Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Operations Management and Loreal Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations Management and Loreal - Case Study Example The analysis of the report shows the absolute advantage of L'Oreal in terms of its sale and market share in the industry. To emphasise the competitiveness, the report presents a comparative study of L'Oreal with some of its rival companies. To a major extent the profit of a company depends how aptly the aforementioned tasks are carried out. If the effectiveness of the company in managing these operations is more then it will cost less and consequently it will reap a larger profit. And this entire mechanism once done helps a company to achieve a distinct competitive advantage with lower costs and better quality. This study is confined within the cosmetic industry since it is one of the burgeoning industries in today's world. The cosmetic industry today is a $29 billion business whose aggressive marketing and advertising efforts have forged a powerful trajectory of continued growth. According to the manufacturing census data on toilet items, "sales of cosmetics in 1900 stood at about $100,000." Thereafter, the cosmetic industry emerged and rapidly expanded, as "women's growing interest in beauty products coincided with their new sense of identity as consumers." Around mid-1920s, retail cosmetics sales were estimated at about $125,000,000 per year and about $150,000,000 in 1940. (Daum C.M.L., May 2006) The target company taken for analysis is the world's largest cosmetic company L'Oreal. With top cosmetic brands like Garnier, Maybelline, Lancme, Ralph Lauren, Cacharel and Matrix in its portfolio, L'Oreal stands as a notable brand. Its only hurdle was to penetrate in the Indian market where Lakme enjoyed a monopoly, but has managed to cross that hurdle with ease. Literature Review Operations management plays a key role in making an organisation's potential to grow evident in any industry. It is the area that is concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of the core operations of an organisation to support strategic goals of its business. Operations management also forms an important area in the academic field of business management. This field of study has been gaining tremendous attention and development for the last couple of decades. Supply chain management decisions constitute a crucial part of a company's. long run planning. Understanding of the domain and carrying out an analysis of a company, demands a brief literature review on supply chain management. Theories of Halldorsson, Ketchen and Lavassani on SCM provide a base for further research

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Fantasy Movie Visual Effects Film Studies Essay

