Thursday, October 31, 2019

Principales of Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Principales of Economics - Research Paper Example On the contrary, microeconomic deals with economics concepts such as the way supply and demand relate in particular markets for goods and services. Essentially, the article clearly shows that macroeconomics focuses on matters that impact the economy as a whole (Romer, 2011). Microeconomics focuses on matters that have a direct bearing on companies and persons. Macroeconomics concepts concerns about how all the markets act together to produce the large phenomenon that is referred in economics as aggregate variables. The concept of microeconomics analyses a single market, for instance, the changes in prices of particular commodities or whether they are driven by the changes in demand and supply. In macroeconomics, the focal item of analysis is the government, in which the function it plays in contributing to the overall growth of the economic or in combating inflation. The articles points out that the macroeconomics also deals with international sphere due to the interlink between dome stic markets and foreign markets through avenues like trade, investments and flow of capital. Nevertheless, the microeconomic also incorporates some global components. It is concerned with transnational components because a single market is not confined to a specific nation. The economic concepts are outstandingly related and the two study issues that often overlap considerably (Baumol & Blinder, 2011). The areas in which the two have a common focus are inflation and the cost of living for a particular economy. Inflation is instigated by a number of factors that range from low rates of interest to expanding the supply of money. Whereas inflation looks like a solely macroeconomic field of study, it is the one crucial issue in microeconomics. Inflation leads to skyrocketing prices of services and goods and consequently causing a sedate impact for businesses and individuals. The effects of inflation have myriad impacts

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Obesity is a disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Obesity is a disease - Essay Example With increased viewing of TV and computer today, the energy generated by the flight of the imagination keeps the physical responses from getting expressed. This increases aggression and lethargy in children as well as making them obese. This paper aims to accomplish an understanding about what hazards obesity brings with it. The paper argues that obesity is a disease both for children and for adults. Let’s first ponder upon the reasons why adults and children are getting more and more obese these days. The biggest reason is unhealthy food. People have got busier lives in this competitive world, so they have less time to spend in the grocery store buying cheap but healthy food and in the kitchen over lengthy cooking processes. Thus, they prefer looking for a quick and easy, already prepared, meal that they can grab at a nearby fast food corner. Fast food, also known as junk food, is increasingly becoming an all-American choice, both for adult and for children. When we compare expensive fast food with cheap healthy food, all nutritionists agree on the fact that healthy food is not only cheap but also gives the body all essential nutrients that it needs to stay healthy and active; while, junk food is not only expensive but also deprives the body of important nutrients, thus making people frail, fatigued, inactive, and obese because of empty calories. Another problem is the u se of exaggerated statements and images. For example, when an advertisement says: â€Å"XYZ Fried Chicken, the tastiest and healthiest meal you ever ate!†, it means a lot for children as they are going to believe that the junk food is the healthiest food in the world. Hence, they consume unhealthy food and become obese, which leads to many problems in their later lives such as high blood pressure, diabetes, lethargy, increased cholesterol, and heart diseases. Han, Lawlor and Kimm (2010, p. 1737-1748) assert that disastrous impacts of childhood obesity include type 2 diabetes and

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Wireless Local Area Networks and Security Mechanisms

