Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 2~3

Chapter 2 Death Warmed Over She heard insects scurrying above her in the darkness, smelled burned flesh, and felt a heavy weight pressing down on her back. Oh my God, he's buried me alive. Her face was pressed against something hard and cold – stone, she thought until she smelled the oil in the asphalt. Panic seized her and she struggled to get her hands under her. Her left hand lit up with pain as she pushed. There was a rattle and a deafening clang and she was standing. The dumpster that had been on her back lay overturned, spilling trash across the alley. She looked at it in disbelief. It must have weighed a ton. Fear and adrenaline, she thought. Then she looked at her left hand and screamed. It was horribly burned, the top layer of skin black and cracked. She ran out of the alley looking for help, but the street was empty. I've got to get to a hospital, call the police. She spotted a pay phone; a red chimney of heat rose from the lamp above it. She looked up and down the empty street. Above each streetlight she could see heat rising in red waves. She could hear the buzzing of the electric bus wires above her, the steady stream of the sewers running under the street. She could smell dead fish and diesel fuel in the fog, the decay of the Oakland mudflats across the bay, old French fries, cigarette butts, bread crusts and fetid pastrami from a nearby trash can, and the residual odor of Aramis wafting under the doors of the brokerage houses and banks. She could hear wisps of fog brushing against the buildings like wet velvet. It was as if her senses, like her strength, had been turned up by adrenaline. She shook off the spectrum of sounds and smells and ran to the phone, holding her damaged hand by the wrist. As she moved, she felt a roughness inside her blouse against her skin. With her right hand she pulled at the silk, yanking it out of her skirt. Stacks of money fell out of her blouse to the sidewalk. She stopped and stared at the bound blocks of hundred-dollar bills lying at her feet. She thought, There must be a hundred thousand dollars here. A man attacked me, choked me, bit my neck, burned my hand, then stuffed my shirt full of money and put a dumpster on me and now I can see heat and hear fog. I've won Satan's lottery. She ran back to the alley, leaving the money on the sidewalk. With her good hand she riffled through the trash spilled from the dumpster until she found a paper bag. Then she returned to the sidewalk and loaded the money into the bag. At the pay phone she had to do some juggling to get the phone off the hook and dialed without putting down the money and without using her injured hand. She pressed 911 and while she waited for it to ring she looked at the burn. Really, it looked worse than it felt. She tried to flex the hand and black skin cracked. Boy, that should hurt. It should gross me out too, she thought, but it doesn't. In fact, I don't really feel that bad, considering. I've been more sore after a game of racquetball with Kurt. Strange. The receiver clicked and a woman's voice came on the line. â€Å"Hello, you've reached the number for San Francisco emergency services. If you are currently in danger, press one; if the danger has passed and you still need help, press two.† Jody pressed two. â€Å"If you have been robbed, press one. If you've been in an accident, press two. If you've been assaulted, press three. If you are calling to report a fire, press four. If you've – â€Å" Jody ran the choices through her head and pressed three. â€Å"If you've been shot, press one. Stabbed, press two. Raped, press three. All other assaults, press four. If you'd like to hear these choices again, press five.† Jody meant to press four, but hit five instead. There was a series of clicks and the recorded voice came back on. â€Å"Hello, you've reached the number for San Francisco emergency services. If you are currently in danger – â€Å" Jody slammed the receiver down and it shattered in her hand, nearly knocking the phone off the pole. She jumped back and looked at the damage. Adrenaline, she thought. I'll call Kurt. He can come get me and take me to the hospital. She looked around for another pay phone. There was one by her bus stop. When she reached it she realized that she didn't have any change. Her purse had been in her briefcase and her briefcase was gone. She tried to remember her calling card number, but she and Kurt had only moved in together a month ago and she hadn't memorized it yet. She picked up and dialed the operator. â€Å"I'd like to make a collect call from Jody.† She gave the operator the number and waited while it rang. The machine picked up. â€Å"It looks like no one is home,† the operator said. â€Å"He's screening his calls,† Jody insisted. â€Å"Just tell him – â€Å" â€Å"I'm sorry, we aren't allowed to leave messages.† Hanging up, Jody destroyed the phone; this time, on purpose. She thought, Pounds of hundred-dollar bills and I can't make a damn phone call. And Kurt's screening his calls – I must be very late; you'd think he could pick up. If I wasn't so pissed off, I'd cry. Her hand had stopped aching completely now, and when she looked at it again it seemed to have healed a bit. I'm getting loopy, she thought. Post-traumatic loopiness. And I'm hungry. I need medical attention, I need a good meal, I need a sympathetic cop, a glass of wine, a hot bath, a hug, my auto-teller card so I can deposit this cash. I need†¦ The 42 bus rounded the corner and Jody instinctively felt in her jacket pocket for her bus pass. It was still there. The bus stopped and the door opened. She flashed her pass at the driver as she boarded. He grunted. She sat in the first seat, facing three other passengers. Jody had been riding the buses for five years, and occasionally, because of work or a late movie, she had to ride them at night. But tonight, with her hair frizzing wild and full of dirt, her nylons ripped, her suit wrinkled and stained – disheveled, disoriented, and desperate – she felt that she fit in for the first time. The psychos lit up at the sight of her. â€Å"Parking space!† a woman in the back blurted out. Jody looked up. â€Å"Parking space!† The woman wore a flowered housecoat and Mickey Mouse ears. She pointed out the window and shouted, â€Å"Parking space!† Jody looked away, embarrassed. She understood, though. She owned a car, a fast little Honda hatchback, and since she had found a parking space outside her apartment a month ago, she had only moved it on Tuesday nights, when the street sweeper went by – and moved it back as soon as the sweeper had passed. Claim-jumping was a tradition in the City; you had to guard a space with your life. Jody had heard that there were parking spaces in Chinatown that had been in families for generations, watched over like the graves of honored ancestors, and protected by no little palm-greasing to the Chinese street gangs. â€Å"Parking space!† the woman shouted. Jody glanced across the aisle and committed eye contact with a scruffy bearded man in an overcoat. He grinned shyly, then slowly pulled aside the flap of his overcoat to reveal an impressive erection peeking out the port of his khakis. Jody returned the grin and pulled her burned, blackened hand out of her jacket and held it up for him. Bested, he closed his overcoat, slouched in his seat and sulked. Jody was amazed that she'd done it. Next to the bearded man sat a young woman who was furiously unknitting a sweater into a yarn bag, as if she would go until she got to the end of the yarn, then reknit the sweater. An old man in a tweed suit and a wool deerstalker sat next to the knitting woman, holding a walking stick between his knees. Every few seconds he let loose with a rattling coughing fit, then fought to get his breath back while he wiped his eyes with a silk handkerchief. He saw Jody looking at him and smiled apologetically. â€Å"Just a cold,† he said. No, it's much worse than a cold, Jody thought. You're dying. How do I know that? I don't know how I know, but I know. She smiled at the old man, then turned to look out the window. The bus was passing through North Beach now and the streets were full of sailors, punks, and tourists. Around each she could see a faint red aura and heat trails in the air as they moved. She shook her head to clear her vision, then looked at the people inside the bus. Yes, each of them had the aura, some brighter than others. Around the old man in tweeds there was a dark ring as well as the red heat aura. Jody rubbed her eyes and thought, I must have hit my head. I'm going to need a CAT scan and an EEG. It's going to cost a fortune. The company will hate it. Maybe I can process my own claim and push it through. Well, I'm definitely calling in sick for the rest of the week. And there's serious shopping to be done once I get finished at the hospital and the police station. Serious shopping. Besides, I won't be able to type for a while anyway. She looked at her burned hand and thought again that it might have healed a bit. I'm still taking the week off, she thought. The bus stopped at Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square and groups of tourists in Day-Glo nylon shorts and Alcatraz sweatshirts boarded, chattering in French and German while tracing lines on street maps of the City. Jody could smell sweat and soap, the sea, boiled crab, chocolate and liquor, fried fish, onions, sourdough bread, hamburgers and car exhaust coming off the tourists. As hungry as she was, the odor of food nauseated her. Feel free to shower during your visit to San Francisco, she thought. The bus headed up Van Ness and Jody got up and pushed through the tourists to the exit door. A few blocks later the bus stopped at Chestnut Street and she looked over her shoulder before getting off. The woman in the Mickey Mouse ears was staring peacefully out the window. â€Å"Wow,† Jody said. â€Å"Look at all those parking spaces.† As she stepped off the bus, Jody could hear the woman shouting, â€Å"Parking space! Parking space!† Jody smiled. Now why did I do that? Chapter 3 Oh Liquid Love Snapshots at midnight: an obese woman with a stun gun curbing a poodle, an older gay couple power-walking in designer sweats, a college girl pedaling a mountain bike – trailing tresses of perm-fried hair and a blur of red heat; televisions buzzing inside hotels and homes, sounds of water heaters and washing machines, wind rattling sycamore leaves and whistling through fir trees, a rat leaving his nest in a palm tree – claws skittering down the trunk. Smells: fear sweat from the poodle woman, rose water, ocean, tree sap, ozone, oil, exhaust, and blood-hot and sweet like sugared iron. It was only a three-block walk from the bus stop to the four-story building where she shared an apartment with Kurt, but to Jody it seemed like miles. It wasn't fatigue but fear that lengthened the distance. She thought she had lost her fear of the City long ago, but here it was again: over-the-shoulder glances between spun determination to look ahead and keep walking and not break into a run. She crossed the street onto her block and saw Kurt's Jeep parked in front of the building. She looked for her Honda, but it was gone. Maybe Kurt had taken it, but why? She'd left him the key as a courtesy. He wasn't really supposed to use it. She didn't know him that well. She looked at the building. The lights were on in her apartment. She concentrated on the bay window and could hear the sound of Louis Rukeyser punning his way through a week on Wall Street. Kurt liked to watch tapes of â€Å"Wall Street Week† before he went to bed at night. He said they relaxed him, but Jody suspected that he got some latent sexual thrill out of listening to balding money managers talking about moving millions. Oh well, if a rise in the Dow put a pup tent in his jammies, it was okay with her. The last guy she'd lived with had wanted her to pee on him. As she started up the steps she caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone had ducked behind a tree. She could see an elbow and the tip of a shoe behind the tree, even in the darkness, but something else frightened her. There was no heat aura. Not seeing it now was as disturbing as seeing it had been a few minutes ago: she'd come to expect it. Whoever was behind the tree was as cold as the tree itself. She ran up the steps, pushed the buzzer, and waited forever for Kurt to answer. â€Å"Yes,† the intercom crackled. â€Å"Kurt, it's me. I don't have my key. Buzz me in.