Friday, December 27, 2019

Small Island Andrea Levy - 1126 Words

How does Levy tell the story in the Prologue? Levy uses a number of different techniques and aspects of narrative in order to tell the story in the prologue of Small Island. She opens the story in the perspective of Queenie, but when she was a child (‘Before’) – (use of time as an aspect). This is also the use of characterisation to tell the story, because the perspective lends a naivety to the telling of the story, the most prominent example being when Queenie meets the African man – she is intimidated by him and is too young to hide it. She is fascinated by him, and also attracted to him - but as a child doesn’t she realise that - however Emily and Graham do, and proceed to tease her. There are underlining themes of ignorance, power†¦show more content†¦This idea of Queenies family being above their workers is extended when her father exerts his power once more by dismissing Graham’s dream of going to live in Australia with ‘Australia – you? You daft beggar.’ He can call Graham what he wants – whether it be Jim or beggar – because he is his boss and of a higher class. And yet another example is Queenie using Emily as a bin (in a way). She offers Emily her apple core – so Emily gets Queenies ‘sloppy seconds’ so to speak, and is disposing of the apple for Queenie. Levy uses Queenies father as a voice for the issues of class and race in the prologue, but the irony in this is that later on, her father calls her a ‘daft ‘aporth’. This isn’t educated English, and contrasts with the African man’s polite etiquette and proper English – ‘It’s nice to meet you.’ So in actuality, Queenies father acts like he is of a lower class than the foreign people, but thinks of himself as better than them. Although the reader doesn’t know it, Levy has already started to create and background and add development to the story that will occur later – she is using the aspect of the starts and endings of stories in her narrative. When Queenie meets the African man, we see already that she is fascinated by him – and it is hinted that she is also attracted to him. The fascination is shown by her detailed description of him that includesShow MoreRelatedChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1344 Words   |  6 Pages He is noticing the Nigerian villages that they are, â€Å"falling apart.† The significance of the symbolism is it shows the readers that Achebe was thinking about the things that make people uncomfortable about Africa. The â€Å"bite† of the mosquito is small and insignificant at first but humans instinctively scratch which makes it so much worse. Resistance is building and the sign of the characters actions are in the representation that Okonkwo ha s, â€Å"killed it.† (Achebe, 1986) The bluntness of death provesRead MoreAnalysis Of Carol Ann Duffy s Small Island 3117 Words   |  13 Pageswith relationships which are flawed and dysfunctional. Levy presents unconventional relationships in the extract where Queenie decides that raising a mixed-race baby in the 1940s is not pragmatic and will be very difficult for her to raise a child who is mixed-race in such a racist society. Therefore, Queenie s ultimate decision is to give her baby, Michael Jr to Gilbert and Hortense for a better life. Small Island , a novel by Andrea Levy is set in 1948 and before but written in 2004 focusingRead More Caryl Phillips The Nature of Blood Essay3229 Words   |  13 PagesLedent finds Malka’s quote reminiscent of Samuel Selvon’s quote on England, â€Å"the land did not deceive me, as the people did† (qtd. in Ledent 192). Other Caribbean narratives, fictional as well as actual, convey the same sentiment. In Andrea Levy’s novel Small Island, Gilbert, a Jamaican soldier, tries to explain his self-perception as British to two Black American soldiers: â€Å"Jamaica is a colony. Britain is our Mother Country. We are British but we live in Jamaica† (131). Although Gilbert attemptsRead MoreThe Essential Questions5521 Words   |  23 PagesMachiavelli. Italian Renaissance painting exercised a dominant influence on Western painting for centuries afterwards, with artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Titian, and Leonardo da Vinci, and the same is true for architecture, with Andrea Palladio and works such as Florence Cathedral and St. Peters Basilica in Rome: see Renaissance architecture. At the same time, some present-day historians also see the era as one of economic regression and of little progress in science, which madeRead MoreStrategic Role of Logistics in Kazakhstan21063 Words   |  85 Pagesvariability of lead time will not be short-listed for contracts that requir e just-in-time delivery. Studies of the impact of time costs in cases when time can be seen as equivalent to a tariff are more numerous, but the body of research is still relatively small. Direct estimates of the tariff equivalent of time include the study by Hummels. It estimates the tariff equivalent per day in transit to 0.8%, which amounts to a tariff rate of 16% on a 20 days sea transport route. Recent studies that introduce timeRead MoreStrategic Role of Logistics in Kazakhstan21048 Words   |  85 Pagesvariability of lead time will not be short-listed for contracts that require just-in-time delivery. Studies of the impact of time costs in cases when time can be seen as equivalent to a tariff are more numerous, but the body of research is still relatively small. Direct estimates of the tariff equivalent of time include the study by Hummels. It estimates the tariff equivalent per day in transit to 0.8%, which amounts to a tariff rate of 16% on a 20 days sea transport route. Recent studies that introduce timeRead MoreAvon in China4476 Words   |  18 Pagesf more expensive, up-scale international cosmetic brands into China. In spite of the inroads of foreign brands, highquality local brands still dominate the market. There are around 2800 local cosmetics manufacturers in China, of which over 90% are small in size. Of these companies, 470 now have partial foreign direct investment. The official record of cosmetics imports is around US$23 million per year, but there is a large and unrecorded smuggling operation in southern China. Altogether, there areRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesdistributed throughout societies across the globe than at any other time in human history. She traces the ways in which humanitarian impulses—which were often linked to pacifist movements and largely confined to visionary leaders, social thinkers, and small groups of activists in the 1890s—were institutionalized on a global basis by the establishment of the League of Nations and its subsidiary agencies in the aftermath of the catastrophic war that engulfed much of the world between 1914 and 1918. Though Read MoreInnovators Dna84615 Words   |  339 Pagesthe conclusions of numerous studies on entrepreneurs, including the following: â€Å"After a great deal of research, it is now often concluded that most of the psychological differences between entrepreneurs and managers in large organizations are small or non-existent† (L. W. Busenitz and J. B. Barney, â€Å"Differences Between Entrepreneurs and Managers in Large Organizations,† Journal of Business Venturing 12, 1997). â€Å"There appears to be no discoverable pattern of personality characteristics thatRead MoreMerger and Acquisition: Current Issues115629 Words   |  463 Pagesincluding Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, International Review of Financial Analysis, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy and Venture Capital. Her research interests are broad, and include small business finance, mergers and acquisitions, the performance, regulation and history of managed funds (including hedge funds), and international risk management. Franà §ois-Serge Lhabitant is the Chief Investment Officer at Kedge Capital. He was formerly

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Analysis of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Essay

