UKs Economic Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UKs Economic Issues - Essay Example These effects have been not had a positive impact on the economy of UK. Policies have been developed to curb the situation but still it has continued to persist. As per now in accordance to the latest labour statistics from the office of statistics shows that the rate of unemployment stands at 7.8%. This percentage is still deemed high having in mind the fact that UK is one of the most developed countries, which translates to its economy. Its economy ought to be depicting a no or very low unemployment rate. With the population of several millions unemployed, you definitely expect some difficulties in the economy (Clegg, 2013:1-58). This is not only to the directly affected people but also to the government and society at large. The government is deprived of the very income tax it majorly relies on to fund its projects. When people who are both able and willing to work lack the job to do, they do not stop using the resources available. The strain is direct on the people being dependen t upon and the government. The government ought to continue offering security, basic healthcare, education and other social needs with nothing in return inform of income tax. The government needs money to run and if this money is not available, the business is bound to go down. The government being a major player in any market, it loses strength and this is what UK had been struggling to fight. The deficits on the budgets have partly been influenced by unemployment as people enjoy services they are not paying for through payment of income tax. In the year 2011/12, the expenditure exceeded the earning collections by ? 1.8 billion. With continued increase of this figure, the population of UK may be subjected to national debt. The purchasing power of the people of UK has gone down. This is primarily because the fluctuations in the unemployment rates have set grounds for uncertainties. For the last five years, the dependency ratio has fluctuated though in average the trend has been dimi nishing more because of the creation of part-time jobs. It is automatic that when one is not employed, he has no power to purchase anything even if he is willing to do so. This effect has seen the internal demand of goods produced locally go down a bit. Fallen demand has seen the industries reduce their operational capacity some to as low as 75% and this have gone to the worse edges of even risking more people to unemployment. The trend has though gained momentum of improving and the true state of matter today is not what it was five years ago. Effect of Balance of Payment on UK Economy Balance of payment entails a number of things. First, it involves the current account then financial account. Capital balance and net errors and omissions are also taken into account when arriving at the net value of the balance of payments (Krugman & Wells 2009: 600). Goods and services together with income inflows and current transfers are considered for current account (Krugman & Wells, 2009: 600) . The financial account is basically a trade of any financial assets. The capital account had been determined by capital asset sale. For the last five years, the balance of payment has also been fluctuating as unemployment has been. The current account has been on the deficit side for a long time. Economists have argued that this is a favourable situation as some countries which have had a large surplus like Japan have remained stagnant in growth but yet UK has been growing since the 1980s when the deficit began (EconomicOutlook, 2010: 60-76). The financial and capital account surpluses have been offsetting the deficit in the current

Target Private Label Brand Analysis Essay Example for Free

Target Private Label Brand Analysis Essay In this assignment we analyzed Target’s private labels. Target has both value and premium private brands. Target uses â€Å"Up Up† for its value private label products and â€Å"Archer Farms† for its premium private label food products. The three product categories that we picked are household products, health products, and food products. The first household product that we picked is Target’s Up Up body wash. The Up Up’s Delicate Exfoliating Body Wash is compared to the national brand Dove Exfoliating Body Wash. They both are 24 oz and have the same package size and color. The Up Up is $3.24 whereas Dove is $5.49 which is 69% more expensive than the Up Up body wash. In terms of packing, the Up Up body wash has the same packing as the Dove body wash. They are very identical to each other and have the same shape and color. The Up Up body wash is placed on the upper right shelf where other body wash products are placed. In addition, the private brand is placed on the same shelf, but to the right side of the national brand. Next, we picked Target’s Up Up hand soap. The Up Up’s Moisturizing Hand Soap Aloe Vera is compared to Softsoap Soothing Aloe Vera hand soap. They both are 64 oz, have the same package and color. The Up Up is $3.69 while Softsoap is $4.49 which is 22% is more expensive than Target’s private brand. In terms of packaging, the Up Up hand soap has the same packaging as Softsoap hand soap. They both look the same and have a similar package size, shape and color. The Up Up hand soap is placed on the center bottom shelf and is placed to the right of Dove body wash. From the health products we picked Target’s Up Up Probiotic Dietary Supplement. The Up Up’s Probiotic Dietary Supplement is compared to Align Probiotic Dietary Supplement. They both have 26 tablets 4 week supply. The Up Up tablets costs $16.79 where the Align is $28.89 which is 72% more expensive than the Up Up probiotic tablets. In terms of packaging the Up $ Up Probiotic tablets have the same package size and shape as the Align Probiotic tablets, but the Up Up has a blue packaging color. The Up Up tablets are placed on the bottom right corner of the shelf. The national brand Align is to the left of Target’s private label. From the food products we chose Target’s premium private label Archer Farms. Target only has premium private label for its food products. The Archers Farms’ Organic Skim Milk is compared to Horizon Organic Fat-Free Milk. They both are 1.89 L and have the same package size but have different package color. The Archer Farms’ organic milk is $3.59 whereas the Horizon’s organic milk is $3.99. Here we see that the national brand is only 11% more expensive than the premium private brand. In terms of packaging the Archer Farms’ milk has the same package size and shape to the Horizon’s milk but conveys a premium image. Archer Farms’ milk is placed on the middle shelf and on the center of the shelf for milk products. The national brand Horizon is to the left side of Archer Farms premium private brand.

Free Handmaids Tale Essays: Men Will be Men :: Handmaids Tale Essays

Men Will be Men in The Handmaid's Tale Perhaps the most frightening aspect of Offred's world is not even its proximity, but its occasional attractiveness. The idea that women need strict protection from harm is not one espoused solely by the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Pat Buchanan, but also by women like Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon. This protectionist variety of feminism is incorporated in the character of Offred's mother, and to a certain degree in Aunt Lydia. Offred's mother is just as harsh in her censorship of pornography as any James Dobson. By burning the works which offend her, she too is contributing to the notion that women's safety is contingent on squelching the Bill of Rights. The restriction of sexually explicit pictures places the blame for sex crimes on women, again -- the women in the photographs who supposedly drive men to rape. Where have we heard this before? Who else refuses to hold rapists responsible for their own actions, choosing instead to restrict the behavior of those they consider the catalysts? Aunt Lydia is depicted as being mildly psychotic, but the "freedom from" that she offers seems oftentimes almost soothing. To be free of fear of rape would be a wonderful thing. To force men to act respectful seems not too bad. We can observe this attitude on our own campus, where the student government holds a "nightwalk" every few years. On these walks, dangerous areas are marked out and reported to the Physical Plant and the campus police. In response, bushes and trees next to walkways are demolished to discourage possible attackers who might conceal themselves in them. More halogen lamps are installed. More foot patrol officers walk potential problem spots. Every year the campus looks less like a university and more like an armed camp, but we accept these ugly alterations on our environment in the name of safety. It doesn't seem like such a high price to pay. In a way, many women already live in a sort of Gilead. They would not dream of going out alone. They feel unfulfilled without children. They do not read (they don't have the time.) They occupy little more than a servant's position in their own homes. Their access to abortion is denied. They already live under so many unreasonable restrictions and expectations -- what's a little more, if it comes with a guarantee of safety?

Leadership Assignment Essay

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of a Baptist minister. He grew up in his father’s footsteps and got his bachelor of divinity in 1951 and his doctorate in 1955. Early in December, 1955, he became the leader of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States. In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. On August 28, 1963, he delivered â€Å"I have a dream†, his famous speech, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination, to 250,000 people. Martin was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure. At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr. , was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. The poverty he experienced while growing up taught him the value of money and to persevere. Walton always wanted to be in retail from his youth and he had a deep passion for it. When he returned from World War II, he started off with a Ben Franklin franchise. His strategy of buying in bulk and discounting proved to be a hit with the customers and it was then that he saw a future in discounting. Over time, he opened up several more Ben Franklin stores with his father and brother assistance. In 1962, he had the idea of opening igger stores, sticking to rural areas, keeping costs low and discounting heavily. He decided to set up his own Wal-mart store; the first one in Arkansas. With his Wal-mart, he began to use the discounting strategy that he had begun to adopt in the Ben Franklin stores. It proved to be wildly successful and he saw that discounting was the future of retail. Today, Wal-Mart is the world’s no. 1 retailer, with more than 4,150 stores, including discount stores, combination discount and grocery stores, and membership-only warehouse stores (Sam’s Club). He modestly blended in with the whole team, erased the gap between executive and employees, and dared to make his own path of success. If it was not for these great characteristics and tactics, there wouldn’t be a Sam Walton who has the ability to change the philosophy of the American retail business establishment. : Martin Luther King Jr and Sam Walton are both respectful and brilliant leaders who drove the world and changed it into a better place. To be an effective leader requires lots of efforts, wonderful characteristics, extremely clever minds, flawless sets of tactics and skills, and so on. As for Martin and Sam, one put an end to discrimination and dedicated to the success of civil rights of a generation, one fulfilled the American dream and paved the way for a new breed of â€Å"category killer† retailers; they demonstrated the model of great leaders and taught us priceless leadership lessons. They deserve to be honored and respected by mankind of all time.

