How does human cruelty darken Browning’s poetry? Essay

On the one hand, some people agree that the recurring theme of human acts of cruelty, such as murder and deceit, throughout his poetry instils a sense of darkness. An example that supports this is the joy and delight that the female narrator feels in ‘The Laboratory’- â€Å"invisible pleasures†, which gives an impression of uncontainable excitement as she helps concoct her deadly poison for which she has high admiration, as it finally allows her to get her revenge, emphasising a sinister tone in the poem as the woman revels in the pain she is about to cause, holding no remorse. This can be compared to the similar way in which the persona of the duke in ‘My Last Duchess’ also shows no remorse or guilt for the presumed murder of his duchess, darkening the air of the poem as, combined with the warning implications of further intentions to keep his next duchess exactly where he believed she was supposed to be within society, he seemingly has no fear of be ing caught and if so, punished, showing the danger in the immense amount of power he holds. On the other hand, I partly disagree with this statement as Browning also incorporates social realism and satirical comedy into his work, to portray the hypocritical yet casual nature of cruelty within society, such as in ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’. The brutality of humans within this poem is represented by the contrast between the theoretical behaviour of a jester-like figure and a well-dressed mayor, and the actual way in which they behave showing that a person cannot be judged by appearances, in a comedic manner. This is similar to ‘The Patriot’ as Browning used a consistent rhyming scheme to represent the way in which society has and never will change over time, and people will always look for someone to blame life’s problems on. Another reason for my opposition to this statement, based on Browning’s ‘Pied Piper of Hamelin’ is that the cruelty portrayed within the poem is not necessarily a result of human behaviour, but rather an otherworldly being; â€Å"no guessing his kith or kin†, which suggests that nobody could distinguish where he had come from as he was so different to everybody else. On the contrary to this, many would agree with the statement that human acts of cruelty darken Browning’s poetry because the pied piper abducts the innocent children of Hamelin for a crime they themselves had not committed, emphasising how truly evil his actions were. By taking the children, the piper literally took the fresh, new life out of the town, which has connotations of light and happiness, therefore meaning the piper managed to take the light out of the town and poem. Furthermore, darkness descends upon Browning’s work as a result of the introduction of human cruelty, especially in ‘The Patriot’ in the way that society so easily turned against their leader after he had failed to give them what they wanted, despite his best intentions in trying to give them everything that was best for them, and punished him by seeing him die up close from the best possible view in a humiliating and demeaning public execution. On other hand, some disagree: Laboratory- sympathy felt for the poisoner, so some justification felt/admiration of her strength as only female narrative MLD- charismatic duke/ justification of his actions.

Red Lake High School Shooting Essay

Jeffrey James â€Å"Jeff† Weise was an Ojibwe Native American adolescent, and a student at Red Lake Senior High School in Red Lake, Minnesota. He killed nine people and wounded five others in a shooting spree on March 21, 2005, when he was just 16 years old. Weise first murdered his grandfather and grandfather’s girlfriend at his trailer home in Red Lake. He then shot and killed an unarmed security guard, a teacher and five students at Red Lake Senior High School. The shooting ended when Weise committed suicide. Research shows that Jeff was a strange young man, interested in Gothic things black clothing and Nazism, but a look a little further into his past led to a few interesting revelations. Jeff’s parents were never married, because his mother was only 17 when she gave birth. She was forced to give Jeff to his father when he was three months old. Then when he was two his mother took him back. She was reportedly an abusive alcoholic with a tendency to both physically and emotionally abuse her first born son. In 1997 Jeff’s father committed suicide after a two day standoff with police. Then in 1999 his mother suffered brain damage after a car accident in which she had been drinking and driving. Jeff was then placed in the care of his grandmother at the Red Lake Reservation. Jeff did not have the right start in life. His parents should have been older and more ready for a child when he was born. They also should have been married. Jeff also should have had a more stable home life as an infant. It is doubtful that he had a firm attachment with his mother or father considering that he was passed between them at 3 months old and 2 years old. He also should not have been physically or emotionally abused. His mother failed him in that aspect and the fact that she was an alcoholic makes it even worse. It is also doubtful that Jeff dealt with his father’s suicide in a healthy way. He did not have the support that he should have had from his mother. By the time he got to his grandmother’s care he had already led a very difficult life. This ties in to every chapter that we have discussed so far. It refers to attachment, abuse, adolescence and everything. It all goes back to the first thing we talked about that said when parents fail to give their child a good start in life everybody suffers, as is the case with the families of Jeff’s victims.

Police Brutality, Have Times Really Changed Essay

The history of Police Brutality for minorities; especially people of color has left America wondering have times changed. Police brutality has deemed the opportunity for socioeconomic advancement or access to good and services for many Black/African Americans dating back as far as 1955. The system of Police brutality has affected many realms of society for minorities’ employment and family life. After some scholarly research, police brutality is still prevalent in the Black/African American community; moreover, it comes in many different forms and fashions. Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. Excessive use of force is a means of force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation. This research seeks to understand the history of police brutality and how it continues to be prevalent; if not, more prevalent in presently than in the past. The history of police brutality dates back to slavery, encompasses the civil rights movement, and defines the growing accounts of modern situation in which Blacks/African Americans have been treated wrong by law enforcement. Elijah Anderson (2000) claims, â€Å"the idea of the race man goes back to the segregated Black/African American community, in fact all the way back to slaver† (Elijah Anderson, 2). Modern leaders like Jesse Jackson could be viewed as a race man; meaning, his help is deeply imbedded when he feels the Black/African American community has been treated unjust. As a leaders of the Black/African American community, there is always a time to become actively involved in the community, especial pertaining to police brutality. Secondly, Emmett Till is another example of police brutality, but in another form. Note, Emmett Till was not beaten by the police; however, his brutal beaten came from a group of white men in Money, Mississippi. I define this travesty as police brutality due to the milestone of social inequality that police brutality has fed off of. Bob Blauner (1992) reveals, â€Å"Chicagoan Emmett Till in Mississippi has been awakening to the end of social equality (Bob Blauner, 1). Instances such as the brutal killing of Emmett Till led to the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement was geared toward  helping not only Blacks/African American community, but helping America dismantle discrimination, segregation, lynching, double standards of laws and rules, police brutality and overall equality. The civil rights movement was filled with many acts of police brutality. For instance, a woman in Riverside, California was shot several times by law enforcement officers. They claim they were threaten by her, but had no idea this woman was engulfed in a diabetic coma. Legalized Cop Violence (1999) shares, â€Å"Dontae Dawson was sitting in his car and was ordered to raise his hands, when he did he fatally shot and killed the officer claims he thought the young man had a gun† The New York News, 12). The civil rights era proved that law enforcement officers did not serve the poor, the powerless or the un-influential. The legalized violence that was committed throughout the civil rights era has drastically changed; however, police brutality is still presently evident. For instance, officers of the law are servants of the state. They hold deeply to the interest of capital, wealth, and government to corporate figures. Currently, Black/African American leaders are still dealing with the vicious killing of two youth. These two particular situations has rocked the nation. First, Trayvon Martin, who was seventeen years old was walking from a community store in Sanford, Florida and was shoot to death at close range. No, he was not shot by the police; moreover, this situation has ignited once again racial inequality which is no stranger to police brutality. Although Trayvon Martin’s assassin was found not guilty, laws in the State of Florida allows citizens to stand they ground if they feel threaten. The 2014 State Statues of Florida 76.013 reveals, â€Å"home protection; use or threatened use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm† is permitted. Despite the important racial progresss our society has made since Emmett Till’s death, from the civil rights era, to present increase of police brutality has still left the Black/African American community in shadows of segregation. The second most recent shooting of teenager Michael Brown has left citizens in ongoing battles with law enforcement officers of Ferguson, Missouri. New Statement (2014) reports, Missouri police similarly attempted to retain control of the narrative, claiming Brown had stolen cigars, and then paying for them, and then claiming he was a bad child and attacked the officer who shot him† (New Statement, 21). Brown autopsy reveals he was gun less and shot six  times. Police brutality is not solely about Ferguson, Emmett Till, or the civil rights movement, but it is simply about the history of capitalism and police brutality in America and having many forms of it. Which leads us to the question has times really changed are is police brutality still very surreal. Granted we talked mostly about Emmet Till, Trayvon Martin Michael Brown, and the civil rights these are not the only men or eras in time where police brutality has and still to this day is taking place. A few others who have suffered and died from police brutality include: Ezzel Ford who was mentally disabled and John Crawford III who was playing with a toy gun in the toy section of Wal-Mart. I know there are more people and time eras that have faced police brutality but these are just a few that are having a major impact on the world as we see it today. Which rises brings us to the question is Police Brutality the problem or as we as African America/ Blacks causing the problems and then when police are called to settle or solve the problem we over react or act as if we have done nothing wrong. Some cases in which police were called to a scene and they were hurt or out in danger include in July of 1920 five police were called to a home in New York to settle a dispute between two brothers where in return all five of the cops were injured, another time is in September of 1991 when three of duty officers in the state of New York were in a argument with a 18year old who in return pulled out a box cutting razor knife slashing one of the officers. Now I am not saying that because of these incidents this gives cops a reason to act the way that they do, but my question again is are we as African Americans/Blacks completely innocent or do we sometimes react to situations when cops are just doing their jobs that make them feel threatened so they have to kill. Yet there are more and better ways to deal with situations. Just like we the people should not always resort to violence and killing and committing black on black or white on white crime police need to and should follow the same rules of the world. Every man woman boy and girl should be treated how they would want to be treated. I’m sure the way police treat African Americans/Blacks when we commit crimes is not how they would want their family and or friends to be treated. There are some people who think that the way to downgrade police brutality is to adopt more white ways specifically the white perspective and to manifest intensively. Granted this is true; however, I do believe that just like us African Americans can  sometimes over react and over step our boundaries, I believe that cops have a bad habit of doing this as well. Yes your job as a police officer is to protect and serve the communities that you are in but moreover we are all humans and at this day in age no one is better than the next person no matter what race ethnicity sex or community you live in we are all said to be treated equal but are we treated as equals? If we were would there be so much police brutality and hostility toward police. Since the Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown case I can see and understand why so many people have so much hate in their hearts. Although Trayvon Martin was not shot by a police officer he was shot by â€Å"a watchman of the area† Which in my opinion means if you are here to watch our neighborhood and protect us then he should of known who Trayvon was he should have been tolerant t figure out if Trayvon was really a threat to the neighborhood or if he was just â€Å"overreacting and looking for somebody to shot† and the same with Michael Brown who was actually shot by police men were the jumping the gun and did not take the time to find out if he really was stealing or if there was a miscommunication which I believe that’s what it was. Which leaves us to the question with the belief that slavery has ended and that all people are equal; then why is that police have and continue to get away with the brutally killing of African Americans. Works Cited Abu-Jamal, M. (1999). Legalized Cop Violence. New York: The New York Amsterdam News. Anderson, E. (2000). Beyond the Melting Pot Reconsidering. International Migration Review , 1-7. Anderson, E. (2014). Emmett and Trayvon. Washington: The Washington Monthly. Blauner, B. (1992). Talking Past Each Other: The Black and White Language of Race. The American Prospect , 1-6. Edwards, B. (2014). 4 Dead Unarmed Men and the Police: What You Need to Know. The Root. Penny, L. (2014, August 20). Welcome to America, Where Police Shoot an Unarmered Black MAn Six Times-and then call him a Villain. New Statesman , pp. 22-28. Tucker, W. (1993, January). Is Police Brutality the Problem? Commentary , pp. 23-28.

