The musical strategies of some exemplary ‘titles’ sequences in a way that illuminates the function of music in entertainment cinema

In order to view a variety of techniques used, the title sequences of four films will be analysed: from classic Hollywood cinema Casablanca and Psycho, a modern Hollywood film, Edward Scissorhands, and a recent Russian film, Prisoner of the Mountains (Kavkazky Plennik). In non-musical terms Casablanca, Psycho and Edward Scissorhands all present different versions of the classic Hollywood technique of using a closed, self-contained titles sequence. Meanwhile in Prisoner of the Mountains there is an extended sequence before the titles begin, and this sequence includes music. The following points need to be addressed with regard to each film: how the music in the title sequence coincides with the visuals (i. e. how the sequence works on its own); what kind of role the music plays; how this can be interpreted in terms of its effects on audience expectation and manipulation; and finally how the music of the title sequence relates to that which is used later on, and in what context the title music itself is used. In Casablanca the normal Warner Bros fanfare accompanies the studio's logo at the very opening, and drum music links the picture to the visually static title sequence which uses a map of Africa as its background. This develops into ‘oriental' music for the full orchestra, using several clichis developed from the western perception of the ‘orient', such as the persistent use of the melodic progression tonic/leading note/flattened-submediant/dominant (i. e. C, B, A-flat, G) played predominantly by brass and reed instruments. When the credit for the composer Max Steiner appears, the music shifts and plays La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, but this concludes with an interrupted cadence rather than its normal perfect version. We must also examine the next sequence as it forms a unit with the title sequence, using both music and partly-animated visuals. We see another globe, this time used for the mapping of the physical and causal route to Casablanca, from France and other places. Clips of paradigm journeys are superimposed onto the map as the refugees flee Paris and Marseilles. The music accompanying this follows on from the pessimistic nature of the interrupted cadence of La Marseillaise, building down to low, dissonant and lugubrious chords on brass which begins to be accompanied by a romantic high, intense and chromatic melody for strings in octaves. Finally, as the first scene of the film begins in a market square in Casablanca, the music returns to oriental music, this time, supposedly, diegetically. The role of this sequence is manifold: firstly it establishes Casablanca as the physical and spiritual setting for the film, corresponding to the geographically blatant use of maps. It also adds interest to an otherwise static title sequence, and indeed, is a montage of the musical themes that are to be presented in the film. The first two themes (‘Oriental' and Marseillaise) are so explicit that they do not take on much contextual meaning in this original setting, but rather set up purely musical expectation, which can be utilised by transformation or by various possibilities of juxtaposition with visuals. The third ‘suffering, yearning' theme is less familiar and therefore takes meaning from its context and becomes associated with the desire for freedom and liberty. In this sense the themes sum up the plot: as captivity in a wild land (oriental), fettered liberty (La Marseillaise and its cadence), and romantic human yearning for freedom. Generically, the nationalistic music also helps establish the film as a ‘serious' war film as well as a melodrama. The main strategies of the musical sequence, then, are clear: to introduce the main musical themes in a way that makes the introduction understandable and establishes its genre. By its nature the music also manipulates the audience into feeling the setting to be removed from their own settings by the fact that the oriental music is exotic in an Romantic orientalist sense rather than in a Moroccan sense, establishing the film as a western work. The manner in which the title music influences the rest of the film is generally easy to detail. Unlike the manner in which As Time Goes By is used in a proliferating way, the occurrences of the title themes are used to remind us of their original or implied contexts and meanings. The Marseillaise theme is used as a symbol of France (for the flashback sequence) but more generally as a marker of the success or failure of idealism and the Allies in its battle against cynicism and Fascism: its overall movement is from the interruption of the titles to the only full cadence in the final scene as Louis finally gives in to patriotism by throwing away the Vichy water. Oriental music is used more scarcely as the setting has been established, but it is used diegetically in the Blue Parrot scenes to distinguish it from the more homely and American Rick's (‘Cafi Americain'). Thus some of the title music was truly introductory and other parts were to be used for future reference. The fact that As Time Goes By was not used indicates that it did not attempt a full musical accumulation of themes but concentrated on those necessary to understand the first scene. The title sequence of Psycho is more closed and self-contained than that of Casablanca due to the manner in which the music of the titles is separated – both by silence and by change of mood – from the opening scene. The sequence is also far more visually captivating due to the thrusting horizontal lines that shoot across the screen and distort the titles themselves, culminating in a vertical meeting of upwards and downwards-moving lines and a release. Unlike Casablanca there is no aspect of narrative or historical context, but rather the establishing of a mood, as the lines suggest frenetic activity, violence, splitting and then final dying union, as the lines meet and fall away. The music, meanwhile, uses three primary textures in succession, all of which are linked by the modernist language and string scoring of Herrmann's score. The first is a driving ‘motor' rhythm of double-stopped dissonances in the tradition of The Rite of Spring, which develops by superimposing variants of a basic cell onto itself and thus expanding in volume and texture. The second is this rhythmic idea as an accompaniment to a soaring violin theme which is still not entirely Romantic in character due its persistent crotchet motion. Ostinati are thus the key to the sequence. The third texture is the ‘sharp' rhythmic idea used by smaller sections of strings in upwards sequences, dying away with the visual lines, and reaching an extremely high tessitura. The music stops and pauses before the opening scene begins with slow weakly-discordant descending chords in the style of Debussy. ‘The real function of a main title, of course, should be to set the pulse of what is to follow†¦ I am convinced, and so is Hitchcock, that after the main titles you know that something terrible must happen. The main title sequence tells you so, and that is its function: to set the drama. You don't need cymbal crashes or records that never sell'. 1 Thus Bernard Herrmann both states the specific strategy of the musical cue that accompanies the title sequence in Psycho and proposes a general theory of the function of titles sequences. He also justifies his choice of a string orchestra for such dramatic music, and in other places likens the string sound to Hitchcock's anachronistic monochrome. The strategy, then, is to sum up the essence of the film. That essence is surely the surprising ‘primitive' (in the primitivist sense of Stravinsky) violence that describes the title word, and in no way sets the scene for that which immediately follows. The music is fiercely modernist for a cinema audience but still within their understanding so that, along with the visuals and the word ‘psycho', the main element of the titles establishes itself as distinctly inhuman and violent. Just as the straight lines penetrating the screen and the titles can be interpreted as predicting the motion of stabbing and also the split character of Bates, the music is ‘stabbing' in its chords and ends ‘screaming' as Marion will do. The horror genre is thereby indicated, but the music's insistent intensity hints at the obsessively psychological nature of Hitchcock's art. The influence of this titles music on the rest of the film is subtle. The first scene is entirely removed from it by mood, if not completely by musical language, a feature that unifies the entire score and film. The first time the titles music is reused is when Marion realises that her boss has seen her driving her car after she had told him that she was going straight home to bed. The fright she suffers, and the effort with which she suppresses it in order to force a smile at her boss, seem to initiate the return of the violent double-stopped ostinati of the titles. Here there is a meaning attached to a mood which we understand to be the essence of the film: the music is in some way linked to the Marion's subjectivity and also the insistent technology of the car. Marion is shown to be a transgressive woman, and this raises the expectation that Marion herself may be the psycho: she has a headache; she hears voices in her head; she has stolen money; she drives – a masculine pastime in most films; and accordingly her fright is expressed not through Romantic scherzo music but by this horror music. This expectation is, of course, entirely false. Meanwhile the explicit violin theme of the titles is used to fill the screen just as Marion's face does as we watch her watching the road, amounting to a nullification of any reluctance we might have towards voyeurism. The most powerful influence the titles music has over the film is its various ways of presenting ostinati. We learn to decode this new musical language in stages, so that the deep ostinati heard as the dying Marion falls to the floor in the shower is distinguished from the niggling four-note repeated figure associated with Marion's decision to run away with the money. They mean different things but are united by technique and by the world they draw for the audience. Edward Scissorhands toys with genre: it is a both a genuine horror film and a parody of one (of the Frankenstein and Beauty and the Beast traditions); it is also a fantasy, a comedy and a melodrama. This is recognised in the titles sequence and the music that accompanies it. The studio logo is accompanied by snow and then there follows a title sequence that is ambiguous as to whether it is animated or real. In fact, it turns out that much of the sequence is real and is taken from later scenes involving Vincent Price that are vital to the plot, such as the brief view we have of him dead and the hands that could have been Edward's. However, this is all crafted with elements of Gothic fantasy, using discrete images from the house/castle, beginning with dark shadows and an old door opening, moving to what we later realise was the inventor's laboratory, and this culminates in the purely fantastic animation of hearts and other ‘shapes' falling like snow, with which the title sequence concludes. Danny Elfman's music for this sequence is remarkable mainly for its orchestration: it begins with solo celesta, then strings are added, accompanying a plaintive cor anglais, and then a full (and massive) orchestra plays the main theme, to which is added a celestial and voiceless choir, which sings to ‘oooh'. The chord sequence that is most prominent is a major tonic triad moving to a minor triad of the submediant. In effect, the sequence is akin to an amalgamation of Casablanca and Psycho, for it uses the technique of joining the titles to a ‘false' first scene, whilst dissociating it from the first ‘real' flashback scene, which begins in prosaic silence. Elfman's music is fairly uniform here but multivalent. The magical nature of the film is set by the celesta and the harp/flute-oriented nature of the full orchestration and finally by the angelic voices. The magical interpretation of this combination of instruments is accepted by way of Chaikovsky, Debussy and John Williams, from whom the harmonic progressions are also borrowed. The element of horror is marginalized but represented by low strings and the melancholy of the cor. The voices add a layer of naive wonder that is rather over the top, something that is a major part of the film. The audience is led to expect a fairy tale with an element of horror to it, but also the clues to the somewhat tongue-in-cheek nature of the film are also present in the music. Importantly, from the very beginning this affective music is associated with the house and Edward. The element of falling in this film is highly significant: many of the moments of greatest significance revolve around the falling of snow, which is finally associated by the old woman of the present with Edward's very existence, and thus the existence of the film and of magical naivety and goodness, with the falling of snow; in the studio's very logo before the titles there had been no fanfare but silence accompanying the falling of snow; in the titles the ‘shapes' are shown to fall like snow: these shapes include hearts, which provide a link to humans and human emotions: the inventor falls when he dies and his fall is emphasised by the way in which we view his face as he realises he is to die. The sequence leading up to the inventor's death is the key to the explanation for Edward's condition, which is half the mystery of the film (the other half is how it will end), and it is drawn out by its progression being interrupted and alternated with scenes of the ‘present' (wi thin the entire flashback of the film). During this we realise the significance of what we had seen in the titles, and to emphasise this the titles music is brought back, and the tragic nature of the story is shown by the fact that we were ignorant of its intended significance until now. The other scenes in which the titles music features prominently are when Edward sees the picture of Peggy's daughter for the first time (choir ‘ooohs') and when snow is falling and Edward magically (for it would not be possible) creates beautiful ice sculptures with the girl as his enraptured audience (full statement of the main theme). Thus the titles music is used to indicate the presence of the picturesque, the naive will to do good and the tragic nature of fate. Those things not privileged by this music are, by implication, marginalized. However, the titles theme also proliferates the film as Elfman develops it by distortion (quarter-tone glissandi in the main theme) during moments of anguish. This is similar to Steiner's use of La Marseillaise in Casablanca. Finally, by way of contrast, we will look at Prisoner of the Mountains, a strong piece of anti-war propaganda made during, and based on, the ongoing Russo-Chechen conflict. The film begins with a long sequence before the titles, showing the recruitment process of a young man drafted in as a reserve soldier into the Russian army. We see him given a medical examination naked, which has an element of humour to it. Then we see an older soldier go to play pool outdoors with a friend and they drink in a relaxed, late-evening atmosphere. The contrast between the young and innocent and the hardened cynic is reinforced as the soldier, Sasha, responds to other soldiers being rowdy by firing off rounds of his machine gun in mock attack. As he shoots we see his tensed, macho face, there is a freeze frame and a song begins, the first music of the film. The song is an old one and is obviously recognisable as a popular song of the type popularised during the Second World War, a period that is a subject of great nostalgia for Russians. We then see a military manoeuvre operated by the Russians with both the old and the young soldier aboard a Russian tank. The song ends and we are brought out of nostalgia for the army to the harsh reality as we hear a solo plucked string instrument play an ‘oriental' snippet of melody. This alerts the audience to the possibility of danger from Russia's ethnic ‘others' and to the placement of the scene in the Caucasus mountain range. Suddenly the tank is ambushed and our two soldiers are severely wounded and left unconscious and seemingly dead by their comrades and are captured by the Chechens. Finally the titles begin with an endless panorama of the mountains and dramatic orchestral music in an orientalist style. Here it is difficult to determine what constitutes the essential title sequence if one accepts Herrmann's definition. The music that accompanies the titles certainly does more to emphasise the setting and the drama of the film, but we cannot forget what has already happened. The freeze-frame on Sasha's face as he fires in connection with the ultra-popular song is so strong a device so difficult to interpret on first viewing that it dominates the opening. Moreover, whilst the opening music is hardly reused before the end of the film, there is another sequence which is crucial to the film's anti-war message: the two Russians are kept hostage, chained together, for a long period and it becomes increasingly likely that they will be killed. As they sit together, back to back, Sasha begins to sing another old WWII song in a triumphant, brave voice, something that is obviously escapist. Suddenly his voice is multiplied and the song is taken over by a huge chorus and the shot moves from the two men to the vast expanse of the mountains, so that he can be seen to become the might of the Russian army. As the song is still being bellowed out, the shot changes back to the men, and Sasha is crying frantically. The false expectation of escape in patriotism that had been set up by the song is revealed, and this makes sense of the opening song in addition. In a sense, then the titles sequence constructs a conventional colonialist Russian audience led to be wary of foreign subjects, whilst its other musical material works against this. It is possible to generalise our observations to note that for every film here the titles operate as a kind of first subject of a sonata-form movement: they establish certain information about the film's essence which can be developed in a linear way, as in the thematic references in Casablanca and the thematic distortions of Edward Scissorhands, or in a more accumulative way, as with the manner in which the music for the titles sequences in Psycho, Edward Scisssorhands and Prisoner of the Mountains gains in meaning as we acquire more information. As an audience we are led to believe that the titles have meaning and, like the subject of a sonata, will be recapitulated.

