High Schools do not adequately prepare students for college

High Schools do not adequately prepare students for college While in high school, you are required to take basic level classes to prepare you for your upcoming adult life. High schools do not adequately prepare students for college. Too many students in classrooms leave the slower learners to fall behind. Not enough time in each class forces teachers to skip important topics. Some teachers do not motivate their students to learn.Too many students in classrooms leave the slower students to fall behind. There are not enough teachers for each class to be small, which would give them more one on one time with their students. Many students cannot keep up with the fast paced learning which leaves them to ultimately fail the class or barely pass. When I was in school, we had one teacher to approximately 35 students. There were so many of us asking questions, the teacher could never finish what he/she had planned to cover for that day.Betonwerksteinskulptur "Lehrer-Student" von Reinha...Not enough time in each class forces teachers to skip important topics. In school today, there are seven classes broken up within an eight-hour day. Teachers are forced to highlight over topics that really should be gone over thoroughly. Students do not learn enough in each class when they are only approximately one hour long. When I was in school, we had six periods. Teachers were a little more thorough with each lesson. Small details that are overlooked or deliberately skipped deprive a student of important information.Some teachers do not motivate their students. There are some teachers who sit back and let the students goof off during their classes. This not caring attitude spills over to the students. One teacher I had in school would sit with his feet propped on his desk and would hand out assignments for us to complete. The only problem...

Free Essays on Rising Tide

In the book, â€Å"Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America, â€Å" shows many different aspects of engineers and their lives. The stories that are told help the reader to better understand the practice of civil engineering. During the time period of the story, there are two engineers who contribute to a main part in controlling the Mississippi River, Eads and Humphreys. As the two race and compete to see who can better the Mississippi River, many important details about civil engineering come about. The author explains how a river flows and floods in way that most can understand. He helps show ways to help prevent flooding on the Mississippi. Eads and Humphreys are always striving to out do one another and in doing so comes many ideas to better the river. A levee is one in particular that is spoken of quite often. The â€Å"levees only† policy was debated between these two engineers. This policy discussed how a system of levees wou ld control floodwaters not only by damming the banks but also by increasing the velocity of the river’s flow and its tendency to scour the bottom. The theory provided that when the river is flooded, it could be made to dig its own channel out. This was not the only idea expressed by the engineers. Another was the idea of producing outlets and reservoirs. With outlets and reservoirs, the water level of the river would stay below a flood range. Another idea discussed is a system of jetties. The jetties would help increase the speed of the current even at low water. These ideas all help to teach the reader what civil engineers may attempt to better a river with potential to flood. With all of these ideas being pursued, not all would have the chance to use them. Those who were more powerful got the chance to actually take a stab at their proposals while others were left behind. Humphreys had power because he went to a U.S. Military Academy, which was made possible by his ... Free Essays on Rising Tide Free Essays on Rising Tide In the book, â€Å"Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America, â€Å" shows many different aspects of engineers and their lives. The stories that are told help the reader to better understand the practice of civil engineering. During the time period of the story, there are two engineers who contribute to a main part in controlling the Mississippi River, Eads and Humphreys. As the two race and compete to see who can better the Mississippi River, many important details about civil engineering come about. The author explains how a river flows and floods in way that most can understand. He helps show ways to help prevent flooding on the Mississippi. Eads and Humphreys are always striving to out do one another and in doing so comes many ideas to better the river. A levee is one in particular that is spoken of quite often. The â€Å"levees only† policy was debated between these two engineers. This policy discussed how a system of levees wou ld control floodwaters not only by damming the banks but also by increasing the velocity of the river’s flow and its tendency to scour the bottom. The theory provided that when the river is flooded, it could be made to dig its own channel out. This was not the only idea expressed by the engineers. Another was the idea of producing outlets and reservoirs. With outlets and reservoirs, the water level of the river would stay below a flood range. Another idea discussed is a system of jetties. The jetties would help increase the speed of the current even at low water. These ideas all help to teach the reader what civil engineers may attempt to better a river with potential to flood. With all of these ideas being pursued, not all would have the chance to use them. Those who were more powerful got the chance to actually take a stab at their proposals while others were left behind. Humphreys had power because he went to a U.S. Military Academy, which was made possible by his ...

Factors affecting inflation rate Bahrain Assignment

Factors affecting inflation rate Bahrain - Assignment Example Throughout the globe, significant gains were made in fighting against increased inflation during the 1990s and there was hope that a new period of low inflation had started. Countries in Europe and Latin American succeeded in fighting inflation from higher digits to single digits, and maintaining the stability of prices of consumer goods and services. In 2000, increased inflation started to haunt the world but it was stopped in 2009 by the financial crisis (Calvo & Carmen, 2002). This paper discusses factors affecting the rate of inflation in Bahrain. Inflation in Bahrain is driven by many factors and the exchange and interest rate laws that central bank in Bahrain implement, and the supply of money. In Bahrain, the prices of goods especially food prices affect the inflation of Bahrain. This is because increase in prices of foods and beverages implies that the country would have increased inflation this is because transportation of such goods to the markets will be costly. Further, t he increase in prices of fuel implies that the prices of food stuffs increase since high prices of fuel controls the market. It is important to note that the prices of commodities are affecting the rate of inflation in Bahrain because commodities in Bahrain are widely imported and all prices of imported goods affect inflation. However, from the calculations, it can be deduced that changes in commodity prices are not just a proxy for changes in the entire import prices (Calvo & Carmen, 2002). From the data presented, it is rational to argue that another factor affecting inflation in Bahrain is the inflation in previous years. For instance, the momentum of inflation on goods such as foods and beverages and services such as medical care is well recorded and they result because of factors that incorporate overlapping contracts and adaptive inflationary expectations. Further, the growth of money in Bahrain because of paying utility bills such as rent, electricity and water has a direct e ffect on inflation of Bahrain since there is no purpose to expect important changes in the money velocity. It is also significant to note that the growth rate in Bahrain is influencing the rate of inflation in the sense that it is affected credit issues whereby increase in the growth rate of Bahrain has negative impact on inflation. The central bank played a very important role by decreasing the growth rate to about six percent in the year two thousand and eight. The market was very stable in that prices of commodities such as food, beverages, tobacco and services such as medical care were affordable. This in turn increased the market value of these goods and services (Chen & Scott, 2004). The trend of the economy of Bahrain affects her inflation. For instance, from the calculations, the trend in Bahrain revolves at the rate at which the world market is directed in that it sets its prices in comparison to other countries. For instance, the U.S economy is in direct contact with the e conomy of Bahrain. This illustrated that the movement of the trend was downward. This in turn shows that, the economy of Bahrain is positively affected rather than being negatively affectively which reduces inflation rate. Since inflation is defined as the increase in buying power of money, the easiest way to calculate the rate of inflation is by listing the prices of services and goods over the stated years commonly known as the price

Project Management Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Project Management - Research Paper Example The project needs progressive elaboration that reveals and focuses details of the project through time (Meredith & Mantel, 2012). This makes projects distinguished from programs and operations. A program is a group of interrelated projects coordinated to obtain benefits and control that cannot be achieved when managing the projects individually. Operations are continued and repetitive activities that are carried to achieve mission of the organization without a definable end or unique output. Project management is a planned and organized one-time activity that achieves the specified goals. Developing project plan that covers defining project objectives and goals, specifying tasks, stating how goals will be achieved, the resources needed, budget, timelines for implementing and completing the project will ensure success of a project as planned. The following are the basic five phases in the project life cycle (Project, 2013). This is the opening or starting point of the project. The project is initiated by defining the reasons, the objectives and scope of it. The project team at this level proposes the solutions to be implemented, and the early budget. This gives a go for a project. The draft of the scope and objectives will help the team to work on the course without deviating. The draft schedule will also provide the timeline through wish the project is expected to be completed. This also helps the project team to get organized. Terms of references are also incorporated so that the team can know how and to whom referencing is made. This phase leads to another step. After the initiation phase and creating of drafts, the project management plan is designed. The plan will guide the team during project development and after. This step defines the required skills that will be in development team. It also describes the risk pal, non-labor resources, detailed action items and milestones. The is a need to

Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics Essay Example for Free

Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics Essay Abstract Along with the web 2.0 prevailing since the beginning of the 21st century, social media has become one of the most important tools for companies to develop the markets or public relations during this decade. Most companies around the world have a good sense of the importance of the social media. Companies use all the social media websites available to create more chances to meet more businesses online, or only to get a platform to show what they have such as products or services, even though the audiences only catch a glance of their companies’ profiles, they have already achieved their marketing purposes. Individuals are very obsessed in social media personally as well as businesses; they think social media is a great way to distinguish themselves from others or let the world get to know them. Introduction Through our survey, it is not hard to find that social media can impact businesses in some certain areas. In the U.S., with Facebook floating on the stock exchange at a mind boggling $104 billion, many naysayers predict an Internet bubble. However, there is no denying the power of social media and the impact that it can have on the business of marketing. Particularly, there are four aspects. Firstly, social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest represent a huge opportunity for businesses to grab the attention of customers while simultaneously building a brand image. There are plenty of tactics that businesses can employ to do this including the creation of brand profiles on social networks such as Facebook fan pages and creative advertising via branded podcasts and applications, also known as apps. Secondly, we know how important the word of mouth is in business. Social media platforms provide the perfect opportunity to take advantage of word of mouth and to see it spreading. Social media is growing at its fastest rate in developing countries. People are connected on a global scale and casually participate in each other’s lives through online observation. Something as simple as â€Å"Liking† a brand on Facebook can spread very quickly throughout the various social media channels. It is worth noting that individuals trust the opinions of their peers far more than a glossy magazine advert. Millions of people review products and services directly via social media sites using videos through YouTube, which in many cases are then shared and disseminated via various other social media websites. As a consequence, the public increasingly looks to social media to find reviews on various products and services to help them to make buying decisions. As a result, companies can and do provide products to popular Youtube users to review for their subscribers as well as create their own branded Youtube channels with branded videos about their products. (Social Media can impact business) Regarding communicating with customers, companies may see massive negative reviews about their products or services when they are expecting to use it as their advantage. By utilizing social media effectively, companies can reach out to dissatisfied customers directly, within their own social m edia environment, to find innovative ways of improving the product or service they have offered. When creating a social media marketing strategy, it is worth thinking very carefully about who is being targeted. There will be people within social networks who may not necessarily be customers, but who nevertheless can have a massive impact on marketing efforts. More than 80 % of that population is made up of â€Å"potential influencers†. It is worth making the effort to identify that these people are in the network and connect with them to attract shares and likes which ultimately help to spread brand name. One website which is excellent for identifying these people is Klout. Klout gives social networkers a score out of 100, which indicates how influential an individual is over their network while also identifying who the broadcasters and influencers are within that network. The purpose of the whole research process is to find out how companies use social media based on a stati stic view. Research Methodology There were 199 survey attendants given the questionnaires. The questionnaire was divided into 12 parts and each part had 3-13 questions. The questionnaires contained questions such as how companies use social media to provide customer services, marketing research, and improve the public relation with supplier or partners. We will use the information provided by the survey respondents to combine what we learned from statistics class, which included but not limited to probability from chapter 5, estimation and confidence intervals from chapter 9, one sample and two- sample test of hypothesis from chapter 10 and 11; simple linear regression and correlation which is from chapter 14, and Chi-square test. This research is based on the sets of data that were collected from Survey Monkey, collected by Survey Monkey Survey System. Survey Monkey is a company that provides platforms for those who need information for any legal purpose such as market research, education, and customer satisfaction. There are three steps to complete a survey. The surveyors usually design the surveys based on the purpose of their organizational behavior, and then they would distribute the survey to their targeted population such as customers or students; finally, they would use mathematic tools to analyze the data that was collected from the surveys. In this research paper I would like to represent some data graphs that we learned from the statistics class (Survey Monkey, 2013). First, we will show a pie chart of the gender information about the survey respondents. Table 1: What is your gender? The sample population of this survey consists of 103 (51.26%) participants who were male, while 78 (39.20%) participants were female, and 19 (9.55%) participants did not select their gender. (See table below) Among all the survey respondents, 24.12% of them were 18-24 years old, total 48 respondents; 51.76% were 25-34 years old, total 103 respondents, 6.53% were 35-44 years old, total 13 respondents, 6.53% were 45-54 years old, total 13 respondents also. Only 5 respondents (2.51%)are 55-64 years old, 0 (0%) respondents are 65-75 years old, and 17 (8.54%) participants didn’t answer this question. (See table below) Table 2: How old are you? Regarding the working experience, 39(19.6%) out of 199 respondents (100%) chose â€Å"less than 1 year†, 89 respondents (44.7%) chose â€Å"1-5 years†, 11 of them (5.5%) chose â€Å"5-10 years†, 23 respondents (11.6%) chose â€Å"more than 10 years†, and 23 respondents (11.6%) didn’t answer this question. (See Table 3 below) Table 3: How many years have you worked in company? Table 4: How dose your company use social media? Since gender, age and working experience are dependent variables that describe how company used social media. In table 4, there were 28(14%) of respondents use social media extremely likely, 31(15%) respondents use social media very likely, 61 (30%) used social media moderately likely, 39(19%) respondents used social medias slightly likely, 31(15%) participants did not use social media very likely, and 19(9%) respondents did not use social medina at all, and 24(12%) respondents chose â€Å"don’t know†. (See Table 4 below) Table5: Relationship between companies founded years and how long does company use social media? Base on this table we can tell that the relationship between the companies founded date and the year they began using social media. Normally, The Company began using social media for 1-2 years when the company founded 1-5years, the rate of possibility is 3/179; the company founded 5-10 years and they used social media for 2-4years, the rate of possibility is 4/179. ] The company uses 4-6years social media when the company founded 10-15years, the rate of possibility is 8/179; finally, the company used social media above 6 years when the company founded more than 20 years, the rate of possibility is 22/179. Data Result and Analysis Descriptive Statistic To help explain descriptive statistics, we will use the total number of How long has the companies begun using social media, and based on the description above, we will demonstrate that how likely is the companies going to adopt new social media applications in the next 12 months. (See table below) Descriptive statistics can include graphical summaries that show the spread of the data, and numerical summaries that either measures the central tendency (a typical data value) of a data set or that describes the spread of the data (Gerald, 2011). There are five different tests including â€Å"Hypothesis (one sample)†, â€Å"Hypothesis (two sample)†, â€Å"F-test†, â€Å"Regression†, and â€Å"ANOVA (multiple sample)† that we used in data result and analysis to illustrate the relationship among different data. I. Hypothesis (One Sample) Question background is permitting employees to use mobile applications to interact with customers. We hypothesize that respondents would largely use mobile applications of social media to interact with customers at 4 of 5 scales. In order to prove our hypothesis we use one sample hypothesis method. We hypothesize the null is at 4 scale of 5, and we use 95% as the confident level, so the alpha is 5%. Because we know the sample mean (S), so we choose the T test. To perform the test, please see Table 8 below. To conclude that because the P (T=t)= 0.00019813, and it less than 5%, so we should reject the null which means the employees use the mobile application such as social media to interact with customers is less than 4-scale. II. Hypothesis (Two Sample) Background question is how social media used for company awareness and PR purpose. In order to prove our hypothesis that two industries use social media at the same frequency we use two sample hypothesis methods. We hypothesize that the permitting employees to use mobile applications to interact with customers is equal to the employees who use the Internet tools. And we know the sample mean (S) so we also use the T test. To perform the test: (See Table below) Conclusion: Because the P (T=t)=2.08, and it larger than 0.05, so we choose the accept the null, which means the retail industry and business service industry used social media for PR purpose at the same frequency. III. F- Test Background question is to market and operate our business, our organization has done the following activities: 3.1. Permitting employees to use their creative ideas to facilitate business 3.2. Permitting employees to use Internet tools to interact with each other The F-test is designed to test if two population variances are equal; in order to prove our hypothesis we use two sample hypothesis methods as well. It does this by comparing the ratio of two variances. So, if the variances are equal, the ratio of the variances will be 1. We hypothesis the permitting that to market and operate our business, our organization has done the following activities, permitting employees to use their creative ideas to facilitate business. We use F-Test two-sample for variances firstly, and then we will use T-Test two-sample assuming equal variances to perform the test. (See Table 10 below) Permitting employees to use internet tools to interact with each other| Mean| 3.755102041| 3.888324873| Variance| 1.867922554| 1.579301771| Observations| 196| 197| df| 195| 196| F| 1.182752142| 　| P (F=f) one-tail| 0.120713955| 　| F Critical one-tail| 1.265936455| 　| Because the P- value equal to 0.120713955, so we use equal variance and t -test to test sample means. To perform the t-test, please see Table 11 below. Permitting employees to use internet tools to interact with each other| | Mean| 3.755102041| 3.888324873| Variance| 1.867922554| 1.579301771| Observations| 196| 197| Pooled Variance| 1.723243082| 　| Hypothesized Mean Difference| 0| 　| df| 391| 　| T Stat| -1.005935799| 　| P (T=t) one-tail| 0.157534284| 　| T Critical one-tail| 1.648760041| 　| P (T=t) two-tail| 0.315068568| 　| T Critical two-tail| 1.966049679| 　| Because the P (T=t)=0,155490816, and it larger than 0.05, so the conclusion is we choose to accept the null, which means the permitting employees to use mobile applications to interact with customers is equal the employees who use the Internet tools. IV. Regression Background questions are following: X:In what year was your company founded? Y1: How long has your company begun using social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Sina Weibo, QQ, etc.)? Y2: How many employees currently work for your organization? Regression and correlation is a method that we use to find the relationship between dependent variables (Ys) and independent variables (Xs). From Table 6 we can tell that the p-value of variable X which is â€Å"when the company was founded† is not significant means it is not related to Y1 of â€Å"How many employees currently work for your organization? †, and the p-value of variable Y2 of â€Å"How long has your company begun using social media† is not significant explains that it is related to â€Å"In what year was your company founded?† From the regression analysis table # 6, we can find out that 57.57% of the numbers of employees are explained by when the company was founded. From the regression analysis table # 7, we can find out that 36.1% of the social media uses for companies are expla ined by when the company was founded. Table 12: Table 13: To market and operate our business, our organization uses the Internet for the following activities: V. ANOVA analysis The background questions are below. 5.1. Permitting employees to use Internet tools to interact with customers 5.2. Permitting employees to use Internet tools to interact with each other From Table 14, the P-value for rows indicates three different activities are highly significant, which mean three activities have different means. P- value for column indicates that 200 different respondents are not significant which means 199 different respondents have practiced similar activities. (Table 14 below) Conclusion From this research, we conclude that generally, male uses social media more often than female, it is because male is still the mainstream of the business area; from the survey, we got to know that most of the social media users were very young and had a little working-experience. We surprisingly found out that most companies use social media moderately, to be specific, employees use mobile applications to interact with customers at 4-scale of 5 which means they did not use them extremely likely. We would expect they used them very often. One is within our expectation that the earlier the company founded, the longer period they use social media, most of companies used social media for long time though they did not use them very often which explains than people are willingly trying new technology, however, it takes time for them to form a habit. We also surveyed people to compare the frequency of smartphone application use and Internet use; we found out that people approximately use them half and half. From this result, we can conclude that there are lots of s martphone or tablet technologies grow very rapidly and people can complete their business process through cellphone instead of laptop or desktop that are much more cumbersome to carry. In a word, we can make precise decision process though both survey results and analysis results in the related business. Social media is a blessing technology, which we will rely more in our businesses and daily lives, we will find out more advantage of social media and prove it with data analysis and improve our life quality.

