Christian spirituality Essay

People in this realm have diverse attention to different facet of their lives. Some of which believes in a certain perception contrary to the views of the other and it all boils down to a premise that we in this universe have enormous preferences which truly makes us unique. Similarly, it has the same wavelength when we put into account the very imperative issue of faith and strong adherence to believing in God. Donald Miller in his masterpiece Blue like Jazz, he exemplifies the avenues of spirituality and how it is possible to enlighten the views of the readers as they go through the work of art. Uplifting the souls is the focal element of the author and parallel to this, the central aspiration of this paper is also to epitomize the intriguing views of the author and at the same time squeeze out the necessary lessons in life that will ultimately open the minds of the readers. By having the views of the book by means of its meaningful experiences of the author, we could have a brilliant grasp to what really is life in a spiritual way. Any occurrences that have been demonstrated in the book will truly it will shed light to our naked eye. The personal reflections of the author contribute to our understanding to the nature of God and how to respond to this indulgent. The ingredients in Donald Miller’s Blue like Jazz are driven by the perceptions towards sex, love, community, family and God. It absolutely speaks on what it feels to have an in depth connection with God and how to examine our inner self on what we truly believed in despite the challenges of our malicious environment. The point of view as regards to searching for spirituality and believers who wanted to have a strong relationship with God was the intentions of this masterpiece. It is intended in the latter part of the paper to expound in a Christian approach the impressions and attitudes in relation to the concept of Miller. Indeed, it is expected that at the end of this paper, the readers should have a strong attachment in relation to the subject matter of spirituality and the things that it entails. Donald Miller tackles the life’s spices which includes sex. The question of does love can be truly be proven by sex is at hand. It has been said that you can love with all your heart but you cannot scientifically examine it. Accordingly, it is an intense feeling which flows inside that makes your personality fortify. The feeling surely brightens our outlook even though it does not undergo several test because what proves it is our own selves per se, â€Å"love for example is a true emotion but it is not rational, what I mean is people actually feel it, I have been in love, plenty of people have been in love yet love cannot be proved scientifically† (Miller, 2003). The author makes use of the penguins as case in point in elaborating how making love can truly transform into something essential in our lives. It says the instances wherein penguins have their own way of showing their love to their partners and at the same time giving value to their siblings. The intensity of emotions in relation to their responsibilities was intact in this scenario. The male penguins take hold of the responsibility of looking after the eggs and in due time the eggs will mature. It has been demonstrated how the female penguins goes back after sometime to witness their little penguin. This was a good elaboration of a strong connection with our loved ones. We sense the right time when it is necessary for us to be there. Similarly, Miller take hold of this picture to emphasize the essentiality of faith that without even seeing it, we know that the love of God is there for us. The timing that the penguins epitomize truly connotes a strong feeling of union that is so unique in our being rational. Being a Christian entails a lot of faith to be able to have a strong grip on what we believed in. Indeed, it signify us the right usage of our intellect and free will as we chooses to have a relationship with our God. â€Å"I don’t think you can explain how Christian faith works. It is a mystery and I love this about Christian spirituality. It cannot be explained and yet it is beautiful and true. It is something you feel and it comes from the soul† ( Miller, 2003), on a brilliant concept, the secret ingredient of a happy life is no other than the healthy bond with God hand in hand with the faith that we have in our lives. In relation to the love that has been showed to us by the instances in the lives of the penguins, we can perceive how essential it is to feel the love and give it back as well. As we all knew, love is a huge topic but at the same time the most interesting subject matter of all time. It is the one wherein we could all take part into. Furthermore, it is the area where varieties of people of all ages can adapt which makes it more interesting for that matter. The reflection of Christ love for the church can emulate in the event of marriage where two souls binds together to be one. The acceptance of differences as well as giving back the love that they received towards the other are the things that makes a real and unconditional relationship. The vocation of marriage enlightens us and ultimately gives joy to our everyday lives. Giving ourselves completely to others has a very deep meaning because it entails acceptance of other person in our life and submission of our inner self. In the circumstance that Miller shares to its readers when he had a conversation with Paul, his friend who is very happy in his married life, he got the realization how incredible it is to be in love and to be loved. Given that some of his friends give him a feedback of a wrong approach of dealing with women, upon talking to Paul he realized that marriage encompass to love your self as well. In order to protect your relationship it is essential to have a factor that will compromise the both parties. In the case of Paul and his wife, they find time to have their own privacy, in that way they’d be able to respect each other which also gives mystery to the relationship that they have, â€Å" I’m saying there are stuff I can’t tell her not because I don’t want to but because there aren’t words. It’s like we are separate people and there is no getting inside each other to read each other’s thoughts, each other’s beings† ( Miller, 2003). In accordance with this, marriage is not all about the two people that has been bind together, it is also about who is the center of their relationship which truly binds them together, â€Å"I am glad I married Danielle and I will be with her forever but there are places in our lives that only God can go† ( Miller, 2003). It is imperative to have God as the center of our relationship. He brings out the best in us when He guides us. As we consistently ask for His love and guidance, the relationship that we have will ultimately be filled with joys and abundance of love, â€Å"I mean that to be in a relationship with God is to be loved purely and furiously† ( Miller, 2003). The best exemplification of what we have learned from the undying love of God to its people was our strength to do the same with our loved one and to other people that surrounds us. As we go back to the essentiality of grace, the application of such is a contributing element in making a successful family life surrounded by blessings and guidance of our almighty. Does the connection we have with God extend a deep relationship with the people that surround us? This is an uncertainty that some of us having a hard time finding the real answer because we are in one way or the other uncertain to what we really wanted to build as relationship with the people we rarely know. Parallel to this, at some in our lives we find it hard to accept a person beyond our wavelength. We set criteria of who we are apt to build rapport to the point that sometimes neglect the importance of a person basing on his or her individuality and not in his/her spirituality. How the community that you belong really changes your outlook in life and your relationship with God? At some point in our lives, we got used to living in our own way far from other people. We live and spend our time alone that we miss the part of our lives that we get along with other people in our community, â€Å"I didn’t know what to think about living in community at first. I had lived on my own for about six years and the idea of moving in with a bunch of slobs didn’t appeal to me† ( Miller, 2003). In lieu of which the exchange of ideas that we get from other people is also essential in our existence in this realm and we could only get this by means of interacting with other people. Like that of what the author showed to us, the interaction with other people was lacking in a sense that became self centered. Some of the people that surround us might misinterpret that gestures that we convey simply because we are not used to living with other people. The lessons of life can simply be available if we look at life in a different manner – and that is to intermingle with the people in our community. On top of this, it is good to apprehend that God enlightens our perspectives in life. He usually guides us in whatever decision we come up to and in this case, God makes him realize the importance to dealing with other people and appreciate their existence, â€Å"God brought me to Graceland to rid me of this deception, to scrub it out of the gray matter of my mind† ( Miller, 2003). The capabilities that the community has could contribute to the knowledge that we have and in this manner, we can help each other grow in our own little way. Family is one of the focal points of our lives. This is where we get the strength and inspiration that we need to continue with our life. We can never deny the fact that this aspect of our life has a huge impact in our personality as well as with the attitude that we project to the people that surrounds us. It is absolutely the time of our life that we think of other people more than our selves because we prioritize our family more than anything else, â€Å"If you don’t love somebody, it gets annoying when they tell you what to do or what to feel. When you love them you get pleasure from their pleasure and it makes it easy to serve† (Miller, 2003). This instance does not necessarily mean that you wouldn’t love and serve God because you don’t love Him; you don’t love Him because you did not see Him. Ultimately, this is not the case when we talk about our faith and love for God. Our strong belief in the love of God for us and for humanity was undeniably great. We adhere to His principles and we follow His teachings which make us a better person. God’s love for this human race was irrevocably unconditional that he continuously accepts us despite our shortcomings in life. Enormously, God did a magical thing in our lives as he consistently touches our souls and guides our ways. As we scrutinize the importance of the author’s portrayal of what magic truly is, we might get fascinated with the allure of the thought of magic alone. It is true that when we were younger, our attention was easily derailed with the magical world but in fact everything is just a trick. In fact, there is a loop hole in every magic that has been showed to us it’s just that we are too young to recognize it. As a kid, we just focus on the elements that will satisfy our fascination neglecting the truth that magic is just a form of entertainment. â€Å"I got frustrated because everything that was magic was only a trick, meaning it wasn’t really magic, it was an illusion† (Miller, 2003), same with our lives, the figment of our imagination lies on what our naked eyes can reach but we miss the part that the reality of life is always at hand. God provides us with wonderful environment where we could exhaust all our efforts to achieve what is really beautiful beyond the temporary magic that we acquire for a moment. â€Å"Everybody wants to be fancy and new. Nobody wants to be themselves but they want to be different† (Miller, 2003), it is extremely important to pause for a while and contemplate on what we really needed in our lives. We project a gesture that we are different but what is more important is to have a closer look of what magical feeling God is providing us. Indeed, where we lived at a moment is the result of the brilliant love of God for us. What we are in this universe is the output of God’s goodness to this humanity. There are instances in our lives that at some point we have to be rigid with our faith and by doing so, one has to be profoundly knowledgeable on what really comprises his persona and what he truly believes. Having a strong faith is undeniably one of the greatest discoveries in our lives. The very essence of our trust in God is to know the principles of His words, in lieu of which we are apt to follow His commands that are very important in the foundation of our dogmatic belief in God. It is ultimately important for the people to know God and His wonderful deeds. It is beyond doubt that behind God’s creation lays an astonishing message of building ourselves completely. God is all knowing that He provides all the things that we need in continuing the path of our lives. We obey God, we follow His will and we become a better person is what truly matters in this masterpiece. In view of the great knowledge that has been embarked on us making available the work of art of Donald Miller, it gives us the enlightenment that we seek as we go along with the pages of this book. The manner in which the author presents his perception was incontestably comprehensible. It gives his reader the time to contemplate and grasp what he really wanted to go halves. Giving examples as well in the context of his elaboration of his insights truly adds to the substance of his subject matter. It really doles out the purpose of the author to stretch the faith of his readers. The values that we got from Blue like Jazz truly define the voice of God. Beneath the pages of this work of art lies the realization that life is full of magical thought, it is just in our hands to explore these things to make it visible. Our capacity to look at things in a different way is beneficial as we continue to battle with the challenges of life, like that of the book, its mysterious titles expounds what it really wanted to convey in its readers and this is what God wanted to happen, we define our selves in a manner that is reachable and at the same time life worth turning the pages.

