Pay for Time Not Worked

The average hourly rated full-time employee makes about $33,000 a year in year. Which broken down to all the time given off, only actually earns about $26,000. As for the employees which are paid through set salaries, the average Individual makes about $40,000 In which only about $33,000 Is worked productively. As we can see, we are losing out about $7,000 per employee, hourly or not. All the given non-productive is the same for all employees across the board. As you can see, this issue needs to be addressed and hence my recommendations. We have 60 employees in our corporate office.On average, we lose out on about $420,000. 00 a year. We can definitely cut back on some of these non-productive hours and start making them profitable. All employees get 10 days vacation, we can change our probation period from 90 to 120 days, and employees are not allowed to take any time off until they have successfully surpassed 6 months. Furthermore, depending on your start date with the company, we c an prorate the amount of vacation time allowed. If you commence In the months of November or December, vacation does not apply being that we go by the calendar year.In regards to holidays, we can exclude from having he day after Thanksgiving off, this would save us about $9500. 00 for this one day alone and it would increase our productivity during the holiday season which can be very beneficial in our case being that property management companies always have tenants calling into the office right before a major holiday. Moreover, company policy states that there should be 10 days of training for every department. Nevertheless, the training period of 10 days does not need to apply to everyone. I believe that some procedures can be learned in one week as opposed to two.Training policies should be adjusted depending on department and position. Anyone who Is eager to learn can do it in the allotted time and If this is not the case, other individuals need to be seeded especially If the p osition Is not entry level. Lastly, another aspect of â€Å"non-productive time† which can be reduced Is the minutes on the coffee break. There are currently two dally coffee breaks which are 15 minutes each. We can reduce them to 10 minutes or 5 minutes each and the caffeine addicts would nave no Dados to complain . We would a Know Tanat people are at tenet ease longer Duty enjoying their coffee at the same time.In conclusion, non-productive time can be educed in a manner that will benefit the company but no upset the employees at the same time. The economy right now is a tough one and no one wants to be out of a Job or get their hours cut back because we all have bills to pay every month. The proposed changes are both realistic and possible. It is Just a matter of presenting it to the employees in a manner in which they understand is needed for the company and beneficial. We can always make comparisons with other companies who have it worse than we do and this would help th em see that less non-productive time is better than no non-productive time.

The Roller Skating Rink

The Roller Skating Rink Adolescents like to have a place they can call their own. In the 80’s and early 90’s, teenagers would hang out at the mall, the arcade, or many other spots. When I was a little girl, growing up in a small town, meant you had to travel to the city next door in order to find your weekend excitement. Usually that would be roller skating with your friends at â€Å"Skate World†, while listening to the favorite group of the month. Having never done this as a child, my sister decided one afternoon that she would take me roller skating. I was amazed to find a little world filled with life blooming on a 70 X 160-ft cement slab known as a roller skating rink. As soon as we entered the building which housed the rink, the warm, nostalgia scent of popcorn hit that part of my brain where dusty cobwebbed memories live, memories of my own childhood. We made our way past a group of exuberant teenagers at the snack bar until we reached the skating rink. Skinny, hard benches, made for small butts, lined one wall. We took a seat and scanned the rink. My eyes paused to read a sign; white, block letters on a black background warned, â€Å"Skate At Your Own Risk. As my sister smiled back at me, I paused for a minute and thought, what have I gotten myself into. Meanwhile, two young men swaggered past us: confident, heads held high, eyes focused on their destination. I leaned over, looking down the long row of benches, curious to find out where they were going. Their confidence lagged a bit as they approached a large group of their peers, including several young ladies. All of them exhibited signs of discomfort as the girls crossed their arms over their mature bodies and the boys tried hard not to stare. Suddenly a silent signal sent the entire group to the benches. Pairs of nimble hands laced up skates as quickly as possible, while other hands aided in conversation that only the listener was allowed to hear. I was struck by the intimacy of this scene. They all knew each other well. They had come together in the freedom of this one place to share and explore without the encumbrance of parents, teachers, or any other adult. I sat bolt upright, feeling very uncomfortable as I realized how much I really didn’t fit in. Then as I attempted to recover from my embarrassment, I was suddenly startled by a noise†¦music, perhaps? It must have been music, because I glanced down to find my foot tapping away to a beat long forgotten. Then as if on cue, people from every corner of the room flocked to the rink. The awkwardness their bodies had expressed off the rink had been replaced by a grace not unlike a baby bird. They were clumsy in their approach to flight, but once airborne, they were a soaring sight to behold. After carefully watching, I was mesmerized by the effortlessness of their movements, weaving in and out, endlessly circling. Skates became a blur of color: green, purple, blue, pink, and red–speeding by fast and furious. I felt the rush of wind on my face as I caught the musky scent of cologne mixed with sweat. A swirl of communication was taking place, none of it involving speech. The tactile sense had kicked in: punching and shoving of young lions trying to impress their ladies of choice, bodies brushing by each other, and the gentle touch of hand on arm. A statuesque blond, six inches taller than her partner, slipped. â€Å"Catch me, I’m falling on purpose,† her body language seemed to say. Eye contact was prevalent. Most skaters continually scanned the rink, found the one they were looking for and BAM!!! eyes quickly darted away. This testing of emotional waters went of for several hours; boys and girls trying on relationships of men and women like kids playing dress up in their parents’ clothes. At last, I remembered the sign, â€Å"Skate At Your Own Risk. † At the time, I had worried about broken arms and legs, but as I watched the dance unfold on that skating rink, I realized that these young people risk so much more. The pain and rejection, the fear of making fools of themselves, and the devastation they feel when they believe that they have; makes life for these teenagers a risky business. Perhaps the sign should have read, â€Å"Live At Your Own Risk. †

Reflective Pieces Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflective Pieces - Essay Example The personal requirements as a leader that effective delegation will help me meet are well articulated in the first reflective piece. The second reflective piece entails if I am a transactional/transformational leader with an exposition of the various ways my leadership skills and behaviors makes me believe I am a transformational leader. The part provides the characteristics I possess regarding leadership and relates them to transformational leadership styles to back the belief that I am a transformational leader. The third reflective piece is an exposition of my problem-solving abilities where I provide a step by step review of the manner in which I solve problems. Information gathering for decision-making is one of the challenges in my problem-solving since I tend to seek complete information to solve problems that in reality may not be possible and time-consuming to make fast, reliable, intuitive decisions.According to Magee (2015, 150), delegation is an art and science that has to be developed to be effective, and leaders should aim at achieving efficient delegation. The leadership skill I would like to develop is the ability to delegate effectively since I realized the many benefits that can be accrued by a leader and the organization from the effective delegation of duties. According to Prive (December 19, 2012. Par. 4), delegation allows a leader to develop trust and share the vision with the team offering the chance for achievement and progress, which I believe will be beneficial to me achieving success and progress as a leader

Two Writers Compare of Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Two Writers Compare of Education - Assignment Example On the side of Derrick Jensen, education, especially the modern educational systems, should enroll and mold the student into the realms of creativity and individuality. He also extends that education schools are to impart and unveil the realities of life, not illusions like that of happiness lying outside learners’ classroom. The two writers compare through their acknowledgment that education should not generate an illusion, rather it should reveal and aid in solving the realities of life. The two do not seem to conform to the traditional education system, rather advocate that education should help learners find their own voices, freedom, and creativity. To them, education has less to do with knowledge, but being in touch with actuality, as this helps on how to connect to the core of our creative selves. Wild by Cheryl Strayed is a spectacular tale, which sums up the profound meditation on the nature of the angst and endurance. It is a story of a woman, in her journey from lost to found. The self-discovery that Strayed describes as having a lot of shit to shovel emanates from the death of her mother, exit from the university, divorce from her husband and the shocking shockwaves of this drama. This compares to Andrew Forstaffle in the This American Life radio episode Hit the Road. Andrew episodes describe how the fascinating ordinary people are despite the dismissive snort of those around them. The two contrast in that one is a novel by Strayed while the other is Radio short stories and essays. Reading the two, one would encounter an inspiring tale from people, both physical and psychological journey through life’s wilderness of despair until they reach a renewed sense of oneself. According to these writers, Wild, in literal forms means the choice of a writer to unveil his or her unflinching and emotionally incisive language.  

Financial Accounting Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Accounting - Coursework Example It was also decided that the auditors would also have to follow the International Standards of Auditing (ISA), so that it would be easier to analyze the financial statements of the company on a global platform. The objective of this study is to discuss the improvement in the quality of information that users of financial statement get in IAS environment. Developing a strong accounting system is of significant importance because ability of the investors and the banks to calculate and assess the financial strengths and the performances of the companies depends on the transparent corporate accounting system. There should be mandatory consolidation of accounts along with the subsidiary accounts for ascertaining the true profitability. There was lack of segmented reporting of income, other disclosures, extent of deferred tax liabilities, etc. These were few reasons for which a common accounting standard was introduced. The Regulatory Framework for Financial Reporting All the companies in UK have to comply with the company laws regardless of its size. It was also important for companies to develop financial statements for the investors to analyze the financial position of the company. It is also the legal responsibility of the directors to see that the company is working in compliance to the accounting standards. According to the Companies Act of 1985, companies must represent a true and fair view of their accounting statements. In 1990s, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) was set up for setting the accounting standards in UK. It was a solely independent body set up by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the City institutions. In the year 2000, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) reviewed the IAS. It was proposed that all the EU companies would have to prepare their accounts or financial statements by following the IAS standards. It was estimated that about 7000 companies in EU were accountable for using IAS, whereas there w ere only 275 companies who were using IAS till then. All the measures required were taken to establish IAS as a law in EU. This regulation was applicable for the detailed accounting provisions. It was on the member states to choose whether they wanted to permit their unlisted companies to follow the IAS standards. However the UK Accounting Standard Board (ASB) did take several initiatives to narrow down the gap between IAS and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). IAS is still being modified and it has become IASB in the process of converging IAS and GAAP. A survey was conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers in the year 2002 among 650 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), all across the European Union to find the response of the companies towards the usage of IAS. It was found that 62 percent of the CFOs agreed to the fact that IAS would help in establishing an effective and transparent accounting system for them. 85 percent of the companies still did not use IAS, 92 percent of t he CFOs were confident of meeting their deadlines of 2005 and about 60 percent did not even begin their planning for transition. International Accounting Standards (IAS) The study aims at discussing the different aspects of IAS, in order to analyze the improved quality of

Movie review examples (camera shots, camera angles, transition)

Examples (camera shots, camera angles, transition) - Movie Review Example From this shot, the background of the boy is visible revealing a classroom setup. A blackboard is clearly visible and the teacher’s desk. From the young black boy, the scene swiftly transits to another. The transition effect is â€Å"cut:, a spontaneous switch from one scene to another. This is the first transition in the film and together with the first few shots they help create the theme (Penz and Andong 106). The new shot is a long shot if the classroom. This shot is used to reveal the entire breadth of the classroom. It is also used to show the rather clear contract between the new black boy and the class filled with white children. The cut transition helps create the rapid contrast required to bring the â€Å"jump† illusion from one of the scenes to another. This transition easily brings out the contrast between the boys black color and a majority of the white students in the class. The next scene is of a naughty boy trying to intimidate the new boy. The shot is an extreme close up into the boy’s face. Previously, as the teacher introduces the new black boy, the camera had zoomed into the timid boy’s face bringing an extreme close up shot of his central face. When the next scene is introduced by a cut transition and is an extreme close up of the white boy, the notion achieved by the producer is to bring to the fore the finer details differencing the two boys. The two contrasting scenes reveal the difference in the colors of the skins of the two boys. The bully personality of the white by is immediately established from the angle the camera zooms into him (Penz and Andong 76).