Knowing, understanding and using your learning style Essay

Knowing, understanding and using your learning style - Essay Example Following this programme will enable you to assess which learning style you prefer and the mentoring programme should help you develop them. Whilst Kolb's theory described learning as an integrated process in which all stages have to be completed, he went on to say that people are rarely fully effective in all stages. He produces variants of his main stages and by combining various parts of the four stages, identified four main styles of learner. Peter Honey and Alan Mumford have done a great deal of work in the area of management development and learning. They have looked at Kolb's work amongst others and developed a theory of learning styles which has much in common with Kolb's theories. They describe the four main learning styles as: As has been said before, people may not be fully effective learners at all stages of the learning cycle. Honey and Mumford's work helps to identify the stages at which your learning is most effective: i.e. your preferred learning style. This questionnaire is designed to find out your preferred learning styles. Over the years you will have developed learning habits that help you benefit more from some experiences than others. Since you are probably unaware of this, this questionnaire will help you pinpoint your learning preferences so that you are in a better position to select learning experiences that suit your style. There is no time limit to this questionnaire. ... They describe the four main learning styles as: 1. Activist 2. Reflector 3. Theorist 4. Pragmatist Linking this to Kolb's learning cycle you will see that they feel: ACTIVIST links to DOING REFLECTOR links to REVIEWING THEORIST links to CONCLUDING PRAGMATIST links to PLANNING As has been said before, people may not be fully effective learners at all stages of the learning cycle. Honey and Mumford's work helps to identify the stages at which your learning is most effective: i.e. your preferred learning style. The next exercise will be looking at preferred learning styles. Learning Styles Questionnaire [Honey & Mumford 1986] This questionnaire is designed to find out your preferred learning styles. Over the years you will have developed learning habits that help you benefit more from some experiences than others. Since you are probably unaware of this, this questionnaire will help you pinpoint your learning preferences so that you are in a better position to select learning experiences that suit your style. There is no time limit to this questionnaire. It will probably take you 10-15 minutes. The accuracy of the results depends on how honest you are. There are no right or wrong answers. If you agree with a statement more than you disagree with a statement put a tick by it. If you disagree more than you agree put a cross by it. Be sure to mark each item with either a tick or a cross. (1) I have strong beliefs about what is right and wrong, good and bad (2) I often act without considering the possible consequences (3) I tend to solve problems by using a step by step approach (4) I believe that formal procedures and policies restrict people (5) I have a reputation for saying what

Specific ways in which the internet has changed the way businesses Essay - 5

Specific ways in which the internet has changed the way businesses operate in the global marketplace - Essay Example Without a doubt, like any other technology tools or applications, this technology is just a technology and it depends on a firm how effectively they make use of this technology. In fact, if this technology is used effectively it can bring a large number of opportunities for the business organizations. For instance, the use of the Internet allows business organizations to catch attention of new customers, retain business relationships with old customers and suppliers, deliver its products and services in a better way, communicate with customers and other stakeholders through more efficient and professional ways, gather data about customers, preferences and retrieve it speedily, and buy and sell more products. In addition, a large number of firms have attempted to make use of the Internet as extraordinary much more than it is (Ray 269). The majority of business organizations as well as individuals are moving their businesses from traditional business infrastructures to web based business environments, believing that by some means this would differentiate them from other business organizations. Without a doubt, a business organization can make use of this wonderful technology in a number of ways and in every application of the Internet brings a wide variety of benefits. In each for, Internet technology offers a number of capabilities. For instance, the Internet plays the role of a bridge for the communication of data. In addition, the Internet is a system that establishes and retains connections with any computer connected to it. In fact, if a company puts its full efforts to have control over these two rules or facilities, it can make use of this technology with greatest aptitude to improve the business (Ray 269). Moreover, the Internet minimizes the gap between the organizations and their customers as it allows business organizations to get access to global markets and reach broad categories of people at the

Policing and mistrust in black community Research Paper

Policing and mistrust in black community - Research Paper Example gh evidence, most black families in the United States are too reluctant and more cautious in advising their children to be careful when dealing with police officers. While making a flashback, there is often a disturbing experience of either black men or women having suffered under mysterious circumstances in the hands of police. Therefore, how does the level of mistrust hinder the relationship between police and the black society in the United States? As illustrated by Smith and Malcolm (1036), there is a growing concern that the majority of the black community has always been the target of police brutality. Besides, several questions of mistrust between police and black community within the United States have been left unanswered. Consequently, it is not possible to re-examine the relationship between black Americans within the context of policing depending on how the offenders would be awarded judgments from the crime committed. It is very important to understand that there is very minimal American police education concerning cultural and historical injustices. As such, the above has contributed into poor handling of the black community by the police. It is also vital for the police officers to embrace a proper communicative style that is meant to harmonize relationship between members of the community in regard to restoration of law and order. According to Smith and Malcolm (1036), embracing accountability among police officers while dealing with the black minority is considered to be a very important subject. Moreover, it would lead to the incorporation of the spirit of competency and harmonization of trustworthiness between the law enforcers and the community. As a result, it would lead into corporation while ensuring that there is presence of security organs at all levels of the society (Smith and Malcolm 1036) Tipton (54), a chief security analyst from Texas argues that, it is important for the black community to understand `elements of policing and

Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Anthropology - Essay Example Her suggestion of economic localization is ideal because it can reduce people to depend on other countries and make them more engaging and produce products which are of cultural value and importance. It can also prosper the local economy and make people more productive .According to ( Norberg) â€Å"Producers and consumers were closely linked in a community-based economy†. Also urban gardens are vital to the ecological environment as it allows enrichment of nature. Local food movement is essential as it encourages people to stand for themselves and it can increase bio – diversity .World need to grow locally and need to create unique identity of their culture and community. The two group of people mentioned by author as Tibetan farmers and Amazon tribal can be benefited from these strategies. Tibetan farmers can be encouraged to engage in more of live stock farming as it could enhance their prosperity and also avail them with meat and milk which is a main part of their diet. Amazon tribes can be prompted to indulge in agriculture of cereals and vegetables which suit their geographical nature and it can give them abundant food source and income too. Hodge, Helena N. "Globalisation versus Community." http://www.localfutures.org. ISEC, 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Electroconvulsive Therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Electroconvulsive Therapy - Essay Example Research has shown that release of certain brain chemicals and stimulation of growth of new blood vessel in certain areas of the brain probably helps the improvement of the condition of the patient ECT is given in a hospital setting in special set rooms called 'ECT Suite'. The current is delivered to the brain of a patient in a controlled way using a special ECT machine. The patient is given an anesthetic so that he is not conscious during the procedure. A muscle relaxant is also given to prevent serious injuries due to muscle spasms. The duration of seizures aimed at is 20 to 50 seconds long. If the current is passed across the whole brain, it is known as bilateral ECT. If it is passed across one side, it is unilateral. A patient will need on average 6 to 8 treatments to complete a course. The procedure of giving ECT involves several weeks. The patient develops several epileptic seizures and receives many anesthetics. There are many side effects for this treatment. Short-term side e ffects include a headache, muscle ache, feeling of muzzy headedness, feeling sick, distress and feeling fearful. However, most patients can tide over this form of therapy with support from nursing staff, light refreshment, and painkillers. In older patients, confusion can occur. There is the small risk of death of 1 in 50,000 cases. the main impact of ECT is long term. The most important long-term side effects are memory problems. Memories return in most of the cases when the course has finished and a few weeks have passed by.

Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Assessment - Essay Example All in all, no form of learning can be successful and useful if the learners are not assessed. An understanding of the concept of assessment majorly relies on the reasons behind the use of tests on the learners, both by the teachers and learners. In the work by Segers & Tillema (2011), teachers hold the view that assessments are tools that check the performance of the learners; thus, set a ground of what top be taught in the future lessons, while the some of the students hold the view that assessments are beneficial for learning as they check whether concepts have been grasped; others felt that the entire process especially the summative assessment was completely unfair, due to variations in testing. From this study, it is justified to argue that assessments are tools of learning especially when there is a form of balance between summative and formative assessments. Remesal (2011) indicates that assessments, in the view of the teachers have been regarded as a tool that aids in the improvement of the learners grades. The work also indicates that assessments are mere tools for accountability by the school’s administration, and that they may be useless if they are not relevant in the school life of the students. Offering induction to the teachers can be extremely useful in administering tests to the learners, since a great percentage of them take it as a normal activity in the schools’ program; thus, do not give it the utmost seriousness it deserves. In the view of Knauss (2001), the issue of assessment has a lot to do with the importance ascribed by the major stakeholders of education or rather the learning process. The administration has a particular aim, as well as the parents, learners and teachers. In this case, Knauss (2001) indicates that the kind of psychological assessments are the roles of the psychologists that are existent in the school. All tests in this context must be directed to satisfying the

