Monday, September 30, 2019

Progressing Through Life

Progressing in life could be one of the most difficult things that a person will have to face during their lifetime. The troubles and problems that they encounter helps them to develop as a person, but also puts them through extraordinary pain. Denis Waitley a man known globally for counselling some of the world's most famous athletes, said a quote that could relate back to developing in life. He said â€Å"Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.†In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, developing as a person is portrayed in several different ways through the main character Amir. As a child Amir faced conflict between his father and himself mostly because he was trying to find a way to learn and connect with his father to help him figure out how he wants to live. As he enters his teenage years he experiences evil in this world first hand, something some people will never see. Le arning to control himself and realize how to handle it is a major step for most people.Later when he enters adulthood he begins to take responsibility and puts others ahead of himself. Helping those who cannot help themselves is a considerate and remarkable thing to accomplish in life. During a human’s childhood they face a lot of self realization and this causes most kids to be confused as they are proceeding through the early stages of their lives. Amir's father makes it very challenging for Amir to develop as a child because he does not have very much respect for Amir and does not acknowledge him enough. â€Å"This is grown-ups time.Why don't you go read one of thosebooks of yours? † (Hosseini 3). This quote shows how Amir’s father ignored him like he did not exist. This caused Amir to get very frustrated with his father because all he ever wanted was to be accepted by him. Another point that relates back Baba not loving loving Amir as much as he should, is w hen Baba is talking to Rahim Kahn. They are talking about how Amir never sticks up for himself and Hassan has to do it for him. â€Å"Self defence has nothing to do with meanness. You know what always happens when the neighbourhood boys tease him?Hassan steps in and fends them off. I've seen it with my own eyes. And when they come home, I say to him, † How did Hassan get that scrape on his face? â€Å"†¦ † he fell down† I'm telling you, Rahim, there is something missing in that boy. â€Å"( Hosseini 18). This quote shows us how Baba has very little respect for Amir because he believes that he does not know how to stick up for himself and this causes Baba to ignore him more than he already does. This is not completely Amir’s fault because he has never been taught how to stand up for himself.This is Baba’s job, as a father and role model, to make sure he knows this. There is also a time when Baba tries to reach out to Amir and give him the chanc e to impress Baba but Amir fails to impress him. When Baba puts Amir into soccer, he is hoping that Amir will take an interest in it. Amir likes the idea so he tries it out, but when he does he finds out that he is not good at playing soccer and he cannot get through this athletic challenge. He is unable to keep up and his dad gets frustrated so he takes him out of it and tries to see if watching the soccer will be better for him.For the first few weeks Amir fakes being interested in it and his dad soon catches on that he has no interest in it and wants to give up on him. (Hosseini 15). Amir feels as if he has not inherited any athletic ability from Baba and this makes him feel even more discouraged than he already is. All Amir ever wanted was to get his father’s approval and he fails to do it in almost every situation as a child. As Amir entered his teenage years he faced the evil in the world first hand. Amir witnessed an event that could scar any person for their entire li fe.When Amir saw Hassan get sexually assaulted he did not engage in the situation to try and help his friend Hassan. Amir stood by and watched his best friend surrender to the boys who sexually assaulted him. This situation relates back to the first point in this paragraph because if Baba would have taught Amir how to stick up for himself and his friends, he could have tried to stop or prevent this horrible circumstance. This situation relates to the point because if Amir would have prevented the sexual assault then he would not have felt so guilty and lost his best friend.If this situation never happened it could have change his life completely. After Amir watched his best friend get sexually assaulted, this stalled his growth as a child because he was feeling very guilty and did not know what to do with himself. (Hosseini 61). This is demonstrated during the fight between Amir and Hassan at the pomegranate tree. Amir throws a pomegranate at Hassan trying to get him to throw one ba ck at him because he wants to feel like he is even with Hassan again but Hassan does not react.Instead Hassan smashes one on his forehead to show that he is loyal to Amir and does not want to hurt him like Amir hurt him. (Hosseini 78). These last two examples shows how Amir is developing and maturing as a person because he now knows what he should do in a situation like that if it ever happens again and it also teaches him how he should be loyal to every person you are close to in life. In Amir’s later teenager years his father decides to move to America to get away from all the evil that was starting to happen in Kabul.He thinks that this is a good choice for him and Amir because it will give them the chance to start a new life in a different country. ( Hosseini 93) This is a turning point in Amir's life because he gets a chance to live in a different environment and take all of the knowledge he has gained and apply it to his new life. When Amir enters his adulthood he conti nues to mature and starts to apply everything he has learned through his experiences while growing up as a child and teenager. After Amir finds out that Hassan has passed away, his first instinct is to go and save his son Sohrab.Amir returns back to Kabul and finds out that Sohrab is under the control of the Taliban. As Amir finally finds Sohrab he is faced with the leader of the Taliban which is the man who sexually assaulted Hassan as a child. Amir then sacrifices himself for Sohrab and takes a beating from the leader and escapes with Sohrab later on. (Hosseini 247). This is showing that Amir has figured out that he has to put others before himself sometimes in order to make them happy and do what is right. It is a major step for Amir because he has not done this before.After Amir rescues Sorhab from the Taliban he brings him to a hotel so they can stay together until he brings him back to America. The morning after they settle at the hotel, Sohrab runs away to a Mosque and Amir h ad no idea where he went. Amir then started to panic because he knew that Sohrab was now his responsibility. Amir then asks the man at the front desk several questions until he mentions the Mosque and Amir immediately ran there hoping to find Sohrab. He finds Sohrab there and has a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders because he has found him, and knows that he is okay. (Hosseini 271).As Amir stays with Sohrab he is trying to get the papers which allows him to enter America. When Amir first meets the man trying to help him get Sohrab into America he faces a major issue that becomes an obstacle. The man tells Amir that Sohrab will not be able to leave Kabul until Amir gets proof that he is the uncle of Sohrab. (Hosseini 290). This brave challenge would have been extremely difficult for Amir to handle previously but since he is now very responsible and mentally stronger, he now works hard and does what is necessary to make it possible for Sohrab to come back to America with Amir.Am ir has grown and developed significantly since his childhood and now realizes how he can have in impact on other people’s lives if he really puts his mind to it. Mary Engelbreit once said, â€Å"If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. † Developing in life is a very difficult challenge for most people, but for some it is something that they can do overnight. In this novel it is close to impossible for Amir to develop in the main stages of his life because of the type of person he is.In his childhood he tries to get his fathers approval, but later finds out that it will be a lot more challenging than it may seem. As he enters his teenage years Amir exposed to the worlds evil first hand. He witness' an event that he could have changed but fails to do so because of his lack of knowledge. Then when Amir becomes an adult he finally starts to figure out how to take the responsibility for others and put ot hers in front of himself in order to make them happy. Amir finally develops in life and puts everything that he has learned to the test. Amir has come a long way and now can say that he is a fully developed man.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Great Gatsby: What Makes Daisy So Attractive?

â€Å"Her voice is full of money† (Fitzgerald, 120). This quote, said by important personality Gatsby, explains Daisy’s character and demeanor. Daisy Buchannan is one of the main characters in the novel The Great Gatsby. The wife of Tom Buchannan and the dream of Jay Gatsby, Daisy embodies the immoral and shallow values of the upper class East Egg. Although she is not very sincere, to most Daisy is attractive, beautiful, and sexy. What makes Daisy so inviting? She makes a man improve for her in order to get what they want, she has standards and she wants the best, and only the best. Since the beginning, Jay Gatsby has been madly in love with Daisy, or the thought of Daisy. Gatsby only knew Daisy for one month before he was deployed to war. Is one month enough to fall in love with someone? Five years later, Gatsby still believed that he was in love, and he conceived a new persona to make Daisy come back to him after she married Tom. â€Å"You're acting like a little boy†¦. † (Fitzgerald, 88). This was a quote that the narrator, Nick Caraway, said to Gatsby about how he was acting around Daisy. Jay Gatsby knew to get Daisy back he would need to become the absolute best, the richest, the most handsome, and the most charming. It might have been the challenge of being superior to the rest that was so appealing to Gatsby or it could have been Daisy’s dead-as-a-doorknob personality. The real question is, Is Daisy worth it? What makes Daisy so appealing to smart men such as Gatsby? Is it the challenge of becoming the best, or is it something else? Jay Gatsby wasn’t the only one who thought Daisy was worth more than perceived. Her husband, Tom Buchannan also believed that Daisy was a prize. To Tom, it seemed, that Daisy was a trophy wife, someone he could show off, not care about, come back, and she would still be there. What brought them together was money, the thing that they both loved and had in common. Nick summed up her love for money well, â€Å"She wanted her life shaped now, immediately—and the decision must be made by some force, of money†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Fitzgerald, 151). Daisy didn’t care about who she loved more when she had to pick Tom or Gatsby; she cared about the money while she was making one of the biggest decisions of her life. To Tom, Daisy was a beautiful woman who he would love to have for his wife. Tom and Daisy were alike in that way, neither of them cared about personality or values; they cared about their reputation. It wasn’t Daisy’s disposition that made Tom marry her; it was her looks and reputation that he found attractive. Daisy Buchannan wasn’t one of the brightest aristocrats in East Egg to say the least. Her ditzy nature might have been cute to some, but it was obvious that it was more than just a darling quality. Daisy had no common sense, if a man was looking for just looks (like Tom), Daisy was the girl to go to. Her comment to Gatsby, â€Å"I’d like to just get one of those pick clouds and put you in it and push you around† (Fitzgerald, 94) made readers re-think why Jay Gatsby would be so far in love with her. â€Å"She never loved you, do you hear? She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. † (Fitzgerald, 130). There must have been something special about Daisy for Tom Buchannan and Jay Gatsby to have such strong feelings for her. Whether it was her looks, her dimwits, or her money she had what other women would die for, two of the richest and most known men in East Egg fighting over her. What makes Daisy Buchannan so attractive? To some, it’s her looks, the thought of what she might be like, to others it’s her money or her innocent ditz, and certain people might even find her repulsive. The readers of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby will take strong stands on Daisy and her character.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Management paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Management paper - Essay Example The book is a collection of various case stories that are divided into two parts labeled Opportunity and Legacy. From these stories Malcolm Gladwell draws his conclusions. The book has attracted both strong support and strong criticism, but many of the author’s ideas are extremely interesting and thought provoking. 1) The Introduction to the book deals with small town of Roseto in Pennsylvania that had a far lower incidence of heart disease than neighboring towns. The better health of the population was unrelated to diet or other lifestyle reasons or genetics. The reason was identified as the strong family ties amongst the people represented by several generations living together. These ties were ingrained in the people from the practice in the Italian region from where they immigrated. 2) The first chapter of the book is titled â€Å"The Mathew Effect† from a biblical quotation that says that those that have shall be given even more while those that do not have will have even the little that they have taken away from them (Gladwell, 2008, p15). Gladwell quotes a study in the mid-1980s of Canadian hockey players which found that in any team, the majority of the players were born in January, February or March compared to the later months of the year. The reason for this was found to be the system from the school age where age group teams were formed with a cutoff date of January 1. The children born in the first quarter of a year are on average bigger and more developed than children born six months later. The older children get selected into teams and given coaching in preference to younger children. 3) Chapter two of this section is titled â€Å"The 10,000- Hour Rule† and makes two separate points. Software pioneers like Bill Joy and Bill Gates had the opportunity to work on software programming for over 10,000 hours. The then expensive computer access time was made possible due to

