Film Inception Analysis

So, the long awaited film ‘Inception', written and direction by Christopher Nolan, in which Leonardo DiCaprio stars, was finally released. And after weeks of procrastination, I finally sat down and watched it. I had heard from my friends that it was an enthralling movie, with a great plot and truly magnificent acting, but of course I had to decide for myself. The film starts with a memory, or a vision from the future, no one is quite sure. We are then quickly taken back to a time before that memory, and the characters are introduced. We first meet Dom Cobb, a slightly unstable and troubled, but undoubtedly clever, ‘dream thief.' His job, unsurprisingly, involves infiltrating the minds of people and stealing their dreams, to gain an idea of their thoughts and motives. Now at first he seems to be a rather normal man, which a rather abnormal job. However, we are soon introduced to his many flaws and weaknesses. For instance, he often warns his colleagues to never use personal feelings when in a dream, but he constantly takes around the guilt he carries. He feels guilty because his wife committed suicide, and he blames himself. He was trying to extend the idea of mere dream entering, and begin a world changing concept, inception. This means that they would have to plant an idea in someone's mind so that it grows into a feeling and they act upon this feeling, scary stuff really. He did this to his wife successfully, but he made her believe that she was in a dream however she was in reality. We are told that the only way to be released from a dream is to die in the dream, and so she kills herself to return to her ‘reality.' Dom Cobb blames himself for this and so, whenever he enters a dream, she follows him around, attempting to sabotage the whole operation. We are then acquainted with Arthur, Eames, Mr. Saito and Ariadne, and these are all accomplices of the main man. Arthur and Eames are his assistants they support him by acting as his friends or enemies inside the dream. The plot is, to say the least, baffling. Dom Cobb and his buddies decide to enter the mind of one Robert Fischer, to stop him from taking over his father's company and becoming a multimillionaire and providing energy to half the world. Mr. Saito is the man who gives them the job of planting an idea inside Robert Fischer's mind, and so he insists on going into the dream with them. They then go through different levels or phases of dreams, such as level 1, 2 and 3. Level 1 is merely a dream. Level 2 is a dream within a dream, which is confusing, and then Level 3, which is a dream within a dream within a dream, and by this point I was truly bewildered. Although the plot is extremely confusing, it is very well written. The acting is phenomenal, with a special mention going to Leonardo DiCaprio, whose performance was exceptional. It had been said that this film was one which had to be watched twice to gain the full experience and understanding of the plot, and I agree with this wholeheartedly, although it did leave me scratching my head even after the second viewing. The choice of music is also quite good and I was usually left thinking to myself that that song summed up the scene perfectly. The same has to be said with the costumes, they were generally well chosen. The suits were all immaculate, and the snow suits were also quite a nice touch. My favourite scene was definitely the one which confused me the most. The final scene is set in Leonardo DiCaprio's house. He returns, thinking that the children will run away like they normally do, but instead they run towards him. He takes a small object with him, like every other dream thief, to distinguish between dreams and reality. Dom Cobb takes a spinning top, which spins forever when he is in a dream. The viewer thinks he is in a dream, as his children are running back to him, but the spinning top ceases to spin. This, I think, is the scene that confuses many people and it is the reason that many people have to return to see it once more. I hope that ‘Inception' signifies the beginning of a new wave of futuristic films, and if it has paved the way for other similar films to arrive, then I will be glad. This film is definitely worth watching, and I would highly recommend it. While the film is slightly unrealistic in the way that they jovially jump from dream to dream, it is most certainly a film that will stick in my mind for a long time.

Irony a Common Theme

Although they have very different plots with vastly different different characters, a common theme is cleverly intertwined by the authors of the following stories. â€Å"The Interlopers,† by Saki narrates a duel between two neighbors, torn apart by their forefather's grudge. â€Å"Gimpel the Fool,† by Isaac Bashevis Singer, is told by a man thought of as a fool, and forgives all those who mistreat and abuse him. The play â€Å"Pygmalion,† by Bernard Shaw shows the story of a normal flower girl becoming an upper class lady, and all the woes that come with it. The Interlopers,† â€Å"Gimpel the Fool,† and â€Å"Pygmalion† all share the common theme of irony. Even in such different contexts, irony is seen in these tales. â€Å"The Interlopers† has an ironic ending that shocks the reader. Saki starts the short story with Ulrich von Gradwitz seeking his nemisis, Georg Znaeym in a vast forest he calls his own. The reason for such hate would b e many generations before dispute over land and game, which was still existed. When they both face each other, they are both prepared to kill one another, until a tree falls on them. After endless bickering under the tree, Gradwitz tells Znaeym, â€Å"Neighbor, if you will help me to bury the old quarrel I- I will ask you to be my friend,† (4) who then agrees. After this, â€Å"The Interlopers† abruptly ends with the two men ironically being eaten alive by a pack of wolves. In â€Å"Gimpel the Fool,† the main character, Gimpel, is treated as a fool all his life in a village, and doesn't let it bother him, which further convinces the townspeople of his ignorance. This is ironic since Gimpel is actually the smartest of the bunch by thinking to himself, â€Å"let it pass† (1) even though he is labeled throughout the story as a fool. Till the end, the village makes a fool out of Gimpel, through forcing him to marry an outwardly unfaithful woman to acting to his face as if they don't know that all children born from her have different fathers. Finally, after his wife's death, Gimpel leaves his sad little hometown. He then travels around the world, telling tales to many audiences, and enjoying pleasureful company. Indeed, Gimpel was not a fool. In â€Å"Pygmalion,† a phonetics professor, Mr. Higgins, takes the responsibility of training a lower class flower girl, to becoming an upper class woman, which has an ironic outcome due to the fact that her new lifestyle would seem be more comfortable, but in reality is not. Mr. Higgins is forced to teach Eliza the whole English language to her once again due to her own version containing words/sounds such as â€Å"Ah-ah-ah-ow-ow-ow-oo! † (1749) Eliza already being beautiful, it only takes washing up to look like a lady. Resulting from becoming a proper lady, ironically Eliza has to sell herself in order to find a husband, while when she was a flower girl she just had to sell flowers. Keeping up with the superficial world of appearances with everyone watching her every move proves to be too stressful, and Eliza eventually breaks. She then leaves Mr. Higgins to marry someone he considered a fool, Freddy, who was smitten with her. In all these stories,different types of irony is expressed. The Interlopers† has situational irony since the result of the truce of the two men did not result in their freedom, but contrary, their death. In â€Å"Gimpel the Fool,† there is verbal irony since Gimpel is purposely labeled as a fool by the author though the truth is the opposite. â€Å"Pygmalion† has dramatic irony since Eliza believes her life will be better as an upper class woman, though we know that will not be the case, as she herself also finds out the next day. Using irony not only adds twists to these stories, but also contributes to character development and increases suspense.