Major Religions Essay Example for Free

Major Religions Essay Religions are among the most influential forces in history, if not the most influential at all. Most historical events that has shaped or helped shaped the world as it is today were founded along religious backgrounds and teachings. From Constantine to the fall of the Roman Empire, from European conquest to the Crusades, and from the condemnation of heretics to religious terrorism, these are events with religious influences that took part in the course of history. Even today, religion plays an important role in people’s actions that affect the society and even influences politics. Religion is so influential in fact that even when science has slowly displaced religious beliefs, it has remained a powerful force in dictating public opinion, compelling political leaders to act according to their standards. Religion’s Role in Society Religion is an important topic in every human civilization. The culture, tradition and beliefs of people are based on religion. The importance of religion in every human civilization, and indeed of the society, could not have been stated more precisely in Charles Taylor’s foreword to Marcel Gauchet’s book entitled The Disenchantment of the World: A Political History of Religion from which he used Durkheim’s ideas. He explained that for Durkheim, religion was the very basis of society—â€Å"a pattern of practices that gives a certain shape to our social imaginary† (as cited in Taylor 1997, x). Gauchet, on the other hand, explained the expansion of religion as an accompanying goal of expanding the state. He wrote: â€Å"wars of expansion could no doubt be justifiably considered one of the greatest spiritual and intellectual forces to have ever operated in history† (Gauchet 1997, 36). This he reasoned by stating that â€Å"religious upheaval is inscribed in the State’s action, contained within its necessities as dictated by the political division. Broadening the State’s influence subjectivizes supernatural forces, which can only further broaden its practical scope for dominion by making it an intermediary for an instituting will that it administers. We see how the dialectic between the visible forces and its invisible guarantor, between the actual and presumed power, slowly draws the religious into history† (1997, 40). Significant Historical Events Influenced by Religion There are quite a number of events influenced by religion that has changed the course of history, but perhaps none as prominent as the establishment of Christianity. Beginning with a small sect of Jewish tradition whose members were persecuted for their beliefs, Christianity has emerged to be the most popular religion around the world today, with adherents comprising up to a third of the world’s population. Christians, during the Roman Empire, were persecuted and blamed whenever it was found convenient to blame them for some problems of the Empire. It was not until Emperor Constantine had converted to Christianity did the religion secure its future. Apparently, Constantine held that his victory from a battle against a rival was due to his vision to fight under the Christian standard—the cross. Christianity continued to be influential in empires succeeding the decline of the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire, as a continuation of the Roman Empire, rose through a deep religious faith along the majestic pattern of the Roman State and Hellenism. With Theodosius as emperor, pagan worships and heresies were declared illegal thereby promoting Christianity to all territories of the Empire. Some held that the Byzantine Empire had allowed for the widespread adoption of Christianity to Europe be defending the West from pagan invaders from the East. The Empire also brought a close link between the state and the church in that while the emperor takes the lead, the church set a high standard in its relation to secular powers. â€Å"In the threat of excommunication the western church discovers a powerful weapon for dealing with wayward rulers† (HistoryWorld). By the end of the fifth century AD, kings and popes would wield power from the Italian peninsula in the West while emperors would still rule in the East. Christianity is such an important feature of the Empire that when Jerusalem fell into the hands, first of Persia then of the Muslims, it became an urgent matter of State. As the Byzantine Empire was strengthened by the Christian faith, it faced its greatest threat with another rising religion. Islam, with its expansionist doctrine, had conquered the Persian Empire and has severely crippled the Byzantine Empire that before the launching of the First Crusade Byzantium had become the boundary between the Christian West and the Muslim East. The influence of religion as a powerful force in history is perhaps best exemplified in the Crusades. The fact that the wars the Crusades waged into became a contest between the two most influential religions today proves this point. The size and scale of the Crusades could be attributed to the effectiveness of Pope Urban II call for military support against the infidels who threatened their Christian brothers in the East, promising the immediate remission of sins to all those who die for the cause and stating that â€Å"God wills it. † While the Crusades were ordained by the church, the destruction of its knights, particularly that of the Knights Templar, could be attributed to the interplay between the church and the state, with the church taking on a more passive role. It could be argued that while it was under the Pope (Clement V) who found the Templars as heretics, effectively disbanding them and persecuted them, the fact that Philip IV could not have done it himself without pressuring the church proves that the church extends its influence on public opinion. The state relied on the churchs approval and pressured it to promote its will when necessary to make it seem that the states actions have the blessing of the church. After all, a king of any Christian domain would not be king until ordained by the church. Hence, it is only natural for the king to seek the approval of the church or to make it seem they have its approval for their rule to be acceptable. The interplay between the state and the church could also be seen in the churchs influence in the scientific community. This is best exemplified in discoveries and theories that contradicts Biblical claims. The Copernican system, for example, was condemned because it contradicts the claim of man being the center of Gods creation that Galileo was forced to withdraw his findings even when he had his proof that the earth revolves around the sun. Darwins theory of evolution was also met with hostilities because of its claims against religious beliefs that God created the world in six days. While science has slowly displaced religious claims, religion remains to be influential. Up until this day, there are anti-evolution movements that promotes the creation of man and the world by an intelligent being. Contemporary Religion Influences Frank Lambert (2008, 2), in his book, Religion in American Politics, explained that â€Å"as religion shapes individual character and moral development, it thereby influences public affairs, albeit in an indirect way. † As an example, he stated that â€Å"through moral instruction, religion informs the values, priorities, and decisions of citizens and officeholders as they enter the voting booth and the statehouse† (2008, 2). Religious groups, Lambert continued to explain, also become more directly involved in the political process. â€Å"They lobby Congress to enact or oppose specific legislation, participate in electoral politics on behalf of candidates who support their agendas, and offer the full range of their institutional resources to sympathetic political parties† (Lambert 2008, 2). It is important to note that such connection between the state and religion is not limited to America. Religions around the world continue to exert its influence in political affairs by stirring their adherents and promoting their stands into public opinion. This is especially seen in Christian countries. While religious groups continue to play an important role in political affairs, extremist factions of religious origins assert their influence in a more violent manner. Religious terrorism is perhaps the most dangerous, complex and persistent problem the world has faced. Juergensmeyer held that perpetrators in religious terrorism place â€Å"religious images of divine struggle—cosmic war—in the service of worldly political battle† (as cited in Gary 2001). Religious terrorism is a tactic in political strategy while at the same time evoking a much larger spiritual confrontation. Muslim terrorist, for example, continue to call on the divine doctrine of jihad in the destruction of infidels. Much as it has united the Muslims during the Muslim conquests, it continues to have an appeal for extremists into using violence in promoting their ideals. Note that religious terrorism does not encompass solely on Islam. Throughout the world, violence committed in the name of religion occurs. Conclusion Time and again, we see that the influence of religion in worldly affairs can dictate much of what happens in the course of history. Major battles have indeed been waged in the name of religion in the past. We see this through the Crusades, the Muslim conquests, and the religious wars in the sixteenth century. Stately affairs must have the approval of the church, or every action of the state must seem to have its approval. Even the scientific community is influenced by religion, especially with scientific theories and discoveries contradicting religious claims. Today, religion still has a major influence in political affairs, providing moral instructions to their adherents whose approval political parties must win and pressuring legislation in favor of their moral doctrines. In the guise of spiritual confrontation, religion is also exerting its influence through violent means. Despite the technologies and philosophies that has come in modern age, religion continues to be a powerful influence in dictating the course of history. References Gary, Jay. 2001. Unmasking religious terrorism. http://jaygary. com/terrorism. shtml Gauchet, Marcel. 1997. The Disenchantment of the World: A Political History of Religion. Ed. Oscar Burge. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. HistoryWorld. History of the Byzantine Empire. http://www. historyworld. net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories. asp? historyid=ac59 Lambert, Frank. 2008. Religion in American Politics: A Short History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Taylor, Charles. 1997. Foreword to The Disenchantment of the World: A Political History of Religion by Marcel Gauchet. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Bachs Musical Style

