Performance and Culture - Post Modernism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Performance and Culture - Post Modernism - Essay Example Though postmodernism still has the potential to be an effective liberating space for the subjugated, it is seldom used for this end (McGuigan 98). One key aspect of the visual aesthetic of the black community is that of the body. The notions surrounding black hair and its style provide us a contextual framework for analyzing its relation to modernity and postmodernity. One of the mechanisms of modernism is to find an absolute "essence" of its subject, denying all the other experiences that make up a community in the margin (Hutcheon). Within and outside their community, essentialist arguments have been used to fit the entire community in the margin into easy categories. For instance, the natural texture of African-American hair has been used as one of the key visual elements in a system of ethnic signifiers. The first essentialist construction of black hair meant that it was all of the things white hair was not. Instead of being judged for its own inherent qualities, black hair was portrayed to be not good, not beautiful, unmanageable and even uninteresting. As an ethnic signifier, its metonymic qualities were obvious - it als o became the construction of what whiteness was not. This first essentialist argument was not created by the black community, but it was internalized. It is still in use today by individuals inside and outside of the margin that comprises the black community (Hutcheon). This deficiency was addressed by the black power movement during the nineteen sixties, although the method employed was of the modernist tradition. It tried to redefine what â€Å"ideal† meant for those inside and outside the community. The myth of the superiority attached to straightened and processed hair was dismantled and a new signifiers for good black hair was projected – namely the Afros and Caribbean dreadlocks. This new essentialist construction of ideal black hair countered the former one, and thus is strongly tied to it. What resulted was a

A modern audience Essay Example for Free

A modern audience Essay But her marriage to will is all a practical arrangement as she is good at her job and Will is a skilled craftsman. As this partnership moves on the pair become more successful, they manage to pay back Mrs Hepworth the loan she gave then to get started and we see a more romantic side to Maggie as she saves a flower from her wedding day bouquet.  I thought Id press it in my bible  For keep sake A factor about Maggie that would appeal to a modern audience is that she is very intelligent. She controls the accounts and organises everything at Hobsons. She taught Will to read and write, because Will was born into the lower class she was not properly educate and so he was illiterate but Maggie changed that by educating him herself:  Ill just set you a short copy, for tonight.  Maggie is honest and fair, when Albert and Freddy are trying to get more money than they agreed out of Mr Hobson, she knows he cannot afford what they are asking and so she gets them down to a more realistic price:  I know perfectly well what father can afford to pay, and it is not a thousand pounds nor anything like a thousand pounds. Maggie is also humble because she is not afraid to ask for help when she needs it. She asks Mrs Hepworth for money as her and will havent got any from their previous jobs because Hobson didnt pay Maggie and Will came from a lower class and had little pay, all to get married and start up a good business  Weve paid back Mrs Hepworth what she lent us for our start and made a bit o brass on top o that.  At the beginning of the play Will lacked self-confidence and he was poor. He was also a victim of Hobsons exploitation:  What does she want to praise workmen to his face for? But Will is a talented craftsman and a skilled worker which is why Mrs Hepworth complimented him and asked that he makes her shoes in the future:  These are the best-made pair of boots Ive ever had. Now, youll make my boots in future.  This is a great compliment for a working class man because they were not often praised for their work and didnt often do so well. This is a point about Will that would appeal to a modern audience.  Will, like many other working class in the 1880s could not read at the start of the play but due to Maggies help he learns how to read and write. By starting up his own business shows he is a good business man and he pays off Mrs Hepworth the money back she lent the couple to get the business started. Weve paid off Mrs Hepworth what she lent us for our start.  Will is from a working class background; he is one of Hobsons boot hands and suffers social prejudice from Maggies sisters Alice and Vicky but now is near equal class to them but they still see him form a lower class and treat him with a lack of respect  Will Mossop do you know who you are talking to?  As the play progresses Wills confidence increase as he now dares to stand up to Hobson, Alice, Vicky and Maggie  Ill take you into partnership and give you a half share. The Audience may find Wills character comical due to his sayings Well by gum  And make the viewers laugh. When Maggie tells Will she wants to marry him he is a bit worried at tries to back down from the proposal because he did not love her, but they get their partnership up and running and as the story continues he realises that he can learn to love and give Maggie the respect she needs to create a successful business. From the start to the end of the play Will Mossop changes a lot. He went from working in Hobsons cellar to owning his own successful business and being married to Maggie. His main change was that he went from poverty to being a member of the working/middle class. By doing this he has made his way up the social ladder, which was very hard to do in the 19th century. Wills struggle could be compared to a dream going from rags to riches. In my opinion this would be the most important factor about Will that would appeal to a modern audience.  Maggies determination to make a success of hers and Willies marriage and the business that they start would make her popular with a modern audience because she did not really love Will when they were married, but she had to do something to get away from Mr Hobson, her authoritarian father and she also managed to get her sisters married.

The Futility of Dreams in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Essay exampl

The Futility of Dreams in Of Mice and Men    Everyone has a dream they hope to achieve, but dreams are not always possible to attain. In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, two ranch hands, George and Lennie, find work in Salinas Valley. Lennie, constantly getting into trouble, inadvertently causes the two of them to be run out of town and thus have to find new work regularly. George and Lennie's search for work in the hope of accomplishing their dream of a small farm of their own displays how futile realizing dreams can be. The major themes identified by commentators in Of Mice and Men are friendship and isolation, hope and futility(Votteler 334). Through George and Lennie's friendship, the hope to achieve their dream is kept alive. "George, little and clever, feels that Lennie has been given into his keeping"(Moore 341). "Simpleminded and gentle, Lennie possesses great physical strength and becomes unwittingly destructive when startled"(Votteler 334). Although Lennie is very strong, he is also very timid and has trouble remembering things, but under George's control, Lennie is calm and docile since he just does what George tells him to(Moore 341). According to Moore, "Of Mice and Men tells the story of two drifting ranch hands, George and Lennie, who dream, as rootless men do, of a piece of land of their own, where they will 'belong'"(341). George tells Lennie that the loneliest guys in the world are like them working on ranches, have no family, no place to belong for continually moving on to a new ranch, and have nothing to look forward to(Steinbeck 13). With them, it is not like that because they have a future, somebody to talk to, and are working toward getting their own farm with a couple ac... ...ited by Thomas Votteler, Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993, p. 341-342. Rascoe, Burton. "John Steinbeck," in Steinbeck and His Critics: A Record of Twenty-Five Years, edited by E. W. Tedlock, Jr. and C. V. Wicker, University of New Mexico Press, 1957, pp. 57-67, in Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 75, edited by Thomas Votteler, Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993, pp. 336-339. Shurgot, Michael W. "A Game of Cards in Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'," in Steinbeck Quarterly, Vol. XV, Nos. 1-2, Winter-Spring, 1982, pp. 38-43, in Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 75, edited by Thomas Votteler, Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993, pp. 362-365. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. Votteler, Thomas. Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 75, edited by Thomas Votteler, Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993, p. 334-335.   

African American Literature Essay

Throughout this semester in African American Literature we have read and analyzed many different literary works from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature by Henry Louis Gates Jr. We have discussed several of them in class either as a whole or in groups. I thoroughly enjoyed gaining useful knowledge about my own culture and heritage. This course also furthered my knowledge of the African American Experience. A few literary works stood out to me in particular; I’ve Been to The Mountaintop by Martin Luther King Jr. , â€Å"What to a slave is the Fourth of July â€Å" by Frederick Douglass and Long Black Song by Richard Wright. These powerful works of literature really allowed me to hypothetically â€Å"put myself in their shoes†. Some of the imagery portrayed in the text really effected me and made me reevaluate myself as an African American male. The impact that these powerful men and women had in their time period still affects us in present time. I’ve been to the Mountaintop delivered by the late, great, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 3,1968 was one of the most powerful speeches of his life. During this sermon Dr. King spoke of some of his encounters with racist white people. One of his encounters was a brutal stabbing incident in New York City. Dr. King was in critical condition for four days â€Å" if I had sneezed I would have died. † (King 115) Even though he was treated horribly he knew that one-day things 1 2 would get better. Martin Luther King jr. used a certain form of Vernacular called call and response/ call and recall engaging his audience and evoking a deeper response. He also made a few biblical references during the speech. Martin Luther King Jr. compares himself to a present day Moses stating â€Å" He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain†¦and I’ve seen the Promised Land, I may not get there with you, but, I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land† (King 116). King’s speech really portrays the power of Non violent Direct Action. Frederick Douglass also played a big role this semester. The speech that intrigued me the most was â€Å"What to a Slave is the Fourth of July†. This speech is one of Douglass’ most controversial speeches. It allowed me to visualize the pain that they endured to help instill equality in America. One excerpt that moved me states â€Å"This Forth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. †(Doug468) this meant that Frederick Douglass did not count himself apart of American traditions if he is not being treated like an American. The speech impacted me personally because it made me appreciate the value of freedom more than before. Thousands of men and women died in hopes of making a change. Their efforts were not in vein, and me, an African American male have to hold myself to a higher standard because living in a white America I am already at a disadvantage. Long Black Song by Richard Wright played a major role in my understanding of African American Literature because with its unique portrayal of inequality amongst 2 3 races. Richard Wright had a unique writing style that blended realism and naturalism in his stories. There dialogue alone brings the story to life. The battle that Silas is facing is not an easy one. He is constantly being provoked by the white man directly and indirectly until he can no longer take it and retaliates. In closing, I’ve Been to the Mountaintop, What to the Slave is Forth of July, and Long Black Song are all powerful literary works that helped me progress tremendously in my understanding of African American Literature. the main thing I got from each of these works was that you can not take anything for granted. Nothing in life is fair, so if you want to change something you have to take it upon yourself to initiate it. As an African American student attending an Historical Black College University I must be a leader in everything that I do. 3 4 Works Cited Gates Jr, Henry Louis. â€Å"Folktales. † The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd edition. Eds. Nellie McKay and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: Norton, 2004. P. 110-116, 468 Print.

