Inside James Diyson

In â€Å"Inside Dyson: a distinctive company? †, Shepherd et al. (2011) gives details of the secret of Dyson’s success – the company specializing in innovative, design-heavy vacuum cleaners and other household appliances. The successes and failures of Dyson’s design efforts (from their successful vacuums to the 3-in-1 vacuums that did not test well with customers) are explored, as well as their unique perspective on business, which puts quality and innovation above anything else. 1. Using frameworks from the chapter, analyze the strategic capabilities of Dyson. The strategic capabilities of Dyson revolve primarily around a resource-based view of the strategy with a heavy focus on engineering design; they spend a tremendous amount of time developing and engineering prototypes for household products that seek to provide a twist to the typical device (e. g. , vacuum cleaners that provide smooth turning around the corners, oscillating fans that â€Å"multiply† air, etc. ) This creates a niche in what can be an overly-saturated market. Providing a unique spin of this sort on a product can offer tremendous advantages. Combine this with state-of-the-art, sleek design elements and bright, colorful exteriors, and Dyson creates a number of high-end, well-sought-after appliances. Dyson invests heavily in Chinese and Asian manufacturing in order to make their products cheaper, so that they can maintain profit margin benchmarks. This emphasis on design in their organizational planning means not as many products being manufactured. But what they do sell they sell to a target market at higher prices. Given the innovation that is present in Dyson’s business strategy, it is quite clear that their strategic capability is high, even though the risks can be high as well due to the experimental and ‘out there’ nature of their products which may be too daunting for normal consumers. 2. To what extent do you think any of the capabilities can be imitated by competitors? The primary niche that Dyson follows is superior design. As a result, it can be quite difficult to replicate the specific strategic capabilities. Their focus on innovation revolves around them being the only ones around to actually try to change the way the vacuum or other appliance is designed. The level of specialization is what attracts customers to them. In order to provide legitimate competition to Dyson, superior engineering designers would have to be hired, and a much greater focus on innovation would have to be attempted. Otherwise, Dyson’s dominance in the high-end, experimental house-ware market remains unchecked by competitors. Competitors are already trying to imitate their products with the USA Wind Tunnel vacuums and Mjele swivel-head vacuums. Yet the patents Dyson has placed on their product prevents other companies from outright stealing of their ideas. 3. Which of Dyson’s distinctive capabilities may become threshold capabilities over time? The existence of high-value specialties will likely become a threshold capability for Dyson as the time goes on. Threshold capabilities are what is required to remain in the market. Currently, what is allowing Dyson to maintain its high prices is the high quality of the design and engineering present in their products. Compared to other consumer-level appliances of this kind, Dyson stands out as a distinctive product from a marketing standpoint. Emphasizing the new and innovative stuff allows the consumer to feel as though they are receiving a brand new, insightful product, leagues ahead of the competition. For Dyson to change its business model in any way towards increasing volumes of standard products would be to tarnish its image, nearly irreparably. What is maintaining Dyson’s primary conceit is the design innovation, which is a clear threshold capability. 4. Bearing in mind your answers to questions 1 and 2, how crucial is Sir James Dyson to the future of the company? What might be the effect of his resignation or the sale of the company? Given the importance of James Dyson, it would certainly be a blow if he were to leave or sell the company. James Dyson is a prominent public figure and the best spokesperson in commercials Dyson company could have. For many consumers, there is a certai n security in seeing the actual representative or president of the company speak to them directly and explain the features of the Dyson vacuum; if that was not happening, it is possible that†¦

History of Pangkor Island Essay

In past times; this area used to be the center for piracy. The pirates had their home ports in the Pulau Gedung Hills, Gua Lanun (Pirates’ Cave) and Batu Perompak (Pirates’ Rock) on the island of Pangkor. Many ships/boats were taken over and robbed of their goods and products. The Dutch were active here in the times of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). People were especially keeping themselves busy with the tin industry, until the British took over. In 1670 the Dutch built a fort (also for protection against the locals and the higher powers of that time) at Tiger Rock. During the British rule the name has temporarily been Monkey Island. Later the island was named Pulau Aman (Peaceful Island) before it regained the name Pangkor. Getting around on Pangkor Island The best way to explore Pangkor Island is by motorbike as rental is only around RM25-40 per day. Another option is by renting a car, though there are only a few places where this is possible. Sometimes you will get cheaper prices if you rent a motorbike or car from one of the employees at your resort; but do check up front how things like insurance and such are arranged. Better don’t take any unnecessary chances and just go for the trustworthy rental companies. You could of course also consider renting a bicycle, but do know that some parts of the island have some steep climbs which can be quite strenuous in this tropical climate. Last option is to get around by taxi; but this does limit the possibilities of exploring the island a bit. On the other hand taxi drivers are quite knowledgeable so they might be able to take you to places unknown by tourists. There are no metered taxis on Pangkor Island. Trips are based on fixed prices. For example; a trip from Pangkor Town Jetty to Nipah Bay costs RM15. The best places to rent a scooter is at Pangkor Town Jetty or at Nipah Bay. During weekends (or public holidays) it can be quite crowded on the island, and most of the motorbikes will be rented out. We have good experiences with Budget Resort and Flora Resort (both in Nipah Town). We paid RM32 per day, but normal price is RM40 per day (we rented one for multiple days during our stay). Always be careful when riding a scooter. Always wear a helmet. Make sure you bring your (international) driving license with you, otherwise you will not be able to rent the scooter. Never go too fast. Roads on Pangkor can be quite treacherous and sometimes slippery (especially after rain). There are numerous beaches on Pangkor Island; an easy way to explore them is by motorbike (or taxi/rental car). Only a few of these beaches are popular among locals and tourists; especially during the weekends. The rest are secluded and unspoilt; during the week there is a big chance you will be the only one visiting the beach. Pantai Pasir Bogak probably is the most popular beach on the island. Another great beach is Nipah beach at Teluk Nipah; where you can find clear waters. You can even snorkel in the area, as it is located directly opposite Pulau Giam which is the only island that is surrounded by corals (though snorkeling over here should not be compared with snorkeling at islands like Perhentian, Redang or Tioman). Snorkeling at Giam is inexpensive. Snorkeling gear including a return boat trip costs only RM15 per person. Other great beaches are Ketapang beach and Segadas beach (the secret beach). Though Segadas beach is not that easy to reach (you need to walk from the small town Teluk Gedung via a short jungle trip to the secluded beach, which takes around 20/25 minutes); it probably is the most beautiful beach on the island. Pangkor has some great resorts There are numerous great resorts on the island. One of the most popular is thePangkor Island Beach Resort . This resort is especially great for families with children; as they have an extensive children’s program. All the guests get a daily newspaper where the activities for the day are described. You can chose to join early in the morning to look for birds, or come to the Hornbill feeding platform where Hornbills are fed twice daily. Nearby the coastal town of Lumut you can stay at the amazing Swiss-Garden Resort Damai Laut . When we first visited the resort we didn’t know what to expect. We read stories up front that the resort is often very quiet and that it is especially renowned for its spa facilities and of course the fantastic golf course (18-hole, Par 72 championship golf course including a driving range). Golf sport enthusiasts will have the time of their lives; as the golf course is rated among the best throughout Malaysia (and Southeast Asia). From the resort you have great views on the island of Pangkor that lies opposite the resort. A resort of a whole different class is the famous Pangkor Laut Resort . This is by far the most luxurious resort on the island (actually on a secluded island nearby Pangkor). The resort is often mentioned in luxury & lifestyle magazines; it is rated as one of the best resorts in Malaysia. It is also one of the best places to visit during your honeymoon. Below a nice video of Pangkor Laut and the resort. Pangkor also has great guesthouses During one of our stays at Pangkor Island we spend a few nights at Nipah Guesthouse, winner of the Tripadvisor Travelers Choice 2012 award. This sure was a nice guesthouse and the owners are amazing people. In the same area, around Nipah Bay, there are many other guesthouses. Most of the guesthouses rent out motorbikes and most offer lunches for non-guests.