Bachs Musical Style For many music lovers, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 1750) is the greatest composer in the history of human civilization. People all over the world play his music and study his art. The value of his music can be expressed by Wagners famous phrase quoted in the Oxford Dictionary of Music: It is the most stupendous miracle in all music. Style is the soul of every composer. Similarly, a good grasp of the playing style of a piece of music is an important criterion to judge the success of a performance. To grasp the works style correctly requires accumulated practice and the serious study of every note and every phrase and an equally important understanding of work as a whole. The published works of Bachs are many and include most of the mature music forms of his era including orchestral and chamber music and large works for orchestra and voice. However, Bach did not write opera and this is an important point to make when studying his ‘style. He did not write opera because his employment in the ducal courts and education establishments occupied his creative time, and because he had an important role in the Luthern Church, a strict Protestant church which discouraged extravagance. The word ‘opera, even by Bachs time, had hints of ‘extravagance, mostly because of the social circus of the public who attended opera. The public was there to indulgence themselves, to dress up and to be seen. Of course, dressing up and being seen has always been a part of church going, and Bachs music always had entertainment purposes, but the main function of his music is to praise God and promote His teachings. Whether this purposes is conscious or not, Bach n aturally adopted a German Protestant Christian outlook, in his work, one which rejects all unhealthy factors, or the non-equilibrium factors which bring about unexpected enthusiasm. Bachs music is characterized by rational thinking and solemn emotion. His music is ‘behaved i.e. it is very structured and balanced. Bachs works for voice and orchestra are characterized by having strictly Christian themes. They include more than three hundred sacred cantatas and the world-famous large-scale oratorios of the St Matthews Passion and the St. Johns Passion. They were not written for the opera house but for the cathedral. Bach did write secular cantata, such as The Coffee Cantata (BWV 211), â€Å"Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht† (Be still, stop chattering), but even this lightly satirical work has a Christian instructional themes. A warning against the addiction of coffee its main theme is Honor Thy Father, one of the Ten Commandments of Moses. The narrator ‘Schlendrian sings in horror that his daughter doesnt listen to him, though he has told her one thousand times to stop drinking coffee. Together with the Protestant Ethic, three interesting hallmarks of Bachs music style are Imitation, Contrast and Improvisation. Improvisation is the opposite of Imitation. The stepping-stone from Imitation to Improvisation is Contrast. To get there we must start at the beginning. To get to the beginning we will look at Bachs work for keyboard. At the forefront of Bachs works is his music for keyboard. Much of his adult career was spent at the keyboard, in particular the crucial beginnings as the court organist and concertmaster at the ducal court in Weimar (1708- 1717) and the glorious finale in Leipzig (1723-50). Throughout his creative life he composed a large amount of keyboard music, such as â€Å"Toccata and Fugue in D minor†; â€Å"Das wohltemperierte Clavier† (The well-tempered keyboard, Prelude and Fugue; and the Goldberg Variations. Therefore to really to begin to understand Bachs musical style we need to look closely at his writing for keyboard. Here we find the beginnings of his style and also the full flowering of his genius. Although Bach originally wrote for the keyboards of the pianoforte and the cathedral organ much of Bachs music has been transcribed for the piano, and it is through the transpositions for piano that pupils in China begin their studies of Bachs style and music. Their starting point is not, of course, the mature masterpieces such as the Goldberg Variations but the beautifully direct and eloquently simple pieces he wrote for his own pupils. â€Å"Inventions and Sinfonias†, BWV 772-801, also known as the â€Å"Two and Three Part Inventions†, are a collection of thirty short keyboard pieces consisting of fifteen two-part contrapuntal pieces called ‘inventio (inventions) and fifteen three-part contrapuntal pieces called ‘ sinfonia. The two groups are both arranged in order of ascending key, each group covering the fifteen major and minor keys. They were written by Bach as technical exercises to develop his pupils ‘two-hand independenceà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ the ability to play independent parts of the music with each of their two hands. The autograph manuscript copy in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin includes Bachs own intentions under the heading ‘auffrichtig, or ‘Straightforward Instruction: â€Å"In which amateurs of the keyboard, and especially the keen ones, are shown a clear way not only (1) of learning to play cleanly in two voices, but also, after further progress, (2) of dealing correctly and satisfactorily with three obbligato parts; at the same time not only getting good inventions, but developing the same satisfactorily, and above all arriving at a cantabile [song-like] manner in playing, all the while acquiring a strong foretaste of composition.† The manuscript is dated â€Å"Anno Christi 1723† and signed â€Å"Joh. Seb. Bach: Capellmeister to his Serene Highness the Prince of Anhalt-CÃÆ' ¶then.† The important point to make here about Bachs style is that the starting point of the learning process and the creative process is ‘Imitation. This is very clearly the case when we look at the exercises themselves. The music, and the understanding of the music, evolves out of repetition and minor variations of the form. This ‘imitation is a part of the Protestant Aesthetic. It is the Protestant approach of ‘Say as we say and do as we do. But we note too that the function of Bachs ‘imitation is not ‘blind imitation it is deliberately intended to lead the player to ‘independence. Only when the pupil has mastered ‘imitation can he possibly proceed to the next level of musical understanding, which is ‘Contrast. In Bachs music contrast is shown in the whole and in the details. A good representative example is the 15 18 subsection of the first â€Å"two-part invention†, the contrast of strong and weak being a perfect match. Lively counterpoint voices are formed in contrast to fill the music with energy. The main theme is in coherent semiquaver notes; the counterpoint voice part is lively quaver notes. Different motive materials have different contrast,even in the same theme. such as 1 2 subsection in the eighth. This theme includes two motives, motive A is quaver note is a string of eight sub-note, whose staccatos are moving upward; motive B is a string of semiquaver note, whose staccatos are moving down. A motive is more active, B motives is more rounded, they have a sharp contrast. Evolving out of ‘contrast is ‘Polyphony, a texture containing two or more independent melodic voices. Polyphony has been described as Bachs crowning achievement (Bach Inventions, Chen Ming-chi series, World Publishing Company). Unlike melody, the polyphony of voices all maintain their independence. When more voices are added, and interwoven into the texture, in the same free and independent manner, the wealth of musical expression increases still further. Therefore, polyphony is a three-dimensional approach. It has a multi-faceted, multi-line, the multiplicity of complex thinking (quoted from the foreword in Piano Recital way, Zhao Xiaosheng, Hunan Education Press, 1981). Through polyphony Bach teaches us that harmony is not simply the accompaniment of a simple melody but a means to increase the wealth of our musical language. This union of melodies gives rise to new combinations of tones and consequently an increase in the variety of musical expressions. To the armoury of musical expression and ornamentations, such as trill, mordent, turn, appoggiatura, acciaccatura, improvisational ornamentality within a fixed space is an essential skill for every musician. Bach includes Improvisation as a part of Ornamentation. Improvisation is the opposite of ‘Imitation. After Beethoven, the detail of music scores became more and more specific and standard, and the space for musicians to play improvisational music is getting smaller and smaller. However, in Bachs works, this skill is indispensable. Bach did not often indicate the patterns of performing. An exception is the Clavier-BÃÆ' ¼chlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, written by Johann Sebastian Bach for the keyboard instruction of his eldest son, which gives Explanation of various signs, showing how to play certain ornaments correctly† but this is a rare exception. In Bachs time, the execution of ornaments often varied from country to country and from composer to composer. We l earn from the repeatedly revised manuscripts of the Inventions and Sinfonias that improvised ornamentation was encouraged, with the student expected to extend the logic through the entire piece. Thus, we come full circle. â€Å"The most stupendous miracle† of Bachs musical style, is that it teaches us that Imitation and Logic are the true pathways to Independence and Freedom.

Impact of Bullying and Interventions

Impact of Bullying and Interventions Kelli Piperata I. Introduction Harassment and bullying in schools is not given the attention that is needed to correct the problem. In the article, Low-Level Violence, A Neglected Aspect of School Culture, David Dupper and Nancy Meyer-Adams bring attention to the issues that students face due to bullying and harassment. In this essay, I will aim to demonstrate the different types of bullying, the impact it has on students and steps that can be taken to implement change within schools to correct these deviant behaviors. II. Bullying in Schools Bullying in schools is a form of harassment that includes psychological and physical deviant behaviors towards other students. Some forms of this bullying include social, physical, cyber and verbal abuse. According to the article, A Neglected Aspect of School Culture, there are different reasons for students being harassed by other students. For females this can be because they are pretty enough, or they are not dressed in the style of clothes that is currently the trending fashion. For boys there can also be multiple reasons for peer harassment such as, not being a part of a sports team and not having certain strengths that other male students may have. III. Other Forms of Harassment Bullying can take on different forms of harassment that is not always by fellow students. Peer sexual harassment is another issue that students face this form of harassment is mostly directed to the female student. Unwanted sexual comments, spreading rumors, grabbing a student, sexual jokes and gestures are some of the common forms of sexual harassment. Moreover, these actions can make a student self-conscious, uncomfortable and embarrassed, and not want to attend classes. A bigger issue with peer sexual harassment is that many students that are perpetuating these acts feel that they are not doing anything wrong, that it is a part of school life. Another disturbing issue is that there are teachers and personnel who witness these acts and yet they do nothing to reprimand the students that are partaking in these deviant acts. Another form of bullying can be directly attributed from teachers. This is a psychological form of abuse; however, it has been taken to physical levels as well. Teachers are in a position of authority and sometimes that authority role has taken advantage of by the teacher. There have been incidences of teachers mistreating students by using fear mongering tactics that include yelling, threatening, and embarrassing students in front of others. In addition, there are some cases where teachers also physically battered students by hitting them or grabbing them forcefully. The sexual orientation of students seems to be one of the prime targets of harassment by fellow peers. A student who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender often are targets of homophobic fears of others. There is often physical and verbal out lashes towards these students, and often teachers and faculty do nothing to intervene or protect the victims in these situations. According to the reading, many times teachers, guidance counselors harbor the same feelings and may also act out on these feelings in the same manner as the students perpetrating these acts. Religious, cultural and racial bullying are also forms of harassment seen in schools. Students that do not share the same dominant religious ideologies can be targeted and ridiculed by other peers and persons of authority. Additionally, cultural differences are also a problem for students. Students and teachers who believe that the culture of others is perhaps weird or wrong are looking at it from a perspective of ethnocentrism. Furthermore, racism is also a part of bullying. Individuals who see someone that does not share the same skin color or has dissimilar features and reflect these notions onto other students is racial intimidation. VI. How Does Harassment Affect Students Students are affected in numerous ways due to low-level violence. In some cases, harassment can cause a student to take their own life, in other cases these victims can pushed so far that they retaliate and cause extreme harm upon others. Although taking their own life or inflicting harm on others may be extreme, they still in fact happen. However, there are less extreme implecations that are much more common for victims of bullying. Some of these effects may shape the rest of their lives, such as low-self-esteem and students dropping out of school. Additionally, students that are harassed may withdraw from their studies and feel isolated from social activities. This in effect hurts students outcomes on their grades as well as their overall experiences both socially and academically. Hazler (1994) stated that: [T]heir grades may suffer because their attention is being drawn away from learning. Being repeatedly victimized may push even good kids to extremes, such as starting fights or bringing weapons to school to exact vengeance on their tormentors, [and] even students and adults who are witnesses are affected [in that] they must deal with the lowered self-esteem and loss of control that accompanies feeling unsafe and unable to take action. The result is children and adults who do all they can to avoid recognizing when someone else is being hurt. V. How to Implement Change There are a number of ways to implement change within the school systems. One way is for parents, teachers and faculty members to not tolerate these types of behaviors. When they witness an individual bullying or harassing a student they should intervene and take the appropriate actions to stop this from reoccurring. In addition, teachers and faculty members should attend workshops that are properly educating professionals on how to deescalate and handle these situations. Overall, the change must come from the culture within the school, in order to achieve this, school should embrace and promote diversity, positive reinforcements and a no tolerance approach towards individuals who choose to perpetuate acts of bullying and harassment. VI. Conclusion Bullying and harassment is a growing problem within schools that is not being addressed properly. Students are not the only ones that are perpetrating these acts, school faculty are sometimes also ones that are guilty of these behaviors. The victims of low-level-violence are often faced with negative and lifelong impacts including low-self-esteem and sometimes victims seek out retaliation against their perpetrators. There are ways to implement change and create a diverse atmosphere for schools but certain guidelines, techniques and procedures need to be put in place for faculty and teachers. References David R. Dupper, Nancy Meyer-Adams. Low-Level Violence, A Neglected Aspect of School Culture. Jeanne H. Ballantine, Joan Z. Spade. Schools and Society. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 2015. 200-208. Print.