Googling Out of Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Googling Out of Control - Essay Example In other types of industries, the Googley way of working could potentially spell disaster for sales and overall business success. This paper will show whether the Googley way of working is actually sustainable long-term for the company and will discuss whether or not this way of working could provide higher benefits for different companies in need of change to their organisational structures or systems and processes. Historical theorists such as Frederick Taylor believed in a scientific method for business in which people should be observed over a period of time and then determining, through these observational findings, which method of training is best for performing specialised jobs in the organisation (Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker, 2006). Combined with the scientific approach, Taylor also viewed workers through a mechanistic standpoint, believing that workers were often inherently difficult and uncooperative and often lacked the ability to absorb knowledge and information successfully. This classical view of management is still at work in many different industries today which have strong leadership hierarchies where virtually all decision-making starts at the top and trickles down the organisation. Google has managed to break away from this classical type of management model where workers are heavily controlled and observed and has given their workers considerable autonomy in most of their own d ecision-making concepts and job roles. It may only be in an environment where change is constant and there is a need for flexible and rapid decision-making where this chaotic type of leadership concept is going to be successful. For example, many of the main global automakers are experiencing sales declines in their auto sales, especially noticeable in the United States. Automakers in this category such as Ford and General

Treatment of Law Enforcement in Todays Society Essay

Treatment of Law Enforcement in Todays Society - Essay Example Many of the different approaches to dealing with crime comes out of various assumptions and values. For countries or systems that believe a criminal is a product of his or her environment, it is more likely that money will be spent on rehabilitation and treatment, with much less of an emphasis on jail time. For these sorts of people law enforcement can be as simple as footing the bill for an Alcoholics Anonymous session. But for those who believe people are responsible for their own actions and intend to commit crimes (indeed intention or mens rea is required in all common law systems in order to convict someone of a crime), the emphasis is likely to be on punishment or locking up the criminal. Law enforcements in this case is about protection and to some extent about retribution. People from both sides of these arguments treat law enforcement differently. Clearly these concepts require a great deal of unpacking—which will be done in the course of this essay. The key things to examine are the various explanations for why people commit crimes, be they biological, psychological and sociological, and how law enforcement should deal with these criminals. In the law enforcement system there are two opposing modes of looking of how to deal with criminals. The first is the due process model. The gist of this model is that an individual can never be deprived of basic human rights no matter how horrible a crime he or she has committed. Even for the police or DA to put someone in prison is to take away the criminal’s inalienable right to liberty. In the course of this system there must be many appeals and a thoroughly scrutinized process to ensure that everything is done by the book (Samaha, 22). At its heart the due process model would rather see nine guilty people on the street than one innocent person in prison. The end result of this mode

Dell Computers Essay Example for Free

Dell Computers Essay Dell Computer pioneered a new way of making and selling personal computers. Its customers â€Å"custom-design† their computer over the Internet or phone. Dell reengineered its â€Å"supply chain† as it coordinated its efforts with its suppliers and streamlined its order-taking and production process. It can ship a computer within two days of taking an order. Personal computers lose 1 percent of their value every week they sit on a shelf. Thus, having virtually no inventory is a great advantage to Dell. Compaq tried to adopt Dells approach, but with limited success. Dell’s CEO Michael Dell understood that kind of execution. His direct-sales and build-to-order approach was not just a marketing tactic to bypass retailers; it was the core of his business strategy. Execution is the reason Dell passed Compaq in market value years ago, despite Compaqs vastly greater size and scope, and its the reason Dell passed Compaq in 2001 as the worlds biggest maker of PCs. As of November 2001, Dell was shooting to double its market share, from approximately 20 to 40 percent. Dell turns its inventory over eighty times a year, compared with about ten to twenty times for its rivals, and its working capital is negative. As a result, it generates an enormous amount of cash. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002, with revenues of $8. 1 billion and an operating margin of 7. 4 percent, Dell had cash flow of $1 billion from operations. Its return on invested capital for fiscal 2001 was 355 percent—an incredible rate for a company with its sales volume. Its high velocity also allows it to give customers the latest technological improvements ahead of other makers, and to take advantage of falling component costs—either to improve margins or to cut prices. These are the reasons Dells strategy became deadly for its competitors once PC growth slowed. Dell capitalized on their misery and cut prices in a bid for market share, increasing the distance between it and the rest of the industry. Because of its high velocity, Dell could show high return on capital and positive cash flow, even with margins depressed. Its competition couldnt. The system works only because Dell executes meticulously at every stage. The electronic linkages among suppliers and manufacturing create a seamless extended enterprise. A manufacturing executive we know who worked at Dell for a time calls its system â€Å"the best manufacturing operation Ive ever seen. In 1998, Dell Computers launched its first global brand advertising campaign, beginning in the United States and Canada, to further highlight the advantages of its direct business model. The brand advertising campaign carries the theme Be Direct. The campaign highlights Dells unique business model, which helps to eliminate barriers between customers and the manufacturer, providing Dell with the means to enhance the overall customer experience. Dells advertising has focused primarily on its products and has been targeted largely at computer-enthusiast and industry trade publications, cable and local television and a few national newspapers. The Be Direct campaign will be in addition to the companys ongoing product-oriented advertising. The new brand campaign emphasizes the strengths and advantages of Dells direct-to-customer business philosophy. The direct model, pioneered by Dell in the computer industry, enables Dell customers to have computer systems built to their specifications; a single point of accountability; award-winning service and support; and fast access to the latest relevant technology. Presently, the growing number of orders comes in over the Internet. The order-taking system interfaces with Dells own supply chain control system, which ensures that inventory is where it needs to be for the computer to be manufactured quickly. In addition, Dell stores very little inventory. Instead, Dells suppliers have built warehouses close to Dells facilities, and Dell orders parts on a just-in-time basis. By implementing these strategies, Dell has been able to provide customers with exactly what they want very quickly. In addition, inventory costs are low, and Dell minimizes the danger of parts obsolescence in the rapidly changing computer industry. In this way, Dell has become a dominant player in the desktop PC market and is well on its way to doing so in the laptop and server markets. References Cravens, D. W. Piercy, N. (2003). Chapter 1: Strategic Planning and Decision Making. NJ: McGraw-Hill Companies. http://www.dell.com

International Marketing Essay Example for Free

International Marketing Essay UK is one of the major centers for commerce and international business in the world. It is one country that has had to raise its economy through free trade and other business related portfolios. It later developed to principles of liberalization of international trade and investments in order for it to expand and grow especially in the 20th century. It has been able to attract large investments from multinational countries in order to meet the demand for the larger British population thereby minimizing unemployment rates. This paper will therefore examine the investment opportunities and challenges in UK (Office for National Statistics, UK 2006). Foreign investments Opportunities The UK has very many opportunities in terms of foreign investments. It is one of the fifth largest economies in the world and second in the European Union. The country’s capital, which is London, is considered a haven of investments especially in the financial sector. The country has a GDP of $ 2. 1 trillion and a GDP growth rate of 2 %. (2007 estimates). Most of the opportunities lie in the service sector (Office for National Statistics, UK 2006) Industries UK has very many industries that can be invested in by any foreign country and the major ones are; agriculture, telecommunications, manufacture, fishing and tourism. The UK is one of the leading countries in agricultural exports and this is the main driving force for its economy. (Bailey, 1999) International trade statistics Major exports The dollar value for most of the export trading has been improving due to increase in demand for exports going by recent statistics on total exports from the UK. The trend however has been found to be fluctuating and that it depends on other factors such as; political stability, foreign policies etc. (Office for National Statistics, UK 2006) The major exports the country has been undertaking are the agricultural produce; wheat, rice, maize and tea. In the manufacturing the sector, the country exports agricultural machinery such the tractors and its implements, food, tobacco, paper, printing, textiles, paper and publishing. In the service sector, the country has developed high-tech networks in the telecommunications industry. The leading company in this sector is Vodafone and it has also gone global in its service provision. Major imports The major imports that are imported to the country include automobiles, horticultural produce, tea, coffee, and oil. The dollar value for most of the imports is low as the demand for the products reduces in the country. The dollar value increases when oil products become scarce due to international demand. (Bailey, 1999) Balance of payments situation According to the Office of National statistics, the manufacturing industry accounted for approximately 19% of all the national output in UK last year and also made up to 16% of all the employment in the country. The British economy does not however depend entirely on this and it may decline in the next two to three decades. Other industries are coming up especially the service sectors with a view to balance payments situation in regard to treasury bills. (Office for National Statistics, UK 2006) Exchange rates Exchange rates in the UK have been changing since the year 1999 and today, the exchange rates are way below the 0. 54 mark. This can be attributed to the changing events of the decade and globalization (Bailey, 1999). The following table shows the changing exchange rates-over the counter- for the Sterling pound, Euros and the dollars. Year ? /USD USD/? ?/EUR EUR/? 2005 ? 0. 5500 $1. 821 ? 0. 6842 â‚ ¬1. 463 2006 ? 0. 5426 $1. 859 ? 0. 6815 â‚ ¬1. 467 Source: Office for National Statistics, UK 2006 Trade restrictions 1. Embargoes Embargoes are political trade tools that are put by trading bodies or governments in order to support a justified peace process. Trade embargoes in the UK has been used to support either the EU or the UN in order to deny individuals the opportunity to use money from international trade in buying weapons of mass destruction. This will be used for the purpose of containing retrogressive countries the financial capability to use trading activities for insecurity purposes. Such countries which have been blacklisted by the UK include; Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Zimbabwe etc. (Neid, 1988) 2. Quotas Tradable quotas are policy instruments aimed at restraining trade of certain commodities in the UK. Limiting the production or importation of non-environmentally friendly automobiles can reduce taking for example greenhouse gases. The UK has been able to meet its environmental objective through the implementation of quotas systems. (Neid, 1988) 3. Import taxes Import taxes are designed to protect local industries from international competitors who may be financially stronger than them. This strategy has been utilized by the UK in order to protect vulnerable sectors of its economy. Although it allows importation of textiles, the country charges high import taxes on all unprocessed hides and skins to protect its local industries. (Lawrence, 2002) 4. Tariffs Trade tariffs are the main hindrance to trading between two countries. These trade tariffs depend with policies formulated by individual countries concerning how the countries wish to conduct its trading. The United Kingdom has however developed a smooth and business free environment for most countries in Africa, Asia and the U. S. this has made investment more conducive for many multinational firms. (Neid, 1988) 5. Licensing Licensing is one of the techniques used to promote international trading. The UK has been able to utilize licensing agreements with other international firms to boost its trading. The country has also been able to license many international firms to operate in the country as a means of encouraging investments. (Lawrence, 2002) 6. Custom duties Custom duties are one of the main sources misunderstandings between countries due to the fact that they favor the home-based industries. Custom duties are usually employed by the government top curb influx of external products into the country. The UK has been able to utilize this remedy effectively especially in sectors which the government feels threatened such as energy, education, transport and manufacturing. (Bailey, 1999) Extend of economic activity not included in cash income transactions The extent, to which other economic activities which does not include cash income transactions, is not wide and especially that the economy is entirely dependent on two core industries. I. e. service and manufacturing. The rest which may not involve cash transactions. (Neid, 1988) Counter trades The UK has used counter trade strategies to improve their international presence in almost all its sectors. Counter trades function effectively when the trading countries agree on issues such as import duties, taxes and tariffs (Bailey, 1999). Labour force The UK labor force currently stands at 31 million going by 2007 statistics. Majority of this labor force are concentrated in the private sector and some of them in the public sector. Most of the employees in sectors such as the health sector may have been imported to the country to serve as nurse this has been caused by the worldwide shortage of the same. The unemployment rates in UK currently stand at 5. 4 %( 2007 estimates) most of whom are fresh graduates and the poorly educated young men and women in the country. (Office for National Statistics, UK 2006) Inflation rates The inflation rate for the UK as at 31st December, 2006, was 2. 3% and a poverty rate of 17 % by then. The inflation however, fluctuates depending on the economic situation of the country (Office for National Statistics, UK 2006) Developments in science and technology UK is one of the European counties which have invested heavily on innovation and technology. Almost all sectors of its economy are coping up with changes in technology. The country is using technology as means of out-competing its competitors in the manufacturing and service sectors. That is why most firms in the country are investing in research and development. The government has been able to utilize 5. 4 % of the GNP on RD in the last fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. The technological skills of the current labor force in the UK can be rated good depending on which sector one is referring to. With reasonable levels of literacy (79% at the moment), the country’s population can improve. (Office for National Statistics, UK 2006) Conclusion There is a team of science and technology promoters under the department of UK Trade and Investment whose role is to help firms realize their international potential through partnership support and knowledge transfer. It mainly enhances competitiveness of companies trading in the UK and also those involved in international trade. The UK has been able to attract high quality foreign direct investments through this department which offers guidance and direction including available opportunities and marketing. References Bailey, M.(1999): Exchange rate trends and trade performance; Waldwick Archive, Vol 12 Ferguson, N (2004): Empire, The rise and demise of the British world order and the lessons for global investments. Basic Books, Oxford, p 90 Lawrence H. (2002): Exchange rate between the United States dollar and forty other countries and its effects on investment, Macmillan, Washington. P 34-40 Neid H. (1988): Multinational investment strategies in British Isles, Routlegde, UK. P 122-131 Office for National Statistics (UK 2006): The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. P 45-57