Friday, September 27, 2019

THE IMPACT OF THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ON EMPLOYEE Essay - 1

THE IMPACT OF THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE ON EMPLOYEE TURNOVER WITHIN A RETAIL ENVIRONMENT - Essay Example The study will measure quantifiably by use of assessment tools. The research question is: Transformational Leadership: Transformational leaders are able to inspire followers to by granting individualized attention to their followers, considering their needs and abilities, playing an especially important role in the followers† growth and development (Robbins & Judge, 2005; Zacharatos, Barling, & Kelloway, 2000). Idealized influence: A form of leadership behavior that results in leaders becoming role models for their followers. The leaders are admired, respected and trusted. Followers identify with the leaders and wish to emulate them (Bass & Avolio, 1993) In idealized influence, behaviour of the leaders is very influential and it makes the followers to walk on the path chosen by the leaders. Thus the leaders are followed willingly by the people. Inspirational motivation: Leadership behaviors that motivate and inspire followers in their work by providing a challenging work environment. Leaders provoke followers to imagine an attractive future for themselves (Bass & Avolio, 1993) Intellectual stimulation: Strategy the results in followers becoming more innovative and creative within an organization. (Bass & Avolio, 1993) The characteristic of Intellectual Stimulation in the leaders exposes his or her ability to stimulate the intellectual capacity of the people. Those who are really genius and their intellectuality and knowledge is definitely a blessing for the attainment of the organizational goals then the leaders motivate such people to use their intellectual potentials for the growth of the organization. Individualized consideration: Individualized consideration is also one of the characteristics of the transformational leaders. It is the leadership strategy that empathizes an individual employee’s needs. It concentrates on individual’s achievement by positioning them as mentors and coaches to help them realize their potential. The

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Juvenile Justice System Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Juvenile Justice System Process - Essay Example During the decision making stage, where the arresting officer is still trying to make contact with the parents or making transfer arrangements, federal regulations require that the juvenile being held at adult penitentiaries be kept away from adult inmates (Neubauer & Fradelia, 2009). The law also stipulates that they should be removed from the adult facilities within six hours of arrest. The third stage is the transfer of the case to the juvenile probation department. Here the intake officer will then make a decision whether to dismiss the case, handle it informally or he may propose a formal hearing. Most of the Juvenile cases about 50 percent of them are dismissed (Neubauer & Fradelia, 2009). The probation officer has to review all the facts about the case during this stage and determine whether there is sufficient information to try the youth. If there is adequate evidence the case may be heard informally or formally depending on the available facts otherwise the case is dropped. While awaiting trial the juvenile is required by law to be detained in a secure facility. A judge often decides if the juvenile should be detained before and during the course of the trial. The officer also explains the intent of the detention in a detention hearing that takes place within 24 hours of arrest (Martin, 2005). The fourth stage is either informal, formal hearing or disposition. An informal hearing will be granted by a judge if the juvenile pleads guilty and agrees to settle the charges brought against him through acceptance to meet the courts requirements which may be: restitution, mandatory curfew, school attendance or rehabilitation (NCJRS, 2000). The juvenile is then released but will be monitored by a probation officer. In formal hearings a decision is made where the case will be heard and this may be in a juvenile or criminal court. Most of the cases will be heard in a juvenile court but egregious offenses will be tried in criminal courts (Neubauer & Fradelia, 200 9). Recommendations The juvenile system process varies within states but the above mentioned process is a standard procedure that is supposed to be followed. The problem is that the process is rarely followed. I would recommend that all states adopt the same process so that it becomes uniform. Secondly some states detain juveniles for over six hours in adult penitentiaries. This should stop because the minors go through a rough time in the cells and this affects them psychologically. Third I would also recommend system wide changes in terms of facilities and officers trained to facilitate the whole process. References Martin, G. (2005). Juvenile Justice: Process and Systems. Thousand Oaks, Carlifonia: Sage Publications. NCJRS. (2000). Juvenile Justice System Structure and Process. Retrieved March 26, 2012, from NCJRS: https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99/chapter4.pdf Neubauer, D. W., & Fradelia, H. F. (2009). America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System. New York: C engage

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Selfies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Selfies - Assignment Example However, some older people are trying to use selfies in the quest of associating themselves with the young generation. Selfies are though to have more benefits than disadvantages and have attracted the attention of the older generation which has been trying to use selfies to associate with the youth. Selfies are self taken photographs and with the right photo angle and posture, selfies may result in eye catching portraits, images and photos (Kraus, 2005). Selfies were not known before 2005. As camera mobile phones started to be popular, self portraits started to be appreciated. People started taking their own photos in different places and time. When social media came into being, people felt that it would be a good idea to share their selfies with their friends and family. Argument Block One Some people in the society feel that selfies are not good while others believe that they are good for the young adults and teenagers. Critics of selfies claim that the young especially those who have not gotten to adulthood may not know the limits of taking selfies. True to that, some adolescents may go to the extent of taking inappropriate selfies for example naked images. Though they are self taken and probably in secret, they would not have a good image if they are shared through the social media. Proponents of selfies disregard this claim stating that the self taken portraits are for self expression. As such, they should not matter how they are taken as long as they are expressing an issue or concern (Day, 2013). A teenager may take a selfie of some part of the body like to hear the comments of their friends for example. Teenagers that are vulnerable to relatively inappropriate selfies are those that are weight gain sensitive yet their friends are spread across the country or the globe. They would want to request their friends to comment yet they want instantaneous answers or responses after they are informed they look in a certain way, for instance being told they look fat. Some people can go to the extent of taking a selfie of their entire body to get the right response from their friends. People taking such selfies should use friend specific message media that is specific to their friends. Selfies of such nature should only be sent after requesting their friends accordingly and they approve the suggestion. Argument Block Two Other critics claim that selfies may have negative effects on especially young adolescents and teenagers. Material of all nature is shared through the social media and those who do not have certain knowledge may be curious. As such, they may try experimenting and trying out some things on their own. They are usually afraid to ask their parents. Inappropriate selfies may in fact change the behavior and perception of adolescents towards certain things. Even so, those in support of selfies claim that the content is somehow regulated. Most social media websites cannot be used by those less than thirteen years. By the time someo ne is thirteen years, they know a lot about their bodies. In that case, they would not be adversely affected in case they come across inappropriate images. At the same time, the chances of inappropriate images being posted over the social media is relatively low. In addition, social media sites do not encourage posting of inappropriate selfies. People who are likely to post inappropriate images and content are socialites. It would be extremely hard for adolescents and teenagers having socialites as their friend through social media. However, it cannot be ignored that some teenagers know such celebrities and may search for them on the internet and come across inappropriate content. Argument Block Three Critics argue that selfies are not good and may have a negative