Fantasy Movie Visual Effects Film Studies Essay Film, the new form of storytelling, is one of the most entertainment sources in our daily life. It would be very hard to get a movie ticket at the weekends unless you got a reservation. Most of you have preferences to some genre, which keeps you turned on. Fantasy is one of the most fascinating genres, not only in film but in all the forms of art. It helps us to escape from the reality, from all our stress and tensions, for few hours. Most of the fantasy films are adapted from literature. Many would have waiting for your favorite fantasy novels movie release as I am waiting for the new Harry Potter film. You got many expectations for a film, might be wanted a great effects or waiting for your favorite part of the story. If your expectations are not fulfilled by the film makers you would probably disappointed. Film industry is an extremely competitive field with new technologies, creative ideas, and many more things. With the increasing number of new movies, film makers are trying very hard to impress the audience through new stories, visuals, and technologies. Two centuries ago, the famous short film, The Arrival of a Train made the audience to scream and ran out of the theater. The train was that much believable for those people, who were unfamiliar with films. But gradually people started to examine film very observantly. Film makers did everything they can do to make the film much more believable and try to give a new experience to the audience. It is very hard to trick them now, very hard to get their applause. As giant fishes always catch the attraction, some big pictures came and well received by the audience. They are not become success just because of its budget, definitely It would have all the right elements to be a film. In this 21st century, CGI and visual effects become one o f the key elements in films. Film makers are using these effects to impress the audience even the story doesnt demands it. Many films succeed while others become a big visual effects mess. Statement of the problem How much the fantasy film influence the development of visual effects Purpose Significance of the study Research questions 1: what is the influence of fantasy genre in film industry? 2: what is the significance of fantasy movies? 3: what is the role of fantasy films in the development of visual effects? CHAPTER 2: Background Fantasy: Fantasy can be defined as the boundless imagination or the liberation of mind from the reality. There is no limit, we can go anywhere, do anything, talk to animals, and if you want to fly a four headed dragon to the moon you can simply do that. Every single person in this world would have been in a fantasy world at least once in their life time, through their dreams or unbounded thoughts. Many wouldnt have recognized this as fantasy. Among those, some passionate and creative minds travelled lots of distance and found new wonderful stories. Those stories have reached in the real world, preserved for the generations through orally, and later inspired many to write fantasy literature. Fantasy Fantasy films: Fantasy films have been started since the birth of the medium itself. Watching these kind of movies in the silver screen must be a visual feast for the spectators. It would be a real challenge to make these kinds of films at the beginning stage of the film itself because of the visuals which these stories demands. It stands beyond reality so the film makers had to find some innovative cinematic techniques to create the hyper realism on the silver screen. Most of the early films were static shots that filmed an event or action with no editing or other cinematic techniques. They would have used only the ability of the camera to capture image rather than thinking about new cinematic techniques. But before the 20th century few filmmakers have found new filming techniques to create some special effects which give inspiration to others for the invention of many innovative special effects techniques in the following years. With a result of that many fantasy films had born in the silent era of film. The arrival of sound and color in film made an innovative change in the fantasy film genre, which helped the directors to take the viewers more deep inside the fantasy, through emotions and colorful visuals. Fantasy film genre: Sub genre: Sword and sorcery musical fantasy light fantasy dark fantasy History of fantasy film: Fantasy film, consists of the elements of magic, supernatural events, fantasy creatures, fantasy world, fairy tales and sorcery, have events which are unlikely to occur in real life. This film genre is considered to be different from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap. The limitations of the fantasy film genre are not well defined. Early period: In 1896, Georges Melies, a French film director, considered as the father of special effects, filmed the first fantasy film The Bewitched Inn. This film is about a man who goes through some series of dreadful experiences from an inn. The film runs two minutes, might be the longest running film of that time. Melies used the special effects technique called stop trick, which he accidentally discovered while filming street traffic in Paris. Besides stop trick, they also used some invisible wires to drift up the characters hat and clothes towards the wall. In 1898 Melies directed another fantasy film named The Astronomers dream (La Lune à   un mà ¨tre). This film is about the terrific things happening in an astronomers dream. It runs three minutes, lengthier than the previous one. They designed the set very well and it gives more strength to the three minutes narration. In terms of special effects this film mainly reliant on the stop trick but we can see the use of mechanical prop for the moon and a very short stop motion animation on the screen. His experiments were the stepping-stones to further advances in special effects. Again in the year of 1903 and 1904, Melies came up with two more great fantasy movies The Infernal Boiling Pot (Le Chaudron Infernal) and The Impossible Voyage (Voyage à   travers limpossible). In the film The Infernal Boiling Pot, Melies has shown two green goblins doing some incantation on a burning cauldron which have three girls in it. The film runs 2 minutes and they had hand colored each frame of the film to get a colored film. It helped to create more sinister atmosphere and to increase the impact on the audience. The impossible voyage is considered as one of the greatest film of Melies and the important fantasy film of the silent film era. It is an adaptation of Jules Vernes play  Voyage à   travers lHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voyage_à  _travers_limpossibleaction=editredlink=1HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voyage_à  _travers_limpossibleaction=editredlink=1impossible. The films running time is about 20 minutes, approximately five times longer than other films of that time. Most films prior to this one, mainly consist of one or two shots and they were short in running time, had not developed in a level to tell a complex story. The impossible voyage tells the story of, passengers boarding a train which takes them on an adventure to the sun and even under the ocean. This film had used the advantages of editing and we can see a dissolve effect between the scenes. Through these type lengthier films with great narration, gradually film turn out to be a medium of storytelling. After the great fantasy films from the special effects wizard Georges Melies, lots of movies had born in this genre. By the year of 1910 movies were gradually growing into full length movies, an average of 80 minutes of running time, along with the special and visual effects technologies, which encouraged the film makers to produce more complex fantasy films than the previously done projects. It also helped to expand the potential of the genre by strong narration and provided the fantasy ambiance to the audience. In 1903, Alice in Wonderland, an adaptation film based on the Lewis Carrolls fantasy novel Alices Adventures in Wonderland, came out. The film was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow and it is impressive for its use of special effects, including Alices shrinking at the entrance Doors and stuck inside of White Rabbits home with her full height. Some of the films special effects were achieved through jump cut and trick photography. The film showed only a few portion of the novel, because many scenes were technically impossible to shoot at that time. However, the film would have been impressed the audience because it was the first time they had seen a visual representation of their favorite novel. Later in 1910 the film had been recreated by the  Edison Manufacturing Company  and directed by  Edwin S. Porter in the original name of the book. In this 10 minutes film, Edwin s Porter couldnt include all the Carrolls memorable characters from the novel. Again in 1915, W.W. Young an American film director made the third adaptation of this film with fifty minutes of running time. This version goes much deeper in to the Carrolls novel than prior films, even fifty minutes is not much enough to narrate Carrolls fantasy story.   In the year of 1910, the most influenced fairy tale of all time, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Frank_BaumFrank Baum, came into silver screen. This is the first adaptation film based on a novel which had been followed by its sequels. The story happens in a fantasy land called the Land of Oz and Dorothy and her friends are the characters in the story. There is no reliable proof about who directed this thirteen minutes film but many criticizers considered that Otis Turner might have done it. In the same year three more films in this series came out which are Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz,  The Land of Oz, and  John Dough and the Cherub, and all are considered to be  lost films. In 1914, three more films came out in this title, all directed by J. Farrell MacDonald and produced under The Oz Film Manufacturing Company. They are The Patchwork Girl of Oz,  the Magic Cloak of Oz, and  His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz, with an average ru nning time of 60 minutes. Later in 1925, another Oz movie was released by the name Wizard of Oz, directed by  Larry Semon. This film changed radically from the novel, introducing new characters and exploits. Along with a completely different plot, the film is all set in a world that is only barely recognizable as the  Land of Oz  from the books. All these Oz films had failed to make any impacts on the audience. Creating a fantasy world is a very difficult thing, if we couldnt make the audience to believe in the story, it all would look completely ridicules. Many film makers had failed to achieve this magic, thus make the genre to wait so long to get its triumph in motion picture. Other superb fantasy films in the early period were  Raoul Walsh  Ã‚  The Thief of Bagdad  and  Fritz Langs  Die Nibelungen both released in the year 1924. The Sound era: Technicolor and sound would be another great achievement in film history. Sound effects could make fear and anticipation in fantasy films or even play with viewers emotion in happy fantasies. Technicolor gave filmmakers the capability to create stunning special effects that impressed the viewers. The most famous film which made use of the magic of color and sound was the 1939 musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz  directed primarily by  Victor Fleming. A sudden change from black and white to color gave more fantastic effects to the fantasy world and it allowed the filmmakers to deliver the full beauty of the visuals. The Land of Oz was very spectacular, complete with flying witches, wizards, talking trees and animals and many other fantasy elements. We could find many changes in the plot though the film was far more faithful to Baums original book than the earlier film versions. The Wizard of Oz  has considered as one of the best loved fantasy film of all time because of its st unning visuals and strong narration, and it became a true classic. This 103 minutes film was produced by  MGM and the budget was three million dollars, most expensive production up to that time. The film earned six million from the box office and thirteen million from television broadcast rights. That would have inspired many filmmakers to produce fantasy films. 1power of narration à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦taking the viewers along with the story.. Make them to feel the emotions of the characters Give the feel believable of hyperrealism Disney also effectively used a combination of color and sound in many of its fantasy films, both live action and animated. The makers of  The Wizard of Oz  might have been influenced by the success of  Walt DisneyHYPERLINK http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Walt_Disney_PicturesHYPERLINK http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Walt_Disney_Picturess  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,  released in the year 1937, which proved that a fantasy film could attract an enthusiastic adult audience too, a trick that earlier Oz films had failed to achieve. Fantasy movies and the film industry: As a cinematic genre, fantasy has traditionally not been regarded as highly as the related genre of science fiction film. Undoubtedly, the fact that until recently fantasy films often suffered from the Sword and Sandal afflictions of inferior production values, over-the-top acting and decidedly poor special effects was a significant factor in fantasy films low regard. Even 1981s  Raiders of the Lost Ark, which did much to improve the genres reputation in public as well critical circles, was still derided in some quarters because of its comic book-like action sequences and tongue in cheek comedy. Since the late 1990s, however, the genre has gained new respectability, driven principally by the successful adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkiens  The Lord of the Rings  and J.K. Rowlings  Harry Potter  series. Jacksons  The Lord of the Rings  trilogy is notable due to its ambitious scope, serious tone and thematic complexity. These pictures achieved phenomenal commercial and critical success, and the  third installment  of the trilogy became the first fantasy film ever to win the  Academy Award for Best Picture. The Harry Potter series has been a tremendous financial success, has achieved critical acclaim, and boasts an enormous and loyal fan base. Following the success of these ventures, Hollywood studios have green lighted additional big-budget productions in the genre. These have included adaptations of the first and second books in  C. S. Lewis  The Chronicles of Narnia  series and the teen novel  Eragon, as well as adaptations of  Susan Coopers  The Dark Is RisHYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Is_Rising_(film)ing,  Cornelia FunkesInkheart,  Phillip Pullmans  The Golden Compass, and  Holly Blacks  The Spiderwick Chronicles. Fantasy movies in recent years, such as the  Lord of the Rings  films, 2005s  Narnia  adaptation, and the first second and fourth  Harry Potter  adaptations have most often been released in November and December. This is in contrast to science fiction films, which are often released during the northern hemisphere summer (June August). All 3 installments of the  Pirates of the Caribbean  fantasy films, however, were released in July 2003, July 2006 and May 2007 respectively, and the latest releases in the  Harry Potter  series were released in July, 2007 and July 2009. The huge commercial success of these pictures may indicate a change in Hollywoods approach to big-budget fantasy film releases. Adaptation Themes, imagery, and visual elements Detailed study of developments in visual effects Case study 1 The lord of the rings trilogy My same philosophy applied to digital effects as to the overall design. I wanted the monsters to feel real right down to the dirt under the fingernails of a Cave Troll or the bloodshot, bulging eyes of Gollum.   Peter Jackson   The lord of the rings film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson is an epic saga of J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings books, become a milestone in the history of motion picture. The trilogies, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, all released in the year of 2001, 2002, and 2003 respectively.   It was a revolutionary movement in the visual effects film making. Both the book and film had given a new birth to the fantasy literature and film genre. The trilogy achieved commercial, critical and phenomenal triumph. Each film of the trilogy had nominated for the Academy Award for Best picture in the three consecutive years and finally the third chapter, The Return of the King won the best picture award, and becomes the first fantasy film ever to achieve this honor. It won a total of eleven Academy Awards including for the ground breaking visual effects, ties up with the classics Benhur and Titanic. Peter Jackson and crew created an entire digital world to give life to the Tolkiens middle earth. This film is the best example of high fantasy. The story happened in the Middle earth, the three films follow the quest of Frodo Baggins and the fellowship to destroy the One Ring to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. In the final battle at Gondor, Ring has been destroyed and Sauron and his powers are vanquished. The story is rich with many fantasy elements such as, wizards, dragons, creatures, beasts, giant talking trees and many more .The success of the film showed the scope of fantasy films and encouraged many production companies to green light new fantasy oriented projects. Thus the first decade of the twenty first century got more than fifty fantasy films on the silver screen. All major behind the scenes works had done by the New Zealand based visual effects company WETA Digital. They would have assembled potential people from all fields of animation and visual effects to dedicate years of their lives to create stunning effects that fulfill this high fantasy, middle earth epic story. All three films got more three thousand effects shots. WETA Digital had used many visual effects technologies to create the effects and creatures. They have invented new technologies and changed some existing technologies to overcome the challenges in creating some scenes. One of the most exciting creatures in  the film is Gollum, who was born like a hobbit named Smà ©agol, but transformed into something far more frightening as a result of his encounter with the ring. For creating Gollum, they have used very advance motion capturing. Gollum would be the most sophisticated digital character seen at that time. Visual effects technologies The lord of the rings trilogy had used many ground breaking visual effects to create the fantasy. WETA Digital is the major effects studio behind the films, but some shorts are also given to the studio Digital Domain. WETA had used many technologies to achieve the effects. Here we are going to look through those technologies. Massive Creating the war scenes are one o the most challenges faced by the filmmakers. All films in the trio had more than one war sequence in which thousands of soldiers are fighting. Creating this kind of mass crowd is a big problem that had not been solved in film making. A research to develop a new technology to overcome this problem had conducted in WETA Digital by the technical director of the film Stephen Regelous. It resulted in the creation of new software called MASSIVE (Multiple Agent Simulation System in Virtual Environment). It can easily generate thousands or millions of agents that all act as individuals and can respond individually to its surroundings. These reactions affect the agents behavior, changing how they act and controlling motion captured animations to create a realistic looking characters. The software used fuzzy logic to achieve this kind of properties. This technology helped WETA to create the epic war sequences. This technology is a great contribution to the vis ual effects industry and later it used in many films. Subsurface scattering Creating the creature Gollum was another big challenge for the director. This character played a main role in the films. Gollum was brought into life by the combine efforts of computer animation and sophisticated motion capture technology utilizing fluid dynamics. They studied many kinds of anatomy to create realistic joint movement based on actual organic muscle and bone. For getting more realistic look they have applied sub surface scattering shader for the first time. WETA developed vast amounts of code to create Gollum, notes Peter Jackson. They developed new modeling codes, new skin codes, new muscle codes. He is amazingly life-like and we were able to give him a range of expressions from the evil of Gollum to the sympathy of Smà ©agol. Peter Jackson  

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay on The Handmaids Tale as a Warning to Society -- Handmaids Tal

