Baz Luhrmanns Interpretation of the opening scene Essay Example

Baz Luhrmanns Interpretation of the opening scene Essay Example Baz Luhrmanns Interpretation of the opening scene Paper Baz Luhrmanns Interpretation of the opening scene Paper Concentrating on the presentation of character, setting and sound, analyse review and comment on what seems to you to be significant features of Baz Luhrmanns style as a film director, with particular reference to Romeo and Juliet Baz Luhrmanns recreation of Shakespeares play Romeo and Juliet, as a film text, has been a great success in todays modern world. Baz Luhrmanns intentions, in making this film, were to take a classic Shakespearean play (something that not that many young people appreciate any more in this modern age) and to modernise it. To translate the image of what would have been an exciting source of entertainment in the 17th century into a fun filled action/romantic movie suitable for the demanding eyes of the modern worlds youth . Baz Luhrmann had ask himself the question: if Shakespeare were alive today, how would he of made the movie. The expression he uses is putting Shakespeare on a billboard in Time Square. The film opens with a picture of a television screen switched off then, with no sound, clicks one with a few credits on the screen as if someone is changing the channel to find something that would interest them then clicks onto this channel with a newsreader reading out what sounds like news but is the prologue of Romeo and Juliet. While the newsreader is reading out this in the background in a box, where you would see a picture of a broken wedding band, which symbolises the broken love between Romeo and Juliet. Then uses a series of camera styles like rapid zoom and whooshing noise as it goes into the image of the newsreader, followed by dramatic music. The images then start whooshing onto other similar images of Verona and with this the prologue is repeated by the priest, with a more stern and authentic voice. Then it shows pictures of the cast with information about them. This is the introduction to Baz Luhrmanns film and with this he catches the viewers attention. He achieves this by giving the viewers a taste of the excitement to come by showing a few short clips of some if the film. This makes them hungry for more. In the first scene of this recreational play we start off with 3 men from the house of Montague, the Montague Boys, which we see at the start of the film accompanied with a big title saying: THE MONTAGUE BOYS and a rap style song repeating the words: the boys, the boys. They are achieving what Shakespeare wanted them to do originally going around being boisterous and rowdy but in a modern days style. In the original play the 2 men are just going around a market place showing off Baz Luhrmann pretty much goes along the same line of what happened in the original play but with cars, tall extravagant buildings, helicopters, sirens etc. Baz Luhrmann puts the Montagues in a petrol station where they meat up with there rivals the Capulets and recreates the confrontations with guns, which just so happen have the brand name of swords, rapiers etc. Its all very clever if youve seen the original play. Even though that Baz Luhrmann has changed the visuals and made the film more modern he hasnt changed the script he has still kept it in that same Shakespearean tong: thus, thou hast, knowest, thow etc. He did this for 2 reasons: 1 because if he didnt keep the script it would virtually be the same as East side story (another recreation of Romeo and Juliet) and 2 to bring a piece of the 17th century and stick it in the film to show people, of the modern world, how Shakespeare made his play. Baz Luhrmann kept the original scripture of the film; he did this so that he still kept the true nature of the play pure. In doing this he had to make the visuals far more stunning, majestic and exaggerated so as to make it so the audience could understand it through the visual image of the film. The characters in Luhrmanns films are very exaggerated so by looking at the way they act and speak you can instantly tell what kind of person they are in the film: The bad guy, the funny guy, the romantic guy etc. For example the two Montague boys are all rough and tough when they are talking behind the Capulets back but when they are face to face with the Capulets they are very jumpy and scared and also very comical at the same time. But the Capulet boys are much more mean and bullish. Abra a big scary looking character who strikes fear into the Montagues he also loses his temper and Tybalt. Tybalt being the main big bad guy of the film is very harsh and cruel he looks like a big gun slinger. He has a very stylised character his movement his whole style gives him a great sense of character even by the way that he speaks you know he is the bad guy. The complexity of the sound involved in Baz Luhrmanns creations is quite fascinating. At any one point in the film there are a lot of sounds being played for all the different types of things, which you can here, even in the simplest scenes. Many of the sounds are synthesized this means the sounds are created by a computer, this allows the editor to add in and take out sound with ease. Youll see an image on the screen and will be listening to a complex layering of sounds, which will all be playing at once. For example: footsteps, gunshots, whooshing and cars in the background, dialogue and much more. The music will change to the emotion of the person or the film. If you were to listen to all the sounds individually and added together you would be able to hear how the affects are achieved and see how complicated it actually is. All the sounds are stored on a sound deck and are then arranged and played at the times required. The film even has its own sound track, which was released into the charts and went number one at one stage or another. People listened to this and were deeply encouraged to go and watch the film because of what they heard from the soundtrack. Sound is used to enhance emotion and interest: the rap style music at the start of the film when the Montague boys are in their car, a cougar roar sound is emitted when the car revs its engine (this is used to give a sense of danger) Silence is also used to increase tension. Exaggerated sounds on small objects are also used for this purpose. Choreography is the word, which means style of the character and the movement of the character i. e. the style of the movement given out gives a sense of character. Tybalts style is very intriguing in the way that he moves almost like hes dancing. Tybalts movement is meant to be a sort of flamenco dance; he moves very fluently and gives a sense that he is an experienced gun fighter. The part when every thing goes silent and Tybalt comes onto the scene and all you see is boots which then crush on a dropped match and emits that horrible grinding sound. The way in which Tybalt moves embellishes his character. The Montague boys are very jumpy and scared and react with great movement this is called Pantomimic exaggeration. In the first scene 170 shots were used. The techniques used in the film were very much the same as the ones used in western films. The film was meant to be in a western genre, a spaghetti western. A spaghetti western is a sought of love story/ western. The camera techniques used in the film are very good at delivering different emotions or to increase/decrease tension. Big wide shots are less dramatic than the suspension given out by a close up shot. In the first scene there is a large variety of camera styles used, such as when Abra is confronting the Montague boys and the camera suddenly zooms in on his teeth with the word S I N inscribed on them, with camera is looking up at him, this terrifies the Montagues and then causes one of the Montague boys falls back into the car and the camera is looking down on him. When a camera is looking up at a character it is much more scarier than when a camera is looking down upon someone. Computer aided technology was used to help design the costumes for the characters in the film a photos was taken of the actor and the designs where then put on to the computer software to be mapped out and used so they could try samples on the actors to see how it looked and see if they liked it or not, in that context. The Montagues wore bright Hawaiian styled open t-shirts while the Capulets wore flat jackets and darker clothing in a more Latino style. They have also spent a lot of time designing the guns for the films, which symbolize the swords in the original play (thats why the gun brand is called swords). You see in the film the two buildings of both Montague and Capulet, this represents the focus on religious iconography shows that religion (the 2 families are both religious families and respect there religious beliefs) and the law are not able to maintain the battle, the confrontation, and the feud between these to households. Miami was used to shoot the film because of its Latino genre and its religious environment hot country- hot blooded. The gas station was used in the film to symbolize modern city life and to keep the scene similar to that of the original play: market square and gas station both places of common publicity.