“A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution” by Carol Berkin

In the book â€Å"A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution† by Carol Berkin she explains the constitution from start to finish from how it all began, to the debates inside the convention and finally the end product. Berkin takes the reader and puts him directly in the middle of the convention of 1786; throughout the book you can feel the excitement, the frustration, the tensions between delegates and the overall commitment to making a new government work for all. The time for a new government came about in times of fear, many men such as William Livingston wondered â€Å"if the republic could even survive another decade† for Henry Knox made an excellent point in declaring â€Å"Our present federal government is a name, a shadow, without power, or effect†. Meantime the relationship between the states was poor and there was an uncertainty if they would even remain united what with the debts, the economic turmoil, and the slow realization that without England they had no protection from the outside world. The question on everyone’s mind was, is there anything that can be done to save their country? 55 delegates gathered in hopes of answering this question with a brilliant solution of their own. The Delegates that gathered in Philadelphia were among the most respected men of their time. They ranged from lawyers to politicians, from the aged Benjamin Franklin to the young Jonathon Dayton, and you’d find that all of these men were of blue blood wealth or the few who as Berkin put were the minority that â€Å"Had risen from obscurity to wealth by virtue of some combination of talent, luck, and well-made marriages. Nobody present would ever be considered just a common man, and for some such as Thomas Jefferson, they would see these men as â€Å"Demi-gods† instead of the regular, flawed, yet brilliant men that they were. It was during this convention that the Virginia Plan was proposed by Edmund Randolph, which was the proposal to write a new constitution instead of re vising the Articles of Confederation like intended. After many debates between the larger and smaller states on being fairly represented and even more adjustments and altering towards the plan itself, the convention created the Senate which was a body of wise men that was made up of two men rom each state. This worked out to satisfaction of the smaller states and for the larger states they were given a House of Representatives that would consist of a larger body of representatives for each state in proportion to the amount of the people in that state. During the Convention there were many controversies between these men, some were focused on not wanting to upset their constituents back in their home states, and the smaller states were constantly trying to protect themselves from the influence of the larger states, while the southern states feared that a national government would upset the slave trade. However, many of the delegates shared a bigger fear throughout the convention, which was putting too much power into a central government and the fear that the senate and House of Representatives would have too much power. George Mason, an initial advocate of a strong central government withdrew his support and refused to sign the finished Constitution, claiming that the new government would â€Å"produce a monarchy, or a corrupt, tyrannical aristocracy† so for the sake of trying to find a balance, the idea of giving the chief executive the power of veto over legislation was proposed. Along with this power a check was needed, so the idea that a three quarters vote from congress could over rule a President’s veto was adopted. How to elect a President was the cause for some of the longest and grueling debates in the convention, the question of who to trust too choose the president was heavy on all their minds. The delegates knew that it couldn’t be left to the legislative power to choose and Gouverneur Morris even declared â€Å"it would be like the election of a pope by a conclave of cardinals†. To leave the choice to the people alone left the certainty that the people would be led and lied to by â€Å"a few active and designing men† as Charles Pinckney put it. Lost and befuddled on what to do, the convention turned the matter over to the Committee of Postponed Matters where after weeks of debate of their own, they came up with something that we know today as the Electoral College. The States were able to elect an amount of electors equal to the number of representatives in the house and senate. These electors were to meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for two people to represent their state. From here their votes would be delivered signed, certified and in a sealed envelope, to Congress, where the results were to be counted in front of congressmen and senators. In the event of a tie, members of the House of Representatives would select which would be the president. It was through this process that our first President, who set the precedent for all presidents to come, was elected. Even when the Constitution had been drawn up and was ready for ratification by the states, which wouldn’t happen for another year after many political battles between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the Delegates realized that though this document would suffice for now, they couldn’t escape the indefinite future, so they included in the constitution a capacity for change which was designed so that later down the road when times had changed and change was needed, it could be incorporated into the constitution as amendments. In closing, Carol Berkin did an excellent job of portraying the struggles and concerns that went on in that Philadelphia Independence Hall, the framers fought through frustration, pressure, and with each other. They knew what had to be done, and though some did not remain throughout the convention, we owe our law of the land to the determination of these 55 men.

Therapeutic interventions Essays

Therapeutic interventions Essays Therapeutic interventions Essay Therapeutic interventions Essay Definition Therapeutic Interventions encompass not Just the nursing profession but each nurse as an Individual. Whether realized or not, every Intervention a nurse Implements Is therapeutic. Sometimes these Interventions can have a good or bad effect. Through research and continuing knowledge, a nurse can learn or Improve these Interventions so that the highest quality of care Is given to each and every patient. Therapeutic interventions can be defined as actions or behaviors involving clients that is scientifically evidence-based and caring to assist patients in meeting his or ere needs and accomplishing optimal outcomes (PAN handbook). Through therapeutic communication, a nurse can set the tone for a safe and caring environment. Beginning a trusting relationship will provide the patient with comfort, allowing them to heal and to feel free to express his or her feelings. For example, deprivation of meaningful relationships and colonization have detrimental effects on the physical and psychosocial wellbeing of older clients. Having a trusting relationship with nurses, alleviates feelings of loneliness and helplessness (Brownie, S. , Horsemanship, L. 2012). Implementing safe and accurate care that Is evidence-based Is an Important therapeutic intervention. The five steps of implementation are imperative to avoid unwanted errors from occurring to patients. The five steps include asking a question, finding the best evidence, evaluation of the evidence, applying the information with experience and patient values, and evaluation of outcomes. These five steps always surround the patients values and beliefs. It is also important for the nurse to collaborate with fellow coworkers when help is needed. Sometimes other nurses ay have an answer that could solve a current problem (Johnson, 2008). To provide optimal care to patients, nurses must be aware of cultural diversity. Every culture has their own values and beliefs, Including the care that each culturally diverse patient receives. For example, a female Arabic client will not make eye contact or speak with male nurses or physicians. This Is not the clients way of being rude, it is her cultural beliefs and the nurse must be aware of this. It is crucial for the nurse to be aware of these cultural differences before providing care so care is not affected (Taylor, C.. Allis, C. , Lemon, P. , Lynn, P.. 2011). It is important to prioritize care based on the patients needs. For example, a postoperative patient needs care of an incision. The nurse knows that care of this incision and pain control are top priority. When the patient starts to have trouble breathing and goes into respiratory distress, the nurse needs to be aware that difficulty breathing takes higher priority over an incision. Support Is a crucial therapeutic intervention. When It comes to end of life decisions, families Like to be Involved. The nurse should physically and mentally purport the family, as well as the patient, through this difficult time. After the death of a patient, the nurse could ask the family If they would Like to spend time with the patient to assist them in coping. The nurse could also ask the family if they would therapeutic and/or as a way to care for a loved one, one last time (Assignations, D. D. , 2013). There are many types of therapeutic interventions. Pharmacological interventions involve the use of medications to prevent and/or treat disease and relieve pain. It is important to monitor peak and trough levels of medications administered. This is to verify that all medications are therapeutic and not causing damage or harm to the body (Lilly, L. L. , Collins, S. R. , 2014). Non-pharmacological interventions include music therapy, exercise, art, and dance. These interventions are also referred to as psychosocial interventions. These therapies are used to improve self-esteem and self-achievement, as well as, an alternative method of relieving pain without the use of medications. On occasion, these interventions have helped patients to talk about repressed feelings they may be experiencing (Hayes, N. , 2003). A nurse could use hermeneutic touch (healing touch) as an intervention. A massage is a great way to rebalanced the patients energy field or relieve pain without pharmacological intervention. A healing touch positively affects the patient physically, mentally, and emotionally (Lilly, L. L. , Collins, S. R. , 2014). This author defines therapeutic interventions as a way to help heal in a manner that is patient-centered. Helping a patient to heal does not always mean medical interventions. Sometimes, it is being a support person for a patient to express their feelings or an advocate when the patient cant speak. Therapeutic interventions involve helping the patient whether it is though administering medications or giving a massage. In Conclusion, therapeutic interventions are an important aspect of the nursing profession. It involves more than Just administering medications to help a patient heal. Helping the patient to self-actualization, love and belonging, and self-esteem are a huge step in the healing process. A depressed patient may take longer to heal, where as a patient who is content and happy will heal faster. It should be a priority of the nurse to make sure that each and every patient receives optimal therapeutic are. Explanation For this explanation, I chose my presentation on encyclopedias. Encyclopedias are a classification of drugs that have their own specific way of killing bacteria that cause infection, more specifically gram negative bacteria. Encyclopedias are a form of a therapeutic intervention and can be used in combination with non-pharmacological interventions. These interventions might include music therapy, acupuncture, deep massage, etc Encyclopedias are an important therapeutic intervention. Patients may have a serious infection that requires an antibiotic. Through the administration of this class of medication, the patient is able to begin the healing process from their infection. In addition to this broad intervention, there are several non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions that can be used along with encyclopedias treatment. A massage would be great for patients experiencing muscle cramps caused by the reduction of potassium in the body or for pain experienced from an infection. Another intervention could be acupuncture. Acupuncture is an intervention that allows body mind to relax and heal. It has been useful for treating nausea, vomiting, main and ailment. Through distraction a patient can take their mind off of the things that are bothering them. Increasing fluids is also an important therapeutic intervention with the administration of encyclopedias. Through increasing fluids the body can reheated itself. Encyclopedias are known to cause problems with the kidneys and by advising the patient to increase their fluid intake, the body can maintain hydration and allow for proper kidney function. Without proper kidney function, the body is unable to remove the medication itself; therefore, potentially causing toxicity and harm to the body. In conclusion, encyclopedias are an important therapeutic intervention. Without the use of antibiotics patients could become seriously ill with infection or face the possibility of death. While this antibiotic drug class is a therapeutic intervention towards the treatment of infection, there are additional therapeutic interventions that must be followed to keep patients from unwanted and adverse effects. Through my research, as a future nurse, I am able to provide the proper education about encyclopedias and to implement the proper interventions needed to make this therapy a success.

