Saturday, December 28, 2019

Battle of Saylers Creek in the Civil War

The Battle of Saylers Creek (Sailors Creek) was fought April 6, 1865, during the American Civil War (1861 to 1865). Armies Commanders Union Major General Philip H. Sheridanapprox. 16,000 men Confederate Lieutenant General Richard EwellLieutenant General Richard Andersonapprox. 11,500 Background In the wake of the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1, 1865, General Robert E. Lee was driven out of Petersburg by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Also forced to abandon Richmond, Lees army began retreating west with the ultimate goal of re-supplying and moving south into North Carolina to join with General Joseph Johnston. Marching through the night of April 2/3 in several columns, the Confederates intended to rendezvous at Amelia Court House where supplies and rations were expected. As Grant was forced to pause to occupy Petersburg and Richmond, Lee was able to put some space between the armies. Arriving at Amelia on April 4, Lee found trains loaded with munitions but none with food. Forced to pause, Lee sent out forage parties, asked the local populace for aid, and ordered food sent east from Danville along the railroad. Having secured Richmond and Petersburg, Grant tasked Major General Philip Sheridan with leading the pursuit of Lee. Moving west, Sheridans Cavalry Corps and attached infantry fought several rearguard actions with the Confederates and rode ahead in an effort to cut the railroad in front of Lee. Learning that Lee was concentrating at Amelia, he began moving his men towards the town. Having lost his lead on Grants men and believing his delay to be fatal, Lee departed Amelia on April 5 despite securing little food for his men. Retreating west along the railroad towards Jetersville, he soon found that Sheridans men had arrived there first. Stunned as this development precluded a direct march to North Carolina, Lee elected not to attack due to the late hour and instead conducted a night march to the north around the Union left with the goal of reaching Farmville where he believed supplies to be waiting. This movement was spotted around dawn and Union troops resumed their pursuit. Setting the Stage Pushing west, the Confederate column was led by Lieutenant General James Longstreets combined First and Third Corps, followed by Lieutenant General Richard Andersons small corps, and then Lieutenant General Richard Ewells Reserve Corps which possessed the armys wagon train. Major General John B. Gordons Second Corps acted as the rear guard. Harassed by Sheridans troopers, they were also closely followed by Major General Andrew Humphreys II Corps and Major General Horatio Wrights VI Corps. As the day progressed a gap opened between Longstreet and Anderson which was exploited by the Union cavalry. Correctly guessing that future attacks were likely, Ewell sent the wagon train along a more northern route west. It was followed by Gordon who was under pressure from Humphreys approaching troops. Crossing Little Saylers Creek, Ewell assumed a defensive position along a ridge west of the creek. Blocked by Sheridans cavalry, which was approaching from the south, Anderson was forced to deploy southwest of Ewell. In a dangerous position, the two Confederate commands were nearly back-to-back. Building up strength opposite Ewell, Sheridan and Wright opened fire with 20 guns around 5:15 PM. The Cavalry Strikes Lacking guns of his own, Ewell was forced to endure this bombardment until Wrights troops started advancing around 6:00 PM. During this time, Major General Wesley Merritt began a series of probing attacks against Andersons position. After several small-scale advances were turned back, Sheridan and Merritt increased the pressure. Advancing with three cavalry divisions armed with Spencer carbines, Merritts men succeeded in engaging Andersons line in close combat and overwhelming his left flank. As Andersons left disintegrated, his line collapsed and his men fled the field. The Hillsman Farm Unaware that his line of retreat was being cut by Merritt, Ewell prepared to engage Wrights advancing VI Corps. Moving forward from their position near the Hillsman Farm, the Union infantry struggled across rain-swollen Little Saylers Creek before reforming and attacking. In the course of the advance, the Union center outdistanced the units on its flanks and took the brunt of the Confederate fire. Wavering, it was driven back by a small Confederate force led by Major Robert Stiles. This pursuit was halted by the Union artillery. Lockett Farm Reforming, VI Corps again advanced and succeeded in overlapping the flanks of Ewells line. In bitter fighting, Wrights troops succeeded in collapsing Ewells line capturing around 3,400 men and routing the rest. Among the prisoners were six Confederate generals including Ewell. As Union troops were achieving victory near the Hillman Farm, Humphreys II Corps closed on Gordon and the Confederate wagon train a few miles north near the Lockett Farm. Assuming a position along the eastern rim of a small valley, Gordon sought to cover the wagons as they crossed the Double Bridges over Saylers Creek at the valley floor. Unable to handle the heavy traffic, the bridges caused a bottleneck leading to the wagons stacking up in the valley. Arriving on the scene, Major General Andrew A.  Humphreys II Corps deployed and began attacking around dusk. Steadily driving Gordons men back, the Union infantry took the ridge and the fighting continued among the wagons. Under heavy pressure and with Union troops working around his left flank, Gordon retreated to the west side of the valley having lost around 1,700 captured and 200 wagons. As dark descended, the fighting petered out and Gordon began retreating west towards High Bridge. Aftermath While Union casualties for the Battle of Saylers Creek numbered around 1,150, the Confederate forces engaged lost around 7,700 killed, wounded, and captured. Effectively the death knell of the Army of Northern Virginia, Confederate losses at Saylers Creek represented approximately a quarter of Lees remaining strength. Riding out from Rices Depot, Lee saw the survivors of Ewells and Andersons corps streaming west and exclaimed, My God, has the army dissolved? Consolidating his men at Farmville early on April 7, Lee was able to partially re-provision his men before being forced out by the early afternoon. Pushed west and eventually cornered at Appomattox Court House, Lee surrendered his army on April 9.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Asbestos Of Asbestos Between 1940 And 1978 - 1211 Words

You have locked all the windows, made sure all the doors are locked and secure and set the security alarm before retiring to bed. You even had security lights added at the corners and entrances of your home. Despite all your efforts to protect your family, there is a killer in your home, lurking, waiting, for the right moment to strike. It is not a person, but a thing, and it is called asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral found and mined out of the earth and is naturally fire and heat resistant. Therefore, it was used in many building materials such as insulation for building and electrical, mixed with cement, and used in fabric or mats. The prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. According†¦show more content†¦(mesothelioma.com). It is always fatal and forms in the protective tissues that cover the lungs, abdomen, chest cavity, gastrointestinal system, and the reproductive organs. It can cause pleural effusion, which is when e xcess fluids build up in the pleural space in the lungs. The pleural space is the area between the lungs and the chest wall, and the person coughs up the fluids. The more fluids are present, the more difficult it is for the person to breathe. Asbestosis is an illness caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that lodge deep in the lungs. Asbestosis causes scarring or triggers growth of excess tissue that is a condition called fibrosis. There is no cure for asbestosis, and it makes breathing extremely painful and often causes death from lung or heart failure. If those things do not happen the person will eventually suffocate. The second important reason asbestos materials must be removed is safety. If you leave materials containing asbestos, whether next year, twenty years or hundred years, eventually the problem of the asbestos material will have to be addressed. The material can be merely covered, but eventually every home needs repair, and building supplies replaced. If the building burns, or collapses, there is a significant risk of exposure to the people who live in the home and to all the firefighters and paramedics. A good but tragic example is the many firefighters and other firstShow MoreRelatedBarangay Banga Profile5033 Words   |  21 PagesThe Banga tree is best known before as a good material for flooring that is why it is mainly used by people. The Banga Central School of Brgy. Banga is one of the major contributions of the first Teniente del Barrio, Ceriaco Galon in the year 1940. He was the one who donated the lot for the construction of the said school. It is then a great help to the residents of Barangay Banga. Barangay Banga also has rice mills since one of the crops grown in the Barangay is â€Å"palay.† One functionalRead MoreUk Separate Legal Entity Concept9457 Words   |  38 Pagesarranged by himself. 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Thursday, December 12, 2019

