Conflict Management Essays

Conflict Management Essays Conflict Management Essay Conflict Management Essay Course: project economics and evaluation Course code: C11PV Coursework title: Project Appraisal Student Number: H00152083 Lecturer: Dr. Esinath Ndiweni 1. Introduction The work is centred on the importance of project appraisal therefore emphasising on the financial and non-financial techniques of appraisal. The object and, therefore, the importance of a project appraisal is making an analysis to see whether the project is viable. It is vital to know whether a project is technically feasible and whether it is going to be an economic liability or not. A project appraisal is an important part of any project and should be taken seriously because a lot rests on it. The effects of a project appraisal are long reaching and have very definite long term effects because of the capital investment that is always required in any project. Once a decision has been made to go ahead with a project, it is irreversible. Even if, through some catastrophic event, the project has to come to an unpredicted halt, the investment has been made so all could be lost. These high expenditures can be critical, not just for that particular project but for the health and survival of the entire business. As such, this paper combines the importance of both methods in order to help in assessment of project performance. 2. Literature review Recent literature has been emphasising on the need to consider the use of both financial and non-financial methods when dealing with project decisions. It is fundamental for a project to consider these techniques in order to measure a success of a project. This part of the paper is focused on critically analysing and evaluating these techniques and justifying why both are important. Some of these methods are very simple (e. g. payback period) while others are particularly sophisticated and complex (e. . Net Present Value, Real Options Reasoning). Simpler methods do not take into account the time value of the money and do not include the risk dimension. All these methods are well documented and explained in the literature. However, there is little empirical evidence on the factors that explain the use of the different techniques by firms. Thus, this p aper is focused on the use of capital investment appraisal methods (CIAM) in practice. Particularly, it analyses whether there are specific contingencies that explain why firms use and do not use specific capital investment appraisal methods. . Financial method of appraisal The decision making in projects are not difficult when we only use financial knowledge. Financial techniques use NPV, IRR, Payback Period techniques in appraising a project as well as making investment decisions. Through this technique, a firm can also analyse a project’s tendency to risk by using sensitivity analysis and risk analysis. Project managers often concentrate on establishing the financial visibility of their projects through reasonable economics. Traditionally, the Net Present Value, the Internal Rate of Return and Payback Period techniques have formed a major component of the financial techniques of investment. They are often based on the time value of money methods to forecast the expected monetary returns of a given project. The reliability of these techniques however depends on the accuracy of the given cash flows and the time frame as planned by the organisation. A major drawback to the financial method of appraisal is the fact that it cannot be practically assumed with a high degree of certainty. The value of all the factors is affected by numerous risks and unforeseen events which are often difficult to tell. Based on an article by S. Mohammed under project certainty (2001) he argued that the financial factors like the net present value, internal rate of return and payback period do not allow for non-financial aspects to be considered in assessing investment option. Non-financial methods such as political, legal and social factors are believed to be essential but rather, firms count them outside the normal appraisal process. These non-financial factors require careful knowledge in order to be managed. In major cases, the neglect of these aspects may result in failure of the project despite having favourable financial components. a. Types of financial techniques of appraisal There different types of techniques in the financial aspects of appraisal. The first to be considered is the Net present Value (NPV). This method enables the firm to determine how much value a project can add. It determines the acceptability of the project. Before taking any step to in a project, the NPV must be considered. If the NPV is positive, then the project can be accepted, whereas if it is negative, the project should be rejected. It determines the stance of the firm in the project and enables organisations to know the end product of the project in terms of cash. The limitation however is the fact that NPV does not accurately forecast future costs and benefits. Another technique is discounted cash flow method which provides approach for evaluating proposed investment project because they recognise the importance of the concepts of time value of money and the cost of capital, and stress the need for forecasting. It can be applied for valuing business as a whole and also for valuing individual business components of a company or firm. Also it can be used by both equity shareholders because on the basis of DCF valuation they can compare two companies and take decision whether to invest or not, and also debt holders can use DCF method to take decision regarding the company. The problem with DCF is that since it is a valuation tool it is dependent heavily on the inputs used for valuation purpose, so if inputs are changed slightly there can be large change in the value of a company. Payback period is another important technique which refers to the period of time a project can cover for the investment made by the company. For example if the initial project cost is ? 50000 and the annual cash flow is ? 10000, it implies that the payback period would be 5 years. It is also beneficial for those companies who are recently established and want to know the time frame in which they would recover their original investment, therefore those companies which do not want to take risk and want quick return on their investments can select those projects which have low payback period and ignore those projects which require long gestation projects. A major disadvantage of payback period is that it does not show a true picture when it comes to evaluating cash flows of a project. b. Advantages and disadvantages of different financial methods of appraisal The payback period is based on the idea of how much time is needed for the project to generate cash flows sufficient to recover the initial amount invested. It can be also used as a criterion for acceptance or rejection of projects in the case that the payback period is above or below a certain number of years previously defined. The main advantages of this method are: ease of understanding; simplicity of implementation; provides an idea of the degree of liquidity and risk of the project; and in times of huge instability, the use of this method is a way to increase the security of investments. Despite these advantages, the payback method has two important drawbacks. First, it ignores the cash flows occurring after the payback time, which can lead to the rejection of profitable projects that require a longer recovery period. Second, the payback period, in its original version, does not consider the time value of money in calculating the cash flows. This is inconsistent with the basic principles of financial mathematics. One way of overcoming this problem is to calculate the payback period by discounting (at the appropriate discounting rate) the expected future cash flows, as proposed by Longmore (1989). The accounting average rate of return (ARR) is computed as the ratio between the project’s estimated average profit and the average accounting value of the investment (Brealey and Myers, 1998). This ratio is compared with the firm’s accounting rate of return or other benchmark external to the firm (e. . the industry average value). The main advantages of this method are its simplicity of understanding and usage, given that the figures used in calculations are those provided by accounting reports. However, this method presents some important weaknesses. First, it does not take into account the time value of money. Second, being based on accounting earnings and not on the project’s cash flows, it is conceptual ly incorrect. Finally, there is the need to set a target rate of return as a prerequisite to apply ARR as an appraisal method (Akalu, 2001). c. Benefits and importance of financial techniques of Appraisal The object and, therefore, the importance of a project appraisal is making an analysis to see whether the project is viable. It is vital to know whether a project is technically feasible and whether it is going to be an economic liability or not. A project appraisal is an important part of any project and should be taken seriously because a lot rests on it. The effects of a project appraisal are long reaching and have very definite long term effects because of the capital investment that is always required in any project. Financial techniques are essential methods in determining the acceptability of the project. Financial method of appraisal is often regarded as the aspect of project appraisal, however, in order for a project to be successful non-financial aspects must also be considered. A major significance of financial method of approval is that it partially justifies spending money on a project. This means that it enquires whether a project gives good value for the budget of the project. It also gives confidence through its several tools that money is being put to good use. Financial techniques are also important decision making tools in which they involve comprehensive analysis of a wide range of data and judgement. This is to enable projects managers to ensure that the selected project is sustainable and it also guarantees sensible ways of managing risk. Furthermore, financial method helps to confirm that projects will be managed properly, by ensuring the calculations are accurate, that there are contingency plans to handle risks and setting milestones against which progress can be judged. 4. NON-FINANCIAL METHODS OF APPRAISAL Project appraisal is not all about financial methods. There are non-financial aspects of appraisal that play an important role in helping firms make decisions on projects. As a matter of fact, non-financial factors are considered as the backbones of a project that will either make or break a project. A very important factor that requires consideration is meeting the requirements of current and future legislation. In most cases it is regarded more important than any method of appraisal because it is uncertain. Every country belongs to a system of government that it is accountable to, in an event where every calculations and evaluations have been completed to determine the acceptability of a certain project, and then along the line the government in power brought a rather abrupt end to the given project. The logic in this implies financial techniques of appraisal are very significant to a project, however, they must go hand-in-hand with the non-financial factors and it is paramount for any management to consider meeting the requirements of the legislation first. Other important factors of non-financial methods are matching the standards of the industry, improving staff morale and improving relationships with clients. In most cases, it is fundamental to balance non-financial and financial techniques. The firm may need to decide how important each factor is to the project. An appraisal choice in this way can take into consideration how well the project fits with the techniques. d. Analysis of non-financial factors of appraisal There are different factors to be considered in the appraisal of projects. In most cases some of these factors are neglected in the event of appraisal and it does not reduce the profitability of the project, and on the other hand it renders the project non-profitable. First of all, the political factors must be considered. This is an obvious factor which its omission could result into the end of the project in the sense that the project manager or the firm must meet the requirements of the legislation. For example some governments could ban the use of some web-based advertisements due to political reasons definitely, and the project could sometime require the use of the web-based sites to create awareness of the project to the general public. Due to the actions of the government, the project consequently faces a setback. The advantage of this factor however is that, it does not occur often and it has a low probability of failing a project if it does not occur. A good example of this factor is when 2011, the Egyptian president decided to ban the access of YouTube, a video site that is known worldwide for its ease of video coverage. If the company decides to advertise the project through this means and along the way the decision is taken, the company will definitely face a setback. Another factor to be considered is the environmental factor. Green activities have recently gained popularity to the extent that companies not investing in equipment that preserve the environment are seen as non-responsive by the general public who are the customers. It is also important for a project to be aware of the resources in the area where the project would be launched. For example, in Nigeria, projects that are based on construction are usually suitable for the soils of the northern part because they are arable and fine. If a company decides to launch a project in the southern part there is possibility of failing to get the perfect soil due to large number of oil fields. Also the process of land acquisition is complex. It requires the company to follow a long process in order to acquire a large piece of land. Furthermore for short term projects it would be of immense advantage if the country is blessed with favourable weather conditions and a vast number of skilled labours. Furthermore in addition to the analysis of non-financial methods of appraisal, it is paramount to bring the usefulness of risk into the picture. It enhances decision making on marginal projects. A project whose single-value NPV is small may still be accepted following risk analysis on the grounds that its overall chances for yielding a satisfactory return are greater than is the probability of making an unacceptable loss. Likewise, a marginally positive project could be rejected on the basis of being excessively risky, or one with a lower NPV may be preferred to another with a higher NPV because of a better risk/return profile. However an area for caution is Risk analysis amplifies the predictive ability of sound models of reality. The accuracy of its predictions therefore can only be as good as the predictive capacity of the model employed. Lastly the company or the firm must consider the availability of manpower. In order to ensure the success of a project there must be a high concentration of skilled workers to handle the activities of the project. The higher the number of skilled workers will create a better chance for the project to be launched and completed in a good way. There must be individuals who will handle the financial methods as well and to ensure the project will be favourable or not. e. Limitations of non-financial methods The appraisal of projects in most cases requires the incorporation of the effects of both financial and non-financial methods of appraisal and ensures that these methods are appropriately represented. The main drawback to the non-financial methods of appraisal is that they cannot be used alone to determine the acceptability of a project. Also due to its intangible nature it brings limitation when using probability analysis. This is due to the fact that non-financial factors on projects are often difficult to quantify. As a result of this, current models often ignore this method because of the lack of knowledge of the qualitative and strategic benefit costs. Non-financial have an intangible nature, are difficult to estimate, and cause a subjective analysis to project evaluators. Therefore, the investment decision should rely not only on the traditional evaluation criteria, but also on non-financial factors, through the use of tools and methods that incorporate and quantify non-financial aspects in project evaluation. f. Comparison between financial and non-financial techniques of project appraisal The prominent issue about the financial and non-financial methods of appraisal is the fact both concepts are essential to the success of a project. The neglecting of one aspect of either of the concepts may result in the failure of the project because they work hand-in-hand. In other comments it was understood that the non-financial factors are not instrumental in the appraisal of a project due to their qualitative nature. On other hand, financial methods like the payback period do not give a true picture of what exactly is required in the investment. However in my view the financial techniques are better in showing the benefits of a project. 5. Conclusion The paper is centred on the importance of the techniques of project appraisal. Due to the mutual nature of both the financial and non-financial methods of appraisal, I believe they are both crucial factors to be considered in the appraisal of a project. The two methods complement each other. These methods are not only crucial for project use only but also for students and researchers as well, and hopefully upcoming innovation from researchers could bring adjustments to the financial methods to be simpler. . REFERENCES Akalu, M. (2001). â€Å"Re-examining project appraisal and control: developing a focus on wealth creation. † International Journal of Project Management 19: 375-383. Hermes, N. , P. Smid and L. Yao (2006). â€Å"Capital Budgeting Practices: A Comparative Study of the Netherlands and China†, Working Paper, University of Groningen, p. 36. Hawkins, C. J. , and D. W. Pearce (1971), â€Å"Capital Investment Appraisal† (MacMillan Press). Jones, C. , Software Assessments, Benchmarks, and Best Practices, Information Technology Series, Addison Wesley, 2000 Verbeeten, F. (1993). Do organizations adopt sophisticated capital budgeting practices to deal with uncertainty in the investment decision? A research note. Management Accounting Research 17: 106-120. nibusinessinfo. co. uk/content/strategic-issues-investment-appraisal (accessed on March 24, 2013) accountantnextdoor. com/investment-appraisal-8-non-financial-factors-that-every-accountants-and-managers-should-consider/ (accessed on 22nd march, 2013) letslearnfinance. com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-payback-period. html (accessed on March 23rd, 2013)

