Ecological Evaluation of Environmental Problems Essay

Biodiversity refers to the abundance of life forms (bio means life, diversity means variety or assortment). This includes different animals, plants and micro-organisms. The ecosystem where these living organisms belong, as well as their genetic make-up, is also part of biodiversity. Wide biodiversity is advantageous to species development as there will be various interactions going on among the different species. Among the most bio-diverse ecosystems are rainforests and aquatic ecosystems. Both land and water species can be found in these habitats. The existence, however, of these ecosystems are becoming endangered as a lot of human activities negatively impact these ecosystems. Forest destruction has been an existing issue for the longest time. Pollution – air and water – is also one of the most common problems different ecosystems and the environment itself are facing. Human activities also cause global warming which is not healthy for all living creatures. These things that people do to our environment can definitely be prevented and avoided. We can start by stopping the use of substances with chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which were identified as harmful to the ozone layer. This simple deed can help decrease the effects of global warming to the environment. Local governments should also enforce strict laws against forest destruction. Environmentalists can also start a campaign on reforestation to help rebuild destroyed forests and natural habitats. Maintaining biodiversity is important in human sustainability. Each life form is beneficial to one another. Plants are the producers in the food chain. Some primary and secondary consumers are also taken by humans as food, which is our main source of energy. Continuous destruction of the ecosystems leads to the decrease in these food sources. Thus, preserving the ecosystems and maintaining biodiversity should be seriously considered by everyone. Acid deposition starts with the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Burning of these fuels produces nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide which are considered air pollutants. Volcanic eruptions can also emit these pollutants. When the nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides get released to the atmosphere, chemical transformation happens and sulfuric and nitric acid compounds are produced. These compounds make the air acidic. Eventually, these acidic compounds fall to the surface of the Earth – the process called â€Å"acid deposition†. Deposition can happen in wet or dry form. Wet deposition occurs when the nitric acid and sulfuric acid compounds are transported with rain, fog, or snow. When these compounds are carried as fine particles by the wind, it is called dry deposition. Acid deposition cause severe damages to the ecosystem. Fish species found in lakes affected by acid deposition tend to disappear. Other aquatic resources in lakes and rivers tend to either disappear or die which creates an imbalance to aquatic ecosystems. Acidification also changes phytoplankton composition. Likewise, acid deposition also affects forests by killing a lot of trees due to the acidic compounds settling onto these life forms. This is evident in most forests where there are copper and nickel refineries nearby. This environmental problem can also trigger asthma and some bronchial infections to humans. The effect may not be seen immediately and may take years before it can be realized. In order for us to minimize the cases of acid deposition is to have a global initiative of reducing emission of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which cause air pollution. Educating the entire world population of this phenomenon can be a good start. Factories and industrial plants burning fossil fuels should try to research and find other earth-friendly alternatives to those harmful chemicals. Cultural eutrophication is the accelerated aging of aquatic ecosystems, especially lakes, through man-made activities. Eutrophication is the natural process of aging of lakes which is characterized by an increase in the growth of algae and aquatic weeds. Eutrophication rate is determined by how fast the lake gets sediments and nutrients from the watershed, and this naturally occurs over a long period of time. However, if the lake is located in an urbanized area or developed region, eutrophication speeds as there is definitely higher number of sediments and nutrients getting into the lake. This is when natural eutrophication becomes cultural eutrophication. The increased sediments and nutrients, which are mainly phosphorous, usually come from road sand, oil, lawn fertilizers, gas, salt and organic matter being transported to the lake through stormwater or groundwater. Inefficient septic systems can also cause cultural eutrophication. This environmental phenomenon can be prevented through continuous monitoring of the local government. Environmental officials should identify the cause of the cultural eutrophication and determine where the increased sediments are coming from. Once this is identified, measures to prevent these nutrients and sediments from getting into the lake could be placed and enforced. Global warming, from the term itself, is the continuous increase in the temperature of our planet. Global warming is mainly caused by increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, ozone and methane forms a gaseous blanket around the Earth. This blanket traps the heat which is responsible for making the Earth warm; else our planet’s temperature would be well over 60 degrees colder. Global warming becomes an environmental issue because the gaseous blanket is getting thicker and thicker over the years which make the Earth’s temperature extra hot. The increase in greenhouse gases which causes global warming is due to burning of fossil fuels, agricultural byproducts, industrial processes, waste disposal and treatment among others. By the year 2100, Earth’s temperature will rise by 3 °C to 5 °C and sea levels will rise by 25 meters, at least, because of global warming. This would mean an increase in the occurrence of heat waves, floods, tornadoes and drought. Agricultural yields will be low due to these extreme weather conditions. Diseases will also spread easily. Global warming is already a known issue. The only thing that we have to do is to make significant changes in the way we do things like the use of fuels contributing to the increase of greenhouse gases. Little things can help curtail the effects of global warming such as changing filament light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs, making sure the refrigerator and freezer doors are always shut properly, and other measures of conserving electricity. This will not only help save the Earth from global warming, it will also help you save money due to less electricity consumption. Electricity is the most common form of energy people use daily. Currently, electricity is being generated mainly by burning fossil fuels. We all know from the above discussions that fossil fuel combustion creates air pollutants that contribute to acid deposition and global warming – in short, environmental destruction. If this way of using energy continuous, we would be in danger of losing a healthy planet to live in a hundred years. Another danger of this is not having enough fossil fuels to use in the future as this is not a renewable source of energy. Fossil fuels such as coal and oil can be depleted because there can only be as much of them in our planet. In order for us to prevent global environmental destruction, we should all try to use sustainable energy in order for us to have reserves in the future. Examples of sustainable energy are renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and wave power among others. Power plants and electric companies should slowly convert their electricity generating processes to one of these in order to lessen the waste pollutants of fuel combustion. Big companies may also want to initiate a study if its facilities and offices would run on self-built solar power. Other than the big savings, it will definitely help in reducing the number of fossil fuel electricity consumers.

Characteristic of management Essay

With the progress of history, the definition, content, method and characteristic of management is in constant development. The history of management theory and idea is evolving. Between the twentieth century and twenty first century, the environment of management has been changed from stable and predictable to unending changeable. According to Kiechel’s (2012) theory, with the definite law, principle and regulation, management belong to a real science system. In this essay, two topics will be discussed. The first one is management theories and ideas have changed over time with two factors which are the transformation of labor were treated from machine to human and the connection between organization and external environment. The second one is the three most important differences between now and then. The three differences are increasingly fierce competition, personalized customer demand and how to improve competitiveness. The development of management theory and practice are closely related. Management theory is based on the understanding of management system and frame after summarized the experience from the accumulation management. However, this understanding also leads to the management practice. First of all, the transformation of labor were treated from machine to human is one factor. After the mid nineteen twenties the human relations theory and behavior management theory began to pay attention to â€Å"human† has many special factors different from the â€Å"objects†. On the â€Å"human† factor, first of all should be attributed to Mayo and his in the test of Hawthorne factory. Hawthorne test is a management test of Mayo by Hawthorne telephone factory which belong to Western Electric Company in the United States. Testing began in 1924 and Mayo conducted a series of surveys, tests and interviews. After that, the summary from Mayo (1933) of human psychological factors and social factors has great impact on the production efficiency. The staff is â€Å"social person†; they need social psychology rather than simply the pursuit of income and material. Therefore, the managers of the enterprise should not only focus on the technical and economic factors of management, but also improve labor  productivity from the social and psychological aspects to encourage workers. Volberda (2012) has said that expect formal organization, there are some informal ones. Informal organization is spontaneous formation by nature from the people contact. However, people’s behavior from the informal organization is always following the emotional logic —— character decides relationship. The external environment become connects to organization. Some of manager’s work on employees by coerces punishment and fire to increase the stress of them. The strict supervision and control mode to staff actually reflected in Taylor’s scientific management service and the traditional management mode. The others the others has concept of management that will be advocated management method which is people oriented by human, tolerant, democratic in management behavior. The objectives of the organization are combined individual objectives well and create favorable conditions for employees to develop the wisdom and potential. Then, there are three most important differences between now and then which increasingly fierce competitions, personalized customer demand and how to improve competitiveness. Firstly, with the liberalization policy, business globalization and capital operation mode, the regional and industry boundaries were abolished which makes the competition more intense. That leads to the difference by increasingly fierce competitions. With the opinion of Parker (2005), a long time ago, the research which based on strategic alliances and joined ventures was found. Cooperation and competition were founded to be a virtue and he analysis that competition is good to become to cooperation which is a good idea from the growing global economic. Secondly, Customers become the dominant force in the market by the expansion of product pile up in excessive requirement and income gap which leads to customer demand for personalized. Abrahamson (1966) suggested that, change is a global effect; the customer is more sensitive on the quality of the product or service. Managers should seek a new technology to help them handle new conditions which is the performance gap caused by environmental changes. Finally, with the widely used of the development of science and technology and information technology, lots of things could be done which may not be done easily. So the traditional management mode faces the enormous challenge. Moreover, by Rodrigues(2001)’ theory, the development of effective management skills to deal with specific problems and challenges of each organization in the global competitive environment is to make a frame work. The urgent need of many enterprises and organizations are rapid changes in technology and the environment. Today, the new trend of training and development organizations around the world are dealt within their own organization. In order to achieve networked, flat, flexible, effective development skills, specific challenges different new organizations of their mission and objectives of the organizations all over the word. Effective management skills help people and organizations to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. The rapid development of globalization and technology shows that we are in fierce competition. Proper management is crucial to the complex environment. The quality manager and effective management style can determine the organizational culture with productive employees and ultimately, success or failure. Managers should encourage, guide, supervise, motivate employee and coordination capacity to promote action and guide change his leadership and other training manager. Management and utilization planning, organization and communication skills are important leadership, more in quality such as integrity, honesty, courage, commitment, sincerity, enthusiasm, determination, compassion and sensitivity. In conclusion, management theories and ideas have changed over time with two factors which are the transformation of labor were treated from machine to human and the connection between organization and external environment. At the same time, there are three most important differences between now and then. The three differences are increasingly fierce competition, personalized customer demand and how to improve competitiveness. Twenty first Century for humans is a new age, we need according to the new rules to face and the formation of new rules depends on innovation which is the foundation of learning. Finally, Learning and innovation is the key in twenty first Century to deal with the environmental change. Reference 1.Abrahamson, E. (1996). Management fashion. Academy of Management Review, 21, 1, 245-285. 2. Parker, L. D., & Ritson, P. (2005). Fads, stereotypes and management gurus: Fayol and Follett today. Management Decision, 43, 10, 1335-57. 3. Kiechel, W. (2012). The management century. Harvard Business Review, 90, 11, 62-75. 4. Rodrigues, C. A. (2001). Fayol’s 14 principles of management then and now: A framework for managing today’s organizations effectively. Management Decision, 39, 10, 880-889. 5. Mayo,G.E. (1933). The Human Problems of an Industrialized Civilization, 25,3, 33-45. 6. Volberda, H. (2012). Contingency Fit, Institutional Fit, and Firm Performance: A Metafit Approach to Organization-Environment Relationships. Organization science, 23, 4, 1040 -1055.

