Misc-En-Scene Sin City

For my essay on mise-en-scene, I will be talking about Sin City, written and directed by Frank Miller, Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino. In this film, there are many unique techniques used by the directors to portray emotions, hidden meanings and to determine mood. Sin City is a bold and brutal adaptation of the graphic novels written by Frank Miller. Mise-en-scene is a cinematic term, which refers to techniques used by directors to help construct a specific onscreen representation. It consists of the setting of the film, costume and make up, lighting, staging, and last of all, time and space. The scene that I will be analyzing would be the scene in which Marv confronts Cardinal Roark and forces him to confess, after which Marv kills him. Marv, a brute of a man, is one of the protagonists in this film. He wakes up after a one-night stand with a prostitute ‘Goldie’ and she lies beside him dead. Marv realized that he has been framed and goes on a vengeful rampage to uncover the truth. He kills Kelvin who is a cannibal who murders and consumes people, and finds out the Kelvin was the cardinal’s ward. The setting of this scene is in the Cardinal’s room where it is dark and we can barely make out the furniture present inside. Color symbolism is extreme in the entire film; the film is almost entirely inked in black and white. The directors created the film using the visually stunning black and white style of film noir to emphasize cynical and extreme attitudes and sexual motivations. Film noir is used to depict the darker aspects of modernity, and is usually set in a criminal milieu; exactly what this film needed. The narrative and existential angst that drives a male protagonist and a voluptuous femme fatale who seduces the protagonist for her own benefits are the gist of film noir, which are present in Sin City. Goldie used Marv for his huge size and brute strength to protect her, while Marv had feelings for Goldie. Her murder drives him mad and fuels his rage to find her killer. Sin City can be classified as a neo-noir film, which possesses elements of film noir, but with updated themes and visual elements that were absent in classic film noir. However, it is the color rendering in this film that is unique. The retained or added color to certain objects is an amazing technique, bringing out the emotions of the character or empathize the significance of the object. In the confrontation scene, the eyes of Cardinal Roark are painted green and it is the only other color present in that picture of black and white. The color of the eyes shown would make the audience focus on Cardinal Roark as he confess, and to be drawn to ponder on his sick thoughts and emotions. Green color may have been used to depict a sense of evil and perverse present in the Cardinal, and true to the saying â€Å"The eyes are the windows to a person’s soul. The color red is rendered many times in the strikingly monochromatic film, mainly in the form of bloodshed or love objects like the heart-shaped bed where Marv and Goldie had their one night affair. Red is meant to depict extreme violence, death, love and vulnerability in Sin City and it plays an important role in stimulating the emotions of the audience. In spite of this, red is only used when it is required and not all blood is painted red. In some scenes, the blood is left as white colored to show that it is not as significant in the film. There is a scene in the flashback during Cardinal Roark’s confession, in which Goldie is fully colored from her yellow locks to her fiery red dress and the color of her skin. The idea was to illustrate how beautiful Goldie was in Marv’s eyes and how full of life Goldie was to Marv in the dreadful Sin City. Besides the color in the scene I have chosen, there are flashes of brilliant color at different junctions of the film. There is one scene where the prostitutes in Old Town, depicting justice served in a crude way, stain the skies red during the massacre of mercenaries. One very distinct color I would like to point out would be the Yellow Bastard’s skin color at the last part of the film. The connotation of yellow in this case, will be to represent dirty, pungent and obnoxious, so true to Yellow Bastard’s character that even his blood bleeds yellow. The costumes and makeup play another important element of mise-en-scene. As in the case of the dressing of the prostitute Goldie, the elegant and sexy dresses that she dons in the film help her play the part of the seductress. The blonde locks along with the blood-red lipstick she possess give the audience the vibe that she is a femme fatale. On the other hand, Marv is clothed throughout in a black trench coat with a white singlet inside, displaying his heedless of caution attitude. The actor playing Marv, Mickey Rourke is portrayed as the graying behemoth embodied underneath a ton of facial make-up to make him look grotesque and fierce. Besides that, Kelvin wears a pair of glasses to invoke the look of a creepy psychopath killer. All this costumes and makeup contribute in building the personalities of the characters in Sin City, empowering them with attributes the directors require them to have. In the lighting context for Sin City, low-key lighting is utilized throughout the film. Low-key lighting or chiaroscuro is present in the scene that I mentioned, with artificial light shone through the windows of the Cardinal’s room. The room is supposedly pitch dark and the only light present comes from outside the window. Thus creating a dimly lit scene, which gives the audience a feel of the impending doom of Cardinal Roark. Strong shadows engulf both the Cardinal and Marv, generating tension between the both characters. Marv’s face is barely visible at times, only a portion shown by the lighting. I believe by making the room so dark, it forces the audience to focus on what is visible. The weak light shone on Kelvin’s decapitated head also creates an eerie feel. At the final part of the scene whereby Marv presumably cuts Cardinal Roark’s throat, the darkness and shadows conceal the gore that ensues. The low-key lighting acts to dampen the effect of the violence as the details are being obscured. Furthermore, in the flashback during the confession of the cardinal, there is a shot of Kelvin with bright lighting shown from behind him. His entire face is black due to the shadow and his glasses were the only thing white in color. The effect creates such a deviant character and literally sends chills down one’s spine. On the whole, the sinister environment of Sin City is primarily submerged in low-key lighting, except in dramatic epic sequences, where the directors want the audience to see the details clearly. Another important aspect of misc-en-scene used in a film is the staging. Staging refers to the movement and placement of actors and objects. In the chosen scene, Marv breaks into Cardinal Roark’s room, shows him the decapitated head of Kelvin and places it on the table. â€Å"The dog ate the rest†, Marv tells Roark straight in his face. Marv does that to show his hostility towards Roark and to instill fear in him, but it does not seem to work as Roark just got out from his bed to examine the head. The act of Marv drawing his gun from his holster tells the audience that Marv was all ready to shoot Cardinal Roark in the head. His stance is in standing position while Roark just sat there without fleeing. This shows that Roark was ready to accept his fate. Yet, Marv did not blast his head to smithereens. He sat down across Roark to listen to his confession before murdering him. He smokes a cigarette as he listened to Roark, taking his time. All of this staging tells us that he wanted pleasure in killing the cardinal slowly. Expression on the characters is a critical part of staging and in a scene of confrontation as such, it plays a huge role. The expression on Marv’s face in the cardinal’s room remained unusually calm, without showing much rage. It creates a very tense atmosphere in the room, keeping the audience in suspense over when Marv would end Roark’s life. On the other hand, Roark was almost expressionless when he confessed to Marv about his perverse deeds and till the very end when he was killed in cold blood. There was only a slight tinge of nervousness when he saw Kelvin’s head. This scene illustrates vividly about a man who knows he is about to meet his doom and a man who is determined to take the life of another. It is the part where dark truth is revealed. Speech used is another element of mise-en-scene, not only can it invoke thoughts in the audience, it can bring out the true nature of the character. The rampaging Marv finally achieves his maniacal madman majesty when he answers Cardinal Roark’s final question of whether killing him would satisfy him, Marv answers â€Å"The killing? No, no satisfaction. Everything up to the killing, it’d be gas. † From that, we find out that although the diabolical priest and his ward deserve to die, Marv in fact enjoys torturing people and the speech alone reveals the sadistic nature in him. The camera is focused all the time on the closed-up faces of Marv and Roark when either one is speaking. In cinematography, facing the camera is the position with the most intimacy as the character is looking in our direction and we are able to see the expressions on his face, engaging our attention. Hence in a scene like this, the closed-up face positioning would be best. Close ups give the audience time to judge a character and create mood and tension between the two characters present. In the scene, I realize that the camera points upward towards Marc, giving the audience the perception that he is the powerful and dominating character now. The camera is high angled when focused on Roark, the cannibalistic cardinal, making him seem powerless and pitiful. The computer-generated monochromatic landscape of Sin City is both elegant and vivid. Presence of retro sets and vintage cars make the city seem like a city decades again, except when one of the thugs in the film drives a Ferrari from the modern world. This means that it could be a retro-modern world or it could be set today, just that the city is still in the 40s era. The costumes donned by the characters are weird for modern day fashion, from trench coats to stripper wear. It is perhaps pulp noir imagination and visualization of a world found only in graphic novels. The use of shallow depth of field in the scene I choose, allowed the subject to be isolated from the background. It serves to direct the audience’s gaze upon the expressions of the two characters. Depth is also created by lighting, which reveals or hides the parts, which the director want the audience to see. The scene is also set up in a small room to confine the background and focus on the characters. In this essay, I have analyzed how the directors used cinematographic elements of mise-en-scene to convey meaning and stimulate response in the audience in the particular scene. Mise-en-scene is extremely important in filmmaking and has to be incorporated in every film, how well the individual or combined mise-en-scene techniques are used will help create the desired meanings in each scene.

