Marxist Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marxist Theory - Essay Example Marxism focuses on the relations between different social classes and the societal conflict. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the intellectual tenets of Marxism in the mid to late 19th century. Many writers have endeavored to talk and elaborate more on this as Marxism has taken a key root in the economies and societal relationships of many countries. Among them are Franz Kafka in the book Metamorphosis and Guy De Maupassant in the book The Necklace. In our following essay, we shall be seeking to associate the two novels and capitalism. Metamorphosis warns of the effects of capitalism. Those human beings are held up in a cocoon of labor and labor and the inevitable end where human beings will be lonely and live a life of makes him horror. It also creates a notion that in the end women will rule over men. The Novella revolves around Gregor who is a salesperson hawking fabric so that he can be able to support his mother and sister. He works so hard like an insect to find anything he c an survive with. He becomes exhausted with this race and he oversleeps and later wakes up and wakes up as a monstrous vermin. Gregor is trapped by his job that makes him like a machine that can be replaced any minute. Entangled by his parents debt and his will to provide for his family he is left with no way out but becoming an alcoholic and this makes him. He works so hard like an insect to find anything he can survive with. He becomes exhausted with this race and he oversleeps and later wakes up.

Save The Planet Essay Example for Free

Save The Planet Essay A couple of months ago, I got into my car, put on my seatbelt, put on my sunglasses and drove south. 23 hundred miles round trip. I went to cabo and I got to see some beatiful sights, but the one I enjoyed the most was the ocean. I would get the warmest feeling every time I took off my sandals and walked across the beach, I would burry my feet in some of the whithest sand Ive ever seen and look up clear sky. I would feel the breeze and look into the ocean, always blue, always massive, always there. And I couldnt help but to feel small, but I would also feel like I was part of something, even if I was the smallest part of it, I was still a part of it. I would hate it if my generation was one of the last generations that gets to experience that. And of course the conversation about saving the planet goes much deeper and has much higher stakes than the ability to stand in the beach and look at the ocen adn feel small. Because the changes weve casued to our evnirmnment are not small, in only a  few ears weve extracted tons of fossil fuels from the ground and poured them into the atmosphere making it harder for sun light to reflect into space and causing temperatures in the whole planet to become up to 2 degrees warmer and for weather pattersn to become more violent. Weve also transformed the landscape, in the last 40 years, weve cut down 20% of the amazon rain forest, and weve caused the extinsion od dozens of species that once roamed the earth carelessly. We look at these facts and it becomes obvious that the planet needs our help, that weve caused all this damage and we must do something to correct it.. we have to save our planet And of course we want to save it, and we try to understand what ca we do to save it, and we relize the planet is 4.5 bilion years old, that it used to be a gigantic ball of lava with explosions and volcanic eruptions left and right, then being 2 degrees warmer or colder, doesnt seem to make much of a difference, or when we think about how 100% of the planet used to be bombarded by asteroids at any time, then 20% of rainforest also doesnt seem like much, even worse when we consider that [99.9%] of all the species that have ever lived in this planet have gone extint, then a couple of dozen dont seem like such a big deal. No, when we put all the transformations that weve put the planet through in the geological scale, yes, they might be noticeable, but transitory, nothing a 4.5 billion year old planet cant shake off in a couple of thounsand years. WE, on the other hand, are NOT 4.5 billion years old, we, are only, as a species about 250,000 years old, we do not carry ourselves in geological scales. So, when we talk about doing saving the planet, about stoping global warmin, recycling or saving water, were not really talking about saving the planet, the planet has been here for a lot longer than us and will probably continue to be here for a lot longer after we are gone. No, what we are talking about is keeping it habitable, so that WE can continue to live in it.

Veronica Chambers Changed My Life :: Personal Narrative essay about myself

Veronica Chambers Changed My Life African-American author Veronica Chambers, whose May 1997 debut memoir Mama's Girl is a New York best-seller, characterizes her writer's life as "roses above thorns. The roses are above, but there's always thorns underneath. Sometimes the work is pleasant, but it's usually thorny." Chambers unearthed her talent through a tumultuous childhood and adolescence to emerge as a promising young writer and accomplished journalist. She is a former editor at The New York Times Magazine and Premiere Magazine. A frequent contributor to Essence, The New York Times book review and The Los Angeles Times book review, she is the coauthor, with John Singleton, of Poetic Justice. Chambers holds a Freedom Forum Fellowship at Columbia University. Her intensely personal encounter with Tupac Shakur, the L.A. rapper who was gunned down almost a year ago, appeared in Esquire. Harlem Renaissance, Chambers's latest young adults' book, will be released in fall 1997. Slated for spring '98 is another book, Marisol and Magdalena. While juggling a demanding professional schedule, Chambers devotes herself to volunteer work: teaching writing to New York City public school children. "Working with those children is like breathing for me," says the 27- year-old writer. "Some of their writings are heartbreaking as they wrestle with problems of identification, adolescence, communication, rape, inner-city violence and drugs. They desperately seek role models, and whether I like it or not, they look to me to guide them." Working primarily with immigrant students--a New York City report recently classified the city's population as 51% nonwhite due to record newcomers--Chambers asks students to write about their personal lives for each other. Knowing many feel alienated, Chambers points out that shared loneliness can become a source of strength. While her students see only her success, Chambers sees in them the reflection of her turbulent childhood. It is her saga of survival and triumph that Chambers--the Brooklyn- bred daughter of a Panamanian mother and Dominican-American father-- chronicled in Mama's Girl. Her Riverhead Books editor, Julie Grau, says, "When I first met her, she was impossibly young, but already possessed a maturity because she had lived and overcome a difficult childhood. I liked her because she was so fresh and unpretentious." Chambers's openness is exceptional considering the trauma she must have suffered at 10 years old when her father abandoned the family--setting in motion years of bitter struggle.

 Oedipus Complex in Sons and Lovers

Sigmund Freud introduced two theories, one is Oedipus complex and other is Electra complex. Sigmund Freud's theory, the Oedipus complex takes its name from the Greek play Oedipus Rex. In the play Oedipus is prophesied to murder his father, marry his mother and have sex with her and he does this unwittingly. The strong attraction of a child to the parent of the opposite sex and envy or jealous feelings toward the parent of the same sex that may be a source of adult personality disorder when unresolved. This attraction in a boy for mother is called Oedipus complex and The female version is called the Electra complex.D. H Lawrence was well aware of Freud's theory. In Sons and Lovers, D. H Lawrence uses the Oedipus complex as its base for exploring Paul's relationship with his mother. Paul is too much attracted to his mother and their love often borders on romantic desire. D. H Lawrence writes many times in the novel about their relation and they go beyond the bounds of conventional moth er son love. Paul hates his father and often fantasizes about his death and loves her mother and in this way he completes the Oedipus equation in the novel. D. H.Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers is the most reliable and remarkable example of Freud’s Oedipus complex in modern literature. Hu Junjie, a Freudian psychologist writes that Lawrence is one of the most original, realist and controversial English writers of the modern literature and twentieth century. The main theme of his writing was relationship between man and woman. His work Lady Chatterley’s Lover was rejected by his contemporary English society and it was based on theme if pornographic nature. However, in D. H Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers Oedipus complex is the dominant theme.The complex here chiefly moves around protagonist Paul and his mother’s dealings or relation. The Oedipus complex begins to appear in William and Paul is examplified in the relationship between their parents. The boys wit ness an unsuccessful & abusive marriage in which Walter Morel often comes home drunk after wasting the family’s income on gambling. He does not like meals in the presence of family. He abuses his Mrs. Boys notice all this and they begin to hate their father and be sympathetic and protective towards their mother. The children see their mother good and pure.She keeps her sons all to herself and sheltered from their father. In this way Gertrude Morel is unconsciously molding her sons into her desires, so with the passage of time they can take the place of her husband. No doubt their marriage was their own choice but now she is clearly unhappy in her marriage and now she tries to live vicariously through her sons. This is the basic motivation that allows the oedipal attachment to form in the two boys. William is the oldest and the mother’s favorite son. He does everything for her mother’s pleasure. He buys two egg cups from the fair for his mother.Sibling rivalry ex ists in the two brothers, William and Paul, as they compete for their mother’s love. Mrs. Morel does not like his female companions and becomes jealous and he finally moves to London. William’s this action of moving to London was his unconscious way of trying to break free from the oedipal attachment to his mother. In London, Mr. William meets a beautiful girl named Lily. They become closer friends but Mr. William is not happy and he has a misogynistic attitude towards her. It is very clear that Lily does not have the good qualities he sees in his mother and it angers and frustrates him.William shows classic symptoms of dissatisfaction. When Mr. William voices his dissatisfaction with Lily and his mother asks him to reconsider marrying her. He replies, †Oh well, I’ve gone too far to break it off now†. All these conflicted moments and feelings that William is experiencing are a sign of his apparent struggle to get rid himself of the oedipal complex th en William eventually gets sick and dies. After William’s death, Paul takes his place and becomes mother’s favorite. This action compels to think a person that she may thought of him as a suitor.This is proved when she accepts a bottle of perfume from him. She said â€Å"Pretty! † in an odd tone or in a curios way, Lawrence says, â€Å"Of a woman accepting a love-token†. When Paul reaches at the age of sixteen to twenty (adulthood), it is clear the Oedipus complex has taken him over (chapter 3). His relationship with his father is deformed and he becomes jealous of him. He hates his father too much and He even asks his mother not to sleep with the father anymore. Young Paul meets Miriam Leivers, he likes her and he is repeating the same misogynistic behavior like his brother William did with Lily.He thinks that he would be betraying his mother by loving her. But the idea that Paul is interested in someone other than his mother shows an attempt to break th e oedipal complex he has. But the mother foils this attempt by making him feel guilty for wanting to be with miss Miriam. She says, â€Å"I cannot bear it, I could let another woman, but not her. She’d leave me no room, not a bit of room. And I’ve never you know Paul, I’ve never had a husband, not really. † The mother exhibited the same behavior with William by being jealous of his female companions and is now being imposed on Paul.Gertrude Morel reinforces the Oedipus complex within Paul by suffocating him and in a elusive way asking him to replace her husband. Paul and Mariam’s relation now reduced to friendship. Paul has to repress his romantic feelings that he might have for her, so she will not replace his mother’s place. Later in the novel we come across that Paul does become physically intimate with Miriam but it is short-lived because Paul will not marry her. It also shows that Paul suffers from a fear of closeness and affair as he c ontinues to remain emotionally detached from Miriam.Paul, once again gives in to the oedipal attachment for his mother. Paul does have an affair with a married but separated woman named of Clara Dawes. In relation to Clara Paul allows himself to have this relationship because he is well aware that realistically this relationship can never go anywhere. Clara would never be divorced her husband. That’s why Clara is not a threat to Paul’s oedipal complex to his mother. There is no threat of her taking his mother’s place. Gertrude morel now becomes ill, she feels pain and Paul gives her morphine.But in the end he intentionally overdoses of morphine to her, which leads to her death and reduced her sufferings. This is a case of euthanasia, this action of killing his mother was a conscious way to reduce her sufferings but unconsciously he releases himself Oedipus complex once and for all. Paul, after her mother’s death, is devastated and alone. Much time has pas sed and Miriam still wants to be with Paul but he refuses. It means that even after his mother’s death he is still not free from his attachment to her mother because he chooses to be alone.The unpleasant relationship with his mother is still present in Paul’s life. Conclusion: No doubt in the history of psychology a large number of thinkers are influenced by Freud’s view of sexuality. to some extend Some of his followers seem to create their work behind the establishment of Freudian sex theories. But these theories have been losing their appeal along with modernization of psychology. Joseph Jastrow a follower of Freud says that Freud’s Oedipus complex is an indecent and inadequate concept. It’s impossible to find any origin or root of this claim.After constant study we are able merely to know that it is nothing but a consequence of Freud’s imaginative psychoanalysis based on his personal supposition that lacks evidence. But we cannot put it aside that it is a biographical novel. D. H Lawrence loves her mother but not his father. If we come to the conclusion of Paul’s case, we find that his Oedipus complex and its causes are already clear to us. Paul grows in a bitter environment and he has not become a normal adult by getting over some problems. That is not only because of his mother’s abnormal maternity.There are many other reason; some problems with the parents, some with himself, some with his brothers, even some from the society and the mechanical civilization, all these lead to the family tragedy and distortion of personality and devastate people’s healthy development on spirits. Now we can realize and recognize that Paul’ relation with mother is the outcome of many unusual and abnormal causes which are partial, exceptional and individual rather than universal. We can say that it is not usual or natural for the people living in a healthy family and environment to have such anomalous and complex emotional problems.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Accouniting Information System Essay