Acme Garage

The purpose of this report is to analyze the current structure of the system used by Acme Garage to maintain the stock, purchase, vendor and transaction details and provide the updated structure with new proposed solution. This new solution can help Acme Garage to implement a single point of contact for all kind of transaction instead of using manual books for maintain job details and access database for customer and vendor details. Acme Garage is using Job books to maintain the details for certain job with all parts details that are used in the job with the customer linked to this. Maintaining the historical data of these kind of job books is not easy. Maintaining the excel for stock is not a good idea with orders in a filing cabinet. We have provided the report with the details which are presented below:   Acme Garage is a car repair company that have 2 major section administrative and mechanics section. Kim is working in office and maintain all order, jobs, customer and stock data in different form i.e. database, excel and manual copies. Bill and ben works as mechanics in the garage and record the job data on paper with the parts used in job and labor charges. Key issues of the current system are as below: The current system is used by Kim who have understanding of computer as she used excel to maintain stock and customer and vendor access database to create, retrieve and update ,delete the data. It is easier to create the application that can use the existing customer and supplier data in backend and create new tables to store rest of data. In this we have provided the present system that will get used by Kim who will have complete understanding the PC as they will get used the excel sheet for maintaining the client and stock and access the vendor the database for accessing for deleting, updating, retrieving and creating.  Ã‚   After analyze the current system it observed that stock management process should be automate and customer and supplier database should be in a single database. Order data also be integrate with this system. Based on the new proposed system below are the ER Diagram, class diagram and DFD   Below is the class diagram which was created with the help of tables that were used in this project: Below is the updated DFD which was created with the new details of the class diagram and we have provided the relationship also:   Below is the modeling for the data that is based on the diagram of the ER and we have provided the relationship among both of them: As per the new proposed system I have identified below tables with their primary and foreign keys. Below I have provided all the table names and their data types with the foreign and primary keys:   Acme Garage needs to implement a new system to manage all transactions related to customer, supplier and job. Based on the requirements below are the functional and Non-functional requirements. Programming prerequisites determination sets up the premise for an understanding amongst clients and contractual workers or suppliers (in business sector driven undertakings, these parts might be played by the promoting and advancement divisions) on what the product item is to do and in addition what it is not anticipated that would do. Programming prerequisites particular allows a thorough appraisal of necessities before outline can start and lessens later overhaul. It ought to likewise give a reasonable premise to evaluating item costs, dangers, and calendars Functional Requirements: Most necessities definition concentrates for the most part on practical prerequisites, which are based upon the normal working of the item or framework to be made. Working regularly is compared with item/framework highlights for which you may have a menu or catch decision, for example, recognize a client, select a thing to arrange, and compute the sum due. Non-functional Requirements: Nonfunctional necessities allude to an entire slew (I've distinguished more than 30) of qualities including execution levels, security, and the different "ilities, for example, convenience, dependability, and accessibility. Constantly, prerequisites definers get wrapped up in how the item/framework is relied upon to work and dismiss these additional components. In the above we have provided both the requirements that are non-functional and functional those are used in the system.   The proposed business solution have captured the information of customer, supplier and JOB. The new system is designed in such a way that it would be able to cater below functions from UI. Below we have provided the details of the UI that can be used for the solution of the proposed business and also the reports that are used in the UI so that we will have all the details at one place.  Ã‚   The new system required some cost to be implement below is the cost calculations Total time required to implement is about 500 hours at a rate of 120$ so final cost will be 60000$. Project is viable as the cost can be recovered within a years’ time so that the project will delivered successful. Here, we have explained the feasibility and also the cost and time that are needed for the execution of the project. By looking at that we will have all the details which will used in the project.   This project can be implemented in 2 modes I choose to prefer 2 nd option to implement the solution so that KIM can access the system from anywhere and also customer and suppliers can also be access the system and setting the data and making and receiving the payment from online system. We have described about both the 2 modes in the above which can be used in the project. Further maintenance is required for the above proposed solution as this system runs over internet so below could be the maintenance requirements Acme is using manual data entry in excels and paper work with some data in database so chances of mistakes can be higher and duplicating the data is another major concerns. This new system help them in getting the correct and real time view of stock and help them in generating more revenue and interacting with suppliers and customer on daily basis. So, here we have provided the revised DFD and all the updated tables with their primary keys and types of data so that we can distinguish between older and new version. Looking for an answer 'who will do my essay for cheap',

Accounting Information System in Companies in Australia Research Paper

Accounting Information System in Companies in Australia - Research Paper Example The increasing role of AIS in strategic decisions of companies has drawn the attention of management and researchers towards the role of AIS in companies. Toluyemi (1999) argues that accounting information is important for the management of an organisation just like any large stock holdings therefore, to make informed decisions through this information, it should be distinctively stored, updated, retrieved and disseminated. Shareia (2006) adopted a different approach and he studies the present and potential role of AIS in improving the developments in developing economies especially in Libya and he argues that to achieve the goal of developments in the countries like Libya, development and use of accounting information systems and assessment of the factors affecting them is important. Hall (2001 cited in Valdez, 2008) argues that accounting information system which is well organised will make everyday business relatively easier and more effective. Carlson and Parker (1998) emphasises on the importance of computerised accounting information systems in success of businesses and argues that average number of companies facing computer outage for ten years will never fully recover and fifty percent of them are out of business within five years. Sajady, Dastgir & Nejad (2008) studied the role of accounting information systems in companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange and found that AIS improved internal controls, decision making, companies’ transactions and quality of financial reporting.

Human Resource Issues in India, China, Brazil, and Nigeria Essay

Human Resource Issues in India, China, Brazil, and Nigeria - Essay Example The paper tells that in all the four countries that were analyzed, the labor market is large, and an opportunity for the company to expand its business. The transition to recent models of human resources is a key strength to the nations and this will influence positively to the company. Culture is a big threat to the establishment of the company, and this is because of the sensitivity of the issues being addressed. One weakness of these nations is the high turnover as witnessed in India. It is recommended that the company take advantage of the large labor market. However, it should be aware of the existing cultural and political issues in these nations. These issues pose a serious challenge to the establishment and growth of the company. Human resources are regarded as the most crucial asset of any organization; however, not all organizations are capable of fully harnessing its potential. The human resource system is defined as a set of individual but interrelated processes, activiti es, and functions that are aimed at maintaining, developing or attracting a company’s human resources. In order to enhance operational performance, there is the need to equally manage the system in both manufacturing and service organizations. Innovative manufacturing practices and sophisticated technologies do very little to improve operational performance unless the essential HRM (human resource management) practices are in place to create a constant socio-technical system. Therefore, there is a need for organizations to assess their existing practices in HRM and amend if needed in such a way that employees can efficiently contribute to the improvement of operational performance. There has been a considerable shift towards appreciating human resources in the Indian organizations. This is because they have become strategy driven instead of the status quo, which is instigated by culture.

