Of Mice And Men Essays (1936 words) - English-language Films

Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a story which shows how weak the human trait of loyalty can be if put through the test of time. It shows how people can turn on their family, best friend, and even their life-long companions if they are presented with the opportunity for advancement in life. This novel shows the reader the true animalistic nature of all humans through the use of highly developed characters as well a thoroughly developed story line. George is not a strong man physically, but what he is lacking physically he makes up for in his mentality. Although his abundance of mental strength does not become apparent until later in the story, it is fairly obvious from the beginning that his physical strength is lacking. Lennie, on the other hand, is physically "strong as a bull"(22), according to George, but mentally is a weak as George is physically. Together, as they travel from place to place looking for their chance at making their dream a reality, they use each other's strong points to help them complete the task. Without one another the two characters would have absolutely no chance at success, for what one is lacking the other has an ample amount of. George and Lennie are the perfect example of how opposites attract. The two of them have spent the majority of their adult lives together and know each other better than they know anybody else in the entire world. They share their hard times and the good, their victories and their defeats, but most importantly they share a common dream. That dream is of having "a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs an' live off the fatta the lan'"(14), where Lennie can take care of the rabbits just as George has been taking care of him over the years. This is Lennie's chance to pay George back for all of the kindness that he has had bestowed upon him out of his true love and loyalty towards George. When they arrive at the ranch where they will be working the first person that they meet is an older gentleman named Candy. Candy has lived a long and hard life on the ranch and has nothing to show for it. During his time on the ranch he has lost his hand, grown old, and feels that he has become worthless. The name "Candy" is an interesting one for this character though. When you think of candy you see children eating it while running around in the yard having a good time without a care in the world. This is the exact opposite of what the character in the novel is. The restless demon of age has caught up with him and he is not able to move as fast as he once did; even his dog is unable to ward off the negative effects of time. Candy loves his dog with all of his heart; it has been his best friend for years and according to Candy he has "Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him." (44) Even though he cannot run as fast as in his prime or herd sheep like he did when he was younger Candy loves him just the same. He appreciates all of the joy and loyalty that his once great dog has brought to him during his life and is ready to let his friend now live out the rest of his natural life. Unfortunately that is not the way that some of the other people in the room see it. Carlson feels "This ol' dog jus' suffers hisself all the time. If you was to take him out and shoot him right in the back of the head... right there, why he'd never know what hit him"(45). Carlson even offers to give him a new dog to replace the one that he is about to destroy. The way that Candy sees it is that he is not hurting anyone and that there is no reason to have to end his life prematurely. Even though Candy loves his dog more than anything else in the world he chooses to let someone shoot his dog in the back of the head. After all that they had been through and all the years of loyal service that his supposed best friend had performed for Candy, when pressured into a decision, he chose to defy his loyal companion and make the decision

Definition and Examples of Aphorisms

Definition and Examples of Aphorisms An aphorism is a  tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion or a brief statement of a principle. This is also known as (or similar to) a  saying, maxim, adage, saw dictum, and precept. In The Advancement of Learning (1605), Francis Bacon noted that aphorisms go to the pith and heart of sciences, leaving out illustrations, examples, connections, and applications. In the  article Rhetorical Technique and Governance, Kevin Morrell and Robin Burrow observe that aphorisms are a highly flexible, powerful rhetorical format that can support claims based on logos, ethos, and pathos (Rhetoric in British Politics and Society, 2014). Examples and Observations The word aphorism was first employed by Hippocrates to describe a collection of concise principles, primarily medical, beginning with the famous, Life is short, art is long, opportunity fleeting, experimentation dangerous, reasoning difficult. . . . Eventually, the term was applied to statements of principles in law and agriculture and extended to other areas.(G. A. Test, Satire: Spirit and Art. University Press of Florida, 1991)Sits he on ever so high a throne, a man still sits on his bottom.(Montaigne)If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.(attributed to Jackie Moms Mabley)I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.(often attributed to Voltaire, the words are in fact Tallentyres summary of Voltaires attitude toward Helvetius after the burning of the latters writings in 1759)All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.(James Thurber)The first rule of Fight Cl ub is, you do not talk about Fight Club.(Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden, Fight Club) An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.(H.L. Mencken)Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.(Alice Walker)Your children need your presence more than your presents.(Jesse Jackson)We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.(Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night, 1961) A Five-Part Definition of Aphorism James Geary, in his best-selling  The World in a Phrase [2011],  gives a five-part definition of the form. It must be brief. It must be definitive. It must be personal. (I like his corollary: This is what distinguishes the form from proverbs, for instance, which are really worn-out aphorisms that have had the identity of the original author rubbed away through repeated use.) It must be philosophical. And it must have a twist.(Sarah Manguso, In Short. Harpers, September 2016) The Manipulative Power of Aphorisms Anything that can educate can also manipulate, and anyone selling anything to the public, dictators, CEOs, advertising executives, knows the power of easy-to-remember expressions. I, for one, still believe that It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken. Effective ad copy, of course, doesnt have to be true; it simply has to be catchy. But a well-honed aphorism not only stops us in our tracks; it impedes our moving forward. Even if we dont immediately buy into it, it can still deliver a wallop: There is no female Mozart because there is no female Jack the Ripper, Camille Paglia tells us. Is this worth discussing? Or are we being bamboozled by the phrases conspicuous symmetry? True or not, some aphorisms make it hard to imagine anything better ever being said on the subject. . . . And herein lies the danger as well as the appeal of the aphorism. A statement can be so well put that its cogency is entirely dependent on its formulation, but as soon as we reflect on it we may come to another conclusion.(Arthur Krystal, Too True: The Art of the Aphorism. Except When I Write: Reflections of a Recovering Critic, Oxford University  Press, 2011) The quoting of an aphorism, like the angry barking of a dog or the smell of overcooked broccoli, rarely indicates that something helpful is about to happen.(Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Cant Avoid. HarperCollins, 2007) The Lighter Side of Aphorisms I have been testing the  aphorism, A watched pot never boils. I have boiled the same amount of water in this kettle 62 times. In some cases I have ignored the kettle; in others, I have watched it intently. In every instance, the water reaches its boiling point in precisely 51.7 seconds. It appears I am not capable of perceiving time any differently than my internal chronometer.(Lt. Commander Data in Timescape.  Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1993)