The Handmaid's Tale as a Warning to Society Margaret Atwood's renowned science fiction novel, The Handmaid's Tale, was written in 1986 during the rise of the opposition to the feminist movement. Atwood, a Native American, was a vigorous supporter of this movement. The battle that existed between both sides of the women's rights issue inspired her to write this work. Because it was not clear just what the end result of the feminist movement would be, the author begins at the outset to prod her reader to consider where the story will end. Her purpose in writing this serious satire is to warn women of what the female gender stands to lose if the feminist movement were to fail. Atwood envisions a society of extreme changes in governmental, social, and mental oppression to make her point. Early on it is evident that the authority of this society has been changed from a theocracy to a totalitarian government. The first sentence reveals that the current living quarters of the main character, Offred, are located in "what had once been the gymnasium" (3). The narrator recounts the past fifty years in this place from felt skirts of the fifties to the green spiked hair of the nineties. Then she turns to describe its transformation into what resembles an army barrack but is actually functioning as a kind of prisoner of war camp. In these few short sentences, Atwood has described the conditions of a place called Gilead, which is located in what used to be called the United States. In chapter four the author reveals that the current government is waging a war against the church. This is evidence that this society has shifted away from recognizing God as its supreme authority. The narrator then mentions that church song... ... the past, Offred continues to hope that her husband, Luke, is still alive. She reveals this as she observes the bodies hanging at the wall and comments that she feels relief because, "Luke wasn't a doctor. Isn't" (44). Not only does she defy the system be refusing to accept this society as the end of all things, but she also persists in hoping that she will someday awaken from this nightmare and things will be the way they used to be. The ending of the novel is intentionally lacking direction because the author wants the reader to ponder its ending. Were it not for the fact that we, the readers, know that Offred lives to tell her story, we would be left like the people of Gilead, without hope. However, Margaret Atwood's point is that just as naturally as a caterpillar weaves its cocoon to grow wings and fly free, so to must the wings of women be.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Argument Essay †Illegalize Alcohol Essay

Our country is facing a growing problem. It is a problem of moral decay. The legal and open use of alcohol is an unnecessary vice that is enjoyed and accepted by a majority of the United States population, unfortunately, it leads to social and moral downfalls. Alcohol should be held to the same standards as other illegal mind and body-altering substances, as alcohol is addicting and has no medical value. Lawmakers and active voters should put an outright ban on alcohol. The revenue that is generated from the manufacturing, distributing, and sales of alcohol is a major source of taxable income that is a benefit. As of 2007 the U. S. Government was collecting $5. 6 billion dollars annually from the taxation of alcohol (joshritchie). This revenue has tended to increase each and every year. Although the revenue is important, the question must be asked, is it moral? Is it moral for our government to profit off the sale of a frivolous vice that causes fatalities and creates addicts? The revenue that is made from the taxation of alcohol could be lost, and would simply increase our never-ending national debt by a miniscule amount. Through out history our country has faced several social epidemics that have resulted in many people becoming substance abusers. Though these times our government has stepped in and enforced laws to restore the moral and social fabric of the infected areas. The current epidemic that we are facing is the abuse of alcohol. It is widespread and available almost everywhere in our country. â€Å"According to the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) tool, from 2001–2005, there were approximately 79,000 deaths annually attributable to excessive alcohol use. † (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Beyond the number of the deaths that are related to alcohol every year, a staggering number of people in the United States are alcoholics. According to the National Library of Medicine, â€Å"nearly 17. 6 million adults in the United States are alcoholics or have alcohol problems†. (U. S. National Library of Medicine) We need to completely ban alcohol so that we can start working on decreasing the number of addicts in our country rather than encourage the use to every single person just as he or she turns a certain age. The United States government has already tried to ban alcohol in the past, it was a complete failure and subsequently repealed. This attempt resulted in a spike in organized crime and was an obvious failure. Eventually the government conceded and re-legalized the use of alcohol. I too will concede that it was a failure on the part of our government in enforcing the prohibition of alcohol. Even today we are fighting the exact same battle by the DEA with the Controlled Substances Act. There is already a long list of illegal substances that are given priorities and schedules and are subsequently enforced. It would not be a stretch to incorporate alcohol into this list of illegal drugs. Many would assert that it would be difficult to enforce the mere consumption and manufacturing of small amounts of alcohol by individuals in there own homes. It is a very simple process to either brew low alcohol content drinks or to distill higher alcohol content spirits. The enforcing of these laws would be similar to current laws of cannabis cultivation. These laws would seem just as hard to enforce, yet they are enforced. The manufacturing of homemade alcohol could be given the same fear of punishment and could be enforced on incident-to-incident bases. Alcohol has the tendency to increase the probability of someone committing a violent crime. If alcohol were banned and harder to get a hold of this number of crimes would greatly diminish. The National Center for Victims of Crime has referenced the U. S. Department of Justice concerning drug and alcohol related crimes. The report states, â€Å"The U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey asks the violent crime victims who reported seeing their offenders whether they perceived the offender to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. According to the 1999 survey, over a quarter of the violent crime victims could make such a determination. About twenty-eight percent (28%) of those reported that the offender was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The most common substance identified was alcohol alone. About sixteen percent (16%) reported that the offender was under the influence of alcohol alone (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001). † (The National Center for Victims of Crime) This only takes into account the victims that were able to see their offender; this means that there are possibly more unaccounted for alcohol related crimes. The legal and open use of alcohol as a vice is leading to the downfall of our society. It is creating addicts while not offering a single practical medical benefit. The United States Government has already invested time, money, and effort to enforcing its Controlled Substances Act. Alcohol should be held to the same standards as all other physically altering substances are held to. Alcohol poses the risk of dependence and has no beneficial medical value. In order to start the moral fabric of our country we need to do away with the crime inducing substance alcohol. Lawmakers and active voters, it is our duty to hold our selves to higher standards and completely abolish the manufacturing, sale, and use of alcohol. Works Cited â€Å"Alcoholism: MedlinePlus. † National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health. 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. . â€Å"CDC – Alcohol and Public Health Home Page – Alcohol. † Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. . â€Å"Drug Related Crime. † The National Center for Victims of Crime. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. . Joshritchie. â€Å"How Much Is the Government Making Off of Alcohol? | Tax Break: The TurboTax Blog. † Tax Break: The TurboTax Blog | It’s All about the Refund. 5 July 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2011.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Ethics Assessment Essay

It is a fact that any business organization must have its principles of code of conduct. These principles must be generally accepted as they act as a mirror to the company’s or organization’s policy of ethics and responsibility, its employees, and the entire marketing team in maintaining consumer as well as community relationships. The organization’s policy has to be based on high-level ethical principles that are fair to all its stake holders. The aim of these principles is to provide a general guidance to the organization without which no meaningful business can take place (Dubois & Fattore, 2009). The mission statement, just like the code of ethics or code of conduct, is very essential as part of the organization’s business plan. It is very vital in giving the organization a clear direction concerning how the organization’s plans should be implemented as well as its future plans. The employee handbook Is another equally as important document and it is often used to evaluate the worker’s organization’s overall performance in terms of profitability and its relation with its customers and the general community. The management of any company or organization is supposed to take routine evaluation based on the key areas of the company’s or organizations set-up. These are the Mission Statement, the Ethics Code or Code of Ethics, the Supervisor’s manual as well as the employee handbook. These are the basic things that a company needs so as to be able to survive in the highly competitive world of business where excellent service delivery is the secret to success. The mission statement of any company or organization should be clear to all concerned; the employees, the supervisors and the managers in that order. The mission statement originates from the management and it is here that the managers map out the company’s guide and modes of operation (Stone, 2008). The overall manager or director of the organization should then discuss it thoroughly with fellow managers of the various departments to make sure that it meets the right description of the company before it is released to the employees and subsequently the general public who make up the target market. In order for a mission statement to be deemed successful, it must reach the intended audience as fast as possible and in a clear manner. The services or goods that the company or organization offers are sometimes not well spelt out. This leads to a misunderstanding, miscommunication or misinterpretation . This in turn leads to loss of business because the customers do not know much about the business or exactly what it is that they offer. An example is that of the hospitality industry. Some companies or organization do not care to include in their mission statement full details of what they offer. In such a case a customer may enter a business premise not knowing anything that the organization offers. If prospective customers do not know the full details of the company’s or organizations mission, then disappointment is the result and this The result in most cases is disappointment and loss of prospective customers. Such an oversight should be avoided by setting out clearly on paper what it is that the organization is dealing in instead of leaving it upon customers to guess. A mission statement is the heart of the company’s operations and therefore the managers should make sure that the set code of ethics or conduct is adhered to for the implementation of the company’s or organization’s mission to be successful. Two different companies dealing in the same goods and services were evaluated in terms of how their structures for the communication of their mission statement with relation to their business ethics and standards. In some strange way it was identified that the organization with a wide range of mission statement content performed worse than the organization with a wider range of code of ethics content (Shafritz & Hyde, 2007). The above fact is characteristic of the mission and vision statement of the giant Coca Cola company which they describe as enduring, a declaration of their purpose as a corporation. This mission statement acts as the yardstick against which they weigh their decisions and actions. The company acknowledges that the world is fast changing and as such they have to look at the future. They have to understand the forces and trends likely to shape their business in the foreseeable future and the only solution is to move with speed in preparing for any challenges that may come up. The mission statement takes one only a few seconds to go through but the clarity of the message is outstanding. The three point statement reads; ‘To Refresh the World†¦ in body, mind, and spirit. , To Inspire Moments of Optimism†¦ through our brands and our actions. , To Create Value and Make a Difference†¦ everywhere we engage’ (Fry, 1989). The company’s mission is communicated to the public in a clear and simple way and this is the reason for the continued confidence consumers have always had confidence in their brands over the years. Theirs is a perfect example of an inspiring, well-crafted mission statement from a very successful corporation in the world. The company communicates its mission statement through an aggressive campaign aimed at sensitizing the consumers about their aims and goals. The inspiration for everything they do I attributed to their enduring mission. Both the workers and the management find the resolve to go on with the challenges of the corporate world by drawing from the inspiration in the mission statement. Coca Cola has as a result managed to outsmart other well positioned companies like Pepsi Cola and Schweppes Cola which had for sometime rivaled the corporation. The company is socially responsible. It has, through its mission statement managed to create stable communities by manufacturing superb brands that has provided an alternative to other less health-sensitive drinks. The factors behind this are the code of ethics under which the company operates. The customer is the most important person to the company and in essence they strive to keep him satisfied. It is the mission statement, source of their inspiration, which keeps everyone in the company focused with a view to achieving this goal (Kettl & James, 2009). Coca cola’s employee manual and the supervisor’s manual provide for all the needs of the employees and the management, ranging from health benefits to reasonable pay allowances. The company has a strict program of ethics and compliance to ensure that its code of ethics is adhered to. This code of conduct requires employees be honest and have integrity in everything they do for the company and has so far been successful in guiding its business conduct (Stone, 2008). This is communicated through reading the manual and all the directors are supposed t understand and exercise them within the company and the outside community at large. The company has an ethics and compliance committee whose job is the evaluation of the compliance with relation to the company’s productivity and its relations with the outside community. This committee determines code violation and recommends the action to be taken against the violator. The code of ethics is routinely revised to improve its effectives. The company needs to improve the code of ethics and update it so as to meet the challenging and changing trends in the business fraternity. Some regulations need to be adjusted so that the employees can interact with the outside community more freely, but this should be done with some regulations so that the people who work in the production department do not leak the company’s production formula to other rival companies (Fry, 1989). Company needs to urgently review mission statement. The statement is too sketchy and many other companies have come up with more catching and better worded mission statements and this has made them sneak their way into the company’s consumer base therefore reducing Coca Cola’s share of the market. Many people all over the world who used to rely on Coca Cola for refreshment have in the recent past turned to other means like tea, water and coffee and therefore the company should redraft its mission statement to reflect the current needs of the consumers. These changes should be communicated in a very aggressive advertisement exercise that will reach all the concerned people (Shafritz & Hyde, 2009). This will surely make a change in the consumers’ hearts and renew their confidence in the company’s products. If I were the general manager of the Coca Cola Company, would hire a team of experts to review the company’s ethics, evaluate it and come up with suggestions on how make the existing one better. The team would have to the consumers armed with questionnaires and ask the relevant questions to determine how best the company can improve its services to suit the likes of the consumers. REFERENCES Dubois, H. F. W. & Fattore, G. (2009). ‘Definitions and typologies in public administration. Routledge. Fry, R ( 1989). Mastering Public Administration; from Max Weber to Dwight Waldo. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham House Publishers, Inc. Kettl, D & James (2009). The Politics of the Administrative Process. Washington Shafritz, J & Hyde, A (2007). Classics of Public Administration. Routledge. Stone, D (2008) ‘Global Public Policy, Transnational Policy Communities and their Networks,’ Journal of Policy Sciences.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on Mary Jane

