Thursday, October 31, 2019

Life is a Trajectory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Life is a Trajectory - Essay Example The river never gets stagnant. From the tender brooks on the lap of the mountains, it runs down as streams getting titanic form and passing by greatest civilisations and mighty cities of the world to end its long drawn journey into the ever eclipsing oceans where the entity of this particular river gets effaced along with many joining the mighty procession called life. In a similar manner, life initiates on the lap of parents, tender and wild, innocent like a flower. At that point of time, love, care and nurturing becomes the only need of life. At the brink of youth, vibrant and exuberant life has an unknown threat to explore the unexplored, to experience the inexperienced and navigate through the dark and unseen abbeys of the wilderment. Then comes the middle age with maturity of perception and wide experiences, where the tramping feet gets shackled with added responsibility and thought that echo in redundant way that wounded knees were better than broken hearts.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Organisation and behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organisation and behaviour - Essay Example For the purpose, organizations use Motivational Theories to increase the efficiency, productivity and quality of their employees (McShane et al., 2009). The results of the motivation on the efficiency and productivity of the organization is difficult to determine. However, research and studies have found that organizations generate high level of outputs and more sustainable levels of achievement if their employees are motivated (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2008). Therefore, the management of motivation is a critical element in an organization that is achieved through maximizing the human resource inputs, in order to attain the potential output of its employees. This document illustrates impacts of motivational theories on organizations in the context of leadership and effective teamwork. Leadership can be defined as a social influence of a person to support and assist other people to achieve the given task or goal. The change in the organization is highly resisted by its employees therefore the organizations should appropriate leadership style to overcome these resistances. For example: when Apple, the company, appointed Steve Jobs was calm (McShane et al., 2009). The team was performing well (Barrett, 2003). The management may adopt cheerleading style as it boosts and maintain the performance of employees during the period. On the contrary, the change of management in the Norwegian Civil Aviation Industry, created a chaotic condition. The organization was in chaos and clam, The Company used coaching leadership, as it shall assess team member to understand, grow and learn the events in a positive way. It also allows strengthening bench and increasing team member retention. Apple developed a strong cognition in its management that allowed the organization to enhance its attitude, belief, behavior and values of its employee (Barrett, 2003). When Steve Job rejoined Apple in 1996, the company enhanced the beliefs and values through developing proximity with Jobs. In addit ion, the company provided six level hierarchy of need by providing Steve Job with the security, psychological and self-actualizing opportunities to motivate human behavior. Apple provided several incentives and exclusive facilities to Job (Hendricks & Louw-Potgieter, 2003). In order to sustain the motivation of its employee, organizations are suggested to practice traditional motivational theories. These theories allow the organization to make a vivid approach towards motivation techniques that an organization may adopt to retain its employee. One of the motivational theories is the Cognitive Dissonance Theory. The theory develops a strong relationship between the management and employees (Barrett, 2003). Through this management is able to expand consciousness of its employee, strengthen their attitude at work, emotion, belief, value and behavior etc. It is essential for the organization to develop a strong relationship with its employee in order to retain its employees (McShane et al., 2009). In the current world, to retain employees the management and organization focuses on the anticipation of its employee. Psychological satisfaction of the employee to keep them focused and connected to work is the main problem. These issues can be eliminated through implementing The Cognitive Dissonance Theory in organization. It develops proximity between employees and the organization providing them mental satisfaction. Besides of this, material satisfaction of

Sunday, October 27, 2019

PESTLE and SWOT Analysis of McDonalds

PESTLE and SWOT Analysis of McDonalds Executive Summary In this report entitles about the external analysis of fast food restaurant and internal analysis of McDonalds cooperation by SWOT analysis and constructing of TWOS matrix that give us the future strategies of MC Donalds. The vital results of external analysis are the there is wide competition with the competitors because it is perfect competition between the firms. The customers are more oriented about the organic food, and also about health issues such as obesity. Such as increasing the organic food is also opportunity and at the same time it will increase the cost, so they should more concentrate pricing of the product. From the internal analysis the firm is stronger in financial position and supply chain and also strong brand image. By combining these elements the firm should go for the research in terms of the health issues and also they can extend the new stores to attract the customers. They should also increase the benefits to the employee s that should decrease the turnover ratio. This report is prepared for the CEO of McDonalds cooperation for taking decision on future strategy Terms of Reference This report is prepared for the internal use only and prepared as the assignment for the strategic management in the course of MBA. The use of this is primarily for accessing the understanding and awarding grades Introduction McDonalds is the one of the biggest fast food chain restaurant having more than 32000 restaurants in 199 countries whole over the world. McDonalds is selling majorly soft drinks and fast food items like fries, chicken, burgers, salads and ice creams. The restraints of mc Donalds are operated such as an affiliate, franchisee, or the corporation itself. In term of long term goals of the mc Donald is satisfaction of customer and loyalty to their brand. Brand image and the unique brand logo are one key success factor for the McDonalds. This is report prearranged in a certain manner that is in the first discussion about the external analysis of the organization by PESTLE and PORTERS five force model for the analysis in industry level. In the internal analysis part discuss about the tangible assets, key success factors ,supply chain, SWOT analysis and formulate the TWOS matrix for the future analysis for future strategies and in the conclusion part entitled about the recommendations and long term strategies. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS In this section deals with the considerate the factors that effect the organization by the external environment. These are forces that the organization would take steps to reduce the effects but could not avoid it totally (Strategic Management Process 2000) Macro environment: The analysis of macro environment is can be done by PESTLE analysis and also other factors like competitors, suppliers, customers. The complete analysis of PESTLE is given in the appendix and some key factors is given in the table 1 The important factors like obesity and other competition is more in the fast food chain, and mc Donalds is also concentrating on the green, price to have competitive edge on competitors, menu based upon the region such as in India Mc Donalds introduced MAC ALLU and O fat items are planning in the menu for attracting the customers more oriented about obesity. Porters five force model Porters five force model is used for the analysis in the industry level; complete analysis of five porters is given in appendix and summarized is given below In the case of MC Donalds from the five porter analysis new entry is very high due to less regulation in fast food industry, substitute threat is low, where as competition and rivalry among the firm are very high so McDonalds pricing is very important. Supply power is low unless the main ingredient of the product is not readily available Opportunities and threats The external audit can be done by using opportunities and threats, the whole Opportunities and threats are explained in the appendix. The opportunities for the mc Donalds such as low cost menu will gain competitive advantage and attract more customers and also such as people also more oriented about the health so McDonalds concretes more on healthier goods o attract the customers. They have main threats like obesity, the relationship with the franchiser, quality also decreasing due to the lack of proper control on the franchising, such as American brand appeal act as threat in some anti American countries, Global recession and fluctuating foreign currencies Key success factors Mc Donalds one of the success factors is franchising with the local suppliers, uniqueness in the brand image, pricing of the meal with the best price, store location in maximum places and easy access to the customers, turnover rate per chair in the McDonalds is high as compare to the restaurants, attracting the customers based upon the kids menu and toys .introduction of breakfast menu and coffee in the menu, localization of their menu like introduction MAC ALLU and mutton in India. Appearance of the restaurant more focus on their values and productivity, Promotion and a continuing focus on building brand loyalty Internal Analysis of McDonalds Internal analysis of McDonalds can be done based upon the tangible assets and intangible assets, strength and weakness, supply chain. These are the factor on which firm has control as they can be alter based upon available resources and increase capabilities. Tangible assets and intangible assets: The vital tangible assets of McDonalds comprise of resources such as financial resources, and also resources in terms physical elements location of restaurants in city, airports and in all happening locations, the trade secret of their recipes, innovative production processes etc and resources in terms of organizational such as efficient strategic planning processes, control systems and excellent evaluation. The vital intangible assets of McDonalds are unique brand identity and their logo. The capabilities of the organizational also important such as satisfaction of the customers are high, product innovativeness and excellent product development capabilities (see appendix). Strengths and weaknesses The strength and weakness are explained in the appendix. The strength of McDonalds is the brand image, their innovative products, uniqueness in their products, strong finical position, more in terms of their stores in the main cities, employee training such as mangers get training in Hamburger University, segmentation of their product such as kid meal, happy meal etc. more concentrate about the customers, turnover per chair is more in McDonalds, strong advertisement campings to attract the more customers, kids offers to attract more customers. Weakness of mc Donalds such as No clear strategic direction, obsolete facilities, higher overall costs than rivals, subpar profits, Falling behind in RD, Too narrow product line. High Staff Turnover including Top management, Unhealthy food image, Uses HCFC-22 to make polystyrene that is contributing to ozone depletion TWOS Matrix: TWOS matrix is build based upon the internal and external factors by using strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. It is constructed based upon comparing of each factor with the other factors of SWOT. The complete TWOS matrix is given in the appendix. In this based upon the TWOS matrix explain about the differ combination as possible. Strengths and Opportunities Because of strong financial position and their unique brand image McDonald can extend their stores and attract new customers. Due to their unique brand image they can advantage over their suppliers. Due to the strong financial position they can invest more on the Research and development example in term of decreasing the fat in the food. Strengths and threats Mc Donalds can take more control on the franchise dealers to maintain the quality and reputation. They can offer novel product and keep the innovation to attract the new customers and existing customers. Weaknesses and Opportunities By creating product in a greener such as decreasing HCFC-22, product quality can be increased and also plan for the healthy meal. By Increase stores in different locating that increases the market penetration. Weaknesses and Threats Applying 0 grams Trans fat that increase the customers who are more oriented about the obesity By changing HCFC -22 in to the carbon free HFC (hydro fluorocarbon) which is not harm to environment. Future Strategy Based upon the different analysis of the firm and by comparing the different analysis the future strategies can be planned. The strategies in term they can be broadly classified in to two broad sections such as business and corporate strategies. The recommendation of the firm based upon the analysis is listed in following section. Business level strategy Such as differentiation of their product to gain competitive advantage, increase in the research to develop food with low fat content that can be decrease the obesity, focusing more on the customers to increase the customer loyalty to the brand. They can also concentrate about the organic food, Labor turn rate should be decreased by giving different bonuses and effective salaries. Corporate Level Strategy Due to the strong financial they can penetrate into new market by increase their store in different locations. And also they go for back ward integration with the suppliers to get the quality goods for low price. Conclusion In this report entitled about the different external and internal environment of mc Donalds and by constructing the PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis and also prepare the TWOS analysis for the long term strategy in the future.mc Donalds increased their stores about 50 percent in last five years but there is only less increase in the sales about 2percent only so McDonalds is planning to change their strategies to attract the more new customer and planning to increase the customer life time value such that the sales can be increased they should consider about the following factors such as health issues they can increase the organic food, they can also by employing and also proper planning of the queues that can decrease the queuing time and also increase the turn over. Price is also one of the important factor because bargain power is low they can be shift to the other company, so pricing can be properly planned. They can be plan for the deli burger which cost low that will give price adv antage whereas they also keep the organic burger in their menu to attract the health oriented customers and also they can be focus on o fat food that can also attract who concrete about diet. They should plan to decrease the employee turnover ratio. Limitation and Recommendation The limitation would be that the current strategies that are practiced currently have not been reviewed in depth; the future research can be done on analyzing the current strategy of mc Donalds and see how these can be amended to formulate the future strategy.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Book Report :: essays research papers

