Issues in Human Resource Strategies That Improve Organizational Performance Essay

A rapidly changing economic environment, characterized by such phenomena as the globalization, and deregulation of markets, changing customer and investor demands, and ever increasing product market competition, has become the norm for most organization. To compete, they must continually improve their performance by reducing costs; innovating products and processes; improving quality, productivity, and speed to market; and more importantly by improving their individual performance within the organization. In order to do this, a set of distinctive human resource strategies, defined as internally consistent bundles of human resource practices (Dyer & Reeves, 1995), is clearly essential. Sparrow and Marchington (1998) suggested that HR practices are the most advanced, the most sophisticated, and the most efficient basis for organizing and for obtaining high performance from employees since it seeks to strategically integrate the interests of an organization and its employees. In addition, a number of studies have also indicated that there is a positive relationship between effective HR strategies and organizational performance. Specifically, it is suggested that HR practices can improve organizational and operational performance when matched with quality manufacturing strategies (Stone, 2002). Nevertheless, despite the positive relationship found between HR practices and firm performance, there are a number of issues and questions surrounding them. One problem in relating HRM and performance is the lack of theoretical background; resulting in both terms remain ambiguous concepts. Other questions arise in relation with the link between HR strategies and performance are the inconsistent findings in regards to what constitutes a high performance HR strategy (Becker & Gerhart, 1996; Cooke, 2001) and the problems with HRM and performance measurements (Guest et al. , 2003). The aim of this essay is to outline and explain the issues in developing human resource strategies that improve organizational performance. Specifically, the essay shall begin with presenting the issue of theoretical background of the concept of HRM and organizational performance. Subsequently, it shall discuss the issue about diversified strategies used to improve performance, and the problems in measuring HRM and performance. ?HRM and Organizational Performance: The Lack of Theoretical Background Guest (1997) pointed out that to improve our understanding of the impact of HRM on performance; we need a theory about HRM, a theory about performance, and a theory about how they are linked. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of debates amongst leading researchers and practitioners about the concept and contributions of HRM practice in managing employees in overall organizational objectives (Loosemore, Dainty & Lingard, 2003; Analoui, 1998; Sparrow & Marchington, 1998). McCarthy and Stone (1986) argued that the concept of HRM is ambiguous and that its contribution to organizational performance remains unclear and is not well understood. In addition, Sparrow and Marchington (1998) pointed out that rather than adding value to the business through its strategic integration with managerial objectives, HRM can remain a disappointingly mechanistic function. Similarly, there is no universal theory about performance (Guest, 1997). It was proposed that the meaning of performance involves two dimensions; the types of criteria and the weight of each. Organizations have different interpretations of performance according to the sector of their industries. Service providers, for example, might consider customer satisfaction as their top performance indicator, while manufacturers might view inventory level as an important criterion to measure their performance level. In addition, some organizations put financial results on top of their performance indicator list and employee’s job satisfaction at the bottom, but others may view this in the opposite position. As a result, it is hard, if not impossible, to define the concept of performance that applicable for all organizations. The impact of HR practices on firm performance is without a doubt an important topic in the fields of human resource management, industrial relations, and industrial and organizational psychology (Huselid, 1995; Jones & Wright, 1992). This literature, although largely conceptual, concludes that HR practices can help to create a source of sustained competitive advantage, especially when they are aligned with a firm’s competitive strategy (Jackson & Schuler, 1995; Wright & McMahan, 1992, both as cited in Huselid, 1995). Specifically, a large majority of published studies found an association between HR practices and firm performance, regardless of whether they are cross-sectional or longitudinal, whether conducted at establishment or company level, whether based on strong performance data or subjective estimates, whatever sector they are based on, whatever operational definition of HRM is used, and wherever they are conducted (Guest et al. , 2003). Nevertheless, despite the positive thrust of most empirical findings, Wood and de Menezes (1998, as cited in Guest et al. 2003) failed to find consistent associations between HRM and performance. Furthermore, Wood (1999) has also argued that the relationship between HRM and performance is relatively weak. One possible explanation lies in the various contingency factors, other than HR activities, that might contribute to organizational performance such as organizational culture (Kotter & Heskett, 1992; Van der Post et al. , 1998), business strategy (Richard & Brown Johnson, 1999), and political considerations (Ferris et al. 1998). ?Improvement Strategies: Is There One Best Way? Much of the research on the link between HRM and firm performance has looked at single HR practice such as compensation or selection, while others attempted to look on the impact of combining different HR practices to improve firm performance (Becker & Gerhart, 1996). Pfeffer (1998, as cited in Tyson, 1997), for instance, put forward a seven-principle best practice which he believed is universally applicable. The seven best practice HRM elements include; employment security, selective hiring, self managed teams, high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduction of status difference, and information sharing. Theoretically, bundling several HR practices should produce greater performance effects than any of the individual human practices (Dyer & Reeves, 1995). However, in reality, there is no single standardized bundle of HR strategies that is universally applicable for all organizations. Each firm might require different bundles of HR strategies to improve its organizational performance.

