Capitalism and leisure

Capitalism depends on a continuous sense of dissatisfaction to exist.   The temporary relief experienced by dissatisfied workers engaging in leisure activities such as shopping is not caused by the acquisition of an object, but rather is produced through the action of conspicuous consumption of those objects.   In other words, the relief is felt during the pursuit of certain objects and the exchange of money for goods, but diminishes almost immediately once the desired object is obtained. IPods and MySpace are recent examples that seem to bear this out.   The acquisition of an IPod necessitates the pursuit of music and the desire to perpetually obtain more music, while MySpace consumes massive amounts of free time and functions by the constant acquisition of â€Å"friends†.   They cannot create satisfaction in their original state; they only create satisfaction through the promise of acquiring infinitely more. Leisure activities such as attending the movies, on the other hand, produce temporary satisfaction through the conspicuous consumption of personal time and diminishes shortly after the movie ends.   Marx and Singer are correct in their assertion that life in the modern era is essentially dissatisfying: the capitalist economy could not exist without a pervasive and perpetual sense of dissatisfaction. However, the assumption that workers who are not alienated from their labor are generally more satisfied seems to discount other concomitant factors, such as the spirituality and close personal and family relationships that both capitalism and communism discount as irrelevant or unnecessary to life in the modern era.   Both can be considered leisure activities, and both have been reported to produce levels of satisfaction among those who participate in these types of activities.

Research paper Essay

Research topic Increase In tourism In Samoa Introduction Samoa has become an increasingly popular tourist destination in the Pacific Islands due to its natural beauty. Positively, the tourism industry has been beneficial for Samoa economically but it also has its disadvantages which affects the environment and our culture. This research will aim to identify and describe three impacts as a result of the Increase in tourism In Samoa. It will further discuss the measures that have been taken to address these Issues as well as the consequences. The Information collected for this research will be used as supporting references to my answers which were composed from an interview with the management of Le Lagoto Resort, a report from the Central Bank of Samoa and the use of internet sources relevant to this research. Impact of the increase in tourism to the environment Samoa is well known as a tourist destination for its natural and undisrupted environment which attracts people overseas resulting in an increase of tourist arrivals. The promotion of our country is advantageous but at the same time it has negatively Impacted our environment through air and sea pollution. For example, a tourist to travel to Samoa requires travelling on an airplane and travel to Savaii earns transportation by boat. Due to transportation needs to get to a destination these transportation methods are required. Therefore, the more flights travelling to Samoa will mean air pollution which contributes negatively to global warming. On the other hand, the ferry that travels between Savaii and Upolu Island operating six times a day contributes to sea pollution which affects our marine life which most locals depend on for food and as a source of income. Furthermore, car rental companies holiday. This increase in vehicle use also contributes to air pollution but also results n damaging our road infrastructure. An increase in tourism results in a high demand for resorts to build more rooms to accommodate guests. Locally owned beach falls are built using local timber from our natural resources or cutting down trees which in effect diminish bird and wild life creatures such as bats. Moreover, cutting down these trees for infrastructural use also results in soil erosion which removes minerals in the soil required for vegetation growth. Impact of the increase in tourism to our social & cultural values Tourist arrivals to Samoa consists different people travelling from overseas such as New Zealand and Australia, Just to name a few. These people have their own culture, values and a different way of life compared to our Samoan culture in which the â€Å"infusion of tourist and locals can disrupt local traditions and cultures†2. For instance, the Siva Samoa or traditional dance has for some time now been incorporated together with other actions influenced by famous international moves that we see on the television. Also, we lose some of our cultural values when associated with â€Å"plagues† or Europeans as we get caught up or interested in their culture especially the influence in clothing is very obvious. On the other hand, social relationships are formed between locals and tourists when they interact. However, in extreme cases where sexual interaction occurs between a tourist and a local, it may lead to diseases such as HIV Aids which is very common nowadays. Furthermore, tourists travelling individually may encourage local women into prostitution by offering them money for sexual favors which is demeaning and unacceptable in the Samoan community. Impact of the increase in tourism to Samoa’s economy Tourism has become one of Samoa’s main revenue earners with still 95% of our tourist industry locally owned. Samoa saw an increase in tourism earnings for the month of March according to the latest Tourism and Remittances Report from the Central Bank of Samoa which shows that tourist arrivals were Just over 9,000, a 25 percent increase from the previous month. 3 The higher arrivals in the month under review reflected increases in all the main source markets, particularly, Australia and New Zealand, though there was a drop in travelers from the United States. It was also noted that ‘Samoa hosted several regional conferences and workshops during March and total tourism revenues rose 22 percent to 23. million tala; 7 percent higher than the same time last year’. 4 â€Å"Increase in tourism helps create employment for a large number of unqualified workers from the traditional sectors in the developing countries†5 such as Samoa. This statement is a fact as according to the interview I conducted with Gabriella of Le lagoto Resort. During their busy season they hire more employ ees which are mainly from the neighboring villages of and with the majority having low level of qualifications and minimum skills in the industry which leads to customer dissatisfaction and complaints. This result in tourist’s not returning back to Samoa which reduces the number of tourist arrivals. However, having employment offered to the local community has contributed in them earning an income to support their families’ livelihoods. Secondly, it has also generated income for the people managing tourist attraction sights which are locally owned. For example, the Swimming with the turtle’s attraction is owned and those who want to swim and see the turtles. Moreover, due to the increase in tourists there is also an increase in demand from resorts for supplies of local vegetables and rusts to meet their guest’s dinning needs. According to the interview, it was stated that Le purchases their produce mainly from the villagers with plantations instead of buying supplies from the main island to provide an income, as most locals are not employed due to the lack of business and industrial Jobs within the area. MEASUREMENTS In regards to maintaining a clean environment in Samoa, the Samoa Tourism Authority has implemented the Samoa Beautification scheme. This measurement is aimed at improving the cleanliness of Samoa and its environment which is an attraction to people from overseas. Generally, the Samoa Tourism Authority awards the villages with the most outstanding cleanliness which is an incentive for the village community. In addition, other policies have been taken to address other environmental issues, such as the village communities marking or preserving certain areas for marine conversation which is seen along villages along the coast of Savaii. Moreover, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has also restricted certain forest areas for cutting down trees in order to maintain habitats for species. Other measures include restrictions by village communities such as preventing rubbish rom being dumped in our oceans and burning rubbish in open areas which causes pollutions. Furthermore, the Samoa Tourism Authority has helped in addressing training requirements for the tourism industry sector in order to improve skills and knowledge in the hospitality trade. For example, APTC has offered assistance to most industry employees for customer service, and chef trainings. Other trainings include bringing in specialists in the tourism industry from overseas to provide further knowledge on how to maintain the standard of tourism in Samoa. These trainings and conferences have made it possible for locals to obtain further knowledge and specific skills that benefit the tourism industry of Samoa. Moreover, our culture and people also promotes Samoa, it is obvious that our cultural heritage is preserved through different ways. For example, our Siva Samoa or Samoan cultural performances are show cased by resorts and hotels during their flavor nights. In addition, activities such as showing tourists how to husk a coconut, how to make a usu, how to weave mats promotes the Samoan way of life. In my opinion concerning the environment, I think that planning is necessary to address environmental issues as this will help preserve our natural resources. For erosion and depletion of our wild life creatures can be addressed through enforcing laws by mates or high chiefs in the village. Air and sea pollution can also be reduced if tourist arrivals decrease as this means less flights operating. In relation to social and cultural issues affected by the increase of tourism, some measures should be undertaken to prevent tourists from performing unacceptable acts or behavior while in Samoa. For example, if we look at countries in Asia, tourists are the main customers for prostitution centers; although it is legal in these countries it still does not portray a good image of this country. However, these types of acts will certainly not be accepted in Samoa, a country with strong values and good morals in which we hope to maintain in the future. In regards to employees with low qualifications and no skills in the industry, Gabriella stated that they address this issue through on the Job training by our assistant manager. Another method used to address this problem has been implemented by the Samoa Tourism Authority through their industry training delivered in the workplace programs. This includes the Signature Cocktail and Bartender Competition to be held during Teuila Festival which will help improve bartenders services for hose employed at resorts and hotels.

A Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, a Novel by J. K. Rowling

A Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a Novel by J. K. Rowling The novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, written by J. K. Rowling is the first book in a seven-part series. Harry Potter’s heroic journey through the Muggle World into the Wizarding World shows a growth in himself and his mind. Potter follows the stages introduced by Joseph Campbells Monomyth, learning new wizarding skills and challenging himself. Harry demonstrates the three stages; separation, initiation, and return, which are then divided into seventeen steps. Harry Potter’s heroic journey can be traced by readers throughout the novel. The first stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen stage monomyth is separation, with five steps: call to adventure, refusal of call, supernatural aid, crossing the threshold, and belly of the whale. The call to adventure is the original alarm given to the hero, taking him from normality into an unknown trip. Harry Potter lives with his uncle, aunt, and cousin who hide from Harry that he is a wizard. His uncle, Mr. Dursley, shows characteristics of the ruler archetype by trying to have the most successful family. He displays his force through constantly nagging Potter. Dursley takes drastic measures to keep the letters that Harry has been admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry unopened, like moving the family of four out to a secret shack. The first two steps in Joseph Cambell’s monomyth are actually switched because oddly enough, the refusal of call is not done by Potter himself, but by his own uncle before the call to adventure. The refusal of the call is when the hero objects to the undertaking. Fortunately Mr. Durley could not keep the mail a secret and Potter ends up receiving a letter that he is admitted to Hogwarts School. Harry seems excited and ready to explore the magical world. A supernatural aid is often a figure who guides the hero through his new journey. Harry’s supernatural aid is a â€Å"giant of a man† who delivers the letter on Potter’s eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid (Rowling 46). Hagrid can be classified as an explorer in the twelve common archetypes. The motto that the explorer exhibits is â€Å"don’t fence me in† (Golden 3). Throughout the book, he likes to live alone and barbarically as keeper of the grounds. Hagrid first introduces Harry to the wizardry world and helps him and his friends decipher the Sorcerers Stone. In the next step Harry crosses the threshold by leaving the behind his world of normality for a foreign experience. This is done by Potter at the â€Å"famous † Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid (Rowling 68). Potter is greeted with â€Å"scraping chairs† of excitement and instantly â€Å"shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron† (69). He will then cross another threshold in Diagon Alley where he encounters â€Å"dragon liver† and the â€Å"Gringotts† (72). The last threshold crossed is at Platform 9  ¾ with a fellow wizard family named the Weasleys into the wizarding world. This is when Harry meets a young boy named Ronald, a pureblood. Harry and Ronald descend from magic from both of parents which causes them to bond on the eleven o’clock train to Hogwarts. The fifth and final step of the first stage is the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale is the heros final step before entering the real calling; it is represented in the novel when Harry is faced with the sorting hat. He is nervous because he could be sorted into the house of Slytherin, the house of evil. Inside his head he chants, à ¢â‚¬Å"not Slytherin, not Slytherin† in which the hat responds by giving into his choice (121). By ultimately choosing Griffindor , the room gave â€Å"the loudest cheer yet† (121). This shows his test in character and at this point Harry leaves the muggle world and enters the unknown. The second stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is initiation with seven steps: road of trials, meeting the goddess, temptation, atonement with the father, apostasis, the ultimate boon, and the refusal of return. This is usually the longest, most eventful, and entertaining stage of Cambell’s monomyth. The road of trials are tests given the hero to complete in order to transform. Harry is faced with many minor problems within his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but one of his major road of trials is an evil, â€Å"foul smelling† troll (174). Inexperienced in magic, he uses it anyway in order to rescue his friend he accidentally traps, Hermione. This is when he becomes closer to Ron and Hermione and a long friendship blooms. Another is thinking that Professor Snape is the thief behind the sorcerers stone. By focusing on Professor Snape, Harry overlooks the real traitor of Hogwarts. Meeting the goddess affects the hero by havi ng them feel eternal love. This step is sometimes represented by a mother figure. Lily, Harry’s mother, sacrificed her life for her son against Lord Voldemort. Even after her death she continues to protect her son with the scar given to him as a baby. Each time Voldemort is near, the scar burns as a warning. During the battle against Quirrel and Lord Voldemort, Quirrell could not touch Harry, his hands â€Å"looked burned, raw, red, and shiny,† due to the love of Harry’s mother (295). Lily died to save him. Temptations are defined as an object given to the hero to stray from his goal. An invisible cloak, from his father allows Harry to travel the school without being seen. One night over winter break he locates the Mirror of Erised, an ancient mirror that shows onlookers â€Å"‘the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts’† (213). While looking into the mirror, Harry sees people who are not located in the room. A woman who has â€Å"dark red hair† and eyes just like himself peers through the mirror along with other familiar faces (208). Potter realizes that these people are his dead family. This image that he desires keeps him coming back to the mirror each night for about a week. The Mirror of Erised is known as Harry’s temptation because the visits stray him from his goal of finding out who stole the sorcerers stone. The atonement of the father occurs when the hero confronts the object that holds the most power over his life. Although Voldemort is not a father figure, Harry needs to defeat him in order to turn a new stone in his life. Voldemort can be classified as a ruler within the twelve common archetypes because he believes power is the only aspect of life. With Voldemort having been vanquished, Harry discovers the corrupt world. The apostate is when the hero dies a death, physically or in spirit, and moves him beyond basic knowledge. This is represented when a hero enters a godlike stage. During the last chapter, Potter wakes up in a hospital bed, unknowing where the stone is. Dumbledore assures him that the stone â€Å"has been destroyed† (297). He now knows what it is like to be a good wizard because he experienced and handled danger. A weight has been lifted from his shoulders as he enters the end-of-term feast. The ultimate boon within the novel actually happens before the apostate. The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal. Lord Voldemort, Quirrell, and Harry battle over the sorcerers stone. Potter wants to preserve the stone while Voldemort wants to use it for his own advantage to acquire a body and be separate from Quirrell. All of Harry’s training has led up to this battle. The refusal of return is when the hero finds enlightenment and does not want to go back to their everyday life. Surprisingly, this occurs on the last page of the novel. Harry does not want to return back to the Dursleys at Privet Drive because he feels at home at Hogwarts. M oreover, he knows the Dursleys are going to outcast him once again. During the second stage of Cambell’s monomyth, the hero learns the most about himself and his new world. The hero is grasping his new self through many steps and trials. Furthermore, the third stage and final of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is the return. This stage has five steps, magic flight, rescue from without, crossing the return threshold, master of two worlds, and the freedom to live. The novel changes the numerical order of the last stage quite a lot. The magic flight is known as the hero’s escape with the boon. Potter exhibits this step by returning back to the Muggle World. Harry knows his life will be dreary once again at Privet Drive. Ron invites him to â€Å"come and stay† the summer (308). He shows gratitude towards Ron’s offer, although with a somber attitude. The rescue from without is often a guide that brings the hero back to ordinary life. Within Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Albus Dumbledore acts as a guide to Harry. Almost instantly before Quirrell can kill Harry, Dumbledore saves him. Although Dumbledore does not bring Potter back to the Muggle World, he brings him back to safety . Crossing the return threshold is known as returning to their life before their adventure, while the master of two worlds is balancing the hero’s inner and outer world. Within the first Harry Potter novel, one might say that these two monomyth steps are actually conjoined. During the last chapter, Harry travels along the train from Hogwarts to â€Å"the gateway back to the Muggle World† (308). This is known as crossing the threshold, but the book ultimately stops there. Readers can infer that in the last chapter, the master of two worlds comes into play as Potter acknowledges he is going to â€Å"have a lot of fun with Dudley† over the summer because he will use magic within the Muggle World (309). The hero’s freedom to live is the final step of the monomyth. The hero now has no fear of death because their journey has made them courageous. Although Potter’s home is the Dursleys, he looks forward to returning back to Hogwarts. This gives him a sens e of happiness which he has never felt at home before. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is only the first novel in a seven-part series, but Harry Potter’s heroic journey is the most important in this text alone. Joseph Cambell’s seventeen step monomyth is clearly shown throughout Harry’s adventure. This book shows Potter’s adventure through a new world that he must disregard everything he previously knows. He learns new skills through supernatural aids and roads of trials that ultimately lead up to his battle with Voldemort. The monomyth in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone paves the way for the future novels. Readers can see Harry’s life before magic and gain inside information on his character. The novel is the primal step to his new life. A Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, a Novel by J. K. Rowling A Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a Novel by J. K. Rowling The Man, The Myth, The Hero The novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, written by J. K. Rowling is the first book in a seven-part series. Harry Potter’s heroic journey through the Muggle World into the Wizarding World shows a growth in himself and his mind. Potter follows the stages introduced by Joseph Campbells Monomyth, learning new wizarding skills and challenging himself. Harry demonstrates the three stages; separation, initiation, and return, which are then divided into seventeen steps. Harry Potter’s heroic journey can be traced by readers throughout the novel. The first stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen stage monomyth is separation, with five steps: call to adventure, refusal of call, supernatural aid, crossing the threshold, and belly of the whale. The call to adventure is the original alarm given to the hero, taking him from normality into an unknown trip. Harry Potter lives with his uncle, aunt, and cousin who hide from Harry that he is a wizard. His uncle, Mr. Dursley, shows characteristics of the ruler archetype by trying to have the most successful family. He displays his force through constantly nagging Potter. Dursley takes drastic measures to keep the letters that Harry has been admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry unopened, like moving the family of four out to a secret shack. The first two steps in Joseph Cambell’s monomyth are actually switched because oddly enough, the refusal of call is not done by Potter himself, but by his own uncle before the call to adventure. The refusal of the call is when the hero objects to the undertaking. Fortunately Mr. Durley could not keep the mail a secret and Potter ends up receiving a letter that he is admitted to Hogwarts School. Harry seems excited and ready to explore the magical world. A supernatural aid is often a figure who guides the hero through his new journey. Harry’s supernatural aid is a â€Å"giant of a man† who delivers the letter on Potter’s eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid (Rowling 46). Hagrid can be classified as an explorer in the twelve common archetypes. The motto that the explorer exhibits is â€Å"don’t fence me in† (Golden 3). Throughout the book, he likes to live alone and barbarically as keeper of the grounds. Hagrid first introduces Harry to the wizardry world and helps him and his friends decipher the Sorcerers Stone. In the next step Harry crosses the threshold by leaving the behind his world of normality for a foreign experience. This is done by Potter at the â€Å"famous † Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid (Rowling 68). Potter is greeted with â€Å"scraping chairs† of excitement and instantly â€Å"shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron† (69). He will then cross another threshold in Diagon Alley where he encounters â€Å"dragon liver† and the â€Å"Gringotts† (72). The last threshold crossed is at Platform 9  ¾ with a fellow wizard family named the Weasleys into the wizarding world. This is when Harry meets a young boy named Ronald, a pureblood. Harry and Ronald descend from magic from both of parents which causes them to bond on the eleven o’clock train to Hogwarts. The fifth and final step of the first stage is the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale is the heros final step before entering the real calling; it is represented in the novel when Harry is faced with the sorting hat. He is nervous because he could be sorted into the house of Slytherin, the house of evil. Inside his head he chants, à ¢â‚¬Å"not Slytherin, not Slytherin† in which the hat responds by giving into his choice (121). By ultimately choosing Griffindor , the room gave â€Å"the loudest cheer yet† (121). This shows his test in character and at this point Harry leaves the muggle world and enters the unknown. The second stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is initiation with seven steps: road of trials, meeting the goddess, temptation, atonement with the father, apostasis, the ultimate boon, and the refusal of return. This is usually the longest, most eventful, and entertaining stage of Cambell’s monomyth. The road of trials are tests given the hero to complete in order to transform. Harry is faced with many minor problems within his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but one of his major road of trials is an evil, â€Å"foul smelling† troll (174). Inexperienced in magic, he uses it anyway in order to rescue his friend he accidentally traps, Hermione. This is when he becomes closer to Ron and Hermione and a long friendship blooms. Another is thinking that Professor Snape is the thief behind the sorcerers stone. By focusing on Professor Snape, Harry overlooks the real traitor of Hogwarts. Meeting the goddess affects the hero by havi ng them feel eternal love. This step is sometimes represented by a mother figure. Lily, Harry’s mother, sacrificed her life for her son against Lord Voldemort. Even after her death she continues to protect her son with the scar given to him as a baby. Each time Voldemort is near, the scar burns as a warning. During the battle against Quirrel and Lord Voldemort, Quirrell could not touch Harry, his hands â€Å"looked burned, raw, red, and shiny,† due to the love of Harry’s mother (295). Lily died to save him. Temptations are defined as an object given to the hero to stray from his goal. An invisible cloak, from his father allows Harry to travel the school without being seen. One night over winter break he locates the Mirror of Erised, an ancient mirror that shows onlookers â€Å"‘the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts’† (213). While looking into the mirror, Harry sees people who are not located in the room. A woman who has â€Å"dark red hair† and eyes just like himself peers through the mirror along with other familiar faces (208). Potter realizes that these people are his dead family. This image that he desires keeps him coming back to the mirror each night for about a week. The Mirror of Erised is known as Harry’s temptation because the visits stray him from his goal of finding out who stole the sorcerers stone. The atonement of the father occurs when the hero confronts the object that holds the most power over his life. Although Voldemort is not a father figure, Harry needs to defeat him in order to turn a new stone in his life. Voldemort can be classified as a ruler within the twelve common archetypes because he believes power is the only aspect of life. With Voldemort having been vanquished, Harry discovers the corrupt world. The apostate is when the hero dies a death, physically or in spirit, and moves him beyond basic knowledge. This is represented when a hero enters a godlike stage. During the last chapter, Potter wakes up in a hospital bed, unknowing where the stone is. Dumbledore assures him that the stone â€Å"has been destroyed† (297). He now knows what it is like to be a good wizard because he experienced and handled danger. A weight has been lifted from his shoulders as he enters the end-of-term feast. The ultimate boon within the novel actually happens before the apostate. The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal. Lord Voldemort, Quirrell, and Harry battle over the sorcerers stone. Potter wants to preserve the stone while Voldemort wants to use it for his own advantage to acquire a body and be separate from Quirrell. All of Harry’s training has led up to this battle. The refusal of return is when the hero finds enlightenment and does not want to go back to their everyday life. Surprisingly, this occurs on the last page of the novel. Harry does not want to return back to the Dursleys at Privet Drive because he feels at home at Hogwarts. M oreover, he knows the Dursleys are going to outcast him once again. During the second stage of Cambell’s monomyth, the hero learns the most about himself and his new world. The hero is grasping his new self through many steps and trials. Furthermore, the third stage and final of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is the return. This stage has five steps, magic flight, rescue from without, crossing the return threshold, master of two worlds, and the freedom to live. The novel changes the numerical order of the last stage quite a lot. The magic flight is known as the hero’s escape with the boon. Potter exhibits this step by returning back to the Muggle World. Harry knows his life will be dreary once again at Privet Drive. Ron invites him to â€Å"come and stay† the summer (308). He shows gratitude towards Ron’s offer, although with a somber attitude. The rescue from without is often a guide that brings the hero back to ordinary life. Within Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Albus Dumbledore acts as a guide to Harry. Almost instantly before Quirrell can kill Harry, Dumbledore saves him. Although Dumbledore does not bring Potter back to the Muggle World, he brings him back to safety . Crossing the return threshold is known as returning to their life before their adventure, while the master of two worlds is balancing the hero’s inner and outer world. Within the first Harry Potter novel, one might say that these two monomyth steps are actually conjoined. During the last chapter, Harry travels along the train from Hogwarts to â€Å"the gateway back to the Muggle World† (308). This is known as crossing the threshold, but the book ultimately stops there. Readers can infer that in the last chapter, the master of two worlds comes into play as Potter acknowledges he is going to â€Å"have a lot of fun with Dudley† over the summer because he will use magic within the Muggle World (309). The hero’s freedom to live is the final step of the monomyth. The hero now has no fear of death because their journey has made them courageous. Although Potter’s home is the Dursleys, he looks forward to returning back to Hogwarts. This gives him a sens e of happiness which he has never felt at home before. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is only the first novel in a seven-part series, but Harry Potter’s heroic journey is the most important in this text alone. Joseph Cambell’s seventeen step monomyth is clearly shown throughout Harry’s adventure. This book shows Potter’s adventure through a new world that he must disregard everything he previously knows. He learns new skills through supernatural aids and roads of trials that ultimately lead up to his battle with Voldemort. The monomyth in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone paves the way for the future novels. Readers can see Harry’s life before magic and gain inside information on his character. The novel is the primal step to his new life.