Mapping my school

The Laggard High School is located between the central avenue and the Washington Avenue. It is bounded by the ivy-league university like the Baylor’s University. It has a main entrance and another entrance opposite to the fire service which is on the other side of the street. The overall atmosphere of the school is calm. The Laggard High School is bounded on north by the ivy college. The Laggard Middle School is located by the side of the High school and the Laggard Elementary School is behind the High School. The front end classrooms are built in buildings which are L- shaped with the main entrance between them. The remaining classrooms are in a C-shaped building. Behind these classrooms is located a cafeteria. The school playground and gym are behind the cafeteria. The Baylor University located opposite to the school has some influence on the students of the Laggard High School. As the high school students can observe the university students, they will have an idea on the university life. They will also have an idea about the future courses available to them from the universities after study in high school. The Baylor’s University leaves a complete educational environment to the Laggard High School. The students develop an enthusiasm to reach the University for pursuing the courses of their interest. One of the reasons for this is the location of the Baylor’s University. When we discuss about safety in the school, the first thing that comes into mind is the fire service which is located on the opposite side of the street. Whenever there is an untoward incident like fire accident, there is no worry as the fire service is available at the minimum time. In general, the school as a whole is very safe place. As the school is located facing the street, traffic might be a problem when safety is considered. The main entrance, which faces the street, is a dangerous spot in busy hours like 08:30 AM. The students and the staff are in a hurry in the morning, due to which there might be chance of accidents. The car parking which lies just beside the main entrance creates inconvenience to those who go in and out of the school by walk. Car parking at the other entrance is restricted only to staff. One of the solutions that I feel suggestible is that employing a guard at the main entrance to guide the incoming and outgoing vehicles in the busy hours to avoid accidents. This will also fill confidence in the students and staff who walk by the main entrance. Another unsafe area to be considered in the campus is the cafeteria. Yes, the cafeteria is definitely an unsafe place as there is no proper monitoring. There are no enough emergency exits. Since there is no good monitoring, there are more chances of disputes. Any disputes or fights between students cannot be controlled easily. And another disadvantage is that there are no emergency exits in case of fire accidents. And we all know that, cafeteria has the highest scope for fire accident compare to any other place in the school campus. Moreover, the cafeteria is situated far from the entrance due to which more time is wasted before the fire service reaches the cafeteria crossing the staff car parking lot. I feel providing enough emergency exits to the cafeteria immediately and monitoring of the cafeteria would provide safety. The monitoring can be done indirectly by placing closed circuit cameras in the cafeteria and monitoring it from the main school building. Any disturbances in the cafeteria can be easily recognized from the main building and necessary actions can be taken. The playground and the gym are located far from the main building. In case, if there is a severe injury to any student in the ground, it is difficult to provide medical facility immediately. This problem can be overcome by placing a first aid and emergency medical aid unit in the gymnasium. The traffic outside the campus is also a problem, as the school is situated in a very busy center of the city. The traffic on both the sides i.e. at the Washington Avenue as well as the Central Avenue is crowded at the end of the day. All the vehicles of the students as well as the staff come out of the school at the same time creating traffic problems. To solve this problem, it is better that a guard is employed at both the entrances who will guide the vehicles going out at the time of heavy traffic though the street. All these safety issues are a great disturbance for the parents. By employing the suggested solutions it will be a relief to the students, staff and parents too. These are the safe and unsafe areas that I feel considering my school and its surroundings. Â   Â  

Pakistan’s War on Terror Up to and Beyond 2014

While Pakistan continues to be a frontline state in the global war on terror, it is simultaneously fighting domestic terrorism in a war that will seemingly continue well beyond 2014. In recent months, terror attacks targeting the Shia Hazara minority in Baluchistan indicate a transformation of the terror problem in Pakistan. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi present two different sides of Pakistan’s terrorism problem, however, the two organizations have increasingly converged operationally to the extent that Pakistan cannot eliminate one without simultaneously confronting the other. BACKGROUND: The September 11 terrorist attacks on the U. S. in which thousands of innocent lives were lost led Pakistan to join the U. S. -led global war against international terrorism in which Pakistan has over the years made an invaluable contribution. However, with the passage of time, Washington increasingly came to view Islamabad as part of the problem rather than the solution. Most U. S. and European policy makers believe that Pakistan is providing a safe haven for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Western media is full of stories about a presence of the Taliban leadership in Pakistan, including of Mullah Omar’s alleged base in Quetta. Since the summer of 2008, U. S. military and intelligence agencies are sharing minimal intelligence with its Pakistani counterparts, instead focusing on drone attacks against suspected terrorist movements and hideouts. Pakistan is a signatory to the UN’s Palermo Convention. At the regional level, Pakistan has signed and ratified SAARC Regional Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism and the SAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs Substances and the ECO Protocol against drugs. It has extradition treaties with 29 countries and bilateral agreements or MOUs on terrorism with 50 countries. Pakistan has played a major role in eliminating a number of terror networks such as the Al-Qaeda Anthrax network, the Alghuraba network, the UK-based Anglo-Pakistani group and Jundullah. Prominent targets captured include Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, Abu Alfaraj Alibi, Al Shib, Abu Zubaida, Abu Talha, Khalid bin Attash or Walid bin Attish, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, Abu Laith al-Libi, Hasan Bana, Hamza Rabbi, Sharif Al Masri, Abu Mushab Masri, Jaffar Uttayyar Alkashmiri Yassir Al-Jaziri, and Abdul Rehman Al-Masri. Umar Patek was arrested in Abbottabad by Pakistani forces and may have provided important leads to Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts. Since 9/11, Pakistan has also become a victim of terrorism. The direct and indirect cost suffered by Islamabad in the war on terror has been around US$ 35 billion. There has been a constant increase in the number of terror attacks in Pakistan since 9/11 and a number of prominent Pakistanis have lost their lives in such attacks. These include the two-time Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto and the former head of the Pakistan Army’s Special Service Group, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Ameer Faisal Alvi. Most of the jihadists in Pakistan, especially the splinter groups of various organizations, are now operating under the umbrella of TTP, a Deobandi Sunni organization established in December 2007. TTP’s objectives include cleansing Pakistan of foreign, meaning the U. S. and overall Western, presence, implementing Sharia and establishing a Caliphate. Over the years, TTP has been involved in a number of suicide bombings, rocket attacks, remote controlled bombs, abductions, and beheadings. It has widened its area of operations beyond Pakistan’s tribal areas and targeted a number of government installations and organizations in the mainland, including the Federal Investigation Agency’s Lahore office, the Naval War College in Lahore, the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, the Wah ordinance Factory, the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, a police training school, the GHQ Rawalpindi and the Navy’s Mehran base in Karachi. It is also involved in kidnapping for ransom, bank robberies, forced taxes and drug trade. IMPLICATIONS: Since 9/11, the TTP has increasingly converged with the staunchly anti-Shia militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. A number of prominent TTP operations were conducted by known Lashkar-e-Jhangvi operatives. In recent months, the Hazaras in Baluchistan are increasingly becoming a prime target of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Both TTP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi consider Shias kafirs (infidels) and hence legitimate targets. Terrorist activities showed no sign of receding in 2012, indicating that after more than a decade of fighting terror, Pakistan is nowhere close to the finishing line in this war and the problem is taking an even uglier shape. According to various sources, Pakistan suffered more than 6000 casualties in different terror attacks in 2012. More than 450 terror attacks were recorded in 2012 in which at least 39 were confirmed suicide attacks. Another important development in 2012 was the increasing operational alliance between the TTP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, although the two groups have cooperated with each other also in the past, the group led by Amjad Farooqi in 2003-2004 being a case in point. However, in 2012 the two groups largely converged operationally in the sense that they declared a war against Shias. This convergence has resulted in the worst attacks to date against Shias, especially the Hazaras in Baluchistan. In 2012, Shias were targeted in 113 attacks in which 396 people lost their lives, indicating the increasingly sectarian features of Pakistan’s terrorism problem. So far, more than a thousand terror-related deaths have occurred in 2013. Apart from a closer alliance emerging between TTP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, TTP has also established Ansar Al-Aseerian (Helpers of the prisoners) in partnership with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. According to media reports, Adnan Rasheed has been appointed the head of this group. The purpose of this group is to free all militants held in custody by Pakistani security forces and in various jails. TTP is also attempting to expand its activities and area of influence to Karachi, Pakistan’s major financial hub. Karachi, which is also considered to be Pakistan’s major Pashtun center, has been a preferred hideout for TTP, while some TTP and other jihadi activists have received medical treatment in Karachi. 2013 also witnessed two developments that will have long lasting effect on Pakistan’s war against terrorism. Firstly, Pakistan’s national Assembly unanimously passed the National Counter Terrorism Authority Bill 2013 on March 8, 2013. The establishment of a National Counter Terrorism Authority (NCTA) will play an important role in the efforts to combat terrorism. According to the mandate given to NCTA, it will â€Å"coordinate counter terrorism and counter extremism efforts in view of the nature and magnitude of the terrorist threat; and to present strategic policy options to the government for consideration/implementation by the stakeholders after scientifically studying the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism in historic and professional perspective. † Secondly, Pakistan’s army is taking a tougher stance and increasing its attention to the terrorism problem, as indicated by the decision of Pakistan’s army chief to treat the problem of terrorism as an operational priority. 013 is also an election year in Pakistan, with national and provincial elections scheduled for May 11, 2013. TTP has already targeted a number of political events in Khyber Paktunkhwa and especially the Awami National Party’s election campaign. The political party or parties that will form the next government will not only inherit a crisis in the energy and financial sectors but will also have to make hard decisions about the country’s war against terror. CONCLUSIONS: Developments in Pakistan suggest that the country’s terror problem will only increase in the lead-up to 2014 and Pakistan will have to fight its war on terror well beyond 2014, if concrete and decisive steps against TTP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are not taken. Both organizations want Pakistan to be a Sunni state and are increasingly targeting Shias. The Pakistani people and armed forces have paid a huge price in people and material in this ongoing war. Unless Pakistan addresses the root causes of the problem, it will not only persist but also get worse.