BUSINESS LAW PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BUSINESS LAW - PowerPoint Presentation Example There is no magic in the cooperative way that makes it completely only in the way it is owned and in certain methods of operation. But while cooperative financing is in many ways the same with financing other business, the method of capitalization, the use of capital, and the handling of finances generally in a cooperative have certain distinctive features that must reflect cooperative principles. In other words, you can distinguish a true cooperative by its financial policies as well as other ways. Good financing of a cooperative does not come by chance or accident. It has to be well-planned, completely understood and mutually accepted. The members of the cooperative have the responsibility for financing their own cooperative. This is how they acquire their ownership of the cooperative and the right to control it. Others cannot be expected to take the risk of financing an organization for them. In addition, the members have the responsibility to study very well the financial policies presented to them by the board before approving them. In this connection, they must properly choose the persons who will constitute the memberships in various committees. These are the individuals who will protect the interests of the members. Separate legal entity and Limited liability are not applicable for the ownership of cooperatives.

Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Equity and Trusts - Essay Example In fact, trust has been a rather conspicuous beneficiary of equity since the former is an invention of the latter2. Generally, trust laws are applied in situations in which an individual places trust and confidence in another or others to handle or manage his/her affairs. While the law of equity governs the individuals entering such relationships, the law of trust offers the mechanisms for dealing with the different situations and circumstances of such relationships including pension funds, family relationships and charities among others. Although most cases such as estoppels and secret trusts allow the courts to easily deal with the formalities of property laws, there are certain unique and technical situations and terms with which one needs to be conversant to understand trust law3. Trust law, whose applicability may start before or after a trust commences has the objective of clarifying the activities and purposes for which trusts are created. The validity of trusts may be depende nt on the nature of its creation, whether an oral declaration or an instrument created in writing such as a will or a codicil. Additionally, a trust may be created by a mere conduct, without involving any technical expressions or activities. However, unit trusts, real property trusts and non-charitable purpose trusts

Martin Luther Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Martin Luther - Essay Example In his early life, Martin Luther dedicated himself considerably to the monastic life. His journey to create the foundation for a religious movement within the Catholic Church and generally within Christendom started when he joined the Augustinian friary in Erfurt, Germany. He established a strong movement in Germany that would later be duplicated and repeated in other parts of Europe. This led to the start and growth of a backlash against the corruption that was rampant in the old church (Bishop 1). It should be noted that the Protestant Reformation was a protest for reform in the church; the movement led by Martin Luther strongly disputed the claim made by the then church leaders that freedom from punishment for sin by God could be bought with money. According to his interpretation and understanding of the bible, he believed that the leaders of the old church were misleading the congregation for their own selfish purposes. It is on the basis of this that Martin Luther sought to refo rm the church by providing teachings and interpretations that he deemed to be factual and right. He taught that salvation is received as a free gift of the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and not earned by good deeds as claimed by the leaders of the old church (Mullet 27). Martin Luther was dedicated to challenging the primacy of authority of the Roman Catholic Church at the time. He began challenging this authority by questioning the understanding of the origins of salvation, which he argued cannot be found in the hands of human beings or in membership within a religious institution (Mullet 20). He provided a new understanding of salvation which he said was grounded in faith in Jesus Christ and was only granted through the God’s grace. Also, he challenged the over indulgences by the church leaders which he argued would set the stage for religious or spiritual confrontation. His message resonated well with majority of the

Language Death: Cultural Issue Or Moral Panic?

