Technology in Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Technology in Society - Essay Example Where once ‘robots’ simply meant ‘robotic arms exhibited in the science lab’, today they have evolved into full-on automatons. Where once cellphones were extremely huge, bulky and cumbersome, they can now fit anywhere and be carried anywhere one goes. Music players that were once the size of a small filing cabinet can now be easily held in one hand. Truly, our fascination for technology has allowed us to create great things, and this will no doubt continue to be the case for years to come. This fascination also shows in various areas of pop culture. Works such as Ghost in the Shell or the long-running Gundam franchise are both examples of the lengths to which we envision or predict that technology will evolve, while others such as the .hack franchise portray how technology has very much become hardwired into our lives. This particular paper aims to review two such works – the novel Halting State and the first Terminator movie – due to their rel evance especially in today’s day and age. ... While nowhere near the status of such smash hits such as the Harry Potter series, for example, this novel has still managed to gain more than a modest degree of success for itself – enough to be nominated for both the Hugo and Locus awards (Worlds Without End, 2008). The story begins on a relatively mundane note – a faux job offer email sent to Nigel MacDonald for a stint as a home-based programmer for Hayek Associates LLC. At the same time, within the MMORPG known as Avalon Four, a cybercrime has taken place. Specifically, a small band of orcs together with a dragon had been found to have stolen thousands of euros’ worth of prestige items from the game’s central bank. And while this could easily have been written off as a mere in-game offense, it is soon discovered to be much worse when Hayek stocks and cryptographic keys are found to have been compromised in the process. From then on, the story introduces us to three more central characters: Sue, a polic e officer (herald); Elaine, an investigator (mentor); and Jack Reed, a programmer who happens to be a hardcore gamer. While each of their story lines at first run parallel to each other, they eventually intertwine as these three characters team up to unravel a conspiracy. Eventually, Jack and Nigel are revealed to be one and the same – Nigel MacDonald being the pseudonymous identity. However, soon enough, an even more earth-shattering revelation is revealed – that the entire European network backbone has been hacked into by Chinese hackers. This is the climax at which all pretenses of things being a game are dropped, and also where Jack and Elaine begin to fall in love. Together, the couple make use of Spooks as a sock puppet in order to

The Beauty and Complexity of Minimalism Essay Example for Free

The Beauty and Complexity of Minimalism Essay Today’s modern world is often complex, colorful, noisy and fast-paced. When I am engaged in art, I frequently look for works that allow me to escape from my hectic lifestyle. Clean lines and use of space appeal to my senses and calm me. Sometimes, what is not stated says more than what is stated. I have learned from my study of Japanese art history this semester that simplicity seems to be a common theme in many of the artworks produced throughout Japan’s rich history. Of course, this is not always the case; there are plenty of works that are colorful and loud. Use of color, in fact, seems to be an appreciated value in much of the art I have seen. However, there seems to a simplistic nature in even the most complex of Japanese artwork. This minimalism appears to be an appreciated Japanese aesthetic. Two works of Japanese art stood out to me this semester, precisely for their minimalistic nature: Pine Trees by Hasegawa Tohaku from the late 16th century Momoyama period, and a Shoki-Imari sake bottle from the 17th century Edo period. While there are many differences between these two works, they appear to complement each other. Each of these works has a rich history behind its creation and they both convey a sense of complex simplicity. Before diving into the two works of art presented in this essay, a brief overview of the periods that spawned these artworks is necessary; specifically the relationship of the Momoyama and Edo periods with painting and ceramics, respectively. 1. Momoyama Background Artistically, the Momoyama period (1568-1615) was the most important half-century period in the history of Japan (Swann 211). Momoyama means â€Å"Peach Blossom Hill,† and the period drew its name from the flowering peach trees, over-looked by the great Fushimi Castle, which was frequented by the local residents of the prefecture (Hickman 19). Hickman states, â€Å"[The term, Momoyama] seems appropriate†¦ for the vision of a brilliant cloud of evanescent peach blossoms serves well as an evocative visual metaphor for the period, a ‘golden age’ of short duration but memorable accomplishments,† (19). The period was fraught with intense warfare between clans, and the emperor remained powerless, but the Momoyama laid the foundation for a modern Japan that would experience over two hundred and fifty years of peace in the Edo period. Momoyama’s art was defined by color and movement that took the place of previously used monochrome and stillness (Swann 215). Artists suddenly felt free of restraint and were free to breath new life into old themes and form original interpretations (215). Color, gold and silver were frequently used in art. The Kano school style of painting gained prominence. Folding screens, covered in paper with bold paintings, became increasingly popular. â€Å"Perhaps [The Momoyama’s] most important product is among the most conspicuously decorative works ever produced†¦ a movable and flexible wall of dubious utilitarian value, but perhaps the most significant creation of the Japanese decorative style,† (qtd. Swann 216). The large area of the folding screen lent itself to broad, sweeping brushstrokes and immense designs. The Momoyama period attempted to bring nature into the household. 2. Hasegawa Tohaku Hasegawa Tohaku (1539-1610) was born in Nanao in the province of Noto (Tazawa 83). He was a painter of the Momoyama period who was able to paint in both Chinese and Japanese styles (Swann 219). Before he took the name Tohaku, he went by the name Shinshun and mainly produced portraits and Buddhist paintings (Tazawa 83). Hasegawa Tohaku was highly skilled and studied the works of Sesshu, Shubun, Kanga, the Kano school and Song and Yuan Chinese dynasty painters (83). Much of his work represented the style of the Momoyama period – flowering trees, flowers, and bright colors. However, his most famous paintings, like Pine Trees differ greatly from the typical Momoyama style (Seiroku 107). . Edo Background The Edo period (1615-1868) is distinguished by the long rule of the Tokugawa clan and an era of political stability. The period is called Edo since the capital was moved from Kyoto to the small village of Edo, which later became Tokyo. Two important developments influenced the subsequent artistic developments of the Edo period. First, in the Edo period Japan beca me completely isolated from the rest of the world by closing its borders to foreigners (with a small exception to some Dutch and Chinese near Nagasaki) and prohibiting foreign travel (Swann 239). Since the Chinese had historically influenced the Japanese, artists were now able to move towards the rejection and free adaptation of Chinese influences (Watson 260). The closed borders also removed the Western and Christian influences which had been slowly filtering in through the Dutch. As feudalism declined in the West in favor of the creation of parliamentary systems, Japan feverishly worked to pursue, â€Å"pleasure and extravagance which is most vividly reflected in the arts,† (Swann 240). The pursuit of the arts gave way to the second major Edo development the rise of the merchant class, which affected the artistic patronage and ushered in the Edo artists. New patrons allowed art to flourish in the Edo period. The new city of Edo helped create this new class of merchants that were able to supply not only the samurai, but themselves as well. This opened new and wider markets for the creations of artists and craftsmen (Swann 243). 4. Shoki-Imari ware One of the greatest influences to Japanese ceramics was Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s invasion of Korea at the end of the Momoyama period (Watson 260). The Japanese still wanted to produce ceramics that represented the greater Asiatic cultures, so the returning Japanese armies brought back Korean potters (Sanders 44). This led to a tremendous advance in ceramics of the early 17th century, allowing for the proliferation of porcelain (Watson 260). There were several innovations of porcelain throughout the Edo period, but for the purpose of this paper, only the Shoki-Imari ware will be discussed. Arita became a town in the Saga prefecture of Japan known for porcelain production after a discovery by a Korean potter in the early 17th century (Sanders 44). The earliest porcelains, called Shoki-Imari, were made out of a poor quality clay, with a high iron content (Watson 261). These Shoki-Imari were typically decorated with an underglaze of cobalt oxide, which had a bluish tinge. The decorations were often flowers or landscape of Korean influence (261). However, the Japanese still envied the enameled porcelain of the Chinese Ming Dynasty and finally by the mid 17th century the Arita potters learned how to use an overglaze to produce that effect. Both the underglaze and the overglaze porcelains were able to proliferate to Europe through the very limited trade with the Dutch. . Pine Trees and the Shiko Imari sake bottle The first thing one notices about Hasegawa Tohaku’s screen painting, Pine Trees, is that the entire painting is monochromatic and you can easily see how little of the canvas is used. There is more space than ink, or in terms of the environment, more mist than trees. This presents a sense of openness, almost an empti ness in the painting. According to Tazawa, â€Å"In no other work, perhaps, has the poetic quality inherent in Japanese style ink painting been so successfully realized,† (84). The same sort of feeling of Pine Trees is immediately seen in the Shoki-Imari sake bottle. The sake bottle is also monochromatic and the porcelain gleams all around the sparseness of the landscape presented. It has the same sort of emptiness as Pine Trees. This emptiness is interesting in the sake bottle because the use of the open space makes the bottle seem empty inside. Both pieces of art are similar in the sense that they present a landscape, which is a common Japanese aesthetic, especially of those time periods. The artist of the Shoki-Imari bottle is unknown, but it is clear that he was familiar with the environment he was painting. Both pieces of art make the viewer feel they are inside the painted scene, even if one piece is small and the other is large. Both works create environments that are simple and direct in their reference to an ageless Japanese reality (Seiroku 107). One element the sake bottle presents that Pine Trees does not is the bottle uses a man-made element it its scene; the sake bottle has a pagoda painted on it. This element causes the viewer to feel as if man had been inside the portrayed environment where Pine Trees does not. Pine Trees leaves the viewer feeling that no one had ever been inside the forest. The use of the mist helps enforce this feeling. It gives it a haunted, untouchable feel. The sake bottle landscape makes the artwork feel approachable. Another difference is that the techniques used in Pine Trees are distinctly Chinese. The techniques used in the creation of the Shoki-Imari Sake bottle were Korean. However, since the Japanese wanted to create ceramics in the manner of the Chinese, the underglaze was painted on in a Chinese style. This specific Shoki-Imari piece however, was not part of the first Shoki-Imari created, since it was formed sometime between 1650 and 1660 (Watson 267). It is in the style of the first porcelains exported by the Dutch, but was created later for the international market; Arita had already ceased production on poorer quality Shoki-Imari ceramics (267). Since the Japanese had already mastered overglaze technique by this time, this bottle was made purposefully with underglaze. The blue and white design was an aesthetic of the Chinese the Japanese were trying to master and created this vase to replicate earlier Chinese models (267). The painting styles of the two pieces of artwork are similar and different. In Hasegawa Tohaku’s Pine Trees, the ink was skillfully applied with â€Å"varying degrees of thickness to create the effect of pine trees partly hidden in mist, the work as a whole giving a strong sense of economy, vividness, and clarity of conception,† (Tazawa 84). Some of the ink of the trees is so dark that some individual branches are indistinguishable, yet they seem closer and more clear than those painted lightly. In some parts of the painting, there is nothing painted at all, but it is still clear that the forms of the trees are still there, even if only implied. For the most part, the use of hue in Pine Trees is not the same as the Shoki-Imari sake bottle. Some parts of the trees are painted darker than others, but only to give the individual trees added detail. There are some varying hues of the mountains and land in the bottle, but not in the same sense as Pine Trees. The mountains are not painted in detail either; they are only outlines, leaving the inside hollow. The lightest object on the entire bottle is, surprisingly, the man-made pagoda. The lightness of the pagoda assumingly expresses the Japanese respect for a nature. Each piece of artwork has something in common and something different in the way they portray the tree branches. In Pine Trees, Hasegawa Tohaku curves the branches, sloping toward the ground. But at the same time, there is a slight element of the Ma-Yuan Chinese influence on Japanese painting. The trees have a slight angular nature to them. It is not something that is noticed at a mere glance, but upon further study, you can see the implied angular nature of an older style of painting. He clearly studied the style and made it his own. The brushstrokes imply a hidden angularity in the forest. The Shoki-Imari sake bottle does not use any angularity, but it has another interesting element. The two trees in the foreground sit at an angle and curve with the roundness of the bottle. The mountains also protrude into the neck of the bottle. This method of following the lines and curves of the bottle makes the environment seem more real by conforming to the three dimensional object. Another element that the two pieces of art have in common is depth. The Shoki-Imari sake bottle certainly does not use a thickness in the brushstrokes to convey this. It conveys depth by the placement of the objects. The mountains are painted above the tree line with little overlap. A river flows from the base of the mountains to the middle of the bottle where the pagoda is located in the middle of the tree. The tree come up from the ground at an angle and curve to either side so that they have varying heights. The combination of each of these elements puts the trees in the foreground and the mountains in the background, with the pagoda and some vegetation in the middle. This creates a sense of depth, which was a newer element in Japanese art. Each of the brushstrokes on the bottle is deliberate and creates line for the eye to follow. Hasegawa Tohaku’s painting creates depth, if not more so than the bottle, but by using a different technique. The varying levels of ink he applied to the trees and the lack of ink used in the midst creates an intense depth. It is presumable that all of the trees are planted at the same relative level, but by having the darker trees at varying heights and painting the other trees at varying hues, he created an incredible amount of depth on a flat surface. He created a forest from a row of trees. 6. Conclusion The Shoki-Imari sake bottle and Hasegawa Tohaku’s Pine Trees are obviously very different pieces of art. Pine Trees is ink, black and white, large, on a folding screen and from the Momoyama period. The Shoki-Imari sake bottle is porcelain, underglazed, small, blue and white and from the Edo period. They were created roughly fifty years apart. However, they both express a minimalism that reflects an essence of Japanese aesthetic. Both pieces of art say more with what is understated. They are simple pieces; but the history behind these works and the processes involved are incredibly complex. I find both them both incredibly powerful, peaceful and refreshing.

