How Do Maya Angelou and Grace Nichols Communicate What It Means to Be a Black Woman in Today’s Society Essay

How do Maya Angelou and Grace Nichols communicate what it means to be a black woman in today’s society? In this essay I will compare two poems. The two poems I will compare is Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I rise’ to Grace Nichols’ ‘Of course when they ask for poems about the ‘realities’ of Black women’. I think Maya Angelou’s ‘Still in rise’ has a rather different message to Grace Nichols’ poem. I think they are interesting to compare because Maya Angelo is lively and spirited about writing a poem about how strong black women are and how it is to be a black woman in today’s society. Whereas, Grace Nichols is more disgruntled and irritated about writing her poem. The first poem I will scrutinize is Maya Angelo’s ‘Still I rise’. The title ‘Still I rise’ shows strength and optimism as it is a short but strong meaning title. It means that Maya Angelou will always defend herself. It makes you feel no matter what you do to Maya Angelou she will just get back up again. This makes you believe that Maya Angelou is a strong person. In the first verse, Maya Angelou starts off using an accusatory tone when she says ‘you may write me down in history with you bitter, twisted lies’. This gives the impression that she is talking to white people when she says this. I think this means she doesn’t like what white people have wrote in their history books about black people’s past as it is over exaggerated and a lot of lies. Near the end of the first verse, she uses the simile ‘but still like dust, I’ll rise’. This is once again reinforcing the idea that she is a strong black woman. By using this simile she is also comparing herself and her race to dust and this suggests that you can’t get rid of black people and that they are everywhere you go, as dust is hard to get rid of and it is everywhere as you can’t control or capture it. In the second verse, Maya Angelou is more lively and spirited when she says ‘Does my sassiness upset you? ’ This suggests that she is getting more confident as she progresses through the poem. She also uses two rhetorical questions to grip the reader’s attention ‘why are you beset with gloom? Also, in the second verse she shows more confidence when she uses the phrase ‘‘cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in my living room. ’ The use of informal language ‘cause’ shows this. This phrase also makes me think that she feels powerful, rich and important. In the third stanza, she uses a lot of similes such as ‘Just like moons and like suns’ I think she has put this simile in because it is natural imagery and she wants black people to be described as this because it is not only a part of nature but the sun and moon are beautiful; vital to the world. In the next line she continues with the natural imagery by saying ‘With certainty of tides’. This is also natural imagery as she is comparing the black race with tides. I think she chose to use the natural imagery of tides here because not only is it once again vital to the world but it also creates a sense of power as tides and waves are incontrollable, powerful and constant and waves always come back so I think maybe she was also trying to reinforce the idea that she and her race are strong. However in the fourth verse, she stops using natural imagery and changes into an interrogative mode when she says ‘did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? ’ Here she uses negative lexis such as ‘broken’ to create an image of a typical slave to the reader. I think she does this here as she wants to show people that herself and her race are not slaves and that you should not dwell on their past and think of them as slaves. In the fifth stanza, it’s more about her culture when she uses the simile ‘cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines’ I think she is implying here that she is not rich in wealth but she is rich in culture and in spirit. I think this changes the atmosphere to a more relaxed mood as she is embracing her culture. Also, when she says ‘diggin in my own back yard’ it gives you a sense of black soulful language and reinforces the fact that she embraces her culture and language. However, in stanza six, it is a more harsh verse as she uses an accusatory tone once again. She creates an atmosphere of fury and annoyance by using onomatopoeia and harsh sounds such as ‘cut’ and ‘kill’. I think this was put in so people would remember the way white people treated slaves and how violent they were towards them. I think she is trying to give an insight of how it must have felt to be a slave and make people feel guilty for treating them so unfairly. At the end of this verse, she repeats herself ‘But still, like air, I’ll rise’. I think she does this to not only make people believe she is a strong, black woman, but to also make the poem memorable for the reader and make it stand out. Also, when she uses the simile ‘like air’ it makes you think that you can’t hurt her because she is ‘like air’ and you can’t cut or hurt air. I think air was a good simile to use here because air rises and I think Angelou was implying that she will rise above all expectations people have for her, black women and black men. Also, by using the word air Maya Angelou is trying to indicate that herself and the black race are now free as black people are now free from slavery. In the seventh stanza, the atmosphere changes and you can see Angelou’s pride in her culture and race. I think Maya Angelou is trying to create a different image for black women as she says ‘does my sexiness up set you? . This suggests that she is trying to make a new image for black women that is sexy and more elegant because before they were seen as only slaves. In the third and fourth line of this verse, she says ‘that I dance like I’ve got diamonds, at the meeting of my thighs’. By using the word diamond she is implying that black women are rare, precious and tough as those are the main characteristics of a diamond. I t hink she is suggesting black women should be treasured and kept safe as they are too precious to lose. In the last stanza, Angelou breaks free from the previous set structure of the quatrains and it’s a more symbolic structure; it does not have a pattern to it. I think this is because it is supposed to imitate the slaves breaking free. Also, it has a random lay out and I think this is reinforcing the idea that you can’t capture black people like slaves anymore and that black people shouldn’t be treated unfairly anymore. The last verse also has more energy to it as it speeds up more. I think this is because when black people broke free from slavery they were lively and more spirited and had more pride in their culture and race. Also, in the last verse, Angelou uses metaphors instead of similes now such as ‘I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide’. I think she changes from similes to metaphors in this verse because she has gained more confidence and pride. It has also become a more happier, lively verse again as she uses more positive lexis such as ‘daybreak’ and ‘wondrously clear’. This is because she is happy and proud of being black and wants black women and men to be perceived as happy and lively. She has not only broken free from the quatrains in this last verse, but she has also broken free from the AB rhyming sentences and is now using rhyming couplets as well as repetition of the words ‘I rise, I rise, I rise’ to show confidence, power and pride of what it means to be a black woman. Overall, throughout the whole of the poem, I believe that Maya Angelou was trying to change the perception of black women and make black women feel as confident and as proud as Angelou does of being black. Throughout the poem Angelou’s tone differs. As in the beginning, although she started with an accusatory tone, she went on and used positive lexis such as ‘hopes springing high’ this then changed from a interrogative mood to a more lively and spirited atmosphere. However, as the poem continues she starts to use negative lexis again and the interrogative mode re-appears making the poem seem more harsh to the reader, although, when you read on the poem ends in a more lively and happier tone as she uses more absolute phrases and starts to use metaphors rather than similes now; ‘I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide’. Angelou’s use of sound imagery is interesting as she makes the reader imagine not only pretty, natural images, but harsh, cruel images as well. For instance, ‘Just like moons and like suns’ and ‘Shoulders falling down like teardrops’. I think she does this so we all can see what she wants black people to be perceived as and also what black people used to be perceived as. Overall, I think Maya Angelou wrote this poem to change the perception of black women in today’s society. The second poem I will analyse is Grace Nichols ‘Of course when they ask for poems about the ‘realities’ of black women’. This is a poem with a slightly different message. Whereas, Maya Angelou’s poem was overall lively and spirited, Grace Nichols poem takes on a more sarcastic side of what it’s like to be a black woman, compared to a white woman, in today’s society and how she feels about being asked to write a poem on what it’s like to be a black woman. The heading of Grace Nichols poem’ Of course when they ask for poems about the ‘realities’ of black women’ shows a sarcastic side as she has put realities in inverted commas. This gives you the impression that she doesn’t want to write this poem as black women are no different from white women or any other race. The first verse of the poem starts with ‘what they really want at times is a specimen whose heart is in the dust’. When she uses the word they in the beginning I think she is talking about white people, racists and those that misunderstand her race. Also, when she says the word specimen it makes you think of a different species; something that needs to be studied. I think this is what she feels racists think of the black race. When she refers to ‘whose heart is in the dust’ this makes the reader believe she thinks people pity her race. When she says ‘a mother-of-sufferer’ she is referring to ancestors of slaves and this then links to ‘trampled/oppressed’ which is the typical slave image. She’s is saying here that ‘they’, meaning white people or people that misunderstand her race, want a slave to write a poem about how it is to be a black person living in today’s society. Grace Nichols then moves on and says ‘they want a little black blood undressed and validation for the abused stereotype already in their heads’. This means that racists want a black, vulnerable person to be proof for the typical slave image, that’s a black stereotype, in their minds. When she says ‘black blood’ she is implying that black people are completely different to any other race and even have different blood, even though black people are no different from white people. She is also implying, when she says ‘For the abused stereotype already in their head’, that the stereotype has been put into people’s heads by white, biased history books. When she says, in the next verse, ‘a perfect song’ she is referring to someone that is proud of their race and would like to write a poem about being black, for example Maya Angelou. Within the next few lines, Grace Nichols talks more about how not all black women are the same and how they can’t be categorised. When she says’ I say I can write no poem big enough to hold the essence’. This means she can’t write one poem for black people or any other race as there are too many personalities and individuals to put them all into one category. When she says ‘of a black woman or a white woman or a green woman’ she is then showing her sarcasm again when she says ‘green woman’ as you can’t have green women and what she is trying to say is that we are all equal . ‘And there are Black women and Black women’ this is once again reinforcing the idea that there is not just ‘the’ black woman. There are different types of black women and they are not all the same and are individuals. In the next line she uses a very good simile when she says ‘like a contrasting sky of rainbow spectrum’. I love this simile as she is saying that there isn’t only one colour black and that when you put all the different colours together it makes something beautiful, such as a rainbow. She is also using natural imagery here and it makes you think of how special black people are to this world. As you go on in the poem, she uses the well known phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ very well as she says ‘touch a black woman you mistake for a rock and feel her melting down to fudge’. I think this is implying the phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ as it is saying if you insult a black woman when you think she has ‘thick skin’ she could really be vulnerable inside. In her poem, she does not only talk about different types of people and race, but she also introduces the fact of the different types of language. ‘If need be we’ll trade a piece-a-pussy’. Here she uses her own language of Creole and mixes Caribbean English with English to create a sense of her own Caribbean culture and how proud she is to be black and have her own, unique culture. Also, during her poem, Grace Nichols refers to some famous black women as she says ‘and there are black women so dangerous in South Africa they prison them away’. Here she is talking about Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s wife. She also refers to Maya Angelou throughout her poem as she says’ and there are black women strong and eloquent and focused’. Here she talks about Maya Angelou and how proud she is of her race. However, at the end of the poem, she ends on a positive note as she says’ the twisted self-negating history we’ve inherited’. I think this means even though they see their history as twisted and cruel, she wants black people to focus on the present and make their history better than that of the ancestors that were slaves. She also says ‘crushing out with each dancing step’. This shows me that she wants to crush out their past history and therefore ends on a positive note. Overall, throughout the poem, I think Grace Nichols was trying to make black women proud of their culture and race and that they are no more different than white people or any other race. I think Grace Nichols didn’t have a set structure for the poem as it is sporadic and a random layout. I think she did this because there is not a set pattern for black women and that the layout represents this. Also, the layout is random and unique and that’s what she wants black women to be perceived as instead as being in a set pattern and categorised. Grace Nichols repeats several thing throughout her poem. ‘of a black woman or a white woman or a green woman’ is repeated a lot to emphasize the point that all races are equal and it doesn’t depend on colour for how we are treated. She also repeats the phrase ‘crushing out with each dancing step’ to make her point that you shouldn’t judge people by their past and that you should forget about you and your ancestors history and create new history. I think Grace Nichols used Creole to emphasize how she is proud of her culture and that black women should be proud as well and celebrate their own culture. I think these poems differ in messages and tones as Maya Angelou’s poem ‘still I rise’ her message is that black women should be proud about their culture and to be black and that Maya Angelou wants to change the perception of black women so that it is not the typical lave image but it is more sexy and elegant. Also, I think Maya Angelou was lively and spirited throughout most of her poem, although she had some accusatory tone and interrogative mode. However, Grace Nichols’s message was different from Maya Angelou’s as Grace Nichols wanted black women to be treated fairly and equally as any other race are and that she doesn’t think its right to define black women all in one category. Also, she didn’t think it was right to be asked to write a poem about how black women feel living in today’s society as it is no different from any other race woman. Grace Nichols’s tone throughout was mainly accusatory and angry. In some ways the two poems are similar as they both feel that their race should not be treated as slave just because some of their ancestors were in captivity as slaves in past history. Also, they both feel that their race should now think about the present and not focus on the past and believe you should forget about slavery and the past. They both also want black people to celebrate their culture. I think Grace Nichols’s poem portrays the black race better as Maya Angelou categorises the black race even though they are all individuals and can’t be put into just one category. Whereas, Grace Nichols says all the way through her poem that black people are individuals and all unique and you can’t categorise them. Also, I think Grace Nichols write not just about the good things about being a black woman, but she also write about the bad things, whereas, Maya Angelou doesn’t.

