Shakespeares Othello - The Character of Iago Essay

The Character of Iago In Othello, by William Shakespeare, one of the most intriguing characters is Iago. At first glance he seems to be pure evil, but I think his actions are much more complex. Through thought-out words and actions Iago is able to manipulate others to do things that benefit him and move him closer to his goals. This character is consumed with envy and deceit that leads to theft and killing. Iago is the main driving force in this play, pushing Othello and the other characters towards their tragic endings. Iago is not your ordinary villain. He is smart and an expert judge of peoples character and uses this to his advantage. For example, he knows Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and figures†¦show more content†¦Roderigo remarks. That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse as if the strings were thine. Throughout the play Iago leads Roderigo by the collar professing his hate (of) the Moor and telling Roderigo to make money so that he can give gifts to Desdemona to win her heart. Throughout the whole play Iago is taking those gifts intended for Desdemona and keeping them for himself. Roderigo eventually begins to question the honesty of Iago saying, I think it is scurvy, and begin to find myself fopped in it. When faced with this accusation, Iago simply offers that killing Cassio will aid his cause and Roderigo blindly falls for it. I have no great devotion to the deed, and yet he has given me satisfying reason, says a foolish Roderigo. And with this deed, Roderigo is le ad to his own death by the hands of honest Iago. Cassio, like Roderigo, follows Iago blindly, thinking the whole time Iago is trying to help him. In reality Iago is plotting the demise of his supposed friend Cassio. On the night of Cassios watch, Iago convinces him to take another drink knowing that it will make him very drunk. Cassio follows along despite saying, Ill dot, but it dislikes me. A crafty Iago is able toShow MoreRelated The Character of Iago in Shakespeares Othello Essay1145 Words   |  5 PagesThe Character of Iago       The old clichà © One bad apple ruins the bunch is what enters ones mind when discussing the villainous, deceitful, protagonist Iago in Shakespeares tragedy Othello. It is amazing how one person alone can completely destroy, or deteriorate a group of good natured, trusting, loyal peoples lives in a matter of days- three to be exact. What is the motive behind Iagos heinous, selfish acts, one may ask? A rather obvious theme in the Shakespeares tragedy, OthelloRead More The Character of Iago in Shakespeares Othello Essay1620 Words   |  7 PagesThe Character of Iago in Othello   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the play Othello, the character Iago plays a paramount role in the destruction of Othello and all of those around him.   Some critics state that Iagos actions are motiveless and that he is a purely evil character.   However, during the course of this paper, certain motives for Iagos actions will be discussed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For the first motive to be understood the reader must become knowledgeable of Othellos heritage and the setting of the play.  Read More The Character of Iago in Shakespeares Othello Essay1865 Words   |  8 PagesThe Character of Iago in Othello      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No one has ever failed to appreciate the skilled art with which Shakespeare has defined the characters of his plays; great and small alike, their distinctiveness, their dignity, their misery, and their integrity are captured and displayed.   In particular the depiction of certain characters in Othello have been universally acclaimed.   Identified by many scholars as one of Shakespeare great tragedies, along with Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear,Read More Shakespeares Othello - Character Development of Iago, Desdemona and Othello1052 Words   |  5 PagesCharacter Development of Iago, Desdemona and Othello  Ã‚   The three characters of Iago, Desdemona and Othello are gradually revealed to the audience as Act One unfolds. All three are linked to one another and talk to and about each other. Their characters unfold through their interaction with others and how they behave in isolation. The first impression formed of Iago comes from what Roderigo says. Being gullible, Roderigo has given Iago his purse. A character who accepts an offer like this isRead MoreEssay about Character Study of Iago in William Shakespeares Othello1225 Words   |  5 PagesCharacter Study of Iago in William Shakespeares Othello In Othello, Iago works to bring about the downfall of the characters that he hates, particularly Othello and Michael Cassio. In order to do this, he uses not only the weaknesses of his victims, but their strengths and good qualities as well. Iago says this about Desdemona: So will I turn her virtue into pitch, And out of her own goodness makes the net That shall enmesh them all (Act 2 Scene 3) Read MoreThe Evil Character of Iago in Shakespeares Othello Essay630 Words   |  3 PagesIago is a complex character that takes evil to a whole new level in the 1600’s and plays a key role in this tale. Iago’s main goal is to get Othello and Cassio out of the army, but in the end fails to ruin Cassio’s life, only Othello’s. He uses many characters to his advantage, realizing how trustworthy and oblivious these people are. Iago cannot be relied on and has many masks, behind which he hides. He has many disguises and secrets that he hides from everyone and his acting skills come in handyRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Iago In William Shakespeares Othello705 Words   |  3 PagesKarla Morales GRASP 10/23/17 Iago is the most interesting character in Othello, by William Shakespeare. With his carefully thought out plans, he is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that helps him and moves him closer towards what in his mind is revenge against Othello. He is the main antagonist in this play, pushing Othello and everyone else towards their end. Iago manages to commit all seven deadly sins. He constantly uses his good reputation for dishonorable purposes. His talentRead More Comparison of an Evil mastermind in Shakespeare’s Othello and MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)1433 Words   |  6 PagesIago is one of the most renowned villains of pre-modern literature, as first introduced in Shakespeare’s Othello. His deceiving personality and complex nature is painted such that readers are amazed by his ingenious schemes. At the beginning of Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is represented as trustworthy and honest, but readers soon realize that h e is the opposite of what he seems. Even though Iago’s personality and thoughts are revealed less in MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)Read MoreOthello: Good vs Evil1525 Words   |  7 PagesMain Characters William Shakespeare’s Othello is a classic depiction of a struggle between good and evil. In the play,, the characters are faced with the choice to either conquer or succumb to the overpowering force of evil. Shakespeare places his characters on a sort of spectrum in which a character’s amount of god or evil can be represented by a shade of color: black representing pure evil, white representing absolute goodness, and a shade of grey exemplifying the nature of all characters thatRead MoreOthello Character Analysis1678 Words   |  7 Pagesdrama. Shakespeare’s masterpieces and tragedies such as Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet caused a remarkable turning point in English literature as whole, and English drama in particular.His play Othellois one of his unforgettable tragedies. The play of Othello is the finest example of Shakespeare’s poetic and narrative style. Thus, Shakespeare is known as the most influential dramatist whose tra gedies found the way to interact with the audience.Shakespeare’s Othello is about

Stem Cell Research, Ethics And Policy Essay - 2393 Words

Introduction Stem cell research and engineering is a widely disputed topic that often divides people in science, ethics, and religion. In order to fully understand the controversy surrounding this area of scientific research and discovery, one must be informed as to what stem cells are. In the article, â€Å"Human Embryonic Stem Cells: Research, Ethics and Policy†, stem cells are described as â€Å"primitive cells with the capacity to divide and give rise to more identical stem cells or to specialize and from specific cells of somatic tissues† (Wert 672). Essentially, stem cells can potentially provide an unlimited supply of cells that could form some or all body cells. This ability to transform into different types or all types of cells depends of the type of stem cell, which can be divided into embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells (Bishop 1). Embryonic stem cells are extracted from preimplantation embryos and are pluripotent, meaning they possess the ability to form cells of all tissues in the adult human body. Adult stem cells, however, are limited to what tissues they can transform into. Currently, our research and understanding of embryonic cells is finite, yet it is evident that the development of this research could have a significant impact on our treatment of various diseases, disorders, and cancers. Conflicting opinions and scrutiny surrounding the ethics of embryonic stem cell research delay the development and expansion of embryonic stem cell research. Many whoShow MoreRelated Politics and Stem Cell Research Essay examples850 Words   |  4 PagesPolitics and Stem Cell Research The President’s Council on Bioethics published â€Å"Monitoring Stem Cell Research† in 2004. This report was written in response to President Bush’s comments regarding research of human stem cells on August 9, 2001. President Bush announced that he was going to make federal funding available for research that involved existing lines of stem cells that came from embryos. He is the first president to provide any type of financial support for the research of human stem cellsRead MoreLegal Issues Regarding Stem Cell Research1666 Words   |  7 PagesStem Cell Research Legislation and Legal Issues: A stem cell can be described as the primary building block of the human body and have become important because of its ability to develop into a different cell type. Due to this ability to develop into different cell types, scientists have continued to build up ways to use stem cells to renew or repair damaged tissues or organs. As a result of such efforts, its expected that stem cell research can contribute to the discovery of new therapies forRead More The Ethics of Stem Cell Research Essay1005 Words   |  5 Pages While some people might say that stem cell research is immoral and unethical, others believe that it is a magical solution for almost any problem, thus leading to a very controversial issue. Scientists have been searching for years for ways to eradicate incurable diseases and perform other medical procedures that yesterdays technology would not fix. With the rapidly arising, positive research on stem cell technology, the potential that exists to restore any deficienc y is in the same way, likelyRead MoreEssay on Stem Cell Research: Should it be Permitted?868 Words   |  4 PagesStem cell related diseases affect over 100 million americans (White). Right now, there are plenty of government funds for stem cell research, and if we continue on the same path as we are now, stem cell research should be successful; however, the ethics used for embryonic stem cell research are incomprehensibly horrific (Stem cell policy). If this continues to be funded, it could have answers to numerous major diseases, including why they are caused, prevention, and cures for the diseases. MoreRead MoreStem Cell Research Summary Article1058 Words   |  5 PagesStem Cell Research Summary Article By Lizika Marrà ©e-Mills What are stem cells? Stem cells are identical cells that can characterize into specialized cell types. Most stem cells come from two main sources; embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. 1. TwoTypesofStemCells a. Embryonic stem cells i. These are pluripotent cells. This means their main function is to make any other cell in the body. These cells are made from ones found in early human embryos, which are called blastocysts. ii. EmbryonicRead More Embryonic Stem Cell Research Essay1451 Words   |  6 Pagestechnology has allowed for a new understanding of stem cells and further developments in research. The use of stem cells in regenerative medicine may hold significant benefits for those suffering from degenerative diseases. To avail such advancements in stem cell research could see the alleviation or complete cure of afflictions that take the lives of millions worldwide each year. (McLaren, 2001) A stem cell 1 is able differentiate into any somatic cell found in the human body, including those identicalRead MoreEthical Issues Related to the Cloning Debate1389 Words   |  6 Pagesbiology and future biologist, this question also has personal relevance. Our science is evolving at a rapid pace. As human cloning becomes increasingly possible, it is important that we analyze the ethics of cloning so that judicious public policy can be created. It is therefore my position that research into cloning should continue to fulfill the fundamental goals of scientific exploration and to explore the possibilities that cloning might have in terms of benefitting human society; on the otherRead MoreThe Evolution Of Stem Cell Research1334 Words   |  6 PagesAdult Stem Cells Imagine if you could save the life of a child with cancer, correct a man’s paralysis as a result of a stroke, or give a woman who suffers from infertility the gift of life. At the present time there is no cure for terminal diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s, Type I diabetes, spinal cord or brain injuries. The possibility has presented itself by perfecting the use of adult stem cells. Throughout the evolving technologies and experiments, medical researchers have discovered theRead MoreStem Cell Research: The Debate Over Federal Funding Essay899 Words   |  4 PagesEmbryonic Stem Cell Research: Pro-Federal Funding The Alliance for Aging Research is a non-profit organization that promotes the use of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. As an agency geared toward improving the health of human beings as they age, some of their responsibilities include lobbying for federal legislation, conducting studies and surveys, and creating and distributing educational materials to health care professionals and the public. With Baby Boomers closely reachingRead MoreStem Cell Research And The Arguments For And Against Its Development999 Words   |  4 Pages15010 Millican, Nikki K. SN 30 April 2015 [STEM CELL RESEARCH: AN UNDERSTANDING OF CONTRAVERSY] The meaning of stem cell research, and the arguments for and against its development â€Æ' Nikki Millican Chief Kamman Legalman Accession 15010 29 April 2015 Stem Cell Research: An Understanding of Controversy Stem cells make up every organ and tissue that reside inside the human body. These cells help to regenerate and replace defective tissues and cells that are injured and destroyed within our body

