Essay about Definition of Sustainability and a Good...

Today, by no means it is certain our society has the capacity to ensure that the nine billion people expected population on earth by 2050 would all be able to achieve a basic quality of life. The earth’s ecosystem is deteriorating and the climate is changing. We are consuming so much, and so quickly, that we are already living far beyond the earths capacity to support us. And yet, nearly a sixth of our fellow humans go to bed hungry each day: both an unnecessary tragedy and a source of social and political unrest. Meanwhile, our globalized world is more interconnected and volatile than ever, making us all more vulnerable. While sustainability is about the future of our society, for todays industries and businesses, it is also about†¦show more content†¦A corporate sustainability report is a periodic report published by companies to highlight achievements in meeting financial, environmental and social sustainability. STRUCTURE OF GOOD SUSTAINABILITY REPORT: Most of the corporate sustainability reports (CSRs) published are widely used as marketing tools that lack substantive data. Others are so data focused that reading through them requires a strong industrial understanding. The best reports are those that provide a balance of accessible, engaging text and comprehensive, material data presented in a well-designed format. A good report must include following elements: Transparency: It requires putting company’s information into the public domain. There is organizational inertia and a fear that additional data could reflect poorly on the organization. The other fear is that the information could in some way benefit the competition. As a result, many reporters take a shortcut by including superficial data rather than truly transparent information. Authenticity: Most companies have been so conditioned to portray themselves as perfect in the marketplace, that admitting to flaws and challenges is tremendously difficult. A sustainability report is not the place to portray perfection. Good reports acknowledge challenges and failures, provide context and communicate next steps. Stakeholder Engagement: A goodShow MoreRelatedPublic Discourse Surrounding Conceptions Of Sustainability Definitions And How That Impedes The Development Of A Sustainable Society1651 Words   |  7 Pages Public Discourse Surrounding Conceptions of Sustainability Definitions and how that Impedes the Development of a Sustainable Society Nicholas Dawson 9/14/2015 University of Southern Queensland Student Number: W0025726 â€Æ' The definition of sustainability varies widely depending on the context in which the concept of sustainability is used. As Herman Daly (1996) put it, â€Å"Sustainable development is a term that everyone likes, but nobody is sure of what it means. The term rose to the prominenceRead MoreThe Importance Of A Project Within A Community1320 Words   |  6 Pagesneed for healthcare support due to the lack of hospital close to the neiborghood. The mains priorities were to cut down or eliminate the waiting period at hospital and also reduce the travelling distance between the old community and the healthcare structure by adding additional health care centers that support the main hospitals by providing basic and daily healthcare needs. The site is within a lively community surrounded by all type of facilities more especially residential buildings (show map withRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility And Corporate Sustainability Essay1658 Words   |  7 PagesCorporate Social Responsibil ity Vs Corporate Sustainability in India: A case study on Aditya Birla Group Supriya Agarwal Abstract: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now a burning topic in India, which became prominent and most amplified in 2013 when companies were obligated to spend two percent of profit after tax in CSR activities set by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. Although, the concept of CSR is not new in India and has evolved and developed very well from hundredsRead MoreThe Oecd ( 2011, 103 ) Defines Social Capital As Being Network Together With Shared Norms, Values845 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstandings that facilitate co-operation within or among groups†. In realising this definition the OECD is promoting an ideal societal structure where family and friends are considered as offering value to the lives of others. Here, the term is concerned with the acquisition and perpetuation of a series of values and ethics that promote societal cultural norms. This approach is not dissimilar to the practice definition that is used by UK governmental departments; this includes the Office for NationalRead MoreImpact Of Sustainability On The Environment1715 Words   |  7 Pages‘Sustainability’, a word which everyone is coming across more often than ever before in today’s world. Yet, when it comes to defining and understanding this word, we observe various definitions and interpretations across people of various backgrounds. The question ‘What is sustainability?’ can be compared with the question ‘What is life?’. For some, life is a physical entity between birth and death, for others it the a non physical entity of way of living and so on. Similarly, Engineers, ArchitectsRead MoreMost Citizen Science Projects Take Place Outdoors Essay996 Words   |  4 Pagesnative materials and life situations outside the school should there be learned (p. 363). In 1955 Julian W. Smith, founder of the National Outdoor Education Project, made the connection between outdoor education and the school curriculum in his definition: Outdoor education means learning in and for the outdoors. It is a means of curriculum extension and enrichment through outdoor experiences (Hammerman, 1980, p. 33). Donaldson and Donaldson define outdoor education as, education in, aboutRead MoreRole Of Microfinance Institutions ( Mfis )1476 Words   |  6 Pagesfinancial system include: good corporate governance; effective marketing discipline; strong prudential regulation and supervision; accurate and reliable accounting financial reporting systems; a sound disclosure regimes and an appropriate savings deposit protection system. Corporate governance has been looked at and defined variedly by different scholars and practitioners. However they all have pointed to the same end, hence giving more of a consensus in the definition. Coleman and Nicholas-BiekpeRead MoreThe Triple Bottom Line Is A Global Authority On Corporate Social Responsibility And Sustainability1005 Words   |  5 PagesIf we were to ask 5 different people the definition of sustainability, we would receive 5 different answers. However, the triple bottom line is a typical concept used often when talking about the subject of susta inability within a business. John Elkinston, a global authority on corporate social responsibility and sustainability coined the phrase for the first time in his book ‘Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business’, in 1997. His argument was that the methods by whichRead MoreThe Concept Of Sustainable Development1638 Words   |  7 Pagesenvironment at the same time (Carter, 2007). 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For too long the main goal of western countries has been profit, ignoring the long list of benefits deriving from acting sustainable. The

Misery Essay - 1023 Words

Misery STORYMAP 1. Sidewinder Colorado- Paul Sheldon, a novelist that has been writing a series about a character named Misery Chastain. Got in a car wreck on the icy streets in sidewinder. He got in the accident from being drunk because of the celebration he had after completing the series. Paul shatters both of his legs, dislocates his pelvis and crushes one of his knees. There he rolls off the side of the road and is knocked un-conscious. This is very important to the character because this makes him very vulnerable to his â€Å"number one fan† Anne Wilkes who holds him in her house and won’t let him go. The event starts the conflict of the story. 2. Farmhouse- In the secluded, snowy forest Paul Sheldon wakes up in a†¦show more content†¦4. Paul’s bed- Paul cannot move his legs or waist with ought feeling excruciating pain. So he has to lay in the bad for about three or four months before he can actually try to escape. This is a very important place because if he did not stay in bed so long to heal, then he couldn’t have time to think of his escape. Also Paul wouldn’t be able to leave the house with all of his injuries. 5. The attempt for an escape- this is one of the best parts of the story because this is where Paul tries to leave the house for the first time. When Anne leaves to go shopping in town about four miles away Paul tries to make a crawl for the exit. His legs aren’t healed yet but they are okay enough for him to drag them with ought feeling a lot of pain. First he slides out of the bed onto the floor. Next he slides himself to the edge of the stairs and crawls down to the first floor of this two-story house. Once he makes it to the kitchen door to escape, Anne is pulling up in the driveway. In panic he crawls back up stairs and into his bed. This is important because it brings us to the next painful event in Paul’s life. 6. Bone crunching- When Anne gets inside, she walks up to see how Paul is doing. But there is a penguin statue that he bumped into on his way upstairs and turned it so it faced south. Anne remembered that it faced north and she knew Paul had tried to leave. Once Anne got in the room she saw that Paul was panting andShow MoreRelatedBound to the Barriers of Fatal Fascination - Misery by Stephen King719 Words   |  3 Pagesutter and blatant madness, and eventually becomes the destruction of themselves and others. In the novel Misery by Stephen King, the mental instability of Annie Wilkes and the imprisonment of Paul Sheldon shows how obsession can lead to the destruction of others. Paul Sheldon was an author famous for his many books about an 18th century woman named Misery Chastain. The last book of the Misery novels concluded in Paul’s celebratory drinking because he was finally free from writing about the same characterRead MoreThe, Misery, By Richard Farnsworth As Buster, And Frances Sternhagen As A Major Car Wreck1388 Words   |  6 Pageskidnapped by your number one fan. Starring Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes, James Caan as Paul Sheldon, Richard Farnsworth as Buster, and Frances Sternhagen as Virginia, Misery is a psychological thriller produced and directed by Rob Reiner. In this 1990 psychological thriller film you will experience thrill, action, suspense, despair and misery, all powered by composer Marc Shaiman and his use of music to set the mood for the audience. Films and movies are a composition of elements that make that essentiallyRead MoreStephen King s Personal Experience2142 Words   |  9 Pagesmom in Hearts, she told King that he can’t go to Vietnam. He can’t write if he’s dead (On Writing, 58). King uses his battles with alcoholism and drug abuse to develop the characters Jack Torrance and Paul Sheldon (both writers) in The Shining and Misery. Jack is trying to finish his writing at the Outlook and struggles to keep from drinking. It’s been a year since he was fired in New Hampshire, months before he would have attained tenure. He keeps asking himself how things had gotten so wrong. HeRead MoreA Life Of Misery Becomes Misery As Literature1859 Words   |  8 Pages A Life of Misery Becomes Misery as Literature: The Influence of Edgar Allan Poe Stefan de la Cotera Ms. Lee; Cubby E12 AP American Lit. Lang. Period 8 April 2015 A Life of Misery becomes Misery as Literature: The Influence of Edgar Allan Poe Dark, haunting, and eerie novels don’t sound like the staple for a famous American Novelist, but Edgar Allan Poe helped change American literature as it is by centering his novels, short stories, and poems around these points. Edgar AllanRead MoreAnalysis Of Man Made Misery747 Words   |  3 Pagesforever with this person, nobody can tear you guys apart, right? Time can tear you guys apart. â€Å"Man-Made Misery† argued that you couldn’t find happiness after a break up, I disagree with this because even though you may never feel like you can love again after that person, you will become stronger and be able to hold up the weigh tin your heart. It might feel like you In the essay â€Å"Man Made Misery† Thomas writes about how he thinks he may never find happiness with anybody else other than his ex-girlfriendRead MoreAnalysis Of Anton Chekhov s Misery906 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"If Iona’s heart were to burst and his misery to flow out, it would flood the whole world† (Chekhov). Misery isn’t something that a person is born with, neither is it something that develops out of the ordinary. Instead, misery is established through past life experiences. It is the product of grief, suffering, loneliness, frustration, or even hopelessness. These causes are fundamental elements in Anton Chekhov’s short story, â€Å"Misery.† In â€Å"Misery,† Chekhov illustrates grief, man’s inhumanity to manRead MoreEssay about The Misery of Wealth619 Words   |  3 Pageswe were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did † (Dickens 291). Many people believe that having money auto matically gives happiness. However, reality has proven that money only ever allows people to choose a form of misery. Flawlessly, Dickens creates a novel that utterly captures this theme. Great Expectations expresses the theme â€Å"money does not bring happiness†; Dickens perfectly demonstrates this idea through the eccentric Miss Havisham and the self-centered Mr.Read MoreFrank Mccourt and the Value of Misery1061 Words   |  5 Pageshim down. Frank chose happiness over morality and became happy and free. Moreover, in the end, he proved not only to be a success but ultimately more moral than anyone or anything else described in the book. All of his misery was valuable to him because it is the misery that made him want to make his own way of life. Indeed, if he had a better life growing up, he would not have desired to change his system of living. He decided to follow what made him feel good because surely the life he wasRead MoreEssay on The Underground Mans Desire for Misery944 Words   |  4 PagesIf he were to find himself in the position of Joseph K. in Kafkas The Trial, he would likely be contentedly miserable. He would not be happy as such, but the misery would feel familiarly comfortable to him. The Underground Man would respond to the corrupt trial by finding it as an outlet for him to exercise his self-loathing misery that he feels is the ideal state for all conscious and educated men. In chapter VIII of Underground the Underground Man asks of his imaginary audience, WhoRead MoreShort Story - Life Of Misery-1005 Words   |  5 Pages - Life of Misery- â€Å"Mary! Hurry up!† my mom yelled to me from the car. I did not want to leave, I did not want to leave my former house. I hated my mom at that time, well I hated her since she let my father killed my little sister Carrie, and when she abandoned me, I hated her even more, and then five years later she sent her new husband to the orphanage begging for me to have mercy on her, I will never forgive her. My father Sylar killed my little sister Carrie because he was

