“Hills like White Elephants” Literary Analysis Essay

Trying to decide on a course of action when faced with an unexpected pregnancy, an American and a girl sit outside a train stop in the dusty part of Spain and drink on it. Indirectly approaching the sensitive subject of abortion, each member of the couplehood sets out to test the other in a verbal battle of the wills, engaging in a staccato like dialogue that offers some insight into the two main character’s personas. Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills like White Elephants† churns out a hefty sum of symbolism in a very short story ultimately leaving the imagination free reign to interpret. While they wait for a train to take them to Madrid, the dangers of persuing happiness unfolds (choices – how bad do you want something – how restrictions help you to understand yourself†¦if you put yourself out of your element – thats when you learn the most about yourself) . The timeline of the story is significant. Post WW1, opulence has landed in Amerci a and 20’s reign Roaring 20‘s, post WW1 Although setting is not talked about at length, what is written says many things about the underlying psyche of the two main characters, the American and a girl he calls Jig. Immediately, Hemmingway establishes an obvious conflict between the couple’s interests with the line â€Å"[o]n this side†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This is further emphasized with â€Å"two lines of rails†, symbolizing their inability to connect with each other. A beaded curtain is then introduced, â€Å"to keep out the flies†, in reality, it is a grounder representing the girl’s shifting state of mind; while everything seems to change and turn and dance about around her, the curtain – not solid, but as fluid as her decision making skills – appears whenever she makes an important decision. Here, the curtain is a means of concealing their current dilemma. The pair are also described as being â€Å"outside the building†, where they are supposedly waiting for the train – a justification for their underlying purpose of waiting on a decision to be made. The Mediterranean sun finds them somewhere between Barcelona and Madrid, two major cities in Spain, where there is â€Å"no shade and no trees† on their side of the valley. This represents the crossroad they’ve reached in their relationship: they are stuck in limbo, coming from beauty and going into it, but must first make their decision of whether they go together or not. Lastly, throughout the story the girl looks out at the valley and the hills  in the distance, which are â€Å"white in the sun†, while she and the American are stuck in a â€Å"brown and dry† country, hardly conducive to life at all. The fertile valley and the hills represent the unborn baby – the potential for life. She mentions these hills and looks over to them many times, whereas the man refuses to acknowledge them, ignoring her when she initially brings them up. This is highlighted later when the American refers to ‘the operation’, or the potential abortion, as being â€Å"perfectly natural†. The presence of the beaded curtain shows that she does not agree with him. This fundamental disagreement of the concept of something as basic as nature foreshadows the couple’s impending separation. Furthermore, while she is perfectly aware she speaks of the white hills metaphorically, he takes her literally; they do not operate under the sa me mode of thought. Throughout the story, the American behaves according to the traditional idea of masculinity: rugged, knowledgeable, and always in control of himself and the given situation. Even when vexed or confused, he maintains a relaxed exterior and feigns indifference; such as when he tells the girl â€Å"if you don’t want to you don’t have to†. He avoids directly voicing his opinions, but when pressured collapses, oversimplifying the operation and relentlessly pushing her to have it. Thinking himself to be the more reasonable of the two, even identifying more with the other passengers â€Å"waiting reasonably† at the station, he inherently fails to provide the sympathy and understanding she needs during the crisis. Compared to the American, Jig is portrayed as being naà ¯ve, helpless, and indecisive. Her nickname, Jig, subtly indicates that the two characters merely dance around each other and the issue at hand without ever saying anything meaningful. In fact, the girl, unable to speak Spanish, can’t even order drinks from the bartender on her own – suggesting a strong dependence on him. Although her mind is constantly changing as it receives new information, she still is being pressured to make a decision while under the influence of his persistent attempts to control her. Jig is very much like the following comment made by Hemmingway on the 1920s, when the story was published: The age demanded that we dance And jammed us into iron pants. And in the end the age was handed The sort of shit that it demanded. (Audre Hanneman, Ernest Hemingway: A  Comprehensive Bibliography: Princeton University Press, 1967) By the end of the story, Jig seems to understand that her relationship with the American has effectively ended, despite her earlier professed desire to make him happy. She knows that even if she has the operation, their relationship won’t return to how it used to be. In many ways, the girl’s realization of this fact gives her power over the American, who never really understands why they still can’t have â€Å"the whole world† like they once did. Imagery and symbolism are common themes throughout this story. When Jig first tries the Anis Del Toro, she comments â€Å"[i]t tastes like liquorice†¦ everything tastes of liquorice†. Liquorice is a popular sweet, but in medicine it used to induce vomit. This sort of duality runs throughout the text. Here, Jig speaks about how everything possesses two natures: a positive and a negative. One not able to exist without the other. The curtain appears at the beginning of this scene, when the American orders the drinks. This might mean that she is becoming aware of a truth the man isn’t picking up on. At the end of the forty minutes, it is implied the train has come to pick them up. This too has a hidden meaning: once a train comes, it goes. Symbolically, the train represents Jig’s choice. Like the coming of the train, if she decides to abort the baby, there is no turning back. The train will keep on going just as her life will keep going; but will she ever be the same? The American tries his best to make his opinion known that he and Jig’s life will be easier and go back the way it was if she just goes through with this â€Å"simple operation.† It is also interesting to see how the man reacts to the indecision of his girl when â€Å"he picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks. He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the barroom, where people waiting for the train were drinking†¦ He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.† As the man takes both of their bags over to the tracks, he is hoping that Jig will go through with the surgery. He is still uncertain as to whether she will in fact go through with the abortion, but lets his opinion be known by taking their luggage and setting it by the tracks to be loaded on the upcoming train. He looks up the tracks, waiting for the train that is supposed to come, but does not see it. Similarly, he anticipates that Jig will listen to his suggestion but is still uncertain whether she will go  through with it. When the American comes back into the barroom, he hopes that Jig has made a decision, preferably in favour of the abortion, but when he reaches her she has still not made up her mind. The drinks that the couple share are another instance of symbolism regarding Jigâ€⠄¢s decision about the abortion. Even though it may not have been known that alcohol consumption negatively affects the fetus in the womb, Jig’s consistent drinking gives way to the thinking that she may have thrown in the towel on the possibility of having the child. For instance, the Anis del Toro is a drink that is illegal in many countries because those who gorge themselves on the drink can, and probably will, die of alcohol poisoning. Knowing this, Jig’s drinking the Anis del Toro symbolizes her thinking of the child as a separate entity, perhaps already dead. Jig’s drinking several alcoholic beverages points toward her decision to abort the baby as her American boyfriend wants. There is also the recurring theme of the number â€Å"two.† For instance, the train stopped for â€Å"two† minutes, the couple drinks â€Å"dos† cervezas, they receive â€Å"two† glasses of beer, â€Å"two† felt pads and the American carries their â€Å"two† heavy bags to the other side of the train tracks. This overemphasis of the number two could inspire two different readings. The first could be that the relationship between the couple is the largest the relationship can span; they can’t include a third person into their twosome because three’s a crowd. The other way to read this is that perhaps â€Å"two† refers to Jig and her baby. Jig is still weighing the possibility of becoming a mother because she has not yet made a decision as to whether she will abort the baby or not. The overuse of two is definitely symbolic within the story. Even Hemingway’s title is symbolic which alludes to a deeper meaning in the term â€Å"white elephants† than just scratches the surface. A white elephant is a saying meaning â€Å"a gift not recognized by the receiver, whose value is outweighed by its cost†. The girl’s comment in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants initially seems to be a casual, offhand remark, which in reality represents her desire to speak about the issue at hand. Later, her comment â€Å"the hills don’t really look like white elephants† is a subtle hint at her defiance: perhaps she won’t have the operation at all. The term â€Å"white elephants† originally was used in Indian cultures where a white elephant is â€Å"a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of†. The term  originally came about in an apocryphal tale about the King of Siam who would â€Å"award a disagreeable courtier a white elephant, the upkeep of which would ruin the courtier† (Dictionary). Even though these elephants were beautifully ornate and were given as great gifts, the upkeep is atrocious. Basically the cost and care for the white elephant would supersede the actual joy of receiving it. In sum, a white elephant is an unwanted gift; much like Jig’s pregnancy seems, especially to the American: like an unwanted thing. Both the American and the girl drink alcohol throughout their conversation. They start by drinking large beers the moment they arrive at the station. Then, as soon as they begin talking about the hills that look like white elephants, the girl asks to order more drinks. Although they drink primarily to avoid thinking about the issue at hand, readers sense that deeper problems exist in their relationship, of which the operation is merely one. The girl implies this herself when she remarks that she and the American man never do anything together except try new drinks, as if constantly looking for new ways to avoid each other. By the end of their conversation, both drink alone- the girl at the table and the man at the bar- suggesting that the two are winding down their relationship and will soon go their separate ways.

