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

People and Organisational Management - Essay Example It is important to be able to have a clear idea of yourself in developing your own PDF. It is no surprise then that knowing oneself is the primary requirement when preparing a PDF. This can be done by getting data that pertains to oneself. Being able to do this may take a lifetime since a person’s growth naturally adds up to a person’s trove of experiences. This is very important since a self-motivated individual must seek a challenging environment. Likewise, improvement and personal innovation has really become key traits nowadays for an individual to be able to cope with the fast changing environment at work. Likewise, it is also key to exude a certain degree of professionalism at all times. In crafting a resume’, it is important to remember that the one making his or her resume knows the product more than the anybody because he or she is selling himself/herself (the MIT Career Development Centre). Self AssessmentIt is important to be able to have a clear idea of yourself in developing your own PDF. It is no wonder that this is the initial step towards a successful plan for self-development. Hence, after a quick review, I have come to realize certain key points about myself such as my strong work ethic and my being dependable and resposible. I believe that this is further strengthened by my postive attitude as well as the character that i am particularly proud of. The cut throat competition can really drain a person physically and mentally.... This will then lead to professional development not to mention the numerous contacts from networks. Moving forward and achieving the milestones that I will set in my PDP can help me maximize the opportunities that further studies and maybe even trainings can provide me. In addition, my further studieas and trainings can be reagrded as a reward in itself In any case, the opportunity for further learneing can boost my PDP as I regard my performance as reward (McClelland, 1961). 10 Threats 10 Despite the positive impact of such an opportunity, it is undeniable that these do not come cheap. Hence, the cost can greatly undermine my efforts making failure bith painful and costly. However, this is where my docility will be tested as I set out in my PDP. It is therefore important to include in the plan certain reminders of how significant the task that I will be undertaking really is. In that way, I can stay motivated to be able to prod on when the going gets tough (Grant 2008b). 10 Conclusi on 10 My main target for now is to earn my master’s degree which will open up a host of possibilities. Despite the threat of costs, it is imperative that I am able to push forward with this plan even if the monetary rewards do not come right away. To hurdle this I turn to Esenberger’s theory (1992) of learned industriousness wherein putting in certain incentives throughout my PDP can motivate me further to truly imporve myself. Most important of these will be the fact that the opportunity for further learneing can boost my PDP and that my performance in that endeavor is a reward in itself (McClelland 1961). It is then easy to have certain markers and milestones as every semester that I hurdle is a milestone in itself. Also, since plans are not static, it is

The Murders in the Rue Morgue †a Story with Many Firsts Essay Example for Free

The Murders in the Rue Morgue – a Story with Many Firsts Essay â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue† is unquestionably the first detective fiction story. This without a doubt makes Edgar Allan Poe the father of detective crime. Poe was gifted at writing the genre of horror, perhaps because as some say, his life had been â€Å"marred by tragedy from an early age†(online literature). He certainly did have a knack for telling interesting and imaginative tales, which was highlighted by his obsession with death and violence in his stories. Poe was able to keep his readers interested in his stories by not only writing of death and violence but also giving them mystery and a puzzle to solve. Besides being the first detective story, â€Å"The Rue Morgue† is a story full of firsts; it tells the first locked room mystery in which the crime takes place inside a room that has been locked from the inside with no other way in or out and the main character is the first fictional detective. These types of mysteries are certain to keep a reader’s interest because it seems that there is no logical explanation. â€Å"The Rue Morgue† uses both the locked room mystery aspect and keeping the answers until the very end as interest keepers and blends them together to make one fine mystery. This story is just as much about a mystery as it is about deductive reasoning. The characters of C. Auguste Dupin and the narrator, who is his housemate, live very secluded lives. It appears that they do not go out at all during the day but do go and entertain themselves by walking the streets of Paris at night. At an early point in the story the two men are walking when Dupin breaks the silence by a single sentence commenting on the very thoughts of his partner. This small mystery intrigues Dupin’s companion and the reader. Dupin makes his rationalization seem â€Å"so simple that we all feel that we are capable of it. †(Watt, â€Å"Overview†). The reader is compelled to believe that Dupin has an extraordinary power of insight the way he reasons his way to conclusions. He is not unlike Sherlock Holmes in this respect. Holmes is known for his rationalizations and reasoning as well as his eclectic lifestyle and odd habits just as Dupin is. As a matter of fact it is said that Sir Arthur Canon Doyle was inspired by Poe and his Sherlock Holmes character is based on his detective, C.  Auguste Dupin (Mansfield-Kelly, Marchino, 82) Unlike Holmes, Dupin is not a detective by profession; rather he is an amateur detective. He takes on the case of the murders in the Rue Morgue not for money but for his own amusement after reading about it in the paper. He feels that he is more competent than the police and that he can solve the crime before they can. He uses his analytical skills to deduce the solution, which we are enlightened by at the end of the story. He is keenly observant taking in every little detail of the house on the inside and outside. Upon examining the windows in the bedroom Dupin had reasoned that the means of the murderers escape had to have been through either of the windows. As he examined more closely he discovered that they were nailed shut, or where they? One window had in fact had a nail in it, which would limit its usefulness as an escape. The other window however had been â€Å"fixed† so that it could be opened by a spring and when closed again the spring would catch and the window would look as though it was nailed shut as well. Dupin comes to the conclusion that the murdered is an orangutan because of his obsession with literature and books. He is familiar with the description of the orangutan from Baron Georges Cuvier who describes the animal and it’s strength. By knowing these characteristics he is then able to compare the devastation of the two bodies with the â€Å"wild ferocity† (76) of the beast. This all of course is just a wild guess on Dupin’s part until he places an advertisement in a paper calling for the owner of an orangutan to come and claim his beast and a sailor (as he suspected) does indeed come for him. The sailor reluctantly confirms Dupin’s observations to be correct as he describes the heinousness of the crimes in which this orangutan committed, which was a result of being frightened by the sight of his master’s whip. Poe adds a little bit of the grotesque as well. To go along with our class discussion about gore, this could arguably be a first detective story including gore in its pages. There are numerous examples throughout the story that are very descriptive and horrific in nature, especially for that time period. Poe was quite explicit when describing the state of the bodies of the murdered, just as the scenes of the bodies and murders are in CSI. Illustrating the body of Madame L’Espanaye, Poe describes it as â€Å"her throat so entirely cut that, upon attempt to move to raise her, the head fell off. † (62). Poe also gives a telling description of the act of slicing her throat, which is on page 80 in The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction, â€Å"With one determined sweep of its muscular arm it nearly severed her head from her body. Another prime example of gore in this story is the description Dupin gives the narrator of the hair that was found on the hearth, â€Å"Their roots (a hideous site! ) were clotted with fragments of the flesh of the scalp – sure token of the prodigious power which had been exerted in uprooting perhaps half a million of hairs at a time. † (74) These descriptions might not be something that we would consider to be gore by todayâ€℠¢s standards, but in 1841 when this story was written it very well could have made people faint just reading it. I may be simple in my analysis of this story, believing it to be about mystery and reasoning. I have read other people’s thoughts on the subject of this story, which include slavery. Though I don’t necessarily believe that Poe was disguising this story as an uprising against slavery, Edward Higgins White wrote a critical essay discussing that topic. His belief is that the true crime in this story is about slavery and that the orangutan is symbolic of this. He argues that the symbolism is mostly in the last section of the story in which the parallels to race and slavery are most notable. White states †Given the loaded connotations of key terms of the narrativeescaped, master, dreaded whip, fugitive, razor, and of course the Ourang-Outang itselfit would be nearly impossible to ignore the strong suggestions that the story is about slavery, and specifically about slave resistance. † Now I don’t totally disagree with those connotations but I don’t completely believe that Poe was trying to convey that particular message with this story. White questions why Poe feels the need to hide the slave rebel. I ask that same question. I just believe that he is reading too much into the story and is seeing things that are not really there. I do agree, however, that there are some strong parallels and that in reading his essay he makes a good argument. White also brings up the â€Å"Chantilly† passage. He summarizes the fifteen-minute walk in silence in which the detective and his companion take and how Dupin describes how he came to know what his friend was thinking about. He says, â€Å"The basic point of the Chantilly sequence concerns not Dupins intelligence but the narrators ignorance: he does not even understand his own thought processes, the associations made in his imagination. † It is this revelation that leads him to believe that Dupin’s subject is not necessarily the crime itself, but the process of assessing the crime, which reaffirms my belief that the story is about reasoning along with mystery. Edgar Allan Poe, the father of the American detective fiction story. Little did he know at the time the trend that he would be setting for all of literary fiction. The Murders in the Rue Morgue† set precedents for all detective fiction that would be written after it and it established the fundamentals of the detective story technique that are used today. Poe invented the locked room mystery and I believe the first to write descriptions that could be classified as gore. His unique writing style and characters keep readers coming back and keep authors on their toes trying to emulate his style of writing. After all, with out Dupin there would be no Sherlock Holmes and perhaps the genre of detective fiction would not be as we know it to be now.

