Ai Weiwei: More Than Just an Artist

From the Sichuan earthquake To art and twitter: Ai Weiwei, more than just an artist 1 Table of Contents Introduction: the Sichuan Earthquake †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Ai Weiwei’s Communication Tools †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 â€Å"Remembering† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Twitter †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Going Local to Global †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2 Introduction: the Sichuan Earthquake On the 12th may 2008 in the Sichuan province, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 8 on Richter’s scale occurs during the afternoon (Fawu Wang, 2009). According to an official report, 69’197 people were killed, 374’176 injured and 4. 8 Million were left homeless. Although earthquake predictions remain in a certain way always random, a scientist named Chen Xuezhong brought in 2002 evidence of a potential coming earthquake in the region (Zhiyue, 2010). It stresses that China’s government was warned of a potential coming disaster. After this short introduction, this essay will focus on the repercussions of this incident, in China as well as internationally, emphasised by Ai Weiwei’s actions through, on one hand art and on the other Internet, respectively twitter. Ai Weiwei’s Communication ToolsThe Sichuan earthquake raised strong criticism against the Chinese government, especially because of the huge number of victims among children. According to a construction engineer who published the Chinese book â€Å"Book Blade†: â€Å"School construction in China is the worst† (Li, 2008). Indeed, they are often called â€Å"tofu construction†. Several reasons cover this problematic. Among them, the tiny budgets in poor areas. This is why we find infrastructure deficits in those regions (Li, 2008). Indeed this event has raised interest and the one of a particularly renowned artist, named Ai Weiwei.In his documentary â€Å"Never sorry† Ai Weiwei explains he pursued an independent personal investigation on this accident; he wanted to find out how many children had been killed and wanted to sue the government for their deaths, because according to him, it didn’t face its responsibilities. Furthermore he reveals the difficulties encountered, due to the government’s restricted information policy, to obtain the official number of children victims (Klayman, 2012). Thus, supported by helpless parents, depressed because of their loss, he gathered the names of an important number of children killed so that they could be remembered (Helmhirst, 2012). â€Å"Remembering† Ai Weiwei is an international renowned artist with strong beliefs and personal views. As a matter of fact, he likes to use his world reputation to make the public opinion aware of the problems the Chinese population is facing because of the communist party and has always been a great defender of their rights. The Sichuan earthquake would have been hidden and forgotten in the government’s propaganda, but thanks to him and to his art creation, those students’ life will never be forgotten. Remembering† is a piece of art created by Ai Weiwei on the wall of the â€Å"Haus der Kunst† in Munich. Made with 9’000 schoolbags (McMahon, 2010), it symbolises the life of the students who died during the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. Different colours have been chosen to decorate the schoolbags, in order to read the following phrase, written with Chinese characters, on the wall of the â€Å"Haus der Kunst†: â€Å"She lived happily for seven years in this world† (Branigan, 2011).This sentence, pronounced by the poor mother of a victim, shows how sad and tra gic this accident has been. Through this artistic work and its exposition in a cultural centre like Munich, Ai Weiwei has been able to export local Chinese problems to the rest of the world and make us aware of the repressed liberty of expression and the lack of assistance to the population in China Province, especially when it comes to people living in poor areas. In addition it expresses Ai Weiwei’s beliefs by showing us that he holds the government responsible for those high casualties.Twitter Ai Weiwei uses twitter and Internet to share his views and assess his notoriety. This tool became an essential part of Ai Weiwei’s style of communication. During the Sichuan earthquake, twitter has been used to make the people aware of the damages caused and to reveal whom Ai Weiwei holds responsible for this incident. People outside China could be informed. On the opposite, people living in the mainland of China have a restricted access to Internet, respectively twitter.Still , there are some ways to deviate from the, imposed by government, restricted freedom of speech; although the use of Internet is limited, some people in China use a VPN located outside of China to communicate within the mainland (A digital rallying cry, 2011). Thus the government’s politic, this doesn’t 4 bother Ai Weiwei who’s an active twitter user, sharing his thoughts almost daily (Twitter Ai Weiwei). As a precursor of twitter in China, Ai Weiwei considerably influenced the style of communication and the liberty of expression of Chinese people.Effectively, the following example highlights clearly those facts: when Ai Weiwei was in detention, a lot of his followers shared twitts almost every day for his liberation and manifested in the streets with the famous slogan: â€Å"Free Ai Weiwei† (Twitter Free Ai Weiwei). This shows the considerable impact he has on Chinese society. Going Local to Global The repercussions of the Sichuan earthquake can be charac terised by the influence of the western culture on the Chinese population through Ai Weiwei, respectively art and twitter.As a matter of fact Ai Weiwei has studied art both in Beijing and in New York (Wines, 2009); this certainly allowed him to draw comparisons between the Occidental and the Asian culture and to figure out which changes were to be made in the Chinese politics, for example regarding the freedom of speech. Indeed from a local incident and thanks to an international renowned artist, a positive anger in the Chinese population, against the government, has raised to fight for their rights and to freely express their opinions.Effectively, it is to be underlined that the use of twitter by the Chinese population is a relevant example for this characterisation. Conclusion In the light of these factors the Sichuan earthquake emphasises the infrastructure deficit the country is facing in Province and more importantly in poor areas. Secondly, â€Å"Remembering† is the sym bol of the anger and the sadness Ai Weiwei and the parents face regarding respectively the government and this tragic accident. Thirdly, twitter highlights a communication tool, which can easily and instantly be used. Ai Weiwei hrough a combination of these tools positively influenced the Chinese people. Although it may seem somehow utopic, Ai Weiwei with â€Å"Remembering† and twitter made a huge step forward, by making a population aware    5 how to use their rights, in the fight he struggles with the government of mainland China. Hereby, I declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. 6 7 Ai Weiwei: More Than Just an Artist From the Sichuan earthquake To art and twitter: Ai Weiwei, more than just an artist 1 Table of Contents Introduction: the Sichuan Earthquake †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Ai Weiwei’s Communication Tools †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 â€Å"Remembering† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Twitter †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Going Local to Global †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2 Introduction: the Sichuan Earthquake On the 12th may 2008 in the Sichuan province, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 8 on Richter’s scale occurs during the afternoon (Fawu Wang, 2009). According to an official report, 69’197 people were killed, 374’176 injured and 4. 8 Million were left homeless. Although earthquake predictions remain in a certain way always random, a scientist named Chen Xuezhong brought in 2002 evidence of a potential coming earthquake in the region (Zhiyue, 2010). It stresses that China’s government was warned of a potential coming disaster. After this short introduction, this essay will focus on the repercussions of this incident, in China as well as internationally, emphasised by Ai Weiwei’s actions through, on one hand art and on the other Internet, respectively twitter. Ai Weiwei’s Communication ToolsThe Sichuan earthquake raised strong criticism against the Chinese government, especially because of the huge number of victims among children. According to a construction engineer who published the Chinese book â€Å"Book Blade†: â€Å"School construction in China is the worst† (Li, 2008). Indeed, they are often called â€Å"tofu construction†. Several reasons cover this problematic. Among them, the tiny budgets in poor areas. This is why we find infrastructure deficits in those regions (Li, 2008). Indeed this event has raised interest and the one of a particularly renowned artist, named Ai Weiwei.In his documentary â€Å"Never sorry† Ai Weiwei explains he pursued an independent personal investigation on this accident; he wanted to find out how many children had been killed and wanted to sue the government for their deaths, because according to him, it didn’t face its responsibilities. Furthermore he reveals the difficulties encountered, due to the government’s restricted information policy, to obtain the official number of children victims (Klayman, 2012). Thus, supported by helpless parents, depressed because of their loss, he gathered the names of an important number of children killed so that they could be remembered (Helmhirst, 2012). â€Å"Remembering† Ai Weiwei is an international renowned artist with strong beliefs and personal views. As a matter of fact, he likes to use his world reputation to make the public opinion aware of the problems the Chinese population is facing because of the communist party and has always been a great defender of their rights. The Sichuan earthquake would have been hidden and forgotten in the government’s propaganda, but thanks to him and to his art creation, those students’ life will never be forgotten. Remembering† is a piece of art created by Ai Weiwei on the wall of the â€Å"Haus der Kunst† in Munich. Made with 9’000 schoolbags (McMahon, 2010), it symbolises the life of the students who died during the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. Different colours have been chosen to decorate the schoolbags, in order to read the following phrase, written with Chinese characters, on the wall of the â€Å"Haus der Kunst†: â€Å"She lived happily for seven years in this world† (Branigan, 2011).This sentence, pronounced by the poor mother of a victim, shows how sad and tra gic this accident has been. Through this artistic work and its exposition in a cultural centre like Munich, Ai Weiwei has been able to export local Chinese problems to the rest of the world and make us aware of the repressed liberty of expression and the lack of assistance to the population in China Province, especially when it comes to people living in poor areas. In addition it expresses Ai Weiwei’s beliefs by showing us that he holds the government responsible for those high casualties.Twitter Ai Weiwei uses twitter and Internet to share his views and assess his notoriety. This tool became an essential part of Ai Weiwei’s style of communication. During the Sichuan earthquake, twitter has been used to make the people aware of the damages caused and to reveal whom Ai Weiwei holds responsible for this incident. People outside China could be informed. On the opposite, people living in the mainland of China have a restricted access to Internet, respectively twitter.Still , there are some ways to deviate from the, imposed by government, restricted freedom of speech; although the use of Internet is limited, some people in China use a VPN located outside of China to communicate within the mainland (A digital rallying cry, 2011). Thus the government’s politic, this doesn’t 4 bother Ai Weiwei who’s an active twitter user, sharing his thoughts almost daily (Twitter Ai Weiwei). As a precursor of twitter in China, Ai Weiwei considerably influenced the style of communication and the liberty of expression of Chinese people.Effectively, the following example highlights clearly those facts: when Ai Weiwei was in detention, a lot of his followers shared twitts almost every day for his liberation and manifested in the streets with the famous slogan: â€Å"Free Ai Weiwei† (Twitter Free Ai Weiwei). This shows the considerable impact he has on Chinese society. Going Local to Global The repercussions of the Sichuan earthquake can be charac terised by the influence of the western culture on the Chinese population through Ai Weiwei, respectively art and twitter.As a matter of fact Ai Weiwei has studied art both in Beijing and in New York (Wines, 2009); this certainly allowed him to draw comparisons between the Occidental and the Asian culture and to figure out which changes were to be made in the Chinese politics, for example regarding the freedom of speech. Indeed from a local incident and thanks to an international renowned artist, a positive anger in the Chinese population, against the government, has raised to fight for their rights and to freely express their opinions.Effectively, it is to be underlined that the use of twitter by the Chinese population is a relevant example for this characterisation. Conclusion In the light of these factors the Sichuan earthquake emphasises the infrastructure deficit the country is facing in Province and more importantly in poor areas. Secondly, â€Å"Remembering† is the sym bol of the anger and the sadness Ai Weiwei and the parents face regarding respectively the government and this tragic accident. Thirdly, twitter highlights a communication tool, which can easily and instantly be used. Ai Weiwei hrough a combination of these tools positively influenced the Chinese people. Although it may seem somehow utopic, Ai Weiwei with â€Å"Remembering† and twitter made a huge step forward, by making a population aware    5 how to use their rights, in the fight he struggles with the government of mainland China. Hereby, I declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. 6 7