The 3 Horizontally Enhanced Pigs :: essays research papers

The 3 Horizontally Enhanced Pigs Once upon a time there lived three pigs. Together they owned a very popular restaurant, "Pork Boys." Each of the pigs made different burgers for different people. The first pig, Hamm was trying to watch his weight so he made Veggie Burgers. The secound pig named Pork Chop made his burger with special High protein cheese and fat free thousand island dressing. The third pig, Bacon, made the grease burger with three slabs of beef, four pieces of(turkey) bacon, five different cheeses, super fat secret sauce, grease on the side, and your choice of any bun except whole wheat. "Flash!!! This just in. There have been reports of Richard Simons sightings in the area so head for high grounds and hide your oldies cassetes. This is not a test, I repeat not a test." "Hamm, lock the doors!" " I'm on it Bacon." Bamm! Bamm! He was there, Richard Simons pounding on the window, "Let me in folks and together we can get rid of those stormy thunder thighs." "Leader of the Pack." All of the sudden the customers began to dance to the hypnotic music. Hamm tried to fend it (Ricard Simons) off with his Veggie Burger but than he realized that the Burger was not Fatty enough so he to began to dance. Pork Chop in fear of his life lobed his burger into the beasts mouth. " High protien cheese and non-fat dressing can not harm me. Ha, Ha, Ha!" Pork Chop then was thrown into the trance and uncontrolably began to dance the watusi. Is this the end of the line for the pigs? Will the pigs be covered in a blanket of exercise instead of panecake... But wait look over there could it be, yes it is Big Bacon Boy! "Baa Baa Baa," a trumpet sounded in the background. "Ha, Ha Richard it is the end of the line for you. You are not wanted in

History, Culture and Identity of Mothers and Daughters in Amy Tan’s The

History, Culture and Identity of Mothers and Daughters in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club   Ã‚  Ã‚   Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club is a novel that deals with many controversial issues. These issues unfold in her stories about four Chinese mothers and their American raised daughters. The novel begins with the mothers talking about their own childhood’s and the relationship that they had with their mothers. Then it focuses on the daughters and how they were raised, then to the daughters current lives, and finally back to the mothers who finish their stories. Tan uses these mother-daughter relationships to describe conflicts of history, culture, and identity and how each of these themes are intertwined with one another through the mothers and daughters.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The mothers and daughters not only experience a generation gap, but since the mothers were born in China and the daughters were born in America, they also experience a certain cultural gap. This leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding on both parts. To the mothers, their Chinese heritage is very meaningful to them and the Americanized daughters don’t always understand this. The daughters get embarrassed by their mothers’ broken English. For instance, at one point Lindo Jong says "But inside I am becoming ashamed. I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother and she is not proud of me." (pg. 291). Lindo is hurt because her daughter Waverly, is talking to her like she is a child. Waverly does not do this on purpose, she just has a hard time understanding her mother and her background, like the other daughters in the book.   Ã‚  Ã‚   "Living with their traditional culture in American society, Chinese-American women suffer the prob... ...ying to save their daughters from the cultural barriers, and identity crisis’ that they had to face. It is in listening to these stories that the daughters find their true identities and become the people that they really are. They realize that they do not have to look at their mothers’ as their opponents, but instead their equals. They accept and even honor the fact that they are the same as their mothers. The Joy Luck Club tells a strong and powerful story that shows the importance of history, culture, and identity in mother daughter relationships, and also in everyday life.    Works Cited Do, Thuan Thi. Chinese-American Women in American Culture. 1992 http://www.ics.uci.edu/~tdo/ea/chinese.html    Jokinen, Anniina. Anniina's Amy Tan Page. 1996 http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/amytan/    Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Random House, 1989.

Character Analysis of Yusef Komunyakaa “Facing It” Essay

Thesis Statement: * Topic- Yusef Komunyakaa â€Å"Facing It† * Critical Opinion-Viewing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial often brings back many real and uneasy memories for a Vietnam Veteran. * Blueprint- 1. Experienced 2. Emotionally scarred 3.Reflective Outline Thesis Statement: As a veteran of the Vietnam War, Yusef Komunyakaa revisited the experiences and pain of having been in one of the most difficult wars in US History. I. Komunyakaa, again, experiences the sights, the memories of things that happened years ago. A. The friends that were made there and then lost. B. Experiences blend in a twisted tangle in his mind. C. His experience cannot be separated from who he is. II. As Yusef Komunyakaa goes down the list of names he half expects to find his name. A. He wants to be stone; to be able to be solid, to show no emotion. B. His scares are deep and painful. C. These experiences are still so real that he cannot free himself from them. III. Yusef Komunyakaa began to reflect on all the things that had been pushed from his mind for years. A. Yusef Komunyakaa’s reflection takes him back into the blackness of the war B. It becomes clear that everything in the present reflects the pain in his past. C. This visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial causes him to reflect on things that were very painful. Gerald Smith Ms. Brooks COMP 1023 Feb. 4, 2013 As a young man goes off to war there are often preparations for the possible loss of life, whether it is added life insurance, loss of income insurance, or just making sure that loved ones are taken care of. What are often overlooked are the losses that occur when the soldiers return home. In his poem â€Å"Facing It,† Yusef Komunyakaa, writes about the struggles of living after his experiences during the Vietnam War. As a veteran of the Vietnam War, Yusef Komunyakaa revisits the experiences and pain of having been in one of the most difficult wars in US History, as he visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Viewing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial often brings back many real and uneasy memories for a Vietnam Veteran. In â€Å"Facing It† he shows that he has, experienced the pain of war; been scared by war, and reflected on the results of war. Many years later many of these experiences still return in haunting vivid detail. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial brings back many experiences in very real, life-like detail. Komunyakaa, again, experiences the sights, the memories of things that happened years ago. â€Å"The booby trap’s white flash† (Komunyakaa 847) that killed Andrew Johnson. The experience of being there, seeing first-hand the atrocities of war. The friends that were made there and then lost. As these things are relived, the experiences, while old, become new again. These experiences blend in a twisted tangle in his mind. He sees woman trying to erase the names (Komunyakaa 847) possibly much like he tried to erase the experiences from his mind. The names remain, the experience cannot be erased. With eyes â€Å"like a bird of pray† (Komunyakaa 847) he watches himself in the reflection of his past. He sees that his experience cannot be separated from who he is. The stone represents the war; depending on how the light hit it he is still in it. The emotional scars are so real that as Yusef Komunyakaa goes down the list of names he is â€Å"half expecting to find my own† (Komunyakaa 847). He realizes that in a way he too was a casualty of the war. Although he was not physically killed, a part of him was dead (or at least wanted to be). These experiences are still so real, so fresh, that he cannot free himself from them. He wants to be stone; to be able to be solid, to show no emotion. He had promised himself that he would not cry (Komunyakaa 847), and yet there he was fighting back the tears. His scares are deep and painful; no way to escape his own penetrating gazes; his own demons that haunt him from the memory of this war. As he looks at the names, he sees a white vet in front of him; he has lost his right arm in the stone, much as Komunyakaa has lost so much in the war. Facing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Yusef Komunyakaa began to reflect on all the things that had been pushed from his mind for years. His face blending into the black granite, Yusef Komunyakaa’s reflection takes him back into the blackness of the war (847). He sees that he is still fighting a war that had ended decades before. As he paces before the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, it becomes clear that everything in the present reflects the pain in his past. The buddies lost; the innocence of youth torn from the young men and women as they struggle to fulfill the demands of their country. As he watches, a lady brushes a boy’s hair, yet he sees the cutting wings of a plane as it is on a bomb run (Komunyakaa 847). This visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial causes him to reflect on things that were very painful. He didn’t run, but became part of the memorial, as the shadows take him from an observer to inside the stone, inside the war; he had been trying to escape from (Komunyakaa 847). Yusef Komunyakaa has shown that the experiences that he lives with daily closely reflect the things that he experienced during the Vietnam War. The things of everyday life often cause the memories to come flooding back. As he views the memorial many graphic and disturbing memories come roaring back. Standing at the memorial, he becomes lost in the granite wall (Komunyakaa 847). He deals with the emotions, the sights, the experiences as he reflects on the things that have happened so long ago. Although it has been years since his comrade had been killed, he sees everything clearly. The emotional scars are deep and long lasting. Komunyakaa experiences a torrent of painful memories as he stands at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, â€Å"Facing It.† Work Cited Yusef Komunyakaa. â€Å"Facing It.† Literature: An introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman. 2012. 847. Print.

