Zeena and Mattie, portraits of antifeminist characters in Edith Whartons Ethan Frome

When she wrote Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton used her pen rather than her fist to reflect her feminist values. In the novel, Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, feminist ideals, principles, and problems are demonstrated in the societal dictations that shape the lives of the characters, the pitting of a woman against a woman, and Wharton's strangely antifeminist characters. Several societal concepts such as these combined to bring Mattie into the Frome household; the idea that a woman should not be allowed to work alone to support herself, the gap left in a home when there is no female figure to fill the domestic role or the female figure is incapable of fulfilling her role, as Zeena was unable to do. There were two jobs that needed to be done in Ethan's world: the first job, the job of the man, was being the monetary receiver, while the second job, the job of woman, was the idea that she should focus her attention on the domestic needs of the household. Because Zeena cannot fulfill her roles, Mattie was brought in, creating an unbalanced, and eventually disastrous, home life. Ultimately, Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie all suffer from the entrance of Mattie into the marital life of Ethan and Zeena. This suffering is a direct result of society's pressure on Mattie to rely on her family rather than herself. In Wharton's Ethan Frome, women took the lower position they were assigned and then fought against each other, accomplishing the men's idea of inferiority and subservience. By working against one another, Mattie and Zeena are working for men's expectations: that they will simply care for the man of the house, rely on him completely, while they have nothing of their own and nothing that they do simply for themselves. In the novel, Ethan spends all day working on the farm and bringing in the money to run the household. While he is gone, Mattie cooks his meals and does other household chores but is essentially just sitting around waiting for him to return. As a character, Zeena is strangely antifeminist due to her insistence on work being done for her because she believes that she is too weak of body and mind to do it herself. Zeena spends her days in bed, contributing nothing to improve her and Ethan's life together. This means that she is not only completely dependent on Ethan, but she is effectively hurting their livelihood by only taking, not giving anything to help them both. Feminists believe that women can do whatever work men can do equally well, so by relying on Ethan to do the work she has deemed herself incapable of doing, Zeena is flouting feminist principle. By needing, not just wanting, a man to take care of her, in the main body of the novel, Zeena is an antifeminist character. The other lady of Ethan Frome, Mattie, is also not who one would consider to be a strong, feminist character. Mattie relies on the charity of others to survive, and when that charity dries up; she believes she has no resources off of which to live. Crippled, querulous, damned, she is transformed into the proper inhabitant of Starkfield. As a person, Mattie is incomplete in herself: she has earned nothing in her life except for the love of a man who can never be hers. Edith Wharton created antifeminist characters and by having those characters fail, she is able to express her message of independence leading to happiness, something that none of her characters achieved. In the feminist view, women should all be working together, helping each other out, as they are working towards the same goals. Instead of striving towards similar goals or attempting to further the position of the other, Zeena and Mattie continually beat each other down, in that quiet, manipulative way that women often do. Mattie acquires the love of Zeena's husband, which causes Zeena to expel Mattie from her house and send her away. From a feminist perspective, Mattie and Zeena are fighting over that which they should be fighting against, not only society but also a man.

Job Satisfaction and Employees Performance

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. 0 Background of the study of Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance in Total Nigeria Plc. The Total Nigeria PLC is a privately held, owned and managed industrial lubrication, oil and gas manufacturing company spread across the geographical regions and districts in Nigeria. The company has been a part of the Nigeria manufacturing landscape since 1962 and has earned the reputation as one of the key suppliers for lubrication equipment, oil and gas products in the industry.It manufactures petrol, kerosene, diesel, cooking gas, car care products, insecticides and lubricants such as oilers spray systems, applicators and condition monitoring equipment. Total Nigeria Plc. is dedicated to selling its products through distribution. TOTAL is the world’s fourth-largest publicly-traded integrated oil and gas company, with operations in more than 130 countries spanning all aspects of the petroleum industry, including Upstream operations (oil and gas exploratio n, development and production, LNG) and Downstream operations (refining, marketing and the trading and shipping of crude oil and petroleum products ).TOTAL employees more than 95,000 employees worldwide, TOTAL reported sales of â‚ ¬153. 8 billion in 2006. TOTAL Upstream activities are carried out by three subsidiary companies in Nigeria. They are: 1. Total Export and Production Nigeria Limited (TEPNG) 2. Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNL) for oil/gas 3. Total Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Limited for gas. They are committed partners in Nigeria's growth and improvement: what they take out of the ground, they put into the economy.Their long term vision is to remain Nigeria's preferred operator, promoting the nation's economy through their various activities, and all the while contributing positively to the sustainable development of its communities. Samuel Emeka Mbah (Unilag Research Paper): There is a general consensus that there exists a managerial problem of finding successful mechanism of retaining employees especially in a job environment that is characterized by constant yearnings for pay rise.Employee job satisfaction has influence on employee turnover in organisations. The implication of this is that the extent to which an organisation is able to retain its employees’ depend on the level of job satisfaction that are made available to these workers. Job satisfaction is known to have positive impact on employee turnover intentions. It means that dissatisfaction on the job increases or will increase the rate of employee turnover intention in organisation. Job satisfaction is how content an individual is with his or her job.Dessler (1978:37) refers to job satisfaction, ‘as the degree of needs satisfaction that is derived from and or experienced on the job’. He affirms to the ability of employees in an organisation aspirations, feeling happy doing their job with the hope that their needs will be achieved. A job is a group of positions , which involves essentially the same duties, responsibility, skill and knowledge†. Scholars and human resource professionals generally make a distinction between affective job satisfaction and cognitive job satisfaction.Affective job satisfaction is the extent of pleasurable emotional feelings individuals have about their jobs overall, and is different to cognitive job satisfaction which is the extent of individuals’ satisfaction with particular facets of their jobs, such as pay, pension arrangements, working hours, and numerous other aspects of their jobs. Consequently, the inability of employees to achieve their needs will amount to dissatisfaction because job satisfaction is a general attitude towards an individual’s job, and the difference between the amount of reward workers receive and the amount they believe they should receive.It has been observed that a person with a high level of job satisfaction holds positive attitude towards the job while the person who is dissatisfied with the job holds negative attitude about the job. Also satisfied employees are known to show higher level work performance in organisations. By analysing job satisfaction an organisation can possibly increase positive outcomes such as employee satisfaction and performance, and may decrease absenteeism and turnover. 1. 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Employees in Total Nigeria Plc. lay important roles, so employee’s satisfaction is a very essential one; hence there arises a need to study the job satisfaction of oil, gas and lubrication employees. The Total Nigeria Plc. has been a part of the Nigerian industrial setting for over 40years. Investigating the employee’s value-perception can aid in managers building and creating work environments that help them to achieve high levels of employee satisfaction. The intention of investigating employee job satisfaction is therefore a step toward creating a healthy psychological contract for people at work (Palme r, 1999, Pg. ). This research therefore, seeks to evaluate the antecedents of employee turnover in the Total Nigeria PLC with a view to understanding its retention strategy. It would also evaluate the level of employee job satisfaction in relation to pay, nature of work and supervision as well as recommend ways of sustaining or improving on the company’s retention strategy. This research study would help in mapping out strategies and methods that would foster objective conclusions. 1. 2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDYJob satisfaction can be used as a powerful tool to achieve goal congruency and enhance employee motivation. It has been observed and noted that employees who find self-identity within the organisational context are motivated even in the face of adversity and channel their efforts towards the achievement of organisational goals. The absence of employee motivation may have significant negative implications to the company achieving its strategy. The objectives of this resea rch are: 1. To access the general level of job satisfaction in Total Nigeria Plc. . To determine the nature of the relationship between employees’ job satisfaction level and their performance. 3. To determine the major sources of dissatisfaction in Total Nigeria Plc. 4. To recommend some measures for improving the satisfaction level of the employees. This research will reinforce the knowledge on the holistic approach to job satisfaction from corporate strategy to individual level. It would also help in the academic understanding and development in the field of change management with specific reference to job satisfaction.It will be useful to Total Nigeria Plc. , other state owned enterprises, governmental and private sector organisations in Nigeria in the implementation of job satisfaction. It will give an overview of management and employees’ understanding of the whole concept of job satisfaction, their level of participation in its implementation, from strategy devel opment, goal setting to performance reviews, and their perception regarding its impact on the achievement of corporate objectives. 1. 3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. How can the general level of job satisfaction in Total Nigeria Plc. e accessed? 2. How can the nature of the relationship between employees’ job satisfaction level and their performance be determined? 3. How can the major sources of dissatisfaction in Total Nigeria Plc. Be determined? 4. Recommend some measures for improving the satisfaction level of employees? 1. 4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS 1. There is no association between working conditions and job satisfaction. 2. There is no association between rewards provided and job satisfaction. 3. There is no association between welfare measures and job satisfaction. . There is no association between job security and job satisfaction. 1. 5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1. Job satisfaction should be the major determinants of an employee organizational behaviour. 2. A satisfied employee will be having positive attitude towards his or her job and would go beyond the normal expectation in his or her job. 3. A person who places high importance on imagination, independence and freedom is likely to be poorly matched with an organization that seeks conformity from its employees. 1. 6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDYThe study included all employees of the organisation, with the exception of the researcher and the CEO and regional managers. All the findings and observations made in the study are purely based on the respondents’ answers which may be biased. Time and cost is also another constraint. 1. 6 DEFINITION OF TERMS PLC – Public Liability Company LNG – Liquefied Natural Gas TEPNG – Total Export and Production Nigeria Limited Unilag – University of Nigeria, Lagos State CEO – Chief Executive Officer TUPNL – Total Upstream Nigeria Limited