Wireless Local Area Networks and Security Mechanisms WLAN Wireless Local Area Network LAN Local Area Network IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access NIC Network Interface Card MAC Media Access Control WAP Wireless Access Point AP Access Point NAT Network Address Translation SSID Service Set Identifier IV Initialization Vector IDS Intrusion Detection Systems Wireless local area networking (WLAN) has swiftly become very popular technology all over the world. The WLAN protocol, IEEE 802.11, amongst other associated technologies enable secure access to a wireless network infrastructure. Before the development of wireless networking, clients had to use physical media such as wiring to connect to the network. With the rapid increase in demand and usage of wireless networking, it is vital that secure communication is provided. Since the creation of wireless networks, the security alongside has gone through many different stages of development, from MAC address filtering, to WEP, leading to WPA/WPA2. 2.1 Wireless Communication Wireless communication provides wireless networking between client devices, without the need for a physical connection between them (Obrien, 2008). In order to transmit via wireless signals, radio waves are used. The basic process of communication using radio waves is as follows: A transmitter sends data by turning electrical signals into radio waves A receiver listens for the radio waves and turns them back into electrical signals, which can create the desired output. Figure 1 below shows an illustrated example of this. The use of this communication process enables different scenario requirements to be met, for instance short and longer distances can be achieved simply by altering the strength and size of the transmitter/reciever. It also contains various types of fixed and mobile applications including: mobile phones, two-way radios, computer hardware, GPS units, amongst others. 2.2 Wireless Internet Access Wi-Fi is the term denoted to the functionality in which devices can be connected to the internet without the need of a physical cable. Wi-Fi technology has become the standard for internet access in homes, workplaces and in place spaces. Regardless of the environment, the core setup consists two key components, an access point and wireless devices. 2.2 WLAN Components Within WLAN, two modes of operation exist: ad-hoc and infrastructure. The ad-hoc mode enables a small wireless workgroup to be quickly setup (no access point required), whereas the infrastructure mode is utilized in cooperation with an existing LAN infrastructure; to incorporate wireless clients into the network (Netgear, 2014). Within these two operation modes there are two key components: access points and wireless clients. 2.2.1 Access Points An access points is used to link wireless clients into an existing traditional wired LAN (Netgear, 2014), it doesnt however interconnect two networks (Wallace, 2011). A basic WLAN topology with a Wireless Access Point (WAP) is shown in figure 2. The topology shows an access point connected to the wired LAN, and the wireless clients that connect to the wired LAN via the access point are on the same subnet as the access point (note that no Network Address Translation (NAT) is being performed). Depending on the chosen technology (802.11 a/b/g) and its implementation, a single access point is capable of handling up to several hundred wireless clients (Intel, 2017). The security associated with access points have some special considerations. Many traditional wired networks base the security on physical access, entrusting users currently on the network, whereas anyone within the range of the access point can attach to the network; provided no password is attached. Another concern is if a h acker still manager to bypass the password security, the ability to packet-sniff and intercept data being sent over the wireless network. There are a few security solutions available to address these issues (see section 2.3). 2.2.2 Wireless Clients A wireless client can include a range of devices, including a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone with a wireless network interface card that enables that device to communicate with an access point. For the client to communicate with the access point, it needs to be configured so that it uses the same SSID (Service Set Identifier) as the access point. An SSID is a case-sensitive alphanumeric string of up to 32 characters (Beal, 2017), and is often referred to as the network name (Intel, 2017). Most access points broadcast their SSID to advertise themselves to wireless clients within its range by default. 2.3 Wireless Security Security is a major concern in wireless networks, where the radio waves carrying the frames can propagate far beyond the confines of the desired area of the wireless access point and hosts; increasing the chances for an unwanted client to connect to the network and intercept data. Within this section, security mechanisms available to address issues surrounding wireless networking including SSID broadcasting, MAC address filtering, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) will be covered. 2.3.1 SSID Broadcasting As mentioned above it is very common for an access point to broadcast themselves to wireless clients within its radius. This results in clients being able to see all available access points (SSIDs) and choose which one to join, meaning users can easily attach to the network; provided no password is attached. Disabling SSID broadcasting makes it much harder for access points to be identified (Farshchi, 2003). However, this results in the clients having to remember and manually enter the SSID to join a specific access point. Whilst being the simplest security measure available, it by the most ineffective method as it provides very little protection against anything but the most casual intrusion (Ou, 2005). 2.3.2 MAC Filtering Another simple security feature available on many access points in MAC (Media Access Control) Address Filtering. This method utilizes the 48-bit address assigned to each network interface card (NIC) and adds them to either a whitelist or blacklist (Cisco, 2008). The restriction of network access through the use of lists is straightforward, however an individual is not identified by a MAC address, rather a device. The method means that an authorized administrator would need to whitelist or blacklist an entry for every device a client may want to use on the network. The process of specifying the approved and rejected MAC addresses can be controlled through the administrator page of the access point (provided it comes with admin tools available), see Figure 3 above. This form of security may be suitable for small home use, it isnt practical for a business level as it provides a massive overhead for the administrator, as they need to manually add each address. Relying on the security fea ture alone isnt enough, as an individual can easily spoof their MAC address to imitate another device (InfoExpress, 2017). 2.3.3 Wired Equivalent Privacy The IEEE 802.11 WEP protocol was introduced as the privacy component of the original 802.11 specification created in 1997, and was initially designed to provide confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network (IEEE, 1997). Both WEP authentication and data encryption use two types of shared secret keys: 40-bit and 104-bit. To create the total encryption key is a combination of the base shared secret key and a 24-bit parameter called the Initialization vector and is used by both the client and server to decrypt the messages sent. The resulting length of the encryption key is 64-bit for the 40-bit shared key, and 128-bit for the 104-bit shared key (Schenk, 2001). The WEP protocol doesnt provide a key management algorithm, so it assumes that the access point and client have agreed on the shared key via another prior method. With each message sent, the IV component of the encryption key can be changed. The original 802.11 specification doesnt standardize how the new IV s hould be created, with the implementation depending on the chosen algorithm. As the IV component of the key can change, it is sent as clear text with the encrypted message (cipher text), as the recipient needs to know the IV component for them to generate the new encryption key also (see figure 4 for the process overview). By having to send the IV as clear text, this means that if these packets were to be intercepted, an unwanted user could easily gain part of the encryption key and potentially access the data. WEP also has its own authentication process (before the data transfer process can commence) consisting of two distinct modes, Open System, and Shared Key (Qnx, 2017). The Open System mode does not require a key for the authentication process, therefore the client is always authenticated; which also means the same configuration for authentication is not required to match. An illustrated process of the Open System authentication is shown in figure 5 below. The steps to authenticate when using Open System mode (Kurose et al, 2013): The client sends an authentication request to the access point. The access point will then authenticate the requesting client. The client connects to the network. The Shared Key authentication method however, requires an encryption key for the authentication process. Unlike the Open System mode, the Shared Key authentication requires both the client and access point to use the same authentication configuration. An illustrated process of the Shared Key authentication mode is shown in figure 6 below. The following steps occur when using Shared Key Authentication (Kurose et al, 2013): The client sends an authentication request to the access point. The access point sends challenge text to the station. The client uses the pre-configured default key to encrypt the challenge text received, and sends the encrypted text to the access point. The access point decrypts the received text using its own pre-configured key that corresponds to the clients key. The text is compared, and if it matches, then the client is authenticated. The client connects to the network. When WEP was initially created, it performed the job it was designed and intended for; however as technology become more readily available and advanced; the security issues in the WEP protocol began to show. The WEP protocol was contains three major problems which make wireless networking more unsecure. The first major disadvantage is that the shared key needs to be sent to every single user on the network and this isnt an easy task. Another disadvantage is that the encryption key size is only 40-bit or 104-bit; which is a very small size and can easily be hacked with open source software. Due to the security flaws, WEP was deprecated in 2004 with the introduction of WPA and WPA2 to more a more reliable and robust security service. 2.3.4 Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 The 802.11i WPA2 protocol was introduced in 2004, as an improvement upon the intermediate WPA protocol and original WEP protocol. The WPA protocol increases security by introducing two new protocols: 4-way handshake, and the group key handshake. The two protocols use authentication and port access services in WPA2 to create and alter the encryption keys (IEEE, 2004). Add something here The four-way handshake is an authentication process that occurs between an access point and the client. It is method used for them both to prove to one another that they both know the Pairwise Master Key (PMK), without ever needing to disclose any part of the key; already providing more security over WEP. The process of sending encrypted message between the client and access point is still adopted from the WEP protocol, and if they successfully decrypt the message; then it proves they are knowledgeable of the PMK (Chaudhary, 2014). This process is vital in protecting the PMK from malicious and unwanted users, even if an attackers network id (SSID) was impersonating a real access point, the PMK would still never have to be disclosed. Amongst the content in the aforementioned sections, there are other aspects that also relate to both wireless networking and wireless security. The most relevant aspect to consider is operational security, which includes three sub components: firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and intrusion prevention systems (IPS). These systems provide an extra layer of security to attempt to block, detect and resolve security issues. 3.1 Firewalls A firewall is a combination of software and hardware that isolates an organizations internal network from the internet, controlling which packets are allowed to pass through, and those that are blocked (Boudriga, 2010), by scanning the header fields of each packet to check if it passes the defined criteria. Figure 8 shows an illustrated example of where a physical firewall would sit within a networking infrastructure. Firewalls are often categorized as either network firewalls or host-based firewalls (Vacca, 2009). A network firewall controls the traffic flow between two or more networks, and are typically the form of a software application, but dedicated physical devices are also used. Host-based firewalls on the other hand only controls the traffic for an individual machine (PersonalFirewall, 2017). Both types of firewalls use a set of pre-defined rules that are defined by an administrator through the use of either built in or third party software (see figure 9). Utilizing a firewall as an extra layer of security is a must for many individual computers and networks, as they provide many strengths including: enforcing security and policies for an organizations infrastructure, restricting access to specific services, removes the need to compromise between usability and security, and provides the ability for an administrator to monitor the traffic that flows through the network. Whilst providing many strengths, it does however also have some weaknesses including: only being capable of stopping the traffic that passes through the firewall itself, no ability to protect against an approved item, and they cannot protect against issues created from within the network. 3.2 Intrusion Detection Systems Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are another method used to detect network activity. These systems can take the form of either a device or software application that monitors networks/systems for malicious and/or policy violations (Kurose. 2013); and is logged and handled by management software. IDS systems can be categorized into two types: signature-based and anomaly-based. A signature based IDS maintains a database of known attack signatures. Each signature is simply a set of rules retaining characteristics about a known packet(s), such as port numbers, protocol types, string of bits. Signatures are normally created by network security engineers, however customizations and additions can be made. Despite Signature-based IDS systems being widely deployed, they do have limitations. Most notably, they require previous knowledge of the attack to generate an accurate signature. An anomaly based IDS on the other hand creates a traffic profile as it observes during normal operation, seeking packets that are unusual statistically. The one major benefit about anomaly-based IDS systems is that they dont rely on previous knowledge about existing attacks, as they can potentially detect new attacks on the go. On the other hand, it is an extremely challenging problem to distinguish between normal traffic and simply unusual traffic. In conclusion, it is clear from the literature reviewed that wireless networking has become an extremely popular and sophisticated technology, but brings many security issues along with its use over traditional wired connectivity. As wireless networks utilize electromagnetic waves to transfer data, it is much easier for unwanted users to gain access to the data being transferred between a client and access point. Therefore, resulting in a combination of security features being required, including encrypted authentication and data transfer; along with extra layers such as a firewall and intrusion detection/prevention systems. With new technologies being developed and standards updated, it is vital that these technologies are used to provide the best security when using wireless networking. References Al Tamimi, A. (2006). Security in Wireless Data Networks : A Survey Paper. [online] Cs.wustl.edu. Available at: http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~jain/cse574-06/ftp/wireless_security/index.html Boudriga, N. and Boudriga, N. (2010). Security of mobile communications. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Beal, V. (2017). What is Service Set Identifier (SSID)? Webopedia Definition. [online] Webopedia.com. Available at: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/SSID.html Cisco. (2008). Network VirtualizationAccess Control Design Guide. [online] Available at: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Network_Virtualization/AccContr.html Cisco. (2008). Authentication Types for Wireless Devices. [online] Available at: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/access/wireless/software/guide/SecurityAuthenticationTypes.html Farshchi, J. (2003) The Essential Components of a Wireless Policy. Wireless Network Policy Development. Part Two. Symantec Corp. 10 October 2003. URL: http://www.securityfocus.com/printable/infocus/1735 IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems-Local and Metropolitan Area Networks-Specific Requirements-Part 11. (1997). [Place of publication not identified]: [publisher not identified]. IEEE 802.11i-2004: Amendment 6: Medium Access Control (MAC) Security Enhancements (pdf), IEEE Standards Intel. 2017. Wireless Ethernet LAN (WLAN). (2017). 1st ed. [ebook] Intel. Available at: http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/faqs/wireless-ethernet-lan-faq1.pdf InfoExpress. (2017). Detecting and Preventing MAC Spoofing. [online] Available at: https://infoexpress.com/content/practical/142 Kurose, J. and Ross, K. (2013). Computer networking. Boston: Pearson Mitchell, B. (2016) Wireless Internet Service: An Introduction Microsoft. (2003). How 802.11 Wireless Works. [online] Available at: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757419(v=ws.10).aspx Netgear. 2014. Wireless Access Points. [ONLINE] Available at: https://kb.netgear.com/235/What-is-a-wireless-access-point?cid=wmt_netgear_organic Netgear. (2016). How to configure Access Control or MAC Filtering (Smart Wizard routers) | Answer | NETGEAR Support. [online] Available at: https://kb.netgear.com/13112/How-to-configure-Access-Control-or-MAC-Filtering-Smart-Wizard-routers?cid=wmt_netgear_organic Netgear. (2017). WEP Open System Authentication. [online] Available at: http://documentation.netgear.com/reference/nld/wireless/WirelessNetworkingBasics-3-08.html Ou, G. (2005). The six dumbest ways to secure a wireless LAN | ZDNet. [online] ZDNet. Available at: http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-six-dumbest-ways-to-secure-a-wireless-lan/ OBrien, J. Marakas, G.M.(2008) Management Information Systems PersonalFirewall. (2017). What is a Firewall? | How does a Firewall Protect your Computer. [online] Available at: https://personalfirewall.comodo.com/what-is-firewall.html Qnx.com. (2017). Help QNX SDP 6.6 Documentation. [online] Available at: http://www.qnx.com/developers/docs/660/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.qnx.doc.core_networking%2Ftopic%2Fwpa_background_Connecting_WEP.html Schenk, R. Garcia, A. Iwanchuk, R. Wireless LAN Deployment and Security Basics. (2001). ExtremeTech.com. URL: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1073,00.asp Sheridan (2017). Printing Services Optimizing Client Printing at Sheridan. [online] Available at: https://it.sheridancollege.ca/service-catalogue/printing/printing-optimization.html Chaudhary, S. (2014). Hack WPA/WPA2 PSK Capturing the Handshake. [online] Kali Linux Hacking Tutorials. Available at: http://www.kalitutorials.net/2014/06/hack-wpa-2-psk-capturing-handshake.html Vacca, J. (2009). Computer and information security handbook. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Wallace, K. (2011). CompTIA Network+ Cert Guide: Connecting Wirelessly | Foundation Topics | Pearson IT Certification. [online] Pearsonitcertification.com. Available at: http://www.pearsonitcertification.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1773082 NIST, 2007 Guide to Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) (PDF).

