The Great Gatsby – Reactions to Myrtle Wilson’s Death

Reactions to Myrtle Wilson's Death in The Great Gatsby In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby is a passenger in the car which strikes Myrtle Wilson, which is driven by Daisy Buchanan. After the car hits Myrtle, Daisy continues to drive, but collapses on Gatsby, forcing him to drive. At the Buchanan's house, Nick Carraway talks to Gatsby, who â€Å"[speaks] as if Daisy's reaction [is] the only thing that [matters]† (136). Due to his incessant love for daisy, he only focuses towards Daisy's emotions and even takes the blame for her.Regardless Myrtle's death, Gatsby's dream of having Daisy to himself makes him center his attention to her feelings after the accident. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Nick Carraway arrives at George Wilson's garage with Jordan Baker and Tom Buchanan after Myrtle Wilson dies. After leaving the crime scene, Nick arrives at the Buchanan house and is approached by Jordan. She tries to comfort Nick, however, h e declines her invitation to the house and starts to feel â€Å"a little sick and [wants] to be alone†¦ He [has] had enough of all of them for one day† (135/136).He becomes tired of being tied into all the drama and secrets of New York and tries to isolate himself from the others in order to find a peace of mind. As a result of all the sudden occurrences in East Egg and West Egg, he concludes that leaving the situation will lead to his own contentment. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Daisy Buchanan is the driver of the vehicle which strikes Myrtle Wilson. Daisy continues to drive after hitting her, however she collapses on Jay Gatsby as he pulls on the emergency brake, forcing him to take over the vehicle.After they arrive at the Buchanan house, Daisy â€Å"[locks] herself into her room,† (137) while in a state of shock. She cannot believe that she hit another person on the road and isolates herself for a moment, in order to sort out her emoti ons. As a result of losing her nerve on the road, she hides from the others and places herself in disbelief. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Tom Buchanan arrives at George Wilson's garage with Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway after Myrtle Wilson dies. After Tom comforts George, he comes to a conclusion Gatsby hit Myrtle and denounces him as a coward on his way back to his house.As Tom is speaking, Nick realizes â€Å"a change [has] come over [Tom], [as] he [speaks] gravely, and with decision† (135). Gatsby's intrusion in his personal life creates a spark within Tom, in which he begins to care more for his wife. With the belief of Gatsby killing his mistress, Tom changes his attitude, in order to prove his love for his wife and to make sure that Gatsby cannot achieve his goal of taking Daisy away from him. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jordan Baker arrives at George Wilson's garage with Tom Buchanan and Nick Carraway after Myrtle Wilso n dies.She leaves with the rest of her group, and tries to comfort Nick at the Buchanan house. After being rejected by him, â€Å"she [turns] abruptly away and [runs] up the porch steps into the house† (136). As a result of being dishonest, cynical, and self-centered, she is unwilling to change her attitude in order to persist on consoling Nick. She stays true to her deceitful nature as she is reluctant to suit his needs. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald George Wilson is the husband of Myrtle Wilson, who dies after being hit by a car.Before the accident, he suspects his wife is having an affair with another man. After her death, he becomes speechless and â€Å"[stands] on the raised threshold of his office, swaying back and forth and holding to the doorposts with both hands† (132). The sudden death of his wife places him in a state of shock, where he is having trouble sorting out his emotions and thoughts. Despite Tom's efforts at comforting him, Ge orge remains distraught at the fact that he could not stop his wife from running out and instantly dying on the road.

Literary History and the Concept of Literature Essay

Literary history and the concept of literature I From the 1970s onwards, much has been said about the writing of history and literary history that has cast doubt on its intellectual credibility. For example, Hayden White’s Metahistory (1973) included an influential analysis of the metaphorical foundations of 19th century history writing. In 1979, Jean-Francois Lyotard criticized grand narratives in La Condition postmoderne (The Postmodern Condition), and in 1992 David Perkins presented a whole array of sceptical epistemological and methodological arguments directed against literary history in Is Literary History Possible?. The questioning of literary history has not however resulted in the abandonment of large-scale literary-historical projects, rather it has inspired attempts to base such ventures on better designs and better foundations. Not least, many new ideas about the field have been put forward in connection with the preparation of two major works of literary history sponsored by the ICLA. It is also natural to point to two theoretical publications from 2002: the collection of essays, Rethinking Literary History, edited by Linda Hutcheon and Mario J. Valdes, and Marcel Cornis-Pope and John Neubauer’s brief presentation of the ideas behind a history of literary cultures in East-Central Europe. [ii] The Swedish project â€Å"Literature and Literary History in Global Contexts†, which was started in 1998 and will terminate in 2004, focuses specifically on some theoretical problems associated with the writing of literary history. We who participate come, mostly, from various fields within oriental studies or from comparative literature. Since the project is sponsored by the Swedish Research Council we all work, or once worked, at various Swedish universities. One of the special features of the project is the interest devoted to world histories of literature, a genre where the general problems of literary history become especially visible and acute. (I shall return to this perhaps unfamiliar genre in a moment. ) Three important cruces in connection with world histories of literature have been singled out for special discussion within the project: (i) the understanding of the notion of literature, (ii) the understanding of genres, and (iii) the understanding of interactions between literary cultures. These three sets of issues will be made the subject of four volumes of literary-historical studies and theoretical reflections, and these volumes will represent the main concrete outcome of the project. In this paper, I shall concentrate on the first of the questions, about the notion of literature. I shall say a few words about the concept of literature itself, point out some of the difficulties that it occasions in a world history of literature, and conclude with a brief discussion of how such problems may be approached and dealt with. II In a sense, of course, there are very many concepts of literature: if every nuance is taken into account, it may well be the case that each person has their own. Yet if, conversely, one looks at the situation very broadly, one can say that there is an everyday concept of literature in Western culture which is widely shared. That concept came into being in the course of the 18th century. Before that, no exact counterpart to our present concept of literature existed either in Western culture or elsewhere, and the distinction between imaginative literature and non-fiction was not of primary importance in the classification of texts. Wilt Idema and Lloyd Haft have given a concise and clarifying account of how earlier cultures thought about texts and their basic divisions. As long as no more than a few written works are in circulation in a given society, all texts are more or less equally important and valuable. If there is a dramatic increase in the number of writings, with a corresponding differentiation in their content and character, the texts are likely to be subdivided into the categories of â€Å"high† literature, professional literature, and popular literature. â€Å"Literature† (or high literature) is then the term for texts which are felt to be of general educational value and which are, accordingly, regarded as part of the necessary intellectual baggage of every cultured person†¦. Works which contain useful knowledge but remain limited to one specific area, such as medicine or military science, are classified as professional literature. Works intended only to amuse, and which have (or are considered to have) no educational value, fall outside the scope of â€Å"literature†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. We may call these more or less despised writings â€Å"trivial literature†. In the kind of intellectual culture described in this quotation, the fundamental distinction among texts is the one between culturally important texts and culturally less significant ones. In most such cultures – classical antiquity, classical Chinese culture, classical Sanskrit culture, and so forth – the class of culturally important texts would comprise most of what we call poetry, history writing, and philosophy, and normally also other kinds of texts – some administrative texts, some texts concerning magic, some letters, et cetera. Oral vernacular texts, or relatively unadorned fictional narratives, what we call fictional prose, would normally form part of popular or trivial literature. For complex social, economic, and cultural reasons, this way of classifying texts came to undergo great though gradual transformations in Western Europe from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries. One of the very many crucial factors behind the process must have been the growing importance of a new, more rigorous conception of empirical truth, associated with the natural sciences. High literature, in the special sense described by Idema and Haft, had always aspired to truth in the sense of great human significance. As the distinction between empirical truth and empirical non-truth became more rigid and more significant – and as many other, more or less related developments were taking place – new groupings began to emerge in the textual universe. Poetry became dissociated from scientific writings, and successively also from history, philosophy, oratory, and letters. On the other hand, fictional prose, especially in the guise of the increasingly appreciated novel, came to be regarded as one of the genres of poetry. With this, our modern notion of literature had effectively taken shape, and the term â€Å"literature† (whose main meaning in the 17th and 18th centuries had been something like â€Å"education† or â€Å"culture†) successively developed into today’s normal designation of the concept. [v] III The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw the beginning of the writing of literary history – of the history of national European literatures, of the history of European literature as a whole and, at least from the 1830s onwards, of the world history of literature. World histories of literature thus comprise a genre which has existed for around 170 years. Among its modern instances are such impressive works as the German twenty-five volume Neues Handbuch der Literaturwissenschaft (New Handbook of Literary Studies), published between 1972 and 2002, and the Russian Istorija vsemirnoj literatury v devjati tomach (History of World Literature in Nine Volumes) from 1983-94. [vii] However in the English-speaking world the genre is more or less extinct, and its very existence appears to be overlooked in the contemporary international discussion about the globalization of literary studies. These debates are primarily inspired by the widespread interest in colonial and postcolonial studies and place the last few centuries at the centre of attention, while the traditional world histories of literature are, in principle, universal in scope, and are meant to cover all times and cultures. In many respects, it seems a good idea to have a world history of literature to fall back on. Such works can relate the various literary cultures of the world to one another and put them into perspective. Thus they may create a much needed overview, much as a map of the world helps us to comprehend certain fundamental geographical realities. To some extent, works like the Neues Handbuch der Literaturwissenschaft and the Istorija vsemirnoj literatury do just that, and of course they also contain a wealth of information and intelligent discussion. Yet, despite their often remarkable qualities, world histories of literature are typically profoundly problematic for a number of reasons. Two major problems have their roots in the very concept of literature. First, the concept is, in itself, an everyday notion. If employed without additional explications or stipulations, it is too imprecise and inconsistent to form the basis of a reasonable classification. Second, the concept of literature is a relatively recent Western invention. Its application to other times and cultures will easily lead to anachronistic and ethnocentric distortions. On the whole, world histories of literature are content to sweep such problems under the carpet. They typically prefer to rely on the everyday notion of literature and to include the resulting contradictions in the bargain. For instance, the concept of literature is traditionally used in such a manner that the criteria for a work to be classified as literature vary depending on the time and the culture one is speaking of. Modern literature is most often seen as consisting of just fictional prose, poetry, and drama. When there is talk of older periods, the concept of literature is however used very inclusively. [ix] For example, ancient Roman philosophy, history, and oratory are not excluded as being non-fiction; instead, such writers as Lucrece, Caesar, and Cicero are considered part of the European literary heritage. The same duality appears in the treatment of other literary cultures. Thus, for instance, the sacred Vedic texts (circa 1200 – circa 500 B. C.).