Compare and Contrast of Florida and Hawaii

During the summer and winter, many families like to go on vacations to tropical locations in order to take in the beautiful and amazing sights that they might not be able to experience at home. Two popular places to visit are Florida and Hawaii. While many believe that one beach community is as good as any other, there are many differences between Hawaii and Florida that make them suited for different people, depending on what kind of vacation they want to experience. In particular there are differences in the cultures, weather, and attractions of these two beach communities. Although both Florida and Hawaii are tropical locations, their cultures are far from similar. Florida has a very â€Å"typical† American feel to it. It is rich in busy streets, screaming kids, rude and unfriendly people, and fat-filled restaurants with a cheeseburger always on the menu somewhere. Besides everyone being in a bikini everywhere on a hot, summer day, the people in Florida are really no different than you and I. It may seem like everyone goes to Florida for a vacation to get away from their everyday lives, but they really are going to the same problems in a different location. In Hawaii, however, you become a part of a brand new experience that you have probably never experienced before. Beaches there are not lined from end to end with restaurants and rental shops; instead, they are lined with palm trees and all of their untouched, natural wonders that have been there since the islands formed. In Hawaii, you get away from the â€Å"real† world and get a chance to experience the rich island culture that you might never have known about. The hustle and bustle of the inner city life and the monotonous nine to five job of the suburban life are not seen in Hawaii. It is very relaxed, and every day seems like it is a new adventure waiting for you to discover it. The food in Hawaii is also a departure from something that you could get any other day. There are numerous island foods that you would never find anywhere else, like poi, a bread that is made out of purple potatoes, or Hawaiian shave ice, where they combine beans with a variety of flavors of ice cream. Also, pineapple is a very popular addition to just about anything you could imagine, and the food is usually made to be â€Å"volcano† hot. As far as an escape goes, Hawaii is the perfect place to go to experience an amazing new culture. Even if you cannot tell the difference between the cultures of Hawaii and Florida, the weather easily sets the two apart. As far as tropical locations go, many people expect the weather to be warm and sunny, looking for a perfect day to go to the beach and relax next to the ocean. In Florida, though the heat and humidity is almost unbearable. It makes you want to immediately jump into the ocean to try a cool off under the hot sun. Unfortunately, with the sun beating down on the ocean and the humidity in the air trapping all of the heat, the ocean also heats up very quickly and it becomes more like a hot tub, which is not the most relaxing of choice in the middle of a warm, summer day. With all of the humidity in Florida, it is also very common for a sudden downpour to erupt and leave you soaking wet like you have been in the ocean all day. Despite these flaws in the perfect, tropical weather you expect, when you do get a nice day in Florida, it makes you wish the day would never end and that you would never have to leave. Hawaii’s weather makes the best days in Florida seem like a hot, humid day in Missouri in the middle of August. It barely rains in Hawaii, always leaving you with a nice day to go to the beach or go on a nature hike. Even though it may reach up to 90 degrees, there is very little humidity, so even the hottest of days feels like a comfortable, cool, breezy afternoon. Also, when you want to jump into the ocean and cool off, it is nice and refreshing. Hawaii truly displays the typical weather you would expect out of a tropical island and leads to a relaxing getaway for anyone who wishes to enjoy it. One of the biggest differences between Florida and Hawaii are the attractions they have to offer and what you can do with your time in either place. As you may expect, the major attraction of both Florida and Hawaii are the numerous beaches that populate the two states. Beyond the beaches, however, both Florida and Hawaii offer unique attractions that will amuse people of all ages. In Florida, one of the major attractions is Disney World, a resort designed to let your inner child loose and experience the world of cartoons that you watched as a kid. While many people see Disney World as an amusement park for kids, the park can be enjoyed by people of all ages. There are many other amusement parks in Florida that are â€Å"hot spots† for vacations, such as Sea World, Universal Studios, and Busch Gardens. Another big travel spot in Florida is the Florida Everglades and Everglades National Park. The Everglades is a massive wetland ecosystem in the southern portion of Florida that offers many people a chance to explore a place they couldn’t find anywhere else in the world. While Florida may have amusement parks and some natural exhibits to visit, though, it cannot compare with the beauty of Hawaii. Hawaii may not have amusement parks, but it makes up for it with all of its amazing, natural attractions. The beaches are beautiful, with crystal clear water that allows you to watch a lot of undersea life without ever putting on a scuba suit. Some of the nature walks that you can go on in Hawaii are simply breathtaking because of all the beautiful scenery that you pass along the way. You can ride horses on the beach, take a submarine ride through the ocean, and, if you are brave enough, even go to the top of a volcano and experience all of the beautiful landscape that actually grows around it. Furthermore, major attraction in Hawaii is the Pearl Harbor naval base and memorial. People from all over the world, even from Japan come to the memorial to see what is left behind from a great American tragedy. You can still see the oil left in the ocean in some spots, and you can walk over a glass bridge that allows you to look down and see a sunken battleship. No matter what you choose to do, you are guaranteed to find something in Hawaii that you could not find anywhere else in the world. Whether it is the food that you eat or the weather you experience, there is a lot that separates Florida and Hawaii. Both places offer a unique experience that you normally would not have in your everyday life. However, you can visit Florida and go to an amusement park with your family and friends; I would recommend seeing Hawaii and experience a culture you may have never seen before.

Macro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Macro Economics - Essay Example This depicts that a greater percentage of the citizens in that country are striving to be in better places and constantly improving the state of the country through the concept of invisible hand. In India the economic condition is not that stable. This is because only a smaller portion of the population strives to make ends meet while a greater percentage is always dragging the country backwards economically because they don’t work hard and deliver. This is very challenging since the economy is always torn in an imbalanced proportion. Studies from economists behind this theory argue that it developed an idea of a subsistence level to model the theory. The economists claimed that if real Gross Domestic Product rose above this subsistence level of income, it would cause the population to increase and bring real gross domestic product back down to the subsistence level. In India the population is extremely high and this means that the real gross domestic product is always above the subsistence level of income thus bringing the gross domestic product back down to the subsistence level. The opposite happens in the United States of America and that is why the gross domestic product there is far better than that for India. Strong economic growth rate cannot be positive to high population growth. This is because when the population increases, resources for economic growth will be limited. This will therefore hinder growth in the economy due to the imbalance. This defect or problem can be prevented by factors such as controlling population growth by implementing birth policies. The birth rate should be moderate to make the resources adequate for the country3. When the country has a poor or weak growth rate it is a big hindrance to the economic growth. This is because there will be inadequate labor force in various organizations in the country. Labor is a fundamental factor of production and should therefore be supplied adequately in an economy. To offset this

American History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

American History - Assignment Example The question whether America should’ve postponed the election and waited until the war was over has its pros and cons. Had the elections been postponed, it would’ve led the country to what it is today. There will be no change of administration just like what happened with the re-election of former president Lincoln and same strategies would’ve done as well to cease the war. But if we travel back in time, we are the citizens of America in 1864, and we don’t have any idea of the future, postponing the elections won’t really be an excellent decision to make. Since we don’t know when the war will last, a possible change of government, in case change is needed, will not be in the picture. America still deserves to choose whether to stick with the Surname 3 incumbent administration or not and that is by holding the elections. Postponement of it will deprive the country in any era, to its right to elect a leader who they think can lead them to a bet ter land. In 1864 presidential elections in the midst of the civil war, American citizens chose their country’s future.

The Importance of Branding in Google and Lego Case Study

The Importance of Branding in Google and Lego - Case Study Example Branding is so important in every industry and computer and communications industries are also not an exception. â€Å"Brands need to find a voice that resonates, that surprises and that entices. This means understanding better your client, which clearly means listening more to your client base† (Social Search: Getting Personal is Getting Evermore Important for Brand Marketers). In the case of search engine business, Google has a voice that resonates, but in the case of social networking, Facebook enjoys that voice. Google is facing stiff competition from many others such as Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon, Apple, Facebook etc. In order to counter the threats from such huge companies, effective branding strategies are necessary for Google. Even though Google is the number one player in the search engine business, they are not so in social networking industry. Facebook holds the number one spot in social networking. Lego on the other hand is one of the prominent toy makers in the worl d. Even though they were the fifth largest toy maker in the world, they suffered lot of setbacks in the recent past because of the increased competition. â€Å"The Lego Group’s vision was to inspire the children to explore and challenge their own creative potential† (Lego Group: An Outsourcing Journey, p.2). However they failed to do so in a consistent basis and suffered severe setbacks recently. In order to regain its lost brand image, Lego is currently implementing many strategies. â€Å"The framework for LEGO’s branding effort expanded from its initial marketing focus into a company-wide reorganization that involved several change management programs and an ongoing initiative to create and manage global brand coherence†(Schultz & Hatch, p.6). Role of branding in the Business strategies of Google and Lego Branding holds an important place in the business strategies of both Google and LEGO. Globalization has brought immense challenges in the global marke t and it is difficult for even huge companies to survive in the market with the help of traditional brand building strategies. Diversification of business is inevitable at present and better brand image in one market segment may not help a company in other segments. For example, Google failed to become the number one in social networking or ecommerce even though they are so in search engine business. Same way Lego also failed drastically to hold their top spot in toy market because of their inability to diversify in to other areas. â€Å"The name LEGO is a combination of Danish words â€Å"leg† and â€Å"godt,† meaning â€Å"play well†Ã¢â‚¬  (Lego Group: An Outsourcing Journey, p.7). Lego was committed to deliver quality products to its children based clients. They concentrated too much on toy market alone which caused problems to them. Both Google and Lego should concentrate more on product diversification and brand development strategies in each segment. The y should realize that better image in one business segment may not help them in other segments. For each business segments, they need separate brand building strategies. Threats to the brand equities of Google and Lego When started Google plus, Google thought that they can utilize their brand equity in search engine business in social networking also. They failed to realize that both search engine and social networking businesses are entirely different businesses and it is difficult to convince the customers using the brand image alone. At present the

Make up your own topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Make up your own topic - Essay Example In this regard, the article would be critiqued focusing on logical presentation of contentions in the most balanced and objective way. The essay hereby aims to proffer the effectiveness of the author’s discourse using appropriate critical analysis techniques, as required. To analyze the essay in a logical form, one needs to clearly set the meaning of a critical analysis. One’s academic background and learning from various modules on critical thinking recognizes the involvement of rational and logical thinking skills in closely evaluating the effectiveness of a discourse to determine if the specified objective is achieved. Using these explanations, the article initially started with an introductory paragraph that provided some background information on the author’s rationale for pursuing music as an academic major. However, introductory paragraphs need to establish the general overview of the discourse and stipulate the author’s aim and thesis statement as well. In this article, the introductory paragraph did not contain the author’s purpose nor the thesis statement, as required; thereby failing to comply with the general requirement of an academic essay. The author proceeded with a narrative discourse of how people wrongly perceived music courses, in general. While indicating that the perceptions are false, the author did not support the statement but instead, diverted the discussion to presenting some approach to seek respite from the demands of the course. Further, the structure and arguments that are supposed to prove that music is not an easier path was not effectively and logically presented. For example, the paragraph that is supposed to discuss that long hours of practice cut homework time in core and other courses did not support this contention in any way; but instead, opted to discuss the challenges posed by taking a diction course for vocal performance majors. The general arguments that