To Kill A Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb County, an imaginary district in southern Alabama. The time is the years of the Great Depression in the United States. The mood of the novel is mostly light and humorous, especially when talking about the children’s antics. However, another mood throughout the novel is somber and calm, because come important issues are being valued and dealt with. Atticus’ dealings with the blacks, the negative attitudes of some other members of the community, the trial of Tom Robinson and his gruesome end, depicts a seriousness and a grave reconsideration of accepted beliefs, which is expected of the readers by the author. Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem, is a highly respected and responsible citizen of Maycomb County. An attorney by profession, he has always tried to instill good values and a sense of moral in his children. Jem is a true brother to Scout, helping her out of scrapes, escorting her to school and back, guiding her at times and comforting her in general. When he is given money to buy something for himself, he buys a gift for Scout too. When he finds out that Scout has eaten the gum found in the knothole of the oak tree, he insists that she gargle her throat. When she muddles up her role in the pageant and is mortified, Jem is the one to console her. He displays much genuine concern and consideration in dealing with his unruly sister. Scout, because of her age, and being the youngest in the family, is impulsive by nature and extremely emotional too. She unthinkingly rushes into fights and scrapes, cries when her ego is hurt and is generally is rash in her actions. Conflict- The protagonist of the novel is Atticus Finch, who is the prime initiator and coordinator of various events in the novel. In his involvement with the poor whites of the community, like Walter Cunningham, as well as the deprived blacks, like Tom Robinson, he is portrayed as a just, sincere and a greatly considerate human being. He has clear-cut values and beliefs, and it is his sincere wish that his children too grow up with a broad outlook and an unprejudiced way of thinking. He is indifferent to what others have to say or think about his actions, and he is steadfast in his beliefs of equality and liberty. Bob Ewell serves as the antagonist villain in the novel, with his laid-back way of living and the utter disregard he has for other human beings.

Current trends in teaching growth patterns of children in elementary school Essay

Elementary schools for children have gained much attention especially in this 21st century. It is believe that the foundations laid at early childhood education have much influence on the whole learning process. It is at early stages that the intellectual development should be monitored, (Zhang, A. , Sayre J. W. , Vachon, L. 2009). The current trends in teaching growth patterns of children in the elementary schools have given more weight in promoting appropriate development of children’s physical and social growth as well as emotion. The following discussion illustrates how the above has been achieved in elementary schools, (Butte N. F. 2007). Individual appropriateness and the age of the child has been put has the first consideration in the current trend. The first understanding of children’s background be it be family, culture and the physical and emotional abilities has provided the opportunities of meeting the needs of different children, (Butte N. F. 2007). Playing in children has been the most effective approach to monitor children mental growth. Both the child supported play by the teachers and the one initiated by the child himself have proved to enhance growth and development. This approach is referred as experimental, (Zhang, A. , Sayre J. W. , Vachon, L. 2009). It is therefore by using songs and games that the children have been in position to learn more on numeric and alphabetical numbers. Another current trend which is appropriate in teaching the elementary children is the direct instruction by the teachers. In this children are directed to do something even though they do not have the idea of what they are doing. Through continuous exercise they master what they are taught. For instance children can be taught counting of numbers through the teacher’s instructions or naming some items in which at the end of the exercise they will have attained the skills of naming and counting, (Butte N. F. 2007). References Butte N. F. (2007). A new 21st century international growth standards for infants and young children: Evaluation of the Feasibility of International Growth standards for School Aged Children, 137: 153-157. Zhang A. , Sayre J. W. , Vachon, L. (2009). Radiology: Racial Differences in Growth Patterns of Children Assessed on the Basis of Bone Age, 48, 574-576.

Feasibility Report Guide Essay

Intro– Samsung Electronics is based in Seoul, South Korea and operates in 65 countries worldwide with 157,000 people working for the company. Samsung Electronics products include semiconductors, hard drives, digital displays, home electronics, mobile phones, and others. All Samsung products have the same tone when the device is turned on, so that customers can easily get used to them and this tone is mentioned when Samsung products are being advertised as well. â€Å"Smarter Life† theme was introduced recently in Samsung that is based on the innovative approach in improving the company’s current products, and introducing new products to the market. For instance, Android-based Samsung Galaxy Player 50 is to be introduced soon, containing a range of innovative features the product is expected to change the current media players’ market condition significantly SWOT Samsung– Samsung Strength as Becoming a world known brand (over 200 countries) R&D (investing on scientific talents) Innovation (new digital technology) Customization (new products every year) New allocation of marketing resources (M-Net). Samsung enjoys the widest range of product portfolio which includes : Mobile phones Tablet TV/Audio/Video,Camera,camcorder, Home appliance Pc‟s,Laptop, peripherals, printer, memory cards and Well diversified and differentiated product line toother accessories meet changing customer needs . Samsung electronics has 4business areas to cover customer electronics needs. Practice the good leadershipBrand value through multiple sponsorships High market share that continues to growtheory (Mobile Phones and Design with an attractive styling that interestsmemory chip)and LCD the customer, as the result of the development of Samsung‟s new products that involve team of product designers. product variation Samsung’s Opportunities unique products and existing products introduce userwith variety friendly mobile phones could launch sub brandsat affordable price. to the company. Samsung’s Opportunities O open more stores â€Å"Newmore customers O Launch creative products Technology,† â€Å"Innovative Products,† and â€Å"Creative Solutions. Weakness–Aver age pr i ces of pr oduct s seem t o bea l ow qual i t y pr oduct s-Not pr o-act i ve intro oduci ng a newpr oduct s. low cost competitors in China2. legal war between Samsung and its competitors such as Apple & nokia. Threads–Low-cost competitors Samsung is facing threats from many other low cost companies in China. While Samsung was busy competing with others, Huawei a company which focus on low cost products; is now a leader in fixed-line networks, mobile-telecommunications networks, and budget smart phones. Market share- Samsung Mobile eyeing 60% marketshare in India. The Indian mobile handset market is estimated to reach 251 million units in 2013, an increase of 13.5% over this year. The threat of potential new entrants (Low)- New entrants would have issues with overcoming patent issues if they didn’t plan on investing in their own R&D to create a unique product. These things together would require a new entrant to establish a competitive brand name while achieving economies of scale via investments in a supply chain process and developing a distribution infrastructure to remain competitive. The costs of accomplishing these things make a very strong barrier to entry. The threat of substitutes (High) Market share-Holding a revenue market share of 20.6%, Vodafone India is the country’s second largest telecom operator by revenue share after Bharti. Strengths: * Diversified geographical portfolio with strong mobile telecommunications operations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and to some extent the US * Network infrastructure   * Leading presence in emerging markets such as India Weaknesses: * Little focus of impact of mobile on climate.   * Negative return on assets (ROA) under perform key competitors like AT&T, Airtel, Uninor etc * US business not nearly as strong as European/rest of the world operations * 80% of its business is generated in Europe. Opportunities: * Improve accessibility to wide range of customers * Focus on cost reductions improving returns * Majority stake in Hutchison Essar in India * Research and development of new mobile technologies Threats: * Highly competitive market * Still lags behind major competitors in the India and other countries. * Extremely high Porter’s five forces Buyer power The bargaining power of buyers in the telecommunications industry is high due to the cutthroat competition and lack of differentiated products. The strong buyer power effectively reduces the cost prices in the industry though not to the level of its competitors. As such, Vodafone will keep making reasonable profits compared to its competitors. Supplier power Vodafone’s suppliers have a high bargaining power since the company operates with greater margins compared to its competitors. As a leader in the market, the market share is large meaning that it can easily absorb any price increments from the suppliers more than its competitors can. As such, Vodafone can easily maintain low prices from its suppliers and continue making profits (MarketLine, 2012, p. 9). Threat of substitutes Vodafone faces a considerable threat for products and services. The landline and CDMA services are fast declining while broadband services are fast becoming common. Video conferencing, VOPI such as Skype, Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger, email and social networking have emerged as substitutes to mobile services. However, due to the strong buyer power and effective economies of scale, Vodafone does not need to pass down the costs attributed to substitution to consumers (MarketLine, 2012, p. 8). Threat of entrants The threat of fresh market entrants is low because of barriers to entry. Companies wishing to enter the market must pay huge licensing fees coupled by spectrum availability and regulatory issues attached to the industry. Similarly, the costs of setting up network infrastructure are high, and the rapidly changing technology make is difficult for new entrants to cope. However, Vodafone can cope with this by maintaining high-level efficiency of its services to unrivaled heights. Industry rivalry Vodafone faces extremely high rivalry from its competitors due to the low call rate prices charged by its closest competitors. Similarly, the competitors constantly provide innovative products and services to the customers, which mean that Vodafone has to provide the same to its customers. Vodafone PEST Analysis. PEST analysis is a strategic tool used to analyse external factors affecting the business and stands for political, economical social and technological factors. The main political factors affecting Vodafone include EU Roaming Regulation that aims to decrease charges for mobile phone usages Economical factors also affect Vodafone main of which are the growth of GDP and the level of inflation rate within markets where the company operates. Generally any external economic changes affecting Vodafone can be classified as external economic factors. There is a range of social factors as well that affect Vodafone. For instance, changing work patterns that are becoming very popular make people work from home increasingly relying in communication technologies. Also, there are issues like people going ‘green’ and ageing population in developed countries that are going to affect Vodafone directly or indirectly. The impact of technological factors on Vodafone is without any doubt due to the nature of the telecommunications industry. Specifically, a technological innovation in communications and emergence of alternative means of communication such as online chatting, and Yahoo! Messenger are going to affect Vodafone strategy in a way that the company is left with a choice of either to form strategic alliances with above companies or to commit to considerable amount of research and development in order to introduce innovative products and services to the market.