Can Rousseau plausibly be described as a totalitarian democrat Essay

Can Rousseau plausibly be described as a totalitarian democrat - Essay Example While on the other hand, the education and religion comes under the vision as a biased and detrimental due to the reason that it fortified the individuals (Talmon,  Arieli  & Rotenstreich, pp. 37-50, 2002). The government body in the totalitarian democracy enjoys and leverage with complete power of confiscation and obligation. In simple words, the government has the right to direct and manipulate over each individual and everything else. This concept of totalitarian democracy to some extent goes up against by modern and contemporary experts. According to them, totalitarian democracy is the equality-oriented democracy where complete  rights  and freedoms of people should not come under holding as convict to traditions and social agreements (Talmon  & Arieli  & Rotenstreich, pp. 37-50, 2002). Jean Jacques Rousseau has been a significant and accepted name that advocated totalitarian democracy. In addition, Jean Jacques Rousseau has been a prominent name and one of the greatest figures in the history of the French Enlightenment as he was one of the popular French philosophers whose ideas and thoughts persuaded the French Revolution. In addition, more than just being a philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau has also gained a prominent name as an author/novelist, painter, political and educational theorist/philosopher, musicologist, and composer. Apart from achieving recognition as a totalitarian democrat, he was also a flourishing music composer and made remarkable contributions to the music as a theorist. His work of music has come under findings in the form of operas and several other forms (Jeske & Fumerton, pp. 66-75, 2011). At the initial stage, Rousseau gained reputation as a writer after winning the award for one of his writings. In addition, the history provides the fact that the political events occurred during the time of Jean Jacques Rousseau has been quite influential, particularly for the American and French Revolutions

Sociology Research - Hacking subculture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sociology Research - Hacking subculture - Essay Example In order to clarify the issue about hackers, it is but necessary to trace the history of these group.. Hackers are members of a sub-culture from the group of Information Technology professionals. According to the website Cyber punk project, Hackers are technical people like programmers and designers who â€Å"enjoy exploring details of programmable systems and an expert at a particular program, sometimes going to the length of being obsessive about programming† ( Cyber punk Project ). Thus, hackers are highly- skilled people who have their own culture, considerably a group with their own language and rituals. Hackers have different motives which can often lead them to committing malicious acts. In a study made by Taylor among young hackers, he identified some reasons behind hacking : feelings of addiction, urge of curiosity, boredom with educational system, enjoyment of feeling of power ,peer recognition, and political acts ( Jordan and Taylor 46) In 1994, Levy categorized the hackers into generations, the first of which are computer aficionados in the 50’s and 60’s mostly from MIT. The second generation are the ones who popularized computing through the development of PCs, and the third generation are responsible for the advent of computer games ( Taylor 15 ). Nowadays, hackers are considered belonging in the fourth generation (Taylor 17). Unfortunately, the fourth generation hackers have been perceived also as crackers. Crackers are hackers who commit cyber crime by maliciously spreading virus or illegally accessing other people’s PC or system. Nevertheless, there is a group of hackers known as â€Å"white hackers â€Å" who can be considered as a pure form of hacker. According to an article in the website koiskea, their ( white hackers ) main goal is to â€Å"help improve computer systems and technologies â€Å"(koiskea.net ). Ross also argued that ethical hacking done by these white hackers provide a lot of benefits such as

How nutrition relates to bone health Research Paper

How nutrition relates to bone health - Research Paper Example The following analysis will help the reader to understand the key building blocks that are required by the body in order to perform and maintain a healthy skeletal system. Firstly, and most obviously, calcium as well as vitamin K and vitamin D are the most basic and important building blocks of proper bone strength and nutrition. Although calcium is what is primarily focused upon with regards to maintaining proper bone density and health, both vitamin K and vitamin D help to regulate the levels of calcium in the blood stream as well as to encourage and discourage the way that this calcium is synthesized within the bone marrow itself (Marian 440). Although this vitamin and nutrient are often mentioned in the same breath with bone health and nutrition, few individuals understand the processes that each of these play in proper bone health. Firstly, vitamin D is converted to what is known as calcidiol in the liver. Once this conversion has taken place, the calcidiol is then pumped through the blood stream with the sole intent of seeking to regulate the levels of calcium and phosphate that exist in the blood stream. Calcidiol acts in this way as a hormone to regulate levels of compounds that exist throughout the body (Price 143). By acting in this regulatory fashion, the body is able to make appropriate use of the calcium and phosphate levels that are in the blood stream in order to properly build strong bones. In the same way, vitamin K helps to control the level of calcium binding that takes place within the bone structure. Likewise, in addition to calcium and vitamin K, D, the body needs to maintain adequate levels of magnesium; the second most plentiful mineral, after calcium, in the skeleton. Magnesium has a host of applications with respect to bone health; however, for the purposes of this brief analysis it can understood to have a direct and profoundly important effect on the boney matrix that helps to give bones their density and

