Rebel Women vs. Yankee Women

Rebel Women vs. Yankee Women Many stories have been told about the Civil War; there is the story of Gettysburg, Stonewall Jackson’s death, Robert E. Lee leading his solders, and many more. However, we only hear the smallest amount of information about what the wives of these soldiers are doing. It would be interesting to dig deep into the details of the support army general wives gave, what the government expected from women of both sides of the war, and the main differences of lifestyle back on the home front.Women were a huge part of the Civil War and supported the soldiers in many ways. My goal is to find the difference between the support Robert E. Lee’s wife and George Meade’s spouse gave. Robert E. Lee was an outstanding leader so it is a wonder what sort of support he received other than from his soldiers and assistants. George Meade was also an interesting character of the war and took reign at a difficult time, right before Gettysburg; he would have need ed some emotional support. Mary Anna Randolph Custis was General Lee’s wife, married in 1831.Even though many women were not educated, Custis had a fine education and was intelligent. Mary’s mother, Molly, was a huge advocate for freeing slaves and eventually had Mary believing in the same rights. They tried to weaken the harsh conditions of slavery and let their own slaves free. However, they were not quite convinced African Americans should be part of the society. 1 Mary had many suitors; she turned down requests from distinguished cousins, Sam Houston and two sons from the Revolutionary war hero, Harry Lee.It was believed that there were few worthy of her love, but Robert E. Lee claimed it. He was a distant cousin to her and a childhood friend. Although others thought their finances and sexual life was a scandal, they were wedded. The life of a military wife that Mary had to begin living was a worry to General Lee. She grew up sophisticated and had a wealthy life. M ary, even though she missed her childhood home, followed Robert Lee to his field posts.She spent much of the time drawing and would only return home for pregnancy or illness. Through the war she had wished her husband would leave the army, but she stuck with him through it. It is not odd to wonder how she mustered the strength to raise seven children, follow her soldier husband and stay sane. Many would say that focusing on her artwork helped with the extensive traveling. After Virginia succeeded, Mary told her husband that she would support any choice he made. 2 Mrs.General Lee was a very loyal wife and showed her support towards the Confederates after feeling pushed away by the North. She would visit hospitals of soldiers and knit socks for the ill men. A neighbor tells this about the Lee home: â€Å"People came to talk of victory or sorrow; they could stay here if they had nowhere to go†¦The brightness of her nature amidst uncertainty and pain, was wonderful. †3 An in spirational image of her is her sitting on her home porch knitting while there is fire in the street.

An Insight on “The need for a Working Society”

Flora Tristan was a woman brought up by her mother. Her father died when she was very young, and she was denied, due to her illegitimacy, her father†s inheritance as a rich aristocrat. She gained strength living in poverty and as an adult fought for her place in her father†s family. Although Flora did not succeed in receiving the inheritance she was welcomed within the family. After escaping from her brutal husband, Flora took her daughter and began a life of travels; learning about people, societies, and especially the lives of women. Flora Tristan†s largest accomplishment was the development and teachings of the Workers† Union, with the incorporation of equality for women with every step . I will focus on how Tristan linked the conditions of women and men workers, how her proposed Workers† Union emancipated both men and women, and how she was received by workingwomen and workingmen. Tristan†s ability to link the conditions of women and men workers was incredible. Tristan saw and experienced the abuse of women in the home and on the job. She linked a woman†s life as a servant to her husband, children, father, and brothers. Women lived life uneducated, unstimulated, and underutilized. â€Å"Tristan continued, women were kept ignorant, brought up either to be gentle and patronizing dolls or slaves, destined to please and serve their masters. † (Strumingher, 97) Tristan believed that it was in a man†s own self-interest to work for the equality of women at work. For men would reap the benefits of gaining more household income and the betterment of their marriage and home life. Not only this, but men would not have to work as hard with the emancipation of women. Tristan was appalled by the working conditions of the English workers†, both men an women, they were unbearable. She visited many factories and could not believe the abuse and unsanitary conditions. She thought that England was indeed the most abusive place for the humanity of the workers. The toxic smells, the extreme contrasts between severe cold into the fiery hot burning coals they had to endure. The life expectancy was short, approximately thirty five for industrial men, and a bit higher for those not under such intense labor. The moral of these workers were low. Happiness was not an option these people worked twelve hours a day and by the time they go home they ate and slept to regain their strength for the next day, fun and enjoyment was not an choice. The end result of the extreme labor was said to be the increase of those going to the taverns and drinking into oblivion. This was the only way for the working class to get away from the miserable conditions of working life. â€Å"In England, where the working class is much more ignorant and unhappy than in France, the workers, men and women, push this vice of drunkenness to the brink of insanity. (Beik, 118) Drunkenness had become an epidemic, the working class was desperate for a way to escape the mental and physical pain of daily life. The fact that women earned one half the wages of men was one factor that Tristan fought. She became adamant about the equality of equal pay and equal work for both men and women. Tristan advocated that women worked much harder and faster in order to make more money just to survive, in the end the idea was that eventually men would be discarded and replaced by the cheaper labor of women. Through Tristan†s travels she was able to see the inequality women suffered through first hand experience and she was able to visualize, create, and implement a societal change, a paradigm shift, that would impact the history forever. The creation of the Workers† Union and the fight for human rights. Tristan†s proposed Workers† Union did in fact lead to the emancipation of women and workers. The Workers† Union was based on several ideas; equality, human rights, child labor laws, unification of classes, workers compensation, education prior to working, and generating capital to prevent poverty. Tristan fought for equality of men and women in the home, workplace, and in receiving an education. â€Å"†¦ But let us hasten to say that to enjoy equality and liberty in principle is to live in spirit, and if he who brought to the world the law of the spirit spoke wisely in saying that â€Å"man does not live by bread alone,† I believe that it is also wise to say that â€Å"man does not live by spirit alone. † (Beik, 108) Tristan captivated the idea of happiness and its true meaning, that no man or woman could be happy without complete emancipation for everyone. With the idea of the Workers† Union, Tristan†s goal was to unite men and women despite their trades, associations, or classes. This unification would bond the groups together to be large enough to fight for justice as needed against those in power. The idea that small groups do not carry a voice and one large group carries strength and has one large voice to be heard. â€Å"In sum Flora†s Workers† Union advocated a general union of men and women of all trades dedicated to two principles: the right to work for all workers, and equal pay for equal work. (Strumingher, 101) Tristan also proposed to have a place where children could go to receive food, hygiene and grooming instructions, exercise, crafts while earning money at the same time. They were in essence being paid to get a basic education and skills. This place was known as the â€Å"Workers† Palace†. Tristan succeeded with the emancipation of both men and women by presenting her research, teaching, and wining people over to the idea of the Workers† Union and how this would help to support men and woman. By understanding the limitations of humans, by looking for a balance of work and time for pleasure, and by stressing the need for education for our children. Tristan met the hearts of people and captured the insanity of their current lifestyles. She was able to influence the naive and accept those who could not understand doing anything other than serving their husbands and children. In general Tristan had a variance in how she was received by men and women. Some women did not accept her due to the hatred caused by ignorance, she was accused of misleading husbands. All in all Tristan was accepting of those who did not see her way and would move on to find people who would listen and follow. She didn†t waste time on useless tactics, she used her time and influence wisely. As Tristan†s plan was evolving, she began to meet with as many influential men as she could. Artisans who liked the idea but not the idea of being relegated to sharing her ideas. She moved on to many other artisans with no success until she read and corresponded with the works of two others, Adolphe Boyer, and Pierre Moreau. These two men worked to reform the compagnonnage and agreed with many of Tristan†s ideas. Workers, we shouldn†t help each other only because we†re in the same trade, but because we are all workers, all in the same social category. † ( Strumingher, 91) Most men and women endorsed, at least a part of, Tristan†s plan of the Worker†s Union, at least pieces of it were accepted by most. She had many difficulties in publishing her work, unable to publish in the press and unable to find a publisher who would support her. She began a diary. Tristan took up a collection from her friends and with this money she was able to publish her first book. Tristan had the chore of having to change the ideas of a society and a way of life. People tend to resist change and have a hard time visualizing the benefits, especially when asked to contribute money each year for this Union. In spite of these obstacles, Tristan had a tremendous following. Women and workers were considered one in the same, both leading lives of unhappiness and slavery. Both were immersed in poverty and abuse, were suppressed, and suffered dehumanization. With the creation of the Workers† Union, Tristan recognized the need to change the way the working class, and women were treated. She brought together different classes, sexes, and moved children out of the workforce and into education. She fought for equal rights for everyone. The Workers† Union slowly changed history, slowly, to developing women and men and leading to their full emancipation. This was the beginning of a future of human rights and an educated society, regardless of sex or race. With these changes Tristan taught, wrote, and traveled to educate the people. She was embraced by many and also had many critics. Most people embraced pieces of Tristan†s plans, which helped in the overall acceptance of the beginning of the Workers† Union.