Analyze the main causes of African immigration to the United States of Essay - 1

Analyze the main causes of African immigration to the United States of America - Essay Example As it were, there is a crisis of being that presents existentially and materially, affluence in the intended country of immigration, and widespread poverty in the home country. Attending the poverty are serious political and socio-economic crises that make departure and immigration all the more attractive.†(Okome). After the Second World War, several African migrants swamped the U.S. Consulate with the apparent objective of quick and immediate departure from their respective countries. Many of them sought different purposes like education, business or simple leisure. But analysts derived the motives of migrating to U.S. were far more complicated in socio-political and economic fronts. The main problem with the Third World countries, in this era of globalization lies in the fact that they are considered just as a vast resource of lowly paid labor force. The migrants, inhabiting these Less Developed Countries (LDCs), consequently get drawn to the other parts of the looking for a permanent remedy to their crisis of unemployment and underemployment. After the migration, many of them settle there permanently, except for short period home visits and many others lack visas to get back. According to Okome, the Immigrants are defined as migrants who turn out to be everlasting settlers in the U.S., as b ecause migrating moves are temporary. Exiles are those who are relocated out of the home countries due to political reasons. The 1951 Convention regarding the Refugees is well demarked. All of the different types forms a cluster and signifies the migration volume from the African continent. The situation indeed is quite different qualitatively between African migration then, and the present immigrations. However it is statistically observed that the number of immigrants coming from Africa is much less when compared to the total immigrants in U.S. according to the

The Representation of the People Act 1983 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Representation of the People Act 1983 - Essay Example Prisoners are allowed to vote in Canada, Ukraine, South Africa, Iran and some other nations, whereas other nations like Russia, Finland, some states in the USA ban prisoners from voting . Approximately, 4.5 million prisoners around the world have been disenfranchised . In the US some states allow felons out on parole or probation to vote . In Richardson v Ramirez , the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state’s right to ban felons from voting. In Sauvà © v Canada , the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the legislation forbidding federal prisoners from voting. In Hirst v United Kingdom , the European Court of Human Rights, applying the reasoning in the case of Sauvà © v Canada, held the ban on prisoners’ voting rights as invalid. The UK government argued that disenfranchisement prevented crime and punished offenders, serving to enhance the civic responsibility and respect for the rule of the law. It also argued that convicted prisoners due to having breached the social contract had surrendered the right to take part in the civil process for the period of their sentence. The notion of civil death or withdrawal of political, legal and civil rights has its origins in ancient Greek and Roman societies and was adopted by medieval Europe .

Vocabulary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Vocabulary - Assignment Example First, the teacher will make sure that the students sit at the front of the class, where they can hear as much as possible of what the teacher is saying. Secondly , the teacher will speack with as high voice as possible and thirdly, the teacher will speack to the students individually, to confirm that they have heard and understood what is being talked about and what is expected of them. The teacher will explain to the students that they will take a test on their sentence construction skills to see how good they are in creating sentences with vocabulary. The teacher will explain the significance of this test and explain to the students that they will then get to learn how to construct senstrnces and have a retest. The teacher will explain what is about to be done by the student. The teacher will also give a brief background so that the student can connect what they have learnt in the past with what they will learn in this particular lesson. To begin with, the teacher will introduce the book as follows; Today we have a new chapter that we are going to learn. The topic is interesting and everyone is going to enjoy this. In the past, you guys learned about English vocabulary and even learned the meanings of these vocabulary. Today, you are going to use these vocabulary to build sentences. This should be interesting for you because sooner than you know, you will be writing interesting stories. The book we are going to read is not new to you but the chapter we are going to read may be new to you. I dont know whether any of you have tried to read ahead of the teacher and gone to chapter seven of 2nd Language Acquisition and the Younger Learner? (wait for the class to respond and act accordingly) After that, the teacher will ask the students to open chapter seven of the book, where the teacher will give a number of examples on how to construct senstences, and then ask the students to do the same. The teacher will explain to the students the

Human Resource Management - Compensation, Benefits, Incentives Essay

Human Resource Management - Compensation, Benefits, Incentives - Essay Example e that incentives and benefits do very little to persuade a candidate to accept an organizations employment offer if baseline compensation is slightly below the candidates expectations. Of course, each person will try to get a salary that is higher. However, even young candidates will consider benefits and incentives. For instance, a person may be offered an hourly rate that is lower than he/she wishes. However, with free or discounted lunches, longer breaks, a kind manager, flexible hours, accessibility to work (distance), whom he/she will be working with (age group, environment), what he/she will be doing (perhaps working in an area or subject that he/she enjoys), etc. even the younger person will focus on these things and will realize that the benefits/incentives add to their quality of life. IF the younger person does seek the higher salary, eventually the extrinsic values of a job such as money will not be the overriding factor. He/she will eventually want more out of life if he/she is not happy with who they are working for, does not get discounts, enjoyable working atmosphere, etc. and will seek those things in a job. He/she will eventually quit the job and seek the intrinsic values. That is why younger people do not usually stay with a job for an extended amount of time. They move on. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules but we humans will seek intrinsic values more even if it’s only internally. Look at the very wealthy people; i.e. movie stars. They have all the money in the world and yet file bankruptcy, have broken relationships, do drugs, get in trouble with the law, etc. They want more. It is true, younger people will look at baseline pay first. However, if the baseline pay is â€Å"slightly lower† as the very opening post stated, they will also look at the incentives/benefits even if the benefits aren’t so great. As stated in my earlier posting, if the pay is good but the other factors, which are called intrinsic

Week 2 #2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 2 #2 - Coursework Example Secondly, the internal pay equity creates a good sensible business; thus improving the firm’s retention of its top performers and maximize its chances of hiring a top talent in the industry. Therefore, failure to manage the internal pay equity can result in losing employees to other companies and creates disloyalty among the employees (Kramar & Syed, 2012). The external pay equity management is also important for company’s success. Employers are expected to manage carefully determine the appropriate markets. Therefore, the management of the appropriate markets helps in having accurate external wage comparison. Thus, this reduces unnecessary payments in some areas (Kramar & Syed, 2012). For instance, a narrow determination of a market can lead to wage that higher that is expected. Therefore, employee inequity and equity perception are equally significant, and companies should consider as it sets its compensation objectives (Perkins & Perkins, 2011). Employees perceiving equitable pay treatment can be more motivated in supporting the company goals of performing better. In conclusion, about compensation, fairness is reached when pay is equal to work performed

A look at the death rates in the united states according to race Essay Example for Free

A look at the death rates in the united states according to race Essay Death Rates, Many of the death rates in the United States may be explained, for example, why are the death rates of African Americans so high on homicide? Well, it is said that because most black people live in Urban areas or in what people call â€Å"guetos† (not necessarily all but a good amount) that means they usually live on these dangerous places where death rates are pretty high making their victimology pretty high. Now if we combine this with the fact that most black men kill other black men whether it is (usually because of gangs) then we can assume that the death rates of black men because of homicides is pretty high because they usually live on places that are very dangerous and controlled by gangs and most are killed by people of their own race (and some may argue too by police but thats another topic) which would explain these statistics and same could be explained for other races. Another example could be that many Americans (despite the different racial groups) are likely to die from heart disease, and that is because of the fast foods. In other words, if Americans would eat healthier instead of constantly going to fast foods and started to take care of themselves also by doing exercise then it wouldn’t have to worry so much of dying from heart disease and those death rates among Americans will most likely decrease. The differences in the death rates are because of culture and the way people live their lives, so if a race, for example, let’s maybe there’s a high death rate of Hispanics because of kidney failure (this is an example it may not be true) then maybe the reason could be because they drink a lot of alcohol or something same with other types of diseases or may be ways of thinking. Maybe whites can’t control their stress or are less likely to seek help when they have psychological problems which would explain the high deat h rates. I believe all of these differences in death rates are because of how each racial group decides to live and that is why in certain categories those death rates are high for the different racial groups.