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Managing Oneself Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing Oneself - Assignment Example on to that, the writer goes ahead to highlight one of the main reasons for the recognition of one self, is that it aids in the determination of the goals and the expectations of an individual. This can be described as the technique in which an individual compares the outcome of a particular event, decision for this case, with the expectation of an individual. On that note, analysis feedback simply means the determination of the impact of a particular decision with relation to the individual’s goal. The article clearly dictates that the only way in which an individual can learn about oneself is through the use of the feedback analysis technique. Apparently, through the comparison of the expectation of an individual with the decision made regarding a particular issue, one can be able to know one’s values and virtues. Subsequently, this goes a long way in determining the efficiency of an individual in the particular area of expertise. Evidently, this question can be answered after one has critically evaluated his or her strengths among other issues. On that note, the article goes ahead to give an example of the physicians and the mathematicians. Apparently, these areas are highly technical and therefore they require people who are gifted in the area. Notably, there career paths are usually spelt out during their teenage years. On the other hand, there are some areas in which one must first study in order to establish where they belong for instance in business. The decision to make a difference should be made early enough, in other words during the youthful age since it is at this time that an individual has high productivity and the vigor to carry out the required assignment. First and foremost, the ability of one to accept the other people, in simple terms workmates come in handy in the building of responsible relationships. On that note, this helps to foster good working relationship, which goes a long way to boost the communication. Secondly, there is the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Pythagorean triples Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pythagorean triples - Essay Example The most popular example of which is the 3-4-5 triangle, the triple which, according to Knott (2009), was known to the Babylonians since way back 5,000 years and was possibly used as a basis in making true right angles in ancient building construction. Then again, the 3-4-5 triangle is just one of the infinitely many Pythagorean Triples, and mind you, there are various ways of generating such triples. One is, given two integers n and m, where n > m, then sides a, b and c are define as n2  - m2, 2nm and n2  + m2, respectively, following a simple proof (Bogomolny 2009): Taking for instance the triple 8-15-17, which is generated by taking n = 4 and m = 1, then a = n2  - m2 = 4 ­Ã‚ ­2 - 12 = 16 - 1 = 15; b = 2mn = 2(1)(4) = 8, and; c = n2  + m2 = 4 ­Ã‚ ­2 + 12 = 16 + 1 = 17. Another example is 7-24-25, which can be verified using n = 4 and m = 3. Such triples are examples of Primitive Pythagorean Triples, or those triples that are not multiples of another and are found using the n-m formula (Knott 2009). Other Pythagorean Triples can be found using a variety of methods as presented by Bogomolny (2009) and Knott (2009), some of which are: c) by Two-fractions method—choose any two fractions whose product is 2, add 2 to each fraction, then cross multiply, getting the two shorter sides of the triple: 4/2, 2/2 → 8/2, 6/2 → 16, 12 → 162 + 122 = 202, and; To sum it up, there are infinitely many Pythagorean Triples existing. But one thing is for sure, a variety of techniques are available that will serve useful in generating patterns among such triples. Hence, if you cannot list them all, be familiar of their patterns at least. Knott, R. (2009). Pythagorean Triangles and Triples. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from The University of Surrey, Mathematics Web site:

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Skoda Business Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Skoda Business Strategy - Case Study Example The market picked up and so did profits. For the first time in Skoda history, the company had a wait list of customers in UK. The company registered continuing and ongoing growth in profits for the fifth year in a row. The Auto industry in the world has been going through an excessive change in performance and growth. In the last decade, the rise of China and Asia as manufacturing hubs changed the course of the auto industry in the world. The market in China and India, seem to be picking up and the Chinese market which has only 2% of its population holding four wheelers is already the size of the Japanese market. This makes it an highly probable growth market in the future (Jianxi Luo 2005). With many of the European and American car manufacturers finding their market dwindling and having surplus capacities have been reducing their manpower. They need to look at fresh and growing markets like that of China and Asia. With only a few players controlling the car market of the world, players like Skoda who has been gaining ground in Europe and in Asia need to be watched. The rising market for Skoda and the increasing profitability of the company makes it a company worthy of analysis (Tulder RV & Ruigr ok W Jun1997). Beating some of the seeded players in the European market is no easy task. But Skoda could do that successfully and looks forward to a major break in the profitability of the company in the current year. All this makes the company, the one that needs analysis of their policies and their strategies. This paper aims at analysing the company and its marketing strategy that has led it to the success that it is now facing. 4. Strategies of the Company Skoda was formed in the year 1894 in Czechoslovakia with the aim of making bicycles. Subsequently, they moved into manufacturing motor cycles and later cars, trucks and buses. During the early twentieth century, the company started producing agricultural and other farm equipments for the east European market. By now the cars of the company found their way to the markets in the Western Europe and there was quite some market for them in UK. But the UK market always had a joke about Skoda particularly the appearance of Skoda. Skoda did make inroads into the West European market and in America because of its ruggedness and reliability. Though technologically poor, the engine under its hood was powerful enough to keep running even in the worst conditions. That made the machine one of the most reliable ones in the market at that time. This saw the population of Skoda increasing in UK. After World War II, Skoda tied up with Volkswagen for technical collaboration. VW invested in the company and ensured that the basic design of the Skoda remained in the early days but soon replaced by the Volkswagen Design since the technology adopted by VW as superior. This brought another marketing strategy that had to break through the already crowded market in Western Europe and in USA as much as in the rest of the world (William Kimberley Jun 2001). The perception of Skoda as an ugly duckling was slowly changing but still persisted. 'Oh! It's a Skoda'. But then it was as usual thought to be efficient and reliable. Skoda now had to make use of some bold advertising and marketing strategy

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations Essay I am going to look at chapter 8 of Great Expectations. There are four main characters in this chapter. They are Pumblechook, Pips , Miss Havisham and Estella. The story begins when a poor orphan boy known as Pips, visits a strange old lady named Miss Havisham to play with a girl called Estella of his own age. Miss Havishams family is a very high-class family. The story I will be looking at next is called The Darkness Out There. There are three main characters in Penelope Livelys short story. They are: Mrs Rutter, Sandra and Kerry. The story is about a teenage girl who as part of the school Good Neighbours Club visits an old lady in her cottage and meets a boy her own age on the way there. The story is based on the memories of the old lady about the Second World War, which she narrates to the two teenagers. In Great Expectations Uncle Pumblechook is portrayed as if he is a pompous, self-important man. He tries to behave as a teacher, and uses every situation to teach Pip something. He is very interested in maths and keen to teach Pip And fourteen. Uncle Pumblechook is a poor, low class person but he attempts to show that he is a rich, valued and well respected member of society. He gets upset by Estella when she talked to him in an unnegotiable way and insulted his dignity. She said it so finally, and in such an undiscussible way, that Mr Pumblechook, though in a condition of ruffled dignity, couldnt protest. His pomposity has well and truly been put in its place by a child. Pip is the one who is telling the story; the narrator. It is easy for the author, Charles Dickens to show us what Pip is like. His role as narrator helps to reflect the thoughts and feelings of the author through Pip. Especially as Pip is thought to be based on the character of Dickens himself when he was a boy. Pip is treated with carelessness and little respect as suits his low social class. He attempts to show that he is an important person, well behaved and well brought up but Miss Havisham and Estella respond to him in a negative way making him feel rejected turn him down. Dont be ridiculous boy. Pips feelings were really hurt and dashed by Miss Havishams attitude and by Estella as well. Though she called me boy so often, and with a carelessness that was far from complimentary. But Pip resisted and tried not to be influenced by their attitudes. He was firm and stable and tried to control his emotions, which show us that he is a very patient and mature for his young age. Miss Havisham is described the first time she appears in the story as a strange, rich old lady who wants to seek revenge from all men. Pip is afraid of her but as the time pass, he gets used to her. Pip describes her as a skeleton, which not only describes her thinness but also shows how scared and surprised he is of this strange lady; the likes of which he has never met before. Miss Havisham always wears her wedding dress with bridal flowers in her hair and bright jewels, which sparkled, on her neck. This seemed very strange and shocking to Pip and to the readers: I think I should like to go home. As well as her strange clothes, Miss Havisham also makes strange remarks, which tell us about her state of mind. She asks Pip a very strange question, in a threatening way. You are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born? She replies in a intimidating manner to her own question. What do I touch? Your heart, Broken. She signals these horrible remarks because of the blackest moment of her life, when her fianci didnt turn up for the wedding. Thats way she still wears her wedding dress in memory of the scandal she faced being deserted at the alter. Therefore she wants to revenge herself on all men, by breaking mens hearts. Unfortunately her latest victim is not a man. He is a young orphan boy who is still enjoying his childhood. Estella is very rude to Pip. She treats him as if he is her servant. Why? he is a common labouring boy. She criticises his appearance and tries to lower his value as a human being. And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots. Pip responds in a mature way and describes her as a beautiful girl who has great dignity. I think she is very proud, He adds to that. I think she is very pretty. But he never forgot to retaliate to his loss of dignity, by describing her as a rude girl. I think she is very insulting. We know immediately from this that Pip is attracted to her. That she is rude and insulting is obvious from every word she says. Estella means a star in Latin and her name reflects her characteristics such as great dignity and pomposity, which a star represents. She shows her cruelty to Pip by insulting him, humiliating him and by treating him as if he is a slave who belongs to her. You are to wait here, you boy. As a result of the humiliation and remarks made by Estella and Miss Havisham, we notice that Pips view of himself changed as a result of the visit. I took the opportunity of being alone in the court-yard, to look at my coarse hands and my common boots. My opinion of those accessories was not favourable. They had never troubled me before, but they troubled me now, as vulgar appendages. This visit had a big influence of the way Pip looks at himself; maybe they succeeded in breaking his heart and achieved their aim. In The Darkness out There Penelope Livelys way of telling the story is different from that of Charles Dickens. In Great Expectations Dickens uses the first person narrative to tell the reader the story. He tells the story as if he was one of the characters. The narrative unfolds through the eyes of Pip. In The Darkness out There, Penelope Lively uses third person narrative. She tells the story from different points of view, and through different characters. She thus portrays a clear image of the scene in the readers mind, and makes the reader imagine and feel the situation, as if the reader is a part of the story. The purpose of Sandra and Kerrys visit to Mrs Rutters cottage is because both are members of a good neighbors club and their job is to go to the elderly to help them and look after them. The narrative opens by observing Sandra from the outside by describing her actions and giving a clear image of Sandras attitude. She would walk like this through the silken grass with the wind seething the corn and the secret invisible life of birds beside her in the hedge The observation of Sandra from outside and the way the writer describes her makes the reader feels as if he or she knows Sandra or has met her before. She also tells us what Sandra is thinking. She would fall in love and she would get a good job and she would have one of those new singers that do ziz-zag stitch and make an embroidered like coat. The way the writer observes Sandra from inside is aimed to show her characteristics, and attitude and her behavior. This draws a clear image in the readers mind of who is Sandra, and what her personality is like. Although the story is written in the third person, at the start we view events from Sandras point of view. There are three characters in The Darkness out There, but it is mainly concerned with the experience of the old lady Mrs Rutter. The writer focuses on Sandra and she tells us about the other two characters from her perspective. The writer speaks on behalf of Sandra. There are many examples where the writer shows us directly the thoughts going on in Sandras mind. For example: You didnt go by yourself through Packers end if you could help it. She thought of oily workshop floor: of the fetid underside of cars. This shows the reader what Sandra first thought about Kerry, based on first impressions. Sandra meets Kerry while she is going to Mrs Rutter, she was shocked and scared by Kerry, but he thought that she saw him. The impression we get of Kerry is through how Sandra sees him: Kerry Stevens, you stupid so and so and do that for , you give me the fright of my life. We also get the impression that Kerry is quite a talkative person and volunteered to speak about his personal life and his future which Sandra is not interested in and looks down upon as she is planning to become a secretary. The impression Sandra gives of him when he jumps out from behind the hedge is that he doesnt add up too much. Sandra thinks of him as a stupid and childish person because he scared her and his ambitions only stretch to him becoming a mechanic. However, Kerry Stevens is confident and sure of himself with Mrs Rutter. He answers her questions about school proudly and confidently and replies by saying he is leaving the school in July and will have a job in the garage. Unlike Sandra Kerry doesnt seem to like Mrs Rutter: I dont go much on her As soon as he hears her story about the airman, he gets shocked and feel sorry for the pilot. The boy said, I am not going near that old bitch again, He leaned against the gate, clenching his fists on an iron rung, he shook slightly, I wont ever forget him, that poor sod He feels disgusted and upset about what Mrs Rutter done, when she let a German pilot who was shot down, die because of lack of water and food. Out of revenge respond to his call when he screamed for help and left him to die without showing any sign of mercy or compassion. We learn about Kerrys character from his own words. Like Charles Dickens, Penelope Lively uses direct speech to establish a character. Sandras initial impression of Kerry was wrong. He had a sixth sense about Mrs Rutter and was a better person than she first thought. She made the mistake of judging by appearances. A mistake she was to repeat with the old lady. Mrs Rutter is introduced as a kindly old lady who seemed composed of circles, a cottage loaf of a women, with a face below which chins collapsed one into another, a creamy smiling pool of a face in which her eyes snapped and darted. However, this soon changes when she tells Kerry and Sandra the story of the German airman who died at Packers End and how she left him to die in front of her without or trying to save him. What is really disturbing about the way she tells the story is that she doesnt regret what she done and she doesnt show any sympathy to the dead pilot: I thought , oh no, you had this coming to you, mate, theres a war on (p. 63) Mrs Rutter acted out of revenge as her young husband had been killed in the war by Germans. But after all these years, she still had no feelings of regret and remorse and is portrayed as a lonely and bitter woman. Penelope Lively also gives an indication of characterisation through her description of the setting. Sandras light-weight and frivolous personality is signalled by the summer flowers of ox eye daisies and vetch and cow parsley ? And the dark side of Mrs Rutter is hinted at by Packers End with light suddenly shutting off the bare wide sky of the field!

