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Thursday, October 31, 2019

Three films that are amalgams of art forms Movie Review

Three films that are amalgams of art forms - Movie Review Example Three famous films had etched an indelible mark of how the directors had approached the various themes.These films are Orson Welles' Citizen Kane,Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game and Roberto Rosellini's Rome-Open City.Citizen Kane is deemed to be the best American film ever made. Its main theme is the corruption of the American dream. It asks us to question the very premise of the American dream. The movie is a dream in itself, depicting prosperity and influence inevitably linked to the downfall of relationships and personal values.As "an archetype of film noir with an enormous influence on the development of that genre" (Carringer, p. 86), it is riddled with various film techniques reminiscent of other art forms such as realism, impressionism, expressionism, Baroque and realism.The film reminds visually of a newsprint which is especially appropriate in a film depicting semi-autobiography of a newspaper tycoon, using high-contrast black and white. The conflict-indicating quality of th is film is often emulated in the choices of costumes. For instance, an older troubled Kane is always seen dressed in plain white shirts and black suits while those around him are clad in less contrasting grey clothes. This shows the way Kane's internal power struggle of the public versus the private man is fiercely pictured.With regards to lighting, Citizen Kane also bears the immensity of the film-serving a variety of functions such as setting the tone of scenes, foreshadowing the dying of idealism, delineating the effect of it to Kane's personality on a variety of characters. This quality of the film reminds us fully of Baroque art where light brings forth the drama in the scene. Comparing the depictions of Kane's early life, the quality of the light used was natural. "The crisp daylight style predominates in the parts dealing with Kane's rise to prominence, Here Kane is seen as a self-starter, an idealist, a reformer, a traditional type-the hope of the future embodied in a genuine American titan. By contrast, most of the harshly expressionistic scenes, compared to those filmed in low levels of illumination, involve the later part of Kane's story after he has become a petty and ruthless tyrant " (Carringer, p. 84) Xanadu, Kane's castle, is filmed at night time in the opening scene of the film. A lighted window and fog's illuminating effect provide the only means of articulating the structure of Xanadu. An impressionistic scene, it presents an eerie vista which depicts loneliness and isolation, prompting the audience a mood of uneasiness or sadness. In a rally scene in Citizen Kane, Charles Foster Kane is filmed in long-shot some distance and thus he is dwarfed-though standing in front of a vast poster reproduction of himself. The immense contrast between the actual man and the image once again illustrates the public man's emergence and the private man's demise. Kane's power over others is often underscored in scenes where he dominates the foreground while other characters are relegated to the middleground. Citizen Kane's occasional interplay of light and shadow builds the character of the film. An example of this occurs when Kane's face is shadowed as he signs his "Declaration of Principles" prior to printing it in his newly-organized newspaper. The film maker often depicted other characters literally in Kane's shadow so as to illustrate the enormous influence of Kane's personality-and the destructive quality of his presence (Sobochack, p. 73). Subject movements in Citizen Kane has to do with the use of the wide-angle lens, when Kane is filmed from a distance and yet is allowed to traverse that distance with a minimum of steps. Camera is often tilted in order to show entire scenes at a certain angle. A glaring symbolism that illustrates a world gone askew. When Kane takes over The Enquirer, the newspaper office is depicted at an angle in order to foreshadow Kane's subsequent loss of dignity and integrity. Susan's cluttered room is also shot at an

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Great Divorce Essay Example for Free

The Great Divorce Essay The Great Divorce, the narrator suddenly, and inexplicably, finds himself in a grim and joyless city (the grey town, representative of hell). He eventually finds a bus for those who desire an excursion to some other place (and which eventually turns out to be the foothills of heaven). He enters the bus and converses with his fellow passengers as they travel. When the bus reaches its destination, the people on the bus — including the narrator — gradually realize that they are ghosts. Although the country is the most beautiful they have ever seen, every feature of the landscape (including streams of water and blades of grass) is unbearably solid compared to themselves: it causes them immense pain to walk on the grass, and even a single leaf is far too heavy for any of them to lift. Shining figures, men and women whom they have known on earth, come to meet them, and to persuade them to repent and enter heaven proper. They promise that as the ghosts travel onward and upward, they will become acclimated to the country and will feel no discomfort. These figures, called spirits to distinguish them from the ghosts, offer to assist them in the journey toward the mountains and the sunrise. Almost all of the ghosts choose to return instead to the grey town, giving various reasons and excuses. Much of the interest of the book lies in the recognition it awakens of the plausibility and familiarity, along with the thinness and self-deception, of the excuses that the ghosts refuse to abandon, even though to do so would bring them to reality and joy forevermore. The narrator is met by the writer George MacDonald, whom he hails as his mentor, just as Dante did when encountering Virgil in the Divine Comedy; and MacDonald becomes the narrators guide in his journey, just as Virgil became Dantes. MacDonald explains that it is possible for a soul to choose to remain in heaven despite having been in the grey town; for such souls, their time in hell has been a period of testing, and the goodness of heaven will work backwards into their lives, turning even their worst sorrows into joy, and changing their experience on earth to an extension of heaven. Conversely, the evil of hell works backwards also, so that if a soul remains in, or returns to, the grey town, even its happiness on earth will lose its meaning, and its experience on earth would have been hell. None of the ghosts realize that the grey town is, in fact, hell. Indeed it is not that much different from the life they led on earth: joyless, friendless, and uncomfortable. It just goes on forever, and gets worse and worse, with some characters whispering their fear of the night that is to eventually come. According to MacDonald, heaven and hell cannot coexist in a single soul, and while it is possible to leave hell and enter heaven, doing so implies turning away (repentance); or as depicted by Lewis, giving up paltry worldly pleasures and self-indulgences — which have become impossible for the dead anyway — and embracing ultimate and unceasing joy itself. In answer to the narrators question MacDonald confirms that what is going on is a dream. The use of the chess game imagery as well as the correspondence of dream elements to elements in the narrators waking life are reminiscent of Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The narrator discovers that the vast grey town and its ghostly inhabitants are minuscule to the point of being invisible compared with the immensity of heaven and reality. This is illustrated in the encounter of the blessed woman and her husband: she is surrounded by gleaming attendants while he shrinks down to invisibility as he uses a collared tragedian to speak for him. Toward the end of the narrative the terror of the dreaming narrator of remaining a ghost in the advent of full daybreak in heaven is that of the man with his dream of judgment day in the House of the Interpreter of The Pilgrims Progress. The book ends with the narrator awakening from his dream of heaven into the unpleasant reality of wartime Britain, in conscious imitation of The Pilgrims Progress, the last sentence of the First Part of which is: So I awoke, and behold, it was a Dream. Main Characters The Narrator (it is implied that this is Lewis himself) — main focus of the narrative George MacDonald — the writer, who acts as guide to the narrator. And also many other small characters that play some pretty important roles in explaining Lewis ideas. Allusions/references to other works Lewis consciously draws elements of the plot from Dante (The Divine Comedy) and Bunyan; for example, comparing his meeting with MacDonald to the first sight of Beatrice. He also credits the idea that hell exists within heaven but is smaller than one atom of it to his scientifiction readings; travel by shrinking or enlargement is a common theme in speculative fiction, and the narrator alludes to its presence in Alice in Wonderland. In the preface, Lewis explains the origin of his idea that heaven is immutable to the ghosts from hell, referencing an unnamed science fiction work which gave him the notion of a character being unable to affect matter around him because he ha d traveled back in time to the unchangeable past.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

