Beowulf: The Battle of Good and Evil

Beowulf is one of the oldest and most extensive poems in the history of literature today. It is also considered to be one of the pioneers of the â€Å"good versus evil† theme. While the poem revolves around the adventures and battles of Beowulf, the message of the story consistently conveys the concept that good would always defeat evil. The plot itself is already evidence enough to the theme of the poem. As a warrior, Beowulf helps fight the evil Grendel, his mother, and the dragon to save the people of Heorot.Beowulf clearly believes in goodness as it is the will of God. Several texts from the poem illustrate the theme of good and evil. During his battle with Grendel, he proclaims, â€Å"Whichever one death fells / must deem it a just judgment by God† (lines 440-441). Beowulf is also described to be a man of faith as he declares that, â€Å"the Geat placed complete trust in his strength of limb in the Lord's favor† (669-670). This emphasizes the fact that Beowu lf relies on the guidance of God and believes it to be his strength.Even his friend Hrothgar illuminates this goodness in character when he warns Beowulf about the moral dangers caused by pride. â€Å"O flower of warriors, beware of that trap. / eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride† (1758-1759). On the other hand, evil rests on the characters of Grendel and his mother—the villains of the story. Grendel is introduced in a much darker tone, â€Å"until finally one, a fiend out of hell, / began to work his evil in the world. / Grendel was the name of this grim demon† (100-102).He is also described in the story to be a descendant of Cain which further highlights the evil in his character, as Cain is widely known to be the biblical character who has slain his brother Abel out of jealousy. The story of Beowulf may seem to be just an extensive poem which tackles the never-ending issue of good versus evil. It is like a prolonged epic fairytale of defeating evil ami dst the hardships. Yet, it is a unique literary piece that deserves its length in further reminding people that good really does conquer evil.

R.K Narayan Biography Essay

R. K. Narayan (born 1906) is one of the best-known of the Indo-English writers. He created the imaginary town of Malgudi, where realistic characters in a typically Indian setting lived amid unpredictable events. Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanswami, who preferred the shortened name R.K. Narayan, was born in Madras, India, on Oct. 10, 1906. His father, an educator, travelled frequently, and his mother was frail, so Narayan was raised in Madras by his grandmother and an uncle. His grandmother inspired in young Narayan a passion for language and for people. He attended the Christian Mission School, where, he said, he learned to love the Hindu gods simply because the Christian chaplain ridiculed them. Narayan graduated from Maharaja’s College in Mysore in 1930. In 1934 he was married, but his wife, Rajam, died of typhoid in 1939. He had one daughter, Hema. He never remarried. Narayan wrote his first novel, Swami and Friends, in 1935, after short, uninspiring stints as a teacher, an editorial assistant, and a newspaperman. In it, he invented the small south Indian city of Malgudi, a literary microcosm that critics later compared to William Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County. More than a dozen novels and many short stories that followed were set in Malgudi. Narayan’s second novel, Bachelor of Arts (1939), marked the beginning of his reputation in England, where the novelist Graham Greene was largely responsible for getting it published. Greene has called Narayan â€Å"the novelist I most admire in the English language.† His fourth novel, The English Teacher, published in 1945, was partly autobiographical, concerning a teacher’s struggle to cope with the death of his wife. In 1953, Michigan State University published it under the title Grateful to Life and Death, along with his novel The Financial Expert; they were Narayan’s first books published in the United States. Subsequent publications of his novels, especially Mr. Sampath, Waiting for the Mahatma, The Guide, The Man-eater of Malgudi, and The Vendor of Sweets, established Narayan’s reputation in the West. Many critics consider The Guide (1958) to be Narayan’s masterpiece. Told in a complex series of flashbacks, it concerns a tourist guide who seduces the wife of a client, prospers, and ends up in jail. The novel won India’s highest literary honor, and it was adapted for the off-Broadway stage in 1968. At least two of Narayan’s novels, Mr. Sampath (1949) and The Guide (1958), were adapted for the  movies. Narayan usually wrote for an hour or two a day, composing fast, often writing as many as 2,000 words and seldom correcting or rewriting. Narayan’s stories begin with realistic settings and everyday happenings in the lives of a cross-section of Indian society, with characters of all classes. Reviewing Narayan’s 1976 novel The Painter of Signs, Anthony Thwaite of the New York Times said Narayan created â€Å"a world as richly human and volatile as that of Dickens.† His next novel, A Tiger for Malgudi (1983), is narrated by a tiger whose holy master is trying to lead him to enlightenment. It and his fourteenth novelTalkative Man (1987) received mixed reviews. In his 80s, Narayan continued to have books published. He returned to his original inspiration, his grandmother, with the 1994 book Grandmother’s Tale and Other Stories, which Publishers Weekly called â€Å"an exemplary collection from one of India’s most distinguished men of letters.† Donna Seaman of Booklist hailed the collection of short stories that spanned over 50 years of Narayan’s writing as â€Å"an excellent sampling of his short fiction, generally considered his best work† from â€Å"one of the world’s finest storytellers.† Narayan once noted: â€Å"Novels may bore me, but never people.† R.K. Narayan was born in Madras, South India, in 1906, and educated there and at Maharaja’s College in Mysore. His first novel, Swami and Friends and its successor, The Bachelor of Arts, are both set in the enchanting fictional territory of Malgudi and are only two out of the twelve novels he based there. In 1958 Narayan’s work The Guide won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his country’s highest literary honor. In addition to his novels, Narayan has authored five collections of short stories, including A Horse and Two Goats, Malguidi Days, and Under the Banyan Tree, two travel books, two volumes of essays, a volume of memoirs, and the re-told legends Gods, Demons and Others, The Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. In 1980 he was awarded the A.C. Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature and in 1982 he was made an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Narayan died in 2001. Works of R.K.Narayan (a) Novels: 1.Swami and Friends (1935) 2. Bachelor of Art (1973) 3. The Dark Room (1938) 4. The English Teacher (1945) 5. The Guide (1958) 6. The Painter of Signs (1976) (b) Story Collections : 1. Malgudi Days 2. Dodu and Other Stories 3. Cyclone and Other Stories 4. Gods, Demons and Others (1964) (c) Autobiography : 1. My Days (1974) 2. My Dateless Diary (1960) (d) Other Works : 1. Ramayana. It is an English version of the Tamil epic by Kamban

