Skywest Inc

Case 6 : Sky West Inc. and the Regional Airline Industry 1. 3 Business Model 1. Network Carriers legacy carriers Hub-and-Spoke 2007 United, Northwest, American, Continental Delta 2005 5 82 % 10 0 25. 3 2. Low Cost Carriers low cost business model point-to-point Southwest JetBlue legacy Low Cost Low Cost United Airlines Low Cost United Ted Airlines Delta Low Cost Delta’s Song Airlines 3. Regional Carriers Jets Legacy Network (Hub-and-Spoke) short-haul flight Regional Airlines block-hour incentive Regional 95 % Regional Regional Hub-and-Spoke Legacy Regional Airlines Partner SkyWest Inc History Origins in the Early 1970s SkyWest Dixie Airline St. George Utah 1972 J. Ralph Atkin 4 Dixies Commuter Airline Atkin Fixed Base Operation (FOB) Air Charters Air Ambulance Service Mar 1972 Atkin SkyWest Airlines 1974 Jerry C. Atkin Ralph Atkin's nephew $25,000 Oct 1975 Reorganized 3 SkyWest Expansion in the Late 1970s 1976 Hughes Air West Cedar City-Salt Lake City SkyWest Navajo Chieftans 5 National Parks Transportation Company Avis Franchises 2 Cedar City St. George. 1977 Interline American Airlines ? Check-in Interline SkyWest 1978 1. SkyWest Commuter Airline ( Regional Airline) 3 Certified Air Carrier Federal Government Regulations Major Airlines 2. Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) SkyWest 3 $160,000 Page Arizona Yuma, Kingman, Prescott, Grand Canyon, Tucson, Winslow Phoenix, Arizona, Blythe, Los Angeles, and El Centro, California. 3. SkyWest Fairchild Metroliner II $1. 4 ( $150,000) Growth from Deregulation, Acquisition, and Affiliations in the 1980s 1978 Major Airlines United, Western American Airlines Regional Airlines SkyWest 1983 Metros 7 Navajo Chieftans 5 Cessna 207s Charters SkyWest Reagan Reagan Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association 24 Sep 1981 SkyWest Arizona Metro SkyWest 1982 SkyWest 10 Republic's Escort 1980s SkyWest Mail, Small Packages, and Bank Documents 10 % 1983 SkyWest 2 Regional Airlines St. George 17 6 250 Customer Service Aug 1984 SkyWest Las Vegas Palm Springs, California Southern California Palm Springs Sun Aire 1968 Borrego Springs, California San Diego 90 1983 Sun Aire 330,000 1985 Sun Aire SkyWest Metros SkyWest 12 14 Sun Aire 28 Sun Aire Facilities American Airlines Los Angeles SkyWest/Sun Aire Major Market SkyWest Regional Carrier 11 Holding Company SkyWest, Inc. , 3 1. SkyWest Airlines Inc. SkyWest Aviation Inc. ) 1998 Regional Airline 5 12 Business Travelers SkyWest Commuter Airline Ski Resorts California SkyWest Airlines Delta Continental Airlines 2. Scenic Airlines Air Tours, General Aviation Scheduled Flights Grand Canyon Arizona, Utah, Nevada 3 . National Parks Transportation franchise Avis 1985 SkyWest Code-Sharing Western Airline Salt Lake 70% 1987 Delta Airlines Western Airlines SkyWest Delta Code : DL SkyWest SkyWest/Sun Aire Western Express Delta Connection. Logo Code-Sharing Major Regional Airlines 1980 United Airlines Regional United Express American Airlines American Eagle Network 1980 SkyWest Brasilia EMB-120 Turboprop Regional Airlines SkyWest California 1986 Sun Aire acquisition SkyWest NASDAQ 1987 SkyWest Air Transport World's Commuter/Regional Airline 500 Regional Airlines 988 SkyWest $2. 3 California 28 Events in the 1990s Jun 1993 Aviation Services West, Inc. Flight Tour Scenic Airlines, Inc. , Las Vegas Grand Canyon Aviation Services West Scenic Airlines, Inc. 1994 SkyWest Delta Salt Lake City 5 Casper, Wyoming; Butte, Montana; Burbank, California; Rapid City and Sioux Falls, South Dakota SkyWest Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs) Bombardier, Inc. Brasilias 50 540 1,200 miles 41,000 Oct 1995 SkyWest Continental Airlines Code-Sharing SkyWest Continental Connection Los Angeles SkyWest 3% Continental Flights 1996 48% Delta 1996 SkyWest 2. 5 16 SkyWest Brasilias 50 Canadair Regional Jets 10 Metroliner 1 Oct 1997 SkyWest United Airlines United Express SkyWest Connecting Flight Los Angeles 1997 SkyWest 25 SkyWest 585 45 12 Salt Lake City Vancouver Canadair Regional Jets 19 Jan 1998 SkyWest United United Express San Francisco Hub United June 1, 1998 1998 SkyWest Connecting flight 3 Major Airlines Delta, United Continental 1 July 2002 SkyWest Tucson Arizona. 8 Dec 2002 United Airlines Partner SkyWest Chapter 11 2003 SkyWest Bombardier CRJ700 70 30 United Express 9 May 2003 SkyWest code-share Continental Airlines SkyWest regional Continental Houston, The US Department of Transportation SkyWest 2003 SkyWest DOT SkyWest 1 5 regional carriers DOT 2004 †¢ hub Chicago, IL (ORD) †¢ Colorado Springs, CO (COS) CRJ †¢ Delta Dallas/ Fort Worth Hub (DFW) SkyWest †¢ SkyWest ,000 †¢ DOT SkyWest 2004. [pic]2005 †¢ SkyWest, Inc. Atlantic Southeast Airlines Delta Air Lines. †¢ Chicago O’Hare. †¢ Sky West Inc. Partner United Delta 2006 Legacy 2 2006 †¢ SkyWest CRJ900 †¢ Dec 2006 SkyWest Inc. SkyWes t Midwest Partner [pic]2007 †¢ SkyWest Airlines Midwest Connect / Delta Connection / United Express Legacy 2 (Delta Connection / United Express) Outsource 20 SkyWest Inc. Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles San Francisco United express SkyWest Inc. Outsourcing Delta †¢ SkyWest Delta Connection Department of Transportation Cedar Utah 8 Jan 2008. Source: Annual Report 2007 SkyWest Inc. Skywest Inc. 2. : Bridging the Region Gap from West to East SkyWest Inc. Regional Airline Western Eastern SkyWest Airlines ASA artner Legacy Airlines : safety / on time arrival / service and quality / fairness and consistency / working together as a team / personal and corporate integrity and maintaining profitability & Efficient Use of All Resources. SkyWest Inc. : Partner Legacy Airline / : Developed industry-leading reputations for providing quality, low-cost regional airline service. 3. (Functional Level Strategy) [pic] Inbound Logistics: Service , , , Ground Handling Equipment, Operations: Outbound Logistics: Marketing and Sales: †¢ Distribution Legacy Airline Partner †¢ Product Design Service : (Functional Level Strategy) (Competitive Advantage) 3. 1 Superior Efficiency : Superior Efficiency SkyWest Inc. Product Design: †¢ 0. 03 USD 0. 095 USD. †¢ Partner Legacy Airline †¢ (routine maintenance) Human Resource: †¢ †¢ – 90 - Retirement Plans SkyWest Inc. – Teamwork Information System Function: †¢ Interline American Airlines Check-in †¢ Republic's Escort Marketing: Product: (Cost per Available seat mile) Place: – Code Sharing Market Share – Partner Legacy SkyWest Inc. 2006 SkyWest Inc. 3,114 2005 1,964 ( Exhibit 6) 3. 2 Superior Quality Superior Quality SkyWest Inc. Reliability: The Aviation Safety Action Program Program Stetson Quality Suite SkyWest Inc. SkyWest Airline Regional Airline 15 2004 2005 SkyWest 84. 5% SkyWest 1% 50% 2006 SkyWest Airlines 1. 2 % 1. 7 % Reliability SkyWest Airlines . 3 Superior Innovation: Process Innovation – SkyWest Airline ASA 2 – Partner Legacy Airline 3. 4 Superior Customer Responsiveness SkyWest Airlines DOT 2 2003-2004 Functional Strategy SkyWest Inc. Superior Customer Responsiveness †¢ Superior Efficiency : Product Design Upgrade 0. 103 USD 0. 095 USD. †¢ Superior Quality : Customer Service 4. (Business Level Strategy) (Functional Level Strategy) . What needs will be satisfied? SkyWest Inc. Regional Airline Legacy Airlines partnership 2. Who will be served? Connecting flight Legacy Airlines (Broad Target) 3. How will those needs be satisfied? On-time service with quality. Business Strategy SkyWest Inc. Cost Leadership Competitive Positioning Efficiency Quality – – Business Leisure (Broad Target) Legacy Airlines partner – Western Eastern – Customer Services) Business Strategy Functional Strategy Superior Efficiency Superior Quality Superior Customer Responsiveness 5. (Corporate Level Strategy) SkyWest Inc. 1. Concentration Growth: †¢ Horizontal Growth ASA Partner Legacy Airline Partner Legacy Airline Partner (Contract Agreement Term) †¢ Intensive Growth Improve Competitive Position Regional Airline 2. Retrenchment Sell-out National Parks Transportation Scenic Airlines Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) [pic] (Concentration Strategies) 1. Market Penetration SkyWest Inc. Upgrade ( CRJ 50 ) Legacy Airline (Contract Agreement Term) Legacy Airlines 2. Market Development ASA ( ) Eastern Partner Legacy Airline 6. 6. 1 (Organizational Structure) SkyWest Inc. Geographic Structure (Destinations) SkyWest Airline Atlantic Southeast Airline (ASA) Functional Structure Decision Making SkyWest Inc. Centralized ( www. SkyWest. com/about/exec. php , www. flyasa. com , www. SkyWest,Inc. htm ) 6. 2 (Organizational Culture) SkyWest Inc. Efficiency and Quality Efficiency : Part Time 3 Ticket Agents / Baggage Handlers SkyWest Airlines $40,000 $202,000 ASA Airlines Quality: †¢ SkyWest Airline Maintenance Department AMT Award 3 2004 – 2006 †¢ The US Department of Transportation SkyWest 2003 2004 6. 3 (Organizational Leadership) â€Å"Chairman, President and CEO Jerry Atkin accept the Airline Business magazine award for Regional Airlines Leadership† Efficiency and Quality 7. (Strategic Control) 7. 