Crooks and Curley’s wife experience loneliness and isolation Essay

In this essay I intend to write about why Crooks and Curley’s wife experience loneliness and isolation and in what way they try to deal with these difficulties. Crooks is a nergro stable buck with a crooked spine. His eyes are described as the most noticeable feature on his face, brimming with knowledge of the injustice in life. ‘ His eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity.’ He is also slim with a lean face, en-lined with wrinkles. His lips are also described vividly as very thin and pain-tightened. He covers up his intense eyes with large gold rimmed spectacles. Curley’s wife is, of course a complete contrast, and is extremely pretty, thought sometimes try too hard. ‘She had full, rouged lips and wide-spade eyes, heavily made up.’ She has done her nails carefully which doesn’t seem very suitable for life on a ranch. Her voice is another thing that is commented on, as have a nasal, brittle quality. Crook’s personality is somewhat of a mystery. His real personality is hidden by the racism of the time. He is hurt and shocked by people’s opinions towards him and so he feels the only way to get through life is to push back the same disgust to the other mean on the ranch. ‘This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here by me†¦I ain’t wanted in the bunk-house, and you ain’t wanted in my room. Crooks doesn’t see that all his is really doing is stopping to their level thought, he just continues to treat others in the way he has been treated, and if he has a choice he just stays away from them. His personality would have developed differently if he had been born white, because his true colours are stunted by the racism against him. He teases Lennie, and takes pleasure in it, as though at last he is being able to do to someone else what has been done to him for his whole life, ‘ Crooks face lights with pleasure in his torture.’ The basic word to describe the personality of Curley’s wife is a flirt, although as we get to know more and more about her we discover that this is not completely true. In this essay I will try to explain why she behaves like this, and whether in fact she behaves like this just for attention and is concealing something. The personality of these characters is perhaps one of the keys to the book. However different these character are they are linked through their loneliness and the fact they conceal their true personality. The are both considered quite low on the ‘social scale’ but deal with this in very different ways as I will explain. As I have said, Crooks is bitter about being made to live along above the stable. He expresses this bitterness, and tires to explain to Lennie how loneliness is so disturbed that it drives you mad † I’ll tell you a get guys too lonely and he gets sick†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you.† It must be a relief for Crooks to be able to share some of his problems with someone, and he must find it especially east with Lennie who probably will not understand, and will forget what he hears quickly. He is the only one who understands Lennie, besides George, and befriends him. He looks past Lennie’s mental handicap and Lennie looks past Crooks’ physical handicap. Curley’s wife also finds it easy to talk to Curley. She is so overwhelmed by her loneliness, she seeks friendship from other men. She seeks out the friendship of Lennie for all of the others fear Curley and will have nothing to do with her. â€Å"Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while?† It is when she talks to Lennie that we discover a great deal about her past. She tells Lennie that she still dreams of what might have been, seeing herself as a potential film-star. However, in my opinion she has no acting talent, men (one from a travelling show, one who claimed to be in the movies) make her offers as a chat-up line. Her naivetà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ shows in her belief that her mother has stolen a letter (from her â€Å"contact† in Hollywood) which was obviously never written; her immaturity appears in her instant reaction of marrying the loathsome Curley. It was a hasty marriage to Curley is just a failed attempt to escape from her own s piral of loneliness. When she chose to marry Curley it was all because of the wrong reasons and only to get away from her mother, one person who genuinely cared for her, † Well I wasn’t going to stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere.† Now she find herself very line and she has no-one to talk to, † I don’ like Curley.’ Desperate for companionship she does not find at home, she tries to find solace with the other men. They are uneasy about this, as they think her to be seriously promiscuous, and are fearful of Curley’s reaction. Her inappropriate dress on the ranch and her manner brand her as a â€Å"tart†. She can not escape from this image and so she uses it so that she is noticed and can talk to people. Although in my opinion instead of being the mature and flirtatious female that the men see, she is in fact like a little girl yearning for her home. She even talks to people who she considers to be ‘out of her league,’ but in a way this makes her a more tragic character, because unlike the others, even Lennie, she seems not to understand her limitations – or she refuses to admit them. She treats those below her in an unnecessarily disdainful way. There is one point in the book when Curley’s wife goes into Crook’s room. Crook, as I have said, pretends that he wishes no one to come into his room seeing as he isn’t allowed in the bunk house. However, when Lennie and then Candy come in we can tell that he was actually very pleased, â€Å"It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger.† Candy and Crooks reacts to Curley’s wife primarily disgusted. On their faces they scowl at her and appear to wish that she wasn’t there. However as Curley’s wife points out it is doubtful whether they really feel this, for they would not doubt have acted very different if they were alone, â€Å"If I catch one man alone, I get along fine with him. But just le two guys get together and you just wont talk†¦you’re all scared of each other. Curley’s wife is very rude to Crooks and says, † I’m standing here talking to a nigger.† I think her reaction is like this because she feels very powerful to be talking to someone as sad and lonely as herself, but who is looked down upon by others. She likes to use this rare power and so when Crooks finally cracks and stands up to her she does everything with her capable possibility to make him feel small and unnecessary. â€Å"Listen, Nigger,’ she said. ‘ You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?’ This immediately makes Crooks turn into a no one. Every trace of a personality disappears, and he just answers in a monotonous voice. After she leave Candy says,’ That bitch didn’t ought to of said that to you.’ And Crooks replies by saying ,’ It wasn’t nothing, you guys coming in an’ setting made me forget.’ Crooks obviously was so happy by having the company of some men that he forgets his place (in those times) and stood up to her. He then realised what he had done and remembered how he should have behaved. For that one small part of the story we saw the real Crooks, the one who is not concerned with racism, because for that very small amount of time he believe himself to be normal. Curley’s wife though doesn’t have a very suprising reaction to Candy (the old-swamper) and Crooks. I believe that she is angry because she just realised how messy her life is. She tries to stay calm and talk to them as thought they are beneath her, but all the time she realises that she is just as sad and lonely as them. She sees that they are the only people she can have a proper conversation with are, as she describes them ‘ a nigger, an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep.† At one point in the conversation she says, † Whatt ya think I am, a kid?† and then she continues to talk about how she was nearly in the pictures. Of course, she is just a kid, who doesn’t understand herself. He also wants to be part of George and Lennie’s dream. He said that he would work for free. He gives up on the farm dream when he realizes it isn’t going to work out. Talk about this. Also say that crooks was nasty to lennie then nice. I would describe Curley’s wife as a sympathetic figure. There is a very strong description towards the end of the book, just as she has been killed by Lennie, † And the meanness and the planning and the discontented and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young. Curley’s wife has had a very unfortunate life. She made some wrong decisions and has been punished for them, by dying unhappy at such as young age. To all the other people on the ranch she is only important because she is the wife of Curley, and that explains why she is given no other name. They are scared of getting involved with her because of what Curley might do to them. No-one is ever actually interesting in her. I feel sorry for her that someone who has the potential to be so sweet and calm has lives such as sad life and has died before anyone knows her true colours. Crook, like Curley’s wife has had a sad life for the later part of his life at least. Nothing will ever get better for him, because of his colour. The war Steinbeck talks about him is very controversial nowadays and would not be accepted. At the time that this book was written this language would have been more in use and so perhaps it would have been more acceptable, meaning that Steinbeck was not ware of its full impact. The fact that he portrays crooks as a unhappy and meaningful character must indicate that the author believes racism to be unfair, or else he would have been portrayed as evil, someone deserving what he got. Many upon reading this book may believe that the key issue is George and Lennie, but in fact this novel raises many questions about discrimination and loneliness.

