Thursday, December 26, 2019

Pan-Europa Foods Case Analysis - 1071 Words

Pan-Europa Foods Case Analysis Executive Summary Pan Europa foods is a European producer of yogurt, ice cream, bottled water, and fruit juice. With stagnant gross sales and decreasing stock value, the company needs to increase its net income and increase confidence in its shareholders to avoid a takeover. With this in mind, the company decides to allocate $80 million Euros out of its $656 million asset base to capital spending in investment projects. There are currently 11 proposals on the table totaling $208 million from which the Senior Management Committee must choose from. Currently the company has two financial measures to determine if projects are economically sufficient for the firm, minimum acceptable IRR and maximum†¦show more content†¦The effluent project can be evaluated with non-quantitative methods, such as factoring in the positive or negative image of the brand as a result with compliance or non-compliance with the environmental regulations. In quantitative terms, the firm would be incurring less of a loss if it paid $4 million now opposed to $10 million later. 3.) Aspects of the projects that could invalidate the above ranking: * Customer’s perception of the brand as a result of the project * Uncertainty of results * Availability of Resources * Government Regulations * Whether it aligns with the firm’s goals The firm can correct for each of the following factors: * Time value of money use NPV * Unequal Lifetimes use equivalent annuity * Riskiness increase required rate of return for riskier projects * Size use profitability ratio 4.) Reconsideration of projects in terms of: * â€Å"Must Do† – The effluent water project is a â€Å"must-do† because the firm will be required to comply with environmental regulations in the future. * Elements of riskiness – The uncertainty in a project’s outcome, in terms of the final cost and expected results can implyShow MoreRelatedCase Analysis Pan Europa Essay943 Words   |  4 PagesCase Study PAN EUROPA FOODS S.A C. Opitz and R.F. Bruner By Your Name Table of Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Executive Summary: The report is to provide the shareholders with the firm’s capital budget for the new year, 1993. 11 projects will be examined and discussed. Projects will be chosen based on the most needed and urgent projects and based onRead MorePan Europa s Main Issues1602 Words   |  7 PagesII. Issue Identification Pan-Europa’s main issues can be divided into three parts, the first and most important being their financial struggle. Due to a recent price war, Pan-Europa’s profitability has suffered greatly. Their debt-equity ratio of 1.25 and price to earnings ratio of 8 times has resulted in a below average stock price. Currently, their stock is being traded below book value and well below its competition. This can have a disastrous effect on the company as many major security brokersRead MorePan Europa2191 Words   |  9 PagesPan Europa Foods S.A.* Autum Black Alan shaw Matt dawn Purdue University Introduction to Project Management Dr. Peter desouza Executive Summary Case Diagnosis Pan Europa management heavily relied on debt financing to sustain firms capital spending dividends. Their share values in the market were low and not competitive. Moreover the shareholders lost confidence in the company’s performance resulting in decreased share value and low profitability. The company is struggling in itsRead MoreProject Management Pan Europa Foods Case Study2063 Words   |  9 Pagesï » ¿Case Study PAN EUROPA FOODS S.A C. Opitz and R.F. Bruner Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Problem Statement 3. Data Analysis 4. Alternative Analysis 5. Key Decisions Criteria 6. Recommendation 7. Action Implementation Plan Executive Summary: The report summarizes Pan-Euorpa Food’s capital resource allocation budget for 1993 to present to stockholders. The board has presented 11 projects providing different needs and opportunities to grow the business. ExhibitRead MoreProject Portfolio Selection - Case Study1809 Words   |  8 PagesStrategically, what must Pan-Europa do to keep from becoming the victim of a hostile takeover? What rows/categories in Exhibit 2 will become critically important in 1993? What should Pan-Europa do now that they have won the price war? Who should lead the way for Pan-Europa? Pan-Europa’s ball and chain is its debt. With a debt-to-equity ratio of 125%, the company is leveraged more than its competitors. Pan-Europa’s bankers have become unwilling to provide additional credit, which is unfavorable ifRead MoreProject Management Project2025 Words   |  9 Pagesthe materials and to facilitate discussion during the lecture. This will help students to interact with the lecturer on other matters related to the subject before and after the lecture. The sessions for presentations and discussions comprise company case studies as well as answering some theoretical and conceptual questions, which help the students to see how the concepts are applied in reality. 3. COURSE AIMS AND OUTCOMES 3.1 Course Aims The aim of this course is to provide the students withRead MoreMcdonalds Strategic Audit6196 Words   |  25 Pages McDonald as being ninth most valuable brand in the world which has replaced the US army as the Nation’s largest job training organization Controls the market share of more than 3 food chains taken together in America started in 1940. McDonald s Corporation (MCD) is the world s largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily. McDonald s primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes andRead MoreLidl Retail10971 Words   |  44 Pages....................................................................................... 7    1.2.2    Customers ........................................................................................................ 8    1.2.3    SWOT – analysis ............................................................................................. 8    2.    Designing a customer-driven retail strategy ....................................... 9    2.1    The market(s) toward which the retailerRead MoreRyanair Analyses44239 Words   |  177 PagesMaster’s thesis M.Sc. in EU Business Law An analysis of the European low fare airline industry - with focus on Ryanair Student: Thomas C. Sà ¸rensen Student number: 256487 Academic advisor: Philipp Schrà ¶der Aarhus School of Business September 13, 2005 1 Table of contents 1. Introduction 1.1. Preface 1.2. Research problem 1.3. Problem formulation 1.4. Delimitation 6 6 7 7 2. Science and methodology approach 2.1. Approaches to science 2.1.1. Ontology 2.1.1.1. Objectivism 2.1.1.2. ConstructivismRead Moreeasyjet Essay12067 Words   |  49 PageseasyJet Business Model Analysis BMAN72801 EasyJet’s Business Model Analysis Table of Contents Executive Summary................................................................................................................................. 1 1. The Business Model of EasyJet ........................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Theory ............................................................................................

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Problem Of Social Media - 1828 Words

In today’s society there is a vast amount of information about anything you would like to research. It is easy for many of us to become over stimulated on whichever avenue we choose. Be it the news, social media, or just plain research, everyday people tend to get lost in the vacuum of internet life and lose sight of major life affecting issues. With all the distractions in today’s current society of comical videos, informative research or horrifying/distracting news stories the children are sometimes overlooked when it comes to proper/moral parenting. This issue of distraction is in direct relation to a major problem in parenting in the 21st century. One problem in particular is the catastrophe of child support fraud. Drug traffickers (Cartels), their henchman and deadbeat drug addicted parents are the only parties benefiting from the way the current system of child support is setup. This issue can be severely overhauled by mandating that every person who is a recipien t of child support should be required to drug screening. The ease of child support recipients manipulating the child support system in the state of Virginia is awakening. The current system in Virginia regarding child support is abused on many levels due to drugs. Drug abuse among child support recipients cannot be accurately recorded due to the underground nature of this issue and also not much mainstream attention on this exact issue. It is harder to research this particular matter because of privacyShow MoreRelatedThe Problem Of Social Media928 Words   |  4 Pageskeep us connected to a never ending supply of distant connection. Social media is the source of many problems in our society. One of the problems is the lack of communication in a relationship. One misconception about social media is that it has the ability to strengthen a relationship because you have another avenue of communication when in fact it is detrimental, due to lack of intimate interaction between two people. Social media not only takes away face to face interactions, but it leads to trustRead MoreThe Problem Of Social Media880 Words   |  4 Pagesthe output of emergency in formation to the traditional delivery methods. Social media use continues to grow at a staggering pace. As of January 2014, 74% of online adults use social networking sites (Pew Research Center, n.d.). The large percentage adults who utilize social networks daily makes their use by government agencies essential. It is no longer acceptable for Dane County Emergency Management not have a social media presence. With our current messaging system and strategies, we are beingRead MoreThe Problem Of Social Media Essay1068 Words   |  5 PagesFascination of social media is soaring up in a phenomenal growth. Young generations especially teenage are becoming crazy for the buzz media even so middle-aged alongside near and above sixty-aged people are also athirst for this in our country. This scenario is taken a gander not only in Bangladesh but also in all over the world. According to the worldwide ranking of popularity, social networking sites are Facebook, twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, My Space, Whatsapp and so forth respectivelyRead MoreThe Problem Of Social Media1358 Words   |  6 PagesSimply Optimized: Optimizing Your Businesses Social Media Profiles for the â€Å"Big 3â⠂¬  It’s difficult to believe that 10 years ago extends social media as we know it today didn’t exist. Household names such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Snapchat, LinkedIn and many others simply didn’t exist. Social media’s growth has been exponential and its reach into society now bleeds into every portion of human socialization and communication, it occupies our attention and shapes public discussionRead MoreThe Media as a Social Problem Essay1748 Words   |  7 Pages The Media as a Social Problem The mass media plays a large role in modern society. Indeed, many have argued that people spend more time in mass-mediated interaction than in actual human interaction. The mass media, then, would seemingly be an excellent position to initiate social change, positively affect social problems, and help combat social ills that are considered normal patterns of behavior. Yet, the mass media has largely failed in addressing and helping to solve social problemsRead More The Media As A social Problem Essay1731 Words   |  7 PagesThe Media as a Social Problem nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The mass media plays a large role in modern society. Indeed, many have argued that people spend more time in â€Å"mass-mediated† interaction than in actual human interaction. The mass media, then, would seemingly be an excellent position to initiate social change, positively affect social problems, and help combat social ills that are considered normal patterns of behavior. Yet, the mass media has largelyRead MoreProblems With Social Media Essay1343 Words   |  6 PagesProblems with Social Media Social media or any other type of social networking can be harmful. There are many studies showing that social media may help our society, but they don’t tell you any of the problems being caused by social media. One of the main problems occurring are cyberbullies. Cyberbullies are bullies over the internet that try to harm people with rude or hateful messages and even misuse personal information. Cyberbullying causes a big issue in society, often leading to stress, angerRead MoreThe Problems Brought by Social Media Addiction759 Words   |  3 Pagesrelationships now involve the use of a computer on social media sites. However, social media now is believed to be related to deeper issues in a person’s life. Studies show that almost 17 percent of children and teens have an internet addiction. For prevention, parents should monitor and openly discuss the internet usage in their home. â€Å"Children are experts in social media, with parents running to catch up†, ex claimed a specialist. Social Media has allowed people of all ages to connect from anywhereRead MoreDoes Social Media Cause Psychological Problems ?1487 Words   |  6 PagesJay Santos CSI-194-500 Ethic and the Information Age Does Social Media Cause Psychological Problems ? In the information world where social media Web sites had become part of almost everybody’s lives, disseminating personal information had become easy and larger in terms of scope and scale and anybody who has access to the internet can easily do so. Anybody who has access to this social media website can reveal news of engagements and breakups, job gains and losses, or even news of life and death;Read MoreSocial Media Has Cause The Security Problem855 Words   |  4 Pagescollege students will build the close relationship with their teachers and more enhancing their engagement with study through using the social media, using social media still exist some unsafely problem to the student. Using the social media will cause the security problem, such as identity thieve will stole college student’s personal information from their social media account and the threaten massage, these two things deeply negative affect their daily life. For instance, Heidi Daitch graduated from