Spirit Bound Chapter Twenty-Seven

WALKING INTO THE COURTROOM was one of the most surreal experiences of my life–and not just because I was the one being accused here. It just kept reminding me of Victor's trial, and the idea that I was now in his place was almost too weird to comprehend. Entering a room with a troop of guardians makes people stare–and believe me, there were a lot of people packed in there–so naturally, I didn't skulk or look ashamed. I walked with confidence, my head held high. Again, I had that eerie flashback to Victor. He too had walked in defiantly, and I'd been appalled that someone who had committed his crimes could behave that way. Were these people thinking the same thing about me? On the dais at the front of the room sat a woman I didn't recognize. Among the Moroi, a judge was usually a lawyer who had been appointed to the position for the purposes of the hearing or whatever. The trial itself–at least a big one like Victor's–had been presided over by the queen. She had been the one to ultimately decide the final verdict. Here, the Council members would be the ones to decide if I even reached that stage. The trial makes it official. That's where they pass the verdict and dole out the punishment. My escort took me to the front seating of the room, past the bar that separated the key players from the audience, and motioned me toward a spot next to a middle-aged Moroi in a very formal and very designer black suit. The suit screamed, I'm sorry the queen is dead, and I'm going to look fashionable while showing my grief. His hair was a pale blond, lightly laced with the first signs of silver. Somehow, he made it look good. I presumed this was Damon Tarus, my lawyer, but he didn't say a word to me. Mikhail sat beside me as well, and I was glad they'd chosen him to be the one who literally didn't leave my side. Glancing back, I saw Daniella and Nathan Ivashkov sitting with other high-ranking royals and their families. Adrian had chosen not to join them. He sat farther back, with Lissa, Christian, and Eddie. All of their faces were filled with worry. The judge–an elderly, gray-haired Moroi who looked like she could still kick ass–called the room to attention, and I twisted around to face forward again. The Council was entering, and she announced them one by one. Two sets of benches had been arranged for them, two rows of six with a thirteenth in back raised. Of course, only eleven of the spots were filled, and I tried not to scowl. Lissa should have been sitting there. When the Council was settled, the judge turned to face the rest of us and spoke in a voice that rang through the room. â€Å"This hearing is now in order, in which we will determine whether there is enough evidence to–â€Å" A commotion at the door cut her off, and the audience craned their necks to see what was going on. â€Å"What's this disturbance about?† the judge demanded. One of the guardians had the door partially open and was leaning out, apparently speaking to whoever was in the hall. He ducked back into the room. â€Å"The accused's lawyer is here, Your Honor.† The judge glanced at Damon and me and then delivered a frown to the guardian. â€Å"She already has a lawyer.† The guardian shrugged and appeared comically helpless. If there had been a Strigoi out there, he would have known what to do. This bizarre interruption of protocol was beyond his skill set. The judge sighed. â€Å"Fine. Send whoever it is up here and let's get this settled.† Abe walked in. â€Å"Oh dear lord,† I said out loud. I didn't have to scold myself for speaking out of turn because a hum of conversation immediately filled the room. My guess was that half were in awe because they knew Abe and his reputation. The other half were probably just stunned by his appearance. He wore a gray cashmere suit, considerably lighter than Damon's grim black. Underneath it was a dress shirt that was so bright a white, it seemed to glow–particularly next to the brilliant crimson silk tie he wore. Other spots of red were scattered about his outfit–a handkerchief in the pocket, ruby cuff links. Naturally, it was all as perfectly tailored and expensive as Damon's outfit. But Abe didn't look like he was in mourning. He didn't even look like he was coming to a trial. It was more like he'd been interrupted on his way to a party. And of course, he sported his usual gold hoop earrings and trimmed black beard. The judge silenced the room with a hand motion as he strutted up to her. â€Å"Ibrahim Mazur,† she said, with a shake of her head. There were equal parts amazement and disapproval in her voice. â€Å"This is†¦ unexpected.† Abe swept her a gallant bow. â€Å"It's lovely to see you again, Paula. You haven't aged a day.† â€Å"We aren't at a country club, Mr. Mazur,† she informed him. â€Å"And while here, you will address me by my proper title.† â€Å"Ah. Right.† He winked. â€Å"My apologies, Your Honor.† Turning, he glanced around until his eyes rested on me. â€Å"There she is. Sorry to have delayed this. Let's get started.† Damon stood up. â€Å"What is this? Who are you? I'm her lawyer.† Abe shook his head. â€Å"There must have been some mistake. It took me a while to get a flight here, so I can see why you would have appointed a community lawyer to fill in.† â€Å"Community lawyer!† Damon's face grew red with indignation. â€Å"I'm one of the most renowned lawyers among American Moroi.† â€Å"Renowned, community.† Abe shrugged and leaned back on his heals. â€Å"I don't judge. No pun intended.† â€Å"Mr. Mazur,† interrupted the judge, â€Å"are you a lawyer?† â€Å"I'm a lot of things, Paula–Your Honor. Besides, does it matter? She only needs someone to speak for her.† â€Å"And she has someone,† exclaimed Damon. â€Å"Me.† â€Å"Not anymore,† said Abe, his demeanor still very pleasant. He had never stopped smiling, but I thought I saw that dangerous glint in his eyes that frightened so many of his enemies. He was the picture of calm, while Damon looked like he was ready to have a seizure. â€Å"Your Honor–â€Å" â€Å"Enough!† she said in that resounding voice of hers. â€Å"Let the girl choose.† She fixed her brown eyes on me. â€Å"Who do you want to speak for you?† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My mouth dropped open at how abruptly the attention shifted to me. I'd been watching the drama between the two men like a tennis match, and now the ball had hit me in the head. â€Å"Rose.† Startled, I turned slightly. Daniella Ivashkov had crept over in the row behind me. â€Å"Rose,† she whispered again, â€Å"you have no idea who that Mazur man is.† Oh, didn't I? â€Å"You want nothing to do with him. Damon's the best. He's not easy to get.† She moved back to her seat, and I looked between my two potential lawyers' faces. I understood Daniella's meaning. Adrian had talked her into getting Damon for me, and then she had talked Damon into actually doing it. Rejecting him would be an insult to her, and considering she was one of the few royal Moroi who'd been nice to me about Adrian, I certainly didn't want to earn her dislike. Besides, if this was some setup by royals, having one of them on my side was probably my best chance at getting off. And yet†¦ there was Abe, looking at me with that clever smile of his. He was certainly very good at getting his way, but a lot of that was by force of his presence and reputation. If there really was some absurd evidence against me, Abe's attitude wouldn't be enough to make it go away. Of course, he was sly, too. The serpent. He could make the impossible happen; he'd certainly pulled a lot of strings for me. That did not, however, change the fact that he wasn't a lawyer. On the other hand, he was my father. He was my father, and although we still barely knew each other, he'd gone to great lengths to get here and saunter in with his gray suit to defend me. Was it fatherly love gone bad? Was he really all that good a lawyer? And at the end of the day, was it true that blood ran thicker than water? I didn't know. I actually didn't like that saying. Maybe it worked for humans, but it made no sense with vampires. Anyway, Abe was staring at me intently with dark brown eyes nearly identical to mine. Trust me, he seemed to say. But could I? Could I trust my family? I would have trusted my mother if she were here–and I knew she trusted Abe. I sighed and gestured toward him. â€Å"I'll take him.† In an undertone, I added, â€Å"Don't let me down, Zmey.† Abe's smile grew broader as shocked exclamations filled the audience, and Damon protested in outrage. Daniella might have had to persuade him to take me on in the beginning, but now this case had become a matter of pride for him. His reputation had just been sullied by me passing him up. But I'd made my choice, and the exasperated judge would hear no more arguments about it. She shooed Damon away, and Abe slid into his seat. The judge began with the standard opening speech, explaining why we were here, etc., etc. As she spoke, I leaned toward Abe. â€Å"What have you gotten me into?† I hissed to him. â€Å"Me? What have you gotten yourself into? Couldn't I have just picked you up at the police station for underage drinking, like most fathers?† I was beginning to understand why people got irritated when I made jokes in dangerous situations. â€Å"My fucking future's on the line! They're going to send me to trial and convict me!† Every trace of humor or cheer vanished from his face. His expression grew hard, deadly serious. A chill ran down my spine. â€Å"That,† he said in a low, flat voice, â€Å"is something I swear to you is never, ever going to happen.† The judge turned her attention back to us and the prosecuting lawyer, a woman called Iris Kane. Not a royal name, but she still looked pretty hard-core. Maybe that was just a lawyer thing. Before the evidence against me was laid out, the queen's murder was also described in all its grisly detail. How'd she'd been found this morning in bed, a silver stake through her heart and a profound look of horror and shock on her face. Blood had been everywhere: on her nightgown, the sheets, her skin†¦ The pictures were shown to everyone in the room, triggering a variety of reactions. Gasps of surprise. More fear and panic. And some†¦ some people wept. Some of those tears were undoubtedly because of the whole terrible situation, but I think many cried because they'd loved or liked Tatiana. She'd been cold and stiff at times, but for the most part, her reign had been a peaceful and just one. After the pictures, they called me up. The hearing didn't run the way a normal trial did. There was no formal switching back of lawyers as they questioned witnesses. They each just sort of stood there and took turns asking questions while the judge kept order. â€Å"Miss Hathaway,† began Iris, dropping my title. â€Å"What time did you return to your room last night?† â€Å"I don't know the exact time†¦.† I focused on her and Abe, not the sea of faces out there. â€Å"Somewhere around 5 a.m., I think. Maybe 6.† â€Å"Was anyone with you?† â€Å"No, well–yes. Later.† Oh, God. Here it comes. â€Å"Um, Adrian Ivashkov visited me.† â€Å"What time did he arrive?† asked Abe. â€Å"I'm not sure of that either. A few hours after I got back, I guess.† Abe turned his charming smile on Iris, who was rustling through some papers. â€Å"The queen's murder has been pretty accurately narrowed down to between seven and eight. Rose wasn't alone–of course, we would need Mr. Ivashkov to testify to that effect.† My eyes flicked briefly to the audience. Daniella looked pale. This was her nightmare: Adrian getting involved. Glancing farther over, I saw that Adrian himself seemed eerily calm. I really hoped he wasn't drunk. Iris held up a sheet of paper triumphantly. â€Å"We have a signed statement from a janitor who says Mr. Ivashkov arrived at the defendant's building at approximately nine twenty.† â€Å"That's pretty specific,† said Abe. He sounded amused, like she'd said something cute. â€Å"Do you have any desk staff to confirm that?† â€Å"No,† Iris said icily. â€Å"But this is enough. The janitor remembers because he was about to take his break. Miss Hathaway was alone when the murder took place. She has no alibi.† â€Å"Well,† said Abe, â€Å"at least according to some questionable ‘facts.'† But no more was said about the time. The evidence was admitted into the official records, and I took a deep breath. I hadn't liked that line of questioning, but it had been expected, based on the earlier conversations I'd heard via Lissa. The no-alibi thing wasn't good, but I kind of shared Abe's vibe. What they had so far still didn't seem strong enough to send me to trial. Plus, they hadn't asked anything else about Adrian, which left him out of this. â€Å"Next exhibit,† said Iris. There was smug triumph all over her face. She knew the time thing was sketchy, but whatever was coming up, she thought it was gold. But actually, it was silver. A silver stake. So help me, she had a silver stake in a clear plastic container. It gleamed in the incandescent lighting–except for its tip. That was dark. With blood. â€Å"This is the stake used to kill the queen,† declared Iris. â€Å"Miss Hathaway's stake.† Abe actually laughed. â€Å"Oh, come on. Guardians are issued stakes all the time. They have an enormous, identical supply.† Iris ignored him and looked at me. â€Å"Where is your stake right now?† I frowned. â€Å"In my room.† She turned and glanced out over the crowd. â€Å"Guardian Stone?† A tall dhampir with a bushy black mustache rose from the crowd. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"You conducted the search of Miss Hathaway's room and belongings, correct?† I gaped in outrage. â€Å"You searched my–â€Å" A sharp look from Abe silenced me. â€Å"Correct,† said the guardian. â€Å"And did you find any silver stakes?† asked Iris. â€Å"No.† She turned back to us, still smug, but Abe seemed to find this new information even more ridiculous than the last batch. â€Å"That proves nothing. She could have lost the stake without realizing it.† â€Å"Lost it in the queen's heart?† â€Å"Miss Kane,† warned the judge. â€Å"My apologies, Your Honor,† said Iris smoothly. She turned to me. â€Å"Miss Hathaway, is there anything special about your stake? Anything that would distinguish it from others?† â€Å"Y-yes.† â€Å"Can you describe that?† I swallowed. I had a bad feeling about this. â€Å"It has a pattern etched near the top. A kind of geometric design.† Guardians had engraving done sometimes. I'd found this stake in Siberia and kept it. Well, actually, Dimitri had sent it to me after it had come loose from his chest. Iris walked over to the Council and held out the container so that each of them could examine it. Returning to me, she gave me my turn. â€Å"Is this your pattern? Your stake?† I stared. It was indeed. My mouth opened, ready to say yes, but then I caught Abe's eye. Clearly, he couldn't talk directly to me, but he sent a lot of messages in that gaze. The biggest one was to be careful, be sly. What would a slippery person like Abe do? â€Å"It†¦ it looks similar to the design on mine,† I said at last. â€Å"But I can't say for sure if it's the exact same one.† Abe's smile told me I'd answered correctly. â€Å"Of course you can't,† Iris said, as though she'd expected no better. She handed off the container to one of the court clerks. â€Å"But now that the Council has seen that the design matches her description and is almost like her stake, I would like to point out that testing has revealed†Ã¢â‚¬â€œshe held up more papers, victory all over her face–â€Å"that her fingerprints are on it.† There, it was. The big score. The â€Å"hard evidence.† â€Å"Any other fingerprints?† asked the judge. â€Å"No, Your Honor. Just hers.† â€Å"That means nothing,† said Abe with a shrug. I had a feeling that if I stood and suddenly confessed to the murder, he would still claim it was dubious evidence. â€Å"Someone steals her stake and wears gloves. Her fingerprints would be on it because it's hers.† â€Å"That's getting kind of convoluted, don't you think?† asked Iris. â€Å"The evidence is still full of holes,† he protested. â€Å"That's what's convoluted. How could she have gotten into the queen's bedroom? How could she have gotten through the guards?† â€Å"Well,† mused Iris, â€Å"those would be questions best explored in trial, but considering Miss Hathaway's extensive record of breaking into and out of places, as well as the countless other disciplinary marks she has, I don't doubt she could have found any number of ways to get inside.† â€Å"You have no proof,† said Abe. â€Å"No theory.† â€Å"We don't need it,† said Iris. â€Å"Not at this point. We have more than enough to go to trial, don't we? I mean, we haven't even gotten to the part where countless witnesses heard Miss Hathaway tell the queen she'd regret establishing the recent guardian law. I can find the transcript if you like–not to mention reports of other ‘expressive' commentary Miss Hathaway made in public.† A memory came back to me, of standing outside with Daniella while I ranted–with others watching–about how the queen couldn't buy me off with an assignment. Not a good decision on my part. Neither was busting in on the Death Watch or complaining about the queen being worth protecting when Lissa had been captured. I'd given Iris a lot of material. â€Å"Oh yes,† Iris continued. â€Å"We also have accounts of the queen declaring her extreme disapproval of Miss Hathaway's involvement with Adrian Ivashkov, particularly when the two ran off to elope.† I opened my mouth at that, but Abe silenced me. â€Å"There are countless other records of Her Majesty and Miss Hathaway sparring in public. Would you like me to find those papers too, or are we able to vote on a trial now?† This was directed at the judge. I had no legal background, but the evidence was pretty damning. I would have said that there was definitely reason to consider me a murder suspect, except†¦ â€Å"Your Honor?† I asked. I think she'd been about to give her declaration. â€Å"Can I say something?† The judge thought about it, then shrugged. â€Å"I see no reason not to. We're collecting all the evidence there is.† Oh, me freelancing was not in Abe's plan at all. He strode to the stand, hoping to stop me with his wise counsel, but he wasn't fast enough. â€Å"Okay,† I said, hoping I sounded reasonable and wasn't going to lose my temper. â€Å"You've put up a lot of suspicious stuff here. I can see that.† Abe looked pained. It was not an expression I'd seen on him before. He didn't lose control of situations very often. â€Å"But that's the thing. It's too suspicious. If I were going to murder someone, I wouldn't be that stupid. Do you think I'd leave my stake stuck in her chest? Do you think I wouldn't wear gloves? Come on. That's insulting. If I'm as crafty as you claim my record says I am, then why would I do it this way? I mean, seriously? If I did it, it'd be a lot better. You'd never even peg me as a suspect. This is all really kind of an insult to my intelligence.† â€Å"Rose–† began Abe, a dangerous note in his tone. I kept going. â€Å"All this evidence you've got is so painfully obvious. Hell, whoever set this up might as well have painted an arrow straight to me–and someone did set me up, but you guys are too stupid to even consider that.† The volume of my voice was rising, and I consciously brought it back to normal levels. â€Å"You want an easy answer. A quick answer. And you especially want someone with no connections, no powerful family to protect them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated there, unsure how to classify Abe. â€Å"Because that's how it always is. That's how it was with that age law. No one was able to stand up for the dhampirs either because this goddamned system won't allow it.† It occurred to me then that I had strayed pretty far off the subject–and was making myself look more guilty by slamming the age law. I reined myself back in. â€Å"Um, anyway, Your Honor†¦ what I'm trying to say is that this evidence shouldn't be enough to accuse me or send me to trial. I wouldn't plan a murder this badly.† â€Å"Thank you, Miss Hathaway,† said the judge. â€Å"That was very†¦ informative. You may take your seat now while the Council votes.† Abe and I returned to our bench. â€Å"What in the world were you thinking?† he whispered. â€Å"I was telling it like it is. I was defending myself.† â€Å"I wouldn't go that far. You're no lawyer.† I gave him a sidelong look. â€Å"Neither are you, old man.† The judge asked the Council to vote on whether they believed there was enough evidence to make me a viable suspect and send me to trial. They did. Eleven hands went up. Just like that, it was over. Through the bond, I felt Lissa's alarm. As Abe and I rose to leave, I looked out in the audience, which was starting to disband and buzzing with talk over what would happen now. Her light green eyes were wide, her face unusually pale. Beside her, Adrian too looked distressed, but as he stared at me, I could see love and determination radiating. And in the back, behind both of them†¦ Dimitri. I hadn't even known he was here. His eyes were on me too, dark and endless. Only I couldn't read what he was feeling. His face betrayed nothing, but there was something in his eyes†¦ something intense and intimidating. The image of him ready to take down that group of guardians flashed through my mind, and something told me that if I asked, he would do it again. He would fight his way to me through this courtroom and do everything in his power to rescue me from it. A brushing of my hand distracted me from him. Abe and I had started to exit, but the aisle ahead of us was packed with people, bringing us to a halt. The touch against my hand was a small piece of paper shoved between my fingers. Glancing over, I saw Ambrose was sitting near the aisle, staring straight ahead. I wanted to ask what was going on, but some instinct kept me silent. Seeing as the line still wasn't moving, I hastily opened the paper, keeping it out of Abe's sight. The paper was tiny, its elegant cursive almost impossible to read. Rose, If you're reading this, then something terrible has happened. You probably hate me, and I don't blame you. I can only ask that you trust that what I did with the age decree was better for your people than what others had planned. There are some Moroi who want to force all dhampirs into service, whether they want it or not, by using compulsion. The age decree has slowed that faction down. However, I write to you with a secret you must put right, and it is a secret you must share with as few as possible. Vasilisa needs her spot on the Council, and it can be done. She is not the last Dragomir. Another lives, the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. I know nothing else, but if you can find this son or daughter, you will give Vasilisa the power she deserves. No matter your faults and dangerous temperament, you are the only one I feel can take on this task. Waste no time in fulfilling it. –Tatiana Ivashkov I stared at the piece of paper, its writing swirling before me, but its message burning into my mind. She is not the last Dragomir. Another lives. If that was true, if Lissa had a half-brother or half-sister†¦ it would change everything. She would get a vote on the Council. She would no longer be alone. If it was true. If this was from Tatiana. Anyone could sign her name to a piece of paper. It didn't make it real. Still, I shivered, troubled at the thought of getting a letter from a dead woman. If I allowed myself to see the ghosts around us, would Tatiana be there, restless and vengeful? I couldn't bring myself to let down my walls and look. Not yet. There had to be other answers. Ambrose had given me the note. I needed to ask him†¦ except we were moving down the aisle again. A guardian nudged me along. â€Å"What's that?† asked Abe, always alert and suspicious. I hastily folded the note back up. â€Å"Nothing.† The look he gave me told me he didn't believe that at all. I wondered if I should tell him. It is a secret you must share with as few as possible. If he was one of the few, this wasn't the place. I tried to distract him from it and shake the dumbstruck look that must have been on my face. This note was a big problem–but not quite as big as the one immediately facing me. â€Å"You told me I wouldn't go to trial,† I said to Abe. My earlier annoyance returned. â€Å"I took a big chance with you!† â€Å"It wasn't a big chance. Tarus couldn't have got you out of this either.† Abe's easy attitude about all this infuriated me further. â€Å"Are you saying you knew this hearing was a lost cause from the beginning?† It was what Mikhail had said too. How nice to have such faith from everyone. â€Å"This hearing wasn't important,† Abe said evasively. â€Å"What happens next is.† â€Å"And what is that exactly?† He gave me that dark, sly gaze again. â€Å"Nothing you need to worry about yet.† One of the guardians put his hand on my arm, telling me I needed to move. I resisted his pull and leaned toward Abe. â€Å"The hell I don't! This is my life we're talking about,† I exclaimed. I knew what would come next. Imprisonment until the trial. And then more imprisonment if I was convicted. â€Å"This is serious! I don't want to go to trial! I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a place like Tarasov.† The guard tugged harder, pushing us forward, and Abe fixed me with a piercing gaze that made my blood run cold. â€Å"You will not go to trial. You will not go to prison,† he hissed, out of the guards' hearing. â€Å"I won't allow it. Do you understand?† I shook my head, confused over so much and not knowing what to do about any of it. â€Å"Even you have your limits, old man.† His smile returned. â€Å"You'd be surprised. Besides, they don't even send royal traitors to prison, Rose. Everyone knows that.† I scoffed. â€Å"Are you insane? Of course they do. What else do you think they do with traitors? Set them free and tell them not to do it again?† â€Å"No,† said Abe, just before he turned away. â€Å"They execute traitors.† Many thanks to all the friends and family who have lent their considerable support to me as I worked on this, especially my amazing and patient husband. I know I couldn't get through this without you! Special thanks also to my pal Jen Ligot and her eagle eyes. On the publishing side, I'm always grateful for the hard work of my agent Jim McCarthy, as well as everyone else at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management–including Lauren Abramo, who helps spread Vampire Academy around the world. Thank you also to the gang at Penguin Books–Jessica Rothenberg, Ben Schrank, Casey McIntyre, and so many others–who work a lot of magic for this series. My publishers outside the U.S. are also doing wonderful things for getting the word out about Rose, and I'm constantly amazed to see the growing international response. Thank you so much for all you do. A last shout-out to my readers, whose continued enthusiasm still overwhelms me. Thank you for reading and loving these characters as much as I do.