Luxury Fashion Brand Essay

To be successful in India, it is both necessary to gauge the financial potential as well as the mindset of the Indian luxury consumer. This will help in bringing forth the right product offerings to the Indian consumer as well as targeting them better. There are conventional foundations for ensuring success of a brand and they are listed below in brief: * The brand must be â€Å"expansive† – Which means it should be full of innovation opportunities for the marketer and in terms of satisfying the different needs of the luxury consumer. * The brand must tell a story – One of the best ways for an organization to compete and distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack is to tell your brand story. The story should be so powerful that it should make customer act as the way you want. * The brand must be relevant to the consumers’ needs – Depending upon the mindset of the luxury class, it is necessary for a brand to satisfy those needs, whether they be for recognition or functional use etc. * The brand must align with consumers’ values – A brand that does not concur with the basic values of a consumer’s society has a small chance of succeeding because luxury items are identification for a luxury consumer. This makes it difficult for the consumer to adopt the brand in such cases. * The brand must perform – Irrespective of which category the brand belongs to, a performance assurance is a must for the brand. Based on the inputs given above as well as an understanding of the decision making process of the luxury consumer, we recommend the following paths for luxury marketers based on what Indian consumers really desire from their luxury brands, i. e. product brand, dealer/store brand and price/value relationship : (The price / value relationship has been accorded less focus since the Indian Consumer is at a phase when cost of luxury is secondary to its appeal / benefits) 1. Brand Me Affluent! – It is essential for marketers to ensure that the recognition value of their brands is always high so that it lends a sense of affluence to the consumer, which can only come if others around him / her perceive the brand to be a top-notch luxury brand. This can come from either being aligned with the most successful celebrities or being a part of elite events and promotions. 2. Nothing but the Best – This is a golden opportunity for the marketer to earn greater margins by adding customized value to his line of luxury goods. These added-value customized goods will ensure that the customer feels he has something more than just the ordinary range of luxury goods available. 3. Luxury is having the world at my fingertips – First! – A luxury marketer will not only have to be faster than his competitors in reaching out to the consumer, to gain a share of wallet but also continuously offer innovative products that serve to differentiate between the consumers. 4. â€Å"Ethnic Chic† – The Fusion of Local & Global goods – This point is connected to the strategy of a product being in line with the consumers’ values for it to be adopted. Apart from this, in the Indian context, ethnicity is also a fashion statement in many product categories. 5. You Think I’m Demanding? Next! – The marketer’s job should be a constant endeavor to offer newer luxury goods to the consumer, in sync with their needs. In addition to that, marketers will need to make sure that each and every single consumer has to be treated with a high-level of personalized attention, given the nature of the product and the consumer. Even minor Shortfalls in this case will have the consumer shifting their brand preferences to those marketers who can satisfy their needs better. 6. CANNIBALIZATION OF BRANDS – It thus becomes essential to ensure that successful celebrities are partnered with at the right time, thereby both eliminating chances of Competition as well as delivering the right aspirational / appeal message to the intended audience. Conclusion The starting point for identifying successful luxury brand strategies in India has been established by identifying certain salient aspects of luxury brands that remain constant as well as identifying the stage of mindset of the Indian consumer towards these brands. The focus is now towards ‘how soon’ luxury brands will enter the market to gain a first mover advantage, which is of significant importance in India. Apart from how soon, we primarily focus on ‘how will’ luxury brands cater to the mainly aspirational needs of the Indian consumer. A word of caution that goes for luxury marketers, irrespective of their brands and Geographical presence – The luxury consumer is always looking for newer ways to Satisfy his continuously changing needs. Hence, the need to keep a close tab through insightful research is of prime importance. As far as India is concerned, given the rapidly accelerating affluence of the Masses, the scenario is set to witness a boom. The ones who will be riding the Wave will be the ones who’ve kept their ears open to each and every word of their Each and every customer. After all, in the luxury business, no marketer can afford the luxury of treating its consumers as a loosely bunched segment.