† The lock buzzed and she was in. She looked back through the glass. The street was empty. The figure behind the tree was gone. She ran up the four flights of steps to where Kurt was waiting at their apartment door. He was in jeans and an Oxford cloth shirt – an athletic, blond, thirty-year-old could-be model, who wanted, more than anything, to be a player on Wall Street. He took orders at a discount brokerage for salary and spent his days at a keyboard wearing a headset and suits he couldn't afford, watching other people's money pass him by. He was holding his hands behind his back to hide the Velcro wrist wraps he wore at night to minimize the pain from carpal tunnel syndrome. He wouldn't wear the wraps at work; carpal tunnel was just too blue-collar. At night he hid his hands like a kid with braces who is afraid to smile. â€Å"Where have you been?† he asked, more angry than concerned. Jody wanted smiles and sympathy, not recrimination. Tears welled in her eyes. â€Å"I was attacked tonight. Someone beat me up and stuffed me under a dumpster.† She held her arms out for a hug. â€Å"They burned my hand,† she wailed. Kurt turned his back on her and walked back into the apartment. â€Å"And where were you last night? Where were you today? Your office called a dozen times today.† Jody followed him in. â€Å"Last night? What are you talking about?† â€Å"They towed your car, you know. I couldn't find the key when the street sweeper came. You're going to have to pay to get it out of impound.† â€Å"Kurt, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm hungry and I'm scared and I need to go to the hospital. Someone attacked me, dammit!† Kurt pretended to be organizing his videotapes. â€Å"If you didn't want a commitment, you shouldn't have agreed to move in with me. It's not like I don't get opportunities with women every day.† Her mother had told her: Never get involved with a man who's prettier than you are. â€Å"Kurt, look at this.† Jody held up her burned hand. â€Å"Look!† Kurt turned slowly and looked at her; the acid in his expression fizzled into horror. â€Å"How did you do that?† â€Å"I don't know, I was knocked out. I think I have a head injury. My vision is†¦ Everything looks weird. Now will you please help me?† Kurt started walking in a tight circle around the coffee table, shaking his head. â€Å"I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.† He sat on the couch and began rocking. Jody thought, This is the man who called the fire department when the toilet backed up, and I'm asking him for help. What was I thinking? Why am I attracted to weak men? What's wrong with me? Why doesn't my hand hurt? Should I eat something or go to the emergency room? Kurt said, â€Å"This is horrible, I've got to get up early. I have a meeting at five.† Now that he was in the familiar territory of self-interest, he stopped rocking and looked up. â€Å"You still haven't told me where you were last night!† Near the door where Jody stood there was an antique oak hall tree. On the hall tree there was a black raku pot where lived a struggling philodendron, home for a colony of spider mites. As Jody snatched up the pot, she could hear the spider mites shifting in their tiny webs. As she drew back to throw, she saw Kurt blink, his eyelids moving slowly, like an electric garage door. She saw the pulse in his neck start to rise with a heartbeat as she let fly. The pot described a beeline across the room, trailing the plant behind it like a comet tail. Confused spider mites found themselves airborne. The bottom of the pot connected with Kurt's forehead, and Jody could see the pot bulge, then collapse in on itself. Pottery and potting soil showered the room; the plant folded against Kurt's head and Jody could hear each of the stems snapping. Kurt didn't have time to change expressions. He fell back on the couch, unconscious. The whole thing had taken a tenth of a second. Jody moved to the couch and brushed potting soil out of Kurt's hair. There was a half-moon-shaped dent in his forehead that was filling with blood as she watched. Her stomach lurched and cramped so violently that she fell to her knees with the pain. She thought, My insides are caving in on themselves. She heard Kurt's heart beating and the slow rasp of his breathing. At least I haven't killed him. The smell of blood was thick in her nostrils, suffocatingly sweet. Another cramp doubled her over. She touched the wound on his forehead, then pulled back, her fingers dripping with blood. I'm not going to do this. I can't. She licked her fingers and every muscle in her body sang with the rush. There was an intense pressure on the roof of her mouth, then a crackling noise inside her head, as if someone were ripping out the roots of her eyeteeth. She ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth and felt needlelike points pushing through the skin behind her canines: new teeth, growing. I'm not doing this, she thought, as she climbed on top of Kurt and licked the blood from his forehead. The new teeth lengthened. A wave of electric pleasure rocketed through her and her mind went white with exhilaration. In the back of her mind a small voice shouted â€Å"No!† over and over again as she bit into Kurt's throat and drank. She heard herself moaning with each beat of Kurt's heart. It was a machine-gun orgasm, dark chocolate, spring water in the desert, a hallelujah chorus and the cavalry coming to the rescue all at once. And all the while the little voice screamed no! Finally she pulled herself away and rolled off onto the floor. She sat with her back to the couch, arms around her legs, her face pressed against her knees, ticking and twitching with tiny convulsions of pleasure. A dark warmth moved through her body, tingling as if she had just climbed out of a snowbank into a hot bath. Slowly the warmth ran away, replaced by a heart-wrenching sadness – a feeling of loss so permanent and profound that she felt numbed by the weight of it. I know this feeling, she thought. I've felt this before. She turned and looked at Kurt and felt little relief to see that he was still breathing. There were no marks on his neck where she had bitten him. The wound on his forehead was clotting and scabbing over. The smell of blood was still strong but now it repulsed her, like the odor of empty wine bottles on a hangover morning. She stood and walked to the bathroom, stripping her clothes off as she went. She turned on the shower, and while it ran worked down the remnants of her panty hose, noticing, without much surprise, that her burned hand had healed completely. She thought, I've changed. I will never be the same. The world has shifted. And with that thought the sadness returned. I've felt this before. She stepped into the shower and let the scalding water run over her, not noting its feel, or sound, or the color of the heat and steam swirling in the dark bathroom. The first sob wrenched its way up from her chest, shaking her, opening the grief trail. She slid down the shower wall, sat on the water-warmed tiles and cried until the water ran cold. And she remembered: another shower in the dark when the world had changed. She had been fifteen and not in love, but in love with the excitement of touching tongues and the rough feel of the boy's hand on her breast; in love with the idea of passion and too full of too-sweet wine, shoplifted by the boy from a 7-Eleven. His name was Steve Rizzoli (which didn't matter, except that she would always remember it) and he was two years older – a bit of a bad boy with his hash pipe and surfer smoothness. On a blanket in the Carmel dunes he coaxed her out of her jeans and did it to her. To her, not with her: she could have been dead, for her involvement. It was fast and awkward and empty except for the pain, which lingered and grew even after she walked home, cried in the shower, and lay in her room, wet hair spread over the pillow as she stared at the ceiling and grieved until dawn. As she stepped out of the shower and began mechanically toweling off, she thought, I felt this before when I grieved for my virginity. What do I grieve for tonight? My humanity? That's it: I'm not human anymore, and I never will be again. With that realization, events fell into place. She'd been gone two nights, not one. Her attacker had shoved her under the dumpster to protect her from the sun, but somehow her hand had been exposed and burned. She had slept through the day, and when she awoke the next evening, she was no longer human. Vampire. She didn't believe in vampires. She looked at her feet on the bath mat. Her toes were straight as a baby's, as if they had never been bent and bunched by wearing shoes. The scars on her knees and elbows from childhood accidents were gone. She looked in the mirror and saw that the tiny lines beside her eyes were gone, as were her freckles. But her eyes were black, not a millimeter of iris showing. She shuddered, then realized that she was seeing all of this in total darkness, and flipped on the bathroom light. Her pupils contracted and her eyes were the same striking green that they had always been. She grabbed a handful of her hair and inspected the ends. None were split, none broken. She was – as far as she could allow herself to believe – perfect. A newborn at twenty-six. I am a vampire. She allowed the thought to repeat and settle in her mind as she went to the bedroom and dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. A vampire. A monster. But I don't feel like a monster. As she walked back from the bedroom to the bathroom to dry her hair, she spotted Kurt lying on the couch. He was breathing rhythmically and a healthy aura of heat rose off his body. Jody felt a twinge of guilt, then pushed it aside. Fuck him, I never really liked him anyway. Maybe I am a monster. She turned on the curling iron that she used every morning to straighten her hair, then turned it off and threw it back on the vanity. Fuck that, too. Fuck curling irons and blow dryers and high heels and mascara and control-top panty hose. Fuck those human things. She shook out her hair, grabbed her toothbrush and went back to the bedroom, where she packed a shoulder bag full of jeans and sweatshirts. She dug through Kurt's jewelry box until she found the spare keys to her Honda. The clock radio by the bed read five o'clock in the morning. I don't have much time. I've got to find a place to stay, fast. On her way out she paused by the couch and kissed Kurt on the forehead. â€Å"You're going to be late for your meeting,† she said to him. He didn't move. She grabbed the bag of money from the floor and stuffed it into her shoulder bag, then walked out. Outside, she looked up and down the street, then cursed. The Honda had been towed. She'd have to get it out of impound. But you could only do that during the day. Shit. It would be light soon. She thought of what the sun had done to her hand. I've got to find darkness. She jogged down the street, feeling lighter on her feet than she ever had. At Van Ness she ran into a motel office and pounded on the bell until a sleepy-eyed clerk appeared behind the bulletproof window. She paid cash for two nights, then gave the clerk a hundred-dollar bill to ensure that she would not, under any circumstances, be disturbed. Once in the room she locked the door, then braced a chair against it and got into bed. Weariness came on her suddenly as first light broke pink over the City. She thought, I've got to get my car back. I've got to find a safe place to stay. Then I need to find out who did this to me. I have to know why. Why me? Why the money? Why? And I'm going to need help. I'm going to need someone who can move around in the day. When the sun peeked over the horizon in the east, she fell into the sleep of the dead.

