Anthem by Ayn Rand Essay

The book Anthem by Ayn Rand expresses the true meaning of the word â€Å"ego.† The definition says its meaning but the story itself shows it with actions. Ego means the self aspect of an individual that thinks, forms values, and makes judgments. In Anthem it refers to the need individuals have to be liberated from collectivism, free to use their own minds and express individual uniqueness. This word has a lot to do with the book and the purpose of the story. It recounts to it in many ways, since this is the story’s main focus. Ego relates to the book Anthem because it is the theme, and is the lesson we readers learn from it. Equality the main character of Anthem is our guided road to egoism. He is the one that leads the readers to understand the reasons his society is in need of ego. He goes after the solutions and takes dangerous risks as well. The world in which they live is so miserable, they are basically treated like robots. Equality felt like he needed to do something about it, that he needed to recover the ego that got lost in the web of dystopian inhumanities. There is where we see the relation between â€Å"ego† and the book. The whole reason why there is a problem in the story is because everyone is lacking of THE EGO that life grants each human being. As it states on page 46, â€Å"There is fear hanging in the air of the sleeping halls, and in the air of the streets. Fear walks through the City, fear without name, without shape. All men feel it and none dare to speak it.† Meaning these men are scared of their society which is why they don’t stand up for themselves and they feel fear. It all happens because they don’t have their own ego. At the end when Equality discovers what had been hidden for many years. He starts to live life the way it should had always been, that is when he finds egoism. We now see how ego turns to be the theme of Anthem. This book shows us how a different lifestyle/society can completely restrict us from the life humans are meant to have. That is the lesson I take away from this story. Ego is truly important in life and that is what Equality teaches us. He does so by showing how great his life can be when there is objectivism. He lives in the mountains in a two stories house by himself with the exception of Gaea. That is a big step towards the Unmentionable times and a better life for Equality and the ones that surround him. As it states on pages 99-100, â€Å"I shall live here, in my own house. I shall take my food from the earth by the toil of my own hands. I shall learn many secrets from my books. Through the years ahead, I shall rebuild the achievements of the past, and open the way to carry them further; the achievements which are open to me but closed forever to my brothers, for their minds are shackled to the weakest and dullest ones among them.† Asserting us he will make good use of his ego. Overall the word ego ties in very well with the book and the story’s purpose. This word is the motor that carries on the book. It is also the teaching that readers obtain. â€Å"Ego† is the best good word to represent all the barbarities that are now long gone and banned from Equality’s life. It was known as â€Å"the unspeakable word† and it turn into the salvation word. Ego relates to the book Anthem because it is the theme, and is the lesson we readers learn from it. â€Å"The word which can never die on this earth, for it is the heart of it and the meaning and the glory. The sacred word: EGO†

Colors in the Caves Narrative Essay

It was Spring Break of 2010, the already steamy, hot temperatures of the Southern air rising despite the full blast of the air conditioning blowing through my hair as we drive through the seemingly never-ending desert of Arizona. My family, consisting of four, is headed toward Picacho Peak to take on the strenuous 6. 2-mile hike along the Sunset Vista Trail. We pull up to the Sunset Vista Trail Head parking area, our medium-sized Camelbaks having already been packed somewhere along the 1,060 miles of flat, boring road, we start up the trail with the sun beating down our backs.Automatically, I fall in step with my long-legged brother while my sister gratefully stays behind with our mother, adopting a preferred slow, steady pace. The sun is bright, the jagged rocks and occasional stream receiving its pale, yet blinding reflection. My brother and I make a good team; he supplies the food while I supply the water, all the while sharing laughs and memories, memories that I will later on th ink to be my last.After a couple hours, the scalding sun is taking on its inevitable journey toward the western horizon, being replaced with the cool breeze of the moon. My brother and I decide to take a refueling break on two enormous rocks after four hours of walking in the moonlight. â€Å"Here, take my Camelbak,† I say, â€Å"I’m going to the bathroom. † I take my flashlight as I walk off the trail for two minutes, keeping track of the monotonous rocks and brush I pass by. When I am finished, I start to head back towards our temporary resting place.Passing the familiar rocks, I crouch down to inspect with my LED flashlight a peculiar zigzag shape on the ground. Tracing my finger along the sharp edges of the shape, I realize it’s a narrow fracture in the ground, leading to a larger web of intricate fractures that rest just under my feet. Just then I hear a whisper of rushing water. Before I have time to react to the sudden realization that the ground c ould collapse from under my feet, I fall through the Earth. The fall seems endless though it may have taken no more than two seconds.I land with an echoing crash as my body penetrates through hot water. My body is violently thrown to the side with the sharp current and I am struggling to reach the surface. I reach out, my hands sliding on the slick floor as my body is carried by the flow of the hot spring. My wrist catches on a column jutting up on the floor of the cave. I wrap both arms around it to haul myself up. I cough to catch my breath, throat burning. The flashlight is still on. I wave the blue light around the darkness.The blue light winks as I shine it on my surroundings, the battery will die soon. I spot a tunnel not far off to the right. It must go somewhere, I thought. I can see a clear enough path towards it, so I reluctantly click off the safety of the blue light. I am instantly swallowed by darkness as I crawl my way towards the tunnel. Black, black, black is all I s ee. Without my vision, I have to be careful of where I move. The blue luminosity from the flashlight leaves me with the hesitant desire to not be wasteful.How many hours has it been? No food, no water. The sun should surely be up soon. Just as the thoughts have formed I see a faint light up ahead. The yellow glimmer of the sun’s rays gives me the hope I so crave. The light is still nowhere near enough to be able to see anything. The overwhelming pitch-blackness, the winking blue of the LED flashlight, and the steady growing yellow shine of the sun is all I see in my slow, crawling trek along the cave’s floor.With my cautious travel, thriftiness, and hopeful thoughts, the growing light is suddenly all around me. I am squinting as I collapse to the ground. Almost immediately I am pulled up from under my shoulders, faint cries of relief and concern swarm through my ears, but with the overbearing silence and lack of energy, I cannot make out the words. All I see is brightn ess, as the hope I so desperately clung to is turned into overwhelming relief and happiness as survival is achieved. That’s when I black out.More brightness, a different kind of light. Not the hopeful yellow of the sun shining through the rocks, but of a white fluorescent one. I am in a hospital. My family is suddenly all around me, throwing hugs and kisses and joy. A nurse comes in with a doctor, they give my family time to pull themselves together. I can hear the nurse speaking to the doctor, â€Å"How could she possibly have made it through those awful caves? † The doctor responds to her, flashing me a knowing smile, â€Å"Colors go a long way in finding our inner character†.

Write an theoretical analysis on your Diagnostic essay using your

Write an theoretical analysis on your Diagnostic using your summary on Ways of Reading - Essay Example One of the important lessons that I acquired in the process of reading is that it is generally an active process (Bartholomae and Anthony 24). Reading usually entails the search of information by way of communication with the author. The book provides valuable tips and strategies that can help students struggling with English on ways of improving their reading and writing skills. As an active process good reading practices demands that students attempt to get deeper into the thinking of the author by responding to some of the claims made in the book or providing their feelings on the same. Such a way of reading is important in the sense that it helps the student to understand the deeper meanings of the text. The method also helps the students acquire new vocabularies and ideas in ways that are easy to recall. Another important benefit of applying the strategy of active reading is that the student manages to improve his writing skills by observing the new ways and creative manner in which the author develops his writing skills. After reading different books, I have learnt to identify the beauty of words by observing the creative ways in which they have been used. I now know that both reading and writing are arts that can be acquired, developed or lost depending on the way in which students engage in them. Before I read Ways of Reading, I had many problems with grammar and sentence structures. I used to write very long sentences that had a lot of grammatical and punctuation mistakes. After reading the book, I have learnt to observe the rules of sentences and punctuation in different texts, which have helped me to sharpen my own skills in the process. Another important point that is made in the book is that good writers are always good readers. It is not easy for a person to develop good writing skills if he or she does not enjoy reading. The way of reading must be involving on the part of the

A Student of the International Foundation Course Essay - 2

A Student of the International Foundation Course - Essay Example What was even more disturbing was that students who copied the module from the book got a percentage as high as seventy. The aim of preparing a portfolio is to provide a framework for independent work especially as now there is reduced class contact time. Students are grouped according to their ability and hence such a portfolio enables a student to understand his own level. Besides, what I understand is that preparing such a module empowers a student to have control over his learning. It may also demonstrate the employability skills in undergraduates. If these be the aims of an independent learning portfolio, how is it justified that a student who worked independently to prepare the portfolio is granted just a pass percentage while others who copied it from the book, receive over seventy percent? The very purpose is defeated as the marks are not fairly awarded. Besides, most students keep away from such lessons. I feel this should be discontinued from the next session as it really d oes not benefit anyone. In another module, we had to write an essay on fast food. This is something interesting and I enjoyed working on it. We were required to write more than 500 words and I was excited as I scored the highest in the group which was 63%. I like writing and I truly look forward to this module although I must admit I do not like to work on projects. I have also been wondering whether I liked the essay writing because I scored the highest and dislike the independent learning portfolio because I just managed a forty percent. Deep introspection revealed that it is, in fact, the other way round. I got good scores in essay writing because I love writing and I can put my heart into it. When we like something, we enjoy doing it and put our best efforts into it. Maybe my mind did not accept the idea of preparing an independent portfolio as I found no benefits out of it.  Reflection has now made me understand and accept that preparing the Independent learning portfolio was not a useless exercise a fter all. I thought I knew how to prepare it and perhaps complacency set in. I realize that if we do something without interest and involvement, we certainly find it boring.  

