Engl week 3 forum Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Engl week 3 forum - Assignment Example As such they should do their best to deliver something that would appeal to the public. The writer should prepare just enough contents for his or her audience and not bore them with unimportant introductions or basics. The audience should also see that your article is useful and matters to them. Writing an article with a clear purpose makes it attractive to read. The audience targeted should feel that the article addresses a particular issue in their lives. The article should focus on specific topics and not be general or vague (Annemare, 127). If the issues of the audience and purpose are not addressed, several problems may arise. If the audience is not considered, age groups may be offended or even problems of gender sensitivity may arise. If the purpose of an article is not considered, the article will not be resourceful to the audience. Purpose gives an article meaning and resourcefulness (Annemare, 197). Once I read an article on fashion that did not seem to describe a difference between the dressing of teenagers and adults. I bet anyone who went through the article could not find good advice on dress code since it did not specify how different age groups should

Retirement Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Retirement Planning - Assignment Example The purpose of this paper is to discuss the different investment alternatives that I can use to develop a solid retirement plan. The biggest investment that people have is their homes. Despite the falling real estate market that occurred as a consequence of the recession of 2008 homes historically gain a lot of value over time. In 2012 the value of homes in America rose by 5.9% (Humphries, 2013). Buying a home is the first step towards financial independence. People that pay rent are throwing their money in the trash. An advantage of purchasing a home is that the interests from the mortgage on your first home are tax deductible. A good way to create wealth is by purchasing additional homes for rental. The rent typically pays for the majority of the mortgage. Upon retirement age a person can sell their second house to obtain a large sum of money. One of the best places for people to invest money towards their retirement is the stock market. The biggest stock exchange in the world is t he New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The most common investment instruments sold in the stock market are common stocks. A common stock is a security that represents ownership in a corporation (Investopedia, 2013). Owners of common stocks have voting rights. People can earn money from common stocks from equity appreciation and payment of dividends. The price of common stocks fluctuates every day. The average annual return on common stocks is 9.4% (Observationandnotes, 2009). One of best type of stocks to invest in is blue chip stocks. Blue chip stocks are stocks issued by a well know company with an established record of making money and paying dividends (Teweles, Bradley, Teweles, 1992). Three examples of blue chip stocks are Microsoft, McDonald’s, and Dell. Two types of stocks that have higher risks are foreign stocks and penny stocks. The average return of foreign stocks is 15%, but the standard deviation on the return is much higher (Ahl, 2004). Risk adverse investors should stay away from these types of equity instruments particularly penny stocks. Another type of stock that investors are often attracted too is preferred stocks. The difference between a common stock and preferred stock is that preferred stocks do not have voting rights, but dividends are guaranteed. It is important for investors to compile a diversified portfolio. Diversification can help investors lower their overall portfolio risk. The money market is another option for investors that are looking to save money towards retirement age. The money market is a financial market in which funds are borrowed or lend for short periods as distinguished from the capital market for long term funds (Teweles, et al., 1992). The best and most common money market instrument is treasury bills. Treasury bills are 90 day loans that the federal government sells to investors. The best attribute of a treasury bill is that it is a risk free investment. The federal government has never defaulted on its obli gations. The federal government also sells debt instruments that mature in six and twelve months. Another popular debt instrument is bonds. A bond is a long term loan that investors give to a governmental agency or a private institution. Bonds sold by corporations are often referred too as commercial paper. An investor that invests in a bond obtains interest known as the coupon rate. Once a