Language Death: Cultural Issue Or Moral Panic? The use of English as a spoken and a written language is a fast and growing trend and most countries have been adopting English even in official documents and people are not speaking their native language but increasingly communicating in English in a globalized society. As expressed by researchers, Americanization is a fast and dominant trend and countries are adopting English in schools, offices and media, TV and also music and entertainment. Movies in certain countries are made in English or with English subtitles although English may not be the native language. This means that the minority languages are dying out drastically and this radical change is language has to be noted and important theme among linguists. Language death is widespread as many language are being replaced by English and English is now taking over all other languages as people around the world find it easy to communicate in one language. With globalization, the rate of language becoming extinct continues to in crease alarmingly and will possibly continue to increase in the future. 2)What is language death? According to David Crystal, a language dies when nobody speaks it anymore. Krauss (1992) establishes three types of prognosis for language death and provides the characteristics that would define language death in a specific way, with the prognosis being the probability of continuation or that a language would continue to be used and when it doesnt it is considered dead, or that a language would degenerate to some other language and this degeneration implies that language would get distorted or mixed with other language and finally disappear or the possible rejuvenation of a language which means an old or dying language would be rejuvenated or revived to a new language. Language death occurs when languages become moribund' and a language is no longer learned or spoken as a mother tongue by children and this sort of language that is not used has been considered as doomed to extinction. A language may also be Endangered and although still learned and used by children would likely to cease to be learned by children during the coming centuries so these are endangered. These two categories of languages that are either moribund or endangered according to Krauss make for 90% of the worlds languages and only remaining 10% or 600 languages have been defined as safe, and these are languages that are neither moribund nor endangered and are not in immediate danger of extinction or death (Krauss, 1992). 3) Brief history of language death There could also be certain status issues in language as seen in case of certain languages such as Irish and Sanskrit these are spoken only by traditional people and the modern or urban citizens of either Ireland or India do not speak these languages. In some cases traditional language is spoken by tribes or people of lower socio economic groups and speaking these languages could be associated with low socio economic status as members of high socioeconomic status tend to adopt language that have global appeal such as English. According to Krauss (1992) there are 6900 languages spoken around the world and 3000 of these will not be spoken by the end of the next century and will thus be considered dead or extinct. Language death could have many factors as seen in the history of language and the endangering of language is due to a lack of speakers or there could be less government support in keeping the language from extinction. The threat to language is the pressure to give in to globalization and standardization as using one standard language has become the norm. It has been estimated that the number of English speakers worldwide was 4 million in 1500 although by 2000 the number of English speakers would be 1 billion across the world Otto Jespersen (1938/68). There are speakers of English as a first or native language, speakers of English as a second language and speakers of English as a foreign language. (Pennycook,1994). Language death has been traditionally due to language being lost or not spoken in family and informal situations and this inflicted the death of the language or replacement with another language in church, legal and other official situations. Traditionally language has also died when a majority of their speakers die due to natural disasters or genocides and similar conditions. For instance language spoken in El Salvador such as Lenca and Cacaopera are already extinct and Pipilonly is another language that has a few remaining speakers but there is a gradual shift towards adopting a language that others speak and understand and Spanish and English are becoming popular with older traditional languages becoming extinct in central and South America (Krauss, 1976). In Ceylon there has a death of the traditional Tamil languages with English being used instead and a scholar Sir Arunachalam commented that The root of the evil in Ceylon is that the vernacular is neglected. In Africa, there is a gradual extinction of many tribal languages as these small tribes speak these languages extensively and many of these tribal members are remote from other human habitation and with their death due to harsh African conditions or poverty, ther e would be no one left to speak these languages. 4) Why is language death an important issue? Language death is an important issue as language is related to culture and cultural identity and loss of linguistic diversity could also be a loss of diverse cultures. The issue thus goes beyond language and touches on problems with culture as specific languages would have specific expressions and with the loss of language there would be a loss of such specific expressions and this means that there will also be a loss of knowledge or every few people would be able to relate to cultural knowledge or transfer certain cultural idioms and expressions to the next generation. These cultural expression would then die and a culture itself would die when language dies. Although this sort of scenario may be extreme, these are possibilities and to preserve culture, it would be necessary to preserve language and that is how language death and its analysis and knowing its causes and possible means of preservation of language or prevention of language death could also be studied along with this. D ixon (1997) has suggested that smaller societies and even tribes dealing with minority languages have complex hierarchies and communal relations and associated complex pronoun structures which may not be completely grasped or interpreted with a majority modern language. According to researchers, there is also a feeling of loss of valuable cultural components and information through the process of colonization and modern day globalization. 5) What is the relation between culture and language? Language and culture are related as cultures and cultural identities are expressed with language and expressions that are peculiar to a language and with the loss of different languages it would be difficult to pass certain cultural nuances to the future generations as certain expressions are unique to certain cultural patterns. Language does not exist separate from culture but is an integral aspect of culture and when a language dies it also adversely affects the culture as the culture which is based on the language is suddenly usurped by some other language and this would mean that the cultural basis or roots are lost. It is important to preserve language to preserve culture. 6) Should language death lead to moral panic? It is an open question whether language death is a cultural issue or whether it should lead to moral panic. If cultural identity is to be preserved, language death would definitely mean that there is a death of culture and diversity in this world. The colonisation and globalization issues could be issues of morality as imperialism itself raises ethical questions on whether a foreign culture or language has a right to claim ownership or whether it could completely usurp or conquer other cultures. These are problems that will become even more relevant in a globalized world with increased connectivity when there are practical advantages of speaking in one language. 