Neorealism vs. Neoliberalism

Mayixuan Li Ms. Reilly International Relations: Conflict and Cooperation in Global Politics October 22 2012 Neorealism, a concept of international relations that emerged in 1979 by Kenneth Waltz, is a theory which forces on demonstrating how the world works instead what the world ought to be. Neorealism thinkers claim that international structure is established by its ordering principle, which is anarchy, and by the distribution of power, measured by a number of great powers, which have the largest impact on what happens in world politics.Since there is no central agency that plays a role as â€Å"night watchman† (Mearsheimer, 2001, p. 5) to guarantee the security of states, the anarchic international system pushes great powers to maximize their relative powers in order to attain the minimum goal of their own survival. The trepidation of security is primary factor influencing great powers’ behavior, and in turn makes great powers quickly recognize that the best way to s urvive without protection is to perpetually expand actual military capability until reach the ultimate aim – hegemony.Great powers can never be certain about other states’ intentions, which makes them fear each other, and view each other as potential enemies who always have the capability and motive to attack them. To guarantee their own survival, great powers adopt the logic of self – help acting according to their self – interest, and always look for opportunities to alter the balance of power by acquiring additional power for themselves and by thwarting their rivals to increase powers. The self – help system gives rise of security dilemma that reflects basic logic of offensive realism.No matter a states becomes strong or weak, both strength and weakness in national security can be provocative to other great powers. Mearsheimer states: â€Å" The essence of the dilemma is that the measures a state takes to increase its own security usually decre ase the security of other states. † (Mearsheimer, 2001, p. 13) Neorealism offers a considerably broader definition of power, and view power as two types: actual power and latent power. Waltz states that power includes the following components: â€Å" size of population and territory, resource endowment, economic capability, military strength, political stability and ompetence. † (Waltz, 1979, p. 131) Actual power mainly points out military capability, such as army, air and naval forces, which directly gives great powers the wherewithal to hurt and possibly destroy each other. Latent power comprises size of population and territory, national wealth, and political stability. Rational great powers do not contend with current distribution of power, and always care about relative power rather than absolute power. They not only look for opportunities to take advantages of one another, but also work to ensure that other states do not take advantage of them.Before great powers take offensive actions, they consider carefully about the balance of power, about the costs and risks, and about both how much power they could increase and how much power their rivals could obtain. Nevertheless, great powers can never be sure how much power is enough to secure their survival in the ruthless international system. They not only strive to be the strongest, but also to be the only power – hegemony in the world. Mearsheimer defines:â€Å" A hegemon is a state that is so powerful that it dominates all the other states in the system. † (Mearsheimer, 2001, p. 0) In international relation history, no state has ever achieved global hegemony because of the stopping power of water. The best condition great power could obtain is to become regional hegemony, which dominates distinct geographical areas. Once a great power becomes regional hegemony, it does not want any peers to contend with it. Moreover, neorealism considers three possible systems – unipolar system, bipolar system, and multipolar system. Among all three systems, multipolar system is the most dangerous system, and is more war – prone than is bipolar system.Neorealism occasionally advocates fostering human rights. Great powers might pursue non-security goals as long as the requisite behavior does not violate the paramount goal – pursuit of relative power. Indeed, these non – security goals sometimes complements relative powers, such as economic capability or national wealth is the foundation and resource of military power. Furthermore, great powers seek to prevent war and keep peace, however, they are not driven by a will to build an independent world, but largely by narrow calculations about relative power.Cooperation among nations is difficult to achieve and always difficult to sustain since great powers always consider relative gains by themselves comparing to relative gains by another great power. Neorealism certainly asserts no amount of cooperat ion can eliminate the dominating logic of security competition. Neorealism locates causation in the anarchic international system, which forces great powers to act aggressively toward each other in the survive competition.Great powers compete to maximize their relative power not because they have a will to fight with each other but because this is the only optimal way to ensure their survival in the dangerous world. Neorealism concludes that the view of long lasting peace is not likely to be achieved by great power become global hegemony, so the world is condemned to perpetual great power competition. There are three great debates referring to a series of disagreements between international relations scholars. The second great debate was a dispute between neorealism and neoliberalism.Neoliberalism, a response to neorealism, views international system more optimistically, and argues the fact that the world has become more interdependent in economics and in communications as well as i n human aspirations. Neoliberals agree with neorealism that the anarchic nature of international system is an inevitable circumstance that states have to confront. Nevertheless, there is a general tendency of interdependence among actors across national boundaries to cooperate with each other in modern international system, which gives rise of the idea of complex interdependence.While neorealism views that cooperation between states can rarely happen, neoliberalism holds a greater belief in cooperation according to the prisoner’s dilemma. A tale of two prisoners who are questioned after committing an alleged crime. Neither prisoner knows that is being said by the other, but if they both cooperate and confess to the crime, their time in prison will be shortened, where if neither confesses the sentence length will be even shorter.However, if one confesses and the other does not, then the one who confessed will be set free and the one who did not will receive a lengthy jail term (Mingst 2004, p. 63). Neoliberalists use this to explain why states could wish to cooperate with each other, and even in an anarchic system of autonomous rational states, cooperation can still emerge through the building of norms, regimes and institutions. The importance of such cooperation is that actors have to play the game in an indefinite number of interactions, which abundantly conforms to the real international system.Moreover, neoliberalism recognizes not only sovereign states as important and rational actors, but also other actors are both principal and logical. Neoliberals always focus on absolute gains instead relative gains in such cooperation relationship. Multiple channels, summarized as interstate, trans – governmental, and transnational relation, provides more freedom to connect societies by both informal ties between nongovernmental elites and formal ties between governmental foreign offices. Through these channels political change occurs, in turns, states b ecome more interdependent.Since there are various cooperative issues in different areas among states, trans – governmental politics will make goals of states difficult to define. Neoliberalism also acknowledges more contributions made by international organizations, which helped to activate potential coalitions and strive to obtain opinion by every state. Furthermore, all non – security issues can no longer be subordinated to military security, which gives opportunities to a multitude of different agendas coming to the forefront.The line between domestic and foreign policy becomes blurred, and there is no hierarchy among issues. Military capability does not dominate the agenda anymore, and gradually becomes a less effective instrument to achieve other objectives such as economic and social goals. Nevertheless, the existence of mutual dependence does postulate another type of power. Sensitivity and vulnerability are two essential dimensions of states.When a costly impos ed situation from outside happens, the amount of sensitivity shows how quickly this imposed situation could affect one country from various aspects, and the vulnerability can be defined as an actor’s liability to suffer costs imposed by external events even after politics have been altered. Vulnerability is particularly important of interdependence structure. Even in the world of interdependence, there is no evenly balanced mutual dependence. Neoliberalism asserts two types of dependence, asymmetries in dependence, and symmetries in dependence, the latter hardly emerge.States can be less dependent or more dependent because of their level of sensibility and vulnerability. Less dependent actors can often use the interdependent relationship as a source of power in bargaining over an issue and perhaps to affect other issue. Power not only can be thought of as military capability, but also can be viewed as the ability of an actor to get others to do something they otherwise would not do. Neoliberalism claims that states act according to their self – interest to cooperate with each other, and to make the world more interdependence through different gendas. The use of military force is not exercised when complex interdependence prevails, so therefore the world could become more peaceful and prosperous. Bibliography Mearsheimer, John. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. United States: 2011. Waltz, K. Theory of International Politics. United States: McGraw-Hill: 1979. Mingst, K. A. Essentials of International Relations. New York: W. W. Norton: 2004. Axelrod, Robert. The Evolution of Cooperation. United States. Keohane, Robert O. Power and Interdependence. United States: 2000.

Investigation of a business development proposal for a centre store in Essay

Investigation of a business development proposal for a centre store in the business - Essay Example earned from the newly rented premises Expected income: these are the actual earning that are expected to be generated from the new premises Build up factor: it is the percentage of the maximum possible income that the managers of the business hope to make in the first few years after start up Cost of sales: these are the expenses that incurred in order for the business make sales and may include cost of raw materials and transportation cost among other costs. Net cash flow: this is the difference between the total expenses and the total income that the business generated; it is the money that the business was left with after paying its expense (Day, 2012, p26). Discount factor: this is the rate at which the management of the business depreciates the capital goods in the premise; the depreciation rate is done on an annual nominal rate Present value of net cash flow: this is the cash flow of the business that has been adjusted for depreciation. The purpose of this report is to analyse the financial viability of expanding the business by renting additional floor space and setting up branded boutiques for brand name such as Maine and Gucci, Principles, Miss Selfridge, Warehouse, Timberland and Calvin Klein among others. Initial conclusion The net present value of the business expansion of Bristol stalls is 1, 399, 500 US dollars for the first three years after start up while the estimated cost of investments in terms of fitting and design total to 900, 000 US dollars. This shows that there is a difference of 499, 500 US dollars, this means that the business will have repaid the start up costs fully and made some significant profit margins despite not operating at the full capacity. According to calculations in the net cash flows that have not been adjusted for depreciation, the figures shows an upward trend which is encouraging as it shows the business will be able to increase its capacity to generate revenue if the trend continues. This will happen despite the inc rease in most of the other related costs apart from the miscellaneous costs, which are estimated to remain constant throughout the first three years after start up. Therefore, using the financial information generated by the cash flow, it is financially viable for the business to expand its operations by renting adjacent spaces in Bristol store. Sensitivity analysis One of the reasons that informed the above decision is the total costs that would be incurred in running the new business premises, these costs are relatively low as compared to the expected income that the new floor space will generate. The total expenses per quarter in the first year are 433, 375 US dollars, this is below the expected income of 540, 000 US dollars, subtracting these two figures one gets 106, 625 US dollars, which is the residue that remains after the basic expenses have been deducted. If the value of total costs was any figure above 540, 000 US dollars, then the business would have been left with a neg ative residue. For instance if the total costs were 600, 000 US dollars per quarter, then the residue would have