Friday, October 25, 2019

foolear The Very Foolish King in William Shakespeares King Lear :: King Lear essays

The Very Foolish King Lear Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one man's decisions. This fictitious man is Lear, King of England, whose decisions greatly alter his life and the lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King, he is a man of great power, but blindly he surrenders all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him. This untimely surrender of his throne sets off a chain reaction of events that sends him through a hellish journey. King Lear is a metaphorical description of one man's journey through hell in order to appease his mistake. As the play opens, one can almost immediately see that Lear begins to make mistakes that will eventually result in his downfall. The very first words that he speaks in the play are: Give me the map there. Know that we have divided In three our kingdom; and 'tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age, Conferring them on younger strengths while we Unburdened crawl toward death.(Act I, Sc i, Ln 37-41) This gives the reader the first indication of Lear's intent to relinquish his throne. He is growing old and wants to "shake all cares and business" from his age. In a since he wants to retire from a job that you cannot retire from. He has no son to hand his throne down to, so he must give it to his daughters. He offers his daughters pieces of his kingdom a form of reward to his test of love. Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love, Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters (Since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state), Which of you shall we say doth love us most? That we our largest bounty may extend Where nature doth with merit challenge." (Act I, Sc i, Ln 46-53) This is the first and most significant of the many mistakes that he commits in this play. By relinquishing his throne to fuel his ego, he disrupts the great chain of being, which states that the King must not challenge the position that the gods have given him. This undermining the gods' authority results in chaos that tears apart Lear's world, leaving him, in the end, with nothing. Following this, Lear begins to banish those around him that genuinely care for him; he cannot seem to realize who loves him

Thursday, October 24, 2019

PA module

You will notice that the self-test and demonstration case solutions provided in this module and other modules attempt to cover all possible solutions and to provide an example of an â€Å"exceeds† solution. They may, therefore, be longer than would be required in an examination situation. You may wish to use the Competency Area Checklist to help you sort through the case data. Once you have determined which competency areas are relevant, consider the specific issues that need to be addressed. At times, the course materials use generic dates rather than real dates.When you come across instances of generic dates, consider the date to correspond with standards that are currently In effect. Overview In keeping with your role as an accountant, your ability to communicate effectively is a professional quality and skill that you are expected to demonstrate in all of your assignments, whether for study or for work. You will also be expected to demonstrate several communication compete ncies on the PAP examination. The module provides practical suggestions for enhancing your writing skills and opportunities for self- assessing your writing ability.This module introduces the case analysis process. It gives you to a step-by-step framework for approaching case questions and provides tips on how to avoid common errors in responding to case questions. The framework is designed to enhance your case analysis skills as you practice with self-test cases and prepare your responses to assignment cases. You learn about different forms of analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, and review strategies for generating alternatives and selecting decision criteria. The evaluation of alternatives and final recommendation

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

On the Sidewalk Bleeding Monuloge Essay

All I feel is the excruciating pain entering my aching body. The irritation and agony makes me feel defenceless. I have a multitude of varied thoughts racing through my confused mind. As I am helplessly laying on the cold, wet concrete, with the rain drilling down on me, I am thinking if this is how I am going to die, my life over at the age of just 16. I can think back and faintly remember someone saying, â€Å"that’s for you royal!† and just thinking to myself, if I was not wearing this stupid jacket that I once thought was so important, I perchance wouldn’t have even been in this discomforting situation. All I can do at this point is helplessly lay here praying for someone to find me. Then finally I take a great effort and look over to the end of the street though the rain blurring my vision and see the bright neon lights of a vehicle binding me. I feel a massive relief, I see two figures coming toward me I try to yell again but they seem to just be talking to each other. I want to get their attention but all the sound I can make is the bubbling of blood filing my mouth, as if I am drowning in my own vital fluid. It sounds like the grunt of an animal and that’s the only sound I am capable of making in this state. I start to panic because the people aren’t recognising that I am there, after I tak e all my energy and frustration to get their attention they look at me for a little then they mutter to each other, I can’t understand much they are mumbling about. I just feel powerless hoping he will make the right decision and just get a cop or hep me. He looks at me, my cut body and the rain soaking my purple royals jacket. He sympathetically says, â€Å"Sorry royal,† and walks away. At this very moment I feel frustrated, overwhelmingly confused with anger and abundance. Is it that big of a deal that I am a royal? I am not just a royal, I am Andy. I feel drastically judged and labelled. Right now I will do anything and everything I am physically capable of just to take this jacket off, the only thing that jacket ever did to me was rob me of my life.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Indigenous Australians History Essay