“Breathless” by Wilfred Noyce Florence Wong Essay

â€Å"Breathless†, which was written by Wilfred Noyce at 21,200 feet, describes the emotional struggles and physical challenges the speaker experienced and overcame while climbing a mountain. And through it, Wilfred Noyce illustrates the theme of man versus nature as well as the correct attitude in achieving goals by emphasising the ambivalence of the speaker toward finishing the climb. This is demonstrated through the poem’s tone, form and structure and the use of imagery respectively. To begin with, the tone throughout the poem is discouraged and almost desperate, yet conflicted with determination. In line 5-6, â€Å"Legs lift-why at all?† suggests that the speaker is feeling hopeless at that moment since he is having a hard time climbing up the mountain as described in line 1-2, â€Å"Heart aches, lungs pant†. However, in line 19-20, â€Å"don’t look up, till journey’s done† and in line 29-31 â€Å"Go on† and â€Å"don’t look up† indicate the strong determination in the speaker to finish his journey on the mountain. The speaker is commanding himself to carry on, even though he would love to take flat steps instead as showed in line 11-12, â€Å"a flat step is holiday†. The determination to â€Å"conquer† nature is expressed here. On top of that, the poet is trying to relate this to people’s daily lives: just like how the speaker struggled with finishing his climb, people experience hards hips and temptations throughout life, and it is perseverance and self-discipline that lead them to reaching their goals. Secondly, the structure and form of the poem portrayed the level of difficulty of the climb to the speaker. The outline of the poem is not regular or smooth, depicting the rugged and twisty road the speaker is climbing on, and furthermore all the different problems people face in their lives. There is also no stanza, which means the lines are all alined, without any gaps in between, just like the continuous climb the speaker is doing, and the unceasing challenges in people’s lives. Moreover, the lines are short, some chopped off in the middle (caesura), and the words are short with little syllables. This imitates the ragged breath,  steady, fast heartbeat and small footsteps of the speaker while climbing up the mountain, and also the intense atmosphere while doing it (since he is confronting with the edge every moment). And more importantly, it is written in such way so when readers read the poem out quickly, they will feel breathless as well, just like the speaker does in the poem. In addition, for most of the lines in the poem, the rhyme scheme of ABCB is adopted, like how line 2, â€Å"pant† rhymes with line 4, â€Å"scant†, but line 1 and line 2 don’t. This is to imitate the repeating process of the speaker putting his feet forward one by one, as well as his pounding heart and panting lungs. Besides, this poem is written in free verse, which means it does not have a fixed pattern of meter or rhyme. During the middle of the poem-â€Å"Grind breath/ once more then on; don’t look up till journey’s done†, it is where the ABCB rhyme scheme adopted so far breaks down. This indicates that the speaker is really breaking down at that point, losing hope, but also finding the flicker of determination (since he said â€Å"don’t look up till journey’s done†), contrastingly. The idea of free verse is to provide a sense of roughness of the climb and losing breath during the climb in the poem. Finally, a circular structure is used in this poem as well. â€Å"Heart aches, lungs pant/ dry air/ sorry,scant.† appeared at the beginning of the poem, and so in the end of it. This is to emphasise the physical pain the speaker is going through climbing the mountain, also the greatness of the mountain, since it is able to â€Å"oppress† the speaker. In overall, the structure and form of the poem helped intensify the feeling of exhausted and despair, and mostly, breathless, showing how weak and vulnerable human being is to nature. In the meantime, this parallels to the fact that the journeys that people choose to embark on is often hard and full of challenges. Thirdly, the imagery created by Wilfred Noyce in the poem, again, pictures how challenging the speaker’s climb is. The senses auditory, taste and smell do not apply since the speaker is climbing a mountain. The imagery of a long, difficult and vague journey ahead is depicted by the things the speaker sees: â€Å"loose drift, heavy fall†, â€Å"the journey ahead† and â€Å"glasses dim†. The imagery of close to falling/fainting is created by what the speaker feels: heart aching, lungs panting, dry air, prodding the snow, grinding breath, hand wrenching, limb faltering, a slack throat and heart  beating. Then, the imagery of depression and wanting to give up is created by harsh, dynamic or monosyllabic words like â€Å"grind†, â€Å"wrench†. It also creates the sound effectApart from that, the speaker describes the feelings of his different body parts separately, one by one, as if they were separate, or falling apart. These imagery emphasise how desperate the speaker is while climbing the mountain, the same thing a lot of people feel while confronting challenges in their lives. In conclusion, Wilfred Noyce wrote this poem to contrast the greatness of the nature and the weakness of human, as well as how people should be persistent and persevering when facing depressing challenges in life. He conveyed his message by using mainly the tone, form and structure and use of imagery in the poem. Ultimately this is all intended to create the effect of breathlessness to the reader, and it is very effective.

Unethical decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unethical decisions - Essay Example The growing technological advancement has led to integration of the communication all over the world. Integrated information system has been a great relief to many people as well as organization when it comes to conducting electronic transactions. However, this development has been met and strained by serious unethical practices that have led to great loss of finances and jobs. Unethical practices and decisions made on the information systems have also led to disrepute to many organizations (Collier & Spaul, 1990). The integration of information system witnessed an advantageous introduction of credit cards that have been used to carry transactions involving purchasing and sales of goods and services. However, this system has since undergone intrusion occasioned by unending frauds (Shortland & Scarf, 2007). Credit cards of certain individuals have been stolen and used in purchase of goods and services by the fraudsters, thus leading loss of colossal amounts of money by the credit card companies. The same problem has been witnessed even with the use of virtual credit cards. Fraudsters have used complex techniques to get to know the secrete information of the credit cards of particular individuals and have been conducting transactions with such cards at the expense of the true holders. To confront, tackle and curb credit card frauds, Shortland and Scarf (2007) illustrate that various individuals have come with systems to assist achieve the alleviation of these widespread unethical practices. The ideas have included metalearning, and cardwatch among others that uses modifiers and classifiers to mine data and detect frauds in the system. Even though, these technologies have failed to bear desirable fruits as disorganized distribution of data and mixing of the genuine and fraudulent transactions that have complicated the functionality of the systems. Continuing research on this field has led to invention of the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) that works

Managing Diversity and Equality (human resources) Case Study

Managing Diversity and Equality (human resources) - Case Study Example P 13 to 18) This paper seeks to discuss the new role of the Human Resource element that has emerged in the organisation in terms of managing diversity and equality. This role will be discussed through the use of the following categories: These four categories are most basic to the functioning of the modern day organisation. The human resource or human capital element in the organisation has emerged as one that perpetuates this role at every level of the organisation through an effective integration of personal and organisational goals. (Johnson, 1996. P 13 to 18) The company that will be dealt with in this paper is the Anukul Group. This company basically manufactures exclusive designer furniture, stained glass and patchwork linen. It is a company owned by Dipti Mahapatra in India and has been in the business for close to two decades. Having started in the year 1988, this company started out as a small unit with four tailors and has now gone ahead to become one of the most prestigious names in interior decoration in the state of Orissa. The demand for Dipti's products grew and there was a market for interior decoration. By 1993, Dipti was busy undertaking several turnkey projects for complete furnishing of guest houses, hotels, as well as the Governor's residences in the state of Orissa. Orissa is a small state in the Eastern part of India. ... In 1995, Dipti decided to include custom made designer furniture as well as stained glass art in her product offerings list. By 2000, Dipti became a household name in the small state of Orissa with regular articles on her work in the newspapers and other magazines apart from televised interviews. In the 2006, Dipti decided to move to a bigger city. She moved to Bangalore, but has found that there is a certain amount of stagnation on the business front. Problem Areas: Orissa is a small state in the Eastern part of India. It is cut off from any major development that takes place elsewhere in the country. For this reasons, Dipti wanted to shift. Following are the problems that she has encountered: Lack of teamwork and initiative. Difficulty in managing HR: Dipti does not know the local language and hence she has had a problem with finding employees. Bangalore is a big city and she still needs to cross a variety of learning curves in order to know the market and prospective clients. Entrepreneurial Control System: A control system in organizations largely influences its ability to recognize the social and cultural modes of control within it so as to lay down in clear terms the role of the entrepreneur when it comes to deliberating social control over the employees concerned. (Thompson, 1998) This part of the paper will first of all outline the issues that have been dealt with by Paul M Collier in his Risk and Management Accounting. This will be applied to the case of the Anukul Group. For starters, Collier has identified the role of the entrepreneur as regards the social control he exercises over the employees, as a crucial factor in the control system

