Strategic planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic planning - Essay Example Apart from UK, Next plc has major operational bases in Sri Lanka, India, and China. As of last year, the revenue of the organisation stood at GBP 3.7 billion while registering GBP 695 million in pre-tax profits (Next plc, 2014). Apart from its well-organised workforce, the operations of the enterprise mainly depend on its sound business model, which appreciates the input of all the stakeholders involved, including the customers and shareholders. Next plc assures its shareholders of extensive returns that come in the form of sustainable growth in earnings, shares and cash disbursements (Next plc, n.d). To the customers, the organisation routinely develops a broad range of classy products that gratify the needs of children and adults across both genders. Next plc has made it simple for its customers to make purchases, as they have the provision of making both online orders and payments. Most of the deliveries are often made within a twenty-four hour period, with the online platform serving customers in over seventy nations. Over and above, the administrators of the o rganisation run the business in a responsible manner, taking into consideration all the environmental, social, and ethical aspects of the market. The fluctuation of the global market makes it mandatory for businesses to be malleable and ready to adapt to alterations. These changes are routinely achieved in the form of business policies that are adapted by the management and employees of the entity involved (Bensoussan et al. 2013, pg. 317). The next segment of the essay aims to use various strategic tools to make sense of most of the methodologies employed by Next plc in an attempt to ensure that it habitually realizes its business objectives, and remains relevant for a considerable duration. The pestle tool has often been appreciated across several industries because it provides businesses with the opportunity to understand the political, economic,

Impact of Western Culture in Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

Impact of Western Culture in Bangladesh Essay The following research report deals with the Impact of western culture in our society includes people’s thought according their age level, how the Bengali culture is becoming a westernized and which factors are related with that. We took only Dhaka city for our research survey. Acknowledgement First of all we would like to thank our Almighty God, because of His blessings were always with us so that we were able to complete this report.We are grateful to many people for providing us encouragement and support during our learning and working while making this report and we want to show our gratefulness to these people. We are very much grateful to Prof.Toufiqul Islam, our teacher of Research Methodology course, who provided us opportunity to do this report. It was not possible for us to perform this report without his sincere permission, constant support and inspiration. We express our gratefulness to him.Our pleasant thanks to all of our respondents who gave us all kinds of support and important information related to our report. We would also like to thank our friends and peers for their encouragement, support, and suggestions which helped us to make this report an effective one. 1. Introduction Bangladesh is a melting pot of races. She, therefore, has a mixed culture. However, her deep rooted heritage is amply reflected in her architecture, literature, dance, drama, music and painting and also in people’s lifestyle. She has own Language Bengali which boasts a rich literary heritage. Now if we speak about Western culture, it is a wide range of culture that performed by the whole world. Now-a-days this culture is highly spreading in our country and people are paying their interest into western culture by the help of globalization.Mostly the young generations and highly aristocratic families are very much influenced by western culture which holds negative impact on our own culture. So, we have to make clear consciousness to the community for making strong cultural bond and better society. From that sense, it is necessary to take a research about the impact of Western culture in our society. And, we believe that the following research report will help to find out the conclusion with valuable recommendation. 1.1 Basic of the study Bangladeshi culture is influenced by three great religions- Hinduism, Buddhism band Islam in successive order, with Islam having the most pervading and lasting impact. Like a colorful montage, the cultural tradition of the country is a happy blending of many variants, unique in diversity but in essence greatly symmetrical. On the other hand, Western culture began in Ancient Greece. Today, Western culture has at least some presence in nearly all nations of the world. It does not currently exist, however, anywhere in a perfect and complete form. Western culture currently dominates in many Western and Central European nations and several nations settled by Europeans and their descendants. Western culture also significantly exists in many Asian nations, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, and it is increasingly influential in India and China. Western culture currently has little meaningful presence also in Bangladesh. [4] In this research report we choose Dhaka city as for many reason like shortage of time, also we live in this city so it is quite easy for our study, besides as Dhaka city is the capital of Bangladesh and most aristocratic family live in this city. So it is also easy to know about people’s thought on our topic. 1.2 Background of the study From the historical perspective, Bangladeshi culture has rich literary heritage. The riverside landscape and the monsoon climate are closely related to the cultural practices of this country. It focuses the lifestyles and culture value of the indigenous people. From the earlier age, people give value and maintain social customs which are in our culture. However, people are now following some of the western cultures beside their own one. Mostly, the young generation is very much interested on English movies, western music, dresses, foods and other things rather than Bengali culture. Now, young generation and even also middle age people are not that much conscious about Bengali culture because of the globalization. In this way, Bengali culture is now no more originated by own culture, even it is losing her own value. In this research, we collect opinions about the impact of western culture from people by field survey. 1.3 Importance of the topic For our research, we choose ‘The Impact of Western culture In Our Society’ as our topic for its importance on the effect of cultural globalization (which means the commercialization of culture). Now a day’s the production and consumption of cultural goods and services has become commodities, along with the essentials of social life (marriage and family life, religion work and leisure). What once was an element of the way of life becomes a product, rather than something unique men had made to suit their own needs and circumstances. In urban Bangladesh, technology of multi- channels TV began in 1991 and hence satellite broadcasting has been delivering lots of channels to viewers. Cultural domination by electronic media within the society thus has eventually become a major concern of sociological inquiry. The present study is one of such effort to look at how the urban people, mostly youth has accepted and responded to their access to Western culture. [3] 1.4 Literature Review In this part we found some of the information which is discussed in different articles and reports relevant to our topic. Even though many book focused about the impact of western culture and how people are taking it besides their own one without any hesitation. After reviewing different sources, we just focus on ‘The Impact of Western Culture in Our Society’ from three different angles. These are: †¢ Impact of cultural Globalization. †¢ Positive impact of westernization. †¢ Negative impact of westernization. Impact of socio cultural Globalization Now a day’s every country in this world is treated as village, you can imagine whatever you can. That’s the way people are communicate easily to each other make things differences. Globalization has only one overarching feature–integration. It is all about collectiveness and ever increasing interconnectedness. It in effect influences everything, whether it is a company or a country. But here is a fact, is globalization all the way keeps help to connect to each other or build a strong communication in â€Å"borderless world†? If it is a question, then how it impacts in our society as well as in our culture? The Cable television has made different attraction in around the world as well as in Bangladeshi household. Foreign movies have come and have reflected their culture in it. This has made a huge impact on the minds of the Bangladeshi people. Not to mention the easy availability of Internet whose reach even extends till rural areas? The internet has opened up opportunities for people to learn more about foreign cultures and places. It has made Bangladeshi more acceptable and open-minded towards change. Globalization has broken all borders. As a result, the new generation of Bangladeshi is more knowledgeable, more aware and more interested in the world around them. In our society, women who were once the exploited and ignored part of the population, now assert their rights of being a woman. Women now have more access to education and know more about their rights and their identity as a woman. Nowadays, you find women in the society who work alongside men. Men-dominated fields see the coming up of the woman. Men and women are slowly being treated equally. However, this does not mean that all Bangladeshi women are fully free. In many places, exploitation still continues. [5] Positive impact of westernization Due to globalization, westernization is spreading out all over the world. Westernization has been placed in different countries because of globalization and needless to say, it has had an impact on the Bangladesh way of life. It has out-rooted the traditional Bengali culture and the rate at which westernization is happening to Bangladesh is surprising. Regional languages are on the process of redefined. In many ways instating of regional language people have been used to English especially in urban areas youngsters. It had started get fixing with western clothing, western languages, western mannerisms and everything else westernized. Beside, the festival of Pohela Baishak, people is now celebrating like other western cultural festivals especially in young groupsuch as- †¢ Valentine’s Day, †¢ Friendship Day, †¢ Mother’s day, †¢ Father’s day. †¢ And other international celebrations. Now a day people are concern about how we think about globally, what the other country are doing in their cultural issue, just we observe and absorbing them. There is lot of issues that we automatically know about it; even he/she has a little knowledge about westernization. But, people are moving with it in all the way. Negative impact of westernization At the side of the positive, Bangladeshi people are involving day by day with negative activities which our own culture because of following western culture. However no matter have occurred by this way, what people are doing in our society. With Globalization and westernization of our culture, Bangladesh now has access to things like adult movies, pornographic material, sex toys and other sexual content from all around the world especially in young group of people. Bangladeshi’s population has been corrupted thanks by easy access which has been brought about by westernization. In fact, this has gone to such limits that now pornographic material is even made in Bangladesh also. These perverted habits have raised a population who sometimes are so full of hunger for that they choice to rape. It is a fact that rape cases have risen since the spread of globalization. So that, western dress is another factor that creates an imbalance in our society especially for woman group (whenever girls wear a shirt, t-shirt, and pant in our society, due to feel or sensation of comfortable) which does not permit within our culture as majority of Muslim nationality. For wearing that kind of dresses men are mostly thinking in negative sense. In a view of culture, how and from which cases we are thinking that Bengali culture becomes westernized, for that we assume several other questions which are listed below, †¢ Why we think about westernization? †¢ Is westernization needed to fulfill our Bengali culture? †¢ To identify what kind of differentiations within peoples thought about westernization from different age level? †¢ What are the options available for Bangladesh? The previous findings have reported results on the western culture effect on urban youth generation in our society. However, according to above mentioned circumstances, the present study takes the initiative to conduct an empirical investigation based on the impact of western culture in our society includes people’s thought according their age level, how the Bengali culture is becoming a westernized and which factors are related with that. The findings from this study will work as a valuable guideline to give respect our own culture and to be a wholesome Bangladeshi. 1.5 Objectives of the study The main objective of this study is to focus on the impact of western culture based on different age level and build up the awareness about the negative sides among Bangladeshi people. According to our objectives we have decided that we will give our full attention and also we will be very active and patience to survey our research. In this way, we can fulfill our research successfully with a bunch of information. 2. Research Method For conducting our research, we implement research methods that directly related to our topic which indicates the core information about a research and explains how that information is correlated. In our research method we include study material, data collection method and data analysis method which help to go our research result and discussion section. For this part we will fulfill some specific requirements,  ¬ Describe procedure as completely as possible so that someone can’t duplicate it completely  ¬ Define sample and characteristics, which is consistent throughout the test.  ¬ List the variables used these are what change, or manipulate, throughout the test.  ¬ Try to precise criticism which might arise from readers mind. 2.1. Study Materials In this part, we consider study materials from people thought. That’s why, we define sample into three categorized way and taking out specific data from different age class people. Three age class: Age 18-30 (class 1); Age 31-45(class 2) and Age 45+ (class 3) For doing this part effectively we collect data from different age level and clarify about the variation of their thoughts about western culture beside Bangladeshi culture. Class 1: Most of the Class 1 people are student and some of them are service holder. It is very much easy to clarify their thoughts into short period of time. Class 2: In our class 2, most of the people are service holder and they are in middle age. Class 3: Finally last group is class 3 and people are no more in their job or involved in other social activities, basically people are staying with their family, but still we found that some them are even also involved with their job. 2.2. Methods of Collection Data Data collection process is crucial process in research report, if the process is biased or incomplete then it’s very difficult to analyze the data and it decreases quality of report. For our research purpose we get information from both two type of data collection source one is primary data and another one is secondary data. Primary data: Primary data indicates the core information about the topic and data collected from field survey work. There are different types of survey like, We make a structured questionnaire, which has been attached in the Appendix- 1 of this paper. This questionnaire is for three age level people and we give it to them like who is mostly able to read and understand what we are really wants. In this survey types, responder give their opinion about our topic in written and multiple choice form. For this part we take total sixty samples (each class 20 samples) as our core requirement. 2.3. Methods of Analyzing Data In this part we analyze the collected data from our survey- questionnaire. Here, we represent those data by graph, chart and table which is called frequency counting data. However, in case of qualitative data we take observation method. We collect our samples and put it them into a quantitative form so that we represents it as a percentage form. 3. Result, Discussion Findings To complete this part we consider several item to measure our determine information. All we know that cultural issue is very diverse concept which contains many ideas that indicates different type of individual characteristics. So that here we show some of those issue that indicate cultural aspect directly and by conducting a questionnaire survey we found some answer of specific data that might indicate and fulfill our main objectives. Due to presenting our result and discussion, we work with three different age scale of people which was define in earlier part and want to indicate the variation of preference between each class. Here, we identify our final result in percentage form and firstly we collect appearance from responders, add responder’s number (total sample 60) and make it as percentage form indicates what percentage people are positively responses our questions. After that add up all the heads percentage make it as average percentage point out how many people are positive about western culture. Firstly we want to know from responders’ western culture in general way. By asking those responders give their individual opinion about general requirements. In the first part of questionnaire following heads are included. Table1: Western Culture in responders mind in general Depending on above information we assume that by a simple calculation (average) of those data and show as it a percentage form. So that Bengali people now think about western culture from basic perspective approximately 39%. It means that they are positively given their opinion regarding western culture in our culture. And other way 61% responders gave non- positive responses which indicate might they prefer positive as Bengali culture. In different region different kind of cultural views and life style are followed. It seems to if one country’s positive thought is appreciate it might the negative for another country. So that we collect sample in a way that really Bengali people are absorbing WC day by day. Table2: Views and lifestyle preference in responders mind Sources: A survey conducted for this research in July, 2010 This table indicates four different view of western culture in our people. We select this heads to find out how many people intentionally or unintentionally belief WC views and lifestyle. Firstly in class1 60%, class2 30% and class3 25%, and also in total sample 38% people prefer nuclear family rather extended family, where most of WS has nuclear family. Another most important in our marriage system which one we prefer, from our cultural view mostly prefer arrange marriage. But in our survey class1 60%, class2 70% and class3 20%, and also in total sample 50% people are appearance with love or affair marriage. Similarly class1 80%, class2 90% and class3 90%, and also in total sample 87% people support with husband and wife have to live together. And also class1 55%, class2 35% and class3 10%, and also in total sample 34% people usually celebrate western festival beside their own one. Graph.B: Views and lifestyle preference in responders mind Now here we represent a chart indicate 52% people are support western culture values and fixing up in their mind. People are no more in our traditional culture by origin; day by day it changes and will changes in next generation. And other way 48% responders gave non- positive responses which indicate might their belief in Bengali traditional value. Bangladeshi people are now a day’s changing their behavior and habit in food, dress and other activities also. Easily converted to western ideas some cases it makes a question mark in our ethical perspective also. We referred those western materials by like fast food is needed to minimize time consumption and also it’s comfortable for shot meal. Another thing, people like to wear western dress for fashion and for comfortable. Similarly now people are conscious about their health so that mostly younger are goes to gym even middle aged people also. Sources: A survey conducted for this research in July, 2010 Here in this table represents to how many people are preferred with western tests and habit. We indentify people’s individual test, preference and habit in their regular life. Representing four head define how many people positively response our concerns. Firstly in class1 30%, class2 0% and class3 0%, and also in total sample 10% people prefer fast food in their regular meal. Another thing is in class1 55%, class2 45% and class3 10%, and also in total sample 37% people prefer western dress in their dress code. In class1 50%, class2 60% and class3 85%, and also in total sample 65% people regularly maintain their religious activities. And last one is in class1 75%, class2 25% and class3 15%, and also in total sample 38% people now people now think about going to gymnasium for physical fitness exercise. Individual classes graph and chart are enclosed in appendix part. Graph.C: Personal tastes, preferences and habits of the respondents This chart indicates people’s day to day life that how many of them support western test and habit. Here we found there are 36% people are positively responds our specific questions and give their real interest on western culture by survey. And other way 64% responders gave non- positive responses which indicate might they prefer Bengali test and habit. From very beginning Bengali people might in some case restricted. Like people were not that much free or friendly with their parents. Another thing is mentally depends on parents and also relatives. But at present we see some positive idea which is really effective for us like easy relationship with parents, self dependency etc. Sources: A survey conducted for this research in July, 2010 This table shows that, in class1 70%, class2 65% and class3 50%, and also in total sample 62% people think very easy relationship with parents. Another thing is in class1 10%, class2 30% and class3 65%, and also in total sample 35% people prefer self dependency due to mentally support. And in class1 55%, class2 30% and class3 10%, and also in total sample 32% people like to enjoy any occasion with friends. Graph.D: Relationships with parents, siblings and peer groups of the respondents Above graph shows responders relationship status between family, friends or siblings. Here we found 43% responders support of very easy relationship, self dependency and celebrate occasion with friends. And other hand 57% responders non- positively responds, meaning to say they prefer other status for their relationship, like not so easy relationship with parents, mentally depends on parents and also family belongingness. Finally we found that, people as responders now consider western culture. Approximately half of our total responders support with it. From the positive point of view day by day people absorbing western cultural values, sometimes its brings a good for our society. But on the other hand it diminishing our own cultural vale which nobody wants, so that we have to concern our cultural issues as much as possible and which one is good we have to must take it and also avoid bad thing that brings imbalance in our culture. †¢ Observation For this research we need to take observation method for getting more information. By our observation, we found that, in case of Muslim family, an older woman embarrassed over and is desperately trying to avoid eye contact in TV screen, blazing loud music on the popular music video channel, MTV. The inadequately dressed presenter introduces her ‘top song’ for the week. A star celebrity dressed in so very little and exposed herself as much as possible. The old woman’s son is captive by what he sees. He pays no attention to his mother, young wife or even his own little son also. In this way, Children are involving some bad works which derived from western culture particularly from cable connection at their home. In some cases, young generation forget to respect their elder one. In our field survey, we observe that, boys and girls are very much interested on going to DJ party at different night club. And, sometimes they want to live together before marriage which is extremely prohibited by our culture. Boys are using Tattoos on their body also. The present scenario of Bangladeshi culture like as in this diagram we show that, western stuffs like shirt, pant, music and festivals are now mixing with Bengali’s traditional stuffs. 4. Limitation of study To conduct this research we had some limitations, first of all it should be mentioned that we are beginning level of researcher and the topic was controversial as it holds both positive and negative impact in our society according to people’s perception. As there was time limitation, we cannot collect sufficient data and samples relating to our topic which is very difficult stuff to fulfill the analyzing of samples. While working for this report we found there was not available data related with our topic to get assistance from the internet, books, articles, research papers to make a well furnished literature review and secondary sources. As a result, it took a lot of time to gather information from other sources. 5. Conclusion and Recommendation Eventually, it can be concluded that, this research has found a lot of significant issues that is Western culture is not a curse to our society but it can bring a lot of negative effects. We must understand that the young generations are the future image of our country. So, it is necessary to enlighten them about our own cultural values which will make our nation proud. In Bangladesh perspective, since it is the one of very few and one way concentration on the impact of western culture. I hope that this thesis contains the groundwork of further research, which may find useful tools considering the probable findings in the long run. No study has been done at before. However, for doing this research we used our best analysis and tried to make the research as full proof but due to short sample, we cannot recommend it as full proof. That’s why, we want to recommend for further modification as we believe that research is a never ending process.