Beauty salons and barbershops free essay sample

According to Mangum women usually go to beauty salons and men usually go to barbershops purportedly for the same reason: to avail herself or himself of professional personal-grooming services to enhance her or his appearance. That is not to say that this is a gender issue. Gender has nothing to do with a person’s choice to go to a beauty salon or a barbershop. Rather, it has something to do with the experience and the results that person wants to achieve. A barbershop is typically a place of peace and tranquility; there’s little noise here—except, perhaps, the one coming from a television set or the occasional rustle of a newspaper. I cannot think of anything more relaxing than spending 20 minutes on getting a shave. Whether you are a fearless captain of industry or a shrewd political operative, having a virtual stranger hold a sharp blade to your throat requires a calm attitude. We will write a custom essay sample on Beauty salons and barbershops or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page You are virtually helpless, and that feels good sometimes. You are forced to go with the flow.A beauty salon, on the other hand, is generally filled with conversation, jokes, and stories. The music is playing and the hairdresser might suddenly break out into song. Machines designed to help create beauty are boisterously doing their job, from hair blowers to that steam thing, for which I have yet to understand its purpose. I find it difficult to believe that it is relaxing to have your hair wrapped in dozens of pieces of aluminum foil or other such things. The customer may be asked to constantly choose a particular shape or color.Beyond the experience and the environment, beyond the basic idea of personal grooming, the beauty salon, and the barbershop have different purposes.A person comes into a beauty salon with the expectation of not only being groomed but of receiving a certain â€Å"style.† Barbers remove extra hair from your head and face; beauticians create and give the customer a â€Å"look.†I frequent a barbershop called â€Å"Royal Cut. † My barber Jun cuts and shaves like a woodsman, removing an unwanted tree with precision and brute force. My wife’s hairdresser is like Pablo Picasso, figuratively flinging paint on the canvas to create a masterpiece.Look at a dozen men leaving the barber shop and you will notice that they all look pretty much the same: neat, trim and groomed. Look at a dozen women leaving the beauty salon, and each would be disappointed if they don’t look somewhat unique.

Prop. 209 Essays - Social Inequality, Discrimination,

Prop. 209 On November 5, 1996 we will have the opportunity to have our voice heard when we go to the polls on election day. Not only will we be able to vote on who will be the next U.S. President, but we can also help determine the fate of issues that will help shape the future of our state, from water to healthcare to campaign reform to minimum wage. One of these Proposition is number 209. Prop. 209 will restore our historic Civil Rights Act that proclaims simply and clearly: 3The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group, on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public employment, public education, or public contraction.?(Ballot pamphlet) Prop. 209 will generally prohibits discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employmnet, education, and contracting. A yes vote on this measure means the elimination of affirmative action programs for women and minorities that the government runs. It will save $125 million annually by elemating programs that the state uses to inforce affirmative action. These savings can be used for other, more constructive programs to help elimate discrimination. Maybe other Propositions on the ballet can use the extra funds. I think that ending affirmative action will be the right thing to do. It ends government-sponsored discrimination by rejecting quotas, preferences and set-asides. My brother had a run in with affirmative action. After attending a junior college and getting a 4.0 there he transfered to U.C. Davis for Pre-Med school. Two years later he applied to Davis1s Medical school and was rejected because there were to many white students in the college. He was then told to wait an entire year and apply again. Instead he moved back to our home town of Bakersfield and became a farmer with my Father. He had the grades and the chance to become a very successful docter. Now he is a farmer, far from the E.R. room. Not every white person is advantaged like most think. We are all individuals. Real 3affirmative action? originally meant no discrimination and sought to provide opportunity. The only honest and effective way to address inequality of opportunity is by making sure that all California peoples are provided with the tools to compete in our society. Then let them succeed on a fair, color-blind, race-blind, gender-blind basis. Vote fairness...not favortism.

app;ication essay essays

app;ication essay essays Because I have chosen Law Enforcement for a career, I feel that Middleville College is the best place for me to get my education because of the excellent reputation your program has as well as the talent of your instructors. I have already experienced much in my area and feel that this institution will give me the opportunity to gain more knowledge and use it in the field. I have tried to get as much exposure as I can in Law Enforcement. Currently, I am enrolled in a Law Enforcement course at Capitol Area Career Center, which I enjoy very much. While there, I have become a leader in the classroom. I enjoy participating in class discussions and have much to add to them. Recently, I was named Student of the Month for CACC. I feel your exceptional instructors can fully reinforce the valuable knowledge I have learned here. In my effort to learn as much as I can about my chosen field, I accompanied my uncle Dan Jackson, a crime scene investigator, in a ride along. I gained much information about the work that being a protector entails. I observed a murder investigation in detail. This experience, though it could discourage others, reinforced my drive to become the best police officer I can be. By accepting me into your program you will gain a student with the passion to succeed. Since I was small, I have dreamed of becoming a police officer. Coming from a family with Law Enforcement in its veins, I believe I have what it takes to join my uncles in a field where the main concern is protecting others. You will also gain a leader with unconditional devotion to the field. I will become active on campus to not only broaden my horizons, but help others who share my passion for Law Enforcement. I will strive to be the best student I can be, and I wont give up until I have achieved my dream. Thank you for your consideration. ...

Rosalynn Carter Quotes

Rosalynn Carter Quotes Rosalynn Carter, US First Lady 1977-1981, was an active campaigner for her husband, and an advisor and consultant to him. She managed the family business during much of his political career. Her focus as First Lady was mental health reform. Selected Rosalynn Carter Quotations Do what you can to show you care about other people, and you will make our world a better place. If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you cant accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through. A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they dont necessarily want to go, but ought to be. Times of upheaval require not just more leadership but more leaders. People at all organizational levels, whether anointed or self-appointed, must be empowered to share leadership responsibilities. There is clearly much left to be done, and whatever else we are going to do, we had better get on with it. I think I am the person closest to the President of the United States, and if I can help him understand the countries of the world, then thats what I intend to do. I had already learned from more than a decade of political life that I was going to be criticized no matter what I did, so I might as well be criticized for something I wanted to do. Jimmy will let me assume as much responsibility as I will.... Jimmy has always said that we the children and myself can do anything. Jimmys sister Ruth was my best friend and she had a picture of him on the wall in her bedroom. I just thought he was the most handsome young man Id ever seen. One day I confessed to her that I wished she let me take that photograph home. Because I just thought I had fallen in love with Jimmy Carter. (About her husbands naval service when he was away at sea) I learned to be very independent. I could take care of myself and the baby and do things that I never dreamed I would be able to do alone. (About her role in the familys peanut and warehouse business) He asked me to come and keep the office. And I had a friend who had taught an accounting course in the vocational technical school and she gave me a set of accounting books. I began to study accounting. I began to keep the books. And it was not too long before I knew actually as much or more about the business on paper than he did. There was no way I could understand our defeat. I had to grieve over our loss before I could look to the future. Where could our lives possibly be as meaningful as they might have been in the White House? If we have not achieved our early dreams, we must either find new ones or see what we can salvage from the old. If we have accomplished what we set out to do in our youth, we need not weep like Alexander the Great that we have no more worlds to conquer. You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still dont win, at least you can be satisfied that youve tried. If you dont accept failure as a possibility, you dont set high goals, and you dont branch out, you dont try you dont take the risk. Dont worry about polls, but if you do, dont admit it. Informed journalists can have a significant impact on public understanding of mental health issues, as they shape debate and trends with the words and pictures they convey.... They influence their peers and stimulate discussion among the general public, and an informed public can reduce stigma and discrimination. There is nothing more important than a good, safe, secure home. (President Jimmy Carter about Rosalynn Carter) Theres very seldom a decision that I make that I dont discuss with either to tell her after the fact what Ive done, or, very frequently, to tell her my options and seek her advice.

Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Smoking - Essay Example This paper describes three major facts associated with smoking in order to persuade smokers to get rid of their smoking habit. Amina Khan in her article, â€Å"Joe Paterno has lung cancer: What are the risks?†, published in Los Angeles Times on November 18, 2011, says the reasons for the lung cvancer caused to former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. Joe Paterno has been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer recently. She has pointed out that Paterno has never been known as a smoker. In her opinion, â€Å"The most common risk factor for lung cancer is a history of smoking -- even if a patient quit decades earlier. Its not uncommon for patients to quit and think theyre no longer at risk† (Khan). Brizer (2003) has also mentioned the association of cancer with smoking. â€Å"German researchers proved the association of cancer with smoking† (Brizer, p.21). Even though smoking can cause different types of physical diseases such as heart attacks, cancers, cough etc, Lung cancer seems to be the most dangerous disease associated with smoking. It is estimated that tobacco contains more than 4,000 chemicals which may cause different types of diseases to the smoker and the secondary smoke breathers. Ammonia, arsenic, carbon monoxide, and benzene are some of the toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke. Out of these 4000 chemicals, 43 can cause cancer disease. In fact 86% of all deaths caused by smoking is due to lung cancer (Smoking Cessation). Seventy-seven percent (482) had a smoking history while 11.3% (71) were current smokers. The length of smoking cessation to cancer diagnosis was

The Omnivores Disgust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Omnivores Disgust - Essay Example Choice gives us ‘autonomy, freedom, adaptability’ (Fischler 1988), but we must incorporate variety, because of ‘An omnivore, unlike a specialized eater, cannot obtain all the nutrients it needs from one food’ (Fischler 1988). The healthy human diet depends on diversity, but our paradox is that to stay healthy, humans must remain suspicious of possibly dangerous substances. The dilemma follows: we must orally incorporate sustenance, but, as Rozin reminds us, ‘it is not possible to specify in advance what sensory properties will characterize sources of nutrition (or toxins) in any particular environment (Rozin 1987). Thus, it was historically important that humans learn patterns of rejecting potentially poisonous food prior to allowing it to breach the barrier of the mouth. Modern eaters seldom face this aspect of the dilemma. Humans have already identified the edible and inedible substances in their environment. Food can be contaminated or spoiled, and ‘All domestic animals are potentially hazardous to human health’ (Harris 1998), but modern cooks are usually aware of how to store, prepare, and cook to eliminate this problem. Prepared food has symbolic magic qualities as â€Å"the mythical representation of nature-culture transformation’ (Falk 1991). Food is removed from a raw, untamed state and made edible in a symbolic cultural sense. How can we reject it when it has clearly been made—transformed—into food? There is nothing inherently wrong with it. Humans have learned they can eat bitter foods like coffee and that even painful foods like chiles have beneficial effects, such that they ‘delay food spoilage...make the dwellers of scorching climates sweat in a way that cools them off†¦supply essential micronutrients and protective antioxidants’ (Nabhan 2004).

Libraries, Documentation and Cross Referencing Essay Example for Free

Libraries, Documentation and Cross Referencing Essay One of the requirements for the final report in this course is to find and use information in external sources—either published, unpublished, or both. Of course, you might feel that your project needs no external information—that you already know it all. However, you should be able to identify information that you dont know and that needs to be in the report. For example, imagine you were writing backup procedures for running some sort of high-tech equipment at your workplace. Sure, you may be able to operate the thing in your sleep, but you may not know much about the technical processes or scientific principles behind it. And of course, it could be argued that such discussion is not needed in backup procedures. Background of that sort, however, might indeed be useful. Instructions often benefit by having this kind of background information—it can give readers a fuller sense of why they are doing what they are doing and a way of knowing what to do in case things go wrong. And of course, its important to have some experience using the library and other information sources in a more professional, business-like manner. In freshman writing classes, for example, writers are not challenged to push the librarys resources for all its worth—which is normally what typically happens in a technical writing project. Descriptors and Keywords. Another big issue when you begin your library search is finding those words and phrases that enable you to find the books, articles, reports, and encyclopedias that have all that information you need. Sometimes its not so easy! A keyword (also called a descriptor) is a word or phrase under which related information sources are listed. Imagine youre writing a report on the latest theories about the greenhouse effect: youd check book catalogs and periodical indexes for greenhouse effect, hoping to find lists of books or articles under that keyword. But that might not be the right one; things might be listed under the keyword global warming instead. So how do you find the right keywords? Here are some suggestions: Try to find any book or article on your topic—anything! Then explore it for the vocabulary it uses. In particular, check its listings for titles of other books and articles. Youre likely to find words and phrases that are the common keywords. Where to stop. If you faithfully go through the following suggestions, youre likely to have a long list of books, article, reports, and other sources—more than you could ever read in one semester. What to do? First of all, dont back away from at least knowing whats out there on your topic. Once you start looking at your list, youll see many things that seem to duplicate each other. If, for example, you have five or six books with roughly the same title, just pick the one that is the most recent and that seems the most complete and thorough. Many other sources will branch out into subtopics you have no interest in. And of course many of the items wont even be available in any nearby library or bookstore. Finding Information Sources Once youve convinced yourself that you need to go after some external information sources (if you havent, get in touch with your instructor) and have found some pretty reliable keywords to use, its time to start the search. Where to start though? The logical starting point is whichever information source you think is likely to have the best stuff. For hot, late-breaking topics, articles and proceedings (talks given at conferences that are published) may be the best bet. For stable topics that have been around awhile, books and encyclopedias may be better. However, if youre not sure, you may want to systematically check a number of the common types of information sources. Internet Resources Its increasingly possible to do much if not all your information gathering on the Internet and particularly through the World Wide Web. Books One good starting place for your information search is books. If you do all these searches, youre likely to end up with a monster list of books. No, you dont have to read every one of them. In fact, you may not be able to lay your hands on most of them. Check the list and try to find a book that seems the most recent and the most definitive. (Check tables of contents and indexes to see which are the most thorough, complete, and authoritative.) And, no, you dont have to read all of it either—just the parts that relate directly to your topic. As soon as you can, try to get your hands on as many of these books as you can. Check their bibliographies (list of books, articles, and other information sources consulted) at the end of the book, at the ends of chapters, and in footnotes. These will be good leads to other books that your other searches may not have found. Also, while youre in the stacks, check the books nearby the ones you have on your list; you may see other ones that could prove useful. Magazine and Journal Articles. While books give you fairly stable information and often at a higher level of generality, magazines, journals, and newspapers often give you much more specific, up-to-date information. There are two ways to approach finding journal articles: through general indexes and through specialized indexes. Here are some strategies for finding articles: Check several general indexes for your topic. These indexes cover a broad range of magazines and journals—they are more popular and are for general audiences and therefore cant be relied on specialized, technical material. Still, they are a great place to start, and if you are not being very technically ambitious with your report, they may supply you with all you need. At ACC, the general indexes include Readers Guide to Periodical Literature. Try finding your topic in the most recent volume of each of these (unless you have a topic that was hot several years ago, in which case youd want to check the index volumes for those years). Try to find a good specialized index for the field that is related to your topic. As with books, you wont be able to read all of the articles you find, nor will you even be able to get access to them (or at least right away). Try finding and reading the abstracts of the article on your list; this is a good way to get a brief picture of what the article contains and whether it will be useful to you. Just try to find the articles that relate directly to your topic, and read them selectively when you get them. Encyclopedias Another good source of introductory information is encyclopedias. You can use these either to get yourself up to speed to read and understand the more technical information you come across, or you can use the encyclopedia information itself in your report (in which youll need to document it, as discussed later in this appendix). Check for your topic in a general encyclopedia, using all the various keywords related to that topic you can think of. As with periodical indexes, encyclopedias are available in general and specialized varieties. Youre familiar with the general encyclopedias such as World Book Encyclopedia and the Britannica. And of course a number of encyclopedias are now available online in CD-ROM format (however, the content of most of these seems rather slight compared to the printed versions). These are great for starters, and in some cases they may provide all the information you need in your report. Also, check any bibliography—lists of related books, articles, and reports—that may be listed at the end of individual articles. Also try to find an appropriate specialized or technical encyclopedia in which to search for your topic. You may need more technical detail, or your topic may be a tough one not covered very well in general information sources-in which case you may want to consult specialized encyclopedias. Even in this group, there are general ones that cover a broad range of scientific and technical fields. Reference books—handbooks, guides, atlases, dictionaries, yearbooks. Another source of information reports is all those reference books out there. Every field has its handbooks (repositories of relatively stable, basic information in the field), guides (information on literature in the field, associations, legalities, and so on), atlases (more than just maps, great repositories of statistical data), dictionaries and encyclopedias, and finally yearbooks (articles, data, and summaries of the years activity in a given field). You look for them in the catalogs: when you look up your topic, youll find entries for these sorts of reference books as well as for the books mentioned earlier in this appendix. DOCUMENTATION When you write a technical report, you can and should borrow information like crazy—to make it legal, all you have to do is document it. If your report makes you sound like a rocket scientist but theres not a single source citation in it and you havent even taken college physics yet, people are going to start wondering. However, if you take that same report and load it up properly with source citations (those little indicators that show that you are borrowing information and from whom), everybody is all the more impressed—plus theyre not secretly thinking youre a shady character. A documented report (one that has source indicators in it) says to readers that youve done your homework, that youre up on this field, that you approach these things professionally—that you are no slouch. Number System of Documentation In the number system, you list your information sources alphabetically, number them, and put the list at the back of your report. Then in the body of your report, whenever you borrow information from one of those sources, you put the source number and, optionally, the page number in brackets at that point in the text where the borrowed information occurs. What to Document This question always comes up: how do I decide when to document information—when, for example, I forgot where I learned it from, or when it really seems like common knowledge? There is no neat, clean answer. You may have heard it said that anything in an encyclopedia or in an introductory textbook is common knowledge and need not be documented. However, if you grabbed it from a source like that just recently—it really isnt common knowledge for you, at least not yet. Document it! If you just flat cant remember how you came by the information, then it has safely become common knowledge for you. One other question that is often asked: do I document information I find in product brochures or that I get in conversations with knowledgeable people? Yes, most certainly. You document any information, regardless whether it is in print, in electronic bits, magnetic spots, or in thin air. How to Place the Source Indicators Its a bit tricky deciding exactly where to place the source indicators—at the beginning of the passage containing the borrowed information, at the end? If it makes sense to attribute the source (cite the name of the author or the title of the information), you can put the attribution at the beginning and the bracketed source indicator at the end (as is shown in in the following). Number documentation system: the code numbers in the text of the report are keyed to the references page. For example, [6:5] in the middle of the page from the body of the report indicates that the information came from source 6 (in References), page 5. Notice the attribution of the quotation marks the beginning of the borrowed information and the bracketed source indicator marks the end. Setting Up the Sources List A bit more challenging is setting up the list of information sources—that numbered, alphabetized list you put at the end of the document. The best thing to do is use examples. The following illustrations show you how to handle books, government reports, article from magazines and journals, encyclopedia articles, and personal interviews. Internet and Web information sources Books For books, put the name of the author (first name last) first, followed by a period, followed by the title of the book (in italics if you have; otherwise, underline), followed by a period, followed by the city of the publisher, followed by a colon, followed by the publishers name (but delete all those tacky Inc., Co., and Ltd. things), followed by the year of publication, ending with a period. In this style, you dont indicate pages. Example: book entry Magazine and journal articles Start with the authors name first (last name first), followed by a period, then the title of the article in quotation marks and ending with a period, followed by the name of the magazine or journal (in italics if you have it; otherwise, underline), followed by a period, followed by the date of issue of the magazine the article occurs in, followed by the beginning and ending page. If the article spread out across the magazine, you can write 33+. or 33(5). The latter style seems to be taking hold; in it, you estimate how many pages the article would be if it were continuous. If there is no author, start with the article or book title. If there are two authors, add and and the second authors name, first name first. If there are too many authors, use the first one (last name first), followed by et al., which means and others. [pic] Example: magazine entry Encyclopedia articles Encyclopedia articles are easy! Start with the title of the article in quotation marks ending with a period, followed by the name of the encyclopedia (in italics if you have it; otherwise, underline), followed by the period, then the year of the edition of the encyclopedia. [pic] Example: encyclopedia entry Reports. With reports, youre likely to dealing with government reports or local informally produced reports. With most reports, you may not have an individual author name; in such cases, you use the group name as the author. For government reports, the publisher is often the Government Printing Office; and the city of publication, Washington, D.C. Also, for government documents, you should include the document number, as is shown in the following example. [pic] Example: entry for a report Personal interviews, correspondence, and other nonprint sources. With these sources, you treat the interviewee or letter writer as the author, follow that name with the persons title, followed by a period, then the company name, followed by a period, then the city and state, followed by a period, then what the information was (Personal interview or Personal correspondence) followed by a period, ending with the date. [pic] Example: entry for unpublished information Product brochures. For these kinds of information sources, treat the company name as the author, followed by a period, use something identifying like the product name (including the specific model number), followed by anything that seems like the title of the brochure, followed by a period, ending with a date if you can find one (otherwise, put N.d.). [pic] Example: entry for a product brochure CROSS REFERENCING Technical reports and instructions often require cross-references—those pointers to other place in the same document or to other information sources where related information can be found. Cross-references can help readers in a number of different ways. It can point them toward more basic information if, for example, they have entered into a report over their heads. It can point them to more advanced information if, for example, they already know the stuff youre trying to tell them. Also, it can point them to related information. Related information is the hardest area to explain because ultimately everything is related to everything else—there could be no end to the cross-references. Of course, the preceding discussion assumed cross-references within the same document. If there is just too much background to cover in your report, you can cross-reference some external book or article that does provide that background. That way, you are off the hook for having to explain all that stuff! Cross-reference consists of several elements: Name of the source being referenced This can either be the title or a general subject reference. If it is a chapter title or a heading, put it in quotation marks; if it is the name of a book, magazine, report, or reference work, put it in italics or underline. (Individual article titles also go in quotation marks.) Page number Required if it is in the same document; optional if it is to another document. Subject matter of the cross-reference Often, you need to state whats in the cross-referenced material and indicate why the reader should go to the trouble of checking it out. This may necessitate indicating the subject matter of the cross-referenced material or stating explicitly how it is related to the current discussion. These guidelines are shown in the illustration. Notice in that illustration how different the rules are when the cross-reference is internal (that is, to some other part of the same document) compared to when it is external (when it is to information outside of the current document). Examples of cross-references Internal cross-references are cross-references to other areas within your same document; external ones are those to books and documents external to your document.

