World challenges in the next fifty years and computer technology

In this century many nations throughout the world are facing many challenges. Most of these challenges are caused by population and technologies. Population has been increasing thereby straining the available resources as a result of inadequate measures being put in place. The steps taken to solve the problems experienced in the world are inefficient and are not concentrated on the main issues. In addition to that they do not address the root cause of the problems. Technology is also affecting the world adversely as some of the innovations are not protecting or preserving the environment. Consequently, there are economic problems as the economy of most nations is declining. The world is experiencing an economic recession. Inflation rates are also going up in most nations thereby leading to increased prices for commodities. In the next fifty years the world will face many challenges and some of these challenges include; energy, water, environment, education, poverty and many others. a) Energy At present, nations are investing many funds in research and exploiting natural resources in their territories. The use of non-renewable energy has grown tremendously as almost every invention is using this type of energy. Most modes of transportation are using this type of energy. Most vehicles, public or private are using petroleum products. Similarly, all airplanes are using non-renewable energy for engine combustion. Consequently, the first ships which were invented utilized renewable energy sources but currently for high speed purposes are using non-renewable energy sources. As result of the high demand for non-renewable energy, the reserves are getting depleted. Because of increased demand, oil companies are forced to increase their supply thereby leading to investment of more funds in exploration of more fuel reserves. In the next coming years this trend will continue thereby leading to excessive energy demand and this will affect the world negatively (Organization for Economic Cooperation and development 8). As a result of increased energy demand, the entire world will experience fuel shortages thereby leading to excessive increase in the cost of energy. At the present times, problems related energy has started to emerge and people are feeling its effects as energy prices are going up. This is reflective of what the next fifty years will be. The energy problem is expected to worsen in the next fifty years if alternatives are not sought. In solving the energy problems in the next fifty years computer technology will be very useful and especially if utilized effectively. Innovations in this technology will provide alternative energy sources. As result of more innovations and developments in the computer technology better chips which can power large buildings, automobiles, airplanes among others will be developed. Such technology will reduce the strains experienced by the energy reserves as a result of high energy demand. Currently, such chips have begun to be built (Borealis) and this can be viewed to be a step in the right direction as it leads to better energy sources. Some companies have begun investing financial resources in such innovations; therefore in the next fifty years energy problems will be eliminated. In addition to that computer technology will be helpful in exploration of more energy sources. Currently, the use of computer technology is increasing in energy exploration, but in the next fifty years its use will become more extensive. ) Environment and Water As result of the concentration of large populations in the large towns different forms of transportation have come up and are utilized. Most commonly used mode of transportation include; automobiles, trains, subways, and airplanes. These modes have made people more flexible as they can choose where to work, live and even invest their resources. However, in spite of the benefits provided by these modes of transportation, they have le d to problems related to safety and health of the people as they cause environmental pollution. This can mainly be attributed to fossil fuel combustion as most of them use non-renewable energy thereby leading to high carbon emissions (Benn). Consequently, as a result of industrialization the number of industries has increased and will continue to increase in the next fifty years. These industries are causing much pollution through machineries or technologies used in the production of goods and services. Most of these industries and especially the construction industries are causing noise pollution and in addition to that are degrading agricultural land as most of their raw materials come from land. As a result of land degradation in the next fifty years there will be increased cases of food shortages since they will not be enough land for cultivation. In the next fifty years the world will face more and tougher challenges related to environmental pollution due to increased number of industries and in addition to that the demand for transportation will increased greatly. More vehicles, airplanes, trains among others will be used greatly thereby causing much pollution in the environment. Consequently, as a result of increased environmental pollution a hot debate has emerged concerning global warming. Environmental pollution is leading to changes in the climate as temperatures are increasing. In the next coming years, as result of increased pollution, the world will be affected adversely and the safety and health of individuals will be reduced greatly as a result increased chances of disease infection. Furthermore, as a result of increased pollution caused primarily by industries, water shortages might be experienced as many sources of water and especially rivers will be polluted thereby making water unsafe for human consumption (Molden). Water pollution will occur as a result of industries not disposing their wastes properly thereby allowing industrial wastes to get into rivers and lakes. Additionally, water shortages might also occur as a result of changes in climate thereby leading inadequate rainfall. With increased climate changes temperatures will increase thereby leading to drying of rivers and other water reserves. This will in turn have a negative effect on food as crops in the field will dry-up thereby leading to food scarcity. However, in the next fifty years as a result of improvements in the computer technology problems related to environment and water will be solved. If utilized effectively and efficiently in the next fifty years computer technology will contribute much in relieving the world environmental and water problems. Through the computer technology modes of transportation which are environmental friendly will be invented. This can be attributed to the efficiency and effectiveness provided by the computer technology in doing research. Therefore, in the next fifty years vehicles which are cleaner, greener, safer and more energy efficient will be developed and used (Yang & Parent 17). Currently, the effects of computer technology have begun to be felt as scientists are concentrating on developing such vehicles. Furthermore, computer technology will also be useful in wastage management through development of software that control and manage wastes in industries. It will also be use for development of better technologies or systems for waste disposal thereby leading to reductions in wastes getting in the water sources. Consequently, computer technology will contribute greatly in water treatment thereby relieving water shortage problems. As a result of computer technology contribution in improving research better ways of treating water will be discovered thereby leading to increased quantity and quality of water. c) Education and poverty The world population has been increasing at a very fast pace thereby straining the resources available. For instance, in 1990 the population was more than 5. 2 billion while in 2000 it grew to more than 6 billion (Infoplease). At that rate the world population will reach more than ten billion in the next fifty years. People are moving from rural or smaller cities towards larger cities thereby increasing population size in these cities. In the next fifty years, more than a hundred cities are expected to contain over ten million people (Parent 1). As a result of population increase, learning institutions will be strained. Materials for learning will not be adequate due to excessive number of students. This to some extent will lower the quality of education as the number of students per teacher will become greater that the required number. As a result of high population increase and increased demand for education, teachers and lectures will be overloaded and this will affect their performance adversely. Consequently, poverty will increase as a result of increased rate of illiteracy. With high education demand, the cost of acquiring education will be increased greatly thereby locking out individuals from the lower social class. Education will therefore belong to individuals of high and middle social class. Since lower class individuals constitute majority of the world population, there will be increased illiteracy rate and in turn increased poverty level. Education is essential in improving the lives of people as it equips them with knowledge and skills which are helpful in building a great future. It also opens up their minds thereby enabling them to solve issues or problems in their lives with much ease. Furthermore, the level of poverty will also increase in the next fifty years as a result of increased demand for basic commodities. Because of increased population, prices of basic commodities will go up thereby becoming expensive to a large number of individuals. Many people will not affordable to meet their basic needs as a result of increased prices thereby increasing the level of poverty. Additionally, as a result of the current economic downturn and high inflation rate, in the next fifty years many people will become poor. Many businesses will be closed as a result of incurring many losses thereby leading to increased unemployment level. People will lose their jobs as a result of deterioration economy and volatile global markets (Monks). Currently, technology has boosted education greatly. Through the internet individuals can acquire knowledge and skills wherever they are regardless of their distance from the learning institution. As a result of technology learning materials are sufficient for the students and they can use them regardless of their location. In the next fifty years because of increased population size demand for education will increase thereby raising the need for more innovative and efficient technology. Technology will therefore contribute greatly in reducing congestion in the learning institutions and in ensuring maintenance of high quality education. Conclusion. In the next fifty years computer technology will play a vital role in relieving the problems facing the world. In spite of the finances which will be required in developing computer technology, investing in this technology will not be a financial wastage. In ensuring that computer technology is adequate developed and thus helpful in the future, financial support is essential. Companies and other organizations need to invest more funds in innovations that are geared towards improving this technology. In the coming years the need for computer technology will increase and will become a necessity in improving the people's lives.

Writing and Comprehensive Form

Description of Reading and Writing Measures Standardized Test Description KTEA II Reading comprehension and Written Expression The Reading comprehension and written expression subtests were given and scored. The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Second Edition is an individually administered measure of academic achievement for ages 4 and a half through 25. The test is available in two versions: the Brief form which assesses the achievement of reading , mathematics, written expression; and the Comprehensive Form which covers a wide range of achievement domains and an analysis of students’ errors.The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Comprehensive Form, Second Edition represents a revision of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement Comprehensive Form. The KTEA –II Comprehensive Form has an expanded age range and has retained the five subtests from the original KTEA and has modified to allow for testing of children and adults from preschool-age through co llege-age. Nine new subtests have been added to allow for assessment of a broad range of achievement domains and skills. KTEA-II Comprehensive Form age norms are provided for ages 4 and a half through 25, and grade norms are provided for Kindergarten through Grade 12.KTEA III Comprehensive Form is curriculum-based it provides norm-referenced and error analysis systems, criterion-referenced assessment in reading, mathematics, written language, and oral language. The KTEA-II Comprehensive Form has two independent , parallel forms (A and B) and the KTEA-II Brief Form norms at ages 4 and a half through 90. These three non-overlapping batteries make the KTEA II useful for measuring student progress. The KTEA II Comprehensive Form make it an important tool for assessing academic achievement.The KTEA II measures achievement in reading, mathematics, written language, and oral language and allows the examiner to administer a single subtest or a combination of subtests to assess achievement i n one or more domains. All seven specific learning disability areas identified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendment of 1997 (IDEA,1997)are measured: basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, mathematics, reasoning, oral expression, listening comprehension, and written expression.The KTEA Comprehensive Form like the KTEA was developed from a clinical model of assessment. Curriculum experts defined specific sub skills measured by each subtest and the different types of errors students are likely to make on each subtest. Standardization data guided the final error analysis System. KTEA-II Comprehensive Form content has undergone bias reviews to ensure that students of either sex and ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds can be assessed. The KTEA II Comprehensive Form was normed using two separate representative, nationwide standardizations, one in the fall and one in the spring.The procedure accurately measures students’ perform ance both at the beginning and end of he year. The KTEA-II Comprehensive Form is conformed with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition. The KTEA II Comprehensive Form is a reliable, valid measure of academic achievement. The KTEA II allows the examiner to observe the student’s test taking behavior, motivation, and visual-motor coordination. The two parallel forms make it an ideal instrument for longitudinal studies. KTEA II Written Expression subtestDescription of writing task Students are administered an item set based on their grade. (3rd Grade) Following assessment directions from the KTEA II manual and easel, I provided the Level 3 booklet and a pencil to my student. The written expression booklet is titled Kyra’s Dragon. I explain to my student following the provided directions from the easel that this story is about a girl named Kyra and the dragon she has to find. As we go through the story, you’ll write some of the words and sentence s. This is similar to the â€Å"cloze† technique that was used in the informal assessment, The McLeod Assessment of Reading Comprehensions. ) I tell my student to write the best words and sentences he can and not to worry if he doesn’t know how to spell a word – spelling won’t count. The first item we starts with is #31 I say â€Å" Let’s start by writing your full name here† and I point to the to of the booklet. The next item #32, my student writes the sentence â€Å"The dragon carries people away. † That I dictate. Tets: Writing SkillsOn item #3 my student has to write one word to complete the sentence â€Å" The king says to Kyra, â€Å"Finding the dragon_____________ save us all. † For item #34, my student has to write one good sentence to complete a part of the story, â€Å" Kyra’s Dragon. This fill in the blank interactive story goes on with similar tasks inserting words, sentences, combining sentences, proper word usage of specific words and punctuation into the story booklet until my student gets item # 49. Item #49 is where my student must complete a timed retell of the entire story, pretending my student is the king’s scribe.My student must retell the story of Kyra’s dragon so that his grandchildren will know how people came to live in their new town. He is given 10 minutes to complete his retell. My task as administrator of this test is to follow the script on the easel, read the prompts, and point to the correct place for the student to write his answers. This took about 25 minutes to administer. I am allowed to repeat story segments and item instructions if necessary. I may also tell a student how to spell a word if they ask, since spelling is not scored in this subtest, but only if examinee asks for assistance.

