Business ownership and global business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business ownership and global business - Essay Example All the three forms of companies have their own benefits and risks. However sole proprietorship appears to be more risky as the owner is totally liable for every debt or loss incurred by the company. Limited Liability Company has some characteristics of sole trader and some of corporations as it is a limited liability company but a flow-through entity which means not subject to taxation up to some extent. Usually single owners choose this type of company to get rid of tedious paperwork required in other forms of companies. I think co-operative structure will be appropriate for this organization as it will help them to bring a wider platform in terms of financing and other resources. It also brings more knowledge and expertise to the organization. The company is totally run by the owner by his own self with out any other partner or director so in this form of business, the owner is not only limited in terms of ideas and knowledge but also monetary resources. The owner should think to delegate some powers and duties by getting other stakeholders in the company to extend the scope of business. A Limited liability company can also be limited in terms of financing sources. The owner, if not willing to change the ownership structure, opt to open branches of his business in other cities by replicating the same operations administered by local branch managers. He may choose to outsource some of the operations to other companies to get expert output. Tariffs and duties may affect the global business negatively. Higher rates of custom duties and taxes usually discourage buyers to import from other countries and they prefer to buy locally. The governments may take measures of decreasing such tariffs in order to encourage global

SWOT Analysis of Regis Corporation Essay Example for Free

SWOT Analysis of Regis Corporation Essay Section I – Organizational History Regis Corporation, a Fortune 1000 company, specializes in beauty salons, hair restoration centers, and cosmetology education. The Company owns, franchises, or holds ownership interests in approximately 12,700 worldwide locations (Regis Corporation, 2009). Regis corporate and franchise locations operate under concepts such as Supercuts, Sassoon Salon, Regis Salons, MasterCuts, SmartStyle and Hair Club for Men and Women (Regis Corporation, 2009). In addition, Regis maintains an ownership interest in Provalliance, which operates salons primarily in Europe, under the brands of Jean Louis David, Franck Provost and Saint Algue. Regis also maintains ownership interests in Empire Education Group in the U.S. and MY Style concepts in Japan. System-wide, these and other concepts are located in the U.S. and in over 30 other countries in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia (Regis Corporation, 2009). In its nearly 9,500 North American salons, Regis offers a wide range of hair care services including haircuts, styling and coloring, as well as a wide selection of professional hair care products (Regis Corporation, 2009). Through their 96 Hair Club for Men and Women locations, Regis also offers a comprehensive menu of hair restoration products and services (Regis Corporation, 2009). Section II – Strengths and Weaknesses I would consider two of Regis Corporation’s strengths to be their longevity brand recognition and salon geographic locations. Two of Regis Corporation’s weaknesses are poor management and poor management. Strength #1- Longevity Brand Recognition Regis began 88 years ago and since then has grown into a multi-billion dollar company. Regis Corporation owns several well-known brands such as SuperCuts, Master Cuts, Vidal Sassoon, and ProCuts. They also have their own complete hair care line of products called DesignLine. Strength #2- Salon Geographical Locations Regis strategically places all of their salons in locations with high customer traffic flow such as malls, shopping centers, and Wal-Mart Supercenters. Having salons located in these areas allows for customer flexibility as well as a highly visible location for potential walk-in clientele. Regis is also has salons operating in Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as over 400 salons operating internationally in Europe (Regis Corporation, 2009). Weakness #1- Poor Management After reading many Regis employee reviews from glassdoor.com, the majority of cons the employees listed had to do the management. Employees described management as unconcerned with quality of stylists hired, unresponsive to employee’s needs and concerns, and low opportunity for advancement. Upper and lower level management need to be properly trained and incorporate employee empowerment which includes employee recognition, sharing leadership, and providing feedback (Glassdoor.com,). Weakness #2- Poor Customer Service After reviewing many customer reviews, many of the complaints were centered on customer service issues. Some customers complained they were rushed through their service and there were complaints of having to wait over an hour for their service even though they had an appointment. Bad customer service is bad for the hair business because you not only loose that one client; you also lose any future referrals from the client and it can develop a bad reputation for the salon itself (Glassdoor.com,). Section III – Opportunities and Threats Two current opportunities for Regis Corporation’s are their hair restoration businesses and the availability of real estate for new construction. Two of Regis Corporation’s current threats are the downturn of the general economic environment and their current negative same-store sales. Opportunity #1- Hair Restoration Business In December 2004, Regis Corporation acquired the Hair Club for Men and Women (Regis Corporation, 2009). Currently this industry is comprised with numerous locations domestically and internationally. By consolidating and expanding, this industry would generate a great deal of revenue. Growth plans for hair restoration include construction of a modest number of new locations in untapped markets domestically and internationally (Regis Corporation, 2009). Opportunity #2- Availability of Real Estate for New Construction The availability of real estate for new construction is an opportunity for Regis to continue to expand not only the new construction of salons but also the construction of new hair restoration centers. By adding new units in convenient locations with good visibility and customer traffic. The availability of real estate will allow Regis to achieve long-term growth objectives (Regis Corporation, 2009). Threat #1- Downturn of the General Economic Environment Downturn of the economic environment results in customers spending less and waiting longer between returning visits to the salon. General economic factors include interest rates, recession, inflation, deflation, tax rates and policy, energy costs, and unemployment trends (Regis Corporation, 2009). Visits to hair restoration centers would be greatly impacted by increases in unemployment rates and decreases in income levels (Regis Corporation, 2009). Threat #2- Negative Same-Store Sales Same-store sales is taking the amount of revenue generated by stores (open one year or more) over a certain period and then comparing it to an identical period in the past. Many factors affect same-store sales such as fashion trends, competition, or even weather conditions. Regis same-store sales have declined for the eleventh consecutive quarter to 2.3% (Zacks Investment Research, 2011). Continued declines in same-store sales performance may cause us to be in default of certain covenants in their financing arrangements (Zacks Investment Research, 2011). Section IV – Summary Regis is a well-known brand name and had been in business for over 80 years. Regis is one of the largest companies in the hair care industry holding about 2% of the worldwide market. Their salons are conveniently located in malls, shopping centers, and even within Wal-Mart Supercenters. They have salons located all across the United States and have expanded their business to Canada, Puerto Rico, and Europe. Regis needs to improve on their employee satisfaction in regards to management and need to focus on improving customer service relations. Regis’s newly acquired hair restoration line provides a great opportunity to consolidate and expand this industry in turn creating a great deal of revenue. The availability of real estate for new construction is also a great opportunity for Regis to expand in the construction of new salons and new hair restoration centers, which will allow Regis to achieve long-term growth objectives. A threat to Regis is the downturn of the economic environment, which results in consumers spending less and waiting longer between salon visits. If Regis same-store sales do not begin to improve it will have a huge impact on their financing arrangements.

Computers and Homeland Security Essay -- Terrorist Terrorism September

Computers and Homeland Security After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 security became a major concern for citizens and of course lawmakers. Unsure of what could happen next we were all afraid. Homeland Security encompasses policies, laws, organizations, and procedures designed to protect the rights and freedoms inherent in the US Constitution. Homeland defense which is sometime interchanged with Homeland Security deals with extra-territorial threats and preemptive operations (Parons & Oja, 51). Governments in many countries are devoting significant resources to combat this growing threat. In the United Stats, the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS is responsible for reducing America?s vulnerability to terrorism and leading a unified national effort to prevent terrorist attacks on American citizens and assets. The DHS mission statement is: ?We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats an d hazards to the nation. We will ensure safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote free-slow of commerce? (www.dhs.gov). Technology is a key component of DHS. A part of the PROTECT system uses a computer program to depict the dispersion of toxic materials. On October 26, 2001 the President of the United States signed the Patriot Act, which was designed to define terrorist activities and provide la enforcement officials with legal tools for finding, catching, and prosecuted terrorists (Parons & Oja, 51). Computer systems assist efforts to identify terrorists among the millions of people who travel into and within U.S. borders. Terrorists might use cell hones or e-mail t... ...ments and have become more sophisticated at this task thanks to research for ordinary text-to speech and voice recognition technologies. Computers are a huge part of homeland security, without them we would all be at a greater risk for terrorism. Computers are prominent in each and every one of our lives, and they help us in many ways. Works Cited Arnone, Michael. "Internet security 'back to the Stone Age'." 22 Nov. 2005. 30 Nov. 2005 . "DHS Organization." Department of Homeland Security. DHS. 12 Nov. 2005 . National Security Agency Central Security Sevice. National Security Agency. 12 Nov. 2005 . United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team. US-CERT. 12 Nov. 2005 .

Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances EEG Patterns of Alertness

So many people in the world talk about how beneficial massage can be and that it makes you feel more relaxed. They say that if you receive massage, even just once a month, that it could help you in many different aspects of your life, such as helping depression, lessening anxiety, becoming more relaxed more often, and that it can help you become less stressed in your day to day life. In this research study, the researchers hypothesize that massage would have an effect on anxiety, depression, and alertness. The objective was to show that massage can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress by testing cortisol level and increase alertness by comparing EEG patterns by math computations. This research study is a quantitative research. Most massage therapy studies are a qualitative research instead of a quantitative. In a qualitative research, the results are based on what people felt and their personal experiences. The people in the study record how or what they felt, and then the researchers compare and analyze pre-massage, post-massage, and with other subjects’ information. Since massage therapists effect how people feel, qualitative is normally the best type of research for the massage therapy field. In a quantitative research, the variables can be measured and analyzed, like people’s cortisol levels and EEG patterns. In this study, there is some qualitative research, because they do ask questions like how stressed you felt and how depressed you felt. You can’t truly compare someone’s stress level with a simple questionnaire sheet. Everyone can tolerate different levels of stress and different types of stress. The researchers observed and compared anxiety, depression, stress, and alertness. They used 5 different variables to tes... ... a chair is not going to help too much with their whiplash. Of course, many people don’t know all the benefits of the different types of massage, but that is why we educate our clients and the people around us, or at least the ones who will listen to us. Massage therapists should constantly read up on new studies and educate their clients with information like this. It really helps massage therapy become a more respectable reputation. Research studies back up and help prove theories of massage. This study shows that even a short session of massage therapy can really have an impact on your moods and lifestyle. So why not try a massage? Works Cited Tiffany Field, Gail Robinson, Frank Scafidi, Tom Nawrocki, and Alex Goncalves (1996) Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances EEG Pattern of Alertness and Math Computations, International Journal of Neuroscience

Critical Evaluation Of Continuing Professional Development In Hrm

In this essay the writer presents a critical rating of the four phases of the Continuing Professional Development ( CPD ) rhythm as a tool to back up her CPD in Human Resource Management ( HRM ) . The CPD procedure can be carried out by set abouting bit-by-bit procedure ( see, Figure 1 ) . However, the footing for most preparation remains the traditional preparation procedure system ( see Figure2 ) . Therefore, we will utilize the traditional preparation procedure system for our analysis. Specifying the CPD poses an interesting job although a figure of high research workers and administration have categorised the different attacks. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development ( CIPD ) define CPD as â€Å" the demand for persons to maintain up to day of the month with quickly altering cognition † ( Website 1 ) . Other administrations refer to structured procedures â€Å" to keep, develop and heighten accomplishments, cognition and competency both professionally and personally in order to better public presentation at work † ( Website 2 ) . The Chartered Institute of Management ( Website 3 ) provinces that ‘Effective CPD is a committedness to professionalism – it shows that you have taken personal duty for guaranting that you have the accomplishments and cognition necessary to run into the challenges of an of all time changing universe. The procedure should profit the person, and besides the concern as a whole.Evaluation of the four ph ases of the CPD rhythmThe traditional preparation procedure system ( see Figure2 ) of CPD rhythm comprises four chief stairss: 1 ) Identifying development demands, i.e. , placing preparation and acquisition demands ; 2 ) inventing a acquisition program – prioritizing demands and choosing appropriate activities ; 3 ) project development activities and ; 4 ) recording and measuring results ( Megginson & A ; Whitaker, 2007 ) . Now, if we consider the contents of the MSc in HRM, in relation to the CPD rhythm and the writer ‘s attack to accomplishing her ends, i.e. , finishing the MSc in HRM with at-least virtue base on balls for most faculties together with appropriate atom experiences. The first measure is that placing development demands. Harmonizing to Inglis ( 1994 ) placing development demands means developing an Extraordinary Realistic Self Image ( ERSI ) , which should dwell the elements of work it self, contemplation by ego, feedback from others, single psychometric & A ; self -diagnostic steps, organisational prosodies and professional prosodies. Furthermore in the instance of single identifying development needs includes, feedback from others, self-assignment, contemplation, personal & A ; professional congruity and aspirations / dreams. In this instance, the writer as an person, taking all the above factors into consideration she set up her development needs as follows ; by analyzing MSc in HRM she wish to develop her ability to do an effectual part at a strategic degree in today ‘s quickly altering organisational contexts, internally or externally. She besides wants to larn more about the effectual direction and use of human resources in organisations. By the terminal of this class, she hope to accomplish more cognition about strategic position and operational position, besides she would wish to derive more cognition and accomplishments to actuate and pull off employees, and go a brooding practician in this specialist field, alleged human resources direction, and develop a strategic apprehension of HRM in relation to organisational procedures. At present the writer is merely an affiliate member of the CIPD and by the terminal of the class she aims to derive graduate rank of the CIPD and in the long clip her a spirations is to go a chap of CIPD. Now, she needs some standard for make up one's minding which of these demands should be given precedence. In relation to this Stephen Covey ( 1990 ) emphasized the demand to concentrate on the countries that are of import and non-urgent. Megginson ( 1994 ) created a model called SPICE, which covers a scope of countries and has a memorable acronym. SPICE involves puting ends in the countries of spirit, physical, intellect, calling and emotion. Another theoretical account presented by Hawkins ( 1999 ) , alleged BEST theoretical account suggests that we can put ends that get the best out of us if we look for ends that help us to: Broaden – move us into new countries ; Enjoy – acquire us making more of the things that we love ; Stretch – take us into new countries, making more, facing bigger challenges ; Think -challenge our apprehension and command, demanding deeper penetration. The following model to take into history is the manners theoretical account discussed in Boydell and Leary ( 1996 ) . Each manner has certain cardinal features and strengths, and the big motions of our life, when we notice that we are sing the universe from a radically different position are about traveling from one manner to the following. Figure 3 briefly describes each of the manners, which may assist to place where we stand in our development. The theoretical account begins at the underside and as we develop we work up through the manners over the old ages. The writer is following the BEST ( Broaden, Enjoy, Stretch, Think ) theoretical account for prioritising her demands and choosing appropriate activities, it is in her position that this theoretical account is more appropriate to her instance. Because, set abouting the MSc in HRM she additions more cognition and accomplishments in the field of HRM. She is basking making the class and making more of the things she love. On the other manus the class is rather a disputing one due to the nature of the class contents and the manner of survey ( i.e. , full clip ) besides the clip constrain is a large factor. Therefore, she is stretching her ego to equilibrate the professional and personal life. However, her desire to believe in front and carry through her aspirations allows her to confront the challenges and demanding her to make more to acquire a deeper penetration of the topics. Now, traveling on to set abouting development activities, these should be in the signifier of professional work-based activities ( e.g. work undertaking and new undertaking ) , courses & A ; conferences ( e.g. CIPD branch meetings ) , and autonomous informal acquisition ( e.g. reading, action acquisition and brooding journal ) . In relation to this the writer is engaged in professional work-based activities via work-placement, which allows her to utilize the theories into patterns that she learned though formal talks and farther readings. Furthermore her autonomous informal acquisition such as readings, allows her to utilize broad theoretical constructs into her assignments, tests, and practical activities. This allows optimising her cognition and accomplishments, every bit good as accomplishing her ends with assurances. Recording and measuring results – the procedure of composing helps us to condense experiences, acknowledge forms and discern tendencies. It enables us to retrieve what has gone earlier and gaining control lessons for the hereafter. It can besides be kept for CIPD upgrading applications ( Megginson & A ; Whitaker, 2007 ) . The writer has included an grounds of her ain reflecting back Continuing Professional Development ( CPD ) record and traveling frontward program, which spans the period of her MSc in HRM taught programme and program for farther development. She was really pleased about her overall public presentation so far, but it is in her ain position that she could hold done even better in one or two topics, nevertheless due to clip constrains and other factors which are beyond her control made it hard to execute on a highest degree for those two topics. Therefore, for the hereafter undertakings, she will fix good by reading broad scope of stuffs including talks notes and garnering critical information from varies beginnings, for illustration, this is peculiarly really of import for her thesis that will be the immediate hereafter undertaking for her. Furthermore, better pull off the clip and program in front early as possible, and she believes that will take to the better result. So far, the writer ‘s attack to formal educational CPD activities ( MSc in HRM ) explained by and large with regard to CPD rhythm. Now, she considers the whole CPD procedure by placing farther demands to travel through the CPD rhythm once more. With regard to MSc in HRM, measuring her current accomplishments, she studied broad scope of HRM maps, theoretical accounts and methods used in administrations. Through these surveies she is now able to analyze and critically measure the map of the director and administration based direction constructions alongside the function of human resource direction within a scope of organizational scenes. The writer ‘s able to show a critical apprehension of a scope of methods and theoretical accounts used in administration and concern analysis from the position of human resource direction. She have an thought of how leading developments and how learning & A ; development is working in an organisation ( e.g. coaching, and e-learning ) and how is the one-year wage reappraisal managed and application of Performance Related Payment ( PRP ) system worked ; besides an up-to day of the month information about current statute laws ; the employee communications and how the people resourcing sche mes managed. Therefore, she has insight cognition of broad country of Human Resource Management ( HRM ) . Furthermore the writer is able to show a theoretical and critical apprehension of the histrions, context, mechanisms, procedures, and processs that regulate and shape the employment relationship, including an grasp of the contrasting positions and readings within employment dealingss. Furthermore, she can show critical apprehension and analytical consciousness of how employment dealingss constructs, policies and patterns are applied within administrations to lend to the direction of people and organizational public presentation. As she reflecting on the results, it is her position that she need to use the cognition and accomplishments gained over the twelvemonth through her surveies. However, it is of import to observe that the writer developed her HR accomplishments in the country of Employee Relations ( ER ) through the work arrangement ; it has strengthened her ability through undertaking direction in existent life state of affairs.RecommendationsAs the CPD rhythm continue throughout her professional life, for the writer ‘s immediate hereafter patterns the undermentioned activities are recommended. First, outlining a realistic traveling frontward program, this should incorporate the cardinal countries of development, that has to be achieved in the following twelvemonth or so, and a clip graduated table for the reappraisal of professional development demands. Second, networking and improved communications with academic and industrial communities within the HRM field is greatly encouraged. This allows her to interchange thoughts and other information for optimised public presentations for her ego and the administration. Finally, go oning work based preparation is recommended for long-run development of her calling.DrumheadIn this essay critical rating of the writer ‘s attack to the formal educational larning CPD activity ( i.e. the MSc in HRM ) with mention to the assorted phases of battle with the CPD rhythm is presented. Conducting this formal educational acquisition activity the writer seeks to broaden and intensify her consciousness of the subject of Human Resource direction, cognition and accomplishments. The class covers theory every bit good as practical applications ( i.e. , through the work-placement ) , and lead to a making ( MSc in HRM ) . Within the context of CPD procedure, the writer ‘s contemplation on her ain CPD from both a practical and a theoretical point of position are presented. Furthermore, the writer ‘s motive, battle and direction activ ities related to the MSc in HRM strategy are described. Finally some recommendations are suggested for the writer ‘s future pattern.

