Oil Prices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Oil Prices - Essay Example A customary perception based on what happened in the 1970s is that oil price shocks trigger recessions. However, the recent past does not fit this view-oil prices are about 2 1/2 times their 2002 levels-but this increase has seemingly not had much impact on the global economy. This seeming puzzle has brought attention to the need to identify the sources of the oil price increase, in particular, to distinguish the role of supply and demand reasons. [1] This box examines these issues using an extended version of the Global Economy Model (GEM) to analyze the causes and outcomes of changes in oil prices. It also looks at the global macro-economic impact of higher taxes on petroleum products. It is important to this clear this from the beginning the analysis does not take on to assess the relative importance of demand and supply causes in the recent run-up in oil prices. In contrast, the main focus is on patterning the channels through which oil prices and growth interact. Global Macro-economic Implications of a Supply Impelled Oil Price Hike First: take the case where oil-exporting economies restrict the supply of oil (as in the 1970s). Oil prices rise sharply (100 per cent at the peak of the simulation) and this results in a global slowdown as redistribution of income to the oil-exporting economies, which have a lower inclination to spend than the oil-importing economies. In addition, higher oil prices raise the cost of production a nd put upward pressure on the collect price level leading to an increase in interest rates, which- in sync with the direct influence on manufacturing outlays-would further decrease in the short run. As a result, world GDP falls 1.4 per cent below the baseline at the trough and global inflation rises about 1.5 percentage points (first figure). The regional macro-economic outcomes of higher oil prices depend on whether a country is a net oil exporter or importer, and on its oil intensity. Oil exporters run a large trade surplus, peaking around 6 per cent of GDP above the baseline, and enjoy a vigorous expansion. In contrast, the oil-importing economies suffer weakening in their external balances and a slowdown in. The impact is more significant in immerging Asian economies chiefly because of their higher oil intensities about advanced economies. On balance, the effects on inflation and GDP in this scenario are significantly smaller than viewed in many industrial countries in the 1970s . [1] First, this partially reflects the lower oil intensities of consumption and production, which lessen both the direct affects on inflation and the medium- and long-term affects on GDP. Second, these simulations assume that forward-looking inflation targeting central banks raise interest rates at once to prevent a ratcheting up of inflation expectations and a spillover into wages and other prices, unlike what happened in the 1970s. Third, many countries have fulfilled reforms that have increased flexibility in both labor and product markets, simplifying more rapid adjustment in relative prices in response to oil price shocks. Combined with creditable monetary policies that have anchored longer-term inflation expectations, these improvements have allowed containing inflationary pressures caused by the higher oil prices without excessively dampening. However, the simulations do not account for possible business and consumer confidence affects or capital market

Fundamental Attribution Error Essay Example for Free

Fundamental Attribution Error Essay The human nature is an interesting subject to study, each individual has their own way of seeing things in their own perspective or ways of persuading others, in order to make sense of their own life’s. Fundamental attribution error being one important concept, this explains a persons behavior, how a person can underestimate circumstances yet overestimate ones characteristics. For example if a man didn’t hold the door for woman when walking into a store, the woman behind him might conclude that man doesn’t have manners or is uncivil. That woman interrupted the situation in her perspective without considering situational factors, such as, he might have been running late or he didn’t notice another person behind him. People will judge primarily on their experience with that individual without considering other factors or placing their selves in their situation. An important researcher known as Milgram, he challenged the demands of authority on obedience, and how far are people willing to conform to orders. Milgram analyses social compliance and obedience toward superior in his experiment. In the study there is a learner, teacher and administrator, each of whom play an important role in the experiment. The teacher is the one giving the questions to the learner and if the learner gets the answer wrong the teacher is obligated to shock the learner. The administrator has the authority to tell the teacher to increase the level on the shock generator. When the learner continues get an answer incorrect the shocks get stronger from 15 to 450 volts and so the learner refuses to continue because he cannot endure anymore pain. The teacher complies with the commands given by administrator to keep going even if the learner is hurt. Milgram experiment was successful and demonstrates how people obey to represent cooperativeness or by fear even if it goes against better judgment. The concept of fundamental attribution error and Milgram’s research on obedience takes an important role in David’s response to his history teacher’s question to why so many German people complied with Hitler’s order to systematically slaughter millions of innocent Jews. David’s response being, â€Å"because German’s were unusually cruel, sadistic people with abnormal and twisted personalities. † The fundamental attribution error in David’s response is when he penalized every single person in the German population for being all cruel, sadistic, abnormal and twisted personalities. He used Germans behavior as a significant factor as their external disposition to judge all Germans for their actions. Also in David’s response, the German population was responsible for the harm to the Jewish community, although Hitler was the prime leader and influenced the outbreak of the Nazi Party. Hitler’s leadership illustrates a great example of Milgram’s research, of abuse of power and obedience in German society. Milgram reveals how people, in this situation German citizens obeyed to higher authority either because of fear or collaboration. David was not able to see the underlining causation of Germany’s injustice, although this is common act, people are usually compelled to unrightfully circumstances and overestimating people.

Essay on Taming of the Shrew: Deciphering Kate’s Shrewish Character

The Taming of the Shrew:   Deciphering Kate’s Shrewish Character  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. It is both a witty and complex play with characters that are appealing and believable drawn from life and based on a keen understanding of human nature. One can see this in the main character of the play, the shrew Katherine. The reasons for Kate's shrewd behavior as well as her tameness have puzzled Critics and Shakespearean scholars for ages. This essay will attempt to decipher Kate's shrewish character from the beginning with her father and sister, through the middle with her first meeting of Petruchio, to the finale where she is finally tamed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a strong underlying notion that Kate's shrewish behavior is a by-product of the mistreatment of her sister and father. Firstly, Kate's father continually humiliates her in public. For example, when Baptista, Kate's father, informed Bianca's suitors, Tranio and Lucentio, in public that he will not allow either of them to marry his younger daughter until a husband is found for Katherine, he is in effect announcing he first wants to have Katherine off his hands. He then offers her to either of Bianca's suitors. Katherine's humiliation at this point is complete. Not only is she discussed on a public street like a piece of scandalous gossip; but she is also offered to her sister's suitors by her own father and profusely turned away as one turns away from a piece of rotten meat. Kate then tries to reveal her mortification to her father, "I pray you, sir, is it your will/To make a stale of me amongst these mates?"(57-58). Upon hearing this, Hortensio scolds Kate for her infamous temper to which she replies that i... .... There is now obvious affection between the two, and Petruchio says of their new harmony, "Is not this well?" (154). He calls her his sweet Kate, and she recognizes the sincerity of the epithet. Therefore, with careful love and affection stemming from Petruchio's sincerity towards Katherine, her shrewd behavior turns into sweet honey.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, due to her father and sister's lack of affection and humiliation, Kate develops a nasty shrewish character. She then recognizes her equal when she meets Petruchio, yet she has no choice but to keep acting as a shrew. It is not until Petruchio wins Kate's affection through his kindness and love that she finally lets go of her shrewish cover and becomes the envied wife of every husband Works Consulted: Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. Ed. Milton Glaser. New York: Signet, 1971.