Indigenous Australians History Essay Indigenous Australians History Essay Example Indigenous Australians History Essay Example This research paper explores the theme of self-representation in the work of Indigenous creative artists. Alexis Wright and Lin Onus were chosen for the purpose of research since these two creative artists achieved the popularity and acclaim in Australia and overseas, signifying that they both succeeded in creating literature and art on the basis of the indigenous life experience and education and made a contribution to their respective fields. Alexis Wright is a representative of the Waanyi people, a novelist, educator and activist who received numerous awards for her literary work (‘Australian Literature Database’ 2015). Lin Onus was an artist and essayist who was of Koori descend and the first Koori artist to host the world touring exhibition (Grossman 2013, p. ix). THE WORK BY ALEXIS WRIGHT AND LIN ONUS AS THE SITE OF SELF-REPRESENTATION THAT EXPRESSES DIFFICULT AUSTRALIAN HISTORIES The Indigenous creative artists who speak from the perspective of their own lives and conceptions also speak on behalf of the Aboriginal people and are their voice on the literary and art scenes. On the one hand, they are challenged to express the difficulties surrounding the Aboriginal culture, race, poverty and isolation (Healy 1988; Grossmann 2003). On the other hand, they can depict a â€Å"renewed sense of identity† (Healy 1988, p. 81) and create the view of the Aboriginal people as visible and equal participants of the society. Depending on their creative choices and the strength of their voices, the self-representation of the Aboriginal people can be re-formulated and adapted. The research paper is based on the review and critical analysis of the work by Alexis Wright and Lin Onus, their bibliographical accounts and the writings on the Aboriginal literature and art, with the purpose of examining the main themes of self-representation, depicting the Aboriginal history and the role of the Indigenous creative artists. The paper argues that difficult Aboriginal histories are expressed in the creative work of Indigenous artists (Alexis Wright and Lin Onus) and exemplified by the complexities of self-representation, deriving from double identities, double histories, socialization trough language and art and contradictions inherent in the Aboriginal view of self as embedded in place and time. The Complexities of Self-Representation: Double Identities Both Alexis Wright and Lin Onus are expressing several aspects of self in their creative work. One aspect is a transformative self-production that characterises a contemporary Australian artist. An active production and representation of self as an artist is possible only with a certain degree of introspection and comparison against the â€Å"other† identity, be it a mainstream Australian or an Aboriginal. Formulating their own conceptions derived from unique personal experience, Wright and Onus represent double identities of people who are Aboriginals and mainstream Australians at the same time. For the artists, their creative works account the â€Å"true life of their history† (Healy 1988), and to some extent, they also succeed in expressing the difficult Australian histories. In Wright’s words, by reading and writing, she is â€Å"self-defining†, and the Aboriginal people who are her relatives constitute the source of â€Å"self-representation†, as was Wright’s grandmother (Wright 2002, p. 11). Therefore, the connection between the novelist’s and the Aboriginal historical self is mediated by her relatives and social contacts in the Aboriginal world. For sure, Wright attempts to position herself toward depicting the politics of life and speaking to correct the ills of the Aboriginal people. In her words, her goal as a novelist is to â€Å"speak about the pain of the Aboriginal people† (Wright 2002, p. 12). Yet, she also speaks about her own identity crisis and searches for the connections within the long and complicated history of her land (Wright 2002). The Complexities of Self-Representation: Double Histories The Aboriginal creative artists are confronted with a daunting task of speaking about two separate histories, i.e., of the Indigenous people and the Australian settlers. This task requires them to distinguish between the â€Å"settled† and the â€Å"remote† people (Stockwell and Scott 2000, p. 30) as they have not lived outside the urban areas unlike the Aboriginal people. Nevertheless, it is the distant places of Australia where the Aboriginal people have preserved their long-standing traditions discarded by the mainstream historians. While Wright coins the land names to speak about the Aboriginal land in her novels and Onus paints the non-existent landscapes that are more surreal than realistic, the Aboriginal people have unique names for identifying the regions where they live. In their language, â€Å"Murri† stands for Queensland, and they would likely dissociate with the names like Queensland and Wright’s â€Å"Carpentaria† (Stockwell and Scott 2000). Throughout their artistic careers, Wright and Onus have focused on â€Å"becoming† Australian, while the Aboriginal tradition compels them to concentrate on â€Å"being† (Stockwell and Scott 2000, p. 33). Onus describes the prevalent view of the Aboriginal art as â€Å"static† (Onus 2003, p. 92), reflecting the inert self-focus of an Aboriginal artist. When comparing the histories of the Aboriginal and the Western art, Onus finds that the latter developed in co-creating and learning from the masters (Onus 2003, p. 92). Therefore, in Australia, the mixing of the European and Aboriginal art was acceptable, while the Aboriginal art was viewed as outdated (Onus 2003). The artist’s personal preference for mixing images and cross-cultural learning is evident, and he admits it in his biographical accounts. For Onus, this inclination towards co-learning and experimentation ensured the continuity of self within the land’s history. Also, the development of On us as an artist occurred at the time of the rising of urban Aboriginal art (Grossman 2014). The art by Onus was a much needed voice representing the Aboriginal artists, whom the mainstream art curators found too â€Å"primitive† for the modernized Australian galleries (Grossman 2014). Onus was a product of an urban lifestyle with its conveniences of automobiles and air travel that could bring him to far-away exhibits. The artist admitted that the urban-versus-traditional dilemma remained central to his work (Onus 2003, p. 92). The contemporaries of Onus can find the traces of the most advanced technologies and very ancient symbols in his work that illustrate the two histories’ extremes. While Onus successfully developed his own space for expressing his perspectives on the Australian history and culture, the Aboriginal people have largely resisted what they saw as â€Å"imposed† dominant cultures (Molnar and Meadows 2009). The identities of the two people, the integrated Australian and the unsettled Aboriginal, continue to be separate. The typical Australian is seen to be laconic and pragmatic (Wright 2010), while the Aboriginal is viewed as someone concerned with spirituality and self-expression that is linked to the land, the Aboriginal stories, and teachings by the Elders (Bell 2003, p. 170). These double identities and differing histories within the Australian history were explored and expressed by Wright and Onus. Still, it was their personal experience that helped them to assume a middle ground between the two. The success of their creative expression in regard to the differing histories hinged on speaking about the parallels between the two peoples (McI ntosh 2012 , p. 125). McIntosh maintains that expressing such parallels constitutes a challenge since accepting the differences (the Aboriginal history speaks of deprivation) means that the power system must be stretched to reach the distant people (McIntosh 2012, p. 125), ensuring sufficient funding for their integration into a single society and history. The Complexities of Self-Representation: Socialization through Language The language and art are the means of creative expression where individual and social experience and conceptions are referenced. With unique words, symbols and allusions to common meanings, they are also the media of socialization in society. The Aboriginal peoples’ languages describe their environment, communicate their history and heritage and are the â€Å"voice of their land† (Bell 2003, p.170). Similarly, the Aboriginal art conveys the meanings that are common to the Indigenous people. In her biographical accounts, Wright explains the language difficulties facing a post-colonial Aboriginal person. The Aboriginals were compelled to discard their languages in order to facilitate their integration into the Australian society. Also, their traditions required them to keep silence instead of speaking. For example, the Aboriginals are told to listen, imagine and keep a secret about the intrusion to their land (Wright 2002). The Aboriginal law dictates not to even pronounc e the name of the dead (Griffith 2014). Stating that the Aboriginal people must be silent, Wright shows just how difficult it is for the Aboriginals to use their language and speak about their traumatic experience. In order to avoid the pitfall of their own culture and act as creative artists, Wright and Onus had to discard the Aboriginal language and forge a path within the mainstream society. The complexities are intensified with the Aboriginal oral tradition of passing on their stories with the help of the language. Writing about a new identity and history required to reshape the role of language as the means of oral expression towards its role in creating a memory and thus history. The Complexities of Self-Representation: Socialization through Art Onus found that he changed the way he saw the world after becoming an urban artist: he no longer viewed the landscapes as panoramic (Onus 2003, p. 94). The cross-cultural imperative for creativity required him to visualize completely different images and create from novel perspectives. Therefore, instead of the gum tree that is always noticed by the Aboriginals, Onus started painting modern-looking subjects and symbols, and he worked with a newly developed sense of humour (Onus 2003, p. 94). Onus was actively promoting the shift in the conventional view of exhibitions towards a more open view of the Aboriginal artist. Onus insisted that the art galleries should exhibit the Aboriginal art, yet he also said that the Aboriginal people could not â€Å"engage with, or relate to† the publicly exhibited art (Onus 2003, p. 94). Moreover, the Australian media and art are concentrated in the centre [cities], and an Aboriginal person from the periphery cannot benefit from them (Molnar and Meadows 2000). Onus questions when an Aboriginal person becomes an Australian, implying that the socialization and consequent integration is lengthy and contorted, if at all possible (Onus 2003). The Contradictions of Self Embedded in Place The idea that the Aboriginal people are â€Å"traditional† is deeply ingrained in the Australian society (Grossman 2003). Grossman emphasises that not only the work but also the identities of the indigenous artists are seen as â€Å"traditional† (Grossman 2003, p. 12). When speaking about the Aboriginal people, Wright calls them â€Å"the people on the outside of life† and â€Å"deprived of a voice† (Wright 2002, p. 11). In Wright’s work, there is an overarching theme of the Aboriginals living on the margins of the society whose rights are oppressed. In her novel â€Å"Carpentaria†, Wright illustrates how the identity is shaped by the geographical place. A young Australian man undergoes self-transformations while living at an Aboriginal place (Wright 2010). A similar change in identity is likely to happen to an Aboriginal man who enters the urban place. On arrival, he is viewed as a madman. In the Aboriginal people’s view, â€Å"he [E lias] was a very strange man† (Wright 2010, p. 77). Likewise, Onus was remade by the urban space where he lived, constantly facing the traditional-versus-urban conundrum (Onus 2003, p.92). Yet, in his art, Onus tried to represent a uniquely Aboriginal place left untainted by the colonization (Onus 2003). This proved practically impossible. The subject of unclear directions associated with the feeling of being lost in space and perhaps history surfaces in his paintings. For example, a colonial map is depicted illustrating the scale of the colonial dominance and a rear-view of a rainbow snake in the side mirror of a fast-moving truck implying the fast-moving changes that occur with a simultaneous orientation to the past (Ashcroft 2013). The Contradictions of Self Embedded in Time In regard to the importance of time to self, both Wright and Onus show the time as interconnected in the conscience of the Aboriginals. Wright admits that she struggles with writing about trauma (Wright 2002), and she sets her novels in the past, present and future where the traumatic experiences are present. Onus maintains that the Aboriginal stories will ever be the same; it is only the technology and the materials that differ (Onus 2003). The paintings of Onus confirm that the concept of time is central to Indigenous self-representation. His static view of self is illustrated in the zigzag-like images, where the present and the past are fused, and in the images of animals, which are considered influential by the Aboriginal people. Finally, his painting â€Å"The Road to Redfern† touches on â€Å"remembering the future† and depicts how the past and the present interconnect in producing a hopeful picture of the future (Ashcroft 2013). Wright’s most recent novel â€Å"The Swan Book† makes the imagined future into the timeframe of interactions between her characters. In this way, she brings attention to the imminent problems of the environment. The Aboriginals are shown as directly confronted with and more conscious of the environmental degradation. Wright explains why the Australian history should encompass the Aboriginals, instead of making them invisible (Healy, 1988, p.84). Moreover, illustrating how the land rights were seen as a privilege alongside the â€Å"conferred dominance† (McIntosh, 2012, p. 124) instead of being the right of the Aboriginals, she calls for improving their destiny. The latter proves that the Aboriginal creative artists may not only depict the difficulties of the Australian histories but also promote the inclusion of the marginalized Aboriginal people, thus creating a new â€Å"generation of dignity† (Healy, 1988, p. 82). Still, â€Å"The Swan Book† rema ins a scarce instance of success towards embracing diversity. The creative production of the Aboriginal life and the true representation of the Australian histories remain a difficult pursuit. Meanwhile, the destiny of the Aboriginal people is obscured, indefinite and uninteresting. In the work of Alexis Wright and Lin Onus, there is some indication that the Indigenous creative artists search for a middle way as mediators to express the difficult Australian histories. Yet, Wright and Onus are in a privileged position of the Aboriginals who, while struggling with their double identities, function as part of the mainstream. From this position, they can speak in the artist’s unique language that has links to both the mainstream and the Indigenous histories. Wright and Onus abandoned their original Aboriginal language and art framework: this was a difficult path that allowed them to pursue the desired careers. Yet, this was not the only requirement for ensuring self-representation. The Aboriginal people cannot socialize into the mainstream art without accessing the centrally located galleries, and when they do, new symbols and meanings are often misunderstood. Since they are located on the periphery of the Australian society, their socialization through a conventional language and art is constrained. As Wright and Onus create in new literary and artistic genres respectively, they depart from the Aboriginal tradition and embark on a process of self-production and representation that is accompanied by numerous complexities. The work by Wright and Onus expresses the contradictions in regard to the space and time as essential aspects of an Indigenous self. The Aboriginal identity is a product of the Aboriginal place. The differences between the urban and traditional places are drastic, as depicted in the creative artists’ work and bibliographic accounts. Moreover, while there is an attempt to build the parallels between the Aboriginal and the mainstream societies, the encounters between the two places produce a changed identity. For the Aboriginal people, the past and the present are seen as fused, and trauma is present at all times. The future is depicted as also connected, where there is some indication of hope, as in Onus’ â€Å"The Road to Redfern†. The Aboriginal identity depicted by the Indigenous artists in their work shows an overwhelmingly complex process of the Aboriginal peoples’ identity production and representation and illustrates the difficult histories of the Aboriginals in the Australian society.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Informative Essay Sample about Procrastination