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a novel about the future of the world being a dystopian society in which the populous is kept ignorantly complacent. What makes this book unique is not that it is a book about what the future will bring, but that it is an indirect source of the cost of what such a future entails. Huxley also has a feverish use of reader assumption, often leaving readers to guess the outcome of situations through description and well placed hints. Lastly, Huxley seems to have a pension for being exact in both percentages that are used by characters for information in the story and how he writes, he likes to have control of what exactly his words inspire. Brave New World is an interesting book in and of itself for†¦show more content†¦When Huxley writes he rarely gives you the ending to anything often leaving hints at what it is but never out right telling us what happens. This happens in multiple places the first noticeable one being Bernard’s self-service scene â€Å"In their blood-coloured and foetal dark- ness the dancers continued for a while to circulate, to beat and beat out the indefatigable rhythm. â€Å"Orgy-porgy ...†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Huxley, CH5), here in this scene first the people are singing, then drinking from a cup, then dancing in rows, then they’re not dancing anymore. However Huxley isn’t actually referring to dancing in this scene he uses it as a proxy for saying they had an orgy, because writers don’t just come out and say that their characters are currently copulating (unless your Walt Whitman). There are two other very important time where this happens one after another in the last chapter of the book it is implied both that Lenina has sex with John or at least with someone â€Å"Then suddenly somebody started singing â€Å"Orgy-porgy† and, in a moment, they had all caught up the refrain and, singing, had begun to dance. Orgy-porgy, round and round and round, beating one another in six-eight time. Orgy-porgy ...†, and that John dies. â€Å"Just under the crown of the arch dangled a pair of feet. â€Å"Mr. Savage!†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The last important part of the book comes in exactness both scientifically and how Huxley himself is exact in this technique, it isShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Brave New World By Aldous Huxley1281 Words   |  6 PagesLenina: Rebel or Conformist? The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley presents us a number of fascinating characters, such as Lenina, who is arguably the most interesting and complex figure depicted by Aldous Huxley. In a society that conditions its population and imposes social norms, individuals can be separated into two distinct categories: the few who chose to speak up and act against the oppressive system, and most common, the conformists who blindly follow the rules and do not question authorityRead MoreAnalysis Of Aldous Huxley s Brave New World Essay986 Words   |  4 PagesMatlen EWRC Period: 1 December 7, 2016 Class Struggle In his text Brave New World Aldous Huxley imagines a society genetically engineered and socially conditioned to be a fully functioning society where everyone appears to be truly happy. This society is created with each person being assigned a social status from birth, much like caste system in modern society or the social or the social strata applied to everyday society. Huxley shows the issues of class struggle from the marxist perspective whenRead MoreAnalysis Of Aldous Huxley s Brave New World Essay2257 Words   |  10 PagesGiancarlo Ricci LA 9, period 4 October 21, 2016 MAIN THEME:   It is essential to prioritize individual happiness, emotion, and humanity in order for your life to have value. OVERALL TONE: Satirical Novel Cover Art Analysis The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, is set in a â€Å"utopian† society where individuals are born into a strict social destiny and given recreational sex and drugs to maintain universal happiness and social stability. The major theme exhibited is individual happiness, emotionRead MoreAnalysis Of Aldous Huxley s Brave New World949 Words   |  4 PagesHistory is an analysis of the past to gain knowledge and techniques of proceeding humanity in the right direction. However, all dystopian novels’ authors assume this notion of doomsday where some present alternative worlds to current ones, while others present worlds that would result from the collapse of a current one; a time when the last standing man makes the decision to save humanity by sacrificing the morals and values of modern society. These new societies emerge by using past societies asRead MoreAnalysis Of Aldous Huxley s Brave New World 2445 Words   |  10 PagesFoundations for a Future Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World criticizes a society in which sex is a commodity, self-determination in non-existent, and happiness derives from consumerism. Huxley writes the novel as a warning to both contemporary and future generations of the dangers of progress built upon the wrong foundations. The novel is a portrayal of Huxley’s own society in which talkies, the radio and premarital sex, were on the rise and like many others of his time he believed that moralsRead MoreEssay about Analysis of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley2282 Words   |  10 PagesAnalysis of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was published in 1932 after two major global events- World War Two from 1914-1918 and The Great Depression of 1929-1933. These two events changed the way people saw the world and made people see the events were beyond the control of individuals and even governments. Also at this time the world was seeing the rise in technology and the view that science could help solve some of the problems. Much of the technologyRead MoreAnalysis Of Aldous Huxley s Brave New World1278 Words   |  6 Pagesanother note, he said it is â€Å"a potent, even enriching.† Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, expands on this idea of exilation. Throughout the novel, several characters are faced with being exiled, whether it be from their home or community. In particular, a man by the name of John seems to experience the bulk of it. John’s experiences show that being exiled is alienating and, at the same time, enriching, while also portraying the effects of a world with complete government control over technology andRead MoreAnalysis Of Aldous Huxley s Brave New World1420 Words   |  6 Pagesexcessive effort to become perfect can be counteractive and lead to dysfunctionality. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, characters live in a dystopian society that sprouted from the human yearning for perfection. Although the citizens in Brave New World are genetically engine ered to be perfect individuals and are on soma constantly to keep them happy and efficient, they lack individuality.. Brave New World is a novel that clearly demonstrates that trying to create a perfect society can result inRead MoreAnalysis Of Aldous Huxley s A Brave New World1708 Words   |  7 Pagessocieties, specifically those of the fictional variety we apply our mashed set of ideals based on truth and happiness on each of these different societies . In Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World, by conventional societies ideas the citizens of the world state know nothing of traditional reality and by the standards of the traditional world are far from a state of contentment, but if examined by the ideals of the society in question the overall appearance is quite different. the population seems happyRead MoreAnalysis Of Aldous Huxley s Brave New World1591 Words   |  7 Pagesinsignificant in terms of an independent person, and because of this, people have to actively find way s to keep ourselves occupied. Aldous Huxley was born July 26, 1984. His father was a scientist that helped to develop the theory of evolution. Science was obviously a large part of his life and was most likely a key source of inspiration for his book. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Individualism is a rarity and society is structured to serve a higher class of people. Society is built around five classes;

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Organisational Behaviour Impact on Work Performance

Question: Write about theOrganisational Behaviourfor Impact on Work Performance. Answer: Introduction The organisational behaviour comprises of both, the group behaviour and the individual behaviour, actions and performance within an organisation. The individuals in an organisation when come and work together then they are called as organisational groups. There are both formal and informal groups in the organisations. There is a direct impact of the groups on the organisational and individual performance and on the individual behaviour. The work and the work behaviour are highly influenced by the nature of the group. The purpose of this report is to highlight the nature of group behaviour and its impact on work performance. There will also be highlighted the contemporary and traditional theory related to the organisational behaviour (Wagner III and Hollenbeck, 2014). Nature ofGroup Behaviour and its Impact on Work Performance The organisational group are the foundations of human resource which are inseparable and have a significant influence over the organisation. There are several benefits which are associated with these groups but if managed inefficiently then they turn out to be unconstructive for the organisational performance as they have a direct interconnection with the organisational productivity. From time to time, there has been realized the significance of group behaviour in an organisation. Decades back, in 1920, there were conducted the Hawthorne experiments by Elton Mayo with his associates for understanding and analysing the impact of group behaviour on the individual and organisational productivity (Bruce and Nyland, 2011). The studies carried on and still it is one of the highly researched and studied subjects in the literature. There has been performed several researches to develop a connect ion between the individual behaviour and the group behaviour. Traditionally, there were used to have set hierarchy lines of authority and the employees have to work and communicate in that aspect only without breaking any communication channel or line of authority. This results in less effective communication among the organisation employees, managers nod higher authority personnel (Indermun and Bayat, 2013). As per this traditional approach, there were no groups; therefore, no such direct influence or impact was laid down upon the individuals or the organisation. But with the change in scenarios and theories, there took place a contemporary management and group behaviours where there is establishment of increase number of formal and informal groups in the organisations. The contemporary approach is much supportive for the business organisations as through the formation of the groups there develops effective communication channels among the organisational individuals (Podsakoff, et al., 2014). There is high importance of groups in an organisation as they not only impact the work or the work performance but also have various benefits to the organisation and the individuals. If the individuals are stuck into some problems then instead of going to the managers or the higher authorities, they tend to discuss among the group. With the help of other group members, they tend to solve at initial level only (Beal, et al., 2003). There are various factors of group behaviour which poses a direct impact upon the work and the work performance. These factors comprises of the composition of the group, the size of the group and the group cohesiveness. In the composition of the group, there is increasing importance of the homogeneity factor. If the members of the groups are homogenous in the aspects of behaviour, culture, age, etc then it laid dowel a positive impact upon the work and the performance as there develops a sense of understanding whereas the heterogeneity results in negative e implications because of diverse factors which leads to conflicts (Cummings, 2004). The size of the group also matters a lot as if the group is very large then it results in difficult and complex communication, thus, the performance of the individuals impact due to inappropriate flow of information. Therefore, if the size of the group is appropriate, then it influences the work and the performance by having adequate flow of information, development of innovative ideas and making rapid decisions. One major aspect is group cohesiveness. If there is effective communication among the group members, improved engagement, presence of homogenous individuals, then there develops high levels of group cohesiveness. The stronger and higher the cohesiveness is, the greater is the unity in the groups which forces the individuals to work with utmost efficiency and therefore, there are several positive outcomes for the individuals and organisational productivity and work performance of group behaviour (Miner, et al., 2015). Conclusion From this study, it can be concluded that there is a direct influence of the group behaviour upon the work and the work performance. The formation of organisational groups is an essential requirement in the present scenario for having better mad improved results. The organisations attain higher productivity, efficiency and faster accomplishment of goals if there are strong and competent groups. Therefore, it can be stated that the organisations must have an in-depth analysis before forming organisational groups so that positive influence and results can be fetched from the groups. References Beal, D.J., Cohen, R.R., Burke, M.J. and McLendon, C.L., 2003. Cohesion and performance in groups: a meta-analytic clarification of construct relations. Bruce, K. and Nyland, C., 2011. Elton Mayo and the deification of human relations.Organization Studies,32(3), pp.383-405. Cummings, J.N., 2004. Work groups, structural diversity, and knowledge sharing in a global organization.Management science,50(3), pp.352-364. Indermun, V. and Bayat, M.S., 2013. An Analysis Of Organisational Behaviour And Its Impact On Organisational Success. Miner, J.B., 2015.Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Routledge. Podsakoff, N.P., Whiting, S.W., Podsakoff, P.M. and Blume, B.D., 2009. Individual-and organizational-level consequences of organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Wagner III, J.A. and Hollenbeck, J.R., 2014.Organizational behavior: Securing competitive advantage. Routledge.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Reflections On The Things They Carried Essays -

Reflections on "The Things They Carried" Part I: Analyzing the story's craftsmanship Tim O'Brien wrote a story that is known as "The Things They Carried." It is a carefully crafted, detailed account of a Lieutenant and his men, the time period being right in the middle of the Vietnam war. In most war stories the author spends most of his or her time describing actions and events to the reader, trying to really put the reader "right there" in the middle of everything that is happening. However, O'Brien drifts away from that trend here, hardly describing any events of import to us at all. Rather, he focuses on the thoughts of the soldiers, the inner feelings, small personal nuances and quirks that really describe the men. Being out in the wilderness, far from home or anything they recognize, these men must deal with the mental and physical stresses of war. Here is where O'Brien implements his literary art form. One thing a reader may notice when reading the story is the fact that the story is written in third person, limited omniscient. The narrator is not actually in the story, merely telling us of the events, and yet we still get to see inside Lt. Cross's mind to more accurately picture his feelings. The narrator also, although letting us see the innermost, personal thoughts of Cross, always refers to the Lieutenant as either "he,", "him," or "Lt. Cross," never speaking of him by only his first name, which seems rather formal. Also, it is odd that O'Brien should choose the third person to write in when creating a story such as this one. Usually when an author wants the reader to feel what the main character is feeling, they will write the story in the first person point of view, to give the events and thoughts a more personal touch. However, the way O'Brien phrases his sentences, it is really very simple for the reader to get that accurate feeling for the main character, even! though it is not the main character speaking. For example, on the next to last page of the story, there is a large piece that speaks about Lt. Cross's feelings. "On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha's letters. Then he burned the two photographs. There was a steady rain falling. . . He realized it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly just stupid. Lavender was dead. You couldn't burn the blame." (Hansen, 436) This section is very vivid in the portrayal of Lt. Cross. The reader can easily see the man, crouching in the bottom of a muddy hole, burning photographs while thinking of a terrible blame he felt was his: it is a sad scene to picture. Another thing O'Brien does in his story is, as I mentioned above, to concentrate more on thoughts and seemingly minor details rather than on events. In the story, O'Brien skips the burning of a village in just a simple remark that makes it almost feel like an afterthought. ("Afterward they burned Than Khe." Hansen, 427) But, he spends almost half of the story explaining what exactly the men carried with them, going into full detail of why they carried these things, how much they weighed, etc. This is for a very good reason, though. O'Brien uses this weight factor as a symbolism and parallel to the "weight" of the emotional baggage and mental conflicts the men must also carry with them as they trek through this strange foreign land. At the bottom of the eleventh page O'Brien mentions this directly: "They all carried emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing---these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity! , they had tangible weight." (Hansen, 434-435) He then goes on for another half of a page describing other emotional baggage they carried. This shows some of the real horror of war; not who wins or who dies, but also what effect it has on all parties involved, including the soldiers out there usually fighting battles that they would rather not be fighting. Also, O'Brien