Eros Psyche and Beauty the Beast Essays

Eros Psyche and Beauty the Beast Essays Eros Psyche and Beauty the Beast Paper Eros Psyche and Beauty the Beast Paper Essay Topic: Beauty and the Beast and Other Tales Throughout all types of mythology, spoken, written, performed, or otherwise, by all types of people, similarities between myths always occur. These similarities are evident in the love stories Eros Psyche, a Greco-Roman myth, and Beauty and the Beast, a motion picture by Disney Pictures Inc. in their themes and the actions and emotions of their characters. First of all, the theme of fidelity/faith is in both stories. In the story of Cupid Psyche, Cupid charges Psyche with the challenge to never look upon his face. He gives her no reason for this order, so Psyche must perform an act of blind faith. But, out of curiosity, she breaks their pact and looks upon his face at night. This is similar to Belles curiosity over the West Wing of the castle, in Beauty The Beast. The Beast tells Belle to never, under any circumstances, venture to the West Wing. Like Cupid, he gives his lover no reason for this, except that its forbidden! Belle, too, had to perform an act of blind faith, but broke her lovers rule by going up to the West Wing to view its forbidden contents. Secondly, the human characteristic of fearing the unknown is presented by the characters in both stories. In the story of Beauty the Beast, the common people of Belles town react to the Beast with fear, drawing wild assumptions about his personality based on his appearance. The same situation is presented in the story of Cupid Psyche. Psyches sisters, upon hearing that she has been forbidden to look on the face of her husband, automatically fear him. They assume that the reason she is not allowed to see him is that he is a hideous monster, too ashamed to be seen in daylight. Also, in both stories, the protagonist-lovers suffer the pains of forbidden love, and eventually overcome the hardships others put them through. In the story of Cupid Psyche, Psyche is not allowed to marry Cupid because he is an immortal god. Aphrodite, Cupids mother and antagonist to Psyche, enforces this rule, forcing her to suffer many labors. She completes these labors and joins her lover as an immortal. Similarly, in Beauty the Beast, the local villagers in Belles native town disapprove of her love for the Beast, and seek to make it very hard for them to marry each other. But, Beast and Belle smite the figureheads of the angry mob and join each other in holy matrimony. In both Beauty The Beast and Cupid Psyche, one of the lovers was afraid that the other would be frightened of their appearance. In the story of Cupid Psyche, Cupid fears that if his bride sees him, she will be frightened and overwhelmed by his splendor, as he is the God of Sweet, Erotic Love. This same fear is shown in Beauty The Beast, when the Beast grows fearful and puts on a front of spitefulness when he is intimidated by Belles grace. He feels deficient. Also, in both stories, the characters undergo a physical and mental change as the story progresses. In Beauty the Beast, the Beast is transformed from a pompous, arrogant prince into a hideous, self-loathing beast, then to a handsome, benevolent man. In Cupid Psyche, Psyche transformed from a mortal into an immortal by eating the bread of the gods. In both cases, the characters became much the wiser after their ordeals. Therefore, parallels can be drawn between all types of mythology, from the written word to the theatre; spoken tales to the silver screen. The love tales of Eros Psyche and Beauty the Beast are prime examples of these mythological parallels.

50 Handy Expressions About Hands

50 Handy Expressions About Hands 50 Handy Expressions About Hands 50 Handy Expressions About Hands By Mark Nichol Do you know all these expressions about hands? Most of them are cliches, but using just about any cliche is forgivable if you do so in a fresh way, or to add a note of humor. 1. â€Å"All hands on deck,† from the traditional nautical command for every sailor to report for duty, refers to the necessity of everyone involved to lend a hand, or assist. 2. To bite the hand that feeds you is to be hostile to someone who has been kind to you. 3. To be a dab hand is, in British English, to be an expert. 4. â€Å"The devil makes work for idle hands† is a proverb that means that inactive people are susceptible to the temptation to do wrong. 5. To know something firsthand is to be directly familiar with the facts. 6. To force someone’s hand is to compel them to act prematurely or involuntarily. 7. Having a free hand is being given wide latitude about how to carry out a task or responsibility. 8. To gain the upper hand is to obtain control. 9. To get your hands dirty is to engage in a important activity that may not be pleasant. 10. To give a hand is to help, though it also refers to applauding by clapping one’s hands. 11. To give a guiding hand is to offer advice or mentorship. 12. Something that goes hand in hand with something else is closely associated with it. 13. To be in good, or safe, hands is to be assured that you will be taken care of. 14. To hand something down is to offer it to an heir, or to deliver a decision. 15. To hand in something is to deliver it. 16. To work hand in glove is to work together intimately. 17. To hand something off is to pass it along to someone else, with the connotation of delegating it. 18. To hand something on is to pass it along to someone else in succession. 19. To hand something out is to offer it to recipients. 20. To hand something over is to deliver it to someone in authority, perhaps reluctantly or unwillingly. 21. To earn money hand over fist is to do so quickly. 22. To hand something to somebody on a platter (often a silver one) is to enable them to achieve something without effort. 23. To hand something up is to present it to a higher authority, such as grand jury to a judge. 24. To win hands down is to do so conclusively. 25. To be hands-off is to distance oneself from an activity or project. 26. To be hands-on is to directly involve oneself in an activity or project. 27. To have blood on one’s hands is to be culpable for an act. 28. When you tell someone you have to hand it to them, you’re giving them a compliment. 29. To have your hands full is to be busy. 30. To act with a heavy hand is to do so harshly or with too much force. 31. A heavy-handed gesture or action is one that is lacking in subtlety. 32. When the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, it means that communication among associates is poor. 33. To lend a hand is to assist. 34. To know something like the back of one’s hand is to know it thoroughly. 35. To live from hand to mouth is to be poor. 36. To be an old hand is to be familiar with or to be an expert at something. 37. To say that something is on hand is to indicate that it is available. 38. â€Å"On the other hand† is a synonym for however or â€Å"by contrast.† 39. To overplay your hand is to try too hard to achieve an objective, resulting in failure or complication. 40. Something that gets out of hand has gone out of control. 41. To play into someone’s hands is to be manipulated by an opponent into doing something advantageous to that person and detrimental to yourself. 42. â€Å"Put your hands up† is a command by law enforcement personnel directing someone to raise their hands so that they are in clear view and not likely to reach for a weapon. 43. To raise one’s hand is to lift an arm to indicate that one wishes to volunteer to perform a task or respond to a question. 44. A show of hands is a display of raised hands by those in a group in favor of or opposed to a proposal. 45. To take someone by the hand is to lead or nurture them. 46. To take the law into your own hands is to seek to right or avenge a wrong yourself rather than appeal to law enforcement for assistance. 47. To throw your hands up is to figuratively acknowledge defeat or frustration. 48. To be underhanded is to be deceitful. 49. To wash your hands of something is to absolve yourself of responsibility. 50. To say â€Å"When one hand washes the other† (the implied conclusion to the phrase is â€Å"and together they wash the face†) is to suggest that cooperation encourages success. 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:"Because Of" and "Due To" Best Websites to Learn English30 Words Invented by Shakespeare