Sixth Sense: The Vomeronasal Organ Essay -- Biology Essays Research Pa

Sixth Sense: The Vomeronasal Organ "We are all more influenced by smell than we know." (Hercule Poirot) ....Murder in Retrospect, Agatha Christie Biologists have long realized that the noses of most vertebrates actually contain two sensory channels. The first is the familiar olfactory system, which humans possess. The second channel is the vomeronasal complex, a system that has its own separate organs, nerves, and connecting structures in the brain. The function of the vomeronasal system is the detection of pheromones, chemical messengers that carry information between individuals of the same species. It was widely believed (as I found in some of the older texts I examined) that humans had long ago discarded this sensory system somewhere along evolution's trail. But convincing behavioral and anatomical evidence has since brought the notion of a human vomeronasal organ (VNO) into the realm of scientific fact. Some thirty years ago, when anatomist David Berliner was studying human skin composition using scraped skin cells from the insides of discarded casts, he found that when he left vials containing skin extracts open, his lab assistants would become more friendly and warm than usual (1). When, months later, he decided to cover the vials, the warm and relaxed behavior was noticeably reduced. These findings led him to investigate the possible existence of odorless human pheromones and a "sixth sense" organ to detect their presence, a VNO. While this early evidence was not empirical, anatomists have since found that all humans display two tiny pits, with duct openings, on both sides of the septum just behind the opening of the nose (3). The duct leads into a tubular lumen lacking a thick, distinct sensory epithelium. ... ...ture textbooks will attribute to humans this mysterious, unconscious sixth sense. WWW Sources 1)Chemicals the cause excitement http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/art97/pherom.html 2)VNO website http://neuro.fsu.edu/research/vomer.htm 3)Science Frontiers article http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf090/sf090b06.htm 4)Chemical Communication by Willam C. Agosta 5) Olfactory Receptors, Vomeronasal Receptors, and the Organization of Olfactory Information. From Cell, a journal 6)Howard Hughes olfactory website http://www.hhmi.org/senses/d220.html 7)Article from The Scientist http://euclid.ucsd.edu/~weinrich/theScientist2.html 8)Pheromone Book Review http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc-bin/newpsy?7.12 Additional Sources Messages sent through sweat http://www.patscan.ca//sweat.html

Korean Investment

A Korean property development company, CoDA, is planning to increase the value of Swansea’s SA1 docklands project by  £80 million through investment.   The money poured into the project would develop Harbour Square, which overlooks the Prince of Wales Dock, with the creation of 406 apartments with shops.   Moreover, this new development would add to the growth expected in the area with 1,500 new jobs at a Jersey Marine distribution center established recently. It would take three years to build the 406 new apartments with shops on Harbour Square.   The Korean investment is expected to create approximately 400 construction jobs, and lead to further growth with respect to the project.   Indeed, this project is the biggest one in the scheme, turning old docklands into a modernized place to live and work.   The total cost of the scheme is estimated at  £400 million. CoDA, backed by UK and Korean banks as well as investment funds, is expected to make a formal announcement about its plan early next week.   The fact that the Korean firm chose Swansea ahead of many other potential sites in the UK has been explained by CoDA’s chief executive, Hoshik Chi, thus: â€Å"The market in Swansea is dynamic and buoyant, and I have been most impressed by the city and the surrounding area.† The Korean firm would seek planning permission for the 2.7-acre site soon.   The development on this site would consist of twin structures, four to eight storeys high, offering reasonably priced housing and car parking, in addition to seven retail units.   Developers are claiming that the new development would be as modernized as possible, featuring a community  heating system which would be fueled by zero emission wood pellets, in addition to a rain harvesting system. This eco-friendly development may very well be the biggest investment of a Korean company in the UK.   What is more, the Korean investment is bound to be highly profitable, seeing as Swansea’s city center and its waterfront are also in the process of being transformed through a  £1 billion plan announced last week; and the people of Wales continue to demand residential accommodation.   Other Korean companies may also join CoDA in Swansea’s development and modernization, especially since South Korea has relaxed its laws regulating the purchase of property in foreign countries.