Friday, September 20, 2019

Concepts of Scarcity and Choice

Concepts of Scarcity and Choice Economics can be defined as the study of the practical science of production and distribution of wealth ( J S MILLS). The objective of all persons is to earn money by working in order to satisfy their wants. Unfortunately people earnings are never enough in order to satisfy their unlimited wants as there is a lack of resources in terms of workers, raw materials, time, and money in order to produce all the products that we would like to acquire which causes the problem of scarcity. SCARCITY AND CHOICE Scarcity is a relative concept that is resources are scarce relatively to unlimited wants. The problem of scarcity exists in all dimensions that are in terms of individual, society as well as countries. For example as far as individual is concerned in search of improving our standard of living we are always striving to have better and more luxurious shelter, latest fashion clothing, full option types of transport, better health care etc but due to limited resources we cannot satisfy all these wants and in terms of countries Governments are always having difficulties in choosing where to invest there are too many necessities to fulfill due to lack of resources. As a result of scarcity each and every person as well as the Government needs to make a choice so that the limited available resources is used efficiently. OPPORTUNITY COST As a result of the lack of resources and the problem of scarcity, we have to choose and decide which products or services are most important for us to buy with the limited amount of money we earn and which ones are less important that we could forego. As in define by Susan Grant Opportunity cost is the cost of a decision in terms of the best alternative given up to achieve it. Say if I have one hour free time during which I can either go the cinema or at the seaside, if I choose going to the cinema then the next best alternative forgone is going at the seaside. Quantity of Good X Given a production point on a PPC (A). If a country chooses to produce more of good X- in other words moving to point B on the PPC, this can only be possible by decreasing resources out of the production of good Y to the production of good X, implying a reduction in the quantity of Y produced. Therefore in order to produce more of good X, a country needs to give up some amount of good Y. In other words there is an opportunity cost of producing more of good X. Opportunity cost of producing X X1 of good X= Y Y1 of good Y. Micro Economics Micro Economics is the study of the behaviors of individuals and companies in line with income, profits, prices of available goods and services. These behaviors are directly related to supply and market as well as taxes and regulations impose by the Government. For example in the case of an individual Micro Economics examines how the latter make decisions on which products or services to buy depending on his income and as regards to a company it is the study of how the decision makers minimize production cost so as to offer competitive prices on the market. Macro Economics Macro Economics, on the other hand is the study of economics at a larger scale that is how a national economy works and its direct impact on growth in national income, employment and price inflation. In other words Macro Economics can be explained as the global decision making of the Government and its impact on aggregate demand. For example, macroeconomics would look at how an increase/decrease in net exports would affect a nationsÂÂ  capital account or how GDP would be affected by unemployment rate. (http://www.investopedia.com). TASK 2 How demand curve is derived. In order to determine how a demand curve is derived we need to know what demand is. Demand is the willingness of potential consumers to buy goods and services at different level of prices. Figure 2 shows a demand curve The figure below shows what the demand for apple at different prices is. The curve illustrates that when Price of an apple is at $1 demand is 53 Price of an apple is at $2 demand is 38 Price of an apple is at $3 demand is 27 Price of an apple is at $4 demand is 17 Price of an apple is at $5 demand is 10 Thus we can deduce that normally the lower the price of an apple is offered at the higher is the demand and conversely the higher price of an apple is offered at the lower is the demand. Demand is inversely related to price that is in this case demand of the apple is inversely related to price of the apple. Normally producers of a specific product need to study the demand curve of that product so as to decide the number of unit to produce taking into consideration production cost. With regards to demand producers will produce the product in demand provided The amount of a particular economic good or service that a consumer or group of consumers will want to purchase at a given price. The demand curve is usually downward sloping, since consumers will want to buy more as price decreases. Demand for a good or service is determined by many different factors other than price, such as the price of substitute goods and complementary goods. In extreme cases, demand may be completely unrelated to price, or nearly infinite at a given price. Along with supply, demand is one of the two key determinants of the market price. Read more: http://www.investorwords.com/1396/demand.html#ixzz1Dpf4aWxl

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Second World War (WWII) Essay -- World War 2 II Two

World War I was the cause for World War II   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that world war 1 led to world war 2. the main reason is the treaty of Versailles. the allies totally screwed Germany and were totally unfair.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The allies forbade Germany to have an army of more than 100,000 men, a fleet of more than 36 warships, submarines of any kind, and military air craft. They could not maintain fortifications or military installations within 50km of the Rhine land. And to all that Germany was required to pay large sums of money as reparations for damages that the allies had taken during the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The league of nations had the responsibility of keeping the peace, and although they did not admit Germany to the league for the first couple of years after the war, Germany was let in in 1926. The league had little power however, and much of this was that it failed to pass through the American system so America stayed out of the responsibility of keeping the peace in Europe. As further proof to the leagues weakness, an event that occurred in Manchuria that led Japan to attack, was merely overlooked as an ‘ok’ reason to attack and let Japan get away with it, and to further this, Japan didn't even care what the league had to say about their little attack.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rise of Hitler brought its problems also. During the great depression Hitler said that the only way for his country to get out of the de...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

