Compare the Ways in Which Larkin and Abse Write About Settings in Their Poems. Essay

Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about settings in their poems. In your response you must include detailed critical discussion of at least two of Larkin’s poems. In ‘Mr Bleaney’ Larkin explores the setting of an old house, still ever present with the spirit and legacy of its last occupant. Setting is presented as impressionable on its inhabitant, restricting and institutionalising their lives. Similarly, Abse’s poem ‘Leaving Cardiff’ also displays themes regarding setting giving you an identity, which is defined by one place, leaving the persona institutionalised. Regarding setting, another of Larkin’s poems ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ also supports the theme of settings being very impressionable. However, like ‘Leaving Cardiff’, this particular poem hints at settings also contributing to a disappointing, anticlimactic and overrated journey. In ‘Mr Bleaney’ Larkin presents setting as an extremely reclusive place which has an everlasting and overpowering effect on the persona, making him very agoraphobic. The repetitive and constant ‘ABAB’ rhyme scheme throughout this poem hints at the continual and dull life the persona leads, being forced to live a constant, boring life sculpted by Mr Bleaney’s previous existence. The lexis ‘stayed’ also reiterates the lack of ambition the persona feels towards being any different to Mr Bleaney. The previous occupant Mr Bleaney relied on his house ‘the whole time’, and the persona is starting to behave similarly. The end of the poem ‘I don’t know.’, ending with a caesura displaying irony, is a powerful ending which is the personas way of justifying superiority or difference, and the irony that he is actually like Mr Bleaney, a reclusive and restrictive man. The metaphorical use of pathetic fallacy ‘frig id wind’ is hinting at the outside world trying to torpon the previous occupant to come outside more frequently, but due to his contentment with confinement, he chose never to. ‘That how we live measures our own nature’ is showing how home sculpts you to how you are and your life is evaluated based on your home. Therefore, the previous occupant Mr Bleaney is leaving an everlasting impression on his home, rubbing of onto the way the persona lives his life. In addition, the lexis ‘home’ is used when describing this particular setting. On the whole, this prison like venue is  quite the opposite of a homely environment and the irony is that evidently the setting in this poem is more like a ‘hired box’, hinting at a coffin like atmosphere created within the ‘home’. On the whole, the setting in this poem is not described very positively, and the persona should definitely not be happy within the confinement of an everlasting, dominant presence overshadowing the joy of life through obsession with imprisonment. Similarly, Abse’s poem ‘Leaving Cardiff’ also hints at setting being accountable for your identity. ‘Can I be the same man twice’ is a prime example of setting, in this poem Cardiff, defying your distinctiveness. The persona within this poem is reflecting on how Cardiff once distinctively defined who he was, and now he is leaving, he will never be the same person that Cardiff once moulded him into. To show the persona and the setting are strongly linked with a bond, the metaphorical usage of pathetic fallacy ‘knots of water flow’ is hinting at the emotional response that Cardiff has on the persona, linking them together strongly and showing how dominant setting is in his life. In addition, the materialistic use of ‘now the funnels negations blow’ shows how Cardiff was dominant in every aspect of the personas life. Due to funnels blowing out rings of smoke, they are metaphorically signifying the repetitious and vicious circles the persona will face in always being linked to Cardiff, bringing him back to where he started. Also, the rings of smoke signify the emptiness within his life, and how once he leaves Cardiff a segment of his identity will be left behind. Alternatively, setting in Larkin’s ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ is predominantly described through a journey on a train, contributing to the disappointing and overrated impression of setting. Although Larkin claims there was nothing of himself in this poem, his biographer maintains there was everything of the poet in this poem, critiquing the homogeneity of life. In one sense, the persona is experiencing a stereotypical journey within the setting of a train, on looking on the ‘houses’ and ‘streets’ surrounding him. However, in another sense the persona is looking at the mass production of newlyweds during ‘The Whitsun Weddings’, a religious festival, unprepared for their hopeful and artificial journey ahead. Phillip Larkin is very critical of marriage, believing too much credence is put on it and the  reality is that it will not last. ‘A slow and stopping curve southwards’. This is hinting at the reality of life going downhill after marriage, and the expected journey will not succeed. In regards to setting, the setting of a train is extremely significant. As the newlyweds pile on the train polluting true love, the train is symbolically signifying the deteriorative journey that will take place in their love lives. Generally, this poem is very negative towards the journey that married couples will face, symbolical of the setting of a train. However, the slight break of the ABABCDECDE’ rhyme scheme when ‘grass’ and ‘cars’ rhyme is to show a slight blip of happiness in marriage, in contrast to sorrow. This is because Larkin wanted to show how this is only his opinion on the journey of marriage. Also, the breaking of the rhyme scheme could symbolically show how in fact in later life the couples may separate and evidently their marriage could break down. The setting of a train is to also show the normalisation and journey of a marriage. Abse’s ‘Leaving Cardiff’ also uses journey to contribute to the setting, just like Larkin does. The journey that the persona is facing in this poem is that he is leaving Cardiff for good. ‘Upload and move on’. This particular metaphor is showing how the persona is leaving the setting of Cardiff, but will never forget the journey he has been on whilst he is there, and evidently the Journey he will face in the future.