Aging Workforce in Singapore Essay

Populations in many developed countries are ageing, and Singapore is no exception. The first batch of post-war baby boomers will reach 65 years of age by 2012. The number of seniors will increase from 8.4% in 2005 to 18.7% in 2030 (refer to Table 1). According to the 2010 Population Report,  The proportion of residents (i.e. citizens and PRs) aged 65 and above increased from 7.0% of the resident population in 1999 to 8.8% in 2009. Correspondingly, the number of younger residents aged 15-64 for every resident aged 65 and above (i.e. the old-age support ratio) fell from 10.1 in 1999 to 8.3 in 2009 (refer to Table 2). (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2010, p. 4) Today, one out of every 12 Singaporeans is aged 65 or above. By 2030, this ratio will become one out of five. On January 2011, the parliament has passed down the new employment law of changing to retirement age from 62 to the age of 65 from January 2012. This is a good news to many Singaporeans who felt that they are still capable of working beyond the retirement age of 62 (Nayak, 2011, para. 3). An ageing population brings both challenges and opportunities, having tremendous effect on all parts of our society – individuals, families, communities, businesses and government. Therefore, we ought to prepare early for the challenges of an ageing population to ensure the well-being of our seniors and their families to provide the first line of support. At the same time, we must be ready to seize the economic opportunities that will emerge from the demographic shift. Aging Workforce in the Hotel Industry With relevance to the major demographic trends, aging population, this revolution will change the face of our labour market. Correspondingly, the workforce is not only ageing, but also growing at a much slower pace. Increasingly, companies are facing problems in recruiting replacements for retiring employees. This is a reality that companies have to grapple with and adapt to. Nevertheless, not all companies are being affected equally nor are they moving at the same rate to identify and address how the ageing trend will be impacting their businesses. Impacts In the hospitality industry, service is the factor that differentiates hotels from its competitors. Therefore with a large amount of aging workforce in the frontline, it will bring down the image of the hotel in terms of appearance; a younger worker would look fresher and have a better appeal to guests. As a guest of a hotel overseas, he or she would be preferred to be served by younger workers than people of an old age. As older employees are naturally more prone to illnesses, they would tend to take more medical leaves thus decreasing the manpower. When one gets sick, it affects the employees’ mood to work and thus less concentration when working. This in turn reduces the efficiency of the operations of hotels. In addition, the needs and interest changes with aging workforce. According to the study by Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) (2010), â€Å"rising health and insurance costs, concern about physical abilities, and adaptability/willingness were ranked as the top three challenges† (p. 3). With the ever changing preferences and needs of the society, hotels have to constantly upgrade their standard of services. However, older employees may not be equipped with latest skills and knowledge needed to achieve the hotel’s competitive advantage. Thus, there is a need to constantly upgrade the skills of their older employees. Older employees are more resistant to changes and improvements. This may be mainly due to their thinking of already having the appropriate experience and knowledge and there is no need for further training, especially in the situation of â€Å"leapfrogging†, where a younger worker is put in charge of a more experienced worker. Many hotels will have an advantage by having a large pool of elderly employees. It is mainly because there are many job positions which young employees would be unwilling to take up. Most time, foreigners would be hired to fill up the rest of the job vacancies that do not appeal to the young employees; however, hotels can have another avenue of recruitment – the elderly workforce. This will give hotels a great advantage to handpick the best candidates out of the pool of elderly workforce. In hotels, there are certain positions that elderly employees occupy, for example managerial positions. Being loyal to the company, they would not want to leave their positions easily as compared to the younger workforce who usually job hops for a better pay. This relieves the hotel’s need to constantly recruit and train new workers, thus helping to cut the costs during the process of recruitment and training. Challenges A) The Human Resource (HR) unit has a challenge to allocate the older employees in suitable positions that is beneficial for both the hotel and the aging workforce. The HR unit also has to ensure that the hotel would maintain a good image and increases their productivity. There is also a need for the HR unit to create a supportive culture for the older workers in order to manage such diverse workforce. B) Keeping older employees motivated at work along with the right attitude is important when serving their customers. In addition, with the older employees being more prone to illnesses, hotels have to struggle with ways to keep their costs low and at the same time provide adequate medical benefits for them. During such periods it is more crucial for managers and supervisors to show them care and patience. C) Values tend to change from one generation to another as well as during different life stages. The thinking of the older generation is more conservative than those of the younger generation. It would thus be a challenge for the hotels wanting the older employees to improve their values in their job scope. With a more conservative mindset and thinking, they would be afraid to try new things and be more innovative. In turn, the hotel will lose its competitiveness if new changes are adopted. Hence, the HR unit in a hotel has to place their older employees in the most relevant training to help them prepare for changes in their current jobs. Besides that, older employees would normally take a longer time to adapt to changes, thus the management has to work out appropriate schedules to help their employees to have a proper balance with their job and trainings. D) Older employees tend to have more skills and knowledge in the industry due to the experiences they have gone through. Retaining this skills and knowledge is critical for hotels to ensure that the younger generation will also have these basic skills and knowledge as a platform for them to have an advantage over their competitors. E) Although there is a need to retain these skills and knowledge, there will definitely be a time when one has to retire. However, the aging workforce is usually reluctant to leave their positions as they are emotionally attached to the hotel. This would be a challenge for the hotel to find ways to recruit younger employees, without resulting in excess manpower and high costs, especially for positions in the higher management. If the hotel were to retain most of the older employees, they may miss opportunities on recruiting young employees who can be a more valuable asset to the hotels which helps to bring their standards to a higher level. Solutions It is time for employers to start responding to the potential consequences of the ageing workforce on their businesses. If not well-prepared, employers may find themselves suddenly faced with labour loss, experience and expertise that will be difficult to offset, given the relatively small pool of new employees. With many companies facing the same problem, competition for new talents is likely to surface. A) Hotels can have interviews to know which areas older employees would prefer to work in and the languages they can speak. With the information gathered, hotels will be able to know their strengths and weaknesses which help to determine where to allocate each individual. With the proper job assignment, hotels will be able to maintain a good image, by reassigning the older employees with language barriers to the backhouse such as room attendant. This allows them to be in their comfort zone and after getting used to their task, the productivity will be maximized in both the frontline and backhouse. B) In order to keep older employees engaged and motivated, it is vital for the HR department to maintain constant communication with the older employees and understand any problems, issues and concerns that they are encountering. By treating their employees like family members, it may be a major job happiness-driver for them and thus motivating them to do better for the hotel. Besides that, communication and treating each other with respect ensures that the spirit of their employees is always high. Through job empowerment, employees will have more decision making responsibilities and hence they will feel more respected as an employee as they are given a chance to handle more difficult situation on their own. As for medical benefits, hotels can pay a certain percentage of their medical fees. For example, the hotels will pay 50% of their employee’s medical fees while the other 50% is paid by the employees. C) Facing the challenge that older generation is more conservative, companies can focus on creating a positive work environment for older employees by allowing flexible hours, more communication and constantly motivating them. Some of the actions can be allowing the older employees to have an option to consider different jobs and different sets of responsibilities. Some older employees may wish to devote their later career years to jobs that allow them to develop new competencies. Others may want jobs that are less demanding, these older employees may be interested in making transitions to different jobs within the company or make lateral moves or even to lower positions with a pay reduction. Other than that, the hotel can allow them to have a choice over the number of hours worked and provide them with flexible schedule for trainings. For example, older employees work on reduced-hours such as part-time or job sharing, so as to schedule the rest of their time for trainings that are a rranged for them. D) To retain the skills and knowledge, the older employees can train and guide the younger employees before they retire to ensure that the skills and knowledge are passed down. After retirement, they can come back and help out by overlooking and having workshops to give further training that is needed. E) To attract the younger people, creative ways are needed. For example, the hotel can come up with a program like the popular show â€Å"The Apprentice† by Donald Trump to search for the best employee. However, we must ensure there is no excessive pool of manpower and costs are kept low. The hotels can allow their older employees to be on-call workers or have flexible work schedules. On-call workers are employees who are called to work only when needed, although they can be scheduled for work for several days or weeks in a row. In days when the hotels need a massive number of employees, the on-call workers will be called back. By providing flexible work schedules, older employees are allowed to plan their work schedules with the choice over the number of hours worked. This will prolong the retirement period for older employees by allowing them to work but at a lesser duration, so that younger employees have the chance to excel and there will not be a surplus or shortage in th e manpower. Case Study: Royal Plaza on Scott The Royal Plaza on Scott is a 5-star leading hotel in Singapore. 50% of the hotel 300 employees are classified under the mature and older category. The company recognized the importance of mature employees and has sets out strategy as Singapore faces human capital challenge of managing a mature and older workforce. According to Fiat (2010), The mature employees are valuable assets to the organization as they are able to share their wealth of experience with the younger employees. The hotel taps on their expertise by pairing the mature employees with the younger generation of new hires to provide guidance and encourage cohesiveness. The hotel also implemented a buddy system where a new mature employee is paired with a younger co-worker or vice versa to work together and learn from each other. For example, younger employees may learn from mature and older employees on how to handle difficult customers while guiding their older colleagues on the effective usage of technology at the workplace. (TAFEP, p. 45) Royal Plaza on Scott has developed recruitment strategies like implementing Flexible Working Arrangements (FWA), where there is a flexible work arrangement which includes flexi-time, part time, job shares and compressed workweeks. Health benefits and programmes will also be implemented including regular health screening, health talk, yoga courses, sushi-making classes and others. This is to encourage for a healthy work life balance. Another great strategy used is to set up a Recreational Committee that was assigned to take care of the well being of co-worker. This committee will be in charge of organizing health awareness events, initiatives to create awareness of healthy lifestyle as well as to bond employees of difference generations (TAFEP, 2010, p.46).