A tiny town in Connecticut. Is this setting of Among Friends by Caroline B. Cooney. The time of year is from the beginning of the school year, to the end of the school year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main characters in this book are Jennie, Paul, Emily, Hillary, Jared, and Ansley. All the main characters are juniors in high school. Jennie is part of the awesome threesome. She always gets good grades on tests even if she doesn’t study. People envy her for that. Paul is also know as Paul Classified because no one knows anything about him, they don’t even know his middle name. Jennie likes Paul and she flirts with him all the time. Emily and Hillary are part of the awesome threesome too. Jared and Ansley are boyfriend and girlfriend. They both dislike Jennie because she is so popular and intelligent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The conflict in this book is man vs. himself. Jennie has to decide whether she wants to stay part of the awesome threesome, or make a state record by winning the prize for the smartest kid in the state 2 years in a row like her parents want her to.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book starts out by the awesome threesome, Emily (also known as Em), Hillary, and Jennie skipping through the hallway with their arms linked tightly together. They have been best friends ever since they could remember. During the summer, Em and Hill went to Colorado to ski. Usually Jennie goes to, but this year she didn’t. Em and Hill could feel Jennie slipping away from the awesome threesome. All Jennie did was flirt with Paul Smith. Jennie got chosen to represent the school in a test called Star Student. It is a test to see how smart you are. The one, who wins, will get ten thousand dollars and a medal. Jennie is so smart and perfect that Hillary and Em cant take it anymore and they start being very cruel to her. They ignore her and they do stuff without her. She gets very upset and she says the notebook she writes in is her only friend. She thinks no one likes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While she is at the star student contest, during the first test she runs out of the room. She never came back. People are very worried about her. Some people are saying it’s because her parents pushed her too much, or because she was depressed, and some say she got murdered.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

P3 Equality, Diversity and Sociological Perspectives

UNITE 2: EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES P3 In this task, discrimination will be defined, levels of discrimination and its clear knowledge and understanding of the consequences. The potential effects of discrimination on service users in Dungrowin House will be described. These discriminatory practices on service users’ motivation, self-esteem, behaviour and opportunities will be looked at. Discrimination could be define as single out a particular person or group for worse or better treatment than others, according to Penguin Group dictionary (2004).It is against the law to discriminate service users in Health and Social care. According to Stretch and Whitehouse (2010), discrimination is when one person treats another person or group unfairly, by not giving them equal treatment based on their prejudice. There are other ways in which service users can be discriminated against. These could be age, class, culture, gender, health status, race, religion and sexual ity. Discrimination can occur in all this forms. In Dungrowin house, both the practising Jew and HIV positive service users are being discriminated against. Similar essay: Equality and DiversityThe service users suffer discrimination based on their culture and health status. Most of the nursing staffs in Dungrowin house may not be comfortable with the practising Jew or the HIV positive service users and may discriminate against them. There are three levels of discrimination that service users have suffered in Dungrowin house. They are individual level, institutional level and cultural level. These discriminatory practices have potential effects on the service users in Dungrowin house. Individual level discrimination: This happens where a person is single out and treated differently, negatively.This may include violence, insults and exclusions. In Dungrowin house, service users may suffer this level of discrimination especially the practicing Jew and HIV positive service users. The practicing Jew may be excluded from service users’ activities, will not be given his/her kosher meal, will not be given the chance to practice his /her faith and many more. For the HIV positive service user the attitudes of the nursing staffs will be negative, will insult him/her for contracting the disease and no one may be willing to get into contact with him/her.Institutional level discrimination: This happens where organisation or institution systems and practices exclude certain groups or persons from accessing its resources. In Dungrowin, there is that level of discrimination. This is because it is a residential care home for the elderly. This means if you are not elderly you cannot be treated. They discriminate against age. Cultural level discrimination: This happens when people absorb the values, beliefs and ideas deeply that they do not challenge negative stereotypes or behaviours. They tend to accept the discrimination to normal or okay.In Dungrowin house, the practicing Jew and HIV positive service users will just accept the discriminatory practices to be normal. This could be the fact that they have complained about the nursing staffs bad practices or abuse and nothing have been done by management. Service users will just have to accept what they go through at the hands of the nursing staffs. According Rasheed, Hetherington and Irvine (2010), there are two types’ discriminatory practices. They are direct (overt) and indirect (covert). Direct discrimination is usually quite clear, obvious and straight to the abuser.For example, in Dungrowin house nursing staffs will tell the HIV positive service user it is his/her fault that he/she finds him/her self in that situation (verbal abuse). The practicing Jew will be told he/she is having what everybody is eating. Indirect discrimination is difficult to prove, it may occur when people seem as though they are being treated alike. This got to do with bad attitudes and body languages. For example, in Dungrowin house the HIV service user will always be treated with gloves and the nursing staffs will be avoiding im/her (non-verbal communication). With t he practicing Jew, he/she will be excluded from service users’ activities without notice. All of these discriminatory practices have potential effects on service users’ motivation, self-esteem, behaviour and opportunities. Discriminating against service users does not motivation and self-esteem. It will discourage them from recovering from their illness. In the case of the HIV positive and practicing Jew service users, since they are discriminated against in Dungrowin house they have low or no motivation and self-esteem.No one wants to come close to them, use abusive language at them and are denied their privileges in Health and Social care. This discrimination against them will affect service users behaviour. In the case of HIV positive and practicing Jew, they may threaten to commit suicide or self harm. They may be angry with themselves as to why this is happening to them. Since service users are discriminated against their opportunities are limited. The HIV positiv e and practicing Jew service users are denied of their rights and abuse in all situations.They have no choice of how they are suppose to be treated. Discrimination was defined to be singling out a particular person or group for worse or better treatment than others. People or person can be discriminated against for being different. This could be in terms of their age, class, culture, gender, health status, race, religion and sexuality. There are three levels of discrimination. Which are individual level, institutional level and cultural level. There are also two types of discrimination, direct (overt) and indirect (covert).Discrimination has potential effects on service users and should be discouraged at all levels not just in Health and Social care. Nursing staffs should follow the care value base, policies and legislation provided by their association, agencies and the government. It is against the law to discriminate against service users. BIBLIOGRAPHY ? Strech B, Whitehouse M (2 010). Health and Social. Essex: Edexcel. ? Penguin Group (2004). Pocket English Dictionary. London: Penguin Books ? Rasheed E, Hetherington Alison and Irvine J. (2010). Health and Social Care. London: Edexcel.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