Marijuana can cause many harmful effects. There has never been a major test though. The ones they’ve used have shown very different things. I have been very surprised by what I have been reading. I cannot believe the difference in what different scientists think. One says, â€Å"It's hard to know for sure whether regular marijuana use causes cancer. But it is known that marijuana contains some of the same and sometimes even more, of the cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.† While in certain places it is legally perscribed to people with many different types of cancer. The New scientist says, â€Å"A FRENCH government study has heaped fuel on the debate over the safety of cannabis by listing it as the least dangerous of all potentially addictive drugs. It also concludes that alcohol is among the most dangerous. The study, commissioned by French health minister Bernard Kouchner, was carried out by a panel of 10 French and foreign scientists headed by Bernard-Pierre Roques of the Renà © Descartes University of Paris. The panel searched the scientific literature for information about psychological and physical dependence, neural and general toxicity and social hazards such as aggressive behavior caused by various legal and illegal drugs. The team then grouped the substances into three categories of dangerousness. Cannabis was the only drug put in the least dangerous category. While cautioning that no drug they assessed was "completely free of danger", the researchers gave cannabis a rating of "weak" for social hazard and addictiveness, "very weak" for general toxicity and zero for neurotoxicity. In the most dangerous category, they included heroin and other opiates, and cocaine. Alcohol was also placed in this category because of its strong toxicity, its potential as... Free Essays on Mary Jane Free Essays on Mary Jane Marijuana Throughout history marijuana has been used to serve various purposes in many different cultures. The purposes have changed over time to fit in with the current lifestyles. This pattern is also true in American history. The use of marijuana has adapted to the social climate of the time. Marijuana, whose scientific name is cannibis sativa, was mentioned in historical manuscripts as early as 2700 B. C. in China. (Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1995). The cultivation of the marijuana plant began as far back as the Jamestown settlers, around 1611, who used hemp produced from the marijuana plant's fibers to make rope and canvas. It was also used in making clothing because of it's durability. These uses fit in with the social climate of the time, because the main focus was on survival rather than for psychoactive purposes. During the prohibition, marijuana was widely used because of the scarcity of alcohol. Prohibition was repealed after just thirteen years while the prohibition against marijuana lasted for more than seventy five years. This double standard may have resulted from the wishes of those in power. Alcohol prohibition struck directly at tens of millions of Americans of all ages, including many of societies most powerful members. Marijuana prohibition threatened far fewer Americans, and they had relatively little influence in the districts of power. Only the prohibition of marijuana, which some sixty million Americans have violated since 196... Free Essays on Mary Jane Marijuana can cause many harmful effects. There has never been a major test though. The ones they’ve used have shown very different things. I have been very surprised by what I have been reading. I cannot believe the difference in what different scientists think. One says, â€Å"It's hard to know for sure whether regular marijuana use causes cancer. But it is known that marijuana contains some of the same and sometimes even more, of the cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.† While in certain places it is legally perscribed to people with many different types of cancer. The New scientist says, â€Å"A FRENCH government study has heaped fuel on the debate over the safety of cannabis by listing it as the least dangerous of all potentially addictive drugs. It also concludes that alcohol is among the most dangerous. The study, commissioned by French health minister Bernard Kouchner, was carried out by a panel of 10 French and foreign scientists headed by Bernard-Pierre Roques of the Renà © Descartes University of Paris. The panel searched the scientific literature for information about psychological and physical dependence, neural and general toxicity and social hazards such as aggressive behavior caused by various legal and illegal drugs. The team then grouped the substances into three categories of dangerousness. Cannabis was the only drug put in the least dangerous category. While cautioning that no drug they assessed was "completely free of danger", the researchers gave cannabis a rating of "weak" for social hazard and addictiveness, "very weak" for general toxicity and zero for neurotoxicity. In the most dangerous category, they included heroin and other opiates, and cocaine. Alcohol was also placed in this category because of its strong toxicity, its potential as...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Evolution of Civil War Weapons essays

Evolution of Civil War Weapons essays The American Civil War brought many changes, especially in weaponry. On the battle field, officers sought to improve warfare strategies. At home, politicians attempted to reshape the political view of the war. Finally, in the industries, engineers worked to improve the performance and cost of the weapons they wished to sell to their respective government. Weapon changes occurred in two basic areas: firearms (also known as small arms, which are anything that can be carried by a soldier), and cannons/projectiles (artillery). Sword and bayonets, though were important, saw little action in the war. The relative importance of sound weaponry resulted in an accelerated evolution of weapons that sparked the dawn of modern warfare. Firearms were perhaps the most basic unit of weaponry used in the civil war. There are five general categories of firearms used in the civil war: musket, smoothbore musket, musket rifle, carbine, and the revolver. Loading and firing these weapons, one of the most important lessons a soldier could learn, consisted of many steps: prepare to load, load, handle, tear and charge cartridge, draw rammer and ram cartridge, prime, shoulder arms, and fire. These firearms were usually implemented in effective groups and were loaded and shot to rhythm of music. In general, 400 men could fire 1,200 LBS per minute until there was no ammunition left. (Museum Experience) Muskets were the most widely used firearm during the Civil War (Bilby, 1). Foremost among these was the Springfield, which was manufactured at the U.S. Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. By the end of the war, the total production of this single-shot, muzzle-loading musket approached 1.5 million. A musket in good condition was fairly accurate when firing at a block of men, no farther then 100 yards. Alas, in the battlefield, the conditions and effectiveness was far from perfect. The rifle was another significant weapon used in the war. Although the rifl...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Quest for Universal Plot Types