American Literature Essays - Olaudah Equiano, Bias, Equiano

American Literature Essays - Olaudah Equiano, Bias, Equiano American Literature 16th of September, 2016. Bias Perspective Motivation comparison. People never make decisions without something on the back of their minds. Any events or accidents from the past can effect person's choices and the way they react to other people and their actions. The bias are usually made from those events, bias don't change very often, if bias change, it change very slow. However it always depends on a person. Characters always have their bias, perspective and motivation, or in other words, why character is doing something. In this essay I will discuss how characters' bias, perspective and motivation were different in these four stories, and how they changed through the stories. Why authors of La Relacion, The Interesting Narrative of Life of Olaudah Equiano, The General History of Virginia and Of Plymouth Plantation wrote and published their stories? The reason why La Relacion was written and published is probably to show people, that native americans weren't always aggressive, yes they are savages, they didn't care about a medical qualification or a diploma, but they saved people anyway. The Interesting Narrative of Life of Olaudah Equiano reminds audience what a horrific barbarism was made. The main reason why author wrote the story, was a desire to show what white people did to his nation. In La Relacion, is trying to prove that native Americans, who were usually called savages, have the bowels of compassion, while people from second stories were real savages, who were just called humans. In both stories writers are trying to prove their audience, that in one case people are conscious and kind, while others are soulless and heartless. You can clearly see the similarity of bias in three stories: Le Relacion, The General History of Virginia and Of Plymouth Plantation. In all these stories, people were going to explore new lands, with a fear of local people, who were expected to be threatening and destructive. The reason why explorers were so terrify, because they never met them before, they didn't exactly know what locals can do to them and what to expect from them. Here we can add the fear of death , which could take anywhere. Cabeza de Vaca was treated with caution towards local people, his bias was changing slowly through the story. When savages saved him and his people, he was still scared of death, because there is a stereotype about cannibalism, savages could kill them for a sacrifice, but instead of it, they gave them food and place to sleep. Also I want to touch on theme of audience's perspective, in The General History of Virginia John Smith describes himself as a great, who always chooses hardest work, with high moral standards, while describing everybody else as a lazybones and "sufferers. However, later audience realizes that John Smith exaggerates his mightiness. He sink in audience estimation, when he killed two men who were trying to escape and go back to England. In the The Interesting Narrative of Life of Olaudah Equiano character's perspective was dreadful, just like in other three stories in the beginning.And now I was persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits and that they were going to kill me (line 5, page 1) He was afraid of white people not only because other people were talking about them in a bad way, but because it was his bias as well, same with other stories, Olaudah Equiano didn't know what might happened to him. Here we can draw a parallel between The Interesting Narrative of Life of Olaudah Equiano and La Relacion, in both stories characters were afraid of something based not on their own experience, but on what other people told them.

20 Quotes on Writing From Famous Authors

20 Quotes on Writing From Famous Authors What is writing? Ask 20 writers and youll get 20 different answers. But on one point, most seem to agree: writing is hard work. Richard Peck ï » ¿Writing is communication, not self-expression. Nobody in this world wants to read your diary except your mother. Toni Cade Bambara Writing has been for a long time my major tool for self-instruction and self-development. William Stafford I dont see writing as communication of something already discovered, as truths already known. Rather, I see writing as a job of experiment. Its like any discovery job; you dont know whats going to happen until you try it. Sherley Anne Williams I think writing is really a process of communication... Its the sense of being in contact with people who are part of a particular audience that really makes a difference to me in writing. Ursula K. LeGuin Writing makes no noise, except groans, and it can be done everywhere, and it is done alone. Robert Heinlein Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. Franz Kafka Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself. Carlos Fuentes Writing is a struggle against silence. David Sedaris Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize its just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it. Henry Miller Writing is its own reward. Molià ¨re Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.† J. P. Donleavy Writing is turning ones worst moments into money. Doris Lessing Ive always disliked words like inspiration. Writing is probably like a scientist thinking about some scientific problem or an engineer about an engineering problem. Sinclair Lewis Writing is just work- theres no secret. If you dictate or use a pen or type or write with your toes- its still just work. Suze Orman Writing is hard work, not magic. It begins with deciding why you are writing and whom you are writing for. What is your intent? What do you want the reader to get out of it? What do you want to get out of it. Its also about making a serious time commitment and getting the project done. Gabriel Garcia Marquez Writing is [like] making a table. With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood. Both are full of tricks and techniques. Basically very little magic and a lot of hard work are involved... What is a privilege, however, is to do a job to your satisfaction. Harlan Ellison People on the outside think theres something magical about writing, that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isnt like that. You sit in back of the typewriter and you work, and thats all there is to it. Catherine Drinker Bowen Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once in that mirror which waits always before or behind. E.L. Doctorow Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. Jules Renard Writing is the only way to talk without being interrupted.

Concert Attendance Reports MUSIC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Concert Attendance Reports MUSIC - Essay Example Old people flocked around the stage of the Performance Pavilion, particularly at the front seat. Old men and women appeared to enjoy the classical pieces played in Dogwood Park. To my mind, the reason why old people are the central audience for the orchestral concert is because such instrumental music is psychologically and mentally good for the old folks. Nonetheless, culture plays an important role why much of the orchestra’s listeners are old men and women rather than young people. From classical music to popular theme-songs were the kinds of orchestral pieces lively performed in Dogwood Park. Masterpieces from Baroque composers were intricately played such as George Frideric Handel’s 1749 â€Å"Music for the Royal Fireworks.† A contemporary of Handel, one of German-born Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterpieces was performed by the members of the BSO. Maestro Allcott shared a funny story about the strong rivalry between the two Baroque orchestra masters, namely, Bach and Handel. The nineteenth-century masterpiece entitled â€Å"The Bartered Bride† composed and arranged by nationalist Bedrich Smetana was also lively performed on stage. And from Germany to the United States, Charles Ives’s twentieth-century â€Å"The Circus Band† was patriotically played by the Bryan Symphony Orchestra. Quite striking in the Free Concert in Dogwood Park are the orchestral performances of the symphonic suites for the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Indiana Jones movies. The musical style for the piece entitled â€Å"Music for the Royal Fireworks† was patterned to a musical form called the French overture. The BSO under maestro Allcott performed the piece from slow rhythm to fast rhythm, and returned to slow rhythm at the end. On the other hand, the style employed for the piece of â€Å"The Bartered Bride† was somewhat child-like, if not childish. Maestro Allcott added a touch of humor apparent in the dramatic shift of rhythm and tone.

Impact of Media on the Society Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Impact of Media on the Society - Term Paper Example This paper explores different theoretical approaches on the media’s influence on society. In addition, this paper attempts to explain how the media can be used constructively with limited harm to society. Perhaps every child in the western world has been exposed to cartoons. Carton networks are so prevalent in the society that they have become an essential requirement for children’s upbringing. While cartoons play active roles in children’s development, they also have negative influences on the child’s welfare. Cartoon networks operate under animated programs that provide visual images. Cartoons Networks are the most preferred TV entertainment programs for children by adults because of their moral stories and family friendliness. However, the family friendliness of cartoon network has been a matter of intense criticism contemporarily owing to their increasing permissive nature of the programs. Using Cartoon Network as an example, this paper focuses on soci al learning theory and cultivation theory as possible explanations for Cartoon Network ‘s increasing impact on children’s cognitive development and how this has influenced the society. Social learning theory states that people learn new behaviors from one another by copying. Proposed by Albert Bandura, social learning theory is perhaps the most influential theory for learning and development. Because Cartoon Network’s effect on children’s development is huge, it is perhaps a good idea to explain the Cartoon Network’s impact on children’s development using social learning theory.Social learning theory focuses on direct support of ideas. The strengthening of ideas is perpetuated when people watch other people do things. Observational learning is a key component of social theory as well an dire need of repetition and redundancy (Ormand, 1999). It is therefore evident that Cartoon Network is repeating of stories, capture of children’s imag inations an indicator of social learning theory. Cultivation theory is another theory that explains the significance of Cartoon Network on children’s development. Cultivation theory asserts that substantial viewing of the television changes individual‘s perception about the world. The TV becomes the reality and TV’s portrayal of the world becomes engrained in the viewers mind. If a cultivated mind is challenged to think outside the TV’s life, that mindset can change (Evra, 2004). One cultivated experience is violence. Because of TV’s violent images, one could be easily influenced to belive that the TV’s portrayal of violence is the fact, which is not the case many times. (Donals, p. 5, 2005 ). The impacts that television programs like cartoons have on children cannot be underestimated but rather should be changed for positive outcomes. Many researchers have found that certain characters used in cartons have negative impacts on children. For i nstance, a research conducted by (Smith, 2011) found â€Å"SpongeBob† character have negative impacts on children as it interferes with their executive functioning. Executive functioning involves problem solving, planning, thinking from abstract and working memory. This is because of the social learning theory. Social learning theory makes acquiring information and digesting information easy. According to Shanahan and Michael Morgan (1999), cultivation theory gives weight and credibility to selected part of each