Tourism Destination Development: Homecoming Scotland

Executive summary The subject of this report is the application of Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle for Scotland and also a critique of VisitScotland’s tourism destination development. The first section of the report presents the aim and objectives and the utilised methods of research. In the second chapter called â€Å"Tourism destination or destination tourism† are presented some preliminary theories regarding tourism destination as a market place. The third section presents the evolution of travel and tourism, international tourism, and also tourism destinations.The fourth chapter consists of three subsections. The first one presents the theoretical background behind the main destination development models and their partial applications to Scotland. The second subsection presents the unique early stages of the Scottish tourism through Butler’s TALC model. The last subsection of the chapter objectively illustrates Scotland’s present and recent pas t development through the cycle and its potential entries to the new and final stage. The fifth and final chapter is focused on Scotland’s international market.The first subchapter demonstrates the rich Scottish heritage in North America. In the second subsection the US society and its generations are analysed to select the best US market for Scotland. The third subsection presents VisitScotland’s campaign for the American visitors called Homecoming Scotland, the results of the 2009 campaign and expectations from the 2014 one. Table of contents Executive summary 1 Table of contents 2 List of figures 4 1. 0Introduction 5 1. 1Background 5 1. 2Aims and objectives 5 1. 3Methods 5 2. 0Tourism destination or destination tourism? 3. 0History of International travel and tourism: From ancient festivals to outer space 6 4. 0The Tourism area life cycle (TALC): Theory and application for Scotland 9 4. 1TALC models and the concept of Tourist Area Cycle Evolution: Their application to Scotland 9 4. 2Scotland’s unique early cycle stages 11 4. 3Scotland’s tourism development and consolidation 14 5. 0Homecoming Scotland: Attracting the American market 16 5. 1Scottish Ancestry in North America 16 5. 2Scotland’s markets in the changing US society 17 5. Homecoming Scotland 2009 and 2014: Stagnating nationally, developing internationally 18 Conclusion 20 References 21 Bibliography 23 List of figures *Figure 1 copied from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/File:Culloden_Viaduct01_2007-08-22. jpg Representing a panoramic view of Cullodin Viaduct 10 *Fig. 2: Adapted from Butler's â€Å"The Tourism Area Life Cycle Vol. 1: Applications and modifications†, about Tourism Area Life Cycle 14 *Fig. 3 International visitors in Scotland from International Caption Survey 17 Fig. 4: Adapted from clanstirling. org website about American Scottish 18 1. 0 Introduction 1. 1Background Each tourism destination area travels a life cycle. These cycles are adapted a ccording to the destination type, but they are still subject to interpretation. Scotland has proved to be an important competitor in the tourism industry nationally and even internationally. The uniqueness in which Scotland travelled the first stages of the cycle and the numerous differences of cycle phase between regions and also markets makes it the one of the world’s most challenging destination area to develop. . 2Aims and objectives The aim of this report is to demonstrate using strong and logical arguments Scotland’s current place in the TALC cycle and also to analyse VisitScotland’s newest international and national market campaigns called ‘Homecoming Scotland’ and respectively ‘Surprise Yourself’. 1. 3Methods In the attempt of writing this report various sources have been used such as books and journals which focused on tourism destination development and also Scottish tourism. Moreover, electronic sources such as VisitScotland. com or HomecomingScotland2009. om were used for guidance along with accomplished knowledge accumulated throughout the Tourism Destination Development module. 2. 0Tourism destination or destination tourism? Tourists and tourism experience had both grown in the last 100 years. Tourists nowadays are increasingly discerning in their choice of holidays, in terms of both activities and destinations. These high expectations have been heightened by the tourism industry itself mainly due its outside competitiveness with other sectors and inside one between destinations to attract the potential tourists.The ‘age’ when destinations could simply make known their attractions by sitting back and await the arrival of visitors is far behind. Tourism plays an essential role for many people’s high-quality lifestyle. Today’s tourists have to be enticed by marketing destination’s place products effectively. â€Å"Communities are the recipient of tourists† (Heat h and Wall 1992, p. 6), which is why most of the impacts of tourism occur on the community level. Yet, many communities, especially those whose economies are dominated by tourism, don’t have reliable tourism and marketing plans, or even any of these two components in their general plan.Places are ‘sold’ in a wide variety of consumer markets by private and public sector organisations which is why tourism destinations can be treated as products. There are, however, some differences between a place as a tourism destination and a marketable good or service purchased directly by customers of the tourism industry, such as the hire of hotel space or purchase of souvenirs. 3. 0History of International travel and tourism: From ancient festivals to outer space Many people wonder how travel and tourism has evolved so rapidly only in the last 50 years.There are many archaeological sites that reveal tourism destinations even from the 6th century A. D. in Babylon in what appea red to be the oldest history museum ever built which attracted people from all around the kingdom. Ancient Egypt also prided itself with its two majestic wonders: The Pyramids of Giza and The Lighthouse of Alexandria. The Nile River also represented an endless source of agricultural prosperity and boat festivals were organized as a sign of worship and gratitude for their wellbeing. A similar example was Ancient Greece with their many temple sites, venerating various gods.With the rise of the Roman Empire, tourism started to segment in different categories. Vacation tourism was practiced by the wealthier Romans who built residences outside the cities for seasonal use. Study tourism also became popular in the Upper Roman Class for children, but also parents who travelled to regions like Greece or Egypt to learn the local language and culture. It represents the beginning of what it is known today as â€Å"International tourism†. Romans also invented the first form of leisure tou rism (balearic tourism) at different water spring sites all over the Empire.The travel phenomenon however was mostly related to expeditions, commerce, migration or military expeditions and it remained this way until the beginning of the 21st century. As technology grew and faster ways of transport became available, travel and tourism finally got closely connected. In England, Queen Elisabeth The 1st had promoted study tourism through which English diplomats were educated in Universities such as Cambridge and Oxford. At the time the idea of travelling for the sake of curiosity was very popular among the upper-class, thus the introduction of passports to keep evidence and secure the multinational travelling.The term Grand Tour was introduced by Richard Lassels in his 1670 book â€Å"Voyage to Italy†. Additional guidebooks, tour guides, and the tourist industry were developed and grew to meet the needs of the 20-something male and female travellers and their tutors across the Eu ropean continent. The young tourists were wealthy and could afford the multiple years abroad. They carried letters of reference and introduction with them as they departed from southern England. The Grand Tourists were primarily interested in visiting those cities that were considered the major centres of culture at the time – Paris, Rome, and Venice were not to be missed.Florence and Naples were also popular destinations. The Grand Tourist would travel from city to city and usually spend weeks in smaller cities and up to several months in the three key cities. After the industrial revolution that brought important economic and social changes, the middle class population had significantly increased. At the end of the 19th century, middle class workers started to benefit of annual paid holidays. As the ways of transport became faster, reliable and also accessible, the demand for tourism resorts has exploded.As a result of the mass tourism phenomenon of the 1960s and post-World War flight technology and pilots, chartered seats on commercial airlines were introduced followed by long-haul packages that were very popular a decade later and encouraged international tourism also for the middle class. Today’s tourism is dominated by niches. The most popular segments are: religious tourism, photographic tourism, cultural and heritage tourism, tradition and culture-based tourism, adventure tourism, wildlife and special interest tourism.Space tourism represents the most recent niche and a number of companies have sprung up in recent years hoping to create a space tourism industry in near future. As an alternative to â€Å"tourism† some organisations use the term â€Å"personal spaceflight†. It has been practiced only by 7 people so far due to the high cost of such a trip (minimum 20 million dollars), but with today’s acceleration in technology growth, no one can predict what and to whom this niche has to offer in the future. 4. 0The Tou rism area life cycle (TALC): Theory and application for Scotland . 1TALC models and the concept of Tourist Area Cycle Evolution: Their application to Scotland Tourist areas are dynamic; they evolve and change over time. The idea of a consistent process through which tourist areas evolve has been described by authors such as Christaller, Stansfield, Noronha and Cohen. Noronha suggests that tourism develops in three stages: discovery, local response and initiative, and institutionalised institutionalisation. Christaller also makes clear the fact that types of tourists change with the tourist areas.There is a lot of literature about characteristics of visitors, but the tourist’s motivations and desires have been ignored. Cohen, for example, characterises tourists as ‘institutionalised’ or ‘non-institutionalised or even ‘drifters, ‘explorers’, ‘individual mass tourists’ and ‘organised mass tourists’. Plog also said t hat â€Å"Destination areas carry with them the potential seeds of their own destruction, as they allow themselves to become more commercialised and lose their qualities which originally attracted tourists† (Cited in Butler 2006, p. ). But while writers such as Cohen have warned against the problems of unilinear models of social change, there is a lot of evidence that the general pattern of tourist area evolution is consistent. Butler’s Hypothetical Tourism Area Life Cycle Model is illustrated through a process of five stages: exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation, and rejuvenation or decline. Because most studies in which the model has been applied for can be characterised as mature destinations, Butler’s model has attracted some criticism.In 2000 Butler revisited his model and highlighted aspects about it that could explain its continued relevance since 1980. He argued that because of a focus on detail in many studies some key aspect s and the overall validity of the model had sometimes been overlooked. In order to explain the growth, change, limits and intervention in a tourism area, the model is based in eight elements: dynamism, process, capacity or limits to growth, triggers, management, long term view point, spatial components, and universal applicability. Prideaux however, notices that the life-cycle may be at ifferent stages for different markets, which is why he comes forward with a market perspective analysis. His model applies best for those destinations that have gradually developed from local to international markets, mainly applied for resorts. Scotland’s early stages however don’t seem to apply with the first two of Prideaux’s model (from local to regional tourism). As for Miossec’s evolutionary cycle of destination development model, success from development starts even from stage one and at the latest stage he emphasises on the social-cultural impact for the region.The second stage represents a promotion through word-of-mouth which again didn’t apply to the first ‘courageous’ who visited Scotland and especially the Highlands and described it with horror. Weaver proposed a different but complementary model to the life cycle paradigm. It captures the need to regulate the use of tourism resources, especially the environment in order to adjust the flow of tourists. In situations where a high degree of regulation occurs, Weaver proposed that a destination could adopt ‘‘deliberate alternative tourism (DAT)’’, related to two forms of mass tourism, and to the sustainability of the destination.The first form he calls: unsustainable mass tourism (UMT) is the result of the continued development of the tourism that, in absence of restrictive regulation, exceeds the carrying capacity and the environmental and sociocultural limits of acceptable change in a destination; not Scotland’s case as here mass touris m is rare due to lack of land access to Europe and other continents and the mass tourism ‘trend’ is far behind.Traditionally, tourism sustainability is seen as a set of principles, political prescriptions and management methods that establish a path to develop tourism in conjunction with the protection of environmental, cultural and infrastructure resources of tourist destinations for the future (Lane, 1994). From this position, Hunter (1997) sees sustainable tourism as an adaptive paradigm depending on the circumstances of the environment in which it develops.He proposes four alternatives of sustainable development through: â€Å"tourism imperative†, â€Å"Product-Led tourism†, â€Å"Environment-Led tourism†, and â€Å"Neotenous tourism†. Of these four alternatives, ‘‘Sustainable development through Product-Led Tourism’’ is the focus here. In order to surmount the prescriptive limitations of the life cycle model whe n establishing the objective of sustainable development in island destinations, the teleological model proposed here can be used in a complementary manner. . 2Scotland’s unique early cycle stages *Fig. 1: Panoramic view of Culloden Viaduct *Fig. 1: Panoramic view of Culloden Viaduct The exploration stage represents the beginning of the cycle and it is assumed that there would be no specific facilities provided for visitors. Contacts between visitors and local residents is very often, which of course it might be beneficial if the locals are welcoming with strangers and also the visitors are keen to experience the local culture and traditions.Because this stage is mostly present nowadays in those unexplored or feared corners of the Earth, roughly called by many â€Å"Third World† countries, tourists take high risks when getting in contact with the residents as can never really anticipate the local’s behaviour and openness to tourists. Not all Scotland has lived th is stage in the same time. The tourist industry of the north and west of Scotland, which is today a major economic and social force in the area, can be traced back more than 2 centuries to the intrepid travellers such as Penant (1772) and Johnson (1876).The economic base and infrastructure did not become established until approximately a century later. Youngson (cited in Butler 1973, p. 373) notes that â€Å"In the first half of the century [eighteenth] nobody visited the Highlands for pleasure or out of a sense of scientific curiosity† and visitors â€Å"tended to speak of the country almost with horror, as a black howling wilderness, full of bogs and boulders, mostly treeless, and nearly unfit for human habitation†. Unlike Southern or Eastern Scotland, wheeled vehicles were uncommon in the Highlands around 1750 due to poor, almost inexistent transport infrastructure.Another impediment to travellers at the time was the linguistic ‘stubbornness’ of Scottis h people at the time to communicate in Gaelic, English still being considered only appropriate for the upper class. In 1812 the Duke of Gordon advertised shooting in â€Å"The Times† and rented Glenfeshie next to what it is known today as Glenmore Forest Park for ? 70. The popularity of the activity continued unabated and received powerful stimulation for various reasons. One was the great popularity of the artist Edwin Landseer, whose paintings of deer stalking were widely regarded, ncluding his best known work, â€Å"Monarch of the Glen,† originally commissioned for the Houses of Parliament. After Thomas Cook’s promotion of Southern Scotland in 1846 and construction of the Highland Main Line Railway in 1856, all Scottish regions were accessible by ground and the first tourist waves started to emerge. Another major influence was the enthusiastic support and participation by the Royal Family. Victoria and Albert first visited Scotland in 1842, and Albert partici pated in stalking at Drummond and in Glen Tilt.In 1848, they took a lease on Balmoral Castle, eventually purchasing it in 1852, and built a new residence which was completed in 1855. Their annual visits were a highlight of Victoria’s life. They cherished Scottish uniqueness. Butler states that If the first contact with visitors is peaceful and the local attractions present high potential interest for future tourists, the local residents can enter the involvement stage and begin to provide facilities primarily or even exclusively for visitors.The very purpose of a journey to Scotland was to find foreignness; it was the fact of Scottish distinctiveness which allowed the country to play its role as a counter to the modern world. The gesture gave social approval to the idea of a summer estate in the Highlands of Scotland, and the numbers of visitors increased steadily from that date, thus at the end of the nineteenth century there were approximately 170 inns and hotels in the are a.In all, Scotland held out three categories of attractions to tourists: natural ones, such as an outdoor environment which enabled visitors to envision a world untouched by industrialisation; historic ones, which suggested that the past was uniquely accessible in Scotland; and human ones, particularly the men and women of the Highlands and Western Isles, who sightseers believed preserved an ancient way of life in a changing world.While the Highlands and Isles of Scotland were building land transit infrastructure connections to the Britannic Island, the population of Southern Scotland exploded, especially in the two major cities of Edinburgh (from 103,143 in 1811 to 269,407 in 1891) and Glasgow (from 202,426 in 1831 to 658,073 in 1891). After the appearance of automobiles, the famous A9 road was constructed, connecting Southern Scotland to Inverness and Wick using approximately the same route as the Highland Railway.It is still the longest road in Scotland (273) miles. Unfortunately , an equally gradual spread of visitors to all part of Scotland was delayed by restrictions imposed during the Second World War. While the Highlands and Isles of Scotland were building land transit infrastructure connections to the Britannic Island, the population of Southern Scotland exploded, especially in the two major cities of Edinburgh (from 103,143 in 1811 to 269,407 in 1891) and Glasgow (from 202,426 in 1831 to 658,073 in 1891).This demographic growth played a vital role in the following years in the increasing demand of labour for the service sectors after the war. 4. 