How Many AP Classes Does the Ivy League Want?

Getting into the Ivy League is no easy task. In fact, with acceptance rates stooping well into the single digits, simply getting top test scores and a perfect GPA isn’t enough to guarantee admissions. So, it’s no wonder that we often hear from students wondering just what it takes to get in. One question we hear a lot has to do with course load. Just how many AP classes are enough for these extremely selective universities? Will taking more increase your shot at acceptance? To learn more about how many AP classes you need to take to get into the Ivy League, don’t miss this post. Like with most questions about elite college admissions, this one is hard to pin down. There’s no secret formula to getting into the Ivy League (believe us, if there were, we’d know about it!). Instead, the answer depends on a number of different factors. Basically, the Ivy League and other highly selective colleges look for students who make the most of their opportunities. This means that if some AP classes are available at your school, you should take them. If none are available, it won’t be held against you. If many are available, your choice becomes a little more complex. Ultimately, if endless AP options exist at your high school, you should aim to take between 7-12. You should start slowly during your freshman year. Think of this as the time to test the waters with a high-interest but lower-key course offering, like psychology or human geography. Once you’re accustomed to the AP workload, you can add another course or two during sophomore year. By junior and senior year you should be looking to take three or four AP classes. No matter how many AP options exist at your high school, keep in mind that you need to take the most challenging load possible if you want to be eligible for Ivy League schools. You’ll want   to talk to your counselor if you aren’t sure how to work out your schedule. Finally, remember that college admissions aren’t just selective—they’re competitive. You will be compared to other students, and specifically to other students from your high school, if they’ve applied to the same colleges. You need to make sure that your course load is as impressive, if not more so, than the students you’re up against. While no Ivy Leagues offer a specific AP course requirement, they do generally all agree that they are looking for students who challenge themselves and maximize their opportunities. We consider it a promising sign when students challenge themselves with advanced courses in high school. We understand that not all secondary schools offer the same range of advanced courses, but our strongest candidates have taken full advantage of the academic opportunities available to them in their high schools. Columbia’s stance is less specific but has the same gist, noting â€Å"We hope to see that a student is avidly pursuing intellectual growth  with a rigorous course load.† Dartmouth too offers no specific guidelines about AP classes, but does state, â€Å"We have no set requirements for high school courses completed. We look for students who have taken the most challenging curriculum available to them.† Our Early Advising Program helps students in 9th and 10th grade discover their passions and build strong academic and extracurricular profiles to succeed in high school. There are two factors to prioritize when picking AP classes. First, choose courses that highlight your strengths, in areas that might be the focus of a future major or career. If you apply to a specific program, colleges will look for evidence that you are capable of a high level of work in that field. AP classes are a simple way of establishing your prowess in specific areas of study. Second, choose classes that are genuinely interesting to you. It isn’t common to find high school courses in psychology or music theory, so if these topics seem interesting, AP classes are a great way to explore them in-depth. Plus, if you’re interested in something, you’ll be more motivated to master the material. This being said, Ivy League admissions committees sometimes prefer to see AP classes in the core course areas, as these are more common areas of future study. By looking at how much credit the Ivies award for certain AP classes, you can see which ones might look more impressive on your transcript. Take Harvard, for example, where a score of five on the European History or Chemistry AP will earn you eight credits, whereas a score of five on the Comparative Government and Politics AP will not earn you any credit at all. You can see the entire table of Harvard credit for AP classes on their Advanced Placement Exams page for current students . AP classes that align with core curriculum may be viewed as more valuable by some admissions committees. If your high school doesn’t offer AP courses, you aren’t completely out of luck. There are still some great options available that will highlight your ability to tackle college-level work and show off your willingness to take initiative. First of all, it is possible to take AP exams without formally enrolling in AP classes. This is called self-studying, and it is a common approach for students who either don’t have access to AP classes, or who want to take more extensive AP classes than their school provides. To learn more about self-studying, check out our post The Ultimate Guide to Self-Studying AP Exams . Another option is to enroll in online or local college courses. Taking college classes while you’re still in high school shows off your areas of strength and makes it clear that you’re capable of college-level academics. Learn more about this option in our post Should I Take College Classes Over the Summer? Ultimately, AP classes are just one of many ways that you can set yourself apart during the college admissions process. Choose your course load carefully and you’re more apt to stand above the rest of the applicant pool.

Strategic Human Resources Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Human Resources Plan - Essay Example Strategy formulation is one of the ways of achieving this objective. It has the capability of transforming the organization. It is very important that the human resources of the business are aligning with the business model in order to support the organization's objectives (Baki, 2004). There are a variety of HR strategies that Ford can use; some of the firms use a combination of this in order to accomplish their goals. That strategy should be implemented which is likely to have a significant impact on the workers productivity and an impact on the human resource of the company. Ford is the world's fourth largest and one of the most successful automaker therefore it needs a strategy that will have a global impact and facilitate the entire organization across the globe to benefit from it. E-HR model is one of the ways of making use of the technology in order to control the human resource of the organization. This strategy can save costs and make the system a lot more efficient and enhance decision making in the organization. Its software and computer based tools can help the company in measurement, planning and controlling process. Ford is the world's fourth largest and one of the most successful automaker therefore it needs a strategy that will have a global impact and facilitate the entire organization across the globe to benefit from it. E-HR model is one of the ways of making use of the technology in order to control the human resource of the organization. This strategy can save costs and make the system a lot more efficient and enhance decision making in the organization. Its software and computer based tools can help the company in measurement, planning and controlling process. Suggested strategy and tactics for the function Ford is the world's fourth largest and one of the most successful automaker therefore it needs a strategy that will have a global impact and facilitate the entire organization across the globe to benefit from it. E-HR model is one of the ways of making use of the technology in order to control the human resource of the organization. This strategy can save costs and make the system a lot more efficient and enhance decision making in the organization. Its software and computer based tools can help the company in measurement, planning and controlling process (Daft, 2001). Improvement in the organizational performance Like technology has made work a more lot easier in various other fields it has also in HR management. With the inclusion of e-technology in Ford there would be less paper work involved as most of the work will be computerized. The company can benefit from the e-learning tools; there can be online tracking systems and assessment tests for the employees. Accurate data will be generated by the computer which can help in decision making for the senior management through the use of six sigma tools and the supply chain techniques and keep a track of the progress and need for improvement. This kind of information is helpful in maintaining employee retention, compensation and assessment decisions. if the implementation is effective then this strategy can have its long term impact on the HR because the use of technology has made work more efficient, fast and informed decisions are made closer to the customer. Larger data bases help to reduce the failure rate and increase the quality of decisi on making and alert the management in advance of any upcoming threats or problem so that timely action can be taken. Therefore the impact on this on Ford is going to be high (Hakala, 2008) . Key action items This strategy requires the implementation of technology and human resource information system in all the HR processes. Up to date technology and software are expensive and require training in order to be used effectively by the

Old Operating Theatre in London Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Old Operating Theatre in London - Essay Example The essay "Old Operating Theatre in London" explores historically significant Old Operating Theatre in London and gives a review of Pierre Nora’s theory of ‘sites of memory’ and postmodernism. â€Å"Architectural phenomenologists have been particularly active in advocating a born-again power of places, which includes their symbolic and memorial functions†. Tensions characterize the transitions in the last twenty years, related to the Postmodernist renaissance of monuments, and are evident in the preface to the first volume of Pierre Nora’s seminal Les Lieux de Memoire translated as ‘sites of memory’, which envisioned a collection of ‘memory places’ ranging from concrete structures to abstract intellectual constructions. On the other hand, in the last volume of Nora’s series written eight years later, the author complains that his formula ‘memory places’ has not been comprehended as the dematerialization o f ‘places’ intended as symbolic instruments. Nora’s memory places were conceptualized as places within the mind, as in the conventional and Renaissance art of memory. These ‘sites of memory’ have displaced real environments of memory or Milieux de Memoire. ‘The Old Operating Theatre’ in London dating back to 1822 has been preserved in the form of an unusual museum. â€Å"It is the oldest in Europe and found in a unique space in the Herb Garret of St. Thomas Church, and was a part of old St. Thomas Hospital. The consciousness of a break with the past is linked to the quintessence of memory.