Analysing the strategic situation of a company Essay

Analysing the strategic situation of a company - Essay Example The main strengths of the company are strong management, loyal customers, acquisitions and financial position. The analysis has identified lack of diversification and failure to embrace technology in management as some of the weaknesses of BAT. The company faces threats from competitors. The corporate strategies adopted by BAT include acquisitions, manufacturing of products that meet the purchasing power of diverse customers and taking initiative to develop voluntary standards. The main strategic issues BAT are on forecasting demand as this varies greatly and restrictive legislations. The recommended actions include adaption of technology in the supply chain and invest more resources in research and development. In almost all parts of the world, tobacco is consumed and cigarettes are the most iconic of tobacco consumption (Moerman and Van, 2005, p. 375). According to Moerman and Van (2005, p. 375), cigarette smokers always strive to satisfy their craving for them as they do in case of hunger. This makes the industry post high annual revenues. Cigarette is a simple object made from shredded tobacco rolled on a paper and it was invented in the nineteenth century. Cigarettes emerged in first half of the nineteenth century in France and Spain. By 1830s, France was producing hand rolled cigarettes but this was later overtaken by pipe tobacco and snuffs that was being consumed US (Thompson, 2004, p. 21). This was followed by various developments in the industry that eventually led to the formation of a well-organized tobacco industry with several players. One of the major companies in the tobacco industry is the British American Tobacco (BAT). Tobacco industry contributes significantly to the eco nomic development of countries globally through employment and tax. However, the industry faces huge opposition from health organization given that smoking causes

Different branches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Different branches - Essay Example These branches have different roles. The legislative branch has a primary role of making laws. Laws are made, discussed, and voted on by the Congress. In addition, the President’s appointments to various positions such as the Cabinet, Supreme Court, and the federal courts are approved by the Senate implying that this is a role of the legislature. The executive carries out the function of enforcing the laws that have been previously passed by the legislature (U.S. Federal Government, n.d). Here, the President has the sole duty of making laws official. The cabinet advises the President on important matters. The judiciary is mandated with the role of interpreting the laws and applying laws to cases. In addition, the judiciary determines whether a law violates the constitution. The main reason why the U.S government has three branches is to balance power through a system known as a check and balance system. This system ensures that no branch is overpowered and keeps the power in check since no individuals can allocate themselves more power than the constitution provides. A three-branch government was also appropriate with respect to controlling the government as all branches have equal responsibilities (U.S. Federal Government, n.d). The basic concept behind the separation of powers is distributing power among individuals and groups. This was to ensure that no one group or individual had absolute power over others to the point of making individual decisions meant for a country. The system of check and balances ensures that each group has some form of power over the other. Federalism can be said to be a political concept where a territory is governed by two governmental levels. This can be expounded from the U.S context of having the constitution allocating certain powers to both state governments and the central government. Similarly, the state governments have significant power on specific

Concise annotation of the given article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Concise annotation of the given article - Essay Example The life cycle concept applied to products and stores (Davidson, Bates, and Bass, 1976) executed a significant study that defined the concept of the retail life cycle. Prior to that, the key explanation for retail development was the wheel of retailing concept. The main assumption in Brown's (1991) retailing theory is that businesses usually start with low service / low price product mixes. The main motivation for shopping on this initial stage is price. As the "wheel" revolves, and it usually does, the stores start adding more services (such as credit, sales-support staff, display, etc.) When this happens, the store does not attract the consumers who buy based on price any more. The store then becomes full service and supports higher prices. Stephen Brown's article is a highly academic piece of work. This valuable theoretical research around the topic of retail change and evolution of retail institutions is deeply credible, regarding the author's background. Brown is professor of Marketing Research at the University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, situated in Northern Ireland.

Effects of Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effects of Media - Essay Example Thus, media is, for better or for worse, charged with nearly sole responsibility for forming people’s ideas of themselves, their relationships with others, and their views of society at large. The other side of the debate claims that mass media has no such effect, at least not in any way that can be conclusively proven. Scientists on each side of the debate claim that the opposing side has flaws in one aspect or another of their research. Such flaws include errors in methodology, misinterpretation of data, clear biases in research, and lack of comprehensive understanding of the media being studied (Gauntlett, 1998). The argument that contends mass media produces profoundly negative effects on those who absorb it is an aggressive one. This often comes across as foolhardy given the lack of empirical data to support the argument itself. Some individuals choose to malign media, television in particular, as being at worst an intentional design to instigate violence in viewers or at best a reckless lack of care regarding the incompetent nature of most viewers. The â€Å"at best† aspect of the argument particularly targets children. At this point, the argument against mass media implies the belief that children are incapable of intelligently and objectively viewing various forms of media, and are given to acting something out that they have seen. This is, of course, a veritable â€Å"Monkey see; Monkey do† interpretation of children’s abilities. In Gauntlett’s words, with regards to psychology and psychology studies, â€Å"children are often considered not so much in terms of what they can do, as what they (apparently) cannot† (1998). Such views are not necessarily appropriate, much less accurate. Chief amongst the complaints of researchers who have yet to accept any effects of mass media is, as was published in the Guardian, â€Å"as far as I can see there has been no

Analyzing news paper articles Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analyzing news paper articles - Assignment Example Therefore, it is needed to stop and plan what exactly their policy should be and then adapt it into something that would be more economically practical, and not seek to equally modernize each leg in the nuclear triad. In this respect, the article gives certain suggestions: the â€Å"D5† submarine-launched ballistic missiles should not be produced and the fleet of nuclear-armed submarines should be decreased from fourteen to eight, keeping in mind that the reduction in number will not affect the potential or strength of this leg. Also, the present arsenal could be visibly reduced; consequently, money could be saved by closing down a few of the weapons-design labs. Moreover, spending can be reduced on missile defense, which is very superfluous. About 30 to 35 billion US$ can be saved over the next 10 years, the article states. These are good suggestions, albeit very tough, but politicians and the military have to realize that the country’s financial condition is going to become an actual security problem soon enough. In this editorial of the New York Times, President Obama’s executive order, and its rationale, is questioned. Even though this executive order puts an end to the rule that deprived groups from federal funding when and if they performed abortions or advised their patients with regard to the procedure, even if they did not use federal money to do this; however, the executive order did not undo the policy that places similar restrictions and bans on groups that use foreign aid money for abortions. Oddly enough, this rule applies even in current day war zones like Congo where rape is used as a weapon in the conflict, and even in cases of rape, even though such a policy is not ordered by any law. The article asserts that the 1973 Helms amendment, which restricts using foreign aid money to be used for abortion as a method of family planning, does not really include victims of rape or incest. It is, of course,

Representing the Profession in the Community Assignment

Representing the Profession in the Community - Assignment Example One may visit a doctor but never have sufficient time off the busy doctor’s schedule to get some crucial information. It is here that these nurses come in to save the day by offering information at no charge. These patients tend to want more time in explanation as some of their understanding may reduce and requires a lot of explaining. In this role, they act as teachers who nurse stress-preventive care to encourage patients to pursue healthier lifestyles. The real impact in this comes where the life expectancy goes higher (Salkind, 2006). Families will have each other longer in their lives with their loved ones. Nurses have the role of ensuring what the government promised is actualized, health care for all. It is their ethical accountability to make sure that everyone is taken care of where remunerations may available (Delehanty & Ginzler, 2006). Therefore, support of the introduction of a legislative agenda that would ease this situation would create more jobs. The agenda could probably see a certain nurse assigned to several patients above the age of 50. They would probably be located in a certain health facility and could visit their patients in their homes and only bring them to the health facility only when utterly important. This would assist in quick patient record retrieval given that the nursing individual would be privy to all the ailments encountered under their service. The legislative agenda would be required to see through more funding to reduce the involved constraints. This could also eventually be replicated to the entire family. Continuity in care would be easy to impleme nt. Under the role of improving healthcare in America, the nursing culture not only address the psychological needs but also the physical needs, spiritual needs where necessary are also bestowed on these nurses to offer hope, it’s a role in its making. They are included in the larger context which is important

Recruitment of a Star Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Recruitment of a Star - Essay Example 27). This allows for loyalty and dependency. He is the best fit or candidate for the job because of the above positive aspects as well as the intelligence he demonstrated during the interview. Letting Peter go was the biggest mistake that Stephen Conner made because he faced the biggest problem of finding the right replacement as soon as possible (Groysberg et al. 1). Time was the significant factor for Stephen since it was that time when the organization was in dire need of an experience, skilled and senior analyst so as to get started with PowerChip Company, their new client (Connor & York, 2011). Other than that, Stephen faced a lot of concerns from the organization’s senior executives regarding his decision of allowing Peter go. As a matter of fact, the senior executives were very disappointed with his decision to make Rina a substitute for Peter because Rina was an assistant to Peter and had joined the organization only three years ago yet they needed a senior and highly qualified analyst (Groysberg et al. 2). The organization needed a senior analyst who is amazingly intelligent and with very superior analytical skills just like Peter (Connor & York, 2011). So a candidate that needed to succeed or supplant Peter must possess the same characteristics or be of the similar cadre so as to fit on the same shoe quite easily. Peter was at all times a hard worker and an achiever and his priorities were resource management, time management as well as competency at work (Groysberg et al. 4). Therefore, to find the best fit or replacement look alike of peter, there must be a new Peter that has the similar skill set as well as attitude. From the list of the four candidates, the best fits are Sonia and Seth because of the following reasons. Sonia is a hard worker and an achiever. Despite the fact that she is working in a boutique, Sonia’s performance following the previous three years has tremendously grown

