Autobiographical Transformation as a Child to an Adult Essay

Autobiographical Transformation as a Child to an Adult - Essay Example My transformation as a child to an adult was in a Toronto suburb as an only son in a family of eight. What made me grow up differently from my siblings was that I always had a carefree and, sometimes, quite reckless mindset towards life. While my seven sisters were either doing their homework or doing house chores, there I was, running up and down my neighborhood searching for stray dogs to terrorize and play football with the neighborhood children. My father, who had waited patiently for a son until I was born, always referred to me as a waste of life, although my mother always defended me. My father was adamant that I was the family’s hope but, at nine, you rarely see yourself as anyone’s hope, so our relationship was a mess. In the summer of 1996, I arrived home from school to a rude shock. My father, finally fed up, had made a decision of leaving my mother and marrying his black mistress who already had his son. When my mother refused to grant him custody of any of us, he seemed quite relieved. I could tell this because, by then, I had begun looking at people and observing their facial expressions. My father could not bear to look at us, but I always knew my mother’s housewife routine had gotten to him. This is an autobiographical paper that discussing the people, places, events, and experiences that have influenced my culture, social class, gender, religion and sexual orientation. Race Growing up as a child, my neighborhood, was predominantly white. However, some of my friends were not white; for example, my best friend’s family had emigrated from Papua New Guinea. My feelings towards racial minorities were non-existent during my childhood, as I even went to my friend’s house for dinner and â€Å"homework†. As I became older, however, I began to have a different outlook towards other races, especially African Canadians. While my attitude was not racist, I had a hard time convincing myself that not all black people were like the woman who took my father away from my mother. I met her once during a school trip to the zoo, as she clung to my father’s arm and I was afraid of talking my black friends after that. However, when I joined high school, my attitude took another turn when I met a black girl who had emigrated from Tanzania. I was amazed at how different she was from what I had envisioned black women to be growing up, and watching my mother struggle as a single mum. When I met my father’s new partner at the zoo, she had sneered at me, which had given me the impression that this was a â€Å"black thing†. However, with Aisha, she had the most loving face I had ever seen. Going to college saw me meet more black people and my attitude by then had changed to one of inclusiveness. This was brought on by my comprehension that we were all after the same things in life. Social Class When I was growing up in a middle-class suburb, my interaction with lower class citizens was lim ited to the mall and school. I remember I always had a â€Å"keep away† attitude towards them. This was informed by an incident where my sister was robbed and almost raped coming from her boyfriend’s house across the rail tracks. I remember my mother being livid that her boyfriend had not even had the courtesy to come and explain the situation. From that day, she forbids us from mixing with those â€Å"uncivilized folk†. When I was ten, my friends and I came up against a gang of youth from the ghetto as we scurried after a stray dog. While they did not beat us as they took our clothes and the little money we had, I still remember their â€Å"rich kids† taunts. I did not consider myself a rich kid at that point since my parents had to take care of eight siblings, so I began to wonder what these rich kids could have done to deserve this kind of treatment. When I joined High School, I came to the realization that the rich kids were not very different from us .

Response to The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht Essay

Response to The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht - Essay Example Upon learning their situation, she remembered her recently deceased grandfather and had a brief look of her life when â€Å"there is war† in her hometown, the Balkan City. Natalia recalled that like any other little girl, she also loved and grew up listening to her grandfather’s stories. She remembered the two stories of her grandfather with memorable mythical characters: the tiger’s wife and the deathless man. The tiger’s wife is the story of a lonely deaf and mute woman, who lived in an isolated mountain village. She was married to an abusive butcher, where in she always suffered beating. The woman was named by the villagers â€Å"the tiger’s wife† because of their malicious thinking. The woman’s affection and too much kindness to the tiger that escaped in the zoo during the war, had been maliciously mistaken by the villagers for something indecent. They thought the woman married the tiger. This rumor had led the villagers to plan fo r the killings of the tiger. However, as Natalia narrated, they were saved and protected by her grandfather. The story of the deathless man was based from the story of Natalia’s grandfather, who was a Christian married to a Muslim from Sarobor.

Qantas worlds leading long distance airways

Qantas worlds leading long distance airways The Business Case Analysis: Qantas Airways Qantas is recognized as the worlds leading long distance airways which was established in Queensland in 1920, being the second oldest airlines of the world. Today, the airways provide flight services across a network of 173 destinations in 42 countries covering all over the world with approximately 35,000 employees. The Qantas group also offers subsidiary businesses such as budget airlines, Jetstar, and other businesses in specialist services: Qantas Catering and Qantas Holidays (Qantas, 2010). To analyze the changes and challenges that Qantas confronts in the marketing today, we should identify the range of products and services available by using Marketing Mix concept. Then, we will analyze the opportunities that may be available over the next 5 to 10 year by using SWOT Analysis. Lake (n.d) indicated that the marketing mix, or called as 4 Ps, is the combination of marketing elements that are used to serve customers and company goal. The company offers are controlled by the following variables in marketing: Product, Price, Place (Distribution) and Promotion. For Qantas Airways case, their marketing mix can conclude as follow: Product Qantas offers a wide range of products and services including premium brand, Qantas, and low cost brand, Jetstar. Qantas has divided in to international and domestic flight. In term of international flights, Qantas offers first, business, premium economy and economic class, which passengers receive different services of seat, dining, and amenity collections as they paid. In case of Domestic flight, Qantas offers two travel classes: Business and Economy. Domestic inflight services include meals, snacks and audio-visual entertainment. Qantas Cityflyer provides passengers travelling between Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney added more flights and seats than other airways with extra services such as complimentary newspapers on morning and complimentary wine and beer after 4pm weekdays. Jetstar is a low cost airline in Asia-Pacific and Australia. In Australia, its operation is entirely owned by Qantas Group. In Asia, the Qantas Group has extended the brand with their investments in Jetstar Asia (based in Singapore) and Jetstar Pacific (Vietnam). As a result, Jetstars operations have covered 50 destinations across South East Asia and Asia Pacific. Moreover, Qantas also offer non-flying businesses, which are and Qantas holiday and Qantas catering, making perfect products and services for traveling customers and other airlines businesses. Price The prices of flights are different according to the distance of destinations and the class of seat customers selected. Especially, for Jetstar, its prices are competitive with other low-cost airlines that make enormous profits to the company. As its prices are versatile, customers can make a decision based on the services Airlines offered. In addition, for Qantas holiday, it also offers ‘Price Promise program that customers can get guaranteed low prices on transfers, car hire, hotel or activities when they book on Qantas.com. Qantas will match price rate and give 1000 extra points to customers who find another website which provide better rate than Qantas. Place or Distribution channel Customers can book their flights via various different channels which are Qantas.com, Telephone sales, Qantas travel Centers, Qantas airport locations and other travel agencies. Customers also can manage their flight via the website and their mobile phone. Promotion There are many kinds of promotions to encourage sales such as discount air fare, buy one ticket get one free tickets, upgrading seat and loyalty program: Frequent Flyer member. Frequent Flyer program is very popular in airlines industry. Qantas offers three levels of memberships which are Silver, Gold and platinum, excluding Bronze entry level. Each membership has different privileges: Qantas Club and business/First counters, additional kilograms for baggage allowance, point bonus, priority check in and so on. The higher membership level the better privileges members can receive and earn awards. After we identified 4 Ps for Qantas, we will analyze the SWOT analysis to better understanding the organization. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors that the company can control, while Opportunities and Threats are external possibilities which need more company efforts: support opportunities, or prevent and reduce threats. Strengths Strong corporate image Qantas is the leader airways in Australia domestic and international and renowned as the second oldest airways. Moreover, the company is outstanding in strategic markets which are Asia-pacific and Western Europe. Frequent Flyer Program Qantas Frequent Flyer program, the most popular and largest airways loyalty program in Southern part of the world, possess approximately 6.8 million customers with more than 400 partners. This is an important marketing strategy to retain customers and crate brand loyalty to new passengers. Excellent customer service Qantas is devoted to offer passenger with a wide-range of outstanding services. It employs more than 700 international customer service managers and supervisors. Over 1,600 First and Business flight attendants were selected by their product knowledge and extensive service experience and trained to offer a premium service to passengers. Also, many flight attendants are multi-lingual. They can speak a number of languages such as French, Italian, German, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, and so on. Furthermore, Qantas also has recognition for using inflight defibrillators and also on-board airplanes provide physician kits which include medication and medication. Corporate social responsibility Qantas are worried about the concern of environment changing and are dedicated to manage its operations and development in an environmentally sustainable approach. They have launched the program ‘Fly Carbon Neutral program to evoke people concerning on reducing carbon emissions that passengers can contribute small amount of money to offset their flight emissions. The Qantas group established the Qantas Environment and Fuel Conservation group to responsible for environment issues. They have decreased aircraft noise around airports, provided suggestion on acquisition assessment of new aircraft and new businesses, applied environmentally practices and performance, and to name but few. In addition, the company also donated to support various ‘not-for-profit programs or organizations such as Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Flora and Fauna International, Clean up Australia Day, and so on. Versatile businesses Apart from its main business, Flying Activity, Qantas also has invested in non-flying activities which are food catering, travel agency, airport and aircraft engineering that enable them to increase the companys profits and represent new opportunities to its present business. A lot of flight and routes There are many routes covering worldwide provided by Qantas. Qantas group operate approximately 5300 flight a week including nearly 60 cities domestically and over 900 fights per week in 173 destinations in 42 countries. This help the Airways is recognized in many countries and expand its market share. Dual brand strategy Qantas Group can cover a wide group of customers because it offers premium brand, Qantas, and low-cost brand, Jetstar. This creativity allowed Qantas to take advantage of target budget passenger and premium travelers to boost its profits and fulfill level of operation. Weaknesses Employees relationship Qantas had conflicts with its engineers in reaching an agreement on a wage dispute earlier in 2008. However, compromise was finally completed with a predictable annual wage raised between4 to 5.8 %(Brigden, 2009). This is an important issue if it occurs again; employees will have negative trust to the company that brings negative effects to overall operations. Dependence on single market In spite of expanding to international region, Qantas still depends on the domestic market for its main revenues. This over-dependence on single market leaves the Airways vulnerable to any politics situation or economic depression and in Australia. Spiraling costs Although in 2008 Qantas group has provided strategies to reduce the impact of increasing fuel costs, it was forced to cut down other operations cost such as jobs and flight capacity to continue competitive position in the market. Opportunities Open Skies Agreement There were many efforts between Australia and other nations such as the US, New Zealand, and so on to approve an open skies agreement. As a result, it has created new opportunities to operate unrestricted capacity over any routing they choose and with as many flights as they desire in beyond markets. Asia-Pacific potential market According to Datamonitor (2009), The Asia-pacific airlines industry had been growing at a healthy rate over 2005-2008, but showed a decline in 2009. This will increase once again in 2010Experts also predicted that the industrys volume is likely to increase to 794.3 million passengers by the end of 2013, showing a compound annual growth rate of8.6% for 2008-2013 period. Therefore, there will be enormous opportunities to increase company revenues and profits. Utilization new technology Technology is improving nowadays. The Airways can utilize it in many ways including increasing the service to customers and improving aircrafts design. In November 2009, Qantas reveal the project, which will begin in the mid-2010, to renovate domestic airport check-in times for passengers at Cityflyer ports across Australia. The membership cards including intelligent chip that can transform the data inside into personal boarding passes linked to the bag tags, and allow passengers to swipe their card on a reader and pass to an easy baggage drop. Non-frequent flyers will also satisfy with major upgrades to their check-in by using hosted kiosks and rapid bag drop. Strategic Alliance The growth of strategic alliances is expected to bring about several returns including an extended route network, more frequent flights and Frequent Flyer passengers and cost and efficiency benefits. Threats Excessive competition Low-cost airlines have become the main competitor of Qantas. Craigie and Bekiaris (2010) stated that Air Asia commenced flight between the Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne, and Kuala Lumpur. In addition, Tony Fernandes, Air Asia CEO, said that Air Asia is going to start flying into Sydney by midyear of 2010. Besides, Air Asia X also provides cheap flight to London from Kuala Lumpur. This enhanced on the whole competition in Asia-pacific and Europe region. The competitors of Qantas are not limited only Air Asia, the other low-cost airlines such as Tiger Airlines and Virgin Blue also have offered the same routes as Qantas or Jetstar. Aviation Security issue According to the event of 11 September 2001, it decreased the demand for air travel because of the raised concerns about safety issue. Then, the cost of travel was raised as a result of the requirement of arriving earlier for departure, the increased rate of delays follow-on security breaches, and new protection surcharge (Coughlin, C.C. et al, 2002). Qantas also has flights service between Australia and the US, so the airways have been affected directly by the increasing in security cost. Shortage of pilots and staff Pearson (2008) indicated that approximately 19,000 pilots will need to be trained yearly until 2026 to meet estimated demand as airways grow agreeing to International Air Transport Association (IATA). As a result, it is important to note airways regulators will confront the challenge of training pilots better and faster which need more cost to absorb. Congestion and Airport capacity issue Because the industry developed rapidly, a problem of airport capacity is possible, limiting the total number of airplanes flying to Australia as occurred in other parts of the world. All things considered, after studied both marketing mix and SWOT analysis, I would like to recommend the company to improve its operations as follows: Focus on both domestic and international markets to diversify the risk of domestic economic, politics, social situations. Offer new promotions to passengers. For example, when it nearly reaches the date the flight taken place, company should discount air fare if those flights have remained too many seats to offset the cost of operations per flights. Consider about employees relationship, providing proper training, wages or benefits and number of working hours. Use new technology and well-trained employees for improving airlines services. Find new alliances and retain the relationship of current alliances that can share benefits to the airlines. Continue ‘company social responsibility and ‘Saving Environments projects to maintain good company image. Reference List Brigden, Cathy. (2009). Journal of Industrial Relations. Unions and collective bargaining in 2008, 51(3), 365-378. Coughlin, Cletus C. et. Al. (2002). Review. Aviation Security and Terrorism: A Review of the Economic Issues, 84(5), 9-16. Craigie, J. Bekiaris, M. (2010). Money. Qantas gets cosy with AirAsia, 2(120), 16-16. Datamonitor. (2009). Airline Industry Profile: Asia-Pacific. Airline Industry Profile: Asia-Pacific, 1-32. Lake, Laura. (n.d). Developing Your Marketing-4Ps of Marketing. [Online] Available from: http://marketing.about.com/od/marketingplanandstrategy/a/marketingmix.htm [Accessed 5 May 2010]. Pearson, David. (2008). Wall Street Journal-Eastern Edition. Airlines Face Shortage of Pilots, 251(95), p. B11A. Qantas. (2010). Qantas Fact file. [Online] Available from: http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/FactFiles.pdf [Accessed 5 May 2010].