Has the introduction of tuition fees reduced the demand for higher Essay

Has the introduction of tuition fees reduced the demand for higher education - Essay Example In Australia, where income contingent loans have been introduced to cover tuition fees and maintenance support, up until 1995 there had been no fall in demand either as a result of reduced entry or increased drop-out rates. Higher education has proven to be an attractive investment for individuals, generating a return of 5-15% in OECD countries. In addition to the benefits derived by the individual, society also benefits largely when the population is well educated. In many OECD countries, the burden of higher education has gradually shifted from the government or the taxpayer to the students and their parents. Australia reintroduced the tuition fees for higher education in 1989 through the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS).In the Netherlands, tuition fees for full-time students are determined by the Minister of Education and are uniform for all subjects in higher education programs. Tuition fee as a percentage of the total direct cost of higher education has remained stable at 20% for the past few years. A change in funding pattern is likely to influence the student community in various ways. While an immediate reaction to discontinuation of State sponsorship for higher education might be one of disappointment, it might also lead students and their parents to appreciate the of value higher education better if they are to be made to pay for it from their own pockets. This way, only students serious about research in that particular field would take up higher studies. However, without primary research or econometric testing of behaviour, it very difficult to assess the net effect of changes to the funding structure and cost of higher education to students. The theory of human capital explains the economic approach to students demand for higher education as an investment. Human capital theory suggests that

Mock project (not real) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mock project (not real) - Assignment Example Understanding the aim of this procedure gives a rather proper platform for both doctors and patients as the former becomes informed on the topic of study consequently learning how to deal with smokers with problems. The latter on the other hand gets a feeling of satisfaction knowing that they have saved a person’s live in-directly as he may quit smoking. It has become an issue of importance to note that very many people in the contemporary world are succumbing to various diseases caused by smoking. It is after this that various medical organizations came up with the program aimed at having smokers reform and consequently live a long and healthy life. As stated in the brief, the analysis is of non-smoking patients, 10 of whom get into a program. These participants are rather important and should have no sign of ever having smoked not only in the near future but never having participated in such activities. The age of these non-smokers should be between 18 and 55 years. It is important to ensure that these participants do not take part in any regular physical exercises but instead live a rather normal lifestyle. This is in order to show the ones aimed at learning from the program that they too could go through such a lifestyle free of any drugs and not have it complicated by exercises. The manner through which this program should run is rather complicated but still understandable. The recruits should prepare to sacrifice six weeks and ultimately have determination and dedication towards having the program up and running effectively. Each of the recruits should prepare to begin having a rather simple physical exercise for only 30 minutes in a week and this is so to ensure that the patients do not find the lifestyle exaggerated. It is important to bear in mind that the physical exercise phase takes place in the laboratory where sports material related to the field of medicine. The

Care plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Care plan - Essay Example The condition is characterized with general weakness. It is common in elderly people like Ann and can be caused by pulmonary-related problems caused by smoking. In addition, the process of aging itself can limit the functionality and strength of muscles. It may also be related to certain conditions such as obesity, side effects of certain medications, emotional conditions like depression. In addition, it can be as a result imbalance supply and demand of oxygen. Anxiety is a state of fear and apprehension or uneasiness of someone’s mind due to fear of danger or certain misfortunes. It may be caused by environmental factors, genetic factors, and chemistry of the brain factors as well as medical factor. It may also be caused by drug abuse such as tobacco, which might be the possible cause for Ann’s anxiety. Stress in people’s lives is the most factor that can trigger anxiety. In addition, it may also be as a response to external forces. Knowledge deficit is a condition resulting to lack of cognitive information that is related to a particular topic. In this case, Ann may be suffering from knowledge deficit of her anxiety, activity intolerance and ineffective airways. It is always characterized by physical limitation, misinterpreting the information. Lack of learning motivation, emotional conditions that may affect learning, being unfamiliar with resources of information. For the ineffective airway clearance, the outcome criteria with time will be an improved breath sounds, normal rhythm and respiration depth, there will be a decreased dyspnea, the patient will have an oxygen gas within the normal range. To assess the airway of the patient for patency by asking Ann to say her name, to assess the quality of respiratory, depth, effort and pattern, and finally, to perform inspection to find whether there are certain obstructions in the trachea or mouth. To maintain a

Character analysis of Christian Darling in The Eighty-Yard Run short Essay

Character analysis of Christian Darling in The Eighty-Yard Run short story - Essay Example Darling marries Louise Tucker, his beautiful college girlfriend, and moves to New York. He works for his wealthy father-in-law, an ink manufacturer, who commits suicide after the Crash of 1929. Louise goes on to become a successful magazine editor. On the other hand, Darling is unable to find his way out of the changed circumstances of his life. He admits that he is a failure. The story is built round Darling’s and Louise’s contrasting attitudes towards life. Darling’s characterization is the main thread of the narrative and the action of the story revolves round it. â€Å"The Eighty-Yard Run† details how Darling’s personality ruins his marital relationship and leads to his acceptance of failure at the age of thirty-five. The characteristic trait of Darling’s personality is his immaturity and his refusal to adapt to new circumstances. Darling’s failure in life is due to his immaturity and resistance to change. Darling demonstrates a very immature attitude towards life. He is childishly pleased with his ‘eighty-yard run’ and imbues it with undue importance. He recalls â€Å"feeling wonderful,† ---â€Å"listening to the applause and shouts of the students along the sidelines† (Shaw, Year, 1-4). He basks in the congratulations, the fussing of the managers and the captain’s approving forecast: â€Å"Darling, youre going to go places in the next two years† (Shaw, Year, 2-1). He imagines his entry onto the field in the coming game against Illinois, confident that, when the spectators cheered, â€Å"part of that enormous salute would be for him† (Shaw, Year, 2-5). He is very smug about his run and boasts to Louise, â€Å"I got the coach in the palm of my hand† (Shaw, 3-2). His ‘eighty-yard run’ gives him a passing fame with the college crowd, and he is complacently aware of being â€Å"an important figure† on campus (Shaw , 3-9). As a matter of fact, Darling’s brilliant run occurs only at a practice session. It moves him from being a second

Overview and Advertisement related to Social Networking Essay

Overview and Advertisement related to Social Networking - Essay Example There were times when people had very less friends, they used to socialize very less, there were very less options a person could consult with or people had to go to professional consultants for advise, they had to spend a large some of money for data they required. People used to have very less material for entertainment and people found or referred there life as boring due to less activities and social life, that part of time was when there was no social soft wares or very less soft wares with very limited options in it like MSN and Yahoo messenger which allowed it’s users to interact with different people by finding there email identities and adding them in their messenger software to interact or share different utilities, but this was limited only from one to one user until soft wares like Face book came into being. Nowadays in the modern world the rise of different communication setups can be witnessed. Many things can be included in these communication setups such as Msn Messenger Yahoo Messenger and other similar services. Similarly with the advent of new technologies it is witnessed that social communication through websites is on the rise. Social Communication websties such as Facebook and Myspace are real life examples of such a service. Facebook and Myspace which were originally developed to serve a single community have now been expanded all over the world. Both of these entitites started off with college students and they have now turned out to be world changing entitites.

Text analysis assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Text analysis assignment - Essay Example Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), who was a psychiatrist in the past, and a young girl Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster). It does not differ with originality - it has classic position - maniac and investigator along with a textbook ending - the final battle between them. She was hoping to get help from contained in the special conditions offender a clue to the psychology of the perpetrator (Ted Levine), who was not caught yet. Thus she tried to gain the trust of Lecter. She even doesnt suspect that the cunning and dangerous prisoner matured his own plan. A kind of game between them in order to fulfill their own goals is underway throughout the film, reaching its culmination in their final telephone conversation. The atmosphere of the movie itself as well as of the final scene is very awesome. It constantly keeps in suspense, though it seems that there is nothing particularly terrible. But it all fits in the overall storyline; its not some kind of cheap horror story, but a psychological thriller. I cannot name this movie as a scary one, but still it has some rather unpleasant moments. In ordinary thrillers you can predict when and where somebody will be killed. But in this movie you just do not know what to expect. The plot is also very interesting. The offender (Buffalo Bill) is not hidden from the very beginning, we know how he looks like, and we know what his name is. The very essence of the film is not to find out who is the culprit, but to show how that culprit was found with the help of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Thus, that is a bit unusual detective story. No "horror" in it is not present, only a psychological thriller and beauty shot. Scenario seems to be simple and stupid by many points, but that is that actually possible approach to the reality, and this rejoices. Special attention is given to camerawork, as the film required a lot of psychological attention to close-ups of the characters, and with this work the

Relationship between Number of Enrollees and Number of Graduates of US Term Paper

Relationship between Number of Enrollees and Number of Graduates of US Medical Schools - Term Paper Example Using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis, it was found that there is a low positive relationship between number of first year enrollees and the number of graduates from medical schools four years later. Thus, although higher graduates are produced by schools with higher first year enrollees, this may not be a crucial factor and other affecting elements may have to be considered. Table of Contents Page Number Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Presentation and Discussion of Results 5 Conclusion 19 Critique 21 Bibliography 22 Introduction There are a number of factors that influence the volume of graduates from medical schools in the US. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reports that for the past decade, there has been a fluctuation in the number of applicants to US medical schools (AAMC Website). However, the number of enrollees and the number of graduates have both seen a constant rate over the past years. This study is interested in finding out if t here is a significant relationship between the number of enrollees in US medical schools with the number of graduates four years later. That is, the research asks the following question: RQ: Is there a significant relationship between the number of enrollees in US medical schools with the number of graduates four years later? To correspond with this research question, this investigation has the following hypotheses: Ho: There is no relationship between the number of enrollees in US medical schools with the number of graduates four years later (r = 0). Ha: There is a significant and positive relationship between the number of enrollees in US medical schools with the number of graduates four years later (r > 0). The independent variable for this study is â€Å"Number of enrollees,† corresponding to the number of first year enrollees in each medical school for the year 2006. The dependent variable for this study is â€Å"Number of graduates,† corresponding to the number o f students who graduated four years later from the same schools, or those labeled as â€Å"Class of 2010.† This topic is of particular interest to me because I have always wondered about the performance of medical school programs in terms of how many people make it past the MCATS and how many actually graduate the university. I personally have the desire to attend medical school and eventually become a doctor. As such, this research will make an impact in my decision to pursue Medicine. I am an ambitious girl, but I do know that ambition is not the only way to get through medical school. Rather, one needs courage as well. This research will determine at the end of the day if I will have the courage to try out this field or to close the doors to medical school behind me. Presentation and Discussion of Results In order to answer the research question, descriptive statistics was first taken from the data in order to have a picture of how the data behave. Then, a scatter plot of number of graduates against number of enrollees was produced to find if there is an existing relationship between the two variables. Finally, the data were subjected to regression analysis in order to find out if Number of Enrollees is a significant predictor of Number of Graduates. The regression analysis conducted also produced the coefficients for the desired regression equation. Table 1. Presentation of Raw Data By Alphabetical Order 30 Selected Medical Schools First Yr Enrollment (2006) vs. Graduates (2010) Name of School First Yr Enrollment (2006) Graduates (Class of 2010) Boston University School of Medicine 179 153 Brown Medical School 91 79 Drexel University College of Medicine 255 233 Florida State University Colleg