Exxon Mobil Resources and Capabilities Essay

Mobile is one of the most successful companies in the oil and energy industries today. But what makes them so successful? In an effort to answer this question, a thorough internal investigation can be helpful in determining what aspects of this company are making it an industry leader. Two aspects of this internal analysis of Exxon Mobile are the company’s resources and capabilities. Resources One of the most reputable resources that Exxon Mobil has today is a strong brand name. Exxon Mobil operates all over the world and is recognized in every part of the world (Datamonitor, 2008). When people all over the world know who a company is, what they do, and where they are located, the company gains a unique competitive advantage over the rest of the industry. A good way to analyze this resource is to use the VRINE Model (Strategic Management, 2007). This breaks down in order to analyze its value, rarity, inimitability, and exploitability. For this resource I’ll start by assessing its value. The question that must be answered is, â€Å"does this resource allow the firm to meet market demand or protect the firm from market uncertainties? † (Strategic Management, 2007). In the case of the brand name resource, I believe that it gives them ample protection against uncertainty and enables them to compete, if not lead, in the industry. Exxon operates in over 200 countries around the world (Datamonitor, 2008) The fact that this company is present all over the world, and not many other industry competitors operate in so many different regions, proves that this particular resource is very valuable to the company. If a company can possess something that another company cannot, value is inevitably created for that resource. This resource also protects them from uncertainty because this brand is already established itself within the market and can thrive in it without too much concern about the well being of the company, thus limiting some uncertainty. Next in the VRINE model is assessment of its rarity. Do any other companies possess such worldwide recognition as Exxon Mobil’s brand name can bring? There are some companies that have come close in competing with Exxon Mobil, such as ConnocoPhillips and Chevron, but none can compare with the unique profitability and opportunities that the name Exxon can bring to a region. The name is undoubtedly trusted throughout the world and rarely rivaled. Those aspects of the brand name recognition make this brand name a rarity. The next step in the VRINE model is to assess the inimitability. To assess this, the question of can competitors â€Å"acquire the valuable and rare resource quickly, or will they face a cost disadvantage in doing so? † (Strategic Management, 2007). The simple fact that the Exxon Mobil name is trademarked and registered makes it impossible for any other company to replicate its name. Also it would cost a substantial amount to buy out the company and gain its name. This alone makes the brand name inimitable. Now assessment of the nonsubstitutability is needed. The question arises, â€Å"is there protection against ready substitutes? † (Strategic Management, 2007). For Exxon, their name reputation is one that substitutes have a very difficult time matching. Exxon is leading the industry and continues to be a leader of almost every aspect of the industry today. Though substitutes are present in the industry, none can surpass the reputation of Exxon Mobil. The final step in the VRINE Model is to assess the resource’s exploitability. The question to answer is, can the firm â€Å" nurture and take advantage of the resources and capabilities that it possesses? † (Strategic Management, 2007). For Exxon, they can bring the company anywhere in the world and use the recognizable name to establish credibility and power in that region. This gives the company a considerable advantage when it comes to exploiting its brand name to establish the company around the world. After analyzing the resource using the VRINE Model, all aspects of the model have been met, so it is safe to say that this resource can give them a competitive advantage among its competitors. Another important resource that Exxon possesses is the presence of human expertise capital throughout the company (Datamoitor, 2008). Exxon employs many scientists and engineers that are researching and finding new ways to gain access to more energy resources and make the new innovations less harmful to the environment (Annual Report, 2007). This human capital has proven to be a very important resource for the company as shown by their development of new ways to increase liquid natural gas supplies and â€Å"enhancing heavy oil recovery† (Annual Report, 2007). Using the VRINE model again, I will assess this resource. In analyzing the value of the human expertise capital, again we must consider whether this resource helps the company meet market demand and can eliminate some uncertainty. In this case, I believe that the unique research department that houses these scientists and engineers is one that gives the company a great capability to compete in the market, and even excel within the industry. I believe it also eliminates some uncertainty because while the company is researching and developing cutting edge technology, it keeps them knowledgeable about all the new innovations and ideas that are throughout the industry. This makes the resource very valuable. Next, the rarity of the resource must be analyzed. I believe that this resource is rare because of the entire department (the Upstream Research Center) within the company devoted to letting these scientists and engineers use their knowledge to propel the company into the future (Annual Report, 2007). Some companies have R & D departments, but they don’t posses the funding for such expertise and capabilities within these departments like Exxon has in its Upstream Research Center (Annual Report, 2007). This makes the breadth of their scientists and engineers and rare resource among it competitors. Following the VRINE Model, inimitability is the next aspect to analyze. I believe that it would be very difficult for any company to gain the human expertise capital that Exxon has. Exxon pays particular attention to its scientists and engineers by providing opportunities to use their knowledge to help solve every day problems that the company is facing. Many of these scientists and engineers had PhDs in their respective fields, thus making their ideas more credible and valuable to the company (Annual Report, 2007). This make the human expertise capital an inimitable resource because it makes it hard for other companies to replicate the magnitude of the distinguished human capital that Exxon possesses. The next step in the VRINE Model is nonsubstitutability. It would be nearly impossible for a competing company to substitute an equally effective team of engineers and scientists. The cost would be too great for the company. Exxon is leading the way in Research and Development trends, and substitutes for the quality of employees that Exxon has would be very difficult for other companies, making the nonsubstitutability of Exxon’s human capital very high. The final step is to analyze the exploitability of the human expertise capital. Exxon has proven that the expertise that is present can be exploited to develop new and innovative ideas that help Exxon maintain as an industry leader. One example of the result of this exploitation is the development of Metallyte UBW-ES, which is a new polypropylene film for packaging that has unprecedented sealing power (Datamonitor, 2008). This example proves that the exploitability of this human expertise capital makes this resource a valuable asset to the company. After analysis of the human expertise capital resource using the VRINE Model, it can be said that this resource gives Exxon Mobil a competitive advantage in the industry. Capabilities After assessing the resources that Exxon has available to them, it is now easier to illustrate what Exxon’s capabilities are because of the acquisition and ownership of these resources. One of Exxon’s important capabilities is their extensive research and development capabilities. Exxon’s research and development capabilities are very dynamic in the sense that as new energy conservation and developments arise, they can adapt their research and development departments to meet the new technologies and innovations. Their research and development capabilities go insofar as to â€Å"improve existing products, and enhance service† (Datamonitor, 2008). Using the VRINE Model again, it can be easy to see if this capability really gives Exxon a considerable competitive advantage. First we have to look at the value of this capability. Exxon has utilized the company’s valuable resource of human expertise capital do help head the research for new improvements and innovations that help lead the way for Exxon to grow (Annual Report, 2007). One such innovation is the development of Enable mPE, which has â€Å"substantially reduced waste and energy consumption across a wide variety of film applications† (Datamonitor, 2008). This capability allows them compete within the market and gain headway in developing potentially high profit innovations, thus giving value to their research and development capability. Next the rarity needs to be assessed. Though almost all of Exxon’s competitors have research and development departments, none have invested the amount that Exxon has. Also there are only a handful of top competitors within the energy industry so that alone makes Exxon’s R & D department rare. In fiscal year 2007, Exxon invested $814 million in R & D. Though the idea of an R & D department is not a rarity in its own right, the amount invested and products produced because of their extensive R & D work makes this a rare capability among its competitors. The next assessment in the VRINE Model is the inimitability of this capability. As mentioned before many other companies have a R & D department, but not to the extent that Exxon’s is being funded and operated. In the past 5 years, Exxon has invested upwards of $3. 5 billion in research and development alone (Annual Report, 2007). Very few of Exxon’s competitors can match that without having an almost impossible financial obligation afterward. That is one feat that few companies can imitate. The next step is to analyze its nonsubstitutability.