Anatomy Of A Psychopath :: essays papers

Anatomy Of A Psychopath "In every man’s heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty." Almost every person has a preconception of the darkest form of humanity: evil. One German film exemplifies this classic struggle of right and wrong, while addressing deeper emotional messages. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was made in 1919 and directed by Robert Weine. The film features a character named Francis, the protagonist, who seeks revenge against Dr. Caligari and his somnambulist, Cesarà ©, whom he believes murdered his friend. In one specific scene, Cesarà © attempts to kill a beautiful woman named Jane, Francis’s fiancà ©e coincidentally, at Caligari’s request. Judging by Cesarà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s previously witnessed brutal and robotic nature, it is assumed that as he creeps up to her gentle sleeping body that her time has expired. Magically, he cannot commit the deed. Overcome with affection, he instead lovingly reaches to cradle her head. She awakens, screams, and struggles. Cesarà © snaps out of his funk and overtakes her, eventually escaping with her on his back. This intense scene conveys the message that even the darkest forms of evil are not completely devoid of humanity, giving the audience the faintest glimmer of hope that good can always shine through malevolence. Cesarà © has no mind of his own; rather he is the puppet of the sinister Dr. Caligari. This is strikingly obvious just before the attack on Jane. As Cesarà © slinks down the corridor to the bedchamber his movements are awkward and unnatural, similar to puppet’s movements. At one point he even pauses, as if to mentally rethink the plan for murder Caligari has laid down. This attention to said murder agenda points that normal people can be highly susceptible to perform evil deeds. In essence, Cesarà © is not an evil person, but one who has been mentally dominated by the evil Caligari. One could play a contemporary television therapist and venture to state that Cesarà © "is the victim in all of this." In fact, "Cesarà © the sleepwalking killer" never existed before Caligari came into place. One can therefore also determine that evil spawns more evil. Kindness and humanity always find a way to shine through the depths of rage and hate. Poised in a striking position, primed to kill, something inside Cesarà © snaps. He is rendered momentarily immobile, unable to perform the deed he has been commanded.

Neverending Story Turning Points Essay

Turning Points Battle for the Ivory Tower In the novel The Neverending Story, the battle for the Ivory Tower between the two protagonists; Bastian and Atreyu is a very important event to the plot of the novel. They were battling for the possession of the Childlike Empress’ amulet, AURYN: Atreyu tried to defend himself with his own sword. But wielded by Bastian, Sikanda cut in two and struck Atreyu in the chest. Blood spurted from the gaping wound. Atreyu staggered back and toppled from the wall (Ende 370). The battle for the Ivory Tower is a very important event to the plot of the novel ecause one of the major characters in the story is stabbed. Bastian is so arrogant and selfish that he stabbed his own friend just so he could keep AURYN for himself and be the Childlike Emperor of Fantastica. Atreyu only took away the amulet so Bastian wouldn’t lose anymore of his memories. However, Bastian was too self absorbed to realize that Atreyu was only trying to help him. The ba ttle for the Ivory Tower is also very important to the development of Bastian as a character. Bastian went through a change as a result of the battle. He started out very angry at Atreyu:Bastian pointed his sword at the heap of flaming ruins and his voice cracked as he declared: â€Å"This is Atreyu’s doing! For I will pursue him to the end of The world! † (Ende 371-372). However, Bastian began to feel guilty about what he had done: Over and over he lived the moment when Atreyu had set the point of his sword to his chest. And for the first time he asked himself why Atreyu hesitated. Why, after all that had happened, couldn’t he bring himself to strike bastian and take AURYN by force? And suddenly Bastian thought of the wound he had inflicted n Atreyu and the look in Atreyu’s eyes as he staggered and fell (Ende 375-376). After Bastian thought about the horrible crime he had committed, he came to realize that what he did was very wrong. Atreyu hesitated bec ause he felt sympathy for his friend even after all that Bastian had done to him. Bastian changed from being angry at his friend for the damage he had caused to feeling guilty for selfishly stabbing Atreyu. The battle for the Ivory Tower also added to the message that what Bastian did to Atreyu was very wrong and he should be shameful, â€Å"His victory left him with a itter taste in his mouth, but at the same time he felt wildly triumphant† (Ende 371). What Bastian did was a very selfish and horrible thing to do to someone who is just trying to help him. This event gets across the message that although Bastian defeated Atreyu, he should be immensely dishonoured of the the horrible thing he did. The City of Old Emperors The City of Old Emperors is a very important event in the plot of the novel. In the City of Old Emperors, Bastian learns what happens to all of the humans who come to Fantastica and try to crown themselves Emperor:Bastian saw a boy with a heavy hammer trying t o drive nails into a pair of socks. A fat man was trying to past postage stamps on soap bubbles. They kept bursting, but he went on blowing new ones (Ende 381). The City of Old Emperors is a very important event in the plot of the novel because that is where Bastian learns that if he continues making wishes, he will lose all of his memories. With no memories, Bastian can’t make anymore wishes. With no more wishes, AURYN disappears. If AURYN disappears, then Bastian will end up in the City of Old Emperors with no memory of anything.The City of Old Emperors is also very important to the development of Bastian as a character. Bastian went through a change when he learned about the City of Old Emperors. He started out very confused: For a while Bastian stood motionless. He was so stunned by what he had just heard that he couldn’t decide what to do. All his plans had collapsed at one stroke (Ende 384). When Bastian realized that he was taking advantage of Moon Child’ s powers and AURYN, he thought about what he had done to Atreyu at the battle for the Ivory Tower: Bastian dug into the earth with both hands.When the hole was big enough, he unslung the sword Sikanda and put it in. â€Å"Sikanda,† he said. â€Å"I am taking leave of you forever. Never again shall anyone draw you against a friend. No one shall find you until what you and I have done is forgotten† (Ende 385). After Bastian once again thought about the horrible thing he had done to Atreyu, he discovered that the right thing to do was burying Sikanda forever. Bastian changed from being very confused and unsure of what he should do next, to someone who knew exactly what the right thing to do is.The City of Old Emperors added to the message that Bastian learned that he was using AURYN to make too many wishes: Batstian watched a man who had lathered a mirror and was starting to shave it. Once that might have struck him as funny; now it made him break out in gooseflesh (Ende 380). Because Bastian has made many wishes, he has lost a lot of memories from his own world. The sight of the man trying to shave a mirror because he had no memories, gave Bastian goose bumps because he is worried that it could happen to him. This event gets across the message that Bastian has learned that he has made too many wishes.