Importance Media For Business Organisations-Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Importance Of Social Media For Business Organisations? Answer: Introducation Social media posts of an organisation can drive the targeted traffic as well-placed social media images or any posts can make the difference for the organisation. Social media pages of an organisation can be used to increase SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Social media helps to generate a large amount of customers' data and demographic influences. In a single day, more than 510 million tweets, 95 million Instagram images and 4.4 billion Facebook likes to happen on social media (Munar Jacobsen, 2014). Organisations need to be aware of the facts and engage the customers to be active on organisation's pages. Moreover, the business organisation can increase brand loyalty through presence in social media and it is easier for any customers to reach that organisation. Organisations can run targeted advertisements as social media ads are not expensive and these advertisements can bring real-time results (Ashley Tuten, 2015). In addition, business organisations can find about competitors strategies in business through social media, Strategic problems in using social media Today's businesses are facing the problems of using social media as choosing the strategy between local and global. If a business is operating in multiple countries, the social media planning must be careful. The organisation needs to make a balance between global or local strategies as it can have advantages from global strategy or it might find opportunity by speaking colloquial terms on a particular occasion. Cultural understanding of each country must be kept in mind before sharing any post on social media page (Jacobs et al. 2016). In addition, maintaining brand reputation is important as experienced editors should not post anything that might hurt the sentiments of any particular class of society. As stated by Chang, Yu Lu (2015), knowing the difference between offensive images or funny posts is necessary. Users on social media can post publicly anything about the organisation or can post queries about anything. The business organisations need to resolve the issues before it g oes viral and brings negative impact on the organisations. Crafting the responses at right time with the solution is the biggest challenge for business now on social media (Kumar et al. 2013). In promoting the products or services of the organisation, ensuring the conversation or consistency in scheduling posts are necessary. Reflective and constructive analysis of Southwest Airlines in using social media In the summer of last year, Southwest Airlines was struck by technology failure. Website and social media pages were down for more than 12 hours and this led to cancelling the flights. This 12 hours incident shook Southwest Airlines and they had to cancel the flights for next four days. Southwest tried to answer each of the customers' query and they admitted their apology. Southwest team admitted their fault and profusely said sorry for the inconvenience (Convinceandconvert.com, 2017). They posted images and videos in order to personalise the response on Facebook and Twitter, however, users complaints poured on social media. IT cell of the organisation seemed to get offended by this and IT outrage began. Twitter and Facebook queries and grievances unanswered for days. It was obvious that, this crisis impact on all social media channels. On Instagram, people started to give angry-face emoji. Social media is cost-effective; however, strategies should be efficient. Southwest's live vide o was a good trick and gaining sympathy in social media crisis was needed then. Saying sorry in urgent need of the customers was needed and Southwest proved that website is not only the crisis home for the online platform. In today, Southwest Airline is giving priority to all the social media channel and they treat each one is customer service channel (Convinceandconvert.com, 2017). Southwest now takes the strategy of listen first and they now personalise the audiences queries. Southwest shares real images and contents that the users like to see. Southwest management asks the team members to sign their names before handling the Facebook pages. Southwest has 20 local stations for Facebook and they share local contents. Southwest now generates good social media presence through social business strategy; it has 495K Twitter followers, 5,570,000 likes on Facebook and on Instagram, it has 370K followers. Reference List AReference ListC., Tuten, T. (2015). Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement.Psychology Marketing,32(1), 15-27. Baer, J., (2017). 6 Unforgettable Lessons from Southwest Airlines Social Media Crisis. Convince and Convert Social Media Consulting and Content Marketing Consulting. Retrieved 14 September 2017, from https://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-case-studies/6-unforgettable-lessons-from-southwest-airlines-social-media-crisis/ Chang, Y. T., Yu, H., Lu, H. P. (2015). Persuasive messages, popularity cohesion, and message diffusion in social media marketing.Journal of Business Research,68(4), 777-782. Jacobs, R., Boyd, L., Brennan, K., Sinha, C. K., Giuliani, S. (2016). The importance of social media for patients and families affected by congenital anomalies: A Facebook cross-sectional analysis and user survey.Journal of pediatric surgery,51(11), 1766-1771. Kumar, V., Bhaskaran, V., Mirchandani, R., Shah, M. (2013). Practice prize winnercreating a measurable social media marketing strategy: increasing the value and ROI of intangibles and tangibles for hokey pokey.Marketing Science,32(2), 194-212. Munar, A. M., Jacobsen, J. K. S. (2014). Motivations for sharing tourism experiences through social media.Tourism management,43, 46-54.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Marketing Management for Mercedes Benz S Class- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theMarketing Management for Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe. Answer: The Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe Night Edition The Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe Night Edition car was launched in 2017 and it has six cylinders with a top speed of 250. The car is a Mercedes Benz brand which is one of the widely known luxurious and well-built automobiles from German. It is a two-door model car making it to be liked by many people. The vehicle has distinctive radiator grilled with a sing louver in high-gloss black; it also has paintwork in Selenite grey Magno which is optional. The company came up with this vehicle to be among the world leading top cars. Therefore, the vehicle was manufactured targeting rich and prosperous customers (Mercedes Benz, n.d.). Steps involved in writing a marketing plan A marketing plan is one of the most vital components when starting a business. It helps businesses to focus on how they are going not only to make a profit but also keep their customers. It states the objectives of business, its facts, and numbers (Cameron, 2014). The plan also shows the product to be sold, the customers and tools and tactics one can use to achieve sales. The following are step involved in coming up with a marketing plan. Positioning Position refers to coming up with a way of identifying the benefits of the product to the customers and the space it may occupy in the market. It involves coming up with a good image in the consumer's mind that is how one wants people to view your product about market and competition. To achieve this one needs to come up with the uniqueness of the product that will differentiate it from that of competitors. The Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe Night Edition' is highly positioned with a speed of 250, has a distinctive radiator which is grilled with a single louver in high-gloss black which gives them an upper hand from competitors and also drawing customers attention. Objective Setting the objective entails coming up with what one wants to accomplish with the product. What one wants to achieve should be (SMART) which means being specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable and timely. The primary objective of this brand of Mercedes Benz is to bring out a good quality of a car with high technology that targets customers from a higher class. Strategy The strategy involves taking time to decide and come up with something that will help achieve the objectives. In this part one identifies a space in the market segment that has not been touched. For one to achieve their goals they need a product that challenges the existing one. For example, the Mercedes Benz S- Class, has high technology and also contains internal features with security systems. Coming up with a vehicle with security systems is a good strategy because many vehicles lack security systems. Tactics/planning For any beneficial marketing plan, there must be tactics to be used to achieve the objectives. The tactics involve using the resources and experiences available to come up with actions or activities that are able run with resources available (John, Katherine Jocz, 2012). In this category marketing communication is the vital aspect. Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe uses online platforms for marketing which is a tactic that reaches customers all over the world without spending a lot of money (Mercedes-Benz, 16). SWOT Analysis SWOT is a useful marketing tool which is used to unveil the internal and external factors of the business. The acronym SWOT stands for Strengths and Weaknesses which are internal factors while Opportunities and Threats are external factors. Internal factors are the resources and experiences that are available which may include financial, human, physical, and natural resources (Blythe, 2009). External factors are those things that are uncontrollable by the company or business; they include; political and economic regulations, funding, marketing and economic trends. Therefore it helps to know how to run companies and businesses without incurring losses. Strengths and weaknesses Strengths are the advantages an organization has over the others. This the uniqueness of a product and factors that make customers go for it, while weaknesses are what things an organization should improve or avoid and the factors that can lead to losing of customers. When there is no good relationship between employees and employers, then that is a weakness and when there is a good relationship that is the strength to the organization because they will work together. The Mercedes Benz has a good reputation with customers, and their products are viewed as those of quality. The Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe can capitalize on these to get customers. The weakness of this product is that there is slow customer response to the product because it is still new. Therefore weaknesses can be overcome using strengths. Opportunities and threats These are the interesting trends that businesses can be aware of and pick them up for their benefits. It also involves changes in technology and government policies. It also involves changes in lifestyle and social patterns, while threats are obstacles faced in an organization. Threats are people like competitors and changes in technology that threaten other positions and having debts (Adam, Wim Micheline, 2011). The opportunities that are there for the Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe include the availability of technology that helps one reach customers everywhere with ease. The brand can also export their vehicles through easier transport like water and air. The threats available include the fact that the brand has to come up with innovations every time because the technology is always changing. Competition from other automobile companies will be high, and they have to be ahead. Opportunities should be used to overcome threats available (Kim, Hayes, Avant Reid, 2014). Therefore, it is clear that Mercedes can focus on the opportunities that exist in its market environment to ensure that it surpasses the treats that exist in the context. Competitor Analysis Competitor analysis entails relating competitors to yourself to see how you can move past them. This helps an organization to be clear and confident. One should consider what makes their product unique from those of competitors so that they can gain more customers (Perreault, 2010). An organization has to look out for ways of attaining more customer and these means that their marketing and advertising strategies should be better than those of competitors. For example, Mercedes Benz Company has a web site to market their brands and for this reason get a lot of customers. Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe has better features than other vehicles. It is a two-door model with exclusive wheels, matt paint finish and high-quality special-effect pigment that puts it ahead of other brands (Kumar, Sharma Gupta, 2017). Mission The mission refers to the primary purpose of an organization. Usually, the mission is a statement that summarizes the business organization, its companies and the vision that it has in the industry. It is what a business owner wants to put across to the customers this is the type of message they want to be associated with their company. How they want customers to know about them and their competitors to view them (Top gear, 2017). The mission for Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe is perfection; this is to provide best quality brands of cars to the customers in the whole world. Marketing Objectives To reach a wider market in the next six months. To build brand awareness as it is a new product. To create good customer relationships. Financial Objectives To ship vehicles in large quantities to minimize on individual shipping costs. To ensure the profit attained is more than the money used in production. To use less than 1, 000,000 dollars for advertisement so that much money can be spent on innovation. Marketing Mix Strategy These are tools that a company uses to get a response from their customers. It consists four Ps of marketing which includes the product, price, place, and promotion. The products are the goods offered by the company; the price is what customers pay in exchange for the product, place or distribution is where customers can access the product and promotion are features and benefits of the product communicated to customers for persuasion. The company can use social media platforms and websites to pass information (Robert, 2016). The Mercedes Company can use the internet to show for example how a product is of different qualities, image, brand, and design. For example, Mercedes Benz S Class Coupe Night Edition has different colors to cater for every customer. The price can be circulated through social media for different customers as people use different social media platforms (Luan, Sudhir, 2010). Place or distribution can be assessed easily as the company can use the website to point out places where customers can access their products (Sinapuelas, Wang Bohlmann, 2015). Promotion can be done through advertising, for example, the brand can make a video of a moving vehicle and how it is driven on social media platforms. Its images can be displayed on their websites. This way it will have used digital communication to reach the customers. Action Programs designed to achieve Marketing and Financial objectives To reach a wider market or audience, and to build awareness, the brand has come up with a group of people to come up with websites and open social media platforms. One of the programs designed is updating the website of the product on a daily basis so that in the case of any changes customers have full information (Mintz Currim, 2013). The social media platforms are also to be updated daily and help in communication with the target market. The customers can ask their questions on the social media platforms and contacted to create good relationships (Maggon Harish, 2015). Another program designed is the brand has come up with a group of managers that will take charge of finances. This is to ensure a lot of money is not used in production than the profit they get. This team is also there to ensure that cars are shipped to the countries in bulk and not one on customer order. This way they will reduce the amount of transport used. This team also has advertisement managers that will look for best ways of advertising the product like media platforms without spending much (Hartmann, Nair Narayanan, 2011). Implementation and control of marketing plan The process of managing the implementation and the control of the marketing plan helps to ensure that a company achieves the objectives set. It involves organizing and giving direction to people and coming up with a group of people to ensure objectives are achieved. During this process, the manager should look for the correct people to work with and use the available resources adequately (Wood, 2008). For example one of the objectives of Mercedes Benz S Clas s Coupe is to get to many customers in the world in six months so the manager should use the correct people and available resources adequately to ensure it is achieved. Marketing control is there to monitor and evaluate the marketing activities being carried out. Monitoring helps the company to know what is going on and the information that they get can be useful (Laudon Laudon, 2010). Without monitoring some things can go astray for example how resources are used should be monitored. Mercedes wants to use less than $1,000,000 in advertising in six months, and market control can ensure this. Therefore, the process of implementing the marketing plan is critical and be considered with care for its successful execution. Besides, the control strategies such as the monitoring and evaluation have played a critical role for the success of the business. Conclusion In conclusion, coming up with a marketing plan gives businesses an easier way of dealing with the products. This helps them to know what to do when and where for what reasons. Carrying out a SWOT and competitor analysis is also important to the organization. This helps them to maximize on strengths and opportunities and try their best to do away with weaknesses and threats. Competitor analysis also helps on the deal with competition and move ahead. Besides, the organization's adoption of the 4P's marketing strategy is critical since it helps the company to achieve its marketing objectives. Therefore market research is an important factor to any organization. References Adam, S., Wim, N. Micheline, G. (2011). Entrepreneurship, Innovations and Economic Development. Oxford University Press, ISBN No. 978- 92-808-3093-4 Blythe, J. (2009). Key Concepts in Marketing. London: Sage Publications. ISBN978-1-84787-498-6 Cameron, B. (2014). Management. Strategic Leadership Review, pp. 22-27. Hartmann, W., Nair, H. Narayanan, S. (2011). Identifying Casual Marketing Mix Effects Using a Regression Discontinuity Design, Marketing Science, Vol. 30(6), pp. 1079-1097. John, A., Katherine, E. Jocz (2012). All Business is Local: Why Place Matters More than Ever in a Global, Virtual World. Penguin. Kim, K., Hayes, J., Avant, J. Reid, L. (2014). Trends in Advertising Research: A Longitudinal Analysis of Leading Advertising, Marketing, and Communication Journals, 1980 to 2010, Journal of Advertising, Vol. 43(3), pp. 296-316. Kumar, V., Sharma, A. Gupta, S. (2017). Accessing the influence of the strategic marketing research on the generating impact: Moderating roles of models, journals, and estimation approaches, Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 45(2), 164-185. Laudon, K., Laudon, J. (2010). "Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm." Eleventh Edition (11 ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Luan, Y. Sudhir, K. (2010), Forecasting Marketing-Mix Responsiveness for the New Products, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 47(3), pp. 444. Maggon, M. Harish, C. (2015). Revisiting The Relationship Marketing and the Customer Relationship Management in the Leading Tourism and the Hospitality Journals: Research Trends From 2001 to 2013, Journal of Relationship Marketing, Vol. 14(1), pp. 53-77. Mercedes Benz. (n.d.). S-class coup Night Edition: Even more exclusive. Retrieved from https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/vehicles/passenger-cars/s-class/s-class-coupe-night-edition-even-more-exclusive/ Mercedes-Benz. ( 2016, dec, 16). Retrieved from https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/vehicles/passenger-cars/s-class/s-class-coupe-night-edition-even-more-exclusive/ Mintz, O. Currim, I. (2013). What Drives Managerial Use of Marketing and Financial Metrics and Does Metric Use Affect Performance of Marketing-Mix Activities? Journal of Marketing, Vol. 77(2), pp. 17. Perreault, W. (2010). Essentials of marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach Robert, M. (2016). 2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe "Night edition." Retrieved from https://www.topspeed.com/cars/mercedes/2017-Mercedes-Benz-s-class-coupe-night-edition-ar175439.html Sinapuelas, I., Wang, H. Bohlmann, J. (2015). The interplay of innovation, brand, and marketing mix variables in line extensions, Academy of Marketing Science Journal, Vol. 43(5), pp. 558-573. Top gear. (Apr 2017). Retrieved from https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/mercedes-benz/s-class-coupe/s500-night-edition-2dr-auto/spec Wood, M. (2008). The marketing plan handbook. Pearson Prentice Hall

