Balance And Stability

A true athlete develops his entire body to compete with the very best in his sport. He trains both his mind and body to reach his goals. His mind should be able to handle the pressure and stress that are involved in his competitive sport. He must be emotionally fit to compete in his sport; otherwise, he’ll lose or fair far below his expectations. His body should also be able to act and react in the right manner. The mental, emotional and physical aspects of his game must all come together as one.Whether an athlete is a catcher in baseball, a center in basketball, or a quick-running lineman in American football, he must perfectly develop all his faculties to achieve an above average level of balance and stability in his sport. Athletes should pay more attention to balance and stability because these factors are extremely critical in the success of their goals. The terms balance and stability may seem to have the same meaning, but they don’t (Carr, 2007, p. 89). These ter ms however, are very much related to each other. Balance and stability don’t always go together.Depending on the sport, an athlete may have more balance and less stability or none at all and vice versa. Both of these factors are necessary in almost all physical sports though because athletes have to constantly move their bodies while staying on the ground. Balance is a person’s ability to get rid of forces that ruin the evenness or equilibrium of things. Almost all people have balance to some degree. Young and old people use balance to stay on their feet while they're walking, running or hopping. Balance is also used in other movements, such as when a person tiptoes or dances a complex routine.Maintaining one's balance gets harder as the person encounters obstacles in his path. For example, a running back maintains excellent balance while he pierces the defense of the opposing team. In basketball, a point guard also displays above average balancing skills as he dribble s the ball around players guarding the basket (Carr, 2007, p. 89). There are many levels of balance. Not all people have the same level of balance. Athletes typically have greater balance than normal people because they arduously train to improve it. The concept of balance has been used in various sports for a very long period of time.As Sprunt (2000) and others noted, the term off-balance is also widely used in different types of sports. Thus, a basketball player may be said to have been caught off-balance if he loses his footing as he scrambles for the ball. Generally, it is not good to lose your balance in any kind of sport (Sprunt, 2000, p. 63). Balance itself is related to another important factor in executing movement: stability. Stability is the ability to maintain a person’s balance while encountering things that ruin that balance. To put it another way, stability is how balanced a person is.Different athletes have different tactics that increase the level of their st ability as they encounter forces that may be going against them. According to Foran, athletes typically face gravity, air resistance and friction when performing in sports (Foran, 2001, p. 119). For this reason, some athletes train hard to raise their stability to the level of being as steady as a rock. Sports shows typically have play by play slow-motions that showcase moving stability by players of different sports. For instance, stability is clearly shown on highlights of football plays.A football player displays excellent balance when he reaches out for the ball whizzing through the air. He jumps high using a single leg and lands gracefully on the same leg. However, that excellent balance may be disrupted by a rampaging opponent that slams into him as he's floating above the ground or standing on one leg. After the dust clears, you'll usually see the other player down on the ground because he traded stability for balance. Compare the previous example of a 300 pound lineman with his body arched and his center of gravity positioned low.This athlete can receive the hammering force of a 400 pound lineman, pushing him to get out of the way. The athlete does not drop to his knees, spread-eagle on the ground because his stability is way off the charts. If the lineman is really stable, he may even have the ability to push back his opponent or ram his way through the defense, sending him crawling on the ground. In this case, his opponent is the one that lacks stability and so he pays dearly for it (Foran, 2001, p. 119). Also, stability may be harder to maintain if forces are coming from many different directions.A lineman may be able to defend against the opponent directly in front of him, but he may not fare as easily if the opponent comes from his left, right or back. It's still possible to hold a great level of stability however, if the athlete's position is correct and if he has the right body to counter massive objects that's coming at him from different direc tions. Almost all kinds of physical sports showcase balance and stability. Sports like baseball and basketball are no different because athletes continuously move their bodies in these sports.As Thompson and Baldwin (2007) observed, athletes in these sports and others must do various drills to improve their balance. They must train their core muscle groups to have the excellent level of balance and stability that their sports require (Thompson and Baldwin, 2007, p. 369). In baseball, balance and stability are shown in the role of the catcher who tries to catch baseballs sent flying by the pitcher. In basketball, balance and stability are exemplified by huge, tall centers or post players that play near the basket.It is important to note that these sports are played very differently but both of them require superb balance and stability nonetheless. First, the baseball catcher has to have great physical attributes such as fast feet and hands, mighty arms and excellent balance and stabi lity. He spends much of his time on the baseball field crouching and anticipating the ball that the pitcher will throw. His weight is distributed on his heels. He bends his knees so that his upper leg is parallel to the ground. You'll also notice that his backside is positioned close to his heels.His back must not curve and shoulder blades must be positioned a little bit backward to give him more stability. To further increase stability, he must hold his head up high and he must hold out his glove. This unique crouching position is supported by the baseball catcher's amazing balance and stability (Thompson and Baldwin, 2007, p. 369). The baseball player in the previous example shows linearity in his balance and stability. Remember that balance is a person's ability to get rid of forces that ruin the evenness or equilibrium of things.Compare this to stability which refers to the level at which a person can maintain his balance while encountering things that may ruin it. Simply put, l inear stability occurs when you are able to resist an object that tries to move you. In the previous example, the catcher's stability is put to the test when tries to stop a ball that's flying toward him at 80 or 90 mph (Thompson and Baldwin, 2007, p. 369). Stability that is based on linear movement is influenced by the mass of the moving object that carries force and the object that tries to stop that force.The moving object here is the ball that flies toward the pitcher and may end up in the catcher's resisting hands. For many catchers, reaching the optimal stability that is based on linear movement is very easy. Baseball is a tough sport because it requires players to have great balance and stability while maintaining focus on the ball that's flying toward them. The catcher in the previous example must train hard to be able to block bad pitches and throw out runners who attempt to steal bases. In some cases, the catcher may have to abandon his crouching position to block a bad pi tch.This move trades stability for balance to catch the ball. The crouching position shows the three most important principles of a stable body (Mull, 2005, p. 174). First, the catcher increases his stability by broadening his base. The resulting position is that the catcher's feet are wide apart and firmly on the ground. Second, the baseball catcher centralizes his line of gravity by straightening his back and holding his head up high. Third, he crouches with his knees bent to lower his center of gravity, further adding to the stability of his whole body.When all of these positions are combined, the catcher comes up with a stable crouching position that allows him to easily move his whole body when catching a flying ball even when it is outside the normal zone. Stability is also based on an athlete’s capability to move his line of gravity forward, anticipating a fast-approaching force. This type of movement may unbalance him for a short duration of time, but the force of the approaching object might restore him to his previous balance. This is not the case though for a baseball catcher who blocks bad pitches.Even though the ball flies fast toward the catcher, its mass is still little compared to other balls. The catcher then puts his line of gravity directly in front of the approaching ball but quickly restores his balance. He also usually drops to his knees to bring down his center of gravity and increase his stability. Balance and stability can also take each other’s place in baseball. For example, balance and stability are reversed when a runner steals a base and is challenged by a catcher. The catcher positions his line of gravity directly in front of the fast-approaching force to throw the runner out.Another skill of a baseball catcher is throwing the ball to the base, which consists of applying force rather than resisting it. The catcher tends to rise to keep his line of gravity in the center and avoid falling down before throwing the ball . His weight is transferred to the back of his foot as he moves his body backward to throw the ball. There are also cases where the player who throws the ball temporarily moves his center of gravity outside the area where support is strongest. As the ball is thrown, the center of gravity moves from the back of the support area to the center and then to the front.The dynamics of balance and stability can also be seen in the sport of basketball. There was a time when post players were players that are massive and tall. This allowed them to block offensive players that run to the basket. Today, however, post players are not that huge anymore and they have better footwork. They are faster and more agile, so they can keep up with quick short players that have many tricks to drive to the basket. While post players of the past and today are different, they both still use the principles of balance and stability when playing their game.A post player or a center receives huge forces when guar ding the basket. This is a prime example of static stability in the face of opposing forces (Moran and McGlynn, 1997, p. 56). Post players from the opposing team constantly push and pull him to get him out of the way. Mass is important in being a post player to have enough balance and stability to withstand those vicious offensive moves. The more massive a player is, the greater is his stability. For example, Shaquille O’Neal or Shaq was extremely successful because of his extraordinary mass. There was a time when basketball experts claimed he weighed around 380 lbs.90 percent of that weight consists of muscle tissue and other nonfat tissue. Because of O’Neal’s great mass, other players find it very difficult to break his defense. Offense under the basket is also easy because his defenders just seem to bounce off him. His level of stability is excellent, which makes him an almost perfect post player. The perfect post player though, is not the perfect basketball player. In fact, a player who has a great mass often finds it difficult to change his direction when moving. In this case, quickness and agility are sacrificed for stability and balance.This is similar to a rampaging sumo wrestler that gets easily thrown out of the ring when his quick opponent steps to one side. Post players though, typically play within a very short distance from the basket, so their weakness in terms of quickness and agility is hard to exploit. New centers or post players like Yao Ming have less mass but are quicker and more agile. They are less stable because of their small base, but they can change direction quickly, which is useful in guarding against fast players that drive to the basket. Tall players however, may have lesser balance than shorter players because their center of gravity is very high.You’ll notice that short players are very balanced even when they are dribbling around a number of defenders because their center of gravity is nearer to the ground. Having a wide base is extremely important in being a post player (Chandler and Brown, 2008, p. 87). For this reason, many post players spend long hours in the gym to build their body and widen their base. If a post player’s base is not wide enough, he’ll find it harder to stop offensive attacks coming directly at him from the opposing team. Blocking a player with a small base is easy if the post player’s base is large.Another important factor in being a good post player is the center of gravity. It’s always best to lower a player’s center of gravity to increase his balance and stability. The reason why post players play with knees bent is that they have to widen their base and lower their center of gravity. It’s not always best to widen the base and lower your center of gravity though, as the post player will be sacrificing his height. This makes him vulnerable to high-jumping players from the opposing team who can always drive to t he basket and jump high against the short post player.A post player may also move his base forward to face the opposing force. Moving the line of gravity forward stabilizes the post player, helping hem to successfully guard the basket. It’s not advisable to move the center of gravity too near the front of his base though, because this might result in the player losing his balance. In conclusion, applying balance and stability when playing different sports is important to athletes for them to achieve their goals. Both athletes and coaches should pay more attention to balance and stability to be more successful in their sports.Various sports skills should be honed and trained so the athlete becomes more effective. The physical, mental, and emotional aspects of his game must all come together and become one. While other attributes such as agility and speed are also important in executing different sports skills, balance and stability are very basic in almost all kinds of sports. Without balance and stability, an athlete has a higher chance of failing in his chosen sport. He must constantly weigh the pros and cons of developing balance and stability over other attributes.He may also review the tradeoffs between balance and stability because each one presents their own advantages in a sport. He’ll be more effective in his chosen sport once he perfects his balance and stability. References Carr, G. (2007). Mechanics of Sport: A Practitioner's Guide. Detroit, MI: Human Kinetics Foran, B. (2001). High-performance Sports Conditioning: Modern Training for Ultimate Athletic Development. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Sprunt, K. , Kerwin, D. , & Fowler, N. (2000). An Introduction to Sports Mechanics: A HomeStudy Pack Providing Sportspeople with an Introduction to the Basic Mechanics of Movement. Coachwise. Thompson, W. , & Baldwin, K. (2007). ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer: Techniques, Complications, and Management. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Moran, G. , & McGlynn, G. (1997). Cross-training for Sports: Programs for 26 Sports. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Chandler, T. J. , & Brown, L. (2008). Conditioning for Strength and Human Performance. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Mull, R. , Bayless, K. , & Jamieson, L. M. (2005). Recreational Sport Management. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Privacy and Social Networks Essay