William Wilkie Collins :: Essays Papers

William Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins was born in London on January 8 1824, the son of the renowned painter William Collins (1788-1847). His father was a religious man, who was disappointed by his son's freethinking nature: Collins refused to conform to parental expectation, failing to make a career at the tea-merchants Antrobus and Co., to which he was apprenticed at the age of seventeen, and at the law, which he entered as a student in 1846. Collins was twenty-two when his father died, and was now determined to become a professional writer. His first book, published in November 1948, was Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, R.A., but, as Julian Symons comments, "he settled after this act of piety to a life of which his father would strongly have disapproved" (8). In a writing career that lasted from 1843, when he published his first story in The Illuminated Magazine, until his death in 1889, Wilkie Collins wrote thirty-three books, and numerous plays and short stories. Although he was already an established writer with the publication of the memoir of his father and his first novel Antonina, it was when he met Charles Dickens in 1851 that his literary career began to take off. Collins regularly contributed to Dickens's magazine Household Words, and the writers even collaborated on a story called "The Perils of Certain English Prisoners" published in the Christmas 1857 number. Collins's first major success was The Woman in White which was published serially in Dickens's new journal All the Year Round from November 1859. In the decade that followed Collins produced the remainder of his best work: the novels No Name (1862), Armadale (1866), and The Moonstone(1868). Although he continued to write for another twenty years his reputation fell into decline as his choice of subject matter veered to the sensational: for example Poor Miss Finch (1872) is the story of a blind girl who falls in love with one of a pair of identical twins whose skin is dyed blue by a cure for epilepsy. Collins himself believed The Woman in White to be his finest work, and stipulated that the inscription on his tombstone should simply read: "'Author of The Woman in White and other works of fiction'" (Symons, 7). Collins and Marriage Collins's personal life was scandalous from the point of view of the bourgeois English society into which he was born. In 1858 he set up home with a woman called Caroline Graves and her young daughter.

