Contextual Factors in Pride and Prejudice influence the characters. Do you agree?

There are many contextual factors in Pride and Prejudice that certainly influence the characters, in the way the characters behave and also in the way that they are viewed. A few of the main factors are money, marriage and the role of women and these can be seen as a few of the novel's themes. However, these factors do not always influence all of the characters. I will explore the different contextual factors in the novel and come to the conclusion as to whether I agree with the statement. Money is a highly influential factor in Pride and Prejudice, so much so, that the narrator is very careful to give financial details of every character to ensure that the reader has an idea of the social standings of all the characters and their placement in society. As the Bennet family and the Lucas family have less money, this means they are of a lower class than most of the other families in the book, for example the Darcys and the Bingleys. This means that the daughters in these families are less likely to be offered a proposal of marriage, as the classes tend not to mix and the possible crossing of social boundaries seems insurmountable. This can be shown in chapter 8, where Miss Bingley mock Elizabeth's behaviour and her family. Miss Bingley begins by stating, â€Å"I have an excessive regard for Jane Bennet, she is really a very sweet girl,† to give the impression of being caring and thoughtful and continues to say, â€Å"I wish with all my heart she were well settled. But with such a father and mother and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it. † In this quote, Miss Bingley conveys fact as an opinion which she uses to try and manipulate her brother's views. By stating this, Miss Bingley shows that she feels Jane should not be allowed to wed Mr Bingley, as this would be crossing the social boundaries. This chapter also shows how Mr Bingley is not affected by money and the fact that Elizabeth has low connections, as this does not affect the way he perceives her. By stating that â€Å"it would not matter if they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside, it would not make one of them one jot less agreeable,† it illustrates how Bingley is not swayed by other characters' status or appearance. Money can also influence the appearance of characters on the surface, as when Mr Darcy is introduced in chapter 3, he is described as being very favourable, based only on his social standing and his financial status. The fact that Darcy earned ‘ten thousand a year' meant that people looked at him â€Å"with great admiration for half the evening†. It is only when people explored his character that they found him to be â€Å"proud and above his company†, which allows the reader to see how money influences their perception of characters. Elizabeth could be described as one of the only characters with morals whose life is not completely influenced by money, but her conversation with Jane in chapter 59 that her character can in fact be affected by wealth. Her comments to Jane that her love for Darcy began â€Å"from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley† and although Elizabeth is joking about this, the audience realises that there is an element of truthfulness in what she has said. She feels â€Å"some perturbation† on approaching Pemberley: â€Å"her spirits were in a high flutter†. When she sees the estate, â€Å"at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something! † Elizabeth speaks of a present and a future, not of something past and concluded, which demonstrates how she could be persuaded by Darcy's estate to marry him. This shows how Darcy's wealth is of great interest to Elizabeth, when she is confronted by its reality, that she can escape her life of being poor and having little money. The reader can also see that the idea of money influences Charlotte, â€Å"Lady Lucas began to directly calculate with more interest than the matter had ever excited before how many years longer Mr Bennet was likely to live†. This shows Charlotte treats money higher in her opinion than the feelings of her friend when her father dies. Charlotte, thinking up â€Å"kind schemes† for Elizabeth feels that Colonel Fitzwilliam was â€Å"beyond comparison the pleasantest man; he certainly admired her and his situation in life was most eligible; but, to counterbalance these advantages, Mr Darcy had considerable patronage in the church and his cousin could have none at all†. This reveals the final twist in which Charlotte's thoughts move from the outcome that might suit her friend best, to that which would serve her own purposes through the advancement and enrichment of Mr Collins, which would undoubtedly earn her more money. Property is shown to be a contextual factor that influences the characters as the females of the Bennet family are in real financial difficulty, as their house is to be entailed upon Mr Collins when Mr Bennet dies. This puts the Bennet daughters into a difficult position as there is added pressure to marry well so they can be financially secure. This pressure is increased as Mrs Bennet wanted one of her daughters to marry Mr Collins so that the Bennet family would not lose the estate which has been in their family for many generations. Property can also be seen as a beneficial factor that influences the perception of characters because at this time the larger the estate then more money was earned. This can be seen in the description of Mr Darcy in chapter 3, where the people at the ball thought very highly of him when they heard about the size of his estate in Derbyshire, which directly relates to his earnings. A contextual factor that influences all the women characters in the novel is marriage. A perfect example of this is in Charlotte Lucas marrying Mr Collins, as she does not marry for love, she marries him to be financially secure and to have a place in society. This can be seen in the quote by the narrator describing Charlotte, â€Å"who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment†. This shows that Charlotte married only for an estate and money, so that she could establish herself in society as women were looked down upon if they were not married. As the life expectancy for women in the early 1800's was around the mid to late 30s and Charlotte was 28, she saw that marriage was the only honourable provision for a woman in her position and wealth. Although Elizabeth and Charlotte were close friends, they had very different views. Elizabeth felt that â€Å"it was a long time before she became at all reconciled to the idea of an unsuitable match. She had always felt that Charlotte's opinion of matrimony was not exactly like her own†. Charlotte was prepared to marry for money and financial security and she thought that â€Å"happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance†. In the 1800's society influenced the characters of the novel as marriage was essential for women, they were entirely dependant on men to look after them and if women were not married, they were thought to be excluded from society. However, this did not affect Elizabeth as she turned down two respectable proposals of marriage, from Mr Collins and Mr Darcy. The former proposal is deemed to be more acceptable and her family is more understanding of this as Mr Collins is pompous and boastful, and an all round unfavourable character. However, Mrs Bennet was upset when Elizabeth declined his proposal as it is her duty as a mother to marry all her daughters off and help them to set up her lives. Mr Bennet opposed his wife's views and suggested to Elizabeth that, â€Å"Your mother will never speak to you again if you do not marry Mr Collins, and I will never speak to you again if you do†. This led to Mr Collins withdrawing his offer and marrying Charlotte. The latter proposal was certainly very easy for Elizabeth to refuse as she explained to him that after knowing him for a month, â€Å"I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry. Although, we can see that wealth does affect Elizabeth's judgement as after the proposal is made, she feels some guilt for not accepting the proposal as it would mean a better life for her and it would please her mother and her family. Even though Darcy admits how he admires and loves Elizabeth, he is still influenced by the fact that she is of a lower class and â€Å"his sense of her inferiority – of its being degradation† and before his proposal he would have convinced himself that this could not happen and admits he has repressed his feelings. However, in spite of this, Darcy is still prepared to marry Elizabeth and cross the social boundaries, which shows that money and Elizabeth's â€Å"low connections† do not influence him fully. The pressure of marriage affects many of the characters, but it does not affect Jane or Mr Bingley, as they overcome the separation of the classes and are married because they are truly in love with one another. Jane and Bingley represent the coming together of two handsome, like-minded and kind-hearted people. Their eventual marriage is delightful and a relief to the reader as their have been many obstacles in their way of marriage. The main reason of their separation was caused by the persuasion of Darcy because he thinks that Jane is not in love with his friend Bingley. The reader knows that part of the reason why he persuades Bingley is because he does not feel Jane is worthy enough for his friend. This is ironic as he then proposes to Elizabeth who detests him. In chapter 8 there is a discussion of the accomplishments of young ladies. Bingley has a lot of admiration for women's ability to â€Å"paint tables, cover screens and net purses†, but Darcy wants more than this and even more than the list Caroline Bingley provides of â€Å"music, singing drawing, dancing and modern languages,† plus â€Å"something in her air and manner of walking†. If men expect all those accomplishments for the women to have, then the Bennet daughters and many other women in their position will have little hope of marrying well. However, as seen in chapter 29 when Lady Catherine quizzes Elizabeth with many questions about her family and finds that none of them can draw she is very surprised, â€Å"What, none of you? † and also that only one of her sisters can play the piano and sing. This demonstrates that women do not always need a long list of accomplishments in order to be married, for Mr Darcy was not concerned about her lack of abilities, but only cared about her â€Å"liveliness of mind† and the spirited freedom of her thinking about her world, even in spite of the pressures cause by its snobbery and narrowness of society. In conclusion, the contextual factors do influence many of the characters in the novel, but some of these characters are able to overcome the pressures of society and cross the social boundaries. By using Elizabeth as a main character, Austen is able to highlight these factors as she is not influenced by them and causes others around her to rebel against the norm. The main character highlights what is expected of women and the ‘norms and values' in society during the nineteenth century by behaving in an unacceptable way. The fact that in chapter eight, when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield to visit her sister, and her appearance is deemed improper by the Bingley sisters, â€Å"her petticoat, six inches deep in mud†, is one of the main reasons why Darcy falls in love with Elizabeth, shows that some men prefer women with an independence of mind and a free spirit. This is not in agreement with society, where it is believed women should depend on men and all act very similar with no specific purpose as they are just possessions of men.

