cases, parents are expected to make the decision about whether or not to involve the police.

Official data and research on exclusion from school tells us more about teacher and official responses to pupil behaviour. There has been a massive Deviance and violence in schools 17 amount of research on exclusion from school since the early 1990s, when government monitoring data became available (see for example Hayden, 1997; Parsons, 1999). When permanent exclusion figures are compared with surveys of teacher experience like the ones already noted, one might be surprised by the relatively small proportion of children who are permanently excluded, according to official statistics.

Official data shows a reduction in the number of permanent exclusions from schools from the mid 1990s, to date. Although the official figures for permanent exclusion represent a very small proportion of the school population (the rate of permanent exclusion was 12 per 10,000 school population in England or 0. 12% in 2006-2007) there were many more fixed period exclusions. Fixed period exclusions (a matter of days usually) are now monitored annually and are much more numerous, as Table 4 illustrates. Existing evidence shows an increase in fixed period exclusions in the last few years.

The most common single reason given for both permanent and fixed period exclusions is ‘persistent disruptive behaviour’ (31% of all permanent and 23% of fixed period exclusions). Physical assault against an adult accounted for 11. 3% of permanent and 4. 4% of fixed period exclusions. Physical assault against a pupil accounted for 15. 6% of permanent and 18. 6% of fixed period exclusions (DCSF, 2008c). The MORI (2006) surveys show that excluded children tend to have committed more criminal offences (and more serious offences) than children who have not been excluded from school.

Official records of non-attendance involve a much bigger proportion of the school population. Some form of non-attendance represent a form of ‘deviance’ others may be a response to ‘violence. ’ The reasons for nonattendance are varied, but in some cases at least they represent disaffection or disinterest in schooling and in others avoidance of work pressures or bullying. Schools record ‘non-attendance’ which covers authorised absence (for example through sickness) and unauthorised absence (which may include a range of situations including truancy and being a young carer). Truancy’ suggests an active choice not to go to school and is thus a particular form of absence. Official data shows some improvement in ‘authorised’ absence (that is where parents/carers provide a written explanation for the absence). There is a worsening of the situation in relation to ‘unauthorised’ absence International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 18 (where no explanation is provided) since the mid 1990s, despite the massive investment of resources in following up pupil absence in recent years.

The most commonly quoted figure in government announcements is 50,000 school children truanting from school on any school day. Further, around 100,000 pupils were found to ‘disappear’ from the school roll between years 10 and 11 (between ages 15 and 16) in a one-year period of monitoring (Ofsted, 2003). That is these young people did not go back to school at some point between the ages of 14 and 16 years. There is a complex set of circumstances and reasons to explain why children are not in school or not benefiting from school.

They all have their behavioural manifestations, although it tends to be the ‘acting out’ child that causes most consternation amongst teachers and parents because such behaviour demands attention. Criminologists have a slightly different focus and many of the surveys conducted are more explicitly looking at the prevalence of offending behaviour and victimisation of young people of school age. The connection between disruptive behaviour in schools and crime was highlighted in a seminal study by Graham (1988).

In more recent years self-report surveys conducted with school pupils, have provided us with a picture of young people’s overall involvement in criminal activity (as in the Youth Justice Board, MORI, 2006, and Home Office surveys, such as Roe and Ashe, 2008, noted earlier). However, there is very little research explicitly focussing specifically on criminal acts committed on the school site, presumably because of the extreme sensitivity of such data and the difficulties of gaining access to undertake the research.

One self-report study of a sample of pupils from 20 state secondary schools (3,103 respondents) in Cardiff (South Wales) found that a fifth (20. 3%) of all pupils reported involvement in one of five categories of offence on the school site in a one year period (Boxford, 2006). Deviance and violence in schools 19 Table 6 illustrates the differences in prevalence of offending behaviours between boys and girls.

Interestingly, this study reports varying levels of impact on offending behaviour in relation to individual and lifestyle factors, with school context exercising a different level of relative protection in relation to these factors. The study confirms the importance of school climate (defined as encompassing school ethos, respect for authority and parental school interest) and adds to current understanding in the finding that pupil relations (defined as based on pupils’ social capital and school disorder) also have significant associations with pupils’ involvement in crime in schools.

This sort of study is important in a number of ways: it illustrates the high level of offending that may be occurring in schools; it adds to the debate about the extent to which schools (in combination with other agencies) can address these issues and it reminds us that some of the acts dealt with as a within-school disciplinary issue could be treated as a criminal offence. Weapons-carrying and gang related behaviour has been a major feature of newspaper headlines in England in recent years.

Table 7 illustrates the varying estimates obtained from research. Often surveys (such as CtC, 2005; MORI, 2006; Roe and Ashe, 2008) do not specify where the weapons-carrying has taken place. Both the MORI and International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 20 Home Office surveys, referred to earlier, include questions on weapons carrying, but do not ask where. Research focusing on the school site has measured prevalence in different ways: by school, by teacher experience and by pupil self-report.

In a range of ways schools are also a place where adults, parents and former pupils may vent their anger and frustration. There are various ways that we can estimate the scale of this sort of problem. Sometimes people want to gain access to the school site for the purpose of vandalism, arson or theft of school property. Further, schools may also act as a site for ‘professional perpetrators’ to gain access to children (Sullivan and Beech 2002). Sullivan and Beech (2002) quote an estimate that about 400 teachers in the UK were suspended each year, following allegations of abusing pupils.

The need for better security for schools, as well as screening of school staff, has been highlighted in the public imagination by the events referred to earlier in this article; such as ‘the Dunblane massacre’, ‘the Soham murders’ and other deaths and woundings. More common security problems for schools include the destruction or theft of property. These issues raise very different security problems for schools. Security firms offer schemes such as ‘School Watch’ over the summer holiday period.

These firms tend to focus very much on property and damage from arson, vandalism and grafitti, rather than harm to people (see www. chubb. co. uk). The risk of arson and Deviance and violence in schools 21 vandalism is known to be higher in deprived urban areas, than elsewhere. However, whilst arson attacks against schools declined from over 1,100 in 1994 to just under 800 in 2000 there was an increase in the proportion of arson attacks occurring in school time. Around 250 of the 800 arson attacks in 2000 were during the school day when pupils are present (Arson Prevention Bureau, 2002).

More generally schools in England now have tighter systems of control for people coming on to the school site and greater awareness of the need for careful background and police checks on adults in contact with children. The use of CCTV is commonplace as are keypad entry systems to buildings. POLICY AND PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT It is clear from the previous sections in this review that there is plenty of evidence about a range of problem behaviours presented on the school site. Current policy development for children in England emphasises schools as entral to addressing broader issues of wellbeing and safety, as well as academic and vocational education. The key overarching framework for all of this is referred to as Every Child Matters. GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR CHILD WELFARE In 2001 a National Service Framework was announced for children’s services, to set in place standards against which all services would be inspected. Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) sets the overall agenda for what agencies working with children are aiming to do. Within this framework schools are centre stage as the main institution in touch with all children.

This framework exemplifies the themes that are central to social policy under New Labour: reducing poverty and social exclusion, developing the role of schools, inter-agency co-operation, early intervention and a strong emphasis on supporting the role of parents and carers. Five key outcomes for all children are listed at the beginning of Every Child Matters, these are: ? Being healthy – enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle. ? Staying safe – being protected from harm and neglect and growing up able to look after themselves.

Enjoying and achieving – getting the most out of life and developing broad skills for adulthood. ? Making a positive contribution – to the community and to society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour. International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 22 ? Economic well-being – overcoming socio-economic disadvantages to achieve their full potential in life (Para 1. 3). The rest of the document focuses mainly on children most at risk, within a framework of universal services and the rights and responsibilities agenda.

The thrust of the approach is around multi-disciplinary teams carrying out assessments under a common framework co-located around schools, Sure Start centres and primary care (community based health services). Schools are the focus as universal support centres and education is the organizing principle around which children’s services are organised. The Children Act 2004 provides the legislative spine for the wider strategy for improving children’s lives. The Act sets out to be enabling rather than prescriptive, so that local authorities have a considerable amount of flexibility in the way they implement its provisions.

The overall aim is to encourage integrated planning, commissioning and delivery of services as well as improve multidisciplinary working, remove duplication, increase accountability and improve the coordination of individual and joint inspections in local authorities. Whilst the specifics of this vision are more complex, these ideals make sense at the strategic level. BEHAVIOUR IN SCHOOLS Behaviour within schools is now largely seen as primarily related to the quality and appropriateness of teaching and learning, for the great majority of children.

The Steer Committee (2005) also recognises that certain problematic aspects of pupil behaviour in schools are new: such as the general availability of technology like mobile phones, which are used by pupils in new forms of bullying and to record assaults and humiliations or to summon angry parents into the school at the behest of a pupil who has been disciplined. Furthermore the uncertainty about the meaning and application of in loco parentis4 is highlighted for contemporary teachers.

It is noted by Steer (2005), as well as by the Elton Committee in 1989, that the legal judgements supporting this concept are very old and that the principle is based on an ancient doctrine of common law. This is seen as problematic in a context in which ‘the trend for parents to challenge schools at law, noted in the Elton Report, has continued and intensified‘(Steer, 2005, p. 80). At the school level, ‘school ethos’ was first recognised as an important influence on pupil behaviour and particularly delinquency in the seminal study by Rutter et al (1979).

Although much of the focus is about ‘managing’ In loco parentis: this concept gives teachers the same authority over their pupils as parents have over their own children 4 Deviance and violence in schools 23 or ‘improving’ pupil behaviour, most of the strategies and training packages developed for schools require adults and institutions to include how they ‘manage’ or ‘improve’ behaviour, in essence how they build relationships and relate to pupils and colleagues.

In short the issue of the ‘whole school climate’ and more specifically ‘school ethos’ is recognised as central to managing or improving behaviour in schools. At the same time, it is well recognised that issues may be complex at the level of the individual pupil: behaviour interpreted as disaffection may relate to a number of issues including child abuse and poor parenting; disrupted and stressful living circumstances; the disruptions associated with being ‘looked after’(being ‘in care’); relative poverty; special educational needs (or learning needs not met) and so on.

However, disaffection, whatever the various causes is only one explanation for not attending school or behaving in a problematic way. Furthermore common issues relating to non-attendance are varied: such as, academic pressure and fear of failure; bullying; young carers; travelling families. Figure 2 illustrates that there is a wide range of responses to problem behaviour in schools in England. Whole school approaches recognise that school ethos and climate is crucial in promoting positive behaviour.

The whole school approach is apparent in a raft of policies, agreements and strategies that are expected in all schools in England: such as behaviour management, anti-bullying, anti-harassment and equal opportunities policies; home-school agreements and particular strategies or approaches to realising these policies and agreements. The use of the curriculum to promote prosocial values, for example through citizenship education, and through teaching and learning strategies are yet another part of what all schools are expected to do.

Individual pupils have ‘targets’ they are trying to achieve in relation to their behaviour (as well as academic learning) and some have individual plans for International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 24 behavioural and social reasons. In school and more intensive support is provided for individual pupils based on an assessment of their educational and social needs. Other provision is partly or wholly provided off the mainstream school site: these provisions focus on the most problematic or vulnerable children.

We might conceptualise support for pupils in four tiers, with ‘Out of School provision’ being at the apex and ‘Whole School’ being at the base of a pyramid (in Figure 2). These provisions are in place with varying degrees of efficacy nationally. ‘In-school and more intensive support’; as well as ‘Combination and Re-integration Programmes’ are not readily available in some schools. In general, cities and the poorer areas of England have gained most additional resources under New Labour, albeit with strings attached. Deviance and violence in schools 25

Thus vulnerable children in more affluent areas have fewer options between being in and out of school. This raises important issues of equity in educational provision and support for all vulnerable children. SCHOOLS, SAFETY AND CRIME PREVENTION Schools are expected to consider risk and safety in a number of different ways: in terms of access to the school site from intruders, through vetting the suitability of their staff and in their everyday relations with children and adults who attend, work or visit the school. Schools were awarded ? 0 million in 2002-2003 to increase security measures through the Capital Modernisation Fund. Research intended to inform the development of policy and practice in this field was undertaken at the same time (Lloyd and Ching, 2003). Interestingly, this latter research identified external threats such as intruders, arson and burglary as greater concerns than internal threats from within the school community. The dynamic nature of school security is highlighted by this research, with pupil behaviour issues only emerging after the external threats already noted. Safer Schools programmes have developed since 2002.

These programmes involve the police and other agencies working with schools, initially in high crime area. Safer Schools has now become a national programme, but varies a great deal in how it is run in individual schools. More recent concern about weapons carrying and gang culture entering the school environment has led to both legislative changes and new guidance to schools (DCSF, 2007a). The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 introduced the power for members of school staff to search pupils for weapons if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ for suspecting that a pupil is carrying a weapon (with effect from October 1st 2007).

Staff have the power to use ‘such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for exercising that power. ’ It should be emphasised that school staff have a power, not a duty in these respects. The police have grounds for searching a school for weapons if they ‘suspect’ that they may find weapons, prior to this Act they had to ‘believe’ this to be the case. Commenting on the guidance issued to schools on gangs, a spokesperson for the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said: ‘The Government’s guidance on gangs is a compilation of good sense and practical advice.

Our evidence shows that there are a minority of schools which face increasing difficulties from weapons brought on to school premises. These schools need all the support they can get’ (NUT, 2008, para 1). Parents are also an important focus in government policy in relation to youth crime prevention. More coercive measures are being used towards International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 26 parents in a number of ways. The first parent was jailed in 2002 for failing to ensure that her teenage daughters attended school.

In relation to behaviour in school as well as attendance, parenting contracts have been available to schools in England and Wales since early 2004 through the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. The Steer report (2005) adds support to the use of parenting contracts as well as parenting orders in highlighting the need for a ‘more immediate and consistent response to schools dealing with violent or abusive parents’ (p. 95). Schools have been able to apply directly to the courts for parenting orders since 2007. EFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR

Certain basic principles and indicators of effective ways of responding to children who present problem behaviour are well known, if highly debated, in terms of how these principles are put into practice. For example, it is well established that early behavioural problems in pre-school children are indicative of the likelihood of developing more problematic and entrenched difficulties later in life. The costs of intervening early are known to outweigh those of responding later (Sutton et al, 2004). These are the kinds of principles that have informed the development of Sure Start and now Children’s Centres.

At the same time it is recognised that there can be dangers in intervening in children’s lives too early. For example, DSRU (2004) cautions against ‘net-widening’, or drawing families into services when they could sort things out for themselves. Evidence about the kinds of programme that produce positive effects on children’s behaviour are well known by policy makers in England: for example, early education programmes in the United States such as High/Scope and Head Start have been well evaluated and demonstrate clear gains for disadvantaged children.

Structured parenting programmes, such as that developed by Webster-Stratton, have also been found to be effective in improving parenting skills and in turn children’s behaviour. Cognitive behavioural methods have generally been shown to be effective in a wide range of circumstances (Falshaw et al, 2003). Overall, these programmes have been influential in England (Hayden, 2007). However, most evaluations of interventions for children presenting problem behaviour in England are relatively small scale and do not meet the scientific criteria required by ‘what works’ enthusiasts5.

Most are too shortterm to follow through the longer-term impact (if any) of an intervention. It See for example, Wilson and Lipsey’s (2006) meta-analysis of 219 school–based violence prevention programs which shows that universal programmes were generally effective in reducing the more common types of pupil behaviours, and especially in relation to ‘high risk’ pupils. 5 Deviance and violence in schools 27 is impossible to conclude in some instances whether or not any improvements ndicated may simply be due to more resources and attention paid to an issue. Nevertheless, there are some useful advisory materials, produced for decision-makers, that provide a gateway to the very numerous sources of expertise and different approaches to combating violence and aggression in schools (see for example Gittins, 2005). Many new initiatives working with schools are based on the principle of sustainability.

That is, it is assumed that after a period of funding an initiative the lessons learned can become part of mainstream professional practice. The expectation is that mainstream practice can either change or accommodate the work (vis-a-vis other pressures and that the new ways of working are compatible with performance management targets – the latter being a very strong feature of the public sector in England). Furthermore it is assumed that staff are willing and able to change their practice.

This may well be the case in behaviour management and parenting programmes (as a particular way of doing something that a practitioner already has to do); but some initiatives set out to add value to existing services through the provision of more individual or small group opportunities for children. Furthermore, projects aimed at the prevention end of the continuum may well uncover more (unmet) need for services (DSRU, 2004, p. 26). The possibility that some ‘preventative’ services might actually uncover unmet need is a particularly pertinent issue to consider in relation to the focus of this review. Behaviour problems’, ‘special educational need’ and ‘mental health issues’ can each be seen as on a continuum and at least one in five children will experience one or more of these problems in the course of growing up. Behaviours may present as ‘deviant’ or ‘violent’ but the underlying causes may be any one (or a combination) of these latter issues. However, levels of need are very unevenly spread in communities, with higher levels of need being apparent in poorer areas.

The potential scale of the need for more help, particularly in poorer areas, alongside the widespread level of anxiety and concern, from parents, politicians and the media, means that additional support for schools makes sense as a response to broader concerns about anti-social and criminal behaviour from young people. There is now much wider recognition of the need to advise and support parents in general on how to respond to and manage their children’s behaviour. Indeed there have been a number of television series focussed on the issue in recent years.

Media images of out of control and anti-social ‘youths’ and stories about very disruptive and aggressive behaviour in schools can be influential in constructing popular perceptions and explanations of the issues to be addressed. It is common for various organisations, interest groups and the media to call for some issue to do with children’s behaviour to International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 28 be addressed by ‘parenting programmes’ and initiatives in schools.

Yet the behavioural expectations that are presented as the norm are at odds with subcultural differences and realities; this means that some schools may be at odds with the dominant norms of the communities they serve. Schools in England are now viewed as the universal service for all children and as a key service around which other children’s services might be colocated and planned. It is a vision with a great deal to commend it; although it is a vision that may take time to realise. Some key areas of instability are apparent in this vision.

Quite apart from workload concerns, there are other practical problems such as space, particularly in some inner city primary schools. Further, the availability of appropriately trained and skilled personnel varies by area – specifically the evidence of teachers leaving the profession and of the drift of those who move jobs from the schools in the most adverse circumstances, to those that are easier places to work (Smithers and Robinson, 2005). Simply, schools that need staff most have difficulties in recruitment. Inclusive schools are self evidently better for individual children, as well as the communities they serve.

However, it is plain that the ability of schools to be inclusive varies. Indeed the ongoing concern about behaviour in schools is evidence of the problems of coping with the ‘core business’ that already exist (Hayden, 2007). CONCLUSIONS Research evidence and monitoring data on the nature and prevalence of ‘deviance’ and ‘violence’ in schools is plentiful in England. In particular there are a plethora of self-report surveys from school pupils. Overall the evidence suggests that some forms of behaviour are very common, particularly disruptive behaviour, offensive language, bullying and other forms of aggression.

Behaviour that would warrant the label ‘violent’ in England is less common, but there are indications of an increase in the more extreme behaviours and particularly in individual schools, many of which are in poorer socio-economic circumstances. A great deal of additional resources have gone into schools since New Labour came into power in 1997 and there has been a reduction in official records of permanent exclusion, as well as authorised absence, more training opportunities and support in behaviour management for teachers and so on.

However, a major task remains; a task that is most strongly focused in inner cities and areas of social housing. The increasing socio-economic disparities in England during this same time period, as well as increasing parental choice over access to state schools has left some schools behind. In such schools the connection between problem behaviour and an environment in which it is difficult for teachers to teach and pupils to learn is all too apparent. Deviance and violence in schools 29

A key gap in contemporary school-based research in England is in the more time-consuming and in-depth ethnographic studies that focus on the dynamics of problem behaviour in schools in the most difficult circumstances. We need a more realistic assessment of how to educate the most problematic young people in a way that gives them the best opportunity for a positive future, alongside addressing the needs of the other young people with whom they share their schooling.

Devolving Hr to Line Staff essay help writer: essay help writer

Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment and management, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training. This is the reason why HR managers in some multinational companies are called people managers or people enablers and the process is called people management.

The HR expert manages the relationship between fulfilling employee expectations and achieving the management purposes. The major goal of HRM is the development and management of knowledge, skills, creativity, attitude and talent with the use of the strategic and comprehensive approach. An effective HRM enables employees to contribute effectively and productively to the overall company direction and the accomplishment of the organization’s goals and objectives. In an organization, there are line and staff authority. Authority is the right to make decisions, to direct the work of others, and to give orders.

In management, we usually distinguish between line authority and staff authority. Line authority entitles a manager to direct the work of an employee. It is the employer-employee authority relationship that extends from top to bottom. A line manager directs the work of employees and makes certain decisions without consulting anyone. On the other hand, Staff authority gives the managers the authority to advise other managers or employees. They create staff authority functions to support, assist, advice, and generally to reduce some of the informational burdens that the line managers have.

Line managers in many organizations also carry out activities that have traditionally fallen within the remit of HR such as providing coaching and guidance, undertaking performance appraisals and dealing with discipline and grievances. They also often carry out tasks such as recruitment and selection or pastoral care in conjunction with HR. Staff managers assist and advice line managers in accomplishing their basic goals. They do, however need to work in partnership with each other to be successful.

The relationship between a staff manager has with a line manager is a staff manager can prescribe certain procedures in his specialist area. For example, he can develop and implement recruiting policies and procedures that are used across the organization. The line manager is expected to follow those organizational procedures unless he has a solid rationale for exceptions. Advantages In order to be able to discuss how the devolution of HRM functions to Line managers affect the capabilities of the staff, it is important to understand how the devolution happens and what are the arising conflicts from carrying out devolution are.

Researchers suggests that the involvement of Line Managers in some HR decisions does have a favorable effect on the achievements of the organization as a whole as well as allowing the implementation of a corporate vision and strategy with a beneficial effect upon performance and upon employee motivation. There is further evidence to show that nowadays more than a half of larger organizations have moved towards the devolved model with a reduction in the size of HR departments and a change in HR function, as well as an increase in line managers’ responsibility.

Providing responsibility of HR activities to the line managers to both public as well as private sectors is believed to have tighter the bond between line managers and employees with a prompter decision making speed and effective solution of any difficulties on workplace. This gives them a unique and specialized knowledge of day-to-day relationships with employees and an insight into some functions previously assumed to be the area of HR. The move towards devolution then simply highlights the importance of these ‘people skills’ in order to boost their integration into the line manager role.

Besides, there are also other benefits from devolutions of HRM to line managers. Their people management skills will improve; they will become better at creating good teams, managing teamwork and interpersonal skills. This will in turn benefit the organization as a whole. Through devolution the line managers have gained the opportunity of directly affecting the motivation levels of their employees and, through devolution the line managers are also becoming faced with the challenges of motivating and leading the teams effectively.

Moreover, line managers will see an increase in the importance and respect for their role as they take on more of the devolved functions and their job becomes more complex, and also as change within organizations increases with the complexity of modern working life. From the point of HR, line management involvement can allow the HR specialist to concentrate on their strategic approach. Overall, responses to HR challenges can be more immediate if it is handled by the line managers and can be more specific to location.

HR will also benefit from the increased satisfaction from employees as it will allow them to build strategically more upon day-to-day improvements. Further studies shows that the advantages of devolution of HR functions to line managers with the provided evidence of positive effects of devolution with the research from 174 HR managers and also directors. They were asked to assess the changes over the years in overall responsibility, degree of integrations with other units and involvement in the organizational plan.

They have found out that devolution had an overall positive effect from the respondents reported that devolution has led their HR unit being perceived more positively by line management than in non-develop organizations. They also report that an overall increased in HR responsibility and also better integration between Line Management. They conclude that HR is in fact better able to play the strategic role they were intended to play by the devolution. However, looking at the attitudes of the 40 line managers react towards the devolution of HR function and discovered a rather more mixed response.

There were both negative and positives about the devolution. Positive aspect would be the willingness of the line management to take on both responsibility and also accountability for the new HR tasks, and also flexibility to approach as well as the keen to become involved. The respondents were successfully managing large numbers of employees, and taking a professional attitude to the new tasks, and not simply dismissing them as “soft” aspect of the job. They also saw HR in a positive light and, a source of help and support as well as seeing career benefits for taking on the new role.

Disadvantages While line managers know their end of the operations, many companies obtain better result by assigning personnel matters to a human resources or HR employee or HR department. HR department often recruit, interview and hire new workers and manage employee payroll and benefits. It is tempting with a small company to devolve their HR functions to their line management, but handling personnel work to a line manager can burden his or her with too much extra works outside his or her area of expertise. In an organization, HR requires a specialized knowledge.

While managers have a direct, front line connection with their employee, they lack the HR specific knowledge of their counterparts in the HR department. This can be particularly important in areas such as related to the legal and regulatory requirements and the rules and regulations of the organizations must follow. HR professionals have both educational and professional backgrounds that provide them with current information on issues that impact their organizations and the HR profession. Participation in industry groups like the Society for Human Resource Management, which offers certification to HR professionals, helps to ensure knowledge.

With a HR department in charge of hiring, the company can expect to hire the type of workers they wants. The department examines the applicants, checks references and administers tests to determine whether the workers meet the qualifications. The department may ask line managers to assist in interviewing so that the HR can get feedback from the person who will be the applicant’s direct boss. The orientation of these new employees is best handled by human resources, particularly when it comes to explaining company policies.

A line supervisor may have too narrow a view of company operations to handle much of what is covered in orientation. Besides that, there would be difficulties in relationships and communications between the line managers and the employees. The line manager may fear disputes with their staff regarding decisions made about performance, pay and career development. They may have be reluctant to take on role of learning facilitator, and personal personality clashes might occur during the employee training. Relationship between the employees and management may not be as neutral as is possible being with a dedicated public relation department.

There can also be also assumptions on the part of HR that line managers are more technically competent and knowledgeable than they are in fact, and that the HR function can be picked up by simply doing the job. This can lead to a lack of training offered by senior management and hence to poor performance in the future of the employee. Another problem, highlighted in a study by McConville of middle managers, was a lack of trust between middle and senior management which meant that the middle managers felt powerless to put forth any influence over higher levels of decision making.

Another studies found in addition that there was evidence for poor leadership from HR and a low quality of advice given to line management. Training was also poor, with little ongoing development to help line management integrate personnel aspects into their role. Further tensions arose because of conflicts between line and HR over the precise lines drawn between their functions. Thus, the line management work load will increase with new responsibilities and the need to balance other demands of the job with new role. This can lead to dislike of HR and reluctance to get involved with HR work.

Besides, heavy workloads and job pressure are major source of problem with devolution. Line manager would have time constraints and do not have the time to attend in full to ‘people management’ issues, rather than concentrating on the day-to-day job running of their department and solving problems as they appear. The shortage of time and consequent pressures upon line managers is particularly problematic in the public sector where there is added pressure from having to implement policies originating with government while also dealing with professional bodies’ standards, monitoring and also the increasing commercialization of the sector.

Hence, HR and line management operate from a distinct viewpoints with different priorities, which can also lead to conflicts and problems. Line Managers are typically very involved in the day-to-day running of the department, reacting to issues as they arise. They dislike the need for staff to take time off for training and dislike the need to take such a personal viewpoint, perhaps dealing with their own problems with home life for example. The characteristic line management approach can mean less opportunity for staff development.

While a separate HR department is focused upon learning and staff training, line managers have more than one focus, so, for example, if the department is short-staffed any training and development might be put to one side. There would be a pressure to deal with short-term problem rather than address the long-term solution. Conclusion First and foremost, the devolution of HR functions has both advantages and disadvantages. Handling complete HR responsibilities to line managers can be problematic as line managers really do not have the HR skills and the knowledge that is enough to handle the situation properly.

Increasing workload may affect their everyday activities or regular job. To prevent this problem while making line manager more responsible for HR, area of responsibilities should be clearly stated. Precaution should be always taken to eliminate possible conflict. Therefore, HR department is needed into support of staff recruitment, staff training and orientations, and also the organizations rules and regulations that are needed in the organization.

Miguel Street nursing essay help: nursing essay help

Naipaul’s Miguel Street Miguel Street is his semi-autobiographical work which occurs during World War II in Port of Spain, Tobago and Trinidad. The island of Trinidad, where the stories are set, was a Spanish colony,that was ceded to Britain when they had already passed through many other coloners’ hands. Trinidad and Tobago owes their main origins to massive eighteenth and nineteenth century importations of African slaves and East Indian servants who were needed to work on the sugar plantations.

During the 1930s, Trinidad and Tobago suffered severely from the effects of the worldwide depression. The book may be set in a particular time during the 40s, but not in a real chronological order. The author of this work, V. S. Naipaul is an Indian writer from Trinidad who has written many novels that are set in a continuous changing world: The Caribbean Islands of the Commonwealth. He seems to focus on writing about the story of places and peoples that are usually forgotten.