Learning from a Competitor’s Experience Essay

David Cook was known to be the father of Blockbuster Inc. In 1982, Cook founded the Cook Data Services, Inc which wholly offered software and computer devices. This company was founded in Dallas, Texas. Cook then ventured to another field of business by the recommendation of his wife. Thus, in the year 1985, Cook opened the first Blockbuster store (Microsoft Encarta 2007). Since then, the company has been hailed as one of the largest entertainment brands in the world. Blockbuster offers movie and gaming rentals on-store and online. With over 8,000 stores throughout the world, it serves not just as a rental store but also a retailer store for movies and other related media productions. To name a few, franchises of the company can be found in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Ireland, Panama, Puerto Rico, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Brazil, Chile, Taiwan, Italy, Denmark, Venezuela and Columbia (Blockbuster Online). Besides its vast territory, the company also offers a wide range of selection of movies and other entertainment merchandise. Though it has just started at that time, it is the only video rental company that employs computer monitoring for its customers’ accounts. Not long, the company opened more branches in different parts of the United States where it first flourished. Later on, the company was then renamed to Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation and then further took its present name as Blockbuster, Inc. In 1987, H. Wayne Huizenga of the Waste Management, Inc. entered the company and expanded it overseas making it the largest video rental chain store not only in the United States but also in the United Kingdom. It was then owned by Viacom and after which became independent from the company (Microsoft Encarta 2007). Presently, the CEO of Blockbuster Inc. is James Keyes, former president and CEO of 7-Eleven (Yahoo Finance). The company offers a wide range of services to its clients. As has been mentioned earlier, it not only presents rentals but also retails movies and other media. Music and gaming merchandise can also be found in most of its stores. Store hours are mostly from 10:00am to midnight every day. Videos and other media are available in large quantities and a variety of formats in each store ensuring that all customer needs are satisfied. The customers can also choose from their various options for membership plans. Recently, the company has expanded not only with on-store rentals, but also by mail and via the internet, making it easy for customers who reside in places where no branches of the company are erected. The company also provides security for patronage of non-adult customers. No roughly violent films and pornographic videos are included in their broad selection. Although there are some videos that are sexy, the company ensures that no youngster could rent or buy such a movie without the consent of the parents if they have a family account. Even though Blockbuster is a fully-pledged investor company, it participates in many community affairs activities in its region. Its cooperation bears alliances involving Children’s Miracle Network and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. It also partakes in many cultural diversity organizations as well as entertainment events such as National Urban League and American Black Film Festival respectively (Blockbuster Online). Blockbuster Inc. is not the only chain of video rental stores although it is one of the competitive companies in the industry. It has its fairly viable competitors in the market both including on-ground and online stores. One of its on-ground competitors is Hollywood Video which is also a subsidiary of Movie Gallery. Just Like Blockbuster Inc. , Movie Gallery, Inc. focuses on retail stores and online subscription plans of video, gaming and music merchandise (Movie Gallery Website). Nevertheless, it is way behind Blockbuster Inc. when it comes to both in-store and online rental services. Another competitor is Hastings Entertainment, Inc which is also based in the United States. This company only operates in the domestic market. In addition, the company not only offers video, music and entertainment merchandise. It is a miscellaneous retailer of a wide variety of products from videos to t-shirts and books. It also has its website which offers its vast selection of products (Wright Investor Service). The most controversial competitor of Blockbuster Inc. is Netflix. Netflix was the pilot company to offer online service for video rentals and retailing. Due to this endeavor, it is the top online service for the said industry (Crunchbase). Nevertheless, Blockbuster Inc. tried to counter the company by building its own online rental and retailing service. From then on, although it never surpassed the quantity of members that Netflix has, Blockbuster has exceeded the number of visitors Netflix has on its website. Website Analysis Blockbuster Inc. started to embark on online rental service in the Unites States last August 2004 (Press Release). This is in counteraction of Netflix’s leading online movie rental service. The company’s website is popularly called Blockbuster Online and is somehow independent with on-ground stores. Visiting the website, observations can be formulated regarding the effectiveness and creativity of the website to online customers. The welcome page of Blockbuster Online is simple but effective. It is simple in a sense that no pop-ups can be found; there are no visual animations or advertising videos; no sounds and background music to entice the customers. Nevertheless, it is quite effective for the very reason that it uses the familial connection occurring with its customers. This can be evident through the use of a family picture in front of a television, assumed to be watching movies. It gives the customers a sense of home and belongingness. On another visit of the website, the featured picture is a woman lying down on a sofa in front of the television. These also give an idea that although movie viewing is comfortable in a family setting, it can also be done alone and still enjoy the activity. In both pictures, the people involve are holding remote controls. This very small detail gives an impression that each are about to watch a movie although if one looks at the pictures alone, the television is not visible. Furthermore, the movie guides and popcorn on the table in the pictures give a new dimension to movie home viewing. The said details represent the idea that satisfying movie viewing is not only possible in the big screens but also possible in the home. One would even be made to conclude that it would be a lot feasible and safe to watch movies in the home rather than in theatres. The color scheme of the website, with its blue, light blue, yellow and white major colors, is also very appropriate for the services it offers. The colors used give an impression of brightness and lightness of the website. It gives a serene and calming touch to anyone who visits the website. In the simplicity of the welcome page of the website, the customers may also be persuaded to think that the services it offers are practical and cheap. It makes them feel that fees are inexpensive and affordable. On the other hand, the welcome page can be seen as a very uncreative effort in designing. As one lingers longer on the page, it can be noticed that the website looks like an ordinary advertisement box in a newspaper page. This is unfavorable since it will decrease the customers’ interest in exploring more of the website. Although the welcome page is uncomplicated, it contains many promotional materials like the company’s offer for a free trial. It also presents free shipping and a step-by-step menu to help customers who are new to the website. The three easy steps to enjoy the rental service include select movies, receive by mail and return by mail or in-store exchange (Blockbuster Online). The various different links from the welcome page to the other pages of the website makes up for the simplicity of the welcome page. Complex links can be found in the different parts and corners of the welcome page. Links to a variety of web pages regarding the company are located at the bottom of the welcome page. This is very uneasy for the customers since it is in very small font sizes that it becomes unnoticeable. This part of the website includes the terms and conditions policy of the company. Nonetheless, the rent and buy movie links on the page are easy to follow. One particular detail that has caught attention is the link opening default settings of the website. In the links related to rental services and other customer-related topics such as movie categories and new movie releases, the links open on the current page. On the other hand, if the link leads to the company’s information or financial and business issues such as investing and the company profile, the link opens on a new window. This is very interesting since it implicitly draws the line between customer-related issues and internal issues of the company. Further on, the different links to the secondary websites are too many and are hard to track which may lead to the customer getting lost in the whole website. This may also be the effect of the website’s moderate organization of the links. Nevertheless, upon familiarity of the website links, customers can get used to the incomprehensible first impression organization of the website. The sign-up page of the website is simply designed too. A step-by-step process of the whole transaction of the rental service is included in a graphical and a worded method. It looks like a comic strip which accounts for its easy-to-comprehend characteristic. The big sign-up button is also interesting enough due to its large size and appealing color and font type. These properties of the page may convince the customer to sign up for a membership plan. Features of the rental service are also in the web page in brief making it a summary of the whole service that the company provides. The rent movies page is quite colorful and interesting especially for movie fanatics. It includes different categories and featured movies. In all of these categories, the movies featured all have small movie posters with the relative size of a DVD front cover. It gives a very unique influence on the customer since the customer can somehow see a glimpse of the movie. The rental page also provides a link on the procedure on how to rent via the internet. Like the rental page, the buyers’ page is also filled with the DVD front cover posters of on-sale movies. The structure also consists of different movie categories wherein the customer can choose from. However, in the buyers’ page, the movies in feature incorporate a button which adds the movie to the list of movies the customer wants to buy. Together with this element is the price of the movie. The payment terms can be done through credit card and other online wiring financial services such as PayPal. This is very secure for online clients, thus contributing with the website’s ease of operation characteristic. Another amazing element of the website is its trailers and video clips page. In this part, the customer can take a glance of the movies and also watch the trailer of the movie. It is very appropriate and efficient since most customers would first want to see clips of the movie before they rent or buy it. This amazing feature adds up to the website’s effectiveness. Some of the web pages in the site require information upload from the customers and members. Such web pages include the store locator and the contact page (Blockbuster Online). In the store locator page, the client is asked to type in the address and then a button is clicked to reveal stores near the vicinity. This is very useful for online customers who wanted to avail of in-store exchanges that the company offers. Although the feature is very simple, it has its own link page to set it apart from the rest of the website. On the contact page, the client can contact the company on certain issues such as membership and DVD issues. However, the system used is not that of a presentation method but rather an e-mail type. In this method, instead of giving the company’s contact numbers, headquarters address and email-address, the company asks the customer to input the category issue, the client’s information and contact details as well as the messages or questions concerning the company’s services. It is much like an e-mail web page where one can submit the mail directly to the company. The system that the company uses is very reliable and easy to manage for their part since they can somehow sort the mails that they receive. This method also prevents prank callers and mailers from dumping junk on the company’s telephone lines and mailbox. Nevertheless, the negative part for this process is that the customers may feel reluctant to communicate with the company since the company requires personal information from the client which can be jeopardized unintentionally. The help page is also available for the customers. In the help page, the customers can find a way to better understand the structure of the large website of the company. In this page, the customers can also clarify doubts and questions regarding rental services, membership plans and promotional materials. Similar to the rental and buyers’ page, the help page contains categories. In this page, help issues are categorized in different classifications so as to better answer the customers’ concerns. A very interesting section of the Blockbuster Online is its information page. Found on this page are the company profile, financial reports, investors page and others. It actually has nothing to do to the services that the company may offer to the clients but rather it consists of bits and pieces of the company’s needs such as employees and investors. In this page, business opportunities such as franchises and careers opportunities such as jobs for prospective employees are found. The financial reports of the company are also published on this area. It gives the company a sense of transparency for its customers. It enables the clients to see what has been happening inside the company. This is a very significant factor for such business establishments since it fosters trust from the customers. The webpage also offers a sidebar in almost all its links. For example, on the rental page, a queue list is on the right sidebar which enables the customer to view what movies he has selected for rental while on the buyers page, the customer has a shopping cart where the items he wishes to buy are listed. The sidebar also gives information on movies and other rental and retail issues. The sidebar is a good element to include in a website. Another noteworthy detail is the search engine located on the website which allows the customers to enter keywords and search the whole website. This feature is very helpful for the clients. In the help page, such search engine is also available to find answers on frequently asked questions. This gives the clients ease of access to the help page. In summary, the website is very effective in achieving its goal of reaching customers through the internet. Although the rental service via the internet and by mail is only available in the United States, the online service gives an outlook of the whole company. The layout and the consistent use of the color scheme give a unified theme to the website giving the excellent yet uncomplicated look and feel of the website. And though the web design is quite simple and moderately unattractive, it attains its goal to be an alternative and accessible way of rental service to customers in a variety of places. Service and Price Options Membership Plans and Retail Options Blockbuster Online renders two major membership or subscription plans for its customers. These two categories are Blockbuster Total Access and Blockbuster by Mail (Blockbuster Online). The only difference on the two major membership plans is that in Blockbuster Total Access, rental services include both by mail and in-store exchanges of movies while in Blockbuster by Mail, in-store exchanges are not allowed. The different plans under these two categories also vary. Blockbuster Total Access can either be premium or just ordinary. In premium, the customer has an unlimited number of in-store exchanges while in ordinary, limited in-store access is available. Regarding Blockbuster by Mail plans, the customer can order online for movie rentals and these are delivered by mail on the customer’s doorstep. Exchanges and returns of movie rentals are also done online and by mail (Blockbuster Online). Thus, in this type of membership plan, the customer need not go to a Blockbuster store. This membership plan is perfectly suitable for subscribers who do not have rental stores in their vicinity. Prices for rental services differ depending on the membership plan of the customers (see Comparison Chart). Retail services are by movie basis. Furthermore, online retail service is done via credit card or online wiring service. In addition to be able to buy movies on line, the customer has to have an account on the Blockbuster website. Prices of movies on sale depend on the movies’ producers. Nonetheless, new releases are much more expensive than old movie copies. Comparison Chart Movie Selections The company has a wide range of movie selections. It also offers TV shows and series as well as game software and music videos. The copies of movies are purportedly sufficient for its number of members and customers. However, the rental service is still subject to the availability of the movie copies. The number of copies also depends on the movie type. Classics have much less number of copies that new releases. Furthermore, most wanted videos have more copies than ordinary hit movies. The large selection of movies is simplified by the website through organizing the movies into different categories and subcategories. The major categories are action & adventure, animation, comedy, documentary, drama, family & kids, foreign, horror, music & performing arts, mystery & suspense, romance, science fiction & fantasy, special interest, sports & fitness, television, war and western. Under these categories are further subcategories of which some are listed below: Action & adventure – action comedy, action thriller, adventure drama. Science fiction & fantasy – sea adventure, swashbucklers, sword and sandal. Animation – animated musical, anime. Comedy – comedy drama, comedy thriller, dark humor, family comedy, heist/caper comedy. Documentary – adventure travel, art history, biography, history, language & literature. Drama – addiction drama, police drama, childhood drama, crime drama, medical drama. Family & kids – infant, toddler, children’s entertainment, family classics, kids’ fantasy. Foreign – Asian, Chinese, European, Filipino, French, German, Indian, Spanish, Japanese. Horror – alien invasion, ghosts & haunts, monsters, occult, nature-gone-wild. Music & performing arts – concerts, classical, dance, gospel, opera, musicals, singers. Mystery & suspense – crime, detective film, spy, whodunit, political thriller. Sports and fitness – extreme sports, Olympics, dance, diet & nutrition, yoga and Tai Chi. (Blockbuster Online). Competitor’s Information Application Blockbuster Inc. offers a lot of useful information and business experiences as well as practical guides for the establishment of a beginner. It gives insight that can be utilized in order to enter the market with security and stability. The long history and the many amendments to the company’s organization and management can be a lesson to future business establishments even in a different industry. Experienced website history is possessed by Blockbuster Inc. although they are not the first mover in the field of online rental service. Nevertheless, their advantage is that they have made possible and excellent revisions of competitors’ websites making their own website less prone to errors and negative feedbacks. It is therefore this very advantage that a new emerging business can take hold from the information obtained from Blockbuster Online. To further explain such circumstance, it is appropriate to give specific situations. For example, the simplicity of Blockbuster’s website instills over familiarity of customers which can lead to decrease of interest. Thus, if one has to build up a website on the same line of business, one has to make sure that the website include more interesting designs such as animations and video presentations. Addition of background music may also be added to increase the website’s attraction. Scroll over animations and flash presentations of step-by-step procedures may also be employed. It is also appropriate that confidentiality of customers’ information is prioritized. One very important detail that Blockbuster Online lacks must be included in this new website. This detail concern a web page dedicated for the employees of the company where every employee have access to more confidential data regarding the company. This will give an impression to consumers that the company values its own people. Furthermore, a web page containing a live chat room may be of help for quick answers of clients that regard their time too valuable to wait for questions on video rental services. The gathering of data from a future competitor of a budding business establishment is just the beginning of the many challenges and trials that the business will undergo to gain stability and prosperity. It is even the easiest way to accomplish. Data gathering is uncomplicated. What is important is the ability to evaluate the obtained data and utilize it for the benefit of one’s own company. References BlockBuster Online. —. Retrieved June 29, 2008, from http://www. blockbuster. com/. Crunchbase. Netflix. Retrieved June 29, 2008, from http://www. crunchbase. com/company/netflix. Microsoft Encarta 2007. (2006). â€Å"Blockbuster Inc. † Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007 [CD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. Movie Gallery. Business Description. Retrieved June 29, 2008, from http://www. moviegallery. com/company/about. aspx. Press Releases. Blockbuster Inc. Company Profile. Retrieved June 29, 2008, from http://www. b2i. us/profiles/investors/ResLibrary. asp? BzID=553&ResLibraryID=6807&GoToPage=5&Category=27. Wright Investor Service. Hastings Entertainment, Inc. – Company Profile Snapshot. Retrieved June 29, 2008, from http://wrightreports. ecnext. com/coms2/reportdesc_COMPANY_418365102. Yahoo Finance. Blockbuster, Inc. Retrieved June 29, 2008, from http://finance. yahoo. com/q/pr? s=BBI.

