Speed-the-Plow Plot Summary and Study Guide

Speed-the-Plow is a play written by David Mamet. It is comprised of three lengthy scenes involving the corporate dreams and strategies of Hollywood executives. The original Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow opened on May 3rd, 1988. It starred Joe Mantegna as Bobby Gould, Ron Silver as Charlie Fox, and (making her Broadway debut) pop-icon Madonna as Karen. What does the title Speed-the-Plow mean? The title is derived from a phrase in a 15th-century work-song, God speed the plough. It was a prayer for prosperity and productivity. Plot Summary of Act One: Speed-the-Plow begins with the introduction of Bobby Gould, a recently promoted Hollywood executive. Charlie Fox is a business colleague (ranking below Gould) who brings in a movie script that is connected to a hit-making director. During the first scene, the two men gush about how successful they will become, all thanks to the script option. (The screenplay is a stereotypically violent prison/action movie.) Gould makes a call to his boss. The boss is out of town but will be back the next morning and Gould guarantees that the deal will be approved and that Fox and Gould will get a producer credit. While they discuss the mutual hardships of their early days together, they also mingle with Karen, a temporary receptionist. When Karen is out of the office, Fox wagers that Gould wont be able to seduce Karen. Gould takes the challenge, offended by the idea that Karen would be attracted to his position at the studio, but incapable of loving him as a person. After Fox leaves the office, Gould encourages Karen to become more goal-oriented. He gives her a book to read and asks her to stop by his house and provide a review. The book is titled The Bridge or, Radiation and the Half-Life of Society. Gould has only glanced at it, but he already knows that it is a pretentious attempt at intellectual art, unsuitable for a movie, especially a movie at his studio. Karen agrees to meet him later in the evening, and the scene ends with Gould convinced that he will win his bet with Fox. Plot Summary of Act Two: The second act of Speed-the-Plow takes place entirely in Goulds apartment. It opens with Karen passionately reading from the Radiation book. She claims that the book is profound and important; it has changed her life and taken away all fear. Gould tries to explain how the book would fail as a film. He explains that his job is not to create art but to create a marketable product. Karen continues to persuade, however, as her conversation becomes more personal. She states that Gould does not have to be afraid anymore; he does not have to lie about his intentions. In her scene-closing monolog, Karen says: KAREN: You asked me to read the book. I read the book. Do you know what it says? It says that you were put here to make stories people need to see. To make them less afraid. It says in spite of our transgressions - that we could do something. Which would bring us alive. So that we neednt feel ashamed. By the end of her monolog, it is apparent that Gould has fallen for her, and that she spends the night with him. Plot Summary of Act Three: The final act of Speed-the-Plow returns to Goulds office. Its the morning after. Fox enters and begins to scheme about their upcoming meeting with the boss. Gould calmly states that he will not be green-lighting the prison script. Instead, he plans to make the Radiation book. Fox does not take him seriously at first, but when he finally realizes that Gould is serious, Fox becomes furious. Fox argues that Gould has gone insane and that the source of his madness is Karen. It seems that during the previous evening (before, after or during love-making) Karen has convinced Gould that the book is a beautiful work of art that must be adapted into a film. Gould believes that green-lighting the Radiation book is the right thing to do. Fox becomes so angry that he punches Gould twice. He demands that Gould tells the story of the book in one sentence, but because the book is so complex (or so convoluted) Gould is unable to explain the story. Then, when Karen enters, he demands that she answers a question: FOX: My question: you answer me frankly, as I know you will: you came to his house with the preconception, you wanted him to greenlight the book. KAREN: Yes. FOX: If he had said no, would you have gone to bed with him? When Karen admits that she would not have had sex with Gould if he did not agree to produce the book, Gould is flung into despair. He feels lost, as though everyone wants a piece of him, everyone wants to leech off of his success. When Karen tries to persuade him by saying Bob, we have a meeting, Gould realizes that she has been manipulating him. Karen doesnt even care about the book; she just wanted a chance to quickly move up the Hollywood food chain. Gould exits to his washroom, leaving Fox to promptly fire her. In fact, he does more than fire her, he threatens: You ever come on the lot again, Im going to have you killed. As she exits, he throws the Radiation book after her. When Gould re-enters the scene, he is glum. Fox tries to cheer him up, talking about the future and the movie that they will soon be producing. The last lines of the play: FOX: Well, so we learn a lesson. But we arent here to pine, Bob, we arent here to mope. What are we here to do (pause) Bob? After everything is said and done. What are we put on earth to do? GOULD: Were here to make a movie. FOX: Whose name goes above the title? GOULD: Fox and Gould. FOX: Then how bad can life be? And so, Speed-the-Plow ends with Gould realizing that most, perhaps all, people will desire him for his power. Some, like Fox, will do it openly and blatantly. Others, like Karen, will try to deceive him. Foxs final line asks Gould to look on the bright side, but since their movie products seem shallow and overtly commercial, it seems that there is little satisfaction to Goulds successful career.

Diversity Management and Cultural Intelligence - 1260 Words

CARROLL 1 Shavasia K. Carroll Current Issues in OB Final Diversity Management and Cultural Intelligence Diversity Management and cultural intelligence is the crucial keys in today’s workforce to successfully compete in a global marketplace. Corporations can no longer use lack of cultural intelligence as an excuse. Organizations pursuing global success must embrace diversity in their thoughts, actions, and innovations. Diversity doesn’t just focus on making the numbers, but how the organization’s business model is rooted authentically with its people. More and more leaders are realizing that they just don’t connect naturally with the changing face of global consumers. In today’s global workplace, diversity management and cultural†¦show more content†¦It shows gains in the diversity of the workforce and implements resources groups and structured mentoring programs (Mor-Barak, 2011). Using tools such as the Seven Dimensions of Culture, Hofstede s Cultural Dimensions, and Wibbeke s Geoleadership Model to understand what makes employees’ cultures different. The organization shows a competitive advantage with talent by reaching a wide range of customers and clients. These initiatives have senior management support, accountability, backing of an overarching corporate philosophy, multiple measures of success and that allow for changes in the corporate culture that improve the diversity climate are more likely to be more effective than initiatives that lacks these key ingredients (Bernardi, 2009). Once you are aware and able to plan in light of your cultural understanding. A cultural intelligence strategy for an organization is to implement a metrics-driven accountability for its diversity management effects (Llopis, 2011). The organization shows innovative diversity management initiatives, such as work/life programs that aid in CARROLL 4 retention and talent development and the linking of supplier-diversity efforts to community building (Four, n.d.). Cultural audits identify obstacles faced by employees of backgrounds and modify the organization’s practices through surveys and focus groups (Mor-Barak, 2011). Finally in the last step,Show MoreRelatedLeadership Skills to Manage Diversity in the Military937 Words   |  4 PagesEssay 5: How Do Leaders Manage Diversity In The Military? Introduction Given the proliferation of missions that often have multiple objectives aligned to counterterrorism, humanitarian aid, and national defense, the alacrity at which the armed forces are expected to integrate and quickly deliver results in a foreign nation is increasing. 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Marketing Management Sony Corporation