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

In 1825, A Group Of American Businesspeople Announced The Essays

In 1825, a group of American businesspeople announced the formation of a canal building company, with interests in constructing a canal system across the Isthmus. This project was to take place in an area now called Panama. The endeavor was filled with controversy. Though the canal itself was not built until the early 1900's every step toward the building and ownership, was saturated with difficulty. Walter LaFeber illustrates the dilemmas in a historical analysis. In his work he states five questions that address the significance of the Panama Canal to United States. This paper will discuss the historical perspective of the book's author, address pertinent three questions and give a critique of LaFeber's work, The Panama Canal. For proper historical analysis one must understand the importance of the Canal. The Panama Canal and the Canal Zone (the immediate area surrounding the Canal) are important areas used for trade. Even before the canal was built there were to large ports on both sides of the Isthmus. Large amounts of cargo passed through the Isthmus by a railroad that connected the two ports. The most important cargo was the gold mined in California before the transcontinental railroad was completed in the United States. It has strategic significance because of its location, acting as a gateway connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This allows for rapid naval deployment between fleets in either ocean. These two facets make the Panama Canal very important in the region. LaFeber notes that Panamanian nationalism played a large role in the creation of the canal and, consequently, the cause for the area's constant instability. The first expression occurred in the late 1800's with Panamanian struggle for independence from Columbia. The United States eager to build the canal, and control its operation, used and backed Panamanian nationalist. During the Roosevelt administration, not only did the United States manipulate factors isolating Panama from other world powers through the Monroe Doctrine; but it committed troops aiding the revolutionaries against another sovereign state. The reason this is a surprise is because the Roosevelt administration normally held a position favoring stability. The United States had no legal right to use force against Columbia. Nationalism came back to haunt the United States. With the treaty signed and a 99-year lease given to the United States, the Canal was built. Since then, the United States has varied on its stance of ownership and the principles of sovereignty concerning the Canal. The ever persistent debate of who owns the Canal and who should have sovereign control over it, has not been solved. The United States has occasionally attempted to "claim" the Canal zone through various methods such as military occupation, exclusion of Panamanians for important jobs in Canal operations and even through the customary aspect of international law. However, each time the Panamanians have managed to maintain claim to the Canal despite the United State's imperialistic posturing to get it. The most recent and notorious of the United States' attempts to annex the Canal Zone was during the Reagan administration. President Reagan said that the Canal Zone could be equated as a sovereign territory equal to that of Alaska. The question here is, was he correct? LaFeber points out that, "the United States does not own the Zone or enjoy all sovereign rights in it." He uses the treaty of 1936 in Article III that states, "The Canal Zone is the territory of the Republic of Panama under the jurisdiction of the United States." The entire topic was summed up neatly by Ellsworth Bunker, a negotiator in the region, when he said, "We bought Louisiana; we bought Alaska. In Panama we bought not territory, but rights." A second important question, is the Canal a vital interest to the United States? LaFeber gives three points suggesting that it is not. First, the importance of the Canal decreased after 1974, because of the end of the Vietnam War and all related military traffic ceased. Second, is the age of the antique machinery dating back to 1914. Inevitably the machinery will need to be replaced. Lastly, the size of the new tankers and cargo ships. The capacity of the canal is too small to handle such a large amount of tonnage. These are viable factors; however, the first argument is concerning whether a war is taking place. It is circumstantial in providing a solid reason for increased traffic through the Zone. This can easily change through and emergence of a new conflict or trading habits of other countries. Thirdly, why have the Panamanians insisted on assuming total control of the Canal. The Panamanians are making millions of dollars annually and the United

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Red Light Prostitution Area of Lahore the Inside Details.

Red Light Prostitution Area of Lahore the Inside Details. AcknowledgementI would like to extend our gratitude to Miss Rabia Munir for the help and support she has provided us. Without her guidelines and supervision this project could not reach completion. Furthermore, I would like to thank my parents for their perpetual encouragement. Lastly, me fellows Osman Bucha, Uzma Bucha, Dr. Iffat Omer, Hamza Mir, Rashid Saleem, Hamid and Daniyal Gulzar Butt for lending us a hand in the Herculean task of interviewing the Naikas and sex workers at Heera Mandi; and also for providing comic relief during trying times. Had it not been for the aforementioned people this research would not have not been possible.AbstractThe narrow alley and intertwined roads behind the majestic Badshahi Mosque in the city of Lahore cradle people that are looked down upon as social outcasts, the inhabitants of Heera Mandi. Though these workers provide services to many, they are stuck in a profession that is not rewarding financially or socially.Tiles2 cocoo's den lahoreFor these people there is no way out as society is not willing to accept them into mainstream. Our research aims to draw comparisons between the past and present of this district also highlighting their lives and what is the stance of our government and society on this issue. We also wish to highlight reasons for the existence of prostitution and recommend solutions how to overcoming it may be possible.HistoryA red-light area is a neighborhood where prostitution and other businesses in the sex industry flourish. The term "red-light district" was first recorded in the United States around 1890, and derives from the practice of placing a red light in the window to indicate to customers the nature of the business. Some say the origin of the red light comes from the red lanterns carried by railway workers, which were left outside brothels...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The aim of this assignment is to critically review and compare two Essay

The aim of this assignment is to critically review and compare two academic papers that present different perspectives on cultural geographies of nature - Essay Example For instance, it comprises of the earth’s geology and weather, energy and matter and other natural concepts in the world. In most cases, nature is taken to mean, the wilderness or natural environment. In this case, it comprises of beaches, forests animals, rocks and generally, the many things that have remained unchanged though human activities. These things also do not change despite the increased dynamism in human activities from one part of the world to another. It is important to note that human interactions and various manufactured objects are not usually considered as part of nature. These activities can only be grouped as part of nature if only they are qualified, for instance, human nature. This paper makes a comparison of how cultural geographies of nature have been explored by two research articles that have been made by people concerned about cultural management of geographical aspects. The paper examines the concepts of Spatialization of nature, according to how these two journals have explored its application. Additionally, it also makes a comparison of how relationships between nature and culture have been done in the two journals, as well as how time has also been explored. Spatialization of nature comprises of the effective combinations of various scientific and visual techniques having spatial metaphors in representing data, which cannot be described as being spatial according to nature. Some of the most familiar spatial ideas like direction and distance, arrangement and scale among others make up some of the experiences that people have in their daily lives. Bhatti & Church (2004), in their research article, explain that these ideas are used in many instances to develop two and three-dimensional representations of various complex digital information (38). Castree is also of the view that so far, no subject testing has been conducted in the process of determining the effectiveness of these methods for the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Campaign Speech analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Campaign Speech analysis - Essay Example Mitt Romney’s speech seemed more attacking than it was acclaiming or defensive, with indirect barbs thrown at incumbent president Barrack Obama (Julian et al, 2012). This was especially notable when he claimed, â€Å"America’s problems can only be solved by an American† (Romney, 2012), re-igniting the â€Å"birther issue†. He also feigned support for Obama, claiming that he wishes â€Å"Obama had succeeded† with his mission and plan of making America a better place, but that he had failed. The speech, in general, relied more on opinion than the fact, as is common with acceptance speeches, which in normal circumstances are sparse on detail. Mitt Romney also took an aggressive stance toward the incumbent via depicting him as a president who made, â€Å"big promises that failed to deliver on what the American people needed the most† (Romney, 2012). Romney was referring to job creation and political healing. He also compared Obama to President Ca rter to complete his caricature of President Obama as, â€Å"Someone who refuses to make tough decisions and lacks any viable plan to strengthen the country. Mitt Romney set out to accomplish three main goals in his speech: introduce the real Romney to the nation; explain why he is better suited to leading than president Obama. In addition, outline his vision for the next four years as president (Julian et al, 2012). He made some progress on all fronts via a solid but unexceptional speech. He opened up about his religious life, as well as his family life, attempting to throw more light on himself as much more than a heartless capitalist, offering himself as a problem solver. All the hype before his speech had been about the need for a president who would take hard choices. Mitt Romney, in his speech, presented himself as the man to take up this challenge. The biggest weakness that could be attached to Mitt Romney’s speech was the fact that he offered a vague picture of his vision for America in the next four years, which

