Wednesday, December 25, 2019

It is too Quiet in the After - 2618 Words

The After Its too quiet. That was my first thought as I was aroused from my sleep on the first night. That silence, that eerie, distilled silence was what had woken me up. It was three o’clock in the morning and it was too quiet. There was no rustling of dead leaves in the wind, the constant blaring of my uncle’s flat screen TV was for the first time not seeping through the cracks of my bedroom walls, and my parent’s screaming voices where finally silent after years of arguing. Even the white noise from the broken radio that my grandmother refused to turn off because she claimed that my grandfather spoke to her through the chorus of static had finally ended. But that silence, that delightfully relieving silence was wrong somehow and I couldn’t put my finger on it. As I lay there in my bed, I noticed that this silence wasn’t normal. Its flavor was all wrong, it tasted slightly sweet yet to only have a bitter after-taste that left you will a foul odo r and lingered on the tip of your tongue and crept up your nose, kind of like when you smelled decaying flesh or the lingering scent of infection. It was not only quiet but cold and dark as well. It was too cold for the hot and steamy month of June. The chilly air was raw and jagged, like crisp snow on broken bones and the dark seeped into my white bedroom like bleeding ink on parchment paper. The only source of light was the faint grayish hue that the moon had casted, but even that was slowly melting away. Curious and aShow MoreRelatedComp Ii696 Words   |  3 Pagescolor shoes I wanted. 2. If a cat falls (of / off) the counter, it will land on its feet. 3. Make sure you do (your / you’re) homework right after school. 4. I talked (to / too / two) my brother yesterday. 5. (Are / Our) you going to be on (are / our) baseball team? 6. He bought (to / too / two) speakers (to / too / two) complete his stereo system. 7. I saw (their / there / they’re) mom sitting (their / there / they’re). 8. I think (their / thereRead MoreEssay The Shy Girl894 Words   |  4 PagesThe Shy Girl Ever since I can remember, I was naturally quiet and shy. I constantly repeated myself because people could not hear me the first time. Even then, I seldom made eye contact with others. When I entered high school, nothing changed. Soon afterward, I disliked the way my classmates thought of me. If someone had to make an announcement in class, I was not chosen; my classmates believed I was not vocal enough. If someone threw a party, I was not invited because they thought ShyRead MoreMy Experience At The Gym For A Physical Education ( P.e ) Essay988 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"If everything is quiet, it is assumed that all is well. This is why many normal children-considering what kind of intelligence is expected and what till be rewarded here-becomes passive, quiet, obedient, dull. The environment practically demands it (Ayers, 64).† One thing that I don’t understand is why P.E. chose the field that they did, if they want and expect their students to be quiet during P.E. class. I personally believe that children are not meant to sit still and be quiet all day. When itRead MoreAll Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque781 Words   |  3 PagesAll Quiet on the Western Front is a short bo ok, but remarkably deep. More than 50 years after its jolting prose, haunting poetry, and powerful truths slashed their way into the consciousness of a worldwide readership, All Quiet still stands at the forefront of a host of novels on that most tragic recurrence in the history of human experience: war. All the aspects of trench warfare are present—excitement, boredom, horror, hunger, fear, dirt, alienation, imminent death, futility, to name a few. AllRead MoreInformative Speech : The Funny Thing About Introverts1144 Words   |  5 PagesAudience Relevance: Introversion is a personality trait, which is viewed as quiet. The words introversion and extroversion came from Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Carl Jung. C. Speaker Credibility: Remember in middle school and high school when you use to vote most likely or this person is? Remember there would be a category of who was shy or quiet? That would always be me. Or people would ask me why or say that I’m so quiet. Does it bother me? No not really, it’s true. It can be annoying thoughRead MoreInformative Speech : Introverts 1152 Words   |  5 PagesAudience Relevance: Introversion is a personality trait, which is viewed as quiet. The words introversion and extroversion came from Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Carl Jung. C. Speaker Credibility: Remember in middle school and high school when you use to vote most likely or this person is? Remember there would be a category of who was shy or quiet? That would always be me. Or people would ask me why or say that I’m so quiet. Does it bother me? No not really, it’s true. It can be annoying thoughRead MoreCharles Bukowski: Cynical Critic1054 Words   |  5 Pagesunderwear too, and quiet clean girls in gingham dresses. These poems reinforce Bukowski as a cynical critic of the bourgeois society, often targeting women; it would be foolish to blind ones opinion on whether he was anti-American or not, as such generalizations rarely fit an individual perfectly. Why Charles Bukowski criticizes and mocks conformed societies can be uncovered through the analysis of his life. Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) was born in post-World War I Germany, but soon after immigratedRead MorePersonal Essay : Running In Circles914 Words   |  4 PagesRunning in Circles The Place Right next to my school is a small, quiet, part of town. Only at night would it ever grow loud with fans and bright with lights. People gather and cheer their hearts out for their home team. The field was an outlet for the players. Yet no one ever noticed what surrounded the field; the track, a small, quiet part of the town where people go to think, train, or simply run. What I Notice Going to a track meet for the first time and watching runners pour their heartsRead More Comparing Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and After a Time823 Words   |  4 Pages Comparing Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and After a Timenbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; Dylan Thomas Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and Catherine Davis After a Time demand comparison: Davis poem was written in deliberate response to Thomas. Davis assumes the readers familiarity with Do Not Go Gentle, which she uses to articulate her contrasting ideas. After a Time, although it is a literary work in its own right, might even be thought of as serious parody--perhapsRead MoreHorror, Effects, And Nationalism1076 Words   |  5 PagesNationalism Today s horror came from the effects of nationalism that affects our country. Three themes in All Quiet on the Western Front are horror of war, effects on war on the soldier, and nationalism. World War I all started because of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand the archduke of Austria-Hungary. A group of alliances between major powers was blamed and went to war. All Quiet on the Western Front was about this teenager named Paul Baumer and several of his friends being enlisted into

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Urbanization and Social Disparities in Cities, Questions...

Question 1: Cities as Locus for Political Debate Cities are plots of land, densely covered with built environment, inhabited by dwellers; however cities are also vast network hubs, linking social, economic and political flows. Cities possess enormous human capital: they encourage exchange of ideas and intellectual opportunities. Cities are conceived upon diversity – encountering individuals with different believes and points of view, coming from very different backgrounds one has a chance to test his own convictions against those of others. Cities therefore are constantly evolving subjects, where one continues to learn every minute; they also become arenas for political action and organization. In my essay I am going to discuss how through close spatial proximity and interrelation of different socio-economic groups important political questions are being raised. With examples from different world regions, such as India, US and Brazil it is possible to distill a trend that urban setting through compact spatial organization provides exposure to various viewpoints and encourages its dwellers to take action, to attempt to solve infrastructural problems and organize in political groups. It is both in the city center and the periphery where people become involved into performative politics. I would argue, that physical proximity and socio-economic difference present simultaneously in one space no matter whether in the center or in periphery foster one’s involvement inShow MoreRelatedRapid Urbanization And Violent Conflicts1282 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction There are numerous social, economic, cultural, and political issues that accompany rapid urbanization. Concerns about rapid urbanization and violent conflicts have long been uttered in different respects: mainly this concern have related to the capacity of social orders to adjust to such development, and the likelihood that it may increase urban violence and insecurity. And on the other hand, this has related to concerns that growing political and social demands would inevitably followRead MoreThe s Theory Of Evolution2321 Words   |  10 PagesQuestion 1 As times changed from rural work to the industrial era, the questions of society and individuality arose, bringing up theories from past figures such as Charles Darwin and his arguments on the real ancestors of humans, Immanuel Kant on enlightenment, and Jean-Paul Sartre on existentialism. With the rise of modernism and various forms of reform, the public came to question the religious truth of the Bible and looked to philosophers for answers, re-evaluating the meaning of mankind andRead MoreAdaptation Of Climate And Simplifying Informal Settlements6860 Words   |  28 Pagesprogressive development of human societies, their ecological and environmental influence has been steadily increasing. The spatial expansion and higher population and housing density of cities with its multiplier effect on land use and land cover change (LUCC) have been recognized as the most important aspects of cities climate change which is triggered by the need for urban services provision for the influx of human population. The shortages of housing in particular, and other urban services provisionRead MoreEconomic Growth And Development Of Development6644 Words   |  27 Pagesfive stages of development to include (1) the traditional which has to do with primitive technology, hierarchical social structure and barter trade relation, (2) pre-conditions for take off where education, entrepreneurship capital mobilizing institutions assist economic progress, (3) take-off stage is one with rapid economic growth, technological application and investment and urbanization; (4) drive to maturity is the stage of more sophistication in technology and diversification and (5) the age ofRead MoreBusiness Opportunities14520 Words   |  59 PagesSchumpeter saw the entrepreneurial opportunity anchored in the alpha individuals of society who are responsible through their superior capabilities of engendering innovative forms of entrepreneurship. This form of entrepreneurship has wide reaching social repercussions, specifically for increasing national output and job growth (GEM, 2006). The Kirznerian entrepreneur is considered to be a discoverer of opportunities, which are found in the environment because they arise from market disequilibria.Read MoreSSD2 Module 4 Notes Essay28478 Words   |  114 Pagesspecific personality or demographic characteristics to every person of a particular group Code switching Code switching is the practice by those who know more than one language of switching between them during the course of a conversation. Social stratification Social stratification is the native division of a societys people into different status levels. Relative poverty Relative poverty is the difference of perceived wealth vis-à  -vis others in the same society. Impression management Impression managementRead MoreInstitution as the Fundamental Cause of Long Tern Growth39832 Words   |  160 Pagesacross countries. Economic institutions determine the incentives of and the constraints on economic actors, and shape economic outcomes. As such, they are social decisions, chosen for their consequences. Because different groups and individuals typically benefit from different economic institutions, there is generally a conflict over these social choices, ultimately resolved in favor of groups with greater political power. The distribution of political power in society is in turn determined by politicalRead MoreUrban Areas Of Rural Areas9857 Words   |  40 Pagesareas and this has made it difficult to improve as well as sustain development in rural areas. The arrival of civilization brought about urbanization. Civilization is the height of man’s inventions as a means of raising his standard of living. Man believes in high-living and indeed obtains much pleasure in the company of other fellow men. People agglomerate in cities to be able to communicate person to person, person to firm person to government. Urban areas constitute the development potential of theRead MoreEssay on bussines stretegy LOLC 19948 Words   |  40 Pagesgood to every corner. The Cargill’s diversified as, Cargill’s Food City/Cargill’s Food City Express Magic/Heavenly Kotmale Kist Kist Biscuits KFC Marketing and Distribution Figure 1.1 Figure 1.2 Figures 1.3 Strategy Strategy is identifies the approaches to be used for accomplishing the objectives in an organization. A company’s strategy must answer the following three questions. 1. What business are we in? 2. How to compete within the businessRead More7 Megatrends 203026297 Words   |  106 PagesT6 GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY T7 SHARING GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY START INDEX TRENDS CONTACT 5 SUBTRENDS GROWING WORLD POPULATION AGING SOCIETIES INCREASING URBANIZATION 8.3   billion   people    will   live   on   earth Median   age   will    increase   by   5    years   to   34   years 59%   of   the   world s    population   will   live    in   cities A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Seven   global   megatrends   shape   the   face   of   the   world   in   2030 T1 CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS T2 GLOBALIZATION FUTURE MARKETS