The Post-American World

eading this article I could only have one thing in mind as a small business owner myself, and that was to discuss options other then buying. Based on the reading as well as my own research this is what I came up with Franchising? Or Licensing. Franchising vs. Licensing: An Example Franchising: Some fast-food chicken franchises cost more than one million dollars to get into, a LFC store costs as little as $150,000 to establish a planned restaurant, even less for an existing one. This allows the â€Å"small guy† access to a successfully established product with a 30 year track record. Our relatively low start-up expenses have attracted hard working entrepreneurs with limited financial means, and because of this, 90% of LFC owners are minorities, whom many have achieved a high level of financial success. LFC competes directly with the big names like KFC, Popeyes and Churches; our highest volume stores are surrounded by these businesses. Licensing: The only requirements are that you purchase LFC ingredients (Seasoned Flour, Red Pepper Mix, Dirty Rice Mix) and imprinted items (boxes, bags, and cups with the LFC logo printed on them) through a designated LFC distributor. Definitions Franchising is a business model in which you purchase a license of a specific business. Franchising is a term which can be applied to just about any area of economic endeavor. Franchising encompasses products and services from the manufacture, supply for manufacture, processing, distribution and sale of goods, to the rendering of services, the marketing of those services, their distribution and sale. Licensing is granting of permission to use intellectual property rights, such as trademarks, patents, or technology, under defined conditions. It prevents others from exploiting the idea, design, name or logo commercially. It is a business arrangement in which a local firm in the host country produces goods in accordance with another firm's (the licensing firm's) specifications; as the goods are sold, the local firm can retain part of the earnings. Agreement A franchise agreement is a specialized license and will cover all aspects of IP, user obligations and use provisions A license agreement is a business arrangement where a licensor via a monopoly right such as a Patent, a Trade Mark, a design or a copyright has to exclusive right which prevents others from exploiting the idea, design, name or logo commercially. In business for yourself but not by yourself! In license agreement or business opportunity there is no ongoing â€Å"royalty or required relationship† in effect you are: In business for yourself and by yourself! Time Required to Finish It takes months for franchises to be done. It takes about ten to fifteen business days to complete. Distinct Areas of Law Franchising is based on securities law. It means compliance with the franchise laws, like the securities laws, requires registration of the franchise in the applicable jurisdictions Licensing is a form of contract law. It means licensing is merely a contract between two independent contractors and franchise registration is not required. Work Load Franchising route creates more work for lawyers in complying with all the registration requirements. Down the licensing road, it requires substantially less legal work. Amount of Control The parent company keeps very tight controls on every aspect of your business but they also provide a lot of assistance in the management and marketing of your store. The control by the franchisor over the franchisee is what is supposed to make the money for the franchisee; i. e. if you do what the franchisor says, you will make money. Buying a franchise is like buying a security; i. . the control over whether or not the buyer of the franchise or security makes money is in the hands of a third party; for the security situation it is in the control of the people who operate the company that issues the security, and for the franchise the control is in the franchisor who dictates how the franchise operates to make money. The relationship between a licensee and the parent company is not as tigh t-knit. Once the licensee launches the operation, the relationship with the licensing company is frequently limited to purchasing products. In a licensing preparation, you have more freedom in the operation of your business than with a franchising situation, but also more responsibility (there is also more risk and potential reward). You have the freedom to set your own hours, make-money policies, benefits, employment policies. Relationship with the Parent Company Franchisees can expect to have a much closer relationship with their parent company than their licensee counterparts. First and foremost, franchisees typically retain rights to the parent company’s trademark and logo. This is important ecause it is a visible representation of the connection between franchisor and franchisee. The relationship between licensees and the licensing company is looser than the relationship between franchisors and franchisees. In most cases, the licensee does not retain rights to use the company’s trademark Cost Difference It is substantially expensive. Franchisees can expect to pay royalties on a go-forward basis i. e. e very time a profit is made. License opportunities are often less expensive than franchises in both the upfront investment and ongoing charges.

Dubliners by James Joyce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dubliners by James Joyce - Essay Example The paralysis may also relate to the extent of the technology of the place especially in the twenty first century. In order to elaborate on this claim, the exercise will elaborate various characterizations from the various stories. All the stories in the Dubliners are connected by common themes such as corruption, paralysis and death. These render the characters stationary and incapable of moving forth and developing their status. Instead, the characters move forth in some instances and retreat afterwards causing an endless circle. The first story, The Sisters, majors on a boy and his mentor called Father Flynn. The priest has been mentoring the boy and the boy has advanced in his thinking and behaviour. His uncle tells him the weaknesses of his mentor and convinces him never to associate with him again (Tagleri 15). He informs the boy that the priest had suffered a third stroke and had made a confession on his condition. When the boy is eventually informed of Father Flynn’s death, he feels less sad. The boy observes the brown and yellow teeth of the deceased, implying a decay and static development and epitomizes their confinement. In this case, the society is well convinced of the priest’s demerits to the society through his paralysis and the eventual death. The boy feels freedom from the compulsions of the priest. The boy fails to progress due to his adherence to the notions from the society members. This is a story of two boys that also depict paralysis in the society and individual sexuality. The story illustrates two boys during their adventure and the chase of a wild cat. They encounter a man who starts by asking them of the books they have read. The boys begin to think of positivity of the man due to his thinking on books. The stranger then inquires about their girlfriends. The man goes ahead to masturbate before the boys. This is a greater extent of paralysis of morals (Papadopoulou 32). The boys are t

The Overall Picture for Benefit-Cost Analysis for Illicit Drugs in Research Paper

The Overall Picture for Benefit-Cost Analysis for Illicit Drugs in General and for Cocaine and Heroin - Research Paper Example Rosen (1995) emphasised on the mathematics part of benefit-cost assessments. At the same time, he also emphasised that instead of benefit-cost assessments, cost-effectiveness may be the better approach to use for some projects or decisions involving intangibles. Stiglitz (2000) proposed a set of principles for measuring non-monetized costs and benefits. He prescribed a set of techniques for valuing time, life, and another alternative method of valuation (2000, p. 278-283). Rather than conceding on the concepts of â€Å"intangibles†, it seems that Stiglitz emphasised on monetisation end emphasised that the concept of benefit-cost analysis is â€Å"developing systematic ways of analyzing costs and benefits when market pride do not reflect social costs and benefits† (2000, p. 274). In 1998, the Risk and Policy Analysis Limited prepared a document for the European Commission elaborating on the techniques of benefit-cost assessment. The document is used for policy and propos als evaluations. We are guided by the said materials as we explore on the benefit-cost assessment of legalising the use of cocaine and heroin. As pointed out by the Matrix Knowledge Group (2007), the drug supply chain covers several continents. This is also discussed in Fox and Albertson (2010, Lecture 1 Slide 18). The drug supply chain includes the dealers who bring the drugs into the UK from overseas, the dealers who distribute the drugs at the national level or the dealers who buy the drugs in one city and sell it in another (Matrix Knowledge Group 2007, p. 17).

Comparison of IFRS and US GAAP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Comparison of IFRS and US GAAP - Essay Example A financial statement must provide details with regard to financial position, changes in position and operations of an enterprise which may be useful for decision making. International Accounting Standards Board is development of International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) created in 1973 with the objective of developing the uniform standards of accounting. IASB and US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) congregated the IFRS and US GAAP in 2002 as part of the Norwalk agreement making their existing financial reporting standards compatible and practicable and coordinating their future work programme to ensure compatibility. The IASB provided two accounting standards for financial reporting frame works like International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) developed by The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). The US GAAP was acknowledged extensively as the international set of standards to make certain best quality financial statements. This standard was mostly used in the US and also elsewhere, but with the entry of IFRS a debate on the virtual class of both authoritie s has taken place. GAAP is exceptionally comprehensive on what is acceptable and unacceptable. IFRS is used by more than hundred countries as their standard set of guidelines and principles. Still more countries, like Canada and India are projecting to follow IFRS from 2011. This paper is intended for providing some explorative information on the IFRS / US GAAP and also some demarcation and comparison of the two standards of financial reporting. More specifically, the purpose of the current study is to investigate the properties of IFRS versus US GAAP standards of accounting using the accounts of National Grid Plc that is listed both in EU and US Stock Exchange. And most importantly, the paper identifies the difference between the rules and principles of two accounting standards through the accounts of National Grid Plc and its usefulness to various stakeholders of the organization. IFRS and US GAAP - Significant differences in National Grid Plc National Grid is an energy production organization which owns and operates the electricity transmission system in England and US. National Grid distributes gas to 11 million homes and businesses in UK. The company is also engaged in business of wireless infrastructure along with other businesses like National Grid Metering, Onstream, National Grid Grain, property, etc. The main areas of operation of the company are UK and US which was created by the restructuring of UK gas industry in 1986 and electricity industry in 1990 and entered the US market in the year 2000. (www.nationalgrid.com) According to annual report for the year 2005/06, it is revealed that the group has achieved 25% increase in the revenue from 7382m to 9193m. And according to the same reports, operating profits have also increased from 2142m to 2439m (2005/06) which is 14% higher. National Grid has also entered into acquisition and merger with some companies like Keyspan Corporation. The company with its base in US and UK, the countries which adopt two different standards of accounting principles, has to prepare accounts conforming to the rules and regulations of that particular nation. However,