What Is Cyber Forensic Information Technology Essay

What Is Cyber Forensic Information Technology Essay Cyber forensics is the process of acquisition, authentication, analysis and documentation of evidence retrieved from the systems or online used to commit the crime. The systems could be from computers, networks, digital media or storage devices that could contain valuable information for the investigators to examine. From online, it could be from e-commerce domains or other websites. In cyber forensics, file or data carving techniques are most commonly used to extract digital evidence from the source; hard drive or online domain (Ibrahim, 2011, p. 137). Computer forensics is important not just because it does recover files hidden or deleted away from storage devices and systems but it can also tell forensics experts whether are there any suspicious activities going on or had the systems been tampered with. Computer forensics had helped solved the issue of recovering information from files where file system is unavailable or file system structure is corrupted. Files may be intentional ly deleted or worse formatted to the interest of the suspect to conceal his actions. In todays modern era where technology plays a part in almost all the electronic devices, it is important to know when required, how a trained forensics specialist can perform up to expectation, in collecting and present his evidence findings to corresponding agencies (Ibrahim, 2011, p.138). History of Cyber Forensics The uprise of cyber forensics started as early as 1984, in response to the growing demand from law enforcement agencies like FBI (John, 2003, p. 366). However digital forensics has been around as early as nearly the first birth of computer (Greg, 2012, p. 1). Since 1980s, forensics applications are developed by relevant law enforcement agencies to examine computer evidence. Due to forensics growing needs, FBI set up CART; also known as Computer Analysis and Response Team. CART was tasked with the role of analysing computer evidence. CART functions and techniques were so greatly used and performance by them was so great; other law enforcement agencies outside the country quickly emulated them by establishing the same cyber forensics department (John, 2003, p. 366). Examinations of forensics evidence are normally held in forensics laboratories or clean rooms by computer forensics investigators. A good and knowledgeable forensics expert is best preferred to be in the process of examination, as it is always vital to perverse the integrity of the data and not destroy it. Many forensics experts have their own standards and procedures on how computer forensics examinations are conducted which can be a big issue. Having double standards could jeopardize the integrity, creditably and validity of the digital evidence which could result in serious implications along the way. Therefore, as early as 1991, suggestions were made to streamline and standardise the examination processes and protocols had been raised. The purpose was to smoothen out rough edges approach used in evidence finding. Eventually, all these led to the formation of International Organization on Computer Evidence and Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE). It became a world wide effort to help law enforcement agencies around the globe to work together more closely with regards to forensics examinations (John, 2003, p. 366). Over the years as modern technology advances, so have the criminal activities on the Net, using these technologies. Crimes not only doubled with the advance of technology but showed no sign of slowing down with the current situation. Criminals cracked their brains how to bypass security flaws in the systems while security teams brainstormed on how to improve security systems to keep criminals off. Billions of dollars were lost to cybercrime which part of it went into criminal pockets and fund illegal activities. It will always be a cop and thief game to see who stepped up to the task of stopping each other from doing crime on the Internet first (John, 2003, p. 367). What is Digital Evidence? Digital evidence is evidence in the form of soft copy but not hardcopy as the term suggested so. It can be in any type of data format, it can be part of texts, images, audio or video. Digital evidence is not quite similar to physical crime evidence. Evidence from physical crime scene is durable to a certain extent, it can be kept and took down with camera and explained. However, this is not the case for digital evidence, any wrong move to examine the evidence might alter or destroy the evidence without able to rollback (Eoghan, 2011, p. 7). Digital evidence is so fragile, it can be easily damaged, modified or destroyed purposely. That is why most of the time, original evidence are often duplicated and analysis is carried out on the duplicated copy to prevent any mishap of damaging the original copy. Scope of digital evidence examination can be very broad, it can be either online or offline. Examples of them are credit card transactions, Internet communications history, hard drives and other storage devices (Barry, William, Catherine, 2009, p. 295). Digital evidence is very critical to an investigation because the information on the evidence can tell the investigator what really happened and pieced together the whole picture. Forensics experts are looking for any form of metadata, suspicious content and other data residing in the hard drive. Every single click by the user on the computer was recorded by the system and a trained forensics expert can tell from one look what types of activity and desire the user was engaged in. better than anyone else. The recorded logs act like a behavioural database; documenting every single movement on the laptop used by anyone (Eoghan, 2003, p. 8). The consequences will be unthinkable in this revolution age of technology, if digital evidence is not available. It means criminals, terrorists and law breaking offenders are using technology to commit their cybercrimes and avoid apprehension due to the lack of evidence, or worst, bring arresting those using legal means to a whole new level for law enforcement agencies. If this is the case, it will mean these criminals will get away scot-free. Digital evidence can tell judges or investigators the truth, it can also prove ones innocent in a crime. Digital evidence speaks the truth. Digital evidence can also unveil a bigger crime plot in the making, like murder, drug dealing, credit card theft, or planned terrorist attacks However, sometimes forensics expert can meet their match, people who are technically knowledgeable in forensics and know how to hide their tracks. This will make uncovering ones track of dirty doing more tedious and difficult. (Eoghan Casey, p. 6 8) Evidence Preservation The very first step of starting an investigation on the crime scene itself is to preserve the digital evidence in the way itself. It is a critical step because of the fragility of digital evidence and procedures are needed to be in placed to avoid contamination or loss of the evidence. Contamination can also mean altering, damaging or destroying the digital evidence. It is important to minimise any chances of corrupting the digital evidence at the point of seizure and whole of the investigation process (Boddington, 2011, p. 4). There are methods and techniques out there to aid fellow forensics experts to prevent digital evidence from being unintentionally tampered with. Experts can utilise method such as Imaging and Write-block. Imaging is equivalent to ghosting a backup copy of the whole computer hard drive (evidence) into a soft copy. So investigators work on the ghosted copy of the hard drive and the original hard drive is kept one side. In any case, if the ghosted copy is corrupted; investigators can pull out the original hard drive and create another copy to work on. Write-block is another good way to prevent original evidence being altered. The evidence media is connected with a special machine that can prevent any attempt to overwrite the data on the device. Thus, the evidence on the hard drive cannot be altered as any attempt to write on the media had been blocked by the special machine (Barry, William, Catherine, 2009, p. 301). The reason behind preservation of digital evidence is simple. When submitting digital evidence for documentations or legal purposes in any court or legal department, legitimate proof is required to show correct findings on the investigation. It had to show the same as the exhibit seized at the crime scene. This phenomenon is also commonly known as chain of custody. For example, in a cyber-forensics crime environment, such exhibits would be media storage devices, a copy of digital evidence from the hard disk seized and so on (Boddington, 2011, p. 5). Chain of custody basically is a map that clearly depicts the process of how digital evidence were processed; collected, analysed and preserved in order to be presented as digital evidence in court. A chain of custody will also be needed to showcase whether the evidence is trustworthy or not. To meet all the requirements for chain of custody, three criteria are essential. Firstly, no alteration must be done to the evidence from the day of seizure. Secondly, a duplicate copy needed to be created and it had to be functional; not corrupted. Lastly, all evidence and media are secured. Able to provide this chain of custody is unbroken is an investigator primary tool in authenticating all the electronic evidence (John, 2005, p. 247). If the chain of custody is broken, digital evidence collected from the scene submitted to the court can be denied as the evidence might had been altered and might not tell the truth of the evidence. This is a prosecutor worst nightmare. In any situation, chain of custody is best followed to prove that evidence does not get contaminated and stayed in original state. However, there are occasions where collecting evidence without altering the data is not possible, especially when forensics tools were used. Such act will prove to be a serious implication to justify the evidence is intact and submission of such evidence will be challenged by the opposing team (Boddington, 2011, p. 6). Locate Evidence Once preserving the evidences is done, its time to locate relevant evidence that can make a difference in the legal battle (Boddington, 2011, p. 8). The general first rule of thumb when locating the evidence is do not rush, as one is eager to get the investigation started, wants to find as many evidences as possible. However, the more one rushes the more mistakes the one is likely to make. Rushing into an investigation can have dire consequences, consequences like causing evidence to be lost prematurely or altered unintentionally (John, 2005, p. 249). Besides locating evidence, investigators must also maintain high integrity and reliability of the digital evidence, doing so, will minimise metadata being altered and destruction of important evidence (John Rudolph, 2010, p. 126). Digital evidence can be in any file format; email, notepad or video or it can have no file format due to the fact that it had been encrypted. Forensics experts need to browse through thousands of files in the computer system or network to spot and collect suspicious files. Forensics experts are trained and taught to focus on area of interests within the system. Examples of such areas are like Recycle bin, Windows Registry and Internet Temp Folder. Focusing on these areas saved tremendous hours of searching. These areas will tell the investigators what took had happened and who did it (Boddington, 2011, p. 8). To examine such a wide range of file types after taking consideration the area of interests. The process of examination gets whole lot tougher and te dious. Investigators will bring in tools to help facilitate them with locating and collecting of the evidence. Forensics experts often use tools like OSforensics, XYR tools, Quick Stego or other sophiscated toolkits to aid them in the finding. All these tools will help investigators to decide whether they are looking at the correct areas or not and whether did they missed out anything important. Such equipment not only uncovers hidden or deleted files, it can also reveal the importance of the file whether it is relevant to the case or not (John, 2005, p. 249). Select and Analyse Selecting evidence is often referred to the same meaning as analysing the evidence. Select and analyse the evidence that is going to be part of a legal lawsuit. Investigators do not just select all evidences and submit for lawsuit. Things like attribution and documents authentication played a part in the selecting of evidence. Suspects can lie but not the evidence. Attributing a crime to an individual is hard but with the help of forensics analysis, investigators can narrow down to an Internet account or User account that had been used to commit the crime. For instance, access to e-commerce domains makes it difficult for suspects to deny responsibility for the activities he did using the computer around the time reported. Alternatively, sources like credit card usage, CCTV footage or mobile phone messages can be used against him as well. Selecting evidence found across the hard drive to be used on suspect is tedious work as it got to match perfectly with the time of his illegal act, creating a timeline with it (Eoghan, 2009, p. 27). Checking of metadata on documents for authentication may seem like a small properties of the file but it capture one of the most important aspect of forensics evidence. From the metadata, investigators are able to see when the file was created, last accessed and last modified. Using of date-time stamp on files and logs file will be able to determine whether documents that are documented falsely or fabricated by looking into consistencies in log files. These methods will help investigators to authenticate the validity of the digital evidence (Eoghan, 2009, p. 31). Meticulously selecting and analysing the evidence found in the crime scene will help piece together the whole timeline of the act. Investigators might be able to tell from it the motive and intention of the suspect. Using evidence across the crime scene and cross referencing it accurately will piece together a series of event that can help to locate the suspect and prove his crimes. However, in the same situation doing it wrongly might twist the fact from fiction and caused inaccurate judgement on the crime (Eoghan, 2009, p. 21 23). Evidence Validation Investigators need to have the confidence to draw inference from evidence picked up from the crime itself, whether can it be used in a legal argument or not. Validating digital evidence requires verification of relevant parts of the digital domain where the evidence is created, processed and transferred, including the evidence file itself. No doubt that the job of an investigator is tough, preserve, locate and validate digital evidence, however, legal practitioners have greater challenge, to construct logical legal arguments (Boddington, R., Hobbs, V.J. Mann, G, 2008, p. 3 5). Task of the investigator is to determine the credibly, validity and namely if the claim drawn from the evidence can be verified. For example, the assertion that an important word document was deleted would require confirmation of the existence of the deleted file through forensics tools. Incomplete or improper scanning of the available digital evidence during validation process of the investigate might jeopar dise the evidence and people involve in the crime. In a more dire case, investigation can come to a halt and come to a standstill. (Boddington, R., Hobbs, V.J. Mann, G, 2008, p. 7- 10). In some cases, investigators might missed out key piece of digital evidence and resort to cherry- picking when selecting or discarding evidence to gain an upper hand in legal battle; sometimes an absence of evidence of evidence does not necessarily show evidence of absence a phenomenon of the digital domain. To sum up how evidence is validate and presented in legal suit, its all up to the skill and knowledge of the investigators accumulated all of the years (Boddington, R., Hobbs, V.J. Mann, G, 2008, p. 14). Evidence Presentation Having selected and validated the digital evidence, the next step is to present the evidence found in an orderly manner in court (Boddington, 2011, p. 14). The digital evidence submitted can be in any format. It can be photo, CCTV footage, video or word processed document. Through digital presentation, it enables the case to be heard in court in a way such that it is faster and easier for the jury to judge and digest the information (The Stationery Office, 2007, p. 48). The fundamental in a courtroom is to administer justice and give a fair verdict. The role of investigators is to present digital evidence found and other relevant supporting documents to the court. It is always an investigator duty to present the evidence in an accurately, clear and non-bias view to the court. This is a rightful thing as a investigator should do. An investigator judgement must not be shaken by others in court and must not jump to conclusion, giving a clear and proper presentation. It is investigator p rofessionalism by doing so. (Eoghan, 2011, p. 49) Forensics Tools Forensics tools played an important role in digital forensics, without the use of such high tech software in this modern era; it will put digital investigation back into primitive age. They had been developed for a single purpose in the past to aid forensics experts in the investigations of digital crime. They can be classified into three categories; Imaging Tools, Analysis Tools and Forensics toolkits (Panagiotis, 2006, p. 62). The sole purpose of the imaging tools is to image a hard drive, making a bit-by-bit copy. This bit-by-bit copy image file is often known as the analysis drive. During this process of creating a copy of the suspects hard drive, it is important that no additional data was inserted. It will alter not just the integrity and the validity of the evidence resided in the hard drive. Out in the open market, there are a few trustworthy and easy to use imaging tools developed for forensics examinations. One of them is Norton Ghost. Symantecs Norton Ghost 9.0 has been out in the market for quite some time. It is a backup and restoration utility that can work on Windows, Linux and DOS systems. Its prominent function featured the creation of backup images without having to restart the system. Other features of Norton Ghost include Ghost Server, cloning back a machine with the image created earlier on. It also featured Ghost Explorer. This function allows creator to view the files inside the image where the hard drive was cloned (Panagiotis, 2006, p. 63). Tools that fall into analysis category have a wide range. Tools like Quick Stego and DriveSpy are good examples of analysis tools. DriveSpy was designed to emulate and improve the capabilities of DOS to meet the needs of forensics examinations. It can be used to analyse DOS and non-DOS partition using a built in sector hex viewer (Panagiotis, 2006, p. 63 64). Software like Quick Stego detects hidden text message inside a larger message. Such text is not available through the naked eye of a human; it requires software like quick stego, which can detect it. The term for detecting hidden text is known as stenography. The hidden information can be in plain texts or images. This technique is often useful for hiding particular messages not wanted to be seen by people, expect those who know they are receiving information embedded with stenography. Quick stego is simple and easy to use software. It helps forensics experts to dig deeper into the system with the help of it, it might lead to uncover a bigger plot not yet found by the investigators (Lech Andrew, 2008, p. 60). Forensics tools can make a difference for forensics experts. It helped forensics experts to better analysis the system and gather more evidence. In another words, it is like post mortem forensics. Tools like OSforensics and ProDiscoverTools have the ability to do, it gives the investigator the ability and capability to process recent activity and logs of the system to better understand the suspect movements. It also features the capability to recover deleted file and discover delete activities, intended to hide from the examiner. Besides the features mentioned, both tools had other functions like email analysis or index search analysis, which give a more straightforward and easier format to understand (Lech Andrew, 2008, p. 61 65). Hypothesis and alternative hypotheses After finding evidences in a crime scene, investigators might have their own hypothesis that fit the crime. Many predictions may follow through, forming other hypotheses, some are correct to a certain extent while others are wrong. Part of the forensics experts is to figure out which hypothesis is the right one by eliminating the others. Success of the analysis lies on how carefully and thoroughly the hypothesis is being questioned. Therefore, it is critical to consider other reasons and explanations to cross out wrong hypotheses. Once all the hypotheses had been reviewed and only one of them have been established as the most reasonable, fit closest to the series of event relating to the crime according to evidence found and timeline. Investigators can then convey their work to decision makers to make their final decision (Eoghan, 2009, p. 24). On occasions, if initial hypothesis had been disapproved, a new one must be formed and analysed until one hypothesis is found to be concreted and able to withstand questions asked by the court. This is to ensure hypothesis gets it full support from the evidence themselves and able to tell the story of the real crime (John, 2005, p. 66). Conclusion Cyber crime is evolving from day to day and it is getting more and more sophiscated. Criminals are using more and more innovating and creative ways to commit crimes and hide their tracks. Measures and policies were in placed to prevent from bypassing the system flaws from causing impact to the businesses and the societies (John, 2005, p. 182). The demand for forensics examination on crime systems had surged greatly in the 21st century, where technology plays a part in all electronic devices. It has helped law enforcement agencies in the identification of cyber and computer-assisted crime. Organisations are stressing the importance on the need to have capabilities and abilities using computer forensics tools to identify misuse of organisation systems in the office (Greg, 2012, p. 6). Computer forensics was initially designed and developed to assist in the practical application of the technology. However, in the recent years, it spark off a new sensation in academic research, exploring new ways to better obtain forensic evidence, every new research done is a new insight gained by the investigators. However, as technology advances, so have the criminals, law enforcement agencies, organisations and indivulas needs to know basic protection measures to safeguard their own asset from falling into the wrong hands. (Nathan Clarke, 2010, p58)

