Retail Internationalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Retail Internationalisation - Essay Example Retailers like Marks & Spencer, Next, Arcadia, Debenhams, Asda, Tesco, Bhs, New Look and John Lewis are very famous in the UK for clothing retail internationalisation. This paper evaluates the leading factors behind the internationalisation of retailers in the UK from clothing perspective. It also provides the major reasons causing these retailers to move beyond the domestic market and seek opportunities internationally. Retailers around the work have been increasingly moving towards internationalisation in search of better business opportunities. This is ion particular on the rise among UK retailers that have moved towards foreign markets at a fast rate over the last few decades. Retail internationalisation is important for getting concept, sourcing and operational development. It further provides remarkable chances to grow and shine. Due to internationalisation, accumulation of information also takes place. It is very difficult to get all these facilities without moving outside (Akehurst and Alexander, 1996). There happen to be several factors that either push companies from domestic market or pull them towards internationalisation. These factors could be in the form of restrictive environment, saturated market and high competition in home market. Most importantly, the growth opportunities in the international market along with less intense competition and cultural proximity, greatly attract retai lers to new foreign markets. Companies go for retail internationalisation because of its advantages. The retailers that have gone for internationalisation and opened their branches or franchise or export in foreign countries gain several benefits. They learn a lot about the particular market, they build up their source and take the technological and other advantages to grow and survive in the market. One of the reasons behind a company to go overseas market is the unavailability of growth opportunities in the home market. (Treadgold, 2000) The companies limited to the domestic market do not advance in the business in the same manner as compared to those that tend to go abroad. Debenhams, one of the leading international clothing retailers in UK, has achieved potential growth over the last four years. The company went for internationalisation for growth and prosperity. The company had been facing difficulties in the hometown. It started to internationalise from 1990 and entered into the Middle East market and the n went to Malaysia and Hungary etc. during the period of internationalisation the company achieved remarkable success (Jones, 2003) Push factors influencing retail internationalisation are the facilities that are not available in the hometown. These factors may be cheaper labour, land or the opportunities, which are not available in the local markets. The other factors may be the market conditions i.e. regulatory environment, political and economic conditions etc. in which the survival of an organisation is difficult (Dawson, 1994). The firms doing business in the international market are mostly in search of place where the business could maximise its profits with minimum risk and investment. The motive behind different retailers to enter into various markets may be different, depending on the retailer and the market the business

Kants Moral Rationality Essay Example for Free

Kants Moral Rationality Essay In Kant’s book, The Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, he believes that the â€Å"good will† is only good in itself and that reason is what produces the â€Å"goodness† of the â€Å"good will.† According to Kant, to act out of a â€Å"good will† means to act out of â€Å"duty,† or doing something because you find it necessary to do. Also, â€Å"good will† is will that is in accordance with reason. He believes everyone has a moral obligation or duty to do actions and he backs his theory up by discussing his idea of the â€Å"moral law. † The â€Å"moral law†, according to Kant, is when one is to act in accordance with the demands of practical reason, or acting done solely out of respect of duty. He says that moral laws will make you will in a certain way and is not subject to something further. Moral laws apply to all rational being in all places at all times. Overall, he believes that morality is on a basis of a priori, or preceding experience. This type of moral law commands us to be truthful from respect for the law and to do the right thing. Morality is about categorical commands that we ought to follow simply because it is the right thing to do. By categorical commands, or categorical imperative, it is supposed to provide us with a way to make moral judgments, which means it is a law. It is a way of coming up with the idea how any action can be rational. He means since all externals are taken from morality, moral commands must be categorical. In his book, Kant explains that he makes five things perfect clear: 1. All moral concepts have their origin entirely a priori in reason. 2. Moral concepts can’t be formed by abstraction from any empirical knowledge or, therefore, from anything contingent. 3. This purity or non-empiricalness of origin is what gives them the dignity of serving as supreme practical principles. 4. Any addition of something empirical takes away just that much of their influence and of the unqualified worth of actions performed in accordance with them. 5. Not only is it necessary in developing a moral theory but also important in our practical lives that we derive the concepts and laws of morals from pure reason and present them pure and unmixed, determining the scope of this entire practical but pure rational knowledge. (Kant 17) Kant goes on to discuss a relationship between the moral law and reason. He says that moral philosophy cannot be merely an empirical inquiry, but that is must be a metaphysical inquiry, and that it must be based on pure practical reason. Pure practical reason is the reason that drives actions without any sensible incentives. Kant also states that Morality is based neither on utility or nature, but on human reason. And this human reason tells us what we ought to do and when we obey this human reason, then we can say we are truly free. Finally, Kant discusses why he thinks that the moral is the rational. He believes that acting dutifully is the same as doing something because rationality tells you to do it. In section three, he discusses how moral principles come from yourself, or your rationality. And how one should treat the idea of will of every rational being as a universal law. Thus, rationality requires us to be moral.

Shintoism in Japan Essay -- Papers

Shintoism in Japan Shintoism is the indigenous and national religion of Japan. The word Shinto means the way of the gods. Shintoism is a nature worship based religion. Shintoism is a unique religion with its own concepts on deities, ethics and life. Shintoism is based on the beginning of the race when "the trees and the herbs had speech"(Underwood 16). At the beginning of the Earth, Shinto followers believed, that the animals acted and spoke like men. The religion does not directly deal with common religious themes of; problem of evil, man's consciousness of sin and his need for redemption. Shinto followers believe that spirits exist everywhere whether good or evil. The religion is unorganized worship of these deities. The name given to these spirits and deities are Kami. Kami is a key concept in Shintoism and is difficult to define. "All that is wonderful is God, and the divine embraces in its category all that impresses the untrained imagination and excites it to reverence or fear." (18) Objects of worship included: the sky, heavenly bodies, mountains, rivers, seas, trees, beasts, great fishes, reptiles and the process of reproduction in nature and humans. There are four historical written sources, which provide scholars with information on the beginnings of Shintoism. The first of these books is the Kojiki, which means records of ancient matters. The Kojiki was written in a combination of archaic Japanese and Chinese. The book was compiled in 712 CE by an emperor who feared that many variants may destroy the foundation of the monarchy. The book's principle aim was to demonstrate the divine origin of the ruling family and the foundation of the state. Some refer to this book as the "Bible of the Japa... ...lose connection with the state. Every Emperor in Japan's imperial lineage has served as both sovereign and priest. The Emperor was head of the Shinto faith as well as head of the nation. This in turn transferred down the ranks. The heads of the provinces were also head of Shintoism in that province. The head of each clan was the head priest for that particular clan. And the head of each family was the head priest of that family. And even today the priests of Japan's over 50 000 Shinto shrines are under state control. Shintoism is a uniquely Japanese religion. It is inseparable from the Japanese state and is critical in defining Japanese culture. Shintoism is a thriving religion as many people in Japan follow both the teachings of Shintoism and Buddhism without any difficulties. The religion stresses the importance for respect of nature and oneself.

platos revenge Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One’s opinion, philosophy, or ideology, apparent or hidden can help, or hinder individual or collective development. This hindering action is apparent in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, and the action of helping is apparent in Free at Last by Harriet Jacobs. Each of these authors has their own ideology, which they would like to share.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave we look into the lives of people whose ideology is chosen for them. These people are forced to sit and stare in one direction their whole life. One would wonder if it ever occurred to them to look to their left of their right. This has been their way of life since childbirth, they know nothing else. How, if you know of nothing else can you come up with your own ideology and make it work? How can you even think without consulting your way first? Maybe thinking is beyond what you are allowed to do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Within the society in which they are living these people believe that what is right is right because they were never enlightened to anything else. The people never had the chance to look beyond, or to go away and then come back. Plato implies that if one does escape this so-called cave, the others who remain want to kill the escapee.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once a person has escaped, they see light for the first time. They feel tremendous pain. The reason that they are feeling this is because they have been sheltered for so long. They have not had the opportunity to think for themselves or to realize that there are other ways of life. All of the ideas, all of the new ideologies flow into that persons head. Their mind begins to turn a mile a minute and all of the change is too much to process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After this escapee had time to sort out these new ideas and form his or her own take on what the world has to offer they want to return to their home and share their takes on life and how things should be. The people of the ‘cave’ have only known one thing. They are never allowed to look to another place for inspiration or for information. They have to go with the flow and accept everything just as it is handed to them. They are forbidden to look elsewhere for answers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My ideology is that if you don’t like something, change it. The people in the cave are never ... ...on’t want to believe that the world is so unfair, I don’t want to believe that he wasn’t there to see me walk across the stage at graduation, that he couldn’t make faces at me while I smiled for my prom pictures. I really want to believe that it is all a huge nightmare.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jacobs lets us all know that we have to get through this ‘dog eat dog world’ with our heads held high, and also by listening to the wisdom of our parents, grandparents, the wisdom of our families.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In each essay we learn of ways that could hinder or help their individual or collective development. In Allegory of the Cave we learn that the society that the ‘cavemen’ live in is hindering their development. They don’t allow their counterparts the chance to develop into anything other than what the society wants. However in Free at Last Jacobs lets us know her feelings she lets her children know her feelings and guides them in the right direction, but she also lets them figure out on their own. She lets them learn for themselves and collectively make their own ideology. She allows for them to think for themselves, therefore she helps them in their development.

Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Q2) â€Å"Evaluate the relative importance of corporate social responsibility relative to other corporate objective† (40 Marks) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a firm’s decision to accept responsibility for its social, environmental and ethical actions. A firm’s decisions whether to adopt and rank importance to CSR should be due to a variety of reasons, like the financial stability of the company aswell as the culture of the organisation. But one definitive factor would be a firm’s corporate objectives, corporate objectives are a quantifiable statement of a business’s goals which should include measurable targets. Essay will look to examine the relative importance of CSR in relation to other corporate objectives. Many companies underlying corporate objective is profit maximisation, with this goal ranking higher than any other. This party due to the share holder value theory which makes profit a priority, therefore resulting in many firms qu estioning whether to become more socially responsible is worth the additional costs which would result in reduced profit for the company and key stakeholder’s groups. Primark offers a perfect example to this point, Primark is a retail firm in which offers exceptionally low prices through exploiting cheaper labour from abroad. If the company was to become more socially responsible they would have to sacrifice their unique selling point of low prices which may cause the company to fail. Thus proving how many businesses will see little importance in CSR relative to profit maximization. On the other hand companies whose key corporate objective is profit maximisation should take into account that CSR represents a long term commitment which can help to improve reputation and image of the company. This is due to consumers becoming more and more aware and concerned over where goods are sourced from and how they are made. CSR is therefore likely to route to profit maximization in the long term due to consumers now looking for socially responsible companies, which may rank over price therefore resulting in higher sales and therefore higher profit. This can be seen in the company Marks & Spencer who launched their bag for life campaign promising to reduce the wastage of plastic bags, and also presented an opportunity for Marks to charge for bags resulting in higher profits. Marks & Spencer is therefore a great example of a company who has looked to become more socially responsible and as a result improving their brand and reputation and even creating opportunities to improve profits, therefore demonstrating the relative importance CRS can have with profit maximisation. In contrast profit maximisation should always remain key as CSR in cases can only help to maintain brand value having little effect on overall profit maximisation. In addition, another key corporate objective is market growth, to gain market growth companies invest heavily in advertising costs amongst other promotional campaign, therefore leaving many organisation questioning whether CSR is another cost which is not sure to be beneficial to the business. However supermarket giant Tesco main corporate objective is market growth, but Tesco has recently reported that targets had been underperformed, therefore CSR could be important to this objective. During times of market growth CSR can act as a USP to differentiate the company from competition, which could be why marks & Spencer received higher profits this year after launching their bag for life campaign promising to cut down on plastic bag wastage. Due a recent change in customers views and attitudes towards the environment, becoming more socially responsible could be vital to gain an edge over competition when aiming for market growth. Then again CSR can be dependent on each individual company on whether it holds any importance to key corporate objectives. For example many oil companies whose product is in such high demand that it isn’t necessary for the business to adapt any CSR strategy as the product is so inelastic that people will by it regardless of image or reputation. This is controversially not the case for the oil provider giant BP who recently suffered a massive public relation nightmare after a massive oil spill, leading to a big hit in their reputation and brand image. BP has now ironically made CSR one of their core objectives to help rebuild the reputation and gain market growth. To conclude it is clear that CSR holds an apparent importance to other corporate objectives of a business, with it able to acting as a unique selling point for a business who is looking for market growth this can be seen in the company velvet who recently launched their triple velvet range which promised to plant a tree for every pack sold. CSR can also help in profit maximization as CSR represents a long term commitment which is likely to route to profit maximisation in the future and merits priority. But alternatively CSR is not a law requirement and has been proven that It is not always necessary depending on each company’s products, for examples oil is in such high demand that whether the company adopts CSR or not will not matter as the product is in such high demand it will be purchased regardless. Finally many companies already have a strong brand image and reputation so do not need to adopt CSR within their corporate objectives but can rely on other existing qualities to help to full fill objectives. For example apple offers a unique product with a strong reputation for quality and brand image. All of these factors can help to contribute towards profit maximisation, with image and quality allowing for increased added value to their products helping to increase profit margins. As well as strong brand image and loyal customer base helping to drive companies forward through times of market growth.

iPod essays

iPod essays Who would of thought that such a small device could have such a huge impact on our society? Apples iPod wasnt the first MP3 player out on the market for consumers, but it continues to be one of the largest selling portable music machines to date. What started as a trend with very limited popularity is now booming with success. This stylish piece of hardware has over 3 million owners worldwide and is still growing rapidly today. Its hard to believe that something so simple in design could not only be so popular, but a cultural icon as well. The iPod share a little under half of all the units sold in the U.S., that means that while fifty-one percent of profits are going to other digital music players, the rest of the market is buying the iPod. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, laughs at the sight of huge groups wearing white headphones. And why not? By the year 2008, the projected sales of portable digital players are slated to rise almost three times more than they are now. One of the most appealing aspects of the iPod would have to be its size. Weighing in at around 5.6 ounces, who could resist the portable tunes holder that can carry almost ten thousand songs. The device itself is no bigger than a deck of playing cards, so its not hard to see how theyve become so popular. The iPod had changed the way we share and listen to music in a big way. I can still remember only being able to chose one disc to play when listening to my cd player. It was such a hassle to keep switching compact discs back and forth when you wanted to listen to a specific song. Now, Apple has made it as easy as the push of a button. You have the choice of thousands of songs at your fingertips. From hip-hop, pop, punk, rock and many others, owners are able to download any genre that they want. And with Apples iTunes program for both the PC and Mac computers, users can download their favorite songs for about a dollar per song. ...

Free Essays on Mcglobalization

McGlobalization â€Å"We must use terministic screens, since we can’t really say anything without the use of terms; whatever terms we use, they necessarily constitute a corresponding kind of screen; and any such screen necessarily directs the attention to one field rather than the other. Within that field there can be different screens, each with its ways of directing the attention and shaping the range of observations implicit in the given terminology. All terminologies must implicitly and explicitly embody choices between the principle of continuity and the discontinuity.† Where would the world be in this day and age if everyone had the exact same experiences, exact same thoughts, and the exact same dreams? To think of such things is ridiculous. Humans would be nothing more than robots, all programmed to think and function in the exact same way. Each individual in the world has their own experiences, none of which that are identical. Not one person was raised identical to another. For every person there comes a screen, and for every experience an individual encounters comes another screen. Think of screens like this. A photographer has many different lenses. Each lens comes with their own unique qualities. So when the photographer switches his lens he is switching the entire picture. In regards to humans we are the photographer and each experience gives us a different view on things. The result of this gives us another screen. Writers and theorist are no exception to this. Newspapers and publications would not have such an impact on the wo rld if every person had the same view on things. We take in information from one and another and twist it all around in our heads to come up with our own individual ideas. Real life examples of this our seen everywhere. An issue I wish to address is how different people interpret the phenomenon, globalization. To help support this paper I will give examples from different auth... Free Essays on Mcglobalization Free Essays on Mcglobalization McGlobalization â€Å"We must use terministic screens, since we can’t really say anything without the use of terms; whatever terms we use, they necessarily constitute a corresponding kind of screen; and any such screen necessarily directs the attention to one field rather than the other. Within that field there can be different screens, each with its ways of directing the attention and shaping the range of observations implicit in the given terminology. All terminologies must implicitly and explicitly embody choices between the principle of continuity and the discontinuity.† Where would the world be in this day and age if everyone had the exact same experiences, exact same thoughts, and the exact same dreams? To think of such things is ridiculous. Humans would be nothing more than robots, all programmed to think and function in the exact same way. Each individual in the world has their own experiences, none of which that are identical. Not one person was raised identical to another. For every person there comes a screen, and for every experience an individual encounters comes another screen. Think of screens like this. A photographer has many different lenses. Each lens comes with their own unique qualities. So when the photographer switches his lens he is switching the entire picture. In regards to humans we are the photographer and each experience gives us a different view on things. The result of this gives us another screen. Writers and theorist are no exception to this. Newspapers and publications would not have such an impact on the wo rld if every person had the same view on things. We take in information from one and another and twist it all around in our heads to come up with our own individual ideas. Real life examples of this our seen everywhere. An issue I wish to address is how different people interpret the phenomenon, globalization. To help support this paper I will give examples from different auth...

Alexander Graham Bell and the Photophone

Alexander Graham Bell and the Photophone While hes best known as the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell considered the photophone his most important invention... and he may have been right. On June 3, 1880, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first wireless telephone message on his newly invented photophone, a device that allowed for the transmission of sound on a beam of light. Bell held four patents for the photophone and built it with the help of an assistant, Charles Sumner Tainter. The first wireless voice transmission took place over a distance of 700 feet. How It Worked Bells photophone worked by projecting voice through an instrument toward a mirror. Vibrations in the voice caused oscillations in the shape of the mirror. Bell directed sunlight into the mirror, which captured and projected the mirrors oscillations toward a receiving mirror, where the signals were transformed back into sound at the receiving end of the projection. The photophone functioned similarly to the telephone, except the photophone used light as a means of projecting the information, while the telephone relied on electricity. The photophone was the first wireless communications device, preceding the invention of the radio by nearly 20 years. Although the photophone was an extremely important invention, the significance of Bells work was not fully recognized in its time. This was largely due to practical limitations in the technology of the time: Bells original photophone failed to protect transmissions from outside interferences, such as clouds, that easily disrupted transport. That changed nearly a century later when the invention of  fiber optics in the 1970s allowed for the secure transport of light. Indeed, Bells photophone is recognized as the progenitor of the modern fiber optic telecommunications system that  is widely used to transmit telephone, cable, and internet signals across large distances.