You gotta Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

You gotta Problem - Essay Example States with two third of the population of United States suffering either from obesity or increased weight and approximately one third of the population being obese according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Weight Control and Information Network 2010). In UK, the Health Survey for England in the year 2008 presented that 24.5% people above the age of 15 were suffering from obesity. The same survey showed that the rate of obesity between the ages of 2 and 10 years was 13.9% (Department of Health 2009). Obesity is a disease state which was initially considered to have no genetic role in its causation. But recent research has put forward the fact that obesity is a disease state which has both genetic component and environmental factors involved in causing it. It is caused by the deletion or damage in a gene known as Ob gene putting the subjects with these deletions at high risks of developing obesity. A diet rich in fat can also lead to obesity because a high fat diet stimulates a person to eat more. Another important reason for obesity is psychological disorders which include depression, eating disorders like binge eating and increased diet in times of stress. Obesity itself can also serve as a reason because it might lead for a person to lose his self confidence and hence the person loses the will to exercise and adopt weight loss plans (Biddle et al 2009). The prevention and treatment of obesity needs to cater the requirements of all age groups. For proper results it is essential that all the causative factors of obesity should be understood. This is because only focusing on physical, nutritional and pharmacological treatment cannot decrease the prevalence of the disease. This is because psychology also plays its role in the development and progress of this condition. For preventing the condition physical activity should be encouraged among children so that the habit develops in them. A proper balanced diet should also be recommended for