Air Pollution Controlling for industrial cities in Saudi Arabia Research Paper

Air Pollution Controlling for industrial cities in Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example The idea of nationalism should be abandoned and the concept of global citizenship should be embraced in order to solve the problems of humanity. The corporate entities are also required to practice the idea of green production and will also have to use alternative and eco-friendly energy sources. As a last resort the humanity should find ways for leaving Earth as its environment will decay beyond repair. The NASA along with main economic powers of the world is trying to perfect space travel technology for resettlement of humanity on some other planet. Conclusively if all the methods of controlling global warming and aerial pollution then humanity may have to revert towards the simpler life that must be spent in underground tunnels because in a few generations the Earth's surface may become inhabitable. However in the light of whole discussion the simpler life will be the best one for humans. Introduction The modern era of the 21st century has been facing the challenge of controlling pollution. The fundamental reason for environmental degradation is believed to be growing number of green-house gases in the atmosphere. These lethal gases are however the byproducts of state of the art production technologies. The humanity has abandoned natural way of living and initiated to use vehicles and factories for transportation and production respectively. Yet aforementioned technological interventions are the most noted sources of pollution. The increasing pollution is also considered as one the most significant causes of degrading health standards because harmful gases such as carbon monoxide when introduced into the human body can cause lung cancer and other respiratory issues (Brunekreef, Janssen, Hartog, Harssema, Knape, & Vliet, 1997). These gases are also causing the ozone layer to thicken that hinders exhalation of ultraviolet rays. Thus, these gases are contributing significantly towards aggravating the phenomenon of global warming. The sense of environmental bett erment is quite prevalent in developed nations of the world. But less enlightened nations are not largely bothered by the presence and expansion of environmental decay. In recent years nonetheless researchers from underdeveloped countries are emphasizing the notion of policy development in order to control and manage environmental deformation. According to a sensitive calculation, it was found that in the next 150 years the planet Earth will become uninhabitable because of global warming. Moreover the destructive forces are already starting to set in as glaciers are melting and therefore hurricanes and flooding are increasing in all parts of the world. Furthermore the nature of problems identified in the preceding paragraph is international and due to this reason nations are suggested to pool their resources in order to fight the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. The time is believed to be near when humans will be forced to revert towards simpler existence in order to save their skin. According modern research caves and underground tunnels are significantly immune to the effects of global warming and therefore if everything fails against global warming and pollution then humans may have to take shelter in caves. The typical corporate mindset of profit maximization has played a significant role in enhancing the demon of global warming. In the past and present the businessmen remained concerned with profit that compelled them to harm the natural

World Religion Essay Example for Free

World Religion Essay Confucianism and Daoism are two of the most influential schools of thought in ancient China. Both are not only ways of thinking, but ways of life. They are not religions: they have no teaching of worship of gods, or the afterlife; each philosophy focuses on the individual and their behavior. Confucianism and Daoism are often considered polar opposites for several reasons, although they have a few similarities. Confucianism has a core of morality, ethics, and activism. It encourages social harmony and mutual respect. Confucianists sought to perfect their character by living a virtuous life and seeking goodness. They valued ethics, respect for elders, and propriety. Confucius, the originator of Confucian thought, believed political order would be found by the proper ordering of human relationships, and so did not bother himself with the structure of the state. He stressed that a good government must fill their positions with well-educated and conscientious people, called Junzi. Confucius was followed by his disciples Mencius and Xunzi. They also possessed the same optimism that humans could improve themselves to perfection. Daoism has a core of self-reflection and oneness with the cosmos. They refused to meddle with problems that they thought defied solution, and were the prominent critics of Confucian activism. They devoted their energy to introspection, in hopes that they could better understand the natural principles of the world. The central concept of Daoism is Dao, roughly meaning “the way of nature”. The exact definition of Dao is unclear; it is portrayed as an unchanging, passive force that “does” without “doing”. Daoists try to follow Dao through Wuwei complete disengagement from competition and activism, and instead living in harmony with nature. This philosophy discouraged the presence of any government or empires, just small self-sufficient communities. There are a few similarities between Confucianism and Daoism. They were both created as a solution for the chaos that emerged from the fall of the Zhou Dynasty, although it was the arrival of Legalism that created unification in China. They both focus on self-improvement: Confucianism in the form of  relations with others, and Daoism in the form of relations with oneself and nature. Confucianism and Daoism clearly have strong contrasts, but many people believe that for a person to be whole, they should incorporate elements from each. References: Taoism and confucianism — ancient philosophies. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/civ/9e.asp (Taoism and confucianism, 2012). Kapaj, L. (10 A). Via historia. Retrieved from http://puppy.viahistoria.com/classwork/taoismonconfucianism.html (Kapaj, 10 A). Huzhang. (2000). Discussion of confucianism. Retrieved from http://www.pureinsight.org/node/1048 (Huzhang, 2000).