Confessions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Confessions - Essay Example Before confession, an old woman named Ryan, who was also his teacher, was the main person who framed his views about religion and the hereafter. She was the one who would mention hell every now and then. She always had a candle in her purse, which she used to symbolize hell. She would ask boys to hold a finger in the flame, and would tell that it was nothing as compared to eternal burning in hell. â€Å"Then she asked were we afraid of holding one finger-only one finger! - in a little candle flame for five minutes and not afraid of burning all over in roasting hot furnaces for all eternity† (O’Connor 2) was what she would tell the boys. Jackie got the idea that religion was all about burning people who did wrong deeds. He knew that life did not matter, as all that mattered was the hereafter in which God had to burn people in â€Å"hot furnaces† (2). Ryan was responsible for outlining these ideas of Jackie’s, as she would say, â€Å"All eternity! Just thin k of that! A whole lifetime goes by and it's nothing, not even a drop in the ocean of your sufferings† (2). Jackie’s perception of confession before the priest was also very pessimistic, and this perception had also been granted by the off-putting Mrs. Ryan. She had mentioned an account of a man who had made a bad confession. He stayed in guilty for many days to come, and finally went to priest for correcting his confession; but, he got burnt the night before the confession. For Jackie, that was the consequence of a bad confession, because he says, â€Å"This story made a shocking impression on me† (2). Hence, he believed that a bad confession led to horrible death. Moreover, he also believed that he was a great sinner, as Ryan would mention, off and on, that it was important to examine the conscience to be a good person. She would ask the boys if they loved their parents and other people whom they knew; and, Jackie knew that he was an ultimate sinner because he hated his grandmother and his sister. â€Å"I had no hope of ever doing anything else† (3) means that Jackie had become hopeless because his perception of religion had been deteriorated in a very bad way. That is why, the day he was going to confess, he looked back at the houses and metaphorically thought that it was like â€Å"Adam's last glimpse of Paradise† (4). However, Jackie confessed. It was a heart-wrecking experience for him. He could not find the courage in the first instance; but, he confessed before the priest the second time he got the chance to speak it all out. To Jackie’s surprise and contrary to what Nora had told him, the priest proved to be very understanding. He listened to Jackie’s intentions of killing the grandmother and Nora, and gave him three Hail Marys. That changed the world for Jackie. Previously he had thought of religion as a freaking thing that intended to give punishments only; but now, he understood that religion was not scary. He says, â€Å"I knew now I wouldn't die in the night and come back, leaving marks on my mother's furniture† (9), which shows that he was not worried of burning due to a bad confession or burning in hell anymore. Before confession, his state of mind was upsetting, which shows when he says, â€Å"the wind whistled outside so that the silence within seemed to crackle like ice under my feet† (4); but, after the confession his mental state had totally changed, which shows when

Case Brief No 1 Essay Example for Free

Case Brief No 1 Essay Citation: Harvestons Securities, Inc. v. Narnia Investments, Ltd., 218 S.W.3d 126 (2007) Plaintiff and Defendant: The plaintiff/appellant is Harvestons Securities, Inc. The defendant/appellee is Narnia Investments, Ltd. Facts: In year 2000, Narnia Investments, Ltd. sued Harvestons Securities, Inc. and several defendants in trial court of Texas. The trial court then granted a default judgment against Harvestons and in favor of Narnia that Harvestons has to pay $365,000, plus attorney’s fees, prejudgment interest, and postjudgment interest. Harvestons claimed that it had no actual knowledge of the pending litigation before November 15, 2004 and filed a timely restricted appeal. Harvestons contends that the service of process was defective due to the process was delivered to someone different than the one name in the citation, the person to which the process was delivered, JoAnn Kocerek, did not have a authority to accept the process on behalf of Harvestons or the Texas Securities Commissioner and the return of service does not show a valid manner of service. At last, the appellate court of Texas reverse the trial court’s default judgment and remand this case for further proceedings. Issues: (a) Did the return of service shows that process was delivered to someone other than the one named in the citation? (b) Did JoAnn Kocerek has the authority to accept process on behalf of Harvestons or the Texas Securities Commissioner? (c) Did the return of service show a valid manner of service? Holding: (a) Yes, the return of service shows that process was delivered to someone other than the one named in the citation. (b) No, JoAnn Kocerek did not has the autho rity to accept the process on behalf of the Harvestons Securities or the Texas securities Commissioner. (c) No, the return of service does not show a valid manner of service. Reasoning: (a) â€Å"The district clerk issued citation directed to Harvestons Securities Inc. by serving the Texas Securities Commissioner[,] 200 E 10th Street[,] 5th Floor Austin[,] Texas 78701. While â€Å"The return of service indicates that the citation was served on September 7, 2000, at 200 E. 10th, Austin, Tx. 78701 in Travis County . . . by delivering to Harvestons Securities, by serving the Texas Securities Commissioner, by delivering to JoAnn Kocerek defendant, in person, a true copy of this Citation together with the accompanying copy(ies) of the Petition attached thereto. â€Å"Though the letter states that the petition names Harvestons as a defendant, the letter does not state that the Commissioner received citation addressed to Harvestons. The documents attached to the certificates in question do not reflect a copy of any enclosure that may have accompanied the letter. Nor do these documents reflect that Harvestons received any letter from the Commissioner.† T herefore the names are not identified. (b) â€Å"The face of the record does not identify Jo Ann Kocerek or her status or affiliation, if any, with the Texas Securities Commissioner. Neither the return nor any other portion of the record designates Jo Ann Kocerek as an authorized representative of the Commission or indicates that she has the authority to receive service on behalf of Harvestons or the Commissioner. Indeed, it is simply not possible to determine [**21] from the record who Jo Ann Kocerek is or whether she is an agent authorized to accept service on behalf of either the Commissioner or Harvestons. Without an indication on the face of the record of her capacity or authority, if any, to receive service, the granting of the default judgment was improper.† So JoAnn Kocerek was not authorized to accept the process. (c) Here exist an invalid manner of services because of the reasons above and therefore, â€Å"Further, a return of citation does not cease to be prima fa cie evidence of the facts of service simply because the facts are recited in a form rather than filled in by the process server. It is the responsibility of the party requesting service, not the process server, to see that service is properly accomplished. This responsibility extends to seeing that the service is adequately reflected in the record. If proper service is not affirmatively shown in the record, then error exists on the face of the record and a default judgment cannot stand.†