7) Conclusion Language death is an important both as a moral and cultural issue as languages are an integral part of cultural identity so language and culture are related significantly. People identify with a culture they belong to and thus they also identify with a certain culture and feel a sense of belonging to a group or society or even when they speak a language which is common in a cultural group they identify with the language as well. Other issues apart from culture, society, globalization that will be linked to language death would be morality when a minor language or culture is usurped or conquered by a global or stronger language. In the future a majority language could completely overshadow a minority language. Problem of Oversupply in the Office Market: Solutions Problem of Oversupply in the Office Market: Solutions Proposed Office oversupply solution. Businesses are developing very quickly in the UK and around the world; the shapes of businesses in the world are changing and evolving very quickly. In this assignment we will try to find out long-term and short-term solutions to the problem of oversupply in the office market. Before we can propose the solutions we need to understand how the problem has evolved and the differences between the traditional and modern needs of businesses that resulted from the change in businesses themselves. Traditional definition of office: Office is the physical place from which a company performs its functions. Why firms need an office? Offices are important in order to prove to the stakeholders of the company that the company exists and have a usual place. Offices are normally where staff work and perform their duties. Offices are a place of holding meetings with clients and suppliers. Traditional criteria in choosing the location of the office: In the past, choosing the location of an office was related to many factors, I would mention the most important of them here: Exchanging information with peer companies: in the past, acquiring information was one of the most important issues in building a competitive advantage, companies used to locate their offices close to each other in order to exchange information about pricing, market conditions, supply and demand, for example, in the city of London and New York most of the financial companies were located in central London and Manhattan around the central banks and the stock exchange. Offices are usually located where customers are: companies used to locate their offices where they can meet their customers and know about them more information, for example, the offices of car insurance companies are in the cities where they can meet people and talk to them directly face to face and feel their needs. Offices of one company are close to each other: offices of one company are chosen to be very close to each other in order to depend on each other, exchange goods and services and make it easier to meet and discuss important strategic issues.  Ã‚   Legal relationship between the landlord and the company: The legal relationship between the office owner and the company that occupies the office is usually defined in the lease. What is the lease? GE Capital definition of the lease is that: â€Å"Lease is a legal agreement between the property owner and tenant stipulates the conditions under which the tenant may possess the real estate for a specified period†. Normally, the lease is a long-term relationship between the two parties; this long-term relationship involves financial commitment from the property occupier. Who can afford the lease? The above definition means that the property occupier is traditionally an established business with stable or growing client base and sales in order to meet the financial obligations of entering into the lease. Lease is the most expensive item after the cost of labour. Why small businesses usually fail? Most small businesses have cash flow problems resulting from their obligations to pay their employees, landlords and creditors. Small businesses usually do not have stable cash inflow while they have increasing cash outflow. Long term lease or business rents contribute to the dilemma of the small businesses by not giving them contractual flexibility when signing their lease agreement. Main text: What has been changed? Businesses themselves are in constant change in the world, when businesses change all the functions that are related to them change too such as offices, labour, and markets. Economic factors: I will mention below the most important factors that have change businesses and in turn changed the demand for offices: The world economy depends more than ever on small firms: countries like UK, US and the rest of Europe have established initiatives in order to promote innovation and entrepreneurship; this means that the world economy depends increasingly on small firms that have the potential to grow into medium and large sized firms or diminish. A consequence of having many small firms is that these small firms cannot commit themselves to long-term lease contracts. Information technology: the spread of information technology has made communications between different parts of the business easier, conferences could be held by using telephone conferencing facilities and life video recordings. Consequences: the consequence of information technology on businesses is that many different offices of the company do not have to be close to each other, many companies are choosing to locate their headquarters in remote areas where they can save huge sums of money on paying less rent. Huge banking business lines such as Barclay Card are located outside London in Northampton. Internet: the Internet did not only change the way of doing business but also created new businesses online: many businesses do not need a physical place anymore to operate.   Consequence: the consequence of the Internet on office demand is deep; the Internet has made the demand on office substantially less. Flexible labour: the ups and downs of the recent business cycles are more extreme than ever before, a slowdown in the economic activity could cause the dismissal of hundreds of thousands of employees, while an economic boom requires thousands of employees, companies need flexible offices in order to change the size of the office as soon as possible, companies may need to double their space in 2 months or cut half their space in less than a month. Consequence: the result of the variability in the economic cycles required commercial property providers to be able to meet their clients’ needs by changing the space of the office. Contraction in clerical work: at the beginning of the last century there was an enormous clerical work, all the companies that were working in this field had offices and employed too many people which needed space, the computer and the internet had made clerical companies unviable and forced too many companies to close, this had caused a contraction in the needed space for clerical work.   All the above factors have helped in the drop in the demand for offices in the big cities such as London and New York. There is a clear imbalance in the property markets in many capital cities and especially in London. The problem determination: Residential properties are getting very expensive and many people are buying them in order to make capital gains on them while the revenues from commercial offices are getting less attractive. Office suppliers are taking huge space in order to build offices that are left empty or partially used.    There are many vacant office spaces in London. The reasons for this problem is the fact that office suppliers did not pay attention to the changes to businesses needs in the UK. Office suppliers are still providing inflexible offices for established large and medium businesses and not for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Proposed solutions: There are long-term and short-term solutions to the problem of office oversupply. We will demonstrate below the importance of each one of them in meeting the changing business needs. We cannot apply long-term solutions straight away because of the nature of the property market. Property building is a long-term process; we cannot change the whole on going building work all of a sudden; that’s why we need to differentiate between long-term and short-term solutions. Short-term solutions: Introducing long-term inflation-linked leases: regarding the buildings that have been built and do not meet the current market needs, Property Suppliers could offer many businesses which have stable market share to sign a long term lease by linking the lease rate to the inflation rate. Linking these lease rates to inflation is very important in recession times where the prices of the companies’ products go down while the cash-out flow stays constant for a long time. These type of inflation-linked products could encourage also many large companies to sign up for bigger buildings in case they needed more staff.   Provides contractual flexibility for medium size companies: provide managed offices: research shows that 70% of businesses have at least one empty desk all over the year, the average cost of this empty desk is  £18,000 each year including central heating, this has created the need for elastic buildings, Spencer, J (no date given), these flexible offices are designed to provide medium term (3-5 years) or even short term office space solutions without the financing and the operational risks associated with long-term conventional needs, managed offices provide phones and Internet to all offices, the building has very small offices and very large offices, this would give small companies the opportunities to move into a bigger office as soon as they expand, this type of office is convenient for small companies which could dismiss or recruit staff in the foreseeable future. Subletting: property providers could give their tenant the right to sublet the property if their business has contracted or if they expanded and they need to move to a bigger building.   Providing Unbundled offices for small businesses and entrepreneurs: as we have discussed above, offices are used for many different things such as holding meetings, having physical presence and working from the office: small businesses and entrepreneurs may need only to hire some elements of the traditional office such as meeting rooms and using the address for sending and receiving mail, this has left the door open to introduce virtual offices which are flexible unbundled products (offices), virtual office provide flexibility and reduce rent rates by 40% and 60%, Grand,C (no date given).