Management research assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management research assignment - Essay Example The main objective of this paper according to the writers is to analyze various dimensions of educational validity of business gaming simulation that would be possible through the proposed research methodology framework. Thus the beginning part of the paper, specifically the abstract and introduction clearly indicates the background of the study they conducted. Research methodology is described, which as mentioned above is unique for its approach. According to Stainton, Johnson & Borodzicz (2010 p. 705), as a research method, they have relied on the ‘total enterprise simulation’. They further make clear that unlike the past, an effective research methodology is essential to analyze the business gaming simulation because the assessment of validity is an ongoing process; and therefore, it has to be viewed from an educational perspective. Researchers make a detailed review of available literature to form rather an authentic conclusion. According to them, design, implementat ion, and validity are the two most significant aspects associated with this research framework. Furthermore, the facilitator plays a crucial role in assisting learners to determine what to view, reflect, and learn. As far as the design is concerned, the factors associated with it involve, designer’s ability and perception, the significance of maintaining the sensible aspects of simulation etc. For instance, exaggeration or generalization of the difficulties of the real facts may occur if the designers’ perceptions flaw. Hence, according to the researchers, design plays a very important role in determining the quality of business gaming simulation. They further attribute the success of the implementation phase to the ‘learning by doing’ strategy which is based on the real life examples and problem solving. According to the writers, by following this method, with the help of a facilitator who would give training and motivation students will learn how to assi milate experiences with the given problem and their acquired knowledge. Thus, the writers come up with a more reasonable strategy for the effective implementation of a simulation. In order for answering the absence of an appropriate strategy for validating simulation, the researchers propose their own methodology that spreads across every phase of its process including design, implementation, and validation. According to them, education validity should involve the ‘internal educational validity, external educational validity, and external representational validity’ (Stainton, Johnson, and Borodzicz, 2010, p. 710). In order to understand these variables one should go through their concept of each form of validity. As they describe, internal education validity refers to participants’ understanding of their business outcome; whereas, external educational validity indicates participants’ ability to assimilate the real life experience with the simulation. And t hirdly, representational validity is evident if the simulation alters the participants’ attitude. In other words, these theoretical explanations refer to three things; 1) convince the participants of their business environment and roles (internal educational validity), 2) makes them understand how to relate the real life environment and simulation (external educational validity), and 3) makes participants able cope up with the real environment (representational v

Incarceration Rates in Juvenile Offenders Essay

Incarceration Rates in Juvenile Offenders - Essay Example are all strongly linked to the drug business. The Juvenile Justice System is the legal system responsible for looking after cases involving the minors. The system came into being in 1899 in the US policy so that the young people can understand the effects of their actions, and comprehend the irreversible reality of committing a criminal act. The other reason that the Juvenile Justice System was formed was because of the peril youth faced in the adult prison. Young offenders were at a great risk of being molested at the hands of adult criminals and committing suicide. Those children who end up in adult institutions, however, have it worst of all. Children in any adult institution are more vulnerable and more likely to be exploited as the Amnesty report says that they are eight times more likely to commit suicide, five times more likely to be raped, and thrice more likely to be crushed by workers than are kids in juvenile confinements. (Amnesty, 1998) America's juvenile justice system is there to keep its nationals safe and guiding delinquent youth on the right track. Fulfilling these two major responsibilities has put the policymakers and public in general, in a tight spot; as in which of the two aims should receive the most weightage, and thus, funding. (Juvenile Justice) In a stark contrast to the bas... (Mears 2006).The 1990s saw legislatures across the country enact laws under which an increasing number of delinquents could be tried in criminal courts and sent to prison. In almost every state of the US, youths aged 13 or 14 (or less) can be prosecuted and punished as adults for a broad range of offenses, even including nonviolent crimes. Even within the juvenile system, punishments have grown progressively crueler. Amnesty's findings say that there are 200,000 children per year are prosecuted in general criminal courts, and approximately 7,000 of those children locked up in jails before trial. Over 11,000 delinquents are presently being imprisoned in adult correctional facilities (Amnesty International 1998). State Level Variation Though an exponential increase in juvenile incarcerations, little thought has been given to the inter-state variations. According to Mears in his Prison Journal (2006) these are four possible reasons: First, expenditure in juvenile incarceration would be greater where symbolic intimidations to social order are pretty high. Second, it would be more in those states where crime rate, especially juvenile violent crime, is high. Third, juvenile incarceration would imitate those deemed appropriate for adult offenders; so the states with higher adult incarceration rates may incarcerate more juveniles. Finally, if the juvenile incarcerations are culturally accepted then it would lead to higher rates of juvenile incarceration. Public Opinion Matters This trend can be attributed to the public concern about the threat of youth after highly publicized crimes such as school shootings etc. But the fact is that the assorted opinion surveys which have

What is the role of women in Things Fall Apart How does Achebe present Essay

What is the role of women in Things Fall Apart How does Achebe present them As subservient As dynamic members of the society - Essay Example managed to get the novel to depict women in a subservient condition as they, along with certain lbo castaway members, readily submit themselves to new religion. Women particularly give in to male orders without question. Such act implies anxiety towards the possible consequence or fate of disobedience instead of a gradual process in which a woman in this case may otherwise find confidence and time to think through better alternatives. Considering the dynamic part which women play in this type of society, diversity in role is spread throughout the novel. As priestesses, of the lbo village, women perform a traditional duty of spiritual leadership. With this role, women like Chika are largely feared (17), having the status believed to have attained the power of her god while the Agbala priestess would never hold back her firm command to Okonkwo. Being able to threaten the tribal chieftain indicates the woman’s portrayal of a figure who has constantly been revered by her subjects. Earth goddess Ani further shows the aspect of power in a significant role of woman as a supreme authority set to rule with judgment of conduct and morality of human deeds. Her power is even magnified through the attitude of the inhabitants who pay tribute by observing the Week of Peace before harvesting their crops believing that the goddess is able to prosper the farms with abundance and good growth (30). Moreover, the sense of connection to nature signifies the woman’s continuous communication of her responsibility such as the mother’s attachment to her child. This role strength is made emphatic when Okonkwo seeks refuge to his mother’s village in the time of great distress during exile (134). Here, the faith is established in the value that women can be much relied upon when desperate or unfortunate situations come. â€Å"The women [who] weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yam, neither early or late (33).† The line suggests that women may be found

Microeconomic Issue of Social Importance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Microeconomic Issue of Social Importance - Essay Example On the other hand, the suggestion too from the literature is that cigarettes are addictive, and so the demand may in fact be somewhat inelastic. This means that it may be that driving up prices through taxation may not curb consumption as the authorities hope. Some studies suggest this somewhat, even as those studies also suggest that demand is elastic for young smokers, new smokers, and those who have low income. In the long run, therefore, as the population turns over, demand should go down due to taxation leading to higher cigarette prices. The issue at hand is the determination of exactly how cigarette taxation impacts demand, such as in terms of the demographic characteristics of the market response to the taxation and other related aspects of demand. In general, in terms of supply and demand, we see from recent data and from insights from the literature that taxation has a large dampening effect on overall demand for cigarettes (Chaloupka;; Meier and Licari; Wasserman et al.). The overall take from the academic literature is that taxation does curb consumption. Moreover, the higher the price increases resulting from higher taxes, the greater the reductions in demand and consumption. Other insights include that demand is more sensitive to price reductions rather than price increases. This means that reducing taxes can increase demand by a greater amount. This is in comparison to the reduction in demand from the same level of tax reductions. To illustrate, say taxes go down by 10 percent, and demand goes up by say 20 percent. Going the other way, if taxes go up by 10 percent, the demand does not go down by 20 percent, but just by half, at 10 percent for cigarettes. These and other insights are useful in understanding the microeconomic aspects of the impacts of taxation on cigarette consumption and economics. The rest of the paper explores these impacts more closely (Sylvain; Bader et al.). Data from 2012 strongly supports the