How to Write a Good Resume

How to Write a Good Resume There is no need to wonder why learning how to write a good resume is important. This skill can determine whether a prospective employer finds you interesting enough to bring in for an interview. By knowing how to write a good resume, you’ll be putting yourself at the top of a large pile of applicants. There are a large number of people out there today looking for jobs. If you don’t put that extra effort into creating a truly memorable resume, someone else will and they’ll be the one invited for an interview instead of you. A resume is simply a one or two page document that sells you as a possible candidate for a job position. Think of writing an advertisement to sell something. You’d write all the points and details of your product in hopes to get someone interested enough to come and look at it. A resume is the same type of idea only you are selling yourself. Don’t make the mistake of simply documenting your experiences, job history and education on a boring piece of paper. If you truly want to get that elusive desired position then take the time to learn how to write a good resume. Resumes literally have only seconds to grab a prospective employer’s interest. Let’s face it, resumes aren’t the most exciting material to read and there could be hundreds that the employer has to wade through to determine which ones to call back for an interview. They’ll pick up a resume, scan it briefly and if nothing catches their eye, it goes into the reject pile. The person who knows how to write a good resume is the one who is going to catch the reader’s attention. This is where you have to make sure there is something visually appealing about yours to make them take those extra moments and actually read yours. It should be very clean and easy to read. Each section should be described, using strong power words, in as small of a space as possible. A few lines or less should be enough for each section. Make sure the whole document is balanced visually. If you truly want to know how to write a good resume, then make sure you have absolutely no gr ammatical or spelling errors. On such a sparse sheet any error will jump off the page and be noticed right away. Use the correct format and make sure all the pertinent information is included such as your personal contact information, listings of previous jobs and education history. Many people who don’t know how to write a good resume will just slap something together leaving out many of the primary important points that prospective employers are looking for. Someone who knows how to write a good resume will begin with researching the job position that is being applied for. Find out what qualifications are needed and what the employer is looking for by reading the job requirements carefully. Then write down everything that you have done and accomplished. Don’t limit yourself to work experiences only. You may find that some of the qualifications needed come from your personal life. Once you have done this, now arrange your thoughts in such a way that you are selling yourself to the prospective employer. Remember to stay with the simple clean look. Many people shy away from â€Å"boasting† but if you want to write a good resume, this is exactly what you have to get over. You need to get past the idea that you’re being a braggart and realize that this is what the employer is looking for. They need to know what you can do and what you are capable of. Try to think of yourself as a product, an entity separate from yourself. Write to sell yourself as a product. Use strong power words to grab the reader’s attention. Write in a confident, assured manner and let the employer know that you are the person for the job and that you’re capable of handling anything that may come your way.