The use of offshore outsourcing for information system project has a Assignment

The use of offshore outsourcing for information system project has a number of associated issues which may impact on the success - Assignment Example Apart from these aspects, there are also certain other factors that have direct impact or directly led to success or failure of projects related to outsourcing. Hence, a comprehensive understanding regarding offshore outsourcing having its impact on the success or the failure of the projects has been illustrated in the paper. Keywords: Offshore Outsourcing, Information Technology, Vendor Management, Business activities, Outsource Partner, Information System. 1. Introduction In the modern day business scenario, where the competition level has become immense among the companies, there is always a need to align business with advanced technological advancements up to the optimum level. This aspect ensures that the organisations could be able to attain superior competitive position as compared to their major competitors in the global market. Among the various approaches companies adopt in modern day business, the aspect of offshore outsourcing can be considered as the most vital one (Beul en & et. al., 2010). 1.1. Background Offshore outsourcing is regarded as the process or the practice of appointing an external organization in order to execute certain fundamental functions of business. In simple terms, it can be explained as a particular approach that the companies undertake wherein they hire people or agencies from other countries to perform certain activities of their respective business. This type of approach cost companies quite less which further impose favourable impact on their business profitability. Apart from the aspect of cost and profitability, this sort of approach is also implemented by business units for executing certain activities that they are not equipped or capable of conducting those actions effectively. It can be viewed that customer call centres are the most common form of offshore outsourcing. In today’s business context, companies spend substantial amounts in outsourcing a few of the core activities of business (Herath & Kishore, 200 9; Sparrow, 2005). Hence, the significance of offshore outsourcing can be depicted from this aspect. 1.2. Aim The principle aim of the paper will be to define and discuss the main issues associated with offshore outsourcing in information system. The paper will also provide a brief discussion regarding the effectiveness as along with the challenges associated with offshore outsourcing. Furthermore, considering all these aspects, a conclusion will be drawn which would depict success or failure of offshore outsourcing in modern day business context. 2. Main Issues in Offshore Outsourcing It is quite apparent that offshore outsourcing is one of the most widely implemented approaches by companies in the modern day business context. However, there are certain issues and challenges associated with offshore outsourcing that places itself to be vital with regard to information systems. These issues are deemed to have impacts on the overall performance of the organizations in one way or the other in their operational activities. Though technologies have become quite advanced, certain risks associated with them principally became a major point of attention for businesses all over (Baldia, n.d.). A few of the key issues associated

Reading with Comprehension Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reading with Comprehension - Essay Example Learning Difficulties in Reading with comprehension According to Callella (2000), learning difficulties comprise of the inability to make clear connections between the text read and its actual meaning. Readers may be confronted with a number of difficulties in an attempt to understand and comprehend any piece of writing, which they read. Most of the difficulties in learning affect children and hinder their understanding of written texts. It becomes extremely challenging for school going children to understand what they read, when they have difficulties in learning. Some of the learning difficulties in reading with comprehension include challenges in decoding, linguistic comprehension, and poor phonological and semantic skills. Other difficulties may be related to problems with visual word recognition, fluency, and problems with inference making and working memory. These difficulties will now be analyzed on the basis of how they influence reading with comprehension. The lack of proper decoding skills can act as a constraint on reading with comprehension. This may happen when decoding is slow and effortful; in such a case, resources may be dedicated to word level processing. On the other hand, when decoding in the reader is automatic, then the task of comprehension may be possible. Reading comprehension can be compromised when decoding in the reader is poor (Westwood, 2004). Decoding relates to the speed of word reading; children who have poor reading comprehension skills can be slower at reading words than students with excellent reading comprehension skills. The relationship between reading comprehension and efficiency in decoding continues in a person’s lifetime. Poor reading skills and non word reading in early childhood may predict learning difficulties in reading with comprehension in secondary school years and adulthood. Linguistic comprehension can also be a source of poor reading comprehension. The simple model of reading holds that apart from def icits in decoding, poor comprehenders may also have deficits in linguistic comprehension. Readers may have difficulties in understanding the language used in a comprehension (Westwood, 2004). For example, they may not understand the actual meaning of the words used. This learning difficulty presents a challenge to the understanding of written text. In order to make meaning out of written texts, the reader should understand the language used. Thus, difficulties in understanding the actual meaning of words, phrases, and vocabulary used can be regarded as a learning difficulty in reading with comprehension. According to Allington & McGill-Franzen (2000), poor phonological skills also pose significant challenges in reading with comprehension. Phonological skills have a correlation with the development of literacy in children as well as adults. Phonological deficits may usually characterize individuals with poor reading comprehension skills. Comprehension problems on the basis of phonolo gical skills may emanate from the inability to sustain phonological representation of verbal information while reading. Phonological skills play an essential role in determining how the reader represents verbal information when reading. Thus, the inability of children to set up phonological representation leads to difficulties in reading with comprehension. Other difficulties related to phonology entail problems in word recognition.

Radiation Exposure from Chernobyl and Fukushima Case Study

Radiation Exposure from Chernobyl and Fukushima - Case Study Example In the case of Fukushima, an earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi reactors and led to electricity loss on the site. This resulted in a momentary halt of the cooling of the fuel in the reactor cores. Hydrogen buildup in the three power plants led to an explosion. However, the amount of radiation released in Fukushima was less and could not compare to that of Chernobyl. The Japanese government explained that by reaching a â€Å"cold shutdown condition,† it showed stabilization of coolant temperature and the halt of further release of radiation from the site. Nonetheless, both accidents have health impact on the affected populations; however, the degree of the impact varies with the different radiation exposure levels in the two cases. According to (Elliott 89), the 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima and the 1986 situation at Chernobyl are both rated 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, even though these happened differently. Chernobyl regis tered the most health effects as 28 reactor staff and emergency workers, who were highly exposed to radiation, succumbed to thermal and radiation burns after four months of the accident. By the end of 2004, 19 more were reported to have lost their lives. It is also widely believed that the incident caused about 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer. On the other hand, in Japan, no deaths have been linked to the radiation exposure. The difference in radiation release in the two cases is responsible for the varying impacts. For instance, Fukushima radiation release was almost10 percent of that from Chernobyl. At Chernobyl, the explosion of the reactor led to a fire that lasted for ten days. The explosion at Fukushima was due to Hydrogen buildup and did not involve the reactors themselves (Bortz 41). In the case of Fukushima, the magnitude of harm caused by radiation exposure is uncertain, since the event is still fresh, unlike Chernobyl, which occurred a quarter century ago. Since Chernobyl i ncidence occurred years back, it has given an opportunity for medical researchers to determine the health impact of the radiation exposure. However, there are also potential health effects, which will be presented by the Fukushima radiation exposure in the future; it is just a matter of time. Most concerns arising from radiation exposure mainly base on the risk posed to the broader public. During such radiation, people outside and close to the plants inhale air that is mixed with the radiation components. The major radioactive chemical elements, which are inhaled or enter the body through food consumption include, Iodine-131 and Cesium-137. Iodine-131 has a half-life of eight days and when inhaled, concentrates in the throat. On the other hand, Cesium-137has a half-life of thirty years and can enter the body through the consumption of food, which was grown in contaminated soil. Studies today show that, the main health effect of Chernobyl, is thyroid cancer in children, who were expo sed. This is because of the ingestion of Iodine-131. Today, close to 6000 cases of thyroid cancer are attributed to Chernobyl reactor accident. Although Iodine’s radioactive decays quickly to untraceable levels, it is expected that cases of thyroid cancer will increase. This radiation exposure affected many children because Iodine is greatly absorbed and settles in the thyroid glands of children, who are still in the developmental stage. The emergency

Comparing and contrasting the modernisation efforts of Essay

Comparing and contrasting the modernisation efforts of nineteenthcentury China and Japan - Essay Example The Japanese reform-minded Samurai, analyzed the situation and decided that the best way to beat the Western powers at their own game was to adapt to Western systems. This was done by launching a reform movement under the guise of restoring the emperor to power. In the process, they eliminated the power of the shogun, who was the military ruler of the Tokugawa period. This effort, carried out in 1868, is referred to as the "Meiji Restoration", since the emperor's reign name at the time was Meiji. At around the same time, china was suffering a political crisis in the form of the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) which was directed against the Manchu Dynasty. Though China's imperial system had flourished under the same dynasty in the 1700's, the Qinq dynasty of the Manchu's came to be regarded as 'foreign'. Another rebellion (1898-1900), known as the 'Boxer Rebellion', which was also initially an anti-Qing uprising, was played on by the Qing Dowager Empress to her advantage by re-directing the people's anger towards the Westerners. So, unlike the Japanese, the Chinese did not have the advantage of dynastic authority to serve as a focal point for national mobilization against the West.