3Scotland’s tourism development and consolidation â€Å"As the consolidation stage is entered the rate of increase in number of visitors will decline, although total number will still increase, and total visitor numbers exceed the number of permanent residents† (Butler 2006, p. 7). Scotland is not a low cost, rapidly growing emerging mass tourism destination.Exponential increase in visitor number s and value has come to an end. Scotland is an attractive and popular destination which nevertheless is in the stagnation phase of the destination life cycle where tourism is a cash generator for the economy but growth is low and variable from year to year. It might even be on the cusp between stagnation and decline. â€Å"Surprise yourself† is the latest VisitScotland promotional campaign launched in March 2011 targeting the UK and Ireland market.With this campaign, VisitScotland tries to re-enforce its existing icons and people of Scotland. In fact, the main goal of â€Å"Surprise yourself† is to exit the post-stagnation stage in which it is as a domestic destination through the rejuvenating alternative illustrated in the following illustration model. *Fig. 2: Adapted from Butler's TALC Vol. 1 *Fig. 2: Adapted from Butler's TALC Vol. 1 There are a number of factors which are specific to the UK which are likely to impact negatively on visitor trends in Scotland over t he next few years.These include: threat of a â€Å"double dip† recession, Government Spending Review in the UK and Scotland, proposed introduction of increased air passenger duty, VAT increase, increasing fuel prices, threat of terrorism perceived or real and currency fluctuation. Possible impacts of such changes might lead to: reduction in overseas visitor numbers; conversely, reduction in the propensity for UK residents to take holidays as costs increase and levels of disposable income reduce; a net overall reduction in visitor spend ;and negative impact on levels of investment in tourism in Scotland, as well as reducing VisitScotland and VisitBritain budgets.The industry in Scotland also recognises the following as threats: Global recession Cost increases Increased competition from UK and overseas; England is in a position of competitive strength for overseas markets given the overwhelming global profile of London and the reality that the major international gateways are l ocated in south east England; decline in air and sea transport links to Scotland Increasing bureaucracy; public sector weaknesses – infrastructure, support and regulation; attitudes – people service, complacency, apathy.International events e. g. conflict or health scares could also reduce overseas visitor numbers. Scotland has a number of major opportunities to increase the value of tourism over the next few years.These include: A number of major international events including: Tall Ships Race 2011 (Greenock and Lerwick), The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Game, Spin offs from the 2012 London Olympic Games, The Ryder Cup in 2014, Homecoming 2014, Rugby World Cup in 2015 (England and Wales); potential for growth in key sectors of the economy in which Scotland has â€Å"centre of excellence† credentials, such as renewable energy and biotechnology with consequent increases in business and conference tourism; potential for improved access to Scotland ; and development o f major new infrastructure projects such as the national indoor arena, EICC extension, Trump development and the proposed V;A in Dundee. Scotland remains an attractive international destination within a number of well-developed and mature overseas markets. Mature markets probably offer limited scope for future growth in visitor numbers but they may be lucrative in value terms, especially based on areas such as golf, culture, and heritage and business tourism.There is some growth potential in international markets: Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Eastern Europeans and Russians now travel regularly and many are high spending visitors with expectations of the highest standards and quality; emerging destinations are leading global growth resurgence (Brazil, Russia, China); Chinese citizens are increasingly wealthy and represent the world’s biggest future tourism market; and most importantly the number of US citizens with passports has doubled since 2003. 5. 0Ho mecoming Scotland: Attracting the American market 5. 1Scottish Ancestry in North America Scottish Americans (Ameireaganaich Albannach) or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States and Canada whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. They are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and celebrate their common heritage. North America offered Scots the opportunity of farming their own land as well as employment possibilities in the cities.Some of the jobs on offer were those for which Scots already had experience, such as stonemasons and weavers. Once Scots from a particular area had made the move, their letters to back home encouraged others to join them. In recent studies, it is stated that there are about 30-40 million Americans who claim Scottish or Scotch-Irish heritage in the United States. But the region with most Scottish ancestry and also very much Scottish ancestry pride is Nova Scotia (New Scotlan d). New Scotland was founded by Sir William Alexander and King James of Scotland in the early 1600s. At that time, New Scotland consisted approximately of the Atlantic Provinces as they are known today, and the Gaspe Peninsula.Sir William Alexander with King James devised a settlement scheme of granting the title â€Å"Baronet of Nova Scotia† to any who would purchase large grants of land in New Scotland (Nova Scotia), secure and settle those lands. Following defeat at the Battle of Culloden, life and times became very difficult in the Highlands. The people were forbidden to speak their language (Gaelic), play the Bagpipes (considered instruments of war) or to wear their Highland dress. After the economy went from bad to worse, and the atrocities committed on the Highlanders by Butcher Cumberland and his followers the Highlanders, if they could, left. The first Highlanders to migrate to Nova Scotia arrived on the Ship Hector at Pictou in 1773.Through the years, up to and espe cially during the Highland Clearances, shipload after shipload of Highland emigrants crossed the difficult seas to Nova Scotia. The main ports of entry were Pictou, followed by Sydney, Halifax and others. Pictou became rightly known as the Birthplace of New Scotland. 5. 2Scotland’s markets in the changing US society *Fig. 3 International visitors in Scotland *Fig. 3 International visitors in Scotland Scottish Americans are, of course the target US market, but focusing only on this particular market would lead Homecoming Scotland to extinct. Even if they would have Scottish ancestry, they might not have any interest at all in Scotland. The stratification of the US market has to be demographic and social.The population of USA is approximately 298 million people, of which approximately 12 has Scottish Ancestry. They are widespread around the states, but unequally. Fortunately, for an expensive experience such as visiting Scotland from the US, high Scottish ancestry concentration s are in the wealthier corners of the United States like North-West, Central-North-West, North-East and Central-South-East. One of America’s weaknesses, it citizens average education is still to be desired and higher education is increasingly expensive. In order to have an awareness and interest in your possible Scottish ancestry, you need to have quite a decent education.So therefore, education directly influences American’s level of interest in places like Scotland. *Fig. 4 Adapted from clanstirling. org *Fig. 4 Adapted from clanstirling. org As of the American generations, Scottish tourism is open to almost all of them expect for the pre-depression generation who are predisposed to physical accidents, thus travelling over such long distances would be an impediment for them (not for their UK homologues though). The depression generation is known as very keen to activity and adventure tourism. Scotland’s advanced adventure and activity tourism developed in West ern Scotland, such as Forth William and plentiful of sport events might be an important advantage.But the most suitable American generation to visit Scotland are the â€Å"Baby Boomers†. Boomers are higher income, higher education and are a strong market for anti-aging products, travel and financial services. They are desperate to evade from routine and relax in a wonder untouched corner of the Earth, but also are aware of their ancestry, thus open to visit their homeland. Reaching the Xers however, is a tougher challenge because they have matured in a busy, overcrowded learning and working environment, so reaching them requires special attention to the media. This is in fact where VisitScotland comes at hand the most. 5. 3Homecoming Scotland 2009 and 2014: Stagnating nationally, developing internationallyThe campaign represents a stubbornness to return to the Butler’s development phase of the cycle: a reflection of a well-defined tourist market area, shaped by heavy a dvertising in tourist-generating areas. One of the most likely tourist-generating areas for Scotland is without any doubt, North America, due to its powerful Scottish ancestry. 2009 was the first year of the campaign and it is seen as an economic success for Scotland. Homecoming Scotland 2009 was a Scottish Government initiative, delivered in partnership between EventScotland, the national events agency, and VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation. Homecoming was allocated a core budget of ? 5. 5 million from the Scottish Government.Research by EKOS, an economic and social development consultancy reveals some very impressive achievements of Homecoming Scotland 2009: generated ? 53. 7 million in additional tourism revenue for Scotland, exceeding the ? 44 million target by 22 percent; attracted 95,000 additional visitors to Scotland; and generated ? 154 million of positive global media coverage. Homecoming has established an important database of Scots interest groups around the world. Only VisitScotland. com has received 344,207 additional newsletter subscribers. The year launched over the Robert Burns’ 250th anniversary, Scotland’s national bard and cultural icon. Also in 2009, because of Homecoming’s heritage promotion, the country’s biggest ever co-ordinated St Andrew’s Day was held.In order to have at least a similar success, Homecoming Scotland 2014 has to be predeceased by 3 ‘preliminary years’, each focused on a particular theme: 2010 for Food and Drink, 2011 for an Active Scotland, 2012 for a Creative Scotland, and finally 2013 Natural Scotland. Homecoming 2014 will take place in the year that Scotland hosts the Commonwealth Games, the 2014 Ryder Cup and marks the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. Conclusion Scotland, like any other destination is travelling its destination life cycle. This post-stagnation phase however, represents the most vital one, and it is here where tourism des tination development is mostly put into practice.The uniqueness in which it travels makes Scotland one of the most challenging, yet exciting destinations to promote nationally, and especially internationally. References Ashworth G. and Goodall B. , 1990. Marketing Tourist Places. New York: Routledge; Brewer, T. , 1994. The Marketing of Tradition: Perspectives on Folklore, Tourism and the Heritage Industry. Enfield Lock : Hisarlik; Butler, R. W. , 2006. The Tourism Area Life Cycle, Vol. 1: Applications and Modifications. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Butler, R. W. , 2006. The Tourism Area Life Cycle, Vol. 1: Conceptual and Theoretical Issues. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Butler, R. W. , Hall, C. M. , Jenkins J. , 1998. Tourism and Recreation in Rural Areas.Chichester: John Wiley ; Sons Ltd. ; Cooper, C. et al. , 1993. Tourism Principles and Practice, 3rd Ed.. Essex: Pearson; Crouch D. , Jackson R. , and Felix T. , 2005. The Media ; The Tourist Imagination. New York: Ro utledge; Durie, A. J. , 2003. Scotland For The Holidays: Tourism in Scotland c1780-1939. East Linton: Tuckwell Press Ltd. ; Grenier, K. H. , 2005. Tourism and Identity in Scotland, 1770-1914: Creating Caledonia. Burlington: Ashgate; Heath, E. and Wall, G. , 1992. Marketing Tourism Destinations: A Strategic Planning Approach; Kolb, B. M. , 2006. Tourism marketing for cities and towns. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; Swarbrooke, J. , 1995.The Development ; Management of Visitor Attractions. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; BBC NEWS, 2010. Travel industry faces difficult voyage. [online]. London: BBC News. Available from: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-11362694. Accessed 13 December 2011; BUTLER, R. W. , 1973. The Tourist Industry in the Highlands and Islands: Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 12, pp. 371-391. HOMECOMING SCOTLAND 2009, 2010. Report for Homecoming Scotland. [online]. Available from http://www. homecomingscotland2009. com/what-was-homecoming -scotland/ancestry/default. html. Accessed 13 December 2011; RODRIGUEZ, J. R. O, PARRA-LOPEZ, E. nd YANES-ESTEVES, V. , 2008. The sustainability of island destinations: Tourism area life cycle and teleological perspectives. Tourism Management. Vol. 29, pp. 53-65. THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, 2010. Second Homecoming in 2014. [online]. Available from http://www. scotland. gov. uk/News/Releases/2010/05/25113855. Accessed 13 December 2011; TOURISM MATTERS, 2011. Maximise VisitScotland’s â€Å"Surprise Yourself† Campaign. [online]. Available from: http://www. tourismmatters. co. uk/2011/03/maximise-visitscotlands-surprise. html. Accessed 12 December 2011; VISITSCOTLAND, 2011. Visit Scotland: Surprise Yourself. [online]. Available from http://surprise. isitscotland. com/? gclid=CLKB_6C-5aoCFQEf4Qod3Ckq6g. Accessed 11 December 2011; Bibliography Ashworth G. and Goodall B. , 1990. Marketing Tourist Places. New York: Routledge; Brewer, T. , 1994. The Marketing of Tradition: Perspec tives on Folklore, Tourism and the Heritage Industry. Enfield Lock : Hisarlik; Butler, R. W. , 2006. The Tourism Area Life Cycle, Vol. 1: Applications and Modifications. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Butler, R. W. , 2006. The Tourism Area Life Cycle, Vol. 1: Conceptual and Theoretical Issues. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Butler, R. W. , Hall, C. M. , Jenkins J. , 1998. Tourism and Recreation in Rural Areas.Chichester: John Wiley ; Sons Ltd. ; Cooper, C. et al. , 1993. Tourism Principles and Practice, 3rd Ed.. Essex: Pearson; Crouch D. , Jackson R. , and Felix T. , 2005. The Media ; The Tourist Imagination. New York: Routledge; Durie, A. J. , 2003. Scotland For The Holidays: Tourism in Scotland c1780-1939. East Linton: Tuckwell Press Ltd. ; Grenier, K. H. , 2005. Tourism and Identity in Scotland, 1770-1914: Creating Caledonia. Burlington: Ashgate; Heath, E. and Wall, G. , 1992. Marketing Tourism Destinations: A Strategic Planning Approach; Kolb, B. M. , 2006. Tourism m arketing for cities and towns. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; Swarbrooke, J. , 1995.The Development ; Management of Visitor Attractions. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; BBC NEWS, 2010. Travel industry faces difficult voyage. [online]. London: BBC News. Available from: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-11362694. Accessed 13 December 2011; BUTLER, R. W. , 1973. The Tourist Industry in the Highlands and Islands: Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 12, pp. 371-391. HOMECOMING SCOTLAND 2009, 2010. Report for Homecoming Scotland. [online]. Available from http://www. homecomingscotland2009. com/what-was-homecoming-scotland/ancestry/default. html. Accessed 13 December 2011; RODRIGUEZ, J. R. O, PARRA-LOPEZ, E. and YANES-ESTEVES, V. , 2008.The sustainability of island destinations: Tourism area life cycle and teleological perspectives. Tourism Management. Vol. 29, pp. 53-65. THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, 2010. Second Homecoming in 2014. [online]. Available from http://ww w. scotland. gov. uk/News/Releases/2010/05/25113855. Accessed 13 December 2011; TOURISM MATTERS, 2011. Maximise VisitScotland’s â€Å"Surprise Yourself† Campaign. [online]. Available from: http://www. tourismmatters. co. uk/2011/03/maximise-visitscotlands-surprise. html. Accessed 12 December 2011; VISITSCOTLAND, 2011. Visit Scotland: Surprise Yourself. [online]. Available from http://surprise. visitscotland. com/? gclid=CLKB_6C-5aoCFQEf4Qod3Ckq6g. Accessed 11 December 2011;