Company Analysis for Yahoo Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Company Analysis for Yahoo - Research Paper Example Basically, Yahoo was only accessible by the two engineering students but because they had created a web interface that had allowed other people to access to their guide and because of apparent knowledge of Yahoo and its existence in lieu of the word of mouth and electronic mail, more people began using their web site and because of Yahoo's strong as well as positive impact to the people and the society amicably, Yahoo has a complex environment. Due to this complexity, the department is considering all the factors that affect its task environments. Some factors such as political-legal and economic climates are encouraging to the growth of the department. However, the sociocultural climate is posing a challenge. Nevertheless, Yahoo is generally having a stable environment. The political-legal climate of corporations globally has been generally encouraging. This is especially for yahoo in which it reciprocates the government's trust on the company by sharing 30 percent of its shares to the government. Likewise, the economic climate globally has seen the growth of systems of wealth production, distribution and consumption. However, inflations and recessions affect the operation of Yahoo. These are the factors over which we have little control. The sociocultural climate represents the attitudes, values, norms, beliefs, behaviours and associated demographic characteristics of the population within which an organisation operates (Daft 1997, p. 78). In operating and managing Yahoo applications that support users, we have to consider our customers' values and beliefs. To do this we conduct studies to identify the concerns of our customers. The technological climate includes scientific and technological advancements in the production of goods and services (Dahlgren and Whitehead, 1991). Technology for Yahoo is of particular importance because it has been and continues to be the main source of increases in productivity, which means it can either provide a competitive advantage to organisations that can use it effectively, or pose a threat to those that lack it. To remain competitive therefore, it is important that we need to understand current technology developments affecting their ability to offer desirable products and services. The pace of change in that industry, of course, is accelerating, and its scope and impact are widening. Spectators of the technology can trace that change from the earliest antecedents of Yahoo, to the most recent developments. Spectators can also scan the entire Yahoo continuum from the 19th century to the 21st or pinpoint, year by year or decade by decade, but the focus of this paper will only be from 1998 to 2003. These are the years and key events that have led to the Yahoo of today and it has shown through the use of the company's corporate strategy. It is said that people are living through an era in which organizations

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS - Essay Example The notion of knowledge management views knowledge as tacit or something which is present in one’s mind. Human expression and practice compound to the making of knowledge. However, knowledge cannot be enhanced in an isolated state of mind; that is, for knowledge to flourish, information must be enhanced through interaction (Kalkan, 2008). Both explicit and implicit knowledge must be tapped by organizations in order to progress successfully in today’s globalised world. Knowledge management is, therefore, focused on the attainment of organizational goals and objectives by enhancing the productivity of organizational knowledge in all activities, tasks and programs pertaining to knowledge. The aim is to create and sustain competitive advantage for the firm in the global marketplace by helping organizations exploit untapped knowledge. Hence, knowledge management essentially involves learning through social experiences and interactions. Researchers have broken down knowledge management into four major constructs including the development, manifestation, diffusion and use of knowledge (Kalkan, 2008). It is rather simplistic to think of knowledge management as a linear process in today’s global village. ... Factors such as geographic dispersion, interaction across different time zones and cross-cultural differences result in increased challenges for the firm (Pawlowski & Bick, 2012). Thus, the global arena has opened a new window for viewing knowledge management which incorporates introductory level, implementation and process issues pertaining to knowledge management (Alavi & Leidner, 2005). Despite increased awareness of these issues, research indicates that most businesses fail to successfully implement global knowledge management (Pawlowski & Bick, 2012). Global knowledge management encompasses all knowledge related activities, tasks, policies and processes that are performed within or between organizations that are globally dispersed. Culture of both the organization and the nation/region plays a vital role here (Holden, 2001). The global environment, therefore, brings with it a host of challenges including those pertaining to humans, organization, management and technology. All hu man interaction and communication (including the dissemination of knowledge) is heavily influenced by culture (Holden, 2001). But perhaps, the greatest of these challenges is to define the very nature of knowledge management itself. Although there have been efforts to differentiate data and information from knowledge, a concrete working definition has not yet been developed in the context of global dynamics (Roberts, 2009). Despite increasing emphasis on knowledge-oriented markets, there has been criticism which calls into existence the very existence of such markets. The absence of a concrete definition questions whether or not these markets actually exist or whether they are â€Å"old wine in a new bottle† (Roberts, 2009). The term knowledge has become a metaphor rather than a term with

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 43

History - Essay Example At that period Virginia was operating under head right system. It dawn to leaders of that time that for economy to grow there is need for labor and with that in mind the government of the day provided incentives to farmers to import workers. Masters were rewarded up to 50 acres of land for bringing labor across the Atlantic (Gray, Colonial America, p. 118). The system was being used by the plantation owners to increase their land and in addition to that received service of the workers. The system as it appears at first seems to benefit both the master and the servant because the servants were paid for fare across the Atlantic. Employment was on contact basis and on termination the servant were paid bonus, or other goodies like lands clothes or food. To the English poor it seems like lucrative offers abroad and this possibly lured Johanna smith. Many were lured out of unite kingdom with promises of land ownerships and prosperity but the reality on the ground was different.Upon arrived the condition at the ground was difficult and this made it difficult for many of them to live to complete 4-7 years of service (Gray, Colonial America, p. 118). The mortality rate was high in Virginia due to lack of food and diseases. Many wrote back to their families back in United Kingdom on their state of misery. Despite the poor state of living the masters wanted to diligently use them to maximize their returns, the servants interest were only expanding their investment while cutting cost to the possible minimum. In the first year of service the labor was required to pay back for the master’s investment and in subsequent years to make it profitable, these conditions worsen the condition because they were under immense pressure from the masters to pay back the investment within the short period of one year. Many didn’t want to extend the terms of their contract they wanted freedom and the

Sophocles’ prolific Essay Example for Free

Sophocles’ prolific Essay Sophocles’ prolific writing has rarely produced a woman of such stern strength of character as â€Å"Antigone†. Inversely the comedy of Aristophanes â€Å"Lysistrat† was among the first to introduce a strong willed female protagonist, who is not a goddess. The treatment of both great writers differs in the fact that the backdrops and the moods are distinctly different. While Sophocles zeroed in on the sombre tragedy, Aristophanes chose to inject feminist revolt against domination through zestful comedy. From a gender perspective it is important to study the motives behind the actions of the lead characters in both the plays. There have been suicides and suicides in Greek tragedies (which almost define Greek tragedies). Sophocles’ Antigone commits suicide in the dark dungeon left to starve to death. But unlike the suicide of their mother Jocasta who decides to end her life when she learns that her marital relationship with Oedipus was incestuous, Antigone’s death is a defiant protest against the tyranny of her uncle Creon and an emphasis of her strongly held belief, that her brother should be accorded a proper burial. There have been few examples of valour from Greek women who defied the norms of either their contemporary society or their king for a symbolic gesture rather than a cause. In the case of Antigone it was the burial rights to one of her two dead brothers which drives her to go against the will of the ruler, Creon. â€Å"Antigone† begins after both the warring brothers have apparently killed each other and since Polynices revolted against the state and led an Argive army to overthrow his brother Eteocles, he is deemed to be a sinner against the state. Thus Creone, brother of Jocasta, who becomes the ruler decrees his body to be deprived of proper burial rites to ensure that his soul rots beyond redemption. Antigone, in the beginning of the play expresses her wish to accord her brother proper burial. It is a symbolic depiction of Antigone’s moral strength that she decides to go ahead in her chosen course though she is unable to enlist the support of her more timid sister Ismene. This is a marked deviation from the depiction of women in Greek literature of the time where women were always looked upon as dependent on others for the strength of their convictions. Antigone succeeds in her stated mission and when this becomes known to Creone, an argument rages on the choice between the natural law and man-made laws. In another daring drift from established norm, the chorus in Sophocles’ play have the moral courage to call the path of their emperor as the more evil. Creone’s son and Antigone’s fiance Haemon comes to her defence and the ensuing debate on the justice of natural laws which should supersede man made laws is a dramatist’s delight. Creone, however, decides to leave Antigone to starve to death in a sealed cave as her prison. The blind prophet Tiresias also advocates against punishment to Antigone and says he will pay â€Å"corpse for corpse, and flesh for flesh†. The declaration of Tiresias that Creon is causing moral pollution causes a change of heart in Creone. His moral dilemma leads him to conclude that Polynices should be buried and Antigone should be pardoned. But by this time, Hameon reaches Antigone’s cave with the intention of saving her only to find that she has committed suicide by hanging herself, much like her mother Jocasta before her. When Creon reaches the cave he finds Hameon grieving over Antigone and he takes his life by stabbing himself as Creon approaches him. This leads Eurydice, Creon’s wife to give up her life in the grief of her son’s untimely death. Thus Creon loses all his loved ones due to his one fatal erring conviction to hold the laws of the state above the natural law. The tragic flaw, is thus justified in Sophocles’ â€Å"Antigone†. It is easy to categorize the play Lysistrata by Aristophanes as a lewd comedy designed to entertain the Greek literature and drama lovers with a lampooning of the results if women begin to take an interest in affairs of national importance. It is also very convenient to visualize male actors playing all the important roles of the play and the â€Å"male† male characters wearing erect phalluses to depict their masculinity might have led to uproarious laughter. However, with passing time and the aid of retrospection help us to begin to understand that Aristophanes might have devoted considerable time and emotional energy in trying to decipher what goes through the hearts and heads of women of his time who were modelled to be subservient and detached from the affairs of the state. Lysistrata leads a domestic and non violent non-cooperation movement (though the medium of non cooperation seldom ventures beyond the conventional sexual subjugation) to convince the men of the time to end the long standing war (apparently the Peloponnesian war) and bring back peace. The play is an apparent comedy that it depicts women as sex crazed and spine less characters for whom rising beyond their daily chores is a daunting task. Except fro Lysistrata, no other woman comes across as strong willed enough to contribute in any way to the cause of the play. One can imagine the gusty laughter the scene involving the swearing of oath by drinking wine from a shield as it was a portrayal of women as being incapable of self restraint (from all good things in life, including wine and sex). Though Lysistrata as a play has a lot of titillate the viewers, it has been seen in modern light as a commentary on the plight of women who have no say in the affairs of the state entirely decide by the men but have to silently suffer the consequences. This has remained unchanged even after the liberation ages of the 20th century. Aristophanes does manage to draw a caricature of Greek women as incapable of with holding sex or thinking beyond sex as the only weapon in her armour to control or change society. It is possible though to excuse this caricature as Aristophanes’ attempt not to ruffle the feathers of his contemporary society while at the same time recording for future history that women did harbour different opinions on the approaches of the state to war and peace. The widowhood and martyrdom of a mother who loses her children to the ravages of war are not mentioned, perhaps because they would have added the much relegated sobriety to this deemed comedy. Gender domination is a visible thread in Lysistrata, but whether Aristophanes designed this play as a comic fiction based on improbable scenarios of liberated women questioning state policies, or as an underhanded attempt to depict female angst of his contemporary Greek society is debatable. However Lysistrata has remained current and meaningful to this date due to its universal themes of Peace being preferred over War and has helped several social commentators put across their point during the several un necessary wars that dot world history to date be it the Vietnam war or the latest invasion of Iraq. Whatever be the motivation, both Sophocles and Aristophanes manage to leave behind a piece of Literature which continues to engage readers and historians in a healthy debate on the premium placed on female equality by writers from the Greek age to the present day. Works Cited or used as reference Henderson, Jeffrey (contributor) Lysistrata by Aristophanes, London : Oxford University Press, 1990 Translated by Gibbons, Reginald and Segal, Charles Antigone by Sophocles, NewYork : Oxford University Press US, 2003