Media and Privacy - the Massacre That Shocked the World Essay

Media and Privacy - the Massacre That Shocked the World - Essay Example Was transparency maintained in reporting? These are the questions that need to be answered when analyzing the case, apart from these questions, What has been referred to as ‘Massacre at Langdale High’ transpired in Andersonville- a small town in the United States. The case of Langdale High involves two siblings named Jeffrey and Laura. Both of them had a pleasant childhood but soon things started to change. The case informs that the neighbours confirmed that both the siblings were friendly and warm during their childhood. However, in case of Laura, her disposition suddenly changed after her tenth birthday. She became quieter and withdrew herself from communications. The reason was, when she turned ten, she was subjected to sexual harassment by her father periodically. This led to the formation of negative feelings inside her such as embarrassment and resentment. She did not engage in any social activity and isolated herself. She was limited to a close clique, whom she called her friends. She tried opting for drugs, in an attempt to find some solace but to her surprise, Laura found jotting her thought in her diary as more therapeutic and satisfactory. In case of Jeffrey, he was a bright kid and celebrated his father as his superhero. He longed for his attention and wanted to share a close bond with him. He was aware of the fact that his sister was being sexually abused by the father every now and then Laura had complained to him several times, but he did not take any stance on his issue and chose to remain quiet. When Jeffrey turned 13, his family was abandoned by his father. This incident was a milestone in Jeffrey’s life and left him a changed person. He became bitter as a person and fell into glum depression. Weapons and ammunition started to lure him and. Many assumed that his rampage was because of the frustration that he felt. This case informs of Sharyn Lassiter, who was the police and a court reporter at Andersonville Tribune.

Marketing Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Marketing Communication - Essay Example It cannot be forgotten that such restrictions are also placed in order to prevent the degradation of women and to discourage materialism. Furthermore, the rationale for these restrictions could be health reasons and to prevent politicians from misusing electoral advertising. Firstly, restrictions are put in place to prevent advertisers from misleading consumers. This means that advertisements are restricted from containing false statements, descriptions, illustrations or claims regarding material facts or characteristics. Furthermore, there are bodies that are charged with acting as a 'controller' to ensure that the restrictions are upheld. For example, the Advertising Standards Authority of the United Kingdom dealt with almost 1,200 cases regarding health, beauty, and slimming products in 2003 alone. This clearly indicates the number of cases regarding false claims will continue to increase if restrictions are not placed on the advertising of slimming products. As such, it is appare nt that restrictions are placed on advertisements in order to prevent advertisements from deluding consumers. Advertisements are also regulated to prevent the degradation of females. Often, the female is used as a mere sex symbol to entice and titillate the male into purchasing a product. Hence, restrictions are placed to control the extent to which a female is used and how she is used. If this is not done, it is likely that the image of the purer sex will be degraded as the people will lose the respect of them due to indecent advertising. In advertisements contained within fashion magazines such as the Vogue, there are at least 20 pictures focused directly on the barely covered breast or cleavage. Not only are these suggestions demeaning to women insinuating that they all just want to wear as little as they can get away with, but they are blatantly unrealistic. Thus, restrictions are placed on advertisements to prevent the extent of such degradation from escalating further. In addi tion to that, advertisements portray women as frivolous creatures that seemingly spend 99% of their time and space dwelling on beauty, sensuality, sex, health and attracting a man. One example is a lipstick advertisement for Revlon. The theme is one of "choices, choices, and choices", how will one ever be able to choose a shade of red that is just right, as if this is the biggest problem confronting a female in a day. Another example is an advertisement by Savvy, a jewelry company whose slogan is "Be Brilliant", depicting unclothed female bodies with an example of their jewelry draped on them. Not only does it remove the humanity in the picture, it gives the impression of women's brilliance radiating only from the stones that they must wear. This clearly impresses upon the public that women are no more than sex symbols. Therefore, such degradation and debasement of females must be kept in check through the various restrictions placed on advertisements. In addition, restrictions are placed on advertisements to discourage materialism.

Strategy Vs.Tactics Essay Example for Free

Strategy Vs.Tactics Essay â€Å"One must change one’s tactics every ten years if one wishes to maintain one’s superiority â€Å" –Napoleon Bonaparte We’ve been asked what comes first, Strategy or mission/vision?-a question rather bit confusing. Every company or an LGU for that matter has its own mission/vision for its entity. It is where the tip of the iceberg begins, it is where the head or main point that branches down to different types of planning and more so with strategic or courses of action to fulfill its goals flow. It is always associated with planning now, would this strategy be successful if no result is achieved? Obviously, it will only and merely be planning. With a fix goal/mission/vision, the SWOT follows and targets the basic questions that spreads into analysis (internal or external) and subsequent formulation of strategies. There are of course the intended strategies wherein a planning team tries to foresee eventualities that may arise in the future. It would be nice if these planners can craft a strategy but it would be fulfilling if they achieve the goal with what they strategized. Along these areas of different strategies may come an emergent strategy- not included in the planning process but emerged from what is at hand at that time. The case of Honda, a Japanese company with an intended strategy of selling big bikes in the US hit big when their small motor bikes was seen by Americans being used by Japanese executives doing errands, coupled with problems with machine imperfection of Honda big bikes, the Honda small bikes entered an untouched market of Americans who never owned motorbikes. The intended strategy was a near disaster for Honda but the emergent strategy was a huge hit. It can only show that some strategies can emerged without prior planning-sometimes in response to unforeseen circumstances. Strategy therefore can be said that, is more than what the organization intends or plans to do, it is also what is actually does. It can be born out from a group of decisions or even SM can be of interest when it comes to their planning and strategies. Foremost on business radar is the presence of competition, competition takes a bite of intended profits, so eliminating or minimizing competitions will ensure profits. Individual branded companies may be found in stalls of SM malls but these branded products can also be found within its department store and thereby no exclusivity of sale or retail. An adidas shoes can also be found on the department store shoe section- buyers looking for this brand of shoes can find it along with other brands, the mere presence of the buyer inside the department store will enhance the possibility of the costumer buying other products. So it is a win-win situation because the shoe brand pays rent to SM and SM having a chance to show other products (not necessarily shoes). Other obvious example is the price of chicken in the supermarkets- it is obvious from the big tags and â€Å"Bonus† price of the lowest amount. Costumers tend to flock the wet area of the supermarket just to buy chicken. You will be enticed to buy other items which obviously are more expensive than the average prices prevailing in the market. Enticing costumers to have the convenience of having all necessities and needs in one mall capture the commerce or economy in an area. Any â€Å"disadvantage† of low prices can be compensated or balanced in other forms. Maybe, even the parking should be free but exhorbitantly charged just to balance some â€Å"losses†. So, strategy can be adjusted or regularly updated or even changed. But it can also be done in following a goal. Shell have it big in the 80’s when they correctly anticipated the fall of oil prices. They planned on the â€Å"what if† and when other oil companies ventured into expansions, they started cost cutting, looking new drilling areas etc. when oil prices fell down. They were the only one who was not hit by it. Again, all types of strategies begin with a goal, a vision, or mission. It can be compared to a toothache- The first thing or goal would be to ease the pain- Now you can strategize what approach you can do- but a unified attack to the problem- it can be pain relievers, soothing agents, extraction and other approaches- but whatever approach you planned and executed that achieved the goal of eliminating discomfort of the patient is success enough of what you planned or strategize to do.