Philips Electronics Singapore Essay Example for Free

Philips Electronics Singapore Essay Manufacturing of common everyday utilities that span from household appliances, business equipment, and industry machineries require massive labor force that may span from a few hundreds to several thousands. This type of organization would typically have a wide operational staff base as there is the need to deal with production of goods. This is followed by different management levels and the top management whose functions vary from one another. A very important aspect in the landscape of organizations, to which manufacturing is not an exemption, is motivation as it has a direct impact on the organizational and individual effectiveness. Motivation in work, according to Muchinsky (2006), is in reference of the use of the different motivational strategies in the workplace. Furthermore, the same author, in the discussion of work motivation, included the following statement: Work motivation is a set of energetic forces that originate both within as well as beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behavior, and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration. (Pinder as cited in Muchinsky, 2006, p. 381). Motivation inside the workplace is said to take on different forms and strategies that are identified based on the management style, needs of the organization, characteristics of the employees, and the nature of the organization. The definition mentioned above places a wide scope that reaches all sectors and all levels in the work industry and likewise places emphasis on the fact that this is geared towards the goal of improving the productivity of the employee, which is a view espoused by the Scientific Management (Kelly-Heidenthal, 2002). On the other hand, with the introduction of the Human Relations perspective, work motivation shared a slightly different view from that of the Scientific Management era where the focus is now placed on the employee and their individual needs (Kelly-Heidenthal, 2002). The Human Relations perspective, the forerunner of which is Elton Mayo with his Hawthorne study, places a new element which is job satisfaction as â€Å"a major determinant of productivity or performance† (Hoque, 2006, p. 20). The component of job satisfaction, being an important aspect in productivity and performance, is a major consideration in the motivation strategies (Doran, 2003). New trends in motivation have led managers to continually seek for creative ways to motivate their subordinates according to their needs. These new trends are composed of a mix of the older theories that continually evolve to suit the emerging needs and new trends in the field today. Background of the Organization The Organization  In the year 1951, Royal Philips Electronics, which was established in Eindhoven, the Netherlands in the year 1891, decided to give birth to Philips Electronics Singapore by setting up one of their branches in the said country (â€Å"Philips in Singapore,† n. d. ). The company served as one of the â€Å"pioneer investors in Singapore and has been in the country for 56 years† and it received its status of an Operational Headquarters 38 years after its inception (â€Å"Philips in Singapore,† n. d. ). The organization has received several awards that are indicative of their outstanding performance as recognized by different sectors. The organization received three awards from the Singaporean government namely the Distinguished Partner in Progress Award in 1992, Singapore Quality Award for its Philips Tuner Factory in 1998, and Singapore Quality Award for the Domestic Appliances and Personal Care Factory in 2000 (â€Å"Philips in Singapore,† n. d. ). Likewise, the company was able to earn the Singapore Innovation Award for its Video and Multimedia Applications division in 2006. In the same year, the Domestic Appliances and Personal Care Factory became a finalist in the Manufacturing Excellence Award and received the Singapore Advantage Award for the said event (â€Å"Philips in Sinapore,† n. d. ). Their sterling record with regard to the field of human resources development is, likewise, recognized by the National Trades Union Congress and they were given the May Day Plaque of Commendation – Gold Award in the year 1995 (â€Å"Philips in Singapore,† n. d. ). In consonance with the award given by the National Trades Union Congress, Philips continues to wield its way into becoming the preferred employer, according to the Ministry of Manpower (2007). The company does this by fostering an environment that leads to an organizational culture where people are oriented towards their performance, provision of incentives driven by market, and a holistic approach with their theme of â€Å"think total rewards† (Ministry of Manpower, 2007). The 4 Value Statements The said company espouses 4 values that they carry with their mission and vision. These values are to delight the customer, deliver on commitment, develop our people, and depend on each other. As can be discerned from the values mentioned above, they are after the welfare of the stakeholders they feel accountable to and thus, adhere to a holistic approach to their endeavors. Likewise, this confirms their â€Å"think total rewards† statement where they show that they are a company that is meant to address the concerns of the different sectors that they continuously interact with. Organizational values are considered as the â€Å"values that are shared to some extent across a firm† (Gillilan et al. , 2003, p. 6). Organizational values are at times equated to two things: a) the culture of the organization and b) the values that the top management holds (Gillilan et al. , 2003). For Philips, their values are carried by almost everyone in the company as they carry out their responsibilities and serves as their guiding principle, which extends to the organizational culture. It should be noted that organizational culture defines how the members of the organization do things or accomplish their tasks (Muchinsky, 2006). The Activity Groups The company has four main activity groups namely the Philips Innovation Campus, the Regional Competence Centers, the Sales Organization, and the Industrial Operations and Support (â€Å"Philips in Singapore,† n. d. ). These activity centers serve as the gateway for learning, training, support, and production for the company to ensure that it goes well with its operations. The Products  It concentrates on electronic consumer products that include home entertainment system components, personal computer products, communication gadgets, household appliances, accessories, lighting, and a few professional products and services (â€Å"Philips,† n. d. ). The list of professional products and services cater to the medical sector, businesses with special needs, and lighting (â€Å"Philips,† n. d. ). The presence of the brand has enabled it to establish its reputation as a maker of electronic goods and continues to be such after more than a hundred years since it was first created, which as in 1891 (â€Å"Philips in Sinpapore,† n. . ). The stability of the company is attributed to the fact that they have scattered their specialties into different fields and this diversity provides a stable support for its overall structure. The Challenges The company faces several challenges which stem from internal and external sources. First, there is a need to make sure that they always have their best foot forward with regard to their Human Resources policies while looking into its impact for the concerned stakeholders. With the previously mentioned desire of the company to become the first in terms of employee preference, they always keep abreast of the trends and issues that the field is facing. Their HR department needs to identify these issues, the impact to the employees, and measures to mitigate the effects. Some of these global issues include cultural diversity and negative work behaviors that sometimes lead to disruption in the workplace. Second, the company, despite their efforts to foster a healthy and fair working environment, also has to deal with employee turnover. According to Mathis and Jackson (2006), turnover is the â€Å"process in which employees leave an organization and have to be replaced† (p. 73). Employee turnover is inevitable to an organization as the present generation of workers, the Generation X, considers job-hopping as â€Å"essential for advancement† (Lovely et al. , 2007, p. 52). Likewise the Millenials group, the phenomenon is predicted to become ordinary for them (Lovely et al. , 2007). Since job-hopping can not be prevented as it has become a characteristic of the organization, the need for programs and policies that enhance employee retention is greater for the organization’s HR department. With the nature of the organization where they are in need of the talents, as well as the manpower, they should be able to retain the best of the best as the competition and the need to stay updated among the current trends in the technology would mean that they have to keep the greatest minds and the most efficient and skilled workers they have. For example, an employee working on the technical department such as an engineer who becomes their asset would be a big loss for them if he/she decides to move on to other careers and other organizations. This turnover of employees would also mean a turnover of skills, knowledge, and abilities from their organization to another. Likewise, the cost for employee turnover, according to a survey of employers, 45% of them reported that they incur a cost of more than $10,000 for every employee who leaves the company because of this phenomenon (Mathis Jackson, 2006). The cost for Philips Electronics Singapore would vary certainly depending on the value of the person to the organization and the amount they spent to invest in the employee’s skills and training. Likewise, the disruption of work operations and the need for the remaining workers to take on increasing volumes of work also poses certain costs for the company (Locke, 2000). The said problem of turnover is to be addressed through the assessment of employee motivation (Orlikowski, et al. , 1996). The interlocking relationship between job motivation, job satisfaction, and employee retention is at the forefront of the HR concerns of Philips Electronics Singapore due to their nature and the competitive industry they are in. The Nature of the Electronics Industry The Singaporean economy is a very dynamic economy buzzing with life and competition stays firm for the few multinational companies who sell and produce electronic goods. There is a wide product base in the said industry of the country that includes from the smallest computer chip to automated industry machineries. The different companies in the electronic industry of Singapore account for one third of the entire manufacturing sector of the country and utilizes 25% or a quarter of the labor force to continually produce the goods being demanded in the local and international market (â€Å"Electronics,† n. d. ). The massive output of the industry enables it to have a fair competition in catering to the needs of a greater population. They are not restricted to one sector or one locale but is rather responding to global demands that even reach outside countries and this makes creating demand easier. Likewise, the general reach of the products has created a ready market for the producers and the only thing they have to deal with is the brand preference that the customers have with respect to a number of considerations that include quality and affordability. In addition to this, the industry also has the responsibility of taking their products to greater heights with the purpose of making life easier for their clients. Modern technologies incessantly come into existence through laborious research and development. The electronics industry of the country relies on the new breakthroughs they meet through their research facilities for them to provide innovative solutions to different needs of the society. According to the Economic Development Board chairman Lim Siong Guan, â€Å"given the cost factors in Singapore, we’re going for capital-intensive, knowledge-intensive, innovation-intensive activities† (as cited in â€Å"Singapore – Base for Complex Manufacturing,† n. d. ). The statement of the EDB chairman and the focus on innovation emphasized by Philips Singapore runs parallel with one another.