Anthropology of Tattoos

He repeated this several times as a ceremonial pot was filled with gathering soot from the burning fire. After the artist finished his tedious design, he rubbed soot from the pot bottom deep into the slits, planting the bacteria that would infect the skin, raising the scars into their meaningful design. She felt accomplished that she withstood the agonizing pain while other members of her clan could not. Her newly inherited body art signified the birth of her first son, and left her with a renewed sense of beauty. This is the way of life common to people indigenous to the motherland of Africa. Scarification, however, is not the only form of body art that is used. Body painting, tattooing, and branding are all similar forms of body art, which can be found in Africa and other cultures throughout the world. The word â€Å"tattoo† comes from the Tahitian word â€Å"tattau†, which means â€Å"to mark†. Tattoos have evolved from being symbols of punishment that were given to identify criminals and slaves in the early ninth-century Chinese culture, into a pop-culture trend of using he skin as â€Å"a way of describing the exotic uncivilized other† within ourselves (Schildkrout 2004:324). For centuries, the body has been used as a â€Å"visible way of defining individual identity and cultural difference† (Schildkrout 2004:319). This cultural difference becomes apparent when studying the evolution of body art over time, especially when focusing on the differences between the Western and Non-Western cultures. People have been adorning their body with tattoos and piercing for centuries, but until recently, the thought of tattoos in ancient Egypt had been pushed aside. It has now been discovered that, without a doubt, tattoos did exist in that time period. Although miniscule, a group of enormously important tattooed mummies serve to help prove this point (Bianchi 1988:21). The first mummy to be discovered was one f a woman named Amunet, whose mummy was found in an excellent state of preservation, â€Å"most likely due to the fact that she served as a priestess of the goddess Harthor at Thebes during Dynasty XI†(Bianchi 1988:22). The tattoos on her body were comprised of a pattern of dots and dashes in an elliptical shape on her lower abdomen. The thighs and arms adorned the identical parallel lines of the aforementioned pattern. Two more women mummies, who were discovered and believed to be from the same time period, also had similar tattoos on their lower abdomen (Bianchi 1988:22). This group of woman represents an exclusive group of Egyptians who received tattoos in that time period, because there is no other evidence that shows tattoos to be a part of the Egyptian culture until the time of the Middle Kingdom. These abstract patterns associated with ritualistic tattooing survived into the New Kingdom. The Egyptians, more then likely, borrowed a form of tattooing from the Nubian civilization. Unlike the Nubians, whose purpose for tattooing is unknown, â€Å"the Egyptians appear to have regarded the tattoo as one of several vehicles by which the procreative powers of the deceased could be revived† (Bianchi 1988:27). Substantiation proposes that only women were associated with the decorating of their bodies and the ritualistic activities that went along with it. The art of tattooing began with the grouping of bluish or black dots and/or dashes forming abstract geometric patterns; that system of body art lasted for over two thousand years in ancient Egypt. Just like other ideas and goods, the idea of tattooing began to travel to several different societies, and has evolved into extremely different forms of art all over the world. In northeastern Zambia, the Tabwa â€Å"once covered themselves from head to foot with scarification† (Roberts 1988:41). The women of the Tabwa began receiving elaborate marks on their face, chest, and backs when they were young girls; it sometimes was continued at other points in a woman’s life (Roberts 1988:43) such as courting rituals and for woman wishing to bear a child. Male sculptors would trace designs and make incisions on the lesser intimate parts of the body; they left the rest for the women to do. ‘Tabwa women used razors to slit skin [that had been] plucked up with a fishhook or arrowhead. These incisions were then rubbed with soot from a pot bottom, an irritant that produced the desired raised cicatrices† (Roberts 1988:44). There were several reasons that this tradition was done, different to every age and gender in the tribe. Young women went through this process in order to achieve a state of perfection, which was required for those wanting to marry and have children (Roberts 1988:45). Scarification is a form of body art that was used in several tribes because according to their customs â€Å"beauty is not physically innate, but rather a function of the girl’s inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:45). Not only the Tabwa, scarification was used in such tribes as the Ga’anda and the Tiv; all the tribes have distinctly different purposes for doing this, but the process and effect of the body are the same. Another form of body art is body painting, which the people of the Southeast Nuba begin at a young age; but the meanings, and time frame from when they begin decorating the body are very different between males and females. The males paint themselves from the ages of 12 to 27 (Faris 1988:31). Typically, they only paint during the down time after the harvest season and before the next years planting begins. This is the time that the males are less involved in mandatory and productive activities; they spend their supplementary time with festive activities such as dance and sport participation. The restrictions placed on the men by their age, most importantly deal with the color that they use on their body—for example â€Å" only the older age groups are eligible to use the greatest elaboration in color, including the deep black and yellow [colors, that are] prohibited to younger grades†(Faris 1988:32). The change in elaboration allowed on the body does not coincide with any physiological changes, rather, it corresponds with changes â€Å"in productive status or sport† (Faris 1988:32). As they move up in grades from young laborers that answer to the elders, to mature men that own their own property, farm and family, their elaborate painting ability increases. The elders though, do not decorate their bodies; rather, they delegate and lead rituals for the younger men and enforce the rules of allowed color use. Therefore, the male body painting shows their progression thru ones life stages. The women of Southeast Nuba, â€Å"from the age of six years, until consummation of marriage, oil and ochre [their bodies] daily, in colors [that are] appropriate to their patri-clan section† (Faris 1988:34). After childbirth, they may continue to wear some oil and ochre on their shoulders. The personal body art of women is strictly related to the physiological changes that occur as a women goes through life, and are fixed around body scarification as a way of showing her changes. A woman’s scarification is so important, that â€Å"if a husband refuses to pay for a scarring specialist, a woman may seek a lover who will do so, and her first marriage will end† (Faris 1988:35). Unlike the males elaborate body art, a woman’s body art is simple, but it accumulates over her life-span and is very standardized, while a male’s body art is constantly changing. Body painting, tattooing and scarification thus far had been tools used by individuals to beautify their body and elevate their status within their tribe; this is not the case with all societies. In several other cultures, tattoos have been used in a form of branding, which is quite the opposite. Though tattooing and branding are â€Å"similar in that both involve the insertion of pigments under the skin to create permanent marks†, branding is implemented in order to lower an individuals status, to punish for crimes committed, to identify slaves, but most importantly, to eliminate personal identity (Schildkrout 2004:323). â€Å"The immutable alteration of human skin by branding needs to be considered in relation to, but ought not be confused with, tattooing† (Bianchi 1988:27). Two recent studies originating in South Africa elaborate on this subject, reporting on the political influence of tattooing â€Å"as a means of social control† (Schildkrout 2004:330). They site examples from Zambia in which a medical practitioner travels around to villages â€Å"in which witch craft accusations have been common†¦to inoculate people against people against witch craft† (Schildkrout 2004:331). The villagers would â€Å"submit to bodily inspections†, they were then treated â€Å"by getting numbers tattooed on their arms† (Schildkrout 2004:331). This is disturbingly reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps when an unfathomable number of Jewish people lost their personal identities and became known as only a number in the system to be disposed of. This â€Å"symbolic denial of personhood† served as a system â€Å"of control and surveillance† (Schildkrout 2004:323). This system of control was also imposed by â€Å"authoritarian regimes† in Southeast Asia (Schildkrout 2004:323). The Zhou and Ming Dynasties branded criminals as a form of punishment with â€Å"extensive, often full-body tattoos, with elaborate pictorial imagery as well as written inscriptions† (Schildkrout 2004:324) portraying their crime. This form of tattooing is definitely contrary to traditional methods. Similarly in Brazil, branding was used to mark convicts by the penal authorities. Penal tattoos derived their power from subjugation of the marked convicts. The humiliation of being visibly branded was a significant component of the convict’s punishment. In an act of resistance, those that had been branded â€Å"were known to reclaim their bodies by writing over the inscriptions or by displaying them in new social situations† (Schildkrout 2004:324). The branded, therefore, became the empowered, restoring the function of the tattoo to being personally-motivated. This personal motivation is perhaps most notable in Western cultures, specifically North America. In America, the Native Americans used body painting in many ways, usually connected with ethnic identity, social roles or marital status (Rubin 1988:179). The Natives also used the body as a canvas in ritualistic ceremonies, on warriors going into battle and for the beautification of their women. When the Europeans discovered America, they brought with them slaves from Africa and they introduced branding of the slaves into the American culture. After the civil war, when the slaves had been freed, branding was still embedded in American culture through groups of people including gang members and convicts. Though â€Å"branding is often associated with involuntary marking and the denial of personhood†, it has also â€Å"been adopted in contemporary Western body culture as an assertion of group identity, for example in college fraternities† (Schildkrout 2004:323). Tattoos were also prevalent in other parts of America, including Alaska. Among the Eskimos â€Å"[t]he function of these art forms [was] – essentially manifesting one’s place or role within the hierarchy of hunting life† (Gritton 1988:190). With the introduction and adaptation of the western civilization in Alaskan culture, â€Å"the marks of a hunter or hunter’s wife served no purpose in their new lives and were understandably