Argumentive essay on Why the government should own public

Argumentive on Why the government should own public transportation - Essay Example Since decisions upon providing service are generally market driven, there is no public transit in these places, or they may be somewhat served by private companies with limited and expensive service. The rationale: not enough people will use it to make it profitable. Any suggested funding for public transport is always at the bottom of everyone’s budget list. The rationale there: we should not spend public money if the service is not used by a majority of the people. If this seems prejudicial, it is, since getting around is a necessity not a privilege. Unfortunately, too many people in the U.S., while admiring the wonderful benefits of the European mass transit systems when they travel, do not see themselves using such a system at home. And most assuredly they do not see themselves funding such a system with their tax money, as do European governments believing the service a crucial necessity for the people they govern. One might conclude that in Europe, good reliable mass tra nsportation for everyone everywhere is considered a right rather than a privilege. It is not totally dependent upon the profit model. The discussion of whether our own government should be running a system similar to Europe’s in the United States has been ongoing, and attempts, as in the case of California, to provide a seamless way for people to get around using mass transit have been sporadic. One online site states, â€Å"In most states, intercity passenger train service is provided solely by Amtrak, with no assistance of any sort from State or local governments† (History of Amtrak California, par. 1). Using California as a case in point, The History of Amtrak California discusses how the state subsidizes its growing system with state and local money largely from the federal government. Its success over the years in promoting and funding a growing mass transportation system has proven quite successful, considering California’s notorious love affair with

Identification and analysis of DNA repair mechanisms that contribute Assignment

Identification and analysis of DNA repair mechanisms that contribute to resistance against nucleoside analogues - Assignment Example For instance of repair pathways are homologous recombination (HR), trans-lesion synthesis (TLS), non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), nucleotide excision repair (NER), base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR) (Martin et al., 2010). When there are double-strand breaks in the DNA strands and the replication forks, HR and the NHEJ pathways are at work to repair it. In the case of modified or incorrect basis, which can happen in DNA synthesis, the BER path works to remove them. When there are chemically induced damages to DNA or UV damage, the NER pathway removes the damage. MMR is the pathway repairing deletion, mismatch or insertion mutations that happen in the DNA and TLS pathways makes the polymerases bypass modified bases which can disrupt the replication forks. In other cases, multiple protein pathways take part in maintaining the genetic wholeness in different cell cycles, stopping the aberrant or anomalous cells from dividing. Thus, the daughter cells inherit the correc t genomic information (Martin et al. 2010). There are various mutations are happened at the same time, the repair process misses some of mutations and become part of DNA (Loeb, Loeb 2000). Currently, there are 346 genes, which are associated with the development of cancer and this number keeps increasing. In some cases these genes are mutated only in cancer cells, not in the normal cells. In other cases genes may show increased levels of deregulated. In both cases, the result can be a significant decrease in the effectiveness of the genes, which may lead to change pathways both in the cancer cell and the body itself (Huang, Wallqvist & Covell 2006). This suggests that mutations are very essential part of cancer formation. It is observed that when human cancer is first detected, there are already thousands of different mutations. Also, information that cancer can be passed from one generation to the next, means that some of those mutations are inherited in the genes (Loeb, Loeb 2000) . Cancer is characterised by a high rate of somatic cells cloning themselves. These cells do not go by the normal growth regulation mechanisms acting in a cell. This is why these cells can multiply far more rapidly than a normal cell would. In a similar way, mechanisms controlling apoptosis are also not working normally, which means that the cancerous cell does not die when it should (Evan, Vousden 2001). Most tumours that develop in the human body are substantially heterogeneous. This suggests that many mutations occur in the cancer cells leading to the creation of tumours and to the change in function of normal cells compared to cancerous cells (Loeb Loeb & Anderson 2003. That is why cancer can be seen as a disease, or many diseases, which happen because of genetic abnormalities piling up in the cells (Huang, Wallqvist & Covell 2006). In each generation of cancer cells, significant mutation occurs within different cells, and those that develop mutations that facilitate cancer grow th are selected for, resulting in an increase in the prevalence of these cells. Mutations may be subtle, such as changes in the sequence of nucleotides, or more substantial, involving changes in the chromosomes themselves (Wang et al, 2002). One important factor in the treatment of cancer is that therapeutic killing cancer cells, which make the cancer go into remission, can also make it more resistant to treatment in a similar manner to how some microorganisms can become

The Economic Factors that Help Explainining the Expansion of Low-Cost Research Paper

The Economic Factors that Help Explainining the Expansion of Low-Cost Airline Carriers - Research Paper Example Accessibility of alternative modes of transport that are rationally close substitutes for air transportation diminishes with distance travelled. Globalization and free movement of merchandise and people between and within regions have a positive effect on air travel demand. Business travel market consists of time sensitive passengers; therefore, these customers are price inelastic in terms of fares. If the airline firm offers high quality service to this market segment, such as frequent and reliable frights, flexibility, comfortable seats, and excellent, frequent flyer programme rewards, business class customers will be willing to pay high prices (Junwook, 2011). However, with the introduction of low cost airlines the price elasticity of this business class market has changed and they display price elasticity. In previous years, airline industry relied heavily on business travel market as a major source of profit, however, this trend has changed, and the industry has noted that a hig her percentage of passengers considers price over service. Business class customers are willing to give up luxuries, food quality, flexibility or choice in return to lower prices. According to Rosario & Eddy, 2010, the economy travel market is largely determined by the costs being charged by the airlines; they are price sensitive. The first class air travel market does not generate much profit to the airline industry, as a result, many airlines are moving from three to a two-class cabin. The levels of consumer income influence the passenger’s choice of the air travel class; the choice of consumers with high levels of income will differ with those of consumers with low levels of income (Bijan, & Tom, 2008). The demand for leisure travel is influenced by the number of independent holidays and short term breaks; in this market passengers book flights, accommodation and car by themselves. According to Airport International, the changes in demand of leisure travel indicate that cu stomers are expecting and preferring low fares. Low fares in this market segment are the main stimulus for growth in luxury travel, and passengers are willing to change destination for fabulous deals. According to Susan, 2009, the prices of air tickets are largely influenced by the fuel prices, the exchange rates, and the costs of financing airline projects. High costs of financing, unstable exchange rates, and high fuel prices lead to high air fares. Other natural calamities, such tsunami and earthquakes among others results to decline in tourism and business travels thereby, affecting the air travel demand in the affected areas (Roger, 2008). The following diagrams and tables show the effects of fuel prices on operating costs of the airline industry. Prices of air tickets are determined by the price of fuel; fuel price is influenced by the prevailing economic conditions such as the exchange rates. Industry Fuel Costs and Net Profits. Source: Industry Financial Forecast Table (IATA Economics). Fuel Impact on Operating Costs Year % of Operating Costs Average Price per Barrel of Crude Break-even Price per Barrel Total Fuel Cost 2003 14% $28.8 $23.4 $44 billion 2004 17% $38.3 $34.5 $65 billion 2005 22% $54.5 $51.8 $91 billion 2006 26% $65.1 $68.3 $117 billion 2007 28% $73.0 $82.2 $135 billion 2008 33% $99.0 $88.9 $189 billion 2009 26% $62.0 $55.4 $125 billion 2010 26% $79.4 $91.0

Cultural Awareness, Understanding, and Acceptance Research Paper - 3

Cultural Awareness, Understanding, and Acceptance - Research Paper Example Hinduism is the religion followed by Indian people, however, they are very well known for their tolerance and respect for other religions and hence, people from different religions like Sikhism, Muslim, Jainism, Christianity etc., are important part of Indian culture (Fenton, 1998, p.156). The open approach to other cultures has helped Indian people to assimilate easily with other cultures. When they migrate to other counties, they adopt their customs easily but at the same time, follow their own ethics and traditions in their private lives (Fenton, 1998, p.43). Indian values are shaped mostly by their religious beliefs and teachings and they value the oneness of God even if in their culture, God is manifested in different forms and deities (Shah, 2002, p.26). Values Even in today’s modern times, rituals related to God and scriptures are very much practiced and followed by Indian people (Muesse, 2011, p.144). The two great epics that are revered by Indian people are ‘Ram ayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ (Muesse, 2011, p.144). ... The rituals and beliefs of Hindu religion are given in the sacred texts of ‘Vedas’, which are composed of hymns and songs (Winternitz, 1998, p.106). People follow the rituals given in the sacred texts religiously and with complete devotion (Muesse, 2011, p.102). Food The culture, identity and history of India is linked and represented strongly in their food and habits (Henderson, 2002, 99). Indian people value vegetarian system of food and most of the Indian people, who follow their religion sincerely, follow vegetarian diet (Henderson, 2002, 102). Cow is a symbol of sacredness and hence, killing cow for food purpose is considered a sin (Henderson, 2002, 102). At the same time, the fast food which is sold on street side and is full of different spices, is also enjoyed and loved by Indian people. Moreover, Indian culture, being an assimilation of different cultures, is full of variety of different cuisines and food customs. Hence, Indian culture is rich in tradition, spir ituality, customs and variety. Mexican Culture Religion People of Mexico follow a Roman Catholic faith and follow the Catholic Church as the religious authority (Huck, 2008, p.54). Important family events like â€Å"baptism, communion, confirmation, marriage, and novenas†, are carried out in religious traditional way by Mexican people (Kittler& Sucher, 2008, p.238). Hence, people from Mexico can be called religious as they still follow traditions sincerely. Values People from Mexican culture are family centered by nature and value family bonding (Kittler& Sucher, 2008, p.248). They value the ancient sayings, called ‘Dichos’, which give an insight into their traditional, religious and cultural beliefs (Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2009, p.260). From the sayings, it is evident

If you were in charge of the MTA of New York, what three changes would Essay

If you were in charge of the MTA of New York, what three changes would you make that would better or improve the system - Essay Example I would also concentrate on the problem of maintenance, such as dirt and trash, food on the trains, broken elevators, dilapidated facilities, etc. For the amount that they are paying to ride on the MTA, straphangers deserve a clean and respectable place to commute. I also believe in the theory that if things look bad, they start to go bad, sometimes called the â€Å"broken windows† theory. Finally, if given charge of the organization, I would work hard to fight corruption. It is the overall assumption of the current report that by operating without secrecy and with a high level of accountability, in addition to installing measures of performance or results based management, the MTA under my tenure will be looked upon as possessing integrity and fairness in its operations, and will gain the trust of the public and increase the level of responsibility required of its own employees and society as a whole. Theoretically, it all seems rather simple for performance based management to promote this sort of behavior, backed up by an effective ethics program.