Cybercrimes for IT Professionals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cybercrimes for IT Professionals - Essay Example Tribunals consider establishing a global cyber court with a single aim to contest and adjudicate all cyber felons who committed various cyber crimes around the globe. For example, a cyber felon from Japan, who was caught hacking a business system in the United States, will be tried through the cyber court. However, this idealistic notion is in the process of development and agreement between countries. Nevertheless, it is best for business organizations to ensure and perfectly manage their cyber systems in order to avoid an attack by cyber felons, such as strengthening the computer network access made by the organizational management. In this way, business management can first handedly secure and elude any potential threat onto their system database (McConnell International, 2000; Johansson, 2006b). The problem on cyber crime is not far from resolution because of new and evolving ways to stop such offense. The basic way to stop cyber crime is not through a litigation process held by legal professionals, but it will depend on the IT professionals who are hired to make sure that the company’s data system is secured and

The Internal Auditor, Management, and the Forensic Accountant Essay

The Internal Auditor, Management, and the Forensic Accountant - Essay Example These measurements are carried out by continuous auditing mechanisms practiced by Internal Auditors such that timely alerts can be raised against negative trends or non-compliances within the system. Such auditing can continuously evolve quick fixes in the form of corrective actions that can be taken on a fly and also evolve long term effective preventive actions. Moreover, if data integration is carried out effectively by applying effective integrated frameworks like Balanced Score cards and using corporate governance tools like Business Activity Monitoring or Business Performance Monitoring, then continuous monitoring of risks and fraud become a reality. In this paper, we review literature pertaining to roles and responsibilities of Internal Auditors and their responsibilities to consider Fraud in audit of Financial Reports. First Literature: Understanding Internal Audit by Rickard, Peter, pages 30 to 34; Journal published by Australian Accountant, Melbourne in April 1994. This Journal has been included herewith because it presents a comprehensive discussion on role of Internal Auditors and the expectations from them from a legacy perspective and Peter Rickard is an Accountant specialized in Audit and Fraud Control along with being the member of Performance Management International. As per Peter, the management of an organization expects that the Internal Auditor would keep a close watch on the actual implementation of their instructions & policies in the organization and provide feedback on who is not performing in the organization. In addition, he argues that the Internal Auditors are expected to ensure compliance with Government Policies, Legislations and Regulations. He explained the management expectations from an Internal Auditor under three categories - Functional, Personal and Other. Under funct ional, it is argued that an Internal Auditor is expected to serve as the eyes & ears of the management and under personal, it is argued that the internal auditors should be well qualified, trained, certified & possesses high ethics & integrity. Under the category other, it is argued that the audit findings & fraud detection should be timely & proactive such that effective corrective actions can be taken without delay. The author argues that Internal Auditors cannot be made scapegoats for everything going wrong in the organization because they primarily work on audits based on samples which may not be the true representation of the actual problems. As per the Author, the primary tasks of internal auditors are - Audit Planning, Audit Reporting, Measuring Audit Performance, and bridging the gaps by taking corrective & preventive actions. They should not be taken as "negative informers" who always report "bad news". The perspective of this author is to save an Internal Auditor from over expectations of a Management. However, in the modern world the businesses drive what the

Phantom Limb Sensations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Phantom Limb Sensations - Essay Example When a sensory nerve is severed during amputation, a nodule called a neuroma will form near the end of the stump. These neuromas can be very sensitive to the touch and were thus believed to generate the mysterious signals. Although surgically removing the neuromas occasionally provided temporary relief, the phantom limb always returned." (Shreeve, 1993). Kandel has explained the grounds of phantom limb disorder, according to which it is important to consider the normal pathways involved in sensation. These pathways involve both hemispheres of the brain containing a deep crack (gap) called the central sulcus. This crack is flanked on either side, by the help of two cortexes, the precentral gyrus (motor cortex), and the post central gyrus (somatosensory cortex). Incoming sensory afferents from the contra lateral (opposite) side of the body resulting in synapsing at the somatosensory cortex after finding its pathways through the thalamus. The somatosensory cortex (S1) is highly ordered in a roughly topographic fashion, containing a receptive field for every body part, with larger receptive fields devoted to areas that are more highly innervated such as the hands and lips. The receptive fields are laid out in an ordered fashion along the length of S1, representing the entire body surface in an abstract map known as a homunculus. When a sensation travels from a particular location to the receptive field, the corresponding receptive field becomes active. Likewise, if an area of S1 is stimulated, the person will feel a sensation in the corresponding body part. (Kandel, 2005). Jensen, Krebs, Nielsen and Rasmussen (1983) have suggested that phantom limb can be divided into two categories as the term "phantom limb" refers to any painful or non-painful sensations occurring in the missing limb of the same individual. Melzack in 1971 proposed Central theory as a physiological explanation of painful phantom limb, this theory also has been interpreted as a psychological explanation by Dawson and Arnold (1981) but as intended by the author it is considered as physiological in nature. It is stated that central theory credits such conscious processes that are based upon schematic representations with the passage of time along with the perception of phantom limb. These schematic representations come into existence from the peripheral sensory mechanisms. Despite of the fact that both are interlinked with one another, both operate independently. Support for this schematic explanation has been provided in studies that show interference of locally anesthetizing peripheral nerves of an intact limb as result in the experience of phantom limb (Melzack, 1973). The main reason for the occurrence of Phantom limb is due to the fact that the brain no longer receives input from the anesthetized periphery, similar t o an amputee's experience, so phantom limb occurs. The two most common pain reactions following an amputation include phantom limb and residual limb pain. Phantom limb sensations, or non-painful sensations in the lost limb, are experienced almost immediately after an amputation. These sensations feel like the missing limb was actually present in its full representation by shape, length, and position in space. These sensations are

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Coursework

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) - Coursework Example Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, is a cluster of signs and symptoms that are not naturally found in the body but develop over a span of time due to a weakened immune system. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS develops as a result of the chronic infestation of the human body with HIV and is usually discovered with the development of advanced symptoms. Discovered in the 1980s, AIDS was considered a disease manifested solely due to homosexual activities in the world. However, since 1981, several discoveries have been made regarding the modes of transmission of the virus and how to prevent them. Nonetheless, AIDS continues to be one of the most feared diseases in the world, as it results in not only physical anguish but also social seclusion. Thus, it is necessary to know about the method and modes of transmission of this disease so as to take appropriate preventive measures. The presence of HIV is usually diagnosed in a patient based on the clinical signs and symptoms that are presented to a medical practitioner. The diagnosis can be confirmed on the basis of laboratory tests such as testing for antigens of the virus or antibodies in the blood against it. However, since laboratory tests are not available in certain remote areas of the world where AIDS is prevalent, medical practitioners rely on the clinical signs and symptoms that the patients present. Since AIDS is a syndrome, the signs and symptoms presented by patients who suffer from it tend to differ.

Reading and lives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reading and lives - Essay Example In my own opinion, I also think reading and writing have some benefits in our lives. For example, people can learn new knowledge to enrich their lives. Even though, people might have different cultural background, reading and writing can also help them change their lives and help them get better. As such, the main idea going to be presented in this paper is related to the aspect of how reading and writing can transform our lives. To a certain extent, reading can be viewed as a hobby but it can help people change their destiny. In addition, a good study environment can help people develop a habit of reading. In the article, â€Å"The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me† by Sherman Alexie, it can be noted that his father liked to buy books which meant that Alexie had many books to read. When he was young, he did not know a lot of words. Consequently, Alexie improved his vocabulary through reading a lot of books. For example, when he read Superman, a comic book, he assumed some words or dialogue that Superman could say to help him read the book. I think that it is a good and easy way to help people to understand books. On the other hand, Alexie said that some people thought that Indian children were expected to fail in the non-Indian world. However, he did not agree with that argument. Instead, he refused to be a failure. Alexie spent a lot of time reading, even just for a few minutes. In additio n, Alexie read a book everywhere, in the car, shopping mall and bookstores (50 Essays 15-18). Finally, he became a writer and he wrote novels, short stories and poems. From Alexie’s experience, I believe that reading is the cornerstone that helps people to develop their talents. Some people have different opinions of other individuals who come from other countries. In the article mentioned above, Alexie is portrayed as an Indian child. He mentions that his classmates who

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Coursework

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) - Coursework Example Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, is a cluster of signs and symptoms that are not naturally found in the body but develop over a span of time due to a weakened immune system. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS develops as a result of the chronic infestation of the human body with HIV and is usually discovered with the development of advanced symptoms. Discovered in the 1980s, AIDS was considered a disease manifested solely due to homosexual activities in the world. However, since 1981, several discoveries have been made regarding the modes of transmission of the virus and how to prevent them. Nonetheless, AIDS continues to be one of the most feared diseases in the world, as it results in not only physical anguish but also social seclusion. Thus, it is necessary to know about the method and modes of transmission of this disease so as to take appropriate preventive measures. The presence of HIV is usually diagnosed in a patient based on the clinical signs and symptoms that are presented to a medical practitioner. The diagnosis can be confirmed on the basis of laboratory tests such as testing for antigens of the virus or antibodies in the blood against it. However, since laboratory tests are not available in certain remote areas of the world where AIDS is prevalent, medical practitioners rely on the clinical signs and symptoms that the patients present. Since AIDS is a syndrome, the signs and symptoms presented by patients who suffer from it tend to differ.