What Is Fire Safety Engineering Environmental Sciences Essay

IntroductionFire safety applied scientists utilize fire scientific discipline and engineering to protect human life and human belongings in instance of fire. It involves fire safety design, fire safety technology and fire safety direction for the design intent. Over the past several centuries, fire safety technology has evolved significantly, from early applications to forestall inferno to the latest application of fire restrictions such as fire compartmentalisation. The developments of fire safety applied scientist seem to be matured until the ulterior portion of twentieth century, particularly after 911 event. Therefore, fire safety applied scientists must see important ethical concerns such as professional behavious and proof of theoretical accounts.DefinitionWhat is â€Å" Fire Safety Engineering † ? Harmonizing to the definition by the Institution of Fire Engineers of UK â€Å" The application of scientific and technology rules, regulations ( Codes ) , and adept judgement, based on an apprehension of phenomena and effects of fire and of the reaction and behavior of people to fire, to protect people, belongings and the environment from the destructive effects of fire. † Fire safety technology represent a group of professional applied scientist with broad cognition about fire in term of fire and human behavior. Harmonizing to the society of fire protection applied scientist of US, it indicates that the major aim of fire safety technology is application of technology rules and fire scientific discipline to protect human life and belongings from destructive fire, which including following important activities ( Institution of Fire Engineers of UK ) : Fire jeopardies analysis extenuation of fire harm by proper design, building, agreement, and usage of edifices stuffs, constructions, industrial procedures, and transit systems the design, installing and care of fire sensing and suppression and communicating systems, and post/fire probe and analysis. is familiar with the nature and features of fire and the associated merchandises of burning understands how fires originate, spread within and outside of buildings/structures, and can be detected, controlled, and/or extinguished, and is able to expect the behaviour of stuffs, constructions, machines, setup, and procedures every bit related to the protection of life and belongings from fire.Role of fire safety technologyHarmonizing to the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, a fire safety applied scientist applies scientific discipline and technology rules to protect people, places, workplaces, concerns and environment from destructive fires. Fire applied scientists analyze how edifices are used, how fires start and grow, and how fires and fume affects people and human behavior. For the latest fire protection engineerings, fire safety applied scientists can plan fire control system, sensing and communicating system and supply agencies of flight program by evaluate different fire scenarios within the edifice. Furthermore, fire safety research on fire rated merchandises and building stuffs are normally conducted presents, which reinforces applied scientists ‘ function to look into fire to detect fire behavior such as fire spreads, smoke spreads, protective steps and those critical opposition demand. Safety and cost effectivity in design has to balanced in order to supply equal protection for both belongings and its residents.Prescriptive codificationsFor general fire technology design, applied scientists will reexamine a proposal design for regulative conformity or local codification, such as Code of Practice, Building Regulations A & A ; B and NFPA Life Safety Code, which are called normative codifications. Prescriptive codification provide a counsel on effectual fire safety direction schemes with a complete solution in footings of safety programs, system procedures and direction tools, in order to set up a solid foundation to back up technology designs.Alternate attackFire Safety Engineering offers an alternate attack to accomplishing fire safe design solutions when compared to prescriptive codifications and regulative controls. The public presentation based methodological analysiss associated with fire technology provide chances for a hazard based rating to accomplish greater degrees of safety whilst leting the interior decorator and designer more range in accomplishing their aspirations for modern designs. In most instances the costs of supplying acceptable degrees of fire safety are lessened when following a fire engineered design solution. Harmonizing to Approved Document B â€Å" Fire Safety † in the Building Regulations 2000, â€Å" Fire safety technology can supply an alternate attack to fire safety. It may be the lone practical manner to accomplish a satisfactory criterion of fire safety in some big and complex edifices, and in edifices incorporating different utilizations, e.g. airdrome terminuss †Aspects 1 -Professional behaviousFire technology provides an effectual and efficient fire safety degree for a undertaking design with a lower limit of obstructors. It has to run into the international and national criterions as reference above as in the normative codifications and besides based on the design applied scientists ‘ experience and cognition. Additionally, alternate design considerations may be required based on client demands, i.e. authorities authority.. Fire safety applied scientists design protection system, such as fire sprinklers, pipes alliance, smoke design and direction, fire dismay system, fire sensing system and other particular jeopardies systems. Other than that, fire protection applied scientists ever collaborate to the professional design of structural fire opposition, means of emersion and fire rated building. As undertakings become more complex, and many people become more reliant on fire safety system. It is going more of import and clear that it is good to affect fire safety applied scientists at the earliest phases of design planning, from construct design and through to technology design phases. Benefits of incorporating fire technology into the nucleus design include a greater grade of design flexibleness, better fire safety solutions, a maximization between cost and the benefits it provides and the higher possibility for invention design and building. Conversely, if no fire protection applied scientists are invol ved in the undertaking squad until fire technology jobs are identified, holds can ensue as the fire protection applied scientist analyzes the job and develops solutions. At this phase there may be design options are likely to be more stiff than if fire technology input was more in the construct phase, and clip spent on old blessing phases will necessitate to be overcome once more as if big adequate alterations to plan has occurred which necessitates extra reappraisals and blessings. It is likely that design solutions from the fire applied scientists may be met with opposition to alter by squad members from other subjects, given that the design is at such a ulterior phase. By the usage of public presentation base blessing, a good balance of cost and safety issues allows for the decrease of building cost monetary value and frequently gives the designer and/or developer more freedom as to the in their design/construction of the structure.. Aspects 2 – Validation of patterning Validation is the procedure of finding the grade of understanding between manner anticipation and existent universe events ( Gritzo, L.A. , Senseny P.E. , Xin Y. and Thomas, J.R. , 2005 ) . The end of proof is to quantify assurance in the prognostic capableness of the theoretical account. Therefore the appraisal of theoretical account proof between theoretical account result and experimental consequences is really of import. It is because the truth of fire behaviour anticipation is extremely depending on the fire probe or fire modeling trial. Harmonizing to the fire safety diary ( Joyeux, D, 2002 ) , experimental probe of fire door behavior during a natural fire, it was indicated that they are over designed comparison to the thermic conventional fire and the natural fire. The consequences of the existent fire testing determined that the standard fire does non stand for a realistic representation of constructing constituent under existent fire. Besides the fire opposition clip demand does non match to the behavior of constructing constituent in existent fire. Modeling is of import for public presentation base design, as a professional fire applied scientist, patterning improves our cognition about fire component behavior and natural fire state of affairss.DecisionIn decision, fire safety technology has evolved significantly, and presents undertaking design has matured in its attitude about the development and probe of fire events. As a professional fire applied scientist, the above standards of ethical thought such as professional behavior and proof of patterning must be identified and discussed. Besides the above ethical facet, other subject such as public information, professional ordinance and safety versus cost can be considered for farther survey.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The eNotes Blog Every Book ASurprise

Every Book ASurprise Ah, the instant gratification of the vending machine. Always there when you desperately require a dozen eggs or a business card, and no dilly-dallying about it! Well, perhaps thats only in Japan Regardless, the capabilities of the vending machine have now been pushed to new levels in Toronto, where you can now find the amazing, the wondrous Biblio-Mat. With the Biblio-Mat, customers of Torontos second-hand bookshop The Monkeys Paw  can snag an obscure, out-of-print book for just a Toonie. (Thats Canadian for $2.) The one catch may be that when you insert your 2 bucks into the machine, you have no idea what book it might divulge. Then again, thats also half the fun; rumor has it that the Biblio-Mat, aside from being the first vending machine of its kind, also possesses psychic abilities in its book-granting powers. So if you dont like the book you get, well, you probably have the imagination and enthusiasm of a mollusk. Other fun things about it are the retro mint exterior, not unlike a 1950s refrigerator, accompanied by the mechanic clank upon the Biblio-Mats mystic delivery. When a customer puts coins into it, the Biblio-Mat dramatically whirrs and vibrates as the machine is set in motion. The ring of an old telephone bell enhances the thrill when the customer’s mystery book is delivered with a satisfying clunk into the receptacle below. Another fun fact: bookshop owner Stephen Fowler initially envisioned the Biblio-Mat as a metal locker with his assistant inside, delivering books upon payment. The end result is almost as good, only because nothing really beats a human hand emerging from the other side of a vending machine (though it probably would have violated several fair employment laws). Also, I secretly believe that every ATM hides behind it an elf, and every automatic door a man with a thin piece of string, but I think thats just me I just love this idea and cant wait to see what book within the psychic interiors of the Biblio-Mat awaits my next visit to Toronto. Check it out in action below! *No assistants were subjected to confined spaces in the making of this vending machine.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Homework Harm and Struggles Let Us Ban It