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Qualitative Research Two Dead Frankfurts and a Blob of Sauce

Question: Discuss about the Critique of the Qualitative Research Two Dead Frankfurts and a Blob of Sauce. Answer: Justification of the Title The title of the research paper Two dead frankfurts and a blob of sauce: The serendipity of receiving nutrition and hydration in Australian residential aged care is a little distinctive and unique although it captures the essence of the research very well (Bernoth, Dietsch Davies, 2014). Two dead frankfurts and a blob of sauce encompass the quality of food served in the RAC (residential aged care) services whereas the very word serendipity connotes with a sense of accidental discovery, chance or luck that perfectly describes the lack of certainty in the provision of nutrition and fluid for the aged persons in Australian residential aged care homes. Validation of the Abstract The abstract of the study is well divided into background, methods, findings and conclusion parts underpinning the key theme of each of the topics in the study effectively. In the summary of the background, the abstract clearly states the topic of the research and that how it has been conducted, through two distinct yet consistent research projects carried out in 2009 and 2011 mentioning the participants too (Bernoth et al., 2014 , p. 2). The methods and findings have also been fittingly summarized, while the conclusion part includes the implication of the findings. However, the abstract of the conclusion does not hold any point on where the serendipity of the aged people to have good food and hydration in the aged care homes lies. Although this point is a part of conclusion chapter, the abstract fails to mention it. Substantiating the Introduction The major drawback of the introduction chapter is that the study does not separate the literature review from the background of the study and the opinions gathered from the relevant literature have been inscribed under the heading of introduction. In fact, the introduction of the study is merely the background stated briefly, whereas an ideal introduction of the research papers should specify the context in detail . Alongside, the introduction chapter fails to clarify the research questions or the research objectives that are essential to write any standard research paper (Martin et al., 2016). Here, the readers are in darkness about the research objectives of the researchers and this makes the paper a little vague. Moreover, the introduction chapter neither specifies any problem statement nor states the purpose of the study. Without the problem statement, the readers will not be able to comprehend the importance of the study and the significance of the topic. For an ideal introduction, it is important to make the readers familiar with problem statement, research purpose, hypothesis and assumption of the research beforehand. However, in this study, after the brief description of the background, the literature review starts abruptly and thus, the Introduction do not provide a strong foundation of the study that it is expected to do. Commenting on the Literature Review Literature reviews are obligatory to any research conducted as a perfect synopsis of the existing relevant literature provides the readers with an understanding how the study they are going through adjust in the wider context (Aveyard, 2014)). For an instance, the literature review of this study about the serendipity of aged persons to receive proper nutrition and hydration in the residential age care homes describes the amount of nutrition the aged people have been accustomed with when they were young. The way Bemoth, Dietsch and Davies (2014) have drawn the matter of nutrition in historical context, sets the platform for the readers to understand where the aged care homes are lacking. The literature effectively mentions, Food has meaning, memories and traditions and these become more significant to those in residential aged care and that Mealtimes are one aspect of the day that residents should be able to anticipate (Chisholm, Jensen Field 2011, p. 165). The literature review is a lso effective in the sense this offers a deeper understanding on the topic of food and nutrition; in the very first line of the literature review it reveals that it is the companionship of meal sharing enhances the nutritional status of older people (Vesnaver Keller, 2011, p.2). The periodical analysis of food and changes in food habits occurred in Australia described in the literature review helps the audience to anticipate the sufferings and dilemma of the aged people in the RAC services. An ideal literature review will implicitly begin to justify the choice of subject of the research and looking at this study it can be said that the literature review is never off the track and repeatedly, after every revelation from the literature, the authors try to return to their subject topic (Bernoth et al., 2014). The literature clearly shows that although, in their youth, the aged people were accustomed with food rationing during World War II but that had a specific purpose, to contribute to the effort of war (Lim et al., 2014). Now, in the RAC services, the restrictions in food happen on the part of the aged people themselves due to lonely dining room and poor quality food experience. Thus, the literature review, giving an insight to the happy days of the aged people, adds to the sense of misery. The ending part of this section provides a grim idea how malnourishment can become deadly for the aged people and presents an alarming statistics of malnourished aged persons where almost half of the population residing in the aged care homes are under the threat of malnutrition. Therefore, the critique of literature review shows that to explore the serendipity of receiving nutrition for the aged people, the literature review has been effective in providing a good deal of research on the past food experiences of the aged people (Griffiths et al., 2014). Moreover, the multiplicity of literature used by the authors of this study has enriched the secondary research with knowledge and relevant statistical information. Verifying the Methodology The research methodology is referred to the science of conducting a research systematically to fulfill the objectives (Creighton, Davison Kissane, 2016). Under the methodology section, the researcher offers a brief description of the various steps that are to be followed while conducting the research. Looking at the methodology of this study, it can be seen that in the very beginning, purposes of the first and second research project have been specified. This is indeed a great beginning of the methodology chapter as the readers get to know the context of the previously done researches based on which the present study is to proceed. The first project done in 2009 attempted to explore what the friends and the families, who have some near and dear ones in the aged care homes feel about the RAC services. The purpose of the second project significantly inspects the impact on the communities, friends and the families when the aged persons had to depart their remote and rural communities to avail the RAC services. However, it is little unusual that the methodology section describes the implications of the projects conducted and that in both of the research projects, what difficulties the participants had spoken of (Street et al., 2015, 520). This should have been appropriately mentioned in the findings section. Moreover, the methodology section does not clarify what methods the research is to adopt. Although it has been stated that for both the research projects interviews have been conducted, it is never clearly mentioned that the researchers have adopted qualitative analysis method. However, the verification of the methodology should concentrate on whether the followed methods are appropriate for the research. In this context of the study, the adopted research methods are appropriate, as the research problem is rather subjective and hence, taking interviews are the most suitable measure for this. Analysis of Data Collection and Data Analysis Method Participants of the interviews were employed through the CSU media release making the public aware of the opportunity to participate in the project. However, taking up interviews and recruiting participants in this way leaves a question on the authenticity of the accounts told by the participants since no confirmatory step has been taken by the researchers to authenticate the documents (Beattie et al. 2014, p. 60). The interviews were audio-taped and thereafter transcribed precisely to structure the in-depth and unstructured interviews that lasted for one or two hours long. The notable part of the data collection process is that the transcribed interviews were sent to the respective interviewees to cross check the information noted down before the proceedings of data analysis (Bernoth et al., 2014). This ensured the validity of the data analysis conducted. The data analysis, on the other hand, was conducted following the thematic investigation method, which is the best-fitted one for this study due to the subjective nature of the topic (Lim et al., 2014). To appear to an authenticated data analysis result, the researchers chose three different thematic analysis approaches. This is a well thought strategy by the researchers as with a single thematic analysis it was not possible to explore the themes of the stories, contents and to apply on the interpretation purpose. Analysis of the Findings The findings of the research are shocking and to present them in a well-fortified form, the researchers have divided the findings into sub-headings so that the readers are able to understand the varied problems that the research findings have come across. The research findings have also been subdivided into four sections to recognize the serendipity of receiving food and fluids (Bernoth et al., 2014). The first subsection deals with the negligence of the care staff and the atmosphere of loneliness and of long wait in the dining room. This finding effectively connects with the literature review where it was stated that the quality of nutrition offered by food increases with sharing and this environment leads to mental depression for the aged people (Creighton, Davison Kissane, 2016). In addition, the care staffs are fewer comparing with the needs and are not adequately concerned about the safety and well-being of the aged persons. On the other hand, the quality of food was also highly compromised in these RAC services, primarily which led to malnutrition and dehydration among the aged people. Recurring the information presented in the literature review again, the study confirms how the absence of preferred food according to food tradition and culture detract the nutrition quotient of the food served. The study also highlights a very important fact i.e. the absence of any dietician to measure the quantity and nutritional value of the food being served, indicating the low standard of monitoring here. Moreover, the subsections of food hygiene and iatrogenic malnutrition startle the readers in terms of shocking findings in these areas. The matter of food hygiene is, however quite arbitrarily maintained as the research findings say. While some of the food items are completely prohibited in the RAC facilities due to hygiene issue, there are various other things where the hygiene issue is extremely compromised in the kitchen. The iatrogenic malnutrition i.e. inability to access the food served without the help of any assistance is also a grim issue that the interview findings deal with. Critique of the Discussion Although the discussion chapter tries to hold considerable discernment on the reasons of the issues emerged from the analysis of the findings, it fails to suggest any solution to these problems in the RAC services (Street et al. 2015, p. 516). However, the drawbacks in the RAC services have been well analyzed here viewing it as violation to legal standards as well as violation to basic human rights. Reviewing the Limitations of the Study The study fittingly recognizes its limitation of being based on one-sided reviews from the participants. The lack of positive experiences from the participants certainly makes the study depend on one-sided reviews (Bernoth et al., 2014). Thus, the basic limitation remains in the data collection process, especially the way the researchers have recruited participants. Substantiating the Conclusion The conclusion is brief and perfectly summarizes the key themes and ideas of the study without being reiterative at the same time. This is, by all means fitting to the structure and idea of the research paper, although the recommendations seem to be missing. Value of the Study The study offers a thorough understanding of how the elderly people are suffering in the RAC services. The writing style of the researchers is also vivid, clear and authenticated by excerpts of interviews. However, the study has little contribution in providing any solution for the grim situation in the RAC services that could have made any advancement in the practice and knowledge of aged care facilities. References Aveyard, H. (2014).Doing A Literature Review In Health And Social Care: A Practical Guide. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Beattie, E., O'reilly, M., Strange, E., Franklin, S., Isenring, E. (2014). How Much Do Residential Aged Care Staff Members Know About The Nutritional Needs Of Residents?.International Journal Of Older People Nursing,9(1), 54-64. Bernoth, M. A., Dietsch, E., Davies, C. (2014). Two dead frankfurts and a blob of sauce: The serendipity of receiving nutrition and hydration in Australian residential aged care.Collegian,21(3), 171-177. Chisholm, A., Jensen, J., Field, P. (2011). Eating Environment In The Aged?Care Residential Setting In New Zealand: Promoters And Barriers To Achieving Optimum Nutrition. Observations Of The Foodservice, Menu And Meals.Nutrition Dietetics,68(2), 161-166. Creighton, A. S., Davison, T. E., Kissane, D. W. (2016). The correlates of anxiety among older adults in nursing homes and other residential aged care facilities: a systematic review.International journal of geriatric psychiatry. Fetherstonhaugh, D., Tarzia, L., Bauer, M., Nay, R., Beattie, E. (2016). The Red Dress or the Blue? How Do Staff Perceive That They Support Decision Making for People With Dementia Living in Residential Aged Care Facilities?.Journal of Applied Gerontology,35(2), 209-226. Griffiths, D., Morphet, J., Innes, K., Crawford, K., Williams, A. (2014). Communication Between Residential Aged Care Facilities And The Emergency Department: A Review Of The Literature.International Journal of Nursing Studies,51(11), 1517-1523. Lim, C. J., Kwong, M., Stuart, R. L., Buising, K. L., Friedman, N. D., Bennett, N., ... Kong, D. C. (2014). Antimicrobial Stewardship In Residential Aged Care Facilities: Need And Readiness Assessment.BMC Infectious Diseases,14(1), 410. Martin, R., Hayes, B., Hutchinson, A., Yates, P., Lim, W. K. (2016). 135IMPLEMENTATION OF Goals of Patient Care Medical Treatment Orders in Residential Aged Care Facilities: A Randomised Controlled Trial.Age and Ageing,45(suppl 2), ii1-ii12. Street, M., Ottmann, G., Johnstone, M. J., Considine, J., Livingston, P. M. (2015). Advance care planning for older people in Australia presenting to the emergency department from the community or residential aged care facilities.Health social care in the community,23(5), 513-522. Vesnaver, E., Keller, H. H. (2011). Social Influences And Eating Behavior In Later Life: A Review.Journal Of Nutrition In Gerontology And Geriatrics,30(1), 2-23.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Peter the Disciple free essay sample