Miguel Street, as I have said before, seems to be a semi-autobiographical work, since is divided into seventeen chapters; which are interpreted to be based in the author’s personal life. All stories take place in a small community in Miguel Street, Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago). However, Naipaul himself remains unnamed throughout the entire novel. Naipaul seems to be himself the narrator; he writes from the first-person and describes his own experiences in each episode through several characters. In every chapter, he focuses in one individual; while the rest of them, remain in the background as they were part of the setting.

All together helps to depict that small world of failure and disillusionment in Miguel Street. The chapters are almost interchangeable, the only obvious exceptions being the two last chapters which I consider the climax of the novel. What links the story and the characters together is the destiny of disillusionment in which they all take part. In the end, the escape seems to be the main theme; while a constant recalling of childhood is present with all the nostalgia and feeling of alienation that links all those community members of Miguel Street.

But a closer examination of the book reveals us another pattern far from being just an inventory or collection of characters. It opens with the story of Bogart; who uses the nickname of a Hollywood star. To escape the boredom the community produces him, Bogart tries to be the most glamorous men of Miguel Street. The truth comes out when police catches him and accuses him of bigamist who has run out of two women “to be a man, among we men”. Popo, the following character, is said to be a carpenter; but actually he has never build a thing with his own hands. The narrator expresses how he liked watching him pretending to work.

The failure comes when Popo is discovered to be a furniture thief. When he comes out of prison, he establishes a stable family and starts making real furniture. George of the Pink House, is depicted as a bully whose failure to manage his family leads to his inevitable failure in life. He is the very antithesis of the father-figure. He beats his wife to her death, and the only channel of escape is oppressing his children, especially his daughter. He is said to be “too stupid for a big man” inside the community. The story of George’s son Ellias, is also another great example of frustration and failure.

His ambition is to be a doctor, but he is depicted as being not very intelligent, although he works hard enough to reach a school level. In the end, Ellias, disillusioned and finding no escape anywhere, becomes a scavenger (Sp. “chatarrero”? ). One of the most well drawn characters in Miguel Street is the mysterious B. Wordsworth (B for Black) who comes and goes as well. He lives in a house full of symbolism; coconut trees, plum trees, and a big mango tree: “The place looked wild, as if it wasn’t in the city at all”. He is like living among nature, typical romantic, and “living as if he was doing it for the first time in his life…”.

He is comparable to Popo in doing a “thing with no name”, which means he is being involved in a never ending pursuit of writing “the best poem in the world”. Here, the element of escapism is obvious. B Wordsworth also develops a great friendship with the narrator. When the pseudo poet dies, the boy-narrator finds himself just like a poet: “full of grief”. The narrator explains how he felt when he returned to the pink house a year after, and he could not see anything similar to the pink house: no evidence of coconut tree nor plum tree. “Just as if B. Wordsworth had never existed”.

In all those stories Naipaul depicts a whole bunch of men and their vulnerability, their failure, their passive- willing to escape. Not to mention that he depicts some women characters as well. Such is Laura, who is introduced as “holding a world record for having eight children by seven fathers”. Lorna, Laura’s daughter, becomes pregnant. Laura’s world seems to crumble, so she drowns into the sea. For her, it seems to be no escape from failure. Moreover, again a woman enters into Miguel Street’s world. This woman, who is related to the character of Hat; affects the relationship within the community of Miguel Street.

She is later discovered with another man and becomes finally a victim of Hat’s violence. Hat ends up in prison accused of murder. Although the two principal characters in Miguel Street (Hat and the narrator) are always present; we don’t see them in detail until the end, when the failure and disillusionment and departure has been established. We can see Hat as a kind of “the adult consciousness” of the narrator. The departure of Hat from the street is quite sad for all of them, even more for the young narrator; but the life in Miguel Street keeps going forward.

When Hat is released, four years have passed, and the narrator is already a man; and he no longer needs Hut. “when Hat went to prison, a part of me died”. In the final chapter, we find the narrator’s departure from Miguel Street, and Trinidad. His escape from failure is to go away from the disappointing changelessness of Miguel Street. Indeed, his escape appears to be a scholarship abroad, maybe equivalent to emigration. In Miguel Street, Naipaul stresses the fact that in a society like this which has not yet defined its goals, the individual is unlikely to achieve fulfillment in life.

We find a little bit of humor among all those men in Miguel Street; because as the author says “life in the West Indies would be impossible without sense of humor”. But behind humor, a bitter reality undergoes. In a region where a constant racial and cultural mixing over centuries have resulted in heterogeneity, any ethnic ideal clashes with the reality of everyday life. Naipaul wants us to understand this willingness to change, a readiness to accept anything that comes; relating it with the dilemmas of Trinidadian working class life; victim of colonialism. 2. Lucy, Chapter 1: Poor Visitor (By Jamaica Kincaid).

Jamaica Kincaid; is the author of Lucy; novel from which “Poor visitor” fragment is taken. The author was born as Elaine Potter Richardson, in Antigua (in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region). Antigua, would not gain full independence from British colonial rule until 1981. The author then, original from this particular island in the West Indies, seems to look back at her life to inspire fiction; such as the effects of colonialism, and feelings of alienation; mostly. In this chapter called “Poor Visitor”; the narrator is the protagonist at the same time.

As readers, we just know that she comes from a tropical zone; that we associate directly to the home of the author; somewhere in the Caribbean Islands. Our protagonist is a young woman who has emigrated from her wild home land to live in the big city and start over new in a new land “full of opportunities”; which I guess it would be New York (although any name of countries or places are revealed, at least in this first chapter , we have some clues such as “there were lights everywhere”, “a famous building, an important street, a park, a bridge that when built was thought to be a spectacle”…).

However, she never appears to fit in her own American Dream. From the beginning, she expresses the disillusionment of arriving in a new country that she may had idealized before: “In a day-dream I used to have, all these places were points of happiness to me, all these places were lifeboats to my small drowning soul, for I would imagine myself entering and leaving them”. She is disappointed because all the landmarks were not as vivid as they were in her daydreams.

Now these landmarks are worn down and dirty. This disillusionment may come from the great wish of departure; which at first was seen as something she really wished to; but how she depicts it herself, as not fitting in the big city nor with anything surrounding her. In America, Lucy is now bombarded with all the new elements which seem so integrated in our globalized society (refrigerator, lift, radio, the apartment); and forcing herself to adjust the way she thinks about the world.

During her first unhappy days Lucy constantly thinks “how uncomfortable the new can make you feel”. Not to mention the feeling of alienation she may feel taking care of a bunch of “yellow-haired” kids and going to school in her only spare time at night. Moreover, the layer of dreams are also important to mention, since they are part of the symbolism in the text, and they intercalate every now and then among the bitterness of the chapter.

We can see how she dreams about her cousin, or how she dreams about a cotton flannel nightgown made in Australia (female dresses to sleep; as a pajama made of flannel). It is not till the end of the chapter where we can see the full symbolic meaning of dreams: She is at a dinner table; explaining a dream that she had to the members of the family. In the dream, the family appears; and this fact makes them feel little pity for Lucy. In these last lines of the chapter, she is discussing with herself whether she shall leave America again or not.

She is also reasoning what she had meant, by telling them that dream. She concludes that she had taken the family in, “because only people who are very important to her had ever shown up in her dreams” . There she is putting the family in the same sack where she once had put the cousin dream or the pijama dream . A good example of this alienation is that Lucy never mentions her job as “au pair” for example. She has entered bravely into a new world, but now she feels alone in it.

She sometimes feels homesick and surprised that she is missing even the things she disliked “a person would leave a not very nice situation and go somewhere else, somewhere a lot better, and then long to go back where one came from it was not very nice”. Here is when she sleeps and sleeps just because she doesn’t want to take in anything else; that those dreams recalling her home land appear. Somewhere in the past, the thought of being in her present situation had been a comfort, but now she does not even have this to look forward.

Once her dream was escaping from her home land, but now that she has achieve it, looks like it is not enough for her. The alienation is such, that even the family whom she is living with; is able to feel it “they began to call me The Visitor. They said I seemed not to be a part of things, as if I did not live in their house with them, as if they weren’t like a family to me, as if I were just passing through”. Jamaica Kincaid, the author of Lucy, has well depicted this feeling of alienation she may had felt once; hrough Lucy’s disconnection from what she is actually doing to make a living abroad. She may had forced herself to the outside world; being ready or not. She may had pretended to be happy or fulfilled once. She may had felt this “artificial happiness” just like Lucy when dancing with the maid.

Havisham Essay mba essay help: mba essay help

Discuss how effectively the poet presents nature or time in this way. Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Havisham’ is a monologue spoken by Charles Dickens’s character Miss Havisham from ‘Great Expectations’. Jilted by her scheming fiance, Havisham continues to wear her wedding dress and sits amid the remains of her wedding breakfast for the rest of her life, whilst she plots revenge on all men.

She hates he spinster state, which suggests Duffy’s choice of name for the poem, and suggests at the themes of loss, breakdown, jealousy and revenge. This essay will explore how time is presented as a destructive force and how effectively Duffy make use of it through various poetic techniques. Through Duffy’s use of imagery, the destructive force of time begins to be revelled to the reader. Havisham has become so filled with hatred for men, after what her fiance did to her she wants to take revenge: ‘Prayed for it so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes, opes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.

‘ She tells us that she has prayed so hard for it (with her eyes closed and her hands together) that her eyes have shrunk and hardened and her hands have sinews strong enough to strangle with, which fits her murderous revenge. Readers who know Dickens’ novel might think about Miss Havisham’s ward Estelle at this point – whose natural mother, Molly, has strangled a rival and has unusually strong hands. This brings forward the image of hardness and cruelty, as Havisham has become trapped with obsession: thinking, praying and waiting for her fiance.

The ‘green’ has connotations of her envy and jealousy and reflects her thoughts and treatment of married women. Her eyes being like ‘pebbles’ has connotations of a resistance and stone, and also suggests that Havisham’s eyes are stone cold and heart has turned to a hard stone, that no longer feels any emotion. This shows how time has not only aged her but has also left her broken and seeking a revenge that will never come. Through Duffy’s use of imagery, we begin to get a deepened sense of understanding towards Havisham’s situation, but also how time is eading to her breakdown and beginning to destroy her. Duffy’s use of word choice and sound, the destructive force of time is further revealed to the reader. Havisham has never changed out of her wedding dress and spends her days in bed, sc reaming at the walls which surround her, ‘I stink and remember. Whole days/in bed cawing Nooooo at the wall. ‘ Havisham is aware of her own smell, not just the stink of her unwashed body, but also of the stench of the terrible things that have happened to her. She stays in bed and screams in denial.

The setting of her bed portrays how time has destroyed her as she has become so weak she cannot get out of bed. The word choice of ‘cawing’ gives the impression Duffy is comparing the noise Havisham is making to the noise a crow makes, suggesting Havisham’s cries are annoying yet constant similar to that of a crow. It could also be suggested that if a male crow leaves or dies, the female will never take another mate, suggesting Havisham’s spinster state and creates a reason behind her jealousy and revenge.

The word choice of ‘Nooooo’ emphasises Havisham’s grief and despair and how she cannot express her anger and bitterness through proper words. Duffy’s use of sound and word choice illustrates how time has destroyed Havisham’s ability to function properly, leading to her physical breakdown. Through Duffy’s use of word choice we understand how time has led to Havisham’s mental breakdown and has destroyed her mind. Duffy’s uses an image to highlight Havisham’s confused feelings ‘Love’s/ hate behind a white veil; a red balloon bursting/ in my face’.

The enjambment of ‘love’ emphasises that that love has been personified and that the hate belongs to love. Love enjoys hurting her with the description of the balloon being an oxymoron, as balloons are supposed to be fun but this comes as a shock, ready to spoil her happiness. The ‘red balloon’ symbolises how fragile love and the heart is and how easily it can burst. The ‘white veil’ symbolises her wedding and her wedding dress which she is still wearing, and how she is trying to hang onto her fiance.

The final line of the poem brings together Duffy’s ideas of time as a destructive force as Havisham has become a broken ‘Don’t think it’s just the heart that b-b-b-breaks’. This sums up the poem, telling us that more than he heart is broken. The very last word comes out in a stutter, showing us her sadness but at the same time her emotional breakdown. This highlights how as time has gone on, she has become more and more broken and damaged, and the poems structure reflects this, and is quite broken apart, which shows her mental state at the time.

Through Duffy’s use of word choice we see how time has been used as a destructive force and has therefore led to Havisham’s emotional and mental breakdown. To conclude, Havisham becomes weakened physically, emotionally and mentally by time portrayed as a destructive force through Carol Ann Duffy’s use of word choice, imagery and sound . This poem teaches us about emotional and mental breakdown as well as the nature of loneliness and revenge and it encourages us to think about what we would do, if in a similar situation.

Water Level Indicator cheap essay help: cheap essay help

Generally when we are pumping liquids like water or may be any other liquid is we need a human to see whether the tank is filled or not or we will place a overflow pipe to know that the tank is fill or not in case of water tank and we get confirmed from the water coming from overflow pipe that the has been filled. ere is lots of wastage of water and still we need a human to have a look over it and so to avoid this and to save wastage of water or any other liquid that is being filled. Here is a simple circuit for liquid level alarm this circuit only tells us when the tank is full with a beep sound. It is built around two BC547 transistors (T1 and T2) and two timer 555 ICs(IC1 and IC2). Both IC1 and IC2 are wired in a stable multi vibrator mode. Timer IC1 produces low frequency, while timer IC2 produces high frequency.

As a result, a beeping tone is generated when the liquid tank is full. Initially, when the tank is empty, transistor T1 does not conduct. Consequently, transistor T2 conducts and pin 4 of IC1 is low. This low voltage disables IC1 and it does not oscillate. The low output of IC1 disables IC2 and it does not oscillate. As a result, no sound is heard from the speaker. But when the tank gets filled up, transistor T1 conducts. Consequently, transistor T2 is cut off and pin 4 of IC1 becomes high.

This high voltage enablesIC1 and it oscillates to produce low frequencies at pin 3. This low-frequency output enables IC2and it also oscillates to produce high frequencies. As a result, sound is produced from the speaker. Using preset VR1 we can control the volume of the sound from the speaker. The circuit can be powered from a 9V battery or from mains by using a 9V power adaptor. This circuit can be easily designed and it is easy to Assemble the circuit on a general purpose PCB and we can enclose it in a suitable cabinet.

The circuit is as shown below. Circuit of water level indicator 2) CIRCUIT DIAGARM: 3) How it works: The circuit contains I. Bc547 transistors II. Ic 555 timers III. Resistors IV. Capacitors V. Speaker/Buzzer/alarm VI. 9v power supply(battery/ 9v adaptor) VII. Preset VIII. PCB Here we will install two water-level probes using metal strips such that one touches the bottom of the tank and the other touches the maximum level of the water in the tank. Interconnect the sensor and the circuit using a flexible wire as shown in above circuit diagram. hen tank is empty or until the liquid touches the probe present at maximum level the transistor T1 doesn’t conducts and then output is high at collector of transistor T1, this drives the transistor T2 and transistor T2is in on state, and the output at collector of transistor will be low and as it is connected to pin4(reset pin) this disables ic1(555timer) and output at pin3 which is also low and as it is connected to pin4 of ic2(555timer) and the output is also low at pin3and it does not produce any sound .

When the water or liquid level touches the second probe which is at maximum liquid level, the transistor T1 conducts and then output is low at collector of transistor T1, this drives the transistor T2 into cutoff and transistor T2 is in off state, and the output at collector of transistor will be high and as it is connected to pin4(reset pin) this enables ic1(555timer) and output at pin3 which is also high and as it is connected to pin4 of ic2(555timer) and the output is produced at pin3and it produces sound. nd by hearing sound we can confirm that the tank is filled with liquid and we can stop filling it. Also we need a human to switch on and off the pumping of water, instead of speaker we can use a automatic switch which can switch off the pumping automatically. 4) COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION: A) IC 555 TIMER The 555 timer IC is an integrated circuit (chip) used in a variety of timer, pulse generation, and oscillator applications. The 555 can be used to provide time delays, as an oscillator, and as a flip-flop element. Derivatives provide up to four timing circuits in one package.

Introduced in 1972 by Signetics, the 555 is still in widespread use, thanks to its ease of use, low price, and good stability. It is now made by many companies in the original bipolar and also in low-power CMOS types. As of 2003, it was estimated that 1 billion units are manufactured every year. ? PIN DIAGRAM: Pin 1 (Ground): Connects to the 0v power supply. Pin 2 (Trigger): Detects 1/3 of rail voltage to make output HIGH. Pin 2 has control over pin 6. If pin 2 is LOW, and pin 6 LOW,  output goes and stays HIGH. If pin 6 HIGH, and pin 2 goes LOW, output goes LOW while pin 2 LOW.

This pin has a very high impedance (about 10M) and will trigger with about 1uA. Pin 3 (Output): (Pins 3 and 7 are “in phase. “) Goes HIGH (about 2v less than rail) and LOW (about 0. 5v less than 0v) and will deliver up to 200mA. Pin 4 (Reset): Internally connected HIGH via 100k. Must be taken below 0. 8v to reset the chip. Pin 5 (Control): A voltage applied to this pin will vary the timing of the RC network (quite considerably). Pin 6 (Threshold): Detects 2/3 of rail voltage to make output LOW only if pin 2 is HIGH. This pin has a very high impedance (about 10M) and will trigger with about 0. uA. Pin 7 (Discharge): Goes LOW when pin 6 detects 2/3 rail voltage but pin 2 must be HIGH. If pin 2 is HIGH, pin 6 can be HIGH or LOW and pin 7 remains LOW. Goes OPEN (HIGH) and stays HIGH when pin 2 detects 1/3 rail voltage (even as a LOW pulse) when pin 6 is LOW. (Pins 7 and 3 are “in phase. “) Pin 7 is equal to pin 3 but pin 7 does not go high – it goes OPEN.

But it goes LOW and will sink about 200mA. Pin 8 (Supply):Connects to the positive power supply (Vs). This can be any voltage between 4. 5V and 15V DC, but is commonly 5V DC when working with digital IC. INTERNAL BLOCK DIAGRAM: The LM555 is a highly stable controller capable of producing accurate timing pulses. With a mono stable operation, the time delay is controlled by one external resistor and one capacitor. This device features: Adjustable Duty Cycle, Turn off Time Less Than 2? Sec, Temperature Stability of 0. 005%/°C, High Current Drive Capability (200mA) and Timing From ? Sec to Hours. The LM555 timer is applicable for Precision Timing, Time Delay Generation, Sequential Timing and Pulse Generation. The above schematic shows the LM555 Timer Internal Circuit Block Diagram.

The Absolute Maximum Ratings (TA = 25°C) of LM555 are as follows: |Parameter |Value | |Supply Voltage |16V | |Lead Temperature (Soldering 10sec)|300°C | | |600mW | |Power Dissipation |(0 ~ +70)°C | |Operating Temperature Range |(-65 ~ +150)°C | |Storage Temperature Range | | | | | | | | | | | ? FEATURES: o High Current Drive Capability (200mA o Adjustable Duty Cycle o Temperature Stability of 0. 005%/°C o Timing From µSec to Hours o Turn off Time Less Than 2µSec ? APPLICATION: o Precision Timing o Pulse Generation o Time Delay Generation o Sequential Timing B) BC 547 TRANSISTOR: [pic] |TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION: | |The BC547 transistor is an NPN Epitaxial Silicon Transistor.

The BC547 transistor is a general-purpose transistor in a small| |plastic packages. It is used in general-purpose switching and amplification BC847/BC547 series 45 V, 100 mA NPN | |general-purpose transistors. | |The BC547 transistor is an NPN bipolar transistor, in which the letters “N” and “P” refer to the majority charge carriers | |inside the different regions of the transistor. Most bipolar transistors used today are NPN, because electron mobility is | |higher than hole mobility in semiconductors, allowing greater currents and faster operation. NPN transistors consist of a | |layer of P-doped semiconductor (the “base”) between two N-doped layers.

A small current entering the base in common-emitter | |mode is amplified in the collector output. In other terms, an NPN transistor is “on” when its base is pulled high relative | |to the emitter. The arrow in the NPN transistor symbol is on the emitter leg and points in the direction of the conventional| |current flow when the device is in forward active mode. One mnemonic device for identifying the symbol for the NPN | |transistor is “not pointing in. ” An NPN transistor can be considered as two diodes with a shared anode region. In typical | |operation, the emitter base junction is forward biased and the base collector junction is reverse biased.

In an NPN | |transistor, for example, when a positive voltage is applied to the base emitter junction, the equilibrium between thermally | |generated carriers and the repelling electric field of the depletion region becomes unbalanced, allowing thermally excited | |electrons to inject into the base region. These electrons wander (or “diffuse”) through the base from the region of high | |concentration near the emitter towards the region of low concentration near the collector.

The electrons in the base are | |called minority carriers because the base is doped p-type which would make holes the majority carrier in the base | BC547 TRANSISTOR CIRCUIT SCHEMATIC SYMBOL | |[pic] | |BC547 TRANSISTOR PINOUTS | |[pic] | |BC547 TRANSISTOR SOURCES | |The BC547 is very common and manufactured by ON Semi, Fairchild, and NXP. They can be purchased in small quantity for $. 03 | |to $. 20 depending on variation Mouser, Digikey both stock the BC547 samples. | | | C) RESISTOR: | | [pic] | |A typical axial-lead resistor | [pic]A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. The current through a resistor is in direct proportion to the voltage across the resistor’s terminals. This relationship is represented by Ohm’s law: [pic] where I is the current through the conductor in units of amperes, V is the potential difference measured across the conductor in units of volts, and R is the resistance of the conductor in units of ohms.

The ratio of the voltage applied across a resistor’s terminals to the intensity of current in the circuit is called its resistance, and this can be assumed to be a constant (independent of the voltage) for ordinary resistors working within their ratings. Resistors are common elements of electrical networks and electronic circuits and are ubiquitous in electronic equipment. Practical resistors can be made of various compounds and films, as well as resistance wire (wire made of a high-resistivity alloy, such as nickel-chrome). Resistors are also implemented within integrated circuits, particularly analog devices, and can also be integrated into hybrid and printed circuits. D) CAPACITOR: A capacitor (originally known as condenser) is a passive two-terminal electrical component used to store energy in an electric field.

The forms of practical capacitors vary widely, but all contain at least two electrical conductors separated by a dielectric (insulator); for example, one common construction consists of metal foils separated by a thin layer of insulating film. Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many common electrical devices. When there is a potential difference (voltage) across the conductors, a static electric field develops across the dielectric, causing positive charge to collect on one plate and negative charge on the other plate. Energy is stored in the electrostatic field. An ideal capacitor is characterized by a single constant value, capacitance, measured in farads. This is the ratio of the electric charge on each conductor to the potential difference between them.

Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits for blocking direct current while allowing alternating current to pass, in filter networks, for smoothing the output of power supplies, in the resonant circuits that tune radios to particular frequencies, in electric power transmission systems for stabilizing voltage and power flow, and for many other purposes. The capacitor is a reasonably general model for electric fields within electric circuits. An ideal capacitor is wholly characterized by a constant capacitance C, defined as the ratio of charge ±Q on each conductor to the voltage V between them: [pic] Sometimes charge build-up affects the capacitor mechanically, causing its capacitance to vary. In this case, capacitance is defined in terms of incremental changes: [pic] E) PRESET: A preset is a three legged electronic component which can be made to offer varying resistance in a circuit.

The resistance is varied by adjusting the rotary control over it. The adjustment can be done by using a small screw driver or a similar tool. The resistance does not vary linearly but rather varies in exponential or logarithmic manner. Such variable resistors are commonly used for adjusting sensitivity along with a sensor. The variable resistance is obtained across the single terminal at front and one of the two other terminals. The two legs at back offer fixed resistance which is divided by the front leg. So whenever only the back terminals are used, a preset acts as a fixed resistor. Presets are specified by their fixed value resistance. Pin Diagram: F) BUZZER:

A buzzer or beeper is an audio signalling device, which may be mechanical, electromechanical, or piezoelectric. Typical uses of buzzers and beepers include alarm devices, timers and confirmation of user input such as a mouse click or keystroke. Mechanical A joy buzzer is an example of a purely mechanical buzzer. Electromechanical Early devices were based on an electromechanical system identical to an electric bell without the metal gong. Similarly, a relay may be connected to interrupt its own actuating current, causing the contacts to buzz. Often these units were anchored to a wall or ceiling to use it as a sounding board. The word “buzzer” comes from the rasping noise that electromechanical buzzers made. Piezoelectric

Piezoelectric disk beeper A piezoelectric element may be driven by an oscillating electronic circuit or other audio signal source, driven with a piezoelectric audio amplifier. Sounds commonly used to indicate that a button has been pressed are a click, a ring or a beep. G) PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD: [pic] A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks, or traces ,etched  from copper sheets laminated on to a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board(PWB) or etched wiring board. A PCB populated with electronic components is a printed circuit assembly(PCA), also known as a printed circuit board assemble(PCBA). PCBs are inexpensive, and can be highly reliable.

They require much more layout effort and higher initial cost than either wire-wrapped or  point-to-point constructed  circuits, but are much cheaper and faster for high-volume production. Much of the electronics industry’s PCB design, assembly, and quality control needs are set by standards that are published by the IPC organization. 5) SCOPE: This circuit only indicates the amount of water present in the over head tank, It gives an alarm when the tank is full. This worthy device starts ringing as soon as the water tank becomes full. It helps to check overflow and wastage of water by warning the customer when the tank is about to brim. ? Now no need to go on the roof to look the water level. ? Alarm starts ringing as soon as tank becomes full. ? Suitable for every tank. ? Easy to make and economical circuit.

Information Society custom essay help: custom essay help

In many societies today, evidence exists of an increase in information that has opened a floodgate of knowledge, thereby putting a dent into human ignorance and significantly changing various aspects of life including education, communication, business and societal living. It is this prevalence of information that has led to the birth of what theoreticians refer to as the ‘information society’. It is not known exactly when the information society came into being, but it is believed that originated in Japan in 1964 according to (Duff, 1996 p. 119).

Moreover, (Martin, 1995 p. 2) also notes that Masuda, one of its founders came to the realization that “the making of information values became the formative force for the development of society. ” This new society also conceptualized in the mind of the economist, Fritz Machlup, who studied the role of knowledge in American societies. He felt especially concerned about how certain practices restricted competition, particularly, the patent system. He observed the cost of the patent system in contrast to its benefits, and consequently, was forced to inquire into the educational system.

He investigated how the United States, as a nation, produced knowledge. His inquiry led him not only to investigate scientific and technical information, but all schooling, elementary though graduate education. He was able to distinguish five division of the knowledge sector and, as a consequence, calculated that in 1959 twenty-nine percent (29%) of the Gross National Product (GNP) in the United States of America had been produced in knowledge industries.

Other proponents of the concept include Peter Drucker who has argued that there is a transition from an economy based on material goods to one based on knowledge. Yet another line of argument is that of Daniel Bell who pointed out that the number of employees producing services and information is an indicator for the informational character of a society. He adds further that in such a society, what counts is not raw muscle power or energy, but information. In addition, Jean-Francois Lyotard contends that “Knowledge has become the principle force of production over the last few decades. To add to this list of proponents’ points of view is a claim made by the former Minister of Tourism in Antigua & Barbuda, Honorable Harold Lovell, who said that, “We have long drifted away from the days when the livelihood of society depended largely on the cultivation of food crops to one in which information and services take priority. ” What then is the information society? There is no universally accepted definition of the concept of information society; as it is conceptualized differently by various writers.

For example, in the article “Introduction: Information Society Studies” Frank Webster writes that the information society is seen by its advocates to be as different from Industrialism as the Industrial Society was from its predecessor, the Agricultural Society. He expatiates by saying that from that perspective, people in the industrial era made their living by the sweat of their brow, dexterity of their hands, by working in factories to manufacture products.

In contrast, in the information society, “Livelihoods are increasingly made by the appliance and manipulation of information, be it software design, branding, or financial services, and the output is not so much a tangible thing as a change in image, relationship or perception. ” However, despite this view, some uncertainty still exists as to its definition as it is yet to be determined if the concept is evolutionary or revolutionary. However, for the purpose of this paper, the following definition will be used: A society characterized by a high level of information intensity in the everyday life of most of its citizens, in most organizations and workplaces, by the use of common or compatible technology for a wide range of personal, social, educational and business activities, and by the ability to transmit and receive digital data rapidly between places irrespective of distances. ” (Aerythstwyth module The Net Result 1) According to research literature, the information society is replete with benefits, but emerging alongside this view is a contradictory school of thought which argues that this new society is not without significant pitfalls.