Write a management report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Write a management report - Assignment Example a key factor to the growth of the resort and thus it was recommended of creating an environmental friendly ecosystem which was further enhanced by usage of wind to generate more energy to pump to the power grid. Jiminy peak, a snowboarding and skiing resort found in the Berkshire Mountains of the western parts of Massachusetts is the largest resort of its kind in the states of southern New England. Founded in 1948, its offers skiing and snowboarding, outdoor activities such as Mountain bike riding and many more sporting activities. It gained four season resort status in the year 2005 symbolizing its growth. It is strategically placed between some of the biggest cities around, for example, it is just three hours away from Boston and New York City and about an hour’s drive from other major cities such as Springfield, Massachusetts and Albany. Jiminy Peak has grown to become one of the most important ski destinations due to some key factors that play to its favor such as its strategic location between such vast cities, the good managerial decisions being undertaken within this organization leading to its much deserved development. Another factor that makes Jiminy Peak to be a key attraction is the fact that it is very vast, purely because of the developments that have taken place leading to so many activities being incorporated in these 170 acres. The number of snowboarding and ski trails totals to forty five, has three terrain parks six person chairlifts of high speed and nine lifts. Much of the success of this resort is attributed to the marketing teams, who have been able to market the resort and make it accommodate high numbers of sport activity lovers even in the summer. For this purpose, the resort has set up a mountain coaster, the first resort to do so in the whole of the East Coast, they have also managed to put up more summer sport devices such as alpine super slides, gigantic swings and more activities such as bungee jumping, rock climbing, scenic

Summer Solstice Essay Example for Free

Summer Solstice Essay The Summer Solstice is a short story written by Nick Joaquin. The book tells the story of a ritual performed by women to call upon the gods to grant fertility. The ritual they perform is to dance around a century-old Balete tree. The ritual was known as Tatarin and lasted for three days during the summer months. The last day of Tatarin is the same day as St. Johns Day. The story is set on St Johns Day in the 1850s in the Philippines. Entoy tells Dona Lupeng that Amada has participated in the ritual. While they are on board a carriage, Dona Lupeng talks about why Amada still believes in the ritual. The carriage comes to a halt and everyone watches a procession taking place. Dona Lupeng mocks the arrogance of the men taking part in the procession. When they arrive at a house Dona Lupeng discovers that Guido, Don Paengs cousin, had taken part in both the procession they have just witnessed and in the Tatarin ritual. Guido lifted Dona Lupengs skirt whilst she was looking for her children. Dona Lupeng then tells Don Paeng about the incident and tells him that Guido had even kissed her feet. Don Paeng is disgusted that the woman has been shown adoration, as he feels that love and respect are more befitting. Dona Lupeng and Don Paeng go to witness the ritual and Dona Lupeng joins in with the ceremony.Once home, Dona Lupeng makes Don Paeng tell her that he adores her. He submits by kissing her feet. SETTING It was 1850’s during the Spanish period and the 2nd-3rd day of St. John’s Day. The main events in the story happened in the Moretas residence and at their town’s mini plaza and those happened during the night. CHARACTERS Donya Lupeng Moreta- long-married woman with three children Don Paeng Moreta- the highly moral husband of Donya Lupeng Guido- young cousin to the Moretas who studied in Spain Amada- the family cook and Entoys wife Entoy- the family driver RESOLUTION Paeng kissed her feet despite of his bruises. Lupeng shocked not knowing that he will actually do it. POINT OF VIEW Third person omniscient was the point of view of the sorry where in the both reader and writer observe the thoughts of more than one character.