Analysis of Ahab Moby Dick Essay

1. Dictator: Melville describes Ahab as a dictator. He, as the captain, is the most respectful figure in the Pequod. Some critics say that the novel is a metaphor from the world. Everyone depends of one person. It is a political point of view. The Pequod is seen as a small world. He is a â€Å"grand, ungodly, god-like† man. Ahab is ungodly in that he refuses to submit to any higher power. He does not worship or even acknowledge the superiority of forces beyond himself. Ahab is god-like in that he is larger than life. 2. Obsession: Ahab considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale monomaniacally because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil. He is obsessed with revenge. Moby Dick dominates the personality of Ahab. He gradually goes crazier and crazier, eventually blaming Moby Dick for everything bad that has ever happened to any human being ever since the beginning of time. Melville describes Ahab as a â€Å"monomaniac,† an interesting word because it suggests two things: first, that Ahab’s insanity focuses itself obsessively on a single thing (Moby Dick), and second, that he’s only insane when it comes to that one thing – he can be rational about just about everyone else. 3. Suffering: Ahab believes that his suffering stems from the White Whale known as Moby Dick. . He lost more than leg the first time he fought against Moby Dick: he lost his pride, his free will, and his very being. His sole purpose after this encounter was to kill Moby-Dick, all else was cast aside. His wife, home, friends, and family do not even cross his mind. Ahab basically spends his life alone in the sea. He feels in home when he is in the ocean. He is always looking for Moby Dick, looking along. He has not friends; he is a romantic hero. Ahab is not a happy human being, he is like heroes of Shakespearean tragedy. He is suffering for the pain he has inside from the beginning to the end of the novel. Close to the end of the novel Melville makes a reflection about Ahab’s life, trying to humanize him. He is lamenting everything on his life.

Comparing The Powerful Images of the Tyger and the War photographer Essay

William Blake and Carol Ann Duffy both utilize powerful imagery to describe the â€Å"War Photographer† and â€Å"The Tyger†, making similar statements about them. In addition, both poems use vivid imagery associated with the theme of religion and war. The use of imagery by both poets emphasizes the parallelism between the â€Å"The Tyger† and the â€Å"War Photographer† as it suggests that both these characters prey on death. For example, William Blake describes the Tyger to have a â€Å"fearful symmetry† and â€Å"fire† in its eyes. The words â€Å"fearful† and â€Å"fire†, create a semantic field of ferocity and danger associated with the Tyger. Furthermore, this highlights the savage and formidable side of the Tyger, making the predatory nature of such an animal prominent. The use of the word â€Å"symmetry â€Å" not only indicates the Tiger’s symmetrical appearance but also, on a deeper level may imply the ordered and mechanical manner in which it kills its prey. This is because the fact that its appearance remains symmetrical suggests how emotionless and insensitive it is when using the death of other animals to fuel its own ruthless mind and body. Although the â€Å"War Photographer† isn’t portrayed to this extent of barbarity, the fact that he uses death and suffering as a source of income is certainly similar to the Tyger’s situation. This is exemplified when Carol Ann Duffy says that the War Photographer â€Å"stares impassively at where he earns a living.† The use of the adverb â€Å"impassively† conjures up images showing how the War Photographer is so unemotional and machinelike in the way he takes pictures of the death and suffering of War just to â€Å"earn a living.† Therefore, in this way, the mental images formed in reader’s mind from each poem illustrate that the War Photographer is synonymous with the Tyger as they both cold-heartedly use the medium of death to improve their own lives. However, on other hand, the dichotomy of both the Tyger and the War Photographer is also made clear with the use of imagery. For example, William Blake also depicts the Tyger to be â€Å"burning bright.† This emphasizes the magnificence of the Tyger in a much more â€Å"bright† and positive manner, juxtaposing its deadly and dangerous side. The use of bilabial plosives in the ‘b’ sounds in â€Å"burning† and â€Å"bright† creates an explosive and energetic sound, creating images of an animated and vibrant animal, contrasting to the alternative dull and spiritless perception of the Tyger. Moreover, the depiction that the Tyger is a thing of beauty rather than terror is accentuated when the Tyger, which is â€Å"burning bright†, comes from â€Å"the forests of the night.† This paints a picture of the Tyger being something good coming out of evil as the words â€Å"forest† and â€Å"night† have connotations of something dark and sinister, contrasting to the magnificence of the Tyger’s brightness. William Blake also goes on to ask the question â€Å"Did he who made the Lamb make thee?† This is referring to God as the Lamb is depicted as the ‘Lamb of God’. This question reinforces the idea that there must be something good coming out of this seemingly deadly creature if God is its creator. The reason for this is that God is often pictured an omnipotent, benevolent figure and the fact that he created the â€Å"Lamb†, a symbol of complete innocence and purity, reinforces this. Therefore if he created the Tyger, there must be a positive outcome to its invention. Perhaps Blake is conveying the image to the reader that the valuable purpose of the Tyger is to create a natural order of balance in the world. Although on the surface its predatory nature seems only to have negative impacts, it is required to ensure the survival of not only its own species but also to prevent the overpopulation of prey species like the Lamb. This imagery implies that the Tyger needs to prey on animals such as the lamb in order to keep balance in the world, and to allow the circle of life to happen, a concept that is reinforced by the cyclic structure of the poem. Similarly, in War Photographer Carol Ann Duffy mentions how the War photographer â€Å"sought approval without words to do what someone must.† This adds a sense of morality to his job and the purpose of it, just like the creation of Tyger benefits the world in a much larger sense; he doesn’t do it just to earn money. This produces a contrasting image on the War Photographer as it suggests he is doing something right and â€Å"what someone must† as making people aware of the death and suffering in the world, is a step closer to resolving this problem of war. Furthermore, powerful imagery used by both C. A. Duffy and William Blake, emphasizes the duality of the Tyger and War Photographer. On the surface, both the Tyger and the War photographer seem to be emotionless and insensitive in the way they prey on death but the larger, meaningful purpose of each character is also portrayed. Powerful imagery is also presented in both poems via the theme of religion. For example, in War Photographer, strong religious imagery is created with use of the Bible quote â€Å"All flesh is grass.† This implies that all life is as temporary as grass and just like grass life will shine for its season but then wither, fade and die. Alternatively the â€Å"flesh† could be a metaphor for death, suggesting that death in war is as common and in huge numbers as blades of grass. Nevertheless, both these interpretations highlight the ephemeral nature of life in war. Perhaps Carol Ann Duffy uses the fact that quote stems from the Bible to almost blame Christianity or religion for allowing or creating War, which makes life so fragile and transient. Furthermore, maybe, C. A. Duffy conveys these religious images to the reader, to highlight the doubt she has in the supposed altruism of God for creating war. William Blake uses religious imagery similarly in the Tyger. â€Å"What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?† This questions the nerve of the â€Å"immortal† God to create such a â€Å"fearful†, dangerous creature. Perhaps Blake uses the terror of Tyger to represent the suffering and death in the world and in this way, he creates striking images to question whether God is truly beneficent. This image of an uncompassionate God is reinforced when God is questioned to have â€Å"dread hand† and â€Å"dread feet† for creating this creature. The use of the adjective of â€Å"dread† to describe God produces powerful images that oppose the assumed kindness of God, implying that this all-powerful figure may also harbour malicious intent. Perhaps Blake is alluding to the fearful Jehovah like image from the Old Testament, questioning whether in fact he is a benevolent figure for creating the death and suffering that the Tyger embodies. Therefore, the religious imagery in both the War Photographer and the Tyger question whether God’s good will for creating suffering in the world emphasized through the creation of the Tyger and War. An apparent difference in the portrayal of images between the 2 poems is that the War Photographer is closely related to humanity, whereas The Tyger focuses on images beyond human. In War photographer, C.A. Duffy emphasizes the effect of War on humans such as the â€Å"War Photographer† and the †readers† of his pictures. For example the War photographer’s hand is described to â€Å"tremble† when he is forming the pictures of â€Å"agonies.† The words â€Å"agonies† and â€Å"tremble† paint a vivid image of the hardships of his job and the amount of fear he has when witnessing the horrors of war. Therefore, the plight of the War Photographer evokes the base instincts of empathy from the reader. Carol Ann Duffy also goes on to mention, â€Å"The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears† when seeing the â€Å"agonies† in the pictures that the War Photographer takes. The use of the verb â€Å"prick† to depict how the readers weep when seeing theses pictures, illustrates how superficial and apathetic this response is, the photos just â€Å"prick† the surface of their â€Å"eyeballs†, it is not heart-felt or deep. Perhaps this displays that these readers forge even this feeble gesture of respect, as they have to go the extent of pricking their eyeballs to make themselves cry, as it does not come naturally. This is to â€Å"prick† is quite an abrasive or forceful verb may imply that they are forcing themselves to artificially show that they care, when truly â€Å"they do not care.† This gives the impression that the readers suffer from compassion fatigue, they are desensitized by the sheer number of horrific photos of War that are presented to them and subconsciously, they realise this lack of compassion but they do not want to display it. In this way C.A Duffy, brings this insensitivity that masked by artificial a cts of kindness of the viewers (of pictures of War), to the forefront of the reader’s mind. Furthermore this imagery is quite because it questions whether the reader (of this poem) deep inside, have this same indifference to the pictures of War, many readers would relate to the way they are often dismissive of these images (like the readers in the poem), making them almost feel guilty. However the visualization in the Tyger creates very different effects on the reader. The lexical patterning of the words â€Å"immortal†, â€Å"distant†, †wings† and â€Å"heaven† creates a strong impression that the only 2 figures in this poem (The Tyger and its creator) are superhuman and celestial, creating a very mystical tone to the poem. This is reinforced with auditory imagery through the incessant trochaic metre of the poem and the repetition of the word Tyger, very much chant or hymn like, re-iterating the supernatural theme to the poem as hymns are sung to emphasise the magnificence of God. Therefore, this leaves the reader is awe and amazement of the power of these 2 figures that belong to a world much beyond the one of a human. Thus, the imagery in the Tyger and the War photographer also has very different effects on the reader, one leaving you with emotions of empathy and guilt and the other with a sense of wonder. In conclusion, Carol Ann Duffy and William Blake both present powerful images of the figures of the War Photographer and the Tyger that make them very alike.