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Management for Sony Corporation. Answer: Introduction: The digital camera from Sony Corporation is popular only because of its quality and high-resolution features, which has made a revolution in the photography industry. The research and development team of Sony Corporation has decided to launch a new range of digital camera, which is effective enough to provide perfect exposure compensation, picture effects, manual focus and aperture control than the other competitor companies fail to manufacture. The team has decided to launch these new ranges of digital camera will be launched in famous location of Australia such as, Brisbane, South Wales, Melbourne and Canberra. The young adult, who has passion in the new trend of photography are the targeted customers of Sony Corporation (Benner and Tripsas 2012). As these digital cameras possess with innovative and creative features such as shutter priority and shutter speed control, therefore it is more attracted than the other available digital cameras in the market of Australia. However, the Se nior Management Team of Sony Corporation is not so much overwhelmed with the launching of the new camera range in Australia and they have provided the responsibility of investigating about the adequate steps and actions before launching the new product in market. I have gone through the market strategies and the offered products from the competitor companies of Sony Corporation in Australia such as Canon and Nikon (Bogue 2013). These competitor companies fail to offer the customers extra high speed shooting capability, which is the innovative and unique feature of the digital camera of Sony. Although the Senior Management Team is very much sure about the success of the newly launched product in the market, still I have provided some effective options of promoting and advertising the product. El Kaoutit et al. (2013) have mentioned that the Senior Management Team of an organisation generally decides the international strategies in order to develop the brand value. I suggested them as every individual has account on social media, therefore, it will be best for our company to promote the digital cameras on various social media platform such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and official website of the company in order to attract the new-edge clients of Australia. Our new product is capable enough to reflect that nothing is impossible in this highly technologically advanced world and nothing is beyond reach. Figure 1: Market share of Sony with other competitor companies in Australia (Source: Hutchinson and Williams 2014) The image sensor of new digital cameras of Sony Corporation is incredibly convenient as it helps to capture captivating movies and still photographs from every perspective. The CMOS sensor is capable to make the subjects to be stand out in beautiful manner in those situations when the taken shot is in extreme close up. The new range of digital camera from Sony Corporation features blazing speed and extended zoom capacity, which will give the photographers a completely new experience (Lee and Lee 2013). The new range of digital cameras consists of RX10 III, Cyber-shot DSC-WX500B and Dsc-HX90V. I have suggested the Senior Management Team of my company to provide promotional sales and discounts to the first 100 customers and a headphone, which is featured with noise-cancellation. Even if the customer order this new digital camera through online and using net banking process, then they will be rewarded with payback points and online redemption for next shopping of electronic products fro m Sony Corporation. The digital cameras of Sony Corporation are tangible, perishable and variable. The managers of this company focus on the perception and behaviour of the consumers. Every digital camera is manufactured only after analysing the basic marketing strategies, which includes high volume, brand differentiation and brand identity. As there are a large number of competitor companies available in the Australian market, therefore, the research and development team has made less expensive digital camera with modern technology. Before launching the new digital cameras in the market, the research team forecast the business success of the new products with the process of repositioning, line extension, and bass and pre-test market models. I have thoroughly analysed the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of the new digital cameras of Sony Corporation with appropriate comparison with Nikon and Canon. Porters Five Forces help me to understand the necessity of the bargaining power of the customers and suppliers for launching a new product in the market. According to Bister et al. (2014), SWOT analysis and Porters Give Forces Analysis is suitable to understand the external and internal environment of an organisation. Both the theoretical analysis of market positioning, targeting and segmentation pay an important role during my thorough and detailed investigation of the market. All the challenges and benefits of the newly launched digital cameras are evaluated and assessed in order to understand in critical manner the actual demand of the clients from Sony Corporation. The framework of the organisation of Sony Corporation allows the employees to share own suggestion to the management regarding the new product. T he innovation of this camera involves the compatibility and observability, which its competitor companies fail to offer. Product Life Cycle (PLC) involves the market introduction, market growth, market maturity and sales decline after analysing the total industry sales and profit. However, the research and development team of this particular organisation is always busy to leverage on the modern technologies for creating innovative, unique, high quality and interesting products in order to increase the level of sales revenue (Hutchinson and Williams 2014). The holistic approach of Sony Corporation is appropriate to mitigate the risk factors in effective manner. References Benner, M.J. and Tripsas, M., 2012. The influence of prior industry affiliation on framing in nascent industries: the evolution of digital cameras.Strategic Management Journal,33(3), pp.277-302. Bister, D., Mordarai, F. and Aveling, R.M., 2014. Comparison of 10 digital SLR cameras for orthodontic photography.Journal of orthodontics. Bogue, R., 2013. Recent developments in MEMS sensors: A review of applications, markets and technologies.Sensor Review,33(4), pp.300-304. El Kaoutit, H., Estvez, P., Garca, F.C., Serna, F. and Garca, J.M., 2013. Sub-ppm quantification of Hg (II) in aqueous media using both the naked eye and digital information from pictures of a colorimetric sensory polymer membrane taken with the digital camera of a conventional mobile phone.Analytical Methods,5(1), pp.54-58. Hutchinson, I. and Williams, P., 2014. Digital cameras.British journal of orthodontics. Lee, K.J. and Lee, B.W., 2013. Estimation of rice growth and nitrogen nutrition status using color digital camera image analysis.European Journal of Agronomy,48, pp.57-65.

Obasan By Joy Kogawa Essay Example For Students

Obasan By Joy Kogawa Essay Today, society has become a boisterous world of communication. From telephone conversations to live Internet chat and e-mail, the world has never before been quite so in touch. In the novel Obasan, by Joy Kogawa, Naomi Nakane does not have technology to communicate. Instead, she faces the dilemma of communicating at all. From her family, Naomi is shown the many faceted truths of speech and communication. From strong, silent Obasan, to stubborn, resolute Aunt Emily, Naomi finds that one can correspond with others through silence as well as through speech. As a child, Naomi spends much of her life in non-communicative silence, only to help further the distance between herself and her mother. As Naomi grows into womanhood and beyond, she discovers that in speech lays understanding and, unfortunately, pain and sorrow. Joy Kogawa’s tale of Naomi Nakane shows how one young girl can live a tortured life and find peace living life in between silence speech. Naomi’s relationship with Obasan is an influential one, molded from love, respect, and understanding. Naomi describes Obasan’s way of communication best when she say declares, â€Å"The language of her grief is silence. She has learned it well, its idioms its nuances. Over the years the silence with her small body has grown large and powerful†(Obasan 17). Obasan’s silent stance provides a firm starting point for Naomi to return to when she needs to find her bearings. Obasan provides Naomi only positive reinforcement when it comes down to determining the right and wrongs of silence. Obasan used her silence to protect the children from the many faceted horror known as truth. The truth behind Naomi’s mother was requested to be kept from Naomi and her brother, but it was also potentially damaging to them as well. â€Å"The memories were drowned in a whirlpool of protective silence†¦ For the sake of the children, calmness was maintained†(Obas an 26). Aunt Emily believes that the only way to live at peace in the present, you must live in peace with your past. Emily gets this across to Naomi when she goes on a rant and says â€Å"You have to remember. You are your history. If you cut any of it off you’re an amputee. Don’t deny the past. Remember everything. If you’re bitter, be bitter. Cry it out! Scream! Denial is gangrene. Look at you, Naomi, shuffling back and forth between Cecil and Granton, unable to go or stay in the world with even a semblance of grace or ease†(Obasan 60). Unfortunately, for the quiet Naomi, Emily also believes that in order to be at peace with your past you must stand up and yell at those at fault for reconciliation. Emily shows that her beliefs remain contingent upon facts, and that everyone needs to be on the same page before healing can begin. â€Å"’It matters to get the facts straight†¦Reconciliation can’t begin without mutual recognition of the facts,’ she said. ‘Facts?’ ‘Yes, facts. What’s right is right. What’s wrong is wrong. Health starts somewhere.’† (Obasan 219)Naomi cannot comprehend the angle with which her aunt approaches life. While Naomi may believe reconciliation is in order, she is only discouraged when she looks to see where speech has placed her Aunt Emily. â€Å"If Aunt Emily with her billions of letters and articles and speeches, her tears and her rage, her friends and her committees—if all that couldn’t bring contentment, what was the point† (Obasan 50). Naomi becomes more and more frustrated when she sees the futile efforts of her Aunt. Albeit, she does believe that what her Aunt is doing is important for her Aunt, she cannot see the use if the results of such hard laborious tasks go for naught. The Tell Tale Heart EssayWhen Aunt Emily finally discloses the story of Naomi and Stephen’s mother, Naomi takes the news very stoically. She is happy to finally know what happened, confused because she does not understand why she was not told sooner, and saddened, because she would have liked to see her mother, disfigurement and all. Now that her mother is dead, she does not get the chance relinquish the great weight of Mr. Gower from her soul, and continues to live, disfigured in her own way. Her mother was the only one that could have helped her and now, â€Å"Dead hands can no longer touch our outstretched hands or move to heal†(Obasan 294). Naomi had suffered wounds so psychologically damaging that only her mother could heal. While Ojisan remains like a stone and Emily remains ever vocal, Naomi’s brother Stephen goes off on his own tangent. Stephen denies his Japanese heritage because of the discrimination he has faced from others. Stephen does not want to be Japanese and instead puts forth all his efforts to be white. He takes upon himself the habit of eating only ‘white’ food, like hamburgers and sandwiches, and wearing white clothing. Stephen does not talk because those who talk draw attention, which is precisely what Stephen does not want to do. Instead of speech or writing, Stephen uses music as his voice. Worst of all, Stephen distances himself from the family, moves away and attempts to rid himself of all Japanese ties, only calling home once a year. As Naomi’s last immediate family member, Stephen only hampers the healing process, which Naomi must attend to. Naomi’s childhood, a terrible and brutal struggle for such a young delicate flower, yields to a blossoming adulthood of understanding and compassion. Although her wounds will never fully heal, Naomi has come to terms with her mother’s absence and her family’s silence. While Stephen does not adapt at all, and instead runs from his problems, Naomi allows herself to become immersed in the flood of her problems. Naomi Nakane spends the early years of her life trying to determine where in the confusion she will take her stand in the battle between verbal communication and silent acceptance, only to find that she has no choice and fate has decided that she will remain silent, longing to speak. BibliographyObasan by Joy KogawaBook Reports