The Quest for Universal Plot Types The Quest for Universal Plot Types The Quest for Universal Plot Types By Michael For centuries, writers and critics have tried to put stories into basic categories. Novelist Kurt Vonnegut described eight of them: Man in Hole, Boy Meets Girl, From Bad to Worse, Which Way is Up?, Creation Story, Old Testament, New Testament, and Cinderella. He argued that stories have beautiful shapes which can be drawn on graph paper or fed into computers, rising and falling emotionally over time on a horizontal B-E axis (Beginning/End) and a vertical G-I axis (Good Fortune/Ill Fortune). Vonnegut explained his theory many times and you can watch his explanations online, both the short version and the long version. Six Basic Story Shapes Inspired by Vonneguts ideas, researchers at the the University of Vermonts Computational Story Laboratory and others used various tools, including one they call the Hedonometer. Based on what Vonnegut called emotional arc, this online tool compares each part of a story by tracking what kind of words dominate it: either words such as awful punishment poor blame afraid cried hate or else happy father garden faith home great laugh. Graphing the shapes of 1,327 books from Project Gutenberg, they found six basic plots. Rags to Riches (rise): A poor boy owns nothing but a cat, but it eventually makes him a rich man and Lord Mayor of London (Dick Whittington). SV1 or Mode 1, core emotional arc 1 Examples: The Importance of Being Earnest, The Jungle Book, The Call of the Wild, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus Tragedy, or Riches to Rags (fall): The kings advisor hopes to gain power by having his rival executed, but his conspiracy fails and he himself is executed by the king (Haman). -SV1 or Mode 1 negative, core emotional arc 2 Examples: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Beowulf, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Heart of Darkness, The Time Machine, Pygmalion Man in a Hole (fall then rise): Targeted by more powerful gangsters, members of an organized crime family are shot, assassinated, and exiled, but in the end, they make an offer that the other gangsters cant refuse (The Godfather). SV2, core emotional arc 3 Examples: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Through the Looking-Glass, The Prince and the Pauper, The Secret Garden Icarus (rise then fall): An inventor makes wings of wax and feathers and learns to fly with them, but his son rises too close to the sun and then falls. -SV2, core emotional arc 4 Examples: A Christmas Carol, Paradise Lost, Three Men in a Boat, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, The Pilgrim’s Progress (though some of those have happy endings) Cinderella (rise then fall then rise): A poor girl meets the prince at a ball, but she loses her slipper when fleeing at the stroke of midnight. Back home, serving her wicked stepmother again, a royal messenger asks her to try on the lost slipper, and when it fits, the prince marries her. SV3, core emotional arc 5 Examples: Treasure Island, King Solomon’s Mines, Love and Freindship (Jane Austen), The Merchant of Venice Oedipus (fall then rise then fall): An infant prince is found by shepherds on a mountainside, becomes a king, but ends his life as a blind wanderer. (I wont give away the whole story of Oedipus its complex). -SV3, core emotional arc 6 Examples: Frankenstein, A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes), The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Agatha Christie), The War of the Worlds, The Turn of the Screw, The Red Badge of Courage Lessons from Story Research Arcs have curves, not jagged lines. Events, circumstances, and cardboard people can change quickly, but real people change gradually. If a character changes suddenly and inexplicably, it isnt believable and it isnt satisfying. When a character is rescued by outside forces, we want him or her to be ready for it, if not to deserve it. We dont want it to happen too quickly or too lightly. We all have problems, so we relate to characters with problems like our own. Even ancient Greeks criticized the overuse of the deus ex machina effect, where just when we are dying to know how they are going to solve their problems, a god is lowered onto the stage with a crane to solve them all for them. The most successful plots may not be the most likable. Professor Ganna Pogrebna from the University of Birmingham determined that the most profitable films, such as The Godfather, have the man in a hole shape. But the most profitable films are not necessarily the most liked (most people dont like bloody murders), but rather the most discussed (as Michael Corleones family rises out a professional hole, he falls into a moral hole). More arcs may be more interesting. The Computational Story Laboratory researchers examined the number of downloads of each book to see which type of story was most popular. The winners included Icarus, â€Å"Cinderella,† and â€Å"Oedipus,† but one of the most downloaded types didnt even have a name: two sequential Man in a hole arcs (SV 4). Thats fall rise fall rise, a pattern that fits fewer books but more popular ones, such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Peter Pan, and Jane Austens Northanger Abbey. But successful books can be more complex than that: Jane Austens Persuasion has the shape of rise fall rise fall rise fall rise (SV7), as does Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. And when I look at Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on the Hedonometer, I see rise fall rise fall rise fall rise fall rise. In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontà «, I see rise fall rise fall rise fall rise fall rise fall rise. It never rains all the time. Its called an emotional arc for a reason: sometimes its up, sometimes its down. The emotional tone gets pretty low near the end of Christopher Marlowes The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, when Faustus is dragged off to Hell. (I suspect the Hedonometers rise at the end is a false positive.) Yet the play includes comic scenes. Critics used to think they couldnt have been written by Marlowe, but now they think otherwise. Marlowe knew that no audience can stand unabated gloom. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should AvoidWhenever vs. When EverPeople vs. Persons

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The Louis Vuitton Market Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Louis Vuitton Market Strategy - Case Study Example Company's efficiency of a finely tuned machine, fueled by ever-increasing productivity in design and manufacturing as Vuitton grows ever-bigger, the ability to step up advertising and global expansion without denting the bottom line. According to competitors who tried to surpass Vuitton stated that their operating metrics are second to none. The fine equilibrium between tradition and innovation reflects in the products of Louis Vuitton. The company has consistently pursued a luxury pricing strategy, which means high markups, limited availability, and few if any markdowns. Louis Vuitton sells its products only through a global network of company-owned stores. This keeps margins high and allows the company to maintain control of its products through every step in the channel. Louis Vuitton uses demographic targeting strategy to target their customers, men as well as women of various age ranges. The financial crisis going on would not disturb world's luxury brands as the luxury goods co nsumers are well-positioned enough that they just are not at risk to face such factors. Louis Vuitton opened its first store in China at Palace Hotel in Beijing in 1992. Company has the realization that the Chinese were sophisticated and soon they will be the biggest superpower. Chinese thinks that luxury fashion means the eminent elegance, high quality, taste, and expansive which in turn direct the destination of the trend in the region of China. Louis Vuitton has pursued a consistent approach to develop the market in China, never compromising in the face of difficult operational obstacles, and, as always, controlling every aspect of the business. This unique approach has powered Louis Vuitton to its current position as the most successful luxury brand in China. "Mythologizing Louis Vuitton's service" means, to identify and achieve the objectives and the challenges faced for improving the quality of customer service at each store to enhance customer satisfaction. This recognition of each customer's satisfaction positively affects the brand's reputation, which in turn determines the brand's value. METHODOLOGY Interbrand's methodology is a vital action that evaluates brand value on the basis of how much it is likely to earn for the company in the future. Interbrand uses a combination of analysts' projections, company financial documents, and it's own qualitative and quantitative analysis to arrive at a net present value of those earnings. The research methodology and design process would involve primary as well as secondary sources for bringing about substantial studies that are literature based and theoretically inclined for which such research methods utilized may truly serve its first hand purpose for this study. Mostly, research plan spells out the nature of the research to be conducted and includes an explanation of such things as the sample design, measures, and analysis techniques to be used. Three critical issues that

Friday, October 18, 2019

Social Welfare Dependence of Single Mothers Research Paper

Social Welfare Dependence of Single Mothers - Research Paper Example The support is provided with the proviso that it may well be reduced and/or withdrawn any time when the condition of the recipient improves. Subsequent to the relief support provided to people in distress, 'make work', a New Deal concept created during the 1930s or later on redefined as 'workfare' were initiated so that the temporarily affected would feel that they earned their relief support rather than receiving it as a hand out (Prabhakar 1). Workfare is also a concept used in relation to welfare reform. It is a mechanism of imposing work requirements on recipients of public assistance. Despite several problems workfare encountered in the past, a number of states use it now as a means of shifting welfare dependent persons into the formal wage work with the proviso that sometime in the future those who, it is claimed, did not have work experiences, would be acquainted with the world of work, and would somehow hook themselves to jobs and eventually become self-sufficient. Single mot her parents, the recipients of public and other institutional assistance, are people, who for various reasons, including the death of or abandonment, separation or unmarried status, become household heads and take care of their children and other members of the family in place of the traditional breadwinner - the husband. The number of poor people in single mother household heads rose from some two million in the 1950s and 1960s to 11.4 million in 2010 (Seccombe 23; Open City Foundations, 1). Although single mothers were provided with welfare checks and other basic need supplies from the state on a relief basis, many were not able to achieve self-sufficiency. Alternative approaches that would capacitate single mothers need to be explored. Policy Issues and Poverty Urban poverty as it relates to single mothers has been a serious problem that had defied meaningful solution in the U.S.