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Virtual offices do not only reduce the costs of establishing small and entrepreneurial businesses but also can be used by many entrepreneurs and reduce the required size of land that is necessary to build offices. Changing building types: building type could affect prices and capacity directly, in this section I will explain the most important changes to building types: Building skyscraper: when property suppliers build skyscrapers they can use every square meter of the land to build as many offices as they can this can reduce the cost of buying the land compared to the number of offices that they can build, skyscrapers create the sense of communication between the companies that occupy it, skyscrapers contain many small and medium size offices, this will give small firms the chance to lease offices in them. Environmentally-friendly buildings: the environment is a concern for many businesses, governments and individuals; building environmentally friendly buildings means using less cement and depending more on glass, this can changed the shape of the buildings and the cost of the building as well, glass is cheaper than cement because it can be recycled there are huge amounts of glass every where which can be recycled, recycling glass is cheaper than manufacturing glass, this can make the buildings look very modern and become cheaper for small businesses which are looking for an office to rent, glass as well is very energy efficient because it traps the heat inside the rooms, this will make the cost of electricity bills much less than normal, buildings of glass need shorter time to build. Cogeneration potential: cogeneration is generating electricity and heat by installing a generator in the building; this generator runs by gas. The government is sponsoring an initiative in order to encourage office providers to design the building in a way to install micro-CHP (combined heat and power), the building which is designed to contain CHP is different from the building that does not have CHP, the building which is designed to have a CHP must have extra space for huge boiler and steam pipes and a generator, installing CHP in offices can help companies cut their electricity bills substantially, CHP generates electricity depending on gas and supplies electricity to all offices directly, the building which have CHP are more likely to sell electricity to those that do not have CHP through the distribution network, this could be a profit offsetting the reduction in the durations and prices of lease.   Corporate hotels: building corporate hotels can provide very important solution to the office market oversupply; these hotels provide short-term accommodation to businessmen who would like to come to a short business trip to cosmopolitan cities such as London, New York and Hong Kong. Corporate hotels provide fully flexible accommodation in offices that are equipped with the latest communication technologies. Long Term: Changing land use: As we have already pointed out, prices of residential properties are going up constantly and there is a housing crisis in London and major cities of the World (New York, Honk Kong). The solution to this problem may be in redistributing the land between offices and residential areas. As we have already seen from the above analysis, there is an over-supply of offices in the UK and many other parts of the World as a result of changing business needs. Companies that need to get offices in the cities are mostly small companies that are looking to grow. Large businesses are making use of the technological advancements that have happened in the last fifty years in order to move to bigger buildings outside the city. Large businesses find it more cost efficient to move to bigger buildings outside the city, the fixed costs of these companies will drop substantially plus the cost of labour outside major cities will be much less than average.    Large businesses make use of video-conferencing and intranet, information technology in contacting other parts of their business or their suppliers and customers. Offices providers should build more large offices outside the city in order to meet the requirements of large businesses. The change in land use includes giving less land to parking in office buildings in the city: The pollution caused by cars are a major cause of climate change, the UK government in its white paper took the responsibility for reducing CO2 emissions, this includes reducing the number of cars used in the city and encouraging using renewable resources as a fuel for cars. The government had imposed the congestion charge as a way to reduce traffic in the city and encourage people using public transportation. This entails building offices with fewer parking spaces than usual. There is enough land to strike a balance between the residential property market and the commercial property market. Commercial properties have to be more concentrated on a limited size of land; building skyscrapers and building more small and medium offices for small companies and entrepreneurs could do this. The rest of the land has to be redistributed to residential properties in order to build more houses and lower the prices of residential properties. New York Experience: New York has a fantastic experience in the offices markets; New York started building skyscrapers a hundred years ago as a way of hosting thousands of small and medium companies that are trying to make success. The prices of land in New York are not as expensive as the prices of land in London but even though New York businessmen found that building skyscrapers will make the cost of having an office cheaper and this will give New York businesses in a better position compared to their London counterparts. New York has used short-term leases and flexible office space as a way to utilise the empty space that the city had. Not only those, but also the prices of New York residential property are cheaper than the residential property of London. Price competition in New York is a way of solving office market oversupply. Hong Kong Experience: Hong Kong is the major player in Asia; this city has witnessed very impressive economic growth rates in the last century. We will try to find out how the offices providers have responded to the increasing demand of offices in that city. Hong Kong has responded to office oversupply by creating the elastic buildings, which could give small businesses the chance to move to bigger or smaller offices as soon as the size of their business expands or shrinks. Honk Kong encourages elastic buildings because they encourage investors to invest their money in Honk Kong. Honk Kong is an emerging market and international investors want to enter and exit the market as required, the elastic building has given them the flexibility in exiting and entering the market and dropped the requirement of capital investment in leases in order to establish a presence in that city. The elastic building helped to solve the problems of office oversupply and undersupply. The city of Hong Kong has introduced corporate housing which is a fully furnished apartment equipped with information technology in order to give the businessman the chance of working from home without hiring an office and wasting time travelling from one area to another. The corporate housing has created an ideal housing for businessmen who came to Hong Kong in order to explore the possibilities of establishing business their. Corporate housing is a major competitor to business hotels, corporate houses have created a very flexible office space, and this has helped in solving the problem of office oversupply. The city of Hong Kong is full of skyscrapers in order to maximise the number of offices built on every square meter of the land. Conclusion: This research has looked at the office market oversupply from economic viewpoint as well as building viewpoint. Introducing flexibility in the contractual relationship between the landlords and the hiring companies and taking into consideration the environmental concerns in building offices can find solutions to office market oversupply. The solution is a mix between changing contractual relationships and building types. The lease has to be flexible in order to fit the requirements of small businesses. Short-term solutions include being aware of the environmental concerns; building environmentally friendly offices can be used as a competitive advantage in order to market these offices. This environmental competitive advantage can be used in increasing demand for offices and making more profit by reducing the costs of heating and building the property. It is very important as well to build more offices outside the major cities in order to meet the needs of large businesses. Office market supply depends on the general economic activity, there is no solution to office market oversupply or undersupply but there are some tools that may help reduce the cyclical effects of the economic activity on the office market. Reference: Grand,C (no date given): Virtual Office: Risk Management, Security, Control and Auditing, institute of internal auditors. Spencer, J (no date given):   The ‘elastic building’ can help you s-t-r-e-t-c-h- your budget