Hackney Homes - A Strategic Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Hackney Homes - A Strategic Report - Essay Example Many recommendations are made for improvement of the organization in this report. Table of Contents Content Page Number Introduction 4 The Company 4 Competitor Analysis 5 External Environment Analysis 8 Overall Environment 12 Conclusion and Recommendations 14 References 16 Hackney Homes-A Strategic Report 1. Introduction Hackney Homes is one of the most famous organizations in UK which manages the council homes there. In this report, a strategic analysis of Hackney Homes is done using relevant academic models. Based on the definition by Waal (2007), the success of an organization needs to be evaluated based on its targets as well as the strengths and weaknesses .The targets are examined by mission and vision statements and the strengths and weaknesses are evaluated through internal and external analysis. The various positive (opportunities) and negative (threats) external factors influencing the performance of an organization are evaluated through external analysis. This analysis is very relevant for assessing a company’s present situation in order to develop new strategies or change existing strategies by making use of the opportunities and threats to the company. In this report, the services offered by Hackney Homes, its targets and strengths and weaknesses are examined through different academic models. The report has six sections. Section two discusses the targets and services offered by Hackney Homes. Section three discusses the competitive environment of the company. Section four analyses the external environment of the company .Section five examines the overall environment of the company. Section six concludes the report and makes recommendations. 2. The Company The main services offered by the company include management of council homes, rent collection as well as repair and maintenance of these homes (Hackney Homes, 2011a).Community service is the main aim of this organization. According to Collins and Porras (1996), the mission statement of a c ompany gives its important ideology and visionary components. The three major components of the mission statement are generally identified as the committed core values, core purpose and the visionary goals to be followed by the firm to fulfil its mission. The mission of the organization is to ensure the delivery of homes to people which are excellent, accessible and high quality homes (Hackney Homes, 2011b).It works as an agent which manages the Hackney Council. It was formed in 2006 as a subsidiary of Hackney Council and is formed as an Arms Length Management Organization called ALMO (Hackney Homes, 2011b). Based on the mission statement, the main objectives of the company include provision of services which are excellent and accessible, delivery of modern homes, sound management of homes and neighbourhood improvement. The main values of the organization include service, honesty, achievement, respect and pride (Hackney Homes, 2011b). In the next sections, the competitive position a nd the general and specific environment of the company are examined using relevant academic tools. 3. Competitive Analysis According to Coulter (2005), there are both specific environment, like customers, competitors, suppliers etc which influence directly the company’s strategic decision and general environment like political, economic, social and technological sectors that indirectly

Character analysis of the book Crooked letter, crooked letter by Tom Essay

Character analysis of the book Crooked letter, crooked letter by Tom Franklin - Essay Example The novel, â€Å"Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter† can be considered as a literary piece catering the themes of a thriller. However, at the same plane, the novel is undoubtedly one of the powerful redemptive studies of characters which make it a psychological tale as well. This essay intends to explore the subtle intricacies of human character presented in the novel, â€Å"Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter† and therefore forms one of the best suitable and apt formative studies for the character analysis. At the outset of the novel, the readers are introduced to a masked man mysterious in nature committing various crimes. However, browsing through the pages of this crime thriller, any sensible mind would be easily able to judge the novel from a different realm as well. An undefined story of friendship lies at the centre of the novel which generates a different flavor for the novel. At this paradigm, the readers are introduced to two characters quite opposite to each other. The characters are Silas Jones, who was called â€Å"32† a name he got from his jersey in high school athlete team and the lonely, Larry Ott. He also receives a nickname but quite opposite to Jones. He receives the name of â€Å"Scary Larry† after the lineage of the boy with the disappearance of a girl whom she takes for a drive and a date. However, with the development of the novel, the characters conceived by Franklin appear to be quite credible characters with much impression from the real life and flawed by the pragmatic traits of mundane human nature. Larry Ott is a white from a lower-middle-class family and Silas Jones was a black boy who used to stay in a cabin at rent within the premises of the property owned by Larry’s father. Silas was a poor boy from a sole black mother. Their childhood was therefore marked by a total difference of socio-economic parameters and they used to hardly interact with

Research paper_Literature Review Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Paper_Literature Review - Research Paper Example In giving statistics in support of these facts, Andrade and Evans (2009) discussed that the incoming international students and their guardians or parents contribute up to about USD 14.5 billion every year, towards supporting their living expenses during their stay. One benefit drawn from the inflow of Chinese learners into Canada, which cannot be overlooked, is the fact that they increase cultural diversity at the learning facility and in the classes, which adds value to education and enriches the academic environment (Olivia and Lee, 2006). Yoon and Portman (2004) noted that, despite the wide variety of facts on the advantages that they bring into Canada, Chinese students, like other international learners may face strains during their adjustment within the social fabric and the host environment. These strains emanate from language constraints, cultural differences and social behaviors. Despite the fact that a lot of information is available on the adjustment crisis facing this gro up, Olivia and Lee (2006) note that there is a need to integrate the statistics and the findings. For this reason, this literature review will explore the adjustment issues of these students, exposing the costs and the benefits of international learning at Canada; lastly, future inferences will be developed to demonstrate the outcomes of international learning. ... Unlike social cultural adjustment, which refers to the ability of the learners to fit into the Canadian culture, psychological adjustment will cover emotional well-being also. Andrade and Evans (2009, p. 2) discuss that the Chinese learners at Canadian schools and campuses do not face problems that are unique to them; they also experience the problems experienced by Canadian students. However, Ward et al. (2008, p. 35) noted that, in addition to the problems experienced by their Canadian counterparts, they will also suffer from unique problems that could be traced to cultural differences, potential prejudices and language difficulties among others. For that reason, exploring the adjustment needs of Chinese students in Canada and the world at large can increase the information to facilitate student decision making and can improve the acculturation of the different students groups. Berry (1980) notes that, starting from the 1980s; research studies were commonly focused around the accul turation of international students and acculturative-related stresses, where focus was direction was directed towards the coping approaches adopted by international learners. The studies also entailed reviewing the experiences in adjusting to the different society, from a social point of view (Ward et al., 2008, p. 146). The change shows that there has been a change from viewing Chinese among other international student groups from a clinical to a development-related outlook. For these different reasons, irrespective of the expanding knowledge in the area, the need to synthesize and merge the inferences, as a way of further illuminating the available knowledge is necessary. Kwon, Y. (2009) and Swagler and

How may the teacher encourage more learner involvement in the lesson Essay

How may the teacher encourage more learner involvement in the lesson - Essay Example We shall review some language acquisition theories and chiefly the factors that affect language learning in the classroom. These factors are internal, like the personality of the learner, his motivation to learn the TL, and his aptitude for language learning. External factors like the curriculum, its relevance to the learner and the learning strategies will also be studied. Finally, we will study classroom interaction between various aspects and try to conclude what can be the ways of increasing learner involvement in the classroom. Classroom is an essential element of the formal system of education. Individuals learn many things outside the classroom. But the classroom is a place where optimal efforts are made to utilize every moment of the teaching session fruitfully. Books, teaching aids, methods and content are specially prepared according to learner needs. The aim is to achieve maximum positive results in minimum time. A language class is different. Language may be taught as a special subject. But language is a tool that enables students to approach other subjects and also to communicate with others. Language is skill based more than theory. Language learning is a life-long, eternal process. So what is the function of a second language classroom? Quite simply, the role of second language classroom is to bring a student to a point where he can begin to use the outside world for further second language acquisition. The language classroom can provide the students with enough comprehensible input to bring their second language competence to the point where they can begin to understand language heard outside, read independently and participate in conversations. Since they will be less than fully competent, it will be necessary to provide them with tools for encouraging and regulating input. In other words, all second language classes are transitional and no second language class can be expected to do t he entire job. Second language classes are best

Advantages and disadvantges of the genetically modified crops Essay

Advantages and disadvantges of the genetically modified crops - Essay Example For instance genetic engineers can extract a gene that causes drought resistance then insert it into another plant. The genetically modified plant now possesses the trait of resisting drought that is a trait of the first plant. This practice can be applied even for genes from non-plant organisms (Bijaya, 2013). A noteworthy point is that even though this practice can be applied on plants and animals, it is more commonly used on plants rather than animals. One advantage of GMOs is that they grow more rapidly than traditional organisms. Conventionally, traditional crops can only be grown during the season and only in the climate that is conducive for the growth of that plant; genetically modified crops on the other hand can be grown out of season and even in unfavourable climate. Despite the cost of genetically modified seeds being higher, the overall cost of production is marginally lower than that of traditional crops (Bijaya, 2013). Another advantage of genetically modified crops is that they are more nutritious than traditional foods according to Kantor  (2013). This is because there is no limit to the kind of manipulation that engineering can do. Swiss scientists are said to have created a strain of rice that contains high amount of vitamin A (Health Research Funding, 2013); this could go a long way intohelping eradicate blindness in third world countries caused by vitamin A deficiency. Most also agree that genetically modified foods taste better and do not rot as quickly as traditional foods (Health Research Funding, 2013). Some properties of traditional crops is that in their natural state, they contain allergens and can, therefore, not be consumed by people allergic to them. With genetically modifying these plants, these properties can be removed (Bijaya, 2013). Genetically modified plants are more resistant to pests; farmers can, therefore, use less amounts of pesticides; most people prefer crops grown with