How to Start a Story Must-Have Tips From 11 Professional Editors

How to Start a Story Must-Have Tips From 11 Professional Editors How to Start a Story: 11 Tips From Our Editors Most writers don’t begin the novel-writing process knowing exactly how to start a story. That comes later, once the narrative arc has taken clearer form.It’s also because the opening lines of a novel carry a lot of responsibility with them. They act as an invitation for someone who’s glanced at the first page of your book to either put it back down or keep reading. It’s like the white rabbit showing up and asking Alice to follow him: the reader has to decide whether to follow despite not knowing what will happen next, and it is the writer’s job to convince them to go down the rabbit hole.Whether you’re just getting started on a novel, or revisiting Page 1 of a first draft, Reedsy Editors are here to help with tips for starting a story with literary examples from a few favorites. We asked our editors: "how would you start a story?" They came up with 9 insightful ways Tip 1. Start with the unexpectedGareth Watkins: Start with the unexpected. Think of the opening to Nineteen Eighty-Four, or Iain Banks’, The Crow Road, â€Å"It was the day my grandmother exploded.† Of course, your opening doesn’t have to be as outrageous as these, but always aim for the unusual. In other words: think of how people will be expecting the book to start, then take the plot  in another direction.If you're in the mood to get some similarly twisty ideas, you can go here to see a list of 70+ plot twist examples.â€Å"At dusk they pour from the sky. They blow across the ramparts, turn cartwheels over rooftops, flutter into the ravines between houses. Entire streets swirl with them, flashing white against the cobbles. Urgent message to the inhabitants of this town, they say. Depart immediately to open country.† - Anthony Doerr, All The Light We Cannot SeeTip 10. Start with your heartDiane Sheya Higgins: Ensure readers that you are not kidding around. You have invested blood, sweat, and tears into this story, and the opening lines should prove that. Compose the first lines of your book as though they were the last lines you will ever write.When readers are transported into your far reaching insights and soulful explorations, they are yours. Every time I read the opening lines of Hugh Howey’s bestselling self-published novel, Wool, I am drawn into the breathtaking depths of his vision and humanity, and I wrench my heart from my chest, and say, â€Å"Here, take it.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing as only happy children do. While they thundered about frantically above, Holston took his time, each step methodical and ponderous, as he wound his way around and around the spiral staircase, old boots ringing out on meta l treads.† - Hugh Howey, WoolTip 11. Start by placing a spell on your readerAnne McPeak: You want your reader to be swept up in the story- for its entirety, but especially at the beginning. This is your chance to intoxicate your reader and convince them that they can’t not read on. This doesn’t mean your story needs drama, or fireworks, or shocking material; what your story really needs is close attention to language, tone, and pacing. Dazzle your reader from the start, and they will willingly take your hand for the ride."Like a match struck in a darkened room:Two white girls in flannel nightgowns and red vinyl roller skates with white laces, tracing tentative circles on a cracked blue slate sidewalk at seven o'clock on an evening in July.The girls murmured rhymes, were murmured rhymes, their gauzy, sky-pink hair streaming like it had never once been cut." - Jonathan Lethem, Fortress of SolitudeEstablishing best practices for starting a story can be tricky because, as Reedsy Editor Nathan Connolly says, â€Å"Fiction should, by nature, seek to defy, redefine or expand beyond rules." It should not be an author’s goal to emulate the words or tastes of another person while writing a novel.However, many well-loved novels share a thread of commonality when it comes to their first few lines - such as a question, a brief to-the-point line, or in the middle of action. While there’s no hard rule for what works, these are guidelines you can follow when determining how to hook readers down your story’s path. Struggling with your opening lines? Here are 9 ways to start your story   Writing a book is a monumental task, but very doable once you have momentum and a compliant muse. If you're looking for ways to end  your novel, go here. And when you reach the finishing line of your entire publishing journey, please read our technical article on formatting and making a book ready for publishing.Do you have a favorite opening passage from a novel not mentioned? Or your own tips for writing a great story opener? Let us know in the comments!

The Agony of the Confederate Flag essays

The Agony of the Confederate Flag essays The Confederate Flag has always and will always stand for a dark time in our country. This flag reminds many people of a time when slavery was rampant in our country, and indeed, it is the flag of a country that supported slavery the entire length of its existence. This flag is offensive to people, it carries the connotation of hatred, inequality and severe injustice. This symbol is one of pure hatred, not heritage as some may say or believe. Lets say for a minute that this flag does not stand for hatred (which it clearly does); but rather it stands for heritage (which it clearly does not). Why would anybody want to display a flag of a country that is known for slavery, hatred, bigotry, and getting their behinds whipped rather handily by the opposing country in the only war it was ever apart of? I know it has a lot of historical value; I mean after all it was the symbol of a country that lasted all of what three to five years before they were defeated by the very union they sec eded from. Also, if it is heritage and should be allowed to be flown on government buildings, why then should we not fly the Union Jack of Great Britain, after all they were both our heritage and our history, it seems to make sense that if the confederate flag stands for heritage and history solely; then we should fly the Union Jack with pride after all it represents those same qualities. To me this flag represents the following: hate, bigotry, racism, prejudice, inequality, injustice, white supremacy, and an overall feeling of disgust. Personally I think it should not be flown on government buildings because it offends people, and should not be allowed in public school, because many students have no choice but to attend there and should not be forced to look at a symbol of hate all the time. If the government can rule to take prayer and Bible out of schools, and take the Ten Commandments off the court room walls merely because they offend people (e...

