DAIJ

Go through this process, writer will be more understand the messages that the author or artist want to convey. In addition, DAIS is actually more to the writer opinion and It can help writer to improve thinking skill from different angles. In DAIS, we no need to create anything and it only need a short of time to write DAIS. On the contrary, design thinking is a process create something that based on our client's opinion, benefit, requirement and condition. The whole design thinking process include empathic, define, ideate, prototype and test.In this process, we need to do a lot of research to collect information before we start designing, for example, observation, interview, survey, analysis data and etc. It will take longer time for the whole design thinking process, because it need times for gathering data, analysis data, brainstorm idea, testing and experiment. In conclusion, DAIS is based on writer own opinion and a process to understand creator message. On the other hand, desig n thinking is based on our clients benefit and requirement. These are the differences between DAIS and design thinking. ) When would you use DAIS and when would you use design thinking? When want to gather some information about artwork or images, I will use DAIS. Because DAIS is simple and suitable to collect data from artwork or image and an understand the artwork in details. When have my own clients who need me to help them solve their problem, I will use design thinking. It is more suitable to understand the need and the way to help my client. C) How are they related? Visualize the relationship graphically. The above image is about how DAIS related to design thinking.The design thinking process is created based on â€Å"the Right Brain initiative† website and then I add the DAIS between â€Å"empathic† until â€Å"prototype†. From my understanding DAIS is included in between empathic until prototype. It start with empathic; collecting data like description i n DAIS, understand our clients and the market trend. Then, define which is analysis the data we get, think from different angle to understand deeper. After that, follow by ideate, it's like interpretation from DAIS. From the view of designer, create something that can related to our clients product, means how to relate our own idea to clients product.Lastly is prototype, present our idea to the clients, try to convey and allow them to judge see whether the idea is suitable for them or not before experiment. This process is like judgment from DAIS. In conclusion, DAIS and design thinking is actually related to each other. Both also have their own advantages and both also can support each other. By using two method at the same time, can make the process more clear and easy to understand. 2. We have discussed a number of problems that needs to be addressed e. G. Single parent, homeless.In one of the tutorials, the different problems faced, research questions, hypotheses and proposed so lutions for single parents was discussed. Would DAIS or design thinking help you to identify better solutions? Why? Yes. DAIS or design thinking have their own step to find out the answer. By following with these step can help me understand and identify he problem easily. Furthermore, these steps can guide and improve my point of view of the problem. For example, we can use different angle to think and to solve the problem. 3. Based on the above, what does Picasso quote on research mean?What does having your own voice mean? Why do We need to acknowledge the source? What would you define as original? Based on the my research, Picasso quote can be define as art-based research can be defined as the systematic use of the artistic process, the actual making of artistic expressions in all of the different forms of the arts, as a primary way of understanding and examining experience by both researchers and the people that they involve in their studies. From my understanding, the word †Å"research† can define as experiment.Picasso explore himself by using art, he using painting to experiment the changing of the color and technique, and how it can change the element and the feeling of the whole painting. As a designer, we are not just sitting there and read data, we always need to experiment different kind of technique to gain knowledge and experience. This is what I understand from that quote. Having my own voice can be define as to stay strong and believe of my own pinion, to adhere my own decision, to speak out what I want to say or have my own freedom. The word â€Å"voice† can represent idea, choices, decision or freedom.For example, a boy making decision on what to study for degree, parent always hope he can go study as doctor, account or some others career that can earn a lot of money, the boy will choose the subject that he is not interest in, it is because the boy do not want to disappoint to his parent. In this situation, the boys voice being cover by his parent voice and he choose to listen his parent voice rather than his voice in his inner heart. We should rye to listen and believe our own voice, because this is our life. Speak out is the only way to get what we really want and what we really need.Based on my research, there are few reason that why we need to acknowledge the source. The first reason is to avoid plagiarism. Since we are borrowing people's facts or document to prove our research, we should be honest to give them credit to prove that we are borrowing their document and not stealing. The second reason is allow reader to know furthermore about the source of material we use. This not only can convince them, but also can help them understand more about what they interest in. The third reason is to enhance our credibility as a writer or researcher.To show how serious and important that this research to us, for example our research subject, objective, argument, ideas, experiment and so on. These are the three main reason that why we need to acknowledge the source. Original can be define as not only new but the very first or one of a kind. From my understanding, original means some object, thing that created by ourselves. It also mean the beginning of something. For example, as an artist, use to create my own anima character when I was free. I will get some references about how my character should act like.Let's say my character are standing, then I will follow those standing reference for my character. The output would be different because with my own art style it will look totally original by me. 4. What have you learnt from the exercise on abstraction? From the abstraction question 1, I had learnt how to think differently and see things from different angle. The meaning and message will change when we change another angle to understand the problem, it can change the tone of our thoughts from negative to positive. This is how those successful people thoughts.For example, create a AD vie w of the word â€Å"HI†, below is the image. As you can see, there are different be;men a, b, c, and d; a is opposite of c, the shape of b and d is same, but b is red color and d is black color. This show that a tiny changes will always bring different. Just like what Richard Bach said â€Å"A tiny change today brings a dramatically different tomorrow'. This is what I had learnt from the abstraction question 2. From the abstraction question 4, there are 2 different things that I learnt when I created an abstract kaleidoscope pattern; one is from Photos, another one is from Sony Vegas 13. . In Photos, I had learnt how to find he Photos tree brush to help me reduce the time on design the abstract art. Then, adding some sketches and TV noise effect on my abstract art. In Sony Vegas 13. 0, I had learnt how use front and side mirror effect to reflect my abstract art. After I reflected it, I added glowing light effect to make it like moving. In last step, is to change the color by using color correction. In my conclusion, had gain new knowledge from abstraction question 2 and 4 which are â€Å"think in different angle† and â€Å"some technical knowledge† in Sony Vegas 13. And Photos. 5. We have also discussed in 3-4 tutorials, what factors would attract the argent audience's attention and leaves them with a wow feeling. Identify these factors and how they are achieved from: a) The activities related to the handout on self-promotion In self-promotion section, we are requested to create a magazine cover that can convey message to the audience. My group are created a magazine cover about Christmas. We separated few step to achieve our goal.First, is to observe competitor's magazine cover, to analysis how they create the magazine, in what kind of style. From our observation and analysis we noticed that most of the Christmas magazine cover is more to the realistic ND warm feeling image. It looks normal and a bit boring with this kind of style, there fore we decide to change it to illustration style. We arranged different kind Of item to form a red Christmas tree on a simple white color layout to catch people attention from different kind of magazine. The spacing and color will emphasis the red Christmas tree.Our objective is to bring back audience childhood's memory and to convey audience to celebrate Christmas with their family. In this section, we learnt how to use the correct art style to promote the product and use the right image to convey message to audience. ) The activities related to the handout on brainstorm (for our clients) In brainstorm section, we are requested to help our client to solve their problem. My group are help a fashion customer to promote his new fashion brand named â€Å"SPACE†. At first, We are trying to understand our client company and his competitor.Then we will discuss with him about his requirement on promoting the brand, such as budge, printing media promotion, location of the printing m edia, the style of promotion, TV advertisement promotion, discount and etc. Based on the data we collect, we will try to search the related information and get some inspiration to create a ester. Based on this section, we learnt how to communicate and handle our client. It is important to do some survey or interview to our client, because sometime our client do not tell us what they really want or need, they confuse and do not understand what kind of information that graphic designer need. . What do you think fun, sustainable design and interactivity mean? Fun, sustainable design and interactivity can define as something that not only can entertain user, but also can deliver the message to user in creative way. With these fun, interactivity and sustainable design, will leave deep impression in the audience mind. User will remember it forever. For example, a horror website game named ‘the house†, this game is created by SHANGHAI. The house is a Flash horror point and clic k games. Player can experience the scary feeling in horror house by just clicking the item in rooms.It is fun and interesting. Remember the first time I play this game is in high school, it really leave me deep impression, until now I still remember this game. In conclusion, a design that include fun, interactivity and sustainable design will always leave deep impression for the audiences. 7. What have you learnt from the various topics covered in the syllabus? Elaborate on three which have impressed you the most. DAIS, design thinking and the process of creating an abstracting art is the things that had learnt.DAIS is one of the method that similar to the previous critique method that I learnt in History of Art. As method before in the question 1, DAIS is a process to gather information and collect data from critique artworks, images or photos. It includes description, analysis, interpretation and judgment. The reason why remember it is because we have discuss DAIS for few times an d we have use DAIS method to solve problem. Design thinking is the second method that always being discuss in lass or compare with DAIS in exercise.I had used this method for my final year project, it is very useful and it guide me a way to solve some of the final year question, therefore it leave deep impression for me. The third thing I learnt in this syllabus is creating abstraction art. The reason why it impressed me the most is because had created an abstract artwork by using Photos and Sony Vegas 13. 0. The process when creating that kaleidoscope pattern is really fun and enjoy. Experiment different effect like changing the color, adjusting the glowing lights effect and editing mirror affliction, this process is like expressing my feeling in art.As a designer or a creator, We should enjoy the process on creating something rather than outcome. In Bruce Man's quote, he mention that â€Å"Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ev er go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we're going, but we will know we want to be there. † In my conclusion, DAIS, design thinking and the process of creating an abstract art are method and technique skill that I learnt in this syllabus. Both method an be used in any others subject and can use it to solve the problem in future.