Todays Mafia Essays - Gambino Crime Family, John Gotti, Jerry Capeci

Today's Mafia Although many arrests have been made, organized crime and the Mafia are still very active. Organized crime and its families, particularly the Italian mafia, have increased their illegal activities significantly over the past few decades. The Mafia and organized crime go hand and hand, one cannot be spoken without the other. Both of these forms of criminal actions have been recognized since the late 1800's, and police say it is not disappearing too fast. (Widener 6) Migration from Italy, has brought over many Italian criminals and crime tactics. The Italian Mafia has always been based on the island of Sicily and the southern mainland provinces of Calabria and Campania. (Worsnop 273) Traffic in drugs, chiefly heroin, provides the bulk of the Italian Mafia's revenue from Sicily. Cocaine is becoming more important, however, as drug lords from Colombia try to expand beyond the Americas. To gain a foothold in Europe, the Colombians have got to strike deals with the Mafia, which ironically guards its home turf. (273) Italy in general, has added to the crime list of the Mafia for over 100 years. The famous Al Capone, the Italian-American gangster of the Prohibition era, also known as Scarface because of a knife cut to his cheek. (Nash 79) He was born Alphonse Capone in Naples, Italy, and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He left school at an early age and spent nearly ten years hanging-out with gangs. In the 1920's he took over a Chicago organization dealing in illegal liquor, gambling, and prostitution from the gangster Johnny Torrio. (80) Convicted of income tax evasion in 1931 and sentenced to 11 years in prison, he was released in 1939. After obtaining syphilis, he went on to reside in Miami Beach, Florida. (80) Many Italian families are a major influence on the organized crime melting pot. Families such as the Colombo's, the Gambino's, the Bannanno's, and the Luchesse's have migrated from Italy, and play an important role in the organized crime system. (Worsnop 267) The Colombo family, which consists of approximately 100 members is currently led by Victor Orena. Victor is currently acting as boss due to the absence of Carmine Persico, who is serving a prison sentence for racketeering. (268) The Colombo families main activities include loan sharking, gambling, smuggling, and narcotics. This family guides much of its attention to the states of Florida and Texas. (Inman E2) The Gambino Family is the largest Mafia Family in the United States. This family has over 500 members and are located throughout the nation. Although indicted this family is still managed by John Gotti. Most of the focus of this family is on contracted killings, gambling, narcotics, and extortion. The focus of this family is nationwide. (E1) The Bannanno and the Luchesse families do not play as an important role in the organized crime melting pot as the Colombo and Gambino families do. (Worsnop 279) Both families combined for about 200 members. The main focus of criminal activity between the families are counterfeiting and pornography. This mostly spreads throughout most of the southwestern portion of the U.S. (Inman E2) Although New York seems to be the place where most Mafia action occurs, many other areas are influenced by the Mafia. Many people think that the Mafia only exists in New York. Astonishing enough New York is ranked nineteen out of twenty-five on the list of most active organized crime cities. Cities like San Jose, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Rockford, Ill., rank within the top ten. (Trimble 30) Some major crimes committed in the smaller cities are credit-card fraud, hijacking, prostitution, and drugs. (30) Some illegal business fronts include Nightclubs, Fast-food outlets, trucking, and garbage collection. (30) In the international Melting Pot of organized crime, has many different cultures. Such groups as the Chinese Triads, the Japanese Yakuza, and the Vietnamese Gangs, whom all base their sect along the same lines of the New York Mafia families. (Worsnop 270) The Chinese Triads are secret societies which were formed to overthrow the Ching Dynasty (Chinese government) in the early 1900's. (270) It was soon reintroduced again in the 1990's. Some of the crimes related to the Chinese include extortion, gambling, and smuggling of narcotics and aliens. (270) The Japanese Yakuza