Machiavelli and Morality Essay Essays

Machiavelli and Morality Essay Essays Machiavelli and Morality Essay Essay Machiavelli and Morality Essay Essay When reading Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince. one can’t aid but grasp Machiavelli’s statement that morality and political relations can non be in the same forum. However. when analyzing Machiavelli’s assorted constructs in deepness. one can reason that possibly his suggested force and immorality is fueled by a moral terminal of kinds. First and first. one must hold the apprehension that this book is aimed entirely at the Prince or Emperor with the express intent of helping him in keeping power. Therefore. it is indispensable to hold on his constructs of luck and virtuousness. These two contrary constructs reflect the mode in which a Prince should regulate while minimising all opportunity and uncertainness. This sort of regulating demands force to be taken. nevertheless this is merely done for the rigorous intent of keeping his throne. and bring forthing both fright and esteem from his people. In all instances of force. Machiavelli limits the sum of force that needs to be taken down to the lower limit. and most instances the victims of these Acts of the Apostless are enemies of the people. Behind the force. the prince is basically taking the function of the scoundrel and presuming all â€Å"bad† Acts of the Apostless so that his people do non hold to endure and perpetrate the Acts of the Apostless themselves. In add-on. all the Prince asks for is to non endanger his power and to esteem it. In the sixteenth Century. this petition is lame compared to those of other hierarchal Monarchies. In the terminal. Machiavelli’s Prince assumes all the load of force while go forthing his baronial people to move as they feel consequently without concern of their lively goon. This is Machiavelli’s ultimate shot of morality. Before analyzing how the interaction of force and political relations lead to morality in the terminal. it is of import to analyse precisely what Machiavelli demands of his Prince. First and first. Machiavelli harps upon the construct of luck and virtuousness. By luck. he means that everything is left to opportunity. while nil will vouch that a certain event will happen. Machiavelli writes that a â€Å"Great long standing Prince neer regulations with luck. † Through hazard and opportunity. one leaves him unfastened to failure ; therefore action should be withheld if an component of opportunity is involved. Machiavelli ties virtue really closely to that of prudence. He defines virtuousness as moving exceptionally and pull a differentiation between morality and virtuousness. In many respects Machiavelli defines virtuousness by prudence. If a swayer is able to equilibrate his force. maintain his topics appeased. and have a desperate apprehension of his menaces. so in Machiavelli’s eyes the swayer has a strong virtuousness. What must be understood is that the throne is ever in hazard and person is ever at that place to seek to strike hard the prince off his base. This is a premier apprehension that a prince must hold. and fuels the ill-famed statement by Machiavelli that it is better to be feared than loved. Machiavelli explains that. for the most portion. love is really subjective and finally will lessen unless farther grants are made to pacify his topics. In add-on. people merely care about their personal comfortss and a prince would hold to overstrain himself if he were to be loved by all. Fear. nevertheless. is non subjective and has a cosmopolitan consequence on all his people. Fear can be attained by sporadic violent Acts of the Apostless. One must understand. nevertheless. that monolithic sums of force can non be done because it would portray the Prince as autocrat. and might stir up his people to revolt against him. The Acts of the Apostless must be calculated. concise. and serve a direct intent non merely to his benefit but to the people’s besides. Despite what might be assumed. Machiavelli is truly developing a princedom based around the people. where the Prince’s actions are simply to salvage his ain caput from the chopping block. In kernel. Machiavelli’s ideal princedom sustains a echt sense of morality behind the force that â€Å"must be subjected in order to keep stableness. † Looking at his programs subjectively. Machiavelli could really easy hold broken down the topics in a hierarchal manner or forced upon them big amount revenue enhancements and responsibilities. He does non make this. alternatively choosing merely for the regard of the people and the deficiency of perfidy in personal businesss sing his power. The people in his land can populate with repose. and prosecute whatever they so desire. This freedom of the people and ability to move as they feel is more than a simple convenience. Personal chase of felicity of all is given by the Prince but at his disbursal. All that the people must make is esteem and non endanger the Prince’s power. On the contrary. the Prince sacrifices his ain motivations. ethical motives. and personal felicity so that his topics may hold them. Basically. Machiavelli paints the Prince as a Christ figure. It is the Prince who takes off the wickednesss of the universe. so to talk. He gives up his ethical motives so that other may maintain and care for theirs. Machiavelli steadfastly insists that political relations and morality can non co-exist. The chief ground is that moral behaviour is consistent and can be predictable. Consistency and predictability are significannot ly weak constituents of a swayer. and could be exploited by his enemies. When a form of action is established. plotters can cabal and be after an overthrow. These plotters would so loot and plunder as they came to power ; hence declining the state of affairs in the land. The people so would go the victims. and lawlessness would shortly interrupt out making all sorts of upset. So. although the purposes of moral political actions are good. in the terminal they will take to immoral Acts of the Apostless. The actions he takes are non merely violent oppressive activities instead they are forfeits. He is the 1 who must populate with the guilt of wickedness. non his constitutes. In footings of morality. the Prince does non demand any unmoral action from his topics. He shoulders it all. It is besides the Prince who. although it is besides for his personal safety. eliminates the autocrats that non merely endanger his throne but besides his people. Along the same lines as holding lawlessness or public violences. the riddance of other power hungry persons evaporates the menace of subjugation on the people from another exterior beginning. One thing that remains consistent in his princedom is that people maintain their award and regard. and this unselfish forfeit is what makes the Prince’s actions in actuality rather moral. Another facet that one can non assist but disregard is that fact the Prince assumes the place of swayer at the costs and outlooks. For being a Prince. he must at times be prudent and cognizant of his place with the people. Machiavelli writes â€Å"the Prince must be seen as moral by the people. † The fact underlies the importance of morality for Machiavelli. Without morality and without the impression of morality in a Prince. civil upset will happen. Morality. with its uncertainnesss. provides at the really least a common non-violent base in which topics have a set of regulations could populate by. What makes morality of import to the Prince is that it besides allows him a legislative act of kinds. For illustration. if people operate by their ethical motives than the Prince has non to worry such jobs as stealing. violent death and other immoral actions. Therefore. merely by looking to be moral. morality can be used as a tool to command and tackle the people below him. As Prince. Machiavelli’s being and power is invariably threatened. However. it is non merely a occupation or power that the Prince would lose if he is to be overthrown from his place. It is. in bend. his life that the Prince would lose if he were overtaken. Therefore. it could be conceived that the Prince is moving and utilizing force merely to salvage his ain life. Salvaging a life. even it is your ain. follows within the moral codification. You could though expression at the state of affairs from a different position. Machiavelli argues that the merely notable place a moral individual can presume is that of a sufferer. However. I disagree with this statement because although one could be reveled as a sufferer. the possible effects of a new prince’s statutes far outweigh the benefits of being a sufferer. As a sufferer people merely go energized and back up your cause. However. if a Prince is such sufferers. that would intend a new Prince is in power and could transfuse far worse conditions upon the people. Therefore. with his topics as the top precedence. morality demands that the Prince must remain alive and let the people to thrive under his free monarchy. Machiavelli’s Prince is a book in which Machiavelli outlines the actions a Prince must take to keep and keep power in a princedom. Within the context of the book. Machiavelli brings away the impression that prudent force must be done in order to keep the throne. In add-on. he strongly expresses the political orientation that a Prince can non be both moral and political. However. behind this statement lays the foundation of morality. The Prince’s evil actions although non moral seem to prolong morality for the topics within his princedom. The Prince assumes all immoral behaviours and therefore. by forfeits himself for the people. is so moral in the terminal.

The Crimes of Tookie Williams

The Crimes of Tookie Williams On February 28, 1979, Stanley Williams murdered Albert Lewis Owens during a robbery of a 7-Eleven convenience store in Whittier, California. Here are the details of that crime from the Los Angeles County District Attorneys response to Williams petition for executive clemency. Late on the evening of February 27, 1979, Stanley Tookie Williams introduced his friend Alfred Coward, a.k.a. Blackie, to a man named Darryl. A short time later, Darryl, driving a brown station wagon, drove Williams to the residence of James Garrett. Coward followed in his 1969 Cadillac. (Trial Transcript (TT) 2095-2097). Stanley Williams often stayed at the Garrett residence and kept some of his belongings there, including his shotgun. (TT 1673, 1908). At the Garrett residence, Williams went inside and returned carrying a twelve-gauge shotgun. (TT 2097-2098). Darryl and Williams, with Coward following in his car, later drove to another residence, where they obtained a PCP-laced cigarette, which the three men shared. Williams, Coward, and Darryl then went to the residence of Tony Sims. (TT 2109). These four men then discussed where they could go in Pomona to make some money. (TT 2111). The four men then went to yet another residence where they smoked more PCP. (TT 2113-2116). While at this location, Williams left the other men and returned with a .22 caliber handgun, which he also put in the station wagon. (TT 2117-2118). Williams then told Coward, Darryl and Sims they should go to Pomona. In response, Coward and Sims entered the Cadillac, Williams and Darryl entered the station wagon, and both cars traveled on the freeway toward Pomona. (TT 2118-2119). The four men exited the freeway near Whittier Boulevard. (TT 2186). They drove to a Stop-N-Go market and, at Williams direction, Darryl and Sims entered the store to commit a robbery. At the time, Darryl was armed with the .22 caliber handgun. (TT 2117-2218; Tony Sims Parole Hearing Dated July 17, 1997). Johnny Garcia Escapes Death The clerk at the Stop-N-Go market, Johnny Garcia, had just finished mopping the floor when he observed a station wagon and four black men at the door to the market. (TT 2046-2048). Two of the men entered the market. (TT 2048). One of the men went down an aisle while the other approached Garcia. The man that approached Garcia asked for a cigarette. Garcia gave the man a cigarette and lit it for him. After approximately three to four minutes, both men left the market without carrying out the planned robbery. (TT 2049-2050). He Would Show Them How Williams became upset that Darryl and Sims did not commit the robbery. Williams told the men that they would find another place to rob. Williams said that at the next location all of them would go inside and he would show them how to commit a robbery. Coward and Sims then followed Williams and Darryl to the 7-Eleven market located at 10437 Whittier Boulevard. (TT 2186). The store clerk, 26-year-old Albert Lewis Owens, was sweeping the stores parking lot. (TT 2146). Albert Owens is Killed When Darryl and Sims entered the 7-Eleven, Owens put the broom and dustpan down and followed them into the store. Williams and Coward followed Owens into the store. (TT 2146-2152). As Darryl and Sims walked to the counter area to take money from the register, Williams walked behind Owens and told him shut up and keep walking. (TT 2154). While pointing a shotgun at Owens back, Williams directed him to a back storage room. (TT 2154). Once inside the storage room, Williams, at gunpoint, ordered Owens to lay down, mother f*****. Williams then chambered a round into the shotgun. Williams then fired the round into the security monitor. Williams then chambered a second round and fired the round into Owens back as he lay face down on the floor of the storage room. Williams then fired again into Owens back. (TT 2162). Near Contact Wound Both of the shotgun wounds were fatal. (TT 2086). The pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Owens testified that the end of the barrel was very close to Owens body when he was shot. One of the two wounds was described as . . . a near contact wound. (TT 2078). After Williams murdered Owens, he, Darryl, Coward, and Sims fled in the two cars and returned home to Los Angeles. The robbery netted them approximately $120.00. (TT 2280). Killing All White People Once back in Los Angeles, Williams asked if anyone wanted to get something to eat. When Sims asked Williams why he shot Owens, Williams said he didnt want to leave any witnesses. Williams also said he killed Owens because he was white and he was killing all white people. (TT 2189, 2193). Later that same day, Williams bragged to his brother Wayne about killing Owens. Williams said, you should have heard the way he sounded when I shot him. Williams then made gurgling or growling noises and laughed hysterically about Owens death. (TT 2195-2197). Next: The Brookhaven Robbery-Murders