Contemporary Hawaiian Music Essay

There is a famous Hawaiian saying, â€Å"You know if the Hawaiian harmonies are good if they give you chicken skin† (Alternative Hawaii, 2002) and, I must say, listening to the online radio streaming of KCCN FM100 gave me goosebumps. Being more attuned to â€Å"Western pop† culture, it was a pleasantly refreshing experience for me to sit for an hour and listen to contemporary reggae, urban music and ragga with an island beat that’s truly Hawaiian. Fourteen original Hawaiian songs, including the Top 5 hits in KCCN charts, were played during a late afternoon program that also aired a couple of brief â€Å"Hele On† traffic news, a commercial each from Earth Share and Hawaii. gov, and 8 radio ads encouraging the people to participate at the ongoing 2010 Census. The DJ on deck did not talk much except to give quick, in-between plugs for a party event and to introduce songs. A distinctly noticeable feature in the contemporary Hawaiian music is its fondness to love and desire. The soulful songs I listened to speak of the excitement of love, romancing the heart of another or accepting a love’s rejection. But even though the lyrics contain sad words, the melody is always upbeat and sensual. The island reggae beat and the smooth ballad is very easy on the ears especially when instruments, like the ukulele, saxophone and native drums blend together to produce the perfect harmony. The result is one relaxed listener mentally transported in an island paradise in Hawaii, and its effect to music lovers is no less than rejuvinating the soul. I think KCCN FM100, being a radio station that plays modern hip-hop and soul Hawaiian music, carries the familiar radio spunk of other American hiphop stations. The DJ was very energetic and in a party mood, and even the traffic reporter was such a chipper in delivering traffic updates as a local RnB song played in the background. The advertisements aired between the 4:30-to-5:30pm radio show were mostly the varying versions of promoting the 2010 Census Count – explaining what the census results would mean to businesses, the improvement of social services and what it means to the future generation. I think delivering the message using both in English and the local dialect reveals a lot about the listeners’ profile of KCCN, which is a mixture of both modern and traditional Hawaiian folks. I also believe that although all local songs aired were sang in English, they always make it a point to bring out the traditional Hawaiian flavor. This much is obvious in both the songs and commercials played. Listening to KCCN and the music aired there makes me realize how global Hawaiian music can be in terms of its appeal to both young and old, locals and foreigners. Everybody can appreciate an island style music inspired by the world-loved Bob Marley and urban rhythm of the modern RnB.