Constructing the Empire State Building

Constructing the Empire State Building Ever since it was built, the Empire State Building has captured the attention of young and old alike.  Every year, millions of tourists flock to the Empire State Building to get a glimpse from its 86th and 102nd-floor observatories. The image of the Empire State Building has appeared in hundreds of ads and movies. Who can forget King Kongs climb to the top or the romantic meeting in An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle?  Countless toys, models, postcards, ashtrays, and thimbles bear the image if not the shape of the towering Art Deco building. Why does the Empire State Building appeal to so many? When the Empire State Building opened on May 1, 1931, it was the tallest building in the world - standing at 1,250 feet tall. This building not only became an icon of New York City, but it also became a symbol of twentieth-century mans attempts to achieve the impossible. The Race to the Sky When the Eiffel Tower (984 feet) was built in 1889 in Paris,  it  taunted American architects to build something taller. By the early twentieth century, a skyscraper race was on. By 1909 the Metropolitan Life Tower rose 700 feet (50 stories), quickly followed by the Woolworth Building in 1913 at 792 feet (57 stories), and soon surpassed by the Bank of Manhattan Building in 1929 at 927 feet (71 stories). When John Jakob Raskob (previously a vice president of General Motors) decided to join in the skyscraper race, Walter Chrysler (founder of the Chrysler Corporation) was constructing a monumental building, the height of which he was keeping secret until the buildings completion. Not knowing exactly what height he had to beat, Raskob started construction on his own building. In 1929, Raskob and his partners bought a parcel of property at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue for their new skyscraper. On this property sat the glamorous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Since the property on which the hotel was located had become extremely valuable, the owners of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel decided to sell the property and build a new hotel on Park Avenue (between 49th and 50th Streets). Raskob was able to purchase the site for approximately $16 million. The Plan to Build the Empire State Building After deciding on and obtaining a site for the skyscraper, Raskob needed a plan. Raskob hired Shreve, Lamb Harmon to be the architects for his new building. It is said that Raskob pulled a thick pencil out of a drawer and held it up to William Lamb and asked, Bill, how high can you make it so that it wont fall down?1 Lamb got started planning right away. Soon, he had a plan: The logic of the plan is very simple. A certain amount of space in the center, arranged as compactly as possible, contains the vertical circulation, mail chutes, toilets, shafts and corridors. Surrounding this is a perimeter of office space 28 feet deep. The sizes of the floors diminish as the elevators decrease in number. In essence, there is a pyramid of non-rentable space surrounded by a greater pyramid of rentable space. 2 But was the plan high enough to make the Empire State Building the tallest in the world? Hamilton Weber, the original rental manager, describes the worry: We thought we would be the tallest at 80 stories. Then the Chrysler went higher, so we lifted the Empire State to 85 stories, but only four feet taller than the Chrysler. Raskob was worried that Walter Chrysler would pull a trick - like hiding a rod in the spire and then sticking it up at the last minute. 3 The race was getting very competitive. With the thought of wanting to make the Empire State Building higher, Raskob himself came up with the solution. After examining a scale model of the proposed building, Raskob said, It needs a hat!4 Looking toward the future, Raskob decided that the hat would be used as a docking station for dirigibles. The new design for the Empire State Building, including the dirigible mooring mast, would make the building 1,250 tall (the Chrysler Building was completed at 1,046 feet with 77 stories). Who Was Going to Build It Planning the tallest building in the world was only half the battle; they still had to build the towering structure and the quicker the better. For the sooner the building was completed, the sooner it could bring in income. As part of their bid to get the job, builders Starrett Bros. Eken told Raskob that they could get the job done in eighteen months. When asked during the interview how much equipment they had on hand, Paul Starrett replied, Not a blankety-blank [sic] thing. Not even a pick and shovel. Starrett was sure that other builders trying to get the job had assured Raskob and his partners that they had plenty of equipment and what they didnt have they would rent. Yet Starrett explained his statement: Gentlemen, this building of yours is going to represent unusual problems. Ordinary building equipment wont be worth a damn on it. Well buy new stuff, fitted for the job, and at the end sell it and credit you with the difference. Thats what we do on every big project. It costs less than renting secondhand stuff, and its more efficient.5 Their honesty, quality, and swiftness won them the bid. With such an extremely tight schedule, Starrett Bros. Eken started planning immediately. Over sixty different trades would need to be hired, supplies would need to be ordered (much of it to specifications because it was such a large job), and time needed to be minutely planned. The companies they hired had to be dependable and be able to follow through with quality work within the allotted timetable. The supplies had to be made at the plants with as little work as possible needed at the site. Time was scheduled so that each section of the building process overlapped - timing was essential. Not a minute, an hour, or a day was to be wasted. Demolishing Glamor The first section of the construction timetable was the demolition of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. When the public heard that the hotel was to be torn down, thousands of people sent requests for mementos from the building. One man from Iowa wrote asking for the Fifth Avenue side iron railing fence. A couple requested the key to the room they had occupied on their honeymoon. Others wanted the flagpole, the stained-glass windows, the fireplaces, light fixtures, bricks, etc. Hotel management held an auction for many items they thought might be wanted.6 The rest of the hotel was torn down, piece by piece. Though some of the materials were sold for reuse  and  others were given  away for kindling, the bulk of the debris was hauled to a dock, loaded onto barges, and then dumped fifteen miles into the Atlantic Ocean. Even before the demolition of the Waldorf-Astoria was complete, excavation for the new building was begun. Two shifts of 300 men worked day and night to dig through the hard rock in order to make a foundation. Raising the Steel Skeleton of the Empire State Building The steel skeleton was built next, with work beginning on March 17, 1930. Two-hundred and ten steel columns made up the vertical frame. Twelve of these ran the entire height of the building (not including the mooring mast). Other sections ranged from six to eight stories in length. The steel girders could not be raised more than 30 stories at a time, so several large cranes (derricks) were used to pass the girders up to the higher floors. Passersby would stop to gaze upward at the workers as they placed the girders together. Often, crowds formed to watch the work. Harold Butcher, a correspondent for Londons  Daily Herald  described the workers as right there in the flesh, outwardly prosaic, incredibly nonchalant, crawling, climbing, walking, swinging, swooping on gigantic steel frames.7 The riveters were just as fascinating to watch, if not more so. They worked in teams of four: the heater (passer), the catcher, the bucker-up, and the gunman. The heater placed about ten rivets into the fiery forge. Then once they were red-hot, he would use a pair of three-foot tongs to take out a rivet and toss it - often 50 to 75 feet - to the catcher. The catcher used an old paint can (some had started to use a new  catching  can  made  specifically for the purpose) to catch the still red-hot rivet. With the catchers other hand, he would use tongs to remove the rivet from the can, knock it against a beam to remove any cinders, then place the rivet into one of the holes in a beam. The bucker-up would support the rivet while the gunman would hit the head of the rivet with a riveting hammer (powered by compressed air),  shoving  the rivet into the girder where it would fuse together. These men worked all the way from the bottom floor to the 102nd floor, over a thousand fe et up. When the workers finished placing the steel, a massive cheer rose up with hats  waiving  and a flag raised. The very last rivet was ceremoniously placed - it was solid gold. Lots  of Coordination The construction of the rest of the Empire State Building was a model of efficiency. A railway was built at the construction site to move materials quickly. Since each railway car (a cart pushed by people) held eight times more than a wheelbarrow, the materials were moved with less effort. The builders innovated in ways that saved time, money, and manpower. Instead of having the ten million bricks needed for construction dumped in the street as was usual for construction, Starrett had trucks dump the bricks down a chute which led to a hopper in the basement. When needed, the bricks would be released from the hopper, thus dropped into carts which were hoisted up to the appropriate floor. This process eliminated the need to close down streets for brick storage as well as eliminated much back-breaking labor of moving the bricks from the pile to the bricklayer via wheelbarrows.9 While the outside of the building was being constructed, electricians and plumbers began installing the internal necessities of the building.  The timing  for each trade to start working was finely tuned. As Richmond Shreve described: When we were in full swing going up the main tower, things clicked with such precision that once we erected fourteen and a half floors in ten working days - steel, concrete, stone and all. We always thought of it as a parade in which each marcher kept pace and the parade marched out of the top of the building, still in perfect step. Sometimes we thought of it as a great assembly line - only the assembly line did the moving; the finished product stayed in place.10 The Empire State Building Elevators Have you ever stood  waiting  in a ten - or even a six-story building for an elevator  that seemed to take forever? Or have you ever gotten into an elevator and it took forever to get to your floor because the elevator had to stop at every floor to let someone on or off? The Empire State Building was going to have 102 floors and expected to have 15,000 people in the building. How would people get to the top floors without waiting hours for the elevator or climbing the stairs? To help with this problem, the architects created seven banks of elevators, with each servicing a portion of the floors. For instance, Bank A serviced the third through seventh floors while Bank B serviced the seventh through 18th floors. This way, if you needed to get to the 65th floor, for example, you could take an elevator from Bank F and only have possible stops from the 55th floor to the 67th floor, rather than from the first floor to the 102nd. Making the elevators  faster was another solution. The Otis Elevator Company installed 58 passenger elevators and eight service elevators in the Empire State Building. Though these elevators could travel up to 1,200 feet per minute, the building code restricted the speed to only 700 feet per minute based on older models of elevators. The builders took a chance, installed the faster (and more expensive) elevators (running them at the slower speed) and hoped that the building code would soon change. A month after the Empire State Building was opened, the building code was changed to 1,200 feet per minute and the elevators in the Empire State Building were sped up. The Empire State Building Is Finished! The entire Empire State Building was constructed in just one year and 45 days - an amazing feat! The Empire State Building came in on time and under budget. Because the  Great Depression  significantly lowered labor costs, the cost of the building was only $40,948,900 (below the $50 million expected price tag). The Empire State Building officially opened on May 1,  1931, to a lot of fanfare. A ribbon was cut, Mayor Jimmy Walker gave a speech, and President  Herbert Hoover  lit up the tower with a push of a button. The Empire State Building had become the tallest building in the world and would keep that record until the completion of the World Trade Center in New York City in 1972. Notes Jonathan Goldman,  The Empire State Building Book  (New York: St. Martins Press, 1980) 30.William Lamb as quoted in Goldman,  Book  31 and John Tauranac,  The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark  (New York: Scribner, 1995) 156.Hamilton Weber as quoted in Goldman,  Book  31-32.Goldman,  Book  32.Tauranac,  Landmark  176.Tauranac,  Landmark  201.Tauranac,  Landmark  208-209.Tauranac,  Landmark  213.Tauranac,  Landmark  215-216.Richmond Shreve as quoted in Tauranac,  Landmark  204. Bibliography Goldman, Jonathan.  The Empire State Building Book. New York: St. Martins Press, 1980.Tauranac, John.  The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark. New York: Scribner, 1995.

Political compass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political compass - Essay Example It generally emphasizes two aspects which constitute economy i.e. right and left to the horizontal and political ideology i.e. Authoritarian and Libertarian to the vertical. Political compass determine the prosperity of a country and in this era of globalization it has become the defining factor in wealth differences among states. Cultural orientation of different countries forms integral part of the chosen political compass. My political compass is Libertarian right. This political compass means that the country should be governed on the basis of human rights and freedom maximization in respect of political opinion and allowing forces of demand and supply to regulate the economy. In this wake of globalization, there is increased cultural convergence due to the sophisticated and efficient information and communication technology. In that regard, accommodation of diverse cultural backgrounds in the country means embracing libertarian political ideology. On the other hand, restriction on production by the government kills efficiency and suppresses creativity hence the need to adopt free market economy. A combined political freedom, free and open market economy therefore constitute Libertarian-right which has seen United States Prosper. The socializing agents that influence my political compass point of view include family, school and mass media. I like a society where from childhood, personal dreams are nurtured in a free social environment where parents only encourage.This boost one’s interest and perception on the society towards personal growth.