The topic can be proposed by the writer Term Paper

The topic can be proposed by the writer - Term Paper Example However, in the contemporary market conditions, business affairs are highly complex in nature. There are many situations in the economy where few corporate firms in the industry possess extraordinary powers to manipulate the price and quantity supplied. These are situations when the resource apportion in the economy are not proficiently executed. The wastage of productive resources in the economy leads to social welfare dampening. Thus, for ensuring proper economic development in a nation, the economy must be guided by the Mixed Economic Principles. In such situations, the power and the antitrust practices of the private business organizations are controlled by the public authorities. This project would focus on the antitrust behavior of the famous multinational company of Microsoft in U.S. (Ross, â€Å"The Economic Theory of Agency: The Principal's Problem†). Monopoly Market In the theory of economics, a monopoly market structure is characterized with no competition in the ma rket. In this type of a market structure, there is only one seller in the market. On the other hand, the number of buyers in the industry is infinite. The single seller has the power to manipulate the market price of the product or service sold by him. The type of product or service sold by a monopoly seller in the market may be homogeneous or heterogeneous in nature. A monopoly seller is a profit maximizing agent in the industry. Figure 1: AR and MR Curve of a Monopoly Producer AR, MR Price or Average Revenue Curve (P or AR) Marginal Revenue Curve (MR) Quantity (Source: Authors Creation) The above diagram shows that the price or average revenue curve of a monopolist in the market is negatively sloped. The marginal revenue curve is also downward sloping for a monopolist. In the long run, a monopolist may enjoy normal (break-even) profit, supernormal profit or loss. A monopolist in the market discriminates among its consumers on the basis of the product prices charged to the customer s (Gravelle and Rees 145). Figure2: Price Discrimination (Source: Stole, â€Å"Price Discrimination and Imperfect Competition†) As shown in the above diagram, a monopolist may discriminate among its consumers on the basis of prices. In the above diagram, for the s=2 demand curve, the monopolist charges price p2 and it charges price p1 for the demand curve s=1. It may seem that a monopoly structure is a hypothetical market but by adopting special business strategies, a firm might become a natural monopolist in the industry. Figure 3: Natural Monopolist (Source: Tragakes 184) A single seller may grasp an entire share of market demand by taking the First Mover Advantage in business. By increasing the base of customers, the company may enjoy economies of scale in production. Scale economies in the long run would help the firm to minimize the average cost of production. In such a situation, it would be impossible for another firm to enter in the industry and sell products at such low average costs. Thus, a natural monopolist in the market enjoys scale in economies of production and prevents other firms from entering the industry. Figure 4: Welfare Loss in Monopoly (Source: Mankiw and Taylor 253) As stated in the above diagram, the efficient quantity of output is much more than the monopoly output threshold. On

Qualifications of Meaning in Advertising Images Case Study

Qualifications of Meaning in Advertising Images - Case Study Example An investigation of the interactive process instigated by cultural activity can also be seen as a "reflection on the intellectual position of certain cultures." (The English Association, 1999, p.182) Western design and visual communication is regarded as having originated from concepts of global power held by mass media and communication industries. (The English Association, 1999, p.182) By referring to Michael Halliday's concept of representing patterns of experience, visually speaking, it is suggested that what images portray is deeply related to the medium of visuality itself, and therefore a culture that is "dominated by visual signs" will communicate a different reality to one in which language is the predominate medium. (The English Association, 1999, p.182) There is a relationship between the visual and verbal texts and "the visual component of a text is an independently organized and structured message-connected to the verbal text, but in no way dependent on it and similar the other way around." (The English Association, 1999, p.182) Vivienne Westwood's image is an advertisement which focuses on selling a perfume called 'Boudoir'. (www.viviennewestwood.com) The image used in this advertisement portrays a female who is draped by purple covers and her body structure suggests her sleeping on a sunset sky. (www.viviennewestwood.com) The predominate colors are soft purple, yellow and blue. According to Michael D. Harris: "Images and symbols can convey meaning centrifugally by using concrete, physical information to evoke understandings within the viewer". (Harris, 2003, p.253) Through the images conveyed in Westwood's advertisement, it can be argued that the u se of covers and soft colors symbolize calm, sensually stimulating atmosphere, in which the reader is able to understand its connection with her perfume called 'Boudoir', or bedroom in English. Similarly, the advertisement provides the audience with a visual stimulus that is linked to sexuality, which is in turn an emotional stimulus. (Web/Online) As Westwood's image is analyzed, it is easy to understand that the sexuality concept is largely emphasized with the woman figure floating on air, naked and wrapped in bed sheets. The sexual feelings sent out to the audience through a semi-naked female stresses the "nature" style of the product. (Web/Online) The colors yellow, blue and purple contrast the relatively smaller bottle of perfume situated on the far right corner of the advertisement. The basic principle of advertising "requires that an advertisement should SURNAME, 3 first draw attention and interest then desire and action". (Web/Online) Thus, the visual language being employed by Westwood's advertisement is one of a sexual nature. The significance of the image or what its connotation implies is one of a private and sensual feeling that can be attained through the use of the perfume. Moreover, the language used in the advertisement, which is seen in bold white upper-case font, is the title of the perfume, 'Boudoir'. The title itself works through its own means as well as within the picture. For example, 'Boudoir' is part of the French language for

I Want to Become a Doctor Essay Example for Free

I Want to Become a Doctor Essay I want to become a doctor. Being one is not only my dream but also my parents. I dont wish to be the wealthiest and most highly graduated doctor the worlds ever seen but I want to be one who will serve her people and country in a true manner. Infact I dont want to be a doctor for only patients but for the needy too. Although I know it isnt everyones cup of tea to be faithful, humane and achieve great degrees at the same time but it is worth a try. I always want to feel the pride of being loyal to my patients and my duty. Well its not always the same story from the beginning infact it was totally different. When I was a little girl, I didnt actually wanted to be a doctor and never was worried about it. All I used to think was being a singer. Ofcourse that was a dream for me which I wished to come true. It included of me always singing silly songs and even recording and playing them back. But soon circumstances changed, I grew up and came to know my real destiny. Although I showed interest in studies from the beginning but singing was something which I used to do everytime, whether I be studying or playing. Many may call it as craziness but this was me as a kid. But as I mentioned earlier, I grew up to know where I belong and concentrated on it. For now, for real I have a different dream and that is I want to become a doctor.