â€Å"Privacy seems to encompass everything, and therefore it appears to be nothing in itself† (Solove, 2008, p. 7). It is an oversimplification to define privacy as all what an individual owns. With the evolution of new technologies nowadays, it is very hard to define privacy because it varies from one person to another and from one culture to another (Solove, 2008). With the rise of social networks during the last decade, new views about privacy started to emerge due to its special mechanism in sharing information. Social networks enable users to instantly share information, thoughts, photos, products and videos with the many users in the network at once. Unlike other means of communication, the information in social networks can spread to hundreds of users in seconds. Then, the users who received the information may share it among their network, and then further to other networks, which will end up in spreading the information to millions of people in no time, just like a chain reaction. This new mechanism of sharing, which is becoming faster every day, raised new concerns about privacy among individuals and organizations. In spite of all these concerns about the personal privacy on the social networks, social networks websites are the most visited websites in the internet. For example, Facebook has reached 901 million monthly active users in April, 2012 (Hachman, 2012). Although social networks enables an easy sharing of private information about individuals or low profile information about organizations, individuals and organization should not be afraid of using social networks due to privacy concerns, and instead they should be more public and utilize the social network. Being public and open to the world is better than being private and closed because it enables people to learn from others personal experience. Naturally, any individual or organization benefits from communicating with others. Nevertheless, communication with others, regardless of the mean of communication, usually involves giving away some private information to the other. However, social networks empowered the world a new mean of communication that benefits all the users in the network by sharing private information. For example, an individual can share some previous experiences such as overcoming an illness, eating habit, or making a project. Being afraid of sharing experience, because of privacy, would only deprive others from benefit of these experiences. According to Tapscott (2012): Fully 20 percent of all patients with the fatal disease ALS share intimate information about their treatment and condition on the network PatientsLikeMe. com. And tens of thousands of others with rare diseases who use that website report that sharing has helped them better manage their illness. Because the social network enabled them to share information about their medical conditions, which is very private information, they supported each others with valuable information about their disease and inspired each others with their experience. Social networks enhanced collaboration, which in return brings benefits to all individuals, at the cost of personal information. Some may argue that because of posting private information on social networks, some employee may suffer from being fired from or being denied for a job. In other words, social networks negatively affect employment because they allow the employers or managers to access an employee’s or a job applicant’s private data. For example, Andrews (2012) states in her book that a high school teacher, called Ashly Payne, was asked to resign because she uploaded a photo of her on Facebook drinking an alcoholic drink even though it is legal to drink in her country. She also claims that employers â€Å"will not hire someone whose Facebook page includes photo of that person drinking or in provocative dress† (p. 122). However, the information on social networks could not be used against an employee or a job applicant because it is considered unethical and illegal. First, it is unethical to judge a worker from the personal aspects rather than working skills. Besides, Jarvis (2011) defines privacy as â€Å"the ethics of knowing† and publicness as â€Å"the ethics of sharing† (p. 110). Therefore, it depends how the individual interpret others information. On the other hand, employers can also look into a job applicant’s profile in a social network to see his/her previous experience in work. Second, it is illegal to make ecision on an employee or a job applicant based on social networks personal information. Furthermore, this act is considered discrimination and the company can be sued for this action (Waring & Buchanan, 2010). Therefore, employees and job applicants should not be afraid of posting information in social networks. Social network is a safe place to share private information with others. The main issue is that private data on the social network is accessible anytime and anywhere. Without a doubt, the privacy of individual’s profile data in the social network should be protected to make the network a safer place for sharing. Therefore, many social networks provide powerful tools to control the access on private information. First, social networks do not grant access to other users profile data anonymously. In order to access any data even if it is public, the individual needs gain the social networks trust by registering an account in the social network. This enables the social network administration control over the social network. Second, the user can choose who is able to view his/her profile private information and what information others can see. For instance, the user can block accounts, specify groups and set privileges. Third, social networks also provide a help center to report abuse of the services such as spamming, bullying or hateful speeches. The social network administration can stop any account permanently or even take legal action if an individual is reported abusing others privacy. Finally, most social networks provide a parental control to help parents control how their children use the social network. Since social networks rely on the trust between the users, these tools does not only make a social network a safer place, but also trustworthy. Richters and Peixoto (2011) performed a research to show the transitivity of trust in social networks. They found out that people decide who to trust based on other peers who trust. To emphasize this to the topic, users trust only specific users over their private information and thus they trust the social network. Conversely, trusting the social network increases the trust among the users. In addition, trustworthiness implies a social network safety, which in return means users being more comfortable sharing their information using the social network. For example, one of the reasons that made Facebook the most successful social network is the trustworthy of the users. According to Jesdanun (2006, as cited in Fogel & Nehmad, 2009), because Facebook was only restricted for students, the users felt safer to share data through the social network. Nowadays, Facebook is open to the public, but they are very strict in term of network safety. In fact, Fogel’s and Nehmad’s (2009) research statistics showed that â€Å"those who had social networking profiles had significantly greater mean scores†¦ indicating that they believed Facebook is a more trustworthy social network† (p. 175). For any social network to be successful, the social network has to maintain the trust of their users through the safety of the social network. Therefore, social networks are trustworthy over the users’ private in the social network. Despite of these control tools, some may argue that social networks still a potential threat to the users’ privacy. For instance, many believe that social networks made a fertile ground for identity theft and stalking. People usually fear the technology; because social networks are also considered one of them, every possible problem falls under the umbrella of privacy concerns on social networks. Privacy, however, is not only controlling the data access, but also controlling how it is used or interpreted (Boyd, 2010). Let us discuss these problems one by one. First, identity theft occurs when someone steals someone’s secret information and pretending to be that person. According to Jarvis, â€Å"[the identity theft issue] is less an issue of privacy than larceny† (2011, p. 96). Assuming it is an issue of privacy, suppose someone hacked someone else’s account or page on a social network, thus accessing or using the victim’s information. Should this be considered the social network fault? The user, the victim, probably did not take security precautions to protect what he/she considered a private data. Additionally, the social network provides tools to retrieve, to report or to suspend a stolen account. Second, stalking is obsessively observing an individual’s behavior or information. Unfortunately, stalking can mostly be from those who have access to the profile information such as friends and coworkers. However, it still depends on how they interpret the information. For example, if someone knew that his friend is getting divorced, he decides whether to support him, help him, or stand against him. Social networks’ databases do not only contain data about their users, but also how the users interactions with the social networks and other users. Therefore, the data in social networks are very valuable as some refers to it as â€Å"the new oil†. Social networks use these data, through data mining, to improve its services and to gain revenue. Most social networks gain revenue from targeted advertising. For example, if a user often reads about cars, or writes posts related cars, the data mining system is going to assume this user is interested in cars. Therefore, the social network shows that user advertisements related to cars within the user’s living area. Social networks created a new marketing option that helps the companies to expand their production and services (Andresen, 2011). On the other hand, data mining and targeted advertisement raises new privacy concern in social networks. For example, some users may feel uncomfortable when these advertisements are based on some information that were marked as private, a personal chat with a friend for instance. However, data mining and targeted advertising does not violate privacy laws or ethics. According to Seltzer research in data mining ethics (2005) â€Å"like most statistical methodologies data mining by itself is ethically neutral† (p. 1441). This is mainly because the data mining process is carried on by computer programs, which will not interact with these data the way a human would. They will not develop any judgment or feelings about the user no matter how sensitive the data is. Moreover, social networks provide advertisers with anonymous statistical data. In other word, advertisers do not know the identities of users in the statistics provided by the social network. In conclusion, social networks are new powerful tool for communication with the others. The data on the social networks are can easily be accessed anywhere and anytime, and therefore this created a controversial debate between privacy and the social networks. However, being afraid of using social networks would have only deprived the benefits of using these tools. Besides, employees and job applicants should not be afraid of using social networks because their information in social networks could not be used against them as it is considered illegal and unethical to be used against them. Nevertheless, social networks provide powerful tools to control over the user’s private information, thus implying that the social networks are trustworthy over private information. In sprit of all privileges control tools, many people believe that the social networks can cause problems such as identity theft and stalking. However, these problems are not necessarily due to social networks, but instead it is due to how people interpret the information in the social networks. As a result the, the user should be more careful when posting a sensitive data and think before sharing any information. Finally, because social networks databases contains tremendous amount of data, social networks created a new form of business using these data while protecting the identity of the data. Therefore, individuals and organization should not concern privacy when using social networks and utilize its benefits.

