Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Strategic Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Strategic Planning - Essay Example Tesco has been successful in expanding the growth of its business through entering into joint venture with other large retail companies all over the world. (Leahy, 2007: 41) As of 2008, the company was able to establish a total of 12 international businesses which serves the market of Hungary, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, Central Europe, Czech Republic, Poland, and the United States among others. (Leahy, 2007: 42 – 43; Couch, 2006; Wilson, 2005) In early part of 2007, the company entered into a joint venture with Tin Cao who owns a little more than 50 Hymall-branded hypermarkets. (Hawkes, 2008; China Daily, 2008; Baijia, 2007) Tesco’s joint venture in China is known as the ‘Happy Shopper Hymall.’ The company was able to increase its sales by 13% to  £7.6 billion in 2006. (Times Online, 2006) In line with the success behind Tesco China, its top management believes that the said strategic move will enable the company to serve a more lucrative market in Shanghai, China. With regards to Tesco’s current expansion in the Chinese market, the researcher will seek to identify and evaluate the key stakeholders of the joint venture between Tesco and Tin Cao. Eventually, the impact of the joint venture agreement in terms of its competitive position in the chinese market will be discussed thoroughly. Based on the past retailing experiences of Tesco in the UK market, the researcher will make use of the PESTLE as well as the opportunities and threat analysis model as part of determining and examining the potential external factors that could significantly affect the business expansion of Tesco in China. Prior to the conclusion, the identified value adding activities that may contribute to the success of Tesco in China will be highlighted. Aside from the employee of Tesco Group, Tin Cao owned Hymall-branded hypermarkets and