Marketing of Sushi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing of Sushi - Research Paper Example 3. The current marketing strategy of your company enables the company to understand and reach out to the needs of its customers. 5 4 3 2 1 4. The current marketing strategy contributes to the company in terms of customer satisfaction and sales increase. 5 4 3 2 1 5. In general, the marketing style of my company is excellent. 5 4 3 2 1 Part 5 Presentation of Data Perceptions Regarding the campaign Quality improves: No. of Respondents who agree Service design customer Satisfaction Increased Competitive Advantage Increased market share Reduced customer complaints Customer loyalty Cost 30 15 30 30 2230 10 Rated most important factors for a company (among other factors given) Cost Scope Time (schedule) Quality of sushi Safety 5 2 320 2 Company's perception of quality Elimination of defects A tool to increase profits A competitive advantage 4 12 14 2. This study will use quantitative research, which uses explanatory methods in describing the variables wherein the data, situations, or other facts collected will be explained... 2. This study will use quantitative research, which uses explanatory methods in describing the variables wherein the data, situations, or other facts collected will be explained or correlated with other data. It is especially useful when conducting a study wherein the data are immeasurable, such as feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and others (Mays & Pope, 2000). Furthermore, the study will be descriptive as it will focus on the conditions set and the nature that surrounds the data and does not focus on the correlation with other collected facts. In order to come up with the most suitable research approaches and strategies for this study, the research process "onion" is used. This is because conducting a research is like peeling the back layers of an onion-in order to come to the central issue of how to collect the necessary data needed to answer the research questions and objectives, important layers should be first peeled away. With the said process, the researcher was able to create an outline on what measures are most appropriate to be applied in the study. It is not unusual for a researcher to first think of his res

Orthodox Church Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Orthodox Church - Essay Example Unfortunately, very little is known about the history of two brothers and it is still unclear whether Cyril was the priest or simply the deacon. From religious point of view, the liturgical innovation of Cyril was accepted only by the Eastern Church, but it was also offered to the Roman Church. Despite of the numerous controversies about the important of brother's mission to Orthodox Church, their contribution to the Slavic culture and church history cannot be underestimated. Cyril and Methodius both rendered important services to Byzantine Empire and were sent by the Emperor and the Patriarch on the responsible mission to Moravia. It is apparent that the beginnings of the Russian Christianity coincide in time with the Moravian mission of Cyril and Methodius and with the conversion of Bulgaria to Christian Church. The Byzantine culture was the most highly developed of its time and was spreading fast. The Moravian mission of Cyril and Methodius has further extended Byzantine religious and cultural influences to remote Slavic regions in the central Europe. "The real and unique greatness of the Moravian mission lies not so much in its achievements in Moravia as in the outstanding and far-reaching results beyond the Moravian border" (Ostrogorsky 3). Two brothers have created the Slavonic alphabet which made possible the development of Slavic writing and opened the new era in the cultural life of Slavic people. In addition to cultural contribution of Cyril-Methodius mission to Slavic nations, the Moravian mission should be viewed as the missionary enterprise. Byzantium was consolidating the existing relations and establishing new relations with the Slavs. Some of the historical events of that time include: the Russian attack on Constantinople (860), the request of Moravian prince Rastislav to send Byzantine missionaries to his country (863), the official acceptance of Christianity by Bulgaria (864). These events took place within the four years, however, their importance to Byzantine Empire and to the Slavs was great. Byzantine state in the sixties of the ninth century was strengthened, the military power increased, the regions of the Balkan Peninsula were reoccupied, the influence and authority of Constantinople in the Christian Church increased (Ostrogorsky 15). These developments have laid the foundation for powerful expansion of Byzantine religious and cultural influences that took plac e during the activity of Cyril and Methodius. Cyril, being one of the most remarkable personalities in Byzantine Empire, endowed with secular and theological knowledge, was the exponent of the highest aspiration of the Byzantine Church (Ostrogorsky 15). Cyril and Methodius did preach and celebrated the liturgy in Slavic language; they created the alphabet and translated the Bible into Slavic. Because they did these things, they laid the foundation for the Slavic literacy, literature, and culture. In the result of their mission, Byzantine Church became the powerful factor in the Hellenization of the Slavic world. For example, in Moravia the Byzantines preached Christianity and celebrated Mass in Slavic language, the Slavic self-consciousness was deliberately supported. Cyril and Methodius opposed the trilingual heresy - the theory that Christian Church was being expressed only in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Notably, the intensive research of the

Critical Thinking and Informatics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critical Thinking and Informatics - Assignment Example In contemporary times, nurses’ assessment relies upon technology, which yields much reliable results. It has not negatively affected the assessment skills of nurses and in fact it has transformed the assessment methods that have improved the clinical assessments (Webb & Shakespeare, 2008). Though technological tools may have errors, but the results are more accurate than human assessment. According to the study of Powell-Cope & Patterson (2008), the use of patient care technology has become complex with the passage of time, and this is because of the reason that the before the use of technology, nurses relied more on their sense of sight, touch, smell and hearing to detect the change in the patient (Powell-Cope, Nelson, & Patterson, 2008). Now, the excessive use of technology tools has suppressed the sense of nurses to detect changes in the patient (Powell-Cope, Nelson, & Patterson, 2008). As cited by Powell Cope in ‘Patient Care Technology and Safety’ nurses relied on change in the skin color and mental status of he patient to determine the changing in oxygen saturation. This reflects that before the invention of pulse oxygmetry nurses were able to identify the oxygen saturation in the patient determining their physical and mental condition. Similar has been cited by Zalumas in ‘Caring in Crisis’ as he states that the overdependence of nurs es on the technology has declined clinical assessment skills (Zalumas, 1995). The legal implication and computerized data has increased the burden on the technical environment. Inducement of Patient Care Technology has provided new dimensions for the clinical practice as nurses are relying more on these technologies that has discarded old methods. On the other hand, scholars believe that the technology has resolved major issues related to nurses assessment (Dickerson, Brewer, & Kovner, 2007). According to Rudy and Bertman,