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Leslie Marmon Silko, “Lullaby” Essays

Leslie Marmon Silko, â€Å"Lullaby† Essays Leslie Marmon Silko, â€Å"Lullaby† Paper Leslie Marmon Silko, â€Å"Lullaby† Paper American Mosaic, July 2011 FOCUS: Leslie Marmon Silko, â€Å"Lullaby† â€Å"Lullaby† is a short story that first appeared in a book entitled Storyteller in 1981. This was a book written by Leslie M. Silko that uses short stories, memories, poetry, family pictures, and songs to present her message. The book is concerned, in general, with the tradition of story-telling as it pertains to the Native American culture. Lullaby seems to be a story of tradition, change, death, loss and the tensions fostered as a result of them between the old couple in the story and the Anglo-American authorities of the time. Throughout the story there are quite a few conflicts. Some are internal between Ayah and herself and others are external ones through Ayah, the white man, and Chato, her husband. The story is told by the main character, Ayah. She’s an old woman retracing tragic memories of life occurrences like the death of her son, Jimmie, in a helicopter crash during a war. She was not sure about what happened to him until a man in khakis drove up in a blue sedan and told her that he was dead and how he died. Jimmie was the one that taught Ayah to sign her name. She regrets this greatly as she relays the loss of her other two children who were taken by white doctors because they were thought to have a disease, allegedly given to them by their grandmother. They were taken because, in fear of the white men who were yelling and pointing for her signature, she â€Å"signed† the children away. Later on, when they were brought to visit, it was apparent the children were forgetting their customs and language; further evidence of the completeness of her loss. These events seem to have severely alienated Ayah towards Chato as well. Especially those specifically related to the children as indicated by, â€Å"She slept alone on the hill until the middle of November until the first snows came. Then she made a bed for herself where the children slept. She did not lie down next to Chato again until many years later when he was sick and shivering and only her body could keep him warm. † Ayah also speaks of her husband’s work (Chato) as a fence mender for a nearby rancher. She took offense at the exploitation Chato endured at the hands of the rancher that employed im, and let him go without hesitation when Chato gets too old to work. As a result they lost their home when the rancher told Chato he [and â€Å"his old woman†] had to be out of the shack [they lived in] by the next afternoon. Despite Ayah’s immense sense of devotion to Chato it seems apparent that she sees him as a weak husband and resents him deeply for it. Though much of the story is of Ayah’s reminiscences, its present tense has Ayah searching for Chato. She finds him walking along the road late on a very cold night [seemingly] in a daze brought on by illness [and wine]. While resting together beside the road she wraps Chato in the army blanket Jimmie sent her thereby eliciting comfort from a symbol of one of her greatest losses. The lullaby she sings to him at the end of the story, as they lie together in the snow, is one that her grand-mother and mother sang to her as a child and seems to provide a sense of closure for her as she sings it. It is one of the last pieces of tradition she can cling to from her own culture as she waits for death to take her and her husband from under the cold, clear winter sky.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Impact of Good Corporate Governance in Internal Control Essay

The Impact of Good Corporate Governance in Internal Control - Essay Example As result, nowadays, the corporate governance has a significant role to the companies to escape from failures in collapses or fraud. However, the discovery and prevention of fraud are significant challenges facing the business environment. Therefore, the ways in which companies' deals with fraud may enhance either the internal control and independent internal auditor or the need for forensic accounting. The forensic accounting is increasing in many organizations to identify situation, systems and security weaknesses by design and advise measure to reduce and limited inherent risk in the organization. The Enron and WorldCom in the US corporate collapses and fraud shook the foundation of the financial system and corporate governance, therefore; regulators in the U.S reform corporate governance by established the Sarbanes-Oxley act in June 2002 and Cadbury in the UK, in 1992, which now combine code. This assignment will illustrate the impact of good corporate governance in internal cont rol and internal auditing function to prevent fraud and detection. 2. Corporate governance and the prevention of fraud and detection Through the decades, the increase of the complexity of organizational activities have resulted to the increase of the difficulty of their control.   However, a mechanism should be also established ensuring that the rules and the guidelines included in the firm’s corporate governance scheme are followed. In any case, the value of the corporate governance as a framework for preventing fraud and defection across the organization cannot be doubted. This view is analytically explained below referring primarily to the main aspects and the role of corporate governance as a strategic tool for monitoring the progress of the organization in regard to its aims and mission; at the next level, the role of corporate governance in preventing fraud is presented explaining the challenges and the benefits of the involvement of corporate governance in such activity. 2.1 Corporate governance – role and characteristics Different approaches can be used in order to explain the role of corporate governance in modern organizations. In accordance with Anand (2007) corporate governance is a framework that ‘incorporates almost every aspe ct of corporate life’ (Anand 2007, p.77); however, it is explained that in its common form, the corporate governance framework consists of rules that aim to protect the interests of the firm’s shareholders (Anand 2007). On the other hand, Du Plessis et al. (2010) note that the term ‘corporate governance’ can incorporate many elements; among these elements two are considered to be the most important: the promotion of the interests of the shareholders and ‘the regulation/ monitoring of the corporate conduct’ (Du Plessis et al. 2010, p.10).  