Themes in Forensic Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Themes in Forensic Science - Essay Example It also refers to the fact that potential criminals are finding ways to avoid detection or to get away with their crimes by watching the show. With these considerations, it is apt to say that CSI has had a major impact on forensic science. This paper shall discuss such impacts based on input from criminologists and forensic scientists. This discussion is being undertaken in the hope of coming up with a clear and comprehensive discussion on the current subject matter and its long-term implications in the forensic practice. In understanding the impact of CSI on forensic science, the discussion goes deeper into the so-called CSI-effect. In the immediate years following the launch of the television show, forensic science courses and careers gained much popularity in the academe (Lee, 2007, p. 22). Judging from the increase in the number of university applicants to forensic courses, the show was able to draw in university applicants to try out for careers in these fields of practice. However, these applicants may have been misinformed by the television show – implying that the roles of CSIs to be much more than they actually are in the real world (Lee, 2007, p. 22). For one, the fact that most of the CSIs seem to play various roles on set – as forensic processor, suspect interrogator, or as police detectives – are already inaccurate depictions of crime scene investigators. In actuality, CSIs do not process forensics, nor do they interrogate suspects or run after suspects with guns dra wn (Lee, 2007, p. 22). In effect, CSI has drawn in forensic science enthusiasts based on an inaccurate picture of the actual workings of CSI work. People have been drawn to it based on their romantic and even gallant or heroic ideals about the type of work involved in being a CSI. But this picture of the CSI in the actual practice is not all true. CSI also has had an impact on juries. Many of these juries seem to expect and even demand that the

Australian national identity in the 21st century Essay

Australian national identity in the 21st century - Essay Example The best possible means would have been to segregate individuals under certain units like family and city and denote them by these identifying marks. (Sherman, 114) Similarly, Australia has been under the theoretical protective umbrella of the Queen of England till now. But the national identity is hugely manifested in every walk of life. It can well be stated that the issue of diversity in Australia is highly accepted and celebrated in the modern era. The evidence is clear and assertive. This is because there are a number of creed, race, language and color operating at the same time in the same fields all at a single time and space. This would not have been possible if the government was not in a true democratic mode and this true nature of democracy yields opportunity for all and as a result we can find the huge amount of diversity within the nation and this could well be stated as the most significant aspect of national identity of 21st century Australia. From the point of view of bilingual individuals it could also be ascertained that they have complete access to their native language. For example it can be stated that that the Asian and East European influx in the southern regions of the Australia are comfortable speaking their mother tongue and practice the same at their business. It is true that there are some sections who believe that there should be only English at least in the parameters of business but that intension is yet to be fulfilled. As a result it can be easily stated that bilingual individuals have no problem with their mother tongue and they are comfortable with it. (Lamb, 188) This specific intent of openness and freedom is the driving force that has turned into becoming so successful in uniting Australia and the credibility or the acceptance of all sections of the population has become the primary nature of the country. This success is highly celebrated and it can well be stated that the unification of diversity is the key ingredient of 21 century Australia. However, it can be stated that there are certain arguments related to Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl phenomena in Australia. In melting pot all the elements are poured into a cauldron and a homogeneous stew is prepared where the individual identity of elements seizes to exist. However, in a salad bowl it is found that though all the ingredients are placed in the bowl each of the element tends to sustain its basic properties. In this respect we can state that Australia is more of a salad bowl than a melting pot because members of several communities with a number of creed, race, language and color operate together with their individual identity intact. However there are sections who believe that there should only be a single Australian culture and each individual must indulge in it and this culture is supposed to be mostly English flavored. (Kar, 227) As a president or a Congressional leader the policies that need to be initiated in order to limit the intolerance and racism in the Australia

Overview of experience to gain professional membership Case Study - 1

Overview of experience to gain professional membership - Case Study Example This will be very necessary for me in the execution of my duties by arranging meetings and discussing issues brought up my other colleagues. I have also attended several internal training such as training, reporting, and all aspects of project cost control during my working period; therefore gathering a lot of experiences. I have, therefore, been trained into completing my orders and workload at the best and satisfactory standards. That has also made me understand the different forms of contract and supporting documentation. Within my role, I plan not only my workload and tasks, but also the workloads and tasks of other team associates who work with me. In my projects, I will have to set up and regularly run commercial site team meeting. Being the Senior Quantity Surveyor, I set team objectives and discuss issues that may be current and potential issues and also worries that the team may have. As a Senior Quantity Surveyor, I collect information from one or more sources, and then distribute the information to one or more audiences. I ensure that information management activities are effective and successful. These actions help me in discovering extra principles and strategies, as well as providing a substantial tactics to evolving a supreme information management strategy.1 Being a leader, my main objective is to ensure incessant progress to the strategic and response to the organization. Being a leader in my previous workstations, which include royal construction Ltd, Wates construction Ltd. among others, have made me have good and professional leadership skills. I ensure by managing the infrastructural assets. Moreover, I aim to provide the knowledge of cost effectiveness assets, and use strategic aspects which will help the new employees address problems faced.2 On a daily basis, I encourage people from my department to work as a team, so as to have effective results. Believe that this is necessary and is an advantage to the organization

Balanced score card Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Balanced score card - Assignment Example While some people assert that the balanced score card is an effective method, others tend to contradict this, presenting evidence to support their claims. Among the corporations that have adopted this concept are the Boom-Bust Construction Ltd (BBCL) and The El Nino Conglomerate Group / El Dorado civil engineering Division. This study will thus analyse, interpret and evaluate the balanced score card concept and its effects on the two companies. The balanced score card Stewart, W. E 2001, ‘Balanced Scorecard for Projects’, Project Management Journal, Vol. 32, no.1, pp. 38-53. Stewart (2001), gives a holistic view about balanced scorecards. He asserts that a close look at many organizations reveals they have many things in common. First, organizations are unpredictable. Each day is unique, making it hard to determine the outcome based on the decisions made. Third, organizations are deceptive, as they try to hide outcomes if they are contrary to shareholders’ expecta tions. This not only brings more complications but also prevents the companies from making future decisions based on facts (Stewart 2001). The use of a balanced score card emerged to offer solutions concerning the progress of companies in a competitive environment. As the name implies, a balanced score card tries to balance theories of a strategy with the methods used in its execution (Nair 2004). In other words, it tries to balance the internal and external factors in order to win the competencies of tomorrow. In this regard, it tries to look at an organization from all dimensions, develop metrics and collect data for analysis in relation to all the dimensions. Four major perspectives have been identified namely; the business process perspective, the customer perspective, the financial perspective, and the learning and growth perspective. These perspectives offer an interpretation of the overall vision of the company and the approaches the organization follows to fulfil its agendas and culture (Stewart 2001). Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. 1996, ‘Using the Balances Scorecard as a Strategic Management System’, Harvard Business Review, pp. 75-85. In their article titled ‘Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system’, Kaplan and Norton explain how designing and implementing a balanced scorecard can be of great benefit to the organization. They agree that, balanced scorecards are different from one organization to another. This also makes their designs to be different as well as the time taken to implement them. However, there are common steps that the management needs to follow in order to design an effective balanced scorecard. Using a sample of a successful balanced scorecard, the following are the steps every company needs to follow. First, the organization needs to clarify its vision by stipulating what it wants to achieve with the scorecard. Then, the organization should communicate with middle managers on the new development. Middle managers are the best communication channels in an organization, as they link the top management and the line workers. The organization should then develop business units, which translate their strategies into their own scorecards. The other step is to review the business unit scorecards so that the management may be able to align the strategies with the organizational goals (Kaplan & Norton, 1996). Once the unit scorecards are reviewed, the organization moves forward to

Social-Reinforcement Field Observation using CBAS CODING SHEET Coursework

Social-Reinforcement Field Observation using CBAS CODING SHEET - Coursework Example The instructor did not give any specific negative reinforcement either. However, on six instances, the instructor gave general positive reinforcements, during which the observer encouraged generally desirable behavior from the participants. Again there were no instances of general negative reinforcements.On two occasions, the instructor provided specific technical instructions to individual members. The instructor also provided a total of 34 general technical instructions to the class, representing 74% of the instructor’s total actions during the session. At no point during the observed session did the instructor act to correct undesirable behavior or breach of discipline among the members, as described in the CBAS coding sheet as keeping control. The instructor acted to organize the participants four times during the session by giving instructions relating to their positioning or organization of the class area. Therefore, the most frequently observed behavior was general technical instructions. This is as would be expected from a gym class, where the participants are only required to follow the instructions of the instructor. Conversely, the least observed behavior was specific reinforcement, both positive and negative, and also general negative reinforcement. The lack of general negative reinforcement is because the success of the gym class relies on the enthusiastic contribution of the participants, and therefore the instructor would not be required to highlight or punish undesirable behavior of the whole group, as this could easily demotivate the group. The ratio of positive to negative reinforcements was zero, since there were neither positive nor negative reinforcements during the session. However, the ratio of specific technical reinforcements to general technical reinforcements was 2:34, suggesting that the instructor paid much more attention to the activities of