Essay --

Furniture can enhance the appearance of any space and add value to the house while improving the function. Wall cabinet is one of a furniture range that can be used in a kitchen, living room, bedroom, office and many other spaces. Wall cabinets are built in a wide variety of designs, material, functions and sizes. Most wall cabinets are simply for storage but nowadays, people require durable, sturdy, long lasting yet affordable furniture with improved functionality. Modular furniture provides components that can be combined to meet individual needs and tastes which utilize all space where it can be interchanged and adjusted. In order to create a successful design of a modular kitchen cabinet, appropriate hanging mechanisms are needed. It is important to understand the properties of materials and design of the hanging mechanism so that proper utilization can be achieved to ensure efficient product design and user safety. Material selection is among one of the most important aspects that must be taken into account before any hanging mechanism is produced. This is because material plays an important role in determining the suitability and durability of the hanging mechanism design. Nowadays, more advanced materials have been used to replace conventional materials because advanced materials offer more advantages (Myrdal, 2009). For instance in furniture manufacturing, conventional material such as solid wood have been replaced with alternative lumber such as particle board, plywood, glulam, LVL or OSB because of their economic and production efficiencies. This study is aimed at discovering a better solution by providing an alternative material and design to make the most important part of a wall mounted cabinet which is the hanging... ...gs but could produce a higher strength product. Therefore, using this material as hanging mechanism could lower raw material cost and at the same time provide a strong and eco-friendly alternative hanging mechanism. Hypothetically, if the proposed design (French cleat) and material (LVL) has the same or better qualities than the existing design and material, it can be used as the hanging mechanism in modular kitchen cabinets. Therefore, the thesis is proposing a new design of hanging mechanism using LVL which could probably give similar or better loading capacity and mechanical properties as compared to existing designs used in kitchen cabinets. Due to the lack of natural resources, the alternative material which is engineered wood product offers additional advantages as it retains the structural properties of wood and may be used as a substitute for solid wood.

Assess the View That Life in a ‘State of Nature’