Sunday, November 17, 2019

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

History of Terrorism - Essay Example evailed over all of France in three major stages beginning with the election of Count Mirabeau and Abbe Sieyes who represented the commoners whose grievances had been violently conveyed firsthand at the â€Å"Fall of the Bastille† (Zaide, 235). The rise of the radicals constituted the second stage of the Revolution until the ultimate act of terrorism which unveiled upon the guillotine execution of Louis XVI in December 1792 along with some 20,000 nobles, politicians, and other critical aristocratic figures. By the late 19th century, technological advancements in weaponry encouraged the formation of the anarchists in small groups following the chief advocacy of the â€Å"propaganda of the deed† which made possible the assassination of French leaders (238). During the latter part of the 18th century, when the â€Å"Reign of Terror† prevailed, the French Republic decreed even for the rest of European nations to overthrow their despotic rulers and no law enforcements were available to combat or at least to regulate such proclamation and its corresponding actions. At the time, all the necessary legal duties were shifted to the control of the revolutionary government that sought total reform against monarchy so there had not been any legal defense that came to the aid of the ill-fated monarchs. It was not until the 19th century that an extensive campaign against terrorism flourished and this included the creation of RAID by the French Police Nationale with the principal objective of suppressing destructive crimes and terrorist activities (Early History of Terrorism). According to Kristin Archick’s CRS Report for Congress: â€Å"Among other steps, the EU (European Union) has established a common definition of terrorism and a list of terrorist groups, an EU arrest warrant, enhanced tools to investigate terrorist financing, and new measures to strengthen external EU border controls (Archick, 2006).† Italy, likewise, was struck by terrorism but not too long ago through the

Friday, November 15, 2019

Macro Environment Influences Of The Airline Industry Tourism Essay

Macro Environment Influences Of The Airline Industry Tourism Essay In terms of the case, it suggests that the environment of airline companies is not very stable, especially the increasing price of fuel which is the key driver of change. From Ryanair profit statement (Exhibit 1a) it shows the fuel and oil cost has increased by â‚ ¬200 million from 2005 to 2006. The increase in fuel costs is 74 percent. The impact to the airlines companies is obvious and the budget airlines may face the trouble more so than normal airlines. Moreover, airline companies also have to concentrate on some other issues. For example, according to the case, they are facing the risks from terrorist attacks which are difficult to predict. It is not difficult to find the changeability, however it is complex to the airline environment. Some factors, such as legal action and customer demand, also have influence on them. Some of these such as the price of fuel and oil can be predicted, while some of them cannot. Stage 2 Audit environmental influences The Pestel Analysis is employed to identify macro-environment influences of the airline industry. Political: Government wants to strengthen the economy and, consequently, will support local airlines by setting rules, such as preferential rights. Every government however, will probably do so. Therefore theres no obvious advantage between competitions. The political issues have a wide range of effect, so they are not the key points that budget airlines are facing. Economic: This is identified as the most crucial factor to airline companies, especially to budget airlines. The influences refer to the macro-economic factors such as the national growth rates and the exchange rates. As budget airlines, they will pay more attention to the operation costs such as fuel cost. It became a big issue for budget airlines because of the increasing cost of fuel. That may reduce the advantages and the companies will be less competitive than before. On the other hand, the recession will lead more people to choose budget airlines. Social: With the development of Asian countries in particular China, there are more and more people deciding to study or travel in Europe. In recent years, the lifestyle of local people has also changed. They tend to travel abroad to enjoy their lives. Most of these people are not wealthy such as student. The budget airlines therefore, will be their best choice to reduce the travel costs. Technological: The innovation of technology helps the airline companies reduce costs and carry out tasks more effectively. The new type of aircraft can help to reduce the burning of fuel; and new technology can also make the security check more efficient and accurate. Environmental: European countries pay more attention on environmental issues, especially greenhouse gases from carbon emissions. Moreover in terms of the case, airline companies have to pay the environmental taxes for the contributions they make to global warming. In particular, it is bad news for budget airlines. Costs will increase and the companies want to maintain good brand image in the consumers perception. Furthermore, noise pollution and energy consumption cannot be ignored under such conditions. Legal: Some legal actions such as preferential airport rights are directed against the specific airlines. As budget airlines, which have higher competitive power, they should pay more attention to the legal forces to prevent loss. On the contrary, they can also take the initiative over illegal aid to rivals. Stage 3 Determine industry specific factors (this stage will be analysed in Question 2) Stage 4 Identify competitive position (this stage will be analysed in Question 3) Stage 5 Identify key opportunities and threats There are many potential opportunities for the airline companies. For instance, the recession may lead to more people choosing the budget airline rather than the expensive ones; new technology which helps to reduce the usage of fuel; government set the tax at a lower percentage. On the other hand, the increasing cost of fuel may be the most significant issue most budget airlines face. Whats more, the compensation to passengers, terrorism and security, and customers satisfactions will all have potential negative impacts on the airline. In order to achieve lower costs, budget airlines will have to reduce costs from many departments and operations. Thats why lots of customers are not satisfied with the budget airlines except for the price. Question 2 Prepare a Porter Five Forces analysis of the budget airline industry. Express Ryanairs perspective of these forces. The threat of entry There are high barriers to enter the budget airline industry. i) High investment requirements. Economies of scale are important in the airline industry. It is difficult for new entrants to match others existing competitors. In addition to this, the operational experiences cannot be acquired in such short space of time. ii) Expected retaliation. Retaliation will take place when new entrants appear for budget airlines, it will probably be in the form of a price war due to costs of entry being very high for them. iii) Legislation or Government action. Government wont let new entrants enter the market if the industry is saturated. With regards to Ryanair in the budget airline industry, there will not be large impacts to existing budget airlines if new entrants appeared. Budget airlines always focus on the costs and price, so does Ryanair. According to the case, Ryanair was the first budget airline in Europe and now its ticket prices are much lower than the other rivals. Therefore it will be impossible for new entrants to set a low price to win the market. The threat of substitutes Before discussing the threats, some comparative data is showed below. Round Trip by Ryanair Flight: London Stansted Milan Going Out Regular Fare Adult 8.99 GBP Tue, 2 Dec 08 Flight FR 4184 8:15 Depart 11:15 Arrive Coming Back Regular Fare Adult 12.99 GBP Sun, 8 Dec 08 Flight FR 4185 6:45 Depart 7:50 Arrive (Source: Ryanair.com) One way by Rail Europe: London (ST Pancras) Milan Standard Class Adult 227 GBP Tue, 2 Dec 08 8:40 Depart 21:20 Arrive (Source: Raileurope.co.uk) Most of the travellers will prefer the short journey, in addition to the cheaper way to travel. From the tables it is obvious that taking a plane from Ryanair is much cheaper than taking the train in a similar situation. Although some airlines may be expensive, budget airlines such as Ryanair will usually be the best choice. The impact of substitutes, therefore, has less impact on the budget airlines. The power of buyers Buyers of airlines tickets can sometimes be the travel agency.  In other cases, Ryanair caters to ultimate consumers. Majority of the buyers are not concentrated buyers and they come from all over the countries. Individuals can select the budget airlines according to their preference, because the switching costs are low and the differentiation of such service is weak. It is extremely expensive for people to own an aircraft. When there is a choice of budget airlines to use, with low prices. So there is a low buyer competition threat. Like Ryanair, with less concentrated buyers and buyers competition threat, the power of buyers is low. The power of suppliers The high power of suppliers may be one of the most significant threats among the budget airline industry. The increasing price of fuel, which leads to a high cost for airlines, is a basic issue they are facing. As we know, fuel industry is now concentrated in the hands of few producers. Therefore, in this situation it is difficult to cut the price for this essential material. In addition to this, it is useless to change fuel suppliers when the global price is growing. Moreover there are no practical substitutes. Ryanair is facing this problem with other budget airlines. Furthermore Ryanair sells all the ticket directly through the website. Thus there is no intermediary. Competitive rivalry Rivalry is influenced by these four competitive forces and each of them may have different levels of impact on the competitive rivalry. In this market, every airline provides the same services which are poorly differentiated. Low differentiation and switching costs in this industry, therefore, cause the price competition. Ryanair, which has the first mover advantages, still holds the dominant position. Although many of the competitors were losing money or even have been taken over, Ryanair remains steady in incremental growth. For industry growth rate, this industry is in the maturity situation of life cycle, which means the growth is low. Price war is therefore playing a crucial role throughout the competition. Question 3 Evaluate Ryanairs particular strengths and weaknesses and explain, with reasons, what Ryanair must do to retain a sustainable competitive advantage. As the first-mover of budget airline industry, Ryanair still holds the dominant lowest-cost position. This is also the one of the strengths it has. Whats more, Ryanair was announced being the most profitable airline in the world according to the case. The revenue is still increasing, despite the price of fuel did not stop growing in recent years. The brand image of Ryanair is also one of its strengths. Customers are attracted by the lower price. Its traffic is the highest among the competitors (see Exhibit 2) and it is still increasing due to the enlargement of the company. On the other hand, there are still some weaknesses of this budget airline leader. In terms of the case, Ryanair win the market mostly depends on the costs. However, the costs of its major raw materials are increasing rapidly these years. This will be a serious issue. Further, minimize costs largely will cause the lack of service and training quality and so on. The Skytrax star rating (See Exhibit 2) indicates Ryanair is below the average level. Besides, competitors contribute big influence to Ryanair. For example, Easyjet which is a young upstart of the European budget airline industry grows quickly with a large number of market shares. It is obvious Ryanair makes success base on its price advantage, and how to sustain this advantage become very crucial issue in recent situation. Keep first mover advantages. Long history with experiences, well-known brand image and economy of scale, these are the unique resources of first mover advantages. It is difficult for competitors to get these resources at a similar level. Therefore, in order to prevent the competitors from copying the same strategy as cost reduction, Ryanair must make good use of these unique resources and try to dominate the market. Technology. Purchase and introduce the latest technological support. Although the fixed costs will be high, they can help the airline carry out tasks more efficiently and effectively such a new security check machine. Moreover it can also help to reduce the variable costs. For example, according to the case, new type aircraft produced 50 percent less emissions, 45 percent less fuel burn and 45 percent lower noise emissions per seat. They help Ryanair reduce the fuel cost with a lower pollution to environment. Unique cost structure. A cost structure which aims to minimize the costs must be set up. In particular to fuel cost, the fluctuations are subject to unpredictable and volatile world events according to the case. It is important for Ryanair hedge the risks before the price goes up suddenly. On the other hand, choosing the secondary and regional airport destinations is a good way of the structure. Moreover, the internet is used to reduce distribution costs. Service quality / Customers satisfaction. Customers will normally associate low price with low service benefits. Ryanair was voted the worlds least favourite airline due to its bad service such as unfriendly staff and poor legroom. However it still won a great number of customer base on the price. Thus if some competitors cut down the ticket price to a low level, Ryanair will get into a big trouble due to the similar prices but lower service quality. Therefore it must not only focus on the price but also the service. In order to gain competitive power, for example, brand loyalty can be one of the aspects. Government / legal actions. Ryanair should take care of the government and legal actions and moreover, can take the initiative over illegal aid to rivals. These may prevent the unnecessary loss. In summary, Ryanair, as the cost leader in budget airline industry should not only focus on the costs but also lots of other issues. Although it is developing rapidly and successfully, the future is unknown. The uncertain environment is changing all the time, thus Ryanair should always follow it and make the long-term plans in order to retain a sustainable competitive advantage. Grasp the opportunities, and it will has a bright future. Word:2123