Internal Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Internal Analysis - Essay Example rategic ways on how Wal-Mart can make use of its strengths in order to take advantage of its opportunities within its external environment will be thoroughly discussed. In the process of discussing some ways wherein the company could experience continuous business growth, recommended ways that could make Wal-Mart strengthen its weaknesses and avoid unnecessary external threats will be provided. For the conclusion, whether or not it is possible on the part of Wal-Mart to strengthen its position in the market will be defended by an argument. As a retailer, Wal-Mart has successfully established a strong brand name over the years. By selling consumer products at relatively low prices, the company managed to have the biggest market shares throughout the retail industry in the United States. (Bianco & Zellner, 2003) Due to the excessively large size of the company, it becomes very difficult on the part of its purchasers to maintain the availability of some of its product within the store outlets. Because of the weak purchasing network that causes insufficient supply of T-shirts in some of Wal-Mart’s retail store outlets during the second half of 2007 (Bianco, 2007), the company experienced a huge business opportunity loss. Aside from having a weak purchasing network, Wal-Mart’s growth strategy was reported to become inefficient since 2005. (Bianco, 2007) Basically, the rapid business growth that the company has achieved over the past few years enabled Wal-Mart to capture as much of its target market. For this reason, it becomes very difficult on the part of the company to use the same growth strategy in the near future. Even though the overhead costs of Wal-Mart significantly increased from 16.4% in 2000 up to 18.6% in 2007 (Bianco, 2007), the company is often being accused of underpaying its employees with low salary of US$8.23 per hour or US$13,861 each year (Bianco & Zellner, 2003). Having the idea of following the retail store structure of European

Concepts of truth and reality in photography Research Paper

Concepts of truth and reality in photography - Research Paper Example The China state has covered the events that took place, thus leading to the massacre. It covered the events that occurred. On June, 3-4 tanks and heavily armed troops moved towards the square crushing those who tried to stop them. The few Protestants who had remained at the plaza choose to leave rather than face the wrath of the troops. The soldiers shot throughout the day, even though, no Protestants had remained out at that time. Yong Xu, a Chinese writer who is supposedly said to have published a controversial book that fully contained photos of the famous killings that had happened at the Tiananmen Square. The book has full images of young idealists who clamored for democracy while denouncing the communist party. Yong Xu on his part insists that his works were not by any chance political driven even after keeping hiding them for more than two decades. Yong Xu insists that his works are genuinely an art book; Yong also has other 20 photography books to his name that can be used to justify his intentions for putting the photos together. His art book, on the contrary, is more likely to be viewed as a provocation by hardliners by the current rulers of China. It is because they have tried so much to cover been up this particular event by providing scanty information on it. The Chinese official have imposed a collective amnesia on the nation by censoring photos and even news that are part of the historical records in the world at large. Yong’s book can be viewed as a brave as he had defied the potential risk. Yong puts himself given that all those who had tried taken this path had been imprisoned including his close friends who had simply shared the events photos online. One of China’s best-known civil rights lawyers, Pu Zhiqiang, is said to have been in police custody since last spring for joining a private gathering at his friend’s apartment

Trans World Airlines (TWA) Essay Example for Free

Trans World Airlines (TWA) Essay Before Trans World Airlines (TWA) had expressed its interest to acquire Ozark Airlines (Ozark), it had already established itself so it will achieve dominance once the merger took place. The company initially equipped itself with knowledge and resources that will bring them to an advantage over Ozark. TWA went through three primary agreements prior to the acquisition on which it had displayed aggressive influence on all of them. In the Wraparound Agreement, TWA pilots used threats so they can have complete participation in drafting the merger terms with Ozark. They warned that they will withdraw their membership in the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) if the terms will not be drafted to serve their best interest. This control over the acquisition terms was amplified when TWA pilots and ALPA made an agreement with Icahn (the biggest stockholder of TWA) that they will â€Å"extend the wage and benefit concessions† in exchange for full influential power over the details of the merger agreement (Pierce Dougherty 146). The â€Å"threat† strategy was also used to compel Ozark pilots to sign the contract under the merger agreement. An Ozark respondent described that TWA had threatened to take additional 10 airplanes on top of the 4 already acquired and to lay off more pilots if the contracts were not signed. The same strategy was also used so TWA will obtain compliance among Ozark employees. The former had instilled the concept of it being a â€Å"big airline company absorbing a small airline company.† Hence, the latter as the â€Å"small company† should submit to their authority. Another communication practice used by TWA to display its dominance is by branding the employees. Branding was defined as the manner of creating a distinction between a TWA employee and a former Ozark employee. In databases, for example, Ozark employees were reported to have an asterisk symbol or big red letters â€Å"OZARK† beside their names. It appeared that though the two airline companies had merged, an internal division was still maintained. The â€Å"branding† also implied certain restrictions for the Ozark pilots. Contractual boundaries were set. These were referred to as â€Å"fences† (Pierce Dougherty 150). A TWA pilot attested that there were existing contracts that restricted former Ozark pilots to fly some of the aircrafts until a specific seniority level on TWA standards was acquired. Training opportunities for former Ozark pilots were also very low. With these restrictions, a seniority level which means better wages, benefits, equipment assignments and cockpit positions will be difficult or will take a longer time to attain for former Ozark pilots. The division was an accepted fact for both TWA and former Ozark employees. To further demonstrate this reality, both parties still display their distinctive badges, colors or pins. Some even had symbolic tattoos on their bodies. Pierce Dougherty interpreted this as an approach by the dominated party to display resistance (152). Through their unique colors or pins, former Ozark employees reinforced their identity amidst TWA’s dominant structure. Some former Ozark pilots also exhibited their identity by not adopting TWA’s flying standards. These forms of resistance may not have altered TWA’s dominance but former Ozark employees had gained their own source of personal power by identifying themselves as â€Å"Ozarks† (Pierce Dougherty 154). Through the case study made by Pierce and Dougherty which tracked the pre-acquisition and acquisition of Ozark by TWA, it was established that power-as-domination can be created, enacted and maintained through communication processes (157). TWA’s behavior was seen to be very influential from the very start. Since they were at an advantage when it came to resources and size, they were able to threaten other organizations such as ALPA to get what they want and how things should happen. Former Ozark employees also feared these threats and had no recourse but to follow what TWA mandated to avoid losing their jobs. It is evident from the case study that TWA made no effort to erase the division that resulted from the apparent disparity with the former Ozark employees. Instead, they reinforced the situation by further defining limits hence preventing any opportunity for the former Ozark employees to step up from their places and be an equal. This, as it appeared, was a way to preserve the status quo which had TWA as the dominating company. Pierce and Dougherty, however, described this situation as very unhealthy. They said this fosters a negative environment, lower productivity and lower commitment among the employees especially toward the parent company (157). From the authors’ observations in the workplace, TWA pilots and former Ozark pilots rarely interact as one group. Conversations were usually brief and only because urgency or necessity. The lack of unity was all the more evident by the different colors, pins or badges that the employees displayed to show the airline company where they had originated. Some former Ozark pilots also refused to follow certain standards as they do not conform to what they had been doing in the past. Pierce and Dougherty recommended that managers should not tolerate such differences within the company that came from a merger. The merging of two companies should be seen as a partnership not as â€Å"one company swallowing another† (158). The merger should invest on the strengths of both companies and strive to develop a better combined company that can compete with any similar company in the world. In the process of recognizing the contribution of each individual employee, whether he/she is a TWA employee or a former Ozark employee, communication processes that exhibit power imbalances will be minimized or will even be non-existent. Threats will no longer be necessary to achieve compliance and commitment. Instead, there will only be one airline company achieving its targets from the combined powers of TWA and Ozark. Reference: Pierce, Tamyra Dougherty, Debbie S. â€Å"The Construction, Enactment and Maintenance of Power-As-Domination through an Acquisition: the Case of TWA and Ozark Airlines.† Management Communication Quarterly 16.2 (2002): 129-164.

Effects Of The Economic Crunch On Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay

Effects Of The Economic Crunch On Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay Introduction The hospitality industry is one of the most important industries globally since it generates billions of dollars across the world. This industry is large and it indirectly and directly employs staff in different professions including hotel industry, tourism industry, air travel industry and other industries. The hospitality industry mainly relies on disposable income of clients and presence of leisure time since many services in this industry are enjoyed during leisure time (Beaver, 2002). This industry is an important revenue earner in different economies especially those which rely on tourism as a major source of government revenue. However, the hospitality industry is a very sensitive industry which thrives on economic and political stability of various destinations and economies. Political and economic instability has a direct adverse effect on this industry and may lead to drastic revenue losses by such economies (Clifford, 2008). It is therefore important to analyze this industry in relation to available opportunities and present threats in order to predict future trends. This paper will assess the future trends in the hospitality industry. The available opportunities and present threats will be used to ascertain these trends. The paper will focus on both a global approach and an approach from the United States business environment. Recommendations on what should be done to improve the future of the hospitality industry will also be given. The discussed issues will be summarized at the end. Future trends Short term decline of industry due to economic crunch The hospitality industry is one of the most affected industries as far as the global economic crunch is involved. This industry relies on disposable incomes of families and due to the effects of the crunch; people are no longer able to afford holidays and leisure activities. Almost all countries experienced adverse effects of the crunch and the tourism industry was one of the most affected. For instance, tourism in Europe declined by over 5% over the past three years, due to effects of the financial crisis (Theobald, 2008). In the US, the industry declined by 3% in terms tourist arrivals. Worldwide, the tourism industry declined by an average of 4% over a similar period, which translated to 880 million tourists (John, 2010). Although many economies are struggling to reduce the effects of the crisis, the hospitality industry will be among the last to enjoy the benefits of massive financial injections to economies by governments. This is because services in the hospitality industry are considered luxuries by many households and luxuries are the final needs satisfied by rational beings after all other needs are exhausted. Long term growth due to massive investments In the long run, the hospitality industry is expected to grow largely due to the massive investments which are being undertaken around the world. One of the destinations where there is heavy investment in the industry is the Middle East and specifically Dubai. Billions of dollars have been invested in Dubai with the purpose of developing infrastructure needed to make it a world class destination. Investment in hotels, properties, golf courses, transport, buildings, cultural museums and other tourist attractions have been realized in recent years. This includes the worldà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s tallest building and a seven star hotel (Conrad Alison, 2009). Other governments which rely on tourism as an industry for revenue collection have also made massive investments. This shows that in the long run, consumers will have a larger variety of leisure activities to choose from, which will encourage the growth of the hospitality industry. Implementation of total quality management There has been a gradual improvement of service provision in the hospitality industry due to the implementation of total quality management. This strategy involves improvement of the quality of services provided to increase efficiency, reduce costs and meet the needs of all stakeholders in the industry. The Malcolm Baldridge Awards introduced in recent years has helped improve quality of service in this industry since it targets total quality management of firms in the industry (Christine, 2006). The Ritz Carlton hotel was one of the first to win the award, and to set new standards in provision of service in the hotel industry. Many firms in the hospitality industry have recognized the importance of improving service provision due to intense competition and market awareness of products offered. The improvement of service provision is likely to encourage the growth of the industry in the long run. Potential threats and opportunities There are various opportunities which can be exploited in the hospitality industry. There are also various threats to this industry and these should be mitigated to ensure the industry is successful in the long run. These opportunities and threats will be discussed below; Opportunities The major opportunity in the hospitality industry is investment in infrastructure needed to fuel the growth of the industry and target new and emerging markets. It has been discussed that many governments and private firm are investing in the industry especially in the Middle East. It is important to encourage consumers to demand such services if the effects of the global economic crunch are to be mitigated. This can be done through providing markets with unique services which were previously not offered and reduction of product prices to encourage local tourism in different countries (Jacques, 2000). Local tourism has a very large potential in many destinations, although it is underexploited in most cases. Packages which encourage local tourism should be developed and services which meet local needs made available in order to enable long term growth of the industry. Threats Global economic crisis One of the greatest threats to the future of the hospitality industry is the global economic crunch. The global economic crisis has led to reduction of the growth and development levels of most economies. This crisis has also led to massive unemployment and reduction of the disposable income of many families (Lennon Malcolm, 2008). It was previously discussed that the hospitality industry thrives on disposable income of clients and presence of leisure time. The global economic crunch has reduced the disposable income of families. It has also led to reduction in leisure time since many employees strive to work for longer hours in order to earn higher salaries which can mitigate effects of the crisis. The reduction of incomes and leisure time has led to a decrease in purchase of services in the hospitality industry by consumers. Fewer people are able to travel for leisure or have meals at restaurants and hotels since they consider these services to be luxuries. Unless adequate steps a re taken to reduce the effects of the global crunch, many firms in the hospitality industry may face losses in the long run. Implications of the trends on hospitality industry The implication of these trends in the hospitality industry is a short term decline and a long term growth of the industry. Although the industry has declined recently due to the effects of the financial crunch, there is potential for growth in the future due to massive investments and consumer awareness of products offered. However, the private sector and government have a responsibility of cooperating of this growth is to be achieved. Massive investments, innovation of unique services and consumer awareness of products offered is key to achieving this growth. It is important to make the following recommendations if long term growth of the hospitality industry is to be achieved in future. Recommendations Government interventions There are various government interventions which should be implemented if the hospitality industry is to grow and develop in future. Government interventions should mostly involve measures which stimulate economic growth and development as well as the creation of an environment which encourages the growth of the hospitality industry (Cooper, 2005). This includes a financial package which is geared towards encouraging more public investment and economic stability of firms especially during the current global economic crisis. It should also involve development of infrastructure which will ensure that the hospitality industry is able to meet the diverse needs of clients. Product differentiation Product differentiation is important in meeting unique market needs across different environments. It involves developing unique products to meet diverse needs in different environments. Firms in the hospitality industry should undertake research on market needs and develop products which meet unique needs across different environments (Wilkerson, 2003). This will ensure that customersà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ needs are satisfied and they remain loyal to providers of such services. In turn, the hospitality industry will enjoy long term profitability.

Lattice Boltzmann Method

Lattice Boltzmann Method Computational Fluid Dynamics permits the analysis of the behaviour of fluid flows in virtual environments and compared to traditional experimental tests involves lower time and costs as well as a better understanding of the studied phenomenon. Indeed, once the solution is obtai- ned all the magnitudes of the fluids can be accurately computed and visualised. Moreover, with CFD there is no interference between the flow field and the measuring equipment. The main approach used to study the behaviour of a fluid is the continuum one, which uses the Navier-Stokes equations and describes the fluid through macroscopic properties as pressure temperature and density. Since it is difficult and time-consuming to solve directly the non-linear partial differential NS equations these are converted into a system of algebraic equations th- rough finite difference, finite volume or finite element methods. The fluid domain is discretized and each node or volume contains a huge number of particles, the average value of pressure, velocity density etc is computed through an iterative process until convergence is reached. An alternative approach to study the fluid characteristics is the analysis of the microscale beha- viour of the fluid particles. The forces between particles (molecules) describe and determine the flow dynamic and at each time step the position and velocity of each particle is computed using the Newtons second law of momentum conservation. From the kinetic theory macro-scale pro- perties of the fluid can be obtained. This method is clearly impractical because of the extreme number of particles that constitute even a small volume of fluid. The LBM method is in the middle of these two methodologies and focuses the attention on di- screte collections of particles whose properties are described through a probability distribution function (PDF). The PDF describes the behaviour of a large number of particles using a sta- tistical distribution. This approach hence doesnt request the knowledge of the single particles positions and velocities. The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution function can be defined as the probability of finding particles within a certain range of velocities at a certain range of locations at a certain time f(r,c,t), where r,c,tare the position, velocity and time respectively. The spatial discretization used is named lattice and it is based on a Cartesian distribution of discrete points with discrete sets of velocity directions. The lattice is determined by the number of dimensions n and discrete velocity directions m (DnQm), a large number of velocities leads to a more precise description but also a higher computational cost. For each discrete velocity direction a PDF is defined. The Boltzmanns Transport Equation is used to describe the evolution of the PDFs and their  interactions: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡f à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡t+ c ·Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬ ¡f= à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦(f) The equation states that the total derivative of the PDF equals to the collision operator à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦. This is a Lagrangian approach to the fluid dynamics while the traditional CFD methods use a Eulerian one. The collision operator depends on the distribution functions and it is very complicated to compute, a solution was founded by Bhatnagar, Gross and Krook (BGK) who replaced it with a single relaxation time (SRT) simplified model: à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¦ = 1 (feqf) à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ where feqis the local equilibrium distribution function (the distribution which represents the system equilibrium) and à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾is the relaxation time (particle collision frequency). The above equation can be written along each velocity direction and can be discretized as à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  teq fi(r+ cià ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  t,t+ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  t) = fi(r,t) + [f (r,t)f(r,t)] à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾i This equation can be used to describe many phenomena specifying the proper equilibrium di- stribution function. The two steps represented are the propagation step which models the movement of the distribution functions along discrete directions and the collision step which describes the physical phenomena. The main drawbacks using an SRT scheme are the low Mach number which can be used, the limitations imposed by the value of à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾and the Prandtl number must be near one. For these reasons a multiple relaxation time (MRT) collision operator is used, this approach involves the calculation of the collision step in the momentum space instead of the velocity space. The CFD software Xflow uses an MRT scheme which improves the stability and enhance the Mach number limitations up to Mach 0.6 for the overall fluid domain and up to Mach 1 in local regions, this means for example that a shock wave in the point of the minimum Cp value in a transonic airfoil can be captured. The lattice structure used in the software is a D3Q27 arran- ged in an octree structure. This method divides the 3D space in a tree data structure where each portion is recursively subdivided in eight equals smaller parts. In this manner, different spatial scales with different refinements can be obtained in the fluid domain. Each level has spatial and temporal scales twice as smaller than the previous one so the ratio dx/dt and the CFL condition remain constant allowing a proper time step for each node. This is an advantage towards traditional CFD method where the time step is constant and hence the calculation is inefficient for the coarse part of the mesh. Moreover, adaptive ref inement criteria based on the local vorticity level can be used to refine wake regions, free surface and interfaces. The model used to simulate subgrid turbulence is the Wall-Adapting Local Eddy (WALE) vi- scosity model. This approach is the same used for Large Eddy Simulation and introduce an artificial eddy viscosity ÃŽÂ ½t. This model appears to be more efficiently applied in the LBM me- thod because the strain rate tensor is available in the local node while it needs information from the neighbours nodes to be evaluated in traditional CFD models. Besides, the proportional aspect ratio of the lattice required for LES turbulence model is another advantage in behalf of LBM technique. The impossibility to represent the boundary layer near walls because of the isotropy of the latti- ce structure and the consequent high number of nodes requested to capture the phenomenon is overcome through the use of the Wall-Modeled LES approach (WMLES). Furthermore, as the turbolence length scale is proportional to the distance from the free surface and the boundary layer thickness is proportional to the Reynolds number, the resolution scale becomes unaccep- tably small near walls. This is why the WMLES approach uses RANS in the proximity of the walls. The discrete velocities projections are also used to calculate the distance between the lattice and the geometry in order to obtain a detailed description of the body curvature which is used in WMLES to evaluate the boundary layer behaviour.