1 Efficiency: †¢ SkyWest Inc. ASA Delta SkyWest Inc. SkyWest SkyWest 70 90 50 †¢ 2007 SkyWest Inc. SkyWest ASA ? †¢ ASA Regional SkyWest ASA Cost per available seat [pic] 7. 2 Quality: †¢ SkyWest Inc. The US Department of Transportation SkyWest 2003 2004 †¢ SkyWest Inc. the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Stetson Quality Suite software SkyWest Inc. ? Partner Legacy Airline 7. 3 Innovation : †¢ Midwest, Bradford R. Rich , CEO Treasurer SkyWest Inc. SkyWest Midwest †¢ ASA Teamwork ? 7. 4 Customer Responsiveness : The US Department of Transportation SkyWest 003 2004 Legacy Airlines 8. (Strategic Evaluation) 8. 1 Established standards and targets : Regional Airline Partner Legacy Airline FAA / DOT TSA Regional Airline Legacy Airline Partner Legacy Airline 8. 2 Create measuring and monitoring system : Yield/RPM, Revenue/ASM, Cost/ASM Miss baggage handling rate 8. 3 Compare actual performance against the established targets : ? 8. 4 Evaluate result and take action if necessary : (Statements of Income / Balance Sheets / Air Travel Consumer Report) easuring and monitoring system 9. SkyWest Inc. (Functional Level Strategy) : Superior Efficiency Superior Quality Superior Customer Responsiveness †¢ Superior Efficiency : Product Design 0. 103 USD 0. 095 USD. Superior Quality : (Customer Service) (Business Level Strategy) : Cost Leadership Competitive Positioning Efficiency Quality – – Business Leisure (Broad Target) Major Airline Partner – (Customer Services) – Western Eastern (Corporate Level Strategy) : 1. Market Penetration SkyWest Inc. ( CRJ 50 ) Legacy Airline (Contract Agreement Term) 2. Market Development ASA ( ) Eastern Partner Legacy Airline Bridging the Region Gap from West to East Regional Airline Western Eastern Operations Developed industry-leading reputations for providing quality, low-cost regional airline service. 10. (Effectiveness of Strategies) Profitability (ROIC) Profit Growth 5 5 5 MESA AIR, ALASKA AIR, EXPRESSJET, PINNACLE AIRLINES REPUBLIC AIRWAYS 6 002-2006 : |Airlines |2002 |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 | |SKYWEST |86. 87 |66. 79 |81. 95 |112. 27 |145. 81 | |MESA AIR |-11. 27 |25. 31 |26. 28 |56. 87 |33. 97 | |ALASKA AIR |-118. 60 |13. 50 |-15. 30 |-5. 90 |-52. 60 | |EXPRESSJET |84. 28 |108. 18 |122. 77 |97. 99 |92. 7 | |PINNACLE AIRLINES |30. 79 |35. 07 |40. 73 |25. 70 |77. 80 | |REPUBLIC AIRWAYS |7. 69 |36. 14 |38. 85 |60. 65 |79. 51 | |Total |79. 75 |284. 98 |295. 28 |347. 58 |377. 05 | (Source : Annual Report year 2002-2006 ) Plot 2002-2006 [pic] SkyWest Inc. SkyWest Inc. 2005 SkyWest Inc. SkyWest Inc. ASA Delta 2005 ASM (Available Seat mile) SkyWest Inc. (Passenger Revenue) Ground Handling Service Major Airline Partner ASA 2005 SkyWest Inc. 2002 – 2006 :    |   |   |   |   |   | |   |2002 |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 | |OPERATING REVENUES: | | | | | | |Passenger | 769,427 | 882,062 | 1,139,580 | 1,938,450 | 3,087,215 | |Ground handling and other | 5,020 | 5,964 | 16,464 | 25,598 | 27,441 | |Total operating revenues | 774,447 | 888,026 | 1,156,044 | 1,964,048 | 3,114,656 | |   | | | | | | |OPERATING EXPENSES: | | | | | | |Total operating expenses | 654,892 | 779,546 | 1,011,268 | 1,743,640 | 2,775,496 | |   | | | | | |Interest expense |3,611 |9,891 |18,239 |53,330 |118,002 | |   |   |   |   |   |   | |   |   |   |   |   | |   |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 | |OPERATING REVENUES: | | | | | |Passenger |14. 64% |29. 19% |70. 10% |59. 26% | |Ground handling and other |18. 80% |176. 06% |55. 8% |7. 20% | |Total operating revenues |14. 67% |30. 18% |69. 89% |58. 58% | |   | | | | | |OPERATING EXPENSES: | | | | | |Total operating expenses |19. 03% |29. 73% |72. 42% |59. 18% | |   | | | | | |Interest expense |173. 91% |84. 40% |192. 0% |121. 27% | |   |   |   |   |   | 2002 -2003 2004 2002 – 2006 |Airlines |2002 |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 | |SKYWEST |71. 96% |-23. 11% |22. 71% |36. 99% |29. 87% | |MESA AIR |76. 56% |324. 57% |3. 86% |116. 37% |-40. 27% | |ALASKA AIR |-173. 27% |111. 38% |-213. 33% |61. 44% |-791. 53% | |EXPRESSJET |75. 31% |28. 36% |13. 49% |-20. 18% |-5. 4% | |PINNACLE AIRLINES |116. 10% |13. 91% |16. 13% |-36. 90% |202. 74% | |REPUBLIC AIRWAYS |26. 73% |370. 00% |7. 51% |56. 12% |31. 09% | |Total |190. 78% |257. 33% |3. 62% |17. 71% |8. 48% | Plot 2002-2006 [pic] SkyWest Inc. 2002-2006 2003 CRJ200s EMB120s ROIC |ROIC |= |Net Profit (After Tax) | |   |   |Invested Capital | ? Invested Capital = Total Equity + Total Long-term Debt ( http://finapps. forbes. com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/) (Annual Report) Sky West 2001-2006 ROIC : | |2002 |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 | | | | | | | | |Net Profit (After Tax) | 86,866 | 66,787 | 81,952 | 112,267 | 145,806 | | | | | | | | |Total Asset | 999,384 | 1,529,210 | 1,662,287 | ,320,646 | 3,731,419 | | | | | | | | |Total Equity | 638,686 | 709,063 | 779,055 | 913,198 | 1,178,293 | |Long-Term Debt | 125,379 | 462,773 | 463,233 | 1,422,758 | 1,675,626 | | | | | | | | |Total Invested Capital | 764,065 | 1,171,836 | 1,242,288 | 2,335,956 | 2,853,919 | | | | | | | | |ROIC |11. 37% |5. 70% |6. 60% |4. 81% |5. 11% | (Source: Annual Report from www. SkyWest. com) ROIC SkyWest Inc. ROIC 5 MESA AIR, ALASKA AIR, EXPRESSJET, PINNACLE AIRLINES REPUBLIC AIRWAYS 6 2002 – 2006 ROIC Airlines |2002 |2003 |2004 | 2005 |2006 | |SKYWEST |11. 37% |5. 70% |6. 60% |4. 81% |5. 11% | |MESA AIR |-5. 67% |8. 14% |3. 87% |6. 99% |4. 44% | |ALASKA AIR |-7. 84% |0. 85% |-0. 92% |-0. 33% |-2. 74% | |EXPRESSJET |31. 53% |39. 46% |42. 49% |27. 21% |20. 37% | |PINNACLE AIRLINES |37. 52% |48. 96% |34. 67% |18. 41% |35. 68% | |REPUBLIC AIRWAYS |- |7. 18% |3. 97% |3. 44% |3. 99% | Plot [pic] SkyWest Inc. ROIC 2003, 2005 2006 2003 CRJ200s EMB120s 005 ASA Delta ROIC 2005 ROIC 11. (Problems) SkyWest Airline : (Miss baggage handling) Atlantic Southeast Airline : – Cancel flight – – (Miss baggage handling) – (On-time) ASA 12. (Issues) 1. Partner Low Cost Airlines (South West Airline and Jet Blue) 2. Partner 13. (External Environment Analysis) (External Strategic Factors) (Opportunity) (Threat) (Attractive or Unattractive Industry) 13. 1 General Environment [pic] a) Economic segment 4 US Inflation rates | |[pic] |Current Inflation Rate | |Year | |Jan | |Feb | |Mar | |Apr | |May | |Jun | |Jul |Aug | |Sep | |Oct | |Nov | |Dec | |Ave | | | |2009 | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | |NA | | | |2008 | |4. 28% | |4. 03% | |3. 98% | |3. 94% | |4. 8% | |5. 02% | |5. 60% | |5. 37% | |4. 94% | |3. 66% | |1. 07% | |0. 09% | |3. 5% | | | |2007 | |2. 08% | |2. 42% | |2. 78% | |2. 57% | |2. 69% | |2. 69% | |2. 36% | |1. 7% | |2. 76% | |3. 54% | |4. 31% | |4. 08% | |2. 85% | | | |2006 | |3. 99% | |3. 0% | |3. 36% | |3. 55% | |4. 17% | |4. 32% | |4. 15% | |3. 82% | |2. 06% | |1. 1% | |1. 97% | |2. 54% | |3. 24% | | | |2005 | |2. 97% | |3. 01% | |3. 15% | |3. 51% | |2. 0% | |2. 53% | |3. 17% | |3. 64% | |4. 69% | |4. 35% | |3. 46% | |3. 42% | |3. 9% | | | |2004 | |1. 93% | |1. 69% | |1. 74% | |2. 29% | |3. 05% | |3. 27% | |2. 99% | |2. 65% | |2. 54% | |3. 9% | |3. 52% | |3. 26% | |2. 68% | | | |2003 | |2. 60% | |2. 98% | |3. 02% | |2. 22% | |2. 6% | |2. 11% | |2. 11% | |2. 16% | |2. 32% | |2. 04% | |1. 77% | |1. 88% | |2. 7% | | | |2002 | |1. 14% | |1. 14% | |1. 48% | |1. 64% | |1. 18% | |1. 07% | |1. 46% | |1. 0% | |1. 51% | |2. 03% | |2. 20% | |2. 38% | |1. 59% | | | |2001 | |3. 3% | |3. 53% | |2. 92% | |3. 27% | |3. 62% | |3. 25% | |2. 72% | |2. 72% | |2. 65% | |2. 13% | |1. 0% | |1. 55% | |2. 83% | | | |2000 | |2. 74% | |3. 22% | |3. 76% | |3. 7% | |3. 19% | |3. 73% | |3. 66% | |3. 41% | |3. 45% | |3. 45% | |3. 45% | |3. 39% | |3. 8% | | | |1999 | |Fiscal Year |Domestic |International |Total |% change | |2006 |660. 9 |89. 7 |750. 6 |0. 46 | |2007 |693. 3 |75. 8 |769. 1 |2. 46 | |2008 |713. 8 |79. 8 |793. 6 |3. 19 | |2009 |735. 7 |84 |819. 7 |3. 29 | |2010 |758. 9 |88. 3 |847. 2 |3. 35 | |2011 |782. 6 |92. 9 |875. 5 |3. 4 | |2012 |807. 7 |97. 6 |905. 2 |3. 39 | |2013 |833. 4 |102. 3 |935. 7 |3. 37 | |2014 |860. 5 |107. 2 |967. 7 |3. 42 | |2015 |888. 4 |112. 3 |1,007. 1 |4. 07 | |2016 |917. 7 |117. 6 |1035. 3 |2. 80 | |2017 |848. 4 |123. 1 |1071. 6 |3. 51 | Source: Forms 41 and 298-C, US Department of Transportation Forecast % Passenger change [pic] Source: RAA Industry Life Cycle †¢ Forecast % Demand Passenger change Airline Industry 2006 Life cycle Airline Industry Airline Industry Regional Airlines Regional Airlines 1970-2006 Life cycle Regional Airlines ? Industry Life Cycle Growth ) Strategic Groups [pic] Y Performance Performance Partner Airline Legacy X c) Strategic Types : Strategic Type Regional Airline Defender Regional Airline Performance Partner Legacy Airline Regional Airline †¢ Legacy Airline †¢ FAA TSA DOT Upgrade †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ d) Key Success Factors : †¢ On Time Schedule Sector †¢ Regional Airlines ? Hub Time Elasticity †¢ Destinations Regional Airline †¢ Cost Regional Airline Partner