Do Schools Kill Creativity free essay sample

When we were children, the world around us was derived by curiosity and exploration. By learning, we found satisfaction in our desires that no other activity could fulfill. Our imaginations were the basis of our childhood, allowing us to play, do schoolwork, build friendships, learn to do tasks, solve problems and eventually allowed us to see things from different perspectives. Now, as functioning adults, we look at children with an admiration for their ability to use their minds in such a manner. Why must we look up to them for it? Is it because we have forgotten how to use our creative minds? Why is it that we must admire them, rather than join them in creative thinking? Sir Ken Robinson explains that rather than promoting creativity, schools kill it so that it is almost entirely gone by the time we become adults. In his TED argument presented in 2006, Robinson argues that â€Å"Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status. † He uses argumentative techniques throughout his presentation to create a strong base and convincing plea. Former professor at the University of Warwick in the UK, now a professor emeritus, Sir Ken Robinson, PhD â€Å"†¦is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources in education and in business†¦ In 2011 he was listed as ‘one of the world’s elite thinkers on creativity and innovation’ by Fast Company magazine, and was ranked among the Thinkers50 list of the world’s top business thought leaders.† (Robinson) During his TED speech, Robinson expresses that children are born without the fear of being wrong. He discusses that everyone is born creative, but schools educated children out of their creative capacities. He argues that public schools around the world emphasize on forming left-brained students in order to meet the needs of industrialism. Students are rewarded for academic talents, but rarely for talents in areas such as music and the arts. He explains the hierarchy of subjects in education, beginning at the top with mathematics and languages, followed by humanities and at the bottom are the arts. Sir Robinson desires to incorporate creativity into today’s education. Robinson immediately captures the attention of the audience by discussing the general attitude towards educators in a humorous manner. He explains that all people have an interest in education, it goes deep with people the same way religion and money does. By following this with the idea that education  takes society into the future, he states that the children entering school in 2006 will not be retired until 2065. He explains that â€Å"nobody has a clue†¦ what the world will look like in five years’ time, yet we’re supposed to be educating children for it. So the unpredictability, I think, is extraordinary,† which led into the argument that â€Å"kids have tremendous talents, and we squander them, pretty ruthlessly.† Not only did he capture the attention of the audience with his comedic strategy but Robinson was able to keep the attention of the audience by using bold statements that made the audience ponder and develop a curiosity towards his topic. Robinson did not use any visual media such as slideshows or images, but his oral techniques were impeccable. He used humor often, which created a memorable piece and made the audience feel more comfortable. Robinson also included light hearted stories in order to create a connection with the audience and related all of these stories to his topic extremely efficiently. By giving the audience the leeway to laugh and joke, he allows the audience to interact. These are all a crucial element of oral arguments (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz, and Walters 346). Robinson uses repetition and signposts simultaneously and effectively. Over the duration of his presentation, Robinson would begin a point by telling the audience a brief story from his own life and experience, following it with a strong point in relation to his argument, soon going into a deeper explanation of his point. This cycle repeated for the duration of his entire presentation. For example, Robinson told a story about his family’s move from Stratford to Los Angeles. This story included personal information about his own life, but was in relation to his argument when he said â€Å"Something strikes you when you move to America and when you travel the world: every education system on earth has the same hierarchy of subjects.† This statement was a transition into his discussion of hierarchy in not only subjects, but also within the arts and it led him into the discussion of children being trained to only use the left side of their brain. He would then lead into a different story and repeat. Robinson leads into his closing statement by revealing his solutions to the issue of killing creativity in schools. This leads to describing that the gift of imagination must be used wisely. Not only should people appreciate the  beauty of a child’s creative mind, but to educate them for a future that they will be in control of and make something of. This makes the audience realize that today’s children will be the leaders of our future, and nourishing their minds will lead to a successful adulthood. This makes the audience want to take action and apply the given strategies to their own life. By previously providing solutions to the issue and using a strong ending, the audience is motivated to fix this issue. As a person going into the field of education, this topic struck me with a lot of interest. When Robinson discussed the way we are conditioned to be afraid of being wrong, I realized that he was completely correct. There are countless times where I have found myself not questioning anything during a math lesson in fear of sounding stupid in front of my peers, rather I’d wait until my question was hopefully answered, and if it was not I would find myself even more confused. Also, as Robinson says, society does emphasize on academic success and seems to forget about things such as the arts. Although it would help if schools rewarded creative thinking, it cannot end at the school level. Rewards for creative thinking must be incorporated into all parts of society. As children, the power of curiosity and exploration controlled our lives. The emphasis on academic success and ignoring success in the arts turns open minded thinkers such as children into left brained adults. Robinson’s TED talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity? emphasizes on this with a use of argumentative techniques and structure, which assist in making his presentation strong and convincing along with memorable and distinguishable.

Question # 1 Essays - Fast Food, Fast Food Restaurant, McDonalds

Question # 1: Describe at least 5 ( five) American Marketing Techniques, utilized by Russians that you believe enhanced the productivity of the enterprise. 1. McDonalds in Russia was a joint Canadian-Russian venture, in which the appointed president was a Russian person. It was done first of all because Russian businessmen know all the specific aspects of doing business in Russia, and second of all in order to show the public that Russians play a major role in this venture. 2. Moscow was chosen for its favorable location and for being the capital-cultural center of Russia, where people are more informed and educated. 3. The opening of the first McDonalds in Russia was greatly advertised and promoted, not only by local media, but also by the biggest national and world media. Many world reporters were invited to the grand-opening of McDonalds so that they could show this event in a favorable way to the company. 4. At the grand opening orphans and children were served first and free. 5. Many high positioned officials from city and national government, and other celebrities took part in the opening. 6. Despite its foreign belonging McDonalds accepted only national Russian currency, Rubles. Question #2: Identify and describe at least 5 (five) obstacles or problems on a corporate level, and how they were solved and overcome. 1. Production problems. There was no manufacturer or producer in Russia who could produce products needed for the business. One of the solutions was to bring all the products from different countries, but that would be too expensive, so the management decided to build a huge food processing plant size of 3 football fields in order to produce all needed products under one roof, instead of shipping it from somewhere else. 2. Lack of Trust. At that time (we are talking about the end of Cold War) there was a great lack of trust between Russian and Canadian partners. That problem had to be overcome by establishing a good and friendly personal relationship between top executives of both sides. 3. Technology problem. Despite its status as a Super- Power, Russia was far behind United States and Canada in technological development. All the equipment for the restaurant had to be brought from outside of the country, even the equipment for the food processing plant. 4. Political problem. Not every Russian political leader would understand the opening of a representative of not long ago hated "capitalism system" in the heart of Russia. The management had work closely on the McDonalds' s image in Russia. They had to introduce their restaurant not as a "Capitalism" intruder, but as a business that will serve people's needs when they are in hurry. 5. No local managers. There were no local people who could qualify for the manager's position, so McDonalds had to hire a few Russian men and send them to Canada, where they would learn all necessary skills. 6. Hiring employees. When McDonalds first announced its plans to hire new employees, they started receiving thousands of applications every day. They had to find, select and interview lots of people, in order to hire best possible candidates. 7. Harsh Russian Winter. As we all know, winter in Russia can be very cold, so McDonalds Corp. had to establish supply of ingredients for their products from the companies, which do not depend on weather conditions. Some of the supplies were produced by local farms, and some had to be imported.j 8. Communicational problems. Despite its size, Moskow did not have any phone books, or business directories, this made it very hard for company to find or locate anything or anybody in capital of Russia. It was also very hard to establish good communication between McDonalds in Moskow and its executives in Canada. 9. Ingredients problems. Some of the ingredients that McDonalds uses ( such as potatoes) could not be produced by local farmers. Russian potatoes were to big in size, and could not be used to make a french fries. McDonalds had to ship potato seeds from Europe to reproduce them in Russia Question #3 Do you believe that McDonalds will succeed in a long term in Moskow? Answer: It has been ten years since McDonalds opened its restaurant in Moskow, and so far it has proved its ability to do a profitable business in Russia. However,