The Sustainability of Own Labeled Food Products Dissertation

The Sustainability of Own Labeled Food Products - Dissertation Example Purpose of Research: 34 3.4. Research Approach: 35 3.5. Research Strategy: 35 3.6. Research Method: 36 3.7. Choice of Research Design: 36 3.8. Construction of Method: 36 3.9. Sample: 37 3.10. Data Collection: 37 3.11. Data Analysis: 37 3.12. Ethical Considerations: 38 3.13. Limitations: 38 3.14. Summary: 38 4. ANALYSIS: 40 4.1. Introduction 40 4.2. Overview of the Consumer Behaviour towards Own Label Products: 40 4.3. An overview of the UK Retail Industry with a special focus on Own labelled food products 41 4.4. Impact of Recession on the sales of Own Label Brands 44 4.5. Overview of the German Market 45 4.6. Quality of own label products 46 4.7. Consumer Response on the increasing sales of own label products 46 4.8. Future of Own Label food products 47 4.9. Reasons for Growth of Own Labelled Products 47 4.10. Analysing the perception of Buyers and Non-Buyers of Own Labelled Products 48 4.10.1. Reasons for not purchasing own label products 48 4.10.2. Reasons for purchasing own label products 50 4.10.3. Preferred Own Labelled Product Categories 51 4.10.4. Level of Interest in Own label supplier 52 4.10.5. Suggested improvements - Buyers of the own label products 54 4.10.6. Suggested improvements – Non-Buyers of the own label products 55 4.10. Summary 56 5. CONCLUSION: 57 5.1. Summary of the Findings: 57 5.2. Limitations of the research study 58 5.3. Recommendations 59 5.4. Recommendations for Future Research: 61 References 62 1. INTRODUCTION: 1.1. Overview: With the passage of time own labels have been able to grab additional attention from the consumers (Gamliel and Herstein, 2007). The own labels or retailers brands are being perceived as one of the most important and successful strategies being undertaken by the retailers. There has been increasing...In this research report the researcher has tried to analyse the brand image of the own label food products. For this purpose, the researcher has focused on the consumers perception about the quality of th e own label food products and has compared the level of quality of branded food products with the own label food products. This in turn has allowed the researcher to identify any change in consumer perception and consumer buying behaviour in own label food products. With the passage of time own labels have been able to grab additional attention from the consumers. The own labels or retailers brands are being perceived as one of the most important and successful strategies being undertaken by the retailers. There has been increasing globalisation and competition in the industry. As a result, different retail organisations are coming up with several competitive and surviving strategies in order to create competitive edge in the market. The creation of the own labels is also one of these competitive strategies of the retail organisations. These retail organisations are able to offer the own labels at relatively lower prices because they incur low cost while manufacturing these products according to the needs and demands of the customers and market it to them. The own labels provide the retailers with high profit margins along with more control over the shelf space. Also, these own labels allow the retailers more flexibility and bargaining power in the distribution channel.

Reflective Journal M02 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflective Journal M02 - Essay Example Entrepreneurs and investors embark on business ventures because they wish to make money, and a business that does not make money on a regular basis deserves to be terminated. All the tools and techniques for decision making that are taught in the MBA or any other business management course will always have the profit maximizing criterion as a major consideration. At least, that is the common perception, and one that I had entertained prior to my studies about business ethics and corporate social responsibility. In my readings, I was struck by the observation of Pride, Hughes and Kapoor (2009), that the profit maximization goal is impossible to define, and therefore impossible to achieve, because there is never a satisfactory answer to the question, ‘How much profit is enough?’ Exactly, businessmen are depicted as greedy and heartless, loving money for money’s sake, and much like Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge, the profit a business accumulates never appears to be enough. Such a goal is thus never attainable, and therefore the profit maximizing aim is a senseless one for business, as there is no maximum. After all, a goal that could not be defined could not be attained, and success becomes elusive and illusory. What I have learned about ethical decision making is that it is the core of ethical business, the thing that makes business a noble undertaking that seeks to provide for the needs of people. It has the humane goal of satisfying people, of bringing goods and services to match human wants and needs. Business creates value, and offers this value up for human consumption, and the resulting profit is but a just reward commensurate to the value that was created. Ethical decision making is what guides a businessman to do the right thing at the right time, and because of this his business becomes a tool to making peoples’ lives better. I believe that this is the social responsibility of

Intertextuality in Contemporary Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intertextuality in Contemporary Writing - Essay Example However, it must first be questioned whether or not sharing a general plot makes stories similar, or if it is the unique creation of that story which is valued above all others. The concept of intertextuality is not new. Intertextuality is defined as "Intertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can refer to an author's borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader's referencing of one text in reading another" (Wikipedia). Another, more clear and accepted definition describes intertextuality as Texts, whether they be literary or non-literary are viewed by modern theorists as lacking in any kind of independent meaning. They are what theorists now call intertextual. The act of reading, theorists claim, plunges us into a network of textual relations. To interpret a text, to discover its meaning or meanings is to trace those relations. Reading thus becomes a process of moving between texts. Meaning becomes something that exists between a text and all other texts to which it refers to and relates, moving out from the independent text into a network of textual relations. (Hansen, Intertextuality) Even the word draws from other sources, having been changed and developed to its' current meaning. Yet intertextuality is more than just the influences that other writers and texts have upon the text in question. It affects the subject of the piece, the style of the writing, even the word choice made. It is semiotics to every detail, and intertextuality suggests that there is actually nothing new in a new text, that all ideas have been borrowed or influenced by other writers and texts. To suggest that all writing is a form of plagiarism is an interesting concept, and yet holds quite a bit of validity. Even now, in this essay, the ideas have been written before. The form has been written before. Other authors have expounded on the concept of intersexuality. If all essays were compared, chances are there would be little that was not found in at least two essays. If not even an essay can be unique, then how can a novel, or a play Yet, at the same time, how can they not be unique An excellent example of this is Carpentier's essay, "Like the Night." Clearly, the concept of looking at how a soldier feels about war is not unique in and of itself. Look at contemporary classics, such as The Things They Carried. Like "Like the Night" the story focuses on the tales of men at war, and their thoughts and feelings about what is happening around them. Yet, while they each share unique thoughts and ideas, would they not both be strengthened by reading both texts They are a part of the intertextual network that Hansen described. Another piece that deserves notice is Barth's "Dunyazadiad." This piece clearly draws on other works and ideas, as it is not a story meant to stand alone, but rather a remake of an already written story. His story not only connects to other stories on an idea basis but also embellishes and changes a story that already had meaning and idea. There are deeper concepts in this story then, since it adds yet another layer to the original story, bringing the meanings written by that author, and by Barth. Clearly, this piece cannot stand by itself, since it would lose so much. So, the answer to the question â€Å"The concept of intertextuality reminds us that each text exists in relation to others.     Ã‚  

Checklists and Rating Scales Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Checklists and Rating Scales - Assignment Example Checklists provide a list of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that may be demonstrated by the individual, and may be filled in by either an evaluator or may be reported by the person themselves. Most checklists provide the symptoms associated with some kind of challenge (Gregory, 2004). Each symptom that is demonstrated is marked and once the entire list is completed, the total number of symptoms is totaled. Checklists are thus called additive methods of evaluation (Merrell & Harlacher, 2008). These are objective and easy to understand, and do not require as much time or expertise as interviews. They are also comprehensive, and allow the evaluator to identity less visible symptoms that could be missed during observation (Merrell & Harlacher, 2008). The main issue with a checklist is that they do not allow one to estimate the magnitude of the symptom. While one person may exhibit the symptom rarely, another may exhibit it almost every day. At such times rating scales provide an advantage over checklists in that each selected item is also rated on a 3 point or 5 point scale ranging from never/rarely to always/frequently (Gregory, 2004). Thus, each symptom is provided with a weighted score all of which may be added to get a composite score. Rating scales are algebraic in nature, and the value assigned to each item provides a detailed understanding of the experience of the person (Merrell & Harlacher, 2008). Checklists are valuable screening instruments that help in identifying person’s who need help; while rating scales are useful when trying to understand which symptoms are more dominant for a particular person (Gregory, 2004). Both these instruments are objective and easy to use, but are unable to provide the meaning associated with the symptoms by the individual. The validity of the responses depends on the honesty of the responses and it may become