Collaboration and Communication in Business

Increasingly, employees are in jobs where interaction is their primary value-adding activity (Laudon & Laudon, p. 90). List and describe collaboration and communication tools that you use regularly. How do they improve your work both in terms of the process and the product? What is the approach that organisations could adopt in relation to these tools to improve organisational performance?Fortunately (or unfortunately), I have been working with the same organization for the last 19 years. As a result, I have been witness to the evolution of my organization globally in terms of being â€Å"tech savvy† towards effective use of communication and collaboration tools. In my opinion, the more the business is facing turbulence in terms of market and/ or competitors, the higher the need emerges for collaboration and communication.In the good old days of 90’s, when we used to do business in countries, with little or insufficient IT infrastructure and capabilities, we used to sti ll manage effectively the customer relationships and profitability of the business through telecommunication links like fax and telephones as well as F2F meetings with the stakeholders involved. Somehow, it appeared to be relatively easier to make business dealings under such circumstances.Although, it is worth mentioning, that the core value proposition of the products and/ or services during those times were considered by our customes, to be due to the high technology and streamlined product development processes of our company. With the advent of internet as a viable channel of communication and information sharing and the diversification of business into different market segments and geographical regions, it became imperative for the organization to look for easier ways of communication and collaboration.Moreover, the decline of experts with know-how or knowledge of the entire value chain of the product/ service, also calls for involvement of experts with specific domain knowled ge, who need to communicate and collaborate on a regular basis, within the framework of certain rules. Starting from end nineties, we started using Lotus Notes as one-stop tool for both communication and collaboration. Since this was primarily driven by the operational level, lots of other strategic and operational tools for communication and collaboration were built around this tool. However, due to various reasons like re-organisation, diversification, cquisitions etc, this tool went on to assume a mammoth shape, lost connectivity to more up-to-date state of the art tools and was dragging down the business globally in terms of communication and collaboration. Moreover, the hierarchy of the organization was also responsible for taking a pragmatic approach towards decommissioning of this tool and creating a more flexible IT architecture, which can be agile and can integrate with state of the art tools across the various areas of business like marketing, product development, product delivery, logistics and supply chain and after sales services to customers.In the last 2 years our organization has moved to MS based office tool suite including tools for communication and collaboration. The legacy systems of LN are getting decommissioned and huge LN DB’s were converted and transferred to more easily manageable and accessible DB systems. Right now we are using Passport based tool suites where individual applications communicate with each other and augment the ongoing, required collaboration among the various entities of the organization.It is true that most part of the organization is adding value to the communication flow through the effective use of tools, but at the same time, more emphasis is put on sharing and storing key, useful information to be used by anybody in the organization, who may need it, e. g. by creating internal blogs or Wikis with managers motivating and/ or incentivizing information and know-how sharing. Useful collaborative tools like Live Meeting, Telepresence etc can ensure participation from different locations at different time zones, sharing the same level and content of information.Collaboration, the ability to work together especially in business is raising key concerns for organizations taking on new approaches to improve performance and outcomes. Because leaders are looking for positive signs that acquiring collaboration tools will impact the bottom line, an organization may also need to consider its communication and collaboration practices. According to research and best practices, the combination of several factors may help steer collaboration to achieve business results, through empowerment, culture, and technology.Some practical examples of each of these factors that are causing collaboration to work in business are mentioned below: Empowering People through Communication and Collaboration Empowerment is a form of approval for individuals and teams to make decisions. Starting with executive collabor ation, key leaders of your organization may need to support shared goals for empowering people if they don’t already, through communication and collaboration. The reality of collaboration for leadership is through empowerment.By embracing a model of operational coordination across teams and departments, collaboration can basically drive motivation and engagement. In Harvard Business Review’s Aligning Strategy with Technology, the chapter â€Å"Empowered† dives into an example of empowered sales teams to develop sales solutions using video at Black & Decker. Video as a communication form is extremely popular. Because of the complexity of Black & Decker’s many different products, the sales staff is able to document challenges in the field and quickly communicate how power tools are used on job sites.As the authors Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler pointed out, these useful bits of information also benefit senior management, corporate marketing, and public relat ions. Bernoff and Schadler use the phrase â€Å"highly empowered and resourceful operatives† – dubbed HEROs as characteristic of empowered teams like this example at Black & Decker. In fact, the authors’ research study shows a high proportion of information workers, by industry and job type, especially marketing & sales in technical products and services that are empowered to create similar customer solutions.Creating Value in Collaborative Culture The collaborative culture of an organization stems from its’ shared beliefs, values, and business practices. Author and business consultant, Evan Rosen says collaboration is about creating value. In Bloomberg Businessweek, Evan Rosen emphasizes every worker contributes knowledge to the business. Using an example at Dow Chemical, he writes, â€Å"The day’s sales and inventory numbers are shared with everybody in the company, including the people doing the heaving lifting on the front lines.Dow acknowledg es that people will do a better job when they know their actions contribute or detract from business results. † Taking a step further, former CEO of Campbell Soup, Doug Conant, is famous for handwritten notes to employees celebrating their contributions. Recognition through these and other high value communication practices further strengthens a collaborative culture. Establishing a Technological Framework for Collaboration Collaboration tools essentially provide a technological framework to enable people and groups to work together.But adding new collaboration tools into the enterprise does not change things overnight. Where does an organization begin to design a technological framework? A gap analysis of workflows is often necessary and can help in redesigning processes. Furthermore, an organization’s specific data, based on activity in the organizational network, including sales, customer services and support, product development, and even external resources, can be collected, analyzed, and better routed to teams.This social intelligence can help everyone be informed. Tony Zingale, CEO, of Jive Software ‘sees change the way work gets done’ – referring to the communication and interactivity of social software like Jive. And reports are showing cost efficiencies, speed to market, and greater pool of ideas and innovation through collaboration, which are passed on to the customer through cost savings and better products.

Factors of Suspense in the Most Dangerous Game Essay

Suspense is what makes a story popular because it is interesting to read. Suspense is used in most stories to make the plot interesting. There are several factors that generate suspense in the story The Most Dangerous Game produced by Richard Connell. The use of pauses by punctuations, recurring vivid imagery, and the dialogue itself helped create mystery and suspense. These are just a few of the many ways that Richard Connell used to make the reader lust for emotionally satisfying events. The use of pauses by punctuations is a writing style used by Richard Connell to help generate suspense. In the story, wanted information is sometimes delayed by action. For example, in the conversation by Rainsford and General Zaroff, the information is often delayed by the author. â€Å"The General took from his pocket a gold cigarette case†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Richard Connell, 7) This action happened when the general stated that hunting tigers ceased to interest him. The author delayed the wanted information when Rainsford was obviously curious to know what animal the General hunts. Furthermore, Richard Connell also frequently used a dash ( — ) during a conversation. The dash showed that the talking character may be interrupted by an action or to the least that the author wanted to accentuate the words after the dash. The conversing characters may have been opening a door or even using hand gestures during the conversation to help emphasize their point. Whatever it may be, the author used this technique to slightly delay the information which causes the reader to try and visualize the character during the conversation which also produces mystery and suspense. An example is the conversation of Rainsford to his friends in the beginning of the story. As one of his friends suggested â€Å"The Place has a reputation—a bad one.†(Whitney, 1) Though writing style alone does not generate enough tension to make the reader crave for the wanted information. Richard Connell also used vivid imagery in order to make the story more interesting. While reading the story, the reader may notice that the author used similarly colored objects for the imagery. Throughout the story, a red colored imagery is used constantly. The first use of the red image was when Rainsford was wandering around the ship trap island. â€Å"†¦; one patch of weeds was stained crimson,† (Richard Connell, 4) This quote alone provided enough mystery and suspense to make the reader wonder. Reddish images were also used all throughout the story. From the blood-warm waters, to the part where they drank borsch; a red Russian soup, they drank port; a type of red liquor and the General gave Rainsford a red lipped-smile, the constant use of the red imagery portents and highlights a murderous and bloodlust filled atmosphere which in turn, generates anxiety of the reader for Rainsford. The reader may have even begun to suspect that something supernatural is to happen such as the General to be Count Dracula. Furthermore, the author also used dark images throughout the story. While Rainsford was still boarding the yacht, Rainsford described the fog with the words â€Å"Ugh! It’s like moist black velvet.†(Rainsford, 1) Especially that Rainsford’s companions described that they could feel evil surrounding Ship Trap Island as if it was tangible. Also, when Rainsford found Zaroff’s villa or castle, the author gave this scene a very dark imagery. The bleak darkness, the shadows, the gargoyle, and even Ivan’s astrakhan clothing echoed an evil and mystery filled atmosphere to the story. A reader with no clue about the story’s plot may think that the story’s protagonist accidentally stumbled upon Transylvania. Although imagery delivers a lot of suspense, it is still not enough to satisfy the author’s desire to fill the story with thrill. The dialogue itself is one of the main contributors for suspense in the story. Even when the protagonist was still onboard the yacht, the author tried to build up as much suspense as possible. â€Å"The place has a reputation—a bad one.†(Whitney, 1); said by one of Rainsford’s friends. This alone persuades the reader to ask themselves to what is so special about Ship Trap Island. Also, during Rainsford’s conversation with Zaroff, Zaroff explained to Rainsford that he has recreated hunting. â€Å"Here in my preserve on this island †¦ I hunt more dangerous game.†(Zaroff, 7) Again, just as Rainsford, the author made the readers desire and lust for the answer to the mystery. This quote helped the cause of building suspense. Moreover, during the hunt, whenever Rainsford managed to make the General retreat, Zaroff stated that â€Å"†¦ I shall be back.†(Zaroff, 17) To make things worse, after his second retreat, â€Å"†¦ Ill see what you can do against my whole pack†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Zaroff, 17) What’s gonna happen to Rainsford? How is he going to escape Zaroff? These are just the types of questions that the reader might have asked themselves. To hunt or to be hunted, and only the strongest will survive, this is the logic behind the madness of this monstrous persona. Ironic as it is that Rainsford is also a hunter, now he is the mouse and Zaroff is the cat. Also, as the story is about over, Rainsford managed to ambush Zaroff in his room. â€Å"I’m still a beast at bay† (Rainsford, 20), Rainsford stated to Zaroff, as soon as the reader discovers this; their lust for the emotionally satisfying ending kicks in. Who would win the final fight? Even in the end, Richard Connell still gave us something to think about when Zaroff, who used to be the hunter, switches roles with Rainsford to be the hunted. Suspense is the whole reason to why people claim that they stay past their bedtime reading books. A reader does not stop reading until their desire for the answer to their questions about the plot is answered. People who have read The Most Dangerous Game may say that this story created by Richard Connell is one of the most suspense filled story ever produced. Richard Connell used many techniques to create suspense, the usage of pauses in his writing style, recurring vivid imagery, and dialogue. What and when was the last time that you read a story just as mystery and suspense filled as The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell?