Learning approach Essay Example for Free

Learning approach Essay The essay examines the comparison of surface approach and deep approach used in university students. As a fact, many first year students, regardless of majors, adopt surface approaches to learning. However, universities encourage students to accept a deep approach to learn rather than surface approach. Therefore, many first year students face a challenge to use which approach to achieve high academic grades. The essay presents the two opposite arguments about the learning approaches, and then raises opinion that deep approach is a much feasible method. The surface approach to learning mentions students just recite study content rather than acknowledge the true meaning. Many first year students nowadays, regardless of their area of study, adopt surface approaches to learning. Actually, such surface learning approach is not quite effective. This is because such approach is stemmed from students’ previous learning knowledge, while the knowledge is not related with positive absorption. The knowledge is owned by students’ tutors rather than students themselves (Masters Donnison, 2010). Students treat the learning courses as routine  memorizing process or requirement. They tend to focus much more energy on the surface requirements like reciting words or sentences, pursuit surface meaning of the tasks or courses without their own deep thoughts. Such learning approach makes students seldom timely respond learning strategies, lack learning enthusiasm and driving forces (Entwistle Peterson, 2004). They will often feel pressure about study task, which will impact their confidence from a long run. Furthermore, due to these features, surface approach is usually thought as lack of understanding. Facts have proved that  surface approaches to learning are often related with poor academic performance over the first semester of study (Entwistle Peterson, 2004). However, some researchers think it is not correct to think surface approaches to learning are always inefficient or ineffective, for example, as to some courses such as foreign languages study, basic mathematics and etc. , the capability of memory is regarded as necessary, because it builds up the base for deeper learning in such courses (Masters Donnison, 2010). It is well known that advanced study contains learning process which makes  students become competent learner who fully understand the academic knowledge and restructure knowledge systems from his own perspective of view. Actually, this explanation reflects the essence of deep approach to learning. A deep approach to learning is defined as a complicated process of individual development which generates the fundamental change of learning habits and perspectives (Rawson, 2000). It is also required students to set up meaningful tasks objectives for engagement, put efforts on understanding deep context meanings and main principles, and utilize academic knowledge  into actual practice. Some researchers argue that the deep approach to learning is a kind of innovations in university course, but however it has none business with first year students (Masters Donnison, 2010). The reason is that first year students have limited experiences in campus living and the priority thing for them is get quick familiar with the new surroundings. And what is more, they think it is difficult for first year students to go beyond basic understanding of the learning courses as most of them just start live and study independently (Entwistle Peterson, 2004). Students in first year fail to present the all characteristics related to deep learning such as dedication in specific tasks continuously and persistently (Entwistle Peterson, 2004). But the essay holds on the opinion that deep learning approach is not necessarily impracticable for first year students. The reason is because some first year students have used the deep approach to learning when they are studying in high school. Good learning habits or method is not directly limited by students existing experience and incapacity to merge various kinds of  basic knowledge (Donnison Penn-Edwards,2012). Besides the above argument, for first year students, it is important to use strategic approach and put efforts into organized study since study is a process with a specific learning intention to fulfill all kind of assessment (Burton, Taylor, Dowling, Lawrence, 2009). The said organized study contains effective time management and learning behaviors management which mean students need to learn to monitor the effectiveness of their study outcomes. From this point of view, therefore, a deep learning is preferable. At the first year stage, it is suggested that there is a need for students to change students learning habits from surface approaches to deep learning since one of the ultimate objectives of undergraduate education is to establish and develop students’ correct lifelong learning habits and thinking skills, which can benefit their whole life (Burton, Taylor, Dowling, Lawrence, 2009). The learning approaches are much more important and meaningful than academic grades. Many educators argue that the first year in university should be assigned to build up a mature  methodology which could consistently help students take advanced learning, and assist them to change learning behaviors to become adaptive with higher education (Entwistle Peterson, 2004). Additionally, deep approach to learning can make many students achieve good academic assessment from a long run. Students engage in learning just because of academic assessment demands, therefore using the appropriate assessment would seem much meaningful. Nowadays, university begins to take the comprehensive assessment system to evaluate students’ achievement rather than just use course scores before. Such changes of assessment practice will also push students to move from initial surface learner to deep learner. Students are encouraged to focus on soft aspects instead of hard scores. It is argued that it is necessary for first year students to make their learning processes transparent. And what is more, it is important to come into being the understanding (Burton, Taylor, Dowling, Lawrence, 2009). In conclusion, some researchers have different arguments or indication for first year students to use a surface approach or a deep approach to learning. Researchers argue that some surface approaches of learning is important for first year students because the skills of memorization can be used to deepen and develop understanding which students can accept and come into being an learning approach (Entwistle Peterson, 2004). They think the deep learning is impracticable and unexpected to first year students. While other opinions think the deep approaches of learning is much more important than surface one because learning attitude and methodology can build up solid base for student lifelong study. There is a place in higher education for a deep  approach to learning. The academic scores should not be put into first place for first year students (Burton, Taylor, Dowling, Lawrence, 2009). Certainly, a complete education is aimed to keep balance between knowledge memorization and utilization. The essay proposes that deep approach of learning rather than surface learning should be regarded as an important and necessary method in university study, particularly first year study. Therefore, how to transit from surface approach to deep approach in order to go through the courses smoothly and achieve study objectives is the most critical topic  for most of first year students. References list: Burton, L. , Taylor, J. , Dowling, D. , Lawrence, J. (2009). Learning approaches, personality and concepts of knowledge of first-year students: Mature-age versus school leavers. Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development, 6(1), 65-81. Donnison, S. Penn-Edwards, S. (2012). Focusing on first year assessment: Surface or deep approaches to learning? The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 3(2),9-20 Entwistle, N. , Peterson, E. (2004). Conceptions of learning and knowledge in  higher education: Relationships with study behaviour and influences of learning environments. International Journal of Educational Research, 41, 407-428. Masters, J. , Donnison, S. (2010). First year transition in teacher education: The pod experience. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(2), 87-98. Penn-Edwards, S. , Donnison, S. (2011). Engaging with higher education academic support: A first year student teacher transition model. European Journal of Education, 46(4), 566-580. Rawson, M. (2000). Learning to learn: More than a skill set. Studies in Higher Education, 25(2), 225-238.

Do The Right Thing Essay

Do The Right Thing Essay Do the right thing is one of the best films made by Writer, Director, producer, and star Spike Lee in 1989, which explored the issue of biasness and discrimination of the African-American area of New York city called Brooklyn. This movie was nominated for 2 Oscars Awards and other and it won 11 other awards in that time. The movie was released at the same time when hip-hop culture like songs, music video, fashion and etc was hit. Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Osie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edison, Giancarlo Esposito, and John Turturro make the character alive in the movie. This film is successful to present the gap between the regular life of various African-American peoples and community that are opposed. The several artiest of the movie represent various ethnicities of African-Americans mentioned serious personal, social, economical and controversial issues about the residents and other businessmen like Sal and Korean Shop Owner as neighbourhood characters. Producer, Director Spike Lee plays as a Mookie, a Pizza Delivery Boy, who keeps going back and onwards between Sals pizza and the neighbourhood area, eventually finding him in the focus of a problem in the film. He is lazy and irresponsible person. Sal, the Italian-American man, who owned Sals Famous Pizzeria in the center of the same place for 25 years. Sal has two sons, Pino and Vito. Pino is an angry young boy who has narrow minded feelings for the customers and next son Vito, whos friends with the irresponsible delivery man of Pizzeria, Mookie in the movie. There are lots of important characters in the movie Do the right things who made movie better. One of this is The Mayor, who is an alcoholic elder. Mother Sister, who always sits in her window whole day and watches outside; Radio Raheem, a very big man who walks up and down on the street with his big Sound system that look like extra-large even for him. He wears a metal finger ring on his 4 finger for both sides that says LOVE on one hand and HATE on the other hand. The first dialogue of the movie starts with Wake up, wake up, wake up .. this was telling on microphone by a Radio worker and DJ Mr. Senor Love Daddy. Likewise there is a Korean shopkeeper; Smiley, looks like a dementia and who always sells hand-made postcards of the only photo of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X together. In the movie, there is no any strong character of female artist in comparison of the male artist even though its starting from the strong dance of female character on Fight the Power. There is a Mookies sister Jade, who is always trying to get her brother Mookie to face up to his responsibilities, and Tina, Mookies girlfriend and mother of his infant son. There is a place in the Sals Pizza Shop called Wall of Fame; Lots of pictures of different people are placed there, where no African American peoples are included. That make angered for African American people although Sal himself think about his shop as the center of the neighbourhood and feels pleasure for having food place for the African-American neighbourhood. In that area it is very hard to find the business owned by African-American, only Sal and the Korean Grocery shop owner, who take the big money from the community. According to the main plot of the story, There is a boy whose name is Buggin Out, who always wants Sal to put up some pictures of black people at the side of the Sals pizzerias Wall of Fame, in the end of the movie that boy becomes the cause for the movies climax with violence blasts in and around the Sals Famous Pizzeria over the same issue of Wall of Fame. At the night time, A big group of African-American People with Radio Raheem is enter into the pizzeria, while pizzeria was already closed but Sal opens to them because he wants for more business. Radio Raheem always make louder sound on his sound system, Here in pizzeria, he makes its sound louder as well. They are doing force to put the picture of black people in wall of fame, but Sals refusing to put the picture of black. Sal telling to make the sound lower inside the pizzeria but Radio Raheem is not doing like that. All the black people are being aggressive. In the same situation, Sal became anger with his Music System and he broke that sound system of Radio Raheem then after Radio Raheem and other black people been aggressive. They did attack to the Sal, ÂÂ ­Police came and they arrest that black people who are doing attack and crucially hitting them as a result Radio Raheem killed. Big crowed of black people are giving pressure and telling Mokie to Stay Black. Then Mookie throws a trash on the Sals Famous Pizzeria towards the front glass and break all then that crowd of the black people make damage everything in Sals Pizzeria and its burned down. The movie was shotted on one of the hottest and longest day of the summer, which is start with the energetic and dazzling dance on the song of Fight the Power on the very hot bright and colourful background. But in the later this song Fight the Power only played when the Radio Raheem appears. From the viewers eye Do the Right Thing raises some questions like what is the appropriate way for society to deal the ethnic discrimination in that area (America) which is shown in the movie? Is that the right thing which has been done by Mookie in the film? Should it be done by the dialogue, understanding and positive way without any violence or only violence is only the right thing. There are the people with only one aspect. In the movie the African American People think they can do everything because they are more in numbers. I think its the quite poor things in the movie. In the summary, this movie comes closer to reflecting the current state of racial relations in America than any other movie of that time. There is no doubt about the originality and power of the movie. This movie must be watched by all. I think, it is still appropriate in the world today.

Overpopulation :: essays research papers

Overpopulation The twentieth century has drawn to a close and humanity faces the problem of being able to support its population without inducing catastrophic and irreversible destruction on Earth’s life-support systems. Throughout time, humankind has been living as though there are no consequences to its actions. But now, as people of the future, we see what is happening to the world that we live in. Despite all we know, these easily seen problems are still being ignored. Our actions in the past determine the present, and our actions now determine the future. In other words, we caused the overpopulation problems we are facing today, so we must also be the ones to solve them. Every day we share the Earth with 250,000 more people than the day before according to Zero Population Growth, a national non-profit organization working to slow population growth and achieve a sustainable balance of people, resources, and the environment. ZPG is the reason I have become an advocate and t hey have supplied most of my statistical information. Today’s children are likely to see a tripling of the global population within their lifetimes. These children our are next generation of parents, voters, consumers, and leaders. The choices they make are critical to stabilizing the population and protecting the environment. Educating the youth of the future will help them to understand the problems the earth faces and how they can help by influencing and being the political leaders who can adopt responsible population policies. One problem the earth and its inhabitants face today is our lack of resources due to of the increasing number of people. Tropical forests cover only 7 percent of the earth’s surface, but it holds over half of all plant and animal species in the world. The rate of destruction of these resources is now so far in excess of their renewable rates that they have effectively been turned into useless land. Although 3/4 of the earth is covered by wate r, less than one percent is readily available for human use. As the world population increases, this incredibly small amount of water will be the only supply for all humans, plants, and other animals on earth. Once this percent of water lessens even more, the agriculture will suffer, and people will have less food and so on. This cycle will continue until we consume all our natural resources. Humanity today is on a collision course due to our value system.