Unit 3 Theoretical Criminology Anomie Theory Essay

Unit 3 Theoretical Criminology Anomie Theory - Essay Example Indeed, the above fact can be used to account for white-collar crime. Of interesting to note is that mertonian approaches leaned towards white-collar crime and the anomie theory was used in explaining this kind of crime. This is based on the fact that the theory tends to explain why crime occurs and as such this can be used to explain why there is occurrence of white collar crime. Notably, criminals adopting cultural endorsed objective or goals of financial success illegally mainly characterize white-collar crime. Most white-collar crimes are related to the need of the offenders to gain money or other stuffs in order to fit in particular social classes or culture. This is more seen in criminals who are out there to become richer than before. As such, social and cultural factors, as considered by Merton, influence white collar jobs (Gomme 56). To emphasize on this, some researches carried out have showed that most convicted white collar criminals were caught while still working and they claim that they were trying to achieve economic success through illegal means (Akers and Sellers 45). As such, they can be said to be innovators given that at the time of committing crime they were after economic success. Innovators are considered to be those individuals who continually embrace material and monetary success as a goal to follow; however, they turn to criminal activities to achieve this success. Street gangs are groups formed mainly youth who are not capable of obtaining what they require through conventional means. Indeed, through these streets groups, the individuals find money and friendship and most of what they desire. Using strain theory, one may attempt to explain how various factors such as homelessness, poverty, lack of opportunity and parenting largely contribute to the formation of crime and crime (Warner and Flower 511). In relation to

The Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The Presidency - Essay Example s history the nature of presidency has evolved considerably, from the limited role the writers of the constitution had in mind to the emergence of the president-centered government of the twentieth century. This paper will therefore discuss the contributions the most transformative American presidents, and how their presidential powers and the roles expanded over the years. Article II of the America’s constitution provides for the powers, qualifications and benefits of the presidency. Presidential power falls under three categories namely constitutional, delegated and inherent forms of power. Delegated and constitutional powers make up the expressed powers since they are clearly outlined in the constitution. Inherent powers however, have been interpreted differently, in which at times make the president to have great power. The powers of the president have always been controversial. Judiciary and the congress have clashed with both Clinton and Bush administration over matters of executive privilege, the war on terror and impeachment. The constitution assigned military, diplomatic and appointment powers to the president. Almost all modern presidents have expanded their powers. Given the foreign policy challenges of Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Korea together with the disruption involving domestic economy of the credit crisis, president Obama will soon have to use his executive power as his predecessors have. Executive order is a form of inherent power in which is a regulation or rule issued by the president that has the force of law. Reasons for issuing such an order may be to enforce statutes, to modify or establish how executive agencies operate and to enforce treaties or the constitution. For example, on September 24, 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower issued an executive order 10730 dispatching several troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to stop local angry mobs from interfering with Central High School’s integration. Until the 1930s congress dominated the

Global South (South Africa) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global South (South Africa) - Essay Example History of South Africa Colonisation The term ‘Colonialism’ is referred to a practice of domination that entails the subjugation of one group of people to another. It also refers to political and economic control over the dependent territory (Stanford University, 2006). According to McMichael, colonialism is the subjugation by psychological and physical strength of one culture by a colonising control through the means of military conquest of territory or areas and abolition of native people and their cultures (University of Kentucky, 2009). The essay looks at various aspects of South Africa from the point of view of international studies. The study will cover the history of colonisation of South Africa along with political system, demographics of South Africa. Development of South Africa along with the various conflicts that the country has seen will be observed in the essay. The British had colonised South Africa due to their trade interests, strategic ports and the rou tes towards their Asian colonies i.e. to fulfill their political objectives. The effect of colonisation was seen in early 1870s and in the year 1875, Cape of South Africa was colonised (Brownfield, 2011). The colonisation of South Africa by the British people was for the motive of capturing ports routes that they could use for their trade purpose. The other reason was the supply of labour and resources which assisted the British economy to grow. Prior to the colonial power of the British over South Africa, the Dutch had colonised the area. In the year 1652 the Dutch first colonised South Africa and in the same year the legal system was implemented. In 1488, the Dutch people first reached South Africa and colonisation began in 1652. The Dutch East India Company appointed Jan Van Riebeeck to establish a station in the Cape of Good Hope which was established but later found problems. They then colonised the area for their benefit. The Dutch defeated the Xhosa tribe and took control ove r them in the first war. Later another war was fought between them and this resulted in Dutch losing its control over them and then the British took over the control. In the year 1806, the British took over the control from the Dutch in Cape of Good Hope (Drumstruck, n.d.). Even after the Zulu War and two Anglo-Boer wars, the colony was under the British rule. The African National Congress was created in 1912 and they came into power in 1994 when the first elections were held (US Department of States, 2010). Independence from the British rule was achieved in the year 1910. But still there were elections that were controlled by the British people. In the year 1990, Nelson Mandela was released and there was first democratic election in April 1994 under the constitution of South Africa (Michigan State University, 2011). The process of decolonisation takes place when former colonies and non-self governing territories become the self-governing state (Garoupa & Gata, 2000). The decolonisa tion process of South Africa was primarily based upon the methods of the British government that transferred the power in order to maintain stable democracies. There were several controversies in the decolonisation process. However, the transfer of the power to the national party of South Africa made the process quicker and thereby resulting in the end of the colonial rule (Verstraelen, 2002). Political System South Africa, when gained its

Investment Alternative Benchmarking for Bernard Lester Case Study

Investment Alternative Benchmarking for Bernard Lester - Case Study Example Before 1982, the company is strictly undertaking the production of vehicles while a sales arm named Toyota Motor Sales Company is in charge in marketing its products to end consumers. It should also be noted that there is a clash of culture between the two companies. While Toyota Motor Company prioritizes efficient cost management, the sales arm is concerned with customer satisfaction. Thus, the idea of merger between the two becomes somewhat impossible. However, in 1982 Toyota Motor Company merges with its sale arm forming a 120 billion yen corporation (Toyota in Merger 1982). In the case of Lester, it should be noted that it is the sales arm of Shang-wa in the United States. Having formed a strategic alliance with each other, both companies are contemplating in combining their resources for their mutual benefit through a merger. The decision of fusion between the two business organizations has been met by difficulties of how to merge their different cultures. In the end, however, the efforts come into fruition with the emergence of culture focused on efficiency and creativity (Dillon 2006). Ford Motor Company lags behind Toyota in terms of car sales gaining it the reputation of the third largest automaker in the world. In 2006, the company has been reported to be in discussion for a possible merger with one of its competitor General Motors (Bunkley 2006). However, in the end, the automotive industry saw that this venture failed to materialize because of the lack of strong motivation and benefits which can be derived. Like the real world example from Ford, Lester as well as Shang-wa wants to be acquired by their competitors namely TEC and Avral, respectively. Like General Motors, these acquirers want to beef up their portfolio with companies which have already built a strength of their own. The failure of the proposed merger between the Ford and General Motors did not change the status quo. Ford still operates and competes with General Motors and vice versa. Both business organizations retain the manufacture and distribution of their product lines as well as exercise autonomy in their decision making. Step 2. Toyota has been known in the business world because of its commitment in pursuing manufacturing and operational efficiency. Its quest in finding the most cost efficient manufacturing process is rewarded by its discovery of the lean manufacturing system which makes use of the Just-in-Time inventory system (Dillon 2006). In this manufacturing philosophy, Toyota eliminates wastage or non-value adding processes or resources within its value chain in order to economize. However, it also maintains the quality of its product by ensuring that creativity is not compromised within the manufacturing process. In the Just-in-Time inventory system, cars are manufactured based on consumer demand. Parts are semi-assembled and are finally put together by a team whose members have diverse specialization. Employee empowerment has also been important as Toyota allows their employees to take charge and make their own decision if the need arises. The decision of Toyota to merge with its distribution arm highlights its strategy of pooling resources in order

The relationship between teenager and their family Essay

The relationship between teenager and their family - Essay Example Data from the NSFG suggest that female adolescents born to intact families face a lower risk of early sexual debut while female adolescents, experiencing parental separation and multiple transitions in family structure have a higher risk of early sexual debut. Moreover, the Hong Kong case study establishes that adolescents with a dysfunction family and a poor family relationship are more likely to hazard to take drugs. Recently, the presence of strained relationships between teenagers and their parents as well as the disintegration within families demeans the influence of parental or family advice on teenagers. This forces teenagers to trust their peers, which coerces them to adopt immoral and unethical behaviors like drug and substance abuse and early sexual intercourse. It is clear that the increase in the strength of youths peer relationships demeans the interaction between teenagers and their families. Notably, cognitive and emotional maturity affects the quality of peer relationships that changes during adolescence. As teenagers seek to assert their individuality and independence, they derive frequent conflict between teens and their parents (Oswalt, 2014). However, as they approach maturity, they develop mature relationships with their parents and their colleagues since they have the capacity to make important decisions about their lives. Indeed, as adolescents approach maturity, they no longer depend on family social support since their colleagues develop the capacity to offer emotional support and comfort and sensible advice (Oswalt, 2014). A three years study by Dr. McGues group assesses the relationship dimensions conflict with parents and perceived warmth of the relationship with parents at age 11 and then again at age 14 (aboutkidshealth, 2010). The study established a decline in the perceived quality of relationships between