Popular Culture and Contemporary Communication Essay

Popular Culture and Contemporary Communication - Essay Example It also brings the idea of culture development among fans as a result of their beliefs and views of their celebrities. The question is whether these artists and designers or rather celebrities afford not to understand the productive nature fan culture in their societies and careers or not. This essay will look into the lucid analysis of the essay question with reference to various available literary sources. To begin with, the term celebrity comes from the French word, ‘celebre’ with a meaning of well known in the public arena. In English terms, it is a synonym or related to words such as being thronged or fame. Fandom, which refers to a collection of fans, plays a significant role in the link between celebrity and the public. There are reasons behind the connection between celebrities and their fans. Duchesne Scott interprets the convergence of celebrity and fan at fantasy and fiction conventions in various ways. He interprets it as a 21st century spiritual pilgrimage, nerd tourism in its unique form, or simply an amalgam or, a combination of the three. He goes ahead to state that synergy is the fundamental or the basis of the relationship between fans and celebrities at events like that. Synergy originates from the Greek word, â€Å"Sunergia† meaning cooperation or â€Å"Sunergos† meaning working together1. ... In addition, the convention also represents corporate synergy. This happens when celebrity and fans interact as sellers and buyers negotiating revenues and costs to attain a mutually satisfactory economic profit. Henry Jenkins’ book â€Å"Convergence Culture†, tells more about fan culture. Henry argues that the current mass media and technology has taken a step and moved to a more practical and participatory convergence culture where the traditional or the default flow from producer to consumer has been interfered with. He argues that currently the consumer has become the producer and created the media which he or she wants and likes most. Convergence culture gives small communities around the world opportunities to gather concentrate on particular topics and as well as ensure the production of media and information among several things on this particular topic. Fans do take primary objects and texts and resources to develop on, build and have fun with. They do not simp ly consume the texts. They instead reread them as well as produce new culture from them. Typical popular examples of fan culture are Dr. Who and Star Trek. Henry goes ahead to state that fan culture has some five common and definite features: first, an individual who does appropriate a particular work, texts and practice related to fan objects2. Usually, these fan objects are reinterpreted in the lives of these individuals. The second characteristic is participation. There is always an openness of different people to participate at certain levels within the community. Normally, they get seriously inspired by it, thus they create events and write music about it. The third feature that Henry illustrate in the book is that of emotional

The Non - Importance of Money Essay Example for Free

The Non Importance of Money Essay Money cant buy happiness How many of you have heard of this quote? How many of you agree with this? Don’t answer, this quote is one of most well-known that I know of. How many of you agree with this? Tell me now, would you be happy, if you had all the money you wanted, but no family? Would you still be happy if you lived in a war-torn country, but had all the money in the world? Would you be happy, if you had all the money in the world, but no friends? No, I doubt you would. I mean just the other day, I was with a friend during the job assembly and the speaker was talking about the money that you earned for a certain job, now my friend and I were having a deep conversation and then she said that she wanted more. More, then it dawned on me that she meant more as in More money. I guess having more money would sounds fun and interesting but is it really worth it. I mean just imagine sitting down on a bed with tv, your favourite pack of chips and just watching movies, all day everyday. Its sounds fun but seriously I mean what would you do with all that money. Buy clothes, get a new car, get a mansion. Yeah, yeah ou can get that but what use is it if you don’t spend it with someone like for example a friend, or  Psychologists, philosophers and ordinary folks have debated this question for years. In the last decade, the field of psychology took a dramatic turn from only looking at mental illness, to exploring what makes people feel fulfilled, engaged and happy. This Positive Psychology Movement has produced an expansive amount of researchers who are looking at things such as happiness, positive emotions, optimism and healthy character traits. At some point, every one of these top researchers explored the effects of money on happiness and positive emotions. What we are finding out is that happiness is the ultimate currency. Not only do happy people enjoy life more and have more fun, but they also practice positive lifestyle habits and have stronger immune systems. When faced with illness, happier and more optimistic individuals have been shown to be more proactive in their medical care, more compliant with treatment and medication, have quicker recoveries and show better health outcomes. So, if  we want to be healthier and happier, it’s worth figuring out where money comes into play. When we talk about happiness, we need to look at it from two separate aspectslife satisfaction as a whole vs. moment-to-moment moods. I can be satisfied with my overall life, yet still have moments when I am not happy. Vice versa, some folks can be dissatisfied with their current circumstances and wish for change, but still have many moments of joy throughout the day. Interestingly, money affects our feelings about both aspects of happiness. Income is often thought to be a good measure of happiness and well-being. However, when researched, it was found to be less significant than predicted. Although individuals with higher income levels report overall satisfaction with their lives, they often enjoy themselves less on a daily basis and experience greater moments of stress than those with lower incomes. When does income make a significant difference in our level of happiness? If we struggle to afford good housing, food, or education, both life satisfaction and mood plummets. Edward Diener, a premier researcher in the field of Positive Psychology, found that once a persons basic needs are met, additional income does little to raise his or her sense of satisfaction with life. Many other cross-cultural and longitudinal studies have also shown a very low correlation between material wealth and happiness, except in cases of extreme poverty where people were deprived of basic needs. So, how much income is needed to be comfortable and meet our basic needs? A study from Princeton Universityfound that a larger paycheck does lead to a happier life—but only to a certain point. According to the study, people who earned greater than $75,000 annually had no greater happiness. Does this mean we should all be happy when we reach an income of $75,000 and not strive to make more than that? Does it mean that money doesn’t afford many pleasures and gratifying experiences that are not available to those of lesser means? Absolutely not. What really affects our happiness more than how much we make is our attitude toward money and the way that we handle it. When we hold fast to the belief that money directly determines happiness, life becomes a constant pursuit of accumulating more. So, when is enough, enough? Martin Seligman, father of the Positive Psychology Movement and author of Authentic Happiness, states: Another barrier to raising your level of happiness is the hedontic treadmill, which causes you to rapidly and inevitably adapt to good things by taking them for granted. As you accumulate more material possessions and accomplishments, your expectations rise. The deeds and things you worked so hard for no longer make you happy; you need to get something even better to boost your level of happiness. Sonja Lyubomisrsky, author of The How of Happiness, concurs: having money raises our aspirations about the happiness that we expect in our daily lives, and these raised aspirations can be toxic. Unfortunately, raised aspirations don’t only lead us to take things for granted and impair our savoring abilities. They steer us to consume too much, tax the planets resources, overspend and under save, go into debt, gamble, live beyond our means, and purchase mortgages that we can’t afford.On one hand, we can interpret the above by concurring with the age-old expression, Money is the route of all evil. On the other hand, there are plenty who agree whole-heartedly with the sentiment, Anyone who says money can’t buy happiness hasn’t experienced having enough to do so. So how can you develop the right attitude toward money and keep it in a healthy place in relation to your happiness level? Here are some tips: Cover Your Needs If you are struggling to meet your basic needs, do all that you can to foster a more secure future. Get the help of professionals, whether it’s with career planning, financial planning or government assistance. There are many no-fee or low-fee agencies who can offer you guidance. Save for the Future Determine the amount of savings that would allow you to feel a sense of security toward handling emergencies and your future. Develop a savings plan that works for you, and be consistent. Foster Connections Focus on building stronger relationships with your loved ones. Research has shown the happiest individuals have the strongest commitment and connection to family and friends. Money doesnt guarantee happiness, but good relationships most certainly do! Dont Make Comparisons Savor the pleasures of your spending without comparing yourself to others. Comparison almost always leads to feelings of inadequacy, and often for no good reason. Bask in the joy of your new car without coveting your neighbor’s more expensive one. Appreciate your long weekend vacation instead of wishing for an around-the-world cruise. Create Experiences and Accumulate Memories Spend your energy on having experiences that will make memories instead of having stuff. Many of lifes greatest pleasures cost very little money—and can even be free! Socializing, spending time in nature, embarking on work and/or hobbies that are meaningful, volunteering, and listening to music are some of the many activities that people report bring them the greatest joy. Additionally, here are some examples of experiences that are generally worth spending money on due to the enhancements they can bring to your life: Experiences that help us to grow and develop as individuals, such as education, lessons and entrepreneurial pursuits. Small pleasures, such as a massage or a private Pilates lesson, rather than an extravagant purchase. Gifts for others, rather than for ourselves. Donations to charities that have a personal connection to us. Purchases that have been worked and saved for. Do I think that money can buy me happiness? No, but it can sure bring enjoyment to my world. I will continue to believe that my happiness is not dependent on money. Although important, if I had to make do with less, I could simplify my life, and I would still be happy. I am surrounded by family and friends I love and enjoy, and do work I find amazingly meaningful, purposeful and rewarding. I will continue to work hard and enjoy the fruits of my labor, and hopefully never, ever take all that I have for granted. I hope you will do the same.