Reflective Report on I am Eora Performance

Reflective Report on I am Eora Performance Introduction The performance of the epic tale I Am Eora was at the Carriageworks’ Bay 17, on 13 Jan 2012 at 08:30pm. The performance will last for 80 minutes live on stage. The director of the scene is Wesley Enoch who got support from the co writer Anita Heiss. The stage set up of the film was enormous and was nothing close to the expectation of the audience.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Reflective Report on I am Eora Performance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The audience was massive, and the entertainers did not fail the audience. A band was the first to step on stage to entertain the audience before the onset of the epic pastiche. Jack Charles radical young and Frank Yamma were next on stage. They all did exceptional work in entertaining the audience. All these performances reflected their pride of being part of the culture. However, the main theme was the performance of Eora, (Robinson, Karantonis 2011 pp 54). I Am Eora is an epic tale that means â€Å"I am of this place†. The tale tries to put into play the struggles of the Aboriginal community as they try to maintain their culture. This is despite the challenges they face as they lose their land to grabbers. They face hardships that include killing of people of their race, and adaption of outside cultures. This is a tale of a community who despite all these challenges manage to preserve their culture and maintain an identity to themselves. This does not mean that they rejected new ideas and culture, but they managed to adapt to urban life and the multicultural society. The director, Wesley Enoch, took the three legend stories of the Aboriginal people. The three legends include the famous warrior Pemulwuy, Barangaroo, considered as self sufficient mother, and her husband Bennelong. Bennelong considered the analyst and promoter of the portrayed as an interpreter and advocate for the resolution of the problems faced by the Aboriginal. Enoch uses narrative, songs, dances graphics and videos to unfold the events of the show, (Hannah 2007 pp 90). The performance Most of the show was a surprise because Enoch used techniques not expected by the audience. I was expecting the performance to done by less than ten people. However, it was a shock to see a cast comprising of more than fifty people. He amazed his audience; by the way, he used songs, dance and graphics to present this tale.Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More I was expecting a presentation filled with narration of the legendary stories of the characters. However, that was not the case. The first thing that he did against my expectation was the way he presented his cast. I was expecting the characters to come to stage their traditional attire. I was expecting the Radical son to come to stage with a suit. However, the most shocking par t was when Luke Currie-Richardson walks to the stage. He shocks many when he starts removing his clothing one by one. He stands naked in front of the crowd with nothing, but aboriginal drawings, (Kerwin, 2010 pp 123). This was a show that portrayed that the dignity of the Aboriginal people does not come with the clothes they put on, but the values they cherish. This was also a sign of the ancient times. During the time when Pemulwuy was fighting, there were no modern clothes like suits and ties. This is, therefore, a reminder and takes the audience back in time. The Radical son, a young boy, and Nooky play the role of Pemulwuy. The scene is breathtaking, and this is better by the vocal power of the radical son. He enacts his role with a lot of passion and connects with the audience well. The scene reminds me of the tales I heard about the legendary fighter who defended his people against the British invasion. The conversation between the three men makes the audience edgy and is full of suspense (Congreve Marquardt, 2005 pp 67). Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs enact the role of Barangaroo. She appears on stage as a young pregnant woman. She is a responsible young woman who is fishing a long the river. Her appearance on stage changes the mood created by the three young men playing the role of Pemulwuy. She brings in the feeling of warmth that has an association with mothers. She takes us back to the time when women are the sole providers for their families. Her role portrays a strong woman who will do anything for her people and most of all her children, (Kerwin, 2010 pp 65). Jack Charles plays the role of Bennelong. His captivating nature suits his role perfectly. He takes the audience back in time. He takes us through his life and his effort to reconcile the people. He takes the audience through his life without a single problem. He puts the audience in a situation where they have to reconsider and think about reconciliation.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Reflective Report on I am Eora Performance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He tried to make both parties appreciate their culture. He tried to make his people adapt the European dressing style and taught the Europeans the Aboriginal culture. The show ends with a song by Frank Yamma titled She Cried. All through the play there are background songs played. During the emergence, of Barangaroo, Stiff Gins sings joyously to make the scene warm and motherly. Stiff Gins’ also sings at the end of the show singing, Diamonds on the Water, (Clark, 2007 pp 104). Director’s speech The director in his speech explains how he came up with the idea of enacting I am Eora. He says that the conversation was between him and Lindy Hume. He states that the conversation revolved around the Aboriginal people, their past and the influence they have on the city of Sydney. The stories revolved around the legendary stories of th e three heroes and heroines in the history of the Aboriginals. The tales moved from merely narratives to highly music-based tales (Kerwin, 2010 pp. 89). The first thing that formed the theme of the tale was the fact that the Aboriginal believe that the only thing that will never change is land. He says, ‘I got the chance to be given an explanation on the value of land, and that it is the only constant thing on earth. This was a new explanation to me because the western cultures belief that time is the only thing that never changes.’ He wanted to make the people of Sidney proud of their culture and roots. He says, ‘I wondered how I could bridge the gap and make people proud of their culture and say they are proud to be Eoras (Kerwin, 2010 pp. 45). Conclusion The main theme of performance was to make the people appreciate their culture. Enoch achieved this by intertwining the roles of the legends in shaping the nation. The role of Pemulwuy urges the audience to figh t for their rights and dignity. Bennelong, on the other hand, plays the role of teaching the people the importance of appreciating other people’s culture. He emphasizes on the importance of integrating new ideas into the society, but having the notion that one should not forget his own roots. List of References Clark, M. 2007. Mudrooroo: a likely story: identity and belonging in postcolonial Australia. Sydney: Peter Lang. Congreve, B. Marquardt, M. 2005. The Years Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy. Sydney: Wildside Press LLC.Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hannah, M. 2007. Transgressions: critical Australian indigenous histories.Issue 16 of Aboriginal History Monograph Series. London: ANUE Press. Kerwin, D. 2010.Aboriginal Dreaming Paths and Trading Routes: The Colonization of the Australian Economic Landscape. First Nations and the colonial encounter. Princeton: Sussex Academic Press. Kerwin, D. 2010.Annual register. California: University of California. Robinson, D. Karantonis, P. 2011. Opera Indigene: Re/Presenting First Nations and Indigenous Cultures. Ashgate interdisciplinary studies in opera. Sydney: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Causesof Political violence essays

Causesof Political violence essays Political violence is like a festering wound, in that, without the aid of antibiotics the wound has the potential to depress the immune system and eventually overwhelm the individual, leading to death. In this analogy, antibiotics could represent forces that are always looking for the rogue virus's bent on the destruction of the whole body (society). I often wonder why people resort to violence, of any kind, to solve a particular problem. Questions can be asked of the individual(s) involved in carrying out the attacks, but the questions never seem to be answered in a way that will show why violence is needed to resolve conflict. Rather, excuses are rendered in the hopes that by the logic used in explaining why conflict must be resolved, this will justify the actions. This leads, though, to a sort of circular argument. For example, in the case of Saddam Hussein (put aside the fact that he is the president of a nation) is an idiot. Why exactly he felt it was justifiable to invade a cou ntry, who at the time had an OK relationship with the United States, and then think the US and/or other countries would allow him to forcibly occupy that country. Whatever his logic, his actions were not justifiable. I believe his logic was as follows: Something happened to his country (economically, socially, politically etc.) that he did not like or want to happen. Hussein decided to adopt the "eye-for-an-eye" approach to conflict resolution. Except he changed the rules and instead of responding in a like manner consistent with "eye-for-an-eye", he went over board with his reaction. He forcibly invaded a country. I use the Persian Gulf War as a recent example of reasons for why people resolve conflict not through peaceful means but through violent actions. Iraq is not the only country in the system to use this type of logic when tackling an issue that is perceived to have only one avenue of approach to resolution: war. It seems that every, or nearly e...