Nursing Home And Law Essay Example for Free

Nursing Home And Law Essay A report from the United Press International last December 19, 2007 reveals that between 2000 and 2006, there has been a significant increase in the number of serious reprimands for dangerous conditions among nursing homes in the United States. The report indicates that part of the reason to the increase is the rigorous enforcement of activities in handling patients. It has also been reported that citations of physical or sexual abuse of patients as well as insufficient medication have a significant role in the increase (Barbee, 1991). The issue of the increase in the number of serious reprimands has a strong relationship with the nature, sources and functions of the law. The increase in the number of causes for the serious reprimands have a large share in analyzing the legal measures relevant to the reprimands and preventive measures taken. If the number of causes are decreased or totally removed, then there is strong reason to believe that the reprimands will also be loosened as much as the situation requires. The known way for putting a decline to these reprimands is through the law. Apparently, the law does not only look after the serious reprimands; it also looks after the causes for these reprimands as we shall see (Barbee, 1991). Analysis In its entirety, the law seeks to provide security for the welfare of the people. It does not seek to promote an unfair advantage nor does it seek to jeopardize the lives of individuals regardless of age or gender. A large number of patients in nursing homes are the elderly who are nearing the dawn of their lives. Given their physical status, one cannot find it reasonable to handle the elderly with rashness or with rigorous enforcement of activities (Murtaugh, Kemper and Spillman, 1990). On the contrary, the elderly should receive TLC—tender, loving care. If there are no existing laws which specifically sanctions these behaviors, then it is about time that the legislative agenda of the nation include concerns for the elderly in nursing homes. Moreover, should the law zero-in on the issue pertaining to the handling of the elderly in nursing homes, the law should make clear any exclusion to the rule or other exceptions that may be granted. Otherwise, the legal sanctions may apply to cases which may not necessarily be attributed with the intention of causing more harm than doing any good to the elderly patient. For instance, the law should make it clear that there are cases where the family of the patient decides to give the employees or doctors of the nursing hospital full control of the situation of the patient (â€Å"Serious nursing home violations rise,† 2007). In certain extreme cases where the patient is unable to make rational decisions and where the family has very minimal or little knowledge on what best suits the patient, doctors are given the power to decide what is best for the patient. In this process, it is not impossible that the patient may be harmed. The law should also acknowledge the fact that there are also cases where the patients themselves are the cause of the harm that they experience. As hospital administrators, however, the employees and staff of the nursing hospitals have the responsibility to ascertain that the patients are safe from external harm and from harming themselves. Yet the probability of instances where patients cause harm to themselves is not far behind. For the law to address these possibilities, it should be narrow enough to pin down precise cases yet broad enough to encompass cases where negligence on the part of the hospital administrators can be charged and filed as a peripheral case (Barbee, 1991). Further, the law should also be clear in defining the terms involved, such as what counts as ‘rigorous enforcement of activities’ or what is to be classified as ‘proper nursing care for patients’. Although interpretation of the law, especially during court proceedings, has become integral in the due process of the law, it cannot be the case that there can be no coherent interpretation of what the law and its sanctions imply or the reasons why laws for nursing homes were or will be created. On the contrary, the very fact that a law is created indicates that it has its purpose, and legislators of such a law most likely know the purposes behind the legislation of these laws. Unless the very purpose of the law regarding the treatment patients receive in nursing homes become clearly defined or sufficiently explicated, several inconsistencies and vague pronouncements are most likely to follow (Murtaugh, Kemper and Spillman, 1990). Why is there the rigorous enforcement of activities in handling patients in nursing homes in the first place? There are many factors that can be considered. First, it can be the case that the staff of the nursing home may be new and unfamiliar with the ethics in professionally handling the needs and medications of the patients. Second, the employees may have a limited knowledge on the physical condition of the patient or on the sickness of the patient. Third, the records of the patients may have indicated that the patient needs certain types of activities without specifying the frequency of the activity. Lastly, the nursing home might be lacking in terms of advanced medical equipment and other medical machines. And to compensate for such a ‘lack’, the nursing home administrators may have reverted to increasing the amount of activities above normal (â€Å"Serious nursing home violations rise,† 2007). Why is there a need for laws which cover sanctions for certain ways of handling patients at nursing homes? Part of the reason to this is the observation that there are nursing home employees who take advantage of their patients in many ways; one having been reported is physical or sexual abuse. The laws provide a means not only to proscribe certain behaviors from nursing home employees but, more importantly, to draw the fine line between professionalism and abuse of work responsibilities. Conclusions and further remarks It is a fact that a number of laws are first proposed in the legislative body of the government. But even more basic to this is the fact that a number of these proposals come from the demands of the people such groups that as lobby for laws which can directly affect their cause (Barbee, 1991). Certain tends in the contemporary society can also prompt the legislative body of the government to create laws which address these trends. For instance, the massive boom of immigration in earlier times led numerous countries to pass laws which control immigration of individuals. As for the increase in the number of cases pertaining to the rigorous enforcement of activities in handling patients, it is no wonder that there has been a corresponding increase in the number of serious reprimands for dangerous conditions among nursing homes. The United Press International report divulges the critical increase in the number of serious reprimands for dangerous conditions among nursing homes in America (â€Å"Serious nursing home violations rise,† 2007). The rigorous enforcement of activities in handling patients has an undeniable contribution in the increase although what remains debatable is the question of whether the existing laws have enough coverage over the ways in which nursing home employees take care of their patients. The citations of physical or sexual abuse of patients as well as insufficient medication are clear indicators that the problem in nursing homes is real and requires attention from the legislative body of the government. The nature, sources and functions of the law have a role to fit in the case of the patients situated in many nursing homes in the country. The increasing number of patients in nursing homes is perhaps the strongest indicator that, while the nation may lack solid efforts in surmounting patient-related incidents of harm, the law is yet to efficiently and effectively be put into action. References Serious nursing home violations rise. (2007). Retrieved January 20, 2008, from http://www. upi. com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/12/19/serious_nursing_home_violations_rise/9034/ Barbee, G. C. (1991). The Nurse, the Nursing Home, and the Law. The American Journal of Nursing, 61(8), 84-86. Murtaugh, C. M. , Kemper, P. , Spillman, B. C. (1990). The Risk of Nursing Home Use in Later Life. Medical Care, 28(10), 952-962.

Globalisation Is A Trend Which Tends To Benefit The Rich And Hurt The Poor Essay Example for Free