Monochromatic and Dichromatic Light Wavelength Measurement

Monochromatic and Dichromatic Light Wavelength Measurement Monochromatic and Dichromatic Light Wavelength Measurement using Michelson Interferometer Alireza Safaripour[1] The current paper studies the theory, operation and applications of Michelson interferometer. After the introduction of the working concepts of the interferometer, the theory behind measuring the wavelength of monochromatic and dichromatic light using this interferometer is presented as two samples of its application. Furthermore, these measurements are performed on a simple Michelson interferometer using a Mercury lamp as the monochromatic light source and a Sodium lamp as the dichromatic one, and the results are compared to the actual values. The sources of errors are introduced and analyzed and finally, some sample results of Michelson interferometer are compared with the equivalent ones from Fabry-Perot interferometer. Keywords: Michelson Interferometer, Interference, Monochromatic Light, Dichromatic light, Wavelength Measurement, PACS: 95.55.Sh, 93.90.+y, 13.15.+g Introduction Interferometers are basic optical tools used to precisely measure wavelength, distance, index of refraction, and temporal coherence of optical beams. The Michelson interferometer causes interference by splitting a beam of light into two parts. Each part is made to travel a different path and brought back together where they interfere according to their path length difference. The Michelson interferometer, developed by Albert Michelson in 1881, the first American to win a Nobel Prize for science, is one of the best known of optical instruments used by physicists and astronomers [1]. It was developed to measure the standard meter in units of the wavelength of the red line in the cadmium spectrum [2]. Some of the parameters that can be measured using this instrument are: 1) the wavelength of a light source, 2) the index of refraction of a material, 3) the width of a spectral line, and 4) the Earth’s motion through the â€Å"aether†. The last item refers to the Michelson-Morley experiment, a failed attempt to demonstrate the effect of the hypothetical aether wind on the speed of light, which along with other experiments, showed that ether does not exist and that electromagnetic waves can propagate in a vacuum [3]. Their experiment left theories of light based on the existence of an aether without experimental support, and served ultimately as an inspiration for special relativity [4]. Michelson interferometer has also been used in Fourier transform spectroscopy, detection of gravitational waves and as a narrow band filter. The current paper first goes over the working principals and background theory of the Michelson interferometer and as a sample of its application, some details regarding wavelength measurements are explained. In the next sections, the procedure and results of monochromatic and dichromatic light wavelength measurement performed by the author in Optics Laboratory of Department of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University are presented and discussed. Theory A simplified diagram of a Michelson interferometer is shown in the FIG. 1. Light rays coming from a monochromatic source S are incident with a 45 ° angle on a beam splitter (BS) and produces two beams of equal intensity. The transmitted fraction of the beam (T) travels to mirror M1 and reflects back to BS. Half of this incoming beam is again reflected by BS and hits the screen, E. The reflected half of the original beam (R) reflects from mirror M2, and likewise, half of this ray goes through BS and reaches the screen. It is worth mentioning that since the beam splitter reflects the beams from its farther surface from the source, the portion of the rays that reflect from M2 passes through the BS three times, while the lights going towards M1 only pass through BS once. This difference can cause an unwanted optical path difference between the two rays, and to compensate for this effect, a glass surface of the same thickness and index of refraction (CP) is placed between M1 and BS. The two portions of the original beam meet at the surface and their interference produces interference fringes at the screen. The angles of M1 and M2 ­ can be adjusted to create circular, curved or straight fringes. Interference of Waves With a Single Frequency As shown in FIG. 2, looking at the screen, one beam comes from M2 and another beam seems to come from the virtual image of M1, which can be called M1. When there is a difference between the distances of the two mirrors, there would appear to be the same distance, d, between M1 and M2. Considering a beam coming from a source point S, the reflections form M1 and M2 appear to come from the points S1 and S2 respectively. The optical path difference between these two points can be found to be: where Δx is the optical path difference, d the distance between the two mirrors and ÃŽ ¸ the angle of observation. When the light that comes from M1 undergoes reflection at BS, a phase change of Ï€ occurs, which corresponds to an additional phase difference of Ï€. Therefore, the total phase difference between the two beams is where Δà Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ is the phase difference, k the wavenumber and ÃŽ » the wavelength of the light. The condition for destructive interference or dark fringes is then When the mirror separation and light wavelength remain constant, for a specific order m, the angle of inclination stays constant which results in circular fringes that are called fringes of equal inclination, or Haidinger fringes. If the two mirrors have the same distance from the beam splitter, the phase difference between the interfering beams will be equal to Ï€ because of the phase change due to reflection, and this causes destructive interference or dark fringes at the center of the field. According to equation (5), an increase in the separation distance of the mirrors, results in new rings appearing from the center at a faster rate the rings going out of the field of view, and this makes the field of view more crowded and the rings become thinner as they go outward. Similarly, when the separation is decreased the rings appear to move towards the center and as they do, they become wider and sparser. Since appearance or disappearance of a fringe means that a distance of ÃŽ »/2 has been moved, if the mirror is moved a distance d, and the number of fringes that appear or disappear is counted, N, the wavelength of the light can be found. Interference of Waves with Two Frequencies Considering the case for when there are two wavelengths, ÃŽ »1 and ÃŽ »2 present in a dichromatic light source, the two interference patterns are dictated by equation (5) and are superimposed at the detector. The maxima in the combined interference patterns then, occur at displacements when each separate interference pattern is maximized, that is, when the optical path difference is an integer multiple of both ÃŽ »1 and ÃŽ »2. The minima of the combined interference patterns occur directly between the maxima for symmetry reasons. Supposing d1 is a displacement which gives maximal (or minimal) fringe visibility in the field of view, then the next displacement which gives maximal fringe visibility occurs when for some integer n. In words, it is required that the shorter wavelength wave shift one fringe more than the more slowly varying long wavelength in the course of a full period of beats. This can be solved for n as and subsequent substitution of equation (8) back into equation (7) gives By donating ÃŽ »ave as the average wavelength, if the wavelength separation is small, the small quantities à Ã‚ µ and ÃŽ ´ are defined [5] Assuming the intensities of the two wavelengths are equal Then, And finally This gives a way of determining the wavelength separation given the average of the wavelength. If it is assumed that the intensities are approximately the same, then the average is centered between ÃŽ »1 and ÃŽ »2. Procedure A schematic of the experimental setup is presented in Fig. 3. The first light source of the experiment was a Mercury lamp with a wavelength of 546.1 nm and a green color. The angle of the stationary mirror was constantly adjusted during the experiment to ensure that the center point was in the field of view. In the first part of the experiment it was attempted to measure the wavelength of the green light produced by the mercury lamp. In order to do that, the movable mirror was slowly moved from a starting position and the number of fringes coming in or going out was counted. The position where the 50th fringe was counted was recorded as the distance d and equation (6) was used to estimate the wavelength of the light. It was noted that the micrometer was attached to a 5:1 lever which meant that the readings of the micrometer should be divided by 5 to show the actual displacement of the mirror. Since the accuracy of the micrometer was 5 micrometers, the accuracy of displacement readings was 1 micrometer. As the last part of the experiment a yellow Sodium lamp was used that emitted two very closely spaced yellow lines at 589.0 nm and 589.6 nm. A similar procedure to the Hg lamp was used to estimate the average wavelength of the light by counting 50 fringes and measuring the distance. The beating phenomenon resulting from these two close wavelengths were observed and the distance between two consecutive minima points (where the fringes were very blurry an almost unrecognizable) was measured. The number of fringes that would happen during this distance was estimated by extrapolating the distance that the 50 fringes were measured for and equations (8) and (14) were used to calculate the difference between the two present wavelengths. The uncertainties in calculating this difference was also estimated. Results and Discussion In order to measure the wavelength of the green light produced by the Hg lamp, the displacement that caused 50 fringes between them was measured. The micrometer was set at 11.00 mm as the starting point and after counting 50 fringes entering the field of view, the reading of the micrometer was 11.07 mm. Since the smallest unit of measurements was 0.01 mm or 10  µm, the uncertainty of this readings was assumed to be 5  µm. It was noted that since the micrometer was connected to the mirror through a 5:1 lever, the actual displacement of the mirror was one fifth of this reading. Then, equation (6) was used to calculate the wavelength To calculate the uncertainties The known value of the wavelength of this green light, 546.1 nm is within the errors of this measurement and a 2.5% difference was seen between the known and measured values which is a relatively small error. A similar procedure was carried out to measure the average wavelength of the dichromatic light. Once again, the point of 11.00 mm was selected as the starting point and after counting 50 fringes, the finishing point was again very close to 11.07 mm. Then, by applying the same calculation method the value for measured wavelength and its uncertainty were found. Similarly, the actual known values for this light, 589.0 nm and 589.6, are within the bounds of uncertainty and show a 5% difference from the measured value. As the next step, in order to find the difference between the two present wavelengths in the light, the distance between two minima points in the beating phenomenon was measured. The point of minima was found by looking at the fringes and choosing the point that the fringes were the least visible. The two consecutive readings from the micrometer for the minima points were 15.15 mm and 16.62 mm. Using equation (14) and putting the measured value for wavelength The uncertainty in this calculation can be found from And the known value of this difference, 0.6 nm, is within the range of uncertainty. Some of the sources of error in this measurements include the accuracy of the micrometer, the backlash of the micrometer, the quality of the mirrors and their respective reflection coefficient. Another issue with the Michelson interferometer is that the width of the fringes are relatively broad and that makes this device less accurate. Using a similar concept, Fabrey and Perot introduced a new interferometric device in 1897 that could improve some of the issues observed in Michelson interferometer. Simply, in Fabrey-Perot interferometer the light passes through a pair of parallel mirrors and undergoes multiple reflection and the interference of these light rays creates highly well-defined interference fringes. The main advantage of this new interferometer was that the fringes were significantly thinner and this meant higher accuracy in measurement and resolving ability. As an example, FIG. 4 compares the monochromatic and dichromatic fringes observed each of the Michelson and Fabrey-Perot interferometers. It is evident that the broader fringes in Michelson interferometer results in the dichromatic fringes in (b) being undistinguishable. Conclusions The Michelson interferometer was investigated and its working concept and two sample applications of this device were practically examined. The wavelength of the green light produced by the Hg lamp was measured using this interferometer to be 560.0 ±40.4 nm which was close to the actual value of the wavelength, 546.1 nm, and with only a 2.5% difference between the experimental and known value. As another example application, the difference in the two present wavelengths in a yellow light produced by a Na lamp were measured and the beat phenomenon was observed. The difference was found to be 0.533 ±0.077 nm and was very close to known value of 0.6 nm. The accuracy of the micrometer, the backlash in micrometer, the quality of the mirrors and the splitters were discussed as some of the possible sources of error in measurements. It was also pointed out the breadth of the fringes in Michelson interferometer is one of the inherent causes of limited accuracy of this interferometer. Finally some sample results from Michelson and Fabry-Perot interferometer were compared to further show the inaccuracy of Michelson interferometer in measuring two very close wavelength in a dichromatic light. References [1] Electronic mail: [emailprotected] [2] http://www.egr.msu.edu/me/