Fiscal and Physical Planning of Vocational Essay Essays

Fiscal and Physical Planning of Vocational Essay Essays Fiscal and Physical Planning of Vocational Essay Essay Fiscal and Physical Planning of Vocational Essay Essay Introduction Education by and large is planned to develop the people in a society. In kernel proper stairss should be taken in the planning procedure. Nuhu ( 2007 ) sees vocational and proficient instruction as that instruction. concerned with the acquisition of practical and applied accomplishments. every bit good as basic scientific cognition. It is merely hence a planned programme of theory and practical acquisition experiences that will vouch acquisition of basic academic and life accomplishments. accomplishment of high academic criterions. leading and readying for industry-defined work. In any organisation. be aftering competency is required in puting ends. developing schemes and sketching revenue enhancement agendas to ease achievement of such ends. Planning is the procedure of forming the activities required to accomplish a coveted end. It is fundamentally concerned with the organisation of work forces. money and stuffs ( 3M ) . which are one of the major maps of the top direction. for without effectual planning. a waste of clip and resources is possible. It is besides necessary to observe hence. that information is the key to planning and the demand for equal and timely information can non be over emphatic. : One of the major doctrines of instruction in Nigeria is based on the integrating of the person into a sound and effectual citizen. this and most of the national educational purposes and aims can merely be achieved through a properly planned vocational and proficient instruction. Planning of vocational and proficient instruction is fundamentally to heighten human self-respect and enthrone work and labour by doing persons get and develop adequate salable and employable accomplishments. competences. attitudes every bit good as cognition to enable them derive and keep basic employment or autonomy for a comfy life. The Nigerian dream of constructing a truly classless society can merely be achieved through the effectual usage of vocational and proficient instruction because it offers life-long instruction to all types of scholars and enable them recognize and develop their self-potentials maximally. In be aftering vocational and proficient instruction. we decide in progress. what to be done. when. where. how and by whom it is to be done. It besides entails working out before manus. how to accomplish or carry through the aims of vocational and proficient instruction. stated in the National policy on instruction ( 2004 ) . Which includes: 1. Supplying trained work force in applied scientific disciplines. engineering and concern. 2. Supplying the proficient cognition and vocational accomplishments necessary for agricultural. commercial and economic development. 3. Giving preparation and leaving necessary accomplishments to individual who shall be self reliant economically. 4. Supplying maximal options for scholars to progress or ramify out into paid employment. 5. Making instruction concrete and apprehensible while general instruction should indicate out the vocational deduction of all educational experiences. 6. Supplying pre-vocational orientation to pupils into the universe of work. 7. Developing attitudes. basic educative accomplishments and wonts appropriate for work. 8. Satisfying the demands of the society that is technology-oriented and the demands of adult male for liberalising experience in his educational growing and similar projects. 9. Supplying professionals who can use scientific cognition to the betterment and solution of environmental jobs for the usage and convenience of adult male. 10. To give an debut to professional surveies in other technological field. 11. Enabling our immature work forces and adult females to hold intelligent apprehension of the increasing complexness of engineering. And in pursuit of these set ends and aims of vocational and proficient instruction. the chief characteristics of the curricular shall be structured in both theory and practical acquisition experiences. The course of study shall dwell of five constituents. which are: 1. General instruction 2. Theory and related classs 3. Workshop pattern 4. Industrial developing 5. Small concern direction For effectual engagement of pupils in practical work. the teacher-student ratio shall be kept at 1:20. and trainees finishing vocational and proficient instruction programmes shall hold this three options and more: a. To procure employment B. To put up their ain concern c. Pursue farther instruction Without finance. the above aims can non be achieve. hence financial planning is the life wire of vocational and proficient instruction Fiscal planning of vocational and proficient instruction It refers to the most appropriate manner to entree fundss ( money ) and find the best class of action to take ( budgeting ) for future benefits. Fiscal planning of vocational and proficient instruction means make up ones minding in progress. how financess will be sourced and allocated to each of the countries in vocational and proficient instruction. This is a major map of the authorities. budget commission on instruction and educational decision makers. It goes farther to replies such inquiries such as: 1. What are the beginnings of funding VTE? 2. How much fund is available? 3. Which countries should fund be allocated? 4. Why will such financess be allocated? What are the beginnings of funding VTE? VTE merely like general instruction have specific beginnings of support which include: 1. Government allotment 2. Internally generated gross ( IGR ) 3. Education trust/tax fund. 4. International assistance from universe bank and developed states 5. Non-governmental bureaus ( NGO ) and more. How much fund is available? While the allotment to instruction tops those of other sectors in Nigeria’s 2013 budget proposal presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on the 10th of October 2012 by President Jonathan. the sum is still far below the criterion set by the United Nations Educational. Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) . The proposed allotment of N426 billion to the sector takes merely 8. 7percent of the proposed entire national budget of N4. 9 trillion. whereas the United Nations Educational. Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) . really recommended for allotment of 26percent to the sector which is really critical to national development ( Education ) and VTE being really capital intensive requires more support. So the inquiry of how much fund is available will depend on how rich is the state in focal point. and how much is allocated to instruction sector in general. Which countries should fund be allocated? This may hold to cover with a simple analysis of human and material resources that will be needed to run the assorted VTE programmes such as concern instruction. proficient instruction. agric and place economic sciences instruction. Why will such financess be allocated? Fundss should be made available to run VTE so as to accomplish the aforesaid ends and in the long tally achieve the national aims of Nigeria and they include the edifice of: 1. A free and democratic society. 2. A merely and classless society. 3. A united. strong and self reliant state. 4. A great and dynamic economic system. 5. A land of bright and full chances for all citizens. Physical planning of VTE Physical planning entails the organisation of land and substructure usage. while stressing the demand for supplying a balanced economic development and conserving resources. There is a relationship between the financial and physical planning of VTE. as there can be no human and material presence without a good fiscal budget. The physical planning of VTE relates to set down and material facets in the planning procedure. and forming human and material resources for effectual operations of career and proficient instruction. This program involves the followers: 1. A topographical study on bing VTE schools. 2. Fixing architectural designs and drawings 3. Guaranting supervising of building and rehabilitation work. 4. Provision of preventative care installations. 5. Planing research lab for VTE workshop for practical acquisition. 6. Guaranting proper airing in schoolrooms and workshop. 7. Provision of appropriate office and category room furniture. 8. Guaranting handiness of capable professionals in the assorted VTE programmes. Budgeting techniques in be aftering VTE Budgetary procedures constitute the primary mechanism for planning and commanding educational activities. Budgets have been defined in assorted ways by directors and school decision makers because organisations are ever working by supervising the flow of money in order to achieve its set ends and aims. Knezevich ( 1975 ) defined budgeting as a fiscal or quantitative statement that has been prepared and approved prior to a defined period of clip. This statement includes policy to be pursued during the period for the attainment of aims However. it is pertinent to province that instruction budget is a fiscal bluish print for the operation of the educational sector for the financial twelvemonth. Types of budgeting 1. Line – Item Budgeting- : This is the traditional technique of budgeting which lists points on a strictly object footing. It is besides referred to as object – of – outgo budget. This type of budgeting classifies outgo on the footing of articles or points purchased. It refers to the grouping of outgo into classs such as administrative staff wages. academic staff wages. supplies and stuffs. fixs and care and so on. 2. Performance Budget- : It is an betterment on traditional budgeting because it emphasis the usage of brief accounts to back up each point of outgo. In this type of budget. one does non budget for money but one budget for the aim to be achieved. Furthermore. Calden and Wildaryshy ( 1974 ) remarked that public presentation budgeting allow minutess to be identified by general intent in order to separate between outgos which contribute tp development and those which do non. 3. Functional budgeting- : This technique of budgeting merely explains the budget harmonizing to the caput which it is expected to run into. Ebhomien ( 1984 ) stated that the demerit of this type of budgeting includes the fact that aims of such budgets are non ever clearly stated because they are normally loosely defined. This signifier of budgeting does non give room for full answerability as it makes it hard for person to cognize how every small spot of the fund allocated is spent. Caffarella Model of Programmme Planning Cafferalla Program Planning Model Caffarella listed 12 stairss to be considered in programme planning. The 12 stairss are: Discerning the context Building a solid base of support Identifying programme thoughts. Sorting and prioritising programme thoughts Developing programme aims Designing instructional programs Devising transfer-of-learning programs Formulating rating programs Making recommendations and pass oning consequences Selecting formats. agendas and staff demands Preparing budgets and selling programs Coordinating installations and on-site events Caffarella presents the theoretical account as a circle where all 12 stairss point toward the centre circle. called the Interactive Model of Programme Planning. bespeaking that the procedure is non-sequential. The plan contriver can get down the procedure at any one of the 12 stairss. and does non necessitate to work around the circle but instead each measure is a reminder of of import undertakings to be completed during the procedure. How financial and physical planning has contributed to the growing of VTE 1. There is improved consciousness and credence of vocational and proficient instruction. 2. It has provided a footing for timely determination devising. 3. There is more intercession in the country of substructure. For illustration. the new VTE workshop in our school. ( UNIBEN ) 4. It has promoted more effectual and efficient use of available resources. 5. It has ensured continuity of vocational and proficient instruction in our assorted establishments. Factors to see before be aftering vocational and proficient instruction Initial appraisal of bing VTE system: It will be necessary to first measure the bing VTE system capacity. including support degrees and budget use. strengths. failings and lacks before shiping on a large-scale system reform or enlargement scheme. There is therefore the demand to carry on specific baseline surveies that besides explore the bing links with the other degrees of instruction and national labour policies. Linkage with other sectors of the national economic system: There should be specification in clears footings between VTE and other sectors of the national economic system in order to efficaciously associate the VTE scheme to other national schemes and policies in the country of instruction and preparation. employment. and socio-economic development. Linkage with regional and international policies: How does the national VTE scheme dovetail into bing regional and international instruction and preparation policy models and protocols? National VTE schemes should take into history the instruction and preparation protocols of regional groupings like The Economic Community Of West African States ( ECOWAS ) . Southern African Development Community ( SADC ) . and The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa ( COMESA ) and besides other acknowledged international bureaus involved in instruction and accomplishments developing. such as the United Nations Educational. Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) . American Dental Education Association ( ADEA ) and The International Labor Organization ( ILO ) . Linkage with the universe of work: Since the ultimate aim of VTE is employability and employment publicity. it is necessary to associate preparation to the demands of the labour market. VTE must be relevant and demand-driven. instead than supply-driven and a stand-alone activity. In order to make this. information is required on the existent employability of VTE alumnuss. available occupation chances. and the germinating accomplishments demands on the labour forepart. Determining the demand for accomplishments is best achieved through state specific Labor Market Information Systems ( LMIS ) and other study instruments. Instructor preparation and professionalisation of VTE staff: The professional competency of vocational and proficient instruction instructors is important to the successful execution of any VTE scheme. Governments should hence do witting attempts. non merely to develop but besides to retain instructors in the plan. REFERENCES Adaralegbe. A. ( 2001 ) . A Doctrine of Nigerian Education. Ibadan: Heinemann. Ahubaka. I. ( 1996 ) . The Role of Science and Technology in National Development. Caffarella. R. S. ( 2001 ) . Planing plans for grownup scholars: A practical usher for pedagogues. trainers. and staff developers ( 2 ed. ) . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Inc Ekpenyong. L. E. ( 1992 ) . â€Å"Business Teacher Education in Nigeria Prospects and Challenges for the twenty-first Century. Ekpenyong. L. E. A ; Nwabuisi. J. N. ( 2001 ) . Curriculum and Human Resource Development issues in Business Education. Ekpenyong. L. E. ( 2005 ) . Foundations of Technical and Vocational Education. Benin City: Supreme Ideal Publishers Int. Ltd. Evans. R. ( 1982 ) . Why Vocational Education belong in the Comprehensive High Education. Journal of American Vocational Association. 57 ( 6 ) . Federal Republic of Nigeria ( 2004 ) . â€Å"National Policy on Education† ( 4th Ed ) Yaba. NERDC imperativeness. Ile. C. M. . Asoegwu. M. N. N. A ; Chukwugbo. G. C. ( 2005 ) . â€Å"Essentials of Vocational Education and Technical Education for beginners† . Awka: Marpat Educational Research and Publishers. Miller J. V. and Vetter L. ( 1996 ) . â€Å"Vocational Guidance for Equal Access and Opportunity for Girls and Women in Technical and Vocational Education† . Paris. UNESCO. Ogwo. B. A and Oranu. R. N. ( 2006 ) . â€Å"Methodology in Formal and Non Formal Technical/Vocational Education† . Enugu: Ijejas Printers A ; Publishers Company. Olairan. S. 0. ( 1990 ) . Vocational and Technical Education: Issues and Analysis. Onitsha: Nobel Graphic Press. Osuala. E. C. ( 1995 ) . Functions of Vocational Education. Nsukka: Falladu Printing Company. World Wide Web. africa-union. org/strategy-to-revitalize-technical-and-vocational-education-and-training-in-africa World Wide Web. businessdayonline. com/NG/index. php/component/content/article/366-business-shool/46337-2013-budget-educations-allocation-still-far-below-unescos-stipulat.