Book Review on Imagining India Essay

Monday morning, it is chaos. Despite its pristine new metro and expanding highways, the city can barely contain the morning hubbub, the swarm of people all trying to get somewhere. By the time I reach Kaushik Basu’s home—set a little apart from the highway, on a quiet street that is empty except for a single, lazy cow who stops in front of the car, in no hurry to move—I am very late, a little grimy, but exhilarated. Kaushik and I chat about how the crowds in the city look completely different compared to, say, two decades ago. Then, you would see people lounging near tea shops, reading the morning paper late into the afternoon, puffing languorously at their beedis and generally shooting the breeze. But as India has changed— bursting forth as one of the world’s fastest-growing countries—so has the scene on the street. And as Kaushik points out, it is this new restlessness, the hum and thrum of its people, that is the sound of India’s economic engine today. Kaushik is the author of a number of books on India and teaches economics at Cornell, and his take on India’s growth—of a country driven by human capital—is now well accepted. India’s position as the world’s go-to destination for talent is hardly surprising; we may have been short on various things at various times, but we have always had plenty of people. The crowded tumult of our cities is something I experience every day as I navigate my way to our Bangalore office through a dense crowd that overflows from the footpaths and on to the road—of software engineers waiting at bus stops, groups of women in colourful saris, on their way to their jobs 38 at the garment factories that line the road, men in construction hats heading towards the semi-completed highway. And then there are the people millin g around the cars, hawking magazines and pirated versions of the latest best-sellers. * Looking around, I think that if people are the engine of India’s growth, our economy has only just begun to rev up. But to the demographic experts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, India’s population made the country quite simply a disaster of epic proportions. Paul Ehlrich’s visit to Delhi in 1966 forms the opening of his book The Population Bomb, and his shock as he describes India’s crowds is palpable: ‘People eating, people washing, people sleeping . . . people visiting, arguing and screaming . . . people clinging to buses . . . people, people, people’. But in the last two decades, this depressing vision of India’s population as an ‘overwhelming burden’ has been turned on its head. With growth, our human capital has emerged as a vibrant source of workers and consumers not just for India, but also for the global economy. But this change in our attitudes has not come easily. Since independence, India struggled for decades with policies that tried to put the lid on its surging population. It is only recently that the country has been able to look its billion in the eye and consider its advantages. ‘MILLIONS ON AN ANTHILL’ For most of the twentieth century, people both within and outside India viewed us through a lens that was distinctly Malthusian. As a poor and extremely crowded part of the world, we seemed to vindicate Thomas Malthus’s uniquely despondent vision—that great population growth inevitably led to great famine and despair. The time that Thomas Malthus, writer, amateur economist and clergyman (the enduring term history gave him would be ‘the gloomy parson’), lived in may have greatly influenced his theory on population. Nineteenth-century England was seeing very high birth rates, with families having children by the baker’s dozen. Malthus— who, as the second of eight children, was himself part of the population explosion he bemoaned—predicted in his An Essay on *Tbe Alchemist, Liar’s Poker and (Tom Friedman would be delighted) The World Is Flat have been perennial favourites for Indian pirates. the Principle of Population that the unprecedented increases in population would lead to a cycle of famines, of ‘epidemics, and sickly seasons’. India in particular seemed to be speedily bearing down the path that Malthus predicted. On our shores, famine was a regular visitor. We endured thirty hunger famines* between 1770 and 1950— plagues during which entire provinces saw a third of their population disappear, and the countryside was covered ‘with the bleached bones of the millions dead’.1 By the mid twentieth century, neo-Malthusian prophets were sounding the alarm on the ‘disastrous’ population growth in India and China, and predicted that the impact of such growth would be felt around the world. Their apocalyptic scenarios helped justify draconian approaches to birth control. Policies recommending ‘sterilization of the unfit and the disabled’, and the killing of ‘defective’ babies gained the air of respectab le theory. 2 India’s increasing dependence on food aid from the developed world due to domestic shortages also fuelled the panic around its population growth—in 1960 India had consumed one-eighth of the United States’ total wheat production, and by 1966 this had grown to onefourth. Consequently, if you were an adult in the 1950s and 1960s and followed the news, it was entirely plausible to believe that the endgame for humanity was just round the corner; you may also have believed that this catastrophe was the making of some overly fecund Indians. Nehru, observing the hand-wringing, remarked that the Western world was ‘getting frightened at the prospect of the masses of Asia becoming vaster and vaster, and swarming all over the place’. And it is true that Indians of this generation had a cultural affinity for big families, even among the middle class—every long holiday during my childhood was spent at my grandparents’ house with my cousins, and a family photo from that time has a hundred people crammed into the frame. Indian families were big enough to be your *Amartya Sen and others have pointed out, however, that while these famines may have seemed to be the consequence of a country that was both poor and overpopulated, they were in fact triggered partly by trade policies and the lack of infrastructure. Lord Lytton exported wheat from India at the height of the 1876-78 famine, and the lack of connectivity across the country affected transportation of grain to affected areas. Main social circle—most people did not mingle extensively outside family weddings, celebrations and visits to each other’s homes. The growing global worries around our population growth created immense pressure on India to impose some sort of control on our birth rates, and we became the first developing country to initiate a family planning programme. But our early family planning policies had an unusual emphasis on ‘self-control’.3 In part this was influenced by leaders such as Gandhi, who preached abstinence; in an interesting departure from his usual policy of non-violence, he had said, ‘Wives should fight off their husbands with force, if necessary.’ This focus on abstinence and self-restraint continued with independent India’s first health minister, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who was in the odd position of being at the helm of a family planning programme while opposing family planning ‘in principle’.4 As a result Indian policy during this decade emphasized the rhythm method. Rural India was targeted for raising awareness of the method, and one villager remarked of its success, ‘They talked of the rhythm method to people who didn’t know the calendar. Then they gave us rosaries of coloured beads . . . at night, people couldn’t tell the red bead for â€Å"don’t† from the green for â€Å"go ahead†.’ 5 Not surprisingly, India’s population continued to grow through the 1950s and 1960s, as fertility remained stubbornly high even while infant mortality and death rates fell rapidly. This was despite the massive awareness-building efforts around family planning that the government undertook. I still remember the ‘small family’ songs on the radio and the walls of our cities, the sides of buses and trucks were papered with posters that featured happy (and small) cartoon families, and slogans like ‘Us Two, Ours Two’. And yet, each census release made it clear that our population numbers continued to relentlessly soar, and we despaired over a graph that was climbing too high, too fast. SNIP, SNIP As the global panic around population growth surged, the Indian and Chinese governments began executing white-knuckle measures of family planning in the 1960s. ‘Our house is on fire,’ Dr S. Chandrasekhar, minister of health and family planning, said in 1968. If we focused more on sterilization, he added, ‘We can get the blaze under control.’ By the 1970s, programmes and targets for sterilization of citizens were set up for Indian states. There was even a vasectomy clinic set up at the Victoria Terminus rail station in Bombay, to cater to the passenger traffic flowing through. 7 But no matter how Indian governments tried to promote sterilization with incentives and sops, the number of people willing to undergo the procedure did not go up. India’s poor wanted children—and especially sons—as economic security. State efforts to persuade citizens into sterilization backfired in unexpected ways—as when many people across rural India refused to have the anti-tuberculosis BCG, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, injections because of a rumour that BCG stood for ‘birth control government’.8 In 1975, however, Indira Gandhi announced the Emergency, which suspended democratic rights and elections and endowed her with new powers of persuasion, so to speak. The Indian government morphed into a frighteningly sycophantic group, there to do the bidding of the prime minister and her son Sanjay—the same hotheaded young man who had described the Cabinet ministers as ‘ignorant buffoons’, thought his mother a ‘ditherer’ and regarded the Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos his role model.9 In the winter of 1976, I, along with some of my fellow IIT Bombay students, had arrived on the ‘festival circuit’ in Delhi to participate in the student debates and quizzes (yes, I was an inveterate nerd). It meant going from college to college for competitions, from Hindu to St Stephen’s to Miranda House to IIT Delhi. Most of us from the sylvan, secluded campus of IIT Bombay were not as politically aware as the Delhi students—the only elections we followed were those for the ITT hostels and student body. But in the Delhi of the Emergency years, sitting around campfires, one heard the whispered tale s of Emergency-era atrocities, and of one particular outrage—’nasbandi’. Sanjay, who had discovered a taste and talent for authoritarianism with the Emergency, had made sterilization—specifically male sterilization or nasbandi— his pet project. The sterilization measures that were introduced came to be known as the ‘Sanjay Effect’—a combination, as the demographer Ashish Bose put it to me, of ‘coercion, cruelty, corruption and cooked figures’. Ashish notes that ‘incentives’ to undergo the sterilization procedure included laws that required a sterilization certificate before government permits and rural credit could be granted. Children of parents with more than three children found that schools refused them admission, and prisoners did not get parole until they went under the knife. And some government departments ‘persuaded’ their more reluctant employees to undergo the procedure by threatening them with charges of embezzlement.* The steep sterilization targets for state governments meant that people were often rounded up like sheep and taken to ‘family planning’ clinics. For instance, one journalist witnessed municipal police in the small town of Barsi, Maharashtra, ‘dragging several hundred peasants visiting Barsi on market day off the streets’. They drove these men in two garbage trucks to the local family planning clinic, where beefy orderlies held them down while they were given vasectomies.10 This scene repeated itself time and again, across the country. It was difficult to trust the sterlization figures the government released since there was so much pressure on the states for results. Nevertheless, the Emergency-era sterilization programme, Ashish notes, may have achieved nearly two-thirds of its target—eight million sterilizations. But democracy soon hit back with a stunning blow. When Indira Gandhi called for elections in 1977—ignoring Sanjay’s protests, ‘much to his ire’11—the Congress was immediately tossed out of power. The nasbandi programme was the last gasp of coercive family planning in India on a large scale, and it became political suicide to implement similar policies. The Janata Party government that followed Indira even changed the label of the programme to avoid the stigma it carried, and ‘family planning’ became ‘family welfare’. While sterilization programmes have occasionally reappeared across states, they have been mostly voluntary, with the focus on incentives to undergo the procedure, f *Asoka Bandarage describes the target fever in India’s sterilization programmes, which gave rise to ‘speed doctors’ who competed against each other to perform the most number of operations every day, often under ghastly, unhygienic conditions. One celebrated figure was the Indian gynaecologist P.V. Mehta, who entered the Guinness Book of World Records for sterilizing more than 350,000 people in a decade—he claimed that he could perform forty sterilizations in an hour. tThese sweeteners for the procedure have at times been very strange and a little suspect, such as Uttar Pradesh’s ‘guns for sterilisation’ policy in 2004, under which scheme Indians purchasing firearms or seeking gun licences were told they would be fast-tracked if they could round up volunteers for sterilization. A district in Madhya Pradesh also made a similar ‘guns for vasectomies’ offer to its residents in 2008.