Peachtree Healthcare Essay

Peachtree Healthcare has been faced with a dilemma. There has been a major IT infrastructure problem within the company for some time now. Since technology has taken over in the healthcare field, it is imperative that Peachtree Healthcare get the technology needed so that they can be trusted and well known within the healthcare industry. Mission The mission of Peachtree Healthcare is to ensure quality, consistency, and continuity of care across the entire network – and to deliver care with the highest levels of efficiency and economy while maintaining respect for patients and staff. Objectives The hospital needs to decide on what long / short term IT infrastructure system strategies and roadmaps are needed to increase efficiency. The new system should allow sharing of patient records, ensure quality, consistency, and continuity of care across entire network of hospitals and physicians. Key Issues The IT infrastructure is not reliable; therefore, uses are unable to perform their day to day functions including clinical duties. This is impacting quality and safety of patient care. Recommendations Adopt service oriented architecture (SOA) which will enable selective standardization. CURRENT SITUATION (10) Peachtree Healthcare has major IT infrastructure problems and is struggling to find the right fix. Growth through acquisitions has led to the inheritance of many incompatible legacy systems. Current IT resources are focused on maintaining inefficient processes in order to keep the hospital running. The maintenance costs of the current IT system are so high that further innovation has become a luxury. In addition there have been recent meltdowns of clinical information systems. IT infrastructure is not reliable; therefore users are unable to perform their day to day functions, including clinical duties. This is impacting quality and safety of patient care. Furthermore there is pressure from the hospital’s board to standardize hospital procedures and practices without fully assessing the need for it. Max Berndt (CEO), Candace Markovich (CIO) and Tom Drane (CFO) are struggling to analyze the current situation subjectively in order to properly manage the pressure to follow competitors. CRITERIA (5) The hospital needs to decide on what long / short term IT infrastructure system strategies and roadmaps are needed to increase efficiency. The new system should allow sharing of patient records, ensure quality, consistency, and continuity of care across entire network of hospitals and physicians. The system should also ensure â€Å"selective† standardization of certain medical procedures across the network but allow sufficient flexibility to individual hospitals and professionals in other areas. Other criteria include: †¢ Time to value – when will the new system realize value for each business unit †¢ Flexibility – easy to modify, upgrade and customization capabilities †¢ Staff buy-in – ability to convince all staff to give this project a try ALTERNATIVES & RECOMMENDATIONS (15) Alternative 1: Monolithic System (Modular Enterprise System) A monolithic system is single set of systems and applications that will provide consistency across Peachtree’s facilities but may not give doctors enough flexibility. Other pros and cons include: Alternative 2: Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) System A servicer-oriented architecture system is modular design that will allow Peachtree to standardize incrementally and selectively but poses certain risks as a newer technology. Recommendation: My recommendation is to crease a strategy of selective standardization using a SOA system. This means assessing and deciding on a SOA architecture standard. Reviewing individual business functions and deciding on an ideal standard for that functional unit then migrating others to it. This will allow Peachtree to standardize incrementally, which Max has wanted most in an IT infrastructure. RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN (15) Since SOA is a new technology, there are serious risks and consequences involved with this approach. The SOA technology is not mature yet and has not been tested in the long term. As a result there is a lot of unpredictability. To mitigate these risks Peachtree should gradually replace its old system with the SOA System. They should proceed with SOA in stages by piloting smaller projects to quickly provide value to business units. By gradually installing the SOA, Peachtree and its doctors would learn about how the systems worked and they could then master it in a sense as the infrastructure moved further. By gradually installing the infrastructure, Peachtree would not only minimize risk but also create flexibility and control. With the gradual learning process on the new SOA system, Peachtree and its physicians would allow IT to shift priorities along the way. Peachtree should also create case studies to get other business units and vendors support throughout roll-out process. They should also consider hiring external change management consultants to ensure minimum user disruption and smooth transition into the new system.

Assessment on English for Cambodian Textbook Uses

Assessment on English for Cambodian Textbook Uses The fall of the Pol Pot regime in 1979 contributed to a new step toward introducing new foreign languages-Vietnamese, and Russian, in Cambodian education system. However, at the end of cold war in late 1989, French and English were reintroduced once again at lower secondary school education after a long period of prohibition of teaching the two languages toward the end of Lon Nol regime in 1975 (Igawa, 2008). Although French and English have been taught ever since that time, English has become the first foreign language owing to the fact that there has been a switching allocation of language resources from French to English (Clayton, 2006). Since English becomes more and more influential language in Cambodia, high attention has been drawn to make this language more and more communicable among school girls and boys at basic education level from grade 7 to grade 12. Meanwhile, the main the purpose of Lower Secondary School (LSS) is to have students fully participate in the society and become a productive citizen. In this regard, the objective of teaching foreign language at that level is set to serve basic communicative competence for the students (MoYES, 2004). To serve the above objective, in Lower and Upper Secondary school levels from grade 7 to grade 12, MoEYS employs the book series named English for Cambodia to teach students, which was initially piloted in 1996-1997 academic year (MoEYS, 1999). Before the publication of English for Cambodia (EFC) series, many textbook series such as Headway, English for Today, and streamline, to name but a few, were utilized to teach Cambodian Secondary School students. Shortly after several projects had been conducted to develop an appropriate English textbook for Cambodia, EFC textbook series were published with six levels in which one level is confined for the whole academic year of each grade at both Lower and Upper Secondary schools in Cambodia (Vira, 2002). In grade 7, students are to take the first level of the bo ok named â€Å"English for Cambodia: Book 1†. The book is written in English including the explanatory part in the first section. The textbook content is organized on the grammar basis containing a number of chapters which each is subdivided into 4 or 3 units to explain the target grammar, some drills using the grammar, short dialogues with questions to check for comprehension, and reading texts. From the content, each chapter subsequently orientates students towards communicative goal (MoEYS, 1999). English for Cambodia, book one, was developed in forms of teacher’s guide and student book in respect to MoEYS Textbook Master Plan (1996) and cooperated with Cambodian research institutions. This textbook was designed on the basis of MoEYS English Syllabus for grade 7 students and accompanied by the teaching methodology developed by teacher trainers during training course for Lower Secondary English trainees. In particular, the main features of teaching methodology in thi s book is characterized as: enhancing 4 language skill practices namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing; practicing grammatical structure and vocabulary and introducing systematic and appropriate means of communicative language function; various effective teaching and learning technique presented in each unit; and regular interaction between students and teachers (MoEYS, 1999).

Compare Mac and Windows System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare Mac and Windows System - Essay Example These systems have been put up against each other over decades, and the debate seems destined to be eternal. Cost is key among the cited difference between MAC and Windows systems. Windows based computers tend to be cheaper than MAC computer. The cost difference is mainly because of the hardware running on these operating systems (Junior & Kumar, 2014). Apple has exclusive rights to the hardware produced that run on the MAC operating system. On the other hand, many manufacturers produce Windows-based system hardware. Therefore, unlike MAC systems hardware, with Windows based system hardware there is a great competition, which results in lower prices. Windows based systems allow the consumer to select the components they would like in their systems based on the price they are willing to pay for a system. The Windows systems are, therefore, budget-friendly to a wider range of consumers. Hence, they dominate the market. However, Apple’s consumer support is superb given that the quality of their products is among the best in the industry. Availability of the two system is also affected by manufacturers who produce the hardware. Windows systems are more widely available since different manufacturers push their products with Windows operating system installed. Apple; however, is selective about where it sells its products when it comes to third-party retail stores. The design is another big difference between Apple MAC and Microsoft Windows systems. In this aspect, MAC products tend to be superior. The unconventional focus on design by the former Apple CEO Steve Jobs explains this. He focused on the outward appearance of the company’s products with an enthusiasm unmatched by the competitors. Manufacturers of Windows based hardware often attempt to create more design-oriented models to compete with Apple products with none yet to achieve the popular

Wild Frontier Pt. 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wild Frontier Pt. 3 - Assignment Example WSS as it integrates the intranet and web applications will make it easier for the company to deploy their applications. The organization’s intranet can be accessed from anywhere by its employees. Uploading the web applications on the intranet makes it easier for the remote offices to access these applications without them necessarily being installed on the local machine (Husman, 2007). Windows SharePoint Services are used for creation, management and sharing of documents. Like any other organization, Wild Frontier has several departments and these departments are interconnected both in the headquarters and field offices. The finance department in the remote office should be able to access the records at the headquarters, and this can be accomplished using SharePoint. Employee A at the headquarters will upload a document on the SharePoint workspace of the finance department and Employee B in one of the field offices accesses it via the intranet. On this very document, Employee B can make changes and save these changes (Husman, 2007). This means that there are two different people working on the same document- each at a time- this avoids duplication of work. The advantage is that SharePoint has document versions and if one does not like the current edited version, they can revert back to the previous version without redoing the whole document. The management wants to make use of the same number of printers with the increased taskforce and field offices. To be able to accomplish this, the printers will have to be connected on a network. Having the printers connected to a common network will make it easier for the employees to print on any machine in the building as long as the printer is configured on the user’s machine or laptop. Additionally, if the printers enable the users to print wirelessly then this makes the whole printing process much faster and convenient. This will see to it that some of the printers are moved

(Book Proposal) Neurotheology in Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

(Book Proposal) Neurotheology in Review - Essay Example Its primary objectives are to establish comprehensive, interdisciplinary approaches to understand beliefs and to explain, interpret and predict the influences of beliefs to thought, feeling, behavior and experience. The purpose of this volume is to provide scope and definition to the new discipline of Neurotheology. Current scholarship in Neurotheology offers perspectives from Darwinian evolution and neuroscience (studies in frontal, parietal lobes and temporal lobe epilepsy), neuropsychology, genetics, cognitive science, cellular biology, chemistry, physics, mindfulness, electromagnetic field effects, and varying perspectives from psychology like conditioning, attachment and learning theories. Other perspectives on science and beliefs are developing from neuroeconomics, neuropolitics, and neuroethics while other fields of science need greater inclusion like astronomy, ecology, engineering, geology, linguistics and mathematics. Neurotheology acknowledges the complexity and diversity of human beliefs by providing a broad conceptual framework to encompass beliefs whether mystical or religious, economic or environmental, political or social, or some other. Each dimension of beliefs affords critical, creative study of the science(s), beliefs and/or belief systems involved. Both the science and beliefs intersect through a four-fold methodology that provides the basis to unpack the complexity of their relationship and intimate the relationship’s influence to human thought, feeling, behavior and experience. The proposed book â€Å"Neurotheology† attempts to summarize the complexities of this science to provide a general understanding of what neurotheology is and investigate some of the diversity of disciplines to which it is applicable. The book is primarily intended for college students but will serve also as an introductory text for anyone interested in learning more about