Peter was a very important disciple in the New Testament. He is mentioned in 9 of its 27 books. Peter and his brother Andrew were the first of six pairs to be called by Jesus. Peters call to be disciple was by Jesus directly showing his great works. One day when he was fishing with Andrew the nets came up empty. They were returning to shore when Jesus came to them and asked them to take him off shore so he could continue his preaching. In the middle of Jesus’ speaking he told them to lower their nets. Although they had been unsuccessful they went ahead with their task. As they raised the nets they were filled with fish. As a result of this miracle Peter and Andrew became believers and were then called by Jesus. This miracle was the turning point in Peters life in which he became a reverent believer. In Peter’s faith he experienced many challenges: including ups and downs in his beliefs. We will write a custom essay sample on Peter the Disciple or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The main faith challenge that we learn about was his three denials of Jesus, which fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus. His first denial was when a female servant of a priest recognized him as a person close to Jesus. When she confronted him and asked if he knew Jesus, Peter denied knowing him. The rooster then crowed for the first time. Then bystanders asked him if he knew Jesus and again he denied knowing him. Finally, a woman said that surely his Galilean accent meant he was a follower, for the third time he denied. The rooster then crowed for the second time. Peter suddenly remembered when Jesus had said to him Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. and began weeping. Overall, Peter was strong in his faith even though he had troubles at times. He preached boldly about what God had done and how he would continue to support followers through life. Though he spoke at times without thinking, he followed Jesus and played an important role in the Bible and history a s a whole.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Free Essays on Determining The Training Needs Of The Organization

Imagine walking into a new job and being thrust to wolves, with little or no training. Many people could not imagine working this way, or having this happen to them. Then imagine this, you spent one week in training and when you begin working you still have no idea what you are supposed to do. This is the case for some companies out there today. Many, if not most, companies have a training program in place today. The problem is that many of these companies have not thought out the program enough to determine the needs of the organization. Some companies today have established training program just because that is what everyone else is doing. A training program is not something that should be taken lightly. It must be well thought out and the company’s goals and ambitions must be included. Determining the organizations training needs is a very significant part of developing a training program. When a company decides to take on the task of implementing a training program, they must first take into consideration the needs of the company as a whole. If the needs of the company both short and long terms are not included in the implementation of the program, the program will not be successful. According to Cary Cherniss and Mitchel Adler, authors of Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, â€Å"Good training begins with a needs assessment, a step that too many organizations skip, (Cherniss page 85)† This needs assessment is important as it lets both the trainers and managers in the organization know which way the organization is heading and how the organization plans on getting there. This assessment of the overall organization as a whole will also help to determine what the specific competencies the training department should be concentrating on within the program. Determining the organizations training needs before diving head first into a program will also help to eliminate the problem of leaving import... Free Essays on Determining The Training Needs Of The Organization Free Essays on Determining The Training Needs Of The Organization Imagine walking into a new job and being thrust to wolves, with little or no training. Many people could not imagine working this way, or having this happen to them. Then imagine this, you spent one week in training and when you begin working you still have no idea what you are supposed to do. This is the case for some companies out there today. Many, if not most, companies have a training program in place today. The problem is that many of these companies have not thought out the program enough to determine the needs of the organization. Some companies today have established training program just because that is what everyone else is doing. A training program is not something that should be taken lightly. It must be well thought out and the company’s goals and ambitions must be included. Determining the organizations training needs is a very significant part of developing a training program. When a company decides to take on the task of implementing a training program, they must first take into consideration the needs of the company as a whole. If the needs of the company both short and long terms are not included in the implementation of the program, the program will not be successful. According to Cary Cherniss and Mitchel Adler, authors of Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, â€Å"Good training begins with a needs assessment, a step that too many organizations skip, (Cherniss page 85)† This needs assessment is important as it lets both the trainers and managers in the organization know which way the organization is heading and how the organization plans on getting there. This assessment of the overall organization as a whole will also help to determine what the specific competencies the training department should be concentrating on within the program. Determining the organizations training needs before diving head first into a program will also help to eliminate the problem of leaving import...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Twilight Zoine Essays - Mona, Free Essays, Term Papers