The Mighty Dung Beetle

While the majority of the human population quivers at the thought of ingesting manure, the mighty dung beetle rises to the challenge, and uses the manure in unique ways. Without dung beetles, pastures would be overrun with manure and flies- and parasites would run amuck. I’m no expert but according to the Sustainable Parasite Management division at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, affectionately known as PU, the dung beetle is beneficial to our environment. They help keep the soil cleaner, reduce pollution and algae formation in our waters, and acts as an organic pooper scooper for our livestock farms. First let’s begin by identifying the different types of dung beetles. These meadow muffin munchers are divided into three classifications, Rollers, Tunnellers and Dwellers. The Rollers do just that.. they roll the prairie patties into smooth, round balls called brood balls. Then they roll the brood balls away to a more desirable location. Once the rollers find the perfect location for their new abode, they bury it into the ground. The female will lay a single egg into the brood ball and then coat and seal it with a mixture of dung, saliva, and of course, her own fecal matter. After the egg hatches, the baby dung beetle devours the dung and lives in the brood ball until it reaches maturity. Then there are the Tunnellers. They dig tunnels in the ground in depths of between a few centimeters to 1 meter. This is large enough for them to live and move around in. Once the tunnel has been dug, they pull the manure in to the tunnel and place it throughout. Inside their new home is where the female lays her eggs. Storing the manure underground helps keep it fresh and protects the growing babies from predators and parasites. The last of the waste managers are the Dwellers who live on top of the pasture patty. The female lays her eggs on top of manure piles, and the entire development from egg to adult takes place inside the pile. Dwellers are smallest of the three and they seem to like cow patties the best for raising a family. The adults can be found in fresh, moist droppings, while the babies are slowly growing in dung that is drying out. Now that you know a little about the different types of dung beetles, let’s see how they are drawn to manure. Dr.  Patricia Richardson, Research Associate at the University of Texas, states, adult dung beetles are drawn to manure by odor. Many are species-specific in that they prefer a certain type of animal manure. Just like people searching for the perfect home, the dung beetle will fly up to ten miles in search of just the right patty. They can attack dung pats within seconds after they drop. Some dung beetles will even hitch a ride near the tails of animals in anticipation of a deposit. Once drawn by the odor, the adults use the liquid contents of the manure for their nourishment. In addition; a single cow patty can attract 60-80 adult flies. That would be a lot of flies if it were not for the competitive dung beetle. With all of the rolling and tunneling and dwelling of the dung beetle, flies and other harmful parasites don’t have a chance. Our society isn’t the first to appreciate the contributions of the dung beetles. The scarab is in the roller family of dung beetles. Yep! The Egyptians have long been known to have a fascination with the dropping dwellers. Jewelry has been crafted and carvings have been drafted in admiration of our mighty dung friends. In summation while the dung beetle keeps the soil cleaner, reduces pollution and algae formation in our waters, and acts as an organic pooper scooper for our livestock farms, it is also important to understand by removing the dung pat from its original location, this helps cut down on the fly population which is attracted to the dung pat. By making tunnels this will increase soil capacity to absorb and hold water. Therefore one can see how the dung beetle is very important to our environment. So if you really look at it, the world would be a much smeller place if it were not for the tireless efforts of the dung beetles.

Reading Response: Malcolm X Essay

1. Subject: This reading is about Malcolm X gaining inspiration to learn how to read and write during his time in prison and the many wonders of the world he learns of through reading. The topic is Malcolm X’s passion for learning and the main ideas are what he learns about which drives him to fight for the nonwhite man. The setting takes place in Charlestown Prison and Norfolk Prison Colony where Malcolm X was imprisoned in 1946-1953. Characters included in the reading are an inmate named Bimbi who inspired Malcolm X to learn, Elijah Muhammad, several authors, whites, and nonwhites. 2. Occasion: The author wrote this piece in 1965 to inform the readers of his imminent desire to learn how to read and write because he was embarrassed by his lack of knowledge and of the things he had learned about the white man’s actions to nonwhites. 3. Audience: The author is writing to the general audience. The audience might not know how Malcolm X became imprisoned or what he did immediately after his release but they do know that he would read all day, every day if he could. Malcolm X has a very appreciative tone when it comes to what he had learned and very curious. When he learns of certain history that applies to people just like him, however, he sounds very disappointed. 4. Purpose: The purpose of this piece was to inform readers of how Malcolm X learned to read and write and his strong passion for knowledge. There is some talk about how the white man has done evil deeds to nonwhites and Malcolm X does show his unfortunate dislike towards the white man because of history. Overall, Malcolm X focuses on how time has given him the opportunity to learn more than many people can ever hope to learn. 5. Speaker: The speaker is the author, Malcolm X. The whole reading is based off Malcolm X’s point of view since it is an autobiography. 6. Passage: On page 130, the 6th paragraph, â€Å"I copied into my tablet everything printed on that first page, down to the punctuation marks.† I especially like this line, because it shows Malcolm X’s determination and his true desire to learn. The reader can imagine him copying pages of a dictionary onto his tablet all day and it wouldn’t tire him out.