Abstract- In this study the effectiveness of accounting information systems from finance managers of listed companies at Tehran Stock Exchange is evaluated. The results indicate that implementation of the accounting information systems at the companies under study caused the improvement of managers decision-making process, improving internal controls, improving the quality of the financial reports and facilitated the process of the company’s transactions. The results did not show any indication that performance evaluation process had been improved. Key words: Accounting Information Systems, Quality of Financial Reports, Internal Controls, Decision Making, Performance Evaluation. INTRODUCTION In managing an organization and implementing an internal control system the role of accounting information system (AIS) is crucial. An important question in the field of accounting and management decision-making concerns the fit of AIS with organizational requirements for information communication and control, Nicolaou (2000). Although the information generated from an accounting information system can be effective in decision-making process, but purchase, installation and  usage of such system is beneficial when its benefits exceeds its costs. Benefits of accounting information system can be evaluated by its impacts on improvement of decision-making process, quality of accounting information, performance evaluation, internal controls and facilitating company’s transactions. Regarding the above five characteristics, the effectiveness of AIS is highly important for all the firms. An AIS is defined as computer-based system that processes financial information and supports decision tasks in the context of coordination and control of organizational activities, Nicolaou (2000). LITERATURE REVIEW Accounting information system is considered as a sub system of management information system (MIS). Regarding accounting as information system perhaps is the latest definition of accounting. For the first time in 1966 the Statement of Basic Accounting Theory, published by the American Institute of Certified Accountants (AICPA), stated that: â€Å"Accounting actually is information system and if we be more precise accounting is the practice of general theories of information in the field of effective economic activities and consists of a major part of the information which is presented in the quantitative for†. In the above definition, accounting is part of general information system of an economic entity. Boochhold (1999) defines accounting information systems as systems that have function of data gathering, processing, categorizing and reporting financial events with the aim of providing relevant information for the purpose of score keeping, attention directing and decision-making. Accounting information systems are considered important organizational mechanisms that are critical for effectiveness decision management and control in organizations, (Galbraith, 1983; Zimmerman, 1995). Systems will be useful when information provided by them is used effectively in  decision-making process by the users. Otley (1980, 325) argues that Accounting System are an important part of the fabric of organizational life and need to be evaluated in their wider managerial, organizational and environmental context. Therefore, the effectiveness of accounting information systems not only depends on the purposes of such systems but also depends on contingency factors of each organization. Accounting information systems are said to be effective when the information provided by them serves widely the requirements of the system users. Effective systems should systematically provide information which has a potential effects on decision-making process, Ivest et.al. (1983). The effectiveness of accounting information systems has long been a subject of many research, (Chong, 1996, Chenhall and Moriss, 1986, Kim, 1988, Mia and Chenhall 1994).Accounting information usually are categorized under two categories; 1) information that influence decision-making and mainly used for the purpose controlling the organization and 2) information that facilitate decision-making process and mostly used for coordination within an organization, (Demski and Feltham, 1976, Kren, 1992). Huber (1990) argues that, integration of accounting information systems leads to coordination in organization which in turn increases the quality of the decisions. Some research in accounting show that the effectiveness of accounting information systems depend upon the quality of the output of the information system that can satisfy the users’ needs, (Cameron, 1986, Lewin and Minton,1986, Quinn and Rohrbaugh, 1983, Deone and Mclean, 1992, Kim, 1989). Generally, accounting information systems; 1) provide financial reports on a daily and weekly basis and; 2) in addition provide useful information for monitoring decision-making process and performance of the organization. Simons (1987) in his study we used the first part of the above statement as measure of control for management and the second part for evaluating the effectiveness of the accounting information systems via continuous monitoring. By reviewing research studies during 1987-1999, one finds out that 57 research has been conducted on the issue of accounting information systems and decision-making. Therefore, it shows the importance of the research in  this area. Accounting information systems provide primary data for decision-making. Information technology has caused many changes in reporting information. Thus, the characteristics of information currently prepared can help decision-makers to seek more alternatives to the solution of the problem in hand. Accessibility to information related to the main transactions of an organization leads to a categorized detailed information which facilitates decision making in any difficult situation, Sutton and Arnold (1995). Accounting information system, is a computer based system that is defined by Nicoloau (2000) as a system that increases the control and enhance the corporation in the organization. Management is engaged with different types of activities that are requiring good quality and reliable information. They require also non-financial information such as production statistics, quality of production and so on. However, quality of information generated from AIS is very important for management, Mckinnon and Bruns (1992). Kim (1989) argues that usage of AIS depends on the perception of the quality of information by the users. Generally the quality of information depends on reliability, form of reporting, timeliness and relevance to the decisions. Effectiveness of accounting information system also depends on the perception of decision-makers on the usefulness of information generated by the system to satisfy informational needs for operation processes, managerial reports, budgeting and control within organization. Some research indicate that the effectiveness of accounting information systems depend on the quality of output information that satisfy the users, Cameron (1986), Lewin and Minton, (1986), Quinn and Rohrbaugh, (1983), Delone and Mclean, (1992) and Kim, (1989). Effectiveness of accounting information systems can be analyzed on three basis: 1)- information scope, 2)- timeliness, 3)- aggregation. Information scope is considered as financial and non-financial information, internal and external information that is useful in prediction of future events. Timeliness quality is related to the ability of accounting information system to satisfy informational needs by providing systematic reports to the users of information. Aggregation of information is considered as means of collecting and summarizing information within a given  time period, Choe (1998). Doll and Torkzadeh (1988), for studying the satisfaction of the users’ of information use some concepts to measure the effectiveness of the accounting information systems. These concepts are information content, accuracy, format, ease to use and timeliness. HYPOTHESES After reviewing relevant literature, five main variables and three moderator variables were hypothesized. Hypothesis 1: Accounting information systems leads to better decision-making by managers. Hypothesis 2: Accounting information systems leads to more effective internal control systems. Hypothesis 3: Accounting information systems enhance the quality of financial reports. Hypothesis 4: Accounting information systems improves performance measures. Hypothesis 5: Accounting information systems makes financial transaction process easy. MODERATOR VARIABLES Hypotheses based on moderator variables are set up to see whether such variables have any impact on the respondents’ responses to the research questions. One expects that such variables do not influence the way that respondents reply to the questions in the questionnaire. Hypothesis 1: There is a relationship between the levels of respondents’ education and evaluation of the effectiveness of accounting information system. Hypothesis 2: There is a relationship between the job experience of the respondents and evaluation of the effectiveness of accounting information system. Hypothesis 3: There is a relationship between the field of respondents’ education and evaluation of the effectiveness of accounting information system. RESEARCH METHOD Sample and data collection This study is based on the companies listed at Tehran’s stock exchange. No specific time period is considered since it is not a time series study. A  questionnaire is designed and after pilot study was sent to the sample firms. A population of 347 companies has been listed at Tehran’s stock exchange up to 1383. These companies are distributed along fifteen industries. Our sample has been randomly selected using sampling with no replacement process. For this purpose the below formula: 2 2 N ZÃŽ ±/2 ÃŽ ´ X n = ————————— 2 2 2 Ã'” (N-1) + ZÃŽ ±/2 ÃŽ ´ X 22 347 ( 1.96) (0.29) n = ———————————— = 95 (0.05)2 (347-1) + (1.96)2(0.29)2 Based on the ratio of the companies in each industry to the total number of companies in the population, the number of companies in each industry for the sampled firms was determined. The main data collection instrument in this study is questionnaire. For this purpose a questionnaire was designed after reviewing the relevant literature. The questions are on the five point Likert type questions, with a choice of very little to very much. The questionnaire consists of twenty questions, which were carefully designed to collect relevant data. The research instrument was pilot studied, by expert panels including faculty members. The revised instrument and a cover letter were mailed to the specific individual who was listed as financial managers of the sampled firms. A reminder was sent and non-respondents were followed up with two additional mailings. In the first questionnaire launching 54 questionnaires were completed and returned. In the second and third mailings a total of 33 more completed questionnaires were returned. Altogether 87 questionnaires were available for data analysis in this study. STATISTICAL TESTS To test the hypotheses of this research we have used z and χ2 statistics at confidence level of 95%. The research hypotheses were put in the form of statistical hypotheses such as H0 and H1. With regards to the nature of five-point scale questions, therefore, we test whether the mean value of each question is less than or greater than 3. Number 3 is the average number of the five choices in each question: 1+2+3+4+5  µ = ——————- = 3 5 Thus, statistical hypotheses are set up as follows: H0:  µ ≠¤ 3 H1:  µ > 3 Testing moderator variables: to test the moderator variables and see whether they have any impact on the main variables, in this research χ2 tests were conducted. TESTING HYPOTHESES AND ANALYZING THE RESULTS To study the research hypotheses eighty seven finance directors (financial managers) were selected as final sample in this study to answer the question put forward to them in the questionnaire. The data collected in this way was edited and some questions merged to measure each hypothesis. Average number of 3 was taken as the mean of the five-point questions in the questionnaire. Table -1 shows a descriptive statistics of five hypotheses. Table-1 Descriptive statistics MinMaxStd.Error of KurtosisKurtosisStd. Error of SkewnessSkewnessVarianceStandard DeviationModeMeanStd. Error from  MeanAveHypotheses 2.53.50.5110.0940.258-1.0870.1040.3223.53.250.3453.227H1 2.540.5110.799-0.2580.5680.1780.422330.0453.244H2 2.5.7540.5110.252-0.2580.364-0.2630.51243.750.5493.75H3 2.53.50.5110. 890-0.2580.8250.1380.3722. 52.750.3992.80H4 2.754.50.5110.419-0.2580.175-0.1950.4423.53.50.4743.58H5 Results of the first hypothesis: Accounting information systems lead to better decision-making by managers. Z statistic concerning the test of first hypothesis is equal to 6.47 (table-2 ).By comparing this value with the critical value of 1.645, we accept H1 and reject H0. Therefore, the first hypothesis is accepted indicating that implementation of an accounting information system in an organization could improve decision making by managers. The average of the questions measuring this hypothesis is 3.227 and the skewness of -1.087. The kurtosis of 0.094 indicates that the distribution of our data is slightly taller than normal distribution with 0.322 standard deviation. Thus, we could conclude that our respondents on average and slightly above the average believe that accounting information systems lead to better decision-making by managers. Results of the second hypothesis: Accounting information systems leads to more effective internal control systems. Table-2 shows the Z value of testing the second hypothesis equal to 5.389. Again, comparing this value with the critical value of 1.645, we accept H1 and reject H0. This indicates that from the respondents’ point of view accounting information systems would lead to better internal control systems. Descriptive statistics shown in table-1 gives the average of 3.224 to the questions measuring the second hypothesis, skewness of 0.568, kurtosis of -0.799 and standard deviation of 0.442. This information indicates that the distribution of our data is slightly shorter than normal distribution.