Business of Petroleum Companies for Woodside help

The following study analyzes three different global petroleum companies namely Woodside, Chevron and Petro China. The analysis has been done on the basis of the business operations of these companies. The following companies have been strategically selected to make sure that they come from different regions of the world. The selected companies are there from different parts of the world namely USA, China and Australia. The selection of the companies from the different regions of the world has been done to identify the different strategies of the organizations in different areas. The following study will clearly sort out the different ideas regarding the business operations, strategies and the financial considerations of these corporations. Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation that has its headquarters in California and has its operations spread in 180 different countries in the world. The company has annual revenue of around $140 billion (chevron.com 2018). Apart from producing and exporting petroleum the company has also alternative energy manufacturing facilities where they produce solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, bio-fuel and many other such similar products. The company owns a number of different assets that makes them one of the topmost companies in the oil sector. The company owns a number of subsidiaries and has also stakes and shares in many of the different oil companies of the world. Apart from this it owns a large number of oil fields and has a number of strategic oil reserves. Chevron’s operations is spread over 180 different countries in the world and thus it can be truly said to be a global company. The annual revenue of the company is slated to around $141.722 billion. The company has a net oil production of 2.6 million barrels per day and a reserve capacity of around 11.1 million barrels of proven reserves. The total sales revenue of the company stands at a huge amount of $110.2 billion with its assets amounting to $260.1 billion.   A table showing the financial summary of the company is provided below;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2017   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 141.722 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 2.480 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 9.195 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 265 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 148.124 billion The management of Chevron Corporation has been dedicated to continue generate different industry leading operational and financial results and advancement of important projects to drive the future growth of the organization as well as the countries where it operates. The rise in the energy demands of the world has driven the strategies of the mentioned oil company of America. The compelling growth profile of the organization, combined with the fall in the spending levels of the capital is believed to be the extreme catalyst for the creation of strong and compact strategic values for the companies ahead (Forsgren 2017). The upstream portfolio of the mentioned organization leads the following industry in quality and breadth. The management of the company has formulated the particular strategy to plan a disciplined investment approach and have been constantly involved in management of the portfolio to increase the value of the shareholders of the company. Thus the company strategies hav e been formulated in the perfect way to achieve the best results in the industry. The mentioned company has also formulated a downstream policy where the production is dedicated for residential purpose, supplying to the companies, petrochemicals supply and also supply to small or large business concerns. Both the upstream as well as downstream policy are important for the effective strategy of the business.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company ranks 63 rd in annual brand finance report and is the 5 th largest oil company of the world  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A number of legal issues are being faced by the company in different countries  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Integration of producing, refining and then selling products  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Poor financial projections for the coming years.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Massive geographic presence across 180 countries of the world  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rise in debts has been another major disadvantage for the company. The debt of the company has reached around $ 40 billion from $ 28 billion in a span of just one year.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   11.2 million barrels of oil reserves which is one of the largest. It has 48485 productive wells  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The implementation of new technologies by other companies have been a disadvantage for Chevron The management of Chevron Corporation has been a driving force for the oil economy of USA. The presence of the company in almost every part of the world is an added advantage for them as they export their products in these countries and earn a huge amount of revenue which in turn is utilized for their productive growth. The management however needs to overcome some of the main disadvantages to attain the topmost position in the oil sector. The mentioned company is Australia’s largest oil and gas company. It is not only the only dedicated oil and gas producing company in the island continent but also its largest operator.   The company is listed in the Australian Securities Exchange and has its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia (woodside.com 2018). The main assets of the company include the number of facilities in Australia as well as in other parts of the world. This includes Development projects in USA, Canada, Myanmar and many more such areas. Other assets include exploration facilities in Peru, Morocco, Senegal, Canada and many more as such. The Australian oil company produced huge amount of oil in the year 2016 and created a new record surpassing the earlier one by producing a huge amount of LNG and also by achieving healthy amount of sales of the following product. According to the financial reports of the company the annual revenue of the company in the year 2017 stood at $4075 million and net income figured out at more than $850 million (Dissanayake, Nayana, Bo and Peng 2015). The shareholders of the organization earned an amount of more than 100 cents from each of the share of the company. The main strategies of the company include the increase in the production level and also to speed up the different developmental projects of the world. Among the most important strategy which is believed to be the topmost priority of the organization is the operational clearance for the Wheatstone LNG facility and also to concentrate on the key focus areas to be the best company of the world (Jin et al. 2016). Its exports or the upstream strategy is mainly to a number of Asian and African countries along with supplies to New Zealand. The company is the largest supplier of domestic fuel in the island continent and has largescale operations that have its wings spread across the length and breadth of the mentioned country.     ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leading market position in Australia helps to secure a sustainable and competitive position  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Legal problem regarding land acquisition  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Largest producer of LNG in Australia  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Increase in the production from shale plays is a disadvantage for the organization  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   High quality strategic assets in different areas of the world  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Huge operating risks associated with exploration and production of oil and gas in Australia The management of Woodside Corporation has plans to implement the best strategies to keep up with the upward growth and demand of oil and other petroleum products like Shale and Natural Gas. The optimization of the existing assets of the company along with the proper commercialization of the products is important for the growth of the business. Petro China Limited is one of the largest oil companies of the world and the largest among the various oil producing companies in China (petrochina.com 2018). The company is listed in Hong Kong stock exchange, Shanghai stock Exchange as well as New York stock exchange. The company has its headquarters in Beijing China and produces a number of different oil and petroleum products apart from producing oil. The other products include Lubricants, Natural Gas, Shale, LNG and many other such different items (Caineng et al. 2016). The assets of the company include the large number of oil mines and factories another development centers in China and Asia as well as in different areas of the world (petrochina.com 2018).  Ã‚   The financial summary of the mentioned company is quite impressive in nature which can be seen in the table below;  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.616 trillion Chinese Yuan  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   60.6 billion Chinese Yuan  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2.396 trillion Chinese Yuan  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.372 trillion Chinese Yuan The mentioned Chinese company has based its strategy on the maximization, diversification and proper replacement of different hydrocarbon resources that adheres to the principles of attachment of equal importance to oil and gas that helps to increase the exploration of the domestic resources as well as the increase in the investment to acquire facilities outside China (Subhankulova et al. 2015). The management of the company also has a proper internationalization plan in the offing which will surely make them one of the best in the business (Jin et al. 2016). The company supplies refined oil and fuels to facilitate transportation in China. It is believed to be the driving force of the nation. The company has extensive operations involving exploration, mining, digging for oil in various countries of the world.   The company exports oil as well as is the largest supplier of different kinds of fuels for use in the households as well as for commercial purpose. The aim of the company is to manufacture the secondary fuels from oil and then market it for use in the future (Forsgren 2017).  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Controlled by the China National Petroleum Company  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cost of different hazards to the environment and cost of taking precautionary risk is a huge challenge for the Management of the organization  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Huge scope of Operations as it is the biggest producer in China  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Decline in the operations of China  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Presence of Huge number of employees which is over 500,000 is a big form of advantage for the organization  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The biggest disadvantage lies in the controversy surrounding the Western gas to East Pipeline project controversy The following report has clearly highlighted the stature of Petro China in Asia as well as the world. It has aims to increase its production and act as a driving force to the economy of China. However the recent incidents related to oil spill and other major accidents has led the company to huge losses. The management must take the appropriate actions to take care of the following and lead towards prosperity. The three companies as mentioned in this report have their own base of operations and a different form of project execution. Among the mentioned three Chevron Corporation and Petro China are the largest in stature and they have the resources to be the world’s best in terms of global oil production. However it can be seen some common problems involving scandals, accidents and debts has crippled the management of the industries and have acted as a barrier to their smooth growth. However the exploration, extraction and production of substitute oil products like shale gas, LN G have paved the way for the changing paradigm of the companies towards a more bright and innovative future "Woodside Energy | Home."  Woodside.com.au. N.p., 2018. Web. 10 Apr. 2018. Caineng, Zou, Yang Zhi, Pan Songqi, Chen Yanyan, Lin Senhu, Huang Jinliang, Wu Songtao et al. "Shale gas formation and occurrence in China: an overview of the current status and future potential."  Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition)  90, no. 4 (2016): 1249-1283. Chevron Policy, Government and Public Affairs. "Chevron Corporation - Human Energy."  chevron.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 10 Apr. 2018. Dissanayake, Nayana, Bo Xia, and Peng Wu. "Measuring sustainability performance within the Australian energy industry." In  Proceedings of the 19th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate, pp. 135-143. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2015. Forsgren, Mats.  Theories of the multinational firm: A multidimensional creature in the global economy. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017. Jin, Liu, Du Jianping, Peng Yunhui, Zhou Zhi, and Petrochina Zhejiang Oilfield. "Shale Gas Drilling and Completion Technologies in Jingmen Area of Dangyang Synclinorium."  Unconventional Oil & Gas  2 (2016): 013. Lima-de-Oliveira, Renato, and Timothy Sturgeon. "From Resource Extraction to Knowledge Creation: Oil-Rich States, Oil Companies and the Promotion of Local R&D." Petrochina"  Petrochina.com.cn. N.p., 2018. Web. 10 Apr. 2018. Rincà ³n, Luis E., Monica J. Valencia, Valentina Hernà ¡ndez, Luis G. Matallana, and Carlos A. Cardona. "Optimization of the Colombian biodiesel supply chain from oil palm crop based on techno-economical and environmental criteria."  Energy Economics  47 (2015): 154-167. Subhankulova, Rimma, Kirill Furmanov, and Natal'ya Ivanova. "Assessing Comparative Advantages in Operating and Capital Expenditures of Oil Producing Companies." (2015): 271-289.