Human Resource Outsourcing in India Essay

This article attempts to discuss HRO in Indian context and the possible future of HRO in the Indian business scenario. Certain preparatory actions are also prescribed to effectively used HRO as a strategic business tool. HRO – HRM Architecture: Today, as we have moved into service – economy, dealing with knowledge and knowledge workers is very important as human capital has become a critical success factor for organizations. HRM is seen as a distinct identity, separate from Administration and Facilities section of the establishment. This can be clearly seen from the importance being given to HRM Architecture. In addition to the traditional roles for HR, over the years, in the IT and ITes sectors, distinct roles have emerged such as corporate HR, business HR, generalist HR, techno – functional HR, etc. The job holders in these roles are expected to give different â€Å"deliverables† as related to their functional aspects. It is pertinent to note that a 1998 survey by center for effective organization at university of southern California’s Marshal School of business shown that 79% of HRM managers describe themselves as â€Å"business partners† and 53% of line managers agreed that HR managers are now performing the roles of business partners. Thus, today HRM is getting well embodied into business functions such as marketing, finance or operations. This can be, in a way, considered as a starting point of HRO, because, from this, emerges the need for HR function to work smart for business results – whether by doing functions and activities all on their own, or by getting some of them done through outsourcing. Additionally, it also puts pressure on HR function to find â€Å"partners† who can â€Å"take over† specific transactions and processes at a lower cost. In this way, HR will get focused on â€Å"tangible† results (which was one of the complains against HR in the past). Thus, to some extent, it will help free up time for core-HR activities that result in improvements which positively influence the bottom line. A word of caution though that it may not â€Å"free up† time, and should not free up too much time. After all, HR is essentially a personal touch button of the organization and too much outsourcing might result in lack of personal touch and decreased human interaction which may frustrate the employees. HRO Evolution: HRO is always an evolutionary exercise for the organization. Initially, companies are reluctant to outsource, they prefer to do every act in the own backyard. As the organization grows in terms of its life cycle, slowly, â€Å"experimentation† phase will begin when they start outsourcing certain simple transactions or processes. Sometimes, they may even take a parallel run with the vendor. When the experience is positive and as they make progress, companies may make decisions to penetrate further into the HRO space. According to Everest Research institute’s annual HRO study, the most commonly outsourced HR functions include: †¢Pay roll †¢Benefits †¢Employee data management †¢Info systems †¢Contact centers. As the companies find that there are substantial benefits from outsourcing, they feel attracted to go in for deeper penetration. Thus, it is possible to categorize companies adopting different levels of HRO in their organization. (See Table 1) Table 1 LevelActivities OutsourcedType of HROBenefits 1Admin services, pay – roll, pension, PF mgt. , etc, temporary staffingTransactionCost efficiency 2L1 + training, new employee induction and executive searchProcess†¢Standardization †¢Cost †¢Replication of good practices 3L1 + L2 + campus hiring, online assessments, HR audits, employee surveys etc. Function†¢Quality †¢Cost, benchmarking etc. HRO in Indian Business The debate on HRO in India still hovers around the following questions: ‘Has HRO really arrived in India? ’ ‘Are we missing the HR outsourcing bus? ’ ‘Should companies outsource their HR functions? ’ We also seem to be aware that â€Å"The New Mantra is HR Outsourcing† In this maze of debates and arguments, some facts need to be cleared. â€Å"HR outsourcing in India has not seen the required momentum and is limited to trickle effect, with companies outsourcing a few selected, low end HR processes† – Says Anil Mahajan in an interview for an article on HRM. In India, most common outsource processes are related to training, pay – roll processing, benchmarks studies and legal compliance. Some HR consultants feel that in Indian HRO scene, quality is an issue. It is reported that some MNC’s wanted to outsource end to end HR solutions, but could find a suitable vendor and hence decided to set up its own outsourcing centre. While many experts in the field believe that there is a good scope for HRO in India, it is a fact that our present share in the global market of US $ 80 bn. is only a minuscule. Estimates show that size of HR outsourcing in India is about US $ 2. 5 – 3. 5 bn. But another study shows flat markets in HRO world wide between 2005 – 2007 but 2008 promises to be different! In the flat world of today, as India becomes more and more global in business and economy it will be a compelling need for companies to resort to outsourcing in the interest of survival and growth. Thus, even though, as of now, HRO in India has not caught up sufficiently time is right for making rapid strides to catch up and make best use of the opportunities presented by the wave of HR outsourcing. HRO as Double – edged Weapon: In India, we are fortunate to have the double advantage of HRO as we all know, HRO operates in an environment where there are abundant takers and abundant givers. HRO activities have two edges – one as the service provider and another as a client who is outsourcing the process / transaction. At present many Indian companies are acting as service providers as a natural step, India with its vast millions of English speaking, trainable youth who are willing to learn and serve clients as and idle platform to take on the HRO wave. Thus, India may finally become the outsourcing centre for HR services. The growth in the HRO itself may trigger further developments. Any HRO companies may, in turn, begin to outsource some of their process to another service provider. Thus, a virtuous HRO business cycle may get activated. After all, â€Å"We Are All in Services Now† (Prof. James Teboul). According to him, the process, people and credibility are 3 key elements in the making of value proposition. People interaction may place a sort of limitation on HRO spreading without a human face! The basic tenet of HR philosophy should be that HRO must be implemented with utmost regard to â€Å"Human face† of activities being outsourced. This is because of the uniqueness of the HR issues. There cannot be a straightjacket solution for all human issues hence human interaction element needs to be always kept in mind and given a priority. We need to get over certain drawbacks as a community of employers in order to benefit from the HRO wave. If we have to shape up, good future we need to know aht we should to and what we should not so that our progress is never stalled. Hence, it is necessary to appreciate the barriers identified for the spread of HRO in our country. The following are some of the barriers identified in literature on the subject: †¢Cultural shift and top management thinking †¢Confidentiality and cost factors †¢Lack of awareness on cost-to-benefit equation of HRO †¢Quality of end results. A word or two about each of these barriers will clear the aspect. Cultural shift requires us to trust and be trusted. The two parties’ involved, namely service provider and client, need to trust each other not only about confidentiality but also about the capability to delay it. Many employers and top management feel that it is better to have own HR persons dealing with all the issues instead of outsourcing. Reasons may be many for such outlook, but there is a need to change in order to think professionally and ethically. If we can trust an advocate or a doctor or the tax consultant, why not HR service provider? Confidentiality and cost factors relate to the ability of HR service provider to handle information professionally and confidentially. Ethics both personal and corporate – play a great role. If we think proper work ethics can be created through good leadership, we need to develop and nurture such leaders appropriately. Lack of awareness among persons about cost / benefit equation needs to be overcome by education right from the top level to look at HRO as a hard core business option and to quantify the benefits correctly. Lastly, quality issues need to be addressed again through building a quality culture by following the total quality management (TQM) practices. Internal and external customer orientation among all and education and training for all on TQ practices and bring about improvement in quality. The Indian experience of TQM is quite satisfactory in this regard and there is a bright chance of success for improving the quality aspects of HRO. Preparatory Activities: While is it necessary to be clear about changes that we need to make on an individual or a company basis, it is equally important to focus on the preparations needed by us a community of service economy. For any service economy to grow, especially in the network era of today, there is a need for adequate preparation so that ultimately, the environment of business responds favorably to the needs of the market. In this regard, certain preparatory activities have to be undertaken immediately. The various activities for this purpose can be broadly classified as: †¢Infrastructural †¢Educational †¢Business/ operational †¢Social Under each of these, there are various elements that have to be taken under consideration. The following matrix will show these points clearly. As most of these items are self explanatory in nature, a detailed description of individual items is not done in this article. However, it has to be emphasized that these sub elements are very important contributions to the climate of HRO in a microeconomic sense. The elements given in the matrix are only illustrative and are not exhaustive. Preparatory activities needed for HRO Infrastructural / Technical †¢Telecommunications and network accessibility †¢Roads †¢TransportEducational – Training Related †¢Curriculum in colleges †¢HRO training centers †¢E – Learning transactions / process Counseling centers Business Related †¢Performance parameters †¢Quality measures †¢Feedback †¢Relationships / Cultural sensitivitySocial †¢Quality of the work – Life balance †¢Stress management †¢Time management †¢Security at workplace Conclusion: In conclusion, it may be said that HRO is going to slowly but stead ily become a part of business strategy. HR professionals will drive the initiatives of HRO, of course with support from top management. The time is now ripe for HRO to succeed in view of HRM being seen and treated as an important element of business resources in the service economy of today. Certain new roles have emerged which confirm this position. Though the Indian share of the revenue pie today is very small, there is a very good possibility of our riding high on the HRO wave that is round the corner. As a community, it is necessary to identify barriers and identify the changes or adjustments we need to make as individuals and companies. As HRO operates as a subset of BPO and overall business environment, certain preparatory steps need to be taken as a community in general. With all this, it is possible to ride high on HRO wave in the next few years.

Frankenstein and 2001 Comparison

Emotion and Human Destruction In both 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, man tries to create something more advanced than mankind. But, even though they are more advanced, they are less developed. The creations in both of these works have one major flaw, and that is that they cannot control their emotions. The creation called HAL 9000 in 2001 is a supercomputer designed to learn at incredible speed and calculate thousands of important facets on the voyage of Discovery.The monster in Frankenstein created by Victor Frankenstein also had the capability to learn at incredible speeds, had superhuman abilities, and became so smart that he could have rivaled his creator. However, neither HAL nor the monster had the mental capacity to control the amount of power their creators had given them. This becomes the main conflict in both of these works. From the emotional decay of these powerful creatures, we come to an ambiguous conclusion: Emotions will always lea d to the destruction of humanity.Happiness is one of many human emotions. Oftentimes, life events stimulate how happy we become. Furthermore, the need to find happiness and overcome obstacles is a need all humans have. There are a certain number of attributes that acute for a humans overall happiness. To name a few, things like living conditions, overall health, wealth, and relationships with other humans. The monster in Frankenstein had none of these things. He quotes, â€Å"Here then I retreated, and lay down happy to have found a shelter, however miserable, from the inclemency of the season. (Shelly 94). And later it quotes, â€Å"I possessed no  money, no friends, and no kind of property. † (Shelly 101) The monster had terrible living conditions; his diet consisted of nuts and berries, he had no money, and he had no friends. This led the monster to be extremely unhappy. And when humans are unhappy, they become jealous of others happiness. With happiness come jealously, an emotion we all pretend we never experience. But, when a human sees someone who is happier than they are, they instantly become jealous.They want what that person has, and they will do anything to get it. The monster is a pure example of this . He quotes, â€Å"†I lay on my straw, but I could not sleep. I thought of the occurrences of the day. What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people; and I longed to join them, but dared not. † (Shelley 93) The monster wanted human companionship, but he felt the humans would not accept him since he was ugly. This is why he talked to DeLacey first. DeLacey was blind, and could not discriminate against him.The monster basically pleads for acceptance quoting, â€Å"This, I thought, was the moment of decision, which was to rob me of, or bestow happiness on me forever†¦I sank on the chair, and sobbed aloud†¦`Now is the time! –save and protect me! You and your family are the friends whom I seek. Do no t desert me in my hour of trial! ‘† (Shelly 111) When the rest of the family came in, Agatha fainted, Sophie ran, and Felix beat him with a stick. This robbed him of his chance to be happy. He was jealous of the fact that every human could have friendly interactions, but he was doomed to loneliness forever.The monster now realized he could never be happy. This enraged him, and hatred became his fueling emotion! Hatred is the most prevailing emotion. It consumes people and turns them into the violent human beings who they actually are. The monster cursed the human race, and vowed revenge quoting, â€Å"My feelings were those of rage and revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery. (Shelly 113) The monster did in fact get his revenge. He hated the fact that Victor had close friends and loved ones, yet he had nothing.This made the monster turn to violence, and he killed everyone close t o Victor. 2001’s creation, HAL, has a different emotion which leads to his downfall. That is the emotion of pride. You see, pride is a feeling of pleasure from one’s own achievements. HAL was very prideful. You can glimpse it from this shot conversation HAL has during an interview: INTERVIEWER: HAL, you have an enormous responsibility on this mission. You're the brain, and central nervous system of the ship, and your responsibilities include watching over the men in hibernation.Does this ever cause you any lack of confidence? HAL: Let me put it this way, Mr. Amor. The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error. Here, HAL takes pride in the fact that his 9000 series model has never made an error. But when HAL predicts a communication relay to go down, a 9000 computer on Earth says HAL is wrong with his predic tion.HAL quickly disbands this as human error, since HAL now sees himself as better than human. HAL also thinks that he is better capable to carry out the mission than anybody onboard. When HAL hears he may be disconnected, he goes berserk and kills everyone onboard until David Bowman shuts hit down. HAL’s downfall was because he had too much pride. We see this in the modern world all the time; people thinking they are better than others because of their achievements. In the pursuit of happiness, somewhere along the way, people will become jealous of others.They will want something someone else has, and they may not be able to get it. This in turn will cause them to hate or resent that person. They may lash out against them with words, or like the monster, will do whatever they can to strip that person of their happiness. But suppose you do become happy and rise to the top? The people in power almost always become prideful and abuse that power. Take dictatorships for example. They end up abusing their power, and think they are better than others. Ultimately, emotion is humanities greatest weakness.