Monday, October 28, 2019

A Study of Trends in Indian Partition Literature Essay Example for Free

A Study of Trends in Indian Partition Literature Essay The Partition of India was the geographical division of colonial India into two bordering nation states of India and Pakistan based on religious demographics.1 It was proposed as an unsavoury but necessary accompaniment to the Independence of India from the British Empire. However, it was not only a diplomatic and administrative exercise but rather had a long-lasting psychological impact on the human population of these areas. Though Bapu2 was firmly against this idea, it was reluctantly accepted by Nehru and Jinnah as the only solution to the growing communal divide between the Muslim and Hindu communities. 3 However, what the political class had never predicted was the unprecedented amount of bloodshed, violence and widespread civil unrest that followed in its wake. Even years after this event, the perpetrators and the victims are still baffled as to the cause of this â€Å"madness†4 that gripped civilized society. In the aftermath, historians pretended to ignore it terming it unfortunate but somewhat inevitable while literature tried to come to terms with its bestiality and future implications. The authorial response of the first generation was severely limited however due to a level of emotional attachment and involvement in the subject matter. They lacked perspective and varied in two ways: either they were very brief and lacked empathy or tended to be voyeuristic in nature. The official responses attempted to historicise Partition through statistics, facts and figures while literature, to the contrary attempted to give voice to subaltern perspectives personalising victim narratives. Despite such a movement, it was not until the 70’s that it was realised that hardly any attention was paid to the experiences of women during Partition. There was a deep reluctance to address the gender atrocities committed during Partition and it manifested itself through the invisibilisation of women voices. Although it had been clear from the start that the worst sufferers of Partition violence had been women5, a stoic silence upon the tragic reality had been maintained. Many of these women had led forgotten lives and their trauma suppressed in an attempt to forget the onslaught upon their bodies and minds. Therefore, renewed efforts began to document and portray the forgotten stories of such women. But it was a complex problem in many ways. Partition had had a multifaceted impact on the women of India and Pakistan that not only defined their coming lives but also impacted the future generations as psycho-somatic memories and construction of familial structures post-Partition.6 Literature took the initiative of this task: there were two major strains of women oriented Partition narratives that emerged in the period thus. One school of thought dealt with Partition as a backdrop to the â€Å"larger narrative†. In such stories, the lives of the main characters were highlighted and their lives were allegorised to represent the trauma of the nation itself. The stories of their existence were represented dually: as human beings involved in personal dramas and as social creatures part of a larger mainframe. Their places within the higher superstructure and as creatures dominated by the larger contexts were analysed by writers. A startling example of this was â€Å"The Clear Light Of Day† by Anita Desai which never referred to Partition in specific incidents but rather subtle, broken reflections into the people whose day-to-day lives were affected by the growing communal tension and changing socio-political equations. It refers to the ties of family, friendship, kinship and love that were abruptly ruptured by the literal division of the nation. There were novels such as â€Å"Ice-Candy Man† by Bapsi Sidhwa that looks at Partition from the ‘outside’. The narrator Lenny is imbued with unique qualities that were highly unconventional for the times. She was a child, hence she had a limited worldview, a Parsee, hence not religiously biased and neither a participant, physically disabled, therefore able to sympathise with the suffering of others and, a girl therefore her narration is unapologetically gender-conscious. What she learns, is all by association. The story is a sharp attack on official discourses that denied the suffering of millions of people. Lenny’s story is not only her own but a mirroring of girl-children everywhere that were faced with questions with identity, sexuality, community and nation as a whole and how they shaped individual lives. A child is brutally honest and spares nobody and nothing. She has no inbuilt prejudices so she can speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. As a result of such experimental tales, women felt ready to finally speak up. But, their attempts were met with more resistance than expected. They were themselves reluctant to speak about they went through; it was too painful but combined with societal pressures, their mouths had been almost sealed shut from fear. For daring to break this unspoken taboo, some of them faced severe consequences and were even disowned by their own families for besmirching the family name. But such actions often took a huge toll on their mental and physical health and though they had survived, they hadn’t healed. As a result of mass migration, women were abruptly uprooted from their homes to move to a strange and unfamiliar place. They had to build their lives and homes anew, sometimes with no support system. Many of these women were so bereaved at losing their home and hearth, that they could never recover from this sense of loss. Women in traditional society had since ancient days been tasked with looking after the home. Since they were not allowed to venture outside their domain7, the home had been almost personified for them. It was a living breathing space. The only place which they could rightfully stake claim to and which was a source of comfort and solace for them. They were so tangibly attached to their land that family was synonymous with home and her identity came to be defined by her place in the home. Hence when forced to migrate, their sense of unsettlement and upheaval was immense. They could never return to their past lives and change was not so easy for these women who had never been given the opportunity to trespass their comfort zones. Some stories that movingly illustrated the dilemmas of such women are â€Å"Jadein† by Ismat Chughtai, â€Å"Sikka Badal Gaya† by Krishna Sobti Sahni and â€Å"The Thirst Of Rivers† by Joginder Paul . These women had to undergo the process of relocating their selves. Many women like Bebe from â€Å"The Thirst†¦Ã¢â‚¬  refused to leave their homes assured of its protection from evils outside. However, their families were broken up with some members choosing to stay back and some leaving for a new land. Due to differences in opinion, family members become estranged and refused to talk to each other or had problems meeting each other due to large geographical distances. Often, migrants did not have enough money to travel back and forth and permits were hard to come by. Due to mutual hostilities, communication across borders was sketchy at best. Hence, many a times, a natural void between families occurred. All the while, the matriarch of the family remained a silent witness to events. The family ties that she had spent all her life building up and nurturing were breaking up right before her eyes and she was helpless, unable to act or intervene. Who would listen to her? Partition had served to further communal tension and hardening religious identities than perhaps any event in the history of India or Pakistan. People who had lived together for several millennia with tranquillity were suddenly made conscious of their differences from each other. They who had been friends earlier were suddenly staunch enemies and women bore the brunt of these realizations. In â€Å"Peshawar Express†8, one such incident is narrated when at Wazirabad station, where Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities had celebrated Baisakhi together for ages becomes a site of base humiliation and gruesome celebration; the women of the Hindu and Sikhs communities were paraded around naked as if they were nothing but objects of gratification for the general public. These women had become mere shells, their souls long dead. In Kamleshwar’s â€Å"Kitne Pakistan†, the author ruminates upon the fruitlessness of Partition and the breaking of bonds of families, love and friendships due to its occurrence. It is the story of a Muslim girl, Bano who falls in love with a Hindu boy, Mangal but is not able to marry him because of religious dogmas. She is told that she will cause communal riots. There is a hidden implication in this viewpoint that seems to say that the cause of every mishappening must be a woman somehow. Rules for men and women in traditional dogmatic societies are different It is ironic that men are not chastised for forcibly marrying a man of the other religion but they will not allow their daughters to choose her spouse on her own and he may never belong to another religion. There is rampant hypocrisy and hollowness in societal mores regarding women. Bano is married off to Muneer who unable to provide for his family with his own hard work resorts to selling his own wife’s body to earn money. The shamefulness of this situation is beyond imagination. These are not falsifications as advocated by fundamental religious leaders but a retelling of many women’s lives. Another kind of psychological trauma that many women underwent was the loss of a child. Many women were forced to leave their children by their husband and children during flight. Children became a burden during this time. They had to be cared for especially with crucial funds required by the family going for their supplies. Also, escapees with children were more vulnerable to attacks by rioters since they not only had to look after themselves but look after their child as well. There are real life cases documented by Urvashi Bhutalia in her book, â€Å"The Other Side Of Silence† wherein women of Muslim as well as Hindu communities were forced to desert their infants that could raise an alarm in the rioters by making noise. Sikh men told tales of killing their children, asking the author, if they should be saving themselves or their daughters? Clearly, man’s inherent selfishness had come to the fore where no one mattered more than the self. Many children were abducted during the widespread chaos to be sold off as domestic help or prostituted in the streets. Women who lost their children during this time were incessantly plagued by guilt and grief. One such woman was Kulsum from â€Å"Pali†9 who lost her child and along with him, her mental balance as well. She was blanketed completely by her grief and only the return of her child restored her sanity. But meanwhile, Zenab who had taken care of her son, Dilip when she found him lost had developed a motherly bond with him and cannot bear parting with him. She knows that she has no biological claim over him but what the mind knows, the heart does not. Eventually, she has to reconcile herself with the reality of her situation. But her life will forever be shadowed by this sadness. Women who were forced by circumstances to give up their child were forever haunted by their own actions and decisions. They were always in search of redemption and peace and could not reconcile themselves to the loss of their offspring. One example of this can be seen in â€Å"The Abandoned Child†10. Infant as well as toddler girls were left by the roadside or killed by their families to avoid making them a target. The life story of one such girl is narrated in â€Å"Where Did She Belong† by Suraiya Quasim wherein the protagonist Munni is not sure of her religious or national identity. She is pushed into prostitution by her so-called ‘saviour’11 , who only wants to use her for economic gain. She is deceived by two of her customers who pretend to love her, but leave her bereft when Partition happens. Nobody asks for her or enquires as to her whereabouts. She is deceived by everyone in her life, ultimately. There were also cases of women who were injured and deceived by members of their own community. People who had been their well-wishers and whom they trusted implicitly, took advantage of their vulnerability and preyed on their bodies. Ayesha’s12 story is the ultimate tragedy of such a ‘lady’13. In guise of protecting her and reuniting Ayesha with her daughter, Nurul takes her with him to Pakistan but betrays her trust by prostituting her instead. She is cursed to a life of assault, on her body and her mind. Her saviour turns out to her destructor. She dies a life of desolation, her own brethren refusing to come to her aid and never seeing her child again. Afroz too in â€Å"I Am Game†14 falls weak due to her instincts of providing and caring for daughter. Seeing no option left for herself and her child, she agrees to prostitution. This depicts to us the sad state of affairs during Partition, when uncertainty and insecurity reigned supreme. Man, woman or children, all had to protect themselves on their own and women for the sake of their families were forced into professions of exploitation to earn their keep. Besides these atrocities, women were also subjected to particularly vulgar sexual attacks. Writers like Ashis Nandy, Veena Das, and Mushirul Hasan describe the bizarre and horrific nature of sexual violence afflicted on women. It was pornographic in its varied forms. Their bodies were mutilated, disfigured, slogans15 branded on them like they were animals, their wombs sliced open and their foetuses savagely butchered. Women were reduced to spoils of war who were never allowed to unburden themselves or be free. They were reduced to a part of the multitude, just one of many. Many victims had been traumatised to an extent that they lost themselves to insanity. They could not cope with their reality. Many underwent derealisation16 wherein after the superficial wounds had mended, they started to deny that anything had ever happened to them. It became something of a nightmare, horrific but fantastical. Literature becomes a cathartic medium for many such women, a chance to narrate their tale. Such memoirs also provided a base for Partition scholars to analyse the feminine subject in social and historical contexts of that time period. Partition has often been termed as the dark underbelly17 of Independence but what it really exposed was the base attitudes of patriarchal Indian society, be it any religion. It revealed how women were equated with the community they belonged to. Though the violence was inter-religious in nature, the modes of inflicting violence were one and the same. All ethics were forgotten in the frenzy of religious vendetta. Revenge was used as an excuse to inflict wounds. They were the contested sites between two opposing factions and were devoid of any agency. One example may be an incident in â€Å"The City Of Sorrow†18 , where a man is forced to strip his sister naked by someone of the other religion. When given a chance to retaliate, he forces his tormentor to strip his own wife naked. Hence, the revenge is complete but ironically, in both cases, the women were the innocent parties who became the medium of exacting justice. They were expected to uphold familial and communal honour and were sacrificed at the altar of â€Å"izzat†19 if they were in danger of being captured by the enemy. The concept of honour was internalised20 hence any stain on it was beyond tolerance by patriarchal society. Therefore, to insult and hurt communal sentiments, it was natural that in order to debase the enemy and shed him of his honour, women of his community were targeted systematically. There were also women who had been indoctrinated to such an extent by religious propaganda that they committed suicide, misled into thinking that they were fulfilling their duty as women. This tradition dates back to the time of ancient Rajputs whose women committed Johar21 to sustain their honour. Hence, it has been a concept propagated throughout the history of religions, Hinduism especially. Bhishma Sahni in â€Å"Tamas† and Jyotirmoyee in â€Å"The River Churning† present such incidents where women of Hindu and Sikh communities drown themselves in wells in order to â€Å"save†22 themselves. Women of the family were the most precious possessions and were to be protected at all costs. However, when they presented an obstacle in the escape of their family, they were brutally â€Å"martyred†23 without compunctions by the family itself. The men of the family did it all in order to save themselves first and to prevent dealing with the hassle of looking after these women. Such people had no conscience in them. This is demonstrated in Shauna Singh Baldwin’s novel â€Å"What The Body Remembers† where the daughter-in-law of a Sikh family, Kusum is mercilessly killed by her father-in-law and furthermore chopped into pieces to prevent her from being â€Å"contaminated†24 by Muslims. Her womb is also removed as a symbolic gesture to signify her being pure25. We can therefore read into the implied fear and repulsion of a child born of an inter-religious union. Hence, Kusum is a victim of her own family’s moral code. Such incidents are not hyperbolic in nature but rather fictionalized accounts of reality. Women who were misfortunate enough to fall into the hands of the â€Å"other†26 and raped by them could never again return to their roots. They were dirtied and treated as untouchable because they had lost their chastity to the enemy. In â€Å"The River Churning†, the protagonist, Sutara is treated as a lower caste untouchable would be27. Though never raped, even staying in a Muslim household had damned her. She had become polluted like Sita. Like Sita, she became a victim of â€Å"social morality†.28 If women had become pregnant somehow, it was even worse for them. They were miscarried forcibly and if the child was born somehow, he or she was never accepted as a part of the family. Women themselves had to come to terms with their reality. They had to learn to let go of their self-loathing which often took root in their minds. They had to live with a child who was a constant reminder of their suffering. Yet, women learned to let go and forgive but their families could not move past this situation. The woman was given the choice of either abandoning her children or her family. Therefore, she was kept trapped in overlapping identities of woman, mother and daughter. There was no time to consider the interests of the self. The children of such women were often physically, mentally and verbally abused all throughout their lives. They were the victims of religious hatred. It left deep scars on their psyche that could never be repaired. They were often castigated for having lived and their mothers looked at with contempt for not having died in order to preserve themselves. Women often started hating their own selves when faced with a constant stream of disgust and repulsion. It is said that â€Å"Rape is the only crime where the victim is held guilty† and these women were the prime examples of this adage. They were made to feel guilty, demeaned and dehumanized to such an extent that they often felt that dying would perhaps have been a better option. Women were at the highest risk of being abducted during migration across borders. These women stranded on the wrong side were forcibly converted and married off to their abductors. They were raped repeatedly or sold off as entertainment. Women were objectified as commodities and their bodies became alien to their own selves. They were not their own persons but mere belongings. Anis Kidwai in her novel, â€Å"Azaadi Ki Chaon Mein† writes starkly about these girls who were nothing but stuff to be shared among the men who were, but slaves of their lust. In his short story, Open It!, Saadat Hasan Manto further elaborates upon the savagery doled out to these women. The main protagonist, Sakina had been ravaged to such an extent that she had lost her personality and her sanity. She was alive only physically, but emotionally and mentally dead. She knew nothing but what she had been forced to go through again and again. Her senses had been so wrecked that she only expects men to want one thing from her i.e. her body. This story presents a horrifying picture to the reader who is compelled to question if Sakina will ever recover from her trauma. Other women were forcibly married off to their abductors and underwent alienation of the self. They were conflicted as to their identities. On one hand, they felt abhorrence for their abductors. On the other hand, such marriages often bore children which caused these women to war with their motherly instincts. Ultimately losing all hope of rescue or restoration, these women had resigned to their life but, again, they were expected to return at the behest of the respective governments of the two countries. Women had become mere tools of diplomatic manoeuvring between the hostile governments who were under immense political pressure to retrieve the population of women that had been left behind or abducted during Partition. One such woman’s tale is narrated in â€Å"Exile†29 where the woman narrator is forcibly married to her abductor, Gurpal, a man who regards her as nothing more than a maid that he brought to serve his mother (Badi Ma). What is even more poignant is the fact that Badi Ma, a woman herself is not able to empathise with her Bahu30 or show kindness towards her. She is merely there to serve their needs, like a tool. Ironically, Gurpal who is clearly devoted towards his mother evidently has no guilt about ill-treating a woman of another community. We can see here the oppressive influence of patriarchal society that does not allow for women to exercise an opinion of their own. The narrator has never been able to accept Gurpal as her husband. In nine years she has never able to understand why her brother, whom she dearly loves has not come to rescue her. She feels lonely and abandoned by her loved ones. She longs for her home and wants her life to end at last so she can be at peace. When the soldiers arrive to rescue her, she knows that she cannot return since she will not be accepted back as a ‘mother’. And she cannot leave her children. Hence she hides from the soldiers. Her apprehension of the other option can be justified by reading â€Å"Lajwanti†31 whose tragedy is shrouded by complete silence. She was treated abominably by her husband, Sunderlal who asserts his domination over her body and mind by beating her like an animal. She bore it all as part of her wifely duties clearly adhering to traditional norms of domesticity. But when she is abducted during Partition chaos, her husband, perhaps, feeling remorse for how he had treated her, became a campaigner for the rights of abductee women. He advocates their rehabilitation and reacceptance into society but when his wife, Lajo is restored to him, he distances himself from her and sets her on the pedestal of a goddess. She feels alienated, lonely and longs for her old life where she could at least interact with her husband. In the present, her husband wants her to forget her sufferings and not to speak of them. But can the past really be forgotten as easily as he wanted it to be? Many women who had built new lives for themselves post-Partition often came face to face with their pasts when their lost loved ones returned back to them. In this situation, what was the woman to do? Should she abandon her present life to return to her past happiness? This is obviously a problem to which there is no clear-cut solution. But it was often expected of women to move on from their pasts and not look back but even they are living, breathing human beings with feelings and emotions. These may be unwanted but cannot be so easily banished from the mind. Women end up feeling conflicted all throughout their lives. One text that accurately depicts one such situation is â€Å"A Visitor From Pakistan†32 where the protagonist Saraswati is trapped between her first husband, Baldev whom she had thought dead; and her husband at present, Sunderdas who had saved her and her parents during the riots. Her own mother chastises her for even talking to Baldev so then who will understand her predicament? She is blamed for something that she is not even responsible for. Partition left a long-lasting impact on the women who witnessed and suffered through it. They passed on the lessons they learned to their daughters hoping for a better future for them. It is an important part of women’s history and it should be analysed carefully to change the conservative thought processes of Indian society to avoid women from becoming subjects of patriarchal oppression and break the repetitive patterns of history. END NOTES : 1. India and Pakistan were divided along the Radcliffe Line with Muslim majority areas seceded to Pakistan and Hindu-Sikh majority areas to India. 2. Mahatma Gandhi was deemed the â€Å"Father Of The Nation† and hence affectionately called Bapu by the general populace. 3. J.L. Nehru and M.A. Jinnah were leaders of the Congress party and Muslim League respectively. They were not agreeable to sharing power in the united govt. of sovereign India and hence the only option was to divide the country with both parties ruling over their majority vote areas. 4. The metaphor of madness was used by many Partition writers like Saadat Hasan Manto in â€Å"Toba Tek Singh† to describe the religious hatred that changed normal people into rioters, rapists and murderers. 5. J.L. Nehru stated this in The International Women’s Conference in 1947 alluding to the extreme violence perpetrated upon women in North India. 6. Ideas postulated by Carl Jung and supported by Freudian theories. 7. Women were kept under purdah and not allowed to meet with people outside the family. Women lived in separate quarters of the house called the ‘antahpur’ which was solely in their control. 8. written by Krishan Chander 9. written by Bhishma Sahni 10. written by Gurmukh Singh Musafir 11. Ironic since Munni’s saviour is herself a victim of circumstances and Munni is just a way to earn more money. 12. â€Å"A Grave Turned Inside Out† by Ibrahim Jalees 13. Ayesha was the lady of a noble family but debased to the level of a common prostitute. Shows that societal hierarchies were suspended during Partition. 14. written by Sultan Jamil Nasim 15. The slogans Hindustan Zindabad and Pakistan Zindabad were carved onto their bodies as validating gestures of the victimiser’s own national identity. 16. Derealisation is a psychological condition where the subject deludes himself/herself into thinking that their present reality is illusory and unreal and that reality is different. 17. Independence was achieved after a long struggle, so there was jubilation among the people but at the same time, this happiness was marred by the grief of Partition and its aftermath. 18. written by Intizar Hussain 19. Izzat is one of the basic concepts of Hindu womanhood where a woman’s honour is defined by her chastity and any outrage of her modesty stains her honour as well as her family’s. The family’s honour is an extension of the woman’s honour. 20. Internalisation is the process of integration of certain values as part of the self-identification. It becomes a part of one’s self-image. 21. Johar is the ancient Rajput tradition of women jumping into huge fire-pits to save their honour from the enemy’s army if defeat seemed imminent. 22. Women jumped into wells to protect themselves from rape and mutilation. Dying chaste was preferred to living a life of humiliation. Hence, they were saved in the eyes of society. 23. Women who committed suicide were venerated because they were believed to have died for a noble cause. Hence, their deaths received social sanction and appreciation. 24. If women were raped, their bodies no longer remained solely of their religion. And, hence, inter-religious taboos were applied to such women. Hence chopping of the bodies signified that no one of the other side had had sex with her or would be able to. 25. The womb was removed to signify that it did not carry a Muslim bastard child and her ability to do so is removed from her. 26. During conflict, the opposing faction is alienated and presented as someone strange and unfamiliar to the minds of the mob. This requires dehumanization of the people from the other side so that they do not evoke emotions of sympathy. 27. The taboos associated with untouchability are not allowing them to eat and drink from the same vessels and prevent from touching them. 28. Sita was banished from Ayodhya because even though she was pure, the people of Ram’s kingdom did not believe her. Doubts were cast on her character since she had lived in Ravana’s Lanka for a long time. 29. Written by Jamila Hashmi 30. When a bahu arrives in her marital household, she is bedecked with jewels, dressed in finery and serenaded by shehnai. She is full of happiness and hope. Here, the narrator is exactly opposed to this situation and yet, ironically she has become the bahu of a family. 31. written by Rajinder Singh Bedi 32. written by Ramlal BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. â€Å"Partition In Fiction: Gendered Perspectives†, Isabella Bruschi, New Delhi, Atlantic Publishers Distributors (P) Ltd.,2010 2. In The Heat Of Fratricide: The Literature Of India’s Partition Burning Freshly (A Review Article)†,Jason Francisco 3. â€Å"Stories About The Partition Of India†, Vol. 1.,Ed. By Alok Bhalla, Delhi,Harper Collins, 1994 4. Re-Membering Woman: Partition,Gender And Reorientations, â€Å"Narrating Partition:Texts, Interpretations And Ideas†, Sukrita Paul Kumar, Indialog Publications,2004