Feeling like “Other” Essay

I will be exploring a time when I felt like â€Å"other†, in this situation I was made to feel invisible, excluded and too visible all at the same time. In this situation I mainly felt excluded but nonetheless I felt all of the above. My husband is Nigerian and I am African American, he attends a Nigerian church and all of the members are Nigerian. Every time I go to church with him I feel as if I am too visible because I am the only non-Nigerian person there, yes we are all black but I know nothing about their culture and I do not speak their language. They often sing Nigerian praise songs and do traditional dances and when this is occurring I often feel excluded and invisible because it seem like it doesn’t matter if I’m included since I’m the only one who doesn’t understand what is going on. Because of this I very seldom go to church with him, it would be nice for us to go to church together all the time but it’s not comfortable to feel ex cluded or invisible. You wouldn’t think you could feel excluded or invisible around your own race but subgroups of the same race often have different cultures and traditions that the other doesn’t understand. In a lot of cases African’s who live in America feel that African Americans have acculturated into society which is â€Å"a form of assimilation wherein an ethnic or racial group or an individual takes on the cultural ways of another group, usually that of mainstream culture, often at the expense of traditional cultural ways†(2014). Being African American around Africans you often get a sense of ethnocentrism from this culture in regards to language, religion and behavior. Sometimes people are not aware that they are making the â€Å"other† feel uncomfortable or excluded simply because they don’t know how to include the â€Å"other†. Many people are not as culturally competent as they may think and this can cause a lot of discord between different  cultural groups. Unfortunately both groups have been marginalized, having diminished value, importance, contributions, or attributes. Because both groups notice cultural differences we feel the need to be guarded and defensive at all times. This does not help with communication and interaction between our cultures. One way for me to overcome this is exercising emotional intelligence which involves developing the ability to manage and appreciate differences. References (2014, November 1). Identity and Difference . Weekly Lecture. Lecture conducted from , . Harvey, C., & Allard, M. J. (2011). Understanding and Managing Diversity, 5th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://devry.vitalsource.com/books/9781269562744/id/ch01lev2sec22

Enchaning level of engagement with data in the allocation anduse in Dissertation

Enchaning level of engagement with data in the allocation anduse in Seychelles -would an integrated VFM code be a useful initiat - Dissertation Example This conclusion is that the country is at a point in its economic management where needs to be an urgent intervention to savage it from further deterioration. Presently, the debt to Gross Domestic Product for Seychelles stands at 160% (Advisory Group, 2001). This is an exorbitant value that indicts the possibility of the country to becoming totally classified as economically independent. What is even more disturbing is the fact that Seychelles is a country of barely two million people. The attempts made by international bodies such as the World Bank and United Human Development in consultation with the government to undertake reforms in the public sector to curb the current problems would therefore be described as a step in the right direction. However, the current problem has gone beyond the use of paper work policies. It is therefore high time the country adapted a comprehensive model in savaging the situation other than the value for money code policy currently in use. 5.1.2 Value for Money Code policy for Seychelles 5.1.2.1 Legal dimension As a first step towards the mitigation of massive waste in the public sector, which has led to the existence of the current huge debt to GDP, Seychelles has adapted the use of value for money code policy. ... In Seychelles where this research is being focused on, the President Representative reports of proofs of how several projects that were started have been left to be white elephants. There is therefore a legal mandate for government to ensure that certain red flags that predict ineffectiveness and inefficiencies with the procurement processes are blocked. There must also be review on the mandate of the various ministries in Seychelles. This would ensure that some of the powers and autonomies given to the ministries as members of the executive arm of government in manipulating the flow and assignment of projects are curtailed. In most modern economies, a chunk of the blame of mismanagement is directed at the executive arm of government (Aicken and McCrae, 1992a). It is often thought that the executive arm of government is too powerful and manipulates other arms of government like the judiciary and legislature. Should there be a generalised autonomy of the various arms therefore, some o f these irregularities will be corrected. 5.1.2.2 Political dimension From a political dimension, there cannot be any better conclusion drawn for the government of Seychelles to follow than for it to check its transparency policies. This should apply to both the public and private sectors but with particular emphasis on the public sector. According to the literature review and views from respondents who answered the interview, access to information and freedom to the flow of information is the most viable means of ensuring transparency in the public. In this regard, the media has been identified as very good agents for policing and interrogating all policies and programs carried out in the public sector. From the literature

Relationship that Exist between Workers and their Bosses Essay

Relationship that Exist between Workers and their Bosses - Essay Example Lawson (2003) defines management control as a process during which the business management practitioners follow a systematic procedure to compare the performance against the set objectives to ensure that they do conform to the standards set by the organization. They are meant to ensure that the employers work in the most efficient manner, that the corporate resources are used in the most effective way, and that organizational objectives are achieved. The management is meant to set standards, measure actual performance, and solve problems (taking corrective actions). Therefore, the management control has the following stages: Planning – setting of the organizational objectives that are well understood and agreed upon, measurable in time, achievable, consistent, and require available resources Programming – setting up of strategies of achieving the set objectives, taking into accounts the restraints of the organization. Result checking – checking whether the set ob jectives of the organization have been achieved. ... Labor is the process by which nature and man participate in achieving a certain function. The man starts, regulates, and controls the actions that take place between the function and nature. Labor is taken to be human by supposition. At the end of every labor process, the result that is found corresponds to what already existed in imagination before the work started (Albert & Hahnel, n.d). Man’s activities during which the resources are used are, therefore, essential in the labor process. The process is accepted depending on the product manufactured at the end of the process. Art, for example, is the product of all the artistic work done by the artist, from the initial stages to the realization of the final product. Though products are a use value of the labor process, other products of the previous labor enter into the use value in the form of production. When taken from the perspective of process, a product is a subject of labor and also a means of production, qualifying lab or to be considered as productive. Young (1974) argues that unlike the extraction industries where the labor material is provided instantly by nature, industries have to convert raw materials through labor. Every product is realized after a series of processes takes place during transformation. All this transformation requires a supervisor, who has to offer services in the form of labor, so that a final product that conforms to the objectives is produced or realized. Raw materials being the primary subjects of a final product, they should be used by instruments of labor; these materials have to be used so that the end product can be realized. An example is petroleum that has to be used by an engine so that work and movement can be achieved in a vehicle; the raw products at the end cannot

Global Marketing Assignment 2 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Marketing Assignment 2 - Case Study Example Networking helps the new brands to improve their sales and markets. The networks expand the market segments for the new brand to increase the customers and reach the targeted customers (Philip & Keller, 2005). Thus, it is significant to have the connections to increase the market awareness of the brand. Lastly, there are enough infrastructures in place to make sure that there is efficient movement of the products. Honey needs good storage facilities to be in place. There is also need for transportation requirements to reach the customers. The Korea market has enough transport modes, roads, and railways to enhance the movement of the foods. Thus, the Korean foods have the advantage of the efficient infrastructure to improve its connections. There exist factors in the same market that make it unfavorable for the Korean honey. First, is the less experience on circulation of the products in Korea. The Korean culture and the environment of business are somehow different. The Korean food has only done some few exporting to Japan; thus, the Korean market does not do much international marketing. The globalization involves advertising the products overseas past Japan. As a result, it may provide great business to the business through broadening its customer base and improving the reputation of the Korean food brand. Customers prefer a brand that is selling in various markets to be of better services and higher quality than the other brands, in this case, the food markets. It may also provide opportunities for future opportunities in the international Korean market (Adcock & Al Halborg, 2001). Secondly, the Korean food act as an intermediary and not the producer. Thus, it has less control over suppliers in crucial factors such as quantity, quality and packaging technology. Managing of suppliers makes them improve their quality of their products, and it is the important factor in selecting a supplier (Kerin, 2012). Having control

History US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History US - Essay Example to world power status. The New Deal provided numerous economic programs that stabilized the economy through giving support in banking and finance, unemployment, and agriculture. In banking and finance, President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered significant credit facilities to industry and agriculture. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) also insured savings-bank deposits up to $5,000. Moreover, to reduce unemployment that affected 13 million Americans, Roosevelt created job-stimulating programs. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a program that gave mostly conservation jobs to young men between 18 and 25 years of age (IIP Digital, 2008). The Public Works Administration (PWA) gave employment to skilled construction workers for different medium- to large-sized projects, among other programs (IIP Digital, 2008). In addition, to improve agricultural revenues, the Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) in 1933. It gave economic relief to farmers by increasing crop prices throug h paying farmers a subsidy to reimburse them for deliberate cutbacks in production (IIP Digital, 2008). Despite these job and financial programs, the New Deal did not restore the Gross National Product (GNP), consumption levels, and employment rates to pre-Depression years (West, n.d.). World War II created complete economic recovery because of greater federal spending that improved employment rates both for men and women and for whites and colored people. Military spending by the federal government jump-started the economy, increasing GNP, consumption levels, and employment rates more than the New Deal did. By 1943, California’s aircraft and shipbuilding industries hired 243,000 and 280,000 people correspondingly, and tens of thousands worked in plants in Pacific Northwest (West, n.d.). In Seattle, the Boeing Company’s sales of aircraft in 1944 reached ten times that of the total city’s industries five years before (West, n.d.). With bustling