Exploration of Values in Robinson Crusoe, Odyssey, Tempest and Gulliver

Exploration of Values in Robinson Crusoe, The Odyssey, The Tempest and Gulliver’s Travels In the novels and epics of Robinson Crusoe, The Odyssey, The Tempest and Gulliver’s Travels the reader encounters an adventurer who ends up on an island for many years and then returns back home.   These four stories have another point in common: they are all unusually popular.   There is something very appealing to the popular imagination about such narratives. In this essay I will explore the vision of life (or at least some aspects of it) which this novel holds out to us and which is significantly different from the others, no matter how apparently similar the narrative form might be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Very simply put, these four stories have a similar general narrative structure which goes something like this: (a) a member of a sophisticated European society is accidentally cast adrift into the wilderness, where everything is unfamiliar and there are no apparent aids of normal society; (b) the hero must adjust to this strange environment, find some means of coping with the physical and the psychological dislocation; (c) the hero must find a way off the island, and (d) the hero must reintegrate himself into the society from which he unwillingly was alienated.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The casting adrift can happen in any number of ways.   Typically it is the result of a shipwreck, a mutiny, or a misadventure of some kind.   Adapting to the new environment may or may not involve adjusting to the people who live there.   It almost always will require the hero to cope with a very different vision of nature, and he will be forced to confront the fact that in this place things run very differently from what he is used to.   This, in turn, may produce al... ...t what really matters and what does not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, adventures with isolatos are, or can easily become, an exploration of moral values forced into the awareness of the hero by an unusual circumstance.   And this development brings with it inevitably a criticism or a confirmation of the social values (or some of them) of the society of which he is a representative, whose values he brings with him to the island, and to which he returns.   Prospero’s rejection of the island and of the magic he so loves, like Odysseus’ rejection of Calypso for his own Penelope, is not just a manifestation of the hero’s moral nature; it is also a confirmation of certain values in the society to which they are returning.   Gulliver’s rejection of European society upon his return at the end of the fourth voyage is, in large part, a very severe criticism of the moral laxity of Europe.

Engineering disasters :: essays research papers

On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost due to structural failure in the left wing. On take-off, it was reported that a piece of foam insulation surrounding the shuttle fleet's 15-story external fuel tanks fell off of Columbia's tank and struck the shuttle's left wing. Extremely hot gas entered the front of Columbia's left wing just 16 seconds after the orbiter penetrated the hottest part of Earth's atmosphere on re-entry. The shuttle was equipped with hundreds of temperature sensors positioned at strategic locations. The salvaged flight recorded revealed that temperatures started to rise in the left wing leading edge a full minute before any trouble on the shuttle was noted. With a damaged left wing, Columbia started to drag left. The ships' flight control computers fought a losing battle trying to keep Columbia's nose pointed forward.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s very hard to say what steps, if any, could have been taken to prevent the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster from occurring. When mankind continues to â€Å"push the envelope† in the interest of bettering humanity, there will always be risks. In the manned spaceflight business, we have always had to live with trade-offs. All programs do not carry equal risk nor do they offer the same benefits. The acceptable risk for a given program or operation should be worth the potential benefits to be gained. The goal should be a management system that puts safety first, but not safety at any price. As of Sept 7th, 2003, NASA has ordered extensive factory inspections of wing panels between flights that could add as much as three months to the time it takes to prepare a space shuttle orbiter for launch. NASA does all it can to safely bring its astronauts back to earth, but as stated earlier, risks are expected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August 14th, 2003, a major blackout swept across portions of the northeastern United States and Canada. It was reported that a series of equipment outages in the Midwest led to uncontrolled cascading outages of power transmission lines and generators serving parts of the Northeast, Midwest and Canada. Automatic protective systems operated to open circuits and shut down power plants to prevent further spread of the outages. This is very similar to what happened in The Great Northeast Blackout of 1965. In both situations, the â€Å"grid system† shut down one generator in line at a time to protect a surge from the station before it.

Three Skills I Need to Improve

Three Skills I need to Improve Part I Identify three skills for studying and learning online from Assessment 3. 1 that you would like to improve. Develop a brief action plan detailing the steps you will take to develop each skill. Part II Reflect on the people (friends, family, co-workers, social group, etc. ) in your life who support your choice to return to school, and answer the following questions: a. Who is part of your personal support system? Briefly describe each person/group. . How has each person or group of people supported and encouraged you in achieving your goals Identify three skills for studying and learning online from Assessment 3. 1 that you would like to improve . Develop a brief action plan detailing the steps you will take to develop each skill. Overcoming aloneness , Meeting deadlines, Enjoying relaxation I will be trying to work on how to talk with my words verses me always seeing people face to face. I started keeping a personal journal.I am working on deadli nes I seem to wait then realize that it’s more work than what I thought. Self-discipline is hard but its working for me with trying to get my work done on day to day. Relaxation I tried that at Panera Bread in the mall just to read over some work it was good. Part II Reflect on the people (friends, family, co-workers, social group, etc. ) in your life who support your choice to return to school, and answer the following questions: a. Who is part of your personal support system?Briefly describe each person/group. b. How has each person or group of people supported and encouraged you in achieving your goals? My husband and children are part of my support system. My daughter is very smart and says mom I can do your work. My husband helps me with understanding of this online school since he’s been doing this for a long time. They keep me encouraged because I get frustrated very quick. My husband says calm down and breath do this at your pace and you will get the hang of it .