Combining Principles and Pragmatism

Combining Principles and Pragmatism One of the most challenging attributes of leadership is balancing between principles and pragmatics. The two attributes are a contrast of each other, yet are both important to successful leadership. The main question thus is if it is actually possible to attain a perfect balance between principles and pragmatism, and when do principles override pragmatism and vice versa.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Combining Principles and Pragmatism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are valuable lessons learnt from historical leaders, such as Thomas More, a fifteenth century British fictional moralist. Each of the lessons learned from Thomas More’s story shows that other than striving to seek a balance between pragmatism and principles, leaders ought to understand when to be principled and when pragmatism is the more appropriate approach to leadership. This is attained through the use of a variety of techniques that enable leaders to achieve balance between pragmatic and principled leadership. Suffice to say that each of the two attributes to leadership separately plays an important role in leadership. Despite the fact that people prefer to be led by morally upright pragmatic leaders, it is easier if leaders understood that it is almost a futile attempt to combine the two. Leaders can however be more effective if they understand when to be pragmatic and when to be principled. Choosing to be principled means that a leader’s objective is to motivate and be inspirational to others. As such this is how mentors are born. Mentors thrive on principles. This is due to the fact that people who are being mentored are attracted to principled mentors, rather than pragmatists, as unlike pragmatists, principled leaders are able to stick to given principles, an attribute that makes it hard to fault them. Other than in mentorship, being principled is also vital in parenthood. Parents have to be fairly p rincipled to effectively run stable homes. Principled parenting means that one is able to appeal to the senses of ones’ children. Parents who run the risk of being pragmatist are too nice to their children and as such may end up destroying their homes, rather than building them (Badaracco, 2006). The relationship between pragmatism and principles has also been brought under spotlight t in military expeditions especially in war torn regions. Effective management of war time conflict means that the military has to decide when to be pragmatic and when to stick to war principles. This enables the military to deal with civilian as well as military issues effectively (Cordaid, 2006).Advertising Looking for essay on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Modern day leaders have to learn when to be pragmatic or principled. They must also be able to make critical choices, between pragmatism of principle s, according to their convictions and stick to those choices even under greatest duress. They also have to know that the choices they make will at times come to test. As such modern leaders have to learn that making such choices also comes with dire consequences. While this is a valuable lesson, it has been exemplified in fictional characters rather than real life characters. A fifteenth century British icon of moral leadership, Thomas More exemplified this. Despite the fact that More was both a pragmatic and principled leader, he chose to live, and die by his conviction of principled leadership even when it meant going against the king’s decree. The result of More’s choice of principled leadership was his beheading. More’s choices and subsequent beheading is seen as one of the greatest sacrifices by a person in the history of England. Thomas More was canonized and knighted posthumously and his values of principled leadership have remained an inspiration to many to date (Badaracco, 2006). This implies that modern day leaders have a mentor in Thomas More on principled leadership. Leaders must also learn that there are consequences that come along with making such choice. Even though More’s story is a great inspiration on principled leadership, it does not mean that principled leadership overrides pragmatism. Thomas More life exemplified the values of principled leadership but More was also was an icon artful balance between principles and pragmatism, a situation that Guyatt (2003) refers to as the realism of pragmatists. Ambitious Modern day leaders have to learn how to attain this through a variety of tactics such as humor, seeking to be understood and being dramatic. This implies that if modern day leaders acquire these skills they will become leaders for all seasons. Furthermore, more approach of seeking artful balance is a reelection of how the world of leadership is a complex place. Despite the fact that Thomas More sacrificed p ragmatism with tragic effects, for effective day to day leadership, understanding the using a little bit of principles and pragmatics, is more beneficial than choosing either.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Combining Principles and Pragmatism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is thus impossible to attain a perfect balance between being a pragmatic leader and a principled leader. This is captured in Badaracco’s question ‘How well do I combine pragmatism and principles’. The perspective of balance is altered by the use of the term well in this title. This implies that a perfect balance is almost impossible, but an artful balance can be attained through certain skills in what is referred to as achieving artful balance. Reference List Badaracco, J. (2006). Questions of character. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Cordaid. (2006). Principles and pragmatism Civil-military action in Afghanistan and Liberia. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/liberia/principles-and-pragmatism-civil-military-action-afghanistan-and-liberia Guyatt, N. (2003). Another American century? The United States and the world since  9/11. London: Zed Books.

Organizational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organizational Behaviour - Essay Example The organisational structure has an essential impact on the organisational behaviour due to its contribution in the view of the members of the organisation (Kumar and Mittal 5). The organisational structure is defined by the ‘system of task, reporting, and authority relationships within the organisation’ with the purpose of coordinating the operations and process based on the mission, vision and goals (Griffin and Moorhead 407). Within these stages and steps, the organisational behaviours of the employee and the leaders play an essential and crucial role. The main purpose of the establishment of organisational structure is to be able to have an efficient, methodical and orderly accomplishment of goals to be able to achieve end results e.g. production of goods or provision of services. There are different factors included in the structure of the organization such as the type of leadership, the division of labour and the coordination of the different actions and processes undertaken within the system. One example that can be viewed is the production of computers in the Dell Company. Without the proper organisational structure, either the production of computers will be a failure or the thousands of employees will build their own computers and sell them. In such a scenario, the cost efficiency would never be achieved due to high labour and production costs (Griffin and Moorhead 407). Basically, a structured organisation enables efficient work that can ensure achievement of goals. Upon the determination of the determination of the meaning of organisational structure, the next step is the determination of the implications related to these challenges. In the case of the organisational structure, there are different issues that can affect the company specifically on the basis of organisational behaviour. In the contemporary era, one of the issues being faced by organisations is the international competitiveness on the basis of globalisation. This is a cha llenge specifically for the highly complex global organisations. This entails a very specific protocol and rules on the division of labour of the members of the organisation as well as the coordination of every unit especially since the operating units can be separated by territorial, cultural and social boundaries. Examples of such organisations are the Philips of Netherlands and the General Motors. These companies originated from different countries but due to transnational organisational structure, they cater to nations around the world (Daft 237). In these types of organizations, the organisational behaviour is important in every aspect of the operation. In the different units located in other countries, a common method used is the adaptation to the local cultures to be able to successful accomplishment of goals. Intrinsic organisational behaviour is comparatively more basic, such as dedication to the mission, vision and goals, and cooperation to other members of the organisatio n. Organisational Culture Organisational culture can be defined as the core values of as organisation and the collective view, perspective and course of action of the whole organization. It is also the manner and quality by which the members of the organisation work. Thus, organisational culture is directly related organisational behaviour since the individual attitude and behaviour of a worker is influenced by the prevailing culture within the organisation

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

PROJECT MANAGEMENT - Essay Example This necessitates a ‘leader’ to be appointed for the temporary team of different people, whose sole objective is to fulfill the client’s requirements. Section-1 of the report deals with the reasoning as to why a client’s project manager has to be appointed. Section-2 suggests the form of procurement method that is appropriate for this project. Finally, Section-3 shows a graphical representation of the schedule of the pre- construction phase. Successful project management is the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the elements of the project to meet the project needs (T. C. Cornick, James Mather, 1999). Managing the construction project is about managing the project information and communication flow. (The Evolution of Project Management in Construction Projects) Project managers can come from a variety of backgrounds, but will need to have the necessary skills and competencies to manage all aspects of the project from inception to occupation. This role may be fulfilled by a member of the client’s organization or by an external appointment (Pete McGarvey, 2002). The client’s project manager whether ‘in-house’ or externally appointed, is the person to take the role of directing and managing the temporary ‘organization’, the sole purpose of which is to fulfill the client’s project objectives (T. C. Cornick, James Mather). The importance of deploying competent personnel with the correct skills to manage projects cannot be over emphasized. It is a key issue in minimizing risks to successful project delivery. Management ability is a skill which is characterized of the following skills (Construction Works Procurement Guidance); Creating and distributing knowledge in construction projects is strongly depending on the project manager (Ingeborg Knauseder). The construction of an office development, like any other construction project, involves a lot of

International Finance International Investing Project Research Paper

International Finance International Investing Project - Research Paper Example According to the report the explanations will offer insight on what is driving the valuations of the U.S.-based MNCs and the foreign stocks over time. Select two stocks of U.S.-based MNCs that you want to include in your portfolio. If you want to review a list of possible stocks or do not know the ticker symbol of the stocks you want to invest in, go to the website http://biz.yahoo.com/i/, which lists stocks alphabetically, or to http://biz.yahoo.com/p/, which lists stocks by sectors or industries. Make sure that your firms conduct a substantial amount of international business. Next, select two foreign stocks that are traded on U.S. stock exchanges and are not from the same foreign country. Many foreign stocks are traded on U.S. stock exchanges as American depository receipts (ADRs), which are certificates that represent ownership of foreign stock. ADRs are denominated in dollars, but reflect the value of a foreign stock, so an increase in the value of the foreign currency can have a favorable effect on the ADR's value. To review a list of ADRs in which you may invest, go to www.adr.com and click on ADR Universe. Click on any industry listed to see a list of foreign companies within that industry that offer ADRs and the country where each foreign company is based.From this paper it is clear that if you do not already use a specific website for this purpose, go to http://finance.yahoo.com/?u and register for free. Follow the instructions, and in a few minutes you can create your own portfolio tracking system. This system not only updates the values of your stocks, but also provides charts and recent news and other information on the stocks in your portfolio. Evaluation At the end of each month-October 31, November 30 and December 31 during the fall 2011 semester, you should evaluate the performance and behavior of your stocks. 1. a. Determine the percentage increase or decrease in each of your stocks over the period of your investment and provide that percentag e in a table like the one below. In addition, offer the primary reason for this change in the stock price based on news about that stock or your own intuition. To review the recent news about each of your stocks, click on http://finance.yahoo.com/?u and insert the ticker symbol for each firm. Recent news is provided at the bottom of the screen.