See word Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

See word - Assignment Example It is also important to note that the ideas came naturally to him and like other extroverts he tends to think while speaking. This quality made Steve Jobs as one of the important persons in information technology field to communicate ideas easily with others. A key aspect of Steve Jobs personality was the combination of rationality with that of the designs and aesthetics. He was probably the key source behind the fact that Apple was able to manufacture and develop products which were combination of the rationality as well as the imagination and rationale. His idea of work was relatively consistent with that rationality as he was not considered as a narrow minded and have a clear vision of the future. It was also natural for him to actually conceive long term plans and act on them easily. Rationalists are considered as visionary as well as practical in nature and both these qualities were present in Steve Jobs. He was able to visualize the future and made products and services which changed the future of computing and entertainment. However, he was also practical in the sense that he was able to successfully market those ideas and convert them into successful products. He was not considered as a judgmental in nature as over the period of time, he was able to develop the ability to present both views about any argument. He was able to clearly advocate different and opposite ideas therefore may not be considered as judgmental in nature. According to Myers-Briggs, perceivers actually show the world their preferred perceiving function i.e. their intuition side therefore they tend to be more visionary in nature and have entrepreneurial abilities. The above discussion suggests that Steve Jobs was one of the ENTJ and have all the qualities which can be found in a person who is open, easy to communicate rich and have a vision for

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criminology - Essay Example In fact, crime is a social construct that helps to identify the cultures values, mores and the acceptable behavior within the society. Mertons theory says that society shapes the way people are to act and appear within certain confines. He says that aspiration is very important to the achievement in people and that society determines how people should aspire to their goals. He suggests that anomie in society creates a link between how people place emphasis on aspirations and the "levels of emphasis" they place on these aspirations (Davis, 2005). Merton says that crime is not a positive aspect of society and that it does not help it. Instead, crime is an example of how poorly a society is organized. When examining these theories it is very easy to see what Merton is talking about when you look at crime in the United States. There are a number of people who aspire to the goal of attaining wealth or some level of comfort. They have prescribed to the need to take care of their homes and families and they have good jobs that support their ends. However, there is a large group of society who does not have access to good jobs or to wealth. They live in poverty or they are homeless. Still others are involved with crime because this is the "easiest way" in their minds to create the money they need for their basic needs or to acquire wealth. They do not prescribe to societys social order but instead make rules of their own. One of the greatest reasons why this happens is because the basic needs have not been met by a society that is more influenced by power and achievement than it is on making sure that all citizens achieve. According to Derkheim (1897): No living being can be happy or even exist unless his needs are sufficiently proportioned to his means. In other words, if his needs require more than can be granted, or even merely something of a different sort, they will be under continual friction and can only function painfully. Movements incapable