Pizza USA Term Paper Essay Example for Free

Pizza USA Term Paper Essay Abstract This case involves Pizza USA, a small independent chain restaurant operation that offers both dine-in and carry-out services for customers that has received feedback for a potential change that will require the implementation of design process to add services. Currently, customers have indicated that they are pleased with the food offered by the restaurant but they would increase pizza purchases if a delivery service was available. This dilemma ties into two separate issues. First, in order to remain competitive within the industry, customer wants and preferences need to be heard. After all, if you cannot please your customer base, you will lose them. Secondly, the changes required must be done in a manner that combines data gathering and analysis and implementation of a plan that best suites this particular type of business in order to maximize success. Customer service has been a recurring theme in many discussions regarding business operations and management in recent weeks. The prevailing thought is that in order for your business to grow and be successful, you must identify what your customers want and find a way to deliver it. This paper will analyze and discuss how process design can be implemented to assist this business to achieve its goals. Within the process design analysis and discussion, several factors will be reviewed to include: identification of what customer satisfaction means to the business and how we can identify the things that are most valuable to customers, the potential net yield of achieving a high level of customer satisfaction and efficiency, and the characteristic of developing an efficient pizza delivery (from stove to door) system. The paper will also assess creation of market â€Å"advantages† to not only maintain but grow the customer base. Pizza USA: An Exercise in Translating Customer Requirements into Process Design In the last five years leading up to 2012, the Pizza Restaurants industry has experienced the results of a downturn in economy. Restaurants have been directly affected by changing market conditions such as changes in intense competition, decreasing consumer spending and an increase in overall health consciousness (Kalnins, A., Mayer, K. , 2004). However, despite such overwhelming odds and challenges, businesses were able to overcome economic hard times by reinventing themselves through creative marketing and adjusting their menu’s to adapt to customers preferences (Kelso, 2012). This allowed the industry to recover effectively and consumer spending and market growth returned in 2010. As more consumers returned to the restaurants, overall demand increased. The U. S. Pizza industry averages about 410 million pizzas per year (Kelso, 2012). In 2012 alone, pizza sales are expected to reach an incredible $36. 1 billion in revenue which is a 3. 8 percent increase from the previous year (Kelso, 2012). This growth is expected to continue at a rate of 2. 9 percent per year through 2017. Based on gathered data, 97 percent of U. S. consumers have ordered food from a pizza restaurant or establishment within the past 12 months (Kelso, 2012). No matter how you look at it, pizza consumption is on the rise and creates an exceptional opportunity for success in this industry. According to Gregory Badishkanian, a CITI Analyst, the big three of the pizza industry: Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns are currently in position to increase market share. (Bloomberg, 2012). Although the big three comprise of 30% of the total pizza market, the remaining 70% comprise largely of other large chains with less market coverage and of course the smaller independent chains (Kelso, 2012). While the larger chains are improving profits independent chains are struggling to stay afloat amidst the fierce competition among the larger more established companies such as the big three (Kelso, 2012). Understanding this dilemma, it would be most prudent for any independent restaurant operator to maximize operations by insuring that internal process design enables not only efficient productivity but generates a process that is customer friendly and focused on customer’s needs and preferences (Kalnins, A. , Mayer, K. , 2004). This would be critical in the business’ ability to survive in such a monopolistic type market. Successful operation within a smaller independent chain restaurant faces challenges that may not be as apparent to a larger and more established national chains. Pizza USA is a small chain operation that currently provides two services: dine-in and carry-out options. Customers have commented that if delivery services were added to the restaurant offerings, they would potentially buy more pizzas (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Based on this information, it is apparent that the owner needs to assess his business operations and consider a process design that would include adding this service to current operations. The addition of delivery services would potentially require additional capital to finance changes and may involve the hiring of additional staff. However, revenue increases as a result of the added service would off-set the costs associated with these additions. Near and long-term implications would include survivability within such a competitive market. As a customer, the primary focus of my satisfaction with this type of business relates primarily to efficiency and the level of customer service provided. If delivery service was provided, the two areas that would be most prevalent in my mind would be the delivery time and the state of the pizza once received. Far too often, I’ve received delivered food that was warm and in some cases cold. Needless to say, I never contacted that restaurant again. The thing that would create a unique experience would be the restaurant’s ability to not only deliver within an exceptional time period but also to provide a pizza that is piping hot as it would be while dining in. Another aspect would be an incentive to order delivery by way of discounting or some type of rewards service. These are experiences that have not been typical in my experience with pizza deliveries. Method. The perceived situational analysis are as follows: Strengths-Due to the smaller nature of the business, It could potentially create a more personal experience for the customers thus increasing customer satisfaction; Weaknesses-As a smaller business entity, they have less resources and limited options in implementing changes to meet customer demands. Also, the business would be less tolerant of negative impacts that may result from changes compared to larger established chains with additional resources available; Opportunities-A stronger customer relationship tends to allow more flexibility due to stronger loyalty among satisfied customers. Loyal customers are willing to wait changes out rather than making an initial determination and moving on to another business; Threats-The primary threats are of course the larger and more established chains such as the big three. Again, due to resourcing issues, these smaller and independent operations have less flexibility and opportunity if changes become less than desirable. The primary causes and effects are business survivability and customer satisfaction. Although these two areas are mentioned separately, they are in fact one. If changes are not made to meet customer needs and preferences, the business risks losing clientele and eventual closure. The term customer loyalty has been described as a process of capturing how well an organization is performing in three critical market measures: customer retention, share of wallet, and price sensitivity relative to competitors (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Studies have shown that customer loyalty relates directly to business success and survivability. There exists a major distinction between product design from the user’s standpoint from what may have been intended by the manufacturer (Jacobs Chase, 2011). The main difference deals primarily with the intended versus perceived usefulness of a given product. In short, if the customer’s input is not considered, product or process design could potentially be a major waste of time on the from end of the planning cycle with even a worse outcome once in the market. Table-1 below indicates quick-serve satisfaction rates among the top companies in the market to include the big three (Verma, R. , Thompson, G. , 1999). As you can see, each of the larger chains has high overall scores in customer satisfaction. Albeit, this is only one of many areas that could potentially be assessed. The independent chains can learn something from this data. The large chains didn’t survive the market and become who they are today without success in this particular area (Verma, R. , Thompson, G. , 1999). Table-1 Although the case situation described is consistent with most other business operations, â€Å"what can be done to be more profitable? † it is unique in itself due the detail andlevel of changes discussed. There are probably 100 areas that could be looked at that deals with efficiency and customer satisfaction. However, for the purpose of this paper we will only analyze the above mentioned areas. If assessing profitability and customer satisfaction is an everyday occurrence, which is the case in most businesses, then this case could most certainly be considered as a preexisting situation. However, this paper has little to do with assessing a documented loss in profits or revenue streams so the evolution is unknown at best. There are many course concepts that can be applied to understand this situation. However the two most prevalent areas of operations philosophy that comes to mind are: Chapter 3-Product and Service Design and Chapter 5-Process Analysis. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in chapter 3 discusses the process of getting the customer’s â€Å"voice† involved in design specifications (Jacobs Chase, 2011). This concept and application relates to any and all industries and organizations. It is directly related a process of studying and listening to customers to improve upon a product or service (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Measuring Process Performance in Chapter 5 primarily deals with how well a particular process is performing. This is accomplished by assessing many different types of metrics such as: productivity, efficiency, flow time, throughput, and value added time to name a few (Jacobs Chase, 2011). In order to adequately analyze whether your operation is running efficiently, a system of measurement is required to assess the performance. Results/Discussion The problem of addressing the customers’ needs and preferences are easily solved. Immediately implement planning to accommodate your customers’ request for the added feature of delivery service. Consider the most efficient manner of transition to minimize disruption to current business operations while planning the change. Insure that additional feedback is solicited and gathered from customers to re-validate the need to add the additional service and proceed with design process reviews and analysis to achieve goals. This satisfies the earlier discussion regarding identification of what the customer really wants and prefers. The task of developing and implementing the plan is what is the most difficult. Recommend that the owner begins with data gathering methods such as GAP Analysis. This method is used to assess the business’ performance relative to the expectations of its customers (Jacobs Chase, 2011). An additional form of Gap Analysis includes the benchmarking of certain industry standards and measures the business ‘performance against established standards within the industry (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Questions to be asked would be: What are other smaller independent chains offering? Is delivery service a value added service or just a waste of money? What are the industry standards in regards to delivery times and what is considered acceptable to customers? Do have the resources to provide that type of service or will it require additional equipment, supplies, vehicles and staff? This will allow the owner to see where his restaurant is versus where he wants to be. Moreover, this would be an ideal tool to gather additional information from Customers to obtain additional feedback. It can be accomplished in many ways such as through paper or email mailers and in store surveys. The method selected would primarily depend on the owner’s available resources and preferences and of course size of targeted population. The follow-on recommendation is to conduct a cost impact and payoff analysis using a decision tree or what some would call a consequence diagram. This process allows the planner to map out several alternatives with different end results to assess risk (Jacobs Chase, 2011). In essence it is a risk matrix. When planning or considering restaurant equipment purchases or even additional staff hires, this process could be beneficial in assessing the risks involved with each decision (Jacobs Chase, 2011). Table-2 is a representation of a typical decision tree used to make informed decisions. As you can see, it is a process of identifying the problem (or situation) and working through several COA’s to determine what works best for you. Table-2 Implementation is the next step. I would recommend the utilization of responsibility charts to organize and manage tasks. Again, this particular tool is a type of matrix that lists all the projects and tasks to be completed while identifying certain responsible parties or stakeholders (Jacobs Chase, 2011). In such a small business environment, it would probably be most beneficial for the owner to get all staff involved with the design process to obtain full buy-in.this can be accomplished through the use of this tool. Of all the steps involved with planning and execution, this is probably the most labor intensive due to the potential resourcing required. After plans are implemented, the owner needs to assess the customer reactions to the added service. Anticipating a given response and getting the actual response are sometimes two different things. Again, the same process used during the Gap Analysis can be used to capture post-implementation feedback from customers (Jacobs Chase, 2011). The bottom line is that as a small business, you more reliant on customer loyalty than larger chains and operations. As a result, you must pay attention to any feedback received regarding your products and services, In this case we’re talking about pizzas but it applies in many other situations and industries as well. Once the feedback id obtained develop a smart and affordable plan and implement the plan. Once you have transitioned fully into your new plan, solicit additional feedback from customers to see how things are going. You may find other areas of your business operations that require attention. Customer feedback has to be a part of your daily operations. Without it, your business is at serious risk. References Kalnins, A. , Mayer, K. , (Dec 2004), Franchising, ownership, and experience: A study of pizza restaurant survival. Management Science Journal, Vol. 50 Issue 12, p1716-1728, 13p, 3 Charts. doi: 10. 1287/mnsc. 1040. 0220 Kohli, A. , Gupta, M. , (Apr 2010), Improving operations strategy: Application of TOC principles in a small business. Journal of Business Economics Research, Vol. 8 Issue 4, p37-45, 9p Verma, R. , Thompson, G. , (1999), Managing service operations based on customer preferences. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. Vol. 19 Issue 9/10, p891-908, 18p, 6 Charts Jacobs, F. R. , Chase, R. B. (2011), Operations and supply chain management. (13th ed. ), New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Kelso, A. , (Sep 2012), Survey: U. S. pizza market tops $40 billion, pizzamarketplace. com, Retrieved: 1 Mar 2013 http://www. pizzamarketplace. com/article/200667/Survey-U-S-pizza-market-tops-40-billion AP News, (Sep 2012), Analyst: Big pizza chains could take bigger slice, Bloomberg Business Week News, Retrieved: 1 Mar 2013 http://www. businessweek. com/ap/2012-09-18/analyst-big-pizza-chains-could-take-bigger-slice.