A Fool-Proof Way to Achieve Any Goal - And Thats a Promise

A Fool-Proof Way to Achieve Any Goal - And Thats a Promise The Temptation of Giving Up A friend of mine set out to make croissants for the first time. For those of you unfamiliar with the art of French baking, these pastries require several stages of preparation over 2-3 days. On the second day of his first attempt, when the batter got too thin and sticky, my friend got frustrated and threw the dough into a bread pan instead of finishing the croissant-making process. I protested that he was giving up too soon, but to no avail. He ended up with some cross between biscuits and croissants, and a learning experience for the next attempt. The Art of Perseverance – A Lesson from Mouse Tales My tendency is not to give up on almost anything until absolutely all options have been exhausted. Part of that philosophy was hammered into me as a child through multiple readings of the book Mouse Tales, by Arnold Lobel. I did not realize it at the time, but I think I learned some of my most important life lessons from that book. In one story, The Journey, a mouse ventures out in his car on a road trip to his mother’s house. After driving for some time, he encounters a slight problem: The car, sadly, falls apart. But, thankfully, just at the right moment, there is someone selling roller skates at the side of the road. The mouse purchases a pair and rolls and rolls until, guess what? The wheels fall off of the roller skates. As luck would have it, there is a person selling boots at the side of the road! The mouse wears through the soles of the boots, and then through a pair of sneakers, and then, would you believe, though a pair of feet. When his feet get too tired to walk, amazingly enough, there is a person by the side of the road selling feet! The mouse makes it to his mother’s house wearing his brand new pair of feet. Excuses, Excuses Many of us in the mouse’s situation would never have made it to our mother’s house with all these breakdowns. Do any of these laments sound familiar? My car broke down! Now I have to take it to the shop. Sorry mom. I tried! I even tried getting there on roller skates! But everything just keeps falling apart. It wasn’t meant to be. My hands are tied. Bad things are always happening to me. No one is there to help me. I have to do everything alone! I can’t let my mother know that my car is so old and broken down. I don’t have time for this. These excuses keep us from being creative, from keeping our eye on the prize, and from noticing that person who shows up just at the right time to help us. They keep us from prioritizing our relationships. And they have us tossing in the towel long before the game is truly over. The Magic Formula for Achieving Any Goal Setting aside all judgment about how important our mother would feel if we gave up on our journey, what this Mouse Tale has to teach us is something about persistence and perseverance. This mouse was not about to give up no matter what. He understood that his commitment to his goal was beyond any limitation on how he would achieve it. And at every juncture where he could have thrown up his paws and said â€Å"I can’t† or â€Å"It’s impossible† or â€Å"It’s too hard,† he found an alternative and went with it. My friend Seth and I, some time ago, identified a surefire and quite simple way to reliably achieve any goal: â€Å"Don’t give up until you achieve it.† You will either achieve that goal or you will die trying. Whether it’s making croissants, getting a new job, or making a visit to mom, the rule always applies. That’s the rule the mouse followed. He reached his goal, he could feel proud of himself, and his mother was very very happy. [By the way, my croissant-making friend did try again. Things did not go perfectly the second time either, but he pressed on until actual croissants, albeit dense ones, came out of the oven. Perhaps the third time will be the charm.]

Free Essays on Abortion In Modern Society

Pros and Cons of Abortion in Modern Society Introduction: â€Å"In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs. Wade (410 U.S. 113) that a right of personal privacy exists under the constitution and this right includes a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy (Haas-Wilson, 140).† It was believed that this court ruling would end public debate over abortion. Instead, it has fueled controversy and debate, which have continued over the last thirty years. On one side, there are the pro-choice supporters. These individuals base their argument on a woman’s right to choose how and when she will reproduce. On the other side of this argument are pro-life supporters. They argue on the basis of morality and right to life for the unborn child. Somewhere in the middle of these two extremes is where most Americans fall. Those who are â€Å"on the fence† often qualify their support of abortion by the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy. In this essay, I will explore the three views of abortion and their e ffect on my personal opinion. First, I will discuss the history of abortion laws. Second, I will outline the reasons why women choose to have abortions. Third, I will explain the pro-choice argument. Fourth, I will explain the pro-life argument. Fifth, I will discuss the middle of the road views and their impact. Sixth, I will discuss my personal views on abortion. Seventh, and finally, I will conclude with a summary of my main points. History of Abortion: â€Å"The history of abortion law represents a complicated process of various tendencies working towards and against the legality of abortion (Deflem, 787).† Prior to the 1960’s, abortion was regulated as being a crime except in circumstances where the mother’s life was in danger. In some states, including Pennsylvania, however, this rare exception was not even cause for termination of pregnancy. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, several states passed more liberal ... Free Essays on Abortion In Modern Society Free Essays on Abortion In Modern Society Pros and Cons of Abortion in Modern Society Introduction: â€Å"In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs. Wade (410 U.S. 113) that a right of personal privacy exists under the constitution and this right includes a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy (Haas-Wilson, 140).† It was believed that this court ruling would end public debate over abortion. Instead, it has fueled controversy and debate, which have continued over the last thirty years. On one side, there are the pro-choice supporters. These individuals base their argument on a woman’s right to choose how and when she will reproduce. On the other side of this argument are pro-life supporters. They argue on the basis of morality and right to life for the unborn child. Somewhere in the middle of these two extremes is where most Americans fall. Those who are â€Å"on the fence† often qualify their support of abortion by the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy. In this essay, I will explore the three views of abortion and their effect on my personal opinion. First, I will discuss the history of abortion laws. Second, I will outline the reasons why women choose to have abortions. Third, I will explain the pro-choice argument. Fourth, I will explain the pro-life argument. Fifth, I will discuss the middle of the road views and their impact. Sixth, I will discuss my personal views on abortion. Seventh, and finally, I will conclude with a summary of my main points. History of Abortion: â€Å"The history of abortion law represents a complicated process of various tendencies working towards and against the legality of abortion (Deflem, 787).† Prior to the 1960’s, abortion was regulated as being a crime except in circumstances where the mother’s life was in danger. In some states, including Pennsylvania, however, this rare exception was not even cause for termination of pregnancy. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, several states passed more liberal ...