Michael Bronner Profile as an Entrepreneur Essay

Michael Bronner Profile as an Entrepreneur - Essay Example Among the renowned entrepreneurs is Michael Bronner who made a fortune, as the founder of a marketing company and his venture into business is admirable. Although a college dropout, he founded a digital advertising firm in 1980 known as Bronner Slosberg Humphrey incorporation, whose enormous success saw it rise to be one of the leading traditional advertising companies in America with a subsidiary company formed. Furthermore, the two companies were later merged to form Digitas incorporation in a bid to enhance productivity and the company was sold twenty years later for more than one billion dollars (Needleman). Furthermore, using the proceeds, Bronner founded Upromise incorporation, a company that prides itself in contributing funds towards college education of its clients. Hence, the company aims at generating a means of saving funds to be used for college fees by enrolled clients, where participating companies contribute a fraction of their sales towards the project. In addition, he serves as a member of various boards across different industries, which has seen him enhance his management skills as well as career. Among his accomplishments, Bronner is a recipient of the Anti-defamation League’s Torch of Liberty award (Bloomberg). Recently, Michael Bronner’s 15-year-old son developed an idea to rid a flooded market of junk food through Unreal Brand's incorporation. Regardless of the iconic brands in the market; Nicky Bronner has embarked on a mission, to recreate the traditional junk foods with the same taste but with healthier ingredients (Alspach). This is aimed at eliminating health complications resulting associated with junk foods such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

Strategic Management of Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Management of Technology - Essay Example Companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle to name a few, have been beset with the task of identifying suitable locations around the globe to set up infrastructures to profit on specialized workforce and competitive pricing. Look no further, for India is the destination for you. Algeiser Software Pvt. Ltd., a medium-sized software company employing 300 software engineers, is looking to improve its stakes in the international market through rigorous marketing and presentations. The strength of the Algeiser lies in its highly qualified loyal engineers, who believe that with the globalization of Indian markets to foreign investment and tie-ups, there are strong possibilities of the company going places. Many foreign companies would be participating in taking advantage of the liberalized policy by the Indian government to promote its well qualified workforce and cheap labour. The company's General Manager, Projects, Mr. Mukund Malhotra is well aware of his company's assets and is quite confident of coming up with a contingency plan to compete in this highly competitive market. The company directors are sure that with further inputs from Mr. Malhotra, and using his experience and tactical business development portfolio, Algeiser Software Pvt. Ltd. ... India is one of the fastest growing IT and telecom markets in the world today. The Indian IT market grew at over 26% in 2005, which included domestic BPO-ITeS, providing tremendous opportunities for IT and telecom vendors and service providers. Ranked as the 18th highest spender in IT in 2005, India is poised for greater growth and is expected to move up the table to 13th position in 2010. Its IT and Telecommunications markets provides trends and market dynamics for the IT and telecom industry, highlighting various products/segments driving the market like PCs, enterprise systems, storage, MFDs, IT Services, packaged software, BPO, enterprise applications, telecom services, datacom and so on. Leading hardware, software and services providers in India include, Cisco Systems, HCL, HP, IBM, Infosys, Microsoft, NIIT, Oracle, Satyam, Sun Microsystems, TCS, and Wipro (IDC, 2007). 1. Strategy Strategy plays an important part in the success of any organization. Imagine what would happen if one were to start an organisation without even considering its overall objectives and contingencies. Strategic management is the organisation of products, services, processes and systems; the elements present within the operating and wider environment of the enterprise, leading to effective growth and success. These elements require proper direction to generate an everlasting, successful, profitable, effective and innovative business system. This is the prerogative of a successful strategic business management. Algeiser Software Pvt. Ltd. faces major hurdles in the form of financial limitations, and international exposure to compete with these mega giants. With its limited financial backing, the company will have to remain content with its present market share, which is

Design a Flowchart Wk.1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Design a Flowchart Wk.1 - Essay Example Most conflict in any situation involves communication breakdown to some extent" (pp. 34). It's important to have clarity in one's life. In this case, the author is obviously upset with the job situation. The author wants to be a freelance writer, because the current bottleneck of the author is the author's job. The author's current job is boring and thankless. There is not enough pay; the author feels underutilized and underappreciated. Moreover, the author feels that the current work the author is doing is not meaningful. Having clarity is a positive thing, because one can have more insight into one's activities and their meaningfulness. Since the author's work is not fulfilling, it is hoped the author can find more meaningful work, therefore. To the author, meaningful work means that the author would have the ability to choose what the author wants to do (in writing, for example). The author would not have to do anything the author did not want to do. Work would consist of being ab le to work at a stay-at-home office, in the author's ideal life. According to Bruner (2002), "The capacity of an integrated or multistep process is determined by the portion of the process with the least capacity, or the bottleneck of the system. Thus, identification and relief of bottlenecks are important issues in process management" (pp. 127). First, one must find out (or identify) the bottleneck. Obviously, the bottleneck has been identified as the author's work situation. The author wishes to do a job that is not problematic. In order to solve the problem of the bottleneck, something obviously should be done. The author, therefore, has decided that the answer to this bottleneck of the work situation is to simply change jobs. Warren (2008) comments, "The theory of constraints (TOC) is astrategy that focuses on reducing the influence of bottlenecks on a process" (pp. 455). According to this theory, this management philosophy-the five focusing steps-can help to reduce the problems inherent in getting rid of a bottleneck. The bottleneck in process described here was that of this author's job. This author wanted to obtain new employment that would be satisfying. Mainly, the problem identified was the author's dissatisfaction with current employment. Current employment would be replaced with a freelance writing job that would allow the author to spend less time working and at the same time earn more money. REFERENCES Bruner, R.F. (2002). The portable MBA. USA: Wiley. Dettmer, H.W. (1997). Goldratt's theory of constraints: a systems approach to continuous improvement. USA: ASQ Quality Press. How delays affect processes and change. (2009). Available: http://www.bizmanualz.com/information/2005/03/24/how-delays-affect-processes-and-change.html. Warren, C.S. (2008). Survey of accounting. USA: South-Western College

Good Versus Evil Essay Example for Free

Good Versus Evil Essay Good versus Evil At first, it appears that the definitions of good and evil are straightforward. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, good is defined as â€Å"that which is morally right; righteousness†; evil is defined as â€Å"profoundly immoral and malevolent. † For centuries there has been an argument among many philosophers on the belief of â€Å"good versus evil† and whether it really exists. Some argue that human beings are the perpetrators of evil. Others argue that the world is not a bad place and that evil and suffering is, in fact, necessary. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there is a clear struggle involving good and evil. The reader is introduced to the protagonist and narrator, Victor Frankenstein, at the beginning of the novel. Victor, a family oriented man, becomes very interested in the modern science world and later on believes that he has discovered the â€Å"secret of life. † With this discovery he goes on to create a monster, who remains without a name throughout the whole novel. At first glance it appears that the monster did everything in his power to prevent Victor from having the happy life that he longed for. Mary Shelley purposely chose Victor Frankenstein to be the narrator of this story. Readers only get the story from his point of view. Frankenstein plays on the emotions of the readers, therefore anything he is feeling, readers feel the same way. He is seen as this helpless man who has been through so much in such a short life, and all because he was being terrorized by this heinous creature. â€Å"I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin The trial, the presence of the magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body I exclaimed, ‘Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor’† (122). However, readers do get a glimpse in to how the monster feels and the struggles that he comes across. â€Å" She continued her course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly her foot slipped; and she fell into the rapid stream. I rushed from my hiding place, and, with extreme labour from the force of the current, saved her, and dragged her to shore I was suddenly interrupted by the approach of a rustic On seeing me, he darted towards me, and, tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper parts of the wood he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired. I sunk to the ground, and my injurer, with increased swiftness, escaped into the wood† (95). Mary Shelley’s anecdote of a struggle between good versus evil makes the reader constantly redefine who is truly the good one, and who is evil. At the end of the novel, the reader discovers that it is really Victor Frankenstein that is the evil one. He manipulated the readers thoughts and feelings by leading them to believe that he was the good one, that he was being tormented by this evil beast. In reality, this is how the story really goes: Frankenstein was the creator of this â€Å"beast. † Frankenstein abandoned the beast and treated it as if it were too wretched to be loved. Frankenstein, knowing how the beast felt and what he was capable of, continued to ignore the monster’s requests for a companion. Frankenstein knew that the beast would take away all of his loved ones until he got what he wanted. Victor manipulated this monster in to doing his dirty work for him. Mary Shelley displays this battle between good and evil very well. Candide, written by Voltaire, is a satire which pokes fun at a number of Enlightenment philosophies. The protagonist, Candide, is a good-hearted but naive young man. His mentor, Pangloss, is described as a teacher of â€Å"metaphysico-theologo-cosmolonigology† who believes that this is â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † This belief, which is argued by Leibniz, is the main reason why Voltaire is satirizing his play. Pangloss is an optimist, and believes that no matter what happens, this is the greatest life anyone can live because the good will always be the case. Voltaire mocks the idea that good prevails over evil because he believes that human beings perpetrate evil. He believes that evil does, in fact, exist and ignoring that existence is wrong and dangerous. Other philosophers such as Leibniz believe that the existence of any evil in the world would have to mean that God is either not good or not omnipotent, and that idea could not possibly be true. With this reasoning, philosophers such as Leibniz believe that since God is indeed perfect, then the world that he has created can be viewed as no less than perfect as well. All the â€Å"evil† or â€Å"bad† that people claim exists in the world is only because they do not understand what God’s ultimate plan is. Voltaire strongly disagrees with this idea, as it is evident in his novel. He does not accept the idea that a perfect God exists, maybe a God does not even exist. To prove his point, Voltaire uses a great deal of exaggeration; the biggest optimists in the world, Candide and Pangloss, go through a series of hardships and horrors. These woes do not serve any apparent purpose but to attack this belief that this is â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † A perfect example is when Pangloss tells Candide that he is dying because of syphilis. In chapter four, Candide cries, â€Å"O sage Pangloss what a strange genealogy is this! Is not the devil the root of it? † Pangloss simply replies, â€Å"Not at all, it was a thing unavoidable, a necessary ingredient in the best of worlds; for if Columbus had not caught in an island in America this disease, which contaminates the source of generation, and frequently impedes propagation itself, and is evidently opposed to the great end of nature, we should have neither chocolate nor cochineal. † This part of the novel makes the reader laugh because chocolate is not the result of syphilis; they are in, no way, related. Voltaire then adds more intelligent and rational characters into the story, such as the old woman, who have more pessimistic views about how the world works. By the end of the novel, Pangloss finally admits that maybe this is not â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † Shelley, Voltaire, and Leibniz all touched on the subject of good versus evil. Voltaire and Leibniz had opposing views on how the world really works. Maybe there is a bigger plan, but evil does exist and evil is created by all of us. Shelley definitely showed how humans can truly be evil. No matter what, there will always be a battle between good versus evil.