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Reinventing Strategies Emerging Markets

Question: Discuss about the Reinventing Strategies for Emerging Markets. Answer: Introduction The Coca-Cola Company, being a global soft beverage industry leader in the market have been in control of the industry for a good time now. Things have taken shifts, and various factors have set in with each having a series of turns of events. Some of the known competitors of the company have since been outcompeted and as such, made the rivals to back and withdraw from the business environment. This paper sets out to discuss a new product that the Coca Cola Company intends to provide in India, the product in question being New Coke. Being that the produt had registered an all-time failure, the company has put in place measures like new tacts and strategies in order to make it a success. The Coca-Cola Company was established in 1886. The company was a brainchild of one Pharmacist by the name of Dr. John Pemberton who initially produced coke syrup for sale in the drinks. The world is dynamic, witnessing changes all around us. To see its success over the next years, it is important for the company to focus and shape up its game in in a bid to adjust to the ever changing scenarios in the business world. This is about the trends set by the business community. The mission of the company is to refresh the global market, inspire the moments of happiness and optimism, and to bring forth value and make the difference among customers. The core vision of the company serves to describe every aspect of consumers about people, partners, planet, profits, and productivity (London,and Hart, 2004, 350-370). The competition among soft drink manufacturers in India is one of the fiercest known. Some of the known traditional rival companies in the country included Pepsi and Parle. To survive this, Coca-Cola Company has to come up with top strategies that would make it easier for the enterprise to have a firmly rooted strategy that would outsmart these companies (Svensson, 2001, 6-18). One of the strategies that Coca-Cola Company can adopt while entering a new environment(India) with a new brand,( New Coke), includes the acquisition of Parle in a bid to taking advantage of the companys network and extensive customer base. This is the decision that can be deemed the best for the company since through this, the company commands access to over 2 million retailers plus the 60 bottles in the enterprises network. It remains a powerful call for the Coca-Cola Company to employ strategies that would then win the war of business establishments and make it successful (Cavusgil, et al., 2002, 3). It is quite useful for the Coca-Cola Company to employ the use of 4Ps of marketing. These include price, promotion, and place. This is done in such a manner that the quality of the product (soft drinks), as provided to the consumers is in a consistent state and price. This is geared towards making the brand attractive to the customers. Therefore, it will be for the best interest of the company to ensure that they spend a good amount of money in sales and advertisements plus other promotional errands (Svensson, 2001, 6-18). Coca-Cola is known to be one of the largest manufacturers, and distributors as well as marketers of non-alcoholic drinks and Cyprus in the whole world. Coca-Cola Company has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Known for its flagship brand, the company is by far the largest corporation in the US. In the present day, Coca-Cola has an international presence and is the all-time recognized beverage company with a range of plans that are aimed at promoting and growing the brand. The majority of the soft drinks bars, restaurants, and big hotels are coca cola products, thanks to the Coca-Cola Company. Some of the known companys product include Fanta, Oasis, Sprite and PowerAde among others (London,and Hart, 2004, 350-370). The coca cola company refreshes consumers with close to 500 sparkling brands with about 3,800 choices of beverages. This move makes the business, one of the worlds recognizable and valuable brands in the globe. As a matter of fact, the portfolio of the company boasts of close to 20 billion dollar brands in the beverage industry. It is important to note that just 18 out of the whole brands available are either reduced or no-calorie varieties. With the enduring commitment of coming up with the strategies of building business communities that are such sustainable, the company lays emphasis on some initiatives that are geared towards a reduction of environmental footprints. The other important considerations include the creation of a safe, all-inclusive environment for work as well as the enhancement of economic development for the business communities that Coke as a company operates (London,and Hart, 2004, 350-370). Region-wise growth patterns of Coke and its rival brands in India According to the Companys annual report, it boasts of a record sale in over 312 countries worldwide. When a company like Coca-Cola has made a decision to enter into new markets, otherwise known as overseas markets, there must be some considerations that fall into the bracket of open options. There are three main issues of concern that Coca-Cola has to deal with; marketing, sourcing and investment as well as control. Marketing regards what countries, what segments, the means and ways of managing as well as implementing the efforts of marketing and how to get to the new markets. However, some factors tend to deter such an entry process by various considerations. Some of these entry barriers or deterrents include intermediaries or direct entry with the necessary information. With regards to sourcing, the company needs to establish whether or not the company obtains the products, either by manufacturing or through purchase. Lastly, investment and control have everything to do with the di rection the company takes, whether a joint venture, acquisition or global partnership (London,and Hart, 2004, 350-370). With the view of winning a new market, it becomes necessary for any company of Cokes status to pay attention to such factors that tend to deter entry of companies of such magnanimity. The barriers to entry for the said companies often tends to prevent the smooth establishment of the said companies into these new markets. Some of the common barriers include network effects, control of the limited resources and the regulations as well as policies that govern the establishment of the business (Svensson, 2001, 6-18). According to economic models, lack of any barriers to entry makes it hard for any business to earn a credible and sustainable profit that goes beyond the cost of capital since the new companies entering the market gets attracted to the profits and tends to compete for the profits weighing them down to the capital cost (Foster, 2012, 7). As aforesaid, an example of a barrier to entry, in this case, is a brand. In this case, the best application would be a carbonated beverage. With this in mind, it becomes apparent that it takes billions of dollars plus the many years taken to manufacture and have the brand built. Regarding patents, it is important to note that the company has to spend millions as well as years to have its own RD or even a license for the same. With the slow trend of development and growth in developed markets, Coca-Cola is set to look for new and emerging markets in India for growth and expansion. The company looks forward to tripling its business and establishment in India over the course of five years while at the same time looking forward to setting up new leadership structures in the country (India) (Foster, 2012, 7). Coke has in place a new entrant strategy and as such, renewed the focus on such plots as semi-urban as well as rural markets in the country. Strengths Growth of carbonated soft drinks slated at between 10-15% The estimated PCC slated to increase to between 6-8 glass bottles Weaknesses Weaker infrastructure esp. refrigeration Small retailer base, and less self-space Massive custom and or excise duty that is close to 40% that have since been registered to come down considerably. High import rates of cans Problems of emptying bottles Opportunities An increase in the rural market about intermediate competition Cheap PCC in the new market compared to the ones in neighboring countries. Rise in disposable income The dynamic consumer trends as a result of satellite TV Threats Political uncertainties Pepsi and Coke rivalry. The target markets-rural setting The drinking of soft drinks in India is predominantly concentrated in the urban areas. The data from the study conducted in the industry suggest that consumers in the cities spend the better part of their time at a comfort that is ten times that of their counterparts in the rural areas. Nonetheless, Coca-Cola Company has had a new focus that is primarily targeted at the rural markets in India and as such shares in the belief that there is a great opportunity that encompasses loads of growth potential in the target markets. In India, Coke is laying focus on a small town like Agra, Lucknow, and Bilaspur plus other small markets in the rural setting in India (Shama, 1995, 90-109). Training of small towns Some of the best strategies that Coke as a company has adopted involves training of small retailers that are close to 6000 in number in the country. This is done through a program that was launched by the same University established by the company. The program is known as the parivartan, meaning change. Under this program, the retailers are taught on ways and means of stocking and displaying their products (Shama, 1995, 90-109). This program is aimed at providing the traditional retailers with the fundamental skills, techniques, and tools that are necessary to the success of the business in such a constantly changing business scenario. Under the program, the companies are meant to have presentations that include both visual and audio technologies that are done in the Hindi language so as to enable the retailers to have a better understanding of the concepts involved in the business. Having this in place, the company then provides each of the retailers with a Coke certified retailer c ertification that legitimizes them to deal in such products from the enterprise. Local culture and taste adoption The Coca-Cola Company set up an RD faculty in the country in a bid to develop beverages suited for localization of the company portfolio about beverage consumption. In earlier times, the Coca-Cola Company was known to outsource its RD roles from its establishment in Shanghai, China. Some of the known brand flavors include Maaza aam panna among other flavors. Some of the cultural challenges that the new product is likely to face in the new market includes overreliance of the local consumers on traditional beverages such as Pepsi and Parle, making it hard for the Coca Cola Company to firmly establish its roots in the new market. Initially, the Coca-Cola Company had set its target in the rural customers through bringing down the price at the time of entry. The company has now stepped up its distribution of the 200 ml beverage that is priced at between Rs 7 and 8. With this price in mind, the consumer returns the glass bottle after consuming the drink. As far as marketing decisions are concerned, the core focus that must be emphasized on is mainly value chain. The entry alternatives or the strategy that must make sure the activities in the chain are integrated or performed. Of the many factors that Coca-Cola Company has to pay attention to while entering a market is to come up with ways of creating global development strategies and the right selection of entry modes in the intended market in the targeted foreign market as well as its channel of distribution (Shama, 1995, 90-109). While the above mechanism can be deemed the best, other several strategies of entry can be paid attention to, that is, multinational enterprises that expand their international reach, with products and brands that are both new and diverse in the new economies and markets. As coca cola company attempts to expand its market in India having commanded a significant presence in Hong Kong. In this country, the company needs to come up with entirely new portfolio matching its competence in so far as the local needs are concerned. In any new markets, it is important that the foreign entrants come up with operational capacity for the appropriate context that calls for complementary assets that are controlled by the local firms. Coke is known to have a dying appetite for such foreign markets as India and Africa. Foreign direct investment of Coca-Cola The FDI means an investment in the manufacture and the service of facilities in the country that is considered foreign, with the sole intention of engaging the management of the facets that increasingly integrate national economies. Significant investments in the overseas markets are deemed to be the direct investments of the companies in the new country to (or intending to) developing the local products plus the means and ways of controlling the prices from the current set price. This fact brings us to the history of the establishment of the Coca-Cola Company that was established in the year 1981 in Beijing to the benefits of the investors. The company should operate in a joint venture, an arrangement that calls for partners to come together and collaborate without necessarily involving any returns of equity investments. Conclusion Conclusively, Coca-Cola has been viewed quite positively just as much as it has been projected. The consumers are quite aware of Coke as a brand plus its awareness that is quite high in the industry. with the right steps taken by the company to see New Coke gaining ground and stamping its authority in this new environment, it remains apparent that the new environment will find the product fulfilling.Whenever a product such as Coca-Cola is launched, the avid drinkers settle for the soda over the other competitors. When people settle for coke, they not only buy the product but also its image that goes with it. References CAVUSGIL, S.T., GHAURI, P.N. and AGARWAL, M.R., (2002).Doing business in emerging markets: Entry and negotiation strategies. Sage. FOSTER, R.J., (2012).Coca?Globalization. John Wiley Sons, Ltd. LONDON, T. and HART, S.L., (2004). Reinventing strategies for emerging markets: beyond the transnational model.Journal of international business studies,35(5), pp.350-370. SVENSSON, G., (2001). Glocalization of business activities: a glocal strategy approach.Management decision,39(1), pp.6-18. SHAMA, A., (1995). Entry strategies of US firms to the newly independent states, Baltic states, and Eastern European countries.California Management Review,37(3), pp.90-109.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Theme In A Raison In The Sun free essay sample