Soren Chemical

Q1. What is the addressable market size for Coracle? Is the first year goal of $1. 5M sales reasonable? Ans. Coracle is one of the clarifiers developed and produced by Soren Chemicals targeting residential pools which have smaller size than commercial pools and water parks, that are served by other clarifiers like the Kailan MW produced by Soren Chemicals. Very small quantities of Kailan MW are sufficient to treat large volumes of water but it is unsuitable for smaller-scale applications such as residential pools due to the fear of misuse and safety risks. The targeted residential pools of Coracle have a lower volume of water, a lower volume of swimmers, and a less intense maintenance program. It is estimated that there are 9 million residential pools in the United States. According to what illustrate in the last paragraph of the case in page 7, the frequency of usage of residential pools and residential pool chemicals will be largely increased from May. Also as introduced by the Table A in the page 5, the average months of pool usage are 5 months, which makes great sense because normally people will swim in summer time from May to September, and less people will swim in cold whether from October to April. Currently, Coracle has three leading competitors for residential pool-use clarifiers: Keystone Chemical, Kymera, and Jacson Laboratories, and each of the competitors has a 15% to 20% share of the residential pool clarifier market. So, the remained reasonable and addressable market share for Coracle is 40% to 55% maximally if we do not consider the competition and market share of other smaller competitors. Considering the facts like distributors typically carried tens of the thousands of products from many suppliers, including the regional formulators that sold Kailan MW, at least two of the formulators sold Kailan MW with a diluted version as a private label clarifier, and the competition from leading competitors and small competitors, we suggest that 15% should be market share of residential pools market for which Coracle needs to struggle and address. Therefore the addressable market size for Coracle should be $7,846,373 based on the 15% of market share. Based on the above analysis, although it seems that the first year goal of $1. 5 million sales is quite reasonable if we decide the addressable market size $7,846,373 by 5 (it means Soren Chemical generates their sales revenue mainly in 5 months from May to September for Coracle), which is around $1. 57 million and higher than the target, but it is not the case, and it is not reasonable if the marketing team study it carefully. The $1. 5 million sales goal is too aggressive for the first year for Coracle. Q2. Why is Soren Chemical struggling to sell Coracle? a. What are the implications of the channel structure for pool chemicals? b. How would you describe the selling process for Kailan MW vs Coracle? Ans. Soren Chemical launched Coracle only in September 2006, which is the last busy and most suitable month for swimming. The sales team for Coracle did not consider following effects, which will impact the sales revenue extremely for the first year: 1. Consumers, wholesale distributors, pool service professionals, pool specialty retailers, mass retailers need to take time to know the new Coracle brand and the value they can get from Coracle if they buy it. 2. The stocks in the consumers sides, pool service professionals sides, pool specialty retailers sides, and mass retailers sides will also impact the sales of Coracle, especially in the last busy maintenance month of a year. Especially till the end of September, if the consumers decide not to use the pool until next May, they may not maintain the pools because in the beginning of next May, they need to clean again for the pools for swimming after a long time of non-use. 3. Soren Chemical did not position the good product Coracle in the most appropriate position to its customers. Consumer market of residential pools emphasized more on aesthetics and perceived cleanliness. This is a risk for Soren Chemical to bring Coracle to the market without a suitable emphasis focusing on what the consumers concern more. 4. As indicated in the case, 30% of the respondents recalled receiving the Coracle materials that Soren Chemical had sent in response to their inquiries. Furthermore, 70% of the respondents stated that their distributors had not offered Coracle. All these suggest that Coracle’s sales team did not do sufficient work before they bring the Coracle clarifier to the market and this also weakened their sales revenue. . There is unclear gap between Kailan MW and Coracle even though Kailan MW targets at the segment of commercial pool and water parks, while Coracle targets at the segment of residential pools. There are still at least two formulators who dilute Kailan MW with a private label and sell to distributors for consumer market and this will compete with Coracle clarifier. Q3. How would you rate Coracle pricing strategy? Any opportunity? Ans. The pricing strategy is OK; the retail price for Soren per container of 0. Gallons has been settled as $25. This is based on a manufacturer price of $14. 88, which Soren has ascertained for a 35% gross margin. Opportunity exists in terms of margins for the distributers and retailors. The model must be slightly more flexible if they decide to sell the diluted product. Q4. What action plan do you recommend for Coracle? Ans. In my understanding the pool cleaning professionals are not well or properly aware about the product. So most of the actions must be concentrated around the marketing of the product: 1. Increase the marketing budget to the level where we can advertise to all channels not only DIY. 2. Clear message to the users – who are not technically sound, and make then aware about the facts the product are offering. A clear distinguishing must be established which clearly demonstrate a compression between the inferior products which just make the water look clear. 3. Clear margins for the distributers who may sell the diluted product.

Global Warming Essay

There are many causes of Global Warming. The destruction and burning down of tropical forests , traffic clogging up the city streets , rapid growth of unplanned industries, the use of CFCs in packaging and manufacturing products, the use of detergents etc. cause Global Warming. Besides, overpopulation, deforestation are the causative factors of Global Warming. The setting up of mills and factories in an unplanned way has a great effect on environment. These mills and factories produce black smoke which gets mixed with air and increases the amount of CO2. Burning of Gas such as Methane (CH4) and fuel also increase CO2Â ­ in the environment. Killing animals like birds, big cats, lions, tigers is also a alarming cause of Global Warming. The effects of Global Warming is very dangerous for our existence and survival. The sun’s scorching heat comes to earth in a direct way. Therefore, the earth’s surface becomes seriously heated. Agriculture, forestry and fishery is seriously be damaged. This can catastrophically reduce mankind’s ability to grow foods, destroy wildlife. Global Warming also cause sea-water to swell up. All species are important for maintaining ecological balance. If one is lost, the whole natural environment changes. To prevent the dangerous effects of Global Warming necessary steps should immediately be taken. People should not be allowed to cut off trees which causes deforestation. Rather they should be advised and suggested to plant more and more trees in accordance with their capability and convenience. Forests also control the natural balance. People should be made aware of it. Mills, factories, brick-fields should be set up in a very good planned way. There should be well drainage system to pass away waste materials, wastages and poisonous chemicals. The alarming world’s climate is very dangerous for mankind and ecological balance. Unless Global Warming is not controlled, no men, animals will be able to live, grow and thrive. So, we should try maintain the ecological balance to decrease the effects of Global Warming.

Your Voice is Like a Recipe

Your Voice is Like a Recipe The hardest thing for me to describe to a new writer is voice.   At a recent conference, during an informal gathering, a new writer asked how to identify voice. I gave her authors’ names and showed her how they had distinct voices. She recognized theirs, but she was still confused how to identify her own. Then I read a blog post about developing your own recipes, and how good cooks start off reading other recipes, then altering them as they deem necessary. Soon they have original dishes, after trial and error, insertions and deletions, embellishing and withdrawing. The same goes for writing. Recently, I heard a new writer say she didn’t have time to read very much. I hate that, because reading other work is the best teaching tool out there. Not conferences, not degrees, not how-to books, not that those don’t help. However, since the beginning of time, it’s been proven that the best way to learn anything is I’ve heard some writers say they are afraid they will copy who they read. Nah. Ain’t gonna happen. You are not as good as they are, and trust me, you will not pull it off like they do. They have their voice. They know what they’re doing. You may still be searching. I believe that reading the masters (i.e., successful authors who write in the genre you write) teaches you what works. You may even try writing like them. One author, then another author, then yet another. They are in your head as you fight a chapter – the action, the character development, the plot formulation. You study one   author for one aspect, then grab another for yet a different facet. Go ahead and copy them. You’re going to edit the book anyway.   Because a funny thing happens between Chapter One and Chapter Thirty. Your writing grows. You start winging it several chapters into the story. You aren’t so quick to copy, and get quicker at making up your own stuff. You reach Chapter Thirty and then†¦you go back and read the first few chapters. Wow. You write better than what you put in the opening chapters, and you learned it as you fought your way to the final chapters. That’s when you start with Chapter One and edit away, using the new voice that seems to ooze out here and there. You edit all the way through the book. Then you go back and look at Chapters One through Ten or so again. Dang it! You discover your voice grew again! You write better in the end than you did in the beginning of the story. So†¦you edit the book again. You do this over and over and over. Twenty times or more, if necessary. As long as you feel your ending sounds better than the beginning, you rewrite, until your voice is uniform  throughout. A handful of you will think your book is good after the second draft, and you would be wrong. All those edits are necessary to build that elusive voice. Aren’t sure you have your voice defined yet?   Keep reading the masters, copying the masters, writing beginning to end, and rewriting over and over. So, what does this have to do with a recipe? When you first make a dish, you use a recipe perfected

ANALISIS KUALITAS PELAYANAN, PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP IMAGE essays

ANALISIS KUALITAS PELAYANAN, PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP IMAGE essays ANALISIS KUALITAS PELAYANAN, PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP IMAGE (Studi Pada Penderita Rawat Inap Rumah Sakit) The study was undertaken with the rationale that service quality is an important aspect for organization leaders to consider, especially for service oriented organizations to satisfy their customer. Satisfying the customers provides the organization with a good corporate image. A good corporate image serves as an effective strategy in winning the competition with other businesses of the same type. Leading companies who wish to keep their status should always keep service quality mind. It has to be an absolute concern as the organization does not only have to face the competitors but also the customers who continuously change, vary, and are aware of their needs. Therefore, continuous enhancement of service quality has to be provided. This study is aimed at 1) determining the service quality level of public hospital, form the patient perspective; 2) determining influence of service quality on corporate image. Service quality is measured in five dimensions know as servqual technique. The five dimensions serve as tangibility (x1), reliability (x2), responsiveness (x3), assurance (x4), empathy (x5). The research was conducted at the regional public hospital, with the VIP, first class, and second class patients as the analysis units. Sampling was done by stratified random sampling technique obtain respondents. Gap analysis was used by comparing performance and expectation, while regression analysis was used by the intervariable relationship of the hypothesis. As many as 18 items were used as main instrument of the questionnaire which was distinguished into five quality variables used to collect the data, both through interview and questionnaires to be filled out by respondents. Verification of research instruments showed high reliability and validity. The result of this study showed that gap analysis technique used coul...