Two Social Reformers In India History Essay

Two Social Reformers In India History Essay As a result of the expansion of British imperialism to Asia, Sri Lanka and India became British colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries respectively .Subsequently due to the mode of administration introduced by the British, many significant changes were caused in political, social, economic, cultural and religious spheres. Most of these transformations were not beneficial for the people of both these countries as they rather conformed to the British way of life. Mostly affected by these were the ordinary people while a section of the middle class society in both countries acquired the English education and were actively supporting the British another section of the same class who was also nurtured by English education worked with dedication to safeguard the indigenous identity. This section further formed the necessary background for liberating their countries from British imperialism by initiating social reforms. Raja Ram Mohan Roy of India and Anagarika Dharmapala of Sri Lanka coul d be shown as two significant personalities among those who contributed towards such social reforms. They first brought about a religious revival and subsequently contributed towards achieving economic, political and cultural awakening. These two leaders expected to awaken the masses through this and to finally uproot the British imperialism from the two countries. Raja Rammohan Roy As no any aspect of western political history can be spoken without mentioning Aristotle, the most revered name of Raja Rarnmohan Roy is engraved in the political history of modern India. It was Aristotle is political thoughts that inspired the Western world after twenty-three centuries. Similarly there was a need for a movement in modem India to go back to the ideal of Raja, who is regarded as the pioneer of many fields in the social and religious movements. Raja is well known throughout the world as the pioneer of the school of comparative religion. This great Vedantist, opposed the influence of the Christian missionaries, while laying the foundation of monotheistic revival in India. He is the most famous advocate of the social reformation on the logical principles, and one of the pioneers of Western education in this country for the understanding of the political thought of modern India. (Sharma 1996) It is essential to have a very deep understanding of the political ideas of this great reformer. Raja was essentially a philosopher. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle were the pioneers of the western political field. India did not have a shortage of philosophers in the middle ages, but none of the philosophers from Sankaracharya of the eighth century to Valadeva Vidyabhushan of the eighteenth century were interested in the political field. Politics had no appeal to anybody when there was guarantee of independence, or enlightened public opinion. Politics was thought to be a concern of the princes alone. That was the situation of India in the middle ages, under the Rajputs and the Mohammedans. Responsibility of the government to the people of India was being slowly but gradually awakened. He set out the vernacular journal, Sambad Kaumudi in 1821 to make the political thoughts of the people of Bengal improve and it was the earliest favourable opportunity that helped the spreading of political ideas in Bengal (Samuelson,1889). Security of life and property had been ensured in Calcutta. If not, the English language might have been picked up by a small number of wealthy citizens, and their ideas might be broadened and liberalized with their connections of the English merchants and officials in Calcutta. A selected band of devoted followers had gathered round him with a determination to spread English education and to reawaken the country by means of social and religious reforms. We find Raja R. Roy fighting vigorously against the corrupt practices in the Hindu religion, against the superstitions and inhuman customs of the Hindu society and against the narrow parochial outlook of Indian mind. But a letter of Raja says that all his ideas of social and religious reforms were based on the ideal of bringing about the political regeneration of India. Raja said in 1828, I regret to say that the present systems of religion adhered to by the Hindus is not well-calculated to promote their political interest.(Bimanbihari 1967) Of these the names of Dw arkanath Tagore, Ramanath Tagore, Kaleenath Roy, Uoykontonath Roy, Ram. Chunder Bidyabagish, Hurehuricler Ghose, Gowrechurun Bonnerjee, Shibchandra Dcv and Tarachand Ghuckcrvcrty were associated with Raja in his social, religious, educational and political activities, and in demanding elementary political rights for the people of India. He did not have to see the establishment of a free press in India, but neither the European nor the Indian citizens of Calcutta forgot that it was the effort of Raja which secured for them the freedom of the press in 1835.Raja was acknowledged and respected not only in India but also in England as the pioneer of the political movement in this country. In the Free Press Dinner given to Sir Charles Metcalf in the Town hall on the 9th February, 1838, Mr. Leith proposed a toast to the memory of Ramrnohan Roy, and Prasannacoomar Tagore rose as a friend of the late Roy to thank the liberator of the Press. (Chunder 1901) Rammohan was deeply attached to the right of expressing ones opinion freely. His memorandum to the Supreme Court and appeal to the King in Council regarding the freedom of the press are regarded as the Areopagltica of Indian History. He drew upon history as well as the broad principles of political science to show that freedom of the press is beneficial to the government. Raminohan shows that whatever is of highest excellence in government, or of greatest virtue and social conscience, it can be secured only by the freedom of the Press; while licensing and tyranny of opinion have always gone hand in hand with bad government. He claimed that the Indian people had enjoyed the liberty of the press for so many years since the establishment of the British Rule. (Bimanbihari 1967) A free press means to be the very best channel of information to the supreme authorities in England. Roy did not claim clear liberty for the Indian press. He brought it to the attention of the King in Council that in the past high offices had been open to the people. The freedom of the press had a significant effect to change the thought of the people. The principle of economic activities of Roy was based on the very important practical matters in the country, rather than on the theoretical and philosophical matters. He was strictly attached to the institution of individual property. He deeply believed that the benefits of permanent settlement should be extended to the cultivators, the farmers and labourers in every part of the country. He did not want to see the direct management of land by the Government. Roy believed that every man is entitled by law and must be allowed to enjoy the fruits of his honest labour and good management. (Dutta 1944) He was in favour of the existing prosperous middle class in the country. Roy strongly thought that the duty of the government must be to protect the poor cultivators from the powerful Zamindars. Also the Hindu females must be protected from the oppression of their male relatives. But no legal protection was afforded to the cultivators by the Government.'(Poonam 1990) Raja was moved deeply on seeing the poor condition of the peasantry. Raja suggested three methods for this. The first was the taxation on luxuries which are not necessities for life. The second was the reduction of expenses of the revenue establishment. He proposed that respectable Indians might be appointed collectors on a salary of about three or four hundred rupees per month, instead of European collectors getting a salary of a thousand or one thousand five hundred rupees per month. He wanted to help the over-burdened peasants through reform. And also he wanted to make the higher class of Indians contented and efficient. For the reduction of the cost of administration another reform of far-reaching consequence was suggested. (Tagore 1981) He maintained that permanent settlement with the cultivators would make them attach to the British Government. The question of the drain of Indian wealth was discussed for the first time in the periodical Press. To check such a large drain of Indian wealth, he propos ed that the European capital earned in India should be encouraged to settle in India. Then the wealth might not go out of the country. That is what he believed. Roy opposed the ordinary labourers of England to come and cultivate the land. He expected to welcome only European skill and capital but not labour. He hoped that Europeans would introduce better methods of agriculture and effect improvements on the mechanical side. He knew, however, that it was futile to make a prophecy about the course which History might take in future. (Tagore1981) He wanted to help the Government in improving the moral, social, cultural and political condition of India. He insisted on the moral obligation of the Government to protect the cultivators. He demanded that the Government should promote a more liberal and enlightened system of instruction, embracing Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and Anatomy, with other useful Sciences. He was the earliest pioneer of the rights of women. In 1822 he wrote a book Brief Remarks regarding Modern Encroachments on the ancient rights of females according to the Hindu Law of Inheritance. He pleaded here for the rejection of the modem doctrine limiting womens rights in favour of the older and more liberal views. (New Delhi Publications 1977) By citing texts from ancient law- givers he showed that daughters were entitled to one-fourth part of the portion which a son could inherit. He regretted that the Government had not taken any step to regulate the custom of taking a second wife during the life time of the first. He wrote Had a Magistrate or other public officer been authorized by the rulers of the empire to receive applications for his sanction to a second marriage during the life of the first wife, and to grant his consent only on such accusations as the foregoing being substantiated, the above law might have been rendered effectual, and the distress of the female sex in Bengal and the number of suicides would have been necessarily very much reduced, (Chunder 1901) Roy, the first great thinker, suggested a plan for breaking down the barriers of caste system by introducing inter-caste marriage. (Nag 1972) In this matter, he took the help of the permission given in one of the scriptures In the Mahanirvana Tamtra the Saiva form of marriage is described: There is no discrimination of age, caste or race in the Saiva marrege. As enjoyed by Siva, one should marry a woman without husband and who is not Sapindaie, who is not within the prohibited degree of marriage. (Barua, ed. 1988) He wanted to make this form of marriage more widely prevalent in Hindu society. Had his plan been acceptable to the people, widow-remarriage, inter-caste and interracial marriage would probably have become valid without any fresh legislation. R.R. Roy refused that women were inferior to men in understanding and firmness of character. In his Persian weekly journal, entitled Mirat- ul- Akkhbar, Rammohan wrote an article in April, 1822 on the principles of the English Constitution. He explained the basic objectives of Government as follows, It is not concealed from rational men, that in order to preserve mens lives and properties from the attacks of their fellow-citizens, and to form friendly relations with neighbouring states, and resist the aggressions of nations who aim at aggrandizing themselves on the ruin of others-it is absolutely necessary that every nation should have some kind of government. (Collet 1913) To conquer other peoples territories had been a time-honoured custom of the state in ancient and medieval India. Following the traditional classification of the forms of Government, Roy said, There are three species of Government that may be deduced from reason namely, first every individual of a nation may have an actual share in the executive government; or secondly, the reins of government may be commi tted to a single person ; or thirdly, the affairs of the nation may be entrusted to a portion of the higher class or of the lower class of the people. (Bimanbihari 1967) He did not like to have the rule of a monarch with unlimited power for the best of men are not supposed to be free from passion, and immoderate desires which very often overcome the dictates of reason; or exempted from those errors and vices which belong to human natureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Having thus shown the defects of all the three categories, of Government Rammohan supports the cause of limited or constitutional monarchy in the following words As it is absolutely necessary to have some form of Government, the executive power should be committed to a single individual on condition that he does not infringe the laws established by the nation; which has been experienced to be the best of all forms of Government, since in this case the subjects have the power, of watching the proceedings of the executive Government; w hich is thus obliged to court the goodwill of its subjects. (Bimanbihari1967) Raja Rammohan Roy was one of the earliest champions of the noble ideal of international cooperation. The prayer he made to the Supreme Being was May God render religion destructive of differences and dislike between man and man, and conducive to the peace and union of mankind. Rammohan, the strong thread of the universal brotherhood, suggested various means by which the union between India and Great Britain might become strong and permanent. He thought that the complete security of property, equality before the eye of law, enjoyment of all the civil rights, appointment to high offices according to merit, and consultation of public opinion, if allowed by the Government, would make the Indians firmly attached to the present system of Government, so that it may become consolidated, and maintain itself by the influence of the intelligent and respectable classes of the inhabitants, and by the general good-will of the people, and not any longer stand isolated in the midst of its people, supporting itself merely by the exertion of superior force. (New Delhi Publications 1977) But Raja was no doctrinaire and did not believe in political prophecy. He knew perfectly that in spite of all he had said about the means of securing the permanence of Brit ish rule in India, a time might come for India to become independent of England. He expected that the separation should be a peaceful one and