Essay, Research Paper Subject in the A Raisin in the Sun There are many subjects in A Raisin in the Sun. The this drama was written by, an African American, Lorraine Hansberry. The three subjects that stood out when I read the drama were ; household values, money International Relations and Security Network? T everything, life in poorness. The first and, I feel, most of import was the subject of household values. It was mentioned a batch how household values are passed on through coevalss. For illustration Mama was ever stating what her hubby was similar and what he would make. Family values were shown to be really strong in when it comes down to it. For illustration when Walter had that cat come over so that he could take the money but Walter ended up stating him to go forth. Mama was normally the 1 who reminded her household of the values they needed to express and follow. For illustration how she ever told Walter how to handle his married woman or how he told Beneatha ad Walter to halt reasoning so much. The following most of import, I think, is that money International Relations and Security Network? T everything. Family is more of import than money. Walter was traveling to take the money from the adult male for the house but decides that the felicity of his household is more of import than the money. Because money won? T last. For illustration Walter had all that money invested in the liquor thing and so it all got taken away but his household and the love from his household was still at that place. Besides money won? T be at that place when you need a shoulder to shout on or when you need person to speak to. For illustration when Walter loses all that money Mama amenitiess him and makes him believe it? s OK that the money? s gone. Another one of the major subjects is populating life in poorness. Populating life in poorness sometimes makes you frustrated and will do you move ill-mannered and objectionable with other people, including your household. For illustration when Walter started speaking about non holding any money he argued and yelled at this married woman, Ruth. Poverty can do you emphasize some of the more of import things in life. For illustration Mama may to hold much money before the heritage but she still stresses household values. Poverty ca do you covetous of what other people have. For illustration Walter is ever stating that he wants hour had money and a shop and the nice things that, rich, white people hold. The three subjects that stood out when I read the drama were ; household values, money International Relations and Security Network? T everything, life in poorness. All these issues are relevant in today? s society. This narrative is based on life in society and how life is, hence, the points and subjects it brings out are really closely related to the society of today.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Really Stupid Poetry Essay example

Really Stupid Poetry Essay example Really Stupid Poetry Essay example Hoang 1 Bach Hoang Professor Donato Martinez English 102 08 April 2015 Marital Struggles Adrienne Rich’s poem, â€Å"Novella,† is about a conflict between a husband and wife. It is a routine for them, after a fight, one going out, the other staying home, and later they get back to each other. Written by Sharon Olds, â€Å"I Go Back to May 1937† tells a story of a broken relationship between a mother and a father from a child’s preexistent vantage point. Both poems are about conflicts in a family, between a husband and wife, possibly due to lack of love and understanding. Rich tells the story, an everyday fight, with a simplicity in language but hidden within are contradiction as well as a metaphor, whereas Olds uses imagistic language, metaphors and anaphora to describe her parents, how they are unsuitable for each other. In â€Å"Novella,† Rich approaches directly with simple word choices, focusing on a marital argument to illustrate the problem in a marriage. The poem begins: Two people in a room, speaking harshly. O ne gets up, goes out to walk. (That is the man.) The other goes into the next room and washes the dishes, cracking one. (That is the woman.) (1-6). In these first lines, one can see that Rich only uses simple words to establish a situation of a troubled marriage. She shows that the husband and wife take out their aggressions towards one another on the house – the husband leaves the house and the wife breaks a dish. Although the parallel views of husband and wife given at the beginning of the poem seem to say that they are both at fault for the marriage’s problem, Rich portrays the woman as much more of a victim when she says later in the poem: â€Å"She has no blood left in her heart.†(9), as though the husband Hoang 2 is a vampire who has victimized his wife. Contradiction is another eminent element in â€Å"Novella†, appeared in line 10, 12 and 13. After the fight, â€Å"The man comes back to a dark house† (10), revealing the husband’s view about his own house. The house is described as a random house with the use of article â€Å"a† and as an dark abandoned house despite the fact that his wife and children are all inside. To the man, the house is no longer his home that he feels comfortable to return. In front of the house, the husband realizes that â€Å"He has forgotten his key / He rings at his own door† (12-13). The fact that the husband forgets the key shows that he probably does not want to return with his family. As a result, he now has to â€Å"rings at his own door† like a stranger who does not belong to the family. Even though the husband returns home in the last lines of the poem, Rich asserts that the husband and wife are ultimately separate, using the stars as a metaphor: Outside, separate as minds the stars too come alight. (17-18). The stars, as a metaphor, represent the husband and wife after the fight. Outside, like their minds separated to each other, the stars, scattered in the sky, begins to blink one by one. Inside, like the star, the husband and wife live under the same â€Å"sky† but do not really understand each other. In â€Å"I Go Back to May 1937,† one can easily see how Old’s poetic style contrasts with Rich’s prosaic, less imagery one. Throughout most of the first half of Old’s poem, she is intensely descriptive, which also adds to the tone of her poem. â€Å"I see my father strolling out under the ochre sandstone arch, the red tiles glinting like bent plates of blood behind his head† (line 2-5). She sees her father as a confident young man, as sturdy and stubborn as the stone arch he is walking under. On the other hand, she sees her mother with â€Å"a few light books at her hip† and â€Å"standing at the pillar made of tiny bricks†. This visual description of her mother makes her seem like an easygoing woman who would carry lightweight books around her. It also makes her look as fine, fragile and delicate as the fine. However, words like â€Å"bent† and â€Å"blood† hold mutual

Friday, November 22, 2019

Anyone and Everyone Are Welcome

Anyone and Everyone Are Welcome Anyone and Everyone Are Welcome Anyone and Everyone Are Welcome By Maeve Maddox A reader asks for clarification regarding the use of the phrase â€Å"anyone and everyone† in such sentences as these: Everyone knows they love to talk on the phone to anyone and everyone. Anyone and everyone is [sic] to speak to you on the phone. You will speak to anyone and everyone who might listen. Anyone means â€Å"an individual person†: I will give a free book to anyone in the audience who can solve this problem. - Only one person or a selected few (depending upon how the problem is presented) will win the book. Everyone means â€Å"every person in a group†: Everyone in the audience received a video recorder. - All of the audience members received a free recording device. The combination â€Å"anyone and everyone† is used in the context of a welcome or invitation as a way to emphasize inclusivity, as in these examples from the Web: Anyone and Everyone are invited  to join the server after we open, which is very soon.   Anyone and everyone are  invited to Roundtable.   Anyone and everyone are  welcome  to come  hack on things. Sometimes the phrase is used in the sense of â€Å"people in general† or â€Å"people of no specific qualifications: Today anyone and everyone  can set up an online business.    Amazon also maintains a flourishing side enterprise in  self-publishing, where  anyone and everyone  can write an e-book. And sometimes, especially when preceded by just, â€Å"anyone and everyone† occurs in the context of exclusion: If  just anyone and everyone are  too easily included, we are saying in effect that anything goes.   We dont want just anyone and everyone, just a select few. We will  not  sign on  just anyone and everyone. We demand the  best. We dont work for  just anyone and everyone. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant NamesTelling a Good Poem from a Bad One3 Types of Essays Are Models for Professional Writing Forms

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Comparison and Contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comparison and Contrast - Essay Example These animals are similar in terms of origin, physical features and uses. Donkeys and horses both came from the same descendants: scientific genus Equus. Although they are not perfectly identical genetically, they both indulge in no different activities. Because of their similarity in terms of genes and physical features, it is plausible for them to mate and interbreed. In fact, the offspring of this unique breeding is called a mule. In addition, donkeys and horses have very similar habits. They are both highly active physically with horses considered to be just a little more vigorous and faster than donkeys. From the outside, both animals look considerably alike. Both stand with four legs and possess an extended hairy tail on its back, tresses along their necks, and elongated ears. Although they vary [Student’s Last Name] 2 in size in general, horses and donkeys both possess bulky body built, which make them perfect for pack chores and absolutely not well suited to live indoo rs. And yet another similarity is their use by humans. Since the time of Jesus Christ or even long before that, donkeys and horses are already used for transportation purposes. They are extensively used for distant travel and in carrying heavy loads that humans could not normally carry. And because of their heavy built, many pheasants use them for farming reasons. Donkeys and horses are wonderful creatures. It does not really matter whether they are similar in terms of origin, physical feature, or uses; both animals should be treated with care and respect just like what most humans relish. Even though both make for excellent pack animals because of their built, it should not be the only reason for them to walk this earth. II Love and hatred are like oil and water, they don’t mingle. But the motivation that lulls behind each of them leads someone to either lofty triumphs or a dead end. In movies like Rush Hour and Fighting Club, something has to be learned: a person can decide how he would discern things and how he would respond. He may choose to merge with love or to usher hatred. In the movie Fighting Club, the Narrator emphasized, though subtly, the importance of unity – not just unity with others but unity with one’s self. If we love ourselves, we learn to love others. Why love? Love begets every wonderful thing in the world. With love, one learns to respect not just his own self but also others. With love, one learns to value health, soundness of mind, rest, and Divine connection. The absence of love could be a focal point of disaster. [Student’s Last Name] 3 On the other hand, in the movie Rush Hour, an array of unwarranted slaughters is detailed. People are stuck in a rut of hatred and passion for revenge. The movie showed the consequences of abhorrence. In the realm of darkness and animosity, one can only hope to change but in there, good things are never to be seen. The beginning of hatred is the beginning of a downfall. The re must be nothing like choosing between love and hatred. If someone can choose to give love, why choose hatred. In a context of marriage and family, the one that binds the family together is respect, understanding, and care but above everything else is love. III Dogs and snakes are wonderful creatures. Their existence did not come as a supplement or a mere embellishment to the world. They aid in sustaining balance in our ecosystem: dogs are naturally borne