The changing face of UK Fashion retailing market

The changing face of UK Fashion retailing market The clothing retail industry has been and is undergoing significant changes resulting from processes of globalisation, changes in consumer demand as well as changing corporate activities in terms of strategic marketing decisions. The UK clothing retail industry has experienced significant growth which has focused attention on studies in the field with this sector being considered as the one of the most competitive markets in Europe. This is primarily as a result of the concentrated power of larger retailers such as Marks Spencer. One prime issue as a result of globalisation is that there are more and more retailers sourcing globally aiming to provide competitive prices and quality products in the market. Marks Spencer as such then is challenged by this trend particularly from rival discount and supermarket competitors. Research Method The basis of the primary research conducted in this brief was delivering a questionnaire based survey delivered at four retail outlets two of which were Asda and two of which were Marks and Spencer. Opportunistic sampling was used in that customers were approached in the store as they entered and left the premises and asked would they participate. A target of 100 questionnaires to be completed at each store was decided on to achieve a healthy sample size yielding useful results for the analysis. The questionnaire had four sections. The first of these sought general demographic information such as age and sex, the second section sought information related to the frequency of shopping at the stores as well as frequency of shopping elsewhere. The third section sought altitudinal information related to reasons for purchasing in the respective stores while the fourth section and the fourth section sought information on preferences in terms of shopping specifically related to the variables of quality, price and the retail environment. Data was entered into SPSS and analysed according to the objectives of the study. Permission to conduct the questionnaires were sought be local managers in the first instance though for two of the stores further permission had to be sought be regional managers. All respondents were advised of the anonymity of participating in the research and the results of the research were also offered to the managers involved in order to increase the chances of successfully gaining permission to conduct the research. Surveying was conducted during a weekday and at a weekend time in order to enhance the representativeness of the sample in terms of people working and varying their shopping times. Comparison of marketing mix in George at Asda and Marks Spencer Overall 412 questionnaires were completed but 12 of these were discarded due to incomplete or incorrect completed parts. Of the 400 68% were female and 32% male. The age breakdown of the sample showed that some 38% of the total was between the ages of 26-32 or over although in the case of Marks and Spencer shopper the proportion of shoppers in this age group was higher being 49%. Also Asda had a higher proportion of shoppers between the ages of 18-21 than Marks and Spencer the figures being 19% and 9% respectively. Over 90% of the total sample had shopped more than once in each of the stores within the previous month with 45% shopping at least twice a week in either Asda or Marks and Spencer. Of interest was the result that 40% of Marks and Spencer customers indicated that they would shop there regularly (at least once a week) while the figure for Asda was 29%. This may be an indicator of stronger brand loyalty for Marks and Spencer in some respects but given further results examined below may be under threat given attitudinal results related to price and quality. Product The UK clothing retail industry has grown in recent years and reached a value of $38.7 billion in 2004 which represented an increase of 3.7% over the previous year. Womens wear was one of the fastest growing areas in the sector (Datamonitor, 2005). However it is claimed that the growth in revenues within this industrial sector will slow down mainly due to the impact of discount and value adding retailers offering clothing goods at lower prices forcing prices down overall within the industry. Clear indications of this trend can be seen in this case study in that George at Asda and its range achieved significant growth and success compared to overall declining profitability within Marks and Spencer. Since the introduction of clothing ranges by the supermarket in 1990 its product categories have expanded to include womens wear, mens wear and infants-wear. Marks Spencer has operated in the marketplace for decades and offers similar product ranges. While 49% respondents indicated a preference for shopping in Asda for womens clothes 51.2% of customers chose Marks Spencers to purchase womens products. It is obvious that there is slight difference in the choice of product range yet the results also suggest that there a significant percentage (60%) of customers chose George at Asda primarily to buy childrens clothes and in particular to buy items such as school uniforms. One of the main reasons for this arguably can be explained by the lower price yet reasonable quality design of the Georges range. Especially for younger children where school uniforms would be discarded in a relatively short time due to the children growing the price of products offered by Asda can be said to be a significant attractive featuring influencing purchasing decisions. It has been reported that the childrens wear sector in the UK grew by 3% and reached a value of $4.7 billion in 2004. This phenomenon is perhaps attributable to the success of discount stores and supermarket operators who are able to provide cheaper childrens wear at reasonable quality levels (Datamonitor, 2005). From a macro perspective however the decline of birth rates in Britain has resulted in the expectation of a future decline in childrens wear sales. Hence arguably over the longer term it may be the case that with possible future declining sales that this sector will become even more competitive and quite feasibly the number of operators will be reduced in retailing childrens wear. Evidence from this case study suggested that childrens wear product ranges represented 27% of customers purchases in Asdas compared to 10% in MS. Additionally supermarket as generally a daily shopping preference for food provided a relatively convenient shopping environment for women and in particular working women to purchase childrens clothes. This was indicated by some 59% of respondents at the Asda stores stating they had or were intending to purchase items other than clothes as well. It is reasonable to say that as a result of changing roles for women in both social and economic contexts there is increasing pressure such as reduced times available for shopping for women as discussed in literature review. These new consumer behavioural characteristics have resulted in changing retailing forms in the clothing industry to which new entrants such as supermarkets like Asda have capitalised on and responded to quickly as they emerge. In addition more men have become involved in clothing buying behaviour illustrated by the mens wear sector growing 5% in 2004 (Datamonitor, 2005). It was interesting to examine the results of this case study in the comparison of consumer preferences towards mens wear at Asda and MS. In this research 46% chose MS when purchasing mens wear as opposed to 33% in Asda. It is useful to look at this trend in understanding the changing features of the UK clothing retail market bearing in mind major impacts on consumer behaviour within the sector. Firstly Mark Spencer have exploited a branding strategy which established a reputation for high quality goods for a considerable period of time. As a result of price wars between supermarkets and value adding discount stores MS has aimed to focus on quality in order to differentiate it from rivals and position the store further in terms of exclusive designs as well as quality products. However its advertising campaign with the tagline ‘exclusively for everyone’ which was launched five years ago has been demonstrated to have mostly failed with customers turning away from the retailer because of its high prices to lower cost offerings in other retailers (Gardner, 2004). The high figure though mentioned above for MS respondents relating to whether they would shop in the future in the stores perhaps indicates that MS still retains a sizable customer base from which it could build on. However the validity of this assumption can be challenged given the size of the sample of this research and would need further investigation on a larger sample to confirm or deny. As such while MS seems to have failed in maintaining competitive advantage through emphasising quality its supermarket rival Asda has also introduced designer ranges and positioned itself in terms of good design as well as lower price offerings. It is fair to argue then perhaps that MS will not improve its performance by challenging its supermarket rival on pricing and volume. Hence one response has seen MS switching to a branding strategy. Secondly as outlined in the literature review purchasing clothing products should not be seen as indicative of normal commodity buying behaviour because it is to a large extent it is linked with extrinsic factors such as culture and social status which in turn makes the value of brand names an essential element of clothing goods (Entwistle, 2000). Davies (1998) claims that the marketing of own brands is a feature of modern multiple retailing which can also be seen in this case study. Retailers such as Marks Spencer have created brand images by advertising their own products and in the meantime transferred this brand equity into the physical products in their stores. The costs of branding to the retailer are lower than that of marketing other manufacturers brands. This contributes to an understanding and explanation of attitudes towards mens wear purchasing behaviour which in this case saw the brand name of Marks Spencer as a quality clothing producer helping the retailer maintain a critical market share in the mens wear sector. It perhaps also demonstrates that men are less sensitive about price in purchasing clothing goods than female consumers in that brand name and perceptions of quality influence their decision making processes. Jobber (2001) argues that price is often used as an important indicator by customers during the decision making process hence it is useful for fashion retailers who exploit pricing tools to create impacts on customers at the perception and evaluation stages of the purchasing process. As Britains biggest clothing retailer Marks Spencer has established its brand image traditionally on the basis of providing quality clothing goods reflected in higher pricing justified as being good value for money given the quality of the product. In contrast competition at the discount and value adding clothing segment of the market has generated significant threats to MS not only from discount retailers such as Primark but more importantly from new supermarket operators. In this case study George at Asda was chosen in order to provide a useful point of view in understanding the changing environmental contexts of clothing retailing. With a turnover of  £8301.5 Marks Spencers is one of the major clothing retailers occupying a commanding position in the middle market level (FAME, 2005). It is reported though that Marks Spencer has continuously lost market share due to intense competition in the UK clothing retail industry as well as from threats posed by new entrants such as George at Asda which has proven to be a highly successful entrant with the company reporting revenues of $26 billion by the end of January 2005 a significant increase of 19.8% compared to 2004 (Datamonitor, 2005). In contrast to George at Asda, Marks Spencer saw a decrease of 2.6% in revenues with operating profits falling to $1.3 billion in 2005 (Datamonitor, 2005). According to this research customers switched from Marks Spencer to cheaper retailers where quality levels were perceived as being relatively high with George at Asda being for 61% their first choice. The extremely low price of designer products helped Asda penetrate the clo thing retail sector successfully and effectively. It is fair to say that international sourcing and effective supply chain management contributed to a significant degree to the competitive prices in its clothing sector in the same manner as its grocery section. It is also interesting to note that although more than 40% of customers believed that Marks Spencer maintained a better quality level for clothing product ranges based on its reputation and effective quality control programs only 31% respondents considered clothing products at MS as good value for money. As such then the price war between supermarkets and discount stores have driven down the market price for clothing products while improvement of quality in both retailing sectors has become essential in the overall value adding process. As a result as one of the main middle market players Marks Spencer has been threatened both at price and quality levels. A strong financial background enabled Asda to achieve economies of scale and benefits from its integrated supply chain. The power of Asda as a retailing giant helped it negotiate with global suppliers for lower costs which as a result lowered final prices for consumers. Particularly in recent strategies by employing designers the creation of brand name and image of George at Asda contributed to its competitive capabilities. This point of view corresponded to earlier research discussed on consumer behaviour towards clothing buying which suggested that customers are particularly sensitive to price regardless of brand names yet in considering any extra value perceived in a brand name with the purchase customers became less sensitive to this element. This is able to help explain the strategic decision for Asda in building the brand name George at the initial stages of entering this very competitive market. Reflecting this it has been reported that MS had lost its place as the UK’s biggest clothes retailer to its supermarket rival Asda. with MS’s volume share of the clothing and footwear market remaining static at 9.1% while Asda’s George label increased its share from 7.3% to 9.4% in 2004 (Barnes, 2004). As a result the supermarket has grown to be Britain’s biggest clothing retailer after figures produced by Taylor Nelson Sofres which pointed to the volume of the George range at Asda rising to 9.4% compared with MS’s share which was static at 9.1%. However in terms of sales by value MS is still the market leader beating the Wal Mart-owned supermarket by  £3 billion pound (Gardner, 2004). It is thus expected this represents a significant change in the retailing market particularly in consideration of the middle to value adding discount clothing market. This corresponds closely to arguments reviewed in the literature section which suggests that further casualties in the Mid-market and Value Clothing sector are expected driven by increasing competitive levels (Collins, 2005). Supply Chain Management: franchising, merchandising and distribution Since the mid 1990s there has been an evolution in the UK clothing retail industry which has seen increases in both offshore sourcing and international expansion (Jones, 2002). In terms of local apparel manufacturers sales are focused on a few large buyers and Lustgarten (1975) has found that concentration ratios of major buyers have a significant impact on profit margins in the industry. In the case of Marks Spencer its strong position in the supply chain gave them strong negotiation abilities in the sourcing process but the trends of offshore production and overseas sourcing by other retailers has created crucial threats and challenges. The fast fashion strategy introduced by George at Asda in 1990 depends on effective supply chain management especially in the management of sourcing abroad to reduce production costs. Additionally the Wal-Mart owned supermarket enjoys economies of scale from its large number of suppliers globally and as a result good design and fast fashion goods c ould be transported to supermarkets rapidly as with its grocery products. However for Marks Spencer as one of the UK’s leading retailers the franchising group acts in a revolutionary capacity in seeking to respond to these trends effectively (Whitehead, 1991). Marks Spencer has attempted to reduce stock hold by improving the efficiency of its logistics management in terms of lead times through promotional sales for stock goods (Benady, 2005). However the results here were disappointing particularly in relation to womens wear. Market share fell by 5% and UK retail sales fell by 1.7% (Benady, 2005). The problematic aspect of this can be found in the supply chain where too complex a design in the production process and inefficient management strategies resulted in the decrease. Results in this research shows that respondents believed merchandise in the basic sales floor in MS was characterised by a lack of a clear marketing image and that the product ranges were too complex. The retailer has sought to cut down on its sub-brands and volume of stock held in order to introduce fashionable products at competitive prices in a shorter time. However it has been a point of concern that the management of its supply chain relied on management consulta nts rather than sales figures and marketing research on customer preferences. Consequently while UK womens wear sales grew by 4.9% Marks Spencer suffered decreases in terms of market share and operating revenues leading to reduced profitability. Due to the changing nature of the UK clothing retail industry there are revolutionary changes occurring in the supply chain sector. The most important element here can be seen as the increasing amount of sourcing activities from cheaper overseas suppliers such as Eastern European countries as well as far Eastern regions. Additionally bearing in mind the key features of clothing products the principle of shortened response is an integral element of the sector. This is to say lead times in terms of design, production, transportation as well as merchandising have become shorter. In turn benefiting from significant declines in stock holding numbers as well as risks linked with mark down sales clothing retailers are able to provide new ranges products within several weeks with maintained profit margins. As Porter (1980) suggests industrial performance is largely influenced by levels of competition and this is the case for the UK clothing retail sector. The position of Marks Spencer is no t only challenged by competitors within the same market level such as Next but also from rivals in the value adding discount marketplace including Primark, New Look. Entrants such as Asda into this industry have likewise created evolutionary changes in terms of marketing strategies as well as revolutionary supply chain management changes. The existing retail environment in which 72.5% clothiong sales went through larger retailers since 1998 is expected to continue however the battle for market share and sales among large retailers has become more intensive (Retail Intelligence, 1999). The tables below suggest that while the price of clothing is approximately the same in considering inflation prices of clothing have decreased. The speed element linked with purchasing has also decreased dramatically. This reflects both the new characteristics of modern consumers who have less time for shopping but who are also more demanding in terms of price, quality and style and the strategic choice by retailers in introducing fast fashion and effective supply chain management in order to meet this new demand.