The Role of African Americans in the Revolutionary War Essay -- essays

The Role of African Americans in the Revolutionary War An estimated 100,000 African Americans escaped, died or were killed during the American Revolution(Mount). Roughly 95% of African Americans in the United States were slaves, and because of their status, the use of them during the revolution was inevitable(Mount). This led many Americans, especially those from the North, to believe that the South's economy would collapse without slavery due to the use of slaves on the front lines. However, only a small percentage of the slave population enlisted in either army. The concept of using slaves as soldiers was hardly revolutionary. Blacks had served our country with honor and bravery since the country's earliest days. Not only did the black troops fight for the United States, but also for England. The British crown used their heads and made an agreement which would help them draft slave troops. This was a chance for emancipation of slaves who fought against their masters. African Americans were active prior to the start of the war. The Boston Massacre was an event which created a want for independence. On March 5, 1770, the British troops stationed on King Street in Boston were confronted with an uprising and began shooting into the crowd(Davis 206). Crispus Attucks, a black man, led the 1770 uprising against British troops that resulted in the Boston Massacre. It is alleged that he cried out, "Don't be afraid!" as he led the crowd of protesters against armed British...

PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! :: English Literature

PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! A young prospective man called Gar O 'Donnell is the centre point of the book 'Philadelphia Here I Come'. The action takes place the night before and the morning of Gar's departure for Philadelphia. Gar lives in a small village in County Donegal called Ballybeg. Gar finds his home life very boring and repetitive. Through out the book Gar shows his feelings about the village by what he says and does. "Aye, and but for Aunt Lezzy and the grace of God, you'd be there tonight, too, watching the lights go out over the village, and hearing the front doors being bolted, and seeing the blinds being raised; and you stamping your feet to keep the numbness from spreading, not wanting to go home, not yet for another while, wanting to hold on to the night although nothing can happen now, nothing at allà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦". This is one example were Gar shows his realistic views. The book was set in the 1960's, and at this time Ireland was a lot different than it is today. There was a lot of Irish emigrating to nearer countries to live a new life. One reason for this was because the Irish economy was in a depressed state. The people of Ballybeg were slaves of routine, and they had very little to do in such a small community. Gar soon realises that he will never be able to live an exciting life in Ballybeg and soon recognizes that he has no future in his home village. This leads to Gar deciding to move to Philadelphia, where he hopes life has a better impact on his future. There are many reasons for Gar wanting to leave Ballybeg. Gars life has been a very emotional time. Gars mother died shortly after his birth, this was a huge upset for him and his father. To make things worst Gar's father, S.B, does not get on with his only son, even know Gar lives and works with him. They see each other every day and still their communication levels are low. ''If he wants to speak to me he knows where to find me! But I'm damned if I'm going to speak to him first''. This is one example of were Gar gets so annoyed he starts to take it out on poor Madge who is trying to help. Gar doesn't mean to but it is he is so annoyed at the sate of his life. They only communicate when essential. Gar is leaving for Philadelphia in the morning, and still his father does not take this in to consideration to offer him a fare well. PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! :: English Literature PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! A young prospective man called Gar O 'Donnell is the centre point of the book 'Philadelphia Here I Come'. The action takes place the night before and the morning of Gar's departure for Philadelphia. Gar lives in a small village in County Donegal called Ballybeg. Gar finds his home life very boring and repetitive. Through out the book Gar shows his feelings about the village by what he says and does. "Aye, and but for Aunt Lezzy and the grace of God, you'd be there tonight, too, watching the lights go out over the village, and hearing the front doors being bolted, and seeing the blinds being raised; and you stamping your feet to keep the numbness from spreading, not wanting to go home, not yet for another while, wanting to hold on to the night although nothing can happen now, nothing at allà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦". This is one example were Gar shows his realistic views. The book was set in the 1960's, and at this time Ireland was a lot different than it is today. There was a lot of Irish emigrating to nearer countries to live a new life. One reason for this was because the Irish economy was in a depressed state. The people of Ballybeg were slaves of routine, and they had very little to do in such a small community. Gar soon realises that he will never be able to live an exciting life in Ballybeg and soon recognizes that he has no future in his home village. This leads to Gar deciding to move to Philadelphia, where he hopes life has a better impact on his future. There are many reasons for Gar wanting to leave Ballybeg. Gars life has been a very emotional time. Gars mother died shortly after his birth, this was a huge upset for him and his father. To make things worst Gar's father, S.B, does not get on with his only son, even know Gar lives and works with him. They see each other every day and still their communication levels are low. ''If he wants to speak to me he knows where to find me! But I'm damned if I'm going to speak to him first''. This is one example of were Gar gets so annoyed he starts to take it out on poor Madge who is trying to help. Gar doesn't mean to but it is he is so annoyed at the sate of his life. They only communicate when essential. Gar is leaving for Philadelphia in the morning, and still his father does not take this in to consideration to offer him a fare well.