Reflective evaluation of the skills of counselling

Reflective evaluation of the skills of counselling This essay is a reflective evaluation of the skills of counselling applied to loss and grief in a students process of learning how to travel the journey of the therapeutic relationship with the client. The essay will contain reflections of verbatim examples from during the practice session in which Steven Felice is the client, and Caroline Roberts the counsellor. The essay will also discuss via relevant literature the process of person-centred counselling in the focus of loss through bonds of attachment and continuing bonds. The practice session took place in counselling room two, at ACAP on the 21st of April 2010, between Steven Felice and Caroline Roberts. Steven wanted to discuss the loss of a friendship. This friendship for Steven was a friendship that had begun in early childhood and carried a deep bond of attachment, for which Steven is finding the loss hard to accept. During the session I spent the majority of the time listening to Steven and reflecting as best I could the content and emotion of his experience. When dealing with loss in relation to friendships it is important to offer the client the same respect to emotional depth of expression as that of a person experiencing loss from a death. For Steven the loss of significance surrounded his childhood friend no longer wishing to be as close as usual due to her recent change of religious affiliation. For Steven this seems difficult to accept, as he was willing to try to understand and acknowledge her needs and she seems to have rejected him. He also seems to feel loss around his confidence with how he relates and interacts with people, which appears to be trust related issues. Almost a loss of innocence has been triggered by the loss of this important attachment bond. Loss is such an immense part of living and loving that it would be difficult to counsel without an understanding of the theory of attachment. Mallon (2008) suggests understanding attachment in grief and loss counselling is essential due to the basis that all human relationships are based in attachment, from the first attachment to ones mother, extending through lifes interactions to include those called friends and lovers. Neimeyer, Baldwin, Gillies (2006) discuss how with the loss of a loved one, people tend to keep the attachment alive and well within their memories, stories, dreams, images, and even music or ornaments. When a loved one is no longer in presence, then the attachment and relationship changes but it does not cease to exist, the relationship is merely rewritten or shifted to another reality or perception. As is the case with Stevens relationship, at 16:04 Steven says, he fights in his own head when asked about the whether he is still maintaining the relationship, which would seem to indicate quite clearly that he is continuing the bond and relationship even though she is unaware of this. During the session I felt I established rapport, and was present with Steven, as well as using active listening, reflection, and questions, although I could have phrased these more appropriately, I also used silence to allow Steven his thoughts. I dont know that I was able to apply a structured assessment during the session, as in trying to purposely work on coping skills, support systems, and spiritual or cultural dimensions. However I feel that we talked about these issues in the course of the session as reflection, active listening and questioning allowed these issues to come into play, especially when silence was used, allowing Steven to process and actualise his sense of spiritual connection and personal experiences and expectations. I would like to reflect on my skills as an awaking, a process of realisation about how one is appropriate in being curious, respectful, congruent, empathic, and present simultaneously, without getting in ones own way. Rogers (1942-2008) suggests that the counselling relationship provides a safe respectful environment in which the client feels comfortable and accepted enough to express their feelings knowing that the counsellor will not judge them, but will listen and support them. As a grief, loss and bereavement counsellor I feel it would be very beneficial to hone my skills around person-centred counselling, with particular focus on attachment theory and continuing bonds. Person-centred counselling is such a great grounding for doing no harm, as it is based in Rogerss core conditions. Tolan (2003) describes the core conditions as requiring the counsellor to be mentally and emotionally present and remove themselves from the clients story by simply listening without judgment or bias, with respect, congruence, and empathy, no forgetting unconditional positive regard. Bryant-Jefferies (2006) explains presence as a line of communication whereby both client and counsellor are empathically aware of eac h other. With the felt presence, the most significant element would be whether or not the client feels they are being understood, which can be demonstrated with appropriate reflection. During the session I felt that Steven and I were in a place of empathic contact, established through good rapport, and staying as present as possible. I feel I can improve my sense of presence as time allows skills to become second nature, as right now I often get in my own way by worrying about whether or not I am demonstrating all the necessary skills. For example my art of reflection still needs to develop as shown with these examples; C: 06:27; so youre missing the previous style of relationship and interaction that you had from. S: yeah, yeah I need that Some of my language could probably be improved by saying; I sense you are missing the closeness of your relationship. Also I need to be mindful of using words like so, as it can carry a feeling of judgement if the tone is not just right. Another example; C: 09:47; so you just said that, if I go back to you saying, that you are asking yourself about the relevance of keeping someone, now youre sort of talking about the boundaries and stuff, is that related. S: ah, by keeping someone and having boundaries as such, I feel like it, like when I meet a new person now.. Again I begin with so, I think I actually begin nearly every reflection with so. Note to self do not say so. The reflection would be better if I phrased it; I hear you questioning your feelings towards getting close to another affects you, which seems to be bring up the need for boundaries, could you tell me more about that. Around 08:45: I ask; so was she an intimate friend or I made Steven uncomfortable as you can see by his body language, where instead I could have asked; could you tell me more about that, or what did that childhood friendship mean for you. The art of the question is another skill I need to practice, especially with careful open questions instead of closed blunt or, the too intrusive kind of questions. Nelson-Jones (2009) suggests that even though some background information can help the counsellor understand the clients background, open questions allow the client to express their story how they wish to, instead of the counsellor meeting their agenda. Respect is the underlying need in all questions with open questions such as, what does that mean for you, being a respectfully gentle asking for the clients meaning, and also another way to monitor counsellor curiosity with respect to the client. I could really hear that Steven attaches to people very deeply and quickly or easily, and I wanted to explore that with him, but alas my skills in how to achieve that need practise. Attachment is such a deep seated need and reflex that helps one find and express love that I feel its importance cannot be overlooked. Russell-Chapin and Smith (2008) talk about the undeniable reality that love and loss are part of the whole experience of human attachment, with the point being that the more attached the relationship the more the loss may be felt and experienced. In addition they discuss how beneficial it can be to tell stories, and share our losses, as a way of continuing the life of ones loved one, for which the word anamnesis is used to describe the experience of remembering and representing our recollections and experiences of shared living with our lost loved one in the present moment. Here I relate to continuing bonds as there is sometimes no escaping the thoughts that float through ones consciousness and replay events, conversations, images, and special moments. Attig (2000) summed up the experience as the continuing of ones connection with those one loved when he stated; the richness of lasting love consoles us (p283). Such words truly express how much sense it makes to keep on loving, keep remembering, keep dreaming, and keep sharing the memories of those we love, whose bodily presence is no longer tangible. Continuing bonds wi th ones loved ones also brings up how much attachment plays in relationships, for if no attachment is felt, no meaningful relationship exists, and therefore no need to miss or remember. Around 14:10; Steven begins telling me how his friend is involved in certain religious practices. At 14:22; I reflect C: So youre worried about her. Steven continues his story and I feel it is important to listen and use silence here as I sense he might need to hear his thoughts process this. Geldard Geldard (2008) express how new counsellors often find silence difficult because they are worried about appearing to demonstrate the skills required. However once the silence has become a comfortable reflex the counsellor can allow the client the precious moments of reflection often needed to mentally sit in a thought and own the feeling. Palmer Milner (2003) suggest that silence can be a very supportive space for the client to contemplate their thoughts when used appropriately and respectfully in a comfortable measure. Silence is a skill that requires self acceptance and a certain measure of self-assured comfort to be able to sit with the client when they require a moment to contemplate. Steven, given a moment to silently think then begins to reflect on his own spirituality in connection with the reactions he is experiencing. Walsh (2004) suggests that in some cases a person may be grieving their spiritual connection to self, brought into awareness by an experience of loss. As does feeling the loss of physical, emotional, or relational, connections, this could in turn affect ones ability to find some resolution within ones life. This is not surprising considering spirituality is one of the concepts that give life meaning in death as it does in life. Walsh (2004b) goes on to explain that peoples spiritual beliefs cross generations and evolve and develop, as family cultures evolve and develop, embedding and adjusting values and beliefs that surround not only life and love but also death. When I look at the experience of loss Steven has shared with me, and consider how I could have explored this more to address his coping style, support system, spiritual or religious beliefs, as well as his cultural influences, I am not sure at my level of competency in twenty minutes how to achieve all of that whilst respectfully listening to his story and allowing the client to lead and own the session. Johns (2005) cites Rogerss who states The degree to which I can create relationships which facilitate the growth of others as separate persons is a measure of the growth I have achieved in myself (p5). This statement is a very powerful truth to which I feel as a counsellor is the aim of self development and a very necessary goal to practice and reflect constantly on the skills. Johns (2005b) explores some of the ways in which counsellor skills can be practiced, including personal counselling, doing practice sessions, keeping diary of skills development, taking risks when practicing t o develop confidence, thereby, learning to relax and own the space of self within the counselling dynamic. Personally I have volunteered at my local church to get actual practice and develop my confidence as well as my skills. I also believe that going through the process of being a volunteer within the counselling realm will also help me to understand more about myself and where I wish to focus my future as a counsellor. So here in lies how I intend to move forward to becoming a better counsellor and person. To conclude this wonderful and challenging self reflection, I would like to acknowledge that I am growing as a counsellor. I am learning how important the theories and models associated with bereavement are vital to allow a counsellor to be of actual assistance to a person suffering. I am confirmed through my research of the theories and models, that love and attachment are vital in life, death, and counselling. Being able to workshop my faults and successes is also a vital process in the development of my use and understanding of not just the skills but why they are so important, particularly in the field of counselling in loss.