The state of nature Is the term used to describe a lawless state of human behavior, wherein all people are free of legal and moral restraint. It would create a state where all people would be able to act on their wants and desires without fear of punishment from a governing body, as there wouldn't be one, and that man would only have to fear the retaliation from other people against their actions. In this essay, I will be outlining the views of both Hobbes and Locke on the state of nature and drawing a conclusion from their opinions.Hobbes' view on the state of nature is that such a thing would lead only to a state of war. He believed that without moral or legal constraints, mankind will simply pillage, murder, and plunder In order to get what they desire, regardless of the views of others. In a state of war, man will use power as he sees fit In order to survive and with no clear definition of rights or duty, each Individual will be free to Judge the rights and duties of others and of themselves.There will be no duty to keep other people safe and out of harm and no-one will have the explicit right to live or to keep heir property. If another claims that you hold something he needs to survive, you would have no right to deny him as there is no law or right outlining that it was yours and yours alone. As our desires are never satisfied and we have a continuous want of things, man will continue to overturn others if it means he gets what he wants in life, whether or not he truly needs it.He believes in the state of nature translating to a state of anarchy, as no human will ever be satisfied with what they have and will always strive for more. Hobbes claims that In a lawless state, we may not wish direct arm onto others, but we will be constantly aware that other people may wish to harm us. In order to prevent being the volt, we would attack first In order to stay alive, thus becoming the aggressor. Self-preservation In a lawless state, In Hobbes' opinion, would o nly ever lead to conflict as man turns on man In order to keep themselves alive.Due to this, we would never trust another person and the lack of alliance or allegiance would lead to us all being equally vulnerable. So despite the lack of rights or duty, each of us are equal in a state of nature, as we are all equally able to be pushed over by the person beside us, whether they are friend or otherwise. Hobbes is very much in agreement that living in a state of nature would be truly awful. Locke, however, doesn't completely agree.He doesn't believe – as Hobbes does – that scarcity In society and living in a state lawlessness would lead to man killing man In order to stay alive. He believes that people will provide themselves with natural moral principles that we are all inclined towards. Locke drew this belief from his belief in God and the creation of Man and all things on the Earth. By this logic, we have a duty to protect others from harm. We are therefore obligated, as God's creations, to punish those that cause harm to others, and those principals would be our natural obligations.He also believes that we cannot claim property unless our labor helped create what is on the land, but we still have no lawful right to it and the supposed right to it is not dependable. He proposed that removal from a state of law would create a form of democracy among men where they would govern themselves and keep themselves in equal measure in order to create a fair semblance of society. Locke thinks that society can exist in a state of nature and exist informally, so he disagrees with the statement that living in a state of nature would be awful in any sense.He believes that people can and will work together to protect themselves and each other as we have an obligation to care for other people as a natural instinct. By Locker's reasoning, man would eventually enter into an unspoken social contract and form a crude government to better protect their rights and pro mote organization in their society. I believe that although a state of nature would initially lead to man taking whatever he pleased from others and doing what he had been previously unable to do, eventually a form of society would emerge.People cannot continue without governing themselves and eventually they would create some form of law in order to govern themselves and protect their rights and duties. Initially living in a state of nature would be awful because there would be the breakaway from lawful restraint and that new freedom would lead to complete uproar as the population of the world indulged in all they had been unable to do. I still, however, believe that Locker's state of things would prevail and that man would find a way to organize themselves in order to survive and beat the inevitable scarcity.

Mediaculture

Week 7: Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz, Feminist Media Strategies for Political Performance We live in a media centric world bombarded by the media images twenty four hours a day.   It is so powerful that we often cannot distinguish the ‘reality’ from the mediated reality. Media makes use of images around us to convey this very different articulated meaning. This often interludes with the notion of the people who control the media; which can either be the proprietor or dominant groups through force or coercion that control the opinions. These viewpoints are the factors that determine the news values, of the modern media, which often tend to trivialize or sensationalize the issues, according to the ideological stance. Feminist Media Arts have formed as a resistance to this distorted media views, to convey the ‘undistorted reality’ to the public. It’s more than an information campaign and the same time new mode of protest to decry the ugly stories media told about women. The feminist media work as the activists say ‘has three ultimate purposes: first, to interrupt the incessant flow of images that supports the established social order with alternative ways of thinking and acting; second, to organize and activate viewers (media is not the only, nor necessarily most effective, way to do this); third, to create artful and original imagery that follows in the tradition of fine art, to help viewers see the world in a new way and learn something about themselves in relation to it. ’ The authors in their essay point to the ways to attract the media to their campaign and force them to present their viewpoints. The authors say that ‘to understand how media operates, observe it -with detachment -and be pragmatic. It doesn't matter what you think the media should cover, the object of the game (and it is a game) is to get them to play it your way. Mass media time is not a public service; it is a highly valuable commodity that is purchased by corporations and individuals who promote products, ideas, attitudes and images. The stakes of this game are high, and as artists the best we can hope for is a kind of guerrilla foray into that system.’ Here it would be wise to note the contributions of the Glasgow University Media Research Group (GUMG) and Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS), engaged in research in the process of news production and the relationship between ideology and representation. The research of the GUMG has been very controversial since the publication of Bad News in 1976. Bad News was concerned with the television coverage of industrial relations in 1975. The GUMG’s analysis of television news led it conclude that the viewers had been given a misleading portrayal of industrial disputes, a portrayal that distorted the ‘real’ situation. The descriptions attached to management were such that they persuaded the audience of the rightness of the management position against the demands made by the unions. Thus, it has become the inherent nature of the media to manipulate things. In 1973 Galtung and Ruge analyzed foreign news in newspapers and found that for any event to become a ‘news item’, and therefore considered ‘newsworthy’, it had to pass through a selection process. If it conformed to a particular set of criteria, the news staff judged it newsworthy. Galtunge and Ruge calls those criteria as ‘news values’. The essay tells different methods to persuade the media for the political performance. But the question remains, if the media conforms to certain pre-determined news values, how can these campaigns succeed, despite the systematic efforts by the activists. Week 8: Jesse Drew, The Collective Camcorder in Art and Activism. The essay attempts to portray the role of the video makers’ collectives, in many resistance movements. The invention of the video camcorder has in fact changed the course of history. These movements and the developments in technology when coupled with the ideology of post modernism, took art and activism to new heights. From the efforts of independent artists to the collectives such as Paper Tiger and the Independent Media Center, the revolt has spread to resist the images presented by the mainstream media and culture. So the environment was all set for a departure from the art-video, and experiment something new that reached the people. As the essayist says, television is, after all, at the heart of our popular culture, the culture of the everyday, and dominates the media landscape. Video, when all is said and done, is a form of television, ‘a media device that conveys information. It is natural that video artists cross the boundaries of art and activism, and frequently choose to ‘subvert the message, not just exploit the form. This artistic jujitsu, using the weight of television to fall upon itself, emerged as a popular strategy among video collectives. Increasingly, video artists in the 1980s and 1990s embraced the necessity to reflect on, intervene, and challenge the contested terrain of television, mass media, and popular culture, and leave the art-video aesthetic behind.’ As Strinati called it ‘post modernism is skeptical of any absolute, universal and all embracing claim to knowledge and argues that theories or doctrines which make such claims are increasingly open to criticism, contestation and doubt. The mass media are central to the post modern condition because we now take as real, is to a large extent what media tell us is real. We are bombarded from all sides by cultural signs and images in all aspects of media. According to Baudrillard, we have entered the world of simulacra. These are signs that function as copies or models of real objects or events. In the post-modern era, simulacra no longer present a copy of the world, nor do they produce replicas of reality. Today†¦..social reality is structured by codes and models that produce the reality they claim to merely represent.’ From the 1960s onwards there was a revolt against the modernists. The post modernists thought believed in the breakdown of the distinction between culture and society, the break down of the distinction between art and popular culture, the confusion over time and space, and the decline of the meta narratives. The pop art of the 1960s demonstrates this clearly, for example, Andy Warhol presented soup tins and cola bottles as art, as well as challenging the uniqueness of Da Vinci’s portrait of the Mono Lisa by silk screening her image thirty times – Thirty are better than one. In fact post modernism has helped them to drift away from the so called artistic beliefs. In the words of the essayist ‘video artists in the 1980s and 1990s embraced the necessity to reflect on, intervene, and challenge the contested terrain of television, mass media, and popular culture, and leave the art-video aesthetic behind. The convergence of these new political, cultural, social, technological, artistic, and economic developments’ provided the impetus to the establishment of the counter movements like the Paper Television, and subsequently the Independent Media Center. In fact, video art has surpassed all other art forms in interpreting history. Week 9: Carole S. Vance, The War on Culture. The essay follows the great discussion in the world of art whether a self-censorship is inevitable when it comes to sexual images. Vance quotes instances where public ire overlooked the ‘artistic value’ when morality was questioned. Vance says that ‘the fundamentalist attack on images and the art world must be recognized as a systematic part of a right-wing political program to restore traditional social arrangements and reduce diversity. The right wing is deeply committed to symbolic politics, both in using symbols to mobilize public sentiment and in understanding that, because images do stand in for and motivate social change, the arena of representation is a real ground for struggle.’ He says that it is high time that a vigorous defence of art and images should be made. The author has given a new dimension to the culture war. This is not isolated with art or artistic movements. Representation of sexuality in media is more complex than in art, for example, counting the number of times that women appear on the screen because we cannot immediately identify a person’s sexual orientation in the way that we can identify markers of sex and race. Observations by Dyer on gay behavior can be more illustrative here on the representation of sexuality in media. He says ‘a major fact about being gay is that it doesn’t show. There is nothing about gay people’s physiognomy that declares then gay, no equivalent to the biological markers of sex and race. There are signs of gayness, a repertoire of gestures, stances, clothing and even environments that bespeak gayness but these are cultural forms designed to show what the person’s person alone does not show: that he or she is gay’. There are signs of gayness, for example gestures, accents posture and so on, but these markers of sexuality are socially constructed and are both historically and culturally specific. Media texts often rely on stereotypical narratives to indicate that characters in a story line are gay. These may include childlessness, loneliness, a man’s interest in arts or domestic crafts, a woman’s in mechanics or sports. ..each implying a scenario of gay life.’ Both lesbians and gays have been to use Tuchman’s term ‘symbolically annihilated’ by the media in general. The representation of these two groups has been particularly limited on television. The media has been very careful on such sensitive issues, but has not been so. Media has been overtly criticized primarily on its representations, but when coming to issues of morality, media tended to be very much conservative, and there of course has been   a lot of self-censorship. As the essayist says ‘symbolic mobilizations and moral panics often leave in their wake residues of law and policy that remain in force long after the hysteria has subsided, fundamentalist attack on art and images requires a broad and vigorous response that goes beyond appeals to free speech. Free expression is a necessary principle in these debates, because of the steady protection it offers to all images, but it cannot be the only one. To be effective and not defensive, the art community needs to employ its interpretive skills to unmask the modernized rhetoric conservatives use to justify their traditional agenda, as well as to deconstruct the â€Å"difficult† images fundamentalists choose to set their campaigns in motion.’ Artists can of course look at the way media behaves in this respect. Week 10: Kester Grant, A Critical Frame work for Dialogical Practice. Revolt, is word usually associated with the art movements and the biographies of artists themselves. Thus a shift from the galleries to community based installations is a natural course of the artistic history. The author explores these transitions as an inherent revolt that pervaded the artistic community. When the artists themselves began to question the gallery itself as an appropriate site for their work. At a time when scale and the use of natural materials and processes were central concerns in sculpture, the comparatively small physical space of the gallery seemed unduly constraining. Further, the museum, with its fusty, art historical associations, appeared ill equipped to provide a proper Context for works that explored popular culture or quotidian experience. Many artists saw museums, with their boards of wealthy collectors and businesspeople, as bastions of snobbish elitism in an era that demanded a more accessible and egalitarian form of art. There are many ways to escape the museum. In some cases artists chose to work in sites that were empty or depopulated (e.g., Gordon Matta-Clark's â€Å"cuttings† in abandoned buildings, Michael Heizer's or Robert Smithson's land art projects in nearly inaccessible locations), suggesting a certain anxiety about the social interactions that might occur upon venturing beyond sanctioned art institutions. One strand of this work is represented by the agitational, protest-based projects of Guerilla Art Action Group (GAAG), the Black Mask Group, and Henry Flynt in New York. Drawing on the energies of the antiwar movement and the traditions of fluxus performance and siruationism, these groups staged actions outside mainstream cultural institutions (Lincoln Center, Museum of Modern Art, etc.) to call attention to the complicity of these institutions with broader forms of social and political domination.' A different approach, and one more directly related to dialogical practices, emerged in the collaborative projects developed by artists associated with the Woman's Building in Los Angeles during the 1970s. Artists, fueled by political protests against the Reagan administration's foreign policy (especially in Central America), the antiapartheid movement, and nascent AIDS activism, as well as revulsion at the market frenzy surrounding neoexpressionism, with its retardaire embrace of the heroic male painter. A number of artists and arts collectives developed innovative new approaches to public and community-based work during the 1980s and early 1990s. The late 1980s and early 1990S witnessed a gradual convergence between old-school community art traditions and the work of younger practitioners, leading to a more complex set of ideas around public engagement. This movement was also catalyzed by the controversy over Richard Serra's Tilted Arc in the late 1980s, Community art projects are often centered on an exchange between an artist (who is viewed as creatively, intellectually, financially, and institutionally empowered) and a given subject who is defined a priori as in need of empowerment or access to creative/expressive skills. Thus the â€Å"community† in community-based public art often, although not always, refers to individuals marked as culturally, economically, or socially different from the artist. References: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz, Feminist Media Strategies For Political Performance 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jesse Drew, The Collective Camcorder in Art and Activism. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carole S. Vance, The War on Culture 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kester Grant, A Critical Frame work for Dialogical Practice