German Modernism Essay -- essays research papers

The Era of Modern Germany Throughout time, nations have attempted to become independent from one another by discovering means to help their citizens experience more fulfilling lives. The dilemma that troubled each of these countries is whether or not innovations, in technology and society, led to a higher quality of life. In the book, Rites of Spring, Modris Eksteins examines how innovation affected the citizens of Germany. Eksteins conveys that technological and industrial innovations paved the way for social transformations, throughout Germany. These social changes include a newfound appreciation for Art, tolerance of homosexuality, and a new approach towards warfare. The establishment of the German modern era began at the turn of the 20th century. Eksteins verifies this conviction by stating that Germany made tremendous industrial improvements, during this time. Among these industrial improvements was the introduction of a massive steel industry. Although Germany produced steel prior to 1900, it had never competed with the other European powers. â€Å"By 1914, Gergely, 2 German steel production equaled that of Britain, France, Russia combined? Along with a massive production of steel, other German industries such as iron, chemical, and electricity also flourished throughout this time. Germany finally had the foundation it desired for economic growth. According to Ecksteins, the formation of these industries gave Germany the opportunity to develop as a culture. Industry facilitated culture by shifting a large part of the population out of the countryside and into the city. â€Å"In 1870 Germany’s population was two thirds rural; by 1914 that relationship had been reversed? This gave German industry the possibility of transmitting their ideas to a large audience. The formation of the modern man and women was born. Also, one must conclude that the shift out of the countryside brought an influx of diverse beliefs into German cities. Germans who had previously lived under certain beliefs were introduced to several new convictions. Suddenly Germany transformed itself from a close-minded nation, to one, which was open to change. This newfound acceptance of change facilitated a general belief that Germany had become the most modern state of that time. Gergely, 3 One of the most prevalent examples of German modernism was their newfound attitude towards art. Ekstein... ...ncompass Eksteins argument that Germany was at the heart of the modern Gergely, 5 experience. I agree with Eksteins claim because he presents the reader with perspectives from all aspects of society. In reading other interpretations of modernism I received limited viewpoints, of how modernism influenced society. One example of this is Marshall Bermans, All That is Solid Melts Into Air. This text provides the reader with examples of modernism in different societies. It does not focus on one society, like Eksteins. This method does not allow the reader to get an accurate feel of how modernism encircled society. Instead one leaves with an understanding of how individual changes affected certain aspects of societies. Secondly, Eksteins argument is convincing because it gives various examples of how societies differed from Germany. One is able to comprehend why Eksteins believes Germany is the epitome of modernism, as opposed to other societies. This method is also valuable because it allows the reader to make his/her own decision of German modernism. After reading Rites of Spring, one agrees with Eksteins beliefs because of the outstanding methods he utilizes to deliver his argument.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Comparing Britain To Japan :: essays research papers

In 1900 Britain was in many respects the world’s leading nation, enjoying a large share of world trade, a dominant position in the international money market, and possessing a far flung empire supported by the world’s most powerful navy. Japan was a complete contrast, sharing with Britain only the fact that it too was a nation of Islands lying off the shore of a major continent. Until the 1860s it had possessed a social and economic structure more akin to that of feudal, rather than twentieth century, Europe. By the 1990s, the positions were almost reversed. This paper sets out to examine the contrasting democratic political systems of the two nations and to explore the social and democratic consequences of the changes that have occurred.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The establishment of the Japanese archipelago assumed its present shape around 10,000 years ago. Soon after the era known as the Jomon period began and continued for about 8,000 years. Gradually they formed small communities and began to organize their lives communally. Japan can be said to have taken its first steps to nationhood in the Yamato period, which began at the end of the third century AD. During this period, the ancestors of the present Emperor began to bring a number of small estates under unified rule from their bases around what are now Nara and Osaka Prefectures. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Tokugawa Ieyasu set up a government in Edo (now Tokyo) and the Edo period began. The Tokugawa regime adopted an isolationist policy that lasted for more than 200 years, cutting off exchange with all countries except China and the Netherlands. The age of the Samurai came to and end with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and a new system of government centered on the Emperor was set up. The new government promoted modernization, adopted Western political, social and economic systems, and stimulated industrial activity. The Diet was inaugurated, and the people began to enjoy limited participation in politics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From around 1920 a democratic movement gained strength. However, amid a global economic crisis, the military came to the fore, and Japan eventually marched down the road to war. With the end of World War II in 1945 Japan put into effect a new Constitution, committed itself to becoming a peace-seeking democracy, and successful in relaunching its economy. In 1956, the nation’s entry into the United Nations was approved.

Monday, September 16, 2019

In Howards End, Forster is very much on the side of women, and unfair to male characters

Edward Morgan Forster was born in 1879 in London. His father died before he was born and subsequently it was women who brought him up, his mother and great-aunt Marianne Thornton. Foster spent his childhood largely in the female company and in their sheltering presence, who no doubt gave him knowledge of how women were perceived and where their role was in the society. It was his aunt who left Forster a legacy of eight thousand pounds, a considerable sum in those days when remembering that Margaret Schlegel lives very well on six hundred a year. The inheritance from his aunt enabled him to write in independence and security. It is therefore unsurprising that Forster held a high opinion of women, and being brought up by them, not surprising that he would take ‘their side'. Forster exposes the constructed nature of gender and his own ambivalent relationship to traits coded ‘masculine' and ‘feminine' in his culture. However, there is substantial evidence to suggest that Forster was deeply troubled and preoccupied by his own gender identity in this period. This may be reason for Forster to side with women in the play. Forster uses Margaret as the central character in the novel and the most completely drawn. Through certain parts of the novel, the narration seems to vacillate between Margaret and Forster. This shows that Forster is much more inclined to take the side of women rather than men. She is the centre of consciousness in nearly every scene. In chapter two Forster sums her up and sums up the cause of her fascination; she has ‘a profound vivacity, a continual and sincere response to all that she encountered in her path through life'. Forster seems to be always able to rise to the challenge of that description. Helen has a lot in common with Margaret. We are told that she is much more beautiful than Margaret as well as being more impulsive, idealistic and uncompromising. Helen is a character who is ‘rather apt to entice people, and, in enticing them, to be herself enticed'. Forster presents Helen as an imaginative character although she often talks without thinking. Helen's responses to life are intense, excitable and exaggerated. The difference presented by Forster is that men view life as a conquest to gain materialistic pleasure, which although may be enjoyed presently, they are not able to take theses pleasures with them. Women differ, as Helen states in chapter twenty-seven, that money is not an end to all means, and that life is more about emotional conquest. However this is easy for Helen to say as she is set up for life with inheritance money. Therefore, money should not be an issue to Helen, which is proved when she tries to offer Leonard five thousand pounds. Forster's central opposition between man and woman seems to be played out by Henry and Margaret, in which it is blatantly obvious that Forster sides with Margaret. This can be seen in the conversation on the levels of houses. Margaret recognizes that ‘ours is a female house†¦. It must be feminine and all we can do is see that it isn't effeminate. Just as another house I can mention, but I won't, sound irrevocably masculine, and all its inmates can do is see that it isn't brutal'. Through Margaret Schlegel, the traditional terms of masculinity and femininity are scrutinized and are subjected to the demands of higher integration. Margaret's point of view is ultimately not representative of a view that might be coded as essentially female or feminine. Forster is sensitive both to the essentialist conceptions of the female and the social coding of feminism. Margaret is much the voice of Forster when speaking and underlines Forster opinions of women and the fact that he is very much on their side throughout debate and speeches in the novel. In conclusion, in my opinion, the fact that Forster was troubled by his own sexuality and the fact he was a homosexual would incline him to take the views of women. This is also propelled by the fact that his upbringing was done only by women in the form of his mother and his aunt. Forster's inheritance ensured he would not have to labor in order to educate himself, so in fact may never of had much contact with ‘the real world'.