How relevant are the classical approaches to understanding society Essay

How relevant are the classical approaches to understanding society - Essay Example The essay will trace back to the classical approaches towards understanding of human beings with the Marxism, Functionalism and Interactivism theories and then will confer to the relevance of these theories for understanding the contemporary society. The roots of the phenomenon of this beginning traces back to our philosophers who first attempted to study the basic elements of our Universe and the nature. It was found that around 600 BC, a Greek named Thabes of Miletus (640-546 BC), became the first philosopher to speculate about the nature of the Universe in order to predict a solar Eclipse. (Lerner 2001: 20) It is amply clear that before the philosophical disposition towards the study of human beings started, philosophers were more delving into the mysteries of nature. It was only 200 years later that philosophers began to disperse their knowledge and skills in the study of the nature of human development and Plato’s philosophical statements regarding the human development was first significant contribution. But his derivations and statements of the many of the philosophers following him were indirect. For complete 2000 years, their major works were concern on physical, spatial, and temporal body, mind and soul. (Lerner 2001: 20) But his ideas presented before us not only the study of intricate human nature rather on nature or nurture issue. He said that it is not necessary for human beings to learn about their own nature, as it is inherent in them, in the form of their soul. Plato divided the soul into three parts desire, spiritual and rational whereas Aristotle looked at human beings as having only two souls: the philosophical/ theoretical and the rational. Even Giddins pinpointed to the fact that the systemic study of the human behavior and society only began during late 1700 and early 1800 after the world saw complete change in their social, economic and political set up at the aftermath of French revolution and Industrial revolution respectively

Vaccination Case Study Essay Example for Free

Vaccination Case Study Essay I. Introduction a.Thesis: Children should be vaccinated because vaccination protects them against sickness, reduces the spread of common ailments, and can protect individuals who cannot be vaccinated. b. Strategy: Ask a provoking/rhetorical question II.Protecting against sickness III.Reducing the spread of common ailments IV.Protecting individuals who can’t be vaccinated V.Conclusion a.Strategy: Recommendation Did you know that some childhood diseases, such as polio, whooping cough, and especially the measles, have nearly been eliminated in the United States due to the implementation of vaccination (â€Å"Lode Tot, Other Cases Prompt Call for Vaccinations† 1)? Unfortunately, these diseases and others like them are now making a comeback thanks to parents who are reluctant to have their children vaccinated. I believe children should be vaccinated because vaccination protects them against sickness, reduces the spread of common ailments, and can protect individuals who cannot be vaccinated. The first pressing reason to vaccinate children is to prevent them from contracting diseases. It can hardly be argued that immunizations fail to protect the majority of children from getting the infection the immunization was designed to prevent. In the 18th century, for example, hundreds of thousands of Americans were infected by a crippling condition called polio. Polio was a terrible infection that caused sufferers to lose the use of their legs. Many had to walk with braces or crutches. Some lost the ability to walk and had to be placed in wheelchairs, while others were so disabled they became unable to engage in any physical activity, or even died of the condition. Polio was so prevalent it even affected American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Schnell 2)! Thanks to vaccinations, today polio is all but unheard of in the USA, and in other countries that immunize against it. This example alone should show the desirability of immunization. Who would want to see a family member crippled to the point  of death from a preventable condition? In addition to protecting single individuals from illness, vaccinations protect entire communities, including both children and adults. One person who contracts an illness has the potential to transfer it to literally millions of others. For example, in Africa a single person contracted Ebola from eating contaminated game in the spring of 2014, and now sources say 1.4 million people could be infected within nine months of the first case (Mansbridge 1). Imagine of that single person could have been vaccinated! Hundreds of thousands of people might not have contracted the virus, and might have lived. At the very least, they would not have endured a horrible period of sickness. This means that when parents vaccinate their children, they are protecting everyone who would come into contact with them, even at a remove of hundreds or thousands of middle-men. Therefore, vaccinating can even protect people from future generations, because allowing contagious diseased to be transmitted also al lows them to persist through time. Vaccination also provides a useful service to a particularly vulnerable subset of the population: those individuals who, for one reason or another, cannot be vaccinated. When the population vaccinates regularly, few or no people can get an illness, and those who cannot take vaccines are never exposed to it. However, when people fail to vaccinate their children, the illnesses creep in, and those

Comparing The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace :: Compare Contrast Comparison

Comparing The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace Webster’s dictionary defines style as a particular or distinctive fashion, form or manner. This leaves much unsaid in context to the world of writing. Everyone looks at style differently because everyone has their own interpretation of what it is. The Elements of Style and Grace and Style Toward Clarity and Grace are two different books. Though these books have many differences, a lot of the ideas are the same; they are just written in different styles. I do not believe either one to be overly better than the other. They were both written at different times with different objectives in mind, and you have to take that for what it is worth. Writing is hardly ever done with just one sentence. It is a combination of sentences that all have to coincide with one another to reach a goal of clarity. "A series of clear sentences can still be confusing if we fail to design them to fit their context, to reflect a constant point of view, to emphasize our most important ideas. These sentences could all refer to the same set of conditions, but each leads us to understand the conditions from a different point of view," (Williams, 45). It is always a good idea to start out small; take a sentence and make is clear. This then needs to be applied to groups of sentences together to make the whole sample of writing clear. Strunk and White had a lot of good advice about how to make writing clear and concise. One good point made in the book was about dialogue. When there is dialogue in writing, it is extremely annoying not to know who is speaking. "In long dialogue passages containing no attributes, the reader may become lost and be compelled to go back and reread in order to puzzle the thing out," (Strunk and White, 76). When a person is trying to read an extensive piece, it can become such a hassle to have to look back a lot to see which character is saying what. Not only does it deter the reader, but it greatly damages the credibility of the author and the work that he or she produces. In my writing experience I have had sentences criticized on the basis of length. Teachers always told me that they were too long.

Black Family Essay

Visual media†¦ â€Å"The Coconuts† series on Afrotainment†¦ (South Africa)†¦Giving Blacks a false sense of who they’re meant to be. H. Games†¦video†¦board games†¦Quiet blacks with games, video, board games and try to impose responsibilities and the idea of working hard after given them all the freedom. I. Memory replacement†¦ when whites lift Blacks’ memories and replace them with a white identity. II. A. Black African†¦ A term that was/is seen as offensive, and characterized by grim or grotesque satire B. Dictionary definitions†¦ something bad, dirty, soiled, sinister, evil, etc†¦ C. Evidence of negative identity†¦ if you don’t speak of your race you will be fully accepted in the white world. D. Definition of â€Å"beauty†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ It’s all dependent on what the media/culture portrays as beauty. E. Silence towards Black identity†¦renders rewards†¦ rewarding by white community because you’re being submissive and the silence is shown as a symbol of equality. F. Current â€Å"New Face of Africa† series on Afrotainment†¦ Halle Berry, Tyra Banks Mr. Valerie, L. C Bolanga, Tofjne G. Self-mutilation†¦bleaching†¦ tattoos†¦ Blacks are the highest consumers who use these products in order to mold themselves into what the media portrays as beautiful. H. Kenneth Clark’s â€Å"doll test†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Black children were shown black and white dolls and asked a series of question pertaining to images. They picked the white dolls to describe pretty, smart, and the one they liked most. I. â€Å"Africans in Denial Syndrome†¦class discussion by Dr. King†¦ Africans denying their origins. J. African Symbols†¦ Kojo- Heavenly and all knowing. K. Corruption in and outside of Africa†¦ Foreign countries passing laws banning cultural habits in societies. L. African adornment†¦Kenyan Parliament†¦ No longer allowed to wear their attire. M. Devaluing â€Å"Culture†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Not recognizing African culture because most blacks don’t even identify themselves as Africans. N. Assimilation versus Absorption†¦Assimilation involves the integration of people’s identity into a different culture whereas absorption refers to taking in the culture and doing as those in the different culture do while retaining your own identity/culture. O. Pan-Africanism†¦ is the highest form of resistance to slavery. P. The â€Å"best† of what it means to be an African†¦is being the descendants of kings and queen. III.