The Life Of Sigmund Freud and His Articulation Of Theories

Sigmund Freud; Probably the most influential activist in the realm of the study of the mind, Psychology; An influence so great that his works, ideologies and theories alike have imposed themselves upon the minds of many in this, the twentieth century, regardless of our acceptance or futile resistance. He was responsible for the articulation of theories and concepts of which everyday individuals do not even know he is the originator of. Ideologies such as the Unconscious, the relevance Sexual and Aggressive Drives under which Infantile Sexuality falls, and the â€Å"tri-partite† mind frame, consisting of the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. Since then, there are multiple manifestations of psychoanalysis in a variety of fields which may be traced directly back to Freud's Original work. Sigmund Freud was born on May 6th, 1856, in Freiberg, Austria (although it is disputed that he may have been born on March 6th instead). He was the first of eight children born to his mother. At age four, Freud and his family moved to Vienna, where he would live and work until he died. His impact and mark would remain there forever, as he was renown for founding the first Viennese school of psychoanalysis from which all aspects and development in this field then flowed. Freud's interest and professional training and experience were very broad. Although he was not particularly interested in becoming a physician, Freud saw medicine as a vehicle for engaging in scientific research. After being enrolled at the University of Vienna for eight years (from 1873), Freud graduated and was then engaged in 1882 later to be married in 1886. Many of his theories were based on clinical material documented while he operated a private practice to treat psychological disorders. Two individuals who played a significant role in his life were Jean Charcot and Josef Breuer. Charcot was a French neurologist who used hypnotism to treat psychologically ill patients. Freud attempted Charcot's methods but were unsuccessful. Breuer was an older Viennese colleague whose methods for treating neuroses, though unique, caught the interest of Freud. Breuer discovered that when he encouraged patients to talk freely without restrictions that he was able to get to the source of the problem causing the symptoms. Freud worked with Breuer and developed the idea that the source of a patient's problems was some hidden or unresolved conflict which occurred in their past life, and the â€Å"cure† was achieved by bringing that conflict to the client's â€Å"consciousness† in a manner in which he/she might intellectually and emotionally confront it. At the turn of the 20th Century, Freud, after a period of self-analysis, published works such as; â€Å"The Interpretation of Dreams† (1900), â€Å"The Psychopathology of Everyday Life† (1901), Three essays on the Theory of sexuality (1905) and â€Å"Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis† (1916). Freud's theories on Sexuality received the most resistance and caused many of his partnerships with other philosophers to deteriorate. The final and yet not any less significant of his works was his model of the mind, consisting of the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. After a life of remarkable vigour and creative productivity, he died of cancer while exiled in England in 1939. It is interesting to note that although he carried out many self-analytic tests, that he was unable to resolve his addiction to cigarette smoking; the very habit that eventually killed him. Although Freud was an original thinker, there were still influences which shaped the development of his thought. For instance, his relationship with Charcot and Breuer definitely impacted upon his thoughts but rather differently, Freud's self-analysis was probably the greatest impact of all on his life. In this period, several repulsive and yet real facts about Freud character and past were revealed to him. These â€Å"truths† were related to his emotions towards members of his family in the aspects of sexuality and hatred and the results thereof. This was to become the basis of his theory of the Oedipus complex. The Scientific climate in which Freud existed in also had great influence on his thought. For instance, Charles Darwin's perception of man, was a life shaking event for people of that time, now making it possible to treat humans as objects of Scientific investigation. Freud with his enormous esteem for science, accepted this implicitly. Another important aspect of Science that impacted on his thoughts was the principle of the conservation of energy – Helmholz stating that energy can neither be created or destroyed but only change in form. Freud then concluded that in parallel with this principle, humans consisted of psychic energy. Repression and Suppression are two examples of how Freud believed that this Psychic energy may be represented. Freud's works and ideas are vast, but among these there are some which the basis of many of his theories are grounded. This is based on Freud's idea that all human actions are a manifestation or a representation of some hidden desire or impulse. Events become conscious when â€Å"unconscious† matter arises into a level of awareness for an individual and then may sink into a state of unconsciousness again. This theory follows that whenever we make a decision, we are governed by a hidden mental process of which we are unaware and have no control. The question arises therefore, do people truly have free will? Freud deeply associated the unconscious with instincts and drives, categorizing those drives into Eros (the life instinct) and Thanatos (the death instinct). Sexuality (any pleasure which can be derived out of the body) is derived out of Eros while Thanatos is the opposite, the urge to destroy any source of sexuality. Freud determined that through satisfaction, or lack thereof, of sexual satisfaction through childhood stages, the individual would develop into a correspondingly appropriate adult. These stages are; â€Å"The Oral Stage† – satisfaction from sucking, â€Å"The Anal Stage† – satisfaction from releasing excrete or urine, â€Å"The Phallic Stage†- interest in genital region (Oedipus Complex may also develop here – hatred of a parent of the same sex), â€Å"Latency† – less pronounced sexual motivation and â€Å"The Genital stage†- genital region becomes focus of stimulation and satisfaction. Freud believed that (in)appropriate treatment is responsible for forming the resulting image of the individual's character and personality. Freud distinguished three structural elements which framed the mind. They are the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. The Id represents the instinctual sexual drives which acquire satisfaction. The Super-Ego represents the conscience which restricts us from satisfying the desires of the Id. The Super-Ego however is shaped by social influence, such as parents. The Ego is the â€Å"conscious† self-created as a balance between the ever struggling fight between the Id and Super-Ego for dominance. The Id and Super-Ego reside in the unconscious. Failure of the Id and Super-Ego to resolve conflict may later form neurosis resulting in the activation of â€Å"defense mechanisms† such as repression, sublimation, fixation and regression. The main purpose of this treatment was to bring harmony within the frame or structure of the human mind by resolving â€Å"unconscious repressed & unresolved conflicts†. Freud allowed clients to lay on a sofa and encouraged them to express themselves freely (through â€Å"free association†), hence to some degree disarming the Super-Ego. By analyzing slips of the tongue dreams and other means of expression Freud believed that one can discern the underlying/unconscious forces lying behind the expression. The next step was to bring the client to a point of self-understanding and assist them in dealing with their past and find a way curing themselves of some neuroses by suppressing it. Of this, I would now like to make special points in conclusion to all the materials which I have researched. Firstly, can these theories be proven to be strongly coherent? This issue has been one of great controversy but the truth is, there is no direct significant or proving link of any of Freud theories other than the â€Å"variable† behaviour patterns of individuals of which any other theories may be attributed. For instance, in science where a cause ‘Y' is unobservable (radio waves) there are still clear corresponding rules connecting the unobservable cause to an observable phenomenon. However, this is not the case with Freud's theories, and in truth the theories are exactly what I earlier declared them as, Ideologies, having absolutely no factual evidence to support them. More importantly however, is the impact of his ideologies on the world today. As Psychoanalytic therapy is in use today, the use of free association and revealing repressed conflicts for intellectual assistance and management seems to be further detrimental to certain relationships in the United States instead of positively influential. Many people have recovered memories of sexual abuse by parents and others which were actually untrue and were some form of a fantasy. Children and adults alike have sued their parents and the parents in turn sued their children and the conflicts continue to develop. Even when patients are â€Å"cured successfully†, statistics prove that these methods of therapy do not outperform other methods. So then is it really that efficient? Doesn't it seem fair also to say that their cure is non-existent and that they can only direct that Psychic energy to a different form? Why also is not possible for that form of energy to be reverted to it's previous state? It then appears that even if this form of therapy was plausible, it really cannot be proven to be steadfast or efficient. Regardless however, one cannot deny Freud's innovative and creative perceptions and thoughts and should in fact seek to see how we can abstract good and gain a greater understanding of behaviour; not only of others but most importantly, ourselves.

By Choice or Chance Essay

By Choice or Chance? The Boat English 12 Alex McDonald The Boat written by Alistair MacLeod, is a story told from the perspective of a man looking back on his life. It’s about the difficult lifestyle that fishermen in Nova Scotia lead. The story is told about the man’s childhood, focusing on this father and the fishing lifestyle he has grown up in. The story really focuses in on the father-son relationship, where the father would prefer his son getting an education and not having to live the dangerous lifestyle he does, which in the end kills him. The father in the story commits suicide at the end of the story by jumping off his boat durning a storm. Many things contribute to his death such as the fact that he no longer wanted his son to follow in his footsteps as a fisherman, he was never really meant to be a fisherman in general and all together the father was just not happy with his life. The father never wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and become a fisherman. He had always wanted his son to be able to go and get an education, unlike him. He burned and reburied over and over again and his lips still cracked so that they bled when he smiled, and his arms, especially the left, still broke out into the oozing salt-water boils as they did ever since as a child I had first watched him soaking and bathing them in a variety of ineffectual solutions. The chafe-preventing brackets of brass kinked chain that all the men wore about their wrists in early spring were his full season and he shaved but painfully and only once a week. â€Å"(Page 121). The father is obviously unhappy and cannot find any other way out of his lifestyle. In this story the father does not lead a very happy life, from the disappointment of his career, to his family. All of his children except his son no longer lived at home, or even visit, his wife was constantly unhappy with her own life which took a toll on him and the two other reasons already discussed made the father unhappy. â€Å"He had to marry my mother and checked the dates on the flyleaf of the Bible where I learned that my oldest sister had been born a prosaic eleven months after the marriage, and I felt myself then very dirty and debased for my lack of faith and for what I had thought and done. And then there came into my heart a very great love for my father and I thought it was very much braver to spend a life doing what you really do not want rather than selfishly following forever your own dreams and inclinations. And I knew then that I could never leave him alone to suffer the iron-tipped harpoons which my mother would forever hurl into his soul because he was a failure as a husband and a father who had retained none of his own. And I felt that I had been very small in a little secret place within me and that even the completion of high school was for me a silly shallow selfish dream. So I told him one night very resolutely and very powerfully that I would remain with his as lng as he lived and we would fish the sea together. And he made no protest but only smiled through the cigarette smoke that wreathed his bed and replied,† â€Å"I hope you will remember what you’ve said†(121-122) This quote is where you start to realize that the author is foreshadowing the suicide of the father, so at the end it is no wonder he finial decides to end his life of suffering through a job he hated and his son’s. The father is just so unhappy with his life that he cannot deal with it anymore. He hates seeing his son become the man he is. The perfect place to end his life in his eyes is on the boat he was bound to for so many years. The father commits suicide because he no longer wants his son to have to follow in is footsteps as a fisherman, he was never meant to be a fishermen, and in general he was just not happy with his life.

Country Lovers Essay

The narrative elements of literature are crucial when writing a story as they are what raises the story above being a line of strung together sentences and give the story meaning. It is especially important to have a clear idea of these elements when wring short stories because, unlike novels, the writer is only given a small amount of space to get his/her point across. By reading literature and searching for these narrative elements one can get a true feeling for their importance to the story and improve their own writing. Recently I have had the pleasure of reading the short story â€Å"Country Lovers†, by Nadine Gordimer and in this paper I will explain how she used the narrative elements of plot, theme and point of view to enhance her story and make it a richer experience. The story â€Å"Country Lovers† written by Nadine Gordimer is a story about love and race. This story starts with a childhood love and grows into adulthood. â€Å"Country Lovers† is a story that deals with a forbidden love between a black woman named Thebedi and a white man whose name is Paulus. Thebedi gets pregnant by Paulus which is not allowed in the 1900’s and Paulus did not know about this pregnancy. Thebedi decides to get married after Paulus leaves for collage and the man she marries accepts the child as his own. After Paulus returns and finds out about the pregnancy the child mysteriously dies. In W. R. Clugston’s book, The Journey Into Literature he defines plot as â€Å"a dynamic element in fiction, a sequence of interrelated, conflicting actions and events that typically build to a climax and bring about a resolution† (Clugston, 2010, p. 5. 1). This is a story of a romance between a white man and a black woman who discover their love is restricted by the law, which is troublesome for them both because they love each other deeply and in the end this restriction ends in tragedy. In W. R. Clugston’s book, The Journey Into Literature, he also describes how to identify the theme in a story: â€Å"To identify a story’s theme it’s necessary to look beyond the plot. The plot tells you what happens in a story, but the theme tells you what the story is about† (Clugston, 2010, p. 7. 1). The theme of the story helps the story evolve and come to life. The theme of this particular story is love and race and as I pointed out earlier the race part of the theme is a white man falls in love with a black woman. Even though there is so much going on in this the overall theme to this story is love, specifically a forbidden love. Now let talk about the point of view of the story â€Å"Country Lovers†. Cluston defines point of view as, â€Å"Point of view refers to who tells the story—how the action is presented to the reader. When you read a story, you are sensing everything in it through the eyes of the narrator. It’s important to remember that the narrator, whether a character inside the story or one looking on from outside the action, is a voice invented by the author for the purposes of the story† (Clugston, 2010, p. 5. 1). The point of view in this story is third–person omniscient. This means that the narrator is not a character in the story and we are reading the story from the narrator’s and not the character’s view. The omniscient part of the point of view is the narrator is helping us to experience the feelings of the characters. Point of view has so much impact on the story because it gives us the feeling of the story. The article â€Å"Country Lovers† explains why the third person narrative is essential to this story: â€Å"It [†¦] used third person because then we get a neutral point of the story, and we don’t natural[y] take side[s] with one of them†( â€Å"Country Lovers†, 2012,). If someone writes a story in a first person you are getting everything from the character s point of view and a person reads what they see, feel, and hear. This will change the story dramatically because people don’t know if what they see is real or not. It is the character who makes people feels the way someone does. As for third person the narrator tells us what is really going on in the story. People know what the truth is and what is not. When someone gets to read a story in third person they get the whole perspective. All of the literary elements help a story come together. If someone does not have all the parts of the story such as plot, theme, tone and point of view then the story will be lacking. The plot of the story lays everything out what is going to happen, the theme of the story tells you what kind of story it is going to be, the tone determines how the story will be told (Clugston, 2010, p. 5. 3), and the point of view can change everything. These elements are all critical in turning words on a page into literature and if you take even one piece away even the great works of history would be reduced to nothing. I. B. singer said it best when he said, â€Å"A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is – full of surprises† (Singer, 2001).