Impact of Urbanization on Crime Rates

Impact of Urbanization on Crime Rates RISING CRIME RATE AS CONSEQUENCE OF URBAN AREA ABSTRACT Modem cities present a meeting point of people from different walks of life having no affinity with one another. Like other problems, the problem of crimes increases with the increase in urbanization. In fact the increasing trend in urban crimes tends to disturb peace and tranquility of the cities and make them unsafe to live in particularly for the women. In recent decades, crime levels have given increasing cause for alarm, bringing material and immaterial consequences that have still to be properly understood. Anti-crime strategies urgently need to be implemented in order to promote safe communities and contribute to their sustainable development. Crime needs to be taken into account during the planning process, as valuable components can be provided that can offer effective approaches to crime prevention and the improvement of community safety. These almost inevitably require long-term, strategic and multi-disciplinary interventions for urban and suburban areas. Crime, and especially the fear of crime, affects the mental and physical wellbeing of victims, causing behavioral alterations, with serious consequences for the whole community. It is also the main contributor to the decline of quality of life in urban areas in Portugal. This paper assesses: the relationship between crimes in an urban area. INTRODUCTION Growing materialism, consumerism, and competition in everyday life, selfishness, lavishness, appalling socio-economic disparities and rising unemployment and feeling of loneliness in the crowd are some of the primary causes responsible for alarming trends in urban crime. Not only the poor, deprived and slum dwellers take to crime; youngsters from well-to-do families also resort to crime in order to make fast buck and for meeting requirements of a lavish life. Occasional failures in life also drag youngsters to crime. The problem of urban crime is becoming more complicated in the present day world because criminals often get protection from politicians, bureaucrats and elite class of the urban society. Some of the criminals reach high political positions by using their money and muscle power. According to study made by Dutt and Venugopal (1983), violent urban crimes like rape, murder, kidnapping, dacoity, robbery, etc. are more pronounced in the northern-central parts of the country. Even the economic crimes (like theft, cheating, breach of trust, etc.) are concentrated in the north- central region. Poverty related crimes are widespread with main concentration in the cities of Patna, Darbhanga, Gaya and Munger. This may be due to widespread poverty prevailing in this region. However, the latest surveys show thatMumbai and Delhi figure in 35 cities that have high crime rate. As much as 31.8 per cent of citizens in Mumbai and 30.5 per cent in Delhi have been victims of crime. Sexual assault was higher in Mumbai (3.5 per cent) as compared to Delhi (1.7 per cent). Both cities score poorly in corruption, with 22.9% in Mumbai being exposed to bribery as compared to 21% in Delhi. Recognition of the environments contribution to quality of life and health has meant that place is now considered an important factor in explaining health and quality of life. These results highlight the need to reassess specific elements of urban Design and their relationship with crime levels, particularly as regards citizens’ fear of crime and its consequences on health. We aim to answer two questions: 1. Can urban planning help reduce urban crime and violence? 2. How can planners create safe and healthy places? Causes of Crimes Associated with Urbanity The phenomenon of urban crimes could be attributed to a host of factors that are economic, social, political and even moral or spiritual in nature. Among these are: 1. Poverty Many authorities in the field of criminal justice say that poverty is a major cause of crime. This is not of course to say that it follows that a person who wallows in wealth cannot be a criminal. Many crimes are committed even by the rich. Furthermore, many people mired in poverty, have remained respectable and exemplary citizens. It is evident that poverty Per Se is not the only reason or cause but it is a major predis positive factor. Nonetheless, the problem of massive poverty is the primary breeding ground or root cause of crime in countries similarly situated as the Philippines. Its concomitant deprivations and hardships are unemployment, underemployment, low income and productivity, malnutrition, big families, rapid population growth rates, and low standard of living. Crime rate appears to be notably higher in poorer neighbor hoods and in areas with high population density, deteriorated living conditions and unemployment problems. People resort to crimes on the street to alleviate or escape from their miseries and frustrations or to answer a need. Illustrative examples are parents who sell their children to paedophiles or a father who resorts to robbery just so he could buy medicine for his sick son. The urban poor are also plagued by among others, the high cost of living, financial difficulties, unstable jobs, lack of capital, limited educational opportunities, inadequate health and sanitation, and inadequate housing. National and local government planners and implementers therefore face increasing demands for urban services like public transportation, garbage collection, piped water, electricity, schools, health and transportation. A deterioration of living conditions in urban areas has produced its share of crime, juvenile delinquency, drug addiction, prostitution, mental illness, physical disability, suicides, family and personal disorganization, environmental degradation, pollution, garbage and sewerage disposals, and traffic jams and congestion. 2. Lost Family Values Today as the country becomes more and more industrialized, there is an evident loosening of family ties -the family gets together less and less as a group, with all members present, except during special events. Each member of the family has his own schedule of activities, his own interests, his own friends. All these factors prevent family members from having opportunities for cooperative activity, preventing the development of strong personal relationships. Several family values that promote and nurture solidarity and love within the family, such as respect for and obedience to parents, have been eroded and polluted by modernization. The Western culture is making widespread and deep-seated inroads into Philippine society through modern communications and the mass media. These lost family values result in many broken homes or families. As children are separated from their parents or reared by single parents, they go wayward and become misguided. Many become addicted to prohibited drugs, unwed and/or separated parents and eventually become criminals or victims of crime. 3. Working Mothers The employment and exodus of women from the home where mothers like me have to be employed, some out of necessity others to augment the family income, have somehow contributed directly or indirectly to the commission of crimes. At times, the frequent absence of the mother weakens the fundamental relationship with children resulting sometimes in feelings of insecurity and rejection that lead to maladjustments. 4. Ignorance The majority of our population do not know many of our laws and the repercussions they face once they commit violations thereof. They do not know many of their rights, the due process of law and many other related matters. In fact, many of our hapless folks do not know what democracy is all about and how they can make it work. This results in a â€Å"crisis† of citizenship characterized by widespread apathy, indifference, â€Å"spoon-feeding† syndrome, or lack of discipline and self-restraint. This affects both the criminals and victims alike in many ways. Because of their scanty legal knowledge and lack of awareness of its repercussions, many criminals, especially first offenders, readily perpetrate crimes based on a mistaken notion and false belief. Many become victims of crime because they are not aware of the modus operandi of crime syndicates and are not crime prevention-conscious. Often times, instances of miscarriage of justice on the part of either the offender or the victim, could be blamed on their ignorance. 5. Injustices/Abuses These constitute the powerful motives for most of the crime against persons perpetrated either by the victims or their loved ones as cases of revenge or vendetta. Worse yet, these could serve also as the reason for the same criminals to yet perform some more crime as a way of pre-empting a vendetta or silencing the victims and/or their witnesses. The high propensity to avenge injustices/abuses among Filipinos makes this factor abet crime in a very potent and violent manner. 6. Soft State Non-enforcement of several laws and ordinances, massive graft and corruption, absenteeism on the part of government officials or lack of basic services give rise to the lack of discipline and low regard for the laws by the citizenry, which spawn lawlessness and crime. For monetary considerations or plain laziness, traffic laws and ordinances are not enforced by traffic policemen or aides. Consequently, drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike violate traffic rules and regulations left and right. From minor violations, gradually these offenders commit more and more serious infractions of the laws, thereby abetting crime. 7. Fear This problem is so pervasive that it affects practically the entire society. Whether rich or poor. People are afraid, not only while they are on the streets; but also right inside their homes. Kidnapping for ransom, bank robberies/hold ups, murders, homicides, crime against chastity and other heinous crimes instil so much fear among the citizenry Fear is an unseen force that breeds crime in many ways. Victims of kidnap for ransom are easily paralyzed into inaction by the kidnappers; such that they will give in to the demands of kidnappers, including that of not reporting the incident to the police. Victims of crime and their witnesses are easily threatened to keep silent and not to file charges and testify in court. Even when not actually threatened, many victims and witnesses refuse to cooperate with the police in solving and prosecuting crimes. As a result, many criminals go scot-free and are emboldened to perpetrate more crimes. As aptly stated by Edmund Burke, â€Å"For evil to triumph, it needs only good men to do nothing†; like victims and witnesses keeping quiet about crime. 8. Others There are many other breeding grounds of crime. (i) Movies that glorify criminals and show a lot of violence and tabloids that depict lewd scenes contribute to the rise in crime; (ii) Modern technology that tends to increase the capabilities of crime syndicates to perpetrate more crimes that are becoming more difficult to bust and/or solve; and (iii) Lack of sound crime prevention planning and the apathy of the community towards involvement in anti-crime campaigns. Rational of the study Urbanization is a newly invented matter. But crime isn`t5.but there ar4e huge number of relation between crime and urbanization. IN urban area is full of facility which facility are responsible to occur crime in urban area. Relationship between crime and urbanization may be uncertain. Mash and Masih state â€Å"At low levels of the urbanization, crime may be high because of sparsely urbanization may lead to decrease in crime because of closer proximity of and finally, with even urbanization, crime may rise because individuals may not identify whether they are engaged in a legal or illegal activity† (1093). Indeed, Gaviria and Pages, (2002:193) found positive relationship between city size and. Thus, we can say that urbanization may have both negative and positive effects on crime in different urban setting. It needs an empirical investigation to see which effect outweighs. Urbanization has also brought new challenges in terms of conflict, violence and urban governance – and citizen security in particular. The World Bank’s landmark 2011World Development Reporthighlighted the significance of violence as a development problem. Its work noted how violence is changing, becoming less structured around notions of civil war and conflict, and more focused around criminal violence, terrorism and civil unrest. Urban crime concept has developed from the nature of crime. If we notice the nature of crime so it will be clear to us the consequences of crime. Many of the population suffer from urban crime. Specially young people Who involved in this crime. Conceptual framework Are many cause of urban crime. Especially when a men being psychologically handicapped then he can commit crime .different situation are mainly responsible for this problem. Young people take drug, and then their mental situation become abnormal. Sometime many facility are responsible for becoming g frustrated to younger. So it’s clear to us that psychological cause is the basic cause of urban crime. Criminologists believe that certain predispositions of an individual and his personality traits have a predominant role when it comes to his criminal behavior. These predispositions and personality traits rise from the occurrences in the surroundings, and the person’s tendency to relate to these occurrences the two factors which comes into play are genetics and neurological development of the individual. Economic factor mainly responsible to occur crime in urban area. Some of the people when fac economic crisis then he commits crime in urban are. Especially when we talk about the economic factors which make a person resort to violence or crime, the first thing that is likely to come to your mind is poverty, and this is true to a great extent. The desperation that comes with poverty eventually gives rise to anger, and this anger makes the person take some drastic measures, thus making him get involved in crime acted by urbanization. Which matter is so destructive for urban people. CONCLUSION Crime is a social disease. It destroys our social life and our basic production. Urbanization has created much scope in this factor. From old time to today’s modern societies, crime has always been a hot subject and kept its place in every day’s agenda. In particular, as and development of countries increase, in general, from to another, it is expected that crime rate should decline over time. However, it does not decline, and it has become more important in the second half of this century. As Becker pointed out years ago that â€Å"Crime has probably become more important during the last forty years†. Every society has its own values system. Crime is defined by mainly this values system. For one reason or the other, there has been crime in every society throughout history though the rate, type, cause, and effect on each society might be highly different. While 35 percent of world population was living in urban areas in 1980, it was about 53 percent in 2005, and estimated to reach 75 percent in 2030.1 Therefore, it is crucial to understand the relationship between crime and urban areas. RECOMMENDATION There are many problem in urban area .Crime is the major problem in urbanization. Every citizen should concern about this problem. Bangladesh is a developing country, and it’s an over populated country. Many population involved in different types of crime. Some recommendation are noted here- Urban citizen should concern about urban crime. Government should take different preventive stapes. Crime related journal should broadcast in media. Daily newspapers should publish pure and truthful news. Police has to play an important role to recover crime from urban area. Judicial system will run without political handicapped. REFERENCE Akkas, Ali, Sarkar† Law of Criminal Procedure.† Adler, Freda â€Å"Distinguished professor of Criminal Justice School of Criminal Justice, RutgersUniversity. Mueller o.w, Gerhard â€Å"Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice Rutgers’s university. Paranjape.V.N†Criminology and Phonology 14thedition,Central law publication,107,DarbhangaCastle,Allahbad. islam,aminul†Research Methodology† Chawdhury,Dr,Haider, Criminology. (CIA world Fact book) (Hider 2006): Journal. Mashi and Mashi ,criminal justice. Gumus findings 2004, Journal. Becker view on crime in urbanization (1968-172), Journal. Ijere, N. J. (1994) â€Å"Gender and Rural-Urban Migration in the Ecuadorian sierra† Columbia University Press, Columbia. Jack Harvey, (2000) â€Å"Urban Land Economics† Palgrave Macmillan, Fifth Edition pp 256-257. Jelili, M.O (2012) â€Å"Urbanization and Future of Cities in Africa: The Emerging Facts and Challenges to Planners† Global Journal of Human Social Science, Volume 12 Issue 7.