African Americans Roles In The Revolutionary War History Essay

African Americans Roles In The Revolutionary War History Essay At the time of the Revolutionary War, the African American population in the colonies was approximately 500,000, which was about 20 percent of the total population. The history of the military roles of African Americans in the War for Independence is one that was rarely acknowledged until several decades after the war was over. The documents detailing how many African American men served, whether they were free or slave, where they served, and what their duties were are incomplete. What research has shown is telling about the culture of the time period and especially telling about the better part of the century that followed. It is difficult to estimate the number of African Americans who fought for both the Continental Army and the British Royal Army. The numbers people get are a general estimate given by what was actually documented and what historians have acquired through analysis of letters, diaries, and similar sources. African Americans participated in the War for Independence from the beginning to its conclusion, they did so in hopes that the freedoms their white counterparts would gain would also apply to them. Even though many knew that would not be the case they still fought praying that one day their efforts then would get them freedom. The right to fight was given and taken away at several points throughout the war. However, when African Americans were granted the right to fight, those willing to fight were never in short supply. Historians have estimated that at least 5,000 black soldiers fought for independence during the Revolutionary War. Among those African Americans that fought for independence would have undoubtedly been Crispus Attucks, a runaway slave living in Massachusetts in 1770. However, years before the first shots of the Revolution were fired, on March 5, 1770, five people were shot and killed, including Crispus Attucks, at the hands of the British Royal Army during what became known as the Boston Massacre. Just over a month before the first shots of the war were fired, on March 5, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren spoke about the Boston Massacre and how the ideology of liberty was not only thought by whites but by all people: That personal freedom is the natural right of every man, and that property, or exclusive right to dispose of what he has honestly acquired by his own labor, necessarily arises therefrom, are truths which common sense has placed beyond the reach of contradiction. And no man, or body of men, can, without being guilty of flagrant injustice, claim a right to dispose of the persons or acquisitions of any other man or body of men, unless it can be proved that such a right has arisen from some compact between the parties, in which it has been explicitly and freely granted.  [1]   However, it must be noted that Dr. Joseph Warren was from Massachusetts, a hotbed for Patriots and also where only four percent of the population was African American.  [2]  Yet even in Massachusetts the legislature agreed to reject all African Americans from enlisting when the chances of an uprising occurring were extremely slight. Connecticut and Rhode Island followed suit and agreed to reject African Americans, at least for the first years of war.  [3]   For the first part of the war, many citizens operated under the ideology of staying true to their prejudices rather than realizing the practicality of using African American soldiers. Prejudice towards African Americans came from many citizens, including the President George Washington. Early on in George Washingtons life he believed that white blood not only lightened the skin but enlightened the mind, and he preferred to employ yellow-skinned servants within his home.  [4]  Unfortunately, his beliefs mirrored that of many others in the area. Others saw African Americans as savages, and as property so how could they possibly fight alongside actual people?  [5]  On the other side of the coin there were people who saw African Americans as humans but with the conflict at hand taking up so much energy, they did not believe that it was the time to discuss slavery which could cause fighting among the states. Regrettably, that divisive issue only gave the British a leg up in the co nflict. Even though remaining true to ones prejudices was widely practiced, it never stopped African Americans from wanting to fight for the cause. African Americans fought on both sides for many of the same reasons. Freedom was the number one driving factor for the African American slave in which side they fought for, either the Continental or Royal Army. Free African Americans, at times, were recruited but many chose to enlist. African American men, free or enslaved, chose which side to fight on based on what each side offered. The side was chosen by who offered them a better life after the war in many cases. In Massachusetts, the Committee of Safety reported to the Provincial Congress in May 1775 that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Admission of any persons but freemen as soldiers would be inconsistent with principles being supported and would reflect dishonor on the colony.  [6]  That report, however, made no mention of what they would do with free African Americans. However, when George Washington was given command of the troops around Boston, he issued orders to recruiting officers that prohibited enlistment of any Negro. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ In the Continental Congress in September 1775, Edward Rutledge of South Carolina demanded that Washington discharge all blacksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but failed to receive the necessary votes from other representatives.  [7]  On October 8, 1775, the Council of War convened to discuss several issues concerning the Continental Army. Those in the council included such men as Commander in Chief, George Washington, several Major-Generals: Ward, Lee, and Putnam, as well as many Brigadier-Generals: Thomas, Spencer, Heath, Sullivan, Green, and Gates. Among the issues discussed was whether or not to allow African Americans to enlist or re-enlist in the Continental Army, and if they were to allow them to do so, would free men as well as slaves be allowed to enlist. The councils decision: Agreed, unanimously, to reject all slaves, and, by a great majority, to reject Negroes altogether.  [8]  However, there were some dissenting opinions in the council, as was the case with General Thomas. In a letter from General Thomas to John Adams, written in the same month the Council of War convened, Thomas wrote: We have some negroes; but I look on them, in general, as equally serviceable with other men for fatigue; and in action many of them have proved themselves brave.  [9]  Approximately twenty days later, George Washington issued a General Order stating: Any person therefore (Negroes excepted, which the Congress do not incline to inlist again) coming with a proper Order and will subscribe the Inlistment, shall be immediately supplied.  [10]  Again, on November 12, 1775, Washington issued another General Order to make sure all recruiters were aware of his previous decision. The Order stated: Neither Negroes, Boys unable to bare Arms, nor old men unfit to endure the fatigues of the campaign, are to be inlisted.  [11]   Several whites in the Southern colonies held a deep opposition to African Americans (free or enslaved) enlisting in the Continental Army, because they feared the idea of them being armed. Whites in the South also feared armed African American men because of the possibility of a slave rebellion and the possibility of losing their slaves which they saw as property. The British Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore of Virginia, readily saw the weakness in the colonies of slaveholders in the South. In November 1775, he issued a proclamation stating: I do, in virtue of the power and authority to me given, by his majesty, determine to execute martial law, and cause the same to be executed throughout this colony; and to the end that peace and good order may the sooner be restored, I do require every person capable of bearing arms, to resort to his majestys standard, or be looked upon as traitors to his majestys crown and government, and thereby become liable to the penalty the law inflicts upon such offencesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ And I do hereby further declare all indentured servants, negroes, or others (appertaining to rebels) free, that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining his majestys troops as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing this colony to a proper sense of their duty to his majestys crown and dignityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.  [12]   Lord Dunmore promised freedom to any slave of anyone the Majesty would consider a rebel. However, similar to the colonies, allowing African Americans to enlist in the British Royal Army was not completely unanimous. Many of the free or runaway African Americans who had joined the loyalists, at least those who had not already died, were discharged from their positions. However, a month and a half after Washingtons General Order was issued and Lord Dunmores game changing proclamation was issued, Washington wrote a letter to the President of Congress, John Hancock: It has been represented to me, that the free Negroes who have served in this Army, are very much dissatisfied at being discarded. As it is to be apprehended that they may seek employ in the Ministerial Army, I have presumed to depart from the Resolution respecting them and have given licence for their being enlisted, If this is disapproved by Congress I shall put a stop to it.  [13]   In September of 1776, the Continental Congress required states to come up with 88 battalions to assist the Continental Army. At that point their resources where almost completely exhausted and when the Continental Congress requested another 16 battalions, recruiting African American became a crucial necessity. The Revolutionary War set a precedent for allowing African Americans to enlist or be recruited only in times of dire need. As the war went on officers easily recognized the need to enlist African Americans, otherwise their troops would continue to dwindle and that would ultimately mean the war would be lost to the Tories. Clearly, that was not an option. African Americans, for the most part, took on the beliefs of the cause as their own. Just because the color of their skin was different did not mean they did not believe in liberty, quite the contrary in fact. Lemuel Haynes, a free African American man from New England, who was also one the minutemen at Lexington and Concord, wrote to Congress in 1776 on the matter of liberty. In his letter, Haynes writes: To affirm, that an Englishman has a right to his Liberty, is a truth which has Been so clearly Evinced, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ But I query, whether Liberty is so contracted a principle as to be Confind to any nation under Heaven; nay, I think it not hyperbolical to affirm, that Even and affrican, has Equally as good a right to his Liberty in common with Englishmenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Consequently we may suppose, that what is precious to one man, is precious to another,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Therefore we may reasonably Conclude, that Liberty is Equally as precious to a Black man, as it is to a white one.  [14]   Haynes, like many other African American men, hoped that his faithful service to the Continental Army would prove to whites who were in disbelief that they, too, deserved the unalienable rights listed in the Declaration of Independence.  [15]  Haynes later went on to become the first African American clergymen to be formally ordained, as well as marry a white woman and have nine children.  [16]   African Americans experienced greater racial equality while serving in the Continental Navy than they did while serving in the army. That being the case, many African American men served in the navy during the Revolutionary War, doing so for several reasons. The ever present manpower shortages of the time, not only on land but also at sea, caused both the Continental Navy and Royal Navy to enlist African Americans into the navy. Different from the Continental Army, the Navy recruited both free and enslaved African American from the start of the war. The Navy did this mostly because they were in need of sailors, no matter what color they were. To both the enslaved and free, privately owned ships were more attractive than the Continental or state navies. For runaway slaves, there was less chance of being caught, and in general, the pay was much better than the army. However, African Americans still served in and on both because the pay was good, being roughly equal to the pay for white sailors. Not only was the pay generally equal, the majority of the Navies ships had crews that were integrated.  [17]  On ships African Americans gratefully accepted roles whites were not willing to accept. Some of their duties included cooking, cleaning, managing the ships sails, mending any damages the ship sustained in battles.  [18]  However, there were also African American sailors that served in marine units from Pennsylvania and Connecticut for example, and as ship pilots, mainly coming from Maryland and Virginia.  [19]   The First Rhode Island regiment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Peter Salem was born into slavery; however, one of his owners freed him so he could enlist in the Continental Army.  [20]  He became one of the Minutemen; he fought at Concord, Bunker Hill where he was credited for firing the shot that killed a British Major, Saratoga, and Stony Point. (CITE) Salem Poor who was born free, is another excellent example of bravery and willingness to fight on the part of African Americans. Salem Poor fought at Bunker Hill where he shot a British Lieutenant. It was there at Bunker Hill where Poor earned the respect of several white officers who stated: That a negro called Salem Poor, of Col. Fryes regiment, Capt. Ames company, in the late battle at Charlestown, behaved like an experienced officer, as well as an excellent soldier, to set forth particulars of his conduct would be tedious, we only beg leave to say, in the person of this said negro centers a brave and gallant soldier. The reward due to so great and distinguished a character, we submit to Congress.  [21]   Without a doubt there are many other stories expressing great examples of gallantry and courage from African Americans that served in the Revolutionary War, unfortunately, the color of their skin, at the time, dictated what and how much was documented about them. Public acknowledgment for their service to the country did not come out until well over half a century after the war had concluded and while another war was in full swing. The Army and Navy Journal published an article in September of 1863 on Negro Soldiers in the Revolution. The article stated: The record is clear, that from the beginning to the conclusion of the war of the Revolution, Negroes served in the Continental armies with intelligence, courage, and steadfastness; and that important results in several instances are directly traceable to their good conduct.  [22]   For their service in the military, only a few African Americans received some kind of acknowledgment. The great majority, even though serving their country with courage and bravery, stayed out of the spotlight. Without the participation of African Americans in the Revolutionary War, especially on the side of the Patriots, the outcome may have been drastically different. African American soldiers of the Revolution served with the same bravery and courage as their white brothers. They served that way even knowing that they might not be able to enjoy the freedoms over which the war was fought.