Informative Essay Sample about Procrastination An informative essay is a well-known type of a paper that is used to evaluate the knowledge of students in schools and colleges, and its main task is giving the reader detailed information about the unknown subject. The informative essay should not have many unknown terms, and if they are used, their simple explanation should be given. The structure of the essay is standard the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion, where the main body should express the general history of the concept, historical event, person, or object, approaches to its study, and the importance of the described object. The topic of an informative essay sample should not cover too broad concepts, or, conversely, too narrow field of knowledge, and must be interesting for both the author and the reader. Before starting to work, the writer has to find reliable sources of information, properly study them and emphasize the main points that should be mentioned in the essay. This type of paper involves the pre sentation of the main facts of the topic without additional analysis and personal conclusions – only information for the reader. To clearly understand the structure and writing features of the essay, one could consider the informative essay example given below. ‘The Procrastination’ Essay Sample The habit of postponing important cases to the last moment often becomes a huge problem for people since it affects the quality of work, financial situation, and personal life. One can hear the common myth that the prevalence of the Internet, TV, and electronic devices exacerbates this problem even more than decades ago. Moreover, it is known that people under pressure work better and faster, that makes procrastination a good thing, but numerous studies show the other side of this habit, and scientists include it in the list of mental diseases. In this regard, one should mention that the main reason why people postpone everything until the last moment is not hindering factors, laziness, or inability to manage time but psycho-emotional problems of a person. In simple words, procrastination is a phenomenon of people choosing quick and less critical tasks to perform instead of significant ones that take a longer time to complete because they want to get results faster and self-assert them. In other words, a person is not just lazy or does not want to do the necessary task. Instead, he/she is subconsciously afraid to proceed to the work realization because of its importance or scale. Moreover, scientists noted that in any country and at any time there are 20% of people who are marked as chronic procrastinators or procs. The main problem of procs is that they cannot emotionally overstep themselves if they are faced with a difficult task and postpone it until the deadline or even after it. Procrastination is a phenomenon that is mistakenly attributed to the problems of modernity, but its existence was noted centuries ago, in the times of ancient Greece. One of the evidence of this statement is the words that were written at 800 BC by the Gre ek poet Hesiod, who said: â€Å"Put your work off till tomorrow and the day after.† Similar trends can be noted in various books and films of the past, and that is why blaming modern technologies for the intensification of procrastination is incorrect. At the same time, the scientists note three main traits that are inherent for chronic procrastinators, for instance, they usually suffer from their inaction, postpone difficult tasks because of their emotions, and do not learn from past mistakes. The first feature is expressed in the fact that postponing important tasks, the procrastinators are aware of the consequences of their actions and feel fear, anxiety, or torment of conscience but still do not proceed to the task. The second trait is expressed in the fact that people feel insecure in their desire to complete a task and explain this by a bad mood. Therefore, they postpone it in the hope that when the mood improves, they are able to return to the task. Consequently, the rapidly approaching deadline makes the person more stressed and reduces the ability to resist emotions that lead to the worse mood and another postponement. The third feature is that despite the experience gained in past cases of procrastination, people do not l earn to avoid unpleasant consequences but only feel more stress caused by understanding future complications. Thus, these manifestations are, at the same time, causes and consequences of procrastination and are associated primarily with the emotional problems of the person. While for ordinary people procrastination remains a reason for jokes, scientists have approached this issue with all responsibility having conducted diverse researches on the topic. One of the most effective methods was empirical tests on groups of volunteers, which clearly showed manifestations of procrastination associated with various external factors. The good example of the study was published in Psychological Science when one group of students was told that at the end of the lesson they have to write unimportant and fun math test, and another group thought that the result of this test would seriously influence their further education. The time before the test could be used for preparation or entertainment. As a result, the second group of chronic procrastinators deferred studying knowing that the test results are significant. The experiment clearly showed that procrastination is associated with the control of emotions and not time. Another method that scientists tried to apply to research this issue is neuropsychology. Since some parts of the frontal lobe of the brain are responsible for human self-control, the study of the connection between procrastination and reactions in this part of the brain is expected to conduct. Nevertheless, the outcomes of the study were unexpected since chronic procrastinators had powerful connections with all the parts that are responsible for the different manifestation of self-control. These results most likely connect with the fact that the people themselves explained their feelings, so they were aware of their behavior. However, the research has led to the development of the methods that procrastinators can effectively use to solve their problem. First of all, it is worth noting once again that the influence can and should be exerted primarily by controlling emotions, but not thorough concentration on time-management skills. It is useful to observe one’s personal reaction to procrastination and analyze one to overcome the problem. For someone, it is a problem of self-control, for another person, it is the importance of the task or its complexity. In the first case, it may be useful to limit all distractions, such as calls, TV, or the Internet, but without the proper attitude for overcoming procrastination, this method does not give a positive result. Another effective way is dividing a massive task into several small ones with the establishment of personal deadlines for their implementation or a rewarding for early delivery of work instead of punishment after the deadline. In addition, dealing with procrastination may require seeing a therapist who will help to overcome the emotional barrier and realize the importance of completing tasks on time for the person due to his or her specific problems. Therefore, it can be noted that the study of procrastination on the part of science has led to the realization that this phenomenon can be a serious problem that threatens the mental and physical health of a person. In spite of this, not every postponing is a manifestation of procrastination, as well as not every person is a chronic procrastinator, but almost every person experiences this phenomenon at least once in the lifetime. In addition, the researches made it possible to understand the origins of this problem and, consequently, the ways of its resolving. Procrastination is primarily a problem of a person’s perception and the ability to overcome one’s emotional barriers, while the correct approach to solving this problem and therapy if needed could give fast positive results. Post-writing Tips This example of an informative essay includes the main parts that are necessary for writing academic work that includes an introduction with a clearly formulated thesis, the main body with precise explanations and statistical data, and a conclusion that summarizes all the information proposed in the essay. The informative essay sample presented above does not contain generalizations or personal interpretations of the author but only solid facts that explain the essence of the chosen topic to the reader. The conclusion of the essay does not contain new information or a personal response of the author but briefly summarizes the main ideas. In order to create an informative essay, remember that the vocabulary should include simple definitions and emotionally neutral terms. At the same time, one can make an exception and use direct quotations, so that the reader can easily get acquainted with the presented information. Writing an informative essay does not require analysis or synthesis of the obtained data since the main task of the author is to explain the main issues of the chosen topic briefly and clearly, revealing its essence to an uninformed reader. We hope that the tips and example of the essay are useful and will facilitate the task of writing this type of academic work. References Jaffe, Eric. â€Å"Why Wait? The Science Behind Procrastination.† Association for Psychological Science, 2013, https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination Council, Forbes Coaches. â€Å"10 Ways To Beat Procrastination And Get Things Done.† Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 22 Mar. 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/03/22/10-ways-to-beat-procrastination-and-get-things-done/#2d6307f02902 Murphy, Heather. â€Å"What We Finally Got Around to Learning at the Procrastination Research Conference.† The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 July 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/science/procrastination-research-conference.html Herrera, Tim. â€Å"Why Your Brain Tricks You Into Doing Less Important Tasks.† The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 July 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/09/smarter-living/eisenhower-box-productivity-tips.html

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Arthur Miller’s Symbolism of the Illuminati Mark as Portrayed in His Play, The Crucible