MIS In The Construction Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MIS In The Construction Industry - Essay Example For this purpose organizations implement information systems. This paper is going to assess the implementation of management information systems in the construction companies and business. In this paper I will define the management information systems, its uses, implementation areas and main benefits taken from these new implementations in construction industry. Data are collection of unrefined facts representing events taking place in organizations or the physical setting prior to they have been formed and managed into a structure that people can recognize and utilize. On the other hand, information refers to data that have been shaped into a structure that is significant and helpful or functional to human beings (Norton 4) and (Laudon and Laudon 7). â€Å"The term information system can be described technically as a collection of interrelated components that bring together, process, store, and distribute information to carry decision making and control in an organization† Information systems keep and maintain information about important people, places, and things inside the corporation or in the set up surrounding it (Laudon and Laudon 7) and (Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden 429). According to (Shelly, Cashman and Vermaat 620), â€Å"an information system consists of hardware, software, data, workers, and methods that work in collab oration to turn out functional and valuable information†. An information system helps out in every day, short-range, temporary, and long range activities of users. Various examples of users consist of store clerks, sales representatives, accountants, supervisors, managers of construction projects, executives, and customers (Shelly, Cashman and Vermaat 620). Management information system (MIS) is an information system that produces correct, on time, and structured information, so managers (construction managers) and other users can make decisions, supervise

Labour is making Britain greener, cleaner and less polluting (Labour Essay

Labour is making Britain greener, cleaner and less polluting (Labour Party environment policy statement, 2009). Discuss in the context of British government and politics - Essay Example ons Reduction Target (CERT), which has provided a large investment in household energy efficiency between 2002 and 2008 and brought in carbon saving; delivering more seaward wind facility than any society in the globe; and implementing the world’s first long-term, legally binding greenhouse emission reduction programme (Carter 2007). Hence, in their environment policy statement in 2009, the Labour Party declared, â€Å"Labour is making Britain greener, cleaner and less polluting† (The Labour Party 2010: para 5). However, this activities, campaigns, and achievements of the Labour Party have not been examined in the context of British government and politics comprehensively. This essay will attempt to contribute in this area of knowledge. The primary issue that will be addressed here is the role of the British government and its relationship with the people. These issues have gained a new significance. A decade into the existence of this Labour government, policy-makers seem to be certain that their mission has changed. Gordon Brown, as he reflects on his experience, addressed communities breaking new ground for elected legislators to pursue (Worley 2009). However, in one domain specifically, we oblige our policy-makers to lead rather than follow, and to take risks. That domain is the environment. The media response has been unsurprising. Conservative channels that were quick to criticise David Cameron’s demand for stricter aviation taxes are imploring that the electorate cannot take any more. They are incapable of justifying their standpoint beyond complaining about nursemaid states and fiddling with, or supporting, the assertions of climate-change denouncers (Worley 2009). Newscasters respond even more recklessly, with Channel 4 exposing a feature film that go against all the facts and with the BBC misinterpreting its demand to ‘balance’ by advocating discussion between the two parties, as if they embody corresponding bodies of evidence. Brown has taken

Content Area Teaching Assignment Research Paper - 1

Content Area Teaching Assignment - Research Paper Example However, this paper aims at stressing the flaws in the education system and teaching practices which contribute to the loss of interest amongst the students. The paper will focus on at least three web lessons, which would then be taken as a reference to explain how the teaching practices can be improved and the students’ motivation increased. One of the most important topics of study in world history is the relations between the superpowers – the relations marked by the cold war; this is an essential course for almost all students enrolled for elementary education level courses. For this reason, a lesson designed for students from Grade 9-12 will be taken as a reference; it has been published by the Oregon Public Broadcasting1. Apparently, the chapter has been designed in a very appealing yet credible manner for the students to become aware of the origins and major concepts relevant to the cold war. The chapter has been effectively divided into headings and subheadings to enhance the interest of the students in the content. The chapter opens with the narration describing how the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which began what is termed as the cold war era. The chapter also in the latter sections stresses the military and strategic dimensions of the motives behind the bombings, and explains how this event was the beginning of the cold war. Moreover, the chapter explains the policy of containment followed by the US in response to the policy of expansionism being pursued by the Soviet Union. It also stresses important dates where several events took place, explains how the concept of iron curtain was introduced and was a sole reason behind the origins of war. Moreover, this chapter sheds light on some of the reports which are crucial in this context. Though this is a well quoted and a well explained chapter, some of the students may find in monotonous and rather boring if not taught

Current event summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Current event summary - Assignment Example Although it is easy to say that he is a failed leader due to the current state of the world and the international developments that have taken place throughout the world since his election to the position of Secretariat of the United Nations, it is however unfair to tarnish his abilityto lead based upon the diverse and self interested actions of the partipants in the process. No matter thequality of the leader, it is doubtful if they could conceive of a better job than what Bahn Ki Moon is already performing. Camila Batmanghelidjh – although one of the most non-traditional people that this brief analysis will contend with, Camila Batmanghelidjh is one that has effected a massively positive difference in the lives of countless disenfranchised and underprivileged children in and around the London area. As a function of her dedication, the level to which shelter and food has been available to street children who would otherwise have little to no future has been drastically changed for the better. Whereas she may be somewhat non-traditional and non-conformist in her appearance or particular attitude to life, she has nonetheless made a profound influence on the lives of many as a result of her tireless activism and leadership abilities. Hugo Chavez – though a controversial leader that opposed the United States at nearly each and every turn, it is undeniable that Chavez demonstrated the qualities of an exceptional leader. When one researchers and understands the level of time and attention he paid to the plight of the poor and underprivileged classes within Venezuela, the activities of some of the â€Å"free world’s† most progressive politicians pale in comparison. Rather than analyzing Chavez from the perspective of his international relations and the odd alliances he made with Iran and the Russian Federation, it is much better to consider him from the standpoint of what he was able to do for his own people as well as

Law of Contract LA-112 (Joint Honours) coursework 2009 Essay

Law of Contract LA-112 (Joint Honours) coursework 2009 - Essay Example course of business or trade, there is an implicit condition that goods so supplied under the contract of sale are of acceptable quality and should rationally fit for their purpose. Thus , under SGA , a seller should sell products that well fit into its description , should conform to its purpose and should have acceptable quality and if the product fall short of these , then , supplier has the duty to redress the grievances raised by the buyer . Certain contract inserts clauses giving the right to buyer to terminate the contract under certain circumstances. For instance, when the market price for product decreases after the entering of a contract, a buyer in normal course is keen to take the privilege of termination rights as a result of delivery of non-conforming products or late delivery. However, a seller has the duty to make sure that the products sold â€Å"adhere to the contract.† For instance, if a car is sold, then the seller should clearly express the model of the car to be sold, the details about its engine size, its previous owner’s history. In case, if the seller has described the product imprecisely, then the buyer can make a claim against the seller for breach of contract and thus seller might be involved a breach under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. (The UK insolvency helpline 2008). In Fletcher v Sledmore, a car dealer and his customer visited the defendant who was a dealer in second hand cars. The customer inquired the defendant about a specific car and defendant informed him that it was â€Å"a good little engine.† However, this was not true. Then, car was sold to the customer. It was held by the court that the defendant committed an offence under false trade description Act. Thus, this decision clearly demonstrates that Act can travel beyond the restrictions of contractual relationships. (Weatherill 2005: 402) If any seller has sold the product that does not adhere to the description in the sales contract, or if it is not suitable for

Current event summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Current event summary - Assignment Example Although it is easy to say that he is a failed leader due to the current state of the world and the international developments that have taken place throughout the world since his election to the position of Secretariat of the United Nations, it is however unfair to tarnish his abilityto lead based upon the diverse and self interested actions of the partipants in the process. No matter thequality of the leader, it is doubtful if they could conceive of a better job than what Bahn Ki Moon is already performing. Camila Batmanghelidjh – although one of the most non-traditional people that this brief analysis will contend with, Camila Batmanghelidjh is one that has effected a massively positive difference in the lives of countless disenfranchised and underprivileged children in and around the London area. As a function of her dedication, the level to which shelter and food has been available to street children who would otherwise have little to no future has been drastically changed for the better. Whereas she may be somewhat non-traditional and non-conformist in her appearance or particular attitude to life, she has nonetheless made a profound influence on the lives of many as a result of her tireless activism and leadership abilities. Hugo Chavez – though a controversial leader that opposed the United States at nearly each and every turn, it is undeniable that Chavez demonstrated the qualities of an exceptional leader. When one researchers and understands the level of time and attention he paid to the plight of the poor and underprivileged classes within Venezuela, the activities of some of the â€Å"free world’s† most progressive politicians pale in comparison. Rather than analyzing Chavez from the perspective of his international relations and the odd alliances he made with Iran and the Russian Federation, it is much better to consider him from the standpoint of what he was able to do for his own people as well as

Campus BikeShare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Campus BikeShare - Assignment Example This previous participation within such activities is the driving force for the entrepreneurs who seek to ensure other individuals also gain the same benefits through participation in the business (Jeston & Nelis, 2014). The knowledge gained while participating in cycling activities will be essential in the procurement and maintenance of the equipment used by the venture. The business will procure relatively lightweight bicycles which will be leased to customers to ensure they get the maximum benefit from riding. The riding skills of the management will be essential as they will have to conduct a testing for the bicycles before leasing them out to clients. The operations manager will be charged with the responsibility of ensuring the equipment remains in good working conditions. He/she will also be the person responsible for the procurement of new bicycles and spare parts when required. Safety personnel will be involved in ensuring that the best equipment is availed to the organisation, for the clients to attain maximum benefits of physical fitness. The equipment will be assessed and analysed in terms of the physical attributes to ensure that limited bodily strains are experienced. The safety personnel will assess the aesthetics of the bicycles to ensure they meet the minimum requirements stipulated by the organisation. The following activities will be involved in the process of developing the bike share venture into a business programme. The activities will be undertaken in the order listed below. Completion of each activity will mark the beginning of the next activity in the process of implementing the venture. The source of funding will be from personal savings of the entrepreneurs to about 30% of the total capital required by the business. The rest of the funds will be procured through grants from sponsor organisations and even other organisations which will support the programme. These