Obesity and Responsibility Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Obesity and Responsibility - Lab Report Example The second article is titled "Weighing in on the Issue of Childhood Obesity: An Overweight Child Often Becomes the Target of Discrimination and Ridicule on the Playground. Clearly, the Problems That Overweight Children Encounter Go beyond the Physical" by Cynthia Lynn-Garbe and James L. Hoot. It concludes that the school environments can play a powerful role in influencing children's eating behaviors, especially those of the obese. However, since families and the community are equally important in this regard, schools should link up with them to promote healthful eating and activity patterns. The author's approach is therefore more of choice of methodology and methods. The two articles are relatively impartial as expected of research materials. The first one on "Economic perspectives on childhood obesity" is critical of schools in that schools appear to be making money out of selling food indiscriminately to the detriment of children who can become obese of these foods. It is also critical of mothers who had to work but spend less time to think of the children's intake - whether balanced or not. It is assumed that "researchers are anxious to understand the reasons underlying the trends, policy-makers would like to implement programs to promote a healthier population, and the media reports virtually every glimmer of insight from research and every potential policy remedy." The focus of interest is on national health. The second article on "An Overweight Child Often Becomes the Target of Discrimination and Ridicule" is relatively impartial in that it targets the teachers as capable of doing something for the obesity problem as though schools could stem any obesity problem that starts from the homes. The focus of interest is on what teachers could do over obese children in school. (d) How does the sort of intellectual project being undertaken affect the research questions addressed "Economic perspectives on childhood obesity" gives a thorough explanation of how obesity could start from environmental settings, but it does not point any finger directly in answer the research question. It's interest is to lead the discussion to a need for an effective policy. The second article on "An Overweight Child Often Becomes the Target of Discrimination and Ridicule" also does not answer the research question but rather proposes good practice. (e) How does the sort of intellectual project being undertaken affect the place of theory "Economic perspectives on childhood obesity" doesn't mention about theory at all. It is atheoretical. The second article on "An Overweight Child Often Becomes the Target of Discrimination and Ridicule" quotes Smith (1999:82) as saying that "Experts believe that obesity most probably results from the interaction of an individual's genetic makeup with the environment in which the person lives." And to this they add that educators can influence these two factors (Epstein, 1993). This study is

Life to the fullest must have the presence Essay Example for Free

Life to the fullest must have the presence Essay Living life to the fullest must have the presence of forgiveness as well as forgetting. Forgiveness is a conscious choice, a spiritual and physical act involving the will, a sensation or suit of feeling, an emotional state of being for letting go of the past. Try to imagine how happy we can be if we know how to forget bitter happenings in our lives. Having a feeling towards everything is fine, it seems so convincing to live great. Indeed to forgive is hard and difficult, but we must. It is a conscious choice, a spiritual and physical act involving the will, a sensation or suit of feeling, an emotional state of being for letting go of the past. Having a big pride will make you feel bad. God said, â€Å"Do unto to others as you would have them do unto to you. It would be very hard for one to forgive someone who has done so much wrong and leaped so much suffering on them. It is important that we forgive so that one can move on with his life and have a chance for a happier future. In the book NIGHT, a boy named Elie faced all of these hardships and people always asked him whether to forgive or not despite of all the pain, the sufferings, and challenges he had experienced? But Elie must forgive because GOD said that everyone should forgive one another, no matter what the circumstances are, hence, mobilizing us to find peace and serenity every single day of our lives. Nothing will bother us especially our inner sides. When someone else causes us emotional harm, whether intentional or not, learning to let go of this pain can be one of the most difficult transitions we would have to go through but it will enable us to live life, one which is free from worry and burden. Acknowledge that youre living in real time carrying the baggage of old time. And then let go of it. Based on the book, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren: Your past is your past, nothing can change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. The persons who have hurt you in the pass cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on the memories through resentment. Forgiving and forgetting is not a gradual one, it undergoes a process. How does one forget awful memories? How would one handle the situation if he/she is in too much pain? Can one ever forgive or relieve the bad memories that been caused by somebody? First, find a place where you can have a peace of mind, a quiet and a comfortable place. Sit down in a comfortable chair and close your eyes, even though it is painful and embarrassing, give some time to think what you are wishing to forget. Then, visualize a black and white picture of the situation that you are trying to forget. Afterwards, look on the illusionary replica of an experienced you hate the most. As you were looking to that picture, begin to tear it on your imagination until it turned tiny pieces where you can barely see it. Lastly, blow it away, ask if you were blowing small pieces of dust, so you know that the little speck is already gone away, and no one will ever see it. Fortunately, we are ending up forgetting the incident and forgiving the people behind the fear that circulated in their system so they could live a better life-a life without bitterness. Even the act of forgiving is difficult, forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Forgiveness may takes a lot of time, it may not easily come, it involves patience and a lengthy struggle just to reach that, because it affects the relationships that need to be work in order to reach the total completeness of forgiving. Always remember where we stand. To refuse it is to refuse God. There is no other exception. God means what He says. To forgive is hard, but we must do it at any cost.

Marketing in Global Environment Essay Example for Free

Marketing in Global Environment Essay Pre school children usually become angry when they are frustrated and they get frustrated when they cant comprehend what is going on and what they have to do in that current situation. Thus when they feel helpless and are unable to express their feelings verbally, they show anger. This is basically the positive sign in a sense that this aggression enables the child to create their own personality, which signals that they are getting growing up because of the learning they obtain from new circumstances. According to Lewis Michalson, (1983) there are three components of anger; emotional state of anger, expression and then understanding of anger. In the first stage of emotional state the child feels that their needs are not fulfilled or their goal is unattainable. In daily classroom activities there may be conflict over possession of children’s accessories, like some children don’t like to share their things with other children. Moreover there may be fights between children, verbal taunt or teasing, or circumstances when children feel that they are being ignored with peers, parents or teachers and when kids don’t like to do what is ordered by the teacher or parents. All these are the reasons that cause children to get frustrated. The second stage is expression of anger, which children normally display through their facial expression, by crying and sometimes they become stubborn and do not bother to resolve the issue. Some children express their anger by taking revenge physically or through verbal taunting, complain to the teacher what he dislikes or by fighting with his other friends. The third stage address the understanding of anger, it involves understanding, interpreting and then evaluating the emotions because expression of anger is basically linked with the understanding of emotions. At this stage children learn from their teachers and parents on how to manage their feelings of anger, and how to react in those situations. Now I would like to explore the understanding and then managing anger, according to the (Lewis Saarni, 1985), there is a cognitive process of children’s gradual development which includes memory, language and self referential and self regulatory behaviors. At the initial ages, children always remember in their memory; the situations and their solutions that what they have done at that prevailing situation and then it become very difficult to wash their brain if they are grow up with the wrong perception. Thus the teacher plays an important role in the growing of children because they are the ones who guide them on what they have to do in the situation they come across. Then comes language, as every child thinks differently and they have different perceptions, therefore the teacher has to be very careful and keep in mind the differences when teaching them on anger. The third and last one is self referential and self regularity behavior, now self referential behavior means seeing them as separate, independent and active, while self regulation refers to controlling their wishes and tolerating the consequences. What the teacher is supposed to do to deal with the anger, the most important task is to create a friendly climate where children can express their feelings and problems without being scared, listen to them, motivate them and they must help the children to develop self regulatory skills. Also, let them participate in all the classroom activities to increase their confidence, they can do so by telling them moral stories, with the help of role play or through games and different competitions, and the most important task is to involve parents as they are the ones who remain with them all the day. Hence teacher and parent both must coordinate to better understand the children. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine the child psychology, as every child is different. Furthermore, to understand how to treat children, in a way they want to be treated so they can be a better groomed for their future ahead. References: †¢ Marion. M. (April 27, 2009) Helping Young Children Deal with Anger. Retrieved 26th June 09. From the website: http://www. athealth. com/Consumer/issues/childsanger. html †¢ The Parent Report Radio Show. Aggression and Anger in Young Children. Retrieved 26th June 09 from the website: http://www. theparentreport. com/resources/ages/preschool/development/650. html †¢ Center for Mental Health Services. Helping the Child Who is Expressing Anger. Retrieved 26th June’ 09 from the website: http://parentingteens. about. com/cs/youthviolence/a/childanger. htm †¢ Can Anger in Children be a Sign of Something Serious? ( 2008 ). Retrieved 26th June 09 from the website: http://www. help-your-child-with-anger. com/anger-in-children. html †¢ Managing and Coping with the Angry Child. Retrieved 26th June 09 from the website: http://www. angermgmt. com/children. asp