Dose Trade with Low-Wage Countries Cause a trade Deficit in the Assignment

Dose Trade with Low-Wage Countries Cause a trade Deficit in the High-Wage Country - Assignment Example This is because; absorption of U.S domestic demand for goods by exporters in china and oil exporting countries has widely suppressed domestic job creation in the U.S. In 2011 and 2010, the increasing U.S trade deficit with China led to 2.8 million jobs displacement in U.S (Bordon, 2011). Other factors that have led to the shrinking of the manufacturing sector include rising technological changes which have increased labor productivity, forcing firms to hire few workers. It is incorrect for the Business and Industry Council to blame imports alone for the international imbalance that have led to manufacturing crisis. Manufacturing crisis refers to the long-run trend of falling employment in the manufacturing sector in the United States. The macroeconomic policies that China has adopted of currency devaluation, increasing U.S dollar holding and, subsidies advancement to a range of industries are the major cause of the high trade deficit. By 2011, China had accumulated $3.26 trillion in foreign reserves in U.S treasuries. In Chinese auto-parts industry, both domestic and foreign owned plants have received $27.5 billion in government subsidies. In 2006, 58.2 per cent of China’s exports were from the foreign firms operating in China. These firms are taking advantages of the subsidy policy and availability of cheap labor in China. China and other low wage rate countries enjoy availability of cheap labor, relative to their counterparts in the US and other developed countries. This is the area where they have a comparative advantage in manufacturing. Undervaluing the Chinese currency, yuan, has expanded the U.S trade deficit hurting the U.S manufacturing and depressing the U.S employment. According to the congress research service report (2008), China’s foreign exchange rates reserves increased from $403 billion to $1.5 trillion between 2003 and 2007.in 2010 the reserves were $3.2 trillion. Lutes argue that, lax U.S financial regulations that have fueled over

History of the Japanese in North America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of the Japanese in North America - Essay Example People from Japan began migrating to the U.S. in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Particularly after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese immigrants were sought by industrialists to replace the Chinese immigrants. In 1907, the "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the governments of Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S. The Immigration Act of 1924 banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese. The ban on immigration produced unusually well-defined generational groups within the Japanese American community. Initially, there was an immigrant generation, the Issei, and their U.S.-born children, the Nisei. The Issei were exclusively those who had immigrated before 1924. Because no new immigrants were permitted, all Japanese Americans born after 1924 were--by definition--born in the U.S. This generation, the Nisei, became a distinct cohort from the Issei generation in terms of age, citizenship, and language ability, in addition to the usual generational differences. Institutional and interpersonal racism led many of the Nisei to marry other Nisei, resulting in a third distinct generation of Japanese Americans, the Sansei. Significant Japanese immigration did not occur until the Immigration Act of 1965 ended 40 years of bans against immigration from Japan and other countries. The Naturalization Act of 1790 restricted naturalized U.S. citizenship to "free white persons," which excluded the Issei from citizenship. As a result, the

Co-Integration, Causality and Export-Led Growth in Portugal Article

Co-Integration, Causality and Export-Led Growth in Portugal - Article Example In the current study firstly, the Augmented Dicky Fuller (ADF) test is used for finding the order of integration between the two data series. Secondly, the Johansen maximum likelihood estimates are used for testing co-integration. Thirdly, the standard Granger-type test is adapted by using lag residual of the co-integrating regression model. Lag length for Granger causality test is determined by minimizing the Akaike’s Final Prediction Error (FPE). The data used in this study comprise annual secondary data of GDP and Exports values in Portugal between 1835 to1985 time period. The base year has been selected since 1914 for calculating the real prices. Statistical estimates of ADF test showed that log GDP and log Exports are 1(1) while the first difference of the level variables is 1(0). The trace statistics of the Johansen maximum likelihood is used to conclude that real GDP and real Exports values of Portugal are co-integrated and causally related. Four lags of the dependent variable are used in this model. Based on FPE criteria Granger causality test structure is determined as m=3, n=2, q=3, and r=4. Accordingly, the Wald test statistics of the Granger causality test rejected the null hypothesis in favor of reverse causality. Thus economic growth has caused export growth in Portugal during 1835 to1985 time period. The first section of the paper describes the concept of autocorrelation in relation to conventional research studies of applied economics. Autocorrelation or serial correlation is a common condition found in time series data. In OLS estimation residual is assumed to be independently distributed and does not contain any long run correlations. Thus in the presence of autocorrelation OLS estimates are not associated with minimum variance. Nevertheless, autocorrelation is not considered as a fatal statistical issue in econometrics analyses.  

Rage Against the Machine Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rage Against the Machine - Assignment Example II. Bullet in the Head The following is the opening lyric to the song Bullet in the Head. â€Å"This time the bullet cold rocked ya/A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 2 What Rage is trying to convey with this lyric is that people are needlessly dying, all due to a person who is in power at the top trying to usurp money from the poorer people. If one thinks about it, think about Dick Cheney, who was the Vice President of the U.S. as well as the head of a company called Halliburton, which rebuilt Iraq. Several poor men, desperate for jobs, enlisted into the military because they thought they were fighting for ideals after 9/11. However, this was a scam. It has now been proven that the U.S. was planning to invade Iraq beginning in 2001—two years before the war in Iraq ever began. Halliburton lost millions, possibly billions, of dollars in funds that were never accounted for, in the end. Like Hitler, Cheney ruled over the an entire nation—and conducted the whole Iraq war operation, not to mention profiting quite handsomely from it. Truly, Cheney was a type of dictator—especially because he could not be prosecuted for these crimes after he left office, not to mention the fact that he ordered torture to be used on prisoners of war. That type of behavior goes against the Geneva Convention—but he got away scot-free, all because of his money-hungry power. Dick Cheney is just one example of people who made a lot of young men go to wear, and get proverbial (and sometimes real) ‘bullets’ in their heads in order so that he could become a very rich man, living on a heart pump which helps keep him alive (it’s expensive). III.Year of tha Boomerang Year of tha Boomerang is about World War II history. The lyrics from the song go like this: â€Å"It's dark now in Dachau and I'm screamin' from within/'Cause I'm cell locked in tha doctrines of tha right/Enslaved by dogma, talk about my birthrights†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 3 Worl d War II harkens back to the days when Jews were enslaved in the concentration camps, and the political right’s ideology—which included eugenics—was in control of Germany. Personally, it seems a bit wrong to bring up the Holocaust in the sense that this is definitely not a respectful use of the terminology. The singer is not physically in Dachau, nor is it believed that the singer could ever emotionally experience what was experienced by the concentration camp prisoners—and how they felt. Trying to appropriate that emotion for the sake of the song—even if any of the band members happen to be Jewish—still seems like a grossly inappropriate and wholly misuse of the imagery evoked by bringing up the concentration camp of Dachau. This minimizes the true pain of real Holocaust survivors, especially those at Dachau. How dare this band desecrate a place which is so notoriously sacred, and where real human flesh burned†¦not just being lyrics in a song. Rage Against the Machine may have made its point, but it really struck the wrong chord on this song—not an isolated incident. IV. Bulls on Parade RATM’s next song to be analyzed, the lyrics to Bulls on Parade, reads: â€Å"Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes/Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal/I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library/Line up to tha mind cemetary now†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 4 It’s interesting that the library here is seen as a place called a ‘

Auto Supply Chain in England Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Auto Supply Chain in England - Research Paper Example Proximity to export and import zones reduce logistics costs. It is imperative that automobile companies in England establish centralized locations to help in managing current economic issues. Management of Nissan’s British factory, for instance, has established the manufacturing company in Sunderland to improve transport logistics. William, 2007, reports that success of Nissan Company relied on the company’s choice of location and ease of supply chain. Location of Nissan close to deep-sea port enabled the company to transport its cars to suppliers and customers at a relatively low cost. Improved accessibility to exporting zones greatly helps England automobile industries to mitigate challenges related trucks shortages and inadequate supply of fuel for transport of vehicles. Automobile companies should further adopt a focused lean logistics superhighway to assist in the delivery of manufacturing materials to factories. The efficient outbound logistics would also improve export of manufactured automobiles to international markets. According to the UK automobile Council, 2013, weak domestic supply is a cause of the decline in the growth of automobile industry. The council’s report asserts that the country must have a strong automobile supply chain to improve the automobile industry. According to UK automobile council, companies must establish new supply chains that would help in introducing modern cars as opposed to powered by the traditional diesel engine and petrol.

Hydraulic Machines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Hydraulic Machines - Essay Example The former types of machines are called turbines and the latter, pumps. A combination of both pump and turbine is used in fluid couplings and torque converters for the transmission of power smoothly through a fluid medium. The analysis of impact of fluid jets on vanes is typically involved in the design of an efficient turbo-machine. When a vane moves away from the jet as shown in the below figure, the mass flow arriving at the vane is considerably reduced because some of the mass leaving the nozzle results in a growing column of fluid between the jet and the nozzle. This is what happens in turbines where the vanes are part of a revolving wheel. We need only consider the simplest case of movement in a straight line in the direction of the jet. Assuming the velocity of the jet is v and the velocity of the vane is u as shown above, the velocity of the fluid arriving would be v - u. This is the relative velocity, that is, relative to the plate. The mass flow rate arriving on the plate is then calculated as The true velocity of the fluid leaving the nozzle is v1 and velocity of the vane is u. The fluid arrives on the vane with relative velocity v1-u as before, which is shown in the above figure. This is a relative velocity with respect to someone moving with the vane. In the absence of friction, the velocity of the fluid over the surface of the vane will be v1-u at all points. At the tip where the fluid leaves the vane, it will have two velocities. The fluid will be flowing at v1-u over the vane but also at velocity u in the forward direction. The true velocity v2 at the exit as shown above must be the vector sum of these two. The vector diagram is illustrated below: If only the force acting on the vane in the direction of movement is required, then the horizontal component of v2 must be determined. Because this direction is the direction in which the vane is whirling around the centre of the wheel, it is