Operations Management in Action: Kier Group Plc Analysis

Operations Management in Action: Kier Group Plc Analysis Operations Management in Action For this assignment we have been asked to research the Industry sector, choose a business within that sector, and then analyse and evaluate the business we have chosen from an operations manager point of view. First we must know what the Industry sector is. According to oxford dictionary the word industry means ‘Economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods’ (Oxford Dictionary. 2014).This means that the industry sector have businesses within it that deal with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods. This is also called the secondary sector or manufacturing sector. In 2009 the UK manufacturing sector generated  £140bn in revenue this is 11% of the UK total economy. This sector also employed 2.6 million people which equals out to be 8% of the UK workforce. The whole sector itself is spilt up into 14 different industries by the government which include textiles and chemicals (BIS. 2010). The business I have chosen is Kier Group plc. The reason that Kier Group plc fit within the Industry sector/secondary sector is because this is a construction firm that deals with turning raw materials in a finished products i.e. turning bricks into buildings. Kier Group plc offers their services to the public and private sectors, these services include ‘civil engineering, mining, mechanical electrical design and installation†¦ and 3D modeling’ (Kier Construction. 2014). An example of public sector customer would be the Northampton Borough Council in creating their new  £7 million North Gate Bus Station (Northampton Chronicle Echo. 2014). An example of a private sector customer would be Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd, as Kier Group plc did the King’s Cross Station roof refurbishment (Kier Group. 2013). Kier Group plc’s clients are often other business or large public bodies such as Councils due to their ability and proven track record with multi-million pound contracts that they are asked to do or win the contracts against other competitors such as Balfour Beatty PLC. Kier Group plc operate on a global scale however some parts within Kier Group plc work within the U.K. Any organisation can be shown as multiple of input/output diagrams in a hierarchy format. At the bottom of this hierarchy would be the customer’s needs being transformed into consumer satisfaction (Muhlemann, A. Oakland, J. Lockyer, K. 1993). As every business is made with the customer in mind even if the businesses overall goal could be to maximise profits they still need the customer. However other input/output diagrams in the hierarchy differ from business to business. As a car mechanic shop wouldn’t use the same ways to satisfy consumers as a bridal dress shop would. As Kier Group plc deals with construction it has a specific inputs and outputs. Five inputs of Kier Group plc would be skilled labour, high quality equipment, energy, building materials, and basic project designs. Three outputs of the company would be buildings, infrastructure, and recycled materials. Skilled labour is an input for Kier Group plc because to be able operate as a building business they would need skilled labour. This is because the jobs that the business could be doing may have a high risk of doing lots of damage not just money’s terms but in personnel terms as well. This would also be beneficial to the business as it could lead to being more productive due to the skilled labour however it would be costly hiring someone that’s highly skilled or even over skilled for the job rather than someone who could just about do the job. But in the company’s overview they want to offer clients ‘world-class solutions’ (Kier Group. 2014)which suggests that the highly skilled labour would be used. High quality equipment is would be a specific input for Kier Group plc due to the nature of the job that the business gets inquired about. These can be very complex jobs such as the Kings Cross Station roof refurbishment. Not only did they refurbish an iconic building roof, the station had to stay open with thousands of people walking underneath the building work. This shows the high quality equipment would be needed as an input. The reason that energy is needed as an input as the business would be using computers to design projects and also it would be needed to power equipment on site. It is a needed input in this business. Building materials are a vital input to the business as they are needed to get to the final product. Without these, the business would not be able to run as a construction business. Kier Group plc need to start from a basic project design to be able to make what the customer want like the business to make. That’s is why basic project designs is a needed input for the business. As Kier Group plc have architects that would design the final product from these basic project designs whether it would be a finish building or a new part for railways. A specific output for Kier Group plc would be buildings as this is the main product/good that the business produces. They way in which this would be produced from inputs would be via project process. Project production is a type of production that has low volume of products but high variety between each one. This means that each new project would be different from the last using different materials with different quantities. They also have to be made in a fix location which is one of the classifications of a project production. During the production of each building uses a mixed process technology it uses manual and mechanised. This means that during the production of each building there are parts which are done via hand with no machinery and there are parts where machinery is utilised but under the control of humans (Evens, J. 1993). Infrastructure in another output of Kier Group plc as it doesn’t only make buildings it also builds roads, railway parts and much more which is a vital part in the UK’s infrastructure. These would also be produced in a project production as each part of infrastructure they make would be different from another part. One other output the Kier Group plc produces are recycled materials. Kier Group plc has a recycling service which is used in many counties. Recycled materials go through many processes. It is made via continuous flow production as it has a high product volume, there’s some although not much product variety. During the processes the recycled material goes though there are a high number of automated and specialised equipment that does a large amount of the work. There is also labour that take out any rubbish that can’t be recycled or shouldn’t be in that particular recycling line this doesn’t require high skills. The reason that it is not a Mass production is that there isn’t any variety between each product at the end (Evens, J. 1993). The demand for the products and services the Kier Group plc produce usually depend on the economic state of the country but there are also other factors the affect the demand for the business. These factors include: globalisation, demand for more sustainable construction, demographic changes and increasing importance for technology use in construction. The demand for the products and services that Kier Group plc produce usually depend on the economic state of the country but there are also other factors the affect the demand for the business. These factors include: globalisation, demand for more sustainable construction, demographic changes and increasing importance for technology use in construction. The reason that the state of the economy affects the demand for Kier Group plc’s products and services is because buildings and infrastructure is capital which helps boost long term growth. These are the first things that are cut if the economy was to go into decline. When the recession hit in 2008 according to House of Commons there was a fall by 6.2% in gross value added for the construction industry, followed by a 7.9% fall in GVA, then an increase by 1.1% in 2011, and then followed by a 6.0% drop in GVA during the double dip recession (Rhodes, C. 2013). This data shows there is a correlation between the construction industry including Kier Group plc and the state of the economy. The demand for more sustainable construction also impacts the stability of the demand of Kier Group plc’s products and services because if the business doesn’t offer the right amount of sustainable construction or by offering ‘green’ alternatives they may lose customers and clients. As new legislation is soon to be coming into action due to the UK’s recent air pollution issues this would mean a possible overhaul of more carbon producing processes. However to overcome this Kier Group plc currently generates 10% of its revenue by using recycled material, low energy alternatives and more sustainable materials (Fry, C. 2014) Every business needs demand to be able to sell its good and/or services however you need to be able to have enough capacity to meet this demand. Capacity planning is vital in operations strategies. Capacity is best when it around 75-90% utilised. Having capacity between these levels means that you should still be able to cope with new clients without having to turn larger clients down and also you won’t be running with excess capacity. Excess capacity is a large cost on businesses and may lead to layoffs and department closures (Hill, T. 1991) There are 3 different strategies that a business can use to plan capacity to meet demand. These policies are: Matching Capacity with Demand, Excess Capacity, and Capacity Shortage Policy. Matching capacity with demand means that the business tries to keep as close to demand as they possibly can. This policy means that it sometimes has excess capacity in which it has the ability to get more clients or customers. However it also means there is a shortage of capacity. During these times a business would have to subcontract out work to get a short term increased capacity or they would lose sales this could come from poor quality of work from being rushed to compete work. A Capacity Shortage Policy is when there is a gap between the demand and the capacity where demand is always higher than capacity. As there is a high capacity utilisation this means there is a strong return on investment. This type of policy is usually best for goods or services that usually relate to status or are in fashion. This would mean that there is a high capacity utilisation which in turn leads to a strong return on investment. For example the iPhone 4 White. When it came out it was being sold quicker than it was being made. The way that Kier Group plc plan their capacity is by a strategy called Excess Capacity Policy (Fry, Colin. 2014). This policy means that the business has a goal of maintaining enough capacity to be able to meet with demand or to reduce the chance of not meeting demand. Although this policy can lead to higher costs than the other two polices it is the best policy for this business. This is because the business does not know if they are going to win a bid for a client so there needs to be spare capacity in case they do win the bid. As large construction businesses get invited to present their bid on large projects so the business always need to be prepared for these invites. Kier Group plc could better utilise operations management to counter some of the challenges that it has in the ever changing market place. It could utilise Lean Operations more this is because there is going to be more legislation regarding reducing waste and carbon footprint. It’s better to be proactive to changes in legislation than to be reactive as it shows the business has a strong CSR which customers and clients look for. Lean Operations is minimising the amount of waste there is in order to operate quicker, produce higher quality work and also to operate at low costs. The reason that lean operation is suited for Kier Group plc is because in the lean approach there is a focus on producing only when there is a need to produce, this does mean there is a lower capacity utilisation however this fits in well with the Excess Capacity Policy has the business already is implementing. Some of the techniques that could be used in lean operations for the business could be JIT supply and Total Involvement. JIT supply means just in time supply. This means that you wouldn’t receive materials until you need those materials (Hill, T. 1987). This would be useful in the business because it means there wouldn’t been material they don’t need wasting space in a construction site. For example the wouldn’t need a road tarmaer when the drainage is still 3 days away from being completed not only could it be wasting space it could be in the way of workers increasing the distance from the materials they’re using to the place where they need to use them. If 10 workers had to go an extra 20 seconds out of their way whilst this tarmacer was 3 days early and each worker had to do this trip 40 times a day that adds an extra 400 minutes on their travel overall on the 3 days the tarmacer was there. With JIT supply the tarmacer would arrive on the day it was needed saving the 400 minutes which could have been wasted. Total involvement is when everyone within the business is aware of the lean approach of the business. If everyone is doing it, it would become second nature to abide by the 5S’s of lean operations. These are sort, straighten, shine, standardise and sustain (Muhlemann, A. Oakland, J. Lockyer, K. 1993) Sort means to eliminate what is not needed and to keep whatever is needed in the production of goods. Straighten means to place tools and equipment is such a way that is it easily accessible as lots of time is spent looking for tools that have been misplaced. Shine is to keep things clean and tidy. This could lead to less injuries due to slipping over dirt or waste packaging. Standardise means to keep to a certain level of cleanliness and sustain is to keep to this standardisation throughout each product life cycle. These methods of lean operations keep Kier Group plc near the top of the construction market as they would be less wasteful, operate with lower costs and also could lead to a better workforce from total involvement as everyone would feel they are impacting the businesses performance. References – BIS. (2010). Manufacturing in the UK.An economic analysis of the sector. 1 (1), p11. Evens, James (1993).Applied Production and Operations Management. 4th ed. Eagan, Minnesota: West Publishing Company. p126-127. Fry, Colin., 2014. Interview. 25 March. 18:00 Hill, Terry (1987).Small Business Production/Opertations management. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan education ltd. 147-148. Hill, Terry (1991).Production/Operations Management. 2nd ed. Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall Internation (UK) Ltd. p47-49. Kier Construction. (2014).GROUP STRUCTURE.Available: http://www.kier.co.uk/about/group-structure.aspx. Last accessed 22/03/2014. Kier Group. (2013).KINGS CROSS STATION ROOF REFURBISHMENT.Available: http://www.kier.co.uk/case-study/view-all/kings-cross-roof/case-study.aspx. Last accessed 24/03/2014. Kier Group. (2014).COMPANY OVERVIEW.Available: http://www.kier.co.uk/about/company-overview.aspx. Last accessed 20/03/2014. Muhlemann, A. Oakland, J. Lockyer, K (1993).Production and Operations Management. 6th ed. London: Pitman Publishing. p3-395. Northampton Chronicle Echo. (2014).Your questions answered about the new North Gate bus station.Available: http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/business/business-news/your-questions-answered-about-the-new-north-gate-bus-station-1-5888441#. Last accessed 23/03/2014. Oxford Dictionary. (2014).industry.Available: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/industry?q=Industry. Last accessed 25/03/2014. Rhodes, Chris. (2013). Construction Industry.Economic Policy and Statistics. 1 (1), p1-3. By Chris FryBUS2010-STD