Free Essays on Journal Entry Summeries On Viagra

One of the most prominent drugs to come out in the last ten years was Viagra. Viagra is used to help in a problem known as ‘Erectile Dysfunction.† Both the term and drug have become a commonplace in today’s society. What once was an embarrassing topic that many people were ashamed of, is now an open part of our culture. It centers around a males personal problem, yet affects womens lives as well. The drug has helped many people admit and then cope with the intimate problem. According to an article written by Siegfried E. Drewes , Jacob George, and Fatima Khan, Goldstein defined erectile dysfunction as â€Å"a consistent inability to get or keep an erection that is satisfactory for sexual performance.† This drug opened the eyes of todays society and gave individuals the power to not only control their personal problems, but also discuss them in an open way. In this article, titled â€Å"Recent Findings on Natural Products with Erectile Dysfunction Activity†, the different ways to decrease erectile dysfunction are discussed. Viagra, which has been the most prominent drug of its kind, is a prescription which â€Å"causes the smooth muscle cells around the penis to relax, leading to dilation and increased influx of blood into the penile tissue.† Alone with viagra, there are many other products which are used to help erectile dysfunction. Dehydroepiandrosterone, Yohimbnie, L-Citrulline Forskolin are different types of natural product s. While some findings show similar conclusions to the effects of viagra some of these products actually go above and beyond and also improve sexual stamina and performance. This article also discusses some of the â€Å"undesirable side effects such as hypertension.† The research conducted in this article shows the chemical makeup of the different compounds and combinations of products used to help erectile dysfunction. The main conclusion that these authors found is quite ground breaking. It is explai... Free Essays on Journal Entry Summeries On Viagra Free Essays on Journal Entry Summeries On Viagra One of the most prominent drugs to come out in the last ten years was Viagra. Viagra is used to help in a problem known as ‘Erectile Dysfunction.† Both the term and drug have become a commonplace in today’s society. What once was an embarrassing topic that many people were ashamed of, is now an open part of our culture. It centers around a males personal problem, yet affects womens lives as well. The drug has helped many people admit and then cope with the intimate problem. According to an article written by Siegfried E. Drewes , Jacob George, and Fatima Khan, Goldstein defined erectile dysfunction as â€Å"a consistent inability to get or keep an erection that is satisfactory for sexual performance.† This drug opened the eyes of todays society and gave individuals the power to not only control their personal problems, but also discuss them in an open way. In this article, titled â€Å"Recent Findings on Natural Products with Erectile Dysfunction Activity†, the different ways to decrease erectile dysfunction are discussed. Viagra, which has been the most prominent drug of its kind, is a prescription which â€Å"causes the smooth muscle cells around the penis to relax, leading to dilation and increased influx of blood into the penile tissue.† Alone with viagra, there are many other products which are used to help erectile dysfunction. Dehydroepiandrosterone, Yohimbnie, L-Citrulline Forskolin are different types of natural product s. While some findings show similar conclusions to the effects of viagra some of these products actually go above and beyond and also improve sexual stamina and performance. This article also discusses some of the â€Å"undesirable side effects such as hypertension.† The research conducted in this article shows the chemical makeup of the different compounds and combinations of products used to help erectile dysfunction. The main conclusion that these authors found is quite ground breaking. It is explai...

Bob McDonnell essays

Bob McDonnell essays Bob McDonnell is running for Attorney General in 2005. He will, if elected, be replacing Jerry Kilgore, a fellow Republican. Mr. McDonnell served for twenty-one years in the United States Army in active duty as well as the reserves retiring at the rank of Lt. Colonel. He has served in the House of Delegates as a representative from Virginia Beach for thirteen years. Paul and I got there about ten minutes late but luckily nothing had happened yet. We noticed the news camera there, which left halfway through his speech. We all got signs with his name on it and below his name Republican appeared. Why is this necessary? I do not think that it should matter what party a candidate is in instead they should be judged upon the issues at hand. All it does is perpetuate a two party system in which many people are not really heard. They just vote for the lesser of two evils. Of course there are many people that full heartedly support candidates. This is one of the reasons that we have such a low voting rate in this country. Before Bob got to the podium two other people stood up there and rambled for a few minutes on how great of a guy he is. He started off by talking of the founding fathers saying George Washington is his hero. Then he spoke of the rising meth usage in southwest Virginia saying that he wants to raise mandatory minimum sentences. Later in his speech he said that he wanted to give judges more sentencing options in cases involving juveniles. This seemed slightly contradictory to me. He wants to bind judges hands in one area but allow them more leeway in another. Personally I am against mandatory minimum sentences as it does not allow a judge to look at a case and make and appropriate decision with the sentencing given different circumstances. Especially in the realm of drug enforcement when too often people are charged with intent to distribute because they have a certain amount of the drug. Distribution was ...

What are the benefits to an advertiser of TV instead of print Essay

What are the benefits to an advertiser of TV instead of print - Essay Example The three traditional media platforms — radio, print and television — in addition to the emerging powerhouse, the Internet, are all effective marketing and advertising tools. This paper will examine some of the benefits in two-way comparisons. Their respective unique benefits for advertisers are primarily anchored on their own publics - their audience, listeners and viewers. These differentiated populations will explain why one is better than the others. Of course, this variable is in addition to other factors as well, including the manner in which contents are delivered. This paper will examine some of the benefits in two-way comparisons. TV vs. Print Advertisers will prefer television than newspapers and magazines fundamentally because television can broadcast moving pictures, hence, is more effective platform to market products. According to Hansen and Christensen, television has more emotional impact as evidenced by how most people remember TV advertisements than th ose placed in other media (279). In addition, television viewership can surpass print subscriptions. Statistics show, for instance, that 99 percent of the American household own at least one television (Herr). Print readership, on the other hand, is declining in the past years. For example, newspaper subscription has dropped 8.74 percent in 2010, placing the overall readership to less than 100 million (discounting readership of their online versions) (Lefkow 2010). Advertisers are increasingly becoming aware of this and, as a response, they are now purchasing advertising space in newspapers that are decentralized and specialized, meaning to reach their intended market more effectively (Cranberg, Bezanson and Soloski, 130). The decline in readership has led to the downtrend in newspaper advertising revenue as demonstrated in the following table: Table 1: Newspaper Ad Revenue (OECD, 60) Radio and TV Although radio appears to be ineffective in advertising in comparison to other traditi onal media the case is actually the opposite. Radio holds significant advantage over TV in the eyes of advertisers. Shimp outlined these as: 1) the ability to reach segmented audiences; 2) intimacy; 3) economy; 4) short lead times; 5) easy transfer of imagery from television; and, 5) the use of local personalities (372). To explain of these advantages in detail, let us consider the "intimacy" variable. Unlike television, radio is a platform that people feel closer to because they can identify with it. Radio advertising, wrote Shimp, is a personal and intimate form of friendly persuasion that has potential to increase consumers' engagement with advertisement placement in the medium (273). Then, there is also the ease by which television content could be transformed into radio broadcast. An ad can be both aired on TV and radio without any major tweaking. Even without the visuals, consumers can identify the ad and recall what is seen previously on TV. A case in point is how Pizza Hut r elies heavily on radio to leverage its TV ad spots. For instance, Garfield, the popular cartoon character, was easily transported from TV to radio ads with his personal, entertaining and informative message sandwiched between music beds that featured Pizza Hut’s one-number jingle† (Weinberger, Campbell and Brody 1994, 133). Internet over Traditional Media? Technology is actually the biggest advantage of the Internet over each platform of the traditional media. DSL, cable, broadband, satellite, etc. - these technologies have enabled millions upon millions of users to access information at the speed and convenience never before seen. For advertisers the Internet is important because of the number of users available. More important, however, is the kind of "intelligent" advertising allowed by high-technology. For instance, softwares, applications and databases can enable advertisers to find and communicate with specific target markets. The idea is

The world trade organization - is it a positive influence on the world Term Paper