Compare and Contrast Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper

Compare and Contrast Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper Positivists regarded empirical observation freed of preconceptions as the means by which facts were obtained and explained. This view, however, has been greatly contested since the Vienna Circles avid pursuance of it. The main problems include its inability to be checked and criticised by the scientific community members. In other words, they are subjective, fallible and thus unreliable.  [1]  It is this initial discontent with positivism, especially with logical positivism which prompted Karl Popper to develop his Theory of Falsifiability, a theory which no longer relies on induction but on deduction, which accepts that truth is not attainable and which casts theories aside which have been refuted by only a single piece of empirical evidence. Falsification is also a demarcation between science and non-science, something which has proved to be very controversial. Thomas Kuhn, perhaps the most well known critic of Poppers work, does not believe in induction or deduction as methods through which science progresses. Instead, he introduces the concept of normal science, revolutionary science and paradigms. The differences between these two mens work will be analysed, the implications of each for the conduct of social sciences commented upon and the work of Imre Lakatos, a twentieth century philosopher of mathematics and science, highlighted in order to illustrate just how much both philosophers resonate in the social sciences as a whole. Karl Popper, Positivism and his Theory of Falsifiability Karl Popper was first and foremost a philosopher of the natural sciences,  [2]  his knowledge of the social sciences being limited basically to economics.  [3]  With that in mind, one understands why he agreed with Rudolph Carnap in advocating that philosophy should learn from how the natural sciences operate. He believed scientists should adopt a critical attitude, willing to incessantly test their views with empirical evidence and rational discussion which the Vienna Circle had so avidly promoted. However, Popper was soon to highlight flaws with positivism, especially with logical positivism. These were, in particular, its dedication to the principles of inductivism and verificationism. Inductivists claim that via induction, one is able to obtain secure scientific knowledge and that the inference is legitimate if a significant number of singular or observational statements are gathered under a wide variety of circumstances.  [4]  In order to maintain the empirical certainty of inferences obtained through the deductive method, the universal law premise must be empirically certain.  [5]  However, as Popper pointed out, one has no assurance that any universal empirical proposition is certain. For Popper, the problem of induction was insurmountable, contesting that if science is empirical its [] laws must be treated as tentative hypotheses.  [6]   Popper accepted the Humean critique of induction, claiming not only that it is never used by scientists but that observation, believed to be an initial step in the formulation of theories, is misguided  [7]  . Hume also pointed out that observation is selective and theory-laden and thus one can never make pure or free observations.  [8]  Popper, however, disagreed with Hume over whether knowledge could be rationally justified. Hume saw inductively inferred laws as merely an account of habit or custom, (suggesting that) even scientific knowledge is irrational.  [9]  Popper, on the other hand, in order to avoid statements allowing empirical evidence to confirm false theories, believed that induction could be replaced by deduction. Deduction draws inferences about the premises from the observed falsity of the conclusion.  [10]  To justify this, he argued that though even with a body of empirical evidence, one can never be absolutely certain about the validity of a theory , it takes only one empirical rebuttal to determine the falsity of a theory. Popper denominated this the asymmetry between verifiability and falsifiability  [11]  , a difference which became the centrepiece of his philosophy of science. Scientists begin with universal statements and initial conditions from which they deduce hypotheses which will then be subsequently tested. If they withstand the test, the theory will survive; if falsified, the theory is abandoned. Falsifiability, according to Popper, is the criterion of demarcation between science, or the empirical sciences and the non-science. There are, however, degrees of falsifiability. The more information a statement contains, the larger its body of observational statements and therefore, the higher its degree of falsification. According to Popper, scientists should aim at highly refutable theories instead of modestly falsifiable ones. It is preferable for the theory to be bold, precise and simple  [12]  as their empirical content will be greater and therefore there will be a larger body of potential falsifiers. Poppers definite break with logical positivism appears in their search of certainty: the positivists aimed to specify methods that would generate certain knowledge  [13]  whilst in Poppers view, one can only hope to improve what must always remain imperfect  [14]  as future tests could cast doubt over what was previously thought of as true. If we take Poppers approach to the search for truth, it would initially appear that there are an endless number of possible true theories.  [15]  However, Popper addresses that by explaining his notion of verisimilitude. The scientific process of trial and error which Popper advocates creates a greater approximation of the truth, or increases the verisimilitude of the theory. Popper, Marxism and Pseudo-Science The young Popper had been attracted to the apparent strength of theories such as Freuds psychoanalysis and Adlers individual psychology. These theories were regarded as capable of explaining virtually everything related to human behaviour as verifications were found to justify every advancement. Popper, however, was soon to discover a major flaw in them: they could not be refuted. Freud was therefore severely criticised by Popper for producing immunised theories against falsification. A theory unable to be falsified belongs, in Poppers view, to a non-science. His drastic approach towards pseudo-science was also extended to Marxism, especially the Marxism that Neurath had brought to the Vienna Circle. Neurath interpreted Marxian materialism as epsitemically equivalent to his own physicalism  [16]  and hailed Engels and Marx as having produced the foundations of a truly scientific study of society. In Poppers opinion, this could not have been further from the truth. The problem with Marx was not only that he was considered a historicist, but that he was a utopian too. Marxism, initially considered as a science because of its predictive nature, was soon re-classified as fundamentally non-scientific. The predictions Marx had made had not been borne out and in order to save it from falsification and refutation, ad hoc hypotheses were added, making the theory compatible with facts. These factors prompted Popper to adopt falsifiability as his criterion for demarcation between science and non-science. If a theory, according to Popper, is capable of being falsified or, in other words, is incompatible with empirical evidence, it is considered as scientific. If, on the other hand, a theory is compatible with all observations and is capable of explaining virtually everything be it because, as with the case of Marxism, it has been modified to accommodate newly made observations or, because, as in the case of psychoanalysis, it is indeed consistent with all observations made and to be made in the future, it is categorised as unscientific.  [17]  It is thi s criterion which characterises Poppers theory of falsifiability and which was soon criticised. Implications for the Social Sciences Popper helps demolish one of the notions positivism embraces, namely that science progresses from the observation of data by means of experiments. These experiments are verified when repeated allowing general laws about the nature of reality to be inferred. Popper, therefore, shows that progress is made not by verifying facts, but by attempts of falsifying the results of other theories.  [18]  The theories of science, he argues, are conjectures to solve problems and cannot be verified by empirical evidence.  [19]  The switch from induction to deduction also means that rather than proceeding from the particular to the universal, science originates from the universal (i.e. scientific hypotheses) to the particular.  [20]   Sander Thomas Kuhns Theory of Paradigms Thomas Kuhn began his career as a physicist and then turned his attention towards the history of science where his preconceptions about natural history were shattered  [21]  . His Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) was developed as an attempt to give a theory more in keeping with the historical situation as (Kuhn) saw it  [22]  . Unlike Popper, his main aim was not to provide guidelines to scientists about how to proceed or to develop a normative philosophy of science. The central concern of his thesis was to characterise the way in which science historically develops and to explain why scientists have operated in such a way. Kuhns Structure of Scientific Revolutions has been one of the most provocative (pieces of work) to appear in the last fifteen years  [23]  , offering the most sophisticated alternative to Popper.  [24]  Science, in his opinion, does not progress inductively as positivists would maintain nor by falsification as Popper would argue. Alternatively, Kuhn places focus on the revolutionary character of scientific process, where a revolution involves the abandonment of one theoretical structure and its replacement by another, incompatible one. Kuhns approach to the way science progresses can be summarised by the following open-ended scheme: pre-science normal science crisis revolution new normal science new crisis  [25]   According to Kuhn, the pre-science stage is a disorganised and diverse activity preceding the formation of science. It eventually becomes structured, directed and channelled when a single paradigm emerges and is adhered to by the scientific community. As will be discussed below, the concept of paradigms itself has been subjected to heavy criticism, not least because of its ambiguous nature. However, vaguely, one can postulate that paradigms contain some very general methodological prescriptions  [26]  to guide scientific work. Paradigms also serve a regulative function in directing future research.  [27]  Workers within a specific paradigm whether it be Newtonian mechanics or wave optics practise what Kuhn denominates normal science. As professed in Structure of Scientific Revolutions, normal science is: research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time as supplying the foundation for its further practice.  [28]   Normal science is inextricably characterised by a dominant paradigm, something that Popper quickly picked up upon as irrational and superficial.  [29]  In normal science the scientists work is devoted to the articulation and wider application of the accepted paradigm.  [30]  In other words, their main aim is to fill out what is suggested by the accepted paradigm.  [31]  It is therefore clear that little emphasis is placed upon normal science and research to produce major novelties as a primary aim. Kuhn, in effect, reduces Poppers falsification theory to problem solving within the confines of normal science. According to Kuhn, science is merely a set of puzzles whose solutions are to be found within the operating paradigm  [32]  . Normal scientists do not actively look for anomalies which the content of their paradigm will be hard-pressed to solve. However, when a recurrent anomaly does arise which the paradigm is unable to resolve, crisis will break out. During such a crisis, extraordinary science occurs characterised by a plurality of views and a challenge to the fundamentals of the paradigm. The crisis will then be resolved when a completely new paradigm emerges which has the capacity to resolve the previous, problematic anomalies and, in doing so, attract the allegiance of a growing scientific community until eventually the paradigm posing the problem is abandoned. Therefore, the new paradigm not only has to be able to resolve the anomaly, it also has to be subsequently accepted as normal science, thus establishing a new consensus. A scientific revolution according to Kuhn is constituted by discontinuous change  [33]  as the newly adopted paradigm will be confronted with problems it is unable to resolve and thus the never-ending cycle continues. Kuhn and Popper The Structure of Scientific Revolutions soon became problematic to reconcile with Poppers theory of falsification as Kuhns historical account about how scientists operate came into conflict with Poppers work. The emphasis Kuhn placed on scientific communities, their rules and expectations, was used to explain why scientists were not always willing to refute and actively search for falsifications of their theories. Unlike what Popper claimed, the scientific communities would not question the paradigm they work within until a particular anomaly was repeated. Instead, they might question their own calculations or instruments implemented, but never the broader framework they operate within.  [34]   Poppers reaction to Kuhns severe criticism was veritably weak. He simple asserted that Kuhns accurate historical account of science clashes with the facts as I see them.  [35]  According to Kuhn, falsification has not been in use in the past for the reasons highlighted above. Poppers rebuttal to this was that he, unlike Kuhn, had not focused on providing a historical account but on providing guidelines for future scientists. He also criticises Kuhn for producing a highly selected theory, one which disregarded large chunks of normal science.   [36]   Popper also criticised Kuhn for paving the way for irrationalism and relativism,  [37]  the reason for this lying in two of Kuhns statements. Firstly, the fact that Kuhn equated the switch in paradigms to a gestalt switch or a religious conversion because he believed in a holistic theory of meaning  [38]  means that it is very difficult to compare scientific theories. Secondly, because of Kuhns cynical approach to verisimilitude and his belief that we never get closer to the truth, his explanation on how science progresses seems ill-founded. In these contexts, Popper criticises Kuhn of adhering to the myth of framework which presupposes that rational and critical discussions can only take place if fundamentals are agreed upon. Popper strongly disagrees with this concept, as with the belief that science will not progress across paradigms and argues that different frameworks always have enough in common to allow the scientific community to compare and judge them, triggering pro gress. Other Criticisms of Kuhns Work Popper has not been alone in criticising aspects of Kuhns Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Bernstein succinctly puts the majority of the criticisms in his The Restructuring of Social and Political Theories  [39]  . The ambiguous nature of paradigms and the irrationality of the paradigm shift have been discussed above. Critics have also pinpointed Kuhns misrepresentation of the history of science  [40]  , the inaccurate description of normal science  [41]  and the exaggerated distinction between normal and revolutionary science  [42]  . In order to further show the relevance of Kuhns work to the social sciences, the vagueness of paradigms will be discussed, as the irrationality of paradigms has been explained above. When first introduced, Kuhn claimed paradigms were universally recognised scientific achievements that for a time provide model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners.  [43]  However, the elusive and slippery concept  [44]  of paradigm was shown when Kuhn acknowledges that he had been using the term paradigm in many ways  [45]  , citing Masterman who listed at least twenty two senses in which the term was used in the book.  [46]  To tackle the confusion created by his multiple use of paradigms, Kuhn proposes to replace it with a disciplinary matrix.  [47]  A disciplinary matrix includes the shared commitments of the community of scholars, the shared symbolic generalizations and [] the shared problems and solutions in the discipline.  [48]   Mark? Other Implications for Social Scientists. Even though Thomas Kuhn has been almost exclusively concerned with the natural sciences, social scientists have repeatedly claimed his work offers fresh illumination for understanding social sciences and theory.  [49]  Part of the reason for this is, as Kuhn himself pointed out, the fact that his work is regretfully [] too nearly all things to all people.  [50]   The revolutionary transformation in the use of observation as a means leading to theory has also had an impact on social scientists. Kuhns starting point for the formulation of theories is not reality but construction.  [51]  Kuhn contributed to demolishing [] positivism  [52]  not only by admitting revolutions in science involve the intrusion of non-scientific elements such as habits, customs or cultural values, but also in casting doubt over the possibility of attaining perfect knowledge and over the established idea that progress in science is cumulative. One of the most important consequences Kuhns work had for the social sciences was the significance he attributed to the role played by the sociological characteristics of scientific communities. Kuhn turned away from the search for an ideal methodology to the study of science by scientific means and, in doing so, invigorated the empirical study of science.  [53]  Finally, Kuhn may have hastened the demise of positivism by prompting and then influencing the naturalisation of epistemology, a movement which has become prominent through, for example, a conventionalistic and naturalistic study of science. Imre Lakatos: A Middle Man? By the late 1960s a great deal of the debate on the philosophy of science had come to focus on the difference between Kuhns paradigms and Poppers revision of positivism. Numerous epistemic doctrines entered this debate and different interpretations of Popper and Kuhns works emerged, reflecting the impact they had on their contemporary critics and their effect on the conduct of social science as a whole. Lakatos is one of the most prominent critics of their works, his critique generally considered as the most important attempt to place the post-empiricist theory of science somewhere between Popper and Kuhn.  [54]   Imre Lakatos at the outset appears to be a supporter of Poppers falsification theory. He strongly criticised Kuhn for his irrationalist and too general  [55]  concept of a revolution and his notion of a single, dominating paradigm. Lakatos defends Popper against the charge of naive falsificationism, the immediate discarding of a theory as soon as contradictory evidence is exposed. However, he goes beyond Popper in claiming that science progresses by sophisticated falsification which focuses on the comparative evaluation of whole research programs.  [56]   Sophisticated falsificationists realise that the conditions that a hypothesis should satisfy in order to be worthy of a scientists consideration [] alone are insufficient  [57]  and that the need for a hypothesis to be more falsifiable than the other it will replace is necessary for scientific progress. Thus, it is not single theories which are falsified but entire programs, embodying the notion of refutation [] not automatically lead(ing) to rejection.  [58]  Such an epistemic theory strikingly resembles Kuhns theory of paradigms. The difference between them only appears when closely examining Lakatos notion of research programs. According to Lakatos, every scientific research program has a hard core, a set of propositions that are immune from empirical tests  [59]  because they are surrounded by a protective belt of assumptions or conditions.  [60]  Though research programs and paradigms have been equated, Lakatos proposes that normal science be considered more as a research program for reasons of its general acceptability  [61]  and does not attribute the general status to it that Kuhnian paradigms have. Furthermore, the transition from one research program to another is the product of rational exploration of rival methodologies  [62]  and not, as Kuhn implied, a mystical conversion  [63]  to a new ontology. Cultural values, historical events and other external factors are far less important in Lakatos eyes and play little part in particular scientific theories or the choice of general research programs, levelling Kuhns theory down to critical rationalism.  [64]   Lakatos MSRP has not emerged without enticing criticisms. Firstly, he seems to have physics exclusively in mind when he developed his theory and when referring to science. Other natural sciences cannot as easily be accommodated to the Procrustean bed of the MSRP  [65]  and it is only economics which seems to offer the possibility of an easy fit.  [66]  As a model for the history of science, MSRP fails to meet the empirical test of general acceptability  [67]  . It is also limited in explaining how science works, failing to formulate the criteria needed to be employed for it to work. However, as Gordon highlights, the fact that Lakatos was flexible in not regarding former scientists as misguided in adopting theories that now would be considered irrational is a significant point of merit in Lakatos epistemic stance.  [68]  The MSRP model allows the possibility of gaining knowledge by using theories that are subsequently regarded as, in the absolute sense, false.  [69]    Conclusion As Lakatos claimed, The clash between Popper and Kuhn is not about a mere technical point in epistemology. It concerns our central intellectual values, and has implications not only for theoretical physics but also for the underdeveloped social sciences and even moral and political philosophy.  [70]   As seen with Sanders account, Popper has greatly influenced the political sciences, contributing to xxxx. Kuhns work, on the other hand, as Mark Smith rightly points out, has had a deep impact on the conduct of social sciences because of the vagueness and therefore adaptability of the term paradigms.  [71]  Despite their distinct approaches, however, both men have met with severe criticism, not only from each other, but from scientific colleagues and both have apparently failed to address these adequately.  [72]  It is therefore not surprising that xxxxxx