College Admission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

College Admission - Essay Example One of the assets that benefits a new college student is cultural capital. Students who come from a family that has a tradition of college education have an advantage in knowing what to expect when they arrive at the college gate. In addition, they have been aware of how to prepare for college, which high school courses to take, and how to write an admissions essay. Leibowitz defines cultural capital as "an attitude of certainty and entitlement, which is close to 'recognition' or the sense of being recognized as a learner" (265). This additionally adds to the motivation of the student as "social and cultural capital have a positive effect on student persistence in postsecondary education" (Wells). This advantage can mean the difference between persevering in the face of adversity, or dropping out after struggling for one semester. Failing to prepare for college is the number one cause of failure in the academic setting. Students not only need to learn what to study, they need to be instructed on how to study. High schools with low numbers of students who plan on college usually don't spend their time instructing the senior class on how to write a college essay. For the few that do get accepted and enter college, the rigors of the courses can be overwhelming. According to Contreras, "When they are presented with college-level work, they think they have landed on Mars without a dictionary. The world of learning is a foreign land to them". New students will need to be skilled at writing, reading, research, and critical thinking. Many of these activities are considered non-essential activities in many of our poorer schools. Take a look at the high school that the student attended for a good predictor of the potential for success at college. In addition to the social capital and preparation that helps guide a student in their selection of an appropriate school and a major, there is the pragmatic challenge of getting accepted. Limited numbers of openings often mean some people are eliminated. People who have had less of an advantage in preparing for the SAT or honors courses, may be rejected and repeat the family's history of failing to attend college. This has often been a disadvantage of people that are challenged by their racial or ethnic, minority, or socio-economic status. Affirmative action policies have attempted to compensate for this inequality in the educational system. However, it has been the subject of decades of debate. Ill-prepared students will naturally do poorly on the SAT, while more affluent students will have access to individual instruction on taking this critical test. However, "When a task force in 1977 recommended discontinuing the SAT, many professors were suspicious of what they perceived to be an "anti-testing" bias; they thought that affirmative action was undermining standards and that criticisms of the SAT were just a part of racial politics" (Snares). Many universities have attempted to incorporate both test scores and diversity as measures of the contribution to the institution as well as markers for probable success. In conclusion, the most important tool that a student can have when they arrive at their first year of academic exposure

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and Customer Satisfaction Essay

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and Customer Satisfaction Strategy - Essay Example However, with the incorporation of IMC, the marketers have perceived that an effective strategy relies on the integration of messages into various media. Nowadays, online marketing has been widely used by marketing teams due to the consumers’ demand for technology. Traditional media such as newspaper and magazine have low market share and audience reach when compared to interactive media. Thus, the advertisers rely mostly in online advertisements to reach diversified users as part of the company’s marketing goals. This paper analyzes the advertising strategy of Nike Incorporated in the IMC perspective. It examines the alignment of marketing goals to the marketing strategies of the company that aim to satisfy the consumers with their products and services. Furthermore, this will entail the method of measuring the effectiveness of advertising and the level of customer’s satisfaction. Organizational Background Nike is a Greek goddess that signifies victory. Indeed, the brand name is known for its high quality products in the area of sports. Before Nike originated, the business name was Blue Ribbon Sports which was established by American manufacturers in January 25, 1964. Nike is focused on marketing the sports categories including apparel, equipment, footwear, and accessory products. It has been associated with different trademarks such as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, and Nike Skateboarding, plus the brand extensions like Converse and Cole Haan. Moreover, Nike is known for the swoosh sign or the wing of Greek goddess where its name derived. The â€Å"Just do it† advertising slogan adds to the popularity of Nike in the sports section (Deng, 2009, p. 102). Media Plan Advertising Strategy Nike is known globally due to its marketing strategies in broadcast and print, and the recent innovation that enables to reach wide audience is the internet. Nike aims to â€Å"sell a global brand through marketing that appeals to local taste (Goldman & Papson, 1998, p. 4). That’s why, they have unified slogan, themes, and advertising message. Furthermore, to become the leading manufacturer of sports products, Nike envisions itself to carry the legacy of innovative thinking through creative modification of the message and services (Nike, 2011). For an instance, Nike has recognized of the male superiority imposed by the brand image of Nike; hence, they reach women’s athletes to erase the negative identification by creating fashionable footwear and using advertising to convey their message. Due to the successful assimilation of Nike’s slogan, it aims to continue the â€Å"Just Do It† principle into â€Å"Just Done It† which signifies the purpose of this company to persuade consumers. To sustain its brand image as the leading sportswear manufacturer, Nike advertises its products through partnership with the sports icons such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, and Lebron Jame s that represent strength and determination. Nike communicates their message in TV commercials by using humor that appeals to consumers. In addition, sports magazines are ideal tools for Nike, since they have a specific target audience. Few examples are Runners World, Backpacker, and Midwest living. The low cost advertising strategy is outdoor advertising where Nike utilizes billboards located in a traffic area and bus stops. Moreover, the most innovative approach to consumers is interactive marketing wherein Nike

Obamas health-care law still faces challenges after presidents Essay

Obamas health-care law still faces challenges after presidents reelection - Essay Example This is by imposing fines to those who do not take the health insurance cover. It further proposes that the state shall pay for all who are poor and for those who are elderly and are below the poverty line. This law also permits the state to fund abortion to reduce deaths caused by abortion. Despite the aims by president Obama to ensure that all American citizens have health insurance cover, Obama’s bill has received a fair share of criticism from all sectors. The first challenge on PPCA comes from Supreme Court as it termed Obamacare unconstitutional. This is because Obamacare go against the commercial clause. The Supreme Court termed the law void and null, as it was unconstitutional to compel anyone to take the health insurance cover. The other group that opposes this law is the Association of the American physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), who claim that the laws have less importance to the health care sector in general. They further claim that the law will prove expensive and costly in the end this is because of providing free care to those who are less fortunate. The quality of the health care will also reduce since free market system is not free to operate. Another group that opposes obamacare is the Congressional Budget Officers (CBO) (Dan, 2012). CBO claims that the law will become a burden to many citizens; since many citizens are yet take the health insurance cover, hence this will make access to health care to be difficult. The fi nes imposed to those who have not taken the health insurance cover will prove to be a financial burden to many citizens. This law is suitable for the American people. This is because it aims at preventing death to all American citizens. This is because if all citizens get the health insurance cover then there is reduction in cases of people dying because of lack of access to quality healthcare. The law will also ensure that all employers secure medical insurance cover for

Local Lawsuit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Local Lawsuit - Essay Example In addition, Bill Gates instructed Andy Grove to close Intel Architecture Laboratories (Liebowitz & Margolis, 2001). These labs maintained Intel’s internet software engineering. Gates wanted Intel to incorporate its internet sources in a web server linked to Microsoft’s Tiger program. This means the web server would have less effect on the market, produce low sales, and include Intel to Microsoft’s web server tools. Intel’s concerns went beyond Intel’s creation of Native Signal Processing technology. The Native Signal Processing technology was a component of software that combined with both the hardware and Windows OS so as to support 3D graphics, real time video, and real time audio. The main aim of this technology was to give clients audio-visual occurrence that was equal to television. Therefore, Microsoft attempted to stop Intel from developing the Native Signal Processing technology (Liebowitz & Margolis, 2001). These actions led to the lawsuit involving the United States and Microsoft. Microsoft Corporation management could have adopted a number of methods to evade the issues that led to the lawsuit. First, Microsoft management should have allowed Intel to continued utilizing Windows for developing their microprocessors (Liebowitz & Margolis, 2001). They could do this without requiring alignment with Intel’s communication and internet software programs. Nonetheless, the management could draft rights for a part of the developed microprocessors. This could give them a legal right to own a component of whatever Intel developed. Microsoft’s management could have shared the company’s application programming line with Intel or any other additional party. These third party corporations could gain full access to Microsoft’s source code, systems, and records (Abramson, 2005). Gates wanted Intel to incorporate its internet sources in a web server linked to Microsoft’s Tiger

Access to Higher Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Access to Higher Education - Research Paper Example This paper stresses that access to higher education has tremendously improved since independence. This is well highlighted in this excerpt. The level of access has been greatly underscored by the provision of loans to learners, the aids that have been given to the institutions of higher learning by that state as well as individuals. This has been coupled by investment in education sector. The federal government has equally been supportive of guaranteeing that there is greater access to higher education. The provision of academic infrastructure too, cannot be ignored when it comes to bolstering access to higher education too. The author declares that student loan debt levels have been on the rise, this has been coupled with an increase number of student defaulters. These challenges pose a great burden in society. This report makes a conclusion that noble policies, programs and processes in education have contributed largely to the upsurge in attainment of higher education. The pursuit of fulfillment in the rank and file of academic ladder has also pushed most learners to acquire higher education in spite of the challenges that come with it. Opportunities that are in most cases seriously envied by most members of the society are attained by merit founded on degrees obtained from higher institutions of learning. These in general have led to a consistent increase in the number of enrollment in the universities. In summation, a number of factors and modalities have been in place to speed up the realization of higher education access as one of the rationales of education