Harvard Case Study Analysis Essay Example for Free

Harvard Case Study Analysis Essay What is an ANALYSIS? analysis Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural analy ·ses \- s z\ Etymology: New Latin, from Greek, from analyein to dissolve (from ana- + lyein to loosen, dissolve) + -sis -1 : separation or breaking up of a whole into its fundamental elements or component parts 2 a : a detailed examination of anything complex (as a novel, an organization, a race) made in order to understand its nature or to determine its essential features : a thorough study b : the presentation, usually in writing, of such an analysis Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary Case Studies: How they work YOU ARE THE MANAGER. Read carefully Perform Analysis Come up with recommendations Analysis: Thought Process Questions Break up Details matter! †¢ What problem are we trying to solve? †¢ What are the main problems? †¢ Break up the whole story into parts †¢ Analyze what’s important †¢ Do detailed examination †¢ Determine essential features 4 The Process of Building a Marketing Plan Step 1: Situation Analysis Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: SWOT Analysis Problem Identification Solutions Recommendation/ Evaluation Step 1: Situation Analysis †¢ Evaluation of an organization’s current situation, opportunities, and problems. Ask Yourself: †¢ What is going on? †¢ Who is the company? †¢ What is the company’s background? †¢ What industry are they part of? Step 1: Situation Analysis The Five C’s Customer Needs What needs do we seek to satisfy? Company Skills Competition Collaborators What special competence do we possess to meet those needs? Who competes with us in meeting those needs? Who should we enlist to help us and how do we motivate them? Context What cultural, technological and legal factors limit the possible? Applying the Marketing Mix to a Target Market †¢Is there current price competitive? †¢Are they distributing their product? †¢Any current problems with their product? †¢Are they running promotions to increase sales? †¢Are the promotions hurting sales? 8 Step 2: SWOT Analysis Internal Strengths Things that are good now, maintain them, build on them and use as leverage Weaknesses Things that are bad now, remedy, change or stop them. Opportunities Things that are good for the future, prioritize them, capture them, build on them and optimize Threats Things that are bad for the future, put in plans to manage them or counter them External 9 Step 3: Problem/Decision Statement Identification of the main problem, opportunity Ex: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Does the company have declining sales? Are the promotions hurting sales? Should the company fire employees? Is the company spending too much money on promotions 0r advertising? Step 4: Solutions/Recomendations What are you going to do about the problem? What are the alternative choices into solving the company’s problem? Ex: If the problem is declining sales due to the current economic situation†¦ Run promotions Offer benefit programs Offer rewards for purchase Strategic Market Planning Process Components of Case Analysis †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Background Problem Identification Statement of Objective(s) Situation Analysis Description and Evaluation of Alternatives Conclusions/Recommendations 13 End.

Candide by Voltaire Analysis

Candide by Voltaire Analysis According, to Candide by Voltaire, he describes the transformation of the protagonist Candide, throughout the story. Voltaire utilized satire, characterization, and techniques of exaggeration and contrast to represent Candides point of view in life. Basically the protagonist endures the human suffering to get his final destiny. Moreover Voltaire demonstrates the character development over the course starting with an innocent personality as a child who does not have responsibility to know into a great man. In the text the language shows Candides progress towards maturity. In the beginning of the novel the reader finds compact, colorful and crisp sentences as Candide, the hero rushes through life. Later Voltaire adopts a calm and reflective style analogous to Candides mental development. Also, the author disproves the overly optimistic philosophy that Candide and Pangloss represent. While the experiences of Candide and Pangloss conflict dramatically with this philosophy, both choose to maintain their beliefs in this regard. Candide to get his change goes through many adventures and gradually matures into an experienced and practical man. Some of his adventures were sad and some not. He was expulsed from the palace for his love to Cunegonde, but it help him to faces the cruelty of life with the philosophical view that all things in life are necessary for some greater good. Candide is a simple person who has not had much real life experience. He is banished from his home and unexpectedly introduced to the reality of the outside world. Throughout his travels he develops a new philosophy of life. His eyes open to reality, He sees that everything does not happen for the best as the philosophers and metaphysician Pangloss had told him in the Barons castle. In Europe as well as in America, he encounters misery. He meets a number of people from various walks of life. He comes across many philosophers ranging from extreme optimism of Pangloss to the pessimism of Martin. He experiences the love with Ms Cunegonde but it was not accept for their different social classes. One of some changes of Candide was his philosophy really optimistic mind everything is for the best.It was a phrase of his teacher Pangloss He taught that everything was for the best and Candide, having never heard any other philosophies, agrees blindly. While at sea, Candide sees a man who saved his life by nursing him back to health thrown overboard. Candide is ready to jump into the raging waters after his benefactor, but Pangloss stops him. He demonstrates that the Bay of Lisbon had been made for the Anabaptist to be drowned,(p.386) . This begins to clash with Candides ideologies: if this is the best of all worlds, how was this man who was so kind and generous thrown to his death and Candide not to save him? Candide begins to doubt in this philosophy. Candide eventually learns how to achieve happiness in the face of misadventure. He learns that in order to attain a state of contentment, one must be part of society where there is collective effort and work. Candide spends a great deal of time traveling the world and learning of many different idealogies in metaphysics. Finally, he decides to settle down and live by farming his own garden-this symbolizes his surrender to simple self-preservation. After a long and difficult struggle in which Candide is forced to overcome misfortune to find happiness, he concludes that everything is not as good as it seems the way Dr. Pangloss, his tutor had taught him. During his adventures he realize that things not always happen for the best, he understand that it just happen in his innocent mind. However, Candide always keep in his heart goodness amd love. Also, he knows that at the end, he is going to find the best for his life.We are destined , in the end , for another universe, no doubt that is the one where everything is well.(p.391).Also, Candide begins to experience human suffering in many different ways as love, loneliness and disasters. He understands that no matter who are you, always going to experiment the both sides happiness and sadness because is part of human life, Its true, and you see how people make mistakes who have not received a measure of education(p.402).Make mistakes is of humans and those mistakes make the experience, that later help us to take decisions. Furthermore, others important characters that contribute for Candides change are The Old Woman and Martin. Both of them help Candide to get more knowledge in outside world and contrast the Pangloss philosophy. The old woman, she was a suffered woman that had to survive of many obstacles. My last post was as servant to the Jew don Issachar; he attached me to your service, my lovely one; and I attached myself to your destiny, till I have become more concerned with your fate than with my own.(p.396).In the other hand Martin is a very pessimist man who had been experienced bad situations; he was really offended with life. It was another event that makes Candide changes his philosophy. In his amazing journey he finds that every event in the world has a reason, and whether there are positive or negative moments you have to live them. There is no effect without a cause, all events are linked by the chain of necessity and arranged for the best. I had to be driven away from Miss Cunegonde, I had to run the gauntlet, I have to beg my bread until I can earn it; none of this could have happened otherwise(P.381). However, by the end of the story the protagonist realized that to achieve happiness a lot of work, compromises, and sacrifices are necessary. Though life does not become any easier, at this point Candide begins to grow from a naive young person into a grown realist. Candide realizes he must take responsibility for his life. He must accept situations and try to change obstacles that may be hindrances. Candide learns that labor will eliminate the three curses of mankind: want, boredom, and vice. Candide realizes he must build his own life, however simple it may be. Voltaire says through Candides ultimate discovery that happiness in many ways depends on a persons attitude. When meeting a man that is happy with a simple garden to tend and a family to love, Candide realizes life does not have to be full of wealth in order to be happy. At the end he realizes that everything in life is not evil, especially when a person strives to make changes and not simply accept what comes their way. Voltaires philosophy expressed through Candides final realization is that We must cultivate our garden,(p.4380, which is the key to happiness. By cultivating our garden, Voltaire means that we must make the best of our situation in the present moment. We accept what we are given in life and work to make the best of it. It all has to do with our perspective on life. Candide finally realizes that he must try to make his own happiness even while battling hardships. Candides happiness is finally realized when he too becomes a man of simple means with a garden to tend and a loved one at his side.

liberation of ireland Essay -- essays research papers

Liberation of Ireland The 1916 Easter Rising The Easter Rebellion, was an armed uprising of Irish nationalists against the rule of Great Britain in Ireland. The uprising occurred on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, and centred mainly in Dublin. The chief objectives were the attainment of political freedom and the establishment of an Irish republic. Centuries of discontent, marked by numerous rebellions, preceded the uprising. The new crisis began to develop in September 1914, following the outbreak of World War I, when the British government suspended the recently enacted Home Rule Bill, which guaranteed a measure of political autonomy to Ireland. Suspension of the bill stimulated the growth of the Citizen Army, an illegal force of Dublin citizens organised by the labour leader Jim Larkin (died 1948) and the socialist James Connolly (1870-1916); of the Irish Volunteers, a national defence body; and of the extremist Sinn FÃ ©in. The uprising was planned by leaders of these organisations, among whom were the British consular agent Sir Roger David Casement, the educator Padhraic Pearse (1879-1916), and the poet Thomas MacDonagh (1878-1916). Hostilities began about noon on April 24, when about 2000 men led by Pearse seized control of the Dublin post office and other strategic points within the city. Shortly after these initial successes, the leaders of the rebellion proclaimed the Independence of Ireland and announced the establishment of a provisional government of the Irish Republic. Additional positions were occupied by the rebels during the night, and by the morning of April 25 they controlled a considerable part of Dublin. The counteroffensive by British forces began on Tuesday with the arrival of reinforcements. Martial law was proclaimed throughout Ireland. Bitter street fighting developed in Dublin, during which the strengthened British forces steadily dislodged the Irish from their positions. By the morning of April 29, the post office building, site of the rebel headquarters, was under violent attack. Recognising the futility of further resistance, Pearse surrendered unconditionally in the afternoon of April 29 . The British immediately brought the leaders of the uprising to trial before a field court-martial. Fifteen of the group, including Pearse, Connolly, and MacDonagh, were sentenced to death and executed by firing squad. Four others, including ... ...m. In June, Irish voters ratified a treaty strengthening political and monetary integration within the European Community. Presidents DOUGLAS HYDE 1938-1945 (+1949) SEAN THOMAS O'KELLY 1945-1959 (+1966) Fianna FÃ ¡il EAMON DE VALERA 1959-1973 (+1975) Fianna FÃ ¡il ERSKINE HAMILTON CHILDERS 1973-1974 (+) Fianna FÃ ¡il CEARBHALL O'DALAIGH 1974-1976 (+1978) Fianna FÃ ¡il PATRICK J. HILLERY 1976-1990 Fianna FÃ ¡il MARY ROBINSON 1990-1997 Labour MARY MCALEESE 1997- Fianna FÃ ¡il Taoiseachs (Prime Ministers) EAMON DE VALERA 1932-1948 (+1975) Fianna FÃ ¡il JOHN A. COSTELLO 1948-1951 (+1976) Fine Gael EAMON DE VALERA 1951-1954 (+1975) Fianna FÃ ¡il JOHN A. COSTELLO 1954-1957 (+1976) Fine Gael EAMON DE VALERA 1957-1959 (+1975) Fianna FÃ ¡il SEAN F. LEMASS 1959-1966 (+1971) Fianna FÃ ¡il JACK M. LYNCH 1966-1973 FIanna FÃ ¡il LIAM GOSGRAVE 1973-1977 Fine Gael JACK M. LYNCH 1977-1979 Fianna FÃ ¡il CHARLES HAUGHEY 1979-1981 Fianna FÃ ¡il GARRET FITZGERALD 1981-1982 Fine Gael CHARLES HAUGHEY 1982 Fianna FÃ ¡il GARRET FITZGERALD 1982-1987 Fine Gael CHARLES HAUGHEY 1987-1992 Fianna FÃ ¡il ALBERT REYNOLDS 1992-1994 Fianna FÃ ¡il JOHN BRUTON 1994-1997 Fine Gael BERTIE AHERN 1997- Fianna FÃ ¡il