Globalisation Is A Trend Which Tends To Benefit The Rich And Hurt The Poor Essay Globalisation was initiated in the early centuries as a way of integrating the world of economists, business and political activities which were focussed on cost associated protection. This resulted from the idea of declining international economic integration. This gave birth to several international institutions that were supposed to oversee international trade by removing the barriers to trade. It is thus a process that aimed to be beneficial to all people within a country and in the whole world. However, globalisation is nowadays involving many others activities which are multivariate in approach. It involves economics, social and political dimensions. Globalisation is therefore having various aspects which are affecting the world in different ways. Such aspects include looking for the markets for the products and access to a range of foreign products which are required for their productions. Since the inauguration of globalisation, the industrialist system has recorded an unbelievable number of achievements. The industrial revolution has fetched a new standard of prosperity, shape and comfort to the people of the world over. According to many economists, these accomplishments have been achievable due to a novel institutional framework that supports competitive markets, political freedoms and universal education encouraging objective scientific interactions and allowing social and political criticism, and provides safety to reduce risk and deprivation. Globalisation has led to reducing scarcity and has created a catastrophe of sustainability as susceptibility to the poor to consume exceeds of his capacity and to conserve diversity and control wastes is no longer there. Removing national barriers has exposed rich and ill-equipped peoples to the threats as well as the benefits of free trade and competitive markets. Globalization has affected the poor in communications by reducing cultural diversity and exposed everyone to the temptations of an often selfish and slight international industry. In addition, the demands of competition in the capitalist setting and transformation of workers has implications for stress-related illnesses, family breakdown, and the loss of long-established values of family team spirit which adds cost to the poor. (Pistor, 1997) The internationalization of the market has a direct impact in most important sectors which are mostly dominated by the poor. Mostly, the poor are kept in those sectors which are widely associated with the production but not in the distribution. The poor producers do not benefit from globalisation as the middle class men always makes the best of the un informed poor men in the globalise world. Thus the globalise trade in agricultural and livestock commodities from the poor are lowly paid for. This makes such sectors to be lagging behind in terms of industrialization. By commercializing their natural products, either raw or semi processed, they can achieve a balance of trade superfluous. However, it is in the agricultural markets that rich countries have been stubborn in putting favourable policies for the free trading conditions. (Pistor, 1997) While it is correct that globalization supports free trade among countries on an international level, there are also negative results because some countries try to save their national markets. The main export of poorer countries is usually agricultural goods. It is difficult for these countries to compete with stronger countries that subsidize their own farmers. Because the farmers in the poorer countries cannot compete, they are forced to sell their crops at much lower price than what the market is paying. Thus, mistreatment of foreign impoverished workers results. The worsening of protections for weaker nations by stronger industrialized powers has resulted in the exploitation of the people in those nations to become cheap labour. Due to the lack of safety, companies from powerful developed nations are able to offer workers enough salary to entice them to endure tremendously long hours and unsafe working conditions. The abundance of cheap labour is giving the countries in power motivation not to rectify the inequality between nations. If these nations developed into industrialized nations, the army of cheap labour would slowly disappear alongside development. With the world in this current state, it is impossible for the exploited workers to escape poverty. It is true that the workers are free to leave their jobs, but in many poorer countries, this would mean starvation for the worker, and possible even family members. (Sachs, 2005) Globalisation has led to the shift from manufacturing to service work. The low cost of offshore workers have attracted corporations to move production to foreign countries. The laid off unskilled workers are forced into the service sector where wages and benefits are low, but turnovers are high. This has contributed to the widening economic gap between skilled and unskilled workers. The loss of these jobs has also contributed greatly to the slow decline of the middle class which is a major factor in the increasing economic inequality in the whole world. Families that were once part of the middle class are forced into lower positions by massive layoffs and outsourcing to another country as technologies are bringing about globalisation are changing day by day. This also means that people in the lower class have a much harder time in climbing out of poverty because of the absence of the middle class as a stepping stone. (Sachs, 2005) Globalization is leading to the rise of contingent work. As globalization causes more and more jobs to be distributed overseas, and the middle class people’s declines, there is less need for corporations to hire full time employees. Corporations are less inclined to offer benefits such health insurance, bonuses, vacation time, shares in the company, and pensions, or reduce benefits, to part time workers. Most companies don’t offer any benefits at all. Even though most of the middle class workers still have their jobs, the reality is that their buying power has decreased due to decreased benefits. Job security is also a major issue with contingent work. Moreover, globalisation is weakening of labour union. The excess in cheap labour coupled with an ever growing number of companies in transition has caused a weakening of labour unions in the in the world. Unions lose their effectiveness when their membership begins to decline. As a result unions hold less power over corporations that are able to easily replace workers, often for lower wages, and have the option to not offer unionized jobs anymore. (Humphreys, 2000) On the hand, globalisation has in many ways helped the poor countries to come out of the dungeon of poverty. Through globalisation, poorer countries are given opportunities that allow them to trade freely without facing much challenging rules and regulations in trade transactions. Trade allows individuals to exchange goods and services. Hence, globalisation is helping in people who are poor to access these goods and services in their local markets at reduced prices. The reduction of costs on goods and services as results of globalisation enables the poor to have savings which perhaps would not have possible before. From the research sources, it is indicated that trade for many developing countries increased with the introduction of globalisation. The increase in trade was a bit varied from one country to another. This meant that the benefits of globalisation can be received unequally depending on a country trading power to another. (Sachs, 2005) The globalisation aspects have enabled capital movement hence financial assets have been moved across international borders. The poor benefit from such investments in many different ways. When there is capital investment in the poor areas, trade is opened up which allows people to be employed in such investment enterprises. This creates job opportunities in places which were once inflicted by few job opportunities. The earnings received by the employees are used to raise their living standards hence closing the gap between the poor and the rich. Through capital movement by globalisation aspects, business are opened which brings in foreign exchanges through taxation of some of goods which are entering the country. This helps the country to be self sufficient by replacing foreign aid. It gives transitions that lead to market economies. Multinational corporations which invest in any poor countries, they are found to be more of benefit than the local investors in such states. By comparison, the companies have been building factories and hiring workers from local communities. The employees hired have been found to be living in a more comfortable life as compared to their fellow counterparts in others local companies. This is because they are being well paid by the multinational companies as compared to the home country companies which lack adequate capitals and have low turn over. (Warwick, 2001) Due to globalisation, workers move to where jobs are located. Unskilled poor workers are then given the chances of moving to where unskilled labour is required and vice versa. That is the skilled workers also move to where more skilled labour is required. It has been proved beyond no reasonable doubt that wages communicates the demands for the labour required in a given country. Hence people move from places of low wages to places with higher remunerations. Previous results have shown numerous numbers of people are moving from either developing to developed countries or from under developed states to developing ones. This verifies that globalisation in not benefiting the rich and harming the poor. In fact, the participation in globalisation is making the poor to earn higher wages than those who are poor and do not take part in globalisation. Globalisation brings about competitions which the poor benefits very much than the rich. The rich being the investors are forced to improve in the quality of goods and services which the poor would always enjoy. Companies in competing environments provides better opportunities for qualified persons who in turn produces better services and quality goods in return for higher salaries. In addition, countries that are poor get the benefits of having their poor workers to travel abroad where they earn higher wages and then send the money back to the home countries. This money is pumped into the economy of the poor nation where many more people can get the daily breads and raise their living standards. (Sachs, 2002) Globalisation is spreading with technology. The poor is being given challenges to explore in the new technologies which are of vital importance in business investments. The installation of new equipment and technologies in poor countries are key factors to alleviation of poverty but not a way of impoverishing the poor to his dismal points. Such technologies with globalisation help the poor enhance his production methodologies, management techniques and all general mitigations of work. As I conclude, when the rich get richer and the poor becomes poor, it is not a result of globalisation but the fact is that the poor is in fear of embracing the new methods of globalisation for alleviation of poverty conditions. The perception of globalisation a way of exploiting technique of the poor has left many countries and people in poorer levels than they should be. (Humphreys, 2000) This is because the globalisation is helping people to realise the free movement of goods and services are comparatively much beneficial in terms of uplifting the living standards of the people rather than focusing on minute disadvantages of the trade. Wealthy countries are much concerned with the helping the poor through job provisions as well as aid disbursement to the poor one. The provision of the poor with aids has major impacts on their health of the poor as healthy people are able to perform better than unhealthy persons. Due to globalisation, the people leaving as poor people in the world have decreased considerable. People who are leaving earning less than two dollars are those who have despised the practices of globalisations as they are being faced with many problems. The percentages of the people in global countries are much lower than those in ant –globalisation sects. So globalisation has benefited both the rich and the poor. The rich has been in able to get market for his products and services. He has also been a position to get opportunities to invest for the future to enhance world production which benefits the whole world. The poor have more advantages in that the rich provides means to the poor through whom he can lift up his leaving standards and escape the poverty situation by learning the new technologies and exploiting them. (Sachs, 2005) Reference: Humphreys, M. (2000): Escaping the Resource Curse. Columbia University Press Sachs, J. (2005): The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time: Penguin Press Sachs, J. (2002): Resolving the Debt Crisis of Low-Income Countries Warwick, M. (2001): the Strategic Significance of Global Inequality: University of Chicago Press Pistor, K. (1997): The Rule of Law and Economic Reform in Russia. West view Press

Dell Supply Chain Case Study

Dell Supply Chain Case Study SUBMITTED BY: GROUP #7    Neeraj Joshi Raman Mangat Gagan Introduction Dell organization was built up in November 4, 1984. It is an American multinational data innovation company situated in Round Rock, Texas, United States, that creates, offers and backings PCs and related items and administrations. The organization is one of the biggest innovative enterprises on the planet, utilizing more than 103,300 individuals around the world. The name of its founder   is Michael Dell. He was the most youthful CEO to direct an organization to a Fortune 500 positioning. It generates an income of USD 63.07 billion yearly. The company manufactures desktop computers, notebook computers, network servers, work stations, storage products and customization of each product with the suppliers being Microsoft for windows, Intel for microprocessors, Nvidia for graphics chips and Sony for the monitors. As discussed in the case study, Dell keeps up a decent connection with the provider (supplier) and help them to center on the innovative capacities to support initiative segments in the light of the fact that in the realm of quick change in the innovation , research and development expenses are roughly significantly higher for a company to keep up monopoly in their segment. This is the reason that suppliers are asked to keep a lot sizes and stock as low as reasonably be expected. Dell always focus on its customer research and use that research to help suppliers and itself. As far as inventory details and new orders are concerned, Dell has build a web page , where suppliers can view order details and can plan how much and when to provide the product to dell based on actual demand of the consumer, which will decreases the bullwhip effect on supplier end. The main motive of the dell is to work with supplier as a team and to reduce the customer order line and to keep moving the supply ch ain. At that point with the joint efforts of the whole provider`s, Dell can provide a large variety of alternatives to their clients and can work to accomplish a quick throughput. FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE If we see on the distribution side dell is mainly dependent on direct sales through internet, in order to enhance income by offerings large varieties of desktops, notebooks and enterprises products. All these are displayed on companys websites and customers can directly purchase from it. Even customers can place order from anywhere at any time. On comparing online and retail dell computer purchase, online is cheaper because of the brick and mortar model. In dell company whenever the new product is manufactured at the same time it is introduced over the company`s website. Whereas the competing companies firstly produces the product and then introduce the product after it reaches the retail store for selling. That is why Dell has an advantage of introducing new product early in the market, said to be first mover advantage. DELL OFFERS A BETTER MATCH TO DEMAND AND SUPPLY Dell company has designed its manufacturing and assembling process in such a way that product is manufactured in a couple of minutes. In this way earlier production can be postpone and new product can be manufactured according to the order received and once new product is manufactured, the postpone production again starts. As it offers modularity and tight scheduling. Whereas the other companies sell their products through retailers and wholesalers and they find impossible to postpone production. ENJOY CASH FLOW ADVANTAGE The best part is that due to direct sales dell company eliminates the extra cost and margins lead by retailers and wholesalers. Point to note that dell operates at negative working capital as it receive it payments before it pays its suppliers and enjoy cash flow advantage . DRABACKS On the darker part, Dell company bear a high shipping cost then selling their product to retailers and wholesalers. In this way dell has to bear shipping cost for each product when ordered by customers, whereas other companies bear large shipment via tucks to warehouses and finally then to retailers which is less expensive per unit. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. How has Dell use its direct sales model and build to order model to improve its supply chain?    Ans:   Dell Companys path of action is to enhance technological capabilities to compete and enjoy continuous   leadership. Special Web pages are designed to encourage suppliers to meet customers demand by driving down lead times, lot sizes and inventories. Focussing on their distribution path, Dell offers variety of its component, virtually through the internet leading to increase in their revenue. Customers can choice their products based on their value choice. Customers can select products during any time by recommending product configurations or customizing them and also based on their purchase history and current needs. Direct Sales and build to order model are use by   the Dell to build supply chain by synchronizing the process from the starting to its completion. Dell produce products on the basis of their customers order and execute accordingly after receiving the payment. No Products are produced prior to customers order and based on the order procurement starts. So first step of the company si to do research of customers preference and then based on it, a design is made which is displayed on the web site. Integration of suppliers is done through web page, which displays the orders that are not yet executed, giving suppliers the vital information to structure their plan based on the requirement. These models have been proved exceptionally useful by drastically decreasing the overall process timing to a couple of hours in comparison to months. Increase in cash flow is also witnessed as the payment is received by the company before making the payment to their suppliers. 2. How has Dell exploited the direct sales model to improve operations performance? Ans: Dell produce products for the customers who have value for choice from different part of the world. Internet played a key role in the success of the direct sales model. The Products with high life cycle in an industry face difficulty to compete with dell, who enjoys advantage of early market. Dell introduces the first model to customers in form of a new product. Suppliers are directly linked to the orders, so that they know the quantity of components to be manufactured and shipped. The compression of supply chain give Dell a competitive advantage. Depreciation and write off of inventories costs are reduced as Turnover rate of inventory is 60 times per year. Negative cash conversion cycle is operated by Dell by using Direct sales model. Money is received by the company in advance to pay to its suppliers for the components. No stocks are kept and orders are executed based on the customers choice. Sale Price and orders of the product are received by the company, simultaneously, cus tomer also receives the product accordingly to their preference within a short span of time. 3. What are the main disadvantages of Dells Direct Sales Model? Ans: The disadvantage of Dells Direct Sales Model is the shipping cost and customer support service cost ,which the company has to bear after the sale is done. Dell bears the direct cost of shipping, as it deals directly with the customer and where retailers have no role to play. Other companies produce and send the products in bulk in comparison to Dell, who delivers small orders individually to   customers. Dell bear all the related transaction costs from receiving the order to its execution and after sale services. Direct Sales Model enjoys advantage of cost on the side of production but brings a disadvantage of cost on the side of support. 4. How does Dell Compete with a retailer who already has a stock? Ans: The strategy adopted by Dell to compete   with retailers, who already has a stock is by providing low price to customers, which is a result of low fixed cost. It also givies customers a chance to customize their product, according to their needs, by giving them virtual display over the internet, whereas in stores the supplies are limited. Dell Produce the products within hours and supplies to the buyers within a couple of days. 5. How does Dells supply chain deal with the Bullwhip effect? Ans: Supply Chain should be consistent to avoid Bullwhip effect in order to fulfil the demand accurately and within time with accurate forecasting of demand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dell constructed web pages where suppliers can forecast the demand of components by viewing the stock   available and avoiding the problems related to unnecessary components and products.