Functional areas of a business

Functional areas of a business Outcome 1 Avril Montgomery 1) Open System An open systems approach is a business approach that emphasizes commercially supported practices, products, specifications and standards. Motorola is an open system. Using this approach assists their long term success. They are able to produce an appropriate output as they know the importance of gaining input from their surroundings. As a global leader in a wide range of technologies, the most important aim of Motorola is to maintain their position. Motorola is knowledgeable to the fact that technology develops rapidly and in order to access these technologies customers will require the latest modern products. They aim to distinguish themselves from their competitors by creating cutting edge designs that meet the expectations of the customers. The launch of the worldwide marketing campaign Mobile Me which includes innovative design and wireless features has set them apart from their competitors. Their range of Bluetooth wireless devices enhances the mobile experience for customers. M otorola is aware of the effect mobile phones and other electronic products have on the environment. They apply technical skills to decrease negative effects to the environment at each stage of the product life cycle. One of their goals with regard to the environment is to produce products which contain minimal amounts of poisonous chemicals or to cut them out completely. 2) Structure During the 1980s, due to other mobile phone companies such as Nokia, Samsung and Sony creating strong competition, Motorola struggled to keep up. In order to reverse the slump in sales, top managers at Motorola decided to improve the quality. This change was needed due to global competitors and changing technology. The plan was to aim for zero defects in the production. Motorola implemented a system called Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a business management strategy which attempts to identify and eliminate the causes of defects and mistakes in the manufacture and business process. The program was stretched out from operations to the other functional areas sales and marketing, personnel and human resources. Reorganising into four business areas during 2005, allowed Motorola to improve their response to the needs of the customers and environmental changes that have taken place. As 58% of the companys total sales were made up from mobile devices, Motorola views this as a significant contributor to their organisation. 3) Organisational concepts Motorolas structure is based on their products, these are: Connected home solutions Connected home solutions Government and enterprise mobility solutions Networks Motorolas functional areas are: Research and development Sales and marketing Personnel and human resources Functional areas were set up by Motorola to support the product areas. Marketing is a very important area as the views of customers can be obtained to determine what they want. It is essential for the marketing and the research and development areas to work together to meet the needs of the customers. Technology is always advancing which means that the research and development area must stay ahead to include these advances in their design. To adjust to environmental changes, it is necessary for all functional areas to work together. 4) Advantages of Motorolas structure Continual development of knowledge in dealing with Motorolas complex products The structure allows Motorola to react quickly to environmental changes. This allows the company to respond to technological change. This form of structure allows Motorola to be extremely client orientated Disadvantages of Motorolas structure As the emphasis is the product, Motorola may have a problem of coordination They may be an apparent redundancy of effort and not much cooperation between product areas Managers may focus on their line of work to the disadvantage of the company as a whole. 5) Internal stakeholder Motorolas business unit is managed by Ronald Garriques. He is responsible for the mobile devices business unit and has the authority to guide the business unit for defining the strategy for mobile devices. He must guide the mobile device business to succeed otherwise he will be responsible for any failure and have to accept that responsibility. He has authority in the organisations formal structure. In terms of the informal structure of the organisation however, his authority is limited as this is normally governed by a group of individuals. His power could be undermined by the group of individuals, which could perhaps be detrimental to the business. External stakeholder Greenpeace is a worldwide campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment. As an external stakeholder in Motorola they could have a big effect on the formal structure of Motorola. Although Greenpeace have no power in the formal organisation, they have influenced Motorolas behaviour in terms of the environment as Motorola have a policy and commitment regarding this issue. They can exert some degree of authority, by persuading Motorola to train their staff on environmental issues and getting them to have an environmental policy. Through education programmes, they have the power to influence groups of individuals, making them aware of the harmful effects that the substances in mobile devices has on the environment.

San Gabriel River and its drainage problems :: essays research papers fc

In 1938, the San Gabriel Mountains (Los Angeles, USA) experienced heavy amounts of rain. This then led to mass movement, such as mudslides, and flash flooding, which flushed through downtown LA, damaging buildings, homes and vehicles. After these events, a flood committee was formed, and networks of hard defences were set up along the long profile of the San Gabriel River. The aim: decrease the hydrograph, and reduce the risk of flooding. In the upper course of the San Gabriel River, the San Gabriel Dam was built. This is a filtering dam, and uses sluice gates to prevent large boulders from progressing down river. By doing this, the amount of sediment in the river decreases, which reduces the possibility of flooding from high sediment yield, and in the case of a flood, there will be no harmfully large sediment. Problems, however, are that the velocity of the river increased as there is less load to carry, which makes the erosion process scarce, as attrition and corrasion cannot take place. Also the riverbed and slip-off slopes of the river are very weak and can erode easily from hydraulic action. Then there are open dam systems, like Santa Fe and Maddock, where the river is stored and filtered of its sediment. This shares the same benefits of the sluice gates, however, it means no natural levees can form on the riverbanks. Further downstream, there are large control dams and artificial diversion-zone river basins, like the Wittier Narrows. When the river begins to flood, the control dams close, and form a barrier. This completely prevents the river from flowing downstream. The water is then detoured into the artificial basins, like the Wittier Narrows where it is stored until the river returns to its normal level. Then the control dams gradually re-release the stored water into the stream flow. This is effective as it prevents the flooding entering the downtown area. It also allows for things like hydroelectric power and water supply to be easily obtainable, without affecting the main river flow itself for too long. This problem is that this can lead to the starvation of habitats living alongside the river, as there is no water flow.

American Religion in Long Days Journey into Night Essay -- Long Days

American Religion in Long Days Journey into Night      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The modernist sentiments throughout Long Days Journey into Night, by Eugene O'Neill, are apparent in many different ways.   Among the methods he used was the portrayal of America's withdrawal from traditional religion and modes of behavior.   He used his immigrant Irish family, the Tyrones, as a pedestal for this idea by highlighting their departure from traditional Irish beliefs and their struggle to form new, uniquely American, ones.   O'Neill did this by repeatedly evoking a drastic difference between his character's conduct and their Irish Catholic counterparts.   He replaced the main tenets of the Catholic faith, communion and confession, with entirely new ones. While the Tyrone family was busy forging new American spirituality, the author was bringing about the birth of truly American drama.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Tyrone family made the choice to renounce their old ties and form new ones, with differing amounts of success.   This meant a severing from the Catholic faith community, leaving a social void that they tried to fill with drugs and money.   James Tyrone, the father, sold himself out early on when he opted to act for money rather that for the sake of art.   His sons Jamie and Edmond also turned away from the Church by shrouding their lives in alcohol and whores.   Lastly, their mother Mary Tyrone had effectively excommunicated herself by marrying a disreputable actor and turning to morphine to solve her problems.   I am not sure if in the end their gods matched up to their ... ...w chosen religion, no longer an Irishman but an American.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The day was a journey from of external versus internal spirituality but also of internal versus external influence on American theater.   By using themes of immigration and social integration, O'Neill broke away from European theater influence and created an entirely new class of theater: American.   And while he borrowed ideas from the Greek and Shakespearean theater, he combined them with a new setting and audience to form an entirely new art form.   Just as the Tyrones could never fully leave behind Ireland, O'Neill could not entirely leave behind Europe.   Instead, the author and his characters took their existing belief/theater structure and adapted it to a new country, while making it their own.

Dim Lighting Co. Essay

1. Problems Company is not in a position to spend the capital necessary to fund the project. The potential resignation of Robert Spinks if the project is not funded. If the project were to be funded, the extended time for development and the 30% chance that it might not be a success. 2. Causes Organizational culture is not consistent throughout all the departments. Accounting and manufacturing departments focus on increasing profits while R&D and marketing departments are open to new innovation and growth. Management is reactive rather than proactive. The company has not produced a new product in the past to capture the market. The history of Robert Spinks leaving companies due to the lack of creativity. 3. System affected The structural system is affected by not being encouraging towards innovation. The psychosocial system is affected by other departments being intimidated by Robert Spinks. Jim West is under pressure to improve profits. The technical system is affected because the technology of the Micro-miniaturization of lighting sources could bring about major  innovation. 4. Alternatives Ignore the concerns of the accounting and manufacturing departments and go ahead with the micro-miniaturization of lighting sources project. Discard the micro-miniaturization of lighting sources project and invest on the improvements of the current equipment. 5. Recommendations Invest capital on the new micro-miniaturization of light sources project. Although there is a considerable amount of time until the benefits can be reaped, such an innovation will be helpful to defeat the competition and capture the market. If Robert Spinks leaves the company and takes this technology to a competitor, Din Lighting Co. will be seriously affected.