A Sociological Look at JAWS Essay -- essays papers

A Sociological Look at JAWS The movie I choose to review was Jaws, which is one of my favorites and a timeless classic. A traditional story about man against beast takes place on an island that depends on its summer tourist business. When the summer season in threatened by a series of shark attacks three men are sent out to track down a great white shark. The three main (human) characters are Brody (Roy Scheider), the police chief, who came to the island from New York looking, so he thought, for a change from the fears of the city. There's Quint (Robert Shaw), a caricature of the crusty old seafaring salt, who has a very personal reason for hating sharks. And there's Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), the rich kid turned oceanographer, who knows best of all what a shark can do to a man, and yet is willing to get into the water with one The movie starts just before the summer boom with a girl running out in to the ocean for a midnight dip. She is undoubtedly attacked by a shark and when she is found on the beach the next morning the town officials dismiss the find as a boating accident. Chief Brody who is not convinced of that is was a boating accident fears it was a shark attack. With the safety of not only the islanders but also the coming tourist crowds Brody tries to close the island off the tourists until the problem is solved. The Mayor sensing what Brody is up to stops the Chief from cutting off the islands only means of income. The Mayor tells Brody that no one is sure what happened to the girl and no decision like this can be made with the evidence at hand. Brody unwillingly agrees. When there is another attack, this time on a small child and in broad daylight, a meeting is called to discuss what to do about the islands problem. The Chief decides t call the mainland for help but being an island of fishermen the locals have only on thing on their minds. This is where we get to meet Quint. Quint is convinced that the only way to solve the problem is to hunt it down. He offers his services, for a nominal fee of course. In the end the Mayor decides that the best way to deal with the problem is by offering a reward to anyone who catches the shark. In comes Hooper. He arrives just in time to see the parade of fishermen cast off in any thing that’ll float in hopes of catching the prize shark. With chaos erupt... ...e relationship work so well. Even though they are driven by different means the goal is the same. Then comes Quint. While Hooper and Brody need him he has given them grief ever since he was introduced the plot. The relationship of the three is shady at best with the old (Quint) and the new (Hooper) combining forces to catch â€Å"the beast† Brody finds he is in the middle. At time you think that the come close, almost to the point that you think they enjoy each other’s company, but soon enough Quint’s true colors shine through and the other two begin to resent the collaboration. The two scenes where this is most evident are when Quint smashes the radio and then pushes the engine past its limit and burns it out. On both accounts Hooper and Brody can’t believe what has been done and are sure they have made a bad decision. Being dubbed by critics as the movie that made people afraid to go in to the water Jaws became an instant classic. Even the memorable title track, which is basically two notes, is able to strike fear and resurrect memories of the beast. Released in 1975 it continues to captivate audiences and still gives me a reason not to go in the water.

Piracy of Digitized Music Essay -- Music Piracy, Digitized Music, MP3,

The music industry has developed in a series of technological advances, from the development of vinyl to the digitization of music and the creation of formats such as compact disc (CD), digital audiotape, and minidisk (Leyshon 2001). Although the digitized music facilitates consumers, it causes the appearance of piracy and the drop of sales. The subject of piracy has occurred for a certain period. Since 1920's, music piracy has appeared into the world with the production of cassette tapes, voice recorders, and CDs, which brought a new kind of event to court. Moreover, music piracy has become a worldwide issue due to the development of downloading music via the internet. Music piracy is something that affects the entire world record industry and is known incompletely by most of people. In accordance with the debates around music piracy, there are many different views on this issue. This paper will analyse the reasons that people pirate music and illustrate the impacts on the music industry. Additionally, it hopes to spread the exact knowledge about music piracy to audiences. Negative Effects According to the RIAA, the industry has to suffer losses by nearly $4.2 billion because of global music piracy. Firstly, pirates are the first to encounter losses due to the severe suppress from recording industry and law enforcement officers. Secondly, consumers also lose personal interests, because the costs of authorized music products will go up along with the Internet downloading of music with shortcut savings. Moreover, piracy could impact negatively on those retailers that give strong backing to their products, whose prices have no competitive power with that of piracy music provided by illegal vendors or free illegimate downloa... ... lot of retailers have gone out of business that is not for internet downloading. Many retailers cannot compete with the discounted prices or special offers record companies give to large established companies such as Best Buy, Walmart, Tower, and Target. As a result, piracy in music industry makes the long term album sale increase, access and exposure of out of print music and it influences the independent and other lesser known artists positively. Conclusion To summarise, piracy in music industry has occurred a long time since 1920’s, which could go via the production which can record and spread music, and internet. It will destroy both the music industry and anything that relies on the music industry; however, it has also caused a number of positive impacts on music industry that increase the sale of album and the popularity of artists and music companies.

Montreal Massacre

The Montreal Massacre – Assignment ! What motivates a person to shoot 27 women, killing 14 of them, before turning the gun onto themselves? Could it be their culture, their personality, or the groups they are involved with? Just after 5pm on Wednesday, December 6, 1989, Marc Lepine disturbingly shot and killed many women at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, before killing himself. Lepine purposely ordered the men out of the classroom, giving him a clear shot of the women. He claimed that, â€Å"They were the type of people that ruined his life. Lepine was known to be a loner, with few close friends as well as domineering with women. Different social scientist such as Anthropologists, Sociologists and Psychologists will interpret Lepine? s motives differently and each claim that they have the answer to the question everyone is asking, â€Å"Why did Lepine do what he did? † I believe that a psychologist has the best reasoning for Lepine? s behavior. ! One in ? ve women ha ve been or will be sexually abused and one in four have been or will be physically abused. From an anthropological perspective, the culture that Marc Lepine grew up in plays a signi? ant role in ? nding out the reasons behind what he did. Growing up, Lepine was always domineering with women and had dif? culty establishing close relationships with them. These factors in Lepine? s life in? uence his actions in 1989 when he killed many women in the school. Lepine? s inability to establish relationships with women caused him to feel frustrated. Clearly, Lepine did not know what to do with his frustration, so he dealt with it the only way he knew possible. Another explanation for Marc Lepine? s behavior is the media. In our culture, the media plays a very important role in our lives and in? ences the decisions that humans make. Movies tend to glamorize violence towards women and advertisements regularly use women as sex objects to sell things. This cruelty to women is seen everywhere we go, and it causes humans to think that it is okay. In? uences like this from the media concerning violence towards women made Lepine feel that his assault was justi? able. From an anthropological point of view, Marc Lepine killed many women at the Ecole Polytechnique because of his past with women, and the media making it seem that violence towards women is justi? ble. ! Mass killers all have very similar characteristics, for example, they are often loners with few friends. From a sociological perspective, the way in which Marc Lepine interacts with others can be compared to cases dealing with the same type of crime. It is often seen that murderers who go on killing sprees similar to what Lepine did, will appear calm on the out side. However, inside they are tormented by the lack of control they have in their lives. This need for control leads people like Lepine to commit crimes such as mass shootings.Factors such as past life experiences affect a person greatly on the inside and ma y have played an important role in why Lepine did what he did. It is noticed that men like Lepine who victimize women in this way tend to have dif? culty dealing with their emotions and in turn take out their anger in a negative way. It has been found that mass murderers tend to be the â€Å"outcasts. † They are usually loners with few friends and tend to blame others for their perceived lack of respect, freedom and companionship. Lepine had lived in an apartment with a friend that he had known since childhood and had dif? ulty creating new, lasting relationships with others-especially with women. As well, Lepine claimed to the women that, â€Å"They were the type of people who had ruined his life. † This blame that Lepine puts on women shows a direct relation to other murderers who have committed the same type of crime. From a sociological view, it is noticed that there are similarities between what Marc Lepine did and the crimes of other murderers and there are commo n factors that drive a person to kill other human beings. These factors consist of: having few friends, physical and/or sexual abuse as a child, family trouble, or other past life experiences. To ? nd out the reasons behind why an individual will commit such a horrible crime, past life experiences must be taken into account. From a psychological perspective, Marc Lepine? s actions were a direct re? ection of his thoughts, feelings and past. Lepine had always felt like a loner and an outcast. When he tried to join the Canadian Armed Forces he was turned down because his personality was considered unsuitable. This rejection only added to Marc? s feeling of not being good enough and made him feel like he was not accepted in society. When faced with dif? ult situations in his life, Marc showed a tendency to violent behavior. Because he did not know how to deal with the emotions he was feeling inside, he used weapons as an outlet for his problems. The fascination that Lepine had with gun s from an early age, and the fact that he spent time hunting at his Uncle? s farm proves that he would be capable of a mass shooting. Another reason for Lepine? s actions is the way he grew up. Lepine and his mother were both regularly beaten by his father. As well, his father continually expressed his belief that women are inferior to men.Clearly Lepine? s father is an important factor in why Lepine killed many women in the Montreal school in 1989. Lepine? s father did not show any respect towards women, and since that is what Marc saw every day of his life, he thought it was right, or normal. To a psychologist, Lepine? s childhood played an important role in the type of person that he grew up to be. He did not know how to deal with the emotions he was feeling and so he took out his anger on the women of Ecole Polytechnique. ! In conclusion, each of the social sciences claim that their perception of Lepine? motives are the correct one. I believe that each of the experts have valid points and any of them could be the reason Lepine shot and killed many women at a school in Montreal in 1989 before turning the gun onto himself. However, I do believe that the psychological perspective has the strongest points. It is our past experiences that shape us into the person we are. Lepine committed the crime he did because of his thoughts and feelings which turned violent from the regular beatings him and his mother had received from his father.Growing up with his father who had no respect for women, made Lepine think that violence towards women was justi? able. As well, Lepine had few friends and was considered a loner. He was not able to join the Canadian Armed Forces, which just added to his sense that he was not good enough. All these factors built up in Lepine? s life when ? nally he could not hold it in any long and he snapped. The blame that he put on women for his lack of companionship resulted in the mass shooting. After he realized what he had done, the guilt wa s immense, so he turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger.