Adjective Phrase Definition and Examples

Adjective Phrase Definition and Examples In English grammar, an adjective phrase is a group of words that functions as an adjective  in a sentence. An adjective headword may be accompanied by modifiers, determiners, and/or qualifiers  (all of which are called dependents). Also known as an  adjectival phrase.   Adjective phrases modify nouns. They may be attributive (appearing before the noun) or predicative (appearing after a linking verb), but not all adjectives can be used in both positions. Examples and Observations The prototypical adjective phrase consists of a single adjective, tall in Sally is tall, or an adjective headword and a qualifier, very tall. Even taller than the woman who coaches her volleyball team is more elaborate, but because it can substitute for the single adjective tall (Sally is even  taller than the woman who coaches her volleyball team), you can recognize it as an adjective phrase.(Thomas P. Klammer et al., Analyzing English Grammar, 5th ed. Pearson, 2007)Humans can be fairly ridiculous animals.(Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, 2007)The unicorn blinked and swished its tail and  looked fairly ridiculous  on the folding tabletop.(Steven R. Boyett, Elegy Beach, 2009)  Tina lost her dark brown briefcase.Mr. Sweet was a tall, thinnish man with thick kinky hair going dead white.  He  was dark brown, his eyes were very squinty and sort of bluish, and he chewed Brown Mule tobacco.(Alice Walker, To Hell With Dying, 1967)After Dons ac cident, his behavior grew stranger and stranger. You  want a second opinion? O.K.  says the doctor. Youre ugly, too.  She liked that joke. She thought  it was terribly, terribly funny.(Lorrie Moore, Youre Ugly, Too, 1990) Premodifiers, Postmodifiers, and Discontinuous Modifiers An adjective phrase consists of an adjective which may be preceded and/or followed by other words. The premodifier is always an adverb phrase, but the post-modifiers can be an adverb phrase, a prepositional phrase, or even a clause. It is also possible to have a modifier that is partly in front and partly behind the head, called a discontinuous modifier, abbreviated as disc-mod. (Marjolijn Verspoor and Kim Sauter, English Sentence Analysis: An Introductory Course. John Benjamins, 2000) Noun Phrases and Adjective Phrases There may be very little difference between a noun phrase and an adjective phrase in structures where the adjectives occur before the word it qualifies. Most noun phrases consist of a head noun plus one or more adjectives, or indeed an adjective phrase itself. Consider the examples in a, below. a. [ADJECTIVE PHRASES]It was cold, bleak, biting weather.Hes an extraordinary looking man, and yet I can really name nothing out of the way.In Beijing these days, one of the fastest-growing fortunes the world has ever seen is managed by fewer than two-dozen traders.This was a hearty, healthy, dapper, red-faced gentleman, with a shock of hair prematurely white, and a boisterous and decided manner. In each of these examples, if we include the italicized head nouns, we have noun phrases with embedded adjective phrases; without the head nouns, we have adjective phrases. The focus is always on the head word (HW). (Bernard ODwyer, Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position. Broadview, 2006) Phrases Within Phrases [C]onsider . . . our example: The young man picked the best bloom from the very delicate orchid. The sequence from the very delicate orchid is a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase consists of a noun phrase and a preposition. One can demonstrate that the sequence from the very delicate orchid is a coherent group of words by moving it as in: From the very delicate orchid the young man picked the best bloom. The word very is an intensifying adverb and it modifies delicate to form an adjective phrase within the noun phrase within the prepositional phrase. This phrase-within-a-phrase structure is shown by bracketing below: [The young man] picked the best bloom [from [the [very delicate] orchid]]. We could add very carefully to this sentence. Since carefully is an adverb and very is an intensifying adverb modifying it, very carefully would be an adverb phrase.(Barry J. Blake, All About Language. Oxford University Press, 2008)

Dangerous and Natural Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Dangerous and Natural Energy - Essay Example According to the earthquake patterns in the USGS interactive map, it is evident that most of the seismic hazard areas in the United States are distributed along the Pacific Coast from the North Western states such as the coast of Washington, Oregon, and California, as well as in the regions of Alaska and Hawaii. Generally, the USGS interactive map suggests that earthquakes are mostly concentrated along the shorelines of California and the seismic activity gradually reduces towards the South (Frankel and Barnhard, 1996). I live in Texas, a region that is largely indicated by color white. This means that my home region is one of the areas with the least seismic hazard risk according to the information provided by the USGS interactive map. When matched against a scale of % seismic activity, the region around my home is indicated as having between 0% to 4% seismic activity and therefore, one of the least seismic hazardous areas in the United States. Upon visiting the interactive map that shows the latest data regarding the global seismic activity for the last 7 days, I have also noted that my home region has not experienced any seismic activity within the last week. From the information available in the interactive map that shows the latest data regarding the global seismic activity for the last 7 days, it is evident that most of the earthquake-prone areas of the world are found along the Pacific coasts as well as on some islands within the Pacific Ocean. These areas have formed an almost circular oceanic belt of seismic hazard areas which is popularly known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. The region that I clicked was Maharashtra, India (17.29 0 N, 73.56 0 E), and the latest seismic magnitude of the area was 4.3. According to the interactive global earthquake data map, this seismic activity was recorded on Saturday, April, 14.

Marketing Mix of Domino's pizza Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Mix of Domino's pizza - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that in the United Kingdom, the number of the fast food and home delivery restaurants including McDonalds, KFC AND Domino’s Pizza continues to increase rapidly as is the trend for the past five years. The restaurant's explosion in the high-street outlets represents the lucrative feature of the industry, constituting the resulting large amount of competition in the market. The increased competition is a factor notable as a cause for the increased value of sales as experienced by the various participants in the industry. This implies that the consumer has a better access to the restaurants, as they facilitate the services to the customers. However, recent developments in the industry, entailing the increased negative publicity in the market presents a remarkable challenge to the success of the operators. Consequently, the restaurants sought to dispel these trials in the market. Thus, Domino’s Pizza as a leading operator in the m arket, sought the establishment of strategic procedures to counter the issue. Further, their strategy also sought to engage the customers accordingly, increasing the revenue from sales, as well as, facilitating the expansive operations of the business, taking it to the top in the leading operators in the market. This procedural engagement by Domino’s Pizza entailed the establishment of 7P’s of the marketing mix, in their procedural engagement of the customers and establishment of services.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 13

Assignment Example doing working-class activities – and a performance that spark up controversy in the 60s because of its escape from the traditional morality and religion plays. Amidst the competition from renowned theatre houses in Toronto, Studio 275 will primarily rely on traditional publicity such as the use of media release, posters and flyers as well as giving out first hand information through direct marketing to theatre schools and organizations within its reach. Its audience will be composed of women from all income brackets, regardless of their age and background. It will emphasize the plot as something that is contentious in the past and will be refreshed through Studio 275’s production that will bring your memory and interest as to what have these women of the 60s have gone through. Studio 275 was established in 1985 with topmost priority in play development as a means of supporting Canadian playwrights and building the repertoire of Canadian plays. Moreover, the first 15 years of its existence gave emphasis on producing local works but eventually turned in producing shows that reflects the Canadian experience from many generation as well as history and sensibilities that people have brought to the country. This season, the company will focus on series of productions featuring the different sides of women caught up in differing situations. This year’s presentation will start off with Michel Tremblay’s first professionally produced work Les Belles Soeurs (The Sisters-in-Law) directed by Judith Chapman. The story created such controversy in the 60s because of the â€Å"joual† language used by women while discussing about men, religion and Bingo. It represents the working class women in Montreal, doing working-class activities while uttering vulgar language which shocked the Quebec stage in the 60s. 1. Women (Vistors and Canadians). This market includes women from all walks of life, regardless of its social status and age. The title may spark up their interest

Keeping a Customer Centric Approach in a Highly Competitive Sales Term Paper

Keeping a Customer Centric Approach in a Highly Competitive Sales Environment - Term Paper Example It is through the customers, that a business is facilitated to meet its objectives. Thus, the most important asset that a business can build for itself is a loyal customer base, who carries the goodwill of the business with them, and thus facilitates repeat purchase (Anand, 2010). It is against this background that any business should seek to develop the most effective and efficient customer service, while seeking to continuously improve in the methodologies and strategies of addressing customer needs. Nevertheless, there are always competing business interests that might make a business focus more on other aspects of business operation, at the expense of redeveloping its customer service, and the consequent customer experience (Bosworth & Holland, 2004). Such a move is detrimental to a business because; without enhancing the customer service and customer experience for the business organization, the chances of business failure are high. Therefore, this discussion seeks to illustrate that companies which have a highly competitive sales goals and Expectations; in this case Wells Fargo Bank, can still maintain the integrity and customer service/customer centric approach, which would facilitate the achievement of its objectives. Customer centric approach A Customer Centric Approach refers to the ability of an organization to offer a positive customer experience, immediately at the point of sale, and post- sale (Gavan, 2012). This requires that the sale strategy that is adopted by the organization be satisfactory to the customer, and even more enticing and attractive, such that it adds value to the experience of the customer when they are purchasing the product or service, and after the purchase, when the customer is actually utilizing the product or service. The essence of applying a customer centric approach is that; it offers a company the avenue through which it can differentiate itself from the other competitors who are offering similar products or services, s ince the product or service differentiation is no longer a key differentiating factor (Anand, 2010). The relevance of customer centric approach to the banking sector Wells Fargo Bank is a large financial institution, in fact ranking as the fourth largest bank in the USA (Chandler, 2006). Despite having built a formidable brand that is well known and easily identified by the customers, the competition in the financial market keeps growing by the day, owing to the emergence of new banks and other micro-finance institutions, which seeks to serve the same customer base that banks are serving. This being the case, most banks, microfinance institutions and even insurance companies are offering the same products and services. It is therefore no longer easy for banks to differentiate themselves based on the diversity of financial products or services offering, thus necessitating the need for banks to adopt the customer centric approach business strategy, which help them improve the customer services, and consequent customer experience they offer to their customers (Bosworth & Holland, 2004). This will go a long way in cementing the customer base that the bank already have, thus securing its market share, while also attracting new customers who will be enticed to enjoy the same customer service