International Relations Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Relations Theory - Essay Example Realism helps us see how the lack of hierarchy in authority at the systemic level creates rules that confine the choices available to states. Similarly, the emphasis on power explains why some states are more successful in achieving their goals than are others. This approach to world politics called realism has a long, distinguished history and offers a coherent, parsimonious explanation for much of what goes on across the globe. Realism theory is different from liberalism and postinternationalism. Liberalism promotes the freedom to pursue economic gain, liberty to participate in the affairs of public life, respect for political human rights, and minimal government. Postinternationalism comes from the presumption that accelerating change and deepening complexity are the major tendencies at work in the world. Realism, liberalism, and postinternational polaics paradigms have some common elements but they also rest on different and contradictory, premises. Hans Morgenthau (1948) first expounded a theory on international relations which explained the past and current events and which will be the likely direction and shape of future relations. Morgenthau's ideas is similar to writings on world politics and represented continuity with the past. The realist approach stems from Thucydides, the chronicler of the ancient Peloponnesian War, who wrote, "The strong do what they have the power to do, the weak accept what they have to accept." Thucydides pushed for a first-class navy and the wealth of empire gave an edge to Athens. (Thucydides, 1978). It was "the growth of Athenian power and the fear this caused in Sparta" that, in Thucydides' opinion, caused the war. The fact of Athenian power and the fact, known to his readers, that Athens ultimately lost the war creates a terrible tension in his book. (Robert Connor, 1984). Athens, a powerful state lost the war because it overextended itself and fell victim to its own sense of grandeur. Its ci tizens forgot the necessity for moderation and denigrated the virtues of taking justice as well as advantage into their political calculations. Power, as expressed in ships and money, and the moral character of the warring cities accounted for the final outcome of the war.Power holds the two strands of realism that have evolved in the modern era. Traditional realism, which evolved in the 1930s and in the post-World War II period, is a form of realism grounded in a view of human nature. It points out that humans are self-interested, rational, and seek power; qualities that lead to the consistent, regular behavior of states. Traditional realism holds that we live in "a world of opposing interests and of conflict among them, moral principles can never be fully realized, but must at best be approximated through the ever temporary balancing of interest and the very precarious settlement of disputes." (Buzan, et.al., 1984).Neorealism or structural realism, highlights the structure of the international system rather than human nature to account for the behavior of states. Individual preference does not particularly count, since the individuals themselves do not matter a great deal in explaining the behavior of states. This theory proposes that the lack of central authority in the international system causes states to behave the way they do. The set-up of the international system forces states to attend not just to their own interests but to any changes in the power of other states. Realism

Power Storage for the National Grid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Power Storage for the National Grid - Essay Example There will also be reflections on the current studies that are undergoing to better the power storage in the UK. Major drivers of the UK economy are sectors like the industrial sector and the manufacturing sector. These sectors are very electricity dependent and thus it can be said that electricity is the major driver of the UK economy. In order to ensure that these sectors perform to their utmost efficiency there has to be comprehensive plan as far as the reliability of the Power from the national grid is concerned (Nationalgrid). One major way of guaranteeing the reliability of the power of the national grid is that UK power generators should have a comprehensive power storage plan for the national grid. Even with the very many sources of power like wind, hydro-generation, solar and many others, there is a minimal probability that without having a good storage plan for the national grid can there be reliability as far as power delivery, to the major sectors and also the domestic consumers is concerned will be as effective as it should be (Nationalgrid). One thing that can never go unmentioned are the benefits of storing power, this is due to the numerous good things that come with power that has been stored. Due to the increase in venturing into power production using wind, solar and other green means there is an unusual urge to have a good power storage system. To begin with, national grid power storage if well implemented will be very vital to the UK especially in its bid to achieve the use of greener forms of energy (Nelson 2012). This will guarantee the UK green-energy which will be a milestone since this is the long term goals of the power generators in the UK. Giving so much attention to the greener forms of energy will not only be good news to the environmentalist as far as reduction and minimization of the other environmentally unfriendly forms of power generation are concerned. This

Financial Analysis for Managers Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Financial Analysis for Managers - Case Study Example Wal-Mart registers nearly $20,000 profit every minute of every day. Last fiscal year, Wal-Mart recorded profits of $10.3 billion. For comparison, Target's profit per minute is $6,084. To say Wal-Mart is a money-making machine would be an understatement. The calculations given as Appendices A, B and C are based on Wal-Mart and Target's past four years annual data from the 10K and Hoovers. Some are calculated by author as well. (Dollars are listed in thousands). Net Profit Margin is an indication of how effective a company is at cost control. The higher the net profit, the more effective the company is at converting revenue into actual profit. Target has greatly improved on this number over the last few years and reached the high number of 3.8 in 2002 from its low of 3.4 in 1999. In comparison to Wal-Mart, it has outperformed it during this period. Operating Profit Margin shows how effective a company controls its cost and expenses associated with the normal business operations. Target's OPM remained consistent from 1999 to 2001 and improved from 2001 to 2002 due to the stronger supplier relationships, restructuring of stores and more effective inventory management. Wal-Mart remained below during the entire period. It has large overhead costs to maintain its many stores. Return on Assets determi... (c). Return on Assets Net Income + Interest Return on Assets = Average Total Assets Return on Assets determines how many dollars of profits can be achieved for each dollar of assets under control. Target's return on assets ranges between $8 to $9 which is compareable to Wal-Mart's ranges. (d). Return on Equity Net Income Return on Equity = Average Equity Return on Equity is one of the most important profitability measures. ROE reveals how much a company earned in comparison to the total amount of the shareholder equity found on the balance sheet. ROE encompasses the three main levers by which the management can better the corporation. These levers are profitability. Asset management and financial leverage. Again although Wal-Mart is ahead of Target during the whole period but the figures are even compareable as walmart ranges from $20 to $23 while Target' figures ranges between $19 to $21. 2. Efficiency ratios of Wal-Mart & Target Efficiency ratios of Wal-Mart & Target are calculated by applying the following formulae. (a). Asset Turnover Ratio SalesAsset Turnover Ratio = Average Total Assets Asset Turnover Ratio measures how efficiently a company uses its average total assets to generate sales. The figures show that Target has gone down in this number over the past four years from a high of 2.054 to 1.665. Sales for Target are not increasing as fast as the number of assets within the corporation. Wal-Mart has outperformed Target in this field as its minimum value was 2.601 in 2000 which is higher than the Target's highest value. (b). Inventory Turnover Ratio Coast of Goods Sold Inventory Turnover Ratio = Average Inventory Inventory Turnover Ratio measures the number of times that

My views about Human Resource Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My views about Human Resource Development - Essay Example Competency development and employee retention have become the key areas of concern for HR professionals. They serve as mentors, coaches, succession planners and counselors in order to inculcate motivation in organizational personnel to display best performance. As the organizational challenges have increased, the time has arrived for the HR professionals to be acquainted with complete understanding of the organization in the broader spectrum. The HR must have representation in the organizational decision making as well as policy making. It is the responsibility of an HR professional to make due effort for promotion of ethics and morality in the organizational culture. In the present age, organizational personnel are becoming more and more diverse in terms of race, gender, age and ethnicity. Most importantly, the HR professionals should play an important role in managing diversity in the workplace. This involves resolving interpersonal conflicts and allocating right responsibilities t o the right individual at the right time. Multiculturalism is an essential feature of organizations in the present age. An organization has to have diversity of talent in order to come up with innovative ideas that are the biggest need of the hour.