Mobile news and the future of journalism

Question 1 . Explain the influences of the emergence of mobile news on the future of journalism. How substantial do you consider these influences to be? Mobile News and The future of Journalism Digital, mobile and visual technologies have provided us with new ways for society to find and share news and information, making them a key part of economic, social and cultural life. Today, People all over the world are increasingly shifting their consumption of news from newspapers and other traditional forms, to mobile news and Internet services and this is due to these advances in technology.As we are now living in a digital age, we are seeing big changes in the Journalism industry and new practices of Journalism are happening including the emergence of mobile news (the delivery and creation of news using mobile devices). Journalism is traditionally practiced through news organizations such as newspapers, broadcasting stations or news websites, but in a society where the Internet and mobi le is becoming first for news, Journalism has had to advance in order to keep up to date with these new platforms. But will the emergence of mobile news affect the future of journalism and if so, how?A conference was held in 2008 by the BBC College of Journalism discussing the future of Journalism in relation to advances in technology. ‘Today, as technology changes the lives of both Journalists and their customers, assumptions about what Journalism is and how it is practiced are being re-examined. ‘ (The future of Journalism, papers from conference, online). Peter Horrocks, director of BBC world services and one of the speakers at the conference, has seen how technology is changing Journalism and says that there is an end to what he calls ‘Fortress Journalism' and a new ‘NetworkedJournalism'. Horrocks explains that Fortress Journalism refers to Journalism that thinks of itself as a closed system, Journalists are the experts of news and we listen to them. Wher eas the new form of Journalism is ‘Networked Journalism' and this takes into account the collaborative nature of Journalism; it's about tearing down the fortresses and making it open to public allowing Journalist to communicate with the public. This idea of ‘Networked Journalism', means the barriers for entering the news circuit are not as big as before.Anyone with basic computer skills can set up a blog or a twitter account and can easily discuss news with the world, and it is the process of remediation that has influenced these changes in Journalism. Bolter and Grusin define ‘remediation' as a process whereby each new medium promises to reform its predecessors by offering a more immediate, authentic experience, for example the medium ot mobile news is said to be a better taster and more connected then the medium of television news. experience These new online methods of distributing news, does not necessary eradicate old raditional ways, i. . newspapers, televisi on and radio. ‘Technologies don't eliminate one another; they enhance or subtly change one another taking their place side-by- side in the new media ecology. ‘ ((Bolter & Grusin, 2000). Journalism lecture: Remediation) We are now carrying around the technology that allows us to have access to the Internet and news on-the-go thanks to gadgets like smartphones and tablets. These rapid advances in technology have changed the way in which we can get our news offering us this new medium of mobile news.The power of martphones and their ability to be more then Just a phone has been a big influence on the rising popularity of mobile news. With Millions of people owning these gadgets, the Journalism industry needed to re-think how to respond to this new form of technology where information and news is available immediately and free. News corporations have noticed that a growing number of people are using the Internet for news and so have tried to meet the demand for mobile news b y developing mobile web versions of the websites for easier access and applications for direct access to ll the news anytime.For example BBC news, Sky news, The Guardian, Mailonline are just a few of the many available news applications on smartphones. This emergence of mobile news isn't stopping newspaper Journalism, but it is affecting it, causing a declining in the consumption of newspapers by society. ‘The proportion of people reading a national daily newspaper has been declining over the past three decades. In 1978, †¦ 72 per cent of people aged 15 and over in Great Britain had read a national daily newspaper, †¦ 2 per cent in 1991 and 53 per cent in 2001. In 2009, †¦ 2 per cent had reported reading a national daily newspaper. ‘(Office for national statistics) It is probable that the main reason for the decline is this increased use of the Internet and mobile news. People are starting to use and rely on mobile news services instead of purchasing newsp apers or watching the news on television, and Journalist are in fact actively using these social medias themselves to communication and interact with the public.The State of the News Media (2012): An Annual Report on American Journalism, found that Mobile news is important because people feel they can, ave an impact on their communities, and feel more plugged into the media environment than they did a few years ago. ‘ ‘Citizens can not only read news from their local community, with tablets and smart phones, they can also share and post links to stories, comment, or contribute themselves. ‘ (State of the Media: Annual Report) Now, Journalism has an interactive dialogue between organisation, communities, and individuals.World events like the Egyptian 25th January revolution, was fully covered, not Just by professional Journalists, but also by the people of Egypt ia mobile phones and Internet. This communication and interaction with society is an advantage to Journal ism as it allows for better coverage of the news. This rise of new media has increased the communications between people all over the world and has allowed people to express themselves through blogs, websites, pictures, and other user-generated media.It is also making Journalists Jobs easier as they can use this user-generated information for their own work. This means that New-media technology is impacting established Journalism but also transforming the Internet into a more open, trustworthy and useful place for information and debate about news. ‘The development of the internet means that the process (news) is far quicker, more international in scope, and that the audience gets more of a look-in. Oournalism, principles and practice pp174) So what does the future hold for Journalism now that mobile news is becoming a popular platform? People are enjoying being connected to the world, knowing what is going and being able to be part of it, and this has allowed the business of mobile news to thrive. The mergence of new media is affecting Journalism for the better. Journalism is becoming more important then ever before as news is being distributed to a wider audience and having more of an affecting, as more people want to stay connected to the world by news.In order for Journalism to remain something that society needs, it must advance with the technology like everything else in society, so we are now seeing more online Journalism then ever before; the reporting of facts produced and distributed via the Internet. As technology becomes cheaper to manufacture, more eople will have access the Internet and mobile news will gain an even wider audience globally. The emergence of mobile news has meant that news has become more user-generated, meaning the consumers participate in the making of the news by adding content themselves.This may give the idea that the work of Journalist is not safe in the future as the audiences are also the contributor and creators of news, but Journalist have the skills to use this information, give it context and then report it, So Journalists will remain important. We have also seen Journalism change hroughout the centuries, from the '19th century printing press culture, to the 20th century television and radio culture, to now, the 21st century digital and online culture'. Oournalism lecture, Remediation).All this change brought about better- advanced ways of getting news and people want and need it in their life. Whilst some may opt for the free, but sometimes not factual option of news, others are still willing to pay for real, accurate and trustworthy news. Now with the many options available and the strong rise of mobile news, how it's delivered will be down to the news orporations and Journalists, but if newspapers are to survive the impact of the internet and news media in the future, then stricter controls on news online should be made to encourage society to use the traditional forms.https://idp.uwe.ac .uk/CookieAuth.dll?GetLogon?curl=Z2FadfsZ2FlsZ2FauthZ2FintegratedZ2FZ3FwaZ3Dwsignin1.0Z26wtrealmZ3DhttpsZ3AZ2FZ2Fauth-cas.uwe.ac.ukZ2FcasZ2Flogin&reason=0&formdir=7http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-bbb9e158-4a1b-43c7-8b3b-9651938d4d6ahttp://www.stateofthemedia.org/2012/overview-4/major-trends/http://www.webcitation.org/