5 Answers to Questions About Direct Address

5 Answers to Questions About Direct Address 5 Answers to Questions About Direct Address 5 Answers to Questions About Direct Address By Mark Nichol 1. I want to tell athletes at my school, where the mascot is a wildcat, to be proud of their team’s accomplishment. Should I write, â€Å"Be proud Wildcats† or â€Å"Be proud, Wildcats†? I see things like this written all the time without a comma, but something tells me I should include one. You’re right. Both exhortations are correct, but if you write, â€Å"Be proud Wildcats,† you’re telling your readers to be proud Wildcats. â€Å"Be proud, Wildcats† is addressed directly to the athletes; you’re telling the Wildcats to be proud. It’s a subtle difference, but the version with the comma conveys the meaning you want. Also, when pondering whether to write something the way you see it all the time, consider the source: Direct address shows up a lot in informal, conversational (and frequently careless) writing such as email messages and written notes, but in published form, a comma generally (and correctly) separates the term of address from the statement. 2. One issue that comes up in my email communication is the situation in which I am addressing a known group of families, ladies, parents, or students. If I begin my email with â€Å"Hello, Ladies,† should â€Å"Ladies† be capitalized? According to The Gregg Reference Manual, in the salutation of a letter (or an email message) a form of direct address capitalize the first word and all nouns. 3. When should familial terms like mom be capitalized? Capitalize mom and related words when the term is a form of direct address substituting for a name: You’re asking, â€Å"Can I go see a movie, Mom?† just as you would ask, â€Å"Can I go see a movie, Jane?† When you speak of your mother to another person, substituting mom for her name, the word, for the same reason, is capitalized: Compare â€Å"I asked Mom if I could go see a movie† and â€Å"I asked Jane if I could go see a movie.† But if you precede mom with a pronoun, it is a generic noun, equivalent to a designation for any other person: â€Å"I asked my mom if I could go see a movie† is equivalent to â€Å"I asked my dentist if I could go see a movie.† 4. Why is the word miss not capitalized in your example â€Å"Please, miss, can you tell me the time?† The capitalization system for addressing people by a term other than a name is confusing. The first letters of words for job and familial titles are capitalized, but titles of respect like sir and miss, as well as terms of endearment (such as dear), are styled entirely in lowercase letters. 5. In â€Å"Your majesty, his imperial highness summons the prince to the Command Council Tent,† should I change his to His? Yes, but you shouldn’t uppercase only the first letter of his. Both â€Å"your majesty† and â€Å"his imperial highness† are used as titles; thus, all those words should be initially capitalized: â€Å"Your Majesty, His Imperial Highness summons the prince to the Command Council’s tent.† Technically, because â€Å"his imperial highness† is in the third person, it should not be initial-capped unless it precedes the person’s name, but such courtesies for monarchs are often excepted from this rule. (Also, if there is an official body called the Command Council, by all means capitalize its name. However, although you would capitalize room or chamber, for example, if there were a designated space for it to meet, because of a tent’s ephemeral nature, I don’t think tent merits the same treatment. Note that in the reference to the Command Council, I’ve made that body’s name possessive.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Use â€Å"That,† â€Å"Which,† and â€Å"Who†People versus Persons10 Tips About How to Write a Caption

The Role of Germany in European Affairs between 1862 and 1900 Essay

The Role of Germany in European Affairs between 1862 and 1900 - Essay Example The destabilization in Europe took place mainly because of the several conflicts between the neighboring European countries. The Franco Prussian War which began in 1970 and ended the following year is very significant when it comes to analyzing the role of Germany in European affairs between 1862 and 1900. The Prussians wanted to suppress the weaker states and wanted a new German state. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck spearheaded three really important wars, Denmark, Austria were comprehensively defeated by the Prussians in 1864. The big moment for the Prussians came in the year 1871 when they managed to defeat France. The Prussians were so powerful that the French army just could not contain them; the French were defeated and not only defeated but also humiliated. This was how a unified Germany came into being. Germany would not have been the same had the Prussians not attacked Austria, Denmark and France in 1864 and 1871 respectively. Otto von Bismarck once very famously said â€Å"T he great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood.† (Otto von Bismarck)   The unification of Germany was complete; Austria was not included in the unification. The French were comprehensively beaten and this called for revenge. The French were desperate to avenge their defeat. France had also lost territory during war and they were also made to pay a whopping compensation by the Prussians. The revanche movement kicked started in France, it was a political movement with an agenda of putting the newly unified country in its place. Ogden Nash once said â€Å"Now, anybody whom a  German  hates, He presently exterminates, But he who exterminates a French Is never safe from Gallic revenge, But he who gets even with a  German  Is obliterated like a vermin† (German Quotes) Germany wanted to further strengthen itself and in an endeavor to do so it started locking horns with established colonial powers. G ermany and Britain were at loggerheads in the year 1896. German Kaiser ridiculed the Jameson Raid and the same offended the British beyond the wildest of one’s imagination. A telegram was sent by Germany which was somehow intercepted by the British media and this caused wild uproar in Britain. The British took to the streets to protest against the German authorities who wrote the telegram. Weltpolitik was one of Germany’s policies; even this policy was largely responsible for creating a huge drift between the Germans and the British. Robert MacDonald once very famously said â€Å"One  German  makes a philosopher, two a public meeting, three a war.† (German Quotes) The first naval law by Germany was passed by Admiral von Tirpitz, he wanted Germany to have a really strong Navy. â€Å"The son of a civil servant, Tirpitz signed up with the Prussian Navy in 1865 as a midshipman, attending the Kiel Naval School; he subsequently received his commission in 1869.   Tirpitz went on to serve as commander of a torpedo flotilla and subsequently inspector general of the torpedo fleet, during which time he developed a keen interest in the potentialities of submarines in wartime.† (First World War) There were 17 naval ships built by Germany in seven years, these developments made caused panic and shockwaves in Britain. Britain knew that it had to do something to combat

Eliot's Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eliot's Poetry - Essay Example Some poems had urban landscape as the backdrop; but mostly it is the inner landscape of the individual's mind that he tried to portray. His language focuses on the acute loneliness of the urban life that shows no sympathy to the individual. Isolation in the crowd is aptly expressed by his images, along with the ordinariness of life. His poetic forms could be termed as dreary compared to earlier poets; but he is depicting the depthless dreariness of modern life. He said: 'A large part of any poet's imagination must come from his reading and from his knowledge of history.' His poems had a sense of history, though he ventured into assessing modern society too often. The complexity of modern life has come across through his images. Glimpses of people who live in the impersonal modern world, spiritually exhausted, emotionally unsupported are shown in The Love song' The language shows the inherent confusion, feeble images, and unauthentic pretence that go through life. The culmination in a sense of defeat is almost predictable and the language could not have been clearer. In the same way, the image of the male observer in the Portrait of a Lady sounds acutely detached and unemotional while encroaching the lonely life of the woman without apology. Once again, almost in identical language, he visualises the mundane city life in Preludes. "To early coffee-stands. With the other masquerades That time resumes, One thinks of all the hands That are raising dingy shades In a thousand furnished rooms." (18-23). There is a definite sense of lack of time and difficult endeavours in the Rhapsody of a windy night. The division of hours and too many mentions of time brings it into acute focus. The same sense of rushing time comes across in the Portrait of a lady when her age is mentioned. The miserable lonely existence and the longing are portrayed alongside the mutilated life along with its acute lack of time for better things. Among the windings of the violins And the ariettes Of cracked cornets Inside my brain a dull tom-tom begins Absurdly hammering a prelude of its own, Capricious monotone. His poetic forms and language reflect the defeated and hopeless idealism. His images show that dreams and elegance are left behind. Eliot's images portray modern society's lack of idealism, emptiness and dangerous cynicism in the modern society. He portrayed the prostitutes as one of the uglier sides of city life in Rhapsody... " 'Regard the woman Who hesitates towards you in the light of the door Which opens on her like a grin. You see the border of her dress Is torn and stained with sand, And you see the corner of her eye Twists like a crooked pin.'" (16-22). It almost sounds inhuman and devouring. His language becomes cynically powerful when he depicts the hopelessness and emptiness of the present world. The images become oppressingly pessimistic and perhaps this is the result of the World War which saw horrendous destruction in Europe the signs of which exist

Summarizing 9 articles about oil in Venezuela (separately) Research Paper

Summarizing 9 articles about oil in Venezuela (separately) - Research Paper Example The makes the U.S. vulnerable to crises that will strike these countries. For example, the U.S. relied heavily on Venezuela for around 15% of their oil supply. This, combined with Venezuela’s proximity to the U.S., made Venezuela appears to be a â€Å"stalwart production hub† (p.3). Venezuela, however, posed to be a problem when it proved to be not as reliable in oil supply as the U.S. expected them to be. The U.S. was not the only one to fail in anticipating the Venezuelan crisis. There should be reforms in oil management strategies in order to minimize the impact of oil crisis. DiJohn, J. (2009). From windfall to curse?: Oil and industrialization in Venezuela, 1920 to the present. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press. This book is a very useful resource in terms of understanding the puzzles within the economics and politics of Venezuela in the past century. Venezuela experienced a rise in economy due to the influx of oil revenues from 1920s to 1965 . The years that follow had been witnesses to the country’s economic downfall. From then, Venezuela has never really been able to rise again. The common idea for Venezuela’s economic rise is oil; yet similarly, it is also the most common thing to be blamed when talking about the nation’s collapse. Yet, as the author states, the â€Å"†¦reigning explanations for economic slowdown in Venezuela†¦have proved inadequate† (p.168). The book provides several hard-to-find data that will make rethink the reasons for Venezuela’s economic collapse. This book is a gold mine of information that goes along with the ideas presented in the other articles studied for this topic. It discusses the validity of the resource curse, the importance of the nature of Venezuela’s political framework, and even the issues on importation and exportation. Giusti, L. E. (1999). La apertura: The opening of Venezuela’s oil industry. Journal of International A ffairs, 53(1), 117-128. Transactions regarding oil have tremendously changed over the past decades. Oil business had been controlled by limited suppliers before, but has lately become â€Å"an active market with floating prices and many participants† (p.128). Venezuela has long been a key player in the oil industry, however, the recent changes in the market and the global modernization requires one to look closely on what can be done in response to this changing law of supply and demand. The author emphasizes that changes should be done in terms of oil management framework because the old system is fast becoming obsolete. Many key players in the oil industry, including Venezuela, are still supporting and are under the old OPEC management system, and continuing under this old system could be detrimental to the expansion and growth plans of oil suppliers. Hall, M. R. (2012). TINKER SALAS, MIGUEL. The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture. and Society in Venezuela. Journal of Third Worl d Studies, 29( 2), 280-281. The discussion of the more recent events regarding the social and cultural consequences of the Venezuelan oil industry is a good addition to the various information available regarding the history of Venezuela’s economic rise due to the influx of oil revenue particularly beginning 1920. The author mentions that the oil camps are â€Å"social laboratories†