Online Etiquette in Virtual Learning Environment: Reflection

Online Etiquette in Virtual Learning Environment: Reflection Netiquette and Student Learning Experience on Blackboard – Reflective essay Communicating by email and other methods on the Internet such as online message boards and chat systems has become very common these days. It is almost impossible to pursue a course of study in higher or further education without using computers, and without communicating with other people online. Yet it can be safely said the most of us have never had any type of formal training in communicating online. The increased use of Virtual Learning Environments such as Blackboard and Moodle put an additional imperative on students to learn how to communicate online. This means that students now not only need to learn the content of the course, they also need to use a new tool properly prior to studying the subject matter. At our University, the Blackboard is used for various courses. Most students today are already familiar with the Internet and have already communicated with others via various methods on the Internet; hence there isnt a steep learning curve when they learn to use this new tool. Additionally, support is provided in various ways for students who require it. Firstly, students can approach the online learning support officer if they require any general help with the system. Secondly, they can approach the module leader or teacher if they have any problems with any specific course they are taking on Blackboard. Thirdly, they can approach their personal tutor with any problems t hat cannot be otherwise resolved. Practically, however, students often find peer support invaluable. I always found myself asking or being asked about specific issues with Blackboard. Some of the common questions are about where are the buttons one would require to perform certain tasks, for example the upload button when submitting an assignment, what happens when the system hangs – this often creates a lot of anxiety, especially when it happens close to the deadline for the submission of an assignment! I have often found that the people who are able to readily answer these questions have often faced the same problem themselves, and found it out either by trial and error on their own, or were in turn helped by some others. Although technology is often (dis)credited as the cause of an increasing loss of personal contact in every aspect of modern life, ironically, the use of an unfamiliar tool such as the Blackboard actually helped me communicate better with some other student s, as we faced a shared problem and being compatriots somehow brought us closer. Netiquette was something I decided that I had to learn before I was brave enough to add my comment in the discussion forums. This was mainly because I was very used to the Internet slang of using the short form of words such as CUL8R and I wasnt very sure these would be acceptable and did not want to get on the wrong side of the lecturer unnecessarily. I did some reading on the topic and found a great deal of material on the Internet regarding Netiquette. In particular, I read the RFC 1855 (Hambridge, 1995), which was a sort of bible on netiquette. On reading it the reasons behind many of netiquette rules that I didnt think were important, most of it seemed to be common sense and polite. The WIRED article by Leahy (2006) cited one good example of an email communication that had this sentence Don’t work too hard, which could be interpreted in a variety of ways – had this been addressed to me, I would have wondered, was the writer sarcastically implying that I was working too hard, perhaps trying to impress someone, in which case I probably would have taken offence, or was it just a joke? Either way, its difficult to interpret. I read the general rules for posting on Blackboard and saw that they werent very different from the RFC 1855. There were only minor differences, some recommendations adapted to keep in view that this was an educational discussion board in an educational institution. Going back to my interaction on Blackboard, I monitored the comments on the discussion board for while before I decided to post a somewhat inconsequential comment to test the waters. I had given a great deal of thought before deciding to participate in the discussion online. Initially, I thought that since participating in the online discussion forum wasnt compulsory, I need not participate; it would only take me more time to learn the rules, and then engage in a discussion that didnt really earn me any marks in my final score for the module. However, I spoke to some of my peers, and got the view that participating in discussions not only helped you clear your doubts, it also helped others; most often, someone else had the same question, but was just too scared to post it, and when you did, they were grateful to you; sometimes that made them bolder to start posting too. Then, one of the lecturers for one of the modules that was using Blackboard encouraged us to continue a discussion that took place in class online, and that was what spurred me on to leave me comment; however, having thought out my first post for very long before posting it, I feel that I somehow killed it and it had the desired effect: it was so inconsequential, no one posted a reply to it. Funnily, I found this was somewhat disheartening, however, resolved to take part in the discussions better and managed to follow through. The main benefit I obtained from the discussion boards is that if there are some strands of thought running on your mind about a topic that is being discussed, the discussion board offers you the opportunity to actually post those thoughts anytime, anywhere. On hindsight, communicating on the Blackboard discussion board did not have very different rules from communicating face to face in the classroom. One just has to remember that when posting on an online forum, the readers cannot see your face to gauge your expression and therefore are more likely to misinterpret your s tatements. Using emoticons, if these are acceptable, can help convey the tone of the message to a certain extent. Also, if you are always prepared to offer a clarification and apology if necessary if your message has been misinterpreted then you cannot go very much wrong. There are indeed some excellent positives to the use of Blackboard (or any other Virtual Leaning Environment) in the university. The use of the VLE allowed us to work at home (or as a group in one persons home) and enabled us to avoid spending the time travelling to university, and also the stress. We were able to discuss group assignments at a place convenient to the entire group, and as for individual assignments, there is a great deal to be said for sitting on ones own room with a pizza and coke and typing up an assignment. While it took some getting used to, once I got used to the system, I greatly appreciated the availability of all the information that was made available on an anytime, anywhere basis. However, I think that I would not like to pursue course of study that was conducted wholly through the VLE. This is because I felt that the face to face interaction I had with the lecturers of most modules was important, even if it consisted of me simply sitting passively in class listening to the lecture. This is because I felt I could understand much more when it was the lecturer explaining a certain point in person, not reading the written word; additionally, during face to face interaction, I had the opportunity of clearing any doubts that popped into my mind, and one once occasion, the teacher drew a simple diagram which allowed me to grasp the concept quickly; this would not have been possible if we were discussing the topic on the discussion forum on Blackboard. If all the convenience of using a VLE in additional to face to face teaching can be made available in a cost-efficient circumstance, then I would definitely recommend the use of Virtual Learning Environments. As for discussions on Blackboard, with my experience, I am now a bit confident at posting my comments on discussion topics. Perhaps the next semester I may even be bold enough to start up discussion on new topics if the opportunity presents itself. References Hambridge, S. (1995) RFC1855: Netiquette Guidelines (Available online at http://rfc.net/rfc1855.html last accessed Aug 2007) Leahy, S. (2006) The Secret Cause of Flame Wars Wired (Available online at http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/02/70179 last accessed Aug 2007) What is ethical policy? What is ethical policy? WHAT IS ETHICAL POLICY? In recent past so many successful business failed, many profitably running businesses suffered from a downfall and it is said that some effective corporate receives a great fall in their profits and popularity. One of the main reasons behind these surprising happening was lack of business ethics. Thus the ethics can be defined as the ability to distinguish between right and wrong (Buzzle.com, 2009). For a business to grow and maintain its prosperity, it must be found on certain ethical principals. A business that is based on ethics can run successfully for years (Buzzle.com, 2009). Money makers who do not pay attention to ethical values can only earn a short term success. To last long in the market, ethical business policy is must. An ethical business policy is important at many levels. It establishes expectations for employees and management as well, and defines the enforcement mechanism and penalty for noncompliance. When the ethical policy is professed as an integral component of the organizations culture is understood, followed and enforced (Bankers Online, 2010). An effective ethical policy has number of advantages. Its awareness among employees is a guarantee of proper conduct and doing the right things. They will better understand their responsibilities and expectations and assume the appropriate level of accountability when identifying and managing business risk (Messmar, 2003). The ethical policy of an organization is more than just a formal document outlining related rules of conduct. It is about integrating positive values throughout an organization (Sethi, 2003). Some key fundamental characteristics of for making ethical policy effective and worth having are (Find Articles, 2008);  · Employees often used to follow the behaviour of their superior executives, managers and others who have succeeded in the company. There fore everyone at every level must stick to the guideline laid down by the ethical policy.  · Companies those are very successful in their business have made ethics a key element of their corporate culture. Conducting business with integrity is considered as important as bottom line results. Ethical standards are applied any time a decision is made or an action is taken, not just during controversial situations (findarticles.com, 2008).  · Many firms make the mistake of asking their legal department to draft their code of ethical practice. As a result the policy may not reflect the challenges employees routinely face on the job. That is why it is valuable to include people from all levels of the organization in discussion about ethical guidelines. Once the ethical policy is implemented, it is equally important to review it periodically to ensure it accounts for current business practices (Find Articles, 2008).  · While deciding for the ethical policy companies should adopt democratic approach despite of giving the task of policy formulation to the legal department firms must include people from all levels of the organization in discussion about ethical guidelines. Once the ethical policy is implemented.  · Management should apply the same ethical standards to everyone in the organization. The consequences for an executives dishonest conduct should be consistent with those of a junior staff member. No exceptions should be made (Find Articles, 2008).  · The work environment must be one in which people feel they can deliver bad news to management without fear of repercussions. (Find Articles, 2008). A good ethical policy will not prevent every crisis, but it will ensure that staff members have a clear understanding of expectations. Collaborate with employees on defining the rules and make sure everyone is aware of the requirements. Then take step to instil core values throughout the organization (Rodgers, 2004). With regular reinforcement, ethics will guide every decision organization makes and become a central element in the way the organization conducts business. CONTENT OF ETHICAL POLICY First of all, the ethical policy must reflect organizations values, controls and processes. Unless the policy, controls and processes adequately reflect that institution is unique organization, the code will not be effective in providing guidance or offering protections (Bankers Online, 2010). Depending on regulatory requirements the contents of ethical policy vary. In general, the ethical policy should contain rules on; record keeping, information security and privacy, gift and hospitality, cooperation with investigations and audits, conflicts of interests and of course, a â€Å"whistleblower† provision, establishes procedures for reporting any suspected illegal or unethical activities by others within the organization (Bankers Online, 2010). ADMINISTERATION OF ETHICAL POLICY There is no unique style of administration. In some companies legal department has oversight and administrative responsibility. In some, responsibility rests with Human Resources or compliance. Some other organizations have a special ethics committee empowered specifically for purposes of oversight and enforcement (Bankers Online, 2010) (Wood, 2002); Accountability is clearly defined. The responsible department or person has the stature necessary to facilitate enforcement, It is assigned to someone who does not have a propensity to engage in illegal or unethical activities. Important components of the administration of ethical policy include initial and on going training and awareness effort of receipt, understanding, and compliance with the code; standards for documentation of exceptions; standards for investigation of suspected or reported wrongdoing; consistent enforcement; and finally periodic review of the code to ensure that it is comprehensive and reflects the current organizational structure and business practice (Bankers Online, 2010). THE TAJ GROUP OF HOTEL: TAJ GROUP OF HOTELS: The Taj Hotels Resort and Palaces is a group of 64 hotels at 45 locations across India with an additional 15 international hotels. The most significant addition to the Taj portfolio has been the iconic landmark hotel in New York, the Taj Boston and the blue in Sydney (Taj Hotel, 2009; Tata.com, 2009). The Taj Group of hotels is a part of Indian Multinational Group ‘TATA which has been respected in India for 140 years for its adherence to strong values and business ethics. TATAs vision is to attain leadership through business excellence in the sectors that they operate in, while upholding values and integrity, to improve the quality of life of the communities they serve. TATAs has always been values driven. These values continue to direct the growth and business of TATA companies. The five core TATA values are (Tata.com, 2009); Integrity, Understanding, Excellence, Unity and Responsibility (Tata.com, 2009).Detail analysis of ethical policy of Taj Groups of hotel is as follows. ETHICAL POLICY AND ITS ANALYSIS As a part of TATA group Taj Group has a very comprehensive ethical policy, which gives each and every detail about what the group is intended to do in future. As a part of TATA the Taj group carries a long history of ethical practices. The ethical policy is in real sense an essence of 150 year of ethical and value based business developed by TATAs around the world. As TATA is very big organization they have a very detailed ethical policy for the entire group consisting 25 clauses which focuses on every aspects of ethical practice. The important points of this policy are discussed and analyzed here (Tata.com, 2009). National interests: the group is committed to benefit the economic development of the countries in which it operates. In the course of its business the company shall respect the culture, customs and traditions of each country and region where it operates. Financial Reporting of reports: The organization shall prepare and maintain its accounts in accordance with the generally accepted guidelines. There shall be no wilful omissions of any company transactions from the books and records. Any wilful, material misrepresentation of and / or misinformation on the financial accounts and reports shall be regarded as a violation of the Code, apart from inviting appropriate civil or criminal action under the relevant laws (Tata.com, 2009). Competition: As a TATA Group member organization shall fully support the development of open market and shall promote the liberalization of the market. No employee shall engage in restrictive trade practice act. Equal opportunity Employer: organization shall provide equal opportunities to all its employees and all qualified applicants for employment and shall promote diversity and equality in the workplace. Gift and Donation: A Tata company and its employees shall neither receive nor offer or make, directly or indirectly, any illegal payments, remuneration, gifts, donations or comparable benefits that are intended, or perceived, to obtain uncompetitive favours for the conduct of its business. Government Agencies: A Tata company shall comply with government procurement regulations and shall be transparent in all its dealings with government agencies. Political non alignment: A Tata company shall be committed to and support the constitution and governance systems of the country in which it operates. A Tata company shall not support any specific political party or candidate for political office. Health, safety and environment: A Tata Company shall strive to provide a safe, healthy, clean and ergonomic working environment for its people. A Tata company, in the process of production and sale of its products and services, shall strive for economic, social and environmental sustainability. Quality of products and services: The quality standards of the companys goods and services shall meet applicable national and international standards. Corporate citizenship: A Tata company shall be committed to good corporate citizenship, not only in the compliance of all relevant laws and regulations but also by actively assisting in the improvement of quality of life of the people in the communities in which it operates. The company shall encourage volunteering by its employees and collaboration with community groups. Cooperation of Tata companies: In the procurement of products and services, a Tata company shall give preference to other Tata companies, as long as they can provide these on competitive terms relative to third parties. Public representation of the company and the group: Tata group shall be represented only by specifically authorized directors and employees. It shall be the sole responsibility of these authorized representatives to disclose information about the company or the group. Group policies: A Tata company shall recommend to its board of directors the adoption of policies and guidelines periodically formulated by Tata Sons. Shareholders: A Tata company shall be committed to enhancing shareholder value and complying with all regulations and laws that govern shareholder rights. Ethical conduct: Every member of the organization shall exhibit professionalism, honesty and integrity, while conforming to high moral and ethical standards. Regulatory compliance: Employees of a Tata company, in their business conduct, shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Conflict of interest: An employee or director of a Tata company shall always act in the interest of the company, and does not involve a conflict of interest with the operations of the company. Integrity of data furnished: Every employee of company shall be entirely responsible in ensuring that the confidentiality of all data is retained and in no circumstance transferred to any outside party in the course of normal operations. Reporting concerns: Every employee of a Tata company shall promptly report to the management, any actual or possible violation of the Code or an event of misconduct, not in the companys interest. Analysis of ethical policy: Customer Focus: Customer relationship is of utmost importance for a business to achieve long-term profits. To gain a long term relationship with customers and achieve customer return for the business, the business needs to be based on ethics. The trustworthiness of a business, its customer service, its customer care, its way of dealing with customers and its urge to retain its old customers, is a part of business ethics. Businesses ethics leave a long lasting impression on their minds builds trust, fetching a business more customers while retaining the older ones (Buzzle.com, 2009) (BIZ ethics, 2009). Legalities: Most of us are concerned about making money for our business and we cater to the legalities in business but we seldom bother to base our business on ethics. At times, ethical duties of a businessmen and project managers could be more abiding then even the business laws. Ethics is a far reaching concept and goes beyond the idea of making money legally. Ethical values are way ahead of earning money. Ethics is more about the earning long lasting relationship in business (BIZ ethics, 2009) (Buzzle.com, 2009). Ethical Practice: People who seek motivation behind being ethical should understand that they are ethical by definition. Ethics is an integral part of running business and hence ethical values accompany business by default. Without following certain ideals in business, one cannot become successful. Success that is attained without a foundation of strong ethics is bound to be short lived. A business can not continue to prosper without an ethical base. A few successes can be coincidence or flukes but persistent success can only be a result of strong foundation of ethics (BIZ ethics, 2009) (Buzzle.com, 2009). Human resource: Organisational benefits should not be used in an unfair manner. The use of company resources for personal benefits and taking an undue advantage of business resource is completely unethical. Using the wealth of the business for personal reasons is not ethical. Using company fund for personal reason is unethical. A thoughtful and careful utilization of company resources is a part of business ethics. A vigilant and prudent use of resources is an essential component of ethics in business (Buzzle.com, 2009). Hospitality Bribe: Accepting bribes, pleasing the so called important clints, favouring a part of the customers while being unfair towards the others is against business ethics the primary aim is not just to maximise profits. It is rather to cater the needs of the society and work towards benefiting the masses. THE HILTON GROUP OF HOTEL: Hilton world wide is a multinational hospitality company started in 1919 in Cisco Texas. Today Hilton is expanded in 79 countries and operates around 3400 hotels world wide. Hilton world wide offers business and leisure travels the finest accommodations, service, amenities and values. The values of Hilton group are incorporated in its name that is HILTON where (Hilton Hotel, 2010); H Hospitality passionate about delivering exceptional world class services. Integrity doing right things all the time. Leadership leading the industry and community. Teamwork team work in every thing done. Ownership owner of action and decision. Now operate with the sense of urgency and discipline. The vision of Hilton group is â€Å"to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality†. ETHICAL POLICY Hilton Groups ethical policy is brief but comprehensive in nature. It clearly explain what is expected from the employee while performing their duties. Main points of Hilton groups ethical policy are discussed here as under (Hilton Group, 2010). Promote honest and ethical conduct, including fair dealing and the ethical handling of conflicts of interests. Promote compliance with applicable law and governmental rules and regulations. Promote prompt internal reporting of violation of this ethical policy. Insure the protection of the companys legitimate business interests, including corporate opportunities , assets and confidential information; and Deter wrong doing. As there is no standard format to draft the ethical policy for all the organization, in other words we can say that the ethical policy of the organization depends on the vision , mission and the core values of the company. Therefore two ethical code of conducts could not be compared point to point basis but their impact on the success of business could be. Here an attempt is being made to compare the ethical policy of the Taj Groups of hotel with the leading multinational player in hospitality industry The Hilton Group. In the Taj Groups ethical policy the national interests is at the top shows that TATAs believe that interests of the nation where they operates are of utmost important and shows their commitment to economic development of that nation and respect for the local culture tradition and values but this thing is not mentioned clearly in the ethical policy of Hilton group of hotels. Hilton group emphasis on corporate opportunities that for its entire group the business interests of the group are of utmost importance than any other thing. In case of Taj corporate opportunities are not discussed in detail, as Taj is a member of a well diversified industrial group it is been said that while working with other organisation group companies must be favoured. The Taj and Hilton are regarded very successful organization in hospitality industry, their success id simple reflection of the values and principal they follow in routine as well as strong adherence to their ethical policies respectively. Both the organisation emphasised on the transparent financial reporting system. Timely disclosure of all the transaction, prohibition of creative accounting, miss appropriation of financial information is regarded as the violation of ethical policy and punishable too. The ethical conduct is at the centre of the policy for both the organisation. Both the organisation put great emphasis on the professionalism, honesty and integrity while exhibiting high moral standard on work. Conflicts of interests is been recognized by both the organisation, it is clearly defined that if there exist any conflict, in that situation all the employees of the organisation will uphold the companys interest first. Hilton group is specially a hospitality company which has its interest in expanding world over and they are successful in achieving their objective, their policy of joining hands with other similar organisation for the expansion is paying them in better way. Taj group has to work on its expansion strategy that how they will realize the dream of being worlds best hospitality company. Taj group has to work on the application of technology to their counter part is using. Hilton groups web portal is more customer friendly than any other similar organisation. As Hotel Taj was the main target of Mumbai terror attack in India, Taj group has to come out with the clear policy with regard to the security of their guest because one incident in Mumbai degraded the image of the Group hotels and specially to attract the international customers more in number they have to concentrate on their marketing strategy too. In case of Hilton customers security policy is not clearly defined in their ethical policy thus they also required to work on it without waiting for any unpleasant event. Experts in business management and researchers have certified the need for businessman and company professional to study ethics. They have asserted the importance of founding business on ethical values and following them. They have urged management professionals to adhere to ethics and accept it as a part of business. Ethics remain being important in business and strong ethical values shall take the business a long way! (Biz Ethics, 2009) (Buzzle.com, 2009)