Spider-man

Spider-man Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer and editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962). Lee and Ditko conceived of the character as an orphan being raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben as an ordinary teenager, having to deal with the normal struggles of youth in addition to those of a costumed crime fighter. Spider-Mans creators gave him super strength and agility, the ability to cling to most surfaces, shoot spider-webs using devices of his own invention which he called web-shooters, and react to danger quickly with his spider-sense, enabling him to combat his foes. When Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the protagonist. The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a teenage high school student to whose self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness young readers could easily relate.[1]:210 Unlike previous teen heroes such as James Buchanan Bucky Barnes and Robin, Spider-Man did not benefit from being the protege of any adult mentors like Captain America and Batman, and thus he had to learn for himself that with great power comes great responsibility a line included in a text box in the final panel of the first Spider-Man story, but later retroactively attributed to his guardian, the late Uncle Ben. Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series, the first and longest-lasting of which is titled The Amazing Spider-Man. Over the years, the Peter Parker character has developed from shy high school student to troubled but outgoing college student to married high school teacher to, in the late 2000s, a single freelance photographer, his most typical adult role. He is now a member of an unofficial splinter group of the Avengers, one of Marvels flagship superhero teams. In the comics, Spider-Man is often referred to as Spidey, web-slinger, wall-crawler, or web-head. Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes. As Marvels flagship character and company mascot, he has appeared in many forms of media, including several animated and live-action television shows, syndicated newspaper comic strips and a successful series of films starring actor Tobey Maguire as the friendly neighborhood hero. Spider-Man was named Empire magazines fifth-greatest comic-book character.[2] Spider-Man has been adapted to television many times, as a short-lived live-action television series, a Japanese tokusatsu series, and several animated cartoon series. There were also the Spidey Super Stories segments on the PBS educational series The Electric Company, which featured a Spider-Man (played by Danny Seagren) who did not speak out loud but instead used only word balloons. Spider-Mans first cartoon series ran from 1967-1970. It became known famous for its catchy theme song, which begins, Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can From 1978-1979, Nicholas Hammond starred as Peter Parker in the live-action television series The Amazing Spider-Man. Two Spider-Man cartoons aired on television in 1981: the syndicated series Spider-Man which ran for one twenty-six episode season, and the more popular Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, which aired on the NBC network for three seasons (ultimately totaling twenty-four episodes). hand appears shooting a web to save a citizen in the Third season X-Men Episode Phoenix Saga 5 Child Of Light, This episode aired just months before The web-swingers longest-running show, Spider-Man, which ran five seasons from 1994-1998, totaling 65 episodes, on Fox Broadcastings afternoon programming block, Fox Kids (in this series, Spider-Man was voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes in the English version, and by Toshiyuki Morikawa in the Japanese dub, who later played Venom in the Japanese dub of Spider-Man 3). That series continued as Spider-Man Unlimited the following year. A small reference is made to Spider-Man in the X-Men: Evolution episode On Angels Wings, when Angel is seen reading the Daily Bugle, the place Spider-Man/Peter Parker usually works. In 2003, MTV aired a 13-episode Spider-Man CGI series based loosely on the film continuity, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, developed by Mainframe Entertainment. Peter Parker made a cameo in the Fantastic Four: Worlds Greatest Heroes episode Frightful. Johnny Storm hires him to make him look good it, no one let him state what his name was so Johnny Storm refers to him as photographer guy. Johnny Storm also stated he was freelance. A new series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, premiered on March 8, 2008. In its first season it received critical acclaim and rocketed to the top of the ratings. Spider-Man/Peter Parker is voiced by Josh Keaton. * The original Spider-Man cartoon theme song has been covered and reinterpreted by numerous musical acts, including The Mr. T Experience, Ramones, Aerosmith, Michael Bublà ©, Moxy Frà ¼vous and Tenacious D. The 2002 and 2004 movies have featured buskers performing the song; Jayce Bartok and Elyse Dinh respectively. * In 1972, Buddah Records released Spider-Man: From Beyond The Grave, a rock musical story LP record with an included wordless comic strip for listeners to follow. Kingpin appears as the villain and Doctor Strange guest stars. * In 1975 Ramsey Lewis released a single titled Whats the Name of this Funk? (Spider Man) [sic].[14] * In 1975 Marvel Comics and Lifesong Records released an album entitled, Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero. It contained songs of various styles altered to elucidate certain moments and feelings of Spider-Mans origin, such as No Ones Got a Crush on Peter and Peter Stays and the Spider-Man Goes interspersed with narration clips by Stan Lee. * In 1979, German singer Peter Griffin had his first hit with a song called Spiderman. * In 1983, Muse Records released Woody Shaws jazz version of Spider-Man Blues, based on the television theme, on Shaws Setting Standards album. * In 1992, the Italian rock band 883 made it onto the European charts with a song called Hanno ucciso luomo ragno (They Killed Spider-Man) from an album of the same name, describing how after the death of the superhero, the streets are being overrun by gangs of stressed accountants in double-breasted suits.[15] * In the 1993 Wu-Tang Clan song Protect Ya Neck, Inspectah Deck raps the lyric Swingin through your town like your neighborhood Spider-Man in his verse. * In 1994, Joe Perry of Aerosmith wrote and performed the theme song for the Fox Kids Spider-Man: The Animated Series. He is a noted fan of Spider-Man. * In 1998 Michale Graves wrote the song Spider-Man (aka The Spider-Man Song aka Spider-Man Save Me) while still in The Misfits. It is yet to be officially released, although he has played this song live in every band hes played in since. On his 2006 solo release, Return to Earth, Michale again mentions Spider-Man in the song Butchershop. * The 2003 Weird Al Yankovic album Poodle Hat has a track entitled Ode to a Superhero. It is a parody of the Billy Joel song Piano Man, and recounts the events of the 2002 film. * In 2004 Nelly performed a song called Spida Man, on his double album Sweat/Suit. * A soundtrack album and score was released with each of the two Spider-Man films. The two soundtracks were mainly songs thematically linked to the film, performed by popular rock acts. Both soundtracks included hit singles (notably Hero by Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott, Bother by Corey Taylor (of Stone Sour and Slipknot), and Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional. The two scores were composed by Danny Elfman. * For the second Spiderman film, Michael Bublà © recorded a big band version of the Spider-Man theme. * Danish pop group, Aqua, mention Spider-Man in the chorus of their single, Cartoon Heroes. * In his 2005 album, Lost and Found, Will Smith uses the theme music from the 1960s Spider-Man cartoon series in his song Here he Comes. This song was produced by DJ Jazzy Jeff. * In their 2005 album Animetal Marathon VII, Japanese heavy metal band Animetal cover the opening of the 1970s tokusatsu adaptation. * In his 2006 album, Kingdom Come, Jay-Z raps Peter Parker: Spider-Man, all I do is climb the charts. * J-pop singer DJ Ozma heavily dedicates Spider-Man in his 2007 single Spiderman. The music video for song features a club full of dancers wearing black Spider-Man masks and a man dressed in a white Spider-Man suit. * There is an underground song called Crank Dat Spiderman. In this song Spider-Man is a sexual action in which the male ejaculates in his hand and throws it into the females face like Spider-Mans web. * The British indie pop band Los Campesinos mention Spider-Man in their song entitled Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats. * On the song Candy Land from Insane Clown Posse Member Violent Js album The Shining rapper Esham references Spider-Man.