Strategies to Determine Art Work Authenticity

Strategies to Determine Art Work Authenticity Examination of the scientific techniques used to determine the authenticity of ark work Abstract The essay will detail the many different scientific techniques that are used to determine the authenticity of art work. Various pieces of artwork will need to be authenticated as there are many fraudulent artwork being sold worldwide. This essay will discover whether scientific techniques are the best process in authenticating art work, the many paintings that have undergone examination with scientific techniques and whether these techniques help to distinguish the original from fake. Introduction Authenticity in art can be defined as the real, genuine and true likeness of a piece of art work done by the artist themselves. There are a high percentage of paintings that have been sold and that are waiting to be sold which are fraudulent. This paper will outline the different types of art crimes that are committed, reasons why these art crimes are committed and the scientific techniques that are used to distinguish original and forged paintings. Many scientific techniques such as infrared are used on art work pieces that are believed to be counterfeit and with the use of theses scientific techniques, many art associations can distinguish between the paintings that are genuine. Although it may seem strange that a scientific technique such as IR can be used in detecting authenticity, there are many cases where fraudulent paintings have be detected using such techniques. The Han Van Meegeren case further examines the background information as to how his paintings where forged and how, using scientific techniques, they were detected as fraudulent. This will be discussed further. Another case being examined is the Leonardo Da Vinci case, which details how an authentic painting could have not been detected if it were not for the use of scientific techniques. Many artists have left their identities on their art paintings such as fingerprints and signatures, which help in the aid of authenticating a painting. Personal identification such as finger printing and signatures can be compared to reference samples taken from the artists themselves. Is it possible to view a painting, with human judgement and detect whether a painting is authentic? Or could using scientific techniques detect how legitimate a painting really is? Main Section There are many art crimes that are committed worldwide. Crimes such as theft, money laundering and forgery all take place in the art world. In the UK, approximately  £300 million art and antiques are stolen each year and is the second highest crime rate behind drug dealing now in the UK (1). Art theft has a very high crime rate because it has been known to be difficult to track and because of this, the recovery rate of getting art and antiques back to the owners are very rare. Art paintings and antiques that can be easily copied, are mostly likely to be forged; the more complex a painting, the harder it is for one to forge. Artists that forge paintings not only replicate a painting but they also go about making fraudulent copies of provenances. The certificate of origin is very easy to forge as the history of a painting can be easily fabricated. There are different scientific techniques that are used to examine art fraud such as Infrared, Ultraviolet, Digital Analysis and Optical Microscope. All techniques used, examine and result in mixed conclusions about a painting. The common aspect of all techniques used can all determine whether an art piece is authentic. Two or more scientific techniques are often used when authenticating art work to ensure accurate findings and support the results of the previous testing. A scientific technique such as IR, is a non-destructive analysis, which absorbs carbon based materials such as graphite and determines the underlying layers of a painting. Small sections of a painting can be enhanced to show the artists original intent and validate whether the painting is an original (2). Using infrared light, wavelengths are absorbed and reflected to show different pigments in the paint, which are used in the underlying drawing, if any. Another scientific technique used to determine the authenticity of art work is Ultraviolet radiation. This analysis is often the primary technique as it is a quick and inexpensive test that can prove to be very significant. The UV light reveals any change within a paintings’ surface. Ultraviolet radiation of the light reflects the surface of the layer of the painting and shows what condition the varnish layer of the painting is in. Another UV analysis is UV fluorescence. UV florescence can detect varnishes and pigments present on the painting and whether varnishes have been removed. This is an important feature as newer, modern varnishes used on paintings do not fluoresce under UV light compared to the varnishes used in older paintings. Natural resin varnishes were the most commonest varnishes used and these particular varnishes do fluoresce. UV is also an important technique as it can also detect any retouching and over paintings made on a previous painting. Paintings which a re under the seen image, when fluoresced, appear darker than the original fluorescent areas (3). Optical microscopy is a technique which sequences and studies the layers of an art piece. It can also be used to analyse the surface, condition and the size of pigment grains (4). When a painting is viewed under normal light, an analyst can see many details such as brushwork, textures and cracks that are present. Optical microscopy is important as it can investigate whether a painting has been altered by studying a small cross sectional piece of a painting. A cross section is removed from an edge or a previously damaged area of a painting and from this, layers of the painting can be inspected under bother normal and UV light (4). Original paintings that have not been tampered with are expected to have three layers present, when the cross section is studied. These three layers are; the prepared canvas layer, the paint pigment layer and the varnish layer. Paintings which have more than three layers are considered to be altered and questions of whether these paintings are authentic or n ot arise. An example of an altered painting layer is; canvas layer, paint layer, varnish layer, varnish layer, paint layer and varnish layer. As seen above, this example cannot be the layers of an original piece and so further analysis would be done to confirm its authenticity. Han Van Meegeren Around the 1930s Van Meegeren composed a plan to forge a large Vanmeer religious style painting. His first forgery was a painting called Christ and the Disciples at Emmaus. Meegeren studied the seventeenth century pigment formulas he was going to use to paint this and ensured he placed the painting on a recycled ‘unimportant’ canvas, which was also painted in the seventeenth – century (5). (http://www.essentialvermeer.com/misc/van_meegeren.html) On all paintings that Van Meegeren created, he used the same characters and the same location as the originals. In many of the paintings the woman and the man look very recognisable to the original paintings along with the window ledge that the paintings were painted around. Van Meegeren went on to forge many more Vanmeer paintings (5), where upon completion sold one to the Nazis. Upon his sale, he was arrested and confessed to be the forger of the recent Vanmeer paintings. To prove he was the forger of the Vanmeer paintings, Van Meegeren painted his last Vanmeer painting in front of the prison guards. After Van Meegeren was confirmed the forger of the Vanmeer paintings from sight, scientific techniques were used for exact confirmation. Such techniques used for determination of authenticity of those specific paintings were X-Radiology analysis, Chemical analysis and Microscopy analysis (6). A scientific technique such as X-Ray analysis is also a non-destructive technique, which detects any underlying substance beneath a surface of a painting, see through pigment layers and show whether there are/were any damaged areas within the art work. This can be used to build up a time line of a particular painting, age and authenticate the work (7). In the Vanmeer case, X-Ray analysis detected a previous painting that laid beneath the current painting due to the amount of lead isotopes detected in the lead based paints that Van Meegeren used to paint the Vanmeer pieces. The isotopes found were compared to the actual isotopes that would have been used if indeed the paintings were painted in Va nmeers living days (8). The chemical analysis taken from the painting ‘The Woman taken in Adultery and The Woman Reading Music’, identified traces of cobalt blue used in the pigment of the paint Meegeren used. This was found to be an artificial pigment, which was not manufactured until the 19th century. When the artificial pigment was detected and confirmed not to have been present in the Vanmeer day, it was further confirmation of the forgery committed by Meegeren (6). In this case the use of scientific techniques was essential when determining whether the Vanmeer paintings were indeed authentic. Without these techniques, visual judgement would not have distinguished the real Vanmeer’s to the fraudulent artwork as they were very good duplicates. Leonardo Da Vinci A drawing of a young womans head also known as ‘La Bella Principessa’ was discovered in 1998. It was not until many years later, that the drawing was thought to be a drawing by Da Vinci himself and was confirmed to be an authentic copy. The drawing was seen by many people in many different museums and was not thought to have been more than 100 years old. When the examination of this drawing took place, it was thought to be an important rediscovery to the artworld.(9). (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-la-bella-principessa-late-15th-century-unknown-artist-8505169.html) IR was one of the scientific techniques used to determine its authorship and authenticity. This technique was used in camera form and by scanning the drawing, it revealed a smudged partial fingerprint on the top left hand corner of the drawing. A forensic art fingerprint expert analysed the fingerprint and matched it to a known fingerprint left by Da Vinci on another piece of his work (9). Another scientific technique used was carbon-14 testing. This was used to analyse and date the paper the drawing was placed upon. The drawing was placed on a sheet of vellum and with carbon-14 testing, it dated back to 1440-1650 (9). This was around the time of Da Vinci era. These two discoveries which date back to Da Vinci era, verified the drawing to be an authentic copy. Without the use of scientific techniques done on La Bella Principessa, its ownership and authenticity would have not been known. The fingerprint and the paper this drawing was placed upon would never have been identified without the use of scientific techniques, which confirms that scientific techniques corrobates authenticated work. Discussion Scientific techniques used to authenticating art work as seen above proves to be an important aspect in the art world. If all art work before being sold and entering museums were to be scientifically tested, the amount of forgery done to paintings would reduce considerably more. Without the use of techniques such as IR, UV and X-Ray, the authentication of paintings would not be possible. The methods outlined are all successful methods that were used and are still being used today as they outline important aspects of artwork when examined, and can prove whether a painting is authentic or not. Many scientific techniques used are non-destructive and today the most used scientific technique is Ramen Spectroscopy (10). Ramen spectroscopy is the now the preferred technique than X-Ray as it is a technique which detects organic and inorganic pigments that are used in paints, which can distinguish the timeline of when the pigments were made (10). Conclusion From the information gathered, it is right to say that the use of scientific techniques is the right analysis used to determine the authenticity of art work. Many scientific techniques whether IR or pigment analysis aid in the authentication process and as seen above prove to be a significant process. Authentic paintings are discovered through the scientific process and counterfeit paintings are uncovered. By visual aspect of a painting and by human judgement one cannot determine whether an art piece is authentic or not. Scientific techniques prove to be a distinct process when authenticating. References (1) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10455560/More-than-300m-of-art-being-stolen-in-Britain-each-year.html (Accessed on 22/02/2014) (2) http://www.sensorsinc.com/artanalysis.html (Accessed on 23/02/2014) (3) http://fineartconservation.ie/ultraviolet-radiation-4-4-43.html (Accessed on 24/02/2014) (4) http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/intro/microscopy.html (Accessed on 25/02/2014) (5) http://denisdutton.com/authenticity.htm (Accessed on 21/02/2014) (6) http://www.tnunn.ndo.co.uk/detectn.htm (Accessed on 25/02/2014) (7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18502413 (Accessed on 21/02/2014) (8) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC535372/ (Accessed on 20/02/2014) (9) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/7582591/La-Bella-Principessa-a-100m-Leonardo-or-a-copy.html (Accessed on 26/02/2014) (10) http://www.amphilsoc.org/sites/default/files/proceedings/1570202Ragai.pdf (Accessed on 26/02/2014)