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Poetry explication - Essay Example The speaker is lying alone on her bed, at midnight. She couldn’t sleep and she listens to the sound of the rain tapping on the window glass. She remembers her past loves and realizes that they aren’t really very significant as she doesn’t even remember the names of her past lovers. The feelings that she remembers are very generic and simple (as opposed to special). She compares herself to a â€Å"lonely tree† (9) during the winter time and contrasts summer in the next two lines. The message in the last two lines are quite sad (and lonely of course, as she is alone) because it echoes the fact that â€Å"summer sang† (13) and â€Å"sings no more† (14). There is sureness in the fact that something will not happen again; that something has ended. The poem pictures a lonely person trying to introspect into her love life. Trying to remember loves and loves lost; trying to evaluate if they were all worth it. Apparently there were a lot of lovers because she has forgotten the people, â€Å"the arms that lain under my head† (2) and the â€Å"lips my lips have kissed† (1), that she has experienced. That these are the â€Å"unremembered lads that not again will turn† (7) and that they will never happen again because that season of her life has ended, when she compared herself to a lonely tree in winter. The loneliness and sadness is very evident in the poem as it portrays a woman alone in bed in a dark, rainy and cold night, realizing that the past loves of her were shallow; probably thinking that all of those experiences are worthless as none of them were special. The last line of the poem, though, can be a bit vague in a sense that she compared herself to a tree in winter. Winter. Winter is a part of a season, and in this poem, the seasons is a metaphor for life. It is told that in life there is always a season for everything; that there is a time for everything. Now it’s also known that the seasons come and go. Now she is at the winter part of

American Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

American Literature - Essay Example It is orderly because that is what keeps people’s lives moving, is order. The story introduces the reader the traveling school master, Ichabod Crane, whose very organized life involves spending a week at a time at the homes of the local students, where he is well fed, sheltered, and has the opportunity to meet and perhaps marry a young woman who might inherit some means greater than his own. Ichabod’s organization is symbolic of the organization within which he lives. It is a very organized, chaotic free life that Ichabod leads. As the story departs from the historic, and begins to delve into the mystery of the urban myths, like that of the story of â€Å"Douffe Martling (65),† then the organization and sense of sleepy little town calm begins to dissipate. â€Å"But all these were nothing to the tales of ghosts and ap ­paritions that succeeded. The neighborhood is rich in legend ­ary treasures of the kind. Local tales and superstitions thrive best in these sheltered long-settled retreats; but are trampled under foot by the shifting throng that forms the population of most of our country places. Besides, there is no encourage ­ment for ghosts in most of our villages, for they have scarcely had time to finish their first nap, and turn themselves in their graves, before their surviving friends have traveled away from the neighborhood; so that when they turn out at night to walk their rounds, they have no acquaintance left to call upon. This is perhaps the reason why we so seldom hear of ghosts except in our long-established Dutch communities (66).† It is only when we take ourselves out of the mundane daily life routines that it becomes really exciting, because then we can inject our environments with the sense of intrigue and suspense. Even if the characters are created by our social imagination, intended to create entertainment value, they are necessary to break the mundane daily routine. So we create ghosts and goblins, and those things that are

Levendary Caf Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Levendary Caf Assignment - Case Study Example The CEO and other senior executives should consider either relocating or making several trips to China just to check how the business is doing. That way, your support and effectiveness as the CEO will be felt and Chen will realize that he needs to reason with you not to impose things even where changes should be respected. 2. Chen has a difficult personality that lead to a moment of disagreement in one of the meetings. Applying self-deprecating humor where you laugh over issues as a way of expressing connection in communication could help you in knowing how to handle the problem. 3. Between you and Chen, there is a standoff that needs to be addressed. There is what you believe is the right thing to do and Chen has another thing to do. Creating an open door policy where you present yourself as presentable will make it easy to communicate to Chen despite the fact that you are the boss. Chen has proved to be difficult but for a worthy reason. He feels he has built the brand in China alone and opening 23 outlets has been his major achievement. With that in mind, Chen has also tried to provide the China market with what he thinks will sell in China. However, he has not maintained the company’s standards that are important for the establishment’s uniqueness. Foster on the other hand, you are in your first job as a CEO of an already established brand. To address that, Chen and other executives need to be taken for a refresher course in corporate management and brand management. Remember Chen did no go through formal hiring process as well as he could be in his first senior position in the corporate arena. Taking him and other executives for the course will enhance his skills. However, this is likely to raise criticism from Chen and the China market stakeholders. Some may see it as an act of intimidation. It could be classified as an action towards an inco mpetent worker, of

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Assignment - Essay Example We need to take action to stop them and come up with a much more reasonable and considered response to the problem. This is what informed and responsible citizens do: they work together, discuss ideas and come up with solutions that make sense to everyone. The Occupy movement has been a parade of fools so far. This is very unfortunate because there are social problems out there which require solving. Sadly, the Occupy movement has manipulated the homeless and used them as a rallying point. We need to take back our own public spaces from these people and we need to treat the homeless who truly need our help with real dignity and respect, and not use them as some sort of political pawn, as the Occupy organizers have been doing. Homeless people deserve to have a home and receive treatment. We need to ensure that this happens and they are not abused by those who would use them solely for political purposes. It is important for citizens like us to take a stand for those who are most vulnerable and whom no one else can help. Denver is a beautiful city with great potential. It is sad to see so much political energy being expended about homelessness which is only one of several issues facing the city. The people of Denver need to speak to their local representatives about these issues. We need to be very concerned about what happens in our public spaces. Downtown is a place for everyone. It is a place for families to enjoy themselves and for tourists to bustle about. It is not a place for constant political noisemaking and abuse. The citizens of Denver need to speak with one voice on this matter. Occupy and its shenanigans are not acceptable and we will stand up these criminals and clear the streets of their garbage if necessary. We all share this wonderful city. No one group or idea owns the city and can take control of our public spaces. Sadly, according to one

Adolf Hitler-World War I and II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Adolf Hitler-World War I and II - Essay Example He was part of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16, where he was involved in major combats. Hitler is also presented as being responsible for the Second World War (Haugen 7). Adolf Hitler is said to have influenced society, economy, politics, and ideas that are there for the people living today. Hitler’s love for the army majorly influenced how he ruled Germany at the time he was a dictator. He used military styles to rule the country. During WW1, Hitler won many awards for being an exemplary soldier who depicted cold-blooded boldness and courage (Haugen 53). Hitler also influenced major economic activities like agriculture in the sense that he idealized rural life, and saw that cities had a corrupting effect to the people’s minds. He supported the preservation of the peasant class. He also influenced the aviation industry through the creation of the Air Ministry. Previously, aviation was only seen in the United States (Nicholls 16). As Hitler rose to power, he preached murder, violence, and hate. When he was the absolute German leader between the 1930s and 1940s, millions and millions of people died because of his wishes. He lied and encouraged prejudice, ironically winning the support of those who believed him (Roberts 6). Politically, WW2 is said to have been caused by Hitler as a result of his 1930s influence on German politics. Hitler has affected the world and ideas of people today through many things such as the massive loss of life. From an economic perspective, the United States is said to have been led out of depression and into the post war era boom. This has enabled it to remain a superpower ever since (Haugen 7). Socially, Hitler has influenced technological advancements, both to civilians and the military. These include atomic energy, jet engines, and synthetic nylon fibers among others. Hitler’s legacy also led to the realignment of many of the states in the Eastern Bloc. From another

The Ethical Dilemmas Associated to Black Friday Directed at Wal-Mart Case Study

The Ethical Dilemmas Associated to Black Friday Directed at Wal-Mart - Case Study Example Every community and town where Wal-Mart is started has absorbed many workers consequently creating employment opportunities (Shaffer, 2007). Wal-mart has regulated the prices of its products by ensuring the customers purchase goods at low and fair prices, which will influence them to come back and shop at Wal-mart. Basis of Ethical Conflict By offering low prices to customers than the other retail shops, this has made customers not to shop from other retail shops apart from Wal-mart. It because of this that numerous retail shops have collapsed financially and closed down (Shaffer, 2007). Wal-mart has employed many people, which is a convenient way of creating employment, but they pay their employees poorly. Employees at Wal-mart receive salary below the standards of any USA citizens. Many workers are paid peanuts that they even have difficulties in sustaining and meeting all their basic needs. Half of the employees at Wal-mart have not enrolled in the health benefit plans, and many o f them depend on the health benefit plan of their parents. This has resulted to the oppression of the other citizens since they have to pay large sums of taxes in order to compensate for wal-mart workers. This is because many of Wal-mart workers are not able to pay for the health benefit plans. ... The company has hired many public relations experts to polish the allegations made by many activists and politicians. It has also hired many FBI and CIA retired officials to monitor the workers who are against the company. A reasonable sum of money, which has been used to polish the company’s name, can be used to increase the salary of the workers and enroll them in health benefit plans. Countless improvements have taken place at an instance while there are economic problems to the American economy. The lowering of prices is something that has been used to by many competitors, and this does not hinder them from selling their goods normally. This is the main reason that Wal-mart has come up with new strategies of offering large amounts of discounts to people who purchase heavily at their retail shop. It is because of this reason that Wal-mart should stop afflicting their employees but increase their salaries as well as enroll them in future health care plans. What Impacts Did L egal Pressures Have On The Situation? Many legal pressures do not find Wal-mart to be oppressing the employees because Wal-mart gives the government a substantial amount of revenues. On the other hand, the legal channels find Wal-mart to be assistive since they have created numerous employment opportunities globally (Shaffer, 2007). The other issues that the government find Wal-mart to be assistive, is how they have reduced their prices drastically to ensure that their goods are affordable to the average paid employees. The legal channels suggest that there is no way Wal-mart is oppressing its employees, yet it is offering low prices to its citizens for them to afford their products. Now and then, citizens praise Wal-mart because most of the goods they need