Organizational Communication Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Communication Issue - Essay Example However this form of change was not coordinated well throughout all the departments as team leaders had to manage employees possessing different skills and attitudes. In order to lead the departments through organizational change it is essential that all the team members are aware about the benefits associated with the change (Boxall and Purcell 97). This will help to set up a common vision for all the team members and reduce the barrier between team leaders and employees of Hi-Fli Fireworks. On the other hand, a participative leadership approach needs to be implemented in the system so that team members can contribute their innovative ideas regarding change taking place in the system. I would rather choose Jasmine as my team leader than George simply because she believes in giving the required opportunity to her team members so that they are able to bring forth creative ideas. The chaos theory which she believes in, states that, often creative ideas are born out of rich soil such as chaos. There are other qualities present in her that makes her the best team leader such as being a charismatic leader, believing on her team mates, facilitating more of self managed work, and giving more importance to individual imagination of team mates. Hence she will prove to be a good leader in the process since she is more inclined towards creative thoughts in comparison to traditional approach of management. Hi-Fli Fireworks has adopted the best approaches toward organizational change and the firm has even appointed experts belonging to different fields so as to lead the change. However in such a scenario where there are two different management styles and different interpretations toward champion roles it is obvious that some form of organizational conflict will result. In personal context, I would prefer to have an organization that is free of any such conflict (Mumby 45). The major reason behind such opinion is that conflict open results into

The Process of Restructuring Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Process of Restructuring Business - Essay Example The several buyout funds that were interested in outright acquiring the firm would surely ensure a healthy payout to the shareholders however if these were sufficient to restructure the firm was unclear. Also, they would restrict the role of the founders. This led to a second option which was to attain leveraged recapitalization, as suggested by investment bankers. The downside of this option was the large scale of indebtedness and transactional complexity. This leads us to the most viable option for Fojtasek suggested in shape of a hybrid transaction by a private equity group from Boston, Heritage Partners; with the agreement leading to lower debt levels, control for the family, and majority ownership for existing shareholders. In July 1995, Randall Fojtasek—in partnership with Heritage Partners—undertook a considerable restructuring. The first step in this process of restructuring was acquiring Bishop Manufacturing, a vinyl window manufacturer in Northeast. This was seventeen months later sold to Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, a private equity firm in the United States that specializes in leveraged buyouts. At a 45% premium to the original purchase price the shareholder’s profited from the transaction and a small amount was reinvested into the firm. Heritage partners, also known as, Partners International (HPI) is a senior-level executive search and consulting firm that focuses on delivering superior work to a select group of clients globally in the life sciences industry. During the undertaking of the transaction, they were concentrating their efforts in raising follow-on funds of about 300 $ million. They were successful in their efforts and raised the amount from a variety of institutional investors such as Brinson Partners, the General Motors Investment Management Company, and the private equity arm of the Princeton endowment, Nassau Capital. It appears that Randall Fojtasek in the late 90’s had overcome the dilemma regarding the company he had faced in 95. Not only had he managed to remain CEO of the firm, now renamed to Atrium Companies but had also managed to retain a large equity stake in the firm.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Exam, Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Exam, Culture - Essay Example Colonialism has few advantages like it is an expansion of religion, culture and expansion of country. While disadvantage is law enforcement, may result in unrest. The term Orientalism appeared in 19th century, it is the study which colonial powers do, so that they fully understand the culture of the area to be ruled, in order to have full knowledge of their lifestyle and language to have full control. Orientalism is the scholarly perception of Asians in West. The orient became a western concept, Orientalism a tool to control and manipulate. For example, when British ruled India they never let Hindus and Muslim come closer to each other because they always had religious differences, while British used the policy of divide and rule. No culture of the world has the power of remain same; every culture is prone to changes. Some people in a culture may remain use the traditional way of living but not everybody in culture has this strong control. So when culture inherently allows changes, the elements of culture keep changing slowly or in result to correspond to pre-industrial societies. Next, change can take place even if some important cultural elements still evolve slowly. Generally speaking, societies in transition to industrialization, colonialism or imperialism have this type of cultures. So this kind of cultures has allowed notable changes during the last 25 years. They correspond to confirmed industrial societies and, mainly, the post-industrial ones. For example, in subcontinent the Hindus and Muslims have lived together for so many years, so now they have so much in common like language, fashion, politics and studies. Indian Cinema: India has one of the largest cinemas in the world with the production of almost 1200 movies per year. Largest regional cinemas are Bollywood, Bengali Cinema and Tamil cinema while small cinemas include Kannada cinema, Malayalam cinema, Marathi cinema and Telugu cinema. Indian cinema makes movie on serious content, realism and naturalism. Indian Cinema has also made its name popular world wide in parallel cinema. Bollywood and Hollywood: Bollywood: Bollywood is the name given to the Indian film industry, just like Hollywood but the B of Bollywood comes from Bombay, a big city in India. Bollywood claims to be the largest of the world with the production of 800 movies a year. The typical Bollywood movie is about the boy who falls in love with a girl and then there is a villain plus a comedy sidekick. The film also includes a lot of colors with all the songs and dances with a lot of costumes. Hollywood: Hollywood is the film industry of the United States of America in Los Angeles. It started with a silent movie in the year 1830. Hollywood is the most popular cinema of the world. There are four main periods of Hollywood, silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood and contemporary period (after 1980). Critique of cultural purity (authenticity): Cultural purity is one of the oldest concept in which that Humanists used to believe one day the Roman Empire will rise again for the restoration of classic cultural purity, and so by the late 14th and early 15th century, humanists likeLeonardo Bruni believed they had attained this new age, and that a third,Modern Agehad begun. So the cultural purity is now a concept which is now considered a myth now as it is impossible

Western Civilization.The modern era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Western Civilization.The modern era - Essay Example Western civilization is a term used to refer to cultures of European origin. This term sprang up as a way of depicting the difference between the Graeco-Roman culture and its offspring, is in distinction to the older neighboring civilizations of the Middle East. This sustained to provide as a replica of civilization in the "west" for a long time.In Ideas, Peter Watson concludes that the mix, in contemporary culture, of Enlightenment-stytle scientific rationalism and 19th-century Romantic idealism creat what he calls "the modern incoherence": Watson argues that Enlightenment science and Romantic art, Enlightenment empiricism and Romantic fundamentalism, propose inherently irreconcilable views of human experience and of the world. (Peter, Watson 2006)"There are three major themes whose development and interplay have shaped the distinctive characteristics that set Western civilization apart from the other great historic cultures. They are the growth of a tradition of rational scientific inquiry, the persistence of a tension between Judaeo-Christian religious ideals and social realities, the emergence of constitutional forms of government." (Brian Tierney, Donald Kagan and Pearce Williams L p.xi).The theory of Western culture is normally connected to the classical explanation of the Western world. In this definition, "Western culture is the set of literary, scientific, political, artistic and philosophical principles which set it apart from other civilizations. Much of this set of traditions and knowledge is collected in the Western canon."( Jones, Prudence and Pennick, Nigel, 1995). Henry, Boren, C remarks that Western civilization is "still the most dynamic element in the modern world." He further remarks that Western civilization is successor to previous civilizations that urbanized out of the Mediterranean region. In its most wide definition, Western civilization is that accumulation of political, economic, social, and intellectual traditions that has developed for 5,000 years since the appearance of the first civilizations in the ancient Near East. Today, Western civilization is primarily regarded as centering on the Atlantic community or Western Europe and those societies in the Western Hemisphere and Australasia that are offshoots of European tradition and culture (p xiv). The Modern Era Religion in the meantime has waned considerably in Western Europe, where many are agnostic or atheist. Nearly half of the populations of the United Kingdom (44-54%), Germany (41-49%), France (43-54%) and the Netherlands (39-44%) are non-theist. Religious belief in the United States is very strong that is about 75-85% of the population are religious (Zuckerman, P 2005). As Europe discovered the wider world, old concepts adapted. The Islamic world which had formerly been considered "the Orient" ("the East") more specifically became the "Near East" as the interests of the European powers for the first time interferred with Qing China and Meiji Japan in the 19th century. (Davidson, Roderic H 1960) Thus, the Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895 occurred in the "Far East", while the troubles surrounding the decline of the Ottoman Empire simultaneously occurred in the "Near East" (Hogarth, D G1902). The uncovering and innovation of new classes of energy bring about key change. The tackling of fire contributed to cooking, ceramics, and smelting. The toggle from oxen to horses and into watermills assisted in creating the 12th-century Renaissance. The acceptance of Arab-Latin rigging on Mediterranean ships helped them to get the most of the wind and discover the more unsafe and mysterious Atlantic. Right from the beginning of 18th century, electrical gadgets began to come out, though electricity demanded other forms of energy to produce it. The growth of steam control brought about the Industrial Revolution. The discovery of the electron created 20th-century technology, culminating in the internet (Peter, Watson 2006)

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Exam, Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Exam, Culture - Essay Example Colonialism has few advantages like it is an expansion of religion, culture and expansion of country. While disadvantage is law enforcement, may result in unrest. The term Orientalism appeared in 19th century, it is the study which colonial powers do, so that they fully understand the culture of the area to be ruled, in order to have full knowledge of their lifestyle and language to have full control. Orientalism is the scholarly perception of Asians in West. The orient became a western concept, Orientalism a tool to control and manipulate. For example, when British ruled India they never let Hindus and Muslim come closer to each other because they always had religious differences, while British used the policy of divide and rule. No culture of the world has the power of remain same; every culture is prone to changes. Some people in a culture may remain use the traditional way of living but not everybody in culture has this strong control. So when culture inherently allows changes, the elements of culture keep changing slowly or in result to correspond to pre-industrial societies. Next, change can take place even if some important cultural elements still evolve slowly. Generally speaking, societies in transition to industrialization, colonialism or imperialism have this type of cultures. So this kind of cultures has allowed notable changes during the last 25 years. They correspond to confirmed industrial societies and, mainly, the post-industrial ones. For example, in subcontinent the Hindus and Muslims have lived together for so many years, so now they have so much in common like language, fashion, politics and studies. Indian Cinema: India has one of the largest cinemas in the world with the production of almost 1200 movies per year. Largest regional cinemas are Bollywood, Bengali Cinema and Tamil cinema while small cinemas include Kannada cinema, Malayalam cinema, Marathi cinema and Telugu cinema. Indian cinema makes movie on serious content, realism and naturalism. Indian Cinema has also made its name popular world wide in parallel cinema. Bollywood and Hollywood: Bollywood: Bollywood is the name given to the Indian film industry, just like Hollywood but the B of Bollywood comes from Bombay, a big city in India. Bollywood claims to be the largest of the world with the production of 800 movies a year. The typical Bollywood movie is about the boy who falls in love with a girl and then there is a villain plus a comedy sidekick. The film also includes a lot of colors with all the songs and dances with a lot of costumes. Hollywood: Hollywood is the film industry of the United States of America in Los Angeles. It started with a silent movie in the year 1830. Hollywood is the most popular cinema of the world. There are four main periods of Hollywood, silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood and contemporary period (after 1980). Critique of cultural purity (authenticity): Cultural purity is one of the oldest concept in which that Humanists used to believe one day the Roman Empire will rise again for the restoration of classic cultural purity, and so by the late 14th and early 15th century, humanists likeLeonardo Bruni believed they had attained this new age, and that a third,Modern Agehad begun. So the cultural purity is now a concept which is now considered a myth now as it is impossible