Arthur Miller’s Symbolism of the Illuminati Mark as Portrayed in His Play, The Crucible Survival is key to living, so what will you do for it? I have come to realize that our world is very corruptive that even who we thought was the good can be the bad. Even the innocent will change to the impure just for survival. This symbol of the illuminati sign represents all the evil roaming through Salem Massachusetts and how the illuminati is a group that claims to be the higher and the key to survival. This connects with how everyone in Salem began to start believing that there are witches and siding with this girls will be there only way to survive. This symbol is mainly towards the people who believe there is witchcraft and is accusing others so they aren’t accused even when they know what is right from wrong. The elements in this symbol represent that people will join evil to survive. Arthur Miller shows evil within The Crucible, by showing it through the people of Salem. For example Abigail a girl from Salem knows she has done wrong, but she can’t seem to admit it so she blames it on Tituba a Barbados slave who she knows no one will believe. Abigail says â€Å"I never called him! (Speaking about the devil) Tituba, Tituba† (42). Abigail is blaming Tituba for her actions making it seem as if Tituba has forced her upon the devil and caused her to do her wrong, so she seems harmless and innocent in everyone eyes. Abigail is one of the main reasons of the cause of everything she is in control of everything and seems to be manipulating everyone and mostly the other girls and she tends to control their actions and what’s she says goes because they all are afraid of her. Abigail is what you call a sociopath because she feels without emotions and some say it’s because of her childhood. But Abigail shows that she is a sociopath because when she hurting others she feels without emotion and to her it normal. She is the ring leader and Abigail is in control and she will make everyone fear hear so they can join her This drawing also shows the evil I the eyes of unspoken ones and the ones who speak to be survive. In the town everyone believes there seems to be witches. When Hale begins to integrate Tituba about being a witch. Hale says to her â€Å"who came to you with devil, two, three? Four? How many?† (46). this all started with Abigail accuse he believes that Tituba is a witch and so are many others. Out of cruelty Hale gets some of the town leaders and they began to whip Tituba to have her speak of what she knows. Even though Tituba is truly not a witch out of scare she says what she can only say to save herself, and she says â€Å"There was four, there was four†. Even though Tituba knows that’s not true, but she also knows that was the only ways she could be free out of death. This is when everything begins and other names start to come up, but most of the people who are being accused are not liked nor have no power to stand up for themselves. The main point of this symbol is to represent the cruelty all around Salem, form he accuser to the unspoken. This symbol represents that a lot of people will side with what is wrong from to save themselves rather than do the right thing and stand up to what they believe and know is right. Also it shows that people tend to follow a ring leader and in this case the ring leader is Abigail. She in control of Salem right now and everyone is eating out of her palms so she doesn’t accuse them. In Salem there happens to be witches, these witches are people being accused of something they never done and they are being accused because they are mainly not like by the girls. So there comes where everyone has to justify and say what they believe and everyone begins to side with these girls because they believe the only way to survive this horrifying tragedy is to side with the. This all show that people will side with evil if their life is on the line.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Organizational Effectievness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Effectievness - Essay Example Rational, open and natural systems approaches are among the strategies that can be adopted to accomplish organizational goals. This paper presents a critique as to why most managers find rational approaches to organizations and organising appealing. It highlights with examples how taking an open or a natural systems approach benefits managers. Rational Approaches The rational system perspective views organizations as mechanisms intended to accomplish particular goals. The approaches provide a means to the goals but not a basis for development of goals. In other words, rational approaches facilitate the achievement of organizational goals regardless of whether they are smart or not (Marnet 2007). According to Gans (1996), rationality requires specific goals that are formalized to enhance their accomplishment. This is necessitated by the fact that rational approaches involve various segments that contribute to the attainment of organizational goals. Goal specificity is usually appealin g to managers since it allows them to make appropriate choices regarding the available alternatives without ambiguity. It allows the prioritization and assignment of various functions and resources in the organization (Das 2003). The organizational structure also highly depends on specificity of goals. Generally, specific goals guide decision making as to what particular tasks need to be performed, the nature of human resources to be engaged as well as how funds are to be distributed among the team players within the organization (Tolbert & Richard 2008). The significance of goal specificity can be illustrated through the functioning of military organizations. Although people might argue regarding the role of the military, there is a specific goal of enhancing defence in a particular jurisdiction. People are assigned particular. The decision making process is clearly defined and therefore there can be no confusion in accomplishing the organizational goals. Rationality applies regard less of whether the goals of the military organization are indecorous or not (Gans 1996). Rational approaches allow formalization of the organizational structure which in turn promotes ownership of the goals among members. Formalization enhances standardization of behaviours among members thereby maintaining predictability of outcomes of various actions (Provan & Milward 1995). Generally, formalization guides actions of various people involved in the accomplishment of goals. It also allows the presence of a smooth transition in a situation whereby replacement of an employee is needed. The incoming employee is selected on the basis of skills as stated in the formal structure (Handel 2002). Taylor’s model of scientific management is among the rational approaches that managers have found useful in accomplishing organizational goals. It involves assessing tasks in the workplace and ensuring that the processes involved produce maximum output with minimal inputs in terms of labour and materials (Christian 2003). All processes are experimented and proved to serve the desired purpose before putting them in practice. Scientific management helps to eliminate procedures that lead to time wasting and inefficiency. At a glance, managers are in a position to tell what activity every person in the organization is involved in. Workers do not have to wait for instructions to perform tasks. Rather, they have a scheme that they follow on daily basis (Tolbert & Richard 2008). Scientific management ensures that workplace rules govern the behaviour of individuals making management functions easy to undertake. Workers are selected scientifically through assessment of their

Citationland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Citationland - Essay Example The citations aim to prove the underlying message of promoting and reinforcing women’s subjugation through teaching the centrality of marriage to women’s identities and destinies, as if marriage is the only thing that can and should make them feel happy and successful in life. Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl called Cinderella and she had two ugly step sisters who were very unkind who made her do all the hard work. She had to sweep the floors, do all the dishes, while they dressed up in fine clothes and went to lots of parties.1 One day a special invitation arrived at Cinderellas house. It was from the royal palace. The kings only son was a truly handsome prince was going to have a grand ball. Three girls were invited to come. Cinderella knew she wouldnt be allowed to go to the ball. But the ugly sisters, ho ho ho, they were excited. They couldnt talk about anything else.2 When the day of the ball came, they made such a fuss. Poor Cinderella had to rush about upstairs and downstairs. She fixed their hair in fancy waves and curls. She helped them put on their expensive new dresses. And she arranged their jewels just so. As soon as they had gone, Cinderella sat down by the fire and she said. "Oh I do wish I could go to the ball".3 The next moment, standing beside her was a lovely old lady with a silver wand4 in here hand. "Cinderella, she said " I am your fairy godmother and you shall go to the ball. But first you must go into the garden and pick a golden pumpkin, then bring me six mice from the mousetraps, a whiskered rat from the rat trap, and six lizards. Youll find the lizards behind the watering can. So Cinderella fetched a golden pumpkin, six grey mice, a whiskered rat, six lizards. The fairy godmother touched them with her wand and the pumpkin became a golden coach, the mice became six grey horses, the rat

Activity based costing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Activity based costing - Essay Example With this new era of cost reduction and resource utilization,managers always have to come up with ways to maximize their bottom-line One of the newest ways how companies can get increased cost-savings is by using a technique called Activity Based Costing (ABC). The main objective of this type of system is proper identification of all cost categories and using basing decisions on this information. Most organizations that use ABC systems have two costing systems – the official costing system that is used for preparing external financial reports and the Activity Based Costing system that is used for internal decision making and for managing activities. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Recent Studies in ABC 3 Role of ABC in Industries 4 Role in Manufacturing 5 Role in Financial Services 6 Role in Health Services 7 Role in Retail 8 Role in Government 9 Limitations of ABC 10 Conclusion 11 Bibliography 12 Introduction The main objective of Acti vity Based Costing is to understand the various types of overheads that are affecting the business. In comparison, normal accounting attempts to separate the different type of costs and the focus is on the cost of goods sold (or cost of services rendered in case of service companies). In this section, analysis of the various aspects of Activity Based Costing will be done, and how it is used effectively by managers in order to create the maximum value for the company. A number of examples will also be looked into when it did not prove to be very effective for the organizations. The basis of Activity Based Costing is simple, non-manufacturing as well as manufacturing costs may be assigned to products. Moreover, some manufacturing costs may be excluded from product costs. All overhead costs are attached to a product and activity is used as a measure of all the costs involved. The overhead rates or activity rates may be based on the level of activity at capacity rather than on the budge ted level of activity. To compensate for the deficiencies of the conventional information systems, ABC requires firms to collect costs in specially constructed â€Å"activity pools† rather than service departments or overhead cost centers. Each of the pools corresponds to a group of similar business processes or activities that are homogeneous in that all costs assigned to the pool are influenced or driven by a common factor (Rafiq & Garg 2002). Recent Studies in ABC A study in the year 2005 concluded that nearly half (55%) of respondents suggested within their entirety that their companies were at that time making use of the Activity Based Costing either in an active fashion or in a pilot with another 32% considering use. Only one in ten which amounted to around 11% did not contemplate using the ABC. The manufacturing industry had the highest representation with 24%, followed by financial services at 18%, public sector at 16%, and communications at 8%. Other industries accou nted for less than 5% each. The same study found out that out of all the industries being considered, the communication industry is the most aggressive in adopting the ABC system (Timlin 1998). The primary reason for this being that the Activity Based Costing uses various activities to trace overhead directly to cost objects, such as products, processes, services, etc., avoiding the distortions of traditional costing systems. In order for the ABC system to be affective large investments will have to be made in IT to support this need for categorical information. Role of ABC in Industries Now taking a look at the different industries and trying to analyze how ABC system is used to achieve different goals according to the company. While company goals may vary greatly, the purpose here is to identify how Activity Based Co

Thursday, October 17, 2019

International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Management - Essay Example The key opinion/position or argument of the author is that it is essential for EU to take advantage of the potential opportunities of the Southeast Asian region if they are to maintain their global trading power. Therefore EU has to strengthen its linkages with the region to counter the regionalism taking place. He argues that those firms placed within the Southeast Asian region in the form of Multinational operations, International Joint ventures and other forms of FDI, stands to gain favourably from the opportunities emerging from the regionalization process taking place in this part of the world economy. It is him opinion that by taking advantage of the simultaneous drives of these nations to attract FDI ventures that target outward bound export activities, EU firms can capitalize on these trends of regionalism. Southeast Asian region is growing at an average rate of 7.2% compared to 2.4% of EU and these growth markets offer high potential. The techno industrial capabilities of the countries in the region have developed to match those of the EU countries. Countries such as Australia and USA are benefiting form the regionalism taking place through its linkages to the region in terms of APEC and will benefit from the overlapping member relationships of APEC and ASEAN. Those EU firms that have achieved the â€Å"insider† status by locating themselves within the region has benefited by being able to compete effectively not only in the host country market but in export activities to all other nations in the region, compared to outsider firms in EU as well as other nations in pacific rim and USA. If EU firms are to take advantage of the impact of regionalism, by countering negativities and maximising opportunities, they can do so by locating themselves within the region, especially the Sub Regional Economic Zones which operate on interlinked business relationships. Although