Moral duties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Moral duties - Essay Example Categorical imperative requires reason to dictate the act we are morally obligated to do, one which is motivated by adherence to the consistent principle which could be applied to all and any rational agent. This deontological ethical distinguishes between the moral doctrines of right from that of virtue. Where the first is driven externally to the actor, the other is internal and concerned with ends. Circumscribing what end is - Kant required of a rational human being that he makes the object of his elective will his end. Kant is very much concerned with ends which at the same time are duties and not with ends due to impulses of the senses or subjective/technical ends. The former are for him objective/moral ends and rests on a priori principles. For Kant, a rational human being is a moral person, fully conscious of his moral duty or duties and deriving deliberate decisions using the metaphysical moral framework. The mere possession of capacity for rationality is nothing compared to its exercise and fulfillment in action. All of this is built upon the foundation of good will or universal good or good unqualified/unconditional and autonomous which he laid down in Groundwork. The Kantian moral system emphasize the performance of moral duty motivated by a priori principle recognized by reason and not from desire of expected consequence or emotional attachment or aversion because duty or end based on sensual inclinations is conditional. It is the role of reason to give fruition to a good will.1 Duty and right are the motivations of good will; aspects of good will, if you may. Groundwork portrays the search for the supreme principle of morality. It sets aside matters that are recognizable by the reader from everyday experience and conceives its subject to be a priori and metaphysical. I think Kant expect the reader to do the exercise of applying the test and criteria he laid down. Kant's recognition of will as separate from reason shows his recognition of actions and ends which are derived from will alone or that derived from a conjunction of will and reason. Reason alone cannot achieve the intended result. Obviously, "will" alone can only get conditional results unlike a real concurrence of will and reason or the good will. Groundwork does not really explain the manner and contents Kant conceives an a priori principles system to have. He takes this matter for granted and leaves too much room for the reader to speculate. Nothing in it describes what metaphysical structure duties should have. The universality test as a method of weighing duties is Kant's significant contribution to moral reasoning but Kant barely seemed to use it in his writings. Kant's method is to determine the universal law of morality applicable to all rational beings at all cases.2 He must have conceived of his writings as a workbook with which readers must work and apply as they go along; a veritable inter-active philosophical work for that matter. For Kant, the duties to perfect one's self and to promote the happiness of others are moral motives and ends in themselves, including that to avoid suicide and self-mutilation. The supreme moral index of autonomous good will identified in Groundwork is broken down in MetaMorals into specific moral duties. For Kant, doing one's duty is its own incentive, even for wide obligations such