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Essay on Diomedes, the True Hero of Homer’s Iliad -- Iliad essays

Diomedes, the True Hero of The Iliad In The Iliad, written in a 3rd person omniscient point of view, Homer gives a very serious account of the tenth and last year of the Trojan War.   It was in Homer's account that the very idea of becoming a legendary hero reached its pinnacle; the choice of the better hero was not decided on the events they participated in, but rather by their characteristics.   The ancient Greeks had strict criteria for individuals to follow if they were to be seen as heroes. Above all, a man needed to be a skilled warrior, but this was not the only requirement. To be a hero, a warrior had to respect authority, both governmental and religious. The Greeks gave heroes no room for pride. These men were to be modest, not only giving credit to their culture and the gods for any great deeds they had done, but also accepting everything that happened as Fate, not scenarios they had created for themselves. In other words, they did not make themselves what they were; rather, they had been predestined to be come it. The final requirement of being a hero was coolness. Heroes were not permitted to be blinded by rage or have mood swings. In The Iliad, two Greeks are presented to the reader as heroes. They are Achilles and Diomedes. Although they are both good contenders for the title of hero, Diomedes is by far the better of the two. Diomedes is one of the finest and bravest of the Greek warriors. He is respectful to all authority figures and has little or no pride. Always wise and reasonable, he may be the vision of the perfect nobleman. Both Achilles and Diomedes easily meet the first requirement, that a hero must have skill on the battlefield. Throughout The Iliad, Homer tells of their incredible (though usually go... ...kill in battle, respect for authority, humility, and coolness under fire. Not many men met all requirements, including Achilles, but they were still viewed as heroes. Between Achilles and Diomedes, Diomedes was the better choice for the title of hero. He was one of the finest Greek soldiers. Diomedes was respectful of authority, humble about his successes, and was very levelheaded. Achilles had great fighting skill as well; however, he had trouble respecting authority and keeping his cool, both results of his excessive pride. If Achilles had not been so prideful, he could have been a much greater warrior and hero, perhaps achieving status equal to the gods. He simply had too much pride. Diomedes was humble; therefore, it was easier for him to respect authority and keep a level head. Works Cited: Fagles, Robert, trans. The Iliad. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Outline of the Tea Party Platform Essay

Believe that heavy taxes are a burden for those who apply their personal liberty to work hard ? Need for government to protect the freedom of citizens with interference of the government that has exceeded its necessary size or scope. 2. Eliminate National Debt ? there is a need to have fiscal conservative policies at all levels of government ? narrow down the national debt for the good of the average American 3. Protect Free Markets ? Allow free markets to prosper without the infringement of the national government ? Belief that free markets should be protected and are the backbone of the U. S 4. Abide By the Constitution of The United States ? Belief that the U. S Constitution is the supreme law and should be held as so ? Constitution but be upheld in all areas, levels and branches of government 5. Promote Civic Responsibility ? Citizen involvement should be upheld ? Belief that citizen inolment directs the behaviors of the representatives both on a local and national level 6. Reduce the Overall Size Of Government ? Belief that a â€Å"bloated† or overcrowded bureaucracy leads to uneconomical spending ? Reducing the size of governement will than in turn help eliminate inefficiencies that result in deficit spending 7. Believe In The People ? Guaranteed freedoms for the American people will cause then to thrive and grow in a democratic, capitalist enviroment which allows individuals to achieve and go after achievements 8. Maintain Local Independance ? The strength of the Tea Party movement is the ability of citizens at the local level to establish their own platforms ? Belief that each citizen’s voice should be heard

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Find Out What the Word Punic Means