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 9

Leadership - Essay Example as observed that , transformational leaders who may happen to have narcissistic tendencies can apply a very powerful influence over followers, who may give them trust and respect (Stone, Russel and Patterson, 2003, p.4) as to manipulate the latter. Manipulating followers may actually be violating the latter’s very freedom as the act would amount to misleading them to choosing what is proper as free human beings. These followers may virtually submit their wills to their leaders. The possibility of this argument is due to the appeal to emotions which a key ingredient to practice transformational leadership. The source of the first criticism is the fact that there are allegedly people who were transformational leaders who led their people to destruction. Used as examples are the cases of Rev Jim Jones and Hitler. In the case of Jones, the leader caused massive Jonestown suicide after convincing his people of the value of his proposition no matter how evil it may be (Krans, B. 2007). Which could be more evil than taking one’s life by the instigation of a leader who is supposed to espouse and value life and on the greatest values on human being? The case of Hitler is too familiar to escape mentioning the same when it comes to leaders who could move their followers to attainment of objectives and goals of the group. Who could imagine that Hitler was able to have the command of his followers to exterminate millions of Jews as to offend the sensibility of human kind? Hitler and Himmler, his fanatical racist and ultimate bureaucrat what able to take control of anti-Jewish initiatives and Hitler was the ideological and political author of the Holocaust (Farmer, 2010). The reasoning behind the criticism is assumption that there is a tendency by the transformational leaders to take advantage of the emotions of the followers who may forget about the supremacy of reason because they have virtually submitted their beliefs and wills to their leader because of their

Research project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Research project - Essay Example The literature review of the proposal was mainly designed to shed light on the existing scenario of the employee management aspects in the corporate industry. However, this segment will focus on the overall factors that are closely connected with employee turnover and employee retention process in the fast food firms. The observations presented by Alan, Radzi and Hemdi (2009) show that business growth and development process is supported by the contributions of their employee base however the changes in their workforce are not being considered by the business houses which creates a mystery in the corporate concepts. Moncarz, Zhao and Kay (2009) further added that although business houses are aware of the changes in the situation of the job market and the extensive search for talent in the business, the employee retention process of the first food industry is mainly done by the tangible rewards such as tips received from customers or the incentives paid by the employer. However, the nature of work may be a demoralising factor for long term service in the sector. Rankin (2008) stated that the skills required for working in fast food industry are primarily based on fast and quality service which also serves as a foothold for the employees to curve their passage towards the hospitality industry and b ig brands in the sector. Chang and Chang (2008) also confirmed to the fact that biog hotels and restaurants are searching for talent in the fast food sector considering their service providing abilities and also the ability to handle pressure during peak seasons. These are some factors which influence the employee turnover rate of the fast food segment. Focusing on the existing employee retention policies being implemented in the fast food segment, it can be stated that their strategies are not significant enough to reduce the overall employee turnover. Ferres, Connell and Traraglione (2004) noticed that the financial standard of the fast food firms in comparison to biog

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney Approach towards Problem Solving Essay

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney Approach towards Problem Solving - Essay Example Barrack Obama, the current president of US who was elected on 4th November, 2008 has democratic political approach. As the U.S economy is the biggest issue, he has put forward the plans of tax measures to overcome this major issue of the state. Barrack Obama believes in investing in the educational sectors and infrastructure to heal the problem of U.S economy. His approach towards this problem is to improve the humanity of his country at every level to overcome the economic issue. At the time of taking the office, Barrack Obama faced recession of economy in the shape of 700,000 jobs being lost every month. He applied his America’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in which the first step was to finish the taxes on the undersized business. Following this, he purposed an act of cutting the taxes on the 95% of the local families and other activities as well. In the course of May 2012, under the presidency of Barrack Obama, the U.S. economy increased in the shape of 4.3million privat e sector jobs with a consecutive rate on the monthly basis (Romney). On the other hand, Mitt Romney thinks that the Government should cut down the taxes and let the private sector stay free to overcome the economical problem. Romney is experienced in private sector and has traditional ideas towards the economical problems of U.S. Mitt Romney plans to rebuild the economy of U.S. by enterprises and the hard work at the employment level.

Research project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Research project - Essay Example The literature review of the proposal was mainly designed to shed light on the existing scenario of the employee management aspects in the corporate industry. However, this segment will focus on the overall factors that are closely connected with employee turnover and employee retention process in the fast food firms. The observations presented by Alan, Radzi and Hemdi (2009) show that business growth and development process is supported by the contributions of their employee base however the changes in their workforce are not being considered by the business houses which creates a mystery in the corporate concepts. Moncarz, Zhao and Kay (2009) further added that although business houses are aware of the changes in the situation of the job market and the extensive search for talent in the business, the employee retention process of the first food industry is mainly done by the tangible rewards such as tips received from customers or the incentives paid by the employer. However, the nature of work may be a demoralising factor for long term service in the sector. Rankin (2008) stated that the skills required for working in fast food industry are primarily based on fast and quality service which also serves as a foothold for the employees to curve their passage towards the hospitality industry and b ig brands in the sector. Chang and Chang (2008) also confirmed to the fact that biog hotels and restaurants are searching for talent in the fast food sector considering their service providing abilities and also the ability to handle pressure during peak seasons. These are some factors which influence the employee turnover rate of the fast food segment. Focusing on the existing employee retention policies being implemented in the fast food segment, it can be stated that their strategies are not significant enough to reduce the overall employee turnover. Ferres, Connell and Traraglione (2004) noticed that the financial standard of the fast food firms in comparison to biog

Critical Examination of the applicability of module topics to two Essay

Critical Examination of the applicability of module topics to two globally trading companies - Essay Example n the company’s strategic plans it was evident that there are numerous retail chains in the market thus it had to come up with a strategy that would ensure it stands out of the rest and, in the long run, maintain a competitive advantage over its rivals (â€Å"Strategies for Reaching†, 2010). Despite offering its goods at low prices, the quality of goods sold to clients is not compromised, even though; profit maximization remains the principal objective of the organization. It is literally difficult for an organization to achieve all these three parameters at a go, but Wal-Mart has managed to conquer them all through strategic planning and implementation. The company conducted its analysis of the industry and came to the conclusion that the value of retail goods increased exponentially from the time of manufacturing for the time they get to their stores. Thus, they came up with a rapid transportation system that supplied its stores with goods from the suppliers in time, and only the required products were reimbursed in the stores (â€Å"Wal-Mart: Key†, 2014). The company developed an integrated inventory system that was coordinated with their primary suppliers for instance Proctor and Gamble whereby goods would be replenished in the stores immediately their volumes run below the recommended levels. In that sense there would be no time a good would be missing in Wal-Mart stores since the system would update the suppliers of the goods that were on demand and the rapid transport system of Wal-Mart would dispatch them to the respective stores within twenty-four hours. The fact that Wal-Mart deals directly with its suppliers ensure that the cost of essential goods is significantly discounted and those price cuts are transferred to customers in terms of low prices (Govindarajan, and Gupta, 2002). The company is notable with its low prices a feature that has seen it accrue billions of dollars yearly in terms of revenues and made other market players to shut business

My Personal Faith Essay Example for Free

My Personal Faith Essay My personal faith and beliefs contribute to every aspect of my life. I come from a Christian family and a congregation of baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. My parents have always given me unconditional love and dedication, while teaching me healthy boundaries pertaining to life. Such as always putting the Lord first, being more concerned about the pain of consequences for irresponsibility, the rights and wrongs of my behavior, and what pain any of my actions may cause for others and God. My faith has enabled me to handle life challenges from my past and present. Some of these challenges have been series of events that I could hardly believe were happening, while others came with great joy. At five years old, my younger brother, Chandler, died unexpectedly. This was a tough challenge for my whole family to face. This challenge could have easily torn my family apart but together, as a team with God, we worked hard at picking up the pieces and moving forward even when there were days that seemed to be impossible. In the fifth grade, I was diagnosed with a common learning disability known as Attention Deficit Disorder. I am faced with this challenge on a daily basis. I have learned to cope with this disorder over the years by making prayer and patience priorities in helping me conquer this challenge. This challenge was especially difficult during my SAT and ACT tests. Certain scores on these tests were required to get into college and play NCAA football. The stress and pressure of taking these tests felt unbearable at times. While studying and before and during each test, I would remind myself that, through God, all things are possible. With God by my side, I was able to achieve the scores needed to reach my college and athletic goals. Varsity football has had an enormous impact on me during high school because it taught me how dedication and determination would help me succeed in academics as well as in extracurricular activities. Being part of a team helped me develop leadership skills within myself. Each time I step on the field, I put forth an effort to play my best. For me, each game started with a prayer that God would help me make good decisions and keep me and my team safe, win or lose. I earned many Regional and State awards for my achievements in football. All District First Team Defense 2011 and All Region Second Team Defense 2011 were two of my greatest achievements. Again, through God, all things are possible. Strong faith, good character and determination to succeed and live â€Å"a life that matters† can help anyone overcome any challenging situation that they are faced with in their lifetime. They also produce hope within oneself and set the foundation for an integral person to build on their morals and values. I plan to influence others to live â€Å"a life that matters† by staying true to my faith and hope within myself and allowing patience and perseverance to always be a strong characteristic of my character. I am going into the nursing program at Shepherd University in the fall. I plan to further my education into physical therapy. After my education is finished and I enter the working world, I want my greatest accomplishments to be encountering someone daily that I can portray my faith and integrity to that will make a difference in both our lives. I want to be able to reflect back on myself as a person who lived my entire life as one that mattered regardless of what stage of life or challenge that I am faced with at that time. As Christians, we are called and obligated to serve God with our time, talents, and material possessions but we must also recognize these areas as being entrusted to us to be used for the glory of God and helping others. God wants us to seek to bring others under the sway of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love.