The risks and benefits of social networking services Essay

The risks and benefits of social networking services - Essay Example research, it was found that through social networking sites are hugely favourable among people, especially young adults; they have been ignoring various dangerous attributes of these networking services. Social networking sites can be defined as virtual communities used by individuals for interacting and communicating with friends, families and also meeting new people based on similar or shared interests. Social networking services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram have taken a critical important place in the lives of new age individuals. Apart from that, websites such as Facebook are known to increase the overall technical literacy of young adults. At the same time, these social media services are the cause of various positive and negative trends occurring in the society (Zafirovski, 2001). Therefore, it is important to understand the critical influence of these social media services so that negative consequences can be minimized and positive effects can be maximized. The objective of the present report is to understand the various risks and benefits of social networking sites. Recent research on usage of social networking services has suggested that the overall interest towards these sites is increasing in a substantial manner. At the same time, there contribution towards risks and benefits in an individual’s daily life is also heightened. The most common social networking services are instant messaging services, email and websites where information is shared. According to a recent survey conducted in 2011, it was revealed that almost 73 percent children as well as 47 percent adults are using these social networks (Red Crbit, 2013). Various benefits have been identified related to social media services and their usages (Cohn, 2010). By frequently using video clips, photographs and access to numerous articles, young adults gain a significant knowledge and understanding about the nature, production as well as usage of multiple content forms,

Macbet Act II Scene II Essay Example for Free

Macbet Act II Scene II Essay This scene was one of the most significant, as it the scene where Macbeth murders Duncan, but feels remorse and guilt afterwards. The murder is not shown so that it is left to the audiences imagination. Also, to signify that the murder has taken place, an owl shrieks. This was thought to be a sign of a bad omen, and it suggests that it is upsetting the natural balance of things (at that time people believed that everything had a natural order and to change this would change other things), as even the natural world knows that Duncan has been murdered. Shakespeare creates tension by setting the scene at night so that when Macbeth returned, Lady Macbeth did not know who it was at first and for a moment she thinks that Macbeth had not succeeded in killing Duncan and the attendants had woken up, and she says; thattempt and not the deed confounds us meaning that if Macbeth only tried to murder Duncan and did not succeed then they would be ruined. Macbeths character so far is shown as noble and loyal, as in act 1 scene 2 Macbeth is talked about as being; A good and hardy soldier (line 4). In reward for his greatness, Duncan awards Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor (as the witches predicted). Macbeth does have some ambition, because when the witches tell him he is going to be king, he wants to speak more to Banquo about it. However, in his letter to Lady Macbeth, he says; Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it meaning that he would like to be king but not attain it by bad deeds. Lady Macbeths thoughts are that she wants Duncan to be killed. She calls on evil spirits to give her the strength to do it; Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to toe topfull of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, stop thaccess and passage to remorse (Act 1 scene 5, lines 39-43) which means evil spirits- make me as strong willed as a man and fill me with cruelty, and make me have no remorse. The setting of act 2 scene 2 is Macbeths castle. This is shown as quit an eerie setting, as you can hear noises from the outside, and it very dark. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are on stage. In lines 1-8, Lady Macbeth is feeling bold, from line 1; That which hath made them drunk, hath made me bold. She comments on how she had drugged the attendants, and she says in lines 7-8; That death and nature do contend about them, whether they live, or die. This shows that she is not really concerned whether they live or die. However, in line 9 she begins to worry that they have been caught, and also says; Had he [Duncan] not resembled my father as he slept, I had donet, showing that she is not completely evil, as she could not murder Duncan as he resembled her father. At the end of the scene she becomes strong, as she takes the daggers from Macbeth (as he brought them back) and goes and puts them back. Macbeths mood is that of distress and remorse. This is shown by the fact that he accidentally brings back the daggers when he was supposed to place the by the attendants. This creates dramatic tension, as this would incriminate Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At he end of the scene, Macbeth feels he cant live with himself, and says in line 76; To know my deed, twere best not know my self meaning that if he is to acknowledge what he has done, he must assume a new identity, as a murderer, and forget who he really is. Dialogue on and off the stage is that of death. Lady Macbeth tries to reassure Macbeth that he has he has done the right thing, as he is very disturbed about what he has done. The dialogue also shows how the outside and natural world is reacting to what has been done; the owl hooting, the crickets crying, the knocking and also when someone laughed in their sleep and one cried Murder! (Line 25) The effect of these noises reflects the beliefs of that time that to change the natural order of things (how things naturally turn out) is to affect everything. It creates tension by suggesting that the outside world will find out and Macbeth will be punished. The audiences response is that they feel that something supernatural is happening, due to the noises, and to the images Macbeth sees and sounds he hears, like the voice he hears (lines 44-46) saying he will sleep no more. When Macbeth first appears on the scene, his first words are (line 14); I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise? The words I have done the deed suggest that he cannot bring himself to admit what he has done. The words didst thou not hear a noise? suggest that he expected to be caught, and that someone would have heard and come after him. His conversation with Lady Macbeth is that he is in some way shocked about what has happened. He says what he heard, and in lines 38-39, and 33-34, Lady Macbeth talks to him but he doesnt hear her as he is too deep in his own thoughts. Macbeth uses short, sharp sentences; like when?As I descended?Hark, who lies ithsecond chamber?This is a sorry sight (lines 17, 19, 21 and 23), because he is repeating what happened, and he is very distraught about what he has done. This effects the audience by creating tension, as Macbeth seems to have gone mad. In lines 29-36 Macbeth says how he could not pronounce Amen after someone cried God bless us. This shows that Macbeth does not feel he deserves Gods blessings, as he is too evil. In lines 38-46, Macbeth says that he heard a voice saying that he had murdered sleep. This shows his guilt that he will never be able to sleep again, and his remorse, as he shall never have peace from what he has done. Lady Macbeths reaction is to tell him not to keep thinking about these thoughts, and to reassure him. She is aware that they must put the daggers back, so at this point she has no guilt or remorse. When Macbeth comes back after murdering Duncan, he is carrying the daggers he used. This suggests to the audience that he is not in a proper frame of mind, and is still shocked by what he has done. It also suggests that he is not in control. Lady Macbeth had told him to leave them by the attendants to incriminate them. When he comes back, Lady Macbeth tells him to go and put them, back, but when he wont, she does it. This shows that she does not mind blaming innocent people. The audiences reaction is that she is very much in control, and knows what both of them must do. Macbeth will not go back because he says; Ill go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; look ont again, I dare not. This reveals his guilt because he can hardly comprehend that he has done something so awful. This also shows his conscience, as he says I dare not, showing he does not know what his reaction would be, so knows he is not in control of himself. When Macbeth returns, his hands are red with Duncans blood. Once Lady Macbeth puts the daggers back, her hands are also red. Macbeth says in lines 63-65; Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No: this my hand will rather the multitudinous sea incarnadine. This means that he feels that all the seas in the world could not ash the blood off his hands, and that instead his hands would turn all the oceans red, and also that it will never wash off the blood stain on his conscience, so he feels that he will never be as innocent as he was before the murder. Lady Macbeth says in lines 67-68; My hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white. The words my hands are of your colour mean that her hands are red, but also that she is now as guilty of the murder as Macbeth is. The words but I shame to wear a heart so white means that she is criticising her husband, by saying that she would not want to be so cold and heartless. The washing of the hands is significant later because Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and washes her hands in her sleep. Macbeths feelings are of extreme guilt and in line 62 he says; What hands are here? Ha: they pluck out mine eyes. This means that he wishes he did not have any eyes so he did not have to see the blood of the man he murdered. At the end of the scene, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth hear knocking. Lady Macbeth does not show any guilt or conscience, as she is only concerned with them getting back to their rooms to not seem suspicious and to get rid of the blood on their hands. Macbeth says how he cannot carry on if he does not forget who he is as he has a bas conscience, and in line 77 he says; Wake Duncan with thy knocking: I would thou couldst. This shows that he wishes Duncan was still alive, so feels guilty about him being dead. The audiences reaction is that they feel slightly sorry for Macbeth, as he was pressured into the murder by Lady Macbeth and know has to live with his guilt. This scene is the turning point of the play, because it is the point of no return; after Duncan is murdered there is no way Macbeth can go back. It is also the start of Macbeths journey from good to evil. At this point his guilt is at its highest, and later he is a bloody tyrant. This is because Lady Macbeth reassures him that once this is done everything will be fine, so he kills because he feels he has to, but later he kills because he is angry (act 4 scene 2). Lady Macbeth also changes. In the beginning, she is in control and has no conscience, but in the end, she is so out of control and so guilty that she kills herself. Her change is also shown by her speech, as in act 2, scene 2, line 70, she says; a little water clears us of this deed, whereas in act 5, scene 1, lines 44-45, she says: all the perfumes in Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Also, she begins to sleepwalk and acts out washing her hands. Finally, in act 5, scene 9, lines 37-38, Malcolm says about Lady Macbeth; by self and violent hands took off her life. This has a double meaning for the audience, as it means Lady Macbeth killed herself, but it could also be interpreted and by her violence and her guilt (of her blood-stained hands) she killed her soul. The ending of act 2 scene 2 creates dramatic tension by ending with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both in different frames of mind; Lady Macbeth making sure they dont get caught and Macbeth lost in thought and guilty over what he has done.