Analysis of Brick cleaner Aim Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Brick cleaner Aim Essay Theory/Hypothesis: The main ingredient in brick cleaner is HCL and must be diluted and titrated with a base to be able to analyse it. It reacts with parts of the concrete which allows it to remove the concrete from the bricks. I think there will be around 30% of HCL in brick cleaner. Materials: 5mL brick cleaner 100mL, 0.1M standard sodium carbonate solution 250ml de-ionised water Methyl orange indicator 250mL volumetric flask 4x100mL conical flasks Small funnel 10mL measuring cylinder * 20mL pipette * Pipette filter * Dropping pipette * Burette and stand White tile Electronic balance Safety glasses Gloves Method: 1) A 250 mL volumetric flask was weighed with its mass recorded 2) A 10mL measuring cylinder was used to pour 5mL brick cleaner into the volumetric flask. The flask was stoppered straight after all the brick cleaner was in the flask. 3) The flask was then reweighed 4) De-ionised water was added until the flask was about half full. The flask was stoppered and shaken carefully upside down several times. 5) More water was added to the flask about a cm below the graduation line. A dropper was used to accurately drop the right amount of water to the flask so the bottom of the meniscus was on the graduation line. 6) A 20mL pipette was used to put 20mL of sodium carbonate solution into each of the four 100mL conical flask. 3 drops of methyl orange indicator was added to each. 7) The burette was filled with the solution of brick cleaner. 8) The sodium carbonate solution was titrated with the solution of brick cleaner until there was a clear permanent colour change. 9) Steps 7 and 8 were repeated until 3 concordant results were Results: Weight Volumetric flask 78.968g Brick cleaner 6.00g Titre 1 2 3 Initial vol 2.3 23.4 3.0 Final vol 23.4 44.5 24.0 Vol added 21.1 21.1 21.0 Calculations: On page attached. Discussion: The weight for the brick cleaner may not be 6.00g as the volumetric flask was not weighed again with the brick cleaner in it because that step was forgotten. So the result above was taken from another student that did the prac. This will affect the results as the mass of the brick cleaner is used to determine the percentage by mass of HCL in brick cleaner. All 3 titres show that they are only within 0.1 of each other. The hypothesis has been disproved because it was suggested the 30% of HCL would be in brick cleaner and theres only 2.4% although its not certain that those steps were done correctly. There were no problems encountered during this prac. Focus Questions: 8)a) the manufacturer says that brick cleaner is made up of around 35% HCL, which is a massive difference to the answer that was got in this prac but again question 7 was not done correctly. b) differences in class results occur because not everybody would have done the exact volume of brick cleaner, sodium carbonate etc as each other therefore the difference in results obtained. 9) To correctly clean up a spill of 20mL brick cleaner you would mop it up immediately, washing it away with massive amounts of water 10)a) volumetric flask= once with water twice with brick cleaner b) Burette= once with water twice with diluted solution of brick cleaner c)pipette= once with water twice with diluted brick cleaner d) conical flask=once with water twice with sodium carbonate solution Conclusion: To conclude, there should be 35% HCL in brick cleaner although it was found that there was only 2.4%.