abandoned† (Gritton 1988:190). The function of body art and tattooing has been Americanized, evolving from its native origins to incorporate self expression. This self expression has mushroomed from a manor of identifying oneself to a way of gaining attention through shock value. Though ever-changing, all forms of body art mentioned play enormous roles in the lives of people. Certain non-Western cultures are based around the ability to use skin as a visible way of defining status or bettering their self-image, in order to attract companions. So the artists who are allowed to perform the act of adorning bodies with different designs are regarded as having a very important place in the society. They are â€Å"scarring specialist† (Faris 1988:35), â€Å"body artists† (Drewal 1988:84), but most importantly, they are known as â€Å"[the] one-who-creates- art† (Drewal 1988:84). In the non-Native American culture, however, the general attitude towards tattoo artist in present-day American culture is less than appreciative. Extreme critics even characterize tattooist as opportunist, exclusively seeking monetary gain (Sanders 1988:229). â€Å"The tattooist interest in artistry and control is often in conflict with his profit orientation†, revealing the major flaw within the American society (Sanders 1988:229). This is the major difference in western and non-western cultures. Body tattoos in western society are an object to be purchased. Americans obtain tattoos in the same manner that they acquire a new Louis Vuitton handbag. They purchase them as accessories, which is in stark contrast to the non-western cultures, who acquire tattoos as an essential ritual in their society. With this is mind, the process in which American’s purchases body art seems slightly ridiculous. Tattoo artists often complain of the unwillingness of customers to spend the quoted amount of money for â€Å"a tattoo [they] are going to wear for the rest of [their] life† (Sanders 1988:229). It is more acceptable in American culture to invest in short term materialistic purchases, therefore the legitimate tattoo artists are constantly being monitored and regimented under strict laws imposed by the government. Despite the absurdity of the purchasing process, the reasoning that propels the American society to obtain tattoos is just as flawed. Some reasons people give to explain permanently marking their skin include, â€Å"they were drunk, it’s a macho thing, to fit in with a crowd or even worse, for no reason at all† (DeMello 1995:42). Western society seems to have a complete disregard for the spiritual origins of body art. Tattoo artist are even witness to clients’ apathy, avoiding â€Å"working on people who are obviously under the influence of alcohol† (Sanders 1988:225). Where once there was a ceremonious celebration deeply rooted in spiritualism, in American society the only ritualistic ceremony is the receiving of a piece of paper on how to care for the recently acquired body art. This apathetic attitude of Americans is perhaps derived from the renouncing majority of the population. This bias stems from â€Å"very early ‘regulations’ [including] Moses’ remarks in Leviticus 19:28 forbidding any cuttings in the flesh or the printing of any marks† (Armstrong 2005:39). Since tattoos â€Å"were not sanctioned by the church† the profile for the tattooed archetype became unconventional (Schildkrout 2004:325). Christian belief has been adapted to the masses, forcing those who are tattooed into rebellion. The majority of people adopting body art include â€Å"bikers, convicts, and other ‘low lives’† (DeMello 1995:40). In Western society â€Å"the idea that the unmarked body as a sign of God’s work was linked to the Protestant reformation† and â€Å"the idea that body markings were a sign of savagery goes back even earlier† ( Schildkrout 2004:324). This is ironic considering tattoos in earlier cultures signified positions of high status. Perhaps the only entity that ties these drastic cultures together is the desire to increase their inherited beauty. â€Å"If the body is – metaphorically – a site of inscription to various degrees for various theorist, then cosmetic surgery can be seen, at one level, as an example of the literal and explicit enactment of this process of inscription† ( Schildkrout 2004:320), which is also seen in the aforementioned tribes with the rituals of scarification. DeMello also agrees that along with tattooing and piericing, that cosmetic surgery is seen as a form of â€Å"body modification† (DeMello 1995:37). â€Å"Not only does the tattooed skin negotiate between the individual and society and between different social groups, but also mediates relations between persons and spirits, the human and the divine† (Schildkrout 2004:321). Body art is a tradition that extends throughout the barriers of the world and although the forms in which they are found may be different, the idea of using your body as a canvas is universal. Although recently, several anthropologists agreed and have begun to examine body art more closely, looking at it â€Å"as a microcosm of society† (Schildkrout 2004:328), Roberts still believes that â€Å"there can be no ultimate explanation of symbolism† (Roberts 1988:51). He claims that â€Å"the blazes on trees in the Ndembu forest will remain many years after their purpose and meaning are forgotten. So it is with other inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:51). This is exemplified in the woman who endured the agonizing pain of her scarification to instigate a new chapter in her life. Nevertheless, soon after her body is placed into the ground, her skin will no longer be a visible indication of who she once was. She will become a memory and her body will no longer be used as a canvas. Anthropology of Tattoos He repeated this several times as a ceremonial pot was filled with gathering soot from the burning fire. After the artist finished his tedious design, he rubbed soot from the pot bottom deep into the slits, planting the bacteria that would infect the skin, raising the scars into their meaningful design. She felt accomplished that she withstood the agonizing pain while other members of her clan could not. Her newly inherited body art signified the birth of her first son, and left her with a renewed sense of beauty. This is the way of life common to people indigenous to the motherland of Africa. Scarification, however, is not the only form of body art that is used. Body painting, tattooing, and branding are all similar forms of body art, which can be found in Africa and other cultures throughout the world. The word â€Å"tattoo† comes from the Tahitian word â€Å"tattau†, which means â€Å"to mark†. Tattoos have evolved from being symbols of punishment that were given to identify criminals and slaves in the early ninth-century Chinese culture, into a pop-culture trend of using he skin as â€Å"a way of describing the exotic uncivilized other† within ourselves (Schildkrout 2004:324). For centuries, the body has been used as a â€Å"visible way of defining individual identity and cultural difference† (Schildkrout 2004:319). This cultural difference becomes apparent when studying the evolution of body art over time, especially when focusing on the differences between the Western and Non-Western cultures. People have been adorning their body with tattoos and piercing for centuries, but until recently, the thought of tattoos in ancient Egypt had been pushed aside. It has now been discovered that, without a doubt, tattoos did exist in that time period. Although miniscule, a group of enormously important tattooed mummies serve to help prove this point (Bianchi 1988:21). The first mummy to be discovered was one f a woman named Amunet, whose mummy was found in an excellent state of preservation, â€Å"most likely due to the fact that she served as a priestess of the goddess Harthor at Thebes during Dynasty XI†(Bianchi 1988:22). The tattoos on her body were comprised of a pattern of dots and dashes in an elliptical shape on her lower abdomen. The thighs and arms adorned the identical parallel lines of the aforementioned pattern. Two more women mummies, who were discovered and believed to be from the same time period, also had similar tattoos on their lower abdomen (Bianchi 1988:22). This group of woman represents an exclusive group of Egyptians who received tattoos in that time period, because there is no other evidence that shows tattoos to be a part of the Egyptian culture until the time of the Middle Kingdom. These abstract patterns associated with ritualistic tattooing survived into the New Kingdom. The Egyptians, more then likely, borrowed a form of tattooing from the Nubian civilization. Unlike the Nubians, whose purpose for tattooing is unknown, â€Å"the Egyptians appear to have regarded the tattoo as one of several vehicles by which the procreative powers of the deceased could be revived† (Bianchi 1988:27). Substantiation proposes that only women were associated with the decorating of their bodies and the ritualistic activities that went along with it. The art of tattooing began with the grouping of bluish or black dots and/or dashes forming abstract geometric patterns; that system of body art lasted for over two thousand years in ancient Egypt. Just like other ideas and goods, the idea of tattooing began to travel to several different societies, and has evolved into extremely different forms of art all over the world. In northeastern Zambia, the Tabwa â€Å"once covered themselves from head to foot with scarification† (Roberts 1988:41). The women of the Tabwa began receiving elaborate marks on their face, chest, and backs when they were young girls; it sometimes was continued at other points in a woman’s life (Roberts 1988:43) such as courting rituals and for woman wishing to bear a child. Male sculptors would trace designs and make incisions on the lesser intimate parts of the body; they left the rest for the women to do. ‘Tabwa women used razors to slit skin [that had been] plucked up with a fishhook or arrowhead. These incisions were then rubbed with soot from a pot bottom, an irritant that produced the desired raised cicatrices† (Roberts 1988:44). There were several reasons that this tradition was done, different to every age and gender in the tribe. Young women went through this process in order to achieve a state of perfection, which was required for those wanting to marry and have children (Roberts 1988:45). Scarification is a form of body art that was used in several tribes because according to their customs â€Å"beauty is not physically innate, but rather a function of the girl’s inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:45). Not only the Tabwa, scarification was used in such tribes as the Ga’anda and the Tiv; all the tribes have distinctly different purposes for doing this, but the process and effect of the body are the same. Another form of body art is body painting, which the people of the Southeast Nuba begin at a young age; but the meanings, and time frame from when they begin decorating the body are very different between males and females. The males paint themselves from the ages of 12 to 27 (Faris 1988:31). Typically, they only paint during the down time after the harvest season and before the next years planting begins. This is the time that the males are less involved in mandatory and productive activities; they spend their supplementary time with festive activities such as dance and sport participation. The restrictions placed on the