Urban design starts with social design. Critically evaluate this Essay

Urban design starts with social design. Critically evaluate this statement in the context of place-making - Essay Example Social design involves the designer coming up with creative designs while keeping his or her responsibility in the society in mind. The designer uses the design to bring about the required social change. From the definitions, it is evident that there exist a relationship between urban design, social design and placemaking. In all of them, the designer has the client’s preferences at heart designing to ensure that the wants of their clients are fulfilled. In place making, the comfort and happiness of the client is the motivation behind its design. In urban design, the main motivation involves changing the shape of villages, cities and towns according to the specification of clients in those areas. In social design, the designer is interested in enhancing their social responsibility. Despite this relationship, social design is not the first to consider when doing urban design and placemaking. The reason is that it is difficult for inhabitants in a certain area to have the same sense of place (Lucas 2012). Individual clients for the different designs experience multiple and disjointed areas with poor relationships among them. There exists a difference between social policy, expectations of the reform is and real-place making capacity. There is an increasing tension existing between planners and architects concerned with placemaking and an enlightened approach to urban designs, though they all have a less socially based agenda. Despite that, they still have a tremendous influence on shaping what can be built through the enforcement of the technical requirements and standards. Urban designs does not start with social design, it could start with needs and preferences of the client, which is more important than social design. In beginning the social impact initiative for these social designers, they have to declare their specific intentions. The reason is that designs and

Christian Dior A Classic Fashion Paradigm of the 21st Century Coursework

Christian Dior A Classic Fashion Paradigm of the 21st Century - Coursework Example The essay "Christian Dior A Classic Fashion Paradigm of the 21st Century" talks about Christian Dior and his role in the context of fashion. Archaeologists have also retrieved garments from tombs along the Nile River valley. A dress from about 3000 BC, excavated in AD 1912, was rediscovered in 1977 among a bunch of dirty linen rags in a museum in London, England. It later went on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, also in London. Perhaps the world's oldest fully preserved garment, this dress consists of a skirt attached to a pleated bodice (fitted upper part) with a V-shaped neckline and long sleeves. Two other ancient Egyptian dresses survive from about 2400 BC. A Greek style in dress became fashionable in France shortly after the French Revolution (1789-1799), because the style was thought to express the democratic ideals for which that revolution was fought. Clothing reformers later in the 19th century admired ancient Grecian dress because they thought it represented timel ess beauty, the opposite of complicated and rapidly changing fashions of their time. Aspects of Roman clothing also have had an enormous appeal to the Western imagination. The modern Western bride has also inherited elements from ancient Roman wedding attire, such as the bridal veil and the wedding ring. Clothing in West Africa shows the influence of Islamic styles imported from North Africa, especially in the extent to which it covers the body. Women usually wear a long wrapped skirt, a loose blouse, and a head wrap. Many of the skirts are made of printed cloth. (Steele, 2007) Asia can be roughly divided into Chinese and Indian spheres of influence. Chinese clothing styles have influenced the clothing of neighboring countries, including Japan and Korea; Indian clothing styles have influenced the clothing of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Thailand. (Steele, 2007) Although the kimono- a T-shaped garment with wide sleeves that was tied with a sash-remained essentially unchanged as the basic article of clothing for Japanese women for centuries, colors and patterns changed according to the current fashion, as did the way of wearing kimonos. Social conventions also influenced kimono styles. A kimono with a brightly colored flower pattern and long dangling sleeves was, and is still, regarded as suitable only for a young, unmarried woman. (Steele, 2007) In the early 20th century, traditional clothing began to give way to styles that combined elements of Asian and Western dress. For example, in the 1920s Chinese women began wearing the qi pao (or in Cantonese, the cheongsam), a new slim dress with a high collar and a slit skirt that combined Chinese, Manchu, and Western styles. After a Communist government led by Mao Zedong took control in China in 1949, Chinese people increasingly had to wear the so-called Mao suit, a jacket and trousers of heavy, dark blue cotton. The outfit, which resembled a uniform, was worn by Mao. After Mao died in 1976, the Chinese began again to choose their own styles of dress, and interest revived in the traditional clothing of China's many ethnic minorities. (Steele, 2007) The sari, a long piece of fabric, is made of cotton or silk, often elaborately decorated with dyed, woven, or embroidered patterns is worn in India. It is wrapped around the body and worn with a short, fitted bodice. There are many styles of wrapping saris, and various styles are associated with

Net-Centric Computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Net-Centric Computing - Essay Example Net-centric computing is designed to achieve optimal performance of all the resources. James Robertson, the founder of Step Two designs, a vendor neutral consultancy located in Australia has an article on 10 principles of effective information management  (KM.   1 November 2005). The article describes the concerns that users face in the implementation of information management. He also discusses the challenges in implementing information management effectively (Robertson, 2005). QUESTION: Are Robertson’s 10 principles easier or harder to apply in the context of a network? The application of James Robertson’s principles on a network is much easier (Albert, 2002). This can be attributed to the fact that a network, though varying in complexity, is somewhat less complicated than information management. This is discussed by breaking down the principles in a networking scenario. Recognize (and manage) complexity This principle explains the recognition and management of co mplexity. According to Robertson, this should be done when faced with complexity and a dynamic approach should be taken. When setting up a network, many variables are considered because the network is bound to grow and advance. With advancement complexities are bound to arise. With this principle, the complexities are easily projected, recognized and contingencies put in place to manage them as they arise. Focus on adoption The biggest challenge this principle faces in information management is that the staff need to actively participate and if they don’t, the required information won’t be captured. Before a network is designed the necessity of it has to be thoroughly evaluated, that is, who are the users, are there appropriate applications available, are the services and data coordinated to ensure efficiency? With all this needs evaluated, when it comes to implementation, adoption is not a problem. Deliver tangible and visible benefits Before a network is designed, go als have to be set. Design testing has to be done before implementation. During testing, all the goals have to be met with sufficient results before implementation; this ensures that the network always delivers (Robertson, 2005). Prioritize according to business needs The need for priorities is always there, and it always determines which tasks will be done first. In a network, this eliminates the time wasted on tasks that will not bring efficiency first, so the most important and critical are performed first. Take a journey of a thousand steps Because it is almost impossible to account for every detail in any setting, in a network the principle will dictate that, the most optimal solution be used and the changes, that will occur, will be handled periodically. Provide strong leadership In any project, the capability of the project leader will always determine the success of that project. In networking, a lot of coordination is required between the different sections, and with strong leadership, the project runs smoother, and probability for errors, and failure is significantly reduced. Mitigate risks No matter how well planned a project may be, errors can always happen, for example, the failure of a server is always unseen. Good risk management always reduces the damage that is done when problems occur. For example, frequent backup, will reduce the amount of data lost during a server failure. Communicate extensively Good communication is always essential when many parties are involved. A network is composed

Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Abortion - Essay Example ff, 2002), fetus lacks self-consciousness thus it does it is not even aware that it is alive thus it practically does not have the will or the desire to live (Singer, 2000). Since the fetus is supposedly unaware of its existence, the mother has the right to terminate the pregnancy. The argument here is that forcing a woman to bring a fetus to full term and then raise the child thereafter is contrary to the very idea of self-autonomy and freedom of choice (Warren, Mary Ann, 1973). Although the woman has rights over her body, the fetus also has the right to life. Arguably, the right to life starts at conception (Marquis, 1989). When the woman choose to have consented sex, she become responsible for putting the fetus into her womb. As it is, she now has the obligation to let the fetus use her body. The right to life of the fetus now comes in direct contrast to the rights of the woman not to let the fetus use her body. The question now is whose rights are more important, the rights of the mother over her body or the right of the fetus to use the body of the mother to live. This clash of rights may not be resolved easily and debates regarding the issue are bound to go on for several