Twilight Zoine Essays - Mona, Free Essays, Term Papers Twilight Zoine Enter sounds of the Twilight Zone Mona: waving the multicolored flashlight. Our setting is a very boring planet in the middle of two points in the galaxy. This planet is doomed for destruction by the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council to make way for a hyperspatial express route that will run through our star system. This is a special report from The United Relocation Committee in the hopes of preparing the majority of the population for the inevitable move to Earth. This report is designed to help with synthesizing our Altarian culture to that of the Earth. Earth, as you all know, is the best chance for creating homeostatic environment between two cultures, one of which is ours since theirs is considered Mostly Harmless by some standards. We, as intelligent being on our planet, must learn to live by a few of these new social rules that Earth calls ethics*.(*said with a bit of an accent) We have set up a program so that you may learn Earth customs and ethics* along with our most veteran space explorer, Lieutenant Dodge de Neon, as he investigates Earth. The countries that were selected were not at random. It is quite simple really, The United Relocation Committee chose countries that are believed to be the purposed accepting end of about 55.6% of all archaic signals that have, for some unknown reason, been noticeable for twenty-three minutes on a few old broadcasting channels that are still used to check for intelligent life on other planets. The countries that have sent most of the broadcasting are believed not to need such necessary visits as those on the receiving end because all these special broadcasts will be aired every day between eight and ten d.m. in the hopes of teaching everyone all about these countries with least amount of Altarian tax dollars being spent. Focus in on the small car arriving in country a. Here is our spatial habitual machine carrying Lieutenant de Neon to Earth. The first country on our list is Pakistan. Oh, dear. The lieutenant is coming in too fast!!!! Here on our screens in the studio I see that it is predicted that the Habitual machine will hit that big round object hovering over the building The balloon pops and confetti flies. And the habitual machine does as it comes to a complete stop. Norrenna comes out, throws open the rug, reaches behind her and turns the car into another gear and pretends to make Islamic prayer out loud. Brauer comes up to Norrenna and tries to speak with her explaining his apology. Norrenna: Allah Hu ackbar, Allah hu ackbar. Brauer: Sorry that I caused such an accident. Norrenna: As-Saalam Eid Mubarak Brauer. Teach me some of your lanuage please. Norrenna: Bis-millah-heer-rah-mah-neer-rah-heem Brauer: Bis-millah-heer-rah-mah-neer-rah-heem Norrenna: Hama-abne-sad-lejeelow. Norrenna gives rug to Brauer. As they do this Norrenna places the small souvenir in the rocket. And Brauer maneuvers the car up the ferry. Mona: I hope all of you learned something. That was a religious prayer performed by almost of the Earths population today because of the religious holiday Eidul-ad-haa, or Festival of Sacrifice after two months and 10 days of the pilgrimage: Hajj.. Hama-abne-sad-lejeelow is Urdu for: take this with you. Urdu is the native language of Pakistan. And here the spatial habitual machine is coming to its next stop, Italy, the country that is next on the list. The vehicle comes off the ferry and runs by the vines pulling some down with the magnet. Dominik comes out and excited. Dominik: wow, you picked grapes. The first person to pick grapes becomes the host for the Cupra Montana Grape Festival, one of the most famous in the region. The occurs on the first Sunday of October. You may keep the grapes so that you can eat on your journey. (translate into Italian if at all possible.) Brauer: thank you for your cooperation. Good it is not vine though, as I do not like it (say with monotone German accent) Mona: and the translation for all of that is (say in English) And as the Spatial Habitat continues on its way north it arrives in the last designated country, Spain. As the machine comes to a landing on this really big green thing we must prepare for a good run. Oh, wait there are people on the big green thing. The machine will try to slow down now to lower the risk of hitting the people. (the car knocks the

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, Essay - 2

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. (250words minimum) - Essay Example But for me, something else was planned by destiny. For me, this day is the most memorable yet painful day of my entire life. On that day, I had a baseball game in the afternoon. The weather was strange. It was a bright sunny day yet excessively windy. I was not sure of catching a fly ball well in this weird climatic condition. During warm-ups, baseball coach gave me a fly ball and I thought that I would able to catch that ball with my gloves. But before I realize what had happened with me, I found that I was bleeding unceasingly. Then I realized that four of my bloody teeth were in my hand. I could also feel that couple of teeth were hanging by my braces inside the mouth. I could not believe that this accident actually has happened to me. Suddenly, many thoughts came in my mind including tomorrow’s SAT test, finals, graduation, family, friends, pain, teeth, and many other things. In fact, I truly felt that everything was over, and I cried loudly. I was not ready to accept the truth. I did not understand why I had to be punished so badly. As I moved into training center, everyone was staring with the sense of sympathy. I was crying like a small kid in front of my friends who were encouraging me. I was terrified when I realized that my parents were staying thousands miles away from my place. My advisor and baseball coach took me to the hospital. We could not find an oral surgeon anywhere in New Hampshire and the doctor in Plymouth memorial hospital tried to make phone calls for hours. I was bleeding for almost 11 hours until I met an oral surgeon in Mass General hospital in Boston. I was exhausted, yet was happy to get operated. When I returned to school, I understood that eating food would be a problem. The days were miserable. I always had fever and pain. I was not able to sleep well and was far behind of schoolwork. Additionally, I had to go to emergency

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Community college reflection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Community college reflection - Assignment Example The faculty to student ratio is very low and therefore the classrooms are so small that students are able to get the attention of the professors for any challenge they encounter as well as feedback (Staley, 2011). This helps in boosting their knowledge and skills to get gainful employment as well as form a sound foundation for those endeavoring to attend university. The purpose of community colleges is to prepare students before they join college as well as empowering working adults to take part time specific courses while working. Although most community colleges have unique missions, the primary concept is based on their commitment to offer lifelong education, teaching, community service, and service to all society segments through fair treatment of the students. The breadth and relevance of program offered in community colleges is lower than that offered in universities since most of the students enrolled are credit students who need to boost their grades in order to be eligible for undergraduate courses. As such, the scope of their course lie between the high school and college level. Nevertheless, their program are highly relevant as they are sufficient in equipping local students with meaningful skills to handle employment. After my high school graduation, I enrolled for a certificate course in a community college for two years while awaiting to get admission to the university, since it would increase my chances of getting admission. I preferred the community college as it was low-cost compared to other colleges and the learning environment was very rewarding and fulfilling since I got to interact directly with the professors due to the small sizes of the classroom and the students were relatively

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Quality of Work Life of Cement Industry Essay Example for Free

Quality of Work Life of Cement Industry Essay Abstract Quality of work life is an important indicator and yardstick for any organization to measure its overall performance and overall satisfaction of its stakeholder‟s .Quality of work life comprises of several factors which are influencing the quality of work life in different dimensions. Quality of work life of this industry is concerned the safety, healthy work environment, adequate and fair compensation and social relevance are undedicated by the internal stakeholders (Employees).Also the lower level workers don‟t have ,that much amount of quality of work life that is why they don‟t have that much level of involvement in their company. Hence to bring-up the expected level of involvement of the employees they must be provided enough amount of training and they must be given on –par treatment while compare with the rest of the level of employees of their organization. Key words: Quality of work life Total life space, social relevance Quality of work life feeling stakeholders. Introduction Historically, cultural values about work have shifted greatly over the years. In ancient time work was performed only by slaves, The Renaissance and Reformation brought great changes in prevailing attitude towards work. Work acquired a moral dignity of its own. Work serves many purposes. The economic function of work for producing goods and services is its most obvious value. In return form of production the work is paid wages that enable the purchase of good, shelter, plus other needs and luxuries of life. But work serves other values as well. As part of social needs people are supplied at the work place, were they meet, and converse and share experiences. One‟s job connotes a certain social status both for the worker and his or her family. Work also contributes to an employee‟s self-esteem by reflecting a contribution to the work group, department and company. If a person is competent and meets his own personal and the boss‟ satisfaction expectations, this contributes to a sense of personal worth. Quality of Work Life (QWL) is a relatively new concept. It refers to the favorableness or unfavrableness of a job environment for people (Davis and Newstrom, 1985). Evolution of quality of work life Walton attributes the evolution of QWL to various phases in history. Legislation enacted in early 20th century to protect employees from job-injury and to eliminate hazardous working conditions, followed by the unionization movement in the 1930s and 1940s were the initial steps. Emphasis was given to „job security‟, due process at the work place and economic gains for the worker‟. The 1950s and the 1960s saw the development of different theories by psychologists proposing a „positive relationship between morale and productivity‟, and the possibility that improved human relations would lead to the enhancement of both. Attempts to reform and to acquire equal employment opportunities and job enrichment schemes also were introduced. Finally, in the 1970s the idea of QWL was conceived which according to Walton, is broader than these earlier developments and is something that must include „ the values that were at the heart of these earlier reform movements‟ and „human needs and aspirations‟(Walton, 1973). The modern interest in the quality of work life was stimulated through efforts to change the scope of people satisfaction job in attempting to motivate them (Tyagi 1997). The jobs should seek to employ higher skills of workers, improve their skills, and contribute to general Social advancement as well as programs that offer employees, the opportunity to purchase equity in their firms or programs that provide protection against arbitrary action for their supervisors (Robins, S. 1997). Criteria for quality of work life: It has been pointed out by Ted Mills that one of the problems with the tern is that â€Å"quality of work life† is not a single, specific notion. Rather, it subsumes a whole pass of terms and notions, all of which he feels really belong under the umbrella â€Å"quality of work life†: 1. Industrial Effectiveness 2. Human Resource Development 3. Organizational Effectiveness 4. Works Restructure 5. Job Enrichment 6. Organizational Restructure 7. Socio- Technical Systems 8. Work Humanization 9. Group work concept 10. Labour – management cooperation 11. Working together; work involvement; and worker participation 12. Cooperation work restructures Importance of Quality of Work Life: Quality work life is essentially the concept of favorable situation of a work environment. It is imperative in any type of organizations to ensure high productivity and involvement of employees in generation of goods and services of better quality. The global economy presents the organization with new challenges to be faced by the employees. To make it more imperative employee‟s involvement and commitment are required in achieving organizational goals. Such involvements and commitments could be secured only through improved quality of work life. Furthermore working life is regarded as a larger ecological complex of human resource. So ultimately the quality of working life of employees should be made better and pave the way for satisfied working conditions and make them involved in the growth of the organization. Review of Literature: Cohen. D.S (1979) Quality of work is a process of joint decision making, collaboration and building mutual respect between management and employee, which seems to cause a change in how people feel about labour their work and each other. It is this change in the human climate that quality advocated, maintains, increases satisfaction and facilitates better solution to management and production. Ekramul Hoque, M. and Alinoor Rahman (1999) They attempted to compare the QWL of industrial workers according to the nature of the organizations and to measure whether there is any significant relationship among quality of work life, job behaviour and demographic variables of the workers. The result revealed workers of private sector textile mills perceived significantly higher QWL than in the public sector; QWL has significant negative correlation with absenteeism and accident and QWL has significant positive correlation with performance. 3 Tambe M.R. (2000) In a broad sense QWL includes job enrichment group work concept, labour management cooperation, workers involvement, co-operative work environment and organizational industrial effectiveness. In a narrow sense it is a conductive and encouraging job and physical environment. Mentz (2001) conducted a study to determine the quality of work life of teachers in farm schools in South Africa. The sample consists of 60 teachers in 15 farm schools. Findings indicate that teachers in rural schools are generally satisfied with circumstances and enjoy teaching; they are satisfied with classroom size, physical facilities and teacher student relations. Topper (2008) The literature reviews of psychological and sociological studies of job satisfaction in general and specifically for library workers were under taken by Topper(2008). The investigation was primarily intended to measure the job satisfaction among library workers. It revealed that the library workers are very satisfied in their job. It also underlined the fa ct that job satisfaction should be the key factor for recruitment of the next generation library workers. Edwards, J.,Van laar ,D.L Easton ,S.(2009).Regular assessment of quality of work life can potentially provide organization with important information about the welfare of their employees, such as job satisfaction, general well-being, work related stress and the home-work interface. Objective To find out the existing level of Quality of Work Life perceived by the employees in cement industry Research methodology: Research Design The research design is an important yardstick and it is describing the properties of the proposed research with related to a particular domine. This article is concerned; the research design is descriptive in nature. This article is going to evaluate the existing level of quality of work life which is prevailing in cement industry at Ariyalur District. Survey and sampling method: The researcher is decided to deploy the primary data from the concerned indust ry [respondents] with the help of the data collection tool [questionnaire]. Apart from the primary data the required data‟s to enhance the quality of the article is to be collected from the secondary sources such as books, magazines and annual reports of the companies. The data which is to be collected from the respondents on random basis [simple random sampling]. The companies which are included in this survey are TANCEM, BIRLA and RAMCO. The sample size which is a determined for the study is 300 from all three companies. Statistical tool used: The collected data which is analyzed with the help of ANOVA. Analysis and Interpretation: Quality of Work Life (QWL) includes a host of issues ranging from occupational safety and health, job training, retraining, educational opportunities to society recreational facilities and childcare. QWL is a process of work organizations, which enables its members at all levels to participate actively and efficiency in shaping the organizations environment, methods and outcomes.