Managing Property Businesses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing Property Businesses - Essay Example The stock market is always right and price is the only reality in trading. If you want to make money in any market, you need to mirror what the market is doing. If the market is going down and you are long, the market is right and you are wrong. If the stock market is going up and you are short, the market is right and you are wrong. Every market or stock that goes up will go down and most markets or stocks that have gone down, will go up. The more extreme the move up or down, the more extreme the movement in the opposite direction once the trend changes. This is also known as "the trend always changes rule." If you are looking for "reasons" that stocks or markets make large directional moves, you will probably never know for certain. Since we are dealing with perception of markets-not necessarily reality, you are wasting your time looking for the many reasons markets move. A huge mistake most investors make is assuming that stock markets are rational or that they are capable of ascertaining why markets do anything. To make a profit trading, it is only necessary to know that markets are moving - not why they are moving. Stock market winners only care about direction and duration, while market losers are obsessed with the whys. Stock markets generally move in advance of news or supportive fundamentals - sometimes months in advance. If you wait to invest until it is totally clear to you why a stock or a market is moving, you have to assume that others have done the same thing and you may be too late. You need to get positioned before the largest directional trend move takes place. The market reaction to good or bad news in a bull market will be positive more often than not. The market reaction to good or bad news in a bear market will be negative more often than not. The trend is your friend. Since the trend is the basis of all profit, we need long term trends to make sizeable money. The key is to know when to get aboard a trend and stick with it for a long period of time to maximize profits. Contrary to the short term perspective of most investors today, all the big money is made by catching large market moves - not by day trading or short term stock investing. You must let your profits run and cut your losses quickly if you are to have any chance of being successful. Trading discipline is not a sufficient condition to make money in the markets, but it is a necessary condition. If you do not practice highly disciplined trading, you will not make money over the long term. This is a stock trading "system" in itself. The Efficient Market Hypothesis is fallacious and is actually a derivative of the perfect competition model of capitalism. The Efficient Market Hypothesis at root shares many of the same false premises as the perfect competition paradigm as described by a well known economist. The perfect competition model is not based on anything that exists on this earth. Consistently profitable professional traders simply have better information - and they act on it. Most non-professionals trade strictly on emotion, and lose much more money than they earn. The combination of superior information for some investors

Post-war inequalities in British health and education Essay Example for Free

Post-war inequalities in British health and education Essay Poverty or low disposable income often results in an inadequate environment and not only for the obvious lack of resources such as books, pens and paper. Damp housing can have severe effects on health resulting in lower school attendance rates, or low concentration levels if child is often feeling unwell. Not having an allocated area to study is also an important factor. Kellet and Dar (2007) discovered that in low income areas where housing was cramped, children claimed that Television was a distraction from homework because of the noise Other distractions in the home environment were smoking, swearing, banging and loud music. Also that homework clubs were vital to the success of children from disadvantaged families. This study was performed by children, with the guidance and research techniques of sociologists, there for it is perceived as having a deeper and more honest insight in to childrens issues. Other class factors resulting in underachievement may be less obvious. Values differ between class perspectives and affect a childs motivation. Bowes et al (1990, p119) states that working class children are more likely to leave school as soon as they can, to find a steady job. Where as the middle class value differed gratification and Socialise their children in to wanting to remain in education in the hope of a better job when they do leave. This was confirmed by the Child Development survey, which found middle class students staying on at school and achieving better examination results. The Home and The school study (1964) found that the degree of parents interest in their childrens education was the single, most important factor affecting attainment. (Haralambos et al, 2004, p102). It found that Middle class parents visited school more and were generally more interested in their childs education. It also states that an upper middle class child was five times more likely to get in to grammar school than a child from the lower working class. Further more most of the working class pupils who were successful, came from homes where the mothers were sunken middle class. They wanted their children to do well and expressed much parental interest, Bowes et al (1990, p119). This is because parental interest not only has a direct affect on the motivations and values of a child, but also on the school environment. Middle class parents, who often have more spare time and disposable income to invest in fundraising and extra curricular activities, can raise the standards of a school immeasurably. Making school a fun place to be, that is enjoyed by all the family, creates the positive learning environment that children thrive in. Quite understandably most working class parents are to busy earning a crust to find the time and energy to invest in such endeavors and as such adopt an Education is the schools job attitude. It is also understood that language has had a negative affect on the working classs academic attainment. Professor Basil Bernstein has shown that the middle and lower classes use different patterns of speech. He called these patterns linguistic codes. According to Bernstein, most middle class children have been socialised in both restricted and elaborate codes, and are fluent in each. Whereas working class children are limited to the restricted code. Since teachers tend to be middle class and use the elaborate code, working class pupils are placed at a distinct disadvantage. There is also explanation for underachievement to be found in the hidden curriculum of a working class teacher, that is the subliminal messages he passes to children without intention. The cultural depravation theory states that children in the bottom classes are deprived of important values, attitudes, experiences and skills which are essential to educational success, (Haralambos et al, 2004, p102). This has been strongly criticised and there is evidence that if class differences in culture exist, they are slight and of little significance.

Success of most international organizations

Success of most international organizations INTRODUCTION International project teams has been argued to be a key factor in the success of most international organizations(Heimer, 1994). Many factors have been attributed to this and they include; Rich cultural diversity leading to different ideas been generated by the respective team members thus bringing together knowledge and skills from the different countries that make up the team. In this paper, we will attempt to define an international project team, the advantages and limitations of such a team, conflicts that may arise, and finally we will propose the main lessons derived from working in an international team using a case study. Definition: Makilouko(2003) suggested that for a team to be called an international project team, it must fulfil either of three main conditions which are; its members must have different backgrounds working in the same country, or its members may work in different countries but meet on a face-to-face basis, or its members may be based in many countries but coordinate their meetings through electronic media. Heimer(1998) proposed that the difference between an international project team and other teams is as a result of the cultural differences present in such a team. These cultural differences result in differences in the process of communication, leadership and the way the team members work together(Snow et al, 1996) Group 4 is an ideal multicultural team made up of four team members from four different countries i.e. Nigeria, Malaysia, China, and Thailand, who are managing presentation projects in the same country. CHOICE OF LEADERSHIP The role of a leader in an international project team involves managing not only the hard aspects of the project i.e. technical details, but also the soft aspects of the project i.e. the human resources aspects. The management of these two objectives interchanges throughout the project lifecycle(Snell et al,1993). In an international project team, no one individual may possess all the necessary attributes needed to lead the team, hence the concept of collective leadership has been proposed by Freidrich et al(2009). Collective leadership process means that each member of the team showcases their skills and expertise at different aspects of the project lifecycle. This concept was corroborated by Hanschild and Kirchmann(2001) who alluded to the benefits of collective leadership. The Group 4 team adopted the principle of collective leadership in the management of the assigned projects. One member of the team volunteered to be the administrator in charge of organizing team meetings while the other members led the team in project areas they where good at. A member of the team led in information technology aspects, another member led in presentation slide design, while a third member was in charge of proof-reading the final slides for errors. This process of collective leadership ensured the collective participation of all project team members in leading the team and reduced the friction involved in choosing a particular person as a group leader. TEAM PROCESS Iles and hayes(1997) suggested that unlike other teams, international project teams require greater team building processes as a result of the cultural diversity present. These difference in culture can lead to the success or failure of the project if not well managed. Dreachshin et al(2000) proposed that two major aspects of the team process that is affected by cultural diversity are communication and conflict management. Communication Maznevski(1994) report that effective communication is the key to ensuring that a culturally diverse team is well integrated. Iles and Hayers(1997) also suggested that for cohesion to occur in an international project team, the individuals who make up the team must develop strategies to communicate across their differences. Heimer and Vince(1998) also agreed with this notion by proposing that multi-cultural teams that ensure that non-native speakers of the teams language can contribute are more effective on the long term even though initially they may work slower. At the preparation stage of the different presentations, we where able to address the challenges of communication by developing a communication strategy with the contribution of all team members. The strategy addressed the questions of When, What, and How do we communicate?. The basis of the strategy involved the use of multiple modes of communication in order to ensure understanding from non-native speakers of English. In order to do this, we deployed the use of information technology e.g. regular emails that provide a summary of the minutes of the meetings, and also utilized language translation websites like Google Translate ® for language translations. We also ensured that during meetings, we generate feedback from non-native English speakers in order to confirm that the points discussed have been understood. Conflicts Bercovitch(1983) proposed that conflicts in multicultural teams tends to occur when 2 or more parties have personal objectives that are not compatible with each other hence leading to them behaving differently. This view alluded to that proposed by Thomas(1976) which suggests that conflicts are inherent in every team process. Thomas(1976) also proposed that conflicts within teams are inherently bad and should be avoided at all costs. Jehn(1994) disagreed with Thomas(1976) negative perception of conflicts and proposed that conflicts that occur as a result of cultural differences in the way a task should be managed actually do lead to an improvement in team performance. The main reason why conflicts tend to occur in international project teams has been proposedto be as a result of mistrust and miscommunication among the team members(Trandis et al, 1965) In Group 4, the process of decision making was a participatory style in which every project team member is given equal time slots during meetings to make his/her proposal to the project plan. This style helped to address conflict that may arise from depending on a single or few dominant team members. The disadvantage of having the participatory style is because it gave rise to another conflict in choosing the particular members opinion that should be adopted by the Group. The way this was managed is by adopting a collaborative conflict management style as proposed by Thomas(1976). The aim of using this technique is to be able to merge aspects of all the different opinions and perspectives of the different team members into a single project plan. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF GROUP 4 The key strength of the Group 4 team rests on the cultural diversity of its members. This diversity led to a large amount of different ideas been generated on how different tasks should be managed, the varied nature of the ideas occurred as a result of the unique cultural experiences of the individual members of the team and it provided a rich pool of information to source from. Another key strength of the team is the collective leadership style adopted which ensured participation of all team members and removed the destructive tendency of having a single leader dominating other members of the team. Finally, a third strong point was our adoption of the multimedia approach to delivering presentations as compared to the traditional slideshows. Our main objective for using this strategy was to promote understanding of the message and also to entertain the audience. The key weakness or bad points of Group 4 was exhibited during the last two projects whereby team members showed signs of complacency as a result of previous successes recorded. The efforts put into research was lower than the initial couple of presentations but rather, a lot of subjectiveness was used in developing the final projects. The reasons proposed for this included ongoing assignments from other modules, as well as family and job constraints. NEXT TIME In the event of my participation as a team member of a multicultural team, I would suggest that rather than sending emails of the proposed project plan back and forth among team members, we should have an Online repository/Store in which team members can log in independently and have access to/modify the project plan. In adopting this system, what we are trying to achieve is to have a rudimentary project plan which is continuously been updated by team members irrespective of their current location or language differences LESSONS LEARNED Tuckman(1965) proposed that groups typically go through a series of changes in development which he termed Form, Storm, Norm, Perform. My participation in this international project team enabled me to actually visualize and appreciate this stages taking place. The Hofstede(1980) study highlighted that cultural differences among project team members is a major factor which if not managed properly can lead to the success or failure of international projects. He proposed that conflicts that arise among international teams should be investigated from within the cultural context. The lesson learned in this case is that we are all culturally different and this differences leads to different perceptions about the way issues are managed. The effective use of multimedia during project proposal presentations help to promote understanding. This is achieved because it appeals not only to the brain of the audience but also to the emotions. Hence, an ideal project presentation will be one that effectively challenges the audiences to see, feel, hear, smell, and touch what the presenter is talking about. This is a strategy I intend to adopt in future presentations.