Saturday, October 26, 2019

My Favorite Summer Vacation :: Summer Vacation Essays

My favorite summer vacation was when my Father took me to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. What made it even more memorable was the fact that it was my very first time on an airplane. I cannot recall another time in my life when I experienced so much joy. That trip to Universal Studios was the first time my Father and I actually did something together, just the two of us and was something brought me close to my Father. In this essay I will tell you about my plane ride over there, what I did right when I got there, and about my time at Universal Studios. I can still remember how excited I was before take off, I mean it felt like forever while we sat in the plane waiting to take off. Just all the anticipation that was inside of me had just made the wait even longer for me. Finally, I heard the pilot say 'prepare for take off'. When I heard those words I was so overjoyed I could hardly contain myself. That rush I got once the plane took off was an experience like no other. The plane ride was about hours long and I enjoyed every minute of it. Little did I know, that was less than half of the fun I was going to have at Orlando. After we got off the airplane, we rented a car and drove to my Uncle Joe?s house. We finally got there and then we all went out to eat dinner. We went to some Italian restraunt and boy was it good. To this day, I have never tasted anything as good as the Veal Picata I had that day. I ate so much that I could hardly move and once I got back to my uncle?s, I just passed out and went to bed. I had a big and exciting day ahead of me. I was going to Universal Studios and I couldn?t wait. The whole drive there I was just wondering what I was going to do and see over there. I mean I thought I thought I was excited about my plane ride there, but that wasn?t even half of what I was feeling at that time. Once I saw the roller coasters as we drove to Universal?s Island of Adventure my face just lit up like the sun.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Customer Satisfaction Of Airtel & Grameenphone Essay