Confirming Alzehimer’s Disease

Running head: Confirming Alzheimer’s Disease Confirming Alzheimer’s Disease Carissa Davis Walden University Diagnosis and Assessments 6720 Confirming Alzheimer’s Disease The Forgetful Mail Carrier Han’s is a 66 year old retired government worker that has been dealing with issues related to his memory. Han’s retired at the age of 60 because he could no longer perform his duties at work properly. The problems with his work performance had been an issue for five years before his retirement. At the age of 62, he could not remember the way home while leading a hike in an area he was familiar with and knew well.Over time his memory problems have become more noticeable and he even has failed to recognize good friends. He has become more and more quiet, given up his hobbies and lost interest in the newspaper and television. His wife is not comfortable leaving him alone because of his memory issues (Butcher, Mineka, ;amp; Hooley, 2010). Confirm Diagnosis Dem entia of the Alzheimer Type is a diagnosis of exclusion, other causes for the cognitive deficits must be ruled out first (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).This diagnosis is normally given after all other potential causes are ruled out by medical and family history, along with a physical examination including laboratory test in some cases (Butcher, Mineka, ;amp; Hooley). Han’s has no sign of a medical condition that would be a factor in his memory failure. Han’s symptoms do not fit diagnostic criteria (C) for vascular dementia or other dementias due to other general medical conditions (APA). After the other possible diagnoses are ruled out then I must insure that Han meets the criteria for dementia of the Alzheimer type.Hans’ memory failures meet the criteria for A1. His inability to find his way home in an area that he has lived for 40 years meets the criteria for 2(d). The next criteria for this diagnoses requires that the cognitive deficits in A1 and A2 cause significant impairment in social or occupational functioning and represents a significant decline for a previous level functioning (APA, 2000). The fact that his memory failure required him to retire early shows a significant impairment in occupational functioning.Han not recognizing his close friends and giving up hobbies shows a significant impairment in social function. There are standardized published rating scales that can be used to measure the severity of impairment (APA, 2000). Criteria D requires cognitive deficits in A1 and A2 are not caused by other central nervous system conditions (1), systemic conditions that are known to cause dementia (2) or substance induced conditions (3). The information that I have would lead me to believe that this clients condition is not related one, two or three of criteria D.Criteria E requires that the deficits do not occur exclusively during the course of delirium, which they do not (APA). Criteria F requires the disturbance not to better accounted for by another disorder (APA). This is an area that I felt another disorder might need to be considered. The fact that Han has begun to speak less and less, given up his hobbies, has not interest in the newspaper or televisions could be cause to diagnosis him with Major Depressive Disorder due to Alzheimer’s with depressive features, 293. 83 (APA). This could be listed along with 294. 10 Dementia of the Alzheimer’s type with early onset.The early onset needs to be the specify subtype because is memory failure began before the age of 65. Counseling There is no treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s disease that will reverse the loss that this disease causes. The treatment that is used is to work the clients and their families to diminish agitiation and aggression in the patients. Also to help the family deal with the stress of caring for a family member who is suffering from this disease. As a counselor I would help this client reduce frustration and embarrassment that they might feel because of this disease.In this type of situation I would see my professional services helping the family of the client. Taking care of a loved one that is suffering from Alzheimer’s can be stressful and demanding. Helping caregives learn how to distress and cope the stress will benefit them along with the person they was caring for.References American Psychiatric Association. (2000). DSM-IV-TR. Arlington, VA: Author. Butcher, J. N. , Mineka, S. , ;amp; Hooley, J. M. (2010). Abnormal psychology (14th ed. ). Boston, MA: Allyn ;amp; Bacon.

Sustainable Management Futures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Sustainable Management Futures - Essay Example But the main concern that is being asked by the people is when the economy will find the smooth path that is when the economy is expected to work according to the anticipations. The government must aim to attain higher growth than just making policies to deal with the storms that can affect the international economy. The Prime Minister believes that a better economy can be build under the current regime. According to him, human wealth and happiness can only be improved through open markets and free enterprise. The system of open market as well as and the free enterprise regime will generate progress to lift the people out of poverty and lay down the path of innovation. Open markets and free enterprise acts a bridge between contribution and reward. The idea of market that was presented by him is of something for something. This idea needs encouragement rather than condemn. Therefore, one should use the crisis of capitalism rather than undermining them. As the economy has experienced t he situation before, so the strengths and the weaknesses of the free market regime are known. All are certain of the situations where market works and where it fails. The prospects of globalization can slide into monopolization. Such situations will drive the small and the local players out of the market. Two problems can creep up in open market regime. The first problem that can creep in is vision of social responsibility and the second problem is the one of popular capitalism which allows all to share in the success of the open market. According to the minister, the previous government did not take the requisite steps to regulate capitalism. He opined that labor either went towards socialism or embraced capitalism. They did not realize that capitalism has negative aspects too. He declared that Tories have the capability to understand capitalism better and know how to deal with the worst excesses of the system. Capitalism can also be the resultant of loss of moral choices. An examp le of the banking system can be taken into account. Many people think that time calls for do something for the associated corruption and greed accrued in the banking system. One thing that is frequently missed by the people is that capitalism requires free market. The price and the quantity are determined by the market itself. The presence or absence of government can give rise to more economic problems. The government may not take the necessary steps and then blame the economic system. The politicians cry for regulations and continue to expand their power at the expense of the people. The time has come for involvement of more people in a genuinely popular capitalism. The last government claimed to get out from the boom and bust but what it really did was allowed the economy fuelled by debt to get out of control. The serious imbalances between the financial and manufacturing services were the resultant. The initiatives encouraged the debt to crop up higher as it needed to pay the ri sing costs of welfare. This paved the way for market failures. The previous government left all with a share of debt. People became concerned that they will lose purchasing power and the whole system lost confidence. The whole system ended up with

Economics Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics Project - Essay Example He started developing the ‘dialectical materialism’ which addresses the economic order efficiency and its inherent weaknesses and contractions that lead to its own decay/ collapse. The concept attempted to critic capitalism tenets and prediction of its own collapse. His constant revolt against the current rulers saw him exiled in Belguim, France and Britain where he eventually died in London (Heilbroner, 136 - 139). Economic Ideas and concepts Karl Marx is often referred to as the father of Socialism and Communism owing to his Marxist theories and The Communist Manifesto. He was a critique of capitalism which dominating Europe by them after overthrowing feudalism. According to Marx, current tenets of capitalism were not sustainable as they had little regard for laborers who are important in the production process. While critiquing the capitalism, Marx argued that while capitalism was revolutionary, industrializing and driven by universal qualities of development, it expl oited and alienated laborer resulting to high unemployment rate. As a result, the system was subjects to depression shocks and the exploitation led to suffering of most laborer. These conditions were the recipes that would lead to class struggle, system decay and eventual collapse of capitalism. In essence therefore, what Marx was suggesting is a form of production process that would give decency to the working class. Such a method of production would be socialism or what is referred to as inexorable system of Karl Marx’ (Heilbroner 167). His assertions make sense when viewed in the light of modern capitalism as modern practices have come to recognize the importance of labor as a factor of production. Most companies are concerned about the welfare of their staff where business objectives are being driven by triple bottom line. Such an approach will most likely reduce tension between owners of capital and laborers. Karl Marx also contributed immensely to labor relations and in dustrial actions. He viewed the society as comprising of two classes i.e. the owners of capital and laborers who provided labor. According to him there exists a class struggle as each wants to maximize from each other. Unfortunately, the owners of capital who often forms part of the ruling class oppress the workers through long working hours and poor pay. Given the power of the ruling class and increased population, are able to maximize value at the expense of the laborers. Welfare of the workers is not a priority, maximizing surplus value and profit is. Heilbroner (32) noted that the English ruling class ‘failed to understand what fluid and mobile labour force would seek to achieve’. According to Marx, Capitalists optimize the discrepancy between labor markets and produce market to make surplus value. Surplus value is realized when input costs are lower than output price and the surplus according to Marx is taken away from laborer due the imbalance. The surplus value a rises from unpaid work as they are only paid enough to keep the body and soul together i.e. to make laborers survive. He noted that in the long run as class struggle continues, the surplus value reduces considerably a situation which forces the owners of capital to rescue their capital. In labor relations, the argument makes sense in that most laborers will go on