Pipilotti Rist and Virtual Utopia Essay -- Art

Within new media, there exists the desire and possibility to produce new effects upon the viewer, to grant new experiences. Pipilotti Rist seeks the creation of virtual utopias within the limitations of the video medium in installations such as her recent work at the Museum of Modern Art, Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters) in 2009. The work transforms the typically bare atrium of the Museum of Modern Art into an active environment, where a reciprocal relationship between the viewer and the projection can take place. Communication between viewers also forms an essential component in the work; discourse becomes the mediator in the spectator’s relationship to the imagery. The formal characteristics of the work are crucial in their produced effect upon the audience. It is a four panel screen landscape, whose size of 7354 cubic meters is made referent in the title. Despite its monumental size, the work does not function as an oppressive weapon but rather a positive force, one that is able to free us from our inhibitions. Rist frequently experiments with the various ways in which video can be projected onto surfaces. Though she does not push the technical boundaries of the video medium medium, she nonetheless pushes the limits within video projection. Requiring seven different projectors to be linked seamlessly, her work is a technical achievement for this feat alone. A large circular couch occupies the center of the exhibition space. Its shape is meant to be reminiscent of the human iris, but also bring to mind the iris of the camera as well. The camera is presented as a living eye in her work, capable of bending and twisting, contorting reality in its own light. It is at the same time a sensuous device, one that exp... ...eing an artwork. Works Cited Bickers, Patricia. Caressing SPACE. Art Monthly no. 350 (October 2011): 1-4. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed May 28, 2012). Harris, Jane. "Psychedelic, baby: an interview with Pipilotti Rist." Art Journal 59, no. 4 (December 15, 2000): 68-79. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed May 28, 2012). Hayden, Malin Hedlin. "Pipilotti Rist. Gravity, Be My Friend." Konsthistorisk Tidskrift 77, no. 3 (January 2, 2008): 200-207. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed May 28, 2012). Iles, Chrissie. You are a Queen: The Selfless Spaces of Pipilotti Rist. Pipilotti Rist:Eyeball Massage. Edited by Stephanie Rosenthal. London, UK: Hayward Publishing, 2011. Rosenthal, Stephanie. Be My Friend!. Pipilotti Rist:Eyeball Massage. Edited by Stephanie Rosenthal. London, UK: Hayward Publishing, 2011.

Can a Firemans Ball be regarded as a documentary? :: essays research papers

Can A Fireman's Ball be regarded as a documentary? www.peacefulschoolsinternational.org/sftp/glossary.htm www.filmschools.com/glossary.html www.whitenoiseproductions.com/Glossary.htm www.dvdauthority.com "A film whose narrative is derived from non-fiction and does not feature actors" The ideas for this film came about purely by accident after Milos Forman and his co-writers had retired to the country to think of a proper follow-up film to Loves of a blonde. They decided to take the night off and go to the local Fireman's Ball and on the following evening they played cards with the firemen in this little town in the mountains. Using the time he spent with the firemen, he was able to bring a level of authenticity to the film. "Most definitions delineate documentary as a nonfiction work. Instead of filmmakers conceiving the film's subject in their imaginations, they find the basis of their works in real life and real events." "Instead of providing an outlet from the everyday world, documentary seeks to address our world and to educate us about it." Tries to inform the viewer of life under the Socialist Government. "Documentary subjects come from life, not from the imagination. The subjects chosen tend to possess some kind of cultural relevance, be it historical, social, or scientific." "The word "documentary" is rooted in the earliest, anthropological use of film to "document" or record field work. Now, it can mean everything from a classic documentation of life in a remote part of the world to a filmmaker's personal exploration of any subject under the sun." "Documentary subjects come from life, not from the imagination" "A documentary is a work in a visual or auditory medium presenting political, scientific, social, or historical subjects in a factual and informative manner." It is not a documentary in the traditional sense in that it is staged using scripts and is not outright informative. From the beginning of Milos Forman's career we see the mixture of black humour and observations of everyday life used in his films. A Fireman's Ball has the same type of humour and is based on the lives of a small community and their fire department. All of the firemen seem to be unable to perform their jobs due to their lack of competence. Apart from the fact that the firemen all seem hopeless, the prizes from the raffle keep getting stolen, the beauty pageant is a failure, the old man's house gets burnt to the ground because the firemen can't shovel snow on the flames fast enough and all he gets is the useless raffle tickets, even although this seems dull or sad it is actually quite entertaining and hilarious in some parts.