Edgar Degas' Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Edgar Degas' Biography - Essay Example According to the research "Edgar Degas' Biography" findings at the young age of twenty, he decided that art was the field for him and urged his father to let him try. Before entering the famous Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he took lessons from an unknown artist of his time Louis Lamothe, who himself had learned from Ingres. This association was more than enough for Degas who had nourished a lifelong fascination with Ingres’ work and admired the artist immensely. Luckily for him, he also managed to meet Ingres himself whom he considered a master in Arts. Ingres gave him a good piece of advice that Degas fondly recalled many years later. He told him to: "Draw lines, young man, and still more lines, both from the life and from memory." Degas never forgot this advice and kept it close to his hear throughout his career. In 1856 Degas went to Italy to reconnect with his Italian relatives and stayed for extended the time in both Rome and Florence. At that time, it was considered important for every serious student of art to visit Italy at least once. For Degas, there was more than one reason to see Italy since it is where his relatives lived and this is where art is present in all its historical glory. Once he returned to Paris, he made Paris his home for the rest of his life with an occasional trip here and there. Upon Degas’ return to Paris in 1960, the artist was still very young and had been deeply under the influence of the Old Masters. This classical training was the norm in his time and he drew many copies of the paintings by the Masters.

THE IMPORTANCE OF NUTRITION FOR A HEALTHY LIFE STYLE Essay

THE IMPORTANCE OF NUTRITION FOR A HEALTHY LIFE STYLE - Essay Example Some cut back on the proteins, while others reduce the intake of carbohydrates in certain proportions. But according to the latest study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the comparison of different diets shows that they are not only very difficult, their tastes buds are already immune to a pattern in which they cannot stay away from cheese burger, additives, pizza, candy or soda for very long, but also not successful in most cases (Parker, 2008). Thus failure of weight loss due to such diets leads people to believe that its it their fault they are overweight and hence has further negative effects on their lifestyle, for example loss of self confidence. The answer to such negative effects is not diets but instead a healthy lifestyle which may not make one very skinny but a person can enjoy a good healthy life. In opinion an additional advantage of having nutritional food over unhealthy food is that not only the consumption becomes less (since we won't eat packets and packets of Doritos), but also less expensive (organic food) and makes our lifestyle fit, our bodies stronger and lowers our health cost since we would be required to spend much time in the doctor's office or the hospital.

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE OF THE WRITINGS OF JOHN PIPER AND N.T Thesis Proposal - 1

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE OF THE WRITINGS OF JOHN PIPER AND N.T. WRIGHT ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH - Thesis Proposal Example The study of the doctrine of justification5 is considered the cornerstone of Christianity6 by many Christian scholars. It is, according to Luther, the article by which the church stands or falls,7 The challenge between Piper and Wright concerns the implication of their views on imputed or incorporated righteousness on justification8 to Christian faith, especially concerning Soteriology.9 On the one hand, Piper’s perspective is that imputed righteousness on justification does not consist merely of belief in Christ alone for salvation, but also submission of every area of one’s life to Christ’s Lordship.10 Thus, Piper unwittingly affirms both â€Å"faith alone† and â€Å"faith not alone† referring to justification, which according to Lybrand constitutes the intrinsic incongruence of these assertions in his (i.e., Piper’s) practical interpretations and teachings.11 This inconsistency could be explained in the way Piper distinguishes justification from sanctification,12 wherein he proposes that to man is given the right to stand with God on account of faith alone.13 Again, Piper maintains, this is something given. Nevertheless, Piper insists that man must live a life that he considers a deadly battle against sin.14 The manner by which he fights such a battle––according God’s will––constitutes s anctification.15 Also important on Piper’s position is the argument that sin has been fought, and won over with the death of Jesus.16 One might contend that if sin has been won over based on Christ’s sacrifice, Piper would not be able to justify his â€Å"faith not alone† portion of his argument. However, he maintains that the right to stand with God is only achieved by eliminating the sin––the one that was already won over on the cross––by way of dying â€Å"in Christ.†17 This is central to his righteousness imputation theory,18 and distinguishes his position from that of Wright’s who proposes, â€Å"incorporated righteousness† as a more

Analogies Q1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analogies Q1 - Essay Example Inductive arguments operate in a similar approach when it comes to analogies. For example an analogy created between trains moving in the same direction can be assumed that they have a similar destination through inductive argument (Carlson & Heth, 2009). As much as this assumption is not proven, inductive argument may justify the argument by assuming if the trains were going to different destinations they would use different routes. According to Carlson & Heth (2009) the relationship between analogies and inductive arguments is based on probability and similar relationships. Another clear example of an analogy is the inheritance of genes in a family. An analogy may argue that a child may acquire diabetes if their father has diabetes. An inductive argument may further argue that a child born in a family that a father has diabetes must have acquired the disease. In an argument by Carlson & Heth (2009) an inductive argument only tires to justify an assumption created by an

The Gospel of Mark, Acts and Ephesians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Gospel of Mark, Acts and Ephesians - Essay Example The Gospel of Mark is a historical narrative of the affairs and the person of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, it cannot be called a biographical narrative. It says nothing about Jesus birth, childhood, family, and education. In Gospel of Mark, there is no attempt to describe any period of Jesus life in detail. It is almost a continuous series of episodes from the life of Christ. The last week of Jesus life is described in more detail. Mark’s approach is characterized by a special objectivity. In his narrative, there are no comments, and the events seem to say for themselves. There is no attempt to hide or exaggerate the supernatural aspects of Jesus life. Miracles performed by Jesus are always associated with the extreme need of any person (1:34, 1:41, 2:12, 3:10, 4:39, 5:29, 6:56, 7:30, 8:25, 9:27, 10:52, ). They are performed not in order to surprise the crowd, but in order to help people. The narrative is constructed as if Jesus is calmly and confidently moving towards His goal , making it clear that the outcome of his ministry will be a resurrection (8:31, 9:31, 10:34). Mark leaves the reader to decide him/herself whether Jesus is only a man. The main Mark’s goal is evangelism that is an attempt to introduce the person of Christ and His work as a new message - "Gospel" (in the truest sense of the word). Marks narration does not involve theological training and knowledge of the Old Testament. His short stories, apt comments, and aphorisms may be the characteristic of a preacher, addressing to a diverse street crowd. One cannot state that the Gospel of Mark is the sample of a literary style, however, it conveys the image of Christ with remarkable accuracy and power. Â  

Analogies Q1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analogies Q1 - Essay Example Inductive arguments operate in a similar approach when it comes to analogies. For example an analogy created between trains moving in the same direction can be assumed that they have a similar destination through inductive argument (Carlson & Heth, 2009). As much as this assumption is not proven, inductive argument may justify the argument by assuming if the trains were going to different destinations they would use different routes. According to Carlson & Heth (2009) the relationship between analogies and inductive arguments is based on probability and similar relationships. Another clear example of an analogy is the inheritance of genes in a family. An analogy may argue that a child may acquire diabetes if their father has diabetes. An inductive argument may further argue that a child born in a family that a father has diabetes must have acquired the disease. In an argument by Carlson & Heth (2009) an inductive argument only tires to justify an assumption created by an

Distinctions between male and female serial killers Assignment

Distinctions between male and female serial killers - Assignment Example To date, there is scanty data on the female serial killers and how the differ from male serial killers (Wolfgang, 2007). By definition, a serial killer is anyone who has killed at least three people over time in separate incidents and in a civilian context. This means, the killing done by terrorists or military personnel in their duty does not constitute serial killer but rather that health care worker or parent who kills their victims. At first, it is hard to draw a line between the male and female serial killer but a closer look shows some difference between these two groups. In contrast to female pattern serial killer, the profiles of the male who kill have been studied extensively. Some of the early researchers such as Guttmacher & Wolfgang (1960) concluded that most serial killers were typically black who mostly killed in response to some argument or physical confrontation. The most male serial killer has tended to kill outside their homes perhaps in a bar or the streets and used knives and guns to overcome their victims. The victim of the women, seem a little different. Unlike male serial killer, most of the women serial killer victims are family members, friends or acquaintances. Male serial killers have tended to inflict damages in addition to causing death to their victims and engage in some form of torture before they kill their victim. They have shown some tendency to use hands-on skills when killing their victims using blunt objects, knives, and hands as part of the processing of killing the victim and power domination as part of the motivation behind killing. This is very unlike female serial killers. The female serial killers never use force or power to overcome their victims. Mostly, the known female serial killers have been known to murder their victim using poisons such paralyze their victims (Keeney & Heide, 2004). Male serial killers have also been identified to use stalking behaviors whereby the trail their victims keenly observing

Critically Assess the View That We Are Not Responsible for Our Evil Actions Essay Example for Free