Human Resources Planning at Tata Consultancy Services Limited

Human Resources Planning at Tata Consultancy Services Limited About the Company: Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS). Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS): is a software services consulting company, one of the largest provider of information technology and business process outsourcing services in Asia. Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is a flagship subsidiary of one of Indias largest and oldest conglomerate company, the Tata Group, which has interests in areas such as energy, telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, chemicals, engineering, materials, government and healthcare. 2.1 Analysis of business factors in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) The major factors that are taken into account while planning the human resource planning are: -Schedule of available resources -Skills of available resources Some of the minor factors: -Personality conflicts among the employees -Attendance History of the employees -Team player -willingness to work on given project Additional major factors: -Production forecasting -economic conditions which may cause the company to lay-off or cut-back, or increase their workforce. Issues in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) The compensation management practices of Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) have taken as the major issues here. Their compensation management system was based on the Economic Value Added (EVA) model. By implementing this model in to the business, the salary of employees comprised of two parts of fixed and variable. The fixed salary will reach employees without any delay, but the variable part of the salary was arrived only after considering business unit EVA, Corporate EVA and also individual performance EVA. Based on this calculation, the employees can earn their salary. In the last quarter of the financial year 2007-2008, Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) has announced that it is in the critical situation, so as it has planned to slash 1.5% of the variable component of employees salaries since its EVA targets were not met by the third quarter of the financial year. This announcement is not only for Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) employees but also to the entire Indian IT industry. 2.2 Assessment of Human Resource Requirements in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) The Company viewed their employees as their assets, so they have more concentrated on the efficient utilization of those assets. Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) had drawn criticism for its compensation structure. In view of the employees, the salaries were not on a par with industry standards. It has started to loss its employees as not in the situation to follow the Employee Stock Options (ESOP), which is being followed by its competitors. ESOP is one of the emerging tools to retain the employees with the Tata Consultancy Services Limited for a long time. In this situation, the management was collapsed with the current policies, and it tends to modify the strategies as per their norms in order to meet employees requirements as well as the targets setted by the company. To overcome the problem occurred, it is suggested by the Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) senior management to constantly keep the employees track of the vast intellectual assets, their skill sets, the status of projects on which they were working. Then, they have started to assess the required number of people available to be placed in the other new projects. 2.3 Developing human resource plan in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) The human resource plan can include the assigned skill sets of the resources for a project and the degree in which they will be used. The plan should incorporate with the resources, the time and degree of usage, task or areas of applied resources. The following model relies on gap analysis and which links the human resource planning to overall business planning. Workforce Analysis in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) It is the process of analyzing and understanding the workforce and planning for projected shortages and surpluses in specific occupations and skill sets. In Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS), workforce analysis should be made based on their projects. So that only they can realize the needs to assess the further requirements or improvements what is to be made to the current plan. Internal Scan in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) What are the factors which affecting the Tata Consultancy Services Limited internally, that is to be identified. Then the required steps can be taken to create a solution and to enhance the HR capacity in order to meeting the Tata Consultancy Services Limitedal goals. The internal factors may be as: work environment, quality of work life, relationship with their peers/subordinates, etc., In Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS), internal factor which affecting HR capacity might be their compensation structure. Definitely, it will lead to create a problem while attaining the goals. So that, the grievances must be monitored by the management and also they should take preventive measures. External Scan in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) External scan means all environmental factors in which affecting the workforce capacity, HR priorities and emerging issues. Gap Analysis in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) After scanning the external factors, gap analysis can be made. It may consider the current and future HR needs. Priority Setting and Work Plan in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) Based on Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS)s priorities, environmental scan, and HR performance related data: major human resource priorities, strategies to achieve the desired outcome. Monitoring, Evaluating and Reporting in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) The human resource plan ends up with monitoring and evaluating the workforce capacity and then reporting the results of the performance to measure performance, set targets, and finally the results can be integrated together to make decisions and to determine the future priorities. 2.3 Evaluation of Human Resource Plan in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) The above developed human resource plan can be implemented by Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) to overcome the above said problem. There are few things that apply to most human resources planning functions, and are important in making the process effective, or even to make it part of creating a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Human resource planning needs to be linked with the larger business planning or strategic planning process. It is not an end up process. The function is mean to support and enable the company to attain its business goals, so as such it needs to be linked to and driven by those business or strategic goals. HR planning is lead by the HR department and it should remember the whole process is to serve stakeholders and customers of the HR department. It cant be effective without an understanding of the company or Tata Consultancy Services Limited, its managers and employees, its mission and issues, etc and the environment in which it works. 3.1 Purpose of HRM policies in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) Human Resource Management policies are the tool for communicating a companys basic management philosophies, commitment to fair employment practices and equal opportunity, and the expectations of employees. HR Manuals are primarily used to provide HR personnel with a systematic approach for handling human resources related activities to ensure company policies are enforced. It is designed to define policies and procedures that support basic management philosophies, outline company rules and requirements, clarify the companys expectations of its employees, and describe lines of authority and levels of responsibility. The HR manual provides a means for formalized, systematic documentation and communication of those policies and practices established by the company. HR policies ensure that everyone in the Company/Tata Consultancy Services Limited is treated fairly and consistently and that their contributions to the success of the Company are appropriately recognized and rewarded. All employees shall be fully aware of what the Company expects of them and what they, in return, should expect from the Company. HR Policies summarize the Companys responsibility to individuals and their responsibility to the Company. 3.2 Impact of Regulatory Requirements on HR Policies Every country has its own regulations, laws and regulatory bodies or agencies governing the manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution of products within the country. Also, every employee of the Company shall, in his business conduct, comply with all applicable laws and regulations, both in letter and in spirit, in all the territories in which he operates. The impact of regulations on policies of firms especially those who are technology-based limits the venture capital funding for these firms and affect what they can or intend to do and eventually limiting their capabilities to employ new hands thereby affecting the socio-economic fibre of the society.