A Critique of Thank You for Smoking? Essay -- Smoking Argumentative Es

A Critique of â€Å"Thank You for Smoking†¦.?† Peter Brimelow’s article â€Å"Thank You for Smoking†¦.?† is an essay that looks at a rather extreme perspective on smoking. Brimelow starts off by describing the many actions that are taken against the tobacco industry; he writes that in some states, the government is trying to make the tobacco industry pay certain health care costs. However, he then goes on to state that smoking may actually be good for one’s health. He uses various sources to show that smoking has positive effects on our bodies; he states the decrease in risk in numerous diseases. Brimelow uses medical journals to show that smoking decreases the risk of diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. He also talks about some of the ways smoking enhances certain skills, â€Å"A battery of studies show that cigarettes really do stimulate alertness, dexterity and cognitive capacity† (Brimelow 141). Brimelow does pick a tough subject to talk about, but for the most part he does a good job writing his article and distributing information to the reader to support argument. In the beginning of Brimelow’s essay, he lists a number of organizations that are fighting against the tobacco industry, such as the Food & Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. Then out of nowhere he throws out his major claim, which is the thesis or the main point of the essay (McFadden 41). Every paper has a major claim; it is the central idea of the paper. The major claim says, â€Å"smoking might be, in some small ways, good for you† (Brimelow 141). This is a rather shocking thesis, due to the fact that generally when we think of smoking, we think of something very negative to a person’s health. Brimelow’s major claim is very difficu... ...own to be bad. However, even though the essay may not be persuasive in most cases, it is, for the most part, well written. Brimelow starts off the essay a little slow, he does not give the reader a sense of direction in the beginning, but the body definitely informs the reader. The body of the essay is filled with information supporting his thesis, and his values are very clear. His essay may not persuade many, but it is definitely informative and well written. Work Cited Brimelow, Peter. â€Å"Thank You for Smoking†¦.?† The Genre of Argument. Ed. Irene L. Clark. Boston: Thomson-Heinle, 1998. 141-142. Clark, Irene L. The Genre of Argument. Ed. Irene L. Clark. Boston: Thomson-Heinle, 1998. McFadden, James. The Toulmin Method: From Classical Logic to Modern Argumentation. [PowerPoint Slide.] 5 February, 2004. Buena Vista University. Storm Lake, IA.

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Seven

Stefan approached the corner house reluctantly, almost afraid of what he might find. He half expected that Damon would have abandoned his post by now. He'd probably been an idiot to rely on Damon in the first place. But when he reached the backyard, there was a shimmer of motion among the black walnut trees. His eyes, sharper than a human's because they were adapted for hunting, made out the darker shadow leaning against a trunk. â€Å"You took your time getting back.† â€Å"I had to see the others home safe. And I had to eat.† â€Å"Animal blood,† Damon said contemptuously, eyes fixed on a tiny round stain on Stefan's T-shirt. â€Å"Rabbit, from the smell of it. That seems appropriate somehow, doesn't it?† â€Å"Damon-I've given Bonnie and Meredith vervain too.† â€Å"A wise precaution,† Damon said distinctly, and showed his teeth. A familiar surge of irritation welled up in Stefan. Why did Damon always have to be so difficult? Talking with him was like walking between land mines. â€Å"I'll be going now,† Damon continued, swinging his jacket over one shoulder. â€Å"I've got business of my own to take care of.† He tossed a devastating grin over his shoulder. â€Å"Don't wait up.† â€Å"Damon.† Damon half turned, not looking but listening. â€Å"The last thing we need is some girl in this town screaming ‘Vampire!' † Stefan said. â€Å"Or showing the signs, either. These people have been through it before; they're not ignorant.† â€Å"I'll bear that in mind.† It was said ironically, but it was the closest thing to a promise Stefan had ever gotten from his brother in his life. â€Å"And, Damon?† â€Å"Now what?† â€Å"Thank you.† It was too much. Damon whipped around, his eyes cold and uninviting, a stranger's eyes. â€Å"Don't expect anything of me, little brother,† he said dangerously. â€Å"Because you'll be wrong every time. And don't think you can manipulate me, either. Those three humans may follow you, but I won't. I'm here for reasons of my own.† He was gone before Stefan could gather words for a reply. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Damon never listened to anything he said. Damon never even called him by name. It was always the scornful â€Å"little brother.† And now Damon was off to prove how unreliable he was, Stefan thought. Wonderful. He'd do something particularly vicious just to show Stefan he was capable of it. It was no use. He couldn't keep his mind on the puzzle. He was tired and lonely and in desperate need of comfort. And the stark truth was that there was no comfort to be had. Elena, he thought, you lied to me. It was the one thing she'd insisted on, the one thing she'd always promised. â€Å"Whatever happens, Stefan, I'll be with you. Tell me you believe that.† And he had answered, helpless in her spell, â€Å"Oh, Elena, I believe it. Whatever happens, we'll be together.† But she had left him. Not by choice maybe, but what did that matter in the end? She had left him and gone away. There were times when all he wanted was to follow her. Think about something else, anything else, he told himself, but it was too late. Once unleashed, the images of Elena swirled around him, too painful to bear, too beautiful to push away. The first time he'd kissed her. The shock of dizzy sweetness when his mouth met hers. And after that, shock after shock, but at some deeper level. As if she were reaching down to the core of himself, a core he'd almost forgotten. Frightened, he'd felt his defenses tear away. All his secrets, all his resistance, all the tricks he used to keep other people at arm's length. Elena had ripped through them all, exposing his vulnerability. Exposing his soul. And in the end, he found that it was what he wanted. He wanted Elena to see him without defenses, without walls. He wanted her to know him for what he was. Terrifying? Yes. When she'd discovered his secret at last, when she'd found him feeding on that bird, he had cringed in shame. He was sure that she'd turn away from the blood on his mouth in horror. In disgust. But when he looked into her eyes that night, he saw understanding. Forgiveness. Love. Her love had healed him. And that was when he knew they could never be apart. Other memories surged up and Stefan held on to them, even though the pain tore into him like claws. Sensations. The feel of Elena against him, supple in his arms. The brush of her hair on his cheek, light as a moth's wing. The curve of her lips, the taste of them. The impossible midnight blue of her eyes. But Bonnie had reached Elena. Elena's spirit, her soul, was still somewhere near. Of anyone, he should be able to summon it. He had Power at his command. And he had more right than anyone to seek her. He knew how it was done. Shut your eyes. Picture the person you want to draw near. That was easy. He could see Elena, feel her, smell her. Then call them, let your longing reach out into the emptiness. Open yourself and let your need be felt. Easier still. He didn't give a damn about the danger. He gathered all his yearning, all his pain, and sent it out searching like a prayer. And felt†¦ nothing. Only void and his own loneliness. Only silence. His Power wasn't the same as Bonnie's. He couldn't reach the one thing he loved most, the one thing that mattered to him. He had never felt so alone in his life. â€Å"You want what?† Bonnie said. â€Å"Some sort of records about the history of Fell's Church. Particularly about the founders,† Stefan said. They were all sitting in Meredith's car, which was parked a discreet distance behind Vickie's house. It was dusk of the next day and they had just returned from Sue's funeral-all but Stefan. â€Å"This has something to do with Sue, doesn't it?† Meredith's dark eyes, always so level and intelligent, probed Stefan's. â€Å"You think you've solved the mystery.† â€Å"Possibly,† he admitted. He had spent the day thinking. He'd put the pain of last night behind him, and once again he was in control. Although he could not reach Elena, he could justify her faith in him-he could do what she wanted done. And there was a comfort in work, in concentration. In keeping all emotion away. He added, â€Å"I have an idea about what might have happened, but it's a long shot and I don't want to talk about it until I'm sure.† â€Å"Why?† demanded Bonnie. Such a contrast to Meredith, Stefan thought. Hair as red as fire and a spirit to go with it. That delicate heart-shaped face and fair, translucent skin were deceptive, though. Bonnie was smart and resourceful-even if she was only beginning to find that out herself. â€Å"Because if I'm wrong, an innocent person might get hurt. Look, at this point it's just an idea. But I promise if I find any evidence tonight to back it up, I'll tell you all about it.† â€Å"You could talk with Mrs. Grimesby,† Meredith suggested. â€Å"She's the town librarian, and she knows a lot about the founding of Fell's Church.† â€Å"Or there's always Honoria,† Bonnie said. â€Å"I mean, she was one of the founders.† Stefan looked at her quickly. â€Å"I thought Honoria Fell had stopped communicating with you,† he said carefully. Stefan was surprised. He didn't entirely like the idea of Elena's journal on display. But Honoria's records might be exactly what he was looking for. Honoria had not just been a wise woman; she had been well versed in the supernatural. A witch. â€Å"The library's closed by now, though,† Meredith said. â€Å"That's even better,† said Stefan. â€Å"No one will know what information we're interested in. Two of us can go down there and break in, and the other two can stay here. Meredith, if you'll come with me-â€Å" â€Å"I'd like to stay here, if you don't mind,† she said. â€Å"I'm tired,† she added in explanation, seeing his expression. â€Å"And this way I can get my watch over with and get home earlier. Why don't you and Matt go and Bonnie and I stay here?† Stefan was still looking at her. â€Å"Okay,† he said slowly. â€Å"Fine. If it's all right with Matt.† Matt shrugged. â€Å"That's it, then. It might take us a couple of hours or more. You two stay in the car with the doors locked. You should be safe enough that way.† If he was right in his suspicions, there wouldn't be any more attacks for a while-a few days at least. Bonnie and Meredith should be safe. But he couldn't help wonder what was behind Meredith's suggestion. Not simple tiredness, he was sure. â€Å"By the way, where's Damon?† Bonnie asked as he and Matt started to leave. Stefan felt his stomach muscles tighten. â€Å"I don't know.† He had been waiting for someone to ask that. He hadn't seen his brother since last night, and he had no idea what Damon might be doing. â€Å"He'll show up eventually,† he said, and closed the door on Meredith's, â€Å"That's what I'm afraid of.† He and Matt walked to the library in silence, keeping to the shadows, skirting areas of light. He couldn't afford to be seen. Stefan had come back to help Fell's Church, but he felt sure Fell's Church didn't want his help. He was a stranger again, an intruder here. They would hurt him if they caught him. The library lock was easy to pick, just a simple spring mechanism. And the journals were right where Bonnie had said they would be. Stefan forced his hand away from Elena's journal. Inside was the record of Elena's last days, in her own handwriting. If he started thinking about that now†¦ He concentrated on the leather-bound book beside it. The faded ink on the yellowing pages was hard to read, but after a few minutes his eyes got accustomed to the dense, intricate writing with its elaborate curlicues. It was the story of Honoria Fell and her husband, who with the Smallwoods and a few other families had come to this place when it was still virgin wilderness. They had faced not only the dangers of isolation and hunger but of native wildlife. Honoria told the story of their battle to survive simply and clearly, without sentimentality. With a prickling at the back of his neck, he reread the entry carefully. At last he leaned back and shut his eyes. He'd been right. There was no longer any doubt in his mind. And that meant he must also be right about what was going on in Fell's Church now. For an instant, bright sickness washed over him, and an anger that made him want to rip and tear and hurt something. Sue. Pretty Sue who had been Elena's friend had died for†¦ that. A blood ritual, an obscene initiation. It made him want to kill. But then the rage faded, replaced by a fierce determination to stop what was happening and set things right. I promise you, he whispered to Elena in his own mind. I will stop it somehow. No matter what. He looked up to find Matt looking at him. Elena's journal was in Matt's hand, closing itself over his thumb. Just then Matt's eyes looked as dark a blue as Elena's. Too dark, full of turmoil and grief and something like bitterness. â€Å"You found it,† Matt said. â€Å"And it's bad.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"It would be.† Matt pushed Elena's journal back into the case and stood. There was a ring almost of satisfaction in his voice. Like somebody who's just proved a point. â€Å"I could have saved you the trouble of coming here.† Matt surveyed the darkened library, jingling change in his pocket. A casual observer might have thought he was relaxed, but his voice betrayed him. It was raw with strain. â€Å"You just think of the worst thing you can imagine and that's always the truth,† he said. â€Å"Matt†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sudden concern stabbed at Stefan. He'd been too preoccupied since coming back to Fell's Church to look at Matt properly. Now he realized that he'd been unforgivably stupid. Something was terribly wrong. Matt's whole body was rigid with tension lying just under the surface. And Stefan could sense the anguish, the desperation in his mind. â€Å"Matt, what is it?† he said quietly. He got up and crossed to the other boy. â€Å"Is it something I did?† â€Å"I'm fine.† â€Å"You're shaking.† It was true. Fine tremors were running through the taut muscles. â€Å"I said I'm fine!† Matt swung away from him, shoulders hunched defensively. â€Å"Anyway, what could you have done to upset me? Besides taking my girl and getting her killed, I mean?† This stab was different, it was somewhere around Stefan's heart and it went straight through. Like the blade that had killed him once upon a time. He tried to breathe around it, not trusting himself to speak. â€Å"It was the truth.† Stefan waited a moment and then added, levelly, â€Å"But it's not the whole problem, is it?† Matt didn't answer. He stared at the floor, pushing something invisible with the side of one shoe. Just when Stefan was about to give up, he turned with a question of his own. â€Å"What's the world really like?† â€Å"What's†¦ what?† â€Å"The world. You've seen a lot of it, Stefan. You've got four or five centuries on the rest of us, right? So what's the deal? I mean, is it basically the kind of place worth saving or is it essentially a pile of crap?† Stefan shut his eyes. â€Å"Oh.† â€Å"And what about people, huh, Stefan? The human race. Are we the disease or just a symptom? I mean, you take somebody like-like Elena.† Matt's voice shook briefly, but he went on. â€Å"Elena died to keep the town safe for girls like Sue. And now Sue's dead. And it's all happening again. It's never over. We can't win. So what does that tell you?† â€Å"Matt.† â€Å"What I'm really asking is, what's the point? Is there some cosmic joke I'm not getting? Or is the whole thing just one big freaking mistake? Do you understand what I'm trying to say here?† â€Å"I understand, Matt.† Stefan sat down and ran his hands through his hair. â€Å"If you'll shut up a minute, I'll try to answer you.† Matt drew up a chair and straddled it. â€Å"Great. Take your best shot.† His eyes were hard and challenging, but underneath Stefan saw the bewildered hurt that had been festering there. â€Å"I've seen a lot of evil, Matt, more than you can imagine,† Stefan said. â€Å"I've even lived it. It's always going to be a part of me, no matter how I fight it. Sometimes I think the whole human race is evil, much less my kind. And sometimes I think that enough of both our races is evil that it doesn't matter what happens to the rest. â€Å"When you get down to it, though, I don't know any more than you do. I can't tell you if there's a point or if things are ever going to turn out all right.† Stefan looked straight into Matt's eyes and spoke deliberately. â€Å"But I've got another question for you. So what?† Matt stared. â€Å"So what?† â€Å"Yeah. So what.† â€Å"Yeah, so what?† Stefan leaned forward. â€Å"So what are you going to do, Matt Honeycutt, if every bad thing you've said is true? What are you going to do personally? Are you going to stop fighting and swim with the sharks?† Matt was grasping the back of his chair. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"You can do that, you know. Damon says so all the time. You can join up with the evil side, the winning side. And nobody can really blame you, because if the universe is that way, why shouldn't you be that way too?† â€Å"Like hell!† Matt exploded. His blue eyes were searing and he had half risen from his chair. â€Å"That's Damon's way, maybe! But just because it's hopeless doesn't mean it's all right to stop fighting. Even if I knew it was hopeless, I'd still have to try. I have to try, damn it!† â€Å"I know.† Stefan settled back and smiled faintly. It was a tired smile, but it showed the kinship he felt right then with Matt. And in a moment he saw by Matt's face that Matt understood. â€Å"I know because I feel the same way,† Stefan continued. â€Å"There's no excuse for giving up just because it looks like we're going to lose. We have to try-because the other choice is to surrender.† â€Å"I'm not ready to surrender anything,† Matt said through his teeth. He looked as if he'd fought his way back to a fire inside him that had been burning all along. â€Å"Ever,† he said. â€Å"Yeah, well, ‘ever' is a long time,† Stefan said. â€Å"But for what it's worth, I'm going to try not to either. I don't know if it's possible, but I'm going to try.† â€Å"That's all anybody can do,† Matt said. Slowly, he pushed himself off the chair and stood straight. The tension was gone from his muscles, and his eyes were the clear, almost piercing blue eyes Stefan remembered. â€Å"Okay,† he said quietly. â€Å"If you found what you came for, we'd better get back to the girls.† Stefan thought, his mind switching gears. â€Å"Matt, if I'm right about what's going on, the girls should be okay for a while. But you go ahead and take over the watch from them. As long as I'm here there's something I'd like to read up on-by a guy named Gervase of Tilbury, who lived in the early 1200s.† â€Å"Even before your time, eh?† Matt said, and Stefan gave him the ghost of a smile. They stood for a moment, looking at each other. â€Å"All right. I guess I'll see you at Vickie's.† Matt turned to the door, then hesitated. Abruptly, he turned again and held out his hand. â€Å"Stefan-I'm glad you came back.† Stefan gripped it. â€Å"I'm glad to hear it† was all he said, but inside he felt a warmth that took away the stabbing pain. And some of the loneliness, too.