Formal assessment & Austin (1991) Essay Example for Free

Formal assessment Austin (1991) Essay Formal assessment has been described by Austin (1991) as a process of â€Å"gathering information and utilization of that that information for individual and institutional improvement (p. 2). The information gathered may include the students’ weakness and strengths in certain subjects’ areas. Emphasis in formal assessments is focused on the results of a standardized evaluation tests that are administered under strict and regulated environments. However, that information is very important for student since they are able to know how well they are progressing and measures to undertake to deal with their weaknesses. Assessment forms an important component of teaching and leaning that has a greater impact on student learning (Saliu 271). Saliu goes on to demonstrate that assessment should be able to measure the criterion for which it was intended while maintaining consistence at the same time (271). This paper will discuss major components of formal learning which include reasons for assessing and administering tests to students, relevant formal assessments that may be administered, advantages and disadvantages of each particular assessment. I will however, put forward some recommendations on what the teacher and institution needs to pay attention to in order to achieve the objectives of formal assessment. Reasons for assessing and administering testing to students The main reason for administering assessment is to monitor the student’s progress in learning as compared to other students of the same age or level (Wilson and Scalise 11). Assessments results are useful in screening and making decision on the level of qualifications to base career growth activities. The results are very useful to the curriculum developers and syllabus preparation by both governments and institutions (Council of Europe 6). Results provide a good guide for program or course evaluation since it presents the information in form of scores. The results obtained are used by local and federal departments’ in policy formulation and implementation. Formal assessment should be viewed as a tool that can be used to measure the level at which students receives information from the teacher rather than just giving of grades 1 to 5 (Saliu 272). Moreover, formal test can give valuable information regarding a student progress in mastering the subject content of a particular course at certain levels of study. The results offers a good insight to the teacher when organizing the materials and content for students to lean at comfortable pace yet achieving at their best level possible (Saliu 272). Clearly delimited results are very useful in facilitating students to focus their time and energy towards self improvement . The information obtained from standard test is very useful in deciding a student’s career interests and future goals. The assessment report should be able to reflect a student’s goals and give a clear indication on which areas need help. Motivation is an affective factor in formal assessment which propels the teacher to be devoted towards helping students to learn (Wiggins 38). The teacher gets encouraged after seen students pass well in the subject or course given to students by that teacher (Fitzpatrick and Michael 101). Students get to care about their learning and seek to improve on their weaker areas after the results are released. When a teacher is encouraging and appears to be responsive to students’ feeling, students respond by becoming very constructive and enthusiastic towards achieving higher scores (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 4). The information obtained from formal assessments may guide the teacher to group the students in a way that they can help each other hence creating a class relationship that supports learning process. There is a sense of self acceptance created by students admitting difficulties. This forms a healthy atmosphere for learning from peers (Saliu 273). Grading in formal assessments provide documented information of what a particular student learnt which is useful in job application and academic advancement admissions (Saliu 273). Despite being crucial widely applied by all leaning institutions, grading has several shortcomings which have been put forward by critics. An example of critics includes Wilson and Scalise (2006) held a view that grading does not have a match with the effort students put in answering examination questions. The ultimate grading does not allow the feedback by the students since it denies them the opportunity to review their work after a formal examination. Moreover, students do not get useful comments upon which they can build future progress on their work- those comments are destroyed with their poor grades (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 6). When feedbacks finally are given by the examiners it is either very shallow for instant a single line comment or so late since students may have moved to another grade. Evaluation of the learner’s performance has been difficult for instance marking open-ended questions in standard exam papers (Wilson and Scalise 11). Since individual needs of students cannot be met fully by teachers, limited opportunities for the learner’s growth to realize quality results dominate. To make it worse, inability of all pupils to produce good hand written work hence true reflection in scores limit the learners capacity to acquire more knowledge and to develop deeper understanding of the subject involved. These make it difficult for the pupils to be plausibly and effectively answer or tackle examination questions (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 8). No effective follow-up can be done by students who might be interested in enhancing their academic performance (Wilson and Scalise 11). Grading in formal assessment has failed to accurately give students’ strength and weakness to the teacher since it does not give adequate time. Nevertheless, it is not flexible both in terms of content to be tested and level of ability of each student (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 12). If we consider a grade of â€Å"2† in philosophy of education course awarded, it will only say that a student learned a great deal of the information but it will no show what content was or was not mastered (Wilson and Scalise 12) Teachers form the majority of assessors of students’ learning for formal assessments. Students can also test their work and test that of their peers and provide an immediate feedback for improvement. The test can be administered by other external examiners such as Standard Aptitude Tests (SAT) (Council of Europe 8). Assessment may be administered at any time of student leaning but it has to be regulated if its purpose is to achieve a defined set standard. The nature of an assessment is determined by the type of cohort of students and upon the need for assessing. The content of what to asses should entirely be guided by the desired end results and the application of those results (Weeden, Winter and Broadfoot 5). Pros and cons of deferent forms formal assessment Formal assessment may take different dimensions according to where it is administered and the target group. Tests may be in form of standard set examinations which are mainly norm-referenced. Formal assessment may also include examinations designed locally by a faculty to offer an objective or subjective assessment (Council of Europe 9). Standardized exams are administered to a specific group which is entirely structured in a multiple-choice question (objective) or descriptive questions (subjective) in one subject area. The results are compared with a set standard (reference). It is applied to students in a given program, course or a level. The main advantage of standard set examination is that it can be adopted view quickly and its implementation is quite easy. It reduces the faculty time requirements in tools design, development and grading (Council of Europe 9). Norm-referenced assessment gives objective scores which provides for generalizations of the results with other student in other places or times. It provides a reference group that is required by the faculty or the testing body. Another benefit of standard test is its application by state or national standards exist for a given discipline or profession such as accountancy, medicine among others (Saliu 273). May be beneficial or required in instances where state or national standards exist for the discipline or profession. It can be applied in comparing the levels of knowledge across several institutions (Astin 3). There are several shortcomings that are associated with this form of assessment. One of the major disadvantages of standard tests according to Wilson and Scalise is that, it has a limit of what it can measure in during testing time (636). It is a culprit of the elimination of the proper process of learning by not reflecting what a student has actually learnt in a given program or course. It may not be able to completely evaluate a particular objective of an entire course (Council of Europe 9). Since most standardized tests are done at the end of a course or program, they fail to provide relevant feedback to both the teacher and the student which would otherwise be used to motivate the student learning. The tests can neither determine a student’s progress on a daily basis nor the achievements in varying periods (Hart 17). They cannot also effectively evaluate the knowledge of a specific course content area which keeps on changing such as social sciences. Another demerit of standardized achievement tests arises due to the administration of multiple-choice tests which pose a grater potential error of guessing the correct answer. (Saliu 243). It only provides a summary evaluation of few parts of whole course. The outcomes may not have direct deductions for course improvement or that of an individual student’s advancement. The results are highly liable to misinterpretation by the teacher or other interested parties such as admitting institutions and employers. Since majority of these tests are commercialized someone (student or program) have to pay to obtain them. When pressure is so much pressed on the passing the tests, the teacher may be forced to teach to the test and not the development of the student skills (Council of Europe 9). A single test is not perfect in providing enough information that ensures a complete assessment. Different tests on a particular subject at deferent times provide almost different information on a student. Locally developed exams can be beneficial since its content and mode is inclined to specific objectives and students’ features of the course or program (Wiggins 37). It can establish specified criteria for measuring performance associated with to curriculum. It can be useful in the development of relevant process of learning of particular group of students. A more localized grading system by faculty can provided a speedy feedback mechanism for teaching betterment. The teacher will have a greater control over the analysis and use of the results in improving students leaning processes and course materials (Wiggins 38). However, locally developed tests require a substantial coordination more so throughout the phases of design and development (Fitzpatrick and Michael 101). It may not provide a basis for cross-institutional comparisons for students in same level of study. These particular tests are time consuming on side of the teacher since they require a lot of attention and effort in designing and administering. In order to provide validity and reliability in these tests an expert may be required expertise in accurate measurement (Council of Europe 11). It may not provide the element associated with the external comparison in relation to other institutions offering similar course or program. Performance appraisals are another form of formal assessments that can be administered to measure competency of acquired skills in a real world situation (Burke 29). They are set standards that seek to evaluate students in a specific class or level (Hart 74). They are credited to providing a relatively direct measure of what has been learned rather than taught in a program or course (Ryan 290). They are mostly preferred to other methods of measuring since they are able to evaluate the application skills learnt in specific settings. They are in tandem with aims of professional training programs and fields which have well specified skill development programs (Ryan 290). Nevertheless, performance appraisals have their share of limitations which include high costs associated with effort and time consumption. Their grading are mostly more subjective than other formal assessments (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). The sample of performance appraised might not as well be the typical of the student since it might have been triggered by the presence of appraiser. An aptitude test forms yet another important form of formal assessment. An aptitude test has the advantage of measuring the level of knowledge that a student already possess before entering a grade level or a program (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). This provides the teacher with prior information on the likelihood of a students degree of performance and success in the class. It will determine the information which a student already has compared to set norms. This will further illustrate the level of learning for a particular student which comes in handy when designing individualized instructions (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). The teacher will have no difficulties in giving advanced instruction for those students that are gifted while at the same time giving a remedial assistance to those who need help. Since modern education is taking learner-centered approach, results of aptitude test provide relevant information that can teachers use to group students for effective cognitive learning. The results are applied in determining when a student develops a learning disability (Council of Europe 12). Aptitude tests face some challenges and limitations that are usual to test. They are limited to measuring students’ capacity to learn new projects and accomplishments. The results do not reflect on the skills or knowledge that students have had no previous training (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). Since information obtained from an aptitude test gives skills and knowledge students had already acquired in past, it fails to guide the teacher on the application of future instruction. Teacher involvement in formal assessment Recommendations for reducing the shortcoming of formal assessments lie heavily on the teacher and the entire institution involvement in setting exam questions and administration of the examinations. The teacher should choose a test very carefully that will match with the requirements of a course or a program (Council of Europe 28). The teacher should review information on previous sample of performances to ensure the test’s reliability and validity from test publishers. The faculty should engage experts to review the previous summary reports of similar exam results in creating a more updated report for the faculty (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). The teacher is not supposed to teach to exam otherwise the results would be compromised. The instructor or teacher should be involved in grading systems that focus more emphasis on the feed forward. The institutions should make sure that standardized tests are marked and the papers that can be returned are done in time increase the feedback flow. The grading system should be focused on the offering a true picture of what has been mastered and what has not fully mastered. There should be model answers drawn from others student solutions to provide those who have failed with a way of what was expected of them (Saliu 274). A syndicate with other institutions which have similar objectives in testing can be formed to reduce the costs of developing instruments and to provide an element of externality. The exams department should incorporate outside experts to provide relevant input for development and grading system (Fitzpatrick and Michael 118). In order to reduce the shortcomings associated with performance appraisals training for appraisers should be provided so that they are able to stick to specified criteria (Wiggins 38). It is imperative to alter criteria till acceptable consistency of measurement is reached for testing in multiple situations. Since the result of performance appraisal cannot be used alone to grade a student, Ryan (1994) suggested that results should be cross-validated with other measures of performance (290). Formal assessment includes undertaking fixed, regulated and standardized tests. Grading forms a major part of measurement for mastery of content. Although grading in standard tests is a norm accepted everywhere, it its shortcomings. There are several reasons for formal assessment and standard testing which include monitoring students’ progress, comparing the results with peer; it also provides a measure of level of student knowledge. When the assessment is done appropriately, it can be a source of both the student and teacher motivation. It can create trust among the students and teacher. The component of grading has been an issue of hated debate due to its inadequacy to address all areas of students’ learning. Grades are issued but they cannot be rectified since the doors are closed immediately after results are released. Standard tests, locally developed tests, aptitude tests and performance appraisal are major shapes taken by formal assessment. Although formal assessment provides a standard measure for evaluation of learning among students of a particular cohort or group, it fails to give comprehensive ability of a student. Works Cited Astin, Alexander W. Assessment for Excellence: The Philosophy and Practice of Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Portsmouth: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1991. Burke, Kay, ed. Authentic Assessment: A Collection. Illinois: Skylight Training and Publishing, Inc. , 1992. Council of Europe. Common European Framework of Reference fo Languages: Learning Teaching, Assesment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. , 2001. Fitzpatrick, Jody L. and Morris Michael. Current and Emerging Ethical Challenges in Evaluation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1999. Hart, Diane. Authentic Assessment: A Handbook for Educators. . New York: Addison-Wesley, 1994. Ryan, Alan G. Towards Authentic Assessment in Science via STS. Bulletin of Science, Technology Society (1994): 290. Saliu, Sokol. Constrained Subjective Assessment of Student Learning. Journal of Science Education and Technology (2005): 271-284. Weeden, Paul, Jan Winter and Patricia Broadfoot. Assessment. New York: Routledge, 2002. Wiggins, Grant. The Case for Authentic Assessment. ERIC Digest (1990). Wilson, Mark and Kathleen Scalise. Assessment to Improve Learning in Higher Education: The BEAR Assessment System. Higher Education (2006): 635-663.