A Hugo Boss Essay Example for Free

A Hugo Boss Essay The print advertisement that I chose for this paper, is a Hugo Boss advertisement for the sale of its men’s perfume line particularly the men’s gift set. Hugo Boss is a company that was started in Metzingen Germany and was founded by Hugo Ferdinand Boss after whom the brand was named. Hugo Boss is known for specializing in high-end menswear apparel, and has expanded like most other brands to include shoes, accessories and fragrances. I chose this particular print advertisement because after viewing several other print advertisements, this one attracted my attention the most. I was drawn to it because it was colorful and had many images that not only caught my eye, but also seemed to be very dynamic and at the same time able to catch my attention. When you first look at the advertisement, the images seem to jump from the page; at first, it actually looks like a messy piece of artwork or a picture that someone doodled on while they were bored. But when you take a closer look at the advertisement and dissect its different components, the underlying message that it gives to its viewers is actually very interesting and quite alluring. The advertisement is composed of three main images, a young man, standing with his finger to his lips, a Hugo boss perfume bottle with images coming out from the lip of the bottle and at the bottom of the advertisement an image of a sample Hugo Boss Men’s Gift Set. Aside from the images, there are printed words, one is a stamped text of â€Å"HUGO† the perfumes brand and the other is the tagline, which says,   â€Å"it’s just a fragrance. The rest is up to you.† I think that this particular print advertisement appeals to a young market. You have only to look at the images used and the words uttered to see that this is geared towards a younger age group. This particular advertisement targets both men and women ages twenty five to thirty five years old, who are young and excited because they are either just beginning their lives or beginning to rise up in their respective endeavors. I say this because of the composition of the print advertisement. First of all, the man used for the advertisement is a man who looks like he is in his mid to late twenties. Admittedly, when advertisers portray their products they get models that will most appeal to the age group they are targeting and usually they get their models from that precise group. The appearance of the man in the advertisement evokes a feeling of casualness that makes you think of fresh graduates, young, hot and out to get the world. This assessment is based not only on the male image model but the images that can be found beside him, which is the Hugo Boss perfume bottle that seems to be overflowing with other images. The images that are coming out of the bottle make me think of the circus coming into town. I am not sure why that particular image popped into my head, but I suppose it is because as a child, the circus represented a child’s dreams in life and this particular advertisement seems to sell that very image to the public. The bottle spewing these images reminds me of the time when the circus would come into town and as the main tent would unfold you would suddenly see a swarm of animals, animal trainers and performers going about. These animals, animal trainers and performers at first seem to have no direction, but as the unfolding of the main tent continues you begin to realize that they all have a purpose and they are not just randomly moving about. This is what seems to be happening with the Boss advertisement. Upon first glance, the image seems not to make any sense but if you take the time to look at it, the images coming out of the bottle are actually images that correspond to the different aspects of a person’s life. Among the images that can be seen are buildings, people, apartments, and a vinyl record among others. These images as I earlier mentioned correspond to the different parts of a person’s life. How is this you might ask? The answer is actually very simple. If you take a look at all of the images that are placed in the advertisement, you see that the buildings could correspond to the business aspect of a person’s life, their careers or work, while the throngs of people could be interpreted as those people that they interact with every day at work, or out on the streets or even while on a gimmick or night out with friends. In addition to these images, what strengthens my belief that this advertisement was made to target a young group is the tagline that the advertisers used. It’s simple, witty and straight to the point, â€Å"it’s just a perfume. The rest is up to you.† I love that the company used this tagline because it makes you think that anything is within your reach. I feel like the advertisement is telling me that all you need is Hugo Boss, a spray of this is like putting one foot in the door and the rest to quote the advertisement â€Å"is up to you.† The purpose of the advertisers in using this particular tagline in my opinion is to give that ego boost that men and women generally need in order to keep moving forward. We all should be honest enough to admit that we do not want change if we are not sure that we are headed in the right direction. Very few people are actually willing to take uncalculated risks when it comes to their future. This advertisement makes you feel that if you use the product advertised, all the confidence that you need in order to do the things that you want to do will magically appear. It makes you feel that one whiff of this and things will go your way. Your work life will improve because your presence seems to be more pleasing, and this may give you that opportunity to make that sales pitch that you need, or get on the good side of your boss who you have been dying to corner in order to give your ideas on the latest project that you are working on. What is so great about this advertisement is that in spite of the fact that it is actually geared more towards men, the advertisers have found a way of drawing in the women as well. If you think about it, although men are obviously being targeted, not all men will purchase this scent for themselves. This advertisement and its packaging is also perfect for the woman in a man’s life. This advertisement is like candy to a baby. Although women generally know what to give their man, this particular advertisement is something that will attract women who have given the men in their lives practically everything.

An Evaluation Of Mergers And Acquisitions Management Essay

An Evaluation Of Mergers And Acquisitions Management Essay In the modern world, most of the companies try to merge their company with another company. There are some advantages and disadvantages in merging. The main advantages are reputation, brand image can be increase through the merging. The industry will become simple through merging and this is the competitive advantage, Alcatel Lucent Company can gain from the merging. The main disadvantage in merging is cross culture conflicts and this case study is about Alcatel Lucent merger. Alcatel Lucent is one of the leading companies in mobile, fixed, Optics technologies and a pioneer in applications and services (Alcatel Lucent, 2011). According to the merging procedure, Alcatel Lucent merger faced cross culture conflicts from France and U.S. Still, the company tries to control the culture conflicts in the organization. This report mainly describes the conditions and negotiation factors, industry changes after merger and the international challenges of Alcatel Lucent. 1. The conditions and negotiation factors pushed forth the merger in 2006 that were not present in 2001 According to the case, in 2006 both companies come up with new conditions and negotiation factors. Mainly, France shareholders, they gave their approval to merge Alcatel company and Lucent company. Alcatels chief executive Mr. Techuruk encouraged 1500 shareholders in Paris by mentioning Alcatel Lucent is truly global and has no equivalent today and wont in future. He also agreed to pay 10.6 billion euro for Lucent company to merge Alcatel and Lucent companies as Alcatel Lucent. The stock swap was valued at one Alcatel American depository share for every five Lucent shares. Both companies agreed to publish English as the official language of the Alcatel Lucent. After considering above conditions and factors, both company shareholders gave their approval to merge Alcatel Lucent as one company. They also decided to deal with both pre-merger and post-merger integration issues such as salaries, benefits, designations and other structural maters by holding a series of meetings between the top HR executives at the two companies. 2. merged company A merged company which means the combination of two companies where one corporation is completely absorbed by another corporation. After the merging procedure, both companies have to do business as one company. As a result of that, they should invent new identities for the company. They couldnt use their separate identities for the business. Any company, they couldnt merge with another company without the approval of shareholders. Negotiation also very important for merged companies. Negotiation is the process of discussion by which two or more parties aim to reach a mutually acceptable agreement (Strategic International Management, 2011). There are five stages included in the negotiation process. Those stages are preparation, relationship building, exchanging task related information, persuasion and concessions and agreement. Mainly, any organization, they wants to follow this negotiation process when they planning to merge their company with another company. Alcatel is a company which produce the communication equipments for their customers and Lucent company, they provides telecommunication services to their customers. After merging these two companies, their industries become simple. As Alcatel Lucent, they did their sales of $25 billion. They also produced many telecommunication products such as wireless equipments, wire line equipments, wireless infrastructures, internet routers, equipment for carrying calls over the internet, etc. The negative side of the industry is company loss $7 billion since the merger. In addition to that, Alcatel Lucent around 16500 jobs since merger. As the advantages of the industry, for the fourth quarter 2006, the company posts adjusted pro-forma revenues of Euro 4,421 million and operating profits of Euro 21 million. The company reported Euro 18,254 million adjusted pro-forma and operation profit of Euro 1,025 million for the full year 2006. On 31st December 2006, their total cash and marketable securiti es was Euro 6.7 billion leaving a net cash position of Euro 508 million. 3. Evaluation of the comment that the merger is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a giant transatlantic experiment in multicultural diversity.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  When Lucents merger with Frances Alcatel, Russo became CEO of the combined Company and Tchuruk became chairman. According to the American culture terms, that means Russo runs the company. But, in the French culture terms, the chairman is the boss. In addition to that, Americans and French have very different ideas about what to do when a company is in crisis. The American preference is to right-size the business, a euphemism for cutting jobs and lowering costs. In French, their preference is to protect the jobs by looking for assistance from a friendly government. According to the above situation, Alcatel Lucent have to face difficulties because the two nationalities are trying to protect the jobs of their compatriots. Mainly, the French and the Americans have different business cultures. Their business patterns are completely different. In Alcatel Lucent, both American and French cultures affect for the decision making process in the company. Alcatel Lucent have to find a solution t o solve the culture conflicts in the organization. According to the case, there is an evidence that the company has run into cross-cultural problems since the merger took place in 2006. The evidence is, in July 2008, the Alcatel Lucent CEO Patricia Russo resigned by mentioning she cant work with her fellow board member Serge Tchuruk. As a result of that, Mr. Serge Tchuruk also resigned from his job. Mainly, these cross cultural problems occurred because the overall leadership of the company had been handed to the target company. 4. The international challenges that Alcatel-Lucent faces as it moves forward as a combined company Low cost competition from new Chinese rivals There are many Chinese competitors in the industry. Those competitors mainly affects the Alcatel Lucents business. In China, their labour cost is very low comparing to the France or USA. As a result of that, the product cost in china is very low and it affects with the Alcatel Lucents product price. Most of the customers, they always try to buy cheap products from the market. Alcatel Lucent company, still they couldnt earn enough profit from their industry. They do their business as low profit, low growth company. For example, Alcatel Lucents main Chinese competitors are ZTE and Huawei. Their cost structures are more favorable than Alcatel Lucent Company. Technology changes Technology changes also very important for Alcatel Lucent Company. The technology is always getting improving. As a result of that, many companies tries to add new features to their equipments. As an international company, Alcatel Lucent also wants to consider these technological changes when they do their production process. Sometimes, Alcatel Lucent company have to spend more money to get latest technology for their products. Alcatel Lucent is the only Western Company to offer or develop products for all wireless technologies (GSM, UMTS/HSPA, LTE, CDMA2000, WiMAX). Transformation to digital economies On 7th of September in 2007, Alcatel Lucent and Nextgen Networks started their broadband business in Australia. Nextgen Networks owns and operates Australias third fibre network. This is the first Australian and Asia Pacific first with the delivery of traffic 100 gigabits speed. When Alcatel Lucent entering to the digital economies such as Australia, the company have to transfer of over 100,000 mp3 files in 60 seconds or the live streaming of over 15,000 HDTV channels parallel. Mainly, the company should improve their optical and IP technologies to do the above process successfully. Alcatel Lucent have to find some cost effective strategies when they do their fast broadband business in Australia. They also have to increase network capacity and manage quality of service to meet new customer demands in Australia. Rural Inclusion According to the rural inclusion, Alcatel Lucent Company have to expand their business all over the world. When they planning to start their business in a rural area, the company have to arrange the background to start business over there. Mainly, the company have to built partnership with local companies to create high added value services. The company also have to consider the local population in those areas when they start business internationally. Cross Culture Conflicts According to the case, there were some changes in management team and board of directors in Alcatel Lucent company. CEO, Pat Russo resigned from her job in July 2008. Non executive chairman, Serge Tchuruk also resigned from his job. Pat Russo clearly mentioned that she cannot work with Serge Tchuruk. At that time, there were many disagreements between Russo and Serge in the company. Still, both U.S and France cultures affects on Alcatel Lucents business. Alcatel Lucent as a multinational company, they have to start their business in various countries. Mainly, they have to make cultural changes inside the company according to the country to country. For example, If Alcatel Lucent starts their business in Dubai, they have to get new employees from Dubai and they have to design their marketing according to the culture of the country. 5. Conclusion After merging Alcatel and Lucent Companies, their industries become one industry. The Alcatel Lucent merger provides many equipment and telecommunication categories to the customers. The company invented many new equipments for the customers after merging. Before the merger, both Alcatel and Lucent companies, they did their business separately. As a France company, Alcatel had their own business culture and Lucent company had own business culture as U.S company. As a result of that, both U.S and France cultures affects on Alcatel Lucent merger. The merger has many problems under cross culture conflicts. The Company lose their previous CEO and Non executive chairman because of cross culture conflicts. These cultural conflicts mainly affects on Alcatel Lucents business. In Alcatel Lucent, they have a huge competition from China. Their main competitors are ZTE and Huawei. The product price of Alcatel Lucent is very higher comparing to the Chinese competitors. Mainly, Alcatel Lucent should have to implement new strategies to reduce the product cost. Most of the customers try to buy low cost products from Chinese Companies. As a result of that, Alcatel Lucent company will lose profits from their industry. In addition to that, the company also should have to consider technological changes, transformation to digital economies and rural inclusion when they do business internationally.