Outsiders Compare and Contrast

The Outsiders book and movie were completely different, but they still had some similarities. Like how they both talk about the lives of the characters, for example the movie doesn’t talk about Johnny’s abusive parents or any of the socs. In the book they talk about bobs and cheery valances life. There are a lot of appearance-related differences. For instance, Dally's supposed to have this lynx-like, almost elfin look with ungreased hair so blonde it's nearly white. Soda's hair is supposed to be dark gold.Pony's hair is supposed to be like Soda's hair but slightly redder. Steve's hair is supposed to be slicked back in very complicated black swirls. Two-Bit's supposed to be tall with rusty hair and exaggerated sideburns. The movie cut out all of the Sandy drama I thought the movie made Two-Bit more serious. He cracked some jokes, but the book made him out to be fiercely playful and whatnot, almost always being wise. The movie placed a bit of emphasis — not much, b ut still — on Dally's necklace, which was nonexistent in the book. In the movie, he wore a St.Christopher medallion. The movie made Soda seem considerably less happy than the book made him out to be — that is, the book made it clear he was naturally a happy person who got â€Å"drunk off life,† but in the movie, he was awfully happy a lot of the time so the audience didn't know this character trait. The movie skims over Pony's illness after the rumble, during which time Randy visits their home. The regular movie edition skips the entire first chapter pretty solidly, but the extended opening does tell you about the first chapter.The movie makes no mention of Soda's horse, Mickey Mouse. It also ignores Soda's past dabbling in rodeo bronco-riding. In the movie, the Socs are from the south side of town and the greasers are from the north. In the book, the Socs are from the west and the greasers from the east. In the movie, when Pony comes home from the lot at two in the morning, Darry shoves him hard and he falls. In the book Darry just slaps him across the face.The movie, understandably, drops some of the banter between Two-Bit and Marcia at the movies. As far as I remember the movie didn't include Dally messing around. Little scenes like Dally terrorizing those kids weren't in the book. The movie showed Dally alone at the store when he held it up, whereas the book didn't describe that. The movie showed Pony's dreams. The movie never mentions that girl who looks good in yellow, the one who called Pony a hood when he whipped out his blade during class to cut a worm.