International Relations Relating to Humanitarian Intervention Essay

In the following essay I will discuss aspects of international relations relating to humanitarian intervention and how they affect a nation’s responsibilities in the international arena. I will be drawing parallels to historical examples of intervention and to recent world events. I will inspect the classical realist notion of non-intervention and sovereignty and another newer line of thought, more adapted to the modern system. What I hope to bring forth in this paper is a clearer understanding of the situation and the responsibilities of the actors in current international relations in regard to humanitarian rights and intervention. Today the world stands more connected than ever before in human history. Nations form economic empires. Lines of trade run intertwined. Influence and interests span the globe. Power is global. With this brave new world come new responsibilities. No longer, can state sovereignty, force rigid impenetrable boundaries between states and command sole responsibility for their citizens. But still national sovereignty in classical international law is untouchable. With the philosophical roots of international relations established with the treaty of Westphalia 1648 (Plant 1995: 190) According to it all sovereign rulers have absolute authority within their nations and no state has the right to intervene in the domestic matters of other sovereign states. This idea has been the very building block of modern international relations since 1945 and the establishment of the UN. The UN Charter clearly prohibits the use of force in international relations to threaten the â€Å"territorial integrity or political independence of any state â€Å"(United Nations 1945: Chapter 1 Article 2.4). This idea is so concrete in i... ...tract=462523 [Accessed 15 March 2011] Plant, R. 1995 ‘Rights Rules and world Order’ pp 190-218 in Desai, M and Redfern, P. (eds.) Global Governance: Ethics and Economics of the World Order, London: Continuum Publishing Slater, J and Nardin, T. 1986 ‘Nonintervention and Human Rights.’ The Journal of Politics, 48(1):86-96 Stacy, H. 2007 ‘Humanitarian Intervention and Relational Sovereignty,’ pp 89-104 in Lee, Steven P. (Ed.) Intervention, Terrorism, and Torture: Contemporary Challenges to Just War Theory, New York: Springer Thomas, C . 1994 ‘Human Rights and Intervention: A Case for Caution.’ Irish Studies in International Affairs, 5:15-28. United Nations, 2011. Charter of the United Nations 194,. [Online] Available at; [Accessed 09 March 2011]. Walzer, M. 1977 Just and Unjust Wars, New York: Basic Books