Understanding The Principles Of Developing Postive Relationships With Children, Young People And Adults

Why effective communication is important We are more likely to communicate information to one another if we have positive relationships. Parents and other adults who come into the school are more likely to give beneficial support if communication is strong and effective – this, in turn, benefits pupils. It is also important for pupils that we model effective communication skills. This means checking what we are saying sometimes in moments of stress or excitement, so that they can understand what our expectations are in school.If we ask pupils to behave in a particular way when communicating and then forget to do so ourselves, they will find it harder to understand the boundaries of what is acceptable. Effective communication and positive relationships do not happen by chance. You should think about the way you relate to others and the messages that this sends out. In situations where communication breaks down, misunderstandings can lead to bad feeling.1. 1:2 The principles of relationship buildingThe principles of relationship building with children  and adults in any context are that if others are comfortable in our company, they will be more likely to communicate effectively. Where people do not get along or are suspicious of one another, they are likely to avoid one another wherever possible. Positive relationships are not something which should be left_ to chance and it is important to consider the ways in which we can develop them. We build relationships with others in school on a daily basis in a number of different ways.Although you may do some of these without necessarily thinking  about it, it is worth taking time to consider whether you do all of the following? Effective communication – this is the key area for developing relationships with others and also covers many different forms of communication (see below)? Showing respect – in order to develop positive relationships with others, it is very important to be courteous and respectful, and to listen to their points of view. Adults and pupils with whom you work may also be from different cultures and have different beliefs or values from your own.You  should ensure that you acknowledge and respect the views of others at all times and take time to remember names and preferred forms of address? Being considerate – take the time to consider the positions of others. You may be working with a child or adult who is under particular pressure at a given time and need to understand why they may have behaved or reacted in a certain way or out of character?Remembering issues which are personal to them – it will always help to build positive relationships if you enquire a_er particular aspects  of another person’s life – for example, if you know that a colleague is concerned about their child getting into a particular secondary school, or if you are aware that it is a child’s birthday? Taking time to listen to others – make sure that you take time to listen to other people, in particular if they are asking for advice or help, or if they need to confide in you. You should always show that you are interested in what they have to say and respond appropriately?Being clear on key points – when you have conversations with others in which you are giving  them information, you should always ensure that they are clear what you have said at the end of the discussion. This is because it can be easy to be distracted from the main point of the conversation. When talking to children, always ask them to repeat back to you what they need to do? Maintaining a sense of humour – although the nature of our work in school is important, we should also sometimes take time to see the funny side of different situations. Laughter can be a good icebreaker and is also a great way of relaxing and relieving stress.

Style Of John Steinbeck - Creative Story Essays - Land Management

Style Of John Steinbeck - Creative Story Essays - Land Management Style Of John Steinbeck - Creative Story There was a beauty in the death of the cattle. A kind of frustrated satisfaction that is wrought from an uphill struggle finally over, despite ending the journey at the foot of the mountain. Gaunt bodies littered the fractured earth, creating a stillness in the air, a sense of a battle just over; a battle where each side had slaughtered all the warriors of the other. The shriveled mounds of stagnant meat were dissolving into the air, creating a rankness that completed the mood. Rib bones pointed defiantly at the sun, making a final stand against the cruelty of nature; shouting a silent message into the wind which carried the loud stench of all that is inevitable and frightening. The sky before dusk was filled with heat and light, an emptiness that promised nothing, yet held the fate of many. The heat robbed the earth of its life and stole the cool laughter of the creeks. The light exploded into raucous laughter at the ill fate of the living, and mocked the cows as they expelled a last pathetic grunt into the night. The cows closed their saddened eyes with an agony so intense that every soul filled creature felt a strange loss of dignity in their bones. And the great old trees wept until the morning. The bodies signed the soil with an ink of blood, and sealed the fate of the land. The very grains of dirt seemed to have declared war upon one another, lining up on their distinct sides, refusing to mix with the enemy, refusing to join as one. The blood of the cows, thick and sticky, only painted the anger of the soil, riling the earthen warriors. Dying seeds begged the heat and light to subside, and invited the rains to clean the bloody warpaint from the dirt armies. And the light laughed in their faces. An ancient diplomat raised an angry fist and imposed order upon the universe. Time heals all wounds, even those of the heart, so when the heart of the land was torn apart and all breathing entities felt the pain of its injury, time stepped in and began to end the feuding. The brittle cow bones lying alone in the sun forgot their pride and crumbled into nothingness. The young saplings on the brink of death were enticed by time to fight on. A worker of miracles, time carried with it a perpetual flame, an infinite and sombre vow: peace. It threw the flame upon the dying land, and fought the heat and the light with a fire of the ages. As night drew a blue-grey curtain over the sky, time rationed out hope to those who had waited for it. The great old trees felt a song of dignity in the wind, and stopped weeping. The light and the heat, even in the depths of the night, could feel themselves being opposed by force stronger then they could resist. They could feel a cloud of justice bear down upon them, and they were afraid of the morning. Ed Hummel had not been anticipating the ruthlessness of the drought. His cattle were strewn, starved and bloated, across the dry dirt paddocks. The grass which had coloured the fields a wonderful green just a few short months earlier had surrendered to the suns fury, and now decorated the red dirt with touches of brown. The sun obscured the view with shimmering mirages and Ed squinted to gaze hopefully at the horizon. It only the drought would subside, if only the rain would come and fill the drinking troughs and renew the moisture to the earth. Renew the moisture and wash away the stale cow bodies that lay where new summer grass should be. If only. Eds anxious eyes measured the cracks in the soil, and tested the moisture by kicking up the dust with his old workboots. He pulled his akubra hat down over his freckled ears, protecting his balding head from the fate of his cattle. Sweat glistened on his forehead and ran down his back. His dog had collapsed beneath an old resilient gum tree, and he aspired to join him, but not before