Hell on Earth Essay

Hell on Earth Essay Hell on Earth Essay Coming home from a busy day of school, the first thing the little girl can think about is the after school snack that is awaiting in the refrigerator and snack drawer. But before she can even put her backpack down and take her shoes off, her fuzzy best friend, who happens to be a German Shepherd, comes scrambling around the corner to greet her with a wagging tail and a tilt of the head that articulates, â€Å"You’ve been gone for too long; I’ve missed you†. The little girl responds with a grin, a twinkle in her eye that agrees, â€Å"I missed you more†, and open arms, perfect for Fritz to get closer for a belly rub. Fritz turns over on his back, with his legs in the air, for the little girl to itch his favorite spot (Deane). Just as Fritz begins to calm down from excitement of seeing his favorite cuddle buddy, a loud noise crashes upstairs. The clamor triggers a response in Fritz’s mind that turns the lovable dog’s personality into a growlin g monster. As the girl screams for her mom’s help, it is already too late. The dog pounces onto the innocent girl and opens his mouth with her leg in direct fire. As Fritz bites down, the little girl’s cry tells her mom to hurry down stairs immediately (Deane). My mom, the little girl, has told me countless stories, like this one, about her dog Fritz suddenly changing personalities from the snuggly pillow to a ruthless, snarling monster. Fritz had attacked countless amounts of people and hindered the safety of my mom’s family. My grandparents, feeling rushed buying a German shepherd due to the sudden passing of their dog, went against their better judgment and decided to buy the squished puppy hiding behind the metal fence and small cage from a pet store in a mall. In the beginning Fritz seemed just like any other German shepherd puppy they bought; but after two years of ruthless behavior from Fritz and failed behavior training, my grandparents made the difficul t decision to put him down. My grandparents felt ashamed for making that grim behavior, but they knew Fritz could not be tamed and it was for the better (Deane). Fritz’s behavior and psychological problems due to the puppy mill where he was born created a monster disguised in an adorable, fuzzy friend’s body that could not be fixed. Just like my grandparents, many other people have seen and purchased, the barking, hopeless dogs begging for a home behind the glass wall in a shopping mall. Like Fritz, most of the dogs have been driven to the mall from a disturbing past, a puppy mill. A puppy mill is a sadistic compound where the profit from dogs is the ultimate goal and the treatment and health of the dogs are inhumane and not a priority of the owner. Imagine, a warehouse with objects stacked on top of each other, row after row, abandoned in the dark. In these objects are puppies often starving and dehydrated covered in the feces that dropped from the cages above (Humane Society of the United States). This image is not a nightmare; it is happening across the United States every day. Without ever seeing daylight or experiencing the freedom to run around, female dogs have two litters a year until the age of 5, when they ultimately wear out. They are part of a continuous cycle of birthing and nursing puppies. Many litters have chronic diseases, rotten teeth, and eye and ear infections. In addition to physical harm, puppies have genetic disorders and many other psychological problems that appear to owners months or years after buying directly or indirectly from a puppy mill. Females that are no longer able to produce puppies are starved to death or set loose to the wild where they are ultimately killed (Sharon). As citizens of the United States of America we need to take a stand against the coldhearted treatment towards innocent puppies. I am proposing to you, as a citizen of this supposed glorious country, to expose the hidden truth of puppy mills to your legislators and lawmakers. The dogs in these conditions do not have a

lord of the flies3 essays

lord of the flies3 essays The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding begins when a group of young boys get stranded on a tropical island without any adults. When the boys are all together they decide they need to elect a leader. The boys choose Ralph primarily because he is the oldest. That angers Jack because him and Ralph arent the best of friends. To restore Jacks hurt feelings Ralph makes him the leader of the hunter group. Jack promises to keep them supplied with meat. Ralph then decides to make rules for the boys to follow, but he only comes up with one. The rule is at meetings only the person with the conch, or horn can speak. After Piggy who is Ralphs best friend lectures everyone on how important it is to be rescued Ralph decides to put a fire on the top of a mountain, so if a plane goes buy the smoke can be seen. They use Piggys glasses to kindle a fire. While Ralph and some others are building huts Jack is out stalking a pig but the pig got away. When Jack gets back to the beach Ralph starts to complain to him that the hunters should do more work at building huts then roaming in the jungle. Jack starts to get angry and the boys get into an argument, but they are able to control themselves. The boys eventually got use to their new life on the island. The early sunrise, the fresh sweet air, and by the best time of the day they forgot about their hopes and worries. When the sun was at its highest peak the heat became unbearable they went into the shade and napped. At night it became pitch black and the boys became frightened and restless. Jack and some of the other hunters painted their faces and went out to kill the pig. Meanwhile Ralph and piggy where sitting on the beach and they saw a ship on the horizon. Then they found out that the fire on the mountain went out because the hunters who were supposed to be taking care of the fire were gone. When the hu ...

The Difference Between Amateur and Proper Writers; And Why You Shouldn - Freewrite Store