Biography of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Biography of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Chester Henry Nimitz (February 24, 1885–February 20, 1966) served as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II and was later promoted to the new rank of Fleet Admiral. In that role, he commanded all land and sea forces in the central Pacific area. Nimitz was responsible for the victories at Midway and Okinawa among others. In later years, he served as chief of naval operations for the United States. Fast Facts: Chester Henry Nimitz Known For: Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War IIBorn: February 24, 1885 in Fredericksburg, TexasParents: Anna Josephine, Chester Bernhard NimitzDied: February 20, 1966 in Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco, CaliforniaEducation: U.S. Naval AcademyPublished Works: Sea Power, a Naval History (co-editor with E.B. Potter)Awards and Honors: (list includes only American decorations) Navy Distinguished Service Medal with three gold stars, Army Distinguished Service Medal,  Silver Lifesaving Medal, World War I Victory Medal,  Secretary of the Navy Commendation Star, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal with service star. In addition (among other honors) namesake of the USS  Nimitz, the first nuclear-powered supercarrier. The Nimitz Foundation funds the National Museum of the Pacific War and the Admiral Nimitz Museum, Fredericksburg, Texas.Spouse: Catherine Vance FreemanChildren: Cat herine Vance, Chester William Jr., Anna Elizabeth, Mary MansonNotable Quote: God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right even though I think it is hopeless. Early Life Chester William Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, on February 24, 1885, and was the son of Chester Bernhard and Anna Josephine Nimitz. Nimitzs father died before he was born and as a young man, he was influenced by his grandfather Charles Henry Nimitz, who had served as a merchant seaman. Attending Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas, Nimitz originally wished to attend West Point but was unable to do so as no appointments were available. Meeting with Congressman James L. Slayden, Nimitz was informed that one competitive appointment was available to Annapolis. Viewing the U.S. Naval Academy as his best option for continuing his education, Nimitz devoted himself to studying and succeeded in winning the appointment. Annapolis Nimitz departed high school early to commence his naval career. Arriving at Annapolis in 1901, he proved an able student and showed a particular aptitude for mathematics. A member of the academys crew team, he graduated with distinction on January 30, 1905, ranked seventh in a class of 114. His class graduated early, as there was a shortage of junior officers due to the rapid expansion of the U.S. Navy. Assigned to the battleship USS Ohio (BB-12), he traveled to the Far East. Remaining in the Orient, he later served aboard the cruiser USS Baltimore. In January 1907, having completed the required two years at sea, Nimitz was commissioned as an ensign. Submarines Diesel Engines Leaving the USS Baltimore, Nimitz received command of the gunboat USS Panay in 1907 before moving on to assume command of the destroyer USS Decatur. While conning Decatur on July 7, 1908, Nimitz grounded the ship on a mud bank in the Philippines. Though he rescued a seaman from drowning in the wake of the incident, Nimitz was court-martialed and issued a letter of reprimand. Returning home, he was transferred to the submarine service in early 1909. Promoted to lieutenant in January 1910, Nimitz commanded several early submarines before being named Commander, 3rd Submarine Division, Atlantic Torpedo Fleet in October 1911. Ordered to Boston the following month to oversee the fitting out of USS Skipjack (E-1), Nimitz received a Silver Lifesaving Medal for rescuing a drowning sailor in March 1912. Leading the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla from May 1912 to March 1913, Nimitz was assigned to oversee the construction of diesel engines for the tanker USS Maumee. While in this assignment, he married Catherine Vance Freeman in April 1913. That summer, the U.S. Navy dispatched Nimitz to Nuremberg, Germany and Ghent, Belgium to study diesel technology. Returning, he became one of the services foremost experts on diesel engines. World War I Re-assigned to Maumee, Nimitz lost part of his right ring finger while demonstrating a diesel engine. He was only saved when his Annapolis class ring jammed the engines gears. Returning to duty, he was made the ships executive officer and engineer upon its commissioning in October 1916. With the U.S. entry into World War I, Nimitz oversaw the first underway refuelings as Maumee aided the first American destroyers crossing the Atlantic to the war zone. Now a lieutenant commander, Nimitz returned to submarines on August 10, 1917, as an aide to Rear Admiral Samuel S. Robinson, commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleets submarine force. Made Robinsons chief of staff in February 1918, Nimitz received a letter of commendation for his work. The Interwar Years With the war winding down in September 1918, he saw duty in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations and was a member of the Board of Submarine Design. Returning to sea in May 1919, Nimitz was made executive officer of the battleship USS South Carolina (BB-26). After brief service as the commander of USS Chicago and Submarine Division 14, he entered the Naval War College in 1922. After graduating he became chief of staff to Commander, Battle Forces and later Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet. In August 1926, Nimitz traveled to the University of California-Berkeley to establish a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit. Promoted to captain on June 2, 1927, Nimitz departed Berkeley two years later to take command of Submarine Division 20. In October 1933, he was given command of the cruiser USS Augusta. Principally serving as flagship of the Asiatic Fleet, he remained in the Far East for two years. Arriving back in Washington, Nimitz was appointed Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. After a brief time in this role, he was made Commander, Cruiser Division 2, Battle Force. Promoted to rear admiral on June 23, 1938, he was transferred to be Commander, Battleship Division 1, Battle Force that October. World War II Begins Coming ashore in 1939, Nimitz was selected to serve as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. He was in this role when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Ten days later, Nimitz was selected to replace Admiral Husband Kimmel as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Traveling west, he arrived at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Day. Officially taking command on December 31, Nimitz immediately began efforts to rebuild the Pacific Fleet and halt the Japanese advance across the Pacific. Coral Sea and Midway On March 30, 1942, Nimitz was also made Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas giving him control of all Allied forces in the central Pacific. Initially operating on the defensive, Nimitzs forces won a strategic victory at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, which halted Japanese efforts to capture Port Moresby, New Guinea. The following month, they scored a decisive triumph over the Japanese at the Battle of Midway. With reinforcements arriving, Nimitz shifted to the offensive and began a protracted campaign in the Solomon Islands in August, centered on the capture of Guadalcanal. After several months of bitter fighting on land and sea, the island was finally secured in early 1943. While General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, advanced through New Guinea, Nimitz began a campaign of island hopping across the Pacific. Rather than engage sizable Japanese garrisons, these operations were designed to cut them off and let them wither on the vine. Moving from island to island, Allied forces used each as a base for capturing the next. Island Hopping Beginning with Tarawa in November 1943, Allied ships and men pushed through the Gilbert Islands and into the Marshalls capturing Kwajalein and Eniwetok. Next targeting Saipan, Guam, and Tinian in the Marianas, Nimitzs forces succeeded in routing the Japanese fleet at the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. Capturing the islands, Allied forces next fought a bloody battle for Peleliu and then secured Angaur and Ulithi. To the south, elements of the U.S. Pacific Fleet under Admiral William Bull Halsey won a climactic fight at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in support of MacArthurs landings in the Philippines. On December 14, 1944, by Act of Congress, Nimitz was promoted to the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral (five-star). Shifting his headquarters from Pearl Harbor to Guam in January 1945, Nimitz oversaw the capture of Iwo Jima two months later. With airfields in the Marianas operational, B-29 Superfortresses began bombing the Japanese home islands. As part of this campaign, Nimitz ordered the mining of Japanese harbors. In April, Nimitz began the campaign to capture Okinawa. After an extended fight for the island, it was captured in June. End of the War Throughout the war in the Pacific, Nimitz made effective use of his submarine force, which conducted a highly effective campaign against Japanese shipping. As Allied leaders in the Pacific were planning for the invasion of Japan, the war came to an abrupt end with the use of the atom bomb in early August. On September 2, Nimitz was aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) as part of the Allied delegation to receive the Japanese surrender. The second Allied leader to sign the Instrument of Surrender after MacArthur, Nimitz signed as the representative of the United States. Postwar With the conclusion of the war, Nimitz departed the Pacific to accept the position of Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). Replacing Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, Nimitz took office on December 15, 1945. During his two years in office, Nimitz was tasked with scaling back the U.S. Navy to a peacetime level. To accomplish this, he established a variety of reserve fleets to ensure that an appropriate level of readiness was maintained despite reductions in the strength of the active fleet. During the Nuremberg Trial of German Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz in 1946, Nimitz produced an affidavit in support of the use of unrestricted submarine warfare. This was a key reason why the German admirals life was spared and a relatively short prison sentence was given. During his term as CNO, Nimitz also advocated on behalf of the U.S. Navys relevancy in the age of atomic weapons and pushed for continuing research and development. This saw Nimitz support Captain Hyman G. Rickovers early proposals to convert the submarine fleet to nuclear power and resulted in the construction of USS Nautilus. Retiring from the U.S. Navy on December 15, 1947, Nimitz and his wife settled in Berkeley, California. Later Life On January 1, 1948, Nimitz was appointed to the largely ceremonial role of Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier. Prominent in the San Francisco-area community, he served as a regent of the University of California from 1948 to 1956. During this time, he worked to restore relations with Japan and helped lead fundraising efforts for the restoration of the battleship Mikasa, which had served as Admiral Heihachiro Togos flagship at the 1905 Battle of Tsushima. Death In late 1965, Nimitz suffered a stroke that was later complicated by pneumonia. Returning to his home on Yerba Buena Island, Nimitz died on February 20, 1966. Following his funeral, he was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.

Compare and Contrast Song of Roland and The Iliad. Similarities and Term Paper

Compare and Contrast Song of Roland and The Iliad. Similarities and differences - Term Paper Example The poems are long works and so they are broken into shorter verses and chapters, which makes it easier for the performers to remember. There are many repeated phrases that are used to refer to individual characters or places. Athena is usually referred to in terms of her grey eyes, for example, and there are a lot of references to Roland’s youth and nobility. The content is also similar. Both poems tell the stories of heroic warriors who fight with each other on behalf of great kings. There is a lot of focus on battles, and the women play a secondary role, usually being taken captive like Helen in the Iliad and Bramimonde in the Song of Roland and displayed as a trophy for the winner of a battle. There is a strong narrator who reports what happens, what people are thinking and saying, and even what gods and other divine messengers are doing. The contrast between the human and divine dimensions is very important in epics. There are obvious differences in terms of the historica l period and culture of the two poems. Homer talks about war between Greeks and Trojans, while the Song of Roland deals with the Frankish followers of Charlemagne and their enemies the Muslim Saracens. In the Greek/Trojan world there are many different gods who take an active part in the battles.

Motivation and Applied Performance Practices Dissertation

Motivation and Applied Performance Practices - Dissertation Example The level of dissatisfaction is also analysed from the fact that the employee takes long leaves and also aims to leave the organization. Critical Analysis The issues highlighted in the case can be analysed using the framework of the Exit Voice Loyalty Neglect Model. This model distinguishes employee behaviour into two kinds namely a constructive and a destructive type. It also shows two forms of action namely passive and passive response (Harvey & Wenzel, 2001, p.41). In this case Wendy shows a destructive and active response in behaviour while Tanya shows a constructive and passive response. The response shown by Wendy largely implies negative effects on an organization whereas the opposite is reflected from the response shown by Tanya. The behaviour of the employee is largely an outcome of employee motivation and job satisfaction. Theoretically it has been stated that employee satisfaction is strongly correlated with motivation levels (Andrews & Johnson, 2002, p.152). In this case Wendy as largely de motivated following the promotion of Tanya that led to de motivation ultimately leading to dissatisfaction from the job. Stress Management It is very clear from the case that Tanya is suffering from stress following the state of events unfolded in the organization.