Human Behavior Organization Essay Example for Free

Human Behavior Organization Essay Human behavior is important in an organization as it defines how people work together and interact with one another. A co-operative team with an established leader will produce better results than a group of people that have no guidance and dont know how to work with one another. Organizations spend time and effort in the human resources department ensuring human behavior in the workplace is appropriate and productive. †¢ Human behavior and the organization hierarchy Human behavior is of crucial importance in the establishment of a hierarchy. Hierarchies are necessary in every kind of organization, from schools to companies to charities. Some homes even have a hierarchy established. Hierarchies allow workers in an organization to pursue similar objectives by working together. Leaders are needed to guide organization members through day-to-day tasks. Human behavior dictates the strongest will be highest in a hierarchy, as it is for those people organization members have the greatest respect. For instance, in a company, it will be those with the most work experience and highest standard of qualifications who gain high hierarchy positions. †¢ Human behavior and co-operation Human behavior allows members of an organization to work together effectively. As people know the necessary way in which to interact with one another, they can communicate effectively and build good working relationships that allow organization objectives to be pursued with maximum effect. Sometimes it is necessary to influence and change human behavior in terms of cooperation. For instance, a few decades ago it was considered the norm for male colleagues to call female colleagues pet names such as love and hun. Nowadays, this is thought to be unprofessional and even derogatory. Any organization member who treats their colleagues in a way that is deemed inappropriate can face disciplinary procedures if they do not alter their behavior.

Elucidating the p53 Signalling Network by Reverse Genetics

Elucidating the p53 Signalling Network by Reverse Genetics Reiyyan Tariq Nizami Aim In my research project I am working with four different strains Caenorhabditis elegans. I have been performing a double mutant screen using an RNAi knockout library. Cep-1 is a protein that causes apoptosis due to DNA damage in the worm. The cep-1 protein is an ortholog of the human tumor suppressor protein p53, which is found mutated in many cancerous cells. The aim of my experiment is to find genes that are regulators of cep-1 which cause lethality if mutated with cep-1. Alternatively mutants which are lethal as single mutants but survive as double mutants in combination with a cep-1 mutant are also potential genes of interest. These mutants have the potential to be regulated by drugs/proteins to change the levels of cep-1 and induce/prevent apoptosis in cells. Background Cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in our body. Under normal conditions a cell has regulatory proteins and check points that make sure that a cell is growing at the right pace and if for any reason the cell starts to grow irregularly then these proteins stop the cell growth and cause apoptosis. Apoptosis is the programmed death of a cell, as you can imagine it is tightly regulated and loss of regulation can result in catastrophe for the cell and the organism. When apoptosis is over active, healthy cells will die and this is often seen in diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, hematologic diseases and many other tissue damage diseases. Loss of apoptosis in turn results in cancers, autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases. P53 is a tumor suppressor protein that was discovered in 1979. Since then a lot of research has been done into p53 and its functions. P53 is a tumor suppressor protein that is involved in defense of the cell. It is activated when a cell undergoes many various kinds of stress, such as DNA damage, hypoxia, metabolic stress and oncogene activation. It is one of the most important barriers to cancer in many mammals. P53 works in many various pathways, primarily p53 is involved in binding to transcription factors that then activate pathways involved in cellular defense, such as preventing angiogenesis and cellular growth. Malfunctioning p53 is one of the greatest hallmarks of cancer. The majority of mutations found in p53 are due to single nucleotide substitutions in the amino acids of the DNA binding domain of the protein. Similar cancerous phenotypes are observed when either p53 loses function due to a loss of function mutation or when negative regulators of p53 are overactive or positive regulators of p53 lose their function. However p53 is quite unique amongst tumor suppressor proteins because different missense mutations in the protein can cause different levels of p53 activity and hence have varying effects on the host. The effect of the mutation is further modified depending on the genetic background of the person with the mutation. Due to the different effects of various amino acid substitutions and the varying genetic background of patients it is quite difficult to study large populations. This is because high-throughput sequencing and genome wide single nucleotide polymorphism maps are expensive to obtain. The prices are going down as new technologies are becoming available however until now there have been no larger scale studies relating different mutations to varying levels of risks for different types of cancers. It is also hard to perform molecular studies on entire humans and so research is done on cell lines, mice and on cep-1 the Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of p53. Caenorhabditis elegans is a worm in the nematodes phylum. They are a very well-studied organism due to their ease of study. C. Elegans are one of the simplest organisms that have a nervous system and that make them a very good model organism for neuronal studies. They are transparent creatures and so many molecular and cellular processes especially those involved in development have been thoroughly researched. They have a short generation time and are very cheap to maintain. They are an extremely good model organism for performing screens because any of their nonessential genes can be knocked out easily by using RNAi. The cep-1/p53 pathway is highly conserved throughout evolution as it is an extremely important pathway that is essential for cellular survival over time. The cep-1 protein works through the following pathway to cause apoptosis in cells suffering DNA damage. Cep-1 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Egl-1/Ced-13 –| Ced-9 –| Ced-4 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Ced-3 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Apoptosis A similar pathway is observed in humans p53 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   BH3 –| Bcl2 –| Apaf1 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Caspase à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Apoptosis A majority of these proteins are orthologs to one another. It was hoped that through my screen further proteins which interact with Cep-1 would be found and then their orthologs in humans could be found and then researched and targeted to regulate p53. Materials and Methods The experiment in itself was an extremely simple but time consuming experiment. Screens were performed with mutant worm strains which were then fed RNAi, through Escherichia coli (E. coli), to silence the gene of interest and create double mutants. To begin with a liquid screen is preferred over a solid screen. This is because with a liquid screen you can screen a larger sample of double mutants more easily than a solid screen. Liquid Screen The following strains of bacteria and worms were utilized, E. Coli – OP50, C. Elegans – N2, C. Elegans – GK138, C. Elegans – LG12501. E. Coli – OP50: Food source for C. Elegans C. Elegans – N2: Wild type worms C. Elegans – GK138: Cep-1 Mutant worms C. Elegans – LG12501: Cep-1 Mutant worms RNAi Knockout library for C. Elegans Chromosome 1 Day 1: Grow worms on Nematode Growth Medium (NGM) plates with OP50 as a food source for the worms. Day 3: Bleach worms that were plated on day 1 so as to only have eggs remaining on plates. Bend glass rod into L shape using a high temperature flame (Bunsen burner) Pipette bleach onto plates with worms on them and gently scrape the surface to mix worms and eggs with bleach Pipette fluid into Eppendorf tube and centrifuge at max speed for 3 minutes Aspirate most of the fluid and keep as much of the pellet as possible Suspend pellet with bleach Repeat steps 3 and 4 Suspend pellet using M9 solution Centrifuge at high speed for 1 minute Aspirate most of the fluid and keep as much of the pellet as possible Repeat 7 and 8 Suspend pellet using M9 solution and vortex Eppendorf tube at low speed to mix solution Place Eppendorf tubes in slow rocker in a 20 ° fridge overnight to allow eggs to hatch Day 4: Replicate bacteria containing RNAi from knockout library using a sterile 96 pin replication tool into a 96 well containing Liquid Broth (LB) with Ampicillin and allow the bacteria to replicate overnight at 37 °C in an incubator Induce transcription of RNAi using adding 0.1 Molar IPTG into wells and place in a shaker for 1 hour. Pellet bacteria by centrifuging in a cold centrifuge at 5 °C for 5 minutes at 2,500 g Remove the supernatant by flipping over the well quickly but carefully so as to keep pelleted bacteria in the wells Suspend bacterial pellet in wells using NGM Pipette worms into wells and place in 37 °C shaker Day 8: Remove worms from shaker gently making sure not to tilt the 96 well plates Observe and record phenotype of the worms Compare phenotype between the 3 different strains of worms Leave worms in 20 °C fridge overnight Day 9: Remove worms from fridge gently making sure not to tilt the 96 well plates Observe and record phenotype of the worms Compare phenotype from previous day Compare phenotype between the 3 different strains of worms Sequencing After potential hits were found in the liquid screen the RNAi from these bacteria were sequenced to ensure that the sequence of the RNAi was correct and hadn’t randomly mutated over time. RNAi was prepared by using a Qiagen miniprep spin kit. Suspend bacteria in 250  µl Buffer P1 and place in a microcentrifuge tube Mix 250  µl Buffer P2 and shake the mixture by flipping tube over a few times To the mixture add 350  µl N3 buffer, mix well quickly Centrifuge at 13000 rpm for ten minutes Aspirate supernatant into new tube Centrifuge again for a roughly 1 minute and discard the flow through Wash spin column with 0.5 ml PB buffer and centrifuge for 1 minute, discard flow through Wash spin column with 0.75 ml PE buffer and centrifuge for 1 minute Discard flow through and centrifuge at maximum speed for 1 minute Place prep column in a sterilized 1.5 ml microcentrifuge tube Add 50 ÃŽ ¼l of water to prep spin column and allow to rest for 1 minute after which centrifuge for 1 minute After the Qiagen miniprep is complete the tubes were sent for sequencing to The Centre for Applied Genomics where it was sequenced and results were obtained within a week. Solid Screen Solid screens were performed on genes which were found to have increased lethality with cep-1 deletion or increased survivability with cep-1 deletion. The following strains of bacteria and worms were utilized, E. coli – OP50, C. Elegans – N2, C. Elegans – TG12 E. Coli – OP50: Food source for C. Elegans C. Elegans – N2: Wild type worms C. Elegans – TG12: Cep-1 Fluorescent tagged (GFP) worms C. Elegans – Ned-8: Positive control C. Elegans – HT115: Negative control RNAi Knockout library for C. Elegans Chromosome 1 Day 1) Streak RNAi bacteria of interest from RNAi Library to obtain single colonies. Allow them to grow overnight in 37 °C incubator Day 2) Pick and grow a single colony in 5 ml of LB + Amp + Tet overnight in a 37 °C shaker Day 3) Add 0.1M IPTG for 4 hours to induce RNAi Plate 100  µl of induced bacteria on RNAi plates incubate at 37 °C incubator overnight Day 4) Pick 5 worms at the same stage and plate onto RNAi plates Allow to grow over 4 days at 20 °C Day 8) Score phenotypes and compared between different strains Day 9) Score phenotypes again on next day and compare between different strains and the previous day Fluorescent Microscopy We used a Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy to observe localization of cep-1 in TG12 worms. Worms were mounted using the following method Place a drop or two of hot liquid agarose onto microscope slide Immediately place a second slide perpendicularly on top of the agarose Allow agarose to settle for one to three minutes Gently slide off second slide so as to leave an agarose patch behind Add a drop of 1mM Levamisole to paralyze worms and prevent their movement Pick worms and place them on the slide Slowly place coverslip on top of worms, be very gentle Once prepared the slides were observed using a DIC microscope to find any irregularities in the localization or amount of cep-1 in the worms, especially in the germline and the eggs. Results The aim of this experiment was to find genes that cause lethality as double mutants with cep-1 mutants but not in wild type worms, these genes would be positive regulators of cep-1 and cause apoptosis through cep-1. The screen was also designed to find worms that cause lethality in wild type worms but not in cep-1 mutants, these would be negative regulators of cep-1 and cause apoptosis through cep-1. The results were gathered and tabulated to allow for an easier and better analysis of data. Note: There is a lot of data and so only data that is relevant is shown. Liquid Screen Results Legend L = Synthetic LethalE = Embryonic LethalG = Slow GrowthB = Egg laying abnormal R = No RNAi C = Contamination A = Larval Arrest S = Sterile V = Variable Morphology P = Lethal progeny W = No Worms Cells of interest are highlighted Chromosome 1 – Plate 1 N2 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 A R G G/L L C A/C A/C E R E/S G R R I S/L S R R R R K R R R R M R R R R S O R R S/E R cep-1 (gk) 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 A R L C/L C/L G/E C G/S G/L C/L E R E/S G R R I E/S E/S R R R R K R R R R M R G/E R R R /G/S O R R S R cep-1 (lg) 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 A R C/L L L E/P C G/L G L E R E/S G R R I S/B S/B R R R R K R R R R M R E/G R R R S O R R S/E R Chromosome 1 – Plate 5 N2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 A C E G E I E K R M R R R O G R cep-1 (gk) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 A C E G I E K R M R R R O R cep-1 (lg) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 A C E G I E K R M R R R O R Key results of interest in liquid screen Lethality in gk and lg but not in N2 Well Gene N2 gk lg A23 F53G12.5 G/E E/P M03 Y95B8A_85.h G/E E/G Lethality in N2 but not in gk or lg Well Gene N2 gk lg G04 F25H2.10 E Solid Screen Results 3 hits of interest were obtained from all the plates that were screened. These 3 hits were then repeated multiple times on solid media to make sure the results were accurate. N2 lg gk A23 -1 A23 -2 A23 -3 N2 lg gk M03 -1 E M03 -2 E M03 -3 N2 lg gk G04 -1 L A G04 -2 E G04 -3 The M03 strain showed opposite results in the solid screen in comparison to the liquid screen. However since the results were consistent we decided to study both M03 and G04 under the microscope with fluorescent markers. Fluorescent microscopy results No major mislocalization of GFP tagged cep-1 was found and no extra or lack of GFP tagged cep-1 was observe