Women Have the Right to Choose Abortion Essay -- Papers Argumentative

Women Have the Right to Choose Abortion An abortion is a woman's option to terminate a pregnancy. It is an induced miscarriage. Abortion has become an extremely controversial topic in the past 3 decades since it has been legalized. There has been extreme violence stemming from this issue that we as a country need to put under control, regardless of our personal stances on the issue. There are many reasons why a woman would choose to have an abortion. She does not feel she is ready to be a parent, she can not afford a baby, and being too young or immature to be responsible for another life are only three of these reasons. If a woman becomes pregnant due to a rape or from incest would be another reason. It has been found that almost fifty per cent of all women will have an abortion by the time they reach 45. Is this number increasing since the legalization of abortion? Probably not, considering the fact that before abortions were legal they were still being preformed. The only difference is now they are safer. Before 1965, abortion was somewhat taboo. No one dared to even discuss the issue. Abortion was frowned upon and considered "evil"; therefore it remained a very private issue. Abortions were performed by doctors, nurses, midwives, even chiropractors. Being that abortions were not performed in a hospital or clinic, anyone who felt like it could become an abortionist. These abortions were referred to as back- alley abortions. They were unsafe and lead to the deaths of many women, but in 1933 it was estimated that nearly 2 million were performed (Grisey). This proves to us that regardless if abortion is legal or not, if a woman feels she needs to have one she is going to. The prices of thes... ... to an increase in child abuse and neglect. I am not encouraging the use of abortion as a method of birth control, but accidents will happen. Some people are responsible enough to deal with these accidents, but some feel that they are not ready to bring a child into this world. If a mother feels she can not properly care for a child, isn't it better for the fetus to be aborted before it is brought into a world where it can not be properly loved, cared for and supported?  Bibliography: Works Cited 1. Grady, John L, Abortion Yes or No. (no printing press). Florida,1972. 2. Grisey, Germain, Abortion: the Myths, the Realities and the Argument.Corpus Books, New York,1970. 3. O'Donnell, Thomas J, Medicine and Christian Morality. Alba House, New York, 1976 4. www.plannedparenthood.org/abortion.html 5. www.religioustolerance.org/abortion.htm

Teaching and Learning Activity Assessment :: Education, Evaluation

Introduction One of key element in teaching and learning activity is assessment. There are several types of assessment. However, in the context of Aceh, most of teachers still use traditional forms of assessment, specifically summative assessment. There is critique on traditional assessment, â€Å"The critique has been based on the assumption that these forms of assessment do not support high quality of leaning associated with ‘deep’ learning, critical thinking, sustainable knowledge and lifelong learning† (Havnes & McDowell 2008). Therefore, diagnostic assessment is one form of assessment that can be used by the teachers to support high quality of learning. Diagnostic assessment aims to determine students’ prior knowledge. In order to plan the effective teaching, it is important for teacher to determine students’ prior knowledge, because the students have their own conceptions on phenomena in the world before they study in the classroom (Tytler, n.d). This essay is part of assignment in assessing learning unit (EXE733). It aims to review and discuss an example of exemplary assessment task for diagnostic assessment. Before further discussion about example of exemplary diagnostic assessment, it might be important to review the definition, purposes, types of assessment, as well as characteristics of effective assessment. Assessment Assessment derived from the Latin assessare which mean to impose a tax or set a rate (Athanasou, 1997). According to Athanasou, Assessment is â€Å"the process of collecting and combining information from test (e.g., on performance, learning, quality) with view to making a judgement about a person or making a comparison against an established criterion. Further, Satterly defined assessment as â€Å"an omnibus term which includes all the processes and products which describe the nature and extent of children’s learning, its degree of correspondence with the aims and objectives of teaching and its relationship with the environments which are designed to facilitate learning† (1989 p.3, cited in Carrol, 2005). Moreover, Rowntree (1977) said â€Å"assessment in education can be thought as occurring whenever one person, in some kind of interaction, direct or indirect with another, is conscious of obtaining and interpreting information about the knowledge and understanding o f abilities and attitudes of that other person† (p. 4, cited in Carrol, 2005). The purposes of assessment can be divided into three levels, namely: classroom level (students and teachers), school level, and system level. Firstly, at classroom level, assessment aims to provide the students with appropriate learning based on their needs, provide the students feedback that they can use to identify their next steps of learning, to develop good partnership with parents, help the teachers to plan next teaching, and guarantee continuity of education for the students (Te Kete Ipurangi, 2007).

George Washington Carver :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Washington Carver, most referred to the â€Å"Peanut Man† was born into slavery around 1864 in Diamond, Missouri. His birth date is not known for sure because birth records were not properly kept by the slave owners. As a child, he was very sick and no one ever thought that he would grow to be one of the most distinguished agriculturists in America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unfortunately, George never got to know his parents. His father was killed in an accident and his mother was kidnapped by night raiders. So, George was raised by his owners; Moses and Susan Carver. They treated George and his brother Jim as their own sons. As a child, George had exceptional observational skills and a keen curiosity. His love for nature and animals was beyond his age. Moses and Susan tried very hard to satisfy his needs. But, they realized that he needed to go to a regular school. Since colored children were not allowed in the schools for white children, George had to leave the town and go to Neosho, Missouri to attend school. Later he moved to Fort Scott, Kansas to attend High school.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  School was full of hardships and struggle for George. Since he never had enough money to pay his fees, he often had to drop out temporarily to earn and then enroll again. During this period he worked many odd jobs as a housekeeper, cook, gardener, and launder. He did every job with devotion and tried to achieve perfection. Thus he gained recognition everywhere he went. After finishing high school, he applied to Highland University and was accepted until the college later learned that he was black and therefore refused his entrance. Finally, at the age of thirty, Carver was finally accepted to Simpson College in Iowa. After a year there, he left to attend the Iowa Agricultural College where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1894, and his Masters Degree in 1896. George was the first black American to graduate from this college.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carver was offered a number of jobs because of his wonderful work ethic, but he accepted the invitation of Booker T. Washington to teach at the Tuskegee Institute, where he accepted a position as an instructor at the Tuskegee Institute of Technology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At Tuskegee, Carver developed his famous crop rotation method. Nitrate producing legumes like peanuts and sweet potatoes were planted during alternate years. The peanuts and potatoes put nutrients back in the soil that had been taken away when