Entering the Conversation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Entering the Conversation - Essay Example & Monroe, D. Food and philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. 2007. Print Allhof and Monroe’s book gives a very enlightening and also refreshing exploration on how philosophy can go about conversing about food and the activity of eating. There are various chapters that focus on a certain aspects of food and philosophy. Aesthetics and ethics cover certain themes and issues that involve the matter of food and eating. Aesthetics would try to expound on the nature of the good taste and refined experiences of eating food and what qualifies a dish to be wonderfully delicious. Ethics would speak on how eating should be done accordingly for the good of an individual. Each chapter in this book deals with such different themes and issues, and is written by various contributing authors from different fields related to the food culture and even life science. Iggers, J. Who needs a critic? the standard of taste and the power of branding. In F. Allhoff & D. Monroe (Eds.), Food an d philosophy (pp.88-100). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. 2007. Print This article written by Iggers speaks on what is the standard of food that would consider it be of â€Å"good taste† and also the effects of branding that would affect the criteria of such standards. Being a food critic himself, Iggers expounds the reasons and the mindset as to what would make an individual a person of good taste and have a refined palate for food. Since not everyone has the sensitive tongue and taste buds to without experience and learning it is important that a good food critic develop good taste by going through a more critical and refined manner of enjoying and understanding food more than just a mere necessity for survival. King, R.J.H. Eating well: Thinking ethically about food. In F. Allhoff & D. Monroe (Eds.), Food and philosophy (pp.177-191). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. 2007. Print. King wrote this article on how an individual should ethically conduct himself or h erself in the activity of eating and to consider the nature of eating. King expresses that the reasons why an individual should eat properly because it has its effects much larger in scale for both an individual and for the environment around. For an individual, good health is the reason why eating well is important. The reason why a balanced diet exists is to promote proper nutritional intake and balance for a person when he or she eats. Having too much of eating is just as bad as not eating. Parasecoli, F. Hungry engrams: Food and non-representational memory. In F. Allhoff & D. Monroe (Eds.), Food and philosophy (pp.102-114). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. 2007. Print. Parasecoli’s article takes reference from a neurologist turned chef by the name of Miguel Sanchez Romera. Parasecoli is an Italian food and wine critic expresses his fascination on how the flavor of food can be associated with the human brain’s ability to remember things or store memory. In thi s article, Parasecoli gives an explanation with regards to Romera’s research that different flavors of food have different effects to a person’s ability for memory association as well as emotional association. The taste and flavor of food can at times represent various emotional memories to a person since the mind would associate it with either an experience or sentiment. Shelley, J. The concept of the aesthetic. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aesthetic-concept/. 2009. Web The article

Special Interest Tourism in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Special Interest Tourism in the UK - Essay Example The main river, Shannon, runs through North Ireland and into independent South Ireland. The United Kingdom is a glowing economy with one of the highest per capita income in the world at 35,100. "The United Kingdom "is separated from Scotland on the north by the granite Cheviot Hills; the Pennine chain of uplands extends south through the center of England, reaching its highest point in the Lake District in the northwest. To the west along the border of Wales, a land of steep hills and valleys, are the Cambrian Mountains, while the Cotswolds, a range of hills in Gloucestershire, extend into the surrounding shires. "Important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Thames, Humber, Tees, and Tyne. In the west are the Severn and Wye, which empty into the Bristol Channel and are navigable, as are the Mersey and Ribble" (United Kingdom: History, Geography, Government and Culture, 2009). With such a rich topography, the whole of the United Kingdom has special interest tourist locations spread out throughout the land. For this essay, we will concentrate on Harrogate in England as the special interest tourist location. Harrogate is one of the places in England, "suited for tourism owing to its special features and rural leanings. "The Harrogate district boasts a strong, resilient economy centred on a high quality built and natural environment, a culture of enterprise and a highly skilled resident workforce" (Draft Economic Strategy). "Business tourism attracts over 350,000 visitors per annum. This brings spending of 160m to the district each year and helps support around 21,000 tourism-related jobs (30% of employment) in hotels, restaurants and other related businesses" (Draft Economic Strategy). Owing to the recent worldwide recession, development in Harrogate had to be curtailed that also led to some setback to tourism. The area has to be appropriately developed with railways and roads to enable better transportation. Also, infrastructure including communication is relatively poor in the rural areas of the district. Facilities for higher education do not exist. These conditions do not severely affect tourism. However, they impact the quality of tourism in the area that can only improve with proper infrastructure and education. Evidently, the urban-rural connection in the region is imbalanced but the rural areas are poised for better organizational growth with initiatives from the local authority and its partnership with the sub-regional tourism and coastal tourism bodies. There has been a growth of 75% in the tourism industry in the last twelve months in Harrogate. The region attracts footfalls not only locally but also from other countries such as Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Eastern European nations. This is indicative of the rich potential that exists in Harrogate as a tourist centre in Europe (Suckling, Helen et al; 2010). The

Is the MPAA Rating System Fair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is the MPAA Rating System Fair - Essay Example rating system should not be ruled out, it would be appropriate to follow a fair open system rather than conforming to the outdated societal norms and beliefs. Unless and otherwise a renovation is made to the system, the whole thing seems to be of no worth to the film industry and its audience. Tracking back to the history of MPAA; in 1930, they crested the ‘Hays Code’ holding just two categories, ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’, which were later overhauled by the current 5-rating system in 1968, comprising of G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 ratings. â€Å"For almost 40 years the US film industry was governed by the Motion Picture Production Code, which banned nudity, drug use, religious ridicule, disrespect for the law and other depictions in film that would have the effect of lowering society’s moral standards.† (Fieser, 2011). The system’s ultimate goal was to defend the artistic freedom of the filmmakers, at the same time, fulfilling the parent’s need to determine the film’s appropriateness for their children. Recently, there have been claims that the MPAA is not fair and is too conservative in its ratings. It is also criticized of being arbitrary in its rating decisions, consequently affecting numerous filmmakers with its random sexually-obsessed and biased judgments. This issue is well-portrayed in This Film Is Not Yet Rated, as it exposes the reasons and rules of ratings behind the mysterious organization, its membership and its bias in rating the films. To top of that, the film also uncovers the entity’s secrecy, its specific functioning and its rules. According to the film, the board does not have any specific members or guidelines but adheres to the so-called norms of an outdated system, which has turned out to be a mess. The entire concept of MPAA seems to be absurd in many cases. Normally, the NC-17 rating is regarded to have explicit sexual content, regardless of the scale of violence portrayed. What makes the issue harsher is that

Special Interest Tourism in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Special Interest Tourism in the UK - Essay Example The main river, Shannon, runs through North Ireland and into independent South Ireland. The United Kingdom is a glowing economy with one of the highest per capita income in the world at 35,100. "The United Kingdom "is separated from Scotland on the north by the granite Cheviot Hills; the Pennine chain of uplands extends south through the center of England, reaching its highest point in the Lake District in the northwest. To the west along the border of Wales, a land of steep hills and valleys, are the Cambrian Mountains, while the Cotswolds, a range of hills in Gloucestershire, extend into the surrounding shires. "Important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Thames, Humber, Tees, and Tyne. In the west are the Severn and Wye, which empty into the Bristol Channel and are navigable, as are the Mersey and Ribble" (United Kingdom: History, Geography, Government and Culture, 2009). With such a rich topography, the whole of the United Kingdom has special interest tourist locations spread out throughout the land. For this essay, we will concentrate on Harrogate in England as the special interest tourist location. Harrogate is one of the places in England, "suited for tourism owing to its special features and rural leanings. "The Harrogate district boasts a strong, resilient economy centred on a high quality built and natural environment, a culture of enterprise and a highly skilled resident workforce" (Draft Economic Strategy). "Business tourism attracts over 350,000 visitors per annum. This brings spending of 160m to the district each year and helps support around 21,000 tourism-related jobs (30% of employment) in hotels, restaurants and other related businesses" (Draft Economic Strategy). Owing to the recent worldwide recession, development in Harrogate had to be curtailed that also led to some setback to tourism. The area has to be appropriately developed with railways and roads to enable better transportation. Also, infrastructure including communication is relatively poor in the rural areas of the district. Facilities for higher education do not exist. These conditions do not severely affect tourism. However, they impact the quality of tourism in the area that can only improve with proper infrastructure and education. Evidently, the urban-rural connection in the region is imbalanced but the rural areas are poised for better organizational growth with initiatives from the local authority and its partnership with the sub-regional tourism and coastal tourism bodies. There has been a growth of 75% in the tourism industry in the last twelve months in Harrogate. The region attracts footfalls not only locally but also from other countries such as Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Eastern European nations. This is indicative of the rich potential that exists in Harrogate as a tourist centre in Europe (Suckling, Helen et al; 2010). The