the crime :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chad   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Bahamas,† it was a trip of a lifetime. I went there with my girlfriend and a couple of other friends. We were all nervous because it was the first time any of us have flown. We finally got a chance to start boarding, after we arrived at the airport five hours early. Before boarding, we had to show the airport attendants our birth certificate. When I went to show them my birth certificate, they wouldn’t let me board because mine was a copy and not the original. Luckily, after waiting for twenty minutes, they made a few calls and let me go.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As we flew over the ocean the water was crystal clear and the sky was beautiful. I couldn’t wait to get there, but after two and a half hours, we finally arrived in Nassau, Bahamas. We got off the plane and the weather was beautiful, it was 90 degrees and sunny. We walked in, got our luggage and had to go through customs. We went outside caught our bus and off we went to our resort. When arrived there everyone was very nice and respectful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our first day their we planned to take a boat over to the Atlantis resort on Paradise, Island. The Atlantis is a resort known to have movie stars and athletes stay. I was only twenty years old when we went there, so I have never been to a casino. We all got to gamble, and I won $300 playing blackjack, it was a blast. The resort also had an underground aquarium with sharks and lots of other odd looking fish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next few days we sat around the resort and went parasailing, and lots of other activities. Parasailing was an adrenaline rush and probably one of the funnier things I had done in my life. We also went downtown Nassau and that is where they have a big flea market. The flea market had a lot of neat and different things down there. We spent the whole day downtown and later that night went out to a few dance clubs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The last two days we were there a hurricane was roaring in, while we were trying to get out.

Red Badge Of Courage :: essays research papers

Henry In Stephen Crane's novel "The Red Badge of Courage", we examine the episodes of war through the eyes of the main character, Henry Fleming. Because the book is rather vague about many details, we don't know how old Henry is, what he looks like, or where he comes from. We do know that Henry is from somewhere in New York and that he was raised by his mother. Although some people argue that throughout the novel Henry matures and becomes a better person, facts from the book show just the opposite. Henry is a conceited , smug young man who sees himself as a martyr and a hero; when in fact he is a coward. Henry begins his journey by signing up for the Union army. While this may seem like a brave step, Henry takes it for the wrong reasons. He is unsure of the Union cause, and without really understanding what he was fighting for, Henry saw visions of himself as a hero. Henry's thoughts of war are rather distorted: He had read signs of marches, sieges, conflicts, and he had longed to see it all. His busy mind had drawn for him large pictures, extravagant in color, lurid with breathless deeds(Crane, 3). This simply shows that Henry had romanticized the was to something of a glorious adventure in his head. Even when his mother tries to give him rational advice, Henry sat disappointed, expecting a speech on heroism and pride. When Henry and his regiment (the 304th New York) finally integrate into camp life, he begins to question himself. His regiment had been static for a long time and Hauptman 2 Henry becomes bored and unhappy. For time he begins to question his bravery and he feels rather insecure. In the regiments first battle, Henry fights well. His admiration for himself reaches a disgusting level: He felt that he was a fine fellow. He saw himself even with those ideals that he had considered far beyond him. He smiled in deep gratification (Crane, 30). In this passage one can see Henry beginning to falsely view himself as a hero. At the beginning of the 304th New York regiment's second battle, Henry notices that two other soldiers are running in fear of the fight. He suddenly becomes rather scared and flees the battle as well. He tries to rationalize his actions to himself by saying: Death about to thrust him between the shoulder blades was far more dreadful than death about

RIP Bradley Nowell :: essays research papers

-T hose of you who were fortunate enough to meet Bradley Nowell, saw a man who liked to smile and sing. He did these two things with the greatest of ease. The man we knew liked to pick up a guitar, not needles, but on the 25th of May in 1996, many of us were shocked by the news of his tragic death. Just seven days earlier, he married the beautiful Troy Dendekker. Things were lookin absolutely bright for him. It was rumored that he even woke up extra early on the morning of his death to walk his dog on the beach because he felt just great to be living. Hours later after he woke up, he was found dead from a heroin overdose in his San Francisco motel room. W hat went wrong I thought to myself? I remember hearing the news of his death on a local radio station. I've been a Sublime fan since my senior year of high school. The single "Date Rape" made the Chicago airwaves and I was hooked. I did a little research and I discovered that Bradley had been in and out of rehabilitation centers since 1992. Many people that I've talked to about Bradley's death really didn't seem to care. Being a huge Sublime fan, I was angered by their ignorance. Most of the time I heard people say that it was Bradley's fault for taking the drug in the first place, but I came to realize that it really wasn't his fault. Troy Nowell says in the VH1 documentary on Bradley that obviously the drug was "bigger than both of us (Bradley and Troy)". She said he hated what he was doing, and tried to stop numerous times, but the world is ignorant to the fact that this drug, heroin, is extremely physically addictive. Bud Gaugh, the drummer of Sublime, said he used to hug, sweat, and cry with Bradley during his fight with heroin. If it were his choice, Bradley would've stopped using it, but heroin took a hold of his nerves and his entire body. W e need to remember the Bradley who gave us three absolutely spectacular albums and a voice that stopped the world, not the one who stuck needles in his arm. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about him a good twelve hours during the day.

Changing Landscape of Health Care Essay

Unless you have been living on another planet somewhere, the changes in health care taking place in this country have become hard to ignore. With all the debate over recent health care reform, it is sometimes difficult to know who is right, and who is wrong. How can there be such a wide gap in opinion on â€Å"Obama care†? How are these reforms changing the landscape in health care, and how are we to survive these changes? To begin, let’s look at how all these changes began. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed in the senate on December 24, 2009. It passed in the house on March 21, 2010, and was signed into law by President Obama on March 23rd, 2010. It was then upheld in the Supreme Court on June 28, 2012, and the landscape of health care has been changing ever since. Few would argue that health care reform was needed, as the cost of health care had been out of control for some time in this country. However, many in the health industry feel that although the intent may have been honorable, the repercussions of reform-compliance is wreaking havoc in the health care industry and may lead to even further problems. The Trickledown Effect Most of the issues surrounding the changing landscape of health care are a direct result of health care reform. Changes in legislation have produced a trickledown effect, beginning with the small rural hospitals. For example, one such opinion is expressed by Dr. Scott Litten in a blog on the website Physicians Practice, where he states: While the intent of the ACA was good, the aftershocks [of the passage of The Affordable Care Act] are changing the very way we practice medicine. Small  hospitals in rural areas will be the first ones to enact changes. Reimbursements are not increasing and the new penalties that hospitals across the nation face for readmissions within 30 days, the decreasing numbers of actual admissions, and the increasing numbers of outpatient observation admissions are forcing all facilities to lay off personnel and decrease services provided. Coupling this with the fact that fewer patients are coming to doctor’s offices for services produces a very steep decline in revenue. (Litten, 2013). According to Dr. Litten, this decline in revenue is just the tip of the iceberg. Businesses are facing a similar problem. Insurance premiums are rising, forcing employers to pass this cost on to the employee, making it more expensive each time they receive health services. This in turn discourages trips to the doctor’s office, and the cycle is repeated. Contributing to this decline, Medicaid also has been slow to increases coverage, forcing many practices to no longer accept Medicaid patients. Dr. Litten believes the changes practices are facing have produced a perfect storm for our healthcare industry. And to top it all off, the sluggish economy is causing everyone to cut back on regular spending, which has a trickledown effect on medical practices and hospitals alike. He further sees no change in these effects in the near future, and believes physicians will continue to struggle with how to provide quality health care with less resources. The Wide Gap in Opinion Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, most Americans would have agreed health care reform was needed in this country. However, the wide gap in opinion on whether â€Å"Obama care† is a good or bad thing seems to center on how this legislation may lead to an even greater problem: government controlled health care. One anonymous physician blogger put it this way: â€Å"The Affordable Care Act was nothing more than a huge power grab by the government, the Executive branch in particular. All of the resulting chaos is planned, which will ultimately force out private insurance and thereby establish a single payer system (government) with physicians becoming part of the public service union. When that comes to pass, I’ll retire or maybe set up a â€Å"boutique† practice working 2-3 hours/day; 2-3 days/week for the  patients who can afford it. My selfish concern is: who will be there to take care of me when I need it? Fortunately, I will be in a position to pay for a concierge doctor. Welcome to British style medicine. (Anonymous, 2013). Even advocates of â€Å"Obama care† express concern that nothing in it addressed malpractice costs and tort reform, economic price feedback loops, or increased responsibility on behalf of the consumer. Another blogger states â€Å"It, [The Affordable Care Act] means more people are eligible for subsidized coverage which will add to the long term deficit issues and healthcare costs unless other changes are made.† (Litten, 2013). These issues, along with others that may arise before full implementation of The Affordable Care Act are realized, will need to be addressed if we are indeed to be successful in attaining affordable health care for all Americans. Adapting to Change How are we as an industry and a people to survive these changes? Mark Twain once said â€Å"It’s not progress that I mind, it’s the change I don’t like,† and the same can be said of the health care industry. People in general are opposed to change, especially when they do not have a good understanding of the issues. But â€Å"Obama care† is here to stay, and understanding the intent, specific benefits, and potential for positive reform is the first step in adapting to these changes. We have the ability to research and investigate the many options available to us as both consumers and providers of health care. Knowing what health care reform means on a personal level as well as a business level will not only help us understand and adapt to health care reform, but we may also find that there are many way this reform may indeed work to our benefit in the long run. References Litten, S. J. (2013, May 24). Health Care Reform is Changing the Landscape in Medicine. Retrieved from Physician Practice Web site: http://www.physicianspractice.com/blog/healthcare-reform-changing-landscape-medicine

His Talk, Her Talk

It is no secret that men and women have marriage problems. A big source of that happens to be communication issues. Men tend to not be interested in what the women wants to talk about. Same goes with women, they may not be as interested in male conversations or men do not give as much detail as the women would like. That is why many are attending marriage counseling. For couples in marriage counseling a good essay to read is â€Å"His talk, her talk†, by Joyce Maynard. It talks about how there are different ways men and women talk. Males tend to talk about general things and skip details.Females will usually talk about a certain topic and stay on it. Men will usually just skip from topic to topic. Another essay that would be a good read is â€Å"Man to man, women to women†, by Mark A. Sherman and Adelaide Hags. They talk about how males and females talk about different things. Women tend to talk about kids, jobs, husbands and other female things. Men will usually just s tick to sports, work, and anything else that happens to be in their surroundings, as in anything that happens to be on the news. So men and women differ in conversation.The essay I would most recommend would be â€Å"His talk, her talk†, by Joyce Maynard. It basically states that it is okay for a husband and wife do not have the most in common when it comes to conversations. Women and men talk about different things. The other spouse is just supposed to accept that. That would help others open their eyes. In conclusion both essays are good, but that is the one I would recommend. The one bad thing about it is that it is from one women’s perspective. One situation does not speak for everyone. However it does speak for the majority. So it would help many couples in marriage counseling.