Wily Technology Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wily Technology - Article Example It was decided that total of $2million would be invested by the two parties for 33% of Wily and each party would contribute $600,000 of $2 million. However later the investor of small institution got to the back foot. Cirne acquired an office of 2000 square feet and started hiring. Cirne has been an active leader and has performed exceptionally well as a CEO. In searching for CEO, Cirne and the board took a lot of time, thinking, evaluating and implementing various approaches. Every approach was different from one another, and there were some disagreements also between Cirne and the board including Strohm. Wily first included senior managers to bring some candidates for the post of CEO; however, Cirne was not happy and comfortable after interviewing the candidates. After that Cirne came up with the idea of evaluating the existing candidates in Wily and suggested some names which Strohm rejected. The search process was quite long and included many people as the process was growing. After the long process, it was decided to engage another search firm. However, Cirne was not comfortable with any candidate during the process of search. He had a fear of selecting any candidate because he thought the candidates would not fit to the culture of the firm. He was worried and extremely cautious during the search process. Cirne should not be part of the search process because of his fear. He found negative points in every individual and was uncomfortable, because of Cirne the search process also got lengthy. Lew Cirne should not accept the request of Williams to step down from the position of Chairman. Remaining at chairman position, Wily could be more successful because all the individuals, members, technologies were introduced by Cirne at Wily. Cirne knows all individuals and the culture of the organization. After making so many efforts for the success of Wily Cirne could not afford to step down. Stepping down means that the new CEO and VC Strohm would

Cba Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cba - Research Paper Example It does not inflict social change directly, but can influence an agency to inflict the change indirectly. On the other hand, Participatory Action Research applies a more democratic approach in inflicting social change through service improvement. The participants in this form of inquiry constitute of a community group as opposed to Appreciative Inquiry’s work team or agency (Creswell, 2014). In short, it directly addresses community concerns, thus the outcomes contribute to social change directly. In health care it can be applied in devising evidence which can be used in sustaining and supporting action research projects, as the following study text highlights. In their article, Appreciating and Developing Compassionate Care in an Acute Hospital Setting Caring for Older People, Belinda Dewar and Richard Mackay seek to address the factors which would boost the culture of caring in health care. Their overall objective is to devise systematic practices which can act as realistic models which will enhance the offering of compassionate care in the future. The article is a research in which the reasons which may contribute to offering of better compassionate care are discussed. In its approach, the article involves support staff and patients, and is therefore more of an Appreciative Inquiry than it is a Participatory Action Research. Dewar and Mackay (2010) state that there is an increased concern with regards to the provision of effective compassionate care in the health care fraternity. This they point at the growing feeling that nurses are becoming inconsistent, and that complains about the quality of care provided. They also highlight the ne ed for care which is person-centered, and collectively strengthening the climate for provision. The cultural issues surrounding the adoption and implementation of a mitigation approach include lack of the will to

Analysis of Health Currently Affecting the Australian Population Essay

Analysis of Health Currently Affecting the Australian Population - Essay Example First, cardiovascular diseases are heart conditions which commonly affect the heart and blood vessels surrounding it. It includes coronary heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, and an ischemic heart (WHO, 2011). It includes various conditions of the heart and blood vessels; the common issue in relation to heart disease being atherosclerosis where plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries reducing blood supply to the heart, causing heart attacks, and sometimes to the brain, eventually leading to stroke (National Heart and Medical Research Council, 2011). This paper shall provide an analysis of the health issue, then discuss and analyse the health issue in relation to the population/community it usually affects, the scope of the health issue as well as its implications for the affected population/community, the social determinants of health which affect the health problem. It shall also provide an analysis and evaluation of relevant current primary health care services and initia tives which are in place to address this issue, including its strengths and limitations. Finally, a proposal on additional services needed to address this issue shall also be established. ... Their higher risk for the disease is mostly attributed to the fact that a large number of them are overweight, smokers and who are physically dormant. Those in the lower socioeconomic groups are also liable to suffer this disease more than the general Australian population. The death rates for the disease in this group was registered those as high compared to those in the higher social sets (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006). Studies also revealed that those in the lower social sets were likely to be involved in smoking; many of them had hypertension and were overweight. In relation to age and sex, those in the older population are likely to be afflicted by cardiovascular diseases, owing to the wear and tear of the ageing process as well as the likelihood that they would also be afflicted with other diseases like obesity or diabetes (Department of Health and Ageing, 2007). Women were also registered with high rates of cardiovascular disorders. However, it was notable that males were more likely to die from this disease as they were tobacco smokers who were obese, hypertensive, and engaged in limited exercise. Those who are overweight and obese have the highest risk of being afflicted with a cardiovascular disease (Cameron, et.al., 2003). Obesity has increased in Australia in recent years, and this trend has been more or less similar in other countries as well. Adults, 25 years and over present a 67% obesity rate in Australia, and 52% of women are considered overweight or obese (National Public Health Partnership, 2003). Among children, 20% are considered obese, and these who grow up to be obese were overweight adults when their eating and exercise habits were not corrected early during

Parent Involvement for the 21st Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Parent Involvement for the 21st Century - Essay Example Apart of providing good and properly designed education, all of the schools highly recommend the involvement of parents in their child’s education process. In the 21st century where education is a necessary and sufficient condition to be successful, parents who integrate education from homes and involves in their child’s education play positive parts in making their child or children successful. Particularly in early childhood period, children want to be guided by someone elder except their instructors and want their assistance in making different decisions. Hence parent’s involvement in child’s education process not only helps in their child’s academic life but is also considered of vital importance later in their lives and in the development of their personalities. Parent’s Guidance and Monitoring Parent’s involvement in their child’s academic life has always been appreciated. Since early childhood and early academics, childre n feel more confident and assured that they are being supported by their guardians in every activity. Parent’s support not only helps in improving child’s grades but also develop positive aspects in their personalities. It is also useful when the child gets diverted from studies and indulge in other activities which are not suitable for his/her academic career. The parents may forcefully revert the child towards education by providing proper guidance and handling him/her correctly. Educationists are of the view that parent’s guidance in academics and their frequent meetings with the instructor about the child’s betterment are extremely necessary and useful for their child’s own benefit. The child came to know that all of his/her activities are monitored and discussed; so he/she tries to be as good as possible. In this way the particular child remains unique from those who are not supported and provided with parent’s guidance. Issues regardin g 21st century Although this century came along with as many beneficial technologies as one can think of, which have made the lives easier and comfortable; yet the machine maker himself has become a machine. Yes, indeed, the humans who invented all these hi-tech gadgets present themselves as a working machine too, with very less emotions and feelings. It is an unfortunate fact that the parents of 21st century do not pay any attention to their children as they can’t find time for their kids. No doubt that going to work and earning is also an essential element of life, but still, the children are suffering as the parents are not providing them with their guidance in academics and in other modes of life. Now a days there has been an issue of single parents with which many countries are suffering. It is very challenging and very hard for such parents to manage simultaneously their families and their jobs. They must have to earn in order to keep the standard of life and to keep an y kind of financial burdens away from their children. On the other hand, such children who have single parents to live with are found to less confident and less involved in their academics since their parents cannot contribute a piece of time for them. Research indicates that even if very little time, say up to 15 minutes, are given to a child by his/her parents in which the constructive and positive conversation takes place about the activities and academics of the child, then it would

ACC403, Principles of Accounting Mod 4 Case Assignment Essay

ACC403, Principles of Accounting Mod 4 Case Assignment - Essay Example The existing cost allocation uses factors which identify the portion of costs for each multi-purpose facility that are specific to individual purposes (separable factors) and the proportional allocation of remaining joint costs among multiple purposes (joint factors). c. COE-Transferred Facilities – These include facilities that were constructed by the COE and transferred to Reclamation for operational and financial integration with the CVP. They appear in Schedule No.1 of the CVP financial statement. d. Non - Reimbursable Costs – The plant-in facilities include components directly set aside to a non-reimbursable category pursuant to Congressional legislation. In the CVP allocation these component costs are directly assigned to the appropriate category and are removed from the allocation base. f. State Share of San Luis Unit - In the allocation of CVP costs, the State share of the construction costs of joint-use facilities is directly assigned to the State and removed from the allocation base. The above said approach seems to be good. This is because the costs are identified and allocated separately. After completing the adjustments the remaining costs represent the total capital investment to be allocated among the authorized project purposes of the CVP. For single-purpose facilities, costs are allocated in total to the purpose served. Cost allocations can be made both within and across time periods. If two or more cost objects share a common facility or program, the cost pool of the shared unit is a common cost to the users and must be divided or allocated to them. Bases of allocation typically are based on one of the following criteria: cause-and-effect, benefits derived, fairness, or ability to bear. The selection of a criterion can affect the selection of a basis (Answers.com). Some cost information is reported to external users such as shareholders and creditors in