Homework Harm and Struggles Let Us Ban It Homework Ban: Failure in Class or a Recharge Before Next Day’s School? Disputes about homework and its amount will probably exist as long as education itself. Students oppose it, teachers and some parents enforce it, and some parents begin to doubt the practice and ask questions about how exactly this additional workload is going to help their children to be curious thinkers if all kids want to do every day is to get a bit more sleep. This gloomy picture made us come up with two issues up front: first, we will scrutinize real pros and cons of heavy homework load, and second, we will offer you a solution to your ordeal. If today’s tasks are just impossible (as if other daily tasks are much easier!) just let us know, and we will help you out of any written task you can think of. We have been dealing with stressed students and abundant assignments long enough to know how to accomplish them efficiently and not to compromise your grades. Now back to the question of homework. What Science Has to Say About Homework Role in Students’ Academic Success Scholars including biologists and children psychologists have long studied how kids’ bodies and minds function and arrived at a conclusion that home task does not essentially improve learning outcomes of students. Only certain limited amounts of work at home do boost learning and make students more confident in applying their theoretical gains to real-life challenges. But the tradition of abundant homework with heavy stress on memorization dates back to times ages ago when kids’ needs were not taken into account and adults treated kids in ways they believed were right, not in ways that were actually right. Since then the education system was thoroughly overhauled, both for the benefit of students and the country, but the concept of homework did not change much. Moreover, in various countries approach to homework is different, in some teachers assign loads of it, and in some kids have plenty of time to rest and enjoy themselves after school, and their academic level does not trail behind the US students level. Recently, the debate has moved to the public sphere, with thoughtful arguments in media both for and against homework. HuffPost claims that only 30 minutes of work is allowed. The Atlantic takes the more measured stand and calculates what load suits what age. Teachers, parents, and experts all voice their sincere beliefs and facts to support their positions. But can these debates be boiled down to some concise lists? Actually, yes. We will begin with a more inspiring part: 10 Solid Reasons Homework Should Be Eliminated (or at least heavily limited in amount). Unfortunately, the existence of these facts will not make colleges and schools skip home tasks overnight, but at least you will be equipped to support your position about homework when asking a teacher to give fewer tasks for home studies. And these arguments will be related neither to laziness nor to boredom (these two are too easy to dismiss). Stealing home time that can be spent resting, communicating with parents, siblings or friends – or just engaging in enriching things that you really like. Students spend in school long hours that can be compared to a full workday – and they are required to do more work at home. In adults’ world it is called overtime and is paid for at double rates, and here it is considered a benefit for students just for the sake of its own. Unnecessary work that does not actually impact knowledge or academic success. For homework to be useful and impact study outcomes positively, many factors are to be taken into consideration while tasks are assigned. Namely, the age of students, the total load of homework for the day, the complexity of the material, its familiarity to students, and many more. But usually, tasks are just dumped on a student’s plate, both discussed and undiscussed in class. What a teacher did not manage to cover in class is supposed to be mastered by students on their own. This is not what homework should be like, experts say. Making students fail at next day tests. Long hours of afterschool work exhaust students even more, and the next day they feel fatigued and distressed, and they hardly remember things they need to pass tests (especially if large home tasks were in a different subject). So they fail, and instead of benefiting from homework they have low scores in tests as well. Pressure on mental health and a negative impact on mood. It is obvious that additional challenging work is no good for developing self-perception and attitudes to the world. The unnecessary challenge to students who have other tasks like job, sports or looking after siblings. Instead of pursuing healthy pastime or hobbies that can develop into careers, students spend time doing useless tasks. And then they are expected to know for sure what they want to do in the future! No assistance in doing tasks. One of the biggest problems with homework. Students have no one to ask if they have troubles with homework, and so they just repeat their mistakes over and over. Standardization of ways students has to learn things. People are wired for different channels of learning, and while some can learn by reading, others just physically need to listen or to watch a video to understand something. Writing is not everybody’s talent. Yes, writing in itself is challenging. Not everyone can come up with a decent essay in, say, history or sociology. Just skip it. The content of tasks does not coincide with the content covered in class. One more improper way to give home task. The lack of time in class and overly packed curricula are not the problems of students, they are problems of boards and educators who design curricula without knowing what goes on in real classrooms. But since teachers are required to meet milestones, they dump the load on students to study at home. This is a total no-no from a scientific viewpoint, but it happens often. Artificial reason for bitter arguments between parents and kids. Yes, teenage is hard, and fights over homework only aggravate already tense and complex relations between parents and kids. 8 Facts That Show That Homework Can Be Useful (Under Certain Conditions) Helps to reduce time spent on gadgets in time of digital intoxication. Yes, maybe, it does not require browsing the web for a couple of hours and typing a paper for three more hours. Helps to learn time management (if given in reasonable amounts). Yes, if a load is manageable then time distribution planning is important. But today homework just consumes all waking time of students. No management needed. Helps master critical thinking and train memory. Yes, if a material was already covered in class and discussed. Then going over it can help students see the connection they did not notice or ask questions that go beyond the surface of events. If they see the material for the first time, they have more questions than answers – and no one is here to answer them. Gives a sense of responsibility and accomplishment. Yes, if work is manageable then completing it before doing something for fun makes kids feel responsible and proud. Boosts research skills. Yes, if students have a framework of knowledge already and are required to elaborate it through research. A doubtful benefit, as researches show today. But anyhow, creating a written project does require research planning, drafting and creating a final version. This is a good training session in switching between tasks. Topics for discussions with parents. Cool, if parents can participate and help children grasp the topics better. Refreshing study materials in memory before tests. Yes, but home task should include only the subject related to the next day’s test. Then it will not divert time and attention and will help to understand and memorize stuff better. So, What Is the Conclusion About Homework? As any medicine, it has its proper dosage and plans of administering. If everything is observed carefully, a home task is a valuable tool to boost learning and develop students’ thinking. But if the load is too big or too complex, it poisons minds, exhausts bodies and in general makes school a gruesome place. So it is up to teachers (and education boards and committees) to manage homework amounts more carefully and so inspire kids’ curiosity and openness to learning. If nothing else helps, we are the last bastion that will take a punch and save your grades by delivering fast and high-quality homework assistance. Remember that.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How Private Schools Are Using iPads

How Private Schools Are Using iPads Private schools are on the forefront of using technology to further education. NAIS, or the National Association of Independent Schools, has developed a set of principles about technology use in their member schools that emphasizes the importance of training teachers so they can implement the new technologies in their classrooms. As technology educator Steve Bergen of Summercore has noted in his thirty years experience implementing technology in private schools, the key to implementing technology well in schools is training teachers to use it well and use it across the curriculum. Here are some novel ways private schools across the country are using technology, including iPads. Using the iPad to Teach Across the Curriculum Many private schools have begun to use tablets, including iPads. For example, Cambridge Friends School, a co-ed Quaker pre-K through 8th grade school in Massachusetts, developed a program by which every sixth, seventh, and eighth grader will use an iPad to replace laptops. As reported in Business Wire, The iPads were provided in part thanks to a grant from Avid founder Bill Warner and his wife, Elissa. The iPads are used across the curriculum, in every subject matter. For example, students use them to watch time-release photos of an osmosis and diffusion lab. In addition, students were able to see a slide of the Maya temple of Chichà ©n Itz and then swipe across the slide to see what the temple looked like 1,000 years ago. Using the iPad to teach Math San Domenico School, a boys and girls pre-K through 8th grade day school and a 9-12 girls day and boarding school in Marin County, California, has a 1-to-1 iPad program for grades 6-12 and an iPad pilot program in grade 5. The schools technology department works to train teachers in all grades to use the technology to further educational goals. For example, math teachers at the school use iPad math text applications, and they also use the iPad for taking notes and managing homework and projects. In addition, teachers can use applications such as videos from Khan Academy to reinforce their skills. Khan Academy has over 3,000 videos on a range of academic areas, including math, physics, history, and finance. Students can use their videos to practice skills and keep track of how well they are doing towards reaching their goals. Another well-known math application is Rocket Math, available as an iPad application. Through this program, students can practice math skills through worksheets or through math missions on the iPad. At the nearby Drew School a co-ed 9-12 school in San Francisco, all students also have an iPad. Students are trained about how to use their iPads, and they are allowed to bring their iPads home. In addition, the school hosts training sessions for parents to learn how to use the iPad. At the school, math teachers digitally project math problems that students can work out on their iPads, and teachers and students use a program called SyncSpace Shared Whiteboard to work together on math problems. The images captured on the Whiteboard can be e-mailed or saved. Eventually, the school plans to replace all textbooks with iPads. The iPad as an Organizing Device Students can also use the iPad as an organizational tool. Some teachers at different schools have noted that the iPad can help middle school and other students who tend to lose or misplace homework handle and centralize their assignments. In addition, students who have iPads do not misplace their textbooks or notebooks. Students can also use the iPad to take and organize notes using tools such as the Note function or a program such as Evernote, which allows students to tag notes and place them in specific notebooks so they can be easily found. As long as students dont misplace their iPad, they have all their materials at their disposal.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Animal Rights versus Animal Welfare Research Paper

Animal Rights versus Animal Welfare - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that animals are part of the environment and should be protected from the changes that human activities have caused on the environment. Animal protection can be done through animal rights and animal welfare. Animal rights refer to the concept of considering the interest of animals at the same level of concern as considering human interests. Animal welfare ensures that the physical and psychological health of the animals is observed. The terms used in animal protection show human concern over nature. Animals should be protected from suffering and unethical treatment. Animal rights reject the use of animals while animal welfare groups allow animal use but humane treatment should be accorded to  them. When human and animal rights conflict, animal rights activist prioritize the rights of animals, while animal welfare activists prioritize human life. Animal welfare promotes controlled use of animals for agricultural purposes such as farming an d protein production while animal rights activists avoid the use of animal products. The similarity between both groups is that the wellbeing of animals is promoted. Cases of abuse, negligence,  and abandonment of animals are prevented through this group. Endangered animals are also protected by both groups. Both groups of activists ensure that the relationship between animals and humans is mutually beneficial. Man obtains food from the animals in return the animals are protected from disease and danger.  

Friday, October 18, 2019

Evaluation and Background to Lean Construction Case Study

Evaluation and Background to Lean Construction - Case Study Example The ambition of the Task Force was to bring about a Radical change in all the industries and by their experience bring about efficiency and improvements within the construction environment which would benefit all. (Paragraphs 15, 16 and 18) Lean Construction, in general, refers to a construction that would help to maximize the customer’s needs whilst satisfying the necessary and required parameters and in doing so, using the minimum amount of resources (Howell 1999). It is actually the â€Å"physics† of construction mainly based on the principles of production management (Howell 1999). It refers to a whole new kind of project delivery system which can be utilized by any type of industry including construction though best suited for complex, uncertain and quick projects (Howell 1999). There are many definitions pertaining to Lean Construction. Some define it as a â€Å"way to design production systems to minimize waste of materials, time and effort in order to generate the maximum possible amount of value† (Koskela et al. 2002). According to Koskela, the construction theory needed to be reviewed to centralize on optimizing the project by taking into account the flow of work between activities and the formation and release of value (Wright 2000). The Lean Project Delivery System (LPDS) and the Last Planner System of Production Control was developed by LCI where the principles pioneered in manufacturing were applied to construction (Pinch 2005). PDS's origins can be traced back to Lean Production Management which is a manufacturing approach brought into the limelight by Toyota Motor Company in the 1980s (Pinch 2005). The term was introduced by the Toyota engineer â€Å"Ohno† (Pinch 2005). His recommendation was to stop the production line instead of delivering a defective part downstream.  This approach resulted in streamlining the workflow, minimizing inventory and obtaining an up-graded end-product of good quality (Pinch 2005).  Ã‚  