Compare and contrast gender roles in the movies Battle of algeris and Essay

Compare and contrast gender roles in the movies Battle of algeris and mother of india - Essay Example particularly highlights this trend is when three National Liberation Front (NLF) women fighters change their appearance to be able to leave the Casbah and attack the French colons by planting bombs. The names of the three women fighters are Djamila, Hassiba, and Zohra. Originally, they are wearing burqas. Their plan is to enter the French colonies without making them realize where these women belong. In order to achieve this plan, they transform themselves into Western women so as to Europeanize themselves. They remove their burqas, cut their hair and dye them, and wear Western outfits. This way, the women fighters are perceived as part of the party in power whereas they are actually functioning as revolutionaries. This is how gender roles have been passed and used to the liberation fighters’ advantage. One factor that makes this movie unique in comparison to other movies based on women’s action is that the women fighters have been shown in the high femme drag in Battle of Algeris unlike the conventional movies on women’s action in which the female action heroes are presented in leather jackets, or military outfits with little to no makeup. The sexualized presentation assists the women fighters in placing the bombs. In this way, the women fighters essentially subjugate their gender identities, and penetrate the enemies’ world for a bigger cause. This scene deals with the gender as well as the racial representation in direct association with the technology used for war. There is a growing trend among women to become the suicide bombers, and the reasons for this are fairly understandable and intrinsically linked to their gender roles and perceptions. One of the most important factors that increases women’s eligibility to become the suicide bombers is the fact that the societal and cultural norms oblige men not to touch the women. The women fighters in Battle of Algeris took benefit of this norm and slipped through all the checkpoints and yet were not

Project Management for Business--The failure of Fire Control Essay

Project Management for Business--The failure of Fire Control - Essay Example Moreover, in December 2010, the department cancelled the project after reviewing that it would not be delivered within the planned timeframe. The project examines why the department failed to convey the project and the extent to which it minimized the waste arising from the final decisions to terminate the project. Project management advances the coordination, control and planning of diverse and complex activities of commercial, industrial, management change, and IT projects.Moreover, thedevelopments of projects share common similarities in the projection of ideas and activities into new ventures’. This report entails a fire control project, aimed at improving the efficiency, technology and flexibility of English fire and rescue service by replacing forty-six local control rooms with an effective network of nine purpose-built regional control centers. Besides, the control centers use national computer system that handle calls, manage incidents and mobilize equipment. Consequently, the main purpose of this project was to predict and foresee many dangers’ and problems as possible during the planning and organization of activities to finish the project successfully. It started before the incorporation of any resource and continued until all work was finished. The development of the project incorporated other parties such as a project manager and relevant stakeholders in information technology (IT). According to the National Audit Office (2011), suggests that the aim of a project manager is to ensure that the result satisfies project sponsors or purchasers and principled stakeholders within the promised timeframe. Furthermore, the project was not to use more money and other resources than those originally included in the budget. Following the cancelation of this project, the report addresses the department for communities and local government, to ensure that organizations learn lessons from mistakes