Virtual Intimacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Virtual Intimacy - Research Paper Example The history of virtual intimacy can also be traced in older times. It was in practice with the help of letters (pen friendships) and telephones (telephonic friendships: a bit newer trend than pen friendship). These practices were not so much common and were only revolving around a certain group of people usually with literary taste. It was a practice of patience so young generation was rarely found indulged in such relationships (Psy.D.). During the age of technology, people who were dreaded of loneliness found a way out to get rid of anxiety and stressful individualist life. They started finding happiness in their desktops. Virtual intimacy and distant cyber oriented relationships no doubt have introduced us with a number of social and communal melodies with incurable side effects. Youth has abundantly distracted in the way of finding their glee in their computers. Cyber crimes were augmented significantly during the age of virtual intimacy (Halder et al 32). These crimes include ha cking, personal information theft, online passwords theft, credit cards theft and fake identity show off. Levels of virtual intimacy are several including general friendships, love relationship and sexual relationships using web cameras and audio applications. Lack of trust and fake identity representation has destroyed the entire beauty of social networking. People are usually representing their identity in false grounds to timely enjoy with others (Gizmodo). Apart from social networking sites, internet media has introduced online dating services where individuals can find their dating partners to exhale their desperate feelings of affections. Since Maslow has identified social and affection need of human being, it has now justified because people cannot survive in individualist cultures (Halder et al 34). When the debate of real versus virtual relationships comes into being, it can easily be justified that level of trust is vulnerable in actual and physical relations in today†™s technological age. In the scenario of uncertain physical intimate relations, it is really hard to trust upon unseen people on internet in order to plunge in to a relationship. In some cases, people reach to marriages but such marriages are not long terms due to abundantly spoken lies (Kiesbye 21). People are lean to plunge in to virtual relations because they do not feel any sort of binding or accountability. They can utilize their leisure in better way. It also offers diversity to people. If a person joins an international dating forum, he or she can get a very diverse choice of people. For example, females in western countries are more interested in Asian men and men in Asian countries like to have a white lady. This collision in choices stimulates them to have a platform to get connected with people of their desire. Many people are fond of travelling and networking, for this purpose they remain connected with many people of their interest areas who can provide them help when needed (Panteli 101). A very broadly observed phenomenon is curse of foreign nationality in men of less developed countries. They get contacts with foreign woman who can support them to come abroad for better earnings. However this is observed lesser. Nowadays people are interested in short term relationships without any sense of accountability and responsibility. Which is why they either virtually intimated with others or they look for shorter term need fulfillment

See instructions below CJ220 wk 5 Research Paper

See instructions below CJ220 wk 5 - Research Paper Example Previously, in the early times of policing, officers were not well paid by their respectful departments. The plea of policing lay in the prospect to benefit from the corruption and gratuities that were presented to the police. During the â€Å"professional period,† ranging from 1920-960, this practice distorted. Through the initiative of police unions and the creation of other civil service transformation, police officers received benefits and better pay. This made some changes in this sector. Police officers who may probably fall into the corruption temptation (especially those on drug details and vice) should be routinely transferred to different beats or assignments. The disadvantage of this measure is that it can demolish the human resource expertise, which has been accrued by specific officers. To avoid this loss, administrators only alter a handful of police officers in specific considerations in each rotation. This department exists to ratify a measure of responsibility and quality control on actions of police officers. The department attains information by civilian review boards, criminal investigation of police officers, and public complaints. The creation of correctly functioning internal affairs unit lessens the frequency hiring of corrupt police personnel. These units are restricted solely by resources at their disposal and by the administrators’ relationships with the police

Bees Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bees - Research Paper Example The tiny bees may appear to be aggressive in nature but, are yielding so many benefits in the form of honey and wax. For all the women out there, one be should be thankful to these tiny insects as they have been taking care of an individual’s skin for a very long time. As one all are familiar with the common role of bees which is the pollination, some other useful role of bees include its antibacterial effect, its skin care benefits and who can forget the sweetest role of bees which is the making of honey. There are approximately 20,000 species of these little insects, the bees. The tiny creatures can be found in every part of the world but not in Antarctica. European honey bee is the most widely known specie of bees. As the human nature forces him to keep himself abreast about everything that happens around so, the human being could not resist to extract the benefits out of the honey bee. Today, beekeeping is being carried out by human beings to manage the benefits out of honey bee. Bee keeping is necessary to take care of the population of these useful creatures. Check out how one can benefit from this little creature but, do not forget to give it some space too. As far as the question is concerned how to give space to bees then the answer to it is simple! Drill deep holes into a large pine block and place a roof over it. The bee box is ready. Later, place this bee box in such an area where pollination is required. After one are done with this kind gesture, it is time to contribute in boosting pollination. This initiative will help one to ensure that maximum number of plants are building an active reproduction and producing fruits. Honey bees are required by the plants for an efficient as well as effective reproduction. Mason bees also actively play their part in pollination but, they do not produce honey. Carpenter bees are very helpful as they pollinate those plants which are not pollinated by honey bees. Please do not get wild upon seeing a bee

Enron Scandal Essay Example for Free

Enron Scandal Essay 1. Enron was valued at $2.3 billion when it was formed in July 1985. On August 23, 2000, its stock was at $90 per share and it had a market capitalization of $65.9 billion. Explain the major business practices that created such dynamic growth in the price of the stock. Enron used many different tactics to inflate their stock prices. The one that sticks out to me is when they signed a 20-year contract with Blockbuster. Early in the contract Blockbuster and Enron parted ways with a null and void contract. However, Enron still kept the contract on the books as future earnings when they knew that money was never going to come in. They did this so their stocks prices would stay inflated. Another practice is that they switched from an agent model to a merchant model when recognizing revenue. Doing this gave them a 65% increase when typical industry standards only gain between 2-3%. Once they switched to this accounting method other companies started to follow their lead in order to stay competitive with Enron. In addition, Enron understated its liability and overstated its equity. They would do this by creating special purpose entities. These entities were created to show investors the downside of risk. I believe the main reason the stock increased so much is due to corruption of Arthur Andersen, an independent audit firm. On Wikipedia’s website there was a statement from Enron’s Power Committee and it appears they were placing blame on the Andersen firm. They were quoted as saying, †¦ evidence available to us suggests that Andersen did not fulfill its professional responsibilities in connection with its audits of Enrons financial statements, or its obligation to bring to the attention of Enrons Board (or the Audit and Compliance Committee) concerns about Enrons internal contracts over the related-party transactions (â€Å"Enron Scandal†). After reading about the scandal it seems as if Arthur Andersen was being pressured by Enron’s executive management to ignore all their flawed accounting principles. Overall there were several business practices that caused Enron’s stock prices to increase and most of it was due to a flawed and failed accounting system. 2. Why did Enron go bankrupt?  Enron went bankrupt because they were artificially inflating their stock price. They had an audit company that did not report a fair opinion of their findings. The public started to back away and chose not to invest due to their lack of confidence in the company. In 2001, the SEC started investigating the organization and they had to restructure their losses. Another loss took place when Enron’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s and Fitch. I believe they ultimately went bankrupt due to their lack of integrity and honesty, especially when it came to their accounting methods. a. What role did corporate governance (broad of directors’ and top management’s leadership and responsibilities) have in Enron’s demise? Top management played an enormous roll in the fall of Enron. Management was always looking for loop holes to hide debt and keep their stock prices high. They also influenced their audit firm, Arthur Andersen, by paying them high consulting fees. By doing this they were essentially paying Andersen to look the other way. b. What was the responsibility of the â€Å"independent† outside auditors, Arthur Andersen Co.? Andersen should have come in and reported their findings in a fair and ethical way. Since Andersen went along with Enron in hiding debt it ultimately dissolved the Andersen business. c. What was the responsibility of stock broker analysts, rating agencies, and the SEC? The responsibility of the stock broker analysts was to evaluate the financial statements of Enron. They were also required to give the general public a recommendation in regards to stock options. Rating agencies were acting as a credit bureau. They determined if Enron had good credit or not. They also were required to let the public know if the company was paying its debt, as well as other financial obligations. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website, their responsibility was  to â€Å"protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation† (â€Å"The Investors Advocate†). They came under scrutiny because of their failure to prevent Enron’s collapse and ignoring â€Å"red flags† in Enron dealing by failing to review annual reports. References â€Å"Enron Scandal.† Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (n.d.). Web. 03 Feb. 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal#Special_purpose_entities â€Å"The Investors Advocate.† U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.) Web. 03 Feb. 2014. http://www.sec.gov/about/whatwedo.shtm l