Anglo-American Special Relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Anglo-American Special Relationship - Essay Example Since Britain joined the then European Community in 1973, it has had an uneasy ride with its European partners. The relations have often been turbulentï‚ § Since Britain joined the then European Community in 1973, it has had an uneasy ride with its European partners. The relations have often been turbulentThe UK’s membership in the European Union (EU) that have a self-proclaimed goal of â€Å"ever closer union† was suggested by Rachman (2001) is a question that mattered more in London than in Washington. The US also have special relations among other countries such as Israel, Canada, Mexico (Wright, 2002), Japan and, also the EU.  Economically, there was a difficulty in totally integrating in to the European Union despite the low economic growth in Britain due to the high value of the pound making Britons believe that economy is doing well even while outside the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   The UK shares 15.3 percent of export to the US while it has considerable larger export to the EU members Germany, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy at around 50 percent. UK also lists Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, China, and Italy along with US (9.3 percent) as its leading import partners.While the US lists Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, along with UK (4.4 percent) as its export partners, it has only Canada, China, Mexico, Japan and Germany as its leading import partners.The British have had their national sovereignty slowly eroded by EU laws and regulations.   While mainland Europe such as Germany rates 43.6 to 56.6 percent and France's rate is 41.6 percent, the UK taxes only about 20 percent considered the lowest in the European Community (Expatica, 2005) making Britons Euro-sceptic as former president of Germany's Central Bank announced "A European currency will lead to member nations transferring their sovereignty over financial and wage policy, as well as in monetary affairs. It is an illusion to think that states can hold on to autonomy over

Subhas Chandra Bose Essay Example for Free

Subhas Chandra Bose Essay Subhas Chandra Bose ( listen (help ·info); 23 January 1897 – unknown) also known as Netaji (Bengali/Oriya/Hindi): â€Å"Respected Leader†), was one of the most prominent Indian nationalist leaders who attempted to gain Indias independence from British rule by force during the waning years of World War II with the help of the Axis powers. Bose, who had been ousted from the Indian National Congress in 1939 following differences with the more conservative high command,[2] and subsequently placed under house arrest by the British, escaped from India in early 1941. 3] He turned to the Axis powers for help in gaining Indias independence by force. [4] With Japanese support, he organised the Indian National Army (INA), composed largely of Indian soldiers of the British Indian army who had been captured in the Battle of Singapore by the Japanese. As the war turned against them, the Japanese came to support a number of countries to form provisional governments in the captured regions, including those in Burma, the Philippines and Vietnam, and in addition, the Provisional Government of Azad Hind, presided by Bose. 4] Boses effort, however, was short lived; in 1945 the British army first halted and then reversed the Japanese U Go offensive, beginning the successful part of the Burma Campaign. The INA was driven down the Malay Peninsula, and surrendered with the recapture of Singapore. It was reported that Bose died soon thereafter from third degree burns received after attempting to escape in an overloaded Japanese plane which crashed in Taiwan,[5] which is disputed. 6] The trials of the INA soldiers at Red Fort, Delhi, in late 1945 caused huge public response in India. [7][8] Clement Attlee, the British Prime Minister during whose rule India became independent, mentioned that INA activities of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (which weakened the Indian Army – the very foundation of the British Empire in India) and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in 1946[9][10][11][12] were major reasons that made the British realise that they were no longer in a position to rule India.

The Eight Principles Of Total Quality Management Information Technology Essay

The Eight Principles Of Total Quality Management Information Technology Essay Total Quality Management is a process that ensures continuous improvement for an organisations future. It is a management system with customer satisfaction as a continual goal. It is TQMs goal to integrate a sense of quality into the culture of how an organisation is run. It hopes to merge different internal branches of an organisation (finance, Communications, RD etc.) and link them all with quality being their main goal, with a view to continual customer focus. This system of management contains 8 principles which are vital in implementing this strategy into an organisations culture. These principles combined with effective leadership should result in a company doing The Right Things Right, First Time. TQM stems from the principle that It is easier to control systems than it is people. Companies depend on their customers to keep them in business. It is essential that a company can keep their customers happy by ensuring that the products received are fit for their intended use. It is also very valuable if a company can foresee future customer needs to ensure they keep the customer base in the future. Here the company can ensure that all its new objectives are customer satisfaction based and can later apply measuring techniques to see if their approach is effective (customer surveys etc.) Leadership Total quality should be adopted into the culture of the organization so proper leadership should create an environment where this is possible. The objectives should be clearly laid out with an emphasis on customer satisfaction. A leader should ensure that all employees are fully aware of their importance to the organisation and should eliminate fear and promote trust. Involvement of People Every person within the organisation must be utilized for their specific skills so everyone is contributing to the organizations goals. This helps create a sense of unity and purpose and leads to a better working environment. This leads to people being accountable for their work and serves as a baseline for quality. It involves people sharing ideas and practices and leads to better trouble shooting. Process Approach The objectives should be clearly outlined and all personnel should be aware of hoe the process will be managed and undertaking. This removes the waste of resources and ensures all efforts are placed on defined essential tasks. This helps increase the rate of work and processes are finished faster. If the process has been properly defined and it has to be repeated, the exact same system can be used as it has been documented and this will further increase efficacy of the work in the future. Systems Approach to Management If you can define interrelated systems, they can be correlated and run under one management guise. Running these various operations under one system leads to more effective work and allows the system to be monitored more easily and have data compiled on the systems efficacy. Through this monitoring continual improvement can be scored and documented. By aligning different departments within an organisation, more focus can be placed on key goals and confidence in the work will be widespread. This can lead to greater results faster. Continual Improvement This is to be a permanent goal for every process undertaken within the organisation. By training staff to use the various continual improvement tools available, a company can leap on an improvement opportunity before others. This could possible open up a new customer market that was previously unavailable. Factual Approach to Decision Making Decisions should be made based on analysis of sound data and intensively researched information. This removes poor decision making from an organisation and sets a baseline for decision making in the future. This can also help the ability to demonstrate how effective past decisions were by checking factual data. The factual data can help access the outcome of the decision and help removes decision making based on intuition alone. Mutually Beneficial Supplier relationship A relationship based on mutual benefits is very healthy and ensures that both parties have each other interests in focus. This will help create value for both companies if some parameters are set correctly. Open communication must be maintained and key objectives and future plans must be known to both parties. If both parties can pool their resources and both have a strong view towards customer satisfaction then waste of resources can be minimised and activities can be improved on both sides. Implementing TQM: TQM is a complex management system that will require a lot of input from all people involved in the company. However, the most important initiating step is to get full commitment from the companys senior management. Without this a proper plan cannot be devised and TQM will not work. A quality team or quality council must be set up among senior managers. Here ideas can be exchanged and improvements to specific parts of the company devised. Here it will also be decided who is to implement certain changes and a system of quality reporting must also be set up. There should be a quality improvement team and also a quality planning team set up. These teams should contain people who represent all areas of the organisation and have a high standard of knowledge of their individual departments. It is essential that the individual department are not run separately, but rather as one large system to ensure full communication remains and key objectives can be achieved faster. Once senior management have become involved the next step is to make middle management aware of the transition. This will involve meeting between middle management and the personnel who report to them. Here all staff will be educated about the forthcoming move to TQM and a series of plans will be set in motion. Here the staff should constantly retrain and each department should develop new experts to keep a focus on continual improvement. A mission statement of the organisations quality policy is a great way to start. From here a series of plans and a systematic approach can be developed to convert the companys operations to one of total quality. This change is very serious and without full commitment and proper planning can fail easily. The first thing a company must do is assess their current state. Here a management audit is a valuable tool and can easily identify the companys health. If the company is in poor health (quality standards low, reactive decisions, and poor managerial skill) then TQM will be near impossible to implement. However, if a company can agree that its current level of management, organisational culture and work ethos are suitable to TQM, then the process can develop from here. Benefits of TQM: Once an organisation has been converted to a system of total quality management, the organisation may be able for ISO 9000 accreditation. This is an internationally recognized standard of quality that has a major impact on how your organisation itself and the process that are undertaken are viewed by the public/possible customers. Having this accreditation will also greatly benefit the organisation from a financial point of view. Getting insurance for large companies can a massive financial burden and being ISO 9000 approved means you are more likely to be insured. This will help protect the organisation from possible liable action. The main benefits internally are a new streamlined system for operations. Increased workmanship due to work ownership/accountability and this leads to constant quality. Increased readiness for the future market and a removal from a reactive decision making process and overall improved stability within the market and increased staying power. Disadvantages of TQM: A main concern of implementing total quality management is the initial set up cost. Here employees will have to attend training that will take away from their usual duties and cause a dip in productivity. Due to all the changes implementing TQM will cause, there is a school of thought that thinks employees will doubt the security of their positions. This may lead them to becoming resistant to change and as a result, slow down the implementation stages and the efficacy of TQM. The results which are desired from TQMs implementation may also take years to see, this can lead the employees feeling that their input was of little use and the project was a waste of time. TQM can also tie a business to a certain set of plans that may span years. This can lead the company down an inflexible route when it comes to future prospect and developments. Instead of the company continually focusing on the goals TQM was supposed to tackle, the main focus in put on finishing the implementation stage. As a result, the company ends up with a major organisation change but the highlighted problems still exist and more time will have to be delegated to solving these at a later time. This again all leads to a drop in current productivity and the business retains its previous efficacy with no notable improvements being recognisable.