Innocence Is Bliss in OConnors Short Stories Essay -- Literary Analy

There’s is no freedom from the post-lapsarian world. The attributes of this fallen world are very prominent in O’Connor’s short stories. However, she chooses not to include all of her characters into this nutshell. Instead, she gives her female characters innocence and monist ideals. Ironically, O’Connor isolates them from the rest and gives them a pitiful image as she goes on to mock their ways. The obliviousness and innocence of the characters is effortlessly destroyed in the post-lapsarian world because of their lack of foundation. O’Connor centers her stories on the attributes of the post-lapsarian world, which is the world after the â€Å"Forbidden Fruit† was eaten in the Garden of Eden. The fact that these stories were written soon after WWI also obstructed their outcome. The carnage of the war exemplifies the malevolent nature of O’Connor’s characters. For instance, in her story: â€Å"The Misfit,† a mass slaughter of an entire family occurs. After killing the last family member, The Misfit tells his assistant: â€Å"Take her off and throw her where you threw the others,† (O’Connor 22). The Misfit doesn’t bother looking back at the massacre he had just executed. This is a manner of establishing that such cruel and spiteful actions take place only in the evil of the post-laspsarian world. Likewise, in â€Å"A Circle in the Fire,† three boys take the liberty of allowing themselves to Mrs. Cope’s farm with no intentions of leaving. Not only does Mrs. Cope welcome the boys, she is also very hospitable towards them. Yet, the malicious and ill-mannered actions of these boys force Mrs. Cope feel obliged to them to leave. In response to the insult of being asked to leave, they decide to incinerate her farm. O’Connor creates these charac... ...ld beyond their homes. The characters learn the hard way that there is no escaping reality, especially since they are parts of it. This enlightening is why their blissfully happy lives have to be terminated. Works Cited 1. O'Connor, Flannery. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977. Print. 2. Schaum, Melita. ""Erasing Angel": The Lucifer-Trickster Figure in Flannery O'Connor's Short Fiction." The Southern Literary Journal 33.1. Department of English of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000. Web. 12 July 2010. . 3. Sparrow, Stephen. "The Innocents of Flannery O'Connor." Flannery O'Connor: Comforts of Home, The Flannery O'Connor. N.p., 22 July 2002. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. .

The Great Gatsby and The Wasteland Essay -- Fitzgerald Elliott English

The Great Gatsby and The Wasteland Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby and Elliot’s The Wasteland are two stories that similarly express the modernist post-war disillusionment. Both stories comment pessimistically on the direction that our world is moving in from the post-war modernist perspective. Both men looked past the roaring twenties, and realized that this time period was actually a moral wasteland. The final paragraphs of The Great Gatsby sum up their mutual lack of faith in American culture to improve.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fitzgerald uses a number of both direct and indirect ways to comment on what has happened to America. The green light is a recurring symbol in this book that has many deep meanings. Beginning in the first chapter, when Nick compares the green bulk of America rising from the ocean to the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, this symbol takes on many meanings. This is the green light that drives Gatsby, this is the green light symbolizes the new money and materialism in the world. This shows that money is now the new driving force in the world, and that people work to consume. This ties into the fact that Gatsby went to great lengths to become rich solely to impress Daisy with his wealth. Additionally, Gatsby showed off this wealth by showing her all of the shirts that he had purchased. All of this points towards the emerging consumerism in American society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The green also seems to symbolize the automotive industry, which was one of the biggest parts of the new consumer culture. Henry Ford made a policy of paying his workers high wages, because he realized that if they were paid more, they themselves would become consumers of his products. Today, cars are often seen as a status symbol, which began back in the 1920’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Wasteland of Elliot’s is analogous to the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City. It is an industrial wasteland that was clearly created by large corporations and industries. This valley of ashes symbolizes the moral decay created by limitless pursuit of wealth. The valley of ashes is a place inhabited by the poor, and polluted by the rich. This shows that the only people who have to accept the consequences of corporate greed are the working class themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elliot’s The Wasteland describes Europe as a very bleak place after the First World War. In the final section, the speaker bothers Stetson about th... ...green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our arms farther†¦ and one fine morning-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nick comments once again on Gatsby’s pursuit of this perfect future that will never materialize. He also says that this our world is deteriorating even further, but expresses some hope for the future. He expresses optimism not in our culture, but in human beings to strive for improvement. Nick ties up all of the sentiments on this page with the conclusion â€Å"so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.† This statement ties back into the idea that people will strive to improve themselves, but the state of things are so bleak that it is like trying to row upstream. It also means that while people try to work for a perfect future, the best they can hope for is to be â€Å"borne back ceaselessly into the past.† Elliot and Fitzgerald share a mutual pessimism regarding society, but a confidence in individuals. They both share a very modernistic take on the post-war world, and hope that the power of individuals can break through the restraints of their society.

The Importance of Choices in The Most Dangerous Game Essay example --

The Importance of Choices in The Most Dangerous Game Can a man be driven from humble humanity to gross inhumanity by circumstance or situation? What effect do one's choices and training have on his morals? At some point in our lives we will all be forced to answer questions similar to these, and two characters in Connell's story "The Most Dangerous Game" are not exempt from these life decisions. Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff are both wealthy, both are hunters, and eventually both men are put into situations where critical choices must be made. The choices the men make are derived from different situations, but both have similar results. Initially the setting of the story is on a yacht in the Carribbean. Rainsford is involved in small talk with his friend, Whitney, and the conversation is about their favorite hobby, hunting big game. The fact that these men could afford a hunting trip to the Amazon speaks of their wealth, and these men have apparently taken several trips together. General Zaroff is not unlike Rainsford in this respect. From his childhood, Z...