that India with the help of the Christian powers of Europe should take up the task of enlightening and civilizing the surrounding nations of Asia. Anagarika Dharmapala One who was to be born in1864 fathered by a businessman called Don Carolis Hewavitharana, was named as Don David. His parents had to name him so because a Christian name had to be given to a child born during this period. Don Carolis Hewawitharana was one of the most cordial and the closest helpers and the followers of Henry Olcott. Don David was educated in English at Saint Benadict College and at Saint Thomas college and finally at Royal college. Then he had to learn Christianity. In the meanwhile he was taught Buddhism at home by his parents. Colonel Henry Olcott came to Sri Lanka with his wife and were warmly welcomed. In 1880 he joined the Anti-Alcoholic Movement (Amadyapa viyaparaya) and became a fulltime activist. In 1883, the attack on the procession at Kotahena was witnessed by him and he determined to devote his time and energy for the improvement of the standard of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka. In 1884 with Madam Blawtski-the wife of Henry, he went to India. In 1886 he was t he interpreter of Sir Olcotts speeches at his journey of reformation of Buddhism and the Buddhists and for this duty he decided to resign from his government job. Then onwards he devoted his full time and energy for the securing of the Buddhism and the Buddhists. In 1886-1890 he was appointed as the General Manager of the School of Idealism. In 1888 he changed his name given to him in his birth certificate and came to be named as Dharmapala. In 1895 he left his lay- life or the household life andbecame as a monk. In1890 he went to India and experienced the destructive situation of the temples in India and started a reconstruction campaign. He established the Maha Boddhi Society (The Great Buddhist Association) and brought all those temples and their administration under the control of the above association. In the establishment of the G.B.A, he was helped by Ven..Hikkaduve Sumangala, Colonel Olcott, G.P.Weerakkodiand Charles Batuwantudawe. In 1893 at the World Religious Conference i n Chicago he worked and appeared for the Theravada Buddhism. At this conference his speech brought him an invitation to England made by Sir Edwin Arnold. He was on the religious diplomatic service of Buddhism in countries like Japan, Burma, Englandand Switzerland. He became a very famous figure at the judicial trial made in 1895 at Buddhagaya. After this trial Buddhagaya was brought under a Buddhist administration. As a result Dharmapala became a prominent figure among the Buddhists and was recognized as a hero for securing the Buddhagaya. (Sangharakshita 1983)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Around the 1890s ,his an article arousing the patriotic feelings among the Sinhalese Buddhists through the Sarasavi Sadaresa newspaper, became a very crucial matter of his career as a national hero. He wrote, By studying the stone scriptures and stone structures in Anuradhapura it is very clear that the incomparable, invaluable and skilful works of talented ancient Sinhalese but he wrote on today the white men are addressed as Sir by all Sinhalese and they must not be slaves to them at any cost.(Sarasavi Sandarasa 1881) His devotion on the upliftment of Buddhism and the Buddhists made him a very popular figure among the people of the country. In 1911 he came to Sri Lanka after a long of journey on religious services. In 1906 he started a Sinhala Buddhist newspaper called Sinhala Bauddhaya and it was the main means to unite the Sinhala Buddhists. (Karunarathna 2002) In 1903 he started a project to protect the holy places of ancient value in Anuradhapura.(Jayawardene 2004) He started an Anti-alcoholic Movement under the slogan of Alcoholic addict is an outcast. (Jayawardene 2004) He had many lectures against the use of alcohol by the Sinhalese. He was strictly against the slaughtering of cattle for flesh eating. Dont drink toddy and dont be a toddy cat were the words which came out of his lips seeing the mad addiction of people on alcohol. He voiced out saying Dont do any menial services to the whites. (Karunarathna 2002) Around 1911 he became a pioneer social reformer. He was a patriot and made speeches arousing the patriotic feeling of the people. He wanted to keep the younger generation stand against the whites and to make them stand erect with the real Sinhalese backbone. The speeches made by him resulted in motivating the self-confidence in the heart of the nation. He attacked verbally to the Westernized well to do class in Sri Lanka very seriously. He made them aware of the need of their full cooperation in the case of the development of the Sr i Lankan nation. (karunarathna 200) Dharmapala said that while Tamils and Muslims were keenly participating in business the Sinhalese Buddhists never attempted to develop themselves. He blamed the Sinhalese at point blank for their weak points and asked them to think and start practising the skills they had for the benefit of themselves and for the country. Whatever the wealth the Sinhalese had, he said that they only followed the life of the white and were their followers. He had seen that the resources we had, werent utilized by the majority of the Sinhalese instead what they did,   according to him, was copying the Western life ,culture and spending money only on that.(Nawarathna 2007) He expected a self-developed, self dependant and an independent economic system in the country based on the exemplary plans of Japan. During 1860-1905 Japan could overcome all the difficulties caused by the war and she became an industrialized nation and it was more prominent during the Russian-Japan war. In this situation it was Japan which exhibited that Asians could win the goal of industrialization better than Europeans. Above were the ideas Dharmapala motivated to go ahead of fighting for an independent self confident and self-developed nation. Once he described how Japan reached the goal of self- prosperity like this In 1870 Europeans knew nothing of Japanese. In the same year some nobles of Japan left for America, England, France, Germany and Russia on an educational tour. There they could examine the cultural environment and the skilfulness of their technical methods. Coming back to their mother country they planned their own way of teaching these aspects to the Japanese youn ger generation. More than fifty students were sent to such developed countries and they were given a thorough knowledge of the relevant fields. They came back to Japan and started their duties and responsibilities to develop the country in an indigenous way securing their local culture and customs. Then only they were able to produce high standard industrial productions instead of importing them from European countries. He further explained that without producing anything and waiting for the goods to come from other countries agape the rich class in Sri Lanka tried to earn money from unnecessary sources. He criticized this practice very gravely and the oppressing of common people by the haves was also critically rejected by Ven.Dharmapala. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1911) He had a great expectation to secure the development through harmonizing the working people and the businessmen and achieving the industrial knowledge for the development process. He was a great believer in developing the local economy based on local resources. Once he said that there is no other stupid nation in the level of as Sri Lanka. He wrote to Sinhala Bauddhaya, Every basic need is expected to come from the ship. The richest in my country are the best fools in the world. The other nations in other countries collect wealth through businesses. Some are producing many goods and earn enough money. But the richest in my country do nothing but only kill cattle, eat their rotten flesh, establish taverns and bars or distil arrack. They enjoy life by drinking alcohol and enwrapping the westernized cultural cloth around their fleshy naked body. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1911) The common Sinhalese were very fond of listening to his speeches and he was very popular among them. He was a prominent leader among the common folk. His speeches depicted the urgent necessity of reawakening of Sinhalese into the self prospering future. He expressed that Sinhalese are fools with no abilities of handicrafts but only have the abilities of begetting children. He seriously opposed and rejected the way of addressing the whites by our Sinhalese. He didnt like to hear them being addressed as Sir. He understood that the whites will never develop the country but they wanted only to earn money here and destroy the Sinhalese nation. (Karunarathna2002) He said that only 10 Sinhalese youth who knew the crafts would be enough to develop the country. He strongly believed in the self governing system. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1912) It was the experience of Japanese. He requested the local wealthy class to come forward and be the leaders of the development process of the country. On the ot her hand, he was a racist. He believed that by rousing the thoughts of Sinhalese racism the awakening of Buddhism and economic development could be gained. For this he invited the rich to take the lead. To enjoy the self- government and the Buddhist cultural environment he stressed the need of racism. He made an invitation to three groups in society. They were the working class, crafts men farmers and businessmen and the educated lot such as Sir Obeysekara, Sir James Peries, Paul Peries, Simon Silva, Richard Silva, John Silva, Donald Obeysekara, Jayawardhana, Hulugalle Adhikaram and the authors of the press. From the business class the figures like M. Don Karolis and sons H.Fernando, D.D. Pediris, W.E.Bestian, etc were among them. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1912) Anagarika Darmapala strongly objected to the taking over of the lands under the Barren Lands Act. He did not like to see the Sinhalese landowners to become labourers of their own lands under the whites. (Bandara 2007) The Colonial authorities paid their keen attention to the continuation of Dharmapalas bitter criticism of their regime. Dharmapala wanted to have an organization of the people to work against the English rulers in the country. On the 20th of September in 1911 he wrote an article to the press speaking of the need of self government of Sinhalese for the Sinhalese land. (Sinhala Bauddhaya 1912) Dharmapala was reported to be an extremist by the Colonial Secretary to the then Governor. As a result it was decided to bring him before the court for acting against the Crown. (Guruge1965) But Attorney General said that there was no clue to have any law suit against him. But the Governor didnt accept it. Further, Attorney General wrote that, after a long period of investigation w ith the help of the police, on his work, there was no evidence to sue him. (Bandar 2007) The saddest thing was that some Sinhalese who were the followers of English rulers went against his ideas. Such a one was the author of Lakmini Pahana Reginold Fernando. He wrote a letter to the Colonial Secretary dated 17th October in 1912 (Guruge1965) requesting to take legal action against the patriot Anagarika Dharmapala for being a real local hero for fighting for the independence of the nation. However, the Government couldnt take action against Dharmapala and instead the author of the paper was taken into custody and was sent to prison for 3 months. (Guruge1965) Whatever the struggle he made for the protection and the establishment of Buddhism and the benefits of the Buddhists and the freedom of the country Anagarika Dharmapala didnt have any vision of a political movement. Among the business society and the educated class he was not welcomed as they were afraid of him to be their closest friend. This is because his ideas were against the British rulers. He was accused of being against the working class. He wrote to the Governor saying that he only opposed the ways the officials worked and it was a truth that he worked against them but not against the British Crown. He firmly said that he was a strong believer in the Crown and he was much trustworthy of the Crown. (Guruge1965) He insisted that his only aim was to work for the sake of Buddhism and the people of the country and for the ethics, customs and the cultural values of the people but not for the British government. (Siri Sumedha 1999) But the rulers did pay careful attention to his wo rk. As the things went on like this he started a campaign for making the people of the values of enjoying the self economical development and Buddhist based self-sufficiency with the process of self government. He made a scholarship scheme to Japan and educated the able students for establishment of a systematical industrial economic situation in the country with the improvement of handicraft abilities of the youth. As a result in 1913 at Rajagiriya, Hewawitharana Weaving School was started with the patronage of Hewawitharana family. (Dinamina 1915, Sinhala Bauddhaya 1922)   Finally, he invited the educatedand other well to do groups in the country to take the leadership of building a Buddhist cultural and economic country based on racism. However, his addressing focused only on the well to do Sinhalese Buddhist figures in society. Those who benefited from the rulers of the Crown didnt pay any attention to Dharmapalas propaganda. Tamils, Muslims and Europeans were not addressed by him for the progress in the country. In 1915 Sinhalese and Muslim conflict made him a prisoner in India for about 5 years. (Jayawardene 200) But except a very few, others didnt speak for him because of his racist thoughts. Though he was a Sinhalese Buddhist racist, if there was a Buddhists leader who worked for the benefit of the Buddhist people it was none other than Anagarika Dharmapala. Conclusion Raja Rammohan Roy and Anagarika Dharmapala could be recognized as two great personalities who fulfilled a special role in the social reform activities of their respective countries. Both of them had a good English education and learned various facts from books and newspapers as well as through social contacts about the freedom enjoyed in other countries of the world. Therefore they very well realized the miserable situation of the masses in their countries caused by the British hegemony. To rectify this and to supply the needs of the suffering masses they introduced social reforms. These were introduced along political, social, cultural, economic and religious lines and a national identity was formed through this. Therefore Roy and Dharmapala should indisputably be accepted as pioneer social reformists who paved theway for the national freedom urgently needed by the people of both countries.