Holyrood Project Case Study

Holyrood Project Case Study ABSTRACT: The need to adequately implement a project successfully with the required Project Management indices has ensured that project managers are continuously seeking ways of ensuring that projects meet and satisfies customers cravings. A project is said to be successful if it is implemented with an efficient and effective cost, quality and time management approach thereby meeting customers expectation; it is a failure when it fails to met these set objectives. The Holyrood -Scotland Parliamentary Building project management approach is critically analysed in a post mortem approach in this paper with a view to discussing how each of the stages in the project lifecycle culminated in the failure of the project to meeting certain criteria of an effective project. INTRODUCTION The Holyrood: A project of the Scottish government which was undertaken to provide a magnificent structure for the use of the Scottish Parliament. The advent of the Devolution proposal in 1979 gave rise initially to the project, however, the project became main-stream in 1998. The project became a key issue for the stakeholders due to key project management controls. A successful project is judged to be efficient, cost effective, quality, on time, and meet customers satisfaction. An appraisal of the Holyrood project indicated that some of these indices were not achieved especially in terms of cost and duration, hence the need to evaluate and analyse the entire project life cycle from initiation to closure to ascertain what went wrong and what could have been done. This paper aims to diagnose the indices of a successful project with respect to the Holyrood project, and critically evaluates how the project deviated from the expected project management indices. It identifies the problems of project management associated with each stage of the Holyrood project life cycle using project management theories of the like of P. Gardiner 2005 and J. Westland 2006 to define each stage of project life cycle Initiation Definition; Planning Development; Execution Control and Closure and analyse it to the Holyrood project. The first section reviews the background of the Holyrood Parliament building project. Section two identifies the problems associated with each stage of the project Initiation and definition; Planning and development; Execution and control and Closure. Section three analyses the problems that are most significant to cost increase and schedule slippage using the Auditor General report as well as other authors. Section four will evaluate the problems identified in section 3 and relate it to PM writers (Cimil J.K 1997), (Pinto 1998), (OGC, 2005) to identify why project fails; section five is a summary of findings and conclusion. Chapter 1 1.0 Background of the Holyrood Parliament Building Project The devolution proposals of 1979 may have given room for the incoming labour administration in 1997, to implement the proposal which included the building of the Scottish parliament. The Scottish parliament was and is still an important symbol for Scotland. It is expected that the parliament building should possess the best of quality, durability as well as represent civil importance. The Holyrood project from the initiation process faced enormous challenges starting from the quest for early completion and the high expectation in terms of quality. The major hindrance started with first, the cultural difficulties in the joint venture which did not allow them to work effectively. Secondly, the construction management approach of the project adopted, and the selection criteria for design procurement. Harnessing the ideas of different project team was a major concern for the project, as virtually all teams had different ideas indicating no clear direction, leadership, and project stage c ontrol. This ensued that there were lot of scope creep during the implementation of the project. A major creep was the cost creep: the initial capital cost was estimated at  £40million in 1997, which rose to  £90 million and from then rose to  £195 million. By April 2001 the cost had crept again to  £359 in June 2003 and the  £414.4million by 2004 resulting to a 20month delay. Lord Fraser report and the Auditors Generals report have scrutinized what must have gone wrong with the project. Chapter 2 2.0 Problems with the stages of the Project For a proper evaluation of what went wrong with the Holyrood Project, it is important to understand what really makes up a project life cycle. According to Paul D.Gardner (2005) the project life cycle indicates the phases a project has to go through from beginning to completion in an orderly from ensuring that the successful completion of one stage leads to the beginning of another, till the end of the project. It is imminent to state here that a well structured project phase of a project help in proper controlling and monitoring of the project, and ensure that timely corrective actions are implemented when deviation from plans are observed. 2.1 Initiation and Definition stage This stage kick starts the lifecycle of the project and establishes the ‘sum of the products and services to be provided by the project (PMI 2000). The business justification for the project is firmly established at this stage. The sponsors strategic plan is investigated by conducting a feasibility study which includes the project assessment in terms of its cost and benefits. For the Holyrood project whose objective was to provide a home fit for the Scottish parliament indicated a right step as a business case was made to justify such a proposal. However, the project encountered political problems which included the selection of an appropriate site to house the parliament, the PM drawing a time table to fulfill the political objective of early completion. It is of note mention that given the proposed cost estimate of the project one would have concluded that a poor feasibility study was conducted which drew a budget that can never have been a realistic estimate for anything other than a basic building for the new parliament. It also showed that adequate risk assessment was not carried out as the time frame approach for the completion of the building indicated. Overall impression for the initiation stage indicated that the project scope was not well defined, which would have indicated where the priority should be laid on , either on cost, quality, or early completion of the building . The project did not put into consideration the evolve of the clients need which does not fit into Cimil success criteria. 2.2 Planning and Development stage In this phase of the project three elements are important and they are; the creation of all the required plans to support the project (the scope management plan, the work plan, timeline, risk management plan and quality management plan), the mobilization and organization of all resources required for the project and infrastructure to support the resource as well as ensuring effective communication across the network of project stakeholders. The project lacked a sense of appreciation of plan, which made the project budget under estimated. A key setback for the planning stage was the disparity in choosing the proper design procurement approach. The selection criteria for the chosen procurement approach designer competition showed that the entire process lacked clarity; as a systematic approach was not adopted towards the handling of PQQs. This attributed to the lack of coordination from personnel undertaking visits in verifying the applicants/Competitors informations thereby leading to unfairness in choosing the appropriate candidate. This singular act ensured that all applicants including the joint venture partners presented drawings that extended outside the required size in the brief- a major signal of a possible project scope creep. Secondly in a project of this magnitude the choice of a project sponsor a very vital role to the success of a project should not be guided by political undertone as it appears in the choice of Mrs Doig who lacks expertise in matters of projects and construction. This to a large extent gave room for a lot of poor decisions which is evident in the choice of adopting construction management as the building option. Another problem at this stage in the project was that the project initiator, Mr. Dewar was too attached to the project. This often made him opt for unpopular choices like the choice of opting for a designer competition as against a design competition as specified by the RIAS team. Moreover, the competition process was conducted in an unprofessional manner that lacked finesse and proper coordination. For a project of this nature with very high risk content the lack of a contingency risk plan is inexcusable. The critical path of the project was not mentioned. The project lacked proper communication and coordination at this stage, sight of the terms of the brief was lost 2.3 Execution and Control stage (Westland Jason 2006) described this phase as the longest phase of a project. This is the stage were the deliverables are physically built and presented to the customer for acceptance. (Paul D. Gardiner 2005) described it as the phase where new information from other phases can lead to change, and a good project manger should know that some changes are inevitable, therefore there is need to maintain control over these changes to the project plan. Change Management for this project was out of control as most changes done in execution stage of the Holyrood project was not agreed by the parties involved. This exhibited the lack of good leadership, control and good management associated with the project. The reporting system did not encourage effective communication as well as flow of information between the teams which lead to the resignation of the 1st PM (Mr Armstrong) and subsequent managers. This lack of control saw the cost of the project skyrocketing with a lot of changes done in the design plan. 2.4 Closure stage Closure is the last phase of the project life cycle; it represents the end of a project. Money is no more paid out, all documentation and administration of the project is closed and opportunity for evaluation and performance review. The finished product is transferred to the care, custody and control of the owner (Paul D Gardnier 2005). In the Holyrood project, there were delays in the project handover as conflict between the contracted parties remains unresolved till the end of the project. The project closure and handing over lack some merits as potential risk elements were ignored in the final documentation. Some examples are 45,000 defects were discovered after handover and issues regarding the infrastructure. Chapter 3 3.0 Problems with the most significant cost increase and schedule slippage 3.1 Significant Cost Increases The project from inception has suffered successive increases in its cost forecast, but the most significant is in the construction stage (Execution and Control phase). Increase in construction cost was (caused by) as a result of design development and delay in construction process as the project progressed. The construction cost increases fall into three main areas Design development  £68m Prolongation, disruption and delay  £73m Inflation and Risk certainty  £19m Most of this cost was incurred from the year 2000, though this increase was as a result of poor planning, control and management attributed at the planning and development stage. 3.2 Significant Schedule Slippage The rush for early delivery of such huge project resulted to lot of schedule slippage. The complexities in the design variation as well as the late communication/supply of information during the construction phase were the most significant cause of the 20 months delay of the project. This delay started in 2000 and this still fall under the Execution and control phase. Apart from the complexity and late supply of information, other factors also attributed to the schedule spillage are 19-24 weeks delay in the Foyer roof, Glazing and assembling of the windows 15 Months each for the debating chamber and Canon Gate There was no contingency plan for spillage in the initial timetable. Chapter 4 4.0 Evaluation of the Project Management Problems Corresponding to those Identified in the Literature This section brings us back to the question why do project fail? And the writer is going to relate some of this failure to the problem associated with the Holyrood project. Writers like (OGC, 2005), (Cicmil 1997), (Carlos 2005) theory of why project fail will be used to evaluate the Literature. OGC, 2005 gave eight reasons why project fails and some of the reasons are lack of clear senior management and ministerial ownership and leadership. In the literature it was seen that was no clear direction, control as well as leadership among the different civil servants groups that handled the project. The project manager had no single point of authoritative command and could not use his authority and influence to control the project. In the literature decisions were made without communicating them to the stakeholders, this shows lack of effective engagement with stakeholders. Also there was lack of skills and proven approach to project management and risk management. The project sponsor knew very little about construction and this showed when no further inquiry was done on the construction management choice which has much risk on the client was not appreciated by the sponsor because of her incompetence. Risk was never incorporated in any of her decisions. (Cicmil 1997) also researched on principal sources of project failure where he talked about poor understanding and identification of client need. The joint venture never understood the clients need that was why from the beginning they never adhered to the clients brief, which would have minimised the risk that exists in undertaking a project with tight time frame. (Cicmil 1997) talked about organizational behaviour factors. The organisation of Holyrood project d id not provide the necessary clear direction and leadership and this led to lack of control, communication and poor management that existed in the project. The project was conceptualized as one without any provision for change. Such deficiency highlights the lack of (Cicmil 1997) bounded rationality approach to project management. The literature is rife with instances where proper procedures were not adhered to. Examples include the architects (Snr Miralles) reluctance to fit his designs into the project brief even when he was informed to. (Carlos 2005) talked about why project fails and most of it boils down to what existed in the Holyrood project which was lack of teamwork, cultural differences, communication, politics, control and poor management. This inevitably led to cost increase, and delays seen in the project. 4.1. RECOMMENDATIONS (Gardiner 2005) Valuation should have been applied to all the stages of the Project life cycle by PM The important key positions should not have been handled by Civil Servants Plan for contingency risk should have been made. The implementation of multi perspective framework on projects. In my opinion if this had been used issues like the choice of construction management would not have been made the content context and organisational character would have been analysed and a more suitable method like PFI/PPP would have been selected 5.0 Conclusion The Holyrood Project in the long run became a huge success, however most critics believed that the time and cost slippage would have been avoided if proper project management indices were followed. The author has been able to diagnose this key indices and is of the opinion that the success of every project is dependent on the effectiveness of the project manager , a major problem of the Holyrood Project .It is also worth mentioning that my recent visit to the Parliament Building afforded me the opportunity to have my personal take on the building and it is indeed a magnificent piece and so despite the many problems encountered it met the clients expectations of quality, â€Å"Past Glory of Scotland flowing within the present into the future† PRIMARY SOURCE Lord Fraser, Holyrood Inquiry, Blackwell Bookshop, (2004) Reid G., The Scottish parliament: Holyrood project closure (2007) Books Andersen E.S, Grude K.V, Haug T, Goal directed project management: effective techniques and strategies Kogan Page 3rd edition (2004) Gardiner P.D, Project Management: A strategic planning approach Palgrave Macmillian (2005) Kerzner H. Project Management, a systems approach to planning scheduling and controlling (John Wiley and sons Inc) (2006) page 66 Leech D.J, Turner B.,Project Management for profit, Ellis Horwood publishing (1990) Lockyer K.and Gordon J, Project management and project Network Techniques (6th Edition Pitman Publishing), (1996) Page 3 Lock D, Project Management Gower publishing limited, Pg 6, 12-14 Maylor H, Project Management (Pitman Publishing ) (1996) Page 25 Nickson D Siddons S, Project management disasters: And how to survive them, Kogan Page Limited, (2006) Page 25-74 Westland J., Project Management lifecycle: A complete step by step methodology For initiating, planning, executing and closing the project successfully, Kogan Page (2006) Articles Cicmil S.K , Critical Factors of effective project management the TQM magazine Volume 9 Number 6 1997,390-396 INTERNET SOURCES Architecture week, http://www.architectureweek.com/2005/1019/news_1-3.html ( Last visited on 20th July 2009)   BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4343690.stm ( Last visited on 25th July 2009) Project Management, http://www.pmhut.com/project-phases (Last visited on 20th July 2009) The Scottish Parliament, ,http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/corporate/spcb/publications/docs/Holyrood_closeout_report.pdf http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/audit/or-04/au04-1402.htm (Last visited on 20th July 2009)