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Book Club Novel Study vs. Conventional Core Novel Study

Book Club Novel Study vs. Conventional Core Novel Study Although the Book Club approach and the conventional novel study approach are group discussion oriented, the Book Club method is a more efficient way of extracting thorough analysis from multiple perspectives. In the Book Club approach, students are forced to read because we are constantly being evaluated. During discussions, the teacher is always walking around evaluating groups.My group especially was always prepared because of the fear of not getting a good mark due to being unprepared. The fact that we are constantly being evaluated develops pressure on the students, which forces them to prepare for the discussion the night before. Preparing the night before allows for a more in depth analysis. If everyone is prepared with notes and questions the discussion will be much more interesting because everyone brings something to the table.Which in essence allows a much more effective and efficient discussion. However, with the con ventional approach you have majority of the classroom not participating and not being involved in the discussions. In last year’s English class, there were a set number of students who were always participated and then the majority of the class not effectively participating. Because the traditional method is a more broad discussion and there aren’t specific roles for students to carry out students are not pressured to be prepared.I can use myself as an example, last year there would be times I wouldn't read the sections assigned and because of this I found myself not participating and engaging in class discussions. The Book Club approach consists of continuous evaluation and a certain set of tasks like discussion leading that force students to consistently engage in discussions. The evaluation creates pressure, causing students to be prepared and contribute during scheduled conferences. On the other hand, the traditional method of novel study is not as effective.The st udents are not pressured because they feel as if they are not being evaluated on a regular basis. So students take advantage of this and feel their input is not necessary and rest of the class will carry their weight. To conclude, both approaches involve students participating and engaging in a group discussion but the Book Club approach has a higher efficiency in terms of each students input during discussions in comparison to the conventional core study.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Differences and Similarities between American and Japanese Friendship

My concept of Japan was what I have seen in Japanese movies such as the Geisha and was very much the same as almost everyone living in America. My whole idea of the now Japanese culture changed when I went there for a couple of weeks for a business trip. Stepping into Japan is as if stepping into a busier New York but no one speaks English as much. Having spent some time in Japan I was able to have a look at their culture and their relationships. On my way, back I analyzed the similarities and differences of American and Japanese friendship. Americans are very friendly people; they care about their friends and family.They have a life of their own, and do not like uninvited guests. In fact Americans rarely step into some1 else’s house without an invitation. They treat their guests with great respect, offer them a drink and try to make them as much at home as possible. Japanese too are very friendly people and care a lot about their relatives, families and neighbors. They may be living on their own but do not have a private life. If a guest knocks on their door unannounced, they will be honored to have them in the house and would go an extra mile to make them comfortable. Japanese follow the true meaning of ‘A good friend is my nearest relation’.The American culture does not promote friendship, being friends with someone means knowing that person, trusting him and being there for him. The Americans lead a very busy life and they live their lives with a chip on their shoulder, since they do not know whether someone is being friends with them for personal gain or genuine likeness. Japanese Culture on the other hand believes that if you are unable to figure out a persons character look at his friends, therefore they make sure that from childhood children understand the importance of being friends with someone.Japanese may chose their friends very wisely but not because they fear being taken for a ride but because their friends reflect their own c haracter and because they believe that once a friend always a friend. It is a misconception that Japanese are busy people and will be found busy in their work. Japanese are sincere people and that applies to their work, their family and their friends. After a hard days work they try to make out time for their loved ones by meeting at a club or going to one’s home.One thing that is similar in American and Japanese friendship is that when invited to a friends house they never go empty handed, they take either a gift item or food, whatever that their friend likes best. As times are, changing so is the Japanese culture but no matter how much they change one thing that will not change is their attitude towards their friends and acquaintances, since this is part of their upbringing. The American culture however is now trying to promote friendship by creating web spaces for people to interact and not spend their time alone.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Akagi Aircraft Carrier in World War II and the Battle of Midway

Akagi Aircraft Carrier in World War II and the Battle of Midway Ordered in 1920, Akagi (Red Castle) initially was designed as an Amagi-class battlecruiser mounting ten 16-inch guns. Laid down at Kure Naval Arsenal on December 6, 1920, work progressed on the hull over the next two years. This came to an abrupt halt in 1922 when Japan signed the Washington Naval Treaty which limited warship construction and placed constraints on tonnage. Under the terms of the treaty, signatories were permitted to convert two battleship or battlecruiser hulls into aircraft carriers so long as the new ships did not exceed 34,000 tons. Assessing the ships then under construction, the Imperial Japanese Navy selected the incomplete hulls of Amagi and Akagi for conversion. Work resumed on Akagi on November 19, 1923. After a further two years of work, the carrier entered the water on April 22, 1925. In converting Akagi, designers finished the carrier with three superimposed flight decks. An unusual arrangement, it was intended to allow the ship to launch as many aircraft as possible in a short period of time. In actual operation, the middle flight deck proved too short for most aircraft. Capable of 32.5 knots, Akagi was powered by four sets of Gihon geared steam turbines. As carriers were still envisioned as support units within the fleet, Akagi was armed with ten 20 cm guns for fending off enemy cruisers and destroyers. Commissioned on March 25, 1927, the carrier conducted shakedown cruises and training before joining the Combined Fleet in August. Early Career Joining the First Carrier Division in April 1928, Akagi served as Rear Admiral Sankichi Takahashis flagship. Conducting training for most of the year, command of the carrier passed to Captain Isoroku Yamamoto in December. Withdrawn from frontline service in 1931, Akagi underwent several minor refits before returning to active duty two years later. Sailing with the Second Carrier Division, it took part in fleet maneuvers and helped pioneer Japanese naval aviation doctrine. This ultimately called for carriers to operate in front of the battle fleet with the goal of using massed air attacks to disable the enemy before ship-to-ship fighting commenced. After two years of operations, Akagi was again withdrawn and placed in reserve status prior to a major overhaul. Reconstruction Modernization As naval aircraft increased in size and weight, Akagis flight decks proved too short for their operation. Taken to Sasebo Naval Arsenal in 1935, work began on a massive modernization of the carrier. This saw the elimination of the lower two flight decks and their conversion into fully-enclosed hangar decks. The topmost flight deck was extended the length of the ship giving Akagi a more traditional carrier look. In addition to engineering upgrades, the carrier also received a new island superstructure. Counter to the standard design, this was placed on the port side of the flight deck in an effort to move it away from the ships exhaust outlets. Designers also enhanced Akagis anti-aircraft batteries which were placed amidships and low on the hull. This led to them having a limited arc of fire and being relatively ineffective against dive bombers. Return to Service Work on Akagi came to an end in August 1938 and the ship soon rejoined the First Carrier Division. Moving into southern Chinese waters, the carrier supported Japanese ground operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After striking targets around Guilin and Liuzhou, Akagi steamed back to Japan. The carrier returned to the Chinese coast the following spring and later underwent a brief overhaul in late 1940. In April 1941, the Combined Fleet concentrated its carriers into the First Air Fleet (Kido Butai). Serving in the First Carrier Division of this new formation with the carrier Kaga, Akagi spent the later part of the year preparing for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Departing northern Japan on November 26, the carrier served as flagship for Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumos Striking Force. Akagi During World War II Sailing in company with five other carriers, Akagi began launching two waves of aircraft early on the morning of December 7, 1941. Descending on Pearl Harbor, the carriers torpedo planes targeted the battleships USS Oklahoma, USS West Virginia, and USS California. The dive bombers of the second wave attacked USS Maryland and USS Pennsylvania. Withdrawing after the attack, Akagi, Kaga, and the carriers of the Fifth Carrier Division (Shokaku and Zuikaku) moved south and supported the Japanese invasion of New Britain and the Bismarck Islands. After this operation, Akagi and Kaga fruitlessly searched for American forces in the Marshall Islands before launching raids on Darwin, Australia on February 19. In March, Akagi helped cover the invasion of Java and the carriers aircraft proved successful in hunting Allied shipping. Ordered to Staring Bay, Celebes for a brief period of rest, the carrier sortied on March 26 with the rest of the First Air Fleet for a raid into the Indian Ocean. Attacking Colombo, Ceylon on April 5, Akagis aircraft assisted in sinking the heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire. Four days later, it mounted a raid against Trincomalee, Ceylon and aided in the destruction of the carrier HMS Hermes. That afternoon, Akagi came under attack from British Bristol Blenheim bombers but did not sustain any damage. With the completion of the raid, Nagumo withdrew his carriers east and steamed for Japan. Battle of Midway On April 19, while passing Formosa (Taiwan), Akagi and the carriers Soryu and Hiryu were detached and ordered east to locate USS Hornet and USS Enterprise which had just launched the Doolittle Raid. Failing to locate the Americans, they broke off the pursuit and returned to Japan on April 22. A month and three days later, Akagi sailed in company with Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu to support the invasion of Midway. Arriving at a point approximately 290 miles from the island on June 4, the Japanese carriers opened the Battle of Midway by launching a 108-plane strike. As the morning progressed, the Japanese carriers evaded several attacked by Midway-based American bombers. Recovering the Midway strike force just before 9:00 AM, Akagi began spotting aircraft for an attack on the recently discovered American carrier forces. As this work progressed, American TBD Devastator torpedo bombers commenced an assault on the Japanese carriers. This was repulsed with heavy losses by the fleets combat air patrol. Though the American torpedo planes had been defeated, their attack pulled the Japanese fighters out of position. This allowed arriving American SBD Dauntless dive bombers to strike with minimal aerial resistance. At 10:26 AM, three SBDs from USS Enterprise dove on Akagi and scored a hit and two near misses. The 1,000 lb. bomb that struck penetrated to the hangar deck and exploded among several fully fueled and armed B5N Kate torpedo planes causing massive fires to erupt. Sinking Ship With his ship badly stricken, Captain Taijiro Aoki ordered the carriers magazines to be flooded. Though the forward magazine flooded on command, the aft did not due to damage sustained in the attack. Plagued by pump problems, damage control parties were not able to bring the fires under control. Akagis plight worsened at 10:40 AM when its rudder jammed during evasive maneuvers. With fires breaking through the flight deck, Nagumo transferred his flag to the cruiser Nagara. At 1:50 PM, Akagi came to a stop as it engines failed. Ordering the crew to evacuate, Aoki stayed aboard with the damage control teams in an effort to save the ship. These efforts continued through the night but to no avail. In the early morning hours of June 5, Aoki was forcibly evacuated and Japanese destroyers fired torpedoes to sink the burning hulk. At 5:20 AM, Akagi slipped bow first beneath the waves. The carrier was one four lost by the Japanese during the battle. Overview Nation:  JapanType:  Aircraft CarrierShipyard:  Kure Naval ArsenalLaid Down:  December 6, 1920Launched:  April 22, 1925Commissioned:  March 25, 1927Fate:  Sunk June 4, 1942 Specifications Displacement:  37,100 tonsLength:  855 ft., 3 in.Beam:  102 ft., 9 in.Draft:  28 ft., 7 in.Propulsion:  4 Kampon geared steam turbines, 19 Kampon water-tube boilers, 4 Ãâ€" shaftsSpeed:  31.5 knotsRange:  12,000 nautical miles at 16 knotsComplement:  1,630 men Armament 6 Ãâ€" 1 20 cm guns6 Ãâ€" 2 120 mm (4.7 in) AA guns14 Ãâ€" 2 25 mm (1 in) AA gun Selected Sources World War II Database: AkagiMidway 1942: Akagi