50 Idioms About Meat and Dairy Products

50 Idioms About Meat and Dairy Products 50 Idioms About Meat and Dairy Products 50 Idioms About Meat and Dairy Products By Mark Nichol Expressions that figuratively to livestock and other animals and animal products abound in English idiom. Here are many such morsels. 1–2. To â€Å"bring home the bacon† is to earn money at a job, but to â€Å"save (someone’s) bacon† is to help or rescue someone when they are in trouble or risking failure. 3–5. To â€Å"beef about (someone)† is to complain or criticize, but â€Å"have a beef† with someone is to hold a grudge, while to â€Å"beef up† something is to strengthen it. 6. â€Å"Where’s the beef?† is a challenge or claim indicating that an idea is without sufficient substance. 7–8. A â€Å"chicken† is a fearful person, and to â€Å"chicken out† is to opt, out of fear, not to do something. 9. A â€Å"chicken-and-egg argument† is a circuitous one. 10–12. â€Å"Chicken feed† is an insubstantial amount of money, and â€Å"chicken scratch† is illegible writing, while to â€Å"play chicken† is to engage in a standoff to determine who will back down first. 13. To say that â€Å"the chickens have come home to roost† means that consequences are imminent. 14. The exhortation â€Å"Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched† cautions one not to act as if a hoped-for outcome has already occurred. 15. One who is â€Å"no spring chicken† is not young anymore. 16. To â€Å"run around like a headless chicken† (or â€Å"like a chicken with its head cut off†) is to panic or worry aimlessly. 17–19. To have â€Å"bigger fish to fry† is to have more important things to do, but a â€Å"fine kettle of fish† is an unfortunate situation, while â€Å"a different kettle of fish† suggests something is unrelated to the topic 20–21. To â€Å"make hamburger† or â€Å"make mincemeat† of someone or something is to defeat or destroy the person or the thing. 22. To be a â€Å"meat-and-potatoes† person is to like simple things. 23. A â€Å"meat market† is a venue people frequent to seek sex partners. 24. Something that is â€Å"meat and drink† to someone is a skill or pastime that they enjoy and that is very easy for them. 25. One who is â€Å"dead meat† is a target for harm or punishment. 26. To say that â€Å"one man’s meat is another man’s poison† is to say that what one person may like, another may dislike. 27. The â€Å"meat of the matter† is the essence of an issue or problem. 28. Something that is â€Å"pork barrel† is a government spending project cynically designed to garner support. 29. To â€Å"pork out† is to eat too much. 30. To stop â€Å"cold turkey† is to do so abruptly. 31. To â€Å"butter (someone) up† is to flatter that person. 32. To say that â€Å"butter wouldn’t melt in (one’s) mouth† is to imply that they are feigning innocence by looking calm and cool. 33. To â€Å"cheese (someone) off† is to anger or disgust someone. 34. A â€Å"big cheese† is a leader or somewhat important (sometimes jocularly rendered in French: le grande fromage). 35. To â€Å"cut the cheese† is vulgar slang meaning â€Å"produce flatulence.† 36. â€Å"Say, ‘Cheese!’† is an exhortation to smile for a photograph. 37–38. The â€Å"cream of the crop† is the best in its class; the â€Å"crà ¨me de la crà ¨me† is the best of the best. 39–40. A â€Å"good egg† is a good person, and a â€Å"bad egg† is a bad person. 41–45. To â€Å"put all (one’s) eggs in one basket† is to risk everything at once, but to â€Å"lay an egg† is to perform poorly, and to have â€Å"egg on (one’s) face† is to be left embarrassed or humiliated, while to â€Å"egg (someone) on† is to goad someone to something that is generally ill advised. A â€Å"nest egg† is a savings fund. 46. To say that one â€Å"can’t make an omelette without breaking some (or the) eggs† means that nothing can be accomplished without some difficulty. 47. To â€Å"cry over spilled milk† is to dwell over something that cannot be undone. 48. To be â€Å"full of the milk of human kindness† is to generously display kindness and/or sympathy. 49–50. To â€Å"milk (someone) for (something)† is to pressure the person, but to â€Å"milk (something) for all it’s worth† is to exploit something to the greatest extent possible. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"How to Play HQ Words: Cheats, Tips and TricksPreposition Review #1: Chance of vs. Chance for

The History Iran Sanctions - 1979 Through 2017

The History Iran Sanctions - 1979 Through 2017 Although the United States imposed sanctions against Iran for decades, none levered the country into compliance with international rules regarding terrorism or nuclear energy. By early 2012, however, evidence appeared to be mounting that sanctions by both the U.S. and its global allies were hurting Iran. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action went into effect in 2015, easing tensions and sanctions considerably. Most of the sanctions cut into Irans oil exports, which account for 85 percent of the countrys export revenue. Irans repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil conduit, to international use indicated at one point that Iran was kicking at global oil usage to relieve pressure on its own oil industry. The Carter Years Islamic radicals captured 52 Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held them hostage for 444 days beginning in November 1979. U.S. President Jimmy Carter tried unsuccessfully to free them, including authorizing a military rescue attempt. Iranians did not free the hostages until just after Ronald Reagan replaced Carter as president on January 20, 1981. The United States broke diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 in the midst of that crisis. The U.S. also levied its first round of sanctions against Iran during this time. Carter banned imports of Iranian oil, froze some $12 billion in Iranian assets in the U.S. and later banned all U.S. trade with and travel to Iran in 1980. The U.S. lifted the embargoes after Iran released the hostages. Sanctions Under Reagan The Reagan Administration declared Iran a state sponsor of terrorism in 1983. As such, the U.S. opposed international loans to Iran. When Iran began threatening traffic through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz in 1987, Reagan authorized naval escorts for civilian ships and signed a new embargo against Iranian imports. The United States also banned the sale of dual-use items to Iran – civilian goods with the possibility of military adaptation. The Clinton Years President Bill Clinton expanded U.S. sanctions against Iran in 1995. Iran was still labeled a state sponsor of terrorism and President Clinton took this action amid widespread fear it was pursuing weapons of mass destruction. He prohibited all American involvement with the Iranian petroleum industry. He banned all American investment in Iran in 1997, as well as what little U.S. trade remained with the country. Clinton also encouraged other countries to do the same. Sanctions Under George W. Bush The United States repeatedly froze the assets of people, groups or businesses identified as helping Iran sponsor terrorism under President George W. Bush, as well as those perceived as supporting Irans efforts to destabilize Iraq. The U.S. also froze the assets of foreign entities believed to be helping Iran in those areas. The United States  also banned so-called U-turn financial transfers involving Iran. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, a U-turn transfer involves Iran but originates and ends with non-Iranian foreign banks. Obamas Sanctions of Iran President Barack Obama has been strident with Iranian sanctions. He banned some imports of Iranian foodstuffs and carpets in 2010, and Congress also allowed him to tighten Iranian sanctions with the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA). Obama could encourage non-U.S. petroleum firms to halt the sale of gasoline to Iran, which has poor refineries. It imports nearly one-third of its gasoline. The CISADA also prohibited foreign entities from using American banks if they do business with Iran. The Obama Administration sanctioned Venezuelas nationalized oil company for trading with Iran in May 2011. Venezuela and Iran are close allies. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled to Venezuela in early January 2012 to meet with President Hugo Chavez, in part  about the sanctions. In June 2011, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions against Irans Revolutionary Guard (already named in other sanctions), the Basij Resistance Force, and Iranian law enforcement entities. Obama ended 2011 by signing a defense funding bill that would allow the U.S. to cease dealing with financial institutions that do business with Irans central bank. The bills sanctions took effect between February and June 2012. Obama was given the power to waive aspects of the bill if implementation would hurt the U.S. economy. It was feared that limiting access to Iranian oil would drive up gasoline prices. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Six world powers joined together in 2013 to negotiate with Iran, offering relief from some sanctions if Iran would cease its nuclear efforts. Russia, Britain, Germany, France, and China joined the U.S. in this effort, which finally resulted in an agreement in 2015. Then came the prisoner swap in 2016, with the U.S. exchanging seven imprisoned Iranians in exchange for Iran releasing five Americans it was holding. The U.S. lifted its sanctions against Iran under President Obama in 2016.   President Donald J. Trump President Trump announced in April 2017 that his administration intends to review the countrys history of sanctions against Iran. Although many feared this would potentially eradicate the terms of the 2015 deal due to Irans continued support of terrorism, the review was, in fact, provided for and mandatory under the terms of the 2015 pact.

The Philosophical Foundations of the American Criminal Justice System Research Paper

The Philosophical Foundations of the American Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example Some years after the independence before the alteration of its constitution, the courts were using a replica of the Great Britain courts. One reason that prompted a change in the constitution was that the British law did not offer equal justice and was favoring the English. Among the amendments that were made in the constitution was provision of due process that still exists in current U.S constitution that suspect possesses the right to be informed of accusations brought against him before appearing on the court and prepare for appropriate defense. The American police are responsible in the attainment of goals of the American criminal justice. They do this by arresting crime suspects, investigating crime, as well as facilitating correction. The American law enforcement is no exception of what America inherited from the Great Britain. Retribution is a method of punishment. Correction aims at reforming criminals and reshaping them to fit in the society. Yet again, it is important to remember that The American criminal Justice System borrows heavily from the Great Britain this notion of correction. Rehabilitation can be discussed under correction; however, it is far much better and humane form of punishment. As opposed to correction, which is a vindictive approach to crime, rehabilitation seeks to help convicted criminals to conform, embrace good moral behavior, and become useful members of the society. While The American criminal Justice has aims and principles that govern its operations, it is also founded on a philosophy.

Ancient and Medieval Political Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Ancient and Medieval Political Theory - Essay Example i The Greek way of distinguishing what justice and democracy really are, passes through the analyses of various philosophical minds. The definition of the same with regard to the Republic by Plato and the character Thyrasymachus is justice is â€Å"serving the interest of the stronger†, and secondly, is the obedience to the laws of one state†. However, Socrates thinks that the two assertions cannot be real explanations since the predicates they carry do conflict in one way or another. Plato rounds up by defining justice as â€Å"the greatest good†. In the definition of what democracy is, the philosopher, In Gorgias, through Socrates, Plato, thinks that â€Å" a criminal who does wrong without receiving any punishment is the most wretched person of all† (Plato, 115) Through Socrates, Plato makes attempts that are repeated in a way in order to give good reason for the fact that justice is a tool meant to design all the needs of the people in the society who are powerful and rich. Consequently, Plato was able to prove that the justice had a liaison in the inherent meaning though acting in line with democracy. In that context Plato does claim that there is democracy in Athens which most people in their argument do attest to. He argues through Socrates, that in a society or country, or city that has democracy, it is not easy for an individual to get his or her justice. He defined justice as a virtue that is helpful in the development of an order basis with proper integration of the societal role and does not make interference with any other societal part. The meaning as depicted sounds a bit controversial given the fact that it does relate to the meaning of justice in the traditional realm and the rationale developed basing on fair play. Plato thinks that political justice is â€Å"harmony in a structured political body† Justice is when three parts of the soul (spirited appetitive, and reasoning) work

Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Identity - Essay Example Therefore, our identity is then defined by how we think we fit in to the world around us, and how we feel we stand out (positively/ negatively). Our culture, beliefs and they way our parents have provided us upbringing shapes our thoughts and perception of the situation and hence the world around us. We are a part of the culture that is followed in a country to which we belong, the language we speak the religion we follow the beliefs we acquire through ancestry. This together culminates to a civilization, our ethnicity and no culture can influence it. The way we are presented in the society ascertain and formulate our identity. Our behavior, our communication skills become our tools that enable us to survive and prosper. Our customs and traditions which we follow define our integrity and values we have in our lives. They are the aids of social interaction and do provide an individual a distinctive identity. Therefore identity is personal, social and ethnic and the personality that is shaped out of this is an amalgamation of all these convictions. Thus, establishing one's identity can be both a liberating and an oppressive occurrence as separation from any one of these parameters directly influences the identity and personality of the individual. For e.g. 1. Children who have been separated from their family or country of origin due to migration may become perplexed about their personal and social identities. They experience a number of moves, been cared for by different people in different places, lost important contacts and relationships from their past, been separated from family, friends and their ethnic and cultural networks. 2. Adopted child has some different personality especially those who are from diverse cultural backgrounds or have some kind of disability. Feeling or being made to feel different is a major issue for children who have been adopted. For the adopted child, the stigma of not living with their birth family, living as a cultural or ethnic minority and becoming accustomed to what it means to be adopted are lifelong adjustments. 3. Similar kind of stigma is felt by the children of the prisoners and those who commit punishable offence. Parent's deed affects the individuality of the child and provides a social aloofness, this make the child unique and shapes the personality of a child in a different perspective. The child may start hating the family/ society or parents or cultivate some kind of criminal psyche within the premature mind. 4. Children of the broken marriage also face identity crisis and are confused. They feel ashamed to talk about the disputes their parents have undergone resulting in unsuccessful marriage. It inculcates the seeds of insecurity in the child's mind and changes the psychology of the child. The child does not gain trust on any one and any kind of relationship throughout the life. This is the way personality is changed and shaped. 5. Parents undergoing the phase of mourning after divorce establishes a new sense of self and hence a new sense of identity. It is established that in a long-term marriage, each individual's sense of self-identity becomes tied to the other person and indeed to the marriage itself. Following a broken marriage, each person must reach back into his or her early experience and find other images and

Website portal creation report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Website portal creation report - Assignment Example In recent times,website portal development has set a new platform for new patterns of interaction and communication:new user requirements,goals and behaviors have emerged.In development,eliciting user’s needs must rely on a thorough understanding of the multi-faced context of how users perform their activities This is in order to establish usability requirements and design scenarios for future web portal s (Robertson and James 106). The created webportal is an information source. It is providing an integrated solution for International students where they can get information on accommodation, living environment, courses etc. Basically, it is aiming at equipping a student or guardian with enough information to make the decision to study. For instance, the VISA application procedures are links on the web portal. A desired functionality in a web portal is that it be effective to use. This goal focuses on the ability of the web portal to produce the intended result. Another usabil ity requirement is web portal that is easy to learn and remember how to use. The goal for this is to have a web portal that is easy to use on first hit and one that the users can reestablish proficiency. In addition, a web portal should have good utility and safe to use. The goal here would be to evaluate if the web portal has what the users wants. Web Portal Design The webportal has been designed as an online application and is accessed by use of a browser. It is compatible with Mozilla 3.5, Internet Explorer 7.0, Opera browser, Apple safari and later versions. It has a functionality that it provides and for this it provides pages with the concept of user interaction. The portal offers information to students, international and deals with all student affairs such as accommodation and living. The website has been developed using several supporting technologies, such as HTML and CSS. Choice of color brought harmony to the content displayed. In addition, there were concept graphics th at represented different ideas on student programs and how they could obtain information. The intuitive design guided by user interface principles aimed at giving the user little to think about and make everything appear usual. The portal’s success depends on a clear, concise and balanced arrangement of the information using the basic tools of design: editorial format, typography and programming technique. Using a simple visual design which clearly states what the organization is about is important to the browsers visiting the site. The website is pleasing in the sense that colors complement one another. This website intent and purpose provides information to the users. The first requirement is a visually attractive site that creates a good first impression. This has a memorable URL, full view of the home screen, contacts and short download time. Additionally, this website should demonstrate use of technology by having advanced functionality that can allow user interaction an d overall design experience. The navigation and structure of the website should be simple and straight forward with neat content organization. I recommend including attractors in the website, this will keep the user coming back to the website. The attractors are features like newsletters, career options, polls etc. Evaluation Techniques: Justification of the interface choice There are a number of evaluation techniques that can be applied to test usability and functionality of the web portal. These techniques evaluate the design and implementation and the goal is to access the extent of the web portal functionality (Bevan 15). They also access the interface effect on the specific problem. For this web portal, I would

D-Day, Invasion of Normandy, France (World War II) Research Paper

D-Day, Invasion of Normandy, France (World War II) - Research Paper Example As a consequence lead to France and Britain launching war against Germany two days later. Other countries then joined the war taking different sides depending on the side they supported (Hastings 1945). The war continued resulting in the battle of Normandy which is considered as the last greatest set-piece war that has ever occurred in the Western world. This paper will explore the events of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France during World War II. Fein (5) notes that at the dawn of June 6, 1944, one of the greatest and historic battles started. Under leadership of United States of America, its allied forces entered France. The first Paratroopers were composed of approximately 175, 000 US allied soldiers sent to France that day. The first battle was fought for 24 hours during that day. This daring 24-hour battle is what is termed as D-Day. However, the war that followed after the D-Day is considered one of the most important wars of World War II which began in 1939 and ended in 194 5. This battle is what is known as The Battle of Normandy according to Fein (5). Fein (5) asserts that in 1944, the Axis controlled most parts of Europe. The Axis powers were under the leadership of Germany with the other axis powers consisting of Japan, Italy and Romania. The D-Day invasion of Normandy was the launching point of the Allies for Europe’s invasion. Under the strategy, the Allied forces first planned to liberate France from the control of the Axis. This was then to be followed by waging another war aimed at freeing the rest of Europe. The Allied countries consisted of the United States of America as the leader, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and several other countries. Hitler’s Troops The World War was caused by the fact that Adolf Hitler, then German chancellor, wanted the world to be under his control. This however never came to be as Hitler killed himself in April, 1945, days before Germany conceded to defeat (History Learning Site par 1). Fein (6) reveals that at that time, the German Army was perceived to be one of the strongest in the world. By 1944, German army had taken over most of Europe but later started to show some signs of weakness. It is reported that earlier in the battle, German arsenals had severely suffered huge losses in Africa and the Soviet Union. Therefore, by the time of D-Day battle, millions of German armies were dead or taken as prisoners. Fein asserts that the German arsenals were thinly spread making it weaker. Despite the situation, many German troops still fought in the Soviet Union and on other numerous fonts. Nevertheless, the army still could not respond well both defensively and in form of attacks. This gave the Allies the courage to hit harder as they knew that Hitler was now headed for another defeat. Stalin Demands Action Fein (7) reveals that as the war began, the Soviet Union recorded significant success in fighting Germany. However, due to huge bombardments and losses it incurred, it neede d support from the Allied forces to help it continue with the war. It is reported that at first, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. This led to the deaths of many soldiers and civilians from Soviet Union. In 1942, Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union called upon the Allied forces to invade Europe. This was due to his belief that a huge attack in Europe would force Hitler to

Social week 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social week 6 - Essay Example Mortgage rates spiked up and stock prices fell when the news of tapering hit the market. The Fed though is denying such charges. It is very much unlikely that the Fed will begin its tapering anytime in the near future. But if we assume such an event occurs in the near future, it will put an end to the low interest rates in the mortgage market. The private market will then come back in and come back in strong. There is a huge gap of $85 billion a month and that has to be filled up by someone. When the news of tapering hit the market back in May, 2013, mortgage REITS which made profits by borrowing short term and lending long term mortgages, fell endangering the $ 40 billion industry (The Department of Treasury and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2011). So if the Fed begins its tapering anytime in the near future, mortgage REITS have to raise their rates or rather will be forced to raise their rates or else their business will liquidate. The housing market will then t ake a big hit by the rise in the mortgage rates. The May, 2013 news had already made home buyers stop paying their mortgages and the home owners stopped refinancing. The housing market has clearly slowed down since May, 2013 and has showed no signs of regaining the past momentum (Wallison and Pinto, 2012). The US is the only country in the developed world to have such a troubled housing market. It is also probably the only developed country to have a major government role in housing policy. â€Å"Affordable housing† and other policies related to housing has turned the healthy US market into a financial ruin. Moreover the factors that caused the financial crisis are still in force and until those and the government’s role in housing are eliminated, it is very difficult for the US housing market to return back to normalcy (Wallison and Pinto, 2012). Housing finance is largely handled by the private sector in most