Talking to Ghosts :: Personal Narrative Psychology Essays

Talking to Ghosts During my research, I was reminded of an incident in my psychology class that led me to write about this topic. It was a Friday and I walked into my psychology class thinking we were going to prepare for our upcoming class, but I was all wrong. My professor walked in and claimed he had ESP, which is extrasensory perception. He said that he could read people’s minds and know what we were thinking. My teacher asked us to write anything simple on a piece of paper and fold the paper in half. My classmates wrote a message on the paper and handed the papers to him. One by one he read them and had most of my classmates, including me believing he could do that. To my surprise, what he said was completely false and he went on to say how there is no such thing as ESP and psychics because there were not any tests to prove that there were. By this time I was upset because I couldn’t argue my point and I knew other wise to his theory of there are no psychics and no ESP. If psychics were false and ESP was false than what could be said about a renowned psychic, Sylvia Browne and one of my best friends, who as of right now will be known as â€Å"Bob†. My friend â€Å"Bob† and I have known each other for a year now. I never truly found out about her special gift till we started talking and realized that we were exactly alike. See my friend told me that she can talk to ghosts and spirits. She has instances where she is not herself, but someone else from a different time and a different place. She, my friend, trusted me and knew I wouldn’t treat her like a crazy person who needed psychiatric help. Before I get to her story, I should probably explain the difference between ghosts and spirits and to do that I went to books I own by Sylvia Brown. In Sylvia’s book The Other Side and Back ghosts were explained as people who do not realize they are dead. Ghosts are earthbound because they either committed suicide, have regrets of their mistakes they made, feel the need to stay behind for loved ones or they just died so quickly that they have not realized the truth.

Invent Your Own Technology :: Writing Essays

Invent Your Own Technology When my grandmother used to tell me that I took everything for granted, I think that she was right but in an even bigger way than she could have imagined. This experiment could be compared to when we would lose our electricity as a result of a storm. While this loss really only lasted a couple of days, it seems like eternity when you are without such modern conveniences such as a refrigerator, a microwave, and even your blow-dryer. Sometimes, it is hard to really understand the connivance of something until you are left without it. This assignment was on my mind for days. As we were discussing what this project would entail, the wheels in my head started turning and even before leaving class that day, I had a good idea of what my utensil would be. However, the tricky part came when I had to find the material to write on. I want to begin with what I found to use as my utensil. Knowing that I had to give up my trusted PC, I began to think of ideas that would make a good substitute. To accomplish this, I looked to see what was done in the past. As Dennis Baron states, as far back as Plato and Socrates, there was no other way of recording thoughts, etc., than the memory. â€Å"†¦Writing itself was once an innovation strongly resisted by traditionalists because it was unnatural and untrustworthy. Plato was one leading thinker who spoke out strongly against writing, fearing it would weaken our memories† (Baron 39). To think that something that we do on a daily basis was at one point in time labeled controversial is hard to imagine. I could not envision what I would accomplish without the â€Å"innovation† that was writing. To think of writing as an innovation or technology is baffling to me, and to fear it, none the less is a concept that we today could not understand because of our dependence on the technology. However, I think that Plato and others of his time hold a strong argument that the loss of memory is an issue to consider. Think of the fact that in many cases, the purpose of writing is to preserver the memory, for example: note taking and writing in journals.

Primary Reasons of Poverty of the Philippines

Official poverty statistics in the Philippines are part of the System of Designated Statistics instituted and implemented by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) pursuant to Executive Order No. 352 signed on 01 July 1996. Based on policies approved by the NSCB, official poverty statistics consist of the food and poverty thresholds, the subsistence and poverty incidence, the income gap, the poverty gap, and the severity of poverty index. The estimates of subsistence and poverty incidence are expressed in terms of proportion of families and of the population.Prior to 2000, the income gap, poverty gap and the severity of poverty index as well as the annual food and poverty thresholds were not part of the official poverty statistics. Under NSCB Board Resolution No. 9 Series of 2000, these statistics were added to the official poverty statistics designated to the NSCB under E. O. 352. Moreover, prior to 2003, the official poverty statistics were being generated only at the n ational and regional levels with urban-rural disaggregation. In response to user need for provincial disaggregation of poverty statistics, NSCB Resolution No.  1 Series of 2003 was passed on 15 January 2003, approving a methodology for the compilation of official poverty statistics.This methodology underwent a series of discussions thru workshops, interagency meetings and users’ fora before it was approved by the NSCB. The initial efforts of the NSCB for the development of the methodology were undertaken in 1999 as part of the NSCB involvement in the â€Å"Development of an Integrated Poverty Monitoring and Indicator System Project†, a module of the UNDP-assisted project â€Å"Strengthening Institutional Mechanisms for the Convergence of Poverty Alleviation Efforts, Phase I†, which was implemented by NEDA.Except for the food and poverty thresholds that are estimated annually, the other official poverty statistics are estimated every three years after the resul ts of the Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES) of the National Statistics Office (NSO) have become available. The FIES is a nationwide survey of households undertaken to gather data on the income and expenditures of Filipino families.