Abortion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Abortion - Research Paper Example Though these â€Å"sides† may be difficult to come to terms with, they offer essential insights, even though other relevant sides of the stories may outweigh these insights. The rhetoric, then concerning abortion discussions revolves around labels such as the pro-life and pro-choice (Alcorn, 2009). Nonetheless, what these discussions technically advance it that either side of the former is against life, while the other side is against choice. Ultimately, these discussions ignore the nuances in a victim’s (person’s) position. Well, with regard to these, various moral principles try to demystify the moral groundings of abortion. The first moral consideration is that which considers the status of the unborn child, while the second one is that which considers the rights of the expectant women or rather pregnant women (Alcorn, 2009). A great deal of the debate regarding abortion has revolved around the knowledge, namely, whether an unborn child or the fetus is a person or not. Consequently, if an unborn child is a person, then it has the rights that belong to persons, and not thereof limited to the right to life. Thus, the personification of the unborn child or the fetus is the link between the former and the right to life (Alcorn, 2009). Therefore, from a philosophical point of view, it is clear that an unborn child in itself is a person. That is, an individual with his or her own right regardless of its status or position. Nonetheless, it is difficult to determine the exact stage at which a fetus develops into or becomes a person (Alcorn, 2009). Could it be at conception, the first trimester, or even at birth? This therefore is the technicality. Nonetheless, taking the life of a person is in itself an illegal act, and the moral grounding of the act may be unjustifiable. The interesting thing about pregnant women is that they are bestowed with the

Take a position...Are Animals Conscious Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Take a position...Are Animals Conscious - Essay Example Inanimate things and organisms such as plants have limited capability to demonstrate such control of actions since the absence of a brain in their makeup eliminates chance for knowingness. It is a difficult affair to demonstrate the various levels or consciousness as possessed by various animals since the emergence of the debate on whether there is consciousness in animals. However, it is agreeable across both sides of the debate that consciousness exists in human beings. Debate therefore appears to revolve around the issue on whether consciousness exists in animals, and up to which level of organism organization. Debate has since emerged about the possibility of animals possessing consciousness as would elevate them to the same status with human beings (Schà ¶nfeld, 1). This discourse addresses the standoff on paradigms, aware of the fact that earlier versions support consciousness in human beings alone while emergent thoughts support existence of consciousness in animals as well. The first section explores older schools of thought that restrict possession of consciousness in humans while the second section explores the paradigm shift occasioning the inclusion of animals among those creatures possessing consciousness. A personal reflection is contained in the ending of the discourse, giving a position on the debate. Making an account of animal consci ousness debate, it is clear that current thinking about animal consciousness is a mess as Dennett brands it. A comparison of the old and the new paradigms and scientific propositions on the consciousness debate affirms the view that there has been a generally perception that animals are not like human beings regarding several aspects. Among the aspects that seemingly existed without much questioning and doubt is the issue of animal consciousness. As it appears, Schà ¶nfeld holds the opinion that the there was a feeling that it was not scientifically indulge research into

Abortion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Abortion - Research Paper Example Though these â€Å"sides† may be difficult to come to terms with, they offer essential insights, even though other relevant sides of the stories may outweigh these insights. The rhetoric, then concerning abortion discussions revolves around labels such as the pro-life and pro-choice (Alcorn, 2009). Nonetheless, what these discussions technically advance it that either side of the former is against life, while the other side is against choice. Ultimately, these discussions ignore the nuances in a victim’s (person’s) position. Well, with regard to these, various moral principles try to demystify the moral groundings of abortion. The first moral consideration is that which considers the status of the unborn child, while the second one is that which considers the rights of the expectant women or rather pregnant women (Alcorn, 2009). A great deal of the debate regarding abortion has revolved around the knowledge, namely, whether an unborn child or the fetus is a person or not. Consequently, if an unborn child is a person, then it has the rights that belong to persons, and not thereof limited to the right to life. Thus, the personification of the unborn child or the fetus is the link between the former and the right to life (Alcorn, 2009). Therefore, from a philosophical point of view, it is clear that an unborn child in itself is a person. That is, an individual with his or her own right regardless of its status or position. Nonetheless, it is difficult to determine the exact stage at which a fetus develops into or becomes a person (Alcorn, 2009). Could it be at conception, the first trimester, or even at birth? This therefore is the technicality. Nonetheless, taking the life of a person is in itself an illegal act, and the moral grounding of the act may be unjustifiable. The interesting thing about pregnant women is that they are bestowed with the

Eating Habits Among Teenagers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eating Habits Among Teenagers - Research Paper Example These two programs bring into the consciousness of the American public the fact that childhood obesity has become quite a problem. Statement of the Problem According to the American Heart Association (2012) childhood obesity is still a problem in the United States. One in six children, ages two to 19 are obese and one in three are considered overweight. Further, children who are obese have a 70% of becoming obese adults. Unfortunately, these statistics are higher for this age group than they were in the 1970s. Part of the challenge is that children are exposed to more fast food choices and junk food than in other generations (Salvy, de la Haye, Bowker, and Hermans, 2012). Obese children also have a tendency to associate with other obese children which makes it difficult for obese children to understand that they are obese (Salvy et al., 2012). Dorfman and Wootan (2012) add that children are exposed to a variety of adds for fast foods and other unhealthy foods, which contributes to th e problem. Also, children generally eat what their parents eat, and if parents have poor eating habits, their children also have poor eating habits (Dorman & Wootan, 2012). What is clear, is that there must be something that changes the way that Americans think about food and how they teach about food to their children. Also, the entire community must be involved in order to understand how to curb this problem (â€Å"Let’s Move†, 2012). Literature Review Much of the literature has studied childhood obesity as a whole and has not specifically separated teen eating habits from the rest of the literature. Several studies have also been done regarding the specific causes of obesity without providing an idea of interventions. Some of the literature shows the relationship between the parents’ attitudes about food and how they influence the way that the teen eats. Honisett, Woolcock, Porter, & Hughes (2009) reported on a program in Australia called, Kids - 'Go for your life', in which the creators of the program brought together primary school, early childhood services, family daycare programs and kindergartens to teach them about healthy eating and physical activity. The way the program brought these agencies together was to provide a membership (free) that provided resources, training, and a reward program. When the organization goes through the program and makes a commitment to promoting healthier schools, they also receive a sign to place at their front door to show they are committed to healthy eating and physical activity so that the community will also know. Sealy (2010) points out that children begin to understand eating habits from their parents, and often, parents rely on fast food when they have little money or when they are rushed. Backett-Milburn, Wills, Roberts, and Lawton (2010) also interviewed teens and found that parents controlled what children ate at home. Coppinger, Jeanes, Hardwick, & Reeves (2012) found that teenagerâ€℠¢s eating habits varied between genders. For example, the authors found that boys are more prone to eat junk food or other unhealthy food than girls. The authors also found a connection between BMI and a child’s breakfast consumption. If the child ate breakfast regularly, they had â€Å"significantly lower BMI Z scores† (p. 46) than those who did not. Older boys were less likely to eat breakfast than other children. The literature on eating habits of teenagers is not restricted to the United States. In fact, much of the