Let the River Run :: essays research papers

Things occur in nature, that we as humans sometimes prevent from occurring naturally. For example - a dam on a river. Once put into use on a river, a dam simply stops or slows down the natural flow of the water. Sometimes this is for the better, however - sometimes, it is for the worse. This is the case in the Grand Canyon. Some rivers go through natural, periods of flooding and receding, at certain times of the year, or in occurrence with other geographical events. For the first time in thirty years, in March 1996, flood waters rages through the Grand Canyon. However, this was not the result of a natural flood. The Colorado River would experience this same type of man made flood, naturally. These floods would occur every year during winter and spring rains. This water has been released from an upstream dam. The dam was put into action in 1963. Since then, years of environmental damage have been adding up. Dams have been on the river for nearly a century - however, none were upstream of the Grand Canyon until this one was built in 1963.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rivers have a number of processes involved in their everyday activities that allow themselves and the land around them to flourish. When the flow of a river is disrupted, so are these processes. Rivers carry sediments. Along with carrying these sediments, they also deposit them, usually onto surrounding land areas. This deposition occurs when the flow of the water slows down. The amount of sediment a river is carrying generally gives color to it’s appearance. Before this dam was built, the Colorado River possessed a cloudy, rust color. Now, when the water is stopped at this dam, over 90 percent of it’s sediment is dropped. As a result - this gives the river a crystal clear appearance. Another result of the lack of sediment, is the beach erosion that is occurring. Some beaches have eroded to over half of their original size. This erosion is happening because the beaches depended on the annual floods to bring them a continuous supply of fresh, fine sand. The dam is trapping a majority of the sand. There are small tributary rivers that flow uninhibited into the Colorado River below the dam, they bring some sediment - but not enough. As well as these beaches depending on the floods - the rapids in the river, have this same type of dependence. Here, the floods would clear any debris from between the boulders, an area that is now choked.