The world trade organization - is it a positive influence on the world economy - Term Paper Example Decisions in the WTO are normally made through negotiation among all of its members and they are approved by the member countries’ legislatures.1 Trade conflict is handled through the dispute settlement system of the WTO where the emphasis is on making sure that trade policies of member countries comply with agreements. This paper argues that the WTO is a positive influence on the world economy. By loosening trade restrictions, the WTO also eliminates other boundaries between countries and peoples. At the core of the WTO—called the multilateral trading system-- are the treatises, discussed and approved by most of the world’s trading countries, and signed in their legislative bodies. These treatises are the legal protocols for global trade.2 Basically, they are agreements, granting member countries major trade privileges. They also oblige these countries to conform to agreed trade rules to the benefit of everyone. The recent years have been very unstable and turbu lent. Stock prices have plummeted, the financial sector has crashed, important commodities like oil have dropped severely and inflationary demands have become deflationary problems. The prospects since 2009 appear bleak, as the global economy is declining, the population of unemployed is growing, trade levels are dropping, and nobody is sure when the financial havoc will end.3 Global production is dwindling as rapidly as demand is declining and foreign direct investment keeps on dropping. In spite of some common declarations from world leaders about the threats of protectionism, it is actually rising in several nations, while public approval for trade liberalization is negligible among others.4 In such an environment, the issue should be raised whether trade liberalization remains vital. The financial crisis clearly appears to be the more urgent concern, and trade has gradually recovered since the system of loosening trade barriers started with the establishment of the General Agree ment on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) after the Second World War.5 Since its establishment, the WTO has carried on with the process of trade liberalization, and broadened the directive of the earlier GATT administration to include other trade-based issues, like intellectual property. Abolishing the WTO would be unreasonable. Trade policy is still essential, and it can serve a vital function in boosting the recovery of the world economy. The formation of the WTO reformed many of the original weaknesses of the GATT and created a strong institutional foundation from which the system of international trade could develop. The WTO had several accomplishments, such as China’s accession in 2001, and it is still one of the most important international agencies.6 The Economic Advantages of the WTO Distributive principles and efficiency concerns are generally shown as being in disagreement. Yet, they should not be. Making sure that every party gains from the liberalization of trade is ration al from the point of view of economics. Enhanced trade heightens general wealth. Hence enhancing the production and consumption capacity of the poorest nations will result in greater boosts in general wealth. If distributing the wealth will strengthen trade liberalization, this is to the benefit of the nations that are already the frontrunners.7 Moreover, to the point the gains of trade are distributed, nations that would not have gained will have assets to use in the markets of other member countries and to improve the capacity of

A Streetcar Named Desire Film Analysis Essay Example for Free

A Streetcar Named Desire Film Analysis Essay These actors take on the difficult task of bringing two complex, emotional characters onto the silver screen. With spot-on reactions to each others theatrical advances, the pair create an experience that is both enjoyable and expressively coherant. Vivian Leigh was cast for the role of Blanch DuBois for various reasons. She was white, slender, beautiful and had already acted in several other films. Tennessee Williams, the author of the original play, saw Leighs performances in plays such as â€Å"The School for Scandal† and â€Å"Antigone†, and decided that she was perfect for the role. All that Leigh needed to change was the color of her hair, which was originally black. Leigh does a splendid job of portraying Blanches ascending insanity by seamlessly transitioning from melodramatic anguish into her signature faux semblants, or pretense. An example of this is the scene where Blanche sits alone in Stellas apartment crying until a delivery man comes to the door. Blanche is then quickly transformed into a mysterious temptress who seduces the young man into kissing her. Leighs uncommon ability to switch from such extreme emotions brings a refreshing distinction to the film. Blanches eccentric and offbeat personality requires a talented actress to be be fully realized. Leighs acting style works well with the other actors, and expresses a coherence so profound that one might often forget that she is acting. The role of Harold Mitchell was one that needed to be fulfilled in order for the script to make sense. Mitch is described as being two hundred and seven pounds, six foot one and having â€Å"a massive bone structure†. His physique is an important aspect of his character, thus making it imperative for the actor to meet these conditions to be casted for the role. Karl Malden is tall and bulky, with a large nose and a receding hairline. These traits accenuate Mitchs awkward demeanor and informs the audience of how lonely he is without him having to say it. Malden also shares Leighs ability to transition between emotional extremes. For instance, in the beginning of the scene where Mitch confronts Blanche about her lies, he is silent. Though after hearing more of her absurd grip on reality, he snaps into an aggressive brute who pins Blanche to the wall. Maldens on-screen chemistry with Leigh is apparent throughout the film, and is believable the entire time. Vivian Leigh and Karl Maldens performances perfectly depicted the tragic twosome that is Blanche and Mitch. With Leighs seamless transitions of polar-opposite emotions and Maldens angry yet passsionate fits of rage, the two give what are easily the best performances of the film. From their intriguing introductionto their dreadful departure, no purer chemistry has been captured so passionately.

Computers and Homeland Security Essay -- Terrorist Terrorism September

Computers and Homeland Security After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 security became a major concern for citizens and of course lawmakers. Unsure of what could happen next we were all afraid. Homeland Security encompasses policies, laws, organizations, and procedures designed to protect the rights and freedoms inherent in the US Constitution. Homeland defense which is sometime interchanged with Homeland Security deals with extra-territorial threats and preemptive operations (Parons & Oja, 51). Governments in many countries are devoting significant resources to combat this growing threat. In the United Stats, the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS is responsible for reducing America?s vulnerability to terrorism and leading a unified national effort to prevent terrorist attacks on American citizens and assets. The DHS mission statement is: ?We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats an d hazards to the nation. We will ensure safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote free-slow of commerce? (www.dhs.gov). Technology is a key component of DHS. A part of the PROTECT system uses a computer program to depict the dispersion of toxic materials. On October 26, 2001 the President of the United States signed the Patriot Act, which was designed to define terrorist activities and provide la enforcement officials with legal tools for finding, catching, and prosecuted terrorists (Parons & Oja, 51). Computer systems assist efforts to identify terrorists among the millions of people who travel into and within U.S. borders. Terrorists might use cell hones or e-mail t... ...ments and have become more sophisticated at this task thanks to research for ordinary text-to speech and voice recognition technologies. Computers are a huge part of homeland security, without them we would all be at a greater risk for terrorism. Computers are prominent in each and every one of our lives, and they help us in many ways. Works Cited Arnone, Michael. "Internet security 'back to the Stone Age'." 22 Nov. 2005. 30 Nov. 2005 . "DHS Organization." Department of Homeland Security. DHS. 12 Nov. 2005 . National Security Agency Central Security Sevice. National Security Agency. 12 Nov. 2005 . United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team. US-CERT. 12 Nov. 2005 .