Impact of english in the arab world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Impact of english in the arab world - Essay Example Basically, there exists a unanimous understanding among individuals that the use of English in communication helps in enhancing social status in different countries. As a result, the governments have made efforts in improving English in the countries through different means such as adopting strict state control of the educational systems (Ramaswami, Sarraf & Haydon 71). Concerning education in the Arab countries, English has been made a primary language in the education systems. The reason for making the English language is because of the feeling that English enhances career prospects the individuals speaking other languages may not have their scholarly works published throughout the world. Besides, English might attract the interest of other highly esteemed western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom (Ramaswami, Sarraf & Haydon 86). Through English language, the Arab world has been able to share the educational resources with the rest of the world. This in turn has enabled the Arabic speakers into enjoying the utilization of researched materials of different versions and enhancing the ease in their education. The education in the Arab world has also been able to formalize through the English language to a significant degree for instance, allowing individuals for utilization of the internet and other digital media mainly prog rammed in English. Individuals of different ages have shown interest in studying the English language due to the rising needs worldwide. Moreover, several institutions have been established to offer education on the English language such as the AMIDEAST. English language has attributed to improved exposure of the traditional media that principally use English language as the medium. For instance, there is higher exposure of television in urban regions hence; the people are exposed to more English in such

System Analysis and Design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

System Analysis and Design - Assignment Example The technique employs models that can perform one function at a time. The flexibility of tackling numerous project functions at a time is limited. The traditional approach traverses numerous phases. The software upkeep practices in this approach are multifarious. Special techniques apply in access codes for the development of efficient IT systems. The analysis segment in the software development entails an in-depth comprehension of the desires of the end user. The elucidations for the design of the models in this approach require the compatibility of the foci subjects. The design of the model depends on the on the experience and the acquaintance of the software designer. The object-oriented approach is preferable as a system development technique. The object-oriented system is flexible to changing design prerequisites and allows the recycle of codes. This approach creates a system in which the different models function together in software development. This approach centers on information and functionality while the traditional approach centers on system functions. There would be ease in utilizing the object-oriented approach. Flexibility and efficient utilization of software resources mark the advantage of the object-oriented system over the traditional approach. The object-oriented approach includes the most common programming languages such as Java. These languages are easier to comprehend as the center on the subject. The structured analysis methods are older than the object-oriented approach. Large firms operating enormous software systems utilize structural analysis methods to efficiently run their systems. They offer the principles requisite for understanding software development. The old and new generations understand the operation of the structured analysis method.  

Business Finance assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Finance assignment - Research Paper Example The investor in question believed that smaller firms are less risky compared to larger firms. It is always important to diversify portfolios in order to spread the idea of the risks. Comparing with the 2011 beta or 1.08, the above beta of 1.06 seems to provide a good measure of how the stock movers relative to the broader Australian market index. The function of beta is to measure the risk of stock in relation to the overall market. From the above calculations, it is evident that the selected portfolios are less risky and have diversified the possible risks. On this basis, it is therefore true to say that the investor is likely to have very little loss and fear of risks associated with portfolios. The beta calculated from the investment portfolios is a clear indication of how the portfolio has diversified risks as well as low risk compared to the Australian Market index in 2011. The financial investment was very successful providing additional profit or income of approximately $7,110. In addition to the income received from the portfolio, there is no doubt that the risks associated with the same are too low. For instance, the beta obtained for the overall portfolio clearly indicates that the selected investment portfolios have widespread risks besides being lower than the 2011 Australian Market index beta. When portfolios have spread risks as well as low risks then it is advisable to engage in the investment. The above case scenario is a good example of investment portfolio, which was not only of viable income in terms of increased revenue or income but also given the fact that there were low risks involved, which in any case were widely spread across different firms from different industries and sizes. Indeed, the investment portfolio was a successful

Art peried Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art peried - Assignment Example o flourished during the period between the two great wars, when the west face steep industrialization that had an outstanding impact on their culture, and it was unique style as it did embrace technology, in fact, this is the major distinguishable factor from the early organic motifs and the much-loved earlier style, the Art Nouveau. Sheumaker and Wajda (2008), Art Deco rejected excessive historicism, and instead relied on a style that suited the modern times, ad traversed very many field which included architecture, fashion, transportation, graphic design, furniture and amongst others. During this period, Art Deco was a symbol of opulence, mystique, and energy. Historical analysis of the style points to an architect Le Corbusier as the one who coined the term in 1925 to refer to arts expo during the same year. In the United States, the Empire State Building in New York architectural style had a heavy influence from the Art Deco style. The Art Deco has achieved a certain level of renaissance as more people opt to incorporate it bold and lavish colours to the comfort of their homes. In fact, the Art Deco is some of the latest trending ideas that could potentially be available throughout human existence on earth. The Art Deco provides an allowance for a creation of a genuinely unique home interiors and shows to the world creativity and sense of style. Art lovers do love to portray accents in Art Deco and turn rooms to spectacular pieces of arts. In decorate an interior, it is important to add the French chic into the present interior art, to match with the Room furniture and featuring straight lines or curvy shapes, monochromatic and contrasting color combinations. Further, exuberant finishes and lavish fabrics are added plus decoration outlines that have zigzags, stripes, chevrons. Finally to the living room, spare some prominent wallpaper patterns add drama and glamour  so that the modern interior design and hom e decorating achieves the style of the great Art

EDX1170 - Foundations of Language and Literacies Essay

EDX1170 - Foundations of Language and Literacies - Essay Example The comparative analysis will focus on two transcripts one designed in a school and a classroom setting and the other transcript is designed to suit home setting. From these transcript a discussion on how the scaffold cycle is applicable in various environmental settings. The conversation and interactions in the essay will be the focus of the discussion. The first transcript involves a dialogue between a Sarah and her mother and later owns her aunt joins the conversation. The eggs are used to test Sarah’s cognitive skills. Sequences of question suggest the nature in which children acquire this skill (O’Neill, 2009). The child has the ability to identify their surrounding and apply their literacy capability to differentiate what he knows from new elements. The foreign elements are essential in designing pedagogy. Cognitive skills are all about knowing the soundings and children relates to these new elements to prior knowledge acquired in different settings (Byrnes & Wasik, 2009). Sarah understanding and interpretation of the questions asked by the mother shows her ability to connect school concepts to the different questions asked by her mother. The child needs to study the environment and be able to recognize the new elements being introduced. The ability to recognize the language being used in different settings assis ts the child to recognize the new elements. The child is able to respond effectively to her mother and is able to counter any complex scenario introduced by her mother. The concept also is illustrated in transcript two where the students effectively respond to questions that indirectly relate to the book understudy. The general concepts of the student’s relate directly to their cognitive skills. They use the text to draw lifetime experiences. The first transcript reflects the on the ability of Sarah to relate the surrounding to the text. Sarah’s dialogue

Radio report about jazz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Radio report about jazz - Essay Example Ultimately, Blakey sets in the performance with his drum thus blending the mix proportionately. Benny Golson finds his way again after two and quarter minutes with his saxophone that purposes to offer liveliness and reality to the band. Lee Morgan halts but the other musicians maintain their respective roles in the band. Bobby Timmons seems to enjoy the music as he is seen very vibrant and also seems to follow everything closely. One can clearly notice the sounding of the drum set that Blakey bring into play to add rhythm to the piece. All the five band members now come in but the trumpet is higher in pitch and tune, something that is noticeable. Lee Morgan seems to struggle so as to hit higher notes to maintain the pitch and to also upkeep with the rest in the performance. The jazz slows down and picks rhythmically. Blakey is seen stepping from behind the kit and gives a brief introduction about their platter that he does in a rush. Lee Morgan is the solo who seems more involved in this piece. Morgan is likely to have found solace in his trumpet that he deliberately sounds consistently to blend the music. The trumpet is the most conspicuous in the entire piece thus Morgan is a key element in the band as he carries on strongly even when his colleagues slow down or even remain silent at some instances. He is seen to struggle to deliver the highest pitch ever in the performance but he still perseveres on. Only at some few instances does he rest although not so long like some other members. Lee progresses with success to the last point of the performance with a lot energy, lively and composed. Moanin’ Moanin’ was performed live in Belgium in 1958. The band members include Art Blakey, Benny Golson, Bobby Timmons, Lee Morgan and Jymie Merritt who play the drums, saxophone, piano, trumpet and the bass respectively. This song is a rendition about the projects title that plays for nearly fifteen minutes and is basically a joyful piece of music more so to those who like the studio. Noticeably, the camera work has been done with excellence that makes the performance clear. The piece starts by the solo engaging the audience who in turn applaud the message. The piano kicks off the performance as others join the accompaniment. Benny with his saxophone and the trumpet rest at some intervals after which the trumpet carries on for the better part of the piece with others on board too. At this point Benny stops and rests for the others to continue but joins at some point after which the trumpet rests. All except the trumpet are live and active with the applause from the being noticed. I remember Clifford I remember Clifford is the title of the jazz that was written by Benny Golson who played tenor saxophone. This was done to commit to memory the life of Clifford Brown, who played the trumpet, after his death in an accident. These two were great band mates the entire album pays tribute to Brown with Lee morgan for trumpet, Art Blakey with his drums, Jymie Merritt for bass and Bobby Timmons playing the piano all on board. Timmons is seen moving his foot inconspicuously counting in the number being also in the speed and tone of the music. The entire band heightens the speed and pitch charging ahead where Golson and Morgan howl at the top of their ability thus displaying their prowess and might while at the same time revealing their respective insight and

My Experiences with Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Experiences with Writing - Essay Example Writing is how I express myself best. It is through writing that I can reveal the information or knowledge that I have to a reader or my audience. For example, upon reading my notes in preparation for examinations, I write to establish how best I have memorized the main points. In this regard, I rest assured that when the day of examinations approaches, I will respond to the set questions without much of a problem. There are also instances where I write to free myself from distressing thoughts, such as pressing issues. I always feel relieved when I scribble my painful feelings away. I believe writing is one of the best ways to communicate. One of my writing successes has been taking part in essay writing competitions and winning several awards. This makes me happy knowing that I conveyed my points and ideas successfully. Also, it feels good to learn that you have an audience who can appreciate your writing skills or your written pieces of work. This gives me the strength to write even better. However, I have encountered disheartening experiences where I learnt that, as an international student, I cannot get employment in the U.S. I have always admired living and working in America when I complete my education. However, this destroys my morale and further chips away at my abilities. Words, language, and written communication form distinctive parts of my life. Particularly, I use words to express my ideas and views by constructing sentences and expressions.