Recruitment Methods Used In Modern Times Commerce Essay

Recruitment Methods Used In Modern Times Commerce Essay Recruitment can be carried out in numerous ways and generally it happens via both formal and informal processes. An informal process depends on the contacts of active workers or on new applicant. Since they threat being biased, word -of -mouth recruitment is not often suitable in public sector. Within business sector, word of mouth recruitment is well known, especially in those societies rated more socialist by Hofstede. International differences in the exercise of informal are considerable. It is also common all over the globe and especially in the developing nations like as Bangladesh, Nepal, Uganda, Bhutan etc. Recruitment of Friends and Family is very easy and cheap as usually. According to Brewster et al (2008), there are four methods of particular relevance to International Human Resource management. Multinational companies follow these methods and recruiting, selecting, employing employees globally.Every recruitment process has some advantages and disadvantages. 1. Headhunting: In this method, recruitment agencies are work as service provider and they supply companies with recruits to put via their own selection procedures. This process is most common for managerial positions in developed countries like as USA, UK etc. Anecdotal data shows that almost 50% of executive searches are now cross-border. The global capability, geographical spread of individual search firms has consequently become difficult. The recruitment agencies may be preferred to internal solutions for many reasons and those reasons given below. a) The recruitment agencies have the specialist nature of recruitment activities. Similarly, its potentially rare use, sometimes mean that almost competent way to start it is to subcontract and it is to expert providers. b) Sometimes multinational companies would like to recruit in a country for the first time where they may not have human resource department to carry on this activity and simultaneously, they may not have local idea that would be essential. For this reason, they take help from the recruitment agencies. c) The recruitment agencies are expert in this section and can do recruitment of higher level or higher skill; employees may take place from a proper prospective employees file. The recruitment agencies operate their activities all over the country or industry. They usually have a list and this is mainly true in the case of multinational companies recruiting in a country where first time. Headhunters is particularly form of recruitment and agencies can be expected to charge a considerable payment for their services. b)Cross national Advertising: Now world is a global village and as part of globalisation, labour migration is more common and accepted all over the world. At present many companies seek to carry out cross border when they recruiting senior staffs. Brewster et al (2008) mentioned that the rising apply of advertising such as targeted outdoor poster sites -airport lounges, airline magazines and journey to work routes. Simultaneously, international, publications like as The Economist magazines, The wall street journals regularly represents some advertisement for high level posts in many organisations all over the world. Although that advertising should consider cultural differences, it may well be the case that the valuable targeting of such advertisement ensures that they are seen more or less totally by people. They are more used to, and accepting of, these multi-cultural messages. c) Internet Recruitment: Today internet is an important source of job and used to cheaply mass market the recruitment messages that organisations interested to forward potential applicants. The electronic recruiting facility is re-shaping the job hunting process and this facility has the likely to cut the difficulty to employment on a worldwide scale. It is proving helpful for global graduate recruitment, attracting MBAs and post graduate level candidates, similarly specific roles such as accounting professionals and IT staff. Brewster et al (2008) mentions some reasons for its popularity in recruitment. 1. Widen recruitment sourcing at relatively low cost a) Fixed cost of designing a website have been incurred, the marginal cost of further website visitor is mostly zero. b) At present internet user has grown highly, not only developed countries but also third world countries .So, now internet allows to firms reach potential applicants anywhere in the globe. c) Similarly, now it is very easy for potential employees to apply for any kind of job and first stage is to fill a web form or email a copy of CV. The main disadvantage of this is that the cheapness of applying by internet sometimes may encourage not only proper applicant but also large amount of unsuitable applicants too. 2. Attract applicant on a more specialised skill match. 3Target sources of graduate like as MBA career centres. 4. Improve on traditional advertising approaches by targeting particular life style or culture fit groups. Selection Methods: The most common forms of selection methods are given below. Interviews: The way in which interviews are continued are one factor of national culture which radically impact the conduct of the interview and cultural awareness is very essential in this respect. In a simple face to face interview, the assessors may be confronted by considerable problem. As for example can mention here that one American multinational company recruiting managers in South Korea and found that interviewers had to be trained in multicultural awareness. According to the cultural rule of Korea, when asked a good question, to keep silent is known as sign of respect and similarly the better the question ,the longer period of silence the applicant maintains.Moreover,according to the American culture, if anybody ask a good question and receive silence, it is like as ignorance. Not only that face to face interview may produce fairly warped judgements. 2.The monitoring and targeting of disadvantaged groups: In most countries negative discrimination against the interests of at least some disadvantaged group is not legal; similarly a small number of countries positive discrimination in support of interests of disadvantaged may be allowed or encouraged. Staffing practices are stoutly influenced by norms and morals, not possible by the law. As for example, many European countries do ban discrimination on the basis of age, but the application of age restrictions varies considerably by country. It is not applicable in UK but common in Germany. 3. Assessment Centres: Assessment centres are regarded as one of the most strong and suitable selection techniques and it should be expected that they would be used to assess capability for global manager. The major points of assessment centres are help to client companies to determine which candidates are appropriate to be employed. In this sense they offer their customers level of selection capability the may not take home. Assessment centres tend to use different types of tools and these tools are situational interviews, work stimulations and role -playing etc.Some effort also face that units and the successful utilization of their set of tools requires there tools to be significant for the circumstance like as legislative, cultural economic etc, in which the recruitment is taking place. Thus there cannot be one size fits all approach and this causes extensive troubles for them. 4. Psychological testing: The strength of some psychometric testing process is also uncertain. Psychologists state that variability of across settings for the equal type of work and across different of jobs is small .This testing involves asking candidates to full psychometric tests to allow their potential employer to verify the sort of person they are. Psychometric is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of educational and psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes and personality traits. The field is primarily concerned with the construction and validation of measurement instruments, such as questionnaires, tests and personality assessments. Those who practice psychometric are known as psychometricians and although they may also be clinical psychologists, they are not obliged to be so and could instead be (for example) human resources or learning and development professionals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychometrics In the hand of competent professionals psychometric tests present an at times positive nearby into the individual features of prospective employees; in the hands of inexpert they are little more than a hazard to the achievement of a company. The table below represents some indications of comparative use of these selection events in diverse countries in the hiring of an employee for a cleric positions. According to the table, 69.6% of Danish companies report that they use interviews, but a small number (5%) of French companies do it. Simultaneously, 43.7% of Spanish companies like psychometric tests, but only 0.9% German firm prefers it. The uses of Psychometric test and Assessment Centre differs from country to country. A German assessment centre would use much diverse equipment to assess much different stuff than would an assessment centre in Canada. (Table)

Rodin Essay -- Essays Papers

Rodin Like most artists, Rodin was not an overnight success. Even though he was rejected numerous times from art schools because of his art style, he prevailed in the end. Rodin, like many artists, got their inspiration from other great and famous artists. In Rodin's case, his inspiration came from Michelangelo. In Rodin's more famous works, one can see the similarities between the two artists' artwork. Rodin's parents were not wealthy, therefore, he was not able to attend an art school of his choice. His father, however, did send him to Petite École, "a training ground for commercial draftsman and practiciens--cutters and finishers of work in stone". At the age of seventeen, Rodin won his first prize for a clay model and he came in second place for one of his drawings. His teachers at Petite École encouraged him to "try for the Grande École des Beaux-Arts". He applied, but was not accepted. Not giving up hope, Rodin applied two more times, but was rejected. Determined to make a living, he worked for a large commercial designer. It was there, that he created numerous objects with his hands; anything from masks of gods to cupids. This is where he began to see that he had a future in what he loved the most, art. Even though Rodin was an artist, his career did not take off so soon. When he was 22, his sister Maria died. He anguished so much over her death that he decided to leave his art. He quit everything and decided to enter the Order of the Fathers of the Very Holy Sacrament. While living in the monastery, Rodin confided in Father Eymard, and he was the one that told Rodin to continue sculpting and not to give up. Rodin eventually realized that religion was not his calling and once he had enough money saved up, he moved into his first studio. From that point on, he was fully committed to his artwork. Rodin said that it was so cold in his studio, (he could not afford to have heat) that he would wake up and see parts of his sculptures on the floor. "Since I didn't have the money to have them cast, each day I lost precious time covering my clay with wet cloths. Despite that, at every turn I had accidents from the effects of the cold and heat. Entire sections detached themselves–heads, arms, knees, chunks of torso fell off; I found them in pieces on the tiles that covered the floor" . In 1864, Rodin created a masterpiece, something that would change his ... ...ed, he prevailed and was able to live happily; considering what a hard life he had. Rodin died in November 1917 and his common-law wife, Rose, died in February of 1917. Rodin died with having completed over 400 sculptures and 7,000 drawings.Two of Rodin's most famous pieces of work were finally shown in the Salon in 1878, The Man with the Broken Nose and the Age of Bronze. I had a chance to see several Rodins and visit his home in paris last summer and while he may reflect Michealangelo ,it was clear ,no one could deny his talent as a sculptor. His forms hold such a strong sense of motion and strength. My favorite would have to be his sculpture the Kiss, it stands in the garden de’Tolluries in paris and just left such a strong impression on me. Bibliography 1.Cunningham, Lawrence and John Reich. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Western Humanities. Vol. 2, 4th Edition. Forth Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998. 2.HalWilliam Harlan and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The World of Rodin: 1840- 1917.Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1978. 3.Lampert, Catherine. Rodin: Sculpture and Drawings. Hong Kong: Kwong Fat Offset Printing Co. Ltd., 1986.