George and Marthas Essay Example for Free

George and Marthas Essay The very title of Edward Albees Whos afraid of Virginia Woolf? has immediate connotations as to the relationship between the two main characters of the play, George and Martha. The well known nursery rhyme in fact goes, Whos afraid of the big bad wolf? As we find out in further reading of the play, the big bad wolf is obviously supposed to be seen as Martha, and the victim is George, her long suffering husband. However, in hindsight, both characters suffer just as much as each other. The title of Act one is Fun and Games. This proves to be slightly ironic as the games Martha and George play, mind and verbal matches, do not seem at all fun, but appear as more of a power struggle. Apparent simple requests from Martha become games for both her and Martha to play. Martha says, Why dont you want to kiss me? whereupon George replies, Well, dear, if I kissed you Id get all excited As one critic of the play wrote, They (George and Martha) club each other on the head with gleeful scorn and leave huge patches of scorched earth. Emotions from both George and Martha become integrated into an ongoing power struggle, and Martha dwells in Georges anger as she likes to see the stirred up effect she has on him. As the night wears on, more alcohol is consumed and the clearer it becomes that it is not blood running through Martha and Georges veins, but booze, spite, nicotine and fear. When Martha first rants about a Bette Davis film that she quotes from, Hey, wheres that from? What a dump, it seems that George almost ignores her. Marthat ahs already appeared as the stronger character in the play, but in retrospect, she relies an George for a great many things, such as the name of the film that Bette Davis was in, and the name of the professor coming to have drinks. Both characters appear to totally confront one another. Martha, according to George, brays, and George shows a passive display of apathy. However, this is not merely strength versus weakness due to Marthas obvious reliance on George. In Martha and Georges relationship, Martha firstly behaves like a mother towards George, saying, Cmon over here and give Mommy a big sloppy kiss. She then acts more childlike, with (imitating a child), Im firsty. It is as though Martha cannot decide as to whether she is the controlling mother or the child who needs protecting in their relationship. The action of this Act takes place in George and Marthas cosy yet cluttered home. In an outline, Martha is furious that George, an academic, hasnt advanced at the college where her father is President, that is, George hasnt become President himself. The fact that George didnt even fight during the War, but stayed in the History Department at the college, makes George and Martha doubt his manhood all the more. In a sense, George almost feels below Marthas father. Understandably so, as Martha calls him a flop and continues to praise her father. George and Nicks (the slightly self contained younger guest) chosen departments in the college are again an example of total contrast in the play. George appears to be bogged down in his department and not going anywhere academically or in his career. He is almost a relic of the past himself. Nick, however, is at the forefront of new discoveries and is also young, handsome and extremely successful. This is the type of man whom Martha initially wanted to marry, yet the type of man to whom George could not fit the bill. George is therefore understandable threatened by Nick and his young, liberal way of thinking. George pretends to shoot Martha in another of their games, but this is almost the opposite to the restrained George we are used to seeing. Laughter and arguments between the characters of Martha and George demonstrate to us the dialectic of love and hate in Act one. When Martha demands a kiss from George, a display of affection to his own wife, George knocks it back and rejects her. The fluctuation in their relationship demonstrates that hating each other hasnt precluded form simultaneously loving and needing one another. Illusion appears to be a very important part of the play. George and Martha both had an illusion of what life would be like when they got married; they saw George becoming president of the college and living a happy married life under its roof. Clearly this did not happen, and both feel somewhat bitter for it. Honey and Nick also appear almost as an illusion of a happy marriage, so it seems. They seem to slip into the background in that they both pretend not to notice George and Marthas arguments and laugh at things that they dont particularly find funny. Another example of an illusion is that of Marthas and Georges apparent son. Martha is always very keen to talk of him whereas George is not so, almost closing down the subject. We never actually see the son in Act One and there is even confusion between the two as to when his birthday is. The supposed perfection of the boy, blonde hair and blue eyes, and the fact that George refers states, Dont bring up the bit about the boy, depersonalises and deludes his actual existence. This is obviously a particularly sore point of conversation between George and Martha, as it results in a number of heated arguments. Martha and George constantly hurl abusive and hurtful words at each other, as though throwing knives. In striking out at those closest to them, that is each other, they represent the typical dysfunctional couple. However, in doing so the romantic notion of love keeps their relationship almost together. Both saw each other as the way to a new, perfect way of life yet the fantasy was not fulfilled, and in verbally abusing each other, they take the blame from themselves and place it on each other. Albee has captured perfectly the way two completely different people can come together and the dramatic consequences it can have on each other, not always in bringing out the negative.

Early Developments Of Narrative Cinema Film

Early Developments Of Narrative Cinema Film Using either two short films from films silent period (pre 1929), or one short film and an extract from a longer film (both of which should also be pre 1929) discuss what they can tell us about the early developments of narrative cinema. Early development of narrative cinema pre 1929 (silent films) Films have changed a great deal since the earliest productions in the silent era of around 1898 to around 1929, when the development of sound was conceived. Many advances in film have enhanced the viewing pleasure, from the almost alien productions created nearly a hundred years ago, for example Georges Melies Voyage to the Moon (1902), to the familiar films of our generation, such as James Camerons Avatar. This essay will discuss the changes made from a visual and aesthetic cinema to a structured narrative cinema. Also how films may have evolved in both plot and story, and also how the development of the narrative form changed, in some respects, films viewing purpose and audiences expectations. Analyzing why films which contain narratives and the ability to derive tension from their audience overtook the medium most popular at the time, the cinema of attractions, will help us to understand how films viewing changed. By comparing two very different silent films, Rescued by Rover (directed by Lewin Fitzhamon 1905) and Broken Blossoms (directed by D .W. Griffith 1919) one would expect to see a great many differences, not only technological (such as the length of the films, and editing advancements) but also such things as character development, and characters emotional drives along with the variety of devices which drive the narrative forward. Comparing the entirety of Rescued by Rover with just a short scene from Broken Blossoms will enable us to select the clear advances in narrative structure and understand their development from the simple action and consequence format to the in-depth emotional build up created by films made later during the silent film era. The early 1900s saw change and growth, in both the production of short films and the demand. Thomas Elsaesser discusses this notion in his book Early Cinema: Space, Frame, Narrative suggesting that 1905 saw the production of many stable permanent theaters being set up as well as the film industry trying to knit developments together, such as the first full film reel and a number of film theaters allowing the exchange of films as a means of distribution. These and other developments, took place in order to try and produce a stable industry. The introduction of films containing narratives has played a significant role in the popularity and production of films. Short silent films shown just before and during the very early 1900s did not focus on the need to tell a story as much, maybe because the development of film only really began a decade before. However, on March 22, 1895, in Paris, France, the Socià ©tà © dEncouragement à   lIndustrie Nationale (National Society for the Promotion of Industry) gathered to watch a film depicting factory workers leaving for their dinner hour, which although may seem primitive to an audience of today, must have been an impressive show and indeed an exciting step forward from the kinetoscope. The film, screened and viewed in front of an audience, was an innovation created by brothers Louis Lumià ¨re (1864-1948) and Auguste Lumià ¨re (1862-1954). Loius Lumiere made many short films which included, LArroseur arrose, known in English as The Gardener and the Bad Boy, which unlike the pr evious films contained a comic narrative structure. Joel. W. Finler in his book Silent Cinema: before the coming of sound, states that although shot from a fixed camera position, the picture demonstrates a sophisticated use of the film frame, suggesting that the film had previous planning and each frame had been structured for both characters so that they would fit nicely, showing early attempts to add to the film aesthetically. Rescued by Rover was made in 1905. It was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Lewin Fizhamon and the Hepworth manufacturing company was the production company. The short film is about a baby who is kidnapped by an old woman, but luckily the family collie rescues the baby. The film is very easy to follow, containing a variety of simple shots all helping the viewer to follow the narrative. The first shot is of the baby and the dog sitting quietly together, then the mother is seen wheeling the baby up a path in her pram, a nasty old woman approaches the mother begging, but the mother walks on, ignoring the old woman. In the next shot the mother is distracted by another man talking to her. They both chat while sneakily the old woman steals her precious baby. This is a simple example of films early jump to the narrative structure. In narrative it is all the events, both explicitly presented and inferred that make the story, an example of this is provided in Rescued by Rover. Three shots are used to set up the plot,( the baby and dog together, the mother pushing the baby the baby is taken.) followed by another sixteen shots showing Rover tracking down the child, these sixteen shots are repeated twice more to show, (in reverse) the dog returning home and then again when rover takes the father with him, however a forth repeat of the sequence is not shown (the dog, the father and the baby returning home together) and instead a shot of the kidnapper returning to her room, followed by a shot of the reunited family is provided. The film assumes that the audience does not need to see the Father, baby and dog returning home, but that the audience is able to identify that this was happening while the shot of the beggar woman returning to her house was shown. The films ability to involve itself with the audience and coherently lay each relevant characters plight, initiates an emotional response, such as sympathy for the baby and sorrow for the mother when she loses her baby. Films like The Gardener and the Bad Boy and Rescued by Rover are clear examples of why the demand for narrative films grew. Bernard F Dick discusses narrative films advance in his book Anatomy of Film, Fifth edition, saying the narrative film came about when film makers discovered the medium could do more than just record whatever was in front of the camera. The next step was not only to capture it but to re-create it; to show what could or might be; in other words to tell a story. This suggests that films such as Rescued by Rover and The Gardener and the Bad Boy where successful experiments in the field of narrative cinema and led to much more in-depth narrative films. Broken Blossoms, the film directed by D W Griffith, stands proudly among the greats of the silent film era, and unlike Rescued by Rover, uses intertitles. Bernard. F.Dick, in Anatomy of Film, discusses this notion when commenting, Printed material that appeared on the screen periodically during the course of the movie, the intertitle was one of the ways in which the silent filmmaker supplemented the narrative or clarified the action; it is also a reminder of films early dependence on printed word. D.W.Griffith used intertitles for a variety of purposes, not just to reproduce dialogue and identify characters. One clear difference in the two films, Rescued by Rover and Broken Blossoms, is the ability to develop a much more in-depth relationship between the character and the viewer. Broken Blossoms, contains both a larger plot and story opening up to a wider range of audiences, because of its variety in characters (the poor lost girl with what seems like no hope, and the wandering Chinese man whose fame and respect are as nothing in a cruel foreign world.) Broken Blossoms also uses different advances in camera work: to better tell a story, such as the scene in which the poor girls ghastly father finds her sleeping in the Chinese mans bed, the scene cuts backwards and forwards from shots of the fathers face getting more and more angry, to the girl becoming more and more scared shot and the scene is edited correctly for convincing continuity, and the correct level of tension has been created. However D.W.Griffith has allowed for emotion to be displayed though characters actions as well, inste ad of only using Intertitles in the scene where the father discovers Lucy in the Chinese mans room, such as You! with a dirty chink! and Taint nothin wrong! Taint nothin wrong! I fell down in the doorway and it wasnt nothin wrong! Different shots are given to display the emotions of the father and Lucy, several close up shots of both Lucy and the father are provided. The tension is built up by the shots of their faces getting closer and closer until the audience is shown an extreme close up of their eyes, this serves to drive the plot and create emotional response from the viewers. From viewing early silent films and analyzing both Rescued by Rover and Broken Blossoms, one conclusion dominates above others: the progression narrative film has taken in film makers ability to tell a story, from a simple plot such as a dog saving a baby, to the elaborate plot of Broken Blossoms and its Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet-esc plot, filled with emotionally provoking moments. The development of a simple narrative working within a film has enabled us to make, and watch films with far more complex narratives. The simple narrative films of the past have paved the way for the future and the coming of sound and colour, bringing films to life with a vivid and beautifully developed mode of story telling.