Metaphors In Cognitive Linguistics

Metaphors In Cognitive Linguistics The nature of metaphor. Are people aware of the existence of metaphors in their everyday lives? Very often we treat them only as stylistic devices, but in fact metaphorical expressions verbally represent the way of human thinking and reasoning. People tend to conceptualise emotions, love being one of them, metaphorically because both emotions and metaphors connected with them are inevitable parts of everyday live. Without our ability to categorize, we would not function at all, either in the physical world or in our social and intellectual lives (1990: 6) explains Lakoff in Women, Fire and Dangerous Things. According to Cognitive Linguistics, language is a very powerful tool as it reflects the way we categorize and conceptualise the world we live in. It is almost impossible to understand a thing without grouping it with other category members that share the same properties. In doing so, we acquire different kinds of concepts and, as a result, build our general knowledge. Cognitive Linguistics allows us to understand that metaphorical thinking is crucial to human cognition. Thus, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their Metaphors we live by propose a cognitive theory of metaphor, as a process thanks to which one concept is understood using another concept (Lakoff 1980: 5). The best example of this is talking about LOVE in terms of JOURNEYS. As mentioned previously, our ability to categorize allowed us to gather knowledge about journeys that we can depend on in understanding love. Zoltà  n Kà ¶vecses in Metaphor, A Practical Introduction emphasizes that we need to differentiate conceptual metaphor from metaphorical linguistic expressions. He proves that the latter disclose the existence of the former. Let us use a few examples to reveal the relationship between conceptual metaphor ( small capitals) and metaphorical expressions ( italics). LOVE IS A JOURNEY Were at the crossroads. Its been bumpy road. Our marriage is on the rocks. Were stuck. We cant turn back now. ( Kà ¶vecses 2002:6 ) We can conclude that such metaphorical expressions give us insight into the metaphorical nature of the concepts that structure our everyday activities (Kà ¶vecses 2002: 7). How do we conceptualise emotions? Lakoff in Women, Fire and Dangerous Things views emotions as having no conceptual content. However, I believe there must be some, as we are able to describe the intensity of a particular emotion. Although feelings and emotions are extremely difficult to understand, these abstract concepts can be conceptualised with the help of more concrete ones (Lakoff 1980:59), that is why LOVE is conceptualised in terms of FIRE or WAR (e.g. My love is on fire, I do not want to get burned again, This kindled love in his heart). Concrete concepts facilitate the understanding of these complex emotions. There are many examples of metaphors of love ( which I will try to present in the following chapters). They are common in everyday life as they present different aspects of this powerful emotion. Without the notion of metaphor, we would not be able to comprehend such an abstract feeling as love. The intensity plays an essential role in the way we think of love, for instance. The conceptual metaphor LOVE IS FIRE emphasizes the existence of love (on fire), its intensity (flames), duration and shows how love affects people (He was consumed by love) . Due to the existence of metaphor, the most powerful emotions, love being one of them, can be interpreted. 1.2 Source and Target Domains So far, we have managed to explain that metaphor consists of two concepts and that we comprehend one concept in terms of another. These concepts are called domains. According to Kà ¶vecses, conceptual metaphors tend to use abstract concept as a target and more concrete as their source ( 2002:6). LOVE IS A JOURNEY love forms the target domain journey forms the source domain ( a conceptual domain we try ( a conceptual domain we take a to comprehend) conceptual content from) As far as metaphors of love are concerned, many people wonder why some endearments are more popular than others. Why the expression my sweet-heart is more popular then my sweet-leg when talking to the beloved person? Why do we use one and not the other? When we look at the endearments containing fairy-like elements the most common are: prince-charming, my princess, my knight. Why is it like that? The answer is obvious, we choose these fairytale characters because we find some of their charactristics attractive and we want to ascribe them to the person we love. Lakoff and Johnson claim that this kind of tendency is more regular rather than occasional (1980: 67). The previously mentioned characters, are the SOURCE domains whereas the person to be described the TARGET domain. Similarly, from fire (source in LOVE IS FIRE metaphor) love takes its intensity and from an insane person (source in LOVE IS MADNESS metaphor) his/her quite irresponsible and strange behaviour. The examples above show that the source domain provides us with terms necessary to describe the target domain. As Lakoff proposes, in order to describe and understand the target domain, one must have the knowledge of the source domain. Let us take LOVE IS A JOURNEY metaphor. We understand love because we have knowledge about journeys. Each time we think about journeys, we consider travelers, route and destination. In order to understand love in terms of a journey, one must have in mind the idea of lovers as travelers, the course of their romantic relationship as an act of traveling with happy moments as well as obstacles (Its been bumpy road). Our knowledge about different kinds of journeys equips us with a powerful tool that can be used to make the description of love richer and more adequate. 1.3 Mapping So far, we have established that a conceptual metaphor consists of two domains: source and target. We have also found out that we need to take into account both domains to fully understand a conceptual metaphor. However, what does it mean to understand a metaphor? Kà ¶vecses explains that the knowledge of correspondences between these two domains is necessary to comprehend a conceptual metaphor. We refer to these conceptual analogies as MAPPINGS ( Kà ¶vecses 2002: 6). Let us take one example concerning metaphor of love to see how the mapping can function. We cannot turn back now. When we use the expression cannot turn back, we reveal that we are not going to change the direction and destination of our journey. We refers to people involved in a journey. That is how we created three necessary elements of a journey: a destination, travelers and a journey as such. However, when we apply an appropriate context to the sentence, we will get a new meaning of it. We will understand the whole sentence to be about love. Thus, the travelers are lovers who discuss things that are happening in their relationship while cannot turn back can be interpreted as a situation when lovers cannot change the course of events that happened to them. JOURNEY LOVE THE SOURCE DOMAIN THE TARGET DOMAIN We- travelers We-lovers Journey Romantic relationship Destination of a journey Lovers aims or goals Difficulties that travelers encounter Obstacles in the relationship The example above shows that the understanding of a conceptual metaphor goes from more concrete (the journey) to the more abstract concept (events in the relationship) (Kà ¶vecses 2002: 6). Such a rule was called The Principle of Unidirectionality . 1.4 Metaphorical Systematicity: Highlightning and Hiding We have already learnt that there is a systematicity that allows us to understand one concept in terms of another (e.g. interpreting development of love in terms of a journey or the intensity of love in terms of fire) (Lakoff, Johnson 1980:10). However, what does systematicity mean? When we talk about love in terms of a journey, we use vocabulary that is normally applied when discussing travelling e.g. We are at the crossroads. We can see that there is a kind of a pattern we tend to use. Thus, systematicity is a pattern that affects the way we talk about love, allowing us to use words or phrases that previously had been used to refer to different concepts (Lakoff 1980: 7). Kà ¶vecses points out that when a metaphor concentrates on one or more features of a concept, it highlights those features. However, when one aspect of a given concept is highlighted, the other ones will be hidden (2002: 80). Checking which features are highlighted or hidden in the following metaphors of love will give more light to this interesting issue. LOVE IS SUBSTANCE She was filled with love. He poured out his affections on her. She couldnt hold in her love for him any longer. LOVE IS NATURAL FORCE She swept me off my feet. Waves of passion came over him. She was carried away by love. (Lakoff 1980: 49) As we can see conceptual metaphors create and describe the target domain by directing attention at or hiding different angles of it. Thus, in LOVE IS SUBSTANCE metaphor, the aspect of content is highlighted, whereas the possible chance of development of a romantic feeling is concealed. The examples of LOVE IS A NATURAL FORCE metaphor reveal that love cannot be controlled as well as show the intensity of the emotion. However, the aspect of an emotional enrichment, which is also present when people experience such an overwhelming feeling, is hidden. 1.5 Structural metaphors So far we have found out that metaphors are not discussed only as poetic devices but as ways of our thinking and understanding abstract concepts. We can distinguish three kinds of metaphors: structural, ontological and orientational. In ontological metaphors experiences are treated as concrete objects e.g. containers (I put a lot of energy into preparing decorations) . When we deal with them in such a way we can refer to them, categorize them, group them, and quantify them and, by these means, reason about them (Lakoff 1980:25). The group of orientational metaphors is said to be connected with our orientation in space. Concepts are connected with physical orientation, for instance happiness is up (Im feeling up) and sadness is down (Im feeling down) (Lakoff1980:16). Structural metaphor is the most productive type of all conceptual metaphors. Thanks to these metaphors, complex and abstract experiences can be understood in terms of simpler and more concrete ones e.g. LOVE IS A JOURNEY. In Metaphors we live by Lakoff and Johnson state that the conceptual system is metaphorical in nature (1980:4). What does it mean, how can it structure the world we live in and how does it influence our activities? Let us take LOVE IS FIRE metaphor as an example. My heart is on fire. He was consumed by love. I do not want to get burned again. That kindled love in his heart. Thanks to the metaphorical expression That kindled love in his heart, we can conceptualise love as having a beginning and an end just as fire has. When the fire is kindled, the love begins; when it goes out, the love ends. These examples also prove that we not only talk about love in terms of fire. The lover can be consumed by love when he/she is so in love that it is all that he/she thinks about. If the lover does not want to get burned again it may mean he/she does not want to experience the same serious dissapointment after an unsuccessful relationship. Due to the fact that the essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another (Lakoff 1980:5), we can conclude that love is structured and understood (Lakoff 1980:5) in terms of fire. 1.6 Container Metaphors and Personification Another kind of a conceptual metaphor has been called by Lakoff and Johnson the container metaphor. In container metaphors humans are viewed as containers with boundaries and an orientation of inside and outside f.e. She was filled with love (Lakoff 1980:29). As far as non-physical objects are concerned, they can also be comprehended by mentally converting them into physical ones. Let us imagine our world as a container with borders separating the inside from the outside. It is clear when we take into consideration objects that have natural or artificial boundaries, for instance rooms. However, when we talk about our emotional states or conditions e.g. He is in love, the matter is not so obvious. Lakoff and Johnson suggest that we tend to conceptualise our emotions as containers, whereas the way we feel when we experience particular emotions is conceptualised as being inside the container (1980:30). Emotions can be also comprehended in terms of substances e.g. His heart was filled wi th love (Bierwiaczonek 2002:140). As Bierwiaczonek points out heart and eyes are most frequently used as containers for emotions being understood with the help of substances (2002:140). A crucial as well as interesting group of ontological metaphors are those describing something as a person: personifications (Lakoff 1980: 33). This means that we ascribe human features to non-living objects. Looking at metaphors of love, we are overwhelmed with a feeling that love has been personified in many metaphorical expressions. The following are only the most common examples. Love can give you hope. Love can be blind. Love can be tender. What is even more appealing, love can go through the same stages as humans do in the course of life, love comes to life, it lasts and dies. References Lakoff, George. 1990. Women, Fire and Dangerous Things. What Categories Reveal About the Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lakoff, George and Mark Johnson. 1980. Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Kà ¶vecses, Zoltà ¡n, 2002. Metaphor, A Practical Introduction. Oxford University Press, Inc. George Lakoff, 1993. Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. In Andrew Ortony, (ed.) Metaphor and Thought, 202-251. New York: Cambridge University Press. McGlone, M.S. 1996. Conceptual Metaphors and Figurative Language Interpretation: Food for Thought? Journal of Memory and Language, 35, 544-565. CHAPTER 2 THE CHARACTERIZATION OF METAPHORS OF LOVE The models of love In the previous chapter we have managed to understand that thanks to metaphor, which is a crucial part of our everyday life, we are able to conceptualise the world we live in. We have admitted that metaphor cannot be treated only as a stylistic device because as Reddy suggests the locus of metaphor is thought, not language (in Lakoff 1980: 204). Such an idea proves that our reasoning as well as our behaviour reflect the way we metaphorically comprehend everything that happens in our lives. Powerful emotions, love being one of them, are inevitable parts of the human existence thus metaphors such as LOVE IS FIRE or LOVE IS A CONTAINER help us to understand this overwhelming feeling. Very often love is seen as a kind of an award we get, something that enables us to do things we are normally afraid to do as it equips us with extra power. According to Kà ¶vecses (in Bierwiaczonek 2002:25) we distinguish two models of love: ideal and typical. Having in mind that only ideal love provides us with the previously mentioned power, it is not difficult to guess what kind of love we look for. In the ideal model of love, lovers see themselves as a unity (e.g. We are one) as they complement each other. They are imbued with the feelings that their love is a true one, that they were created to live together and that their love is immortal. The lovers believe that there is an emotional bond between them, which enables them to live in a perfect harmony. Needless to say, there are certain psychological effects that occur when we are in love: increased body heat, blushing, increased heart rate (2002: 25). There are many categories of love, however five of them are the most common. Bierwiaczonek (2002:28) presents the following kinds of love: FAMILY LOVE: PARENTAL and CHILDS LOVE OF PARENTS, the family love is revealed through the care and attention that parents give their children and vice versa (e.g. Mother muzzled my cheek); FRIENDSHIP, great liking for someone, friendship constitutes an emotional bond between people, it can even complement sexual love, give a new meaning to it and enrich partners realationship; SEXUAL LOVE, sexual passion; AGAPE, Gods admiration, Christian love and LOVE OF THINGS, fondness for material possessions (e.g. His love was money.) Most of the metaphors of love consider sexual love, thus for the purpose of the work we will discuss only these types of metaphors. Metaphors of love 2.2.1 Metaphors of lovers Metaphors of lovers are very intriguing kinds of metaphors since they highlight the aspect of lovers who are involved in a romantic relationship (Bierwiaczonek 2002:112). In the metaphor LOVE IS A UNITY, the metaphorical expression We are one indicates that lovers are parts of a whole. Similarly, the metaphor LOVE IS A JOURNEY shows lovers as travelers, whereas the metaphor LOVE IS WAR presents them as participants in a war or even opponents. LOVERS ARE PARTS OF A WHOLE She is my better half They are unseparable There is a strong bond between them (Bierwiaczonek 2002:113) The examples above prove that we can discuss lovers or think about them as parts of a larger whole. Although metaphors reflecting our emotional states are used spontaneously, not all combinations are possible. The metaphorical expression She is my better half perfectly suits when we consider she as a lover. When we think of she as a family member e.g. My mum is my better half, the whole expression sounds ridiculous (Bierwiaczonek 2002:113). There are also metaphors emphasizing the behaviour of lovers f.g. LOVERS ARE BIRDS (f.e. Look at those two lovebirds on the bench). In LOVE IS MADNESS metaphor, lovers are presented as insane people mainly due to the intensity of love which makes them behave irresponsibly or, in extreme cases, lovers may lose control over themselves (e.g. He has gone mad about her). 2.2.2 Love is a journey metaphor So far, the analysis of conceptual metaphor enabled us to explain that such an abstract feeling as love can only be comprehended with the help of metaphor. Which metaphors of love can facilitate the understanding of contemporary world? How do people conceptualise these metaphors? LOVE IS A JOURNEY Its been a long, bumpy road. Look how far we have come. We are at a crossroads. I do not think this relationship is going anywhere. We are stuck. Our marriage is on the rocks. We have gotten off the track. Well just have to go our separate ways. (Lakoff 1980:45) As mentioned in the first chapter, people use concrete concepts to understand more abstract ones (Kà ¶vecses 2002:6). Such a tendency justifies the fact of using the concept of a journey when trying to comprehend love. Worth mentioning is also the variety of metaphorical expressions concerning different types of journeys. When talking about love, people can refer to train travel (e.g. We have gotten off the track), car travel (e.g. We are at the crossroads) and sea travel (e.g. Our marriage is on the rocks) (Lakoff 1980:45). Such a diversity makes the verbal reflection of our emotions richer and, as a result, the pictures created in mind are more vivid. SOURCE- JOURNEY TARGET- LOVE Love is war metaphor LOVE IS WAR He is known for his many rapid conquests He is slowly gaining ground with her He fought for him but his mistress won out He overpowered her She is besieged by suitors He has to fend them off He made an ally of her father ( Lakoff 1980:49) LOVE IS WAR metaphor is an example of a strutural metaphor, the metaphor which facilitates understanding an abstract concept of love using the concept of war. As far as war is concerned, we consider the following issues: two fighting sides, the result of the fight and the fight itself. In LOVE IS WAR metaphor, such components respectively refer to the lovers, the result of the verbal battle and the disagreement between lovers. SOURCE- WAR The above examples clearly emphasize the existence of the fight between the lovers f.e. He overpowered her. However, the fact of cooperation, which is also present during the war, is hidden. The lovers are shown as opponents trying to fight for their rights. According to Lakoff (1980: 61-67), our language is an expression of our thoughts and feelings. Treating them as parts of our personality, we can assume that LOVE IS WAR metaphor shows one aspect of our personality- willingness to fight for what we consider crucial to our well-being. TARGET- LOVE Love is magic metaphor LOVE IS MAGIC She cast her spell over me She had me hypnotized I was entranced by him She is bewitching I was spellbound (Lakoff 1980:49) From the dawn of history people have been intrigued by magic. On one hand they saw impossible things taking place in front of their eyes, on the other hand their common sense forbade them to believe in such miracles. Although, it is not important whether humans belive in magic or not, what is important is the fact that people are not indifferent to it. Magic affects people and fascinates them profoundly. Women especially are said to have the power to seduce men, hypnotize them or even, cast spells on them. As love is treated almost as a magical and inexplicable phenomenon, it is not difficult to understand why LOVE is comprehended in terms of MAGIC. LOVE IS MAGIC metaphor definitely emphasises the existence of an almost magical conncection that bonds lovers, while hiding the aspect of the mortality of partners and their inability to use magic. SOURCE- MAGIC TARGET- LOVE Love is madness metaphor LOVE IS MADNESS Im crazy about her She drives me out of my mind He has gone mad over her Im just wild about Harry He constantly raves about her (Lakoff 1980: 49) In LOVE IS MADNESS metaphor love is presented as a state of insanity. When one is in love, she/he experiences certain kinds of emotions which are, in fact, similar to mental states of madness. Only intensity differentiates these emotions from each other. Each time we go through them, we have symptoms indicating a psychological illness. Very often the object of love is treated as a cause of a particular feeling or illness (e.g. She drives me out of my mind). One in love is shown as an insane person (e.g Im crazy about her) and a feeling of love as an illness itself. LOVE IS MADNESS metaphor directs our attention at the profound effect that love has on people, thus humans tend to compare it to the state of madness. However, the metaphor refuses to highlight the ability to create plans for the partners future and the aspect of a fruitful cooperation which are also present in a romantic relationship SOURCE- MADNESS TARGET- LOVE Love is a patient metaphor LOVE IS A PATIENT This is a sick relationship They are a strong, healthy marriage Their marriage is dead, it cannot be revived We are getting back on our feet Their marriage is on its last legs (Lakoff 1980: 49) We have already mentioned that lovers are treated as a unity (e.g. We are one). The existence of a unity between spouses indicates the belief that they are actually one person. Due to the fact that a person in love can suffer from symptoms of an illness, we can assume that lovers are patients. The patients health state represents the state of the relationship or marriage. Although the physical and mental condition of the relationship is revealed, the possible ways of healing the marriage are concealed. All of us have experienced an illness at least once in our life-time. However each illness, even the smallest one, is treated as something new. As far as love is concerned, each new relationship is worth taking care of because as Hubert H. Humphrey said The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. Love can make us feel sick, but it is also able to heal our hearts and souls. SOURCE- PATIENT TARGET- LOVE Love is fire metaphor LOVE IS FIRE I dont want to get burned again. My hearts on fire. That kindled love in his heart. She is his latest flame. He was consumed by love. (Lakoff 1980: 49) Humans describe love as a one of the most vivid and powerful feelings we experience, that is why we use so many metaphors in order to describe the aspects of this overwhelming emotion. However, LOVE IS FIRE metaphor is the most significiant as far as the intensity of love is concerned. As we have observed the intensity of the emotion is highlighted, whereas the possibility of a regeneration after an unfortunate relationship is hidden (people, things cannot revive after being utterly damaged by flames). Thanks to this conceptual metaphor, people can connect different phases of fire burning with different stages of being in love. Such a conceptualisation explains that love, as well as fire, has its beginning, duration and the end. The damage caused by the intensity of fire can refer to the lovers psychological damage because of the disappointment in love. SOURCE- FIRE TARGET- LOVE Love is a physical force metaphor LOVE IS A PHYSICAL FORCE He was magnetically drawn to her His whole life revolves around her The atmosphere around them is always charged They gravitated to each other immediately I could feel the electricity between us (Lakoff 1980: 49) Intensity, being one of the most siginficant features of love, enables us to use forces such as magnetism, gravity and electicity while talking about this powerful emotion. LOVE IS A PHYSICAL FORCE metaphor definitely highlights an imperious aspect of love over other emotions that people can feel. In this metaphor, humans conceptualize love as a force majeure, something that they cannot control or have an influence on. If we assume that such a feeling as love cannot be controlled, we have to admit that also lovers cannot be restricted. The existence of magnetism between them signifies the necessity of living together or spending as much time as possible with each other whereas electricity between lovers presents the power of love that bonds them. SOURCE- A PHYSICAL FORCE TARGET- LOVE 2.2.9 Love is a rapture metaphor LOVE IS A RAPTURE Im giddy with love Ive been high on love for weeks She is drunk with love He is intoxicated with love (Lakoff 1980:49) The examples above present love as a state of an ecstasy caused by drugs or alcohol. The existence of such a metaphor proves that the behaviour of people who are in love resembles the conduct of those being on a drug- induced high. Although lovers do not usually take any narcotic stimulants, they indeed show symptoms of an addiction. A constant thinking about the object of love, a difficult to understand happiness when spending time with each other or a determination to win the beloveds heart are symptoms which may be misunderstood and the person showing them may be accused of using illegal stimulants. However, in everyday situations humans realize that love has such an impact on those experiencing it that they actually can act irresponsiby. SOURCE RUPTURE TARGET- LOVE There are many different kinds of metaphors of love presenting various aspects of this overwhelming feeling. I have chosen only a few of them, the most fascinating and ambiguous ones. The analysis of the metaphors of love proved that this feeling is difficult to comprehend because of its complexity. By trials and errors I have realized that it is impossible to present all the possible sides of this powerful emotion. Love affects people profoundly and therefore it is very important for them. That is why they try to comprehend this abstract feeling using more concrete concepts such as a journey, war or fire. Thanks to metaphors we create in our minds the breathtaking pictures of an incredible world we live in.