Critically Assess the View That We Are Not Responsible for Our Evil Actions Essay Many Philosophers, such as Hoderich and John Calvin, believe that humans do not have free will to act in moral situations and that all moral actions have uncontrollable prior causes. Hard determinists, therefore, follow the belief that humans can not be morally blameworthy for their actions, evil or not, because their actions are predetermined. However, this is a ridiculous stance to take as humans are free to make moral choices, meaning they are entirely responsible for their evil actions. Many argue that hard determinism is the best approach to take when assessing this hypothesis as once you abandon the outdated notion of freedom; you can create a much better world. B.F. Skinner supports this view by recognising that since people are ultimately the result of their conditions, â€Å"and will get conditioned by their upbringing and environments anyway†, we ought to control people’s upbringing and environments as much as possible to ensure that their conditioning is positive. Skinner argued that such a plan would be more helpful than the current situation, in which peoples conditions is ultimately dependent on to luck. The case of Leopold and Loeb demonstrates this idea perfectly. If you look at the case on the surface, it seems like an act of pure evil, both boys kidnapped Bobby Franks and demanded ransom from his family, when this failed, they murdered him by hitting him over the head with a chisel. Harrow, whom was their lawyer and a follower of hard determinism, argued that â€Å"they killed [Bobby Franks] because they were made that way. Because somewhere in the infinite process that go to the making up of the boy or the man something slipped†. If one looks into the background of these two boys, evidence refutes this point; both of these boys were from very privileged backgrounds, Leob was actually the son of the vice president. Despite this, Leob was fascinated by detective stories; he read about crimes, he planned them and he eventually committed them. Leopold, on the other hand, who was reading Philosophy at the University of Chicago, became attracted to Friedrich Nitezche and his criticism of moral codes; he believed that those who followed Nitezche were super human and did not have to abide by the moral laws that others did. Darrow argued that Leopold’s obsession with crime and Loebs fascination with Nitezhce was a form of rebellion against the well-meaning, but strict and controlling, governess who raised him. They can not be hold morally responsible for the murder of Bobby Franks because each â€Å"child takes one shape or another shape depending not upon the boy himself, but on what surrounds him.†. However, this is a weak view to take as it suggests that people do not need to feel guilty for their actions; they have no moral responsibility, as their actions are already determined. If people were not morally responsible for their evil actions, then the world by a chaotic place, people could commit evil crimes and blame it upon their surroundings. It is therefore clear that hard determinism is a ridiculous view to take when assessing this hypothesis, as it would lead to utter anarchy and the notion of sin would be undermined. Many argue that soft determinism is the best approach to take when assessing the question, as it does not rule out free will- the two are compatible and so moral decisions and moral debate remains possible. Followers of soft determinism believe that some of our actions are conditioned, while others have so complex a collection of causes that they may properly be described as freely decided or willed. Hume is the Philosopher who is normally associated with this idea. Hume believed that events are determined because of a casual link between objects. Take for example, in 2012, when the travellers were prevented from flying as a result of ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland. For Hume, this casual link is called the constant union of objects. For instance, the volcano’s eruption prevents you from flying; that is outside of the control of the individual. But the response to that situation produces free will. In relation to murder, one could argue that your upbringing is determined, but the way you respond is a result of free will. This is a differing view to that of Take for instance the case of Mary Bell in 1968 who was convicted of the murder of two toddles. She was subject to an awful upbringing; her mother was a prostitute who specialised in sado- masochism- Mary was forced to listen to her mother perform these acts. A soft- determinist could argue that although Mary was subject to an abusive upbringing, she must hold some moral responsibility for her actions. Although this view seems highly logical, soft determinists have not agreed on precisely what is and what is not a determining factor in human action. This means that contradictions between followers of soft determinists are highly likely. Many disagree that Libertarianism is the best approach to apply to questions surrounding moral responsibility. They believe that cause and affect is too apparent in the world for us to simply disregard it; it must have an impact on human actions. Take for instance, the idea of murder, if you are brought up in a family in which murder is regarded as a sin, you are less likely to commit such a crime as one understands that murder immoral. This demonstrates the idea of cause and effect perfectly; someone teaches you that murder is immoral; the cause, you understand this and therefore do not do it; the effect. Despite this, one could refute this weakness by arguing that these are just moral rules that coincide with the societal norm, they do not strip us of our free will. Even if we were not brought up with these moral codes, we can still abide by them as we posses free will. The idea of free will also makes logical sense to us. In our day-to-day lives, we feel as if we posses it; we make daily decisions based upon our feelings, not something that has already been determined. As put by Aquinas, â€Å"man chooses not of necessity but freely†. Peter Van Inwagen’s also follows this approach, he argues that we can see that we posses free will by the deliberation of two choices of action; if we are able to do both, then we must have it as it ultimately is our choice to do either or. Peter Van Inwagen used an analogy to demonstrate this idea; you are walking along a road with many branches on it, which branch you choose to go down is your decision. Therefore, in relation to moral responsibility, we should all be held responsible for any evil actions committed as they do not come about as a result of chance or random events. Some may be subject to events which could potentially alter their morality, but they are free to choose which path they take. To conclude, although hard- determinism has some strengths, the fact that it believes that we should not be held morally responsible for actions mean it is useless when looking at questions surrounding moral responsibility. Soft- determinism, on the other hand, is far too vague and would produce many contradictions. Libertarianism is the best approach to take as it makes logical sense; we can see we possess free will and we should therefore be punished if we commit evil actions.

Exploring Different Methods of Horse Training :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Exploring Different Methods of Horse Training The cowboy climbed aboard and gave a wild yell. The men holding the head of the horse let go and jumped back. Almost immediately the horse began bucking. The cowboy stayed with him though. The horse bucked around the pen slamming into the fence and off the post that was set in the middle of the pen. Finally the horse began to slow down and the cowboy got him under control. It would take another week of this before the horse would allow himself to be handled without blowing up.(Rashid 102) This is the way horses used to be broken to ride, but is that the best method to use? This is the oldest method used for breaking horses, but it is also the roughest. The first method researched is the old ranch method used. This method was used mostly on the big ranches in the west. The main reason this method was used was because they had to be able to use the horses immediately. The horses on these big ranches were usually started at four to five years of age. They were started at this age because that is when a horse is usually physically mature enough to handle the rough work on a ranch.(Campbell 55) To start a horse in this method, a cowboy would bring a horse into a pen. The horse would then be roped and snubbed up to a large post that was set in the middle of the pen. Two other men would hold the horse down while the cowboy threw his saddle on the horses back and cinched it down. The horse was then fitted with a rope Bosal. The cowboy climbed aboard and the horse was turned lose. The cowboy was then supposed to stay with the horse until he quit bucking. It was a rare thing for a horse not to buck when started this way. (Miller 25) Times have changed though people no longer have to have their horses trained in such a hurry. Very few horses are used very hard today. Not all horses were started in such a rough manner then either. The Spanish vaqueros of the 1800's used the bosal to start their horses, and they took their time in doing so. The Bosal The California Bosal or Hackamore is an oval nose band made of rawhide. The top piece of the bosal is called the nose button. Exploring Different Methods of Horse Training :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers Exploring Different Methods of Horse Training The cowboy climbed aboard and gave a wild yell. The men holding the head of the horse let go and jumped back. Almost immediately the horse began bucking. The cowboy stayed with him though. The horse bucked around the pen slamming into the fence and off the post that was set in the middle of the pen. Finally the horse began to slow down and the cowboy got him under control. It would take another week of this before the horse would allow himself to be handled without blowing up.(Rashid 102) This is the way horses used to be broken to ride, but is that the best method to use? This is the oldest method used for breaking horses, but it is also the roughest. The first method researched is the old ranch method used. This method was used mostly on the big ranches in the west. The main reason this method was used was because they had to be able to use the horses immediately. The horses on these big ranches were usually started at four to five years of age. They were started at this age because that is when a horse is usually physically mature enough to handle the rough work on a ranch.(Campbell 55) To start a horse in this method, a cowboy would bring a horse into a pen. The horse would then be roped and snubbed up to a large post that was set in the middle of the pen. Two other men would hold the horse down while the cowboy threw his saddle on the horses back and cinched it down. The horse was then fitted with a rope Bosal. The cowboy climbed aboard and the horse was turned lose. The cowboy was then supposed to stay with the horse until he quit bucking. It was a rare thing for a horse not to buck when started this way. (Miller 25) Times have changed though people no longer have to have their horses trained in such a hurry. Very few horses are used very hard today. Not all horses were started in such a rough manner then either. The Spanish vaqueros of the 1800's used the bosal to start their horses, and they took their time in doing so. The Bosal The California Bosal or Hackamore is an oval nose band made of rawhide. The top piece of the bosal is called the nose button.

Culture in the Poem Blessing :: Imtiaz Dharker

The title of the poem is ''Blessing'' and the poet is called Imtiaz Dharker. In my essay I will be looking at how the poet describes a culture different from our own and explaining how the poet brings this culture to life through his use of poetic techniques. The poem is set in a third world country which is in desperate need for water. A municipal pipe bursts and suddenly there is a flurry of people rushing to get that much desired water. The title of the poem is very significant. The title penetratingly outlines how precious they view the water to be. He does this by titling the poem ''Blessing''. Water is something which most people take for granted, so by making this the title he emphasizes the value they place upon the water. The poet highlights how much value they place upon the water in the fourth stanza when the pipe bursts by using word choice. ''As their blessings sing'' is the quote from the poem and the effect of this is that it gives you a sense of harmony. The words sum up a peaceful ending for the last two stanzas where the mood of the poem changes from desperation to the contrast of greatfulness. The poet has chosen the phrase ''blessings sing'' as when put together it has conitations of bountful amounts of happiness which accuratly shows their joy and relief they would of felt in that moment of time. I think the poet has used this quote to symbolise the end of a struggle which turned into a celebratio n and the word ''sing'' to create the passion for the villagers in that moment. The poet uses examples of imagery in this poem. The poet uses a simile in the first line of the first stanza to start off the poem. The simile she uses is ''the skin cracks like a pod''. The opening of the poem gives a clear message that something is severely wrong. A pod cracks with barely any resistance so the comparison to the skin is a unreserved statement outlining how easily the skin is. There is obviously a drought or a vast undersupply of water. The opening surprises the reader and gives an indication of what is to come. The poet uses a short and abrupt line which is effective The poet uses a effective metaphor in the second stanza of the poem, ''a roar of tongus''. Culture in the Poem Blessing :: Imtiaz Dharker The title of the poem is ''Blessing'' and the poet is called Imtiaz Dharker. In my essay I will be looking at how the poet describes a culture different from our own and explaining how the poet brings this culture to life through his use of poetic techniques. The poem is set in a third world country which is in desperate need for water. A municipal pipe bursts and suddenly there is a flurry of people rushing to get that much desired water. The title of the poem is very significant. The title penetratingly outlines how precious they view the water to be. He does this by titling the poem ''Blessing''. Water is something which most people take for granted, so by making this the title he emphasizes the value they place upon the water. The poet highlights how much value they place upon the water in the fourth stanza when the pipe bursts by using word choice. ''As their blessings sing'' is the quote from the poem and the effect of this is that it gives you a sense of harmony. The words sum up a peaceful ending for the last two stanzas where the mood of the poem changes from desperation to the contrast of greatfulness. The poet has chosen the phrase ''blessings sing'' as when put together it has conitations of bountful amounts of happiness which accuratly shows their joy and relief they would of felt in that moment of time. I think the poet has used this quote to symbolise the end of a struggle which turned into a celebratio n and the word ''sing'' to create the passion for the villagers in that moment. The poet uses examples of imagery in this poem. The poet uses a simile in the first line of the first stanza to start off the poem. The simile she uses is ''the skin cracks like a pod''. The opening of the poem gives a clear message that something is severely wrong. A pod cracks with barely any resistance so the comparison to the skin is a unreserved statement outlining how easily the skin is. There is obviously a drought or a vast undersupply of water. The opening surprises the reader and gives an indication of what is to come. The poet uses a short and abrupt line which is effective The poet uses a effective metaphor in the second stanza of the poem, ''a roar of tongus''.