Stopping the Repetition of the Past: Musings of Antebellum America

Stopping the Repetition of the Past: Musings of Antebellum America Author Henry James has said that â€Å"it takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature. † For over one hundred years slavery had crippled the African American people and aided the white man; however, when the Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect it would become a slow catalyst of change that would take over a century for the Civil Rights Movement to be at its pinnacle. Racial limits would be pushed, lasting tension would arise. A great American novel of this time should depict the questionable change in racial demographics of the United States. Set before African American freedom, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain has been incessantly praised by authors and critics of all levels for pushing boundaries. It needs to be placed â€Å"in the context first of other American novels and then of world literature† (Smiley 1). Much like the American way of leaving the old country behind and immigrating to the United States, the novel’s loveable, young country boy of a narrator, Huckleberry Finn, pulls in readers of all kinds and feels the loneliness of being on his own travelling in the south, save for his runaway slave friend Jim. Along their adventures up and down the Mississippi River to free Jim, the reader follows Huck’s moral development, which is built up during different episodes in the story, but ultimately undone in the end. Although the â€Å"roundabout† nature of the end of the novel and Huck’s moral regression has rendered distaste, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn deserves its place in the literary canon of American literature for its variable structure, good-natured narrator, and reflections of Antebellum America. In essence, the ending of Huckleberry Finn is its pitfall. Hemingway claims that if you read the novel, that â€Å"you must stop when Nigger Jim is stolen from the boys. That is the real end. † One must go to where Huck tells Tom of stealing Jim out of slavery, where it is evident that Tom withholds the knowledge that he knows that Jim has already been freed. â€Å"What! Why Jim is – † he begins to say, but then stops talking before he reveals the facts (Twain 235). Tom Sawyer is â€Å"too fanciful, too extravagant,† making it clear that he is ultimately the ending’s drawback (Marx 10). It is clear that Tom Sawyer has begun planning his â€Å"adventure† almost immediately after finding out Jim was captured, and he takes advantage of his â€Å"best friend† Huck. According to James Pearl â€Å"the long and drawn out trick that Tom Sawyer plays on Jim makes the reader doubt if any real development has taken place† (2). After everything Huck does for Jim and the scrupulous opinions he forms, Tom comes back into the picture and pulls him back to his childish shenanigans. Huck allows his â€Å"so called friend† to take control of him, and the â€Å"follower† in him comes back out. He lets Tom boss him around and does all that he can to please him: â€Å"‘Oh, shucks, Huck Finn, if I was as ignorant as you I’d keep still – that’s what I’d do’† (Twain 248). Tom acts as another father figure to Huck: an additional lousy, bully like character. The natural growth of Huck and Jim’s friendship, the â€Å"pursuit of freedom and Huck’s gradual recognition of the slave’s humaneness – [are] rendered useless by the entrance of Tom Sawyer and his machinations to ‘free Jim’† (Peaches 15). Not only is Tom Sawyer unrealistic, but he is also charismatic and a natural leader, unfortunately in this case. At first, Huck questions Tom’s way of doing things â€Å"‘Confound it, it’s foolish, Tom,’† but later he becomes â€Å"Tom’s helpless accomplice, submissive and gullible† (Twain 250, Marx 12). Even Jim, â€Å"he couldn’t see no sense in the most of it, but he allowed we was white folks and knowed better than him† (Twain 256). â€Å"Huck is the passive observer,† who does not tell Tom what he is planning is wrong, and Jim is â€Å"the submissive sufferer of them, who does not fight back (Eliot 3). Tom adds unneeded agitation to a well written, historically reflecting novel. At the very end when Tom wakes up, he is asked why he would want to set a freed slave free and responds â€Å"‘Why, I wanted the adventure of it; and I’d ‘a’ waded neck-deep in blood to-goodness alive,’† behaving as an immature imp (Twain 292). After all that Tom and Huck put Jim through, some sort of reaction from Jim and a well-deserved outburst from Huck are expected; however, the actual response is quite the antithesis of what is expected. Huck still puts the menace on a pedestal, believing that â€Å"Tom Sawyer had done and took all that trouble and bother to set a free nigger free† (292). Jim does not even question Tom’s motives. When freed, Jim receives forty dollars from Tom, and the newly freed man claims in excitement â€Å"‘Dah, how, Huck, what I tell you†¦I tole you I ben rich wunst, en gwineter be rich ag’in, en it’s come true’† (294). While most of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not convincing, the ending surpasses the realm of improbability into ridiculousness. Leo Marx declares â€Å"the most obvious thing wrong with the ending, then, is the flimsy contrivance by which Clemens frees Jim,† which goes to say that although the ending is very humorous, it is quite agitating (9). This novel is a â€Å"masterpiece because it brings Western humor to perfection and yet transcends the narrow limit of it conventions. But the ending does not† (Marx 11). No matter how stirring the conclusion of the book is, there is still an insightful segment. During the â€Å"attempted† freeing of Jim, â€Å"Each shackle, chain, and discomfort applied by the boys to Jim makes Twain’s point that freeing a ‘free’ black man in the postbellum is protracted and difficult† (Godden, Mccay 11). Even after the Civil War ends and the Emancipation Proclamation is still in place, the actual â€Å"freedom† of African American men and women is not in attained. These oppressed people still live under the reign of a struggling, racially suppressive nation. A century after this period â€Å"freedom† is fought for again, yet won day by day. Just when the reader believes that some hope has arisen, Huck lights out for the territory just like he lights out from every other situation. Aunt Sally is â€Å"going to adopt [him] and sivilize [him] and [he] can’t stand it,† and that’s the end (Twain 296). No more to leave the reader thinking about how the narrator has developed immensely or how much struggle he has gone through, James Pearl has to â€Å"ask whether Huckleberry Finn goes in a line, or a circle† (1). Almost as soon as the reader opens the novel, which Hemingway has noted that â€Å"There was nothing before†¦There has been nothing good since,† an explanatory written by Mark Twain is seen. It is written that â€Å"In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods South-Western dialect,† as well as the use of many more speech patterns that have â€Å"not been done in a hap-hazard fashion, or by guess-work: but pains-takingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity† (Twain Explanatory). Right off the bat Twain establishes respectable ethos or credibility, which lays the framework of language in the novel. As its characters speak throughout the book, it is easy to differentiate between the varying dialects that are used. Jim is a prime example of Twain’s â€Å"pains-takingly† written dialect, â€Å"I tuck out en shin down de hill en ’spec to steal a skift ’long de sho’ some’ers ’bove de town, but dey wuz people a-stirren’ yit, so I hid†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (55). To the modern day reader this is difficult language to become adept to reading, but it is quote easy to see that it is exquisitely written. â€Å"Twain creates the impression of the American folk culture through his use of dialect and phonetic spelling, which mimics speech, rather than writing† (Pearl 1). Even though many of the adventures are improbable, the credibility of the characters in them are made more convincing by mimicking this â€Å"native tongue† The use of the word â€Å"nigger† in the novel creates a sense of fury in countless Americans. Henry Peaches mentions Fiedler when stating that the racial-slur â€Å"has the odious distinction of signifying all ‘the shame, the frustration, the rage, the fear’ that has been so much a part of the history of race relations in the United States† (Peaches 12). However, Peaches and Fiedler do not put into account the culture in which Huckleberry was raised. Twain â€Å"uses language to show that access to culture and education defines character† (Pearl 1). Huck was raised in the South during the 1800s, before the emancipation of slaves, so naturally he and many others in the novel would use the word without an afterthought. All of the negative racial undertones used by Huck are not simply the thoughts of a young boy, they are reflections of Twain. This is expressed during the King Solomon chapter, where Huck claims that Jim â€Å"had an uncommon level head, for a nigger† (Twain 86). As chapter fourteen unfolds, the question of equality of the American people comes into play. â€Å"The debate about the Americanness of Huckleberry Finn reveals the larger struggle to define American identity† (Pearl 1). This book came at a time after the slaves in the United States were freed, but it is based before that. It was a time when Americans needed to contemplate their country’s history, and define for themselves the difference between right and wrong. When Jim cannot seem to understand why French men and American men do not speak the same language, Twain is inferring that all men should be equal, merely because they are men. Whenever the mix of the Ohio River and the Mississippi River is mentioned, there is a sense of pressure and divided pride. Those who live on the Mississippi River feel their Southern pride, â€Å"The Child of Calamity†¦said there was nutritiousness in the mud, and a man that drunk Mississippi water could grow corn in his stomach if he wanted to† (Twain 101). Although this quote seems very silly, it brings to light the foolish, yet very real northern and southern rivalry Northerners and Southerners had differing opinions about slavery and human rights, â€Å"they talked about how Ohio water didn’t like to mix with Mississippi water† (101). Richard Godden and Mary Mccay point out that â€Å"Twain locates this conversation very specifically†¦ [that] the intersection is political as well as geographical† (10). Later on in chapter twenty-two Huck goes to another town where a lynch mob goes after Sherburn. Sherburn may have just shot a harmless drunkard, but his speech is eloquent. What comes out of the communicative man is an expression from Twain based upon Southern antics â€Å"‘Why, a man’s safe in the hands of ten thousand of your kind – as long as it’s daylight and you’re not behind him†¦Why don’t your juries hang murderers†¦you’re afraid to back down – afraid you’ll be found out for what you are – cowards’† (Twain 162). Twain makes clear once more the way he feels about the south. This town, much like the south had â€Å"to be moving back, and back, and back,† it was still caught in its old ways, unjust and antiquated (156). Even Huck speaks to this â€Å"because the people that’s always the most anxious for to hang a nigger that hain’t done just right is always the very ones that ain’t the most anxious to pay for him when they’ve got their satisfaction out of him,† meaning that those who take advantage of others are raved up to use them but do not want to make an effort to pay the repurcusions of it (288). When Huck speaks â€Å"there is no exaggeration of grammar or spelling or speech, there is no sentence or phrase to destroy the illusion that these are Huck’s own words† (Eliot 3). The use of a child narrator in this scene is key. Humans have a predisposed inclination to care for young children, and these jaded, insightful words that come from Huck evoke a deeper sense in the reader. Coming from a child, these words have a stronger sense of meaning. The language and sentence structure that Twain uses for his characters goes hand in hand with the often abnormal juxtaposition he often forms. One night his pap â€Å"was all tired out†¦[he] said he would rest a minute and then kill me† (Twain 41). This subtly included sentence adds immense effect The predominant use of simple sentence syntax which â€Å"allow(s) him to handle the surfaces of the world as they come at him, or to watch and record others doing likewise† (Godden, Mccay 12). There is neither judgment nor alarm in his tone. When Twain constructs sentences in this way it catches the reader off guard and creates a realization of the cruelty of the world that Huck has become so adjusted to. Choosing right from wrong seems impossible when the person that taught him to delineate right from wrong was a morally clouded father. This is exemplified again during the Grangerford episode when Huck starts out describing Colonel Grangerford, â€Å"He was kind as he could be†¦Everybody loved to have him around too; he was sunshine most always†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and then continues with the unexpected fact that â€Å"the old gentleman owned a lot of farms, and over a hundred niggers† (Twain 125, 126). This is ironic due to the contrast between Huck’s romanticized view of the lovely Colonel Grangerford and the reader’s understanding that the man inhumanely owns over a hundred beings. Huck has a basic, yet growing understanding of how slavery is cruel, but not enough to equate slave owners as unjust people. Then when the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons go to church with their guns â€Å"and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall,† Huck includes then that â€Å"It was pretty ornery preaching – all about brotherly love,† as if the situation was not ironic nor strange in any way (129). The juxtaposition included in this statement as well as the irony exemplifies Twain’s opinion of the ridiculousness of age old vendettas and family rivalries in the South. After everything they leave church with a â€Å"powerful lot to say about faith and the good works,† which exacerbates the foolishness of the feud, they speak of faith, but try to kill of their enemies every chance they get (129). Twain’s opinions are not kept out of his book, but are hidden in some cases. They have created such a lasting legacy for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The author’s opinions and a wide variety of characters enable the reader to have a wider viewpoint of the people in this period of history. Following the Sherburn incident, Huck goes to the circus. He does not transition whatsoever, â€Å"I could a staid (at Sherburn’s), if I’d a wanted to, but I didn’t want to. I went to the circus, and loafed around†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (162). This sudden change happens a few times throughout the novel to help illustrate the extent of Huck’s age and lack of capability to process life altering situations, such as the death of his dear friend Buck, which symbolizes the death of the boy’s childhood. He immediately goes back to the raft, â€Å"We said there warn’t no home like a raft,† and continues back on his adventures with Jim (134). This action â€Å"leaves room for endless variation and adventures, with the endless variation of America’s inhabitants† (Pearl 1). The reader is never really sure what to expect next in the novel, which leaves room for prediction. The seemingly random episodes are expertly crafted to show Huck’s moral development. America at the time is a big melting pot of different cultures, which come into play with shaping the narrator. Beginning in the first few pages of the novel, the reader gets their first taste of Huck as a narrator. He is goodhearted, and does not judge, which makes him an unbiased storyteller. Beginning with speaking about the author, Mark Twain, Huck says that â€Å"he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth† (Twain 13). Even when referring to his father who abuses him he does not see the wickedness in him, â€Å"but by and by pap got too handy with his hick’ry and I couldn’t stand it. I was all over welts† (37). By being an impartial narrator he allows â€Å"the reader to make his own moral reflections†¦He is the impassive observer: he does not interfere†¦he does not judge† (Eliot 2). T. S. Eliot is spot on when he says this. By being an â€Å"impassive observer†, the reader then takes Huck’s later moral development more seriously. During the Grangerford episode he learned that unique Emmeline Grangerford made poetry about people who had died and felt bad because no one wanted to make poetry about her once she died â€Å"so [he] tried to sweat out a verse or two [himself],† just because he felt that bad for a girl he had never met (Twain 124). This type of mature sincerity is uncommon among preadolescent boys. The development of Huck’s conscience comes a bit later in the novel, however the start of his moral growth begins before this. As soon as Huck and Jim meet again on the island Huck breaks norms of the time, and he chooses not to turn Jim in. â€Å"‘I said I wouldn’t [tell], and I’ll stick to it. Honest injun I will,† and he even claims that he does not care if â€Å"People call [him] a low down Abilitionist† (55). Although this scene is early in the novel it essentially sets the scene for the rest of the Huck’s progress, excluding the ending. Huck’s immediate reaction to help his newfound friend, whom he would be â€Å"incomplete without,† before he becomes well acquainted with him â€Å"is an unforgettable moment in the American experience,† and proves his heart is in the right place (Eliot 3, Marx). When he plays a mean, childish trick on Jim, who was once his slave, he apologizes â€Å"It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger,† and even when he apologized he â€Å"warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards† (Twain 95). T. S. Eliot claims that â€Å"the pathos and dignity of a boy, when reminded so humbly and humiliatingly, that his position in the world is not that of other boys, entitled from time to time a practical joke; but that he must bear, and bear alone, the responsibility of a man† (4). Huck must reason for himself right versus wrong, and act as an adult, even though the role models he has had in his life have consisted o f an alcoholic father and foster parents who try to â€Å"sivilize† him (13). This is where he realizes that he needs to do right from there on forward. He would not â€Å"do him no more mean tricks and [he] wouldn’t done that one if [he’d] a knowed it would make him feel that way† (95). â€Å"Huck learns that Jim has real feelings, recognizes humanity, and vows not to play any more tricks on him,† which is Huck’s first big step in moral development (Pearl 2). However, after this big step, when Jim and he came close to Cairo, Huck becomes nervous. He realizes what he is doing is â€Å"wrong† in society’s terms. It made him feel â€Å"all over trembly and feverish,† this is his conscience playing a role in his life decisions for once. Sacvan Bercovitch believes â€Å"Huck’s desire to fit in is underscored by his inability to do so†¦He believes in racism, class hierarchy, Southern aristocracy†¦,† which is completely inaccurate (14). Huck tries to believe in these things because society has forced him to believe in them, but he is questioning what he has been taught The situation â€Å"got to troubling [him] so [he] couldn’t rest,† then he â€Å"got to feeling so mean and so miserable [he] wished he was dead† (Twain 110). He â€Å"couldn’t get that out of [his] conscience, no how nor way† (110). Stealing â€Å"that poor old-woman[‘s]† slave â€Å"scorched [him] more and more† (110). Huck â€Å"has vision† for the first time in his life that society may not be right and decides that he would do whatever â€Å"come[s] handiest at the time,† and not what is necessarily â€Å"right† (Eliot 2, Twain 113). When contemplating turning his friend in, he â€Å"got to thinking over [their] trip down the river,† and that while they were floating along they talked and sang and laughed (222). This leads to Huck’s decision that he will â€Å"go to hell† if that is what it takes (223). Leo Marx believes that â€Å"this is the climactic moment in the ripening of his self-knowledge. By stating he will go to Hell, Huck â€Å"has surrendered to the notion of a principle of right and wrong (Cox 190). His friend Jim is his father figure and â€Å"the power of Jim’s personality erodes the prejudices that Huck’s culture has instilled† (Peaches 14). When Henry Peaches states that Huck’s â€Å"attitudes extend no fu rther than his love for Jim,† it is not necessarily true (13). Huck does love Jim, he has become â€Å"a surrogate father to Huck,† and he immediately agrees to help Jim as soon as he finds out on the island that Jim is a runaway (Peaches 16). He also claims that â€Å"there is no tangible reason to assume that the regard Huck acquires for Jim during his odyssey down the river is generalized to encompass all blacks† (Peaches 12, 13). Peaches is correct that there is no â€Å"tangible† evidence, but just because Huck saves Jim as opposed to some other runaway slave does not make his motives any less genuine. While the ending of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn arguably is its drawback, the capricious structure and language, delightful narrator, and observations of prewar United States unquestionably give the novel its place in the literary canon of American literature. Once it is accepted that the last twelve chapters of the book are disappointing, it is easy to see the merit in the rest of the piece. Depicting the feelings of southern citizens and African Americans before the Civil War, it gives a glimpse into the past of a torn country. The legacy of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will last for many years to come because of the profound impact that is had upon both America and other nations. Mark Twain’s writing has exposed the wrongdoing of slavery to the American people. By writing the novel after the Civil War, he has forced the country to look back in shame on the disturbing act of slavery and to fight for the cause of equality. It will live on because it is a book for everyone. Subtly including dark images with satire offers many interpretations, therefore giving a book that younger children can read and not see more than a story, and mature readers can look at with a deeper understanding. By looking into the past, one can help stop the repetition of heinous acts in the future.

English Atonement essays

English Atonement essays Atonement is a fund concept in the Jewish and Christian religions. 'Yom Kippur', the day of atonement is the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar. The need for atonement arises when an individual has committed a crime about which he feels guilty and for which he wishes to make amends, to the wronged party. Christmas too are required to atone for their sins if they want them to be forgiven by the confessor. She needed to atone for the crime she committed at the age of thirteen. Within the half hour Briony would commit her crime. When Briony appears in the fountain and library scene, she misinterprets what she sees. Though she was very young, she genuinely believed in Robbie's guilt even if that belief was based upon a mixture of childish ignorance and indignation. However, Briony was not helped to reexamine her story but felt only encouragement to stick with it, since she was desperate for adult attention and convinced that she knew better than her sister Cecilia, and she could protect her. Thus, she will later be tortured by remorse. It is the night of the attack and early morning that followed that will trouble her more than the legal processes. Her own vile excitement. Briony center stage. She takes the letter from Cecilia's bedroom and give it to the inspector. Also she shows them where she had seen Robbie attacking Cecilia ; that could earn her praise. The inspector tells her just as you see me, You saw him with your own eyes. Briony tells him Yes, I saw him. Yes she was a child. But not every child sends a man to prison with a lie. Briony's atonement starts when she abandons her ambition to go to Girton College, Cambridge , choosing to the humble job of nursing instead. Cecilia says I get the impression she's taken on nursing as an act of penance. Briony's novel has been My fifthy-nine year assignment.&qu...