The History Of Baggage Handling Systems

The History Of Baggage Handling Systems What was to be the worlds largest automated airport baggage handling system, became a classic story in how technology projects can go wrong. Faced with the need for greater airport capacity, the city of Denver elected to construct a new state of the art airport that would cement Denvers position as an air transportation hub. Denvers new international airport was to be the pride of the Rockies, a wonder of modern engineering  [1]  . It was almost twice the size of Manhattan and about 10 times the breadth of Heathrow. The airport can handle the landing of three jet planes simultaneously even in bad weather. The airports baggage-handling system was even more impressive than its girth. The coal-mine like cars ran along 21 miles of steel track. 4,000 tele-cars routed and delivered luggage between the counters, gates and claim areas of 20 different airlines  [2]  . A CNS of some 100 computers connected to one another and to 5,000 surveillance cameras, 400 wireless receivers and 56 bar-code scanners coordinated the safe and timely arrival of every baggage. At least that was the plan. The airports baggage handling system was a critical component in the plan. By automating the baggage handling, aircraft turnaround time was to be reduced to as little as 30 minutes. Faster turnaround meant more efficient operations and was a cornerstone of the airports competitive advantage. Despite such noble intentions the plan promptly thawed as inefficient estimation of the complexity of the project resulted in swelling problems and public mortification for everyone involved. The inauguration of the airport got delayed by 16 months because of the problem. Expenditure to maintain the empty airport and interest charges on construction loans cost the city of Denver $1.1M per day throughout the delay. Of the numerous awkward gaffes along the way one was an unplanned demonstration of the whole system to the media. It elucidated how the system crushed bags, expelled content and how two carts moving at high speed retorted when they bumped into each other. When opening day finally arrived, the system was just a silhouette of the actual plan. Rather than computerizing all 3 concourses into one stand-alone system, it was used only in one concourse, by a one airline and only for flights which were outbound. Rest of the baggage handling was implemented using standard conveyor belts and a tug and trolley system that was entirely manually operated. This was hurriedly built when it became absolutely clear that the automated baggage handling system was never going to achieve its purpose. Although the offcuts of the system survived for 10 years, the system never worked properly and in August 2005, United Airlines announced that they would forsake the system completely. The maintenance costs of $1 million per month considerably exceeded the monthly cost of a manual tug and trolley system. BASIC MODE OF FAILURE Like all other failures the problems can be observed from numerous vantage points. In its humblest form, the Denver International Airport (DIA) project botched because the key decision makers could not analyze the complexity of the project with perfection. As intended, the system was one of the most complex baggage system ever endeavored. There was an exponential growth in the complexity of the project as it was almost ten times larger than any other baggage system. The heart of the complexity was a problem related to what is known as line balancing in project management terms. To adjust system performance, empty carts had to be circulated around the airport ready to carry fresh baggage. With more than 100 pickup points, the algorithms necessary to anticipate where the empty carts should wait for new bags epitomized a hideous dream in the mathematical aspect queuing theory. This failure in anticipating the number of empty carts required led to a delay in the picking up of baggage an as a result of which the system performance slide downhill. One of the main reasons of delayed initiation of the project was failure to recognize the complexity and the risk involved. Based on the original project schedule, this delay left a little over two years for the service agreements to be signed and for the system to be designed, developed, tested and implemented. The closest analogous projects although much smaller and simpler, took two years to implement. Given the dramatic increase in terms of size and complexity, implementation the Denver system in two years was an unmanageable task. As a result of the erroneous estimation of the complexity of the baggage system, the efforts required were also underestimated. That meant that without comprehending it, the Project Management team had calculated the baggage system as the critical path of the whole airport project. To meet the airports scheduled opening date, the project needed to be accomplished in just two years. This obviously was inadequate time and that miscalculation resulted in the project being exposed to gigantic levels of schedule stress. The other succeeding problems were most likely a result of (or aggravated by) shortcuts opted by the team and the mistakes committed by them as they desperately tried to meet the schedule. KEY DECISIONS THAT LED TO DISASTER Till now what has been discussed has made the basic mode of failure pretty clear. But to reach the heart of the problem and what could have been done to differently, we need to understand how the important decisions were made which eventually hampered the whole project. Project failures typically involve a number of faulty decisions, but within those many mistakes, some specific key decisions are the generators of the sequence of proceedings that eventually lead to catastrophe. Key Decision 1 An alteration in tactics At the beginning of a project strategic decisions are made that set the projects track. In the case of DIA, a tactical blunder was made that caused flip-flop to be made part way through the project. Before requesting for bids for an integrated system in the middle of 1991, the DIAs Project Management team had expected that individual airlines would take care of their own baggage handling activities. In 1991, the DIAs Project Management team altered their strategy and realized that an integrated baggage handling system needed to be built. This forced them to take back the responsibility from the individual airlines and carry out the whole project themselves. This alteration of strategy arrived only about two years prior to the airports scheduled inauguration date. This timing of the decision played a major part behind the unnecessary schedule stress that the project was exposed to. Although the decision made sense in the way that only one integrated system would be there with the entire responsibility on the DIA authorities, the timing of the decision was not proper. This led to a delay in start of the integration project. They got two years less time to finish it. The significant point that the airports Project Management team failed to see was that the change in technology required an analogous change in the organizational accountabilities. The failure to identify that change signifies a planning failure that happened during the start of the project. Overall, the mistake made was a failure to associate the airports overall business strategy (the aim of having one of the worlds most competent airports) with the sub-strategy of building the baggage system. Key Decision 2 The decision to continue What is even more surprising is that in spite of knowing that there was insufficient time, both DIAs Project Management team and BAE wanted to go ahead with the full-scale project. Before entering into the BAE contract, there were at least three clear suggestions that the project was not feasible in two years time: Breier Neidle Patrone Associates report clearly showed that the complexity was too much for the system to be built efficaciously. The three bids received pointed out that none of the vendors could have developed the system in time before the opening date. Munich Airport warned that a much simpler version made for them took about two years to be built and around another 6 months to get rid of the bugs. BAE initially did not choose to bid for the project, but the Chief Engineer of DIA directly talked with them and managed to convince them by stating the amount of prestige that was involved with such a large scale project. Many from inside the BAE raised their concern regarding the complexity of the system to be developed and the lack of time. But all the expert advice was ignored and they went ahead with the project with a development time of 2 years. Many factors may have led them into that trap and likely issues that may have influenced the decision making. Other than the Chief Engineers perspective and BAEs interests there were other factors or beliefs which made the whole project start. Both sides would have acknowledged that they were working within a constricted timeframe and the pressure to move rapidly might have caused them to put due-diligence to one side. The inherent belief that such a large airport would not function effectively without an automated system. As a matter of fact, the airport is functioning effectively with a manual system in place. Key Decision 3 The timeline, budget and scope Deciding on the timeline, budget and scope of the project is a critical issue and even more critical is committing on them to your customer. BAE did exactly that to the DIAs project management team. The decision to give a firm promise to scope, schedule and budget transmitted substantial risk onto BAEs shoulders. This clearly shows that the top management of BAE was not at all aware of the amount of risk that they were handling. BAE and the DIAs Project Management team made an additional mistake during the consultations. They excluded the airlines (who were key stakeholders) from the negotiations. Excluding stakeholders from discussions of key project decisions is always a trailing strategy. Key Decision 4 Acknowledgement of the alteration requests BAE and DIAs Project management team could not escape from the stakeholders pressures. Although they decided during negotiations that no change requests would be entertained, they had to accept them as the pressure was on them to meet the stakeholder needs. The stakeholders in this case being the airlines, which they ignored during the original negotiations. Some of these requests forced them to make significant changes in portions where they thought work was already completed. Incorporating these changes had other troubling repercussions. They failed to realize the effect these changes might have and how they would increase the complexity of the whole system. Although some people thought about the effects, their voices did not seem to have reached the higher decision making authorities. There was big communication disarray. Key Decision 5 Treading an alternate path A public demonstration of the project was given to the press sometime in 1994 and it was a major embarrassment. It exposed all the flaws of the project and the Mayor immediately ordered for an external consultant to be hired. Mattias Franz of Logplan Consulting of Germany was asked to look into the matter  [3]  . Based on his report, the Mayor scraped the project and ordered for the building of a manual trolley system at an additional expenditure of about $50M USD  [4]  . Although the Mayor took a very intelligent decision, it revealed another major flaw with the project. By the time the Mayor took action, the project was already 6 months behind schedule and had missed a number of opening dates. The missed opening dates and the tragic demo indicate that those at the top echelon actually had almost no clue about the true status of the project. A project of such size and complexity should always have an external consultant or expert looking after it throughout the whole developmental and implementation phase. Some other failure facts While the inefficient estimation of complexity, absence of planning, fruitless communications and lowly management oversight drove the catastrophe, the project underwent many other difficulties that multiplied the problems. Some of those issues were inevitable, but others were most probably a consequence of the time crunch the project was facing. Among the additional issues that impacted the project; Failure of Risk Management Throughout its developmental and implementation phases the project faced a number of technical problems for which they had not accounted for. These things aggravated their already haphazard situation. Such problems were likely foreseeable had the team a little bit more attentive on risk management activities. Again possibly as a result of the time crunch under which they were working, suitable risk management tactics seem not to have been developed. Change in Leadership In 1992 The Chief Engineer died. He was the systems de facto guarantor and his death left the project deprived of much required leadership. According to reports, his interim replacement lacked the in-depth engineering knowledge essential to understand the system. The replacement manager also had to take care of his previous duties and it stretched him to the limits. Issues with Architecture and Design A number of reports specify that the there was an inherent problem with the design that was chosen. It was unnecessarily complicated and prone to bugs. Some of the issues were: There were more than 100 individual PCs in the system. They were all networked together. If any one of the PC failed, there could have been an outage, as there was no automatic backup taken of the data. As the nature of the design recommended a distributed structure, (with PCs scattered around the different areas), it added to the trouble of solving problems when they came up, The worst thing about the system was its inability to detect jams. So, whenever a jam occurred, it kept piling on more and more baggage and thereby worsening it. Again time crunch could have been a reason for the design problems. In such a situation people settle for the first design or solution they can think of. That is exactly what would likely have happened. In addition time crunch often forces teams to concentrate on the happy path design without spending time on devising strategies to counter the problem or make the system fault tolerant. Conclusion The DIA catastrophe is a prototype for failure a lot of other IT implementation projects have followed. As with so many other failures, DIA suffered from; The inefficient estimation of complexity An absence of proper planning resulting in consequent alterations in strategy Extreme schedule pressure Absence of due diligence Committing to public and customer in the face of enormous risks and uncertainty Inefficient management of stakeholders Communication gaps and collapses Design not failsafe Inefficient risk management Failure to understand the repercussions of change requests Absence of management oversight While the above facts denote contributors to the letdown, there is one single problem that existed in the center of it all. For a project to be successful people need to make effective decisions and that requires a number of elements. The main two elements are expertise and knowledge. None of the teams involved in developing the DIAs baggage handling system had prior experience of a developing and implementing system of this magnitude. That lack of knowledge, along with the fact that advice from experts was habitually ignored, is the epicenter of the fiasco. The original planning decisions i.e. to go ahead with a single airport wide integrated system (in spite of being too late to do so) and the firms votive commitments to scope, timeline and budget all represented decisions that were made by people who did not possess the required knowledge. The miscalculations resulting from those choices were the sparks that kindled the fire. Often we have to face situations which we have never faced before and do not know how to proceed without risks. The success or failure of such a situation depends on the way we react to it. The step should ideally be recognizing the situation and its nitty-gritties, but the whole DIA project management team and BAE managers failed to do so. Had they acknowledged their absence of knowledge and the ambiguity they were facing, measures could have been taken to reduce the uncertainty. One of them could have been taking suggestions from experts who had some kind of previous experience in that kind of projects. The cheerful side of the story is that in Feb 1995 DIA did ultimately open and in spite of using a large manual trolley based system, proved to be a great success  [5]  . The apprehensions of a manual system being too slow for and airport like DIA and would result in increase in the turnaround time of the aircrafts, was never proved.