A Comprehensive Definition Of Counselling Psychology Essay

A Comprehensive Definition Of Counselling Psychology Essay This essay will give a clear definition of counselling and give a discussion with regards to the counselling settings that make a client feel safe. The essay will so discuss the characteristic that an effective counsellor should possess and give the importance of unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence in the counselling process. Importance of self-care will also be discussed in the essay. A COMPREHENSIVE DEFINITION OF COUNSELLING Counselling is a process that enables a person to sort out issues and reach decision affecting their life. Often counselling is sought out at times to change a crisis and help people at any time of their life. Counselling involves talking with a person in a way that helps that person to solve in a way that create conditions that will cause the person to understand and improve their behaviour, character, values or lifes circumstances. Counselling is often performed face to face in confidential sessions between the counsellor and clients. Counselling can and may take many different format to bring a person to a better understanding of themselves and others. It can be seen that counselling can be of benefit to a person experiencing problems in finding, forming and maintaining relationships. Counselling is an umbrella term that covers a range of talking therapy. These are delivered by trained practitioners who work with people over a short or long period of time to help them bring about effective change or enhance their wellbeing. It is also a process in which a person is helped to explore the situation and find solution or answers for a problem. Counselling is a method of guidance of an individual. It helps the client to grow to a greater maturity by allowing the individuals to take responsibilities and to make their own decision ( John Rita, 2004). A DISCUSSION OF WHAT THE COUNSELLOR CAN DO WITH THE REGARDS TO THE COUNSELLING SETTING TO MAKE A CLIENT FEEL SAFE. A counsellor can have a Person-centred counselling where a therapeutic relationship between a counsellor and a client is formed. The client needs to be able to talk about whatever they need to, share their intimate thoughts and explore sometimes difficult feelings. For this a client needs to feel able to fully trust the counsellor, feel safe, supported and that they will not be judged. The counsellor should work on creating the right environment in which a client feels able to look at themselves and develop a greater understanding of their own thoughts, feelings and meanings. The counsellor is not there to analyse or give them advice, but instead to be alongside them supporting them and helping to explore their own issues with the belief that the client will come to find their own answers (France, 1984). According to Sutton (1998:50-56) creating a warm and safe environment is an essential stepping-stone to building a strong therapeutic alliance. A counsellor should have a room that h elps the client feel comfortable so that they can star sharing their concerns. Counsellors should give examples of opening sentences to help break the ice, as well as discussing some other important topics, including building trust boundary issues such as contrasting and terminating sessions on time. There should have the sessions in the same room that way the client will feel safe and comfortable and a counsellor should have chairs places approximately four feet apart and slightly at an angle. A small clock needs to be positioned where the counsellor can glance at it and attention should be paid to the lighting and room temperature. A box of tissues should be placed where the client can easily reach them, a vase of flowers should be available to add some colour to the setting so that the client can feel some warmth and reflect something of your personality. Greeting the client and showing them their sit can also make them feel safe. Addressing the client by the first name can also make them feel comfortable and accepted but you should ask them how they want to be addressed and introducing yourself with your first name can also mean breaking down the barriers of inequality. The counsellors opening sentences should be empathic and their posture should demonstrate to the client that they are ready to listen. Building trust is also important for people who have been let down before so developing the skills of active listening, accurate, sensitive responding, reflecting feelings, and empathy demonstrating that you are fully present for the client can help to establish a solid foundation of trust ( Sutton, 1998). THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT AN EFFECTIVE COUNSELLOR SHOULD POSSESS. First the counsellor should work on building a relationship. A requirement for being an effective counsellor is being able to practice and impart the skill of empathy in the client-counsellor interaction. The ability to convey a sense of confidence give clients a sense of confidence in themselves and confidence that the counsellor is directing people in the right direction. The counsellor should always be open-minded. They should not be judgemental but instead know how to give the best suggestions on how to deal with different types of situations. They need to know how to put themselves in ones shoes. Counsellors also need to be friendly with everyone. They should never let the person they are counselling feel more down than they already are. The counsellor should also be a good listener (Gladding, 1988). An effective counsellor should be able to relate to the person they are counselling and display a level of commitment. A counsellor should be able to inspire their client and help them see their potential. An effective counsellor should show their client that opportunities multiply and that life is a long line of opportunities. A counsellor should make their client understand that the choices they make presently will affect them in the long run and to collate what and how these choices will and are playing a role in their lives. According to Gladding (1988:100-105) a counsellor should have awareness and understanding of ones own self it means understanding ones feelings, personal strengths and limitation. This would help counsellors to understand themselves sufficiently and to know exactly what they are doing, why they are doing it. A counsellor should be in good health and should not be distracted by ones own problems. A counsellor should be open minded meaning that they should be able to distinguish between their own beliefs and values to that of their client and not force them to follow a particular value or belief system. Counsellors should have respect for their clients; they must view them as worthwhile people and treat them with warmth and dignity. The counsellor must have assertiveness. It may be verbal or non-verbal. Verbal attentiveness involves what is expressed to the client and the way it is expressed. Allowing clients to complete their sentences is one way of verbal attentiveness. Using verbal encouragers such as I see are ways of demonstrating verbal attentiveness. It is also important for a counsellor to learn to alter their voice and change their volume and speed depending on the clients reactions and situations. Non-verbal attentiveness includes eye contact, head nods, facial expression, body posture and distance. THE IMPORTANCE OF UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD, EMPATHY AND CONGRUENCE IN THE COUNSELLING PROCESS Unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence are the counsellors conditions needed to facilitate change. Without these conditions being present a healing relationship cannot form. 5.1 The importance of unconditional positive regard According to Rogers (1951:55-60) unconditional positive regard is when one person is completely accepting towards another person. This is not just showing acceptance but is an attitude that is demonstrated through behaviour. Unconditional positive regard is the fundamental attitude of the person-centred counsellor towards the client: Some component of unconditional positive regards include Respect: respecting a person in the dignity and brokenness as a person Non-judgemental: being neither judgemental against people of different race and sex Acceptance: accepting people in all their fullness, missing out including how they treat the relationship with you. Valuing: embracing the person you encounter, and valuing them as a unique person. Caring: being concerned for the person and wanting the best them Nurturing: wanting to help the person to grow in whatever ways are open for their growth as a person Love: experiencing the full richness of non-possessive love for the person in this relationship 5.2 The importance of empathy and in the counselling process According to Rogers (1942:60-65) Empathy is an essential variable for engendering constructive personality change in the therapeutic process. Empathy in addition to congruence and unconditional positive regard, has achieved a consensus standing in the professional literature as a core condition in facilitating the treatment relationship in counselling and psychotherapy. Empathy is the capacity to recognize and share feelings such as sadness and happiness that are experienced by another person and it involves sensitivity to the clients problems and being able to see things the way the client does. It involves perceiving and communicating. Perceiving is an intense process of active listening by the counsellor. On the other hand in communicating the counsellor says something that tells the client that their meanings and feelings are understood. Cultural sensitivity and knowledge of cultures different from the counsellor own are important to the effective use of the empathy. Empathy is r ecognized as a prominent variable in the development of a positive relationship. With an enhancement of empathy understanding, clients generally increase their level of therapy satisfaction, likelihood of compliance, and involvement in the treatment process. Being empathetic ensures you are listening and dealing with the clients concerns as they present them. You are not judging them. Empathy can assist counselors when dealing with challenging clients through Intensity responding to the feelings expressed at the appropriate level of intensity for example if you are working with a client. They are very agitated, about to be evicted and their mother is sick. Your response is You are a bit upset. The client becomes distant you have not reflected their level of emotion accurately. Context take all aspects into account not just word and non-verbal behaviour. A lot of people we come into contact with have multiple problems in their lives. They may behave in ways we find inappropriate but taken in context of their experience are understandable. Selective responding sometimes it may be appropriate to respond only to feelings or behaviour. Some clients do not respond well to discussing their feelings and in these cases it is useful to focus on more concrete elements such as experience and behaviour. When your empathic responses have been successful it is evident from the clients response, a nod of the head, or a positive verbal response. If a counsellors empathic response has not been accurate the client will indicate this non-verbally by stopping, fumbling or becoming frustrated. Being aware of these signs will assist a counsellor in relating to the challenging client (Rogers: 1951). 5.3 The importance of congruence in the counselling process According to Rogers (1942:66-70) Congruence means genuineness. People are congruent when they are not trying to appear to be anything other than what they are. Congruence is concerned with a persons attempt to achieve harmony in their way of being. Congruent is closely related to a number of terms such as honesty, transparency yet its meaning does not coincide with any of these. In providing the three counselling processes the counsellor creates a therapeutic environment which enables a client to psychologically self-heal. Congruency can help a counsellor to identify a client by the way the client will be portraying themselves. In counselling process this would help a counsellor to be able to work with a person who knows their true self so it wont be difficult to help that person to overcome the obstacles they face in life. THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CARE FOR COUNSELLORS Self care is a way of living that incorporates behaviours that help you to be refreshed, replenish your personal motivation, and grow as a person. It is the equivalent of keeping your car filled with gas so that you are ready to go anywhere you want without being worried if the gas is enough to go a distance. As school counsellors one of the major expectations is developing prevention and intervention strategies for students. However this cannot discount the need to develop own prevention and intervention plans for self-care. Prevention for burnout might include such things as asking for supervision, promoting your own personal wellness plan including a method to refill your own emotional bucket. Develop your own professional and personal support system with not only those who support you but those who will challenge you if you are exhibiting signs of burnout. Periodic self-assessments and evaluation of life stressors is an important prevention strategy. Personal counselling, nurturi ng your own emotional self, evaluating personal relationships, engaging in stress management and positive recreational activities offers value in burnout prevention as well ( Gladding, 1988). Counsellors should build a strong foundation for themselves this means spending time to strengthen themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually for example daily clearing is to check and identify how you are feeling and what you are thinking. Gather quality support such as finding a community like-minded people so that they can give you support. When you are with supportive people you will feel positive and empowered. Get rid of commitments that weigh you down and use the time to do things that give pleasure. Self-care is actually taking care of yourself after a long day at work so that you can work on your inner thoughts and be able to help people with a free mind and not experiencing burnout. Giving yourself time to do all the things that mean a lot to your life and keep you happy will keep you revived and strong enough to face your client with confidence ( Gladding, 1988). CONCLUSION This essay defined counselling and discussed the setting that a counsellor should be at to make a client feel safe with specific reference made looking at the characteristic that an effective counsellor should possess. The essay discussed the importance of unconditional positive regard, empathy, congruence and self-care in counselling process and in a counsellors own life