Human Resources Information System (Hris) Essay Essays

Human Resources Information System (Hris) Essay Essays Human Resources Information System (Hris) Essay Paper Human Resources Information System (Hris) Essay Paper There are many different intents. maps and constituents to HRIS package systems. Technology has been invariably spread outing. and with all the new possibilities. companies are able to utilize these package systems to assist their HR sections perform their occupations faster and easier. Large concerns want to do the most sum of money. by passing the least sum possible ; with HRIS they are able to realistically accomplish this end. Businesss need to turn and spread out or they will non win. The chief intent of an HRIS is so companies can utilize it internally to maintain path of the store’s budget. paysheet and employee information more accurately and expeditiously. Many big human resource organisations develop or purchase these package systems to better their HR operations while seeking to maintain the entire operating costs low. The more a concern can salvage on rewards. the more it can pass on the company internally. to put in bettering the other sections as good. Some companies use HRIS systems to assist them pass on worldwide ; companies can hold one concern with several shops around the universe that speak different linguistic communications. HRIS package systems chief map is to assist HR forces grip and procedure big measures of information that is tracked and updated automatically ; this allows HR staff to concentrate on personal interaction with employees. alternatively of giving the bulk of their clip to paperwork. The cardinal maps of an HRIS package system are to make and keep employee record. adhere to legal conformity. prediction for future planning. strategic alliance and enhanced determination devising ( Dessler. 2011. pg 61 ) . The other maps that an HRIS system can execute include points such as control. effectivity. flexibleness. efficiency. reactivity. truth. easiness of usage. mechanization. seasonableness and procedure betterment ( HR Systems Strategies Inc. n. d. . pg. 1 ) . The companies that are worldwide can utilize this to pass on the same thing to other states with the HRIS system. HRIS package systems can hold many constituents to it ; nevertheless. non all companies require the same constituents. The general constituents that most big HR organisations have include a database to hive away employee information. clip and labour direction to track employee attending. paysheet to guarantee employees are paid right and lawfully. benefits to guarantee employees have appropriate benefits and retirement investings. enlisting to assist construct the company’s work force. preparation for new or promoted employees. organisation charting and scheduling for employees displacements and interruptions and an employee interface for employees to reexamine personal information ( Jennifer. n. d. . pg. 1 ) ( Dessler. 2011. pg 58 ) . Some companies can develop their package systems to be capable of executing things such as a salary analysis. budget planning. occupation design and public presentation reappraisals ( Cezanne. n. d. . pg. 1 ) . The cost of an HRIS package system can depend on many factors. such as how complex or simple it is and if it was specialized for your company or if it is a general system. Large companies such as fortune 500 can run systems around the 10s of 1000000s of dollars. but smaller companies can run systems for less than a 1000 dollars ( HRIS. HRMS and HR. n. d. . pg. 1 ) . The world is that there are many different HRIS package systems for any monetary value scope. but nevertheless much you invest into it. is how much you will acquire out. The HRIS system that a company chooses should non be based on how complex the system is. but how good the system will be to assist better the concerns HR section. The impact of engineering has changed the function of HR in many different facets. The most obvious positive consequence of utilizing engineering in an HR section is the addition of truth and efficiency. which in bend reduces costs and improves consequences within the company. The usage of engineering makes it able for HR to give less clip to paperwork and more clip to employee interaction ( Hall. 2012. pg. 1 ) . Plants Citedâ€Å"Cezanne. † Cezanne. Cezanne Software Limited. n. d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. cezannesw. com/solutions/ gt ; . Dessler. Gary. and Nina D.Cole. â€Å"Human Resources Management and Technology. † Human Resources Management in Canada. 11th Canadian Edition erectile dysfunction. Toronto: Pearsons Canada. 2011. 58. 59. 61. 62. 63. Print. â€Å"HR Systems Strategies Inc | HRIS Software Canada / US. † HR Systems Strategies Inc | HRIS Software Canada / US. N. p. . n. d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //infohr. net/ gt ; . â€Å"HRIS. HRMS and HR package FAQaˆâ„ ¢s. † Free HRIS HRMS and HR Software Buyers Guide. N. p. . n. d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. comparehris. com/about/faq/ gt ; . Hall. James. â€Å"Impact of engineering on human resource direction | Importance of Technology. † Importance of Technology. N. p. . 1 Mar. 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //importanceoftechnology. net/104/impact-of-technology-on-human-resource-management gt ; . Jennifer. Kristin. â€Å"The Components of an HRIS System | eHow. com. † eHow | How to Videos. Articles A ; More – Discover the expert in you. | eHow. com. N. p. . n. d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. ehow. com/list_7418360_components-hris-system. hypertext markup language gt ; .

Free Essays on School Rules

In the book The Battle for History, John Keegan, talks of the many different views on World War II. He takes into account other historical works such as Robert M. Kennedy’s The German Campaign in Poland, Christopher Duffy’s Red Storm on the Reich, The Struggle for Europe by Chester Wilmot and many others. He has already analyzed these other works. He has summarized the authors’ major points and used them to support his own theory, although Keegan’s theory about the written history of the war is quite unclear. The only theory that I could derive, is that â€Å"[it] has not yet been written.† (30) What does he mean by this? The works cited in the back of the book number over one hundred fifty. Numerous references are made to the works of other authors. Keegan does not seem to tell anything from his perspective, but state what he has read. All good and well considering this is history, but are the past events so clearly set in stone? Keegan seems to br ing up questions throughout the book such as: did Roosevelt know of the attack on Pearl Harbor before it happened? â€Å"There have also been explorations of the allegation that Roosevelt had foreknowledge but chose not to act on it, as a means of bringing the United States into the Second World War on the anti-Axis side.† (17) Keegan does not do much to answer these questions, simply brings them into the picture. The book gives no feel of ending or resolution to most of the questions he brings about. Maybe this was his purpose. Topics in the book up from one place to another. In one paragraph Keegan may be discussing the use of the Enigma, a commercial cipher machine; in the next Keegan might begin discussing the use of U-boats. Although there is some logical flow through the book, for the most part the subjects are jumpy, causing the work to be choppy and cluttered babbling. It seems like the author is trying to squeeze as much as he can into as few pages as possible. Keega n does, how... Free Essays on School Rules Free Essays on School Rules In the book The Battle for History, John Keegan, talks of the many different views on World War II. He takes into account other historical works such as Robert M. Kennedy’s The German Campaign in Poland, Christopher Duffy’s Red Storm on the Reich, The Struggle for Europe by Chester Wilmot and many others. He has already analyzed these other works. He has summarized the authors’ major points and used them to support his own theory, although Keegan’s theory about the written history of the war is quite unclear. The only theory that I could derive, is that â€Å"[it] has not yet been written.† (30) What does he mean by this? The works cited in the back of the book number over one hundred fifty. Numerous references are made to the works of other authors. Keegan does not seem to tell anything from his perspective, but state what he has read. All good and well considering this is history, but are the past events so clearly set in stone? Keegan seems to br ing up questions throughout the book such as: did Roosevelt know of the attack on Pearl Harbor before it happened? â€Å"There have also been explorations of the allegation that Roosevelt had foreknowledge but chose not to act on it, as a means of bringing the United States into the Second World War on the anti-Axis side.† (17) Keegan does not do much to answer these questions, simply brings them into the picture. The book gives no feel of ending or resolution to most of the questions he brings about. Maybe this was his purpose. Topics in the book up from one place to another. In one paragraph Keegan may be discussing the use of the Enigma, a commercial cipher machine; in the next Keegan might begin discussing the use of U-boats. Although there is some logical flow through the book, for the most part the subjects are jumpy, causing the work to be choppy and cluttered babbling. It seems like the author is trying to squeeze as much as he can into as few pages as possible. Keega n does, how...

The war on drugs (Golden Triangle) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The war on drugs (Golden Triangle) - Essay Example The Golden Triangle is an area specified in the Southeast Asia which consists of an area which is 367,000 square miles and overlaps four of Asia’s countries. This area has been known for the most extensive opium producing areas in the entire world since the 1920’s. The production and the supply of most of the drugs are made from this area since decades. The area contains a number of industries comprising of many business dealings made from all around the world in this centre. All kinds of drugs and heroine is produced and transported from this area to different parts of the world. These drugs are also smuggled through illegal methods (Woodiwiss‎, 2010, p.178). The War on Drugs in the Golden Triangle consists of initiatives taken by the different countries joint together to stop the illegal production, usage and transportation of drugs to the various areas of the world. Many of the efforts have been successful in the last few decades while many of them are still not. Everyday, constantly new policies and strategies are being used to be able control the drugs produced in the Golden Triangle as it is believed to be the centre of the

Maad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Maad - Essay Example 2. Rather than engaging with the story of Jonah in the literal sense, early Christians, as exhibited in the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke, understood the story of Jonah to be typological. In this way, Jonah represented a type of â€Å"Christ† which was in the belly of the whale for a period of 3 days just as Christ was in the belly of the earth, the grave, for a total period of 3 days time. A further identification with the story of Jonah is the way in which Christ himself compared his earthly ministry and the generation he witnessed to as similar to that of the inhabitants of Nineveh. This typification was carried out in a number of ways and was a means whereby the early Christians were able to coalesce the story of the Messiah with the Old Testament typifications that are so prevalent throughout Judaism. 3. With regards to the means by which early Christians interpreted the story of Isaac and Abraham in the Old Testament, this too was similar to the typification th at has been briefly discussed in question 2 with relation to the early Christian interpretation of Jonah. ... 4. The distinctive features of the gospels can be inferred as something of the differing levels of approach that each provides with relation to understanding a further nuance of Christ’s earthly ministry. As such, each of these stands as a means of providing a more complete picture of Christ’s earthly ministry by casting it Him as a Savior, a Servant, a Son of God, and the Son of Man. These features were useful for the early Christian movement to develop a full and nuanced interpretation of Christ rather than a one-dimensional approach which had so often been elaborated upon in the Old Testament. 5. The key differential that exists within theology and the understanding and application of historical truth versus mathematical truth relates to the means by which the believer seeks to integrate a more full and complete understanding of the way in which past experience and certain events of the Old Testament can or should be quantified or understood within the historical con text that they were originally written to integrate with. As with any form of theological form of understanding this is concentric upon trying to utilize a new approach to what can be considered a historical context. 6. The most powerful reason for this historical approach to the fact that many Christians believe the Christ physically rose from the dead on Easter Sunday is most closely related to the fact that the Passover and the feasts associated with it can descernably be linked to a specific date and time. As such, the early Christian tradition of Easter Sunday as emblematic of the day in which Christ rose from the dead is much more than adherence to blind tradition; rather it is a marker that can firmly and rationally be defined as a set point in time that is