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Hypochondriasis

Hypochondriasis is a mental illness wherein an individual is preoccupied with the fear of having or the idea of having a serious disease. It involves the misunderstanding of bodily symptoms. The sensations of most hypochondriacs are intense and disturbing, leading to incorrectly connecting the symptoms to a serious disease. It said that hypochondria is caused by a patients excessive worrying with having or developing a disease. Often these patients seek medical attention, but a doctor's reassurance does not help the situation. Hypochondriacs will still think they are sick no matter what the do. Generally, patients who suffer from hypochondriasis also suffer from anxiety. There are many effective treatments for hypochondriacs such as drugs, support groups and therapy. This paper will discuss the diagnosis, cause and effect of the hypochondriasis. Hypochondria is an unsupported belief or anxiety over having a serious disease that is based on personal interpretations of bodily symptoms. The patient usually misinterprets bodily sensations. Anxiety and persistent reports of symptoms involving any body part is a good indicator the patient might suffer from a somatization disease or hypochondriasis. A patient's symptoms might change from each visit, but the person's belief that a serious condition exists does not. The patient's symptom complaints may shift from being very specific to very vague. Sometimes they might think that they have a form of cancer and other times that might just have a stomachache. Hypochondriacs have an extensive medical history. They often seek medical assistance, but a Doctor's reassurance has no merit for the patient. A patient, who is preoccupied with bodily sensations for less than six months, are classified as having a somatic disorder. If the complaints persist, the patient is then lab! There are many causes for a patient to be a hypochondriac. When a hypochondria learns

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Business accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business accounting - Assignment Example Whole Foods Market, Inc.’s current ratio will not allow them to take more debt as compared to previous years. Although, Whole Foods Market, Inc. has made short-term investments but still there is no significant impact on the current ratio. The overall condition of current ratio reveals the fact that the current ratio which is not pretty stable and healthy as compared to the industry practice. Quick Ratio: Whole Foods Market, Inc. quick ratio is lower than the industry average. The reason behind this is the improper working capital management which makes the quick ratio more tentative in the last three years. The overall signal of Whole Foods Market, Inc. liquidity is not good and it sends a negative signal towards the debt holders and also on the debt market. Moreover, the liquidity crunch problem makes the performance of Whole Foods Market, Inc. slightly vulnerable. Debt to Equity: Dependency on debt financing is not a bad habit but it has consequences if you rely on more. Whole Foods Market, Inc. debt to equity ratio is lower in comparison with the previous year. The factors of business volume, Inc.rement in sales, fulfilment to pay the suppliers and acquisitions of fixed asset. Due to the expansion in business, Whole Foods Market, Inc. has plenty of financial obligations, most of which has been acquired through debt. In 2008, Whole Foods Market, Inc. reliance more on debt financing as compare to the previous years. Interest Coverage Ratio (TIE): This ratio suggests the fact that TIE ratio is higher in comparison with the industry because of company entertain its business with high proportion of debt financing. Although the company’s management runs business successfully and this is shown in the EBIT which suggest that the Company is keep improving in the EBIT year by year. In comparison with the ability of paying interest expense is fine in comparison with he industry

Friday, November 1, 2019

Article review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Review - Article Example The acts proposed to control ware pollution such as the water Act (1974), The Environmental Protection Act EPA (1986) are acts geared to protect water bodies from affluent from the industries. The acts have limitations in that they do not arrange for policies to measure pollutants from households and agricultural production3 (pg. 289). The methods used to collect data included observation methods. Researchers were strategically placed and monitored the movements of individual around various sources of ground water. The researchers also employed the use of questionnaires and interviewing method. Water pollution encourages the infection of waterborne diseases. 90% of the Indian of underground users reports of having contacted waterborne diseases on a weekly basis. The municipal of India needs to strategies policies that will minimise the disposal of industrial and other wastes in the water systems4 (pg. 295). The articles will enable the researcher to carry out the research process successfully; as the researcher will have back ground information on the strategies set to reduce pollution in underground water sources5 (pg.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Low Cost Strategies of QuickFlight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Low Cost Strategies of QuickFlight - Essay Example QuickFlight has no formal HR department and any room for staff development and training; this is something that the organization should look into, considering the increase in size will need an integration of forces. The expertise from Gone can help the organization streamline a strategic HR policy, including the personnel from QuickFlight as well to ensure proper representation of all stakeholders. To solve this problem, the organization should practice effective communication strategies in the company. In times of change management, effective communication plays a vital role in the success of the changing processes. Proper information dissemination to all stakeholders, equal intake for solutions from them would help the policy makers to gain knowledge from the valuable expertise of the Human Capital. In order to capitalize on the diverse features of both the organizations, the human resource should be encouraged to work in teams and work their way out of problems. Job rotation is an other management development that helps to train employees and provide them with exposure to the entire organization. All these activities will introduce a high sense of commitment in the employees towards the newly formed organization and will help fill the gap between the two cultures (Raymond, 2000). Â  With the addition of call center labor in the organization, the company should embark on formal training procedures to train the employees to boost their sales through call center bookings. Training and development in this area are bound to help the employees boost the sales; also, recognition for the hard work that they put in is important. Clearly, compensation that is being awarded can work as an incentive, along with recognition. Therefore, to reduce turnover and boost sales, the company should introduce a basic pay for all, adding performance-based rewards, depending on the sales that the personnel makes.