Is the ACT Getting Harder Over the Years

Is the ACT Getting Harder Over the Years SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Is the ACT of today the same test that was given years ago? According to students and test experts, the ACT has gradually been getting harder over the years, both in the level of its questions and its fast pace. So what does the ACT have to say about these claims? Is the ACT hard now more than ever before? And what exactly do people think is getting more difficult on this already challenging test? The Times: Are They A-Changin'? So ACT, Inc. hasn't said the test has gotten more difficult over the years. But students and ACTexperts beg to disagree. Jed Applerouth of Applerouth Tutoring Services, for instance, says that the changes are so pronounced as to make the ACT, and especially the Science section, a completely different test. According to Applerouth, the Science section is much more time intensive and features multi-phase questions like never before. For instance, older questions would direct youto a specific piece of data within a graph, table, or chart. Newer questions, on the other hand, have additional steps. After finding the information, youthen have to apply it to a chart and use another value to determine youranswer. Rather than quick questions that get to the point on the Science section, there are a lot of these kinds of questions with multiple steps that require youto combine skills and concepts from various fields. While these questions used to stand alone and apart from one another, now there are lotsthat are intertwined. This style has mostly shown up in the Science section, making it harder to answer all the questions before time is called, but harder questions have also been seen in Reading. Some ACT Reading sections have featured double passages, similar to the ones on the SAT. Older ACT practice tests usually don't prepare youfor these paired passage questions, where you have to compare, contrast, and interpret authors' perspectives relative to each other. In addition to these increasingly complex questions, the ACT will feature some other changes soon. The optional essay will be 40 minutes long and will ask you to analyze different perspectives and present and support your own argument. The Science section may feature more data representation questions, or at least make the numbers of each question type unpredictable. The ACT used to always ask the same number of data representation, research summary, and conflicting viewpoints questions in Science, a consistency that helped a lot of students feel prepared. Future tests will be less predictable. Finally, the Reading section will incorporate paired passages, which feature questions that may take you more time to answer. So if, as most people agree, the ACT really has been getting harder and more fast-paced in the past few years, what would be the reasons behind this change? Hint: it has to do with the ACT getting super popular. Why Would the ACT Be Getting More Difficult? The main reason the ACT may have undergone changes in the past few years is its increasing popularity among students,both in the U.S. and internationally. Historically, more students in the Midwest took the ACT, and it usually lagged behind the SAT as the admissions test of choice. But for the first time in 2011, more students took the ACT than the SAT (of course, then the SAT added another test date to up its numbers). As more highly achieving students internationally and across the US (especially on the East and West coasts where test prep is especially popular) tookthe ACT, the score distribution was affected. The curve became steeper, meaning that missing just a question or two would bring down your score a lot more than it would in the past. To smooth out the curve, it seems that the ACT made the test more difficult and harder to finish. While these changes don't necessarily affect average scorers all that much, they make it more difficult for top scorers to place at a score of 31 or above. Another possible reason for making the ACT harder, as you'll see in ACT's official statement below, is to further align the test with college courses. The ACT is an admissions test meant to measure student ability and college readiness. If college classes are getting more challenging, then the ACT wants to increase its rigor to match them and ensure students' results are predictive of their success in college level courses. Let's take a look at how ACT has responded to the general consensus that the test has, in fact, gotten harder in the past few years. Spoiler: they don't say much. What ACT Says About Changes to the Test According to Brian Eufinger, the co-owner of Edison Prep, the ACT responded to his queries about the changes in the test in the following way (emphasis mine): "ACT continues to measure college and career readiness in a way that is consistent with the past. The ACT is designed to reflect the knowledge and skills that are taught in schools and deemed necessary for success in first-year college courses and workforce training courses. When those skills and constructs become more complicated and difficult over time, the ACT reflects that. Those changes tend to occur very gradually, however, not usually within a two to three year span. So we would disagree with the statement that the ACT has been slowly and steadily changing the difficulty level of the test over the past two to three years." The ACT says that the test hasn't been changing over the past two to three years, yet they also say that it will reflect when college "skills and constructs become more complicated and difficult over time." It seems like the ACT doesn't publicize big changes, like College Board is with the new SAT for 2016, but perhaps makes subtle, gradual changes over time. Apart from revealing a possible gap between what the ACT is saying and what the ACT isdoing, what does this apparent increase in difficulty level mean for your test prep? What ACT Changes Mean For Your Test Prep Since the recent ACT tests seem to be harder than those from five or so years ago, youshould be cautious with the pre-2010 practice tests that are in the Real ACT Prep Guide, or the "Red Book." They are still useful practice, but they might not be the truest representation of what you'll get or how you'll score on the real thing. Most ACT experts agree that they are easier than what you'll seetoday. Practice tests 4 and 5 will give you a more accurate sense of the test you'll be taking. The biggest changes have been seen in the Science and Reading section, so make sure to focus a good dealof yourtest prep, and especially your practice with time management, on these sections. Be discerning about the multi-step questions types and paired passage questions, and try out strategies for saving time and improving your efficiency. If you're deciding between the SAT and ACT, it's a good idea to note how you do on these sections, whether they'll be a boost to your score or a drawbackas compared to the SAT. If you're aiming for a top score, continue to be diligent about your test prep. Try to develop an intuition for how much time you spend on various questions, and make sure you're not wasting your time and energy on questions that should be answered quicklyor that won't earn youmany points. All questions contribute equally to your raw score, so focus on answering the questions you can and dividing up your time in a way that will maximize your score. Since difficulty level of questions vary, a lot of students benefit from mixing up the order of questions rather than answering them in the same order they're given. Again, practice testing will help you try out various strategies, like mixing up the order of the Reading passages, to figure out which ones are most effective for you. To sum up, let's quickly go over the most important takeaways for current and future ACT test-takers. What Are the Takeaways? Is the ACT hard? I think so. The ACT tests given today seem to be harder and more time intensive than ones given before 2010. (Lucky you.) Most of the changes are seen in the Science and Reading sections, where the questions are getting more complex and time-consuming. The ACT is not advertising any changes, so it's up to you to keep a discerning eye when you take practice tests from various years and adjust your test prep accordingly. Since the ACT is getting harder to finish, focus on trying out different strategies for pacing yourself and managing your time. Finally, if you're still deciding between the SAT and ACT, familiarize yourself with both tests and take practice tests to determine which one will help you achieve the stronger score for your college applications.Both tests are undergoing some serious changes now and in the near future. Get ahead of the game by staying on top of these changes and knowing what you, the test-taker, should expect and how you can prepare. What's Next? Not to brag, but PrepScholar has an exceptionally thorough and helpful series of study guides for the Science section of the ACT. Check out our Ultimate Study Guide to ACT Science for content review, strategies, and the overall structure you need to know. Since the ACT Reading section is getting more fast-paced, you want to show up on test day armed with a speed reading strategy. Check out our full guide on how to read the ACT Reading passages. Are you aiming for perfection on the ACT? This full 36 scorer shares his tips and inspiration for how he studied his way to a perfect score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points?We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Human Resource Management - Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resource Management - Portfolio - Essay Example Finally based on the analysis and findings from the study a conclusion will be drawn. There are several definitions of recruitment exist. Eminent scholars such as Andrews defined recruitment as the process of discovering prospective talents for a particular job (Andrews, 1988, p.94). In simple words recruitment can be also portrayed as a method by which potential applicants are attracted for some kind of jobs in the organization. The process of recruitment is generally divided into two type namely formal recruitment process and informal recruitment process. However the process to be adopted for the purpose of recruitment varies from one company to the other. A number of scholars believe that employees are the central part of an organization as without the human resource, functioning of the organization will become literally impossible. A number of scholars around the world has researched in this subject and portrayed their views. Hence it is expected that large amount of literature regarding the recruitment process will be found. According to Randhawa (2007) recruitment is a process of searching the prospective candidates and inspiring them to apply for the employment in the organization. It can be also referred to as the method by which organization generates a pool of educated and eligible applicants. Hence from the author’s point of view recruitment is simply searching for potential employees for a particular job. Whether an organization follows informal or formal recruitment process, it should have a well defined recruitment policy. Similarly regarding the recruitment process, Bohlander and Snell (2007) stated that the sources of recruiting a candidate can be classified into formal and informal sources. The informal recruitment process is about recruiting the employees with the help of existing employee referral. On the other hand formal sources of recruitment can be illustrated as the process of recruitment

Managerial Works Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managerial Works - Essay Example It is difficult for a manager in the current era to function based on pre-planned principles. The challenges and threats arising at the workplace and market are constantly changing. That is why management theories are undergoing rapid changes quite regularly. It is almost impossible for a manager to function as a democrat or an autocrat always. He should evaluate the situations properly before taking any actions. In other words, situational management styles are more common in the organizational world at present. A manager who reacts aggressively on one occasion may react cool on other occasions because of the situational difference he may face. Another myth about the managerial functions is that an effective manager need not have regular duties to perform. Mintzberg questioned this argument also. In his opinion, â€Å"Managerial works include lot of regular works including rituals and ceremonies, negotiations and processing of information† (Mintzberg, 1990, p.165). Informatio n processing is vital for the success of current organizations. Information are processed by the managers rather than the employees. Current managers should give more focus to what is going in the market and what the competitors are doing. Knowing the strategies of opponents or competitors are important for an organization to take precautionary actions. For example, while most of the mobile phone manufactures concentrated in adding more features to their existing products, Apple Inc thought differently and introduced an entirely new product (iPhone) in the market at the beginning of 21 st century. The rest is history. Nokia, the leader in mobile phone industry has lost its place and market share they are currently struggling for... This paper stresses that the difference major between a good manager and an excellent manager will be in their ability to control problems. Managers with ex-ante control can be termed as excellent managers whereas managers with concurrent control can be labeled as good managers. Excellent managers have the ability to forecast the problem before it actually occurs. Such abilities will help excellent managers to take remedial actions well before the occurrence of the problems. On the other hand, good managers operate only at the time of the occurrence of the problem. This report makes a conclusion that management is not a science or art. It is much more than that. It is a mixture of scientific principles along with psychological principles. It is the duty of the manager to know the needs of the employees as well as the needs of the organization. A successful manager will be able to blend these things together so that both the organization and the employees will be happy. On many occasions, managers work on intuitions rather than principles because of the complex nature of managing modern day organizations. Written principles or the theories learned from academics may not help managers always to solve problems. Creativity, decision making and problem solving skills are important for a manager rather than academic qualifications. Current managers are acting as leaders rather than managers. In short, managerial functions have changed a lot in recent past because of the huge changes taking place in the organizational world.