A Case Study Related To Risk & Value Management

A Related To Risk & Value Management - Case Study Example The major risks of the company may arise to decrease in sales of plastic products, reduction in per unit price of plastic products, difficulty in coping up with the competition in the market, economic scenario, regulation and intervention of authorities, political intervention, social climate, competitive technology, environmental surroundings and legal issues. Let us consider each of these categories of risk separately for AutoPlast Ltd (Jones, 2010, p.19). Considering the present scenario of chemical leakage from the storage plant of AutoPlast Ltd. and contamination of water of River Cruze and subsequent outbreak of fire leading to the health problem of the surrounding housing estates, village and fish market, there is a dominant upheaval from the local community against the operation of AutoPlast Ltd. It is evident that there would be political intervention due to mismatch and fulfilment of interest of the political parties leading to several agitations and discussion between the management of AutoPlast Ltd. and the political entities. Political intervention would lead to demand of hefty compensations for the health-affected people and any disagreement on mutual points would lead to unplanned expenditures of the company that is likely to affect the profit margin of AutoPlast Ltd (Coleman, 1988, p.11). Economic Although AutoPlast Ltd. is considered to be a major player in the local economy employing several local people surrounding the river Cruze, the present scenario of fire outbreak due to the operations of the company leading to respiratory and health issues of local mass would generate a sense of disloyalty and hatred towards the brand of AutoPlast Ltd. and hence they would have a tendency to reject its products leading to the fall in production and price of AutoPlast Ltd. Thus, the economic risk of AutoPlast Ltd. in the present scenario needs to deal with in a strategic manner by the management of the company (Shapiro and  Glicksman, 2004, p.106). Soc ial Considering the present scenario of AutoPlast Ltd., the society has shown some tolerance to the company as it employs a majority of the workers in the local community. But considering the extent of damage in terms of life and death and the psychological impact on the society due to presence of stimulants, the extent of risk that AutoPlast Ltd. is going to bear in terms of goodwill and subsequent volume and value of sales is considerable. Technological Considering the present scenario, AutoPlast Ltd. would run the risk of devaluation and distrust of the technologies used in its industrial operation and process of manufacturing plastic products. The company would need to reconsider its cost on research and development of the technologies used. The up-gradation of technologies would need to be looked upon by the management so that there is no further chemical leakage from its storage during operation. The decisions of the management would ensure that AutoPlast Ltd. adheres to its c orporate social responsibility. Legal Due to the present scena

Research Design Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Design - Research Paper Example This study design is of great importance since it informs policy formulation and implementation strategies and avoids wastage of resources in starting interventions that would not change the state of the population. In the case of HBP the study type would inform the researcher whether the access to a health facility and follow-up are the major causes and therefore policies and interventions to address the same can be put in place to ensure that the interventions are most effective and do not use a lot of resources. HBP management has proven to be technical and requires behavior changes, good diet, along with a regimen of antihypertensive medications that require medical follow-up. Therefore the black men in urban areas have poor access to health services and do not seek care or remain in treatment and this is considered as a great factor in the rate of disability and death in this population. This study design is important in this particular scenario since in order to understand if the factors expressed are the real cause, one half of the population be exposed to the factors and the other not and then assessed over a period of time in order to determine whether the factors have an effect on HBP management. A cohort study is a type of study design which is used widely in cases where the researcher aims at reaching persons with particular similarities. There are different cohorts that can be described in terms of age or condition being suffered from. Most cohorts are attributed by age and therefore age has been the most common dividing factor in cohort studies. It has been expressed widely in this study where Dr Jemmott focuses on reducing risky sexual behavior, primarily among minority adolescents. This clearly illustrates that the target population of the study are the adolescents who are the cohort in this case. The use of cohort study design is important in ensuring that the target population is actually captured

APPLIED CONCEPT PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

APPLIED CONCEPT PAPER - Essay Example An important concept that develops the trust of stake holders as well as shareholders is corporate social responsibility, which is the extent to which businesses tend to monitor and manage their activities in a way that leaves a positive impact on society as well as the environment as a whole. In addition to this, responsibility of top management to make decisions in a way that are in the best interest of stake holders and shareholders also adds a lot to the firm’s reputation and profitability. The decisions made should also be within the ethical framework. The paper will provide an analysis of the concepts mentioned above along with their implications in corporate world. Abstract The Corporate Governance Movement Daniel R. Fischel Copyright 1982 Vanderbilt Law Review This article is titled as ‘The Corporate Governance Movement’ and is written by Daniel R. Fischel. In this article the writer focuses on factors that are responsible for poor governance of corporatio ns. The writer is of the view that improving fiduciary duties, increased accountability and a large percentage of outside, competent and independent directors can put forward better methods of governing corporations thus, increasing its performance. The next article focuses on the relationship between agents and principle, as maintaining good relationship with principals is critical to the success of the organization. A Survey of Corporate Governance Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny The Journal of Finance A Survey of Corporate Governance, an article written by Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny, focuses on the ways the suppliers of finance assure themselves of getting return on their investment. It probes that how principals make managers to behave in their best interest. Moreover, it also focuses on the implications of good relationship between agents and principals on corporate governance. CSR practices and corporate strategy: evidence from a longitudinal case study Lucio La mberti, Emanuele Lettieri The Journal of Business Ethics ‘CSR practices and corporate strategy: evidence from a longitudinal case study’, an article written by Lucio Lamberti and Emanuele Lettieri, focuses on how CSR practices helped corporations fulfill stakeholders’ claims and how it has helped in building up their (stakeholders) trust on corporations. Further evidence is provided by probing into a case study of Italian baby food manufacturing company that demonstrates how adopting CSR practices can shape corporate strategies and win the trust of stakeholders and the society as a whole. Business ethics and stake holder analysis Kenneth E. Goodpaster Business Ethics Quarterly This article titled as ‘Business ethics and Stake holder Analysis’ written by Kenneth E. Goodpaster, focuses on why ethical decision making is important. According to the writer, ethically responsible manager is one who not only takes into account the shareholder analysis but a lso the stakeholder analysis, while making decisions. The study also focuses on the fact that how can management strive to achieve its corporate strategy by giving full attention to ethical concerns. Concepts This paper will highlight several concepts like corporate governance, with special emphasis on the factors responsible for poor governance in corporations and also on how the factor of corporate governance can be improved. In addition to this, importance of relationship betw