The Glass Menagerie Essay Example for Free

The Glass Menagerie Essay In reading literary pieces, we tend to compare one character to another that is similar on physical and mental characterization. Alice Walker’s story â€Å"Everyday Use† and Tennessee Williams’s play â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† have different attack, contextualization, plot, conflict, and resolution but they have the same idea of character – Laura in â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† and Maggie in â€Å"Everyday Use. † Laura and Maggie are both physically handicapped. Laura ‘wears a brace on her leg’ while Maggie has scars all through her legs and arms. Both of these characters accept their situations as handicapped. That is why they are being oppressed by the society whether directly or indirectly. Therefore, being physically handicapped of the protagonists in the two stories defines their identity and uniqueness despite of their physical imperfection. Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use† is a story about a mother having two daughters. Her daughters are opposite to one another. Maggie is a shy woman while Dee is very expressive with her emotions. Dee’s goals are too high to obtain. She leaves her family to acquire her personal goals in life. Ms. Johnson, which is Dee’s mother and Maggie are waiting for her return that is why they clean their house and beautify it so that Dee will become happy once she saw their home. When Dee arrives, Maggie and Ms. Johnson are speechless with her transformation. After lunch, Dee went to her mother’s room and asks for a hand-stitched quilt as a souvenir. Ms. Johnson is holding a ‘precious’ hand-stitched quilt that she will give to Maggie. Dee wants it so she grabs it to her mother’s hands. Maggie understands her sister’s action and even though she really likes the quilt, she let her sister obtain it. However, Ms. Johnson grabs the quilt to Dee’s hands and pulls Maggie into her room and put it to her lap and shows a happy face. Due to disappointment, Dee runs away from their house along with her friend using his friend’s car. William’s â€Å"The Glass of Menagerie† on the other hand is about a woman named Laura. Tom is the narrator of the story. Laura is a shy woman because of her appearance – having her leg being braced. She does not want to enter school because of this. Another reason for this is that she does not want people to look at her and being humiliated by her surroundings. Because of this issue, Amanda whom to be Laura’s mother asks Tom to find a man that will suit Laura despite of her physical situation. Tom found Jim, his co-worker. He asks him to have dinner in their house. When Jim went to the dinner, Laura is afraid to see him because she is attracted to Jim even before. After the dinner, Jim starts talking to Laura. In the beginning, Laura is aloof but as the conversation went on, she becomes comfortable with Jim. â€Å"LAURA: I was out of school a little while with pleurosis. When I came back you asked me what was the matter. I said I had pleurosis you thought I said Blue Roses Thats what you always called me after that I / JIM: I hope you didnt mind. / LAURA: Oh, no I liked it. You see, I wasnt acquainted with many people. (Williams, Chapter 7)† Jim becomes attracted to Laura’s uniqueness that led him in kissing her. After the kiss, Jim says sorry to Laura and tells her that he has a fiance and soon will get married. Even if Laura is upset, she accepts it. Amanda blames Tom for being insensitive by not choosing the right man for Laura. Tom leaves for this reason but even if he tries to begin his life again, Laura’s image emerges within his mind, thinking his offense against her. Laura and Maggie view themselves as weak and incapacitated. They accept their situation in a worst-case-scenario. They do not fight against the common norm of the society towards them. As long as their family accepts them, everything would be fine. However, problems occurred because they admit that they are handicapped and could not obtain things that a usual woman should have. That is why people around them took advantage against them in different cases and issues. In the case of Laura, her mother wants to make her happy and would like her to find a man that will fit her capability as a woman but Amanda did not think of Laura’s feelings towards her action. As she (Amanda) pushes Laura towards Jim, it is clear she has never paused to find out who her daughter really is, nor what her aspirations might be, nor has she ever considered modes of living other than her own (Debusscher, 60). Maggie’s situation is also the same through her relationship with Dee. Because she accepts that Dee should have better life than her, she lets her sister obtain everything that should be rewarded to her. Because of this, she needs to cope up with the demand of others to satisfy them. â€Å"Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that no is a word the world never learned to say to her (Walker 47). † However, at the end of the plot of these two stories, the supporting characters realized the manifestations and effects of their actions in the lives of the protagonists. That is why they resolve their conflicts by way of recognizing the identity of Laura and Maggie as individuals with own uniqueness and sense of womanhood. â€Å"When Maggie spoke and suggested that the quilt be given to her older sister Dee, she (Ms. Johnson) began to see Maggie in a different light. She also learned to appreciate Maggie’s simplicity and goodness as compared to Dee’s sophistication and ambitions (Cuizon). † Like what happened to Maggie’s mother, Tom also accepts the realization that Laura needs sensibility from the people around her and she should experience it through her family. In the end, both the protagonists and the supporting characters reconcile and acquire the realization of reality and live a better life. Works Cited Cuizon, Gwen. â€Å"A Review on Alice Walkers Everyday Use. † HubPages. (2008). 23 November 2008. http://hubpages. com/hub/Alice-Walkers-Everyday-Use Debusscher, Gilbert. â€Å"Tennessee Williams’s Dramatic Charade: Secrets and Lies in The Glass Menagerie. † (2000; pp. 57-68). 23 November 2008. http://www. tennesseewilliamsstudies. org/archives/2000/4debusscher. pdf Walker, Alice. â€Å"Everyday Use. † In Love and Trouble. New York: Harcourt, 1973. 47-59. Williams, Tennessee. â€Å"The Glass Menagerie. † (1944). 23 November 2008. http://pagesperso-orange. fr/absolutenglish-972/notes/uscivi/glassmenagerie/scene_by_scene. htm