Therefore, this paper will examine the tenets of the information society in order to unearth its advantages and disadvantages. To determine the pros and the cons of the concept, it is necessary to consider various definitions and perspectives of its two key terms: ‘information’ and ‘society’ as put forward by authorities from different fields. Definitions of Key Terms The term ‘information’ is not confined to any one definition; it is used in a wide range of contexts and means different things to different people.

In the article, Information-as-Thing, Buckland (1991) considers it as having to do with becoming informed, with the reduction of ignorance and uncertainty. Despite this perception, he contends that the term is itself ‘ambiguous’, but he adopts an approach which identifies and classifies the many uses of the word into three principle uses: information-as-process, information-as-knowledge and information-as-thing. Moreover, he puts forward the view that information goes beyond mere communication to include data, text, documents, objects and events—things from which individuals are informed.

His third category, information-as-thing, meets with strong theoretical objections. One opposing line of argument is that presented by Wiener in (Machlup 1983, p. 642). He argues that “Information is information, not material nor energy. ” As a counter response, Buckland maintains that to restrict information to the context of communication is remissive of his third category of the uses of the word. He explains that the noun ‘information’ has two basic meanings: (1) the telling of something or (2) that which is told.

These, he asserts, are either analogies and metaphors or concoction from the condoned appropriation of a word that had not been meant by earlier users. Another objection to ‘information-as-thing’ is proffered by Fairthorne (1954). He notes that, “Information is an attribute of the receiver’s knowledge and interpretation of the signal, neither of the sender’s nor some omniscient observer’s nor of the signal itself. ” Nevertheless, he accedes that the language is as it is used, and as such one cannot dismiss “information-as-thing” so long as it is a commonly used meaning of the term “information”.

The very nature of the objection would seem to confirm the observation that the word, ‘information’ is not without ambiguity. In addition to the foregoing definitions of the word information, another insight is that which is entered into the sixth edition of Harrods Librarians’ Glossary, which states that information is “an assemblage of data in a comprehensive form, recorded on paper or some other medium and capable of communication. ” On the other hand, The Standard Dictionary of Computers and Information Processing renders it as “the meaning assigned to data by known conventions. Thus data are the marks, such as characters, signs or symbols themselves, whereas the knowledge assigned to this is information. ’

A controversy now exists between the concepts of ‘data’ and ‘information’ because the two terms are often used synonymously, but this need not confuse the issue, for data is not the same as information. Data is really the unevaluated facts or the raw material of information which can occur in different forms, namely, signals, symbols or characters. In essence, information is really data processed into a meaningful and communicable form and thus constitutes knowledge which is capable of effecting change. Society’, the second term of the concept, ‘information society’ also has a variety of definitions, but for the purpose of this paper is that recorded in the Longman Dictionary of the English Language, which declares that society is ‘a community, nation or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests. ’ Although the two terms have a numerous meanings in various fields, it is an undisputed fact that information does have an impact, positive or negative, on society.

One only has to look at every strata of society to see our high level of dependence on information. In addition, (Webster p. 19) points out, “We have achieved an information society when the preponderance of occupations is found in information work. ” Similarly, Peter Otto and Philipp Sonntag (1985) say that an information society is “a society where the majority of its employees work in information jobs; that is, they have to deal with information, signals, symbols and images [rather] than with energy and matter. ”

Information was always a social fact; there was never a time in human history that information, as per the foregoing definitions and perspectives, was not a part of societal life. The caveman’s attempt at drawing on the walls of his primitive home, his signs, symbols, and artifacts all testify to the presence of information in society. Its impact since those early years has shaped the structure of society and life in general, but its transforming influence was especially felt at the turn of the twentieth century—the Enlightening Era.

New technological inventions, new modes of travel, the dramatic increase of medical knowledge, not to mention the introduction of new machines in education, communication and business, testify to the metamorphic effect of the information society. In light of these points, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that the information society possess remarkable merits. Therefore, this paper will now examine the advantages and disadvantages of the information society. Advantages Social value As stated earlier, information was always an intrinsic component of society.

However, its preponderance is a key into the modern world and has also given rise to the development of technological innovations, particularly, the introduction of information technology, a core element of the information society. It is probably this more than anything else that has paved the way for information’s influence at all levels of societal life. One only has to look at the greatly improved accessibility to information to realize its effect. With the aid of information technology, we are able to access not only constant but up-to-date information.

Moreover, the velocity, efficiency and ease with which information is transmitted serve to bridge geographical distances creating linkages between people and businesses. It is also true that conventional modes of communication are being eroded by new methods, such as electronic networking. Why write a letter when it is easier to communicate with others around the globe by text messaging or e-mail with almost instantaneous response? Furthermore the language barrier becomes non- existent as software that translates information to required languages is also a part of this form of networking.

Of significance is the fact that these methods of communication are conducive to business, education and even entertainment. No longer does a business contract have to be negotiated face-to-face; instead, video conferencing through the internet has narrowed the divide between partners in commerce. Similarly, research information that was once obtained only from volumes of books is now available via the internet. Clearly, the information society seems destined to reform the status quo and its influence is readily accepted by all classes in society. Disadvantages

It is accepted that there is an increase of information in society today, but critics argue that its preponderance is not sufficient evidence to support the view of an information society. It is more feasible to conclude that its growth has led to the development of technological innovations such as information technology rather than the birth of a new society. They argue that the form and function of information is subordinate to long-established principles and practices, insisting that the central feature of the present is its continuity with the past. Another objection, put forward by Frank Webster.

He argues that if technology is the main criterion for defining a society; then, this new era should be seen as a high-tech society or an automated age. He questions the designation “information” in a society in which technology is key. Furthermore, he maintains, “If there is just more information then it is hard to understand why anyone should suggest that we have before us something radically new. ” This view is also held by Kevin Robins as he suggests that: “Today’s Information Society continues and deepens long-established patterns rather than announces a new age. ”

Despite the fact that technological innovations have electronically integrated people, they equally isolate them, lessening the impact of the human touch. A typical example is this very programme. Students from different parts of the world are required to visit the University once per year and, though this is a learning experience, it raises the query as to the effect of the virtual classroom on students’ performance. The cost of travel is also another critical consideration. The need for safety and privacy is another matter of concern in the information society, for although information technology has made ommunication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has no fool proof security against invasion of privacy and safety of information. As Martin (1995) puts it, “As more networks come online, transaction generated information about individual citizens can be mixed and matched … digital data is unregulated. ” As a consequence, many unsuspecting persons have been known to be the victims of hackers, whose sole intent is to distort information that has been channeled through different information sources.

In a similar fashion, crimes such as electronic fraud, identity theft child pornography and prostitution have become common via technological information sources. Clearly, the information society is not all it is purported to be. Advantages Employment and the economy The emergence of the information society heralds new and more cost-effective strategies for addressing the economic sector of society. As Stonier (1991 p. 257 ) succinctly puts it, “The most important input into modern productive systems is no longer land, labour, or capital—it is information. Embedded in this statement is the suggestion that information is the panacea for problems arising in the economy. Undoubtedly, the use of information and communication technologies greatly reduces the need for standardized and manual production, but encourages a more diversified, knowledge based production of goods and services. Additionally, they provide opportunities for improved productivity thus strengthening the growth of the economy while generating new jobs. The question however is how to create and maintain awareness of the potential of new approaches to organization of work. The solution lies in education.

Information technology plays a dominant role in educational curricula and its inclusion in institutions of learning have only served to prepare individuals for the information-based working arena that typify the information society. The result of this initiative has culminated in the emergence and growth of new information-centered professions including computer and information managers, librarians and computer scientists. Moreover, most single and corporate employment firms demand employees be computer literate in order to stay abreast with the current knowledge trend that the world of commerce has now become.

The relevance of this stipulation is borne out even by our Aberystwyth Open Learning program. In view of the fact that it significantly incorporates distance learning. Of what benefit would it be to the student who is not conversant with computer programming? Another commendable point to consider in favour of the information society is the fact that in such a society, production is not entirely dependent on the presence of the employee in the actual work place. By means of technological networking an employee is able to perform his duty from miles away. The same is also true for banking, trading and the like.

In fact, trade convenience internet provides the source through which businesses can post an advertisement for selling any product. Similarly, a consumer can successfully purchase a product via the Internet. Undoubtedly, the information society has made wrought significant changes in personal and societal life. Disadvantages While it is true that the information society with its technological innovations has significantly and positively impacted the world economy, it is also equally true that its emergence has brought with it a number of factors that do negatively affect society.

Implied in Stonier’s observation above is a heavy reliance on technology. People depending on, for example, computerized systems are at a loss, unable to manage should these machines become unavailable. Such reliance on technological sources of information would seem to devalue natural human ingenuity. In addition to this is the possibility of job losses as computers are now used to perform tasks in the work place that were once done manually. Another negative line of argument is that which deals with information overload.

It is an undisputed fact that the information society connotes a vast body of information. However, as an Antiguan colloquial term says, “Too much of one thing is good for nothing. ” and the internet as well as other information and communication technology are replete with information, but this information is sometimes of no value to the user especially if it is not current data. Thus information overload is a veritable problem in the information society.

Dutton (2005) must have been of the same opinion as he writes, “The reality of today’s networks includes a large-scale nature and omplexity, increasing congestion and alternative behaviors of users of the networks, as well as interactions between the networks themselves. ” Advantages Global implications The global community also stands to gain from technological innovations of the information society. Networking is an integral component of information technology. Consequently, information can be shared across the world’s community. Of special value is the ease with which diverse, but pertinent information is transmitted particularly during a crisis.

A case in point is that which deals with the transmission and communication of metrological data. As is the custom, prior to the hurricane season in the Caribbean metrological personnel usually inform citizens of the eminence of a storm often correlating their statistical data using technological impressions. Of note too is the ability of technological implements to cut through the cultural divide. Despite cultural differences, people are able to work together, sharing ideas that benefit them both educationally and socially.

For example, like the University of Aberystwyth, the University of the West Indies Jamaica and Barbados also offer students opportunities for study through distance education by means of teleconferencing, an offspring of technology. This is especially effective since it is cost-effective and in addition, it fosters relationships between people of different cultures and walks of life. Disadvantages A major disadvantage to the notion of global unity is the sad fact that sources of technology is not always equitable and affordable especially that individuals have constantly to update their systems.

Additionally, in countries where technological innovation is still a novel experience, the demand for use far exceeds government’s ability to supply. For this reason a large number of citizens in some parts of the world are technologically illiterate. Conclusion Given the advantages and disadvantages of the information society, it is hard to ignore its presence if one operates from the premise that the preponderance of information and the subsequent development of technological sources through which information is transmitted, constitutes an information society.

On the other hand, if one holds to the view that an increase of information does not necessarily justify the prefix ‘information’ to society, but view it as a continuity of data that is channeled and transmitted through technological inventions, then one could easily conclude that an information society does not exist. However, it would be ludicrous to deny the positive effects, despite the negative ones of technological innovations in present society.

Sonnet 75 by Edmund Spenser college essay help service: college essay help service

Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. RL 5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. Sonnet 30 Sonnet 75 Poetry by Edmund Spenser Meet the Author Edmund Spenser 1552? –1599 did you know? Edmund Spenser . . . • worked as a servant to pay for his room and board at college. wrote a satire that was censored because it insulted Queen Elizabeth I and other English notables.

Although Edmund Spenser was born in London and educated in England, he spent most of his life in Ireland. It was there that he wrote one of the greatest epic romances in English literature, The Faerie Queene. The poem tells the stories of six knights, each representing a particular moral virtue. Spenser was innovative in devising a new verse form, in mixing features of the Italian romance and the classical epic, and in using archaic English words. Move to Ireland In 1576, Spenser earned een taken from an Irish rebel. Spenser’s friend Sir Walter Raleigh owned a neighboring estate. Second Marriage Spenser’s courtship of a master’s degree from Pembroke College at Cambridge University.

Three years later, he published his first important work of poetry, The Shepheardes Calender, which was immediately popular. It consisted of 12 pastoral poems, one for each month of the year. In 1580, Spenser became secretary to the lord deputy of y charged with defending Ireland, who was c from English settlers fro native Irish opposed colonization of Ireland. o England’s colon Spenser wrote the rest of his major poetry in Ireland, and that country’s Irelan landscape and people greatly a influenced his writing. Spenser held various civil Spens service posts during his years in po Ireland. In 1589, he was granted I a large estate surrounding es Kilcolman Castle, which had Kilcolma his second wife, Elizabeth Boyle, inspired him to write a sonnet sequence (a series of related sonnets) called Amoretti, which means “little love poems. ” The details and emotions presented in the sonnets are thought to be partly autobiographical. “Sonnet 30” and “Sonnet 75” are part of this sonnet sequence.

To celebrate his marriage to Boyle in 1594, Spenser wrote the lyric poem Epithalamion. In 1598, just four years after Spenser’s marriage, Irish rebels overran his estate and burned his home. Spenser and his family had to flee through an underground tunnel. They escaped to Cork, and a few months later, Spenser traveled to London to deliver documents reporting on the problems in Ireland. He died shortly after his arrival in London. In honor of his great literary achievements, Spenser was buried near Geoffrey Chaucer—one of his favorite poets and a major influence—in what is now called the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey.

An inscription on Spenser’s monument calls him “the Prince of Poets in his time. ” Author Online Go to thinkcentral. com. KEYWORD: HML12-318 318 poetic form: spenserian sonnet The Spenserian sonnet is a variation on the English sonnet, which was introduced in Britain by Sir Thomas Wyatt in the 1530s. Like the English (or Shakespearean) sonnet, the Spenserian sonnet consists of three four-line units, called quatrains, followed by two rhymed lines, called a couplet. Each quatrain addresses the poem’s central idea, thought, or question, and the couplet provides an answer or summation.

What is unique to the Spenserian sonnet is the interlocking rhyme scheme (abab bcbc cdcd ee) that links the three quatrains. As you read the following Spenserian sonnets, notice the rhymes that connect one quatrain to the next, and the way in which the sonnet’s main idea is developed and resolved. What makes your heart ache? Love can bring great joy— and great sorrow. Poets and songwriters probably lament the heartache of love as much as they extol its pleasures. Anyone who falls in love knows, or soon finds out, that the ride can be bumpy. DISCUSS Think about all the things that can cause heartache in a loving relationship.

Make a web of your ideas. Then share your web with a partner and compare your ideas. reading skill: summarize central ideas in poetry When you summarize a poem, you briefly restate the central ideas or themes in your own words. Summarizing a sonnet’s central ideas can help you understand and remember what you read, especially when the text or language is particularly complicated or difficult to understand. You can break down each quatrain and the couplet and use your own words to summarize the meaning of each part.

For each Spenser sonnet, use a chart like the one shown to help you summarize the central ideas in each part of the poem. Sonnet 75” Part of Poem 1st quatrain 2nd quatrain 3rd quatrain couplet Central Idea Whenever I write my beloved’s name in the sand, the waves wash it away. Causes of Heartache separation Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook. sonnet 30 / sonnet 75 319 son net 30 Edmund Spenser a SUMMARIZE 5 10 My love is like to ice, and I to fire; How comes it then that this her cold so great Is not dissolved through my so hot desire, But harder grows the more I her entreat? a Or how comes it that my exceeding heat Is not delayed by her heart-frozen cold: But that I burn much more in boiling sweat, And feel my flames augmented manifold?

What more miraculous thing may be told That fire which all things melts, should harden ice: And ice which is congealed with senseless cold, Should kindle fire by wonderful device. Such is the pow’r of love in gentle mind, That it can alter all the course of kind. What is the central idea in lines 1–4? 8 augmented manifold: greatly increased. 11 congealed: solidified. 14 kind: nature. 320 son net 75 Edmund Spenser 1 strand: beach. 5 10 One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tide, and made my pains his prey. Vain man,” said she, “that dost in vain assay, A mortal thing so to immortalize.

For I myself shall like to this decay, And eke my name be wiped out likewise. ” “Not so,” quod I, “let baser things devise To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: My verse your virtues rare shall eternize, And in the heavens write your glorious name, Where whenas death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew. ” b 5 assay: try. 8 eke: also. 9 quod: said. b SPENSERIAN SONNET Note the words Spenser uses in his end rhymes. In what ways are they related to the central ideas in this sonnet? onnet 30 / sonnet 75 321 After Reading Comprehension 1. Recall In “Sonnet 30,” to what does the speaker compare himself and his beloved? 2. Recall In “Sonnet 75,” what happens when the speaker writes his lover’s name in the sand? 3. Paraphrase In “Sonnet 75,” how does the speaker’s lover describe him and his actions (lines 5– 6)? RL 2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. L 5a Interpret figures of speech (e. g. , paradox) in context and analyze their role in the text. Text Analysis 4. Identify Paradox A paradox is a statement that seems to contradict ordinary experience but actually reveals a hidden truth. What paradox does Spenser develop in “Sonnet 30”? 5. Examine Spenserian Sonnet Reread lines 13–14 of “Sonnet 30. ” Does this couplet suggest that the speaker has overcome the heartache expressed in the preceding quatrains?

Support your answer. 6. Summarize Central Ideas in Poetry Look over the charts you created as you read. On the basis of the ideas you noted, what would you say is the theme or themes of each poem? 7. Draw Conclusions In these two sonnets, how would you characterize the speaker’s views about the following? • a beloved woman (“Sonnet 75,” lines 9–12) • romantic love (“Sonnet 30,” lines 13–14; “Sonnet 75,” lines 13–14) • the value of his poetry (“Sonnet 75,” lines 11–14) 8. Compare Texts In “Sonnet 75,” Spenser allows the speaker’s lover to respond directly to the speaker.

Compare her statements with those of the nymph in Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” (page 316). In what ways are their responses similar? Text Criticism 9. Critical Interpretations The poet John Hollander has written that some literary scholars have found Spenserian sonnets “somewhat syrupy beside Shakespeare. ” Do you think most contemporary readers would consider these sonnets by Spenser “syrupy”? Cite examples from the sonnets to support your answer. What makes your heart ache? Heartache, or classic love sickness, is part of falling in love. Why does being “madly” in love have to involve the sadness of heartache? 22 unit 2: the english renaissance Language grammar in context:

Use Sensory Details In “Sonnet 30,” Spenser reinforces his images of fire and ice by using adjectives and verbs that appeal to the senses. Here is an example: Or how comes it that my exceeding heat Is not delayed by her heart-frozen cold: But that I burn much more in boiling sweat, And feel my ? ames augmented manifold? (lines 5–8) Notice how the adjective boiling and the verb burn intensify the images. Such sensory details are especially effective when applied to subjects such as fire and ice, which have strong sensory associations.

Spenser effectively uses these details to heighten the disparity between the two lovers’ feelings. PRACTICE Rewrite each of the following sentences, changing or adding adjectives and verbs to help create stronger sensory images. example L 5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. W 1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts. W 3d Use precise words and phrases and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, or characters.

As the director posted the final cast list on the board in the school theater, I waited in anticipation. As the director posted the final cast list on the worn corkboard in the school theater, I stood as still as a stone, barely breathing in anticipation. 1. The room filled with applause each time the speaker made a good point. 2. When the movie ended, we walked to our favorite restaurant and discussed what we had just experienced. 3. I remained on the waiting-room couch while my grandfather met with his doctor. reading-writing connection YOUR Expand your understanding of heartache by responding to this prompt.

Then, use the revising tips to improve your letter. TURN writing prompt WRITE A LETTER We have all known someone who has suffered from heartache. Suppose that you are a friend of the speaker in “Sonnet 30. ” Would you console him or encourage him to move on? Using examples from the sonnet, write a two-paragraph letter with your advice to the speaker. revising tips • Make sure some of the details you cite include sensory details. • Read your letter again. Did you answer all the questions in the prompt? Interactive Revision Go to thinkcentral. com.

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This paper introduces the reader to Honeywell International Inc. Honeywell is a world leader in the application of lean manufacturing and its Six Sigma Plus processes. With the use of carefully monitored cost standards, net present value in investment decisions, and the transparency of the company’s financial statements are all methods that Honeywell has successfully implemented and utilized to reach and maintain their status as a world-wide competitor.

The company has continued its growth, despite the market downturn that began in 2007, and continues to prove its resilience and pioneering spirit by continually improving their product lines, globally expanding their market, and, monitoring and maintaining financial stability. Its forward thinking and willingness to take risk will provide Honeywell the capacity to maintain its role as a major competitor and contributor to the growth and recovery of our economy. Table of Contents Page Abstract2 Company Overview4 Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing8

The Use of Standard Costs11 The Use of Net Present Value14 Summary15 References18 Honeywell International Inc. is an American based advanced-technology company that manufactures aerospace and automotive products; residential, commercial, and industrial control systems; specialty chemicals and plastics; and engineered materials. Its assent into history can be traced back to 1885, spanning 125 years of history. Honeywell International is a $38 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, with 132,000 employees in over 100 countries and it a Fortune 75 Company.

It is a diverse and global-wide organization and is a leading supplier of avionics and electronics, consumable hardware, engine controls, environmental controls, landing systems, power systems, propulsion engines, aerospace services and space products, and systems for the aerospace industry, as well as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of commercial, regional, business and military aircraft and spacecraft.

Today, its main competitors in the aerospace defense product and service industry are BorgWarner Inc. , Johnson Controls Inc. and United Technologies Corp. State-of-the-art technology, world known brands and global solutions have placed Honeywell in the unique position as one of the premier worldwide suppliers in the aerospace industry, offering solutions of systems, products and services to the largest aerospace and airline companies in the industry. Throughout their 125 years in business, Honeywell has helped revolutionize the aerospace industry with its dedication to research and development and its enthusiasm to advance technology in their various markets.

Honeywell’s reliable and efficient aerospace services and support programs deliver the right level of engineering expertise, maintenance services and asset availability solutions to simplify operations while keeping systems and equipment at peak operational performance. It has proven to be successful in its quest for growth and global expansion from the time of inception. Their quest to acquire and expand began in 1927; the original company, Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company, and Honeywell Heating Specialty Co. merged to form the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co.

From the merger, the name Honeywell was adopted and has remained the same since. In the course of its acquisitions, Honeywell purchased other businesses whose focus was in the controls area; among those acquisitions, was Brown Instrument Co. who was a wide-reaching leader in the field of industrial controls and indicators. This acquisition further increased their already successful market to a wider range of customers, as Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co. had already established an overseas trading agreement with Japanese distributors such as Yamatake Trading Company.

It was no surprise that, in 1934, Honeywell pursued and eventually acquired Time-O-Stat Controls Corporation. With the acquisition of Time-O-Stat, Honeywell further expanded its global presence, establishing offices in Toronto, Canada and The Netherlands; a few years later, they had offices in London and Stockholm. By 1941, Honeywell had expanded into markets in Chile, Panama, Trinidad, New Zealand, Argentina, and South Africa. By 1972, it operated 25 wholly-owned subsidiaries, 142 branch offices, and joint ventures in five countries outside the U.

S. True to its reputation as a risk taker, Honeywell ventured into the computer industry. This venture was brief and by 1991 Honeywell was on longer in the computer business. Even though the venture was short lived, it proved to be of great value; Honeywell used the knowledge gained from their digital computer experience and applied it to the traditional field of automation control, integrating sensors, and activators. In 1986, Honeywell purchased Sperry Aerospace, and markedly enhanced its position in the aerospace industry.

Edson Spencer, Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer, said the purchase was among the most important his company had made, ”It is an outstanding opportunity for Honeywell that positions us for the long term in a market that is expected to have significant growth for the next 10 years – commercial and military aviation” (Arnold, 2012). This purchase made Honeywell the world’s leading integrator of avionics systems, incorporation flight controls, space vehicles, and the first FAA-certified wind shear warning system.

It continued to expand, and by 1993, the company continued its world-wide expansion by opening affiliates in Abu Dhabi, China, Oman, Romania, and the Ukraine. In a span of 26 years, Honeywell had operations in 95 countries through 83 wholly-owned subsidiaries and 13 joint ventures. One of the most noted and discussed mergers occurred in 1999 when AlliedSignal, a diverse manufacturer, bought Honeywell for $13. 8 billion in stock. AlliedSignal kept the Honeywell name, merging offices, and closed its Morristown, New Jersey headquarters.

The merger resulted in a major restructuring for Honeywell which added to its product line and services. The deal created a company with $25 billion in annual sales and a market capitalization in excess of $45 billion. The merger gave the combined company the marketing edge, providing their airline customers to take advantage of new technology that would boost cost savings for both parties. In an unexpected turn, the early part of 2001 brought difficulties for Honeywell when the European Commission rejected the purchase of Honeywell by General Electric (GE).

In October 2001, Honeywell and GE, the largest corporation in the world and the number one producer of jet engines, announced the intent to embark on one of the largest industrial mergers in history. The plan was for GE to acquire Honeywell, the largest worldwide supplier of non-engine aerospace equipment. During negotiations it was anticipated that there would be no antitrust problem; as GE and Honeywell were not competitors and not part of the same supply chain. The merger was intended to bring together complementary products that were component parts of large jet aircraft.

The deal would have been the largest industrial merger in history. Instead, it became recognized as the first, and so far only, merger between US companies to be derailed solely by the European anti-trust authorities, while being cleared by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). On July 3, 2001, in an unprecedented act, the EU officially rejected the planned $42 billion acquisition of Honeywell International Inc. , by GE. The merger was denied by the EU after concluding that the merger would create or strengthen dominant positions on several markets and that the remedies proposed by G.E. were insufficient to resolve the competition concerns resulting from the proposed acquisition of Honeywell.

”The merger between G. E. and Honeywell, as it was notified, would have severely reduced competition in the aerospace industry and resulted ultimately in higher prices for customers, particularly airlines” (Pellegrini, 2001). Despite the fact that the GE buyout failure was a stumbling block, Honeywell used the experience to strengthen its core businesses by continuing to develop and introduce new products.

The company started an aggressive acquisition strategy with the goal to increase revenues and decrease cost in a strategy that, “…divested small, underperforming operations, reduced the number of suppliers, and streamlined operations in small ways elsewhere” Honeywell History, n. a. ) The results paid off for Honeywell, as they continued to win a large percentage of their contract bids, sales were ahead of budget, and the rate of turnover in managers did not significantly increase from the same period in the prior year, and customer satisfaction was up.

Honeywell faced some challenges after the GE debacle, however, by making changes it displayed that tenacity, hard work and a willingness to take risk, can result in huge payoffs. Honeywell continued to streamline and improve their lean manufacturing processes, i. e. Six Sigma Plus, implement and ensure compliance of the company code of conduct and maintain its dominance as a government contractor. Honeywell began its Six Sigma process and concept of self-managed teams in 1995 to “drive data-based decision making, ensure quality levels, and improve customer satisfaction” (Crager, 2007).

Through training, leadership, and senior management support, Honeywell successfully developed their Six Sigma program. In late 2001 Honeywell combined the concepts of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma in a program called Six Sigma Plus to create a more robust program. The program was designed to align improvement objectives directly with business needs by integrating top talent and generating bottom-line results. Six Sigma Plus is an overall strategy to accelerate improvements in all processes, products and services, and reduce the punitive cost of poor quality through elimination of waste and reduction of defects and variations.

One of the ultimate aims documented in the Six Sigma Plus strategy is providing maximum value to customers by applying a logical and structured approach to all business processes. One of the pluses of Six Sigma is that it empowered employees, allowing them to make decisions that impacted how their unit or line was performing. This provided Honeywell an excellent tool that is a highly respected measure of excellence. (M. Calderon, personal communication, May 1, 2012) Honeywell took the basic concept of Six Sigma and created its own version which is known as Six Sigma Plus.

It is currently used across all businesses and brands to drive growth and productivity. “The standard operates by providing a measurement of how effective the organization is in eliminating defects and variations from processes. To meet its requirements, a process must operate at 3. 4 defects or less per million opportunities. This equates to 99. 9997% error free” (Six Sigma Plus, n. d. ). Conscious application of the Six Sigma methodology to all business processes delivers greater value to its customers and makes Honeywell a more desirable business partner.

The implementation of lean manufacturing processes has enabled Honeywell to maintain tight controls in all aspects of the managerial accounting processes. With the use of managerial accounting, Honeywell has ensured that their productions and service is well planned and controlled. With the budget cuts facing government, private sector job loss, and tightened markets, it is impressive that Honeywell has continued to maintain its sales growth in the United States. The diversity of Honeywell’s world-wide enterprise, exemplifies the importance of a creative corporate marketing approach.

Honeywell consists of unique business units, with each, offering a variety of products and services. Strategies and implementation of those strategies must be developed and executed at the corporate, business unit, and product levels. Overall, strategy and long-term planning are guided by the company’s vision and stated mission. At the business level, planning begins with an examination of the current situation, including technological changes and competitive effects. By using this type of analysis, Honeywell is better equipped to address and identify threats and new business opportunities.