Essay Sample on Amy Tan and Her Inside Glimpse

Essay Sample on Amy Tan and Her Inside Glimpse Essay on Amy Tan: Mother Daughter Relationships There are no simple or perfect relationships between mothers and daughters. Relationships are a delicate balance between the love and emotions of two individuals. They are ever changing and evolving, and are each unique as the people in them. Amy Tans novels offer an inside glimpse into several intricate mother daughter relationships. Her characters suffer hardships as well as times of joy. There are many similarities in the mother and daughter relationships in the books by Amy Tan. One of the most difficult parts of maintaining a good relationship between mother and daughter is balancing the individual characteristics of each person. Even though daughters are truly a part of their mothers, this definitely does not mean that their personalities are at all similar. In Tan’s novels, the women that the daughters become are amazing. They face many challenges, such as homes with problems or no fathers, little to no money and problems adjusting to the American society, but they still become wonderful people in the end. Sometimes the daughters just want to be different from their mothers, to be their own independent people. This can sometimes be hard for the mothers to accept that their daughters take nothing from them. However sometimes the mothers personalities and traits aren’t the best to learn and take from. Many of the mothers in Amy Tan’s novels are having difficult times balancing the people they really are and the face they choose to show. Many of them feel that they have to hide their different Chinese heritage and ugly pasts in order to find acceptance. Lindo found it hard to keep her Chinese face that she loved in America, and before she even arrived, she had to hide her true self (Tan, Luck Club 258). When the mothers try to conceal who they truly are and try to fit in, it is sometimes for their daughters’ benefit. Ying- Ying who tried so hard to please, impress, and not embarrass her daughter, that she has been quiet for so long that she blends into the shadows and her daughter no longer hears her (Tan, Luck Club 67). Even though she was just trying to help by not embarrassing her daughter, she is just hurting her daughter in the end by not only hiding who she truly is, but also not sharing her personality and traditions with her daughter. They fear the rejection a nd persecution that they faced in China. They want a fresh start in America, even if this requires hiding who they truly are. Some of the traits that the mothers show are not always the best ones. The mothers aren’t perfect; they have negative sides to their personalities. Ruth’s mother, LuLing, got in fights because she didn’t understand others, and they didn’t understand her (Tan, Bonesetter’s 49). Winnie had a hard time forgiving people because of the horrible way she was treated in her past, and this often hurt her daughter (Tan, God’s Wife 22). Waverly’s mother always put her own feelings before her daughter’s, and decided that her daughter would be a prodigy, but whenever Waverly would fall short, her mother would make her feel horrible about herself (Tan, Luck Club 134). The daughters frequently have one common problem, in that they don’t understand their mothers. Whether it is the way that they act or the things that they say, the daughters don’t understand their mothers’ motives, intentions or true meanings. Ruth doesn’t understand how her mother thrives on argument; she turns everything negative, and it only makes her unhappy (Tan, Bonesetter’s 49). Olivia does not see how her mother bounces from man to man, hurting both the men and herself (Tan, Secret Senses 61). Waverly is constantly put down by her mother, and doesn’t know why her mother cannot accept her for who she truly is (Tan, Luck Club 172). The mothers try to hide their true personality from their daughters, only to find this hurts their relationship in the end. Their daughters end up not knowing who their mothers really are, and this ends up deeply hurting the mothers. The mothers try to not show their past or things that their daughters’ might be ashamed of. In the end though, the mothers really don’t know what would embarrass their daughters once they are grown. The mothers never realize their daughters’ maturity and wait too late to educate them. Then the project of discovering their mother’s hidden personality and past falls heavily upon the daughters’ shoulders. The discovery of their mothers’ past and heritage is a task that the daughters in the novels have to face. The death of Jing-Mei’s mother is what makes her question who her mother was, as well as the meaning of her Chinese heritage that she was trying to pass along to her children (Tan, Luck Club 44). Jing-Mei realizes that she knows nothing about her mother or the heritage she was trying all along to teach her (Tan, Luck Club 44). Ruth decides that she must take it upon herself and find out who her mother really is so she can relate to her mother before her mind is gone forever (Tan, Bonesetter’s 347). Accepting Chinese roots is one problem that most of the daughters face in the novels. As children they wanted to fit in, and therefore act and want to be American. However, this was also the time that their mothers were trying to implant the seeds of the Chinese wisdom and heritage in the girls’ hearts. These conflicting efforts usually made the girls unwilling to learn about their own history. It is not until they are older that they realize the impact and importance of their history upon them. Lena, now an adult, is realizing the importance of knowing who she is, and that Chinese heritage makes her unique (Tan, Luck Club 103). Heritage and uniqueness are something that most of the daughters didn’t want to feel growing up, but as adults have begun to embrace. Before the daughters accept their heritage, their mothers’ traditional outlooks on life embarrass them. The mothers always try to keep American culture at bay, and try to have their families embrace their Chinese culture. An-Mei had grown up ashamed of her mother’s old fashioned Chinese ways, and having them forced upon her made her only want to repel the culture more and resent her Chinese past (Tan, Luck Club 47). The resentment formed by the daughters about the culture was a common theme among the novels. Now in America, the daughters want to form their own identities separate from their mothers and become their own persons. They do not want to follow the traditional rules of their mothers; however their mothers do not understand this. They always had admired and respected their mothers’ back in China, but now their daughters wanted to be nothing like them. Lindo had wanted so much to be like her own mother when she was growing up; now that her own daughter is grown, Lindo doesn’t understand why she is ashamed to be told that she looks and acts like her mother (Tan, Luck Club 257). Ruth has known since she was a child that she wanted to be nothing like her mother; she wants to be happy and independent, not depressed like her mother has always been (Tan, Bonesetter’s 52). The daughters do not have the same values as their mothers did back in China. Another area where the values of the mothers and daughters differ is in the daughters’ taste in men. They feel that they should all have their own choices and that it is their decision, not one that their mothers can make for them. The mothers only have the best intentions; they just do not want to see their daughters unhappy or making the same mistakes as they once did. Waverly’s mother always ruined her view of the guys she thought were perfect, but when she finds a love very pure, she has to force herself to not be influenced by her mother’s demeaning words (Tan, Luck Club 176). Olivia always has to defend her husband’s actions to her mother when her mother says he isn’t good enough for her (Tan, Secret Senses 62). Rose’s mother would always badger Rose about standing up to her husband, and that he wasn’t good enough for her (Tan, Luck Club 196). Many of the mothers feel that none of the men their daughters pick is good enough, and while it aggravates the daughters, it is really just motherly love. Sometimes the mothers aren’t so different from their daughters. As women they end up going through many similar experiences. They can become lonely together, as Pearl and her mother were. Even though they were together, Peal and her mother were missing loved ones gone from their lives together (Tan, God’s Wife 33). They can go through times of grief together, as one. â€Å"And then I realized: her face, her hope, her sadness- they were mine as well† (Tan, Bonesetter’s 271). Even though they might feel separated at times or fight, they still will always have each other. One of the most impressionable times of the mothers’ lives was their life before America, and the struggle towards their new home. The mothers’ in all of the books wait until their daughters are older to tell them the stories of their pasts. They wait until they think their words will have great meaning. Sometimes waiting to tell their daughters about their past can take away some of its importance. It often leads to misunderstandings throughout the entire daughters’ lives and hurt the relationships if secrets aren’t shared. The mothers in the novels all lead very hard lives in China. Many of them suffered through wars, abuse, death, and hopelessness. They become very strong women after suffering through such hardship as young women. All of the mothers left China in search of a better life where they would no longer suffer the prosecutions that women suffered in China. Winnie was married off young, to a heartless cruel man; she was abused all throughout their marriage and even lost four children to him (Tan, God’s Wife 322). She made it to America fueled only upon her strong hate for her husband (Tan, God’s