Examining The Hollywood Remake Films In Other Countries Media Essay

Examining The Hollywood Remake Films In Other Countries Media Essay It is widely known that Hollywood remake films from other countries become an indispensable element in the industry. More and more Hollywood remake films based on Asian or European films, as a result that international remake films become a special part of globalization. In economic perspective, the film consumer as the mass-audience of remake films is the one that has to consume the films through Hollywood because of the globalized market. According to Marx (1976), every social process of production is at the same time a process of reproduction. Therefore, remaking films as the process of reproduction is a social process at the same time in terms of different perspectives: culture communication and adaptation. Based on this reproduction process, the following section of the essay looks at the reason that films made in one nation and remade in Hollywood. Moreover, third section examines what gets added or removed in the process of adaptation with two specific examples of Hollywood remake films from European and Asian: Vanilla Sky (2001) and The Departed (2006). Additionally, during the comparing and contrasting, the unique cultural communication of Hollywood remake films will be paid more attention to. The major findings with a summary of this paper will be presented at last. 2 the reason that Hollywood remake films from other countries Firstly, increasingly expansion of communication and information development in the recent decades has produced a great require for culture exchange. Hence the culture exchange among states and the interaction of culture has been in active for centuries (Nae, 2003). Within this culture exchange, it can be known that the transnational cultural communication through different media such as TV, newspapers and film. Thus, the Hollywood remake films from other countries are now being practiced more intensively than ever. It seems that transnational cultural communication seems to be the first reason that Hollywood remake films from other countries. Secondly, since the beginning of global cinema, films as cultural commodities have been exported and imported to various areas all around the world. As Kotler (1991) says, the globalization enhances the international business and the motivation of the effectiveness of producing, using new technology and improving management methods. Likewise, as another method of producing films, Hollywood remaking films from other countries is a consequence of globalization. So globalization, especially globalized market, has also resulted in enlarging movement of movies from national to Hollywood. Thirdly, according to Horkheimer and Adorno (1969), the film industry is included in profit driven businesses. Because of commercial profit from the worldwide market, Hollywood may have to find more strategies to earn as much as possible. Remaking film is a win-win for both national film and Hollywood due to maximum financial incomes. On one hand, national films benefit from the copyright income in globalized market. On the other hand, Hollywood might remake the successful national film instead of producing completely new films in order to predict desires of film audiences and save pre-production cost. In addition, Hollywood remake films from other countries are able to express the national unique stories to larger markets and to ethnically diverse audiences. Therefore, another reason to Hollywood remake films from other countries has relevantly been toward producing more economically profit. Finally, another typical illustration to remake films from other nations it is innovation outsourcing. According to Manning et als (2008) definition, outsourcing from different organizations may engage an agreement about trading products or services. Particularly, Hollywood outsources creativity from the other suppliers in other countries. Besides, remake films were also negatively discussed. Some studies claim this outsourcing is a kind of Hollywoods style vampirism. They remake foreign films is a symptom due to the creativity bankrupt. Remaking is seemed to be an easier way of movie production, as a result, the lack of innovation capacity might be another reason. 3 the Process of Adaptation: the Departed (2006) and Vanilla Sky (2001) 3.1 The Departed (2006) To examine what gets added or removed in the adaptation of Hollywood remake films, I make an illustration as Hong Kongs 2002 film Infernal Affairss Hollywood remade version The Departed (2006). The Hollywood director Scorsese displays a creative adaptation to the larger global market of Hollywood by remaking this Hong Kong film. In the essay will focus on discussing this adaptation of remake films between Hong Kong and Hollywood. 3.1.1 A new title The original Chinese title of the film is Wu Jian Dao, which is a word from Buddhist scripture. It means Continuous Suffering Hell, the worst of the Eighth Hells, which refers to the two lead characters suffer from playing as double spy in both bright and dark. So the English translated title of the film is Internal Affairs, also contains a symbolic Buddhist element. The cultural background of Asian audiences is present to help them understand this Buddhism title and the meaning behind it. Likewise, in the Hollywoods choice of the new English title for the remake version: The Departed. It seems to be a reference to the global market. Though The Departed is not the exact the same like the Internal Affairs represented from Buddhism, it supplies as a Hollywoods style adaptation of the Asian religious. The Hollywood is intent to make the global audience understand the film better by avoiding some special cultural gap. These filmmakers are likely to use the new title in order to communicate local culture within their films and make the film suitable to the Hollywood audience. 3.1.2 A new cultural background As it is mentioned above, original version Infernal Affairs is a film that influenced a lot from Buddhism. In Hollywood version, however, even if the plot in The Departed is similar to Infernal Affairs, it does not remain any Buddhism. The reason to this is Scorsese relocate Hong Kong to American city Boston in the Hollywood film. Thinking about the region and racial differences in Boston, The history and religious setting of the film have to adjust. Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) disproves the Catholicism idea of the Churchs want to put people in their place, instead of Infernal Affairss Buddhism. Catholicism is replicated as a religion choice of Costello by refuting the Church. This leads to The Departed in absolute difference to Infernal Affairs. In remaking the Infernal Affairs where the powerful Buddhist themes are in attendance, the religious meaning is changed during the film The Departed. However, as The Departed approaches to final, Catholicism seeped out the film. During the climax, Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) are cornered by Frank Costellos men. In order to help Costigan escape, Queenan blesses the god alone before facing up to Costellos gang. This gesture of religions within the film is an adaptation for the new cultural background. 3.1.3 A new group of audiences Remaking film is not only the transfer between two languages, but also the localized content due to globalized market with a much wider audiences. What is more, a national film exports, such as Hong Kongs Infernal Affairs exports, can be used as a cinema product trying to import under globalization. As a product, movie makes every effort on the growth of its audiences with the intention of catching better outcome at the box office. The goal of remaking films is the same that to strive to appeal more audiences further than the country cinemas borders. What The Departed has gotten is able to be considering as an attempt by Hollywood to make its films accessible to further audiences outside the shores of the previous region. In The Departed, Hollywood has effectively translated every part of characteristics in Infernal Affairs suitable for a bigger audience group who recognizes and believes the Hollywood culture. Transformation into Hollywood The Departed is actually a process of Hong Kong film globalized into the United States film. As Hollywoods worldwide status, The Departed is more accessible to a lot of Hollywood international audiences. These people are armed with a better accepting and acknowledgment of US culture through Hollywood films and for that reason more accessible of The Departed than Infernal Affairs. Nevertheless, the target movie market does not necessarily mean the all content of remaking has been localized. In fact, it depends on audiences demand. 3.1.4 A new language More problematic issue is the language problem, for the reason that language is a cultural identity. Numerous multinational remake movies may ignore a very important part, the language. This would inevitably lead to a translation problem, a language translation process ought to be seen as equally important as cultural adaptation. This should not be erased in the film remake of the language translation or cross-cultural power struggle to clarify the real practical problems. Language translation of a movie really shows the behavior of a cultural force. However, translation is not necessarily just the only activity, dislocation from the country or cultural background, the films language. For instance, Chinese-speaking countries, their national films have to translate properly into English if remaking them by Hollywood. Therefore, cross-border remakes that involve in the translation of the text acts of translation only mix changeable relations among languages, rather than distracting these relationships by themselves. On the other hand, as Bal and Morras (2007) research, it is traditionally a large number of concepts and classification beyond the scope of the project, it is not possible here to repeat lots of debates in relation to language translation. 3.2 Vanilla Sky (2001) I will examine another example of transnational remake film between Hollywood and Europe, which traditionally have been the most significant prolific. Hollywood remade the Spanish psychological suspenseful story Abre los Ojos (1997) into Vanilla Sky in 2001. Although this example is not as systematic as the Hollywood remakes of French films, it point out Hollywoods enlarged cinematic absorbing from a wider nation and culture. Particularly, I engage another illustration of Hollywood remakes in a detailed analysis of the Spanish film Abre los Ojos (1997) and its Hollywood remake Vanilla Sky (2001), paying exacting attention to issues of adaptation. 3.2.1 The same and the different Europe It is generally accepted that the film industries of Europe and Hollywood have been tangled at the beginning because the historically cultural and economical communication. However, these two cores of movie production have had their own unique trajectories and, in fact, the two have been separated by considerably different ideas of cultural. As a consequence of this, perhaps one of the most long-lasting and encircling has been a realistic and metaphorical separation between business and art, where European movies is interpreted as more relate to art invested and Hollywood as more likely driven by income. 3.2.2 Commercial element of Hollywood style Smith (2004) presents a convincing and appealing relative analysis of Abre los Ojos and Vanilla Sky, he discusses the idea of urban alienation and the danger of the image in the movies, and compares the stylistic differences between Vanilla Sky and the Abre los Ojos. According to this, Abre los Ojos states from the start that it will explore the ideological purpose of identity. The first sequence of this film repeats the opening of Abre and reiterates many problems. It seems that ideological constructions of individuals are too dramatic relative to the citys material culture. Nevertheless, the film moved to New York City. As the films main character, David Ames steps out of his attractive Ferrari in Times Square. Here, the city is an obvious commercial space of Hollywood style, seen as the movie quickly presents advertisements. Vanilla Sky thus assigns commercial element of Hollywood style compares to ideological layers carried over from Abre los Ojos. 3.2.3 Cultural imperialism from Hollywood However, cross-border remakes mainly occur as Hollywood remakes of films from other states, which characteristically gather some criticisms as cases of cultural imperialism. And certainly, Hollywoods almost exclusive seized the American media market, together with their supremacy over global film industry. Hollywood emerges to give a structural benefit in remaking movies from other countries, rather than allowing these movies to enter the American media market directly. Since production corporations in many other states cannot catch up with the strong power of Hollywood, they depend on Hollywood for worldwide distribution. Miller, et. al (2001) claims that Hollywood films preserve international appeal through Hollywood style narratives and the communication of American national values. Actually, the financial and cultural relationships between Abre los Ojos and Vanilla Sky disclose a worldwide Spanish national identity, as well as Hollywoods US national identity. Collectively, they reveal the complexity of regarding Spanish national identity outside of transnational capitalism. Moreover, it demonstrates the influential power of American national identity in the international film industry. Current system of international film industry enables Hollywood not only to distribute and make money from other places, but also to support its creations and be in charge of global market by remaking national films that proved to be successful in their local markets. Cultural imperialism is added in the adaptation of these films, as a result, the Hollywood remake films from other countries is a way to keep themselves in priority position. 4 Conclusions Increasingly with the growth of Hollywood remake films from cross-cultural communication, throughout this essay, firstly we have seen the reason that films made in one nation and remade in Hollywood in the reproduction process. Then the essay has focused on studying two specifically illustrations from Asian and Europe. One is remaking of Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs to the Departed (2006). The other is remaking from Spanish film Abre los Ojos into Vanilla Sky (2001). Based on these two cases, the essay analyses what gets added or removed in the process of adaptation from seven different aspects: a new title, a new cultural background, a new group of audiences, a new language, Europe and Hollywood, commercial element of Hollywood style and cultural imperialism from Hollywood.