Brave New World - A Wake-Up Call for Humanity Essay -- Brave New World

Brave New World - A Wake-Up Call for Humanity (this essay has problems with the format) Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England, human society has had to struggle to adapt to new technology. There is a shift from traditional society to a modern one. Within the last ten years we have seen tremendous advances in science and technology, and we are becoming more and more socially dependent on it. In the Brave New World, Huxley states that we are moving in the direction of Utopia much more rapidly than anyone had ever anticipated. Its goal is achieving happiness by giving up science, art, religion and other things we cherish in our world. It is an inhumane society controlled by technology where human beings are produced on assembly line. His prophetic elements of human beings being conditioned, the concerns for the environment, importance of genetic engineering and reproduction, and our physical and mental development has now been one of the major factors that the governments, businesses and educational institutions are exploiting today. We are subconscio usly moving to this bureaucracy of conformity, and Brave New World is a wake up call from our obsessions of standardization socially, economically and politically. The story took place in A.F (After Ford) 632, this is 632years after Ford has released the first T-ford. Huxley used ?After Ford?to show its great advancement in making automobiles as a company over the years. In 1932, Huxley introduced Brave New World to show his great concern of the Western civilization. He saw that in the 1900s there was a dramatic economic change in different countries, where the wholesalers are being eliminated, and manufacturers selling directly to the consumers. For example, at that time Ford makes cars and even sells them. They control who and where they sell. Technology and transportation was increasing tremendously, which caused more and bigger factories, mass-productions (eg. automobiles), and more manufactured goods. There were more volumes of trade and production due to more machinery. As markets are growing, activities, structures, as well as attitudes towards companies are changing. Robert Heibroner suggests that ?the rise of such giant enterprises has changed the face of capitalism as they attempt to alter the market setting through a system of public and private planning (p.43).? Like the vi... ...re before (in terms of wealth, happiness, etc)? Are we too reliant on technology and science? Where is our individuality? Where is the tradeoff? How can we change to stop ourselves from moving toward the so-called ?Utopia?society? It seems that we too, are living in an incubator, trapped and conditioned, and we must do something to stop this from happening. Bibliography Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperPerennial, 1946. http://www.primenet.com/~matthew/huxley/sub/Barron_BNW.html http://www.demigod.org/~zak/documents/high-school/brave-new-world/html http://www.ddc.net/ygg/etext/brave.htm Sexty,Robert. "Overview of the Business System" ,in Canadian Business and Society, Prentice-Hall, Scarborough, Ontario, 2005, pp5-22 Chandler, Alfred D.Jr. "The Roe of Business in the United States: A Historical Survey," in Business and Society, Barry Castro ed., Oxford University Press, pp.61-88 Steiner, G.A. and Steiner,J.F., "Critics of Business", in Business,Government and Society: A Managerial Perspective, 8th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2005.pp,69-90 Shaw, William H.., "The Nature of Capitalism",in Business Ethics, 3rd ed., Wadworth, 2006, pp.124-152

Comparing and Contrasting PCs and mainframes Essay

Before the existence of personal computer or PC, there is minicomputer or microcomputer, the term â€Å"computer† simply referred to mainframes. Mainframes and personal computers have changed drastically over the years but their core functions and systems have stayed the same. The mainframe is used to connect multiple users for large organizations, while personal computers are generally used for a single user. The more drastic changes for mainframes and personal computers have been the increase of speed, memory, and the reduction of size. Mainframes use to be the size of buildings, now they are the size of a normal Intel blade server system. Last time when you need to access the mainframe you need to use a terminal for data entry or retrieve certain data. Then, the idea came to off load some of the processing from the mainframe and place it on a personal computer. Compare A mainframe is not much difference from a personal computer. There are many similarities between mainframes and personal computers which stands to reason since one evolved from the other. Both mainframes and personal computers have one or more central processor units, a huge number of memory, one or more busses, and one or more I/O systems. Another similarity between the two is that they are both IBM-based systems and similar hardware is used to build them. They can also perform some complex calculations, applications and handle multiple programs. Another area is that both require operating system to work and also to handle and optimize all the I/O systems or modules. Differences Although they are much similarity between the mainframes and computer as mention above, the similarity stop there as they are many differences too. Mainframes cost much more in terms of thousands of dollar than a normal personal computer or server. The mainframe nowadays takes up less space and less power consumption compare to a server farm task to do the same job. As mention (Shurkin, 1996), Transaction processing jobs run constantly in real-time and must be available more than 99. 99% of the time. The reboots and lock-ups common with PCs are simply not acceptable. Thousands of individual users can log in simultaneously from a variety of sources such as computer terminals, ATM, or Internet web sites, and complete a single transaction. Time-sharing jobs can be started when needed from a computer terminal by authorized users who then use the mainframe as their own big PC. Finally, batch jobs are started automatically by the system at regular times according to a strict predetermined schedule. Batch jobs are used to do the periodic processing required on the data being received from transaction and time-sharing jobs. Closing the accounting books at month-end or copying disk files to tape for backup are examples of batch type processing. The OS or Operating System in a mainframe such as from IBM z/OS which is the successor to the IBM OS/390 can run Multiple Virtual Systems (MVS). The new IBM z/OS support WebSphere ® Application Server on z/OS, and also the new zFS (System z File System) Direct I/O capability in z/OS. This help to enhance performance improvements to the system, and also provide an easier Parallel Sysplex functionality (IBM, September 2011). In an article by (Barnett G, 2010) stated that the mainframe is best suited for enterprise cloud computing as it is easily able to handle hundreds of complex applications or programs, and most important able to run hundreds of environment in a single physical footprint and easily deliver the 24Ãâ€"7 availability that our customers demand. Conclusion (Doerbecker & Patterson, 2002), stated that the role of the mainframe has gradually changed from that of a data processor to that of a server, with the processing being done on the user’s PC. It has also been modified to interface to the Internet through the addition of TCP/IP protocols, Unix, and Java programming, to enable businesses to connect to their customers over that network. Once the only form of business computer available, the mainframe has survived the PC revolution and maintained an important function in commercial computing.