The influence of music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The influence of music - Essay Example Specific attention shall be paid to some of the common genres as well. This paper shall seek to look at the different ways in which music influences the listener’s behavior. Different genres shall be mentioned and the behaviour associated with each shall be studied. On the flipside, the extent to which the choice of music complements listener behavior shall also be explored. A) Message contained in the lyrics influences a listeners behavior. Rock and hip hop contain messages of a violent kind. The use of drugs in general and alcohol to be specific is a common theme. This is in turn carried on by the listeners especially the young impressionable type. Soul and blues are more sedate and advocate love not conflict. C) Generally, the mental disposition of listener influences behavior. Despite the dangerous level of sway that the factors in A and B above hold, the amount of control the listener has over their faculties is the principal determiner of general conduct. Responsible listeners are able to see through the messages and carry themselves out in ways that are good to the general

Human resourse managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human resourse managment - Essay Example Every human resource has to be integrated in such a way that it can be accommodated by the main strategy of the business. The first level that he proposes is the fit, between the human resource policies and the overall business strategy. Every human resource department has its own policies to which they expect every employee to follow. These policies and rules are the ones that Guest maintains that should be in such a way that they can be accepted by the general business strategy. For example a policy which restricts workers from not working more than 56 hours a week might not be accommodated by a bossiness strategy which intends to complete a given task within a given time frame. Therefore the human resource department would have to adjust the policy so as to fit with the general business strategy. The principle of complementary is his second level that has to be taken by the human resource department in order to have success in the integration. He maintains the employment should be mutual between the employer and the employee in order for integration to be realized between the human resource and the general business strategy. When this is done then quality is increased and the functions of the human resource become coherent. If the terms of employment are not mutual so that one party feels that they are not given what they deserve from the deal then laxity will set in and reduce quality of the work that is done by members of the work force. Third he proposes internalization of the importance of the integration between human resource and the overall business strategy by the line managers. In simple terms it means that he proposes that the line managers are the ones who should be concerned with making sure that every person within the workforce understands fully the importance of integration and appreciate it to their very best. When this is done then the workforce is aware of what is

Field Trip Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Field Trip - Essay Example The centre featured a large screen used for presentation and educative film of space exploration. The Sketch Foundation Gallery captivated our attention and it occurred to me that it would best serve as a point of reference to our field trip. At the gallery, several space satellites were on display and among the ones that would capture attention of any visitor was the communication satellite. The scientist tour guide made us to understand that these space satellites vary in sizes depending on the main purpose of the use. The enormous size of the satellites was triggering many questions amongst us. The approximate weight of these satellites is six to eight tones of metal like the size of a small school bus. Apart from the size and physical appearances, the various parts of the space satellite were intriguing. The major parts included massive rocket propulsion system and its fuel tanks to move the satellite into space, antennas, and large transceivers for radio communication (Miller, 55). In addition, the large solar panels for converting solar energy in space to electricity together with the batteries to store the energy was also an amazing combination of energy sustaining system in space. The most important system of communication was the on-board computer processor that served as the â€Å"brain† of the satellite. The computer also served as a storage device for information and reception of instruction (Miller, 56). All these parts proved just how amazing the scientific ventures and explorat ion may go in the space exploration. Despite the size of these satellites’ and all their parts, the question on my mind was how these satellites managed to stay in space and move around the earth without falling back to earth. Our visitors tour guide who was also a scientist at the center gave us a comprehensive presentation of how the space satellite orbits the earth. The presentation began with an explanation of how

Does Science Prove there is a God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Does Science Prove there is a God - Essay Example be the reasons for certain death, but there are a number of other diseases which have the potential of making our lives miserable. These are some of the instances where science 'appears' to have scored a few points over the supernatural power, but the fact that hurricane Katrina, Cleveland Volcano and floods at many places keep happening, makes us believe that there's indeed something called the almighty. Eric Allin Cornell a renowned physicist has quite beautifully brought out the dilemma when he said1 "Let me pose you a question, not about God but about the heavens: "Why is the sky blue" I offer two answers: 1) The sky is blue because of the wavelength dependence of Rayleigh scattering; 2) The sky is blue because blue is the color God wants it to be." This statement is quite suggestive about how the scientific community accepts the presence of god. In his write up Cornell further commented that, "My scientific research has been in areas connected to optical phenomena, and I can tell you a lot about the Rayleigh-scattering answer. Neither I nor any other scientist, however, has anything scientific to say about answer No. 2, the God answer. Not to say that the God answer is unscientific, just that the methods of science don't speak to that answer". Though in general the scientific community has been taking its work ahead by picking up threads from the god's creation, but there are instances in history where religious practitioners and scientific community had been on collision course. For example the famous scientist Galileo, who is considered as the father of modern science and a major figure in the history of mankind, had to undergo a tragic experience in his life. His growing influence amongst masses led to clashes with religious clergies and the church became very critical of some of his theories. But the moot point is, neither has scientific researches stopped, nor the belief in the god. Instead, what can be said for sure is that, scientific researches have grown from strength to strengths together with the belief in the god. Francis Collins, an expert on topic related to genetics, carried out a comprehensive study on the 3 billion biochemical letters of our genetic blueprint, with a team of 2,400 multinational scientists. The objective was to study and analyze the god's creation i.e. the human being. He was in fact honored by the then President Bill Clinton in the year 2000 for this effort. In an interview when Collins was asked whether he believes that science is compatible with Christian faith. He responded by saying2, "Yes. God's existence is either true or not. But calling it a scientific question implies that the tools of science can provide the answer. From my perspective, God cannot be completely contained within nature, and therefore God's existence is

Environment Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9500 words

Environment Management - Essay Example Now environment watch agencies call upon the companies to make an 'environment audit' along with their annual financial figures. In fact, a 'green business' is not only good for the environment and humanity but good for business's bottom line as well, because it gives an opportunity to the enterprise for managing the waste, cutting costs on wasteful expenditure, conserving energy and preserving the natural balance. This results in; Care of environment is not a 'project' in isolation, it has to be a mission and the zeal must be seen in all parts of business right from constructing the building to the final output packaging and transportation etc. Globalization has also necessitated the need for uniformity in dealing with regulations concerning environment. Now encouragement is given to industries, which favor gas over coal and oil, as it lessens the possibility of acid rain and ozone layer depletion. Environmental regulations are being accordingly changed with a futuristic view on sustainable development and safeguarding environment (Bishop et al, 1994) According to the Manual for Managing a Responsible Business Enterprise (RBE) in emerging market economies, prepared by the US Department of Commerce (2004), an RBE is characterized by responsible business conduct at four different levels of its identity as an enterprise. These four levels are: 1. Compliance with the law 2. Risk management 3. Reputation enhancement 4. Value added to the community This conduct is determined by the business conduct of its owners, managers, employees, agents and other stakeholders of the company. The businesses operate within a complex system of interests and influences. Stakeholders all have power, someone has a formal power invested in a position of authority or it could be the social power of being able to persuade others to support or oppose the policies of the company. Therefore, these stakeholders play a crucial role in devising ethical functioning for the company. At times, companies tend to pass on a product whose use might damage the environment, stating that they are resorting to such sales owing to market demands. But, the customer asks for the product only because s/he hasn't sent the alternative product yet. Since the tried and tested product has been offering value for money, fulfilling the needs, therefore there is a demand for it. But once the alternative is there and customer is allowed to compare the features and values, s/he m ight be willing to pay for it as well. Peter Drucker (1986) the management guru said, "It is the customer who determines what a business is. For, it is the customer and he alone through being willing to pay for a good or service, converts economic resources into wealth, things into goods." Corporate governance structures and styles vary in the environment they

Poem ulysses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poem ulysses - Essay Example In stanza 2, line 23 in the poem, Ulysses says, â€Å"To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!†, denoting that spirit to feel worthwhile even at an age where people would redeem them useless. It is Ulysses perseverance that makes him wants to make this dangerous journey in his old age and admits better to die during such an adventure than to store in his boring kingdom (Tennyson). The main character in the poem is Ulysses. Ulysses is an old King whom has good memories of his young age and a vast kingdom to rule. Ulysses appears to be bored staying in one place as the spirit of adventure keeps calling him, â€Å"It little profits that an idle king† (Stanza 1, line 1). He opts to leave the kingdom to his son and make a journey to a distant land with his crew of old men. At an old age, many would expect Ulysses to stay in one place and die in peace, but the old man is determined to die while happy on an adventure (Tennyson). Ulysses is seen as a person who does not give up in life, but is determined to hold on onto the one thing that makes him happy. He even makes a move to leave his wife behind and go to the seas with his old crew with whom he has had several adventures