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Designing and Implementing Effective HRD Programs Essay

Designing and Implementing Effective HRD Programs - Essay Example Hence, selection of appropriate methods that fulfill the purpose of training has an incremental effect on employees’ skill set and motivation, and relevance to management’s objectives needs to be selected (Carr, 1999). Â  In the light of my past experiences, it was observed that where HR department managed to select appropriate training topics for the workforce, training sessions intended to develop soft skills i.e. presentation skills etc, were considered as a leisure activity due to ineffective evaluation processes with intangible outcomes. A thorough analysis of the research method helped in developing an understanding that evaluation processes need to be amalgamated into the lesson plans and overall activity planning. Furthermore, peer evaluations and knowledge of industry’s best practices on the subject matter along with a concrete understanding of intended outcomes helps in developing relevant and effective evaluation processes. Â  Rockwell Collins faces a major issue of lack of accessibility of training resources to the employees as it has an extensive workforce scattered at different stations. Since the HR department is centralized and does not have a physical presence outside headquarters, it is important to identify how the training can be made available to the employees outside the physical proximity of HR department. First and foremost, support of organizational leadership needs to be acquired in order to extend delivery of training in secondary workstations. Secondly, close observation of employee performance and work schedule needs to be performed. Where HR department is aware of employees schedule outside headquarters, sending company’s trainers at a particular destination and arranging training may do the needful.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Operations Management Plan for a Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Operations Management Plan for a Company - Essay Example The company is also determined to maintain a Customer Support Service, which matches with the best in the industry. The company wishes to maintain a strict control on the movement of input components and materials to the assembly plants, the assembly process, the dispatch of finished product to the dealers, and actual sale to the end user, in order to optimize the operations and maintain cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction. All the operations are to be centrally monitored at the head quarters at Osaka, Japan. Key issues in the supply chain and logistics management, customer support, quality assessment tools and quality management techniques are discussed, taking into consideration the impact of the geographical spread of the component suppliers, manufacturing bases, distribution channels, customer support centers and end users. 1. Processor Chip: This is to be procured from southern China. It is suggested that at least one additional source may be developed for the processor chip to avoid unforeseen supply problems in future. Assembly Plants: As seen from the supply chain diagram, the above materials are supplied to the two assembly plants, one located in Thailand, and the other in Mexico. Hence, it will be additionally beneficial to finalize at least one component supplier for each component category geographically close to each assembly plant. Major supplies of components to an assembly plant can be made by the suppliers geographically close to it, and materials from other suppliers may be diverted only in case of delivery problems. The quality checking of the incoming materials is done after receipt of incoming materials at the assembly plants. After assembly operation at the assembly p