Stress and Fear on the Western Front, Illustrated in Sheriffs Play, Journeys End :: Literary Analysis, Literary Criticism

'Journey's End' by R.C. Sherriff is filled with very tense scenes throughout the play one in particular and the focus point on this essay is Act Two scene One, which endeavours to educate the audience about the true horrors of life at the front. Sherriff, who was wounded at Passchendaele in 1917, wrote from his experience of the war. He creates scenes that are very realistic, and because of his experiences, it helps the audience to believe the play more and understand the difficulties the soldiers faced. The title, 'Journey's End' creates a negative image immediately. It implies death, the end of life and the loss of innocence. Act Two scene one shows this in great depth, as Sherriff uses methods to re-create the overwhelming stress of trench warfare. He describes every aspect of the trenches, the guns and the whole life to emphasises the tragedy. With this understanding of the trenches, the reader are helped in imagining what it must have been like to live there. In the play, R.C Sheriff looks into the characters in the dug out, Fear within this play takes a dramatic impact on most of the play it also shows how different people in the same situation coped in the first world war, Humour, Alcohol, or Normality before the war. Act Two scene One looks into the emotions of the characters especially the officers, Stanhope, Osborne, Raleigh, Trotter, Hibbert and the cook Mason, an example of this is trotter he hides his emotions by being humours with mason as he keeps his mind on food ‘Trotter: well there’s nothing like a good fat bacon rasher when your as empty as I am, Mason: I’m glad you like it fat sir. Trotter: well, I like a bit O’ lean, too’, this shows that the writer is showing the reader that people dealt with stress and fear in different ways, however when comparing this to Stanhope he copes with all this stress and fear by drinking ‘sitting on the bed was Stanhope drinking a whisky’ this shows the audience how people dealt with stress and fear even if they were in completely different ways. R.C. Sheriff uses the character Osborne another officer in the dug out differently as Osborne is not a character in which shows the fear and stress in which he is going through instead he try’s to avoid a conversation about the war and tries to drag the conversation on to something else to remind himself of normality, his life before the war started ‘made me think about my garden†¦, Trotter:.

Pietro DiDonato’s Christ in Concrete Essay -- Essays Papers

Pietro DiDonato’s Christ in Concrete Pietro DiDonato’s Christ in Concrete is a powerful narrative of the struggles and culture of New York’s Italian immigrant laborers in the early twentieth century. Jerre Mangione and Ben Morreale, in their historical work La Storia, state that "Never before or since has the aggravation of the Italian immigrant been more bluntly expressed by a novelist" (368). A central component of this "aggravation", both for DiDonato as an author and for his protagonist Paul, is the struggle to reconcile traditional religious beliefs and customs with the failure of that very same faith to provide any tangible improvement in the immigrants’ lives. Through Paul’s experience, we observe the Catholic institutions lose influence and effectiveness as Capitalist ones, manifest in Job, take their place. While doing this, DiDonato also illustrates essential aspects of Italian (specifically southern) Catholicism and the pressures placed upon it by the American environment. The novel opens by introducing Paul’s father Geremio, his mother Annunziata, and Job. Geremio is a construction crew supervisor who struggles to improve his family’s condition, and even though he has been making progress, he still wonders how much more will be exacted from him. A religiously faithful man, he asks God for guidance: "Is it not possible to breathe God’s air without fear dominating the pall of unemployment? And the terror of production for Boss, Boss, and Job? To rebel is to lose all of the very little. To be obedient is to choke. O dear Lord, guide my path" (13). Geremio articulates the conflict he feels between Boss and Job, which rules his earthly life, and the struggle of his spirit. The pressures have not crushed his faith,... ...ave either seen, survived, or know of. Yet, when they need help, there is nowhere else to turn. Paul doesn’t arrive at Job, doesn’t decide to dedicate his life to it, as his first choice. He only does so after other institutions, namely the Church, fail to provide assistance. As a result, Job naturally becomes the central all-powerful force in the lives of the laborers. It is to Job they go every day, and to Job that they dedicate themselves. As the Church failed to help them materially, it also often fails to help them spiritually beyond encouraging them to accept their plight as fate. Once arrived at this state, it is a natural consequence that Paul loses his faith God and the Catholic institution as they are supplanted by the Capitalist institution of Job. Though he resents and wishes to break free from Job, he sees no alternative, it is all that is left to him.

How is Benedick presented in the scenes leading up to this point?

In these two extracts, Shakespeare provides two very different presentations of Benedick. The first: misogynistic, marriage-fearing Benedick which he projects to his audience. Second: the warm-hearted, love-sick Benedick who, despite his fiery demeanour, is very much in love with Beatrice. In the first part, Benedick soliloquises about the man who â€Å"dedicates his behaviours to love† is a fool, and the irony of becoming the â€Å"argument of his own scorn.† This pre-empts the drastic change in Benedick's behaviour later in the scene. Already we see a confident flurry of long, complex declaratives, signalling a kind of gusto to Benedick's emotions: he clearly feels strongly about this issue. However, the fact that he must say these things to himself may serve to highlight his insecurity with himself. It is quite obvious from earlier points in the play that Benedick is wholly uncomfortable with his feelings towards Beatrice and tries (unsuccessfully) to hide these feelings. In the next few lines, Benedick contrasts battle imagery such as â€Å"good armour† with softer, more romantic objects, such as a â€Å"new doublet.† This serves to illustrate his contempt for Claudio's utter turnaround. His tripling in this section further emphasises both Benedick's views, and indeed his own issues. The fact that he must use persuasive techniques such as parallelism suggests that he himself cannot truly bring himself to believe his apparent viewpoint. Benedick ends with a long list of characteristics which he wishes to see in his dream woman. Although utterly fantastic in terms of realistic prospects, it nevertheless contrasts with Benedick's view earlier in the narrative, where he insists that he will â€Å"die a bachelor.† His dogmatic disposition is obviously being broken down in small steps. The comment suggests that Benedick is not as opposed to the notion of taking a woman as he may be trying to convey; it is more a reluctance to settle for less, as it were. As we shall see, Beatrice proves to be this catalyst for his transformation. The second extract follows the planting of the idea that Beatrice is in love with Benedick into his mind, by Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato. Once again, Benedick launches into an excitable monologues, consisting of a few very long declaratives. This certainly displays a lot of excitement on his part, and the fact that he uses an interrogative, a rhetorical question (â€Å"love me?†), shows a disbelieving sense of glee and does much to counteract the pessimistic Benedick from a few lines earlier. In conjunction with his earlier soliloquy, Benedick attempts to dismiss his earlier ideas, stating that â€Å"a man loves the meat in his youth, that he cannot endure in his age.† He seems to think that it is acceptable that he can change his views drastically over the space of a few minutes without any sort of continual repercussions. His metaphor serves as a hyperbolic piece of irony, the imagery not befitting the very short space of time that Benedick is describing. As Beatrice enters, we see Benedick misinterpreting her words in a very optimistic manner. He believes that her words truly confirm her feelings for him and fails to see the absurdity of his thoughts. The transformation, if you will, is complete. Benedick even goes so far as to recite some of the qualities listed and how they are apparent in Beatrice. Again, the use of tripling is effective, but here instead to show a rush of revelationary excitement that his slim hopes have been realised. Overall, the second extract serves to prove the insecurity conveyed in the first. Shakespeare presents Benedick as unsure and unnecessarily dogmatic, and this is confirmed by his behaviour in the second part. In the scenes leading up to this, we see the establishment of Benedick as the witty cynic, at odds with traditional values. I believe that Shakespeare's initial presentation of Benedick goes in stark contrast to his true character. In the first scene, he is called â€Å"a good soldier.† The later war of wits with Beatrice, and his misogynistic advice to Claudio and Don Pedro very much establishes Benedick as a â€Å"man's man,† if such a thing existed in Elizabethan times. However, I believe that this is merely a faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade, and that he does have a pretty clear motive. It seems to me like the reason for Benedick's disposition is, put simply, Beatrice. He is confused and frustrated at his feelings towards Beatrice, and attempts to counteract them through his words of scorn. Quite clearly, the other characters see through this, and this is what leads them to trick him later. Another aspect of Benedick's personality, his insecurity, also seems to stem from Beatrice. At the party scene, he shows exasperation at her description of him as a â€Å"jester† and â€Å"dull as a great thaw.† Benedick clearly cares about Beatrice's opinion of him, no matter what his exterior may suggest. His short monologue at the end of that scene is once again one where interrogatives are used in order for Benedick to reassure himself. Benedick is seen to have a sharp-tongued speaking style interspersed with witty metaphors and riddles. This singles Benedick out of someone with a high level of intelligence, but it also immediately identifies him as a counterpart to Beatrice. His militant anti-marriage stance is mirrored by hers, and his words of advice to Claudio convey his emotions in flowery prose, perhaps suggesting a reluctance to disclose any true information about himself. Overall, Benedick is presented as someone who is heavily influenced by Beatrice, and it seems that it is her actions that shape his personality, and define him as a character. Obviously, this is consistent with the narrative, and goes a long way to explain Benedick's sudden change of heart in Act 2 Scene 3.