Puerto Rican Identity Found in Music During Colonial Rule :: Culture Cultural Music History Essays puerto Rico

Puerto Rican Identity Found in Music During Colonial Rule Music played an important role in the history of Puerto Rico and helped shape the Puerto Rican identity. As a colonial possession, Puerto Rico was denied many rights which could have hindered its social progress, if not for its people’s ability to legitimize and become proud of their existence through less traditional ways. In America people can be proud of their history, or their economic and technological advancements as a country, or the legislative records of their elected representative. Whereas, in Puerto Rico, â€Å"the pride of each town was too have a good band† (Glasser, 34). The difference in the two countries’ priorities can be easily understood in regards to the political, economic and social freedom of their people. Americans have had power to control their lives in ways that Puerto Ricans have not. Puerto Ricans could not build their identity on declarations and constitutions or the theoretical equality between men, because they did not exist i n Puerto Rico. To compensate for their oppression â€Å"musical training and performance were valued... as much as public service† (Glasser, 35). Puerto Ricans who migrated to America in the decades following occupation found conditions which were very similar to the ones they left behind. Within Puerto Rico and through the diaspora, Puerto Rican culture and identity was kept intact because of the increased importance music assumed. The invasion of Puerto Rico by America soldiers, and the occupation which followed, opened the door for Puerto Ricans to migrate north who sought better employment and opportunity. â€Å"Music had always been extremely important to Puerto Rican life† which made it quite difficult for Puerto Ricans to leave (Waxer, October 29). In one Puerto Rican house, â€Å"music was breathed in the mourning (and) was eaten for breakfast† (Glasser, 31). A few Puerto Rican musicians enlisted in the army at the request of James Reese Europe (Glasser, 54). After the war they, and their music, migrated to America, which gave many Puerto Ricans courage to migrate as well. â€Å"Many people persisted in believing that where their music and entertainers could travel, so could they† (Glasser, 200). As migratory numbers increased, New York eventually became the â€Å"economic capital of Puerto Rico† (Glasser, 92). Music became an essential link to Puerto Rico, for the immigra nts in New York who sought â€Å"tangible proof of their continuing culture† to feel connected to their native land, (Glasser, 130).