British Airways Essay

In 1987, British Airways was privatised, and over the next decade turned from a loss-making nationalised company into â€Å"The World’s Favourite Airline† – a market-leading and very profitable plc. The strategy that transformed the company into a marketing-led and efficient operation was conceived and implemented by Lord King as Chairman, aided by Sir Colin (subsequently Lord) Marshall: two tough businessmen who confronted staff inefficiencies and so improved service effectiveness that BA was rated international business travellers’ favourite airline for several years in the 1990’s. Lord King having retired, Lord Marshall became Chairman and was succeeded as Chief Executive by Bob Ayling, a long-time BA manager. Ayling set in train a strategy to turn BA into a â€Å"global† airline – transcending the â€Å"flag-carrier† status (the role of a nation’s leading airline) it shared with Air France, Lufthansa, Swissair, Alitalia, Iberia – into an airline with no â€Å"national home† operating throughout the world. The dropping of the overtly â€Å"British† heritage and associations was reflected in a changed brand strategy. Away went aeroplane liveries featuring the Union flag, to be replaced by tailfins bearing themed designs from around the world. This was to address the â€Å"global traveller† a savvy (mainly business) customer whose criteria for purchase were service levels, range of destinations, promptness – not price. But the re-branding became a debacle. Customers, staff, alliance partners, shareholders and retailers (travel agents) all liked the British heritage and imagery and rebelled against the turn to an anonymous, characterless new style. Ayling also focused on cost-reduction programmes which antagonised and demotivated BA’s staff – and customers noticed the deterioration in behaviour of staff whose commitment to customer service suddenly plummeted. The upshot was that Ayling was ousted in a boardroom coup in March 2000. During his reign, a loss of 244m in the year to March 31 2000 – the first since privatisation – was recorded and the group’s market value had fallen  by half. A New Face. In May 2000, Rod Eddington joined BA as Chief Executive. He was previously Managing Directory of Cathay Pacific and Executive Chairman of Ansett, an Australian airline. Eddington’s immediate actions were designed to restore profitability to BA’s operations – and to restore the Union Flag to BA’s planes! He set about reducing the fleet, moving to smaller aircraft, cutting clearly unprofitable routes. He also targeted â€Å"high-yield† customers, the traditional mainstay segment for BA. Matching supply with demand was the overall concern, to restore positive cash flow. Strategically, BA’s longtime search for a merger partner was resumed. A link with American Airlines, the first choice partner, was out of the question after US regulatory authorities squashed the idea. A proposed merger with KLM, the Dutch flag carrier, was discussed in some depth, but that foundered on doubts over the long-term financial benefits, and arguments over the relative shares each airline would have in the merged company. Low-Cost Airlines. Meanwhile, the airline industry was undergoing a seismic shift with the rise of low-cost â€Å"no frills† airlines. Ryanair and easyJet had, at first, demonstrated the existence of a new market for cheap airline travel which had not been tapped by traditional airlines. But then they began to expand and to compete for passengers that normally would have gone to BA – even business class customers couldn’t see the reason â€Å"to pay  £100 for breakfast† (the difference in price between BA and easyJet between London and Edinburgh.) BA’s response (under Bob Ayling) was to form GO as a direct response to the no-frills competitor. Operating out of Stansted airport, GO was operated entirely separately from BA, so none of the high-cost culture was inherited. Launched in the face of vociferous opposition from easyJet, GO nevertheless established itself in the market – though at what cost, no-one could guess. Rod Eddington soon decided that his focus on premium customers made GO’s operations inconsistent with that of BA as a whole. GO was sold in May 2001 for  £100m to 3i, a UK venture capital and private equity group. GO was subsequently sold on to easy Jet for 375m. However, the driving of aggressive strategies from budget airlines is still forcing flag-carriers to re-assess their business models. The Outcome. For the year ended March 2001, Eddington’s steps had yielded a quadrupling of operating profits. Market share on key routes had been lost as cuts in fleet and routes bit, but BA believed it had lost customers who paid deeply-discounted fares. BA continued its vigorous pursuit of high-yield passengers. September 11th. So, all seemed to be going well. The brand was being restored, financial performance was improving and the only real problem was lack of progress on forming a partnership with a US carrier, prevented by the regulators. Then came September 11th, and the airline market fell apart. The consequences were swift – passenger numbers fell 28%, US airports were closed for a week, Swissair, Sabena, US Airlines and nearly, Aer Lingus, went bust. Alitalia lost 570m, Lufthansa 400m. Altogether the industry lost 7bn and shed 120,000 jobs – 13,000 at BA – and passenger numbers are still running at 13% below normal on transatlantic routes. In contrast, passenger numbers and financial results at low-cost carriers – easyJet and Ryanair – were rising impressively. Then came Sars, the Iraq war and the continuing sluggishness of the world economy, all deeply damaging to passenger numbers. Strategy at BA was thrown into disarray. Current Strategy. With the travel market is still subject to â€Å"global economic and political uncertainty†, BA has repeated its forecasts for lower revenues. However, the â€Å"fundamentals of this business are stronger than they have been for four or five years† John Rishton, Finance Director, says BA is generating cash, and is conserving that cash. (FT and D.Tel. 6.11.02). The operational imperatives to cope with the turbulent environment are expressed in BA’s â€Å"Future Size and Shape† initiative which is intended to: – Achieve significant cost reductions. Originally targeted at 650m, the cost savings are now expected to save an annualised  £1.1bn over 3 years (FT 19.3.03). Simplified operations and minimal overheads is the aim. – Cut capacity, to match supply of aircraft and flights to the reduced demand. – Cut staffing levels. A further 3,000 job cuts planned for March 2004 have been brought forward to September 2003. – Change BA’s business model. Aware that no-frills competition is not going to go away, but that BA possesses a positive service heritage, BA wants to create an offering that combines the best bits of BA and the no-frills model. Martin George, BA’s director of marketing and commercial development, explains â€Å"our customers like the BA product – convenient airports, high frequency, good level of service – but want it at the right price, and that’s what we’ll give them. It’s about changing our business model to allow us to compete profitably† (Management Today, September 2000). – Rationalise BA’s internal UK and short-haul business – CitiExpress has been formed from the activities of subsidiaries Brymon, BRAL, Manx and BA Regional. To stem heavy losses on this short-haul network, some rationalisation has been done – it has pulled out of Cardiff and Leeds-Bradford airports, and will cut its current fleet from 82 to 50 all-jet planes by end-2005. However, it is expanding operations from Manchester, and from London City airport to Paris and Frankfurt. (FT 18.12.02). It is recognised that BA started to take the bitter medicine of cost cuts and restructuring earlier and in bigger doses than rivals in Europe and North America, and that Rod Eddington has pushed through changes that were long overdue. But is this enough? – can BA wrest back the short haul market from easyJet and Ryanair, while maintaining its position in the longhaul market†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Strike! In July 2003, just at the start of the busy holiday season, BA was hit by an unofficial strike by Heathrow check-in and sales staff who were objecting to a hasty introduction of a swipe-card automatic clocking system. 500 flights were cancelled, affecting 100,000 passengers. The damage to BA’s service reputation was enormous. Both management and union leaders were taken by surprise, and it brought to a head the existence of restrictive practices going back 40 or 50 years which both sides have to confront. Performance. Results for the year ending 31st March 2003 showed a pretax profit of 135 on turnover down 7.8% to  £7.69bn, up from a loss of 335 in the year to March 2002. The results included a charge of 84m for the planned ending of Concorde flights in October, and a fourth-quarter loss (January to March) of 200m. These positive results were entirely down to cost reduction. No  dividend was paid – a consequence of the need to conserve cash. Operating margin at 3.8% is way below Eddington’s target of 10%. (D.Tel, 20.5.03, FT, 21.5.03). In the first quarter of the 2003-04 year, a pretax loss of  £45m was incurred – the effect of the Heathrow strike was put at 30-40m. The business environment. However, Rod Eddington sees the furure business environment as very hard to read, but expects it to get tougher. 2003-04 was meant, according to analysts, to be BA’s year of recovery, but it is not now expected to happen. (DTel, 11.2.03) A critical development is the start of talks between the EU and the USA to dismantle the web of regulations that have controlled the development of international aviation since the mid-1940’s. Eddington, as chairman of the Association of European Airlines, insists that truly global airlines are impossible in the current regulatory environment. â€Å"If it were left to the market, international airlines would undoubtedly follow in the footsteps of other industries and would seek the benefits of scale and scope that are currently denied them. A truly global airline†¦..would be free to operate wherever its customers demanded, free to grow organically or through acquisition and free to charge whatever the market would bear.† These talks are likely to be very long. However, it potentially offers the opportunity for an opening of the two biggest airline markets and lead to substantial consolidation of participants. (FT, 29.9.03). The takeover of KLM, the Dutch flag carrier, by Air France, may be the precursor to the consolidation expected. BA sees no threat from what is now Europe’s largest airline. D.Tel, 1.01.03).

Applying Branding Techniques Essay

Introduction The Brand Techniques simulation is based on cosmetic company’s building of a new brand. Ca’Shara is a United States based cosmetic manufacturer and marketer of skin care, hair care, and make-up. Ca’Shara has an established brand presence and known for quality products. The recent consumer interest in natural products has made Ca’Shara management decide to cater to this segment of the cosmetic market. The company has decided on a 5,000 year old health care system from India called Ayurveda. As the newly appointed Brand Manager, I will be responsible for building the new brand Three executives gave their expert advice in the decision making process throughout the simulation exercise. They were Tina Trotter, Head of Sales; Monique Knight, Brand Consultant; and Jim Reding, Country Manager. Perceptual Map The simulation give the psychographic profile of the Ayurvedic customer as Caucasian to African American, age 18-35 with an income of $50,000 or higher. The consumer survey shows the customer base largely holistic and classy with a combined 55%. Meaning they like the natural base products and exclusive products. The principles of Ayurveda are explained as the Three Doshas. This is important to understand because it shows the three skin types the new brand will target. This will be dry, oily, and irritable. The brand position choice made was high on both holistic and classy and titled Enduring Secrets from the East. This was incorrect. The correct choice was high holistic and low classy. Correct title is Perfect balance, mind and body. The reason for the choice was because of the psychographic percentages only contained a slim difference in weighted value. I didn’t realize this choice meant the brand would need to carve out a new niche instead of competing against another company’s products. The choice made meant the perception of the product would be set as a lofty, unreachable goad of  perfect in every way alleviating all concerns and possible disadvantages. Brand Name, Logo, & Slogan Two choices were made correctly using the focus group information. The brand name chosen was Natural Balance because it aligned with the brand positioning. Logo number 2 was chosen because of the market survey’s information. The logos green color and curves match the preferences of the focus groups. The shape gives the feel of feminine soft. The slogan of A Return to Nature was chose, but was not the best choice as it was similar to a competitor’s slogan. This choice doesn’t allow the brand to stand alone and differentiate itself in the market. It could dilute the brands identity. According to Cron.com the choosing of a name, logo, and slogan are nearly as important as the products sold. â€Å"If you choose your name and logo well, they will stay in your customers’ minds and remind them of the value your company offers. In fact, a well-chosen name and logo can help you to stand out amount the competition. Your customers will instantly think of your memorable business name and logo whenever they are in the market for your products or services.† For this very reason, the slogan that is similar to another like product is a grave error. Brand Associations- The Final Look Now we are down to choosing the brand associations. Who will promote and what events or causes will be align our brand with? The focus groups chose Maria Switzer as the spokesperson. They also pointed to two functions of interest, Partner with GreenEco and providing grants to women’s trust funds. These choices used $27,300 of the allotted $34,000. Total cost of these choices is $327,000 and under budget. It makes sense for a product that is built around natural ingredients to be associated with an environmental group like GreenEco. It also shows the company’s long term commitment to the environment. The choice of providing grants to women’s trust funds is a choice that gives back to the community in a broad spectrum. The customer base can see where they may see benefit locally for the dollars they’ve spent. The choice of Maria Switzer was that of a strong, independent female with her own sense of style. The public’s view of longevity is associated with this individual’s unique persona. Beyond the Simulation The simulation was good about applying the principles of brand positioning, but there are more ways to make your product stand out among similar brands. One additional aspect is to show ownership. The simulation had a spokesperson picked, but customers like to be able to identify an owner. This is true for large and small company’s ability to stand out from the competition. Knowing the face behind the product is important to keeping the consumer engaged. Per the SBA, â€Å"Businesses really thrive when the energy of the owner is there.† A good example was Steve Jobs involvement with Microsoft. Small businesses can equally benefit from the consumer having a face behind the product or service. It lets people know the owner is involved and active with the business. Another way to have stood out was not only the shape of the container, but to have the container recyclable, biodegradable, or refillable would have been a good aspect to have. This would further appeal to the profile of being environmentally friendly and support the GreenEco cause the brand is supporting. The brand in the simulation, Ayurveda, immediately had a sense of well-being and soothing associated with the brand. Not only is it not irritating to the individual’s skin, but the environment too. The brand was immediately associated with everything â€Å"green† in today’s society. Service vs. Tangible product Had the simulation used a service instead of a tangible product application there would have been no real difference. A brand is in the minds of the consumer. It is setting or understanding their perception of the product or service offered. Conclusion The simulation was an excellent tool in learning and applying the branding techniques. It was only after wrong decisions were made and explained, that I understood why they were incorrect. At that point they seem obviously wrong. Making sure to use the differences of a product or service is the key to finding a niche and making a product stand out among the masses. References Chron, retrieved March 9, 2014 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/choose-company-name-logo-2348.html SBA retrieved March 9, 2014 from http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/10-tips-help-you-build-and-grow-stand-out-small-business-brand