Find Out What the Word Punic Means Basically, Punic refers to the Punic people, i.e., the Phoenicians. It is an ethnic label. The English term Punic comes from the Latin Poenus. Should we be using the term Carthaginian (a civic label referring to the city of North Africa the Romans called ​Carthago) or Punic when referring to the people of northern Africa fighting in the wars with Rome known as the Punic Wars, since Punic can refer to cities elsewhere, like Utica? Here are two articles that elaborate this confusion and may help you, too: Poenus Plane Est - But Who Were the Punickes?Jonathan R. W. PragPapers of the British School at Rome, Vol. 74, (2006), pp. 1-37The Use of Poenus and Carthaginiensis in Early Latin Literature,George Fredric FrankoClassical Philology, Vol. 89, No. 2 (Apr., 1994), pp. 153-158 The Greek term for Punic is ÃŽ ¦ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ºÃŽ µÃâ€š Phoenikes (Phoenix); whence, Poenus. The Greeks did not distinguish between western and eastern Phoenicians, but the Romans did once those western Phoenicians in Carthage started to compete with the Romans. Phoenicians in the period from 1200 (dates, as on most pages of this site, are B.C./B.C.E.) until the conquest by Alexander the Great in 333, lived along the Levantine coastline (and so, they would be considered eastern Phoenicians). The Greek term for all the Semitic Levantine peoples was ÃŽ ¦ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ºÃŽ µÃâ€š Phoenikes. After the Phoenician diaspora, Phoenician was used to refer to Phoenician people living west of Greece. Phoenician was not, in general, users of the western area until the Carthaginians came to power (mid-6th century). The term Phoenicio-Punic is sometimes used for the areas of Spain, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, and Italy, where there was a Phoenician presence (this would be the western Phoenicians). Carthaginian is used specifically for Phoenicians who lived in Carthage. The Latin designation, without value-added content, is Carthaginiensis or Afer since Carthage was in northern Africa. Carthage and African are the geographic or civic designations. Prag writes: The basis of the terminological problem is that, if Punic replaces Phoenician as the general term for the western Mediterranean subsequent to the mid-sixth century, then that which is Carthaginian is Punic, but that which is Punic is not necessarily Carthaginian (and ultimately all is still Phoenician). In the ancient world, the Phoenicians were notorious for their trickiness, as is shown in the expression from Livy 21.4.9 about Hannibal: perfidia plus quam punica (treachery more than Punic).

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Homestead Steel Strike of 1892

The Homestead Steel Strike of 1892 The Homestead Strike, a work stoppage  at Carnegie Steels plant at Homestead, Pennsylvania, turned into one of the most violent episodes in the American labor struggles of the late 1800s. A planned occupation of the plant turned into a bloody battle when hundreds of men from the Pinkerton Detective Agency exchanged gunfire with workers and townspeople along the banks of the Monongahela River. In a surprising twist, strikers captured a number of Pinkertons when the strikebreakers were forced to surrender. The battle on July 6, 1892 ended with a truce, and the release of prisoners. But the state militia arrived a week later to settle things in favor of the company. And two weeks later an anarchist outraged by the behavior of Henry Clay Frick, the vehemently anti-labor manager of Carnegie Steel, tried to assassinate Frick in his office. Though shot twice, Frick survived. Other labor organizations had rallied to the defense of the union at Homestead, the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. And for a time public opinion seemed to side with the workers. But the attempted assassination of Frick, and the involvement of a known anarchist, was used to discredit the labor movement. In the end, the management of Carnegie Steel won. Background of the Homestead Plant Labor Problems In 1883 Andrew Carnegie  bought the Homestead Works, a steel plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh on the Monongahela River. The plant, which had been focused on producing steel rails for railroads, was changed and modernized under Carnegies ownership to produce steel plate, which could be used for production of armored ships. Carnegie,  known for uncanny business foresight, had become one of the richest men in America, surpassing the wealth of earlier millionaires such as John Jacob Astor and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Under Carnegies direction, the Homestead plant kept expanding, and the town of Homestead, which had about 2,000 residents in 1880, when the plant first opened, grew to a population of about 12,000 in 1892. About 4,000 workers were employed at the steel plant. The union representing workers at the Homestead plant, the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, had signed a contract with Carnegies company in 1889. The contract was set to expire on July 1, 1892. Carnegie, and especially his business partner Henry Clay Frick, wanted to break the union. There has always been considerable  dispute about how much Carnegie knew of the ruthless tactics Frick planned to employ. At the time of the 1892 strike, Carnegie was at a luxurious estate he owned in Scotland. But it seems, based on letters the men exchanged, that Carnegie was fully aware of Fricks tactics. The Beginning of the Homestead Strike In 1891 Carnegie began to think about reducing wages at the Homestead plant, and when his company held meetings with the Amalgamated union in the spring of 1892 the company informed the union that it would be cutting wages at the plant. Carnegie also wrote a letter, before he left for Scotland in April 1892, which indicated that he intended to make Homestead a non-union plant. In late May, Henry Clay Frick instructed the company negotiators to inform the union that wages were being reduced. The union would not accept the proposal, which the company said was non-negotiable. In late June 1892, Frick had public notices posted in  the town of Homestead informing union members that since the union had rejected the companys offer, the company would have nothing to do with the union. And to further provoke the union, Frick began construction of what was being called Fort Frick. Tall fences were constructed around the plant, topped with barbed wire. The intent of the barricades and barbed wire was obvious: Frick intended to lock out the union and bring in scabs, non-union workers. The Pinkertons Attempted to Invade Homestead On the night of July 5, 1892, approximately 300 Pinkerton agents arrived in western Pennsylvania by train and boarded two barges which had been stocked with hundreds of pistols and rifles as well as uniforms. The barges were towed on  the Monongahela River to Homestead, where Frick assumed the Pinkertons  could land undetected in the middle of the night. Lookouts saw the barges coming and alerted the workers in Homestead, who raced to the riverbank. When the Pinkertons tried to land at dawn, hundreds of townspeople, some of them armed with weapons dating back to the Civil War, were waiting. It was never determined who fired the first shot, but a gun battle broke out. Men were killed and wounded on both sides, and the Pinkertons were pinned down on the barges, with no escape possible. Throughout the day of July 6, 1892, townspeople of Homestead tried to attack the barges, even pumping oil into the river in an attempt to set fires atop the water. Finally, late in the afternoon, some of the union leaders convinced the townspeople to let the Pinkertons surrender. As the Pinkertons left the barges to walk to a local opera house, where they would be held until the local sheriff could come and arrest them, townspeople threw bricks at them. Some Pinkertons were beaten. The sheriff arrived that night and removed the Pinkertons, though none of them were arrested or indicted for murder, as the townspeople had demanded. Newspapers had been covering the crisis for weeks, but the news of the violence created a sensation when it moved quickly across the telegraph wires. Newspaper editions were rushed out with startling accounts of the confrontation. The New York Evening World published a special extra edition with the headline: AT WAR: Pinkertons and Workers Fight at Homestead. Six steelworkers had been killed in the fighting, and would be buried in the following days. As the people in Homestead held funerals, Henry Clay Frick, in a newspaper interview, announced that he would have no dealings with the union. Henry Clay Frick Was Shot A month later, Henry Clay Frick was in his office in Pittsburgh and a young man came to see him, claiming to represent an agency that could supply replacement workers. The visitor to Frick was actually a Russian anarchist, Alexander Berkman, who had been living in New York City and who had no connection to the union. Berkman forced his way into Fricks office and shot him twice, nearly killing him. Frick survived the assassination attempt, but the incident was used to discredit the union and the American labor movement in general. The incident became a milestone in U.S. labor history, along with the Haymarket Riot and the 1894 Pullman Strike. Carnegie Succeeded in Keeping the Union Out of His Plants The Pennsylvania militia (similar to todays National Guard) took over the Homestead Plant and non-union strikebreakers were brought in to work. Eventually, with the union broken, many of the original workers returned to the plant. Leaders of the union were prosecuted, but juries in western Pennsylvania failed to convict them. While the violence had been happening in western Pennsylvania, Andrew Carnegie had been off in Scotland, avoiding the press at his estate. Carnegie would later claim that he had little to do with the violence at Homestead, but his claims were met with skepticism, and his reputation as a fair employer and philanthropist was greatly tarnished. And Carnegie did succeed in keeping unions out of his plants.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Requisitos de la tarjeta de pasaporte y beneficios