Marketing Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Marketing Analysis - Essay Example Depending on the levels of planning and intensity of auctioning process, the auction can last for a few days or even months. This paper analyses the process of spectrum auctioning and the relevant terms used in the marketing and transfer of the spectrum rights. The paper presents an exploration of the practicality involved in auctioning process to the economy of any nation that involves itself in the process. Spectrum auctions involve the sale of several interrelated spectrum licenses at a single moment in the market. There is no specified theory that guides the process of spectrum auctioning. The procedures of designing the auction involve utilization of scientific skills rather than merely economic theories and approaches. However, in the designing of the auction, there is a need that the developers attach more economic value to the amount of revenues collected against the expenses of running the auction (Maarten, 96). This strategy means that the efficiency of the spectrum auction depends on the amounts of revenues, which governments target at the end of the procedures. The levels of efficiency are specifically important because auctions are a relatively more stable source of revenues for the governments, similar to taxation. There are arguments that relate to the aspects, with some of them proposing that there is no need for the governments to attach much efficiency to the process of spectrum auctioning. However, as economists, there is a need that costs of factors of production be compensated in the amounts of revenues collected. This is the reason for making this topic an area of relevance to the economists. According to Mike (93), open bids give a chance for the bidders to get valuable information from the market as it concerns the valuations. The accessed information helps to enhance effective assignment of

The Lute Player and Le Mezzetin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Lute Player and Le Mezzetin - Essay Example The essay "The Lute Player and Le Mezzetin" compares two paintings, â€Å"The Lute Player† and â€Å"Le Mezzetin†. Caravaggio painted The Lute Player for the Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte as part of family collection for the Del Monte estate. The madrigal text visible to the spectator is written in Franco-Flemish language, which must have been influenced by the preference of the patron. For a time, many experts were confounded about the authenticity of this painting after several copies surfaced. It was found that there were three Lute Player paintings, the one that came from the Del Monte Collection, the Hermitage and Badminton House versions. These painting all depicted a boy playing a lute as he sings a madrigal, a Baroque song, about love. Some details differ according to versions. For instance, the last two versions have flowers and fruits in them and the text in the madrigals are visible. The number of authentic copies is attributed to Caravaggio’s sty le of copying his own work, polishing or simply copying a replica. Often this results in better executed imagery in latter copies as the paintings have new elements added. The historical background of Le Mezzetin, on the other hand, is quite simple and brief. It was just one of Watteau’s paintings commissioned by his friend and patron, Jean de Jullienne. Hence, the painting or any artistic intentions and motivations must have been confined or intended for this fact. As some historical account revealed, Jullienne was an important part of Watteau’s life.

Good Things by Groupism in Design Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Good Things by Groupism in Design - Case Study Example During this group, she was able to participate at the level she desired. Each member was assigned a different task. Jee Hye was to code the HTML and JavaScript for the project. It was a group of epic proportions. It was a group on par with excellence. Despite previous negative experiences, Jee Hye believes there are good things about designing by groupism when each person is assigned what they are best able to do, everyone feels a part of project, and the results of project are much better. One good thing about designing by groupism is each person is sometimes able to do what he does best. Some students are better with writing or other artistic work. Others are better with speaking or in leadership positions. Still, others are better with doing or applying what has been learned to create a new product. Jee Hye was better with doing so she did the coding part of the web design project. Mary was better with writing. She kept notes and wrote the paper for the project. Casey was best with speaking, and he presented the project to the class. They all did their part to make the project work. In other groups, Jee Hye noticed some people slack while others did all the work. In this group, it helped to have a good manager. It helped that he was able to direct people to their appropriate tasks. Instead of everyone doing whatever they wanted all hoi polloi, there was an organized method of tackling the design problems they encounter. The divisions of labor and job specialization were the cornerstone of the group's workflow. As the work progressed, it made other benefits of group design become apparent. Another good thing about designing by groupism is that each person feels part of project. In Jee Hye's group, each person made suggestions about the website project. Some of the suggestions were used. Others were not, but some of everyone's made ideas were applied to the project. I was truly a collaborative effort. Mary and Jee Hye constructed the layout together. Mary and Casey formulated the content as a team. All three students worked together to debug the coded portion of the project. In other groups, Jee Hye noticed that some people's voices were heard over others despite logic. Again, this pitfall was avoided by good management. Casey really helped it all go smoothly. His management ability was uncanny. He kept the group focused, and he mitigated disputes. Furthermore his selling ability made the marketing aspects of the design a breeze. Each person played a vital role, and everyone felt part of the group project. At the end of the project, they all felt happy about how everything happened. The website was great, and they were very proud of their work. Along with division of labor and job specialization, group morale is a major aspect of positive experience in working with a group. It is important that each member works to keep a positive attitude if they expect the group to work well. No one wants to attend a group where people are sour-faced. The best thing about designing by groupism is the results of a project are much better than individual projects if people work symbiotically. In other groups, Jee Hye noticed the final product was not as good as this one. Usually, one person takes too much work. Others do not participate, and still others participate too much. It makes the project not really a groupism project. It means some people do nothing. Some do everything. Others tell

Biological Basis of Morality (Animals) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biological Basis of Morality (Animals) - Essay Example Animals in circuses can, through programmed behavior, produce incredible performances due to constant practice and strict regimen. These aspects have been discussed in detail in the article through which a reader becomes able to clearly understand the author’s perspective. In general, animals mainly cater to their biological needs like food, sleep, urge for procreation and fear. These are the four factors that the animals share with humans but when one considers the intellectual aspects animals are not bestowed with this faculty. Thus whatever they do depends on their biological needs as emerging from the article, without having an influence from psychological or philosophical needs as opposed to humans. It can be seen that animals do certain activity as discussed below which is common to humans; but how they do it is different because while all acts of animals stem from their biological structure, humans are also motivated and guided by their intellect. I will illustrate below how the arguments in the article are supported from examining the acts common to humans and animals, and how they differ in the context of morality in both groups: - Both animals and humans have to work for satisfying their hunger. While animals hunt for food, human beings work to earn their livelihood. The biological urges in animals force them to kill weaker animals and birds to satisfy their hunger. Therefore, it can be stated that the biological structure is what makes them do this activity. Humans, on the other hand, do not kill out of a biological need to satisfy hunger; if at all a human being kills, it is after a lot of meditation, for a specific purpose and not necessarily to quell his hunger. Sleep is essential for all living beings. It is during this period that they recharge their mental and physical capacities to prepare themselves for work to be performed during the next day. A human

Green IT Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Green IT - Dissertation Example The need for this kind of technology has also been necessitated by energy conservation concerns raised by environmental conservation bodies. The reduction in the overall production of computers and the development of proper disposal of the e-waste are some of the factors behind the growth in green technologies (Hassan, Molla & Cooper, 2012). In the early 90s, most computer manufacturing companies in the United States made voluntary efforts to manufacture energy saving computer devices, which were labeled with the energy star mark. Today, government regulations and enactments have acted to strengthen the manufacture and sales of green computers. Such steps are partly facilitated by international treaties and ratifications that are meant to reduce environmental destruction caused by electronic waste (Dedrick, 2010). In this paper, the current advances in the development of green technologies and computing will be analyzed in relation to the available scientific research. A number of pr actice borders on the adoption of green technologies, which guide policy formulation in this sector. This paper will review the practices that guide the development of green technologies in the United States and other developed countries across the world. ... This has necessitated the development and growth of green information and computing as adopted by a number of companies around the world. Sustainability in the manufacture of computers relates to issues such as the economic, environmental and social impacts. Thus, Green technologies and computing work towards ensuring the sustainability of the computer applications in different organizations (Hassan, Molla & Cooper, 2012). The idea behind the development of green technologies was necessitated by the need for energy efficient and environmental friendly computer system. Such a system consumes less energy and reduces the impacts of the e-waste on the environment. In building sustainability in the information technology, green computing seeks to introduce a coordinated planning and investing technology that seeks to serve the interest and desires of the users. According to Ozturk (2011), there exist a distinction between green information technology (IT) and green information systems (IS ). The development of green information technology seeks to create products that increase energy efficiency and the maximization of the equipment utilization. Green information system however concerns the design and implementation of information’s systems, which are capable of improving the overall sustainability and reliability of business processes (Dedrick, 2010). Green information technologies have a number of goals and issues that it seeks to address. The replacement of personal computers with energy efficient computer hardware also forms part of the evolution of green information technology. The energy saving mission of green computing does not just end with efficiency of the hardware but the