An Over View Of The Tata Motors Company Marketing Essay

An Over View Of The Tata Motors Company Marketing Essay The concept of operations management is related to the optimum utilization of the resources in the best possible way. Introduction Established under the parent company, Tata Group, in 1945, Tata Motors Limited has become Indias largest automobile company. It was the first Indian automobile company to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Tata Motors began manufacturing commercial vehicles in 1954 with a 15-year collaboration agreement with Daimler Benz of Germany. This partnership has led Tata Motors to not only become Indias largest automobile company but also Indias largest commercial vehicle manufacturer; the worlds top five manufactures of medium and heavy trucks and the worlds second largest medium and heavy bus manufacturer. Having just entered the passenger vehicles market segment in 1991, Tata Motors now ranks second in Indias passenger vehicle market. Tata has enjoyed the prestige of having developed Tata Ace, Indias first indigenous light commercial vehicle; Tata Safari, Indias first sports utility vehicle; Tata Indica, Indias first indigenously manufactured passenger car; and the Nano, the worlds least expensive The company that has been taken for the purpose of demonstrating operation management and its effectiveness is Tata motors India Pvt. Ltd. The fact that tata motors came up with a small car in the Indian market and has been very succesfull it needs to be understood that what it is that instigated the success to such a boundry. Tata Motors is Indias largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of USD 20 billion in 2009-10. It is the leader in commercial vehicles and among the top three in passenger vehicles. Tata Motors has products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. The company is the worlds fourth largest truck manufacturer, the worlds second largest bus manufacturer, and employs 24,000 workers. Since first rolled out in 1954, Tata Motors has produced and sold over 4 million vehicles in India. Established in 1945, when the company began manufacturing locomotives, the company manufactured its first commercial vehicle in 1954 in a collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG, which ended in 1969. Tata Motors is a dual-listed company traded on both the Bombay Stock Exchange, as well as on the New York Stock Exchange. Tata Motors in 2005, was ranked among the top 10 corporations in India with an annual revenue exceeding INR 320 billion. In 2010, Tata Motors surpassed Reliance to win the coveted title of Indias most valuable brand in a annual survey conducted by Brand Finance and The Economic Times. Tata Motors has auto manufacturing and assembly plants in Jamshedpur, Pantnagar , Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Sanand,Dharwad and Pune in India, as well as in Argentina, South Africa and Thailand. Tata Motors aimed to increase its presence worldwide. In 2004, it acquired the Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company of South Korea. The reasons behind the acquisition were: Companys global plans to reduce domestic exposure. The domestic commercial vehicle market is highly cyclical in nature and prone to fluctuations in the domestic economy. Tata Motors has a high domestic exposure of ~94% in the MHCV segment and ~84% in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment. Since the domestic commercial vehicle sales of the company are at the mercy of the structural economic factors, it is increasingly looking at the international markets. The company plans to diversify into various markets across the world in both MHCV as well as LCV segments. To expand the product portfolio Tata Motors recently introduced the 25MT GVW Tata Novus from Daewoos (South Korea) (TDCV) platform. Tata plans to leverage on the strong presence of TDCV in the heavy-tonnage range and introduce products in India at an appropriate time. This was mainly to cater to the international market and also to cater to the domestic market where a major improvement in the Road infrastructure was done through the National Highway Development Project. Tata remains Indias largest heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer and Tata Daewoo is the 2nd largest heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer in South Korea. Tata Motors has jointly worked with Tata Daewoo to develop trucks such as Novus and World Truck and buses namely, GloBus and StarBus. In January 2008, Tata Motors launched Tata Nano, the least expensive production car in the world at about 120,000 (US $3000).The city car was unveiled during the Auto Expo 2008 exhibition in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Tata has faced controversy over developing the Nano as some environmentalists are concerned that the launch of such a low-priced car could lead to mass motorization in India with adverse effects on pollution and global warming. Tata has set up a factory in Sanand, Gujarat and the first Nanos are to roll out summer 2009. Tata Nano Europa has been developed for sale in developed economies and is to hit markets in 2010 while the normal Nano should hit markets in South Africa, Kenya and countries in Asia and Africa by late 2009. A battery version is also planned. Tata Motors Limited is Indias largest automobile company, with revenues of 35,651.48 crore (US$7.74 billion) in 2007-08. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top three in passenger vehicles in India with products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. Tata vehicles are sold primarily in India, and over 4 million Tata vehicles have been produced domestically since the first Tata vehicle was assembled in 1954. The companys manufacturing base in India is spread across Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Dharwad (Karnataka). Following a strategic alliance with Fiat in 2005, Tata set up an industrial joint venture with Fiat Group Automobiles at Ranjangaon (Maharashtra) to produce both Fiat and Tata cars and Fiat powertrains. The company is establishing a new plant at Sanand (Gujarat). Tatas dealership, sales, service and spare parts network comprises over 3500 touch points. Ta ta Motors also distributes and markets Fiat branded cars in India. Current Situation The Tata Motors group is a passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturer based in India. The motor group was established in 1945 as part of the larger Tata Group. They have long been known for their commercial vehicles and in the past ten years entered into the passenger car market. Currently, Tata Motors has a line of five passenger vehicles and a large line of commercial vehicles producing pickups, trucks, tractor trailers, tippers, and buses. Both product lines of the Tata Motors group have seen success, but much of this has been built upon the more deeply established commercial vehicle product line. Tata Motors commercial line has been established for several years in many market segments such as Europe, Africa, The Middle East, Australia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Tata Motors has expanded their business and market share around the world through a series of acquisitions. In 2004, they acquired Daewoo commercial vehicle Company in South Korea which was South Koreas second largest truck manufacturer. This acquisition gave Tata Motors a significant presence in the Korean market. They have also entered into joint ventures with companies such as Thonburi Automotive in 2006, which allowed them to manufacture and market pickup trucks in Thailand. Tata Motors have been making global headlines in the auto industry lately; the largest news being their acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford. Tata paid 2.3 billion dollars to Ford for the two brands that cost Ford 5.3 billion (Carty, USA Today). This is a major step for the company because it catapults them into the luxury car business which they are not known for at this time. Tata, like many new businesses it acquires, is allowing this new segment of the business to be run by previous management since they have more experience in the luxury automotive business. Tata will give us some space. They want us to run our business, be a premium British car company (Mike ODriscoll, managing director of Jaguar). This is yet another large acquisition for the Tata Motors group and could create great success for the company in the near future. Corporate Governance Since Tata Motors is a part of a large conglomerate company it needs to have a strong corporate governance to ensure that its employees act ethically and the business continues to run smoothly especially during the ever changing and dynamic global economy. Tata Groups corporate governance is founded upon a rich legacy of fair, ethical, and transparent governance practices (tatacarsworldwide.com). One of the more important parts of this is the transparency of the company people have a right to know what the company is doing not only to ensure ethical practices, but for the insurance of their many shareholders whom have a right to know the inner workings of the company Tata has created some models for employees to guide themselves through everyday business practices to ensure that the corporate governance is continuously being upheld. The Tata business excellence model is upheld by Tata quality management services. Quality management is an in-house group dedicated to helping the various Tata companies achieve their business objectives through specific processes. The two main processes that the quality management services employees focus on are business excellence and business ethics. These two objectives have helped build Tata into the strong, dynamic company it is today. These models are entrenched in the companys ethnical standards and Tata feels strongly about enforcing both throughout the company. Tata quality management services plays the role of supporter and facilitator in the journey that Tata enterprises undertake to reach the peaks of business eminence while, at the same time, adhering to the highest ethical standards (Tata.com). To further prove their commitment to quality and ethical practices Tata has introduced annual quality awards for those companies conducting business with the utmost quality. These awards are called the JRD quality value awards named after the late chairmen JRD Tata. These awards are presented annually on July 29th, the birthday of JRD Tata. Tata has committed to ensuring quality and ethical standards not only within Tata Motors, but throughout their many other branches and sectors of the Tata Group. They have done so by benchmarking quality standards through the Tata business excellence model as well as providing incentives for companies to strive to improve the quality of their service, by awarding JRD quality management awards. Financial Position Tata Motors have increased its earnings over the years through their various acquisitions and joint ventures with truck manufacturers in Southeast Asia. Gross profit in the year 2006 was 1,160.9 million and increased to 1,510.1 million in the year 2007. Earnings after taxes also increased significantly between 2006 and 2007 increasing from 336.6 million to 405.5 million in 2007. After a large drop in revenues from 2004 to 2005 when the company first went public on the NYSE it has been increasing revenues greatly annually, from 4,422.0 million in 2005 to 7,354.0 in 2007. Core Competencies Tata Motors is able to maintain, as well as increase, their market share by capitalizing on their core competencies. Tata Motors is active, competitive, and dynamic in all aspects of the automotive industry, which means that there must be many different activities going on in all areas of the company. As a result of the ever evolving automotive industry Tata Motors must always be changing and one way to stay at the forefront of the industry is to make continuous improvements in technology through research and development. One way that Tata Motors has done this is by producing one of the most efficient and low cost vehicles on the market. Acquisitions, mergers, and expansion is another core competency that Tata Motors has is embedded in their company structure and philosophy. Another core competency that Tata Motors holds is being located in the India. This location has allowed them to understand not only the Indian market but also the dynamics of emerging and developing markets. This market understanding and knowledge allows Tata Motors to manufacture their products at lower costs, sell them to emerging markets while making profits as well as take advantage of the strong labor base in India. PEST Analysis Political Since Tata Motors operates in multiple countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, it needs to pay close attention to the political climate but also laws and regulations in all the countries it operates in while also paying attention to regional governing bodies. Laws governing commerce, trade, growth, and investment are dependent on the local government as well as how successful local markets and economies will be due to regional, national and local influence. In accordance, Tatas headquarters in Mumbai, India, strictly controls and regulates operations in all dealerships and subsidiaries, in addition to knowing and abiding by all labor laws in the multiple countries where they have manufacturing plants it has to watch political change. Economic Operating in numerous countries across the world, Tata Motors functions with a global economic perspective while focusing on each individual market. Because Tata is in a rapid growth period, expanding or forming a joint venture in over five countries world-wide since 2004, a global approach enables Tata Motors to adapt and learn from the many different regions within the whole automotive industry. They have experience and resources from five continents across the globe, thus when any variable changes in the market they can gather information and resources from all over the world to address any issues. For instance, if the price of the aluminum required to make engine blocks goes up in Kenya, Tata has the option to get the aluminum from other suppliers in Europe or Asia who they would normally get from for production in Ukraine or Russia. Tata Motors also has to pay close attention to shifts in currency rates throughout the world. Currency fluctuations can equate to higher or lower de mands for Tata vehicles which in turn affect profitability. It can also mean a rise in costs or a drop in returns. But they also have to pay attention to not just the domestic currency, the rupee, but also to the dollar, euro, bhat, won, and pound, to just name a few. Just because the rupee is strong against the dollar does not mean it is strong against all the other currencies. Attention to currency is important because it influences where capital investment will develop and prosper. Social Undoubtedly, the beliefs, opinions, and general attitude of all the stakeholders in a company will affect how well a company performs. This includes every stakeholder from the CEO and President, down to the line workers who screw the door panel into place, from the investor to the customer, the culture and attitude of all these people will ultimately determine the future of a company and whether they will be profitable or not. For this reason, Tata Motors tends to use an integration and rarely separation technique with foreign companies they acquire. In 2004, Tata Motors acquired Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, which was at the time Koreas second largest truck maker. Rather than using de-culturation or assimilating Daewoo, Tata took an integrated approach, and continued building and marketing Daewoos current models as well as introducing a few new models globally just as it had been done under Korean management. Technology Tata Motors and its parent company, the Tata Group, are ahead of the game in the technology field. The foundation of the companys growth is a deep understanding of economic stimuli and customer needs, and the ability to translate them into customer-desired offerings through leading edge RD (Tata). Employing 1,400 scientists and engineers, Tata Motors Research and Development team is ahead of the pack in Indias market and right with the rest of the field internationally. Among Tatas firsts are the first indigenously developed Light Commercial Vehicle, Indias first Sports Utility Vehicle and, in 1998, the Tata Indica, Indias first fully indigenous passenger car, as well as the increasingly famous Tata Nano, which is projected to be the worlds cheapest production car (Tata). In the automotive industry, it is becoming increasingly crucial for manufacturers to stay on top of the technology curve with new problems always rising such as escalating gas prices and pollution problems. Tata rec ognizes this and dedicates lots of resources and time into research and development to be even with or preferably ahead of other competitors, global trends, and changing economies. In all, an automobile manufacturer must change, adapt, and evolve to stay competitive in the automotive game, and this is exactly what Tata is doing with their rapid growth, and extensive research and development. SWOT Analysis Strengths Tata Motors excels when it comes to innovation through intensive research and development. Their ability to make the least expensive car on the market, the Nano which will retail for $2,500, is far beyond what any other car dealership has created. This innovation gives Tata Motors their main competitive advantage. Tata Motors makes everything from tractor-trailers to the worlds least expensive car. This product diversity grants them a competitive advantage over their competitors because they can satisfy more markets and customer needs. Another strength that Tata Motors possesses is high corporate responsibility. They donate a portion of their profits from stock increases towards a specific charity. This highlights Tata Motors overall desire for community improvement while also emphasizing Tata Motors high morals and values which is something money can not buy. Tata Motors is unique in a way in which when it buys a company. Tata Motors keeps the original management of that company int act. The company that Tata Motors purchases will look exactly the same in terms of management and organizational structure as if it was never purchased by Tata Motors. Weaknesses There are strings attached with every new invention and improvement on products. These strings are Tata Motors weaknesses and what other groups perceive as their weaknesses. One weakness that Tata Motors faces is its inability to meet safety standards. Although they have made the most inexpensive car out on the market, it has yet to pass all the safety standards which is a legal factor. Some consumers and pessimists inquire as to how Tata Motors can make such a cheap car and withstanding a car accident or not just falling apart after hitting something once. Pessimistic people also want to believe that car manufactures are already doing everything they can to keep costs low for the consumer, and if that is the case, then putting the cheapest car out on the market automatically questions if it is safe to drive.Tata Motors only have been making passenger cars for the approximately last ten years. This can be viewed as a weakness from a customer standpoint since a decade does not seem li ke a lot to consumers and therefore they will think that Tata Motors is inexperienced car manufacturing. Opportunities Tata Motors has already opened the doors for many new and innovative ideas, but not only for their company, but their competitors as well which could turn into a threat. One of the major opportunities that Tata Motor faces is that as of right now 90 percent of China and Indias adult population do not own cars, partly because cars are costly and require more expenses after purchased. So the market for a low-priced car is huge which benefits Tata Motors perfectly since they produce the lowest priced car on the market. This is a huge opportunity for Tata Motors because if they can get their feet into that market of people that do not have cars because they cannot afford them, then they will make large profits down the road. Chinas total car sales are estimated at over 8 million dollars annually and they were the worlds second largest car market in 2006. Chinas government forecasts that demand for cars will top 20 million by 2020. With Tata Motors in the market with the cheapest car, Chinas demand for cars will probably increase even more significantly which will in turn increase sales for Tata Motors. As of March 2008 Tata Motors finalized a deal with Ford Motor Company to acquire the British businesses, Jaguar Cars and Land Rover. This is a huge opportunity for Tata Motors since they will acquire the large knowledge base and technologies for producing and marketing luxury vehicles. This acquisition helps them dive into the more mature markets in Japan, Europe and the U.S. The knowledge transfer from these two companies will greatly improve Tata Motors ability to continue to grow and flourish in both developing and developed market segments. Threats The obvious threat to Tata Motors is intellectual property rights. Tata invented the cheapest car on the market and every automobile manufacturer wants to know how Tata did it. Headhunters are soon going to find out this valuable information and make it available to their own company. This is a huge threat to Tata Motors because at first they had low competition, but once other car manufactures find out how they invented such a low cost car, and then these companies too will jump on board and design their own line of low cost automobiles. On one hand this can be a threat, but on the other it may not affect Tata Motors at all because people will still want to purchase their product since they were the pioneers of all the excitement. Another main concern that Tata Motors faces is that cheap cars in India will have an adverse effect on pollution and global warming because most of the population will be able to afford the cars.