A Woman Mourned By Daughters: An Analysis :: essays research papers

A Woman Mourned By Daughters: An Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Woman Mourned by Daughters†, by Adrienne Rich, is a very descriptive poem in which two women are speaking to their dead mother. There are several parts to this poem starting from the when the mother dies, and moving gradually backward to when the daughters were young girls.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It begins with the daughters sitting in their mothers kitchen, â€Å"mourning† over their mothers death, only they aren't upset or crying (Lines 1-3). They are â€Å"spent† (drained and tired) from all the pressure their mother put on them, before and after she died.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next section (Lines 4-10) is a description of their dead mother as a persistent presence in their lives. They are so burdened by the power she still carries over them, even though she is no longer living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They proceed in speaking about her as an elderly woman, weak and frail, â€Å" a straw blown on the bed† (Lines 11-14). The describe her on her death bed. â€Å" Like a corpse pulled from the sea†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the fourth section (Lines 15-20) they discuss that what upsets them now that she is gone, isn't the fact that she died, it is all the things that she used to do to them. A knot forms in their throats (â€Å"what rises in our throats like the food you prodded in†) as they think about how they used to be treated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the mother dies, the daughters are left with several responsibilities which are discussed in the next section (Lines 22-28). These responsibilities are not ones which the daughters would be happy to take care of. They are so hateful toward their mother and the problems she left are only a burden to them. They feel that they are still being pushed around even after she is dead. Even the thought of taking care of their sick and dying father is thought of as a chore instead of a blessing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The final section of this poem (Lines 29-33) basically states that if they do something, and it isn't exactly the way their mother would have wished it done, they will be punished. They will feel the guilt from their mother, from beyond the grave, if they do not do things the way she did them, or would

Huckleberry Finn: A Good Role Model :: essays research papers

Huckleberry Finn: A Good Role Model "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" gives a visual look at the time in which the author Samuel Clemens lived. He explains how he felt about his life through the eyes of a young boy named Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn has many adventures that teach him life lessons we can learn from today. Although there are differing opinions on whether Huck Finn is a good role model for today's young people, I will explain why I think he is. Huck is a good role model for several reasons. First, he believes that slavery is wrong. He believes in treating people equally regardless of color. When Huck sees the widow's runaway slave Jim on Jackson's Island, he has mixed emotions about what he should say and do. He feels badly that the widow is going to sell Jim and separate him from his family. Huck decides against better reasoning to help Jim escape down the Mississippi River to Cairo. Another example of good role modeling is Huck's faithfulness to those he loves and cares for. Huck lies to protect Jim on several occasions. Lying is not the best thing, but to Huckleberry, the truth is not always a black and white issue. He is faithful to his friends and chooses friendship instead. He knows that Jim's family needs him. In today's language, Huckleberry's reaction to Jim's situation would reflect what Spock of Star Trek says, â€Å"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.† An illustration of another positive side of Huck shows us that he has a good and true heart, and the best intentions even though they may not turn out right. For example, the widow tells Huck to pray for the dinner they are having. Huck's interpretation is, â€Å"God thank you for the meal and if you get the chance, please let me catch a big catfish.† The widow tells Huck that he shouldn't pray for material things. Huck disagrees because his Sunday School teacher teaches him to pray to God for what you want, and it will be granted. The widow tells him that the teacher is talking about spiritual things. He still disagrees, and is sent to his room. Even though his intentions are the best, he still comes up short; but he keeps on trying. Finally, Huckleberry Finn thinks life is precious and shouldn't be wasted. This is the most important lesson he can teach today's young people. He and Jim find themselves in a situation as they are floating down the Mississippi River in the fog.