Decisions to pursue new opportunities are followed by establishing a set of objectives, often stated in terms of market share, sales volume, or profitability. Subsequently, business and marketing strategies are developed to achieve those objectives. Effective execution of strategy in implementation must then occur for objectives to be realized. Effective financial statement analysis will be a primary indicator that indicates the progress and demonstrates whether company goals are being met.

Honeywell has been a leader in their industry in planning and control and have used financial analysis in depth to evaluate and control their growth and profitability. It continues to be effective in identifying opportunities to improve the organization’s efficiency and in developing strategic plans to realize those opportunities. By using a diversity of analytical tools Honeywell is better prepared in making operating decisions, such as how and where products are to be manufactured and serviced, whether insourcing or outsourcing is more equitable, and whether to expand and the area to expand to.

Timely and accurate financial statement preparation is critical to the success or failure of a business. The financial officer, owner, partner or members management team of a business must review the business financial statements and have a good understanding of them. Financial statements are critical to Honeywell’s ability to make solid, informed decisions. Such decisions are needed in order for Honeywell to meet one of its primary goals, which is to realize a high rate of return on their investments. The measurement and success of this initiative is arrived at by measuring it against other industry averages.

This information helps Honeywell understand that current initiatives do show a market response. In view of the fact that the industry average can be general in nature the industry average should be used as a guide. A failure to use the data appropriately can mislead investors and have a disastrous affect on Honeywell’s reputation and marketability. Achieving their strategic plan will not only involve Honeywell’s internal planning and controlling, but it will also involve the support of creditors and investors.

Both are key players in providing capital needs to support new initiatives and milestones; the use of financial statements in this process will no doubt be the backbone of the decision making process. It is difficult to know the health and direction of a company if financial statements are not reviewed in a timely manner. In its pursuit of investors, or the success in the results of an external audit, the financial statements are the ultimate representation of company’s financial position.

In general accounting practices, Honeywell uses process costing for its furnace thermostats (home products division) and job costing for customized aerospace contracting products. When thinking in terms of standard costs and whether they would be beneficial, one factor to consider is the fact that Honeywell is a world-wide producer with operations in many countries outside of the United States (US). There are ramifications when doing business overseas as well as doing business in the US and each scenario has its own benefits and consequences that are unique to specified circumstances.

Honeywell, like their competitors has migrated to low cost countries because of the labor rate differential. The move to overseas production creates additional concerns and dynamics. World-class manufacturing in today’s competitive environment demands more than a single-minded focus on eliminating defects. Since the introduction of Six Sigma and Lean tools to their operations over a decade ago, Honeywell has delivered significant results for customers in terms of the quality, delivery and value of our products and services.

To achieve competitive advantage in today’s environment, Honeywell has continued to build on its Six Sigma and Lean foundation, and identify new ways to differentiate themselves. Benchmark companies such as Toyota and Nissan use Six Sigma and Lean tools. Like Honeywell, they also have a disciplined management system that standardizes work and engage employees in improving work processes. In doing this, organizations have achieved tremendous performance improvements. The Honeywell Operating System is a comprehensive, integrated approach to managing their organization.

It is characterized by a consistent focus on results for the benefit of our customers, not on the use of specific tools. The objective is to simplify and standardize processes everywhere, to remove variation across operations, and to drive significant and sustainable improvements in safety, quality, delivery and cost. Employees are encouraged use tools such as Six Sigma, in achieving a common purpose: global wide use of an operating system that consistently yields excellent results for the customers and the company. Implementing standardized cost standards is not an easy task and it will take time.

Honeywell maintains that standardization will evolve to fit different business environments and changing customer needs and will become an essential part of the process that will bind their company across business and geographic boundaries. Honeywell’s workforce consists of residents of the country they are in to satisfy requirements imposed by foreign nations. It is almost mandatory to have overseas operations to reduce labor and material costs; however, these operations come with high risk. Foreign workers are not always equipped with the necessary skills to perform the manufacturing duties required by a highly technical company.

The expense of employing and developing such a workforce can create additional costs. In determining what the additional costs, standard costs prove beneficial because they would provide Honeywell the ability to budget costs with a great understanding and degree of confidence. A standard cost system allows a company to factor in methods that would absorb the periods in which higher costs are identified due to foreign employment development and when costs are low or minimal due to workforce stabilization.

In its foreign production, Honeywell will have to set attainable standards in order maintain its performing baseline. Another factor in foreign operations is the volatile condition of the world. The United States is not always welcomed in other countries. It is not uncommon for a common protest to turn into a major world crisis. Such examples are those of the uprisings in Israel and Libya. Honeywell hosts operations in Israel, where relations between the government and the general population are volatile and unpredictable.

In addition, we have seen several instances where regimes have changed power and attitudes toward the US in a matter of days. Standard costing is paramount as an aide for monitoring and managing the risk of unpredictability. It is a healthy practice that can protect Honeywell from severe monetary damage if a foreign tragedy should affect the business. The information obtained from standard costing aides Honeywell against the volatility of today’s markets and the strategy of its competitors.

Honeywell is continuously improving its processes, products and management style to maintain their competitive edge. To be competitive, Honeywell will continue to use their standard cost system to help them execute planning and control of their strategic priorities. Tracking costs will also help Honeywell identify weakness and variances in their production system. Undetected problems in the areas of materials and labor can eventually raise variance to a point of hindering Honeywell from maintaining their core competencies.

Consequently, today’s market provides no room for error, but every opportunity for a competitor to gain the lead. In many respects, some of the rationale that goes into using standard costs also applies to formulating the right strategy to gain a positive Net Present Value. Honeywell’s reach is global and therefore its investment opportunities are also global. Due to the unique factors involved with global markets, it is necessary for Honeywell to perform critical planning for investment decisions. Honeywell has a reputation as an organization that is willing to take risks to make money.

It has done that by acquiring other business or expanding its existing facilities for future business. Such expansions are expensive and these expansions require additional staff which adds to the cost of investment. Large expenditures are a challenge to control the net present value (NPV) and require clear identification of cost and risks in order to be a success. Strategic moves, such as partnering with the national government, can leverage the way to a positive NPV. In this approach, there are tradeoff between the corporation and the government in which both interests can be mutually met.

Corporation’s like Honeywell utilize these paths in order to reduce investment costs and have accurate projections for calculating and incorporating NPV baselines. Because of the ongoing activity of many investments occurring at one time, it is critical that Honeywell has complete knowledge of their NPV and ensure profitable investments are achieved. Failing to do this can result in major losses, especially when an unplanned shortfall occurs. Although the investment sounds promising, it is critical that NPV is properly measured.

It is also advisable from an NPV and program management position that Honeywell phase its investment into NPV milestones which help determine if they should move forward to the next phase of the investment. This process would provide a safeguard while allowing the innovation to prove itself. While the actual rate of return (IRR) that a given project ends up generating will often differ from its estimated IRR rate, a project with a substantially higher IRR value than other available options would still provide a much better chance of strong growth.

IRRs can also be compared against prevailing rates of return in the securities market. If a firm can’t find any projects with IRRs greater than the returns that can be generated in the financial markets, it may simply choose to invest its retained earnings into the market. The need for Honeywell to practice continuous NPV drills in a market with circumstances such as those faced in China by US companies, is critical. While both countries maintain a civil business partnership, there is an unspoken adversarial relationship which creates instability.

China is strategically positioning itself as a global power therefore, the relationship between both countries is precarious and any misstep by Honeywell could severely damage the existing business relationship. Another potential concern for Honeywell is that China is currently the largest lender to the US. At the point that China reaches the economic capacity to sustain its prosperity internally, we have to ask ourselves if they will request repayment by the US prior to maturity dates. As we have seen in several European countries, a request of that magnitude could destabilize an already fragile US economy.

In consideration of this scenario, and other contributing factors, Honeywell should be careful in investment planning, and phase its activities so that the NPV is not contingent upon results that will take a long period to realize a return. In summary, Honeywell has proven itself as a world leader of technology. This corporation is known world-wide and is a household name. Honeywell leads the way in advanced switching and sensing technology in their home division, and its aerospace division.

In spite of the GE failure, it has kept its mark on the global economy through market highs and lows and has maintained its dominant position in an extremely competitive industry. As a long-time survivor and global competitor on the world stage, Honeywell continues to make its mark in history by developing innovative safety products, driving the modernization of global air traffic management, revolutionizing combat technology and their commitment to improving operational efficiencies. Honeywell continues to display their dominance with its diversity and profitable risk taking ventures.

Perhaps Honeywell’s greatest strength has been the fact that it has adapted to a world that is ever changing and has embraced the challenge that other companies find daunting. With the continued vision to improve processes for safety, quality and cost, reducing waste, and using integrated strategies Honeywell continues to be a standard for their industry. They continue to be innovative and competitive and have a strong commitment to bringing profitable products that their customers need and want.

Due to the diversity and competitive market that Honeywell has chosen to operate in, it is of extreme importance that the company maintains sound financial practices that will support the moral fiber and marketability of the company. As Honeywell moves into the future I believe they will continue to perfect their processes to produce the right financial statements, useful in calculating their position in the market, and providing the best advice for investment decisions. The proper use of standard costs and net present value are an example of the critical tools that ensure Honeywell continues to thrive in today’s unknown global conditions.

Also critical to the success of Honeywell is the continued utilization of strong and proper ethical practices as the company is well known, world-wide competitor and a representative of the American business ethics and values. Whether it is in the Middle Eastern or the Far East, Honeywell is known and recognized; such a position makes it important for Honeywell to be transparent in its fiscal disclosures. Sound financial practices are essential to Honeywell in order for the company to continue its success and market dominance.

Primary emphasis on these practices will serve to maintain Honeywell’s status and help them make the most profitable investment decisions for their investors and the company. As recent as April 23, 2012, Honeywell declared a “regular quarterly dividend of $0. 3725 per share on the company’s outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on June 8, 2012 to shareowners of record at the close of business on May 18, 2012” (Honeywell Declares Quarterly Dividend, 2012). If this is any indication, Honeywell will continue to be a viable global competitor and financial contributor to our financial and job market.

Honeywell is an excellent example of an organization that is forward thinking and proactive. It has operated with a strong ethical code of conduct, strong financial discipline and an ever present focus on the future. This methodology and ideology will ensure their continued financial growth and market expansion. It is apparent that their cost standards, lean processes, and disciplined managerial financial management has enabled them to overcome obstacles, secure their position as a global competitor and a viable contender in today’s competitive, technology-oriented world.

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I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Pramod Solanki (Head- People and organizational Development) for suggesting this study and giving me an opportunity to have hands-on experience in the Human Resource Management area. I am grateful to him for reviewing my work throughout the process. I am also thankful to him for giving me his valuable time and support without which this project wouldn’t have completed. I am indebted to a number of contributors I am grateful to Ms.

Shefali Sankpal (HR Executive); who was my mentor for this project, for supporting me and clearing all my doubts. She also helped me know the organization better. I would also like to thank my Professor, Dr. Satishchandra Kumar (Reader, University Department of Applied Psychology, University of Mumbai) for guiding me throughout the journey of this project and helping me at every stage. I would also like to thank my parents for supporting me throughout the journey of this project.

Lastly, I would like to thank all my friends/colleagues at L & T -Ms. Deepa Borse, Ms. Preeti Munot, Ms. Durva Shrivastava and Mr. Bhooshan Chaudhari, for their valuable contribution. Declaration: I Ms. Monika P Bhambi, a student of Masters Program for Industrial Psychology, University of Mumbai, declare that this project has been carried out by me under the guidance of Dr. Satishchandra Kumar and Dr. Pramod Solanki. Ms. Monika P Bhambi Signature: Table of contents: |Sr. o |Chapter |Page number | |1 |Acknowledgements |2 | |2 |Declaration |3 | |3 | Introduction |5 | |4 |Method |22 | |5 |

Results and discussion |23 | |6 |Conclusion |50 | |7 |References |51 | 1. Introduction: To quote Mr. Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Corporation, “Change is the only thing that will never change. So better adapt to it. ” Change is something that presses us out of our comfort zone. Change is for better or for worse, depending upon how you view it. In the words of Charles Darwin “It’s neither the strongest nor most intelligent of the species that survive; it is the one most adaptable to Change”. There are two types of change in an organization: “planned” change and “unplanned” change.

Planned change refers to initiatives that are driven “top-down” in an organization, before you change an organization change has to be planned; while “unplanned” change typically involves changes due to new ideas, conflict between individuals, departments or teams and political power struggles inside the organization. What distinguishes planned change from the routine change is its scope and magnitude. Planned change aims to prepare the entire organization, or a major part of it to adapt to significant changes in the organization’s goals and direction. Change management is a relatively new concept that focuses on WHY and HOW organizations change. Based on theory and research, it offers practical advice to managers who are confronted to change.

It is a structured approach to change in individuals, teams, organizations and societies that enables the transition from a current state to a desired future state. It also entails thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, and above all, consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes. John P kotter (who teaches leadership at Harvard business School) has made it his business to study both success and failure in change initiatives in business. “The most general lesson to be learned from the more successful cases is that the change process goes through a series of phases, that in total; usually require a considerable length of time.

Skipping steps only creates the illusion of speed and never produces satisfactory results” and “making critical mistakes in any of the phases can have a devastating impact, slowing momentum and negating hard-won gains”. An article by John Kotter in the Harvard Business Review on Leading change: This article was originally published in the spring of 1995 which previewed Kotter’s 1996 book Leading change. It outlines eight big errors that organizations make while transforming. Let us take a look at each of them in brief: 1) Not establishing a great enough sense of urgency: Compared with other steps in the change process, phase one can sound easy. It is not.

Well over 50% of the companies fail in this first phase. The reasons for this failure could be that sometimes executives underestimate how hard it can be to drive people out of their comfort zones. Sometimes they grossly overestimate how successful they have already been increasing urgency. Sometimes they lack patience: “Enough with the preliminaries; lets get on with it. ” In many cases, executives become paralyzed by the downside possibilities. They worry that employees with seniority will become defensive, that morale will drop, that events will spin out of control, that short-term business results will be jeopardized, that the stock will sink and that they will be blamed for creating a crisis.

A paralyzed senior management often comes from having too many managers and not enough leaders. Phase one in a renewal process typically goes nowhere until enough real leaders are promoted or hired into senior-level jobs. Transformations often begin, and begin well, when an organization has new head who is a good leader and who sees the need for a major change. If the renewal target is the entire company, the CEO is the key. If change is needed in a division, the division general manager is the key. When these individuals are not new leaders, great leaders, or change champions, phase one can be huge challenge. When is the urgency rate high enough?

The answer to this question, as per kotter, is when about 75% of a company’s management is honestly convinced that business as usual is totally unacceptable. Anything less can produce very serious problems later on in the process. 2) Not creating a powerful enough guiding coalition: It is often said that major change is impossible unless the head of the organization is an active supporter. In successful transformations, the chairman or president or division general manager, plus another five or 15 or 50 people come together and develop a shared commitment to excellent performance through renewal. In both small and large organizations, a successful guiding team may consist of only three to five people during the first year of a renewal effort.

But in big companies, the coalition need s to grow to the 20 to 50 range before much progress can be made in phase three and beyond. Because the guiding coalition includes members who are not part of a senior management, it tends to operate outside of the normal hierarchy by definition. This can be awkward, but it is clearly necessary. If the existing hierarchy were working well, there would be no need for a major transformation. But since the current system is not working, reform generally demands activity outside of formal boundaries, expectations and protocol. A high sense of urgency within the managerial ranks helps enormously in putting a guiding coalition together. But more is usually required.

Someone needs to get these people together, help them develop a shared assessment of their company’s problems and opportunities, and create a minimum level of trust and communication. Off-site retreats, for two or three days, are one popular vehicle for accomplishing this task. Companies that fail in phase two usually underestimate the difficulties of producing change and thus the importance of a powerful guiding coalition. Sometimes they have no history of teamwork at the top and therefore undervalue the importance of this type of coalition. Efforts that do not have a powerful enough guiding coalition can make apparent progress for a while.

But, sooner or later, the opposition gathers itself together and stops the change. ) Lacking a vision: A vision says something that helps clarify the direction in which an organization needs to move. Without a sensible vision, a transformation effort can easily dissolve into a list of confusing and incompatible projects that can take the organization in the wrong direction or nowhere at all. Without a sound vision, the reengineering project in the accounting department, the new 360-degree performance appraisal from the human resource department, the plant’s quality program, the cultural change project in the sales force will not add up in a meaningful way. In failed transformations, you often find plenty of plans, directives and programs but no vision.

A useful rule of thumb: If you can’t communicate the vision to someone in five minutes or less and get a reaction that signifies both understanding and interest, you are not yet done with this phase of the transformation process. 4) Under communicating the vision by a factor of ten: Transformation is impossible unless hundreds or thousands of people are willing to help, often to the point of making short-term sacrifices. Employees will not make sacrifices, even if they are unhappy with the status quo, unless they believe that useful change is possible. Without credible communication, and a lot of it, the hearts and minds of the troops are never captured. This fourth phase is particularly challenging if the short-term sacrifices include job losses. Gaining understanding and support is tough when downsizing is a part of the vision.

For this reason, successful visions usually include new growth possibilities and the commitment to treat fairly anyone who is laid off. In more successful transformation efforts, executives use all existing communication channels to broadcast the vision. They turn boring, unread company newsletters into lively articles about the vision. They take ritualistic, tedious quarterly management meetings and turn them into exciting discussions of the transformation. They throw out much of the company’s generic management education and replace it with courses that focus on business problems and the new vision. The guiding principle is simple: Use every possible channel, especially those that are being wasted on nonessential information.

Perhaps, even more important, most of the executives in successful cases of major change learn to “walk the talk”. They consciously attempt to become a living symbol of the new corporate culture. This is often not easy. Communication comes in both words and deeds, and the latter are often the most powerful form. Nothing undermines change more than behavior by important individuals that is inconsistent with their words. 5) Not removing obstacles to the new vision: To some degree, a guiding coalition empowers others to take action simply by successfully communicating the new direction. But communication by itself is not sufficient. Renewal also requires the removal of obstacles.

Too often, an employee understands the new vision and wants to help make it happen, but an elephant appears to be blocking the path. In some cases, the elephant is in the person’s head and the challenge is to convince the individual that no external obstacle exists. But in most cases, the blockers are very real. Sometimes the obstacle is the organizational structure: Narrow job categories can seriously undermine efforts to increase productivity or make it very difficult even to think about customers. Sometimes compensation or performance- appraisal systems make people choose between the new vision and their own self-interest. Perhaps worst of all are the bosses who refuse to change and who make demands that are inconsistent with the overall effort.

In the first half of a transformation, no organization has the power, momentum or time to get rid of all obstacles. But the big ones must be confronted and removed. If the blocker is a person, it is important that he or she be treated fairly and in away that is consistent with the new vision. Action is essential, both to empower others and to maintain the credibility of the change effort as a whole. 6) Not systematically planning for and creating short-term wins: Real transformation takes time, and a renewal effort risks losing momentum if there are no short-term goals to meet and celebrate. Most people won’t go on the long march unless they see compelling evidence in 12 to 24 months that the journey is producing expected results.

Without short-term wins, too many people give up or actively join the ranks of those people who have been resisting change. Creating short-term wins is different from hoping for short-term wins. The latter is passive, the former is active. In a successful transformation, managers actively look for ways to obtain clear performance improvements, establish goals in the yearly planning system, achieve the objectives, and reward the people involved with recognition, promotions and even money. Managers often complain about being forced to produce short-term wins, but I’ have found that pressure can be a useful element in a change effort. When it becomes clear to people that major change will take a long time, urgency level can drop.

Commitments to produce short-term wins help keep the urgency level up and force detailed analytical thinking that can clarify or revise visions. 7) Declaring victory too soon: After a few years of hard work, managers may be tempted to declare victory with the first clear performance improvement. While celebrating a win is fine, declaring the war won can be catastrophic. Until changes sink deeply into a company’s culture, a process that can take five to ten years, new approaches are fragile and subject to regression. The problems start early in the process: the urgency level is not intense enough, the guiding coalition is not powerful enough and the vision is not clear enough. But it is premature victory celebration that kills momentum.

And then the powerful forces associated with tradition take over. Ironically, it is often a combination of change initiators and change resistors that creates the premature victory celebration. In their enthusiasm over a clear sign of progress, the initiators go overboard. They are then joined by resistors, who are quick to spot ay opportunity to stop change. After the celebration is over, the resistors point to the victory as a sign that the war has been won and the troops should be sent home. Weary troops allow themselves to be convinced that they won. Once home, the foot soldiers are reluctant to climb back on the ships. Soon thereafter, change comes to a halt and tradition creeps back in.

Instead of declaring victory, leaders of successful efforts use the credibility afforded by short-term wins to tackle even bigger problems. They go after systems and structures that are not consistent with the transformation vision and have not been confronted before. They pay great attention to who is promoted, who is hired and how people are developed. They include new reengineering projects that are even bigger in scope than the initial ones. They understand that renewal efforts take not months but years. 8) Not anchoring changes in the corporation’s culture: In the final analysis, change sticks when it becomes “the way we do things around here”, when it seeps into the bloodstreams of the corporate body.

Until new behaviors are rooted in social norms and shared values, they are subject to degradation as soon as the pressure for change is removed. Two factors are particularly important in institutionalizing change in corporate culture. The first is a conscious attempt to show people how the new approaches, behaviors and attitudes have helped improve performance. When people are left on their own to make the connections, they sometimes create very inaccurate links. The second factor is taking sufficient time to make sure the next generation of top management really does personify the new approach. If the requirements for promotion don’t change, renewal rarely lasts.

One bad succession decision at the top of an organization can undermine a decade of hard work. Poor succession decisions are possible when boards of directors are not an integral part of the renewal effort. There are still more mistakes that people make, but these eight are the big ones. In a short article everything is made to sound a bit too simplistic. In reality, even successful change efforts are messy and full of surprises. But just as a relatively simple vision is needed to guide people through a major change, so a vision of the change process can reduce the error rate. And fewer errors can spell the differences between success and failure. Further, Kotter has provided eight steps overcome these eight errors.

A brief description of each of these eight steps is given below: Eight steps to transform your organization: 1) Establishing a sense of urgency: ? Examining market and competitive realities. ? Identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunities. 2) Forming a powerful guiding coalition: ? Assembling a group with enough power to lead the change effort. ? Encouraging the group to work together as team. 3) Creating a vision: ? Creating a vision to help direct the change effort. ? Developing strategies for achieving that vision. 4) Communicating the vision: ? Using every vehicle possible to communicate the new vision and strategies. Teaching new behaviors by the example of the guiding coalition. 5) Empowering others to act on the vision: ? Getting rid of obstacles to change. ? Changing systems or structure that seriously undermines the vision. ? Encouraging risk taking and nontraditional ideas, activities and actions. 6) Planning for and creating short-term wins: ? Planning for visible performance improvements. ? Creating those improvements. ? Recognizing and rewarding employees involved in the improvements. 7) Consolidating improvements and producing still more change: ? Using increased credibility to change systems, structures and policies that don’t fit the vision.

Hiring, promoting and developing employees who can implement the vision. ? Reinvigorating the process with new projects, themes and change agents. 8) Institutionalizing new approaches: ? Articulating the connections between the new behaviors and corporate success. ? Developing the means to ensure leadership development and succession. Leaders who successfully transform businesses do eight things right and they do it the right order. Thus, by following these steps and avoiding the eight errors, mentioned earlier, organizations can transform without succumbing to failure. You can’t plan change if you are unaware of the need for change. NEED FOR CHANGE: WHY DO ORGANIZATIONS NEED CHANGE?

A model first proposed by three researchers in the United States-Herbert Simon, Richard Cyert and James March provides the key to the answer. This model called the Experiential learning model explains why individuals and organizations change and it has two aspects: ? First, it suggests that organizations are purposive, goal-oriented systems. They set themselves targets or goals which represent the organization’s aspirations about its performance. Performance for an organization could be sales, profitability, market share, return on investment and so on.

Periodically, organizations compare their actual performance to their targets or aspirations. Second, if the performance exceeds their aspirations, they consider themselves to be successful. However if performance falls below targets or aspiration levels, they see themselves as having failed. Perceptions of failure lead to change. Organizations institute a process of search to determine causes of failure and take corrective actions. However, if they see themselves as successful, they continue to do whatever they are doing more intensely. Simply put, the model proposes that organizational change is triggered by performance falling below expectations or aspiration levels. Moreover, change programs are necessary today precisely because of the shift in time and relationships that we have seen throughout the organizational world.

The sophistication of information processing technology, together with the increase in the globalization of the organizations, means that managers are bombarded with more new ideas, new products, and new challenges than ever before. To handle such an increase in information, accompanied by a decrease in the decision-making time managers can afford to take, managers must improve their ability to manage change. The success of change projects depends on the organization’s ability to make all their employees participate in the change process in one way or the other. TYPES OF PLANNED CHANGE: The type of change an organization undergoes depends on four crucial decisions made by key managers: ?

Deciding the goal or purpose of change: what do we want to achieve? ? Deciding the scope of change: do we want change throughout the organization or in a few selected units? ? Deciding the intensity of change: do we change few things or do we change many things? ? Deciding the time frame of change: how quickly or slowly do we want to execute the change? Goal, scale and time frame shape the nature of change that people will experience in the organization. Change can brought about in almost any area of an organization. Here are some of them: ? Strategy deployment: It includes trying to change what the organization already does and discovering new strengths. Restructuring and downsizing: It refers to reducing the number of employees but also includes divestiture of the company assets, selling of a piece of business. ?

Technological change: It concerns the implementation of large hardware/software systems purchased from the vendors. ? TQM-driven change: It includes the use of employee teams to generate and implement ideas for improving organizational performance. ? Mergers and acquisitions: It involves the ownership and operation of two companies being integrated to form one organization. ? Business expansion: It involves expanding a business through product development, new lines of business and selling to new markets or new technology or reach new market. Culture change: These efforts are aimed at changing the prevailing behavior patterns of the employees. THE PROCESS OF CHANGE: Once the need and type of change are recognized, it’s the time to implement it. Although organizations are beset by many forces for change, it is important to recognize that opposing forces act to keep an organization in a state of equilibrium. These opposing forces, then, support stability or the status quo. To understand how this works, let’s take a look at a model of the change process that is based on the work of Kurt Lewin. FORCE-FIELD ANALYSIS: According to the force-field theory of Kurt Lewin, an issue is held in balance by the balance of two opposing sets of forces.

Those seeking to promote change: the driving forces and those attempting to maintain the status quo: the restraining forces. The driving forces push one way and the restraining forces push the other. Lewin viewed organizations as systems in which the present situation was not a static pattern; but a dynamic balance (equilibrium) of forces working in opposite directions. The performance that emerges is a reconciliation of the two sets of forces. An increase in the driving forces might increase performance, but it might also increase the restraining forces. In order for any change to occur, the driving forces must exceed the restraining forces, thus shifting the equilibrium.

Force field analysis is a management technique developed by Kurt Lewin which is useful when looking at variables involved in planning and implementing change program and when attempting to overcome resistance to change. [pic] Lewin’s model reminds us to look for multiple causes of behavior rather a single cause. Programs of planned change based on Lewin’s ideas are directed first toward removing or weakening the restraining forces and then on creating or strengthening the driving forces that exist in the organizations. Lewin also studied the process of bringing about effective change. Most efforts of change fail for tow reasons, he thought. First people are unwilling {or unable to} alter long established attitudes and behavior.

Lewin believed that after a brief period of trying to do things differently, individuals left on their own tend to return to their habitual patterns of behavior. To overcome obstacles of this sort, Lewin developed a three-step sequential model of the change process. The model, later elaborated by Edgar H. Schein and others, is equally applicable to individuals, groups and entire organizations. It involves “unfreezing” the present behavior pattern, “changing” or developing a new behavior pattern, and then “refreezing” or reinforcing the new behavior. 1) UNFREEZE:

It involves making the need for change so obvious that the individual, group or organization can readily see and accept it. ) CHANGE: It involves discovering and adopting new attitudes, values and behaviors. A trained CHANGE AGENT leads individuals, groups, or the entire organization through the process. During this process the change agent will foster new values, attitudes and behavior through the processes of Identification and Internalization. Organization members will identify with the change agent’s values, attitudes and behavior, internalizing them, once they perceive their effectiveness in performance. 3) REFREEZE: It means locking the new behavior pattern into place by means of supporting or reinforcing mechanisms, so that it becomes the new norm. Change agents can be members of organization or consultants brought in from the outside.

If there is CHANGE, there will be RESISTANCE. SOURCES OF RESISTANCE: The restraining forces-the ones that keep an organization stable-are of special interest, since they represent potential sources of resistance to planned change. If managers can change these forces or address their underlying concerns, they have a better chance of accomplishing any planned change. For convenience, we will group these sources of resistance into three broad classes: the organizational culture, individual self-interests and individual perception of organizational goals and strategies. ? RESISTANCE DUE TO SELF-INTERESTS: “This change will cause me to lose something”. ?