Biography of a Successful Person.Docx Uploaded Successfully

Biography of a Successful Person Lai Chee-Ying, Jimmy (1948 – ) Jimmy Lai was born in Guangdong in 1948. He illegally immigrated to Hong Kong when he was 12. Jimmy found Giordano in 1975. In 1990, Jimmy established Next Media Ltd. Its Apple Daily and Next Weekly are two of the most popular newspapers and magazines nowadays in Hong Kong. Jimmy expanded his media business to Taiwan in 2001. He owns wealth over 3 billion HK dollars. Jimmy is a creative businessman. He demonstrated his innovative ideas no matter in garment or media industry. Garment Industry: GiordanoUnder the leading of Jimmy Lai, Giordano has become one of the leading clothing retailers in Hong Kong and owned over 200 stores since the beginning of 1990s. Jimmy brought a new practice to staff management on the retail business: outstanding sales would be rewarded for double salary. This policy was totally new to clothing retail industry at that time. Besides, Jimmy initiated the policy of â€Å"free to try and ch ange with requiring a reason† for Giordano. It gave great confidence to the customers and built a good brand image. Media Industry: Next Media Next Media Limited was found in 1990.What makes Jimmy Lai a creative businessman is that he has turned printed media into many innovative usages. Turning Newspaper to Direct Selling: AdMart AdMart was a Hong Kong online and phone retailer. Jimmy Lai used the enormous network and media coverage of his Apple Daily to turn a newspaper to a menu for direct selling. AdMart had been the hot topic in Hong Kong after few months it launched. Jimmy Lai’s creative business idea had fitted in many feature of the Hong Kong society at that period. First, it was in a downturn of economy, people were looking for economical alternatives other than traditional supermarkets.Second, the increasing unemployment provided sufficient manpower for the delivery service of AdMart. Third, Apple Daily was one of the biggest printed media in Hong Kong. AdMart enjoyed the best marketing advantage among all other retail competitors. The launch of AdMart had once been a great challenge to the top retailers in Hong Kong: Parknshop and Wellcome. Although AdMart was closed due to the certain scandals of quality of goods and price war, AdMart was still the first try to turn media business into direct selling business.Turning Newspaper to Television Another creative business idea comes from Jimmy Lai is the Apple Action News. It is a video service provided by Next Media Limited to report most of the news from Apple Daily. Jimmy Lai realizes that many people prefer videos more than words and they like exaggerated reporting method. He starts the Apple Action News to capture this segment. Through YouTube and smartphone applications, Apple Action News has become one of the most popular information or entertaining media for Hong Kong and Taiwan consumers.It has successfully turned printed media into to videos and boosted up the consumer awareness to both Apple Daily and Apple Action News. Turning Newspaper to Banners Jimmy Lai is good at marketing his brands. One of his most creative ideas to promote the brand of Apple Daily is to turn newspaper to banners. Apply Daily’s political status is against to the government. It always supports those antigovernment protests. On the days of large protests such as 1st of July and 4th June, Apple Daily provides banners in its first page for readers and protesters.While some people might think that it is a waste of money, it gains opportunities to advertise Apple Daily for free. While all media in Hong Kong would report those large protests, they must take photos about the situation. As Apple Daily provides free banners for protesters, you will see people raising Apple Daily in the photos of different newspapers’ headlines. First, Apple Daily makes use of the protest opportunity to get free advertisement for its brand in different newspapers. Second, it could create a brand i mage that many people are reading Apple Daily.Third, providing banners helps Apple Daily to boost the sales on protest days since some of the protesters would purchase Apple Daily for the banners. This creative marketing idea has never been used by other media in Hong Kong. Jimmy Lai is a successful businessman who uses his creativity to develop new rules and trends in industries. His success in media industry makes him well known by everyone every Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Jimmy Lai is also a writer of over 15 books published by Next Media Limited. He is also a devout Catholic. ——————————————– 1 ]. Jimmy Lai (2007, January 27). . World Journal Book Store, Author Introduction [ 2 ]. Next Media Ltd. – Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Next Media Ltd. http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/history2/91/Next-Media-Ltd. html#ixzz2 AeOTMYpb [ 3 ]. (2000, July 12). . http://big. hi138. com/? i201715 [ 4 ]. Official Website of Apple Daily, http://hk. dv. nextmedia. com/ [ 5 ]. – , http://hk. 88db. com/hk/Knowledge/Knowledge_Detail. page? kid=14558

A Raisin in the Sun Analysis Essay

Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family struggles to come together as a family. One of the main impediments in their unity is their differing views on the world. Each character has their own dream and is unwilling to sacrifice that dream for anything. They are afraid of having their dream deferred. Their dreams, especially Walter Lee’s, break the family apart, and it is only when they unite their dreams together that they unite the family. Most of the members of the Younger family have some kind of individual dream. Beneatha wants to be a doctor; Ruth wants to move into a home that is her own; Mama simply wants to keep the family together; and Walter wants to be able to provide comfortably for his family. All these differing dreams and goals cause rifts in the family from time to time, but none more so than Walter Lee Younger’s dream. Walter is a pivotal character in the play. His actions shape the plot unquestionably, and it is because of his strong will and perseverance towards his dream that the plot progresses as it does. He believes that his way is the best for the family and he will do anything to achieve it. After feeling closer to his dream than ever before he tells Travis, â€Å"Just tell me what it is you want to be- and you’ll be it†¦. Whatever you want to be – Yessir! You just name it, son†¦ and I hand you the world! † (Hansberry, 109). This reinforces the idea that Walter thought that his dream would save his son. In her book, Worlds of Pain, Lillian B. Rubin writes, â€Å"For the child – especially a boy – born into a professional middle class home, the sky’s the limit; his dreams are relatively unfettered by constraints†¦ For most working class boys, the experience is just the reverse† (Rubin, 38). The life of a child in a professional middle class home is exactly what Walter wants for his son, and he would do anything to get it. He thought that once he achieved financial security, he could save his son from a working class life. The main issue for Walter, however, would be that his quest for financial security, and ultimately his dream, would come between him, his family, and his marriage. Ruth senses this and tells Mama, â€Å"Mama, something is happening between Walter and me. I don’t know what it is – but he needs something – something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena† (Hansberry, 42). The chance that she refers to was his first step into an investment towards financial security. He put his dreams and ambitions in front of everything because of his strong will. This led to somewhat of an apathy towards any other affairs to the house. Nowhere is this more apparent than when Walter finds out Ruth plans on getting an abortion. After Mama tries to force him to talk things over with his wife, the stage direction states, â€Å"(WALTER picks up his keys and his coat and walks out†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hansberry, 75). This all-consuming dream of Walter’s gets in between Walter and his family and causes tension throughout the plot. Walter lives the poem A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes throughout the play. Once Mama has bought a new house with the money he wanted to use for his investment, Walter says to her, â€Å"you butchered up a dream of mine – you – who always talking ‘bout your children’s dreams†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hansberry, 95). Here he feels like his dream has been deferred and his dream begins to â€Å"stink like rotten meat† (Hughes, 6). Even though most of the people around him could not see his dream like he did, his attitude reeked of unfulfilled expectations. His deferred dream â€Å"fester(s) like a sore†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hughes, 4) and the pain starts to stretch his sanity. He says himself, â€Å"I want so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy†¦ Mama – look at me† (Hansberry, 73). It is this madness and this dream that causes the conflict within the household. The true test of unity for the family came with the second arrival of Mr. Lindner. It is then that Walter has to make a decision that will either bring his family together and place him as head of the household or break them all apart. Ultimately, he puts his family first and even Mama remarks, â€Å"He finally come into his manhood today, didn’t he? Kind of like a rainbow after the rain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  That day he put his family before his dreams. He realized that moving into their own home and standing up for themselves would be the best thing for his family. With this single act, he reinforced himself as the head of the household. Once everyone, especially Walter, come together towards Mama’s dream, they come together as a unit. They no longer act individually but act for the good of the household. They see that their future is dangerous and they must stand together if they are to oppose it. There is no longer talk of abortions or money; they speak more often of the family. This dream of owning their own home is exactly what the family needed and once it was achieved, the Youngers became stronger and closer. Though Walter had to sacrifice the most, mainly his dreams and ambitions, once he did, he led the family through to their unity. His selflessness allowed the family to live in harmony. Professors Bahr & Bahr of Brigham University wrote in their article, Families and Self-Sacrifice: Alternative Models and Meanings for Family Theory, â€Å"We draw from the disciplines of economics, history, philosophy, literature, sociology, and from life as lived by everyday people in making the case that self-sacrifice is a powerful and a essential part of social life generally, and family life in particular† (Bahr, 1231). Self-sacrifice is essential for the family to work together as a unit. An individualistic approach to family life leads only to discord and disunity. Walter Lee Younger made this revelation, perhaps even subconsciously, when he decided to refuse the money that Mr. Lindner offered that was necessary to realize his aspirations. Only once this was achieved could the Youngers be a cohesive family unit. English historian Thomas Fuller once said, â€Å"The darkest hour is just before the dawn. † This famous quote is thoroughly applicable to A Raisin in the Sun. Though the Youngers had severe familial problems, they pulled through it stronger than ever before, thanks to the unifying dream that lit the way through the night.

What are the arguments for and against the state taking on responsibility for social welfare?