Auebach Enterprises Essay

These are not presented in scholarly discussion, but are simply the solutions. Student papers are expected to be written in scholarly discussion following APA formatting guidelines incorporating solutions and supported with scholarly research. CASE 3A – AUERBACH ENTERPRISES Auerbach Enterprises manufactures air conditioners for automobiles and trucks manufactured throughout North America. The company designs its products with flexibility to accommodate many makes and models of automobiles and trucks. The company’s two main products are MaxiFlow and Alaska. MaxiFlow uses a few complex fabricated parts, but these have been found easy to assemble and test. On the other hand, Alaska uses many standard parts but has a complex assembly and testing process. MaxiFlow requires direct materials costs which total $135 per unit, while Alaska’s direct materials requirements total $110 per unit. Direct labor costs per unit are $75 for MaxiFlow and $95 for Alaska. Auerbach Enterprises uses machine hours as the cost driver to assign overhead costs to the air conditioners. The company has used a company-wide predetermined overhead rate in past years, but the new controller, Bennie Leon, is considering the use of departmental overhead rates beginning with t he next year. The following planning information is available for the next year for each the four manufacturing departments within the company: Overhead Machine Costs Hours Radiator parts fabrication†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. $ 80,000 10,000 Radiator assembly, weld, and test†¦. 100,000 20,000 Compressor parts fabrication†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 120,000 5,000 Compressor assembly and test†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 180,000 45,000 Total $480,000 80,000 Normally, the air conditioners are produced in batch sizes of 20 at a time. A production batch of 20 units requires the following number of hours in each department: MaxiFlow Alaska Radiator parts fabrication†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 28 16 Radiator assembly, weld, and test†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 30 74 Compressor parts fabrication†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 32 8 Compressor assembly and test†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 26 66 Total 116 164 Required: 1. Compute the departmental overhead rates using machine hours as the cost driver. 2. Compute a company-wide overhead rate using machine hours as the cost driver. 3. Compute the overhead costs per batch of MaxiFlow and Alaska assuming: (a) The company-wide rate. (b) The departmental rates. 4. Compute the total costs per unit of MaxiFlow and Alaska assuming: (a) The company-wide rate.  (b) The departmental rates. 5. Is one product affected more than the other by use of departmental rates rather than a company-wide rate? Why or why not?

The Theme of Leadership in the ‘Lord of the Flies’

Throughout the novel, ‘Lord of the Flies’, William Golding is able to link the many aspects of our own world through the various characters he creates. One of these aspects is leadership, which plays a vital role in the novel’s microcosmic society, as it does in our own society. Golding uses leadership to convey his ideologies about human nature. Golding believes that all humans are fundamentally flawed, that all humans are evil and are capable of inflicting evil upon others. Only the law and order of our society hold back the flaws that all humans inherently possess.Golding uses the mixed feelings that he has about leadership to reveal his philosophy about human nature and other flawed aspects of our society. The Second World War, which Golding was a part of, brought about his pessimism of human nature. He was horrified at what himself and others did during the war. He gradually learned to see all human nature as savage and unforgiving, the darkness of mans heart ; it is in all of us. The qualities of a good leader are universally accepted. The leader has to have control over his followers. He has to demand respect.The leader also has to be able to persuade his followers to follow him without taking away from his beliefs and views. A good leader also has to be able to be strong, mentally more than physically. He needs to be able to stand his ground and strongly believe in what he feels is right. A good leader also has to believe in himself. If a leader does not believe in himself, then who will? A leader has to be assertive and does not need to back down from anything. The two main characters in this novel express some of these characteristics, one character more than the other.There are always people, when in a group, who show and possess superior leadership attributes than others. The strongest, mentally and physically, tend to have the greatest influence over others. Sometimes the strongest person is not necessarily the best choice. Autho rs, including Golding, often show how humans select the strongest person, to give us an understanding of the influence people can possess over others. Golding has two stand out characters in the beginning of the novel who each show their own, but very different leadership skills.However Golding believes that there is no such thing as a perfect leader, and that every type of leadership is flawed in some way. Golding intends to use these two characters to highlight the two types of leadership that he tries to present in the novel. The first character introduced to us is Ralph, who in my opinion is presented as the better leader. His capacity for leadership is evident from the beginning, â€Å"Shut up,† said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. â€Å"Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things. He then proceeds to be voted as the group leader, over Jack, mainly due to the fact that he was the one that initially blew the conch, â€Å"They obeyed the summons of the con ch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority†¦. †It is obvious from the offset that Golding has made Ralph the symbol of democracy in the novel. Golding shows his feeling about democracy as describing democratic voting as a ‘toy’. The other little’uns follow Ralph as he is the only link they have left to the civilised world.At the beginning and throughout the novel, Ralph is the primary representative of order, society and leadership among the group. Ralph starts off well at attempting to make a new society; he firmly believes that the most important thing in this situation is being rescued. He creates a fire beacon, for cooking, heat and rescue. The signal fire can be viewed as a sign of hope – the hope the boys have to return to society. When the flames dance brightly, it shows the enthusiasm they hold for the idea of being rescued. However, as the fire grows dim, it reflects the attitu de of the boys and their loss of morale.The signal fire can also be viewed as the boys' link to the civilized world. As long as the fire continues burning, it suggests not only that the boys want to return to society, but also that they are still using their common sense. He understands the essentials that a society must have to keep afloat and he knows what must be done in order for the survival of the boys. He works vigilantly to keep the group's focus on the hope of rescue. It is at the second assembly that we see Ralph firmly asserting his authority, â€Å"except by me†. It is also the first time that Jack struggles with Ralph’s authority.As the tension between Ralph and Jack continues to increases, we see more obvious signs of a potential struggle for power. Although Jack has been deeply envious of Ralph’s power from the moment Ralph was elected, the two do not come into open conflict until the fourth chapter, when Jack’s irresponsibility leads to th e failure of the signal fire. When the fire—a symbol of the boys’ connection to civilization—goes out, the boys’ first chance of being rescued is thwarted. Ralph flies into a rage, indicating that he is still governed by desire to achieve the good of the whole group.But Jack, having just killed a pig, is too excited by his success to care very much about the missed chance to escape the island. Indeed, Jack’s bloodlust and thirst for power have overwhelmed his interest in civilization. Whereas he previously justified his commitment to hunting by claiming that it was for the good of the group, now he no longer feels the need to justify his behaviour at all. Instead, he indicates his new orientation toward savagery by painting his face like a barbarian, leading wild chants among the hunters, and apologizing for his failure to maintain the signal fire only when Ralph seems ready to fight him over it.However, Ralph still has his shortcomings as a leader and isn’t always perfect as Golding is trying to show. One of his first mistakes was giving more control to Jack by making him leader of his hunters. This allows Jack and the choir boys to make their own rules and encourage the choir boys to stray away from Ralph’s lead. When the beast is first introduced, Ralph doesn’t do a very good job of convincing the younger boys that there isn’t a beast on the island. He just say’s â€Å"but there isn’t a beast. † Whereas Jack assures the younger boys that if there is a beast, he’d find it and kill it.The weight of leadership becomes oppressive for Ralph as the story continues; he is dutiful and dedicated, but his attempts to instil order and calm among the boys are decreasingly successful. Golding develops Ralph's particular concerns and insecurities. By showing him worrying over his perceived failures, Golding highlights Ralph’s responsible, adult nature. Ralph's concern about his appearance, and particularly his grown-out hair, indicate his natural inclination toward the normality of civilization.Although Ralph demonstrates a more than sufficient intelligence, he also worries that he lacks Piggy's genius, â€Å"if only I could step inside that fat head of his†. Ralph eventually understands the importance of thought and how it can help him as a leader, â€Å"thought was a valuable thing, that got results†¦ †. The second type of leadership that Golding conveys through a character is the Dictator, Jack. Ralph treats all the boys with dignity and tries to work with them for the betterment of the society. On the opposite side of the scale, Jack does not treat any of the boys with the dignity that Ralph does.In chapter three Golding writes, in comparing Jack’s and Ralph, â€Å"They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate. † This shows how Golding is trying to tell us how Ralph and Jack†™s motives are completely different; one is focused on hunting and the other on the society. Jack immediately shows qualities of a good leader, but are different qualities than Ralph shows. Jack has a very commanding presence from the beginning; he arrives on the island having some success in exerting control over others by dominating the choir with his militaristic attitude.At the first assembly he believes that he should be chief, â€Å"I ought to be chief†, but is humiliated when he loses the vote to Ralph. Jack is chauvinistic, stating that, â€Å"I agree with Ralph. We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things. † Golding believes that Nationalism and chauvinism are the causes of wars on our society and is putting this across in the microcosm. This is a hint that there would be eventually conflict on the island.Golding also uses the theory of Darwini sm to relate to Jack, as Jack puts down the weaker in society, Piggy and Simon, like most dictators do. Jack represents evil and violence, the dark side of human nature. He is the character that regresses the most throughout the novel. It starts with him hunting in the Jungle, when Golding uses animal imagery to show his regression, ‘ape-like’ and ‘half naked†¦walking on all fours’. Jack attempts to dominate the group, rather than working with Ralph to benefit it.The conch does not mean anything to Jack, for him, the conch represents the rules and boundaries that have kept him from dominating others. Their entire lives in the other world, the boys had been moderated by rules set by society. The dictator in Jack becomes dominant in his personality during the panic over the beast sighting on the mountain. In trying to put Ralph down, he uses his rhetorical skills to twist Ralph's words. In defence, he offers to the group an excuse that â€Å"He'd never have got us meat,† asserting that hunting skills make for an effective leader.Jack assigns a high value only to those who he finds useful or agreeable to his views and looks to silence those who do not please him. Denouncing the rules of order, Jack declares, â€Å"We don't need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things. † As Jack strives to establish his leadership, he takes on the title of â€Å"chief† and reinforces the illusion of station and power by using the other boys ceremoniously as standard bearers who raise their spears together and announce â€Å"The Chief has spoken. Jack works closely with Roger, as Ralph does with Piggy and Simon, to help him form his new dictatorship at Castle Rock. Though Roger does not possess any sort of leadership skills, he does have a forced authority over others. This role is no game for him, though; by the night of Simon's death, Jack has clearly gone power-mad, sitting at the pig roast on a large log â€Å"pa inted and garlanded . . . like an idol† while â€Å"power . . . chattered in his ear like an ape. † His tribe addresses him as â€Å"Chief,† indicating a form of more primitive tribal leadership.Jack’s leadership in the macrocosm would not work, it would just lead to war. Whereas on the island Jack promises food and fun, so everybody follows him. Jack’s savage, primitive society murders the two outcasts, Piggy and Simon. The next on their list is Ralph, who is finding himself running away from a line of Jack’s group across the island. In the midst of the chaos, the forest is set on fire. As Ralph is running away, he unselfishly thinks, ‘The fools! The fire must be almost at the fruit trees- what would they eat tomorrow.Even though Jack’s tribe is hunting him down, all he cares about are the others. At the end of the novel, a naval officer comes onto the island. When he asks who is in charge, Jack steps forward and then steps back . He finally realizes that what he was doing was wrong and cowers away from the naval officer, thinking that Ralph would take all of the blame. Ralph loudly proclaims the he is the leader. They had all finally come to realize what they had done. They soon discovered that if they had followed Ralph, none of this would have happened. hen the naval officer appears on the island, all the boys who were moments ago behaving savagely, come to a halt and suddenly return to their senses. This suggests that the appearance of the naval officer symbolizes the return of both adult supervision and civilization. Ralph was the best leader in the novel, he puts the society over himself at all times. Jack has the better leadership skills, but chooses to use them for the wrong reasons. The fact that he came to be the leader was because of humanity's sinful tendency towards savagery.