Will Jamaica Self-Destruct? Essay -- essays papers

Will Jamaica Self-Destruct? Jamaica is an island paradise, located in the northern Caribbean, approximately 145 km south of Cuba and 160 km west of Haiti, with a population of about 2,553,600 million people in 1997 and a land area of 11,000 km/sq. The country has had a low and steady population growth rate of 1.0 percent in 1997. Tourism is Jamaica’s most important industry besides the mining of bauxite (accounts for more than half of exports). It is the country’s largest foreign exchange earner, (generating approximately US$965 million annually) and is still one of its fastest growing industries. These profitable service industries depend on the island and its natural beauty–pure air, abundant sunshine, and clean sandy beaches. This industry is evidence to the close relationship between economic well being and the quality of the natural environment. "You ain’t gonna miss your water, until your well runs dry. No matter how you treat him, The man will never be satisfied." (Bob Marley, 1980) Tourism is both Jamaica’s largest foreign exchange earner and one of its fastest growing industries. A recent environmental study commissioned by the Organization of American States (OAS) surveyed the natural resource base (which supports tourism) and concluded that this base is "heavily stressed" in and around the three main tourist centers (Negril, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios). The problem is that these areas now support large populations of tourists with high-income lifestyles and these impacts harm both the environment and the people of Jamaica. It could also spoil Jamaica and lead to its own destruction of the land and its deeply engrained culture and roots. Jamaica’s natural resources–tropical temperatures, unspoiled beaches, clear C... ...conomy, R 062059Z, July 1994. Government of Jamaica, Organization of American States, Economic Analysis of Tourism in Jamaica, September 1994. Also, visit the web sight http://www.oas.org Health Analysis, Country Health Data of Jamaica, last revised10/19/99, http://www.paho.org/english/sha/prifljam.html. Myers, Fletcher & Morgan, A lawyers Guide to Jamaica, no date, http://hg.org/guide-jamaica.html , 4/2/00. Seagrasses Policy and Regulation natural Resources Conservation Authority Coastal Zone Management Division, April, 1996, http://www.nrca.org, 4/6/00. Water Resources Authority, March 10, 2000, http://www.wra-ja.org/index.htm , 4/2/00. U.S. Department of State, Background Notes: Jamaica, March 1998. Released by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs. No author, U.S. Department of State, March 1998, http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/jamaica_0398_bgn.html

Competitive Landscape in Commercial Real Estate

Home  » Property Types  » Retail  » Clash of the Titans: Regional Mall REITs Fight for Limited Outlet Development Opportunities Clash of the Titans: Regional Mall REITs Fight for Limited Outlet Development Opportunities May 9, 2012 12:54 PM, By Elaine Misonzhnik, Senior Associate Editor In the fall of 2010 executives with Taubman Centers Inc. , a Bloomfield Hills, Mich. -based regional mall REIT, began talking about the REIT’s new avenue for growth: outlet centers. Article Tools ? Latest NewsMore Latest News Taubman had recently completed the conversion of its Great Lakes Crossing property in Auburn Hills, Mich. , a 1. 35-million-sq. -ft. enclosed regional mall, into Great Lakes Crossing Outlets. Taubman was able to sign up many tenants that were not present elsewhere in Michigan, including Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Disney Store Outlet and Rainforest Cafe. Great Lakes Crossing Outlets was attracting both local shoppers and Canadians from across the Detroit River. As a result, the center’s sales per sq. ft. umbers rose significantly, company officials said during earnings calls. The success in Auburn Hills helped convince Taubman’s management to capitalize on additional outlet center opportunities. Besides, in a market saturated with fortress malls and lifestyle centers, outlet centers represented one of the last opportunities for ground-up construction. Robert S. Taubman, the REIT’s chairman, president and CEO, laid out a goal of developing from five to 10 outlet centers in the span of a decade. Among the first such undertakings Taubman pursued was a site in Manvel, Texas, near Houston.The site seemed a good fit for Taubman’s target outlet center sales level of at least $400 per sq. ft. The median household income in Manvel is $65,864 a year, more than $15,000 higher than the median household income for the state as a whole. In addition, the town’s proximity to Houston would give Taubman access to 2 million po tential shoppers. Taubman’s Texas ambitions, however, did not pan out. Both Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, a Greensboro, N. C. -based REIT that specializes in outlet center development, and Simon PropertyGroup, the largest retail landlord in the country in both the regional mall and outlet center arenas, had laid claims to outlet center development sites in nearby Texas City, just 22 miles away. According to brokers familiar with the market, the greater Houston area could not support two, let alone three, outlet centers. In June 2011, Simon and Tanger took a decisive step to win the market by announcing that they would partner to build a 350,000-sq. -ft. joint development in Texas City under Tanger’s brand name. It marked the first joint venture development partnership in Tanger’s history.Ultimately, the two firms decided to work together on one large outlet center rather than spend money fighting each other, says Michael Rodenas, principal with Rodenas Consulti ng, a national consulting firm that specializes in shopping centers and malls. As a result, Taubman quietly retreated from the market. In July 2011, while discussing the company’s earnings for the second quarter, Robert Taubman admitted to analysts that outlets constitute â€Å"a very competitive space. It’s a very competitive world out there in development generally. † He reiterated the company’s commitment to investing in outlet centers both in U.S. and in Asia, but refused to discuss the Texas project. The Houston saga wasn’t the only time Taubman and Simon came to loggerheads in the outlet space. In early April, Simon and Taubman each issued press releases about competing outlet center projects in Chesterfield, Mo. , another market where trade area demographics seem to dictate that only one outlet development can succeed. On Apr. 3, Simon revealed that Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th agreed to anchor its St. Louis Premium Outlets, an outlet center sl ated to contain at least 350,000 sq. ft. of space. (St.Louis Premium Outlets is a product of a joint venture between Simon, Woodmont Outlets and EWB Development LLC, all experienced outlet center developers. ) Two days later, Taubman announced it broke ground for Taubman Prestige Outlets Chesterfield, a 450,000-sq. -ft. center. Taubman’s press release noted that it had firm commitments from a number of tenants, but did not identify any retailers by name. It is likely that only one of those two centers will get built in Chesterfield. â€Å"We’ve said publicly, I think, Simon has said publicly that there is only going to be one project built in St.Louis,† Robert Taubman said during the firm’s first quarter earnings call. â€Å"We are way ahead, on a much better site with much better access, much better visibility. †¦ So to us it’s very clear as to which project is going to be built. † Most industry sources, however, are putting their mone y on Simon because of the firm’s size, its existing network of relationships in the outlet center industry and the fact that it has already bagged a major tenant. The large regional mall players, including Simon, Taubman, Macerich Co. CBL & Associates Properties and others, have all made overtures to enter the outlet space. But with limited opportunities for development and an existing group of experienced landlords already competing there, these battles—competing press releases, wars of words and unconventional partnerships— are likely to continue to play out repeatedly throughout the country. CBL & Associates recently invested in The Outlet Shoppes in El Paso (Texas). Last spring, both Simon and Tanger announced outlet center projects in the town of Halton Hills, a suburb of Toronto.Tanger has since moved its project further away and will build it as an outlet addition to Heartland Town Centre, one of Canada’s largest power centers. Simon, meanwhile, st arted construction on its original site in Halton Hills in April. And in the Chicago area, Macerich and AWE Talisman have announced plans to build a $200 million, 528,000-sq. -ft. outlet center in Rosemont while Craig Realty Group, a privately held outlet center developer, has ambitions to develop Chicagoland Outlets at Country Club Hills, a 408,500-sq. -ft. project.Simon Property Group declined to comment for this article. Tanger, Taubman, Macerich and Craig Realty Group, meanwhile, did not respond to calls for comments. â€Å"The problem is—as we saw when developers started to roll out lifestyle centers—that everyone goes after the same markets,† says Jeff Green, president of Jeff Green Partners, a Phoenix-based consulting firm. â€Å"And many times the newer folks to the outlet industry are going to find that it’s a much harder industry to get into when there are relationships that have been in place for so many years. † In certain isolated inst ances, uch as the one near Houston, two big developers might form joint ventures because one of them holds a better site while the other wields more power with retailers. Such examples, however, will be few and far between, according to Richard Hauer, managing director of business restructuring services at BDO, a New York City-based consulting firm. â€Å"Let me put it this way: Neither Simon nor Taubman is going to build a second-rate outlet mall,† he says. â€Å"So if the first guy can get Coach and Polo and Saks and a few of those names that every outlet mall really wants, you’ll see the other guy back down. Mass appeal The reasons the outlet sector has suddenly become overcrowded are easy to trace. During the downturn, outlet