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

How does an individuals learning style preference influence the extent Essay

How does an individuals learning style preference influence the extent to which e-learning can be an effective learning tool - Essay Example The acquisition of learning techniques and styles by students depends on the personal characteristics of the student, the subject of study, and the students level of understanding of the subject (Major, 2015, p.47). Different people prefer different approaches to learning. No one approach or strategy of e-learning is optimal for all students. The methods and technologies used for e-learning involve the use of web-based education techniques, podcasting, internet video conferencing, social networking software, and computer-assisted instructions, among others. The styles of e-learning are especially gaining popularity in the higher education sector where most of the students are distant learners. This paper discusses how the learning preferences of an individual influence the extent to which e-learning can be a useful learning tool (Canavan, 2004, p.21). E-learning allows the adoption of the education content to suit the learning styles of individual students. It may entail the incorporation of digital media, digitized materials, graphics, web-based interactions, interactive videos, among others. The adoption of different learning styles and methods greatly affects the effectiveness of e-learning in the higher education sector. E-learning allows for the adjustment of educational content to suit the learning needs of the students. However, a lot of emphasis has been made on use of standard conventional learning styles in the e-learning systems (Brown, Zoghi, Williams, Jaberzadeh, Roller, Palermo, & Holt, 2009, p.4). This includes a tutorial, lecture, problem-based learning, and written text. The relationship between the styles of e-learning and the effectiveness of the e-learning system, as well as the attitude of students towards e-learning, is also important. The performance of students in the e-learning system is primarily tied to their learning style preferences. The learning style preferences in

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Nature versus nurture Essay Example for Free

Nature versus nurture Essay Every person in this world has their own distinctive personality and behavior. People may wonder why an individual may act the way they do. Thus psychologists had put this into a study of whether an individual’s behaviors are caused by hereditary or the environment. This study is known as the nature-nurture debate. This essay will discuss the difference between nature vs nurture, which one applies to me, and how it influenced me in my life. This controversial debate has existed since 1869, when the phrase Nature Versus Nurture was coined by the English polymath, Francis Galton. Throughout different time periods, this controversy continued with two contrasting scientists leading the debate. During the Greek Classical period, Plato, who favored nature meaning the genetic influence on the individual’s behavior that relies mostly on traits that you inherit. While Aristotle, who favored nurture meaning the effect the environment has on that individual which relies mostly on time spent improving a skill set, for example influence of parents or friends. The purpose of the nature-nurture debate is to explain the effect of genetic influence and the environment on the development of human trait and behavior. As far as nature goes there are many traits that I have inherited naturally through genetics from my mom and dad. From my dad I can tell I have inherited his height as well as his eating habits. I can tell that my work ethic has been inherited from my dad because he is a very hard worker and can never sit still, I also strive to achieve my personal best. My dad is also a very controlling and demanding person in which I see myself doing also. While from my mom I have inherited her good looks, sensitivity, and concerned for other people’s feelings. I have also inherited my mom’s super mathematical skills and my dad’s artistic abilities. I can also tell that I have inherited a good sense of wellbeing from my mom. Alongside that came nurture that are behaviors that I have developed from the environment I grew up in. I have learned to respect all people from being influenced at school and in the home. I have also learned to be responsible of things such as going to school or work on a daily basis, and doing the right thing. I learned that if I am not responsible and do not do my work, then I must pay the consequences. I have also learned from experiences that if I do what I am supposed to do, I may be rewarded greatly for it. I have been influenced to do something that will benefit myself and be rewarded for good things done. My environment has influenced me in many ways to act upon certain things automatically. Things like looking both ways before crossing the street, or other things that appear to be common sense are learned from nurture. When I say which one of these phrases â€Å"nature vs nurture† has more influence on me in my life, I would have to say nurture, because my past experiences is what made me the woman I am today. In most instances, the aspect of nurture tends to apply to children who live with their parents. The way I was brought up affected me now that I am an adult. This is because nurture is a product of a person’s childhood upbringing. There tends to be various external influences relating to nurture that affected my behavioral as a person. These include environmental factors such as the parental upbringing, the peer groups, the socioeconomic status, and other factors in the outside world.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Richard Wrights The Man Who Was Almost a Man Essay -- Richard Wright

Richard Wright's The Man Who Was Almost a Man The Man Who Was Almost a Man is a fictitious short story about an uneducated black boy's quest to become a man. Growing up in the early 1900's was a very hard task for most black people. The lack of education was one of the hardest hills they had to overcome to make it in a world dominated by whites. The story centers upon one 17-year boy who has very low self-esteem caused by his peers. He believes that owning a gun will gain him respect with others and thus make him a man. The title of this short story has several different ways of being interpreted because the time and atmosphere in which it was written. The short story was written in first person narrative, which gives a graphic account of the personality of the character Dave. The short story is also written in a dialect of an uneducated black boy which gives the reader the feel of what is was like to be that young man back in the early 1900's. The stories title The Man Who Was Almost a Man holds many different meanings to how Dave must have felt back in those times. Dave's struggle was man versus society in an era where his skin color meant more than his actions. He was unable to interact with the white society and was outcast by his peers because of his age. He believed at this time in his life that being a man was the more important than life itself. Buying a gun and learning to shoot was his solution to becoming a man. This was not the case though. The first time he fired the gun it numbed his hands and fell to the ground. He also shot Mr. Hawkin's mule, which he was unable to cover up. Now everyone would know what he had done which would give his peers a bad impression of him. He would not gain their respect, nor... ... a man. Life was hard back then and being accepted played a big role in all blacks searching for that one thing that would make them accepted within their society. Works Cited Blau, Eleanor. "The Works of Richard Wright, This Time Published as Written." The New York Times 28 Aug. 1991, final ed., sec. B: 1-2. Brignano, Russell Carl. An Introduction to the Man and His Works. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1970. Fabre, Michel. The World of Richard Wright. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1985. Hannon, Charles. "Teaching the conflicts as a temporary Instructor." College Literature 6 (1997): 126-141. Joyce, Joyce Ann. Richard Wright's Art of Tragedy. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1986. Walker, Margaret. Richard Wright, Daemonic Genius: A Portrait of the Man, a Critical Look at His Work. New York: Warner Books, 1988.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