A Comparative Study of Norman Holland and David Bleich Essay

Reader Response criticism is a general term that refers to different approaches of modern criticism and literary theory that focuses on the responses of readers and their reactions to the literary text. It also, in M.H Abrams’ words, â€Å"does not designate any one critical theory, but a focus on the process of reading a literary text that is shared by many of the critical modes†(268). Reader Response criticism is described as a group of approaches to understanding literature that explicitly emphasize the reader’s role in creating the meaning an experience of a literary work. It refers to a group of critics who study, not a literary work, but readers or audiences responding to that literary work. It has no single starting point. They seriously challenge the dominancy of the text-oriented theories such as New Criticism and Formalism. Reader Response theory holds that the reader is a necessary third part in the author-text-reader relationship that constitutes the literary work. The relationship between readers and text is highly evaluated. The text does not exist without a reader; they are complementary to each other. A text sitting on a shelf does nothing. It does not come alive until the reader conceives it. Reader Response criticism encompasses various approaches or types. Of theses types is the ‘Subjectivist’ Reader Response criticism, which embraces critics such as David Bleich, Norman Holland, who are my focus in this paper, and Robert Crossman. Those critics view the reader’s response not as one guided by text but as one motivated by a deep-seated, personal psychological needs. They also are called ‘Individualists’. As they think that the reader’s response is guided by his psychological needs, therefore some of them, like Norman Holland, have a psychoanalytic view of that response. In the psychoanalytic view the reader responses to the literary work in a highly personal way. The real meaning of the text is the meaning created by the individual’s psyche. Lawrence Shaffer defines Psychoanalytic Criticism as â€Å"an approach to literary criticism, influenced by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, which views a literary work as an expression of the unconscious- of the individual psyche of its author or of the collective unconscious of a society or of the whole human race† (44). Reader Response critics have applied the psychoanalytical view to their analysis of the experience of reading a work. Namely; they focus on the psyche of the reader. Prominent among those who applied the psychoanalytical view is the American critic Norman Holland. Born in Manhattan in1927, Holland is an American literary critic and theorist who has focused on human responses to literature, film, and other arts. He is known for his work in Psychoanalytic criticism and Reader Response criticism. Holland began his Psychoanalytic writings with Psychoanalysis and Shakespeare (1966). In which he made a survey of what psychoanalytic writers has said about Shakespeare. He urged psychoanalytic critics to study real people, the audience and readers of literature, rather than imaginary characters. His contribution to Reader Response criticism was great. He has written about† the way self (reader) interacts with world (text) in four books: The Dynamics of Literary Response (1968), Poems in Persons (1973), 5 Readers Reading (1979), and Laughing: A Psychology of Humor (1982)† (Berg 266). According to Holland there are three explanation-models in Reader Response Theory. First, ‘text-active’ model, in which â€Å"the text defines the response†. The second model he calls â€Å"reader-active†, in which readers create meanings, and undergo the reading experience by exploring the text and all its items. â€Å"Word forms, word meanings, syntax, grammar, on up to complex individual ideas about character, plot, genre, themes, or values†(Holland). Thus the reader explores and interprets the text. Most who pioneered this view like Holland are Americans such as David Bleich, Stanley Fish, and Louise Rosenblatt. The third model is a compromise, and Holland calls it ‘bi-active’, in which the text causes part of the response and the reader the rest. Holland thinks that a ‘reader-active’ model is right. He believes that it explains likeness and difference in reading. â€Å"Similarities come from similar hypotheses formed by gender, class, education, race, age, or ‘interpretive community'† (Holland). While the difference come from differing hypotheses that result from individual beliefs, opinions and values, i.e. one’s ‘identity’. Holland considers a ‘test-active’ model is wrong, and therefore a ‘bi-active’ model is also wrong as it is half wrong and consequently all wrong. Holland suggests that â€Å"when we interpret a text, we unconsciously † react to our identity themes. To defend ourselves against our † fears and wishes, we transform the work in order to relieve psychic pressures† (Shaffer 48). Literature allows us to recreate our identities and to know ourselves as Holland deduced after the ‘Delphi seminar’, in which he worked at the State University of New York at Buffalo with other critics such as Robert Rogers, David Willbern and others. The ‘ Delphi seminar’ was designed to get students know themselves. The reader’s re-creation of his identity could happen when he transact with the text in four ways: â€Å"defense, expectation, fantasy, and transformation, which Holland reduces to the acronym ‘DEFT’ † (Newton, Interpreting Text 144). Defenses are ways of copying with inner and outer reality, particularly conflicts between different psychic agencies and reality. Holland thinks that we defend in many ways; we repress our fears and our painful thoughts or feelings, we deny sensory evidence or we isolate one emotion or idea from another. Expectations are our fears and wishes.Fantacies is what the individual puts out from himself into the outside world. In the ‘Delphi seminar’ Holland and the rest of critics â€Å"help[ed] students discover how they each bring a personal style (identity) to reading, writing, learning, and teaching† (Newton, Twentieth-Century 208). The seminar discussed the texts and also their associations, but focused on the associations. Students mastered the subject matter, and also saw how people re-create or develop a personal ‘identity’. Each student had great insight to himself, and his characteristic ways with text and people. Holland thinks that † just as the existence of a child constitutes the existence of a mother and the existence of a mother constitutes the existence of a child, so, in identity theory, all selves and objects constitute one another† (Newton, Twentieth-Century 208). So, I think the existence of a text constitutes the existence of a reader and vice versa, and the understanding of the text constitutes an understanding of self as well. In The Dynamics of Literary Response (1968), Holland was interested in the fact that texts embody fantasies. Later on, his thinking about texts reversed and he inferred that it is the reader who makes fantasies which [s]he transforms or projects onto the literary text. â€Å"People internalize differently because they internalize †¦ according to a core identity theme† (Berg 267). In Poems in Persons (1973), Holland explains that readers create the text, and he also questions the objectivity of the text. In this book Holland suggests that a poem â€Å"is nothing but specks of carbon black on dried wood pulp†, and suggests that these specks have nothing to do with people, yet â€Å"people who do thing to these specks† (Berg 267). When we â€Å"introject literary work we create in ourselves a psychological transformation†, where we feel as if it were within the text or the work yet it is not. This takes us to Holland’s ‘transactional’ model in which the reader initiates and creates the response. Holland saw that reading is a ‘transactional’ process in which the reader and the text mesh together. And it is a â€Å"personal transaction of the reader with the text in which there is no fundamental division between the text’s role and the reader’s role† (Newton, Interpreting Text 142), so the roles of the text dovetails with that of the reader. Holland has hired a group of students for an experiment. They read short stories and discussed them with him in interviews in which he asked questions and elicited associations. Their responses showed a more variety than he could explain. â€Å"Different readers might interpret a poem or a story differently at the level of meaning, morals, or aesthetic value. The text itself, however, was a fixed entity that elicited fairly fixed responses† (Holland). He regards the text as an objective entity and has no role in the process of interpretation. But in his next book 5 Readers Reading (1979) he gives more evidence of the subjective creation of the reader. He tried his model on actual readers. Five readers read ‘A Rose for Emily’ by Faulkner, and in the process of reading they create very different stories, â€Å"stories which inevitably reflect the identity themes of their creators† (Berg 267). When he listened to their understandings of a given character or event or phrase, he found them invariably different. Their emotional responses were diverse. So, the idea that there is a fixed or appropriate response was an illusion. Holland deduces that fantasies, structures, and forms do not exist in a literary work as he previously conceived, but they exist in the individual reader’s re-creation of the text. Holland thinks that â€Å"each person reads differently, and this difference stems from personality† (Newton, Twentieth-Century 204). Holland found that he could understand the reader’s differing responses by reading their identities. And he could explain their different reactions to the poem or short story by looking to their identity themes, as their patters of defences, expectations, fantasies, and transformations will help. The transformational model of his Dynamics was correct, but it was the reader who does the transformation and not the text. The text was only a raw material. So Holland arrives at the deduction that people who have fantasies after his previous assumption that text embody fantasies. Holland’s thinking about texts reversed after David Bleich’s proddi ng who insisted that texts do not have fantasies, people do. To understand a literary work, Holland claims that you should perceive it through the lens of some human perception, either your own experience, or someone else, or even a critic’s analysis of the work. These perceptions vary from individual to individual, from community to community, and from culture to culture. He thinks that one cannot perceive the raw, naked text, as he can only perceive it through some one else’s process of perception. Thus Holland claims that â€Å"if readers’ free responses to texts are collected they [will] have virtually nothing in common† (Newton, Interpreting Text 143). According to Holland the relation between the ‘subjective’ and ‘objective’ is undifferentiated and can not be separated. For there is a ‘transactional’ process of interpretation where the roles of the reader and the text are intertwined, and the line dividing them blurs and dissolves. He thinks that readers should accept interpretation as a ‘transaction’ between the reader’s unique ‘identity’ and the text. Holland, however, does not want to take the side of the objective or that of the subjective, yet he is looking for a vanishing point between them, and wants to make both text and reader meet at an intersection of interpretation. David Bleich (1936-) is a Jewish critic, a son of a rabbi, a professor of Talmud, and a Subjectivist Reader Response critic. In Subjective Reader Response, the text is subordinated to the individual reader. The subject becomes the individual reader as he reacts to the text and reveals himself in the act of reading. For example, when a reader is addressed with a story of a father who ignores his child, then the intensity of that reader’s reaction may lay it his/her conflicted