center sales rose while mall sales fell or remained flat because shoppers were suddenly attracted to outlets’ value proposition. What’s more, as these centers moved closer to urban areas and proved that they can work in close pr oximity to regional malls, the number of markets that could support new projects increased. With limited opportunity for growth elsewhere, regional mall REITs began to focus on the outlet sector.Real estate owners that want to gain market share in a new property segment typically have two avenues for growth: either through acquisition of multiple assets or another operating company or though development. But when Simon bought Prime Outlets Inc. in 2010 it snapped up the last big privately-held outlet center operator in the market. Today, â€Å"no private guy controls 20 or 30 centers that could be sold,† says Gerard Mason, executive managing director with Savills LLC. What’s more, there is a wide spread on yields between development and investment.For instance, CBL & Associates, a Chattanooga, Tenn. -based REIT, recently invested more than $108 million to provide financing for two outlet centers developed by Horizon Group Properties, a Rosemont, Ill. -based outlet cent er developer. (CBL has also partnered with Horizon on groundup projects in Oklahoma City and Woodstock, Ga. ) But CBL CEO Stephen Lebovitz admits that development projects offer double-digit returns while investing in existing centers brings returns in the 8 percent range. I would expect that our growth will be mainly through new development,† he says. At the same time, Lebovitz notes that the number of markets in the U. S. that would meet CBL’s development criteria, including a trade area of approximately a million people, a sizeable tourist base and lack of existing competition, is limited. One high-ranking industry source says that for developers targeting outlet center sales on par with Simon’s levels, which average about $550 per sq. ft. , there are maybe 10 untapped markets left that fit the necessary trade area characteristics.For developers targeting Tanger’s sales levels, which currently average $371 per sq. ft. , there are about 40 untapped marke ts. â€Å"But there aren’t 100,† the anonymous source notes. By the end of the 2012, there will be 187 outlet centers containing 71 million sq. ft. , according to Value Retail News, a publication that covers the outlet industry. Linda Humphers, editor-in-chief of Value Retail News, estimates that in the long term, the country may be able to support another 250 centers, but that would include conversions.Occasionally, a developer will be able to find a site in an offbeat location that nobody else has thought about, says Gerard Mason. But for the most part, all the REITs are looking at the same markets, and in many cases, at the same piece of land. â€Å"There is clearly room for growth in the sector—every major metro area can certainly support outlet retail,† says Michael P. Glimcher, CEO of Glimcher Realty Trust, a Columbus, Ohiobased regional mall REIT that also owns outlet centers in Elizabeth, N. J. and Auburn, Wash. I just think the reality is there a re a lot of people in that category and only a small percentage of what’s being announced will actually get built,† Glimcher says. Bloodless war When it comes to handling competition on new developments the big retail REITs have acquired a reputation for being ruthless, employing tactics such as funding community opposition groups to derail each others’ projects, says Patrick Fox, president of Saint Consulting Group, a firm that specializes in zoning and land-use battles. These are mature markets, they are largely over-built and the battle for market share is tremendous,† he notes. But unlike large regional malls that tend to be located in major urban areas, outlet centers don’t normally inspire the same kind of opposition from local residents, according to James Schutter, senior managing director with Newmark Knight Frank Retail, a retail real estate services firm. In fact, many communities want to see outlet centers built because of the tremendous amount of sales tax revenue they bring in. The real battle in outlets’ case is for tenant commitments.Although the outlet industry doesn’t have anchors in the same sense that the regional mall industry does, there are certain key stores that are necessary to attract shoppers and that the rest of outlet retailers follow, notes Hauer. These include Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th, Coach and Polo, as well as Neiman Marcus Last Call and Nordstrom Rack. About a decade ago, Hauer tried to develop an outlet center near Syracuse, N. Y. When he started negotiating with potential tenants the answer was â€Å"if you can get Polo, we’ll sign. Otherwise, we are not interested. †When there are two developers competing to build a center in a market that can support only one project it becomes a race to be the first to announce leases with major tenants. The developers try to convince expanding retailers that their center is the one that’s going to happen by putting out announcements about land permits and ground-breakings. Ultimately, however, it’s the line-up of tenants that determines whose center gets built. â€Å"Developers announce that they will put together a mall [all the time], they don’t always make it happen,† says Schutter. If you’ve got this tenant and this tenant and this tenant coming, the other guys in the marketplace say, ‘Let’s go into this project. ’† â€Å"A ground-breaking is not as strong as being able to announce a strong anchor tenant,† Fox adds. So how do those key retailers decide who to go with when the choice is between Simon and Tanger, or Simon and Taubman or Macerich and Craig Realty Group? After Taubman converted its Great Lakes Crossing project into an outlet center, sales rose significantly.Having the best site certainly makes a difference, which is why Simon may be willing to partner with Tanger if Tanger has secured a better location, according to Mic hael Rodenas. When the projects are in the same trade area, the choice might come down to seemingly small differences like which side of the highway the center will be located on or which zip codes in a given area are missing from the retailer’s customer base. But in the outlet industry, having existing relationships with a potential landlord is also very important, according to Hauer, Green,Lebovitz and others. And in this, Simon, which controls the largest mall portfolio and the largest outlet center portfolio in the country, has a tremendous advantage. That might not come into play as much in the Simon/Tanger relationship because the two REITs specialize in slightly different projects, but it will likely loom large in any battle between Simon and other regional mall REITs. â€Å"If you [as a tenant] get Simon angry with you on the outlet side, they can be angry with you on the traditional retail side also,† says Green. Let’s just say that in that case the dev eloper has a large hammer, a larger hammer than any mall-only developer would have. † That’s why most retail industry insiders feel that while Taubman and the other regional mall REITs will eventually be able to build a handful of outlet centers, they will not be able to break into the business in the big way they had imagined. â€Å"The outlet mall industry is kind of a closed world,† says Schutter. Sidebar: Eastern Promises While U. S. retail REIT executives try to build up their outlet portfolios at home, most of them realize that growth opportunities here are limited.So in recent months they’ve been announcing outlet center projects elsewhere in the world, including Canada, Brazil, Japan, China, South Korea and Malaysia. In April, Simon signed a deal with BR Malls Participacoes S. A. to develop outlet centers in Brazil, with the first project scheduled to be built in Sao Paulo by 2013 and started construction on Phase I of Shisui Premium Outlets, a 234 ,000-sq. -ft. outlet center in Shisui, Japan. Both Simon and Tanger have been working on outlet centers in Canada, including Simon’s 500,000-sq. ft. Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills and Tanger’s 312,000-sq. -ft. outlet addition to Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga. And Taubman executives have told analysts they are looking to build outlet centers in Asia, where Taubman already has offices in Hong Kong and Seoul, South Korea. â€Å"In the U. S. , you are not going to see outlet centers double in number,† says Gerard Mason, executive managing director with Savills LLC, a global real estate services firm. â€Å"That’s why Simon is in Brazil and China.In Brazil they might be able to do 15 outlet centers because their middle class is just emerging and they need shopping centers. † —E. M. Sidebar: Mini-Malls With the increase in outlet centers’ popularity, the concept has evolved to represent something different than a small colle ction of factory stores in the middle of nowhere. In the 1980s and 1990s, the rule of thumb was that an outlet center had to be located at least 70 miles away from the closest phone line, jokes one broker. Today, if a shopper goes to Central New Jersey, â€Å"you have the Freehold Raceway Mall [a 1. -million-sq. -ft. superregional center] and then 10 to 15 minutes away, there is an outlet mall,† according to Richard Hauer. Today’s outlet centers have grown larger, sometimes containing up to 450,000 sq. ft. or 500,000 sq. ft. of space, whereas the outlet centers of yesterday tended to average 150,000 sq. ft. The tenant line-up has changed from manufacturers to big retail chains, many of which, including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Gap, J. Crew and Aeropostale, have established off-price and outlet divisions.Plus, outlet centers now feature mall-like amenities, such as food courts, restaurants and movie theaters, because people are staying on the properties longer than they used to, notes Michael Rodenas. And when CBL & Associates Properties and Horizon Group Properties were working on the plan for The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City, a 350,000-sq. -ft. center that opened last summer, CBL marked land around the property for the addition of restaurants and hotel facilities. â€Å"We feel it adds critical mass,† says Stephen Lebovitz. —E. M.