The Difference Between Amateur and Proper Writers; And Why You Shouldn - Freewrite Store Commit to your new job. Let me paint you a picture, one of those bizarre scenarios, frisky tableaus, that slowly segues into the topic and theme of the title. Imagine a big, bawdy bar, with a barkeep of barreled brawn, brined brains, and bedeviled behavior. A sprawling dome sanctified by the Gods, christened by Baco and sponsored by the good folks at Guinness†¦ in other words, a pub. A proper (we only serve booze) pub. Now, take that majestic construct and catapult it 100 years into the future, and since we are already breaking the space-time-continuum let’s shatter this flimsy facade called logic - and cement its pillars on one of the heaven’s marshmallow clouds. â€Å"The Cloud Nine† pub in the sky. There’s a marquee on the brick side by the petunias: â€Å"Jesus once came here for a pint.† Inside our celestial haberdashery, patrons dance, dames frolic, and inebriates fight and fess-up. In one corner, Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron are playing footsies under the table. By the jar of pickled eggs, Hemingway is displaying his legendary attitude towards liquor. By the door, giving a rousing and confusing speech on wordplay, Shakespeare. Tolstoy and Marx dip their wet fingers on a pile of salt, trying desperately to hoover the last crumbs of peanuts. Throughout all this madcap, watermark fandango of insanity, a conga line has formed: Maya Angelou, Charlotte Bronte, and Virginia Woolf do the cha-cha-cha while Austen and Christie follow with a brilliant rendition of the chicken dance. The lit cream of yesteryear rubbing shoulders and other naughty parts. The night carries on, sooner or later Karaoke comes into play and bonds are forged mid-way through â€Å"Bohemian Rhapsody†;even Poe manages a smile. Then Twain, that rascal that he is, poses a question:    â€Å"When is a writer no longer an amateur, but a professional?†    Noggins and cookies start boiling. Fitzgerald drools on the virtues of speaking from experience. Lovecraft gives a fairly decent argument towards making pacts with Old Ones. Hemingway zig-zags into a yarn about fishing, while Woody Allen tries to hit on the waitress. On and on they ping-pong the question around the room. Some manage to hit the ball, others evade it, preferring to occupy their minds with the physics of lager. Up and down, hours and hours, the philosophical item is examined; no real answer reached, no consensus patted down. Then, just before the rooster is about to call it a night, a voice is heard among the revelry:    â€Å"Oh, that’s without a doubt the easiest question out there.†    Everybody turns, eyes adjusting in the gloom and rum haze. Sitting on a stool, right next to a Pac-Man machine and flicking through a jukebox’s selection of Golden Oldies, the man himself†¦ Mister Stephen King.    â€Å"Like I said, you turnip heads, there’s a simple answer.† He takes a sip of his coke. â€Å"A writer is truly a professional writer, the minute, nay, the second he gets PAID. A check for something you’ve written instantly grants you pro-writer status. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.†    Mouths catching flies, everybody stares at the horror master, knowing full well that that Gordian Knot of a riddle had been sliced in two and packaged away with alacrity.    â€Å"OK,†goes Twain â€Å"Let me re-frame the question: when do you pass from being a mediocre writer aproper writer?†    Stephen King gets up, understanding that the wordsmith has him by the furry bits The man, having just read â€Å"50 Shades of Grey†, his belief in the power of humankind and the essence of his craft shaken to the very foundation, simply walks off. So, the conundrum still stands: when is a writer a proper writer?As a published author, I’m going to toss my two-cents into that fountain and hope they don’t get lost among the treasured detritus of others. In my opinion, a writer becomes what he is meant to be the second he stops measuring himself up to others of his profession. The second you manage to tie down your voice, tone and make it your own, without trying to copy someone else’s beats, that’s the minute you are a professional. That’s the minute you become something truly unique and irreplaceable.    â€Å"But,† you ask â€Å"How do I get to that point?†    It’s not easy, so here are a few tips: Commit to your new job. Writing, penning out articles, manuscripts, stories, poems, scripts, and all other wordy fragments of wisdom or sheer entertainment is a full-time, 24/7 task. There’s a lot of talk going around town about the power of visualization; I’m here to tell you that’s just nothing short of Hocus Pocus. In reality, you can visualize all you like. Buy the hipster hat, the flowing scarf and talk like a lofty SOB at your next family get together. Do the whole fandango and tango†¦ You’re still not a writer. Imagine as many unicorns and pie-in-the-sky ideas as your greedy little brain will allow, at the end of the day you’ll still find yourself at the stable wondering why your horse can’t fly or who stole his magical horn. The only way to become a writer is to sit down and put in the work. Plant your rear on a seat, or couch, snatch your tools and scribble ‘til you hit gold or have something worth publishing.    â€Å"What about the muse?†    Poppycock! My advice is to grab those Grecian mistresses and take them out back; two shots to the back of the skull for each. Neil Gaiman and Larry Correia will help you hide the bodies while Hemingway mops up the blood. The truth of the matter is that some days you’ll get up in the morning, slug your way to your laptop and discover that fiend writer’s block sitting on the ledge of your table. The specter is pointing out your worthlessness and handing out wanted ads; circled in crimson: â€Å"full-time accountant, great pay.† Before you log on and give Facebook a chance, open up your word-processor and freaking write. Maybe, after four hours of clacking away, you’ll have a sentence or two worth a lick.    A professional writer writes until his ass is raw and his fingers bleed. An amateur writer dabbles with his computer as long as there is nothing good on the television. A structured existence. Let’s build a bridge between the island up above and this grassy archipelago. It’s time to set down rules, to set down goals and lay the foundations that will eventually make you a professional writer. Hacking away at your diary isn’t, unless you’re Anne Frank, professional writing. Every great or at least successful writer has a process. Stephen King reads four hours a day and writes for another four. Dan Brown wakes up at the crack of dawn, stretches and then works until noon. Janet Evanovich finger-dances across the keyboard in the morning and edits at night. Carl Hiassen faces his desk against a blank wall and snaps on shooting-range earmuffs against his head. Hemingway strolled to the nearest bar, sat down and jotted down 500 words, celebrating each victory at the end with a stiff drink. Every single one of them, like Rowling at a coffee shop in Edinburg staring at a cemetery, had their magic recipe. And, unlike any thaumaturgical hootenanny, their â €Å"IT† wasn’t based on a virgin’s blood and a Saint’s holy tears; it was grounded on a businesslike attitude, by the numbers, by appreciation of their skill set. It’s all about discipline, especially when you don’t have a boss riding your ass. Establish a passable set of rules to live by; that’s the Golden Ratio. This is a nine-to-five job; you clock in, you clock out. You need a space for yourself, especially if you are working at home. Otherwise your novel will be slowly devoured and digested by those rugrats you call offsprings. You need to mark down daily goals and, even if you have to go over time, fulfill them.    A pro will edge at least 500 words a day. She’ll dip her arm into a fiery pit, 500 times, just to get those words out. She’ll wake up every day, forget her family exists, juggle divorce like a pro and become a statue in her office ‘til she hits the mark. An amateur will wake up whenever she feels like it, take her time with her coffee, play with her kids, talk to her partner and, finally, scratch out twenty words and say the day was productive. Sharpen your tools. I’m going to step into a Stargate and zoom our narrative into another whimsical dimension. Did you know that Eric Clapton became Eric â€Å"Oh dear lord Layla is the bomb† Clapton after hearing and jamming with Jimi Hendrix? Did you know the Bob â€Å"I just won a Nobel Prize† Dylan purposely bought a house close to Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison? There’s a reason why there was The Police, before Sting. Why Don Henley needed that adrenaline shot known as the Eagles. Why Lennon needed Paul, George, and Ringo. There’s a time in every artist’s life when the chords, the beat, the rhythm, the skills are all learned and mastered; you can either stagnate or take it to the next level. If you’re not a music lover, then let’s flip that analogy onto another field†¦ snatch your boxing gloves and go beat up someone better than you. One of the keys to being a legendary artist is to know you are part of a community. You have to purge that misconception that art is a lone wolf’s hunt. Nope, DiCaprio became an Oscar winner thanks to Scorsese. Hemingway earned his legendary status on account of Gertrude Stein. Frankenstein was penned thanks to an oddball weekend with Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and John Polidori in Switzerland. Talent is partly like an STD. It’s more contagious than syphilis, and some of your peers are so infected with it that you’re liable to catch it by mere osmosis. Surround yourself with people in your neck of the woods. People that appreciate your craft and actually dabble in it. Think about the mid 20s and roaring 30s, or the Beatnik movement, or SoHo London; flash back to those rocking times. Everybody was doodling everybody. Post-coital carnal caper chats ensued on the craft recipe of the day. Pores sweaty, salty and open, your soul as bare and naked as the rest of you. Your mind lathered and frothed by livid libations and popping endorphins. A sultry poetista whispering Keats into your ears; the primordial soup in which creativity is stewed and prepared. Or, if you’re a bit square, the following Open Sesame phrase will win over any writer: â€Å"let me buy you a beer!†If you toss in some Wild Turkey, we will allow you to pump us for as much info as you want.    A pro will, after getting up at the crack of dawn, crawl his way into an avant-garde play at midnight. He will wallow past the existential dingus, toast with his artsy friends at 3 AM, decline a snort of Peruvian moon dust at 5 AM, get an UBER at 6 and start the day on Red Bull just to start writing again. He’ll do that and more just to bathe and float in creative juices. An Amateur will call it a day at 4 and switch on the ballgame. Know your genre. Every platform has guidelines. You can break them, you can go all Gonzo on Journalism, but first, you have to conquer them. Once you have them down to a science, once you can build your rifle with your tongue while blindfolded and barking like a loon, only then can you defenestrate those pesky commandments and dash them against the rocks. Genres have tropes, they have verified axioms that somehow still manage - in many cases - to seem original. For example, in mythology - and most Marvel and DC movies - the age-old Hero’s Journey is the archetype; Campbell’s 17 stages, the playbook Batman was built on. In hard-edge journalism, the â€Å"Five W’s† are the linchpin of any piece. Analyze your sandbox. Take it apart and put each grain of dust under the microscope. Want to Tolkien your way to the top of the fantasy aisle? Then you better have your world-building criteria down on paper. There’s a reason why publishers search for word counts for each genre . Why Westerns shouldn’t be more than 65k words; why Horror has to be at least 100k; why Game of Thrones is considered a hostile mallet in certain New York City boroughs. Here’s another example with the same sentence done and tweaked for different schools of thoughts.    â€Å"It was twilight, five minutes past 6 in New Jersey when†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Journalism.    â€Å"In the Kingdom the sun had dipped below the marbled turrets, bronzing the golden crest when†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fantasy.    â€Å"A crisp and sharp wind bit into John’s cheek. Night was fast approaching, his instincts coming full force with it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Action.    â€Å"The sun decided to call it a day. Happy Hour was starting up just to thewest, and that flaming ball of gas needed some Sake, Geisha Hanky-Panky and, oddly enough, a dose of Sumo†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Comedy.    â€Å"A funeral shroud clawed its way pass the horizon, digging its long bloody talons into the last rays of light that clung to the day. A Halloween orange snapped just past the emerald mountains, scatting for a second the landscape in a multicolored afterglow. Then, in a flash and with the same feral ferocity, bewilderingintensity, and vivid violence it disappeared into the ether. With it, all sense of safety was snuffed out. A Stygian wave rolled over the street; pulling in all sights and sounds into its ravenous event horizon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Horror.    A Pro will hit her head against the head, for an hour, just to catch that word - that perfect word - that’s dangling at the tip of her tongue. She’ll study and read every great book published in her genre before daring to approach that theme. She’ll take months penning that perfect book or article. An Amateur will hook from the pond whatever word comes swimming by and stitch it onto his pieces just to be done with it. She’ll ask herself: â€Å"Why not just say the clown is scary and be done with it† when discussing IT with her friends. Tips from this side of the table. Here are some Golden Rules that truly construct pieces worth printing. Rethink every adverb you place in your text. Anything that ends with â€Å"ly.† The trick to good storytelling is to show and let your audience infer. How was he â€Å"calmly† walking to the gallows? Be mindful of alliterations. They work great in comedy, but might sound funky in other genres. Grammar, in fiction - especially in horror - is flexible. This is paramount when placing your commas, periods and semicolons. Every paragraph has a beat and rhythm; you’re the artist, you build. Then Edit some more. Dean Koontz, for example, will edit each page to death before starting to write another one. It helps to get everything into perspective and, if you’re playing with a novel, it slices the task into digestible sections. Get a thesaurus and learn some odd words. Each genre has a formula, a dictionary to it, get cracking and know your theater’s vocabulary. H.P. Lovecraft used to trudge around, constantly searching for bizarre and arcane words to fill his manuscripts with. Read like a madman. And, when you are not reading, get some audio books. Before shipping and closing the chapter on anything, read it out loud. There’s a reason why storytellers were so adored back in olden days before the printing press. Your phrases or sentences have to hit the ear just right. Critics are right monstrous Unfortunately, they are also your best friends. Before you publish anything, pass it around. Start by copying some of your favorite author’s tone and pattern, learn from them. Slowly start molding them to your frame of mind. You have to mature and nurture your unique voice, but before that happens that fertile egg has to be inseminated†¦ so pick a proper genetic input. And finally, and most importantly, get someone to bankroll you. If you’re getting paid for it, then you’re a writer. Money in the bank, despite what the critics say, is the bar you have to measure yourself against.

RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Research Paper Example 1). Typically, overweight and obesity is caused by unbalanced diet, such as eating fast food that has a high level of fat, failure to eat fruits and vegetables, frequent drinking of alcohol, as well as eating a large amount of food among other factors. Research shows that early obesity increases the risk of experiencing cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as a high blood sugar. It is on this background that a large number of Americans continue to embrace the healthy diet. While Americans found the organic food difficult to access and expensive in the past, in the modern world, an increasing number of Americans are moving away from the American traditional food to the natural food (healthy food); this include the organically grown food, including fruits, vegetables and other unprocessed foods that contain low levels of fat. This paper focuses on discussing the most popular eating trends in the modern US culture; specifically, the paper will pay attention to the cultural food transition that is experienced in the modern American society and its significance among citizens. Though, there is still a dramatic rate of consuming fast and junk food in America, an increasing number people are understanding the positive effect of healthy meal. In its annual â€Å"food trends† report, Forbes magazine included items such as â€Å"gluten free† food, â€Å"healthier kids meals† and â€Å"veggies calorie†, which indicate the growing tendency towards natural and, thus, healthier eating (Gerhard par. 2) The healthy food increasing impact on peoples life, habits and way of thinking can be also noticed from the position of culture. Culture is usually defined as a system of beliefs, habits and ways of thinking, experience, and knowledge of a particular nation. One of the main elements of any culture is food. However, culture is not a sustainable phenomena but continually changing process. Today an increasing

Who is your role model and how did that person impact your life Essay

Who is your role model and how did that person impact your life - Essay Example He made me realize my purpose and potential, my dreams are to change the world to become a better place where the world would be free from diseases, and quality healthcare would be available to all. Like Obama, I am determined not to give up on my dreams. Moreover, President Obama has taught me never to lose my hopes, always focus on the future, and press forward always no matter the obstacles. According to Price (92) his opponents said negative things about him such as he did not have any political experience to govern a state like America, but he did not listen to them because his intentions were focused on the best lives for all. Becoming the president of America was not an easy thing considering that he was an African American, he came from a humble family, was not famous, his family had no political background, and of all things his father was a Muslim. Therefore, I have emulated Obama’s behaviors, and now I am a persistent, strong minded and compassionate person. Many thanks to Obama as a weak, intolerant, and unconfident me, is now gone. I am now the most passionate and outstanding person in whatever I do, and I am not ready to stop. Price, Joann. Barrack Obama: A Biography. U.S.A: Greenwood Press, 2008. Google books. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

The Case Against Affirmative Action Research Paper

The Case Against Affirmative Action - Research Paper Example For instance, since the blacks were treated as slaves once, it is justified that they should be getting some privileges over and above the whites that perhaps had no connection with slavery. The idea is based upon â€Å"Two Wrongs Make a Right Thesis† (Pojman) Despite all, one might argue essentially on the basis of discrimination alone that affirmative action cannot do justice to the society at large an is ethically wrong. 1. Students who begin their career at a disadvantage will need some thrust or support to move forward. Coming from black families put them often at a disadvantage in terms of economic and social status. They often belong to crime-infected families and are place at a disadvantage compared to the whites. 2. Affirmative action will draw the people from minority groups to choose those profession or academic careers, which they would not have thought in other circumstances. For instance, women are entering into fields of technology. It is important to alter the stereotypes in order to prevent future discrimination. 5. Another argument, which is often put forward states, is based upon â€Å"No One Deserves His Talents†. Individuals do not have claims to any particular merit; hence they will not have access to the better ranks or positions in the society. 1. Discrimination of any sort is bad even if it is biased towards the majority groups. In fact this is a case of reverse discrimination. It is pointless to punish the innocent white people for the wrongdoings of their ancestors. 2. The diversity argument is favor of affirmative action has been discussed before. However, in certain cases where a white policeman might be able to arrest a black criminal better and vice versa might be regarded as a case of merit instead of affirmative action. 3. The ‘No One Deserves His Talents’ is based on the ground – ‘If a person does not deserve what produces something, he does not

Marketing strategy and planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing strategy and planning - Assignment Example Until recently, the business of the business has been simply considered to be just ‘business’, but now, it is more than that and it should be able to contribute to social justice, community welfare, economic development and quality of social life as well. This piece of research paper explains the underlying concepts and modern aspects of corporate social responsibility in relation to the evaluation of social responsibility efforts made by three major companies, namely Apple Inc, Johnson & Johnson and Nestle. Corporate Social Responsibility The importance and the role of corporate social responsibility have been increasing continuously in the business contexts within the last few years and this is very evident from the fact that 90% of the fortune 500 companies have explicit social responsibility initiatives (Bueble, 2009, p. 1). CSR is discerned from three words, namely Corporate, Social and Responsibility, covering the relationship between corporations and the societies in relation to how they both interact. To be more specific, it includes the responsibilities that are inherent in the relationship between the corporate and the society (Werther and Chandler, 2006, p. 6). According to Kotler and Lee (2005, p. 3), corporate social responsibility is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and by contributing corporate or business resources. Business activities or community well-being efforts that are already mandated by the law or are generally accepted as moral and ethical are exempted by the term ‘discretionary’. The idea behind the concept of CSR is that all business organizations and their leaders must consider the impact of their decisions and activities on the community as a whole and they must be able to assume certain responsibilities that are expected of them. The social responsibility of a business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that the soci ety has of the organization for a given period of time (Sims, 2003, p. 43). A business organization is not only expected to meet customer needs and wants, but also to satisfy customer needs and wants in a way that are corresponding to the legal, ethical, social, moral and discretionary expectations of the customers and all other stakeholders. As part of the social responsibility, a business should be able to improve social life of the general public, foster economic development of the nation, improve the quality of the life of its people and enhance social and community well-being of the society at large. In order a business to be socially responsible, it has to fulfill the rules and regulations that are entrusted to them by the legal system and responsibilities that are expected of them by the society, function according to the ethical and moral aspects that the business has to meet. Pearson and Robinson (2004, p. 50) emphasized that there are basically four elements of the social commitments involved in the CSR, they are economical, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities. Holme and Watts’ view on CSR Many different views and definitions on

1.Identify and review some of the strategies which the company uses to Essay

1.Identify and review some of the strategies which the company uses to deal with the difficulties presented by the specific features of financial services marketing - Essay Example The researcher is taking American International Group Inc. which is a U.S.A. based company for reviewing their products and strategies. In this paper the researcher is trying to identify the strategies which they use to deal with the difficulties presented by the features of marketing of financial services. The researcher will use the website of AIG and some journals for analyze the strategies of the company. American International group which is a financial services company constitutes of different business units. These are AIG Bank, AIG Direct, SunAmerica financial group, Chartis insurance, United Guaranty Corporation and International Lease Finance Corporation. The main revenue of the company is from the Chartis insurance which is major name in the global insurance sector. SunAmerica financial group is the other which generates maximum revenue for the AIG group. From this statistics it can be said that the company is mainly focusing on the life insurance, general insurance, wealth management, asset management programs. It can also be said statistics that the major percentage of revenue comes from the casualty and specialty line of business. In any type of industry the companies should design and offer the product or services according to the customer needs. Financial services industry is a volatile industry. During the economic downturn the companies generally don’t profit much from the financial services. The reputation of the companies plays a big role in that situation. If the financial services companies provide the products according to the needs of the customers and build customer loyalty then they will have a competitive edge than their competitors. For having a good percentage of market shares as well as retaining the customers in time of financial downturn a loyal customer base is necessary for the financial services company (The Economist, 2008, p.5-7). The services

Marketing strategy and planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing strategy and planning - Assignment Example Until recently, the business of the business has been simply considered to be just ‘business’, but now, it is more than that and it should be able to contribute to social justice, community welfare, economic development and quality of social life as well. This piece of research paper explains the underlying concepts and modern aspects of corporate social responsibility in relation to the evaluation of social responsibility efforts made by three major companies, namely Apple Inc, Johnson & Johnson and Nestle. Corporate Social Responsibility The importance and the role of corporate social responsibility have been increasing continuously in the business contexts within the last few years and this is very evident from the fact that 90% of the fortune 500 companies have explicit social responsibility initiatives (Bueble, 2009, p. 1). CSR is discerned from three words, namely Corporate, Social and Responsibility, covering the relationship between corporations and the societies in relation to how they both interact. To be more specific, it includes the responsibilities that are inherent in the relationship between the corporate and the society (Werther and Chandler, 2006, p. 6). According to Kotler and Lee (2005, p. 3), corporate social responsibility is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and by contributing corporate or business resources. Business activities or community well-being efforts that are already mandated by the law or are generally accepted as moral and ethical are exempted by the term ‘discretionary’. The idea behind the concept of CSR is that all business organizations and their leaders must consider the impact of their decisions and activities on the community as a whole and they must be able to assume certain responsibilities that are expected of them. The social responsibility of a business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that the soci ety has of the organization for a given period of time (Sims, 2003, p. 43). A business organization is not only expected to meet customer needs and wants, but also to satisfy customer needs and wants in a way that are corresponding to the legal, ethical, social, moral and discretionary expectations of the customers and all other stakeholders. As part of the social responsibility, a business should be able to improve social life of the general public, foster economic development of the nation, improve the quality of the life of its people and enhance social and community well-being of the society at large. In order a business to be socially responsible, it has to fulfill the rules and regulations that are entrusted to them by the legal system and responsibilities that are expected of them by the society, function according to the ethical and moral aspects that the business has to meet. Pearson and Robinson (2004, p. 50) emphasized that there are basically four elements of the social commitments involved in the CSR, they are economical, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities. Holme and Watts’ view on CSR Many different views and definitions on