Body image in different cultures Research Paper

Body image in different cultures - Research Paper Example Research within the understanding of body in different parts of the world has suggested that people like to showcase if they have any cuts that could make headlines for the people who are near and dear to them. In other words, the social circles hold a great deal of value for them because the body debates can go on and on and that too for a number of different reasons. The cultural angle is important to comprehend because some cultures are against the dictum of representing body in such a way that it gets exposed (Cash, 2002). There are others however that have no restriction whatsoever and opine that the body elements and shapes should be depicted as much as possible. What is important within such debates is that what people think of the related equations. If they are open to showcasing who they are and how they believe in their body types and shapes, then this is something that goes perfectly and in line with the discussion at hand. However, if they think this is not what they woul d like to demonstrate about their own selves, then so be it. Body image is seen as a very differential aspect within some countries because it means so much more than just body representation. ... Body image is one of the main concerns within Australia. It has been researched that the 11-24 year olds find it hard to adjust to body image requirements and want to be on top of their game. This includes both the males and the females as this is indeed one of the major concerns that surround their entirety. Within Venezuela, the debate is on the women’s body image that is signified through boobs. The size of the boob is one concern that has come to the fore as far as the women within Venezuela are related. However, America has maintained an unhealthy lust for body image as has been represented through media and different cross-sections of the society. The thin models denote how the modern American female would like herself to be. This has meant that she would almost do anything to look that way. There is complex of magnanimity if she feels she is out of proportion. It is a fact that there is not a single woman in this world who feels indifferent about her body. The same hold s true for males as well. They also want to look at their best as has been represented in different avenues of the media in this day and age. What is interesting enough to note here is the fact that both men and women have found themselves stuck in a rat race with the passage of time. They have understood that to move ahead they would have to be someone that they are not. In essence, the element of aspiration takes the front seat within the related settings, and this is a very unsettling act in entirety. Some elements within the body image discussions center on the premise of religion as well (Fisher, 1986). The Muslim religion does not allow their women to liberally

Labor Relations Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Labor Relations Project - Essay Example Unions are an essential part of the labor process. Union members are protected by strict laws that guard their legal rights for the salary, benefits and compensations. Another opportunity is to organize collective bargaining. It is the negotiation between an employer and a group of employees, determining the conditions of employment. The collective bargaining ends in a collective agreement or contract, in which the employees are represented as the members of a union or a labor organization. Since the agreement is achieved, its maintenance is observed by federal and state laws, judicial decisions and organizational agency regulation. The major law governing collective bargain is the National Labor Relations Act, originally enacted by Congress in 1935. Employees working under collective bargaining agreements are also covered and protected by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, even if they are not union members. These acts guarantee legislative support to the emp loyees. In accordance with the NRLA a labor organization is selected to represent a unit of employees in collective bargaining. The employer has no right to interfere with this selection. The employer must bargain with the selected representative of the unit. There are certain employment laws as to the minimum salary, obligatory benefits and compensation to the employees in private sector. These are the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and some others. Being a member of a union or collective bargain, you are also entitled to all the protection against discharge (Cuomo 2007). Any proposals violating these laws cannot be included into the collective bargain. Moreover, in case the employee does not keep to the contract, the NLRA grants the members of a union or a collective

Diabetes Research Essay Example for Free

Diabetes Research Essay Diabetes is often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus. This describes a group of diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar). This could be because either insulin production is inadequate or the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin. There are 3 types of diabetes: 1)Type 1 Diabetes: The body does not produce insulin. People usually develop type 1 diabetes in early adulthood or teenage years. Approximately 10% of all diabetes cases are type 1, it is nowhere near as common as type 2. Patients with type 1 diabetes will need to take insulin injections for the rest of their life and carry out regular blood tests and a special diet to ensure proper blood-glucose levels. 2)Type 2 Diabetes: The body does not produce enough insulin for proper function, or the cells in the body do not react to insulin. Some people may be able to control their type 2 diabetes symptoms by losing weight, a healthy diet, and doing lots of exercise. They would also have to monitor their blood-glucose levels. Although the patients will most likely end up having to take insulin in tablet form because type 2 diabetes is typically a progressive disease. 3)Gestational Diabetes: This type affects woman during pregnancy, some woman have very high levels of glucose in their bodies and are unable to produce enough insulin. The majority of gestational diabetes patients can control their diabetes with exercise and diet. Undiagnosed or uncontrolled gestational diabetes can raise the risk of complications during childbirth. History For 2,000 years diabetes has been recognized as a devastating and deadly disease. In the 17th century a London physician, Dr. Thomas Willis,  determined whether his patients had diabetes or not by sampling their urine. If it had a sweet taste he would diagnose them with diabetes mellitus- honeyed diabetes. In the early 20th century, diabetologists such as Dr. Frederick Allen prescribed low calorie diets-as little as 450 calories per day for his patients. His diet prolonged the life of people with diabetes but kept them weak and suffering from near starvation. In his book, The Discovery of Insulin, Michael Bliss describes the painful wasting death of many people with diabetes before insulin: Food and drink no longer mattered, often could not be taken. A restless drowsiness shaded into semi-consciousness. As the lungs heaved desperately to expel carbonic acid (as carbon dioxide), the dying diabetic took huge gasps of air to try to increase his capacity. Air hunger the doctors called it, and the whole process was sometimes described as internal suffocation. The gasping and sighing and sweet smell lingered on as the unconsciousness became a deep diabetic coma. At that point the family could make its arrangements with the undertaker, for within a few hours death would end the suffering. Then in 1921 something truly miraculous occurred in Ontario, Canada. A young surgeon Frederick Banting, and his assistant Charles Best, kept a severely diabetic dog alive for 70 days by injecting it with a murky concoction of canine pancreas extract. Since insulins discovery, medical breakthroughs continued to prolong and ease the lives of people with diabetes. In 1935 Roger Hinsworth discovered there were two types of diabetes: insulin sensitive (type I) and insulin insensitive (type II). By differentiating between the two types of diabetes, Hinsworth helped open up new avenues of treatment. In the 1950s, oral medications-sulfonylureas were developed for people with type II. These drugs stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin, helping people with type II diabetes keep tighter control over their blood sugars. In the 1960s urine strips were developed, and Becton-Dickinson introduced the single use syringe in 1961. This greatly reduced the amount of pain from injections as well as the time-consuming ritual of boiling needles and glass syringes. Chemistry behind diabetes Diabetes is characterized by elevated levels of glucose in the body. The management of insulin therapy in relation to carbohydrates can be hard to deal with for most diabetics. Carbohydrates lead to increased blood sugar. Once digested, carbohydrates break down into glucose molecules, which are then converted into ATP in the cells with insulin. Too little insulin causes an excess of unconverted glucose, and too much insulin causes low blood sugar. Carbohydrates are necessary when a diabetic is experiencing hypoglycemia to compensate for the excess insulin in the blood stream, which can lead to serious consequences, such as seizure or even death. Social Impacts Diabetes is more than a health condition. For most people, it’s a new way of life, and it affects relationships in all areas as much as it affects eating and physical activity. One challenge facing a diabetes student is the ongoing medical care required during school hours. It is up to the parents to make sure the school officials, nurses, and teachers are educated and comply with their child’s needs. Another challenge is helping the child fit in. often other children have no knowledge or understanding of diabetes and with a perception that the child is being treated differently this could lead to teasing and possibly bullying. Sports are an important part of many people’s lives. Teamwork and physical activity are vital parts of a well-rounded life. Diabetes doesn’t have to alter that Exercise is essential in diabetes management, and participation in sports can provide this and other benefits. But it does require some extra effort by the diabetic. Economic impacts Diabetes is a disease that occurs worldwide, and therefore its economic impact is experienced globally. With increasing concern among providers about the rising cost of health care, economic assessments of the impact of various diseases are growing in importance. This imposes a large economic burden on the individual, national healthcare system and economy. Environmental impacts Environmental factors appear to play an important role in the pathogenesis of childhood-onset of type 1 diabetes. Breastfeeding, the early presence or lack of certain foods, birth weight, childhood over-nutrition, and negative stress events have been shown to be related to the prevalence of type 1 diabetes. More studies are starting to show that pollution can affect the symptoms of diabetes by increasing inflammation and contributing to weight gain. People who live in urban areas are more likely to breathe polluted air, which is believed to be a factor in insulin resistance. Moreover, diabetics have a harder time controlling blood flow during times where air pollution is increased leading to intensified cardiovascular problems.

Leadership roles and work experience

Leadership roles and work experience I have always wanted options, security and authority. With these dreams, I have always wanted to get into leadership roles some day and thus I want to do a program that specializes in this subject area. My leadership roles and work experience have provided me with an excellent introduction to business, and they have sparked my interest in management, administration and finance. Taking into consideration my background is more engineering and information technology oriented I decided that graduate business school will be a very good decision. At this point in my life, I consider a MBA to be necessary since I need to gain a broader understanding of finance and to sharpen my analytical skills in order to be successful in corporate management. MBA program will allow me to concentrate in finance, strengthen my global business perspective, and provide me with the opportunity to study with and learn from people with varied backgrounds. The schools location in the financial city and in one of the most diverse cities in the world also suits me perfectly. Aside from advancing my career, I would also like to develop personally. Here I will develop my abilities to anticipate client needs and to engineer solutions that address these needs. In approximately 5 years, I will have the experience necessary to take on upper-level management responsibilities. In addition to being ambitious and motivated enough to put my heart into even mundane, low-level tasks, I am also extremely organized. This is one characteristic that has always received praise. I pay particular attention to detail, which I believe has contributed to my success thus far. I take pride in my work, and I look at it as a representation of myself. Maintaining the integrity of the firm is vital and errors are disastrous. When training new group members, I stress this point most thoroughly. I work in a group that currently has six members. The group serves as a central source of information for the firm, and its success relies on an extraordinary amount of cooperation from each of us. As a senior member, I am able to contribute to the group in several ways including: training group members, controlling the quality of the groups output, managing and accurately completing multiple requests with short turnaround times, gathering and conveying information, collecting and calcul ating data, maintaining databases, overseeing projects aimed at making long-term improvements to the groups processes, and strengthening my own foundation of knowledge to be used as a resource. Though I am an excellent team player, in business school I would like to sharpen my managerial skills. I have found that I need to overcompensate for my â€Å"soft† appearance in order to get my point across. I hope to improve my negotiating skills and to gain more experience in getting group members to carry their own weight. At the same time, I do not want to become a tyrant. To be effective, it is important for a manager to maintain the proper balance of power and compassion. Only in this way, will I be able to lead a team of people to realizing the goals of a firm. To satisfy my desire for success, I must continue my education. . I am very excited about entering an MBA program that will allow me to focus on my interest in finance as well as provide me with the career possibilities and exposure to resources, such as networks and learning tools, which I do not currently have. I know that my investment of time, energy, and money will be well rewarded. At this point in my life, I believe I have great potential to gain much from a business degree since I have been exposed to the business environment for the past five and a half years. I now posses a strong foundation to build upon and I am ready to assume the rigors and challenges of the MBA program. If one were to ask my friends to describe me they would describe me as a very pleasant, diverse, active and intelligent man. I think one of my most distinguishing characteristics is the diversity of experiences I possess. I am a science student with a flair for the arts. I am someone with technical aptitude and an interest in management. I also have a passion for traveling and understanding different cultures of the world. All these elements have given me a very broad outlook, with varying degrees of knowledge in a range of topics. I strongly believe that although some are not related directly, all these qualities will influence my graduate work.