Revising a learning space Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Revising a learning space - Essay Example The facilities found in any room can be used as alternatives to the rapidly improving technology (Gee). For instance, a white board may be placed in a class room and this eliminates the need for PowerPoint presentations and the use of projectors. Chairs may be designed in such a way that there is storage at the bottom of each chair where one may place their belongings. This eliminates the need for cupboards. The use of hairs that can easily be folded and stored to create more space in the room may also be implemented (www.oecd.org). Teaching laboratories are essential in any learning institute. These laboratories must have a computers that belong to the facility as they tend to be interactive rooms. Mobile computer laboratories with network printers and wireless access point are employed here. Open laboratories are also required in cases where there is a one on one support. They are equipped with the same software as teaching laboratories and are usually rum by the student workers. I n all these laboratories, the furniture should be movable so as to support various types of learning activities offered (Gee). Classrooms should be designed according to the number of students at the institute. In rooms with more than fifty students the floors are designed in such a way that they are steeply sloped. This is to enable the students in the back to see over the heads of students in front. It should fitted with comfortable chairs, a white board or a projector to aid during teaching process. They should be designed in such a manner that allows the students to see both the board and the lecturer (Gee). The furniture in the lecture halls should be portable and can be easily reconfigured for various learning activities. Lighting is very essential in any lecture room where a combination of both natural and artificial light may be implemented. The lighting should be such that it does not produce glare or hotspots on the white boards. Blinds can

Arbitration and Litigation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Arbitration and Litigation - Essay Example First, the law that recognises and enforces the agreement of arbitration. Then law that regulates actual arbitration procedure, next the specific law or rules that arbitral tribunal has to use in the matter and finally law for recognition and enforcement of the decision of arbitral tribunal, known as arbitration award. The laws governing arbitration proceedings may be same but it is not necessarily so always. Since most of the international arbitration take place in a neutral country to which neither the arbitrating parties belong. So the law of the proceedings, as applied to the matter of the case and known as substantive or applied law, may be different from the law of enforcement of the award. For example, an arbitral tribunal sitting in England will have English law for place of arbitration but may need to apply New York law as substantive law1. Compared to the courts of law, arbitration is a "primitive' way to resolve the issues which is simple because of less formality and expense. The person deciding the dispute has the qualification that he is accepted for arbitration by two parties.2 For example two merchants disputing over damage to their goods would turn to and accept the judgement of a third, fellow merchant. Actually such had been a community practice to maintain peace and harmony among members of business community3. Why International Arbitration The answer may come from the fact that sometimes national law is not sufficient to resolve disputes between warring parties. For e.g. A corporation based in USA contracts another in Germany. The contract is for setting up a power plant in Egypt with any disputes to be arbitrated in London. Now, if a dispute arises and one of the party refuses to arbitrate or the losing party refuses to carry out the award. No national law can resolve the dispute in such case and is an International treaty was necessary to link the national laws and respecting the award (see footnote 1 p. 4). The international treaty to resolve international disputes is a result of Geneva protocols 1923 & 1927 and New York Convention 1958. The aim for such treaty was to remove all the short comings of law of courts, viz. It is to be fast while law is slow, it is to be inexpensive while law is costly, to be simple in contrast to law which is technical and is peace maker in contrast to str ife creator4. The present arbitral process no longer has the simplicity of its beginning, it has incorporated somewhat more technical complexity which was needed to strengthen it to remove any loopholes leading to non acceptance of the award, particularly by the losing party. In the modern arbitral process the award is binding on both the parties and if it is not carried out voluntary by the losing party it would be enforced by the court at the expense of that party (See footnote. 1). The Arbitration Process: The first step is selection of an arbitrator, which should be done carefully. Ideally the help of an arbitral institution is a good option for

Frock Coats of Victoria And Albert Museum Essay

Frock Coats of Victoria And Albert Museum - Essay Example Amongst the dresses we will focus on not only the dresses of ladies but also on the dresses of men and children. Other then the dresses, what other accessories were required to be considered as a stylish person at that time, would also be discuussed. Different colours that were considered suitable for men and women of the Edwardarian era would also be discussed. How different fashions evolved over time would also be the focus of the topic. We will discuss about the dresses for different times of the day e.g dresses for morning, night dresses. Amongst the costumes collectd in the Victoria and Albert museum, frock coats will be considered for discussion. All other collectins will not be explained in detail. There is a large amount of history associated with arts and cultures of the A&V museum however only the historical background of frock coats will be given. The fashion of frock coats was firstly used in the 1901. what fashions and styles were acceptable in 1900's and before 1900's w ill also be discussed. Frock coats emerged in 1816. It is said that they originated from a garment called the "frock" which was the usual clothing in the eighteenth century. The colour of a frock coat was originally solid black. Nevertheless it was not a standard therefore in the Victorian era, charcoal grey also became a popular colour for frock coats. The length of the skirt of the frock coat also changed for different era's e.g during the Victorian era and Edwardian era1. This change was in accordance with the fashion. The conventional length of the frock coats became the length up to the knees but as the fashion trends changed, different people followed the latest trends of longer or shorter frock coats to wear. The cut of a frock coat with a waist seam flatters a man's figure, as opposed to a sack coats, and such frock coats remain part of some uniforms of military. They can either be single-breasted as in army uniforms, or double-breasted as in navy uniforms. In the Lithuanianyeshiva world, many pro minent figures wear a black frock coat also known as a kapotteh (accompanied by either a Homburg or Fedora hat) as formal wear.Before the Edwardian era, the fabric for Empire dresses was usually fine white lawn, muslin or batiste. Although muslins were less costly than silks, good white work embroidered lawn fabrics still cost money. Muslin also laundered better than silks, but the white muslins still needed a great deal of attention to keep them looking pristine clean. Regular wearing of white gowns was a sign of social status as white soiled so easily1. White gowns generally were kept for evening and in the day pastel or colored robes were thought more suitable. 1 Victorian Trading Co. Fashion. 2007. Net2 Business. May 2, 2008 The Spencer was a short top coat without tails worn by men during the 1790s as an extra covering over the tailed coat. It had long sleeves and was frequently decorated with military frogging.Its originator is thought to be Earl Spencer who singed the tails of his coat when standing beside a fire. He then had the tails trimmed off and started a fashion.A female version was soon adopted by gentlewomen who at the time were wearing the thin light muslin dresses of the 1790s2. The Spencer was worn as a cardigan is worn today. It was a short form of jacket to just above waist level cut on identical lines to the dress.

Arbitration and Litigation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Arbitration and Litigation - Essay Example First, the law that recognises and enforces the agreement of arbitration. Then law that regulates actual arbitration procedure, next the specific law or rules that arbitral tribunal has to use in the matter and finally law for recognition and enforcement of the decision of arbitral tribunal, known as arbitration award. The laws governing arbitration proceedings may be same but it is not necessarily so always. Since most of the international arbitration take place in a neutral country to which neither the arbitrating parties belong. So the law of the proceedings, as applied to the matter of the case and known as substantive or applied law, may be different from the law of enforcement of the award. For example, an arbitral tribunal sitting in England will have English law for place of arbitration but may need to apply New York law as substantive law1. Compared to the courts of law, arbitration is a "primitive' way to resolve the issues which is simple because of less formality and expense. The person deciding the dispute has the qualification that he is accepted for arbitration by two parties.2 For example two merchants disputing over damage to their goods would turn to and accept the judgement of a third, fellow merchant. Actually such had been a community practice to maintain peace and harmony among members of business community3. Why International Arbitration The answer may come from the fact that sometimes national law is not sufficient to resolve disputes between warring parties. For e.g. A corporation based in USA contracts another in Germany. The contract is for setting up a power plant in Egypt with any disputes to be arbitrated in London. Now, if a dispute arises and one of the party refuses to arbitrate or the losing party refuses to carry out the award. No national law can resolve the dispute in such case and is an International treaty was necessary to link the national laws and respecting the award (see footnote 1 p. 4). The international treaty to resolve international disputes is a result of Geneva protocols 1923 & 1927 and New York Convention 1958. The aim for such treaty was to remove all the short comings of law of courts, viz. It is to be fast while law is slow, it is to be inexpensive while law is costly, to be simple in contrast to law which is technical and is peace maker in contrast to str ife creator4. The present arbitral process no longer has the simplicity of its beginning, it has incorporated somewhat more technical complexity which was needed to strengthen it to remove any loopholes leading to non acceptance of the award, particularly by the losing party. In the modern arbitral process the award is binding on both the parties and if it is not carried out voluntary by the losing party it would be enforced by the court at the expense of that party (See footnote. 1). The Arbitration Process: The first step is selection of an arbitrator, which should be done carefully. Ideally the help of an arbitral institution is a good option for