The effects of video games on children Essay Example for Free

The effects of video games on children Essay Nowadays, game is so popular that everybody can see its appearances everywhere easily. There are a lot of type of game have been invented such as cosule game, Actually, video games have become a part of childrens life for the past few decades, because they are so convenient that children can play them whenever and wherever to spend time. There are a lot of opinions about effects of video game on our future generation. In some study, video games can be considered the second nature of the modern children, and that virtual world partly reflects the real world. Through that, children can come up and learn more knowledge about the real word. However, video games can also cause a lot of negative effects on children if they are addicted to those. Therefore, most people agree that playing too many video games does more harm than good. The bad effect of game Drifting back to the history of video game, it all started when Atari came up with its first gaming console that included a very simple game of tennis. At that time, the controller had just one stick and one button to play with. Now, we are having huge collection of gaming system with many different types of consoles available in the market with very complex games that requires controllers with two or more sticks and a variety of buttons. Every year, all gaming company makes a race for introducing a new edition or updating better quality for their production. Most people suppose that playing video game causes a lot of negative effects. Video games – a cause of violence and aggression are one of those and mainly mentioned. Video games are very variety of kinds, but it seems that the violent games are dominant because they attract more children than others. Furthermore, in some surveys, there are many violent games that allow the children to play arm bearing characters who can kill anyone that they want, steal cars, and commit many different kinds of crime, such as Mortal Combat, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Doom. They all are very interactive in the violence of slaughtering the opponent (1). In reality, although the video game producers put signs like Real-life violence and Violence level not recommended for children under age of 12 on their box covers, sometimes parents seem to ignore those warnings and let their children play the games that they like (2). Moreover, in some modern violent games, the producers want to attract more children by performing the actions of characters as elaborate maneuver when they get killed. For example, in Half-Life, when a character is killed by others, a bloody and gory scene displays in detail on the screen. What will happen if children play those day by day? How will those affect the naive minds of children? As everyone knows, the answer is that children will become violent and aggressive. Indeed, many studies seem to indicate that violent video games may be related to aggressive behavior. The children who often play more violent games will tend to be at odds with somebody and like fighting and killing. They tend to act in their real life as if they saw and experienced in games. In another aspect, playing too many video games is also the cause which makes children addicted. In a recent study of children in their early teens, the researchers found that almost a third played video games daily, and that 7% played for at least 30 hours a week (3). According to these statistical figures, it is really reasonable to conclude that children today are addicted to video games, and the number of those will increase more in the future. Addicting to video games can make children socially isolated. With the development of science and technology at present, it is so convenient that children can play video games everywhere from large devices, such as computers, laptops, and play stations, to small portable devices, such as DS, and Xbox†¦ With those, children can spend hours in playing without resting. Meanwhile, they may spend less time or even ignore in other activities such as doing homework, reading books, sports, and interacting with the family and friends. As a result, children will become lazy and passive, and they find it hard to integrate into the real life. Finally, video games may also have bad effects on children’s health, especially obesity and eyesight problems. When children are addicted to video games, they tend give them foremost priority. This takes the children away from their other physical activities and can have many health-related problems for the children, as they can get obese if they dont exercise and stay home playing video games. Many studies have also showed that spending hours more time playing videogames in front of television screens than playing real and actual sports that involve physical exercise can cause children to experience many of the same symptoms seen in computer vision syndrome in adults. Moreover, extensive viewing of the game screen can lead to eye discomfort, fatigue, blurry vision and headaches (4). As a result, the number of children who have eyesight problems, such as near-sighted, far-sighted, and astigmatism†¦ is increasing. This is perhaps the worst negative effect that videogames can have on children. On the contrary, as many people confirm, one of the most positive effects of video games is increasing the dexterity and agility of a child and improving their hand-eye coordination (5). The new modern video games that are coming out are extremely complex, and they involve the movement of many different kinds of sticks and buttons on the controllers. These can be very good for children as they learn to make fast connections between what they see and what their hands and fingers are doing. These also allow them to think quickly and improve their reflexes. For example, in shooting games, in some cases, the character may be running and shooting at the same time. This requires the children to keep track of the position of the character, where he or she is heading, the speed, where the gun is aiming, and so on. This process requires a great deal of hand-eye coordination and visual-spatial ability to be successful. Therefore, we find that playing video games can have many different effects, both positive as well as negative on children. Even though the children can have benefits by increasing their dexterity and improving their reflexes, the costs of them, like losing their physical exercise, social activities, and homework, declining health, as well as becoming violent, are too much. Overall, it is important that the parents consider this problem seriously and enforce certain rules and regulations that can limit and control the time of playing video games for their children. Parents also should encourage their children to take part in other physical exercise, sports, as well as social activities that can take children away from video games. References: (1), (2), and (3) according to Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression Grace Shin Submitted by Serendip Update on Fri, 01/04/2008 http://serendip. brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723 (4) according to Playing Video Games May Cause Eyestrain. Encourage Safe Game Play Guidelines for Your Child By Troy Bedinghaus, O. D. , About. com Guide Updated February 19, 2008 http://webcache. googleusercontent. com/search? q=cache:INT8Liv76l4J:vision. about. com/od/childrensvision/qt/Video_Games. htm+video+games+affect+eyesightcd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=ussource=www. google. com (5) according to Positive Effects of Video Gaming By R. L. Cultrona, eHow Contributor http://www. ehow. com/about_5370127_positive-effects-video-gaming. html.

The Underlying Benefits of a College Degree Essay Example for Free

The Underlying Benefits of a College Degree Essay We can all recognize the obvious benefits of obtaining a college degree job opportunities and higher earning potential. But oftentimes we overlook or under appreciate the underlying benefits of earning a college degree. However, if you take a closer look at the hidden benefits, you will likely realize that earning a college degree is not completely about financial enrichment. Earning a degree could potentially boost your self-esteem, allow you to make healthier choices, and create a better quality of life for your children. You know the feeling you get when you finally reach your lifelong goal? Priceless, right? Thats exactly what earning a college degree can do for you. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and self confidence that everyone strives for. Not only that, but you have accomplished something that will always be yours and that you will always be able to fall back on in tough economic times. In addition to the boost of confidence, you will likely be able to make more healthy choices than you would without a degree. Generally, this is due to an increase in income which then leads to an overall greater access to healthy food options and health care. Plus, with higher education comes the desire and ability to make healthier choices such as whether or not to smoke. Finally, the greatest benefit of getting a degree is knowing that your children will have a better quality of life and may even follow in their parents footsteps and choose to further their education as well. Even if your children don’t wish to go to college, they will be more motivated to reach for their goals just as you have. In a sense, you have set the standards for them by achieving your dream of obtaining a college degree. You have given them an example to follow by setting a goal and achieving it. Although financial stability is one of the main reasons people choose to obtain a degree, there are many other benefits. You better yourself through boosted self-esteem and improved decision-making ability, which also enhances the lives of your children.