Google Internal Environment and PESTEL Analysis

Google Internal Environment and PESTEL Analysis ABSTRACT The purpose of this project is to strategically analyze a multinational company of our choice. Our case study is Google Inc. which we will analytically break down, using various sources. We chose Google because we found really interesting due to the fact that not only it is the biggest internet search engine to date, but also a pioneer in its industry. Based on existing literature and web references, will try to analyze its internal and the external environment. INTRODUCTION Google has occupied the dominating position in its industry since the beginning due to its unique product which is a result of its unparalleled working environment. It has gone on to attain the largest share of the online search engine market as it provides its users with a product that is difficulty substituted even though there are numerous competitors. By analyzing the internal and external environment of the corporation, it is evident that Google is running a well oiled machine, paying attention to even the least significant detail in order to ensure that it provides a prompt and reliable product to its customers. History Google was founded around 1995 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were still university students. The idea was based on pages PhD research project called Backrub. This involved mathematical properties of a link structure on the internet. Having indexed over 50 million web addresses, Google was formally incorporated by 1998.it has such significant influence that a company could either greatly benefit, or be seriously harmed depending on the search rankings. Besides being the top search engine, Google features other functions such as Gmail, Google Earth and Google Docs. Moreover, Googles extreme success and constant expansion and development are due to their unparalleled working environment which not only aims to keep everyone happy, but successfully does so. (Google, 2011, Keller et al, 2008) INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Resources Capability Theory Sources The combination of sources and capabilities, defines a good strategy of a company. Google achieved to combine ideally its sources and capabilities, as we can see that its strategy, is working. Ones company resources can be separated to tangible, intangible and human. Referring to Googles tangible resources are the financial sources from advertising companies, raw materials, mechanical equipment, modern facilities, innovative design of homepages and hardware. As for the intangible resources they are, high technology, worldwide reputation with users and suppliers , strong brand name , huge data-base, patents like Google Earth and eco friendly Blackle. Another important intangible factor is the business culture of Google which does not only care about the service of users but also cares about vast working environment. Moreover as for the human resources, Google has a large amount of high-skilled and capable staff. Furthermore, another important factor of Googles success is its know ho w which cant be imitated by any other rival firm. In addition all employees are experienced in the market of information based services. Google has strong leadership combined with training which resulted in loyal staff. (Christodoulou, 2010, David 2007) Capabilities The combination of sources, tangible, intangible and human resources create the appropriate capabilities. Capabilities separated as marginal capabilities which cannot easily imitated and fundamental capabilities which can. By combining its resources, Google creates some very effective capabilities. Flexibility, quick response and speed of distributing the information are produced by the combination of huge data base with the highly advanced software. These capabilities are fundamental because they cannot be copied easily. Another fundamental capability of Google is innovative and effective human resources management. This is also a result of good leadership with highly skilled and specifically trained staff. Furthermore, the combination of human resources with the software and innovations has the result of design capability, which is imitated. The right transmission of information between leadership, employees and the culture of Google results in good communication, as a fundamental capability. The combination of the right organization in human resources with the program system creates the fundamental capability of quick responsiveness to customers. (Christodoulou, 2010, David, 2007) Competitive advantage Value Google provides a high value product which satisfies its consumer needs, whatever they may be, quickly and efficiently. A costumer can use its search engine when looking for information on literally anything as well known, or not, that would be. This is what keeps it in its market dominating position as the leading search engine as it provides such a rare product. Furthermore, Google uses a program call AdSense which is vital I order for businesses to generate income. This is due to the fact that there is more traffic, hence more exposure, which consequently leads to an increase in sales. (Morrow, 2009, Thompson and Strickland, 1998) Rarity Googles rarity can be seen even on its homepage which is unlike any of the rival companies. There is a 28 word limit policy for the homepage, meaning that it is the only one that which is completely clutter free, letting customers focuses on what they want to use the product for without any distractions. This in turn shows that Google inc. wants to provide a high quality product that meets consumer needs, rather than trying to gain profit from annoying advertisements .Furthermore, the relevancy of the results of the search engine make it evident that Google succeeds and reaches its aim to provide a product of the highest quality for each customer. Compared to its competitors, yahoo and Microsoft, it is the most efficient and accurate when providing a consumer with the result. (Morrow, 2009) Imitablility Googles unique homepage has not been imitated by its competitors due to the fact that they are more interested in what consumers need to feel relaxed using this search engine, rather than profiting from advertisements. In addition even if competitors try to imitate Googles results, they would require an enormous database, extremely fast computer memory, and servers all around the world. Furthermore, Google try traces what you search each time and in a way gets smarter in order to provide you with the most relevant results each time you search. It basically can tell what you are looking for even the word which have been used has more than one meaning. (Morrow, 2009) Substitutability The fact is that Google has substitutes, such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask and Bing however it continues to dominate the market as it provides the best product and therefore gaining strong customer loyalty. (Morrow, 2009) Value chain Due to the fact that Google provides information based services, which is a nonphysical product, its value chain differs from the traditional form. Their raw materials are the web users who use Google to search. The same users are then directed by text advertisements into their advertising partners websites where the sales occur, which is also the finished program. Furthermore, the search engine works in such a way that it keeps record of the users previous searches in order to provide more relevant results in future searches, which in turn means that web users are directed to websites where there is more probability that purchases will occur. In addition, due to highly skilled and qualified staff, the dependency of primary activities on human resource is quite high and so causes an increase in costs. Operations, sales, distribution and services are conducted with the aid of Googles servers and its internal software, all of which contribute to the value chain as they increase the fir ms profit. It also spreads its operations globally in order to be constantly aware of changes which in turn help Google maximize its profit. (Morrow, 2009) Mission Statement To organize the world information to make it universally accessible and useful From this statement we can see that Google Inc is not interested in profit maximization but strives to meet the needs of its customers with a high quality product. Also Google states that sharing information and giving access to it, so that every person in the world could find whatever he needs from a source of his preference. (Morrow, 2009) EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT PESTEL Political As for the political environment, Google has few political restrictions. Firstly, one of the political problems that it faces is with the Department of Justice, due to the fact that there are plenty of inappropriate content and classified documents. Secondly, it has problems with the Chinese Government, because of censorship of searching results. Google tries not to have problems with censorship globally, because of its cooperation with the U.S Government and the protection of personal privacy. For this reason, it has created privacy terms on its homepage, where users can find information. In addition, many countries of Asia have limitations on what can be searched, but generally the majority of countries around the world do not have restrictions. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Economical Nowadays, there is an economic crisis all over the world witch significantly affects global sales. Furthermore, one of the countries that have been hit the most are the United States, where Google is located. However, this crisis has not affected Google, because it does not sell direct products, but services which are funded by advertisements. Also, the free provision of Google leads to an increase in its popularity, which in turn maintains its good relations with advertising firms. Finally, its excellent knowledge of the market allows Google to be able to respond to any kind of crisis. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Social Googles great advantage is that there are no social restrictions, because its services can be used by everyone despite age, religion, nationality and living conditions. Another advantage is that is not a seasonal company, for the reason that its services are always desired. Also, the development of technology and the trend of using Internet through computers and mobile phones have increased in the last years, impacting Google expansion all over the world. Google has no geographical dependence because the technology of internet is widespread worldwide. An example of geographical power is that more than 115 countries use Google, many of which are not economically developed. Googles social environment is global, meaning that is a Multilanguage society. For this reason, Googles services have been translated into numerous languages. Furthermore, it allows access to sites which may be inappropriate or appropriate. However in many countries there is a prohibition to them due to cultural and religion differences. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Technological The technology is always advancing, so this phenomenon makes Google expand rapidly. For this reason, it has to be updated constantly in order for it to follow its revolution. New technology in computers systems may aid Googles services to work faster and better, so it has to prevent its opponents from taking this new technological knowledge. Another advantage of technology for Google is that the costs are decreasing, while the quality of the services that it offers is improving and the innovation are strengthened. It also improves the speed of information, the ways of communication and transportation. These reasons help Google to expand and more important to survive. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Legal The legal environment is an issue that concerns everyone who uses the Internet. Copyright is an issue that exists in legal environment because of the ability that third party persons and companies can copy pictures and steal information from others. As a result, Google has created a page with copyright information about what is legal and what is not. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Five Forces As always analyze of five Porter forces play very important role for the study of business elements and contributes to develop the right strategy to be able to survive and become more competitive. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Entry Barriers Regarding the search engines, they have accumulated a large amount of information on customer service. Therefore, Google updates its material, in order to compete with other online search engines. For a newly introduced company it is necessary to serve and meet its customers expectations and the services should be provided at high speeds with flexibility in search. When Google was established around 1998, there were other similar companies like Yahoo, AltaVista and Excite, which had big influence in the market place but Google achieved to dominate. The web environment of search engines is more enriched, compared with the past years and its more familiar for users. As a result, the entry of new firms is not such a big threat for existing companies, especially for Google. (Morrow, 2008) Suppliers The main suppliers of Google are advertisements of companies, which expect to be popular in the world, so this factor contributes to the direct profit. Therefore, the negotiating power of suppliers is relative low, because Google is the pioneer of searching services. Over the years, technology evolves rapidly and because of it, Google achieved to install new software in mobile phones. But in this case the negotiating power is very high, because there is other companies software, like Microsoft with more experience in the market place. (Morrow, 2008) Competitors The main target of Google is to be able to face the competitiveness and become dominant company in the world of search engines. The main source of income is based on advertisements, due to reliable information that is collected daily. Since 2007, Google noted an upward evolution with annual profit rate at 110%. The main competitors of the company are Microsoft and Yahoo which have significantly lower profit. For the achievement of their profits, trademarks like MSN and Live-search played very important role. The companys high market share gives it the advantage to improve the quality of information and make the search easier. As a result, Google creates successful advertisements rapidly in comparison with its competitors. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Customers Since 2007, almost entirely, the profits of Google come from advertisements. The strategy of the company is to obtain new and more advertisements, of which the profit is maximum 3%. So it accumulates the profit from many small advertisements. Many firms want to advertise themselves and users have the opportunity to find them through keywords. Then, the percent of profits increased, because it is considered as an extra service. This attracts many companies which results in Google buying power in low levels. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) Substitutes In recent years the world of Internet is the first option for the users, who search direct information. Due to the uniqueness and immediacy, there arent specific substitutes for data search. In order to Google to serve the users and become more competitive, with the help of some tools, classifies the data by date. The leading position of Google and the possible future entrance of competitors depend on the satisfaction of customers and shareholders. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) Complementary The complementary goods are directly connected with services of Google and depend on them as these are portable computers and mobile phones. Generally, it is an industry with restricted amount of complementary goods. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) SWOT analysis Strengths There is a wide range of functions offered such as Google docs, Google earth, Gmail, Google translator and Blackle, besides its main operation as a search engine. Good reputation and strong brand name Loyal customers Google has developed very well its know how, Googles efficient and prompt results Pay high attention to the users Unique product-service Friendly working environment Does not distract its users by flooding the homepage with advertisements Weaknesses The requested search does not always coordinate with the results You cannot always find the information that you want in the fullest extent The information is mostly in English Hackers create many dummy site with spam Whoever is interested in using Google for advertising purposes does not have a clear idea where it would be more profitable to place their advertisements as the cost or click charging is very confusing There is a lot of useless and invalid information Opportunities Google can expand by merging Using higher value context on the web Can increase the internet usage Can local vendors advertisements on every local search It can provide more hand-held devices to capture a larger share of the market It can increase the advertising spending online Threats There are a lot of competitors and rivals Censorship A lot of legal trials due to users invasion of privacy The confusing policy for advertisements may disappoint the potential clients and Google may start losing them If it decides to follow its competitor by changing it minimal user friendly interface it may lose a lot of its users Privacy issues regarding the contents ownership It can lose its brand loyalty if it merge with other large firms (David, 2007, Thomson and Strickland, 1998) FINANCIAL Google is a company that has increasingly become popular since 2004. In recent years it has achieved to increase its incomes that helped it become a profitable company. Googles revenue is 99% from advertisement, because the products that it sells are free to use. According to the financial statement, Google is better than its main competitor, Yahoo because, it has 2.4 times more of its revenue. Additionally, Google is more profitable than Yahoo as it manages its debts better. In recent years, Google has slowed down the sales growth, income growth, assets growth, the profit Margin and the return of assets as we can see in table 1. However, it is still at a good level and it does not declare to be in a downward path, because it is still first in sales. This is a result of its steady growth, as know that no company can achieve an upward course. Googles revenue is increasing annually, even if it is not at the same rate as previous years, however, it has never been less. (Morrow, 2009) CONCLUSION To sum up, throughout its progress, Google has kept its dominant position over its competitors in the information based services industry. Furthermore, it is very important to note that Google has not only been consistent when it comes to providing a product of the highest and quality, but is also constantly developing, adapting, but more significantly revolutionizing the industry. In addition, what makes Googles product so unique in comparison to its competitors is the attention that it gives to consumer needs in order to provide a reliable and difficultly substituted product rather than focusing on maximizing its profit with every given chance which may compromise the quality of its search result; its product. Having analyzed the corporations internal and external environment it is evident that Google pays attention even to the smallest detail to ensure that it will be the leading company amongst the numerous other online search engines and has been able to create loyal customers t hat are constantly increasing. SOURCES-BIBLIOGRAPHY Morrow, B. (2009)Internal Analysis of Google Inc., 22 February, 2009. Available at: http://www.benmorrow.info/research/internal-analysis-of-google-inc [Accessed: 5 January, 2011] Morrow, B. (2008) External Analysis of Google Inc., 15 October, 2008. Available at: http://www.benmorrow.info/research/external-analysis-of-google-inc [Accessed: 5 January, 2011] Google (2011) Company Overview Corporate Information. Christodoulou, I.P. (2010) Strategy Strategic Management Perspectives. [PowerPoint slides] Lecture handouts. University of Hertfordshire.22 December, 2010 Keller, K.L., (2008) Strategic Brand Management. A European Perspective. 1st edn. England: Pearson Education Limited David, F.R., (2007) Strategic Management Concepts. 11th Ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall Thompson, A. A. Jr and Strickland, A. J III (1998) Strategic Management Concepts and Cases. 10th Ed. USA: Irwin/McGraw Hill (International Edition)