relation with his own father. Subjective criticism has been attacked as being too relativistic. Defenders of this approach point out that literature must work on a personal, emotional level to move us powerfully. David Bleich takes an approach differs from Holland’s. H is primary concern in his book Readings and Feelings is pedagogy rather than psychology. He thinks that â€Å"reading is a wholly subjective process†(Rabinowitz 86), and that the different or competing interpretation can be negotiated and settled. He examines the ways in which meanings or interpretations are constructed in a class room community, â€Å"with particular emphasis on the ways in which a group can negotiate among competing interpretations†(86). In Readings and Feelings, Bleich presents† a detailed account of his teaching techniques during a typical semester†(Berg 269). That’s why he is concerned with pedagogy and not psychology. He introduces himself to his class and discusses the way he wants his students to look at literature. The first preliminary sessions were designed to help students be acquainted with their subjective feelings, and how to depict them. Even the â€Å"idiosyncratic personal responses† of the students are accepted and discussed sympathetically. With the students Bleich plunges into different literary genres including poetry, short story, and novel. Yet before discussing these genres, â€Å"Bleich wants his students to be as personal as possible when they discuss poetry. He wants their affective responses, their free associations, any anecdotal material that occurs to them† (Berg 269). Bleich focuses on questions such as what is â€Å"the most important word, the most important passage, or the most important aspect of a story† (269). Thus, he believes that his students move from the personal to the interpersonal and then to the social. The cause of these movements is not â€Å"the change in genre†¦; but the tenor of the questions Bleich asks†(269) is what guides the movement. Shaffer says that â€Å"In Subjective Criticism (1978), Bleich assumes that ‘each person’s most urgent motivations are to understand himself’ and that all ‘objective’ interpretations are derived ultimately from subjective responses† (Shaffer 48). Like Norman Holland, Bleich focuses on the subconscious responses of the readers to the text, including his â€Å"emotional responses, our infantile, adolescent, or simply ‘gut’ responses† (Berg 268). According to Bleich the interpretation of texts or the personal responses to texts are in a way or another motivated. Namely; we are motivated by certain things to make a certain interpretation or response to a literary work in particular or a work of art in general. Our interpretations are a motivated activities, and â€Å"any act of interpretation, or meaning-conferring activity is motivated, and†¦it is important for us to understand the motives behind our interpretations†(270). Bleich suggests that only way to figure out and determine these motivations behind our interpretations of texts is to â€Å"took our subjective responses to texts †¦where each reader’s response receives the same respect†(270). A sheer desire to self-understanding and self-knowledge is what motivates us as readers. We interpret in order to gain â€Å"some kind of knowledge which will resolve some difficulty†, or we do it to â€Å"explain something that was puzzling us†(270). Bleich goes further and says that â€Å"if a certain set or school of interpretation prevails; it is not because it is closer to an objective truth about art†(Newton, Twentieth-Century 234). If a community of students agreed upon certain interpretation to a given text, then â€Å"the standard truth†¦can only devolve upon the community of students†(234). So, when students come up with a consensus reading of a certain text, and agree unanimously upon its interpretation, then their subjective feeling and values are the same. Thus the literary text â€Å"must come under the control of subjectivity; either an individual’s subjectivity or the collective subjectivity of a group†(233). The group comes up with a consensus after discussing their personal responses with each other and negotiates ideas and individual responses. This idea of negotiation that Bleich introduces helps the group weighs and discusses each one’s own responses â€Å"in order to come to a group decision†(Berg 271). Then Bleich says that† critics and their audiences assume interpretive knowledge to be†¦as objective as formulaic knowledge†(Newton 232). The assumption of the objectivity of a text is almost â€Å"a game played by critics (232). Critics know the fallacy of the objectivity of a text, and believe in critical pluralism, namely; allowing multiple interpretations of the same work. Bleich does not ignore or deny the objectivity of the text or a work of literature. But text is an object that is different from other objects as it is a ‘symbolic’ object. A text is not just a group o words written in ink on a sheet of paper. It, unlike other objects, has no function in its material existence. For example, an apple is an object that its existence does not depend on whether someone eats it or sees it, however, a text’s or a book’s existence â€Å"does depend on whether someone writes it and reads it† (Newton 233). The work of literature is a response to the author’s life experience, and the interpretation of the reader the response to his reading experience. The reader’s subjective interpretation creates an understanding to the text. Through this transaction between the reader and the text, I think we can come across with an understanding of literature and of people as well. This artistic transaction helps to blur and dissolve the dividing line between the subjective and objective. It is idle as Bleich found â€Å"to imagine that we can avoid the entanglements of subjective reactions and motives†(Newton, Twentieth-Century 235). As our motive in our subjective interpretations is our desire to self-knowledge and self-understanding, then the study of ourselves and the study of the literary work are ultimately a single enterprise. Though Holland and Bleich are Individualist Reader Response critics, they have different views in particular issues. Norman Holland thinks that in order to understand a student’s or a reader’s interpretation of a text he should examine his psyche and uncover his ‘identity theme’. Bleich takes a different position. He is concerned with pedagogy rather that psychology, therefore he examines the ways in which meanings are constructed, and how a group of readers could negotiate interpretations. Holland suggests that the reader’s role is intermingling with that of the text. The reader re-creates the text influenced by his/her subjective responses and introjects his/her fantasies on the literary work. Through this transaction with the text we re-create our identities, and our identity themes provide individual differences in interpretations, and the result is a wide array of interpretations that allow us to explore many responses. Bleich denies Holland’s ‘identity theme’. He thinks that interpretations are not an outcome of our differing identity themes, but they are a result of our motives, feelings, and preoccupations. Holland’s Delphi seminar helped students or readers know their selves and discover that each one of them can bring a personal style (identity) to reading. So, the issue of self-discovery or self-knowledge is agreed upon by Holland and Bleich as well, however their ways of achieving it differ. Holland does not side with either the subjective or the objective split, yet he is looking for a vanishing point between them. In his Dynamics he used to consider the text as an objective reality, or a raw material. Yet the role of the reader combines that of the text in a transactional process of reading and interpretation. Thus there is no fundamental division between the roles of both the reader and the text, they dovetail with each other. For Bleich, the text is a ‘symbolic object’ that has no function in its material existence. The existence of text depends on whether someone writes it or reads it. So, the existence of the text and the existence of the reader is interdependent. Holland holds the same view when he says that the existence of a mother constitutes the existence of a child and vice versa, also the existence of selves constitutes the existence of objects. Thereby, the dividing line between the objective and subjective blurs and dissolves. This constitutes that we cannot ignore the entanglements of subjective reactions and motives to the objective text or to be accurate, the text which is a ‘symbolic’ object. Both critics agree on the idea of the transactional process of reading, whether by Holland’s identity themes which help reader interpret the text and understand himself, or by Bleich’s desire to self-knowledge that motivates reader to interpret the text and understand it. Both apply a transaction that leads to an understanding and interpretation of a text along with the reader’s own self. This aim of gaining knowledge and this study of ourselves and of art are ultimately a single enterprise. I think that Holland does not agree that there could be a consensus interpretation which is agreed upon by a group of readers. He thinks that each reader has his own personality or identity theme, and thereby interpretations will be multiple and diverse. While Bleich’s idea of ‘negotiation’ among readers can lead to a unanimous decision about the meaning of the literary work. The negotiation among readers enable them to express their personal feelings freely and depict their responses without the fear of being rejected. For instance, in David Bleich’s class, there is a democracy. Each reader’s response receives the same respect, and there is no underestimation of their idiosyncrasies. This helped them develop from the personal to the interpersonal and then to the social. While in Holland’s view, there can be no unanimous interpretation of a given work of art. For each reader is influenced by his/her identity theme. Also, â€Å"Holland’s subjects report their responses in terms of ‘the clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s of the various subcultures and cultural discourses work to constitute the consciousness of American college students’†¦. [Holland concludes that not] the individuality of his students but†¦the way their ‘individuality’ is in fact a’ product’ of their cultural situation†(Rabinowitz 86). In conclusion, â€Å"Holland and Bleich did not [in a way or another] negotiate a consensus; rather, by some irritated leap, Holland becomes convinced of what Bleich had to tell him†(Berg 271). Works Cited Abrams, M.H. â€Å"Reader-Response Criticism.† Glossary of Literary Terms. 6th Ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1993. Berg, Temma F. â€Å"Psychologies of Reading.† Tracing Literary Theory. Ed. Joseph Natoli. Urbana and Chicago: Illinois UP, 1987. 248-274. Holland, Norman N. â€Å"Reader-Response already is Cognitive Criticism.† Bridging the Gap. 8 Apr. 1995. Stanford University. 26 Dec. 2007 . —, â€Å"The Story of a Psychoanalytic Critic.† An Intellectual. 26 Dec. 2007 . Laga, Barry. â€Å"Reading with an Eye on Reading: An Introduction to Reader-Response.† Reader Response. 1999. 23 Dec. 2007 . Newton, K. M. â€Å"Reader Response Criticism.† Interpreting the Text: A Critical Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Literary Interpretation. Great Britain: Billing and Sons, 1990. 141-153. —, ed. â€Å"Norman Holland: Reading and Identity: A Psychoanalytic Revolution.† Twentieth-Century Literary Theory. London: Macmillan, 1989. 204-209. —, â€Å"David Bleich: The Subjective Character of The Critical Interpretation.† Twentieth-Century Literary Theory. London: Macmillan, 1989. 231-235. Rabinowitz, Peter J. â€Å"Whirl without End: Audience-Oriented Criticism.† Contemporary Literary Theory. Ed. G. Douglas Atkins and Laura Morrow. USA: Macmillan UP, 1989. 81-85. Shaffer, Lawrence. â€Å"Psychoanalytic Criticism.† Literary Criticism. 1sted. New Delhi: IVY Publishing House, 2001. 44-48.