Julia Darling’s short story “The Dress” Essay

Sometimes people hold symbolic value to their material possessions, e.g. a dress. When those possessions are stolen it hurts more, and it makes it harder to condemn the thief, especially if the thief is someone you know and trust. Such is the case in Julia Darling’s short story â€Å"The Dress† where the main character Rachel gets her dress stolen by her own sister, Flora. This story deals with things like lying, betrayal, loyalty and family. It explains the process from when something gets stolen, to speculations concerning the thief, to discovering the thief, and finally dealing with the thief and seeing the consequences for the thief. The relationship between Rachel and her sister Flora is very tense. â€Å"†I wish she would shut up!† snapped Rachel. â€Å"What are you angry about?† asked Flora in a lightly whipped voice, as she chewed a prawn. â€Å"You know why I’m angry.†Ã¢â‚¬  As you can see, their conversations are very heated, perhaps a sign that things between them aren’t too good between them, even before the dress was taken. It could also just be siblings fighting, as siblings do sometimes. The fact that Flora stole Rachels dress could also indicate that she is jealous of her sister. â€Å"At first she had simply thought that she would try it on for a moment and then replace it, but once it clung to her young body she found she was unable to take it off. She walked around the empty house, rejoicing in the way the dress made her feel slim and long legged.† This quote could indicate that Flora is jealous of Rachel’s natural beauty. Maybe Flora normally lives in the shadow of her sister, and would do anything to become like her. Better than her. Lying also seems to come naturally to Flora. â€Å"†The dress,† said Rachel, unable to contain herself. â€Å"I want the dress back.† â€Å"I don’t know what she’s talking about,† said Flora.† That could be because she is familiar with stealing, or that she simply has been forces to lie a lot in her family. Either way, the relationship between the sisters has diffidently worsened after the events of this story. In the beginning of the story, The mother seems like a normal, socially active and adjusted person. She is forty years old, and her birthday party is actually taking place during this story. She is feeling the weight of her age. â€Å"†I’m so old,† said the mother. â€Å"You’re not!† said Flora. â€Å"No, not old,† said Rachel. â€Å"I think I might leave my job.† said the mother.† Often when people turn forty, one of two things happen. Either they try to revive their youth by buying and doing things that make them feel young again, or they become depressed with their age and the fact that their looks and wits are fading. This could be the case judging from the quote. The mother also starts to show alcoholic tendencies near the end. â€Å"So the mother drank the rest of the wine and sat looking out at the black night, listening to footsteps in the street of people coming home from the bars in lively skittish groups.† As seen in the quote, The mother turns to liquor when her problems need solving. This could be a thing that she only did on that night, or maybe it has been a consistent problem throughout the life she has made with her daughters. In the end, this is a short story that is trying to teach it reader morals like, don’t lie, don’t steal, be kind to your family etc. But the story is ultimately a quick look at a slightly dysfunctional. The sister that steals, the mother that drinks and Rachel who is left as the only â€Å"normal† family member. The one that has to lo live with a sister that can’t be trusted and a mother that can’t even help herself, much less her daughters.

Kudler Fine Foods IT Security Report and Presentation †Top Threats

Kudler Fine Foods IT Security Report and Presentation – Top Threats Team B has been commissioned to examine the Kudler Fine Foods’ (KFF), frequent shopper, Customer Loyalty Program that is currently in development. The team has also been asked to direct the system development team to ensure the system is established securely so that it properly protects company data and customer information throughout all stages of the system development process. In week 2, the team will examine the Customer Loyalty Program for vulnerabilities in different areas of the system. The study will define the possible threats that exist to the security of the organization’s and the customers’ data and information, the potential vulnerabilities each threat may exploit, and area of the system affected by the threats. Additionally, a summary of the most critical threats to Kudler’s Customer Loyalty Program will be provided. The following table presents the possible threats, t he potential vulnerabilities each threat may exploit, and area of the system effected by the threats: Area of SystemsThreat Potential Vulnerability Networks Unauthorized access Unsecured equipment roomConfidentiality breach E-mail that doesn't employ scanning of messagesDenial of Service Lack of inside firewall can lead to worm spreadNatural Disaster Potential issues from lack of redundancySniffing Network infiltration via wireless access point Workstations Unauthorized access Patches not currentSniffing Old software versionsNatural Disaster Firewall not active Servers Unauthorized access Patches not currentSniffing Old software versionsNatural Disaster Firewall not active Employees Social Engineering Training not currentCorruption UnhappyMalicious behavior poor work ethic Data Corruption Non securedDeletion Unencrypted data Software Corruption Non-securedDeletion Software that does not employee authorized user access Building Tailgating Front door that doesn't have employee securit y guardUnauthorized access Compromised key card accessOf the possible threats to Kudler Fine Foods’ Customer Loyalty Program there are two critical threats discovered during our assessment that warrents Kudler’s immediate attention. The first of these threats is Social Engineering. Social Engineering according to Social-Engineer.org (2013), is â€Å"the act of influencing a person to accomplish goals that may or may not be in the ‘target’s’ best interest. This may include obtaining information, gaining access, or getting the target to take certain action.† The employees themselves are the area of the system affected by this threat. Social Engineering exploits their naivety. General lack of experience in recognizing this type of attack is a major reason for its success. Education on what Social Engineering is and how to recognize attacks coupled with company policies written, put into place, and enforced to prevent individuals from divulging o r even having access to certain information no matter the scenario is the recommended course of action.Next is Denial of Service. According to Conklin, White, Williams, Davis, and Cothren (2012), a Denial of Service (DoS) attack is an attack intended to disrupt a system or service from operating normally. The attacker will attempt, through means of crashing the system, closing out a logged on session, or overwhelming a machine with multiple requests that causes the machine to freeze up or as  stated crash. Kudler’s Customer Loyalty Program information could be affected because the program that accesses customer information could be made unavailable by such a DoS attack.This could cause events such as slow terminal responses, systems going offline while updating customer files, and causing system reboots to return to normal operation. This type of attack exploits the weakness of either not having a firewall running in the terminal or server background or a poorly set up fire wall allowing too many network requests to be handled by the system. Kudler’s IT department should be aware of this and conduct a system check to ensure that the firewall allows requests from only internal or authorized external sources.As requested by Kudler Fine Foods, Team B has conducted an examination of the Customer Loyalty Program concerning the possible threats and vulnerabilities to their system. A table presenting these threats and vulnerabilities as well as the areas of the system affected has been made available for review. In addition, a summary of the top two critical threats that must be addressed by Kudler Fine Foods has been provided.

Ratio: Balance Sheet and Financial Results

UVA-C-2332 Rev. Oct. 17, 2012 RATIOS TELL A STORY—2011 Financial results and conditions vary among companies for a number of reasons. One reason for the variation can be traced to the characteristics of the industries in which companies operate. For example, some industries require large investments in property, plant, and equipment (PP&E), while others require very little. In some industries, the competitive productpricing structure permits companies to earn significant profits per sales dollar, while in other industries the product-pricing structure imposes a much lower profit margin.In most low-margin industries, however, companies often experience a relatively high rate of product throughput. A second reason for some of the variation in financial results and conditions among companies is the result of management philosophy and policy. Some companies reduce their manufacturing capacity to match more closely their immediate sales prospects, while others carry excess capacity to be prepared for future sales growth. Also, some companies finance their assets with borrowed funds, while others avoid that leverage and choose instead to finance their assets with owners’ equity.And some corporate management teams choose to not pay dividends to their owners, preferring to reinvest those funds in the company. Of course, another reason for some of the variation in reported financial results among companies is the differing competencies of management. Given the same industry characteristics and the same management policies, different companies may report different financial results simply because their managements perform differently. And last, one other reason is that some industries are more susceptible to macroeconomic conditions than others.This can be true when macroeconomic conditions (e. g. , foreign exchange rates, interest rates, and taxes) are weak and deteriorating as well as when they are strong and improving. Or this can also be true when such conditions are stable versus volatile. Those differences in industry characteristics, in company policies, in management performance, and in responsiveness to the macroeconomic environment are reflected in the financial statements published by publicly held companies. Furthermore, they can be highlighted through the use of financial ratios.Exhibit 1 presents balance sheets, in percentage form, and This case was prepared by Professor Mark E. Haskins, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, and has benefited from collaborations with various colleagues over the years on earlier versions. It was written as a basis for discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright ? 2012 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved.To order copies, send an e-mail to [email  protected] com. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation. ? -2- UVA-C-2332 selected financial ratios computed from fiscal year 2011 balance sheets and income statements for 13 companies from the following industries: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? irline railroad pharmaceuticals commercial banking photographic equipment, printing, and sales discount general-merchandise retail electric utility fast-food restaurant chain wholesale food distribution supermarket (grocery) chain Internet retailing advertising agency services computer software development Study the balance sheet profiles and the financial ratios listed for each of the 13 companies as presented in Exhibit 1. 1 Your assignment is to use your intuition, common sense, and basic understanding of the unique attributes of each industry listed above to match each column in the exhibit with one of the indus tries.Be prepared to give the reasons for your pairings, citing the data that seems to be consistent with the characteristics of the industry you selected. Ours is not a perfect world, however, and for our class discussion, it will be helpful if you will also identify those pieces of data that seem to contradict the pairings you have made. Please note that using the data available here, you will find it difficult to identify those companies whose financial results differ because of management policy and competence.Please note in Exhibit 1: OCI = Other Comprehensive Income, CFFO = Cash Flow From Operations, ST = Short Term, and LT = Long Term. 1 -3The ratios in Exhibit 1 are based on the following formulas: 1. ROS (return on sales) = Net income Net sales Net sales Average total assets Net income Average total assets ROS ? Asset turnover Average total assets Average total owners’ equity Net income Average total owners’ equity ROA ? Financial leverage Total current assets Total current liabilities Cost of goods sold Average ending inventory Average accounts receivable Net sales/365 days UVA-C-2332 . Asset turnover = 3. ROA (return on assets) or = = 4. Financial leverage = 5. ROE (return on equity) or = = 6. Current ratio = 7. Inventory turnover = 8. Receivables collection = 9. Revenue growth = This year’s net sales—Last year’s net sales Last year’s net sales Net sales—Cost of goods sold Net sales Cash dividends Net income Research and development expense Net sales 10. Gross margin = 11. Dividend payout 12. R&D ratio = = -4Exhibit 1 RATIOS TE ELL A STORY Y—2011 Selected Financ Data for 13 C S cial Companies (b balance sheet amou are percentage of total assets) unts UVA-C-2332 V