Requisitos de la tarjeta de pasaporte y beneficios La tarjeta de pasaporte una alternativa ms econà ³mica al pasaporte que pueden utilizar los ciudadanos estadounidenses para regresar a Estados Unidos. En este artà ­culo se informa sobre las caracterà ­sticas de la tarjeta de pasaporte o passport card, para quà © sirve, cà ³mo se aplica para obtenerla, cul es el costo y su vigencia. Adems, cules son las reglas especiales que aplican a los nià ±os. Para quà © sirve la tarjeta de pasaporte o passport card La tarjeta de pasaporte es uno de los documentos vlidos admitidos por las autoridades migratorias para probar la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense y asà ­ permitir el ingreso a los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, sà ³lo se admite su utilizacià ³n en los pasos migratorios por tierra o barco y cuando el punto de origen del viaje es Mà ©xico, Canad, Bermudas o el Caribe. Es decir, no es un documento admisible para utilizar en ningà ºn aeropuerto.     Caracterà ­sticas de la passport card Las tarjetas de pasaporte cuentan con os siguientes elementos: Tiene un tamaà ±o semejante al de una licencia de manejar y se puede guardar en el billeteroTienen un chip que hace difà ­cil su falsificacià ³nEl chip no contiene informacià ³n personal del titular, sà ³lo un nà ºmero que al llegar a la frontera a una base de datos y permite al ciudadano americano regresar a su paà ­sEs muy fcil de leer por los equipos fronterizos, que pueden procesar al mismo tiempo todas las tarjetas de los ocupantes de un mismo vehà ­culo, lo que favorece la fluidez del trfico en la frontera y reduce los tiempos de espera.  ¿Cà ³mo se solicita la tarjeta de pasaporte? Llenando  por internet en documento DS-11  en el caso de no tener un pasaporte de libro vlido o tambià ©n en el caso de menores. A continuacià ³n es necesario presentarse en un Passport Aceptance Facility que puede ser una oficina de correos, la corte de Justicia e incluso una biblioteca para que acrediten la veracidad de toda la documentacià ³n. Si se tiene en la actualidad un pasaporte clsico de libro que est vigente, entonces corresponde llenar el documento DS-82 (puede obtenerse en el enlace anterior, simplemente buscando entre todas las opciones de formulario por ese nà ºmero especà ­fico). Este es el documento que tambià ©n aplica en los casos de renovacià ³n de la tarjeta de pasaporte. Al llenar ese documento se puede simplemente solicitar la tarjeta de pasaporte. Lo importante es marcar la opcià ³n correcta. Cul es el costo de la tarjeta de pasaporte Cuando se solicita por primera vez y sà ³lo la tarjeta de pasaporte el costo es de $55 para los mayores de 16 aà ±os y de $40 para los menores de dicha edad. Para los casos de renovaciones el costo es de $30 si se hace por correo. Si se aplica al mismo tiempo por un pasaporte de libro y por una tarjeta el costo actualmente es de $165 para los que solicitan por primera vez y tienen ms de 16 aà ±os, Para los menores de dicha edad el coste es de $120. Cunto tiempo se demora la tarjeta de pasaporte Como regla general todo el proceso de tramitacià ³n de la tarjeta de pasaporte se demora entre 6 y 8 semanas. Sin embargo, es posible solicitar un servicio urgente previo pago de otros $60 que hay que sumar al costo regular de la tarjeta. En estos casos todo el proceso se demora entre 2 y 3 semanas. Vigencia de la tarjeta de pasaporte Son vlidas por 10 aà ±os cuando se emiten para un ciudadano de 16 aà ±os o ms y de 5 aà ±os para los menores. Especificaciones para el caso de tarjetas de pasaporte para nià ±os Los nià ±os pueden tiene su propio pasaporte americano o su tarjeta o ambos documentos. En casos muy especà ­ficos los ciudadanos americanos pueden ingresar a Estados Unidos con documentacià ³n distinta al pasaporte clsico y a la tarjeta de pasaporte, particularmente los nià ±os cruzando una frontera terrestre (Mà ©xico y Canad). En el caso de nià ±os que viajan sà ³los o con sà ³lo uno de sus padres estos son los documentos que deben tener para asegurar que no hay problemas en el cruce de aduanas americanas. Verificar cules son los requisitos del otro paà ­s del que procede el nià ±o o al que viaja. Por ejemplo, un nià ±o americano que sale de EEUU sin la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a de sus padres porque va a Mà ©xico a ver a sus abuelos. En Mà ©xico pueden pedir que enseà ±e documentacià ³n adicional al pasaporte americano para permitirle el regreso, ya que se tienen que asegurar de que no est siendo secuestrado. Por à ºltimo, la solicitud de los pasaportes para nià ±os est sujeta a requisitos adicionales para darle mayor seguridad al proceso. Informase aquà ­ sobre reglas de pasaportes para menores, como  presencia del nià ±o en la oficina en que se solicita, quà © hacer cuando los padres no estn de acuerdo sobre sacar el pasaporte al nià ±o o no se sabe dà ³nde est uno de los padres. Cruce de frontera y otros posibles problemas Adems de tener un documento vlido para regresar a Estados Unidos, como lo es por ejemplo la tarjeta de pasaporte, hay que tener presente que las reglas sobre quà © se puede traer a Estados Unidos aplican tanto a ciudadanos como a residentes como a turistas o titulares de visas y de este modo evitar sorpresas desagradables al regresar a casa. Otro problema que puede surgir con la tarjeta de pasaporte es que se extravà ­a o sea robada. En estos casos hay que seguir inmediatamente el mismo procedimiento que se hace con el pasaporte y comunicar el problema. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The Most Effective Methods for Improving Employee Motivation Dissertation

The Most Effective Methods for Improving Employee Motivation - Dissertation Example Literature Review One motivational theorist states it plainly: â€Å"Aspiration is the source of all motivation† (Freemantle, 2004, p.22). Aspiration is akin to desire and ambition, therefore the author suggests that an effective organization aspires to achieve performance and works to get staff members engaged in this process. This points toward giving cause for each and every organizational scenario or policy to remind employees that they are very much a part of organizational goals and should be reminded to aspire to achieve short- and long-term business ambitions. From this author’s perspective, motivating employees should be as simple as leadership engagement and vision. One difficulty in motivating people, for those organizations which take a Theory X approach to business, is offering employees more autonomous work environments (no micro-managing) and giving them more inclusion in organizational situations. The Theory X philosophy, proposed by Douglas McGregor, suggests that employees are simply lazy by nature, incapable of self-direction, and incapable of providing innovative or creative solutions to enhance organizational effectiveness (Kopelman, Prottas, and Davis, 2008). Under Theory X leadership, employees are rigidly-controlled by top-down hierarchies of management and are expected to simply conform to organizational mandates. Additionally, Theory X leaders seem to command and control employees, expecting no more contribution than generic job function each and every day in the business or organization.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Building Your Company's Vision by Jim Collins & Jerry Porras Assignment

Building Your Company's Vision by Jim Collins & Jerry Porras - Assignment Example It is the sum of the characters of an organization which forms the infrastructure of the organization over the period of time. Core Ideology is the heritage of the founders or other eminent members of the organization leave behind which stays with the company forever. It shows where the organization stands, what is its purpose, and why does it exists. The most fundamental part of core ideology is the purpose of existence of the organization. Core ideology is not about the market trends or the customer needs. It is an internal organizational matter and it is not affected by the fluctuations and demands of the market. In a world of continuous change, core ideology is vital for the company to hold an organization and its personnel together at all times and makes it indifferent to the entire outside stimulus which may have the potential to hinder the company’s development. HP, Sony, Disney, Motorola, 3M and many other powerful companies have had focused and clear core ideologies w hich helped them pave their way to success. Core values are those lasting tenets of an organization which do not require any external justification or explanation. They exist for the company itself not for the market or the customers. They do not change according to the market trends but are formed on the basis of the values and beliefs of the people working in these organizations. Core values are not strategies for success but they are a handful of principles and rules passed on to generations which helps the company to last in the ever-changing business world. They do not change frequently if they change at all. Core values remain constant during times of environmental and social change as they are values of the people working inside an organization and behold their intrinsic beliefs and insights.  

Distributed systems and cloud computing Coursework

Distributed systems and cloud computing - Coursework Example buted and cloud computing to meet the requirements of the Agency, keeping in view the main issues includes: the security, cost, scalability, and extensibility. The document focuses on the system architecture components include, but are not limited to the operating system, client interfaces and data storage required to successfully implement the requisite system for the Letting Agency. After thorough analysis and keeping in view the Agency’s situation and considering the advantages and disadvantages of both solutions i-e SOAP based web services and RESTful web services, the recommended design solution is based on SOAP. Finally, the document presents key features of the proposed system design keeping in view the main issues of the Letting Agency and the breakdown of the system component (Coulouris, Dollimore, Kingberg and Blair, 2012). As the ‘Letting Agency’ deals with the trading of the property containing confidential information, therefore, the Agency has allowed accessing the system from the internal network only. This causes a problem that even the employees cannot access the system from any public network. The Agency is facing many problems due to the inconveniences for storing and accessing information from the premises of the customers or public network. In order to solve the problem, the Agency decided to implement web services solution based on the distributed and cloud computing. Currently, there are two (2) main solutions based on the distributed and cloud computing includes: the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) based web services and Representational State Transfer (REST) web services. Each of the web services solutions has its own pros and cons, constraints and limitations. One of the main deliberations required to be considered while designing the solution is the issues pertaining to the agency’s scenario. The issues of the Letting Agency regarding the development of the system include, but are not limited to the scalability of the

Improving Perioperative Care through IT Research Paper

Improving Perioperative Care through IT - Research Paper Example This has also been as a result of the complex nature of surgical information systems, implementation challenges, resources to make them work as well the lack of sound practices required to automate perioperative systems yet it is believed that whatever enhancements will greatly improve care delivery process and the quality of care in the long term. Case studies: Adoption and success Recent adoption on implementation of IT through perioperative health care has been evident in two hospitals which are Basset Healthcare located in Cooperstown, New York and the University of Connecticut Health Care Center in Farmington, Connecticut. In both cases automation has been adopted and this has resulted in notable improvements in patient’s safety as well as clinical productivity and process efficiency (David Green 821). It has been reported that there have been improvements as a result of automated perioperative system at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital which is the Basset Healthcare’ s core patient facility that yielded a 33% turnaround time improvements and a supply cost reduction of $200 per case. As for University of Connecticut Health Center there has been strong enhancement in the efficiency of anesthesia management following its implementation of surgical information system just a few years after Bassett’s adoption of the same. This is more specifically in charge capture for billing which has since shown improvement. Perioperative technology: what it entails The technology that is required for the perioperative environment must be supported from a holistic point of view. In this case each component must be integrated with a larger set of technology that will be used in or throughout the perioperative process this is inclusive of perioperative information technology and clinical facilities (Karen A. Wager 253). To facilitate this, data sharing must be enabled in this case all perioperative data and knowledge bases must share common metadata. It is al so paramount that the technology supports all clinical and administrative data for perioperative care, from the initial identification of surgical case all through surgery, recovery and ongoing outcome analysis. Database that support these processes must be modernized so as support all types of data, and equipment usage in the surgical process. Clinician’s workflow must also be enhanced to make it easier, faster and less complicated. Data entry should be facilitated at once with real time precision and facilitate sharing ubiquitously as needed (Kenneth Laudon 92). This must be made possible by high level of surgical equipment and software application interoperability throughout the entire perioperative process. Data interoperability is important so as to reduce cases of data redundancy as well as errors. The use of management information systems should facilitate automated data entry without the need for manual re-entry so as to enhance clinical acceptance and accuracy of dat a by minimizing user workloads and errors in transcription. To better illustrate how the perioperative requirements have been less addresses we have to consider the much anticipates software support computerized physician order entry (CPOE) which was created with the sole intent of making possible direct, online order entry by physicians (Paul J. St. Jacques & Minear). CPOE software is highly focused for