Logistics Manager Role and Responsibilities

Logistics Manager Role and Responsibilities Question 1 The activities that a logistics manager might be responsible are: 1- Traffic and Transportation: It is physical movement of goods. Transportation has an important role in the supply chain and it can amount to high costs. The logistic managers need to choose the most effective combination of transport to improve value to the company and customers. The forms of transportation are: Pipeline, sea, railway, air, etc. 2- Warehousing and storage: Warehousing are the activities of storing, receiving shipping materials for production and distribution centers. It also includes managing human resources. 3- Material/Product Handling: Allocation and movements of product and materials and its distribution within the warehouse. This includes order procedures, picking up and shipment areas on warehouse. The logistic manager needs to coordinate the type of equipment and storage devices used to handle the product. 4- Inventory control and management: The logistic manager has the responsibility to assure that inventory levels are balanced and make sure the inventory is accurate. The inventory levels needs to be checked for replenishments either by monitoring shipments of orders, schedule of production or placement of new orders. The inventory accuracy needs to be check against system. Logistic managers need to schedule physical inventory checks and cross those numbers against the system. If there is any inaccuracy those needs to be adjusted on the system and inventory replenished if needed. Inventory control minimizes inventory and reduce cost. 5- Order fulfillment: Those are the activities of filling and shipping of customer orders. The lead time for order fulfillments are important to control and minimize customers lead times. 6- Demand forecasting: Forecasting is important efficiency of inventory. Forecasting needs to be accurate and reliable and logistic managers need to develop the forecast with marketing department at the most accuracy, as high inventories are attributed to poor forecasting. 7- Production planning and scheduling The logistic manager needs to work closely with production planning in order to coordinate shipments and market demand. 8- Procurement: Procurement negotiates contracts deliveries for product and also selects suppliers. The logistic manager control the transportation costs based on location and cost of materials necessary for production. 9- Customer service: The logistics managers need to ensure the customer receives the product at the right time, place and with quality. The logistic manages needs to be concern with inventory levels and locations to assure right time and place can be met. Also that order fill in rate are complete. All 15 listed activities are connected and affect customer satisfaction. 10- Plant and warehouse site selection: The Logistic manager needs to choose, location, size and quantity if warehouses based the inventory size. 11- Part and Service support: This activity is especially important for technical product. The replacement of spare parts and repair are also part of the customer support and service as sales to customers do not ends with the delivery of products. 12- Reverse logistics: The main focus of reverse logistics is to reduce costs by managing the reuse of materials. Those include returns, reuse, repair, recycling and disposal of those in the reverse journey from the customer to the firms warehouse and or supplier. 13- Protective Packing: The packing is related to the type of packing needed for each mode of transportation and also the storage of product. Each mode of transportation might need different packing and that needs to be designed to minimize risk of damaging the product and reduce costs. 14- Information Maintenance: Analysis control, manipulation collections, maintenance and storage of data related to logistics is one of the responsibilities of a manager. The data is important as it drive the decision process. 15- Salvage and Scrap disposal: Salvage and scrap material have to be disposed and the logistic managers needs to manage that those are properly handled and sold to specialized companies. Today there are more and more public concerns with environment and companies to responsibly address their waste. Question 2 The four dimensions of customer services and how these elements affect the cost centers of both buyer and sellers are: A). Time: For the buyer perspective time means lead times, the order cycle and replenishment. As for the sellers time means the order management process and Bill to Cash process. The factors that affect time are the degree in which logistics control the elements of lead time. Seller need to control processes of order picking, shipment of orders and order processing. Consequently, Logistics manager needs to control consistence across the order cycle especially length and duration. If that is not controlled it will impact inventory levels for the buyers. The sellers need to work on improvements of cost centers that will result in the cost effective savings for the company and give the highest customer service returns. Lead times will affect both buyers which expect lower inventories and sellers that aim for productivity savings and improvements. Therefore, time is very important for customer service. B). Dependability: From buyers prospective dependability and trust is important because it a minimize inventory levels considering the lead time is stable. The buyers that can rely on orders arriving at stable time could adjust their inventory based on those times and reduce or eliminate their safety stock quantity. As for sellers dependability it is important as they can rely on buyers to run logistic department with stable lead times. Cycle time directly affects buyers inventory level and stock out costs. If lead time is stable will reduce uncertainty of buyers. In the other hand if cycle time is unstable it will create delays and loss of sales for buyers in which will increase costs. As for sellers if they can provide stable and reliable lead time to buyers it will create a differentiation in product and create competitive advantage against other competitors. In the other hand, if cycle time is unstable and create extra costs for buyers. The sellers might receive claims due to buyers delays and loss of revenue. That is why dependability is so important and both buyers and sellers need to rely on stable cycle times. Safe delivery is another important part of any logistic system. If products are lost or arrive damaged the buyers wont be able to sell or use the product. When damaged product happens it will affect several buyers departments such as inventory, marketing and production and those can create high costs. Another important point is if buyers receive damage products they will need to increase inventory levels for the future to account for damaged product risks which would generate further costs to buyers. Correct orders are another important part of the logistic system, buyers needs to trust that filling orders will be accurate. If there is an inaccuracy it might cause loss of sales and or production. If customer is unsatisfied with the inaccuracy and they will need to reorder the product and they might choose other competitors to order from. As for the sellers the correct orders results in high dependability from buyers. If there is inaccuracy buyers might claim the sellers causing increase of costs. Further it might cause loss of sales and trustability. C). Communications Communication with buyers is important to monitor the customer service level and dependability. The communications needs to be both ways buyers to sellers and vice versa and constantly open. As regular communication is needed to ensure efficiency on physical distribution. There are three types of communications and those can be performed manually, electronically or through an information system. Pre- transaction: It includes current product availability, delivery dates. Pre- transition provides buyers with information in which decisions are made. This communication is directly related to the companys police towards customer service. Transaction: This provides both sellers and buyers with information about order filling, process of picking the product out inventory including time required. Buyers need information on their orders and the update state of those. They will then communicate with sellers to have an update on the information. During communications sellers can assess inventory availability and if any product is not available they then communicate with buyers. Buyers and sellers can also communicate on status of shipments. Pos- transaction This type communication is after sales service for buyers. It is related to returns, assembly or repairs. The sellers need to be efficient and provide response quickly to differentiate from other competitors even if that includes returning product because buyers are not unsatisfied. D). Convenience Buyers might have different requirements and sellers need to be flexible to accommodate those. They might require different packing, mode of transportation, carriers or delivery dates. Seller or more specifically logistic manager need to factor buyers requirements in terms of costs and provide service level as reasonably required. Flexibility allows for sellers to be perceived as convenient and accommodating. Although, flexibility is needed sellers need to carefully analyze those requirements and try to create a pattern among those. Customer service activities are costly and sellers need to examine those carefully to improve revenues and or address any loss of profit. Logistic managers need to determine the right level of customer service as it is more difficult to imitate, the cost associated with each activity must be beneficial for the seller the ideal is that the level of customer service costs equal to its profit return and also provide competitive advantage. Question 3 Marketing interfaces with logistics in terms of physical distribution and or outbound. As logistics is responsible for the transportation, storage and on time delivery of product to customers. In which interface with marketing in terms of being the key ability to provide product at the right quantity, time and place. The four basic concepts of market mix and how logistic interface are: Price: In term of prices logistic needs to adjust quantities in order to receive the most competitive prices for transportation modes. The price discount received for bulk volumes shipments offered by shippers are important and logistics need to manager those in order to have competitive prices. As customer might also might be offered discount price on bulk volume the transportation rates discount in terms of weights or volume are beneficial for both customer and seller as reduce total transportation costs. It is not always possible to benefit from the transportations rates however logistics needs to manager to investigate those in the market. As per inventory logistics will also be part of the volume sold in different prices ranges and those will also affect the inventory levels and repleshiment times. Marketing will also inform logistics of the of the different sales projects in particular times of the year and special price rates that is needed to meet projected demand. Product: Marketing main concern is product and its physical characteristics. such as their size, weight and type of packing. All those are physical properties that affect the logistics system as they will be responsible to move and store .Physical dimensions affect movements system and transportation such as equipment handling, pallets, packing and others. Consequently, it is important that logistics managers work with marketing in terms of giving an input when marketing is working on physical characteristics of a product. Logistics also needs to work with marketing on creating specifications for new packing in terms of sizes and weight in order to minimize transportation issues such as inefficiently use of container space, use of size pallets on any issue that might cause damaged product. If marketing works with logistics managers they can recommend changes that could make product friendly to the logistics system and reduce costs that would have an effect on product sales. It is important also that marketing works with logistics in term of developing consumer packing, as it might influence sales. Marketing is concern with its appearance and the information provided to the customers. For logistics they are concern if the consumer packing fits the external packing, basically all dimensions that influence the logistics system including the protection of the product. The consumer packing will affect materials handling, transportation and warehouse. Promotion: Marketing spend millions in promotion such as campaigns and advertising l that will increase sales. Marketing works with push and pull sales strategies which means marketing can push to the distribution channels to the customer or pull it or a combination of both. The pull approach usually caused a high quantity random product demand by customers; therefore Marketing should work with logistics as those promotions which affect inventory levels as logistics managers need to ensure that quantities are available for sales. Although push strategy allows for marketing to predict the consumers respond to product in a more organized way, the interface of marketing and logistics is still important because allows for logistic to work in advance to have the optimal inventory level needed. Place: Place is directly related to the distribution channels. Marketing work on decisions such as selling product to wholesale or to retails or both. For logistics managers those decisions directly affect the logistics system requirements. In my opinion, the most important component of the marketing mix is Product, most specifically consumer packing. With the growing consumer demand on Eco friendly packing, reduces, reuse and recycle marketing is forced into a position of redesign their consumer packing. The interaction between marketing and logistics is particular important, because the different trades off that need to be made when choosing a new packing. While logistic will be concern with reducing storage, weight and sizes, marketing will be concern with attracting consumers attention and reinforce brand image. Product also has distribution and storage that directly affect costs, performance and lead times. Therefore, Marketing and logistics poor cooperation in terms of product consumers packing can lead to higher packing costs, transportation costs and longer transit lead times. References: The open university of Hong Kong , Unit 1 Unit 2 MKTB371 Logistics