Descriptive Essay

Descriptive Portrait: My Grandmother When I picture my grandmother, I envision shiny grey hair, bright blue eyes, and the softest hands I have every felt. She is 94 years old and has 12 children. Virginia Irene Dill has raised many children, and that makes her the strongest person I know. When I walk through the door of her 75 year old home, I think of all the pain and joy my grandmother went through there. After so many years, our time together was not quite the same as it used to be since ten years ago when she started to fall ill due to old age. Despite the fact that her body does not allow her to do as much as she used to, I still remember her and the times we had together. Listening to the wonders of the world and the changes that have occurred, I have enjoyed hearing her stories. I enjoy most learning about my aunts’ and uncles’ crazy past. Our time together is special and the bond we hold is sacred. She holds the key to my history and is an example that a little hard work and a whole lot of patience is needed to make it in life. My grandmother’s small soft hands always surprise me. When I think of all the hard work that she had done including cooking, cleaning, and taking care of all her children, I cannot believe her hands could be kept so soft and manicured. She always wears a ring that my father bought her and she always tells me the story of when she received the ring The bright, shiny, silver ring holds an outer ring with jet black beads surrounded by sharp red beads, circled below with a turquoise stone, and pearly speckles. As I stand next to her, I feel like a giant. She is only five feet tall and is such a small, sweet lady. When I hug her, I feel safe and warm inside. While with her, I feel happy that she is a part of me She is a strong, sweet, and patient woman, and knowing this, it makes me happy to know that I have the potential to be like her. Her and I sit in her living next to the warm wood stove and have long talks about the past. We talk about my father and my grandfather, whom I never had the chance to meet. I always enjoy learning about my past, but the stories about my aunts and uncles and the mischievous things they did were always exciting to me. These stories always made me laugh like a young child when I hear them. Now ill due to old age, her face looks different. She is ghostly pale and calm as a cold winter breeze. I miss her smile and touch. Her hands and body are not as strong as they used to be, and most of the time, she looks tired. The smell of her oatmeal cookies no longer fills the room when I go to her house. The smell of fresh lotion scent has diminished, but most of all, I miss the long talks and warm hugs. I will always remember my grandmother and the impression she has made in my life.

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 31

Case study - Essay Example However, the system has provided significant challenges in the day-to-day running of the clinic. The challenges include wasting of time, staff overhead, inefficient or poor billing and also stressful to the patients. With the implementation of an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, the patient check in process will enjoy immense benefits, which include automation of the process using integrated technological features. As a result, healthcare services will be offered fast, accurate, consistently efficient and user satisfying (Scarlat, 2012). It is very essential to clarify that the implementation of a high quality electronic health records (EHR) system is a fundamental subject in ensuring that UMUC Family Clinic ends up delivering high quality services. In this sense, the key business process that needs to be improved is as stipulated below (Rodrigues, 2010). In order to deliver best services in the patient check-in process at the Clinic, the following Electronic health records system is proposed. The main aim is to provide long-term solutions to the current challenges experienced in the clinic. In essence, the Agility EHR 10 system has hereby been proposed as the best solution (Scarlat, 2012). It is crucial to outline that the Product name is identified as Agility EHR. In addition, the version number of the product is ten (10). In order to enjoy effective operation of the targeted (Agility EHR 10) Electronic Health Records System, it is important that additional software is integrated in its daily operations. This additional software entails Cerner Multum, Multum VantageRx version 3, Elsevier and ExitCare version 7.5. The certifying body for this system is the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology while the product CHPL number is CC-2014-615770-1 (Rodrigues, 2010). The availability of the aforementioned information has been of great significance to the success of the proposed solution. To be precise, the information plays a

Seminar in criminology -Discussion 11 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Seminar in criminology -Discussion 11 - Essay Example For example, one of the oldest inmates, who is 53 years, Jack Hill says that prisons are likely to make an inmate breakdown psychologically (HD Documentary, 2014). Another 30 year old inmate by the name Armando Doctor, seems to have more psychological pains than the other inmates (HD Documentary, 2014). For example, he says that he was aggravated and angry and that is why he was cutting himself several times. In Sykes study, he revealed that the attacks directed on an inmate’s sense of individual worth were similar to issues of incarceration. Though Sykes (2014) study was carried out many decades ago when life in prison was so much more brutal and degrading to the inmates, the prisons in this century in the U.S are more improved. Nonetheless, the deprivation of liberty, heterosexual relations, goods and services, security and autonomy as studied by Sykes (2014) are still present as noted in the documentary. A clear illustration of such deprivations which are discussed by Sykes (2014) is evident in the documentary, where the prison staff indicates that they do the best to ensure that no inmate has sharp objects or weapons in their possession, as it could result to an attack on enemy inmates or the prison staff. Hence, it is clear that even though prisons were intended to protect the society from violent people, prisons themselves can also be a place of death for the inmates themsel ves. Sykes, G. (2014). Inmate subcultures. In J. Wooldredge & A. Thistlethwaite (Eds.), Forty Studies that Changed Criminal Justice: Explorations into the History of Criminal Justice Research. Boston, MA: Little, Brown &

Media Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Media Analysis - Essay Example nts such as the tempo, rhythm, harmony, modality, among others, are crucial as they participate in the process of disseminating message in the media production to its intended audience. This essay discusses how music influences media production in both the positive and negative ways, if there is any. When music is used as an accompaniment in high-definition slide sets, television, motion pictures, and films productions, both the media producers and commercial producers accept and recommend this. In this case, music will be in the form of background, or mood music. However, there has been a debate whether this kind of music in media production results in increased motivation, enjoyment, and more learning for the people receiving the message in the media production (Seidman WEB). Some people believe that if the media production is meant exclusively for learning or education purposes, then the inclusion of background or mood music is unnecessary. This is because it lowers the concentration of the audience, and instead of paying attention to the educative material in the media, most will concentrate on the music alone. Various experimental evidence also point to this fact. Other scholars have argued against use of music in educational media because music produces different moods on the people, therefore, their mood of learning might be messed up, such that they will not benefit from what was meant to be an educative media session. This includes both instructional films and educational television programs. However, in media productions with other goals apart from educational goals, it is right to use the music. These include entertainment media productions, where people have entertainment as their sole purpose. Whether they concentrate or not, it will not cost them much, as music is also meant for entertainment (Seidman WEB). There are different roles music plays in media productions. For instance, in movies, background music gives the audience some relaxation and

Corrections Module 6 Online Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corrections Module 6 Online - Essay Example Before the adoption of the health policies, this article indicates that US court system was reluctant to challenge jail conditions that touched on the health of the prisoners. However, after the case of Estelle v Gamble, courts have taken the initiative to support institutional policies that were challenged by prisoners. Some of the policies that US courts advocated for included segregation of HIV-seropositive individuals in addition to no segregation policies (Harrison and Beck 39). According to the state of Nevada, prisoners were supposed to undergo a mandatory HIV testing. However, in 1990 the Ninth Circuit Court overturned the mandatory policy put in place by the Nevada authority. This article indicates Blucker v Washington, 95c50110, U.S. District Court [ND Ill]) as one of the major case that depicts the way prisoners rights were affected in 1990s. According to this case, an inmate it Illinois prison sued the staff on the ground that as a result of the sexual abuse by the prison gangs he was infected with HIV. However, after 2 trials his case was rejected. Major strategies emulated by the government to punish prisoners involved in infecting other with HIV include incarceration and creation of criminal sanctions. This article is related with the text book in that it depicts the extent to which prisoners and victims were denied their rights. However, the reforms in the US judicial system have significantly addressed their plights. According to this article, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other religious organisations stipulate that governors of the various US states should reject the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) proposal to buy and manage all the prisons that are under states authority (Abramsky 18). ACLU argues that by privatizing the US prisons, CCA would only increase it profits while the criminal justice reforms would be compromised. In addition, the article indicates the views of Office of Public Witness that depicts

Strategy in the Current Business Environment Research Paper

Strategy in the Current Business Environment - Research Paper Example This paper researches the business elements of Unilever extensively and compares it to one of its major competitors, Proctor and Gamble. Unilever is a British–Dutch multinational and a large-scale company offering consumer goods. The products offered by the organization include the beverages, foods, personal care products and cleaning agents. Unilever is the third-largest consumer goods company in the entire world in terms of its 2011 revenues. Procter & Gamble and Nestle follow the company with respect to their profits and sales generation. Proctor and Gamble Proctor and Gamble is a consumer goods company listed in the Fortune 500 list of the companies and is an American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The company, according to the 2011 statistics, witnessed $82.6 billion dollars in sales. In the list of â€Å"World’s Most Admired Companies† in Fortune magazine, the company is graded sixth in 2010 and has come up to fifth pl ace in 2011. The huge sales for Proctor and Gamble come from more than 160 countries all over the globe and this amount is balanced between the domestic and international markets of the company. Proctor and Gamble market and sells over 300 brands in its product line. The company has more than 120,000 employees who are divided into three business units of the organization worldwide. These business units include P&G beauty, P&G household care, and P&G family health. The company produces a wide variety of deodorants, colognes, skin care brands, personal cleaning and other products. Business Environment The business environment of an organization refers to the micro and macro environment in which it undertakes its operational and functional activities. This might include the basic legal, social and economic environments of the business at broader levels.