The Terms Of Internal And External Environments Business Essay

The Terms Of Internal And External Environments Business Essay An organisation has both internal and external environment. The external environment includes everything outside the firm that has the potential to affect the organisation. In contrast, the internal environment includes everything inside the firm that will affect the organisation towards success. Corporate culture has considered as the major element for the internal environment and it is very important to competitive advantage. The culture must fit on the demands of the external environment and company strategy to create a high performance organisation. It communicates how people should behave by establishing the values, beliefs, assumptions and norms shared in an organisation and conveyed through actions. Simply stated, corporation culture means the way we do things around here. Hence, corporate culture plays an important role within the organisation to ensure the company success over a long period. (Daft, R.L., 2008) As we know, different organisations develop a different culture that begins with its founder and leaders. People have a question, that is does the corporate culture really make a difference? The answer is definitely yes and especially in a changing world. According to many studies, under certain circumstances companies with strong cultures are more likely to be successful. (Hill McShane, 2008) Strong corporate culture is important for an organisation to achieve strategic goal and adapt to changes in the external environment. This might influence the organisational performance too. (Daft, R.L., 2008) Therefore, managers are the soul of an organisation. They are responsible in shaping and emphasize various cultures that can be fit in to motivate the employees so that the mission of the company are easier to attain. In the 21st century, the market competition becomes stronger. Managers have to face many challenges in managing his or her company. In a changing world, companies have to make changes in order to make profit and attract more customers. Besides, all organisations must interact with todays environment so that it is easier for them to shape their cultures. Not only has that, the managers are now realised that innovative is gradually become the key elements for a successful company. As the 21st century mangers, they have to know how to design an innovative culture and organisation. Managing change and innovation have become the center stage in the business world. What is innovation? Innovation may be defined as exploiting new ideas leading to the creation of a new product, process or service. (Shukla, A., 2009) It is now become a very significant element for an organisation to come out some brand new products or services to satisfy the market and society demand. Today, the new generation has gradually changing the way they manage within the organization and no longer with the traditional management mode. They are now reinforcing innovation in all directions, especially emphasize in the corporate culture and organisation. They will not only simply to create a culture for an organisation but also need to be strong and innovative so that it is more attractive. The leader of an organisation gives a strong and innovative corporate culture to the employees. The common values and beliefs about how to success should be clarify to the organizational members. However, the most important thing is to make sure everyone agree and clear enough with it so that the daily organisational life is well organized and consistent with company goals. To be innovative, organisations must go through many types of changes. Moreover, the company must develop improved production technologies, design new products and services to satisfy the consumers, carry out new admin istrative systems, and upgrade employees skill. (Daft, R.L., 2008) If you want your company to be outstanding, the first thing new managers should know is the company should be special from internal to external. It is the innovation! A company with innovative culture and organisation has create a fresh and interesting work environment, hence, the employee will more likely to be bring out more new ideas. The managers are required to create innovative and suitable ideas in order to implement it, which means the organisation must learnt to be ambidextrous. An ambidextrous approach means incorporating structures and processes that are appropriate for both creative impulse and for the systematic implementation of innovation. (Daft, R.L., 2008) For example, organic organisation that provides decentralised decision authority, flexible structure and greater employee freedom are benefit for the creation and initiation of new ideas. Frankly, most of the 21st century managers are more prefer to implement organic organisation rather than mechanistic organisation in their company. This is because the decentralisation achieves innovative thinking, teamwork and cooperation. In addition, the moving of a company will become fast and top management can focus on strategic plan. This is better for this century, which allows the employees from top to bottom level to participate in the meeting and bring out new ideas for the company to make products innovative. When people are able to share and then create a new strategic and life for the company, it makes the possibilities to create innovative culture in our organisation. Wherefore they say, today the companies have relied on product innovation to drive their business. In the other hand, to invent innovative products need coorperation among the members within an organisation. For instances, companies as Hewlett Packard, Samsung, and Dow have come out with a strategic that is invest in training programs to help spread innovation expertise throughout the  enterprise. This practice training may help in develop their internal organizations innovation capabilities too. (James, T., 2007) Furthermore, to overcome the challenges related to creating an innovative culture and organisation, open innovation has become the new project management of the 21st century. To identify the external source of innovation requires a creative organisation with the right culture, processes and tools to make it happen. For example, Cheryl Perkins is president and founder of innovationedge. She has over 23 years experience directing growth and innovation. She provided leadership to global teams, and oversaw the development of new strategic business opportunities that delivered competitive advantage across key business platforms in mature and emerging market while holding the position of chief innovative officer for Kimberly-Clark corperation. (Open innovation track, 2007) Another example is Google. By using an open innovation approach, Google issued a call for anyone to develop new software applications for its open-platform Android. The companys Developer Challenge will award a total of $10 million for the best new application. (Daft, R.L., 2008) Again, innovation is critical for companies that want to remain competitive in the long term. Although many companies realise its importance, it can be difficult to identify the sources of innovation and create an innovative culture. Hence, a good foundation is to build a culture in which every employee and not just the product development team but should be proactively develops ideas. Remember culture not easy to change and it usually take time, so today manager have to be patience to let those organizational members socialize in a new culture. However, some stages can be progress. The managers can work through these stages by build innovative teams, set up an innovative community, introduce innovation from top to bottom level throughout the company and involve partners innovation. (BNET Editorial, 2007) The stages are useful so that the employees are clear with it and can participate in decision-making. More fresh ideas will pop up while many different people involves in it. Now there are many companies has successfully driving innovation. Let take Procter Gamble Company (PG) as an example. Consider the case of Procter Gamble Company. Since A.G. Lafley became chief executive officer in 2000, the leaders of PG have worked hard to make innovation part of the daily routine and to establish an innovation culture. Lafley and his team preserved the essential part of PGs research and development capability world-class technologists who are masters of the core technologies critical to the household and personal-care businesses while also bringing more PG employees outside RD into the innovation game. They sought to create an enterprise-wide social system that would harness the skills and insights of people throughout the company and give them one common focus: the consumer. Without that kind of culture of innovation, a strategy of sustainable organic growth is far more difficult to achieve. They form several ways to achieve an innovative culture and organisation. The Consumer Is Boss   Procter Gamble is known for its highly capable and motivated workforce. However, in the early 2000s, our people were not oriented to any common strategic purpose. We had a corporate mission to meaningfully improve the everyday lives of the customers we served. If 15 seconds with a deodorant or two minutes with a disposable diaper have made a small part of your life a little bit better, then we have made a difference. Integrating Innovation we are constantly innovating how we innovate. We keep refining our product-launch model from idea to prototype, to development, to qualification, to commercialization. PG had not treated innovation as scalable in the past. We had always invested a great deal in research and development. When I became CEO, we had about 8,000 RD people and roughly 4,000 engineers, all working on innovation. However, we had not integrated these innovation programs with our business strategy, planning, or budgeting process well enough. At least 85 percent of the people in our organization thought they  were not  working on innovation. We had to redefine our social system to get everybody into the innovation game. The Talent Component PG used to recruit for values, brains, accomplishment, and leadership. We still look for these qualities, but we also look for agility and flexibility. We believe the soft skills of emotional intelligence fundamental social skills such as self-awareness, self-fulfillment, and empathy are needed to complement the traditional IQ skills.  Some people at Procter Gamble have struggled with this new approach, but most of our best people have done really well with it. Curiosity, collaboration, and connectedness are easy to talk about but difficult to develop in practice. We have tried to carefully identify and ease out people who are controlling or insecure, who dont want to share, open up, or learn who are not curious. And in the process, we have discovered that most of our people are naturally collaborative. We also try to develop people by giving them new stimulation and greater challenges. As they move through their careers, we deliberately increase the complexity of their assignm ents. That might mean entering a market that is not developed yet or a market with a competitor already firmly established. Whatever the challenge, it stretches them. (Lafley, A.G., 2008) Corporate culture can include symbols, stories, heroes, slogans, and ceremonies. It should be aligned with organizational strategy and the needs of the external environment to produce a effective organisation. From the case above, PG Company has created a social system that focused on the customers. They had a corporate mission to improve the daily lives of the customers they served. Hence, they expand their mission by create a slogan called The consumer is boss. They know one of the factor external environments that affect the corporate culture is the customers. They put their customers in the first position not just to value the people who make transaction with them, but gain the feedback from them. By listening to them, which mean to get feedbacks are important for them to improve their services and products. Therefore, as a new manager, he or she should be open-minded and willing to listen to the people and make changes. Sometimes customers can be part of the innovative team. By analyzing their feedbacks, it might have the possibilities for innovative team members within an organisation to arouse new ideas. The slogan has created to expresses the key corporate culture value that encourages the people to follow. Hence, managers must pay attention to the culture that may help the organizational performance. This company also integrating innovation by keep making better of their products. In order to bring everybody into innovation the game, the new president of the company expected all PG employees to understand the role they play in innovation. Their innovation practices are designed for enter into learning, across all their functions, product categories, and geographic locations. Once people understand a particular process, they can be easier to manage a strategic and innovative organisation. Moreover, he set up the social system to support it and to see much more idea that is new. They set business strategic that strongly connected to innovation so that they can survive in today competitive market. They open to ideas from more regions than in past because it helps to generate more ideas that can highly fulfill the needs of consumers. As a 21st century manager, they have to make sure people who work under their company are able to communicate and cooperate across organisational bounda ries. This is because a well-organised team, cross-functional nature of teams and clear team accountability are the main factor for a successful team innovation. Moreover, communication within an organisation is important for them to make commitment on the same direction whereas the company going to focus on. In addition, the PG also reinforce on the talent of component. A company wants to be successfully achieving a culture of innovation; the prerequisite is to make sure the entire organisation is unite. They had ease out the people who do not want to share, open up or learn and they found out most of their people are collaborative. They also give new stimulation and greater challenge to develop people.  In developing fresh meat like a younger manager or younger employee, they are more open to fresh and innovative thinking. They must have the guts to face any challenge in today strong competitive business world. Once people have succeeded at innovation, the energy in the company will change. It shows that as a new manger, he or she should use an innovative way to build an effective culture within the organisation. The organisation must share the common company goals to make sure they work towards the same direction while attain it. Besides, leaders are the one who encourage people to e xperiment and take risks to allow the new, special and unique ideas flowing in your organisation. (Lafley, A.G., 2008) In this century, the rapid development of science and technology has strong competitive ability. As a 21st century manager, he or she has the responsibility to nurture and sustain an innovation spirit and energy in the company where ideas are celebrated. We can conclude that a new manager has to clarify their companys vision and direction, create an environment of open communication, creative thinking and cohesive team. Moreover, they need to be patience, open-minded, acceptance of mistakes, encouragement of risk taking and make constant improvement. They are the role model for the people inside the organisation and able to motivate the team members to reach the expectations. Not only that, today manager needs fresh thinking to design a new approach for their company to suit them into an innovative world. This is important for them to design an innovative culture and organisation that motivate the people in creating new products and services to meet the customer demand. Thus, remain most of the old managing skills, thinking, services and production are no longer qualify in this century. Practice an innovative thinking in manages a corporate culture and organisation is effective today. Those responsibilities as stated above are essential for a 21st century manager to avoid the company eliminated from high competitive market and to overcome the challenges that they faced.