Alignment Of The Human Resources Strategy Commerce Essay

A corporate scheme is the one which represents the overall vision and the mission of an administration. Many companies fail to concentrate on this and all they focus is on the bring forthing the goods and services trusting it satisfies the demands and wants of the client which is besides of import but is non everything an administration does. Let ‘s get down up with the intent of the assignment, the ground for this research is to measure the linkage of a company ‘s human resource ‘s scheme and the corporate scheme. Now by the corporate scheme here we mean is the overall vision set by the administration. This statement can be justified by many writers and is the existent fact that everyone in the administration should cognize. The ground is that the administrations fail largely is, they are non able to set up an effective scheme ( Verena, V 2006 ) of their functional countries such as the human resources, selling, finance etc. The assignment is concentrating chiefly with the human resources and it ‘s planning and the corporate scheme. â€Å" Corporate scheme concerns two different inquiries: what concern the corporation should be in and how the corporate office should pull off the array of the concern units. † ( Porter, M. 1990 ) The above definition reveals two facets that first every administration should cognize the industry it is covering. Second, the scope of concern units a company deals in. Now it is obvious that the corporate scheme can non be fulfilled without the proper engagement of the human resources in other words the employees to pull out the best possible result ( Rowe, A. 2006 ) . Thus the construct of alining the human resources scheme could be extracted by this impression. Therefore, this assignment evaluates the schemes laid by Singapore Airlines in order to accomplish the overall corporate scheme of the administration. The kernel of this research is the critical factor which would hold made the managing of the employees even better based on the literature used in the appraisal. THE CORPORATE STRATEGY AND OBJECTIVES OF SINGAPORE AIRLINESOverviewSingapore Airlines is a diversified company covering in assorted related concerns having harmonizing to an article written by Heracleous, L. , Wirtz, J. , viz. : Singapore Airport Terminal ( 80.8 % ) Singapore Engineering Company ( 81 % ) Singapore Airlines Cargo ( 100 % ) Silk Air ( 100 % ) Tiger Airways ( 49 % ) Virgin Atlantic ( 49 % )Corporate SchemeGiven that the company deals in diversified concerns Singapore Airlines at its corporate degree follows the scheme of related variegation. A related variegation scheme is in which: â€Å" †¦ an administration operates in several concerns that are someway linked to one another † ( Ricky, W. Griffin 2007 ) Harmonizing to Ricky, W. Griffin there are three basic benefits of utilizing such a scheme which are: The administrations that use such a scheme do non depend on any one concern cut downing the fiscal menaces. They cut down the operating expenditures i.e. the costs are divided by the figure of concerns. There is a interactive attack of basking the strengths and capableness through a figure of concerns it operates in.AimHarmonizing to an article written by Jochen W, Loizos H, and Nitin P, the aims of Singapore Airlines were to: Supply a superior client satisfaction that will be consistent and moderately priced. A pleasant ROI to the stockholders and bring forthing equal net incomes to afford an ample support for investings. Develop the best Human Resources patterns that draw, grow, motivate and retain the work force which play a function in accomplishing the house ‘s aims. Maximise the capacity of operations and utilize all the available resources. With the above referred scheme and aims of Singapore Airlines through the attested beginnings it is clear that the house from it ‘s really founding has a construct of pull offing its ‘ employees ( cost effectivity ) in such a manner that it delivers and sustains an first-class service. Note: This subdivision is deliberately clean A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT TO SINGAPORE AIRLINES Knowing that Singapore Airlines has a corporate scheme that is related differentiated one and the aim of the house is to accomplish leading for in an first-class service which means the vision of the Singapore Airlines is to remain in front of the rivals. Now by this it besides evaluated that it is an air hose industry which is a service based industry. A logical impression to acquire from the aims set by Singapore Airlines is that it has to concentrate on utilizing the resources in such a manner that it turns out to be in excellence and the demand of best people with best public presentation through their accomplishments. In a scenario of such a sort this assignment takes a critical reappraisal of the schemes laid by the company with the aid of available literature on how can a steadfast do the best public presentation deploying and redeploying the human resources and the human resources schemes used by Singapore Airlines. These schemes can be extracted by the aid of the diagram given below which is followed by the account of each of the scheme.RECRUITMENT AND SELECTIONâ€Å" Furthermore, â€Å" the people recruited † in an endeavor or an organisation creates the concern civilization which can foreground endeavors ‘ places and do them different from rivals. † ( Vinet, N. 2010 ) The definition spring by Vinet draws an of import that the enlisting scheme should be done with the alliance of the coveted aim of an administration as it is the people in the administration who deal who represent the endeavor by making a civilization and that differentiates the administrations from the challengers. A research conducted by Jochen W, Loizos H, and Nitin P Singapore Airlines is the one which is much concern of this affair as they lay a thorough scheme in the enlisting procedure and a rigorous procedure of choosing the employees. The procedure of recruiting and choice of employees goes through the undermentioned phases as evaluated from the research: Baseline enlisting and Screening: at the really first measure from a scope of appliers the showing of the appliers is made on the bases of their age ranges, academic makings and physical properties. Interviews: the appliers which are successful in the showing are farther take three unit of ammunitions of interviews. Uniform test: the appliers after the interview phases have to travel through the test of their visual aspects in the uniform. Water trials: a assurance degree testing is done of the appliers ‘ i.e. they are made to leap in H2O from a tallness of three meters, this gives the position to the interviewer what the reaction of them will be if such a state of affairs comes up where they have to escort the riders in the H2O. Psychometric trial: the psychological trials are so behavior to judge the intelligence, attitudes, aptitudes and personalities of the appliers. After the enlisting is made the successful appliers are farther monitored on a six month test and so contracted for five old ages if successful. This procedure of selecting is a most rigorous procedure by which Singapore Airlines ensures that they recruit the people with right accomplishments attributes the company desires to hold to accomplish the set aims.Training AND DEVELOPMENTAn article Greg Procknow gives five of import grounds as to why preparation is necessary in an administration: Training contributes to the overall scheme. Ensures the quality out of the employees through the preparation and development. Guaranting the security and safety is kept among the employees every bit good as the clients Attracting the skilled people and retain the bing 1s. Non-financial wagess for the employees for illustration: publicities. Singapore Airlines has a good lucifer given above such that it does believe that preparation is pool that links itself with the employees. It does hold a good accent on the preparation on the employees concentrating on the point that being a service based administration the employees the merely means by which it can accomplish its strategic aims and stick to the corporate scheme. Therefore a research conducted by Jochen W, Loizos H, and Nitin P, Singapore Airlines group has seven preparation schools for the seven chief places of operations and service conveyance: Cabin crew Flight operations Commercial preparation Information engineering Security Airport services preparation and technology Further the preparation classs are conducted on a four and twenty nine months for the bing employees to assist them cognize and follow what the administration expects from them. Singapore Airlines follows holistic scheme in developing the human resources which is non merely concerned with the wellness and safety issues but besides on the functional issues and beauty attention, high-quality and alien nutrient and vino, art of conversation. The house has a Management Development Centre ( MDC ) besides offers general direction preparation under the horizon of the HR division.Service DELIVERY TEAMS[ MAXIMISING PERFORMANCE ]Harmonizing to Jochen W, Loizos H, and Nitin P, the accent is laid in order to pull out a high value of public presentation from the employees through public presentation assessments. Through the public presentation appraisals the company is doing the squads effectual in executing. The public presentation is evaluated and assured through the followers: The leaders or the company supervise the staff developments The Staff public presentations are evaluated and communicated to them through assessments. The staffs are supervised sporadically. Feedbacks are taken besides from the monitored. An improved monitoring is done establishing on the employees feedback. As a consequence of such a public presentation assessment Singapore Airlines are successful in accomplishing a high public presentation ensuing a to an effectual bringing squad.Choice STAFF CONTROL[ MAXIMISING CONTRIBUTION ]The staff control scheme is laid particularly with the frontline cabin crew such that the corporate scheme and the organizational ends are communicated to the staff. They are made clear that their function is they do non hold a vision of going the universe ‘s largest air hose but be a cost leader in the industry. Therefore, the quality is to maintained and is non optional, this ensured by guaranting they hire people with the same quality through a series of appraisals made in the enlisting procedure ( psychometric trials, H2O trials, tea party trial, etc. ) . The ultimate rivals to Singapore Airlines are Air France-KLM Group, British Airways and the Lufthansa Airlines. The quality of the staff and their services are controls in order to remain in front of these challengers in footings of cost leading.MOTIVATION AND REWARDTo anticipate the best out of the employee they have to be motivated through a wages system ( Makenan, I. 2008 ) . This should b vitamin E genuinely based on their public presentation which denotes ‘well done good occupation ‘ as every employee expects this from this grasp from the directors, leaders and the administration. Harmonizing to the article written by Jochen W, Loizos H, and Nitin P, Singapore Airlines uses both fiscal and non-financial wagess in order to the acknowledgment of the employees which can be seen below as follows: Non-financial wagess: Photographs and names of the good employees in the newssheets which is a signifier of acknowledgment. Annual Deputy Chairman ‘s Award Fiscal wagess: A important per centum of variable wage constituents linked to single staff parts and company ‘s fiscal public presentation. The above wagess used by Singapore Airlines works as a good factor to maximize the part and accomplishments of people who are selected exhaustively through the stiff enlisting and choice procedure. All the above schemes laid by the administration are successful 1s which help the administration to keep the corporate scheme and accomplish the corporate aims so far by cognizing it has been making good.Critical ASPECTS OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT TO SINGAPORE AIRLINESRetention schemesAlthough the organistion is making really good in footings of pull offing the human resources and has been really effectual besides the house has made an effort to retain the accomplishments in the administration. An accent has besides made to make so as harmonizing to the research made by Jochen W, Loizos H, and Nitin P, shows that the administration maintains a direction development Centre which focuses on develops the employees and helps in retaining them by spliting the development programmes into 3 parts as: programmes the focal point on the varying precedences and required accomplishment at different managerial hierarchal phases ; Encouragement programmes to develop the managerial accomplishments ; Programs that focus in the countries of societal protocols and framing which in bend aid in self-development. But still the administration is holding a 10 % labour turnover every twelvemonth which may be due to the ground that the employees are non good motivated or recognised. The findings from the appraisal made on the footing of the assignment rubric gives a position point that the house has a keeping on the list and doing an indirect effort to prolong the work force, but at that place stands a demand for a direct keeping scheme which should be focused as the antonym can ensue in the followers: Excessively much cost of enrolling people as it is already traveling through a drawn-out procedure in the hunt of the right accomplishment. Excessively much of clip consumed besides in the enlisting and choice process. New staff takes clip or finds it hard to set in the civilization and environment. The skilled work force joins the rivals which is a winning point given to the challengers. In order to get the better of the people go forthing the administration a scope of schemes can be laid.Schemes to halt the labor turnoverImplementing of motive theory given by Fredrick Herzberg which divides people in the administration into two parts which given below in the theoretical account. Although the administration is actuating the employees through wagess but there should be a proper categorization of both the parties to stress on and development programs should be laid in conformity. Create communities among the employees which in bend build up a societal web. Peoples do non go forth the administration as go forthing the administration would be go forthing their webs. ( Torrington D. , Hall L. , Taylor S. 2005 ) Execution of grudge direction could besides cut down the resigning of employees as it makes them experience they have an option if they are non satisfied by their superior. Singapore Airlines should hold a process for placing such grudges. They can be identified by the followers:Beginning: Lecture notesExit interview, these are done with the employees who are go forthing the administration, and are helpful in retaining the employee by offerings and besides acquiring the feedbacks from them which can be incorporated in the administration. Gripe Boxs: these are the boxes in which the employees put their grudges and their critics to any superior. They differ from the suggestion boxes as the people do non stipulate who they are. Opinion Survey: A signifier of self rating of the grudges by the administration and a good manner to keep employee relationship and anticipate maximal part from the work force. Open-door Policy: A policy which is spoken of many times in an administration and is really less in action. This policy is the one where any employee or the director is free to near a superior to describe his or her grudge.KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENTSingapore Airlines does non hold an accent on the construct of cognition sharing among the employees. A cognition that is seemed to be preserved within the people but should be among the people as sharing of cognition tends to heighten when the thoughts shared and this is done in a collaborative mode. ( Lecture resources ) Schemes to promote cognition sharing in an administration: The procedure can be divided into people itself with specific duty to make so. As shown in the diagram below: Beginning: Lecture notes. The cognition designers: Chief Knowledge Officer and affect, among other things, who emphasize on how the cognition can be shared and how people will be trained, how they will be rewarded for collaborative working. The cognition facilitators: consists of people who run processes to assist knowledge flow, for illustration company journalists who write up client instance surveies and undertaking reappraisals ; bibliothecs who develop the storage and retrieval of information ; information service suppliers who provide an internal consultancy service to happen and present information to staff ; webmasters who develop the company intranet. The cognition cognizant: Consists of employees, who have a duty in sharing their expertness and cognition and take part in value of coaction. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION The research in this assignment was made on Singapore Airlines as it is a service based administration and trades in a service industry and the human resource factor is much more critical here as they represent the organistion. It is their service which derives the competitory advantage for the administration. Singapore Airlines Emphasize on a double scheme i.e. cost leading and distinction. The human resources scheme has been good aligned so far to prolong the competitory advantage as the research shows that Singapore is non a budgetary air hose but still is offering the monetary value of a budgetary air hose. As this appraisal is based on the research made on the diary The Role of Human Resources in Achieving Service Excellence and Cost Effectiveness at Singapore Airlines by Jochen Wirtz, Loizos Heracleous and Nitin Pangarkar in 2007, the diary reveals five schemes laid by Singapore air hoses in order to aline the human resources scheme to the corporate scheme and aims through maximization of accomplishments and part of the people. At the terminal of the rating and the amplification of these schemes a point of view was clear that the administration although has a stiff and rigorous process of recruiting and choosing the people but which evidently for no uncertainty has to be so drawn-out and besides dearly-won. This factor could be reduced by cut downing the labor turnover. They necessity is due to a ground that when the economic system is down the turnover is what it is at the minute ( 10 % ) , but if the economic system is on the extremum this per centum can besides travel at the extremum. Therefore the administration should be concentrating on two chief factors given already recommended in the above subdivision that is: Retention scheme to prolong the accomplishment in the organistion and cognize why they leave the company. ( Torrington D. , Hall L. , Taylor S. 2005 ) Build or make cognition sharing environment in the company so that even if the people leave the administration at that place silent accomplishment remains expressed. The ground is that new staff take clip to set in the civilization and to be trained to give the same public presentation of the former employees