American Revolutionary War and Common Sense Essay

Many students feel they know about the American War for Independence, but few understand how complex the arguments were and how long the war lasted. In your studies this week, what impressed you about the formation of the American nation? Was there anything presented in the material that you had not thought about before? What do you think about the way that Keene showed both the Patriot and Loyalist experiences during the period? After completing our reading for this week assignment, I learned a great deed; it was very interesting understanding the American Revolution and the War for Independence. There were many events that led the American colonists down the road to Revolution and their War for Independence (1775-1783). The British Parliament, in retaliation for the events surrounding the Boston Tea Party, had passed a series of punishing laws which the American colonists called Intolerable Acts. The Americans had argued that they were not afforded the same rights as the British. But the British ignored their protests, passing laws and demanding new taxes such as the Tea Tas. The basis for the legal argument of the Americans was that the 1689 English Bill of Rights had put into place a constitutional form of government in which the rights and liberties of the individual were protected under English law. The American colonists protested that were not afforded these privileges and that the British had abused their rights and liberties. After the issue in Lexington and Concord, the Americans knew that they had to fight for their own freedom so many battles took place afterwards but Thomas Paine’s â€Å"Common Sense† showed them how urgent it really is to win the Revolutionary War. â€Å"Common Sense† is a 46 page long pamphlet talking about how King George III has wronged the colonists, how the government and humanity were different, and his pamphlet also had religious influences and several other factors in it. After Common Sense was published it was sold 500,000 times within a year and it opened the colonist’s eyes. Overall many different aspects incensed the colonists and made them to rebel against Great Britain. The American Revolution was an effect of taxation, restriction of freedom and passing on of colonial political ideas. If these three cases wouldn’t have taken place the Colonists and Great Britain might not have separated from each other. The militias were the first to grasp the importance of firing from concealed locations and then retreating to take up new positions in which to fire from, at Lexington and Concord. A chapter discussing the American â€Å"Art of War† and its champion General Charles Lee and its protagonist General George Washington (the personal relationship between Lee and Washington would deteriorate early in the way over the issue of the militia’s use). Lee found that hit and run tactics were very effective and noticed their impact had upon British mentality. American militias fighting in this style would allow the British to roam amongst the countryside, but the psychological effect on the British proved to be tremendous as an early form of insurgent warfare. On the other hand Washington disagreed with the militia style of warfare and believed America could not afford to allow the British to run at will in the countryside. He preferred the European style of fighting, where soldiers fought side by side. During the Battle of Bunker Hill, the militia proved capable of fighting in the European style, by fighting from prepared positions of earthworks and trenches. This laid the foundation for the Continental regulars as they would be better disciplined to fight in this fashion. However, for Washington to achieve this, he would have to wait years until the American mentality could be trained to accept the ridged soldier’s life, whereas the British were already disciplined professionally by comparison. As problematic as the militias were, they did have many redeeming qualities. Throughout the course of the war the numbers of American troops in the regular army always remained small, but when the British army lurked near for a fight, American commanders could call out for the militias help. This swelled the American ranks by as much as couple of thousand. In this way the militias proved a valuable asset, as it left the British constantly guessing to the real numbers of their opponents they faced on the battlefield. When I think of the militia, the bible verses that touches me the most is Deuteronomy 31:6, â€Å"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.†

20150630 750 Disc Essay

20150630 750 Disc Essay 20150630 750 Disc Essay The project I am working on at Mayo Clinic deals with improving flow within the Supply Chain Management Department. Specifically, I am working with the Master Data Management and Sourcing Pricing Quoting teams to document current flow and resource use to better determine a smoother system and uncover any gaps in research and processing. In healthcare there is a continual push for optimization and SWOT and force field analysis provide a valuable assessment of opportunities and barriers to change. Through this project I’m gathering data through SWOT and force field analysis before studying a focus group comprised of members of both teams. The SWOT and force field analysis provide the framework of opportunities through strengths and pushback from having weaknesses and opposition to change. 1) Define the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats based on your analysis of your project. Explain your answer. Our strengths are determined by current elements and behaviors that boost our performance. After talking with several colleagues, one of the primary strengths within our department is proved success and a good reputation built from an experienced staff and involved leadership. Mayo is currently considered number two in healthcare supply chains according to Gartner. Another important strength is having the resources to make change. As a major healthcare supplier Mayo Clinic not only has purchasing power, they have the ability to work with development and build software that directly fits our organization. Weaknesses have to do with issues and behaviors within our organization that reduce or quality of care. We identified several weaknesses when thinking about how our teams work together and some barrier to change. Communication is a weakness among our supply chain. Although data travels quite well among teams communication about policy and procedure updates is not communicated or updated appropriately on team websites. Another weakness is trust among teams and team members. There is a lot of repeated verification of data as is flows through the system creating a lot of rework. Opportunities provide possibilities to make change developments that improve quality, efficiency, or lower costs. Several opportunities have also become apparent as the discussion has been opened up among teams. As both teams are newly staffed, there is a lot of opportunity to see how changes in the system can produce more efficient processes. We have also determined that defining roles and cross training could be very beneficial and support flexibility. Threats are influences that pose barriers to maintaining or improving the current state. Threats among our work teams include product disruptions for end users and decreased internal customer satisfaction as well as improper data reporting which can be very costly during annual audits. There are several other threats includ ing buying inaccuracy, and volunteerism among team members to embrace change and take on responsibility. 2) What are the opportunities for change? There is an opportunity for flow improvements as well as cross-training to improve data determination from end users. Mapping out the flow and identifying the best research tools to gather up-to-date, accurate information from within our system and from vendors should help to improve internal customer experience as well as build trust and teamwork. The goal is to reduce the time it takes from request submission to access to items. There is a secondary opportunity for developing better teamwork and communication through this process and outlining responsibilities. 3) What are the driving forces