Life and Music

Music is as diverse as the people listening to its many different genres. My wife and I are just two of the millions of people around the world who listen to music almost everyday. However, my wife and I have a lot of differences when it comes to music although I can say that we share the same passion for it ever since when we were still at a young age. For my part, learning music was at first an academic task because it was part of a class that I had to take during my earlier days in school. There was simply no chance for me to enjoy music as people should.When I was ten years old, I bought my first AM transistor from my classmate. It was the first time in my life when I got the chance to enjoy the music of the Beatles and other bands playing country music at the time. That moment in my life opened the windows of my imagination inasmuch as it sparked a great deal of musical interest on my part. From then on, I simply just could not have enough of music and I was stuck with the pleas ure of listening to tunes over the radio. My wife has a strong cultural influence coming from the Philippines because she, too, is a Filipino.I recall my wife telling me that she always watched â€Å"An Evening with Pilita Corales† together with her parents when she was still young. Pilita Corales is considered as the Queen of â€Å"Kundiman†Ã¢â‚¬â€traditional love songs written and sung in Filipino language—in the Philippines. If my wife was fond of watching that show way back then, I was fond of watching â€Å"Lawrence Welk† on the television together with my father and mother. Apparently, our differences in our earliest exposures to music hold one reason why my wife and I still have differences today in terms of music.It is interesting to know that despite the fact that my wife lived in a country that is perhaps one of the most culturally rich countries in the world, she enjoyed spending time in the playground than doing folk dances which often involv ed materials that were indigenously available. Those dances, as she recounted, were always played to the rhythm of local music which, at that time in her life, never seemed important to her. She was too young in fact that she found it more fun to play in the school’s playground than to spend some of her idle time listening to local music and performing local dances.I had the same experience when I was still as young as my wife during her childhood days. The only difference, perhaps, was that I was doubly busy or I had a tougher time at school for I did not only have to learn English but I also had to study music as part of the school curriculum. I had to catch up with my school work and so I barely had the time to realize the pleasure of listening to music and enjoying what it had to offer beyond sensory experience. Today, things have changed a lot—and for the better. Fortunately, my wife and I soon learned and appreciated music in our lives.In fact, my wife and I bega n to watch musical plays like â€Å"Annie†, â€Å"The Lion King†, â€Å"Blue Man Group†, â€Å"Tarzan†, â€Å"Mama Mia† and â€Å"Miss Saigon† soon after we got married. Perhaps it was the moment in our lives when we realized that we shared one thing in common after all—the love for music. Each time we are able to watch a musical play, we always love the live performance due to the outpouring emotions that one can feel before a stage of actors and actresses giving justice to a number of different melodies and rhythms that can not be easily heard beyond every performance night.Max Weber understood music as â€Å"a deeply meaningful part of a society’s culture† (Turley, 2001, p. 635), which is perhaps why sooner or later people will begin to realize the importance or the role of music in their lives, regardless of whether or not the music they are listening to is indigenous or foreign. That being the case, it is easy to se e why people can relate music; music touches our inner soul and reaches for the depths of our being that we oftentimes find difficult to express, let alone reach.For me, music helps us remember a lot of things simply because music holds memories. As I see it, music expresses feelings even if there are no words to it and it also raises our level of thinking about freedom. Howard Gardner even categorized our abilities to appreciate and even produce music as part of multiple human intelligences (Pfeifer & Scheier, 1999), which makes sense to say that it is crucial for human beings to have an ear for music. Doing so can broaden our mental horizons and enable us to appreciate life even more.While my wife enjoys listening to the music of the Monkees, Carpenters, Beatles and Michael Jackson as much as I do, I still try to go beyond the sheer pleasure of listening to their music. I teach art and I try to incorporate music into my profession. As much as possible, I try to play music whenever I have my art class so that my students will be able to express their feelings more whenever they hold their brushes and begin painting images with beautiful colors. The way I see it, music is so strong it can evoke our inner feelings and give us the inspiration to make stunning artworks.Because music can stir our emotions and our memories, music can push art students and artists to greater lengths. In general, music helps people unlock the rarely touched parts of their being (Grant, 2003, p. 173). I cannot imagine my life and my wife’s life without music as it has already been an integral part of who we are. Music helps my wife and I remember a lot of things about our past and our culture. It also helps us appreciate our lives and our marriage better each day without having the need to force ourselves to listen to music.

Lab report for sheep facility Essay

Lab report for sheep facility Essay Lab report for sheep facility Essay ANS 41L Long Report about Sheep Industry The sheep facility we visited was started in 1880. It is a commercial sheep farm, which only has no purebred sheep. There are about 1300 ewes and 37 rams. Most of the sheep are crossbred with Rambouillet and Dorset genetic. All of them are white face sheep. The crossbred they have is to improve meat quality. Also, the way to choose ram is according to EPD value. Comparing the data we collect from the producer to the America Sheep Industry Association Survey 2010 data, we can find that some values are quit similar. For example, ASI 2010 survey shows that percentage of lamb born per ewe is 158.65%ï ¼Å'and percentage of lamb wean is 145.80%. This sheep farm we visited have a 140% lambing and weaning percentage. There are still many differences. The breed this sheep farm has are only white face breeds. According to ASI 2010 survey, it show that producer on average keep 13.3% Suffolk and 9.5% Rambouillet in their flock. Suffolk is black face sheep. However, this producer keeps none of black face sheep. The producer gives reasons for why they have white face sheep instead of black face sheep. White face breed have longer longevity and better wool. They have relative less problems. So it is easier for them to keep white face sheep on the farm. The farm also does better in some aspects compare to the average data collect by ASI (ASI, 2010). For example, their culling percentage is 10%, which is much lower than 19.42% from the ASI survey. Their lambing season is different from common sheep industry. They have spring and fall two lambing seasons. The breeding times matched to these two laming time are May and October. The advantage for having these two lambing seasons is that there will be more and better forage after the lamb coming out. Most of the sheep are fall lambing. According to Cruces’s article, there are three different seasonal breeding: spring, fall and winter (Cruces, 2001). However, spring may be a bette r season for lambing than fall because it follows the sheep’s breeding and lambing time. Higher lamb crop will be expected in spring than fall (Cruces, 2001). Also, fall lambing will have more heat stress to deal with. However, this producer did not mention how he solves this problem. This farm did not use AI for breeding. AI is not common used by sheep industry. Although, AI can use frozen ram semen, which may benefic in reproduction, it is still too costly because the producer said that AI in sheep needs surgical procedure (Cruces, 2001). Castration and tail docking time are similar to common sheep industry. This farm does these procures early on one to two days age. Cruces stated that these procedures should be done by 7 to 10 day of age, the early the better (Cruces, 2001). The producer sated that it is less painful and faster recovery if the procedures are done at very early age. There are two aspects impressing me very much: grain-growing work with sheep rising and elec trical recording system. One third of the total area is used to grow grain, depending on the seasons. The rest of the acres are pastures for sheep. The producer use sheep to clean up the field after the grain harvest. Sheep can clean up the left over, as well as the weeds. It is a very clever system because the sheep and grain production benefit each other. They can spend less time, money and energy. Also, the electronic microchip recording system amazed me. The ear tagging not only contains the number to show the identification of the sheep but also records the data of the sheep. When the producer scans the ear tagging, it will show the information of that sheep. It is a very convenient way to track each sheep, and the data is very easy to assess. However, the operation is still facing many challenging. As the

Boston matrix analysis for BHP Billiton Group The WritePass Journal

Boston matrix analysis for BHP Billiton Group Abstract Boston matrix analysis for BHP Billiton Group . This aspect prompted the company to follow a question mark strategy because despite its low market share, the provision of various natural resources took place in a high growing market (Schemerhorn, 2013). However, at the end of 2012, the corporation gradually started expanding its share prices by representing an adequate price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. This means that the group has focused on following a star strategy in its main segments. Yet, it is challenging to estimate the market price for each product due to the extensive diversity of the company’s products (Grant, 2013). Another challenge associated with the quantification of returns is the categorisation of returns in different currencies. As previously indicated, BHP Billiton Group placed importance on location when it comes to making investments. In the United States, the corporation has been extensively concerned to adhere to a star strategy on the Boston matrix by distributing crude petroleum (BHP Billiton Ltd., 2013). It is essential to note that the company relies on its current strength of occupying a leading position in global commodities prices that are related to the health of the international economy. This suggests the potential of the corporation to predominantly follow a star strategy, which would guarantee it a better position compared to other organisations operating in the same industry sector (Grant, 2013). Nonetheless, the company is unable to predict currency assessments, which may lead to the adoption of a cash cow or a question mark strategy according to the Boston matrix. It has been indicated that certain flaws in the global economy negatively affect the performance of the corporation in the sen se of decreasing its market share in certain segments. For instance, such flaws may lead to a reduced demand for commodities, which may directly reflect in lower prices and reduced profitability of the company. The diverse portfolio of assets provided by BHP Billiton Group has assumed a solid market position of the company in its major segments. It is important to note that the corporation occupies a leading position in the trade of uranium in Australia after Olympic Dam Mine as well as of other natural assets, such as silver and copper (BHP Billiton Ltd., 2013). This places the company at a quite favourable position regarding its trade activities and thus it is more likely to adopt a star strategy in its home country. The fact that the corporation is a leading producer of nickel globally is indicative of the high market share it has in different segments and in different locations across the world (Stern and Deimler, 2006). As a result of the application of the Boston matrix analysis to the performance of BHP Billiton Group, it can be suggested that the company has the potential to make a substantial impact on the global delivery of natural assets. Its position as a star in most of its seg ments and in most locations shows solid management and leadership practices present at the organisation. It is important to note that the major purpose of the Boston matrix analysis is to help BHP Billiton Group decide which of its business units should be kept as well as in which areas it can invest further (Grant, 2013). There are different strategies to be applied considering that the organisation is in the position of a cash cow on the Boston matrix. One of these strategies is to hold in order to maintain its sales or market share (Schermerhorn, 2013). Another strategy that can be utilised is to defend its position regardless of the challenges the company faces with regards to its market share and projected market growth (Kotler, 2006). BHP Billiton Group can also implement a strategy, which is identified as ‘milk’, implying that the company is expected to use the cash it generated in the fiscal year to return to its position as a star on the matrix from the period of 2011 to 2012 (BHP Billiton Ltd., 2013). The fact that the company is at the position of a cash cow means that its profitability ratios have significantly declined. For instance, the organisation’s net profit margin, operating profit margin, ROE and ROA deteriorated in the period from 2011 to 2012 and from 2012 to 2013. It can be suggested that the company should seriously rethink its position in the market so as to try its best to restore its star position from the past (Schermerhorn, 2013). The application of the Boston matrix analysis to BHP Billiton Group’s performance yields significant conclusions about the company’s challenges and opportunities that can be addressed. Conclusion This paper has provided an analysis of BHP Billiton Group’s financial performance based on the Boston matrix. It has been indicated that the organisation is currently at the position of a cash cow on the matrix considering its high market share and low growing market (Kotler, 2006). Certain strategies have been provided so that the organisation can implement them in order to improve its position and return to the status of a star, which represents an ideal combination of a high market share and fast growing market (Grant, 2013). References BHP Billiton Ltd. (2013). Stock Analysis on Net [online]. Available at: stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/BHP-Billiton-Ltd/Financial-Statement/Income-Statement [Accessed: 14 August 2014]. Grant, R. M. (2013). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. New York: Wiley. Kotler, P. (2006). Marketing Management. New York: Pearson Education. Schermerhorn, J. R. (2013). Exploring Management. New York: Wiley. Stern, C. W. and Deimler, M. S. (2006). The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy: Classic Concepts and New Perspectives. New York: Wiley.