The Booker Prize

The Booker Prize award is considered to be one of the most prestigious recognition of the literary world and it represents one of the most important international rewards for any writer, ne it a famous or a little known one. As any award of its king, it stands as a full acknowledgement of the efforts and endeavors of writers from different periods of time. Despite the fact that it does not have the same international impact as the Nobel Prize for literature, it is viewed as a major asset in the writing career of its winners.However, it can be argued that the contribution of the award is two folded, as there are both advantages and disadvantages for winning the prize. Still, it is rather hard to determine the extent to which one of these two elements prevails. It may be that in the career of an already famous writer the role such a prize plays be rather limited as most often this award is solely a different acknowledgement of the literary merits in a series of awards. On the other han d, for emerging new literary talents or for little known fiction authors, it plays a significant role.This is why, in order to have a better comprehension of the influence the Booker Prize has and the power of the award in itself, first and foremost it is important to take into account the history of the Prize and the tendencies it followed. Secondly, the actual advantages and disadvantages of the prize cannot be determined in general terms, but must be focused on particular examples. In this sense, the present paper aims at discussing â€Å"Vernon God Little† and â€Å"The Inheritance of Loss†, two of the novels which captured this award in 2003 and 2006 respectively.In this context, a coherent analysis can be made in relation to their state prior to winning the award and afterwards. Finally, some conclusions can be drawn which may shed some light on the possible advantages and disadvantages of awarding little known authors the Prize, through the experience of the two writers. History and tendencies of the Booker Prize The Booker Prize or the Man Booker Prize at it is known since 2002 was fist established in 1968 and â€Å"aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland† (The Booker Prize Foundation, 2008).Through a process of astute selection, authors in the English speaking world are rewarded for their literary efforts in the area of fictional work and are given the possibility to claim worldwide recognition. The Prize was established by the Booker Company â€Å"but administered since 1971 by the charitable concern the Book Trust (formerly the National Book League), the Prize, first awarded to P. H. Newby (Something to Answer For) in 1969, soon grew into one of Britain's most recognizable cultural institutions† (Huggan, 2001, 107).From this point of view, the prize in itself is therefore viewed as one of the most important literary acclaims of the world. The early star t of the award was directly related to the historical evolutions taking place especially in the Commonwealth but also throughout the world. The end of the 1960s represented not only a time of an increased literary activity but also a time of great political turmoil. In this sense, the decolonization proves was an important factor in outlining not only the national relations inside the former colonies, but also in determining the future contacts with the former colonial powers.The issue of colonialism was raised quite often throughout the history of the Prize, taking into account the fact that the company which organizes and sponsors the yearly event was well known for its sugar plantations in areas such as the West Indies. In this sense, there were certain controversies which arose throughout the years in relation to this matter. In one occasion, in 1972 the winner of the Prize, John Berger, declared that he would support the black extremist movement, the â€Å"Black Panther† in defiance of what he labeled as being a colonial rule on the territory (The Book Prize Foundation, 2007).Therefore, it was important especially for Great Britain to undergo all sorts of programs that would allow it to maintain a good and strong relation with its former colonies. In this sense, the Prize represented a connection between the artistic environments of different countries from the Commonwealth, Ireland, or South Africa. It was yet another element that placed these countries together and defined their common cultural heritage from the past.Therefore, it can be argued that, aside from its literary value, the Prize played a particular role in forging and rewarding the essence of culture and literature in particular from the Commonwealth countries. Despite constant controversy and discussions over the merits and awards given along the years, there have been some important names which have claimed the award, and at the same time, there were impressive newcomers which burst on the literary scene after winning the award. The first winner of the prize was in 1969 P H Newby for â€Å"Something to answer for†.Taking into account the fact that it was the first edition of the awards, it raised without a doubt certain controversies. This was largely due to the fact that the winner was known beforehand and it was considered that a free competition and fairness had not yet been set in place. Still, the author remains in the annals of the Booker Prize as the first winner of the award. There are resounding names which have claimed this literary recognition. Among them, William Golding in 1980 for Rites of Passage, in 1982 Thomas Keneally for Schindler’s Ark, or 1989’s Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day.All these authors and many more considered the prize as being an important asset in their literary careers and remain to this day reference points of the English speaking literature. However, there are little known writers who claimed the pri ze and soon after, emerged as rising stars of the literary world. Some of the names include 1985 winner Keri Hulme with The Bone People. The winner was on his first novel which, following the prize, came to experience incredible success (The Booker Foundation, 2007).Throughout the history of the prize, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the system of awarding the prize, and even the ceremony in itself. However, as the years went by, the format of the prizes, including the actual event in which the prize was given would adapt to the rigors of an emerging global entertainment society. More precisely, if in the beginning the event did not enjoy the spotlight in the literary and television society, in 1976, â€Å"Melvyn Bragg presented the first ever TV broadcast of the Booker Prize, live on BBC2† (The Booker Foundation, 2007).This came to be an acknowledgement of the importance the prize came to have in the literary world and in the English society as well. At the sam e time however, due to the fact that the artistic part of the awarding ceremony became more and more important for the audience and the media coverage the event started to receive, the controversies surrounding the event took an ascending trend. In this sense, â€Å"many have accused the prize committee of catering to either the needs of otherwise unknown authors in the right place at the right time or to the same few authors each year.Political agendas and profit motives have also received much attention in recent years, further fuelling the controversy surrounding the prize† (Jacobson, 1997). From this point of view, one can argue that the controversies surrounding the prize have in most occasions shifted the focus from the literary event it was meant to be in the beginning to a marketing occasion it is now considered to be. The tendency nowadays is rather hard to determine due to the different points of view shared by analysts.In this sense, while the organizers and part o f the media considers it to be â€Å"the world's most important literary award and has the power to transform the fortunes of authors and even publishers† (The Booker Prize Foundation, 2007), others view it as â€Å"an enormously successful marketing vehicle for nominated authors and their publishers alike† (Jacobson, 1997). Yet, for some of the winners, these two perspectives can find a worthy combination which can acknowledge the quality of their work and promote the sale of their books at the same time. The Booker Prize: young writers and first time novelistsOne of the most important aspects of the Booker Prize is given by the possible impact it has on the actual winners. While there is little discussion on the advantages well known authors draw from winning the prestigious prize, a more relevant discussion would be on the effects it has on first time novelists who are awarded the prize. In this context, the effects can be seen more in the careers of first time nove lists due to the fact that it represents the first recognition of their work and therefore its impact can be better assessed. Indeed, the biggest impact the prize has is on the author who actually wins the award.In this sense, D B C Pierre won the award in 2003 with â€Å"Vernon God Little†. His won of the prize is considered to be one of the most interesting surprises of the event. According to the most reviews at the time, the writer was considered to be an underdog in comparison to his rivals, as â€Å"It beat a shortlist including the first novel by Monica Ali, Brick Lane, which was the bookmakers' favorite and has been the biggest seller in the shops, and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, the only established author to make it to the final round of judging† (Jury, 2003).From this first perspective, it can be seen the fact that in the judging process the focus of the jury tried to be on first time novelists as well as on established ones. This approach tends to gi ve certain equilibrium to the awarding process and to take into account a wide variety of literary submissions. The choice of the jury at the time was unanimous; therefore there was little doubt on the potential winner. The unity of the choice was considered to be justified due to the important message the text tried to convey.The story of a young teenager from Texas whose life evolves as he tries to face up the challenges of poverty, violence, and family misery was impressive for the panel of the judges who claimed that the book is a â€Å"coruscating black comedy reflecting our alarm but also our fascination with modern America† (Jury, 2003). Indeed the emotional touch on the novel came from the author’s own personal experience as a drug addict in search for his own identity and individual recognition of the self.There are certain objective elements which drew the attention on the novel itself. Firstly, there was indeed the personal affection of the author which tran sformed the book into an impressionable work. Secondly, there was the subject which dealt with a serious issue affecting America at the time. High school shootings and violence among teenagers were considered, and still are viewed as being an essential challenge facing the society due to the questions it actually raises on the values driving the society forward.In this sense, critics considered that â€Å"†the storyline for this book is one that you would as much see played out today on the six o'clock news as read in a novel and has for this reason struck a chord with book lovers† (Jury, 2003). Therefore, the actuality of the story combined with the drama of the personal history of the author made the novel receive the most acclaimed British literary award. The reviews were however split following the award ceremony as not everybody considered such a literary work to be worthy of the prestige of this prize.In this sense, â€Å"picking up on Finlay's notorious past, Th e Daily Telegraph described his win as â€Å"highly embarrassing† for the prize's organizers and sponsor, the Man group. The Guardian called him the â€Å"oddest and most controversial character† to have won the award, while The Independent's literary editor, Boyd Tonkin, said he was a â€Å"novelist whose background makes the antics of most young writers look tame in the extreme† (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2003). Therefore, the cutting edge of the novel was not fully appreciated by traditional literary reviews who considered it to be a choice too daring for the conservatory nature of the award.However, despite the criticism that surfaced after the award ceremony, another element was introduced in the justification for rewarding Finlay’s artistic effort with the prize. Therefore, it was considered that taking into account such a novel and the fact that the winner was in fact a debutant on the literary scene, the focus of the Booker Prize may have shifted from the well acclaimed authors to the ones that have not been top of the selling lists. In this way, the Booker Prize Foundation would engage itself in an endeavor meant at promoting the new talents and at reintroducing young literature to the public.Another important presence on the list of the winners of the Booker Prize is the 2006 jury’s choice in the person of Kiran Desai and her novel â€Å"The Inheritance of Loss†. At 35, she was the youngest female writer to receive the award and this element, along with the quality of her work, attracted the attention of both the jury and the public worldwide. She contested the prize with other five writers, including her mother who had been nominated before for the award, yet never won it (BBC, 2006).Among the other writers from the short list, there were authors with more experience and with more public consideration such as Sarah Waters or Kate Greenville. Still, she became the youngest winner of the award. This was due i n part to the new attempt of the Booker Prize Foundation to try to promote new talents and in part to the emotional story Desai’s novel portrayed, a story of â€Å"globalisation, multiculturalism, inequality and the different forms of love† (Pryor, 2006).From the perspective of Finlay’s experience with the Booker Prize as well as Kiran Desai’s, it can be said that there are both advantages and disadvantages in winning the award. Firstly, one of the most important advantages of the award is the financial aspect. On being awarded the prize, the winner receives ? 50,000 and the tacit commitment of the Foundation to continuously promote the novel. In the case of Finlay’s personal history, in the conditions in which he lived a life of poverty following the loss of his family fortune, the financial aspect can be seen as being of considerable importance (Greer, 2003).Secondly, another advantage of young or debutant writers receiving this prestigious award is the wide recognitions they receive following the ceremony. Before the award, Finlay was far from being an award winning character. His life of drugs, alcohol, and misery would not have presented himself as a possible valuable mind for the literary world. Even more, his past has often been invoked as being unworthy of a Booker Prize winner. Yet, after the recognition he received from the Booker Foundation, many of his critics turned to admit his literary merits in presenting a new face of everyday life in America.In this way, aside from the fact that he managed to draw the attention on the misery and distress affecting local societies in America, he also succeeded in underlining the effects of an abuse led life. Similarly, in Desai’s situation, the award represented both a personal recognition of her young talent, as well as a proof of the the attention the issues addressed by her book received following the award. In this sense, â€Å"the judges hailed â€Å"The Inherit ance of Loss† as a magnificent novel of humane breadth and wisdom, comic tenderness and powerful political acuteness† (BBC, 2006).Thus, another advantage of the award received by a young talent is the fact that by recognizing the value of the book, the jury also acknowledges both the new perspective given to certain elements such as cross culture issues and, at the same time, underlines the importance of the issues under discussion for the contemporary society. Probably one of the most important advantages young winners and first time novelists benefit from is the increase in sales of their books. Most winners received not only wide acclaim from the critics, but also from the public.For instance, â€Å"the 1978 winner, Iris Murdoch's ‘The Sea, The Sea’ (†¦) has a rate of continuing popularity which almost all of today's authors would give their eye teeth to equal† (Ezard, 2004). Therefore, most authors du find fame and fortune following the award winner status. Kiran Desai ensured the Penguin fiction division a rise in sales of two percent immediately after winning the Booker Prize award. Thus, the success of her book was also viewed in the choice of the readers. Still, one of the most important elements which drew the attention of the public was precisely the label of Booker Prize winner.Similarly, Fanley’s story was proposed for a film adaptation as a result of the critics’ acclaim (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2004). Hence, each in his or hers own way managed to reach success as a result of the Booker Prize. Aside from the various, especially financial advantages, there are also considerable disadvantages of the Prize being given to young or first time novelists. One of the most important however is the eventual commercialization of the literary content in an attempt to win the prestigious prize.In this sense, â€Å"because of the marketing potential and the industry-renowned judges, the Booker Prize now is a very high stakes award. Authors, in turn, have more reason to tailor their work to the expectations of the Booker arbiters† (Jacobson, 1997). As a result, the quality of the works may decrease in the attempt to write attractive novels for the judges in the panel rather for the public. Hence, the prize has come to be a goal in itself, rather than an actual recognition. Young artists and first time novelists tend to fall in this trap most often due to the lack of experience and a limited identification of their own personal style.Moreover, due to the increased media attention on the prize, the entire process becomes more focused on the financial aspect, rather than on the artistic value of the recognition in itself. It is considered thus that â€Å"all in all, there can be little doubt that the Booker, more than any other literary prize in recent history, has blazed a trail in the commercialization of English-language literature† (Huggan, 2001). Overall, it can be said that the Booker Prize has had an important influence on its winners, but also on the new tendencies it rewards through the acknowledgement of certain artists.However, another true element is the fact that the commercialization of the entire process has led to the dilution of the value of such a prize. This is why it is important that the Booker Prize award new talents or even little known artists, without regard to their personal or ethnical background because it would prove that the most important element the Booker Prize takes into account is talent and literary achievement, rather than fame and public notoriety. Bibliography BBC. â€Å"Kiran Desai claims Booker title†. BBC News. 2006. 6 January 2008 Desai,Kiran.The Inheritance of Loss. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005. Ezard, John. â€Å"Booker prize's long-term fame lottery†. The Guardian. 2004. 6 January 2008 Greer, W. R. Book Review – Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. 2003. 6 January 2008 Huggan, G raham. The Postcolonial Exotic: Marketing the Margins. Routledge. : New York, 2001. Jacobson, Warren. The Booker Prize. 1997. 6 January 2008 Jury, Louise. â€Å"Debut novelist defies odds to win Booker prize†.The Independent. 2003. 6 January 2008 Pierre, D. B. C. Vernon God Little. London: Faber and Faber, 2005. Pryor, Fiona. â€Å"Review: The Inheritance of Loss†. BBC News. 2006. 6 January 2008 The Booker Prize Foundation. About the prize. 2007. 6 January 2008 The Booker Prize Foundation. Hitting the headlines. 2007. 6 January 2008 The Booker Prize Foundation. The Booker Prize. 2008. 6 January 2008

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Stealing within an organization Essay