A comparison of the heroic figures within Of Mice & Men (John Steinbeck, :: English Literature

A comparison of the heroic figures within Of Mice & Men (John Steinbeck, published 1938) and The Sexton's Hero (Elizabeth Gaskell, 1950s) A comparison of the heroic figures within Of Mice & men and The Sexton's Hero Although both Of Mice & Men (John Steinbeck, published 1938) and The Sexton's Hero (Elizabeth Gaskell, 1950s) contain story lines, & references that emphasise heroism, they are both set in very different locations & time periods, so their only apparent link is heroism. Of Mice & Men is set in California within the 1930's during the time of the depression. During this time many people lived in poverty, struggling to find employment, and had to resort to travelling from ranch to ranch in search of it. Unemployment had risen to 25% in the United States. At this time the 'American dream' that so many had sought after out had become nothing more than a lost dream. The Sexton's Hero is set around 1850. The story has a Christian influence. Of Mice and Men begins in the Californian countryside and then moves into the setting of the Ranch and finally at the end of the story the characters are taken back into the countryside. The Sexton's Hero also features a mix of countryside and village settings. The story begins in the Churchyard and moves into a village in Lancashire, North England. Of Mice and Men is written in the third person and is told chronologically whereas The Sexton's Hero is written in a more recollective, third person form (person at the church yard and then the Sexton remembering). In both Of Mice and Men and The Sexton's hero, there is a singular 'hero' that the story focuses on. Although both characters are both seen as heroes they are very different people, with very little in common. The stereotypical hero that many of us are used to today through watching television and films would be a character like Superman or Spiderman, a person who is typically strong, fearless, brave, and has some sort of special power. They also end up catching the villain and saving the girl. We can see from the example of Gilbert and George that this stereotype of a hero does not always apply to all heroes and that Gilbert and George are not stereotypical heroes, although both do share certain aspects of the stereotypical hero. The theme of heroism is introduced very differently in each story. In Of Mice and Men it is introduced implicitly to the reader. Readers look at the characters and their relationships with others and decide for themselves what a hero is. In The Sexton's Hero the theme of

Master Engravers of Fifteenth Century Germany Essay -- Master of the P

When thinking of early artistic prints, perhaps one of the few things that come to mind would be playing cards. In modernity, playing cards are not really considered â€Å"artistic† items. However, during the earliest days of print, playing cards were the original media made by the printing process. Even before the printing press, Europe had a love of cards and, whether they were actually intended to be used for play or for show, the people wanted to get their hands on them. Because of the wide spread popularity of cards, it is no surprise that this early print media featured elements that are visually present in other printed media, even to this day. Through the influence of printmakers’ works on each other, these men honed their craft and helped develop printing as a proper art form. The Master of the Playing Cards and the Master E.S. of 1466 were both major engravers in Germany during the fifteenth century. Distinct subject matter, technique, and prevalence in their field has marked them as â€Å"Masters† of their art – a label which has outlived any other identifying information about them. This paper discusses the introduction of printing into Europe and the development of the technique under the influence of these two Masters. The Master of the Playing Cards introduced new subject matter and techniques in his cards, which through his pupil, the Master E.S. of 1466, who replicated and altered these learned skills, went on to spread into other areas of printed medium and marked a path of influence for all who would come after them. Markedly one of the most important developments in the history of visual media was that of the printing press. Brought about by German goldsmith, Johannes Gutenberg, in the mid-fifteenth ... .... "Manuscript Sources for the Playing-Card Master's Number Cards." The Art Bulletin 64, no. 4 (1982): 587-600. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3050270 (accessed April 13, 2014). Wright, Harold J.L.. "Some Masters of Engraving: Lecture II: German and Netherlands Engravers (Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century)." Journal of the Royal Society of the Arts 85, no. 4529 (1939): 1079-1095. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41359422 . (accessed May 9, 2014). Wynne, Marjorie G., and A. Hyatt Mayor. "The Art of the Playing Card." The Yale University Library Gazette 47, no. 3 (1973): 137-184. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40859489 (accessed April 14, 2014). van Buren, Anne H. , and Sheila Edmunds. "Playing Cards and Manuscripts: Some Widely Disseminated Fifteenth-Century Model Sheets." The Art Bulletin 56, no. 1 (1974): 12-30. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3049193 (accessed April 13, 2014).