The Republic of Honduras Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Republic of Honduras - Essay Example Spread over approximately 1, 12,090 square kilometers of land, the country's population presents a solid picture of unity in diversity. As per the census of July 2002, Honduras population stood at 65, 60,508 and in terms of ethnic composition, its population consists of Mestozos, Amerindians, Black Africansand Whites representing 90%, 7%, 2% and 1% respectively. In terms of religious composition, Roman Catholics are in majority with 97% of the population hailing from this group. The Whites mostly live in the areas of northern coast and are proud of preserving their culture which they have inherited from their ancestors. It must be noted that Honduras was initially part of the British Empire and later on came under the Spanish rule gradually. Garifuna people, belonging to a minority community, also live along the northern coast in harmony with many Afro-Latin Americans. There are also some people of Asian descent in Honduras and most of them are Japanese and Chinese origins. Hundreds of families can still find their origins in the with the Jewish minorities constitute the highest income groups in Honduras and are in control of politics and economy. Some sections of people have relations with families in Spain as Spain also ruled the country for a long time. But the beauty and greatness of the country is that the indigenous natives of Honduras are spread all over the country and all people live in perfect harmony. Tribal people like Chortis (Mayan descent), Payas, Pech, Tolupanes or Xicaques/Jicaques, Lencas, Sumos or Tawahkas, and Olmecas live in utter poverty as they live in far off and remote places. It seems that the Government is unable to do anything for their upliftment because of lack of budgetary funds and poor funding by the developed countries. Following is the map which shows Honduras and its neighbours.(Map source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Honduras_sm04.png) 3 Historical figures Honduras has a great historical figure. He is Florencio Xatruch who had led the country's armed forces and fought successfully against an attempted invasion by North American filibuster William Walker in 1857. A Honduran can be proudly called by the nickname of Catrocha or Catrocho which is inspiringly derived from the last name of

Parent-Child Relationships in a Diverse Society Assignment

Parent-Child Relationships in a Diverse Society - Assignment Example Living with a single parent will influence the growth and behavior of the child as well as the parent-child relationship. In case of a single mother, the responsibility of supporting the child’s growing up needs can result in less time being spent with the child as she might have to work outside the home for longer hours as a result of which the mother might also have some degree of frustration and depression. In case of single fathers, they would have to manage work in order to spend time with the child. When the children begin to live with an independent parent the household chores and other styles of living can undergo a drastic change, and the child would have to adjust to the lifestyle change. Reduced parenting can result in the child being more aggressive, preoccupied, and depressive with a feeling of insecurity and in some cases violent behavior. When such a behavior is left uncorrected the child’s social behavior is also affected leading to an unhealthy lifestyl e (Separation and Divorce, n.d; Divorce Effects on Children, 2008). From the legal point of view, it can be a stressful time for both parents and children while negotiating the custody of the child and divorce settlements. In addition, coping to live with the society can also be a big challenge for all those involved in the divorce. The single status of the parents will most likely make them enter into a new relationship in want of stability. All this could result in lifestyle changes for both the parent and the child (Separation and Divorce, n.d). Thus it is the moral duty of the parent taking custody of the child to ensure that the child has a normal growing environment and the other parent should also show equal responsibility towards the growth of the

Discuss the effects of digital technologies on cinema. To what extent Essay

Discuss the effects of digital technologies on cinema. To what extent are pre-digital filmmaking methods and filmmaking practice - Essay Example Digital cinema is defined as the use of digital technology to project and distribute motion pictures.   The process of doing this is called digital cinematography. Therefore cinematography is defined as the use of digital technologies to capture motion pictures in the form of digital images instead of capturing them on a film. The images are captured on hard disks, tapes, flash memory and other media capable of recording digital data. Examples of such digital film-making technologies are Phantom HD High Speed camera, Thomson Viper, Red Digital camera, Genesis, Arrflex D-20 and noX 2K d-cinema and digital projectors. The introduction of such technologies has ushered in yet another new era of digital cinematography (Barda, 2002).   Digital imagery existed as from 1980s as evidenced by Disney’s Tron produced in 1982. This was the first movie to contain high-resolution. However, the first film in digital format was marketed in 1997. From that time henceforth, cinema has experi enced technical and social changes as a result of digital technology. ... The effects of digital technologies on cinema Positive effects The arrival of the digital technologies brought a sharp division between the old and new media. From experience, film-makers confess that the entrance of digital technologies in the movie making industry has enabled them to ‘tell stories that were not possible to tell before’ and achieve higher levels of realism in their movies. They have also been enabled to impress the cinema audience with effects that were previously unseen. For example, using the digital technologies, movie makers have been able to make shots that are more impressive than those that could have been produced using the pre-digital technologies. Therefore, we can say that the entry of digital technology has created new, great possibilities for cinema. Each of the positive impacts of digital technology on cinema is explained in the following paragraphs. Digital technologies allows film-makers to focus more on actor actions because digital vid eo equipment enables them to be closer to the actors and even being inside the action as it unfolds. This gives them a chance of conducting a more legitimate filmic approach leading to the inclusion of minor details in the movie, something that could not be easily achieved with pre-digital technologies. A legitimate filmic approach helps to reduce unnecessary levels of suspense created by failure to bring out some parts of the movie that need close range shots (Ganz and Khathib, 2006). According to Kotian (2005), digitalization of cinema has led to production of movies that have high abilities of attracting and retaining audience attention due to the special

Parent-Child Relationships in a Diverse Society Assignment

Parent-Child Relationships in a Diverse Society - Assignment Example Living with a single parent will influence the growth and behavior of the child as well as the parent-child relationship. In case of a single mother, the responsibility of supporting the child’s growing up needs can result in less time being spent with the child as she might have to work outside the home for longer hours as a result of which the mother might also have some degree of frustration and depression. In case of single fathers, they would have to manage work in order to spend time with the child. When the children begin to live with an independent parent the household chores and other styles of living can undergo a drastic change, and the child would have to adjust to the lifestyle change. Reduced parenting can result in the child being more aggressive, preoccupied, and depressive with a feeling of insecurity and in some cases violent behavior. When such a behavior is left uncorrected the child’s social behavior is also affected leading to an unhealthy lifestyl e (Separation and Divorce, n.d; Divorce Effects on Children, 2008). From the legal point of view, it can be a stressful time for both parents and children while negotiating the custody of the child and divorce settlements. In addition, coping to live with the society can also be a big challenge for all those involved in the divorce. The single status of the parents will most likely make them enter into a new relationship in want of stability. All this could result in lifestyle changes for both the parent and the child (Separation and Divorce, n.d). Thus it is the moral duty of the parent taking custody of the child to ensure that the child has a normal growing environment and the other parent should also show equal responsibility towards the growth of the

Geography and Careers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Geography and Careers - Essay Example chnology and a solid knowledge of the world while in addition, amongst others, helping in managing natural and urban environments, analyzing the evolving relationship between people and places, planning transportation routes, investigating sustainable land use worldwide, creating geographic management systems for industries and government agencies and helping understand and restore natural ecosystems (Association of American Geographers, 1). The society boasts members from more than 60 nations who come together to share interests in theory, methods and practice in geography. This they do via the AAG’s Annual Meeting, scholarly journals, the online AAG Newsletter, amongst other avenues. Through the activities of its affinity groups and the more than 60 specialty groups, the AAG promotes deliberations amongst members and with scholars in associated fields. The meetings and activities of regional divisions serve to offer opportunities for networking amongst members in any part of the globe. The AAG membership is predominantly comprised of geographers and related professionals who work in the public, private and academic sectors. These members serve in a wide variety of professions from across the world. Over 300 volunteer leaders serve on the Council of the AAG and other committees and groups. The AAG uses educational and research programs and projects to enhance geographic understanding, learning and literacy across the globe and with its headquarters currently in Washington, D.C, the association strives to promote professional studies in geography while encouraging the application of geographic research in education, business, government and related fields. It is reputed for its numerous partnerships as well as developing and managing programs, outcomes to the policy making sector and international outreach. The AAG has its industry and faculty awards and honors which offer recognition to brilliant contributors in the profession. Grant programs are also

Experience and other evidence Essay Example for Free

Experience and other evidence Essay Job stress and low pay is a complaint and common reason that people cite for quitting a particular job or changing professions altogether. Low pay simply is a matter of not being able to meet the cost of living for one’s self and family with take home pay. Job stress speaks to the actual work conditions and requirements, and the actual stressors change with each profession. When job stress and low pay occur together, people are likely to leave an entire profession, never to return. In our country teachers are face numerous stressing factors not only unruly students in the classroom, but also inadequate teaching resources, lack of administrative support, and low morale among their fellow teachers. As a result teachers are leaving their classrooms and abandoning the teaching profession, due to the combination of on the job stress factors coupled with low and inadequate pay. In April 2007 Cal State University Teacher Quality Institute conducted a study that reveals the reasons that many teachers are leaving the teaching profession. Some of the top reasons cited by the 1,900 teachers surveyed include poor working conditions, lac of authority to make classroom decisions, and low pay. Some also cited lack of text books and supplies, and the obsession with tests and test preparation. The study, which focused on teachers in California, found that 20% leave within the first four years and the up to 10% leave after just one year teaching in high schools in higher poverty areas. (Dang 2007) In general half of teachers who left their jobs cited simple frustration. The frustrating factors they cited included low support from the school district, an unsupportive principal, and low teacher morale. Low or inadequate pay is high on the list because teachers, particularly new ones, have a hard time meeting the cost of living on a teacher’s salary. The study finds that some teachers would not even accept more pay to return and endure the multitude of stressing factors or poor working conditions they find themselves in.