Strategies Used by the Banking Industry Essay Example for Free

Strategies Used by the Banking Industry Essay In depressed economic times, Banking is an industry that is prone to substantial financial losses, from customer’s closing their depository account to an increase in outstanding loan delinquency. An increase in consumer and commercial loan defaults can damage the integrity of a Bank’s outstanding loan portfolio. Such deterioration can lead to an increase of â€Å"Non-Performing Assets†. Once a loan is nonperforming, (usually when a debtor has not made their scheduled payment for at least 90 days, but there are other reasons why a loan can be deemed â€Å"non-performing†) the odds that it will be repaid in full are considered to be substantially lower. The non-performing asset is therefore not yielding any income to the lender in the form of principal and interest payments. Banks have spent the last several years grappling with nonperforming assets, but perhaps working out problems with bad loans is best left to entities that do not have to answer to a Federal Regulator. This year, more banks have escalated efforts to sell nonperforming assets, and industry experts say the volume of such deals is only going to increase. Meanwhile, a new deal structure is calling for sellers to retain the problematic assets to work them out on their own. (Barba, 2011) But, even if a loan pays in accordance with its Terms Conditions, it still can be categorized non-performing for several reasons. Deterioration in financial ratios can cause a loan to be classified non-performing, one of those financial ratios is Loan to Value or â€Å"LTV†. LTV is the outstanding principal balance of the loan divided by the appraised value for real property pledged as collateral for a loan. When the appraised value of the pledged collateral decreases faster than the principal of the loan, the LTV will increase, thereby making this loan a greater risk in case of default. The benchmark LTV ratio will usually not exceed 75%, the rationale behind this threshold is if the loan does default and, subsequently, the asset disposed of, that the 25% of equity can be used to reimburse the bank for legal fees, court cost, and expenses incurred with liquidating the collateral. This strategy is incorporated in the bank’s lending policy in the effort to â€Å"make the bank whole† in a loan default scenario. When the loan request is not collateral based, the key financial ratio used to determine the borrower’s ability to repay is Debt Service Coverage or DSC. This ratio is calculated using the existing company debt, plus the new loan obligation, divided by the businesses existing cash flow to determine if the total debt can be supported. Covenants in the loan documentation will require the business to furnish Tax Returns and Financial Statements annually to review the borrower’s financial condition to ensure sufficient DSC. If it is determined that the DSC is not sufficient or if the borrower is not in compliance of the Loan Covenant by not supplying the required financial information, the loan can be classified as non-performing. An increase in the level of non-performing assets increases risk and impacts capital levels that regulators believe are appropriate in light of the ensuing risk in the loan portfolio. Regulators request that the level of non-performing assets be reduced. If these problem assets are not reduced through loan sales, workouts, or restructuring or the level of problem assets continue to rise through decreases in the value of the underlying collateral, or in these borrowers’ performance or financial condition, whether or not due to economic and market conditions beyond our control, could adversely affect the bank’s operations and financial condition. This is why banks are so interested in getting these assets off the books. Banks that’ve held on to some loans in hopes of a rapidly increasing economic recovery are starting to lose hope. Moreover, the Euro Zone Debt Crisis and, locally, the $1.2 billion dollar debacle and former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzines MF Global, plus the decline in Moodys index of commercial property values, which reached around 200 in late 2007 and early 2008, before taking a complete round trip back to 100 as of the beginning of this year and leveling off to about 120—but has been largely treading water since late 2009. After that bounce, its gone back down a little, and looks to be flat for the foreseeable future, says David Tobin, one of the two principals of Mission Capital Advisors. Its a smart time to sell. (McDonald, 2011) Another reason for the converted interest in selling these assets is the challenge that banks are having in making new loans. â€Å"Analysts and investors are demanding balance sheet improvements out of the banks†, says Tobin, â€Å"and if the banks cant show strength by adding new, solid loans, then theyll do it by unloading legacy assets that are a drag on capital†. And thats just what has happened. But when they can sell, they do. The best thing a bank can do is sell properly marked assets that help fix the balance sheet. The more you can sell, the better you are perceived. says Tobin. (McDonald, 2011). So, how do bank’s dispose of these assets and what is done with those assets that cannot be sold on a Secondary Market? There are several loss mitigation alternatives used by banks in both scenarios. Typical Strategies used in the sale of non-performing loans are usually Note Sales, Short-Sale or Short-Payoffs, or a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure. A Note Sale is just as it sounds. A Bank will assign all its rights and interests in the subject Note and Mortgage (or a group of Notes and Mortgages) to an interested party for an appropriate price. A Short-Sale or Short-Payoff, again, is just as it sounds, is a method whereby the bank examines the value of the collateral, financial condition of the borrower, and will determine the amount of acceptable loss that the bank would be willing to incur â€Å"just to make the borrower go away† instead of involving themselves in a, potentially, protracted Foreclosure process. Lastly, the Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is the process whereby the borrower surrenders the Title to the property instead of going through the, potentially lengthy and expensive, Foreclosure process. This method allows for the bank to receive a maximum price for the collateral since they, in essence, are owners of the property since they are in possession of the Title and the buyer does not have to take assignment in any Legal action initiated by the bank. More often than not, with this option, borrower’s will also insist on the release of any personal guarantors on the Mortgage, so the bank doesn’t have an option of pursing any potential deficiency balance on the loan after the sale of the collateral. When a bank can’t sell their criticized and classified loans on the secondary market and has no other choice that to keep those loans on their books, there are several methods that can be used to modify the existing terms and conditions of a loan to, possibly, strengthen the credit in hopes of a possible upgrade in the loans classification by the bank’s Risk Managers. The first (and most preferred) of these methods is the Reinstatement. The borrower will pay all loan arrears (past-due Principal and Interest) and continue paying as agreed through the term of the loan. As an incentive to the borrower, the bank has the option of waiving accrued Late Charges and Default Interest amounts as part of the terms of the agreement. Typically, if the loan performs as agreed (usually for six to twelve months) after reinstatement, the bank’s Risk Managers will agree to re-classify the loan back to a performing status and resume taking in the interest income on the loan. The remaining methods are several types of Forbearance Agreements. A Standard Forbearance is often consideration (the bank’s delay in enforcing its legal rights and remedies under the Note) for a promise by the debtor to pay an added amount to the current Principal and Interest payments to cure the loan arrears. A Refinance Forbearance is an option whereby the borrower intends to refinance their loan with the bank in order to satisfy the obligation. Lastly, a Graceful Exit Forbearance allows the borrower the time to market and sell the mortgaged premises in order to satisfy the underlying loan obligation to the bank. The time allowed by the bank in any forbearance scenario will, usually, not exceed twenty four months. In good times or bad, deciding how to manage nonperforming assets is never easy. Loan workout can be intricate and costly, both in time and resources spent on deciding whether to work out an asset or focus on what can be salvaged. Moreover, it also requires the bank to evaluate whether the borrower can recover and still remain valued customer. (Trauner 2009) But, if the decision is made to sell the credit, then the decision is how to maximize the consideration received for the asset. Selling assets can often be perplexing and nerve-racking and the reality is that if you take time to evaluate and think purposefully about your portfolio, selling these assets can be a very effectual and fruitful tool to help manage your portfolio through the ups and downs in credit cycles. (Trauner 2009) REFERENCES Barba, R. (2011, November 14). Toxic assets turn into opportunity for community banks. Retrieved from http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/176_221/loan-sales-nonperforming-assets-private-equity-1044055-1.html. (Barba, 2011) McDonald, D. (2011, November 04). Good news? It’s a buyers market for bad loans. Retrieved from http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/04/bank-bad-loans/ (McDonald, 2011) Trauner, S. (2009, April). Non-performing assets: The keep versus sell decision. Retrieved from http://www.wib.org/publications__resources/article_library/2009-10/mar09_assets.html (Trauner, 2009)

Comparing Photoshop, Illustrator and Gamemaker

Comparing Photoshop, Illustrator and Gamemaker Software Tools Techniques Cost Strengths Weaknesses Photoshop Allows for full editing of the photograph with basic tools such as brushes pencils and advanced tools such as warp and auto fill. There are many other features such as the effects that allow users to make their pictures much more professional looking and a lot more unique. Can use various techniques to edit pictures in a convincing and almost flawless way. The more better the user gets the more convincing users can make it. There are many advanced techniques such as ones that require tools to blur and change the picture to something new. The cost of the program is  £36.59 per month with the inclusion of VAT. Program can be included in the creative cloud that allows the user to use all of their software at once. The abilty to use the software to create computer artwork in a way that rivals other softwares with new techniques never seen before. Photoshop has a large reputation for being the go to source for editing pictures to be crazy but very realistic at the same time. Photoshop is also lacking in built in tutorials making the users have to sort through youtube videos or user created videos to allow them to gain experience. Its not very user friendly when it comes to being able to use the software right away, forcing users have to work out features. Illustrator Comes with a lot of different shapes that users can mold to create larger logos that can be used in various things. Users can also make and design shapes without much hassle allowing them to freeform and make artwork in a easy way. Uses shapes more over then actual editing techniques allowing users to create a full picture thats based on a real life with shapes. Gives more access to shapes and allows users to make fancy cartoon images using the tools provided. The cost is  £23.99 per month, which is delivered using a licence key that they use. The program is available using the creative cloud, which allows you to buy the software using a well-known and trusted source. When buying it your also able to buy other software using the creative cloud. Uses a vector format which keeps its quality so it wont decrease when resized. Because it uses vector the shapes are saved in a formular that stores different shapes. Very easy to make logos and designs for large companies. Pictures look more cartoony and cant really be used for editing pictures that are made in real life. Harder to create pixel perfect designs that are normaly used for bigger and more creative artworks. Gamemaker Allows users a good amount of control over creating the users game to their liking. The software comes with a lot of artwork and coding software to allow users to both make games, and create artwork. In the software users are able to use many different features such as brush tools to create pixel art sprites or the actual game maker to code and create unqiue games. Allowing the user to edit code manually from scratch or to edit it from a template. The user can follow various tutorials that allow the users to gain knowledge of better ways to make and create their games. In the software there are templates that users can use to help base the design on, such as, being able to create a box that allows users to set the limits of the artworks collision for use in-game. Users can pick to use the free trial that comes with less features or upgrade using  £121.76 or  £648.60 for upgrading in packages. The software is only sold from their main site to upgrade to a better edition of the software with more features to make games and create artwork. Have the ability to completely edit and make the game the way the user code it, users can add and remove any parts of the game or create new parts easily. Able to add a unlimited amount of graphics to the game without having to manualy manage each picture a user can use using the sprite function to see every picture the user has made in a group. Limits the user depending on the package they pick. Users also have to depend on which software they use as if they picked higher version of the software to use and edit users might get locked out of the older. The software is unable to play games that require a large amount of software such as a game that needs a advanced graphics card, this means that running any visualy amazing games can slow your pc down. Pictures made in Illustrator, due to this it takes on more of a cartoon logo look then a real life image when images that are made in photoshop are offen very realistic edits of real life images. Gamemaker can also be used in the same way however, using brushes that can be used to make pixel art Photoshop cost Gamemaker cost Illustrator cost Bibliography       Bitmap photoshop information http://www.sqa.org.uk/e-learning/BitVect01CD/page_97.htm Photoshop Tool information http://www.photoshoplab.com/photoshop-tool-basics.html Formular http://www.intmath.com/vectors/math-vector-art.php www.adobe.com http://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud

Revenge in Hamlet and The Revengers Tragedy Essay -- Elizabethan Reve

  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this study of revenge and revengers in two Elizabethan revenge tragedies the two plays I shall look at are Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, and The Revenger's Tragedy, by Thomas Middleton. I shall look first at the playwrights' handling of the characters of the revengers, and then at the treatment of the revengers by other characters in the plays. Although having similarities in their underlying themes, and in their adherence to conventions, these two plays present contrasting pictures of the figure of the revenger; Hamlet offering a far more complex treatment of its main character, and The Revenger's Tragedy appearing, in comparison, limited by the author's social message, and lacking in realistic characterisation. Hamlet and Vindice, the two revengers, have in common their tasks as revengers, but they have very different methods of dealing with situations, modes of thought, and instinctual behaviour. Middleton's Vindice is largely an allegorical character; his name and the names of other characters in The Revenger's Tragedy (e.g. Spurio, Ambitioso) are derived from Medieval morality plays; names which suggest the quality of near-farcical exaggeration which is a feature of The Revenger's Tragedy from the opening scene's remarkable similarity to a procession of the Seven Deadly Sins, to Vindice's simplistic association of lust with Judas and the Devil. Hamlet, in contrast, is an individual with depth, who suffers from insecurity, and a sense of absurdity. As we see him at the beginning of the play he is suffering from melancholy, not only from the death of his father, but also from "the moral shock of the sudden ghostly disclosure of his mother's true nature" (Bradley). Hamlet is psychologically real, and in my view... ...tentions in the face of a whimsical providence. Works Cited Bradley, A. C., John Russell. Brown, and A. C. Bradley. A.C. Bradley on Shakespeare's Tragedies: A Concise Edition and Reassessment. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print. Garber, Marjorie B. Profiling Shakespeare. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and Ian Johnston. On the Use and Abuse of History for Life. Arlington, VA: Richer Resources Publications, 2010. Print. Erlich, Avi. Hamlet's Absent Father. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1977. Print. Middleton, Thomas. â€Å"The Revenger’s Tragedy.† 1607. Five Revenge Tragedies. Ed. Emma Smith. London: Penguin Classics, 2012. Print. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1994. Wilson, J. Dover "What Happens in Hamlet" New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959 Revenge in Hamlet and The Revenger's Tragedy Essay -- Elizabethan Reve   Ã‚  Ã‚   In this study of revenge and revengers in two Elizabethan revenge tragedies the two plays I shall look at are Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, and The Revenger's Tragedy, by Thomas Middleton. I shall look first at the playwrights' handling of the characters of the revengers, and then at the treatment of the revengers by other characters in the plays. Although having similarities in their underlying themes, and in their adherence to conventions, these two plays present contrasting pictures of the figure of the revenger; Hamlet offering a far more complex treatment of its main character, and The Revenger's Tragedy appearing, in comparison, limited by the author's social message, and lacking in realistic characterisation. Hamlet and Vindice, the two revengers, have in common their tasks as revengers, but they have very different methods of dealing with situations, modes of thought, and instinctual behaviour. Middleton's Vindice is largely an allegorical character; his name and the names of other characters in The Revenger's Tragedy (e.g. Spurio, Ambitioso) are derived from Medieval morality plays; names which suggest the quality of near-farcical exaggeration which is a feature of The Revenger's Tragedy from the opening scene's remarkable similarity to a procession of the Seven Deadly Sins, to Vindice's simplistic association of lust with Judas and the Devil. Hamlet, in contrast, is an individual with depth, who suffers from insecurity, and a sense of absurdity. As we see him at the beginning of the play he is suffering from melancholy, not only from the death of his father, but also from "the moral shock of the sudden ghostly disclosure of his mother's true nature" (Bradley). Hamlet is psychologically real, and in my view... ...tentions in the face of a whimsical providence. Works Cited Bradley, A. C., John Russell. Brown, and A. C. Bradley. A.C. Bradley on Shakespeare's Tragedies: A Concise Edition and Reassessment. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Print. Garber, Marjorie B. Profiling Shakespeare. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, and Ian Johnston. On the Use and Abuse of History for Life. Arlington, VA: Richer Resources Publications, 2010. Print. Erlich, Avi. Hamlet's Absent Father. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1977. Print. Middleton, Thomas. â€Å"The Revenger’s Tragedy.† 1607. Five Revenge Tragedies. Ed. Emma Smith. London: Penguin Classics, 2012. Print. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1994. Wilson, J. Dover "What Happens in Hamlet" New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959

Mao Zedong :: Chinese China History

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong is one of the most controversial leaders of the twentieth century. He has been known both as a savior and a tyrant to the Chinese people. From his tactical success of the Long March to his embarrassing failure of the Great Leap Forward, Mao has greatly influenced the result of what China is today. Most of Mao's major successes have been in the CCP's rise to power, while Mao's failures have come at a time when the CCP was in power. Mao Zedong was born on December 26, 1893 is Shaoshan village in Hunan. He experienced a middle peasant upbringing with a very conservative father. Ironically Mao went to an old-fashioned school where he learned the traditional Chinese curriculum. At this time in his childhood, the whole country could foresee the fall of the previous dynasty. Mao studied to be a teacher at The First Provincial Normal School , in Ch'ansha, which influenced his future thinking and beliefs. Mao believed that the Chinese way of thinking needed reform, therefore focused on younger people and peasants to build his political career. Mao ruled one quarter of the worlds population for one quarter of a century, and the way in which he was brought up and studied influenced his future decisions greatly. Mao was known to be rebellious when he was younger, but his first real experience came in 1912 when he decided to go to Wuhan and serve in the revolutionary army. For five years Mao studied and received an education in academics, but also politics. When Mao graduated in 1918 he was a political writer with a notable following. Mao had studied Marxism and other socialist ideas and by 1919 considered himself to be a Marxist. For a couple of years Mao wrote on his beliefs and even began organizing groups to share their ideas. Mao had organized a group of Communists in Changsha and in 1921 he went to Shanghai to participate in the First National Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. By the 1930s Mao was at the center of the Communist party after its defeat in 1927 by Chiang and the KMT. Mao organized and developed plans of a peasant-based guerilla strategy. Based in the province of Jiangxi, otherwise known as the Jiangxi soviet, Mao ruled nine million people and the CCP was begin to be a reckoning force. The KMT seeing the CCP as a threat attacked the Jiangxi soviet.

Should the Australian flag be changed? :: essays research papers

SHOULD THE AUSTRALIAN FLAG BE CHANGED? The Australian flag was chosen in 1901, when a competition was held to design our country’s flag. The guidelines of this competition included that the Union Jack and Southern Cross should appear on the flag. However, I believe that in the year 2001, the Australian flag needs to be changed. During the course of this essay, I will show that the Australian flag does not represent all Australians, in particular, Aboriginal Australians and that the symbols on our flag are no longer relevant and are not unique to Australia. I will also show that the present flag is not instantly recognisable and is too similar to flags of other countries. The current Australian flag does not represent all Australians, in particular, Aborigines. As a nation, Australia is heading towards Aboriginal reconciliation and by changing our flag to include Aboriginal elements, we would take reconciliation a major step further. By acknowledging publicly that Aborigines are a part of our nation, not only are we making it clear to Aborigines that we want to reconcile, but we are also sending out a message to other countries that we are proud to be a multi-cultural country. Our current flag suggests that as a country, we value Great Britain more highly than our own native people. Yet when the AGB conducted a nation-wide survey it discovered that 66% of those polled supported elements of the Aboriginal flag appearing on a new Australian flag. This is another example of our current flag not representing Australians. The Union Jack featured on the Australian flag may once have been relevant, but today holds no special significance for Australia. The Union Jack, a prominent aspect of our flag, symbolises the uniting of England, Scotland and Ireland, to form Great Britain. This was an historic event but even so this is not important to Australia. Some people believe the Union Jack is vital for our flag to symbolise our ties with Britain. However these people often over look the fact that Australia, which is often referred to as the ‘Land of Migrants,’ is made up of a population of which almost 40% of the people are not born here. Much of our population has migrated form other parts of Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Therefore our ties with Britain are less important and meaningful. If we remove the Union Jack from our flag, this does not mean that Great Britain will not assist us if we find ourselves in need of their aid.

Best Friend vs Dog

Koski 1 Terry Koski Instructor: Melissa Wilke English Comp. 1 March 26, 2013 Best Friend vs Dogs Believe it or not, Friends and dogs have many similarities. They both make great companions and we here, they both play an important role in our life. The real subject I would like to point out is who's actually a better friend? I believe man's best friends are more true than their human counterpart because you can trust them.Try to question yourself, who's the one who will always be there when your in trouble,sad or sick? I'm not trying to say that all friends aren't as loyal as our pet, but it's arduous to find a friend that's as dedicated to only you no matter what. If you ever do have a friend that's as loyal, appreciate that person and treasure it because it's as rare as getting hit by lightning. Who is your best friend? My opinion, the answer is: a person that reflects yourself while looking in the mirror.Having a best friend is the best feeling in the world, it's like they are a pa rt of you in a way that's truly hard to explain until you find it. A best friend is someone you spend the majority of your time with because they have the most common with you. They will attend all the activities you both share the love for. Your dog won't be able to compete with that the majority of the time, but when you get home they will be waiting for you with the tail wagging acting like he or she hasn't seen you in years.Koski 2 I would like to look at the advantages of Man's best friend, No arguments or drama, there is never a hidden agenda in being your friend. It's pure Loyalty and Love for you as who you are, not what you have or what you can give materially. All the dog want's is a little attention and most of all love. Everything is so pure with them, there is absolutely no stress involved, which in this day and age is a rarity. There is no competition, no acting like your somebody your not to please anyone, they simply don't care.You can be who and what you are all the time. It doesn't matter if your wearing off brand clothes, your hair isn't done or you only have a penny to your name, the love is always there. There is never a awkward moment either, you can play with them for awhile and when your done, they are. It's a simple living with Man's Best Friend, although there is no verbal interaction from their side it's as if they are talking to you by the look on their face and their tail wagging.I guess this is the time to hit on the advantages of having a Best Friend, this is tough for me because all to often a friend has let me down. The great thing about having a best friend is human interaction, watching and going to a sporting events together, going on trips and creating memories that will last a life time. Asking for advice during tough times and giving it as well. Friends are self efficient, you don't have to feed them or care for them, they don't rely on you 100% for their well being