Dramatism and Meet the Parents Essay

The theory of Burke’s dramatism provides another view of rhetoric analysis of symbolisms that have been utilized in the film. With this, the theory analyzes human relations, culture-usage, lingual properties, and the intentions and motives present within the act. The theory of dramatism by Kenneth Burke applies to the philosophical grounds of the movie, Meet the Parents. Hence, within this study, the main aim is to apply the theoretical concepts of Kenneth Burke in analyzing the proposed film, Meet the Parents. The theory presents itself in number of different arguments and contents. With the very concept of Burke presented in the theory of dramatism that states, â€Å"life is a stage where the drama continues†, he has proposed five components that guide the analysis of human intentions, culture and other symbols present within the drama. Burke contends that every act in every given scene should possess the appropriate purpose. He further emphasizes these subtheoretical components in his dramatism pentad. Within the film of â€Å"Meet the Parents†, various concepts of Burke’s theory have been portrayed. Under this theory, Burke bases the analysis under the concepts of philosophy and symbolical criticisms. From the angles of Greg Focker and her girl friend Pam Byrnes together with her family and relatives, each component of dramatism pentad forms an interacting drama throughout the film. In this study, the film is analyzed through the different components of Burke’s theory, namely: the dramatism pentad, and the implications of human relations, culture and language. Discussion Theoretical Explanation of Kenneth Burke’s Theory of Dramatism Dramatisim Methodology The concept of dramatism involves the concept of Shakespearian idealism of â€Å"world stage† wherein it considers the realistic events or practical applications of real life scenario. As for Kenneth Burke, the theoretical framework considers the world as a drama wherein real-life scenarios are placed into a theatrical presentation. The methodology of dramatism incorporates analysis and reviewing of human relations and their motives. As supported by the Gusfield (1989), dramatism is designed to show that the most direct route to the study of human relations and human motives is via a methodical inquiry into cycles or clusters of terms and their functions (p. 135). Under this consideration, the study identifies the function of dramatism framework as an approach in emphasizing the act of language symbolism that illustrates the conception of man and of human relations. The dramatism methodology is an ideal point of perspective to analyze human acts, relations, and motives in the subjects of philosophy, political science, economics, religion, literature and arts. Upon implementation, the theory suggests the importance of determining of the following variables in order to analyze the components of human acts, relations, and motives: these are speech used, the writing, and the artistic styles present. According to the book of Kennedy (1989), Burke exercises his dramatism primarily upon acts that produces written texts, although he approaches all human actions as essentially dramatic and active, having a dynamic and being analyzable in the same terms (p. 100). Even with a static and immutable character of a play, the theory of dramatism considers the presence of dynamic, changeable and elusive components that maybe present within such plays. The dramatism form of analysis considers the inquiries: â€Å"what are involved in the play? What are the people doing in it? And, why are they doing these acts? † (with this, the pentad form of analysis can be considered). Burke’s dramatism analyzes the content and thoughts of the drama though philosophical and conceptual framework. Dramatism is commonly placed alongside classical rhetoric and tagmemics as one of the standard heuristic methods of invention. The analogy of Burke’s argument provides the thought that in every actions human make, there is always an incorporation of motives or intentions. Through critical analysis under the components of pentad, these motives of actions can be revealed. Under the concept of how drama proceeds, Burke considers the need for participants in order to establish the act. The theory of dramatism considers the human world as the continued version of what has occurred in a drama; hence, calling this perspective as the rhetoric of drama. According to Styan (1992), Burke holds that man tries to control and humanize his world by means of symbolism. Symbols and symbolic structures in art are not only typically human, but all forms of symbolism must be derived ultimately from the senses (p. 4). Burke believes that the concept of symbolism can be applied in the context of human intentions like the ones present in the theatrical drama presentations. It is not surprising since his concepts are very much related to the belief that reality is just the continuity of the drama. With these principles of dramatism methodology, he has proposed five components to instruct the appropriate pattern analyzing given subjects under the concept of dramatism. Dramatism Pentad: Personalization and Depersonalization The concept of Burke ties the two perspectives of personalization and depersonalization. Burke is considering the subject of personification as part of the theatrical drama. These components should be considered in the dramatization method as well. In addition, the theory of dramatization incorporates the ideas of act, agent, scene, agency and purpose that are all incorporated to the aspects of personification. According to Krasner and Saltz (2006), dramatism is not limited in a spatial sense, as if there were one sphere to which it can be comfortably applied and a second sphere from which it should be kept away (p. 53). With this, the theoretical framework of Burke does not consider the non-personal components under the act, agent, scene, agency and purpose; hence, he has conceptualized the idea of non-dramatist. The concept of non-dramatist is limited compared to the dramatist personification, which gives birth to the concept of outer limit in a double term scene. Within the aspect of personalization, the concept of dramatism centers into critical observation of the drama’s five components: act, agent, scene, agency and purpose. In order for an act to appear, an agent must be present to perform this act within the coverage of scene. In order to facilitate and implement the acting within the scene, the agent needs to utilize various agencies that should enable the requirements of acting. The full realization of the act is then realized by providing the appropriate and pre-determined purpose within the act. The five elements that composed the theoretical foundation of dramatism are known as the â€Å"dramatism pentad†. In every term of the pentad, significant type of analysis can be employed through the means of ratio, such as â€Å"Scene-Act Ratio† or the â€Å"Scene-agent ratio†, which interlinks different variables present in the pentad (Kennedy, 1989 p. 100). In Burke’s dramatism pentad, every component should always be present in every given act in order to acquire significance and utility. In the perspective of dramatism, these pentad components are related and form part of the entire thought of the given drama; hence, every component is associated to one another. Human Interaction: Language and Culture The theory of dramatism emphasizes the use of language in facilitating communication and interaction. In addition, the theory understands the social actors possess different cultural and language variations that need to be considered in interaction. As according to Emmelman (2003), Burke’s dramatism considers the angles of cultural domains and language systems under the social actors that behave according to their cultural and social hierarchies (p. 5). The concept of theoretical Dramatism has been considered part of the influential modern rhetoric that attracted sufficient adherents and influenced the conditions of rhetoric in the twenty-first century. As according to Burke’s definition, the concept of Dramatism is a method of analysis and a corresponding critique of terminology designed to show that the most direct route to the study of human relations and human motives is via methodical inquiry into cycles or clusters of terms and their functions is a loosely constructed theory (Benoit, Hample and Benoit, 1992 p. 279). Burke in his theory considers man as an animal that is characterized by symbolic action that identifies itself within the context of language use. Burke considers language, cultural origin and the history of the agent as important symbolisms that provide the message and theme of the drama. Theoretical Application in the Film â€Å"Meet the Parents† Film Overview With the overview of the film, the study obtains the elements portraying the possible parts of the dramatism analysis. The story of â€Å"Meet the Parents† revolves in the two characters Greg Focker and her girlfriend, Pam Byrnes. The couple is actually planning to have their wedding the soonest possible time; hence, as part of tradition, Focker tries to foster some sort of familial attachments to his fiance’s family. In doing so, Focker has been confronted by the relatives of Byrne, including his fiance’s ex-boyfriend and the annoying cat. Being a type of family that is over-protective and amazingly paranoid, Pam’s family intensively tests the credibility of Focker as the rightful man for their daughter. The protagonist is somehow confronted by the Byrneses’ interrogative actions towards him. Unfortunately, the father of Pam, Jack Byrnes, has been part of the CIA investigatory team, who somehow brought Focker in the extensive examination. Despite of the troublesome scenario that Focker is facing, he is aware that this is all part of the test in order to acquire the hands of Pam. Hence, he is determined to do all his best to please and establish a good image towards his family. However, with his frequent attempts, Focker always ends up being ignored or placed in a more complicated scenario. In the film, Focker has realized the virtue that he learned from Jack, which is the Circle of Trust. This idea has facilitated the value and resolution between the courting and doubting parties. Within the circle, Focker and Jack are able to foster trust and relationship that in the end paved the way for another task, which is to meet the Fockers. In the concept of dramatism, the ending of the film provides a notion of practical continuity of the drama. Application of Dramatism Pentad Act In application of the first level of the dramatism theory, the act component presented in the film institutes the element of family versus couple’s plan of marriage. This is a typical scenario in the reality setting wherein the male is confronted by interrogations of family members, which is most commonly from the woman’s side. In this category, the main act of Jack Byrne is to initially counter the desire of Focker to marry their daughter, Pam. On the other hand, the act of Focker is to pursue the reward, that he wants to claim, which is his marriage to Pam. Despite of his efforts and negative impression towards the family of Pam, Focker manages to build some sense of rapport towards the family of Byrnes, while Jack uses this as an advantage for further his investigation on Focker’s identity and intention. The overall act of the film does not actually revolve in a quarrel between the woman’s family against Greg Focker, but rather, the act only shows the attitude of over-protectiveness of the family and tradition that they are following. Agent The agents presented within the film, mainly Greg Focker, Pam Byrnes and Jack Byrnes, facilitates the act. These characters possess different roles and perspectives in terms of rightful marriage and the obligations of establishing a relationship. The agent Focker possesses the personality of perseverance and focus in his goal for marriage. Pam Byrnes, on the other hand, has acquired the role of a clueless fiance in terms of the dispute occurring between her father and Greg. Lastly, the agent Jack Byrnes serves as the main antagonist of the film that facilitates the act of examining Focker’s credentials and candidacy for their daughter. Scene The scene of the film involves the two parties, the Focker and Byrnes, under the traditional setting of family introduction prior to marriage. The scenario in the film provides the aspect of human relationships and the type of culture being employed within the film itself. Somehow, the scenes provide an idealistic perspective on what men and women should do prior to marriage. However, within the context of the film, the incorporation of exaggerations (e. g. the examinations instituted by Jack, the character backgrounds employed within the film – Jack being CIA, etc. ) have given the scene some property of comedy out of the tradition theme that it aims to portray. Hence, the scene of the movie provides the traditional content in a comedy approach, which is facilitated by the agents present in the film. Agency As with the theory of dramatism, the component of agency facilitates the means for the agents to implement their acts. Within the novel, there are three possible agencies that have been utilized in order to illustrate the act of the three main agents: (a) For Greg, he is able to facilitate his act as the one being scrutinized by his’ fiance’s family by his decision of meeting the Byrne family; (b) For Pam, she is able to facilitate her act of being the clueless fiance by her distinct attachment towards Greg (being his fiance) and Jack (being the favorite of her father), which has given her the idea that everything is getting smooth with the two of them; (c) lastly, Jack earns his role of being the detective of her daughter’s fiance, which has been facilitated through his background of being under the CIA profession. Purpose As per analysis of the overall plot of the story, the story illustrates its very purpose by conveying the message of how the traditional scenario should be for a family introduction in couples who are planning to get married. Somehow, the story incorporates th e sense of comedy for the sake of entertainment. It has utilized some sorts of exaggerations in the characters of Jack and Greg in order to provide the aspect of their theme of comedy. Meanwhile, the message of the story is the tradition of marriage wherein the family, most especially the father of the woman, scrutinizes the man before he allows his daughter to be married. It may sometimes be as complex as shown in the movie but not that exaggerated since the movie somehow incorporates almost impossible events. Application of Human Relations, Culture and Language In application of the other concepts of the theory, the components of human relations, culture and language are illustrated in diverse forms within the story. Evidently, the form employed by the film to demonstrate human relations is by the multi-links present between Greg Focker and the Byrne family. Meanwhile, the culture presented in the film is the traditional concept of marriage employed by American from the past up until today. Lastly, to further agree with the traditions and culture the film have presented, the lingual use of American English – between the colloquial (Focker) and Byrnes (Formal) – has somehow provided a realistic features for the two opposing parties in the film. Conclusion In the conclusion of this study, the discussion has included the theoretical frameworks of dramatism by Kenneth Burke and the film Meet the Parents. The thesis of the study subjects the application of Burke’s theory of dramatism to the film Meet the Parents. As per the discussion of the theory, the concept of dramatism has involved different subcomponents that serve as guide in analyzing the human intentions, cultural background and lingual properties of the drama. The theory of dramatism moves in the idea of Shakespearean thought of the world as a stage; hence, it has provided five subcomponents to guide the critical analysis of a drama under the rhetoric philosophy. These five subcomponents involve act, agent, scene, agency and purpose, which are all interrelated and should be present in any given drama. As per application of the theory in the given film, Meet the Parents is able to acquire all these subcomponents mainly through the character symbolisms of Greg Focker, Pam Byrne and Jack Byrne. The act of the film involves the argument between the two parties due to the decision of marriage by Greg and Pam. As part of the traditional American culture in the ideal family scenery, the film has incorporated the need for family introduction prior to marriage. However, with the diverse agencies present in the characters, the act of employing intensive examination towards the male has been portrayed. Although, the film has incorporated some aspects of exaggerations for the sake of entertainment and comedy, it was still able to relay its purpose in the message of how an American family of the female treats male whenever a family introduction is initiated. Reference Benoit, W. L. , Hample, D. , & Benoit, P. J. (1992). Readings in Argumentation. Walter de Gruyter. Emmelman, D. S. (2003). Justice for the Poor: A Study of Criminal Defense Work. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. Gusfield, J. R. (1989). On symbols and society. University of Chicago Press. Kennedy, M. (1989). Theorizing Composition: A Critical Sourcebook of Theory and Scholarship in Contemporary Compositions. Greenwood Publishing Group. Krasner, D. S. , & Saltz, D. (2006). Staging Philosophy: Intersections of Theater, Performance, and Philosophy. University of Michigan Press. Styan, J. L. (1992). Modern Drama in Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Mark Twain’s Humorous Satire in Running for Governor Essay