Investigate the Cell Sap Concentration of Solute in a Potato Chip using

Investigate the Cell Sap Concentration of Solute in a Potato Chip using Osmosis Aim The aim of the experiment is to investigate the cell sap concentration of solute in a potato chip using osmosis and produce a figure informed by the investigation as to what this is. Background Information A factor that effects how much water moves into a cell is the solute concentration within it. Water moves in and out of cells by diffusion, this diffusion is called osmosis. Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules from a place with a high water potential or high concentration of water to a low water potential or low concentration of water. If a solution has a high water potential this means it is weak or dilute solution so it only has a small solute (e.g. glucose) concentration. However, if a solution has a low water potential it is a strong more concentrated solution because it has a much higher solute concentration. Osmosis is the diffusion of water in these solutions from a high water potential to a low water potential or in terms of solute concentrations, from a dilute solution to a more concentrated solution as a more concentrated solution would have a much lower water potential that a dilute one. The water passes through what is known as a partially permeable membrane, which basically is what separates living cells from their surrounding. The membrane is called partially permeable and not fully permeable because it only allows water to diffuse through it and not solute. The cell wall is an example of a fully permeable membrane because it allows water and solute to pass through it, it does not block any of these molecules. The diffusion of water molecules by osmosis always flows down a water potential gradient, which basically means from a high to a low water potential this is how the water moves up through a plant in the xylem vessels, once one cell is full of water, the water will move all at once to the next cell. The water is moving from a place of high concentration to a place of low concentration, like the valves in our hearts stop our blood flowing back the other way, the cell membrane of the cell make sure the water only flows up the plant, this is known as the transpiration stream. When water is lost through the stomata this leaves empty cells with low water potentials therefore the water is always moving up the plant from higher water potentials to ... ...nt parts of the potato as they may have different solute concentration and it may be discovered that the point of no net movement will be different in different areas of the potato or even in different areas of the same chip. The smaller the potato slices from the different areas of the potato then the more detailed an analysis could be of which part of the potato has the highest/lowest % solute concentration. The experiment could be done again using smaller concentrations, say with a range of 5%-7% and at intervals of 0.25% this way a figure for the actual % solute concentration in a potato chip could be pin-pointed to a much more exact figure. Finally an experiment could be done using different types of potatoes to decipher whether the type of potato depends on the % solute concentration it has. The trends could be taken for many types of potato and then an average taken of them to give a figure which most represents the solute concentrations in many potatoes. This figure could then be compared or even investigated at the same time as an experiment to see if there were different solute concentrations in different parts of the potato and the links, if any, between them analysed.

Lily’s Fulfillment of the Hero’s Journey Essay

The classic story line of the hero’s journey can be recognized in almost every book, movie, or short story written. Even in some stories that would not be that obvious, such as the historical fiction novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Although not very recognizable two out of the three main stages of the hero’s journey are departure and initiation. These are apparent through out Lily’s journey to find herself and her mother’s history. The third main stage, return, is not as apparent in the novel. Departure, the first stage of the hero’s journey, is portrayed in Kidd’s historical fiction novel. This stage includes meeting the mentor, the call to adventure, and crossing the first threshold. Lily’s mentors through out the story are the bees. She goes back to them as a source of knowledge because she feels they have life figured out. The call to adventure happens when Lily realizes the only way to find answers for her many questions about her mother is to leave and search for them. â€Å"Lily Melissa Owens, your jar is open. In a matter of seconds I knew exactly what I had to do- leave†(Kidd 41). Crossing the first threshold occurs after Lily’s realization. When she packs a bag leaving a note for T-Ray, her abusive father, and going to the hospital to get Rosaleen. The second stage, the initiation, takes place through most of the story and explains all of Lily’s trials to find herself and information about her mother. Through out Lily’s journey to find information about her mother, she encounters many hardships that help her mature and find herself. One of the biggest advances of her finding herself and maturing is when she falls in love with Zach. â€Å"Zachary Lincoln Taylor, resting there, along my heart.†(Kidd 231). This quote shows her feelings towards Zach and how much she cares about him. Although some trials created joy others created sorrow. â€Å"I looked away. I knew then. May was dead.†(Kidd 193) These three sentences make what happened really prominent and it enhances dread and sadness. Another example of a hardship Lily has to go through is when T-Ray comes to Tiburon to get Lily back and bring her home. â€Å"How dare you leave me! You need a lesson, is what you need!†(Kidd 294). This quote increases the understanding of T-Rays anger at Lily for leaving him. Lily’s hardships all affected her either positively or negatively. The third and final stage of the hero’s journey, return, is not as visible in this novel as the other stages. The return stage includes the refusal of the return. Although Lily refuses to go back to the peach farm with T-Ray, this is not a refusal to return to her ordinary world. Lily’s ordinary world is at the honey farm with August, June, and Rosaleen. Because Lily’s ordinary world is at the honey farm she doesn’t need to return to Sylvan, South Carolina. The step the master of the two worlds, where the character has become comfortable with themselves and everyone around them, is shown. At the end of the book Lil has come to accept the fact that she killed her mother. Also she has matured and found herself through out all of the trials she has gone through. The story line of the hero’s journey follows Lily Owens through her journey to find herself and information about her mother. The three stages she follows are departure, initiation, and although not as apparent return. After completing the hero’s journey she is now able to go on with her.