Bad Day :: essays research papers

Bad Day   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I work with a lot of foreigners from all around the globe. Sometimes it becomes very difficult to explain things thoroughly without there being some kind of miscommunication which can be very frustrating.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On this particular day there was a lot of miscommunication going on. A fellow worker of mine, who is a very nice Ethiopian woman, went into a patient room so I could pass her pills to her. We both approached the room laughing and joking as we always do. I gave the patient her pills and stood there while she asked the patient if she wanted a shower since it was her shower day. The patient said, â€Å"Yes, I would like a shower.† Then the women began to say to the patient, â€Å"no you don’t want a shower you want a bed bath.† Okay at this point I’m a little confused, I was always taught that you must respect the patient’s wishes if not you could be neglecting the patient. So I step in and say to the women â€Å"she said she wanted a shower!† She then turns to me and says in broken English â€Å"no, she wants a bed bath. Don’t you want a bed bath? You’re getting a bed bath.† I then turn to her and say â€Å"she says she wants a shower so we have to give her a shower.† We weren’t getting any resolution to this problem so we decide to talk to the charge nurse. She explains to me that the patient is unable to get up because she needs three strong men to help her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Okay end of conversation right! Wrong the women keeps going on and on about how I was in the room telling her she should have a shower etc, etc. Which was a complete lie. I then turn to her and say â€Å"that’s a lie!† She doesn’t say anything and walks back to the patients room and yells at me, â€Å"Don’t ever talk to me again unless you talk to the Charge Nurse!! I’m never going to talk to you again!† Okay I’m thinking to myself what just happened here. She seems very ticked off but at what? I had no idea why! Strange! Anyways I decide that now is the best time to talk to her about why she got so upset. I wait until she goes into a room and follow her.

Temptation In The Odyssey

This essay is about temptation in the Odyssey, more specifically temptation and its role in the book. Showing how food displays everyday temptation and how Odysseus recklessness causes his own troubled journey home. Temptation in laments terms is the desire to do something you know you shouldn’t do. This theme is something that is repeated constantly throughout the Odyssey in a multitude of ways and for many reasons. It shows on a scale how human and mortal the characters really are.At the two extremes of the scale there are those who are favored by the gods and are even sometimes called â€Å"god like† and there are those who are just mortals, no special treatment from up high. Yet all fall pray to temptation at some point in time, event he great â€Å"god like Odysseus†. You will never see a god fall victim to temptation in the odyssey, for it would ruin the message and meaning of temptation on humanity. It is meant to subtly show that we as humans are imperfec t, that no matter how high we reach and how noble we are we are still mortals and therefor susceptible to any and all mortal weaknesses.We are unable to control it because we are human, and because we are human we are unable to control it. Temptation in the odyssey does more than just hint at and reinforce our humanity in comparison to the gods, it goes much deeper and starts to talk about how as humans we should act and behave. To be fall victim to temptation shows our humanity, but to exaggerate on it and show what happens if you constantly loose to temptation you start to see the difference between a civil human being and a non-civil human. Loosing that civility puts you in a very low place in society.The Odyssey is an encoded â€Å"how to live in Greek society†. It talks about how to be goods hosts, how to treat people, how to behave and on and on the list will go. Temptation by food seems to be mentioned more than any other type of temptation. That is not to say that eve ry time a character eats bread or drinks wine that some greater force tempts him. It also serves as part of a cultural function through banquets for celebration and with the act of xenia through out the book. Food is featured a lot in a lot of the scenes and serves as more of a general statement about temptation in The Odyssey.â€Å"Of all the cities he saw, the minds he grasped, the suffering deep in his heart at sea as he struggled to survive and bring his men home but could not save them, hard as he tried- the fools- destroyed by their own recklessness when they ate the oxen of Hyperion the Sun, and that god snuffed out their day of return†1. The very first scene in the book talks about temptation and the â€Å"recklessness† of Odysseus’s crew. This scene is later depicted when Odysseus is describing his journey to the Phaeacians. Odysseus comes to the island of the Sun, a place filled with herds of immortal cattle and sheep.The island its self presents no im mediate threat the Odysseus and his crew. Odysseus has been warned by Cerci about the Sun’s herds and flocks â€Å"If you leave these unharmed and keep your mind on your journey, you might yet struggle home to Ithaca. But if you harm them, I foretell disaster for your ship and crew, and even if you escape yourself, you shall come home late and badly, having lost all your companions. †2. Odysseus does not even want to stop on the island and push through the night for fear that his crew will be reckless and give into the temptation that walks the island.His crew decides they have had enough for one day and need rest. The Island its self is a sort of temptation, a place to dock their boat and give there bodies rest, yes it would be nice to do that after rowing all day but not really necessary. It is the gods will that they are trapped on the island for a month and are tested yet again. Out of food and wine the crew becomes reckless, they have to decide whether they should forsake the sacred oath they swore to Odysseus to not touch the immortal animals or starve and pray to the gods they will be able to catch enough food to eat.Knock, Knock whose there? Temptation! This could have been the last a final test against Odysseus and his crew before they sailed home, but they were tempted by the gods to slaughter the sacred animals and eat their lives away. This event put Odysseus back quite a ways. On the verge of almost being home the greatest antagonist of all; temptation, walks up on four legs and utterly wins again. Although food is prominently the number one source for temptation but it is not the home run, the granddaddy of them all or the big kahuna of temptation.That spot is reserved for an act of recklessness that the â€Å"god like Odysseus† fell victim to. Kleos is a term used in epic poetry that speaks to the immortal fame or glory of a character. Characters earn it by doing deeds that could possible define who they are. Odysseus makes very little mistakes in the Odyssey. He is constantly praised for not only being strong and cunning physically but mentally as well. Odysseus and his crew came across the land of the Cyclopes. Odysseus was aware of these â€Å"Lawless savages who leave everything up to the gods.†3 Odysseus and his crew see an island just off the shore untouched by man and thriving with animals and nature. That is where they beach their ships in the midst of night. When morning came the crew hunted down a hundred or so goats and feasted all day, while marveling at the Cyclopes across the water from them. Being the intellectual he is Odysseus decides that it would be a good idea to take a few of his men and sail over to an island just of the shore to see â€Å"what those men are like, wild savages with no sense of right or wrong or hospitable folk who fear the gods†4.This is just the beginning of Odysseus’s brief recklessness. That scene makes Odysseus sound like he is just genuin ely interested in meeting a Cyclopes since he never has and maybe never will get this chance again. But, there is and underlying purpose that Odysseus feels is worth perusing. Since he is not sure how the Cyclopes act he is optimistically hoping that he will be treated the way that everyone else has treated him, with xenia. Odysseus is hoping to get food and gifts out of the Cyclopes. This temptation of greed is what locks Odysseus into his lengthy voyage home.If Odysseus was just wanting to look around and seeing the land that of the giants for what it was would have been ok, but Odysseus had already fallen in to the webs of temptation.. They didn’t need anything at this point, they were eating lavishly with an upwards of a hundred goats and sheep where they crew had first landed. They could have eaten and than been on there way. Heading to the high cave that was just off the shoreline Odysseus and his men take a look around and finally meet this giant Cyclopes.His size and strength intimidate Odysseus and his crew into a corner. The Cyclopes asks them who they are. Odysseus answers with a sort of arrogant response that gives you the underlying purpose for wanting to go to the cave. He tells them that they are Greeks blown of course and that he was â€Å"hoping you will be generous to us and give us the gifts that are due to strangers respect the gods, sir. †5 This arrogant response really infuriates the giant. He responds by picking up two of the crewmembers smashing them on the rocks like puppies and eating them limb-by-limb.Eventually Odysseus is able to use his canny mind to hatch a plan and stab the Cyclopes in the eye to escape to his ship. Once he gets on the ship and ready to sail off Odysseus rubs the fact that he tricked the Cyclopes and escapes in his or what ever was left of his eye. He yells â€Å" Cyclopes, if anyone, any mortal man, asks you how you got your eye put out tell him that Odysseus the maurder did it, Son of Laertes, w hose home is Ithaca. † 6 This temptation of Kleos is responsible for all of the trouble that falls upon Odysseus, his crew and even his family.There was no need to yell out your name to the Cyclopes you just blinded except for purposeless glory. Odysseus had already won him self a Kleos, â€Å"God like Odysseus†. The need for more glory blinded Odysseus and ended up being his greatest downfall. Temptation is tough to turn away from. The human world is filled with it, in fiction and the real world. The Odyssey uses temptation to show how human we really are and how easy it is to succumb to the temptation that the world offers.Homer uses food to show how easily one can be tempted as well as how much temptation there is in the world. Homer also shows that no matter how high you climb in life even if you become god like, you are still human and therefore fallible. Odysseus proved that with his reckless behavior while in the land of the giants. Through the use of food Homer is able to show how temptation is everywhere and that it is in our human nature to fall victim. Homer also shows that even the mightiest of men can slip and fall sometimes through Odysseus trials and tribulations.