Friday, November 15, 2019

F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay -- English Literature Ame

The Great Gatsby The main theme of the novel â€Å"The Great Gatsby† focuses on the American Dream and it is portrayed through the life of Jay Gatsby. Through Gatsby’s life we see the withering of the American Dream, a tragedy that struck Jay’s near finished dream. The American Dream is what many have hoped of achieving, it has existed in the past and is in the present. The American Dream gives people a goal that they can work towards, it also gives them a purpose in life. The American Dream represents luxury and wealth it believes the goodness of the quality of life. For Jay Gatsby, he was so close to achieving the American Dream. He had the wealth and the class, all he needed was his long lost love, Daisy. Gatsby truly believed that he could once again be together with Daisy we see this when he says "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can" (P. 116). However what made the story such a tragedy was that Gatsby came so close to wining Daisy however h e was killed by Mr. Wilson which he was just inches away from successfully completing the American Dream. In the past, only a small amount of the American Dream turned out to be successful, most have failed. Many people who did not achieve the American Dream ended up committing suicide or other means of giving up on life because they believe there was no other purpose in life. Gatsby represent the American Dream in many ways, in order to accomplish his Dream he knew exactly what he desired, when Jay met Dan Cody at the shore of Lake Superior, Dan shown him a vision of success a vision of what wealth would offer, the excitement of being rich. Jay Gatsby has an ambitious nature, there for he would do anything just to live the American Dream. He started by building a past, he changed his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby in an attempt to construct a foundation for his dream. He then composed an image for Jay Gatsby, a well gentleman who was born in the west, educated at oxford and fought in World War I. Gatsby was then able to attain a great deal of money working with Meyer Wolfsheim. He then bought a huge mansion in the â€Å"West Egg†, however he would throw extravagant parties in hoping of attracting his long lost love Daisy, the one who he had an affair with before he went to the war. Nick describes Gatsby’s feelings about Daisy: "He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy and I think t... ...d him Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg which had just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night" (P. 167) He believed that god would justify his actions since god is watching through the eyes of Dr. Eckleberg. So he shot Jay Gatsby whom he thought Myrtle was having an affair with, then he shot himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All things said, I think the hope of the American Dream is more than hard to achieve. Not everyone can find that perfect soul mate and not everyone can stay wealthy for a long period. Especially during this revolutionary century, money is easily earned but also easily lost. I think for many people the American Dream is a purpose for life, a difficult goal for ambitious people like Gatsby to reach. Personally, I do not believe this, I believe that we should live a mediocre life, so that our whole life is even. Unlike how some people work three quarters of their life to enjoy that one quarter life of the American Dream. In the end you will lose all your friends and perhaps even your life if you don’t succeed. To me the moral of the book meant enjoy your life while it lasts, you only have so much time to enjoy it.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

My Father’s Death

My Father’s Death I had always thought that all little girls had the same dream as me. Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of the day that I would get married; the most important moment would be walking down the aisle by the arm of my father. My father is one of the most important persons in my life. He is my hero, my motivation, my everything. It never passed through my mind that I would have to struggle with many difficult phases at such a young age. When I started to attend middle school, I lived in Matamoros. My first day of classes in middle school was different.It was different because the person who always dropped me off at school on my first day was not with me, â€Å"my father. † My father could not be with me because he had just started getting sick. He had some problems with his liver. His body threw away the proteins as well his blood. I remember the first time he threw up blood; that moment my mom became very worried, and nervous. I was just 13 years old when this incident happened and it was just a few days before I started my first day of middle school. During this time, we had our first visit to the hospital, and most of the visits to the hospital were for blood transfusions.After three years, when I graduated from middle school and my father was a little bit better, I decided to move to San Benito to start high school. I lived in San Benito with my father’s brother, Jose, for just six weeks because I had some problems with my relatives, so I moved to Brownsville. There I lived with my father’s sister my aunt Laura. It was more difficult to make a drastic change in less than two months. I had to adapt to Brownsville. They were two different towns and it took me more time to adapt to living without my parents and my two brothers; I lived with my uncle and my aunt because my parents are not U.S. citizens and they did not have a visa. School in San Benito was easier for me; in contrast, Brownsville’s schools were more difficult. It was weird that people in San Benito spoke Spanish. While on the other hand Brownsville spoke English, even though it is closer to Mexico than San Benito. In the end, it helped me a lot because I do not know all the English language very well, but what I know it’s thanks to that. I just lived for eight months with my aunt Laura. So the following three years of High School, I stared to cross the bridge every single day.Before I got back to school from summer vacation I started noticing that my dad was feeling sick again, and I heard my mom crying and saying that my dad had cancer. I was not supposed to know this, but I was behind the door. At the beginning of 2007, my father started complaining about a pain in his coccyx. When my dad went to the doctor, he told the doctor that he felt something was hurting him in his back. The doctor did not pay too much attention to that but every time that my dad went to see him, he said the same information.My dad st arted attending some therapies in order to take away the pain; unfortunately they were in vain because we started noticing that the cancer had increased, and he was getting sicker every day. That year my summer was too long and very exhausting because my dad was in the hospital for almost two months. He went into surgery for his pain in his coccyx, but after the operation, he said that he felt pain in one of his legs, which we thought that was produced by the surgery. When he got out of the hospital, he could not walk or sit down anymore. All he could do was just lay in bed.It changed our lives tremendously. My senior year in school began. I just had to pass the science section of the test. At this time I had to divide my time into my personal time, taking care of my dad, doing homework, and helping my mom in the store and cleaning the house. I almost went insane; I did not have a life. When time for TAKS came around, it was peculiar that my dad got in critical conditions but just i n the day that I had to take the Science one. I even thought that my dad had to die in order for me to pass my test; ironically it became true.As days passed by, I got tired from crossing the bridge. When I am talking about crossing the bridge every single day a person whose does not have a life like mine can not imagine what it is like to really wait in a line of at least one hour. I have to wake up early in the morning, and the weather sometimes was cloudy, rainy, windy, or cold. Besides all this, I had to take the city bus to get to school. It was fine for me but sometimes the bus was late or if the bus broke down they took us in a van but the problem was that they gave preference to the elderly instead of the students.It is a chaos to have or to live a situation like this. In September, my father had his first encephalopathy: he was in a comma, but had no ventilator. He was in that critical state just for a week the first time. The day that he woke up, my nephew was born, and he did not remember anything except that. During the Thanksgiving holiday, the situation in my house became more intensive. My dad was in his last phase. One day before Thanksgiving, he entered his second and last encephalopathy and never woke again. The last word that he yelled was â€Å"Manue,† my mom’s name, and he went in again into a critical state.I felt that my world and my life were going down; I felt sadness, fear, and hopelessness, etc. On Saturday, the priest came and put Holy Oils on my father. After that my mom said that my dad could die at any moment; she said I had to be prepared for whatever was going to happen. I started to pray in front of his bed and I said â€Å"Dear God: I’m very thankful to you because you gave me the most wonderful father that a girl can have. If it is your decision to take my father with you, I will accept it. I know it will be difficult but I know you’ll never let me give up.Amen† That night was the longest n ight I ever had; I kissed my father for the last time. The next day was Sunday; my family started arriving to my house because we saw that my father was in his last stage and that at any moment he could die. At 10 A. M. he was had some convulsions my mom, my brothers and I started to pray; at 11:25 A. M. he died in my house. I dropped myself into his body and I stared crying and saying â€Å"Porque te lo llevaste? †(Why did you take him? ). I could not believe that my dad had gone. I felt that everything would not be the same, that my life would stop in all senses.During the funeral I always thought that it was easy to receive the condolence; but the reality was the opposite. The thoughts that passed through my mind in that time was that my dad was on a trip and that he would be back soon. When I got near to the coffin I realize that it was true that he died. In the funeral I never cried. I contained the desire to cry. After the funeral passed I did not want to return to scho ol because I thought that it did not have sense to continue with my future if my dad was not with me supporting me.After a week, I returned to school. I had to go back to my life even though my heart was bleeding and felt empty. I passed my TAKS, exactly like I said it would happen; my father had to die in order for me to pass and graduate from High School. It was difficult to handle but I had to learn to live with this pain in my heart and make myself the idea that he is in a better place, without pain, where there is no suffering, that he is in the God’s hands. I passed all my classes and in June 9th, 2008 I graduated from High School.That day was one of the most important in my life and I know that my dad feels proud of me. In the Fall I stared college and now I am in my second semester. Now I understand that I was wrong when I thought that my life had to stop. Now my dad is my motivation to continue with my studies, my career and my life. Thank you daddy!! This experience helped me mature as a person. My father will always be my motivation, even though I still dream with that important day. I know that if I get married my dad will be with me inside of my heart walking down the aisle as if he were by my side holding my arm.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Stalin: man or monster?