Slavery from 1607-1775 essays

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Foreign Policy Toward Iraqi Refugees Essay In 2003, the US war in Iraq finally toppled Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime and freed the Iraqi people from the bondage of tyranny. However, the re-establishment of democratic processes and the road to achieving peace have led to perdition, as Islamist fundamentalism prevailed during the cultural-religious bestowal even at the time prior to Saddam’s reign of power. The victory of democracy in the installation of a new Iraqi government instilled the shadow of political unrest and extreme economic recession, in which the fall of Baghdad may have been buried in a deep grave. 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In addition, the media said that the documentation of casualties and victims of similar crimes has to be reconciled with at large proportion due inability to locate substantial witnesses and the family of the victims. Goal Positioning The goal of this paper generally seeks to discuss and examine the continuing struggle for survival in Iraq. The product of examination shall be presented through a course of study pertaining to foreign policy toward Iraqi refugees. In particular, a holistic approach will be undertaken, to: (1) identify the extent and magnitude of mass evacuation of refugees, and (2) examine the availability of foreign policies that concern Iraqi refugees. In addition, the objective of the study is to address the long debatable issue on host country refugee adoption and to answer the question â€Å"why and how Iraqi refugees could be hosted by countries like the United States of America but neither by other European countries or in Asia? † This question plainly posits the feasible means of a foreign policy that could be adopted [if there once that exists,] in which this compendium could ventilate the avenues of legislation and to the meanest effort of influencing the public interest for policy initiatives. Background of Study The background of the study focuses on the sub-human conditions of the Iraqi people and their desire to flee from their homeland in exile as refugees. The background [based on the plight of the Iraqi refugees] will also discuss derivatives of study on foreign policies that evolve the goals of this paper. The additional consideration on the need for enabling a foreign policy for Iraqi refugees could indicate and can be comparatively analyzed with the proportion of violence that links the overall unaccounted number of Iraqi casualties. Thus, the initial indicator is based on the documented report that follows: (1) US military killed in Iraq is estimated at 3,973; (2) number of US troops wounded in combat since the war began is 29,203; (3) Iraqi Security Force deaths is 7,924; (4) Iraqi civilians killed is estimated at a range from 81,632 to 1,120,000; (5) internally displaced refugees in Iraq is estimated at 3. 4 million. On the other hand, as part of the documented report , the cost of war has accounted to; $526 billion to date, with a cost per day of $275 million and being estimated at a long- term bill of $3 trillion. In addition, Iraqi unemployment has grown from 25 to 40 percent. Literature Review A brief review of similar literatures will be discussed in this section in order to: (1) present the collection of initiatives and collaboration of international entities and governments for refugees, and (2) link the relevance to the process of this paper. Canada was tasked to assume the role of â€Å"gavel-holder† of the newly established Refugee Working Group (RWG) in January of 1992 as part of the design of the general Middle East peace process (MEPP) that created the Expert and Advisory Services Fund (EASF) as a Canadian involvement to the Middle East Multilateral Peace Process . The EASF is administered by Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). The implementation of EASF for the period of March 2002-2008 works within key policy issues on refugees, in which EASF (Phase 3 IDRC) programs embark on the â€Å"compensation to Palestinian refugees as part of a comprehensive solution, challenges of repatriation and absorption, and gauging and engaging public opinion† . In a related finding, the Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service through its Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) located in Qatar and the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) in Washington jointly conducted a study in 2007 regarding this for . The study showed that Iraqis in Jordan and Syria are beneficiaries of two opposing foreign policies, one is the tradition of Arab brotherhood which comprises a political and moral responsibility in providing refuge while the other is an option of Jordan and Syria not to integrate the Iraqis’ permanency . However, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) considers the Iraqis as â€Å"prima facie refugees† (being registered refugees) who were issued with â€Å"asylum seeker cards† in Jordan and refugee cards in Syria. The UN agencies and NGOs have provided immediate support to lessen the misery. Furthermore, the study team stated that â€Å"the war in Iraq is not limited to Iraq since it has intensely affected the Middle East region . However, according to a statement of a UK-based NGO, many refugees are denied asylum status, being degraded and are even called as â€Å"welfare scroungers† or â€Å"fake refugees† when they come to the UK . It is obvious that the US and UK’s War on Terror is marginalizing refugees still further as numerous legitimate political movements are labeled terrorist . In addition, based on the statement, the UK has curved entire migrant communities as terrorist suspects [in which the anti-terrorism laws have widened the classification of terrorism] encompassed with political activities even on those who are against oppressive regimes overseas . Moreover, the US government has recently released a press statement disclosing that about 12,000 Iraqi refugees will be admitted to US before the end of 2008. According to State Department’s Senior Adviser James Foley, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs’ Tony Edison and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Senior Adviser on Iraqi Refugee Issues’ Lori Scialabba, Iraqis were identified as potential candidates for emigration to the United States. After a year of redoubled efforts, all of the organizations involved in the process are working together to build a more effective refugee screening program . The three US officials further stated that the US has poured in $171 million in humanitarian assistance to displaced Iraqis both in and outside the country in 2007. However, the UN has appealed for $123 million in 2007 to $261 million for 2008 . Scope and Limitation The scope of work will be composed of a 2-prong method which are: (1) on-field and out- field research; within the scope of finding available and adequate materials as derivatives in the conduct of evaluation and the actual field validation of data and (2) study review in areas of fitting in the study parameters in view of legislative policy agenda for refugees in order to re-examine the gaps and further conduct of study. Considerably, the aspect of out-filed research may be limited only to accessing the available data sources, such as on-site interviews to various individuals or personalities and gathering of other data materials that are readily available. Perspectives It has been a glaring and presently debatable issue that Iraqi refugees pose a challenge to global governments and communities of progressive people. The parameters of the study believe that Iraq has not yet overcome the war. While it is true that Iraq was once a captive of political and religious dogmas, the country must still be retained to its sovereign people. The Iraqi refugees is a shame to the least part of developed and even underdeveloped world from Africa to Asian continents because in that part of Middle East lies a bleeding country characterized by the plagues of war. It is in this regard, the study envisions a perspective that would create and supplant the bondage and stigma of war from the life of the Iraqi people. The study also aims to map out the road to recovery, and through that, a foreign policy for Iraqi refugees may guide the ascendancy of moral values and responsibility in order to achieve peace in Middle East and the rest of the world. Conclusion It is clear the Iraqi people continue to walk on the road to perdition due to their long struggle of tyranny. It could be described that the misery after the fall of Baghdad has a continuum in despicable plight. The global partnership in restoring and retaining the democratic processes in Iraq may be a long process and difficult due to the intensely adverse cultural-religious entanglement. Nevertheless, it is necessary to first restore the people’s lives, specifically women, and children. Once this is achieved, it will be no longer hard to once again see the flourishing city of Baghdad where people co-exist in abundant life amidst the barren lands. Bibliography America. Gov, â€Å"United States to Welcome 12,000 More Iraqi Refugees in 2008† (February 06, 2008) [http://www. america. gov/st/peacesec- english/2008/February/20080206160027idybeekcm0. 824032. html] Erik Leaver and Jenny Shin, â€Å"The Iraq Quagmire†, Foreign Policy in Focus, Institute of Foreign Policy, Washington DC 20036. (March 4, 2008). [http://www. fpif. org/fpiftxt/5036] International Development Research Centre (IDRC), â€Å"Middle East Expert and Advisory Services Fund†, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (2008). [ http://www. idrc. ca/uploads/user-S/12060300201Microsoft_Word_- _EASF_Program_Profile__3__final. pdf] Kristele Younes, â€Å"The Iraqi Refugee Crisis†, Foreign Policy in Focus, Institute of Foreign Policy, Washington DC 20036 (March 14, 07). [http://www. fpif. org/fpiftxt/4059] Patricia Weiss Fagen, Iraqi Refugees: â€Å"Seeking Stability in Syria and Jordan†, Georgetown University Institute for the Study of International Migration (2007). [http://www12. georgetown. edu/sfs/isim/Publications/PatPubs/Iraqi%20Refugees. pdf] The Refugee Project, 44 Ainger Road, London, NW3 3AT (2008). [http://www. therefugeeproject. org/]