Business Requirements Document Essay

Business requirements are the critical activities of an enterprise that must be performed to meet the organizational objective(s). The BRD should remain solution independent. In the context of the project scoping for hardware procurement and installation, this is about identifying and documenting the business requirements of customers, employees, and vendors early in the development cycle to guide the design of the future state. Business requirements are captured by analyzing the current business activities and processes of the as-is state (current process) and defining a target state (to-be process) that will deliver the planned business outcomes that contribute to the organizational objectives. Objectives of the BRD: Stakeholders to gain agreement with stakeholders about what will and will not be delivered Vendors to provide a foundation to communicate to a vendor (or in-house provider) what the solution needs to do to satisfy the customer’s and business’ needs Sponsors to provide input into the business case development phase of the project Customers to describe ‘what’ (not ‘how’) the customer/business needs will be met by the proposed solution Business Requirements Document (BRD) describes the high level requirements that senior management would understand, for example, SS relationship: The BRD is the foundation for all subsequent project deliverables, describing what inputs and outputs are associated with each process function. The BRD describes what the system would look like from a business perspective, distinguishing between the business solution and the technical solution. Business requirements often include: business context, scope, and background, including reasons for change key business stakeholders that have specific requirements success factors for a future/target state constraints imposed by the business processes or other systems business process models and analysis defining either ‘as-is’ and ‘to-be’ business processes glossaries of business terms, local terminology or acronyms Data flow diagrams to illustrate how data flows through the information systems (different from flowcharts depicting algorithmic flow of business activities). A broad cross section of the business should be involved in the development of the BRD. Categories of Business Requirements There are five levels of requirements that are typically captured at different stages of the BRD development. These are: Level 0 business requirements High-level statements of the goals, objectives, or needs of an organization. They usually describe opportunities that an organization wants to be realized or problems that they want to be solved. Level 1 User (Stakeholder) requirements Mid-level statements of the needs of a particular stakeholder or group of stakeholders. They usually describe levels of interaction with the intended solution. Often acting as a mid-point between the high-level business requirements and more detailed solution requirements. Level 2 Functional (solution) requirements Usually detailed statements of the behavior and information that the solution will need. Level 3 Quality-of-service (non-functional) requirements Usually detailed statements of the conditions under which the solution must remain effective, qualities that the solution must have, or constraints within which it must operate. Examples include reliability, testability, maintainability, availability requirements. They are also known as characteristics, constraints or the non-functional requirements, and Level 4 Implementation (transition) requirements Usually detailed statements of capabilities or behavior required to enable transition from the current state to the desired future state. Examples include recruitment, role changes, and migration of data from one system to  another. The success of a BRD is dependent on the agreement of the business to the need for change and the expected business outcome(s). The BRD provides the opportunity to review the project charter to ensure that the objective, goals/outcomes, scope, project team, and approvers are accurately reflected. Prerequisites for BRD Important pre-requisites for a successful BRD are set out below: A current environment assessment. This includes a detailed process map of the current environment highlighting areas that will be affected by the project. The detailed â€Å"as is† process maps should include: clearly defined start and end points of the process; level 1 and level 2 requirements and stakeholder process functions; defined areas of rework and redundant business processes to be removed; cycle time, capacity and rework information for each process step as available, and Baseline for critical metrics for the current environment. Critical quality or performance metrics validated with baseline measurements, targets and specifications. These include: data defining and describing current performance such as how the product/service’s characteristics are to be quantified; specifying the target for the product/service performance and the acceptable tolerances, and The allowable tolerance for service levels, for example how often the product/service is allowed outside the specification limits. The target environment assessment, including critical quality or performance metrics validated with baseline measurements, targets and specifications. These include: data defining and describing the expected performance such as how the product/service’s characteristics are to be quantified; specifying the target for the product/service performance and the acceptable tolerances, and The allowable tolerance for service levels, for example how often the product/service is allowed outside the specification limits. A detailed process map of the target environment. The following figure 4 illustrates a useful way of framing a process flow. Example of a process flow Other BRD considerations The BRD contains a number of project details – such as constraints, assumptions and dependencies, business rules, scope, measurements reporting and other topics critical to the project. The following should be considered in the context of the overall project and, where appropriate, clearly documented. Any external constraints (e.g. regulatory, legal or locational constraints). Constraints and assumptions relating to the complexity of business requirements, interdependence with other systems, timing of events, the scalability of technical options, reporting requirements and any service limits that may apply. Constraints and assumptions relating to the user numbers (staff and customers), users’ existing capability and training required, degree of user support required IT skills availability and location. An example of the difference between a constraint and an assumption is: an assumption could be the number of users that an online service will have: 10,000 logged-on users per day and no more than 5,000 at any given time, and A constraint relating to the number of users may be that the system has a maximum capacity of 20,000 logged-on users at a given time. Reference CONCEPTUALISE ICT projects technical guidance Business case development; The Secretary Department of Treasury and Finance 1 Treasury Place Melbourne Victoria 3002. Copyright  © State of Victoria 2012.

Solution of Chapter 8 Operations Mangement by Jay Heizer

Service location decisions tend to focus on the revenue function, whereas manufacturing/industrial location decisions tend to focus on costs. The service sector uses techniques such as: Correlation analysis Traffic counts Demographic analysis Purchasing power analysis The industrial decision uses: Transportation method Factor-weighting approach Break-even analysis Crossover charts 8. Factors to consider when choosing a country: Exchange rates Government stability Communications systems within the country and to the home office Wage rates Productivity Transportation costsLanguage Tariffs Taxes Attitude towards foreign investors/incentives Legal system Ethical standards Cultural issues Supplies availability Market locations 9. Factors to consider in a region/community decision: Corporate desires Attractiveness of region Labor issue Utilities Environmental regulations Incentives Proximity to raw materials/customers Land/construction costs 10. Site location factors: Size and cost Transpo rtation systems Zoning Proximity of services/supplies needed Environmental impact END-OF-CHAPTER PROBLEMS 8. 1(a)Six laborers each making $3 per day can produce 40 units. b)Eight laborers each making $2. 50 per day, can produce 45 units. (c)Two laborers, each making $64 per day, can make 100 units.China is most economical, assuming transportation costs are not included. 8. 2Malaysia China Montana China is most favorable. 8. 6Atlanta Charlotte Charlotte is better. 8. 7| | Suburb B has the highest rating, but weights should be examined using sensitivity analysis, as the final ratings are all close. 8. 8| | Location| | | Present Location| Newbury| Hyde Park| | Factor| | Wgt| | | Wgt| | | Wgt| | | 1| 40| 0. 30| 12| 60| 0. 30| 18. 00| 50| 0. 0| 15. 0| | 2| 20| 0. 15| 3| 20| 0. 15| 3. 00| 80| 0. 15| 12. 0| | 3| 30| 0. 20| 6| 60| 0. 20| 12. 00| 50| 0. 20| 10. 0| | 4| 80| 0. 35| 28| 50| 0. 35| 17. 50| 50| 0. 35| 17. 5| | | Total Points| 49| Total Points| 50. 50| Total Points| 54. 5| It appe ars that Hyde Park represents the best alternative. 8. 9(a)Chicago = 16 + 6 + 7 + 4 = 33 Milwaukee = 10 + 13. 5 + 6 + 3 = 32. 5 Madison = 12 + 12 + 4 + 2. 5 = 30. 5 Detroit = 14 + 6 + 7 + 4. 5 = 31. 5 All four are quite close, with Chicago and Milwaukee almost tied.Chicago has the largest rating, with a 33. b)With a cutoff of 5, Chicago is unacceptable because it scores only 4 on the second factor. Only Milwaukee has scores of 5 or higher on all factors. 8. 10| Location A| | Factor| Weight| Rating| Weighted Score| | 1| 5| 100| 500| | 2| 3| 80| 240| | 3| 4| 30| 120| | 4| 2| 10| 20| | 5| 2| 90| 180| | 6| 3| 50| 150| | Total weighted score:| 1210| | Location B | | Factor| Weight| Rating| Weighted Score| | 1| 5| 80| 400| | 2| 3| 70| 210| | 3| 4| 60| 240| | 4| 2| 80| 160| | 5| 2| 60| 120| | 6| 3| 60| 180| | Total weighted score: | 1310| | Location C | Factor| Weight| Rating| Weighted Score| | 1| 5| 80| 400| | 2| 3| 100| 300| | 3| 4| 70| 280| | 4| 2| 60| 120| | 5| 2| 80| 160| | 6| 3| 90| 270| | Total weighted score:| 1530|Based on the total weighted scores, Location C should be recommended. Note that raw weights were used in computing these weighted scores (we just multiplied â€Å"weight† times â€Å"rating†). Relative weights could have been used instead by taking each factor weight and dividing by the sum of the weights (i. e. , 19). Then the weight for factor 1 would have been . Location C would still have been selected. . 11| | Site 3 has the highest rating factor, 86. 65, and should be selected. 8. 12(a)The following figure indicates the volume range for which each site is optimal. Site 1 is optimal for production less than or equal to 125 units. Site 2 is optimal for production between 125 and 233 units. Site 3 is optimal for production above 233 units. (b)For 200 units, site 2 is optimal. 8. 13| (a)| | (b)For 5,000 units, Perth is the better option. 8. 14| | V–A: A–B: B–C: 8. 15| (a)| | The total cost equations are: (b)Denv er is preferable over the range from 0–3,570 units.Burlington is lowest cost at any volume exceeding 3,570, but less than 25,000 units. Atlanta is never lowest in cost. Cleveland becomes the best site only when volume exceeds 25,000 units per year. (c)At a volume of 5,000 units, Burlington is the least-cost site. 8. 16| | The proposed new hub should be near (5. 15, 7. 31). 8. 17| | | City| Map Coordinates| Shipping Load| | A| 2, 1| 20| | B| 2, 13| 10| | C| 4, 17| 5| | D| 7, 7| 20| | E| 8, 18| 15| | F| 12, 16| 10| | G| 17, 4  | 20| | H| 18, 18| 20| | | | 120| 8. 19| | The proposed new facility should be near (7. 97, 6. 69).