Management Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Report - Essay Example Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0Overview 4 2.0 Analysis of the Organisation’s Business Environment 5 2.1 Porters Five Forces 5 2.2 Industry Life Cycle 7 2.3 Scale and Scope of Barclays Bank in India 8 2.4 The Key Reasons for Barclays’ Success 9 2.5 Evaluation of Sustainability 9 3. Analysis of the Organisation’s Strategy 10 3.1 Value Chain Analysis 10 3.2 Resources of Barclays Bank 12 3.3 Strategies Adopted by Barclays Bank 12 3.4 Competitive Stance of Barclays 13 4. Critical Appraisal of the Strategy 14 14 5. References 15 1.0 Overview Barclays Bank Plc (Barclays), which is an English bank, is one of the chief financial service providers globally. Barclays entered Indian Retail Banking sector through Global Retail Commercial Banking (GRCB) in the month of May, 2007. The doors of Barclays were opened to commercial customers in India in November 2006 and at present it has around 2000 clients. It provides a wide range of services to its clients such as loans, payments and cash management services, deposits, trade finance as well as treasury solutions. In the present scenario, Barclays Corporate has a set-up of around 50 distribution points. In March 2008, Barclays Finance was launched (Sakariya & Paliwal, 2010). Therefore, in this context, the report endeavours to analyse the business environment of organisation in which key success and sustainability factors of the Bank is explored. The strategy of the Barclays Bank has been analysed with the help of value chain analysis along with analysis of the competitive stance of the bank. In the concluding section, critical appraisal of the strategies has been presented. 2.0 Analysis of the Organisation’s Business Environment 2.1 Porters Five Forces Entry Barriers (High): In the emerging markets such as India, multifarious decisions such as interests on loans, deposits as well as money supply are regulated by Reserve Bank of India. Reserve Bank in India had decided to provide licenses to a few numbers of foreign or new banks in India (RBI, 2010). These entry barriers prevent the entry of any foreign bank in India. A lot of control has to be kept on loan lending, the number of branches which are to be operated in the market and deposit taking. Since the people are likely to invest in the public or governmental sector banks instead of private banks for the purpose of the safety deposits the brand identity for Barclays in not well-known. Also because of the restrictions imposed on the number of branches, rural area people would stay untouched. As far as product differentiation is concerned the strategy of Barclays Bank works for the corporate or urban customers. Barclays Bank’s services which are efficient and quick enable them to attract a lot of customers. Rivalry among Existing Competitors (High): The competitors include private as well as public banks along with microfinance institutions located in rural areas. Acquiring most important stakes in Absa provides Barclays easy access in an untouched market which also helps them in brand visibility (Barclays Bank PLC, 2010). Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Medium): The customers, parent company and other funding sources are the suppliers of the bank from whom the bank can increase funds. In the market, the customers have a high bargaining power. Barclaycard provides an attracting scheme to their customers which in turn help them to get large funds that are important for

Desegregation and the Future Essay Example for Free

Desegregation and the Future Essay The civil rights movement was one of the most pivotal periods in United States history, and Martin Luther King was one of the most influential. In Martin Luther Kings speech, Segregation and the Future, to convey the theme of freedom he uses rhetorical devices such as repetition and metaphors. In his speech, the use of repetition was used to better convey his points and to let the audience know what he wants with clarity. An example of this repetition is when he repeats the word, leaders. His use of repetition for the word leaders was to remind the National Committee of Rural Schools that they are supposed to lead with a purpose and that purpose according to Martin Luther King was to better educate both white and black students with equal treatment. He wants the leaders of the committee to lead others in a better way of thinking, and to stray from current ideas that infringe on the rights of African Americans. Another example of repetition in his speech is his use of the words, not the way. He wants the audience to know he views would impede upon their cause. He lists violence, hate and bitterness as things that are, not the way to help with their cause. The second prominent rhetorical device that Martin Luther King used were metaphors. One example of a metaphor that coveys the theme of freedom is when compares a, festering sore to segregation. Martin Luther Kings comparison shows his contempt for segregation and how freedom is always the better choice. Comparisons to negative objects or situations, put things like segregation into a more personal and more understandable meaning, making this metaphor powerful. A second example of Kings use of metaphor is his comparison of the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board to a joyous daybreak that ended the long night of human captivity. Martin Luther King uses this comparison to show how momentous this Supreme Court decision was. The Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitional, became a huge step toward equality and Martin Luthers comparison shows this. Martin Luther Kings use of repetition and metaphors makes his speeches more inspiring and more emotional to others. Without his use of rhetorical  devices, his speeches would fall on deaf ears and wouldnt have caused a movement toward equality. His use of repetition and metaphors in this speech better display his themes of freedom and have inspired America for years to come.