Friday, November 15, 2019

Computerised Approach to Monitoring Production Line

Computerised Approach to Monitoring Production Line AN INTELLIGENT COMPUTER VISION BASED APPROACH TO MONITOR PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTION LINE Urooj Arif 1, Faizan Naseem 2      Abstract The idea of An Intelligent Computer Vision Based Approach to Monitor Pharmaceutical Production Line   is introduced by our Group after the events observed by us in different pharmaceutical companies cases studies. Like in Japan there they use laser scanners to scan the objects whether they are filled or empty if empty they are discarded and filled goes to next level of production. But in the economy of Pakistan Pharmaceutical industry is the most growing industry in Pakistan and a lot of companies are stepping in to this sector the basic elements to step in in this industry includes the idea, Research and Development , State of the art facilities for manufacturing and packaging etc. So we decided to work on the factor of manufacturing and packaging sector and to work majorly on production line to make production line intelligent by introducing the Computer Vision Based Intelligent Approach for the Production Line. And this product will be of high usability and applica tions in this industry in coming times specifically in Pakistan may be implemented to other Third world countries as well. Keywords-Image Processing, Artificial Neural Network I. INTRODUCTION The Project is about Object Detection Identification and Comparison using Computer Vision Based Embedded System. And as we know Object detection is the process of finding instances of real-world objects such as faces, Vehicles, and buildings in images or videos. Object detection algorithms typically use extracted features and learning algorithms to recognize instances of an object category. It is commonly used in applications such as image retrieval, security, surveillance, and automated quality control systems. II. LITERATURE REVIEW Pakistan is a very fast and future-oriented pharmaceutical industry. At the time of independence in 1947, was perhaps the pharmaceutical industry. Today Pakistan is about 400 pharmaceutical manufacturing units including those operated by 25 multinationals in the country. 70 per cent of the countrys pharmaceutical industry, meet the demand of finished medicine. The domestic pharmaceutical market is divided almost equally between citizens and multinational companies in exchange.Progressive development of the pharmaceutical industry, especially in the last decade, as shown in years. The industry has invested heavily in recent years to upgrade, and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), the majority of the industry in accordance with national and international guidelines. Currently, the industry has the ability to produce a variety of products from simple to sophisticated biotech tablet, and value-added generic oncology compounds. Although Pakistan Pharma health and without access to moder n medicine for almost half the population, fastest growth. It needs a chance, but clearly much more work to be done by governments and economic stakeholders. Sales per capita consumption of less than US $ 10 worth of drugs every year $ 1.4 billion in 2007, and 2012 should be sold in 2012 represents 2.3 B drug prices, Last year, the economy, due to poor economic conditions and suffered a lot of damage from the fight against terrorism. Moreover, the economy, inflation, slow economic growth and seen a significant reduction in the value of major currencies against the rupee. No doubt the Government will take the necessary steps to get out of this terrible situation, but that it is the economy and adaptation to board immediately rejected.Before reviewing the pharmaceutical market, we look at the situation globally. 48%, 28% and the US, the EU and 12% of the value of the global market-based controls for Japan with a share. The remaining 20% of the global pharmaceutical market.The pharmaceutical market style, it is very competitive and challenging. Some 600 pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan. The 386 operating units. Have already mentioned, has a dramatic effect on inflation and devaluation operating margin. Therefore, the challenges for the pharmaceutical industry can be a major cause.When we look ba ck in the pharmaceutical industry, the situation has clearly changed completely. Early nineties it was occupied by the multinational pharmaceutical companies in the industry but there is also a scenario for the past 18 years or so, I was completely changed. 30 386 units of multinational companies operating in drug production. Multinational and national companies in the ratio of 45% and 55%. Increasing share of national companies is an encouraging sign for domestic investors. The annual growth of 11%, US 1.64 $ billion total pharmaceutical market, pharmaceutical industry today with the global development of Pakistan. In the present scenario, more than 80 percent of demand met with national companies.Local while 20 percent are covered by imports. All raw materials are imported from China, India, Europe, North America and other countries. About 20% of the total imports from Switzerland. 2008-09, according to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) List Data List 11.59% market share and multinationals wi th growth of 8.9%. The national pharmaceutical companies Getz. (Pvt) Ltd has over 70%, with 3.76% market share in the last three years. And a 2.79% market share of the list of national pharmaceutical companies with Getz Pharma, Some multinational companies. Currently, the government of Pakistan to take action drugs, drug manufacturing license of 4 species shall:1. Creating2. Basic manufacturing.3. Half-based manufacturing4. Repackaging The organization of the census of Pakistan (2010), Pakistan has a population of 16.98 million with growth rate of 2.69. Everyday health consciousness also, as well, which can be helpful in increasing per capita expenditure growth in the future.The most successful pharmaceutical companies, existing business and customer trends to maximize profits with a variety of marketing strategies for different types of customers in almost constant new challenges and opportunities. Pharmaceutical companies invest (ROI), to improve their return New communication technologies (digital media) to its traditional ways. III. IMAGE PROCESSING Image processing can be set to produce either a picture or features or parameters that are related to image. Images are processed as a stereo signal, in which the third dimension or Z axis.Image processing refers to a digital image processing. However, an analog and optical image processing is also possible. The pictures are said to achieve imaging. Image closely linked to computer vision and graphics processing. Born as images manually objects, physical models of the atmosphere and light in computer graphics, instead of some imaging devices having a camera on landscapes such as the purchase of the more animated movies . Computer vision contrast is often regarded as a high-level image processing from a machine, or a computer or software will decrypt the contents of the physical layout of the photo or image.Because of the growing importance of technology and scientific concept of the modern science of images that are too wide. Examples include genetic research or real-time multi-asset portfolio microarray data into portfolio management in the financial sector.We also are different factors involved in image processing, can be from one to another can vary include, binary images, color photos (8 bit, 24 bit), Color Quantization, Convolution, Distance Matrics, Dithering, Edge Detectors, Frequency Domain, Gray scale Images, Image Editing Software, Idempotence, Isotrophic Operators, Kernels, Logical Operators, Masking, Non-linear Filtering, Pixels, Primary Colors, Spatial Domain, Structuring Elements, Wrapping and saturation. IV. ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK A neuron is a nerve cell is the basic building block of the nervous system. A large number of neurons in ways similar to other cells in the human body, but there is a significant difference between neurons and other cells. Neurons are specialized to transmit information throughout the body. This highly specialized nerve cells are responsible for the information in the chemical and electronic forms of communication. Different types of neurons, which are responsible for the different tasks within the body. Sensory neurons carry information from the sensory receptor cells in the body to the brain. Motor neurons transmit information from the brain-body muscle. Neuron body responsible for information and communication between different neurons.Neuron matching neurons and other cells in the body with other cells, both of which are surrounded by a membrane that seals protect the genetic information of other cells of neurons and body are composed of a central can. The bodies of both types of cells in cell mitochondria, Golgi contains, including the organelles and cytoplasm body. Cell LifeCreate unique to neurons, differences, unlike other body cells shortly after birth ceased to reproduce neurons. For this reason, some parts of the brain neurons will die because of the neurons at birth than life, but not the place. Neurons do not reproduce in most areas of the brain, have shown that the formation of new connections between neurons Research.Neurogenesis, or the formation of new nerve cells, about life is found in parts of the brain. Neuron is a membrane that is designed to send information to other cells. dendrites, cell bodies and axons are three main parts of a neuron. However, all neurons vary somewhat in size, shape and characteristics in terms of neuron function and role. Some neurons while others are highly branched, to obtain a large amount of information, there are few dendritic branches. Others may be quite a long while some neurons, short axons. The longest ax ons in the human body is about three feet in length and extends from the underside of the spine to the big toe! Neuron dendrites receive information from sensory receptors or other neurons. This information is then passed on to the cell body and axon. Once this is known as an action potential which travels down an electrical signal, the length of axons in the axons information.Communication between synapses is an electrical pulse has reached the end of a Axon will be transferred once, information about the synaptic gap to the dendrites of neighboring neurons. In some cases, signals about the space between neurons and soon on its way. In other cases, are required to send information from one neuron to the next neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters cross to reach other neurons and synaptic receptor sites vacuum chemical messengers that are released from the axon terminals. Neurons, neurotransmitters and their receptor binding site in a way known as reuptake are reabsorbed will be u sed again. V. TRAINING AND TEST ING PHASE We have break the our training and testing phase in to the steps that includes Input, Image Filtering, Image Segmentation, object detection, Visual feature, machine learning, trained network, classified output. VI. METHODOLOGY The basic Architecture is human tracking and monitoring are deployed on a visual application tool for testing, which serves as package for human classification and monitoring the trained proceeds and its validation is implemented in MATLAB to build a software system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   i. Image Registration Somebody entrance is the method of transforming to   incompatible sets of aggregation into one nascent system. Collection collects quadruplicate photographs,   information achieve from diverse sensors, present, depths, or viewpoints. individual enrolment old in computer modality method, medical images, biological images   military target recognition   the compiled and analyzed to images and data to collect from camera. Registration is important   to compare or integrate the data to achieve from these different measurements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ii. ROI Selection Blobs are   supply to a extra statement of individual structures in spatiality of regions, the corners   more point-like. blobs are described to   preferred direction that capital   the more blob detectors are also be regarded in   touch part operators. Blob detectors can sensed areas of   human they to such glassy to be sensed in a carre four of device.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   iii. Edges Edges is a line between two individual regions.   Line can be most of concretism, and countenance junctions. Edges are commonly is a sets of points in the mortal which soul a vehement   ratio. The   algorithms gift be constraint sharp circumstantial points together for  Ã‚   consummate description of   provide. These algorithms is   usually guess on the properties of an urgency,i.e mould, smoothness, and close continuance. VII. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS An experimental setup was established to record the Objects with different angles we have followed the criteria of having a pic from 60 different angles and in this way we have worked out on 10 different tablets. In this way we have hypothesis of 600 images as our repository VIII. CONCLUSION After all the observations and research made on this project we reach to the conclusion that this project is an Intelligent   Computer Vision Based Approach To Monitor Pharmaceutical Production Line. This will be the most beneficial project for the pharmaceutical industry most specifically in Pakistan based economy and will get the benefits like   Smart remote Monitoring, Reliability, Increase Professionalism, Precise Detection, Approx. Zero Chances of Error, Detection   Counting and Data Backup All in one Time and most important no need of human workers in this system that makes this project different from the current standards of the systems that are still be followed in the pharmaceutical industries majorly in Pakistan. VIIII. FUTURE WORK We have achieved this project to this level as this report present but we are still looking to make this system more efficient by adding some more features or modules that we may be able to add with this hardware and can achieve more factors to be intelligent and automated. REFERENCES https://www.scribd.com/document/24495237/A-to-Z-of-Image-Processing-Concepts https://www.scribd.com/document/325872322/Digital-Image-Processing-is-the-Use-of-Computer-Algorithms-to-Perform-Image-Processing-on-Digital-Images https://www.scribd.com/document/266789152/Neural-Network https://www.scribd.com/document/273031421/HYBRID-APPROACH-FOR-SEMANTIC-OBJECT-DETECTION-IN-VIDEO https://www.scribd.com/document/161457953/SWOT-ANALYSIS https://www.scribd.com/document/39266814/Industry-Analysis https://www.scribd.com/document/63877699/Image-Processing

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Opium and Dreams in the Romantic Period Essay -- essays research paper

During what is generally defined as the Romantic period, many poets, scientists and philosophers were greatly intrigued by dreams. Southey kept a dream journal, as did Sir Hymphry Davy, a close friend of Coleridge’s; Thomas Beddoes wrote of dreams from a medical perspective in Hygeia and dreams were often a hot topic of conversation at the dinner parties of those who kept company with poets and the like (Ford 1998:5). There were many contradictory theories on the importance, interpretation and origin of dreams, at this time. Some believed that dreams were a form of divine inspiration, others that they were caused by spirits that temporarily possessed the body of the sleeper, while there were those who thought that dreams were a manifestation of the body’s physical condition. De Quincey and Coleridge were two writers who both held an exceptional interest in dreams, each with their own ideas on the subject. In this essay I propose to examine De Quincey’s and Coleri dge’s ideas on dream and daydream, and to show that opium was a profoundly influencing factor in their lives, works and dreams. I shall start by briefly outlining some of De Quincey’s and then Coleridge’s ideas on dreams; I shall then move on to ask what was the effect of opium on their creativity, dreams and imagination, before looking at how dream and daydream are distinguished in their ideas. Finally I wish to include a brief section on the anticipation of Freud, and to close with the question of how important opium was to the writing of my chosen authors. Since dreams and opium are so intertwined in both Coleridge and De Quincey I feel it is appropriate to consider the two subjects alongside each other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, dreams and opium are considered simultaneously because he records the largest effect of his opium-eating to have been on his dreams. He first became aware of the effects by a re-awakening of a faculty generally found in childhood: I know not whether my reader is aware that many children, perhaps most, have a power of painting, as it were, upon the darkness, all sorts of phantoms; in some, that power is simply a mechanic affection of the eye; others have a voluntary, or a semi-voluntary power to dismiss or summon them†¦In the middle of 1817, I think it was, that this faculty became positively distressing to... ...a fashion that had started long before; and there has only ever been written the one Kubla Khan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De Quincey wrote that men are ‘disguised in sobriety’, so opium and dreams serve to expose the true mind of man and perhaps the unconscious mind. Whatever the effect of opium on Coleridge and De Quincey; on their philosophies, on their dreams and on their lives; one cannot truly know the depth or extent of it, but to take opium and go through the experience personally. It is certainly undeniable that it was an influence and an extremely important one that continues beyond the present: furthering the exposure of mans’ psychology through the portal of dreams. Bibliography Coleridge, S. T., Poems, Everyman’s Library, London, 1999. Coleridge, S. T., Biographia Literaria, William Pickering, London, 1847. De Quincey, T., Confessions of an English Opium-Eater and Other Writings, Oxford World’s Classics, Oxford, 1996. Ford, J., Coleridge on Dreaming, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998. Hayter, A., Opium and the Romantic Imagination, Faber and Faber, London, 1968. Marcus, T., Opium in Literature and London, Issue 3. Zembla Magazine, London, 2004.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Reward, Punishment, Prisoner’s Dilemma Essay