D-Day, Invasion of Normandy, France (World War II) Research Paper

D-Day, Invasion of Normandy, France (World War II) - Research Paper Example As a consequence lead to France and Britain launching war against Germany two days later. Other countries then joined the war taking different sides depending on the side they supported (Hastings 1945). The war continued resulting in the battle of Normandy which is considered as the last greatest set-piece war that has ever occurred in the Western world. This paper will explore the events of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France during World War II. Fein (5) notes that at the dawn of June 6, 1944, one of the greatest and historic battles started. Under leadership of United States of America, its allied forces entered France. The first Paratroopers were composed of approximately 175, 000 US allied soldiers sent to France that day. The first battle was fought for 24 hours during that day. This daring 24-hour battle is what is termed as D-Day. However, the war that followed after the D-Day is considered one of the most important wars of World War II which began in 1939 and ended in 194 5. This battle is what is known as The Battle of Normandy according to Fein (5). Fein (5) asserts that in 1944, the Axis controlled most parts of Europe. The Axis powers were under the leadership of Germany with the other axis powers consisting of Japan, Italy and Romania. The D-Day invasion of Normandy was the launching point of the Allies for Europe’s invasion. Under the strategy, the Allied forces first planned to liberate France from the control of the Axis. This was then to be followed by waging another war aimed at freeing the rest of Europe. The Allied countries consisted of the United States of America as the leader, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and several other countries. Hitler’s Troops The World War was caused by the fact that Adolf Hitler, then German chancellor, wanted the world to be under his control. This however never came to be as Hitler killed himself in April, 1945, days before Germany conceded to defeat (History Learning Site par 1). Fein (6) reveals that at that time, the German Army was perceived to be one of the strongest in the world. By 1944, German army had taken over most of Europe but later started to show some signs of weakness. It is reported that earlier in the battle, German arsenals had severely suffered huge losses in Africa and the Soviet Union. Therefore, by the time of D-Day battle, millions of German armies were dead or taken as prisoners. Fein asserts that the German arsenals were thinly spread making it weaker. Despite the situation, many German troops still fought in the Soviet Union and on other numerous fonts. Nevertheless, the army still could not respond well both defensively and in form of attacks. This gave the Allies the courage to hit harder as they knew that Hitler was now headed for another defeat. Stalin Demands Action Fein (7) reveals that as the war began, the Soviet Union recorded significant success in fighting Germany. However, due to huge bombardments and losses it incurred, it neede d support from the Allied forces to help it continue with the war. It is reported that at first, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. This led to the deaths of many soldiers and civilians from Soviet Union. In 1942, Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union called upon the Allied forces to invade Europe. This was due to his belief that a huge attack in Europe would force Hitler to

Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid Essay Example for Free

Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid Essay Professor C. K. Prahalad’s seminal publication, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, suggests an enormous market at the â€Å"bottom of the pyramid† (BOP)—a group of some 4 billion people who subsist on less than $2 a day. By some estimates, these â€Å"aspirational poor,† who make up three-fourths of the world’s population, represent $14 trillion in purchasing power, more than Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Japan put together. Demographically, it is young and growing at 6 percent a year or more. Traditionally, the poor have not been considered an important market segment. â€Å"The poor can’t afford most products†; â€Å"they will not accept new technologies†; and â€Å"except for the most basic products, they have little or no use for most products sold to higher income market segments†Ã¢â‚¬â€these are some of the assumptions that have, until recently, caused most multinational firms to pay little or no attention to those at the bottom of the pyramid. Typical market analysis is limited to urban areas, thereby ignoring rural villages where, in markets like India, the majority of the population lives. However, as major markets become more competitive and in some cases saturated—with the resulting ever-thinning profit margins— marketing to the bottom of the pyramid may have real potential and be worthy of exploration. One researcher suggested that American and European businesses should go back and look at their own roots. Sears, Roebuck was created to serve the lower-income, sparsely settled rural market. Singer sewing machines fashioned a scheme to make consumption possible by allowing customers to pay $5 a month instead of $100 at once. The world’s largest company today, Walmart, was created to serve the lower-income market. Here are a few examples of multinational company efforts to overcome the challenges in marketing to the BOP. Designing products for the BOP is not about making cheap  stuff but about making technologically advanced products affordable. For example, one company was inspired to invent the Freeplay, a windup self-power–generating radio, when it learned that isolated, impoverished people in South Africa were not getting information about AIDS because they  had no electricity for radios and could not afford replacement batteries. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY The BOP market has a need for advanced technology, but to  be usable, infrastructure support must often accompany the  technology. For example, ITC, a $2.6 billion a year Indian conglomerate, decided to create a network of PC kiosks in villages. For years, ITC conducted its business with farmers through a maze of intermediaries, from brokers to traders. The company wanted farmers to be able to connect directly to information sources to check ITC’s offer price for produce, as well as prices in the closest village market, in the state capital, and on the Chicago commodities exchange. With direct access to information, farmers got the best price for their product, hordes of  intermediaries were bypassed, and ITC gained a direct contact with the farmers, thus improving the efficiency of ITC’s soybean acquisition. To achieve this goal, it had to do much more than just distribute PCs. It had to provide equipment for managing power outages, solar panels for extra electricity, and a satellite-based telephone hookup, and it had to train farmers to use the PCs. Without these steps, the PCs would never have worked. The complex solution serves ITC very well. Now more  than 10,000 villages and more than 1 million farmers are covered by its system. ITC is able to pay more to farmers and at the same time cut its costs because it has dramatically reduced the inefficiencies in logistics. The vast market for cell phones among those at the BOP is  not for phones costing $200 or even $100 but for phones costing less than $50. Such a phone cannot simply be a cut-down version of an existing handset. It must be very reliable and have lots of battery capacity, as it will be used by people who do not have reliable access to electricity. Motorola went thorough four redesigns to develop a low-cost cell phone with  battery life as long as 500 hours for villagers without regular electricity and an extra-loud volume for use in noisy markets. Motorola’s low-cost phone, a no-frills cell phone priced at $40, has a standby time of two weeks and conforms to local languages and customs. The cell-phone manufacturer says it expects to sell 6 million cell phones in six months in markets including China, India, and  Turkey. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES CREATIVE FINANCING There is also demand for personal computers but again, at very low prices. To meet the needs of this market, Advanced Micro Devices markets a $185 Personal Internet communicator—a basic computer for developing countries—and a Taiwan Company offers a similar device costing just $100. For most products, demand is contingent on the customer  having sufficient purchasing power. Companies have to devise creative ways to assist those at the BOP to finance larger purchases. For example, Cemex, the world’s third-largest cement company, recognized an opportunity for profit by enabling  lower-income Mexicans to build their own homes. The company’s Patrimonio Hoy Programme, a combination builder’s â€Å"club† and financing plan that targets homeowners who make less than $5 a day, markets building kits using its premiumgrade cement. It recruited 510 promoters to persuade new customers to commit to building additions to their homes. The customers paid Cemex $11.50 a week and received building  materials every 10 weeks until the room was finished (about  70 weeks—customers were on their own for the actual building). Although poor, 99.6 percent of the 150,000 Patrimonio Hoy participants have paid their bills in full. Patrimonio Hoy at tracted 42,000 new customers and is expected to turn a $1.5 million profit next year. 8/27/10 2:14 PM Cases 3 Assessing Global Market Opportunities One customer, Diega Chavero, thought the scheme was a scam  when she first heard of it, but after eight years of being unable to save enough to expand the one-room home where her family of six lived, she was willing to try anything. Four years later, she has five bedrooms. â€Å"Now I have a palace.† Another deterrent to the development of small enterprises at the BOP is available sources of adequate financing for microdistributors and budding entrepreneurs. For years, those at the bottom of the pyramid needing loans in India had to depend on local moneylenders, at interest rates up to 500 percent a year. ICICI Bank, the second-largest banking institution in India, saw these people as a potential market and critical to its future. To convert them into customers in a cost-effective way, ICICI turned to village self-help groups. ICICI Bank met with microfinance-aid groups working with  the poor and decided to give them capital to start making small loans to the poor—at rates that run from 10 percent to 30 percent. This sounds usurious, but it is lower than the 10 percent daily rate that some Indian loan sharks charge. Each group was composed of 20 women who were taught about saving, borrowing, investing, and so on. Each woman contributes to a joint savings account with the other members, and based on the self-help group’s track record of savings, the bank then lends money to the group, which in turn lends money to its individual members. ICICI has developed 10,000 of these groups reaching 200,000 women. ICICI’s money has helped 1 million households get loans that average $120 to $140. The bank’s executive directory says the venture has been â€Å"very profitable.† ICICI is working with local communities and NGOs to enlarge its reach. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION When Unilever saw that dozens of agencies were lending microcredit loans  funds to poor women all over India, it thought that these would-be microentrepreneurs needed businesses to run. Unilever realized it could not sell to the bottom of the pyramid unless it found low-cost ways to distribute its product, so it created a network of hundreds of thousands of Shakti Amma (â€Å"empowered mothers†) who sell Lever’s products in their villages through an Indian version of Tupperware parties. Start-up loans enabled the women to buy stocks of goods to sell to local villagers. In one case, a woman who received a small loan was able to repay her start-up loan and has not needed to take another one. She now sells regularly to about 50 homes and even serves as a miniwholesaler, stocking tiny shops in outlying villages a short bus ride from her own. She sells about 10,000 rupees ($230) of goods each month, keeps about $26 profit, and ploughs the rest back into new stock. While the $26 a month she earns is less than the average $40 monthly income in the area, she now has income, whereas before she had nothing. Today about 1,300 poor women are selling Unilever’s products in 50,000 villages in 12 states in India and account for about 15 percent of the company’s rural sales in those states. Overall, rural markets account for about 30 percent of the company’s revenue. In another example, Nguyen Van Hon operates a floating sundries distributorship along the Ke Sat River in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta—a maze of rivers and canals dotted with villages. His boat is filled with boxes containing small bars of Lifebuoy soap and  single-use sachets of Sunsilk shampoo and Omo laundry detergent, which he sells to riverside shopkeepers for as little as 2.5 cents each. At his first stop he makes deliveries to a half dozen small shops. He sells hundred of thousands of soap and shampoo packets a month, enough to earn about $125—five times his previous monthly salary as a junior Communist party official. â€Å"It’s a hard life, but its getting better.† Now, he â€Å"has enough to pay his daughter’s schools fees and soon . . . will have saved enough to buy  a bigger boat, so I can sell to more villages.† Because of aggressive efforts to reach remote parts of the country through an extensive network of more than 100,000 independent sales  representatives such as Hon, the Vietnam subsidiary of Unilever realized a 23 percent increase in sales last year to more than $300 million. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES AFFORDABLE PACKAGING As one observer noted, â€Å"the poor cannot be Walmartized.† Consumers in rich nations use money to stockpile convenience. We go to Sam’s Club, Costco, Kmart, and so on, to get bargain prices and the convenience of buying shampoos and paper towels by the case. Selling to the poor requires just the opposite approach. They do not have the cash to stockpile convenience, and they do not mind frequent trips to the village store. Products have to be made available locally and in affordable units; fully 60 percent of the value of all shampoo sold in India is in single-serve packets. Nestlà © is targeting China with a blitz of 29 new ice cream  brands, many selling for as little as 12 cents with take-home and multipack products ranging from 72 cents to $2.30. It also features products specially designed for local tastes and preferences of Chinese consumers, such as Nestlà © Snow Moji, a rice pastry filled with vanilla ice cream that resembles dim sum, and other ice cream flavors like red bean and green tea. The ice cream products are distributed through a group of small independent saleswomen, which the company aims to expand to 4,000 women  by next year. The project is expected to account for as much as 24 percent of the company’s total rural sales within the next few years. BOP MARKETING CREATES  HEALTH BENEFITS Albeit a promotion to sell products, marketing to BOP does help improve personal hygiene. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that diarrhea-related diseases kill 1.8 million people a year and noted that  better hand-washing habits—using soap—is one way to prevent their spread. In response to WHO urging, Hindustan Lever Company introduced a campaign called â€Å"Swasthya Chetna† or â€Å"Glowing Health,† which argues that even cleanlooking hands may carry dangerous germs, so use more soap. It began a concentrated effort to take this message into the tens of thousands of villages where the rural poor reside, often with little access to media. â€Å"Lifebuoy teams visit each village several times,† using a â€Å"Glo Germ† kit to show schoolchildren that soap-washed hands are cleaner. This program has reached â€Å"around 80 million rural folk,† and sales of Lifebuoy in small affordable sizes have risen sharply. The small bar has become the brand’s top seller.