Martha Graham Essay

Discuss the influence Martha Graham had on the development of Modern Dance. Make detailed reference to her technique, choreography, and performing. Modern Dance is a style of dance that originated in the early 1920s as a rejection of Classical Ballet; it can be used to show raw emotion, political/social issues, and freedom. Martha Graham (11th May 1894 – April 1st 1991) was an American dancer who had a large impact on Modern Dance. The development of Modern Dance was largely impacted by Martha Graham, particularly by her influence on technique, choreography, and performance. Martha Graham was the first person to develop a technique for Modern Dance; this had a huge a huge influence on the dance’s development. The technique Graham developed was the ‘contract and release’ technique. Contractions in Modern Dance show negativity and vulnerability. The contractions are shown by the body pulling in at the torso and the arms, legs, and head, being pulled toward the torso as if in an attempt to protect it and appear smaller. The release shown in Modern Dance shows positivity and fearlessness. It is shown when the arms and head are held out from the body and the torso is pushed out, this movement appears bigger than the contract movement. Martha Graham attended the ‘Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts’; the style of dance which Ruth St. Denis taught was very oriental based. The Denishawn School was the first dance school for Modern Dance. Attending the Denishawn School was a good start for Graham although she wanted to develop her own ideas and not only learn from others. Attending Denishawn inspired Graham to develop her own technique and helped her to do so; this technique drastically influenced Modern Dance in the years of its development. Graham’s choreography was often inspired by cultural issues and largely featured abstract movement. Martha Graham often used abstract movement in her choreography to show emotions. Abstract movement was a technique which entailed boiling down emotions and movements to the purest and most raw form. She used abstract movement in her work piece ‘Lamentation’(1930). This showed her portraying the feeling of grief; not the act of grieving but the feeling itself without any attachment or already known ideas of acts of grieving. During the 1920s America was dealing with the backslash of The First World War and was beginning to enter into an era of carelessness, parties, bootlegging, and The Great Depression. Classical Dance was becoming an ever-more popular form of entertainment however it was devoid of any real meaning or messages; it was this that brought about the rise of Modern Dance. Martha Graham used Modern Dance as a medium for expressing her views on these social issues and took a lot of inspiration from these issues. One example of a dance based on social or cultural events is Appalachian Spring (1944). Appalachian Spring is a dance based on the celebration of the American pioneers after building a farmhouse, showing that they had successfully settled into America. Conveying ideas about social and cultural issues was a new concept in dance as was abstract movement and these concepts greatly influenced Modern Dance. Martha Graham was original in the way that she would create the performances that she made. Graham was the first in Modern Dance to collaborate with other artists so as to include all art forms in her performances. She collaborated with Louis Horst, Isamu Noguchi, and Aaron Copland while creating her performances. Louis Horst was a music accompanist and would play music while she performed, Isamu Noguchi was a sculptor and would sculpt Graham’s props and sets, and Aaron Copland was a composer and he would compose the music to go with Grahams dances. One of the things Graham did to highlight the differences between Modern Dance and classical dance was that she would choreograph a dance and then music would be written to accompany the dance as opposed to the order which takes place during classical dance where the music has already been written and a dance is choreographed to accompany the music. Because of the ways that Martha Graham produced her performances this influenced Modern Dance through example. Modern Dance’s development has been hugely influenced by Martha Graham. She has influenced dance through her introduction of techniques, her new ways of choreographing dance, and through her ideas for new ways to produce performances.

Different Factors That Influence Pollution Levels Environmental Sciences Essay

Environmental issues have profound effects on the life conditions of people worldwide. The H2O deficit in many parts of the universe, cross-border pollution, and lifting sea degrees are merely a few of the challenges confronting our planetary population. What will go on to the Earth and its people, animate beings, workss, lands and oceans if we fail to successfully turn to the environmental issues we face today?Environmental Issues: A PollutionPollution can take many signifiers. The air we breathe, the H2O we drink, the land where we turn our nutrient, and even the increasing noise we hear every day-all contribute to wellness jobs and a lower quality of life. Find out about the environment issues of pollution, what ‘s being done on a planetary degree, and what you can make in your community.Q: What does the study say about the hazards of lifting sea degrees due to planetary heating?A: Sea degrees worldwide are expected to lift between 7 and 23 inches by 2100, and will go on to lift for at least the following 1,000 old ages. By comparing, planetary sea degrees rose 6 to 9 inches in the twentieth century, so the effects of planetary heating on sea degrees are clearly speed uping. Rising sea degrees will make 1000000s of environmental refugees as people are forced to go forth their places in coastal countries. Many states will be unequipped to get by with the moving ridges of immigrants looking for new places. Increased degrees of C dioxide in the ambiance will alter the pH balance of saltwater, doing it somewhat more acidic. Although the oceans will stay alkalic, marine life scientists predict that a displacement toward greater sourness could endanger the endurance of coral reefs and plankton-an indispensable and cardinal nexus in the marine nutrient concatenation. Even a moderate addition in the physique up of nursery gases in the ambiance could easy force norm planetary temperatures to degrees last seen 125,000 old ages ago during a warm period between two ice ages. At that clip, sea degrees were 12 to 20 pess higher than they are today. Much of the H2O from that earlier period is now frozen in Greenland and Antarctica, but many of those ice Fieldss are get downing to run. Because scientists are non certain how rapidly polar ice will run, the estimations of sea degree additions in the study are based on how much heating oceans will spread out and make non take into history anticipated overflow from runing ice on land in Greenland and the polar parts. Burning fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, oil and gasolene raises the degree of C dioxide in the ambiance, and C dioxide is a major subscriber to the nursery consequence and planetary heating. You can assist to cut down the demand for fossil fuels, which in bend reduces planetary heating, by utilizing energy more sagely. Here are 10 simple actions you can take to assist cut down planetary heating.1. Reduce, Reuse, RecycleMake your portion to cut down waste by taking reclaimable merchandises alternatively of disposables. Buying merchandises with minimum packaging ( including the economic system size when that makes sense for you ) will assist to cut down waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminium tins. If there is n't a recycling plan at your workplace, school, or in your community, inquire about get downing one. By recycling half of your family waste, you can salvage 2,400 lbs of C dioxide yearly.2. Use Less Heat and Air ConditioningAdding insularity to your walls and Attic, and put ining conditions denudation or calking around doors and Windowss can take down your warming costs more than 25 per centum, by cut downing the sum of ene rgy you need to heat and chill your place. Turn down the heat while you ‘re kiping at dark or off during the twenty-four hours, and maintain temperatures chair at all times. Puting your thermoregulator merely 2 grades lower in winter and higher in summer could salvage about 2,000 lbs of C dioxide each twelvemonth.3. Change a Light BulbWherever practical, replace regular visible radiation bulbs with compact fluorescent visible radiation ( CFL ) bulbs. Replacing merely one 60-watt incandescent visible radiation bulb with a CFL will salvage you $ 30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs besides last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, utilize two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 per centum less heat. If every U.S. household replaced one regular visible radiation bulb with a CFL, it would extinguish 90 billion lbs of nursery gases, the same as taking 7.5 million autos off the route.4. Drive Less and Drive SmartLess driving agencies fewer emanations. Besides salvaging gasolene, walking and bicycling are great signifiers of exercising. Research your community mass theodolite system, and look into out options for carpooling to work or school. When you do drive, do certain your auto is running expeditiously. For illustration, maintaining your tyres decently inflated can better your gas milage by more than 3 per centum. Every gallon of gas you save non merely helps your budget, it besides keeps 20 lbs of C dioxide out of the ambiance.5. Buy Energy-Efficient MerchandisesWhen it ‘s clip to purchase a new auto, choose one that offers good gas milage. Home contraptions now come in a scope of energy-efficient theoretical accounts, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to supply more natural-looking visible radiation while utilizing far less energy than standard visible radiation bulbs. Avoid merchandises that come with extra packaging, particularly molded plastic and other packaging that ca n't be recycled. If you cut down your family refuse by 10 per centum, you can salvage 1,200 lbs of C dioxide yearly.6. Use Less Hot WaterPut your H2O warmer at 120 grades to salvage energy, and wrap it in an insulating cover if it is more than 5 old ages old. Buy low-flow showerheads to salvage hot H2O and about 350 lbs of C dioxide annually. Wash your apparels in warm or cold H2O to cut down your usage of hot H2O and the energy required to bring forth it. That alteration entirely can salvage at least 500 lbs of C dioxide yearly in most families. Use the energy-saving scenes on your dish washer and allow the dishes air-dry.7. Use the â€Å" Off † SwitchSave electricity and cut down planetary heating by turning off visible radiations when you leave a room, and utilizing merely every bit much visible radiation as you need. And retrieve to turn off your telecasting, picture participant, stereo and computing machine when you ‘re non utilizing them. It ‘s besides a good thought to turn off the H2O when you ‘re non utilizing it. While brushing your dentitions, shampooing the Canis familiaris or rinsing your auto, turn off the H2O until you really necessitate it for rinsing. You ‘ll cut down your H2O measure and aid to conserve a critical resource.8. Plant a TreeIf you have the agencies to works a tree, get down delving. During photosynthesis, trees and other workss absorb C dioxide and give off O. They are an built-in portion of the natural atmospheric exchange rhythm here on Earth, but there are excessively few of them to to the full counter the additions in C dioxide caused by car traffic, fabrication and other human activities. A individual tree will absorb about one ton of C dioxide during its life-time.9. Get a Report Card from Your Utility CompanyMany public-service corporation companies provide free place energy audits to assist consumers place countries in their places that may non be energy efficient. I n add-on, many public-service corporation companies offer rebate plans to assist pay for the cost of energy-efficient ascents.10. Promote Others to ConserveShare information about recycling and energy preservation with your friends, neighbours and colleagues, and take chances to promote public functionaries to set up plans and policies that are good for the environment. These 10 stairss will take you a long manner toward cut downing your energy usage and your monthly budget. And less energy usage means less dependance on the fossil fuels that create nursery gases and contribute to planetary heating. hypertext transfer protocol: //environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/tp/globalwarmtips.htm hypertext transfer protocol: //housewares.about.com/od/homeessentials/a/recycling.htm Our landfills are roll uping waste at a rate of 2 to 5 pound of rubbish per individual per twenty-four hours. Over our life-time, the sum would be reeling. But we can assist to cut down this waste by recycling and recycling certain points. It ‘s a really little, virtually no-cost manner of making our portion and assisting our environment. Take a twenty-four hours and truly look at what you throw out. You will be amazed at what could be recycled or reused. A big plastic liquid detergent container can be rapidly customized for a ready to hand scoop for bird seed ; a 2-litre/quart plastic sodium carbonate bottle can be fashioned into a bird feeder ; empty egg cartons can be given to a local farm to recycle ; and the community nutrient bank would likely love to take those fictile food market bags off your custodies. Returnable bottles or Sns can be redeemed, in fact many non-profit groups fund certain activities through bottling thrusts. Caning jars can be reused with new sealing palpebras. These are merely a few thoughts on how to cut down waste, I ‘m certain you ‘ll come up with many of your ain.Geting Started – What to RecycleGeting a family recycling plan started is easy and it ‘s a good household undertaking. After all, we can get down now to develop the following coevals to appreciate and care for their environment. First, you should ask about recycling in your community: Should recycling be left at the kerb or taken to a terminal? What points are recycled? How should it be packaged. Make you necessitate ‘blue ‘ boxes or can you utilize your ain bins? In how much item are points sorted. Yup, I did state item! I was amazed at how refined this procedure is in certain communities, and I did ab initio resist at the thought of disbursement clip screening. But I have since reconsidered – protecting my environment is good deserving it. And a good organized bin system in your place or garage will do screening speedy and easy. For case, in some metropoliss, plastics and glass must be sorted by the figure size that is marked inside a trigon on the bottom of the container. Of class, really old glass does non hold any such markers and may be in a general glass class. Glass or fictile bottles may necessitate to hold the metal lids removed. Newspapers may necessitate to be bundled in a certain manner, and sodium carbonate tins may necessitate to be separate from nutrient Sns. Understanding the inside informations and screening instantly, will enable you to recycle more expeditiously and present your ‘goods ‘ to the terminal or kerb ready for processing. For now, we ‘ll presume item is limited to certain types of waste and we ‘ll acquire started with a few rudimentss.Capacity & A ; ConveniencePuting up an equal bin system is cardinal to pull offing your plan in a clip efficient mode. If you require bluish boxes, these may be available through your terminal, or can be purchased in changing sizes from many section shops. If bluish is non a demand, any size plastic bin, wastepaper basket or receptacle can be utilized. Here are some general tips to see: For documents and newspapers – usage a bin that is the right size to put documents level, doing it easier to roll up subsequently. Bins that have hinged or flapstyle palpebras provide easy one-handed disposal of Sns. Composting bins should hold a secure palpebra to cut down the hazard of unpleasant olfactory properties and prevent critter entry, and should be handily sized for turn uping close to your kitchen country. Bins should be adequately sized to manage your waste merchandises harmonizing to how frequently you will be disposing of it. Containers that are uneccessarily big will necessitate infinite that you could utilize for something else. Plastic is more lasting than composition board and you can rinse them as required.OrganizationDelegate a bin to each category of waste with consideration given to screening item and capacity, and grouping them together ( except for compost ) will increase screening efficiency. Keep them in a ready to hand location. The following are a few general categories of recycling waste: Glass Tins/Cans Papers/Newspapers Compost Cardboard PlasticsGeneral Recycling TipsComposting is for your ain benefit – to enrich your dirt and supply a rich mulch for your gardens. You can compost most nutrients such as vegetable and fruit desquamations, fish discards and other nutrient garbages, with the exclusion of meat, domestic fowl, gravy, lubricating oil or oils, unless you are utilizing a specially formulated composting bin for all nutrients. Compost should be transfered daily to the outside composting heap or bin to cut down the presence of unpleasant olfactory properties in your place. Tins and soda dad tins should be washed, flattened or crushed with an economical wall-mounted can crusher. Washing nutrient or drink Sns will cut down the hazard of unwanted plagues. Cardboard boxes and dry nutrient boxes should besides be flattened. These are merely the rudimentss, you can construct your recycling plan to accommodate your life style and demands. Recycling helps us look at what we consume, how to cut down the waste we generate and what we can recycle. A little ‘back to the hereafter ‘ investing with considerable ‘green ‘ environmental benefits.