Parental Involvement in Childrens Education Essay examples -- Parenta

Benjamin Franklin once said, â€Å"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.† In order for a student to truly succeed, there must be some type of involvement. Parental involvement is a certain asset that most successful students all share. In contrast, some parents sometimes blame teachers for their child’s low learning potential. This is false, since learning starts at home. A child needs to be taught morals, values and book knowledge in order to succeed in life. After all, the average school day is only six hours a day, and the child is at home for far more than that. Parental involvement in significant because teachers and staff are not the only people a child can depend on for a good education or even becoming a better person. I chose this topic because I am a parent of three kids, and I also think it is important to parents and future parents and anyone who are raising kids. Most of the all, early parental involvement in child ’s education has demonstrated higher chances of academic success by overpowering differences in upbringing that include: race, culture, economic status, educational levels, age, marital status, and gender. Culture impacts parental involvement because this varies from family to family and some cultures have different ideas of what is significant. For example, in some cultures believe children don’t need parental involvement because if they get more support from their parent; they can’t be independent and they can’t learn the value of being self-dependent. The aspect of culture is highly significant when it comes to a child’s education (Cheung, C. M. (2011)) conducted study regarding parental involvement was done on learning skills in the US and China. Since the s... ...ingapore. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 106(1), 301-314. doi:10.1037/a0033821 http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezlib.gatewaycc.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=6&sid=e01bfa0b-6904-4c06-812b-e734179e4d63%40sessionmgr4001&hid=4111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=pdh&AN=2013-29638-001 TOREN, N. (2013). MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND ITS LINKS TO YOUNG ADOLESCENT SELF-EVALUATION AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. Psychology In The Schools, 50(6), 634-649. http://ezlib.gatewaycc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=85747131&site=ehost-live Vellymalay,( 2012) Parental Involvement at Home: Analyzing the Influence of Parents' Socioeconomic Status By Vellymalay, Suresh Kumar N. | Studies in Sociology of Science, March 1, 2012 http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-284552837/parental-involvement-at-home-analyzing-the-influence

Concentration of Ownership and Decreasing Diversity in Print Media Essa

Concentration of Ownership and Decreasing Diversity in Print Media       For all who love to read books, imagine walking into bookstore after bookstore seeing the same type of books over and over. No variety, no choice, only repetition. Although America prides itself on freedom and democracy more than any nation in the world, this hypothetical situation is becoming increasingly closer to becoming a reality than some may think. Consolidation and concentration of ownership in print media companies may cause for the inability of some people to voice their opinions. What does this mean? This means that the basis of our country, including freedom from the first amendment, maybe be pulled out from under our feet. Causes of this lack of diversity in views and opinions may be linked to the fact that very few but extremely large publishing companies are publishing books and magazines. Conglomerate ownership becoming international will also lead to the lack of American publishing control. Finally, although the Internet supplies an outlet for new opportunit ies and a way of getting diverse information spread throughout the world, not all people are capable of obtaining this information. It was once thought that mass media would reflect very diverse points of view. Now that publishing of books and magazines has reduced to a few large companies, the outlook for diversity is beginning to shrink in size. In 1983, over 50 companies dominated the mass media of the United States. Today, this size has drastically decreased to nine major companies including AOL Time Warner, Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corporation, TCI, General Electric, Sony, and Seagram1[1]. By allowing a few large companies to control m... ... Beacon Press 2000, Sixth Edition ed.: xx-xxi. 23 Sept. 2001 . 2[2] "Why Media Mergers Matter." Brill's Content Dec. 1999. 23 Sept. 2001 .       3[3] "The US media: a critical component of the conspiracy against democratic rights-Part 5." Editorial. World Socialist Website 27 Dec. 2000. 24 Sept. 2001 dec2000/med5-d27.shtml>.       4[4] New York Time Square. 23 Sept. 2001 location.asp?ID=New%20York%20Time%20Square>.    5[5] Columbia Journalism Review. 22 Sept. 2001 .    6[6] The Big Picture: Demographics. 21 Sept. 2001 demographics/article/1,1323,5901_768141,00.html>.

Enders Game :: essays research papers

Orson Scott Card weaves an intricate tale of a boy who is born to save the Earth in the novel, Ender’s Game. Ender Wiggin is born a Third in a world where only two children are allowed per family. Ender’s older brother and sister, Peter and Valentine, were not what the government needed to save the world, so Ender was born in hopes that he would be somewhere in the middle of their extremes. Peter is too violent, whereas Valentine has too much empathy. Ender is the right combination for the Battle School’s needs. Although both Ender and Peter have power, only Ender has respect; both boys are instinctive killers, but Peter relishes the act while Ender regrets the act after he does it; Both boys become heroes, but both will not remain heroes when the historians begin to examine the events. Although Peter and Ender both have power over other people, the means of obtaining the power and the way each boy uses his power is different. Peter obtains power by terrifying people. Everyone knows he is capable of cold-blooded murder, so they do as he says because it is in their own best interest. Also, he has the power of influence on the nets (networks similar to the internet), which he uses to sway the public. Once Peter has gained power, he uses the power to benefit himself. He uses people as pawns to accomplish what he wants—to rule the world. Ender, however, gains his power by simply being superior at all the games. He becomes commander of an army, but doesn’t use the army to gain anything for himself, except to be number one in the standings. He makes the people in his command better soldiers by teaching them what he knows. He allows the toon leaders to make decisions in battles, so that the whole army doesn’t rely on him, entirely. Both Peter and Ender kill throughout the novel. Peter kills innocent squirrels and animals. He threatens to kill Ender and Valentine if they do not do as he says. It is quite clear that he enjoys these activities. He shows no remorse for the dead animals he leaves in his wake. Ender, however, kills out of defense and feels great remorse. He never intends to kill anyone that he kills. All the deaths he inflicts are accidental, yet justified at the same time.

Into the Wild Essay

In writing â€Å"Into the Wild,† Krakauer’s intention was to uncover the facts (or at least get as close to the facts as possible) surrounding Christopher McCandless’ journey â€Å"into the wild. † Krakauer discusses and presents theories and explanations about McCandless’ reasons for going off into a potentially fatal journey, and also presents investigations into how McCandless came to such a state in his life. Krakauer gives us some idea of the direct cause of McCandless’ death, and his reasons for doing what he did. Krakauer aims to give readers with invaluable insight into the mind of McCandless—how McCandless came about the idea of going to the Alaskan wilderness, what his motivations were, how he planned and managed to survive the grueling trek, and most importantly, â€Å"why? † The author seeks to understand what happened to McCandless in the wild, and to explain why someone so full of promise, who seems to have such an ideal life and much of all that he could ask for, could do what McCandless did. However, Krakauer does not presume to be certain about McCandless reasons, but he presents some very good explanations and allows us to understand McCandless’ mind even more. By revealing many things about the reasons behind McCandless’ death, Krakauer shows us that McCandless was far more than a simple and reckless fool who wasted his life. McCandless, who was an intelligent young man, went off into the Alaskan woods to â€Å"find himself† and to reunite with nature. He was heavily influenced by the literature he had read, to such an extent that he became, most of all, a man in search of himself and of a purpose in life. In order to really â€Å"find† himself, he felt it necessary to cut all ties from society, from his family, and reinvent himself as Alexander Supertramp, thus cutting his ties with his old identity. Whether or not he found what he was looking for in the wild is open to speculation, however Krakauer describes McCandless’s psychological terrain by including anecdotes and quotations from people who were in a similar state of mind as McCandless, as well as drawing parallels with his own life as a mountaineer and adventurer. Each chapter presents different tales from others who have been in the same road as McCandless, people who have also sought the solitude of the wild. Krakauer also interviewed people who have come in contact with McCandless during his journey. By the end of â€Å"Into the Wild,† the readers gains significant understanding of McCandless’ personality. Whether McCandless was brave or foolish, his journey of self-discovery is something that almost everyone can relate with and understand on some level. However, while the book is accessible to anyone who could have some interest in the controversial life and death of Christopher McCandless, it is most geared towards those who have sentiments similar to those that McCandless held regarding society, nature, and how to live. â€Å"Into the Wild† helps us understand McCandless’ character, although by the end of the book, it is still up to the reader to decide if McCandless was â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong† in having done what he did – whether he was courageoeus or merely foolish.