United States Foreign Policy Following World War II Essay -- America C

Though the United States was the military power of the world prior to World War II, its foreign policy was one of detachment. The government was determined not to get involved in other countries affairs barring unusual circumstances. A World War provided big enough means to become involved, as many Americans became enraged with the military ambitions of Japan and Germany. Following World War II, Soviet leader Stalin initially agreed to a democratic government in Poland and to free elections in other Soviet-occupied countries, but he ignored his own promises. This caused the United States and Britain to ignore Stalin’s wish of taking a hard line with Germany in settlement talks. The Soviets formed the Socialist Unity party in East Berlin and effectively gained control of East Germany. Though this had a lot to do with the fact that the European people were increasingly tired and lacked the energy to fight a growing Socialist party line, another major factor was that there were enough citizens in this area and in â€Å"other Soviet-dominated countries who believed communism was a better social system and that it could breed a new kind of humanity† (Stranges, 193). The apparent spread of communism caused many to question the government’s policy of non-intervention in foreign affairs. A counselor in the United States Embassy in Moscow, George Kennan, introduced the policy of containment which said that America needed to stop the spread of communism and that it would eventually die out so long as it did not broaden. Not only were the American people scared of the spread of communism, but the United States government believed that communist nations would spread like falling dominoes if even one country in a region began enacting socialist policies. The United States implemented this new policy with the passage of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan of June5, 1947. In the Truman Doctrine, then President Truman pledged $400 million in aid to Turkey and Greece in an effort to avert communist takeovers. This served as an open ended offer to nations â€Å"to choose between freedom and democracy or terror and oppression† (Stranges, 194). The Marshall Plan was an effort to rebuild 16 nations in Europe. $13.326 billion was pledged to Britain, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, an... ...n claims that they it was winning the war seemed inaccurate as the North Vietnamese were able to launch the Tet Offensive in January of 1968. As the American public rapidly began to oppose the war, Nixon began to remove American troops from Vietnam while increasing the bombing at the same time. Nixon claimed he was ending the war, but the United States forces invaded Cambodia in april of 1970. The United States had removed all troops from the area by March of 1973, much later than most Americans believed this should have happened. Following the war with Vietnam, America foreign policy saw a new shift. This shift is marked by the decline of containment to a policy of a ‘here and now’ approach. That is, the United States’ new policy was to deal with each situation on a case by case basis rather than treating every threat of communism as a threat to containment. This reclaimed part of the old policy of objectivity in international affairs. As the past shows, controversies and wars alike have the power to dramatically shift a countries foreign policy. One can only wonder what will cause the next change. Works Cited: Stranges, George. The Cold War. New York: Random House, 1997

Retirement Revamping Essay -- essays research papers fc

Social Security is a major concern in American society today. Social Security first started in 1935 under President Roosevelt when he signed the Social Security Act that provided the elderly with guaranteed retirement income. In 1939, benefits for spouses, dependent children of retirees, and survivors of workers who die before retirement were implemented by congress. In the 1950’s, disabled workers were also given benefits. Now days, Social Security is under close scrutiny. Funds are depleting, and Social Security is in need of some serious revamping. Many solutions have come forth, but the most workable plan is to create privatized investment accounts that allow individuals to have more influence over their own money for retirement. (Weisman) In 2000, $402 billion dollars were spent to give over 45 million people benefits from Social Security. 63%, or $348 billion dollars, went to retired workers while the other 37%, or $54 billion dollars, was distributed among disabled workers and their families. As of 1950, there were 16 people paying Social Security taxes to every one retiree receiving benefits. Now, the ratio is at a dismal 3.4 tax payers to every one recipient. (Clayton) Projectionists are saying that with the current taxes and the current spending, more money will be paid out than brought in by the year 2016. In fact, some say the deficit will reach numbers totaling $17.4 billion in 2016. More over, if this trend continues, debt will reach $99 billion by the year 2020 and $271 billion in 2030; projections show that funds will be completely dried up by 2038 if nothing has still been done. (Weisman) Economists have several different proposals for how to fix the problem. Some say that individuals should have complete control over their money to invest in the stock market as they choose. They see investing some of Social Security in the market as the only way to eliminate the deficit. They say the deficit will soon increase with the baby boomers generation primed to retire in the next 12 years, and they believe the market is the country’s best bet to keep Social Security afloat. (Weisman) Others believe that just a few minor adjustments are needed to fix the problem. Ideas, such as the raising of maximum wages subject to a payroll tax and investing 15% of Social Security’s surplus in stocks, have been proposed to combine in the aid of eliminating the de... ...e implemented in the younger American generation. This will save social security for its future recipients and create a better foundation for the upcoming generation. The fact of the matter is, Social Security will change, and it must change or else retirement for all will cease to exist. Works Cited Clayton, Gary E. Economics Principles & Practices. Columbus, OH: Glencoe McGraw   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hill. 2003. Feldstein, Martin. â€Å"Privatizing Social Security: The $10 Trillion Opportunity.† Social Security Privatization. 11 Nov. 2004. . Ferrara, Peter. â€Å"A Plan For Privatizing Social Security.† Social Security Privatization. 11 Nov. 2004. . Ferrara, Peter. â€Å"The Failed Critique of Personal Accounts.† 8 Oct. 2001. 11 Nov. 2004. . Orszag, Peter R. â€Å"Costs of Voluntary Individual Accounts for Social Security.† 5 May 2000.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15 Nov. 2004. Rechtman, Yigal. â€Å"The Idea of Privatization.† Social Security and Privatization. 11 Nov. 2004 â€Å"Strengthening Social Security.† The White House. 11 Nov. 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Weisman, Jonathan. â€Å"Bush Pushes for Overhaul; Others Say Go Slow, If at all†. USA   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today.

Owl- Foolish or Wise

Ullu (owl) – Foolish or Wise? Today in ITPN class, a very interesting debate started but due to lack of time and due to some over excited people (mostly psychology stream kids, they speak so much! Are all psychology people gifted with feature like â€Å"I think after I speak,†? it’s so annoying) who have to speak on everything! The debate somehow could not finish properly. So, the house was divided on if â€Å"Ullu† was wise or foolish. Owl, who wakes up at night and sleeps during the day, is considered to be the poster boy of wisdom and smartness.In Hindu mythology owl has been bestowed with the honor of being the vehicle of goddess Saraswati. Now Saraswati is supposed to be the goddess of knowledge and music. So if we interpret it correctly, owl can be seen as the vehicle of knowledge, which I assume, is a very respectable thing to be. But then why does â€Å"ullu da patha† which means son of an owl is taken as an insult? So when someone is callin g you â€Å"ullu da patha† isn’t he indirectly calling you something truly respectable?But actual meaning of â€Å"ullu da patha† isn’t son of an owl, but when someone calls you â€Å"ullu da patha† what he’s trying to say is â€Å"I can’t abuse you properly right now†, and by properly I mean reaching mothers and sisters. That’s the reason it’s taken as an insult because we know the hidden meaning. We often hear people calling us â€Å"ullu† whenever we do something foolish. But what is that foolish thing which our poor owl does that people keep associating our foolish acts with his? Is it his gaze? Or his nocturnal sleeping habits? But what’s so wrong about sleeping in the daytime?If everyone is sleeping at night that does not mean our poor owl has to copy them. I think it somehow shows how our society sees things, if someone is not doing what majority is doing, he is labeled as stupid. Why are ever ybody expected to do same things? Walk the same path to success. Isn’t this stupid? (Doing things without thinking and follow what others do) Ask any science student today who is studying in school that what he wants to do after school? Answer would be the same, â€Å"I want to become an engineer and then do an MBA! Thank God, I am not running in this horse race. I guess, not everybody was so ignorant and somebody somehow realized that how wise our poor owl could be. I don’t know what was that person thinking when s/he made owl the vehicle of Saraswati and put our owl in the league of wise. I think what makes him wise, is the fact that he has the wisdom of the night. He knows what others don’t and he knows what other’s hide. He knows the secrets of the night. His uninterrupted gaze, his 360 degree vision, sees what lies in the dark, what happens in the underbelly.Maybe people had started calling him stupid, to hide their shame, they thought that by calli ng him stupid they would make him untrustworthy and nobody will trust his words. But they forgot that our poor owl needs to sleep too, he won’t tell their secrets to anybody because when the whole world daydreaming, our poor owl is actually dreaming in his sleep. So, if next time, someone calls you â€Å"ullu da patha,† don’t feel bad and think about the hidden meaning. Rather think about the respect that man is giving you unknowingly! -Shikhar Goel