Illustrate Typical Phases of a Project Lifecycle Essay

Here is an example diagram of a project life cycle. The project starts with the initiation, this is where you need to define what your project is so you have a clear specification of what you want to achieve at the end. The next stage is planning, when planning it is important to make a clear and simple action plan. With this it will be easier for you to not only follow the plan, but also to check back at you plan and see what you still need to do. Financial plans are also vital to achieve your goals, Clear budgets and forecasts should be made to allow you to be ready for your costs. A action plan would also be useful so you are ready in case any unforeseen costs should arise The next stage is project execution. This stage is obvious, you build your project and implement it. The final stage is project closure, this is where you evaluate the project and review what you could change, after a while of testing your project you can write a comprehensive review of what you need to change and fix with your project. It is also important to communicate throughout the project. If you are working as part of a large team communication is essential to achieving your goals. Poor leadership and lack of direction is main reason why a project can fail, this is linked with planning in that if the team members don’t know whats going on they can’t work. Key reasons why a project can fail: The first reason is poor planning. Big projects can be very complicated, if your team are not sure what they are supposed to be doing there will be sections missing, there may even be people working on the exact same thing. Also, as shown by the second example bellow, not accounting for all factors when planning can result in failure. Financial planning is also essential for a leader to correctly budget the project and allocate each section a suitable spending limit. Without a good financial budget that allows for unexpected costs and problems, the risks are significantly raised since you may not be able to cover your costs and thus run out of cash. Lack of communication can also result in failure, one good example of this was NASA loosing their mars rover, were one team was working in metric, and the other was working in imperial units. If you don’t release your product in time, it is possible that it will be out of date by the time that it is released. This is extremely important in the technology business, take a look at example 3 bellow. You must also ensure that the product you are releasing is fit for the times. Here are some examples of failed projects from a range of backgrounds. 1: Apple Power Mac G4 Cube This is an example of how Tech giants can still fail. In 2000 Apple released the G4 Cube and sales were slow. The reasons for this were: High price tag Flawed design Poor quality Since apple had the reputation of premium quality products for a premium price, when they released the system and the plastic case cracked and had mold lines consumers were not happy. There were also several things overlooked in the design, such as the fact that you had to tip the machine on the side to connect wires and the hidden power button. These two flaws combined with the extortionate price tag resulted in a failed product for Apple. This example goes to show that even huge companies projects can fail. Apple did all the planning right and had plenty of financial backing to push the project forward, they just messed up the product it’s self. 2: Soviet missile early warning system In ’83 the soviet’s had a early warning system which would warn them should America launch an attack on Russia. However the system had triggered that 5 ICBM’s had been launched by America, when in reality the system had been triggered by sunlight reflecting of clouds. Fortunately the operator did not believe the warning and did not respond. 3: Nokia Rather than updating their phones to smart phones, Nokia stuck with just regular phones which were in very low demand. Nokia were not with the times and released outdated products which led to a massive fall in market share and stock prices Relation to my project These examples and points relate to my project and every project. I have learnt from my research of project failures, I can bare these failures in mind while I am working on my project. So, from the powermac g4 cube example I will ensure that the design meets the standards that are required as well as the quality of the final product. From the Early warning example I will carefully consider all of the factors that i can see which would affect my project. Finally from the Nokia example I will ensure that the project meets the technology standards of the time.

The 2011 earthquake in Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The 2011 earthquake in Japan - Essay Example The 2011 Earthquake in Japan. Cause of the Earthquake. In March11, 2011, a destructive earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck Japan. The epicenter of the quake was near the East coast of Honshu, which was at a depth of 24.4 kilometers. According to Aislinn (2011), the movement along the two main plate boundaries caused the earthquake. Honshu Island is situated at the junction of three continental plates, the Pacific, Philippine, and Eurasian Sea plates. Earthquakes are generated by the tectonic plates that build up the surface of earth through bending, snagging, or breaking of these plates as they move past one another. Alexandra notes that thrust faulting caused the March 2011 earthquake; in thrust faulting, rocks positioned in the lower layer of the earth’s crust get pushed above the overlying layers. These faults occurred on or near the interface plate boundary between the North America and Pacific plates (Alexandra, 2011). This occurred near or along the boun dary where the Pacific Plate moves under Japan. The rate of convergence in the Pacific Plate’s border near Japan is much higher than in other zones. The Pacific plate thrusts beneath Japan at the Japan Trench, and plunges to the west underneath Eurasia; these plates are rocky and they creep past each other at a slow rate. The Pacific plate moves at a velocity of 3.2 inches per year westwards towards the North America plate. As the two plates shift past one another, they release seismic pressure and energy which cause earthquakes (Aislinn, 2011). Japan is situated in a place known as the Ring of Fire; this place experiences most active volcanoes. The Pacific Basin, which holds Japan, has oceanic trenches and experiences volcanoes around it. These volcanoes and oceanic trenches contribute to occurrence of earthquakes in Japan. Damages of the Earthquake. Alexandra (2011) notes that earthquakes that occur under the sea floor unleash tsunamis; these tsunamis are more devastating t han the earthquake itself. Violent movement of the earth’s crust displaces enormous quantities of water; these waves are known as tsunamis. Massive fires, generated by the earthquake, were blazing out of control leading to death, injuries, and the destruction of property. The quake left hundreds of people injured, dead or missing; it killed over 9,000 people. Tsunami wave destroyed power lines and swept homes, cars, ships, boats, trains, and massive islands of debris out to the ocean. Over four million buildings in Tokyo and its suburbs had no power after the quake. Reports indicated cases of landslides and collapse of buildings in several locations along the 2,100 kilometer stretch of coastline. Muddy water waves flowed over farmland near Sendai carrying buildings. Burst of gas pipes led to burning of houses and destruction of properties. Runways of the Sendai airport became inundated with trucks, buses, cars, and thick mud. Debris blocked the roads, and the communications s ystems, including the destruction of telephone lines. There was the suspension of train services in Tokyo and northeastern Japan, which serves around ten million people a day. The quake destroyed nuclear facilities located north of Tokyo. The government of Japan estimated the damage of the quake at $309 billion which was much higher compared to damage caused by the Hurricane Katrina in America. Effects of the Earthquak