Bad Habits while Driving Essay

For the revision of one of my essay’s, I choose to do my Illustration essay. For my illustration essay I choose to do the topic â€Å"Bad Habits While Driving.† Before some of the essay was wrong and supposedly copyrighted but I rewrote it into my words again so therefore this time it shouldn’t be wrong. Now on one of the quotes that I gave I forgot to give credit to the website and that was definitely copyrighted and I totally forgot to put that. I added the website to the statistic I gave and changed a few of the spelling and grammatical errors I noticed. So all in all I believe that this essay is better than my last. Hope you enjoy reading it. I remember the first time I got my license, I wanted everyone to see me and to see what I could do in the parking lot with my new truck. The first day I drove after I got my license I thought I knew everything there was about a vehicle and I could handle anything. Well I was wrong, there was a lot of things that I needed to learn and realize how dangerous it actually is driving. When I got out of school just like any teenager now a days was on there telephone texting and calling there parents or friends to hang out. They were getting behind the wheel of the car and driving off to go get something to eat and eating behind the wheel driving to fast trying to impress everyone. Driving is a privilege that should be taken serious and not have any distractions. There are some bad habits while driving that the every common person has from driving to fast, eating, and most worst habit using a cellphone. Every time you turn on a TV or listen to the radio nine times out of ten I  would bet that you would hear something about someone dieing in a car accident. I know for my self when I have to get someone on a certain time and I’m late I’ll drive fast to get there. That is one of the main reason of all accidents caused by. Each year in America there are about 32,000 people that die from speeding in a vehicle. You see in movies all the time people flying right through red lights and getting into a wreck and the person that was just sitting there dies. I remember when I was in the seventh grade my mom and grandma was sitting at this red light and it turned green, and my mom is one of them people who waits and sees if it is clear after the light turns green; after she checked she started to drive but next thing she knows they got hit in the back because the guy was going to fast and run the red light. There is no telling where I would have ended up if I would have lost my m om in that wreck that day. You can turn on the TV and you can see a commercial about texting and driving. They warn us about how bad it is to text and drive. In drivers education they made us watch a movie that showed the dangers of texting and driving, it showed these teenagers and the one driving was texting and they got in a wreck and died. If every the teacher or program could just tell each young driver how important it is on how dangerous it is to text and drive. But you know how us teenagers are is like we let it go through one ear and it goes out the other. According to the the study by the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York; texting and driving has surpassed drinking and driving and is the leading cause of death among teens. Dr. Andrew Adesman, Cheif Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Cohen Children’s Medical Center told a reporter Carolyn Gusoff â€Å" The reality is kids aren’t drinking seven days per week, they are carrying their phones and textin g seven days per week, so you intuitively know this a more common occurrence.† Which is true, I don’t drink and don’t want to, but kids my age isn’t worried about carring around there alcohol they are more worried about seeing who’s texting them and where the parties are going to be at. Driving is a privilege and any body, young or old getting behind the wheel of a vehicle should always treat that machine with respect. A problem that I have while driving, is I am always rushing or in a hurry  and I have to eat on the go. I don’t like to but sometimes I have to. Although eating and driving is very danger’s I’ve come to be able to do it a lot better than I used to. â€Å"Distractions like eating can become a problem for drivers who can’t react quickly to a sharp curve,† according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Study Administration (http://www.nydailynews.com/). The same people say that a new study they have conducted stated that 80% of all car accidents and 65% of near misses are caused by distracted drivers more focused on their burgers than the road (http://www.nydailynews.com/). I never really knew how dangerous it was to just eat a burger and drive down the road, and also how much attention is lost when eating and driving. Driving is a privilege and it can become very dangerous from doing the little things to having no attention on the roads. I know for myself I’ll think twice about answering that text and driving a little to fast, or what I have a problem with is eating and driving. All those videos I watch in drivers ed. I can still picture the images of the boy who died in the crash from the other guy text while driving. So many lives are lost because we’re in a hurry or we have to do this, and we can’t wait. Life is to short for all nonsense we do while driving and we just shorten our lives every time we do it. So who’s with me and taking the vowel to never text and drive and eat and drive?

Ratio Analysis Essay

The aims and objectives of this report are to compare the two companies, Kingfisher Plc. and Home Retail Group Plc., using their annual report published for the year 2011. With the help of the financial statements, it will be possible to calculate different ratios that are relevant to the comparison between the two businesses. Through this comments can then be made on the performance of both companies for the year, stating some of the possible factors that could have made affected this. Comparison will be on a year-to-year basis and then between the two companies as a whole. When comparing two companies like Kingfisher and the Home Retail Group, there are a few limitations needed to be considered before this is possible. The first would be the different accounting policies that each corporation have chosen to adapt to their financial statements; this could be in regards of the depreciation or inventory valuation method used for the preparation of relevant statements. Another important point to note is that financial statements are based on historical information and therefore this would not be as objective to when we come to use them for the comparison. Expanding on this, the closing balances on the statement may make the ratios appear misleading when comparing the two companies for the period, i.e. seasonal sale boost; Christmas and New Year promotion. The main issue that should be considered is the date that they have published their account Kingfisher being 31st January 2011 and Home Retail Group at 28th February 2011. So it would not be possible to make a more accurate comparison, as the economic conditions may have changed for that one month Kingfisher did not trade. Although it would suggest comparing the two businesses is not ideal, the two companies are somewhat similar. Therefore this should make the approximation more accurate and thus the comparison more meaningful. Kingfisher PLC Kingfisher is a company that focuses on mainly offering its customers home improvements products for DIY and such likes. Its main retail brand in the UK is B&Q with a market share of 14% and they are currently top of the market. They are also making a respectable breakthrough in France with their brands, Castorama and Brico Depot taking 21% of the market share with the top place. Moreover they have expanded to Germany, Turkey, Spain, China, Poland and Russia

And The Band Played On Essay

And The Band Played On, is a movie which tells the story of the beginning of AIDS (HIV disease). In the movie we are able to see first-hand the scientific and political aspect of the disease, as well as a few stories of those who died from the disease. Right from the beginning of the movie, it can be inferred that Don Francis is a passionate man, and was greatly changed by his visit to Africa. Therefore, the passion with which he works to figure out how AIDS (HIV disease) works, is nothing unexpected. And the ways in which he spreads his passion, for example when his outburst in the meeting with the blood bank industry leaders, shows again how much he truly cares. My personal opinion about his outburst is that he was right to speak up, to speak the truth, to speak exactly what needed to be said. While it was not very diplomatic of him to shout at them, Don is just such a passionate person that he could not contain himself. After the outbreak, Jim told him that his little outburst had cost the CDC credibility and made them seem childish, which I can understand where he is coming from, as Jim was in charge of the political aspect of everything that came from the CDC. For Jim this probably caused him many problems, but regardless of a ny consequences, what Don said was true. The blood banks were too focused on making money and not about the care for their patients, they wanted to play the numbers game, claiming that the cost was too high and would only save a small number of people. Don realized what was happening and called them out on it, to the point of humiliation almost. The American governments stand on the issue of HIV/AIDS was honestly stupid as can be. While the disease was strictly in gay men, they felt no need to be involved. And when it did begin to spread to hemophiliacs, iv drug users, and anyone who received a blood transfusion with infected blood, they still sat on their butts and refused to move. They acted out of fear, making HIV/AIDS out to be something you could contract just by being near someone who had it. Furthermore, the government and many others including some churches, viewed this as simply a moral issue. There were people claiming that this was God’s  way of punishing these people for their inappropriate lifestyle. Because of this, the fact that disease began in only gay men, and the media termed it gay related immune deficiency, government simply felt no push to do anything. The only way for things to change was for other people besides gay men to get infected, or for straight people to speak up. Well of course people other than gay men began to become infected so they had to do something. I firmly believe that had this disease either begun in heterosexuals or affected heterosexuals and homosexuals at the same rate, that the strides made to learn about the disease would have been doubled, even tripled. Government would have poured money into research on the disease, without even thinking about it because they would have been afraid of becoming infected themselves. When it first began, America thought it to be a gay only disease, that no one else could get it. But anyone can become infected. My favorite character in the movie was without a doubt Don Francis. Just the way we see him evolve and change, from Africa to the CDC, and the fact that it seems the audience is the only one who knows exactly what Don saw in Africa and how much it haunts him. I think that is why he works so hard, he doesn’t want to be too late, like he was in Africa. His passion for his work encourages me and I hope to have the same passion for my work one day. A character that I did not like so much was Robert Gallo. As an actor I believe Alan Alda was excellent, but the character he portrays makes my blood run cold from the moment he was introduced. Had it not been for him, HIV/AIDS research would have been so much faster, but because Gallo was more concerned about the profits and credit from the discovery of the virus, things were not as quick. Perhaps the reason Gallo cared more for money and was not as passionate about saving these people is because he, unlike Don Francis, did not have a life-changing moment in the story. Don saw the damage done by the ebola virus and therefore more than anything did not want to see the AIDS virus (HIV disease) become the same thing. References: Schulman, A. S. (Writer) (1993). And the band played on [DVD].