Essay --

The Segregation of Éire Ireland has a very conflicted history. Just when that history may seem to take a turn for the better, it seems that there is always another event to keep the trend of depression ongoing. The separation of the Protestant and Catholic Church would be the center of these events. However, the two different groups could potentially work together for the betterment of the nation. Through an analysis of why Protestants and Catholics split in the first place, disadvantages that Catholics would face in the coming years and also how these disadvantages were lifted, an argument will be developed in that there is perhaps the chance that they may end up working together in the future for the betterment of Ireland. Although these two groups would fight over the countless decades, they need to join into one entity if they wish to see a better future for Ireland. The traces of the split can be seen nearly five hundred years ago during the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. During King Henry VIII’s rule, Henry had wanted a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn. When the Pope would refuse to allow a divorce between Catherine and Henry, Henry would decide to start his own church so that he could be in a position of power to proceed with the divorce. This church would become the Church of England. Through this radical break away from the social norm, Henry VIII would be remembered as a man who would go to great lengths to get what he wanted. This break would also signify the beginning of the Protestant Reformation across Europe. This event marks the first time that two groups are seen as a national friend and foe recognition. As Bartlett notes, â€Å"By the 1570’s loyal and disloyal ... ...ehind leaders such as Wolf Tone, pledging their support in the form of the United Irishmen. Even though the 1798 Uprising would ultimately fail, this milestone in Irish history had the other citizens of Ireland that the Catholics were willing to lay aside their past differences for the betterment of their nation. This begs the question that will they continue to work together in the future. Based off the past evidence, Protestants and Catholics have little to lose in assisting each other and having Ireland progress into a nation that is one unified completely. What needs to happen though is that each side has to lay out the terms with no outside influence. There can be no ambiguous statements surrounding these terms and officials have to free of bias, as much as a person can be, to effectively write equal terms that ensure economic progress and religious tolerance.

The Importance of EDI :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

The Importance of EDI To stay competitive in today's global economy, businesses are being forced to re-evaluate the way they do business with their customers and their vendors. We cannot afford to close our eyes to advances in technology in the way many businesses have done in the past and continue to do even now. It is a question of do it or die in the competitive world of products and services where the well informed and the technologically equipped will reap the rewards of success. Our company is already behind others in technology and efficiency by not having EDI. Without EDI, our internal processes have poor response times, excessive paperwork floating around and potential errors that should not be necessary as well as wasting personnel time doing a work that could be automated. When business begins to trade or share core information, the return of technological investment is clear and then we realize the true value of EDI. We should not stay behind our competitors and should start now a process of implementing EDI in our company, improving our efficiency and productivity, and reach higher levels of customer satisfaction. When EDI is used as a tool to enable process change and help achieve business goals, significant benefits can be reached. EDI enhances all parts of the business process, and we would expect some impacts, such as: Â · Reduced Process-Time: the need to send and receive information is crucial in today’s business world. With EDI, data can be sent and received in seconds and 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, thus allowing business to continue outside the normal business day, and the turnaround time for a business transaction can be reduced from days to hours and, in some instances, to minutes or even seconds. Â · Increased Efficiency: the major part of data entry tasks is generated from a computer. When companies develop compatible electronic documents, data is never copied, re-keyed, or manually filed, freeing employees for more important activities, eliminating tedious work and reducing the risk of human error. Â · Optimized Inventory: managing inventory is a critical issue for any business. EDI can provide faster and more accurate information about production, buying and delivery needs. It is a link between customer, seller and vendor thus leading to improved inventory management and reduction in inventory levels. For initial EDI projects, limited objectives with perceivable benefits should be our first step.

A Lesson Before Dying :: essays research papers

A Lesson Before Dying I thought that the book A Lesson Before Dying was all right overall. I think Ernest Gaines did a good job with the plot but the idea of the book was not to interesting to me. A book about a black man becoming a man on his way to the electric chair is a very dull plot to me. I give Gaines credit for making the book semi-interesting even though the plot was terrible. Personally after reading Things Fall Apart and Song of Solomon I was looking for a little more action in this book. Those two books were ten times better than A Lesson Before Dying so I can say that I was probably expecting too much. A Lesson Before Dying has a superb depiction of the theme â€Å"you can’t judge a book by its cover†. Grant went to help Jefferson with a notion that Jefferson was sewer trash and he would not learn anything from this situation. In the end Grant was wrong because he learned a lot from his short relationship with Jefferson. Grant had certain feelings for Jefferson he never had for a man before. They became real close friends and talked about a lot of things. I really like how they portrayed this theme throughout the book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the book each character had their own characteristics and personality. There was something special about each character in the book. Each of them had their strong points and weak points for example Grant was always running away from his problems. There were a lot of things in his life that he could not handle and he just wanted to run away. He didn’t know what to do about Jefferson at first and wondered why he had to teach him. He didn’t really know how to handle his job as teacher in the Quarter. He couldn’t make his mind up about God so he just decided to leave it alone. Aunt Emma was a very strong character in the book. She would do almost anything to help Jefferson before he died. She begged to the Guidry’s on several occasion to help Jefferson feel more comfortable while he was in jail. She begged Grant for his help even though Grant did not want to help Jefferson. She got Mose Ambrose and Grant to finally work together to help Jefferson instead of always arguing.