men by their age, most importantly deal with the color that they use on their body—for example â€Å" only the older age groups are eligible to use the greatest elaboration in color, including the deep black and yellow [colors, that are] prohibited to younger grades†(Faris 1988:32). The change in elaboration allowed on the body does not coincide with any physiological changes, rather, it corresponds with changes â€Å"in productive status or sport† (Faris 1988:32). As they move up in grades from young laborers that answer to the elders, to mature men that own their own property, farm and family, their elaborate painting ability increases. The elders though, do not decorate their bodies; rather, they delegate and lead rituals for the younger men and enforce the rules of allowed color use. Therefore, the male body painting shows their progression thru ones life stages. The women of Southeast Nuba, â€Å"from the age of six years, until consummation of marriage, oil and ochre [their bodies] daily, in colors [that are] appropriate to their patri-clan section† (Faris 1988:34). After childbirth, they may continue to wear some oil and ochre on their shoulders. The personal body art of women is strictly related to the physiological changes that occur as a women goes through life, and are fixed around body scarification as a way of showing her changes. A woman’s scarification is so important, that â€Å"if a husband refuses to pay for a scarring specialist, a woman may seek a lover who will do so, and her first marriage will end† (Faris 1988:35). Unlike the males elaborate body art, a woman’s body art is simple, but it accumulates over her life-span and is very standardized, while a male’s body art is constantly changing. Body painting, tattooing and scarification thus far had been tools used by individuals to beautify their body and elevate their status within their tribe; this is not the case with all societies. In several other cultures, tattoos have been used in a form of branding, which is quite the opposite. Though tattooing and branding are â€Å"similar in that both involve the insertion of pigments under the skin to create permanent marks†, branding is implemented in order to lower an individuals status, to punish for crimes committed, to identify slaves, but most importantly, to eliminate personal identity (Schildkrout 2004:323). â€Å"The immutable alteration of human skin by branding needs to be considered in relation to, but ought not be confused with, tattooing† (Bianchi 1988:27). Two recent studies originating in South Africa elaborate on this subject, reporting on the political influence of tattooing â€Å"as a means of social control† (Schildkrout 2004:330). They site examples from Zambia in which a medical practitioner travels around to villages â€Å"in which witch craft accusations have been common†¦to inoculate people against people against witch craft† (Schildkrout 2004:331). The villagers would â€Å"submit to bodily inspections†, they were then treated â€Å"by getting numbers tattooed on their arms† (Schildkrout 2004:331). This is disturbingly reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps when an unfathomable number of Jewish people lost their personal identities and became known as only a number in the system to be disposed of. This â€Å"symbolic denial of personhood† served as a system â€Å"of control and surveillance† (Schildkrout 2004:323). This system of control was also imposed by â€Å"authoritarian regimes† in Southeast Asia (Schildkrout 2004:323). The Zhou and Ming Dynasties branded criminals as a form of punishment with â€Å"extensive, often full-body tattoos, with elaborate pictorial imagery as well as written inscriptions† (Schildkrout 2004:324) portraying their crime. This form of tattooing is definitely contrary to traditional methods. Similarly in Brazil, branding was used to mark convicts by the penal authorities. Penal tattoos derived their power from subjugation of the marked convicts. The humiliation of being visibly branded was a significant component of the convict’s punishment. In an act of resistance, those that had been branded â€Å"were known to reclaim their bodies by writing over the inscriptions or by displaying them in new social situations† (Schildkrout 2004:324). The branded, therefore, became the empowered, restoring the function of the tattoo to being personally-motivated. This personal motivation is perhaps most notable in Western cultures, specifically North America. In America, the Native Americans used body painting in many ways, usually connected with ethnic identity, social roles or marital status (Rubin 1988:179). The Natives also used the body as a canvas in ritualistic ceremonies, on warriors going into battle and for the beautification of their women. When the Europeans discovered America, they brought with them slaves from Africa and they introduced branding of the slaves into the American culture. After the civil war, when the slaves had been freed, branding was still embedded in American culture through groups of people including gang members and convicts. Though â€Å"branding is often associated with involuntary marking and the denial of personhood†, it has also â€Å"been adopted in contemporary Western body culture as an assertion of group identity, for example in college fraternities† (Schildkrout 2004:323). Tattoos were also prevalent in other parts of America, including Alaska. Among the Eskimos â€Å"[t]he function of these art forms [was] – essentially manifesting one’s place or role within the hierarchy of hunting life† (Gritton 1988:190). With the introduction and adaptation of the western civilization in Alaskan culture, â€Å"the marks of a hunter or hunter’s wife served no purpose in their new lives and were understandably abandoned† (Gritton 1988:190). The function of body art and tattooing has been Americanized, evolving from its native origins to incorporate self expression. This self expression has mushroomed from a manor of identifying oneself to a way of gaining attention through shock value. Though ever-changing, all forms of body art mentioned play enormous roles in the lives of people. Certain non-Western cultures are based around the ability to use skin as a visible way of defining status or bettering their self-image, in order to attract companions. So the artists who are allowed to perform the act of adorning bodies with different designs are regarded as having a very important place in the society. They are â€Å"scarring specialist† (Faris 1988:35), â€Å"body artists† (Drewal 1988:84), but most importantly, they are known as â€Å"[the] one-who-creates- art† (Drewal 1988:84). In the non-Native American culture, however, the general attitude towards tattoo artist in present-day American culture is less than appreciative. Extreme critics even characterize tattooist as opportunist, exclusively seeking monetary gain (Sanders 1988:229). â€Å"The tattooist interest in artistry and control is often in conflict with his profit orientation†, revealing the major flaw within the American society (Sanders 1988:229). This is the major difference in western and non-western cultures. Body tattoos in western society are an object to be purchased. Americans obtain tattoos in the same manner that they acquire a new Louis Vuitton handbag. They purchase them as accessories, which is in stark contrast to the non-western cultures, who acquire tattoos as an essential ritual in their society. With this is mind, the process in which American’s purchases body art seems slightly ridiculous. Tattoo artists often complain of the unwillingness of customers to spend the quoted amount of money for â€Å"a tattoo [they] are going to wear for the rest of [their] life† (Sanders 1988:229). It is more acceptable in American culture to invest in short term materialistic purchases, therefore the legitimate tattoo artists are constantly being monitored and regimented under strict laws imposed by the government. Despite the absurdity of the purchasing process, the reasoning that propels the American society to obtain tattoos is just as flawed. Some reasons people give to explain permanently marking their skin include, â€Å"they were drunk, it’s a macho thing, to fit in with a crowd or even worse, for no reason at all† (DeMello 1995:42). Western society seems to have a complete disregard for the spiritual origins of body art. Tattoo artist are even witness to clients’ apathy, avoiding â€Å"working on people who are obviously under the influence of alcohol† (Sanders 1988:225). Where once there was a ceremonious celebration deeply rooted in spiritualism, in American society the only ritualistic ceremony is the receiving of a piece of paper on how to care for the recently acquired body art. This apathetic attitude of Americans is perhaps derived from the renouncing majority of the population. This bias stems from â€Å"very early ‘regulations’ [including] Moses’ remarks in Leviticus 19:28 forbidding any cuttings in the flesh or the printing of any marks† (Armstrong 2005:39). Since tattoos â€Å"were not sanctioned by the church† the profile for the tattooed archetype became unconventional (Schildkrout 2004:325). Christian belief has been adapted to the masses, forcing those who are tattooed into rebellion. The majority of people adopting body art include â€Å"bikers, convicts, and other ‘low lives’† (DeMello 1995:40). In Western society â€Å"the idea that the unmarked body as a sign of God’s work was linked to the Protestant reformation† and â€Å"the idea that body markings were a sign of savagery goes back even earlier† ( Schildkrout 2004:324). This is ironic considering tattoos in earlier cultures signified positions of high status. Perhaps the only entity that ties these drastic cultures together is the desire to increase their inherited beauty. â€Å"If the body is – metaphorically – a site of inscription to various degrees for various theorist, then cosmetic surgery can be seen, at one level, as an example of the literal and explicit enactment of this process of inscription† ( Schildkrout 2004:320), which is also seen in the aforementioned tribes with the rituals of scarification. DeMello also agrees that along with tattooing and piericing, that cosmetic surgery is seen as a form of â€Å"body modification† (DeMello 1995:37). â€Å"Not only does the tattooed skin negotiate between the individual and society and between different social groups, but also mediates relations between persons and spirits, the human and the divine† (Schildkrout 2004:321). Body art is a tradition that extends throughout the barriers of the world and although the forms in which they are found may be different, the idea of using your body as a canvas is universal. Although recently, several anthropologists agreed and have begun to examine body art more closely, looking at it â€Å"as a microcosm of society† (Schildkrout 2004:328), Roberts still believes that â€Å"there can be no ultimate explanation of symbolism† (Roberts 1988:51). He claims that â€Å"the blazes on trees in the Ndembu forest will remain many years after their purpose and meaning are forgotten. So it is with other inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:51). This is exemplified in the woman who endured the agonizing pain of her scarification to instigate a new chapter in her life. Nevertheless, soon after her body is placed into the ground, her skin will no longer be a visible indication of who she once was. She will become a memory and her body will no longer be used as a canvas.