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

ComputerBased Applications in Aviation Education Essay

ComputerBased Applications in Aviation Education - Essay Example In the paper that follows, an explanation of the different procedures of technology and how they are used in modern aviation education shall be presented and well tackled. With ample research and understanding, it could be noted that the discussion of this matter could create a clearer picture as to how the entire process of technological adjustment has actually found better ways of increasing the comprehensive approach of the teaching matters that are used in improving the proper ways of enhancing students' skills on flying as well as in handling aircraft technical problems and maintenance issues. With systems of economic reform that the society is getting involved with today, education has become the most important aspect in an individual's life. In the United States today, according to the United States Census Bureau, a student's personal quest for educational enhancement and development is key to his/her long-term career and economic success. No longer are innate abilities and talents a key to a person's success or failure. Individual success or failure is now determined by the level of education that one particularly gained from studying.1 For this reason, education at some point becomes the medium of measurement among individuals in the society as to how they are supposed to be viewed in terms of possibilities of being successful. The prestige that garnering a higher level of education nowadays does not only mark a person in the society as someone who has the capability to stand for his own self, but it also remains as a mark among employers as to who among the many appl icants are they to hire for a certain position. Those who have the skills and may even have the talents find it hard enough to jump up to the executive ladder [especially for business establishment organizations].2 While on the other hand, those who have the educational attainment become the ones who are able to take place in higher positions at work, even though they may have lesser skills than that of the others who have not garnered an education as high as they do. Certainly, from this particular perspective, it could be noted that education today becomes a measuring tool for people as to how they may fare in life. Education at some point becomes an element of social classification that makes it possible for massive diversity to occur between those who have the capabilities of garnering high levels of educational attainment from those who cannot. This is primarily one of the effects of globalization within the dealings of the human society. It is undeniable that as the application of globalization progresses, the demand for highly competent workers [based on educational attainment] is indeed taken seriously by the employers at present. Furthermore, the challenge becomes much tougher because of the fact that as the globalization era comes into picture, the challenge in producing highly competent workers is presented to educators of the present systems of education. What are these challenges in particular Primarily, as globalization invites global neighbouring among nations around the world, immigration of students from different races becomes an eminent