Gavrilo Princip, Sarajevo and World War I Essay -- Bosnia History Poli

Gavrilo Princip, Sarajevo and World War I In present-day Sarajevo alongside the Miljacka River there used to be commemorative footprints in the concrete sidewalk. Spanning across the Miljacka River was the Princip Bridge, named after the man who took not only the life of an Archduke, but also the lives of many more during World War I. Bismarck had predicted that, â€Å"Some damned foolish thing in the Balkans† would cause the war. He was partially correct. The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip did not cause World War I; instead it served as one of the contributing factors to the start of the war. This is why in Sarajevo, after 1990, there are no traces of the assassination. Street names have been changed, and Gavrilo Princip is now considered a criminal terrorist by Bosnia. Today it is known that â€Å"The assassination is a very sensitive topic† and that is is â€Å"hard to find people willing to talk candidly about Gavrilo Princip.† There were many reasons for the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Many of these reasons had to do with the relationship between the countries of Austria and Serbia. After the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 Austria was given the right to govern the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time, Bosnia consisted of Croats who are Roman Catholic, the ethnic Serbs who were Serb-Orthodox, and the Muslims who were left from when the Turks ruled populated the province of Bosnia. Unfortunately there was no one set ethnic group for Bosnians. Many of the Bosnians wanted to have their province shared in conjunction with Serbia, which was only across the river. Serbia agreed with the Bosnians on this matter and were very eager to see this happen... ...orld War.com. Memoir of Count Franz von Harrach, 28 June 1914, http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/harrachmemoir.htm. 24 April 2003. Geiss, Imanuel, ed. July 1914 The Outbreak of the First World War Selected Documents. New York: Norton and Co., 1967. Habsburg, Otto von. â€Å"I Know This Will End Badly.† Newsweek v133 i10 (March 8, 1999): 34 (1). Hergesell, Alexandra. â€Å"Echoes of World War I.† Europe (October 2001): 44. Jelavich, Barbara. The Habsburg Empire in European Affairs, 1814-1918. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969. Lafore, Laurence. The Long Fuse. Philadelphia: Lippincott Co., 1965. Seton-Watson, R.W.. Sarajevo. London: Hutchinson and Co., 1969. Snyder, Louis L. Historic Documents of World War I. Princeton NJ: D. Van Nostrand Co. Inc., 1958 â€Å"When Sarajevo Triggered a War.† Time, vol. 123 (January 30, 1984): 33 (1).

case study Leonardo Bridge Project Essay -- essays research papers

When Leonardo da Vinci designed a 240 meters bridge it would have been the longest bridge in the world. His plan was ambitious. In 1502, a skeptical sultan rejected Leonardo's design as impossible, but 300 years civilization finally embraced the engineering principle - arches as supports - underlying the construction. The bridge has been constructed, in Norway. Now instead of spanning the Bosporus , his visionary creation was destined to span 500 years as a bridge to another millennium. Vebjorn Sand, the man behind the modern project, has a site with images and details. http://www.vebjorn-sand.com/thebridge.htm Leonardo Bridge Project In 1502 Leonardo da Vinci did a simple drawing of a graceful bridge with a single span of 720-foot span (approximately 240-meters.) Da Vinci designed the bridge as part of a civil engineering project for Sultan Bajazet II of Constantinople (Istanbul.) The bridge was to span the Golden Horn, an inlet at the mouth of the Bosphorus River in what is now Turkey. The Bridge was never built. Leonardo's "Golden Horn" Bridge is a perfect "pressed-bow." Leonardo surmised correctly that the classic keystone arch could be stretched narrow and substantially widened without losing integrity by using a flared foothold, or pier, and the terrain to anchor each end of the span. It was conceived 300 years prior to its engineering principals being generally accepted. It was to be 72 feet-wide (24 meters), 1080-foot total length (360 meters) and 120 feet (40 meters) above the sea level at the highest point of the span. Norwegian painter and public art creator, Vebjà ¸rn Sand, saw the drawing and a model of the bridge in an exhibition on da Vinci's architectural & engineering designs in 1996. The power of the simple design overwhelmed him. He conceived of a project to bring its eternal beauty to life. The Norwegian Leonardo Bridge Project makes history as the first of Leonardo's civil engineering designs to be constructed for public use. Vebjà ¸rn Sand took the project to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Though hardly a visionary organization, when Sand presented the project the reaction was unanimous. "Everyone on the project knew we would be making something more than another boring bridge," Sand says of his meetings with government officials, "We would be... ...or the Project. Through the process of development, these world-class architects and engineers have joined Vebjà ¸rn Sand to create a "dream team" of experts on the history, design and structural aspects of the "Queen of Bridges" prepared to implement the global project. Sand's vision to build the bridge on each continent also includes drawing on the cultural traditions, and incorporating materials, unique to each region. Finally, the Leonardo Bridge Project represents a historical connection between Europe and the Middle East, between Christianity and Islam. The Italian Renaissance was inspired by the scholarship of the Ottoman Empire. Leonardo, in turn, was fascinated by the Middle East. This aspect seems particularly relevant since the events of September 11, 2001, as the Leonardo Project expands into the global goodwill project Vebjà ¸rn Sand envisioned. The Norwegian Leonardo Bridge was constructed and opened to foot and bicycle traffic on October 31, 2001. Da Vinci's vision resurrected, 500 years after the drawing was made. Vebjà ¸rn Sand is currently considering several sites in the United States for the next Leonardo Bridge Project.

Alice Walker :: Biography Biographies Essays

Alice Walker Alice Walker, one of the best-known and most highly respected writers in the US, was born in Eatonton , Georgia, the eighth and last child of Willie Lee and Minnie Lou Grant Walker. Her parents were sharecroppers, and money was not always available as needed. At the tender age of eight, Walker lost sight of one eye when one of her older brothers shot her with a BB gun by accident. This left her in somewhat a depression, and she secluded herself from the other children. Walker felt like she was no longer a little girl because of the traumatic experience she had undergone, and she was filled with shame because she thought she was unpleasant to look at. During this seclusion from other kids her age, Walker began to write poems. Hence, her career as a writer began. Despite this tragedy in her life and the feelings of inferiority, Walker became valedictorian of her class in high school and received a â€Å"rehabilitation scholarship† to attend Spelman. Spelman College was a college for black women in Atlanta, Georgia, not far from Walker’s home. While at Spelman, Walker became involved in civil rights demonstrations where she spoke out against the silence of the institution’s curriculum when it came to African-American culture and history. Her involvement in such activities led to her dismissal from the college. So she transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in New York and had the opportunity to travel to Africa as an exchange student. Upon her return, she received her bachelor of arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1965. She received a writing fellowship and was planning to spend it in Senegal, West Africa, but her plans changed when she decided to take ajob as a case worker in the New York City welfare department. Wa lker later moved to Tougaloo, Mississippi, during which time she became more involved in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. She used her own and others’ experiences as material for her searing examinations of politics. She also volunteered her time working at the voter registration drive in Mississippi. Walker often admits that her decision not to take the writing fellowship was based on the realization that she could never live happily in Africa or anywhere else until she could live freely in Mississippi. Walker found the love of her life in 1967, a white activist civil rights lawyer name Mel Leventhal, and they were married in 1967.