Fear of being job less. Loss of personal status. ? Loss of personal comfort. ? LACK OF UNDERSTANDING REGARDING THE CHANGE: “Why do we have to do it differently? ” ? LACK OF SKILLS TO DO SOMETHING THE NEW WAY: “I don’t know how to do it this way. The old way seemed okay to me. ” ? LACK OF TRUST DUE TO PAST OCCURRENCES: “We’ve tried this before and it didn’t work then. ? LOW TOLERANCE FOR CHANGE: “I have a comfortable routine. I don’t want to do things the new way” ? PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY: Complex change can create anxiety and stress. If employees do not face psychological safety in such a scenario, they would become excessively preoccupied with maintaining their sense of competence.

This powerful force for stability can make it difficult to change, however. Sometimes employees do not understand the need for a new goal because they do not have the same information their managers have. Or they may long for good old days. OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE AND EXECUTING CHANGE: Solution to an organization’s problems cannot be found outside the organization. An organization possesses the potential and capability to solve its own problems. Following are the steps that could be used in order to execute change effectively and overcome resistance. 1) The source of resistance generally lies in the misinformation or poor communication.

Thus, the resistance can be reduced through communicating with employees to help them to see the logic and the need for the change. If the employees receive full facts and get any misunderstanding cleared up, resistance will subside. 2) Prior to making a change, those opposed can be brought into the decision process. It will be difficult for them to resist a change decision in which they have participated. 3) When the employees have fear and their anxiety is high, they need assurance, proper counseling and guidance and training to facilitate their adjustment to the changed situation. The change agents have to offer a range of supportive efforts to reduce the resistance. ) Organizations sometimes offer something of value to the employees for lessening of the resistance. If the resistance is centered with a powerful pressure group, a specific reward package is negotiated with the group to satisfy them. Such negotiations are generally costly and there is always the risk of being blackmailed by other groups. As a tactic, it has generally not proved to be successful. 5) Sometimes organizations use coercion as a tactic to deal with the resistance. The application of direct threat or force upon resisters may work well in a short run. But it is generally not sustainable. Besides these tips how else can we influence and persuade individuals to do something that they would not do on their own?

Robert Cialdini, an internationally well-known social psychologist has done extensive research on the science of persuasion over the last 30 years. His book, INFLUENCE: The Psychology of Persuasion and INLFUENCE: Science and Practice are perhaps the most cited in the field of influence and persuasion. Cialdini lists six principles of persuasion along with their implications in managing change. The following table explains it all: |Sr. no |Principle |What is it based on? |Change management tactic | |1) |Liking |Individuals like people who are similar to |Use first-level supervisors and employees to communicate change to | | | |them, who like them and who praise them. other employees; be appreciative of employees and their past efforts. | |2) |Reciprocity |Individuals feel obligated to repay in kind,|Practice generosity and benevolence; offer help to peers and staff who | | | |when they receive help, gifts or praise |need help | | | |without asking. | | |3) |Social proof |People are influenced by others who are |Arrange visits to organizations that have implemented similar change | | | |similar to them. efforts; build a *critical mass of change supporters and influence | | | | |others through the critical mass. | |4) |Consistency |People feel compelled to fulfill voluntary |Enlist employee support in a public forum by asking people to indicate | | | |public and written comments. |their commitment openly (do not coerce or pressurize them to commit) | |5) |

Authority |Individuals are influenced by others who are|Develop technical and professional competence in your job so that | | | |perceived as experts. |others around you see you as being competent. |6) |Scarcity |People tend to value things that are |Share strategic information with employees; identify the opportunities | | | |relatively in short supply. |they are likely to miss if the organization does not undergo change. | *critical mass: it refers to the minimum number of people in the organization whose support is required to launch change. In order to adapt to the necessary change, an organization must be a LEARNING ORGANIZATION. The concept of learning organization is that the successful organization must-and-does continually adapt and learn in order to respond to the changes in the environment and to grow.

In his book, “THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE: The Art and Practice of learning organization”, Peter Senge defined a learning organization as human beings co-operating in dynamical systems that are in a state of continuous adaptation and improvement. A learning organization creates, captures, transfers and mobilizes knowledge to enable it to adapt to a changing environment. Thus, the key aspect of organizational learning is the interaction that takes place among individuals. TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING: Chris Argyris and Schon suggested that there are three types of organizational learning. They are as follows: 1) Single-loop learning: This occurs when errors are detected and corrected and firms continue with their present policies and goals.

It is like a THERMOSTAT that learns when it is too hot or too cold and turns the heat on or off. The thermostat can perform this task because it can receive information (the temperature of the room) and the corrective action. 2) Double-loop learning: This occurs when in addition to detection and correction of errors, the organization questions and modifies its existing norms, procedures, policies and objectives. 3) Duetero learning: This occurs when organizations learn how to carry out Single loop and Double loop learning. The first two forms of learning will not occur if the organization is not aware that learning must occur. Being aware of Ignorance motivates learning.

This means identifying the learning orientations or styles and the processes and structures (facilitating factors) required to promote learning. • Objective: To study how different organizations manage the Change process. 2. Method: In order to study the concept of Change management, the case study method was used. A total of six international and Indian case studies were taken into consideration. These case studies involved different companies, dealing with different products. Out of the total six case studies, four belong to organizations that could successfully manage change and two belong to organizations that failed to achieve success in managing change.

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The objective of this course is to assist you in developing in-depth knowledge relating to the management of innovation and the formulation of a new product introduction strategy. The materials to be used in this course are designed to provide you with a comprehensive exposure to the making of product development decisions. The primary emphasis in the course will be on understanding theoretical concepts and being able to apply them to a variety of new product introduction scenarios. REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS:

The course materials listed below are available for online purchase and electronic delivery from Harvard Business School Publishing for an investment of $64 through the two web links shown below. In an effort to reduce costs, printed versions of the course materials will not be available for sale through the MBA Shop (UConn Coop) on the Hartford Campus. Articles and Case: Harvard Business Review Articles (HBR): Innovation: The Classic Traps Meeting the Challenge of Disruptive Change The Innovator’s DNA Breakthrough Thinking from Inside the Box Reverse Engineering Google’s Innovation Machine

The 30+ readings have been collated together and posted as a single PDF file on our HuskyCT course website. The Harvard Business Review (HBR) articles are intended to provide you with theories, concepts and best practices that relate to innovation and new product development. The Simulation and the Harvard Business School Case (HBS) are intended to provide you an opportunity to apply these theories and concepts. The readings are intended to provide you exposure to current topics relating to innovation and new product development. EVALUATION:

The evaluation system is designed to encourage advance reading of all assigned material, regular attendance in class, well prepared presentations and active participation in class discussions. Two of the assignments are team-based (three students in each team) while the others are individual-based. In-class time will be made available to work on team-based assignments when possible. Timely completion of all course assignments (described in the next section) is expected. If for some unforeseen reason you are unable to attend a particular class session, please inform me of your intended absence in advance.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS: Tablet Design Assignment (Team-based) (purpose: to understand human capacity for creative thinking) Each team (consisting of three students) will design a Tablet that updates the design of current products on the market, with a particular emphasis on screen size. In addition to selecting the ideal screen size for a Tablet, your design should include 2-3 new product features that meet unmet consumer needs. [Deliverable: A 1-2 page written report along with a hand or computer-drawn sketch (free sketching software is available at http://www. ketchup. com/intl/en/index. html) due at the end of class on September 8, 2012] HBR Article Presentation (Team-based) (purpose: to learn important theories, concepts and best practices relating to innovation and new product development) Each team (consisting of three students) will present a pre-assigned article from the Harvard Business Review article set being used in the course. The class sessions during which particular HBR articles are scheduled for presentation are listed in bold in the “Schedule of Activities” section of the course outline.

HBR Articles will be assigned to teams using a first-come, first-served basis. Once you have formed a team (and only then), please sign-up for the HBR Article your team is interested in presenting on a Discussion Board that has been set up for this purpose on our HuskyCT course website. When signing-up for your HBR Article presentation, please list the names of all team members. HBR article presentation assignments will be finalized during the first class meeting on September 7, 2012.

Please note that only the HBR articles listed in bold in the “Schedule of Activities” section of the course outline are available for presentation. [Deliverable: A 6-8 slide presentation (approximately 50 words per slide) to be made in class (in about 12-16 minutes) on the day the pre-assigned HBR article is scheduled to be presented and discussed in class. Please provide me with a printed copy of your slides immediately prior to your presentation and send me an electronic copy after it is over] Simulation Exercise (Individual-based): (purpose: to learn how to formulate a product innovation strategy)

Each student will play a web-based pricing simulation exercise that is intended to provide a real-world learning experience on how to make product investment decisions in both mature and emerging technologies under conditions of uncertainty [Deliverable: A 6-8 page write-up (double-spaced using a 12 point font) sent to me electronically as a single WORD or PDF file by 5:00pm on October 15, 2012] HBS Case Write-Up on “Healthymagination at GE Healthcare Systems” (purpose: to apply theories and concepts relating to innovation and new product development to a practical business situation)

Each student will analyze the HBR Case “Healthymagination at GE Healthcare Systems” and prepare a written report. The assignment involves analyzing a key GE-wide strategy with an emphasis on improving the cost, quality, and access to healthcare in the global markets served by GE Healthcare Systems. [Deliverable: A 6-8 page write-up (double-spaced using a 12 point font) sent to me electronically as a single WORD or PDF file by 5:00pm on October 29, 2012] Current Topic Presentation and Write-Up (Individual-Based)

Each student will lead the class discussion on a pre-assigned reading selected from Readings on Current Topics being used in the course and submit a one page write-up. The 30+ current topic readings available for presentation have been collated together and posted on HuskyCT as a single PDF file. Readings will be assigned to students using a first-come, first-served basis. Please sign-up for the Current Topic reading on which you would like to lead the class discussion on a Discussion Board that has been set up for this purpose on our HuskyCT course website.

While signing-up for your reading please make sure that it has not been already selected by another student. Assignments of the Current Topics readings to students will be finalized during the first class meeting on September 7, 2012. [Deliverable: A one page write-up (double-spaced using a 12 point font) on the pre-assigned reading to be handed-in immediately after your presentation] Class Participation Due to the nature of the course material you are expected to actively engage and participate in all in-class discussions and make thoughtful contributions to the “Comments on the Current Topics Readings” discussion board on HuskyCT.

For students seeking to enhance their class participation grade, selected from-the-podium (i. e. , facing the class) participation opportunities will be made available. GRADING: The above activities shall be weighted as follows in determining your course grade: Individual-based work: Simulation Exercise25 percent HBS Case Write-up25 percent Current Topic Presentation and Write-up10 percent Class Participation10 percent Team-based work: Tablet Design Assignment 5 percent HBR Article Presentation 25 percent SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES: L=Lecture CT=Current Topics Reading P=HBR article available for team presentation

D=HBR article to be discussed by the class as a whole (not available for team presentation) S=Simulation DateActivities 7 Sep (pm)Introduction to the course L: New Product Development Fundamentals D: HBR article “Innovation: The Classic Traps” 8 Sep (am)L: New Product Development Fundamentals (cont’d) D: HBR article “Meeting the Challenge of Disruptive Change” S: Simulation Exercise starts with Scenario A. In-class time for Simulation CT: You Call That Innovation? CT: Avoiding Innovation’s Terrible Toll CT: The Yin and the Yang of Corporate Innovation CT: Innovation Isn’t Easy, Especially for an Industry Giant Sep (pm)L: Generating and Evaluating New Product Ideas CT: Google’s Lab of Wildest Dreams CT: For Bright Ideas, Ask the Staff CT: Better Ideas Through Failure—Companies Reward Employee Mistakes CT: Innovation 101: Anybody Can Be Creative In-class time for Tablet Design Assignment Discussion of Tablet Design Assignment 14 Sep (pm)L: Generating and Evaluating New Product Ideas P: HBR article “The Innovator’s DNA” P: HBR article “Breakthrough Thinking from Inside the Box” 15 Sep (am) L: Defining Markets and Identifying Customer Needs P: HBR article on “Reverse Engineering Google’s Innovation Machine”

P: HBR article “Connect and Develop” CT: Seeing Customers As Partners in Invention CT: Attention, Frustrated Inventors: Wal-Mart Wants You on Aisle Two CT: The Eyes Have It: How Marketers Now Track Shoppers’ Retinas CT: Wash Away Bad Hair Days-Rinse and Repeat 15 Sep (pm) L: Concept Selection and Testing P: HBR article “A More Rational Approach to New Product…” P: HBR article “How Open Innovation Can Help You Cope…” CT: Got a Good Idea? Ben Kaufman of Quirky. com Will be the Judge of That CT: Smart Money for a Smart Watch? CT: Affordable 3-D Arrives-No More Clay Models CT: Can You Build This? Yes, They Can

S: Simulation Exercise advances to Scenario B. In-class time for Simulation 28 Sep (pm)L: Product Design and Positioning P: HBR article “Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers” P: HBR article “Why Sustainability is Now the Key Driver…” CT: Products, Products Everywhere CT: P&G Launches Razor in Recession’s Shadow CT: Campbell Hopes Tastier Soup Leads to Higher Sales CT: The Microwave Wants Some Respect CT: Bicycling on Batteries Proves a Bit Awkward 29 Sep (am)L: Product Development Economics and Managing Projects P: HBR article: “The Practice of Global Product Development” P: HBR article “Tapping the World’s Innovation Hot Spots”

CT: These Items Epitomize Genius in the Everyday CT: Nature Inspires Advances in Technology CT: How a Computer Program Became Classical Music’s Hot Composer CT: With New Products Nissan Plays Up Innovation Angle CT: Dreamliner Hits a Milestone—Boeing Factory Rolls Out…. 29 Sep (pm)Special Topic: Economic, Legal and Political Influences on Innovation CT: The Anti-Kodak: How a U. S. Firm Innovates CT: Expediting U. S. Innovation Comes at a Cost CT: Apple Wins Big in Patent Case CT: Will Washington Find the Cure for Cancer? CT: Sparking an Energy Revolution

Discussion of the Simulation Exercise & Case Write-Up deliverablesIn-class time for Simulation Exercise Course Evaluation (official UCONN and on www. ratemyprofessors. com) COURSE POLICIES: Course Enrollment: University requirements mandate that you be enrolled through the University Registrar to receive course credit. If you are not enrolled, you must add this course through the Registrar’s office before the Registration deadline. If you are not officially enrolled (yet continue to attend and participate in the course), you are not eligible to receive credit for this course.

Professional Integrity: Students in this course are expected to abide by the highest standards of ethics and personal integrity, and to adhere to all university policies regarding academic honesty. Academic misconduct can result in a failing grade for the course. A student who knowingly assists another student in committing an act of academic misconduct shall be equally accountable for the violation. Issues of academic misconduct are covered in The Student Code, Part IV: Student Conduct Policies and in Appendices A and B (see http://www. dos. uconn. edu/student_code. tml).

Special Needs: If you are a student who needs academic accommodations due to a disability or for a religious observance, please contact me at your earliest convenience so that appropriate accommodations can be made. DETAILS ON THE HBR ARTICLE PRESENTATIONS The purpose of the HBR article presentations is to learn important theories, concepts and best practices relating to new product development and the management of innovation. The articles have been selected to highlight product development decisions and scenarios that are normally encountered by firms.

The typical HBR article presentation should draw attention to the key ideas mentioned in the article and the examples used to reinforce them. It should provide a basis for class discussion. A recommended format for these presentations is given below. No additional research on the companies or organizations mentioned in the article is needed. RECOMMENDED SLIDE TITLES & SEQUENCE: The Innovation or Product Development Situation or Issue or Problem (1-2 slides): Relevant HBR Article Facts (4-5slides): Present a summary of key points in the HBR article. Communicate the general content and tone of the article to the audience.

Emphasize those facts which you believe are particularly relevant for class discussion. Discussion Questions (1 slide): List three thoughtfully worded questions that you believe provide a basis for evaluating the recommendations made in the article Form opinions on the questions you select, but do not reveal them till you have heard from the rest of the class. [Deliverable: A 6-8 slide presentation (approximately 50 words per slide) to be made in class (in about 12-16 minutes) on the day the pre-assigned HBR article is scheduled to be presented and discussed in class.

Please provide me with a printed copy of your slides immediately prior to your presentation and send me an electronic copy after your presentation is over] DETAILS ON THE SIMULATION EXERCISE The purpose of the simulation is to apply innovation and product development concepts to a real-world scenario that involves making R&D allocation decisions for two different technologies in three different market segments over eight simulated years.

One of these technologies is a “sustaining” technology while the other is a “disruptive” technology. This online simulation enables you to assume the role of a business unit manager at Back Bay Battery Company which faces the dilemma of balancing a portfolio of investment strategies across products in the rechargeable battery category. You have to manage R&D investment tradeoffs between sustaining investment in the unit’s existing battery business versus investing in a new, potentially disruptive battery technology.

You must also decide which market opportunities to pursue, each of which offers differing short- and long-term payoff prospects. You manage the investment portfolios over eight simulated years. During this period you will have to address a number of challenges including timing and level of investment across both mature and new businesses, choices regarding market opportunities and inherent product performance characteristics, requirements to meet constraining financial objectives and constant trade-offs between investment options.

Helpful Hints: The best way to approach investments in both the disruptive (Ultracapacitors) and sustaining (NiMH) technology is to seek to balance the twin goals of maintaining a healthy level of cumulative profit (so that funds are available to the company to invest in the disruptive technology) while also attempting to grow the disruptive technology (because that is where the future profit for the company is going to come from). If you focus too much in the first goal you will do poorly on the second, and vice-versa.

Hence the objective is to pay attention to both goals and use a thoughtful approach to how the investments in the two technologies are to be made over the course of the simulation period. Grading The grade for the simulation will be partly (50 percent) based on a subjective (i. e. , qualitative) assessment of the strategy you used for the simulation in terms of its soundness, consistency in execution, and other aspects that are indicative of a thoughtful approach to your decisions, and partly (50 percent) on an objective (i. . , quantitative) assessment of the your performance on key financial metrics. To facilitate the qualitative assessment, please describe the rationale for the decisions made during Scenario A (Introductory Scenario) and a post-hoc (i. e. , after the fact) analysis of the results you obtained. Remember to clearly articulate the strategy you used, the reasons for it, the extent to which the results obtained differ from the planned strategy, and an after-the-fact analysis of why that may have happened.

For the quantitative assessment, please report (a) the level of cumulative profit (line 14 of your income statement), and (b) the trend in revenue (line 2) and contribution margin (line 11) growth for ultracapacitors. You may base your report on a limited number (a recommended minimum is 6 runs) corresponding to Scenario A (Introductory Scenario). Use a first-person narrative style of writing. Organize your write-up using headings and sub-headings. It is okay to cut-and-paste charts and tables from your simulation runs to illustrate your investment strategy.

But, please be highly selective while so doing. Points to Ponder: Best opportunities for new products are not visible early on. New applications can appear unattractive, but often represent the best long-term opportunities. Timing and level of R&D spending is difficult to gauge. Assessing emerging market opportunities is difficult using standard approaches. Balancing dual requirements for simultaneously investing in core business and innovation is challenging. Constraining financial criteria and an organization’s impatience for growth can make innovation difficult. Deliverable: 6-8 page write-up (double-spaced using a 12 point font) sent to me electronically as a single WORD or PDF file by 5:00pm on October 15, 2012] DETAILS ON THE HBS CASE WRITE-UP The purpose of the assignment is to analyze (as of 2011) GE Healthcare Systems “Healthymagination” strategy of improving the cost, quality, and access to healthcare in the global markets served by the company– and whether the strategy would enable a transformation in the new product development and introduction process that would lead the company to be much more tuned to market needs.

The specific task is to analyze the facts (including exhibits) and events presented in the case and relate them to concepts and theories you have been exposed to during the course while evaluating the “Healthymagination” strategy. Be selective in your coverage of concepts and theories, focusing only on those which you believe are of high relevance to the introduction of the new ultrasound products described in the case. Helpful Hints: Use a third-person narrative style of writing. Organize your write-up using headings and sub-headings (and sub-sub-headings if needed).

No additional research on ultrasound products is necessary or desirable. Base your analysis only on the facts and events depicted in the case. Use evidence-based arguments in doing your analysis, setting aside (for the moment) your own personal views relating to the product category (hence the third-person writing style). Five Questions to Answer: Which new ultrasound products should GE Healthcare Systems introduce? Does the new product introduction process provide a good platform to enable GE Healthcare Systems to meet the evolving needs of the customer and maintain its growth trajectory?

Should GE Healthcare Systems set a goal of obtaining “Healthymagination” validation on each new product? Question X Question Y [Deliverable: A 6-8 page write-up (double-spaced using a 12 point font) sent to me electronically as a single WORD or PDF file by 5:00pm on October 29, 2012] DETAILS ON THE CURRENT TOPIC PRESENTATION & WRITE-UP The purpose of the Current Topics readings (each is typically 1-2 pages in length) is to gain exposure to events and issues relating to the management of innovation and new product development that have recently been reported in the business press.

In discussing these readings our goal is to attempt to relate business practices to theories and concepts being covered in the course. Each student is responsible for presenting a reading to the class and acting as a discussion leader when it is discussed in class. The 30+ readings available for presentation and discussion are listed below. They have been collated together and posted on HuskyCT as a single PDF file in the same order in which they are listed below.

In rare instances, it may be necessary to do a limited amount of online research (30 minutes maximum) to update the content of the reading or provide additional background information. The typical current topics presentation should be of 5 minutes duration. [Deliverable: A one page write-up (double-spaced using a 12 point font) on the pre-assigned reading to be handed-in immediately after your presentation] New Product Fundamentals [Scheduled for 8 Sep (am)] You Call That Innovation? Avoiding Innovation’s Terrible Toll The Yin and the Yang of Corporate Innovation.

Analysis of Emily Dickinson’s Poem law essay help: law essay help

Emily Dickinson uses plain words to great effect, such as in the poem, “The Brain – is wider than the Sky”. The poem compares and contrasts the human brain with the sky, the sea, and God. This poem is manageable enough for the casual reader to understand, and yet opens up ideas for the sophisticated reader to explore. In the following paragraphs I will analyze Dickinson’s poem, line for line, and explain the theme of the poem, which is the relationship between the human mind and the external world.

In the opening stanza of “The Brain- is wider than the Sky-“, Dickinson contrasts the human brain with the sky. In the first line Dickinson sets the tone of the poem and states, “The Brain – is wider thean the sky-“. I usually view the wide sky as being almost limitless, but here Dickinson is saying that the brain is even beyond the limits of the sky. In the second line, “for- put them side by side-“, Dickinson asks the reader to compare the brain with the sky.

In the third line of the first stanza, she says, “The one the other will contain”, and without saying which one contains the other she leaves the reader to assume that the sky fits within the brain. The brain is able to incorporate the sky and the entire universe into it’s thoughts. In the last line of this stanza, Dickinson writes, “With ease- and You- beside-“, to strengthen the point. In this line “You” means the human body, which is ironic as the brain is physically smaller than the body, but not metaphorically.

In the second stanza of the poem, Dickinson compares the brain with the sea. In the 5th line of the poem, “The Brain is deeper than the sea-“, Dickinson uses this metaphor to say that although the sea is made up of a vast amount of water, the brain can store an immense amount of knowledge. In the second line of this stanza, when she says, “for-hold them- Blue to Blue-“, she may be reestablishing the sky metaphor that was used in the first stanza. Another way to interpret this line, is the color the mind can imagine compared to the blue of the natural sky.

In the third and fourth lines, if she is comparing the sky to the sea, then she is talking about how the clouds in the sky absorbs the ocean water to create rain. Another interpretation is that the brain can imagine the sky, thereby absorbing the sky into it’s thoughts. The third and final stanza is arguably the most complex of the three stanzas in this poem. In the 9th line Dickinson says that the weight of the brain is equal to that of God, because our total collective consciousness is comparagle to that of God, and the brain’s capacity is infinie like God.

In the second line Dickinson again asks us to test the two subjects against each other, as she did in the second line of the other two stanzas. In the 11th line of the poem, she adds an element of doubt by saying, “If they do”. The last line I find the most interesting, when Dickinson says the “Brain” and “God” differ, “As syllable from sound-“, which is imcompatible as a comparison. Syllable and sound cannot be compared, which reminds me of the idiom, “apples to oranges”. To sum it up, the is comparable to the “Sky” and the “Sea”, but is incomparable to the mind of God.

The form of the poem consists of three four-line stanzas. They follow iambic tetrameter for the first and thrid lines of each stanza, and trimeter for the second and fourth lines of each stanza. The rhyme scheme Dickinson uses is ABCB in each stanza. Dickinson uses long dashes to break the flow of words, which works as a rhythmic device to cause short pauses. The theme of the poem is the complicated relatiohship between the mind and the external world. In the poem, “The Brain – is wider than the Sky_”, the poet tesifies to the mind’s ability to interpret, absorb, and experience the world around it.

Leonardo Da Vinci college essay help free: college essay help free

Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452, in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci, in the lower valley of the Arno River in the territory of Florence. Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine notary was his father, and Catherina, a peasant who may have been a slave from the Middle East was his mother. Leonardo had no surname in the modern sense, “da Vinci” simply meaning “of Vinci”: his full birth name was “Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci”, meaning “Leonardo, son of Ser Piero from Vinci. ” Little is known about Leonardo’s early life.

He spent his first five years in the hamlet of Anchiano, and then lived in the household of his father, grandparents and uncle, Francesco, in the small town of Vinci. His father had married a sixteen-year-old girl named Albiera, who loved Leonardo but died young. One, which he regarded as an omen, was when a kite dropped from the sky and hovered over his cradle, its tail feathers brushing his face. The second occurred while exploring in the mountains. He discovered a cave and was both terrified that some great monster might lurk there, and driven by curiosity to find out what was inside.

Educational Background: In 1466, at the age of fourteen, Leonardo was apprenticed to the most successful artists of his day, Andrea di Cione, known as Verrocchio. Verrocchio educated Leonardo humanities. Other famous painters such as Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Botticelli, and Lorenzo di Credi were apprenticed with the workshop. Leonardo was exposed to technical and artistic skills. He had the opportunity to learn drafting, chemistry, leather working, mechanics, carpentry, drawing, painting, sculpting and modeling.

Much of the painted production of Verrocchio’s workshop was done by his employees. According to Vasari, Leonardo work with Verrocchio on his Baptism of Christ, painting the young angel holding Jesus’ robe in a manner that was so far superior to his master’s that Verrocchio put down his brush and never painted again. Leonardo himself was the model for two works by Verrocchio, which were the bronze statue of David in the Bargello and the Archangel Michael in Tobias and the Angel. By 1472, at the age of twenty, Leonardo qualified as a master in the Guild of St Luke, the guild of artists and octors of medicine, but even after his father set him up in his own workshop, his attachment to Verrocchio was such that he continued to work with him. Leonardo’s earliest work was done in pen and ink on August 5th, 1473; Arno valley. Training: Practically nothing is known about Leonardo’s boyhood, but Vasari informs us that Ser Piero, impressed with the remarkable character of his son’s genius, took some of his drawings to Andrea Del Verrocchio, an intimate friend, and begged him earnestly to express an opinion on them.

Verrocchio was so astonished at the power they revealed that he advised Ser Piero to send Leonardo to study under him. Leonardo thus entered the studio of Andrea Del Verrocchio about 1469-1470. In the workshop of that great Florentine sculptor, goldsmith, and artist he met other craftsmen, metal workers, and youthful painters, among whom was Botticelli, at that moment of his development a jovial _habitue_ of the Poetical Supper Club, who had not yet given any premonitions of becoming the poet, mystic, and visionary of later times.

There also Leonardo came into contact with that unoriginal painter Lorenzo di Credi, his junior by seven years. He also, no doubt, met Perugino, whom Michelangelo called “that blockhead in art. ” The genius and versatility of the Vincian painter was, however, in no way dulled by intercourse with lesser artists than himself; on the contrary he vied with each in turn, and readily outstripped his fellow pupils. Influences: Da Vinci studied under Verrocchio, where Botticelli was also a student.

His main influences were Masaccio, Donatello, Fra Filippo Lippi, Piero Della Francesca and Uccello. Younger artist who were in Florence while Da Vinci was there included Michelangelo, whom he despised, and Raphael. Leonardo was the son of a very rich and influential man (Yes, he was illegitimate, but he had a very extensive education and was surrounded by important people all his life). Da Vinci would study from the great people who came before you. Da Vinci the scientist observed nature and systematically recorded his observations.

He studied every detail of the human body by dissecting corpses. In his study of animals da Vinci focused on the mystery of flight. His copious notes covered a vast range of topics from the sun, moon, and stars, to fossils and flying. His works provided a base for scientists to work from for centuries. During the Renaissance, math and science went hand in hand, thanks to the Greeks. da Vinci, along with other artists of the day, used geometry to produce a new style of painting, a style that allowed the observe to see the scene as in real life.