The different arguments for and against the state taking on responsibility for social welfare have been powerfully put across by people of opposing political persuasions in Britain over the last 60 years. In this essay, therefore, I intend to use Britain's welfare state to exemplify arguments for and against the state taking primary responsibility for social welfare. The welfare state in Britain was introduced in 1945 by the newly elected Labour government. Although this was the first comprehensive attempt at creating a functional welfare state it is important to note that it was not an entirely new policy. In fact, we can trace back to 1601 to find an early attempt at implementing a state welfare provision – the Poor Law. The theory behind this legislation was that the poor were to be categorized into the deserving (â€Å"the impotent poor†) and the undeserving (â€Å"the persistent idlers†). There were many obvious flaws in the methodology and logic in the implementation of the Poor Law but it must be recognised that this was an early attempt at providing a social welfare system. This demonstrates that for hundreds of years a case has been made for some measure of state social welfare provision. It is also vital not to underestimate the impact the studies carried out by social researchers such as Rowntree (1901) and Booth (1902) had on the forming and implementation of a social welfare provision in 1945. The Beveridge report (1942) pointed to the â€Å"chaotic† and â€Å"piecemeal† introduction of changes into the system and stated the need for a new and more comprehensive system to be installed. Beveridge's report was underpinned by the need to cure the â€Å"five giants†. Beveridge identified these â€Å"five giants† as: Idleness, Squalor, Ignorance, Want and Disease. He identified the need for a state commitment to securing full employment to combat idleness. He argued public housing must be available for all citizens to rent. To cure ignorance he suggested the need for a free education system for anyone up to the age of 15. He suggested the implementation of a national health service to help cure disease. Finally, Beveridge argued that National Insurance benefits should be handed out to all in need. The welfare state had to be introduced in a series of acts, notably the National Health Service Act (1946), the Education Act (1944), the Family Allowance Act (1945). At the time there was much reluctance towards carrying out all of the proposals. The arguments against this degree of state provision stemmed from concerns about cost and the fundamental principles of welfare (e. g. how decisions are made and who should be entitled to receive welfare). Because of the reluctance that grew from the fact that these arguments were never resolved. Beveridge's suggestions were never fully implemented but his ideas still clearly formed the inspiration for the future of welfare reform. One of the main criticisms of Beveridge's proposals and of the concept of a welfare state is that a number of important assumptions have to be made for it to function successfully. For example, within the report, Beveridge makes the assumption that married women would be full time housewives and that for most of their lives women would not be employed. Therefore, married women would only receive benefits through men, thus, creating a culture which encourages women's reliance on men. Because of this feminists have argued that the British welfare state relied on a â€Å"familial ideology† and treated women as second class citizens. This example of the role of women within the welfare state illustrates the point that any welfare system is not neutral that is based on ideological assumptions. These assumptions will influence the way that different members of the public will respond to state provision of welfare. Another example of these ideological assumptions would be the 17th century belief that only the â€Å"impotent poor† deserve state welfare. The economics of Britain's state welfare system have also come under a lot of criticism. These critics argue there are some fundamental flaws with the economic ideology underpinning the system. Firstly, for the welfare state to operate properly and fairly their must be nearly full employment in the country where it is based as, in theory, this will maximize tax revenue and minimize unemployment benefits. This system worked relatively effectively until the early 1970's. However, due to the relative decline of the UK economy, Britain suffered an economic crisis and unemployment started rising rapidly. Since then mass unemployment has been a serious problem within British society. Critics suggest that this is proof of how dependent a welfare state is on a prosperous economy. Basically this meant that the welfare state was reliant on capitalism – rather than contributing to the undermining or softening of its most brutal aspects . The New Right have made strong arguments against state welfare provision. The 1979 election brought into power a conservative government that had a new and radical approach to public expenditure and the welfare state as a whole. Probably the most notable change in policy brought in by the New Right was the end of the commitment to full employment that previous governments had encouraged. The New Right believed in a â€Å"natural level of employment†. They felt that this â€Å"natural level of employment† was being undermined by wages being too high due to the actions of trade unions. Therefore, they argued that the market would solve unemployment by creating downward pressure on wages. Because of this, the differential between wages and benefits was increased by creating downward pressure on benefit levels and therefore welfare expenditure. However, despite this right wing shift in political thinking, there was no major change in welfare expenditure until the late 1980's. The year 1988 was an important one in terms of implications for the welfare state as it represented a far more radical application of New Right thinking towards the welfare state. Firstly, the New Right introduced a shift from the previous system of universal provision towards a system based more upon selective provision. For example, some of the benefits that were previously available to everyone (universal) became only available to some via a â€Å"means test† (selective). This was a big move that completely contradicted the universal method employed by previous more left wing governments. Another change made by the New Right was the introduction of privatization and marketization. An example of this is the case of the sale of council houses. The public housing stock was privatized and sold off in an attempt to create a market for the council housing which had originally in Beveridge's thinking, been intended for public ownership and private rent. Another major shift made by the Conservative government was towards community care. There was a trend for mentally ill, elderly and disabled people to be moved from institutions to care in the community. However, what this basically meant was that rather than institutional care the responsibility was shifted onto the family. It is also very important to note that care in the community was considerably cheaper for the state to maintain than institutional care. The New Right also consciously made an effort to change the public's perception of welfare – shifting away from the view that the state is the only provider of welfare. The responsibility of the state was reduced through the encouragement of private provision and by emphasizing the importance of the charitable and voluntary sector. This is one of the central strands of the argument against state welfare provision. At this juncture it is important to consider the effect privatization has had on society and the welfare state. Since the New Right introduced new policy pertaining to welfare in 1979 there have been a number of examples of the UK government seeking to encourage private provision of welfare. People have been encouraged to take out private insurance plans for their welfare needs and the number of people covered by private health insurance rose from 2. million to 5. 2 million between 1976 and 1986 (Julian Le Grand, 1990). In the mid 1980's the Conservative government tried to shift sickness insurance and pension insurance into the private sector also. These plans, however, never came to fruition owing to major criticism and insurance companies expressing a reluctance to take up policies for all employees Hutton (1996) strongly criticizes the New Rights welfare expenditure policy. He argues against the belief that public expenditure should be reduced during troubled times for the economy. Hutton believes that the cuts are spurred by political ideology rather then by economic need. In Hutton's words â€Å"apart from Iceland, Britain runs the meanest, tightest, lowest-cost social security system in the world†. Hutton alleges that the twenty-first century will see a large rise in the amount of tax revenue available to fund welfare payments. The voluntary sector must also be discussed when considering arguments for and against the state taking on responsibility for the welfare state. Organizations such as Barnados, the Salvation Army and the NSPCC provide voluntary care. They serve a different role to statutory bodies set up by Parliament, but the views of these voluntary providers are respected and need to be taken into account as well. These organizations tend to have specialized expertise and experience in certain areas and the government can benefit from this knowledge. A major bonus of voluntary provision is that they are often very cost effective as unpaid volunteers are often used. It is estimated by Knapp (1989) that the total amount of public-sector support for voluntary provision between 1983 and 1986 was i3151 million. However, there are also inherent weaknesses in voluntary provision. The biggest and most blatant problem stems from the nature of voluntary work as it cannot be guaranteed. Critics also point to the fact that voluntary work may be unequally provided across the country. The service can therefore be inconsistent and the advice from the voluntary sector to government might differ depending on the region. It is also suggested that due to financial restrictions the voluntary sector will never be anything more than a secondary level service that relies on the state or private sector provision. Social security benefits are the most redistributive aspect of the welfare state as they distribute income to the poorest people in the country. A point in favour of a social welfare system, from a socialist or social democratic perspective, is that the social security benefits can be used to redistribute wealth to make society economically fairer by heavily taxing the rich and giving it to the poorest people in society. On the other hand, opponents see this as a Robin Hood aspect of state social welfare which demotivates both the richest and the poorest people in the country – encouraging idleness (one of the â€Å"five giants† beveridge was trying to eradicate) amongst the poor and encouraging the rich to leave the country. The New Right when in power, therefore, cut back on the redistributive aspects of welfare provision. The one-off grant system that was previously in effect was replaced in the 1986 and 1988 security acts and 16 to 18 year olds entitlement to income support was revoked. In current political debates the Conservative party, now in opposition frequently accuse the Labour party of redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor via â€Å"underhand† or â€Å"stealthy† methods. This is an indication that the argument about the extent to which the state should take responsibility for social welfare remains highly contested. Where you stand on this issue is fundamental to your political beliefs and how you will vote.