Law and Ethics of At-Will Employment Research Paper

Law and Ethics of At-Will Employment - Research Paper Example We will deep-dive into the law and evaluate the ethical implications of the law. Introduction to the law The at-will-employment law in USA states that the contract of employment between an employer and employee can be terminated by either of the two parties at any point of time for any specific reason. This implies that the employee can resign from the job without any contractual obligations to the employer and the employer can separate the employee without any obligations post the separation. Because of the nature of the contract, its duration is a moment and it is renewed from every moment to moment. History The law of at-will-employment finds its beginning in the late nineteenth century. Untill that time, most of the workers in US were employed in the agricultural sector and were appointed for particular harvesting season. During that time, the workers were subjected to work for a particular master for the entire season. Workers who leave their jobs before the end of the term will have to forgo their wages for the period that they worked. Although there was no specified term for the duration of contract, the same will be implied by the courts. This was termed as the entire-contract doctrine. The entire-contract doctrine led to high income insecurity amongst the unskilled workers. With the advancement of technology and growth of production in masses and manufacturing plants, majority of the workers shifted from agricultural sector to the industrial sector. Workers in this sector were hired for the indefinite period and therefore not subjected to the entire-contract doctrine. From 1880s, some of the courts started to view the employment contract as a contract that can be terminated by any of the party at any given point of time and any reason. This evolved as the at-will-employment law and became prominent in many states. Trends in At-will-employment doctrine The at-will-employment doctrine was favorable for the laborers as it removed the monetary insecurity a rising out of the entire-contract term. It meant that the workers were paid for the time they worked even if they quit or were separated. Because of the advantage to the workers and new theories in the field of human resource management, organization started to reorganize their workforce into ‘internal labor markets’ (Doeringer & Piore, 1971). According to this arrangement, the workforce was organized in the form of hierarchical levels where significant experience and training at a particular level provided the way for the level up. Organizations started to design policies centered on the employees so that they stay with the firm for a long duration. Employees were given advantages of fixed promotion cycles along with increasing pay. During the large part of twentieth century, at-will-employment along with the concept of ‘internal labor markets’ was the norm. Workers were further benefited from the presence of unions that were responsible for negotiation of contracts and contract terms. Beginning in the 1970s, many state courts started to impose restrictions on the employers regarding their right to lay-off employees. The courts started to impose tort liabilities on firms that were proved of making unjustified dismissals. Besides this, courts also started to incorporate tenets of good faith and fairness as a part of the employment co

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

What is MEC - Essay Example It educates children of employees. It also targets vulnerable children of the society. It also promotes the health of the society through production of quality goods and services that are environmental friendly. The company also gears itself towards strengthening its organizational structure and service delivery. It employees qualified personnel who promotes the welfare of the company and all the shareholders. The company also invests in community infrastructure through building schools, roads and hospitals (MEC 2013). This is aimed at enhancing corporation with the outsiders. The company also maintains economic development and job creation through paying taxes to the government and offering job opportunities. The organization believes that it needs to play its part in the growth and development of the community. It also expects the government to perform its roles diligently by providing an appropriate environment. Companies are obligated to preserve the environment. The company produces goods that are environmental friendly, renewable and utilizes less energy (MEC 2013). This is aimed at reducing environmental pollution and creates a good rapport with investors. For example, the company’s textile products contain over 50% cotton or recycled polyester (MEC 2013). It is believed such products can decompose and they are recyclable. In addition, the company has strived to improve human conditions in its factories. The company has exit doors in case of a fire breakout. It also has fire extinguishers and personnel work within stipulated time. Lastly, the company promotes conservation of ecology, water catchment areas and other recreational centers. MEC focuses on working with suppliers and factories by empowering them to uphold the MEC code of conduct. The conduct usually prescribes the minimum standards that enhance environmental responsibility. The company also believes in environmental responsibility because it audits factories