This house believes international sporting events are beneficial to Essay

This house believes international sporting events are beneficial to the host country - Essay Example The most obvious appeal of hosting a large scale sporting event is that it creates a suitable platform for the host destination to market its facilities and culture to the world. The image portrayed during the event creates an influential impression on the viewers, which determines future visits to the destination (Solaf, 1998, p. 44). Since the inception of Olympic Games, the number of participants and viewers has been increasing. In 1984, only 140 countries participated in 221 events at the games. In the 2000 Olympic Games, the number of participating countries increased to 199 while the events rose to 300 (Shaffer, Alan and Celine 2003, p. 83). During the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing, a record 204 nations who are members of National Olympic Committee participated in 302 events (Liauw, 2010, p. 28). These figures show that hosting Olympic Games is one of the largest tourism advertising opportunities that the host country and city can ever have. The wide media coverage of th e event promoted the image of the city in the international market by displaying the good infrastructural framework, diverse Chinese cultures and the excellent living conditions in the city (Campanella, 2008). Analysts explain that this effect occurs through the enhancement of both pull and push tourist factors (Hinch, and Higham, 2001, p. 70). According to Kearns and Philo (1993, p. 75), pull factors are the positive and tangible attributes of the host destinations. They include cultural and historical attractions, good infrastructure, security, facilities for leisure activities and other opportunities including favourable shopping amenities, accommodation and other supporting services. China has a rich historical and cultural background that includes the Chinese Great Wall. The media coverage during the event provided a valuable opportunity for marketing such scenic sites to the world. Push factors are intangible tourist motives, associated with stimulating the desire of people to travel to a particular destination for leisure activities (Solaf, 1998, p. 247). Six years before hosting the Olympic Games in 2008, the number of tourists arriving in China increased by about 6 percent annually (ETOA, 2010). In 2007, a year before the event, 132 million foreign tourists visited the country. Moreover, the event stimulated domestic tourism from 644 million in 1997 to over 1 billion tourists in 2007 (Zhang and Zhao 2007, p. 79). Hosting the Olympics games require heavy capital investment and critics argue that the anticipated benefits do not justify the cost. Construction of infrastructure associated with hosting of the event contributes the largest proportion of the costs (Preuss, 2000). There is hard evidence, however, which proves that hosting the Olympic Games does have a lasting and positive effect on the economy of the host region. In 2009, the number of tourist arrivals in Beijing increased and exceeded the 2008 arrivals (ETOA, 2010). The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona stimulated tourism industry in the city profoundly. Before the Olympics, tourism accounted less than 2 percent of the city’s gross domestic product (GDP). After conclusion of the event, tourism in Barcelona has been on an increasing trend and currently, it

Switch boards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Switch boards - Essay Example Just from the beginning of switching systems, a large number of the transformations have been done in the switching technologies. In this regard this paper is going to analyze and evaluate the old strowger switches and mechanical cross-bar switches based on circuit switching technologies with some modern network switches. In this report I would like to provide a technological overview of these technologies and a brief comparison of these technology systems. The basic use of the telecommunication networks is to carry data and information signals among different entities which are located geographically. In this situation we can say that an entity can be a resource like a human being, a computer, a Tele-printer, a duplicate machine, a communication data workstation and so on. These communication entities are linked with the overall working and process of the transferring information which can be in the form of a file transfer between two systems, or telephone chat (a call) or message transmission between two workstations etc. In this present age of technology, the communication is perceived as a symbol of the new age of technology. In this scenario the introduction of this communication technology has started from the development of the telephone systems (Farahmand & Zhang, 2007). However, due to considerable increase in the number of users and less number line availability, a need was experienced to develop some switching system which c an be used for the switching purposes among line to facilitate large number of individuals with small number of available communication lines. Today the technology has gained an extensive limit of advancements but some of the communication restrictions still exist. One of the key issues in these limitations is the highest availability of the communication line. In an attempt to tackle this problem, the technique of the switching was formulated,

Leadership and Steve Jobs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership and Steve Jobs - Research Paper Example During his stay at Apple, Steve Jobs was praised due to his ability to structure the strategies of the company and its goals into an appealing story. The ability was evident through his ability to structure a coherent and a highly compelling narrative that merged the mission and the values being pursued, which was a key theme as a strategy for Apple. Based on the storytelling abilities of Steve Jobs and the management of the company, the narratives have resulted in the development of highly effective marketing movements and campaigns. One of these marketing campaigns is the â€Å"think different† series of advertisements, which offered the company, a platform from which they could distinguish themselves from competing companies (Lashinsky & Burke, 2009). Through the storytelling and idea packaging abilities, Jobs was able to structure the visions of the company, about its products – in ways that different stakeholders could identify with. For example, Jobs projected the vision of developing user-friendly computers that would change the lives of people like the telephone and automobiles had done, which the company realized (Lashinsky & Burke, 2009). This characteristic is evidenced by the ability of a leader, to develop meanings around factors, forces and trends that are external to the business, and then utilise the knowledge to develop models and to formulate business strategies that differentiate the business from others. Following Steve Job’s ability to seize available and upcoming opportunities, Steve Jobs was able to align the Apple Company to the external environment of the organization to develop opportunities (Dalrymple, 2009). Following his outlook, Jobs was able to tell that the niche in the personal computing was not large enough for the company to exploit. Following the realization, Jobs was able to foresee the