1. Introduction The introduction of the telecommunication sector has been pretty late in Bangladesh compared to that of the neighboring countries. The mobile telecommunication service has been doubling on an annual basis over the last two or three years. Now-a-days there are six mobile phone operators in the country with – Grameen phone, Robi, Teletalk, Banglalink, Airtel and Citycell. They are offering different new package and offers different value added services to satisfy the customers ‘demands. Customer satisfaction is a fundamental marketing construct in the last three decades. In the past, it was unpopular and unaccepted concept because companies thought it was more important to gain new customers than retain the existing ones. However, in this present decade, companies have gained better understanding of the importance of customer satisfaction (especially service producing companies) and adopted it as a high priority operational goal. Customer satisfaction, a term frequently us ed in marketing, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is defined as â€Å"the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals. People in Bangladesh are becoming busy day by day and more professional than previous. They need to share more information to each other because demography has changed due to the era of globalization. Mobile phone has introduced a tremendous change in the communication sector in our country. It has changed the communication structure also. People in various occupations and income levels are using mobile phone intensively for their occupational purpose and personal purpose as well. 1.1 Basic information The telecom sector of Bangladesh began its journey with land phone. Then SEBA was the first company to bring cellular telephone services. The telecom sector has completely changed both in terms of coverage and efficiency of services. Cellular telephone services have achieved great commercial success. For most firms, the preeminent goal is to maximize the value of the  firm for its owners or shareholders. Increasing competition (whether for-profit or nonprofit) is forcing businesses to pay much more attention to satisfy customers. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables, which correlate with satisfaction behaviors. For this majority of the firms is trying to be a customer-oriented, customer- focused, or even-customer driven enterprise. Airtel is one of the late movers in telecommunication sector of Bangladesh. And like all other telecom companies, it is trying hard to penetrate the market and get a hold of significant market share t hrough their valued customers. 1.2 Background information Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. is a GSM-based cellular operator in Bangladesh.Airtel is the sixth mobile phone carrier to enter the Bangladesh market, andoriginally launched commercial operations under the brand name â€Å"WaridTelecom† on May 10, 2007. Warid Telecom International LLC, an Abu Dhabi basedconsortium, sold a majority 70% stake in the company to India’s Bharti AirtelLimited for US$300 million. Bharti Airtel Limited took management control of thecompany and its board, and rebranded the company’s services under its ownAirtel brand from December 20, 2010. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission approved the deal on Jan 4, 2010. Grameenphone widely known as GP, is the leading telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh. With more than 46.04 million subscribers (as of September 2013), Grameenphone is the largest mobile phone operator in the country. It is a joint venture enterprise between Telenor and Grameen Telecom Corporation, a non-profit sister concern of the internationally acclaimed microfinance organization and community development bank Grameen Bank. Telenor, the largest telecommunications company in Norway, owns 55.8% shares of Grameenphone, Grameen Telecom owns 34.2% and the remaining 10% is publicly held. Grameenphone was the first company to introduce GSM technology in Bangladesh. It also established the first 24-hour Call Center to support its subscribers. With the slogan Go Beyond, Grameenphone promises its customers to bring the best of communication technologies so that they can Go Beyond. 1.3 Objective of the report The objective of the report is divided into two parts. They are specific and  broad objectives. The specific and broad objective of this report is given below: 1. Broad Objective: The broad objective of this report is to find out the customer satisfaction level of Airtel & Grameenphone customers. 2. Specific Objectives: The specific objectives will be To find out specific areas of satisfaction of Airtel & Grameenphone users To figure out specific areas of dissatisfaction of Airtel & Grameenphone users To know the overall satisfaction level of the customers To figure out possible improvement sectors to reduce dissatisfaction To know the better service provider between this two companies 1.4 Literature Review Airtel is the 6th mobile phone carrier to enter the Bangladesh market and launched commercial operation on May 10, 2007. India’s bharti Airtel limited bought 70% share of Warid telecom international. This is the largest investment in Bangladesh made by an Indian company. Airtel offers both prepaid and postpaid connections with lots of diversified packages to its customers. It also offers massive value added services to its subscribers. Below is a description of timeline of Warid Telecom in Bangladesh, Bharti Airtel and its taking over Warid: In December 2005, Warid Telecom International paid US$ 50 million to obtain a GSM license from the BTRC and became the sixth mobile phone operator in Bangladesh. In a press conference on August 17, 2006, Warid announced that its network would be activated two months ahead of schedule, in October, 2006. Again in October, 2006 Warid Telecom put off the launch of its cell phone services in Bangladesh until April, 2007 after its major supplier Nokia walked out on an agreement over a payment dispute. Warid had a soft launch at the end of January 2007. It gave away complimentary subscriptions among a selected group of individuals, whose job was to make ‘test calls’ and the operator adjusted its network’s quality based on their comments. On May 9, 2007, Warid in an advertisement in some daily newspaper stated that it would be launching publicly on May 10, 2007. However, no call rate or any package details were revealed. The advertisement included an announcement for the people interested to buy Warid connections to bring the documents like ID card, etc., to the  designated franchise and customer care centers. On October 1, 2007, Warid Telecom expanded its network to five more districts raising total number of districts under Warid coverage to 56, said a press release. Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Rajbari and Narail towns were covered by Warid network. On November 10, 2007, 61 districts under Warid network coverage. On June 10, 2008, Warid Telecom expanded its network to 3 more districts Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Rangamati. Now all 64 districts of Bangladesh are under Warid network coverage meaning Warid Telecom now has nationwide coverage. On December 20, 2010, Warid Telecom was rebranded to Airtel. Bharti Airtel Limited is commonly known as Airtel. It is an Indian telecommunications company that operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G, 3G and 4G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the third largest telecom operator in the world with over 243.336 million customers across 20 countries as of March 2012. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with over 181 million subscribers at the end of March 2012. Airtel is the third largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and second largest provider of fixed telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. It offers its telecom services under the Airtel brand, and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve Cisco Gold Certification. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long distance communication services. The company has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. Airtel is known for being the first mobile phone company in the world to outsource all of its business operations except marketing, sales and finance. Its network—base stations, microwave links, etc.—is maintained by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Network and Huawei, and business support is provided by IBM, and transmission towers are maintained by another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India). Ericsson agreed for the first time to be paid by the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front, which allowed Airtel to provide low call rates. Bharti Airtel began its journey in Bangladesh in December 2010 when it acquired 70 percent stock  of Warid Telecom of Abu Dhabi Group. So, it can be said that Airtel Bangladesh has just completed its maiden year in the country. And within this period of time, the operator has also created a vast job opportunity in diverse segments of the organization and as of August 2013, Airtel Bangladesh has 7.97 million subscribers with 7.3% of market share. Before Grameenphone’s inception, the phone was for a selected urbanized few. The cell phone was a luxury: a flouting accessory for the select elite.The mass could not contemplate mobile telephony as being part of their lives. Grameenphone started its journey with the Village Phone program: a pioneering initiative to empower rural women of Bangl adesh. The name Grameenphone translates to â€Å"Rural phone†. Starting its operations on March 26, 1997, the Independence Day of Bangladesh, Grameenphone has come a long way. Grameenphone pioneered the then breakthrough initiative of mobile to mobile telephony and became the first and only operator to cover 98% of the country’s people with network The idea of providing universal mobile phone access throughout Bangladesh, including its rural areas, was originally conceived by Iqbal Quadir, who is currently the founder and director of the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT. He was inspired by the Grameen Bank microcredit model and envisioned a business model where a cell phone can serve as a source of income. After leaving his job as an investment banker in the United States, Quadir traveled back to Bangladesh, after meeting and successfully raising money from New York based investor and philanthropist Joshua Mailman, and worked for three years gaining s upport from various organizations including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank and the Norwegian telephone company, Telenor. He was finally successful in forming a consortium with Telenor and Grameen Bank to establish Grameenphone. Quadir remained a shareholder of Grameenphone until 2004. Grameenphone received a license for cellular phone operation in Bangladesh from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on November 28, 1996. Grameenphone started operations on March 26, 1997, the Independence Day in Bangladesh. Grameenphone originally offered a mobile-to-mobile connectivity (widely known as GP-GP connection), which created a lot of enthusiasm among the users. It became the first operator to reach the million subscriber milestone as well as ten million subscriber milestone in Bangladesh. Since its inception Grameenphone has built the  largest cellular network in the country with over 8500 base stations . Presently, nearly 99 percent of the country’s population is within the coverage area of the Grameenphone network. Grameenphone has always been a pioneer in introducing new products and servi ces in the local telecom market. GP was the first company to introduce GSM technology in Bangladesh when it launched its services in March 1997. Grameenphone was also the first telecommunication operator in Bangladesh to introduce the pre-paid service in September 1999. It established the first 24-hour Call Center, introduced value-added services such as VMS, SMS, fax and data transmission services, international roaming service, WAP, SMS-based push-pull services, EDGE, personal ring back tone and many other products and services. In October 2013 the company launched 3G services commercially. The entire Grameenphone network is 3G/EDGE/GPRS enabled, allowing access to high-speed Internet and data services from anywhere within the coverage area. There are currently over 7 million 3G/EDGE/GPRS users in the Grameenphone network. Today, Grameenphone is the leading and largest telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh with more than 47.64 million subscribers as of January 2014. Grameenphone has so far invested more than BDT 24,300 crore to build the network infrastructure Grameenphone is one of the largest taxpayers in the country, having contributed more than BDT 35,500 crore in direct and indirect taxes to the Government Exchequer over the years. There are now more than 1600 GP Service Desks across the country covering nearly all upazilas of all districts and 94 Grameenphone Centers in all the divisional cities Grameenphone has about 5000 full and temporary employees. 300,000 people are directly dependent on Grameenphone for their livelihood, working for the Grameenphone dealers, retailers, scratch card outlets, suppliers, vendors, contractors and others. In this report we tried to discuss the comparative analysis of Airtel 7 Grameenphone over the customers. 2. Research Method 2.1 Data sources †¢ There are two types of data sources are used to obtain the required information. 2.1.1 Primary Data †¢ Direct interview though a survey questionnaire 2.1.2 Secondary data †¢ Commercial websites of Airtel & Grameenphone †¢ Online articles on telecommunication sector †¢ Previously conducted research papers on different issues of telecommunication Company‟s magazines, brochures, etc. 2.2. Method of collecting data 2.2.1 Selecting Sample The population of this study are customers of Airtel Bangladesh & Grameenphone and we took interview 120 person of different age group in our study. We targeted different people from different age group. The target population were divided among following age groups- 18-30 years – 60 30-50 years – 30 50-70 years – 20 70- above years – 10 2.2.2 Procedure of data collection After determining the target population and sampling frame we were looking forward to conduct the survey for collecting the information. As our extent of the target population was preplanned and structured, therefore, we did not have any trouble to collect the information from the fieldwork. Whenever we found a student who was sitting idle or gossiping with their friends we went to them, cordially introduced ourselves and asked them whether they were using airtel or GP. After receiving a positive response, we provided a questionnaire form and asked them to participate in the survey. Fortunately, no one denied participating in the survey because it did not take more than four minutes to finish. Moreover, every respondent was looking enthusiastic in taking part and some of them were very cooperative and supportive. They also assisted us to find out active airtel & GP users. By this way, we collected data from 100 respondents. Rest 20 set of questionnaires were given to my friends and t he neighbors who were the Airtel or GP users. 2.2.3 Method of analyzing data After completing the research survey, we started the data preparation for the project. As soon as we received the questionnaires from the field I kept all the information in Microsoft Excel program. Since, this is a descriptive  research and the data analysis should be done quantitatively. For this reason, we used MS Excel software because we have enough insights of using this program. In the beginning portion of the questionnaire, there were some general questions to aware of the some information about the respondents, for instances, gender, age, duration of the network age and some direct question related to their usage pattern. This information is analyzed collectively rather than individually. Here, no statistical tools have been used. The next section of the questionnaire contains 13 statements. Each of the statements has been arranged in such a way which is directly related to the customer satisfaction factors. 2.3 Limitations of the study The survey is subjected to the bias and prejudices of the respondents. Hence 100% accuracy can’t be assured. The researcher was carried out in a short span of time, where in the researcher could not widen the study. The study could not be generalized due to the fact that researcher adapted personal interview method. It is so difficult to survey questionnaire among target samples. 3. Result & Discussions: Findings 3.1. Findings on respondents’ analysis The general analysis of the 120 samples is presented in this section. The main objective of the respondents‟ analysis is to get the overview about respondents. Here, respondent‟s gender, age limit, duration of their network, and usage pattern, etc. have been discussed briefly. There is no statistical tool used to analysis the respondent’s overview because this information will not affect directly to the customer satisfaction factors. For collecting data from the field, the research survey has been conducted among 80 male and 40 female users of airtel & GP users. Thus, the ratio of male user is 60% and the ratio of female user is 40%. We have conducted the research on 18-30 years – 60 30-50 years – 30 50-70 years – 20 70- above years – 10 From this scenario, it can be said that most of the airtel is more polular in  urban areas & in young generation. There were also two direct questions asked to the respondents to know the reason of using Airtel and to know which of the value added services are used by the respondents. Research findings show that 40% of the respondents use airtel only for the lower cost. 20% of the respondents use airtel for the highest FnF benefits. 10% of the respondents said they are using airtel for low on-net tariffs. 30% of the respondents use GP for network, voice quality and for the brand image. 3.2 Findings on questionnaire analysis 1. How many sim do you use? Most of the respondents use 1 sim. Rest others use 2 sims for various purposes. 2. Which company’s sim you are using now? Most of the respondents use Airtel. Those who use 2 sims, they have Grameenphone, teletalk, Robi & Banglalink sim. 3. What is the reason behind of your choice? Most of the Airtel users use Airtel for the lower call rate. Grameenphone users use it for better network & service. 4. Who is following better business strategy? Most of the Airtel users think Airtel is following better business strategy at this moment to attract new young generation. Grameenphone users think GP should obtain more attractive business strategy to retain the existing customers as well as draw interest to new customers. 5. Who provides more facility for their customers? In this question, most of them think Grameenphone is providing more facilities to its customers. With their network, service & customer care outlet around the country Grameenphone is far better than Airtel. 6. Who is more responsible for social welfare?  Most of the respondents expressed that being the most popular & largest telecom company, Grameenphone is contributing more for social welfare of Bangladesh. 7. Call Rate  Most of the respondents are satisfied with the call rate of Airtel. Few of them think it is moderate. On the other hand, most of the respondents think call rate of Grameenphone is highly expensive. They are dissatisfied with this. 8. Service.  In service issue, most of the respondents feel moderate with the Airtel service but Grameenphone have many satisfied clients in this regard. 9. Network.  In network issue, Airtel has dissatisfied customers. The respondents are not satisfied at all with the striggling network of Airtel. On the other hand Grameenphone is reigning the telecom scenario with their operative network. 10. Bonus Offer.  The respondents are satisfied with the endless bonus offers of Airtel. Most of them are agreed with that. Contrariwise Grameenphone’s bonus offers are not so much satisfactory to its clients. 11. Bundle Offer.  Most of the respondents are satisfied with the bundle offers of Airtel. A small number of them are moderate with that. Inversely the bundle offers of Grameenphone are dissatisfactory to its clients. 12. Which company’s sim you will suggest for using to your friends? 60% of the respondents told that they will suggest Airtel sim to their friends. Rest of them stated that they will recommend Grameenphone to their friends. 3.3 Best According to Customers 3.4 Reasons of the First Choice: Grameenphone 3.5 Reasons of the First Choice: Airtel 3.6 Competitive Advantage of Grameenphone & Airtel 3.7 Customers Recommendations In the respondent‟s opinion and suggestion section, 12 respondents did not put any opinion. However, rest 108 of the respondents shared their valuable opinion regarding Airtel & Grameenphone services and those are given below accordingly: Most of the respondents suggested Airtel to upgrade its network coverage as soon as possible. The also suggested Grameenphone to reduce the  call rate. Some respondents also suggested to: Stop sending unwanted SMS Reduce VAS tariffs Increase the validity for bonus talk time Offer attractive handset bundle package