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Westpac exective summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Westpac exective summary - Essay Example Westpac has been able to focus its sustainability strategy on five key areas. Focusing on these areas has enhanced the corporation’s ability to remain amongst the top-rated sustainable organizations in the world. Conversely, the corporation’s strategy in financially positioning itself aims at a long-term strategy that incorporates a measurement criterion based on its capabilities and prospective trends that may influence the wider economy. Using this strategy, Westpac has maintained profitability despite high levels of operating costs. As a way of recognizing the important role played by internal capabilities, Westpac recognizes the importance of customers and employee satisfaction since these two strengthen an organization’s internal systems. Conversely, the corporation recognizes the role the external environment played on its profitability. Hence, Westpac was able to implement strategies that ensured profitability while minimizing risks during the global financial risks. In effect, Westpac implemented a strategy that led to a merger with St. George Bank, which increased revenues, profits, and dividends to its shareholders. Overall, Westpac should ensure that it utilized its internal capabilities and resources while understanding the value chain context in order to maintain its position as a leader in the banking

Sociology Dissertation Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sociology Dissertation Report - Essay Example This report details my reasons for taking up this subject for my study and reflects on the conclusions drawn therein. While there were many issues I considered for the purpose of preparing a sociology dissertation, obesity appeared to be the one that had registered the sharpest rise in recent years and was also affecting the greatest number of people. At the outset, I recognized that obesity could also be classified as a medical problem rather than a sociological one. But there is one aspect in which obesity differs from other urgent medical problems that pose a danger to health. Such medical problems are restricted to limited sections of society; but obesity appears to be a prevalent condition, which is affecting a huge segment of American society, especially among young people who have traditionally been more active and thereby less obese than adults. The question that arose in this context was – what could be the possible reasons for such a dramatic rise in obesity, especially among children, in recent years? Applying Mills’ Sociological approach, the trend towards rising obesity is a feature of recent times, therefore it appeared likely that changing lifestyles with concomitant sedentary lifestyles were contributing to obesity. There are of course, medical reasons that can also be attributed as causal factors in obesity. But while some individuals may be obese due to medical reasons it is difficult, if not impossible, to explain away the increase in obesity among Americans across the nation, from different walks of life, purely on these grounds. There appeared to be indisputable sociological factors or elements in the environment that are causal factors of obesity. From this perspective, I began to explore the literature to discover the findings of other researchers on the causal factors leading to obesity. I found that there was a clear

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Improving Perioperative Care through IT Research Paper

Improving Perioperative Care through IT - Research Paper Example This has also been as a result of the complex nature of surgical information systems, implementation challenges, resources to make them work as well the lack of sound practices required to automate perioperative systems yet it is believed that whatever enhancements will greatly improve care delivery process and the quality of care in the long term. Case studies: Adoption and success Recent adoption on implementation of IT through perioperative health care has been evident in two hospitals which are Basset Healthcare located in Cooperstown, New York and the University of Connecticut Health Care Center in Farmington, Connecticut. In both cases automation has been adopted and this has resulted in notable improvements in patient’s safety as well as clinical productivity and process efficiency (David Green 821). It has been reported that there have been improvements as a result of automated perioperative system at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital which is the Basset Healthcare’ s core patient facility that yielded a 33% turnaround time improvements and a supply cost reduction of $200 per case. As for University of Connecticut Health Center there has been strong enhancement in the efficiency of anesthesia management following its implementation of surgical information system just a few years after Bassett’s adoption of the same. This is more specifically in charge capture for billing which has since shown improvement. Perioperative technology: what it entails The technology that is required for the perioperative environment must be supported from a holistic point of view. In this case each component must be integrated with a larger set of technology that will be used in or throughout the perioperative process this is inclusive of perioperative information technology and clinical facilities (Karen A. Wager 253). To facilitate this, data sharing must be enabled in this case all perioperative data and knowledge bases must share common metadata. It is al so paramount that the technology supports all clinical and administrative data for perioperative care, from the initial identification of surgical case all through surgery, recovery and ongoing outcome analysis. Database that support these processes must be modernized so as support all types of data, and equipment usage in the surgical process. Clinician’s workflow must also be enhanced to make it easier, faster and less complicated. Data entry should be facilitated at once with real time precision and facilitate sharing ubiquitously as needed (Kenneth Laudon 92). This must be made possible by high level of surgical equipment and software application interoperability throughout the entire perioperative process. Data interoperability is important so as to reduce cases of data redundancy as well as errors. The use of management information systems should facilitate automated data entry without the need for manual re-entry so as to enhance clinical acceptance and accuracy of dat a by minimizing user workloads and errors in transcription. To better illustrate how the perioperative requirements have been less addresses we have to consider the much anticipates software support computerized physician order entry (CPOE) which was created with the sole intent of making possible direct, online order entry by physicians (Paul J. St. Jacques & Minear). CPOE software is highly focused for

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Sociology Dissertation Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sociology Dissertation Report - Essay Example This report details my reasons for taking up this subject for my study and reflects on the conclusions drawn therein. While there were many issues I considered for the purpose of preparing a sociology dissertation, obesity appeared to be the one that had registered the sharpest rise in recent years and was also affecting the greatest number of people. At the outset, I recognized that obesity could also be classified as a medical problem rather than a sociological one. But there is one aspect in which obesity differs from other urgent medical problems that pose a danger to health. Such medical problems are restricted to limited sections of society; but obesity appears to be a prevalent condition, which is affecting a huge segment of American society, especially among young people who have traditionally been more active and thereby less obese than adults. The question that arose in this context was – what could be the possible reasons for such a dramatic rise in obesity, especially among children, in recent years? Applying Mills’ Sociological approach, the trend towards rising obesity is a feature of recent times, therefore it appeared likely that changing lifestyles with concomitant sedentary lifestyles were contributing to obesity. There are of course, medical reasons that can also be attributed as causal factors in obesity. But while some individuals may be obese due to medical reasons it is difficult, if not impossible, to explain away the increase in obesity among Americans across the nation, from different walks of life, purely on these grounds. There appeared to be indisputable sociological factors or elements in the environment that are causal factors of obesity. From this perspective, I began to explore the literature to discover the findings of other researchers on the causal factors leading to obesity. I found that there was a clear

Perspectives on Inequality and Poverty Essay Example for Free

Perspectives on Inequality and Poverty Essay Our society today is currently experiencing a widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. As the saying goes, â€Å"the rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer,† our society attests to such truth, where the wealthy is gaining more money while the poor’s case is getting worse by the minute. Poverty is a big problem ever since the dawn of man. In an ideal world, the number of resources produced could feed more than any of the hungry mouths all over the world. But in reality, wealth is not distributed properly to every living individual. There are those who get more as compared to those who get less or get nothing at all. The sad reality If you take into consideration every living individual in a certain community, only a small fraction of its population enjoy living a well-off life, and a majority suffer from lack of resources or doesn’t have enough to fill their stomachs. A fraction of imbalance in the distribution of resources and wealth affects a greater number of people, wherein the sad reality lies on whom are the ones getting much and who are the ones gaining a lot. This is the sad reality in our society, where people thrive in a world filled with inequality and sadly, majority of the people suffer from the extra gains of some people (Besley Cord, 2007). Class inequality can be traced way back in the history of men, when people learned to classify themselves, making some superior and some, well, rather inferior. Another sad reality is that the ones who are in the higher echelons of the society are the ones who are not doing actual hard labor. These people are the one’s capitalizing from the hard work of the poor working class, sweating their lungs out, literally giving their sweat and blood just to make money. This labor force is the one who is actually earning the money; it is their effort and strength that makes the real cash, not the ones bossing them around. But the harshness of life is reflected in this situation: the ones working hard gets paid less, barely enough to make a living out of it, while the ones bossing everyone around gets a much bigger share, wherein they have exerted minimal or no real effort in doing so (Kohl, 2003). This is the present situation of the working class of the past, the present, and maybe of the future. There are some great thinkers who have pondered on these things so to speak. This people, though separated by different views, expressed their opinions about how inequalities in the classes happen and why poverty exists, depending on how they see the situation. Their take on the realities are reciprocated by approval or by rejection from the people looking at their ideas. Some may seem radical to others, but some deem that is the necessary thought for that certain specific topic. These great thinkers include Karl Marx, Max Weber and Oscar Lewis.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Symbolism in A Street Car Named Desire Essay