Inside the Cuckoos Nest Essay -- Film

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a film directed by Czech Milos Forman in 1975. Using potent elements of fiction--characters, conflict, and symbolism--Forman illustrates the counterculture of the 1960’s. This film depicts American society as an insane asylum that demands conformity from its citizens. The film begins with a conniving convict being assigned to the asylum. R. P. McMurphy is sent to the asylum to be evaluated by the doctors and to determine whether or not he is mentally ill. He is unaware that he will be supervised by an emasculating woman named Nurse Mildred Ratched who watches the patients’ every motion from her nurse’s station. R.P. McMurphy is a lively, rebellious, and rational patient that has recently been escorted into the insane asylum. Once in the bin, Randle becomes the self-proclaimed champion of the rights of the other ward patients, his adversary being Nurse Ratched (New York Times). He scrutinizes the asylum and the patients deciding that he needs to lighten the atmosphere. According to Filmsite, Movie Review McMurphy encourages the patients to participate in activities that will heighten their spirits and change their monotonous routines. McMurphy decides to challenge Nurse Ratched when he notices that the patients of the ward are overly organized and controlled through a rigid set of authoritarian rules and regulations that McMurphy questions: â€Å"God Almighty, she’s got you guys comin’ or goin’. What do you think she is, some kind of champ or somethin’?†--- â€Å"I bet in one week, I can put a bug so far up her ass, she don’t know whether to sâ€⠀t or wind her wrist watch† (OFOTCN). Entertainment Weekly implies that McMurphy is unwilling to surrender to Nurse Ratched’s belittling power and rebels against corr... ...ok place in America all have one thing in common with the film: they are filled with people who have had enough and had a leader willing to take leadership towards making that change. McMurphy represents that leader as his sacrifice made way for the others to find freedom. Works Cited Canby, Vincent. "nytimes.com." The New York Times. 20 November 1975. The New York Times Company. 5 April 2012. â€Å"Filmsite Movie Review: â€Å"One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.†. Filmsite.org. American Movie Classics Company. 2012. Web 12 March 2012. Movie Reviews: â€Å"One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.† Rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun-Times Media Company. Web 3 April 2012. Nashawaty, Chris. â€Å"Cuckoo’s Nest Turns 35.† Entertainment Weekly 1120/1121 (2010): 128. MAS Ultra School Edition. Web. 5 Apr. 2012 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Dir. Milos Forman. Warner Brothers, 1975 Film.

Comparison of Shakespeares Tempest and Forbidden Planet :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparison of Shakespeare's Tempest and Forbidden Planet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On first glance, Forbidden Planet can easily be seen to parallel many other works relating to technology, nature, or both.   One of the most obvious parallels is, of course, to Shakespeare's The Tempest,   the story of a man stranded on an island which he has single-handedly brought under his control through the use of magic.   Indeed, the characters, plot, and lesson of Forbidden Planet mirror almost exactly those of The Tempest, with the exception that where The Tempest employs magic,   Forbidden Planet utilizes technology.   At this point, it is useful to recall one of Arthur C. Clarke's more famous ideas, which is that any technology, when sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic. Indeed, the technology presented in Forbidden Planet is not meant to be understood by the audience, but rather is, for all intents and purposes, magic. This is undoubtedly in part because the technology doesn't exist and therefore cannot be explained to us.   What is more important, however, is that how the technology works is irrelevant for the purpose of the movie, which is to entertain and to teach us a lesson about man's control over the elements and over his own technological creations.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At this point a brief synopsis of the movie would seem to be in order, with special attention as to how it relates to The Tempest.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Tempest, a man named Prospero and his daughter Miranda have been exiled to a remote island which is completely uninhabited, save for an evil monster and her son Caliban, and which is in a state of primal chaos.   Using the magical powers he has cultivated all his life, Prospero gradually brings the forces of nature on the island under his control, and manages to somehow enslave Caliban, whose mother has died in the interim.   (Some of these details are fuzzy because I am familiar with The Tempest only through Marx).   A group of sailors is shipwrecked on the island, one of whom falls in love with Miranda, the lovely daughter of Prospero.   Eventually, Caliban and other servants plot to overthrow Prospero, but are thwarted and taken back into servitude, thankful to get off that easily.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having summarized The Tempest, it is easy to summarize Forbidden Planet. A man named Dr. Morbius and his daughter Altaira are stranded on a distant planet when a government ship lands there, whose commander falls in love with the beautiful Altaira.   The only significant difference in the two works, other then setting, is the conclusion of each.   Before we look at the differences Comparison of Shakespeare's Tempest and Forbidden Planet :: comparison compare contrast essays Comparison of Shakespeare's Tempest and Forbidden Planet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On first glance, Forbidden Planet can easily be seen to parallel many other works relating to technology, nature, or both.   One of the most obvious parallels is, of course, to Shakespeare's The Tempest,   the story of a man stranded on an island which he has single-handedly brought under his control through the use of magic.   Indeed, the characters, plot, and lesson of Forbidden Planet mirror almost exactly those of The Tempest, with the exception that where The Tempest employs magic,   Forbidden Planet utilizes technology.   At this point, it is useful to recall one of Arthur C. Clarke's more famous ideas, which is that any technology, when sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic. Indeed, the technology presented in Forbidden Planet is not meant to be understood by the audience, but rather is, for all intents and purposes, magic. This is undoubtedly in part because the technology doesn't exist and therefore cannot be explained to us.   What is more important, however, is that how the technology works is irrelevant for the purpose of the movie, which is to entertain and to teach us a lesson about man's control over the elements and over his own technological creations.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At this point a brief synopsis of the movie would seem to be in order, with special attention as to how it relates to The Tempest.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Tempest, a man named Prospero and his daughter Miranda have been exiled to a remote island which is completely uninhabited, save for an evil monster and her son Caliban, and which is in a state of primal chaos.   Using the magical powers he has cultivated all his life, Prospero gradually brings the forces of nature on the island under his control, and manages to somehow enslave Caliban, whose mother has died in the interim.   (Some of these details are fuzzy because I am familiar with The Tempest only through Marx).   A group of sailors is shipwrecked on the island, one of whom falls in love with Miranda, the lovely daughter of Prospero.   Eventually, Caliban and other servants plot to overthrow Prospero, but are thwarted and taken back into servitude, thankful to get off that easily.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having summarized The Tempest, it is easy to summarize Forbidden Planet. A man named Dr. Morbius and his daughter Altaira are stranded on a distant planet when a government ship lands there, whose commander falls in love with the beautiful Altaira.   The only significant difference in the two works, other then setting, is the conclusion of each.   Before we look at the differences