Nokia’s Blue Ocean Strategy Essay

In today’s overcrowded industries, competing head-on results in nothing but a bloody â€Å"red ocean† of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool. Some Companies are fighting for a competitive advantage or over market share while others are struggling for differentiation. This strategy is increasingly unlikely to create profitable growth in the future. Nokia , the Finland’s falling mobile phone company has seen its market share and share price tumbling dramatically by 90% since 2007 and the company is yet to achieve the comeback it hopes. Instead of competing in such red ocean of bloody competition, Nokia should make smart strategic moves by creating uncontested market space that would make the competition irrelevant. Blue ocean is then concerned with unknown markets where opportunities abound. First of all, this study will critically be evaluating Blue Ocean Strategy by highlighting the six principles that Nokia can use to successfully formulate and execute Blue Ocean Strategies. Secondly, we will be focusing on the comparison and contrast of red and Blue Ocean, and finally, this assignment will concentrate on an explanation of the benefit and problems of Group Work. Blue Ocean Strategy Blue Ocean strategy challenges Nokia to break out of the red ocean of bloody competition by creating uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant. Instead of dividing up existing and often shrinking demand and benchmarking competition, blue ocean strategy is about growing demand and breaking away from competition. This involves creating blue oceans in a smart and responsible way that is both opportunity maximising and risk minimising. Creating uncontested new market space To win in the future, Nokia must stop competing with rival firms in the battle of smartphones because the only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition since the rules of the game are yet to be set. Because operations improve, markets expand, and players come and go, it is a big challenge for Nokia to continuing creation of blue oceans. Here, the strategic move would be the right unit of analysis for explaining the creation of blue oceans and sustained high performance. A strategic move is the set of managerial actions and decisions involved in making a major market-creating business offering. Also, Nokia has to focus on value innovation which is the cornerstone of blue ocean strategy. But again, instead of beating the competition, Nokia should focus on making the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for buyers and the company, thereby opening up new and uncontested market space. Formulating and executing Blue Ocean Strategy  To succeed in Blue Ocean, Nokia has to take into account the principles and analytical frameworks that are essential for creating and capturing the strategy. Nokia’s executives have to be brave and entrepreneurial, they should learn from failure, and seek out revolutionaries. Effective blue ocean strategy should be about risk minimisation and not risk taking. The tools and frameworks presented include: * The strategy canvas: it a diagnostic and an action framework for building a compelling blue ocean strategy which serves two purposes. First, capturing the current state of play in the known market space, allowing you to understand where the competition is currently investing, the factors the industry currently competes on in products, service, and delivery, and what customers receive from the existing competing offerings on the market. Second, Nokia’s executives should fundamentally shift the strategy canvas of its operations by reorienting the strategic focus from competitors to alternatives, and from customers to non customers of the business. * The four actions framework consists of reconstructing buyer value elements in crafting a new value curve. These actions consist of eliminating the factors that Nokia takes for granted, reducing factors well below Nokia’s standard, raising factors well above Nokia’s standard, and creating factors that Nokia has never offered. * The Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create Grid is key to creation of blue oceans. The grid will push Nokia to act on all four to create a new value curve. By doing it, the grid will give four immediate benefits: * Pushing Nokia to simultaneously pursue differentiation and low costs to break the value-cost trade-off. * Lifting its cost structure and overengineering products and services * Creating a high level of engagement in its application since it is easily understood by managers. * Scrutinising every factor Nokia competes on, making it discover the range of implicit assumptions they make unconsciously in competing. An effective blue ocean strategy has three complementary qualities: focus, divergence, and a compelling tagline. To make its competition irrelevant, Nokia should then apply the principles of Blue Ocean Strategy to succeed. Principles of Blue Ocean Strategy Six principles will guide Nokia Corporation through the formulation and execution of its Blue Ocean Strategy in a systematic risk minimizing and opportunity maximizing way. The first four principles address Blue Ocean Strategy formulation. * Reconstruct market boundaries. This principle identifies the paths by which Nokia’s management can systematically create uncontested market space across diverse industry fields, thus attenuating search risk. It will teach Nokia’s management how to make the competition irrelevant by looking across the six conventional boundaries of competition to open up commercially important blue oceans. The six paths focus on looking across alternative industries, across strategic groups, across buyer groups, across complementary product and service offerings, across the functional-emotional orientation of an industry, and even across time. * Focus on the big picture, not the numbers. This illustrates how Nokia’s management can design the business’s strategic planning process to go beyond incremental improvements to create value innovation. It portrays an option to the current strategic planning process, which is often criticized as a number-crunching exercise that keeps companies engaged into making incremental improvements. This principle challenges risk planning. Using a visualizing approach that drives managers to focus on the big picture rather than to be submerged in numbers and jargon, this principle suggests a four-step planning action whereby Nokia could build a strategy that will create and capture blue ocean opportunities. * Reach beyond existing demand. To create the largest market of new demand, Nokia’s management must challenge the conventional practice of embracing customer preferences through finer segmentation. This practice often results in increasingly small target markets. Instead, this principle shows how to aggregate demand, not by focusing on the differences that separate customers but by building on the powerful commonalities across noncustomers to maximize the size of the blue ocean being created and new demand being unlocked, thus minimizing scale risk. * Get the strategic sequence right. This principle describes a sequence which Nokia should follow to ensure that the business model they build will be able to produce and maintain profitable growth. When it will meet the sequence of utility, price, cost and adoption requirements, it will then address the business model risk and the blue ocean ideas it created will be a commercially viable one. The remaining two principles address the execution risks of Blue Ocean Strategy. * Overcome key organizational hurdles. Tipping point leadership shows how Nokia’s management can mobilise an organisation to overcome the key organisational hurdles that block the implementation of a blue ocean strategy. This principle addresses organisational risk. It sets out how Nokia’s executives likewise can overcome the cognitive, resource, motivational, and political hurdles despite limited time and resources in executing blue ocean strategy. * Build execution into strategy. By integrating execution into strategy making, Nokia’s personnel are motivated to pursue and execute a blue ocean strategy in a sustained manner inscrutable in an organisation. This principle introduces fair process. Since a blue ocean strategy by force of necessity represents a departure from the status quo, fair process is needed to facilitate both strategy making and execution by rallying people for the voluntary cooperation required to accomplish blue ocean strategy. It deals with management risk associated with people’s postures and conduct. Red and Blue Ocean strategies Competition-based red ocean strategy assumes that an industry’s structural conditions are given and that firms are forced to compete within them. Simply stated, red ocean strategy is all about outpacing competitors in existing market. The strategic choices for firms are to pursue either differentiation or low cost. Conversely, blue ocean strategy is based on the view that market boundaries and industry structure are not given and can be reconstructed by the actions and beliefs of industry players. Clearly, blue ocean strategy teaches how to get out of established market boundaries to leave the competition behind, making it irrelevant. The table below outlines the key defining features of red and blue ocean strategies.

Proposition 8

Do you believe society should have the ability to determine if same sex partners should marry? Determining your soul partners should be a privilege for all, such as homosexuals, lesbians, gays, bisexuals etc. and not society. Homosexuals are not abnormal humans, so there is no reason to treat them any different, after all they are citizens who oblige to the same jurisdictions. In the brief article, 8 Is Not Hate: The Meaning of a proposition by Jennifer Roback Morse, Morse explains how marriage is a gender-based institution that attaches mothers and fathers to each other and to their children, but I disagree with her theory of marriage.I believe marriage is based on the love, trust, and the ability to provide for one another. If you were brought into this world as a homosexual then who are you to deny marriage to same sex partners, because although you deny marriage to same sex couples they’re not going to change their beliefs and values just because society does not accept th em for who they are. Same sex couples should have the ability to choose their own spouses, without having to deal with ignorant bigots such as those who won’t accept others preferences, because of religious beliefs and values morals.If homosexuals have the same responsibility, consequences, and obligations as straight people then there is no reason to keep marriage away from same sex partner. Being homophobic is having fear of or contempt for lesbians and gays. Proposition 8 is seen as a discriminating proposition towards to gays and lesbians, because same sex couples are judged by almost all who don’t accept their sexual desires.Not only are homosexuals judged but they are also verbally assaulted, physically harmed, and even threatened by homophobic bullies who have hate against same sex couples. I experienced this discrimination and bullying three months ago. I have a co-worker whose name is Rene and that is gay and I got to be good friends with him over the summer. He described how he would go to school and he would have students call him names, and at times physically harm him because of his sexual preference.I asked him when he realized he was gay and he told me he always liked girl accessory for some reason. It’s like if he was born gay so what can he do about it? He is a very confident young man and explained how he wants to marry his boyfriend, so why can’t he choose who to marry his soul mate. I don’t believe anyone should have the ability to decide on other people’s ability to marry, only god can decide that and apparently he doesn’t mind because he put homosexuals into this world so why deny the love they share for each other.If gays/lesbians don’t have ability to decide if straight people could get married then I don’t believe straights should decide who homosexuals should marry. Proposition 8 is denying same-sex partners to marry through civil law then there should be no implementation s on the religious side. Morse also describes how, â€Å"The court changed the jurisprudence of sexual orientation discrimination cases, giving same sex-couples the highest level of protection.This means that in contest between religious liberty and sexual orientation discrimination, religious liberty would almost always lose. † (p. 83) Morse is describing how the court ruled over religion because in reality same-sex couples that get married through civil law have nothing to do with religion. If same-sex partners do not get married under religion, then there is no reason for people who believe in religion and marriage as only heterosexual couples to decide if homosexuals have the ability to marry.In the bill of right of the United States the first amendment states how congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting free exercise thereof. If being a homosexual is a free exercise and no law Is made to respect religion, then there shouldnâ€⠄¢t be a proposition banning the same- sex marriage, because it is only in the bill of rights to do as you please as long as it’s in the jurisdiction bounds. . Our society is not as tolerant as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean it should be tolerant towards certain issues such as the one on proposition 8.Homosexuals will not stop fighting this issue because marriage is a part of life and if religion does not have anything to do with this issue because they are getting married through the civil law, then let them live just like they let us live. Voting no on proposition eight is what everyone should do not only because it’s the right thing to do but also because in the end they will not turn straight just because society does not let them marry. Same-sex couples will not stop fighting this issue that has to do with their realties and not ours, so let them be.

Essay about change Essay

Period 5 Change can be a journey for everyone because the world is constantly changing and we have to adapt to these changes. Sometimes change can be a good thing, like getting a promotion at work. Sometimes change is disappointing or sad, such as a close family member dying. Either way, change is something that happens to everybody all the time. I think that in this era more things are changing more rapidly. This generation has to adapt to many changes in culture and our society. Because things change so rapidly, sometimes you need a chance to slow down and live in the moment. In this essay, I will explore how change is a journey that everyone takes. The first word in the Change category is â€Å"forward.† I think the word can inspire people to change their lives for the better. When you think about the word â€Å"forward†, you picture aptitude and change for a better world. Moving forward in life is about being passionate in what you do. People who don’t have a passion for anything lead boring lives. To move forward you also have to have lots of positive experiences. Being positive is always good for you because if you are negative you can’t have the outlook on life that positive people have. I think the word â€Å"forward† can apply to me because I try to stay positive and passionate in life. The next word that I can apply to my life is â€Å"excitement.† Everyone loves to be excited, because it’s the opposite of being bored, and your brain does not like to be bored. I think that excitement can fuel the brain to do things it would not be capable of in boredom. A lot of life is about being excited. Excitement relates to change because to make any major changes in life you have to be excited, or positive, about what you do. I think the word relates to my life because I am not usually bored. I try to stay emotionally active at all times. The final word I will discuss is â€Å"possibility.† Possibilities in life only come to those who can adapt to changes in the world. People who can find  niches in life and make a profit from them know how to adapt and make possibilities for themselves. Change and possibilities are similar because when things change new possibilities always arise from them. People can apply the word possibility to their lives because possibility is vital to your success as a person. To conclude, nearly everything in life revolves around constant change. A modern example is the stock market, where nothing is really permanent. Another example is death, a natural process of change. Changes also happen within people. As a person grows up and matures, his or her personality changes greatly. â€Å"There is nothing permanent in life except change,† said the philosopher Heraclitus. Some call change or variety â€Å"the spice of life.† Change is the very nature of being. Every new day is different from the previous day. Tides come and go. Sometimes a whole river changes its course. Changes that take place in nature we have little or no control over. However, changes in our personal lives can be manipulated to some extent, and if you’re careful, it can turn out well for you. Change is just a fact of life, and in order to be successful, you must learn to adapt to changes.