Five Common Bargains Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Five Common Bargains - Assignment Example Hence, I decided to buy a second hand car which would give me the opportunity to avail stylish comfort at a lower price. In this regards, I had fixed my budget at $ 15,000 which was accumulated with my savings, financial borrowing from my parents and a short-term bank loan. For the next few days I and one of my friends searched the internet, newspapers, and dealers to see where I could get a car that satisfies my aforementioned needs. Once I finished searching the internet, I found a car that I was looking for. It was from Hyundai with a quoted price of around $14,500 (Edmunds.com, 2012). After taking appointment with the dealer we went to see the car. Even though my accumulated budget was higher than the price charged I was quite concerned regarding the negotiation and testing of the quality of the product as it was an already used car. While negotiating over the price and the features of the car, I came to know that the actual selling price of the car that was quoted as $14,500 on the website, when include tax and insurance charges increased to around $ 17,000. However, as per the advice of my companion I decided to give another thought to the matter and inspect the other available dealers on the same car model. My survey results indicated that a Hyundai model was available at an average of $20,000 to $ 25,000 which was not significantly different from the quoted price for the used car. By the end of the day, I went back to the dealer for the final discussion and asked him to give a 10%-20% discount as the present market value of the same new Hyundai model was abou t $20,500 (Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc, 2012). Going through the service records of the car gave me enough information regarding the engine along with the details of how much the owner drove the car. I also took a test drive so that I can check the performance of the car. After having a test drive, my friend and I decided that we

Academic Argument Essay Example for Free

Academic Argument Essay High school students today are all excited about post-college life, which for most means going away to college to further their education. The question is, are they truly being provided the necessary tools needed to be successful at the college levels? Are teachers, counselors, parents and the government both state and federal doing enough to lead these young minds out into the world? We all know how expensive college is and that only a small amount will graduate college and go on to live the life the always dreamed, but without a college education the odds are far worse. So shouldn’t every student who has aspirations of going on to college be awarded a little more preparation? The bottom line is we being parents, teachers, counselors, and the government needs to have better programs available for high school students so that the transition, that is already hard enough, is a little easier; as Benjamin Franklin once said â€Å"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. † (www . goodreads . com) The National of State Legislature defines college prep programs as â€Å"programs aimed to increase college access, particularly for those students who are least likely to enroll. These programs take many forms and serve a variety of students. Some start as early as elementary school, others in the senior year of high school. Some college preparatory programs focus on increasing academic readiness, while others specialize in college admissions or financial aid. Some involve families and mentors, and others incorporate service learning or recreational activities. †(www . ncsl . org/issues-research) What I want to know is where are these programs being used and what are they? In 2007 the NY Times published an article stating that only a  quarter of high school students who take a full set of â€Å"college prep† courses which include four years of English and three each of mathematics, science and social studies are well prepared for college according to a study by the ACT, and the Iowa testing organization. The study examined about 1. 2 million students who took the ACT, which is one of the country’s major college admissions tests, along with the SAT, and graduated from high school June of 2008. The study projected whether students had a good chance of scoring a C or better in introductory college  courses based on their test scores and the success rates of past students who had taken it previously. It showed that only 26 percent of those who took the core curriculum were ready for college level work in all four of the â€Å"college prep† core areas. Another 19 percent were not satisfactorily prepared in any of them. â€Å"While taking the right number of courses is certainly better than not, it is no longer enough,† the report said. †(www . nytimes . com) This quote really hits the nail on the head; just like how today’s Bachelor’s Degree is the equivalent of the high school diploma 20 years ago. This is an important issue in our society today, we want our young people to go to college to better their education but we can’t help them along the way. So how did it get to be so bad well in April 1983 the Secretary of Education and United States Department of Education saw that America ranked in the bottom half of education in the world so Ronald Regan declared â€Å"Nation At Risk† which kick-started decades of tough talk about public schools and reforms that culminated in 2002s No Child Left Behind, the Bush administration law that pushes schools to improve students basic skills or face ever-tougher sanctions. Jay Summer, an original teacher on the 1983 panel says â€Å"A true Cold War document, it famously stated: If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. (usatoday30 . usatoday . com/ â€Å"In 1999, Clifford Adelman, then a researcher at the federal Education Department, found that the strength of high school work was the most important factor in determining college success, more than the socioeconomic status of a student’s family. The new report, which cites Mr. Adelman’s research, makes the case that many high school courses are not providing the necessary quality that he described. † (www . nytimes . com) According to the National Center for Educational Statistics and a study done by the Harvard Graduate School, of the students who graduated college in 2011, only 56 percent graduated with four year degrees but took them six years. Also of those students in the same class 78 percent failed to receive a diploma at all. This study also showed the reasons for dropping out; which student claimed, â€Å"not being prepared for the rigors  of academic work; inability to cope with the competing demands of study, family and jobs; and cost† (www . reuters . com/article/2012) What we see here is that there have been attempts to make things better but they have slowly helped create the mess we have today. I have three points that will hopefully show how we can better this situation we are currently in. My first claim is that if we continue to ignore the fact that students today aren’t prepared for the struggles that await them at college then the dropout rate will continue to rise and effect the country as a whole. If students aren’t prepared for college then they either don’t go or most likely drop out. This affects the economy because if you have thousands of students not getting the proper education which leads to no jobs or low paying jobs, then the country can suffer. This leads to less students getting out into the work force or having very low paying jobs in which they can’t afford their monthly loan payments or other basic needs. With the economy being the way it is we can’t afford to let this happen. My second claim is that statistics show students who take extra or AP level courses perform better in college. In my high school there were luckily many extra courses available to help prepare us for college. I took College level English throughout my four years of high school. When I got to college and took the required English 101 course it was almost a mirror image as what I had previously taken. I was one of the few students who knew what MLA format was and how to use it in a paper. My school also offered AP Government, Calculus, English, Music Theory, which I also took, and Physics. I’m now in my third year of college and doing really well for myself. This just goes to show what  students can achieve with a little more preparation. Students put more pressure on themselves than ever before trying to achieve their goals. It’s up to us to take some of the pressure off them and give them a push in the right direction with more groundwork. My last claim is that students who finish college will have a better future for themselves and a family. Even with student loan debt at a high point these days with an education more financial opportunities are made available to students to deal with the burden of student loan debt. A degree from a technical institute is still better than a high school diploma. My cousin was a college dropout with two kids and no father to help support them. She worked two and three jobs sometimes just to keep her family afloat. One day she decided to take night classes at the local community college. Three years later she has an Associate’s degree in business and is making $20,000 more a year working only one job as opposed to three. She is more financially stable now and not so stressed all the time. Students may think that a high school diploma is enough but the sad truth is you can get the same jobs with a high school diploma that they are giving to 15 year olds at McDonalds. So what I’m trying to say is that if we don’t act now more students will continue to go down a road not knowing that they could have had more help. Education is the key to a better life for you and for a possible family which means better jobs and financial status, which today a lot of Americans lack. Of course some argue that a degree is the wrong path â€Å"Michael Nelson, 22, of Fayetteville, Georgia, retired from nearby LaGrange College during his freshman year. â€Å"I knew it wasnt going to take me where I wanted to go, he says. Now a gold and precious metals dealer, he made $85,000 in 2011. A lot of my friends are coming out of school with $50,000 in debt, Nelson says. They dont know how theyre going to survive because they dont have a job. † (www . reuters . com/article/2012) For some select few this is the case. But this is a rare case of someone who just happens to have a job fall in their lap. It is true that many high school graduates that never attended college or dropped out are doing just fine. Coal miners can make upwards of 100k and I’ve never met a coal miner who attended college. On the other hand I’ve never met a CEO or brain sergeant with high school diplomas. Statistics show that the average college graduate will make $19,550 more a year than someone with a high school diploma according to the U. S. Census Bureau. Also college students need to understand that the economy will not be this bad forever. If we can recover from the Great Depression then we can certainly find a way to fix this financial crisis. Today it’s tough for all people, including college graduates, to find a job and make a decent living. Many students believe that their best option would be to take a semester or two off from college for only a brief period of time and enter the workforce or  the military. The military’s financial benefits are very pleasing to young adults when they consider loan forgiveness programs and tuition compensation. The appeals of the military look great to college students that still believe that nothing bad can happen to them, but the reality of the dangers that young people face while serving abroad are very costly as most of us hear about on the news every week. Another reason kids shouldn’t chase the American dream of a college diploma is that they realize they don’t want the headache of the debt that most every college grad deals with. They know they can’t declare bankruptcy off of student loan debt so what other option do they have? Yet for some students, dropping out with loans can be worse than dealing with the debt. â€Å"Many college dropouts will face career barriers due to the lack of a degree, experts say. Current unemployment statistics show that those without a college degree are twice as likely to be unemployed as those with a bachelors degree. One way students and families can tilt the equation in their favor is to simply spend less, experts say. † If students are more reasonable and selective about where theyre going to get that degree, college costs are more  manageable, says Eleanor Blayney with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. At the very least they can do the first two years at a community college and then transfer. † (www . reuters . com/article/2012) So what we can see is that college is definitely the better route to take if you want a stable future. In conclusion there needs to be more or better programs for students who wish to attend college and succeed in life. You have seen the attempts made by the government to make it easier for students to learn and become better prepared for college, but the recent studies shows a  negative effect on the youths of today and possibly the youths of tomorrow. You have also seen a couple of reasons why I believe better programs will increase students’ academic levels in college; plus opposing arguments from those who think college is a waste of time and money and will only leave you in pile of debt. This in fact is far from the truth and leads me to believe that only people without a proper education could make such an accusation. Finally I hope that soon everyone who has the power to get involved in helping the future leaders of America will step up to the plate and take responsibility for the welfare of these young minds. The sad part is that the ones this affects the most, being high school students, have little to no say in the matter. The Obama administration has shown they have a huge interest in education with cutting student loan debt and making school lunches healthier. I can only hope this very important topic is next on their next to do list. Every student deserves a fair chance to achieve and it’s about time they get some. Franklin, Benjamin. â€Å"goodreads. † http://www . goodreads . com/quotes/tag/preparation.  © 2012 Goodreads Inc. â€Å"College Preparatory Programs. † http://www . ncsl . org/issues-research/educ/college-preparatory- programs-types-of-programs . aspx.  ©2012 National Conference of State Legislatures Arenson, Karen W. â€Å"Study Finds College-Prep Courses in High School Leave Many Students Lagging. † http://www . nytimes . com/2007/05/16/education/16report . html? _r=0. May 16, 2007 Plitt, Todd. â€Å"Nation at Risk: The best thing or the worst thing for education? † http://usatoday30 . usatoday . com/news/education/2008-04-22-nation-at-risk_N . htm. Copyright 2011 USA TODAY The National Commission on Excellence in Education. â€Å"A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform†http://datacenter . spps .org/uploads/SOTW_A_Nation_at_Risk_1983 . pdf. April, 1983 Carlozo, Lou. â€Å"Why college students stop short of a degree. † http://www . reuters . com/article/2012/03/27/us-attn-andrea-education-dropouts- idUSBRE82Q0Y120120327. Tue Mar 27, 2012 â€Å"College Students Should Stay in School. † http://bestessayhelp . com/examples/education/college-students-should-stay-in-school- %E2%80%93-essay-sample.  © 2010 2012 Global Writers Limited â€Å"Summer at Georgetown†. http://scs . georgetown . edu/programs/107/summer-programs-for-high- school-students-college-preparatory-program.  © 2012 Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies.