Racial Beauty Standards In The Bluest Eye Essay -- Toni Morrison

In Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, the character Claudia struggles with a beauty standard that harms her sense of self-esteem. Claudia tries to make sense of why the beauty standard does not include black girls. The beauty standard determines that blonde-haired blue-eyed white girls are the image of beauty and therefore they are worthy of not only attention, but are considered valuable to American culture of the 1940s. Thus, learning she has no value or beauty as a black girl, Claudia destroys her white doll in an attempt to understand why white girls are beautiful and subsequently worthy, socially superior members of society. In destroying the doll, Claudia attempts to destroy the beauty standard that works to make her feel socially inferior and ugly because of her skin color. Consequently, Claudia's destruction of the doll works to show how the beauty standard was created to keep black females from feeling valuable by producing a sense of self-hate in black females. The racia l loathing created within black women keeps them as passive objects and, ultimately, leads black women, specifically Pecola, to destroy themselves because they cannot attain the blue eyes of the white beauty standard. Claudia tries to resist loving white girls that her sister, Frieda, and friend, Pecola, admires for their beautiful featuresÂâ€" blonde hair and blue eyes. Claudia does not believe that Frieda and Pecola should admire girls who do not look like them physically. Unable to convince Frieda and Pecola that white girls are not the only standard of beauty, Claudia begins to have intense feelings of resentment and anger toward the white beauty standard: "I couldn't join them in their adoration because I hated Shirley. Not because she was... ...g" that she does not really care for white features and/or white girls but she must pretend to have the same feelings and admiration for whiteness. So why must Claudia pretend to like white girls? Claudia learns it is easier to love the white beauty standard than to fight it because everyone even black women believe in white as the only source of beauty. She cannot fight the whole cultureÂâ€"the media, her sister, her friends, her community and the white community. So Claudia must "convert from pristine sadism to fabricated hatred, to fraudulent love (Morrison 23)." She must fake her love for whiteness in order to survive in the culture; she must learn to hate her self to survive and treat herself as invisible object, rather than the socially recognized white girl. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. Afterward by Toni Morrison. New York: Penguin, 1994.

Big Light-Animals In Bloom Essay -- Music Review

Big Light-Animals In Bloom San Francisco’s Big Light recently swept into The Saint for a quick lesson in how to squeeze everything you’ve ever learned into your musical offering and make it sound like you’ve done it in your sleep. From the beginning, the band stood way out as something extraordinary. Of course I had expected some kind of jam band centered on peace, love and free love and what I got was a pleasant dose of analog warm 1970s rock and roll cut with a gram or two of slick and polished songwriting. These West coast warriors have spent every waking moment since 2007 getting things right and it’s paying off. I’m a fan of the smart arrangements and composition styles used here, noticing that they throw everything from Beatles tongue in cheek style of double entendres to the delicious guitar mà ªlà ©e of groups such as Cheap Trick and Mott The Hoople into their mix. Speaking of those great bands, singer/songwriter/guitarist Fred Torphy has a very cool Robin Zander/Ian Hunter delivery that works well among the musical action. Picture the eye of a tumultuous storm and that’s where you’ll find Torphy with this band. And Big Light is becoming the perfect storm. Fred Torphy launched Big Light primarily as a springboard for his own material and he enlisted drummer Bradly Bifulco as well as bay area fixture Steve Adams (who also has played with Jack Johnson) on bass. Around 2008 saw the addition of New Jersey guitarist Jeremy Korpas (Days Awake, Green Tag Sale) who came in and really just lifted this band into professional status. His aggressive style and melodic lead work cleared the way for Torphys visions. With the key players in place, Big Light set about the task of moving thru unchartered creative courses and getting mat... ...oring the mutational macabre and all the fears gnashing jaws can muster, The Shore will have you locking your doors and windows up tight. Dunbar has developed an original imprint that stays with you for a long, long time. I see all these flowery descriptions from journalists and critics like â€Å"Poetic† and â€Å"Classic’ But the truth is that Robert Dunbar has come up with a style that doesn’t tread lightly and he has changed our very thought process when it comes to entering these physical places that we’ve always taken for granted. He also told me that we should expect a part three in this ongoing trilogy that will be set in Camden. One thing is for sure; you will never catch me under the boardwalk or out in the New Jersey Pine Barrens alone or with friends†¦ ever again. For further information on places that you may never come back from, go to www.dunbarauthor.com

The Kite Runner Redemption

What is the worst thing you have done to a friend or family member? Have you lied to them? Stolen from them? After the dreadful deed, did they forgive you? More importantly, did you forgive yourself? Regret and redemption are very important themes in the book The Kite Runner. Having regret for something can affect your whole life, as seen with the character, Amir. Through the development of Amir and his childhood friend, Hassan, Amir has to live with his regret and hope for redemption for the rest of his life. From the beginning of the story The Kite Runner, it is apparent that Amir did something wrong from the very first page. Amir says, â€Å"Standing in the kitchen with the receiver to my ear, I knew it wasn’t just Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins. † (1). The reader understands that Amir had done something wrong in the winter of 1975. Later, we figure out what this â€Å"something† was; he watched Hassan get raped. It was after Amir had just won his kite race and Hassan had gone to fetch the winning kite. He then came across the bullies of the neighborhood: Assef, Kamal, and Wali. Assef tried to take the kite, but like a loyal friend, Hassan would not let him. Assef then let Hassan keep the kite, but only to pay the price of being raped. Amir stood behind a wall and watched it all happen without saying one word. This is probably one of the most important scenes in the whole book; Amir’s actions from this shaped how he grew up and lived the rest of his life with regret. After Amir watched Hassan get raped, nothing was the same. He was filled with guilt and regret. He felt like a coward. â€Å"I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. † (77). He could not turn and help his friend because he was scared, and he wanted the approval of his father for once; he thought bringing home the kite would win Baba over. Little did he know that he ruined the rest of his life by doing this. Amir was filled with such regret that he had to get rid of Hassan one way or another. He could not stand the secret that he had from that night and wanted the pain to go away. Amir changed his and Hassan’s relationship that night. Even after Amir framed Hassan and got him to leave, Amir’s guilt did not go away and he was forever regretting all the decisions he had been making up to this point. Amir and Baba ended up going to America to try to get away from their past and get the redemption they both were longing for. After living life in America, Amir received a phone call from his old friend, Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan had been looking for some redemption of his own because he had been keeping a secret from Amir his whole life; Hassan was actually Baba’s son and Amir’s half brother. Hassan had died and Rahim wanted Amir to retrieve Hassan’s son, Sohrab. Amir still carried around the guilt from the winter of 1975 and decided this was his chance to redeem himself. As Rahim Khan said, â€Å"There was a way to be good again. † (2). This was Amir’s way to be good again. Amir had been looking for redemption his whole life. Retrieving Sohrab would rid himself of this. Amir also outstepped his coward personality when he was faced to a battle with Assef. This part of the book was one of the other most important scenes. Amir came out with Sohrab and he finally got the redemption that he was seeking for since the day he watched Hassan get raped. Throughout the book there were many examples of redemption. It mostly occurred in Amir as we saw his relationship with Hassan grow throughout the book. Amir had such guilt that he had to drive Hassan away; this proved how much of a coward he really was. After that day, he always carried around the guilt of betraying his friend and finally absolved himself by finding his redemption when retrieving Sohrab. Even though his decision of being a coward affected his life miserably, it still shaped him into the man that he was at the end of the book. Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.