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Tweet Less, Kiss More

â€Å"Techno Tyranny† Bob Herbert explains in his article â€Å"Tweet Less, Kiss More† (published July 16th, 2010) how technology has grown so much throughout the years and how we have made more time for our â€Å"gadgets† than for people close to us. Instead of being with our families and friends we send them a quick email or text message when we should be cherishing moments together. We are so warped in our own lives and blinded by technology that we are missing out on the real world and wasting precious time we cannot get back. These days we can’t seem to take ourselves away from a computer for less than a day or drive to and from the grocery store without sending a text or calling a friend while on the road. We’re â€Å"tweeting† our private lives on the internet but won’t take time to be with our families. Cell phones have only been introduced to humans recently and we’ve survived without them for decades, so why can’t we manage to walk out the door without them today? The advances in technology over the past few years are incredible, and all very convenient, but as Herbert described it, â€Å"The blessed wonders of technology are overwhelming us. We don’t control them; they control us. † These different means of communication are beginning to tear relationships and friendships apart. More and more people are revealing their personal feelings behind computer screens and finding themselves unable to do so face-to-face. More and more romances are started and ended through texting. Chat rooms are being created for meeting others and starting long distance relationships. Children and adults are struggling more with public speaking and are experiencing anxiety due to relying on keyboards instead of verbal communication. With humans relying more and more on technology, we are wasting valuable time communicating through electronics and affecting our relationships with others by trying to sustain them through texting or instant messaging. It’s time for humans to put their cell phones away, close their laptop screens and â€Å"Tweet Less, Kiss More†. Submitted by: Olivia Gowan Date: July 28th, 2010

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on Analytical Essay Of Rappaccinis Daughter

A Fall from Grace Nathaniel Hawthorn's â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter,† is the story about the rivalry between two scientists that ultimately causes the destruction of an innocent young woman. However, when the story is examined on a symbolic level, the reader sees that â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter† is an allegorical reenactment of the original fall from innocence and purity in the Garden of Eden. Rappaccini's garden sets the stage of this fable, while the characters of the story each represent the important figures from the Genesis account. Through the literary devices of poetic and descriptive diction, Nathaniel Hawthorne conveys the symbolism of these characters, as well as the setting. The story takes place in mid-nineteenth century in Padua, Italy and revolves around two major settings; the mansion of an old Paduan family, and Rappaccini’s lush garden. The mansion is described as, â€Å"high and gloomy†¦the palace of a Paduan noble†¦ desolate and ill-furnished†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This description establishes a dark mood throughout the story. Hawthorne writes, â€Å"One of the ancestors of this family†¦had been pictured by Dante as a partaker of the immortal agonies of his Inferno†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The allusion of Dante refers to The Divine Comedy and the Inferno describes the souls in Hell. Furthermore, Baglioni converses with Giovanni in this mansio n chamber and tries to manipulate him in his attempt to destroy Rappaccini. In a sense, the dark and gloomy mansion symbolizes the domain of evil. The second major setting is the garden. The author uses poetic diction to describe Rappaccini’s garden. Hawthorne writes, â€Å"There was one shrub in particular†¦that bore a profusion of purple blossoms, each of which had the luster and richness of a gem†¦seemed enough to illuminate the garden, even had there been no sunshine†¦some crept serpent like along the ground or climbed on high†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In this passage, the author depicts the livel... Free Essays on Analytical Essay Of Rappaccini's Daughter Free Essays on Analytical Essay Of Rappaccini's Daughter A Fall from Grace Nathaniel Hawthorn's â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter,† is the story about the rivalry between two scientists that ultimately causes the destruction of an innocent young woman. However, when the story is examined on a symbolic level, the reader sees that â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter† is an allegorical reenactment of the original fall from innocence and purity in the Garden of Eden. Rappaccini's garden sets the stage of this fable, while the characters of the story each represent the important figures from the Genesis account. Through the literary devices of poetic and descriptive diction, Nathaniel Hawthorne conveys the symbolism of these characters, as well as the setting. The story takes place in mid-nineteenth century in Padua, Italy and revolves around two major settings; the mansion of an old Paduan family, and Rappaccini’s lush garden. The mansion is described as, â€Å"high and gloomy†¦the palace of a Paduan noble†¦ desolate and ill-furnished†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This description establishes a dark mood throughout the story. Hawthorne writes, â€Å"One of the ancestors of this family†¦had been pictured by Dante as a partaker of the immortal agonies of his Inferno†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The allusion of Dante refers to The Divine Comedy and the Inferno describes the souls in Hell. Furthermore, Baglioni converses with Giovanni in this mansio n chamber and tries to manipulate him in his attempt to destroy Rappaccini. In a sense, the dark and gloomy mansion symbolizes the domain of evil. The second major setting is the garden. The author uses poetic diction to describe Rappaccini’s garden. Hawthorne writes, â€Å"There was one shrub in particular†¦that bore a profusion of purple blossoms, each of which had the luster and richness of a gem†¦seemed enough to illuminate the garden, even had there been no sunshine†¦some crept serpent like along the ground or climbed on high†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In this passage, the author depicts the livel...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Why Astrology Lost Its Place in the Academic World