Insulin and Erythropoietin Production

Insulin and Erythropoietin Production Insulin is a protein (polypeptide) discovered in 1921 by Banting with the pancreas being the site of its production. It is made up of 51 amino acids, divided into 2 chains; A and B, bonded by disulfide linkages. Chain A is made up of 21 amino acids with an intra-disulphide linkage, while chain B is made up of 30 amino acids (4). Why Insulin? Insulin is important in glucose metabolism, and is being used for the treatment of Diabetes mellitus; a metabolic disorder of glucose in the body. Initially, Insulin from animals was used to treat this disorder however nowadays synthesized human Insulin is being used, this is because; it is fast absorbed by the body, it has less allergic reactions, it contains less impurities, and it produces good results (3). Recombinant process of producing Insulin Synthetic Insulin was first produced in 1983 through genetic Engineering, which involve extraction of the human DNA (1), once extracted, the gene for Insulin is isolated, and enzymes are used to cut it. The gene is then cut using enzymes and put into the plasmid of a vector, where in most cases E. coli plasmid is used. Since Insulin contains two chains, two pieces of DNA are extracted, and the genes for the two chains are linked to ÃŽ ² galactosidase enzyme of the bacteria. The plasmids formed are then inserted into a host cell E. coli and sealed using another enzyme called ligase. And the host on replicating produces the enzymes each containing one of the two chains each. Production is followed by extracting and purifying the chains which are mixed in a reaction to reconstitute the disulphide bridges (1). ESCHERICHIA COLI AS RECOMBINANT INSULIN HOST Entero-bacillus, gram-negative E. coli is about 1 2ÃŽ ¼m, it can survive in the presence/absence of oxygen, and it also grows in an optimum pH and temperature of 7.0 and 37oC respectively. It utilizes glucose as its major carbon source and can also use other carbon sources like pyruvate, glycerol, acetate, and other sugars. K-12 and B strains are mostly used in the laboratory (20) Reasons for choosing E. coli Genetic Engineering technologies were developed using E. coli as a role organism, and so, the genetics of E. coli are well known among other microorganisms, as such its the most used organism for the production of different proteins (14). Moreover E. coli has a well known safety and production abilities, stable plasmid, controllable promoter, cheaper and easily cultured (6), E. coli also has fast growth rate, its easy to handle, and has well known fermentation skills and the ability to produce high protein content (14). That is why most of the proteins licensed recently by FDA and EMEA, were produced in E. coli (5). With these, and the fact that Insulin is a simple polypeptide (protein) which does not require glycosylation for its bioactivity and stability, E. coli carrying the plasmids for production of insulin will be used as the host for the production of Insulin Strain and plasmids: BL21 strain containing the pMYW-A and pMYW-B plasmids and temperature repressor ÃŽ »-c1857, will be used for insulin production (21). Growth strategy The various growth strategies that will be used to grow E. coli in order to make it happy and produce the desired product (11) include: Medium: E. coli needs nutrients like carbon, nitrogen and others; thus a carbon source; glycerol will be provided since its cheaper and more soluble than glucose (12), a source of nitrogen in the form of ammonium sulphate will also be provided. However such nutrients in large quantities can inhibit the growth of E. coli, as such a defined medium that contain optimum concentrations 20gl-1 glycerol and 2gl-1 ammonium sulphate will be used (11). The medium will also consist of the following; 3gl-1 KH2PO4, 1gl-1 MgSO4.7H2O, 0.8gl-1 citrate, and 6gl-1 K2HPO4 (23). Some trace elements will also be added to the medium. (23) Process and culture-strategies: E. coli will be grown submerged in a sterile controlled stirred tank reactor, and fed-batch will be used as the growth strategy so as to avoid accumulation of acetate which can be inhibits its growth, and reduce the production of the insulin (18). The growth strategy will be divided into two; initially batch mode will be used to initiate growth, after which the fed-batch exponential feeding will be used to produce the insulin (21). After adapting the medium and feeding method, oxygen transfer rates (OTRs) had to be increased through a suitable bioreactor design and over-head pressure (16). Large scale reactors usually reach high ORTs using air and normal aeration pressure, and so the oxygen partial pressure (pO2) will be increased by adding pure oxygen to the air-stream entering the reactor, thus increasing its oxygen transfer rates (16) DO will be maintained at 40% of air saturation and aeration rate at 1vvm. Foaming arising due to large number of cells and high aeration-rates will be solved by use of impellers for stirring simultaneously at 300rpm and the use of antifoam (ucolub N115) (16, 21). The process temperature and pH will be maintained at 30oC and 6.8 respectively so as to avoid partial proteolysis of the insulin protein. Bioreactor Design: Bioreactor vessel is usually cylindrical and made up of stainless steel. It is composed of impeller for stirring, Air sparger is placed at the bottom of the vessel for introduction of air, it has some inlets for introduction of acid/alkali for pH control and also for introduction of antifoams, nutrients and inoculum; It is also has pH, DO and temperature probes for sensing (22), Microbial activity during fermentation usually produces heat, so the bioreactor design must allow for removal of heat, and this can be achieved by cooling with jackets and coils (16) Bioreactors must also be designed in a way that it can withstand high temperature and pressure and to allow cleaning-up and sterilizing (22). Growth analysis Temperature, pH, DO, foam, partial oxygen and carbon dioxide pressures, will be analysed on-line, other parameters like biomass, will be analysed by using optical density (OD600) and dry cell weight (offline). Cell viability will be analysed by using flow cytometry, the concentrations of substrates and metabolites by enzymatic methods while insulin will be analysed using electrophoresis methods like SDS-PAGE, and ELISA, while its purity will be determined by HPLC (8). Limitations/Problems There are several problems that may arise during processing and can limit the use of this organism for Insulin production, these are; Poor secretion because of the structure of its membrane (and tough cell wall), small amount of foldases, chaperones and increased concentrations of proteases, leading to low productivity (7). Solutions to this problem include all measures taken to increase quality of secretion and production such as: Use of secretion systems like the system of ÃŽ ±-haemolysin (7) co-expression after co-cloning of foldases and chaperones (13) Improving the rates of gene-expression and using proteases deficient mutants like BL21 (18). use of E. coli mutants that are deficient of cell-wall (12) Limited post translational-modifications; including disulfide-linkage formation, which is important for the insulin stability and biological activity (9). Solutions to this problem include; Production of insulin with altered amino acid sequences through genetic engineering (9) Using E. coli mutants to enhance the formation of disulfide linkages e.g. Origami (15) iii. Exporting proteins into the periplasm which has disulphide bonding mechanisms (19). Codon biases; due to large quantities of exact transfer-RNAs found in E. coli, the codons in the human-genes are often different from those that are found in this organism. This results in inefficient expression of some of these rare codons by the organism resulting in an unexpected protein synthesis termination or wrong incorporation of the amino acids (12). This problem can be solved by replacing codons that are rare in the desired gene by codons that are often found in the E. coli and by co-expressing the rare transfer-RNAs (15). Acetate is usually formed as a by-product, and is inhibitory to growth of the cells (20). Solution is by using a fed-batch feeding method and by limiting DO level (11). Another problem is that large proteins are often obtained in an insoluble form (5); forming aggregates called inclusion bodies; IBs (20). This can be solved by adjustment of temperature, increasing the strength of the promoter, adjusting the number of plasmids, concentrations of the inducer, and the composition of the media (9). Erythropoietin EPO EPO is a glycoprotein that is produced in the renal cortex of the kidney (10, 11). It has also being shown to be present in the brain, spleen, liver and the lungs (7, 17). It is made up of 165 amino acids of about 18kDa (25), with a number of carbohydrates linked to the polypeptide through O and N glycosidic-bonds giving the glycoprotein a total weight of 34kDa.Two disulphide linkages hold the molecule together (15) and the carbohydrates are responsible for the stability of the glycoprotein in-vivo,and increasing its half-life in the body (24). Why EPO? EPO functions to regulate the amount of red blood cells (RBC) in the blood by controlling the proliferation and differentiation of its immature cells to mature cells (1, 2, 22,). It is also involved in the growth and formation of blood vessels, and healing of wounds (6), it functions in the brain is not clear, but studies showed the glycoprotein to have some protective effects (18). Because of these functions EPO has being used in the treatment of anaemia caused by kidney failure and other causes (25). Recombinant production of EPO Despite its importance, EPO in body is found in very small amounts and mostly in the urine (4), as such there is the requirement to produce EPO in large amounts, this leads to the work of isolating the glycoprotein from the urine (12, 21), and was used to identify its amino acid sequences, and synthesis of its DNA (9, 12), furthermore the human erythropoietin genes were cloned by Lin et al. (17), and consequently recombinant human EPO (rhuEPO) was produced in 1985 using CHO cells (14, 16). Chinese -Hamster- Ovary (CHO-Cells) as rhuEPO host: These are epithelial cells derived from the ovary of Chinese hamster (a mammal). They grow well in culture and looks like cobble stones. The cells usually attach to a surface available but can be grown in suspension (20). CHO cells are grown best at 37oC and at pH 7.4; they are cultured in a suitable complex medium which can support their growth for many generations (20). CHO cell lines are now available from cell culture collections like the American type culture collection; ATCC. Moreover human EPO expression plasmids are now also commercially available, and are usually used for production of EPO using the CHO cells (27). Reasons for choosing CHO-cells Karthik et al. (13) showed that CHO-cells are being used extensively in the industries for the production of many proteins, because they have demonstrated, to possess some qualities like: They can modify biological products post-translationally; Proteins produce in CHO-cells have high glycosylation quality making them compatible and stable (13) Safety of the product; Studies in 1989 have shown that most viruses do not multiply in CHO-cells (13) Ability to adapt easily and be grown in suspension (13). Products can now be purified to contain less contaminant (13). CHO cells have being used for a long time; as such much data has being accumulated for regulatory reasons (13). They are easy to manipulate genetically (13). The isolation of cells deficient in Dihydrofolate-reductase enzymes leads to stable clones selection and genes amplification to increase production (13). With all these, and the fact that EPO is a glycoprotein that requires glycosylation for its stability and activity, recombinant CHO cells are chosen to produce EPO. Cell lines and plasmids: Cell lines which have the capability of glycosylating proteins (Pro-5), harboring the pGEX-HET-puro expression plasmid, will be used to produce the recombinant human erythropoietin (27). Growth strategy Medium: Complex culture medium will be provided with; Glucose as a source of carbon and energy, Amino acids as source of nitrogen, Salts will be included to make the solution isotonic Vitamins and hormones will be added as co-factors Serum is usually added to the culture medium to enhance the growth of the cell (20), but has the following disadvantages: It chemicals are not defined and can cause cell growth inconsistency between batches (20) It is very expensive (20) The serum may contain proteins which can be difficult to separate and purify from the proteins secreted by the cells during downstream processing (20) It increases foaming and can be a source of contamination by viruses. (20) Therefore a serum-free (SF) media (16) will be used for the growth of the E. coli. Process and culture-strategies: The cells will be grown adherent on micro-carriers in a sterile controlled packed bed reactor, and perfusion method of production where some amounts of the medium is removed and replaced by fresh one and the cells are grown slowly will be used (28); because it was found to improve the glycosylation of the proteins more than fed-batch where there is fast growth of cells, (8). Before, many processes were run in a simple batch method, but nowadays, Perfusion or fed-batch methods are mostly employed and higher products are now realized (22). The production will be carried out in two stages; the growth stage and the production stage. Normally stirring will be kept at 100 to 150 rpm, foaming will be avoided by adding Pluronic F68 (16).Temperature will be maintained at 37oC initially during growth and then reduced to 33oC during production, as was shown to increase the overall protein production, while maintaining the quality of the glycoprotein (3, 26). pH w ill be kept at 7.1 initially and then reduced to 6.8 (8, 26), by passing CO2 gas to the culture or by addition of concentrated sodium-bicarbonate solution in low quantities, because CO2 is also toxic to the cells and can also affect the production of EPO (20). In order to avoid the depletion of oxygen, the oxygen transfer rates (OTRs) will be increased above its utilization rate, with a constant supply of pure oxygen and air, while DO will be maintained at 20-50% of air saturation (20). Bioreactor Design: Since the cells are big and fragile, the design of the bioreactor has to be considered. Mammalian cell culture bioreactors are designed with bottoms that are round and are usually made up of glass/stainless steel (20). The impellers are usually marine or pitched blade types fitted at the end of mechanical drives shafts so that both vertical and horizontal mixing are allowed at low stirring-rates (20). Temperature is controlled through coiled pipes or open ended fermenter jacket (20). pH, DO and temperature probes are used for sensing and have both air inlet and outlet for respiration. Growth Analysis Temperature, pH and DO will be monitored on-line, because cells are immobilized, biomass formed cannot be measured directly therefore it will be monitored by measuring rate of glucose consumed daily and the rate of lactate produced (28) Cell viability by flow cytometry, Glucose, glutamine, and lactate concentrations will be analysed using multi-parameter Bio-analytical system (26); while ammonia formed as waste product of amino acid metabolism, will be analysed by colorimetric assay and by the use of detection-kit (26). EPO formed will be analysed using HPLC to determine its purity and its quality by Isoelectric focusing, SDS, and Bradford assay (26). The activity of EPO will be analysed by bioassay and by the use of protein assay-kit (27) Limitations/Problems. There are many limitations associated with CHO cells culture processes and they include; They are fragile and highly sensitive to shear stress caused by agitation and bubble because the cells are large and have only cell membrane (20). This is usually solved using a suitable bioreactor-design and use of Pluronic F68 (20). They need a complex medium including serum which can cause problems in the downstream processing and is expensive (20). Solution to this is by using serum- free media (24, 25). Low yield of proteins have been produced from these cells, the productivity using the microbes being higher than the use of these cells. They also have slow growth rates (13). The problem of low productivity and slow growth rates can be solved through selecting cell lines that are better and optimizing cultural-strategies. Ammonia and lactate are generated during growth and can inhibit growth and also affect glycosylation (8). Solution is by optimizing the strategies of feeding and by monitoring (8). Glycosylation differences may arise from the EPO produced in the CHO-cells and the human EPO as seen in the way the two are sialylated terminally, as a result that the CHO-cells are not able to express an enzyme called alpha-2,6, sialyltransferase (27). Solution is by the use of CHO-cells harboring alpha-2, 6, sialyltransferase-cDNA expression-cassettes (27). REFERENCES: 1. Alcamo, I., DNA Technology; the Awesome-Skill. Farming-dale. New York: Academic Press. (2001). 2. Banting Grolier Electronic publishing www.littletree.com.au/dna.htm accessed on 30/12/2010 3. Carbs information, www.carb-information.com/insulin-synthetic.htm accessed on 30/12/ 2010. 4. Charce, R.E., and Frank, B.H., Research, Production and Safety of Biosynthetic Human Insulin. (1993). www.littletree.com.au/dna.htm accessed on 30/12/2010. 5. Ferrer-Miralles N. Domingo-Espà ­n, J. Corchero, J.L. Và ¡zquez, E. and Villaverde, A. Microb. fact. for recombinant pharmaceuticals, Microbial factories , 8:17, 2009. 6. Fox, S. Improved processes and new capacity for pipeline to commercial production. Biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing, Volume 1 (report). High Tech Business Decisions: San Jose, CA. 2005 7. Genschev, I., Dietrich, G., Goebel, W.,The E. coli alpha-hemolysin secretion system and its use in vaccine development. Trends Microbiol. 10: 39-45. 2002 8. Hewitt C.J., Nebe-von Caron G., Axelsson B., McFarlane C.M, Nienow A.W Studies related to the scale-up of high-cell-density E. coli fed-batch fermentations using multi-parameter flow cytometry: effect of a changing microenvironment with respect to glucose and dissolved oxygen concentration. Biotech. Bioeng. 70: 381-390. 2000 9. Hite P.F, Barnes A.M.J.P.E. Exhuberance over Exubera. Clinical Diabetes 24: 110-114. 2006. 10. Jana, S., Deb, J.K. Strategies for efficient production of heterologous proteins in Escherichia coli. Appl. Microbiol. Biotech. 67: 289-29. 2005. 11. Joseph S., and Raphael F., growing E. coli to high- cell density-A historical perspective on method development Biotech. Advances 23: 345-357 2005. 12. Korz D.J, Rinas U., Hellmuth K, Sanders E.A, Deckwer W.D. Simple fed-batch technique for high cell density cultivation of E. coli. J Biotechnology, 39: 56-65. 1995. 13. Kujau, M.J., Hoischen, C., Riesenberg, D., Gumpert, J. Expression and secretion of functional mini-antibodies McPC603scFvDhlx in cell-wall-less L-form strains of Proteus mirabilis and E. coli: a comparison of the synthesis capacities of L-form strains with E. coli producer strain. Appl. Microbiol. Biotech. 49: 51-58. 1998. 14. Lund, P.A. Microbial molecular chaperones. Advanc. Microbiol. Physiol. 44: 93-140. 2001 15. Makrides S.C. Strategies for achieving high-level expression of genes in Escherichia coli. Microbiol. Rev. 60: 512-5388. 1996. 16. Meyer, H.P. Brass, J. Jungo, C. Klein, J. Wenger, J. and Mommer, R. an emerging Star for Therapeutic and Catalytic Protein Production. Bioprocess International. 2008. 17. Nacelle, G. J. V. and Coppel, R. L. Reshaping Life; Key Issues in Genetic Engineering, Novo-Nordisk Promotional Brochure. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. 1989. 18. Schmidt, F.R. Recombinant expression systems in pharmaceutical industry. Appl. Microbiol. Biotech. 65:363-37. 2004. 19. Wacker M., Linton D., Hitchen P.G., Nita-Lazar M., Haslam, S.M., North, S.J., Panico M., Morris H.R., Dell A., Wren, B.W., Aeb, M. N-linked glycosylation in Campylobacter jejuni and its functional transfer into E. coli. Science 298:1790-1793. 2002. 20. Demain, L. A., and Vaishnav, P. Production of recombinant proteins by microbes and higher organisms. Biotech.Advan. 27: 297-306. 2009. 21. Schmidt, M., Raman Babu, K., Khanna, N., Marten, S., Rinas, U., Temperature- induced production of recombinant human insulin in high cell density culture of recombinant Escherichia Coli. Journal of Biotech. 68:71-83. 1999. 22. Ratledge, C. and Kristiansen, B. Basic biotechnology. Cambridge: Cambridge university press. 2001. 23. Tabandeh, F., Shojaosadati, S.A., Zomorodipour, A., Khodabandeh, M., Sanati, M.H., Yakhchali, B. Heat induced production of human growth hormone by high cell density cultivation of recombinant E. coli. Biotech. Letters. 26: 245-250. 2004.