Classical Greek Philosophical Paideia in Light of the Postmodern Occidentalism of Jacques Derrida :: Philosophy

Classical Greek Philosophical Paideia in Light of the Postmodern Occidentalism of Jacques Derrida ABSTRACT: In his writings during the 60s and 70s, Derrida situates his doctrine of diffà ©rance in the context of a radical critique of the Western philosophical tradition. This critique rests on a scathing criticism of the tradition as logocentric/phallogocentric. Often speaking in a postured, ÃÅ"bermenschean manner, Derrida claimed that his 'new' aporetic philosophy of diffà ©rance would help bring about the clà ´ture of the Western legacy of logocentrism and phallogocentrism. Although in recent writings he appears to have settled into a more pietistic attitude towards the traditionally Judeo-Christian sense of the sacred and a stronger declamatory acknowledgment of his solidarity with the critical project of the Greek thinkers, many of his readers are still left with a sour taste in their mouths due to the denunciatory and self-ingratiating tone of his earlier writings. In this paper, I address these concerns, arguing that the earlier phallogocentric paradigm underlying Derrid a's critique of classical Greek philosophical paideia can be troped as a postmodern, Franco-Euro form of 'Occidentalism'-a 'metanarrative' very similar in intent to the Orientalism critiqued by Said. In Derrida’s earlier writings, it is indeed very difficult to untangle this Occidental metanarrative from the aporetic metaphysics of diffà ©rance. a. From Hellenocentrism to Phallogocentrism: In his highly influential Introduction to Paideia: the Ideals of Greek Culture (1933), Werner Jaeger discusses the ideals of Greek paideia in terms of their seminal influence on European culture, a culture which he forebodingly describes in the early thirties as "tired of civilization." Jaeger employs the term "hellenocentric" to describe the essential nature of the Greek influence on the development of modern European culture; his method of interpreting Greek culture rests on an attempt both to reanimate the waning classicism of nineteenth century philhellenism and to challenge the widespread, Nietzschean-inspired "war against the excessive rationalization of modern life," a war that also leads, claims Jaeger, to a carte blanche historiographical dismissal of Greek paideia as excessively rationalistic. In his attempt to reanimate and challenge nineteenth- and early twentieth-century figurings of Greek paideia, Jaeger argues that the "intellectual and spiritual nature" of Greek intel lectual life cannot be understood, as he felt it had been understood, "in vacuo, cut off from the society which produced it and to which it was addressed." In his Introduction to Paideia, Jaeger reconstructs the dynamic interplay in Greek paideia between the polis and the individual, between social responsibility and individual freedom, --in short, between the zw'/on politikon and the gnw'qi seautovn-- in the hope of restoring to European culture a greater appreciation of its hellenocentric origins.

Accountability Issue of Petronas

Accountability issue of PETRONAS-Transparency 1. According to the article written by Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, a politician from Sabah who was a Vice President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat when he wrote this article. He said that Petronas agreements have been classified as secret. The clauses in the agreement are shielded from public scrutiny, this leads to transparency issue arise and making it an organization without public accountability. For example, 80% of the oil produced by Petronas is not sold directly to the world market but is channeled through six ‘option holders' who obtain the supply from Petronas at below market prices.Only 20% of the oil produced by Petronas is sold through direct open bidding. Because of this arrangement, Petronas is not maximizing its revenue by dealing direct with the open world market. Instead, it has been incurring incalculable losses for the nation and for the people. How much this huge loss is, we will never know. It is understood that this s upply through the option holders is sold by contracts with a binding agreement for 20 or 30 years, causing huge losses for Petronas when oil price increases, as Petronas would then have to continue selling at the old agreed price.Because of the agreement (contract) is not disclose to the public, thus, the public do not know who these option holders are and why they are in the first place. Besides, the public also wondering that are these people representing certain private interests? Because of the non transparent of Petronas agreements, many questions have been raised and the public think Petronas is a huge organization which is not accountable and secretive. 2. The annual report of Petronas is not in detail. For example, we can make a comparison between the 2011 annual report of Shell and 2011 annual report of Petronas.As we can see from the picture below, the related party disclosure of Shell is more detail than Petronas. Shell discloses the company name that where the sale to an d where the purchase from, however, Petronas just disclose the sale and purchases in general. This also means that Petronas annual report lack of transparency. In addition, Shell annual report also provides a detailed information of company properties, whereas, Petronas did not provide this information in annual report. | |

Analysis of “The Seduction”

The Seduction is a poem written by Eileen McCauley. It is about a young and vulnerable sixteen year old girl whose head is filled with thoughts about love and romance portrayed in teenage magazines. These fake ideals lead her to believe that a boy, whom she meets at a party, truly loves her, when really he is just getting her drunk so her resistance will be lower and she will give in to what he wants from her: sex. Three months later she discovers that she is pregnant, she blames teen magazines for filling her head with false ideal of romance.In the very first verse of the poem, the writer introduces the scene of the poem, â€Å"He led her to the quiet bricks of the Birkenhead docks, far past the silver stream of the traffic throughout the city, far from the blind windows of the tower blocks. † This tells us of how there is nobody around to witness what they do. It becomes clear to the reader at the beginning of the poem that he is trying to get her drunk, as when the poet is describing the moment they met, one of the first things he is doing is buying her drinks. We also see this at a later stage when they are at the docks. He handed her the vodka† – this quote proves that he is making an effort to try and get the girl drunk because the alcohol will affect her decisions and causes her to agree to things she normally wouldn’t. Also In the second verse, the boy mutters â€Å"little slag. †This shows us that the boy thinks very little of the girl and lacks respect for women. We then discover that the girl is under some sort of spell because as he talked about football, â€Å"she had nodded, quite enchanted† this shows us that she is keen to listen to what he has to say. With his eyes as blue as iodine† – the use of the word ‘iodine’ used to describe his eyes suggests that there is something dark about him as iodine is a dark blue/black acid. In the fifth stanza, the boy mentions that he goes down to the river when he should be in school or having dinner with â€Å"a bag of shimmering paint thinner. † This shows us that he doesn’t spend much, if any time in school and that he uses the paint thinner as a drug. If the girl was sober, this would be a clear sign to stay away from him but he has lowered her resistance by getting her drunk.We can tell that the girl is a young teenager who enjoys school and wants to do well as she talks about her education in an enthusiastic way. The beginning of the sixth stanza makes us realise how precocious this girl really is, â€Å"so she followed him there, all high white shoes, all wide blue eyes and bottles of vodka. † This sentence shows us that she is trying to grow up too fast because this is what the magazines made her believe was the right thing to do. The poets then says â€Å"then when he swiftly contrived to kiss her, his kiss was scented by Listerine† this tells us that he was prepared for what he wanted to do.Even though we realise that the girl is very precocious, we discover how immature she actually is as it says â€Å"she stifled a giggle, reminded of numerous stories from teenage magazines† this also tells us that she has read about moments like these but hasn’t experienced them until now. The next stanza begins with â€Å"When she discovers she was three months gone† this shows us that the poet has used euphemism to emphasise the harsh reality of what this girl is going through. And she ripped up all her My Guy and Jackie photo comics† I think she does this because the magazines are what filled her head with false ideals about what romance and love should be like. She is angry that the media lied to her and that’s why she ripped then all up. The next stanza then says â€Å"and on that day, she broke the heels of her high white shoes and flung them at the wall† she does this because they were the shoes she wore on the night of the part y to make her look and feel older.She doesn’t want them anymore as she realises that she doesn’t want to be older because of the massive problem that she is faced with. The eighth stanza is mainly telling us about what the magazines have told this girl about what her life should be like â€Å"full of glitzy fashion features and stories of love and romance, where strangers could lead you to bright new worlds, and how would you know if you never took a chance? † This reflects on the consequences of what she did last night and how the media made her think she should take a chance.The ninth stanza says â€Å"full of fresh fruit diets† this shows us that she won’t be able to try out any of these diets as she is now three months pregnant. â€Å"Now with a softly rounded belly, she was sickened every morning by stupid stupid promises, only tacitly made† This shows us that she is reminded every morning of the huge mistake that she made that night. A lso the word â€Å"stupid† is repeated twice, maybe to emphasise that she regrets her actions a lot.The poet then states in the ten and eleventh stanza the things that the girl would be missing out on. This reminds us that the girl is so young and is faced with problems that she shouldn’t have to face at that age. â€Å"With a glass of lager-shandy, on a carpeted floor† this sentence makes the fantasy of romance seem far better than what is really is. The use of the words â€Å"carpeted floor† makes it seem luxurious and â€Å"lager shandy† makes it seem much more innocent as it is a lighter drink than the vodka she drunk the night of the party.In the last few stanzas, the poet states things that the girl would rather do than become pregnant â€Å"But then again, better to be smoking scented drugs or festering, invisibly unemployed† This shows us that she is almost going into a state of depression. She then describes being ‘stuck in a feminine void’, which basically means accidentally becoming pregnant. In the very last stanza, it becomes clear to us that she is very ashamed of herself because the poet says â€Å"better to turn away, move away, fade away, than to have the neighbours whisper ‘you always looked the type. ’