Memorable Experience

My Memorable Experience â€Å"I have something to tell you†¦ † There was a pause, her tone was worrying. â€Å"It's your grandfather, he's passed away. † I was stunned: the grandfather who had always been there for me was no longer there. I could feel someone grinding their fist through my stomach; the pain was unbearable. For the first time ever I was lost for words. Tears started to form in my eyes. I could not contain my emotion. All my memories of my grandfather seemed to rush through my head as I sat in my room isolated from the rest of the world.I had been asked to write a speech for the funeral; it seemed a daunting task at first but as my emotions took over, i found I was able to express exactly what I was feeling. The speech read: My grandfather was a man of few words who enjoyed the simple pleasures of life: a bet on the horses and the odd bit of chocolate. I can still taste the Polos that he would give me whenever I came to see him and as I stand here be fore you today, I know that every-time I open a pack of Polos, my grandfather will always be in the back of my mind.As a younger child, he would often take me to work with him, down to the school or Letham's farm where he would teach me about birds' eggs, crops and the types of plants and flowers. Pleasure was found in the simple things that I (and the rest of my brothers and sisters) did with him and his country life. I would often go into the back door at Mitchell Avenue where my granddad worked to a familiar scene and the smell of ‘Old Holborn' lingering in the air. The smell of warm pastry hung in the air as my nana would always be baking and listening to Radio Two and preparing granddad's lunch for when he came in from work.We thought they were infallible and would always be there; now their bungalow stands empty as a shell. The last time I saw my grandfather, he was sitting up in his hospital chair wearing his floral shirt, looking as eccentric as Spike Milligan and with a familiar twinkle in his eye. That's how I'll remember him. The funeral was held Becoming A Dancer? By  Jennifer M. , East Providence, RI Email me when Un. contributes work Standing in front of the mirror one day, I came to the harsh realization that I fell short of the requirements of my dream. The reflection that stared back was of a skinny brown-haired girl who stood a mere five feet tall.My entire life had been about dedication and striving to be the best dancer in my studio. I'd always had elaborate dreams and high aspirations. I never noticed how hard it might be to achieve something that you really want. Most people spend their whole lives searching for their calling or their nitch, but I've known that I was born to be a dancer since the first time I stepped into Thoroughly Modern Dance Studio at one and a half years of age. I've devoted sixteen years of my life to helping my dream come true, and also taken time out of my personal life to be a dance teacher at my studio.L ast summer I attended what is called an audition class in Boston taught by a highly respected Broadway dancer. At this seminar he explained the procedures for getting into a dance company or production. While I was listening and taking notes, I was thinking that I certainly had the experience, but there was one area in which I didn't quite measure up. He informed us that at most auditions all dancers under 5 feet 6 inches are automatically eliminated or simply overlooked. He said that most casting directors are looking for the stereotyped dancer with long legs, a long neck and a size one waist.Standing half a foot under this height, I felt my heart drop to the floor. It really is hard to listen to someone basically tell you: â€Å"Sorry, but you've been working really hard for sixteen years for nothing, so find a new dream. † Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. Dancing isn't just some hobby for me; it's more like an addiction. My complete heart and soul are exhibite d in every step. Through dance I find a sense of pride and satisfaction that I don't think anyone could understand or appreciate. To have all that I've ever wanted instantly shot down created a sick feeling in my stomach.Furthermore, I knew that at that moment I could do one of two things. I could settle for a second choice, or I could commit myself to the tedious uphill battle to come. Well, I've never been known as a person who gives up easily, so I've been working even harder to make up for in skill what I lack in inches! Nevertheless, it really doesn't matter how high the odds are against me, for I will rise above them. It's time for me to â€Å"put my nose to the grindstone† because, despite what anyone sees, the only direction my life is going is up.Whether I end up becoming a professional Broadway dancer or open a local dance studio is irrelevant, because I will do one or the other by choice, not because I wasn't qualified. I'm comforted in knowing I'm not alone in thi s battle. My mentor, Lorie Bernier, who stands at 5 feet 1 inch and has taught me everything I know, always inspiring me by saying: â€Å"You have to believe you can reach the stars before you can actually touch one of them. † – Failing Successfully By  Candace M. ,  Berea,  KY More by this author Email me when Candace M. contributes work Image Credit: Hailey J. , Lake Oswego, ORMy day in the sun had arrived – my magnum opus would be revealed. I had just delivered a memorized speech that I had labored over for weeks, and I was about to learn how the panel judged my performance. The polite but sparse audience leaned forward in their folding chairs. A hush fell across the room. The drum rolled (in my mind, anyway). The contest organizer announced the third-place winner. Alas, the name was not mine. Then he read the second-place winner, and once again it was not me. At last, the moment of truth came. Either I was about to bask in the warmth of victory or rue the last several months spent preparing.While neither of these came to pass, my heart felt closer to the latter. Losing is a part of life, and I have dealt with the emotional baggage that travels shotgun with it on more than one occasion. However, it was an indescribably underwhelming feeling to drive 200 miles round trip, get up obscenely early on a freezing Saturday morning, and yet still finish fourth out of four contestants. After Lincoln lost the 1858 Illinois Senate race, he reportedly said, â€Å"I felt like the 12-year-old boy who stubbed his toe. I was too big to cry and it hurt too bad to laugh. Oh yeah, I could relate. I had spent many hours in front of a computer and in libraries doing research for the Lincoln Bicentennial Speech Contest. As I pored over several biographies, one notion stood out: Lincoln was handed many sound defeats, but he never allowed them to (permanently) hinder his spirit or ambition. While I believe many history lessons can be applied to modern l ife, I hadn’t considered â€Å"the agony of defeat† as a historically valuable learning experience. I never dreamed I could relate to Lincoln! A president no less, and the greatest at that.I thought â€Å"failing successfully† was a very appropriate topic, given the many letdowns Lincoln experienced, and so this became the title of my speech. After not placing in the first year of the speech contest, I really wanted to compete again. Lincoln had been the epitome of persistence, so I was not going to give up on a contest about a historic individual who did not give up! I reworked my speech for the following year, and while I did not come in last, again I did not place. Some days you’re the dog, and some days you’re the hydrant, and this was definitely a hydrant day that brought me down for a while.I couldn’t accept the fact that I had failed twice in something that I had worked so hard on, until I contemplated the individual whom I’d s pent so much time learning about. Never mind the lost prize money (ouch, major) and praise (ouch, minor) – I had learned, really learned, about a great man who had experienced failure and disappointment, and had many chances to give up. We remember Lincoln because he didn’t take this route; he didn’t throw lavish pity-parties, and he persevered to become, according to many, the greatest American president.While I did not earn monetary awards as a result of this contest, I did gain a new perspective. Through learning about Lincoln, I discovered that I can fail successfully, and that it is possible to glean applicable wisdom from the lives of those who have come before us. Now, whenever I’m faced with a setback, I remember what Lincoln said after his unsuccessful 1854 Senate race: â€Å"The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself, ‘It’s a slip and not a fa ll. ’† Not Just Any Thunderstorm Unknown Email me when Un. ontributes work Image Credit: Heather H. , LaHarpe, IL Discuss the greatestchallenge that you have faced or expect to face †¦ As the sun melted intothe distant horizon, I saw the thickening of the ominous clouds overhead. Therain began to pelt the roof of my old house, but nestled in my canopy bed underall my covers, I felt safe. Flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder shook thehouse and tears began to roll down my cheeks. This was not just any thunderstorm,it was a moment in my life when I struggled to keep my faith and hope. Ispotted my mother's face, eyes ringed with smudged mascara.I peered up at herand knew something was very wrong. â€Å"It's Dad and me,† she began. â€Å"We have decided to separate for a while until we can work thingsout. † â€Å"But you're not getting a divorce, are you? † Iquickly asked. She shook her head, but I knew things would never be thesame. Soon aft er, my dad and I packed our bags and moved in with mygrandparents. He tried so hard to be strong, but I could see that he was feelinga lot of pain. He read me books to try to help me fall asleep at night. Iremember one was about a single dad and how things around the house weredifferent without a mom.He even tried, unsuccessfully, to put my hair up in anon-bumpy ponytail. My dad helped me to develop my faith, and without it, I donot think I could have made it through this difficult time in my life. He taughtme the Lord's Prayer and we recited it together every night. But as much as hetried, he was not my mother. My life before the separation was socarefree, and I was content. The memories of the three of us vacationing inFlorida – smiling, laughing, and spending time as a family – are painful, andwill last a lifetime. How could my life change so fast?I felt like I was on aroller coaster, and as much as my parents tried to comfort me, I felt alone. Theonly hope I had wa s my faith in God. I do not remember how long it wasuntil my parents announced they were getting a divorce. This did not come as acomplete shock because I suspected when they separated it would be forever. Ittook many months of arguing in court for my parents to settle that they wouldshare parenting. I believe God blessed me because I have had an opportunity toknow both parents. I often wonder how my life would have been if myparents had worked things out, but I know I would not be the same strong person Iam today.Struggling through this rough time, I learned to put my faith in Godand never to lose hope. I thank my parents for allowing me to learn from theirmistakes, and hope that I will not make the same ones. Ultimately, I had to makea choice: to move on with my life, or dwell on my past. I thank God for all thewonderful gifts he has bestowed upon me. My parents have both remarriedand are happy. I have two new parents, whom I hold as dear as my own. I am trulyglad to see both my p arents happy. Although I still wonder what my life mighthave been like, I never wish to change where I amtoday. *  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  *  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  *Asthe sun rose, sunlight peered into my bedroom and I could hear birds singing. Isat up in bed, relieved that the thunderstorm was finally over. I felt changed. Slowly, I opened my window, noticing the beautiful tulips blooming and the softspring breeze blowing against the trees. Suddenly I thought, I survived thestorm! I am ready to face the next one! After all, today is another day. One Typical Day Unknown Email me when Un. contributes work Image Credit: Amanda S. , Phoenix, AZ Dragging my tired self to my locker one Tuesdayafternoon, I picked up my books and shoved them into my bag.I pulled out mysports bag, dreading cross-country practice and thinking of all I had to do thatnight: write an English paper, do a practice math SAT and study for chemistry. That's when a cheery voice broke in, â€Å"Hey, Katie, don't forget about ourSPAC performance tonight at the hospital. See you at seven! † Thevoice belonged to Adam, the president of Students in the Performing Arts for theCommunity. He and a few of our school's symphonic band members (including me)started the club because we wanted to put some of our time and talents back intothe community by performing at hospitals and nursing homes.At that moment,however, I saw the performance as just one more thing to add to my list. Iarrived at the hospital with my flute in one hand and my chemistry book in theother, hoping to sneak in a little studying. I walked through the sliding doorsinto a cream-colored hall and saw an audience of older people in wheelchairs. Some were sleeping, others sat with blank stares, but a few looked joyful. Thosewere the faces, rosy with excitement, that made me smile. In their midst Ispotted a thin, pale girl who was no more than 13. Thick black braces engulfedher tiny legs, and I wondered wh y someone so young was stuck in thisplace.Toward the end of the hour, after Bach and show tunes, my friendSarah asked if anyone had any requests. The girl raised her arm and asked if shecould sing â€Å"My Heart Will Go On. † Sarah happily invited her to sharethe microphone and the girl hobbled past the sea of wheelchairs. When she andSarah began to sing, I noticed the girl's cheeks became pinker and her eyesshined. At that moment, I forgot my homework and remembered the true meaning ofSPAC: improving the quality of life for others. After the performance weall talked with the girl and discovered she wants to be a singer.She told usthat singing with Sarah had helped her remember her goal. As she spoke, shelooked down, self-consciously, at her thin legs. Then, she asked if we could allget