Reward and punishment are subcategories of operant conditioning. Rewards are meant to reinforce and increase behavior, while punishments decrease behavior. For example, if you want to potty train your dog, you would reward the dog every time it goes outside to pee by giving them a treat or petting them. On the other hand, if your dog pees indoors on the carpet, you would punish it by yelling or spanking them. Eventually, you will decrease the amount of reward little by little (by only feeding the dog treats every ten times the dog goes outside to pee), and the dog will be potty trained (conditioned). Johnny and Sam have been arrested by the police for robbing the bank and the police put them in separate jail cells. The officer makes an offer to each telling them they may choose to testify against their friend or remain silent. If one confesses and their friend remains silent, the person who confesses will be free while their friend will be sentenced 10 years in prison. If both stay silent, they will be sentenced 6 months in prison while if both confess, both will get five years in jail. The dilemma that the prisoners face is that whatever the other does, each is better off confessing then remaining silent. However, if both confess, the outcome is worse then if they both had remained silent. Pursuing for individual reward would logically lead to both prisoners betraying and getting sentenced a longer time in prison, but instead if the prisoners cooperated, they would both get less time in prison. Through experimenting with this in class, I came to a conclusion that factors such as gender affected the results. Males tended to be more self-interested and were dominated with betrayal while women tended to lean towards staying silent and not risking betraying their friends. The marshmallow experiment was a study done in which a marshmallow was offered to each child for 15 minutes in a room, alone. The child was told that if they could resist eating the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they would be rewarded with another. Most children (two-thirds) were unable to resist the temptation and ate the marshmallow before the 15 minutes was over, even when they knew they’d be treated with another one in just 15 more minutes. This experiment was related with future success– the ability to wait longer correlated with success, since being able to wait showed greater self control, and self control is vital to future success.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Japanese Society essays

Japanese Society essays The Japanese are a society based almost entirely on groups. Whether it is in the home, at school, or at work, the Japanese are always in a group. Just as in America, there is ranking system that establishes the group. The oyabun is the leader of the group, and has the parent status. The kobun are the other members of the group, and they are seen as the ones with the child status. Any person can play both roles, depending on the group that he/she is in. The father may be the oyabun to his son but at work, he is the kobun to the boss. Success and failure is shared by everyone in the group, but disgrace and honor fall to the leader. When problems arise, the leader is the first to take responsibility for the actions/problem. One of the reasons why Japan was able to make such a great recovery after World War II was because the country as a whole, came together as a group to rebuild their home. Villages were very close, and in this way, the group became more important than the actual individual. Now, this is the case in places besides villages, such as work and school. When one is accepted into a certain school or workplace, he automatically becomes a member of the group for life. The people at these places become his tight knit friends. No matter where a Japanese goes, he is followed by the group mentality. When he is out at dinner with his fellow colleagues, he must order what the others, particularly what the boss, or highest ranking person that is present, is ordering. During decision making, the Japanese never say no. They always have to come to some sort of conclusion where everybody in the group agrees, or come to a consensus, no matter how long it may take. If the group decides on something and one person seems to disagree without actually saying that he does, the group must somehow get him to conform to their idea. The group, or groupism, comes wit...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Creating web pages

Creating web pages We all have something to say. We are important and have different experiences and ideas and want to share them. We don't want to share them just with a friend or a relative, but the entire world. How do you do that you ask. Simple. You don't go and call everyone you know over the phone or you don't mail your ideas out. This is way too time consuming and expensive. Instead you decide to make yourself present on the Internet. Though, creating web pages can be an involved process. So that is why I will not go into all of the details, but instead I will introduce to you the most important ideas, and explain what types of tools and resources you need to make a home page of your own.Some of the tools or programs that will be need are an editing program to create and modify HTML files, a knowledge of HTML and common web techniques, a source of pictures and other images, and a graphics program to manipulate images.HTML CodeIf you do not understand any of these, do not worry. I will explain f urther in the reading.The first thing to decide on is what type of information that is to put up. The next thing is to figure out whether a web page, one single page, or a web site, a bunch of pages, is the proper device to hold all the information. It would be best for people who are just starting off to start off with a web page. For the person who knows what they want and have more than just a couple things to say, the web site is the way to go. Some of examples of what people put up on a page or site are photos of themselves,

Monday, November 4, 2019

Strategic Deterrence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic Deterrence - Essay Example This situation comes when firms start loosing customer base, profit on sales and the business tending to break-even point, which is generally referred as no profit and no loss point. This position comes when the situation is from a very long time. Though Strategic deterrence is mutually agreed concept is in deed an unwilling act on behalf of the companies involved. It ensures no loss concept but never promises profits out of the deterrence. Strategic deterrence may be a positive attitude but is accepted only by small or medium companies but not by large multi national companies. Its implications on the multi markets are not only largely understood but are but are being analyzed to overcome the disadvantages due to the market encroachment. The markets un touched by this phenomenon is the monopoly market which stands high on sales and profit yet not letting any one step into its market. This is the only market, which does not need to negotiate with the fellow competitors in the multi market segments. Strategic deterrence some times tends to be very fair but in actual scenario it just an act of deceiving the fellow competitor there by amassing large customer base. Once customer base is achieved it is very hard for the rival firm to get to the competing level.

Friday, November 1, 2019

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 26

History - Essay Example After this war Britain came up victorious and this also eradicated fear of French attack on the colonies. Colonies did not have to worry about their own defense (from French) and therefore their reliance on British decreased significantly. British also were heavily indebted due to the expenses on the war so they increased taxes of the colonies. It was a tradition at that time to impose taxes on colonies in order to earn more revenue. This was also a reason for the disgruntlement of the people of colonies. They felt that they were under slavery and this played a major role in the revolution. British Empire had colonies all over the world and they wanted to extend their power. For this reason they forced all their colonies to trade with themselves only. Through Navigation Act British Empire forced the American colonies to trade with British only and restricted trade with France and Spain. This was economically crushing American colonies and they had their reservation on the act. Sugar Act was another piece of legislation that increased the problems of the American Colonies. The act increased duties on imported sugar and this forced American colonies to stop using British goods. The timing of this act was a problem. It came at a time when people were already suffering from depression and this Act angered people more. They thought that they were being exploited. Currency Act was also a controversial act that restricted the colonies from printing money. British Empire thought that the devalued currency of colonies was hurting their economy therefore they forbade colonist from paying British traders in the colonist currency. This really made life difficult for the American colonies. People had to pay higher and this deprived them from their hard earned money. Currency Act can be regarded as a derogatory piece of legislation that was aimed at hurting the colonies of America. This was a major cause of the American Revolution. The tipping point

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Organizational Psychlogy And Behavior Case Study

Organizational Psychlogy And Behavior - Case Study Example This essay discusses the system of assigning advisors for all students, that is clearly a very good one, because it can ensure that each student can be helped to find a suitable path in life. However, the system should have such mechanisms as to provide real equal opportunity to all. People are all different, and there should appear no such differences in treatment as it happened to Paul. Since the school must have had an antidiscrimination policy, Dr. David , unfortunately, could not even tell Paul that he did not like him and did not want to give him advice. On the other hand, Dr.David`s behavior towards the female student could possibly be interpreted as sexual harassment, so Dr. David had behaved improperly twice, not once. The system of advisors should be revised in such a way as to prevent such events and allow both students and advisors to express their beliefs, so that there should not appear any discriminations. Perhaps it would be a good idea to aks the advisors beforehand if they wish to work with that particular student, although that could give space for further discrimination. But, on the other hand, assigning Paul to Dr. David and letting Dr. David discriminate Paul anyway is not a good course of action, either, because Dr. David is entitled to his own opinions, too, and if he feels any disliking at all he will never advise Paul with an open heart. Perhaps it would be best to allow the advisors to choose their students, as long as each advisor has the same number of students.

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Renaissance Period Essay Example for Free