SEE BELOW FOR INSTRUCTION Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SEE BELOW FOR INSTRUCTION - Research Paper Example This paper discusses the components of Betty Neuman’s theory and how they can be employed in the nursing practice Every system that deals with patients is an exceptional array instrument that responds to the environment. Ideally, the responses are covered in a structure that determines the relationship with the environment. Consequently, the theory assumes that there are stressors that have universal tendencies that have a potential of upsetting the stability of the patients. The theory also assumes that the line of defense should act as a caveat to environmental stressors (Meleis, 2011). Essentially, the assumption is that in the absence of a barrier enables the stressor to penetrate the line of defense effectively affecting the well-being of the patient. Every patient has the internal mechanisms that act as a resistance to any form of external aggression. It is essential that potential risks to patients are determined and appropriate measures taken to deal with the issues that may affect the stability of the clients. The theory also notes that clients in hospital environments constantly exchange energy with external surroundings. Moreover, the model intimates that there should be prioritization in terms of identifying the first line of action in so far as dealing with the stressors is concerned (Meleis, 2011). The treatments should be ranked as a consequence of making treatment effective. Neuman’s theory focuses on the extent to which an individual can interact and relate to the environment. Patients have a basic reaction to the environment, and the degree of response leads to the depletion of energy effectively leading to illness. The flexible line of defense is an important component that acts as a barrier to potential threats (Meleis, 2011). Stressors portend a number of negatives that may affect the stability of a patient. Prevention is critical in dealing with the stressors. The primary treatment is important and

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Statistical Analysis Math Speech or Presentation - 1

Statistical Analysis Math - Speech or Presentation Example A population is defined as the complete collection of all elements of the target groups (individuals, items or objects) whose characteristics are being studied (Brase and Brase 6). The population in this research is the total students in the second semester Bachelor of Human Resources class. A sample is defined as the subset of the population, which consists of a portion of the population selected for study (Brase and Brase 6). In this case, the sample in this research is the male and female students with slightly or very overweight. This is because these overweight students were being drawn and identified from the total 100 students, so the 100 students is the set and overweight students is the subset of the 100 students. The purpose of constructing the frequency table is to show the distribution of the percentages of male, female and total students with slightly or very overweight into classes or intervals. By constructing the classes or intervals, the percentages in the respective category can be fit into exactly one class. The frequency table with the design containing the class limit, class boundary and frequency of male, female and total students with slightly or very overweight was constructed in order for us to compare the data distribution clearly between the percentages of male, female and total students with slightly or very overweight. In order to evaluate is there any significance different between the mean percentages of male and female students with slightly of very overweight, two-tailed t-test analysis is carried out at the confidence interval of 90%. The mean percentages of the male students with slightly or very overweight is partially skewed to the right because the mode has a lower value than the median and mean has the lower value than the median, but in this case, the mean is slightly higher than the median, which in turn make the distribution partially skewed to the right. The mean percentages of the female students with

European History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

European History - Essay Example The ideas of these same great leaders, however, triggered the outbreak of two great wars – the American and the French Revolutions – in the latter part of the 1700s. These people had high regard for man, being superior over all of God’s creations because of his ability to reason. Relatively, they contrasted reason with what they believed were in dominance during the Middle Ages – the uncritical acceptance of authority, together with superstition and ignorance. These individuals also blamed the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church for keeping the people in the dark in order to satisfy their personal ambition, which was to stay in power. Among the products of the Enlightenment Age was Francois-Marie Arouet, popularly known as Voltaire. A native of Paris, France, and a son of a lawyer, Voltaire studied in a Jesuit school wherein most students came from the nobility. His company was sought by the Paris society due to his extraordinary ability to write verses, as well as his ability to make people laugh and because of his natural cleverness. Voltaire became extremely wealthy through inheritance and wise investment. He also became popular and was considered to be the greatest French playwright of his time. However, in 1726, his success came to an end when the Chevalier de Rohan a young and influential nobleman had him beaten by his men before having him thrown into the Bastille again as prisoner. According to historians, it all started when the Chevalier de Rohan asked for Voltaire’s name in a mocking manner; the former’s question implied that the latter was claiming to be of noble descent when in fact he was nothing but a commoner. During the time he was in prison, Voltaire was allowed to choose between remaining a prisoner in France or to be put on exile. Upon choosing the latter, Voltaire left France and lived in England for three years, where he found

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Macroeconomic Objectives and Problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Macroeconomic Objectives and Problems - Essay Example During this period it was clear that UK has been relying on ever-increasing levels of debt from booth private and public sectors. Macroeconomic situation during from this period has been characterized with instability in economic growth as well as high inflation rates, which have caused a reduction in real incomes (HM Treasury, 2012). Due to increased inflation rates, UK’s macroeconomic situation has exhibited weakening recovery of the economy. Inflation as identified is attributed to the 40% rise in the oil prices. In addition, there has been increasing instability and uncertainty resulting from euro area crisis, which has so far resulted into reduced confidence amongst households and firms (HM Treasury, 2012). Consequently, this has continued to worsen the macroeconomic situation within the UK. Even though there have been serious adverse effects of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, UK’s economy grew by approximately 0.8% in 2011 (HM Treasury, 2012). With manufacturing o utput growing by 2.0%, the overall GDP unfortunately fell by approximately 0.2% in 2011 thereby indicating instability in the macroeconomic growth (HM Treasury, 2012). ... (pp. 8-15) what is the concept of "fiscal sustainability" and why is it important in the budget strategy? (pp. 7-9) how effective are current policies likely to be? (pp. 18-21) In order to attain the four main objectives of macroeconomic, full employment, stable economic growth, favorable balance of payments, as well as stability in general prices, the UK government develop various strategies. Some of the current macroeconomic strategies developed include (HM Treasury, 2012): Strategies for making public finances attain a sustainable position in addition to developing fiscal targets for the government. This strategy is to ensure that other than stability within the public finances, UK’s economy will have fiscal policies that are credible enough to provide or caution against low long-term interest rates. Activating monetary policies within the economy in order to meet inflation targets whiles also enhancing availability of credit to various individuals and business entities tha t amy wish to privately engage in investment. Carrying out reforms within the financial sector. Such reforms are aimed at building resilience of the financial system whilst ensuring that there is reduced risk to the taxpayers within the economy. Strategically reforming tax in order to make the economy a competitive place that attracts business entities. With such attraction, UK will have more business entities creating more employment opportunities in a bid to attaining full employment macroeconomic objective. Rebalancing and strengthening UK’s economy for future purposes thorough The Plab for Growth. This will include a more lucrative package for investment meant to not only boost economic growth but employment status of the nation. 3. What were the main fiscal measures

European History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

European History - Essay Example The ideas of these same great leaders, however, triggered the outbreak of two great wars – the American and the French Revolutions – in the latter part of the 1700s. These people had high regard for man, being superior over all of God’s creations because of his ability to reason. Relatively, they contrasted reason with what they believed were in dominance during the Middle Ages – the uncritical acceptance of authority, together with superstition and ignorance. These individuals also blamed the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church for keeping the people in the dark in order to satisfy their personal ambition, which was to stay in power. Among the products of the Enlightenment Age was Francois-Marie Arouet, popularly known as Voltaire. A native of Paris, France, and a son of a lawyer, Voltaire studied in a Jesuit school wherein most students came from the nobility. His company was sought by the Paris society due to his extraordinary ability to write verses, as well as his ability to make people laugh and because of his natural cleverness. Voltaire became extremely wealthy through inheritance and wise investment. He also became popular and was considered to be the greatest French playwright of his time. However, in 1726, his success came to an end when the Chevalier de Rohan a young and influential nobleman had him beaten by his men before having him thrown into the Bastille again as prisoner. According to historians, it all started when the Chevalier de Rohan asked for Voltaire’s name in a mocking manner; the former’s question implied that the latter was claiming to be of noble descent when in fact he was nothing but a commoner. During the time he was in prison, Voltaire was allowed to choose between remaining a prisoner in France or to be put on exile. Upon choosing the latter, Voltaire left France and lived in England for three years, where he found

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations Essay This shows just how angry she is about being dumped. In Havisham Carol Ann Duffy makes miss Havisham seem less than human in many ways, first of all she degrades her by not giving her a proper title, just Havisham not Miss Havisham just Havisham this makes her seem in an under class, then she says that she spent whole days cawing nooooo this makes her seem like a crow as a crow caws, also the crow is an ugly bird so this makes miss Havisham seem even worse. In both Great Expectations and Havisham miss Havisham is shown as an evil old woman, however her appearance is described more shockingly in Great Expectations as miss Havisham is described through the eyes of a small child, Pip. In Havisham she is described through her own eyes, also her description in Great Expectations was of her appearance, her white hair, the yellowing dress e. t. c and in Havisham it is more so her feelings and not so much to do with her appearance. Great Expectations was wrote in a time when gothic novels were very popular, for example Bram Stockers Dracula or Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, also The Castle of Otranto by Mrs Radcliffe, as a result of this Mrs Havisham is portrayed in a very gothic way, as when Pip first sees her he compares her to a waxwork, see was very similar to a waxwork I remember having once seen that quite scared me also because Great Expectations was written a lot earlier than Havisham so Charles Dickens will have been a lot more restricted with the language he could use. You can see this as in Havisham Carol Ann Duffy describes miss Havisham making love to her fianci then biting off his manhood, Charles Dickens would never had dreamed of putting that in his novel so it shows that the two pieces of writing are different not just because of the authors styles or format but also because of the social and historical context. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Major determinant of Cross-elasticity of Demand