My Term Paper

Principles Of Management Wk 1: Dis In this week’s discussion you will begin to explain the four management functions and the evolution of management thought. In Chapter 11, â€Å"Motivation† read pages 360-390 and answer questions from â€Å"Why Won’t They Take a Break? † on page 391. Discuss the following: Which motivation theory(s) do you think would help communicate the importance of vacation time to your employees? I would go with McClellands learned needs theory. This theory suggest that people are motivated by need of affiliation as well as achievement.I think by explaining to employees the benefit of vacation time could be used to express the importance of it, by suggesting to employees that vacation time can be used for time other than the goal to save for a vacation. emergency's can arise and vacation time is a helpful way to get through what could possibly be a tough patch as well as the perks of taking vacation time for in fact a vacation. the b enefits could be used to suit the individuals needs as well as personal goals. How would you convince your employees that working less hours, not more, is more beneficial for them and the company?I would honestly explain to my employees how working less hours can prevent them from becoming ‘burned out' and decreasing performance. I would also explain plainly how by working more hours when not necessary is draining on the company and its ability to afford the employee's salary's. however i would one on one discuss the goals of each employee using McClellands theory's to work with the individual at reaching those personal goals even with a lack of excessive hours required. Please remember to cite the text and any outside sources used. Wk 2: DisConsider the particular management functions which apply to scenarios such as domestic and international business. For this week’s class discussion you will locate a news article which will help you to explain and apply these manage ment functions. First, find a recent news article about an organization that is experiencing change. Then, discuss the following: How is the organization applying each of the four functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, controlling) to address this change? I found a news article on Starbucks. Starbuck has a threat to their coffee supply due to climate change.Starbuck used the four functions of management and their results are showing success. Planning: Their goal is to reduce the Green House Gasses. Their means to succeed is to come up with an efficiency program to reduce their environmental footprint, use reusable energy, and reduce carbon emissions Organizing: They tried to talk to congress to take action but failed. So they started to work with local producers to take their own action. Leading: They partnered up with Conservation International to improve their production, and to conserve and restore natural habitat. The also worked with farmers in order to reduce carbon emissions.Control: They are keeping track of their progress by conducting an inventory of their use of Green House Gas. The result in 2010 was 1,006,854 metric tons of GHG they were using. In 2011 the results were 979,963 metric ton of GHG being used. A reduction of 2. 7%. They are continuing to monitor the GHG use. Since the efficiency program is working they will continue trying to find more ways to reduce their use of GHG. http://www. starbucks. com/responsibility/environment/climate-change Wk 3: Dis Now that you have learned about aspects of the communications model, such as anaging communication, planning, and decision making, you will explain the communications model from the sender’s and receiver’s perspectives in this week’s class discussion. Discuss the following: Explain the steps to successfully communicate a message to a receiver. Which steps of the process do you find most challenging in your communications and why? The first step is the mess age†¦. The message is the information that you want to communicate. The next step is encoding†¦ This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding depends partly on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion the key part of this is knowing your audience. Failure to understand who you are communicating with will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood. channel†¦ messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal including face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written including letters, emails, memos and reports. Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. decoding†¦Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding just as confusions can arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decodi ng errors. This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enough knowledge to understand the message. receiver†¦ your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience. Keep in mind, though, that each of these individuals enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtedly influence their understanding of your message, and their response.To be a successful communicator you should consider these before delivering your message, and act appropriately. Wk 5: Dis You have read about ethics and social responsibility, and perhaps watched this week’s video selection. Consider what you have learned, and apply it to your own business area. In this week’s class discussion, you will describe ethical situations in a manager’s role related to your area of study. Discuss the following: Describe three common ethical iss ues facing managers in your chosen industry. The industry of my choice is Business management.I chose this because I want to own my own business and be my own boss. The three ethical issues that I feel that managers are facing in this industry is 1. Discrimination 2. Fraud 3. Authority. 1. Discrimination is a serious issue in a lot of businesses today. Some companies discriminate against race, sex/gender, and most often now sexual preference. There is a place in my town that actually won't hire anyone but Mexicans because they are said they work harder than anyone else. Sure they have a few of blacks and whites there.My so called in-law is a supervisor there and told me before I put in my application that they are not gonna hire me because they want more Mexicans. It's crazy but true and it's not fair. I am a hard worker and I shouldn't be denied a job because of my race. 2. Fraud is another issue and a lot of are guilty of it. Employees and managers are guilty of it just to get a h igher position or just hired. Some lie about education and work history. We lie because most companies don't check everything on the application. If everything was checked then it would be a lot of sad unemployed people.Lying about education, work history and qualification is in every company. This â€Å"person† I know found a website to get fake GEDs and she is using hers. She been with the company for 3 years. If they are not gonna check all information on applications then they are lying themselves. They say they go over applications and they don't. 3. Authority is the biggest issue to me personally. I have worked for my in-law about 10 years ago (before the mexican issue) and she abused her authority. She felt that since she was in a higher position she would use it and make us (workers) so some of her work.She would pull some of us off our machines to do inventory. We did it for a while until the plant had a company meeting. We were told what our jobs were and asked why were doing other things that kept our production low. No one spoke up until I did. Some feared they would lose their jobs but not ME. I told on her and she was so they started making her do inventory and record it on paper. She was mad at me and I didn't care because she was not my cup of tea anyway. We all got a $1 raise because we had done our job and part of hers also. Wk 6: DisIn this week’s class discussion, you will consider the legal, ethical, and social implications of real world business practices. Find an example of a business facing a legal, ethical, and/or social responsibility dilemma. Create a one-paragraph summary of the dilemma and the steps you think the organization should take to resolve the issue. My story will be about KFC there first battle was the dead chickens that they are suppose to disposal, they continue to use them for more meat. For people to know that it can be a very big lost on customers and a very bad look on the business.The second battle wa s from a twister chicken wrap, a 14 year old girl was brain damaged from eating one it nearly killed her. She was in a coma for at least 6 months at the age of 7 trying to recover from the sickness. She had caught a disease they call Spastic Quadriplegia, and it damages all four limbs so they had no choice but to place her in a wheelchair. She was awarded 5 million from the problems that KFC caused the parents said it will be a very big help because of the situation, but she is still torn that daughter had to face these problems and deal with it for the rest of her life.This should be a lesson to everybody that is why I am so funny with my food now and seeing two things happen like this just led me with the choice of never going back KFC ever again. This is life threatening things that can happen in the line of business that's why when it comes to me having a business everything will be legit. Wk 8: Dis Managers are affected by the organizational environment, and help to create it. Their role is instrumental in a successful organizational culture. In this week’s class discussion, you will define the manager’s role as it relates to various organizational cultures.Discuss the following: Think of an organization with which you are very familiar. How flexible/rigid are the managers at this organization with regard to policies and personnel? Identify and describe the factors you think helped to shape this organization’s culture. Strategic planning involves a set of procedures for making decisions about the organizations long-term goals. In order to achieve these goals, managers have to devise a plan that incorporates both flexible and ridged forms of management (Bohlander ; Snell, 2010). On many occasions in the past, I have worked as a customer service agent.In this position, customer agents have access to personal information of their customer. Customer service agents must comply with laws set forth by the government. Not following these proc edures during every call could possibly render huge fines or, worst case scenario, dissolution of the organization. For this reason, certain disclosures and/or disclaimers must be stated during each and every call. In this case, I had very rigid rules, regulations, policies and procedures to follow in order to avoid legal ramifications or loss of employment.At the same time, I was given some empowerment in order to satisfy customer complaints and issues such as changes to the account, issuing credits, or billing discrepancies. Helping customers find the best solution to their problem requires some flexibility, but the degree was still limited. We had a few solutions to choose from that did not require manager approval. If the issue could not be resolved with what we had to work with, then the manager’s approval was needed. Although most agents these days are given more freedom to make decisions, there are still boundaries that cannot be crossed or overlooked.Companies are bec oming more lenient and allowing employees to use their judgment in areas of customer satisfaction. Empowerment managers or employees make them feel content, capable, and competent. This in turn will elevate morale, enhance the company’s culture, and increase customer loyalty (Williams, 2012). Sources: Bohlander, G. , ; Snell, S. (2010). Managing human resources. Mason: Cengage Learning Williams, C. (2012). Effective management. Mason: Cengage Learning Wk 9: Dis Delegation is one of the important roles of management.In the class discussion for this week, you will practice demonstrating effective delegation techniques and strategies. Consider your own experiences in your discussion. Discuss the following: List three work tasks that managers could successfully delegate to employees. * A manager could instruct an associate employee to do simply housekeeping tasks such as sweeping, mopping, wiping surfaces and cleaning bathrooms. I feel that the delegation of power to the associat e employee gives the managers time to do more important tasks to the business. * A manager could delegate the responsibility of restocking merchandise.This delegation of authority not only frees up the managers schedule but also instill some pride for the employee on their involvement within the company. * A manger could delegate assistant manager to do inventory reports, scheduling other employees and making orders from vendors. This ensures that the assistant manager can continue the business the way the manager would run it in their absence. List three work tasks that managers should not delegate. * I do not feel that any form of Loss prevention should be handled by any other employee than the manager.With keeping this task with the manager the possibility of preventing employee theft goes up. * Keeping up and maintaining sales goals should not be delegated to other employees. If the employee is focused on sales goals their customer service skills could become lax in hopes of rea ching the goals. This could also place doubt the employees mind about the security of their position with the company. * Customer Complaints is also something that should be handled directly with the manager. With the manager having more experience with irate customers the situation is more likely to be resolved with as little conflict as possible.Explain your reasoning Wk 10: Dis In the class discussion this week, you will consider the age and gender aspects of diversity within your field of specialization. Discuss the following: Think of an organization within your industry with which you are familiar. What is the approximate age range of its employees? 18 to 45 years of age. What would you guess is the average age? I would say the average age is 34. Which gender is more prevalent within the organization’s workforce? The male gender is dominant in this industry. Are most of the managers female or male? Male.How do the factors above influence the effectiveness of the organiz ation? This particular organization, one of the leading garage door companies in the bay area, is open minded to both males or females holding any position, from a person of labor to General Manager, as long as you are qualified. Every employee is treated with respect ; professional behavior. Because each new employee is trained properly ; supported by the staff, it creates a work environment where people enjoy working there ; have been there for many years. The best way I can describe it is the company has a family atmosphere about it.