Challenging Obstacle

Well the most challenging obstacle that I had to overcome was the death of my father. My life was turned upside down when it all happened. It greatly impacted me on a physical and mental level. Luckily this challenge taught me to cherish life. It even brought me closer to God and to understand that he has a plan for all of us. It pushed me to become more determined and motivated in any activity I partake in. Our family is much closer now then we were before. His death opened my eyes and my mind to accept the idea that you must live life to the fullest. Not only did it teach me to live life but it showed me how to be confident, strong, respectable to everyone and everything, and how to appreciate the little things in life. This would definitely be the hardest obstacle that I ever had to face in my life. Ever since that faithful day my views on life have changed dramatically. Now I have become more an optimistic individual. Yes, I am more optimistic because now I see the true beauty of the world that I always overlooked. When I see pictures of nature it releases a feeling of sanctity or even solace. I don’t take life for granted anymore, now I strongly believe that every life is precious even the pesky bugs. His leaving revealed that instead of rushing life I should stop every once in a while and take a gander at nature. Like a moment to soak it all in and embrace the true beauty that so much people fail to see. Now I live in the moment instead of worrying what the future brings. This ordeal has brought me a lot more near to God. In my prayers I learned that God needed him and that my father had fulfilled his purpose. I know it sound cliche but it is the truth and no one can tell me differently. Instead of resorting to drug I turned to God and he helped me through the pain. In a way God has taken the role of a fatherly figure and I am grateful. I go to church more often and I feel more alive and refreshed. This trial has shown me the love that God has to offer and how he will take care of you when your love ones are gone. God has become an important factor in my life after my dad died. My determination is at the highest point it could be. I have this motivation to strive to become the best I can. I do these things to make my father proud and to honor his legacy. To be honest, if my father was alive today I wouldn’t have fathom the idea of taking Advanced Placement courses. I would have relied on my dad to do everything for me including finding and paying for my college. Now I can proudly say that with this newfound determination I can succeed on my own. For once in my life I am actually studying and pushing myself to the limit on how much I can learn and retain. I was able to turn such a negative situation into a positive by using it to fuel my dreams. When all was finished this traumatic event created a feeling of togetherness. Our family became tighter and closer together. Now we set up family nights where it would either be Mexican night meaning we make Mexican dishes or game night where we battle it out on the Wii. On certain Saturday’s we all would go out to any restaurant mostly Chili’s and sit-down and talk about how our week was. In a sense we come together and evaluate our week and sometimes we even reminisce about him. It is better to remember the good times than to remember what happened that cold December night. His death brought our family together and taught individual to enjoy the times we have left on Earth because you never know when it is your time. The experience I gained was how to be confident in everything I do. I learned how to be strong in times of great distress. I now have the utmost respect for every living thing. Also, his death allowed me to see how important life is and how we must make the most of it. You always live like it is you last day and always be willing to aid those in need. My father passing away gave me lesson that I hope to pass onto my children. Seeing my father go would have to be the hardest thing that I ever had to overcome. Thanks to God I am standing here stronger than ever. Instead of using this as an excuse I am using this as fuel to empower me. This situation has impacted me physical and mental but I won’t ever let it hold me down. In my heart I know that my father will never accept less so I will aim for the highest peak and ride it out to the end. Challenging Obstacle Well the most challenging obstacle that I had to overcome was the death of my father. My life was turned upside down when it all happened. It greatly impacted me on a physical and mental level. Luckily this challenge taught me to cherish life. It even brought me closer to God and to understand that he has a plan for all of us. It pushed me to become more determined and motivated in any activity I partake in. Our family is much closer now then we were before. His death opened my eyes and my mind to accept the idea that you must live life to the fullest. Not only did it teach me to live life but it showed me how to be confident, strong, respectable to everyone and everything, and how to appreciate the little things in life. This would definitely be the hardest obstacle that I ever had to face in my life. Ever since that faithful day my views on life have changed dramatically. Now I have become more an optimistic individual. Yes, I am more optimistic because now I see the true beauty of the world that I always overlooked. When I see pictures of nature it releases a feeling of sanctity or even solace. I don’t take life for granted anymore, now I strongly believe that every life is precious even the pesky bugs. His leaving revealed that instead of rushing life I should stop every once in a while and take a gander at nature. Like a moment to soak it all in and embrace the true beauty that so much people fail to see. Now I live in the moment instead of worrying what the future brings. This ordeal has brought me a lot more near to God. In my prayers I learned that God needed him and that my father had fulfilled his purpose. I know it sound cliche but it is the truth and no one can tell me differently. Instead of resorting to drug I turned to God and he helped me through the pain. In a way God has taken the role of a fatherly figure and I am grateful. I go to church more often and I feel more alive and refreshed. This trial has shown me the love that God has to offer and how he will take care of you when your love ones are gone. God has become an important factor in my life after my dad died. My determination is at the highest point it could be. I have this motivation to strive to become the best I can. I do these things to make my father proud and to honor his legacy. To be honest, if my father was alive today I wouldn’t have fathom the idea of taking Advanced Placement courses. I would have relied on my dad to do everything for me including finding and paying for my college. Now I can proudly say that with this newfound determination I can succeed on my own. For once in my life I am actually studying and pushing myself to the limit on how much I can learn and retain. I was able to turn such a negative situation into a positive by using it to fuel my dreams. When all was finished this traumatic event created a feeling of togetherness. Our family became tighter and closer together. Now we set up family nights where it would either be Mexican night meaning we make Mexican dishes or game night where we battle it out on the Wii. On certain Saturday’s we all would go out to any restaurant mostly Chili’s and sit-down and talk about how our week was. In a sense we come together and evaluate our week and sometimes we even reminisce about him. It is better to remember the good times than to remember what happened that cold December night. His death brought our family together and taught individual to enjoy the times we have left on Earth because you never know when it is your time. The experience I gained was how to be confident in everything I do. I learned how to be strong in times of great distress. I now have the utmost respect for every living thing. Also, his death allowed me to see how important life is and how we must make the most of it. You always live like it is you last day and always be willing to aid those in need. My father passing away gave me lesson that I hope to pass onto my children. Seeing my father go would have to be the hardest thing that I ever had to overcome. Thanks to God I am standing here stronger than ever. Instead of using this as an excuse I am using this as fuel to empower me. This situation has impacted me physical and mental but I won’t ever let it hold me down. In my heart I know that my father will never accept less so I will aim for the highest peak and ride it out to the end.

The Impacts of Digital Technologies on the Political Economy of the Essay

The Impacts of Digital Technologies on the Political Economy of the United States Movie Industry - Essay Example On the other hand, new movies by established film producers draw attention even before they are officially released to the market. As a result, the independent film makers have resorted to digital technologies and social networking sites to promote and distribute their movies. Owing to the current situation, this research paper investigates the benefits and challenges which are experienced by independent film producers whenever they are using the latest digital technologies to promote and distribute their films to their fans. The paper would emphasize the impacts of digital revolution on the independent filmmakers’ ability to reach international consumers. The role of technology in the film industry cannot be ignored. Technology changed the operations and activities of the film industry in a major way, altering the way people interacted, the nature of the operations, and the marketing strategies for the films. However, the specific area of film affected has always been debatable with researchers focusing on the social aspects of the technological effects. Focus on the political aspect of the film industry environment is important as it helps create even more insights for the people. Kim et al 194 states that the digital technologies in the United States of America have enhanced communication and modernization in most of the sectors. In the film industry, the digital technology has yielded both positive and negative results in equal measure. Digital technologies have reduced the live shows for the films. Most of the films are bought on digital media instead of people attending the live shows (Kim et al 194). According to Kim et al 194, the purchase of the films on digital media is enhanced by a number of factors. First, the ability to produce digital storages like hard drives has enhanced the portability of the films making people to buy and use them in home appliances. More so, the development of digital transmission in the United States of America has

Do corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports provide shareholders Essay - 3

Do corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports provide shareholders and stakeholders with useful information on corporate soci - Essay Example This is in contrary to the normal accounting basic that has been known about debiting and crediting financials. With the current business trends, accounting as profession has shifted from just an ordinary financial profession to numerous environmental researches and an accountability when it comes to the contribution of social environmental factors. Therefore thin paper is trying to find out as to whether, Thesis: corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports provide shareholders and stakeholders with useful information on corporate social and environmental performance. Having been clarified into different segments, financial managerial and costing that are familiar to most people, must relate to the issues of finance in one way or the other. However, when it comes to corporate social responsibility, accounting would only concentrate on corporate social repotting that is considered vital to both the organization and any other stakeholders in different ways as explained in this paper (Sims, 2003). Shows accountability of democracy Corporate social reporting gives adequate clarification about the commitment to stakeholders concerning accountability, democracy and transparency. The CSR constitutes a proper clarification of social and environmental concern on factors that are never economic viable to the society as a whole as explained by divergent stakeholders theory. Besides, it gives a composer of distinct and varied number of environmental reports that clarifies about annual returns of an organization and this must be based on organizational profitability in relation to the size of the economy or regulatory environmental. Through engaging the necessary stakeholders, corporate social re

Enter preneuship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Enter preneuship - Essay Example The international business scene offers unlimited opportunities for entrepreneurs in generating income and increased revenues. However, such success does not come without a close analysis of the market, as well as the factors that are likely going to contribute to the success of the business at the international markets. Thus, different factors contribute to either the success or failure of businesses operating at an international level. This essay discusses the factors that entrepreneurs should bear in mind whenever trying to establish their operations at the international level. Culture According to Neelankavil (2007), culture of the people is one of the most important factors to consider before establishing a business at the international market. Different countries have different cultures and within these countries, people hold diverse cultural practices and beliefs. Experts argue that since United States is the most developed country globally, assuming that all cultures in the w orld resemble the United States is the worst mistake that a business could make. ... This is however not true as some cultures do not embrace technology at all. Subsequently, whenever deciding on the methods to use in advertising for the products, putting into consideration the level of technology absorption is important. Using technological modes of advertising such as the internet and social media, live adverts and television targeting such people is less likely to have any impact. Further, some communities due to their religious beliefs do not use some products. These could be either processed foods or elements of technology, which they consider unspiritual and unhealthy. An entrepreneur should be aware of such issues in the society before establishing operations in any place. Additionally, observing the traditional cultural events and practices of different communities is equally important for the success of any entrepreneur at the international market (McDonald & Burton, 2002). Observing and respecting these events in addition to making the business appealing to the local people reduces the levels of conflicts with the people. By showing respect and engaging in these events with the people engages the business, thus creating a good relationship with the locals. This could contribute to the success of the business in this market. Legal factors Every country has different legal systems from each other. As constitutions govern different countries, the constitution establishes the laws governing businesses operating within its jurisdiction. As such, any entrepreneur seeking to establish operations at the international level ought to consider the laws governing the businesses in target countries. The most important law to put into consideration is taxation of the businesses in the country (McDonald &