Wife 398). The mothers want only a second chance, to leave behind the painful memories of their past and start anew; they want to forget the horrible things they saw and experienced, and to forget those they loved and lost. When Winnie left China she left many things behind, she always lived in fear that her old life and husband would catch up with her (Tan, God’s Wife 81). The mothers all want to share their pasts with their daughters so that they will understand why they are the women they have become. This is usually a very difficult thing for the mothers to do, as many painful experiences are brought up. They are hopeful that their daughters will receive their stories with love and compassion, and not just dismiss what they say as they have done before. Lindo wants her daughter Waverly to recognize her past and take a piece of her with her; she desires her daughter to accept and learn her secrets (Tan, Luck Club 256). The mothers all took a different approach to telling their daughters about their past. Ruth’s mother LuLing wrote in Chinese the account of her childhood and coming to America, which she later rewrote and gave the thick stack of papers to Ruth as what she thought would be a special gift for Ruth to translate (Tan, Bonesetter’s 13). Through the secrets of their mothers’ pasts, the daughters were able to better under stand who their mothers were and to love them for who they are. There are many responsibilities in relationships, the most important being the duty of loving and caring for the other person. However where this responsibility lies in the relationship is an ever-changing question. At the early stages in the relationship more emphasis is placed upon the traditional mother – daughter roles, where the mother is basically responsible for all aspects of the daughter’s life. But as the relationships as well as the people in it mature, the responsibility shifts less from the mother and more to the daughter. She owes to her mother respect as well as her childhood. However, this is sometimes hard for the daughters to see if they remember having more responsibility placed upon them in their childhood. Wherever responsibility may lie there is no question that it exists and is present in all relationships. At times more responsibility can be placed upon the daughters at a younger age in the novels because of their mothers’ lack of American knowledge. Even though the mothers lived longer in the America, they still are not as immersed in the culture as their daughters. Ruth is linguistically superior to her mother, and ever since Ruth was ten; she had held all responsibilities in the home (Tan, Bonesetter’s 50). Having all these duties forced upon Ruth made her very resentful towards her mother (Tan, Bonesetter’s 65). In some cases motherly responsibilities are pushed onto older siblings, such as Kwan who took upon the duty of raising her young sister Olivia (Tan, Secret Senses 10-11). Olivia loves Kwan, but at the same time resents her for taking her mother’s place (Tan, Secret Senses 11). The responsibility of the daughter grows and changes, as both she and her mother get older. Ruth’s mother LuLing is senile, and it hurts Ruth to see her motherâ€⠄¢s mind faded, and she needs to protect her mother, but wants to be held and protected at the same time (Tan, Bonesetter’s 64). She has developed resentment over time holding all the responsibility for her mother. Now that both Ruth and LuLing are older, Ruth is her mother’s child and is also mother to the child that LuLing has become (Tan, Bonesetter’s 346). Love is basis for the mother daughter relationships in Amy Tan’s novels. It is what supports, holds together, and mends the relationships. It keeps the women together, through whatever might come. The love in a relationship grows and changes, but it is always still there. A mother’s love for her daughter is something that doesn’t run out, and the mothers in the novels prove this true. One belief that the mothers all share is that they always know what is right for their daughters. The mothers tend to believe that they have the natural birthright to decide what is worthy and right for their daughters. Olivia’s mother assumes that since she is her mother, she knows exactly how she is feeling (Tan, Secret Senses 62). Similarly, Kwan’s mother always thought that a mother always knows what’s best for her daughter, no matter what the age (Tan, Secret Senses 249). However, the mothers don’t always know everything going on in their daughter lives, and therefore don’t always know the best solution. But no one will ever convince them of that. When the daughters start to out grow their mothers help, it can cause great feelings of uselessness for the mothers and loneliness for the daughters. But many times the daughters don’t even realize that they are hurting their mothers. It is this way for many of the actions children can take; it can be infinitely hurting the mother, while the daughter has no idea of her mother’s pain. â€Å"I think a child has the capacity to hurt her mother in ways she cannot even imagine† (Tan, God’s Wife 33). Love can be extremely painful for the mothers as their daughters grow. The mothers and daughters all have regrets: regrets about the past and what they should have done, things they wished they could have done over, and the wish to take back what was once hurtfully said. A life full of regrets is a painful one, and one that no one should have to live with. Waiting to try again or to forgive can come too late. Last chances can be around that corner no one knows is coming. The characters in the novels all try to forgive those who have hurt them, as well as let go of their regrets. Waiting too late to tell someone of their sorrow is the mistake that several characters make in the novels. Kwan’s mother never told her daughter of her sorrow that she sent her daughter away at a young age (Tan, Secret Senses 209). She only wanted a good life for Kwan, but she never forgave herself for her choice (Tan, Secret Senses 209). Then Kwan, in turn didn’t know until the death of her mother what she had truly lost (Tan, Secret Senses 227). June also waited too late to ask her mother the questions she had. She had always depended upon her mother, but now that she was gone, she realized how much her mother had really meant to her (Tan, Luck Club 40). Ruth almost waited too late to realize the importance of knowing her mother and helping her the best she could while her mother was in need (Tan, Bonesetter’s 64). Sometimes saying sorry can be the hardest thing to muster up the strength to do. It is hard to admit wrongfulness, and that they know the hurtfulness and power of their words. Although Ruth and her mother fought frequently, and at times she really detested the way she acted, she still loved her mother (Tan, Bonesetter’s 166). Winnie was one who found it almost impossible to forgive after living a life full of suffering and pain; she found herself unable to forgive her husband (Tan, God’s Wife 398). It is never too late to try to forgive, as long the love is still there. Many of the daughters feel that their mothers neglected them throughout their childhood. Neglect is one of the emotions that burns long painful scars into hearts, as well as causes a loss of hope. When a mother leaves while a child is still young, the void is not easily filled. A feeling of abandonment is a hurtful one, but is one that Winnie felt. She’s had a pain in her heart for many years, starting back when her mother left her when she was a child (Tan, God’s Wife 102). It isn’t fair that some mothers can hurt their daughters so much and not even see the pain of their actions. â€Å"I felt unlucky that she was my mother and unlucky that she had left us† (Tan, Luck Club 44). Daughters don’t get to choose their mothers, or the ways their mothers make them feel. Olivia certainly wouldn’t have chosen her negligent mother, whom she knew even as a child should have loved her more (Tan, Secret Senses 7). Olivia always felt neglected by her mother, and that still hurts her today. Sometimes the mothers are negligent with their words, like Jing-Mei’s mother, who always brought her down and made her feel as though she didn’t have a mother’s support. An-Mei always felt as though her mother purposely abandoned her, and without a mother she felt broken (Tan, Luck Club 47). No matter what the mothers do to their daughters, they still have a place in their daughter’s hearts. An-Mei felt this way; she knew through everything she still loved her mother (Tan, Luck Club 218). â€Å"Why do we love our mothers of our lives even if they are lousy caretakers? Are we born with blank hearts waiting to be imprinted with any imitation of love?† (Tan, Secret Senses 210). Love is not a simple thing. It has many complexities that are not easily understood. The love shared in every relationship is different, including the mother and daughter relationships in the novels. The love they share is special, and it is not easy to come by. Love is work. â€Å"I once thought love was supposed to be nothing but bliss. I now know it is also worry, grief, hope and trust† (Tan, Secret Senses 399). No matter what struggle the women in Amy Tan’s novels face, they are able to overcome the worst and become better women. The mothers pass their stories of hardship and struggle down to their daughters in hope that they might understand and love the women that they have become. Their love may come in many forms or be shown in diverse ways, but through it all the motherly love still prevails. The one thing that all the mothers had in common was hope and love. It might have been hard to see these aspects in some of the relationships, however it was still there. Hope was the one driving strength the mothers have had embedded in their souls since childhood. The mothers try with all their hearts to pass hope down to their daughters, because without hope there is no chance to love.