Thinking About Stupidity In Our Scholars :: essays research papers

The stupidity in our scholars, like stupidity and arrogance everywhere, follows a model. The model presented here was developed by Anticommerical University Professor William Mason. It applies in general to stupidity at any level of intensity. It has 5 stages.1. Mimetic ArroganceOne party identifies themselves as an authority on a subject and other parties imitate that arrogance. Examples of things scholars and professors are arrogant about: science, literature, art, sociology, psychology, philosophy. Whatever the culture tells us is a difficult subject, that's what scholars decide is worth being arrogant about.2. Mimetic Use of the Word MimeticNow the parties begin competing for the object of arrogance: jargon. Whatever big, fancy words emerge, others copy them. Since they all use the same words in different ways, any hope of finding concrete definitions of them vanishes. To win, you only need to get more exclusivity of words such as 'exclusivity.' If the word becomes ubiquitous, then you make up even more complex words that have simple meanings, such as 'ubiquitous.' If this doesn't work, then you must resort to using neojargon or pseudojargon or neopseudojargon or neopseudoneojargon. Examples of these forms of jargon are the prefixes 'neo' and 'pseudo.'3. GraikosGraikos is a Greek word that means "Greek." It's the root of much stupidity found in scholarly discursions. In the rivalry for respect, if one side finds an inferior usage of jargon, they are caught in the temptation of Graikos and feel compelled to retaliate by literally speaking a whole new language. Thus begins a "jargon" war, fought on the battlefield of the dictionary. Graikos is what makes it so hard to read their professional journals, so hard to feel like you have any grasp whatsoever on vocabulary. It's so easy to feel intellectually inferior to such unjustified usage of language. The gap between scholar and layman escalates.4. IntimidationEventually one side crosses some arbitrary threshold of concern where the supervising authorities feel compelled to intervene. It's essentially random which side is considered the "supervising authority" since they both consider the other as worthless scum, but often it's the faction with more college degrees, which uses more venomous attacks to maintain parity. Whichever side is considered the "supervising authority" becomes the intimidator of the layman and the others who kept their ego below threshold are victims, doomed to low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness.5. Authorized, Sanctioned and Sacred StupidityTo appease the scholars, the authorities determine guilt and visit sanctions and punishment on the intimidated.

Depletion of Resources

Depletion of Resource Nowadays, world population is increasing , this will affect the depletion of our natural resource. Large population increases in the developing world will strain resources and agricultural productivity (Eicher,2008) . For Instance , as populations grow, it may be necessary to convert additional land for agriculture housing development, and infrastructure. However, we need more products for our daily basic needs or extra needs for the upper class people .When high consumption and wastage of goods continues, natural resources in less developed countries will be exploited to keep the supply coming. Likewise, Australia build the Lynas in Malaysia . They build factory on our land. Furthermore, In order to produce sufficient goods for people ,more factory is needed . Therefore, Human begin to deforestation . According to data provided by the Malaysian Forestry Department(2007),Malaysia has an average annual deforestation rate of 0. 35 %.In total, between 1990 and 2005 , Malaysia lost 6. 6% of its forest cover, or around 1,486,000 hectares. As a example, Deforestation will reduce our natural resource like rubber, oxygen and others . When the deforestation activity occur , it will destruct the natural habitat of wild animals. According to the United Nation Environmental Program assessment (2011), orangutans will be virtually eliminated in the wild within two decades if poaching and illegal trading of the animal or its parts continue.Deforestation might be a main factor extinction of orangutans . Every human need a home ,and animal need it too. On the other hand, Habitat of Orang Asli will be affected too. The author of the book The Threatened Orang Asli (2009) stated that with increasing negative impacts of globalization on their natural environment and resource, indigenous people are finding it harder to defend their land where the resources have been taken without consent.Deforestation has destructed the natural environment and resources of Oran g Asli . In a nutshell , depletion of resource need to be avoided . In my opinion, Government have to find the way solving the problem. For example, encourage people to have more agriculture. Resources is one of the main requirement to developing advance country . Human beings are going to be relying on natural resources for a long time -Gale Norton .