Major determinant of Cross-elasticity of Demand When it comes to Cross-elasticity of demand, we must first illustrate the concept of elasticity of demand. We can say that elasticity of demand is the foundation of the theory of cross-elasticity of demand because elasticity of demand is related to only one good while cross-elasticity of demand is about the relation of 2 goods. We should first compare the elasticity of demand with the cross-elasticity of demand. Introduction of Elasticity of Demand Elasticity of demand is often referred to as the own-price elasticity of demand for a certain good, such as the elasticity of demand with respect to the price of a good. Elastic demand reflects that consumers are very price sensitive. This concept is understandable because we all know price is one of important determinant of quantity, and the quantity demanded of a good is negatively related to its price. We can suppose: for a seller, lower price promotes sales; for a buyer, higher price constraints their desire of purchase. Take the example from the textbook, suppose that a 10% increase in the price of an ice-cream cone causes the amount of ice cream you buy to fall by 20%. According to the formula We calculate your elasticity of demand as 20%/10%= 2. This result can be explained as the elasticity 2 reflects the change in the quantity demanded is twice as large as the change in the price in proportion. This result owes to reasons as follows: First, market for ice cream is very competitive instead of monopolistic. Second, consumers have choices of other substitutes such as other desserts. Third, when the price of ice cream rises, consumers can buy cakes, milk-shake or other desserts. The above formula usually yields a negative value, because of the inverse nature of the relationship between price and quantity demanded. They are described by the law of demand (Gillespie, Andrew (2007). p.43.) but economists tend to refer to price elasticity of demand as a positive value (i.e., in absolute value terms). Definition of Cross-elasticity of Demand Based on the theory mentioned above about price elasticity of demand, we can go further to find out the relation of two goods. In order to distinguish it from the elasticity of demand for that good with respect to the change in the price of some other good, i.e., a complementary or substitute good. (Png, Ivan (1999). p.57.) The latter type of elasticity measure is called a cross-price elasticity of demand. In microeconomics, cross-elasticity of demand is also called cross-price elasticity of demand, which measures the responsiveness of the demand for a good when there is a change in the price of another good. According to its definition, it is measured as the change in demand in percentage for the good A that occurs in response to a change in price in percentage of the good B. The formula to calculate cross-elasticity of demand is as follows: Major Determinant The cross-price elasticity of demand is often used to see how sensitive the demand for a good is to a price change of another good. The major determinant of cross-elasticity of demand is the closeness of the substitute or complement. A high positive cross-price elasticity indicates that if the price of a certain good goes up, the demand for the other good goes up as well. A negative one tells us the opposite that an increase in the price of one good causes a decrease in the demand for the other good. A small value (either negative or positive) tells us that there is little or no relation between the two goods. They are listed in the table below: Cross-price Elasticity Indication Example Graph A positive cross-price elasticity If the price of one good goes up, the demand for the other good goes up as well. Pork and chicken, etc. A negative cross-price elasticity An increase in the price of one good causes a drop in the demand for the other good. Bicycles and helmets; Petroleum and cars, etc. A small value There is little relation between the two goods. Things have little or no relation at all For example, if we suppose the price of chicken goes up by 20%, and as a result the quantity demanded of pork increases by 10%, at the premise that there is no change in the price of pork or anything else that would have influence on the demand for pork (such as quality, advertising, location, etc). Then the cross-elasticity of demand for pork, with respect to the price of chicken, is 10%/20% = 0.5. This concept is also easy to understand. Firstly, as we know that for two goods that complement each other show a negative cross elasticity of demand, which means that an increase in the price of one good cuts the demand for the other. For instance, if the price of bicycles goes up, we will expect to see a decline in the demand for bike helmets; if the price of petroleum goes down, the demand for car will be expected to rise. In this sort of case, we can say the goods are complements and they have a close link in price and demand. Secondly, on the contrary, two goods that are substitutes have a positive cross elasticity, it means that an increase in the price of one good will therefore increase the demand for the other good. When we observe a positive cross-elasticity, we can assume that the two goods are substitutes, as with chicken and pork, butter and margarine. The Third circumstance is two independent goods. If two goods are independent, undoubtedly they have a zero cross elasticity of demand. Practical Application For firms and corporations, it is necessary for them to know the cross-elasticity of demand for their products when they consider the effect on the demand for their products of a change facing with the challenging price of a rivals product or a complementary product. If the quality and appearance is almost the same (regardless of the factors of affection location, and loyalty, etc.) but the price of Firm A is higher than that of Firm B, most consumers will choose the products of Firms B. Among theories of marketing, pricing is not only difficult but technical. These are vital pieces of information for firms when making their production and strategic plans. However, for goods those complement each other, a firm is supposed to promote the sales of both the products and their complements. Nowadays, the price of petroleum is constantly high and it will continuously get higher in the near future. This is definitely a disaster for automotive industry. Some of the automobile companies adopt the strategy of reduction but gets an unsatisfactory feedback. What affects the decision of a consumer is mainly the price of petroleum instead of the automobile, so some companies think out of a promotional tactic: buy car get petro discounted (though the price of a car may be very expensive), and this may be to some extent cater to the consumers psychology. Another application of the concept of cross-elasticity of demand is in the field of international trade as well as the balance of payments around the world. Whats more, for different industries and fields, the concept of cross-elasticity of demand can be used to measure the closeness of relation of each other. For those monopoly enterprises, they are the unique suppliers in market and they are powerful enough to control the whole market, so they wont suffer the pressure from others. However, for some industries, such as Ministry of Railway, if it decides to raise the price in a large scale, many passengers will prefer other transportation, which will make aviation industry or highroad industry prosperous. This will undoubtedly lay itself in an unadvantageous position.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Reproductive System Essay -- Papers

The Reproductive System The male and female reproductive systems are different with both having specific roles. The Male Reproductive System ============================ The main structures of the male reproductive system are the testes, the penis and several glands. Male sperm carries genetic information and are produced continually from the start of puberty. The primary spermatocyte divides by meiosis make two secondary spermatocytes and then four, which have half the amount of chromosomes as the mother cell (46 in humans) therefore sperm (spermatozoa) has 23 chromosomes (genetic information). Sperm produced in the testes in a sac called the scrotum is 3Â °C cooler than normal body temperature as they hang down between the legs. Sperm does not develop well at 37Â °C. Seminiferous tubule coiled tightly in the testes make up several hundred compartments and here sperm cells are produced by the sertoli cells. It takes two months for the full production of a sperm cell and several hundred million are made each day. Those that are not ejaculated are broken down and absorbed into the body. Testosterone is secreted from cells in the testes. All cells in the testes for normal function require hormones, these are a combination of pituitary hormones called FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone). After its manufacture sperm is delivered to a long coiled tube called the epididymis where it matures and stays there for at least 18 hours before their mobility develops. Once this has taken place sperm then passes along to another tube called the vas deferens where it is stored. During intercours... ...enta, the lifeline between mother and offspring. Through this organ the foetus gains all its needs and disposes of all its waste. Extensive changes occur in almost all of the systems in a woman's body during pregnancy. If conception does not occur preparations, in the form of a series of changes each month, are abandoned. The materials that are produced each month are scrapped and a fresh cycle begins, preparing again for conception. This regular sequence is termed the menstrual cycle because of the discharge of fluid (menses) occurring via the vagina at regular intervals. The events of this cycle are divided into four stages: - 1 Menstrual 2 Follicular 3 Ovulatory 4 Luteal Phase 3, which is mid cycle, is the time that the ovum is released from the ovary (this is what is known as ovulation).