Cons of Stealing Introduction Business Ethics            One of the issues that have raised concerns in business nowadays is stealing within an organization. Stealing is taking an organization’s asset without the consent of the owners, and using it for your own personal benefit. There are many cases of missing items and money within most organization especially where there are many people working. Stealing is the most common immorality in most organization since it runs across all levels of management. Both the senior and junior employees in organizations have been accused of stealing, but it is always very difficult to determine who the actual person responsible in the theft is. Stealing is one of the most difficult problems which are very difficult to control or prevent. Most organizations have incurred many losses due to this problem. There are many mechanisms that have been put in place to help prevent the vice, but it is all in vain. The methods of stealing are evolving day after day and, therefore, so diffic ult to prevent.            Stealing reduces the productivity of an organization. Most of the items stolen from an organization are valuable things, which are used on a daily basis in organization’s activities. There are very many things which are stolen from most organizations, and this will greatly affect the organizations’ operations. There is a lot of financing that is used in replacing the stolen items, and this increases the organization’s expenditure, thus reducing the profit(Singer, 1994, p.11).Stealing leads to poor relationships amongst the employees. When there are many employees in an organization, it is very difficult to know the person responsible for stealing anything in the organization. The employees will always speculate about the potential person who is responsible for the act. This has brought a lot of hatred amongst the employees since it ruins the reputation of the accused person. It is very difficult for the organization to know the exact person who is responsible in stealing. The organization should, therefore, come up with clear procedure of conducting their investigation so as not to ruin the relationships of the employees (Bonhoeffer, 1955, p.21).            Stealing affects the relationship between the organization and the employees. In most organization, stealing is considered a security problem instead of a moral problem. The organizations have invested a lot to protect the property of the organization from theft by the employees. Most of the items of an institution are marked, and security personnel employed to ensure that the employees do not steal any of the company’s. When the organization does not trust its employees, it portrays a bad picture against the employees, and this will influence the employees to act in bad faith towards the organization. The organization must create a good relation amongst all the employees so as to minimize stealing. The business should give the employees to use most of the company’s items without limit. When employees are limited to access certain things in an organization, there is some negative feeling which influences them to steal. The organization should also sen sitize all the employees of the negative impact of stealing in the organization. Stealing is a moral problem and employees should get guidance and counseling session which help them not engage in such activities.            Stealing lowers the credibility of an organization. In some organizations, there have been many cases of stealing by the employees, and this greatly ruined the reputation of the organization. In most cases where an organization has experienced a series of theft which are inside-job organized, investors and other stakeholders reduce their association with that organization. There have been some situations where stakeholders have withdrawn their funding fro an organization because they feel that their money may be stolen.            Stealing increases an organization’s expenditure due to high security costs. An organization spends a lot of money to prevent stealing of its properties. There are many security personnel who are employed. There is also expenditure for security items such as cameras. These expenditures are so high and affect the net profit of an organization (Singer, 1994, p.14).It leads to closure of some organization. There are some organizations which have been closed due to continuous stealing of key assets. Most organizations, which handle bulky cash, are the most affected. When employees steal a lot of money from an organization, the organization will no manage to fund all its debt and will be declared bankrupt (Bonhoeffer, 1955, p.25).In conclusion, stealing has had very negative impact on the organization. The employees should take care of the properties of the organization and should not steal because it is their source of income. The organization on the other shoul d compensate the employees well, and introduce guidance and counseling seminars so that the employees do not steal anything from the organization. When stealing is eradicated in an organization, there will be good performance and the welfare of all the stakeholders will improve. References Bonhoeffer, D. (1955). Ethics. New York: Macmillan. Singer, P. (1994). Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Source document

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Crystal Science Fair Project Tips and Ideas

Crystal Science Fair Project Tips and Ideas Crystals can make interesting and fun science fair projects. The type of project depends on your educational level. Here are some examples of crystal science fair projects and ideas to help launch your own creativity in choosing your own project. Make a Collection Younger investigators may want to make a collection of crystals and work out their own method for grouping the crystals into categories.  Common crystals include salt, sugar, snowflakes, and quartz. What other crystals can you find? What are the similarities and differences between these crystals? What materials look like crystals, but really arent? (Hint: Glass doesnt have an ordered internal structure, so it isnt crystal.) Make a Model You can build models of crystal lattices. You can show how lattice subunits can grow into some of the crystal shapes taken by natural minerals. Prevent Crystal Growth Your project can involve ways you might prevent crystals from forming. For example, can you think of a way to keep crystals from forming in ice cream? Does the temperature of the ice cream matter? What happens as a result of freezing and thawing cycles? What effect do different ingredients have on the size and number of crystals that form? Grow Crystals Growing crystals is a fun way to explore your interest in chemistry and geology. In addition to growing crystals from kits, there are lots of types of crystals that can be grown from common household substances, such as sugar (sucrose), salt (sodium chloride), Epsom salts, borax, and alum. Sometimes its interesting to mix different materials to see what types of crystals result. For example, salt crystals look different when they are grown with vinegar. Can you figure out why? If you want a good science fair project, it would be better if you tested some aspect of growing crystals rather than simply growing pretty crystals and explaining the process. Here are some ideas for ways to turn a fun project into a great science fair or research project: How does the rate of evaporation of the crystal-growing medium affect the final size of the crystals? You can change the rate of evaporation by sealing the container (no evaporation at all if there is no air space) or by blowing a fan over the liquid or enclosing the jar of medium with a desiccant. Different places and seasons will have different humidities. The crystals grown in a desert may be different from those grown in a ​rainforest.You will usually heat water or another liquid to dissolve a solid to grow your crystals. Does the rate at which this liquid is cooled affect the way the crystals grow? You can compare crystals allowed to cool at room temperature to those formed from cooling the liquid in a refrigerator.What effect do additives have on the crystals? You could add food coloring, flavorings, or other impurities. How do crystals grown from non-iodized salt compare with those grown from iodized salt?What steps can you take to maximize crystal size? Developing a pr ocedure is a form of experimental science. You can affect parameters such as vibration, humidity, temperature, the rate of evaporation, purity of your growth medium, and time allowed for crystal growth. The type of container used to grow your crystals may make a difference, as could the type of string used to suspend a seed crystal (or other method used to grow a crystal). Are you changing containers when crystals start to grow that could compete with your seed crystal? There are lots of things to think about! Some may have a major effect on crystal growth and others may be negligible. Does light/dark effect growth? Probably not for a salt crystal, but it could for a substance that is degraded by visible radiation. If you are up for a challenge, you can make predictions about the shapes of crystals before you grow them, based on their molecular structures and molecular geometry.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Ruining Your Writing by Cheap Blogging

Ruining Your Writing by Cheap Blogging Ruining Your Writing by Cheap Blogging Ruining Your Writing by Cheap Blogging By Michael Ali recently gave us five reasons why blogging improves your writing, and I dont disagree with any of them. What ruined my writing ability (temporarily, I hope) was not the chance to write regularly or to get instant feedback. So what ruined it? Did I get worse the more I practiced? Can that even happen? Sports coaches and music teachers will tell you that it can if you practice doing it wrong instead of doing it right. If you repeatedly practice bad habits, they will become ingrained habits. Email and instant messaging may have taught people how to type better, but I dont think its teaching them to write better. What ruined my writing ability was placing money and productivity higher than integrity and honor. I told myself, This assignment pays half of what I need to earn per hour; therefore, I will only spend half an hour on it. In retrospect, I realized that I was gaining income, but losing self-respect. I was quickly lowering my standards to meet my financial goals, but found that I couldnt raise them back again so easily. In essence, I was training myself to write sloppily. Disclaimer: Daily Writing Tips is a good example of a blog that attracts lovers of writing and pays them well. Ive done some of my best work here. Perhaps Ive done even better writing on my personal blog for which I receive no money at all. There is an economic aspect to writing professionally, of course, but I found that it also involves economics that are not monetary. The British economist E.F. Schumacher called this meta-economics. A job working with hazardous chemicals may earn you a higher salary, but may cost you in quality of life. Writing only for the money, even when my heart wasnt in it, paid most of the bills. But meeting a word count without meeting my personal standards, in effect, lowered my personal standards. I almost forgot what they were. I found out what had happened to me when I was offered a secure job in the marketing department at a local university. I took it and put my freelance writing career on hold. My freelance writing experience was one reason why I was hired. Yet when I began writing documentation for my new boss, he was unenthusiastic about using it. The problem wasnt my style or grammar or punctuation. He only told me, Ive found that when you really understand something, you can explain it clearly. Professional blogging, for low pay and not for love, hadnt taught me to explain things clearly. We expect bloggers to entertain us more than to inform us. When we expect them to inform us, we dont expect complete information. Theres nothing wrong with that. Ive found, however, that you advance by exceeding peoples expectations, not simply meeting them. And you wont advance as a writer when you dont meet your own expectations, especially when you tell yourself that you dont need to. To be fair, I was not a typical blogger. I was a professional blogger, trying to support my family and pay a mortgage in the US economy. When I complained mildly to one of my editors about my low pay scale, he wisely pointed out that my rate was typical for the industry. Even more wisely, he told me that most of my fellow writers were blogging because they loved their subject, not because they were depending on an extra few dollars to pay the mortgage. The danger Im warning against is not confined to the world of professional blogging. Everyone who writes for the money but doesnt get much of it is tempted to cut corners. Writing keyword-rich SEO copy is perhaps even more dangerous for aspiring writers. At least blogs have to appeal to human beings. That isnt a requirement for SEO copy. Every time you tell yourself, I can dash off this post; I dont need to devote any time or thought to it, you make it easier to do it the next time and the next time. Its quite easy to lose your critical ear and lower your standards if you deliberately do it over and over. Youre never writing only for others. Youre always writing for yourself too. Youre never dealing only with money. Youre also dealing with your ability and integrity. Your writing skills are like the assets of a bank account. You can add to your assets by doing your best work, all the time, and always raising the bar. You can lose assets as a writer when you dont. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Grammar Mistakes You Should Avoid15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsSit vs. Set

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The Effect of Price Elasticity of Toyota on Consumer Consumption Essay

The Effect of Price Elasticity of Toyota on Consumer Consumption - Essay Example 5 contains results, discussion, and conclusion but these three documents are still subject to major modifications depending on document 2 and level of analysis required. Background to Research Problem The automotive industry is among the most competitive industries in the world. Consumer decisions to purchase vehicles are often influenced by a wide array of factors that impact the industry. These include, safety, comfort, fuel efficiency, and price (Jeihani and Sibdari, 2010:1). Though factors such as fuel efficiency are certainly critical in consumers buying decisions in the current economic environment where gas prices frequently fluctuate, research shows that though the demand for gas efficient cars such as the hybrid cars have been high, sales have not picked up as expected (Read, 2012; Tuttle, 2012). This is mainly attributed to the high prices at which these vehicles are purchased, and therefore implies that price is a core contributor to demand and consumer purchase decisions when it comes to purchasing a car. Understanding how price changes alter the quantity demanded is crucial to decision makers as they can be able to understand how responsive consumers would be to certain price changes (Jazayeri and Jazayeri, 2011: 102; Rossi, 1995: 17; Bernstein Research, 2007). Price elasticity is an important element when introducing products in a competitive market (Hauser, 1998). As quoted from the book Principles of Economics by Alfred Marshall (1920), â€Å"the elasticity (or receptiveness) of demand in a market is significant according as the amount demanded increases much or little for a given fall in price, and diminishes much or little for a given rise in price" (pp. 15). Parkin, Powell, and Matthews (2002) noted that the following affect the elasticity of price for... This research will begin with the statement that the automotive industry is among the most competitive industries in the world. Consumer decisions to purchase vehicles are often influenced by a wide array of factors that impact the industry. These include, safety, comfort, fuel efficiency, and price. Though factors such as fuel efficiency are certainly critical in consumers buying decisions in the current economic environment where gas prices frequently fluctuate, research shows that though the demand for gas efficient cars such as the hybrid cars have been high, sales have not picked up as expected. This is mainly attributed to the high prices at which these vehicles are purchased, and therefore implies that price is a core contributor to demand and consumer purchase decisions when it comes to purchasing a car. Understanding how price changes alter the quantity demanded is crucial to decision makers as they can be able to understand how responsive consumers would be to certain price changes. Price elasticity is an important element when introducing products in a competitive market. As quoted from the book Principles of Economics by Alfred Marshall, â€Å"the elasticity of demand in a market is significant according as the amount demanded increases much or little for a given fall in price, and diminishes much or little for a given rise in price". Parkin, Powell, and Matthews noted that the following affect the elasticity of price for a certain commodity: availability of substitute goods; percentage of income; necessity; duration; brand loyalty; and who pays.