The Widow and the Parrot

The Widow and the Parrot Virginia Woolf Author’s Background (1882-1941) British writer. Virginia Woolf became one of the most prominent literary figures of the early 20th century, with novels like Mrs. Dalloway (1925), Jacob's Room (1922), To the Lighthouse (1927), and The Waves (1931). Woolf learned early on that it was her fate to be â€Å"the daughter of educated men. † In a journal entry shortly after her father's death in 1904, she wrote: â€Å"His life would have ended mine†¦ No writing, no books: â€Å"inconceivable. Luckily, for the literary world, Woolf's conviction would be overcome by her itch to write. Virginia Woolf was born Adeline Virginia Stephen on January 25, 1882, in London. Woolf was educated at home by her father, Sir Leslie Stephen, the author of the Dictionary of English Biography, and she read extensively. Her mother, Julia Duckworth Stephen, was a nurse, who published a book on nursing. Her mother died in 1895, which was the catalyst for Virginia's first mental breakdown. Virginia's sister, Stella, died in 1897; and her father dies in 1904.Virginia Woolf died on March 28, 1941 near Rodmell, Sussex, England. She left a note for her husband, Leonard, and for her sister, Vanessa. Then, Virginia walked to the River Ouse, put a large stone in her pocket, and drowned herself. Children found her body 18 days later. Virginia married Leonard Wolf in 1912. Leonard was a journalist. In 1917 the she and her husband founded Hogarth Press, which became a successful publishing house, printing the early works of authors such as Forster, Katherine Mansfield, and T.S. Eliot, and introducing the works of Sigmund Freud. Except for the first printing of Woolf's first novel, The Voyage Out (1915), Hogarth Press also published all of her works. Virginia Woolf's works are often closely linked to the development of feminist criticism, but she was also an important writer in the modernist movement. She revolutionized the novel with stream of consciousness, which allowed her to depict the inner lives of her characters in all too intimate detail.In A Room of One's Own Woolf writes, â€Å"we think back through our mothers if we are women. It is useless to go to the great men writers for help, however much one may go to them for pleasure. † Character Web James the Parrot James the Parrot Mrs. Gages Mrs. Gages Joseph Brand Joseph Brand Shag the Dog Shag the Dog Mr. Stacey Mr. Stacey Mrs. Ford Mrs. Ford Rev. Samuel Tattbogs Rev. Samuel Tattbogs Messrs. Stagg and Beetle Messrs. Stagg and Beetle Plot Conflict Author’s Style Symbol Used Theme Moral Implication

Character and Iago

The Balance of Iago and Desdemona’s Characters in Othello In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello the balance of good versus evil is seen in Desdemona and Iago. â€Å"Every character is [†¦] balanced by another similar or contrasting character†(Kernan 877). We see this balance in Desdemona’s â€Å"innocence† and Iago’s corrupting hatred (877). The effects both Iago and Desdemona have on the main character Othello throughout the play only help to show this balance. Othello becomes the tragic work of art due to the balancing of Iago’s hatred and Desdemona’s loyalty throughout the play.At the beginning of the play, Iago’s hatred is evident through his desire to have revenge on Othello. As he speaks to Roderigo, he discusses this hatred for Othello. â€Å"These fellows have some soul, / And such a one do I profess myself. / It is as sure as you are Roderigo, / Were I the Moor I would not be Iago. / In following him , I follow but myself- / Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, / But seeming so for my peculiar end. † (Shakespeare 1. 1. 56-62). From this Iago begins his plot to overtake Othello by manipulating others to do his bidding which only adds to the extremity of his character.With his plot in motion, Iago, according to Amy Clark, uses a special technique to trick Othello by â€Å"cleverly [appearing] to be reluctant to speak ill against others. † This technique â€Å"makes Othello not suspect Iago of any dishonest behavior† (Clark). This is where Othello believes his so called friend over his wife. This method that Clark speaks of shows Iago’s deceit towards Othello. Iago says to Othello, â€Å"Cassio:/ In sleep I heard him say â€Å"Sweet Desdemona,/ Let us be wary, let us hide our loves†;/ And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand,/ Cry â€Å"O sweet creature! and then kiss me hard,/ then laid his leg/ Over my thigh, and sigh'd, and kiss 'd; and/ Cried â€Å"Cursed fate that gave thee to the Moor! † (Shakespeare 3. 3. 418-426) Iago is also willing to do almost anything to get his revenge. This is proven again at the denouement of the play, when Iago kills his own wife, as she tells Othello that Desdemona was in fact innocent. Iago tries to shut Emilia up from stating the truth by saying, â€Å"Zounds, hold your piece† (Shakespeare 5. 2. 231), â€Å"Be wise, and get you home† (Shakespeare 5. 2. 236), â€Å"Villainous whore! (Shakespeare 5. 2. 243) and â€Å"Filth, thou liest! † (Shakespeare 5. 2. 246). Iago isn’t successful in shutting Emilia up until he stabs her and she dies. Iago manipulates and twists many actions within this play to help him succeed in his revenge against Othello; however, in the end of the play it is not only Othello but also Iago who creates his own demise. Desdemona in turn balances out Iago’s pure hatred with the love and devotion she has towards he r husband. Desdemona says to Othello, â€Å"For ‘twas that hand that gave away my heart† (Shakespeare 3. . 43) proving that her love and devotion was for Othello, and Othello only. William Long says that this is shown in Desdemona’s â€Å"exposition of the reasons she loves Othello [and this helps to define] her essential character as a woman of loyalty and fidelity to him† (Long). This can also be seen when Desdemona is questioned about leaving Venice to follow Othello to Cyprus. She says, â€Å"The rites for why I love him are bereft me,/ And I a heavy interim shall support / By his dear absence.Let me go with him† (Shakespeare 1. 3. 258-60). As the play comes to its climax, we can see the effect that Desdemona has on her husband. Overcome with a jealous rage, due to the fact that he thinks Desdemona is cheating on him, and thanks to Iago’s hatred, Othello ends up killing her despite her pleas. Although, Desdemona is completely innocent of this act, she remains faithful to her husband in her last breath as she declares to Emilia that â€Å"nobody† did this to her except herself (Shakespeare 5. 2. 128).Othello has been called one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, and throughout the entire play, Alvin Kerman’s theory of each character having another character that is â€Å"similar or contrasting† to create balance is shown directly through the characters Iago and Desdemona (877). Othello’s corruptive behavior is caused by Iago’s hatred and is balanced by her innocence as well as her love and devotion for her husband. The balances they create make Othello the tragedy it is known as today. Works Cited Clark, Amy. â€Å"Analyze The Techniques Iago Uses to Plant Suspicion In Othello’s Mind. Coursework. Info. Web. 03 Apr. 2012 Kernan, Alvin. â€Å"The Complete Signet Classic Shakespeare. † Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Wr iting. Ed. X. J. Kenndy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 877. Print. 03 Apr. 2012 Long, William R. â€Å"Desdemona's Love and Othello. † Dr. William Long and Dr. Bill Long. 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. Shakespeare, William. Othello, The Moor of Venice. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kenndy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 762-875. Print. 03 Apr. 2012

Cross-Organizational Systems Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cross-Organizational Systems - Case Study Example I will recommend the Clambake Company to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for the integration of different systems. Basically, an ERP is a cross-functional system that is particularly designed to automate and join together a number of internal processes of a business organization. In fact, it is a best for solution for business functions such as logistics, distribution, manufacturing, accounting, human resource, and finance functions. Hence, this cross-functional system works as a central information system of the firm. In this scenario, it will allow the Clambake Company to attain the maximum efficiency, awareness, and agility required to be successful in an ever-increasing competitive business environment. One of the most important advantages of an ERP system is that it encompasses a set of integrated components that will provide the Clambake Company with an instantaneous cross-functional overview of its major business functions like that order processing, sal es, accounting and its resources, for instance information regarding raw materials, production capacity, cash and people (TRIPOD, 2013; Daneva & Wieringa, 2006). In addition, in the cross-functional environments, data and information move between functions and services without communicating with hierarchical channels. In this scenario, SAP’s ERP system is an excellent choice for this scenario. It is believed that enterprise resource planning systems come very close to delivering the cross-functional communication and collaboration so preferred by the majority of business organizations (Amrani, Rowe, Bidan, Geffroy-Maronnat, & Marciniak, 2003; Markus, 2000; TRIPOD, 2013). Amrani, R. E., Rowe, F., Bidan, M., Geffroy-Maronnat, B., & Marciniak, R. (2003). ERP Implementation and change: towards a cross-functional view. Retrieved February 03, 2013, from