IT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

IT - Research Paper Example However, every system has its own advantages and disadvantages. Certain components easily get corrupted due to many reasons like improper handling and heat. Therefore, the factors causing damage must be carefully analyzed and techniques to reduce and to protect the data must be adopted. Role of Information Technology Information Technology plays a key role globally. It deals with computing technology, such as the internet, software, hardware or networking system. In other words, it is the tool of managing information using different software and hardware devices (Agarwal & Prasad, 2012). At present, information technology is used in varied sectors like medical and health, education and widely in corporate sectors. Information technology has become an inseparable part of private as well as public sector institutions. Consequently, the risk of media failure and data losses has been a serious matter of concern. Thus, creating the needs for reliable backup media to avoid data losses is q uite imperative (Chau & Hu, 2001). Backup Media Backup is usually an activity of copying databases in order to preserve that database in case a system failure takes place. Backup is a routine operation for the IT users. Backup prevents the users when catastrophe occurs in the system. The file when retrieved back to the system, it is called restoring. Various types of physical backup media are used to backup files, such as Optical DVD media, Internal Hard Disk, External Hard Disk and Flash memory (Hagen & Bieringer, 2001). Optical DVD Media Optical media comprises recordable/rewritable as well as dual layer formats DVD and CD disks. Optical Disc Drives use electromagnetic or laser light waves for reading and writing data. These devices are reasonably cost effective media to store small amount of data. In present times, nearly each and every personal computer comes with DVD or CD burners or writers. Data can be written and stored easily in a few minutes. Data can be stored in the form of documents, audio, video or in digital form. DVD rewritable permits the user to write discs and then erase and rewrite. DVD recordable provides permanent record for the data copied. Optical discs do not provide enough data storage space when compared to other media storages. Optical disks are not suitable for full system backup as it does not have sufficient capacity to store data .It needs certain special drives to write or read. Data stored in optical media gets destroyed, if it is scratched or exposed to heat. Thus, long-term reliability of optical DVD media cannot be assured (Hagen & Bieringer, 2001). Internal Hard Disk or A Second Hard Disk, Mounted Internally Internal Hard Disk is used for storing and retrieving digital information in the computer system. The hard disk may result in failure in many ways and cause loss of data either partly or totally. Internal hard disks are within the computer system and are easily available. Moving of files in case of internal hard disk i s easy and fast. The benefit of using internal hard disk is that its cost is low and the data transfer is easy. Data can be kept stored in the internal hard disk for considerable amount of time in various types of data format. It is highly vulnerable to virus attacks and malware. Trojans and power loss can cause data corruption and in such circumstances it

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Changes in Changez Essay Example for Free

The Reluctant Fundamentalist Changes in Changez Essay ?The collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing or person is definitively recognizable or known is their identity. A person’s behavior, his/her background, the inevitable bits and pieces of his/her nature and history sown together make him/her who he/she are. Changez is the protagonist of the Novel â€Å"The Reluctant Fundamentalist† by Mohsin Hamid. His character is complex and diverse from the rest. It is volatile and his perspective of his identity is irresolute. By this I mean that his understanding of who he is constantly being altered through the course of the novel, and I will discuss this in the following paragraphs. Changez’s identity refers to who he is; every aspect of his personality adds up to his identity. Changez belongs to an upper-class family from Lahore, Pakistan. He lives in a house with his parents, his sister his brother. This family is not poor, but is not wealthy compared to the society it mixes with. Changez’s family is relatively liberal as everybody, including the women, work, in order to maintain the high living standards that they are used to. Changez has been born and brought up in Lahore and has always been a promising and scholarly student. The novel states that he has gone through his entire school life without getting a single B grade. Post his education at school; he received a scholarship to Princeton. This reflects two aspects of Changez’s life; first, his above average intellect that made him eligible for such a pristine offer, and second, his dire need for the financial aid in order to be able to be part of such a prestigious institution. Like for everybody, Changez’s history is inevitably a part of his identity. It may not be very important, but his financial condition does raise barriers in his life and can be categorized as important enough to be a part of his identity as this causes constraints. Other than these aspects of his life, an important part of Changez’s identity is his mindset. Before getting to Changez’s metamorphosing personality, I would like to state a constant about him: His mannerisms. Through the course of the novel, Changez’s way of speaking is always polite and humble. This may be a contradiction to his proud and confident personality. As I see it, Changez believes that he is a cut above the rest and works tirelessly to prove it and live up to his own expectations. However, while he feels superior to his acquaintances, he is never seen being impolite or cocky towards them. As Changez’s journey begins in Princeton, he is always slightly different from his acquaintances. His politeness makes him bit of an outsider and he is never quite part of the people there. Another thing that makes Changez different from the rest is his economic stability. A part of Changez’s identity worth commenting on is not only the need for him to work three jobs whilst being at college, but his efforts to not let his peers at Princeton find out about these jobs. In my view, he wants to keep up with everyone and flourishing on the financial front is one of his life’s goals. I think this is one of Changez’s catalysts that make him work so hard. It is one of the factors that provide him with the drive to flourish. Underwood Samson employs Changez for a job that is almost out of reach. This reflects his diligence and charm. At this point in his life, Changez claims to be a lover of America and his admiration for the country stands strong. As Changez is not as wealthy as he projects himself to be, it is difficult for him to watch as his friends part with money thoughtlessly on their trip to Greece. ‘Lahore-ancient city†¦democratically urban, similar to Manhattan. ’ Changez claims that coming to New York was like coming ‘home’ for him. New York is full Urdu speaking cab drivers and has other similarities to Lahore. Changez feels like he is ‘immediately a New Yorker, never an American. ’ In my view, this shows that while he is drawn to New York in a binding way, and while he feels like he belongs to the city, he does not belong to the country. He feels like his nationality is Pakistani and that is where he belongs. I don’t think that at this point he is conflicted between New York and Pakistan, I think he feels like he belongs to both the places, one city and another country. He wears his country’s attire with pride and he also mentions that he from the moment he was in New York, he felt like a New Yorker. Changez’s national identity, at this point, is Pakistani. Earlier, however, Changez leaked a sense of pride towards belonging to Pakistan. There is no displacement or confusion in Changez as far as the identification of home belonging to a certain geographical space is concerned. On the contrary, the idea of home seems fixed and determined as Pakistan. A further possible hint of his pride of being Oriental, rather than a Westerner, is given by his decision to combine a pair of jeans with a kurta, a typical item of clothing worn in Pakistan and in some other Eastern countries, when meeting Erica’s parents, hence an important occasion. Later, in contrast, Changez recognizes that Pakistan was once at the forefront of modernity but he feels a sense of shame and resentment that it is now poor –disparity compared to the view he gets from the 41st floor of his office building. Changez feeds off the power and money that he feels coming closer to him, as these are the base of his ‘American Dream’ and as I earlier mentioned, his need to earn money drives him to work hard. Changez’s identity withholds a hunger for these things, and at the same time he feels ‘privileged’ to be given this opportunity to become the person he has been working towards becoming. Filipino workers ‘look up’ to rich young Americans and Changez starts to adopt the same attitude and language in order to be looked at with the same respect as his collogues when they are in Manila. He feels sense of power that comes with the realization that due to his job, he decides people’s futures. This power is a part of Changez’s identity, whether the power is present or not. The hunger for the power is a definitive part of Changez. He is, however, unsettled by a taxi driver who shows hostility towards him. Changez feels like he is part of a play and ought to be making his way ‘home’ like the Taxi driver. The realization that he is falsely altering his identity haunts him, and he feels like he is acting like ‘one of them. † Here, his identity is unsettled and in the state of flux as it is not concrete and sure. In chapter six, I quote Erica, who says, â€Å"I love it when you talk about where you come from, you become so alive. † This is an observation made by Changez’s lover at the time. She feels like a part of Changez feels either proud or joyed to be talking about his native land. In my opinion, this observation made is free from any bias and is purely based on Changez’s behavior that unintentionally and unknowingly gives off a sense of liveliness when he speaks of Pakistan, because somewhere inside, it makes him feel alive. Also, after having a seemingly awkward and immensely intimate experience of almost making love to Erica, Changez falls asleep and dreams of ‘home’, which in my view refers to Lahore. This projects his subconscious as being predominated by his thoughts of his home in Pakistan. An important part of the novel as well as a definer of Changez’s identity is the instance where he sees reports of the 9/11 on TV and his thoughtless reaction is to smile at it. This act can be interpreted in many ways, and my understanding of it is that while Changez loves America and is in awe of it’s power, it gives him a sense of relief that even something as grand as the USA could be brought down to it’s knees. He is aware that this act of destruction was done by Afghanistan. Changez is not a sadistic person and derives no pleasure from the realization that a substantial number of people were harmed during this attack; this lack of sensitivity is not a part of his identity. Having said that, I would like to point out that it is a sense of indifference to the victims that makes him smile. He does not smile at the way the power is exerted, but at the existence of the power. Previously, Changez saw America as almost indestructible and invincible, which made him feel small in comparison. Based on that idea, I think Changez finds a sense of relief when he sees that even a country like America can be brought down. For a lover of America, this is rather strange reaction to the tragedy that is the 9/11. Changez’s identity conflict comes into light here. Other than his national identity, Changez’s pride, which is a part of his personal identity, is also seen being flippant soon after. Changez claims that ‘he does not know how to describe his experience.. He did not seem to be himself† when he pretends to be Chris in order to help Erica make love to him. This is an extremely stark contrast to Changez’s personality traits that are proud and hold high self-esteem and self-contentment. Later, he does claim that he had ‘diminished’ himself in his own eyes. This shows conflict in his mind as to who he is and what stands conscientious in his eyes. After the 9/11, Changez’s perception of America as a nation that looked forward was altered to a nation that was looking back, and he felt like ‘an outsider. ’ This is an important change in his identity as Changez goes from being an outsider to blending in to the American society associated with Underwood Samson back to being a misfit. Changez returns to Lahore for some time later on. â€Å"This was where I came from, this was my provenance, and it smacked of lowliness,† says Changez. â€Å"The house had not changed in my absence, I had changed; I was looking about me with the eyes of a foreigner, and not just any foreigner, but the particular type of entitled and unsympathetic American who so annoyed me when I encountered him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here, Changez’s conflict seems to clear up but his change in identity is more evident. He accepts the change in himself and also points out that he has evolved into the person that he resented previously. On the next page, he states that he was a man lacking in substance and hence was easily influenced by even a short sojourn in the company of others. This is also a contradiction to the person Changez was when he started at Princeton or at Underwood Samson. He no longer seems proud of who he is, and pride was a core element in his identity. When Changez’s brother ruffled Changez’s hair, Changez felt like he had not been touched so familiarly in a while. He said he felt an ‘almost child-like twenty-two year old. † This is who he is. He is unsure of who he is. He feels like a middle-aged child and his age may be a constant, but his youth or adulthood is a question and he does not know where he stands. This adds clarity to the idea of him being conflicted when trying to be definitive of his own identity. He feels like whilst trying to be an earning member of the family, he is also the youngest. He continues to feel a little bit like a child irrespective of his status and career placement. On returning to America, in spite of numerous suggestions from his mother and colleagues, Changez does not shave his beard. He claims that it is a ‘form of protest’ on his part, ‘a symbol of identity’. He also thinks that it may be a symbol of the reality he had left behind. This shows that he is beginning to believe that the home he has left in Lahore is reality and he is no longer a New Yorker, but a patriot, that in times of need and conflict he belongs to Pakistan. â€Å"I know only that I did not wish to blend in with the army of clean-shaven youngsters who were my coworkers and inside me, for multiple reasons, I was deeply angry. † Changez states that he does not want to blend in with the Americans. This is yet another aspect of his identity. He does not want to be an American and when a choice has to be made, even when it is more difficult to be a Pakistani, in fact more then, he choses to be one. After being sent on a project by his company, Changez understands that the ambitious part of him that was predominant in his personality now takes a back seat when his country and family come into question. In the beginning of the novel we see Changez as a hardworking person who goes out of his way to make his way to the top. It is a vital part of his personality; it does not hold the same amount of importance anymore. Changez returned to his country, Pakistan, and takes care of his family. In the novel, there is no definitive reason as to why Changez left America, but I believe that he did not purely leave because something from Pakistan was pulling him back, but because because there was not enough in America to keep him there. While he felt a connect with New York and had strived to reach there, there was an open-ended relationship with Erica that had little hope of ever being resolved. Also, his job, was no more. I believe that this was clearly very important to Changez. So, he returned to Pakistan and continued his life as a college professor there. Changez’s identity goes through a major evolutionary process over the course of the years he is in America. These changes are reflected on his personality in many ways, ranging from his career-orientation, his personal life, his nationality as well as his priorities. There is, however, never complete clarity to me as to what he thinks of as important and where ‘home’ is to him, until the end. I cannot for sure clarify that he is completely content because in spite of his return I sensed an undertone of sadness when he left his dream behind.