To what extent did propaganda influence Nazi consolidation of power 1933-1939? :: World War II History

To what extent did propaganda influence Nazi consolidation of power 1933-1939? The Nazi regime in Germany implemented itself swiftly and effectively - the National Socialists had only three Nazis in a cabinet of twelve in January 1933, yet within two months Hitler had consolidated his political power by entirely legal means . With this, came the need for support from the German public. For a regime to 'consolidate' its power people could be too afraid to rebel against it, or they could be convinced of the value of the regime, or a combination of both. In the National Socialist era, the latter was used. In the period of 1933-1939, this was achieved by a number of methods, notably the use of propaganda, the various legislative and administrative changes, Hitler's personal charisma, the achievement of economic recovery and the 'reign of terror'. The extent to which each contributed to the consolidation of National Socialist regime is an issue that has remained in discussion, and is to be addressed in this essay. Although the relative importance of factors is in debate, it is certain that propaganda was one of the major causes of consolidation of power. As the historian Ian Kershaw emphasises, "It was plain from the beginning that the regime would attach a high priority to the steering of opinion ." However, the exact extent that propaganda affected the Nazi consolidation of power is extremely difficult to gauge, for a number of reasons. For instance, although the Nazi film 'Triumph of the Will' by Leni Riefenstahl may have been a success (and regarded as a brilliant achievement in today's film industry), there is no evidence to suggest that the film depicting Nazi strength affected a great deal of people. For instance, many Germans felt the film was too long and was extremely repetitive. In addition, market research was non-existent, and there were very few non-Gestapo polls to analyse the success of this enormous propaganda campaign, which was conducted primarily by one man. Joseph Goebbels, master propagandist of the Nazi regime was seen as man who represented the propaganda campaign. As he said himself on 25th March 1933 "The Ministry has the task of achieving a mobilisation of mind and spirit in Germany. " It was Goebbels that created the 'Hitler myth' - which portrayed an image of the Messiah-like figure and a man who was the saviour of Germany, in line with the publicising of the economy and so forth.

Disaster Preparedness Essay

A disaster is generally defined as an event in which illness or injuries surpass resource capabilities of a community or medical facility (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2010). Disaster preparedness is a process of ensuring that an organization has complied with the preventive measures and is in a state of readiness to contain the effects of a predicted disastrous event to minimize loss of life, injury, and damage to property. see more:essay on disaster management in english Disaster preparedness can also provide rescue, relief, rehabilitation, and other services in the aftermath of the disaster, as well as have the capability and resources to continue to sustain its essential functions without being overwhelmed by the demand placed on them. The American Nursing Association is helping to ensure that disaster preparedness and response is robust in this country to be personally and professionally prepared for a disaster. Being in a prepared profession can help cope and help the communities recover from disaster better, faster and stronger (Brewer, 2010). According to the Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS) at Maricopa Medical Center, they have a specialized disaster preparedness plan to fit their current top three hazards. Maricopa Medical Center conducts a Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA) annually. The current top three hazards K. F. , Manager of Fire Safety and Disaster Preparedness, at Maricopa Medical Center has identified include: Mass Causality Incidents (trauma, burns, pandemic, etc. ), Small Casualty Hazardous Materials Response (less than five patients), and Severe Weather Incidents (monsoonal action, thunderstorms, and haboobs). This organization has a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan that addresses the top three current hazards in the organization’s region. Maricopa Medical Center is also further developing their business continuity and recovery plans into stand-alone plans (K. F. , personal interview, February 13, 2012). In order to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of the disaster preparedness plan, Maricopa Medical Center annually conducts a minimum of two operational exercises, in addition to various discussion based exercises. The organization’s exercises follow the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP), which includes an after action report process with an improvement plan and corrective action plan sections. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, many studies have showed that disaster drills have been an effective way to improve staffs knowledge of hospital disaster procedures (Catlett, 2004). Additionally, exercise objectives are developed in such a way to exercise pieces of the plan that have been identified as opportunities for continual improvement and/or grant deliverables. Once opportunities for improvement of the disaster plan are identified, these improvements are remedied by being given corrective actions with specific time frames and the status is reported to senior management. Some recent corrective actions that have occurred within recent years include the development of position-specific training to further build comfort for those that are activated in the Hospital Command Center, plan changes regarding Casualty Care Areas during a response to a Mass Casualty Incident, and Standard Operating Procedure enhancement for the Hospital Emergency Response Team (K. F. personal interview, February 13, 2012). The representation that is present on the disaster preparedness committee for Maricopa Medical Center does not include nursing management. The emergency management committee includes a cross-sectional representation from the entire health system. This includes Acute Care, Behavioral Health, Ancillary Services, and Outpatient Services. K. F. , stated, â€Å"Bedside nursing has been extremely instrumental within the various task groups that focus on plan changes. In fact, the task groups associated with Casualty Care, Fatality Management, and HERT development are chaired by bedside nursing staff. There is also a Steering Committee for guidance that includes the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and the Vice President of Hospital Operations (K. F. , personal interview, February 13, 2012). † The established relationships that are within the community to help implement the organization’s disaster preparedness plan are that K. F. is currently the Chair-Elect for the Az Coalition for Healthcare Emergency Response (AzCHER-Central), which brings hospitals, clinics, skilled nursing acilities, fire & Emergency Medical Services (EMS), public health, emergency management, and other community stakeholders together for planning. Maricopa Medical Center currently has three to four members on the general body of this group, including bedside nursing representatives. There are a number of governmental agencies that are involved in the organization’s disaster preparedness planning. K. F. is an active member with Coyote Crisis Collaborative, which includes some of those from AzCHER, but also universities and community colleges, utilities, private business, faith-based and other volunteer groups, etc. The Chief Information Officer is currently the Chairman of the Board for Coyote Crisis Collaborative. Additionally, they participate in the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) Grant which is administered by Arizona Department of Health Services. All of these opportunities provide environments for collaboration, plan sharing, and developing solutions to issues that face all of those included (K. F. , personal interview, February 13, 2012). In order to implement this plan, staff has received adequate training. The National Incident Management System and Incident Command System training is required for all identified Hospital Command Center staff. They have a â€Å"3-Deep† list for all identified positions. Required training includes Incident System-100, Incident System-200, Incident System-700, and Incident System-800 as a minimum. Incident System-300 and Incident System-400 are required for section chiefs and incident commanders. An overview of the Hospital Incident Command System is shared with all employees at New Employee Orientation. The Hospital Emergency Response Team (HERT) members receive additional Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) training within the HERT course and must take Incident System-100, Incident System-200, and Incident System-800 as pre-requisites for HERT. At Maricopa Medical Center, HERT training is now the standard for the Emergency Department first-year residents during their orientation process. K. Fehr stated, â€Å"Additionally, position-specific training has been identified in a recent exercise as an opportunity for improvement. That training has been developed and is scheduled to be administered over the next 90 days (K. F. personal interview, February 13, 2012). † Maricopa Medical Center has an automated system for the Hospital Command Center that is based upon Hospital Incident Command System IV. This system allows for â€Å"virtual† command and has the ability to send status updates, as well as provide real-time status to the HCC Team. They have also just been given access to a Mass Notification program from Arizona Department of Health Services that can be used internally to ensure that communication during incidents is sent to every employee. HICS IV is the current model that is used, which is National Incident Management System compliant (K.  F. , personal interview, February 13, 2012). The standards that nurses are held to concerning their ethical obligations to their organization and community would be handled by the Incident Commander with guidance of wither a Legal Specialist or Medical Ethicist. Any issues that are specific to standards of care would be approved by the Incident Commander and forwarded to the staff during the event based upon available resources, etc. If the question is specific as to the nurses’ duty to respond to work during a disaster, they do not require them to respond. They hope that they would stay or be willing to come in. The planning includes the set-up of child/elder care areas and sleeping areas for the staff to remove barriers that would take them away from their station. Planning does include the idea that at least 40 % of the staff will not remain or come in during an incident. Maricopa Medical Center has a Memorandum of Understanding and a Memorandum of Agreement with other regional hospitals and formal request processes at the county and state levels for additional staff. When asked whether staff buy-in was a coveted aspect in Maricopa Medical Center’s disaster plan, K. F. tates, â€Å"Staff is absolutely buy-in coveted for this organization’s disaster preparedness plan. The best method that we have found for involvement includes the expansion of the HERT Program, covering the program during Health Fairs and Nursing Skills Fairs, and involving staff in exercises as mock patients (K. F. , personal interview, February 13, 2012). † After my interview with K. F. , I was really intrigued into what all goes on with a disaster preparedness plan. I knew that disaster plans were in effect for many organizations, but I did not realize the actual extent of what goes n with the planning of it. I learned a lot through the interview and was very pleased with the information that I received about Maricopa Medical Center and their disaster preparedness plan. I feel that what is involved in their plan is very relevant to the location of the organization, as well as how they every year they have two operational exercises, as well as discussion based exercises, to help test their plan and determine its effectiveness. I think this is a very important aspect to any organization because without testing the plan, it is unclear how effective it really it. After these annual exercises, I think it is great that the organization has an after report with ideas for improvement to help make their disaster plan stronger and more effective. All in all, I believe that Maricopa Medical Center has a very effective and sufficient disaster preparedness plan for their organization and that they are consistently looking for areas of where they can improve and better their plan to help the community recover from disaster as it occurs (K. F. , personal interview, February 13, 2012).