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 67

Discussion - Assignment Example Firstly, to proof own prediction author bases his hypothesis about the possibility of a danger from the â€Å"hostess† program on a case which â€Å"already happened at the University of Colorado† (DeRosa, 2009). Second, calling on personal experience author tells his family history what gives him an opportunity to reveal a historical underground of the problem. Third, â€Å"hostess† program is a symbol for a bigger problem. Author adduces other examples (women in show business etc.) to connect a â€Å"hostess† program to the common modern tendency. â€Å"I have read two news articles in the campus newspaper about recruiting practices that made me a little perplexed†, - DeRosa (2009) speaks about what has reasoned him for writing an article. While coming with the conclusion that â€Å"recruiting practice is an insult to the women of the university† DeRosa (2009) reveals a bigger problem: despite that â€Å"over the last hundred years, women have traveled a rocky road to greater equality†, and for now â€Å"women have made impressive gains in their professional lives†, â€Å"they have also come to be seen, more and more, as objects†. I tend to agree with DeRosa: women’s objectification truly exists in our world. Besides there’re a lot of countries in modern society women rights still aren’t equal to men’s ones. The second version of the article seems to me more socially important than the first one, because it conveys a problem, not only DeRosa’s personal view. DeRosa, S. (2009). The Objectification of Woman. Who’s Fault Is it? In Duane Roen, Gregory R. Glau, and Barry M. Maid (Eds.), The McGraw-Hill Guide: Writing for College, Writing for Life (pp. 217-21). New York:

Operations and Materials Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operations and Materials Management - Essay Example Companies keep on upgrading themselves to gain competitive edge and keep up with changing demands and preferences of consumers. This paper is to observe and analyze the operations and materials management of three firms- McDonalds, world wide chain of fast food restaurant; Panda Express, a fast food Asian cuisine restaurant; Wendy’s, quick service hamburger company. Â   All the three companies have a well set operations management that focuses on acquiring the raw material cost effectively; process the raw material to make it ready to bring it out to the shelf for the final use by consumer. This is typical of the Wendy’s operations and its business strategy (Stevenson, 1996). The common thing about the three large firms is that all three have well planned and strategically designed Standard Operating Procedures in addition to their indigenous solution in relation to the nature of industry they are thriving in. In order to avoid huge amount of capital investment in acqu iring and building the infrastructure, McDonalds and Panda Express sells franchisee to local investors. McDonalds is a fast food restaurant catering to all classes of consumers across its chain of set ups globally; it relies on providing fresh food to its consumers in the quickest time possible. The key to its success globally irrespective of the geographical or cultural barriers has been its use of Just In Time (JIT) inventory management system. This system keeps a complete track of the available stock against the current and future demand of the raw material. It helps avoiding overstocking and under stocking at any given time; thus, ensuring healthy and fresh food for consumers (MacDonald, 2000, p. 263). The McDonalds’ management strategically makes a decision on keeping the labor cost low by scheduling the roster as per the store rush depending on peak and non-peak hours. Scheduling of staff roster is one strategy that has been found to be common to all the three companies being analyzed. In all the cases, there is a team of trained staff, where each member is not only specialized to perform a specific task, but also trained to handle more tasks at the same time in case they are required to do so. The companies encourage multi-tasking at their establishments. It helps in scheduling the roster on the basis of peak and non-peak hours; as the staff strength is generally kept low during the non-peak hours, which requires every team member to handle more than just their specific task. On the other hand, during the non-peak hours the work force at all the three firms is so stationed that one individual handles one desk that he specializes in. The well planned and consistent operation process across their chain of establishments and trained staff ensures low cost and improve the overall efficiency. The operating systems adopted by the three firms are primarily the same irrespective of the level an employee holds in the organization. Costs associated with op erations maintenance and monitoring in a company can generally be put under five different headers, which are plant, inventory, labor, raw materials, and distribution. All the costs associated with a company can broadly be classified into two categories, fixed costs and variable costs. As the terms imply, fixed costs are the ones that are incurred irrespective of the running status of a firm and variable costs are ones that are incurred at various stages of operations, like equipment maintenances, labor costs, plant

Perfect Competition and the Supply Curve & Monopoly Essay

Perfect Competition and the Supply Curve & Monopoly - Essay Example For the electricity industry, increase in business can greatly reduce unit/average costs and that is why natural monopoly is popular in this industry. In most cases, government might want to regulate natural monopolies such as this one. The regulations to be employed are direct legislation and administrative regulations of prices and entry into the industry (Joskow & Rose, 1989). Several reasons exist on why the government might do this. The two major ones are to prevent consumer exploitation and increase in the unit/average cost of production. Since, in natural monopoly there is absolutely no competition, the monopoly can sell its products at any price. This could result to consumer exploitation hence attracting the interest of the government to regulate monopoly. Moreover, since such industries have no competition, other investors might venture into it to break the monopoly. By doing this, they would increase the cost per unit hence rendering production uneconomical. The government will therefore step in to regulate their operations with an interest of saving the

Reproduction Of Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reproduction Of Poetry - Essay Example However, the major challenge that has raised controversy is reproduction of art. There are different views on whether art should be reproduced. While some views are in support of reproduction of art, others have sharply criticised it. Nonetheless, with regard to poetry, reproduction of poetry holds many benefits, and these are in relation to reaching mass audiences, as well as maintaining the aura and originality of the original work. Many writers have written different articles to express their views and arguments on reproduction of art. This paper bases on a major work of Davis Douglas, â€Å"The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction,† that was published in 1995. This is the primary source in this paper. The views of Davis are analysed, and by use of a secondary source; â€Å"Sona Books,† by Magi Jill, it will be possible to determine ways through which reproduction of poetry benefits the authors and audiences without distorting the original work. While Davis in his article supports reproduction of art, Mag focuses on the challenges of publishing poetry, and the overall low popularity of the literature genre. Davis supports reproduction of art by basing on important aspects of art, which he proves that reproduction does not influence them in any adverse manner. For instance, Davis focuses on the aura of the work. He argues that reproduction does not betray the aura of the original work, but instead, it enhances it (381). Therefore, the same applies to poetry, as it is an art form. When poems are reproduced, slight changes might be made to the original work. However, this does destroy the quality of the original work. Instead the quality is enhanced, as sometimes reproduced works might be better than original works. It is also possible to argue that the aura of an art work does not lie in the art work, but is determined by the audience. Therefore, the aura and uniqueness of an art work is determined by the art world and its critiques of the art

Mergers & Acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mergers & Acquisitions - Essay Example â€Å"Mergers and acquisitions represent the ultimate in change for a business No other event is more difficult, challenging, or chaotic as a merger and acquisition. It is imperative that everyone involved in the process has a clear understanding of how the process works†. Since the past decade, the globalisation of the businesses across the globe has initiated a search for the competitive advantage, worldwide. With the increased competition to fetch the customer satisfaction in a cost effective way, the companies have responded to the pressure of attaining scale in a quickly consolidating global economy. In addition to some other trends, such as privatisation, deregulation and corporate restructuring, globalisation has encouraged an unparalleled surge in the cross-border merger and the acquisition activities.Cross-border consolidation activities are a significant component of global business operations.This report will look into the mergers and acquisitions of companies in th e light of current issues. For better understanding, the analysis would be done in the light of relevant theories and applications with the mention of specific examples in the arena of merger and acquisitions. Through ‘merger’, two companies would join together to create a new company.Acquisition refers to one company taking over the assets of another company. Merger and acquisition can be of three types: Horizontal, Vertical and Conglomerate. In horizontal mergers and acquisitions, two firms, involved, deal across similar products and services. This type of mergers and acquisitions is frequently used as the mean for an organisation to enhance the market share through getting into merger with a competing firm or by acquiring the same. For an instance, consolidation among Mobil and Exxon would allow these companies to attain a large chunk of share in the oil and gas market. Vertical mergers and acquisitions happen when two organisations are merged through the value-chain , such as any manufacturer firm merging with one supplier or a manufacturer acquiring its supplier firm. Vertical consolidation processes are mostly used as significant mean to gain the competitive advantage in the respective marketplace by leveraging on the value chain. For an instance, Merck, a leading pharmaceuticals manufacturer, merged with the leading pharmaceuticals distributor, Medco. This was done to fetch the benefits in products distribution. Consolidations are conglomerate when two firms from entirely dissimilar industries merge. For an instance, a gas pipeline organisation merging with high technology organisation or acquiring the same can be seemed as a conglomerate merger. Conglomerates are mostly used as significant mean to smooth out broad fluctuations in the revenue amount and offer more constancy in the growth in long-term. Typically, organisations in the mature industries which have poor growth prospects would seek to broaden their businesses horizons through mer gers and acquisitions. For an instance, General Electric has diversified its business through merger and acquisition activities. GE has got into new segments like television broadcasting and financial services through a number of mergers and acquisitions of the financial services and entertainment organisations. Mergers and Acquisitions in United Kingdom United Kingdom has been the host of a number of mergers and acquisitions. The value of UK domestic acquisitions in the third quarter, 2010, amounted to ?2.6 billion which is slightly up