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 9

It's difficult for me to describe the moments that followed. I remember footfalls and shrieking and the servants praying outside their quarters. I remember staying on my knees, yelling out of horror and pity and fear. I remember Mr. Cartwright pulling me back as Mrs. Cartwright sank to her knees and keened loudly, like a wounded animal. I remember seeing the police carriage. I remember Father and Damon wringing their hands and whispering about me, allies in trying to develop the best course for my care. I tried to talk, to tell them I was fine–I was, after all, alive. But I couldn't form the words. At one point, Dr. Janes hooked his arms under my armpits and dragged me to my feet. Slowly, men I didn't know surrounded me and dragged me to the porch of the servants' quarters. There, words were mumbled, and Cordelia was called for. â€Å"I'm †¦ I'm fine,† I said finally, embarrassed that so much attention was being paid to me when Rosalyn was the one who'd been killed. â€Å"Shhh, now, Stefan,† Cordelia said, her leathery face creased with worry. She pressed her hands to my chest and muttered a prayer under her breath, then pulled a tiny vial from the voluminous folds of her skirt. She uncapped it and pressed it to my lips. â€Å"Drink,† she urged as a liquid that tasted like licorice ran down my throat. â€Å"Katherine!† I whimpered. Then I clapped my hand over my own mouth, but not before a startled expression crossed Cordelia's face. Quickly, she dosed me with more of the licorice-scented liquid. I dropped back to the hard steps of the porch, too tired to think anymore. â€Å"His brother is here somewhere,† Cordelia said, sounding as if she were speaking underwater. â€Å"Fetch him.† I heard the sound of footfalls and opened my eyes an instant later to see Damon standing above me. His face was white with shock. â€Å"Will he be okay?† Damon asked, turning to Cordelia. â€Å"I think †¦,† Dr. Janes began. â€Å"He needs rest. Quiet. A dark room,† Cordelia said authoritatively. Damon nodded. â€Å"I'm †¦ Rosalyn †¦ I should have †¦,† I began, even though I didn't know how to finish the sentence. Should have what? Should have gone looking for her far earlier, instead of spending my time kissing Katherine? Should have insisted on escorting her to the party? â€Å"Shhh,† Damon whispered, hoisting me up. I managed to stand, shakily, beside him. From out of nowhere, Father appeared and held my other arm, and I haltingly managed to step off the porch and back to the house. Revelers stood on the grass, holding each other, and Sheriff Forbes called out for the militia to search in the woods. I felt Damon guiding me through the back door of the house and up the stairs before allowing me to collapse on my bed. I fell into the cotton sheets, and then I remember nothing but darkness. The next morning, I awoke to beams of sunlight scattered on the cherrywood floorboards of my bedroom. â€Å"Good morning, brother.† Damon was sitting in the corner in the rocking chair, the one that used to belong to Great-grandfather. Our mother had rocked us in it when we were infants, singing songs to us as we went to sleep. Damon's eyes were red and bloodshot, and I wondered if he'd been sitting like that, watching me, all night. â€Å"Rosalyn's dead?† I voiced it as a question, even though the answer was obvious. â€Å"Yes.† Damon stood up, turning to the crystal pitcher on the walnut dresser. He poured water into a tumbler and held it toward me. I struggled to sit upright. â€Å"No, stay,† Damon commanded with the authority of an army officer. I'd never heard him speak like that before. I fell back against the goose-down pillows and allowed Damon to bring the glass to my lips as if I were an infant. The cool, clear liquid slipped down my throat, and once again, I thought back to last night. â€Å"Did she suffer?† I asked, a painful series of images marching through my brain. While I'd been reciting Shakespeare, Rosalyn must have been planning her grand entrance. She must have been so excited to show off her dress, to have the younger girls gape at her ring, to have the older women take her off to a corner to discuss the particulars of her wedding night. I imagined her dashing across the lawn, then hearing footsteps behind her, only to turn and see flashing white teeth glistening in the moonlight. I shuddered. Damon crossed over to the bed and put his hand on my shoulder. Suddenly the rush of terrifying images stopped. â€Å"Death usually happens in less than a second. That was the case in the war, and I'm sure it was the same for your Rosalyn.† He settled back in his chair and rubbed his temple. â€Å"They think it was a coyote. The war is bringing people east for battle, and they think the animals are following the blood trail.† â€Å"Coyotes,† I said, my voice tripping on the second syllable. I hadn't heard the word before. It was just one more example of new phrases like killed and a widower that were about to be added to my vocabulary. â€Å"Of course, there are those people, including Father, who think it was the work of demons.† Damon rolled his dark eyes. â€Å"Just what our town Damon rolled his dark eyes. â€Å"Just what our town needs. An epidemic of mass hysteria. And what kills me about that little rumor is that when people are convinced their town is under siege by some demonic force, they're not focusing on the fact that war is ripping apart our country. It's this head-in- the-sand mentality that I simply cannot understand. â€Å" I nodded, not really listening, not able to view Rosalyn's death as part of some sort of argument against the war. As Damon continued to ramble, I lay back and closed my eyes. I visualized Rosalyn's face at the moment I found her. There, in the darkness, she'd looked different. Her eyes had been large and luminescent. As though she'd seen something terrible. As though she'd suffered horribly.

Advertising Statement Essay

Rosser Reeves was the one who invented the term â€Å"USP†. The Unique selling proposition is sometimes referred to as â€Å"product difference.† In rare cases, some products or services have a unique and impressive proposition/benefit. A unique selling proposition is the ultimate proposition because its one that no other competitor can claim. It has to be something that you could also sell from. The concept of a unique selling proposition, or USP, is based on a benefit statement that is both unique to the product and important to the user. The heart of a USP is a proposition, which is a promise that states a specific and unique benefit you will get from using the product. If the product has a special formula, design, or feature, particularly if protected by a patent or copyright, then you are assured that it is truly unique. This is why a USP is frequently marked by the use of an â€Å"only† statement, either outright or implied. There are various methods that c an be used to find a USP as it is demonstrated in advertising strategies and ideas. Strategy in Advertising In advertising, â€Å"strategy† refers to the overall marketing or selling approach. It is the thinking behind the concept/idea. (The thinking behind the thinking, if you like.) Decisions about selling premises are central to the overall advertising strategy. The strategy (or strategic thought) can come from a proposition/benefit of the product, how it used, the market background, the choice of target audience, or any combination thereof. Every strategy should have an element of distinction ( small or large ) from the competition’s strategies, as should the proceeding concept and campaign. All strategies should be written in the form of a strategy statement, also known as â€Å"creative brief†. However, there are several questions we should seek to answer to cover the area of strategic analysis. Competitor, best prospects, and what buying appeals have the greatest leverage. At the corporate level what takes place in the advertising department would be seen as tac tical whilst in the advertising department this would be seen as strategic. * Corporate strategies are concerned with the major functions of the company, and cover finance, human resource management, production, administration, and marketing. * Marketing strategies are concerned with ANSOFF’s matrix and the marketing mix. * Promotional strategies are concerned with the promotional mix options (advertising, sales promotions, PR, publicity, selling, sponsorship, exhibitions). Effective Advertising Advertising that is effective creates the message that best expresses the product-prospect relationship. In addition, the message has to be intrusive enough to battle through the clutter in the contemporary media marketplace. To reach the effectiveness in advertising, a creative strategy should be involved in the process. It has to sell the product effectively by promoting them through smart and well designed advertisement. Creative Brief When forming a strategy from which to create ideas, it needs to be written down in a black and white. This helps to focus and steer the formation of ideas from the onset. When people suggest that an idea is â€Å"off strategy,† they mean that it doesn’t relate back to the defined strategy, and will therefore be much harder to sell the idea to the client. By having a strategy statement at hand, you can keep referring back to it whilst generating ideas from that strategy. It is very hard, even if you are an experienced creative, to produce a great campaign idea (or even a single one shot) without a solid, tight strategy. In short, the better you are briefed, the easier your job will be. A poorly defined, vogue, â€Å"wooly† brief is no use to a creative person, nor is highly specific one that restricts the number of ideas. Below are the basic examples of the headings in a creative brief, * Client * Product/service * Product and market background (supposition) * Competition * Business/Advertising Objective (problem to solve) * Media * Target market/Group/Audience * Proposition/Promise/Benefit * Proposition Support Points * Tone of Voice * â€Å"Mandatories† (Inclusions/Exclusions) Media in Advertising The choice of media depends upon the type of product or service being advertised, the target market, and the client’s budget. Each campaign can be in one form of media, or multiple forms. Traditional advertising media includes print, TV, and radio. Non-traditional includes ambient and guerrilla concepts. In addition, there is direct media, and interactive media. In the UK, each type of media is defined by its relation to a hypothetical â€Å"line† that divides the two. Traditional media is â€Å"above the line,† whereas direct marketing and interactive advertising is â€Å"below the line.† Companies that produce work in all the forms are referred to as â€Å"through the line† agencies, or â€Å"full service.† Other divisions within advertising include sales promotion, and business-to-business. Whereas business-to-consumer advertising, once the skill is developed, the same creative process can easily be applied to these other forms of media an d advertising. Positioning All products and companies, as seen by the customer, occupy some kind of ‘position’ in the market whether they intend it or not. This might be, for example, high price-high value, low price-low value, high price-low value, good company-not-so-good company and so on, when compared with comparable competing products and competing organizations. Most modern organizations now attempt to actively influence this position in the market by matching product and corporate benefits with the needs of clearly identified segments. The managers have performed professionally, be integrated to match the identified needs of the target market. Positioning is how the marketer wants the consumer to view its product relative to the competition. Although product differentiation plays a role in creating a product position, product differences account for only part of a product’s position. A positioning strategy also includes the manner in which a product’s factors are combined, ho w they communicated, and who communicates them. The size (and value) of the advertising corporate and brand positioning is crucial to the well-being of any company and so should be left to the agency professional. Copywriting Copywriting is an essential part of the design communication mix, and those of us who do it for a living will tell you that crafting massages and telling stories is a rewarding mental process, even in the business context. You’ll find that being able to generate a response from your audience is a valuable and highly sought-after skill. Copy (or text, or words) used in design is a very particular type of creative writing that requires the inspiration of an artist and the control of a craftsman or craftswoman. In comparison to the rails on which the copywriter runs, the novelist or poet has no limitations. Poetry and storytelling are flights of the imagination, with no client or news editor to bear in mind. Whether the personality of the writer shines through directly or indirectly, this is the purest creative writing – it can take off in any direction, be as fictional as it wants to be, and go wherever it pleases. Writing copy, however, is all about sticking to brief, while paying homage to the creativity and style of the poet and storyteller. Journalists and copywriters are commercial writers, but the essence of the role is completely different. In most cases journalist have to create the story from the scratch, usually by following leads. They will have to research the facts to get to the heart of the matter, discover the different viewpoints and opinions, and bring this material together accurately and coherently. Articles are often written to a tightly defined structure, while features can allow more room for individual expression and the interweaving of the writer’s viewpoint. The message has to be factually correct, balanced, and fair, but the writer is allowed to take a stance, which could reflect that of the newspaper or, in the case of regular column, the writer’s opinion. Copywriting borrows from all other fields of writing in its quest for creative expression, but ther e is no room for your personality in the copy that you write; you are simply a scribe, a hired mouthpiece for your client, and it is the brand’s voice that must come through, loudly and clearly.