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Writer's choice - Essay Example The graphics, processor and input output benefit the high bandwidth speeds that are provided by the flash storage. The 4GB DDR3 memory adapted in this notebook also enhances the speed hence making it easier to use large softwares claiming a big memory. A hard drive of 500GB ensures a big storage facility for the user to store all his documents and folders. Mac operating system especially the OS X Mountain Lion takes maximum advantage of the incredible technologies by apple. The OS makes the computer powerful, intuitive and easy to use. The OS also benefits the user by making it easy to organize, find, share and do just about anything needed. It also enhances compatibility with other apple devices such as iPhones, iPads and iPods which can all work together wonderfully. Mac Book Pro is suitable in accounting and finance management as there are several reliable accounting softwares compatible with the Mac OS for example: Moneydance, iFinance, YNAB and iCash. They can all help in tracking bank accounts, budgets and payments due. Some of these softwares also provide applications that can be used in iPhones and iPads so that one can have access to financial information anywhere. The best accounting software for a Mac Book is QuickBooks Mac which costs around $ 250. It has features that will enable the user to organize all the finances in one place, create professional invoices, receipts and other important documents in business transactions including tax

British literature with 3 choices for the topic Essay

British literature with 3 choices for the topic - Essay Example The natural world becomes, strangely, an unnatural and supernatural one inhabited by monsters. The terror of the unknown is common not just to the Norsemen, but to all men, and the intangible menace invoked by the supernatural reaches out of the text and grips the reader as well. Society in Beowulf has its core in the hall, not unsurprisingly called ‘Heorot’, meaning ‘heart’. The hall is surrounded by the hunter-gatherer village structure of women and huts, representing the outer periphery of society. Beyond lay the unknown – swamps and wilderness denoting the other, outer world where Grendel lives, unable to access Heorot and the social affection and bonding within. He can only watch from afar. The ‘Loathly Lady’ is a common motif found in literature extending back to Celtic and German mythology and Arthurian legend. The lady is portrayed as an ugly old hag a young and handsome knight has to consummate marriage with. When the deed is done, the crone is transformed into a beautiful, youthful maiden, who informs her husband that he can choose her to be beautiful and false or ugly and true. By letting his new wife make the decision herself, the knight frees her from the spell, and she is now fair and faithful. In the Irish tradition, the loathly lady has been thought to personify the sovereignty of the land, the parallel being that whoever submits to the prophetess kingmaker and her wishes will become the ruler of the land. The ‘lady’ is shown as different from the norm, both in the magical forms that she takes, as well as her behavior. Both Alysoun, in the prologue to The Wife of Baths Tale from Chaucers Canterbury Tales, as well as Dame Ragnelle in the tale itself, go against the accepted norms of society. Alysoun is much married and holds forth views on virginity, for instance, contrary to the established mores of the time. Ragnelle’s rude manners at the feast scandalizes all, but must be accepted as she is now wed to

Foreign Architecture in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Foreign Architecture in China - Essay Example The lack of traditional Chinese form in any specific region and the ability of architects to reform China's urban landscape using experimental designs are attractive to architects (Moller 2004 p 1). China's architectural designs since the 1950's have been built heavily from Western influences, and most of the urbanised architecture from 1950 to 1970 was inherently designed and constructed by Russian builders (Moller 2004 p 1). China's spending on construction ranks only behind the United States and Japan's and is growing the fastest of the top ten spenders, at 8-9 percent annually. Remarkably, given China's cultural pride, most of the highest-profile projects now underway in Beijing were designed by foreign celebrities (Economist ed 2004 p 63). The influx of foreign architects in Beijing has incited controversy amongst Chinese nationals. Zhou Ganzhi, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, says, "No other country has opened its architectural design market to the world as wide as China. The rise of pan-internationalism threatens the distinctiveness of Chinese cities, making architectural evaluation difficult" (Hong 2005 p 15). The general consensus amongst critics of ... Is the Distinctiveness of China Threatened The influx of foreign architects in Beijing has incited controversy amongst Chinese nationals. Zhou Ganzhi, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, says, "No other country has opened its architectural design market to the world as wide as China. The rise of pan-internationalism threatens the distinctiveness of Chinese cities, making architectural evaluation difficult" (Hong 2005 p 15). The general consensus amongst critics of foreign and Western architecture in Beijing, China is that it removes the traditional and regional identity. Yung Ho Chang, architect, states that Chinese and Asian cities have a "lack of clear traditional urban structures this introverted quality is at odds with a modern lifestyle and the openness demanded by a highly developed commercial society" (Moller 2004 p 1). China's biggest cities are struggling to balance modern design with their historical structures (Mcguigan, Lin-lui and Mooney 2003 p56). Wu Chen, a traditional Chinese architect states "Beijing has become an experimental site for foreign architects" (Hong 2005 p 14). Beijing has changed beyond recognition, losing the traditional Chinese forms and incorporating more global influences and talents who have been drawn to China in the building effort of Beijing officials (Mcguigan, Lin-lui and Mooney 2003 p56). Review of Relevant Literature Each resource in this research essay has been verified as either a foreign architect working in China, or a Chinese architect. For example, Xuefei Ren received a PhD at the University of Chicago and has published several texts on urban planning (Ren 2006 p 1) Web sites of the actual architects (verified by name, address and

Analyse the corporate governance statement of NewsCorp Essay

Analyse the corporate governance statement of NewsCorp - Essay Example With the help of the board which ought not have less than three members, it is expected that the director of the company hold office for only a year (NewsCorp 1). The director also needs to be elected through a majority vote and must enjoy their independence. Under the guideline of the corporate governance, NewsCorp indicates that board meetings are mandatory and reviews of the previous meetings must be done at all times (1). Executive sessions of the non-executive members of the board must also be held without the interference of the board members. Through the board meetings and headship, NewsCorp indicates that it becomes easy for the company to run its affairs (1). The board leader also feels free to manage the affairs of the company as an independent person; thus, effectual consultations and communication with the concerned stakeholders. It is also recommended that the members be keen whilst selecting their leader as leadership determines the kind of performance from the company. Additionally, the board is charged with the responsibility of coming up with various committees to assist the running of the company’s affairs. The committees include the Audit, the Nominating and Corporate Governance; and the Compensation Committees (NewsCorp 1). The committees involve independent directors who operate under Exchange Act and NASDAQ listing standards (NewsCorp 1). It is important to note that these committees have been given the mandate of retaining, deciding and terminating the fees by the consultants and other legal advisors based on their discretion. For instance the compensation & succession committee reviews on compensation issues of the CEO based on their performance as well as his/her compensation. This is done by assessing the potential of the existing members in the company, and who would be the best suitor in the company’s next management (NewsCorp 1). In terms of ethical standards of the company, the corporate governance does not hesitate t o specify its requirements from its members. NewsCorp indicates that the Board of Directors of the Company are keen to ensure that its members act in utmost integrity and respect to all employees in the company regardless of their affiliation (1). With the adoption of the Standards of Business Conduct, the board ensures that all the employees comply with the code of conduct. The company can therefore be argued to comply with the utmost standards of ethics. However, compliance with the ethics would not be achievable if the company did not have a chain of communication. The board then ensures that all the members have access to the ethics code and that they understand its contents well. For instance in relation to conflicts in the company, the members are aware of the procedures to follow, the same case applies in terms of property information and interaction with other persons such as government officials (NewsCorp 1). Employees are also conversant with what needs to be done in the e vent of harassment and safety of the workplace (NewsCorp 1). The CEO and financial officers are also not exempted from the code of conduct. Through its board, the Company felt the need for protecting its whistleblowers. However, stockholder communication has also been provided for, since it allows for effective communication with all the stakeholders of the company (NewsCorp 1). This

Employee -Employer Relationship and Expectations Essay

Employee -Employer Relationship and Expectations - Essay Example Even in the modern world where technology and machines have made lives easier for many, the need of human capital still persists because the common sense, creativity, problem solving skills and decision making abilities cannot be substituted by the automatic mechanics or computers. Therefore an efficient and effective interaction between the employers and employees leads to the success of the business (Buren & Greenwood, 2008). The smooth operation and organisational consistency greatly relies on setting the standard operating procedures which ensures that the working environment is safe and the work is carried out in the most -efficient manner. The SOP’s can be re-evaluated and re-established with a proper feedback from the employees. If the management has an open door policy, this can be an advantage in the betterment of the business because of the positive input of employees due to the natural free thinking. The feedback is analysed by the employees and is utilised in the b est way possible that helps the business without compromising its quality, consistency and reliability. This also improves on the decision making of the management. But, the employee- employer relationship is very critical. The both of employees and employers are different from each other and if these are not somehow met, it results in a conflict. EMPLOYEE – EMPLOYER RELATIONSHIP AND EXPECTATIONS: The relationship between an employer and its employees is not just based merely on economic terms, but it is much more than that. It is an important relationship that is based on mutual dependency and has a great impact on the working and progress of an overall organisation. A set of values and norms that are applicable on all members of the organisation members persists and must be followed. This makes the culture of an organisation that gives it a uniqueness and identification (Zientara, 2009). The workplace in professional life, is like a second home to an individual, so his job is an extremely valued possession that has an effect on a lot of factors. The relationships that an individual maintains at the workplace are different from those that are his personal, and therefore must be very carefully sustained. The employer-employee relationship is the most complicated one and each has a level of expectations from one another. There always has been and will always be an assured push and pull between the employers and employees that cannot be evaded. But if they work together with a mutual consent, they can come up to each other’s level (Zhang, Tsui, Song, Li, & Jia, 2008). Experts say that this tug of war between employer and employee helps to build the synergy vital for focused approach towards the collective goals of the organisation (Evanschitzky, Groening, Mittal, & Wunderlich, 2011). The organisation is a collection of numerous units working together collectively to achieve one goal; the organisations goal. Along the way, the employee tries to achi eve his/her goals be it experience, thirst for knowledge, or the never ending need to financial security while using the employees goal as a driving force the employers try to align these goals with the strategy of the organisation. Experts also say that this is the best way to make a winning solution, using the zeal and creativity of the employee, help them achieve their goals but align them according to the goals of the organisation. Why is it so necessary to align all the expectations and the goals together? Why does an organisation needs this synergy? The