The Book of Genesis vs. the Epic of Gilgamesh

Two Different Books with Similar Stories The Book of Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh have many clear similarities. One major, noticeable similarity is that in both stories, there are flood legends. There is the legend of Noah and the Ark in The Book of Genesis and the story of Utnapishtim in The Epic of Gilgamesh. In both stories, a higher power wants to wipe out the human race and decides to save one person who is then assigned to build an ark to hold himself, his family, and one of each animal. There are also many specifics about this flood that the two stories have in common, not just the basis of the tale.For example, both stories tell of a long storm. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, it says: â€Å"Six days and seven nights the wind and storm† (Gilg. Tabl. XI, 127). In The Book of Genesis, it says: â€Å"rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights† (Gen. 7:12). In both cases, the story is specific about the number of days the storm lasted. Noah and Utnapishtim make sacrifices to their respective higher power– Noah to God and Utnapishtim to Enlil. In the story of Noah and the Ark, it says that he â€Å"†offered burnt offerings on the altar† (Gen. :20) which is a sacrifice to God. In the story of Utnapishtim, it says that he â€Å"offered a sacrifice† (Gilg. Tabl. XI, 155) by pouring a libation to Ea, which is a form of spiritual sacrifice. These stories do not exist for entertainment, they serve the purpose of teaching people lessons about humankind and God or the gods. These flood legends tell us about a couple of different religious beliefs of the ancient people, one being that people are instinctually bad. A higher power wanted to wipe out the human race in both legends because humans were doing wrong.If humans were good by nature, the higher powers would not have wanted to destroy them all. The stories of these floods also show flaws in the high powers. Usually the gods or God are considered to be perfect, bu t in this story we see that the higher powers do indeed make mistakes. They made the mistake of creating an earth populated by flawed people. This is important because it shows that not even God or gods can achieve perfection, and humans certainly cannot. Even though this still makes the gods better than humans, no one is perfect.These two stories are also very similar in their views of humans versus animals. In both stories, the higher power assigns a man to build this ark and lead a new world with his animals. This shows his authority over the animals. Since he and his family are intended to be the only humans after the flood kills everyone else, this makes the humans the leaders of the living beings. The stories send a clear message that humans are above animals and humans have power over all animals. This tells us that animals are not viewed as equals and certainly do not receive the same respect as humans in either culture.This explains why people eat meat, have pets, farm, or anything else humans do to control animals and establish a higher power over them. Although there are very major similarities between The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Genesis, there are also many differences. One of the main differences is the attitudes about sex. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh sleeps with all of the women in the town that he rules. Also, after a successful journey with Enkidu, they reward themselves by having sex with prostitutes. Prostitutes are also seen as mystical and powerful.Even more different from the other story is that the gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh sleep with human beings. Sex is much more common and casual in this story. Also, because it is provided to the warriors as a reward for a successful journey, it makes sex almost a trophy. Overall, this tale makes sex out to be a spiritual, powerful, and pleasurable action. This is very different from The Book of Genesis. In The Book of Genesis, sex is not for pleasure. People are not supposed to h ave sex until marriage, and it is mainly for the purpose of procreation.This is very different from The Epic of Gilgamesh in which Gilgamesh sleeps with many women while unwed. The difference in sexual attitudes in the stories exemplifies how sex is viewed differently in different cultures. Some may see it as a form of pleasure, while others view it as a means for creating children. Another minor difference between the stories is the idea of immortality. In both stories, all humans are born mortal. Although Gilgamesh is 1/3 god and 2/3 human, he is still mortal because he can be killed. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim is given immortality by the gods before flooding out the human race.However, in The Book of Genesis, God does not give anyone the gift of immortality. This shows how the Christian culture believes that humans are far less powerful than God and they can never be anywhere near as strong and wise as Him. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, humans can be granted special powers by the gods, and Gilgamesh himself is part god. This puts far less emphasis on the division between humans and gods than The Book of Genesis. The obvious similarities between The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Genesis tell us that the people of the world coming from different cultures still have many mutual beliefs.The similarities in the stories also show how important these stories are to people, since the beliefs are so widespread that multiple different variations of the stories have been written. It is clear that the people of the ancient world believed that the world was created by a higher power in a number of days, that a higher power created the human race, humans are very flawed, and many other mutual beliefs that can be found in The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Genesis.

CRJ565 AL 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CRJ565 AL 4 - Essay Example People and especially clients are likely to see him as a leader that trusts his employees as well as one that is democratic in his leadership. The main problem is lack of interpersonal communication with her employees that is face-to-face which makes her leadership somehow cold. By her reducing her use of social media to communicate as well as utilizing lunch and tea breaks to interact with her employees on a more personal level, they are likely to start regarding her in high status and opening up to her. She will get to know her employees more if she spends much more time with them in meetings. Brenda however needs to have a team building experience with her employees away from the workplace in order to get to learn about her employees on a more personal level. This will enable much warmer communication, identify skills and talents and utilize them to increase performance. I agree on the point of appreciating the work the managers are doing by letting them seal the seal with the clients as they have been working at it for a long time. This will be empowering the employees and building up their confidence and managerial skills. Employees look up to their leader for inspiration, guidance as well as a role model. If the leader continues portraying certain behaviors that are not empowering, the employees will in turn emulate and repeat these same behaviors and this would affect the productivity of the company. If the CEO wants to be involved in the final signing of the contract by the clients, he should simply be present as a support figure and not interfere in any way. The nicotine test I agree is an invasion of the privacy of the employees and instead of doing so which only leads to his resentment by the employees, he should seek incentives to encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle. The nicotine test should be voluntary rather than mandatory. By providing incentives and rewards to the employees taking initiative over their

IRC 1031 Property Exchange Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

IRC 1031 Property Exchange - Research Paper Example According to the Federal Income Tax Law, capital gains on the disposal or the realization of an asset is included in the tax base when they accrue and taxed2. However, according to the IRC Section 1031, no gain or loss will be recognized on an exchange of a property that has been held for productive use in business or trade or for investment, if that property has been exchanged solely for another property of like-kind for the purpose of holding it either for productive use in business, trade or investment3. Mrs Helen, for you to be exempted from paying tax on the capital gains, these conditions must be met: the gross acquisition price of the replacement like-kind real property should be equal to or greater than the gross net sales price of the relinquished property; and the equity received from the realization of the relinquished real estate property should be used to acquire the replacement like-kind property4. However, your case was special as it involved co-op shares. The treatment of co-op shares raises some confusion as whether it is a real property and qualifies for an exchange. In Private Letter Ruling 200631012, in 2006, the Internal Revenue Service concluded that shares in a cooperative apartment situated in New York constitute real property for the purposes of like-kind exchange rules. In making this ruling, the Internal Revenue Service argued that the New York law determined whether the interest in cooperative apartment amounted to a real property and several New York statutes were already regarding the interest in cooperative apartment in the same manner as interest in real property5. In their rulings, New York courts argue that interests in cooperatives are intangible personal property. In a case involving Danforth v. McGoldrick, the Supreme Court held that whenever an individual acquires stocks in cooperative, then that person purchases shares in a corporation giving rise to contractual rights to occupancy. In another case, of re Miller’s