Film Noir Elements In The Movie Memento Film Studies Essay

Film Noir Elements In The Movie Memento Film Studies Essay There is yet to be a definition to be created to accurately capture the genre of Noir in film. The concept was first coined by French film critics who noticed the trend of how dark, downbeat and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France to theatres following the war(Film Noir). The term noir is a French word which literally means black or dark. The connotation attached to the term later on came to be those films which depicted crime, strangeness, cruelty, brutality, violence and similar other attributes. The period for Noir films flourished in the 1940s up to the 1950s, which were aptly called the classic noir period in movies. Later on, from the 1960s up to the current times, other types of noir films were conceptualized like the neo-noir and the science fiction noir, all concepts of which were derived from or echoed the original classic noir genus. Memento is one movie which typifies the film noir genre in that it has numerous elements which categorically makes it as one. Primarily, the existence of a lonely, confused and troubled protagonist (Schoenherr) is there. Add to this the other elements like the black-and-white scenes, the struggle, the seemingly bleak situations, the crimes perpetrated, the underground investigations, the voice-overs of the lead character, evil, paranoia and deception among other things. An interesting feature of this film though is the story unfolding from its end going up to the supposed initial scenes which took place. It is not narrated exactly in a circular motion but rather they are presented in chunks of about 10 minutes each. Aside from this, there is the alternate presentation of the colored and black-and-white formats to add narration and further expound on the sequence of events. Film noir operates on specific social, cultural and historical contexts. In this particular film, the social context used is that of the protagonist becoming a different man after the rape and murder of his wife. Leonard or Lenny loses his memory after he shoots his wifes rapist and he is shoved and clubbed by the rapists companion. His head hits the bathroom mirror, and from then on, he becomes afflicted with Anterograde Amnesia or not being able to retain his short-term memory. Lennys memories before the accident are intact and his last memories are of his wife being murdered, hence, his ever- enduring quest to avenge her death. Most people now think of Lenny as a freak for not being able to remember thoughts, names, faces and events which are a regular part of the memory of normal people since he forgets his thoughts and the things he does after 15 minutes or so. However, Lenny struggles to keep his sanity by taking Polaroid pictures and immediately labeling them, writing down his ideas, and tattooing the more important thoughts on his body. Having no family to call his own, he lives in a motel room and is suspicious of everyone. His lifes direction is motivated by vengeance and a major part of the film is spent on this desire to kill. The cultural context of the film is the type of culture that was used in the movie. The setting is sometime during the 2000s in Nevada. It is not shown if the protagonist had a lot of friends before the incident which led to his condition, but it is presumed that it was probably a case of not wanting to be identified with someone with a stigma of mental illness. The only friend who was identified as someone who knew Lenny immediately after the accident was Teddy, who was the one who helped Lenny to find and kill the original murderer of his wife, and then again Jimmy G. who was also killed by Lenny. As such, it meant that the culture held a discriminating attitude towards this mental illness. Pertaining to historical context, the practice of tattooing as a body art was prevalent from the late 1990s up to the 2000s. This was a period when tattooing was no longer considered as objects of diversion done in prison cells but rather as an art form to express oneself. In the movie, the lead character made use of tattoos on his body to remind himself of essential facts/details which he always wanted to be reminded of. Although not used as an art form, the existence of tattoo parlors in the locality denoted an acceptance of the practice of self-expression, which worked quite well for Lenny. It was also a time when Polaroids were popularly used and Leonard fully exhausted the Polaroids capability to assist him in remembering people and places with his depressing mental condition. According to Filmsite.org, the primary moods of classic film noir were melancholy, alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil, guilt, desperation and paranoia (Film Noir). These themes are evident in the seclusion, isolation and omnipresent monologues of the lead character who wanted to establish the links to find meaning in his life. A wide array of emotions ranging from suspicion, confusion, naivete, loneliness, alienation, hatred, and bewilderment among others were efficiently delivered by the lead actor to the viewers who empathized with him in his daily struggle to survive. Noir movies characteristically have a protagonist who is usually reclusive, generally disturbed and commonly pessimistic. The lead character in Memento is not the typical protagonist since he lives his life everyday like a clean new slate. Just like the first part of this movie where a Polaroid picture was being undeveloped, Lenny lived his life always careworn to find out what he had been doing and what he should be doing next. His ultimate aim was to find his wifes killer, a task which Teddy assists him with. Although he is somewhat of the withdrawn type, Lenny is still enthusiastic about life and is confident that his Polaroids, notes and tattoos are taking him somewhere. Different noir styles were also apparent throughout the film. One is that storylines were often elliptical, non-linear and twisting (Film