Geo100 Brisbane Floods

ESSAY As natural disasters are inevitable, it is essential that we as humans mitigate the potential outcomes caused by these disasters. This essay will explore the 2011 floods of Brisbane and whether proper planning and preparation could have minimised the outcome. It will further explore the impact the Wivenhoe Dam had on the floods and discuss whether dam maintenance; level supplies and warnings could have helped. December 2010 and January 2011 saw Queensland experience record-breaking rainfall that has not been seen since 1960.Approximately 1 000 millimetres of rainfall was recorded in January alone, which caused the second biggest flood Brisbane has experienced since 1974 (Hornet & McAneney, 2011:1150). The 2011 floods caused severe devastation throughout Brisbane with over 26 000 people loosing their homes and over 5 000 businesses around the city either partially or completely flooded. It further caused around ninety kindergartens and sixty schools to be affected and unusable. However the greatest devastation was the loss of twenty-three people’s lives as a direct result of the floods (Calligeros, 2011:4).The Queensland Government also suffered a major financial repercussion from the floods. Over 440 million dollars was spent in repairing roads, bridges, power poles and other public facilities that were destroyed (PM With Mark Colvin 2011). This kind of spending by the Government caused speculation that if proper planning and preparation been implemented, the Brisbane floods could have been mitigated. This speculation further lead to the investigating of whether the Wivenhoe Dam helped or hindered the floods.The Wivenhoe Dam opened in 1985 after the great Brisbane floods of 1974 occurred and was seen as a solution to prevent further floods from happening again. All the dams, creeks and rivers surrounding the Wivenhoe Dam were connected that any potential overflow could run straight into the Wivenhoe and therefore have minimal risk of overflowing. H owever what occurred in 2011 was not what was planned when building Wivenhoe many years earlier. Wivenhoe Dam was built to hold a water supply of 1. 5 million millilitres of water, with a capacity to hold 1. 45 million millilitres at Full Supply Level or FSL. The 30 million-millilitre difference was allocated as a reserve for floodwaters to help mitigate flooding (Honert & McAneney, 2011:1152). Although a reserve level had been allocated in the dam, the issue was that there had been constant and heavy rainfall in the previous spring months. This led to the Wivenhoe catchments being relatively full prior to the downpour that occurred in the December 2010 and January 2011.This rain further caused the surrounding rivers and creeks to overflow causing minor river flooding, with water then starting to flow into Wivenhoe to help prevent major flooding. Leading up to the floods Wivenhoe peaked at 1. 50pm on Wednesday 12th of January reaching an astounding 2. 29 million millilitres. (See Ap pendix 1 – Table 1. 0). A day later Brisbane River peaked at 4. 46 metres at 2. 57am on Thursday 13th of January, causing major flooding to begin. (See Appendix 2 – Graph 2. 0).It was during these two days that the role the SEQWater played was questioned, as they were aware that the dams were high enough to overflow. This speculation was further fuelled when it was made known that SEQWater only released 60% of the dam’s water, moments before the flood engulfed Brisbane (See Appendix 3 – Table 3. 0). SEQWater is the company in charge of the Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams and have three simple operating guidelines that they must follow (See Appendix 4 – Guidelines 4. 0).It was apparent that none of the guidelines were followed for a number of reasons. Firstly this was evident as when the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams began filling up as a result of the severe wet weather, SEQWater did not release any water from either dam until Tuesday 11th of January. As t hey had left the water idling for too long they had no other choice but to release the water at once instead of gradually releasing water like they were advised to do from the Senior Flood Operations Engineer.After the flood occurred SEQWater stated back, â€Å"The flood compartments of the dams were filled to a high level by the first flood that there was not sufficient time to release this water prior to the second flood arriving,† (Water, 2011:1158). So although the SEQWater tried to justify their actions, it can be argued that the SEQWater company and the employees were warned a few days in advance that by releasing a small amount of water at different times during the day would help minimise the amount of flooding that could have potentially occurred.Once it was discovered that the SEQWater had received numerous warning of potential warnings, the issue was studied and analysed. It was estimated that between 11:00 Tuesday 11th of January and 19:09 Wednesday 12th of Januar y that 518,000 millilitres of water was released from Wivenhoe dam making around a 60% contribution to the already rising water around the Brisbane area. (See Appendix 3 – Table 3. 0). By 6:09pm Thursday the 13th of January the water flowing past the City Gauge was estimated to be around 866,000 millilitres and was still continuing to rise. See Appendix 5 – Table 5. 0). The final detailed analysis sent out to SEQWater by the Senior Floods Operation Engineer it was analysed that if releases from the Wivenhoe dam were timed appropriately it could have minimised the flooding that occurred. (See Appendix 6 – Analysis 6. 0). The Bureau of Meteorology proved to be helpful through the disaster, by providing warnings through their rainfall data. Day-to-day rainfall charts and rainfall maps were updated online and made easily accessible to the public and those affected. See Appendix 7 and 8 – Graph and Chart 7. 0). The BOM also released a clear warning to both the government and the public that the amount of rain that was coming would have the likely strength of a La Nina event. As the information was made available to anyone with Internet access, SEQWater and the Government could have easily accessed this information. By doing so they would have been able to see the potential threat the approaching heavy rainfall could have and in turn should have helped them make a wiser decision.By choosing to ignore any sort of warning sign provided by the BOM, SEQWater and their employee’s did nothing about the almost full catchment even though more heavy rain was approaching. Leading to the conclusion that by ignoring the warnings they demonstrated poor planning and ignorance to the information provided. Throughout this essay is has been concluded that through proper planning and preparation the Brisbane Floods of 2011 could have been mitigated. Evidence and research shown throughout this essay evidently points unfavourably to the SEQWater compa ny and its team.It concluded that although many warnings were issued, the SEQWater and government chose to ignore them and therefore resulting in all the water being released at once. Even though this natural disaster could not have been prevented through proper planning and preparation it definitely could have been mitigated which would in turn also result in minimal devastation and destruction. This flood has also been dubbed a â€Å"dam release flood† by hydrologists that were appointed with the Insurance Council of Australia.Again as the evidence and research implies, with proper planning and preparation yes, the Brisbane flood of 2011 could have been mitigated. APPENDIX 1 TABLE 1. 0 – WIVENHOE APPENDIX 2 GRAPH 1. 0 – CITY GAUGE APPENDIX 3 TABLE 1. 1 – RELAEASE FROM WIVENHOE PLUS CITY GAUGE APPENDIX 4 GUIDELINES 3. 0 – OPERATING GUIDELINES * The flood storage (or catchments) should generally be kept empty by releasing all the water flowing into the flood storage system until the defined downstream flood event is reached. Releases from the storage system should then be selected to remain below the defined downstream flood event until the flood event has passed or the storage system becomes full. * If the flood storage system becomes full, the storage system must then release all the inflows but releases should never exceed inflows. APPENDIX 5 TABLE 1. 2 – ESTIMATED FLOW PAST CITY GAUGE APPENDIX 6 ANALYSIS 6. 0 – DETAILED ANALYSIS 123,000 millilitres was discharged either earlier than 11. 00 Tuesday 11th or ater than 19:00 Wednesday 12th rather than during this period, the flood level at the Brisbane City Gauge would not have exceeded the Major flood level, or if 335,000 millilitres was discharged outside the period 02:00 Tuesday 10th to 08:00 Thursday 13th rather then during the period, the flood level at the Brisbane City Gauge would not have exceeded the Moderate flood level, or if 623,000 millilitres was d ischarged outside of the period 13:00 Monday 10th to 21:00 Thursday 13th rather than during the period, there would not have been a flood at the Brisbane City Gauge. O’Brien, 2011:9) APPENDIX 7 AND 8 DAILY RAINFALL GRAPH AND CHART 7. 0 REFEERNCE LIST Apelt, Mar 2011, Joint Flood Taskforce Report March 2011, viewed 19 April 2012, Himsley, May 2011, Dams and Flood Mitigation, viewed 19 April 2012, Honert, R & McAneney J 2011, ‘The 2011 Brisbane Floods: Causes, Impacts and Implications’, Water Journal, Vol. , Iss. 4, pp 1149 – 1173, viewed 19 April 2012, < http://www. mdpi. com/2073-4441/3/4/1149/> Calligeros, M 2011, ‘Wivenhoe Dam release caused Brisbane flood: report,’ The Brisbane Times, 11 March, viewed 19 April 2012, < http://www. brisbanetimes. com. au/environment/weather/wivenhoe-dam-release-caused-brisbane-flood-report-20110311-1bqk7. html> Calligeros, M 2011, ‘Brisbane flood victims to confront the destruction,’ The Brisba ne Times, 14 January, viewed 21 April 2012, < http://www. risbanetimes. com. au/environment/weather/brisbane-flood-victims-to-confront-the-destruction-20110113-19q04. html> Seqwater, 2011, The January 2011 Flood Event, viewed 19 April 2012, Bureau of Meteorology, Feb 2011, Brisbane Metro in January 2011: A major rain event and severe flooding, viewed 21 April 2012, O’Brien, Mar 2011, Brisbane Flooding January 2011 An Avoidable Disaster, viewed 19 April 2012, Bureau of Meteorology, Jan 2011, Monthly Weather Review Queensland January 2011, viewed 21 April 2012, PM With Mark Colvin, ABC, 8 February 2011, ABC Australia, Brisbane. (Also a radio broadcast of it on < http://www. abc. net. au/pm/content/2011/s3133417. htm>)