The Cultural Politics of Emotion Essay Example for Free

The Cultural Politics of Emotion Essay The communication gap between First and Third world feminist, as expressed by Narayan lies within a cultural setting: though Western feminism is still an upholding to the rights of women, Third world feminism speaks towards a culture’s specific issues, as Narayan writes, â€Å"I am arguing that Third-World feminism is not a mindless mimicking of ‘Western agendas’ in one clear and simple sense that, for instance, Indian feminism is clearly a response to issues specifically confronting many Indian women† (13). Thus, feminism is explicit to country and cultural beliefs, not hinging upon a predetermined or in this case Western view. There are many people, mostly women, who have been fighting for their equal rights – and we now commonly call this as feminism. Feminism started not merely on 19th century, but even during the 17th to 18th century. This is the very reason why feminists have gotten so much attention from well respected organization and government officials. With this idea in mind, many are now asking, who are the women who started the feminist movements and what prompted them to initiate such action? By digging deeper to what the real meaning of feminism is, it can also be identified the first few women who fought and strived really hard just to show the world that feminism is indeed worth fighting for. These women have their own issues that they highlighted and it all boils down to the fact that females are not just a decoration for males, instead, they are people who can be effective even in dealing with other important aspects of he society like the government. Feminists’ ideas started during the time of the infamous Enlightenment, with Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Marquis de Condorcet who initiated championing womens education. The first scientific society for women was founded in Middleberg, a city in the south of the Dutch republic, in 1785. Journals for women which focused on issues like science became popular during this period as well. Mary Wollstonecrafts A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is one of the first works that can be called feminist, although by modern standards her comparison of women to the nobility, the elite of society, coddled, fragile, and in danger of intellectual and moral sloth, does not sound like a feminist argument. Wollstonecraft believed that both sexes contributed to this situation and took it for granted that women had considerable power over men. Indeed, it was during the late 17th century to the early 18th century that the earliest works on the so-called woman question criticized the restrictive role of women, without necessarily claiming that women were disadvantaged or that men were to blame (Deckard, 1975). When 18th century came, the movement is generally believed to have begun as people increasingly came to believe that women were treated unfairly under the law. The feminist movement is rooted in the West and especially in the reform movement of the 19th century. The organized movement is dated from the first womens rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 (Deckard, 1975). This feminism started not on one place or country, but coincidentally, a lot of women from various countries around the world fought for their rights as and equal and rightful members of the society. Emmeline Pankhurst was one of the founders of the suffragette movement and aimed to reveal the institutional sexism in British society, forming the Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU). Often the repeated jailing for forms of activism that broke the law, particularly property destruction, inspired members went on hunger strikes. Due to the resultant force-feeding that was the practice, these members became very ill, serving to draw attention to the brutality of the legal system at that time. In an attempt to solve this the government introduced a bill that became known as the Cat and Mouse Act, which allowed women to be released when they starved themselves to dangerous levels, then to be re-arrested later. (Deckard, 1975). Meanwhile, the Feminist movement in the Arab world saw Egyptian jurist Qasim Amin, the author of the 1899 pioneering book Womens Liberation, as the father of Arab Feminist Movement. In his work Amin criticized some of the practices prevalent in his society at the time, such as polygamy, the veil, or womens segregation, and condemned them as un-Islamic, and contradicting the true spirit of Islam. His work had an enormous influence on womens political movements throughout the Islamic and Arab world, and is read and cited today (Deckard, 1975). Various women were able to raise their voices during that time. They were able to capture the attention of many and hear out their grievances. Let us take a closer look at each of the famous and most influential women during this Abolition Movement, and create a more prominent appreciation on their ways and methods of fighting for their cause. Among the most influential women whose actions were all aimed at highlighting the feminist rights, the Grimke sisters (Sarah Grimke and Angelina Grimke Weld) topped the list. Motivated by religion and a desire to live a useful life, they were among the first American women to speak in public. They wrote a number of tracts against slavery and for womans rights. To abolitionist acclamations, Angelina became the first American woman to address a state legislature. Both sisters would remain abolitionists and womans rights activists for the remainder of their lives with Angelina concentrating on the abolitionist movement and Sarah concentrating on the womans rights movement (Lerner, 1998). Sarah Grimke offered the best and most coherent Bible argument for womans equality yet written by a woman. She was also able to identify and characterize the distinction between sex and gender; she took class and race into consideration; and she tied the subordination of women both to educational deprivation and sexual oppression. She identified men, individually and as a group, as having benefited from the subordination of women. Above all, she understood that women must acquire feminist consciousness by conscious effort and that they must practice asserting their rights in order to think more appropriately (Lerner, 1998). Angelina, on the other hand, in several of her pamphlets and speeches, developed a strong argument for womens rights to political equality. In her insistence on womens right, even duty, to organize for political participation and to petition, she anticipated the practice and tactics women would follow for the rest of the century. In both her Appeal to Southern Women and in her Letters to Catherine Beecher she fashioned a defense of womens right to organize in the antislavery cause which connected it with the causes of white women and influenced the practice of several succeeding generations (Lerner, 1998). The way in which women are treated is also beautifully highlighted in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The author in a few brilliant and well-placed strokes of writing, makes it clear to the reader the place that women are given in his setting. While describing the ill treatment of the woman ‘adulterer’ at the hands of the Taliban, Hosseini says, â€Å"And what matter of punishment befits the adulterer? We shall throw stones†. ( 237, Hosseini) The brutality of this remark is accentuated further by Hosseini’s vivid portrayal of the scene in which the woman is mercilessly stoned to death. It is therefore in culture that the main difference between First-World and Third-World feminism lays. The treatment of women in India is one filled with hypocrisy. In Narayan’s essay, the India chastises Western civilization for their treatment of women; for instance, Indian women were permitted to attend higher education classes decades before the English even considered the aspect. Indian’s say that they treat their women as goddesses, while the West treats their women far less as equals, but this in turn is duplicitous, in examples Narayan gives of the treatment from men received by her grandmothers, and her mother (chastisement, beatings, and submissiveness, and silence). In her book, Speech and Silence in the Mother Tongue, Narayan gives childhood examples of how she became a feminist, and they are not dominantly rooted in the idea of Westernization, but culturally in a Third-World view, as she writes, â€Å"†¦though I cannot bring myself to it, of her pain that surrounded me when I was young, a pain that was earlier than school and ‘Westernization’, a call to rebellion that has a different and more primary root, that was not conceptual or English, but in the mother-tongue† (7). This then gives insight into how feminism isn’t dependent upon the introduction of Western culture in liberating women, but is in fact contingent upon a witness’s own account of oppression and their reaction to that oppression, that is that Narayan’s own rebellion was a response to her mother’s sadness in being trapped by her mother-in-law and her marriage. This exemplifies the difference between First-World and Third-World feminism, the fact that Narayan must contend with the paradigm of Western feminism instead of simply revered as representing her own culture’s fault; Narayan is not representing Western ideas but is only supporting equality and fair treatment for her fellow Indian women. In the Indian culture, women are perceived to become wives first and their own identity as a person is wiped away by such a paradigm, this is true for the incentive of women’s movements, the West included. Indian wives are submissive and the Third-World culture enhances this notion by parlaying women into marriage at the age of thirteen (as Narayan’s grandmother had done), and treating them as Other rather than as Self. In her book Speech and Silence in the Mother Tongue, Narayan writes of the predominant sentiment found in India in regards to women and mentions, â€Å"They were anxious about the fact that our independence and self-assertiveness seemed to be making us into women who lacked the compliance, deference, and submissiveness deemed essential in good â€Å"Indian† wives† (8). The wife and mother ideas of women are predominant in most cultures, and the concord factor between First and Third world feminism is united in this fact, and their rebellion against such submissiveness. The culture of feminism is presented as one that has great bonds with politics. For both First-World and Third-World feminism there is no difference in the root of feminism when it is in politics, and political campaigns that women are often secluded: in schooling, voting, and citizenship, women have been treated secondarily in both First and Third world cultures. Therefore, Narayan’s generation of Third-world feminist aren’t rebelling because of Westernization, but because in their own politics women have been forgotten in India and in the West. It takes political connections to other women and their experiences, political analyses of women’s problems, and attempts to construct political solutions for them, to make women into feminists in any full-blooded sense, as the history of women’s movements in various parts of the world shows us. Therefore, the dichotomy of First-World and Third-World feminism finds harmony in this political connection. The westernization of Indian has been blamed for the rebellious nature of feminism and even the introduction of the women’s movement, but in fact, it is the own culture’s deviant nature that gives rise to the necessity of feminism. Narayan gives example of her cousin being tortured with cigarettes and being locked away while in another country and keeping silent about it for years until a relative came to visit. The silence is the devastating part of the story; in Indian culture, it is supposed and indeed ingrained in Indian women to hold their tongues, and be submissive, and not innocent, but obedient. Yet, western culture was seen to pervade the Indian traditional way of living. In the book, Speech and Silence in the Mother Tongue, Uma says, â€Å"Veiling, polygamy, child-marriage, and sati were all significant points of conflict and negotiation between colonizing â€Å"Western† culture and different colonized third-World cultures. In these conflicts, Western colonial powers often depicted indigenous practices as symptoms of the â€Å"backwardness and barbarity’ of Third-World cultures in contract to the â€Å"progressiveness of Western culture. † The figure of the colonized woman became a representation of the oppressiveness of the entire ‘cultural tradition’ of the colony. â€Å"(17) The effect of this colonization of Indian women was one of conflicting progressiveness. Traditions of Indian culture were already bred with English sentiments (such as the sari) and English clothing was continually being upgraded and introduced into Indian culture; in fact men were wearing suits long before women were allowed to change into less traditional clothing. In her book Speech and Silence in the Mother Tongue, in one example Narayan gives, she talks of how, she and her family went on a vacation in a more rural part of the country and she was instructed to wear her Indian clothing and not her Western clothes because she had hit puberty (though in the city nothing was wrong with such clothes), Narayan writes, â€Å"My story reveals that what counted as ‘inappropriately Western dress’ differed from one specific Indian context to another, even within the same class and caste community†(27). The effects of Westernization therefore and colonization give rise to differing ideas of what constitutes traditional wear from one part of the country to another. In conclusion, Narayan gives insight to how differing opinions of feminism are still spurned from similar ideals. Third-World feminists are not ‘outsiders within’, that is, they are not denying the tradition of their country, but instead, feminists need to challenge some of the more patriarchal rules of India. Third-World feminists are not denying their culture, but are asking for change. Work Cited Ahmed, Sara (2004). â€Å"The Cultural Politics of Emotion†. Routledge Publishing Boydston, Kelley, Margolis, The Limits of Sisterhood, p. 178. Deckard, Barbara. 1975. The Womens Movement: Political, Socioeconomic and Psychological Issues New York: Harper Row. p. 253. Gerda Lerner. 1988. The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina: Pioneers for Womens Rights and Abolition. Oxford University Press. Narayan, Uma. Speech and Silence in the Mother Tongue. Yee. Shirley J. Abolitionist Movement. February 2002. Sunshine for women. http://www. pinn. net/~sunshine/whm2002/abolitn. html

The Hellenistic Period In Greek Religion

The Hellenistic Period In Greek Religion The Hellenistic period, (from 323 B.C. to 30 B.C) refers to the time between the passing away of Alexander the Great and the growth of the Roman Empire under Augustus. This term Hellenistic in many occasions was used to create a distinction from the classical Hellenic period that preceded it. At this time of the three hundred years, the Greek culture was highly dominant in both the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean. The Hellenistic religion particularly consisted of a variety of spiritual belief and practices of the people who existed at the time of the ancient influence of the Greek culture and the Roman Empire. Many years back, between 540 and 300BC during Alexanders Era, Greece exhibited unique characteristics in their architecture deigns, culture and tradition as well (Lockard 171). In the same period, Hellenistic age, Greek empire experienced the end of Alexanders era as Atigonus and Seleucustook over thus becoming the new rulers of the empire. However, these two leaders had their own specific territory to rule since Greece had been divided into several (three) parts (Martin 75). Greece, Macedonia and the near east constituted the three divided parts, which initially formed Greece previously ruled by the great Alexander. Antigonus controlled Greece and Macedonia, whereas, his counterpart, Seleucus, controlled the near east. These events had significant influence to Greeks economy, culture among other various aspects. However, our discussion will majorly concentrate on the culture of Greece during the historical period, Hellenistic age. During the period of Greek dominance, there existed a lifelong continuation of the Hellenistic religion. In essence, Greek gods and goddesses continued to be worshiped including the ancient rituals and practices that symbolized their spirituality. However, new religions from other nations and countries were adapted and brought change including the Egyptian gods such as Isis, the Syrian gods of Hadad and Atargatis provided a new dimension for those people in search of fulfillment in the present and afterlife. Despite the existence of these gods and goddesses, Hellenistic rulers were also commonly worshiped by people at this period. In Egypt for example, the ptolemies had taken up the worship of the pharaoh and established themselves everywhere as god kings. Some rulers even received the divine godly status in many parts of Greece (Mikalson 195). The socio economic and political turns that were occasioned due to Alexanders missions, the policies of his predecessors and wars brought massive changes to the religious cultures and traditions. The degree of these changes however, varied so much for Greeks living in the different cities and parts of the country. A good example was the Athenians who conventionally restored their old religious cults, festivals and a spiritual practice in the fifth century B.C.E. At the same period in Alexandria, there was a major contrast due to the clear heterogeneity of Greeks, Egyptians, the Jewish deities and the common religious practices in this multiethnic society (Mikalson 57). By design a the area had a mixed population of different cultures in the Greek world as all the residents and citizens of one city were never expected to worship in the same kind of sacrifices and festivals. As a result of religion bringing together these several nationalities to create a homogeneous city that is does not restrict religious policies of its rulers became possible. The changes attributed to Hellenistic Greek religion largely came from this religious multiculturalism in other metropolitan areas and Alexandria eventually affecting all other parts in Greek world. During the Hellenistic period the Greek religion had turned out to be a highly developed polytheism of a comprehensively anthropomorphic kind. The Greek gods were just merely male and females with normal human passions and sins but more powerful indeed but not so righteous than the people who worshiped them. The Greeks believed there was nothing lifeless about their gods, whether it is being portrayed by the chisel of the sculptors; to them they were warm, living and breathing human figures. However, there was no doubt in the moral quality in worship as it was regarded as a propitiation of risky tyrants. After the successful conquest of Alexander, the Greek culture spread like wild fire all over coming into closer contact with other civilizations in Egypt and the near East. Although the loss of independence of some Greek states to Macedonian rulers had a significant impact on their religion, the development of new philosophical systems never change their religion. There were instances of a decline in Hellenistic religion due to the discerning rise in atheism, skepticism and agnosticism and also an increase in superstitious beliefs, mysticism and astrology. The Greeks continued to worship the same gods giving similar sacrificial offerings, festivals and dedications as it was in the classical era. This period in the Hellenistic religion did not witness new religious practices as only minorities of Greeks were concerned with them (Fairbanks 121). Another key aspect of religion in the Hellenistic period was the institutions of cults that were dedicated to renowned rulers in the various Hellenistic Kingdoms. The initial cults were established under Alexanders rule whose power, stature and conquests had elevated him to a level the dictated special recognition. Many of his heirs extended his worship to the extent that in Egypt he was honored as god under Ptolemy Soter. Later on Ptolemys son declared his late father as god and went ahead to proclaiming himself as a living god and by doing so, made the Ptolemies adapted to earlier Egyptian concepts of worshiping Pharaoh. In some parts the practice varied since a ruler ended up receiving divine status and not full godly status. During 307 BCE in Athens, Demetrius and Monophthalmus were honored and respected as saviors for liberation of the city. As a result of these, alters were mounted and annual festival to mark the celebrations were founded including the introduction of the offic e the priest of the saviors. It was rare to find a temple being dedicated to rulers but in many occasions their statues were regularly erected in different temples and kings would end up being worshiped as sharing gods. Interestingly during the Hellenistic period the use of magic was evidently practiced as part of the religion of the time. Sanctuaries for witchcraft and oracular shrines were very popular including the use of charms and also incidences of casting cursing spells on others. Various symbols would be seen placed many house doors as a belief in bringing good luck or even prevent misfortunes for the occupants of the household (Fairbanks 234 ). Charms were designed and cut from precious stones and believed to carry protective power and sometimes were used to cast evil spells. There were also astrological beliefs that heavenly bodies like stars and planets had the capacity to influence a persons future, this arose commonly in Babylonia where it was specifically applied to a king or a nation. However, the Greeks in the Hellenistic age sophisticated this concept into an extremely complex system of Hellenistic astrology. During the Hellenistic era, worship generally consisted of sacrificial offerings of a number of domestic animals in holy alters that were accompanied by prayer and hymns. The worshipers would eat part of the sacrifice leaving the rest to be burnt for the purposes of appeasing the gods. The Greek authority extended into the field of religion as during the early times the ancient roman gods in most occasions were recognized with Greek gods. In addition, there were alternatives to religion that were presented in the Hellenistic philosophy the most common system being stoicism. This religious philosophical concept taught the beliefs about life as to live in accordance with the rational order which was believed to rule the entire universe (De Gruyter 207). It further explains that people must accept their fate in accordance to the divine will. There was also an extensive mythology in the Hellenistic Greek religion that consisted of a lot of stories about gods and goddesses and how they af fect the life of earthy beings especially humans. Even though many of the myths revolved around heroic actions most of them were recognized as part of religion in all times.