An Analytical Essay on Hamlet as Ghost Story, Detective Story and Revenge Story :: The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

An Analytical Essay on Hamlet as Ghost Story, Detective Story and Revenge Story    William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, is a ghost story, a detective story and a revenge story all within one plot. Throughout the play, qualities of all three types of stories are displayed. The ghost story consists of Hamlet Senior and the circumstances surrounding his untimely demise at the hands of the present King, Claudius. He is being tortured in hell until his death is properly avenged. The detective aspect of Hamlet is brought about by Hamlet trying to figure out whether or not his fathers ghost was real and also to what, if any extent, his mother the "virtuous" Queen Gertrude was involved with the murder of his Father. Both Hamlet and Laertes, bring yet another aspect to this most versatile play, by seeking revenge for their fathers death, each in their own way. By viewing the play as either one or all of these different aspects we learn to have different perspectives on the play.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of Hamlet Senior's death is the ghost story aspect of the play. Hamlet Senior, the late king, was being tormented in hell throughout the daylight hours and during the night he was forced to walk the castle. He stated that he was "Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confin'd to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my [being the late King's] days of nature Are burnt and purg'd away (50 lines 10-13). His release from this torture would not be permitted until his avenger is retaliated against by his son. Hamlet, Francisco and Bernardo all see the ghost of the late king, but the apparition will only speak to his son. The ghost brings an unnatural feel to the drama and leaves the reader/viewer wondering if it was real or all in Hamlet's mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet is made to do some detective work in this melodrama. His first order of business was to figure out if the ghost of his father that he thought he saw, was in fact real and if it was, was it unfeigned or a demon. Then, he must decide if the ghost of his father was truthful about Claudius, his father's brother, Hamlet's uncle who was also the reigning King, committing fratricide against his father. To find evidence of Claudius' involvement, Hamlet uses the players, to bring about his uncles deep seated feelings hopefully lodged in his conscience.

Morality as Anti-Nature Essay

Friedrich Nietzsche stands as one of the philosophers who tackled about the complexities of human existence and its condition. It is noteworthy to state that most of his works made several standpoints to what he refers to as the Ubermensch. The conception of such is designed to inspire the individual to substantiate his existence and rouse his self-overcoming and affirmative character. This can be said to arise from the idea of creating a self through the process of undergoing a destructive condition that enables the self to acquire greater power in relation to others. The development of such a self is dependent upon the recognition of the anti-naturalistic character of morality which he discusses in The Twilight of the Idols in the section entitled â€Å"Morality as Anti-Nature†. Within the aforementioned text, Nietzsche argues that morality hinders the individual from experiencing life as it limits an individual’s freewill thereby in the process leading to the creation of an individual who is incapable of life itself. He states, morality is a â€Å"revolt against life† (2006, p. 467). It is a revolt against life as it is based on the negation of an individual’s basic instinct to act freely in accordance to his passions. According to Nietzsche, this is evident in the case of Christian morality which places emphasis on the control of the passions. Within Christian morality, an individual who is incapable of controlling his passions is considered to be immoral as he is incapable of practicing restraint upon himself. Examples of this are evident if one considers that within Christian morality, to be saintly requires restraining one’s desires and hence one can only follow the path of Christ if one denies all of his desires, the denial of which involves the denial of all worldly things. He states, within the context of this morality â€Å"disciplining†¦has put the emphasis throughout the ages on eradication†¦but attacking the passions at the root means attacking life at the root: the practice of the church is inimical to life (Nietzsche, 2006, p. 66). The practice of the church, its imposition of morality contradicts the essence of life which is the actualization of an individual’s self since it delimits an individual to one particular kind of existence. For example, Christian morality has the Ten Commandments. If an individual follows these commandments, the individual’s spiritual life is ensured in the afterworld. Nietzsche argues that by following these commandments, the individual is at once delimited to one particular form of existence. This does not necessarily mean that Nietzsche applauds acts of murder; he is merely stating that by following moral rules and moral norms the individual is at once preventing himself from the experiencing a particular form of life and hence the actuality of life itself. It is important to note that by presenting a criticism of Christian moral values and moral values in general, Nietzsche does not necessarily prescribe an individual to follow his moral code. In fact one might state that Nietzsche does not possess a moral code. He states, Whenever we speak of values, we speak under the inspiration†¦of life: life forces us to establish values; life itself evaluates through us when we posit values†¦It follows from this that even that anti-nature of a morality which conceives God as the antithesis and condemnation of life is merely a value judgment on the part of life. (Nietzsche, 2006, p. 467) Within this context, Nietzsche recognizes that the anti-nature of morality is a value in itself. It differs however from a moral code since it does not delimit an individual by prescribing actions which he ought and ought not to follow. The importance of the anti-nature of morality lies in its emphasis on the affirmation of the individual. Within the text, Nietzsche claims, â€Å"morality in so far as it condemns†¦is a specific error†¦We seek our honour in being affirmative† (2006, p. 468). It is within this context that one may understand why for Nietzsche; the Ubermensch is an individual whose choices are dependent upon the ends justifying the means since to state that one performs a particular action since the means justifies the end is equivalent to performing a particular action since the act itself adheres to what a particular moral rule considers to be ‘good’. This is evident if one considers that in order for an individual S to consider Q a ‘good’ act wherein Q is good due to P and Q necessarily follows from P, it is necessary for P to be good within the context of a moral norm M. For example, a person may consider giving alms to the poor good since the act of giving alms itself is considered ‘good’ within the context of a particular moral norm. As opposed to the example mentioned above, the Ubermensch acts in accordance to what may be achieved by an act [the end of the act itself] since what the Ubermensch places emphasis on is the joy that may be achieved in the act itself. Alex MacIntyre states, â€Å"joy in the actual and active of every kind constitutes the fundamental end from which Nietzsche develops his critique of morality† (1999, p. 6). Although Nietzsche’s criticism of morality and its constraints upon an individual are valid, it is still impossible to conceive of a world wherein no morality is applied. Within the context of social reality, moral norms function to ensure order within society. Although laws may function by themselves to ensure the order of society, laws themselves are dependent upon a particular moral norm which the society adheres to. References McIntyre, A. (1997). The Sovereignty of Joy: Nietzsche’s Vision of Grand Politics. Toronto: U of Toronto P. Nietzsche, F. (2006). Morality as Anti-Nature. The Nietzsche Reader. Eds. K. Ansell-Pearson & D. Large. London: Wiley-Blackwell.