Communicating During a Downsizing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 28

Communicating During a Downsizing - Case Study Example The slogan for the operation is â€Å"transformation with reaffirmation† meaning that change is inevitable but there is always a reason for it. Through a deep deliberation, it is decided that the best method to inform the employees that they are being let go is the use of the face to face communication due to how serious the issue is. It is important to explain to the employees the need for change, the method of handling it, and the necessary support available to the hospital employees. Much control is to be given to the employees and for this reason the use of open communication. Employees willing to undergo early retirement are to forward their details. Basing on the respond the action can be taken to layoff those willing and save those willing to remain. Those laid off are to undergo counseling, attend workshops on resume building, issued with recommendations from the hospital, and anything that is of benefit to the career of the employee and life (Lehman & Dufrene, 2011). A clear timeframe for the layoff events is created so that everyone is aware of the sequence of events for the layoff. It helps in ensuring that everyone has the desired information about the process. A track record of how the employees are coping with the change is formulated through a series of records to ensure a seamless flow of events. It gives a control tool to help when the need arises. However, the process is not expected to be definite as there is no easy layoff but the aim of the communication is to ensure that the employees understand the need for change. The plan is also to help the hospital maintain its reputation and do what it has done (Lehman & Dufrene, 2011).   The hospital is faced with a situation where 200 employees out of 1500 should downsize. It is a fact that the hospital does not operate in isolation but in the environment that needs consideration in effecting the step. The general public is another element to consider in effecting the issue. The government, the local community, the investors and other friends of the hospitals to be put into consideration (Clampitt, 2009).  

Christians should take more interest in ethics Assignment

Christians should take more interest in ethics - Assignment Example According to Brit Hume, the recent financial crisis was a result of unethical behavior that was conducted with regard to the functioning of the financial markets, government, lending banks and lastly the public. It becomes imperative to be stated in this regard that the proper pursuance of the commandments in bible by the Christians would have checked such an occurrence. It has been stated by Exodus 20:15 under the eighth commandment that one should not steal. This implies that one should not earn by stealing from others or in an unethical way (Long, â€Å"Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction†). According to the laws stated under the deuteronomic code, 25:13-16 laid down the need of ordering just weights as well as measures. This implies that there needs to exist an honest and ethical relationship between the trader and the customers focusing on a fair policy of pricing (Hall, â€Å"Deuteronomy†). It has also been stated by Luke 19:1 in this regard that salvation is deserved by all the individuals even in case of unethical conducts as all individuals are considered to be equal in the eyes of god (Alexander, â€Å"Christianity and Ethics†). The above teachings as stated in the bible evidently focus on the aspect of ethics and the way it should guide and direct the behavior of the individuals. Therefore, the practice of the teachings of Jesus or the Christian ethics is believed to ensure the practice of ethics even in case of economic activities which would further prevent the occurrences of such financial crises in the

Focus Groups Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Focus Groups - Essay Example The colours used to identify objects, the tone used to communicate , and the environment in which it is done all are important with teaching a particular subject matter. The method by which an instruction is passed on coupled with the quality of content also has an impressionable impact on understanding capability of the recipient. To support the above hypothesis a study was conducted on two groups of children from kindergarten, each group comprising of 10 children between the age group of the age 4 to 5 years .So that there is minimum disparity in the final results due to the level of understanding among the children of the two groups the IQ of the children in both the groups was almost the same. The main purpose of choosing this segment of kids was their total dependence on their facilitators for explaining the content to them. Unlike a slighter older group who can get study materials from reference libraries and the internet, this group due to their limited exposure, would have minimal external influence on the material they would be taught . Their understanding on the subject matter would depend mainly on the method of instruction, the kind of content and the mediums used to deliver it. The first group ( Group 1) was exposed to Montessori way of education and the second group (Group 2) to the traditional public elementary school way of conducting classes. The experiment was presided over by two experienced teachers. Children from both the groups were to be evaluated on a spelling test of 30, five lettered words which would be conducted after a period of about 20 days. The outcome of the two groups would be evaluated on the average scored, scored by each group. Group 1 was introduced to phonetics through the Montessori method of education which lays more emphasis on child development and the over all build up of the child. Here the children were exposed to phonetics in the play way method which helps them learn the spellings by recognising

Marriage Imprisons Essay Example for Free

Marriage Imprisons Essay Lectric Law Library defines marriage as, A contract made in due form of law, by which a free man and a free woman reciprocally engage to live with each other during their joint lives, in the union which ought to exist between husband and wife. By the terms freeman and freewoman in this definition are meant, not only that they are free and not slaves, but also that they are clear of all bars to a lawful marriage (Marriage). Unfortunately, this written definition doesnt always seem to be working in everyday life. In the short stories, The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, An Adventure in Paris by Guy de Maupassant and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber, a reader may find many examples that demonstrate how marriage imprisons people. In the vey first sentence in The Story of an Hour a reader finds out that the main character, Louise has heart trouble and may not be able to handle shock or surprise. At the same time, her heart problems symbolize her heartbreak over her role in life. From almost the beginning, the reader is given a clue that Louise has wanted to free herself from her marriage. Mrs. Mallard reacts to the news about her husbands death with sudden, wild abandonment and locks herself in her bedroom (Chopin 123). The narrator notes that her reaction is not usual for a woman who has just lost her husband. She does not feel paralyzed or unable to accept his fate. She is able to quickly abandon her role as a wife. Ironically, her husbands death makes Louise to feel alive for the first time. The author describes the beautiful change from winter to spring. The new season is a symbol of the transformation of Louises character. The open widow symbolizes all the possibilities that are now available to her. The storys springtime setting also symbolizes her rebirth as an independent person. Now that her husband is dead, she will be free to assert herself in ways she never before dreamed while she was married. She states that she had loved her husband sometimes, but that now she would be Free! Body and soul free! (Chopin 124). The major irony of the story comes with the surprise at the end. Louise thought her freedom would come from her husbands death. Instead, she gains freedom from his domination only in her own death after she finds out hes alive. Unfortunately, long fee life she imagined lasted just for an hour. Another great example of imprisoned by marriage woman is the main character of An Adventure in Paris by Guy De Maupassant. In the story the author reveals a story of a married woman who has spent a great portion of her life at home raising her two children. Obviously, she neither had the chance to experience much excitement nor adventure through these years. Thus, she felt that she was growing old without having known life (De Maupassant 512). She often thought of the exciting life of Paris, wishing to free herself from the dull life she led, and to get the chance to experience some pleasure on her own. One day, she finds a pretext to get out of the house and goes for a journey to Paris (De Maupassant 512). She meets a well-know man, Jean Varin who shows her the way he lives in Paris. They go together for a walk, for a dinner, she even stays at his house for the night. Unfortunately, all she experiences next to his side is nothing comparing to what she dreamed of. She realizes that those well-known men in Paris arent any different than her own husband. Just like her husband Varin snores and sleeps on his back. Lying next to Varin in bed, she was heartbroken (De Maupassant 515). Surprisingly through out the story a narrator never reveals the womans name, she is referred to the reader as a she (De Maupassant 512). This is not an accident of a narrative. De Maupassant shows that while the woman is married, she cease to exist as her own person. The woman is simply controlled and imprisoned by her family and all the responsibilities as a mother and wife. In contrast, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber illustrates that not only women may experience a feeling of being imprisoned by marriage. The main character in the story, Walter Mitty is fully controlled by his wife and seems to be unable to stand up for himself. Mitty is trapped in a world that is full of dull responsibilities and offers few possibilities for adventure. He spends much of his time escaping into fantasies in which it is him who is in control, and in which his life is full of excitement and adventure. Mitty dreams of flying planes in hazardous conditions and causing scenes in courtrooms, but his life consists of buying overshoes and waiting for his wife to have her hair done. His wife obviously worries about Walters health and welfare; she observes that he is nervous, suggests a visit to a doctor, notes that she intends to check his temperature when they return home, and reminds him to wear his gloves and buy overshoes. Unfortunately, at the same time she is breaking the spirit of the man in his life which makes him feel imprisoned. Mitty keeps escaping into fantasies to forget at least for few minutes about his miserable life. Many people recognize marriage with happiness and joyful life. Unfortunately, as we learn from the three stories above, married people often find their life more dull than enjoyable. Lack of excitement and pleasures in marriage, make spouses life unhappy and thats why they often look for a way to escape from it. Thus, in reality marriage differs from its written definition and in fact imprisons people. Works Cited Baush, Richard and R.V. Cassill, eds. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. New York: Norton, 2006. Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Baush and Cassil123- 125. De Maupassant, Guy. An Adventure in Paris. Baush and Cassil 511- 516. Marriage. The Lectric Law Librarys Lexicon On. 2007. Lectric Law Library.15 Nov 2007. http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/m087.htm Thurber, James. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Baush and Cassill 720- 724.