Causes of Epidemic Diseases

Causes of Epidemic Diseases Throughout the history of mankind there have been many diseases that have spread quickly becoming an epidemic, a lot of these diseases are preventable if only individuals had access to important information pertaining to the spread of the disease. There are many ways to prevent the spread of these diseases and there are many different types of disease with multiple symptoms. According to Medicine.net, an epidemic is the occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community or region during a given time period, a sudden severe outbreak of a disease such as SARS. Also epidemic diseases are the classification of a disease that occur as a new case in human population through spreading quickly and extensively by infection, so these kinds of diseases affect many individuals in an area at the same time. Generally epidemic diseases appear and high rate in crowed population, where health conditions are bad and medicinal services can not provided such as in underdeveloped countries, particularly in Africa. There are some famous examples for epidemic diseases, such as the Black Death during the Medieval Europe and the Great Influenza Pandemic that occurred by the end of First World War. But today, AIDS and Bird Flu are two dangerous epidemic diseases, and lets not forget Ebola Hemorrhagic, West Nile, Mad cow, small pox and H1N1 swine flu. These diseases have been a global problem which has threatened all individuals in the world. AIDS has become a pandemic and has killed millions young and old. According to Burke Weill, AIDS is a disease that attacks the immune system leading to susceptibility to opportunistic infection and eventually death. AIDS is a great example of a disease which became an epidemic and eventually a pandemic. Additionally, epidemic diseases have occurred as a result of three important factors, which are agent, host, and environment. That is, agents are the cause of epidemic diseases and host increase the effects of diseases and environmental situations permit host e xposure to the agent. â€Å"The year 1918 embodied one of the greatest epidemics in the history of mankind. By years end, 50 million innocent lives would be taken by a virus, including over 600,000 in the United States alone (Simonsen, 1997). The virus was influenza and it spanned the entire globe in 1918. It is known as the worst influenza epidemic ever. The virus caused sickness, death, and grief to every part of the world. One of the most shocking aspects of the 1918 influenza virus was how quickly and easily it spread. One person infected with the virus could spread it to hundreds by simply coughing. What made matters and the spread of the virus worse was World War I (CDC). During the Great War, influenza afflicted military personnel from the United States were shipped all over the North America, Europe, and other various continents spreading the disease. Therefore, this paper will argue that the United States military was a major contributing factor to the spread of the Influenza virus in 1918.† Before the emergence of SARS-CoV, no efforts were put into the search for antiviral drugs against corona viruses. The rapid transmission and high mortality rate made SARS a global threat for which no efficacious therapy was available and empirical strategies had to be used to treat the patients. According to wikipedia.org, new insights into the field of the SARS-CoV genome structure and pathogenesis revealed novel potential anti-corona virus targets. Several proteins encoded by the SARS-CoV could be considered as targets for therapeutic intervention: the spike protein, the main protease, the NTPase/helicase, the RNA dependent RNA polymerase and different other viral protein-mediated processes. Potential anti-SARS-CoV drugs are currently being developed in vivo. The development of effective drugs against SARS-CoV may also provide new strategies for the prevention or treatment of other corona virus diseases in animals or humans. Passive immunization has been successful in establishing protection from SARS-CoV suggesting an important role for neutralizing antibodies. One important property of future vaccine candidates is the ability to give protection against multiple variant strains of SARS-CoV, especially in senescent populations that are most at risk for severe disease. SARS may be suspected in a patient who has: any of the symptoms, including a fever of 38  °C (100.4  °F) or higher, and either a history of: contact (sexual or casual) with someone with a diagnosis of SARS within the last 10 days or travel to any of the regions identified by the who as areas with recent local transmission of SARS (affected regions as of 10 May 2003 were parts of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the province of Ontario, Canada) (Smith, 2006). Mad cow disease is a progressive neurological disorder of cattle that results from infection. Mad cow disease† is a fatal and communicable brain disease of cows that has a very long incubation period. Decades after infection, the brains of infected cattle develop numerous small cavities as nerve cells die. The holes produce a marked spongy appearance that gives the disease its scientific name, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) (txtwriter.com). Central nervous system function is progressively degraded, until death eventually occurs. Many people have got this disease and died. In addition, mad cow disease is caused by consumption of infected meat. Unfortunately there is no cure for mad cow disease. The origin of smallpox is uncertain, but it is believed to have originated in Africa and then spread to India and China thousands of years ago. The first recorded smallpox epidemic was in 1350 BC during the Egyptian-Hittite war. Epidemics occurred in the North American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Millions of people died in Europe and Mexico as a result of widespread smallpox epidemics. The vaccine that was created for small pox is called dryvax. Smallpox is caused by the variola virus, which is spread through close contact with a person who has symptoms of the disease. A person with smallpox has infected saliva, and face-to-face contact can spread the virus. The virus could also be spread through other body fluids and contaminated clothing or bed linen. Smallpox is highly contagious, and people who have it are most infectious during the first week of illness (Meadows, 2003). The symptoms of small pox are as follows; high fever, fatigue, headaches, backaches, and vomiting; in addition, a rash on the face, arms, legs and other areas of the body. The rash turns into raised bumps that become pus-filled blisters (Meadows, 2003). Scabs develop and usually fall off three to four weeks later. There is no proven treatment that exists for smallpox. However, people with smallpox are given intravenous fluids and medicine to control fever and pain, and antibiotics are given to prevent or treat possible bacterial infections. Two treatments for smallpox–Vaccinia Immune Globulin (VIG) and cidofovir–are being studied and could be given under investigational new drug protocols (Meadows, 2003). Swine Flu symptoms are; cough sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting. The vaccine for swine flu is called the H1N1 vaccine. However, the treatment for swine flu is a medication called tamiflu and relenza. The dose for this medication is seventy-five milligrams twice a day for five day, which is for someone that has been diagnosed with swine flu. On the other hand, a person that was exposed to it would tale tamiflu seventy-five milligrams once a day for ten days. There have been many diseases throughout history that have become an epidemic and a lot of these diseases are preventable. The epidemic diseases have occurred as a result of three important factors, which are agent, host, and environment. In addition, the influenza virus of 1918 is known as the worst influenza epidemic ever killing 50 million people and it spread from the United States to parts of North America, Europe, and other various continents. SARS-CoV has a rapid transmission and high mortality rate. This in turn, made SARS a global threat for which no efficacious therapy was available. Before its emergence, no efforts were put into the search for antiviral drugs against corona viruses. Now Passive immunization has been successful in establishing protection from SARS-CoV. There is not a cure for small pox and other epidemic diseases. The medical community treats the diseases the best they can and the best way to combat diseases is to prevent the disease from spreading. References  ·Seasonal Influenza: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=3273 disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm Simonsen L et al. The impact of influenza epidemics on mortality: introducing a severity index. Am J Public Health. 1997; 87(12):1944-1950. Severe acute respiratory syndrome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome#Research http://txtwriter.com/Onscience/Articles/europemadcow1.html Meadows, Michelle. 2003. An Update on Smallpox.Retrieved from: http://www.mamashealth.com/infect/smallpox.asp Smith, R. D. (2006). Responding to global infectious disease outbreaks: Lessons from SARS on the role of risk perception, communication and management. Journal of Social Science and Medicine, 63, 3113-3123

A Separate Peace :: Free Essay Writer

What point of view does each character show in regards to their attitude to the war? The war is a symbol of how things are not always what they seem. Recruiting posters and propaganda to join the army convinced many boys into thinking the war is an exciting adventure. â€Å"The characters Gene, Finny, and Leper are used as opposing forces struggle between that cold reality of war and a separate peace†(Brian, Gatten), A peace away from the real war and all the terrible things that come. The attitudes towards war of Finny, Gene and Leper reflect their approach to life. Finny does not face the reality in life nor the war, Leper (stands on the sidelines) is isolated from life and the war, while Gene is a follower in life and the war. Finny does not face the reality in life nor the war by, finny first begins to create games. Because Phineas cannot face the reality of the real war. For him, these games are representative of the war. Finny made up these games and he made it so that he could be in control. This is just like Finny ‘s world of separate peace. Also finny does not fully understand the impact of war on people. He does not understand that war kills people physically and mentally. He also does not understand how it affects a person’s life. Finny is not present for the beginning of the fall session at Devon and as a result, the statement â€Å"Peace had deserted Devon†(knowles, pg. 132). Is true indicates the lack of peace†¦Ã¢â‚¬ the peace that the school had come to know when finny was present.†(Brian, Gatten) â€Å"With the lack of this peace, the door is open for the reality that is war, to enter†. (Brian, Gatten) Finny has his own reality, about the war. That is why he created the games to the substitute for the war. Leper’s attitude towards to the war is that he feels that was does not affect him. Leper is much like Finny because of his innocent, romantic view of the world, he loves nature and especially skiing during the winter. Leper is not popular at Devon due to his oddities, but he does not give any attention to such things. He joins the army after seeing a film about their ski troops although he is not even fighting is the war; he is shocked to find military life to be much different from what he expects.