Romanticism and Victorian Essay Example

Romanticism and Victorian Essay Example Romanticism and Victorian Paper Romanticism and Victorian Paper Romanticism and Victorian l. Themes of English Romanticism In Literature Romanticism is a period, movement, or style in arts starting in the late sass and flourishing in the early sass, a time when the modern mass culture in which we now live was first taking form: the rise of nation-states as defining social and geographic entities, increasing geographic and social mobility, people moving to cities, new technology including power from fossil fuels, individualism, imaginative idealization of childhood, families, love, nature, and the past. The Romantic era is the historical period of literature in which modern readers most begin to see themselves and their own conflicts and desires. As what was mentioned in the class and as what I have researched, English Romanticism in terms of literature Is a shift from faith In reason to faith In the senses, feelings, and Imagination; a shift from interest in urban society to an Interest In the rural and natural; a shift from public, Impersonal poetry to subjective poetry; and from concern with the eclectic and mundane to Interest In the mysterious and infinite. There are various themes on how the authors of romantic literary pieces imposed their works. Those themes were based on the main idea of the revolutionary movement initiated during that time which was CHANGE. These people want to veer away from what was ordinary and stale and they came up with this radical change. I do not know if my idea regarding the themes used by romantic poets and writers is correct that is why I made further research. As I went through the research, I came up with these Insights regarding the subjects used by romantic writers. Imagination and emotion are more Important than reason and formal rules; Imagination Is a gateway to transcendent experience and truth. Imagination was one of the keys used by romantic poets and writers to effectively stress out and reveal what they want to convey their readers. They treat imagination with high importance because it was their belief that the only way to attain the highest form of art is to use your imagination. Sometimes, some of the writers do not only rely on their usual/ ordinary imagination. Sometimes they use other means like taking addictive drugs which allows hallucination to happen. For example, Coleridge Kabul Khan was written when Coleridge was high with laudanum, a solution of opium in alcohol used for pain relief. In the last lines, Weave a circle round him thrice, and close your eyes with holy dread, for he on honeydew hath fed, and drunk the milk of Paradise, he Is implying that writers Like him would be feared for their power to make such poems with the use of extraordinary Imagination. Since change Is the main Idea and reason for romantic movement, having exceptional kind of Imagination was one of their vital component. Romantic literature tends to emphasize a love of nature, a respect for life and believe that many of the ills of society are a result of arbitration. The Romantics inclined more on the natural aspect of the world rather than the urbanize and modernized sector because they have high respect on these entities. For example, Wordsmiths sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge accentuates the beauty of nature before man had touched and exploited it based on their needs. The lines Earth has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be soul who could pass by, A sight so touching in its majesty Show the majesty of nature. The poem stresses out the reclaiming of natures own from what man has taken away from it. The poem also emphasizes the silence and stillness of nature which makes it great and marvelous. Change is what Romantics aim for but they did not veer away from what natural things/nature should be. They treat nature with divinity and respect. Romantics were attracted to rebellion and revolution, especially concerned with human rights, individualism, and freedom from oppression. Since change is the main reason for Romanticism to upsurge, rebellion and revolution is evident in their works. For example, Flakes The Chimney Sweeper talks about the abuse experienced by children who were chimney sweepers during that time. The lines That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffins of black wows that children who were chimney sweepers suffered a lot of harm and their only escape was death. Flakes work was an effective eye opener of what was happening during that time especially when it comes to child labor. Somehow, it ignites the fire of revolution but the thing about this poem was Blake ended it not with revolutionary kind of movement but with some sort of faith in God. Still, he managed to emphasize the oppression that was happening during that time which may call and did call for upheaval. There was emphasis on introspection, psychology, melancholy, and sadness. Since the Classics tend to feature the theme of mock heroic epic (which was said to be a craft and forced), the Romantics deviate away from it. One of the emphases of the Romantic writers works was melancholy. For example, Wordsmiths The Solitary Reaper has a tone of mystery, loss, nostalgia and loneliness. It was shown in the lines Some natural sorrow, loss or pain, that has been and maybe again? . Sadness was featured on the Romantic works because it was (somehow) the inspiration of the writers for not all of them lived Joyfully and vibrantly. Sadness was also one of the keys for an effective Romantic literary piece. Romantics were interested in the Medieval past, the supernatural, the mystical, the gothic, and the exotic. These things were also featured in the Romantic works. Authors we re very interested in the supernatural, the mystical, the gothic, and the exotic. Most of the literary pieces do contain these things. For example, Coleridge Rime of the Ancient Mariner highlighted these things. The lines Her lips were red, her looks were free, her locks were yellow as gold: Her skin was white as leprosy. The Night-mare LIFE-IN-DEATH was she, who thick mans blood with cold clearly depicts mysterious woman who appeared out of nowhere aboard in a ship which was already wrecked. These lines (and this poem) lucidly depict the mystery that the Romantic poets aim to show the readers the beauty behind mystery and bizarre things which were part of their aim for change. Victorian period, which encompasses the optimism and progress of Englishmen, was the perpetuation of the Romantic periods success in fulfilling its aim to obtain change and transformation. Romantic period was the time where the Englishmen perpetuated movement for literature, characterized by reliance on the imagination and subjectivity of approach, redeem of thought and expression, and an idealization of nature. This was also a call for drastic difference and divergence from what was ordinary and normal. This was also a way for the authors to show the reality behind the blindness of oppression and abuse. One good example is Flakes The Chimney Sweeper. The poem encompasses the details of the truth behind child labor and the cruelty experienced by the children who were employed in this Job. One can see that the poem shows how helpless the children were and there was no escape for them but death itself. It has a tragic and Lancelot mode for children who should be given the right to have a good life and a chance to study and improve their condition were exploited and deprived. Flakes approach was effective for the poem will surely catch the readers attention and emotion regarding the focus of the poem. But even though he was successful in establishing these moods for the reader, his ending does not seem to fit the aim of Romantics for change because his ending was stated like there would be angels who would open the coffins of these poor children and would accompany them to the Heavenly Father. Nonetheless, the poem showed what should be changed in his society during his time and somehow, it is an eye-opener and it calls for a revolutionary change. A lot of poems during that time also embody this kind of theme. They, during their time, wanted freedom and transformation. These literary pieces were their weapon, their defense. Movements made for change during Romantic era was successful. Freedom of expression was propagated, change was established. The Englishmen had the chance to grasp the power they were aiming for. They believed they were invincible and this led them to the Victorian period. Victorian period was the period of optimism. Since the Englishmen had the power in their hands, they will do everything to maintain the power that they have. Their craving for improvement, industrialization and education was fulfilled. This is clearly seen in some of the Victorian poems created during that time. Kipling Gang Din is a very good example. A lot of analysis given regarding this poem was focused on Gang Din, who was an Indian visit or water carrier who serves water for British Soldiers. But one aspect that I saw regarding this poem was it entails the power that the Englishmen have. The poem shows that they were superior and even an Indian as very submissive to them even they were Just soldiers (disregarding the ending of the poem wherein the soldier says uniform a better man than I am, Gang Din). All throughout the poem, Gang Din was described as a poor, low and abused slave and this also indicates that these British soldiers have the power over Gang Din and they can do whatever they want to do on Gang Din and they can ask him to serve them wherever and whenever. Although what I analyzed regarding the poem when exemplifies such. This poem also shows appearances which the Englishmen is trying to do during Victorian period. The soldiers in this poem show power and prudish, concealing their weaknesses in use of Gang Din. They were trying to show that they were controlling and strong through the continuous abuse that they were doing on Gang Din. Poems and other literary works were indeed effective ways of initiating and bringing up change in society (if not in the world). This did not Just happen in English history but in our own country as well. Literature has its own power to alter or retain, to intensify or weaken our society. But it is still our own choice on how to interpret and implement these works of art.