Noir) which connotes the unique presentation customarily associated with noir. Regular films are often presented in a manner where the story unfolds conventionally from beginning to end. The story told backwards and in bits and pieces was a unique way of entrancing the audience into being an active participant in the life of Leonard, trying to come up with his/her own conclusions or links to previous scenes and events. Amnesia suffered by the protagonist was a common plot device (Film Noir) which was obviously the illness which the lead character was afflicted with. This sort of justified the way with which Lenny killed the possible murderers without remorse or guilt since his brain was devoid of any emotions relating to pity and mercy. Furthermore, it is said that the protagonists in film noir were normally driven by their past or by human weaknes s to repeat former mistakes(Film Noir) which is what happens to Lenny as the film unfolds. It is only later in the movie that it is revealed that Lenny had already killed his wifes murderer, and Teddy had even taken a Polaroid shot of him after the said killing. It was due to his mental condition that Lenny was not able to remember the incident which Teddy later used to his advantage in getting rid of Jimmy G. who was a drug dealer. The original story of Memento was an idea brought forward by the brother of the movies director, Jonathan Nolan in the late 1990s. The storyline was finished after several months and director Christopher Nolan came up with the idea that he wanted to tell the movie backwards, hence the screenplay was manipulated in a way where shot sequences were cut up into small bits. In between the colored takes were the non-colored shots to denote two timelines of what was the past and the present respectively. At some point towards the end of the movie, the black-and-white scene becomes colored specifically when Lenny takes the Polaroid picture of the dead Jimmy G, who was the second murder suspect endorsed by Teddy. This signified the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Leonard, and the true commencement of the story which somehow tragically ends with the death of its instigator, Teddy. The artistry presented in the film being of a different genre is as previously mentioned largely seen in the storys presentation to the viewer. The lead actor was also shown in black-and-white scenes and colored ones which showed contrasting characters one, the rugged, unshaven, unkempt, menacing and confused character who shoots the gun at Jimmy G. in black-and-white, and the other, the suit-clad formally dressed and more confident Lenny who drives a Jaguar in colored film. This implies that the main character had good and bad traits, although the bad traits were more emphasized but later exposed to be manipulations done by some of the other characters in the plot. One of these characters is Natalie who represents the femme fatale element in the movie, and who adds further intricacies to the plot and manipulates Lenny into a mental tug-of-war with Teddys statements. The cinematography of the film was excellent as emphasis was done where it was necessary, and accurate illumination was also appropriately achieved. Editing was also good especially in the cuts of the film that had to be fed in several lumps, and in two different formats of color and BW. Continuity in the film was smooth and flowed effortlessly. The film scoring was suitable and elicited empathy from the viewer in the scenes where dialogues were not really necessary. The closest thing to special effects in the film was the way that the first sequence was presented to the viewer where the Polaroid shot was being undeveloped instead of the other way around. It goes back up to the time Lenny shoots Teddy and the latter was screaming for his life. Acting in the film was superb. Guy Pearce as Leonard was able to deliver all the emotions expected from him and thus elicited the required compassion from the viewer. Teddy, Natalie, Sammy Jankins and all the other actors also did a good job in making the plot more focused on the plight of the main character, thereby allowing Lenny to stand out. The movie Memento has some allusions to significant theories and concepts. One of these is the concept of Cultural Materialism. The most active proponent of Cultural Materialism is Marvin Harris and the premise of this theory is that the social life of a human being is a direct response to problems arising from his earthly existence. Leonards actions can be rationalized as a practice of cultural materialism because he is merely responding to his problems instead of taking a proactive role in it. This is due in large part to his illness which he cannot control and which allows him to be manipulated by some shady characters in the film. Existentialism is another concept which is apparent in this movie. The plot evolves around the lead character, Leonard, who tries to find meaning in his existence as he grapples with his affliction rendering him confused and stressed at most times. He tries hard to think and look back but cannot, and this is what leads him to try to devise ways in which he could remember things, events, places and people who have somehow played an important role in his life, after the accident which claimed his short-term memory. Lastly, there is the hint of self-determination as seen in the main character as he tries his best to make decisions without the influence of others. Unfortunately, he was not aware of the subtle approach which was used by the movies disreputable characters who were always one step ahead of him in his plans. Still, it was revealed near the movies end that Lenny was also utilizing his selective memory to manipulate the situation in such a way as to be able to create and continually re-create his motives for vengeance. Since finding the possible suspects to his wifes murder was the only impetus which kept him alive, it was a need he had to satiate, and hence, an inspiration which kept him continually in pursuit of.