Source A is very different to sources B and C. Stalin is shown standing by pyramids ‘visit Russia's pyramids'. The picture is symbolising the results of Stalin's policies in which many people died. Stalin is showing no emotion. Sources B and C are very similar in that they are both showing Stalin as a popular, liked man. In source B it shows him with some of the workers on a hydro-electric power station. Stalin looks very relaxed and casual standing with his hand in one pocket and holding his pipe. However, the painting is an official soviet painting so it was probably manipulated to make Stain look good with happy workers. Source C was taken by a soviet photographer so the picture was probably planned on purpose to show Stalin's popularity and to make it look like all the people adore him. Sources B and C give very similar impressions of Stalin, showing him as a loved man. Whereas source A gives the impression that he is a monster. Source D is a speech written by a writer to the congress of soviets in 1935. The speech was published in Pravda, the paper of the communist party. The fact that it was published in Russia in 1935 already tells us that this source has probably been manipulated in some way to make Stalin look better. The only reason people would lie about him is because they were terrified of him so they had no choice but to suck up to him or face execution. This article does show us how Stalin had many people terrified and you can see this in the source because of how fake and obsessed the writer is. However because of the purges most of the stuff written about him was propaganda. Therefore meaning the information is of little use as it is purely either opinion or fake. I believe that the fact Bukharin's speech is written after becoming a victim of the purges and the fact it's written in Paris, where he is out of Stalin's control makes his assessment more reliable. The writer expresses his anger and hatred towards Stalin. Yet I think the reason Bukharin's assessment is reliable is the fact that he was very close to Stalin in helping him against Trotsky. Nonetheless he then fell into disagreement with him and he became a victim of the purges, but managed to escape to Paris, in exile out of Stalin's reach, meaning he can not be caught and punished. Khrushchev's speech is talking about how distrustful and truthfully scared Stalin was. This assessment does match others in saying how terrorising and malicious Stalin could be. For instance, the purges were an example of how Stalin would block any threats and oppositions by destroying them. Furthermore the fact that the speech was delivered in 1956 after Stalin's reign also makes the speech more likely to be accurate and trustworthy. Source G is showing Stalin as the judge prosecuting 4 defendants. They are all sarcastically admitting what they have done as they know even if they plea ‘not guilty' they will still be sentenced. The fact they will be sentence no matter what is shown in the background of the picture where you can see the gallows. Source H shows Stalin in the court, but in every position or role. This illustrates how Stalin manipulated everyone in the soviet party. Stalin was in effect, the Judge, the Jury, the Witness, the Clerk and the prosecutor. They were called ‘show trials' for a reason, that they were for show. The defendant was already a ‘dead man' before he had entered the court. The trial was purely so Stalin could say, ‘I gave them a chance'. Both sources are very similar in that they both give the same message, that Stalin was always in charge and that there would always be the same outcome in the verdict. Source I is from a biography of Stalin published in 1947 in Russia. This shows that what was written was probably fake or inaccurate as it was during the purges, meaning that the author had the fear of execution. Source J on the other hand was written in 1974 in Britain long after Stalin's rule. This means what is said about him is more likely to be true as there would be no fear of being prosecuted. Also the cold war was going on in 1974 so Britain was fighting against Russia. Yet I believe this could mean that the assessment is exaggerated because of Britain's dislike towards Russia at the time. Although we know they both disagree about Stalin we deduce this because of when and where they were written and our knowledge of what would happen to people who spoke out about Stalin. Most of the evidence shown in the sources points to Stalin as being a monster. After studying and analysing sources, A, D, E, F, G, H, and J, they all show or explain how evil, malicious and cruel Stalin was. It is only sources, B, C, D and I, which are either praising or supporting him and this is only because the artists or writers are either terrified or their assessments have been manipulated in some way from fear of execution. Different sources of information I have read indicate that Stalin was a monster For instance, to start with Stalin stated his 5 year plans. They consisted of different aims: to provide machinery and other equipment to farmers, to catch up with the western world so they were less dependant on industrial goods from other countries and finally to produce more armaments so that Russia could defend itself from attack. Although these aims sounded good they never actually happened. Stalin then introduced the purges. This was simply to a way to get rid of any opposition or threats. Stalin would find someone that had been opposing him in someway (even if it was that they spoke better than he did). He would then have them put on trial (know as show trails) and they would be found guilty and executed, hence out of Stalin's way. The Purges claimed over 10 million people's lives. Collectivisation was introduced for people in each village to join their farms together to make one large collective farm (Kolkhoz). Every one as a whole would then be able to afford the machinery and be more efficient. Because no-one listened there was a famine so Stalin made collectivisation compulsory. Peasants hated the idea so killed all their livestock and burned all their crops. Those who had done what Stalin said proved that collectivisation had worked and that numbers in cows and grain had gone up approximately 10 million in 25 years, but it is debateable whether this was a huge success, to the extent that many lives were ruined and many livestock and crops destroyed. Stalin had many people employed to work on building dams and bridges. However, many of the workers were slaves and kulaks. Strikers were shot, and wreckers could be executed or imprisoned. Thousands died from accidents, starvation or weather. Housing and wages were terrible; they would have to do a certain amount of work in their shift or they would go without food. Stalin's 5 year plans also came into this, he would often set an aim to complete a dam in 1 year, then when it was finished he would congratulate the workers and say ‘as you did so well, you have two more dams to do in the same amount of time'. This would then continue on and on. On the other hand, it could be argued that there were things that Stalin did during his reign that did benefit Russia. During the war Stalin helped by co-ordinating the arms production and making sure everyone was fully equipped. He was also very good at bringing everyone together and motivating people to fight for their country. Although collectivisation was not a huge success it did increase some of the numbers of livestock and grain farmers were producing, which arguably means that the idea did work. He did also have some other achievements, such as: Turkestan-Siberian railroad, the Dneiper dam and the Belomor canal. Some of the sources do support Stalin and show him as an adored man. Even though we have been looking at how most of the assessments are likely to of been manipulated, Stalin would have had some followers that were with him and supported him when some of the pictures were taken. Throughout Stalin's reign there were many things that he did that were horrific and malicious that did make him a real monster and from the research that I have collected I believe him to be just that, yet there were some things that he did for Russia that were in his favour, the main one being that he did, at a heavy cost, bring Russia foreword along way, and that did make his seem like a real man.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Impact of the Olympics on Greenwich Park Essays