Deception Point Page 41

Making the raging river of air even more unnerving to Tolland was the slight downwind grade of the ice shelf. The ice was sloped ever so slightly toward the ocean, two miles away. Despite the sharp spikes on the Pitbull Rapido crampons attached to his boots, Tolland had the uneasy feeling that any misstep might leave him caught up in a gale and sliding down the endless icy slope. Norah Mangor's two-minute course in glacier safety now seemed dangerously inadequate. Piranha Ice ax, Norah had said, fastening a lightweight T-shaped tool to each of their belts as they suited up in the habisphere. Standard blade, banana blade, semitubular blade, hammer, and adze. All you need to remember is, if anyone slips or gets caught up in a gust, grab your ax with one hand on the head and one on the shaft, ram the banana blade into the ice, and fall on it, planting your crampons. With those words of assurance, Norah Mangor had affixed YAK belay harnesses to each of them. They all donned goggles, and headed out into the afternoon darkness. Now, the four figures made their way down the glacier in a straight line with ten yards of belay rope separating each of them. Norah was in the lead position, followed by Corky, then Rachel, and Tolland as anchor. As they moved farther away from the habisphere, Tolland felt a growing uneasiness. In his inflated suit, although warm, he felt like some kind of uncoordinated space traveler trekking across a distant planet. The moon had disappeared behind thick, billowing storm clouds, plunging the ice sheet into an impenetrable blackness. The katabatic wind seemed to be getting stronger by the minute, applying a constant pressure to Tolland's back. As his eyes strained through his goggles to make out the expansive emptiness around them, he began to perceive a true danger in this place. Redundant NASA safety precautions or not, Tolland was surprised the administrator had been willing to risk four lives out here instead of two. Especially when the additional two lives were that of a senator's daughter and a famous astrophysicist. Tolland was not surprised to feel a protective concern for Rachel and Corky. As someone who had captained a ship, he was used to feeling responsible for those around him. â€Å"Stay behind me,† Norah shouted, her voice swallowed by the wind. â€Å"Let the sled lead the way.† The aluminum sled on which Norah was transporting her testing gear resembled an oversized Flexible Flyer. The craft was prepacked with diagnostic gear and safety accessories she'd been using on the glacier over the past few days. All of her gear-including a battery pack, safety flares, and a powerful front-mounted spotlight-was bound under a secured, plastic tarp. Despite the heavy load, the sled glided effortlessly on long, straight runners. Even on the almost imperceptible incline, the sled moved downhill on its own accord, and Norah applied a gentle restraint, almost as if allowing the sled to lead the way. Sensing the distance growing between the group and the habisphere, Tolland looked over his shoulder. Only fifty yards away, the pale curvature of the dome had all but disappeared in the blustery blackness. â€Å"You at all worried about finding our way back?† Tolland yelled. â€Å"The habisphere is almost invisi-† His words were cut short by the loud hiss of a flare igniting in Norah's hand. The sudden red-white glow illuminated the ice shelf in a ten-yard radius all around them. Norah used her heel to dig a small impression in the surface snow, piling up a protective ridge on the upwind side of the hole. Then she rammed the flare into the indentation. â€Å"High-tech bread crumbs,† Norah shouted. â€Å"Bread crumbs?† Rachel asked, shielding her eyes from the sudden light. â€Å"Hansel and Gretel,† Norah shouted. â€Å"These flares will last an hour-plenty of time to find our way back.† With that, Norah headed out again, leading them down the glacier-into the darkness once again. 47 Gabrielle Ashe stormed out of Marjorie Tench's office and practically knocked over a secretary in doing so. Mortified, all Gabrielle could see were the photographs-images-arms and legs intertwined. Faces filled with ecstasy. Gabrielle had no idea how the photos had been taken, but she knew damn well they were real. They had been taken in Senator Sexton's office and seemed to have been shot from above as if by hidden camera. God help me. One of the photos showed Gabrielle and Sexton having sex directly on top of the senator's desk, their bodies sprawled across a scatter of official-looking documents. Marjorie Tench caught up with Gabrielle outside the Map Room. Tench was carrying the red envelope of photos. â€Å"I assume from your reaction that you believe these photos are authentic?† The President's senior adviser actually looked like she was having a good time. â€Å"I'm hoping they persuade you that our other data is accurate as well. They came from the same source.† Gabrielle felt her entire body flushing as she marched down the hall. Where the hell is the exit? Tench's gangly legs had no trouble keeping up. â€Å"Senator Sexton swore to the world that you two are platonic associates. His televised statement was actually quite convincing.† Tench motioned smugly over her shoulder. â€Å"In fact, I have a tape in my office if you'd like to refresh your memory?† Gabrielle needed no refresher. She remembered the press conference all too well. Sexton's denial was as adamant as it was heartfelt. â€Å"It's unfortunate,† Tench said, sounding not at all disappointed, â€Å"but Senator Sexton looked the American people in the eye and told a bald-faced lie. The public has a right to know. And they will know. I'll see to it personally. The only question now is how the public finds out. We believe it's best coming from you.† Gabrielle was stunned. â€Å"You really think I'm going to help lynch my own candidate?† Tench's face hardened. â€Å"I am trying to take the high ground here, Gabrielle. I'm giving you a chance to save everyone a lot of embarrassment by holding your head high and telling the truth. All I need is a signed statement admitting your affair.† Gabrielle stopped short. â€Å"What!† â€Å"Of course. A signed statement gives us the leverage we need to deal with the senator quietly, sparing the country this ugly mess. My offer is simple: Sign a statement for me, and these photos never need to see the light of day.† â€Å"You want a statement?† â€Å"Technically, I would need an affidavit, but we have a notary here in the building who could-â€Å" â€Å"You're crazy.† Gabrielle was walking again. Tench stayed at her side, sounding more angry now. â€Å"Senator Sexton is going down one way or another, Gabrielle, and I'm offering you a chance to get out of this without seeing your own naked ass in the morning paper! The President is a decent man and doesn't want these photos publicized. If you just give me an affidavit and confess to the affair on your own terms, then all of us can retain a little dignity.† â€Å"I'm not for sale.† â€Å"Well, your candidate certainly is. He's a dangerous man, and he's breaking the law.† â€Å"He's breaking the law? You're the ones breaking into offices and taking illegal surveillance pictures! Ever heard of Watergate?† â€Å"We had nothing to do with gathering this dirt. These photos came from the same source as the SFF campaign-funding information. Someone's been watching you two very closely.† Gabrielle tore past the security desk where she had gotten her security badge. She ripped off the badge and tossed it to the wide-eyed guard. Tench was still on her tail. â€Å"You'll need to decide fast, Ms. Ashe,† Tench said as they neared the exit. â€Å"Either bring me an affidavit admitting you slept with the senator, or at eight o'clock tonight, the president will be forced to go public with everything-Sexton's financial dealings, the photos of you, the works. And believe me, when the public sees that you stood idly by and let Sexton lie about your relationship, you'll go down in flames right beside him.†

Henkie Essay

6.1 Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers was one of the main casualties of the US end of the global financial crisis that began in 2007. The US Government, fearing the loss of confidence in the financial markets bailed out Fannie May and Freddie Mac, AIG, and some other financial institutions. But when it came to Lehman Brothers, then the fourth largest investment bank in the US, the Government refused to support and the bank filed for bankruptcy. Whether this was a sound decision is, probably, not the subject for this case – though that decision did precipitate a lot of subsequent problems. Rather the case has been written to generate discussion about the domination of a major institution by one man – Richard S. Fuld Jr. The case claims that Lehman Brothers was dominated by Richard S. Fuld Jr. Was this desirable? What steps could have been taken to avoid it? Who could have initiated these steps? The discussion should raise questions: where was the board, particularly the independent outside directors? Did they understand the risks involved in the business model being pursued by the CEO? Were they acquiescent, pliable, too-trusting, or dominated by the man who was chairman of the board, chairman of the executive committee, and CEO? Where was the audit committee, indeed, where were the auditors? Where was the nomination committee, which should have been considering board structure and membership? Indeed, where was anyone capable of standing up to Fuld? The second issue concerns the directors’ ages. Certainly many of them had relevant past experience, but many were old. True, some old people can contribute significantly to board discussions from the experience, knowledge and wisdom. But others deteriorate with age. The Lehman’s board lacked a balance. The third question – is it possible for the research analysts of a financial institution to give independent investment advice to clients about a company when the financial institution has an interest in that company? – can generate an important discussion that corporate regulators still struggle to control 6.2 The Siemens AG case 1. What might Kleinfeld have done to avoid resigning? Given the apparent cultural clash between Kleinfeld’s apparent Anglo-Saxon approach to tough-minded management and the more socially-concerned German supervisory board perspective, there might have been little he could do, other than, perhaps, communicating more closely with the labour and financial members of the supervisory board. In fact, subsequent rumours about the situation surfaced, which suggested there was more to the problem than a clash of expectations. Students might be able to unearth more information from press reports. 6.3 Tokyo Electric Power and the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi This case exemplifies how a company can report confidently that it has satisfied all the required corporate governance criteria and yet have serious governance flaws that led to a serious problem becoming a catastrophe. 1. Did the structure of the board contribute to the failures? The board was large, executive and lacking any sense of independent outside directors. This is typical in many well-established Japanese companies, as we will see in this chapter. Attempts by the Japanese Government and some international institutional investors, such as US CalPers, have largely failed to change attitudes in the boardroom, to where power should reside and who should be ‘promoted’ to the board. 2. How do you account for the discrepancies between the company’s alleged concern for corporate governance on its website and the catastrophic failure? This was a company that apparently did not accept the significance of professional corporate governance thinking, but went through the motions to satisfy the regulators and stock market investors. 3. What advice would you give to the chairman of TEPCO? Encourage the students to appreciate the personal and cultural aspects of the situation. â€Å"Replace the board with a majority of independent directors† is not a satisfactory answer. This is not the US or the UK. There is no tradition of independent directors, it runs contrary to many top executive beliefs. Moreover, where are these INEDs to come from? Pressure from institutional investors to resign might work: but there has to be a replacement. Alternatively, consulting advice, mentoring, attitude changing activities, experience on other boards could all be among the ideas suggested. 6.4 The TYCO case What should a board do to ensure that a CEO does not treat the company as a private fiefdom? Recognize that the CEO probably played a major part in the appointment of the other directors. Furthermore, resignation from the board may have little effect on the CEO’s behaviour. This is another corporate governance classic. The challenge to students is to go beyond normative generalisations about how boards should be constituted and how directors should behave. They need to realize that personalities really matter. As in many corporate governance sagas mentioned in the textbook, powerful people can exercise considerable charisma, influence and authority over others – particularly if they have chosen them themselves. What was required was a group of INEDs who would insist on knowing what was going on, and if dissatisfied stand up to the CEO/chairman. If appropriate, this case can be explored further from a legal aspect to see what offences Kozlowski committe d.

Benefits of Drinking Tea Essay Example

Benefits of Drinking Tea Essay Example Benefits of Drinking Tea Essay Benefits of Drinking Tea Essay Benefits of Drinking Tea Tea contains antioxidants. Like the Rust-Oleum paint that keeps your outdoor furniture from rusting, teas antioxidants protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution. Tea has less caffeine than coffee. Coffee usually has two to three times the caffeine of tea (unless youre a fan of Morning Thunder, which combines caffeine with mate, an herb that acts like caffeine in our body). An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg caffeine; tea contains only 30 to 40 mg per cup. If drinking coffee gives you the jitters, causes indigestion or headaches or interferes with sleep  switch to tea. Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Unwanted blood clots formed from cholesterol and blood platelets cause heart attack and stroke. Drinking tea may help keep your arteries smooth and clog-free, the same way a drain keeps your bathroom pipes clear. A 5. -year study from the Netherlands found a 70 percent lower risk of fatal heart attack in people who drank at least two to three cups of black tea daily compared to non-tea drinkers. Tea protects your bones. Its not just the milk added to tea that builds strong bones. One study that compared tea drinkers with non-drinkers, found that people who drank tea for 10 or more years had the strongest bones, even after adjusting for age, body weight, exercise, smoking and other risk factors. The authors suggest that this may be the work of teas many beneficial phytochemicals. Tea gives you a sweet smile. One look at the grimy grin of Austin Powers and you may not think drinking tea is good for your teeth, but think again. Its the sugar added to it thats likely to blame for Englands bad dental record. Tea itself actually contains fluoride and tannins that may keep plaque at bay. So add unsweetened tea drinking to your daily dental routine of brushing and flossing for healthier teeth and gums.