This developed into the concept of perspective, which used light and depth perception to depict a 3D scene on a 2D surface. Because he typified the idea of the Renaissance. The term “Renaissance Man” refers to one who was capable of excelling at a wide variety of activities. Leonardo was an accomplished scientist, architect, engineer, painter, designer, physiologist, etc. Truly he was not simply a man of the Renaissance; he was the prototype of the Renaissance Man. Personality issues Subject matter: idk Life story: 452: Leonardo is born close to the town of Vinci in the countryside near Florence 1466-1469: Leonardo moves to Florence and becomes an apprentice in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio 1472: Leonardo paints one of the angels in Verrocchio’s painting ‘The baptism of Christ’. He also finishes his apprenticeship, becoming a master artist and a member of Florence’s Guild of Saint Luke 1481: Leonardo leaves Florence for Milan, where he finds work at the court of Duke Ludovico Sforza 1490: Leonardo works on the Sforza horse and draws the Vitruvian Man, among other things.

Salai joins the studio as an apprentice. 1497: Work on ‘The last supper’ in under way. 1498: Ludovico Sforza gives Leonardo a vineyard in Milan, but there is not much time for him to enjoys it, as in the fall of 1499, French troops invade the city and Leonardo leaves 1500-1505: Leonardo works in Florence again, along with his great rival, the artist and sculptor Michelangelo 1503: Leonardo begins work on his most famous painting the ‘Mona Lisa’. In 1506-1513, he is back in Milan-the city is now ruled by French 1513: Leonardo moves to Rome, where he lives and works at the Vatican court(the pope’s headquarters). 516: Leonardo moves to France to work for the king, Francis I. Salai is one of his companions. In 1519, Leonardo dies, at the age of 67, in Amboise, France. Level of success: Today, there are records of only few Da Vinci paintings, and 20 notebooks. Thankfully, these works have been preserved over the hundreds of years since Leonardo’s time, and while his works are scattered in different areas of the globe, everyone can enjoy Da Vinci through the numerous books detailing his life, or through any of the many Da Vinci posters that have been printed.

A well-known master in the history of art, Leonard Da Vinci is renown by people all over the map, and those of us who cannot travel to view the true works that the genius created can at least bring home a piece of him when we buy Da Vinci posters or prints. His most famous paintings are among the most influential works ever created. Legacy, Impact: Leonardo’s greatness lies in the diversity of his knowledge. His depth of understanding across a broad range of disciplines sets him aside from his contemporaries.

Even by today’s standards it would be difficult to find an individual who embraced Anatomy, Biology, Engineering, Architecture, and Science in addition to being one of the greatest painters of all time. The tragedy is that much of his scientific work was not published in his lifetime, and was only re-discovered many years after his death at a time when science had already embraced many of his ideas. There is little doubt that had his work been publicised in the Renaissance era it would have advanced the knowledge of the time.

His left handed mirror-writing also caused problems. It created a code that needed breaking before his unpunctuated manuscripts could be understood. Also many of his scientific papers have been lost or damaged and are dispersed throughout the world. As an artist it is universally agreed that Leonardo’s marriage of art and science was significant for the advancement of painting techniques. He was famous for being a great painter long before his scientific work was acknowledged and appreciated. So the basis of his genius lies in his artistic achievements.

The contradiction is that he designed weapons of war and, at the same time, marveled at the beauty of nature that these devices could ultimately destroy. Some historical characters stride like giants through the pages of history, think of Newton, Einstein, and Aristotle, Leonardo is certainly cast in the same mold. If art is about an emotional response then Leonardo da Vinci delivers at the highest level. I have been privileged to see a number of Leonardo’s paintings in the flesh; at the Louvre in Paris and also at the National Gallery in London.

On 21st February 2009 I traveled to Manchester to view 10 of his drawings from the Royal Windsor collection. Needless to say these small works oozed quality. In a society were fame is fleeting and celebrity is often acquired very cheaply, it is refreshing that an artist, who died 500 years ago, can cause a queue to form, waiting in line to view his work. Famous works: Mona Lisa, the last supper, St. John the Baptist, and The Baptism of Christ are the most famous paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci. Especially Mona Lisa. Annunciation, Ginevra de’ Benci, Benois Madonna, Madonna of the Carnation, St.

Jerome in the Wilderness, Adoration of the Magi, Virgin of the rocks, Lady with an Ermine, Madonna Litta, Portrait of a Musician, La belle ferronniere, the virgin and child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist, Madonna of the yarn winder, The virgin and child with St. Anne, and Bacchus are less famous paintings of Da Vinci. Leonardo Da Vinci not only painted great paintings, but he have invented many of the transportation/vehicles and other things we use in today’s life. For flight, there are glider, helicopter, and parachute, for military; there are automobile car, machine gun, scaling gun, and tank.

Viola organista and double hull are the most famous between people. Viola organista is an experimental musical instrument Da Vinci invented. It was the first bowed keyboard instrument ever to be devised and Double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two layers of watertight hull surface. And the space between the two hulls is sometimes used for storage of fuel or ballast water. Old age Court records of 1476 show that Leonardo and three other young men were charged with sodomy, and acquitted.

From that date until 1478 there is no record of his work or even of his whereabouts, although it is assumed that Leonardo had his own workshop in Florence between 1476 and 1481. From September 1513 to 1516, Leonardo spent much of his time living in the Belvedere in the Vatican in Rome, where Raphael and Michelangelo were both active at the time. In October 1515, Francois I of France recaptured Milan. On 19th December, Leonardo was present at the meeting of Francois I and Pope Leo X, which took place in Bologna.

It was for Francois that Leonardo was commissioned to make a mechanical lion which could walk forward, then open its chest to reveal a cluster of lilies. In 1516, he entered Francois’ service, being given the use of the manor house Clos Luce near the king’s residence at the royal Chateau Amboise. It was here that he spent the last three years of his life, accompanied by his friend and apprentice, Count Francesco Melzi, supported by a pension totaling 10,000 scudi. Leonardo died at Clos Luce, France, on May 2, 1519. Francois I had become a close friend.

Vasari records that the King held Leonardo’s head in his arms as he died, although this story, beloved by the French and portrayed in romantic paintings by Ingres, Menageot and other French artists, may be legend rather than fact. Vasari also tells us that in his last days, Leonardo sent for a priest to make his confession and to receive the Holy Sacrament. In accordance to his will, sixty beggars followed his casket. He was buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert in the castle of Amboise. Melzi was the principal heir and executor, receiving as well as money, Leonardo’s paintings, tools, library and personal effects.

Leonardo also remembered his other long-time pupil and companion, Salai and his servant Battista di Vilussis, who each received half of Leonardo’s vineyards, his brothers who received land, and his serving woman who received a black cloak of good stuff with a fur edge. Some twenty years after Leonardo’s death, Francois was reported by the goldsmith and sculptor Benevento Cellini as saying: “There had never been another man born in the world who knew as much as Leonardo, not so much about painting, sculpture and architecture, as that he was a very great philosopher.

A painter, a sculptor, an architect and an engineer, Leonardo Da Vinci’s numerous skills have earned him the title of renaissance master. Da Vinci’s fascination with science and his in-depth study of human anatomy aided him in mastering the realist art form. While Leonardo’s counterparts were known to create static figures in their works, Leonardo always tried to incorporate movement and expression into his own paintings. All the personages in his works are painted with great accuracy and detail that it is sometimes said that Da Vinci painted from the bones outward.

Having lived until the age of 67, Leonardo experienced a very long career that was filled with times during which the painter was celebrated, but at times he was also humiliated and cast away. His life experiences all influenced his works and often, his paintings never left the sketchpad, or were only partially completed, as Leonardo often abandoned his commissions in order to flee from social situations. Leonardo was home schooled, his father taught him only simple things. Leonardo used math in some of his artwork. He used the Golden ratio in his paintings, Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, His Self Portrait and Madonna of the Rocks.

He studied mathematics, geometry and polymath. Leonardo Da Vinci lived and took math lessons from Luca Pacioli. Luca Pacioli was making a book, and Leonardo Da Vinci was illustrating for him. Many other scientists ignored Leonardo Da Vinci because he did not know Latin or algebra. Leonardo studied, hydraulics, pyrotechnics, science, acoustics, optics, medicine, biology, anatomy, natural history, zoology, cartography, philosophy and botany. Leonardo Da Vinci was so fascinated by human anatomy, that he would sneak into hospitals at night, and dissect human bodies. He only studied anatomy for 20 years, and then moved on.

Disrupted Life and Culture in Mauritius common app essay help: common app essay help

In the poem, the narrator is driven around in a horse-drawn carriage to several places, including a schoolyard, a field of wheat, and a house sunken in the ground. However, a deeper reading of the poem reveals the poet’s uncertainty of whether there is or is not an afterlife. The events she describes are of course fictional and unknowable, but the multiple changes in pacing of the poem, as well as the changing nature of the carriage (stationary and in motion), indicates the poet’s unwillingness to make a decision one way or another. At several times in the poem, Dickenson changes the pace of the reading.

Upon the death of the narrator, even though she could not stop for Death, the stanza features end-stops after each line – the reader has to stop multiple times for Death. However, in the last stanza, she allows the reader to run through it very quickly, appropriate since the stanza details the quick pace of the centuries. This conflict is indicative of indecision. Death is traditionally described in two ways, depending on the religious affinity of the speaker – there is an afterlife or there is not one. Upon the time of writing this poem, Dickenson had just lost a valued friend, and was likely dealing with this conflict herself.

At the start of the poem, she uses the word “Immortality,” which would likely imply that there is an afterlife, and the spirit of her friend is living on there. However, the fifth stanza of the poem describes a house buried in the ground, one that is certainly inaccessible to anyone trying to enter. In the next stanza, she uses “Eternity” instead of “Immortality. ” Combined with the buried house, this word choice has a very different connotation. If the afterlife, whether it be Heaven or Hell, is thought to be that house, and Dickenson has been waiting outside for an eternity, would it not imply that no one can get in?

That the soul has no place to go after dying? Of course, the fact that the poet can relate this information after being dead implies that spirits are capable of reporting back to the living in one way or another, giving them a sense of agency that would not have if they were just dead in the ground. The poet continues to feel temperature, as she notes in the fourth stanza. However, the poet seems to have no other human feelings aside from that. She has neither leisure nor labor, giving her a sense of indifference about the whole experience.

It is hard to believe that, after being alive for some amount of years, at least long enough to have such a grasp over the English language, that anyone would have no feelings about being in the company of death one way or the other if they still managed to hold onto any shred of humanity. It is impossible to identify Dickenson’s feelings about death based on this poem, besides that she is still uncertain. Reply 2. [pic]John Yi says: July 13, 2011 at 5:18 pm 20 Walt Whitman Walt Whitman shares his view on the question concerning the present life of individuals in his poem part 20 of “Song of Myself”.

His first stanza begins with the query pertaining to the mechanics of the human body, “Who goes there? … How is it I extract strength from the beef I eat? ” (389-390). Whitman ponders deeply on why food is a necessity for man to function. As the poem breaks into the second stanza the narrator questions himself more, “What is a man anyhow? What am I? what are you? ” (391). The curiosity derived from the narrator, overall, leads to the philosophical and most fundamental question of all, what is the meaning of life or why do we exist? The line also indicates certain doubtfulness; if we truly do exist in the world.

The third stanza reveals the answer to the numerous questions offset by the narrator, “All I mark as my own you shall offset it with your own” (392). The narrator believes the only way to discover the answer is to find it through oneself; a conventional idea of transcendentalism. Apart from the philosophical debate, the poet redirects himself to the subject of society itself or how one lives life in it. The narrator illustrates the months as vacuums (395). Metaphorically, the vacuum the poet speaks of is the consistent pattern enveloping one’s life.

He voices it in a negative tone, almost wishing the readers to break away from the repetitious pattern; the entire life of man is based upon a pattern and so are the months and days, never changing and always ending on January during the month or Saturday during the week. People tend to do the same thing every day – get up from bed, eat breakfast, go to work, eat lunch, get off work, eat dinner, and go to sleep –it never seems to change. Therefore, the narrator believes inconsistency is a key component to live life, to be diverse in how man lives.

Conformity becomes an issue for the poet, “conformity goes to the fourth-remov’d,/I wear my hat as I please indoors or out” (396-397). Conformity or following the suit of another’s life is discouraged by the poet and free will is emphasized through the narrator’s choice of wearing a hat. The poet reinforces this idea by asking multiple questions pertaining to religion, “Why should I pray? Why should I venerate and be ceremonious? ”(398). Thus, to be accepted and to live a proper life is not to conform, but to be an individual who stands out from the rest.

In the tenth stanza, the transcendental perspective of immortality is introduced. The poet acknowledges the non-existence of death, “I know I am deathless” (406). He does not relate it to the decaying shell or body man has acquired, but the soul. A stronger example is shown when he acknowledges the fact that no one would truly understand the soul and how it does not comply with the laws of human nature (410-411). In his last stanza, the authors view of the afterlife is illustrated, “My foothold is tenon’d and mortis’d in granite” (419).

He uses granite as a reference to nature and portrays himself a part of the natural world once his soul leaves the body. The narrator closes his poem with an assurance of his self-existence. A very important reasoning is given in the twelfth stanza, “I exist as I am, that is enough” (413). This is similar to Rene Descartes philosophical term, Cogito Ergo Sum- I think, therefore I am (Wiki). The poet is assured that his existence is not a deception because he is “I” or the one who thinks. Conclusively, the ideas and philosophical reasoning in the poem relates directly to transcendentalism itself.

Whitman reiterates the meaning of life. He questions what it truly is to be alive and reassures us that the life an individual lives should not be to conform and live in a life of consistent pattern. Finally, the rejection of death is portrayed and the belief of an afterlife is acknowledged by the author himself. Works Cited http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cogito_ergo_sum Reply 3. [pic]bentedjoe says: July 13, 2011 at 8:39 pm Emily Dickinson was quiet fond of writing about death in her poetry, and in this particular piece the poem as a whole represents the appreciation of life.

Dickinson’s poem deals with how death isn’t something to fear, though a person should fear the neglecting of life that they embody themselves with and not realizing all the precious and priceless people, environments and moments of their lives. The first stanza exemplifies how the subject of the poem is beginning to acknowledge her decisions. Dickinson starts her poem with “Because I could not stop for death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immorality. ” The dashes in between sentences indicate a sense of grief towards self, because the narrator admits that they were too busy to take notice of death.

The dash in between Death and He indicates the subjects acceptance that death has arrived. Death is not represented as evil but as a guest who is going to help this person in need of help. Death went out of his way to pick up the narrator. In the carriage readers understand that the only two characters riding, that being death and the subject of the poem. The dash in between ourselves and Immorality represents that subjects acknowledgment that ride in the carriage is specifically for the subject. The first stanza ends with the word immorality, since the subject understands that death is going to reveal their evil deeds.

The following stanza indicates that Death drove slowly and that he knew no haste and that this act was done by politeness for the subjects own well-being. The second stanza doesn’t end with a period but instead Dickinson chooses to use a dash. The dash empowers the poem as a whole because it sets the setting for what she will write next. Ending with a dash indicates that the subject of the poem is aware that Death is being polite by not rushing the process of what he is going to expose the subject to, thus creating the feeling of guilt with the dash.

The use of a period of would have just ended the second stanza and wouldn’t have given the poem strength or introduced to what Dickinson writes next. The third stanza begins the subject’s journey of realization and of their immoralities, which they have not paid attention to until death was kindly enough to demonstrate. The third stanza uses positive, beautiful and innocent examples of life. The use of children, fields and the setting sun manifest the beauty of life and how this person paid attention while they were alive.

The fifth stanza uses the description of a disintegrating home that has been left alone. The home can represent the subject’s life, where they paid no attention to enjoy the beauties of life. The last stanza is last the piece to the poems puzzle, where the subject finally becomes conscious and is fed up with Death journey. The use of the word century indicates that their journey has shown the subject many things in a short amount of time. Dickinson chooses to end her poem with the subject contemplating the existence of the horses, the horses representing her journey as a whole.

Unfortunately for the subject the journey was real and the horses are faced toward eternity; meaning that the subject will have an eternity of life to think about all of their immoralities. Reply 4. [pic]a. mora says: July 13, 2011 at 9:44 pm Emily Dickinson’s writings are mysteries wrapped in enigmas; cliche as that may sound, that statement has some validity to it. Dickinson’s writings are difficult, they challenge the reader and yet each poem is so obscure that it is open to several different possibilities. Dickinson’s writing is so distinct that every aspect of one of her poems can be analyzed.

In “I died for Beauty – but was scarce” Dickinson presents to the reader the close relationship between Truth and Beauty; not only are truth and beauty examined individually it is also suggested that they are equals. Beauty and truth can be seen as equals in this poem because of the lines “And I – for Truth – Themself are One- /We Bretheren, are”, He said – ” (7-8). In the lines leading up to this quote the speaker explains that she has died for beauty and the man buried next to her had died for truth. Since he says “themselves are One” meaning that Beauty and Truth are one, thus why he says they are bretheren.

By saying they are bretheren it is as if they were family of born of the same thing. In comparing truth and beauty and essentially placing them at the same level Dickinson challenge the reader to think about what each truly is. In a way they are same – a person can become so involved in truth and the quest for truth just as easily as someone can be consumed with beauty and the desire to achieve a state of perfection. It is easy to get lost in both, perhaps that is how both speakers came to be in their tombs. It is also interesting to note the usage of scarce.

The speaker uses it in regards to her death for Beauty, but what does that really mean? Perhaps that Beauty was not enough, if this is the case, and taking into account the comparison between beauty and truth also made in the poem, it is fair to also infer that perhaps truth is not enough either. What is enough them to die for since both of the speakers have died for their respective causes? Dickinson forces her reader to examine that question closely. It can be that Dickinson is criticizing what people give importance to in their lives.

Or even a defense, for the right to stand up for whatever one’s cause may be. At the end of the poem the speaker states that they would both met until the essentially they are covered by the moss. Eventually these two people and forgotten because the moss covers their tombs, so was their cause even worth it? This idea poses the question of whether anything is truly worth it. In the end is the truth more important, as most might say, or beauty. If is it beauty is is just superficial or beauty is nature, inner beauty even?

It’s all subjective and it can all be left to reader as is the case in so many of Dickinson’s poems. Reply 5. [pic]Jamie Kujovich says: July 13, 2011 at 10:44 pm Walt Whitman: Using “Song of Myself” as a Tool to Understand Transcendentalist Thought Transcendentalist teachings and practices were important for many of the American literary artists that sought to create a new American identity through literary means. Two main tenets of Transcendentalism maintain the importance of the individual and the notion that everything is interconnected, which is to say that there is a oneness of being.

Walt Whitman is one author that applied Transcendentalist thought in his works as a method of constructing the new American identity. Through a close reading of section seventeen in Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself,” looking primarily at Whitman’s incorporation of end-stopped lines, anaphora, and repetition, Whitman interprets Transcendentalist thought to solidify the notion of the oneness of being, which connects the singularity of the individual with an overall higher collective. In looking at the way the lines in section seventeen are organized, it becomes apparent that Walt Whitman relies heavily on end-stopped lines.

In the case of this poem, the end-stopped lines give the sense that ideas are being listed, which is to say that the periods and commas relate the perception of a finished idea, which is then followed by another finished idea. If the lines of the poem are representative of Transcendentalist theory then they become exemplary of the notion of the individual, so that as each end-stopped line is a unique completed thought, each individual is also a unique and completed person that is distinct is some way. In this way, Whitman interprets Transcendentalism’s focus on individualism.

In section seventeen of “Song of Myself,” Whitman embodies Transcendentalism through the use of anaphora: “If they are not […]/If they are not […]/ If they are not […]” (Whitman 42). Transcendentalism puts emphasis on the individual and the oneness of being; Whitman is able to combine these two tenets through his use of anaphora. As each line begins in the same manner, the reader is able to understand this sense of sameness, so that even as the ending of each line differs, they remain connected by their beginnings.

By starting each line the same, the reader is drawn to that which holds together this section of the poem. The oneness of being, which Transcendentalist thought teaches to connect all individuals, is mirrored through Whitman’s use of anaphora as it represents the literary oneness that connects the individual ideas that complete the lines. Whitman also employs the use of repetition as a literary device to again demonstrate the idea of oneness. In the first line of section seventeen, Whitman repeats the word “all” (Whitman 42).

In the literal sense, the word “all” signifies the collective by representing inclusivity. In a more symbolic sense, the repetition of the word also indicates the collective because if the word were to be used only once, it could be said to represent the individual. However, because the word is repeated, it becomes more than just an individual; it becomes the collective of the individuals. This speaks to Transcendentalism as it comments on the relationship of the individual and the oneness that links all things.

Walt Whitman successfully creates a poem that incorporates the main tenets of Transcendentalist teachings so that the reader not only becomes aware of the significance of the individual, but also how that individual works in the realm of the collective, which is to say how individuals are connected through a oneness of being. Whitman’s poetry is important to the creation of an American identity as it champions the very foundations that America was built on, and which are still relevant today. Whitman, Walt. “Song of Myself. ” The Norton Anthology of American Literature.

Ed. Jeanne Campbell Ressman and Arnold Krupat. 7th ed. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. Print. Reply 6. [pic]Amanda Sun says: July 13, 2011 at 11:09 pm In the poem “Success is counted sweetest” by Emily Dickinson the narrator depicts the true essence of success and its meaning to those who have failed. In the first stanza it is stated that success is “sweetest” by those who “ne’er succeeded”, thus those who have not succeeded and failed have a more in-depth true value of success rather than those who have succeeded themselves.

Dickinson attempts to imply that what we learn from our failures can never be taught by what we get out of our successes. Moreover the true individuals who have failed and still thirsts for success like thirsting for water understands that just having one single drop of “nectar” or success is the sweetest and most satisfying. In order for one to comprehend the value of success one must feel the “sorest need”. Therefore only those who have a powerful desire for success even after failure would be able to enjoy the beauty of it.

In the second stanza Dickinson mphasizes that those who have the sweet taste of victory cannot truly clearly define what victory means. Those who haven’t experienced success in their lifetime have a much more powerful desire to reach their goals versus someone who often succeeds. When an individual accomplishes a goal their desire to reach that goal dies. Moreover, often times the color “purple” connotes royalty, luxury, or sophistication. Dickinson might over made the flag specifically purple to represent royalty, thus in royal families most individuals are born into their social ranking and don’t understand the concepts of hardships and hard work.

This brings up the idea of instant gratification at which you are rewarded without putting in the work or adversity another individual has. Therefore those who desire and instantly receive what they were hoping for forget the value of longing for that success to begin with opposed to those who have tasted failing. Through the third stanza Dickinson portrays the virtues of failure as the victors bask in their success with their celebrations with merely a flag on top of the hill and those who lost the battle have to walk away as their own are dying, yet more much more desire.

To witness the victors celebrating the individuals are fueled even more with a desire, longing, and passion for true success. By suffering from defeat those who lost the battle still have a very strong sense of passion to win. Therefore the defeated army get much more out of a loss than one may think, they in turn get a real lesson on the meaning of victory and success. The main theme of the poem is to express the beauty of failing and succeeding and how those who have already experienced failure can truly appreciate triumph when accomplished.

Also, Dickinson shows the truth of human desire because often time’s human beings long for what they cannot have. Dickinson displays that human desire involves pain, rejection, isolation, disappointments, and failures as well. Also, the amount of rejection and pain we experience makes success or joy even sweeter when tasted. Reply 7. [pic]Jon Coleman says: July 13, 2011 at 11:21 pm In Walt Whitman’s famous work “Song of Myself” he discusses many characteristics of the human condition.

He discusses human emotion, death, and mankind’s relationship with nature as a way to sanctify the individual and to distinguish the individual from the masses. Walt Whitman was very much aware of the philosophy of transcendentalism, the ideology which prizes individual self-knowledge as the key to true understanding. In Part 16, he describes what it means to be human by highlighting the solidarity that he himself feels with mankind. “I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise”. Whitman wanted to express the view that he spoke for mankind as a whole.

Though the poem is entitled “Song of Myself”, the whole notion of just who “myself” is gets lost in the text and begins to refer to mankind as a whole. Whitman writes that he is, “A Southerner as soon as a Northerner, a planter non-chalant and hospitable down to the Oconee I live”. In writing about individuals from various parts of the country, it is important to remember Walt Whitman’s background. Walt Whitman served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As he comments on solidarity, this can also pertain to his political views regarding the sectional crisis that overtook the nation.

Whitman was the self-proclaimed American Poet. His words in this regard are indicative of that. Solidarity refers to reconciliation and reconciliation pertains to preservation of the Union. Abraham Lincoln, Whitman’s hero, once noted that, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. This applies to individuals as well. Thus, human nature transcends boundaries. Rather from Kentucky or West Virginia or Ohio, all humans are bound together in the sense that we are all prone to the human condition. That in itself is a uniting factor.

Transcendental thought was rooted in the pursuit of personal knowledge. First the individual must come to terms with the fact that the only thing one can control is oneself. Once that is realized, the individual must seek peace through personal knowledge and a relationship with nature. Whitman viewed civilization as an offspring of nature, not in conflict with it. Thus, the individual must reach a level of understanding with nature in order to better understand oneself. It is with this in mind that he ends his poem, speaking of his return to the soil. I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love…” he writes. He also ends his poem with a call to action directly in line with transcendentalist thought. “Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged, Missing me one place search another, I stop somewhere waiting for you”, writes Whitman.

This last statement is an appeal to the reader to never stop in the pursuit of truth and meaning. Indeed, references to the “myself” of the title transform into the reader. Finding oneself is thus the journey of a lifetime and is a defining feature of mankind. Reply 8. pic]Michelle Olmstead says: July 13, 2011 at 11:35 pm Emily Dickinson’s #359 (A Bird, came down the Walk -) is a deceptively simple poem that is much more than a mere description of an encounter between the speaker and a bird. Utilizing an ABCB rhyme scheme, Fourteener meter, and enjambment with dashes (all typical to her writing style), Dickinson’s comparisons between humans and wild creatures suggest that we are not so different, and she also asks the reader to feel compassion towards the bird’s vulnerable condition. The poem acknowledges both the beauty, and inherent danger, of nature.

The first two stanzas contain key phrases to personifying the bird and giving it human attributes. For example, the poem begins with saying that the bird “came down the Walk” which the reader can imagine as it casually strolls down a sidewalk. The manner in which the bird eats is also mentioned: “he drank a Dew/ From a convenient Grass -” as if he were drinking from a glass with sophistication. When the bird eats his worm, Dickinson finds it important to clarify that it is “raw,” as if there was a question of the bird possibly cooking its food like a human would.

In the second stanza, the bird courteously moves out of the way the way to let a beetle pass him, as humans might similarly act with other people on a walkway. All of this human-like behavior is described before the bird knows he is being watched, so his conduct is unchanged by the speaker’s presence. This reveals that when most similar to humans, the bird is at his natural and instinctive state. The reader feels more connected and concerned for the bird’s well-being once he is more relatable and possesses human characteristics.

The third stanza reveals a changed behavior in the bird, for once he notices that the speaker is watching him, he becomes very careful. He suddenly turns cautious, shifting his fearful, beady eyes and “stirring” his head. This behavior is mirrored with the speaker, thereby giving her some bird-like qualities. As the narrator tries to give crumbs of food to the bird, she is described “like one in danger” and “cautious,” just like the alert demeanor of her new acquaintance. By likening the speaker to a wild creature, Dickinson shows that humans and nature are inherently linked.

This cautious behavior is also indicative that the speaker feels threatened by the unknown, possible behaviors of nature and its creatures. The last stanza, in which the bird flies away, is used to depict the effortless grace and beauty of nature, and uses nautical images to do so. The bird smoothly and elegantly “rows” himself away, which illustrates that he is in his element just flying in the air, and not when he is being watched by people. Other images of the bird’s wings as oars, and jumping “plashless” into the water call attention to the ocean (which is also widely perceived as a majestic, awe-inspiring aspect of nature).

The emphasis on the bird’s action of flight also highlights the ephemeral qualities of nature; beautiful moments like the one the speaker is witnessing can’t last for long. It is clear that the speaker is captivated by the bird’s seemingly simple and beautiful life. She shouldn’t be envious, however, because of the obvious hardships birds have to endure in their day-to-day life. This bird is in constant danger of being hunted, and his cautious behavior and “frightened Beads” of eyes reflect that.