Devise a Marketing Strategy to present to the Marketing Director Essay

In this case study, I have been given a number of roles and my task is to consider and provide appropriate answers in the relevant business context where you apply learning from my course of study so far and my own work experiences. Question 1 I am the supervisor in the marketing department and I believe that there is scope for gaining more sales in the standardised sector of the market because of quality differences between my product and those of larger competitors. Devise a Marketing Strategy to present to the Marketing Director designed to achieve this objective Corporate Objectives The Furniture Company, based in a small town in Lancashire, develops, manufactures and markets quality furniture. The firm has a very good reputation throughout the entire region for all its products. The Furniture Company’s Supervisor of the Marketing Department is at present pursuing a strategy to grow its market share in the standardised section of the market because of quality differences between their product and those of larger companies. Marketing Audit Internal Product – High quality standardised products targeted at C1/C2 segments. Considered to be higher quality than those of larger competitors. The firm has a very good reputation for quality products. Pricing -Currently sold to up market retail outlets and on all sales are there is a very high profit margin on a relatively low turnover. Prices are higher than for similar type products in the large retail outlets due to economies of scale in purchasing. Place – Customers mainly consist C1/C2 for the standardised furniture. Potential customers visit the company’s display showroom, fully manned by an accounts clerk, a salesperson, both of whom are full-time and two part-time salespersons at weekend. Promotion – Very little advertising is done. Current advertising is mainly done via local press, and via direct mail all aimed locally. Advertising spend tends to be about 3% of revenue, with higher marketing spend within peak months. External Social – Since consumer trends are always changing, as are several of the products. With the traditional furniture, trends have small effect on sales. Economic – Figures to be confirmed. There is a spend of over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½750,000 within East Lancashire in the furniture market. The predicted growth for next year is 2% due to current consumer spend (interest rate currently stands at XX, and inflation 2.6%). Competitive – The Furniture Company faces many competitors, on its retail side are many, and on local scale there are approximately 10 similar sized companies, although, the firm has a very good reputation throughout the entire region for all its products. Customer Audit Standardised products are aimed at C1/C2 segments. The competitions products were viewed as inferior to those of The Furniture Company, due to highly skilled craftsmanship. SWOT Analysis Strengths * Availability, either via local showroom, situated just off motorway or via retail outlet * Access, Full showroom with manned staff * Established, very good reputation throughout the region * Established up market retail outlet supplier * Higher quality than those of larger competitors * Innovation, constantly designing new furniture for changing market Weaknesses * Prices are slightly higher than for similar type products Opportunities * Market Development * Selling to mid-market retail outlets Nationwide * Expanding product into Europe & worldwide Threats * Prices are higher than for similar type products in the large retail outlets * Unable to keep up with supplier demand Marketing Objectives and Strategies Market Development Ansoff’s Matrix is a well-known Marketing Tool for deciding upon strategies for growth. First published in the Harvard Business Review (1957) in an article called Strategies for Diversification (see below example). Market Penetration By marketing our existing products to our existing customers, thus increasing revenue, by promoting the product, repositioning the brand. The aim is to encourage people to switch from other furniture manufacturers. Market Development Marketing the product in a new market/target audience. By introducing the product into a new region and also exporting the product. Market Extension/Product Development Selling the existing standard furniture into new markets, nationwide and worldwide, as the product already has a strong marketing competence. Diversification Not required Example of The Ansoff Matrix Product Life Cycle (see diagram below) Launch/Introduction – The product is introduced into new markets and heavily promoted to create awareness. High costs. Due to success in the current markets, risk is fairly low. Growth – Higher volume of sales enables The Furniture Company to benefit from economies of scale. Products become more profitable as sales rise and costs fall. Advertising spend is still high and focuses on building upon a brand name, ready for the maturity and decline stage to introduce new furniture after the brand has been established. Maturity – Sales grow at a decreasing rate and then stabilise. Brand awareness is crucial in continuing success. The company retains its share of the market by capturing sales from weaker rivals by ensuring consistently quality furniture. Decline – At this point there is a downturn in the market for this particular product. Sales and profit decline. New products are introduced or consumer tastes have changed. Product can be removed from the market at this stage and replaced by new furniture or profits can be improved by reducing marketing spend and cost cutting. Elimination/Withdrawal (or extension) When faced with decline in sales, the company will need to decide whether the decline is Temporary, Terminal and Irreversible or Capable of being reversed by an adjustment in the marketing mix Extension To rejuvenate the product to prolong its life by changing the product, the brand, the way it is promoted or the distribution channel. Question 2 As supervisor in the marketing department one of my roles is to devise expansion strategies as question 1. I believe, however, that the high quality hand crafted furniture could sell to a national and ultimately international market especially if at some future point the U.K. joins the single currency. At present these products sell to a regional market and I have already put this idea to the Marketing Director and received a positive response to the extent that he wants you to do a presentation to the full board of Directors on this idea Devise a promotional campaign to be presented to the Board that would reach a national market for the higher quality products. Marketing is defined as the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying the requirements of customer profitably. Product Introduce the standardised range and also high quality furniture into mid-market and up-market retail outlets nationwide. The standardised range is higher quality than those of competitors. The handcrafted furniture provides high quality furniture aimed at the higher end of the market. Price Cost for the standardised product is slightly higher than its competitors. This can stand being higher due being higher quality than the products of competitors. Place The standardised products and the high quality furniture both sell currently to larger retail outlets and also to individual order. Introduction of the furniture into a national market and also international market. Promotion Offer trials to nationwide retail outlets, both mid-market and up-market with the relevant products, with trial offers. Pay for advertising spend to promote the product within the area via local media, and also promote product and brand via in-store advertising and display stands. Brand awareness is very important at this stage. The Promotional Plan * Description of products available * A description of target audience * Identification of the price * Information on where the product will be sold * Methods to be used o Posters – placed at locations in store and places frequented by your target audience o Press Release – Informing of the product to be selling locally o Local Newspaper Advertising – Advertising within locality using established media within the area promoting brand and product o Radio Advertising – Informing of product and brand launch, aimed at prime time listening, selecting stations geared to 35+ and homeowner audience. Question 3 I am employed as the supervisor in the Personnel Department and am responsible for the overseeing of the day-to-day tasks of the department. I am currently studying for the Institute of Personnel Management qualification and have become more familiar with the concept of human resources. Present a paper to the Personnel director outlining the benefits of introducing a HRM approach to the management of people and in particular how this would improve both productivity and motivation. Motivation (Definition) †¦ a set of processes concerned with the force that energises behaviour and directs it towards attaining some goal. A strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to the management and development of the organisations human resources in which every aspect of that approach is wholly integrated with the overall management of the organisation. HRM is essentially an ideology, quote M. Armstrong, taken from Handbook of Human Resource Management, Kogan Page, 1999. Human resources management activities relate to employees pay, welfare, conditions of employment and training. HRM is based on four principles * Employees must be seen as valued assets in which to invest. It is human capability and commitment, which, in the final analysis, distinguishes successful organisations from the rest, Storey. * HRM is of strategic importance and, therefore, needs to be considered by top management in the formulation of the corporate plan. * Commitment not compliance. The key levers (the development of human resources; evaluation of performance and the rewarding of it) are to be used to seek not merely compliance but commitment. In other words, employees should not be forced to work grudgingly, but by obtaining their wholehearted commitment * Strategic implications of HRM. HRM is therefore, seen to have long-term implications and be integral to the core performance of the business. It must be the intimate concern of the line managers. Line managers have the responsibility of managing their staff. The role of personnel function is to enable the line managers to fulfil their HRM responsibilities effectively. Soft and Hard Approach to HRM The soft approach can be closer than the traditional personnel approach. Soft HRM is an integrated strategic function that is concerned with nurturing people because they are human beings whose feelings should be considered and, developing this valuable resource is the best way to achieve results. The Hard approach is based on the belief that human resources are the key assets, with emphasis placed on * Getting more out of people * Using them in a more productive way The aims of HRM are the same whether hard or soft and as follows * Enable management to achieve organisational objectives via its workforce * Enable people to utilise their full potential * Foster commitment * Integrate human resources policies with business plans * Establish an environment to unleash the creativity and energy of the workforce * Encourage flexibility in the interests of an organisation that is able to adapt to the environment and achieve excellence The main areas of management activity associated with the HRM philosophy * Organisation, design and effectiveness especially in relation to teamwork, communications, customer service and change management * Resources providing human resources required by means of recruitment, retention and training programmes. * Performance management improving performance by means of appraisal * Reward management for example, linking pay to performance * Motivation redesigning jobs and devising rewards to motivate employees * Commitment The integration of the needs of the individual with those of the organisation * Employee Relations Policies and procedures to encourage cooperation to the mutual benefit to all * Flexibility by means of mulitskilling redesigning jobs and new patterns of work * Quality as a way of life * Culture management influencing behaviour and thereby attitudes by means of resourcing, performance management and reward strategies Leadership and Motivation In the HRM school, Leadership should be democratic rather than authoritarian, managers should consult employees on matters that affect them, important in gaining respect of both the manager and the company, motivation rewards of social and psychological, not just financial. Motivation is defined as in influence that cases people (employees) to want to behave in a certain way, and combined with ability can result in performance. The motivated worker will be keen to work, take pride in their work, will not display negative attitude towards the company, display high level of commitment and get satisfaction out of work, benefiting the organisation with higher productivity levels, lower labour turnover, lower absenteeism, improve quality with less waste, greater willingness to accept change, willingness to contribute ideas and take on additional responsibility, allowing the company to overall reap the benefits of even greater financial gain. In production department, for example, possible financial reward could be brought into place looking at Hertzberg’s Hygiene factors of Pay and Benefits, Working Conditions, Company Policy, Status, Job Security, Supervision, Office and Personal Lift all set to motivate Achievement, Recognition, Job Interest, Responsibility and ultimately Advancement. HRM could look at setting up motivating factors with the sales department by setting targets based on achieving sales to new retailers nationwide with additional financial gain based on and over achieving rewards. The key concepts to adapting a HRM approach to the company would provide the following Competition advantage – Aspects of the company that give it an advantage over its rivals Human Resource Management – A strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to the management and development of the company’s human resources Personnel Management – Management/administration of recruitment, welfare and training of the employees McGregors Theory x and Y (1960) McGregors Theory X and Y (1960) about managerial behaviour had a profound effect on management thinking and practice. His Theory Y principles featured in management training courses for a decade or more. They influenced the design and implementation of personnel policies and practices. The legacy today permeates the axioms of participative and total quality management and the continued practice of staff appraisal. McGregor defined assumptions that he felt underpinned the practices and stances of managers in relation to employees. These were evident from their conversations and actions. Two sets of propositions were dubbed Theory X and Y. He was saying that – what managers said or showed in their behaviour revealed their theories-in-use. Their predisposition led managers to pursue particular kinds of policies and relationships with employees. McGregor’s Theory Y was interpreted and promoted as a one-best-way, i.e. Y is the best. Managers or aspects of their behaviour became labelled as Theory X, the bad stereotype and Theory Y – the good. McGregor ideas were much informed by Maslow’s need satisfaction model of motivation. Needs provide the driving force motivating behaviour and general orientation. Maslow’s ideas suggested that worker dissatisfaction with work was due to poor job design, managerial behaviour and too few opportunities for job satisfaction. On the basis of these ideas about drives – Maslow suggested a classification of needs related to the development of the person – lower level needs giving way developmentally to higher order needs. Thus a hierarchy is suggested although not claimed by Maslow. Example of Maslows Hieratchy Benefits If we introduced a HRM approach to the company ultimately employees at all levels will feel motivated and productive as quoted by carrot & stick philosophy acceptance, and produce the most productivity. Employees will feel more worthy with a much easier line of communication with everyone feeling a valuable part of the organisation. The company needs to introduce a leadership mentality rather than management leadership and nurturer a new leadership approach. At present the organisation’s communications systems are mostly paper and telephone based Present a discussion document to the Personnel director explaining the concept of this electronic office, including explanation of the relevant technologies and their potential benefits You should also point out any potential drawbacks from this innovation and conclude with an evaluation of whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks or vice versa While predictions of the paperless office have yet to be fully realised, modern business now relies on a vast array of electronic equipment to function efficiently and effectively. The concept of a paperless office is to ensure productivity improvement and to use time more efficiently. At present most of the organisations communications are paper and telephone based. Initially, by utilising e-mail (electronic mail, which is the main use of the internet) the following advantages are gained by replacing paper & telephone communication * Speed of movement and data * Paperless office * Accessible via any modem line * Delivery is faster than snail mail (post, especially useful when dealing overseas) * It overcomes the problems of timezones. The recipient does not have to be there to receive it * Like fax, it is possible to send messages to more than one person * E-mail addresses are portable * It enables users to exchange information with people * The cost is not dependent on the distance travelled * It is cheaper than fax or telephone * Cuts out general chat on the telephone * Less formal than a letter * The message will remain in the recipients e-mail account until it is collected * Can be sent with document or picture attachment * E-mails can be stored until recipient discards information Installing computerised systems with each department will also benefit from enabling all staff to access shared data from different departments computerised filing systems, e.g. access into word documents, spread sheets and other programme files. With transportable laptops, the office can be taken anywhere and even used worldwide, to assist in presentations and retrieving documents on a more global scale. Document Management System Another new form of the Electronic Office is the Document Management System offering solutions from the standalone scanner to a whole enterprise solution. E-Business solution companies analyse and advise on new business solutions. The Document Management System is a small step in the way forward for the paperless office, the benefits of incorporating the system is * Reduce office staff non-productivity rapidly locating folders and documents * Retain corporate knowledge and know where it is * Access paper documents within your business application * Scan your cabinets full of documents to secure them in case of Fire, Flood, Burglary or damage * Enable multiple people access to the same document or folder * Safely secure your documents for archival * Reduce boxes of stored paper * Automatically recognise forms and characters on incoming documents and locate them based on their content * Fax and receive documents directly from your desktop * Establish document privacy Electronic Office Manager It is a Human Resources and Process Management System that focuses on the internal operations of your business. The EOM provides businesses with a computerised Office Manager, with everything defined as a procedure, checklist or form. Job Descriptions become daily â€Å"to do† lists. To help manage time with automated reminders covering everything from training events to holiday management. EOM also provides Electronic Human Resource and Training Departments with employee files, applicant databases, and pre-written and editable employee handbooks and job descriptions. It also includes a system for creating and scheduling training. EOM even helps with financial forecasting and business planning features and point-to-point web navigation and link management. Operative Procedures, HRM, Business Development, Scheduling and Education & Training are all available via EOM programme. Electronic Drawbacks Training and monitoring of training will be required at each stage to ensure competence and understanding of new system. With regular meetings required, and management of the change in system. Staff may be dissatisfied with the paperless office, and reluctant to the change. System failure. Without the adequate after support service and/or training there could be potential problems with system errors, which may result in non-productivity if staff rely on PC’s when there is a breakdown. A recent example pf a paperless office is one department of Glasgow Borough Council, who recently had a computerised system developed solely for the use. Originally, each site manager called into an office each morning to collect information on various sites requiring repair assessment visits (approx 20 throughout the day) followed by a visiting to each site and manual completion of an in-depth form, and followed by manually inputting information on the computer for someone else then to call out to complete the repair work. The Borough Council have now developed a computerised system to enable them to receive the site information via electronic organiser, input the repair requirements, and return information upon completion for repairs to be carried out. Not only did this save much time on paperwork, but also time is more effectively managed by receiving full details of jobs throughout the day, which may be in areas the site manager is already working in.    BIBLIOGRAPHY Jewell Bruce R, An Integrated Approach to Business Studies, Longman, [2000] ISBN 0582 40542 4 Ansoff’s Matrix, www.marketingteacher.com/lessons/lesson_ansoff.html [accessed 31/05/02] How do I market My Inventions, http://www.montanaedu/wwwcxai [accessed 20/05/02] The Electronic Office, www.walters.co.uk/brochure/elecoffice1.htm [accessed 06/06/02] Imaging and Document Management Solutions, www.cabinetng.net/paperlessoffice.htm [accessed 05/06/02]