The Use of Word Stems in English

The Use of Word Stems in English In English grammar and morphology, a stem is the form of a word before any inflectional affixes are added. In English, most stems also qualify as words. The term base is commonly used by linguists to refer to any stem (or root) to which an affix is attached. Identifying a Stem A stem may consist of a single root, of two roots forming a compound stem, or of a root (or stem) and one or more derivational affixes forming a derived stem.(R. M. W. Dixon, The Languages of Australia. Cambridge University Press, 2010) Combining Stems The three main morphological processes are compounding, affixation, and conversion. Compounding involves adding two stems together, as in . . . windows are to be found, however, where an affix is added to a bound stemcompare perishable, where perish is free, with durable, where dur is bound, or unkind, where kind is free, with unbeknown, where beknown is bound. . . . Stem Conversion Conversion is where a stem is derived without any change in form from one belonging to a different class. For example, the verb bottle (I must bottle some plums) is derived by conversion from the noun bottle, while the noun catch (That was a fine catch) is converted from the verb.(Rodney D. Huddleston,  English Grammar: An Outline. Cambridge University Press, 1988) The Difference Between a Base and a Stem Base is the core of a word, that part of the word which is essential for looking up its meaning in the dictionary; stem is either the base by itself or the base plus another morpheme to which other morphemes can be added. [For example,] vary is both a base and a stem; when an affix is attached the base/stem is called a stem only. Other affixes can now be attached.(Bernard ODwyer,  Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position. Broadview, 2000) The Difference Between a Root and a Stem The terms root and stem are sometimes used interchangeably. However, there is a subtle difference between them: a root is a morpheme that expresses the basic meaning of a word and cannot be further divided into smaller morphemes. Yet a root does not necessarily constitute a fully understandable word in and of itself. Another morpheme may be required. For example, the form struct in English is a root because it cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts, yet neither can it be used in discourse without a prefix or a suffix being added to it (construct, structural, destruction, etc.)  A stem may consist of just a root. However, it may also be analyzed into a root plus  derivational morphemes  . . .. Like a root, a stem may or may not be a fully understandable word. For example, in English, the forms  reduce  and  deduce  are stems because they act like any other regular verbthey can take the  past-tense  suffix. However, they are not roots, because they can be ana lyzed into two parts,  -duce, plus a  derivational  prefix  re-  or  de-.So some roots are stems, and some stems are roots. ., but roots and stems are not the same thing. There are roots that are not stems (-duce), and there are stems that are not roots (reduce). In fact, this rather subtle distinction is not extremely important conceptually, and some theories do away with it entirely.(Thomas Payne,  Exploring Language Structure: A Students Guide. Cambridge University Press, 2006) ​Irregular Plurals Once there was a song about a purple-people-eater, but it would be ungrammatical to sing about a purple-babies-eater. Since the licit irregular plurals and the illicit regular plurals have similar meanings, it must be the grammar of irregularity that makes the difference.The theory of word structure explains the effect easily. Irregular plurals, because they are quirky, have to be stored in the mental dictionary as roots or stems; they cannot be generated by a rule. Because of this storage, they can be fed into the compounding rule that joins an existing stem to another existing stem to yield a new stem. But regular plurals are not stems stored in the mental dictionary; they are complex words that are assembled on the fly by inflectional rules whenever they are needed. They are put together too late in the root-to-stem-to-word assembly process to be available to the compounding rule, whose inputs can only come out of the dictionary.(Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. William Morrow, 1994)

Legal Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Analysis Paper - Essay Example ecently, most employers have opted for the â€Å"covenant not to compete†, however strict measures have been placed in the rule of law which generally disapproves right to earn a living by former employee which is highly upheld in the courts. This paper generally intends to look into circumstances where court of law can enforce non-competition agreement and the relevant competing policy that are at stake. Also solution offered by the non-compete contract. Enough consideration to encourage a non-competition agreement comes in a variety of forms that is; payments to the employees, previous employment and under certain circumstances of continued employment and also intangibles like; knowledge, skills and professional status. Courts enforce non-competition agreement when; there is necessity to protect certain employer interest; agreement is in reasonable time and scope (period of six months to one year when agreement is to last and where good will is the only interest at stake and the employees customer contract is limited to a specific region); it is consistent with public interest (Garmaise, 2009). Courts uphold this agreement in two major protectable employer interests, an employer’s relationship with customers, clients and venders (i.e. good will), trade secrets and other confidential business information. Conflicts of interest in non-competitive policy fall under two major stakes, that is; contractual limitations, where involved employee sign a clear written agreement promising to avoid doing certain things and agreeing to pay for damages in event of breach of agreement. Policy guidelines; where employer stipulates his/her expectation from employee (Estlund, 380). Protection of legitimate interest of the employer, limiting the undue hardship to the employee and protection -of public from any harm are key policy interest to be considered. Protection of employer’s interest is upheld through requirements by the employees not leak trade secrets and confidential

Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 4

Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation - Essay Example Entrepreneurial behaviour is needed, and it is through the individual characteristics of entrepreneurs that enterprises and organisations occur. For the first section, this essay analyses the individual characteristics of three types of entrepreneurs, namely, small-business entrepreneurs, serial entrepreneurs, and social entrepreneurs. Then the second part presents a comprehensive debate on the role of individual characteristics in entrepreneurial choice or preference. Small business entrepreneurs are the powerhouse of the private business world. They create the competitive drive; enhance economic development and social backbone; generate employment, new enterprises, and prospects for others. Small business entrepreneurs are idealistic self-beginners who are fond of taking the risks of building new businesses (Chen et al., 2012, p. 1314). They possess the boldness, creating an environment of dynamism, ingenuity, and opportunity to develop. Primarily, they initiate change and are dedicated, tireless, and opportunity pursuers—agents who discern a market demand and fulfil that demand by transforming it into a profitable venture (Walker et al., 2013, p. 186). The act of disentangling oneself from the crowds of the employed to start a small business exhibits commitment and resolve. However, numerous other characteristics of small business entrepreneurs, such as confidence, flexibility, and adaptability, bring them success as entrepreneurs. A large scale research by the Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute discovered that there were specific characteristics that showed up among the most profitable, successful small business entrepreneurs (Walker et al., 2013, p. 186-8). Roughly 1,100 small organisations took part in the Guardian research. Generally, the research discovered several major characteristics that distinguished successful small business entrepreneurs (Baum et al., 2014, p. 94). First, small business