Netspeak :: science

Netspeak An analysis of Internet jargon Approximately 30 million people world-wide use the Internet and online services daily. The Net is growing exponentially in all areas, and a rapidly increasing number of people are finding themselves working and playing on the Internet. The people on the Net are not all rocket scientists and computer programmers; they're graphic designers, teachers, students, artists, musicians, feminists, Rush Limbaugh-fans, and your next door neighbors. What these diverse groups of people have in common is their language. The Net community exists and thrives because of effective written communication, as on the net all you have available to express yourself are typewritten words. If you cannot express yourself well in written language, you either learn more effective ways of communicating, or get lost in the shuffle. "Netspeak" is evolving on a national and international level. The technological vocabulary once used only by computer programmers and elite computer manip ulators called "Hackers," has spread to all users of computer networks. The language is currently spoken by people on the Internet, and is rapidly spilling over into advertising and business. The words "online," "network," and "surf the net" are occuring more and more frequently in our newspapers and on television. If you're like most Americans, you're feeling bombarded by Netspeak. Television advertisers, newspapers, and international businesses have jumped on the "Information Superhighway" bandwagon, making the Net more accessible to large numbers of not-entirely-technically-oriented people. As a result, technological vocabulary is entering into non-technological communication. For example, even the archaic UNIX command "grep," (an acronym meaning Get REpeated Pattern) is becoming more widely accepted as a synonym of "search" in everyday communication. The argument rages as to whether Netspeak is merely slang, or a jargon in and of itself. The language is emerging based loosely up on telecommunications vocabulary and computer jargons, with new derivations and compounds of existing words, and shifts creating different usages; all of which depending quite heavily upon clippings. Because of these reasons, the majority of Net-using linguists classify Netspeak as a dynamic jargon in and of itself, rather than as a collection of slang. Linguistically, the most interesting feature of Netspeak is its morphology. Acronyms and abbreviations make up a large part of Net jargon. FAQ (Frequently Asked Question), MUD (Multi-User-Dungeon), and URL (Uniform Resource Locator) are some of the most frequently seen TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) on the Internet. General abbreviations abound as well, in more friendly and conversationally conducive forms, such as TIA (Thanks In Advance), BRB (Be Right Back), BTW (By The Way), and IMHO (In My Humble Opinion. Netspeak :: science Netspeak An analysis of Internet jargon Approximately 30 million people world-wide use the Internet and online services daily. The Net is growing exponentially in all areas, and a rapidly increasing number of people are finding themselves working and playing on the Internet. The people on the Net are not all rocket scientists and computer programmers; they're graphic designers, teachers, students, artists, musicians, feminists, Rush Limbaugh-fans, and your next door neighbors. What these diverse groups of people have in common is their language. The Net community exists and thrives because of effective written communication, as on the net all you have available to express yourself are typewritten words. If you cannot express yourself well in written language, you either learn more effective ways of communicating, or get lost in the shuffle. "Netspeak" is evolving on a national and international level. The technological vocabulary once used only by computer programmers and elite computer manip ulators called "Hackers," has spread to all users of computer networks. The language is currently spoken by people on the Internet, and is rapidly spilling over into advertising and business. The words "online," "network," and "surf the net" are occuring more and more frequently in our newspapers and on television. If you're like most Americans, you're feeling bombarded by Netspeak. Television advertisers, newspapers, and international businesses have jumped on the "Information Superhighway" bandwagon, making the Net more accessible to large numbers of not-entirely-technically-oriented people. As a result, technological vocabulary is entering into non-technological communication. For example, even the archaic UNIX command "grep," (an acronym meaning Get REpeated Pattern) is becoming more widely accepted as a synonym of "search" in everyday communication. The argument rages as to whether Netspeak is merely slang, or a jargon in and of itself. The language is emerging based loosely up on telecommunications vocabulary and computer jargons, with new derivations and compounds of existing words, and shifts creating different usages; all of which depending quite heavily upon clippings. Because of these reasons, the majority of Net-using linguists classify Netspeak as a dynamic jargon in and of itself, rather than as a collection of slang. Linguistically, the most interesting feature of Netspeak is its morphology. Acronyms and abbreviations make up a large part of Net jargon. FAQ (Frequently Asked Question), MUD (Multi-User-Dungeon), and URL (Uniform Resource Locator) are some of the most frequently seen TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) on the Internet. General abbreviations abound as well, in more friendly and conversationally conducive forms, such as TIA (Thanks In Advance), BRB (Be Right Back), BTW (By The Way), and IMHO (In My Humble Opinion.

Slaughterhouse Five :: essays research papers

Slaughter house 5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"We had been foolish virgins in the war right at the end of childhood† Slaughterhouse Five-Kurt Vonnegut â€Å"The children’s crusade started in 1213 when two monks got the idea of raising armies of children in France and Germany, and selling them in North Africa as slaves. Thirty thousand children volunteered thinking they were going to Palestine. (p.16) The Children’s Crusade and the World Wars are similar because of the drafting of the innocent to do the duties of a nation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The children who volunteered were the â€Å"idle and deserted children who generally swarm in great cities, nurtured on vice and daring,† they thought they were going to Palestine but really they were being sold as slaves. Children are naive and very gullible, trusting in the words of the adults around them. They also believe that they have a grasp on their lives and control of the obstacles in life one discovers through experience when, in reality they have exactly the opposite. The young who fought in Dresden went off to war without knowing what to expect, much like the Children’s Crusade volunteers. Good fortune might have been one of the promises sworn in boot camp but what they received was the complete scythe of silence. Left behind, untagged and forgotten on the battleground, their bodies disintegrated into the earth leaving the young’s’ potentials undone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Billy Pilgrim went to war â€Å"He didn’t look like a soldier at all, he looked like a filthy flamingo.† Not ready to go out the door like a child, Billy is unprepared to go to war. No helmet, no protective armor, weapon or proper footwear he is as ready as a child who has not woken yet. Billy is clearly a child in many ways: he is naà ¯ve, gullible, ignorant, and lacks historical judgment and experience. â€Å"The third bullet was for the filthy flamingo, who stopped dead center in the road when the lethal bee buzzed past his ear. Billy stood there politely, giving the marksman another chance.† This clearly illustrated the child-like person Billy is. Instead of duck and cover, Billy stands there as if he were playing a board game he didn’t want to play and in protest did not move his player. He doesn’t truly grasp the distraught situation he is in and he most certainly doesn’t comprehend it. By not looking out for his own interest he becomes an infantile creature depending on the civil duties of others.