Investments Essay

Checking account is a type of investment to manage personal finances that has both advantages and disadvantages. The primary advantages of checking are to save fees charged by storefronts that offer check cashing services and easy accessibility to funds by writing on checks compared to carrying cash. The disadvantages of checking accounts are overdraft fees when the balance is less than the maintaining balance and less security than ATM cards since it only requires a signature. Money market account offers advantages to account holders to hold emergency funds and money for periodic payments. A higher rate of interest is also offered compared to other types of accounts. Its disadvantages are limited transactions to only 3 deposits and 3 withdrawals every month; potential investment loss since only $250,000 is insured by FDIC; unguaranteed interest rate due to fluctuation; risk of spontaneous spending due to easy accessibility; and risk of withdrawing funds leading to a minimum balance especially when the account is tied to a checking account. Passbook savings account offers the advantages of safety as covered by U. S. federal government insurance companies (FDIC and NCUSIF); immediate access to funds based on the needs of the account holder; and it offers a fairly small interest. Its disadvantages are the limitation on federal insurance of a maximum of $250,000 coverage and the lowest interest rate of passbook accounts compared to all types of savings account. The interest also is subjected to tax returns for the depositor. Certificate of deposits additionally has advantages and disadvantages. It offers flexibility of the terms starting at three months up to five years or more. It means the longer the term, the higher interest rate the depositor will receive at the end of the term. Another advantage is the grace period it offers. Depositors are given commonly a seven-day period to come to a decision whether to extend the term or not. Its disadvantages are the interest rate is fixed, penalty fees when the deposit is withdrawn before maturity date, and automatic rollover when the depositor missed to make a decision on or before the grace period.

Military Spending in the US Essay

The majority of college students in the US today, do not know what it is like to live in a nation that is not at war, and this is no different for myself. One of my own memories in elementary school was the attack on the world trade center on 9/11. I am sure that I share that memory with many others. Throughout our lives, we have known our country to be one that is constantly fighting with another. As I grow older, I realize how surrounded we are by issues concerning our military presence in other countries. I also begin to feel the consequences of our actions as a country. Much of our politicians’ time and effort is put into figuring out how to â€Å"bring our troops home† or how to â€Å"support our troops† while still keeping taxes down. In the end it is the American public who are funding our war with our taxes as well as paying the consequences with things such as raised oil prices. For my research paper I am going to discuss American military economics; it’s effects on the American public, and our current presidential candidates’ stances on military spending. The military budget is a portion of the United States’ federal budget. It is used to pay the salaries, training, and health care of military personnel. It is also used to maintain arms, equipment, facilities, funds operations, and develops and buys new weapons. According to the Department of Defense Budget for the 2010 fiscal year, the president’s base budget for spending on overseas operations was $663. 4 billion. The 2009 U. S. military budget accounts for approximately 40% of the total global arms spending. The US’s 2012 budget is 6 to 7 times larger than the $106 billion of the military budget of China. It is greater than the next twenty largest military spenders combined. Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts claims â€Å"if we do not make reductions approximating 25 percent of the military budget starting fairly soon, it will be impossible to continue to fund an adequate level of domestic activity†. Some argue that now is not the time to cut military spending. Republican historian Robert Kagan argues, â€Å"A reduction in defense spending this year would unnerve American allies and would be taken by the world as evidence that an American retreat has begun. The increased military spending since 9/11 has stimulated the US economy to a degree. However the jobs and income that it has created is offset by the massive increase in debt created. According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the defense budget has increased from $432 billion in 2001 to $720 billion in 2011, an increase of around 67 percent. Increased military spending has been funded almost en tirely by borrowing. There are many reasons why the debt has grown so much since 2001. These reasons include tax cuts, increases in other government spending, and the largest postwar recession the US has experienced. However, military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have raised annual deficits by about 1 percent of GDP, a trend that is expected to continue through 2020. Since we decided to borrow money instead of increasing taxes or cutting other spending, if war spending continues as forecasted, the country can expect to have paid about $1 trillion in interest by 2020. If the investments in the military over the last decade had been made in U.  S. education, it would represent an 18. 5 percent boost in terms of capital improvements nationwide. This would finance the investments in public school facilities required to return the country’s schools to good condition. Traditionally the Republican Party has been the more inclined towards increased national security and previous presidential candidate Mitt Romney described Obama’s plan as a â€Å"hollowing out† of the military. 2012 running mates Ryan and Romney make the point that it is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that are the majority of the deficit. Though they are right, the American public still wants to cut spending even more than the $487 billion already cut by the Obama administration. Romney and Ryan had a plan to go in the exact opposite direction if they had won the election. They planned to boost defense spending by $100 billion, or nearly 20% in 2013. The Republican Party, otherwise known as the grand old party or GOP, traditionally follows Ronald Reagan’s stance on national defense. That stance is represented by the motto of peace through strength. Today, that means protecting America’s homeland by confronting terrorism and maintaining a defense against arising threats of nuclear power. The Republican Party is fully committed to America’s Armed Forces to make sure that they are prepared for any challenges they may need to face. While the United States is involved in various international organizations, which serve the cause of peace and posterity, the Republican Party argues that these organizations must never substitute for principled American leadership to protect our vital national interests. All of the information I gathered about the GOP’s stance on national defense was pulled directly from their official website, www. GOP. com. Current president Barack Obama has sought to end the war in Iraq and accelerate the transition in Afghanistan in part to lower defense costs. He has proposed a number of defense cuts over the next decade. Rather than following the words of a president who was in office over 20 years ago and during the cold war, the Democratic Party feels that as our threats have evolved over the years, so too should our ability to respond to them. President Obama has made significant steps to restore America’s image around the world by rebuilding strategic alliances with countries that share our values and face common threats. As far as the situation overseas, the President plans to bring home 10,000 troops by the end of this year, 33,000 by next summer, and complete the transition by 2014. Just as I did for the Republican Party, I got all of this information directly from the official website, www. democrats. org. What originally inspired my interest in this subject is when I began to notice issues such as how much our educational system is suffering across the nation. Also, with a little bit of research, I learned that the NASA budget has been cut about a billion dollars in the last three years. Yet, at the same time, the military budget is increase by about the same amount as the entire NASA budget. Maybe it’s just my nature, but I feel that it is a huge waste of time and assets to be spending most of our money fighting other countries, when we could be exploring and making discoveries for the betterment of mankind. As I mentioned earlier, the US has funded all of our wars solely on borrowing, and we have racked up quite a large amount of interest in doing so. On the other hand, a paper written by Douglas A. Camstock, Director of Innovative Partnerships Office, NASA Headquarters, and Daniel P. Lockney of Innovative Partnerships Office, NASA Headquarters, the return rate for NASA research can be as high as 32 times the initial investment. At the very lowest, they estimate that for every dollar invested in NASA, there is a return of at least seven dollars as a result of technological advances. Not only is the lack of support for research a shame for the curious minded, but it is bad fiscal planning as well. Single bombs can cost the military about one million dollars each. Here in the state of California, an average teacher’s salary is about $40,000 a year; this is one of the states with the highest averages. For the price of one bomb or missile, twenty-five teachers can be paid to work for a full year. It doesn’t take a professional economist to tell you that investing in education is well worth it. Educated adults grow up to become working, contributing members of society. Politicians seem to always be looking for ways to create jobs. What better way than for an educated individual to go out and become an entrepreneur, start a business, and hire people to work for them? A study from the University of Massachusetts in 2011 says that for every billion spent in education, about 26,700 jobs are created. Among the different departments that were researched were health care, clean energy, tax cuts, and of course education and defense. Of those five, the military had the least amount of jobs created per billion spent at 11,200 jobs. Once again, it doesn’t take an economist to recognize a poor investment. Over the course of my research paper, I learned about the details of our defense budget and military spending trends in the US as well as our overall deficit. I also found the effects that war has had on the American Public as well as on our economy. During the election I paid close attention to our current presidential candidates and their plans for our defense budget. Only the future will tell if these trends continue or whether our president will take action against our deficit and the fate of national security. I was also able to look into what sparked my interest on the topic in the first place. I got to compare our spending on the military with other departments like education and NASA research. With the President’s plan to begin our transition out of the Middle East in these upcoming years, we will see if we begin a shift to a more progressive, intellectually motivated America. As a member of our educational system as well as a proud American, I sure hope we do.