Current Theories And Models Of Leadership Management Essay

Current Theories And Models Of Leadership Management Essay According to Adair a leader needs to exhibit certain attributes/qualities/characteristics in order to effectively exercise their leadership functions. These are: Group Influence a leader must generate willingness to achieve desired goal or objective. Command a leader must decide upon a course of action as quickly as the situation demands and to carry through with a firmness and strength of purpose. Coolness a leader must remain composed under testing or trying conditions. Judgment a leader must possess the ability to arrange available resources and information in a systematic and commonsense way to produce effective results. Application/ Responsibility a leader must demonstrate sustained effort combined with a degree of dependability in order to complete a task or achieve an objective (Kermally 2005). Although leadership trait theories are popular, it is viewed by many as very simplistic. There are those that argue that trait theories attribute the success of leadership solely to his or her personality and physical traits or characteristics without regard to the situational context. The trait approach is considered too simplistic as an explanation of the complex leadership phenomenon. Transformational Leadership Theory One of the most popular theories of leadership is Transformational Leadership theory, which was the focus of the works done by Bennis and Nanus (1985), Tichy and Devanna (1986) and Kouzes and Posner (1987). These writers were interested in leaders involved in major changes, operating from the top of the organization. All three pairs utilized relatively small, nonsystematic and non-representative sampling. Evidence has accumulated that transformational leadership can move followers to exceed expected performance. Tesco is considered as the most successful retail company in the United Kingdom. The success of Tesco was heralded by the appointment of Terry Leahy as the Chief Executive Officer. Leahy is considered as a visionary leader who led the company into a series of organizational changes that aimed for the company to become more customer-focused and to develop the companys workforce. Terry Leahy is revered as an excellent leader. Leahy was reported to say that he believes that the success of a leader depends upon maintaining a happy workforce. According to him, there are four things that a leader must provide to his workers and followers to satisfy and motivate them. These are: v  Ã‚  A job that is interesting to do v  Ã‚  A chance to get on in life v  Ã‚  To be treated with respect v  Ã‚  A boss who is some help and not their biggest problem Leadership Model: Bases of Power One of the most popular models of leadership is bases of power. The five bases of power model was introduced by French and Raven in 1959. There are basically two groups of power bases according to French and Raven (1959). These are personal (expert and referent) and position (legitimate, reward and coercive). The French-Raven model attempts to answer the question: What is it that gives an organization, group or individual influence over others (Shannon, 1996). Coercive power this refers to the idea that power can be wielded in a manner that creates fear. Reward power this is the ability to control rewards or positive reinforcers within an organization. Expert power this is power that stems from the leaders possession of special knowledge or expertise. Legitimate power this power stems from the leaders position that gives him or her right to exercise power. Referent power this power stems from the subordinates respect, liking or a feeling that the leader can provide psychological rewards or advancement. Among the five bases of power, there are three bases in which the success of Terry Leahys leadership is founded. These are legitimate power, expert power and referent power. Legitimate power stems from an individuals position within an organization and their right to require and demand compliance from subordinate. Legitimate power is a formal authority delegated to the holder of the position. Legitimate power was achieved by Leahy when he ascended as the CEO of Tesco. Through his position, he is able to lead the companys people. Expert power may include communications, interpersonal skills , scientific knowledge and so on. Such expertise is very valuable but specific to a task. It is based on the perception of the leaders ownership of distinct superior knowledge, expertise, ability or skill. Terry Leahy immediately joined Tesco straight after graduating from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 1979. He entered the supermarket chain as a marketi ng executive, was appointed to Tescos board of directors in 1992 and by the time he was 40 he had worked his way up to become chief executive in 1997. His wide experience in the company makes him very knowledgeable of the company, its customers, and its operations. His years of experience in the company makes him a possessor of valuable knowledge of the company, its operations, customers and industry. Referent power is based on group members identification with, attraction to, or respect for the leader. It is a leaders charisma and interpersonal skills which causes subordinates to gain a sense of intrinsic personal satisfaction from the identification of being an accepted follower. Leahy is a very popular leader among his follower. This is because he motivates them and constantly empowers them. He is also charismatic. Leadership Model: Action-Centered Leadership John Adair is one of the most influential leadership gurus. He became the worlds first Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Surrey and is regularly cited as one of the worlds most influential contributors to leadership development and understanding. Adairs leadership work is written in a hugely rich, detailed and insightful manner that reflects his string academic interest in both modern and classical history. Adair is most famous for his Action Centred Leadership (ACL) model of leadership. The ACL model is represented by three interlocking circles encompassing the following: 1. Achieving the task 2. Building and maintaining the team 3. Developing the individual (Thomas 2005). Two of the main strengths of Adairs concept are that it is timeless and not culture or situation-dependent. A third strength of Action-Centered Leadership is that it can help the leader to identify which dimension of the organization or team needs to be strengthened in order to achieve its goals (Kermally 20005). One major criticism of Action-Centred Leadership is that it takes little account of the flat structures that are now generally advocated as the best organizational form. Action-Centred Leadership is also criticized for being authoritarian, applicable in a rigid, formal, military-type environment, but less relevant to the modern workplace, where the leadership emphasis is on leading change, empowering, enabling, managing knowledge and fostering innovation (Chartered Management Institute 2003). Perhaps one of the weaknesses that the critics of the Action-Centred Leadership is that it does not fit the modern organizations. Action-Centred Leadership tends to focus on the hierarc hical structure of the organization. It is applicable in organizations that are highly authoritarian. Impacts of Leadership Styles on the Organization and Its Sub-Units   Leadership style according to Rosen (1989) refers to the characteristic pattern exhibited by a leader on the process of decision-making and exercising authority. There are two types of leadership that I want to discuss. These are autocratic and participative leaderships. In an autocratic style of leadership, the group or organization is managed under the authoritarian leader. The participative leader on the other hand, possesses the same power as the autocratic one. However, a participative leader chooses to exercise his power differently during the policy-making and work-role assignment phases of the group action.   The appointment of Terry Leahy as the CEO of Tesco marked a new era for the company. Leahy adapted a participative style of leadership wherein the employees are given voice in the decision-making process. The CEO also gives emphasis on the importance of appointing many leaders to handle organizational process. The organizational structure therefore became more flat where the roles and responsibilities of everyone are clearly stated. Leahy delegates leadership roles to individuals in the organization in order to ensure that the company, with more than 300,000 employees, operates effectively. The leadership style that is manifested by Terry Leahy and is imitated by the leaders in the company has changed the structure of the company. The company has adapted an organic for of organization. An organic system is characterized by low to moderate use of formal rules and regulations, decentralized and shared decision making, broadly defined job responsibilities, and a flexible authority s tructure with fewer levels in the hierarchy. An organic structure is more appropriate to those organizations where there is a need to be innovative. The pressure of innovation suggests a structure that can respond to environmental variations rapidly so it is necessarily loosely defined and flexible. The organization tends not to be formalized nor are roles too closely structured (Salaman 2001, p.106). Organic organizations are stratified primarily in terms of expertise, and leadership accrues to those who are the best informed and capable. There is much more commitment to the organization, with the result that formal and informal systems become indistinguishable. A framework of values and beliefs, much like those characterizing a profession, develops that becomes an effective substitute for formal hierarchy (Miner 2002, p. 449). The company has adapted a simpler and flatter organizational structure. Task 2: Current and Future Requirements Current Requirements  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to remain successful in todays highly competitive business environment, many organizations are coming up with strategies to tap the full potential of their human resources. A companys people can be a source of competitive advantage. This is philosophy behind employee empowerment and participative management. Employees are now seen as partners. Because of this, organizations are giving more power and responsibilities to their people. Employee empowerment and participative management will increase productivity, give rise to better decisions, improve employee morale and job satisfaction, elicit greater commitment among employees, encourage flexibility, make employees adapt to changes faster, improve communication and increase employee trust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the current requirements of leadership in Tesco is the development of participative management skills in leaders. The leaders at Tesco need to possess the necessary skills in order for them to practice participative leadership properly. The skills that the leaders must possess are: 1. Interest and concern 2. Communication 3. Conflict resolution 4. Negotiation 5. Compromise 6. Synergy 7. Flexibility   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Participative leadership is a leadership style which involves members of a group, sub-unit or organization identifying essential goals and developing procedures or strategies to reach those goals. Implementing participative management will also help the company to develop people in the organization to become leaders. Through participative management, people in the organization are encouraged to take part in decision-making, express their ideas and to showcase their talents and skills. The discovery of hidden talents and skills will not only help the group, sub-unit or organization reach their goals it will also alert the organization to people within the organization who have the potential to become leaders. Future Requirements   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One famous contemporary writer on leadership is Warren Bennis (1994). He believes that a leader must have a direction, he must earn the trust of his followers, he must kindle hope and optimism, and he must be results-driven. On the other hand, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner (1987) believes that a leader must   seek to challenge and improve the process, inspire a share vision, enable other to act, act as s role-model, and encourage the heart of the followers. The future leader must not only focus of achieving the task. He must also learn to develop his people. He needs to learn the value of motivation. The future leader must know how to motivate using monetary rewards and he must also use psychological and emotional rewards to motivate his people. The future leader must find the balance between task-orientation and relationship-orientation. On the one hand, he needs to lead his people in achieving their shared goals and objectives an d on the other hand, he must be able to build strong relationships with the people around him. The importance of emotions must also be recognized.   Task 3: Proposals for the Development of Leadership 1. On-the-Job Learning The company must recognize that the primary place for leaders to learn is on the job and on the line. In order to the company to help leaders learn within the organization, educational facilities must be established inside the organization. The company needs to appoint educators that will educate and develop leaders in various countries and places where Tesco is operating. The organization must institute a Corporate Education department that will be under the HRM department. Within the Corporate Education, a Business Leadership Development (BLD) must be established. This group will focus on executive development and overall leadership development, and it will also be responsible for all training specific to leadership. Business Leadership Development should be used to come up with systematic ways to build the capabilities of Tescos business leaders. The emphasis of the BLD process must be to provide development opportunities at key transition points in individuals careers. To accompl ish this goal, a curriculum must be designed and must be operate under the following principles: Based on real problems and strategic initiatives Linked to business objectives and company values Segmented by customer needs Sponsored by CEO and senior executives Comprised of global content and delivered worldwide Based on validated competencies for success 2. Leader Sponsorship Another strategy to effectively develop leaders is through sponsorship. Through sponsorship, senior executives in Tesco will sponsor and will actively participate in leadership development. Example of leader sponsorship activities are involvement of senior executives in management conferences and facilitating dialogue sessions after a leadership development program. Senior executives can also facilitate panel discussions. Through sponsorship, Tescos successful leaders will be able to share and to instil the characteristics, skills and attributes of effective leaders to the future generation of leaders. 3. Leadership Development and Review In order to identify, evaluate, and develop future leaders, Tesco needs to come up with a list of competencies that is needed to become an effective Tesco leader. These competencies can be used as criteria in leadership development. These criteria will also be helpful in providing content for the leadership and management assessment processes, through activities like self-assessment, multi-score feedback, and assessment simulations. They will help identify and qualify external executive development resources. 4. Corporate Universities It is important for Tesco to realize that their most important assets are human capital and the know-how that reside in the minds of the employees. With this realization, the company needs to establish a corporate university. A corporate university links employee learning to overall company strategy, and as a result a corporate university will become a connective tissue for the organization. 5. Developing Emotional Intelligence among Leaders One important development area which must be focused on is emotional intelligence. Future successful leaders need to recognize and learn to influence the emotions of the people around them. An effective leader must have a high level of Emotional Intelligence. Dubrin et al (2006) identifies five factors of emotional intelligence. These are: 1. Self-awareness the leader of the future must be able to understand his or her emotions and how these affect other people. 2. Self-regulation the leader of the future must be able control his emotions and react with appropriate emotion in every given situation. 3. Motivation money or status is not the only motivating factor for a successful leader in the future. He finds fulfillment and satisfaction in performing his tasks. 4. Empathy the leader of the future responds to the unspoken feelings of others. 5. Social skills having effective social skills is important. The leader of the future must build relationships and networks of support. He must build positive relationships with the people around him or her.