The Modern Olympic Games Tourism Essay

The Modern Olympic Games Tourism Essay The modern Olympic Games are a major international event featuring summer and winter sports in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered to be the worlds foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Games are currently held biennially, with summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating, meaning they each occur every four years. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The IOC has since become the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Games for ice and winter sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability, and the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes. The IOC has had to adapt to the varying economic, political, and technological realities of the 20th century. As a result, the Olympics shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allow participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of the mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship and commercialization of the Games. World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games. The Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and organizing committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Olympic Games. The host city is responsible for organizing and funding a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter. The Olympic program, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games, is also determined by the IOC. The celebration of the Games encompasses many rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympics in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second and third place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals: gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. The Games have grown in scale to the point that nearly every nation is represented. Such growth has created numerous challenges, including boycotts, doping, bribery, and terrorism. Every two years, the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame. The Games also constitute a major opportunity for the host city and country to showcase themselves to the world. The Olympic Games program consists of 35 sports, 30 disciplines and nearly 400 events. For example, wrestling is a Summer Olympic sport, comprising two disciplines: Greco-Roman and Freestyle. It is further broken down into fourteen events for men and four events for women, each representing a different weight class. The Summer Olympics program includes 26 sports, while the Winter Olympics program features 15 sports. Athletics, swimming, fencing, and artistic gymnastics are the only summer sports that have never been absent from the Olympic program. Cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and speed skating have been featured at every Winter Olympics program since its inception in 1924. Current Olympic sports, like badminton, basketball, and volleyball, first appeared on the program as demonstration sports, and were later promoted to full Olympic sports. Some sports that were featured in earlier Games were later dropped from the program. Olympic sports are governed by international sports federations (IFs) recognized by the IOC as the global supervisors of those sports. There are 35 federations represented at the IOC. There are sports recognized by the IOC that are not included on the Olympic program. These sports are not considered Olympic sports, but they can be promoted to this status during a program revision that occurs in the first IOC session following a celebration of the Olympic Games. During such revisions, sports can be excluded or included in the program on the basis of a two-thirds majority vote of the members of the IOC. There are recognized sports that have never been on an Olympic program in any capacity, including chess and surfing. In October and November 2004, the IOC established an Olympic Programme Commission, which was tasked with reviewing the sports on the Olympic program and all non-Olympic recognized sports. The goal was to apply a systematic approach to establishing the Olympic program for each celebration of the Games. The commission formulated seven criteria to judge whether a sport should be included on the Olympic program. These criteria are history and tradition of the sport, universality, popularity of the sport, image, athletes health, development of the International Federation that governs the sport, and costs of holding the sport. From this study five recognized sports emerged as candidates for inclusion at the 2012 Summer Olympics: golf, karate, rugby union, roller sports and squash. These sports were reviewed by the IOC Executive Board and then referred to the General Session in Singapore in July 2005. Of the five sports recommended for inclusion only two were selected as finalists: karate and squash. Neither sport neither attained the required two-thirds vote nor consequently was they not promoted to the Olympic program. In October 2009 the IOC voted to instate golf and rugby union as Olympic sports for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympic Games. The 114th IOC Session, in 2002, limited the Summer Games program to a maximum of 28 sports, 301 events, and 10,500 athletes. Three years later, at the 117th IOC Session, the first major program revision was performed, which resulted in the exclusion of baseball and softball from the official program of the 2012 London Games. Since there was no agreement in the promotion of two other sports, the 2012 program featured just 26 sports. The 2016 and 2020 Games will return to the maximum of 28 sports given the addition of rugby and golf. The host city for an Olympic Games is usually chosen seven to eight years ahead of their celebration. The process of selection is carried out in two phases that span a two-year period. The prospective host city applies to its countrys National Olympic Committee; if more than one city from the same country submits a proposal to its NOC, the national committee typically holds an internal selection, since only one city per NOC can be presented to the International Olympic Committee for consideration. Once the deadline for submission of proposals by the NOCs is reached, the first phase (Application) begins with the applicant cities asked to complete a questionnaire regarding several key criteria related to the organization of the Olympic Games. In this form, the applicants must give assurances that they will comply with the Olympic Charter and with any other regulations established by the IOC Executive Committee. The evaluation of the filled questionnaires by a specialized group provides the IOC with an overview of each applicants project and their potential to host the Games. On the basis of this technical evaluation, the IOC Executive Board selects the applicants that will proceed to the candidature stage. Once the candidate cities are selected, they must submit to the IOC a bigger and more detailed presentation of their project as part of a candidature file. Each city is thoroughly analysed by an evaluation commission. This commission will also visit the candidate cities, interviewing local officials and inspecting prospective venue sites, and submit a report on its findings one month prior to the IOCs final decision. During the interview process the candidate city must also guarantee that it will be able to fund the Games. After the work of the evaluation commission, a list of candidates is presented to the General Session of the IOC, which must assemble in a country that does not have a candidate city in the running. The IOC members gathered in the Session have the final vote on the host city. Once elected, the host city bid committee (together with the NOC of the respective country) signs a Host City Contract with the IOC, officially becoming an Olympic host nation and host city. By 2016, the Olympic Games will have been hosted by 44 cities in 23 countries, but by cities outside Europe and North America on only eight occasions. Since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, the Olympics have been held in Asia or Oceania four times, a sharp increase compared to the previous 92 years of modern Olympic history. The 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro will be the first Olympics for a South American country. No bids from countries in Africa have succeeded. The United States has hosted eight Olympic Games, four Summer and four Winter, more than any other nation. The British capital London holds the distinction of hosting three Olympic Games, all Summer, more than any other city. The other nations hosting the Summer Games twice are Germany, Australia, France and Greece. The other cities hosting the Summer Games twice are Los Angeles, Paris and Athens. In addition to the United States, nations hosting multiple Winter Games are France with three, while Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Japan, Canada and Italy have hosted twice. Among host cities, Lake Placid, Innsbruck and St. Moritz have played host to the Winter Olympic Games more than once, each holding that honour twice. The most recent Winter Games were held in Vancouver, Canadas third Olympics overall. The next Winter Games will be in Sochi in 2014, Russias first Winter Olympics and second Olympics overall. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games, 24 Nov, 2012) London Wins By 15 July 2003, the deadline for interested cities to submit bids to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), nine cities had submitted bids to host the 2012 Summer Olympics: Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York City, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. On 18 May 2004, as a result of a scored technical evaluation, the IOC reduced the number of cities to five: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris. All five submitted their candidate files by 19 November 2004 and were visited by the IOC inspection team during February and March 2005. The Paris bid suffered two setbacks during the IOC inspection visit: a number of strikes and demonstrations coinciding with the visits, and a report that a key member of the bid team, Guy Drut, would face charges over alleged corrupt party political finances. Throughout the process, Paris was widely seen as the favourite, particularly as this was its third bid in recent years. London was seen at first as lagging Paris by a considerable margin. Its position began to improve after the appointment of Lord Coe as the new head of London 2012 on 19 May 2004. In late August 2004, reports predicted a tie between London and Paris. On 6 June 2005 the IOC released its evaluation reports for the five candidate cities. They did not contain any scores or rankings, but the report for Paris was considered the most positive. London was close behind, having closed most of the gap observed by the initial evaluation in 2004. New York and Madrid also received very positive evaluations. On 1 July 2005, when asked who would win, Jacques Rogge said, I cannot predict it since I dont know how the IOC members will vote. But my gut feeling tells me that it will be very close. Perhaps it will come down to a difference of say ten votes, or maybe less. On 6 July 2005, the final selection was announced at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. Moscow was the first city to be eliminated, followed by New York and Madrid. The final two contenders were London and Paris. At the end of the fourth round of voting, London won the right to host the 2012 Games with 54 votes to Pariss 50. The celebrations in London were short-lived, being overshadowed by bombings on Londons transport system less than 24 hours after the announcement. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics, 24 Nov, 2012) Why was London chosen? A lot of available land to regenerate Government was in favor Many hotels and restaurants Has the right facilities A good transport system In Europe, close to many spectators and potential athletes A good climate during July and August Pre Olympics Preparations for the Games Economics of the Games By almost any measure, staging the Olympic Games was big business. Revenue is generated from five principal sources: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Broadcast rights-the rights to broadcast the Games in countries around the world. In recent times, the rights for the United States accounted for about 50% and the rights for Europe accounted for 25% of the total broadcast revenue. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ International sponsorship-the rights for a company to proclaim itself an Official Sponsor of the Olympic Games on a worldwide basis in the four years leading up to the Games. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ticketing-the tickets to the individual Olympic events. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Domestic sponsorship-the rights for a company to proclaim itself an official sponsor of the Olympics within the country hosting the Games. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Licensing rights-the rights to use the Olympic logos and trademarks on items ranging from stamps and coins to t-shirts and stuffed animals. Preparing For and Managing the Games Using its allocation of the Olympic revenues, the host city London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games had to plan for, organize, and manage the 17 days of the Games, all within the contractual obligations set forth by the IOC. The major tasks included: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Staging the Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, and sporting events à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Arranging for the required stadia, arenas, training facilities, and equipment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Housing and feeding the athletes and officials à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Anticipating and solving potential transportation problems à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Meeting the needs of the media à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Providing security to ensure a safe and peaceful Olympics Importantly, while the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games was responsible for arranging for the Games infrastructure, responsibility for actually providing that infrastructure rested with the host city and country. This included the stadia and arenas to stage the events, the Olympic Village to house the athletes, the national and international transportation systems to efficiently get people to and from the host city, and the local transportation systems to shuttle people to and from the events. If funds were needed to build this infrastructure, they typically were raised through taxation, lotteries, and private investment. Chris Townsend explained: The costs of any Olympics can be broken down into software or people costs and hardware or infrastructure costs. Software costs are the responsibility of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and include the expenses associated with planning the Games, housing the athletes, and running the events. In contrast, hardware costs are the responsibility of the host city and depend greatly on the existing infrastructure. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã†â€™ The 2012 Games Great Britain was no stranger to the Olympic Games. It was one of only four nations to compete in all 26 Olympic Games, holding third place in total number of medals won. It had successfully hosted the 1908 and 1948 London Games. And it had bid on the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Games. Winning the rights to the 2012 Games was far from certain, however, with Paris, New York, Moscow, and Madrid also in the final running. The process to select the host city consisted of a series of secret ballots, with each IOC member voting for the city of his or her choice. After each round of voting, if no city obtained a majority of the votes cast, the city with the lowest number of votes was eliminated, and the remaining cities advanced to a new round of voting. By most accounts, Paris was the favourite to win the rights to the 2012 Games. However, many believed the London bid was aided by the addition of Sebastian Coe to the London Bid Committee in 2004. Coe was the 1980 and 1984 gold medallist in the 1,500-meter run, was widely considered one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time, had served as a member of the British Parliament, and was widely respected both within and outside the Olympic community. In the end, the IOC apparently was impressed by the proposal that the London Bid Committee submitted. As announced on July 6, 2005, to the joy of its many supporters, London had won the rights to host the 2012 Games in a final, head-to-head ballot in which London received 54 votes to Pariss 50. The Plans for the 2012 Games The 2012 Games were scheduled to run from July 27 to August 12, with over 12,000 athletes from 205 countries expected to compete across 26 sports and 300 events. In a perfect world, the organizing committee knew, their decisions would satisfy many criteria. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ First, given the importance of ticketing to the Games bottom line, they had a strong incentive to maximize revenues. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Second, given that the entire world would be watching, they wanted to maximize attendance-not just at the Opening Ceremony and swimming finals, which traditionally were easy sells, but also at events like handball and table tennis, which were not. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Thirdly, the wanted to fill the seats with right people- knowledgeable fans who added to the energy and atmosphere of the event. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Finally, tickets had to be accessible not only to the worlds elite but also to average Londoners, many of whom lived around the corner from the Olympic park. With 7.9 million tickets up for sale, the LONDON ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES anticipated an average of 500,000 spectators per day to attend the Games, with up to 800,000 on the busiest days. It estimated that roughly 30% of all tickets would be purchased by Londoners, 25% by United Kingdom residents who lived outside of London, 20% by people from the rest of Europe, and 25% by people from the rest of the world. In addition, it expected 10,000 Olympic and political dignitaries to watch some or all of the Games, 20,000 journalists and media personnel to cover the Games, 60,000 security personnel to ensure safety, and 100,000 paid and volunteer workers to help run the Games. Location and Venues A key selling point in the London bid was the plan to build the centrepiece of the Games-the Olympic Park-in East London. As stated in Londons bid document: Great Games leave welcome legacies. Consistent with Londons long-term plan, the Games will stimulate vital economic and social regeneration in what is now a disadvantaged area. Creation of the Olympic Park will involve restoring large tracts of land in East London, with new green spaces and revived wetlands. The Olympic Village will become a desirable and socially diverse new residential area, providing 3,600 new homes in a community transformed by the Games. The intent was to develop 500 acres of existing industrial and waste land in East London into the Olympic Park. By 2012, this would include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium-for Opening and Closing Ceremonies and athletics à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The 17,500-seat Aquatics Centre-for diving, swimming, and water polo à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The 12,000-seat London Velopark-for indoor track cycling and outdoor BMX cycling à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The 12,000-seat Basketball Arena à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The 15,000-seat Olympic Field Hockey Centre à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The 17,000-bed Olympic Village After the Games, the plan was to reduce the size of several of the larger venues to fit with the surrounding community, to relocate several of the smaller venues to other parts of the country where they could be better utilized, and to convert the Olympic Village into 3,600 units of affordable housing, with an additional 5,400 new homes to be built later. The remaining sports would use existing venues located throughout London and the UK, including Earls Court (volleyball), Excel London (judo, weightlifting, wrestling), Hyde Park (triathlon), the Millennium Dome (gymnastics), Wimbledon (tennis), and Wembley (football). Transportation A second critical element of the London bid was a plan to make the 2012 Games the first public transport Olympics, with close to 100% of ticketed spectators traveling to the Olympic events by such means. To make this happen, existing transportation links to and from the East London area were to be expanded and upgraded, turning it into one of the best-connected Communities in the city. The most talked-about of these efforts was a 12-car subway shuttle called the Olympic Javelin, which would ferry passengers from Kings Cross Station, in the heart of London, to the Olympic Park in just 7 minutes. These efforts were expected to support the transport of up to 240,000 passengers per hour into and out of the Olympic Park area. In turn, to encourage spectators to use public transportation, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games had announced that the price of every ticket to an Olympic event would include the use of Londons public transportation network on the day of that event. Atmosphere finally, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games hoped to engage and excite the British public. While Sydney came to be called the Laid-Back Games, and Beijing had been unofficially dubbed the No Fun Games, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games wanted the legacy of the 2012 Games to be one of inclusiveness. Toward this end, Sebastian Coe noted: Whilst London will be the principal venue, it is the entire United Kingdom which will be the host. The London 2012 Games will be Everybodys Games. London 2012 will be the most accessible and participative Games ever. Putting on Everybodys Games, we are clear that our stakeholders are the 60 million people living in Britain. Delivering the 2012 games The two groups responsible for delivering the 2012 games were the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which staged the Games, and a quasi-governmental organization called the Olympic Delivery Authority, which built the infrastructure. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games forecasting budget was $3 billion. Roughly $1.2 billion of this came from its share of the broadcast revenues and international sponsorships. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games was responsible for the rest, with a planned $1 billion coming from about 60 domestic sponsors, $650 million from ticket sales, and $150 million from licensing fees. The Olympic Delivering Authoritys total expenses were projected to run about $12 billion: $6 billion for the building of the Olympic park, $4 billion for the transportation upgrades, and the rest for smaller projects, contingencies and taxes. Roughly 60% of these funds came from national taxes, 15% came from London city taxes, and 20% came from the National Lottery. Selling tickets to the games Hired as head of ticketing in September 2007, Paul Williamson was no stranger to large sporting event. Previously, he had helped set ticketing guidelines for several FIFA World Cup Finals, the Cricket World Cup etc. He was well aware of the challenges that London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games faced: Ticketing for the FIFA World Cup was a great experience, but it pales in comparison to the Olympic Games. For a World Cup Final, you sell three million tickets to 64 matches played over 30 days in 10 or 12 major cities. The teams were all of very high calibre, the stadia were all well established, and football was the most popular sport in the world. With the Olympic Games, they were trying to sell almost eight million tickets to 26 different sports played over 17 days, with some sports wildly popular and others a complete mystery to the average person. In reality, they were running 26 world championships in a fortnight. While many ticketing issues were still up in the air, some had already been decided. In particular, it was known that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A total of 7.9 million tickets would be available for sale across all events. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In late 2010, international and domestic sponsors, the 205 National Olympic Committees, the International Federations, and other IOC affiliates could place requests for tickets- specifying how many tickets at each price point they desired for each event. All would pay full price for any tickets ultimately received and, collectively, these groups would receive no more than 25% of available tickets. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In the spring of 2011, the general public could similarly place requests for tickets, via an online ballot, specifying the event, number of tickets, and price point they desired. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In the summer of 2011, ticket requests from both the IOC affiliates and the public would be processed and individuals would be informed as to whether they had obtained tickets. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Later in 2011 and into 2012, any remaining tickets would be offered for direct sale. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ During the Games, tickets still not sold would be available for purchase at box offices throughout London. Williamson noted that those applying for tickets were requesting entry to a particular event within a certain price tier. Not until tickets were matched to requests, in the summer of 2011, would customers find out where they actually sat in the stadium or arena. Managing Ticket Revenues When it came to managing ticket revenues, Williamson and his team looked to the 2000 Sydney Games for inspiration: While the 2004 Athens Games and the 2008 Beijing Games were wonderful events, they do not provide a great ticketing benchmark for the London Games. Athens was hampered by the small size of the city and the limited capacity of the venues. And Beijing tried hard to make tickets affordable for its domestic population, resulting in ticket prices that were artificially low. But the Sydney Games were staged in large venues in the largest city of a wealthy, sports- loving country. People were willing to pay to attend events and the results reflected this fact. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games also viewed sufficient ticket revenues as vital to the legacy of the 2012 Games. As Chris Townsend noted: With so much money involved in the Games, it is easy to view ticket sales as a drop in the bucket. What is $650 million when the Olympic Delivery Authority is spending $12 billion to build the Olympic Park and the Olympic Javelin? But putting things in perspective. Last year, Manchester United generated about $150 million in ticket revenues over a nine-month season, while the New York Yankees sold $120 million in tickets over a six-month season. They were looking to bring in four to five times those amounts, which will have a major impact on the financial legacy of these Games. But Williamson knew that maximizing ticket revenue meant more than just charging high prices Peoples willingness-to-pay for a given event will depend on many factors. Theres an expectation about what a ticket should cost based on other sporting events in and around London. Theres the global appeal of a sport, with swimming and gymnastics being very popular around the world. Theres the local appeal of the sport, often driven by the host countries past success in that sport. Theres the event stage, with most people wanting to see those stages where the gold medals are awarded. And then theres a particular team or athlete that makes the difference. Williamson also reasoned that the pricing of tickets at past Games provided only limited guidance for the pricing of the London Games: First, every host city possesses unique tastes, culture, and atmosphere. While beach volleyball may be big in Australia, table tennis is king in China. Second, the reach of the Games varies by location. Given the difficulties in getting into China, tickets to the Beijing Games were largely limited to the Chinese. Given the proximity of London to the rest of Europe, they anticipate a much more international crowd. Third, this will be the first Games where ticketing will be done via the Internet, which may alter demand for some events. Finally, with the current global financial crisis, London 2012 is entering uncharted territories. Managing Attendance The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games also wanted to fill the many venues during the games. As stated in the London bid document, Great Games generate genuine enthusiasm. This will be demonstrated by full stadia across a wide range of events. Given that organizers expected close to five billion television viewers to watch some part of the 2012 Games, the last image the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games wanted broadcast to the world was that of half-empty arenas. Everyone at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games understood the potential fallout from attendance shortfalls. Pinned to a nearby bulletin board were several articles from recent games. In reference to the 2004 Athens Games, one New York Times headline read, Summer 2004 Games: Seats May Be Empty, But Not the Beaches. And in regard to the 2008 Beijing Games, the Los Angeles Times proclaimed, Empty Seats Are a Mystery at Beijing Olympics. Williamson broke down the challenge of maximizing attendance into two parts. First, you have to get people to buy the tickets. Second, you have to get those who purchased tickets to actually use them. Neither of these was a trivial task. When it came to getting people to buy the tickets, Williamson had no illusions: You just cant sell every ticket to every event. The Opening Ceremony? Sure. The final day of track and field? Sure. Michael Phelps in any of the swimming events? Sure. But what about a preliminary round of handball, table tennis, or archery? The demand is just lower for certain sports. The reality is, there were three classes of events they managed. First, there was big four-swimming, artistic gymnastics, athletics, and the ceremonies-where demand historically far exceeds supply and which likely sold out at almost any prices. They expected about 40% of ticket revenues to come from these four sports. Second, there was football, with almost two million tickets across 58 mens and womens matches. If there was any single sport with which they obsess, it was football. On the one hand, football is the most popular sport in Europe, which worked in their favour. On the other hand, unlike the FIFA World Cup, the Olympic teams were largely limited to players under 23 years of age, eliminating some of the biggest names in the sport. They hope to generate another 10% of ticket revenue from football. Third, there were all the other sports, where supply historically exceeds demand and where they had to work hard to maximize sales. But the challenge did not end with merely selling the tickets. As the Beijing organizers discovered, ge