Symbolism in A Street Car Named Desire Essay Tennessee Williams play A Street Car Name Desire is a domestic drama. There is a film adaptation of play which released in 1951 by Elia Kazan. In Tennessee Williams play A Street Car Name Desire; there are many symbols such as, The Elysian Field, The Paper Lantern, and The Varsouviana which are used for character development. Besides them, there are also some metaphors such as, The Light and The Music. In this research paper, firstly I will examine the symbols in the play and how they used for character development. Especially, how Blanches character development is shaped by them. Then, I will examine the metaphors which are used in the play. Metaphors definition and their effects on character development are examined by giving example passage from the play. Lastly, I will conclude with my point of view to these symbols and metaphors effects on character development. The Elysian Field is a place that people go to after death like paradise in Greek Mythology. Blanche lost herself in Laurel; she comes New Orleans to find her elysian field. When we look at Blanches life before coming to New Orleans, we see that she lost her all possessed. She thinks that she will be happy in a new town with her sister. The Elysian Field is a new place for her to forget her past. I think Blanche could not find the image of Elysian Field which she imagines because the houses have very poor style. They are mostly weathered grey and with rickety outside stars. When she first comes to her sisters home, she is shocked. We can see it in the beginning of play: Blanche comes around the corner, carrying a valise. She looks at a slip of paper, then at the building, then again at slip and again at the building. Her expression is one of the shocked disbelief. (Williams 5) The Paper Lantern symbolizes Blanches destruction. Blanche is afraid of the light. She does not want anybody to see her real appearance. In naked light, she seems very old. She wants to be appears as a young lady but her past and her age do not permit it. When Mitch pulls off the paper lantern from the light, it causes Blanches downfall. Mitch wants to learn real story of Blanche because he heard something about Blanche from Stanley. As the paper lantern covers the light, it covers Blanches past as a symbol. The Varsouviana is the polka music that played the night of Allans death. The music plays when Blanche remembers about Allan. It symbolizes Blanches loss of innocence. There is an example speech in scene six which shows this symbol: We danced the Varsouviana! Suddenly in the middle of the dance the boy I had married broke away from me and ran out of the casino. A few moments latera shot! (Williams 115) This music helps Blanche to imagine her past while she is talking about Allan with Mitch. In this mutual speech between Blanche and Mitch, music has different level according to characters behaviors. For example: The Polka stops abruptly. Blanche rises stiffly. Then, the Polka resumes in a major key. Mitch gets up awkwardly and moves toward her a little. The polka music increases. Mitch stands beside her. (Williams115) Stanley throws a package of meat to Stella. It symbolizes Stanleys barbarity. This symbol helps us to understand that Stanley is a rude man. Stanley does not give or hand it to Stanley. He heaves the package at her. She cries out in protest but manages to catch it: then she laughs breathlessly. Her husband and his companion have already started back around the corner. (Williams 4) The meat also symbolizes the sexual relationship between Stanley and Stella. The meat gives Stanley sexual pleasure. Stellas catching the meat show her blind love and sexual emotions to Stanley. The loss of Belle Reve symbolizes Blanches painful loneliness. There is no place for Blanche to stay except at a hotel. Blanche arrives as a broken woman in New Orleans. She sold everything. It shows us Blanches despair. The loss of Belle Reve causes a conflict between Blanche and Stanley. Stanley wants his wifes share from Belle Reve. He does not believe Blanches lost of Belle Reve. As it is seen, this symbol affects characters behaviors to each other. The young man in scene 5 can be seen as a symbol of Blanches own innocence at one time that was corrupted by others. Blanche lets the young man leave the apartment finally, his innocence intact (except for a kiss), as, it could be said, she would like her own innocence left intact.  [1]  The young man reminds the high school boy in Laurel who caused Blanche to lose her teacher job. Blanches own innocence was corrupted by others. As Stella says to Stanley, You didnt know Blanche as a girl. Nobody, nobody, was tender and trusting as she was. But people like you abused her, and forced her to change. (Williams 136) Allan Grey is a symbolic character. The memory of him symbolizes sometimes bad sometimes good memories. Blanche loves him very much. But he betrays her with a man. The death of Allan Grey causes Blanches mental illness. As I before mention, Allen killed himself as they are dancing. Playing Poker shows Stanleys power over his wife and Blanche. While Blanche is taken away, he wins the game at the same time. As Daniel Brooks mention, Significantly, the game reflects the dynamics of the plays four main char ­acters. Like the turned-up wild card, Blanche DuBois turns up at Elysian Fields and immediately impacts the lives of Stanley, Mitch, and Stella. They each stand to gain something if things go their way, so they play Blanche to their best advantage, as if she were a wild card in a poker game.  [2]   Stanley loses his control when he plays poker with his friends. When women come to home, he gets angry. If we look the game from Mitchs point of view, we can say that he comes to play for a different purpose. After he meets with Blanche, he comes to see her. In some scenes, Blanche drinks alcohol. Alcohol helps her get rid of bad memories. When she drinks a glass of alcohol, she feels herself well. Mexican woman can be seen as a symbol of death. She sells flowers for the dead. When Blanche hears and sees her, she is afraid of death. This woman affects Blanche by the way of reminding death. When wee look at the metaphors in the play, they help to develop character development. The Light is used as a metaphor for truth. Blanche uses lights for expressing her feelings. She is afraid of daylight. She thinks that daylight shows her age. Light symbolizes the reality. Blanche escapes from reality. She is afraid of seeming old. She wants to live her imagination world. As Blanche says to Mitch, I dont want realism. I want magic. Yes, yes, magic. I try to give that people. I misrepresent things to them. I dont tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me damned for it! Dont turn the light on! (Williams 145) Blanche sees Allan Grey her bright light. After his suicide, she thinks that she lost her vivid light. Bright light express her lovely feelings with Allan Grey. Also light express her desire to illusion over reality. Blanche is a victim of her own self-delusions. She wants to protect her ego. She lies to people as covering herself with dim light. Dim light reflects her fragile. In the beginning of the play, there is an explanation, Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain mannerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Williams 5) Williams uses bath as a metaphor for many conditions. For Stanley, Stella and Blanche, it has different meanings. For example; Bath is good for calm down nervous for Blanche. She also goes bath to wash away her sins. We can say that these baths show us Blanche wants to get rid of her ugly past. Bath has also same meaning for Stanley. After he argues with Stella, he goes to bath for his nervous calm down. At the poker night, his friends take away his to bath. Stanley realizes that he beats his wife while he is under the water. In Tennessee Williams play A Street Car Name Desire; there are many symbols such as, The Elysian Field, The Paper Lantern, and The Varsouviana which are used for character development. These symbols and metaphors mostly affect Blanches characterization. Every symbol and metaphor shows Blanches different desires to us.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Women and Resilience in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns Essa

Afghan-born American novelist and physician Khaled Hosseini’s second bestselling novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, written in 2007, is set in â€Å"war-ravaged landscape of Afghanistan†, and it focuses on the tumultuous lives and relationship of Mariam and Laila. In contrast to Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, which is a story of â€Å"father-son relationship†, this novels is regarded as â€Å"mother-daughter story† by the author himself. The novel relates the story of Mariam and Laila in four parts. The first part focuses on Mariam, while the second and fourth part on Laila, and the relationship between the two women in the third part. At the background the novel also recounts Afghanistan’s troubled history of last several decades, through the eyes of a segment of the Afghan population that probably suffered and lost the most during that period, that are its women. Through this pitiable story of two women married to a man Rasheed, who oppress the m physically as well as psychologically, the author tries to represent the situation of Afghan women, who are not only affected by the war but are also being oppressed by their domestic rulers, that are their husbands. The present paper attempts to examine the afghan women, oppressed under the rule of patriarchy, whether at the domestic level by their husbands or at social order under Taliban rule, and their resilience and tenacity to survive, which is clearly identified throughout this novel with a glimpse of hope at the end, as the rains return, the cinemas open, the children play and the orphanages are rebuilt. Khaled Hosseini brings in this novel the subject of women suppression in Afghanistan along with the various other restrictions of education and familial subjugation. He has created the man-d... ...ize that when oppression goes too far, whether through an individual or the state; once oppressed, subjugated or downtrodden can rise up against the tyranny. Hosseini, through the love and affection of Mariam and Laila for each other, portrayed â€Å"amazing resilience of human spirit where hope unfolds like a tiny, frail plant in the most unlikely places† (Null and Alfred 123). Works Cited De Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. Trans. Constance Borden ad Sheila Malovany-Chevallier. Inroduction by Sheila Rowbotham. London:Vintage Books, 2011 (1st Ed. 1949) Hosseini, Khalid. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Rivekhead Books, 2007. Web. Null, Linda and Suellen Alfred. â€Å"A Thousand Splintered Hopes†.The English Journal. 97.6. National Council of Teachers of English (July, 2008), pp. 123-125. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40503428. Accessed: 24/02/2014 06:40

Saturday, October 12, 2019

My Trip to the Philippines :: Philippines Vacation Personal Narrative Essays

My Trip to the Philippines In September 1989, when I was 11 year old, I came to Philippines during my short vacation. My father brought the whole family, also my cousin Jimmy. We spent 5 days in the Philippines. During these five days, I realized that there were many differences between Taiwan and the Philippines. The most difference was culture. People's language, behavior and also they are happy go lucky. The first problem I faced was the language problem. Philippine was ruled by Spanish long time ago. Most of Filipino could speak Spanish. I could not speak their language and also English, so what ever they said I just acted like stupid. I still remembered when I went to Cebu, in the hotel, the waiter came in to ask me something about my room. First, I was shock, then I used Chinese to answer her. The waiter was kind too. She started using Spanish, Japanese, French to answer me, but he never used Chinese. If he used Chinese, then that will be the time for me to reply. I run to my father's room, crying, and telling that someone is in my room and I doesn't know why he was there. After my father solved the problem for me. We were all laughing about it. My father said, "In the Philippines, eating with hands are their culture, you will never see this in Taiwan." In Taiwan, everybody use chopsticks to eat. Nobody will use spoon and folk to eat, because that's a kind of hard. Just like my first time used the spoon and folk. I doesn't know either to use my left hand to hold spoon or use my right hand. People have longer weekend than Taiwan. Both Sunday and Saturday are their weekend. In Taiwan, we can only have Sunday and half Saturday. For adults, they even only have Sunday to rest. That's unfair to adults. They should have longer weekend then kids, because they worked so hard. So, adults most be exhausted after hard work. People are happy go lucky. They wouldn't care much money they earn each day. They wanted to have better life than earning more money. Whenever they got a serious problem, like no place to overnight, they were try to find a place to