Part Two Chapter V

V Alison Jenkins, the journalist from the Yarvil and District Gazette, had at last established which of the many Weedon households in Yarvil housed Krystal. It had been difficult: nobody was registered to vote at the address and no landline number was listed for the property. Alison visited Foley Road in person on Sunday, but Krystal was out, and Terri, suspicious and antagonistic, refused to say when she would be back or confirm that she lived there. Krystal arrived home a mere twenty minutes after the journalist had departed in her car, and she and her mother had another row. ‘Why din't ya tell her to wait? She was gonna interview me abou' the Fields an' stuff!' ‘Interview you? Fuck off. Wha' the fuck for?' The argument escalated and Krystal walked out again, off to Nikki's, with Terri's mobile in her tracksuit bottoms. She frequently made off with this phone; many rows were triggered by her mother demanding it back and Krystal pretending that she didn't know where it was. Dimly, Krystal hoped that the journalist might know the number somehow and call her directly. She was in a crowded, jangling cafe in the shopping centre, telling Nikki and Leanne all about the journalist, when the mobile rang. †Oo? Are you the journalist, like?' ‘†¦ o's ‘at †¦ ‘erri?' ‘It's Krystal. ‘Oo's this?' ‘†¦ ‘m your †¦ ‘nt †¦ other †¦ ‘ister.' †Oo?' shouted Krystal. One finger in the ear not pressed against the phone, she wove her way between the densely packed tables to reach a quieter place. ‘Danielle,' said the woman, loud and clear on the other end of the telephone. ‘I'm yer mum's sister.' ‘Oh, yeah,' said Krystal, disappointed. Fuckin' snobby bitch, Terri always said when Danielle's name came up. Krystal was not sure that she had ever met Danielle. ‘It's abou' your Great Gran.' †Oo?' ‘Nana Cath,' said Danielle impatiently. Krystal reached the balcony overlooking the shopping centre forecourt; reception was strong here; she stopped. ‘Wha's wrong with ‘er?' said Krystal. It felt as though her stomach was flipping over, the way it had done as a little girl, turning somersaults on a railing like the one in front of her. Thirty feet below, the crowds surged, carrying plastic bags, pushing buggies and dragging toddlers. ‘She's in South West General. She's been there a week. She's had a stroke.' ‘She's bin there a week?' said Krystal, her stomach still swooping. ‘Nobody told us.' ‘Yeah, well, she can't speak prop'ly, but she's said your name twice.' ‘Mine?' asked Krystal, clutching the mobile tightly. ‘Yeah. I think she'd like to see yeh. It's serious. They're sayin' she migh' not recover.' ‘Wha' ward is it?' asked Krystal, her mind buzzing. ‘Twelve. High-dependency. Visiting hours are twelve till four, six till eight. All righ'?' ‘Is it – ?' ‘I gotta go. I only wanted to let you know, in case you want to see her. ‘Bye.' The line went dead. Krystal lowered the mobile from her ear, staring at the screen. She pressed a button repeatedly with her thumb, until she saw the word ‘blocked'. Her aunt had withheld her number. Krystal walked back to Nikki and Leanne. They knew at once that something was wrong. ‘Go an' see ‘er,' said Nikki, checking the time on her own mobile. ‘Yeh'll ge' there fer two. Ge' the bus.' ‘Yeah,' said Krystal blankly. She thought of fetching her mother, of taking her and Robbie to go and see Nana Cath too, but there had been a huge row a year before, and her mother and Nana Cath had had no contact since. Krystal was sure that Terri would take an immense amount of persuading to go to the hospital, and was not sure that Nana Cath would be happy to see her. It's serious. They're saying she might not recover. †Ave yeh gor enough cash?' said Leanne, rummaging in her pockets as the three of them walked up the road towards the bus stop. ‘Yeah,' said Krystal, checking. ‘It's on'y a quid up the hospital, innit?' They had time to share a cigarette before the number twenty-seven arrived. Nikki and Leanne waved her off as though she were going somewhere nice. At the very last moment, Krystal felt scared and wanted to shout ‘Come with me!' But then the bus pulled away from the kerb, and Nikki and Leanne were already turning away, gossiping. The seat was prickly, covered in some old smelly fabric. The bus trundled onto the road that ran by the precinct and turned right into one of the main thoroughfares that led through all the big-name shops. Fear fluttered inside Krystal's belly like a foetus. She had known that Nana Cath was getting older and frailer, but somehow, vaguely, she had expected her to regenerate, to return to the heyday that had seemed to last so long; for her hair to turn black again, her spine to straighten and her memory to sharpen like her caustic tongue. She had never thought about Nana Cath dying, always associating her with toughness and invulnerability. If she had considered them at all, Krystal would have thought of the deformity to Nana Cath's chest, and the innumerable wrinkles criss-crossing her face, as honourable scars sustained during her successful battle to survive. Nobody close to Krystal had ever died of old age. (Death came to the young in her mother's circle, sometimes even before their faces and bodies had become emaciated and ravaged. The body that Krystal had found in the bathroom when she was six had been of a handsome young man, as white and lovely as a statue, or that was how she remembered him. But sometimes she found that memory confusing and doubted it. It was hard to know what to believe. She had often heard things as a child that adults later contradicted and denied. She could have sworn that Terri had said, ‘It was yer dad.' But then, much later, she had said, ‘Don' be so silly. Yer dad's not dead, ‘e's in Bristol, innee?' So Krystal had had to try and reattach herself to the idea of Banger, which was what everybody called the man they said was her father. But always, in the background, there had been Nana Cath. She had escaped foster care because of Nana Cath, ready and waiting in Pagford, a strong if uncomfortable safety net. Swearing and furious, she had swooped, equally aggressive to Terri and to the social workers, and taken her equally angry great-granddaughter home. Krystal did not know whether she had loved or hated that little house in Hope Street. It was dingy and it smelt of bleach; it gave you a hemmed-in feeling. At the same time, it was safe, entirely safe. Nana Cath would only let approved individuals in through the door. There were old-fashioned bath cubes in a glass jar on the end of the bath.) What if there were other people at Nana Cath's bedside, when she got there? She would not recognize half her own family, and the idea that she might come across strangers tied to her by blood scared her. Terri had several half-sisters, products of her father's multiple liaisons, whom even Terri had never met; but Nana Cath tried to keep up with them all, doggedly maintaining contact with the large disconnected family her sons had produced. Occasionally, over the years, relatives Krystal did not recognize had turned up at Nana Cath's while she was there. Krystal thought that they eyed her askance and said things about her under their voices to Nana Cath; she pretended not to notice and waited for them to leave, so that she could have Nana Cath to herself again. She especially disliked the idea that there were any other children in Nana Cath's life. (†Oo are they?' Krystal had asked Nana Cath when she was nine, pointing jealously at a framed photograph of two boys in Paxton High uniforms on Nana Cath's sideboard. ‘Them's two o' my great-grandsons,' said Nana Cath. ‘Tha's Dan and tha's Ricky. They're your cousins.' Krystal did not want them as cousins, and she did not want them on Nana Cath's sideboard. ‘An' who's tha'?' she demanded, pointing at a little girl with curly golden hair. ‘Tha's my Michael's little girl, Rhiannon, when she were five. Beau'iful, weren't she? Bu' she wen' an' married some wog,' said Nana Cath. There had never been a photograph of Robbie on Nana Cath's sideboard. Yeh don't even know who the father is, do yeh, yer whore? I'm washin' my ‘ands of yeh. I've ‘ad enough, Terri, I've ‘ad it: you can look after it yourself.) The bus trundled on through town, past all the Sunday afternoon shoppers. When Krystal had been small, Terri had taken her into the centre of Yarvil nearly every weekend, forcing her into a pushchair long past the age when Krystal needed it, because it was so much easier to hide nicked stuff with a pushchair, push it down under the kid's legs, hide it under the bags in the basket under the seat. Sometimes Terri would go on tandem shoplifting trips with the sister she spoke to, Cheryl, who was married to Shane Tully. Cheryl and Terri lived four streets away from each other in the Fields, and petrified the air with their language when they argued, which was frequently. Krystal never knew whether she and her Tully cousins were supposed to be on speaking terms or not, and no longer bothered keeping track, but she spoke to Dane whenever she ran across him. They had shagged, once, after splitting a bottle of cider out on the rec when they were fourteen. Neither of them had ever mentioned i t afterwards. Krystal was hazy on whether or not it was legal, doing your cousin. Something Nikki had said had made her think that maybe it wasn't. The bus rolled up the road that led to the main entrance of South West General, and stopped twenty yards from an enormous long rectangular grey and glass building. There were patches of neat grass, a few small trees and a forest of signposts. Krystal followed two old ladies out of the bus and stood with her hands in her tracksuit pockets, looking around. She had already forgotten what kind of ward Danielle had told her Nana Cath was on; she recalled only the number twelve. She approached the nearest signpost with a casual air, squinting at it almost incidentally: it bore line upon line of impenetrable print, with words as long as Krystal's arm and arrows pointing left, right, diagonally. Krystal did not read well; being confronted with large quantities of words made her feel intimidated and aggressive. After several surreptitious glances at the arrows, she decided that there were no numbers there at all, so she followed the two old ladies towards the double glass doors at the front of the main building. The foyer was crowded and more confusing than the signposts. There was a bustling shop, which was separated from the main hall by floor to ceiling windows; there were rows of plastic chairs, which seemed to be full of people eating sandwiches; there was a packed cafe in the corner; and a kind of hexagonal counter in the middle of the floor, where women were answering enquiries as they checked their computers. Krystal headed there, her hands still in her pockets. ‘Where's ward twelve?' Krystal asked one of the women in a surly voice. ‘Third floor,' said the woman, matching her tone. Krystal did not want to ask anything else out of pride, so she turned and walked away, until she spotted lifts at the far end of the foyer and entered one going up. It took her nearly fifteen minutes to find the ward. Why didn't they put up numbers and arrows, not these stupid long words? But then, walking along a pale green corridor with her trainers squeaking on the linoleum floor, someone called her name. ‘Krystal?' It was her aunt Cheryl, big and broad in a denim skirt and tight white vest, with banana-yellow black-rooted hair. She was tattooed from her knuckles to the tops of her thick arms, and wore multiple gold hoops like curtain rings in each ear. There was a can of Coke in her hand. ‘She ain' bothered, then?' said Cheryl. Her bare legs were planted firmly apart, like a sentry guard. †Oo?' ‘Terri. She din' wanna come?' ‘She don' know ye'. I on'y jus' ‘eard. Danielle called an' tole me.' Cheryl ripped off the ring-pull and slurped Coke, her tiny eyes sunken in a wide, flat face that was mottled like corned beef, scrutinizing Krystal over the top of the can. ‘I tole Danielle ter call yeh when it ‘appened. Three days she were lyin' in the ‘ouse, and no one fuckin' found ‘er. The state of ‘er. Fuckin' ‘ell.' Krystal did not ask Cheryl why she herself had not walked the short distance to Foley Road to tell Terri the news. Evidently the sisters had fallen out again. It was impossible to keep up. ‘Where is she?' asked Krystal. Cheryl led the way, her flip-flops making a slapping noise on the floor. ‘Hey,' she said, as they walked. ‘I ‘ad a call fr'm a journalist about you.' ‘Didja?' ‘She give me a number.' Krystal would have asked more questions, but they had entered a very quiet ward, and she was suddenly frightened. She did not like the smell. Nana Cath was almost unrecognizable. One side of her face was terribly twisted, as though the muscles had been pulled with a wire. Her mouth dragged to one side; even her eye seemed to droop. There were tubes taped to her, a needle in her arm. Lying down, the deformity in her chest was much more obvious. The sheet rose and fell in odd places, as if the grotesque head on its scrawny neck protruded from a barrel. When Krystal sat down beside her, Nana Cath made no movement. She simply gazed. One little hand trembled slightly. ‘She ain' talkin', bu' she said yer name, twice, las' nigh',' Cheryl told her, staring gloomily over the rim of her can. There was a tightness in Krystal's chest. She did not know whether it would hurt Nana Cath to hold her hand. She edged her own fingers to within a few inches of Nana Cath's, but let them rest on the bedspread. ‘Rhiannon's bin in,' said Cheryl. ‘An' John an' Sue. Sue's tryin' ter get hold of Anne-Marie.' Krystal's spirits leapt. ‘Where is she?' she asked Cheryl. ‘Somewhere out Frenchay way. Y'know she's got a baby now?' ‘Yeah, I ‘eard,' said Krystal. ‘Wha' was it?' ‘Dunno,' said Cheryl, swigging Coke. Someone at school had told her: Hey, Krystal, your sister's up the duff! She had been excited by the news. She was going to be an auntie, even if she never saw the baby. All her life, she had been in love with the idea of Anne-Marie, who had been taken away before Krystal was born; spirited into another dimension, like a fairy-tale character, as beautiful and mysterious as the dead man in Terri's bathroom. Nana Cath's lips moved. ‘Wha'?' said Krystal, bending low, half scared, half elated. ‘D'yeh wan' somethin', Nana Cath?' asked Cheryl, so loudly that whispering guests at other beds stared over. Krystal could hear a wheezing, rattling noise, but Nana Cath seemed to be making a definite attempt to form a word. Cheryl was leaning over the other side, one hand gripping the metal bars at the head of the bed. ‘†¦ Oh †¦ mm,' said Nana Cath. ‘Wha'?' said Krystal and Cheryl together. The eyes had moved millimetres: rheumy, filmy eyes, looking at Krystal's smooth young face, her open mouth, as she leaned over her great-grandmother, puzzled, eager and fearful. ‘†¦ owin †¦' said the cracked old voice. ‘She dunno wha' she's sayin',' Cheryl shouted over her shoulder at the timid couple visiting at the next bed. ‘Three days lef' on the fuckin' floor, ‘s'not surprisin', is it?' But tears had blurred Krystal's eyes. The ward with its high windows dissolved into white light and shadow; she seemed to see a flash of bright sunlight on dark green water, fragmented into brilliant shards by the splashing rise and fall of oars. ‘Yeah,' she whispered to Nana Cath. ‘Yeah, I goes rowin', Nana.' But it was no longer true, because Mr Fairbrother was dead.