PSY 475 Week 2 Learning Team Assignment Essay Example for Free

PSY 475 Week 2 Learning Team Assignment Essay Select in preparation for this assignment a psychological measure of depression, such as the Beck Depression Inventory or Children’s Depression Inventory. Obtain faculty approval of your selected measure prior to beginning this assignment. Individual portions due to the team forum by Friday. Please make sure a team member will be compiling the project and submitting it to the assignments link. Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word paper in which you analyze your selected psychological  measure. As a part of your analysis, address the following items: Using the University Library, the Internet, or other sources, select at least two scholarly journal articles that discuss the use of your selected psychological measure. Briefly summarize your selected articles, and compare and contrast their findings. Based on the analysis of your articles, discuss the use of your selected measure. Explain who is qualified to administer and interpret the  measure and the settings—such as occupational, academic, or counseling—in which it would be appropriate to use the measure. Differentiate between the populations for which your selected psychological measure is valid and invalid. To purchase this material click on below link http://www. assignmentcloud. com/PSY- 475/PSY-475-Week-2-Learning-Team- Assignment-Psychological-Measure-Paper For more classes visit http://www. assignmentcloud. com.

Science Investigatory Project Essay Example for Free

Science Investigatory Project Essay Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of vision. Many things from afar are cannot be seen by the naked eye. Unlike cameras, eyes don’t have the capacity to magnify or zoom. In today’s generation, many people call for the use of binoculars but not everyone can afford. Due to this problem, the researchers decided to conduct this study â€Å"Improvised Binoculars out of worn-out gadgets.† To seek an alternative and affordable binoculars. Binoculars are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects. Most are sized to be held using both hands, although sizes may vary from opera glasses to large pedestal mounted military model unlike a telescope, binoculars give users a 3 dimensional image: for nearer objects the two views, presented to each of the viewer’s eyes from slightly different viewpoints, produce a merged view with an impression of depth. Modern binoculars consist of two barrel chambers with an objective lens, eyepiece and a prism inside. The prisms reflect and lengthen the light while the objective lenses enhance and magnify images due to stereoscopic vision. As telescopes were improved, binoculars evolved. Binoculars consist of an objective lens and eyepiece with two facing, right angle prisms arranged to invert and correct two facing, right angle prisms arranged to invert and correct the orientation of the image. The applications of binoculars are vast, ranging from being used in military operations to leisure activities. A must for bird-watchers and hunters, bi noculars are even used at sporting events by spectators who may be seated far from the action, thus using binoculars to get clearer and closer views of the action. Many tourist destinations around the world also have swivel-mounted binoculars to allow tourists to get better views of distant objects. In professional situations, militaries use binoculars for day-to-day operations. Binoculars are essential for them as with the binoculars, the military personnel would be able to spot enemies at a distant and take the necessary action. Not only that, they can also safeguard their territory and prevent and intruders from coming in. Their use, together with sophisticated 21st century technology makes the military much more efficient than it previously was. Statement of the Problem The main purpose of the study is top produce a simple improvised binocular. The researchers aim to answer the following questions: a. What are the methods to be used in constructing simple prism binoculars? b. Are binoculars a good magnifier? c. Compare the improvised prism binocular with commercial binoculars. Hypotheses * Null Hypotheses (Ho) There is no significant difference between the images magnified on the improvised prism binoculars and that on the commercial binoculars. * Alternative Hypotheses (Ha) There is a significant difference between the images magnified on the improvised prism binoculars and that on the commercial binoculars. Significance of the Study Binoculars are a handheld optical instrument composed of two telescopes and a focusing device, and usually having a prism to increase magnifying ability. Binoculars are used to view distant objects using both eyes. The applications of binoculars are vast, ranging from being used in military operations to leisure activities. A must for bird-watchers and hunters, binoculars are even used at sporting events by spectators who may be seated far from the action, thus using binoculars to get clearer and closer views of the action. Many tourist destinations around the world also have swivel-mounted binoculars to allow tourists to get better views of distant objects. An example can be the Grand Canyon, where tourists would not be able to see far away objects, thus these binoculars have been installed for the convenience of the tourists. In professional situations, militaries use binoculars for day-to-day operations. Binoculars are essential for them as with the binoculars, the military person nel would be able to spot enemies at a distant and take the necessary action. Not only that, they can also safeguard their territory and prevent and intruders from coming in. This will give the researchers an idea of making improvised prism binoculars. Some consider cans, lenses from worn-out gadgets and caps of plastic bottles as waste and there is nothing to do with them. But these materials can be a good raw material that has the potential in making improvised binoculars, which will help to see distant objects, instead of buying those expensive binoculars. This is the reason why the researchers will make an improvised prism binocular. Scope and Delimitation This study will only focus on making improvised prism binoculars from gadgets that are no longer in use or worn out. This study will show the steps and the procedures to make simple prism binoculars and show the comparison between the said binoculars and the commercial ones. II. A. Review of Related Literature History of binoculars Almost from the invention of the telescope in 17th century the advantages of mounting two of them side by side for binocular vision seems to have been explored. Most early binoculars used Galilean optics; that is, they used a convex objective and a concave eyepiece lens. The Galilean design has the advantage of presenting an erect image but has a narrow field of view and is not capable of very high magnification. This type of construction is still used in very cheap models in and in opera glasses or theater glasses. The Galilean design is also used in low magnification binocular surgical and jewelers loupes because they can be very short and produce an upright image without extra or unordinary erecting optics, reducing expense and overall weight. They also have large exit pupils making centering less critical and the narrow field of view works well in those applications these are typically mounted on an eye-to-eye glass frame or custom-fit onto eye glasses. An improved image and high er magnification can be achieved in binoculars employing keplerian optics, where the image formed by the objective lens is viewed through a positive eyepiece lens (ocular). This configuration has the disadvantage that the image is inverted. Porro prism binoculars are named after Italian optician Ignazio Porro who patented this image erecting system in 1854 and later refined by makers like the Carl Zeiss Company in the 1890’s. Binoculars of this type use a porro prism in a double prism Z-shaped configuration to erect the image. This feature results in binoculars that are wide, with objective lenses that are well separated but offset from the eyepieces. Porro prism designs have the added benefit of folding the optical path so that the physical length of the binoculars is less than the focal length of the objective and wider spacing of the objectives give a better sensation of depth. Thus, the size of the binoculars is reduced. Binoculars using roof prisms may have appeared as early as the 1870’s in a design by Achille Victor Emile daubresse. Most roof prism binoculars use either the Abbe-Koenig prism (named after Ernst Karl Abbe and Albert Koenig and patented by Carl Zeiss in 1905) or Schmidt-Pechan prism (invented in 1899) designs to erect the image and fold the optical path. They have objective lenses that are approximately in line with the eyepieces. Binoculars tend to come in two main styles, the Roof Prism and the Porro Prism design, both have their unique advantages and disadvantages over each other and so often it will be down to your specific needs and preferences as to which you should choose. Roof Prism Binoculars one of the two main styles of binoculars is the Roof Prism (the other being Porro Prism), this refers to the type of prism used in their construction. In this design the prisms are aligned with each other in a straight line, and thus they tend to be sleeker and more compact binoculars than the Porro prism design. You can easily identify a roof prism binocular as the eyepieces and the large objective lenses line up with each other. Roof Prism Binoculars Advantages: * Compact Design * Less internal parts than porro prism design, so less to go wrong and easier to make dust and waterproof. Disadvantages: * The image quality of roof-prism binoculars can suffer slightly because of the aligned prisms, although the top models of the roof-prism and porro-prism binoculars are now generally considered to have equal optical quality. To be really good, roof prism binoculars have to be in the high price range. Do not attempt to economize on roof prism binoculars. * Good for Ideal general use binoculars that can be used for bird-watching, wildlife viewing and at sporting events. Porro Prism Binoculars It is easy to identify a Porro Prism binocular because the eyepieces and the objective lenses are offset from each other (objective lens is not in line with the ocular lens), this is because of the design of the prism (porro) used in its construction. Advantages: †¢ Porro prisms have objective lenses spaced wider than roof prisms, and so can produce a slightly better stereoscopic image than the roof prism design. †¢ Cheaper to make quality porro prisms than roof prisms so they tend to be cheaper to buy. Disadvantages: †¢ Less compact design than roof prism binoculars †¢ More moving parts, more to go wrong and harder to make fully water and dust proof. Good For Like the roof prisms, porro prism binoculars make perfect general use optics ideal for things like bird-watching, wildlife viewing and at sporting events. Review of Related Studies Creating Binoculars The prismatic telescope is an astronomical telescope plus a pair of prisms for erecting the image. The most common example of this type of construction is the binocular instrument. One half of a binocular is a monocular. Some telescopes are used for a specific purpose and are named accordingly. A typical example is a spotting scope, which is used to view the target in rifle shooting. Prisms: Prisms are polished, angular pieces of glass, the kind commonly used in telescopes being 45-45-90-deg. prisms. The long side is the face, while the two short sides are the reflecting surfaces. The size of the prism is the width of the face Made specifically for telescopes, the prisms are grooved across the face in order to make a definite dividing line and avoid ghost images which would be caused by overlapping rays at this point. The ends are usually rounded to conserve space. The prime advantage of the prism erecting system is compactness. It adds somewhat to the bulk of the instrument but shor tens the length considerably. The prism glass has an elusive quality of brilliance but actually the light loss through the two prisms is somewhat greater than through the two erecting lenses of a lens erecting system. The 23X prismatic spotting scope This design calls for a 20-in. focal length objective, which, with a 22-mm. focal length eyepiece (from Army 6X), gives 23-diameter magnification. Prisms are 1-in. face. The scope body is of wood construction in simple box form. The first prism, the one the light strikes first, is located in an upright position at the back of the box; the second prism is mounted flat on the box bottom. Plywood spacers hold the prisms in place and also provide for the passage of the cone of light admitted by the objective. The eyepiece is fitted in a threaded mount. This type of focusing is satisfactory at set distances but is much too slow for general use. If you want this scope for general observation, it should be fitted with spiral focusing like the 10X monocular to be described later. It would also be practical to focus with a simple draw tube system. The principal point of the construction is to get the various holes lined up square. Use prism center lines as a guide and locate all holes from one master pattern drawn on cardboard Base on which the floor flange is mounted pivots on a carriage bolt and is tilted by means of a tilting screw. Designing- prismatic telescopes Designing your own prismatic telescopes follows much the same procedure as used for astronomical and terrestrials. Primary consideration should be given the objective and eyepiece. The prisms contribute nothing to the magnification; therefore, the power you want must be obtained entirely by the ratio of FO to FE. Prisms should be of such a size or so located as to receive the full cone of light from the objective, although it is practical to sacrifice extreme edge rays. The layout (at top of drawing) is what you make to determine the size and location of prisms and also the general overall dimensions. In this example, the objective has a 52-mm. diameter by 193-mm. focal length (from Navy 7X binocular) and the prisms are 1-in. face (from Navy 7X). As used by the Navy, this glass has a 27-mm. eyepiece, which gives a magnification of 7 diameters. If you want higher magnification, you have to use a shorter focus eyepiece. The Army 6X binocular eyepiece, 22 mm, could be used and would giv e you 9X. The eyepiece shown uses an Army binocular eye lens, but a shorter focus field lens, the combination giving 20-mm. focus, hence, about 10X magnification. The preliminary calculation should determine the exit pupil and luminosity. This glass has excellent illumination at 92 percent. However, Don’t get the idea that the 13 percent rating of the 23X spotting scope is hopeless—13 percent is a good value for anything over 20X magnification. It is worth mentioning here that prism instruments are often rated for illumination on the basis of the exit pupil squared. Thus, if the scope has a 5-mm. exit pupil, it would be rated 25. Using this calculation, the 100 percent standard would be the normal size of the eye pupil, squared: 25 for daylight and 49 for night. Bench setup Set up the objective and focus on well-lighted copy or a bare light bulb, not less than 20 ft. from lens. Use tracing or waxed paper as a ground glass to pick up the image as in Fig. 49. Measure the distance from the rear side of the objective to the image plane. Start your layout and transfer this dimension to the layout. Next, put the two prisms face to face and move the assembly back and forth until you pick up a sharp image of the copy or light bulb. Measure the distance to the face of the first prism and set off this distance on your layout, now you will note that the distance the light travels through a 1-in. prism is 2 in., a total oX 4 in. for both prisms. Set off this distance, C, on your layout to establish the back image plane. Determine the image size. In this instance, the multiplying factor is .070, and this figure multiplied by the focal length of the lens (7% in.) gives .53 in. for the image size. Call this Ha in. for an even figure and mark the image size at the normal image plane and again at the back image plane, as indicated by L. Draw lines K and M representing the marginal rays and the full cone of light. Your prisms must catch the marginal rays K and also as much of the weaker edge rays as possible. The best way to determine prism-placement is to make -two 1 by 2-in. oblongs of cardboard or celluloid. Manipulate these over your layout. The forward edge of the first oblong represents the face of the first prism. You can tell at a glance how far forward you can push it and still pick up the marginal rays. The distance between the two oblongs is the spacing between the prisms. The distance between the back edge of the second oblong and the back image plane must be sufficient to permit focusing. What you finally arrive at in this case is D, %s-in. allowance for the distance the image plane will set inside the eyepiece tube; E, % in. for focusing travel; F, %-in. prism spaci ng; G, 2 in., the distance through the second prism; H, %-in. prism spacing again, coming back; I, 2 in. for the first prism, arriving at J,-the face of the first prism. This may sound complicated, but it is really very simple if you are actually on the job. If desired, you can now draw an outline of the prisms. This shows both prisms flat; the same way you test them in the bench setup. At this point J, it will be noted that the face of the prism catches all of the marginal rays and about halfway out to the lines representing the full cone of light. As mentioned before, it is practical to sacrifice some or all of the weak edge rays, so that this placement of the first prism face is quite satisfactory. What next? Well, you know that the maximum cone of light you can catch on the first prism is 1 in. in diameter at J, so lines drawn from here to image size at the back image plane will establish guide lines for hole diameters needed to pass this same cone of light back to the image pla ne. These lines are marked N in the drawing, and O, for example, shows the diameter of the hole at the back face of the second prism. If you want to use one or more glare stops ahead of the prisms, the hole diameters are determined in the same way, as at P. Monocular construction You will need two wood blocks exactly 1 in. thick to house the prisms. The Vs-ia spacing between prisms is taken up by a spacer of %-in. plywood, and similar plywood pieces are used at the back and front of the housing. The whole thing is glued up like a triple Decker sandwich, the prisms being held securely in the cutouts and between the various layers. Work carefully to prism center lines. Be sure that prisms are exactly at right angles since any rotation here will rotate your image twice as much. Prisms must be spotlessly clean and polished. The eyepiece tube is 1 in. in diameter, this size permitting it to work alongside No. 1 prism; Focusing is by means of a spiral groove cut half way across the eyepiece. Shows the monocular partly assembled and also shows how the turning which joins the main tube to the prism housing is cut away to fit over the second prism covered with a gray pebble-grain oilcloth. General notes Cut the main tube long when making any prism telescope. Check the final position of the objective by actually using the instrument; run the eyepiece in as far as it will go and then place the objective so that distant objects are in focus. Then the full focusing range is available e for picking up nearer objects. The 23X spotting scope £ will focus down to about 40 ft.; the 10X monocular to about 30 ft. or even 20 if you want to make it that way. If you use spiral focusing, it is necessary to know in advance how much you will need for focusing. This travel will be very short with a short focus lens, but much longer with a long focus objective. Allow % in. for lenses less than 10-in. focus; % in., up to 14-in. focus; 1% in. at 18 and 1% in. at 20. These allowances will let you focus down to 30 or 40 ft. in all cases, -possibly closer. When you make a bench setup at close range , remember that this represents the maximum extension of your telescope. If you make a bench setup by focusing on a distant object (this is advisable if you are using an objective of over 20-in. focal length) the setup will represent the telescope at its shortest draw. The Kellne r type of eyepiece gives best results with all prismatic instruments. The objective should always be a cemented achromat. If the lens is not cemented l^^^^^^^ M when you get it, you can dummy test it by cementing with glycerin. Final cementing should be done with Canadian balsam; i n a pinch you can use a good grade of water white (clear) lacquer. The diameter of the objective controls the luminosity of the telescope. The diameter of the objective does not control the field of view; except in the Galilean instrument, you can see just as much through, a small objective as a large one.