Essay on Voltaire’s Candide: Visualizing Perfection -- Candide essays

Visualizing Perfection in Candide   "All is for the best...in the best of all possible worlds."   To picture greatness, perfection and brilliance all intertwined into one splendid world -- a utopia, infers visualizing absolute beauty, harmony, and a universal tolerance amongst mankind. Would not such "perfection" designate the "best of all possible worlds?" How could we possibly conceive the sinister world portrayed in Candide to be conveyed as "utopia?" Since the best of all possible worlds indicates that "all is for the best" is it not safe to derive at the conclusion that since our world is clearly not "perfect" it is therefore implied that "all" is not for the best? Who determines the "right" from the "wrong," the "beautiful" from the "hideous," the "strong" from the weak?" How does one know if they are right? How does one ever know if they chose "correctly?" How does one allow th emself to be infatuated with an idea as to blindly (correctly or incorrectly) follow it and believe? When do you question yourself? Doubt and "double-guess" yourself? Such correlating topics of an ambiguous solution are sought to be explained in Candide. Voltaire's masterpiece Candide recounts the journey of a young man as he ventures the world and faces reality, deals with it, is guided, transformed, and eventually defined by it. Voltaire's story tells the tale of Candide as his character matures from the naivete of a child to the extensive temperament of a distinguished man. Born and raised in the castle of the Baron of Thunder-ten-tronckh, in the land of Westphalia, Germany, Candide is firs... ...n the best of possible worlds; for short, had you not been kicked out of a fine castle by the backside for the love of Miss Cunegund, had you not been put into the Inquisition, had you not traveled over America on foot, had you not run the Baron through the body, and had you not lost all your sheep which you brought from the good country of El Dorado, you would not have been here to eat preserved citrons and pistachio nuts." Voltaire therefore exhibits both sides of the spectrum, Pangloss, the unchanging, and Candide the "developed." These adventures broadened the horizons of Candide, and with him, the reader also undergoes many thought provoking dilemmas, cultivating himself in many of the same ways. This tale doesn't flounder all hope of "perfection," but it does present, in laymen's terms the ideas behind Murphy's Law.

John Milton Essay

John Milton published the first edition of Paradise Lost in 1667. This epic poem introduces a series of supernatural themes. It is the retelling of the Biblical story of Adam and Eve’s first sin. The basis of the text is Christian theology; specifically, Protestant Christian Theology. What is unique, even controversial, about Milton’s method of proselytizing the Christian message, is not so much the use of the epic poem structure per se, (which is traditionally reserved for classic and pagan subject matter), but that he introduces the archenemy of God as a sympathetic character. This is a repugnant concept for Milton’s Christian audience. In fact, John Dryden (the first literary critic to comment on Paradise Lost) in 1697 criticized the poem for having the villain take center stage and defeat the hero (p. 214). However, it will be argued instead that Milton’s use of this technique is to highlight the cunningness of Satan and our own willingness to accept the tale as probable. This sentiment is echoed by Stanley Fish who claimed that the poem tempts the reader in the same way that Satan tempted Adam and Eve. In the remainder of this essay, Books II and III will be examined to note the ways Milton compares and contrasts, God, Satan, Heaven and Hell to amplify his subversive technique of casting Satan as the tragic hero of Paradise Lost. In Book II of Paradise Lost, Satan is introduced to the reader as a rationale character that is capable of questioning God’s authority and judgment. For example, the debate in Hell is one of the great set pieces of Paradise Lost. In this scene, Satan’s appeal is in his use of classic political rhetoric: he states that both his and that of his fallen Angel’s rebelliousness and pride, are justified: â€Å"†¦with what eyes could we Stand in his presence humble, and receive Strict laws imposed, to celebrate his throne With warbled hyms, and to his Godhead sing Forced hallelujahs, while he lordly sits† Milton constructs this profane polemic by utilizing the heroic epic genre to introduce Satan in a countercultural way. He not only disturbs literary conventions but religious conventions too. Such a representation of a heroic Satan as a tragic Prometheus figure challenges the discourse of traditional Judeo-Christian notions of injustice and subordination. However, Milton lived during the dawn of the Renaissance; a time when science began to question religious dogmas. Satan, therefore, is all the more impressive to the skeptical Seventeenth Century audience, because he too, like the new Renaissance man, uses logic and rationalism to argue against accepted ideas and the status quo. In this way, Milton’ Paradise Lost can be viewed as highly controversial in the way he subverts the literary conventions and religious dogma by transposing a pagan literary technique on Christian revelation. But these techniques are not meant to subvert Christianity. Likewise, Milton is not attempting a ‘Dan Brown’ type revision of Christian theology. Instead, what Milton aims in achieving is to highlight Satan’s imperfect logic (even scholasticism) from God’s omnipotence. Thus, whilst Milton’s Satan is eloquent in speech, he is forever fallen. In contrast, Milton’s God remains highly mysterious and beyond logic; he also reigns triumphant and glorified in Heaven. In the opening of Book II, Satan’s rhetoric reaches a climax in The Council meeting held in Pandemonium (Hell). A debate is being held as to whether or not to attempt recovery of Heaven. Instead, another proposal is accepted. That proposal is to seek revenge against God. And through this revenge, Milton establishes Satan as a forlorn figure, as Satan alone undertakes the voyage to find the prophesized world were he can enact his revenge as a tragic hero. Whilst on his travels, he encounters Sin and Death. They are his offspring and guard the gates of Hell. They also serve as a profane inversion of God’s Trinity: a technique Milton often uses to help facilitate the contrasting and comparing of God and Heaven with Satan and Hell. Arguable, this strategy of parody and subversion is effective in showing the reader that despite all his oratory powers and intelligence, all that Satan is ultimately capable of performing is an imperfect imitation of God and his Kingdom. This comparison serves to accentuate Satan’s tragic status and also his futile pride. Another way Milton recasts Satan as a tragic hero, is through his depiction of Satan as a solitary character. For example, Milton notes that Satan â€Å"[e]xplores his solitary flight† (II. 647) alone to Eden. In contrast, God is supported by his Son in Book III. For example, God sees Satan flying towards this world and foretells the success of his evil mission to tempt man. God explains his purpose of grace and mercy toward man, but mandates that justice must be met nonetheless. His Son, who sits at his right hand, freely offers to sacrifice himself for man’s salvation. This causes the angels to celebrate in songs of praise. In contrast, this imagery accentuates the tragic and solitary nature of Satan’s banishment. A status further highlighted when he passes by the stairs of heaven on his way to earth: â€Å"The stairs were then let down, whether to dare The Fiend by easy ascent, or aggravate His sad exclusion from the doors of bliss† (III. 523 -525). In this way, Milton portrays God as some kind of celestial joker, dangling the stairs of heaven to Satan. This concept is of course an antithesis to the traditional precepts of God as merciful and benevolent. However, this scene does help Milton to engineer a sympathetic response from the reader towards Satan. And thus, Milton’s recasting of Satan as the tragic epic hero is complete. Another way Milton casts Satan as the tragic hero of Paradise Lost is through contrasting the depiction of Hell with Heaven. So, whilst Satan sits â€Å"[h]igh on a throne of Royal State†¦ exalted†¦ †(II. 1-5), Satan’s throne is made of â€Å"Barbaric pearl† (II. 4). God, however, sits on a heavenly throne in Heaven: A place that is immersed with precious stones (like diamonds) and light. Even Heaven’s pearly gates (â€Å"liquid pearl† III. 519) are contrasted to the pearls of Hell (â€Å"Barbaric pearl† II. 4). Nothing in Hell can ultimately compete with God’s creation. Milton continues to compare and contrast God and Satan in Book III. For example, in Book III, the infernal trinity, that is, Satan, Sin and Death are introduced as a perversion of God’s original Trinity. In this way, Milton parallels Book II and Book III of Paradise Lost to show no only that Satan’s dominion is an inversion and parody of Heaven, but more importantly, that imitation is the apex of Satan’s intelligence. So, not only is Hell unlike Heaven as it has flames, ice, whirlwinds, and volcanoes. Hell is deathlike and desolate like a â€Å"Desert Soile† (II. 270)). In contrast, Heaven is a â€Å"living Sapphire† (II. 1050). Moreover, Milton’s grotesque depiction of Hell as a place of death is reiterated by the paradoxical phrase, â€Å"life dies, death lives† (II. 624). Hell, therefore, is a place of contradiction, even moral confusion. Heaven in contrast is adorned with precious stones and metal of diamond and gold. It is a place of rejoicing and a place of light, â€Å"†¦since God is light† (III. 3-5). Through harnessing literary devices (which had been traditionally reserved for ‘virtuous’ pagan characters and by sagacious philosophers of ancient Greece), Milton ingeniously highlights the limitations of Satan and indeed humanity itself to understand God. Thus, the invocation in Book I, that is, ‘to justify the ways of God to Man’, is indeed Milton’s â€Å"inside joke†: For it is not Milton’s role to justify God to humanity, but rather it is the reader’s responsibility to overcome ‘temptation’ and see Satan as the villain described in the Bible. Thus, apart from creating a poem of dramatic appeal, it appears that Milton’s introduction of Satan as a hero in the epic poem format was an attempt to accentuate Satan’s irreparably fallen state (as indeed our own human folly in being susceptible to following humanist rationalism at the expense of Christian theology). In Paradise Lost, Satan is a tragic hero forever lost in spite of his attempts to overthrow God’s creation. According to Milton, Satan’s transgression is to think himself equal to God. And it is this transgression that makes his rhetoric ultimately hollow. References 1. Dryden, John. â€Å"Virgil and the Aeneid. † Dramatic Essays. Ed. William Henry Hudson. London: E. P. Dutton, 1921. 2. Fish, Stanley. How Milton Works. New York: Harvard University Press, 2001. 3. Fish, Stanley. Surprised By Sin. London: St. Martin’s Press, 1967. 4. Greenblatt, Stephen et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Eight Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006 5. Milton, John. Paradise Lost: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Gordon Tesky. London: W. W. Norton, 2004.