The Gradual Development Of Cha :: essays research papers

Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding, and the topic of this essay is to show how Golding suggests that the boys on the island gradually move from their civilized behavior to total anarchy. In the book, Lord of the Flies, an undefined number of boys are stranded on a desert island, and a leader is chosen. From the start, there is a power struggle between the chosen leader, Ralph, and the leader of a boys choir,Jack. There is also a gradual descent into anarchy as the boys spend more time on the island alone. In the end, they are rescued by a navy ship, but not before atleast two children are dead, namely Piggy and Simon, both murdered. In this essay it will be shown that the boys on the island move from civilization to total anarchy, through the examples of their use of face paint, the death of Simon and the destruction of the conch.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Lord of the Flies, an example of their move from civilization to anarchy lies the use of face paint among the boys on the island. Some of the boys, like Ralph and Piggy, never wear face paint. This shows that they stay civilized throughout the story, while the other kids do not. Early in the story, when the hunters chase after a pig, they all where mud, clay, and charcoal as face paint to be 'like things trying to look like something else-'; (Lord of the Flies, William Golding, p. 66). Later, when Jack forms his own tribe they go hunting with masks of pig blood on their faces, as masks. Golding suggests that the children are able to disguise themselves behind these masks, and escape any punishment, therefore freeing them to do as they please. This shows that Golding wanted the reader to think that while the children are afraid of punishment (when they have just arrived on the island), they are civilized in their behaviour, but when they wear their masks, and ar e able to rid themselves of the responsibility of their actions they begin to act more savage-like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another example of how the children on the island moved from civilization to anarchy is the progression of the dance they perform. In the beginning, when they dance they all gather in a circle and one child is in the middle, acting as the beast. The children would then proceed to pretend to beat the child, but instead leave him unharmed.

Where I Was From: An Exploration of Joan Didion’s Personal and Social Unrest

Where I Was From is a cultured collection of essays written in 2003. To be able to fully understand the intricate notions woven in the book, there is a need to comprehend the creator’s style and background, for the readers to visualize where all the viewpoints and misapprehensions come from. Joan Didion, the creator behind this politically, socially and emotionally linked memoir is a renowned American journalist, essayist, and novelist. Much of her works relates to her life in California, her hometown, mostly during the 1960’s. She is commended for her style in writing mixed personal reflections and social analyses. She writes about paranoia, clear-eyed analyses of the American culture, and personal and social discontent. She was known to be a conservative writer during her early years, but later adapted to the liberal tenets of democracy. She had written five novles, eight nonfiction including Where I come From, and also had collaborations with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, in writing a number of screenplays (Encyclopedia of World Biography on Joan Didion, n. . , p. 1). Where I Was From centers about the history of California, and Joan Didion’s relationship to it and to her mother. Noticeably, she loves the use of commas and lengthy sentences to highlight her narration. Her tune seems melancholic, expressing her confusions about the place, and the way in which she grew up. She feels that there is a sense of perplexity on which she has become. Thus, she contemplated on the American frontier myth, which refers to the unresolved land outside the region of existing settlements of Americans. The American Frontier is a ‘mythical place’ where unrestrained free land was available, resulting to unlimited opportunity (Eidenbach, 2008, p. 99). Where I Was From 3 She also pinpointed the ferocity of a group of popular white high school men, referred to as the Spur Posse incident of 1993. They used a ‘point-system’ record to account for their sexual conquests (Fineman, 1997, p. 177). In addition, when the industry about aircrafts and defense weaponries during the World War II flourished, the people from Lakewood, Califfornia, did as well. Later on, it turned out that the industry was built with the Feds support. Dismally, when that support was withdrawn, the industry doomed. These facts are just some of the historical context implicated in the book (Godbersen, 2003, p. 1). Based on my understanding, Joan Didion uses this as a metaphor in comparison with her life, and generally the rustic myth of California’s origins. What is seen and observed literally does not depict the real circumstances being dealt upon. The veneer of life’s misapprehensions cannot be uncovered by the present analysis itself, for circumstances are intertwined and indeed perplexing to the mind. She compares it with her life, believing she had known herself and her history for so long, only to find out that her viewpoints are inadequate to portray the truth. Joan Didion’s work is so complex in it entirety, it was rich with personal experiences and historical context throughout each essay. Some facts were even misleading to the querying mind. Nevertheless, they are still all intertwined with each other, somehow. It is difficult to summarize such an intricate work, but she retaliates to her readers with an overall realization, that is, the culture that we see today is a direct consequence of a population of survivalists. References Eidenbach, K. (2008). Critical Legal Studies and the Lawless Frontier. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from: http://www.thecritui.com/articles/kirstin.pdf Encyclopedia of World Biography on Joan Didion. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2008, from:Â  http://www.bookrags.com/biography/joan-didion/ Fineman, M., & McCluskey, M. (October 1, 1997). Feminism, Media, and the Law. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from: http://books. google.com/books?id=H2hRAVkc0nMC&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=spur+posse+incident&source=bl&ots=gWgOvMmeXq&sig=SSExAlIv4BXGJjruegEXXG-uRkI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA177,M1 Godbersen, A. (October 15, 2003). California story. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from: http://www.powells.com/review/2003_10_15.html