Why Astrology Lost Its Place in the Academic World Hashtag: #Signos (Portuguese for â€Å"Signs†) Through most of its history, astrology, a study of zodiac signs and its influence on our growth, personalities, and daily lives was highly regarded as â€Å"science†, a discipline that is closely associated with astronomy and mathematics.   A scholarly tradition, astrology was then accepted in political and academic contexts and a valuable system for a predicting astronomical event in many cultures throughout the centuries.   For instance, since the Arabs during the 10th century believed that the motions of celestial bodies affect life on earth and future events can be predicted by studying their movements, they were advanced in these areas and made significant contributions to the science of astronomy. Wearing the Trappings of Science Astrology was popular and continued to flourish during the 11th century. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans were also active in this field and built exceptional observatories to improve observation and understanding of celestial bodies. Sophisticated astronomical instruments such as the â€Å"astrolabe† (left image) were developed to enhance observation of the sky, calculation of latitudes, time and motion of the sun, stars, and the signs of the zodiac, and boost the accuracy of astrologer’s prediction. However, the legitimacy of the study that is now recognized as â€Å"pseudoscience† or a belief system that is â€Å"incorrectly presented as scientific†, was called into question by 17th-century scientific concepts and astronomical models.   In particular, the heliocentric model of the solar system where the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, significantly affect the credibility of the traditional geocentric (Earth-centered solar system) chart where the position of the zodiacal signs and horoscope are based. Read more information here: Unacceptable Words in Academic World Academic and Intellectual Credentials Why the South Lost the Civil War Computer Science Thesis The Scientific Basis for Defining Seasons Zodiac Signs and Horoscope Are not Science According to literature, although astrology relies on a scientific tool and complex mathematics such as those used to measure planetary motion in astronomy, the study is not a reliable predictive tool as it does not adhere to any valid scientific method and cannot be accurately tested.   Moreover, since astrology fails to abide by the standards of evidence or characteristic of most legitimate science, it eventually lost its place in the academic world.   The scientific community also disowned astrology, as it cannot provide a precise explanation on how the positions of celestial objects could actually affect people and influence events on our planet. Astrology according to Karl Popper lacks falsifiability or refutability, the ability that separates science from non-science.   Contrary to Popper, Thomas Kuhn argued that the non-empirical process and concepts involved in astrology make it unscientific. This is because failed predictions and inability to explain why horoscope fails do not necessarily make them violators of scientific principles. In reality, since astrology is not amenable research (see Research Paper), most astrologers do not investigate and merely adhere to rules and guidelines for a field of study fraught with known limitations. Instead of correcting a failure and revising a flawed astrological hypothesis in a meaningful way, most astrologers explain away failures.   According to Kuhn, even if the stars actually influence human lives and the world around us, individuals who do not solve puzzles are not practitioners of science.   Similarly, due to the presence of numerous fallacious logic and poor reasoning in astrological literature, philosopher Edward James view astrology as an irrational field of study. For instance, most astrological writings in James analysis are not coherent, blatant, uncorroborated by evidence, reluctant to pursue arguments, no sense of a hierarchy of reasons and incapable of satisfying the demands of legitimate reasoning.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The History of Latin America in the Colonial Era

The History of Latin America in the Colonial Era Latin America has seen wars, dictators, famines, economic booms, foreign interventions, and a whole assortment of varied calamities over the years. Each and every period of its history is crucial in some way to understanding the present-day character of the land. Even so, the Colonial Period (1492-1810) stands out as being the era that did the most to shape what Latin America is today. There are six things you need to know about the Colonial Era. The Native Population Was Wiped Out Some estimate that the population of Mexico’s central valleys was around 19 million before the arrival of the Spanish. It had dropped to two million by 1550. That’s just around Mexico City. Native populations on Cuba and Hispaniola were all but wiped out, and every native population in the New World suffered some loss. Although the bloody conquest took its toll, the main culprits were diseases like smallpox. The natives had no natural defenses against these new diseases, which killed them far more efficiently than the conquistadors ever could. Native Culture Was Forbidden Under Spanish rule, native religion and culture were severely repressed. Whole libraries of native codices (they’re different than our books in some ways, but essentially similar in look and purpose) were burned by zealous priests who thought that they were the work of the Devil. Only a handful of these treasures remain. Their ancient culture is something that many native Latin American groups are currently trying to regain as the region struggles to find its identity. The Spanish System Promoted Exploitation Conquistadores and officials were granted encomiendas, which basically gave them certain tracts of land and everyone on it. In theory, the encomenderos were supposed to look after and protect the people that were in their care, but in reality, it was often nothing more than legalized slavery. Although the system did allow for natives to report abuses, the courts functioned exclusively in Spanish, which essentially excluded most of the native population, at least until very late in the Colonial Era. Existing Power Structures Were Replaced Before the arrival of the Spanish, Latin American cultures had existing power structures, mostly based on castes and nobility. These were shattered as the newcomers killed off the most powerful leaders and stripped the lesser nobility and priests of rank and wealth. The lone exception was Peru, where some Inca nobility managed to hold onto wealth and influence for a time, but as the years went on, even their privileges were eroded into nothing. The loss of the upper classes contributed directly to the marginalization of native populations as a whole. Native History Was Rewritten Because the Spanish did not recognize native codices and other forms of record-keeping as legitimate, the history of the region was considered open for research and interpretation. What we know about pre-Columbian civilization comes to us in a jumbled mess of contradictions and riddles. Some writers seized the opportunity to paint earlier native leaders and cultures as bloody and tyrannical. This, in turn, allowed them to describe the Spanish conquest as a liberation of sorts. With their history compromised, it is difficult for today’s Latin Americans to get a grasp on their past. Colonists Were There to Exploit, Not Develop The Spanish (and Portuguese) colonists who arrived in the wake of the conquistadores wanted to follow in their footsteps. They did not come to build, farm, or ranch. In fact, farming was considered a very lowly profession among the colonists. These men therefore harshly exploited native labor, often without thinking about the long-term. This attitude severely stunted the economic and cultural growth of the region. Traces of this attitude are still found in Latin America, such as the Brazilian celebration of malandragem, a way of life of petty crime and swindling. Analysis Just as psychiatrists study the childhood of their patients in order to understand the adult, a look at the â€Å"infancy† of modern Latin America is necessary to truly comprehend the region today. The destruction of whole cultures - in every sense - left the majority of the population lost and struggling to find their identities, a struggle which continues to this day. The power structures put in place by the Spanish and Portuguese still exist. Witness the fact that Peru, a nation with a large indigenous population, finally elected the first native president in its long history. This marginalization of native people and culture is ending, and as it does many in the region are trying to find their roots. This fascinating movement bears watching in the years to come.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Work at Home and computers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Work at Home and computers - Research Paper Example As a result of the development of computer and internet technologies, it is possible for an India or Pakistani to work for an American company while staying at his home in India or Pakistan. Work At Home is a new term evolved in the professional world only because of the development of computers and internet technologies. This paper analyses the influence of computers on work at home jobs. The contributions of computers and internet are affecting human life both directly and indirectly. Many people believe that computers provide the answer to the heavy traffic problems on roads. It is a fact that most of the major roads in cities are not wide enough to avoid traffic problems, especially during morning and evening time when most of the professional are either going or leaving their offices. If the working professionals are able to work for their organization while staying at their home, traffic problems and pollution problems can be controlled up to certain extent. Thus work at home jobs can indirectly contribute to the big social problems like heavy traffic and environmental pollution. The concept of works at home has developed or evolved only because of the arrival of computers or internet. Without computers or internet, it is difficult for a professional to work from his home. Work at home jobs provides immense freedom or flexibility to the individuals in their profession. The homely environment will help professionals to work without any threats from the supervisors. While working in an office, a professional should always worry about the supervision of the superiors; however while working at home no such worries will haunt the professional. Many of the current working professionals complain that they are unable to achieve work-life balancing because of the heavy workloads. Work at home jobs can help the professionals to be with the family always and the complaints about the work-life imbalances could be