Monday, October 14, 2019

Emotional Skills In Social Work Practice

Emotional Skills In Social Work Practice Social Work Practice, a powerful modern day skill for social empowerment of the disadvantaged and excluded segments of society, is an occupation of enormous scope and an immensely stressful activity (Burgess Taylor, 2004). Educated and trained in social work theory and practice, these practitioners are required to constantly interact, assess and understand situations, as well engage in various actions aimed at providing appropriate relief and succour to their disadvantaged clients (Burgess Taylor, 2004). This calls for significant knowledge of the tenets of social work practice. However, social workers in the UK function in an increasingly management oriented setting which is more organisational and administrative, with an emphasis on private public participation, accountability and coordination (Burgess Taylor, 2004, P 7 to 81). Increasing competition between social work providers, business-oriented standards for performance assessment, mounting work pressures and the need to micro manage and carefully control the distribution of services often lead to personal dilemmas, contradictory emotions and disorientation (Burgess Taylor, 2004, P 7 to 81). Significant failures in social work have brought to the fore various challenges facing social workers in processing and comprehending their own emotions and actions, as well as those of others (Perez-Koenig Rock, 2001, P 25 to110). Modern day behavioural experts and psychologists feel that much of the reasons behind such failures lie in the inadequacies of traditionally followed training approaches, which deal primarily with the inculcation of practical and theoretical competencies and ignore broader and more holistic emotional issues (Perez-Koenig Rock, 2001, P 25 to110). Adequate attention to emotional issues in the training and development of social workers is felt to be critically important for (a) aligning the emotional dimensions of social work, which, while essential, is rendered invisible, with the natural caring roles of social workers (b) providing supportive agendas for individual and professional development (c) providing processes to define the emotional constituent of social work practice that is obliterated by the increase of managerial practices in the area, (d) tackling the disruptive power of emotions on thought, (e) creating an effective balance between rational and emotional reactions for making of sensible and wise decisions, and (f) bridging cultural differences (Turner, 2005). Whilst the origins of Emotional Intelligence (EI) can be traced back to the works of Darwin, its modern day emergence, as a serious and relevant issue for study and application in various areas of work that involve people, arose first with the work of Robert Maslow in 1960, followed by those of John Mayer and Peter Salovey in 1989. Peter Salovey described EI as the ability to monitor ones own and others feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide ones thinking and actions (Nelson Others, 2007, P 30). The concept of EI received a boost with the work of the psychologist Daniel Goleman, who popularised it, first with his 1995 book Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ and thereafter through constant research and work on the subject (Nelson Others, 2007, P 30). Goleman has developed a number of EI competencies in two specific areas of EI, personal competence and social competence, and has encouraged the inclusion of EI in the education and training module of social work (Nelson Others, 2007, P 30). This essay deals with the various ramifications of EI in social work and its use and application for fresh entrants, educated and trained in the area, principally in three specific disciplines; counselling, conflict management and social work practice, 2. EI in Counselling New entrants in the area of social work counselling will be required to help people of various ages from different segments of society to confront and overcome a diverse range of problems and challenges (Payne Shardlow, 2002, P122 to 198). Counsellors aim to provide people with the guidance and support they require to alter their lives and move forward in a constructive manner. Social work counselling can loosely be segregated into (a) counselling and therapy (assisting clients with different emotional problems) (b) providing advice and information in areas related to jobs, employment choices, welfare, rights, debt, etc. (c) social and community care, (helping with providing of support to families, young and old people, and those without homes or with disabilities) and (d) charities and other voluntary organisations (providing support to workers to collect funds and organise volunteers in order to continue their operations (Payne Shardlow, 2002, P122 to 198). Recent years have seen an increasing conflict between the managerial and administrative functions of social workers and their requirement to meet individuals at the time of their need, give them respect, battle disadvantages and unfairness, construct relationships that resolve problems, and support wellbeing (Payne Shardlow, 2002, P122 to 198). People in need of counselling have time and again requested to be treated with dignity and respect, to be patiently listened to and helped (Payne Shardlow, 2002, P122 to 198). Effective counselling requires social workers to listen carefully, react effectively and build relationships with service users, colleagues and others (Payne Shardlow, 2002, P122 to 198). Golemans four core competencies, namely self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management can be of immense help to new counsellors by enabling them to understand personal emotions and their effect on other people, as well as by developing the ability to control strong emotions that can upset service users (Druskat Others, 2006, P 72 to 145). Inculcation of social awareness enables new counsellors to recognise the emotional condition of their clients, bridge cultural and social distances and understand the challenges and difficulties experienced by service users (Druskat Others, 2006, P 72 to 145). Relationship management on the other hand equips counsellors to converse with service users, persuades them to listen to and understand the suggestions of the counsellor, and build strong bonds (Druskat Others, 2006, P 72 to 145). The principles of client centred therapy, popularised by Carl Rogers, require counsellors to refrain from unsettling clients with queries, evaluations, judgments, and explanations, but to focus upon providing secure, non-judgemental and caring environments, where the service users can control counselling sessions, decide what is discussed, and find their individual solutions to existing problems without requiring the counsellors to fix the course of therapy (Mulhauser, G, (2009, P 1). Carl Rogers based his framework on the belief that individuals become progressively more truthful and dependable once they realise that their subjective understanding is appreciated and accepted. Rogers core conditions, better known as CUE, consist of Congruence, Unconditional Positive Regard, and Empathy (Mulhauser, G, (2009, P 1). These three conditions are of extreme importance in client-centred counselling and new counsellors need to inculcate a deep understanding of them in order to provide requisite conditions for clients who have a strong desire to explore their feelings and who treasure personal responsibility. Such an approach may however be unsuitable for clients who wish to be provided with extensive advice, diagnosis of problems and analysis of their problems (Mulhauser, G, (2009, P 1). Clients who would like to address specific psychological habits or patterns of thinking may find some variation in the helpfulness of the person-centred approach, as the individual therapeutic styles of person-centred counsellors vary widely, and some will feel more able than others to engage directly with these types of concerns. (Mulhauser, 2009, P 1) Whilst newly inducted counsellors need to be careful about the requirement of their clients, the use of emotional skills is often necessary and needs to be fully inculcated by counsellors. 3. EI in Conflict Management Social workers, especially those taking up positions in social work organisations, understand that their work will often deal with conflict and that too in various roles, as advocates, negotiators and mediators (Turner, 2005, P136 to 217). Social work education comprises of a wide range of perspectives, (like environmental, radical and feminist), which in turn are based upon dissimilar premises regarding human relationships (Turner, 2005, P136 to 217). Social work practice requires different approaches from different perspectives in case of intervention for resolution or management of situations of conflict (Turner, 2005, P136 to 217). Examples of such situations (in terms of the above perspectives) could include interface between individuals and their social environments, confronting patriarchy, or challenging discrimination and oppression against a wide range of groups, including women, lesbians, gays and ethnic minorities (Turner, 2005, P136 to 217). Conflict resolution training for social workers provides numerous principles for successful conflict resolution, like (a) the need for different responses for different conflicts, (b) the availability of different responses like avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise or collaboration for bringing about solutions, (c) the need of people to feel secure from physical or emotional hazards, (d) the availability of various skills for conflict resolution skills like refraining, active listening, and identification of underlying interests, and (e) the need to balance emotions with rationality (Turner, 2005, P136 to 217). Social workers are undoubtedly aware of the lack of emotional intelligence being the main cause of conflict (Lenaghan Others, 2006, P 76+). Researchers in EI also argue that a lack of emotional intelligence is one of the leading causes of conflict in our society (Turner, 2005, P136 to 217). Contemporary training tools make significant use of Goldmans principles on EI, particularly self-confidence, emotional self-control, transparency, empathy, motivation and relationship management (Turner, 2005, P136 to 217). Golemans work makes a valuable contribution to conflict management theory and training, and a compelling case for the importance of emotion in what we believe to be rational decision-making processes (Bjerknes HYPERLINK http://www.mediate.com/articles/bjerknes.cfm#bioHYPERLINK http://www.mediate.com/articles/bjerknes.cfm#bio Paranica, 2002, P1). Golemans theories constructively help social workers understand the important role of emotion in life and the reliance placed upon emotional input for making decisions and prioritisation of information. This greatly helps in minimising conflict in personal and working life (Bjerknes HYPERLINK http://www.mediate.com/articles/bjerknes.cfm#bioHYPERLINK http://www.mediate.com/articles/bjerknes.cfm#bio Paranica, 2002, P1). Solid training that focuses on developing awareness about our strengths and weaknesses as mediators, facilitators and trainers is crucial to our development as culturally competent process workers, and is crucial in our pursuit to help clients achieve their potential. Openness to learning and reflecting about our role, about who we are, and about how we affect others is essential and will lead us down the path to success in life. (Bjerknes HYPERLINK http://www.mediate.com/articles/bjerknes.cfm#bioHYPERLINK http://www.mediate.com/articles/bjerknes.cfm#bio Paranica, 2002, P1) 4. EI in Social Work Practice Social Work practitioners are required to interact with service users, social workers and other participants of the social care system like medical practitioners, teachers and members of local authorities (Burgess Taylor, 2004, P 101 to 172). With the interaction between social workers and service users being the focal point of social work practice, the relationship between social worker and service user involves perception on the part of the practitioner, appreciation of the emotions of the client and usage of perceptions to handle situations and achieve efficiency in delivery of social care (Burgess Taylor, 2004, P 101 to 172). Such work demands a high degree of emotional intelligence (Burgess Taylor, 2004, P 101 to 172). Social work in the present context does not extend only to the assessment and fulfilment of perceived social needs (Burgess Taylor, 2004, P 101 to 172), but also to the realisation of and respect for the service users goals, choices, and preferences and the use of interdisciplinary resources available with the social worker to meet their emotional, social, physical and economic needs. Social workers need to engage in active introspection of events, try to obtain a clear psychological understanding of the challenges and needs of service users and inculcate genuine concern for the economically and socially disadvantaged and excluded (Burgess Taylor, 2004, P 101 to 172). Whilst such perceptions cannot be generalised because of the different needs of different people, the inculcation of empathy and service orientation facilitates the development of necessary perspectives and perceptions (Burgess Taylor, 2004, P 101 to 172). Social workers entering practice should recognise that they need to confront their own emotions as well as those of their service users, especially so in cases where the issues are extremely challenging and difficult to resolve. Goleman identifies five EQ domains as (a) knowledge of own, (b) management of own emotions, (c) motivating oneself, (d) recognising and understanding emotions of other people, and (e) management of relationships, i.e. the management of emotions of other people (Druskat Others, 2006, P 152 to 189). Experts also agree that EI, along with reflective ability enables social workers to increase their resilience to stress (Druskat Others, 2006, P 152 to 189). Self awareness and self management competencies help social workers to progressively develop self confidence, transparency, and optimism (Druskat Others, 2006, P 152 to 189). Social awareness and relationship management on the other hand allow them to engage positively with their clients as well as with other participants in the social care structure (Druskat Others, 2006, P 152 to 189). It is unfortunate that current research reports still underline the need for social workers to have more empathy for their clients. They found that being listened to and understood was crucial for the carers. Staff who took time to ask questions and hear complex and long stories of how the family were coping was seen as the most helpful. These findings confirm previous ones and it is of great concern that people using services are still identifying that only some social workers are proficient in such crucial and basic skills. (Sedan, 2005, P 7) It is being constantly proved that the difference between the better social workers and the others can be narrowed down to skills like listening, non-critical acceptance, avoidance of moralistic or judgemental attitudes and other competencies directly related to EI. New social workers need to heed such findings and focus strongly on improving their EI and E skills. 5. Conclusions The principles of EI, when they were first elaborated by Mayor and Salovey raised significant interest in a world that was becoming increasingly competitive and insensitive; the possibility of people being able to adopt techniques and behaviours to work with greater cooperation, harmony and productivity was welcomed with enthusiasm. The path breaking work on the subject by Goleman in following years and the adoption of the tenets of EI in various areas of human endeavour, more noticeably in social work and in the HR functions of business firms, have resulted in its increasing popularity and application. As is evident, EI can be applied in numerous areas by social work practitioners; it is an extremely useful skill and can be used productively in counselling, conflict management and various other areas of social work practice. Whilst interest in the area of human needs and actualisation has increased since the publication of Maslows theories, the evolution of specific theory on the issue has added a new dimension to the area by developing methods for people to increase their E skills and improve the quality and productivity of their working and personal lives. Recent entrants to social work however need to realise that E skills and EI can increase only with constant inculcation and application of its principles and bare knowledge of theoretical tenets will not suffice in improving their EI competencies. With the tools and methods of improving EI still in the primary stages development, much more needs to be done to popularise the issue and encourage its application in various areas of social work. The Boston EI questionnaire provides a good method of assessing personal EI, which is in consonance with the Five Step Method for improvement of emotional quotient (Druskat Others, 2006, P 225). Younger social workers would be well advised to sincerely take the test and constantly improve their EI.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Class Differences in Blood Brothers, by Willy Russell Essay -- Blood Br

Willy Russell creates a play to show us the class differences that existed in Liverpool in the 1980’s. He does this by showing us the contrasting lives of the two boys and their mothers. Mrs Lyons has an easy life and Mrs Johnston has a hard life and has to work hard to earn a living. The same applies to the boys as Mickey has the hard life and Eddie has the easy life. Willy Russell also shows us that education, living conditions, housing and wealth can be affected as a direct result of your class and social background. This meant that the people from working class backgrounds had a harder life because they didn’t have the same opportunities. During the 1980’s a lot of people were made redundant because mills and factories closed down, reducing the number of jobs. First on stage is Mrs Johnston, the stage directions describe her as ‘thirty, but looks sixty’. This tells us that the she looks withered and old because of all the strenuous work she has to do. Russell helps us to realise her desperate situation in many ways. One of the ways he does this is by telling us she has seven kids. Although she is a young woman she is old in appearance. As a single mum she has to cope with the pressures of bringing seven children up on her own. One of the ways this is shown is when kid one says ‘Mam. The baby’s crying. He wants a bottle. Where’s the milk?’. After this her other three kids start complaining about them not having enough to eat. When the mother starts singing you can tell that she is trying her best to make the kids happy but doesn’t have the money to do so. She tries to reassure them by saying ‘Next week I’ll be earning, there’ll be loads of stuff to eat’. She is dreaming about the food but deep down sh... ...ife because it affects your job opportunities if you have a poor education. For example someone with an A* has a better chance then someone with a D of getting the job if they applied for the same job. If you go to a private school you have a better chance of passing because there are fewer students so the teacher can help you more because there is more time. In the end it depends on your class which determines whether you can go to a private school or not. If you’re from a rich family you can got to a private school and you will have a much better chance of passing your exams. But if you’re from a poor family then you will have to go to a government school and you will have less chance of passing. It also depends on your hard work and not the school you attend because if you are truanting and you go to a higher achieving school then you will still fail.