Excuses, Excuses

Excuses, Excuses Even though some excuses for turning in work late as seen in â€Å"The Dog Ate My Disk, and Other Tales of Woe† by Carolyn Foster Segal, some excuses given are legitimate for turning in late work. Some unforeseeable events, such as traffic accidents, death in the family, weather that causes an evacuation, and a fire are just a few are all events that students can not control, which result in turning in late work. It is Monday morning, students are on their way to the first class period of the day, their paper is due first thing as they walk in the door.Tragedy strikes on their way to school as a mo-torists runs a red light, t-boning the students car and causing a major accident. However the stu-dent could have emailed the assignment to the professor, this professor only accepts copies in pe-rson. The student did not predict the accident he/she would be involved in this morning, or maybe he/she would have left a little later, or a little earlier, or even taken a different route to school that day. Family members getting into an accident could go either way, depending on who the family member is and where they are located.If a distant cousin from four hundred miles away gets into a fender bender, teachers will probably be very skeptical to accept late work. However a mother, father, or immediate family member, gets into an automobile accident could be an acceptable excuse for turning in late work. A death in the family is a very tragic occurrence and could have many different effects on the student and their work they are planning to turn in. Segal states â€Å" What heartless student would lie, wish death on a revered family member, just to avoid a deadline? (461) Hopefully no student would use a death in the family to avoid a deadline. Death is not to be taken lightly, nor used in a demeaning manner. Segal also says, â€Å"What heartless teacher would dare to question a student's grief or veracity? †(461). Hopefully no teacher or professor would call their students out or question that their was a death in their family. Letting the professor know exactly what is going on and when the student will turn in their paper is a proper course of action, to avoid receiving an F for the assignment or incomplete in the class.Nothing is more frightening than having to pack bags and evacuate due to serious and catastrophic weather. Students and teachers, not knowing what to expect when the storm passes, or what damage could come of their campus or surrounding areas. When a storm is a brewing miles away and expecting to hit in the next week, students are not worried about an assignment, they are focused on packing the must haves when evacuating and arriving somewhere out of harms way. Most teachers probably allow students to turn their work in after the storm has passed and once the school opens back up to regular hours.Weather is a unstable force, the storm could hit further away or not be as strong as anticipated, but students do not focus on their school work at this time. Giving them a legitimate excuse for not turning their work in on time, because they were forced to evacuate due to storms and unforeseeable damages that may occur. Fires destroy many homes and buildings each year, leaving the occupants without a roof over their head. In the event of a fire, people are taught not to try and save anything from their houses, dorms, and apartments.Their main goal is to get to safety, and let the fire department do their job at extinguishing the fire. A student that is the victim of a fire, should be allowed to turn their work in late, especially if they have lost most if not all of their things in the fire. Sunday night, the student is putting the finishing touches on their paper due Monday morning, and their computer crashes, not allowing them to save any material to a disc, or thumb drive can be very upsetting. The student arrives in class and tells their professor that the reason they are not t urning their paper in was because their computer crashed the night before.This could happen, and not allow the student adequate time to go to their nearest computer lab or library on campus and redo their paper. This common occurrence with computers and technology could give the students an extension to resubmit their assignment at a later day. This would be at the profess-ors discretion of course, or the professor could ask for proof that the action that did happen, truly did happen. This returns to the question from the death in a family section, just in different words: Would a teacher actually question, why a student is turning their work in late or not.Excuses are thrown around colleges and schools like jokes at a comedy club. Some excuses are just absurd and just a reason for students to get out of doing their assignments; others are legitimate reasons as to why they are not turning their assignment in. The bad excuses make the legitimate excuses seem untrue and just another e xcuse, that students will use to get out of an assignment. Work Cited Segal, Carolyn Foster. â€Å"The Dog Ate My Disk, and Other Tales of Woe† Patterns for College Writing. 12th ed. Ed. Laurie G Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford, 2012 460-463. Print.

Asian students perform better academically than US students

Asian students perform better academically than U.S. students throughout the entire school year. In order to prove that Asian students do perform better, Harold W. Stevenson and his colleagues proposed a series of large cross-national studies, beginning 1980. Stevenson discussed his studies in the article â€Å"Learning from Asian Schools†. The studies compared Chinese, Japanese, and American children who sampled from first grade and fifth grade classrooms in elementary schools in Minneapolis, Chicago, Sendai, Beijing, and Taipei. The studies found that in mathematics average scores of the Asian first and fifth graders were higher than the American averages. When compared the scores from different grades, the studies found decline in American schools as well as improvement in Taiwan and steady high performance in Japan. In addition, the studies found that in reading the Asian students caught up by the fifth grade following the increased demands in Asian languages, although American first graders tended towards the top on these tests. The test results undoubtedly confirmed the truth about the superior performance of Asian students over American students. According to the studies, Stevenson found that there were three main reasons associated with Asian children†s success: cultural differences, educational system and teacher performance. Asian mothers considered the most important thing in their children†s life is to do well in school; education is equivalent to the children†s future. Therefore, Asian mothers hold high standards for their children†s academic performance, believing that the road to success is through effort, having positive attitudes about achievement, and studying diligently. In contrast, American mothers had very high satisfaction with their children†s academic performance because they lacked measurement standards for performance, and believed their children†s success came from being born with intelligence and being diligent. American mothers also placed a lesser emphasis on academic achievement because they believed their children†s childhood shouldn†t solely focus on school. Asian mothers† attitudes caused their children to work harder to improve their performance. In addition to the cultural difference mentioned above, the different education system also formed a barrier for American students through the road of success. In school daily life, American students spent most of their time in the classroom. Dissimilarly, Asian schools had frequent recesses and a longer lunch period that in turn maintained the students attention to the teachers. The after school activities and clubs in Asian schools made the school an enjoyable place, therefore, students appeared well behaved and well adjusted, which could be proven by fewer complains in school and better attendance by Asian students. Due to the clear academic goal, the more demanding curriculum for Asian students actually did not cause extraordinary stress. Asian teachers† performance also contributed to the students† academic achievements. Compared to American teachers† individual work and self-adjusted schedule, Asian teachers usually consult each other, worked as a group to design teaching techniques in following the national curriculum, hence provided the best understanding from the students. Asian teachers only spent part of their school time teaching and prepared the classes in the teacher†s room for rest of the working time; this allowed them to prepare their classes well. Asian teachers followed preplanned materials and assigned a â€Å"brief period of seatwork throughout the class period†(Stevenson 236), which provide a series of productive interaction and discussions for students. In contrast, American teachers had to cover all elementary school subjects and spent most of their time at school teaching, so they didn†t have enough time to prepare classes. In addition, American teachers explained concept first and gave seatwork later during class, thus reducing the students† attention. Even the Asian teachers† education background was not as high as American teachers, the â€Å"in-service training under the supervision of skilled models†(Stevenson, 236) used by Asian schools gave the teachers the skills to gain students attention, which included giving feedback to students, using more materials that can be manipulated and relating the subjects to the students† daily life. In conclusion, the U.S. had to create a cultural emphasis on academic success and education, which is not merely increase the length of school days but had to change the way of American teachers† jobs performance. Stevenson considered the culture difference might cause some biased results, so he proposed his studies by using wide range of scientific data to gain the precise statistics. According to Stevenson†s studies, Asian students perform better academically is a truism. Nevertheless, American schools will not achieve the same level of success if they completely imitate Asian schools. In addition, Stevenson merely compared the children†s scores might ignore their practice abilities. Although theories dominate practices, the good performance on test paper does not equal to the strong practice abilities. Undoubtedly, the great academic performance achieved by Asian schools is worth praise, however, it is very difficult to compare success factors between different cultures. Therefore, the ways to improve American schools† performance should be adjusted to fit in the need and want of American schools. In other words, merely introducing higher standards, longer school days, and new education systems cannot improve the performance of American schools. Simultaneously, it is very important for American schools to discard the dross and select the essential from Asian schools† academic experiences in order to establish a series of countermeasures. Once American schools recognize their shortcomings and build a new academic culture base on their advantage, American academic achievement will rise to world standards. When I was a third grader of elementary school in China, my Chinese teacher not only impressed me through her outstanding teaching performance but also evoked my interest in writing composition. In Chinese education standards, third grade of elementary school is the time to learn how to write a short narrative composition. I had no idea how to describe an affair†s process. On the first day of class for composition, I felt really nervous because I did not know what I was going to face. I thought the teacher would give us something to write, but what surprised me was that she started the class by telling us a tale of the fisherman and goldfish. I was immersed by the interesting story and felt completely relaxed. After the teacher finished the story, she distributed a copy of it to us and started a discussion about the story. Following a series of â€Å"what if, how and why† questions about the story under the teacher†s instruction, we reached an alliance that the writer†s abundant imagination and remarkable writing skills let readers fall into the story. The teacher did not ask us to write anything after the class; I had already readied to start my first composition in my mind, because I had understood how a good story could bring happiness to people. For the rest of my years in elementary school, I wrote compositions to entertain myself and finally could not live without it. The compositions that I wrote in the third grade were really ridiculous, but I always remembered and appreciated the teacher†s aspiration and encouragement. Without her positive feedback, I would never have benefited from writing Chinese composition. From my personal experience, I believe that Asian students do not gain the remarkable academic achievements by sheer good luck. In other words, the academic success of Asian schools is worthy of praise.