Did Government Violate Laissez-Faire Essay

After the Civil War, many businessmen endorsed the Laissez-Faire concept of government in order to promote industry. In this concept, government did not interfere with industry. But what came with this concept was unlimited freedom for businessmen and high prices for consumers. While many businessmen supported a Laissez-Faire concept of government between 1865 and 1900, the people did not benefit from it, which led government to violate this concept with their policies, but only to a moderate extent overall. They violated laissez-faire to a moderate extent by issuing Railroad Land Grants before 1870 and eliminating them after, to a great extent by Regulating Interstate Commerce with the Interstate Commerce Act in 1886, and only to a limited extent by attempting to control trust activities with the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890, producing a moderate government involvement overall. Government began to violate the concept of Laissez-Faire with its Railroad Land Grants. Laissez-Faire promoters believed that â€Å"†¦the government is best which governs least. † While industrialists promoted this concept, it was already being violated when the Federal Government gave thousands of acres of land to Railroad companies in return for building railroads. These subsidies, in the form of loans and land grants, totaled over 130 million acres of public land. (Doc D. ) The federal government issued these grants in hope that the railroad would increase the value of the land and provide better rates for carrying mail and transporting troops. More railroads continued to be built, including four other transcontinental railroads. Of these four, James Hill’s Great Northern Railroad was the only one to be built without federal subsidies. These grants benefited the Railroad financiers greatly, especially Jay Gould who went into the business to make quick profit by selling off the assets and watering stocks. The grants were justified by financiers by saying that the railroads provided for settlement of the west and attracted immigrants, giving the land more credit, which was the government’s main purpose to begin with. However, as more competition entered the industry, the railroad system began to fail, and, in the 1870’s the Federal government recognized this problem and terminated their policy of grants to railroads. This policy prohibited the issuing of subsidies to associations or corporations engaged in public or private enterprises. (Doc F) By issuing this resolution, Congress eliminated itself from the railroad industry, promoting the concept of Laissez-Faire. So while congress was a large part of industry before 1870, violating Laissez-Faire, they eliminated themselves from it, and promoted Laissez-Faire from that point on. This shows that congress violated Laissez to a moderate extent, because they violated it before 1870 but not after. Later, government violated Laissez-Faire in another way, by regulating interstate commerce. Before 1886, many states had Granges, social and educational organizations for farmers and their families who aimed to defend its members against the middlemen, trusts, and railroads. Grangers in many states successfully lobbied their state legislatures to pass laws regulating railroad rates. In the case of Munn v Illinois in 1877, the Supreme Court upheld the right of a state to regulate businesses of a public nature, like railroads. But these laws, called Granger laws, could only regulate local and short-haul rates within their states. In the case of Wabash v. Illinois in 1886, the Supreme Court ruled that states could not regulate interstate commerce: that was left up to the federal government. Because many railroad companied raised their long-haul rates after the granger laws were adopted, the federal government needed to respond to the outcry of farmers and shippers. It recognized that the railroad industry’s benefits had been attained to, in effect, â€Å"†¦ build up the strong at the expense of the weak†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doc J. ) The federal government worked to fix this problem by passing the Interstate Commerce Act in 1886. This Act required railroad rates to be â€Å"reasonable and just,† and set up the first federal regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC. ) This law affected the railroad industry greatly, and the results were astounding. In effect, it increased railroad earnings, and put an end to rebates and drawbacks. (Doc L. ) This act was huge in government intervention in industry. By issuing this act, the federal government aimed to help the cries of the farmers and shippers, and in effect violated laissez faire by involving itself directly in the railroad industry from state to state, and also nullified previous laws regulating the railroad industry passed in individual states. This shows that the government did violate industry to a great extent when it came to regulating Interstate Commerce. As a select few became very wealthy by forming trusts in their particular industries, the government violated Laissez-Faire by trying to control trust activities. In the 1880s, many middle class citizens feared the power that trusts gave industrialists, and urban elites resented the increasing influence of the new rich men in America. Because so many businessmen were developing trusts and were the only ones benefiting from business, John Sherman, a Senator from Ohio, was inspired to pass the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890 by reformers who failed to curb trusts on the state level. The Act prohibited any â€Å"contract, combination, in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce. Sherman believed the act would provide every man with his â€Å"†¦right to work, labor, and produce†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and to transport his production on equal terms. (Doc N. ) The Act, however, hardly did that. It was purposely written vaguely in order to promote loose interpretation. This was partly because those holding the trusts were bribing state legislatures. Since the state legislatures appointed senators, and senators were all represented equally in each state, monopolists would bribe the state legislatures in order to get the candidate they wanted in the senate, who in turn would affect the passage of anti-trust laws. There were very few federal prosecutions issued under the act between its passing in 1890 and 1901, a total of 17 in 11 years. (Doc Q. ) In one particular case of United States v E. C. Knight Co in 1895, the Supreme Court ruled that the Sherman Antitrust Act could be applied only to commerce, not to manufacturing. (Doc P. ) Because of this case, the US Department of Justice secured few convictions until the law was changed during the Progressive Era. So while the federal government attempted to regulate the industry and prevent trusts, it barely did so. Because of the weak wording of the act, trusts failed to stop developing. The federal government involved itself in the industry because of the complaints and fears of the powers that those who held trusts had, and though it involved itself in the industry by issuing a law and enforcing it slightly, the supreme court rulings and loose interpretation of the law allowed little alterations to the industry, showing that the federal government only violated laissez-faire to a limited extent. As it can be assumed, the businessmen of industrial era promoted laissez-faire only when it benefited their business. They manipulated people in order to gain what they wanted-a monopoly. As economic problems began to surface with the laissez-faire system, government began to intervene. Though they were involved to a great extent in the railroad system initially, they eliminated themselves from it after 1870, only violating the laissez-faire system to a moderate extent overall. When it came to interstate commerce, the government violated laissez-faire to a great extent by issuing the interstate Commerce Act. And with this issue of trust activities, the government only intervened to a limited extent by passing the Sherman Antitrust Act and then failing to execute it. All of these things show that government violated laissez-faire to a moderate extent, and this was because the laissez-faire system did not benefit society as a whole and government needed to fix economic and social problems.

Future Research into Auditory Spatial Attention Essay

An interesting observation made in this research was that there was an overall faster response time rates when an informative cue was presented spatially. Several cues were used in the experiment, both uninformative and informative, both pure sound and speech. The cues were given in conjunction with spatial and non-spatial orientations. But given the various cues, it was found that the response rates were faster as compared to the rates recoded by Spence and Driver (1994). The scope of the current research was not intended to explore this possibility; hence no statistical analysis was able to be performed on the data obtained. But further investigation of the said effect should be considered. Generally each experiment was analyzed individually with not all subjects completing the three experiments relating to this observed effect (experiments 3, 4 & 5). Furthermore, the subjects that had completed these three experiments did so in the same order, therefore opening up the possibility that the faster response times observed in experiment 5 may be due to practice effects. Despite these concerns, further investigation into the possible existence of this effect could be vital in a practical sense with relation to the design of auditory attention grabbing stimuli. The use of auditory stimuli as attention grabbing devices for use in reducing operator response times to critical stimuli can be designed in such a way that the combination of both auditory and visual information can be helpful in reducing operator workload. A number of studies have demonstrated that the addition of auditory information to an already attentionally overloaded visual workspace does not add to the overall workload. Recently Duncan, Martens & Ward (1997) found evidence of restricted attentional capacity within but not between sensory modalities. They presented streams of visual and/or auditory inputs, containing occasional targets to be identified and recalled. For two visual or two auditory streams they found that the identification of one target produce a sustained reduction in the ability to identify a second target. In contrast, when the streams were from both modalities, there was no such reduction in the identification of the second target. The results suggest a modality-specific restriction to concurrent attention and awareness. Flanagan, McAnally, Martin, Meehan & Oldfield (1998) found that with the use of spatially informative auditory information, visual search times were reduced. They used a spatial localisation task in which the search for a visual target was aided by either a visual arrow or an auditory cue. They found that both the visual and auditory cues aided in significantly reducing the search time when compared to an unaided search. With evidence suggesting that attentional capacity is modality-specific (Duncan, Martens & Ward, 1997) and that auditory cues can help with a visual spatial localisation task (Flanagan, McAnally, Martin, Meehan & Oldfield, 1998), the nature of the links between auditory and visual streams in spatial attention is of great importance. Moreover, a study by Spence and Driver (1996, 1997) had a subject stare at a fixed point at the center of a screen where lights were placed on the four corners of the screen. At the back of each light was a speaker, the task of the subject was to discriminate whether light or sound came from the upper and lower corners of the screen. They found that when a non-predictive visual cue was presented on one side an auditory target on the same location was processed faster and more accurately. In summary, our results indicate support for the claims of Spence and Driver and at the same time established the usefulness of using virtual 3-dimensional sound to measure auditory attention. Spatial advantage was found for non-informative cued areas in experiment 1 and 2 but for the shortest SOA of 200ms only which was also found by Spence and Driver in their experiments. Furthermore, spatial advantage was also found for informative cued areas for experiment 3, 4 and 5 wherein significant response time advantage was found in all SOA conditions (200ms, 500ms & 1100ms) for experiment 3 and 5 while the results obtained for experiment 4 found a significant response time advantage for valid cues only at the middle SOA condition (500ms). In experiment 3 response time advantage was found at all SOA levels for valid cues, while in experiment four wherein spatial informative cues were removed, response tine advantage for valid cues were only for the middle SOA conditions (500ms) and the introduction of spatially informative speech cues in experiment 5 found higher response time for all valid cues for all SOA levels.

Russias new leader (International Relations) Essay

Russias new leader (International Relations) - Essay Example Under Putin, Russia began consolidating itself after the traumatic experiences of moving to a market economy and losing ground in Europe. Thus, the recent presidential elections have again raised the specter of nationalism and a call from the president elect, Medvedev to the Russian people to help him regain Russia’s past glory. This paper takes a look at what the Russian elections of 2008 mean for Russia and its quest to regain its past glory. I also take a look at what kind of leaders are Medvedev and Putin apart from examining the Russian-Georgian conflict and the way in which Putin handled the same. According to Stratfor, a website devoted to geo-political affairs, â€Å"Despite ongoing demographic, economic and geopolitical problems, Russia is using every political and economic — and, increasingly, military — tool at its disposal to reassert itself in the former Soviet Union and try to rake back its former geopolitical position† (George Friedman, 2008). This has been accompanied by a string of actions ranging from going to the aid of South Ossetia and flexing its muscles over the missile deployment in Eastern Europe. The fact that Russia is on the ascendant and is likely to play a prominent role in the great power equations of the 21st century has been noted by other commentators as well. â€Å"If Russia was where history most dramatically ended two decades ago, today it is where history has most dramatically returned. Russia’s turn toward liberalism at home stalled and then reversed, and so has its foreign policy. Great power nationalism has returned to Russia and with it traditional great power calculations and ambitions† (Robert Kagan, 2008). Thus, ever since Putin began consolidating powers in the presidency, there has been a marked shift in the tone and attitude of Russia towards the world. This is in line with the expectations of the Russian people who want to return to their days of glory as a