Final Project Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final Project - Term Paper Example It is also important to acquire a degree from an accredited law school, which is followed by proving of ones quality as a lawyer. This enables the community and state to appreciate the quality of services offered leading to election as a judge. The most important step to becoming a judge is gaining education. However, a number of courses such as public speaking, government, English, philosophy, and history should boost it. This is because a judge must have skills that include analyzing, logical thinking, speaking, and researching so s to acquire success. To become a judge one must be able to analyze situations in the current world in an acceptable manner. This is the reason experience as a lawyer is very important. In addition, one must have some public support, which is achieved during the trial processes. Since Judges are mostly appointed or elected, it is essential to have favor from the top officials by gaining political support. This ensures that the people involved in appointing are aware of your services and can recommend them as a judge. As a judge, it is important to keep track of any changes in the state laws. It is also essential to ensure that all cases are ruled in favor of the law. In addition, one must avoid any form of involvement in crime and corruption issues. Corruption is the best way to ensure that a judge is brought down. Most importantly, cases must be criticized and a ruling given in accordance with the law. I have worked as a judge for quite a number of years. After my education, I started out as a layer, where I defended cases successfully. I was always successful in most cases, which led to appointment a judge by the state council. After the appointment, I have listened to different cases for seven years. As each year increases in my calendar, I gain new ways to handle similar cases. Over the years, I have boosted my position through acquiring education in a number of

Friday, October 18, 2019

What is branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What is branding - Essay Example More than this, some consumers often do not understand that certain branding is specifically targeted towards them. In these instances, poor branding can negatively impact a companys reputation due to the fact that a brand is wrongly perceived. In taking all of this into consideration, the definition of branding that makes most sense to me is the following: the representation of a company that offers value and benefit to the ideal customer. Successful branding attracts new customers (and maintains old customers) by offering a product or service that is perceived to be to the advantage of the consumer. Branding would not be beneficial to entrepreneurial business due to the fact that there are likely to be limited funds available. Entrepreneurs can sometimes get carried away with branding instead of focusing on building a company up from the ground. Branding will become important as a business grows and expands, but the initial focus should be to try to ensure the survival of the company beyond the first 12 months. If there is a lack of capital, then entrepreneurs should not spend unnecessary money trying to make their new business look flash. If an entrepreneur has to use credit for branding purposes, then this will only place unnecessary pressure later on when it comes time to repay the debt. Branding is designed to enhance a company, not to saddle it with mountains of debt. Besides budding entrepreneurs, branding is also a waste of time for companies that have not accurately defined their target market. Without focusing on a select group of consumers, branding is going to go way over the top of most peoples heads and will not bring the desired results. Before branding can be effective, there must be short and long-term strategic objectives in place; otherwise branding efforts are sure to

Public Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Public Health - Essay Example surroundings and circumstances determine the health of people. Some of the factors used in the determination of health include genetic factors, educational level, income level and relationship with families and friends. The main determinants of health include social and economic environment, physical environment and the individual’s behaviors and characters. The increase in the income earning may increase the living standards; however, in some case people may fail to control their eating habits and end up acquiring diseases such as diabetes among others. The great gap between the gap between poor and rich increases the differences in health conditions. On the other hand, low education levels also contribute to the development of disease in the community. For instance, the lowly educated people may not be able to understand which kind of food to take at a given time. It becomes very difficult to create a harmonized healthy condition in the entire society because of the variatio n in the social factors (Kindig, 2015). In addition, people have different views and opinion regarding various health factors in the society. For example, some people may support abortion while other opposes the act and considers it an evil act. Such differences influence the efforts made to improve the population health.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Germany's holocaust memorial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Germany's holocaust memorial - Essay Example Besides, the foretold memorial is situated near to the underground secret chamber of Adolph Hitler, the mastermind behind Jewish Holocaust. In my opinion, the best possible way to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust is to construct a memorable monument. Mark Godfrey makes clear that the German government paid respect to the Holocaust survivors by inviting them to the inauguration of Holocaust Memorial in Berlin (Godfrey 239). The Holocaust Memorial is helpful for the younger generation in Germany and the whole world to remember the cruelty faced by Jewish population in central Europe. Besides, a solid symbol (say, a memorial monument) of genocide is most effective to cultivate the feeling of universal brotherhood in human minds. I consider that the initiative taken by German citizens like Lea Rosh and Eberhard Jaeckel is symbolic of the German culture of remembrance. But in 1980s (exact year: 1989), Berlin was in East Germany. The fall of German wall accelerated the effort to construct a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust. So, I consider the construction of Holocaust Memorial as the German culture of remembrance and historical consciousness. As pointed out earlier, the unification of Germany ignited national feeling among the people. For instance, the opening of Holocaust Memorial in the year of 2005 is symbolic of a unified Germany. Besides, the expenditure of the foretold memorial was around 20 Million Pounds. But this did not distract the Germans from paying apt tribute to the victims of Holocaust. Now, the Holocaust Memorial is open to all visitors without any discrimination and entrance fee. So, I consider that the Holocaust Memorial in Germany is symbolic of the German culture of honoring the victims of genocide, remembrance, nationalism and

(Ethical considerations and Data analysis) which are two parts of my Essay

(Ethical considerations and Data analysis) which are two parts of my full proposal - Essay Example This is important because the research would be conducted among members of this faculty and permission is required from the relevant authority. In asking for the permission to conduct the research, a letter will be sent which articulates crucial details of the various reasons why we have chosen that particular department to conduct our research there. Consequently, the letter also addresses issue of approval to conduct the study through the questionnaire and interview primary methods. Confidentiality in data collection will be applied through anonymity or use of letter symbols like letter b. Part of sample consists of a dean and five heads of departments who are all leaders. In this regards, it will be easy to conduct interviews or collect data through questionnaire in anonymity and the ensuing data will be used in the study without infringing any legal rights of the respondents in the research. Data analysis alludes to different methods that help to describe facts, tests hypotheses, detect patterns and develop explanations. It is applied in many areas of research and it does not necessarily involve numbers because it may be either qualitative or quantitative. After data collection, the next logical step is to analyze it because it will help the researcher to edit the information on the questionnaires and interviews. After refining of the questions and editing the already available ones, new questions for the interviews and questionnaires will be appearing in the next interviews for response by the respondents. This means that the data analysis process is interactive and in participatory way which will continue until consistent results are gotten (Pidgeon & Henwood, 1996). The research will involve both qualitative as well as quantitative data analysis. In qualitative data analysis method, there are five main steps to be followed for its accomplishment. The first step is taking enough time to read and review the data which has been gotten from

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Germany's holocaust memorial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Germany's holocaust memorial - Essay Example Besides, the foretold memorial is situated near to the underground secret chamber of Adolph Hitler, the mastermind behind Jewish Holocaust. In my opinion, the best possible way to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust is to construct a memorable monument. Mark Godfrey makes clear that the German government paid respect to the Holocaust survivors by inviting them to the inauguration of Holocaust Memorial in Berlin (Godfrey 239). The Holocaust Memorial is helpful for the younger generation in Germany and the whole world to remember the cruelty faced by Jewish population in central Europe. Besides, a solid symbol (say, a memorial monument) of genocide is most effective to cultivate the feeling of universal brotherhood in human minds. I consider that the initiative taken by German citizens like Lea Rosh and Eberhard Jaeckel is symbolic of the German culture of remembrance. But in 1980s (exact year: 1989), Berlin was in East Germany. The fall of German wall accelerated the effort to construct a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust. So, I consider the construction of Holocaust Memorial as the German culture of remembrance and historical consciousness. As pointed out earlier, the unification of Germany ignited national feeling among the people. For instance, the opening of Holocaust Memorial in the year of 2005 is symbolic of a unified Germany. Besides, the expenditure of the foretold memorial was around 20 Million Pounds. But this did not distract the Germans from paying apt tribute to the victims of Holocaust. Now, the Holocaust Memorial is open to all visitors without any discrimination and entrance fee. So, I consider that the Holocaust Memorial in Germany is symbolic of the German culture of honoring the victims of genocide, remembrance, nationalism and

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

ALS and how it affects middle-aged americans Research Paper

ALS and how it affects middle-aged americans - Research Paper Example Evidence from population studies in the U.S.A. indicates that more than 5,600 new cases of ALS are diagnosed every year, and that its prevalence is 30,000 at any given period of time. The predominant age span at which ALS develops is between the ages of 40 years and 70 years, though cases have been reported in the age group of 20 years and 30 years. Men are more frequently diagnosed with ALS than women and there is a high rate of affliction of the disease among the Caucasian race. Only 50% of those afflicted with the disease live three years or more, with 20% likely to live for five or more years, and 10% living beyond 10 years. In recent years live span of individuals with ALS is found to be longer than earlier, with the likely causes being improved management of the patients and clinical interventions (ALS Association, 2011). There is lack of clarity on how ALS is initiated. Traditionally ALS has been looked upon as a disease that lacks adequate evidence of a genetic basis. This appears to be true as 95% of patents affected by ALS do not have first degree relatives affected by ALS. However, the recent finding of TDP43 as a signature protein in ALS has brought back the question of a genetic connection in the initiation of ALS. This is because TDP43 is found to be a gene wherein mutations have been seen in 3% to 4% of familial ALS. This finding has not removed the fog around the cause of ALS, but may be a light in the dark tunnel. Disparate pathways that include RNA processing, protein turnover and mitochondrial function have been found to initiate ALS, yet a universally acceptable model that describes how ALS is initiated and propagated has not emerged (Talbot, 2011). In the opinion of Talbot 2011, p. 1329, â€Å"the concept of ALS as a pure motor system disease having a single cause, and ultimately a co mmon treatment, has to be abandoned in favor of a model where complex multisystem