A Visit To A Jewish Synagogue

A Visit To A Jewish Synagogue Judaism is the oldest and one of the most practiced religions in the world. It was originated when God called Abraham and ordered him to take his people to Canaan, the Promised Land. There, it was signed like an agreement between God and the Jews because they were the chosen people to extend the law of God. It is considered Abraham the father of the Jews and Christians, because he descended from the Jewish people. Another important descendant in the origin of the religion was Moses, who were handed the tables of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. The source of the Jewish doctrine is divine in revelation contained in the Torah. It is also a guide of living. Judaism also has very complex purity laws of food. It is allow to eat all plant products, terrestrial animals if they are all ruminants with cloven-hoofed with the exception of the pork, the hare, the camel, etc. Birds are also allowed, all are permitted except the birds of prey. Also sea animals are allowed but only those fish that have scales and fins. In addition the animals must be slaughtered by an expert killer. He must followed all the rabbinical laws for killing, which require, among other things, the disgorging, for which the animal loses all his blood, food prohibit for the Jewish, and the detailed inspection of certain viscera to verify that the animal has no default to be prohibited. After that he must eliminate certain nerves and the fat. Finally, before cooking the meat it has to be treated with water and salt to miss the last traces of blood. In addition it i s important to separate at the time of cooking and eating, meat products and dairy products, also maintaining separate cooking tools for each group. The rabbi is an expert of the study of Torah, which also has obtained the certification to exercise it. His mission is to ensure that believer follows correctly the cult, ensure the implementation of the procedures and teaching, interpreting, implementing and always studying the Torah. He can occupy the position of spiritual leader of a synagogue, a community or a set of them. But regardless of the position, his authority will be determined not for reasons of hierarchy, on the contrary by the prestige given by his knowledge and recognition of it in Jewish society. The usual place of worship on the Jewish religion is the synagogue. Together with the Temple is the most important institution of Judaism. After the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem the synagogue became the center and central point of the religious Jewish life. It inherited many of the customs and rituals of the Temple but there were some of them that were prohibited because they were exclusive of the Temple, for example the prayer became the substitute for the sacrifices. Since many years ago to the functions of the synagogue as a center for prayer, study and teaching it also became as the center of community and place of meeting for treating all kinds of issues related to the community life. Also, in the synagogue or in its buildings there was everything necessary for the Jewish life, for example the headquarters of rabbinical court, the ritual bath, hospice for hosting travelers, among others. The religious service, established in the Talmud, has remained without basic changes along their 2,500 years of history, and only with time has suffered some extensions that vary between communities to others. In the synagogue it is held three times a day, at sunset, at sunrise and at noon, the prayers community in the presence of a minimum of ten (10) men older than thirteen (13) years. Besides the followers there is present the rabbi, where he reads aloud the texts of prayer. The worship prayers to God are all in Hebrew with some fragments are in Aramaic. They consist in passages of Psalms and other books of the Bible. In the service of Monday, Thursday, Saturdays and holidays it is read the Torah. In each week they read a section so the cycle of reading will be completed in the course of the year. The reading is follows by a passage of the biblical books of Prophets where they are related with the section of the Torah. During the prayer men must cover their head with any hat or skullcap. Also they cover themselves with a kind mantle of rectangular shape usually made of wool, white and blue stripes or black. Within the festive calendar the most important institution of Judaism is the sabat (Saturday), which reminds each week the divine resting in the seventh day. The celebration homeschooling starts before sunset on friday, lighting the housewife in the second house candelas sabbaticals on which should read the corresponding blessing. The meals, such as the remaining festivities, starting with a prayer of sanctification (quidà ºs) on a cup full of wine and another blessing on two loaves of bread. The evening of Saturday, another sentence parallel mark the separation (habdalà ¡) between the holy day just and profane that begins; it aspires the smell of spices stored in a bowl, lights a candle and drink a glass of wine, all accompanied by the blessings. Another of its festivals most famous in the Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement, which culminates the ten days of penitence of New Year (September). It is a day of reflection and repentance in which it must save fasting. The Yom Kippur (Day of forgiveness or of atonement) is the most solemn of the Jewish calendar and with it culminates the ten days of penitence initiated with the new Year. It is a day of fasting, devoted to repentance and to ask forgiveness of sins committed against God, against himself and against the neighbor; for forgiveness for the latter there to repair the damage caused, but without the repair and repentance are sufficient when the neighbor is a non-Jewish. The religious services in the synagogue last throughout the day; it starts with the sentence Kal nidrà ©, in which it seeks the annulment of the votes are not met, and closes with a touch of sofar. Of the ceremonies mandatory of the life cycle, the first is the circumcision (berit milà ¡) of the man jewish eighth day of his birth and provided that the health of the newborn permits, in a sign of the alliance (berit) of the people with God, as ordered Abraham in Gen 17.11-12. In the circumcision is imposed on the child a Hebrew name and must be performed a professional (mohel) with the necessary religious knowledge and skills. A month and a day of birth a firstborn, according to the law should devote themselves to God, performed the ceremony of pidià ³n haben (rescue of the child) the father it is deposited in the arms of a kohà ©n (priest) and then what recalls delivering a sum of money symbolic. The marriage ceremony consists of two consecutive stages: (a) the betrothal, with the consecration (quidusà ­n), in which the boyfriend placed in the finger of the bride gold ring, and the reading ritual of marriage contract and its provisions (cohen), among which are the obligations that the man takes on himself as a husband and compensation to be paid to women in the event of divorce; and (b) the remarriage (nisuà ­n), with the recitation of the seven blessings. During the ceremony the bride and groom remain under a palio (hupà ¡), which symbolizes the thalamus bridal, and the groom must break a glass placed their feet, act designed to evoke the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. The 13 years the male jewish reaches the age of majority religious, that is, it becomes bar misvà ¡ (subject to the precepts), being from then responsible for their actions. In the holding the child sits for the first time the tallith and the tefilà ­n, and is traditional to be invited to the synagogue to read in the Torah the fragment that corresponds to it.

Colin Powell :: essays research papers

My Written Report is a Short Biography of Colin Luther Powell. He was born on May 5, 1937 in Presbyterian Hospital. He was born, and grew up, in the South Bronx, New York. There was a big influence of drugs and gangs where Powell lived but, he seemed to steer away from all of that (source 1, page 23). Powell's parents were immigrants from Jamaica. His mother's name is Muad Ariel McKoy. In Jamaica the McKoy fammily watched over sugar plantations. She came to America with her mother (Colin's grandmother). Powell's father's name is Luther Theophilus Powell. In Jamaica the Powell families were peasant farmers. Muad and Luther while in New York not in Jamaica (source 1, page 20, 21). Colin Powell is a smart man. Surprisingly when he was in fourth grade he was in the slow class. When he attended Junior High School, he went to an all male school. He did well academically but he was over looked by his parents because his sister, Marilyn Powell, always did better. He attended Morris High Scho ol in 1950. He was good in high school; he never got into any fights or any sort of trouble. He completed High school in 1954 (source 1, page 29, 30, 32). Powell applied to two colleges City College of New York (CCNY) and New York University (NYU). Both accepted him but he went to CCNY because it only ten dollars a semester as opposed to seven hundred and fifty dollars a semester at NYU. Powell majored in Engendering. He finished college in 1958 (source 1 pages 32, 36). While in college Powell joined the Recruit Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Powell said he joined ROTC because of the discipline and "The sense of comradery among a group of young men who were similarly motivated. Maybe it was the uniform." Another reason he said he joined is because of the association with the military [source 2 (interview page 1) (biography page 1)]. While Powell was in ROTC, he was in the Pershing Rifles. The Pershing Rifles showed that a cadet was more serious about ROTC than a regular ca det. The Pershing Rifles had to stay in ROTC their whole college career. They were distinguished through a yellow wrap worn on their right shoulder (source 1, page 40). In 1987 Powell was the Nation Security Advisor to Ronald Regan. Two years later in 1989 he became the first black officer and the youngest officer to hold the nation's highest military office, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Stampfer and The Catharsis of King Lear Essay -- King Lear essays

Stampfer and The Catharsis of King Lear  Ã‚   At the end of King Lear, when the only characters left standing are Albany, Edgar, and Kent, is the audience supposed to come away from the play with any feeling other than remorse? This search for emotional release by the audience is one which J. Stampfer believes is the most profound problem in King Lear. The overriding critical problem in King Lear is that of its ending. The deaths of Lear and Cordelia confront us like a raw, fresh wound where our every instinct calls for healing and reconciliation. This problem, moreover, is as much one of philosophic order as of dramatic effect. In what sort of universe, we ask ourselves, can wasteful death follow suffering and torture? In his essay "The Catharsis of King Lear," Stampfer discusses sevearal readings of Lear’s death, proves them faulty, and, through analyzation of this and other Shakespearian texts, arrives at his own conclusion concerning Lear’s denouement and the audience’s reaction. The essay begins with Stampfer defining the relevance of Lear’s death to King Lear and the essay reader. Stampfer does not waste the time of the reader with an elaborate introduction. Instead, the first line defines the problem: The overriding critical problem in King Lear is that of its ending (361). Still in the first paragraph, he quotes the line from Lear that causes the interpretation problems, referring to it as Lear’s "desparing question" (361): Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life, And thou no breath at all? (v,iii, 306-7) The rest of the paragraph discusses problems which, in Stampfer’s opinion, cannot be pushed aside, such as the source Shakespeare used to write King Lear, and the Christian referenc... ...ld, and abandons athiesm and attempts to save Lear and Cordelia. This creates a paradox for Stampfer: if characters such as Lear, Gloucester, and Edmund all go through some sort of awakening, why do they all die? Is there any justice in the universe? Stampfer examines Othello, Hamlet, and Romeo & Juliet, and concludes that in each of those tragedies, the play ends with the "reconciliation of the tragic hero and society" (371). Lear, in Stampfer’s opinion, is "the first tragedy in which the tragic hero dies unreconciled and indifferent to society" (371). So Stampfer finds it necessary to go over the plot of Lear again, and dervie what within the structure makes Lear different from the before mentioned plays, and attempt to find some sort of catharsis. Stampfer comes up with several key points. The first is Lear’s abandonment of everything he once knew.