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Easycar Company Report Essay Example for Free

The Easycar Company Report Essay The Easycar company like any other business venture with an aim of maximizing profit, is been faced with the normal business environment. Achievement of the profit goal of such business involves diagnosing problems and making forward movement in improving its performance. The company has taken off smartly with attraction of many customers and still at a competitive market in Europe: Although it monopolizes in the use of a single type of vehicle at the start in each of its location, it’s a smart move to its management though such service monopoly may far outweigh the different customer requirements. It has a high quality mode of booking which to the management serves as a first hand system though it may have different inconsistencies of been expensive despite its mission to offer a cheap transport service. Therefore, it should diversify such a method to include other methods like counter booking. Easycar is however, been faced with it bureaucratic mode of administration in its financial authorities about customers getting the service. It has many unstable car service charge requirements which are often changing depending on the nature type time and other illogical requirements. Although such attentions are taken to ensure the best business fit in this competitive environment; this compromises the effectiveness of quality service delivery. Rather than providing a cheap service, costs of such services are becoming too expensive. It’s important that the company streamlines the cost of services delivery to become cheap to the customers. Perhaps the other companies are doing better, because of their diversification in agency and intermediaries. To Easycar, however, doing the business directly on its own is seen as its best solution for growth and expansion. Like the other companies in this industry, Easy car should also aim at diversifying its customer’s targets and increasing the range of its vehicles. Perhaps it would even achieve its motive not by its one car service monopoly and strict destinations but by diversification in such areas. Though it has the intention of providing high quality car services and improve the growth of the company, but such maximum profit may not be recognized by the use of these too expensive mercedes cars which require high capital input. The system of car renting by its own depicts and wide range of inconsistencies, where its policies are changing without regard to any specific regulations. It thus forms a basis of inconveniences to the customers where customers have to keep mobility in the change of regulations about the renting and its charges. It’s important that the company maintains stability in renting management otherwise this would be a gate pass to customer inconvenience Problems facing the company Easycar is challenged by a number of problems. The company’s mission can only be attained subject to the address of these problems that highly inhibits its performance. Firstly, the company is renting only one type of car, which is at a high risk of service monopoly. Either, these cars are too expensive which implies that low customer requirement may not be met. The company is operated directly through direct internet or company phone service for its booking. However other companies in the industry are using intermediaries and broker agents. Perhaps this is a key contribution to these companies success. These agents and intermediaries can function to promote to reach many customers. It’s not optimally exploiting its resources where it’s not leasing all its parking spaces. Some spaces are found vacant when most of the cars have been rent during the day. Either it has not optimally exploited opening new sites where more locations can be opened by hiring smaller staff, driving fan to the location and adding these locations to company’s website. The company depicts a broad range of booking inconsistencies where time of service is determined at booking. The rental prices are charged at times of picking. The system also require many customer requirements are unrealistic (Printed copy of contract and a credit card) There is delay in picking up of vehicles where a customer can even spend 30 minutes waiting for processing of transactions and receiving their vehicles. This was due to the low staff level who cannot give service adequately. The contract of picking up a car involves too expensive cost of a refundable fee upon fulfilling the service requirements of the car contract. This would have perhaps, passively challenged some customers who for reasons could not manage to afford this refundable contract fee. Empty fueled vehicles are still a problem which would lead to further customer inconveniences in fueling the tanks. Also there were many requirements regarding the return back level of cars fuel. Since customers are to drive for them this would have highly inconvenienced customers who never knew some places despite provided with a map. Either non-driver was totally limited to this service since a customer was to drive the car for himself. The cleaning car policy before returning was a big drawback of inconvenience to customers. This was an inhibitor in the service rendering of this company. Otherwise the previous higher cost levy without regard to cleaning the car was far economical than the penalty levy to the customer when they returned the car dirty. The stringent strictness in the number of kilometers the car traveled at the renting period worked to demoralize some of the customers. Booking of the cars itself constituted a range of expenses, where using the phone system was charged â‚ ¬0. 95 a minute for a call and â‚ ¬5 for using credit card. Inconsistent levy for returning the car late was a problem. Mismanagement in the high cost of advertising had no economies of scale. It even chose to double its marketing effort to â‚ ¬3million in 2003 in featuring the founder of the company Justification of the problem facing company The company was established to provide the same type of car service in all its locations across its markets. It had signed a contract with the General Motor Show to purchase 5000 A-class Mercedes cars which cost the company over â‚ ¬6. million . Its mission was to use brand new Mercedes cars in the same way that easy jet uses brand new Boeing aircraft. By 2002, its fleets consisted of 6000mercedes A-class vehicles across 18 sites The company operated directly through its website and phone system and never transacted with any intermediaries or agents. Its entire sites were manned by its employees. However, the other car companies operated with agents and intermediaries which helped to have a broad catchments area for its customers. Example, companies like the sixt, Eurocars, Avis and Hertz targeted both vocational and business travelers and offered a wide range vehicles for rent. Despite the fact that Easycars where rented 90 percent of the time, only 15-20 spaces were required at an average, with a fleet of 150 cars. It could still open other locations by hiring less staff adding locations to its website and driving a van to its location. Booking prices usually changed with time and space. Customers who picked their cars early in the morning were paying more then those who picked the cars late in the day or at busy times. Processing the booking also required many requirements where customers were supposed to produce a copy of contract credit card. It also involved a long process of new customer’s identification. (Kirkegaad, 1997) Customers were highly delayed in picking up vehicles. This could go as long as 30 minutes and the company staff are described as been slow. To pick a car, a customer was made to put down a refundable contract fee of â‚ ¬80 before signing and moving away with the car. Customers were also expected to maintain the fuel tank at a level. Empty or less tanks were charged a fuelling fee of â‚ ¬16. The employee in charge would investigate and if finds the low-fuel indicator, the customer was supposed to pay this low fuel levy. The office of the Fair Trading (OFT) accused the Easycar Company as not been a transport company because its customers drove for themselves unlike other transport companies. However, the management of the company had filed a suit of appeal in the court that its service system was to ensure a low price to its customers. Such case was even to reduce the companies plan for the 2004 IPQ. At the beginning the policy required that customers were to pay â‚ ¬11 at booking for preparation of the car. However, the new policies required customers to maintain the car clean or pay the cleaning levy. The company provided customers with maps showing car washing points which could however inconvenience the customers very much. A customer was only supposed to drive 100 kilometers per day and any additional kilometer was charge a rate of â‚ ¬0. 12 per kilometer. Above this, customers were required to return the cars on time. Returning the car late imposed an instant charge of â‚ ¬120 and a subsequent â‚ ¬120 for every 24 hour period if the car was not returned. To book a car by itself was a problem which cost â‚ ¬0. 95 a minute for a call and â‚ ¬5 for using credit card. Customer was also charged a â‚ ¬16 charge fee if they wanted to change their booking. The company advertising system comprised of a mismanaged system where advertising was made in an abrupt manner and using very local methodologies. Offering the mercedes cars only, may be too costly for some customers who perhaps may not afford its cost. Either, expansions of its market may serve to attract a diverse number of customers with different service requirement. Rather than to dwell, on only some few stations it should seek to expand its markets like the other companies. This is aimed at reducing any monopolistic effects of dwelling on only few markets. (Write, Robbie, 1999) If possible, the company should seek to merge with other companies in order to diversify its resource mobilization. Through such merges, the company can have more bargaining power in the industry attracting a better income share from the market. Either, through merging, there is diversification in the company risks. This helps to ensure that, any possible losses do not fall on the shoulders of one company but rather shared between the parties. Trough merging, greater inventions and business market researches can help them to perform better than one company. By sharing of resources, brings about greater economies of scale which help to run the business at relatively lower costs. This is because market researches can be done for one business expenses such as advertisements, consultant and market research can be done for one business which constitutes many business. (Sunden, Stratton, 2006) The company can choose to improve its technology as a way of improving its business. Firstly, technology implies quicker service delivery, efficiency and more consistent. Either, improving technology has a lower cost to business performance at the long run trend of business cycles. This implies that, it will cost less for high technologies business after it has attained cost-benefit equilibrium. It should use better technology in its customer service provision where lower time is taken in processing the customer requirement before picking the car. Its mode of advertising still lags behind as a developed system which can influence more customers, where it uses posters at different stations. Such mode of advertisement needs improvement probably to use television or internet. Due to the company’s extensive business transactions, it should improve on its database system to enable faster processing, identification of customers and improving efficiency in monitoring its financial transactions. (Gutterman, 1994) Improvement in its human resource capital, where more qualified staff should be employed. The problems of slow service to customer by the company workers can only be improved by employing more qualified workers. This improves efficiency in the company’s operations. Above all, the company should also re-structure its mode of operations where a customer is let to drive for himself and employ its driver. This can lead to a better service provision. (Lipsy, Chrystal, 1997) The company costing system is faced with many bureaucracies where charging prices of services without rigidities to permanent regulations. Such costing methods need to be revised so that there is simplicity in pay requirement of a customer picking a car. Broadly, it should maintain simpler terms of service costs that should seek to even attract more customers. There is a diverse immobility in customer payment to their service delivery. Either, the company can monitor its expensive mode of its operations to achieve more profit. Basically, it spends a lot of money in purchasing its cars where there are still alternative of other cheaper cars. It solely dwells on one type of expensive car. Costing regulations should be emended to secure lesser company expenses and earn more profit. High costs of business operation are also revealed by its mode of advertising and booking which tend to be too costly for both the business and the customers. The business can therefore achieve its mission through amendments of its cost variable. (Bjerke, 1999) From one perspective the business is doing well, with good service provision. Therefore the business can still continue its operation in the same standard manner it is operating in. Since it seen improving, and opening even more branches, it implies that the business mission will still be achieved. It should seek to streamline its operations in line with its current system. However, the business should not be closed down. Since it depicts a continued and outstanding performance, closing such a business would be doing away with a prospective business entity. Since the former goals were to start a car industry, which is now expanding, it should be let to continue in its operations. (Warner, 2001) Either, the management should not seek the alternative of selling up the business. Perhaps, selling such a business which is acquiring such a good expansion would even earn the company lesser profit than if let to operate.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