How Hr Impacts a Company Performance Essay

Human Capital is the most important resource for an organisation to succeed. The quality of the human resource and the work performance directly impact an organisation’s performance. Thus, human resource management plays an important role to ensure the efficiency in an organisation’s daily operations via efficient recruitment, training and development, and staff retention. Besides, efficient human resource management may create competitive advantage to an organisation. There are various theories explained how human resource management impacts an organisation’s performance. This essay focuses on two theories – Reinforcement Theory and Resource-Based Theory. 2. 0 Reinforcement Theory and the Implementation Reinforcement theory was proposed by BF Skinner and his associates. It focuses of shaping human behaviour by controlling the consequences of the behaviour. In reinforcement theory a combination of rewards and/or punishments is used to reinforce desired behaviour or extinguish unwanted behaviour. It has similar base as â€Å"law of effect† where it states that individual behaviour leads to different consequences. Thus if a behaviour leads to positive consequences, the individual tends to repeat the same behaviour in the future. On the other hand, if a behaviour leads to negative consequences, the individual will try to change their behaviour to avoid the unpleasant consequences. For example, employees may obey the company’s rules and regulation as they may fear of disobedience leads will lead to punishment. On the other hand, employees try to meet the target set at work as they may be rewarded. Thus, in order to change employee behavior, the consequences of the behavior must be changed. For example, an employee who is frequently late to work, may be motivated to report to work on time (change of behavior) by changing the consequences of being late. Behavior modification consists of 4 methods: 2. 0. 1Positive and Negative Reinforcement This implies to remove negative behaviour of the employees by giving positive consequences to the employees. For example, a company could establish a reward system to the sales team, when certain target has been achieved, sales person would receive additional incentives. Both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement encourage certain behaviour to be happened or repeated. The more spontaneous the reward is given, the greater the reinforcement value it has. 2. 0. 2 Punishment This implies to decrease the probability of undesirable actions by enforcing some punishments or negative consequences to the employees. For example, salary deduction for employees those do not report to work punctually. 2. 0. 3 Extinction The objective of extinction is to reduce the unwanted behaviour. If an employee gets praised for the promptness of his job completion for certain period of time, but receives no praise subsequently, his desirable behaviours may diminish. Thus, managers have to continue to offer positive consequences to avoid unwanted extinction of behaviour. 2. 1 Reinforcement Theory impacts on organisation’s performance The core objective of Reinforcement Theory in Human Resource Management is to change the employees’ behaviour. Increase the possibility of positive behaviour and reduce the chances of negative behaviour. Organisation performance will be boosted if there is drastic change in employees’ behaviour from negative to positive. Besides, it also ensures the positive behaviour to be maintained as a norm in an organisation. New joiners may follow the company good norms which will past through generation by generation. Below are some of the examples how Reinforcement Theory impacts an organisation’s performance: 2. 1. 1 Attendance and punctuality improvements Positive reinforcement and punishment towards employees’ punctuality may improve the punctuality to work. For example some companies provide extra allowance to employees who adheres the punctuality to work and salary deductions for those who is late to work. This may motivates employees to arrive on time. This cultivates a culture where time management is important in the organisation. Hence, the discipline of the organisation gets improved which also leads to work efficiency. Sales result improvements Positive Reinforcement for instance Incentive given to the sales department may motivate the sales persons work towards to achieve the sales target. Sales persons may change their working style by making more cold-calling, increase the efficiency in time management by visiting more customers. As a result, it may increase the company’s revenue. Productivity improvements Performance appraisal system can be used in the implementation of reinforcement theory. For example, KPIs set for employees according to the organisation’s visions and goals. This serves as the key performance measurement for the employees. Employees work towards the KPIs in order to receive good appraisal, and expected to receive a better rewards and compensation. Organisation’s performance relies on the achievement of the KPIs. If the most of the KPIs can be met from bottom to top, the organisation’s has higher chance to achieve its visions and goals. Summary of Reinforcement Theory Reinforcement theory focuses on what will the consequences happens to the individual after some actions has been taken. This theory argues that the internal state and the reasons of the actions of the individuals can be ignored as human tends to exhibit their behaviours base on the result of the behaviour. Reinforcement theory does not focus on the causes of individual’s behaviour. As a result, it may shows lack of empathic and less human in a sense if we ignore the cause of the behaviour of an individual. For example, if an employee always late in work, the manager could have understand the reason behind and decide whether salary deduction to be enforced for this employee. Nevertheless, in terms of organisational management, Reinforcement Theory serves as a very direct way to control the employees’ behaviour by understanding the needs and fears of the employees. Employees may tend to adhere to the rules and regulations as they look forward for the positive consequences (reward or praise), and avoiding negative actions as they are fearful of negative consequences (punishments). As a result, company performance will be enhanced if the employees show positive behaviour more frequent. 3. 0 Resource-Based Theory and the Implementation Resource-Based Theory argues that human resources is a subset of an organisation to enable them to achieve competitive advantage and business sustainability. Valuable and niche resources leads to an organisation’s competitive advantage. Moreover, the firm has to be able to protect against the resource turnover in order to sustain the competitive advantage for longer period of time. The source of Resource-Based Theory dates back to 1967, Selznick proposed the term organisation’s distinctive competence. Later in 1959, Penrose, puts forward the â€Å"Theory of the Dynamic Growth of the Firm† and defined an organisation’s achieve distinctive competence through the distribution and the use of resources. This concept later became the basis of resource-based theory. In 1984, Wernerfelt who lead the mainstream strategic management, proposed a resource-based idea that the â€Å"internal† organisational resources and the â€Å"external† commodity markets together form a complementary strategy. In an industry, if an organisation has the internal distinctive resource of value, rarity, inimitability and non-substitutability (Barney, 1991), it is able to increase the quality of goods and services. Which also enable the organisation to create competitive advantage and to sustain the competitive advantage. There are two main criteria in resource-based theory: resource diversity and resource immobility (Barney, 1991). 3. 0. 1 Resource diversity This refers to the human resource expertise are niche and specialise in the market, which leads to create the competitive advantage for an organisation. This is important for organisation which the business is emphasis on innovation, consultancy, creativity and etc. For example, If an organisation is trying to develop a new innovative product, it requires resources with specialise knowledge and expertise to achieve the goal. If those resources are niche in the market and other competitors cannot duplicate the product easily, it creates competitive advantage to the organisation. To ensure resource diversity, important effort requires in recruiting quality and competent employees, provide training and development to the existing employees in order to achieve resource diversity. Resource immobility This refers to how easy the resource turnover from one oganisation to another. It is important for an organisation to retain productive human resources in order to ensure the organisation operates smoothly and to sustain the competitive advantage. In order to ensure the resource immobility, it requires efficient staff retention program, clear and achievable career path, career advancement opportunity, good benefit and compensation policy. 3. 1 Resource-Based Theory impacts on organisation’s performance The implementation of resource-based theory is able to improve an organisation’s performance as below: Increase Work Efficiency Work efficiency can be achieved if the employees are proficient in their role. It creates higher chance to prone to errors and finally it increases the company’s performance in various areas. 3. 1. 2 Create Professional Image to the Organisation Employees with high competency in job creates professional image to the organisation. This is important to increase the good will and brand name of the organisation. Besides, for those businesses mainly providing professional services to the clients requires employees with highly competency in order to create the competitive advantage among the competitors.