Friday, October 11, 2019

PESTLE analysis Essay

PESTLE analysis, which is sometimes referred as PEST analysis, is a concept in marketing principles. Moreover, this concept is used as a tool by companies to track the environment they’re operating in or are planning to launch a new project/product/service etc.PESTLE is a mnemonic which in its expanded form denotes P for Political, E for Economic, S for Social, T for Technological, L for Legal and E for Environmental. It gives a bird’s eye view of the whole environment from many different angles that one wants to check and keep a track of while contemplating on a certain idea/plan. Political and legal factors Political and legal factors are here regarded as a unit. They refer to framework given by politics. The exist regulatory or legal frameworks, which can be binding for regions, nations or on an international basis. The frameworks deal with economical issues or issues concerning the labour market.Subsidies for instance fall in the category of economical issues. According to the degree of support through subsidies, a country can be more or less attractive for a company. With respect to the labour law of a country, it can highly influence location decisions, too. If e.g. the dismissal protection in a country is very good, a firm may tend to choose a country with a more flexible hire-and-fire-system. Furthermore, political environment can have a significant influence on businesses, political factors affect consumer confidence and consumer and business spending. For instance, how stable is the political environment? This is particularly important for companies entering new markets. Government policies on regulation and taxation can vary from state to state and across national boundaries. Political considerations also encompass trade treaties, such as NAFTA, ASEAN, and EU. Such treaties tend to favor trade among the member countries but impose penalties or less favorable trade terms on nonmembers. Economical factors Economical factors deal with national or international economical developments and have a direct influence on supplier and consumer markets. Examples of economical factors that play a big role are: the GDP, the rate of inflation, interests, the change rate, employment or the situation of money markets. These economical factors influence demand, competition  intensity, cost pressure and the will to invest. For instance, if the gross domestic product of a country is fairly low, the demand is in general lower than in countries with a higher GDP. Social factors Social factors deal with social issues regarding the values, ideas, opinions and the culture of market participants. Market participants can be employees, customers or suppliers. Through their contact with the company, they influence it due to their opinions. The company needs to follow the market participant’s change of value and adapt its strategies. Nowadays, a change of values concerning environmental protection is on the move. Technological environmental factors Technological environmental factors are meanwhile of a great importance, especially for industrial companies, which underlie a fast technological change. The increasing speed of technological changes, like in microelectronics or robotics can either indicate risks or chances for a company. Particularly producing companies are affected of that fast evolution. Environmental factors At last, environmental factors are becoming more and more important nowadays. They regard natural resources and the basis of human life. Among those, the availability of raw materials and energy is the main topic. As the availability of fossil fuels, like oil or coal, gets worse within the next decades, the dependency on those fuels stays pretty risky. Moreover, to show an ecological responsibility, companies should assess and reduce their ecological damage. Through rare raw materials and increasing pollution, an environmentally friendly management gets spotlighted more and more by the public interest. Consequently, eco-friendly products or technologies can even signify a competitive advantage. To maximise on the benefit of PESTEL it should be used on a regular basis within an organisation to enable identification of any changes in trends. The impact of any external factor may have more severe impact on any division or department but, PESTEL will enable clarification why change is needed and identify potential solutions. As with all techniques there  advantages and disadvantages when ever using it.PASTEL includes some of these advatages;provides easy and simple to use framework for your analysis, helps to treduce threats and impacts of potential treats to your organisation. And also helps you to asses the level of implications of entering a new market both globally and nationaly. However it is also associated with the following disadvantages; as users can over simplfy information used in decision making in an organisation, assumptions often form the basis for most of the data used, making any decision made based on such data subjective. Users must not also succumb to paralysis by analysis where they gather too much information and forget that the objective of this tool is the identification of issues so that action can be taken.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Revealing Sweeney Todd: Exploring a 19th Century Penny Dreadful as a Literary Classic

In 2013 the mention of the character Sweeney Todd conjures up images of Johnny Depp dressed in dramatic makeup and singing in a high budget film production; however, today’s audiences may not be aware of the villain’s extensive history in English literature and the numerous transformations that took place before the creation of the musical monster. From its origin as a serialized Penny Dreadful to an elaborated text and eventual stage play, the infamous barber Sweeney Todd has become a well- known literary character. Sweeney Todd first appeared in the Penny Dreadful titled â€Å"A String of Pearls. A romance† published anonymously in 1846/1847. The first work was subject only to negative criticisms as a cheaply written tale for the lower classes of England. As the story has moved through time and Sweeney Todd has gained popularity, this original text deserves recognition beyond that of a simple immoral tale. The mysterious plot of the story guides readers through a suspenseful narrative laden with mystery and surprise. Much in the way that the pieces of the story are revealed, it is apparent that the 1847 â€Å"A String of Pearls. A Romance. † be exposed as a great work in English literature. I will examine the ways in which the story’s title misguides the reader in plot and twists the story’s overall context, ultimately robbing it of the credit it deserves. I will then look at the ways in which the story’s potential fame has been masked behind nineteenth century literary critique. Based on the title of the piece, the string of pearls would appear to be the key plot element of the story. The reader assumes that the plot will be driven forward by the stolen gems and that ultimately they will be the treasure that brings together the lost lovers at the end of the tale. Conversely the pearls end up leading the reader astray, becoming only important in subplots of the story (Mack 120). The introduction of the string of pearls is within the first chapter when Sweeney Todd burgles them from Mark Ingestrie before murdering him in his barber shop. The pearls are the treasure Mark Ingestrie had brought back for his betrothed, Johanna Oakley and while the tale is dedicated to the strand of pearls, they are only the motivation for plot movement in two of the thirty nine chapters, appearing only when the barber tries to sell them off for profit. The pearls misguide the reader in plot; however, it is the secondary title â€Å"A Romance† that misrepresents the gothic form of the story. Gothic literature originated in the mid eighteenth century and was targeted toward the same middle-class audience as novels (Davison 2). What separated the genre from the majority of works at this time was its focus on ghostly and mystical material and settings. Most critique of gothic works during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was centered on its immoral nature as it was claimed that the literature appealed to readers’ corrupt tastes (Davison 5). Certain elements of literature are prescribed solely to the gothic and can easily define a work as belonging to the genre. According to Davison there are three features that can always be found within a gothic; horror, romance and mystery (7). With this description in mind and the fact that â€Å"A String of Pearls. A Romance† was a penny dreadful whose roots were founded in the gothic genre (Anglo 1), it is easy to place the story within the realm of gothic literature. Looking specifically at the three elements outlined by Davison, it is questionable as to why â€Å"A String of Pearls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  was published as a romance. The romance in the story is typical of eighteenth century tales, where love is the cause of immense joy or upset to characters. Reactions of romantic characters of the period are expected to be over the top dramatically (Davison 58). The romantic characters in the story, Johanna Oakley and Mark Ingestrie fit this description accurately. Johanna’s love for Mark Ingestrie is unbearably strong and the reader is subject to her immense folly as she learns of his possible death. She cries â€Å"Oh, Heaven why have I lived so long as to have the capacity to listen to such fearful tidings? Lost- lost- all lost! God of Heaven! What a wilderness the world is now to me! † (Lloyd 28) after learning that her betrothed did not return from his trip at sea. Mark Ingestrie also shows brief moments of extreme emotion when he believes that Johanna has betrayed him for another man; he admits to himself that he is all alone as â€Å"she whom I loved is faithless† (Lloyd 61). While the two romantic characters in the story prove to be accurate portrayals of romance literature at the time, their melodramatic outbursts are rare within the story and do not pre-occupy the tale. Much more prominent in the story is the terror induced by the characters of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. Sweeney Todd is described as maniacal in both appearance and action while the crime duo haunt the entire town, feeding their victims flesh to the population of London. The opening chapter of the story introduces the reader to Todd and from the beginning Todd gains his reputation as the story’s villain. Described as â€Å"ill- put-together†¦with an immense mouth and such huge hands and feet† (Lloyd 2), the barber is made to appear monstrous. His laugh is also described to the reader early on to be so terrifying that a customer comments â€Å"do you call that a laugh? I suppose you caught it of somebody of who died of it. If that’s your way of laughing, I beg you won’t do it anymore. † (Lloyd 4). It is not only his horrific appearance introduced in chapter one, but also Todd’s wicked personality. It can hardly be taken as a joking threat when the barber leans into his apprentice Tobias and warns â€Å"listen to me, and treasure up every word I say†¦ I’ll cut your throat from ear to ear, if you repeat one word of what passes in this shop† (Lloyd 3). From the beginning of the tale, readers are cautioned that this character possesses the traits that will turn this tale into a terror. Todd’s partner in crime is also subject to an introduction highlighting her villainous features. While Mrs. Lovett is described to be physically very appealing, her eyes and smile portray the evil within her. It was said that her â€Å"smile was cold and uncomfortable-that it was upon her lips, but had no place in her heart†¦and there was a lurking devil in her eye† (Lloyd 18). The description given of Mrs. Lovett, with the lurking devil in her eye became a favourite for gothic fiction writers, the language enabling it to evoke an eerie presence within the character (Mack 126). Mrs. Lovett’s outward appearance as a young beautiful woman hides behind this demonic smile and veils her customers from what is in her basement and in her pies. The horror spread by the baker and the barber is that of the urban unknown. The story utilizes feasible fears created in an urban center such as London and through Todd and Lovett plays them out to their full effect. The dreadful partners tap into anxieties that are deeply rooted in people’s minds in cities with large populations and high rates of crime. A serial killer paired with cannibalism is not far-fetched horror; it is a fear that lies as a realistic possibility within all of us (Hand 141). Hand points to the fact that while some villains such as Van Helsing, and Jekyll and Hyde have lost their scare factor; Sweeney Todd continues to fill the role in horror due to his believable terror (141). Due to the fact that Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett possess such strong horror characteristics, it is impossible for the story to remain in the realm of romance. The two characters are the driving force that make this tale so enticing. It is these two characters alone that transform the romance into a terror (Mack 103). The attributes of horror are more prominent in the tale, as the love between Johanna Oakley and Mark Ingestrie become a subplot to the terrifying murder and cannibalism taking place. It is because of this that I believe the story is titled incorrectly. Just as the pearls are not of great significance to the plot, the romance also leads the reader astray from the true gothic element of the story. The class distinction and segregation of London in the eighteenth century shows itself prominently in the story. Mark Ingestrie destined to be a lawyer and respectable middle class man runs away in hope of finding treasure at sea. Changing his name to Lieutenant Thornhill, his journey proves a success until his return to London and loss of treasure. He then takes his place as a working class citizen, making pies for Mrs. Lovett under the name Jarvis Williams. The character’s multiple roles in the story at different class levels, is a similar structure taken by the story â€Å"A String of Pearls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  itself. The first time â€Å"A String of Pearls. A Romance. was published in 1846 it was in Edward Lloyd’s weekly magazine People’s Periodical and Family Library. The serialized story ran for eighteen weeks and had a total of thirty nine chapters (Weltman 1). Lloyd’s publication was considered to be a Penny Dreadful, aimed at middle class London readership (Anglo 46). Penny Dreadfuls were serialized literature that provided cheap and entertaining reading for th e English working class in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. They rose in popularity as the rates of urbanization and literacy increased in country. The demand created for affordable literature was met with a transition from chapbooks to Penny Dreadfuls (James and Smith xi). Penny Dreadfuls have their roots in gothic literature, as they tended to take commonly known tales from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and embellish them with details of crime and gore (Anglo 10-11). The first Penny Dreadful tales were aimed at an audience of all ages and sexes and were known commonly as â€Å"bloods†, however, by 1860, the serialized pieces were enjoyed predominantly by young boys (Anglo 12). Due to their cheap and quick production, Penny Dreadfuls were subject to much criticism (Dunae 134). In a severe critique made in by the evangelical society of London in the nineteenth century, Penny Dreadfuls were said to be â€Å"devoid of every element of sweetness and light and are filled instead with blood and revenge, of passion and cruelty, as improbable and almost impossible in plot as they are contemptible in literary execution† (Dunae 135). Criticisms such as this were common during the publication of Penny Dreadfuls as they threatened the didactic and moral literature children were preferred to have indulged in. The upper classes looked down on the works as immoral and sensationalized crime stories (Dunae 140). According to Dunae, much of the controversy surrounding Penny Dreadfuls was in reality caused by class issues in the time period, not by the content (147). Groups attacked the publications as they were a threat to the upper classes. Working men and children were thought to be empowered by reading of lower class heroes and crime (Dunae 147). Much as Sweeney Todd himself is judged by his appearance as a lower class criminal, the story he appears in, is heavily critiqued based on its low form as a Penny Dreadful. If the story were to have been published originally in a form other than a Penny Dreadful, I believe it would be considered a greater piece of literature. Lloyd’s publishing company, like many others at the time was made up of numerous authors who were said to pass stories around, so it is believed to be unclear as to who was the original author of the Sweeney Todd tale (Jackson). Dunae proposes that the quality of writing in â€Å"A String of Pearls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is of higher quality than most Penny Dreadfuls and believes he has traced the original author to be James Malcolm Rymer; a more well-known Penny Dreadful author with significant works such as â€Å"Varney the Vampire† (136). It is not only the writing that makes this story stand out from the rest. While most Penny Dreadfuls are predictable with diffuse and predictable plots (James and Smith xiii), â€Å"A String of Pearls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  takes numerous plot turns that are unexpected and shocking to the reader. More contemporary literary critics have discussed the story in a more positive light. Anglo makes the claim that â€Å"A String of Pearls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is the best known Penny Dreadful (15) and that the character of Sweeney Todd is the most dreadful and famous villain from any of the tales published in the period (49). There has been one critique of the work that went as far to claim it has offered â€Å"some of the best horror writing ever written† (Jackson) and can easily be seen as the inspiration to later horror works such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Dracula (Jackson). While â€Å"A String of Pearls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  may be gaining some recognition as an inspiration for other works, Mack points to elements of the story that stem from recognized classic literature that aid in pushing the work into a the category itself. Sweeney Todd, as villainous as he may be possesses an immense depth of intricate and confused humanity. His loneliness, regret and fear allow the reader to sympathize for the evil character in times of trouble (Mack 127). Mack claims that this is similar to villains created in Dickens works. The Sweeney Todd story is also inspired by other great works such as the Odyssey (Mack 116), as the story mimics the basic outline of a man returning from sea and falling prey to cannibalistic murder. The connections Mack is able to make to between the Penny Dreadful tale and classic literature allow the story to stand out in plot, influence and writing, all of which attribute it to be a greater work than originally labeled. The original story published by Lloyd in 1847 gained popularity quite quickly and before the final three installments had been printed, George Dibdin Pitt adapted it into a stage play and opened it March 1st 1847 at the Brittania theatre (Weltman 1). Since then, the story has been adapted numerous times for stage, film and literature (Weltman 20). In this way, it has made its way through different classes as it becomes exposed to more people through different mediums. â€Å"A String of Pearls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  has influenced a remarkable amount of literature since its creation (Mack 197). Sweeney Todd characters along with his cannibal pie making accomplice continue to appear in children’s literature to current day, including Terry Pratchett’s Where’s My Cow? Their popularity and horror has spread across the world in an array of works (Hand 141). The story’s survival is only more proof that it deserves the recognition of a great classic within English Literature. The story of â€Å"A String of Pearls. A Romance† brings to light the ways in which a publication’s format and title can affect its success as a piece of literary work. The story’s origin as a serialized Penny Dreadful published in 1846/ 1847 confined its critique to a cheap and immoral tale meant only for the enjoyment of lower class readers. The format along with its title as a romance ignored the tale’s true identity as a great work of gothic literature. Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett’s characters embody horror by dominating the plot with a terror that can seem all too realistic for any reader. Their murderous and cannibalistic narrative overshadows the romance advertised to readers. It is their horrific and suspenseful narrative that has carried through the past two centuries popularizing Sweeney Todd in literary works to this day. The nineteenth century characters’ ability to inspire terror in modern audiences deems this story the right to be called a classic.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Hugh’s character Essay