Euthanasia Essay: Mercy Killing or Murder? -- Euthanasia Physician Ass

Euthanasia: Mercy Killing or Murder?      Ã‚   We, as humans, are mortal beings.   Our life span is finite.   Even though we are mortal, we try to hang onto our lives as long as we can; fear of death and wanting to live forever are, after all, part of human nature.   Sometimes, however, the field of medicine capitalizes on this aspect of humanity. While it is certainly true that one goal of medicine has always been to prolong life, another goal has been the alleviation of pain and suffering.   One point at which these two views collide is over the hotly debated issue of euthanasia.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Euthanasia, or "mercy killing," as it has been called, is certainly not an issue with just two sides.   There are many shades of gray involved, so to speak.   Euthanasia, after all,   ranges from simply allowing an individual to die naturally without life support or "pulling the plug" (passive euthanasia), all the way to Jack Kevorkian's suicide machine (active euthanasia). To complicate things further, there is also voluntary euthanasia, "Cases in which patient requests to be killed, and dies as a result of action taken by another person," involuntary euthanasia; "cases in which no action is requested because the patient is unconscious, senile, or otherwise incapable of making a request, but the person is allowed to die or is killed," and nonvoluntary euthanasia; "cases in which a conscious, terminally ill patient states that they do not want to die, but is allowed to die or is killed anyway" (http://valdosta.peachnet.edu).   While an individual may advocate one form of euthanasia, it is not uncommon for the same person to be completely against another form.   There are cases in which euthanasia is wrong, especially cases involving conscious pe... ...d dreaded events that human beings ever have to go through.   This is probably the main reason that euthanasia is so controversial.   It is human nature for us to try and prolong our lives as long as possible, and, through medicine, we have prolonged them quite a bit.   It is important to remember, nevertheless, that sometimes while attempting to fight our common enemy death, we lose sight of the best interests of the individuals whose lives we are affecting.   Are these people not the most qualified people to make this decision?   It is, after all, their lives that hang in the balance.    Works Cited "Murder" American Heritage Dictionary on CD-ROM,   1991. Internet: Http://www.ieatf.org.McCord, William. Internet: Http://valdosta.peachnet.edu.   "Moral Dilemmas." Society 29 July-August 1992: 22. Pallone, Nathaniel. Society 29 July-August 1992: 35.

Edmunds Corugated Parts and Services Essay

There some issues that Edmunds Corrugated Parts and Services have faced that has made it to be in the position that it is currently. Initially, the company started with a problem of where to put up the industry. Otherwise, Larry’s grandfather was there to offer a barn where Larry would put up his first industry. The industry also had no money initially and therefore it had to start with loaned money from the grandfather (Stodghill, 2005). Through this, it made a break through to what seemed to be a dream at the first time to what it is currently. The company initially was not capable of employing many people as it had only one hundred employees who were mostly neighbors. Therefore, there were probably not professional. Nevertheless, they were termed as hardworking workers. After the industry grew, the company was suffering from the issue of replacing the current employees who at this time were skilled with the new ones ((Stodghill, 2005). The reason being that they were loyal and they could not have left the company to search for a job elsewhere as the rest young employees would do. The other issue that the company is succumbing on is the issue of competition. Initially, the company had a market share of 75% but lately, the market share has reduced significantly. This is due to the number of the company that has emerged manufacturing the same products. Otherwise, this has made it possible for the company to diversify their production. An example of the diversification that they have done is the production of the more flexible plastic films and reusable plastic containers. This has increased the customer demands on their products. The industry also suffered an issue of the losing several industries especially in U.S due to the consolidation that was done by the paper industry. This has made the industry wipe out most of the industries that were served by Edmunds. The rest of the people who survived opened other branches oversea as joint ventures. In addition, the few who were left were making higher quality machines that were rarely breaking up making their customers stay for very long without going back to the company ((Stodghill, 2005). This made the business sales turnover to decline significantly with time. This made the company to be dislodged by other manufacturers through the production of domestic and export goods. This is the reason that had made the company currently to be in cross road. Strategy for addressing the company situation at hand Looking at the situation that the company ids in at this time, it requires a strategy that will ensure that it will be revived; therefore, through a strategic formulation, it is capable to ensure that the company is capable of returning the company back to the course of its business. Therefore, it is paramount to ensure that there is strategic management that will comprise three phases to ensure that the company is back on it course and ensure that it achieve its goals and objectives (Ansoff, 1965). These phases in the strategic management are diagnosis, formulation and implementation. This is required to be an ongoing process to a point where the company will be in a position to be revived. In the first phase, the diagnosis of the company environment is required through performing a situation analysis. This will ensure that the company current mission is identified and formulated; strategic objectives are put in place to ensure that the current s8ituation of the company is solved. This will give results that will look at the major strength and weaknesses of the company. The analysis of the company’s environment will look at the major opportunities and threat for example the ones that have made most of the company that Edmund was working to be taken and go over sea (Ansoff, 1965). Some great opportunities such making quality goods can be used to ensure that increase their market share as the customers will be royal to their service. This can be used t ensure that they still sell their goods at higher prices. The strategic management that is formed is required to formulate ways in which the recommendation will be offered. These recommendations are supposed to have supporting justifications that will revise the previous objectives of the company and ensure that the required strategies have been offered. These strategies should ensure the company regains it competitive edge. This strategic management requires to be implemented through the resources that are available and it is required to be implemented in a period that is reasonable. The company management should ensure that the implementation of the strategy is cost effective, not disruptive and acceptable by the entire stakeholder to ensure that the current situation is salvaged. The strategy that would be hardest to implement The part that has been very hard according to the experience is the element of implementing the recommended change in the strategic plan. This is because it will require the management to fit the resources and the competencies and the opportunities that the company has in the market (Smit, 2000). It also requires fitting the recommended issues with risks and expectations. What makes this element of the strategy to be more complicated is the issue of making the stakeholders to unite and implement the put recommendation. This requires them to undergo training to ensure that they have what it takes to accept the changes that will be brought about by the changes that are there in the strategy. The implementation of the strategy is hard and risky if not well carried on. The reason being that if any hitch occurs in the process, all the resources that have been put in place will go to waste. It will be a waste of time and this may lead to complete closure of the company. Strategies Edmunds could use in the future to reduce potential crises There are different methods that Edmund can use to ensure that the company is not entangled in the crises that it is in today. Nevertheless, most of them should be amalgamated to ensure that they offer the best results. The first strategy that the company is supposed to embrace is development of research department that will be looking at innovation of the company t ensure that it is at a competitive edge at all time. This department will be in constantly interact with it environment and bring around feedback that will ensure that the company is always competitive. The second strategy is ensuring training to its employees. This will ensure that they are always at per with the upcoming technology and this will ensure that the productivity level will increase. The training will always make the employee assimilate the innovation that the research department has brought about to ensure that the company is capable of competing appropriately. Finally, the company should ensure that they recruit employees who are competitive to ensure that they bring on board workers who are capable of rising upon all challenges. This will also make the company have innovative minds in their company who will ensure that they bring about changes.

PC Specification Instructions and Requirements Essay

For the specified case study, create a summary of user requirements and a PC Specifications Table in Microsoft Word 2010. A copy of that case study appears at the bottom of this document. This Word 2010 document will include a two-paragraph summary that classifies the user type and identifies the PC category(ies) that will be recommended and Word tables that identify and contain the hardware and software requirements to meet the selected case study requirements. Students are expected to conduct external research to adequately address all aspects of the assignment requirements. Any outside sources should be correctly cited in APA style at the end of the table. Students will need to include specific requirements from the case study to show why each item is being recommended. Each element listed below must be incorporated into the assignment – omissions will result in loss of points. This project is valued at 14 possible points and the final total of points will be adjusted in the rubric after it is graded to reflect 14 possible points for this project. Writing Quality for the Two Page Narrative * Grammar, Verb Tenses, Pronoun Use, Spelling, Punctuation, and Writing Competency. *Remember: spell-check, then proofread. Better yet, have a friend or colleague read it before submitting it. Read it out loud to yourself. * Remember: there is not their, your is not you’re, its is not it’s, too is not to or two, site is not cite, and who should be used after an individual, not that. For example, â€Å"the person WHO made the speech† not â€Å"the person THAT made the speech.† * In a professional paper one does not use contractions (doesn’t, don’t, etc.) and one does not use the personal you or your. Use the impersonal as I have in the previous sentence. It is more business-like than saying, â€Å"Also in a professional paper you don’t use contractions.† * Use the impersonal as in the sentence immediately above. It is more business-like than saying, â€Å"Also in a professional paper you don’t use contractions.† Requirement| Points Allocated| Comments| Set normal text to Arial, 12 point.| 0.25| This is the font in normal paragraphs. Heading and title fonts may be a larger size.| Title Page which shows title and author’s (student’s) name.| 0.25| The title must be, â€Å"PC Specification for_[insert user name]†| Write a brief 2-paragraph narrative that categorizes the user type, identifies the category of PC (s) required, and summarizes your recommendations. | 0.5| Two well-written, concise and organized paragraphs not to exceed one-half a page.| Create a table that shows the various required hardware components. The table should have all the necessary columns, rows, and column headings to show the following: * Input Devices – Identify each type and show which specific user requirements are met * Output Devices – Identify each type and show which specific user requirements are met * Communication Devices – Identify each type and show which specific user requirements are met * Storage Devices – External (including portable) storage devices and show which specific user requirements are met * Other Peripheral Devices – Identify each type and show which specific user requirements are met| 2.0| The table must be labeled â€Å"Hardware Table.†| Create a table that shows the various required system unit features. The table should have all the necessary columns, rows, and column headings to show the following: * Processor – Include type and clock speed and state how processor type and clock speed meets specific user’s requirements in the mini case * RAM – Include type and amount and state how RAM type and amount meets specific user’s requirements in the mini case * Adapter Cards – Identify each type and show which specific user requirements are met * Ports – Include types, how many of each type, and show which specific user requirements are met * Storage Devices – Identify internal system unit storage devices, size of hard drive, and state how each storage device and the hard drive size recommended meets specific user’s requirements in the mini case| 2.0| The table must be labeled â€Å"System Unit Features Table.†| Create a table that shows the various required Application Software. The table should have all the necessary columns, rows, and column headings to show the following: * Identify types, recommend specific product names, and show which specific user requirements are met| 2.0| The table must be labeled â€Å"Application Software Table.†| Create a table shows that the various required System Software. The table should have all the necessary columns, rows, and column headings to show the following: * Operating System – Identify a specific operating system and version * Utility Programs – Include a comprehensive list and state how each utility program meets specific user’s requirements in the mini case| 2.0| The table must be labeled â€Å"System Software Table.†| Create a table that shows the required Internet connectivity and Web-hosted applications and services. The table should have all the necessary columns, rows, and column headings to show the following: * Identify the specific type of ISP that should be used for Internet connectivity * Identify the specific Web services that should be used * State how the ISP type and Web services that were identified meets specific user’s requirements in the case study| 1.0| The table must be labeled â€Å"Internet Connectivity & Web Services Table.†| TOTAL:| 10| | The final total will be scaled to reflect 14 possible points. PC Specification Mini Case Your office has outgrown its old desktop machines and is in the market for new PCs, but would like some guidance on what to purchase. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) wants to ensure that the office obtains PC machines that meet the requirements stated below. You, as the IT Procurement Officer for your small educational company, have been tasked by the CIO to procure 5 PCs. The CIO has defined some capabilities that the PCs will need to have to ensure optimal performance. These tasks and system needs are collectively the office’s requirements. The requirements are as follows: 1. Create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and send and receive email 2. Participate in online chat rooms to include video conferences, web courses and forums (the CIO is a part-time professor at a local university) 3. Create and edit audio and video files and share video and audio files via emails, bulletin boards and in chat rooms 4. Create small databases to manage all audio, video and photo data 5. Take high quality digital photos and videos and download them to the PC as well as scan and edit the photos. 6. Print documents to include photo quality color printing 7. Save documents to pdf and other image formats 8. Transfer information (audio, video and photos) between PC machines 9. Manage the CIO’s schedule by using an online calendar and day planner 10. Utilize the internet to make online purchases, conduct banking services and research new audio, video and photo editing methods using a broadband service. 11. Connect all required peripheral devices you deem necessary to the system unit 12. Protect the PC and all components from dirty electrical power including under voltage (brownout or blackout) and overvoltage (power surge or spike) 13. Manage and protect the system, data, and information while working on the Internet including scanning all incoming emails, email attachments, and files downloaded from Web-based sources; firewall, virus and spyware (security) protection; and checking websites for phishing and fraudulent activities