Freelance Writing 101

Freelance Writing 101 Freelance Writing 101 Freelance Writing 101 By Guest Author Do you want to make a living as a writer? Perhaps its a dream youve always dismissed as impossible, and youve got a sensible day job, or a busy family life. But youve never given up your love of words. Ill let you into a secret. You can make your writing pay. I do, and so do lots of the people I know. Forget what youve heard about ridiculously low rates – it is still possible to make a professional rate from your freelancing. Heres how. Step 1: Pick Your Speciality When I started out freelancing, I offered everything from website creation to editing and proofreading. This only ended up confusing me and my clients, and often meant I worked on jobs which didnt really interest me. Nowadays, I focus almost exclusively on writing for blogs, and do the occasional magazine piece. Dont be tempted to offer every words-related service under the sun. It wont get you more clients. Think of it this way: if you were hiring a designer to create your business cards, would you go for the guy who does everything from website design to logos to billboards – or would you pick the guy who just does business cards? One quick word of advice: its far easier to make money from non-fiction than from fiction writing. By all means keep up with your fiction on the side (I know I do!) but dont rely on it to pay the rent. Some broad areas where you could position yourself are: Feature writing for magazines and newspapers Writing articles for websites and blogs Technical writing Copywriting (promotional or sales focused writing) Ghostwriting Writing resumes Of course, within many of these areas, you could drill down even further, particularly as you become more established as a freelancer. Step 2: Get Some Clips and Testimonials Freelance photographers and designers have portfolios. Freelancer writers have clips or samples – examples of your writing which clients can look at when theyre deciding whether or not to hire you. Obviously, youll want to make sure that your clips show your very best writing. You might feel like this is a Catch-22 situation: you need clips to get hired, but if youve never been hired, how can you have any professional pieces of writing to show off? Theres an easy answer: you produce some pieces of writing for free. You could simply write a few samples which will never see publication except on your business website (more on that in a moment), but you could use this as an opportunity to get publication credits by: Doing pro bono (free) work for a charity or non-profit organisation Guest posting for a large blog Writing for your local newspaper or a free magazine Honing a resume for your friend Where possible, stick with the area youre specialising in: clients looking for a copywriter may be surprised if all your samples are book reviews, for instance. As well as getting clips, youll want some testimonials. Usually, all you need to do is ask! Assuming that the people youve done free work for were happy with the results, theyll often be delighted to give you a testimonial. Never make up testimonials. Its unethical, it would be hugely damaging if anyone found out, and real testimonials always sound more convincing, too. Dont be afraid to use testimonials which include some doubts or negativity (e.g. I wasnt sure what to expect from Joe Writer because Id not seen any of his work before but I was delighted with the finished piece.) These are likely to be reassuring to prospective clients, who may well have the same doubts. Step 3: Setting Up In Business The process for setting up as a self-employed writer differs from country to country. Check out whats required in your own country, and make sure you file any relevant paperwork. Dont put this off indefinitely because you think its going to be a lot of hassle – in many cases, you can do it all online. If you dont have a PayPal account, Id strongly recommend setting one up. This is particularly crucial if youre going to be working for online clients (such as blog editors or website owners), most of whom will want to pay via PayPal. Its also extremely useful if youre going to be paid in foreign currency, as PayPal handles the converting. Depending on your specialisation and the market youre targeting, you may also want: Business cards and letter headed paper Software packages (e.g. Microsoft Office, invoicing software) A fax machine and a business telephone line Dont be tempted to go out and buy a ton of home office equipment right at the start of your freelancing journey – especially if you have yet to make any money. You may well want to upgrade your computer or your broadband connection, or you may want a new desk and chair once you start freelancing full-time, but if your writing is currently confined to a few hours at the weekend, you dont need to go out and spend lots of money yet. Your Website One real essential is your website. Its so easy and cheap to set a website up nowadays that clients will be surprised if you dont have one. Plus, theres no easier way to showcase your writing clips and testimonials: your website can be accessed from anywhere in the world, at any time. Absolute essentials for your website are: Have your own domain name. This could be your own name (yourname.com) or your company name. Id recommend going for the latter, especially if you might ever want to sell your business. Dont look amateur. Ideally, youd want to pay for a custom website design – but if youre starting out on a shoestring, use WordPress and look for a template which you like. Many are free, some cost just a few dollars. Check and proof-read your site. Missing links and typos look sloppy. Youre a writer, so make sure your website itself is a great example of your writing. Make it very easy to contact you. Some clients like to use a contact form, others prefer to email directly – offer both options. Unless you have strong reasons not to, give a phone number as well. Step 4: Learn All You Can Ive put this step now because its easy to get bogged down in learning about writing and business, without actually taking any action. Its definitely important to keep improving your skills – but not to the exclusion of actually using those skills. Plus, I know from experience how easy it is to buy books, courses and training materials and leave them gathering dust on the shelf. There are loads of great resources out there for new freelancer writers, so browse around and get friends recommendations so that youve got a good idea of what will work for you. There are two broad areas where youll want to keep learning: Your Writing Simply writing regularly, and polishing your work to professional standards, will teach you a lot – but you can accelerate your progress by making a conscious effort to learn. This might mean: Make sure youve mastered the basics. If your grasp of grammar is shaky, get a good basic book and take your time over studying. This may be a bit dull, but it is important. Following top writing-related blogs: Daily Writing Tips of course, but there are many other great ones like Copyblogger and Men with Pens. Read examples from great writers in your field. For example, if youre a copywriter, look out for pieces of brilliant sales writing. Keep a swipe file of your favourites – study them, figure out what theyre doing. Ask a fellow writer for feedback. If youre struggling with a particular piece, a second pair of eyes can often help you spot problems or flaws. Your Business Some people are brilliant writers – but terrible at doing business. They may end up failing due to a lack of marketing, an inability to meet deadlines, or an awful grasp on cash-flow. To get your head around business matters: Schedule regular time for admin. Youll need to contact prospective clients, send invoices, keep detailed records for tax purposes, and so on. Stay as organised as possible. Write deadlines onto a calendar, and plan ahead. Know how much time you have available in any given week. File all papers relating to one job in the same place, so that you can find them again when necessary. If the idea of marketing and self-promotion terrifies you, then start small. Use a blog and Twitter to gather a following online. Encourage customers to recommend you to friends (perhaps providing an incentive). Read freelancing and small business blogs: Freelance Switch, Freelance Folder and IttyBiz are three great ones. Good luck with your freelance writing journey – and dont forget to have lots of fun along the way! About the Author: Ali Hale is a freelance blogger, and author of The Bloggers Guide to Effective Writing – an ebook which covers everything you need to know about writing brilliant blog posts. 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Marvin v. Marvin Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marvin v. Marvin - Case Study Example The case between Martin v Martin highlights the challenges that marriage couples face. The case was determined in 1976 with the outcome serving as reference point in the US because of the relevance. The case involved two individuals in a non-marital relationship enforced through oral agreement. The couples made several agreements concerning their economic and social status. According to the case, the couples lived and made significant wealth and resources jointly. They had an agreement to share the acquired property and other belongings equally upon dissolution of the union. In 1971, the defendant withdrew the support he accorded the wife and called for the dissolution of marriage. The complainant launched a suit to enforce the agreement that they entered into prior to their dissolution. The complainant told the court that they entered into an oral agreement to work and share the property equally upon dissolution of their relationship (Laskin & Niff, 2010). The court heard the case and determined that individuals in any form of marriage whether implied or express have the right to claim their share. The court found that the complainant’s issues were valid and subjected the defendant to fulfill the agreement. The court stated that couples in non-marital relationships have the right to launch legitimate claims for property based on express or implied marriage contracts. The case gave a clear direction that sought to ensure fairness and equality between couples upon marriage dissolution. Living together contracts involve gay and non-gay couples who form relationship are either formal or non-formal. These non-marital contracts pose several complications when it comes to sharing property upon dissolution of the marriage. The contracts threaten to erode the moral and cultural practices of various societies. As noted by Strong, DeVault & Cohen (2011) these marriages disobey the moral standards that

Introduction to Transportation Management Questions Assignment

Introduction to Transportation Management Questions - Assignment Example The key focus revolves around the formulation and adoption of strategic plans that aim to define transport logistics requirements for the firm, identify ways and means in which these requirements can be met most effectively and optimizing business processes to ensure cost effective means of procurement and delivery of goods (Deloitte, 2011). Logistics decisions are based on the operational requirements and the overall focus of the management is on creating and adopting a high value oriented solution that is cost effective and reliable. The key aspects considered in this process are reliability of choices, accuracy of information available at the time of transit of goods, and the time required for transit. Transportation activities can be made more effective and efficient through the use of information systems that help in tracking the movement of goods. Firms can leverage their transportation activity and develop it as an internal competency that can contribute to competitive advantage through adequate focus on optimized supply chain process and effective information systems that can help in efficient decision making (Coyle et al., 2011). Transportation project planning is the process by which state governing agencies monitor and address the demand for movement of goods, commodity and people in the region. Various transportation alternatives are considered and implemented based on the requirements analysis. One of the key aspects behind the rampant adoption of project planning activities in the transportation segment in US economy is the role it plays in developing existing transport alternatives and establishing more efficient systems that can cater to the growing demands from various sectors of the economy. Growth in trading activities and economic requirements has placed intense pressure on governance bodies to develop infrastructural facilities (Coyle et al., 2011). Moreover, investment in developing transportation