Thursday, October 31, 2019

ECommerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ECommerce - Essay Example It is evident that many companies now realize the importance of websites as a tool to gain market share and improve sales. Most flourishing companies like unique home decor, Paul Michael company, Bensons would not have reached the places they are without their websites (Plumley & Wyrostek, 2011). http://www.horchow.com/: The Horchow management structure consists of activities such as the allocation of tasks, supervision and coordination, which are directed towards the accomplishment of the aims of the company. The company structure mainly participates in the accomplishment of the company goals this is because the company has several dedicated employees whose main agenda is to assist the company to achieve his company's goals. Horchow has several supervisor is in each and every department, this ensures the employees work up to the required standard. This contributes to the making of designing high quality decor products because the management has catered everything governing the emplo yees work. The company uses various business models to make it distinct from other companies. The business models also help to describe the organizational architecture of capture mechanisms, delivery which are employed by the company's enterprise. The company has applied business models such as, collecting intelligence, user generated content, and improving the available systems. It also uses transport services such as airline and private courier services to ensure their products are available all over the continent. The goals of the business are primarily marketing the products on sale and making sure they increase their profits though online sale and delivery. The company also seeks to be capable of running consumer satisfaction surveys so as to assist they gauge their progress. Finally, the ultimate goal is to ensure that the company becomes a reputable and among the most respected and successful in this field of business The website will, therefore, be designed so as to make sur e the company achieves most of its goals in the most efficient way possible. The website will become a partial platform for the marketing department. This is because many people nowadays depend on the internet for many things, making it an easier place to access customers. The products will be marketed by posting them on the website and giving information on the latest home decors awaiting release and those already in the market. In order to enhance marketing, the company will have to alias with the most visited websites and have accounts in social platforms such as Facebook, linked in, twitter and MySpace among others. Secondly the company will should be able to give customers the ability to purchase items and request them to get delivered to supported locations. The products shall be priced ant the availability of a customer to purchase the items collectively using a virtual card. This will allow them to shop for many products easily. The third aspect of this website is customer s upport. This will be implemented through the creation on the FAQs section, including live customer care care support though chart or voice calls via Skype. This will help improve customer experience because they will be capable to do have choices about the products they purchase, hence improve the company’s reputation. The final part of the website will be the ability to run consumer satisfaction surveys on the website. This will be done by first examining the counter of customers who have signed up to the company’s website. The second method is through the website daily count of the number of individuals who search, or visit the website. The final method is through consumer satisfac

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Design a Flowchart Wk.1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Design a Flowchart Wk.1 - Essay Example Most conflict in any situation involves communication breakdown to some extent" (pp. 34). It's important to have clarity in one's life. In this case, the author is obviously upset with the job situation. The author wants to be a freelance writer, because the current bottleneck of the author is the author's job. The author's current job is boring and thankless. There is not enough pay; the author feels underutilized and underappreciated. Moreover, the author feels that the current work the author is doing is not meaningful. Having clarity is a positive thing, because one can have more insight into one's activities and their meaningfulness. Since the author's work is not fulfilling, it is hoped the author can find more meaningful work, therefore. To the author, meaningful work means that the author would have the ability to choose what the author wants to do (in writing, for example). The author would not have to do anything the author did not want to do. Work would consist of being ab le to work at a stay-at-home office, in the author's ideal life. According to Bruner (2002), "The capacity of an integrated or multistep process is determined by the portion of the process with the least capacity, or the bottleneck of the system. Thus, identification and relief of bottlenecks are important issues in process management" (pp. 127). First, one must find out (or identify) the bottleneck. Obviously, the bottleneck has been identified as the author's work situation. The author wishes to do a job that is not problematic. In order to solve the problem of the bottleneck, something obviously should be done. The author, therefore, has decided that the answer to this bottleneck of the work situation is to simply change jobs. Warren (2008) comments, "The theory of constraints (TOC) is astrategy that focuses on reducing the influence of bottlenecks on a process" (pp. 455). According to this theory, this management philosophy-the five focusing steps-can help to reduce the problems inherent in getting rid of a bottleneck. The bottleneck in process described here was that of this author's job. This author wanted to obtain new employment that would be satisfying. Mainly, the problem identified was the author's dissatisfaction with current employment. Current employment would be replaced with a freelance writing job that would allow the author to spend less time working and at the same time earn more money. REFERENCES Bruner, R.F. (2002). The portable MBA. USA: Wiley. Dettmer, H.W. (1997). Goldratt's theory of constraints: a systems approach to continuous improvement. USA: ASQ Quality Press. How delays affect processes and change. (2009). Available: http://www.bizmanualz.com/information/2005/03/24/how-delays-affect-processes-and-change.html. Warren, C.S. (2008). Survey of accounting. USA: South-Western College

Sunday, October 27, 2019

What Is New Public Management?