Domestic Violence and the Police Essay

In this essay I have chosen to study and discuss an article about domestic violence in Britain. The aspects I have chosen to concentrate on are the police response to domestic abuse, recent government initiatives and the financial and logistical problems faced by women who are trying to escape from violent domestic situations. The statistics relating to domestic violence are very disturbing. According to the Women’s Aid website, one incident of domestic violence per minute is reported, with an alarming two deaths a week perpetrated by a current or former partner. In addition to this, they report that one in four women have suffered some kind of violence in the home. The statistics, from the British Crime Survey 2012, only represent reported violence, and associations who support women that have suffered violence, suspect that many more incidents go unreported(Walby & Allen, 2004). So what the definition of domestic violence? The government definition of domestic violence is â €Å"Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional), between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality†. Domestic violence is not a new phenomenon. Before the 1970’s it was something that happened, but was kept firmly behind closed doors and treated as a private matter. The rise of feminism in the 1970’s and the work done with battered women in refuges at that time, led to a heightened awareness of the problem. Studies completed by feminists at the time claimed to have found a link between the dominance of men in society and the way that incidences of domestic violence were ignored or denied. Conservatives at that time debated the findings and claimed that violence towards women had more to do with the fragmentation of family life and â€Å"dysfunctional families†. They also claimed that the statistics were flawed and that actually men were also victims of domestic violence. Straus and Gelles 1986(cited in Giddens), suggested in their report that men were less likely to report domestic attacks, so it was not possible to make a fair comparison. Feminists retaliated b y pointing out that attacks on women were being regularly beaten by their husbands, whereas men were usually only attacked as a â€Å"one off† incident, and that often the woman was defending herself or responding to repeated attacks. (Rawthorne 2002,cited in Gibbens). Feminists could also argue that the police force  itself is a patriarchal. The fact that the police force is still male dominated with only 36,443 female officers out of a total of 137,139, indicates that it is still a male dominated profession, which may make it difficult for the majority of officers to empathise with the plight of women in an abusive situation. So why does domestic violence occur? Dobash and Dobash (1980) found that one of the major factors that cause domestic violence was the husband’s belief that the woman was failing to keep the house properly. With an increase in the number of women working it would not be unreasonable to expect men to do their share of housework, but a study by Arlie Horschchild(1989)(cited in Giddens), found that in reality, working women still do most of the daily chores and it is considered to be their responsibility. Feminists argue that violence against women is symptomatic of a patriarchal society’s attitude to women. Mackinnon (1989) claimed that the subordination of women is the central reason for men’s violence to women and children. Functionalist theorists such as Talcott Parsons (1956) (cited in Giddens) stated that one partner in the family should stay at home to assume the â€Å"effective† emotional role. In the vast majority of households, that person is usually the woman. Feminists argue that this disadvantages women as they then do not have an income of their own to enable them leave if they need to. In recent years reported domestic violence figures have decreased but unfortunately they have started to increase again. Professor Sylvia Walby (UNESCO Chair in Gender Research at Lancaster University), published a report in February 2012 that stated a rise in the number of cases of domestic violence, and voiced concerns about funding cuts to women’s’ refuges and services. She fears that the recession, combined with local government cuts to services that keep wome n safe, may be leading to the current increase. Evidence in the past has indicated that spousal abuse is more prevalent between low-income couples (Cherlin 1999 cited in Giddens). William Goode (1971) felt that whilst men on higher incomes can control women by holding the purse strings, men who are unable to exert this financial control use violence instead. If this is the case, the recession may well lead to many more incidents of domestic violence as couples struggle financially and men face redundancy. The article I have chosen features a lady who was being abused by her husband and how she tried to get away from her situation. It is disturbing to read that that the police  completely failed to assess the situation adequately and left the women unsupported and vulnerable to further attack. Logic would suggest that as this lady had two small children, the man should have been the one made to leave. Instead the policeman involved implied that by staying, she was inviting further violence! The police also did not offer to remove the lady and children to a place of safety, or arrange any sort of support for her. In response to this kind of incident, the Association of Chief Police Officers has worked with the CPS to produce a â€Å"charging checklist† (appendix 1) to enable police officers to get a clearer picture on how to obtain a watertight conviction in cases of domestic violence, and to ensure that the officer has thought about the safety of the complainant. Importantly, the form also records previous incidents of a similar kind. This would have helped Sabina Akhtar (also mentioned in the article) who was murdered by a former partner, despite several appeals to the police to help and protect her. The British Crime Survey found that, while for the majority of women leaving the violent partner stopped the violence, 37% said it did not. 18% of those that had left their partner were further victimised by other forms of harassment. 7% who left said that the worst incident of domestic violence took place after they had stopped living with their partner. Worldwide figures show that 44% of female homicides are perpetrated by a current or former partner, compared to only 6% of men.(Human rights website). Unfortunately, the current system of allowing bail to the perpetrators, gives them the opportunity to re-offend. The current government has acknowledged that domestic violence is still a big problem in this country. The Home Secretary has allocated more than  £28 million for specialist services to tackle violence against women and girls until 2015. Problems caused by cultural beliefs such as forced marriage and female genital mutilation, have been given a higher profile with specific units being set up to help the victims of such crimes. They have chosen several key areas to focus on, the first being early intervention This is aimed at young people to ensure that they understand the importance of healthy relationships and understand that they have the right to say â€Å"no†. This campaign has been heavily advertised on the television and in schools. Professionals are being trained to spot early signs and risk factors of domestic and sexual violence, child sexual abuse, and h armful practices. The system itself disadvantages women experiencing abuse. There are problems with the way domestic violence is recorded and dealt with by the police. According to the article there are currently eleven cases that being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The police are accused of failing to take women’s fears seriously and of failing to provide protection for women who are being abused on a regular basis. The government and the police have acknowledged that attitudes to women and domestic violence are still in need of change. Under the new government initiative, the police have been given new powers to help domestic violence victims break the cycle of abuse including piloting Domestic Violence Protection Orders which allow police to ban alleged abusers from returning to the victim’s home for several weeks. In conclusion, it appears that the problem of domestic violence is starting to be brought out into the open. The sad fact is that even if a woman leaves her abusive partner she still is not safe. She often has to give up her home and sometimes even her family to get away. There also the question of financial support. Very often, abusive men control the finances as they use this as another way of keeping control of their partner. According to the Refuge website, men have been known to force women to give up their jobs, take out loans in their name, and generally run up debt. This makes it harder for her to leave because not only has the woman got no money to support herself and her children, but she also has debts against her name. Although the government has made dealing with domestic violence a priority, they are also cutting funding to councils and other associations. It remains to be seen how effective their new policies are and whether they continue to provide funding to enable the services to function.