The Roles Of Ict In The Government Information Technology Essay

The Roles Of Ict In The Government Information Technology Essay ICT stands for information and communications technology, ICT mainly focuses on the role of communication that includes phone lines and wireless data/signals as well as the ability to control information including hardware for computers and networks and software. Throughout this essay, the way in which ICT has affected and continues to become of high importance to the United kingdoms Government will be explored, the main areas that will be conducted in this research are the Government ICT strategy, greening government ICT, how the internet is transforming the UK Economy, a selected number of Government departments and how ICT is important to their daily use and finally an end conclusion highlighting the importance of ICT development in the UK government. Government ICT strategy In October 2005, the first government ICT strategy was released setting the schedule for the ICT public sector (organisations funded by the government) towards the next five years. Its main aim was to focus on the areas that could enable transformed service delivery, putting the citizen at the heart of what we do, shared services and professionalising IT-enabled business change (Cabinet Office 2010 [URL] Date Accessed 02/11/10). Five years later, after reviewing yearly reports and employing a new Government chief information officer a new strategy was released. Its approach has been adapted to fit the current economic climate in which the nation is in transforming services against a backdrop of economic pressure change (Cabinet Office 2010 [URL] Date Accessed 02/11/10). The new strategy will now make possible an ICT infrastructure that will solve many problems across the board which the Government faces. It also encourages the development of delivery being increased via the public, private and third party sectors in order to meet the needs and requirements. In 1994 www.direct.gov.uk formally known as www.open.gov.uk was announced to hold all websites and links to government and agency websites, with all the increased pressure to deliver higher and better public services, expectations had never been higher due to the potential of better services that was unforeseen when the website was first published. However, with the increased prospect of technology, expectations have changed and so have demands which has enabled the government to make it easier to handle their day to day business and help those in need of support, talktofrank.com was set up to assist and explain the dangers of drugs and notschool.net was set up for those children excluded from school. On the other hand Denis McCauley, Global Technology Research Director at the Economist Intelligence Unit, believes the government can do more recognizing that although it does well in terms of its internet website, its popularity is decreasing rapidly and he thinks that even more can be done in terms of using information technology. Although the United Kingdoms Government is not solely to thanks for its success in its public sector ICT use, it reaches the top spot when compared to the rest of Europe, as its citizen-based services are 100% online compared with the average 71% that Europe has. Since the turn of the century the UK was the first Government to even start to allow its citizen-based service online taken approximately four years till Europes average came became public. Turning Government ICT green Since the governments increased use of ICT from owning some of the largest and most power fullest computers and public servants using their desktop computers at a higher rate than expected, be it from issuing tax disks to people across the country to saving x-rays on file. The Government is the countries largest purchaser of ICT equipment, and use a large amount of power and resources. They have decided to set an example amongst the nation and turn green, as they want the disposal of monitors, printers, computers and servers to happen in a sustainable and responsible way. To start the Governments reduction of carbon emissions another strategy has been created called the greening government strategy. According to the cabinet offices brochure on becoming green by turning just one computer off will save 235kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year. By turning off every one of Whitehalls 500,000 computers at night would have the same effect as taking 40,000 cars off the road. How the Internet has transformed the United kingdoms Economy Moving away from the strategies recently formed for ICT, this essay will now review how the Internet has affected and transformed the UK Economy. The Internet has largely influenced societies in the United Kingdom with a majority of them having easy access to it, many modern phones now come with the capability to do such thing. Websites such as ebay.co.uk and amazon.co.uk have increased the populations spending habits, which further down the line companies pay tax, which turns back into the government. In 2009 the Internet contributed to 7.2 per cent of GDP in Britain, an estimated  £100 billion making it larger than the countries transportation, construction or utilities industry. Whilst the large growth in Internet activity has increased it has disrupted many businesses but has had a positive effect on the medium and smaller based businesses that sell anything from clothes to computer games with research showing that the United Kingdoms economy is likely to increase by up to 15 p er cent via the Internet. Government organisations and their use of ICT Now this essay will look at a number of government organisations and the importance that ICT plays in them. -Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) To begin with The Department of Work and pensions (DWP) pays money into millions of peoples accounts across the nation, from people on benefits to elderly people receiving their pension, its use of ICT is on a large-scale basis and as a whole plays a major role in the social sector of todays lifestyle. ICT is a positive use in the DWP as it allows a quicker way of handling information and delivering an output service due to the large memory servers they have. However errors still occur in which the government loses millions at a time and because of this have called for an urgent change in the way their ICT strategy is changed -Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defences (MoD) role is to protect the nation against any potential threat internally and externally, its team highlights dangers through many methods that involve ICT such as listening in on phone calls or checking the internet for major threats. Its ICT role again is very important to how its run due to keeping in contact with other global agencies to keep informed about terrorism strikes, it also informs local media in order to get information broadcasted across the UK. Another use of ICT within the MoD is to ensure military standards are kept high as well as the environment. Again by using the Website they allow people to view the procedures and information of the MoD, which encourages responsibility. -Driver and vehicle Licensing Agency DVLA The use of computers in the DVLA is very important, as they have to produce tax certificates as well as driving licenses and number plate registration forms in their large memory banks. Conclusion Concluding the report, ICT is probably one of the most important aspects of the governments way in terms of running its whole organisation, due to this it is hard to find any faults into the way they are actually sustaining their ICT, the only weak point is due to the fact that their website is not as popular as it was before however it still provides the information that you look for as well as email addresses and phone numbers if you need more help. With the Government also turning green they have taken another positive step in terms of being leaders and hopefully turning it in to a national thing; they have started to release television adverts and produce leaflets to spread the word. http://www.parliamentandinternet.org.uk/uploads/Final_report.pdf http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/66177/greening_government_ict.pdf http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/317444/ict_strategy4.pdf http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/anger-as-uks-carbon-dioxide-emissions-reach-10year-high-442496.html http://www.publictechnology.net/sector/central-gov/martin-read-and-three-little-words-ict-pain http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/anger-as-uks-carbon-dioxide-emissions-reach-10year-high-442496.html

Structure of American and California Governments :: essays research papers

The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level. The legislative branch of America helps create the laws or legislation. Ideally, it works to create a society that is safe for all members. The State of California like the federal government has a bicameral legislature, in other words, composed of two chambers. The upper chamber is called the senate, while the lower is called the assembly. A unique process for the state level is that it allows for the initiative. This process circumvents the state congress and can create laws without their aide. In the state of California, every ten years, following a US census, which collects demographic information, state legislators draw redistricting plans for itself, California seats in the US House of Representatives, and the State Board of Equalization. There have been attempts to create a â€Å"non-partisan† redistricting commission, but this has been turned down by voters numerous times. Proposition 14, 39, 118, and 119 were all turned down by voters to create a non-partisan district ing commission. Every decade a large portion of the state congress’s energy is spent on redistricting. In fact, two of the last four censuses, Supreme Court has had to step in to break a deadlock. In 1970, Ronald Reagan, a Republican, vetoed all together the Democratic redistricting plan. The Supreme Court had to step in and created its own plans for California to follow. Then in 1981, Democrats proposed redistricting as well as congressional delegation redistricting. The Republicans stopped this by adding referendums to the state ballot. Because it was too close to elections though, Supreme Court overturned these referendums in 1982. In 1984, they officially passed the new redistricting plan which was very similar to the original plans. In 1990, Governor Pete Wilson, a Republican, could not agree with a predominantly Democratic state legislature. The United States Supreme Court again had to step in and make independent plans. They created a system that moved two assembly districts into each senate district, otherwise known as a â€Å"nested† system.