Free Essays on John Donne And Metaphors

The use of metaphors can greatly influence the effectiveness of an author’s message, when used correctly. John Donne turns this tool into an art form in his poetry as he weaves absurd relationships between two or more seemingly unrelated ideas. Not only does this make his poems much more entertaining but it also helps to express his ideas in a very vivid manner. This helps the reader to relate to and more fully understand the complexity of the feelings being expressed. One good example of Donne’s use of absurd metaphors is in the poem entitled â€Å"The Flea†. In this poem the flea is used in a humorous matter in order to down play the female’s reluctance to give up her virginity. In lines 1 and 2 Donne begins by telling the female how unimportant her virginity is. In order to back this up he continues by presenting the first, and main, metaphor that the flea is sex between these two lovers. At first this seems absurd but it is made to work by Donne laying out plainly how he came to the conclusion that the flea is the same as sex. In line 4 the point is made that when the flea bit the male and the female the bodily fluids of the two were immediately mixed within the flea. Donne goes on to tie in how this proves that sex between the two will not be a big deal by saying, â€Å"Thou know’st that this cannot be said a sin, or shame, or loss of maidenhead† (lines 5-6). He also points out that the flea did this without the permission of either of them and did nothing to court them. Donne’s use of metaphors continues in the second stanza as the female is about to kill the flea. The death of the flea is portrayed as a tragic event, compared to killing three people at once. It can be argued that this is a reference to the holy trinity, which makes the metaphor even more absurd and also makes it that much worse to kill this flea. In lines 12-13 three more metaphors are stated as the flea is compared to â€Å"you and I†, ï ¿ ½... Free Essays on John Donne And Metaphors Free Essays on John Donne And Metaphors The use of metaphors can greatly influence the effectiveness of an author’s message, when used correctly. John Donne turns this tool into an art form in his poetry as he weaves absurd relationships between two or more seemingly unrelated ideas. Not only does this make his poems much more entertaining but it also helps to express his ideas in a very vivid manner. This helps the reader to relate to and more fully understand the complexity of the feelings being expressed. One good example of Donne’s use of absurd metaphors is in the poem entitled â€Å"The Flea†. In this poem the flea is used in a humorous matter in order to down play the female’s reluctance to give up her virginity. In lines 1 and 2 Donne begins by telling the female how unimportant her virginity is. In order to back this up he continues by presenting the first, and main, metaphor that the flea is sex between these two lovers. At first this seems absurd but it is made to work by Donne laying out plainly how he came to the conclusion that the flea is the same as sex. In line 4 the point is made that when the flea bit the male and the female the bodily fluids of the two were immediately mixed within the flea. Donne goes on to tie in how this proves that sex between the two will not be a big deal by saying, â€Å"Thou know’st that this cannot be said a sin, or shame, or loss of maidenhead† (lines 5-6). He also points out that the flea did this without the permission of either of them and did nothing to court them. Donne’s use of metaphors continues in the second stanza as the female is about to kill the flea. The death of the flea is portrayed as a tragic event, compared to killing three people at once. It can be argued that this is a reference to the holy trinity, which makes the metaphor even more absurd and also makes it that much worse to kill this flea. In lines 12-13 three more metaphors are stated as the flea is compared to â€Å"you and I†, ï ¿ ½...

Disseration Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disseration Analysis - Assignment Example The paper "Disseration Analysis" based on published literature and established facts derived from evidenced researches, this analysis interprets the requirements in the form of four main hypotheses. Research based on quantitative data obtained using Guskey’s model has been used for the purpose of evaluating impact of teachers’ professional development on student achievement. Based upon the results obtained from our study, the most important derivation is that of goal clarity for teachers, which provides a base to frame and achieve school’s basic objectives, a point advocated in literature studied. Secondly, the practices implemented for this purpose did not cover all required aspects of professional development. Nevertheless, participation in planning was high. However, study indicated low correlation with actual intended outcome, i.e., enhanced student learning. These findings underpin the need for this study to evaluate the impact of teachers’ profession al development on student achievement, which further signifies the role of teachers’ development in students’ overall improvement.

European Environmental Agency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

European Environmental Agency - Essay Example We are a main information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public" (p.1). The agency works towards reaching its primary goals in the following ways; "By providing a wide range of information and assessments of: The state of the environment and trends, Pressures on the environment and the driving forces behind them, Policies and their effectiveness and Outlooks/scenarios," (EEA, 1995-2008 p.1). Further promotion of the works of the group come with, "The European Environmental Agency (EEA) Scientific Committee has called for the suspension of the EU target of 10% biofuels use in transportation by 2020, and is recommending a new, comprehending scientific study on the environmental risks and benefits of biofuels," Further elaborating that, "The Scientific Committee assists the management board and executive director of the EEA by providing scientific advice and delivering professional opinions on any scientific matter in the areas of work undertaken by the Agency. The committee comprises 20 independent scientists from 15 EEA member countries, covering a variety of environmental fields," (Green Car Congress 2008, p.1). Each individual organization has a listing of primary responsibilities that are the primary focus for the organization, as well as the body of memb