Influence of IT on Organisational Behaviour

Influence of IT on Organisational Behaviour The Influence of IT on organisational behaviour Carr (2003) concludes that Information Technology (IT) has become the backbone of commerce and that IT empower companies to serve their customers better. IT can alter the basic nature of an industry (Luftman et al., 1993), and rightly so; IT has forever changed the world that we inhabit. With the use of computers and software, IT has altered how the finance sector operates, how the education system work, how companies conduct their business and how the healthcare sector can help their citizens. Ultimately, IT has been able to help every company and government institute alike to transform their daily operation by turning labour heavy and repetitive burdens into automatic and streamlined tasks that often require little to no human interaction. The use of IT in healthcare enables citizens, healthcare professionals, authorities and administrators to have access to real-time and relevant information through secure delivery without unnecessary barriers. With the help of online healthcare portals, citizens can schedule appointments with their general practitioner, check their patient journal, look up digital medical information such as X-rays or blood samples. Healthcare professionals can save time spent on paperwork and instead concentrate their valuable time on helping their patients. Authorities, such as Data Protection Agencies will be better equipped to help the healthcare to improve procedures, processes and patient safety. Finally, administrators will have access to data and information that could help them improve the decision-making in everyday operations. A practical example of an IT implementation that is showing to have a long-term positive consequence is the implementation of one (a single) centralised Electronic Patient Journal (EPJ) for the whole country of the Faroe Islands. While decentralisation may bring flexibility and fast response to changing needs, decentralisation also makes system integration difficult, presents a barrier to standardisation and acts as a disincentive toward achieving economies of scale (DeSanctis Jackson, 1994). Even though the Faroe Islands is a small country of only fifty thousand people, the country has three hospitals and around hundred general practitioners. With the centralised EPJ system, the healthcare sector has the basics in place to start exchanging digital medical information by integrating with other systems to receive descriptions and answers from a specialist (doctor). These other systems include computerised axial tomography (CAT) scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, Lab oratory and blood systems and so on. On an entirely different subject, albeit all the positives social media might bring, one should not ignore the negative effects. Negative effects from social media include addiction and privacy concerns. The social media is comparable to drugs; once addicted it is hard to let to go. Griffiths (2010) mentions a research conducted on 415 medical technologists that Internet Abuse falls into three distinct categories: browsing, non-work-related e-mails and cyberloafing. According to Griffiths (2010), addition is related to Internet abuse and does have an impact on the workplace in regards to the loss of productivity. To conclude, information technology has spearheaded the digital revolution for some time and is moving companies, consumers and government ever closer to a constant change for globalisation. References Carr, N.G. (2003) Why IT Doesnt Matter Anymore Harvard Business Review. [Online] Available from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3520.html (Accessed: 15 January 2016) Luftman, J.N., Lewis, P.R. Oldach, S.H. (1993) Transforming the Enterprise: The alignment of business and information technology strategies. IBM Systems Journal Vol 32 (1). p. 198 DeSanctis, G. Jackson, B.M. (1994) Coordination of information technology management: Team-based structures and computer-based communication systems. Journal of Management Information Systems Vol 10 (4). p. 85-110. Alder, I. (2013) How Our Digital Devices Are Affecting Our Personal Relationships [Online] Available from: http://www.wbur.org/2013/01/17/digital-lives-i (Accessed: 1. June 2016) Griffiths, M.D. (2010) Internet abuse and internet addiction in the workplace. Journal of Workplace Learning, 7, 463-472.