Abstract: Mark Twain, a mastermind of humor and realism, is seen as a giant in world literature. His humorous satire had great impact on the following men of letters; critics also attached significant importance to it and put forward various interpretations. Noticeably, his humor? ous satire finds full expression in his famous short story, Running for Governor. In it, with humor and satire, he exposed the true features and hypocrisy of American democracy. The paper tries to analyze the basic elements which affected Mark Twain’s humorous satire, aiming at offering rational analysis of this humorous satire in Running for Governor as well as making Twain’s works readily understood. Key words: Mark Twain; realism; humorous satire; hypocrisy; American :106 I : A : -5039(2012)03-0206-02 1009 1 Introduction Mark Twain, the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835, is the forerunner and reputed realist in the arena of American literature. He is an American writer and humorist, whose best work is characterized by broad, often irreverent or biting satire. His work is also known for re? alism of place and language, memorable characters, and hatred of hypocrisy and oppression. Because of his remarkable contributions to the nation, literary critics spoke highly of his achievements. For instance, these venera? ble titles â€Å"the Lincoln of American literature†, â€Å"the true father of our national literature†, â€Å"Mark Twain—Mirror of American† are used to highlight his pinnacles in literature. Samuel’s humor, if only in order to funnily make others laugh, I don’t think there would not have such a daimyo—†Mark Twain† on the literary scene in today’s world. Moreover, with his particular creative spirit and rather elegant â€Å"people’s language†, especially his excellent humor and satire, he is deeply praised by American people. Mark Twain wrote many short stories and these stories profoundly analyze and expose short? comings and ugliness of capitalist society. As for humorous satire, Running for Governor is a representative short story. The story creates an unreal independent nominee who suffers a series of nasty and shameless slander to expose the hypocrisy of American â€Å"Democracy† and the corruption and depravity of the cap? italist system under the guise of American â€Å"Democracy†. Mark Twain’s penetrating and remarkable portray of Bourgeois politicians profoundly reveals the hypocrisy of bourgeois democratic electoral system. Therefore, Running for Governor is an excellent humorous satire works, which is ideological and instructive. 2 Mark Twain’s Humorous Satire in Running for Governor. In Running for Governor, at the beginning of the story, Twain wrote: â€Å"A few months ago I was nominated for Governor of the great state of New York, to run against Mr. John T. Smith and Mr. Blank J. Blank on the independent ticket. I somehow felt that I had one prominent advantage over these gentlemen, and that was—good character. â€Å"1 Three specific characters appear, â€Å"I† is the indepen? dence Party’s candidate, who is an upright and honest man with sim? ple thoughts, The Republican candidate Mr. John T. Smith, and the Democratic candidate Mr. Blank J. Blank. People favor to talk about his usual first-person narrative method. This narrative method which he was so handy to use that it become a major artistic style he created. It strengthens the ex? change on Twain’s thoughts and feelings with the reader’s, and make Twain feel freedom to mobilize all language means to gain hu? morous and satirical effects. In American literature, Twain is not only a great humorist, but also an eminent master who developed a unique style of his own— colloquialism. His greatness lies in blending of humor with lively language. In the first rumor â€Å"perjury†, after Mr. John T. Smith and Mr. Blank J. Blank had well-founded accusations on â€Å"me†, they ve? hemently said: â€Å"Mr. Twain owes it to himself, as well as to the great people whose suffrages he asks, to clear this matter up. Will he do it? † These three words â€Å"the great people† are full of localism, also with humor to demonstrate â€Å"my† rivals’ extraordinary skills2. His words are colloquial, concrete and direct in effect, and his sentence structures are simple such as â€Å"will he do it†, but humorously sati? rize officialdom’s true features. His humor is not only of witty remarks mocking at small things or of farcical elements making people laugh, but a kind of artistic style used to criticize the social injustice and satirize the decayed romanticism. 3 Influences of Mark Twain’s Humorous Satire Twain’s works, both in content and form, with more American characteristics, demonstrate Americans’ thoughts and feelings and reflect the manifold movements of American society by using their own language and telling their own stories. Twain’s life is difficult, but he wrote a large number of literary works. From the spiritually empty and nothing-to-do people, to the unscrupulous politicians, : -12-05 2011 : -01-05 2012 : , , 206 : 2012 ? 02 ?  to the rulers of money and the rulers of spiritual morality became the objects of Twain’s ruthless ridicule, biting satire and criticism. As a distinguished master of humor and irony, Twain’s humor with his unique style, a combination of smart ideas with the art of satire have a practical significance for us to understand social, institution? al and human legacy in 19th century and help to recognize the evils of American society today. The autonomous status of American literature as a national lit? erature can hardly be questioned nowadays, but once American lit?  erature had a special relation to the British tradition. During 19th century, this period, American literature strongly tended to view the course it was taking as diverging widely from the English tradition while trying to give expressions to awareness informed by local in? fluence. Of the three writers Eliot chooses as the landmark of the coming of age of American literature to be found, in his opinion, at the moment when American writers were first acknowledged to be influencing other literature, one is Mark Twain. He is justly renowned as a humorist but was not always appre? ciated by the writers of his time more than that. Successive genera? tions of writers, however, recognized the role that Twain played in creating a truly American literature. His success in creating this plan but evocative language precipitated the end of American rever? ence for British and European cultures and for the more formal lan? guage associated with those traditions. His achievement: creating timeless art in the vernacular, helped advance American cultural in? dependence and diversity. 4 Conclusion Mark Twain is a remarkable representative of American realis?  tic literature in the 19th century, he is the first writer who had the literary creation â€Å"Americanization† and had the literary language â€Å"nationalize†. With hard work, he finished lots of literature works in his life. In his works of literature, he laughed at, satirized and criti? cized the power of money, the hypocritical morality, corrupted poli? tics, etc. It is full of Mark Twain’s humor, he criticized and satirized the social hideousness bitterly. Mark Twain detailed the social hid? eousness with his particular humor. It is full of relaxation, optimism and humorous style. Running for Governor is an outstanding representative of Twain’s political satirical novel in 19th century. Twain fabricated an unreal independent partisan â€Å"I† (not the author) who eventually had to abandon the campaign for New York governor because of abuse, rumors and personal attacks from the opponents through ex? aggerated, humorous satire, to profoundly reveal the dirty inside of â€Å"free election†, rip the U. S. â€Å"two-party system†, and expose a capi? talist â€Å"freedom of speech,† thus humorously satirizing the hypocrisy of the bourgeois democracy. 3 : Overseas English ? ? ? ? To sum up, fundamentally, Twain is a great humorist. He once said, â€Å"there are several kinds of stories, but only one different—the humorous. † So to be humorous in his writing I venture to say is his lifelong pursuit. It is also undeniable that Twain is the only giant who had brought both local colorism and humor to the world fame. Meanwhile he once claimed that he was a serious writer and was ac? tively concerned with moral ideas in many ways. However, when he found the darkness, corruption, injustice and the personal tragic en?  counters he had to withstand in particular, he became firstly serious and then bitter ironic. It follows therefore that we should take these elements into consideration when analyzing Twain’s writing charac? teristics as well as himself. In short, both the changing social reality and the unpredictable personal tragedies directly and eventually re? sulted in his humorous satire. In Mark Twain’s autobiography, he had summed up the experi? ence from his humorous novels:†It is impossible to humor for the hu? mor. Humor is just a flavor and snapshots. I have always told people that why I can persist for 30 years. † Thus we can see that Mark Twain had the humor and satire as his writing features, as the basis of writing his humorous novels. â€Å"4 Notes: 1 Wang Qun. Guide to Mark Twain[M]. Wuhan:Wuhan University Press,2007:64. 2 Sun Xun. Mark Twain and The adventures of Huckleberry Finn[M]. Beijing:China Juvenile and Children’s Books Publishing House, 2001:140. 3 Wang Qun. Guide to Mark Twain[M]. Wuhan:Wuhan University Press,2007:65. 4 Ibid. ,90-100 References: [1] Deng Xuxin. An Induction to Literature of English[M]. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press,2002. [2] Wu Weiren. History and Anthology of American Literature[M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press,1990. [3] Song Yuankang. A study Guide to American Literature[M]. Kun? ming:Yunnan University Press,2007. [4] . [M] : ,2007.  · [5] . ——  ·  · [J]. ,2001(2):52-55. [6] . —— [J]. ,2002(6):25-27. [7] . [J]. ?,2003(6):79-81. 207