Phillip Larkin Essay

The statement â€Å"Larkin is a poet of grey moods, suburban melancholy and accepted regrets.† Is accurate and appropriate when looking at and reading his poetry. This is displayed through his various poems, including the ones I’m going to talk about; ‘Aubade’ and ‘The Whitsun Weddings.’ Both of which portray all three themes. The poem Aubade as a whole represents these three themes through the constant use of truncation in poem at the end of every stanza. The poem itself also represents the themes as ‘Aubade’ is about mourning the life we have in preparation for death, which in its irony comes under the first theme of grey moods. More specifically to the theme of grey moods within Aubade is through the quote, â€Å"I work all day, and get half drunk at night. /Waking at four to soundless dark. I stare† As this is in the opening stanza it sets the tone of the poem and portrays Larkin’s particular mindset. The monosyllabic language emphasises his reluctance in engaging in daily life as well as his depression. â€Å"Soundless dark,† being an allusion to death it portrays to the reader a certain outlook Larkin has on life due to these moods. The next quote to represent grey moods shows a pragmatic outlook Larkin has on life and thoughts. â€Å"Making all thought impossible but how / and where and when I shall myself die.† This quote from the poem is truncated to emphasise the inevitability of death itself. This quote yet again shows the outlook he has on life and the particular mindset Larkin is in which is largely influences his moods. Suburban melancholy is another theme represented throughout various poems written by Larkin, including ‘Aubade.’ Throughout this poem despondent outlooks on life is shown for example in this quote, ‘meanwhile telephones crouch, getting ready to ring / in locked up offices.† The personification effectively represents his distaste for life, working and daily duties again reiterating that the poem is about mourning life in preparation for death. The line in the quote saying, â€Å"getting ready to ring† can be interpreted as a symbol or a metaphorical representation of death calling. Another example displaying the theme of suburban melancholy is the quote, â€Å"all the uncaring / intricate rented world begins to rouse.† By saying intricate world meaning complicated it shows his outlook again on the daily life of society and human beings, possibly because they don’t share the same concern for death as he does. The words ‘uncaring and unrented world’ link to extinction and further links back to the theme of grey moods as well as accepted regrets as his attitude towards life is we are all going to die anyway so in a way what is the point. The theme of accepted regrets is evident throughout this poem and is shown in the quote, â€Å"Being brave / let’s no one off the grave† This rhyme and truncation emphasises Larkin’s outlook and acceptance within life and death. In this quote he accepts and understands that death is inevitable and Larkin acknowledges that it does not matter who he is or the decisions he has made in life it will not change anything. Death will still come. The poem ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ by Larkin as a whole represents all three themes through the structural use of truncation within stanzas to represent lines that are in a candid tone and also enjambment in Larkin’s descriptions of buildings and such as he admires buildings because they can stand forever and he fears death. The theme of grey moods is present within this poem in the following quote, â€Å"did my three-quarters-empty train pull out† The use of rhythm allows this line to flow in to the next line to further emphasise his tone and attitude. This quote also shows a metaphorical emptiness within Larkin as during this poem the time and place and setting have a relevance and meaning and he does not. Suburban melancholy is portrayed throughout these quotes, â€Å"Of blinding windscreens, smelt the fish dock.† The visual imagery at the beginning of this quote and then the olfactory imagery of the smell of the fish dock show sadness in his opinion and description of the landscape and his surroundings and how unappealing his society and life may be. Then in the quote, â€Å"Its postal districts packed like squares of wheat:† The simile emphasises the closeness and urban feel of the society again adding to the unappealing and dull nature and tone he sees in his surroundings. The final theme of accepted regrets is present within ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ in these quotes, â€Å"ready to be loosed with all the power / that being change can give.† This objective language shows Larkin’s experience on this journey and that events like this can change someone’s outlook on life but it hasn’t changed him and he accepts his decision for partaking in the journey. â€Å"And as the tightened brakes took hold, there swelled / a sense of falling.† This quote contains an aspect of visual imagery but shows a sense of falling to death. Death is inevitable and he believes that there is no hope, which he accepts and understands with the link to the sense of falling. Phillip Larkin is a poet is a poet of grey moods, suburban melancholy and accepted regrets and this as I have stated is unmistakable throughout all aspects of his poetry.

The History of Body Modification

The History and Culture of Body Modification What is body modification and why has it had such a large impact on society? For centuries humans have been using their bodies as a canvas to identify themselves to the rest of society. Body modification lets a person stand out or blend in; it allows people to describe who they are and where they come from without saying a word. There are many forms of body modification such as Tattooing, Scarification, Piercings, Stretching, Plastic Surgery, and Corseting. Each form holds a story, a reason why it is done. In the past three decades, Western body art has not only become a practice, and in some quarters a fashion, that has crossed social boundaries of class and gender, â€Å"high† culture and â€Å"low,† but also it has been greatly influenced by â€Å"tribal† practices, past and present. † (Enid Schildkrout, Inscribing the Body, Para 10 line 8) Tattooing The history of tattooing stems back thousands of years from all over the world for all different reasons. â€Å"In terms of tattoos on actual bodies, the earliest known examples were for a long time Egyptian and were present on several female mummies dated to c. 000 B. C. But following the more recent discovery of the Iceman from the area of the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 and his tattoo patterns, this date has been pushed back a further thousand years when he was carbon-dated at around 5,200 years old. The distribution of the tattooed dots and small crosses on his lower spine and right knee and ankle joints correspond to areas of strain-induced degeneration, with the suggestion that they may have been applied to alleviate joint pain and were therefore essentially therapeutic.This would also explain their somewhat ‘random' distribution in areas of the body which would not have been that easy to display had they been applied as a form of status marker. † (Cate Lineberry, Tattoos -The Ancient and Mysterious History, Para 2 and 3) There is evidence that women in Ancient Egypt had tattoos on various parts of their bodies, some on their inner thighs or on their hips, these tattoos were thought to help alleviate the pain of childbirth. â€Å"Tattooing of ancient Egyptian women had a therapeutic role and functioned as a permanent form of amulet during the very difficult time of pregnancy and birth.This is supported by the pattern of distribution, largely around the abdomen, on top of the thighs and the breasts, and would also explain the specific types of designs, in particular the net-like distribution of dots applied over the abdomen. † (Cate Lineberry, Tattoos – The Ancient and Mysterious History, page 2, Para 2, line 4) Scarification Scarification is another form of putting design on the human body. Scarification also known as cicatrization changes the skins texture by cutting into the skin and then controlling how the skin heals.Many substances can be added to the cuts to turn the scars int o raised bumps, or change the color of the skin. â€Å"In some cultures, a smooth, unmarked skin represents an ideal of beauty, but people in many others see smooth skin as an unfinished, unattractive surface† (American Museum of Natural History http://www. amnh. org/exhibitions/bodyart/glossary. html#totop, para 10) In South Africa the practice of Scarification has lasted centuries and the techniques used to produce the scared images have been passed from generation to generation.The custom of scarification is usually carried out by the young women of the tribe as a sign of beauty. The scar designs can be found on the chest, stomach and backs of the tribal women. The following image shows three Tembu women with decorative scarification. Piercings Body piercing is probably one of the more welcomed forms of body modification and involves piercing anything from earlobes to noses and even sexual body parts. Throughout history body piercings have been used to show status and age, and as wards and talismans.There are many different types of piercings and many different reasons each was used. Sailors would get a gold earring to help improve eyesight, Ancient Egyptian women would pierce their belly buttons to ward off demons from entering through the belly button and harming their unborn children, Roman soldiers would pierce the nipple area of their armor. In many cultures ear piercings are done to show that the recipient of the piercing has reached puberty. In Borneo the parents of the child each take turns piercing an earlobe to symbolize the child’s dependence on their parents.During the time of the Roman Empire, Roman soldiers would wear upper body armor that was shaped like a man’s chest they pierced the armor where the nipples would be and used those rings to clasp their cloaks into place. This practice lead to the belief that they would only clasp their cloaks to actual nipple rings. Women of the 14th century were known for wearing such lo w necklines that their nipples were often visible, women then began to pierce their nipples or use nipple caps to add decoration to their chest, sometimes fragile chains of gold, pearls, or diamonds would be linked between the piercings.These piercings were mainly worn among the upper classes of the 14th century. (http://www. painfulpleasures. com/piercing_history. htm) The Prince Albert is now as it once was, a popular male piercing, that not only enhances sexual stimulation but also allows the wearer to control where their penis lay inside the pants. â€Å"The Prince Albert piercing is named after Prince Albert who was the husband of Queen Victoria of England. He was reputed to have had this piercing done prior to his marriage to the queen around 1825, at that time Beau Brummel started the craze for ultra-tight men’s trousers.Because the pants were so tight, the penis needed to be held to one side or the other so as not to create an unsightly bulge. To accomplish this some men had their penis pierced to allow it to be held by a hook on the inside of the trousers, this piercing was called a â€Å"Dressing Ring† at the time because tailors would ask if a gentleman dressed to the left or the right and tailor the trousers accordingly, tailors to this day will ask if you dress to the left or right. † (http://www. ainfulpleasures. com/piercing_history. htm ) Body Modification Making the body thinner and more graceful is something many cultures do, long thin neck lines, curved shapely torso’s these are signs of beauty through the world. Throughout Europe and North America corsets have been a popular way to give a woman curves and emphasize or deemphasize parts of her body. On the Thai-Burmese border tribal women wear heavy brass neck rings to elongate their necks as a symbol of beauty.Women of the Karen tribe wear heavy brass neck rings that give the appearance of long necklines. This particular form of body modification has likely been a Kayan tradition for over a thousand years. The primary reasons for wearing them now are for beauty and to preserve their culture while they are in exile. These long necks are a symbol of beauty in the tribe. The interesting thing about these neck rings is that they do not actually stretch the neck; instead the rings ush down on the muscles around the collarbone giving the impression of a longer neck. Corsets were first popularized in the mid-16th century. At that time, the garment was used not to minimize the waist but to enhance the bust. The Victorian era brought many changes to corsets, which are still with us today. Modern corsets are shaped in the same way as the 1800s corset. Steel stays were introduced in this area, allowing corsets to reshape the body. Tight lacing was common, further reducing the waist and enhancing the bust and hips.Tight lacing is a way to wear the corset where over a period of months or years a woman can were the corset taking it off only at night to s leep and each day when it is put on again it is tightened a little more than the day before. This is done so that the body holds the shape given when the corset is taken off. Shapely hour glass figures are a seen as a mark of beauty. Throughout history people from all over the world have used various forms of body modification to tell people who they are. Tattoos, Lip plates, Piercings, Brass Neck rings, all say something about the person they are attached to.For centuries tribes have used tattoos to mark tribal leaders and spiritual leaders or to mark when a child has come into puberty and can be counted as an adult. Tribes in Africa use the body as a canvas and mark them with scar designs because a bare unmarked body is seen as an unused surface, while in other cultures an un-scarred unblemished body is seen as a thing of beauty. Brass neck rings are used to create beauty on women in tribes who find that the long, elegant design of a neck should be shown and accentuated.Piercings have always been used for a wide variety of reasons; to mark an age, to decorate a bare chest, or to help improve eyesight and ward off demons. The reasons behind body modification vary, from culture to culture and for each gender. â€Å"These permanent designs-sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal- have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs, adornments, and even forms of punishment. †(Cate Lineberry, Tattoos -The Ancient and Mysterious History, Para 1 line 3)