Preschool Literacy Essay

2 This paper is going to outline the myriad of benefits that high-quality preschool literacy programs will afford families, communities, school districts and the world. Today, numerous researchers are delving into HOW to establish an effective and successful pre-school program. In this paper, I hope to answer several questions: ? What is pre-school literacy? ? What benefits do participants in a preschool program receive? ? HOW do we go about establishing a high-quality pre-school literacy program? I am rather passionate about this area. Being a speech pathologist, literacy skills and communication skills are so interwoven it is difficult to separate them. I have to say that while going to school many years ago, we didn’t learn that much about literacy as it related to speech and language development. It is only recently that researchers and educators have identified the importance of how both developmental areas are linked. I feel that establishing successful and highly effective programs that incorporate family and child directed activities are crucial to the success of our young students. That being said, let’s explore pre-school literacy. What is preschool literacy? Most people hear the word ‘literacy’ and equate that with ‘reading’. This would be an adult analogy. For very young children, we don’t, nor should we, expect them to read! Early literacy skills refer to many different things, none of which is sitting down with Mom at the age of two and reading aloud for her. At the youngest ages, early literacy skills refer to children’s exposure and experience with books. The following list is derived from Schickendanz (1999) and Early Literacy (www. zerotothree. com) . It states that early literacy behaviors include: ? Book handling behaviors – handling and manipulating the book ? Looking and Recognizing- how are they paying attention to the book, pictures, words; demonstrating recognition of pictures, etc. ? Picture and Story Comprehension – Imitation of actions noted in a story, talking about a story ? Story-Reading Behaviors – verbal interactions with the books, imitating a pointing a finger at words and/or pictures. ‘Establishing strong early literacy behaviors is essential to literacy development and should be the focus of early language and literacy programs’ (Early Literacy, 2003) It is suggested that these skills develop naturally and unfold as a result of social interactions with parents and caregivers, rather than direct instruction. I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. Ideally, it is everyday interactions with infants and toddlers that include talking and book reading that help establish the crucial beginning stages of literacy development. I recently heard on a radio program (can’t cite it) that children between the ages of 0-3 years should hear approximately 30,000 words a day to build an effective vocabulary! Amazing. Todd Risley, co-author of Meaningful differences in the 3 everyday Experiences of young American children (Mangione, 2005), states that isn’t an intentional teaching of these behaviors but rather embedded in the social interactions. He believes, as do I, that oral language skills appear to be the basis of phonological processing skills, which is a strong indicator for reading readiness in kindergarten. As children move into the preschool realm, (typically described as ages 3 through 5), prereading skills are developing along a continuum, rather than as a set of discrete and separate skills. In the article Critical Issue: Addressing the literacy Needs of Emergent and Early Readers (www. ncrel. org), the authors made a very interesting point I’d like to share with you. They discussed the various stages of literacy development that are not relevant to this article, however, an important transition occurs when a child’s â€Å"‘reading’ of a story changes from sounding like oral language to sounding like written language. This demonstrates a change in ideas from thinking of reading as spoken words to understanding that reading is recreated from written text that has special wordings† (McGee & Richgels, 1996;Sulzby, 1991). It is the beginning of the child’s print recognition. With respect to specific pre-school literacy behaviors that we should see addressed in a high-quality preschool program, the most important would be: ? Oral Language- engaging in rich conversational exchange with students, developing oral vocabulary, reading aloud daily, having children develop their own stories by looking at pictures (Tomie DiPola books are excellent for this) ? General Knowledge – what prior knowledge are the student’s coming into school with that they share, encouraging questions and new experiences with in the classroom, ? Print Awareness- being exposed to various written materials, some repetition of early literacy behaviors, point/drag techniques while reading ? Alphabet knowledge – the ABC song, recognizing sounds that letters make, letter recognition. ? Phonological awareness- Increased awareness of the sounds of the letters and how to play with them through rhyme, segmenting, blending, ? Pre-writing skills – later stages of development and exposure to writing mediums (pen, pencil, crayon, markers, paint), using journals with self-made pictures, word walls. (Roskos, K; Christie, J, Richgels, D, www. naeyc. org) How do participants in high-quality preschool programs benefit? I think I could go on for days about the benefits of an excellent preschool experience. For the sake of brevity, I won’t! Numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether preschool programs are beneficial and cost effective. The majority of studies suggest the answer to that is an overwhelming YES. 4 The Chicago Child Parent Center (CPC), the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program and the Abecedarian Project are all examples of highly qualified preschool programs. The CPC is recognized by the US Department of Education as an exemplary early childhood program. A comparison of the benefits of these programs was conducted, yielding what I thought were incredible results. These programs have been in effect since the 1960’s, servicing low-income areas in Chicago and Michigan (Lee, J, www.ccsso. org). In a speech given by Dr. W. Steven Barnett of the National Institute for Early Intervention Research in 2006, three separate studies compared the results of participants enrolled in the above-mentioned preschool programs against a control group that wasn’t enrolled in any preschool program. Their longitudinal studies revealed amazing results, which are credited to the attending of the preschool programs. According to them, participants in the program (as compared with non-participants): ? Were less likely to be enrolled in special education ? Had a higher rate of high school completion ? Demonstrated higher test scores ? Were less likely to repeat a grade ? Had increased earning after completing high school ? Engaged in less criminal activities ? Had a lower incidence of smoking, pregnancy and abortion. These benefits did not stop at the poverty line. They also demonstrated that middle class children benefited from the experience as well. He discussed the well-known fact that disadvantaged children benefit more when they are in class with children from different socio-economic backgrounds. An analysis I found very interesting was that ‘For every dollar invested into the preschool programs described in this paper $7 is saved in public expenditures’ (Lee. www. ccsso. org). WOW, think what that could mean to a superintendent’s budget! When trying to determine whether a preschool program could benefit those in the middle class, the US Dept. of Education, NCES, (1997) article entitled Dropout rates in the United States:1995 determined that middle class children have fairly high rates of the problems that preschool reduces for low-income children. While benefits decrease gradually with an income increase, the overall benefits are greater when ALL children are exposed to PreK. In an evaluation of 5 state prek programs conducted by Barnett,W. S, Lamy, C. and Jung, K. (2005), results revealed that in all programs, whether universal or targeted, students demonstrated gains in language, literacy and math. While all students (various SES backgrounds) gained, the low-income students gained more. Soooooo†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 How do we go about establishing high-quality preschool literacy programs? In an ideal world with unlimited funding, it wouldn’t be too difficult. However, we don’t live in an ideal world and much needed financing is often diverted to other important (or not so important! ) causes. Really, what is more important than education? One resolution could be to emulate the success demonstrated by the Chicago and Michigan programs spoken about earlier in this paper. In Rockland County, some school disctricts already offer a district-based preschool program. This year, all districts were alloted slots to participate in a Universal PreK initiative. However, while that is an excellent start to establishing a much needed entity, a lot of work still exists. During my research gathering I read many, many articles that discussed the family-centered literacy approach. Such as at the CPC, involving the parents and providing them with strategies and useful techniques to help their children empowers them and makes them feel useful and successful. Without parental involvement at the preschool level, literacy development suffers. Since the institution of NCLB, many school disstricts are seeking wasys to provide needed support to their students without it becoming a ‘special ed’ component or target program. Instituting a universal prek program benefits all. Looking at the various achievement gaps that Dr. Barnett identified in his paper, while there is significantly more of an achievement gap at the lower SES levels, there are still marked gaps in the middle class level, thus further justifying why ALL students would benefit from the experience. In an effort to establish successful high-quality preschool programs in Texas, the retired CEO of Texas Instruments was aware of the huge impact the Perry Preschool Program had on its communities and he was eager to replicate that success in Texas. Therefore, after establishing a successful pilot program, the participants wanted to be able to spread the success throughout the state and a handbook â€Å"Improving Early Literacy of Preschool Children’ was developed for prekindergarten educators. The authors and editors really were able to target what a high-quality program looks like with suggestions on how to implement them into your existing programs. The following steps are indicated to improve a preschool program: ? Set goals ? Create an improvement plan ? Build a classroom library ? Train the teachers and encourage collaboration? Keep rack of student’s progress ? Inform and involve parents 6 ? Communicate with elementary schools the children will attend ? Measure and document results (Dougherty, 1999) All of these steps are so important to developing a program that is successful. It is hard to determine whether one step is more important than another. Personally, I really feel that if the teachers and the teaching assistants and/or aides are given the proper training, every interaction with a child will take on new meaning. The Margaret Cone Head Start Center in Southeast Dallas has serviced predominantly low-income populations. As part of their language enrichment program (LEAP), each teacher attends six weeks of instruction at the nearby university as well as several workshops a year. Because of these teacher trainings, Cone Center children have produced improved scores on a variety of tests targeting vocabulary, language skills and social skills. I believe that involving the parents as much as possible and having them in the classroom for a half-day a week or twice a month lets them see what is happening and provides modeling they can use at home. Obstacles that I can identify at this point to establishing high-quality preschool programs that ALL children can attend include: ? FUNDING ? Private preschool programs vs. school district based programs ? Consistent participation on the part of the parents ? Difficulty providing quality training programs for the teachers and teaching assistants/aides due to lack of funding, time, resources While I feel there are many excellent examples of qualified and successful preschool programs in Rockland County, we do not meet the needs of all the children of the preschool age. As CPSE chair, I am able to provide special education needs to many children that require it. However, there is great variability between the programs that we recommend students attend. Consistent high-quality preschool programs would be beneficial to ALL students involved, not just the special needs children. In conclusion, it is a well-documented fact that preschool literacy education benefits all children involved. The need lies in our ability to establish high-caliber programs that are consistent, with staff that is well trained and caring. I think if we can distribute the information about the long-term effects researched and prove to the masses (school boards! ) that the bottom line would be cost savings to the community, we might see some change. I look forward to that day! References 1. Schweinhart, L. J. Lasting Benefits of Preschool Programs ERIC Digest. ericdigests. org. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from http://www. ericdigests. org/1994/lasting. htm 2. Dougherty, C. , et al. Improving Early Literacy of Preschool Children – a Handbook for Prekindergarten Educators. Texas Instruments, 1999. 3. Lee, J. The Benefits of Preschool for High School and Beyond. Council of Chief State School Officers. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from http://www. ccsso. org 4. Roskos, K. A. , Christie, J. F. & Richgels, D. J. The Essentials of Early Literacy Instruction. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Retrieved February 23, 2008, from www. naeyc. org/resources/journal 5. Mangione, P. L. (2005). Creating Language and Literacy Experiences for Infants and Toddlers. PITC Graduate Conference. Berkeley, CA. 6. Johnson, D. & Sulzby, E. Critical Issue: Addressing the Literacy Needs of Emergent and Early Readers. North Central Regional Educational Library. Retrieved January 21, 2008, from http://www. ncrel. org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li100. htm 7. Barnett, W. (2006, Jan. 10). Research on the Benefits of Preschool Education: Securing High Returns from Preschool for All Children. New York, NY. 8. Brain Wonders. Early Literacy (2003). Zero To Three. Retrieved January 24, 2008, from www. zerotothree. org/BrainWonders