Friday, October 11, 2019

In Another Place by Ernest Hemingway Essay

The text under analysis is taken from the short story â€Å"In another country† belonging to the pen of Ernest Hemingway, an American novelist and short story writer whose works are characterized by terse minimalism and understatement. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. â€Å"In another country† is a powerful and true-to-life story about real experience of many soldiers who came home after the World War I and their hardships. The text presents a piece of narration with element of a description of nature and a dialogue. The narration is done in the first person. Hemingway tells the story from the point of view of the young American. The plot is eventless in events. The story describes the relationships that develop in Milan among an American and five Italian soldiers who have been wounded and are receiving physical therapy. All the wounded men go to the hospital every afternoon to use machines for physical therapy. The doctor assures the American that he will again play football even though his knee does not bend. His friend, an Italian major, is also undergoing therapy with a machine that exercises his hand that was injured in an industrial accident. Four other young men, Italian soldiers, are also using therapy machines, and they brag about the medals that they’ve received for their valor in battle. The plot consists of: Introduction. In this part the author talks about continuation the war and gives the description of autumn Milan. Development. The author introduces us with main character, an American soldier. Tells about him problems with health. Climax. In this part the author leads the Italian major and four other young men. Denouement. The author describes the way of soldiers from the hospital to the Cafà © Cova. The author compares the way with military operations. The mood of the story is established in the first paragraph, in which the dead game outside the shops is described as â€Å"stiff,† â€Å"heavy,† and â€Å"empty.† Loss, failure, and ruin permeate this brief story. Many of the characters grapple with a loss of function, a loss of purpose, and a loss of faith. Hemingway’s style is lean and declarative, but the author employs some stylistic devises. They help enhance the desired effect. The first two illustrate the author’s effective use of repetition and polysyndeton. For example, Hemingway states, â€Å"It was cold in the fall in Milan and the dark came very early.† He repeats this idea with a slightly different emphasis at the end of the paragraph: â€Å"It was a cold fall and the wind came down from the mountains.† The author uses vivid descriptions. For example, â€Å"On one of [the bridges], a woman sold roasted chestnuts. It was warm, standing in front of her charcoal fire, and the chestnuts were warm afterwards in your pockets.†

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Intertwined Bodies with Separate Hearts Essay

In a world of wild modernity and sophistication, it is almost impossible for man not to connect with a single soul. Be it a friend, a loved one or a lover, these technologies conspire to feed the hunger in all of us and that is the need to be with someone. Others refer to that need as loneliness but the story â€Å"Strangers When We Meet† says its emptiness†¦The relationship of Florence and Rob can be looked at as a typical affair between a married woman who’s bored with her current relationship and a man who seeks adventure. He dazzles her with his youth and passion for life and for a brief moment she’s caught up in a trance of sharing the life that she could have, but chose not to live. That choice rest solely on the truth that her husband was a foundation that offered security. As she said at the end of the story, she equated security and strength to love. She realized in the later part that she was wrong. The fact that Rob is younger than Florence depicts a conventional extramarital affair in our society. However the story goes beyond the cheap pleasures of lust and adventure as it delves deep into the intricacies of emotion and relationship. A relationship can be defined. One can dare as the question â€Å"what kind of relationship? † In the story, Florence and Archie is in a relationship that is recognized by society and back up by the law. A union, a vow, a social contract that’s written on paper and flaunted out to the world. That is marriage. They share a partnership that may seem flawless in society as he was a responsible husband with secure income bounded by law to take care of his wife. Florence herself is a thing of beauty and it is a stereotype in our society that she is to be taken care of by a man who has the means to do so. He is in fact capable of doing just that. He was well aware that he had the woman that most men would fell for, and that’s why though he knew that they had an affair he wanted to see it for himself before he makes judgments. He went with her in the Vacation though he knew that she was to meet her lover. And when he came face to face with the man who stole his wife, he remained composed and even started conversations with him. He exhibited what most men don’t, the decency to be civil to the man who covet their wife (Kureishi). What exist between Florence and Rob on the other hand is a relationship that’s not accepted by society and condemned by law. It ought to be discreetly dealt with to save both parties from public humiliation. The fact that she is a married woman who happens to have a lover may seem offensive to the male supremacy. However, what ought to be looked at is not the act itself but the question on what made her commit such act. Perhaps at the beginning of their affair she simply wants to escape the world that Archie lived in or the lack of attention from her husband who is very much consumed in his work. But at the later part of the story it shows that she is deeply in love with Rob since she is willing to leave everything, even her child if only he says the word. Why did he not say the word? Why did he not take the chance to be with the woman who takes up much space in his heart to the point that he needed a psychologist to deal with his depression? It was a shot at happiness, to have the very thing that he wanted so badly but when it was his for the taking he did not take it. Here lies the complexity of human emotions. Their affair goes beyond the Holiday Vacation. Though the timeline of the story skipped a couple of years before their paths crossed again, it cannot be denied that in each encounter, the dying flame of their affair is fanned once more. A line in the story clearly points out their connection â€Å"Helen (Robs wife) looks across conspicuously. Florence and I are standing close to one another; perhaps one of us touching the other. † Though they were both contented with their lives and stopped seeing each other, both their spouses knew that there is something special between Florence and Rob†¦. perhaps a love story that should have not ended. That Holiday Vacation was of great importance to Florence, Archie and Rob. It was perhaps the climax of their lives. The moment that set the path upon which they will take. They were separate entities brought about in that place to clearly define the relationship that existed in the three of them. It was a chance to change their lives and redefine their connection, but such requires great courage that only Rob had at that time. Florence was, at that moment, scared to let go of the security that she had with Archie. In their marriage she had stability and he had a wife. It was ideal and accepted by society. Before the affair she was contented, but contentment if a far cry from happiness. At the end of the vacation she asked him not to leave, but he chose to do so. This is because man cannot stand the torture of having the woman that you want wrapped in somebody else’s embrace. Rob said that he longed for that vacation since it was the first time that he can have her the entire evening without having her rush home to her husband at dawn. It was a chance to feel that he owned her but that moment never came. It was a chance that she was too scared to take, and now that she wanted him desperately, it was him who chose not to be with her. She wanted him to say that he wants her but he never did just that. Though deep within his soul he knew that she still holds a place in her heart, it was his choice not to give in to that feeling. This proves the fact that in human relationships certain factors are to be taken into considerations before a person makes his decision (Layton-Tholl). Life is made up of choices, and maybe for Rob he already made the choice the moment he left the Hotel. It was to live a life that’s uncomplicated. Though the intensity of their connection cannot be denied, it was by choice that they lived separately. They have fulfilled the human need to connect with someone, they have their spouse. But just like how their affair started, they were just intertwined bodies with separate heart.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

The Relationship between Impulse Buying and Sensation Seeking Essay

The Relationship between Impulse Buying and Sensation Seeking - Essay Example The results revealed that the data from the Impulse Buying variable was normally distributed unlike that for the Sensation Seeking variable. The results furtherv showed that there was a weak positive correlation between sensation seeking and impulse buying, rs= .762, n = 30, p = > .05. The results hence failed to support the hypothesis. Sensation seeking is the â€Å"need for varied, novel, complex sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical and social risks for the sake of such experiences† (Zuckermann, 1979, p265). Sensation seekers are risk takers. Their main aim is to get and enjoy the gratification that comes immediately after a certain activity. Impulse buying is purchasing items without having planned to buy them (Rook, 1987). Impulse buying behaviour is closely related to sensation seeking. The need for unique experiences as well as the willingness to take risks so as to fulfil these experiences is some of the reasons for impulse buying (Youn and F aber, 2000 and Verplanken and Herabadi, 2001). This topic which focuses on impulse buying and sensation seeking behaviours has been chosen due to the similarities in the two behaviours. Sensation seeking normally leads to impulse buying, a behaviour that is widely characterised by sensation seeking tendencies (Reynolds, Ortengren Richards, 2006). Sensation seeking has been described as the pursuit of the novel and/or intense and complex sensations. According to Rook (1987), there are many things that sensation seekers do that are not risky. There are those sensation seekers whose main aim is to experience the thrill ad adventure that comes with participating in a certain high-risk activity (Arnett, 1994). There are other people who prepare budgets, but they nevertheless end up buying thing that they had not planned to buy. Then is also a category of people who just buy anything they think will delight them (Zuckerman, 2007). They do not have to make any kind of budget because they d o not mind buying out of the blues. In many cases of impulse buying, an individual normally experiences a persistently powerful urge to purchase the product immediately without putting much thought into the consequences of buying the product (Rook, 1987). Some researchers have found that people who have high sensation seeking tendencies are likely to have high risk tendencies in their financial lives. Impulse buying is a relatively high risk tendency (Horvath and Zuckerman, 1993). According to Reynolds, Ortengren and Richards (2006), individuals who show signs of maladaptive shopping behaviours are more likely to suffer from distress and financial constraints. Most of these individuals are women. Such people are likely to experience some form of anxiety or relief before they make their purchases. This shows that there could be some relation between impulse buying and sensation seeking. For instance, when individuals feel anxiety and the need to cool down the anxious attacks, then th is could said to be sensation seeking. Impulse buyers live for excitement (Zuckerman and Neeb, 1979). Impulse buying is a rather exciting undertaking that sensation seekers normally find to be satisfactory. They think only of the immediate gratification, not of what may come after. An impulsive sensation seeker normally lacks the ability to process information cognitively when the need arises (Zuckerman, 2007). The need to satisfy a certain sensation is more important to