Saturday, September 14, 2019

1950s mens fashion

What Was The Fashionable sass Man Wearing? In the ass's life was changing in America. Due to the war, Europe had stopped producing fashion, this gave American designers a chance to show what they were capable of. As the wartime restrictions on fabric eased and America's economy improved, the population was able to express themselves through Men and Woman's fashion. There were certain elements of men's fashion in the sass that were standard amongst the general American population. As the war time restrictions on fabric tapered off fashion became more broad.Pleated Pants that had the big double pleats in the front, and a wide, full leg, a skinny tie and the cardigan sweater. † In America, Esquire introduced the â€Å"Bold Look, with wide shoulders, broad lapels. â€Å"(http:// incur. Com/a/union? Gallery). Because of the growing economy there was time for leisure. Men had separate clothes for leisure and work. â€Å"The suit was worn mainly for the office or heading out on the town†(http://incur. Com/a/union? Gallery'). In America after WWW there was great social and cultural change. Popular culture exploded due to mass media and consumerism.The sass brought in a number of subcultures with their own fashion. Many of these subcultures derived from musicians and movie stars like ‘James Dean' and ‘Elvis Presley, they were linked with gangs, rebellion and the teenage desire to be different. For example, The Greaser, was a style that originated amongst teenagers and young men in northeastern and southern United States. A Greaser was very well groomed, the hair was slicked back, and they wore motor cycle Jackets, white T-shirts and blue denim Shares with the cuffs rolled up. The music genre associated with the Greasers was Rock n Roll.Musicians like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill Haley, and Archie Valves were huge influences on the style. â€Å"Up until the sass, men were rarely seen out and about without a hat sitting upon their head. â€Å"(http://www. Artificialness. Com/2008/03/01 [bringing-back-the-hat/). During the sass the wearing of hats declined. On the other hand the sass was considered the best era for men's hairdressing. Hairstyles were divided into the conservative, the short and the wild Rock n Roll . The main influence behind all the hairstyles was popular music and film stars.Due to the war, short haircuts like the military, crew cut and the ivy league haircuts were still in fashion. The conservative and rock n roll hairstyles used pomade to slick back the hair and create a shiny and greasy look. Pomade was used in many popular hairstyles like the pompadour, comber and the ducks erase. The popularity of sideburns rapidly increased due to Elvis Presley, and subcultures such as Greasers had side burns symbolizing post pubescent manliness. Omens shoes did not change much around the decades surrounding the sass. Men's shoes were made from leather and were typically a singular color.Dress shoes were usually Wingtips or Brogue's. Twelve Angry Men is a sass production. I have researched men's fashion in the sass, and so it would be practical to use it in the production. Wearing the correct fashion from the sass would help understand the setting better and enhance the characters personalities. The characters in the production are from a variety of different working backgrounds and social statuses. It would be very effective to use dress as a label for the different personalities on the stage. It is important in drama to exaggerate, so the audience can understand the message being sent through by the director.Table 1 . The Characters in Twelve Angry Men (http://en. Wisped. Org/wick/Twelve_Angry_Men) Table 1 shows the occupations and the personality traits of the characters in Twelve Angry Men. The costume designer can choose a costume for each of the characters based on occupation social status that I have found in my research. For example the house painter, a blue color worker. The costume designer could put him in a suit room the sass, without all of the sass fashionable changes, because he unlikely to be able to afford a more modern suit.This would help the audience to recognize his social status through his dress. If we decided to change the setting of the production, the research would not be wasted, even though fashion has changed since the sass. From my research I have found the important factors that influence fashion are mass media, consumerism, popular music and celebrities. These are still relevant today. If the play, for example, was set in 2014, these features will inform the fashion worn by the characters.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Retirement Investments in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Retirement Investments in the USA - Essay Example Some of them may look good on papers but in practice, it may not bring dividends to the retired people. Some other investment plans are exempted from tax at the time of investments, but on maturity, people were forced to pay heavy amounts as taxes. This paper analyses benefits and drawbacks of various retirement options available in the United States at present like the IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, 401k and Roth 401k etc. Â  IRA refers to Individual Retirement Accounts whereas Roth IRA (named after its legislative sponsor William Roth) refers to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) allowed under the tax law of the United States. Â  Kennon (2010) has mentioned some of the major advantages and disadvantages of IRA’s and Roth IRA’s. In his opinion IRA’s are attractive because; IRA taxes are paid only on earnings, it is available to everyone without any income restrictions, funds can be used to purchase a variety of investments like stocks, bonds, certificates of deposits etc (Kennon). Some of the retirement investment options available in America at present are constrained to ordinary people because of the income restrictions. For example, Roth IRA schemes are available only to a particular community who earns more. The investor in IRA’s need does not worry much about the taxes as the tax is calculated based on the earnings rather than the principal amount. For example, it is possible that an investor in an IRA scheme may gain or lose heavy amounts because of the fluctuations in the stock market. Only the persons who gain something from their investments need to pay taxes whereas th e losers need not pay anything as taxes in case of IRA’s. Â  The major drawbacks of IRA’s are related to the withdrawal rules according to Kennon (2010). Investments in IRA’s cannot be continued by an investor when he crosses the age of 70.5 years. Moreover, an investor needs to pay 10% penalty if the funds were withdrawn before the age of 59.5 years (Kennon).

Thursday, September 12, 2019

HRM effectiveness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

HRM effectiveness - Essay Example He/she also has to take into account the firm's responsibilities to the society that it operates in. Human resource management deals with the "people" dimension in management. In their book Human Resource Management, Byars and Rue, say "Human Resource Management encompasses those activities designed to provide for and coordinate the human resources of an organization (Rue, 2000)." According to Ivancevich and Glueck, "Personnel or Human resource management is the function performed in organizations that facilitates the most effective use of people or employees to achieve organizational and individual goals (Glueck, 1995)." Every organization is composed of people and utilizing their services, developing their skills, motivating them to enhance their levels of performance and ensuring that they remain committed to the organization are essential for the accomplishment of organizational objectives. This is true for all types of organizations - government, business, education, health, recreation and social action. Acquiring and retaining good human resources is an essential pre-condition for the success of every organization. Organizations that can do this will be both effective i.e. they will be able to achieve their goals as well as efficient i.e. they will use minimum resources necessary to achieve their goals. Inefficient or ineffective organizations face the danger of stagnating or going out of business. Competent managers and workers are essential for the coordination of efforts towards the ultimate objectives which ensure the survival of the organization. Though such coordination alone cannot guara ntee success, the lack of it can lead to failure. In the changing times, it has become evident that it is the human resources of an organization or a country that can lead it on the path of success. It is the competencies and attitudes of the human resources that can make or break a business. The business of attracting and retaining talent and nurturing it has become imperative for the development of an organization. Innovative and proactive HR managers have been defining new boundaries of HRM. The turbulent and dynamic markets and the changing values and expectations of the workforce have made the earlier concepts of personnel management irrelevant. A new strategic role has emerged for HRM - that of a key player, to make the organization survive and succeed in a highly competitive business environment. Business has become knowledge based, service oriented, competitive and more dynamic in this new age. The quality of human resources has become an essential factor in determining the success of any organization. In the words of Eric Flamholtz a renowned HR consultant and a Professor at Anderson Graduate School, human resources accounting is defined as "accounting people as organizational resources. Human resources accounting is measurement of the cost and value of people for an organization (Flamholtz, 1999)." Till recently, people were not accounted as resources and no value was attributed to their contribution. However, in recent times, the criticality of the contributions of human resources have been acknowledged and recognized. Hence, the concept of attributing an

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Shia Political Islam and Its Sunni Counterpart Essay

Shia Political Islam and Its Sunni Counterpart - Essay Example On the one hand, throughout the history writers of Shia and Sunni revealed different approaches to reading Quran and understanding what exactly a good society is. Even though both sects agree on three fundamental Islamic principles (monotheism, Day of Judgement, and parenthood), they use these prerequisites differently in explaining ordinary events that appeared after Mohammed’s life (Ameli and Malaei 32). As Ja’fari explains the term ‘Shi’a’, the essence of it refers to â€Å"followers, party, group, associates, partisans, or in rather looser sense, ‘supporters’† (6). In this situation, the word ‘mawla’ the Shia understand as leader and patron. Hence, the Shia believe that Imam Ali is a successor of Muhammed they should worship as an authority (Ameli and Malaei 23). On the contrary, the definition of ‘Sunna’ refers to nobility and high moral qualities (Ja’fari 9). For them, ‘mawla’ is a friend, or the nearest kin (Ja’fari 23). Thus, they think Muslims had selected the leader after Muhammed, Abu-Bakr, among themselves, which underlines his equal status with other Muslims. This preposition leads to higher level of tolerance and acknowledgement. For example, Sunni commentators of religious texts tend to include the wives of Prophet while referring to his relatives. In fact, this different attention to the details signalizes of different degree of patriarchy within families.In this situation, such generally unequal understanding of the balance of power should lead to contradiction between two branches.