together for a picture so she could remember this night and never give up onher dream. I stayed longer than I'd planned. I was amazed by what one hourof my time could do – help someone go from feeling like a prisoner in a hospitalto feeling like Celine Dion performing at a concert. That night, I lingered atthe dinner table with my family. I also called a friend I had not talked to in awhile.I did not do too well on the chemistry test the next day, but it was justone test, and I knew I could take it again. There could be no retake for myexperience that night at the hospital, except the one I'll always replay in myheart. Success Unknown Email me when Un. contributes work Image Credit: Michael G. , Glocester, RI â€Å"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you none otherthan the one and only Nick A.! † screamed the announcer into themicrophone, in a vain attempt to be heard over the eruption of cheers from theoverflowing auditorium. As I stood, brimming with pride, the noise grew to adeafening level.I walked slowly toward the podium, my grin growing with eachstep. The announcer shook my hand, the principal slapped me on the back, and as Istepped up to the podium, I look ed up at a gigantic banner blazing forth mysuccess. It read: â€Å"Nice Guy Builds Ramp! † Well, it probablywould never happen that way. â€Å"Nice Guy Builds Ramp! † is not exactly acommon honor at an awards ceremony. The fact is I am, for the most part, a niceguy, and I did, in fact, build a ramp. And here is another fact: the truereward did not come from any ceremony but rather because I built it for someone Idid not even know, and it made a world of difference to her.She was an olderwoman, perhaps in her 70s. I never found out what was wrong with her, but she hada gigantic oxygen tank in her simply furnished living room, and she waswheelchair-bound. The whole business began when I participated in a summerprogram where teens from all over come together to do projects for people who aretoo old or poor to get them done. With other kids, I was assigned to build a rampfor this lady who had not been out of her house in seven years. At first Icould not believe I had been talked into going to a work camp, but I soon found Ihad never felt so good or had so much fun.My crew and I really bonded, with thiscommon goal of helping a woman who was only seeing the world from her window. Instantly, our group seemed to know each other. Lindsey was tall andathletic with really stretchy skin she could use to launch pencils from her knee,a talent she often demonstrated at lunch. Matt was a year younger and muchshorter, his crew cut not helping him much in the height department. We came tocall him the Handy Man because he was never without super-cargo pants that heldmore tools than seemed humanly possible. Michelle had great,super-precisely braided hair that looked as if it had taken hours to do.I wasreally impressed until one of the braids fell out. â€Å"Oh, shoot,† shesaid, and tied it back in. My whole world came crashing down when I realized thebraids were synthetic and that lots of girls wear them. As our workprogressed, we were so involved that we bec ame impervious to the attacks ofpassersby who stopped to ask what we were doing and could not believe we wereworking for free. The big payoff came when â€Å"our† lady rolleddown the ramp for the first time. I will never forget her tears. For the firsttime in seven years she collected her mail herself. We all gave her a gigantichug.Still in a state of amazement, she invited us to visit anytime, claiming shehad plenty of soda. And as she thanked us over and over again, I'll admit it – Iteared up. Building a ramp is not the only thing I was ever praised for. Iwon a bronze medal in the Rockland Final Fencing Tournament junior year, so Iknow what it is like to have people clapping when my name is called. But I alsoknow that building a ramp was a much greater success than any medal I could everwin. All the Things I'm Not Unknown Email me when Un. contributes work Image Credit: Samantha P. , Rochdale, MATo look at me, I'm just a â€Å"pretty boy,† puton Earth for the amusement of bullies who are jealous of my appearance, andcoveted as a boyfriend. Now, if that's true, I must also be conceited(that goes without saying) and pig-headed, too! I must think I'm God's gift towomen. I'm really just a pretty face, I don't have much else going for me. Godswitched brains for dimples, I guess. I bounce from woman to woman; I'm ashameless heartbreaker. Yet, I have been in a monogamous relationship for about ayear now. My GPA's a solid B+, higher when I apply myself. I'm creative – Iwrite, I read, I play Dungeons & Dragons.Maybe I'm a nerd. I read atleast 75 comics a month, usually more. I have a favorite writer, I've read morethan the required reading for English, and more than five books without pictures. I play role-playing games. I know what HP and THAC0 stand for, and while I'venever personally lost touch with reality, I've played with people who have. I'myour resident fanboy, and own six different Spider-Man T-shirts. I know whokilled Jason Todd (I own the actual issues and the trade paperback), and I'malways ready to argue over which was the best comic series ever,†Watchmen† or â€Å"The Dark Knight Returns. I play with actionfigures. In fact, I've built an entire city in my room, and when no one's around,I pretend the figures talk (I do a great Christopher Reeve impression). I dohomework. My I. Q. is more than the change in my pocket. I didn't need acalculator for the SATs and I never took a prep course. That said, I'mprobably antisocial. I shy away from sports and physical confrontation. I'veprobably never had a date, and I probably spend all day online (maybe nights,too). I'm probably on the newspaper staff, maybe even class president. Well, Ihave a girlfriend, I'm really vocal and I only go online for research.Plus, Ican bench 200 pounds and squat twice that much and I do play sports. Maybe I'm ajock. I play a sport for every season, three for the sole purpose ofbecoming better at the main one. Yes, the wo rld is shaped like a football, andorbit is made possible by the powerful arm of Testaverdi. AC/DC's the best bandto get you pumped, and six straight losses is the best way to bring you down. Oneof my favorite movies is â€Å"Braveheart,† and although†Gladiator† was good, it doesn't even come close. I want to be likeRudy, and I never want anything that happened in â€Å"The Program† tohappen to me.I've seen things men could never show their girlfriends; I can findthe locker room by smell alone and I know for a fact that mold can grow oncotton. I've heard â€Å"Welcome to the Jungle† 986 times this year (andit's only April). I must run out of socks and underwear before I wash them, andeven then I go commando for a week. Knowing this, you might think I pickon smaller kids or hang out in large groups. You might think I have a very bigbody with a little head. You'd assume that I use the words â€Å"dude† and†cool† constantly out of cont ext (which I do). But that can't be right. I mean, I can spell football and I only fight if necessary.Heck, sometimes Ieven use metaphors. Maybe I'm one of those artistic guys. I have writtenat least one piece of any type of writing you can think of, and I enjoyed it all(except straight news articles, I really hate writing those). I'm going on myeleventh art credit. I took a fashion class and am not ashamed to admit it. Ihave a sensitive side – I cry during â€Å"Bambi. † I can appreciate theamount of time it takes to hand draw a couple hundred flowers. I know the fourkinds of self-portraits: one without looking in a mirror, one looking in amirror, one drawing from a picture and one of your hand. I know green'scomplement, and exactly what ROY G.BIV stands for. I understand Shakespeare, butnot a word of The Scarlet Letter. When essay assignments are announced, I'm theonly one who smiles, and whether you like it or not, I think this essay ishilarious. So, you would figur e I'd be pretty quiet. You know, I can't speakwell, so my writing will be my voice and such. Nope, I'm very loud. I talk andargue and sing. Maybe I'm one of those choir boys. I was the only freshmanin my school ever to get a solo, I was in the elite Florida Singing Sons, I'veperformed at nine Sea Worlds, I know all eight versions of the â€Å"HallelujahChorus† and I have two medals for excellence from NYSSMA.But that's notall; I'm also the lead singer of my very own punk rock band. It's been one yearand we've had 447 different names. I know why Kurt Cobain shot himself, and Ihope I die before I grow old. I own at least ten Misfits T-shirts, and pants thatsay â€Å"Hey, Ho! Let's Go! † on the crotch. I own leather pants and astudded bracelet. I'm currently waiting for McFarlane to wise up and make aDexter Holland figure, and I don't care what your definition of punk is, GreenDay is good enough for me.By now I'm sure you're not assuming anything, and I'msure you suspect that I also do many things to contradict this cliche, like I ownan Eminem record and Rod Stewart's greatest hits. And while I do have a few bodypiercings, none of them is life-threatening. Well, pigs can fly. Hell hasfrozen over. The world is coming to an end. Because the good-looking, faithful,singing, drawing and writing, jock fanboy is roaming the earth. They said itcould never happen, but I guess â€Å"they† were wrong. I make no excusesfor myself and pay no mind to your complaints or opinions. I'm everything thatI'm not, and I love it.A Memory Unknown Email me when Un. contributes work Image Credit: Elizabeth B. , Norwich, CT Builtof gray stone and situated on a small plateau in the middle of rolling hills ismy grandmother's three-story farmhouse. Sunken into the land, it fits like aperfect piece in the puzzle of the checkered landscape. This housefostered comfort and happiness. I trusted that it would always be there, and feltsafe in knowing I could always go back and r evel in its character and uniqueness. It was my mother's home. It was my grandmother's house. We drove up thegravel driveway and parked under the overhang.For weeks, my mom had been tryingto get me to go. The settlement was at the end of the week, and I finally gavein. Only five stepping stones away from the road was the door. Massivepine trees, only half as tall when I was born and even smaller when my mother wasyoung, shaded the front of the house and blocked the wrap-around porch on thesecond level. My mom unlocked the door with the key she'd had for years. Adraft of the scent inside hit me like a slap in the face. I let it resonate in mybrain as the smell triggered memories. Boxes belonging to strangershad invaded the living room.In the kitchen the refrigerator had been ripped out,the furniture removed. All I could see were the images of Christmas Day duringthe past 17 years. I stepped onto the porch. From the left, the streetslithered through the hills to the front door and con tinued on to the right. Withone breath I inhaled the sweet pine scent from the trees and looked at thesetting sun. Up the road was my cousin's house. Between the two homes wehad dwelled in days of simple play. In the halcyon times of summer, our bathingsuits became second skins, our bikes second sets of legs. We spent comfortablehours in the pastoral landscape, knowing the day was ours.I took one last lookat the view. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want it to be just amemory. My grandfather walked into the house carrying a camera. Muscles oflabor, skin of leather; years of hard work were in this once six-foot-tall oldman. His height had shrunk while his belly had swelled. My mom anxiouslysnapped a picture of her old bedroom. The house was retained in its splendor forthat frozen moment. My grandfather put his strong hand, a hand worthy of farming,on my shoulder. Flash. For one last time I was part of these walls. I putthe place to rest in my mind, trying to swallow the lump in my t hroat.As I saidgood-bye to an era of my life – the chapter of my childhood – my eyes welled withtears. Closing the white metal door for the last time, I carried with me a senseof security as strong as those old stone walls. Success at Last Unknown Email me when Un. contributes work Image Credit: Jason B. , Philadelphia, PA It always looked so easy when my dad did it. He cutsmoothly, his shoulder leaning so close to the water that his body lookedparallel to the cool glass. I had been itching to be free of my yellow trainingskis and ski on my own. I wanted to learn to fly over the water just like my dad,but water skiing isn't as easy as it looks.I had been trying for almost a month. First I tried two skis, but my seven-year-old stick legs weren't strong enough tocontrol them, so Dad suggested simplifying things by using one ski. Simplify? Slalom ski? My first attempts at slalom skiing were disasters, but Irefused to give up. When we took a family trip to a lake, I couldn 't wait to tryagain. After eating a big lunch on the deck overlooking the water, we went outfor a ski. I was the last to go. I reluctantly slipped into the foreboding water;this lake was a lot bigger and rougher than the one back home. The frothy waterswirled around me and I was terrified.How can I get up in this mess of whitecapswhen I can't even get up in my calm little lake? I wondered. I crouched in thewater, pulled my legs to my chest and waited. After four attempts Iaccepted defeat – but only for that outing. I was determined not to giveup. The next morning my dad's friend suggested another way of getting meup, and I said, â€Å"Sure! † I would try anything to get the chance to ski. He had me sit on the lower portion of the dock, skis in the water and rope inhand as he pulled the boat away. As I sat, I thought about falling like an anchorinto the dark water and getting splinters in my butt. Ready? † he asked. â€Å"Yeah! † I replied, shakily. Iheard the boat roar and my teeth clenched. I felt the rope gently tug my arms andsuddenly the cool air was tingling my legs and the water was splitting to let methrough. I was doing it! Success at last! I couldn't wait to get home and showoff my new skill to my friends. It took seemingly endless gallons of waterup my nose and aching, heavy arms, but now I can fly across the water almost aswell as my dad. I gained this confidence through persistence and courage -qualities I plan to apply to my life once I reach the big lake of college andeven the ocean of real life.