Compare and contrast knowledge which can be expressed in words/symbols Essay

It is funny how the universal signs of intelligence are words and symbols or things that contain them. When someone walks past me with a load of books in their hand I immediately think â€Å"oh what a smart and knowledgeable person,† and I’m sure I’m not the only one that makes these snap judgments. But from my point of view it’s understandable that words and symbols are the universal sign of knowledge since we are taught from books and blackboards since our toddler years. Now what I consider knowledge is things that we hold to be true and are able to identify in real life. Teachers have been molding our brains to be able to communicate our knowledge using words since we were little, but as we grow older and we get into secondary school we come to realize that there is knowledge that cannot be expressed through words and symbols. The goal of the International Baccalaureate program is to make students well rounded and knowledgeable in many fields and along with that comes many requirements that other programs do not ask of their students. From my perspective knowledge that cannot be expressed in words and symbols is as important to have as knowledge that can, justifying the CAS requirements. CAS is the International Baccalaureate program’s way of teaching us what cannot be covered in books or lectures. This knowledge can be described in words but only to a certain extent. I think that CAS is a very large contributing factor to why the IB program nurtures well rounded students. CAS pushes students to seek out new activities for the purposes of gaining experiences that would have been otherwise undiscovered. I believe that the key ingredient to knowledge which cannot be expressed in words and symbols is experience. For one of my CAS creative activities I knit scarves for my friends to wear to a movie premier. Through this activity I learned many things that would otherwise be inadequately explained in words. I learned perseverance from powering through all of the arm cramps and headaches brought on by the sight of yarn. I learned about my personal effort limits when I realized that making four scarves in a week’s time was a greatly optimistic prediction of my abilities. I got out from this experience a sense of pride in what I made, a feeling that is much more complex than the â€Å"pleasure taken in something done† dictionary definition. All of these things add up to knowledge that could not have been expressed to me through words and symbols because they depended on my own experience. But CAS is not solely done by physical experience; there is a certain verbal component to it such as reading to understand how to do something. In another personal experience, not done for CAS, I tried to learn how to swim so before I took swimming lessons I read instruction manuals on swimming. When I finally got the chance to test out what I had learned from the manual in a pool I failed miserably. I knew the concept and the process but somehow there was a disconnect between reading and knowing the steps and their physical application. So from this you can see that verbal/textual knowledge is important to have but it is no replacement for experience. In math words and symbols are essentially all that are used, or rather all that can be used. In this area of knowledge there really isn’t any room for non-verbal knowledge. For example, in my math class I am given a problem to solve; the answer is always expected to be written down to show the right answer since there really is not room left to interpretation. It would be quite the task to explain to my teacher how I used my emotions to lead me to the four digit answer. This begs the question: to what extent is verbal knowledge more objective than knowledge that cannot be expressed in this way? Math is an area of knowledge that is for the most part definite and pertaining to the cold hard facts, so any math done has to be based on established and globally accepted theorems and rules. Because of this, there is no room for personal feelings. When solving out problems you have to be able to write it down so that others can understand what you have done to determine if you justified your answer. Knowledge that can be exactly conveyed is needed in order to make sense of the system of numbers and transfer new ideas whereas knowledge that cannot be expressed in words and symbols are more relative to the knower and subject to emotional coloring as everyone perceives experiences differently. With that said math does take a certain degree of subjectivity as exemplified in Newton’s anecdote to the formation of his laws of gravity. It takes a specific person’s creative imagination and intuition to be able to solve difficult problems; then their insightful problem solving methods are adopted. When I was thinking about knowledge that cannot be express by words or symbols ethics came to mind. Ethics is always that area in our human nature that no one is exactly sure of. Rather than the black and white, right and wrong that we find in math, ethics shows us that there are many shades of gray that make it hard for us to explain why, for example, you can think stealing money is wrong but you are perfectly fine with downloading music from torrents. It is apparently hardwired into our nature to find certain things wrong and others our duty, none of which we can fully explain into words or symbols. This kind of moral knowledge is more intuitive than an exact science like math which can be reasoned through proofs. For example, recently someone from the grade below me came to me asking for clarification on an assignment. Now, because I already had the class I understood the assignment and could have explained it to this person, but the problem came when I considered that I have enough things to worry about other than making sure someone understands an assignment that the rest of us had to figure out ourselves. Nevertheless, I explained the tedious assignment to the person because I felt that it was my duty to help the person. This sense of responsibility for helping others is doubtlessly engrained in all of us, or at least the sane, even when it defies reason and we know that we probably will not gain anything from the good deed. But going back to the very basis of this topic some may ask the question: is there really any knowledge that cannot be communicated through language? Some believe that if you cannot put it into words or symbols then it was never an idea or thought to begin with. Their idea is that those moments where people cannot explain how they feel are not caused because the knowledge cannot be expressed in words or symbols but because the experiencer does not have the vocabulary or the eloquence to express it. From another perspective it could also be said because language is a human invention that it is a problem of language where we have not created enough words to express certain thoughts and that after we label these certain thoughts it could then be expressed in words/symbols. Though there may be arguments about the existence of knowledge that cannot be expressed with words and symbols, I still believe that there is. I believe that there is a gap between book knowledge and knowledge gained from personal experience. Words simply cannot replace human experience, as exemplified by my failed attempts to swim after reading about it and being told how. Words and symbols are essential to areas of knowledge such as math and the sciences where knowledge needs to be specifically conveyed so that there will not be any misunderstandings, but in other areas such as ethics words seem mostly inadequate and there is much more room for different interpretations.

Process Improvement Application Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Process Improvement Application - Research Paper Example The researcher states that Quality Improvement is an outline of a sequence that one needs to follow to arrive at a certain point that would define goal achievement. One can also understand QI to mean ways through which an organization can ensure client satisfaction through an offering of meritorious services. In many circumstances, healthcare facilities are so far the known organization that uses QI story more than any other organization. This does not imply that QI improvement limits its application to health practitioners. In fact, some assembly industries like motor vehicle assembly also use QI in their management system. Some of the benefits that accrue to an organization that employs a Quality Improvement management system are customer loyalty, improvement in market share, reduced service call, higher prices, and greater productivity. Any organization that uses Quality Improvement story has varied reasons for doing so. The reasons for using QI story include helping the team to o rganize, gather and analyze data in a logical fashion; monitors the teams progress; facilitates understanding by non- team members and lastly, it standardizes presentation to management. In the case of a health practitioner, he/she needs to organize the work in search a way that it clearly defines who is going to be responsible for what task. It also indicates the time one would execute the task and the duration that one would take to accomplish such kind of task. The QI story makes sure that it states how one would gather the necessary data and method for analysis of the collected data. Secondly, QI story helps one to monitor the team’s progress. The team enters whatever they have done in a format that one can identify easily or observe with ease. The management is able to evaluate and monitor the progress that the team is making from the format of presentation that QI story delivers.

The Impact of Logistical Performance on Organization Performance Research Proposal

The Impact of Logistical Performance on Organization Performance - Research Proposal Example Logistics is defined as the part of supply chain process which plans, controls and implements the forwards flow, the reverse flow, and storage of goods, services and information from the point of origin and point of consumption to meet the requirements of the organization (Council of Logistics Management, 1991). Logistics gets the input from suppliers and subsequently the movement of material takes place for various operations in the organization. In an organization, a single product goes through a series of processes and logistics is based on time relational positioning, while supply chain is the sequence of events which are performed to satisfy the customer. The logistics performance of an organization reflects its abilities to deliver services and goods on time, and in precise quantities.3. Literature ReviewThe ultimate goal of an organization is to get long term sustainable superior performance (Kluyver and Pearce, 2006, p.4) and this type of superior performance can be attained by a manufacturing organization by becoming a fully integrated partner of the supply chain (Cooper et al., 1997). Wisner (2003) found a positive link between logistics strategy and organization performance but he did not get any data collection related to logistics strategy measurement. Schramm-Klein and Morschett (2006) tried to establish relationship between logistics quality and performance of the organization in the retail sector.

Is Parole Effective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Is Parole Effective - Essay Example It is with this ideological framework in mind that this paper sets out to present an informative look at the New York State's system of parole and probation. The word 'parole' has its origins in the Latin term "probare," meaning "to prove" or "to test," and the term was coined by John Augustus ("A Brief History of Probation," 2006). The meaning of the term suggests, therefore, that parole is a chance given to a person to prove that they are deserving of the right to live in society among free people without being a threat to others or to themselves. The idea of probation is an opportunity given to a former criminal to absolve themselves of the charges against them, and to prove to the authorities, to society, and most importantly, to themselves, that they are capable of conducting themselves in a manner in which they can follow the norms of the society that they live in. (Jeffrey et al., 2003) In terms of the history of probation, two names are definitive: John Augustus and Matthew Davenport Hill. Hill was a judge who "had witnessed the sentencing of youthful offenders to one-day terms on the condition that they be returned to a parent or guardian who would closely supervise them" ("A Brief History," 2006). Hill applied the same idea of 'guardianship' of criminal offenders to the legal system: When he eventually became the Recorder of Birmingham, a judicial post, he used a similar practice for individuals who did not seem hopelessly corrupt. If offenders demonstrated a promise for rehabilitation, they were placed in the hands of generous guardians who willingly took charge of them. Hill had police officers pay periodic visits to these guardians in an effort to tack the offender's progress and to keep a running account. ("A Brief History," 2006) The above citation illustrates a very important aspect of probation: that not everyone is worthy of it. It is only when people in prison demonstrate, either through good conduct or because of the nature of their crimes, or for any other valid reason, that they deserve the chance to be free again, that they may be offered release on probation. Augustus, like Hill, also came up with the idea of probation based on an analogy with another practice; in his case, he was inspired by the way in which victims of alcohol abuse can be reformed through rehabilitation. (Robert et al., 2002) Widely regarded as the world's first parole officer, Augustus was the owner of a successful boot-making business in early nineteenth-century Boston before he made his entry into the judicial system. He believed that those who had committed crimes "could be rehabilitated through understanding, kindness and sustained moral suasion, rather then through conviction and jail sentences" ("A Brief History," 2006). The first person ever to be paroled was a "common drunkard" in 1841, who "was ordered to appear in court three weeks [after his] sentencing. He returned to court a sober man [] To the astonishment of all in attendance, his appearance and demeanor had dramatically changed," ("A Brief History," 2006) and thus began the system of probation in Americ a. The State of New York State had the official beginning of the system of probation in 1901. by 1917, a State Division of Probation had been implemented in the State's Department of Corrections. The Division of Prob