Family in Later Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family in Later Life - Essay Example In the recent past there has been an increase in the number of singles in the US. The word single implies a person who is unmarried, but it is more widely used to refer to all those people who are either divorced or are staying alone because their spouses have expired. For research purposes the term single is taken in its broader meaning, to include any person who lives alone, whether married or otherwise. For understanding the trends in being single in later life one needs to examine the experiences of the elderly as to how they experience life when living alone. â€Å"The trends that underlie increased rates of staying single among younger age groups reflect the interplay of social change and demographic shifts.† (Ingrid Arnet Connidis, 2009, P.96). When people are single at an elderly age then they remain quite isolated from the society and are less social unlike those elderly who have a family. They are not attracted towards their relatives but are closer to friends who ar e also singles. However, in such a case there is a difference in the concept of both the genders. While the single males prefer friends more as companions older females prefer relatives as companions. There is an increasing trend in criminal cases against the elderly who are single such as telemarketing scams.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Managing coastal environments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing coastal environments - Essay Example In 1950-1970s, one of the methods used to achieve protection is the establishment of hard rock protections. Although the said method is aimed to minimize the effects of coastal erosion, it caused negative effects such as the increase of the power of the energy waves that can hit the land. This can be attributed to the magnification of wave action that intensified the momentum of the waves. The accumulation of knowledge on the basis of research and data gathering, the advancement of new methods led to the continuous improvement of methods to lessen the effects of coastal erosion. There are different strategies that can be cited that were applied and empirically observed in different localities and countries. One of the examples of methods applied is located in Townsville, North Queensland. The case of the said locality is having natural erosion in the coast in relation to the two tropical cyclones that affected the area for two consecutive years. The protections that had been established had not been enough to sustain the effects of the erosion. This had effects in the tourism of the area since the recreational beaches, which are the main source of livelihood, became seriously eroded. For that matter, actions had been taken by the local council and the authorities to be able to restore facilities to prepare for the vacation season. Included on the proposed action plan is the establishment of new facilities for the tourists, restoration of the beach and construction of four rock headlands to slow the waves and trap sediments. Through the state legislations and redevelopment proposals, the main sources of funding are the state disaster fund and the council supplementary fund. Another case is the Tweed River in New South Wales which is human induced erosion. Actions were taken to be able to keep the river mouth clear on the basis of the susceptibility to erosion. The training

Family in Later Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family in Later Life - Essay Example In the recent past there has been an increase in the number of singles in the US. The word single implies a person who is unmarried, but it is more widely used to refer to all those people who are either divorced or are staying alone because their spouses have expired. For research purposes the term single is taken in its broader meaning, to include any person who lives alone, whether married or otherwise. For understanding the trends in being single in later life one needs to examine the experiences of the elderly as to how they experience life when living alone. â€Å"The trends that underlie increased rates of staying single among younger age groups reflect the interplay of social change and demographic shifts.† (Ingrid Arnet Connidis, 2009, P.96). When people are single at an elderly age then they remain quite isolated from the society and are less social unlike those elderly who have a family. They are not attracted towards their relatives but are closer to friends who ar e also singles. However, in such a case there is a difference in the concept of both the genders. While the single males prefer friends more as companions older females prefer relatives as companions. There is an increasing trend in criminal cases against the elderly who are single such as telemarketing scams.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Ernest Hemmingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls Essay Example for Free

Ernest Hemmingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls Essay There is a lot of symbolism in the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Ernest Hemmingway characterizes the inner struggle that exists in men who engage in war. The motivations and passion begin to erode, leaving desperate men in a struggle about which they no longer feel strongly. As the novel progresses, the characters of Robert Jordan and Maria grow with the love they have for each other and the progression of their ideas about war. This growth carries them through the novel and eventually through very different paths. The character of Robert Jordan is brought to new depths of character when he meets Maria. Jordan liked to remain by himself, and he had no concern about dying on the battlefield. Additionally, the character Maria is at first a meek, traumatized victim of abuse in a prison camp. When Jordan and Maria meet, they change dramatically. Jordan’s love for Maria heals her from the wounds she suffered at the hands of men back in the prison. At the same time, Jordan comes to value his life more when he has new feelings evoked by his unity with Maria. Together they make plans to make a life with one another back in the United States, and that becomes the inspiration that carries Jordan through the war. Hemmingway’s genius for metaphorical depictions is further described by the a emotionless Robert Jordan, who has entered the war after leaving his professorship back in the United States. He takes up the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War, and his genius working with explosives earns him a higher position. At the start of his service in the war, he believes in the cause very strongly, but at the novel’s beginning, he has become worn down and disillusioned with the cause. The distinction between the Republican cause and the Fascist cause have blurred and he begins to wonder if both sides aren’t actually the same. His continued service in the war is almost robotic, he is no longer impassioned to the cause on either side. At the novel’s conclusion, Robert Jordan faces death, the denouement of his internal conflict being resolved as he finally is able to identify himself – not as a man of whose function lies only in his ruminations but rather, a man who acts on his instincts. He has been involved this war for too long despite becoming disillusioned long ago. He is tormented by the things he has done, but he ultimately realizes he needs to forget the past to refrain from making mistakes in the present. He focuses on his love for Maria and at the moment before his death, he is at peace and finally feels a connection with the world around him. The first metaphor was the snowstorm that occurred in May and hampered the progress of guerillas as they set out to detonate explosives on the bridge. The character Robert Jordan watches the snow whipping around him and describes the scene: â€Å"it was like the excitement of battle except it was clean† (Hemmingway, p186). He enjoys the fact that the snow and weather in general is beyond his control – unlike the war he is currently enduring. He is also glad that the hindrance of the snow can completely disable man’s technological innovations and stratagems for taking lives. The snowstorm is a foreshadowing element used in reference to the upcoming deaths of El Sordo and his band. It is the snow that leads the fascist soldiers on their trail and eventually leads to their demise, destroying any reinforcements for Jordan’s troops. The wildness of the snowstorm is mirrors the chaotic ending in which the soldiers run around aimlessly. Another metaphor in this novel is the bullfight. Bullfighting is referenced in the novel as a direct parallel to the senseless violence in war. The bull represents the powerful force and the matadors represent the bravery of men. In these fights, death may result but it is a minor risk for the ultimate reward of honor. Joaquin long dreamed of becoming a bullfighter, and when he tells this to his fellow guerillas, he suffers much ridicule for being too afraid to go through with his dream. This condemnation is indicative of the valor that men must have, putting their fears behind them and face death without flinching. Finito was described as cowardly – a matador who was terrified, but inside the ring, he had the courage of a â€Å"lion†, looking the bull in the face and confronting it (Hemmingway, p185). For Whom the Bell Tolls is a story about the hardships of war. As Robert continues through the war, he undergoes many changes and has his entire perception of the world changed through the lens of war’s devastation. At the end, a gentle peace takes hold of him as the character matures to his height of spiritual connectedness, and this is quickly followed by his death, the ultimate p