internal audit proficiency and internal controls

internal audit proficiency and internal controls LITERATURE REVIEW 9.0 Introduction This chapter is a review of the related literature generated by the researcher on the subject of study. The chapter entails the relationship between internal audit proficiency and internal controls; internal controls and corporate governance; internal audit proficiency and risk management; internal controls and risk management; and risk management and corporate governance. 9.1 Internal Audit Proficiency Internal auditors should possess the knowledge, skills, and other competencies needed to perform their individual responsibilities. The internal audit activity collectively should possess or obtain the knowledge, skills, and other competencies needed to perform its responsibilities. The internal auditor should have sufficient knowledge to identify the indicators of fraud but is not expected to have the expertise of a person whose primary responsibility is detecting and investigating fraud. (IIA, 2007). The rationale is that internal auditors experiences, knowledge and education are most valuable to management (Giselle, 2000). 9.2 Internal Audit Proficiency and Internal Controls From the definition of internal auditing, the objective of internal auditing not only includes involvement in governance but also highlights the importance of evaluating and improving control and risk management (IIA, 2007). Most internal audit professionals argue that an effective internal audit function clearly correlates with an organisations success in meeting management objectives and whether the internal control system is functioning as intended (Faudziah et al, 2005). The effectiveness of internal audit greatly contributes to the effectiveness of each auditee in particular and the organization at large (Dittenhofer, 2001). Dittenhofer (2001) also observed that, if internal audit quality is maintained, it will contribute to the appropriateness of procedures and operations in the organization. Therefore, internal audit proficiency is seen as an important attribute to the quality of the internal audit function and the way it adds value to the internal control frame work. The Institute of Internal Auditors Standard 1210 on proficiency of auditors, requires that internal auditors posse the knowledge, skill and other competencies needed to perform their responsibilities (IIA, 2007). Internal audit effectiveness is determined by the internal audit departments capability to provide useful findings and recommendations and to prove that it is of value to the organization and promotes good governance within the organization. Internal auditors need specific technical skills and to be seen to undertake continual professional development to keep up to date with changing business practices and remain capable of providing a value-added service in their audit approach (Giselle, 2000). They should therefore be experts in the area of internal control and should use their skills and expertise to evaluate internal control systems of their organizations and recommend improvements that will greatly contribute to good governance. According to Jan Cattrysse (2005), internal audit could have an important input based on their experience from independent monitoring operations or previous occurrences of wrongdoing. 9.3 Internal Audit Proficiency and Risk Management. The role of internal audit is to provide objective assurance to those charged with governance and management on the adequacy and effectiveness of the risk management framework, help in improving the processes by which risks are identified and managed, help in strengthening and improving the risk management framework. According to (Herdman 2002; Richards 2002; Bailey et al. 2003; Gramling et al. 2004; Carcello et al. 2005b; Deloitte 2005; Gadziala 2005), the internal audit function plays a unique and critical role in corporate governance by monitoring organizational risks and helping ensure financial reporting reliability. Chris Jeffrey (2008) asked that, if an internal audit group does not clearly understand the industry, how could it decipher what the greatest risks to the organization were? In order to do all this, internal auditors need to be skilled and experienced on how risk management works. They also need to gain a better understanding of the key business risks and the impact they can have on the organizations ability to build shareholder value (risk assessment). Internal auditors must also be able to assess the responses to key exposures and determine if those responses are sufficient or relevant (Gerrit and Ignace, 2006). Spira Page (2003), note that the recent corporate governance guidelines assume that risks can be objectively identified, quantified and thus strategically managed. Consequently, expertise in risk management techniques and knowledge about the internal control system become a source of power which enables internal auditors to advance and play an important role within their organization. Companies facing higher risk will increase their organizational monitoring through internal audit, providing evidence of the importance of the internal audit function (Colin et al, 2008). Lastly, according to Ian William, (2007), one external auditor commented that the internal audit profession had been trying to reposition itself over the last six or seven years from being relatively unfashionable function: â€Å"Im not saying that it was just re-badging. They have been taking on new skills and repositioning themselves more as risk advisory/ management people†. 9.4 Internal Controls and Risk Management. According to the new definition of internal controls by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA, 2007), controls do not exist in a vacuum and implies, rather, that controls exist to assist organizations in managing risk and promoting governance processes. A companys system of internal controls has a key role in the management of risks that are significant to the fulfillment of its business objectives. It is important to note therefore, that a sound system of internal control provides reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that a company will not be hindered in achieving its business objectives by circumstances which may reasonably be foreseen. Risk in a financial context is generally understood to be the potential for financial loss consequent on fraud and incompetence. Although it is widely understood that such risk can never be entirely eliminated, it is generally believed that a system of internal control will act as a deterrent to fraud and a protection against incompetence (Spira Page, 2003). Gerrit Ignace, (2006), noted that internal controls are only one of the means to manage key organizational risks. Other devices used to manage risks include the transfer of risks to third parties, sharing risks and the withdrawal from unacceptably risky activities. 9.5 Risk Management and Corporate Governance From an agency perspective, the importance of strong governance stems from the need to align the interests of management with other stakeholders in the firm in order to reduce agency costs (Cohen et al., 2002). One of corporate governance mechanisms that can be used to monitor managements behaviour is internal audit (Davidson et al., 2005). Internal auditors are certainly exhorted in the professional literature to embrace the opportunity to contribute to the achievement of corporate objectives through risk management (Gerrit Ignace, 2006). 9.6 Internal Controls and Corporate Governance

Sociotechnical Systems Essay -- Information Technology

The concept of sociotechnical systems was created in the 1960’s as a part of organizational development research by E. Trist and F. Emery. Ranging from a small system between you and your phone, to the interaction between human behaviors with massive technical infrastructures society has developed in hopes to boost performance and quality for both the societal and technical side of the system (Fischer). The essential impression behind a sociotechnical system refers to the interrelatedness that humans, which are the social aspect of the term, and non-humans, which are the technical aspect of the term, have networks between each other. It is how a human interacts with the particular technology and in conjunction how technology inscribes relations onto humans. It is a conventional logic to think that humans have control of technology, and also that technology is simply used as an extension of human capabilities. Sociotechnical networks attempt to reveal how that may not be true by showing how technologies have a much more active role on human behavior, and by trying to show how the relationship between humans and non-humans is a much more complex and dynamic that we may assume (Pinch & Wiebe). Now with a better grasp on such a broad concept, where does someone actively fit in one of these systems? Personally, I participate in a number of sociotechnical systems across a range of platforms and devices from simple design to large scale complexity. Sociotechnical systems can bring people together through computer-mediated communications. Dedicated systems in companies can gather employee statistics to then compile and deploy in a knowledge base easily accessible by anyone who may gain assistance from a previous employees experience w... ...rking there were given two weeks’ notice. As a way of helping them go through this transition the company used a lot of its resources, be it the workforce placement company Yoh to find a new job for these employees to personal recommendations to friends in other companies to help this employees not be jobless for any long period of time. It’s very difficult to cater to everyone’s ethical expectations of the world. All we can do is cope, until a new sociotechnical system comes out that solves everyone’s ethical dilemmas for us. Works Cited Pinch, Trevor J. and Wiebe E. Bijker. "The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts: Or How the Sociology of Science and the Sociology of Technology Might Benefit Each Other. "Social Studies of Science: 399-441. Fischer, Gerhard. â€Å"Distributed intelligence: extending the power of the unaided, individual human mind.† 7-14.