It’s Time for America to Build a Moonbase Essay -- Argumentative Persu

It’s Time for America to Build a Moonbase On May 25, 1961, Congress met in a joint session to hear the American president, John F. Kennedy, address them in a speech he referred to as a second State of the Union. In his speech, the young president geared America for a race that would send men to the moon. Kennedy challenged America to â€Å"take longer strides† and to take a â€Å"leading role in space achievement, which, in many ways, may hold the key to our future on earth† (Burrows 330-331). America rose to the challenge, and within a decade, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were walking on the moon, becoming the first of the human race to walk on a world besides our own. The giant strides of which Kennedy challenged us soon slowed to a crawl, however, and after a few more missions, America would not go back again, possibly for good. America would soon turn its attention to other earthly issues, and its moon program would become nothing more than a memory. This gives rise to an inevitable question : should humans return to the moon? This question has haunted us for years, continuously rising and then fading away again. In recent months, new discoveries have brought it to the forefront, and with these new discoveries, the answer becomes obvious: humans should once again set their sights for the heavens, and putting a civilian lunar base and colony on the moon should be our next step. Many reasons exist for such an undertaking, one being that the moon contains resources that could possibly be mined and used here on Earth for our own benefit – and profit. Also, the resources on the moon could be used as materials to build a lunar colony. The lunar crust is composed of many valuable elements, including uranium, ... ...nited Nations. United Nations Populations Information Network (POPIN). Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Revision of the World Population Estimates and Projections. United States. National Aeronautics & Space Administration. Lunar Base as a Precursor to Mars Exploration & Settlement. By Wendell W. Mendell. United States. National Aeronautics & Space Administration. Ice on the Moon – Mining the Gold. United States. National Aeronautics & Space Administration. Lunar Geology. â€Å"Agents Plot to Ship the Rich Into Outer Space.† Yahoo! News. 16 November 1999.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Aliens and Faith Essay

There are many religions throughout our world. Some are even based on the actual worship of what these believers call, Aliens from outer space. The majority of religions though do not believe in intelligent life outside of human beings on planet Earth. Christianity is a main religion practiced worldwide; part of its belief for most believers is just that, that we are the only intelligent life created by the Christian God. The possible existence of extraterrestrial life though does not give reason that religious beliefs are not true. The belief of an omniscient creator of all things, including our never ending expanse of Universe and the possibility of what it holds, show that an omniscient creator’s power is never ending and our faith should be as well. All religions require you to have faith, and with faith we can accept any possibility. When people entertain the idea of extraterrestrial life they feel it casts doubt that the gods or God of many religious beliefs cannot coincide with the reality of life. Quoting an anonymous source, here is one opinion: Christians claim that the Bible has all the knowledge of how, when, where, what and why life was created and everything that God has done. The Bible explains that God created angels and humans and animals on earth. That pretty much covers everything God has created from earth to heaven. If God doesn’t mention aliens in His creations and only speaks of how He sacrificed Himself for us it could be claimed that God did not create any other life form outside earth. I think it would be absurd if God created other life forms in other parts of the universe and gave them free will and then going through another self-sacrifice. Besides, there is only one evil source, namely Satan that serves as our earthly test. This Satan only dwells on earth and not in other worlds. That is why aliens cannot exist. If aliens exist or come to earth it directly proves that Christianity is a fake (QTD). Yet we are taught in this religion in particular to have faith in the God of Christ. That our faith can move mountains or raise the dead, if we just believe, then it can be done. In Him all things are possible. Aliens can still be a possibility even with religious beliefs, extraterrestrials and religion can still exist together. Keeping in tune with the Christian religion, also being the popular religion worldwide, we hear that the catholic faith of Christian belief states that they believe and are researching the existence of extraterrestrial life being a reality. In my opinion this possibility exists,† Funes, the director of the Vatican Observatory, told L’Osservatore Romano. † Astronomers believe the universe is made up of 100 billion galaxies, each of which consists of 100 billion stars,†¦ Life forms could exist in theory even without oxygen or hydrogen. † (News). The Catholic Religion is the oldest Christian based religion historically and is very dominant and deeply rooted with many assets. They will have scientist, astronomers, and researchers continuously providing facts and reasoning behind this coexistence. Ted Peters writes: â€Å"During the formidable period of medieval Scholasticism, despite the forceful impact of Aristotelian philosophy, Christian Theology was by no means wedded to the idea that God created only one world†¦ Not only did some of our best minds affirm the idea of multiple worlds, some even spoke positively regarding the existence of extraterrestrial life. † (Delio 250) There is the belief that any other life forms created where angels or demons and that aliens are not part of these creations. We can show that alien life forms can coexist with even these creations and it not disprove religion still. There are few places in the bible that speak of life outside of humans and none mentioning aliens or extraterrestrial life, but they are there. â€Å"praise ye him , all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts†¦for he spoke and they were made. He commanded and they were created† (Psalm 148:2). Contrary to popular belief, the Bible does not say that the only intelligent beings populating the universe are humans, in fact God created countless â€Å"non-human intelligent beings† before mankind. God is known throughout the Bible as the Lord of Hosts (Flynn). To show faith in the God of Christ we can believe in the possibility of these beings and it not disprove them. Even in scriptures it does not come out and say it but it gives seed to the idea and possibility that God did create other hosts of this life. On a more general level the fact that alien life exists would mean that we are not the center of the universe. Most religions now recognize that the earth is just a lump of rock, they still believe that WE as human being are the most important thing in creation, that we occupy a special place in God’s plan. The existence of aliens would seem to make this implausible especially if they are more advanced than we are (on all levels, intellectually, spiritually) This would mean that God has acted in the development of the aliens in a away he did not act in ours, which in turn would mean that we do not occupy the paramount role in God’s creation, which as I said is a fundamental idea in religions. For Christianity, Judaism and Islam the existence of aliens is especially problematic. All these religions are based on the idea of a covenant between us and God. Weidemann, a self-confessed Protestant Christian, mentioned a few potential answers. Maybe aliens are not sinners, like human beings, and as a result are not in need of saving. On the other hand, the principle of mediocrity – the notion that own case in point is most likely standard except if there is proof to the opposite – casts skepticism on this, he pointed out. Weidemann stressed that if there are extraterrestrial rational creatures at all, it is safe to believe that virtually all of them are sinners as well. He added that if aliens are sinners Jesus did not save them too. Weidemann asserted that their position among intelligent creatures in the universe would be very outstanding (Delage). With extraterrestrial life in the universe being seen as a possibility and many biblical references giving seed to this as truth, believers maybe are being tested with this theory as another way that we are tested in our faith. We are asked to have faith without seeing, and to believe without question the infinite intelligence of God the infinite possibilities he has, to let the unknown exist and still believe with a faith unfounded.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

In the Devil’s Snare Essay

There have been several interpretations of the Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Like every issue that has come up, everyone has their own take on it. Mary Beth Norton chose to lay out her version of the witchcraft trials in her book, In the Devil’s Snare. It is a tremendously ambitious book. Throughout the book, Norton is trying to lay out connections between the experiences of settlers in Maine, the accusations of the afflicted in Salem, and the actions and decisions of the colony leaders. I’ll admit, I don’t know much about the Salem Witchcraft Trials, if anything at all. I had the choice of reading The Crucible in high school, but I turned it down and chose to read a different book. Therefore, I really had not choice but to believe Norton when she said that her approach to examining the witchcraft crisis was a new one. Instead of looking at events case-by-case, she starts at the very beginning (the first whisper of an accusation) and moves chronologically through the entire episode. When it was needed, Norton would pause to add background information. Mary Beth’s point of view of the Salem Witchcraft Crisis is that it all was triggered by from the results of the Indian Wars. She believes that the only way this crisis could be understood, is if you looked at the military conflict between the English settlers and the Native Americans from that region. By the specific attention paid to Tituba, Martha Corey, and Abigail Hobbs, Norton shows how these individuals contributed to the linkage between the witchcraft crisis and the military conflict with the natives. In my opinion, I think Norton’s conclusion should have been put at the start. This is where she explains her thesis, which was that witchcraft crisis of 1692 was in large part a reaction to King Philip’s War and King William’s War, clearly and concisely. Mary Beth does a good job at connecting the participants to the Wars; however I don’t think she’s very convincing when it came to showing how the lack of military and leadership in the w ar was a driving force to the creation of the Salem Witchcraft Trials. Mary Beth Norton’s, In The Devil’s Snare, was very well written piece of literature. I commend her on stepping outside of what other authors had written about and creating her own version of the Salem WitchCraft Crisis of 1692. Norton has a substantial amount of supporting material that she’s gotten from other sources. The amount of the research involved to write her 304 page book is quite impressive and is ultimately breathtaking. I can only imagination how time consuming it was to lay out all the researched material and piece it together with her side of things. Just the thought of management needed to piece this book together gives me a headache. However, all this information did make the book less interesting to me. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever picked up a book that had 86 pages of endnotes! It made the book a drag because I had to continuously keep flipping back and forth between the story itself, and the side notes. Sometimes a reader can get away with skipping the end notes; however, I felt it was necessary to going back and forth because if I didn’t, I don’t think I would have understood most of it. Sometimes Norton’s side notes helped clarify what I was reading. All in all, In The Devil’s Snare was a decent book. I don’t think I ever found it really interesting at any point, nor was there a place that made me want to keep reading and not push the book aside for a little. My recommendation to others would be limited. This isn’t a book I would recommend to those that want something to read in their free time. I feel like all of her background information, and the tedious amount of flipping back and forth would put many people to sleep. I had a hard time reading more than 30 pages at a time! I think the only people I would recommend this book to would be those who take certain interest in this time frame of history. I think this would be a book they’d like, just because it’s given at a different angle.