Though humans and nature’s animals may be kindred beings, Dickinson shows that humans must be grateful that we don’t have to live in fear as they do. Reply 9. [pic]Chana Sachs says: July 14, 2011 at 12:07 am In “Success is Counted Sweetest” by Emily Dickinson, the author uses a story of armies in battle to argue that one is not able to truly appreciate what it is to be successful unless one has experienced failure first-hand. The poem can be interpreted further to warn the reader of the dangers of having a leader in power who has not experienced failure or defeat.

In the first stanza, the speaker compares success to “nectar” which connotes positivity, sweetness, and nourishment. In Greek mythology, nectar was the drink of the gods and linked to immortality. The speaker states that only those who never taste success really appreciate its worth. Those who taste this nectar of the gods and have this “eternal life” can never truly understand or appreciate what it means to live, as they never have to face death or failure. One will always take what they have for granted until it is gone.

Although literally the second stanza is about a battle, Dickinson’s use of the color purple, as well as her use of capitalization suggests that there is more going on. This stanza introduces the battle that has just occurred in which the “purple Host” achieved victory, yet cannot fathom the fate they would have suffered in defeat. Purple is the ancient color of royalty and has come to symbolize power, authority, and leadership. By capitalizing “Host,” Dickinson suggests that it represents more than just the army itself. The word “host” is defined by freedictionary. com as both an army or “a great number; multitude. By this reasoning, the “purple Host” represents the “multitude” of leaders and authorities of society. Those in high positions are successful in getting what they want, and no longer understand the lives of the everyday citizen. This is dangerous as they are the ones that can take the “Flag”—capitalized to represent everything that a flag normally stands for: freedom and country. Interestingly, all the stanzas in this poem follow a seven/six syllable pattern, yet when the “purple Host” is introduced, the line suddenly shifts from the ordinary into an eight syllable line.

This represents those in authority positions who feel like they are more privileged than the ordinary citizen and do not need to follow the same rules. If those in power do not know what it is like to not always succeed at everything, they will be prone to oppressing their people—causing suffering and death. The third stanza describes the last minutes in the life of a dying solider—defeated and killed by the “purple Host. ” In this stanza, Dickinson uses sound devices that cause the reader to reenact this man’s death every time that the poem is read aloud, reminding future generations to heed her warning.

First, the dashes that separate the word “dying” from the rest of the stanza force the reader to pause and take a breath—mimicking the dying soldier gasping for his last breaths of life. He failed to achieve the “nectar” of success that would have made him immortal to this gruesome death. Also, there is a repetition of the letter “D” throughout this stanza that starts off closer together and steadily grows further apart. The repeated “D. D…D……D” sound imitates the sound of the soldier’s heart beating and slowing as he dies.

At the same time, he hears the sounds of the other army celebrating their victory, yet these sounds are “forbidden” to him as he cannot partake any longer in life. In these last moments, this dying soldier—representing citizens oppressed by the “purple Host” or authority—truly understands and appreciates what it would have been like to succeed and achieve victory. Throughout this poem, Dickinson’s use of war imagery allows her to discuss the importance of experiencing failure in order to truly appreciate success.

Even further, she warns the reader of the dangers of authority figures who are used to a life of success and privilege over the ordinary citizen. Reply 10. [pic]Ashlee Pham says: July 14, 2011 at 1:19 am Although Emily Dickinson’s poem, “The Brain – is wider than the Sky” is simple and straightforward, the depiction behind the meaning of the poem is relatively complex as she creates a correlation between the interior mind of the brain to the exterior life of the world. Dickinson forms these comparisons between the brain and the outer existences in the first verse of each stanza.

Initially, she compares the brain to the sky by claiming that it is “wider. ” Though the sky is extremely vast and practically immeasurable, it can be portrayed that the brain is even more remarkable than the sky in its ability to continuously expand with new information. Despite the fact that the brain may be smaller in comparison physically, it is greater in the sense that it has the capability to perform superior functions such as being able to even think about the sky, and does so “with ease. ” Dickinson then compares the brain to the sea, stating that the brain is “deeper” than the sea.

This can be interpreted in the sense that while the sea is a massive body of water that is miles deep, the brain is “deeper” because it can incessantly absorb and take in countless amounts of details and facts, metaphorically to how “sponges” absorb water in “buckets. ” Furthermore, the sea eventually reaches capacity at its bottom, whereas the brain’s aptitude to learn new things is indefinite, justifying its description as “deeper. ” The last comparison Dickinson makes is between the brain and God, stating that “The Brain is just the weight of God. While it can easily be interpreted that Dickinson is drawing a parallel between the two and labeling them as identical, it is more of a direct assessment of their similarities rather than their equality. Moreover, if it is interpreted that God and the brain are equal, it can become a controversial matter considering God is typically viewed as a great force that has many creations, and the brain is just one of them rather than his equal. In addition, the brain and God are alike in a variety of ways, such as they are both immense and powerful in their capabilities, and both cannot be seen.

On the contrary, the sky and the sea are great creations on the earth that are visible. However, these entities are creations that would not exist without God their maker, and despite their large size, can be held as a small idea or thought within the massive capacity of the brain. Although Dickinson compares the brain to God, she also makes note of their difference as she states “And they will differ – if they do – As Syllable from Sound. ” Assuming that the syllable is a depiction for the brain and sound is a representation for God, it is understood that Dickinson is implying that God is more powerful than the brain.

This can be concluded simply because a syllable is a broken down form of a sound, which does not necessarily hold a structure. Ultimately, Dickinson’s initially simple poem turns out to be extremely complex in its meaning as there is a deeper understanding to the entities that she compares within her poem. Reply 11. [pic]Matthew Renner says: July 14, 2011 at 2:25 am In Emily Dickinson’s “The Brain- s wider than the sky” the speaker explores the interplay of the human mind, nature, and god. By using natural images, the speaker introduces the unity of the mind and nature.

She describes how natural space, (the sea and sky) can shift seamlessly into one another. The poem literally states that the brain can fit into these spaces, but they can fit entirely into the brain as well. This idea of congruence suggests the unity of the natural world and the mind but also sets the stage for the sharp incompatibility of the mind and god. This contrast allows the reader to discover in what ways the mind and god are at odds. The speaker states “The brain is just the weight of god”. This could mean that god and the mind carry the same psychological weight, which would pit the two forces against each other.

This idea is reinforced by the phrase “and they will differ”. However, “The brain is just the weight of god” could mean that god is ever present throughout the mind and has controlled all thoughts. It appears that the speaker is conflicted just like the brain and god who apparently differ as much as “syllable and sound”. On the other hand syllable and sound are somewhat related. The speaker has observably added many levels of meaning to the last stanza which mirrors the complexity of the god, nature, mind interplay. While the speaker debates the extent of connectedness between god and mind, she makes it clear that both of them are burdensome.

He speaker states “For heft them- pound for pound”, evoking images of hard labor. The word heft implies that the burden is not only heavy but unwieldy as well. The phrase “pound for pound” implies tedium, continually loading and dropping of the burden. But why does the speaker feel so burdened? Perhaps it is burdensome because the attempt to answer questions about the mind and god has only yielded more questions. These questions include: Does the mind exist apart from god? Why do god and the mind contradict each other?

There is even an inkling of, do I have the right to ask these questions or should I only accept god? The reader asks these questions along with the speaker, and, as a result begins to feel the burden which is so aptly portrayed in the poems last stanza. Another element of the speaker’s attitude is that they feel muted when talking about the contradiction of god and mind. The words “syllable” and “sound” differ in much the same way that “brain” and “god” do. “Sound” is what represents meaning in a word, “god” is the representation of the vitality and meaning of life as long as it is not defined as an individual. Syllable” can be the actual unit of meaning rather than the representation, “brain” also provides a basis for finding meaning. Perhaps the Speaker is expressing that the mind is where true meaning lies; and that god is just a way to interpret or perceive it. Although the brain and god literally carry equal weight, the speaker is able to raise distinguish the two forces by exploring the issue on many complex levels. Reply 12. [pic]Genesis Lopez says: July 14, 2011 at 3:25 am Poem 1 and Poem 2 from “Songs of Myself” represent Walt Whitman’s transition from a transcendentalist motif to that of a realist one.

Poem 1 is a description of Whitman’s spirituality and belief in a divine connection between all beings. Poem 2 describes the beauty in the nature of the environment and focuses more on demonstrating the majesty of one’s everyday surroundings. Though both poems were written during the same time period, they illustrate Whitman’s ability to grasp the concepts of both transcendentalism and realism. Poem 1 begins with Whitman’s affirmation that he both loves and cherishes himself; he states, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself. Because a transcendentalist mentality states that only by finding one’s self (one’s natural identity) can one connect to the over-soul (the force that connects all beings), transcendentalists place great importance on each person’s individuality. Because of this ideal one can say that the poem begins with a transcendentalist ideal – the importance of one’s individual identity. The poem then moves on to say that “for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. ” Again, the poem makes an allusion to the transcendentalist belief in the interconnectivity of all beings.

The poem ends with another allusion to the importance of discovering one’s true identity. Whitman states, “I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard, Nature without check with original energy. ” This sentence is the most important piece of the poem because it reveals one final transcendentalist aspect – the idea that being “good” or “bad” has no importance in the scheme of life. There is no concrete definition for what is good or what is bad, therefore one can only trust oneself in following their instincts because it is the will of the over-soul.

Thought short, Poem 1 is a prime example of Whitman’s transcendentalist mentality and emphasis on the interconnectivity of mankind. Poem 2 begins with the physical description of a room. Whitman states that there are many perfumes in the room. This repetition emphasizes Whitman’s whimsical fascination with the perfumes. He abruptly ends his romanticized description of the room and begins a new stanza with the phrase “the atmosphere is not a perfume, it has no taste of the distillation, it is odorless. ” Here Whitman is stating that the world should not be romanticized, but described as it is.

Perfume is a product used to cover up the true odor of another object. By saying that the world is “odorless” Whitman is alluding to the idea that the world should not be covered up or made to appear to be something it is not, but rather remain in its original state – odorless. This emphasize on the natural state of things is a realist ideal. Here Whitman is veering away from a transcendentalist mentality and emphasizing a realist one. Though Poem 2 is much more of a realist work, it also incorporates certain aspects of Whitman’s transcendentalist ideals.

For example, at the end of the poem Whitman states that “you shall possess the origin of all poems” if you ‘stop this day and night with me. ” The audience can take this phrase to mean one of either two things – By taking pleasure in their surrounding at the moment can one truly come to understand the word or by taking the time to comprehend oneself will you be one will all beings in the universe. The first interpretation is more realist concept, while the second interpretation is a transcendentalist one.

The poem ends with “you shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, you shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself. ” This line is extremely ambiguous and, like the line discussed previously, can be interpreted in many ways – through a transcendentalist perspective on spiritual unity or a realist perspective on learning to cherish one’s natural state of being. Either way, Whitman’s Poem 1 and Poem 2 are excellent examples of his ability to alternate between transcendentalism and realism. Reply 13. [pic]Kenneth Van says:

July 14, 2011 at 4:07 am Walt Whitman was an American poet that wrote about nature, life, and qualities of being American. Whitman was writing the Song of Myself during the early to mid 1800s, when America was going through industrial and territorial changes. He was influenced by the idea that America was abundant in resources, industry, and job opportunities. For example, the idea of the Manifest Destiny (expanding the American territory westward), development of the railroad, and use of steam engine were all popular during the 1840s (before the poem was published).

Song of Myself 50 showed the amount of jobs that were created in cities and country from these inventions. In The Song of Myself #50, Whitman talked about the different occupations and activities in American society. He mentions the President, masons, floor-men, children, pilot, duck-shooter, spinning-girl, jour printer, machinist, policeman, gatekeeper, etc. and their typical job. He also mentioned other activities in America such as baptism, marriage, mental asylums, and bars.

The whole point of mentioning how the “machinist rolls up his sleeves, the policeman travels his beat, the gatekeeper marks who pass,/… The Wolverine sets traps on the creek that fill the Huron,/…the shoemaker waxes his thread” was to show that in America, there are plenty of jobs and occupations available. There is an abundant amount of activity in America from hunting, sailing, working, raising a family, dancing, and walking. And these apply for old and young people as “The old husband sleeps by his wife and the young husband sleeps by his wife”.

Whitman then stated that these activities “tend inward to me”, meaning he accepted the active American lifestyle and he “tend outward to them” meaning he participated in the society. And Whitman’s role in society was to “weave the song of myself”, meaning he is a poet who writes songs. These lines showed his national pride of being an American by not only realizing the active life of America, but being part of it. The meaning of this passage was that the people of America have a role to play in society. It may range from working as a mason, security guard, seamstress, book-keeper, conductor, boatman, etc.

Each person in this society recognized the “fourth of Seventh-month”. That is the day when America became an official country (Independence day), when an “indescribable crowd is gather’d”. Whitman calls the people of America as “indescribable” because everyone plays a different role in society, but the important trait is that the people are “gather’d”, unified, as Americans. By participating in the culture, there is a national pride associated with it. Many transcendentalist writers wrote about how industry demolishes nature, but Whitman did not bash on industry or urbanization in his poem.

He rather admitted that they are both part of America. He stated that “The city sleeps and the country sleeps”. Meaning that the “city”, industrialized, life and “country”, outdoors, life were linked and shared a similarity in that there is a calm period sometime after work. From his listing of occupations of the countryside and urban side of America, he implied that they were both constituents of the American culture. In this passage, the meaning of being American was not defined as a nature lover, but rather someone who works for a living or their family.

Reply 14. [pic]Theresa Menchaca says: July 14, 2011 at 6:07 am 124 [216] Safe in their Alabaster Chambers- Untouched by Morning- And untouched by noon- Sleep the meek members of the Resurrection, Rafter of Satin and Roof of Stone- Grand go the Years, In the Crescent above them- Worlds scoop their Arcs- And Firmaments-row- Diadems-drop- And Doges-surrender- Soundless as Dots, On a Disc of Snow. -Emily Dickonson Close reading by: Theresa Menchaca This poem is about the cyclical, all encompassing nature of death. The first stanza depicts a coffin of tomb.

Alabaster is a type of material that is often referenced in relation to marble statues or tombs, it is a white image, one of purity, and contrasts with the darkness that is usually associated with death. Darkness comes in the second and third lines in the lack of light: “Untouched by Morning…[and] noon. ”; Morning and noon being the times that represent a beginning, and the zenith of life. There is no mention of afternoon, for afternoon represents an ending. The fifth line completes the image of the “members of resurrection” being encased in a tomb or coffin.

A roof of stone would be the coffin lid, and the Satin rafters would be the resting bed of the dead. The fact that the members are sleeping, is another way to say death, but it also indicates that they will awaken; A sentiment that is confirmed by the word “Resurrection. ” Resurrection also carried a religious connotation, as Jesus was risen from death, saved all from damnation. This may be why there is no mention of hell in the poem. The use of the word meek, is also related to God, for “the meek shall inherit the earth,” is a common quote. These are the “meek” that will be resurrected and inherit the earth.

In the second stanza, the first line comments on the many years that pass. It is almost a lament, as one looks back on the life lead and wishes to takes some of them back. The second line mentions a “Crescent above them. ” The crescent could be the moon, waxing or waning, wither way, the cycle continues constantly. The word them could reference the “years” from the previous line, or the “members of Resurrection” from the first stanza. Judging that “Years” ended with a comma and not a dash, the two lines together convey that the moon watches the years pass and ages as well.

The Third line ends after a dash. The word ‘worlds” instead of “world” imply that every action can create a different branch of reality, and contrasts with the moon which would remain the same and unmoving in every “world. ” Scoop implies the gathering of something, and arcs are the movement of scooping. Worlds scooping their arcs are can be the world’s rotation around the sun, and “gathering” their densities, or time, for what the world gathers a past and not much else. In the fourth line, a firmaments is “the sky, considered as an arch” according the Encarta Dictionary.

The sky is not an arch, but it seems to arch, curving around the earth. That Firmaments “row” entrenches the imagery of a boat in the middle of stars; a boat on a lake that reflects the sky. The sky can also be thought of as heaven. Diadems from the fifth line, are crowns; which imply royalty. The dropping of crowns could be the death of kings and queens as the world keeps turning, as mentioned at the beginning of the first stanza. The sixth line, “Doges-surrender,” has doges, which are political figures of high standing, surrendering, or giving up; another way to say dying.

The last two lines appear to go together much like the first two. “Soundless as Dots, on a Disk of Snow. ” Soundless refers to the actions occurring from lines three to six, which consist of dying, what might come after, and that the world continues despite it all. Again there is white imagery with the mention of snow, which contrasts with the firmament, which implies night time or darkness. The drops on the disk, are blood from the images of death from the fifth and sixth lines. The blood that stains the pure white snow, is comparable to the silk against the alabaster chambers.

Throughout the second stanza of the poem, the reader is bombarded with lots of cyclical imagery. “Crescent,” “World,” “arcs,” “Firmaments,” “Dots,” “drops,” and “Disc,” are all circular. They help emphasize the cyclical nature of death, that comes for everyone, even those of higher social standing such as kings and magistrates. The first and second stanzas come together to create a poem about how death reduces every human being to the same level, for all mortal beings die. [720 words] Reply 15. [pic]Carly Bonilla-Flores says:

July 14, 2011 at 9:12 am Throughout Song of Myself, Walt Whitman aspires to create an ideal American, poetic voice. All the way through the collection he breaks free from the standard and strict poetic form, opting for a melodic voice through the use of free verse. As a result of this shift from previous poetic styles, Whitman is able to create a new American voice. Notably, in Section 21, Whitman ventures further into discovering a unique American identity and its relationship with the new land itself.

He is thus able to create this oneness of identity between the American individual and the land by mirroring the relationship to that of a sexual one, as a tension burgeons amidst repetitive diction alongside a divided structure within the poem. In the first half of the poem, the speaker continuously uses the phrase “I am” up until the second half of the poem, which embodies the individual. For example, the poem begins with, “I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul, / The pleasures of heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me” (Whitman 422-423).

Moreover, the second stanza continues with “I am the poet of the woman the same as the man” (425). Both beginnings are formatted as a depiction of separate entities existing together, such as the body and soul, as well as man and woman. Despite their differences, they exist as separate but inherently equal. Moreover, the repetitive “I” and “I am” establishes an unbreakable identity. However, a shift occurs within the poem, which helps create a coming together of the individual and the land. For instance, the speaker asks, “Have you outstript the rest? are you the President? It is a trifle, they will more than arrive there every one, and still pass on” (431-432). The speaker dismisses the idea of hierarchies. This dismissal transitions straight into the beginnings of the bond between the speaker and the land. This shift becomes the tension that allows a consummation between the individual and the natural world. The speaker goes on to state, “I am he that walks with the tender and growing night” (433). For the first time, the speaker declares himself as a male alongside the “tender and growing night,” which resembles the heaving breast of a woman.

Furthermore, this sexual imagery becomes most poignant in the penultimate stanza. For example, the speaker exults, “Smile O voluptuous cool-breath-d earth! / Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees! ” (438-439). The insertion of the “O” most directly alludes to an orgasm, while adjectives such as “voluptuous” and “liquid” are, once again, reminiscent of the female anatomy and sex organs. Moreover, the brief anaphora of “Earth of” creates a build up emotion and pace in the poem, as the repetition grows throughout the stanza.

This repetition the speaker engages in reflects the ever-growing connection he has with the land, and its effect on him. Although the Earth is separate from him, he remains a part of it as he gives himself, as well as his love, to it. This poem, through its subtle division and repetition, showcases the connection between the individual and earth that is only possible once the individual is able to establish himself within a collective whole of existence. He can be as intimate with his soul and body as he is with the land. Reply 16. [pic]Daniel Hernandez says: July 14, 2011 at 9:32 am

Close Reading: “The Brain—is wider than the Sky—” In Emily Dickinson’s poem, “The Brain—is wider than the Sky—” she explores the complexities of the mind and its ability to absorb, interpret, and encompass all reality. In the first stanza the brain is said to be “wider than the sky,” which although physically impossible, points to the brain’s ability to encompass not only the sky, but the entire universe. This idea is accentuated when the speaker challenges the reader to put them side by side, claiming that: “one the other will contain with ease – and You – beside -. By prompting the comparison of the sky and the brain, the speaker forces the reader to use their powers of visualization and mentally contrast the two things, which clearly displays the brain’s ability to fathom things much larger than the sky since one can imagine an entire universe in their mind. The addition of the pronoun “You” in the last line could be seen as directed towards the reader, pointing to the idea that the mind has the ability to easily contain and recognize other minds within itself as well.

In the second stanza, the speaker continues their exaggeration of the brain by claiming it is “deeper than the sea –. ” This alludes to the brain’s almost infinite capacity to contain information. The reader is impelled to hold the brain and the sea “Blue to blue” which parallels “side to side” from the first stanza, and characterizes the brain more closely with the sea and the sky since they are both blue. Next, the brain is said to be able to absorb the sea, “As Sponges – Buckets – do –. ” Here the speaker is pointing to the brain’s ability to soak up an immeasurable amount of information, as it can absorb the sea.

Also it is compared to sponges and buckets which both serve the function of containing liquid, exemplifying the absorptive imagery. In the third stanza, the speaker addresses the idea of the brain in comparison to God. The first line, “The Brain is just the weight of God -,” characterizes the brain as simply an aspect of God (i. e. his weight) which differs from the other two stanzas since the brain was depicted as greater than the sea and the sky. However, the capitalization of “Brain” as well as

God may point to some ambivalence by the speaker in their comparison of the two. It could also point to the idea that the brain and God are both creators, and are equivalent in this sense. Again, the speaker encourages the reader to compare the two, this time urging one to, “Heft them – Pound for Pound -. ” By using the words “heft” and “pound” the image of weight is continued, and the reader is asked to weigh them against each other, as if on a scale, which could represent the struggle one might have when deciding which is more mighty, or which created the other.

The speaker’s ambivalence is highlighted in the last two lines, “And they will differ – if they do -/As Syllable from Sound -,” since the statement that they will differ is followed by a statement of doubt. This idea is accentuated by the comparison of syllable and sound in that, a syllable is comprised of a single sound and is used in combination with others to form words, and language, while a sound is raw, formless, and basic, but also necessary for the creation of syllables.

This comparison parallels the idea of the brain as an aspect of God as well as an equal in the sense that both create more complexity. In another sense, this comparison highlights the idea that although God may be the raw, basic essence of the universe, without the brain’s ability to interpret, analyze and create, there would be no meaning or understanding, and thus, no concept of God. Reply 17. [pic]Sonia Garcia says: July 14, 2011 at 9:34 am Explication of “Wild nights” The expression of love and extreme passion is portrayed very intensely in the poem “Wild nights. The opening line takes the reader to an immediate state of ecstasy that the speaker feels for his lover; it creates an image in the mind of the reader of extreme happiness. However, as the poem progresses the speaker finds himself torn in two. The feeling of total happiness decreases as he or she finds himself in a dilemma as to what path to take: an adventurous, unrestrained life represented by the immenseness of the sea, or paradisiacal nights of lust (“luxury”) with his lover to whom the speaker would be tied to.

Through an image of an indecisive lover, Dickinson illustrates a feeling of uncertainty and endless possibilities that life offers. On one side there is stability and safety, on the other there is the all which is unknown and adventurous. The uncertainty that the speaker finds himself in transcends to the interpretation that the reader must give of the poem. It is difficult to say whether the speaker is male or female, whether he/she chooses “the sea” over the paradise symbolized by “Eden” that his lover has to offer.

In the last stanza, the speaker is in complete harmony and tranquility, “rowing in Eden” when suddenly the image of the “sea” tempts him/her. The following two lines “might I but moor- tonight-/ In thee,” creates more uncertainty, as it’s not clear if “thee” refers to the “sea” or “Eden. ” Many of the words in the poem are loaded with opposing implications. The sea, for example, represents a source unrestrained life, masculine passion. At the same time, its navigation is guided by the compass and the chart, which represent measure and control.

As if being a boat, the speaker liberates himself from the “compass,” the “chart,” and the harm caused by “wind” by being in “port. ” The port is the lover that embraces him/her, giving him savage and unrestricted pleasure, but for which the speaker has to give up his freedom. Once in “Eden,” paradise in companionship of his lover, the speaker finds himself fascinated by that which is at first no longer desired but which is so amazing and tempting even with implications of instability and danger, the sea. The speaker feels a desire of adventure and does not want limitations of any restraining force.

It can be argued his double intensions represent those of every human, the need to be loved and stable but also the need of adventure, freedom, and uncertainty. Although the poem emanates sexuality and presents a lover two possible choices of happiness, in a larger context this poem is a representation of what life as a whole offers to a person. On one side, the restrictions of society will always be present and one will feel the desire to liberate oneself of any limitations imposed to submerge and explore that which is a mystery to us. At the same time, that same society can offer the stability that a person also needs in life.

Ultimately, the ideal is to have a balance between that which is known and the search for what we do not have, using our imagination as a guide contemplate endless possibilities. Reply 18. [pic]Elizabeth Tyler says: July 14, 2011 at 10:02 am Poem 207 (214) – I Taste a Liquor never Brewed. Unlike most of her poems which are sometimes morbid and sometimes uncertain about an afterlife, this poem seems to be a celebration of life at every stage, with each stage represented by a different season. It uses a lot of alcohol imagery, which denotes a party atmosphere, and real enjoyment of what life has to offer.

At the same time, the narrator is speaking about a concern she has about death and the afterlife. The first stanza is different from the rest of the poem. While the other stanzas have an ABCB rhyme scheme, the first stanza has no rhyme. In addition, the rest of the poem is a series of fourteeners, while the third line of the first stanza has seven syllables instead of eight. The first line is ambiguous. The liquor never brewed could be either life or love. The second line seems to be about marriage- A tankard is used to drink beer, and it is a very masculine vessel.

The word scooped can be interpreted to mean to take possession of something, and pearls were symbolic of the status gained by a woman after marriage. The third line uses the term berries, which could be symbolic of youth, or a forbidden fruit, perhaps like virginity. The last line uses the word alcohol, which symbolizes a source of elation. Taken as a whole, the first stanza seems to be describing the pleasure received from consummating a marriage. This could be one stage in a woman’s life. The second stanza is the summer stanza. The imagery used here evokes a feeling of elation, of being full of life.

In the first line, the narrator is inebriated by the air, which evokes an image of someone who loves the outdoors, and enjoys life. The second line, debauchee of dew, describes a hummingbird or a bee, according to the Emily Dickinson Lexicon. The image of a hummingbird as drunk on dew is really beautiful, and the narrator is relating to this image during this time of her life. The third line uses the word reeling, which is interpreted as flying. The last line is about an inn of molten blue. Inns symbolize a refuge, or a safe place. The word blue symbolizes the sky.

This stanza is all about bird imagery. The birds are safe, flying around in the sky, and the narrator feels like she is among them. The fact that the narrator is worried about being safe shows an underlying concern about death. At this stage of her life she relates to the birds because she feels safe and free, but she knows that it will not always be this way. The third stanza is the fall stanza, and it is about death. The first two lines symbolize god (the landlord) taking someone (the bee) into the afterlife, The use of the word bee denotes something that is a source of pleasure and also pain.

The third line echoes the sentiments of the first two. The word butterfly symbolizes someone who is being resurrected, renouncing their alcohol and earthly things in favor of an afterlife. The last line of this stanza uses the term drink, which symbolizes a desire to live your life, but also a desire to die. This stanza seems to describe a dilemma for the narrator. She knows that dying is part of life, yet she is not quite ready to give up. She is not in control; god is the one who decides when it is time to go. At the same time, she is not the one who is being kicked out by god; she is still able to drink.

Dickinson witnessed a lot of deaths during her life, and this stanza could be her reconciling the fact that she lived while people around her died. The final stanza is about the afterlife, and uses winter imagery. The first line talks about Seraphs- usually angels but they could also be loved ones who have died- swinging snowy hats. When one throws their hat, it is usually a celebration, like throwing your cap at graduation. However, you could also hang your hat, which symbolizes taking up residence somewhere, heaven in this case. The word snowy symbolizes cleanliness and quiet- like in a snowstorm.

It is like the afterlife creates a clean slate, where you can have a new life. The next lines talk about saints, the other residents of heaven, running to the windows to see the tippler leaning against the sun. A tippler is a drunkard, but it could also be someone who loves nature or beauty. The sun symbolizes god. In addition, this stanza uses alliteration- many words start with the letter S. This makes the stanza sound beautiful, and adds to the serenity Dickinson describes. The narrator has resolved the dilemma of dying, because heaven is described in a positive way.

Definitions from: Emily Dickinson Lexicon- http://edl. byu. edu/lexicon Reply 19. [pic]Rudy Ruvalcaba says: July 14, 2011 at 10:27 am Walt Whitman’s poem, Song to Myself, focuses on the importance of the individual in order to understand the universe. This tenet of transcendentalism is a focal point that revolves around self-knowledge and one’s relation to the universe. The significance of the individual began with the transcendentalist belief aimed in constructing a new American identity in literature, philosophy, and politics throughout the 19th century.