Evaluation Of The Things They Carried English Literature Essay

Evaluation Of The Things They Carried English Literature Essay We had witnessed something essential, something brand-new and profound, a piece of the world so startling there was not yet a name for it. The quote from OBrien talks about an approach to exploring the American involvement in the conflict in Vietnam and it suggests that much has been carried out of this war, if not by official governmental standards the lives of those who were intimately involved in the battles of the conflict. There exists a national tension surrounding conversations about war in the United States. The anxiety of these conversations arises from discussing the lack of official closure of the war, the motivations for beginning the war, as well as the domestic social turmoil of the period. The remarkable disparity between the official government reports and the narratives and memoirs of soldiers who fought in the war as evidenced by the quotes also contributes to the tension. How do we tell the history of a conflict that is either unremarkable or a fracture in the soci o-cultural evolution of the United States? The Vietnam War itself became a field of competing discourses. The struggle to maintain the American myth, the inability of the conflict to fit into traditional war history, media coverage, and the personal narratives from returning soldiers and personnel contributed to social turmoil surrounding the place of the war in history. Personal narratives not only faced disregard by the official discourse of the war but veterans also struggled with the form in which they could communicate these strikingly different war stories. In his novels of the Vietnam War, in particular the short story collection The Things They Carried, Tim OBrien explores the experiences of soldiers in war who are themselves seeking to tell such a story. During the war and later in life reflecting on their experiences, the characters are themselves looking to tell the history of the conflict as well as their own histories. This story combines memory, fiction an personal narrative in an attempt to address some of the most complicated questions arising from their involvement in the war. OBriens writing promotes a new rhetoric of the relationship between truth, language, and knowledge specific to the historical context of the Vietnam War. OBriens postmodern notions of truth and history-telling provide a framework for encouraging communication about the Vietnam War and its stories. In order to contextualize OBriens rhetoric, it is necessary to briefly examine his own history of story telling as well as the critical responses to his work. Operating from the assumptions of postmodernism, OBriens rhetoric defines truth subjectively and examines the relationship between language and knowledge in conveying that subjective truth. Ultimately, OBrien addresses the problem of communication. He explores how we communicate our experiences to ourselves, through memory, language, and imagination and then how these experiences are communicated to others. OBrien concludes that because there is no Truth in an objective sense, language as a referent is not sufficient for communicating or understanding personal experience. This problem combined with the national tension surrounding talk of the Vietnam War complicates discussion of both personal and national histories of this war. Oà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢Brien ties these two problems together in a rhetoric that, firmly rooted in a postmodern theory, acknowledges the impossibility of relating the Truth of the war. He instead manipulates what Nietzsche calls the human will to truth, narrative structure, and language itself to produce a new discourse for addressing individual and social histories of the Vietnam War. It is a narrative discourse that makes apparent the limitations of the traditional binary of truth and fiction by continuously calling into question the interpretive strategies of the reader, the author, and the text itself. OBrien reverses the hierarchy by placing fiction over truth. Employing a postmodern reading of the text, it is possible to see that rather than simply exploring how he can invert these universals, OBrien is questioning the way we think about these terms. Rather than the Platonic assumption that there is Truth and Fiction and we must differentiate no matter which one we prioritize, OBrien is how we think about what constitutes fact (truth) and fiction. Reading from the assumptions of postmodernism can suggest that what OBrien really does is create a rhetoric that functions to demolish the traditional notions of what constitutes Truth and fiction. OBrien explores our traditional understanding of these terms and suggests not that one is better than the other, but that they do not exist in concrete reality. Through the distrust of humans desire to know any Truth, the fragmentation of his narrative structure, and the questioning of the ability of language to communicate, OBrien uses the Vietnam War (an historical event) to suggest that by rewriting the way we understand what we mean by truth and fiction we can reclaim discourse on the Vietnam War that would be traditionally marginalized. It may be that although we cannot agree on one Truth out the history of the war that we can at least engage a discourse about the individual and national struggles with Vietnam. In the final story in The Things They Carried, Tim OBrien writes, The about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine to make spirits in the head (230). In this final story OBrien writes about the purpose of storytelling. The project of The Things They Carried is ultimately communication but it is communication in a postmodern sense. Deconstructing the binary of truth and fiction, OBrien wants to communicate what he calls story truth, his blend of memory, imagination, and language. Reading through OBriens own framework for story truth, we can see that The Things They Carried presents a rhetoric for reading the Vietnam War through experience and outside of the official discourse of the war. Ultimately, the question becomes one of communication. How can we communicate histories or experience to ourselves and to others? Tim OBriens postmodern rhetoric suggests that since there is no Truth, language as a referent is no longer sufficient. Discourse, even historical discourse, must be communicated in terms of story truth that manipulates language, context, and narrative structure in order to convey always shifting subjective interpretations. The turbulent social history of the Vietnam War has resulted in the large disparity between the official discourse and the unofficial knowledge and experience of the conflict. OBrien combines the problem of communication with the historical turmoil of the Vietnam War period in The Things They Carried to address both circumstances . He produces a narrative that makes apparent the limitations of dividing truth from fiction by continuously calling into question interpretive strategies of both the writing itself and the reader. OBriens rhetoric argues that although communication of objective truth is impossible, we must focus on maintaining discourse with and about the people and events surrounding Vietnam War. Arguing that social as well as personal histories are written through discourse, OBrien suggests that the most important function of discourse is the act of listening. He argues that stories can save lives by giving voice to individual subjects whose histories can be heard as part of the discourse of the war.

The History of American Home Products :: American Home Products Corporation Essays

The History of American Home Products   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Home Products Corporation (AHP) was founded in 1926 and has a history of continuous acquisitions of smaller companies that made proprietary medicines. In 1931, AHP purchased John Wyeth & Brother, Inc. from Harvard University. Another important acquisition was that of Canada’s Ayerst Laboratories in 1943. Ayerst was a large pharmaceutical company that had introduced Premarin, the world’s first conjugated estrogen product, and now the most widely prescribed product in the United States (ahp.com). In March of 1982, Sherwood Medical was acquired, enabling AHP to capture a share of the developing medical devices market. In 1984, Whitehall, an original member of AHP, started to market ibuprofen in the United States that was sold under the trademark Advil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lawyer John Stafford became CEO in 1986 and soon after he supervised the acquisition of Bristol-Meyer’s animal health division and assimilated the new business into Fort Dodge, now Fort Dodge Animal Health. In 1989, AHP bought A.H. Robins along with its popular consumer products, including Chap Stick, Dimetapp, and Robitussin. AHP and American Cyanamid merged in 1994 in a deal valued at $9.6 billion. AHP introduced many new products in 1996, including Redux and Pondimin (Phen-Phen), two weight-reduction drugs. These drugs were later pulled from the market because of links to serious health problems and lawsuits soon followed. When 1998 mega-merger plans with SmithKline Beecham and Monsanto collapsed, AHP settled for the acquisition of New Jersey based Solgar Vitamin and Herb Company for $425 million. It’s clear to see that AHP’s history is comprised of acquisitions in the desire to be the ultimate leader of the pharmaceutical industry. Marketing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Home Products has a suprisingly vast array of products. From women’s health care products to agricultural goods to animal health care products, AHP covers a variety of pharmaceutical needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wyeth-Ayerst’s research, products, and educational initiatives benefit millions of women. Premarin, the most widely prescribed medication in the United States, is a post-menopausal product that gained AHP notoriety when it was introduced in 1996. Wyeth-Ayerst also introduced Alesse in 1997, a low-dose oral contraceptive formulation that has become very popular in the birth control field.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wyeth-Ayerst also focused its research on cardiovascular therapies and mental health products. Its cardiovascular research concentrates on medication for diseases such as arrhythmia and hypertension. Their anti-arrhythmia franchise leads the U.S. market, reflecting Wyeth-Ayerst’s and AHP’s recognition of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia (Tardiff 114).

Grandparents House: A Home Away From Home Essay -- Descriptive Writin

Grandparents' House: A Home Away From Home As I approach the turn to my Grandparent's house, my stomach turns in anticipation of the sweet sugar cookie smell that awaits. I turn up the long narrow gravel road and park my car in front of their house. I step outside and a chilly little breeze bites at my cheeks. I take a deep breath and the sweet smell of burning cedar enters my nose. I look up to the chimney and see the gray puffs of smoke scatter as it hits the still winter air. I shut the car door and follow the sidewalk to the back door. I open the door and a child-like smile immediately spreads across my face. Before I can even get my shoes off, my grandma greets me with her usual warm hello. I smile back at her and ask what she's been up to. But I don't even need to ask, I can already smell the fresh bread thats been baking in the oven. I get up to go to the kitchen, and her pug, Mack, jumps up and tries to lick my hand. My grandma follows me into the kitchen to make some hot tea. I sit on the counter as my grandma makes the tea. Some of my best Christmas memories are of making cookies with my grandma in that very kitchen. We get our tea and go back to the dining room. I sit at the table and listen to my grandmas day. She tells me that her and grandpa finally got the Christmas tree up, and all of the decorations put on it, and that after lunch, grandpa is going outside to hang up all of the icicle lights. I set my tea down and go into the living room to check out the tree. She turns on the lights, and the tree lights up like the one in the Rockefeller Center. I take a closer look and am still able to pick out some ornaments I gave her when I was a little girl. My grandma co... ...ed right on over and latched onto the fence, only this time, it was operating in full force. Try as I might, I just couldn't let go. Finally, I was able to pull back my crispy black palm. Although my cousin never believed this ever happened, he figured if it did, if was pretty good payback for taking him to play with the horses. We go back inside and grandma already has some hot tea waiting for us. We sit in the living room and catch the end of the Bronco game. After its over, I figure I better head home. I stare at the Christmas tree as I walk back through the living room. Its just the beginning of December, and already I cant wait for Christmas to get here. I hug my grandparents and head out the door. As I slowly drive away, I continue to look at their house in my rearview mirror. I cant wait to come back tomorrow, to my home away from home.

My Brother Sam Is Dead :: essays research papers

In the novel, My Brother Sam is Dead, the author demonstrates the effects of war on families, on towns, and even on the children. The author makes it clear that war tears up families more than anything else. As a result of families getting ruined, it affects the children of the family, in this case, by making Tim grow up in a short amount of time. War affects towns, too. Soldiers, some from both sides, raid houses and kill people therefore splitting up towns and communities. War has many bad effects, just like Tim’s father said: â€Å"In war the dead pay the debts of the living.†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  War affects families more than anything else. An example of this is when Tim’s mother drinks rum a lot when she finds out that her husband and son are dead or are going to get killed. Once she starts to drink, she does not care about Tim or Sam. So in this case, war caused her to drink and it killed half of her family, both of which ruined the Meeker family. One of war’s worst by-products is ruining families. Even though war affects families the most, there are still other bad effects on children and on towns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second bad by-product of war is the effect on children. First, war sometimes kills children’s parents or older siblings, throwing their responsibility on to the younger children’s shoulders. The children will never have a normal life of playing with others because they are too busy taking care of things. In the novel, MBSID, Tim had to grow up fast. The reason for this is that his father got killed and his brother, Sam, got killed. So Tim had to do all of the man work around the tavern.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is one last main effect from war. It is the effect on towns and communities. It ruins towns and communities by ruining families and children. You can think of it as a link chain: the families and children are the links of the chain, and the town is the whole chain. If one family gets ruined, the link is gone, making it an incomplete chain or town.