Optical Distortion inc Essay Example

Optical Distortion inc Essay Example Optical Distortion inc Essay Optical Distortion inc Essay Introduction Optical Distortion, Inc. (DOD), is a small, new company that has developed contact lenses designed to impair the vision of egg-producing farm chickens. This development came after an accidental discovery that partially blind chickens demonstrate more manageable and productive behaviors that are valuable to chicken farmers. Market Trends As within many industries, the poultry and egg production market has evolved dramatically in the last century from small backyard barnyards to todays high- production farms of more than 2. 5 million birds. Due to the varied demands and operations necessitated by this current, broad spectrum of customers (here, chicken farmers), the current market is best understood by segmenting it first by flock size. As shown in Exhibit 4 of the case study, we see the percentage growth (decline) of each flock size segment as it relates to farm size and chicken count from 1964 to 1996. Based on this data, farms with flock sizes less than 10,000 chickens have dramatically reduced in this time period while farms with flock sizes larger than 10,000 have consistently grown in each of the four high-volume segments. Additionally, the market data also demonstrates a significant progression of incineration both regionally as well as in the nations number of industry producers. In 1974, 80% of the laying hens in the United States were housed in Just 3% of the countrys chicken farms. Ii Regionally speaking, the farms have evolved into concentrations in where Just three statesCalifornia, North Carolina, and Georgia account for more 25% of the nations chickens. Iii Finally, additional research projects continued growth in the U. S. Chicken population in the following five years (1975-1979). The projection estimates a steady population growth of 4. % within this timeshare. Coinciding with this projected population growth is the parallel expectation that the trends of large-flock farms will continue to realize the highest industry margins. Also expected to continue is the concentrated trend whereby 80% of chickens are owned by Just 3% of U. S. Chicken farms. Iv Benefits and Risks to Chicken Farmers The main benefit to farmers is in their replacing the practice of debarking with Odds contact lenses. Chickens are social birds and part of their natural desire to organize a social order within their respective flocks relies upon physical fighting and pecking to create a hierarchy. This process leads to chicken mortality and also impacts egg reduction, among other disruptions. The following are benefits realized by substituting DOD lenses for debarking: Reduction in flock mortality from 9% to 4. 5%. Vi This reduction in bird replacement costs would represent approximately $2,160 in annual savings. Debarking-related trauma results in the loss of 1 egg per year per wearing DOD lenses, chickens feed more efficiently, therefore allowing farmers to reduce the depth of the feed in troughs by 3/8 or more. Farmers would save more than 156 pounds of feed per day if their chickens are using lenses and not debarked. 1 56 pounds per day is the equivalent of 56,940 pounds per year, or, 28. 7 non-metric tons. This is a savings of $4,498. 26 per year. Annual associated labor costs are virtually a wash, but lenses fall slightly cheaper than debarking. See Exhibit A. Summary of key (gross) savings to be realized by farmer = $7,506. 74 5. 15). Estimated cost of DOD lenses = $4,000. 00. Net savings = $3,506. 74 per year. The risks that exist for farmers should they substitute the DOD lenses for the practice of debarking may include: The lenses may not function as expected, require additional maintenance or time inspecting or correcting improper installation Unknown risks associated with long-term wear (complete blindness, impact on egg production, appetite) Flock reliance upon the product and lack of control on changes in product costs (and no competitive alternatives) Marketing Program Farmers will find out about this product from trade shows and local, on-the- ground salespeople. These are traditionally independent-minded men that will need to be convinced face-to-face (preferably by someone that they trust) that Odds lenses work, are easy to incorporate into their flocks, and create significant savings for their farms. Theyll decide to buy once they are convinced that the lenses work. They are likely not high-risk buyers that would be willing to spend money on less-traditional operating methods. DOD must demonstrate local or regional knowledge of the market and industry, and ideally, will be able to share and demonstrate local success within one or more of the regions chicken farms as part of the effort to convince new farmers to replace debarking with Odds lenses. Additionally, being able to demonstrate real savings to farm operations will be very important to convincing the rammers to purchase the lenses. As a segment, they will be suspicious of the value of the lenses until after considerable experience with the lenses. Viii I believe that DOD should launch the new lenses and I would recommend the initial price be set at $50. 0 per box of 250 pair, or $0. 20 per pair. I believe that this price will allow the product to have the necessary credibility in the marketplace as a product that is a legitimate alternative to debarking. Additionally, this will allow for discount pricing if needed for trial periods and demonstration projectstwo tragic activities that will be valuabl e to the initial roll out of the product to this market segment. While the increase in initial pricing may require more intense sales efforts, I am also proposing a sharper, more focused regional market: California. Geographically, California is the largest region for Odds targeted market of chicken farmers with more than 521 farms and approximately 40 million chickens (on farms of 20,000 flock size or greater). I also propose that DOD focus all efforts on California, particularly its larger farms in an effort to maximize its sales force and to increase Odds chances of success (as previously demonstrated, savings are larger for larger larger farms may have the potential to be more innovative or at least more likely to be interested in new opportunities since they are typically managed as more sophisticated businesses. Going forward, I believe that the product has a place in the market. Projections demonstrate an increase in chicken populations nationally in the coming five years as well as an expansion of the large-flock farms. Fortunately for DOD, the savings realized by the utilization of the lenses are dramatically higher when called against larger flocks/farms, particularly as it relates to feed savings. For farms of 50,000 chickens (which have grown by more than 83% in the last five years and are forecasted to continue), the gross feed savings alone can exceed $11,000 per year. X Additionally, at $0. 20 per pair, DOD can afford to maximize its start-up costs I further recommend that DOD utilize a more focused roll-out method and to identify a test farm to which it can donate and install the lenses (preferably not for free, but discounted). This opportunity would demonstrate valuable proof to other rammers in the region that may be more difficult to convince or that need more experience with t he lenses before making a decision. One difficulty is proving (or realizing) benefits with the lenses by installing lenses on a few of the birds. By design, the social behaviors of the flock will not measurably change unless the lenses are on all of the birds. Break Even Analysis An analysis of the proposed price for the DOD lenses less the fixed costs (Exhibit B) and the variable costs (changes in production costs) would provide the profits for DOD. The break even pricing will be between $0. 08 and $0. 15 per pair.

Assessment of stroke. annotated bibliography Essay

Assessment of stroke. annotated bibliography - Essay Example There are grammatical and referencing errors through out and the structure is not clear at all times. 3/10 Description & analysis of each individual annotation Explanation, analysis and understanding of the main points of each selected article, e.g. purpose or hypothesis for study, the point of view/perspective from which the work was written, type and appropriateness of study methodology, comments on usefulness of the work & consideration of authority of authors. Relevant links to related sources are briefly identified (this may appear in more detail in the next two sections). Comments: You have selected a number of papers to discuss you the purpose of your study. Some of the papers linked better and some others not as well. For example, the FAST tool could be a topic on its own. The final paper could be used to support some of the arguments made in the earlier papers. You have given a description and the purpose of the studies in some papers and some others this was not as clear (i .e. first two ones). You have used a great deal of evidence in some of the papers although at times not in a coherent manner. You have also made some good comments and pointed to a number of issues that are important and you could discuss/explore further). 13/30 Analysis (from your chosen literature as a whole) Key issues/important factors appropriate to the topic are critically analysed. Connections between the selected articles, coherence (or lack of) between studies, referenced linkage to other related sources. Analysis & comparison of argument/s & opposing views appropriate to the topic area. Comments: This section follows on some of my comments above about the coherence of the papers and topics that each of them negotiate. It was a challenging topic and a very interesting one. Your comments here are clearer and you also bring most of the papers together. I would also expect here to bring some of the ideas explored in the papers. Critical analysis and evaluation was also carried out in the previous section. 12/35 Overall conclusions and recommendations Your main conclusions. Make focused recommendations for practice which demonstrate an integration of previous and new learning (synthesis). Propose recommendations for further research that can address the gaps identified through this annotated bibliography. Comments: You have made some good suggestions although some of them are not as well related to the annotated bibliography. These suggestions are the reflection of your overall clinical role with some relevant aspects to this essay. It should be more focused and tailored to the topic of this essay. You tend to discuss a number of ideas and that does not allow to explore a specific topic in depth. You have not made any recommendations for further research. 8/25 Diagnosis and Assessment Annotated Bibliography C7059609 The role of the Stroke Nurse in Assessment of Stroke Survivor Stroke is used to refer to a clinical syndrome of presumed vascular origin, typ ified by rapidly developing signs of focal or global

Drugs and Alcohol in Mass Media Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Drugs and Alcohol in Mass Media - Term Paper Example Movies of the mid-twentieth century and later of the American origin showed individual characters as heavy drunkards and social destroyers. Many of them had the protagonists play the role of alcoholics who had to conceal their psychological traits for some untold reasons. Some of the observations suggest that, films from the American, German and Canadian culture exposed male characters as alcoholics and barmen with a view to tell the evil sides liquor as it is a destroyer of personal and social life of individuals; while in French movies, alcohol consumption was treated as a family routine (Blocker, Fahey & Tyrrell, 2003, p.238). The debate on how movies and other popular culture demonstrate the role of both men and women as stakeholders in the world of alcohol invites great attention. Not only that a scene involving alcohol consumption gains concentration of the audience, but also it encourages their internal urge for making such light moments. The presentation of violence in visual media through gang wars hired assassinations and communal issues etc present in movies and video clips are also associated with a drinking background. This kind of exposure to alcohol-motivated stimulation of courage grabs the attention of the teenagers who normally make a sense to imitate some of the things they obtain from the source videos. Narcotic drugs are generally considered as an addictive substance; therefore its consumption is observed as a challenge beyond the individual boundaries. Unlike alcohol, drugs of different kinds have varying ranges of influence on their users. Regular use of narcotic drugs causes irresistible addiction which makes the users mentally unstable and physically discouraged from carrying out their daily activities. According to a report by Sacramento-El Dorado Medical Society (1990), addiction is redefined as the compulsory and uncontrolled abuse of psychoactive materials by individuals irrespective of their harmful impacts. Some of the drugs can even generate violent behavior traits in them, which may prove harmful to their families and other members of the society.