The Impact of the Olympics on Greenwich Park Essays The Impact of the Olympics on Greenwich Park Essay The Impact of the Olympics on Greenwich Park Essay Greenwich Park is one of the oldest and most historic parks in the UK: it is one of Britains 33 World Heritage Sites, and is the only urban park in the UK to be such a site (Jennings, 2001). This fact, combined with the amenities and tourist attractions it provides, makes it one of the most important sites in London, and the UK in general. As a result of this historic important and the existing status as a major tourist attraction, Greenwich Park was chosen as a site for the London 2012 Olympic Games. However, this decision has created controversy, with arguments that the facilities for the Games will cause long term damage to the park and the surrounding area. As such, this piece will examine the history of Greenwich Park, its current status both within London and the wider UK, and how the plans for the Olympics, and after the Olympics, will affect the park. This will be achieved via reviews of the literature, a survey of the attitudes at students at Edinburgh and the users of the park, and a cost benefit analysis of the plans to use Greenwich for the Olympics. This methodology has been selected because it allows triangulation between the three sources of data: secondary desk research, primary survey research, and the cost benefit analysis (Saunders et al, 2007). In addition, the survey, whilst brief, will allow for a broad range of data to be collected, which will help direct the literature review and the cost benefit analysis in relevant directions. Greenwich was originally settled around the time of the ancient Romans, with its proximity to the Thames and the view afforded from the top of the hill making it a desirable and relatively secure location. However, the park truly came to prominence when it was inherited by the Duke of Gloucester, brother of the king, in 1427. Henry VIII was born in Greenwich, along with his two daughters, which truly cemented the importance of the park to England. The current layout was created in the 1600s, when the tree lined avenues were created, and the Queens House was built around the same time, by the wife of James I of England, the first of the Stuart monarchs. The Stuarts further enhanced the park, with Charles commissioning Sir Christopher Wren to build The Royal Observatory, taking advantage of the clear views of the sky from the top of the hill. Greenwich became world famous following Britains rise to naval prominence in the 19th century, and Nevil Maskelynes accurate measurements of time based on observations of lunar distances from Greenwich. As such, Greenwich Mean Time became the most accurate measure of time until the development of the atomic clock, and helped lead to Greenwich becoming a World Heritage Site in 1997 (Jennings, 2001). Today, Greenwich Park is primarily used as an amenity for people living in the local area, people from further afield, and also the students who study at the nearby University of Greenwich. The park is the oldest enclosed Royal Park in the UK, as well as being one of the largest parks in South East London, making it a key part of the region. The views from the hilltop include the City of London, the River Thames, Canary Wharf and the O2. In addition, Greenwich Park contains several of the most important historic buildings in London, including the former Royal Observatory and the Queens House, as well as the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Naval College. The picturesque setting and prevalence of historic buildings also make Greenwich Park, and Greenwich in general, one of the UKs main film locations; particularly for period dramas. Most notable, a significant portion of the TV adaptation of Jane Austens Sense and Sensibility was filmed in the Park (Jennings, 2001). The important historic nature of Greenwich Park, together with its picturesque nature and status as a tourist attraction, led to it being included as a venue for the Olympic Games in London in 2012. The park will be where the equestrian and show jumping events are held, as well as where the cross country and riding aspects of the modern pentathlon will take place. As part of this, a temporary cross country track will be constructed in the park, as well as a temporary stadium for up to 23,000, within the National Maritime Museum (London2012. com). These plans have raised some concerns amongst local residents that the construction of the stadium and track will result in significant and long term damage to the park and many of its trees and facilities. In particular, the fact that Greenwich Park is the only urban park in the UK designated as a World Heritage Site has led some to claim that it is not suitable as a venue for such a large and damaging event (Gilligan, 2008).

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

14 Last Minute ACT Tips You Should Use

14 Last Minute ACT Tips You Should Use SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Wondering what you can do to boost your performance on the ACT with only a couple days to prepare? Here are some last minute ACT tips that will help raise your scores and keep you at your best during the test. General Last Minute Studying Tips Ideally, you'll want to start studying for the ACT long before your exam date in order to be fully prepared for the test. However, last minute studying can also be helpful for learning some final pieces of information and being fully prepared for exam day. If you're studying right before the ACT, you should spend your remaining time wisely. Follow these tips to ensure that the extra effort pays off! Tip 1: Focus on Correcting Your Mistakes It’s easy to take a bunch of practice tests and not bother withanalyzing your incorrect answers, but you won't improve much that way.Now is the time to focus in on topic areas that are particularly problematic for you. You might choose to target just one section of the test and drill down into the reasons you have difficulty with certain types of questions.For each question, make sure you understand why your answer was incorrect and the route you should have taken to arrive at the correct choice. Tip 2: Check Your Timing You don’t need to go through a whole practice test, but you should have a general sense of how you've been pacing yourself so the real test doesn’t take you by surprise.How long do 30 seconds and a minute feel to you?This will help you be a better judge of when you need to move on in the real test environment. Since there's so much time pressure on the ACT, this can make a big difference in your scores. Day of the Test Follow these tips the morning of your ACT to ensure you start the test prepared and on the right foot. Tip 3: Sleep Well, Wake Up Early Go to bed early the night before the test to control for any trouble you might have falling asleep because of nerves.Plan to get seven to nine hours of sleep, and wake up at least an hour before you have to leave for the test. This way your brain will be firing on all cylinders by the time you get there! Tip 4: Eat Breakfast Eat something protein-filled that will give you sustained energy but not make you sluggish. If you normally don’t like eating breakfast,try a granola bar or a handful of nuts. Drink coffee if you usually drink it to stay awake - now probably isn’t the time to kick a caffeine addiction.Don’t drink coffee if you’re not used to it because it could actually make you anxious and less focused on the test. Tip 5: Dress for Success This means the opposite of what it usually means because you should dress as comfortably as possible.Bring layers so you don’t get distracted by being too hot or too cold. Also, pack up everything you need for the test the night before so you don’t forget anything (especially if you're not a morning person!). There are no crayons allowed on the ACT. You may now weep for your childhood. During the Test This is the real deal. Keep these tips in mind while you're taking the ACT to help you out during the exam. Tip 6: Keep Calm and Test On Take it one question at a time, and don’t get discouraged when you can’t figure out an answer.Just skip the question and move forward. Getting worked up will only take away from your focus and hurt your scores. Tip 7: Skip Difficult Questions If you find yourself floundering on a question, skip it and come back to it at the end of the section. There'sa lot of time pressureon the ACT.If you find you’ve spent more than a minute on a question in the Math, Reading, or Science section, move on and come back to it later.In the English section, don’t spend more than 30 seconds trying to figure out any one question before you move on. Don't risk running out of time before you get to every question - you could miss easier points down the road. Tip 8: Check Your Answers If you have time at the end of a section, don’t waste it.Go back and check over your answers to make sure you’re not missing any easily fixable goofs that could happen if you rush through questions. Also make sure all the bubbles on your answer sheet are filled in.Remember, there's no penalty for incorrect answers on the ACT, so you have nothing to lose by guessing. Tip 9: Take Breaks You get two breaks on the ACT assuming you’re taking it with the writing section.The first is between Math and Reading, and the second is between Science and the essay. Take advantage of the breaks to clear your mind, use the bathroom, or eat a snack. You’ll feel better prepared for the rest of the test. Tip 10: If You Take the ACT With Writing, Make Your Essay Clear and Concise Your essay should be pretty formulaic: introduction, three paragraphs, conclusion.Give concrete examples for each of the points in your argument, and make sure your thesis is clearly spelled out in the introduction. Try and make your essay around two pages long (or at least more than a page) because there’s a positive correlation between essay length and score. Tip : Go Guerrilla Warfare on This Test Think of it this way: The ACT is a well organized, regimented army and you’re a ragtag band of misfits using whatever tactics you can to outsmart it. Here’s some relevant info about each section that will help you: English When in doubt, go for the more concise answer.Follow grammar rules, and don’t overthink things. Math Use your calculator as a resource, and make use of the diagrams. If you are trying to figure out an angle or the area of a shape and you’re stumped, choose the answer that seems most logical based on the image. If you find yourself doing complex math, check yourself before continuing.The concepts being tested are fairly simple and should not require elaborate calculations.Look through these formulas, and make sure you know how to use them before the test! This is an example of what you won't be doing on ACT Math. Reading Skim first, then read the questions. You can read more in depth later when the questions point to specific parts of the passage. Try not to overanalyze things: if the evidence for the answer isn't right there in the passage, it’s not the correct answer. Don’t be fooled by answers that are â€Å"almost† correct. Science ACT Science is essentially about logical reasoning, not knowledge of scientific facts (though some basic science knowledge is helpful).Don’t get overwhelmed by a bunch of numbers and terms you don’t understand. This is designed to distract you from getting down to the relatively simple concepts at the core of the sample experiments. Remember, it’s much easier than it looks at first! After the Test Even after you've finished the exam there are still some tips to keep in mind to ensure you send your best ACT scores to schools. Tip 12: Be Aware: You Can Cancel Your Scores If you're really worried about your scores because you know something went horribly wrong on the test, you are allowed to cancel them. For advice on whether you should cancel your scores and how to go about doing so, read this article. Tip 13: Taking the Test Again? Consider the Test Information Release If you know you're going to take the ACT again, you should think about ordering Test Information Release, a service the ACT offers for you to review your scores in more detail. This can be a very useful studying toolbecause it will show you your weak spots in a real test environment. For more information on TIR, read this article. Tip 14: Chill Out It's important to give yourself time to decompress and relax after the test! Don't stress out too much about what may have gone wrong. It’s out of your hands now, and your time and energy are much better spent doing other things that you enjoy for the rest of the weekend. What's Next? Are you trying to decide whether to take the ACT again? This guide will help you make a choice. Then you can figure out which upcoming test date is right for you. If you want to get a head start on studying, check out these study plans for sophomores and juniors, rising seniors, and our complete plan for all students. You should also figure out your target score so you know how far to plan ahead. Also check out our guides for how to get a greatscoreon each section of the ACT for more specific tips! Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Three types of destruction myths Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Three types of destruction myths - Essay Example According to them, the world will face a time of destruction and at that time, the Gods will have a battle against all the evils and giants of the world. According to the myth, the world will have three consecutive winters whereby conflict will arise in all parts of the world. People will start fighting amongst themselves, families will break, and all codes of morality will be broken. The wolf skull will destroy the moon and his brother Hati will eat the moon, which will push the world into complete darkness leaving no stars in the sky. Three cocks will be found who will crow to the giants, Gods and the dead. Natural calamities such as earthquakes will destroy the world and these will free the wolf known as â€Å"Fenrir† (Lindemans, 1999). A serpent will twist the seas and make his way to the land where he will spread his poison and will crash the waves against a ship called Naglfar and all the giants will come towards the battlefield. The dead will rise again and the inhabita nts of hell will return. A giant called the Surt will set the world on fire. Meanwhile, a horn will be blown inviting all the Gods and the giants to the battlefield. The Gods, evils, and giants from all over the world will gather to fight and the battle will begin. The poison of Surt will be spread and kill many Gods like that of thunder.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Alcan write up Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Alcan write up - Case Study Example Some of the trends in its mergers and acquisitions are indications of this. However, the company has not sought to benefit from operational synergies that are available to it. Organizing Model – In this model several business unit or process leaders in the company make there own decisions. This is akin to a feudal system. This indicates that a decentralized approach is taken towards the organization and management of resources. Architecture – The IT governance style appears to be that of anarchy as each user group pursues its own IT agenda. This has resulted in over 1000 applications. Of this over 400 relates to finance. This has been that way even as the CFO as head of Corporate IT. Standards – The governance style of anarchy prevails as there are really no set standards to follow. The various user groups in each business unit appear to do as they please without any regard for what is happening in similar areas in the organization. Resources – Each business unit decides on the resources that it needs. No attempt is made to determine if the competencies exist in the organization. As a result 80% of IT budget is spent on outsourcing, equipment and software. This would seem to imply that with all the mergers and acquisitions the competencies in IT has not improved but has only gotten worst. Governance is structured in this way at Alcan because after mergers and acquisitions take place the companies basically retain their identity as separate business units. There is no attempt to benefit from economies of scale in terms of merging similar IT projects. Thus on Ouelette’s arrival three separate SAP implementation were taking place at the same time. The advantages of this type of decentralized structure are that: it allows the CIO to concentrate on key IT decisions; and the business unit executives are free to carry out their management function as they were used to before the merger. They operate as before the merger and