Comparing Characters in the Coen Brothers Miller’s Crossing and Willia

Comparing Characters in the Coen Brothers' Miller’s Crossing and William Kennedy's Legs The movie Miller’s Crossing and the novel Legs by William Kennedy have two characters that have a special quality, which adds dramatically to their characterization. The main character of Miller’s Crossing, Tom Reagan, and the main character from Legs; Jack Diamond shares many similar traits and symbolic equivalence. In particular they had an item that they wore or carried, and this item had the ability to show what is going on inside the character’s mind. Not only did the items have the ability to tell what was on their mind; it also has the ability to foreshadow. At times in the novel where their mind/conscience was tested, the use of their items determined the outcome. The body can not live without the mind, so it is important for the characters to remain close to these items that symbolize their mind or they will surly die. Tom Reagan had a dream in which his hat fell off his head and the wind blew it away. He did not run after the hat in the dream. However in reality he kept the hat close to him at all costs. The dream is the opening to the movie and is explained during a conversation with Verna. During the movie he is seen with the hat and without. The trend his hat wearing follows with when engaging in sex it is off, and actually gets its own scene of being thrown on to a chair or something of that nature. For the most part, it is also seen without his hat when somethin...

Essay --

Kiryakov et.al.,(2004) have argued that semantic annotation needs to be based upon domain knowledge and not to be isolated from ontological commitments. Thus, they use ontology associations to annotate and index concepts from documents. SEWISE (Gardarin et al., 2003) uses ontologies only for describing a common data model in a given application domain that supports Web information organization and retrieval. TAP (Guha et al., 2003) represents documents and concepts are nodes using a semantic network. The main objectives of TAP are the development of a distributed query infrastructure for ontology data and augmentation of queries with data from surrounding nodes. However TAP supports only keyword search without ranking. Mayfield and Finin (2003) combine ontology-based techniques and text-based retrieval in a blind relevance feedback iteration. In their approach, taxonomies are used for query expansion, and for enhancing the semantic annotations of the documents. The documents are anno tated with the help of RDF triples, but ontology-based queries are restricted to boolean string search...

Reflective Writing Study Skills Essay

At the beginning of the task no one took the initiative of introducing themselves. Our initial concern was getting started on the jacket. This seemed to be of more importance to everyone. This could be viewed as unsociable, but on reflection, previous to this task we all took part in an ice-breaker session, whereby we had to introduce our selves by name, followed by a descriptive word, this meant we were already acquainted with one another, so concentrating on the task in hand seemed most appropriate. I believe we were all very wary of taking over as we were always asking one another ‘do you think this is a good idea?’ and ‘shall we do this?’, rather than just doing it without the opinion of other team mates. Although this was the case it is possible we were being very agreeable to any idea put forward in order to keep peace, and put over a likable persona. Upon reflection the organisation of our group to begin with was very inefficient, we did not consult one another about how we would make the jacket, before getting on with the task, this meant the sleeves were being made by myself, whilst the body of the jacket by another, with no idea how they would fit together. I believe this is because we all wanted to have a share in making the jacket and help as much as possible, but no one wanted to adopt the role of task leader. On the other hand our team displayed great efficiency in the way we worked together, at one point we had a production line, where one would pass the Sellotape, then one would hold the piece in place, while the other stuck them together. We became a more efficient team the more we worked together on the task. Communication between us became more important. On the whole and on the basis of the finished product, it is evident that our team did work together efficiently, as we finished the task in good time and all of us had an input in the overall finished product. I believe I took on many different roles within the team. Initially I took on the role of energiser. This was evident by my enthusiasm, I was eager to get started and began listing many different ideas I had about how to put the jacket together, Jake was also an energiser as he had many different ideas he wanted to express and was fully involved in the task. Ricky initially  took on the role of relaxer as he was contemplating how things would work out and managed to condense our ideas to form a jacket. In these kind of situations I would usually put forward a good argument as to why my idea should be used above someone else’s. I did not adopt this attitude in this instance because my team mates were new acquaintances so I wanted to leave a good impression, I was more conscious of their thoughts and ideas and accommodating them was important to me. With this in mind I would conclude that we worked as a collective rather than a hierarchy. Further into the task I took on the role of nurturer. I wanted to make sure that everyone had an input on the finished product and that all of our ideas had been listened to fairly, and put in place if all agreed. This was evident in that I was asking my team members what other ideas they had, and finding ways of accommodating them. I did not want anyone to feel left out or less involved. Ricky’s mathematical mind meant that it was easier for us to measure out the different parts of the jacket equally and in proportion. As Jake is used to working as a team when he plays football, this quality was evident in this task, as he was an up building and upbeat member of the team, trying to include everyone in the activities. Jake was soon nominated by myself and Ricky to be the model for the jacket, therefore it was up to me and Ricky to actually make the jacket. We both had an equal share in the labour, cutting, sticking and measuring different parts of the jacket at the same time, then finding a way to fix them together. This was important because if somebody was uninterested or just giving out orders the whole team could be affected and not want to take part. We all helped each other when needed and were happy in our individual tasks. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate the importance of achieving the task 6/10. This is because I did view the task as a competition, even though we were never told it was such. On reflection this would show I am a competitive person and I like a challenge. When a task is viewed competitively one will be more inclined and motivated to try their best and ultimately reach their potential. Initially the task seemed menial and pointless hence why I only  scored 6/10. I was aware the jacket itself had little importance and that rather the emphasis was on team work. Even though I was aware of this my competitiveness made me want to create an excellent jacket. With the prospect of becoming a teacher one day, this teamwork exercise has taught me that there are many different roles people can take on under a team building exercise. Everyone within my team had different skills and abilities. This exercise has taught me, not only how to identify these skills and abilities but also how they can be used in a beneficial way to complete a task. As a teacher I will have to cater for the needs of each student identifying their strengths and weaknesses and using them in a positive and up building way, so they can reach their potential. I have also seen how important these exercises are in terms of the class getting to know one another, for the student this can help by taking the emphasis of social fear and more onto learning. This is evident by more members of the class being involved in group discussions after the task. This could have the same effect on my future students.