How to Write the Pomona College Essays 2018-2019

As one of the five colleges in the Claremont College system , Pomona is often considered as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country. It boasts a tight-knit community of diverse students both in their background as well as academic interests. Additionally, as a Claremont College, students at Pomona are able to access the resources of the other colleges in the system to expand their undergrad experience. Wherever your interests lie, you can be sure that you will be able to forge your own path at Pomona College . For the class of 2022, only 6.9% of applicants were accepted, making it the most selective year of the school’s history. With so many applicants that apply, having a strong essay that really sets you apart from other students is vital to a successful application. In our guide, we will walk you through all of the supplemental essays offered for this cycle and give you suggestions for how you can approach answering each one. Read on to learn more about how to write a great essay! Before you dive into answering this question, remember that you are only given a 50 word limit. As such, you are not being asked to write another deep piece about your childhood or an issue that matters to you— you should have already covered such topics in your Common Application . Instead, use this space to be straightforward and direct. Perhaps you have a hobby that wasn’t really explored yet or a quirk that all your friends have come to identify you with. Whatever it is that makes you the person you are, this is the space to put it into the spotlight. In terms of formatting, due to the limited space, you may not have enough time to really go into an explanation about what this topic is or give much background. As an alternative, you can answer the prompt in the form of a list or short action-packed sentences. For example, if you love to solve hands-on puzzles like the Rubik’s cube, then you may write something like: It’s one in the morning. Under the luminescent glow of my lamp, my hands are moving furiously. Finally, I glance at the stopwatch and slam the object onto the table. Twenty-five seconds. My new record. The completed Rubik’s cube stares back at me, beckoning me to solve it once more. The â€Å"essay† doesn’t necessarily need to have a resolution like your other essays might, but it allows you to give the reader a small glance into your world and to show them what is important to you simply because it just is. This essay is the classic â€Å"Why Major† essay. If you already have an idea of what major you are interested in, then this is the space for you to explain all the reasons that this specific academic field excites you! That being said, it’s easy for people to fall into the trap where they then spend too much time explaining the nuances of the field and why it is cool in general instead of focusing on why they like it personally . For example, you may be interested in chemistry because the labs are exciting and you like knowing the building blocks of life. While those may both be true, using this reason to justify your choice doesn’t give the admissions counsel any more insight as to why you would choose chemistry over biology. The point is, you need to show that you have actively engaged with the major you have selected, and understand enough of the nuances in the field to make your informed decision. A better response to the chemistry example would be: I am currently interested in learning more about the human body at the cellular level, but in order to gain a full appreciation of the cell, I will also need a good grasp of the physics at play. As the central science, chemistry will allow me to build those connections between the two science disciplines and as a result help me become a better versed researcher. Remember that every essay you write should always circle back to you in some way, and â€Å"Why Major† essays are no different. Some questions to help get you thinking about your response are listed below. 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  What is your earliest memory of interacting with this subject? 2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  When you are engrossed in this subject, what kind of feelings are evoked? 3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  What have you already done up to this point to pursue your interest in this subject? 4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Where do you see this subject playing into your life after graduating college? You may choose to answer one or all of the questions listed above, but take them more as prompting guidelines. You can definitely answer this question in a more straightforward manner, but you may also choose to convey your passion for a major in a more anecdotal manner. For those of you who have no idea what to choose, no worries! Colleges are well aware that declaring a major is a huge decision, and it’s very common to see students switching majors even in their Junior year. What Pomona is really looking for in this essay is to see if you have an academic passion. After all, this is a school widely known for the rigor of their classes, so they want to fill up the classroom with students who are driven and curious about the world around them. If you are undecided, you should still choose at least two or three subjects that you are vaguely interested in, and talk about why those fields have been of interest to you in the past. You may want to use these examples more as a way to show off your curious side, and talk about what kind of learner you are. Who knows, perhaps your reason for remaining undecided is simply because you have so many interests that you don’t want to confine yourself to one without getting a chance to explore what’s out there! That is a great sentiment which reveals both conviction in your decision as well as passion. Submit your essay and we’ll get back to you with helpful edits. Though this question asks about a location that is important to you, the trick is that you can actually make this essay about any topic that you want. As long as you can find a connection between the topic you want to write about and the location, you can use the latter as just a jumping off point. To begin, you want to figure out what â€Å"meaningful† means to you. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the first place you think of, but it should be a place where some sort of transition happened. Perhaps you will talk about the trunk of your family’s pickup truck because that is where your mom showed you how to find constellations, thus sparking your continued interest in astronomy. Or maybe you will talk about the soup kitchen that you dedicated your weekends to because your acts of service have led you to become very passionate about social work and gain a deeper appreciation for the opportunities you have in your own life. Whatever you choose, whether that location hold an academic connection or a more personal one, the important part is that you not only describe the place and why it is important initially, but also how you have changed as a result. Think of this essay as one that needs to answer three questions. 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  What were you like before you formed a connection with this location? 2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  What happened with this location that makes it so special to you? 3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  After your interactions with this location, what have you learned/taken away? If you chose a fictional place, the same three questions apply. Just be careful that you aren’t using too much space providing background for the piece of literature your location comes from. For example, if you write about Hogwarts, the admissions committee don’t want to read a simplified history of Harry’s life. Instead, they want to see what your personal connections with this school of magic is. If you find yourself needing to provide a lot of supplementary information, then what you are actually writing about is a piece of fiction that has shaped you in a meaningful way. First, let’s decode the first three adjectives. Eager in this context can be conflated with driven, thoughtful with aware, and reverent with respectful. While there may be other words that these three adjectives can be synonymous with, the basic idea is that you should avoid listing the qualities of â€Å"driven, aware, and respectful†Ã¢â‚¬â€words that are often overused anyways. Instead, forget about trying to find a quality that can encompass a whole campus of individuals and is very grandiose. Focus on yourself and the people that you look up to most in your life. What are the reasons that you surround yourself with their company? What is something about them that inspires you? The word that comes to mind may not always seem significant, but choosing the fourth adjective is only the first part of conquering this essay. The more important part is your explanation as to why you value this specific trait. When you explain your reasoning, any word that you choose will become important. For example, maybe your fondest memories of your friend group are the weekly Wednesday night study sessions that always end up as a karaoke session. You love your friends because they know how to be goofy even during stressful times, and show you that there is more to life than studying for the next exam. You might also think of your grandfather’s stubbornness in always doing what feels right to him. Many people tend to shy away from the word â€Å"stubborn† like the plague, but the word does not always have to carry negative connotations. Stubbornness can mean believing in doing the right thing despite what the majority of others believe, or even a confidence in one’s own abilities. As mentioned before, any adjective you choose can be used to make a statement about who you are and what you believe in, but with this essay it is so important to be genuine. The reasons you provide in the answer will generally be very personal, so the more truthful you are the stronger your essay will be. Depending on how you choose to interpret the word â€Å"tragedy†, this essay could be a great piece for someone who wants to write a more light-hearted piece. You can use tragedy ironically, or as an over-exaggeration. For example, you could talk about a Halloween where you ate your entire haul in a single weekend and ended up with two painful cavities. You can use this seemingly mundane event to launch into a piece about your self-control and how you have been able to improve on it dramatically over the years. As a more serious example, you could also talk about a time when you let a great opportunity pass you by because you didn’t think you were eligible only to find out that it was well within your reach. While you are sharing a slip-up in this version, it is still a powerful example to use because you can use it to convey that since that time, you are now a very proactive individual and actively seeks out ways to use the resources available to your advantage. As with the first option of prompt 3, this essay is about your growth as an individual surrounding a specific â€Å"tragedy†. Thus, the instance you choose should only be the turning point, and not the whole essay. Once you find your instance, the next step is to figure out what you have learned from it. As you write your Pomona supplements, remember that they should always be working together to reveal more facets of yourself. Think about what message you really want to deliver to the admission committee, and as you read through what you have written, ask yourself if those messages are coming through. Sometimes, it may even be helpful to find a neutral party to read through your responses and tell you’re their impressions. We wish you the best of luck in your writing, as well as the rest of your process! Want help on your Pomona application or essays? Learn about our College Apps Program. Want us to quickly edit your college essay? Submit it to our Rapid Review Program , and we’ll get it back to you quickly with comments from our expert team.

Leadership and Ethics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership and Ethics - Coursework Example 23-30). However, ethics and good leadership are subjective topics and are commonly a reflection of the civilization. Therefore, the perceptions change depending on the context and time of argument. In my view, an ethical leader demonstrates normatively appropriate conduct based on personal attributes and interpersonal relationships. Such leaders coordinate followers through a structured two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making. In line with the theme of focus, ethical leadership framework manifests through strategic planning, cultural transformation, and leadership development. My concept of ethical leadership entails distinctive principles. First, an ethical leader guides the organization to deliver services beyond legal obligations. Frequently, the principle involves doing more than the minimum requirement of following the established federal laws and regulations (Fluker, 2009, p. 34-30). Corporations that apply this principle benefit from lower employee turnover, greater customer loyalty, and maximum profits. For example, giving more may entail environmental stewardship, better remunerations and management of the product chain. Second, ethical leadership principle elaborates the importance of business honesty. Therefore, ethical leaders promise what they are capable of deliver, engage in honest advertising, and inform employees about issues that might affect job security and practices fair competition. In common, business honesty also translates into maximized income and success. Similarly, leadership strategy that lacks ethical clarity results to economic and moral bankruptcy. In line with the highlighted principles, unethical leadership structures contribute to business failures. The approach typically creates mistrust among employees, suppliers and customers. An unethical practice also exposes the company to unnecessary legal dilemmas and attracts several fines or bans. Achievement of the