Jeanette’s childhood Essay

Jeanette’s childhood was much the same as Celie’s in the sense that it lacked a heterosexual relationship she could be influenced by. Jeanette’s parents aren’t shown to be in love; in fact they are hardly shown being together. When Jeanette asks her mother why she married her father, she replies not about love but about their responsibility to have a child and â€Å"dedicate it to the lord†(P. 10). Just like Celie, this lack of a loving parental relationship may have lead Jeanette to becoming a lesbian, as she hadn’t been exposed to any real love between a man and a woman. Throughout the two novels, neither primary character has a close relationship with a male. Instead, they find shelter with other women. The fact that Jeanette never has a close relationship with a man can give us hints to her inevitable sexuality, as she is not sexually attracted to them, shown when she â€Å"tried imagining him without his clothes on. Horrid. â€Å"(P. -), expressing her disgust of the male body and general distaste of men. Throughout Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, she has a close relationship with a woman from church, Elsie. When Jeanette is sick in hospital, her mother rarely visits because she is busy, but Elsie comes every single day to â€Å"make me smile†(P. 29). This, as well as the fact Elsie sticks by Jeanette even after her lesbianism is revealed, almost seems to the reader that they have a parent/daughter relationship, where Elsie looks out for Jeanette and keeps her strong through hard times; Jeanette said â€Å"and my confidence restored (thanks to her)†(P. 30). Their closeness lasts until Elsie’s death. Her friendship and experiences with Mrs Jewsbury introduces Jeanette to homosexuality, which is a key turning point in the novel and can be seen to have had a huge impact on Jeanette’s sexuality. Like Jeanette, Celie shares closeness with women rather than men. While Jeanette’s distaste of men is more passive and subtle, Celie is hateful and wary of men because of the way she’s been treated by them. She lived in a time when men dominated the social hierarchy, so all the women had to stick together. This is shown when Celie meets Sofia, who has six brothers and five sisters, and says â€Å"all the girls stick together† (P. 39). It’s a possibility that Sofia’s words inspired Celie to find confidence in other women instead of suffering alone, because it is after this that Celie develops a close relationship with Sofia and Shug Avery,. The quilt Sofia and Celie make acts as a metaphor to show the power women can have when in numbers and the things they can achieve. Both Nettie and Mr. __’s sister, Kate, tell Celie â€Å"You got to fight†(P. 17 and 21) to encourage her, and Kate says â€Å"you deserve more than this†(P. 20), which helps Celie discover self-worth and gives her the confidence to leave Mr. ___. Kate shows Celie she is not alone, and the new dress Kate buys for her symbolises Celie’s newfound refuge with other women and the start of defining herself as a new, stronger person. Celie also seeks shelter from Shug, who she spends most of the novel admiring, and Shug takes on the responsibility of looking after her and introducing her to the idea of self-worth, empowering Celie as a woman. Their relationship is a major influence for Celie’s sexuality, despite the fact critic Trudier Harris calls it â€Å"The height of silly romanticism†1, implying it is unrealistic. I disagree with this, as I think their relationship is more sisterly than romantic, shown when Celie says â€Å"we sleep like sisters me and Shug† (P. 124) emphasizing how closely they’ve bonded. It is definitely not â€Å"silly† when looking at how much Celie gets out of their relationship, including redefining herself, questioning the word around her and discovering self worth, as stated before. Walker and Winterson both foreshadow the future lesbianism of Celie and Jeanette in various ways through symbolism and particular events. Jeanette’s lesbianism is hinted throughout the book, one example being the banana bar she is offered by the lesbian shopkeepers.

A Study on Lawrence Venuti’s Translation Theory Essay

Lawrence Venuti is a distinguished translator, translation theorist and master of deconstruction whose works are included in two collections of stories by Dino Buzzati. Venuti is the recipient of a translation grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Premio di Cultura for translation from the Italian Government. A former judge of the PEN-BOMC Translation Award, he teaches at Temple University as an Associate Professor of English. He is the editor of anthology Rethinking Translationï ¼Å¡Discourseï ¼Å'Subjectivityï ¼Å'Ideology; the compiler of The Translation Studies Reader and the author of two major books on translation. —The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation and The Scandal of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference. Lawrence Venuti has studied the translating practice with a critical eye since the 1660s and introduced the dominant position of the fluentness in translation strategies, which helps form the canons for translated literature in Anglo-American language and culture; he has analyzed the influence of the textual and non-textual elements to translation such as relationships between ST and TT and between writer and translator, etc., in hopes of finding a text that can load the foreignness and situate the translator in the foreground. Venuti’s theory has re-analyzed the connotation of translation. He is strongly against domestication of translation, which embodies the ethnocentrism and cultural hegemony in essence. So he puts forward new translation methods such as â€Å"resistance†, â€Å"symptomatic reading† and â€Å"abusive fidelity†. He hopes to make a new position for translation that should be read as a translation with its own value, which not only puts post-modernism in translation but also leaves enough space for Chinese scholars and students to rethink translation. Beside Introduction and Conclusion there are five chapters in this thesis: Introduction briefly introduces the present situation of translation studies and the theme, the structure and goal of this thesis; Chapter One collects and briefly introduces the most important parts of Venuti’s translation theory, trying to find the essence and key points from either textual or non-textual aspects; Chapter Two tries to analyze Venuti’s theory from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives in hope to find the properties in the modern times; Chapter Three integrates theories of different schools and focuses on analyzing the functions of Venuti’s translation theory in translating practice and review through comparative studies. Chapter Four briefly analyzes the backgrounds and ways of introduction of Venuti’s theory and its influence on translation studies and practice in China, as well as the present status of its misreading and mistranslating; Chapter Five analyzes the merits and demerits of Venuti’s theory from both positive and negative aspects, hoping to generalize his contribution to translation studies and draw attentions to the void space for rethinking translation; Conclusion sums up the whole thesis. Key Words: Lawrence Venuti power relationships resistance foreignness rethinking

Rebuttal arguement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rebuttal arguement - Essay Example Additionally, William proclaimed that conveying a tweet by itself is pure activism and ludicrous, though none was purporting the same, lacking considerable credibility, an article that he conferred to be plainly entertaining though not logical. In his disagreement, Gladwell cited the U.S.A. civil prerogatives association of the late 1950s and 60s as an instance of social transformation that was on the basis of close friendship, purporting that the feeble ties connecting persons together on the internet were not of equal implication (Gladwell). Moreover, fanatics for social media would with no qualm make people believe that King’s task in Alabama would have been rendered easier had he been apt to express communication with his supporters via Facebook, and challenged himself with tweets from a Birmingham detention centre (Ingram). However, networks are messy: for instance, the endless pattern of revision and scrutiny with utter rectification, alterations and deliberations as in the Wikipedia case. Moreover, if Martin Luther had prospected initiating a Wiki-embargo in Montgomery, he would probably been crushed by the white powers. Moreover, it is pertinent to enquire the potency of utilization of a digitalized communication in a given town where the majority of the blacks’ society could be reachable on every Sunday as a congregation. It is thus, succinct that King required tactic and overt discipline that online internet media dispensations could not offer. Additionally, Stone, a cofounder of Twitter proclaimed that the actual time exchange of intelligence, for instance in the case of Twitter, it would be ridiculous to purport that it is not correspondent to activism. Besides, when it results into it, it would not be technological advances that would be the actual change drive but the individuals who immensely contribute to its

Management of Industrial Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management of Industrial Relations - Essay Example For the better part of a century, it has played a key role in the representation and advising of employers all over Australia and their employment law experts have been actively involved in majority of the test cases in the industrial jurisdiction of fair work Australia (Australian Federation of Employers, 2014). AFEI is a nonprofit organization and its membership spans over 3,500 with more than 60 affiliated industry associations, today, their key role is advisory and they also represent and assist employers in as far as meeting their obligations in respect to workplace relations in concerned. They may or may not include collective agreements and unlike trade unions which are comprised of individual workers, employer organizations allocate membership to enterprises instead. However, most of the legal terms that are used to define trade unions can also be applied on employer organizations. It has been argued that employer organization is simply the employer’s response to trade unions which by virtue of their numbers and activism tend to have considerable power over employers. While this is debatable, it is not by any means simple, employers’ organizations to a large extent are indeed the response to trade unions but they also serve other purposes that have no bearing on the issue of labor. There has nevertheless been an extensive history of antagonism between trade unions and employees organization which gives credence to the assumption that in many ways their interests are mutually exclusive. In the 1890’s in Australia, powerful worker unions tried to dictate to the ship owners what goods they should carry this was done through a strike that threatened to bring down the shipping industry and which rewired over 2000 constables to manage. However three years after the fact, the ship-owners had come together and in response

Compare and contrast The Lesson with Girl Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Compare and contrast The Lesson with Girl - Essay Example The generation gap is obvious by the amount of talking done by mother and the short responses of the daughter. The story also points to the start of the new era and age. All the advices of the mother are representing the previous generation suppression and hindrances. They particularly point to the sufferings of the women. â€Å"The Lesson† gives variety of themes. The most striking is the socioeconomic differences in American society. The short story shows the psychological makeup of a class because of the economic conditions and the reaction of the class when confronted with another class. The story also tells about the relationship of children and parents. In the story this relationship is very weak; in fact parents have given the responsibility to someone else. Comparing this theme with â€Å"Girl†, it becomes clear that despite generation gap the relationship of mother and daughter is strong. It is the concern of mother which is forcing her to guide the daughter, w hile in â€Å"The Lesson† children are given to a cousin by parents. Another contrasting theme of these two stories is that in â€Å"Girl† the mother is trying to save conventional ways and means but in â€Å"The Lesson† Miss Moore is deliberately trying to teach unconventional ways to the children. Although the writer of â€Å"Girl† is not intending to safeguard traditional values but there is no intent of challenging them. CHARACTERS â€Å"Girl† has two characters, Mother and Daughter. In this short story they are representing two different generations, two different points of views. Although most of the talking in this short story is done by the mother but the daughter is able to make her presence felt by two meek interruptions. â€Å"The Lesson† has many characters and they all represent same racial class. Miss Moore is antagonist as she responsible for all the tension and drama in the story. Her name suggests different meanings for exam ple she is more educated, she has more money, and she wants more children to get educated. Miss Moore wants to give something back to her community and the best she could is by educating younger generation. Sylvia is the narrator of the story and she is a kind of leader. She does not submit to authority easily and therefore hates Miss Moore. This feeling increases after the trip, which was intended as a lesson. Although at the end Sylvia realizes and understands the lesson but for most of the story she is against Miss Moore. Sugar is another character of the story and like her name she is very innocent and sweet. She is the best friend of Sylvia and was first to tell what Sylvia felt and what Miss Moore wanted them to feel. Her innocent question regarding stealing at toy shop represents her inner innocence as well as the education and norms of a class. Other characters are not very active but their names are very interesting and give a very vivid picture in the mind of readers. Flyb oy, Fat Butt, Mercedes, Rosie, Junebug, Q.T etc represent different shades of a class and their name also presents to some extent their physical and mental attributes. Characterization of â€Å"The Lesson† is very strong as compare to â€Å"Girl†. The main reason for this is the length of two short stories. Despite this difference in both the stories the focus remains on two characters. The relationship between main characters in both short stories remain same i.e. one is educating or trying to