Village Election and Corruption

Village election and Corruption in China Background (problem): In China,the election system refers to the election of deputies to the people’s congresses at various levels, which includes general local election and the election of deputies from the armed forces, in the special administrative regions. There are two kinds of election: direct election and indirect election. 1. Direct election means voters directly elect deputies to the people’s congresses by casting their votes.Direct elections are applicable to the election of deputies to the people’s congresses of the counties, districts, townships and towns, which China's authoritarian(the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)) regime has allowed, encouraged, and required to be held at the village level,but not at higher levels. 2. Indirect election means deputies to the people’s congresses at the next higher level are elected by deputies to the people’s congresses at the next lower level. Indirect elections are applicable to the election of deputies to people’s congresses above the county level and deputies among the armed forces at the same level and deputies to the NPC(National People's Congress) elected from special administrative regions. In this essay, I will focus on the direct election(village election). Since the problem of corruption in the village election is very common in China,such as buying-votes, treating to dinner to persuade by promising private goods and so on. Mainly comes from the following aspects: 1. In a small electorate, campaigning is not an effective strategy to win an election.In contrast, vote buying—corruption—can easily be an effective means to win an election with a small electorate. A Chinese village is small enough a community for each villager to know all the other villagers in person as they interact with each other on a daily basis and voters may already know whether the candidate has the intention and ability to provide public goods, which could become the condition of perfect information, in other words,in a village election, voters and candidates know each other personally, and voters may easily acquire personal information about the candidates.Therefore, because under the conditions of perfect information, it is not costly for a candidate to seek office by treating a subset of the electorate to dinner or to give private goods to voters. On the other hand, it is relatively costly to attempt to sway voters by stating policy proposals that promise the provision of public goods for the whole electorate. 2.In China village elections, officials in the position of monitoring village elections do not have a strong incentive to regulate the elections because implementation of fair village elections is not considered an important criterion for the evaluation of local officials by higher authorities (Edin 2003; O‘Brien and Li 1999; but Kennedy 2007). 3. the cost of punishment for the corru pt act of buying votes is low in the case of China‘s village elections.Even with formal rules stipulating severe punishment, if people do not believe that cases of corruption are revealed and formal rules are enforced, the punishment will not be considered a cost of the illegal act and will not deter it (Tsebelis 1989). Therefore, it is not puzzling that candidates compete to buy votes by providing private goods in campaigns for Chinese village elections. Model setting: The model describes the electoral competition between two candidates as a noncooperative simultaneous-move game.In the model, two candidates compete to win an election,and at equilibriums, electoral competition would increase the probability of vote buying in electorate. In other words, electoral competition gives strong incentives for candidates to buy votes, but not to form an organization for mobilizing votes in a electorate. 1. The Candidates’ Choice of Strategies and Payoffs Assume: 1. If both candi dates adopt the same strategy, Candidate 1 will have a chance to win the election with the probability of p and Candidate 2 will have a chance to win the election with the probability of 1 – p (0 < p < 1).And we let 0 < p ? 0. 5,which means the candidate 1 is weaker. 2. if one candidate buys votes while the other candidate does not,the candidate that has bought votes will win. Utility: The utility of the candidate gaining from winning the election is denoted U (U > 0). Strategies: Each candidate has two strategies: buying votes (BV) and not buying votes (NBV). Cost of buying votes (C): the multiplication of the cost to buy one vote (? ) and the number of votes needed to buy (V). C= ?V suppose that C1>C2 (the cost of buying votes to win is higher as the candidate is weaker. ) Competitiveness:we can define the competitiveness of an election as the difficulty with which one can predict who will win, the election whose value of p is closer to 0. 5 will be considere d more competitive. candidate2 Buying votes candidate1 Buying votes Not buying votes (pU-C1), (1-p)U-C2 0, U-C2 Not buying votes U-C1, pU, 0 (1-p)U The matrix in shows the incentives affecting candidates in a village election. . Solution of the model Since assume that 0 < p? 0. 5 and assume without loss of generality that Candidate 1 is weaker. Candidates 1 and 2 must choose their strategies simultaneously. Thus, neither candidate is certain about which strategy the other candidate will take. (BV, BV) will be equilibrium if: U? C1/p (NBV, BV) will be equilibrium if: C1/p? U? C2/p (NBV, NBV) will be equilibrium if: U? C1/p (BV, NBV) can not be equilibrium, since we can not find any U that satisfies U? C1/(1-p) and U?C2/(1-p) as well. Because C1/(1-p)? C2/(1-p). As an election becomes more competitive(p is closer to 0. 5),the range where at least one candidate always buys votes,U? C2/p is larger. Moreover as p is larger,the range where neither candidate buy votes,U? C1/p is smaller . Overall, candidates are more likely to choose the strategy of buying votes as an election becomes more competitive. In the villages where each candidate's expected value of winning an election is high, the candidate is tempted to buy votes.Proposal: Would electoral competition prevent a corrupt candidate from being elected? From the model, we can see, candidates are more likely to choose the strategy of buying votes as an election becomes more competitive, which may generate the following new hypothesis: effective informal institutions would make it easier for villagers to reach a pre-electoral consensus, make a village election less competitive, and give candidates less incentive to promise the provision of private goods.How to reach a pre-electoral consensus? Since a Chinese village is enough small that could lead to kinship system in village. In multi-kinship villages, whether pre-electoral consensus is reached and hence an election is not corrupt would depend on the relationsh ip among kinship leaders.If the kinship leaders are in conflict, villagers would fail to reach pre-electoral consensus, an election would be competitive, vote buying would be more likely; meanwhile, if relations among kinship leaders are cooperative, the village would succeed in reaching pre-electoral consensus, an election would not be competitive, vote buying would be less likely, and public goods would be properly provided. Therefore,how to prevent a vote-buying candidate from getting elected is a major policy question for China's village elections.

Advanced Management

There is no ambiguity in saying that advanced management is a plan, ploy, position, pattern and perspective as it balances internal progressions of organizations with external factors. The overall strategic management of organizations is indivisible from strategic management of relationships, usually the accountability of the public relations or communication department.Strategic management rivets taking decisions and actions that resolve long-term organizational performance. The process comprises strategy formulation, completion, appraisal, and control. It underlines monitoring and assessing environmentally generated opportunities and restraints in light of organizational strengths and weaknesses.Essentially, advanced management is a vehicle for giving forward-looking leadership concerning the most essential issues of concern to an organization and its surroundings in a very determined, efficient, and valuable manner.At the heart of the progression is â€Å"the communal management of a strategic agenda that transforms as an organization's problems and opportunities transform. Effective advanced management is a core form of strategic management needs intensive, continuous, and collective concern of senior management† (Eadie and Stein bacher, 1985, p 425).The purpose of strategic management is to help formulate, implement, and evaluate cross-functional decisions in such a way as to assist the organization in achieving its long-term objectives. The strategic management process is seen as â€Å"an objective, logical and systematic approach for making major decisions in an organization† (David, 1997: 6) in which both analysis and intuition have a role to play.Another accepted perspective (Pearce and Robinson, 1997) emphasizes information flows through interrelated stages of analysis. It implies:The interconnectedness of all process components;The sequential character of strategy formulation and implementation;The necessity of ongoing feedback to asses s the success of strategies as they are implemented;The need to regard strategic management as a dynamic system (components of the process are constantly evolving; formal planning must â€Å"freeze† them to achieve its aims).http://www.ic.polyu.edu.hk/esh/KB/management_strategic/Koch(1999).pdf.Advanced management entails the configuration of a strategic management group to give leadership for the process. Characteristically, the framework of this group will comprise the C.E.O., top-line managers, and key executive staff members. In a small organization, for example, the strategic management group might comprise the mayor or the city manager and the heads of numerous operating departments.It is the responsibility of the advanced management team to give the configuration for developing and modernizing strategic plans and for guiding their realization in all areas. As advanced management is a continuous process, the strategic management group must meet on a usual basis to confer strategies, monitor development, evaluate efficiency, and generally sustain a shared focus on the strategic agenda.This comprises identifying newly promising strategic issues, estimate problems and opportunities as they develop, adapting strategies, and giving direction and control over completion plans to preceding the strategic agenda efficiently. Sporadically, it may consequence in the development of new strategic initiatives.The business environment has transformed drastically since the advent of internet. Business organizations have undertaken extreme restructuring by modifying their means of communication and synchronization of work activities. Internet has made it promise for companies to work on a real-time basis, whereby products and services are conveyed to the right place at the right time.Since then, internet has propagated and has undergone significant improvements. Costs have sustained to decline as these new technologies have emerged. A business not supported by a ne twork of computer systems (primary information technology) is more or less destined to fail, since it will be incapable to compete efficiently in today's complex and dynamic environment.Companies are not the only ones who have gained from advances in modern information technology. Consumers and interest groups have created strategic alliances and now capable to coordinate their activities as well as exchange ideas and thoughts through a number of database and network systems.For instance, owners of personal computers can subscribe to a computer network and without difficulty retrieve information on the products and corporations on line. Such information can also without problems be transmitted to other users.This huge use of internet by both consumers and companies affects, but the way business is run today. These consumer strategic alliances know no geographical limitations; oftentimes, they are global in nature, particularly among the industrialized nations.As companies can get in enormous profits from the better coordination, greater product elasticity, improved quality, leaner production, and more time-based competitiveness that internet offers, they also facades the threat that can come from these consumers' strategic alliances. For instance, corporations can no longer ignore consumer demands for constant product quality, reliability and respect for the environment, or timely delivery of services.As we move toward more and more advanced technologies, the labor force must be retrained. This training must not only expose workers to the technical matters adjoining the new process but also to the new focus of the organization.They have to be made responsive of the importance of advanced technology in improving work methods and in remaining competitive. Employee compulsion to the new process is imperative.Advanced technology by itself adds little or no value to an organization. There should be organizational as well as employee dedication to exploit the techno logy to the maximum. For instance, with ever-increasing use of computer-integrated manufacturing systems, and the stream of technical documentation that accompanies it, employees have to be skilled of recognizing the critical information at the right time.Once that information is recognized and properly interpreted, there must be an organizational dedication to use the information to make better decisions. Without this potential, the organization cannot take advantage from internet.Advanced management, therefore, will persist to be a critical factor in the survival of any organization. We sum up the influence of information technology on human resources as follows: ·Internet transforms the mode of communication and work processes. ·Custom or standardized operations are replaced with skilled and multi-skilled workers. An extremely trained labor force is desired to manage internet. ·Worker motivation and satisfaction might improve since workers are no longer restricted to routin e operations, enjoy management powers, and can contribute to developments in their work processes.Internet also has an impact on the organization itself, as follows: ·Organizational reformation is required. This reformation makes the organization flat. Decision-making powers are decentralized. ·Communications are better and the organization is capable to make timely responses to its environment. ·Introduction of new products and services is improved and varieties of products can be efficiently introduced and marketed by the organization. ·The organization is competent to improve its efficiency, quality, and competitiveness.Today's advanced technology can, conversely, easily become a basic technology. A rapid increase of internet also brings rapid obsolescence of earlier technologies. Policies concerning internet must not be static; they must keep evolving. Stalk (1988) points out that â€Å"competitive advantage is a persistently moving target . . . The best competitors, th e most thriving ones, know how to keep moving and always stay on the cutting edge.†