Cinema Limbo, 2-Person, 10-Minute Play by Wade Bradford

Cinema Limbo, 2-Person, 10-Minute Play by Wade Bradford Cinema Limbo is a ten-minute play (written by Wade Bradford). It is a comic, two-person exchange between two movie theater employees. The piece can be used, free of charge, for educational purposes and amateur productions. This short two-person play is also a usual character building tool for any actress using the Vicky Monologue for auditions and classroom performances. Cinema Limbo Setting:  The box office of the Grand Cinemas. No set is required. Two office chairs (capable of rolling and spinning) are placed center stage. A young woman spins in the chair. She is dressed in a rather ugly polyester outfit one expect to find on a movie theater employee. Her name is Vicky. And she is bored. (A young man named Joshua enters. Vicky suddenly stops spinning. Her boredom has vanished.) VICKY: So, you’ve finally made it to the fishbowl? JOSHUA: The what? VICKY: That’s what we call the box office. An inside joke between cashiers. JOSHUA: Oh. VICKY: So you’ve made it. JOSHUA: I guess. Mr. Boston said he wanted you to train me how to work the box office. VICKY: Then let the training begin. People come up. They say what movie they want. You press this button. Take their money. Give them their ticket. There, you’re trained. JOSHUA: Now what? VICKY: Now sit down and wait. But don’t get anxious. No one’s coming tonight. It’s Christmas Eve and all our movies suck. JOSHUA: This beats working at concessions. Thank God I didn’t get stuck with that Bar One job. That would’ve sucked. VICKY: Stuart is certainly loving it though. Have you seen that look in his eye when he’s running Concessions? JOSHUA: What do you mean? VICKY: He usually smiles, and treats the peons with respect†¦ but his eyes†¦ They’re lit up like a power hungry mad man. I think he pictures himself as some pharaoh who whips the backs of his slaves, just to sell a few extra drinks. JOSHUA: Really? I haven’t noticed. VICKY: He told me you guys went to grade school together. JOSHUA: Are you guys dating? VICKY: Why do you ask? JOSHUA: He told me you were dating but that you wanted it kept secret. VICKY: If I was dating someone why would I want to keep it secret? JOSHUA: Uh, maybe because Stuart’s kind of a nerd. VICKY: So you did go to school together? JOSHUA: We met in the fifth grade. You know how every class has a kid who gets picked on throughout the whole year by everybody? That was him. No one liked him. VICKY: Why? JOSHUA: Well, it started out just because he was the new kid. His folks just moved into town to set up a new church. They were husband and wife ministers or something. Very, I don’t know, just kind of friendly and creepy at the same time. VICKY: I met them. I know. JOSHUA: Anyway, kids in school picked on him because he was new, and a little weird looking. You can’t tell it as much, but his face was completely covered with freckles. Big brown freckles†¦ kind of like†¦ um†¦ like someone flicked splotches of paint at him. VICKY: I always thought they were kind of cute. JOSHUA: And then no one liked him because every chance he got, he started talking about Jesus. He did a book report on the entire Bible. In art class, he made a crown of thorns ashtray. He tried making Noah’s Ark out of clay, but it exploded in the kiln. And then one day we were supposed to give a speech, an oral report on the country of our choice and he picked Israel. VICKY: Well†¦ that’s not so bad. JOSHUA: During his whole oral report†¦ he spoke in tongues. VICKY: Really? I had an uncle who got into that. He’d speak in tongues before every Thanksgiving dinner. But he had one of those robot voices because of his throat cancer, so it was really low and scary. Like Darth Vader speaking pig latin. JOSHUA: Stuart wasn’t as entertaining. And to top it off, the kids started hating him more because he wanted to be the teacher’s pet. VICKY: That doesn’t surprise me. He kisses up to all the managers... JOSHUA: Same thing we the school teachers. And the lunch lady. And the principal. Most kids said he was a tattle tale. There was this one bully who hocked a loogie right in his hair, right in the middle of class. VICKY: Oh please, I just ate buttered popcorn. JOSHUA: But anyway, I felt sorry for Stu. So I let him hang around me at recess once in a while. He was okay. Sort of clingy. He never wanted to leave my side. I got beat up a couple of times by Troy, just for sticking up for him. VICKY: Are you two still friends? JOSHUA: I guess. But it isn’t like grade school anymore. We don’t hang out. I was kind of surprised to see him when I got hired here. He left before we finished junior high. His parents put him in some private school. So, are the rumors true? VICKY: What rumors? JOSHUA: I heard echoes from the girls locker room. VICKY: You perv. JOSHUA: Well, they were talking so loud, I couldn’t help it. VICKY: Okay, dork, what did you hear? JOSHUA: That you’re not interested in Stuart anymore. That you are, oh what were the words, that you’re almost done toying with him. VICKY: Well that makes me sound like a bitch. I kind of like that. JOSHUA: So? VICKY: So? JOSHUA: It’s just me, you, and the fishbowl. VICKY: Why should I talk about my love life? Or lust life? What about you? I bet youve had a lot of girlfriends. Probably broken a lot of hearts. JOSHUA: Not really. Ive never been in love or anything. Just casual dates and stuff. I mean, for all intents and purposes I’m pretty much like all the other geeks you’ve been describing. VICKY: But you wear that letterman’s jacket. You’re kind of a jock. I say that with all due respect. VICKY: Well, you have to understand. I’m the kind of girl who takes pity on poor pathetic geeks who have never kissed a girl. Let’s just say that I like someone who is easily trainable – someone who will truly appreciate me. It’s sad, I know. But hey, I’ll take an ego boost wherever I can get it. Unfortunately, these adorably nerdy boyfriends get boring after a while. I mean, I can only listen to their computer games and mathematic equations for so long. Of course, Stuart’s different in a  lot of ways. He’s terrible at math, for one. And he’s pretty clueless about technology. But he’s a comic book sort of geek. And a hopeless romantic. He’s pre-occupied with holding my hand. Everywhere we go, he wants to hold hands. Even when we’re driving. And he’s got this new pastime. He keeps saying â€Å"I love you.† It was so sweet and wonderful the first time he said it. I almost cried, and I’m not the kind of girl who cries easily. But by the end of the week, he must have said â€Å"I love you† about five hundred times. And then he starts adding pet names. â€Å"I love you,   honeybunch.† â€Å"I love you  sweetheart.† â€Å"I love you my little smoochy-woochy-coochi-koo.† I don’t even know what that last one means. It’s like he’s speaking in some brand-new, love-infected language. Who would have thought romance could be so boring? JOSHUA: Is it boring? VICKY: You mean you don’t know from  first-hand  experience? JOSHUA: Yeah, I swim. But that’s not what I lettered in. VICKY: What was it? JOSHUA: Well now you’re going to laugh. VICKY: Perhaps. JOSHUA: I lettered in  choir. VICKY: (Laughs. Falls off  chair.) They let you letter in choir?! Oh, that’s priceless. JOSHUA: You can also letter in drama. VICKY: Oh, that’s pathetic. JOSHUA: So, you’re done with school, right? VICKY: Since last summer. Sweet. sweet freedom. JOSHUA: Now what? VICKY: College I guess. Back to captivity. I’m taking a year off first. JOSHUA: Did your friends already go? VICKY: Friends? I hated everybody in high school. JOSHUA: Hey, me too! I was hoping the Grand Cinemas would improve my social life. VICKY: (Laughs.) Has it? JOSHUA: I’ve met some cool people, I guess. Like you. VICKY: Like me? JOSHUA: Yeah, well, and others. Like Rico. VICKY: OH. JOSHUA: Is that bad? VICKY: No. Rico’s cool. I just wouldn’t trust him with much more than a postage stamp. JOSHUA: Thanks for the advice. VICKY: I used to want a social life but I think I’m content here in the box. If you want to see people, just wait till Friday night, they’ll swarm around you, begging you for tickets. But the glass on the fishbowl keeps them from violating your space. If you want to talk to someone, you just pick up the phone, and when you get sick of talking, you can just hang up. You can read, you can do your homework, or you can veg-out and watch the Grand go by. You can swipe snacks from concessions and on hot days, we’ve got air conditioning. If you’re bored you can spin around on this thing. (She spins around on the chair.) JOSHUA: Wow. You’re pretty good. VICKY: My record is eight rotations. All thanks to twelve years of ballet. JOSHUA: Really? VICKY: Hey, what did you get at the Christmas party gift exchange? JOSHUA: A Chia pet. VICKY: I got the worse possible present ever. Listen to this. I’m in this dance group, right. Ballet. I’ve been doing the Nutcracker for the past two months. I’ve been having nightmares with the ‘sugar plum fairie suite’ playing in the background. Every mall or department store has been playing Tchaikovsky. I can’t get away from that God forsaken music! It drives me nuts. And guess which CD Mrs. Sanchez buys me? The Nutcracker. I hope I pick her name next year. I had no idea she could be so cruel. That’s why it must be nice to be religious like Stewy. You can doom people to hell. JOSHUA: Eternal hell over the Nutcracker? Now that’s a raw deal. VICKY: Eternal damnation. You’d think after a few thousand years you’d get bored with never ending  torment. Satan would come up to you and say, â€Å"Today you’ll be covered with man-eating ants and pummeled by a giant mountain gorilla.† And you’d just look at him and YAWN and say, â€Å"Again?! How dull. Are you running out of ideas already? Can I make a request for Bubba the mountain Gorilla, because he and I have a rapport going; we work well together, I think. (Pausing and completely changing the subject.) Do you think it’s possible to travel through time? JOSHUA: Someone has ADHD. VICKY: It’s this fishbowl. It really gets to you after a while. So do you? You know, think they’ll figure out time travel? JOSHUA: I doubt it. Maybe someday. VICKY: What would you do? JOSHUA: I don’t know. I guess I might travel back and find my great-great-great-great grandfather. Say hi. What would you do? VICKY: Well, if I had  a time machine, say they  invent  it when I’m like really old. Like 35 or something. Then, I’d travel back to right now, and I’d give myself advice. JOSHUA: What kind of advice? VIC KY: Who to be friends with. Who to avoid. What choices to make. What guys to like. JOSHUA: Why do you need a time machine? Just make the right choices now. VICKY: But how do you know if it’s the right choice? You don’t until after the fact. JOSHUA: Well, that’s the point. You take a chance and you learn from your mistakes. Or, you try something and it’s a great experience. VICKY: And what if you regret it? JOSHUA: Then you regret it. I think not knowing what happened next is part of the fun. VICKY: Really? JOSHUA: Yeah. VICKY: Come here. He pauses for a moment. Then, they roll their chairs toward each other. She kisses him. He kisses back. They pull apart. JOSHUA: So†¦ VICKY: So†¦ Do you regret that experience? JOSHUA: Not at all. Do you regret it? They are both started as they hear the sound of a door opening. They look upstage. JOSHUA: Oh! Hi. (Suddenly regretful.) How’s it going, Stuart? VICKY: Hey, Stewy. Joshua and I were just talking about regrets. (Listens.) What do I have to regret?  Oh  nothing. (A sly smile on her face.) Nothing at all. Lights out.