What Is New Public Management? New Public Management, what is it? We have heard the term throughout the first semester and have endeavoured to understand its historical and present relevance as well as its various facets that are supposedly favourable in reforming inefficient public sector enterprises, making them leaner and more efficient. But is New Public Management, all that it is made up to be, is it up-to the tasks it is set, is it the new paradigm for public sector reform in developing countries? These are the questions well be tackling in this paper. The Wikipedia defines New public management (NPM) as a management philosophy used by governments since the 1980s to modernise the public sector. It is a broad and very complex term used to describe the wave of public sector reforms throughout the world since the 1980s. The main hypothesis in the NPM-reform wave is that more market orientation in the public sector will lead to greater cost-efficiency for governments, without having negative side effects on other objectives and considerations.  [i]   The World Bank group thinks that NPM is used to describe a management culture that emphasizes the centrality of the citizen or customer, as well as accountability for results. It also suggests structural or organizational choices that promote decentralized control through a wide variety of alternative service delivery mechanisms, including quasi-markets with public and private service providers competing for resources from policymakers and donors. NPM does not claim that government should stop performing certain tasks. Although the New Public Management often is associated with this policy perspective, NPM is not about whether tasks should be undertaken or not. It is about getting things done better.  [ii]   It is supposed to have evolved as a consequence of the emergence of globalisation and as a response to policies of structural adjustment. NPM was conceived as a means to improve efficiency and responsiveness to political principals. Its origins were in Parliamentary democracies with curiously strong executive powers, centralized governments, and little administrative law. In this archetypal setting, NPM seems to embody the idea of a cascading chain of contracts leading to a single (usually Ministerial) principal who is interested in getting better results within a sector portfolio over which he or she has significant and relatively unchallenged authority.  [iii]   NPM, is a much more outcome oriented and efficient theory than earlier public management theories because it entails a more judicious disbursement of the public budget. It is supposed to be achieved by applying some attributes of the private sector into the public sector, such as competition etc. it can be said to be a policy to run the public sector as though it was the private sector but keeping public sector considerations in mind at the same time. The basis of NPM lay in reversing the two cardinal doctrines of progressive public administration (PPA); that is, lessening or removing differences between the public and the private sector and shifting the emphasis from process account-ability towards a greater element of account-ability in terms of results.  [iv]   It endeavours to better the public sector by restructuring, using tactics such as deregulation, decentralisation, promotion of autonomous agencies, output based evaluation, contracting, introduction of competition between agencies and enterprises etc. From the end of the 1970s to the 1990s governments around the world were engaged in widespread and sustained reforms of their public administration. These reforms started in the USA and the United Kingdom, where the Republican and Conservative governments that came to power championed the New Right campaigns for reforms. In New Zealand, however, where the most acclaimed reforms took place, the political force behind them was a Labour government, i.e. a leftist power. The reforms immediately aroused academic interest and research was carried out and theories developed. Perhaps to facilitate academic discourse, the reforms collectively came to be called the new public management (NPM).  [v]   The major driving force behind the reforms was economic stagnation in many countries. The New Right blamed this economic stagnation seen in huge national debts, balance of payment Sowaribi Tolofari problems, high rates of unemployment, underperforming industries, etc. on the excessive scope of governments engagement in business, mediocrity in administrative performance and the lack of accountability, among other things. In addition, there was also new intellectual thinking developing on how public services should be organised and delivered. This was probably because the populace in various countries were now better educated and more sophisticated in their thinking, tastes and demands.  [vi]   New Public Management has been a worldwide phenomenon in some form or other. Democratic regimes in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom have all implemented some range of reforms consistent with NPM. Malta and Austria have also implemented NPM elements. Each of these initiatives has had some combination of elements including cost cutting, creating of separate agencies or business enterprises to eliminate traditional bureaucracies, separating the purchaser of goods from the provider of those goods, introducing market mechanisms, decentralizing management authority, introducing performance-management systems, moving away from tenure-like civil service systems to contractual and pay-for-performance personnel systems, and increasing use of customer-focused quality improvement systems. Credit for the impetus of these reforms is given to American ideas, particularly the ideas of American public choice economists  [vii]   The philosophy seems to be based in the greatness of private management over public management and therefore suggests that the only logical thing to do is to transfer control to the private sector. Since all government activities cannot be transferred into private hands the theory suggests the next best thing, the application of business management into government. However, public management is different from public administration: the former is derived from commercial operations and is meant to bring about a new mind-set, a new vocabulary and a proliferation of management techniques. It is also meant to debureaucratize government operations and to reduce red tape substantially.  [viii]   If only one element is to be pointed out as characterising the reforms, it would be marketisation. The administration of public services was now benchmarked against private business power should be exercised by those who give the service; the consumer should have choice; the reason to exist should be determined by how well the organisation performs; there should be measures of performance and public accountability. These characteristics were based on certain theories: mainly public choice, transaction cost economics and principal-agent theory.  [ix]   The reforms have majorly been driven by a combination of socio-economic, political and technological factors. One of the similarities between countries going down the NPM route has been the experience of some sort of economic or fiscal crisis, which speeded up these countrys will to streamline their enterprises and cut back costs wherever possible, basically to stabilize their economy any-which way possible. With crisis looming overhead the tenacity of the welfare state came under fire and with it the institutionalised form of state run enterprises. One can say that these reforms are not purely the work of political will, other more sinister external factors were in play. In the case of most developing countries, reforms in public administration and management have been driven more by external pressures and have taken place in the context of structural adjustment programmes. Other drivers of NPM-type reforms include the ascendancy of neoliberal ideas from the late 1970s, the developm ent of information technology, and the growth and use of international management consultants as advisors on reforms. Additional factors, in the case of developing countries, include lending conditionalitys and the increasing emphasis on good governance.  [x]   The literature provides evidence that in many, if not the majority of, developing countries, economic crisis has been by far the most important factor driving the introduction of ambitious reforms in the public sector since the early 1980s. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) economic and fiscal crises preceded economic reforms, which also triggered public sector management reforms. Many African and Latin American countries suffered from unsustainable external and domestic debts, deteriorating real terms of trade, increasing real interest rates on international financial markets, high inflation, low levels of savings and investment, and shortages of basic consumer goods. More recently, the economic and fiscal crises in the Asian tiger economies have promoted major reforms in the public sectors of countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. Most countries, especially in Africa, had debilitating underlying problems à ³ severe institutional weaknesses, fiscal indiscipline and weak e xternal competitiveness.  [xi]   Larbi describes the economic and fiscal situation that was the harbinger of NPM reforms in Africa and Latin America. He records that many African and Latin American countries suffered unsustainable rates on international financial markets, high inflation, low levels of savings and investments, and shortages of basic consumer goods. It should be noted, however, that in these cases external pressures from so-called donors and lenders initiated the reforms. Kiiza accounts for the effect of this difference by saying that available comparative evidence shows both a handsome and an ugly face of the reforms: The handsome face of managerialism appears in the developed countries where the review of Weberian public administration has been done deliberately in search of excellence. The ugly face appears in the developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where Managerialism has been religiously spread by the IMF/World Bank fraternity.  [xii]   Internally, in these countries, policy deficiencies, bad and excessive management of the economy, large-scale institutionalized corruption, weak and demoralized public services, low productivity and political instability, all contributed to a worsening of the crises. Loss-making SOEs contributed significantly to budget deficits and thus to the fiscal crisis.  [xiii]   Going first to the IMF and then to the World Bank meant accepting stabilization and structural adjustment packages with their accompanying conditionalitys in order to obtain credits and debt rescheduling from creditor banks and multilateral lending institutions. Policy-based lending by multilateral institutions was used as an instrument to encourage crisis states to embark on reforms that were pro-market and pro-private sector.  [xiv]   Thus it can be said that in a way NPM was stuffed down these nations throats. But the most primary mistake committed was that the policies and the structures utilized in implementing the NPM in these countries were the same that were proven successful in their more developed counterparts. What was not realized or was ignored was that the manner of functioning of the countrys beuracricies their market, the level of development of their private sectors was markedly different from the developed countries and the same ideas were not liable to work here. Despite all its advantages, one of the premier drawbacks of NPM most of the time was its very little contribution to actual policymaking. Instead, seeing as its main emphasis is private sector managerial techniques, it emphasizes the need for fewer thinkers and more doers. However, if one defines success as substantive involvement of citizens in shaping the direction of policy that affects their lives, there is little indication of such involvement beyond what existed before NPM implementation began. As Pollitt (1993) notes, citizenship is an awkward concept for those promoting managerialism, where the term customer is more common. He argues that the collectivist view of citizenship is alien to an individualist model where the market is the chief focus of transactions and values (125-6). Armstrong (1998) notes in his assessment of Australian implementation of NPM that the concept of meeting customer needs ignores the ability of customers to articulate their needs or make choices, either because they are uninformed or do not have the resources to do so . Rhodes further argues that in Australia, there is no evidence to show that (NPM) has provided customers with any means whatever of holding the government to account (1996, 106-10). Those claiming success for NPM have focused on short-term effects and on issues of efficiency. While it may be too early to assess the long-term impact of NPM in countries such as New Zealand and Australia, the evidence supporting democratic accountability and citizen engagement is not encouraging. This concept of management has little to do with democracy and democratic values, shedding the reality or the facade of democracy found in earlier public-sector reforms. What is left is a core of market orientation to economic efficiency in the public sector. As Borgmann (1992) argues, when citizens are recast as consumers, they operate within an attenuated form of democracy: But to extol the consumer is to deny the citizen. When consumers begin to act, the fundamental decisions have already been made. Consumers are in a politically and morally weak position. They are politically weak because the signals that they can send to the authorities about the common order are for the most part ambiguous. Does the purchase of an article signal approval, thoughtlessness, or lack of a better alternative?  [xv]   Dunleavy and Hood (1994) note concerns among traditional bureaucrats or hierarchists about the potential destabilizing effects of NPM if the processes of change should get out of control, become unmanageable and do irreversible damage to the provision of public services. For developing countries, but not for the World Bank and donor agencies, the price to be paid for such policy mistakes may be great in terms of threats to political stability and loss of economic wellbeing. In the United Kingdom, one of the leading exemplars in NPM applications the internal market in the NHS has been criticized as concentrating too many The New Public Management Approach and Crisis States resources on management and paperwork rather than on front-line service provision. This is illustrated by the almost fourfold increase in the number of managers in the NHS between 1991 and 1994, with administration absorbing 10.5 per cent of all NHS costs in 1994, compared to 6 per cent before the reforms. Overall, public sector managers are seen as a gaining group in the managerial emphasis in reforms.  [xvi]   But at the same time NPM will also be causing problems of morale in the public services because of the basic premise of NPM being the superiority of private sector over the public sector. Moreover, because it also suggests that whenever possible its activities should be transferred to the private sector, the implication is that public service has no intrinsic value. It also belittles the noble side of the public-service profession: public servants became public servants because they wanted to serve their country. If they had wanted to become entrepreneurs, they would have joined the private sector or started their own businesses.  [xvii]   Critics of the NPM, lamenting the collapse of the welfare state, have referred to the increasing inequality that market-type mechanisms produce market niche-seeking behaviour by public service providers. Whereby, conditions of social exclusion may be created given the organizational and cultural changes in social provision, expressed in the concepts of markets and individualism. Thus, those who need state provision and welfare safety-nets most viz a viz the poor and the vulnerable will be harmed by such reforms. Accountability and monitoring becomes tougher with fragmentation. Furthermore, since governments and other purchasers struggle to monitor contracts in various provider organisations, there is a risk of incurring huge transaction costs. According to Le Grand and Barlett (1993) quality in service provision may decline since minimalist, economizing standards are replacing aspirational professional standards. The pursuit of efficiency in flawed policies with short-term gains will be encouraged by NPM, undermining states capability to take a continuing standpoint on education, technology, health and the environment, given the heavy emphasis on cost reduction. One needs to consider these issues before seeking to transfer NPM to crisis states.  [xviii]   When assessing NPM critically, it is noted that there might be a promotion of corruption and self-interest by the senior bureaucrats and policy makers, who will opt for contracting out and for privatization in lieu of opportunities for rent-seeking and other forms of misdemeanour. Furthermore, greed, favouritism and conflicting interests in NPM has also piloted in a decline in ethical standards of public life. In case of developing countries, adopting the NPM will lead to more arbitrary use of judgment since the accountability mechanisms are weak and patronage systems more prevalent. The NPM method may work better in some frameworks than others. Like the public service which covers various activities, some of which are person-centred like, education, while some are not. Some are competitive, others are hard to mould into the competitive format, some high technological content (telecommunications), and others low. Thus, these factors should be kept in mind, as they affect the chances of NPM being a good fit in crisis states. Clarke and Newman have also argued that NPM à ¬is often portrayed as a global phenomenon à ³ a core element in the process of convergence between states, overriding distinct political and cultural characteristicsà ®. Given the different and difficult circumstances of reforms in adjusting economies and the potential risks mentioned above, it is doubtful whether a universalistic and à ¬evangelicalà ® approach to NPM is a tenable option. Even in developed countries such as the United Kingdom, experience suggests that change toward NPM à ¬has not been smooth and linear, but uneven and contestedà ® and that social actors are not shaped unambiguously by large-scale trends or forces for change.  [xix]   NPM-related reforms generally might undermine political control, meaning that administrative leaders in the central departments and agencies, such as leaders in public commercial enterprises, are gaining influence, but also private commercial actors and consumers more generally. The reforms have created more skepticism towards collective solutions, a depolitization of the public sector and increasing conflicts over what is public.  [xx]   While there is relatively little NPM to be found in developing countries when compared to the early predictions, there is even less evaluation of NPMs impact. The most comprehensive overview of NPM type reforms is offered by Batley (1999). Summarizing the conclusions from a 5-year review of the changing role of government in adjusting economies in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and South America, Batley finds that the effect of NPM reforms has been mixed, at best, with some improvements in efficiency and mixed effects on equity. On the downside, he notes that the transaction costs of radical reforms to autonomize service delivery agencies tend to outweigh the efficiency gains of unbundling, and that reforms that seek to separate purchasers from providers sometimes reduce accountability.  [xxi]   Refocusing on the effective state is given prominence in the 1997 World Development Report, The State in a Changing World, which marks a significant shift in thinking about the state and its role in development: the need to factor the state back into development. There is now some recognition by the Bank that reforming the public sector the NPM way does not lend itself to clear, unambiguous solutions. NPM is not a panacea for all problems in the developing economies. conclusion The above-mentioned criticisms of NPM and concerns about social solidity, parity and steadiness have rejuvenated interest in the dynamic role of the state again. The debate has changed. It is how do we re-empower the state so that it is able to do its job effectively. While the new public management method may not be a answer for the problems of public sector management in developing states, a cautious and selective variation of some features to selected areas may be advantageous and their employment needs to be subtle to operative reality. The enthusiasm for neoliberal policies and NPM practices that characterized most of the 1980s and early 1990s is now tempered with caution and, in some cases, rejection of the more extreme forms of the NPM approach. There is recognition that imposing one template of reform on all, irrespective of context, is unwise and unimplementable, and may even breed conflict and undermine stability. The way forward is to make the state work better, not to dismantle it. The Bank suggests two strategies. The first is to match the states role to its capability; the earlier mistake was that the state tried to do too much with few resources and limited capacity. The second approach is to strengthen the capability of the state by reinvigorating public administration institutions to enable them to perform their enabling, regulating, monitoring and co-ordinating roles. This will entail creating effective rules and restraints, encouraging greater competition in service provision, applying measures to monitor performance gains, and achieving a more responsive mix of central and local governance by steering policies in the direction of greater decentralization.  [xxii]   NPM-type reforms in developing states seem to be based on a common framework with those in developed countries and seem to follow a blueprint rather than a process or contingent approach. Yet these countries differ widely in terms of their institutional conditions and their capacity to implement public sector management reforms based on NPM principles and practices.  [xxiii]   There is a need to give consideration to problems of how to implement rather than just what to implement. For some time now, too much attention has focused on the plan content of reforms without suitable attention to suitable preparations for application, partly due to the domination of outside organizations in the design of reform bundles and the resultant dearth of resident ownership and promise to reform.