Literary Exploration on of Mice and Men

Literary Exploration In life we are part of many roles that create dangers we face that may lie beyond our understanding. Even though these roles are hard to understand, they can give meaning to our life. In John's Steinbeck â€Å"Of Mice and Men,† we see these men's day to day lives, the main character; George takes care of his friend Lennie who has difficulties understanding the rules of the world we live in. Through the story there are many ups and downs mostly involving Lennie, who is trying to see through the eyes of George and to do and be as George is.For this reason George is constantly trying to think of what is best for Lennie. Through all of this they face even more dangers and still try to find a way to raise money for a farm to call their own. George and Lennie show how the dangers we face can affect our lives for the better while everything fails around them. Danger is important in our lives, because it gives us the drive to go through day to day lives. Often whe n struggling with dangers we find hope and we look to the outside world for assurance and escape from our worries or pain.George and Lennie find dangers from the very start of the novel because of they are forced to run from one of many problems Lennie causes. In the novel Steinbeck gives Lennie a purpose of taking care of the â€Å"rabbits† and in doing this it shows Lennie that to him his purpose in life is to take care of the â€Å"Rabbits. † In the novel a quote that show that the dangers they ran from at the very beginning are far behind them, â€Å"Guys like us, that work on ranches ,are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no families. They don't belong no place†¦We're gonna have a little house an' a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and live off the fatta the land†¦ We'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens†¦Ã¢â‚¬  this quote shows how George and Lennie strive to have a better life. Even though George knows tha t these dreams will never come true, â€Å"let’s have different color rabbits, George†¦ Red and blue and green rabbits†¦ sure fluffy ones. † As you begin to read on in the novel, it almost seems as if, their hopes and dreams are starting to come true. â€Å"you know a place like that? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Maybe we could do her right now? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ In one month. †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ But then Lennie unknowingly is killing everything he touches and the dangers they ran from are coming back just as before , â€Å"Why he’s dead. † She cried â€Å"I was just playing with him†¦ and he was gonna make like he was gonna bite me†¦an’ I made like I was gonna smack him†¦ an’†¦an’ I done it. An’ then he was dead. † And because of this and Curly’s wife George is faced with a big decision. George must learn that Lennie is dangerous to others that are around him because he does not know his own streng th, and that him and Lennie cannot keep running forever.However, hope can be taken as well, which is shown in the novel by a stable buck named Crooks. â€Å"A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ books or thinkin’ or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so. Maybe if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not. He can’t turn to some other guy and ask him if he sees it too. He can’t tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn’t drunk. I don’t know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an’ then it would be all right.But I jus’ don’t know. † Crooks speaks these words to Lennie, on the night that Lennie visits Crooks in his room. The old stable-hand admits to the very loneliness that George described in the novel. As a black man with a physical handicap, Crooks is forced to live in the barn whitch is on the ranch life. He is not even allowed to enter the white men’s bunkhouse, or join them in a game of cards. His bitterness usually comes out through his bitter, caustic wit, but in this passage he displays a sad, touching side. Crooks’s desire for a friend by whom to â€Å"measure† something.Because these men feel such loneliness, it is not surprising that the promise of a farm of their own and a life filled with strong, brotherly bonds. â€Å"I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody g ets no land. In this passage , after Lennie shares with Crooks his plan to buy a farm with George and raise rabbits, Crooks tries to deflate Lennie’s hopes which creates dangers that may lie beyond our understanding. He relates that â€Å"hundreds† of men have passed through the ranch, all of them with dreams like Lennie’s. Not one of them, he emphasizes with bitterness, ever succeeds to make that dream come true. Crooks shows a sense of reality, telling again of Lennie’s childlikeness , and that the dream of a farm is, after all, only a dream.This moment show’s off Crook’s character, and how a lifetime of loneliness and cruelty can lead to bitterness. It also furthers Steinbeck’s disturbing thought’s that those who have strength and power in the world are not the only ones responsible for cruelty. As Crooks shows, even though he was hurt by others, he seeked out Lennie and attacked him because he is even weaker than Crooks is. Sometimes in life we have difficulty in decisions that makes us question our morals even deeper our character. Curley’s wife enters the barn and try’s to console Lennie. What you got covered up there? † She admits that the life with Curley is a disappointment, and wishes that she had followed her dream of becoming a movie star â€Å"Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me†. Lennie tells her that he loves petting soft things, and she offers to let him feel her hair. When he grabs too tightly, she cries out. Lennie becomes sacred and tried to silence her, he unknowingly breaks her neck.Lennie flees back to a pool of the Salinas River that George has told Lennie of the meeting place that should either of them get into trouble they are to meet. As Candy discover what has happened and gather together a lynch party, George joins Le nnie. Much to Lennie’s surprise, George is not mad at him for doing â€Å"a bad thing. † George begins to tell Lennie the story of the farm they will have together. As he describes the rabbits that Lennie will tend, the sound of the approaching men grows louder. George shoots Lennie in the back of the head.When the other men arrive, George lets them believe that Lennie had the gun, and George wrestled it away from him and shot him. Only Slim understands what has really happened, that George has killed his friend out of mercy â€Å"Goerge raised the gun and listened to the voices†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now. † Slim consolingly leads him away, and the other men, completely puzzled, watch them leave. Lennie is an illustration of how, as we go through life, every human’s personality will be given its test however, it is up to the person to either grow from the knowledge or be crushed as a result.