The scope of Egyptian Mathematics essays

The scope of Egyptian Mathematics essays Mathematics is an advanced science that is connected to all other sciences and branches of study. The ancient Egyptians were possible the first civilization to practice the scientific arts. Ancient Egyptians had an advanced understanding of mathematics, because there are overwhelming examples in engineering, astronomy and administrators would not have been possible. Classical Greeks believed mathematics to have been invented in Egypt. (Fauvel 14) There are many different views on the origin of Egyptian mathematics believed to be practical need rather than intellectual interest. One classical Greek point of view is from Proclus fifth century AD: According to most accounts geometry was first discovered among the Egyptians, taking its origin from measurement of areas. For they found it necessary by reason of the rising of the Nile, which wiped out everybodys proper boundaries. Nor is there anything surprising in that the discovery both of this and of the other sciences should have its origin in a practical need, since everything which is in process of becoming progresses from the imperfect to perfect. Thus the transition from perception to reasoning and from reasoning to understanding is natural. Just as exact knowledge of numbers received its origin among Phoenicians by reason of trade and contracts, even so geometry was discovered among the Egyptians for aforesaid reason.(Fauvel 21) Therefore, the scope of ancient Egyptian mathematics must have been great by example of their architecture, government, economics, their design of extensive irrigation canals, the organization of their armies, the building of seagoing ships, the levying and collection of taxes and the proper organization of a civilization that existed successfully, virtually unchanged, for centuries longer than that of any other nation in recorded history. Our first knowledge of the mathematics of ancient Egypt, comes from two primary ancien...

Case study in franchising store Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case study in franchising store - Essay Example Franchising is supposed to be the best option for expansion and revenue generation as it offers sustainable growth oriented business models without any cost incurred by the organisation. However, for the franchisee, it is very important to ensure that the brand image of the franchisor is retained and further developed. Such concern often raises conflicts between the two parties. This paper will attempt to analyse issues related to franchising based on the case study of a franchising company. For this purpose, an organisation with franchising business model will be selected and its franchising related issues will be figured out. At first, a brief history of the organisation will be discussed to understand its business franchising model. Next, the issues underlying the franchising operations will be pointed out. For analysis and evaluation purpose, relevant data obtaining method will be discussed. Finally, the paper will conclude with some recommendations based on the analysis of the indentified issues. For this project, the McDonald’s franchising business has been selected for case study. McDonald is a leading fast food retailer in the global fast food retail sector. It is operating in around 117 countries with nearly 32,000 local restaurants (McDonalds-a, 2010). In 1940, Dick and Mac McDonald opened a restaurant called ‘McDonald’s Bar-B-Que’ in California and later in 1948 it was named as McDonald’s. For the last 70 years, the giant food retailer has been operating its fast food business quite successfully (McDonalds-b, 2010). Satisfactory food quality and efficient services of McDonald has made it a brand image in the fast food service sector. For expansion purpose, the company had adapted franchising strategy in 1955 and at present, around 75% of its total restaurants are operated by independent franchisees. Currently,

Analysis of story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of story - Essay Example Thomas is strangely aware that Victor’s friendship would last only until the ashes of his father are brought back but he had made a promise to Victor’s father and intended to keep it. Thomas had been a dreamer always and recalls an incident, where he was awaiting a vision near a desolate waterfall, and Victor’s father had dutifully advised him, brought him back and also bought him dinner. Considering that Thomas was an orphan, this gesture was a highlight in his loveless life. Thus, the promise made to Victor’s father was far more important than his ego. The trip brings up the past with colorful imagery of two young boys who had experienced life and grew up together but also grew apart due to peer pressure and a society that shunned souls such as Thomas. The tone of the story is extremely melancholic in nature. On one hand you have the death of a man and the sadness that comes with it, while on the other hand we have a character that is always lost in his dreams, narrating stories, feeling the breeze on his face and then also trying to fly, adding a touch of comic drama to the story. Even the name of this character ‘Thomas Builds-the Fire’ is comic in nature showing the subtle humor that the author so craftily manages to weave into the narrative. The story is interrupted at one point during the firework celebration stating that â€Å"Years later, they would need much more.† (Alexie)This shows the underlying satirical humor and comic relief in sudden spurts, almost sarcastically threaded into the story. Therefore according to Freytag’s pyramid, we have the Exposition, which is the loss of his job and the death of Victor’s father, the Rising Action wherein Victor plans to make the trip, leading to him befriending his childhood friend Thomas once again but only for a selfish motive. This leads to the climax,