Through self-assurance as Whitman emphasizes, the individual creates one’s own doctrines and practices rather than living based upon pre-established codes. Transcendentalism’s liberal and free-living practices allow for one’s intuition and self-reliance to act as guidance in encompassing worldly knowledge. In section 2 of Whitman’s Song to Myself, the narrator describes his actions by the natural sounds and senses of the human body. In this section the narrator is self-reliant on his senses and trusts his past exposure to an aroma. He states, “I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it”.

His use of diction by the last coupling of words, “know it and like it” imply that he’s aware of his likes and dislikes and has smelled the aroma before. Whitman uses the perfume as a symbol for natural fragrances and utilizes the smell to understand nature. He further states, “the atmosphere is not a perfume, it has no taste of the distillation, it is odorless, “. Whitman’s connection between what he knows and what he doesn’t know is linked by his senses in order to solve for the unknown, which demonstrates how nature is a reflection of individual psyche.

The narrator further analyzes the sounds and effects of his body in relation to understanding nature. He demonstrates this by listing bodily functions of the individual and natural occurrences to join the two as universal occurrences, “the smoke, of my own breath, /Echoes, ripples, buzz’d, whispers…My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs”. The list of actions not only represents Whitman’s style of writing but also represents transcendentalism by the knowing of oneself as a gateway to the understanding of the universe.

The narrator continues to describe his sense in relation to nature, “the sniff of green leaves…the sound of the belch’d words of my voice”. In order to further elaborate the argument one truly must encompass everything the universe beholds and live it to the fullest He concludes this section with questions to his readers, “Have you practis’d so long to read? /Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems? ” The list of questions explores the true meaning of living in which the narrator brings about by questioning our judgment of things.

The narrator concludes the section by stating a transcendentalist moral to live up to, “You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the specters in books”. The narrator successfully illustrates the image of transcendentalism in which the individual takes different perspectives into consideration and formulates one’s interpretation. Whitman focuses on transcendentalism, reflecting on the individual and nature as a means of understanding the universe. Reply 20. [pic]Shakeela Swaby says: July 14, 2011 at 10:32 am

In the poem, I died for Beauty – but was scarce, Emily Dickinson’s and describes the relationship between Truth and Beauty through choice of diction and rhyme scheme.. Dickinson’s hints at their being bond between beauty and truth in the first stanza of the poem when she purposely placed one person who “died for Beauty” in a room next to or “adjoining” the other person who “died for truth”. Dickinson using the word adjoining to describe the position of the “Truth” room in regards to “Beauty” also further emphasizes the connection between beauty and truth.

They are “lain” in parallel to each other, side by side indicating that there is a similarity between the two. In addition to that, the use of the word Brethren in the second stanza establishes and implies that Beauty and Truth are intertwined together. Brethren is also defined as a type of fraternal religious group which also hints and implies that beauty and truth are qualities that belong of the same category and because of it, it also establishes a relationship or bond between the two Dickinson further hints at this bonds. When the erson who died for truth replied “And – for Truth- Themselves are One-“ This line is rather straightforward but it also emphasizes the close bond and connection (the unity and interchangeability) that beauty haves with truth. Through the portrayal of the person who died for truth and the person who died for beauty as siblings or “Kinsmen” Dickinson’s acknowledges and states Truth and Beauty direct relationship with each other. Also , through the second stanza of the poem, the peculiarity of the dead of both truth and beauty being granted the ability to communicate and speak to one another establishes this connection.

There “talking between rooms” also implies that truth and beauty are in constant communication with each other. It is only there is there is a stop of communication or connection between the two that they fall silent or until “until the moss… covered up – our names”. The fact that bond or communication can be cut off by both their names being covered also indicates or implies that Dickinson’s is that once there is no truth, there is no beauty. Dickinson also uses rhyme to establish unity between the two. In the second stanza, Dickson rhymes the first, second, and last stanza.

The first two lines were rhymed normally but the last one served as a slant rhyme. In addition to that, there is cohesiveness of Truth and Beauty also seen within the first and second stanza. Finally, in Dickinson’s last stanza compared to the first and second lacks a rhyme scene, as well as, set it apart from the other two scenes. Because of this, it also reveals and represents how Truth and Beauty bond can only be severed through death. In other words, where there is truth there is beauty and vice versa. Reply 21. [pic]Felizza Lopez says: July 14, 2011 at 10:36 am

Emily Dickinson’s poem numbered 199 is a critique on the social concepts related to status and marriage. Dickinson uses comparison to juxtapose the life of a girl and that of a woman to convey that at that time society pushed women into marriage. The speaker of this poem is a woman who has just gotten married and is contemplating her life before she got married and after. In the first stanza she states “ I’m Czar—I’m “Woman” now-/ It’s safer so—“ and this might allude to how back in that time girls weren’t considered women until they got married.

Marriage was like a stepping stone that allowed females to transgress from girlhood to womanhood. She states that she is “Czar” because she is no longer under the control of her parents and is now exercising great authority and power over her life. Another important word in this stanza is safer because society at that time made girls believe that once they were married they would be “safe”. They would have financial stability and not have to worry about being taken care of because their husbands were now there to protect them and provide for them.

Dickinson also chooses to put quotation marks on the words “wife” and “woman” and I think this is because she believes that these words are tainted or influenced by society’s ideas of what a woman or wife should be like. Since Dickinson never got married I think she is saying that it is okay not to conform to societies expectations and that women should instead embrace there womanhood and define it for themselves. In this poem she is depicting what women believe married life to be like and showing how society has influenced their beliefs.

In the second stanza Dickinson compares the transition from being a girl to becoming a woman to that of living on earth then going to heaven. I feel like this is an exaggerated view on marriage that is meant as a hyperbole to show how glorified marriage was back then. She also states that marriage is like an Eclipse, I interpreted it to mean that it is something that overshadows the life you had before getting married and makes it less important by comparison. In the last stanza of Dickinson’s poem she states this life (being married/ a woman) is comfort while the other life( single life / being a girl) was pain .

She juxtaposes these two in order to exemplify how woman associated being married with comfort and being single with pain. Through the perspective of a girl at that time being married was considered a comfort because she was now a woman who had control over her life and did not have to worry about her parents meddling in her affairs or trying to dictate her life . Being single was painful for girls at that time because they were meant to believe that if you were single you were like an outcast, you would be alone, confined and unable to exercise your agency.

The last line of the poem suggests that this girl has attained her goal. She has conformed to society’s pressures on getting married to attain stability. Reply 22. [pic]Eric Solorzano says: July 14, 2011 at 10:59 am As I sit and read her poem again and again, each time I find a new meaning and a new message. What is clear is that in her poem, “My Life had Stood a Loaded Gun”, Emily Dickenson uses deep metaphor along with a genius play on words and vividly descriptive narrative in order to share with the world what is on her mind with the security of her confessions ambiguity.

It is this mystery with which she writes that leads me to believe that her message was something both very personal and perhaps unpopular, as she wrote it in a style which could be interpreted many different ways. This observation, along with a little background history on our author, primarily the fact that she was never married, leads me to believe that in her poem, “My Life had Stood a Loaded Gun”, Emily Dickenson is challenging the traditional gender roles of her time by claiming she herself is the loaded gun.

Though there is a slight feeling of sorrow throughout the poem, alluding perhaps to her inner desire to have led the more traditional life of being married and having had a husband and family, she makes it clear that this is not the person she is. She clearly states that she is independent and will be until the day she dies. The first clue which led me to believe that Dickenson was challenging traditional gender roles through her poem was the fact that she depicts herself as the loaded gun, a symbol of violence, protection and sexuality.

Though she does reference an owner and a master, obviously images of ownership which would go against my thesis of her claiming her independence, It is important to note that she claims to protect him. This role as protector is demonstrated clearly in the 5th stanza, “To foe of His – I’m deadly foe – None stir the second time – On whom I lay a Yellow Eye – Or an emphatic Thumb –“. It is the job of the owner to protect what is owned, yet here the role of protector is reversed forcing the reader to question who really possesses who.

She also takes the lead role in the poem in the third line of the second stanza where she states that she speaks for him, as well as in the second line of the fourth stanza where she again assumes the role of protector as she clearly states that she guards her master’s head. Along with the challenge of gender roles, Dickenson is claiming her independence as a woman. Though claim she does, the wording with which she expresses herself gives the reader the sense that it is a somewhat sad admission for her to make.

In the opening sentence of her poem she writes, “My life had stood – a loaded Gun”, as if she is already at the end of her life looking back and the metaphor of her life having stood as a loaded gun signifies that she didn’t live to her fullest. The sole purpose of a gun is to fire, however she had come to the end and stood there still loaded. In the final stanza of the poem is where Dickenson most clearly combines both of the themes of which she writes when she states, “For I have but the power to kill, Without – the power to die –“.

Thought some people would interpret this as purely sexual, I believe that Dickenson meant it in less of a sexual way and more of an emotional way with the power to kill being the power to love and the power to die being the power to be loved. In this closing sentence Dickenson admits that though she knows she has the ability to love, she fears that nobody would ever return the feeling, at last accepting her independence as part of her fate, whether she likes it or not. Reply 23. [pic]Julie Sandoval says: July 14, 2011 at 1:54 pm

The underlying theme in Emily Dickinson’s poem “I died for beauty – but was scarce…” is that all people, regardless of the individual pursuits of their lives, meet the same ultimate fate of death. The poem implies that to die is to fail at life unless, by leaving good deeds behind at death, a person imparts a part of his or her self to the world. In the poem, the speaker states that she has died for beauty. The poem is ambiguous and never states explicitly that the speaker is a female, but I inferred that for my specific interpretation, the speaker was a female.

Perhaps the speaker attempted all her life to impart beauty to the world but failed because it was impossible to be immortal. Here it is important for readers to ask themselves what beauty meant to the speaker; I believe that beauty is symbolic of poetry because the speaker symbolizes Emily Dickinson herself and her way of imparting beauty to the world was through her poetry. Essentially, Dickinson died for her poetry because this was her life’s passion and pursuit. In the second stanza of the poem, the man who died for truth asks Dickinson why she has failed. This statement attributes failure with dying, as if to die is to fail at life.

But I believe that death could not be failure if beauty and truth remain afterwards. The man in the poem died for truth. Perhaps all his life he pursued reason and intellect in order to ascertain certain truths; he surely contributed to the world and to society if he imparted his knowledge to others. Dickinson also imparted the beauty of her poetry to the world. Or perhaps it is the complete and opposite way around. Maybe in this poem Dickinson believes she has died and failed because her poetry was not widely recognized and did not reach or touch many people before her death.

Dickinson achieved immortality through her poetry after death; the poem seems to chillingly foreshadow this fact. It is possible that, in a similar way, the man who died for truth never found the real truth he sought, and thus failed at life as well. By unifying herself and the man as “bretheren” and “kinsmen” in her poem and describing beauty and truth as equal, Dickinson succeeds at establishing the concept that people are not alone in their individual pursuits. She and the dead man are similarly disheartened with their failures at life; they are together in death and become kinsmen because they share the same fate.

She seems to want readers to understand that in the end, our pursuits in life do not matter because death takes us all and thus unifies us. Regardless of our contributions to the world we all fail when we die because our contributions will eventually be forgotten; in the last stanza she describes how moss covers up their names, which means that they are then forgotten. So despite how strongly we can fight for our life’s passions and do good for the world, everything degenerates and passes on. Reply 24. [pic]Eric Minn says: July 14, 2011 at 6:16 pm Whitman 49

In part 49 of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, Whitman talks about the interrelatedness of life and death, and touches on the supernatural and physical aspects of both. The very first line of the poem states, “And as to you Death, and you the bitter hug of mortality, it is idle to try to alarm me. ” In other words, death is something that will eventually happen to everyone, and should not be any cause for alarm. Whitman goes on to write, “To his work without flinching the accoucheur comes…”, which is perhaps referring to a personification of death, or what is commonly referred to as the Grim Reaper.

Although people may perceive death as something dreadful, the Reaper does his work without flinching because it is nothing new to him. The next stanza moves on to talk about the affects of death on the physical word. Whitman talks about the value of a corpse as fertilizer, helping to create new life in the form of plants such as roses and melons. It is interesting to note that he adds, “but that does not offend me” afterwards, perhaps because he is able to replace the visual of a disgusting rotted body with a much more pleasant one full of sweet-smelling roses.

He points out that life and death are a constant cycle, and that one cannot exist without the other. It is the death of one that gives rise to the life of another. In a broad view of the universe, individual lives and deaths are nearly inconsequential. He drives this point home with the statement, “No doubt I have died ten thousand times before”. Towards the end of the poem, Whitman evokes the senses through mention of various aspects of the natural world, and uses them to further convey his thoughts on life and death.

By doing this, he reinforces the theme of the poem, and makes a connection between the never-ending cycle of life and the natural world that facilitates it. In the middle of it he asks “if you do not say any thing how can I say any thing? ” Whitman acknowledges that he is part of a much larger system, and that he owes his existence to the world around him. Without the myriad of lives and deaths that occur all around him, he could not possibly exist. Whitman’s writing is full of transcendentalist ideas. In this particular poem, he conveys a certain sacredness both life and death, which is consistent with the belief in the divinity of nature.

Whitman uses his intuition and perceptions of the natural world to help make sense of death, something that has baffled and frightened human beings throughout their entire existence. But while it has been common for cultures throughout history to assign positive or negative ideas to death, Whitman’s transcendentalist beliefs give him a far more neutral view of the matter, seeing it as a phenomenon that is essential to the world as we know it. Reply 25. [pic]Cassandra Phengdy says: July 14, 2011 at 10:14 pm Cassandra Phengdy July 14, 2011 ENGL 103A Professor Thomas Closed Reading Assignment: Walt Whitman, 48

In Walt Whitman’s poem numbered 48, “I have said that the soul is not more than the body,” Whitman introduces to his readers the concept and complexity that is created by Transcendentalism, as he repeatedly reinforces the idea of the Over-Soul being the ultimate divinity. It is clear to Whitman that “nothing, not God, is greater to one than one’s self is” (1271). His first stanza is all about “one’s self” and how there is nothing is greater than the individual. Through his words, we can interpret the meaning and symbolism when he says “nothing, not God, is greater to one than one’s self is” (1271).

We can argue that along with one’s self, nature takes a major role in playing its part with the universe and divinity. With the line, “And I say to any man or woman, Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes” (1277), he insinuates that through the connection of nature and of yourself, you are mighty, you are divine, you are one with nature and that shows before the “million universes. ” For the second stanza, Whitman continues with the idea of the individual and Over-Soul as he states, “And I say to mankind, Be not curious about God, / For I who am curious about each am not curious about God” (1278/1279).

Here, Whitman implies that there should be no question or curiosity about who God is and where God is because God is within us. Transcendentalism is adamant with the idea that your individuality, your soul, is the key to unlocking the universe. Therefore, God is within you. The key to the universe is a powerful thing, and since God is seen as an all powerful being, you, yourself is all powerful as well. As vain as it may seem, if you trust yourself, believe in yourself, anything and everything is possible. Because “who there can be more wonderful than [you]” (1282).

When you ask yourself “who is God”, you are really asking who you are, and the only way to ever find out the answer is to find it within. In the last stanza, he continues with more talk of God, and how through each individual’s divinity, that is where God really lies in. God is not the powerful presence that many believe him to be, the one that creates life. God is actually within each and every one of us, he says that in the lines, “I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four, and each moment then, / In the faces of men and women I see God and in my own face in the glass,” (1283/1284).

Not only does he believe that God is within us and that the individual is the key to unlocking the universe, he also believes that nature helps us in the guidance towards the path of connecting to our Over-Soul. That the line that distinguishes between nature and one’s self is not in existent because we are one with everything, we are one with the universe. In the line, “I find letters from God dropt in the street, and everyone is sign’d by God’s name” (1286), “everyone” can be a reference to nature. “Everyone” can be the birds, the trees, the insects, the sky, the clouds. And through “everyone” one can believe that one never really dies.

As Whitman ends the poem, we can also argue that the over message can be that through one’s individuality, we are immortal. When we unlock that key that breaks us into the universe, we live and “come for ever and ever. ” There is Life and Death. But Life and Death coincide with one another and are in sync. It is the eternal cycle that is bestowed to every one of us. And it is our destiny. Reply 26. [pic]Melissa Tidd says: July 20, 2011 at 11:08 am Song of myself – 17

“These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are not original with me, If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to othing, If they are not the riddle and the untying of the riddle they are nothing If they are not just as close as they are distant they are nothing. This is the grass that grows wherever the land is and the water is, This is the common air that bathes the globe. ” This section of Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself is rather short, but it embodies transcendentalism in every word. The transcendental way of thought pioneered by Emerson and Thoreau believes that all men must follow their own intuitions and thoughts, however it also says that the thoughts of one man are the thoughts of all men.

In Sounds, Ralph Waldo Emerson says “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men-that is genius. ” In this section of Song of Myself, Whitman draws from this idea that we share thoughts with all of mankind, opening the poem saying that “These are really the thoughts of all men…. they are not original with me. ” In this poem, the speaker is looking to find, in Emerson’s words, “an original relation to the universe”, but also balancing that with his knowledge that his thoughts are the thoughts of all men, and he is spiritually and physically bound to the thoughts of others.

This is most apparent in the second line, “If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing,” in which the speaker acknowledges that while his own individual relationship with the universe is important, not sharing the same thoughts with the rest of mankind nullifies his own relationship with nature, adopting the transcendentalist idea that intuition is a a means for conscious union of the individual psyche with the world psyche. The first stanza in this poem focuses mostly on the speakers relationship with the rest of mankind, from a transcendentalist point of view.

When the speaker says, “These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands,” he is acknowledging the transcendentalist idea that intuition does not change with technology. Transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreau resisted technology, but acknowledged its presence and it’s force on society. However, transcendentalist thought transcends over all human beings of all times, as man is interconnected spiritually, which comes across in the first line of this section of Song of Myself.

The speaker then goes on to address the reader directly, challenging the intuition of the reader by saying that the speaker and the reader share the same thoughts as well, pulling the reader into the poem and the transcendental way of thought, making the poem much more personal. In Transcendentalism, the spiritual transcends the material, uniting all. Transcendance can only be achieved through individual intuition, which the first stanza focuses on. The second stanza of this section of the poem describes this intuition in a more natural, divine way.

Single-Sex Schools melbourne essay help: melbourne essay help

Whether high school or college, single-gender schools are generally considered the cream of the crop. Parents believe that if they take their children to all-boys or all-girls schools they will receive a better education that is more targeted toward their child’s gender, without the distractions of the opposite sex. There are others on the other hand who believe that students in these types of schools do not necessarily benefit from single-gender education.

However within the last ten years, the number of single sex schools has increased rapidly because educators are constantly searching for ways to better educate children. Due to the social problems among teenagers that have a different mind-set than their parents that start dating at the young age, some parents may prefer to send their children to single-sex schools. There are many advantages and disadvantages of single-sex schools that show single-sex schools should be or not to be promoted in Malaysia.

Study in single-sex schools makes the students concentrate on what is more important at this age: education. Some educationalist believe that teenagers who study in single-sex schools help to avoid the attractions of opposite sex. The students study in mixed-sex schools, they might be interact with each other, and have relationship with their schoolmates. If they are not carefully, they may get themselves into unplanned pregnancies troubles and problems. Single-sex schools provides a chance to overcome the fear of stereotypes.

Girls can study easier in physics, technology, math, and computers subject in the environment because they don’t have to compete with the boys, while boys also can participate in some “non-macho” activities, like poetry, dramatics, art history, and music without having worry on their image. This breaking of stereotypes helps to increase the confidence of students studying in single gender educational institutions. Laird Harrison’s article, “A Classroom in which you can speak your mind,” shows an overview of how single-sex education could stimulate boys and girls to focus their attention on study. (Maria F.Alvarez, Ms. Al Askari, ESL 13, Composition III; 2nd October 2006. )

Harrison states that girls and boys learn differently and how girls may learn better without the presence of boys because they can speak out and ask questions, feeling then more confident. However, It has not been proved that girls in single-gender schools get better grades than in traditional schools, says Eliot Jones in the August 2009 issue of the “International Debate Education Association. Study in single-sex schools may bring along with several social issues, such as interactions between both genders, lack of diversity, and so on.

Males and females regularly interact both socially as well as professionally in their daily lives. When students attend single-sex schools, they unable successfully interact with members of the opposite sex, and may encourage an inability to understand each other, thereby increasing negative future interactions. Students may set up for failure in future social situations that the lack of diversity a single-sec school create. For example, effective social cues and relationship building skills come through first-hand experience.

As a result, they may face difficulty in their social life when they adjusting to co-ed environments because they do not have the right skills in dealing with people. The lack of opportunities for normal social progression also need to be concern. In conclusion, having teenagers study in single-sec schools may brings more disadvantages for their education and also their future social situations. In my opinion, as I came from mixed-sex schools, I truly believe that mixed-sex school is a better choice for the students. I disagree to promote single-sex schools in Malaysia due to the disadvantages that given.

How Technology Can Help an Organisation to Gain a Competitive Advantage need essay help: need essay help

Whereas the support activities takes into consideration, procurement of raw materials, use of up to date technology, infrastructure of the firm & managing the resources. Both the activities in the value chain analysis are interlinked to one another. It shall be taken into consideration that, technology has been referred to as one of the most important aspect within the value chain analysis. With the procurement of technology in the organization has provided competitive edge to the enterprise (Use of technology, 2012).

Technology shall take into consideration, research & development as well as various other technologies which would help to support the value chain activities. Hence, it can be concluded that various business houses make use of technology so as to provide an effective as well as efficient customer service. Technology by many organizations has been referred to as a backbone of the organization operating in the modern business environment. Each & every organization is using technology in some or the other form so as to increase the efficiency of the enterprise.

In today’s global as well as ever changing business environment, investing in technology would be referred to as one of the most important aspect to provide competitive advantage to either small scale or medium sized companies. Companies who have not yet adopted the technologies are facing many hurdles to remain competitive amongst their industry (Use of technology, 2012). Technology is a powerful tool which will help to offer wealth if used strategically. When technology is implemented in a strategic will act as a most powerful tool for the organizations to attain competitive advantage.

At one point of time, technology was regarded as a novelty to the workplace, but now in the competitive business environment technology has increased at a higher pace and has become necessity for life. Technology integration has been referred to as one of the key elements to be competitive in the modern business environment (Use of technology, 2012). Organizations who want to sustain within the highly competitive environment tend to take up various form of technologies so as to gain advantage & be up to date in the ever changing environment.

It can be said that, by using the Porter’s value chain analysis technology has been regarded as one of the key components for any organization to act competitive. By focusing upon the Porter’s value chain analysis, there are three strategies which can be used to act strategically & be a step ahead of its competitors. They are differentiation, cost leadership & focus by using various types of technology. The use of technology has helped many organizations to attain competitive advantage as compared to its competitors.

The use of technology has helped many big retail chains such as Wal mart & Carrefour to reduce the cost of the products and assist in differentiation and focus strategies. For example, Wal-mart has been using an overall cost leadership strategies which has helped it to become one of the largest retail chains all across the globe. The use of technology in form of electronic commerce (e-commerce) has helped to reduce the cost of distribution drastically.

One of the examples which can be discussed in this regards is that, for a subscription fee of approximately $30 a persona can download the software and get the updates for the duration of one year (Porter, 1996). Without the help of technology this cannot be made possible whereas the internet vendors will not be in a position to provide particular software at such a reasonable & cheap rate. Many organizations these days are using various systems such as customer relation management, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management so as to provide its customers with the best customer service.

The retail organizations such as Wal-mart, retail stores, Carrefour, etc has adopted two main systems such as supply chain management (SCM) & customer relationship management (CRM) which would help to create an effective as well as efficient service experience to its customers. The main goal of enterprise systems is to create a link between the suppliers & the customers (Porter, 1996). A successful customer relations management system will be beneficial to create strong bond between the supplier & retailer which will last for longer period of time.

With the use of technology many enterprises are able to differentiate its products as compared to the competitor. For example, Apple has designed its computers to look in a different manner as compared to the traditional computers. The main focus of Apple while designing the products is to provide ease to its customers in the best possible manner. Another example which has helped the organization to act in a different manner is Amazon. com. the official website of Amazon. com is different as compared to its competitors.

The website provides various new technological advancements such as recommendations to the customers based upon their previous purchases, etc. Amazon. com also uses one click system i. e. the customer is required to provide the details such as address or the credit card number once. In the subsequent purchases, the customer will not be required to add the various details & checkout fastly (Porter, 1996). The uses of technology in big as well as small organizations have helped to increase the competitive advantage which means various alternatives available to act faster as compared to its competitors.

When competition is fierce the use of technology will help to increase the competitive advantage by enhancing the levels of revenues. There are mainly three reasons as to how technology provides competitive advantage to the enterprise have been discussed in this section of the essay. Firstly, technology helps the enterprise to attain high amounts of web presence which will help the organization in the long run. For example, in case of food industry if the food joint or the restaurant has a website then it will be able to mark its presence online as well. This will help the food joint to book more orders & increase the levels of sales.

It shall be kept in mind that by the food joint that, a click – mortar information technology approach shall be adopted (Greenan, 2005). This will help the restaurant to have competitive advantage as compared to the other food joints available over the web. Secondly, technology helps to increase the levels of productivity at a reduced operating cost. As mentioned above the example of a food joint, there is more than one employee working in the restaurant. In order to book the orders with a faster pace, the restaurant shall try & link the computers with one another. This will help the processing of the orders at a much faster rate.

Another example to understand how information technology helps to increase the productivity at a reduced cost can be seen in case of the customer feedback department at a BPO. In a BPO, there more than one employee who needs to share files, applications, documents as well as internet connection with the help of a single network. There are multiple work stations available in a BPO, inter linking all the work stations together will help in order to increase the productivity at a reduced cost. When a person buys a product online and is not satisfied with product, the customer will call to discuss its issue regarding the same.

Since all the computers are linked together, the call will automatically be diverted to the customer feedback department (Greenan, 2005). This will help to save time as well as resources. With the help of technology, the customer’s issue will be resolved within a stipulated time period. This will enhance the competitive advantage of the organization thereby providing the customer with the best of the feedback. The use of automatic software within the enterprise will act as an added for the organization. For example, in an office of Chartered Accountant (CA) initially all the transactions were done in MS Excel.

A clerk was hired to plug in the transaction in MS Excel & take out the financial statements (Use of technology, 2012). Whereas now, with the availability of enormous automatic software available in the market the scenario has changed completely. Now-a-days, CA’s use various types of automatic software’s to make the spreadsheets & keep a note of the financial statements. The uses of new technology by the organizations today are not prone to high amount of risks. It takes minutes to make spreadsheet which initially used to take hours & allows the management to increase its level of business.

Such type of changes within the working of any organization could not be possible without the application of technology. The use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can be highly beneficial in case of organization taking into consideration the logistics. For example, in case of big retail chains such as Wal-mart or carrefour availability of the goods is required so as to meet the needs of the customers. With the help of technology, the owner of the retail chain will be able to know whether a particular product is available or not (Use of technology, 2012).

The use of enterprise resource planning will act as highly beneficial for the organization as a whole. This will help to provide smooth functioning of the enterprise which wold help to rise above its competitors. Thirdly, implementation of technology will help in the enhancement of the existing operations. Technology can be used to enhance the current business operations by streamlining the process using various automatic technologies. Use of technology within an organization will help to eliminate some man hours and increase the productivity of the enterprise as a whole.

Reduction in the man hours is directly proportional to the efficinacy as well as the speed of the person (Greenan, 2005). With the implementation of technology a person will be able to perform the various important tasks with a click of a button. Lastly, technology will help to attain competitive within the value chain analysis by securing the privacy of the customers along with the employees. The network security shall be taken into consideration by the enterprise as if someone hacks the server, all the details of the customer credit card will be stolen which will lead to a decrease in the reputation of the organization.

The use of technology in this regards will be achieved behind the scenes under the name of customer and employees loyalty. The main focus of technology is to increase the competitive advantage so as to sustain in the ever changing environment (Porter, 1996). Hence, it can be concluded that various business houses make use of technology so as to provide an effective as well as efficient customer service. In today’s global as well as ever changing business environment, investing in technology would be referred to as one of the most important aspect to provide competitive advantage to either small scale or medium sized companies (Goessl, 2010).

Technologies by many organizations have been referred to as a backbone of the organization operating in the modern business environment. Each & every organization is using technology in some or the other form so as to increase the efficiency of the enterprise. Companies who have not yet adopted the technologies are facing many hurdles to remain competitive amongst their industry. Technology is a powerful tool which will help to offer wealth if used strategically. When technology is implemented in a strategic will act as a most powerful tool for the organizations to attain competitive advantage (Goessl, 2009).