Nine Dragons Paper Essay

How does Mrs Cheung think? What does she believe in when it comes to building her business? It is interesting to read how NPD gained its’ success through the waste or trash of the United States and Europe. I think this is right in line with how Mrs Cheung thinks; she wants to be ahead of all her competitors and gain every competitive advantage possible. By utilizing the paper waste of higher quality products in the US and Europe, she was able to bring this quality back to China where it was non-existent. As you can see in the reading as well, Mrs Cheung believes in rapid expansion to maximize revenue opportunity and that long term profits will come from taking on a lot of debt. But even as she said when speaking about the economic crisis: â€Å"Now the waves are so big, even some rocks are being washed away.† The economic crisis of 2008 did not only affect the small companies, but also the large and profitable ones like Nine Paper Dragons. How would you summarize the company’s financial status? How does it reflect the business development goals and strategies employed by Mrs Cheung? I would summarize the company’s financial status as struggling at the point this article was written. The company’s unsecured notes were rated as BBB- in April, 2008 and downgraded even lower to BB+ in October of 2008. On top of that, even though the company had a successful IPO in March of 2006, the debt accumulated after this IPO really hurt the company when the financial crisis hit in 2008. This demonstrates Mrs Cheung’s vision to take chances and be the market trend setter for her industry. It appeared though that she spread herself too thin through expansion and also through the large amount of debt she accumulated. Is NDP in trouble? How would you answer differ if you were an existing shareholder, potential investor, or analyst? Yes NDP is in trouble, In September 2007 NDP was at the peak of record share price HK$26.But in 2008 the share price of NDP started falling down and the company also announced they would delay of Rmb1.5 billion for the next 2009 fiscal year and they predicted the paperboard market would rebound but nothing great happen according to the market and they also said they would prepay $100 million of an existing $350 million. But according to the rating agencies the company market health is weak and being an existing shareholder, investor, or an analyst I would go with the rating agencies because they are expert in the share market and on the other hand the company itself issued profit warning, sales, profit forecast downward. And since company has an $350 million loan out which company said they would prepay $100 million to the bank and still on the balance amount the interest would keep on increasing and it means the debt of the company is increasing and even many bank’s have stopped answering there calls. As said by morgan Stanley the company earnings growth is based on expansion plans if they don’t expand it will effect the company target and growth.

Has society outgrown religion? Essay

Has society outgrown religion? // A hindrance to society or a useful delusion? Over eighty percent of the planet’s population partake in some form of religion, which would lead you to believe that it really does have a huge benefit to us not only as individuals but as an entire species. But could this be misleading? Once you remove the people from this eighty percent that follow religion only as a family tradition, or because it’s the simplest explanation to the questions for which they don’t have answers and leave the people that truly and honestly believe that religion is still in-date useful to society, one could argue that the number probably isn’t so overwhelming. Why is it that religion seems to have lost its veracity? It could be argued that religion just isn’t what it used to be; it no longer provides believable explanations for the phenomena that we as humans long to understand, such as the origin of the earth or even the origin of life itself. Nor can it provide feasible answers to questions such as â€Å"what is the meaning to life?† or â€Å"what is truly good?† So why is it that we no longer believe the answers and explanations provided by religion to be true (or even feasible)? Most of all, it’s the scientific processes allowed by vast technological advancement. Since the theories of Darwin, Galileo, Einstein, etc, which provide proof along with their explanations, the power of these old-age tales has been massively decreased whilst the urge to search for more and more scientific truths has rocketed. Although the advancement and application of science does not entirely rule out the possibility of a God (or intelligent designer), it does wash away the initial value of religion. Barely anyone believes in the tale of the earth being created in seven days, or that a man called Noah took two of every animal and put them on an arc whilst God caused forty days of floods or even that mankind begun with two people named Adam and Eve, so surely it would take a true idiot to believe in a heaven or hell and thus follow the moral values by which we should abide in order to avoid the misfortunate fate of ending up in â€Å"hell†. Could the idea of heaven and hell be something which is as beneficial to us as the advancement of science? The German philosopher Jurgen Habermas claims that religious thinking is the centre of a just and humane society; he states that things such as human rights and social order derive from Judeo-Christian thinking. â€Å"Even if society wanted to ‘outgrow’ religion, it would struggle to know where to go next.† This view is not dissimilar to that of Friedrich Nietzsche, who theorised that religion created ideas such as â€Å"sin† and thus guilt – which logically leads on to the fact that without the fears and rewards presented by religious teachings, humans would have very little reason to behave â€Å"morally† at all. So is it really the desire to hold society in this state of ‘morality’ and ‘social order’ that prevents the age-old tales religion from vanishing, or could it be something far closer to home? One could argue that religion is merely a means by which people find meaning and direction within their own lives. Organised religion provides us with a set of rules to live by and presents us with â€Å"rewards† for following them; we are given a sense of duty to fulfil our roles as humans by going good not only by others but by ourselves. Religion provides us with a sense of community, it lets us believe that there is a great man in the sky that is always there to listen; it creates a more realistic ‘ear’ in the form of church groups and other religion-based communities. Essentially it gives us the sense that we can do right, and that we can act in order to achieve the ‘ultimate individual goal’ – reaching heaven. Is reaching heaven really the ‘ultimate individual goal’ though? It seems entirely futile to waste potentially your only life aiming for something which may not even exist, and it makes no sense that we as people would be rewarded by God for spending our entire lives taking blind faith in something that we could only eschatologically verify. Looking at things from this point of view it seems that religion is not nourishing or useful to us as human beings, but in fact a complete hindrance. The vast amount of religions and the degrees by which they vary also creates a huge hindrance to us as a species; religion and the conflict between each separate one causes more bloodshed than anything else in the world. When people feel the need to violently attack each other in order to prove one God’s worth over another, and this is allowed (or even encouraged) by the rules within that religion it would seem that something is terribly wrong. It is also in this case that the promise of a heaven or hell for following the rules of religion is something which doesn’t benefit society, but instead leads individuals to believe that it is okay to commit homicide or suicide to fight for their cause, as God will still ‘love’ them. Essentially, religion is both a hindrance to us and a useful delusion. If only we could learn to take the â€Å"good bits† from religion such as the strong moral values, social order and general good will and learn to let go of some of the values that we really are beginning to outgrow – such as the things that science is now taking over – then religion would be of benefit to us all. Such an approach to religion could even take away the strength behind it that not only causes conflict and bloodshed, but causes us to potentially waste our lives by aiming for an afterlife that we cannot even guarantee exists. Either way, it seems that religion (and the values held within it) is going to be here for a long while yet.

No topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

No topic - Assignment Example The overwhelming mortgages did not directly impact the Federal Reserve but through independent investment companies, which really demonstrates how the American economy is almost entirely feeding from the financial industry. I think there is more of a fiscal policy involvement in this case: the Federal Government had the intentions to bail out the projected failing companies such as the Bear Stearns. For instance, the former Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, devised a merger between the Bear Stearns and the JP Morgan, which would allow the Federal Government to shell out $30 billion in order to cover up the dubious assets associated with toxic mortgages. This implies for a relative more expansionary policy strategy by the government. I think one of the most important lessons that I learned from watching the video is how the finance industry has dominantly gained control over our government. Aside from the hints that the economic crash was â€Å"contrived†, the video reveals some of the most undesirable realities of the United States: the country’s goals toward recovery will fall short except if we get rid of the financial oligarchy that is hindering the fundamental