Was the Post-1967 Settler Movement a Continuation of the Founding Essay

Was the Post-1967 Settler Movement a Continuation of the Founding Zionist project, or an Independent Development - Essay Example With Israel emerging as the victor from the war, territories expanded in areas such as Gaza, west bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan heights. This was in contrary to Arab predictions before the war that Israel would face extinction. The country was now stable to attack its enemies as well as protect its territories from attacks. The win was not taken easily by the religious Zion’s who termed the win as mere miraculous attempt by Israel. Instead of giving credit where it is due, Zionists used divine proof in their favor and praised themselves from the historical achievements in the past occurrences. In the process of trying to confer the new terms of Israel, the religions Zion got transformed into a system, which incorporated nationalism. At the same time, they got the limelight in the center stage showing their power through the secular enterprises. After same war settler, movement arose a move, which got incorporated to fight for the displaced in the society. They used makesh ift tents same as those used by the Zionists in the 1930s in a bid to escape from mandatory and forceful power of the Palestinian nationalism1. Many questions, therefore, have arisen as to the source of the settler movement due to the many things that the movement shares with the Zionists. Consequently, the patrons and leaders of the settler movements got identified as leaders from the Zion society, a factor that leaves beyond doubt that settler movement was a product of the Zionists. It is from this perspective that I tend to defend the fact that all the basic similarities found between the settler and Zionists was not coincidental2. Settler movement is, therefore, a product of the Zionists as proven by the following subsidiary points. To start, the settler movement main agenda was, to provide settlement for displaced persons from the war. In addition, it engrossed the nationalists’ impulse, which included mixing religious ideologies such as biblical â€Å"Eretz Israel† rhythm. This was a perquisite of the religious redemption of the Christians by the time a move, which aimed at providing sustainable housing as well as settlement for the displaced persons from the six-day strenuous war. From a close analysis of its agendas, settler movement show sighs of shared ideas. This is because some of the settlement ideologies can be traced back to Zionists thinkers like Abraham Isaac Kook who was the first chief of the rabbi pre-state period3. From this perspective settler, movement formulated after the 1967 war gets viewed as a product of the Zionists, as they could not formulate their own ideologies, but took the ideologies from the Zionists movements. Subsequently, it leaves certainty beyond any doubt that the religious legitimacy that prevailed in the settler movement was a product of the Zionists. This, therefore, proves that fact that settler movement erupted from the Zionists. The Zionists made use of secular elements and instruments in the proces s of reestablishing the land of Israel and motivation of Jewish renaissance. According to Kook, one of the founders of Zionist movements, the move aimed at restoring the civilization match in the people of Israel. Consequently, it geared towards ensuring moral progress and in turn creating a modal society where everybody had transformation. Notably the dream of the Zionists was to transform the whole Israel community and create a barrier from the past in terms of development and emergence. A close observation of the settler mo

Brain Development Essay Example for Free

Brain Development Essay At birth there are about 100 billion brain cells produced and they are beginning to connect with each other. At the first week of age, brain development starts with conception. It is important to reach the age of an infant and practice the ten principals. In the early years, young brains produce almost twice as many synapses as they will need. By age two, the number of synapses a toddler has is similar to that of an adult. By three the child has twice as many synapses as an adult. The infant brain develops through the interaction with the world around, especially the interaction with adults. At the first few months, an infant cannot response to praise or punishment. Emerging research on brain development indicates that the degree for responsive care giving that children receive as infants and toddlers positively affects the connections between neurons in the brain (Brain Cells), and the architecture of the brain itself. The first three years of life are the period of growth in all areas of a baby’s development. Consistent, responsive relationships enable infants and toddlers to develop secure attachments. Infants and Toddlers develop knowing and understanding by perceiving experiences directly with the senses. For infants to acquire the ability to comprehend this sensory information they must b able to distinguish between the familiar and the unknown; later they will begin to consider, to formulate, and to form mental images in this process of experiencing and clarifying the environment. Infants begin by exploring the world with their bodies. They internalize what they take in through their senses and display it in their physical movements. Infants gather vital information through such simple acts as mouthing, grasping, and reaching. The knowing process also involves language abilities. As young children use their senses to experience the world, they need labels to categorize and remember these experiences. By creating these labels, children increase their ability to communicate and begin to control their own behavior. These expanded abilities give young children additional opportunities to understand the world (Infant, Toddlers, and Caregiver Ninth Edition). Recent brain research supports the goal of building a total person instead of concentrating on cognitive development alone. Providing a rich environment with interesting things to do is desirable and stimulates cognitive development. But that does not work without working on physical, social, and emotional development at the same time. What make differences are the day-to-day living, the relationships, the experiences, the diapering, the feedings, the toilet training, and the free play and exploration that contribute to intellectual development. Early experiences matter, and shape brain architecture. Advances in brain research have provided great insight into how young children’s experiences have profound impact on genetic predispositions and thereby share the processes that determine whether their brains will have adaptations or maladaptations for later learning, memory, reasoning, executive functioning, expressing a full range of positive and negative emotions, socialization, behavior control and lifelong health. The thrust of this element is to close the gap between what we have learned and what we do with infants and toddlers. Experiences that prepare the developing brain to function optimally include having warm, nurturing, attentive social interactions and conscientiously buffering young children from the adverse impact of toxic stress. Lack of these kinds of experiences can have devastating, long-term effects on brain development including cognitive functioning and social-emotional competencies. For example, unpredictable or chaotic routines or lack of consistent caregivers may jeopardize children’s foundation for identity development or self regulation, or few language experiences, toys, and opportunities to explore impede the development of neural connections and pathways that facilitate learning (Essential elements of Quality-Infant-toddler Program). To deliver high quality care giving, adults need to understand and recognize key developmental processes that help them understand and support infants and toddlers. Since this essential element explicitly identifies knowledge about key developmental processes threats to them as a factor in quality infant-toddler program, three terms are defined as important pieces of a wider knowledge base about brain development that informs practice: serve and return, executive functioning and toxic stress. Serve and return is the interaction between young children and their parents and caregiver is a key to healthy brain development. It helps to create neural connections that build later cognitive and emotional skills. Executive functioning represents the cognitive skills that enable a child to focus on, hold, and think about information, filter distractions; and divert their attention to something new. The foundation for executive functioning is laid in infancy and is facilitated through early experiences. Acquiring the early building blocks of (executive functioning) skills is one of the most important and challenging tasks of the early childhood years. Toxic stress is defined as strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity without adequate adult support. Toxic stress disrupts brain development. While some experience with manageable stress is important for healthy development, prolonged, uninterrupted, overwhelming stress; toxic stress without the buffering relationships a child needs, can result in damaged, weakened systems and brain architecture that can have negative long-term effect (Essential Elements of Quality-Infant-Toddler Program). Environments make a difference in brain development. Environments that provide proper nutrition and regularly scheduled periods of sleep and physical activity consistently promote warm, nurturing, attentive social interaction; and conscientiously buffer young children from the adverse impacts of toxic stress. Lack of adequate nutrition, physical activity, appropriate sensory stimulation or social-emotional developmental experiences disrupt brain architecture and can have a decisively negative Impact on future development (Essential Elements of Quality-Infant-Toddler Program). Finding about the impact of early experiences on brain development highlight the importance of intervening early with highly stressed infants and toddlers and their families. Infants and children who are rarely spoken to, who are exposed to few toys, and who have little opportunity to explore and experiment with their environment may fail to fully develop the neural connections and path ways that facilitate later learning. Despite their normal genetic endowment, these children are at a significant intellectual disadvantage and are likely to require costly special education or other remedial services when they enter school. Fortunately, intervention programs that start working with children and their families at birth or even prenatally can help prevent this tragic loss of potential. While high-quality infant and toddler programs are not necessarily intervention programs. When caregiver and parenting practices are grounded in knowledge of early brain development, caregivers and parents are much more effective in providing experiences that facilitate optimal development including strong brain architecture (Essential element of Quality-Infant-Toddler Program).

I Love Those Lips, But Those Lips Belong to Another :: Personal Narrative, essay about myself

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recently I came across two arches. They were alive and in constant motion. First they told me life might get interesting. Then they showed me that life was going to get really good. Then after leaving me with an odd sense of power, they said bye, now life is sad. Its movements resembled that of a shape-shifter: causing the creation of circles, ellipses, and a mixture of feelings. These were the actions of a pair of lips belonging to a vision of beauty.    When I first saw them they were in their top form. They gave me a smile. The execution of the smile forced the bottom arch to push from the top corners upwards on to the upper arch. Consequentially, they caused my lips to do the same. The intensity was light but was still able to cause the words "nice to meet you" to float into my mind and back into hers. The smile, though light, wasn't like the ones that are often in response to a frivolous or corny joke, accompanied by a lack of energy. It was a creation of a divine entity: maybe God, maybe a god, or maybe a master painter. They were almost frozen together, the lower mimicking the slow rise of the upper one, gaining strength from the power of my stare. The smile became larger. Was I the only one who noticed?    It was musical and soothing. The smile was her rhythmic way of singing "Smile, darn ya smile"i. There could be nothing more uplifting than Sammy Davis Jr. telling you the "...world is a great world after all..." with his foot tapping action in the background. I guess she did not mean this world because her smile was causing my temporary lapse into another. This was how she planned to make my "...life worth while." She, like Sammy, knew that there was a great attachment between the smile and joy. That smile was going to tell the world that nothing could hold you back, the world would halt just to admire the stride of confidence. That smile knew a lot. It was able to impart a wonderful concept without any words or any movements. Now rich with new knowledge I realized that she could have given me no greater gift.    I was amazed by the dynamic evolution of the arches in what seemed to be hours.