Ball and Brown Essay

In 1968 Raymond Ball and Phillip Brown published ‘An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers’ in the Journal of Accounting research. After an initial lukewarm response from the academic community it rapidly became what the American Accounting Association now calls ‘the seed that made a difference’. The purpose of this essay is to introduce the study of Ball and Brown(motivations, research questions and findings) and identify its significant contributions in capital markets research. Introduction According to the resources provided, Ball and Brown described the motivation for their study as a test of existing scholarly research that painted a dim picture of reported earnings. The early articles concluded that earnings could not be informative, and therefore major changes to accounting practice where necessary to correct the problem. In their research, Ball and Brown sought to answer the simple fundamental research question: are accounting income numbers useful? Their position was summarised: â€Å"An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers requires agreement as to what real-world outcome constitutes an appropriate test of usefulness. Because net income is a number of particular interest to investors, the outcome we use as a predictive criterion is the investment decision as it is reflected in security prices†(Ball and Brown 1968). Ball and Brown found that when stocks had a positive income surprise, the abnormal stock price returns for the event window were also likely to be positive, and vice versa. They also found that a majority of the increase in the abnormal returns was before the announcement date, which implied that analysts have fairly accurate forecasts of whether firms will outperform or underperform. Significance of their contributions Although there does have some limitations in Ball and Brown’s study, it had a significant impact on later research. Ball and Brown (1968) provide compelling evidence that there is information content in accounting earnings announcements. In the meantime, they correlate the sign of the abnormal  stock return in the month of an earnings announcement with the sign of the earnings change of a certain firm’s earnings in a previous year earnings. Starting with Ball and Brown (1968), many studies used such association with stock returns to compare alternative accounting performance measures, such as historical cost earnings, current cost earnings, residual earnings, operating cash flows, and so on. As Watts and Zimmerman point out, most accounting research since Ball and Brown (1968) has been positive, and the role of accounting theory is no longer normative. Ball and Brown (1968) heralded the positive-economics-based empirical capital markets research in the late 1960s.Concurrent developments in economics and finance constituted the theoretical and methodological impetus to the early capital markets research in accounting. In addition, their study initially provides reliable evidence that stock markets can influence annual reports. Then researchers began to do a lot in reflect of stock market. Furthermore, the method used is also applicable to a large number of accounting and financial issues, including dividend announcements, earnings announcements, mergers and acquisitions, and investment spending. 3. Conclusion Ball and Brown (1969) expressed a view of information in markets that was revolutionary and contributed to a significant change in attitudes towards investing and financial markets. By testing the connection between earnings expectations and share price changes they were the genesis of a body of research that now underpins modern day investment processes. References Jackson, S. (1999), â€Å"Australia: Towns get by without their banks†, The Australian. pp. 3. Phillips, N. and Malhotra, N. (2008). ‘Taking social construction seriously: extending the discursiveapproach in institutional theory’. In Greenwood, R., Oliver, C., Sahlin, K. and Suddaby, R. (Eds),Handbook of Organizational Institutionalism. London: Sage, 602–720. How can responsible international mining and oil companies use their social investment funds? Nikolai, Bazley, and Jefferson Jones. Intermediate Accounting. South-Western College Pub, 209 Massoud, M. and C. Raiborn(2003), â€Å"Accounting for Goodwill: Are We Better Off?,† Review of Business, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 26-32. Ball and Brown (1968): The seed that made a difference, Ball, R., and Brown, P. (1968), â€Å"An empirical evaluation of accounting income numbers†, Journal of Accounting Research 6 (2), pp.159-178 Watts and Zimmerman (1979), â€Å"The Demand for and Supply of Accounting Theories: The Market for Excuses†, The Accounting Review, Vol. 54, No. 2, American Accounting Association. ———————–

Ho Ching Leadership Essay

Mr. GPower, in the reading, described as the capacity to cause change and influence. Ho Ching’s has been recognized and ranked at 18 in Asia’s most powerful people. According to the reading and further research, Ching is an influential leader because she brought a company from failing. In this basis, the company is successful not only with the CEO but the workers he or she employ. In receiving awards, she must have influenced someone to receive recognition. When Temasek Holdings was losing revenue Ching step up to the challenge to bring the company back on their feet. She did not focus on the company but also expanding the company’s potential. She has the power to influence because she started from the bottom and rose to become the CEO. In her influential speech, she has disclosed the company’s annual report proving the employees and to the public that the company’s performance is changing for the better and the results from the worker’s achi evements. According to a previous class in Phoenix, Accounting, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) provides company annual reports to the public, but in some part of Asia these information are not public. Ching’s bold decision to make this public gave her employee a reason to trust her decision even more. When Ching took in the position as CEO she wants to make the company more diversified, with third invested in Singapore, third in Asia and some of the developed eastern countries. According to Thomas White International, when Ching was reconfiguring the company, majority of the staff comprised of Singaporeans. In 2007, staff diversify from people in 22 different countries and 40% of the senior management are not home grown (2010). The referred power Ho Ching uses are referent power and legitimate power. According to Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, referent power has strong interpersonal ties with subordinates. Ching strengthens the relationship with senior management to the workers (2009). Her legitimate power come from experience from rising up the ranks. Her decision to make changes and vision for the future of the company gives her followers to become motivated to work for the better of the company’s success.

Empire of the Sun Essay

Empire of the Sun In this essay will be talking about how Ballard shows Jim changing over the course of the book The Empire of the Sun. I am splitting the essay into 5 paragraphs: What Jim is like at the start of the novel, Jim’s first upheaval, the prison camps, the way Dr Ransong and Bassie treat Jim and the contrast, finally what Jim is like at the end of the novel. At the start of this book, Ballard shows us a typical English schoolboy living in Shanghai. This boy Jim and his family are very wealthy, so you can imagine what sort of lifestyle Jim was living in: Big house, servants that he can call on 24/7, a bike, many toys including aeroplanes. Then there are his clothes: A school blazer and cap. He is also is taught Latin. This shows us that he is very much surrounded by money and anything he could ever wish for. This creates an impression that he leads a very sheltered life and that he does understand reality. Jim has a very normal life. Everything is working well for him. Until one day before he starts school, the Chinese fleet attack the â€Å"Petrol† (a Japanese gun boat. ) This is the first big upheaval in Jim’s life. This is totally unexpected to Jim. Nothing like this has ever happened before in Jim’s life, so it comes as a surprise to him. Ballard gives us the sense that Jim is a very ignorant boy because he thought that he started the war when he was flash his light at the opposite Chinese gun boat, and after the bombs had gone he still thought that he would go to school. This shows a lack of maturity and common sense. This gives us a very bad picture of what Jim is like as a person. He thinks that he will still be able to go to school even though there is a war going on. Most people would think that he would be mad to think that. Ballard makes us see Jim as a very naive person. During the book, Jim spends a lot of the time in a prison camp. When he gets to the first camp, he befriends an American called Bassie. He persuades Bassie to help him find his parents in return for a reward. This gives Bassie an opportunity to use Jim for any errands that he has for Jim, and for this Jim gets a little something in return. This is a complete change of lifestyle for Jim. He normally gets people to do his work for him, but now Bassie is making him do work for him. During his stay at the detention centre, Jim experiences hunger, disease and hallucinations. This again is another new experience for Jim. If he had the slightest illness when he was with his parents, he would get the best treatment for the illness, but now he has lost his parents, he has to fend for himself. I think he copes with it very well. He manages to survives and moves on with his life When Jim and Bassie to another camp called Lunghua, Dr Ransong starts teaching him Latin. I think the reason he does is to try and keep Jim as a child. This is because he is losing his childhood because of the war. It is just trying to keep Jim safe until he matures fully. The way Dr Ransong and Bassie treat Jim are very different. Dr Ransong tries to keep Jim as a child to try and protect him from any dangers that occur. Bassie on the other hand, he treats Jim as a young adult. This is because Bassie want Jim’s trust so that he can do more for him. Bassie tries to keep Jim alive by telling him the way to survive is to steal the metal food bowls in the detention centre from the dead people. So Jim is split two ways, Dr Ransong is trying to maintain Jim’s ignorance of the world by keeping his childhood to keep him safe, and Bassie is trying to make Jim look at the world very broadly so that Jim can survive and so Jim can keep doing jobs for Bassie. At the end of the novel, Jim is a transformed child. He has gone from being a nai ve 10 year old, to being a mentally scarred 14 year old with a certain understanding of war and life in general. He has lost his childhood completely because of the death and war that he has experienced.