The final story, which Hugh tells, incorporates the many criticisms of Hugh’s character. He covers up his own failings and inadequacies as a defence mechanism and reiterates this by saying to Owen, ‘to remember everything is a form of madness. ‘ This story is almost a turning point of Hugh’s character and for the audience’s interruption of his character. Hugh is no longer a two dimensional caricature but a real character with human attributes, hence why we can be critical and admirable towards him. After all, Hugh is a self-educated man with a vast depth of knowledge of the Classics, speaking four languages, that we know of, Greek, Latin, Gaelic and English; nearly all of which he would have to have taught himself. He seems to be driven to share his knowledge. By teaching the Classics in his environment of rural poverty, himself a picture of poor ragged countryman, we must appreciate his drive and ability. Hugh also formed the ‘Hedge School’ well as far as we know. He is attempting to educate the locals and one almost feels that he has taken the school from the hedge lines into the barn and still as an old man in his early sixties he has the ambition to move onward and upward to a new position at the new national school. He is clearly a figure in the local community who is looked up and respected by his peers and students alike. In addition, Yolland has a great deal of respect for him, calling him † an astute man. ‘ Yolland almost has more respect for Hugh than Owen does because Owen continues to be critical of him and Yolland repeats, ‘But so astute,’ almost placing Hugh on a pedestal. In addition, as an audience you have to respect his ability to cope with his situation, his wife has died and his sons are without a mother. It is easy to be critical of Hugh but you have to admire his ability to cope with the hard reality of the times he is living in even if that means trying to erase the past. After all he did live in an age of hand to mouth existence and he almost blocks out the reality of these hardships. His survival mechanism is a natural and human instinct. We cannot really blame him for wanting to live in an unrealistic world of Greek myth and Latin past. Neither can you chastise his drinking. His lifestyle and the stress of his situation is what drives him to drink and you cannot really fault him for that. All of these small but simple gestures that Friel incorporates into Hugh’s character are what make us as an audience have admiration for him. Friel does not create a stereotypical character, but a ‘fully-rounded’ individual with human qualities, it is these qualities, which allow us as an audience to both admire and criticise his character.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Comparison of the successes and failures of a movie version of a play Essay

Comparison of the successes and failures of a movie version of a play (The Merchant of Venice) - Essay Example For the duration of the film, the director shows the reality of each of the characters in line with the play and he does this from the very beginning. In order to create a situation where there is a contrast of characters that leads the movie into its climax, the director of the movie chooses an appropriate time to reveal the original plot to the audience. However, before the climax of the film, he uses the main characters’ personalities and other events to convince the audience that what they are viewing is the real plot of the film. By doing this, the director ensures that he maintains the element of surprise that will captivate his audience at the climax and this is almost exactly as Shakespeare did in his play and by being loyal to the script; the movie follows the same course of events as when it is performed on stage. While the main plot of the play is retained in the movie, the latter does not completely remain loyal to the script as seen where the roles of some charact ers is diminished in favor of others. In most of the film versions of the play, one will notice that the roles of some of the minor characters are completely removed and that some of their lines are given to other characters. In a way, this is perhaps done with the intention of reducing the budget of making these films but by doing this, the directors of the movies being created end up watering down the original plot. The failure to remain constantly loyal to the script of the play and the removal of some characters shows that the film versions of the play are mainly concerned about making money and for entertainment. Loyal followers of the play tend not to take the film versions seriously because unlike when the play is performed on stage, the audience is not as involved. In fact, one would go as far as to state that the film depiction of the Merchant of Venice is one which makes its loyal audience to feel isolated and not as a part of the development of the plot. This isolation or detachment can be considered to be a failure of the film version of the play, and the directors of future movie depictions need to do more to ensure that their movies are absolutely loyal to the original scrip (Vela)t. While, as stated above, the movie depictions of the play tend not to completely follow the original script, it is a fact that many of the main themes within the play are displayed. The theme of racism, for example, is as prevalent within the movie as it is within the play and this creates a lot of tension in the movie as it would if performed on stage. Both the stage and film versions of the play display a setting where Christians were most distrustful of those who practiced Judaism and this is manifested in diverse ways throughout these depictions, especially through the depictions made of the Shylock, the main Jewish character. In both of depictions, Shylock is displayed as an evil, greedy, and vengeful man whose main aim throughout the play is not only to seek rev enge but also to maximize the profits of his business as much as possible. In addition, the fact that in the Venice of the Middle Ages, women were considered to be secondary citizens is also shown as seen when Portia has to dress and act as a male lawyer in order to get to defend her fiancee.