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Discuss the reasons that France was ripe for a Revolution in the years Essay

Discuss the reasons that France was ripe for a Revolution in the years leading up to 1789. Include a discussion of Sieyes''What is the 3rd Estate '' and the Cah - Essay Example It was under the motivation, guidance and inspiration of the bourgeois that the French revolution took place. There have been a lot of debates and discussions as to what led to the French revolution. Critics vary in their analysis of the true cause behind the revolution. According to Hunt (p 5), the middle-class intellectuals were the masterminds of the revolutionary plot as this particular social class was economically well-off, socially aware and educationally advanced. The bourgeoisies were against feudalism and absolutism and stood for democracy. Furet is of the opinion that one of the many reasons of the French Revolution was a change in the mindset of people for a newer and liberal kind of political establishment. On one hand the increasing exploitation of the third Estate with the drainage of the royal treasury spent on mindless luxury of the nobility, levying heavy taxes on common people at whim and on the other the coming into sense and socio-economic status of the bourgeois were reasons for the mass outburst. Moreover, it was a revolution where women too played significant roles a s the social status of women was as good as nothing (Levy et al). There was a demand for the declaration of the rights of man that was behind the radical decision to storm Bastille in 1789 (Hunt et al p 653, Lualdi p 50-52). However, there was no attempt to reform the older policies to uplift the general scenario of the ailing land and its people. Joseph Sieyes has provided a vivid and detailed description of the function and potential of the third Estate thereby nullifying any requirement or presence of the other two Estates that of the King and the Church. He has defined his own class system that is not based on the paradoxical concept of hierarchy but on an innovative concept of work sequence. According to him peasants should ideally belong to the first class because agriculture is the basis of any nation. Next he puts the workers

Monday, October 28, 2019

Philosophy Reflection Essay Example for Free

Philosophy Reflection Essay This was my first major introduction into the study of philosophy, and I can honestly say that it has had a major impact on my belief system. Many of my views have been changed and my overall view on life is much different than it was five months ago. To me, the two most interesting works were the Tao and The Minds I. The Tao describes a really interesting way of life. Of all the philosophies weve read, it is the simplest and most beautiful. Instead of scanning for hidden meanings and analyzing all parts of life, Laozi just tells us to live life. Do no more than you have to do, but do everything you have to do. He tells us not to worry about death and just live life. I honestly think very simple and peaceful way of living can bring us much more happiness than we have now in our current society. However, the only way it can be implemented is if everyone follows the Tao, and that is nearly impossible in our current society. We should honestly try to live simpler lives and see the beauty of everyday things. The other work that really impacted me was The Minds I. Im not sure if it qualifies as a single work, but there were several important themes that really interested me and changed some of my views. The section that really interested me the most was the section describing intelligent machines and animals, and their relationship to humans. I had always considered humans superior to animals due to their intelligence and ability to communicate. I never thought too much about the idea of intelligent animals and even machines and their relationship to humans. An intelligent machine or animal that can communicate definitely would be on the same evolutionary level as humans, and thus there could be no way to justify creating an intelligent robotic servant or helper without harkening back to the ideology that prompted slavery. Also, destruction of this machine or animal would be equivalent to murder. However, I still so no moral objection to creating an intelligent robot, as long as we give it its own freedom, just as we would to one of our children. Its may be considered playing God, but if we are his greatest creations, we should have the right to test our limits. Only through a recreation of consciousness done and understood by us can we begin to understand our own consciousness as well as ourselves. I had never really thought about technology in this way and never seriously questioned the origin of my consciousness, so the Minds I really forced me to think about life in a different way. Throughout the term, I not only changed and reconsidered many of my views; I discovered things that I subconsciously believed without really thinking about it. My beliefs not only changed, I discovered beliefs that I never knew I had. Some of these views surfaced when reading certain works like The Mysterious Stranger and Nietzsche. Although these two works didnt change my deep-set views that much, it was interesting to see my instinctual beliefs get challenged. I discovered I was a pretty moderate thinker, but these readings caused many of my views on life to change. However, I still disagreed with many of the views expressed in class discussions with certain works, like the Tao. But then I realized that the Tao is designed to have different meanings to everyone who reads it so they could find their own way of life and thus doesnt lend itself well to class discussions. I saw that the way philosophy has evolved over the years mirrors the way society has changed throughout history. The older philosophies that weve read, like the Tao and Plato work, seem to try to tell us how to live our lives to get the most happiness and satisfaction out of it, and how to find the way or see the light. The more modern philosophies seem to disregard the idea of a true path and tell us how to live in the best way, but they dont guarantee happiness from it. The most interesting pieces for me were a mix of the modern and older philosophies, like Nietzsche and Socrates Apology (I guess because he lived in a ancient but modern society). Even though they were completely different and I completely disagreed with one of them, they were much more compelling to me. One important thing that I learned is that I hate reading about something that I agree on, I dislike having my views proven?by another writer and rather read new ideas and opinions. From all the texts read and discussions weve had this year, its hard to highlight just three things that I learned. One of the most stimulating texts to me was The Circular Ruins. Especially when read right after Is God a Taoist, this simple story made me reconsider all my beliefs on existence and God. Just like the main character was, we are kept in the dark about our condition, where we came from and how we exist. We claim an all-mighty God as our creator, and call ourselves superior beings in his image. However, whose to say that we are not just insignificant nothings, created by another being of no importance. Would that make us less real and important? From this story I learned to stop attaching importance and purpose to everything I do. Maybe there is a reason we dont know where we come from; perhaps we dont want to know. Another important lesson came from Reservation Blues. The main characters all had to deal with finding a cultural identity while trying to escape the trap of the white man. The only ones who made it out were the ones who had a strong cultural identity. They knew themselves and identified with their past before they attempted to escape the reservation. Victor and Junior either tried to ignore their past or couldnt come to terms with their heritage. They tried to escape before they were ready, and couldnt cope with the failure. The books point, despite the suicide and Victors destruction, was amazingly positive, it showed that if you come to terms with your past and yourself you can overcome any obstacle set against you, but you must have this understanding or you will destroy yourself. From The Razors Edge I learned a lot about the purpose of life from each of the vastly different characters. At first, it seems like the point of the story is that there is a difference between what we want and what makes us happy and fulfilled. Suzanne, Gray and Elliot all got what they wanted yet all seem to live unhappy, unfulfilled lives. Further inspection showed that they all are living the life that they fully wanted and expected to live, and they are perfectly content. Isabel wanted both Larry and high society type of life, and thus is disappointed with her life because she couldnt have both. Larry didnt know what he wanted out of life, so he took basically a timeout from the real world, went into seclusion and discovered what he wanted out of life. Now he, knowing full well what he wants, is the most satisfied of all the characters. The lesson to be learned is that happiness is completely relative, and thus you cannot call anyone a failure unless he considers himself one. Also, its all right to take some time out of the real world and relax, take a step back and see what you really want to do next. In the end, this class really has changed my views on the best kind of life. I still believe that you need to live the type of life that will make you the happiest and most satisfied, but I dont think that most people know what type of life that is. If you dont have a passion, dont force yourself into any profession. Explore the world and find something that really interests you otherwise you will get forced into a miserable life that you hate. If you have a passion, you have to follow it. You have to come in terms with who you are; understand and remember your past and childhood. We have to examine our lives to discover what we really want, then try to find it. We must simplify our actions, and we have to stop overanalyzing others actions and words. We have to lose our ego and sense of shame, and stop caring what people think of you. This is the simplest way to live and live happily, without having to adjust your actions to fit what other people expect from you. We have to stop fearing death and keep on living life in the happiest possible way. This will be the happiest, simplest and best life for everyone.