The Murders In The Rue Morgue Essay -- essays research papers fc

In Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue†, a crucial statement is declared about how he views the inner workings of men, as well as how men interact with women in society. The narrative is based around the horrific murder of two defenseless women, which seems to have been committed by a mystery â€Å"beast†. Poe demonstrates the primitive violent forces that exist within people, particularly men, which have the ability to escape in shocking ways, often against a woman. Poe uses violence as a negative, inhumane act, in order to reinforce the innate brutal impulses that are just under the surface of all male beings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poe describes where the â€Å"Ourang-Outang† was originally taken from, with intent to embody the primitive undeveloped qualities in man. After being taken from an Indian Archipelago, Borneo, the Ourang-Outang is brought back to Paris, where he begins to obtain human characteristics simply by watching his master and learning through imitation. An example of this would be when the sailor comes back to his room and finds the Ourang-Outang â€Å"Razor in hand, and fully lathered, [it was] sitting before the looking-glass, attempting the operation of shaving, in which it had no doubt previously watched its master though the key-hole of the closet.†(Poe 120) When the beast becomes terrified, and escapes with the razor still in his hand, he is depicting the idea of a man’s inner â€Å"beast† getting loose when he fears a situation. During the scene when the Ourang-Outang â€Å"was flourishing the razor about her [Madame L’Espanayeâ₠¬â„¢s] face, imitating the motions of a barber†(121), the beast is thinking just like a human man. He is even using a human tool in order to commit these atrocious murders, which is indicative of Poe’s notion that all men are capable of performing horrible deeds at a time when their animalistic impulses take over.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a stark contrast presented between civilized behavior and the primitive behavior that these slaughters suggest. The murders are so horrid and revolting that it does not seem conceivable that a human would have the ability to do the things that were done. Some of the evidence collected from the murder site included, â€Å" two or three long and thin tresses of gray human hair that seemed to have been pulled out by the roots.† (99) Likewise, â€Å"the body [of the old lady], as... ...e power. In society, it is the cerebral beings that are looked at strangely by others, which is declared by Poe when he says, â€Å"had the routine of our life at this place been known to the world, we should have been regarded as madmen-although, perhaps, as madmen of a harmless nature.† (95) Here he is desperately trying to show the immense divergence in the inner workings of a man’s mind, which he does quite well with the Ourang-Outang representing man, as well as having Dupin, a genius, solving the crime committed. Dupin is the epitome of civilization, while in direct contrast is the beast, whom is completely barbaric and uncivilized. Throughout the tale, Poe is able to show how all men have animalistic impulses deep down, while demonstrating how these rages are often taken out on defenseless women. He then goes on to show the contrast between man as civilized and logical, against man as uncultured and thoughtless. Poe demonstrates how either type of man can exist, yet poses the question of whether it is possible for both characteristics to be exhibited simultaneously in a single man. Works Cited 1. Poe, Edgar Allan. Selected Tales. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1998.

Standardized Testing Is Counterproductive Essay -- Problems With High

Excessive testing has been integrated in the public school system to measure student intelligence, observe teacher proficiency, and distribute federal funds since the passage of the No Child Left behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001. The (NCLBA) ‘‘called for 100% of the nation’s public school students to become proficient in mathematics and reading by 2014’’ through the usage of standardized testing (Hanson 3). Since the inception of this policy there have been numerous issues involved in these tests. ‘‘Instead of providing equal access for all children, the frenetic use of mandated testing in schools and in teacher education is having the opposite effect’’ (Richardson 34). Standardized testing is an ineffective and outdated tool that creates a counterproductive learning environment; testing enforced by the state should be altered to better accommodate the students needs. The primary function of standardized testing is to provide an accurate measure of student and teacher performance; they fall short of meeting this standard. Test scores don’t accurately reflect a child’s intelligence. One reason for this is that a single test cannot properly show the extent of a child’s knowledge. Language barriers are a determining factor as well, if English is not the primary language of a student they will have a harder time understanding questions and in turn procure lower scores. More problems arise when students enter high school; students don’t try as hard since standardized tests do not affect class grades. Moreover, scores are influenced by external factors. A child’s emotional or mental state during testing is detrimental to their results. Living conditions along with social status affect testing data as well. If a student is upset or living... ... ERIC. Print. Longo, Christopher. ‘‘Fostering Creativity or Teaching to the Test? Implications of State Testing on the Delivery of Science Instruction.’’ Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 2010. ERIC. Print. Phelps, Richard P. ‘‘Characteristics of an Effective Student Testing System.’’ Educational Horizons, 2006. ERIC. Print. Reddell, Samantha. ‘‘High Stakes Testing: Our Children at Risk.’’ Online Submission, 2010. ERIC. Print. Richardson, Brian; Wheeless, Lawrence R. ‘‘Teachers Tattling on Teachers: Policy Attitude and Tenure's Influence on Peer Reporting of Unethical Behavior.’’ International Journal of Educational Reform, 2009. ERIC. Print. Ryan, Katherine E., Allison M. Ryan, Keena Arbuthnot, Maurice Samuels. ‘‘Students' Motivation for Standardized Math Exams.’’ Educational Researcher, 2007. EIRC. Print.

The Reasons Why the Us Entered Wwi

De Lorenzo 1 James De Lorenzo Mr. Misurelli U. S History II B 3 March 2013 The Reasons why the US Entered WWI The First World War erupted on the 28th of July, 1914 with the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. This horrific war finally ended on November 11th, 1918. The United States didn’t officially enter the war until April 6th, 1917. The US entered during the middle of the war and endured the bloody conflict to the very end. Woodrow Wilson, the president of the US during WWI, struggled with the choice of having the United States enter the war or not.Woodrow Wilson, as well as Congress, wanted the United States to remain neutral throughout the war and stay out of European affairs. After all, the US is 3,000 miles away and involving itself in the agonizing total war could be very costly. The United States really had no choice, I feel that they did it to them self. If the United States never try to sending weapons, medical supplies, and money to Britain and France. They sta yed truly neutral they would never join Word War 1. The Americans had no idea that war was imminent in the summer of 1914.Under Presidential Control, Wood Wilson wanted the United States to stay neutral. Public opinion went along with neutrality at first. Neutrality was strongly among the Irish Americans, German Americans, and Swedish Americans, as well as many farmers especially in the South, and church leaders and women. German atrocities in Belgium De Lorenzo 2 and the RMS Lusitania, partly as German- Americans lost influence, and partly in response to Wilson's position that America had to play a role to make the world safe for democracy. (www. boundless. com) The sinking of the Lusitania heightened tensions between the U.S. and Germany and helped sway American opinion in favor of joining the war. The first big incident that happen to the United States to join World War 1 was the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. The Lusitania was a British ocean liner that had 120 Americans on bored . On May 1, 1915, the Lusitania left port in New York for Liverpool to make her 202nd trip across the Atlantic. (http://history1900s. about. com) Since The World War 1 had started it was very dangerous for ships to get to Europe. Each side would try to blockade each other to prevent war supplies to reaching the enemy.German U-boats stalked British waters they continually looking for enemy ships holding war supplies to sink. May 7, 1915, Captain William Thomas Turner slowed the Lusitania down because of fog. 14 miles off the coast of Southern Ireland at Old Head of Kinsale, neither the captain nor any of his crew realized that the German U-boat, U-20, had already spotted and targeted them (http://history1900s. about. com) The U-boat fired a torpedo and hit the starboard side of the Lusitania. The Lusitania sunk within 18 minutes. 1,959 people on board, 1,198 died, the toll of civilians killed in this disaster shocked the world.The Americas were outraged that 120 Americas had died. Th e final incident that happen to the United States to join The World War 1 was The Zimmermann Telegram. In 1916 Woodrow Wilson was elected President for a second term, because of the slogan â€Å"He kept us out of war. † Events in the De Lorenzo 3 early 1917 would change the hope of Americans staying out of the war. On January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. http://www. archives. gov). British waited until February 24 to present the telegram to Woodrow Wilson. The United States press published news of the telegram on March 1. The public opinion changed that day people wanted to go to war and stop Germany. At first Wilson tried to maintain neutrality while fighting off the submarines. The U-boats sank seven us ships after then President Wilson called congress to vote declaration of war on Germany, which Congress voted on 6 April 1917. The vote was passed and the United State had entered World War 1.The United States home front had very little planning to go to war with Germany. Entire population of the United States to produces the soldiers, food supplies, and money needed to win the war. The United States government set 500,000 to 1,000,000 new employees to bring together the expertise necessary to redirect the economy into the production for war supplies and food necessary for the war. The Food Administration lead by Herbert Hoover made a massive campaign to teach Americans to economize on their food budgets, so the government could send food to their troops.Propaganda was very big in the news rooms in the United States. They often lied about what was going on in the west about Germany to get young men to sign                                                                                           `                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    De Lorenzo 4 up for the Military.Children had a big role in helping troops across seas, the Boy Scouts of America helped distribute war pamphlets, helped sell war bonds, and helped to drive nationalism and support for the war. The United States had a small army, after the passage of the Selective Service Act it drafted 2. 8 million men and by summer 1918 was sending 10,000 fresh soldiers to France every day. The United States Navy sent a battleship group to join with the British Grand Fleet to Queenstown Ireland and submarines to help guard ships with imported goods and war supplies.On the battlefields United States troops kept coming and Germany were unable to replace their losses. Victory over Germany was achieved on November 11, 1918 after German morale had collapsed on both the Western and Home Fronts. After the war Britain, France and Italy inputted hard economic penalties on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. The United States Senate did not sign the Treaty of Versailles, they felt that Britain, France and Italy were being too hard on Germany. The United States signed separate peace treaties with Germany and its allies. Senate also rejected to enter the newly created League of Nations on Wilson's terms.