The Bank of New York and its History Essay -- essays papers

The Bank of New York and it's History On February 23, 1784, a small advertisement appeared in The New York Packet, one of the many New York newspapers of that era. This advertisement announced that prominent New York citizens had established a bank. The bank, established by the prominent, would not officially open for business until June 9, 1784. That bank would come to be known as the bank of New York. Alexander Hamilton, a well-known New York attorney, was asked to write the constitution of the new bank. He complied and therefore Alexander Hamilton was credited with the founding of the Bank of New York. The Bank of New York is the oldest bank in New York and along with that is one of the oldest banks in the world since banking the way we know it today began in the 18th century. Alexander Hamilton later went on to become the Secretary of the Treasury in President George Washington’s first cabinet. In 1789, Hamilton negotiated the first loan obtained by the new Democratic government. The amount of the loan was $200,000, and was issued by The Bank of New York. Hence, not only is the Bank of New York one of the oldest banks in the world, but it is also a historic one because it was the first bank in the United States to issue a loan. Adding to that historic feeling, when the New York Stock Exchange was created in 1792, the first stock traded was the Bank of New York's stock. The Bank of New York played a major role in the economic growth in the New York metropolitan area. The Bank was also involved with the growth of transportation. The construction of the Morris Canal in New Jersey and the Erie Canal in New York were partially funded by the Bank, which also provided financing to the steamboat companies that benefited from these waterways. Through investments in nearly every railroad and utility, as well as in the construction of the New York City subway system, the Bank of New York continued to provide vital capital to the expanding American economy. However, far more emphasis was given to conservative practices and retaining the confidence of our customers. That policy enabled the bank to survive the economic turmoil of the early twentieth century. Throughout its 200-year history, the Bank of New York has been involved in many mergers and acquisitions. Through mergers with the New York Life Insurance & Trust Company, The... ... to service our current needs. It is also important that they are committed to the ongoing investment in technology required to deliver the securities, cash and investment management support services we require. The Bank of New York is a well-established financial institution that has outlasted numerous financial hardships, including the Great Depression. It has a long history of providing excellent services to its customers. In the present day, The Bank of New York continues to live up to that reputation by offering its customers a variety of financial services. The future can only get better for the Bank of New York. With the technological era in full swing, the Bank of New York is taking full advantage by specializing in technological securities. In conclusion, The Bank if New York is a historical financial institution that played an important role in the economic growth of the United States. No other bank can say that it has done as much for the United States as has done the Bank of New York. Bibliography: 1. http://www.gwdg.de/~ifbg/bank_2.html 2. http://www.bankofny.com/about/ahst.htm 3. http://www.bankofny.com/util/usgx.htm 4. www.bankofny.com

A Utilitarian Education

Utilitarianism â€Å"Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive. Sheds coat in spring†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ † A perfect example of a product of utilitarian education, Bitzer defines a horse off the top of his head in a split second. Utilitarianism is the assumption that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for imagination. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this utilitarian logic in Hard Times. The first; Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, one of the main characters in the book, was the principal of a school in Coketown. He was a firm believer in utilitarianism and instilled this philosophy into the students at the school from a very young age, as well as his own children. Mr. Josiah Bounderby was also a practitioner of utilitarianism, but was more interested in the profit that stemmed from it. At the other end of the perspective, a group of circus members, who are the total opposite of utilitarians, are added by Dickens to provide a sharp contrast from the ideas of Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind. Thomas Gradgrind Sr. a father of five children, has lived his life by the book and never strayed from his philosophy that life is nothing more than facts and statistics. He has successfully incorporated this belief into the school system of Coketown, and has tried his best to do so with his own children. The educators see children as easy targets just waiting to be filled with information. They did not consider, however, the children†s need for fiction, poetry, and other fine arts that are used to expand children†s minds, all of which are essential today in order to produce well-rounded human beings through the educational process. One has to wonder how different the story would be if Gradgrind did not run the school. How can you give a utilitarian man such as Gradgrind such power over a town? I do like how Dickens structures the book to make one ask obvious questions such as these. Dickens does not tell us much about the success of the other students of the school besides Bitzer, who is fairly successful on paper, but does not have the capacity as a person to deal with life†s everyday struggles. Gradgrinds two oldest children, Tom and Louisa, are examples of how this utilitarian method failed miserably. These children were never given the opportunity to think for themselves, experience fun things in life, or even use their imaginations. True, they are smart people in the factual sense but do not have the street smarts to survive. Tom is a young man who, so fed up with his father†s strictness and repetition, revolts against him and leaves home to work in Mr. Bounderby†s bank. Tom, now out from under his fathers wing, he begins to drink and gamble heavily. Eventually, to get out of a deep gambling debt, he robs a bank and is forced to flee the area. When Bitzer realizes that Tom has robbed the bank and catches him, Mr. Gradgrind begs him to let Tom go, reminding him of all of the hard work that was put on him while at the school. Ironically Bitzer, using the tools of factuality that he had learned in Gradgrinds school, replies that the school was paid for, but it is now over and he owes nothing more. I think this is extremely funny how, at a time of need, Gradgrind†s educational theory has backfired in his face. I think Dickens put this irony in as a comical device but also to show how ineffective the utilitarian method of teaching is. Louisa, unlike Tom, does get along with her father. She even agrees to marry Mr. Bounderby, even though she does not love him, in order to please her father. She stays in the marriage with Bounderby, and goes about life normally and factually, until she is faced with a dilemma and panics. Mr. James Harthouse, a young, good looking guy, is attracted to Louisa and deceivingly draws her attraction to him. She does not know what to do since she has never had feelings of her own before. Her father never gave her the opportunity to think for herself, or even love someone. This is why Louisa goes frantic and ends up crying in her fathers lap. She has always been told what to do and what is ‘right†, and now even her father is stumped. For the first time in the whole novel, Mr. Gradgrind strays from the utilitarian philosophy and shows compassion for his daughter and her feelings. One must think that he is beginning to doubt his philosophy after seeing it backfire in his face more than once. Josiah Bounderby is another prime example of utilitarianism. He is one of the wealthiest people in Coketown; owning a bank and a factory, but is not really a likable person. His utilitarian philosophy is similar to Gradgrinds in the sense that factuality is the single most important virtue that one could posses. Mr. Bounderby maintained throughout the story his utilitarian views, which basically stated that nothing else is important besides profit. Being the owner of both a factory and a bank, Bounderby employs many workers, yet seems to offer them no respect at all. He refers to the factory workers as â€Å"Hands,† because that is all they are to him. Bounderby often states that workers are all looking for â€Å"venison, turtle soup, and a golden spoon,† while all they really want is decent working conditions and fair wage for their work. He is not concerned about his employees as human beings, but how much their hands can produce during the workday, resulting with money in his pocket. When one of his workers, Stephen Blackpool came to Bounderby†s house asking for advice about his bad marriage, he was treated as inferior just because of his social status. Dickens portrayed the scene as one in which Blackpool was on a level five steps below Bounderby and his associates because he was a lowly worker who was obviously much less educated than them. It almost seemed like they would not even take him seriously because he was such. Blackpool was told that he could not divorce his wife because it would be against the laws of England. Later in the book, Bounderby divorces his wife. This shows that wealth played a large role in determining the social classes that people were in and the privileges they had. This was definitely unfair but the social classes were structured in a way which allowed those who had money to look down upon those who were less fortunate. Generally, those who were not well-educated did not have any money, while the well-educated ones such as Bounderby and Gradgrind were wealthy. The people who knew the factual information, (utilitarians) were successful, while those who did not were reduced to working in the factories of the utilitarians. Dickens paints a vivid picture of this inequality between social classes and shows he does not care much for it. It is fairly easy to see that Dickens holds a contempt for Bounderby and the utilitarian philosophy he carries. The book details the philosophy, then shows how miserably it failed. How much different would their lives be if the town was not run by utilitarians. Dickens cleverly added in circus people as a contrast to the utilitarian approach to life. The circus people could be called the total opposite of utilitarianism. If one element of the book stands out in my mind, it would be this one. The circus people are simple, open-minded human beings whose goal in life is to make people laugh. Dickens portrays them as a step up from the â€Å"Hands† but still close to the bottom in the social structure. These people are hated by Gradgrind, Bounderby and other utilitarians because they represent everything that is shunned in utilitarianism such as love, imagination, and humor. Sissy Jupe, the daughter of a circus man, was taken in by the Gradgrinds to live in their home. She is representative of the circus people with her innocence and free-will, qualities which are lacking in the lives of the people around her. Just by her presence, her goodness rubs off on the people around her, although it is too late for most of them. Even after numerous attempts to force utilitarianism into her by Mr. Gradgrind and his school, she is still the fun-loving girl that she always was because she grew up living with â€Å"normal† people who thought for themselves and loved each other. She influenced these qualities on the youngest Gradgrind daughter Jane, who led a much more enjoyable and fulfilling life than her older sister Louisa because of those influences. Jane is not spoken of much until the end of the book but I like the way Dickens showed the effects of the utilitarian lifestyle as opposed to the non-utilitarian lifestyle. The utilitarians ultimately ended with a great downfall because their narrow-minds could not endure the pressures that life can impose on oneself. The people that did not fall victim to the utilitarian trap were able to live their lives happily and freely, able to love, laugh, and use their imagination; which is the way life ought to be lived. Dickens obviously had a definitive opinion of the way life should be lived and did an excellent job of depicting it. His method was somewhat indirect in the sense that he worked backwards to get his point across, but turned out to be very effective as the story progressed. Most of the story revolved around utilitarianism and the study of cold hard facts, but when the character flaws began to surface as a result of this philosophy, Dickens is quick to emphasize them. One actually sees the main character of the book and firm supporter of utilitarianism, Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, experience the faults of his practice and begin to stray from it. Now, after watching his life fall apart, maybe he wishes he were in the circus.