Decadence in Death in Venice

The premise of decadence was tremendously popular in late 19th century European literature. In addition, the degeneracy of the individual and society at large was represented in numerous contemporary works by Mann. In Death in Venice, the theme of decadence caused by aestheticism appears through Gustav von Achenbach’s eccentric, specifically homoerotic, feelings towards a Polish boy named Tadzio. Although his feelings spring from a sound source, the boy’s aesthetic beauty, Aschenbach becomes decadent in how excessively zealous his feelings are, and his obsession ultimately leads to his literal and existential destruction.Thus exemplifying, as will be examined in the following, how aestheticism is closely related to, and indeed often the cause of, decadence. Although the narrative is about more complexities, the author’s use of such vivid descriptions suggest the physical, literal aspect of his writing is just as important to the meaning of the story. The first an d most obvious instance of aestheticism and decadence as correlating themes in this story is the title, Death in Venice. By shear nature the title relates the concepts of death and dying to the city of Venice, which implies that the location is where a death will occur.However, this is paralleled by the opening of the story when Mann drearily tells of Aschenbach’s stroll through Germany. â€Å"It was early May, and after several cold and clammy weeks, a mock summer had set it. The English Garden, though sprouting only tender leaves as yet, had been as muggy as in August. † In the reading of this passage it proves ironic that the title is Death in Venice as the protagonist seems to be dying in Munich: from his loss of creative ability, depletion of strength to the course of his walk ultimately leading him to a graveyard from which weakness forced him to catch a train home from.There lacks a sense of elegance with Mann’s description of aspects concerning Germany a nd a typical Aschenbach. This can be contrasted with the eloquent description given to Venice, † He saw it once more, that landing-place that takes the breath away, that amazing group of incredible structures the Republic set up to meet the awe-struck eye of the approaching seafarer: the airy splendour of the palace and Bridge of Sighs. † The obvious pleasure that Aschenbach feels as a result of the aesthetically pleasing city foreshadows how aestheticism will ultimately ead to his death and decay, important ideas within the context of decadence.This novella is a decadent meditation on the downfall of man. In an attempt to inspire his writing he decides to take a trip because he believes a change in scenery may add â€Å"those aspects of fiery and playful caprice† to his work. After arriving at his mountain cottage on an Adriatic island off the Istrian coast, he decided that the environment was â€Å"not conducive to making him feel that he had found what he was looking for. His descent into decadence begins after his arrival in Venice. Aesthetic and decadent traits are present within the context of the city – his loss of dignity for falling in love with a fourteen year old boy and subsequent degradation, also the idea that this boy prompts in Aschenbach a yearning for ideal aesthetic beauty. Immediately upon first sight, he became captivated by the boy’s aesthetically pleasing appearance, â€Å"Aschenbach was amazed to see that the boy was absolutely beautiful.His face, pale and of a graceful reserve, surrounded by honey-colored curls, with its straight nose, lovely lips, earnest expression, sweet and godly, all recalled Greek statues of the noblest era; but despite the pure and consummate form, his features exerted such a unique personal char, that the observer felt he had never encountered such perfection in nature or the arts. † Eventually his aesthetic attraction evolves to that of an emotional sort and he falls in love with him, although he at first denies this to himself, and his fixation eventually leads to his decadent demise.Therefore transitively, it could be understood that Aschenbach’s aestheticism directed him toward reckless decadence. However, as he walked down the crowded city streets scrutinizing his second destination he was repulsed. â€Å"The farther he went, the more tortured he was by the dreadful alliance of sirocco and sea air – a condition that both agitates and enervates. He sweated painfully. His eyes blurred, his chest tightened, he was feverish, the blood pounded in his temples†¦wiping his forehead, he realized he had to find a different vacation spot. This idea is a strong instance of aestheticism interacting with decadence in the sense that Venice originally represented to Aschenbach, beauty and renewal. His trip was supposed to refresh him as an author and an aging man but instead he reached a land that, although aesthetically pleasing, was dirt y, crowded, and repugnant. The last moments before Aschenbach slipped into complete decadence, his object of adoration was not enough for him to suffer for. He packed his bags and said his good-bye’s to both the boy and the city that had twice made him ill, prepared to leave.Misdirected baggage was the practical reason for his remaining in Venice but as Aschenbach gazed adoringly at his idol he admits to himself that it was Tadzio, the embodiment of youthful beauty, who had made it so difficult for him to leave. At this point in the narrative it becomes clear that quite literally Tadzio is a representative of the aesthetic muse that Aschenbach, being an artist, was searching for. From this point on he watches as Tadzio eats his meals, plays on the beach, and even goes so far as to trail his family on land and sea around Venice.While following him by way of gondola, Aschenbach addresses his aesthetic intoxication, â€Å"The adventurer felt as if his eyes were drinking in the voluptuousness, as if his ears were being wooed by such melodies; he also recalled that the city was ill, but concealing its illness out of greed, and he peered more wantonly after the gondola floating ahead of him. All that the confused man knew and desire was to keep ceaselessly pursuing the object that inflamed him. † It is interesting how in the midst of the description of Aschenbach’s therapeutic tryst, Mann shows Aschenbach’s thoughts coming back to the retched illness of Venice.This time he goes into more detail by addressing the greediness of the people, in order to not scare away tourists, to lie about the impending disease. This passage gives insight into more than just Aschenbach’s captivation by Venice but of the decadent trance he is put in by Tadzio’s exquisite appearance. It exemplifies Aschenbach’s knowledge of the danger of disease that is taking over the city but proves that he is so deeply enthralled by the beauty of Tadzio that his senses have become greedy and force him to remain in Venice at all costs, despite the dismay that will come to his physical being, to get their aesthetic fix.As disease and panic runs ramped, people flee and the city becomes emptier and emptier, Aschenbach feels relieved at the lessened chance of being caught adoring Tadzio from close and far and begins to disguise his passion less. He begins dressing extravagantly in an attempt to appear more youthful and attract the young boy. â€Å"Like any love, he wanted to please, and he was terrified that it might not be possible. He added cheerful, youthful touches to his suit, he wore jewels and used perfumes; several times a day e spent a long while getting dressed, and was adorned, excited, and anxious when he showed up for meals. Viewing the boy’s sweet, bewitching youth, he was sickened by his own aging body: the sight of his gray hair, his pinched features, mortified him, left him hopeless. He felt an urge for physica l revival and renewal; he frequented the hotel barber. † As Aschenbach changed his aesthetic appearance; donning jewels and perfumes, wearing makeup, dying his hair, he begins to recapture a youthful appearance.With his young and radiant appearance he now resembles the two men featured in earlier chapters of the novella; the stranger who had inspired a youthful craving in him in Germany, and the deplorably exuberant old man from the boat ride to Venice. Both men embody, at least in Aschenbach’s eyes, frivolous indulgence and fraudulent aesthetics. In particular, the moronic drunkard from the boat appeared to Aschenbach bizarre and obtrusive. â€Å"It was repulsive to see the state to which the dandified old man had been reduced by his sham association with youth. † However, now Aschenbach’s outlook, and appearance, has changed drastically.He is now concerned with making his own appearance more youthful and aesthetically pleasing, giving into decadence just like the foppish man he had once scorned. Thomas Mann’s particular use of detailed descriptions throughout the narrative makes obvious the literary importance of aestheticism. As the story progresses, Aschenbach becomes more and more concerned with aesthetics. The reader can see this from his original desire to a change of scenery, to his obsession with Tadzio’s appearance, and finally the changing of his own appearance. Eventually his concern with aesthetics becomes an obsession, which ultimately leads to his decadence.The change of scenery for something more aesthetically youthful and beautiful that Aschenbach had yearned for turned out to be the scene of a crowded, stifling city filled with cholera that eventually leads to his demise. Before this can occur however, he becomes internally decadent through his indulgence in Tadzio’s appearance. He then changes his appearance to please his idol which in turn corrupts himself by turning him into the type of decad ent man he once despised. These themes of aestheticism and decadence, not in juxtaposition but in duality, are used frequently by Mann throughout the novella.

A Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, a Novel by J. K. Rowling

A Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a Novel by J. K. Rowling The novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, written by J. K. Rowling is the first book in a seven-part series. Harry Potter’s heroic journey through the Muggle World into the Wizarding World shows a growth in himself and his mind. Potter follows the stages introduced by Joseph Campbells Monomyth, learning new wizarding skills and challenging himself. Harry demonstrates the three stages; separation, initiation, and return, which are then divided into seventeen steps. Harry Potter’s heroic journey can be traced by readers throughout the novel. The first stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen stage monomyth is separation, with five steps: call to adventure, refusal of call, supernatural aid, crossing the threshold, and belly of the whale. The call to adventure is the original alarm given to the hero, taking him from normality into an unknown trip. Harry Potter lives with his uncle, aunt, and cousin who hide from Harry that he is a wizard. His uncle, Mr. Dursley, shows characteristics of the ruler archetype by trying to have the most successful family. He displays his force through constantly nagging Potter. Dursley takes drastic measures to keep the letters that Harry has been admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry unopened, like moving the family of four out to a secret shack. The first two steps in Joseph Cambell’s monomyth are actually switched because oddly enough, the refusal of call is not done by Potter himself, but by his own uncle before the call to adventure. The refusal of the call is when the hero objects to the undertaking. Fortunately Mr. Durley could not keep the mail a secret and Potter ends up receiving a letter that he is admitted to Hogwarts School. Harry seems excited and ready to explore the magical world. A supernatural aid is often a figure who guides the hero through his new journey. Harry’s supernatural aid is a â€Å"giant of a man† who delivers the letter on Potter’s eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid (Rowling 46). Hagrid can be classified as an explorer in the twelve common archetypes. The motto that the explorer exhibits is â€Å"don’t fence me in† (Golden 3). Throughout the book, he likes to live alone and barbarically as keeper of the grounds. Hagrid first introduces Harry to the wizardry world and helps him and his friends decipher the Sorcerers Stone. In the next step Harry crosses the threshold by leaving the behind his world of normality for a foreign experience. This is done by Potter at the â€Å"famous † Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid (Rowling 68). Potter is greeted with â€Å"scraping chairs† of excitement and instantly â€Å"shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron† (69). He will then cross another threshold in Diagon Alley where he encounters â€Å"dragon liver† and the â€Å"Gringotts† (72). The last threshold crossed is at Platform 9  ¾ with a fellow wizard family named the Weasleys into the wizarding world. This is when Harry meets a young boy named Ronald, a pureblood. Harry and Ronald descend from magic from both of parents which causes them to bond on the eleven o’clock train to Hogwarts. The fifth and final step of the first stage is the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale is the heros final step before entering the real calling; it is represented in the novel when Harry is faced with the sorting hat. He is nervous because he could be sorted into the house of Slytherin, the house of evil. Inside his head he chants, à ¢â‚¬Å"not Slytherin, not Slytherin† in which the hat responds by giving into his choice (121). By ultimately choosing Griffindor , the room gave â€Å"the loudest cheer yet† (121). This shows his test in character and at this point Harry leaves the muggle world and enters the unknown. The second stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is initiation with seven steps: road of trials, meeting the goddess, temptation, atonement with the father, apostasis, the ultimate boon, and the refusal of return. This is usually the longest, most eventful, and entertaining stage of Cambell’s monomyth. The road of trials are tests given the hero to complete in order to transform. Harry is faced with many minor problems within his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but one of his major road of trials is an evil, â€Å"foul smelling† troll (174). Inexperienced in magic, he uses it anyway in order to rescue his friend he accidentally traps, Hermione. This is when he becomes closer to Ron and Hermione and a long friendship blooms. Another is thinking that Professor Snape is the thief behind the sorcerers stone. By focusing on Professor Snape, Harry overlooks the real traitor of Hogwarts. Meeting the goddess affects the hero by havi ng them feel eternal love. This step is sometimes represented by a mother figure. Lily, Harry’s mother, sacrificed her life for her son against Lord Voldemort. Even after her death she continues to protect her son with the scar given to him as a baby. Each time Voldemort is near, the scar burns as a warning. During the battle against Quirrel and Lord Voldemort, Quirrell could not touch Harry, his hands â€Å"looked burned, raw, red, and shiny,† due to the love of Harry’s mother (295). Lily died to save him. Temptations are defined as an object given to the hero to stray from his goal. An invisible cloak, from his father allows Harry to travel the school without being seen. One night over winter break he locates the Mirror of Erised, an ancient mirror that shows onlookers â€Å"‘the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts’† (213). While looking into the mirror, Harry sees people who are not located in the room. A woman who has â€Å"dark red hair† and eyes just like himself peers through the mirror along with other familiar faces (208). Potter realizes that these people are his dead family. This image that he desires keeps him coming back to the mirror each night for about a week. The Mirror of Erised is known as Harry’s temptation because the visits stray him from his goal of finding out who stole the sorcerers stone. The atonement of the father occurs when the hero confronts the object that holds the most power over his life. Although Voldemort is not a father figure, Harry needs to defeat him in order to turn a new stone in his life. Voldemort can be classified as a ruler within the twelve common archetypes because he believes power is the only aspect of life. With Voldemort having been vanquished, Harry discovers the corrupt world. The apostate is when the hero dies a death, physically or in spirit, and moves him beyond basic knowledge. This is represented when a hero enters a godlike stage. During the last chapter, Potter wakes up in a hospital bed, unknowing where the stone is. Dumbledore assures him that the stone â€Å"has been destroyed† (297). He now knows what it is like to be a good wizard because he experienced and handled danger. A weight has been lifted from his shoulders as he enters the end-of-term feast. The ultimate boon within the novel actually happens before the apostate. The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal. Lord Voldemort, Quirrell, and Harry battle over the sorcerers stone. Potter wants to preserve the stone while Voldemort wants to use it for his own advantage to acquire a body and be separate from Quirrell. All of Harry’s training has led up to this battle. The refusal of return is when the hero finds enlightenment and does not want to go back to their everyday life. Surprisingly, this occurs on the last page of the novel. Harry does not want to return back to the Dursleys at Privet Drive because he feels at home at Hogwarts. M oreover, he knows the Dursleys are going to outcast him once again. During the second stage of Cambell’s monomyth, the hero learns the most about himself and his new world. The hero is grasping his new self through many steps and trials. Furthermore, the third stage and final of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is the return. This stage has five steps, magic flight, rescue from without, crossing the return threshold, master of two worlds, and the freedom to live. The novel changes the numerical order of the last stage quite a lot. The magic flight is known as the hero’s escape with the boon. Potter exhibits this step by returning back to the Muggle World. Harry knows his life will be dreary once again at Privet Drive. Ron invites him to â€Å"come and stay† the summer (308). He shows gratitude towards Ron’s offer, although with a somber attitude. The rescue from without is often a guide that brings the hero back to ordinary life. Within Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Albus Dumbledore acts as a guide to Harry. Almost instantly before Quirrell can kill Harry, Dumbledore saves him. Although Dumbledore does not bring Potter back to the Muggle World, he brings him back to safety . Crossing the return threshold is known as returning to their life before their adventure, while the master of two worlds is balancing the hero’s inner and outer world. Within the first Harry Potter novel, one might say that these two monomyth steps are actually conjoined. During the last chapter, Harry travels along the train from Hogwarts to â€Å"the gateway back to the Muggle World† (308). This is known as crossing the threshold, but the book ultimately stops there. Readers can infer that in the last chapter, the master of two worlds comes into play as Potter acknowledges he is going to â€Å"have a lot of fun with Dudley† over the summer because he will use magic within the Muggle World (309). The hero’s freedom to live is the final step of the monomyth. The hero now has no fear of death because their journey has made them courageous. Although Potter’s home is the Dursleys, he looks forward to returning back to Hogwarts. This gives him a sens e of happiness which he has never felt at home before. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is only the first novel in a seven-part series, but Harry Potter’s heroic journey is the most important in this text alone. Joseph Cambell’s seventeen step monomyth is clearly shown throughout Harry’s adventure. This book shows Potter’s adventure through a new world that he must disregard everything he previously knows. He learns new skills through supernatural aids and roads of trials that ultimately lead up to his battle with Voldemort. The monomyth in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone paves the way for the future novels. Readers can see Harry’s life before magic and gain inside information on his character. The novel is the primal step to his new life. A Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, a Novel by J. K. Rowling A Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a Novel by J. K. Rowling The Man, The Myth, The Hero The novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, written by J. K. Rowling is the first book in a seven-part series. Harry Potter’s heroic journey through the Muggle World into the Wizarding World shows a growth in himself and his mind. Potter follows the stages introduced by Joseph Campbells Monomyth, learning new wizarding skills and challenging himself. Harry demonstrates the three stages; separation, initiation, and return, which are then divided into seventeen steps. Harry Potter’s heroic journey can be traced by readers throughout the novel. The first stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen stage monomyth is separation, with five steps: call to adventure, refusal of call, supernatural aid, crossing the threshold, and belly of the whale. The call to adventure is the original alarm given to the hero, taking him from normality into an unknown trip. Harry Potter lives with his uncle, aunt, and cousin who hide from Harry that he is a wizard. His uncle, Mr. Dursley, shows characteristics of the ruler archetype by trying to have the most successful family. He displays his force through constantly nagging Potter. Dursley takes drastic measures to keep the letters that Harry has been admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry unopened, like moving the family of four out to a secret shack. The first two steps in Joseph Cambell’s monomyth are actually switched because oddly enough, the refusal of call is not done by Potter himself, but by his own uncle before the call to adventure. The refusal of the call is when the hero objects to the undertaking. Fortunately Mr. Durley could not keep the mail a secret and Potter ends up receiving a letter that he is admitted to Hogwarts School. Harry seems excited and ready to explore the magical world. A supernatural aid is often a figure who guides the hero through his new journey. Harry’s supernatural aid is a â€Å"giant of a man† who delivers the letter on Potter’s eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid (Rowling 46). Hagrid can be classified as an explorer in the twelve common archetypes. The motto that the explorer exhibits is â€Å"don’t fence me in† (Golden 3). Throughout the book, he likes to live alone and barbarically as keeper of the grounds. Hagrid first introduces Harry to the wizardry world and helps him and his friends decipher the Sorcerers Stone. In the next step Harry crosses the threshold by leaving the behind his world of normality for a foreign experience. This is done by Potter at the â€Å"famous † Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid (Rowling 68). Potter is greeted with â€Å"scraping chairs† of excitement and instantly â€Å"shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron† (69). He will then cross another threshold in Diagon Alley where he encounters â€Å"dragon liver† and the â€Å"Gringotts† (72). The last threshold crossed is at Platform 9  ¾ with a fellow wizard family named the Weasleys into the wizarding world. This is when Harry meets a young boy named Ronald, a pureblood. Harry and Ronald descend from magic from both of parents which causes them to bond on the eleven o’clock train to Hogwarts. The fifth and final step of the first stage is the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale is the heros final step before entering the real calling; it is represented in the novel when Harry is faced with the sorting hat. He is nervous because he could be sorted into the house of Slytherin, the house of evil. Inside his head he chants, à ¢â‚¬Å"not Slytherin, not Slytherin† in which the hat responds by giving into his choice (121). By ultimately choosing Griffindor , the room gave â€Å"the loudest cheer yet† (121). This shows his test in character and at this point Harry leaves the muggle world and enters the unknown. The second stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is initiation with seven steps: road of trials, meeting the goddess, temptation, atonement with the father, apostasis, the ultimate boon, and the refusal of return. This is usually the longest, most eventful, and entertaining stage of Cambell’s monomyth. The road of trials are tests given the hero to complete in order to transform. Harry is faced with many minor problems within his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but one of his major road of trials is an evil, â€Å"foul smelling† troll (174). Inexperienced in magic, he uses it anyway in order to rescue his friend he accidentally traps, Hermione. This is when he becomes closer to Ron and Hermione and a long friendship blooms. Another is thinking that Professor Snape is the thief behind the sorcerers stone. By focusing on Professor Snape, Harry overlooks the real traitor of Hogwarts. Meeting the goddess affects the hero by havi ng them feel eternal love. This step is sometimes represented by a mother figure. Lily, Harry’s mother, sacrificed her life for her son against Lord Voldemort. Even after her death she continues to protect her son with the scar given to him as a baby. Each time Voldemort is near, the scar burns as a warning. During the battle against Quirrel and Lord Voldemort, Quirrell could not touch Harry, his hands â€Å"looked burned, raw, red, and shiny,† due to the love of Harry’s mother (295). Lily died to save him. Temptations are defined as an object given to the hero to stray from his goal. An invisible cloak, from his father allows Harry to travel the school without being seen. One night over winter break he locates the Mirror of Erised, an ancient mirror that shows onlookers â€Å"‘the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts’† (213). While looking into the mirror, Harry sees people who are not located in the room. A woman who has â€Å"dark red hair† and eyes just like himself peers through the mirror along with other familiar faces (208). Potter realizes that these people are his dead family. This image that he desires keeps him coming back to the mirror each night for about a week. The Mirror of Erised is known as Harry’s temptation because the visits stray him from his goal of finding out who stole the sorcerers stone. The atonement of the father occurs when the hero confronts the object that holds the most power over his life. Although Voldemort is not a father figure, Harry needs to defeat him in order to turn a new stone in his life. Voldemort can be classified as a ruler within the twelve common archetypes because he believes power is the only aspect of life. With Voldemort having been vanquished, Harry discovers the corrupt world. The apostate is when the hero dies a death, physically or in spirit, and moves him beyond basic knowledge. This is represented when a hero enters a godlike stage. During the last chapter, Potter wakes up in a hospital bed, unknowing where the stone is. Dumbledore assures him that the stone â€Å"has been destroyed† (297). He now knows what it is like to be a good wizard because he experienced and handled danger. A weight has been lifted from his shoulders as he enters the end-of-term feast. The ultimate boon within the novel actually happens before the apostate. The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal. Lord Voldemort, Quirrell, and Harry battle over the sorcerers stone. Potter wants to preserve the stone while Voldemort wants to use it for his own advantage to acquire a body and be separate from Quirrell. All of Harry’s training has led up to this battle. The refusal of return is when the hero finds enlightenment and does not want to go back to their everyday life. Surprisingly, this occurs on the last page of the novel. Harry does not want to return back to the Dursleys at Privet Drive because he feels at home at Hogwarts. M oreover, he knows the Dursleys are going to outcast him once again. During the second stage of Cambell’s monomyth, the hero learns the most about himself and his new world. The hero is grasping his new self through many steps and trials. Furthermore, the third stage and final of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is the return. This stage has five steps, magic flight, rescue from without, crossing the return threshold, master of two worlds, and the freedom to live. The novel changes the numerical order of the last stage quite a lot. The magic flight is known as the hero’s escape with the boon. Potter exhibits this step by returning back to the Muggle World. Harry knows his life will be dreary once again at Privet Drive. Ron invites him to â€Å"come and stay† the summer (308). He shows gratitude towards Ron’s offer, although with a somber attitude. The rescue from without is often a guide that brings the hero back to ordinary life. Within Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Albus Dumbledore acts as a guide to Harry. Almost instantly before Quirrell can kill Harry, Dumbledore saves him. Although Dumbledore does not bring Potter back to the Muggle World, he brings him back to safety . Crossing the return threshold is known as returning to their life before their adventure, while the master of two worlds is balancing the hero’s inner and outer world. Within the first Harry Potter novel, one might say that these two monomyth steps are actually conjoined. During the last chapter, Harry travels along the train from Hogwarts to â€Å"the gateway back to the Muggle World† (308). This is known as crossing the threshold, but the book ultimately stops there. Readers can infer that in the last chapter, the master of two worlds comes into play as Potter acknowledges he is going to â€Å"have a lot of fun with Dudley† over the summer because he will use magic within the Muggle World (309). The hero’s freedom to live is the final step of the monomyth. The hero now has no fear of death because their journey has made them courageous. Although Potter’s home is the Dursleys, he looks forward to returning back to Hogwarts. This gives him a sens e of happiness which he has never felt at home before. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is only the first novel in a seven-part series, but Harry Potter’s heroic journey is the most important in this text alone. Joseph Cambell’s seventeen step monomyth is clearly shown throughout Harry’s adventure. This book shows Potter’s adventure through a new world that he must disregard everything he previously knows. He learns new skills through supernatural aids and roads of trials that ultimately lead up to his battle with Voldemort. The monomyth in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone paves the way for the future novels. Readers can see Harry’s life before magic and gain inside information on his character. The novel is the primal step to his new life.