Stanley in a Streetcar Named Desire

Laura Robertson Ms. Albertson English IV Honors 17 January 2012 A Streetcar Named Desire: Stanley Kowalski In the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, an insensitive and cruel character named Stanley Kowalski is depicted. His juxtaposition to Stella Kowalski, his mild mannered and sensitive wife, accentuates his character flaws making them even more prominent and dramatic throughout the play. Through Stanley’s conflicts with Blanche DuBois and his rapist-like sexual advances, Stanley becomes the perfect villainous character, enabling the reader to sympathize with Stella and Blanche. With the violent scenes and the highly sexual content, Stanley is the center of all climactic events in A Streetcar Named Desire. Stanley’s aggressive nature even goes so far as domestic violence, where he savagely beats Stella and verbally abuses her on a regular basis. This is evident in many scenes. Just the presence of Stanley is enough to create fear and uneasiness for the people that surround him. Throughout the play A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams depicts Stanley Kowalski as a villain-like character with a mean streak and vicious personality which creates an uneasy environment due to his pugnacious lifestyle and insensitive demeanor. â€Å"The stage directions say that sex is the center of Stanley’s life. Being sexually attractive assures Stanley’s delusional rapist mind that his sexual advances are being welcomed† (Nagel 10). Stanley’s delusional mind makes him believe that his sexual brutality is respected and is a naturally accepted thing. Throughout the play, Stanley’s character is followed by sexual connotations and innuendos. A very vivid illustration of this starts at the very beginning of the play where â€Å"The vigorous physicality and the echo of his primitive nature, combined with the coarse sexual innuendo of his package of meat suggest passion close to the surface and introduce the audience to Stanley’s inner character† (Nagel 10). The bringing of the package of meat to Stella and how Stanley carelessly throws the heavy package to her even though she insists on not being able to catch it shows the brutal nature of his sexuality. The way the package is described as dripping with blood is used to over accentuate the graphic nature of the ordeal, foreshadowing sexual happenings that will occur later in the play. Another example of the graphic nature of Stanley’s sexual brutality is portrayed in the poker game in scene three. After Stella had fled to Eunice’s house and Stanley sorrowfully called to her the play states that Stella came down to him and they made animal noises together. This shows the animalistic behavior of Stanley and the unhealthy relationship between Stella and Stanley. Stanley is described as highly sexed in the play and when Stanley and Stella are together, they create a bond that Blanche can’t ever break† (Nagel 10). Though try as she might, Blanche’s attempts to keep Stella from Stanley are ultimately thwarted due to Stanley and Stella’s unhealthy bond with one another. In addition to Stanley’s savage and animalistic sexual advances his verbal abuse towards both Stella and Blanche even further assert him as a villainous character from the start to the finish of the play. Stanley is especially cruel to Blanche who he had an antagonistic feeling towards from the moment he met her. One of the first illustrations of Stanley’s harsh words is represented with his first argument with Blanche. â€Å"This first confrontation is over the loss of Belle Reve. Stanley’s composure vanishes and his vision becomes so distorted that he mistakes her cheap jewelry as ropes of pearls† (Nagel 10). When this confrontation occurs and Stanley’s composure becomes compromised when he realizes that Blanche had been telling the truth about losing the estate to the mortgage instead of selling it for profit and lashes out to compromise his mistake. Stanley could not stand the thought of being proved wrong by a woman like Blanche so he explodes into a fit of rage to cover up the pride he had lost in being wrong about Blanche. A particularly tense birthday dinner of Blanche leads to yet another episode of Stanley’s dangerous and violent fits of rage. After Stella scolded Stanley for eating like an animal, with his fingers, he erupts into a disastrous rage. â€Å"That’s how I’ll clear the table! (Seizes her arm) Don’t ever talk that way to me that way! ‘Pig-Polack-Disgusting-Vulgar-Greasy! ’—Them kind of words have been on your tongue and your sister’s too much around here! What do you think you are? A pair of queens? Remember what Huey Long said—‘Every man is a king! ’ and I am the king around here, so don’t you forget it† (Williams 107)! This outburst alone highlights the cruel and misogynistic ways of Stanley and further paints him in a negative and harsh light. Throughout the play A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams depicts Stanley Kowalski as a villain-like character with a mean streak and vicious personality which creates an uneasy environment due to his pugnacious lifestyle and insensitive demeanor. His juxtaposition to Stella Kowalski, his mild mannered and sensitive wife, accentuates his character flaws making them even more prominent and dramatic throughout the play. Through Stanley’s conflicts with Blanche DuBois and his rapist-like sexual advances, Stanley becomes the perfect villainous character, enabling the reader to sympathize with Stella and Blanche. Works Cited Nagel, James. â€Å"Critical Essays on Tennessee Williams. † Ed. Robert A. Martin. First Edition. New York, New York: G. K. Halland Co. , 1997 Williams, Tennessee. â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire. † New York, New York: New American Library, 1951. Pages 13-142.