The Renaissance Period Essay The period in time referred to as the Renaissance started in the late   1300s and existed through the 1500s. The term translates into rebirth, and describes the process of intellectual and cultural change that began in northern Italy and eventually made its way to   countries lying further north. In this era, Christianity began to evolve and branch into different directions, weakening the power of the church and allowing the disciplines of philosophy and science the freedom to take new routes encouraging scientific observation as opposed to blind faith, or   reasoning (Gaardner 197, 202).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These changes in Christianity, philosophy and science brought about the new ideas of renaissance humanism. When the author says, We speak of renaissance humanism, since now after the Dark Ages in which every aspect of life was seen through divine light, everything once again revolved around man., he is explaining how man has come to see himself in a new light. In the Dark Ages man viewed himself simply as a pitiful servant to God, unworthy of any form of greatness. During the   Renaissance, man saw himself not as a servant to God, but as an integral and more importantly, unique part of God and his greatness.   Man began to believe that God existed everywhere and in everything, including himself, and so man could now celebrate himself and his individual achievements, which became the basis of the new world view (Gaardner 197, 201).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The new world view consists mainly of two things: the way man viewed himself, and the way he viewed his surroundings. As previously stated, man viewed himself in a much higher light than in the previous era. He now also had a new view of nature. Previously, the world had only been looked at as a place of preparation for the hereafter, but now it was looked at as a place to investigate and explore. There was an exciting environment of freedom and exploration. Many people of the time were very aware that they were living in a special, exciting era of intellectual and cultural growth, and they wanted to play an active role in it. This led to huge advancements in all areas from the arts to the sciences, and to the ideal of the Renaissance man, the desire to be knowledgeable in all of these areas (Gaardner 200, 201).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There were three main technological developments that were necessary for the Renaissance   era to come to life. The compass, which made navigation simpler and encouraged the exploration of new lands, accrual of new observations, and information;   firearms, which gave the Europeans military power and made exploring the new lands safer, allowing them to easily overcome any native populations; and most importantly, the printing press, which allowed people greater access to all forms of information, promoting curiosity in the common person and encouraging the desire to know more, to explore, and to ask questions about their surroundings. The printing press also took away the authority of the church as the only source of written knowledge. All three of these developments came together to contribute to the spreading of the new world view over long distances, encouraging the growth of the Renaissance movement and its ideals (Gaardner 198).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The transition from a subsistence economy to a monetary economy also played a large role in the formation of the Renaissance era. The difference between the Renaissance economy and the economy in the Middle Ages was the formation of a large middle class. The formation of the middle class occurred during this time because at the end of the Middle Ages, large cities were fully developed, encouraging the growth of trade and commerce. A monetary economy with banking systems soon followed and the middle class was born, with people having the luxury to be able to buy the things that they needed or wanted. This type of system encouraged people to work harder and smarter, as opposed to feudalism, where working harder would not reap any personal benefits. As the author puts it, This state of affairs rewarded peoples diligence, imagination, and ingenuity.   New demands were made on the individual. This statement reflects the trademarks of individualism, experimentation and exploration that are present in the ideals of the Renaissance era (Gaardner 199).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another way that the printing press contributed to the Renaissance was by allowing the Bible to be translated and printed in different languages. Prior to this, in the Catholic church, only priests and monks read the Bible, because it was only available in Latin. Once it was translated and printed,   an individual could read it for himself, and interpret what it said in his own way. This led to an emphasis on an individuals personal relationship with God, and less of an emphasis on a persons relationship with his spiritual leaders. Eventually, it would lead to the Reformation (Gaardner 212).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author speaks of a new religiosity that developed during the Renaissance. He is referring to the fact that thoughts on God in his relation to the individual changed dramatically.   Prior to the Renaissance, there was a belief that the priest was the only person who truly had a special relationship with God, so therefore it was entirely necessary for an individual to seek forgiveness from God through the priest. God was the only gateway to paradise, and the priest was the only gateway to God. Once the Renaissance was in progress, with its newly found importance of the individual and the ability of the common person to read and interpret the Bible for himself, people began to feel that it was possible to have their own personal relationship with God with or without the involvement of the church, which is a view that is still extremely popular today. This view was put forth by Martin Luther, one of the important contributors to the Reformation of the church during the Renaissance (Gaardner 212-213).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many of the new views on religion during the Renaissance were prompted by advancements in science. A new scientific method was developed during the Renaissance, and formed the basis for all of the technological and scientific advances that have been achieved from that point onward. The new method incorporated using your own senses and experiences to observe phenomena during experimentation. Two of the most important scientists of this time, in my opinion, were Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton (Gaardner 202).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Galiliei formulated the Law of Inertia, which states that a body in motion or at rest remains in that state until an external force causes it to change. Galilei set up a simple experiment to observe what would happen when two forces   acted on an object simultaneously.   Through his observations, he found that despite what was commonly thought, an object that had been propelled into the air would follow a parabola-shaped trajectory.   This would occur due to the forward force of the propulsion of the object, combined with the force of gravity pulling the object down towards the earth (Gaardner 205-208).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Newton used his own observations to formulate the Law of Universal Gravitation, which states that every object attracts every other object with a force that increases in proportion to the size of the objects, and decreases in proportion to the distance between the objects. He used his newly formulated law in conjunction with Galileis previously stated law and observations to explain exactly why the planets traveled in elliptical orbits around the sun. It is the result of two forces acting on an object simultaneously: linear movement from the force applied to the planets during the birth of the solar system, combined with the movement towards the sun due to its gravitational pull. The combination of these two forces, as Galilei previously stated, is what creates the elliptical movement. Newton was able to show that the same laws applied to every heavenly body in the universe, thereby proving that there was not a special set of laws that applied to the heavens, and a separate set of laws for the earth. This caused the people of the time to begin to question exactly what their place was in the universe(Gaardner 209-211).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To this day, we are still making discoveries that lead people to question what their place is in the universe, and if their belief in God is logical or not. Scientists have made and are constantly on the verge of making some huge, definitely stunning advancements, and it inevitably causes people to further question what their place is in respect to the world, the universe and in God. For example, the issues of stem cell research, cloning, and the manipulation of genes are all very controversial at this time, because people are forced to see that man has the ability to create life in a lab, and that he can go on to guide life in almost any direction he may choose, he can play God, as many people say. My own opinion on science is that it is something that must move forward. There is no reason to fear science.   When I analyze each of the topics mentioned above, I can not think of any logical reasons why we should not proceed experimenting with them. They are simply processes that occur naturally already, we are only directing them to proceed in a manner that will be as beneficial to us as possible. As far as what this means for religion, faith will always be what it has always been faith. True faith is unshakeable, as mentioned by Gaardner in respect to Isaac Newtons belief that his findings only supported proof of the existence of   of the great and almighty God (212). Who is to say that all of these magnificent discoveries and the intricacies on which they are based are not guided by the hand of God?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As to the question of our own age that we are living in, I think that in many aspects it is very similar to the Renaissance era. There is definitely a strong belief in the importance of the individual, so much to the point that I think you could say there is a strong trend towards selfishness and indifference. I think this has been reflected especially in the area of the family unit, with the high rates of divorce and single parent homes. People no longer base their life decisions on what will be best for the family unit, but what will make me happy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is also a similarity in that many people no longer feel the need to involve the church in their relationship with God. While most people still have a strong faith in God, or some form of Creator, church attendance has reached record lows. Some people believe that science has become the new religion, but I think that mankind will always feel the need to believe that he will somehow be allowed to continue on, as death seems much too simple of an ending to the elaborate design of a human being and the world around him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite our many similarities to the Renaissance, I think that our era can be defined as the Age of Technology. I believe this era began with the inventions of the computer and the internet. Like the printing press during the Renaissance, these two developments allow the rapid dissemination of information across vast distances. The discovery of these systems has revolutionized every area of science, allowing   information to be rapidly computed and shared.   I think that we are still in the very infantile stages of the Age of Technology, and we can only wonder what developments will arise by the time a new age begins. Works Cited Gaardner, Jostein.   Sophies World (188-215).

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Value Delivery Network :: essays research papers

Value Delivery Network A value delivery network allows many companies to create customer value that cannot be created by use of the company’s own value chain. A â€Å"Value delivery network,† is made up of the company, suppliers, distributors, and ultimately the customers who partner with each other to improve the performance of the entire system (Armstrong et al. 52). This type of system interests me because I have always been curious as to what path a product or service must take in order to be considered a â€Å"value† to a customer. Generating my interest during one of the case studies during class, Accenture is a company that has improved the value delivery network for many companies. Accenture has improved not only the value delivery system for the airline industry, but its own global delivery system with its partner BT. Accenture found the need to introduce e-commerce to the airline industry's line of services to its customers. E-commerce, as Accenture puts it; reduces costs, maximizes information about customers, allows targeting certain distribution channels, differentiates products, establishes long term relationships, and creates lifetime loyalty; all of which creates value in the delivery network (Stewart). E-commerce allows the airline industry to connect to its customers directly and with third party electronic channels that provide value to customers in ways unknown in the traditional distribution cycle (Stewart). As a consulting firm, Accenture not only improved the value delivery network for the airline industry, but for its partner BT. Signing a 10-year, $575M outsourcing contract w/ BT, Accenture has essentially expanded its geographic reach of services provided to BT within the global market. Services provided under the new contract include customer contact/call center, recruitment, pension administration, payroll and benefits administration, performance management administration, health and safety, and HR advisory and information services. By outsourcing most of its services to Accenture, BT improves its value delivery network by providing lower costs and higher quality services to its customers. As stated by BT's Alex Wilson, "Accenture HR Services has a proven track record of consistently high quality service and a true partnership approach. These were key factors in its selection, along with its unmatched ability to deliver HR services on a global basis. This agreement will allow our staff to concentrate even more on the strategic role of HR management to our growing global business." Just as H onda has outsourced all of its automobile mirror operations to Donnelly Corporation benefiting both companies in terms of increased performance and passing the value on to its customers (Armstrong et al.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Effects of Second Hand Smoke Essay -- Smoking Tobacco Health Lung