How is Richard II portrayed in act I? Essay

In Act I of Richard II, Richard is portrayed as powerful, pompous and arrogant, all somewhat contrastingly to his portrayal towards the end of the play. We see even as early as Act I glimpses of Richard’s fatal flaws and the crucial mistakes he makes which determine his dramatic fall. The genre of the play is historic tragedy, so the audience know the main protagonist; in this case Richard; is doomed from the start. So, in Act 1 Shakespeare’s portrayal of him is not only purposeful for his fall, but also hugely ironic, making his descent to †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ even more dramatic. Immediately in Act I, Richard’s power and authoritative presence is apparent. The setting in Windsor Castle is a very formal occasion, as Richard gives Bullingbrook and Mowbray a formal hearing. It is really overblown and grandeur setting for the opening scene and so even before any speech, Richard is perceived as being powerful and omnipotent. On stage Richard, is central and stationed upstage to observe the proceedings. When he descends from his raised platform (which was traditional) and walks downstage to stop the proceedings later in the scene, he travels quite a distance on stage, reinforcing his pivotal place on the stage and in the political picture. These proxemics physically symbolise how Richard was the most powerful, which is extremely ironic as at the end of the play the roles are reversed as Bullingbrook defeats Richard. Richard is then the first character to speak, and refers to Bullingbrook and Mowbray by ‘Henry Hereford’ (I/I/3) and ‘Duke of Norfolk’ (I/I/6), making it seem very occasional and formal, so he appears as the voice of authority and as he is the first character to speak, it again re-emphasizes his ascendency. Alongside the first scene being a hugely occasional event, whereby Richards importance and authority is greatly established, is it written in rhyming couplets; likewise the rest of the play. Richard II is the only one of Shakespeare’s plays not written in prose, which gives it a sense of importance and authority. As the title of the play is Richard II, this then dramatizes how much power Richard initially had and so how much was at stake. As king of England in the 14th Century, Richard along with the majority of his people believed in the Divine Right. As we can see by his use of the royal ‘We’(I/I/24) ‘us’(I/I/24) and ‘our’(I/I/84), by this he is referring to himself and God, which shows Richard’s arrogance and audacity, as he refers to himself with a heightened sense of authority. However, as the Act continues we realise that although Richard is King of England so along with the title comes extraordinary wealth and power, Richard is not all that powerful and authoritative. When he uses the metaphor ‘Rage must be withstood/ Give me this gage. Lions make leopards time’ (I/II/173-4) here he is trying to assert his dominance and gain back control over the hearing as Bullingbrook and Mowbray demand a fight. He is reminding them of his pre-eminence, which makes him seem not only egotistical but shows his lack of control especially following Mowbray’s reply; ‘Yea, but not change his spots’ (I/II/175). His undaunted and scintillating response show is lack of true and honest respect for Richard, aside from formalities. It shows Richard’s lack of intrinsic power if a noble can under-mine him, and feels the need to knowing what the consequences may be. Not only is the whole play written in poetic rhyming couplets, but much of Richard’s speech is written very poetically and Shakespeare uses a lot of colourful and figurative language in his speech. By ‘face to face’ ‘brow to brow’ ‘the accuser and the accused’ Richard is repeatedly using mirroring imagery to re-enforce the idea of the ‘standoff’ coming between Bullingbrook and Mowbray, but also signifies the ultimate standoff between himself and Bullingbrook. However, this repetition creates a racy rhythm making him sound arrogant and pompous. From Richards continuous use of dramatic and poetic language, we can see he is not a man of action; a conclusion which is supported as in Act I Scene I he stands away and watches Bullingbrook and Mowbray fight, he is higher than them, symbolically and physically. Also, by him stopping Bullingbrook and Mowbray’s joule ‘Let them lay by their helmets and their spears/ And both return back to their chairs again’ (I/III/119-20) he looks effeminate and weak. Although he has an extraordinary flair for poetry but this appears to be his fatal flaw, he relies on language and words rather than traditional war and action. This is totally contrasting to Bullingbrook’s characterisation in Act I, he is willing to fight Mowbray till death ‘And as I truly fight, defend me heaven’ (I/III/41), he is a man of action and it is this which ultimately leads to Richard’s fall and defeat. However, this is somewhat ironic as his failing is words, but Shakespeare himself is a man of words and beautifully poetic language, which makes his failing and collapse even more dramatic as it is totally un-expected for his audience. As well as seeing Richard’s dependence on words and poetry we also are also introduced to another of Richards fatal mistakes. In Act 1 Scene 4 we see Richard in a completely new light, when Bushy informs him of Gaunt’s deteriorating health and the fact he is close to death, instead of feeling grief or any malice or despondency his first thought is of his inheritance. His response is cruel and heartless, only focusing on his financial gains from Gaunt’s death, ‘The lining of his coffers shall make coats/ To deck our soldiers for these Irish wars. ’ Gaunt’s inheritance is right-fully his son’s, Bullingbrook, so by taking it Richard is giving Bullingbrook a reason to avenge and try to destroy him. Not only does this make Richard seem brutal and callous, but also narcissistic and gallant as he does not even consider Bullingbrook’s reaction. As Richard believes he is God’s representative on earth, he sees himself as ‘untouchable’ impenetrable, so Bullingbrook’s anger does not matter as he cannot defeat him as he is protected by God- an idea certain to make Richard fall, and clearly apparent to the audience. Overall, Richard’s portrayal changes throughout Act I as his flaws and cracks begin to show. He is shown to be authoritative and powerful initially but we then see him to not be as powerful as he believes himself to be. However, there is no doubt that he is egocentric and contemptuous, apparent through his exaggerated self-opinion.

Semi-conductor Devices and Circuits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Semi-conductor Devices and Circuits - Essay Example The other terminal of the secondary transformer provides the negative. The load is cut across by the resistor. Figure 2 Voltage and current waveform of a half-wave rectifier Voltage relationship The half-wave rectifier states that the load voltage vL is Vdc and expressed in the following diagram. The load voltage is equal to 0 and the angular frequency of the source is w = 2? = T. This is expressed in the following diagram. From the diagram above, we can get the half-wave: Half-wave Vdc = Vm = 0.318Vm ? I.2 Full-wave rectification The full-wave rectification can be produced in two types: the center-tapped and the bridge rectification. I.2.1 The full-wave center-tapped The full-wave with center-tapped transformer has two diodes acting as half-wave rectifiers and whose negative ends are connected to the two terminals of the transformer secondary. The two diodes provide a full-wave output. The DC currents of the two half-wave rectifier diodes are equal and opposite. (Lee & Chow 2011, p. 150) Figure 3 Schematic diagram of full-wave rectification with center-tapped transformer secondary I.2.2 The bridge rectifier The bridge rectification uses four diodes to provide full-wave rectification, and this does not use a center-tapped transformer. The bridge rectification uses four diodes to provide full-wave rectification, and this does not use a center-tapped transformer. The rectification is done in such a way that the current flows D3 and D4, conduct when the negative half-cycle.... The positive and negative half-cycles of a full-wave rectifier are expressed in the following formula. The full-wave is: Vdc = 2Vm = 0.636Vm ? I.3 Zener regulator Most application of zener diode is as shunt voltage regulator; its specific role is to regulate the load voltage. There are various uses or applications for a zener diode, such as: 1. Voltage regulating element in voltage regulators 2. Protector in a circuit 3. Zener or voltage limiter Figure 5 The application of zener diode in a regulator circuit is shown in the figure below. In this circuit, zener diode is used as shunt regulator. The zener diode compensates for the variation in load current; the zener drifts with the temperature. The drift characteristics are given in many zener diode datasheets. Its load regulation is adequate for most supply specifications for integrated circuits. It has a higher loss than the series-pass type of linear regulator because its loss is set for the maximum load current. The zener shunt reg ulator uses a simple formula where input voltage is greater than output voltage; the output is controlled by the zener diode. The zener shunt regulator is typically used for very local voltage regulation for less than 200mW of a load. A series resistance is placed between a higher voltage and is used to limit the current to the load and zener diode. I.4 Switching and amplifier circuits for transistors An ordinary transistor has three terminals for the base, emitter and collector. When it is in the OFF position, the output comes from the collector of a common-emitter stage. A digital circuit usually operates in two modes. (The transistor amplifier n.d.) Transistors are used for switching and amplifiers in circuits. In digital logic, transistors have the ability to switch

Reasons and Ideas of Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reasons and Ideas of Democracy - Essay Example Democracy in the modern age is best known by the notion, of a people’s governance style. Usually, a government stands at the epitome of authority and is most likely able to govern its people in accordance with its interests, whether good or bad, preferable or not. Democracy, in the ancient times, was first realized among the Greeks in the early century. The word democracy, in Greek, is a two-word meaning â€Å"the people† and â€Å"to rule†, thus can be seen as a rule governed by the people. At the time, the Greek were closer to their people and better at communication than any other country in the world. The monarchical system was viewed as probably the worst to use in governance. In their governance, everybody was involved in making decisions that affected the country. This made them the most civilized nation then. Greek at the time had not embodied democracy maximally as women were still serving as slaves. Fifty years later, this was no longer the case since women slavery was slowly diminishing, thus embracing full democracy. This idea of democracy was later adapted by several countries but hugely by the Romans. Their government was divided into two branches and issues were voted on in order to make sure that democracy was maintained. In the eighteenth century, several ideas had become prevalent. This was especially enhanced by Christianity that teaches that everyone is equal before the eyes of God. This idea of equality became deeply ingrained by the people, and hence a crucial way of determining how decisions were to be handled in government. Some people may view democracy as the best form of governance while others may see it as the worst form of governance. Freedom has been seen as an essential point of governance especially that Democracy is consisted of it. This makes it the best form to use in governance. Democratic nations have people with freer options as compared to those that use autocracy. These rights include voting for the system of power and determining decisions that impact the country. Other include, working as the opposition in criticizing the government and freedom of speech and expression. The representative democracy started when colonialists wanted a fairer system of taxation, thus including representation of people to be able to have a say in the governance of the country. America may not have followed in the Athenian form of democracy but the representative seemed to work really fine, especially in recognizing people’s rights. While in Cairo, president Obama expressed the different forms of democracy within the United States and showed how they may be embraced by other nations in embracing peace. He showed how ideology was recognized for making democracy more effective as a system of governance. The White House, (2009), in the speech that president Obama delivered in Cairo, the president explains how democracy has helped eliminate religious wars and instill peace within his country. He states that the United States, being amongst the most