Monday, October 14, 2019

Fredrick W Taylor Essay Example for Free

Fredrick W Taylor Essay Frederick W Taylor was one who led a life of earnest development in the production and manufacturing sectors. His life was one the spurned on time study and one that advanced America and the world in scientific management. Taylor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 20, 1856. He lived an eventful and noble life for 59 years and one day dying on March 21, 1915. Throughout his lifetime he was a great inventor with over 40 patents and a brilliant engineer (Britannica). In his early years Taylor was always learning and creating. At age 12, Taylor created a harness that would keep him on his back to try and prevent nightmares (www.stfrancis.edu). In 1872 he went to the Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Here he led his class scholastically. After his completion of studies at Philips Taylor started working as a machine shop laborer in a steel plant named Midvale Steel Company. Quickly Taylor started to grow in position; he became a successful shop clerk, machinist, gang boss, foreman, maintenance foreman, head of drawing office, and finally chief engineer. It is evident to see that Taylor was a man of wisdom and drive, who never settled for anything less than the best. In 1881, at age 25 he introduced time study at the Midvale Plant. The project was a great success and as a result the profession of time study was started. While working at Midvale, Taylor studied at night to get a degree in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. As can be seen even from an early age Taylor had successes in new areas of study which spurned on his later life accomplishments. Throughout Taylor’s mid and late life he continued to advance and spread his knowledge of time study. He retired at age 45, after that he, his wife and their three adopted children lived in Philadelphia from 1904 to 1914. He continued to devote money and time to promote the principals of scientific management through lectures at universities and professional societies (Britannica). In 1906 Taylor was elected the president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and that same year was he was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree by the University of Pennsylvania (Britannica). Taylor was a man of expert wisdom and foresight and it is seen throughout his life as we just discussed but these characteristics primary shine when you look at his theory and successes of time study. He realized that production could be increased by standardizing this system of work (smallbusiness.chrono.com). Taylor’s time study theory was that he would break each job down into specific tasks and timed how long it took a worker to complete each task (smallbusiness.chrono.com). Then he specified exactly how each task was to be performed and what tools to use, then the workers were trained to complete the task in a certain way (smallbusiness.chrono.com). He did this because he believed that there was one and only one method of work that maximized efficiency as he said, â€Å"And this one best method and best implementation can only be discovered of developed through scientific study and analysis.† (Vincenzo Sandrone). He proved this theory at the Bethlehem Steel Works where they had 500 men shoveling coal. He performed his time and motion studies and found out that using a different shovel for different size coal that it increased the amount you could shovel. So as a result of these two studies men could shovel more coal for a longer period of time. Thus he effectively reduced the number of men shoveling coal to 140 (smallbusiness.chrono.com). This is the reality of his theory and the results speak for themselves. Also, Taylor worked alongside Henry Ford to create the first assembly line (smallbusiness.chrono.com). Taylor also used his expertise and applied it to moving pig iron. He increased the amount moved from 12.5 tons per a day to 47.5 tons of pig iron a day. This leads to another point of Taylor’s theory and it was that he believed that you had to choose the right people for the task. Relating the example just mentioned, Taylor said that not all workers were fully capable of moving 47.5 tons of pig iron per a day, perhaps only 1/8 of the pig iron handlers were capable of doing that. This is because their physical capabilities were well-suited for moving pig iron. This is Taylor’s point, that workers should be picked according to how well they suit a particular job. Taylor also had a motivational theory, called the economic man (Business Studies). This was that workers were motivated or encouraged by money alone and the only factor that could stimulate further output or work was the chance of earning extra money (Business Studies). Taylor always said that workers should be paid a ‘fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work’ and that the pay should be directly linked with output (Business Studies). This leads to a further point of Taylor’s, and it is called ‘piece rate’. To encourage this, workers were pay by each unit that they produced, and the first unit were paid at a low rate and the more the worker produced that higher the pay they received. He also believed that incentive wages were of no use unless they were coupled with efficient tasks that were carefully planned and easily learned (www.stfrancis.edu). Thus is Taylor’s main motivational suggestion; to link pay with output. Taylor also standardized the role of management. This included setting managers apart from operations and giving them more authority to set the tasks workers do (smallbusiness.chrono.com). Taylors’ attitudes toward workers were laden with negative bias â€Å"in the majority of cases this man deliberately plans to do as little as he safely can.† The methods that Taylor adopted were directed solely towards the uneducated (Vincenzo Sandrone). Taylor believed that the secret of productivity was finding the right challenge for each person, then paying him well for increased output (www.stfrancis.edu). He believed that incentive wages were no solution unless they were combined with efficient tasks that were carefully planned and easily learned (www.stfrancis.edu). Throughout this passage it is evident to see what a work Taylor accomplished. He is the father of scientific management and the one who spurned off time study. Taylor spent his whole life increasing efficiency in the workplace, working with making people and companies, most notable, Henry Ford. He and many others of his time like Henry Ford did work that put the United States on the leading edge during the Industrial Revolution. Bibliography 1. Frederick Winslow Taylor, Mary Ellen Papesh, www.stfrancis.edu/content/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograph/fwtaylor.htm 2. Britannica, Frederick W Taylor, www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/584820/Fredrick-W-Taylor. 3. Herzberg Taylor’s Theories of Motivation, Lisa Magloff, Demand Media, www.smallbusiness.chrono.com/herzberg-taylors-theories-motivation-704.html 4. Frederick W Taylor: Master of Scientific Management, www.skymart.com/resources/leaders/taylor/asp 5. Business Studies second edition, Peter Stimpson and Alastair Farquharson, Cambridge University Press 2010

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The State of Being ‘Human’ in Kanes Blasted Essay -- Literary Analysi

â€Å"I’ve only ever written to escape from hell-and it’s never worked-but at the other end of it when you sit there and watch something and think that’s the most perfect expression of the hell that I felt then maybe it was worth it. (Sarah Kane, Royal Holloway College, London, 3 November 1998).† (Saunders. 2002: 1). Both representative and reflected in this statement made by the British playwright Sarah Kane (1971-1999) (Sierz. 2001: 90-91) is the state of being human. In its literal sense the state of being human could be illustrated as an expression of existence. That of the individual and characteristics and traits experienced through the life of mortal man. (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 61 & 366). In addition to this, the associated meaning with the word ‘tested’ suggests ‘a difficult situation that reveals the strength or quality of someone or something.’ (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 785). When defined in t hese terms, this then opens up the question to how an expression of human-existence is revealed under pressure in Sarah Kane’s play Blasted (1995). The twentieth century British playwright Sarah Kane’s (1971-1999) first and sensational drama Blasted opened in the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in January 1995. (Saunders. 2002: 2). From the outset Kane’s play stirred much controversy within the media. The title itself had a great impact upon its audience, as blasted through its formed meaning and literal association is a term ‘expressing annoyance.’ (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 70). As stated by the British theatre critic Aleks Sierz, Kane’s Blasted is â€Å"a shocking play whose raw language and powerful images of rape, eye-gouging and cannibalism provoked critical outrage†¦Kane exploded theatri... ...tp://www.robertsilverstone.com/wp-content/articles/Art_of_Being_Human_Part1.pdf. [Accessed 21st April 2012] Stephens, S. (2010) Sarah Kane’s debut play Blasted returns. [On-line] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/oct/24/sarah-kane-blasted. [Accessed 21st April 2012] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, (2009) War. [On-line] Available from: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/war. [Accessed 21st April 2012] The Guardian, (2005) ‘Suicide art? She’s better than that.’ [On-line] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2005/oct/12/theatre. [Accessed 21st April 2012] Wixson, C. (2005) â€Å"In Better Places†: Space, Identity, and Alienation in Sarah Kane’s Blasted. [On-line] Available from: http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.falmouth.ac.uk/journals/comparative_drama/summary/v039/39.1.wixson.html. [Accessed 19th April 2012]

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Decision :: Creative Writing Short Story Essays

The Decision The tall man standing at the edge of the Haunted Forest looked directly at Siggford, waved, and disappeared. Perhaps the villagers were right in advising him to take the long route around the forest instead of cutting through it. Siggford hesitated. He could feel the warmth of the morning sun beating on his back. As he brushed his sandy blond hair off his forehead he found he was already perspiring. Watching the dense forest in front of him, he considered his options. He could travel through the forest in a day, or take three days to walk around it. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes he set out towards the forest. He stayed up too late listening to the villager's tales of these woods. Someone probably made up the stories to discourage curious children from wandering off and getting lost in the trees. Entering the forest he felt uneasy, but nothing seemed unusual as he wandered on through the morning. Around noon he found a stream meandering through a clearing where it ended in a pond. The clear water sparkled invitingly in the sunlight. It reminded him of a diamond he'd seen once. He stooped at the edge of the pond and reached in with both hands to cup the water when he realized what had been bothering him all morning. With his hands poised half way between the pond and his mouth, he strained to catch any sound. He could hear the stream running into the pond, but that was all. As he looked up from the pond a chill ran down his spine as he found himself face to face with the biggest man he'd ever seen. Now why would he call that creature a man? True, it stood on two feet and had hands and a face which resembled a man, but that thing was not a man. It was covered in matted brown fur from head to foot with what appeared to be blood strewn liberally throughout its body. It smelled like a dead animal. Its mouth was closed, but two sharp teeth stuck out over its lower lip. The black eyes stared at Siggford, but they held no thought. Only emotion. It leaned back its head and howled a howl that shook the ground. Or was it just Siggford who was shaking? Before he could move, or even react, the creature grabbed his arm and started pulling him out of the clearing and back through the forest.