Monday, October 14, 2019

Tnt Is The Market Leader Marketing Essay

Tnt Is The Market Leader Marketing Essay Introduction TNT is the market leader in the provision of business-to-business (B2B) express delivery services. It delivers documents, parcels and freight securely between businesses, using road or air transport. Ken Thomas founded TNT in Australia in 1946 with a single truck. It became Thomas Nationwide Transport (TNT) in 1958 and TNT Express Services UK in 1978. Today TNT is a global company and serves customers in over 200 countries around the world, employing 10,000 people in the UK. TNT has two operating divisions in the UK. As a global company, TNT seeks to project a consistent image across the world. For example, it uses the global strapline Sure we can on all its vehicles, aircraft and communications material. Back ground TNT N.V. was an international express and mail delivery services company with headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. In the Netherlands, TNT operated the national postal service under the name TNT Post. The group also offered postal services in eight other European countries, including the UK, Germany, Italy and Belgium. TNTs mail division recorded sales of about â‚ ¬4.2 billion in 2009. The companys demerged express delivery services division, known as TNT Express, has fully owned operations in 65 countries and delivers documents, parcels and pieces of freight to over 200 countries. TNT Express recorded sales of about â‚ ¬7.2 billion in 2011. On 2 August 2010, TNT M.V. announced its intention to split up into two independent companies, an express and a mail company. TNT sold its logistics unit in 2006 to focus on network activities, mail and express delivery services. TNTs networks were concentrated in Europe and Asia, but the group also had operations in the Middle East and South America, and several road freight companies in China, India and Brazil. TNT employed 155,000 people. Over 2009, TNT reported â‚ ¬10.4 billion in revenues and an operating income of â‚ ¬648 million. TNT was officially quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange unit May 2011. Its major competitors included FedEx, DHL, and national post carriers such as US Postal Service and Royal Mail. TNTs last chief executive officer was Peter Bakker. Other members of the Board of Management included Bernard Bot (Chief Financial Officer), Marie- Christine Lombard (Group Managing Director, Express) and Harry Koorstra (Group Managing Director, Mail). Mission, aims and objectives TNT is the fastest and most reliable provider of express delivery services and is the European market leader. Organizations do not become market leaders by chance. It takes vision, careful planning, outstanding quality and a committed, highly trained staff. This organization-wide planning is known as business strategy. Organizations identify the goals that they want to achieve through: a mission aims clearly stated objectives. Mission A business mission is a statement that reflects its core purpose and principle business aims. It states what the business is, what it does and where it is heading. Employees and other stakeholders who have an interest in the organizations activities need to be able to understand the mission easily. TNTs mission is to: Exceed customers expectations in the transfer of their goods and documents around the world, Deliver value to our customers by providing the most reliable and efficient solutions through delivery networks, Seek to lead the industry by instilling pride in our people, creating value for our stakeholders and sharing responsibility around the world. Aims and objectives The aims supporting this mission focus on efficiently transferring goods and documents, providing customer satisfaction and behaving responsibly. To achieve these aims the organization needs to establish objectives at a number of levels. SMART objectives are designed to ensure that everyone understands what is required and by when. They make it easy to measure performance so that the business knows if and when its aims have been achieved. Where necessary, it can change its plans to overcome any problems or obstacles. Specific exactly what is to happen Measurable by quantity or proportion Achievable capable of being achieved within available resources Relevant to the overall business or corporate objectives Time-related with a deadline attached Measurable objectives cover every aspect of TNTs operations and service. The top-level objective is to achieve profitable growth. Examples of SMART objectives across the business that contribute to this include: Answer 85% of calls from customers within ten seconds. This objective fits with the mission to provide the most reliable and efficient solutions for customers. TNTs customer focus is one of the key ways in which it aims to differentiate itself from competitors. To improve TNTs carbon efficiency by 45% by 2020 (measured against the 2007 baseline). This example of a longer-term objective reflects TNTs aim to reduce the environmental impact of its business. Building a strategy Business strategies are the means by which businesses achieve objectives. They usually take the form of long-term plans relating to the chosen markets, products and environment. A competitive strategy can be based on: having a distinctive position in the market. TNTs market position is based on differentiating itself from rivals through its speed, reliability and provision of services of the highest standard. building core strengths (known as core competencies). TNTs strengths are based on attracting and developing high-caliber staff who are able to exceed customer expectations so that customers remain loyal to the business. TNTs strategies need to take into account a number of important areas. These include: what goods and services to produce, e.g. an integrated delivery service which territories will deliver best return on investment. TNTs international operations focus on key trading areas of Europe, Asia, North America and South America. how to build a competitive advantage, e.g. by providing the most reliable, customer-focused services. Tactics Businesses deliver their strategies through a series of tactics. TNTs practical measures are set out under three main headings Operational Excellence, Customer Relationship Management and Innovation. The map describes the journey that TNT is taking towards achieving the long-term aims. For example: The map shows that Operational Excellence will be achieved through a solid foundation of fast, reliable and quality services. From there, the Customer Relationship is improved by understanding what different customers want. This builds a stronger allegiance and loyalty. Innovation is about anticipating the future needs of TNT customers. Through stronger relationships the business can develop a joint approach and shared vision. TNT segments its customers according to their requirements. For example, some customers provide the company with one off requests. Others are major accounts regularly placing large orders. TNT responds to the needs of each of these customer groups in different ways and hopes for loyalty in return. The market is highly competitive and it is more cost-effective to keep repeat business than to generate new customers. Strategic direction and strategic gaps TNT has high-quality people working within the organization in many different roles. These range from the front-line distribution of parcels and documents to accounts, sales and marketing functions. However, in places, TNT may require additional skills to bridge the gap between its existing human resources and those required to implement the strategy fully. This is referred to as a strategic gap. By developing its people, TNT ensures that it will have the capability to meet and implement quickly any necessary changes in its strategy. TNT is committed to minimizing the environmental effects of its operations and conducting its business in a sustainable way. For example, it recognized the value the business could gain from making drivers more aware of methods of driving which would improve safety and efficiency. Drivers are therefore trained in SAFED (safe and fuel- efficient driving) techniques, earning certificates of competence. Conclusion Creating and delivering an effective business strategy involves: having clear aims and objectives building a competitive advantage by developing core competences Identifying gaps and seeking to close these through development of resources. TNT demonstrates good practice in each of these areas. The company has clear business aims and objectives that are time-related. It focuses on developing competitive advantage through its strategies for customers, innovation and its people. TNT ensures that the people working for the business have adequate opportunities to grow. It meets any gaps in the ability of the workforce to deliver its strategy by training and developing its existing people. This retains their skills and offers attractive career opportunities to recruit new talent. Recommendation TNT should start a new service to pick goods from customer place that will give a competitive advantage over competitors. More sub offices should be open for the ease of customers and for better communication within company. On delivery of goods at destination confirmation message service should be started via e-mail or messaging. Questions What kinds of data can TNT use to build a phylogenetic tree? What is the growth rate of TNT in 20th century? How does TNT become world widely recognized company? What is the company position in the market?

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Symbols and Subversion in 13 Happiness Street Essay -- 13 Happiness Str

"13 Happiness Street" is a political satire which relies largely on the subversion of conventional symbols to convey its message. By subversion, I mean the process by which Bei Dao uses unconventional meanings of conventional symbols to undermine accepted literary norms. That is, he offers in place of the common associations of a symbol, another symbolic association that draws its meaning from the context of the narrative. Indeed, the very meaning of the narrative is couched in the language of metaphors and symbols. It is here that the author constructs a narrative using conventional symbols which play upon and also against the reader's expectations. Before we examine the means by which the author subverts the archetypal notions of symbols, it is first imperative to understand how these symbols stand in relation to the narrative and the reader. Symbols find their place within a narrative through a conscious desire of the author to create a pattern of meaning, while the reader on the other hand, attempts to re-construct these meanings by drawing upon conventional associations with events. Conventional symbols are thus internalized in our mental consciousness and associated with what we take to be their predisposed meanings. That is, our minds works to form preconceived mental pictures of what these symbols should universally represent. "13 Happiness Street" is thus a narrative that gains much of its significance through the subversion of conventional symbols against our expectations. The subversion of the archetypal symbol takes place within various levels of the narrative, the first being the immediate layer of the narrative itself, and the second being the symbols within the narrative. I shall first discuss how Bei Dao subv... ...the dichotomy between the said and the implied. On the surface, it may seem to be a story that ends inconclusively about a boy who is never found, but the use of multifarious symbols each bringing with them a string of other meanings contributes to the symbolic richness of his prose. Works Cited Bei Dao, "13 Happiness Street." Contemporary Literature of Asia. Ed. Arthur Biddle et al. Blair: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1996. 280-291. Chatman, Seymour, "Existents." Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1978. 107-126, 131-145. Todorov, Tzvetan. "Two Principles in Narrative." Genres in Discourse. Trans. Catherine Porter. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 27-30. Holden, Philip. "Aristotle on Plot". 26 Nov. 2000. University Scholars Programme. 1 Aug. 2001 http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/literature/ccla01/aristotleplot.html>.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

A Comparison of Nihilistic and Christian Archetypes in Beowulf and John

Grendel, Beowulf and the Relationship Between Nihilistic and Christian Archetypes The Wisdom god, Woden, went out to the king of trolls†¦and demanded to know how order might triumph over chaos. â€Å"Give me your left eye,† said the king of trolls, â€Å"and I’ll tell you.† Without hesitation, Woden gave up his left eye. â€Å"Now tell me.† The troll said, â€Å"The secret is, Watch with both eyes!† Woden’s left eye was the last sure hope of gods and men in their kingdom of light surrounded by darkness. All we have left is Thor’s hammer, which represents not brute force but art, or, counting both hammerheads, art and criticism†¦ The philosophies expressed in the Beowulf epic complement the exploration of existentialism throughout the modern work, Grendel, by John Gardner. Both works portray different perspectives of the same story, involving the same characters; Beowulf, the ancient Anglo-Saxon hero who destroys Grendel, and Grendel, the monster who terrorizes Hrothgar’s hall. Beowulf and Grendel act as archetypes that explore humanity’s perception of the world. In the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf and his companions represent good, and the monsters, including Grendel, represent evil. When Beowulf kills Grendel, the world is less evil, but since Beowulf’s companions die in the struggle, the world is also less good. Ultimately, the two forces of good and evil will destroy each other, but the story maintains that God will interfere and save mankind from destruction. In Gardner’s story, the progression of society begins when mankind creates a monster and then creates a hero to fight the monster. Once the greater power of the hero had been established, once the conflict’s resolution strengthened society’s power, than a greater monster developed ... ...fact, it is the saving grace of mankind: the hope that God will save society and establish harmony and justice. The modern story takes the opposite view; it shows what happens when hope is lost, when society has nowhere to turn: it is a more pessimistic, more complicated view of humanity’s progress. [Throughout this paper, G after a character's name refers to Gardner; AS to Beowulf the poem.] Works Cited Gardner, John. Grendel , New York: Vintage Books Edition, 1989. Gardner, John. Moral Fiction. New York: Basic Books Inc, 1977. Heany, Seamus. Beowulf: A Modern Translation. New York: Farrer, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Sources Cited Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. Monster Theory. George Washington University: www.upress.umn.edu/Books/C/cohen_monster.html, 2001. Johnson, Tim. Grendel. New York: www.panix.com/~iayork/Literary/Grendel/grendel2.html, 2001.