The Effects of Second Hand Smoke Did you know that 3,000 American non-smokers will die this year from lung cancer? Those deaths are entirely preventable. Their lung cancer is caused by second hand smoke. Second hand smoke is smoke they have breathed in from other people's cigarettes. It is also known as involuntary or passive smoking. There is nothing passive however about the effects of this smoke. It is lethal and it is dangerous. It may give as many as 300,000 children under the age of one and half bronchitis and pneumonia. It could even be responsible for more than 35,000 deaths from heart disease. Smoking causes lung cancer. This fact is indisputable. What is sometimes disputed is the extent to which the smoke from other people's cigarettes damages those around them. Some in the tobacco industry play down this effect. They say that passive smoking is at worst a minor irritant. They say the recorded illness, deaths and cancers of those who have to live and work with smokers is a coincidence. They even have the audacity to suggest that those illnesses may be caused by diet or other environmental factors. Let us look at the facts. There are two ways in which passive or second hand smoke can affect non- smokers. Mainstream smoke is that smoke that has already been inhaled and then exhaled by the smoker. Sidestream smoke is the smoke that comes off the burning end or tip of the cigarette. Both of these sources are responsible for passive smoke inhaled by non-smokers. Second hand smoke is chemically similar to that inhaled by smokers. After 30 minutes exposure to second-hand smoke the blood flow to the heart is reduced. On top of this a non-smoker who is regularly exposed to second hand smoke has a 20 to 30% increased risk of lung cancer. Tobacco smoke contains 4,000 chemicals in the form of particles and gases. 200 of those chemicals are very poisons. 43 of those chemicals are proven to cause cancer. This lethal combination is what causes tobacco smoke to be classified as a Group A carcinogen. Incredibly 85% of the smoke from a cigarette will not be inhaled by the smoker. Instead it will fill up the room. That means only 15% of the smoke from a cigarette is actually inhaled by the person smoking it. On top of this, many of the toxic poisons and gases in sidestream smoke are present in higher quantities than in mainstream smoke. The poisons an... ... a welcome move. It means that we can start to look forwards to a smoke free environment for ourselves and our children. Unfortunately the statistics tell us that there are still many millions of people who still insist on their 'right' to smoke. The children who are exposed to their smoke do not have such a choice. Protecting children and non-smokers from the effects of second hand smoke must be a priority for everyone. A smoker chooses to smoke but a non-smoker's risk is involuntary. Exposure to second hand smoke is a real and present threat to our health. As a result there are many non-smokers who are needlessly dying from heart disease and lung cancer. Second hand smoking causes asthma, reduces lung function and bronchitis, pneumonia and causes middle ear infections. Many of these illness are inflicted upon small children. Bans on smoking in workplaces exist. So do bans on smoking in restaurants. Unless they are rigidly enforced they won't make a difference. Smoking, unfortunately, cannot be banned in homes. Passive smoking should be shown for exactly what it is, a dangerous killer. Maybe then non-smokers, especially children, will not suffer from second hand smoke.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

My Elder Sister who is My Personal Leader Essay

When I started this class on Leadership I used my own Elder Sister as an example of a leader because when I think of some of the positive characteristics of organizational leaders my elder sister keeps coming to my mind. She is brave and courageous facing challenges most would have given up on. She is giving and caring, encouraging and supportive. She wants only the best for our family, helping us face life by teaching us skills and lessons. My Elder sister listened deeply to our joys, struggles, and achievements- never judging, simply being there. We could count on my elder sister to pull our family together, to connect us. She planned and organized incredible events and let us all shine in the process. My Elder sister was my tutor and the first leader in my life. The space she carved out for us in the world is what gave us room to grow. the reason of that in our family we are five sisters and one brother and our grandparents were staying with us that’s why some of our relati ves always present in our house. So it’s very difficult for my mother to maintain that entire situation without a strong helping hand and that hand name is my elder sister. She always plays a supportive role for my mother. My father was a businessman and also a too busy person who had no specific time for his family and children. Since my mother worked hard all the time and never really had time for us, she used to leave us with my elder sister and she looked after us like her child. Basically when my sister was 15, my mother trusted her enough to take care of us and make decision for us and she achieves this trust with doing her responsibility properly. When we were sad as little kids we could run to my elder sister and it would be all better. As we are growing up and in our teen years we still need someone to talk to sometimes and we need to listen. She always listens and gives us good advice. My elder sister knows us better than anyone. She knows how to make us cry, how to make us happy. She knows all of our strengths and weaknesses. My elder sister is courageous and knows how to take control. She can make things fun but at the same time gets the job done. She knows what has to be done and gets it done on time. My elder sister is like the leader of my family because when things need to get done she takes control and gets them done. People need to learn to make the right decisions. That is one of the most important qualities a leader can have. As her sister, I would like to tell everyone that my elder sister taught us how to make the right decisions. My elder sister appears to always make the right decisions. As a teenager, it might not appear like she is right, but when looking back on the situation I realize that the right decision was made. She is open to ideas of other people she will always listen to our ideas and considers them when making decisions. A leader is someone who shows admirable qualities that people would want to follow. A leader can also be a person that is the head of some organization. My personal leaders are my elder sister. Some people might question that, but my elder sister has all the qualities of a leader. Some of the qualities she have are that she know when to say no, they always seem to make the right decisions, As I read through my notes which I got in this leadership class, I wasn’t surprised to find that my reflections revealed that my Elder sister is a natural born leader. Although she has never been a CEO of a company, she possesses many of the most significant qualities inherent in many of our best. She has been fair and even-handed, positive and persuasive, hard working and determined. But most of all, she knew how to draw out the best in each one of her family members. My elder sister could always see the shining ray of hope in all situations. When I would talk to her about personal or professional challenges she would say that life has it’s â€Å"ups and the downs†, and that the most important thing to find the balance and inner-peace within. I feel blessed to have inherited some of my Elder sister’s innate sense of optimism, sensibility and courage. It is clear to me that create a confidant that I am today, mostly due to the positive beliefs that were inspired upon me as a young sister. Words of wisdom from my Elder sister that I always carry with me are: â€Å"This too shall pass†. As leaders, my Elder sister’s advice implies that we must learn how to â€Å"let go† and trust. This means we can’t control everything around us. It means asking others for help. It means not giving up. From this place of trust, humility and hope, we can honestly discover how to serve one another. And so, as I move forward in life, I can only hope that I have received even a small portion of her elegance, wisdom and self-respect as I proceed with my life. At last I want to Thank my Elder sister for leading the way†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Gone Girl - Book Club Discussion Questions

Gone Girl - Book Club Discussion Questions by Gillian Flynn was one of the big suspense novels of 2012. But far from just being a mindless thriller, Gone Girl is a literary page turner that is smart and witty. These book club discussion questions will help your reading group explore the plot, themes and ideas raised in the novel. Spoiler Warning: These questions contain important details about Gone Girl. Finish the book before reading on. In the first third of the book, did you think Nick was guilty? Why or why not?In the second part of the book, once you know the truth, what did you think was going to happen with Nick and Amy?Do you think someone could actually plan every detail of a set up or murder as perfectly as Amy did?What did you expect to happen after Amy returned? Were you surprised by her final precaution? Do you think that would truly be enough to get Nick to stay?Early on in the book, Amy writes in her diary: Because isnt that the point of every relationship: to be known by someone else, to be understood? (29).Toward the end of the book, on the night of Amys return, when she is making the case for going forward together, here is what she says and Nick thinks:Think about it, Nick, we know each other. Better than anyone in the world now.It was true that Id had this feeling too, in the past month, when I wasnt wishing Amy harm. It would come to me at strange momentsin the middle of the night, up to take a pi ss, or in the morning pouring a bowl of cerealId detect a nib of admiration, and more than that, fondness for my wife, right in the middle of me, right in the gut. To know exactly what I wanted to hear in those notes, to woo me back to her, even to predict all my wrong moves...the woman knew me cold...All this time Id thought we were strangers, and it turned out we knew each other intuitively, in our bones, in our blood (385).To what extent do you think the desire to be understood drives relationships? Do you understand how this could be appealing to Nick despite everything else? Nick stops strangling Amy and thinks, Who would I be without Amy to react to? Because she was right: As a man, I had been my most impressive when I loved her and I was my next best self when I hated her...I couldnt return to an average life (396).Is this believable? Is it possible for Nick to be more fulfilled in an extraordinary relationship where he is understood even if it is manipulative an dangerous?Nick once muses, It seemed to me that there was nothing new to be discovered ever again...We were the first human beings who would never see anything for the first time. We stare at the wonders of the world, dull-eyed, underwhelmed. Mona Lisa, the Pyramids, the Empire State Building. Jungle animals on attack, ancient icebergs collapsing, volcanoes erupting. I cant recall a single amazing thing I have seen firsthand that I didnt immediately reference to a movie or TV show...Ive literally seen it all, and the worst thing, the thing that makes me want to blow my brains out, is: The sec ondhand experience is always better. The image is crisper, the view keener, the camera angle and soundtrack manipulate my emotions in a way reality cant anymore (72).Do you think this observation is true about our generation? How do you think this affects relationships? How does it affect the way we live? Nick writes,I got secretly furious, spent ten minutes just winding myself up because at this point of our marriage, I was so used to being angry with her, it felt almost enjoyable, like gnawing on a cuticle: You know you should stop, that it doesnt really feel as good as you think, but you cant quit grinding away (107).Have you experienced this dynamic? Why do you think it feels good to be angry sometimes?At one point, Amy quotes the advice Fake it until you make it. Later, Nick writes, We pretend to be in love, and we do the things we like to do when were in love, and it feels almost like love sometimes, because we are so perfectly putting ourselves through the paces (404).Generally speaking, do you think this is good marriage advice? Do Nick and Amy disprove this advice?Rate Gone Girl on a scale of 1 to 5.