Humanities Today Essay

The academic discipline known as humanities is the study of how man interprets the world around him. The study of humanities has been around since mankind began investigating and questioning the world they lived in. According to the article â€Å"What are the Humanities?†(2000), when the National Endowment for the Humanities was established in 1964, Congress created the following definition of humanities which included the study of:history; literature; philosophy and ethics; foreign languages and cultures; linguistics; jurisprudence or philosophy of law; archeology; comparative religion; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; and those aspects of the social sciences. In this definition the key point for distinguishing humanities from other modes of human inquiry is the fact that humanities are based on historical and expressive interpretation rather than theory and logic. Humanities inquire about the human’s interpretation of his or her surroundings. The inquiries come from the general population or an individual’s own expression of human reaction to historical events and the way that it is expressed through art, science, politics, literature, music, architecture, and religion. Other modes of human inquiry are based off of proven facts and scientific theories. A person’s interpretation has little to do with science (What are the Humanities, 2000). ArtOne of the more controversial ways that the arts have been affected by modern humanities is the showcasing of human bodies as art. An exhibition called Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS: The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies is now touring the United States. This exhibition displays human bodies that have been plasticized, doing various normal human activities. Some displays have cadavers in the middle of making a shot in basketball, while others displays a family sitting around a kitchen table. In this day of rapid technological advances, it is sometimes hard to distinguish pure art from criminal activity. At fist glance most people are amazed to see that technology has allowed a concept like this to be possible. Many people feel that there is much to be learned about the human body through this display of art. On the other hand many people are outraged by the exhibit calling it a denigration of the human spirit. Others have  called it a criminal act. The companies that process these human bodies are currently being investigated by the U.S. government. Many fingers have been pointed at China for having a black market for cadavers. No one knows for sure how the companies even come across so many cadavers and if the person’s permission was given. One thing is for sure that this form of â€Å"art† represents the mind set of the world today. This tiny fraction of the art world represents the change in religious beliefs, technology, and artistic expression today (Cattani, 2008). MusicMusic is definitely an area that changes through the attitudes and expression of past generations, especially in the African-American community. During the time of slavery music was a way for slaves to capture some of the heritage that was so violently taken away from them. Similar to musicians today, one of the way slaves used music was as a way to express the way they felt about the environment around them. Many songs from those days represented oppression and sorrow. Some other songs represented times of joy or the hope of overcoming oppression. Slaves also used music for celebration, communication, and mourning (Slave Songs, n.d.). Today’s African-American community still uses music in some of the same ways. Times have changed. Slavery has been abolished but from slavery there arose racial separatism, feelings of hate between the races, and distrust of Caucasians by other races. This is where the harshness and intentionally angry voice of â€Å"gangsta rap† is derived. This genre of music is an outlet for young African American males to voice the inequality and unjust behaviors that they feel from society. ArchitectureFrank Lloyd Wright is one the foremost fathers of modern American architecture. He believed that past methods for architecture were relied too heavily. Wright made it a point to reject the 19th century European architecture that people were used to. His style was attributed to the blocks he played with as a child and from modern Japanese architecture. Since the world was going through a new industrial period, Wright felt is was necessary to include materials that emphasized the world around him. He began to use materials such as steel and glass in his architecture. Open  floor plans with few walls separating rooms were also a turn from traditional architecture (Modern Architecture, 2007). PhilosophyOne of the noted pioneers of modern philosophy is John Dewey. Among other branches of philosophy, Dewey was relentless on the subject of experimental education. Dewey believed that the current method of education was more concerned with feeding children information rather then learning from the child’s experiences. Dewey believed that it is the educator’s responsibility to facilitate learning in a way which accounts for each student’s uniqueness. Today, many school philosophies are still based on Dewey’s theory of experience (Neill, 2005). LiteratureThe information age has had a lasting effect on modern literature. Through T.V., the internet, and the media information is capable of being exchanged over long distances in a very short period of time. Mankind has shown a hunger for information in modern years. In the 21st century literature related to true events have become very popular. Because of this, the status of celebrities has somewhat fallen. The people who used to be held as iconic figures have become as human as everyone else today. Instead of the imaginative fiction literary works that used to be the norm, today autobiographies and tabloid magazines are flying off the shelves. The situation only reflects the information driven society from which it comes. The study of humanities is an ever changing journey. Humanities will changes with the questions and expression about every generation to come. Humanities are unique in that a quest for the purpose and meaning of the human life is being sought. As time goes on, the study of humanities will be become broader, taking with it all the questions of yesterday. References Cattani, T. (2008). Human cadavers on display†¦as an attraction?. Retrieved February 22, 2008,from Living Lake Country Web site: http://community.livinglakecountry.com/blogs/from_another_side/archive/2008/02/15/human-cadavers-on-display-as-an-attraction.aspxModern Architecture, (2007). Retrieved February 22, 2008, from Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia Web site:

Memorable and Striking Essay

How Charles Dickens Creates Characters That Are Both Memorable and Striking  One of Charles Dickens’ greatest strengths is his ability to create characters that are both believable and memorable. Dickens appealed to all classes of society: to intellectuals and simple folk alike. In ‘Great Expectations’, which was published as a weekly serial, examples of his strengths fill the novel, and this is perhaps why ‘Great Expectations’ has remained as popular now as it was when it was first written. It was not until 1823 that Charles and his family moved to London from Portsmouth. Up until this time he had a happy family life and was doing well at school, already he was a great reader. However life in London was very different, the family had no money, Dickens could not go to school and his father was imprisoned for debt. At the age of eleven he had to work in a shoe-blacking factory and this left a long lasting impression. This experience was relatively short-lived, the family situation improved and he was able to return back to school from there to working in a lawyers office, teaching himself shorthand. By the age of twenty he had become an established newspaper reporter and started to write short stories in his spare time as well as directing and acting in amateur dramatics. Even by his mid twenty’s Dickens’ ability to absorb and portray information was remarkable. Partly due to his tremendous literacy knowledge (for example he read Defoe, Fielding when he was very young) and also as a result of his employment (he frequently reported on Parliament for example) he was able to use his detailed knowledge of London life and people in his writing.  In this essay I intend to discuss the characters of Pip, Joe Gargery, Miss Havisham and Abel Magwitch, because I think these four between them demonstrate Dickens’s expertise at blending character, plot and setting within the novel. One of the techniques that Dickens uses is first person narrative. The book is written from the point of view of Pip who narrates using personal pronouns such as ‘me’ and ‘I’. This technique is effective because it shows the viewpoint of a character (namely Pip) who is able to use personal details and clearly describes surroundings.  Pip is the person on whom the whole novel revolves; the novel starts and ends with Pip. The dictionary’s definition of a pip is ‘ a small hard seed of an apple, pear or orange’. This is relevant to Pip in a way because he is a person who should develop or grow from a ‘small bundle of shivers.’ However, his circumstances at the beginning of the novel give us the impression that this will not allow him to develop. During Pip’s early childhood, he is unjustly suppressed and bullied by his sister, and to a lesser degree, by Pumblechook at the Christmas dinner and the rest of the village.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"You would have been disposed of for many shillings†¦and Dunstable the butcher would have come up to you as you lay in your straw,†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"You come along and be dosed.†Ã‚  Pip is regularly fed tar water for any simple wrongdoing by his sister who also chastises him regularly with the ironically named ‘Tickler’. Although Pip has the friendship of his brother-in law Joe, this is not enough to stop him developing into a timid, undernourished yet sensitive child. Pip next has pressure put upon him when he goes to Satis House and has his first encounter with Estella and Miss Havisham. Pip’s overwhelming love for Estella and his change in attitude and behaviour towards others hide the real values of life. He becomes ungrateful to Joe and from time to time, his conscience tells him he has behaved badly but finds it difficult to change. It is quite easy to criticise Pip for his change of feeling towards his life long friend Joe, but we must understand that he has been deeply affected by the bullying which he had suffered in his early years at the hands of his dominating sister, as well as his need to improve his life-style. Pip is also rather gullible, we can see this in his encounter with the convict – he really believes that the convict namely Magwitch will tear his liver out; this is because of the atmosphere of death in the graveyard. Also the way that Magwitch speaks in his rough and raspy voice.  When Pip meets Estella, he is taken in by her charms. For the first time he becomes aware of the social differences and background between them. This makes him feel dissatisfied with his life, he feels ashamed of his home, of his ‘coarse hands’ and ‘thick boots’ and the first realisation that life could be better enters his mind. Unfortunately Pip becomes rather distant from his peers and when he finds out he is to come into fortune (his ‘Great Expectations’), he is quick to drop his childhood friends and family in case they embarrass him. Although sometimes he feels guilty about this, he still acts this way. Moving to London and meeting Herbert Pocket again inspires Pip to be more like him, a young gentleman.  However, Pip leaves behind one of the only true gentlemen in the novel Joe Gargery is a blacksmith who is married to Pip’s sister.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A giant of a man, with fair hair curly hair and mild blue eyes.†Ã‚  Joe is an honest, kind and simple man who becomes a father figure to Pip. Throughout the novel he is one of, the few characters who does not really change. Joe shows the dignity and strength of a gentleman as he is still loyal to Pip, despite Pip’s neglect of Joe. He is able to accept his wife’s harsh personality without showing his true feelings and he finds it difficult to stand up to her strong will. Although partly educated, he is always willing to learn, and is very proud at Pip’s good fortune, and is happy to stay in the background whilst Pip is in London receiving his training to ‘become a gentleman’. Miss Havisham is a bitter old woman whose heart and mind are as decaying as the house in which she lives. When Pip first meets Miss Havisham ‘†¦the strangest lady I have ever seen†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ she is wearing ancient yellowed bridal clothes and he notices that everything in the room is gloomy, faded and old. All the clocks and her watch have stopped at eight forty am. ‘I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