History of the World Bank. What is the impact of the world bank upon Essay

History of the World Bank. What is the impact of the world bank upon development in the south - Essay Example The World Bank Group has five agencies (IEG, 2008). Since its inception during World War II with an objective to rebuild Europe, the World Bank generated more criticism and controversy than any other financial institution in the world. Even threatened by its conceivers, beneficiaries, and supporters, the World Bank is closely monitored by agencies which developed around it over a period of time. The institution itself reached at a stage of engulfed by the mounting pressures. However, these pressures have always been there and exerted by either donor governments, national governments, donor agencies, citizen groups, or even World Bank's employees. Their annual meetings are echoed by the slogans of "Ya Basta!" ("Enough is enough!")(Nath, 2001, p.1). Moreover, Meltzer commission report (2000) declared the World Bank as "irrelevant" in the mission of reducing poverty and promoting development (cited in Nath, 2001, p.1). The World Bank as Global Development Agency During the Bretton Woods , USA conference in 1944, 43 countries' meeting led to the establishment of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).IBRD's major objective was to provide loans for rebuilding Europe after WWII. For instance IBRD provided US$28,600,000 for rebuilding and development of the steel industry in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg (World Bank, cited in Nath, 2001, p.2).However, the World Bank's lending portfolio failed to meet the increasing demands within the industrialized countries. Mounting pressure led IBRD to channelize its funds in other developing and poor nations. However, the lack of expertise in dealing with developing countries and a continuous pressure to lend made it disastrous which led to overnight rebirth of IBRD as the World Bank. In its shift from West to East, the World Bank could anticipate the investment opportunities in long-term loans to developing countries for their huge infrastructure projects. It led to the dramatic increase in the Bank's lendi ng for large scale dam project sin Asia, roads projects in Africa, and highway projects in Latin America(Nath,2001,pp.2-3). With above deployments, the World Bank found its niche-electricity supply that is associated with dam projects and represented nearly 50 percent of Bank's annual lending.World Bank patented the approach of "Economic Colonization" for global development. The newly found role as a developmental financial institution, World Bank grew as a powerful and influential institution throughout world. Its investments proved to be very profitable for donors and stakeholders since 1948.There had been times when annual rate of return exceeded the annual amount of loan provided. In that period, even when Bank focused on investing in socials sector, the traditional sector investments increased (World Bank 1992, BIC, 1990 cited in Nath, 2001, p.3). The trend of such investment and returns continued until international debt crisis emerged in early 1980s.The risk of World Bank loa n's default increased. The Bank changed its focus after a series of closed door meetings of World Bank's shareholders (United States, Japan, Germany, France, and UK). Rather than a traditional project lending approach, World Bank focused on bringing developing economies in its control in order to ensure the return. Until the ends of early 80s, approximately 25 percent of the Bank's funds were used for economic restructuring of developing countries through its Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs).SAP was remote controlling the budget and expenses of the recipient countries. World Bank and IMF, often called Bretton Woods twins, were in a

Thunder Heart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thunder Heart - Essay Example Graham Greene, a tribal police officer, challenges the roots and attitudes of the FBI agent. The story in the film revolves around Ray Levoi, an FBI agent of mixed blood venturing in South Dakota to investigate a murder case (Edwards 22). In the process, Ray finds his Indian identity. While on his mission to solve a murder case, Ray discovers that it was an extra-judicial killing because of a scheme surrounding the mining of uranium. Henceforth, he teams up with Walter Crow Horse, a tribal police officer, and Grandpa Sam Reaches, a traditional elder. The three unite with aim of stopping the plot and conserving the environment. Throughout the film, various depictions of Native Americans take place. The depiction is a fundamental difference from the presentation by other films produced before Thunder Heart. The director sets the film in contemporary times as opposed to most films set in a changeless Indian past. Native actors also play roles designated for them with the exception of the starring character. It adds to the revelation identity in Thunder Heart. The producer uses Grandpa Reaches, Crow, Jimmy Looks Twice, and Maggie Eagle Bear to strengthen the manifestation of the Indian Identity. All the characters show substance in revealing the identity of Native Americans (Indians) in the American society. Generally, the producer and director succeed in depicting Native Americans as dynamic and complex entities. With all the humour shown by characters, they still possess familiar stereotypes associated with Indians. The film displays the relationship between Indians and whites in the US society in an exceptional manner. In so doing, Thunderheart makes the main character half-white and half Indian (Edward 19). The protagonist lives his entire life in a white-dominated society, goes on a job mission in his ancestral land (land of birth for his ancestors), and discovers his identity while on duty.

Reducing mongoose in Hawaii Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reducing mongoose in Hawaii - Essay Example address the issue through mobilizing collective efforts by the public as well as the government agents responsible of wildlife conservation and management into resolving the issue. There is the need to have the endangered species of animals and plants (threatened by mongoose) saved while still conserving the mongoose because the retaliation efforts by the citizens present another threat to the mongoose species. This paper therefore proposes the creation of management/conservation zones for the mongoose in Hawaii, which would help through protecting them from human beings while at the same time reducing their detrimental effects towards human beings. The position of this paper that conserving the mongoose through conservancy zones would present an amicable solution to the current issue is because the solution has proven with other species on endangered species of wildlife. By keeping the species out of unauthorized interaction with human beings would allow them to breed to the capacity that the ecosystem would naturally support while reducing their risk of threatening existence of other species of animals and plants as claimed. Adaptive management has therefore been shown to be a paramount area of study in the 21st century especially with the increase in human populations and the resultant interference with natural ecosystem. The study is therefore not only interesting but also informative and presents an opportunity for people to devise practical solutions to emerging issues such as the one at hand. Hays, W. S., & Conant, S. (2007). Biology and impacts of Pacific Island invasive species. 1. A worldwide review of effects of the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes javanicus (Carnivora: Herpestidae). Pacific Science, 61(1),

Enterprise Data Warehousing and Data Mining Coursework

Enterprise Data Warehousing and Data Mining - Coursework Example To this end data mining systems are used, are they all they could be and are they really the only way of sorting the chaff from the wheat? Keywords: data, mining, search, find, information, business intelligence. Implementing Data Warehousing To bring a data warehousing system into a company means first analyzing the situation that exists, the size of the organization, its present systems and what they can do to improve the problem without extra costs, it is quite likely there are professional statisticians in the company who simply need help to get their work done a little faster. To bring a new system into the company means ensuring there is a business need as that must always drive implementation so there must be an emphasised need such as competitors are getting products to the marketplace first. Stated by Davis (1994). Once it has been decided there is no choice, but to purchase, then a study of what applications are available in the marketplace must be done, a needs definition will give information on just what is needed from the new system, it may need to be custom built or modified such as has been done for the data mining tool now used by Jaeger. Stated by Grant (2008). With a large company there are going to be many demands from different groups for something that addresses their needs, but as a person responsible for buying the tool it is important it can answer as many differing demands as possible. The implementation often means a company must upgrade its present IT, its hardware, networks and PC’s may need replacement or upgrading, so the cost of implementation becomes more than just the cost of purchasing the new system. Thearling, (2003). Figure 1: Convergence of Three Technologies for Data Mining, Thearling (2003) Once the data warehouse is in place data mining can begin, but the two things are separate, data warehousing is not data mining. For data mining to go ahead it is probable that software for this role will have to be bought, and implemented after the warehousing system is in place, creating a time delay. Applications available include: Sybase IQ 15.3 -- this business intelligence/analytics and data warehouse focused relational database management product is now powered by a so-called "new generation" of shared everything Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) technology. Bridgwater (2011). Another application is that used by Jaeger's new loss prevention programme aims to change managers' behaviour by giving them the data they need to take action. Jaeger went to UK loss prevention specialist Oris, which has a strategic partnership with product identity and shrink management company Checkpoint Systems. Oris also supplied IDM Systems' Oracle-based LossManager data mining application. Data from its electronic point of sale system lets Jaeger identify the source of losses, integrate information from other applications such as RFID and CCTV, monitor investigations, and provide action alerts for managers. "From data mining we knew that 84% of goods stolen were taken from near doors, despite 70% of our [more than 120] stores having tagging," Hearn said. Stated by Grant (2008). Benefits of a Data Warehousing System Data warehousing can be very useful in the right situation, it can give just the information needed from all

Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essay The themes that are introduced and emphasised in Chapter 8 of Charles Dickens Great Expectations are a near complete summary of the themes of the novel as a whole and of the conditions in which the English people had to live with in the 1800s. This chapter epitomises the circumstances in which English people lived and the situations that they faced, and it looks at many different perspectives and takes into account many different factors. The Industrial Revolution was a period in time when everything in England changed rapidly, and Dickens made sure that he captured Englands huge transition in every light he could. Dickens himself lived in poverty for a number of years, and his main motive for writing books (such as Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby) was his desire to see change. These books are based around injustice and the divide between wealth and poverty. Chapter 8 of Great Expectations clearly defines the issues that Dickens sought to deal with through writing. The very first thing that happens in Chapter 8 Pips uncomfortable breakfast with Mr Pumblechook. Pip states in his narrative that on politely bidding him Good morning, Pumblechook immediately asked him a mathematics question. The breakfast then proceeds to continues in this manner (before I had swallowed a morsel, he began a running sum that lasted throughout breakfast. ) This is a prime example of control. This is one of the themes that come to the fore as the novel progresses. Pip finds that he very rarely has a choice in matters, he is either forced to do something or it would be very foolish or insulting to decline making certain choices. His life his almost completely influenced by others, and he often has no control over it at all. In Chapter 8, he is controlled by Pumblechook (as afore mentioned), Estella (You are to wait here, boy. ) and Miss Havisham (Play! ). In particular, Miss Havisham manipulates the lives of Estella and Pip to suit her own twisted, selfish needs to the point where she is remorseful of her actions. Dickens stresses the point that, in this era, the wealthy people dictate the actions of the poorer people. The fact that Pip is sitting back and enjoying the ride, so to speak, is a result of the people around him ordering and demanding things of him. Pip rarely has a choice to make, and is manipulated and used by many people, some with good intentions (Magwitch), some with evil intentions (Miss Havisham and Compeyson). Control and the gulf between inferiority and superiority are perpetual forces in the novel.