Drink Less Coke, More Water Essay

Purpose: To persuade the audience to drink less coke and more water. Thesis: Drinking coke and other sodas are harmful to the body. Drinking less soda (especially coke) and more water will help you to become an overall healthier person with less health problems in the long run. Organizational Pattern: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Introduction Attention Getting Device: What would it take to clean off an old, rusted coin? Many of you might believe any simple cleaning product would get the job done but, this is not so. The answer I’m looking for is coke. That’s right, coke. Coke is so strong that it can remove dirt, rust and grime off of almost any surface. Along with this, it can stain your teeth and dissolve tooth enamel. So my next question to you all is: why, do we love to put something so strong and hazardous inside of our gentle bodies? Source: According to oleda.com â€Å"[soda] can have a†¦toxic†¦poisonous†¦lethal†¦venomous†¦ seriously harmful effect on your entire body. Drinking soda pop is a sure-fire way to age faster† accessed on June 19, 2012. Significance: Today many adults and even children face the issues of being able to successfully consume enough glasses of water a day to maintain the functions of the laborious body. Credibility: As a former excessive coke drinker who has went from drinking countless glasses of coke a day to now drinking a coke (or any soda) less than a few times a week I am credible to speak on this topic. Thesis: Drinking coke and other sodas are harmful to the body. Drinking less soda (especially coke) and more water will help you to become an overall healthier person with less health problems in the long run. Preview: First, I will explain the harmful effects of soda in general on the body. Second, I will describe a technique I used to put an end to my daily over consumption of soda. Finally, I will share my results of the described techniques with the audience. Organizational Pattern: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Transition – Let’s get started! There is no need to take off years of your life by drinking soda. Body I.Main Point #1- Drinking soda (especially coke) on a constant basis is detrimental to your health. In order to be a healthier person you should limit your soda consumption to a minimum.   A. This situation needs to be handled as soon as possible. Soda is horrible for the body. 1. By this point you all are aware that soda is bad for your health but, exactly how bad is it? Soda has many effects on the body that you wouldn’t think a tasty non alcoholic drink would cause. However, after years of drinking it one might ask to themselves: What’s wrong with drinking soda? Well, today I am here to answer just that. 2. Drinking soda, according to termlifeinsurance.com soda causes: issues with kidney and reproductive organs, dissolves tooth enamel, and increases risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even asthma. In the May issue of the American Journal of Nutrition it was stated that people who consumed more than one soda per day have an increased risk of stroke. Accessed on June 19,2012. 3. I know personally that since I have stopped drinking sodas as much as I use to I have experienced drastic weight changes. Along with weight loss, I generally felt better and not so groggy throughout the day. B.You only get one body, so treat it kind. The ingredients used and the amount you consume both have a drastic effect on your health. 1. Soda, goes far beyond the yummy beverage that is served with your meal at Mcdonalds. Soda, is filled with ingredients that do horrifying damage to your internal organs in the long run. According to Buzzle.com some of the ingredients found in soda are: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Aspartame, Caffeine, Phosphoric Acid and Citric Acid. A study mentioned on rodale.com accessed on June 19, 2012 the 2010 FASEB scientific Journal, found that the excessive phosphate levels found in sodas caused lab rats to die a full five weeks earlier than the rats whose diets had more normal phosphate levels 2. In a recent study, the Beverage Marketing Corporation found that the average American drinks 44.7 gallons of soda every year. 44.7 gallons is about 375 pounds. That’s about 487 cans or 286 bottles or 85 2-liters topping its competition of bottled water, beer, milk and coffee. This information was found on gizmodo.com accessed on June 20, 2012. 3. Specialists from the American Heart Association recommend consuming no more than 450 calories from sugar sweetened beverages per week, which is the amount in three cans of cola. This information was found cnn.com and accessed on June 20, 2012. Transition- Now that you know some facts about soda, I will explain how to get on the right path to success. II. Main Point#2 – In order to prevent the health issues previously stated, you should begin to limit your soda consumption. A.Personally, I began my limit my consumption by drinking fewer and fewer bottles of coke a day. For example, if I usually drank 7 glasses of coke I would now drink 6 and have a glass of water. 1.This helps you because it makes the transition not so hard. Along with this it helps you to be able to clearly distinguish the difference between how your body feels when you drink soda versus when you drink water. 2.Some people prefer to go cold turkey and just stop drinking soda all at once but, from my experience by using this method you are more likely to crave and have withdraws which in turn will lead to failure. Another way I began to limit my soda consumption is by purchasing less sodas. Personally, I believe if you don’t have any sodas in your house, you can’t drink it as much. a.To achieve overall better health you will need to limit your soda consumption. It is necessary. b.There are three steps you will need to make in order to rid your body of hazardous chemicals and health issues caused by soda. I.First, you will need to identify that you have a soda consumption problem. If you only drink a few cups of soda a week you won’t actually need to rid your body of soda. A good way to determine if you need to make changes is if your urine is on a normal basis darker than the color of lemonade. If it is leaning towards a medium yellow and gold color you need to drink more water. II.Second, after you have identified that you have a problem or need to drink less you will need to pick one of the two methods I previously stated. Either the day by day method or the cold turkey method. III.Third, after you have chosen a method you can now begin your process of drinking less coke and drinking more water. Try your best to keep a record of how many glasses of soda and water you are drinking each day. Transition- Once you have done the necessary actions, there are a few results you should expect to see. III. Main Point#3 – Finally, after about a few days or a week take a look at your progress and determine if that method really worked for you or if you need to alter things. A.After you have taken the proper steps necessary you should be drinking more water than before, have a lighter urine color and feel healthier overall. Additionally, if you have taken it seriously and really cut back on sodas you should lose a few pounds. B.If, for some reason you do not follow through with limiting your soda consumption you will increase your chances of numerous health issues and takes years off your life. Transition- Now to sum it all up Conclusion Thesis: Drinking coke and other sodas are harmful to the body. Drinking less soda (especially coke) and more water will help you to become an overall healthier person with less health problems in the long run. Preview: First, I explained the harmful effects of soda in general on the body. Second, I described a technique I used to put an end to my daily over consumption of soda. Finally, I share the general results from technique I used with the audience. Return to AGD: Now that I have told you the harmful effects of coke. Don’t put harmful chemicals in your body and don’t let a beautiful smile go to waste! Works Cited (n.d.). Retrieved June 19, 2012, from Oleda: http://www.oleda.com/oleda_tips/tips.asp?dept=48 Baxamusa, B. N. (2012, February 17). Soda Ingredients . Retrieved June 19, 2012, from www.buzzle.com: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/soda-ingredients.html Chan, C. (2011, June 27). The Average American Drinks 45 Gallons of Soda a Year. Retrieved June 20, 2012, from www.gizmodo.com: http://gizmodo.com/5815818/the-average-american-drinks-45-gallons-of-soda-a-year Jampolis, D. M. (2012, May 18). Is drinking soda really that bad for you? Retrieved June 19, 2012, from www.cnn.com: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/18/health/jampolis-dangers-drinking-soda/index.html Main, E. (n.d.). 5 Disturbing Side Effects of Soda. Retrieved June 19, 2012, from www.rodale.com: http://www.rodale.com/facts-about-soda-0

Analysis Of Creative And Innovative Management

Analysis Of Creative And Innovative Management The good organizations become best by adopting innovation. It is more than an invention as it also includes an attitude that encourage new concepts and risk attach with that new concepts. Excessive investments are not needed if a company has awareness about innovation and can use it to create products with unique features. So they create a friendly behaviour for new concepts, ideas, risk, change and even failure (Fortune, March 3, 1997). Managerial innovations are those adjustments in the process of management that gives ideas of products and services and than help in their production and delivery to the customers. It is not essential that effectiveness and efficiencies of product or services get effects from innovations by management (http://tumipc.info). Product versus Process Innovations: Innovations in processes and products are very significant classifications of technical innovations. Product innovations either generate entirely new products with distinct features or may help in increasing the performance and physical features of old products and services. Process innovations are changes in the way products or services are manufactured, created, or distributed. Whereas managerial innovations generally affect the broader context of development, process innovations directly affect manufacturing (http://tumipc.info), the implementation of robotics. Thus product innovations are particularly important during these beginning phases. Later, as an innovation enters the phases of growth, maturity, and decline, Vodafone’s ability to develop process innovations, such as fine-tuning manufacturing, increasing product quality, and improving product distribution, becomes important to maintaining economic return (http://tumipc.info). Explain how management in your selected organization would lead staff to accept and implement innovation The Human Energy of Innovation Innovation is difficult. It’s hard not to be constrained by organisational history, politi cs and budgets. It’s even harder to think of innovation as a human energy and not a process (www.10again.co.uk). Lead the Way to Successful Innovation in Vodafone The collaboration necessary, general cultural differences that can influence the process and the importance that organizational culture has on creating an environment that supports innovation, after these presentation keynotes, I often get a few people who approach me with their stories about innovation in their organizations. They tell me how great the information was and wished they could apply it into their own organizations, but they know that it would never be supported (www.bia.ca). It seems that while individuals are given the necessary time in their jobs to generate ideas, they are not given the time that is really required to explore them through a proper process for innovation. This therefore makes it difficult, if not impossible, for true innovation to happen. Now I realize that those who asked me the que stion may not necessarily be in positions to change their organization’s cultures but maybe they could start to create change within their own spheres of influence, such as a department, plant, location, store, etc. Sometimes Vodafone need to think on a smaller scale and then demonstrate to the organization the value of what they are doing, demonstrated success will help greatly to sell the idea.