The Future as Portrayed in Brave New World :: Brave New World

The Future as Portrayed in Brave New World     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World opens in a technically advanced future world. In the beginning of this book, we see the Director of World Hatcheries lead the new hatchery students on a tour of a Conditioning Center in London where babies are produced in bottles and pre-sorted to determine which class level they will be born into. These class level range from Alpha-plus, the highest level, to Epsilon-minus, the lowest. There are no parents, and babies are conditioned from birth to learn certain behaviors. All diseases have been eliminated, and when people are feeling down, they just take soma, a wonder drug. Also, people are conditioned from birth not to love one person, so there is no marriage and most people have many lovers. There is no God; instead, Henry Ford is worshipped as the god Ford. Another accomplishment of this society is the elimination of aging. Bernard Marx has unorthodox viewpoints and is outcast as an eccentric. He likes being alone, but in this society being alone is discouraged. His isolation from society has made him very different from everyone else. His only friend is Helmholtz Watson, an accomplished intellect who writes government propaganda. Watson has grown war of life as it is, and his supervisors have him under close watch. Two co-workers are discussing Lenina Crowne, another worker, in a changing room. They act as if she were property, able to be bought and sold. Bernard is disgusted by this, so he decides to ask Lenina to go to a Savage Reservation in New Mexico. Bernard visits the Director for permission to go. The Director tells a story of when he went to a Savage Reservation with Linda, a pretty colleague. During their visit,Linda was lost, and the Director had to leave. So Bernard and Lenina go to the Savage Reservation, which is inhabited by Indians. They quickly find Linda among the Indians. At first they do not realize who she is, but she explains what happened. Linda is aged and obese. Also, Linda has a son named Jo hn who is the Director's child. John is educated and mature, having read Shakespeare (forbidden in civilization). Bernard takes the two back to London for study. Once back, Linda takes too much soma, so she falls into a coma. John is displayed by Bernard, who becomes a hero.

The Reality of War Exposed in Journeys End by R.C Sheriff :: English Literature

The Reality of War Exposed in Journeys End by R.C Sheriff In the play â€Å"Journey’s end† R.C Sherrif recreates the tremendous stress and fear by the men at the front in the First World War. In this essay I am going to focus on two characters, who show stress and fear. The two characters the essay will focus on are Stanhope, who is the captain and Hibbert who is an officer. A couple of background realities about the war are that it started in 1914 and a numerous countries were changed like Germany and England. This war was dissimilar to other wars that were formerly fought because they used more up to date weapons such as gas bombs and machine guns. It was estimated that nine million people died. R.C Sherriff was once himself in the World War one, as an officer in the East Surrey Regiment. He was injured in the battle of Passchendael in 1917. Journeys end is based upon his past experiences in the war - reflecting the way he and his comrades lived and fought and repeating some of its events. R.C Sherriff wrote other play, a few novels and quite a few film scripts. R.C Sherriff is best remembered for Journey’s End. R.C Sherriff reconstructs the war in Journey’s end by making the audience feel as if they are there in the war with the characters. The play is based in the officers dug out, which was where the most action took place. In order to make the audience feel as if they were there in the war R.C Sherriff made notes in the stage directions like for example â€Å"the red and green glow of German alarm rockets comes faintly through the dugout door† in this example the stage which the play would be carried out would have been pitch black and red green flashing lights and loud bangs which represents the war, it makes it as if the audience feel as if they were there. The audience would feel like they involved with the characters because of personal things they were saying, for example an argument. The dug out which is shown in most scenes of the play, where it is set is very small with only one table. The situations in the trenches would have been extremely uncomfortable for the men; this can be very stressful for the men at times. This can be noticed from certain things in the characters actions, â€Å"Captain hardy a red faced positive looking man is sitting on a box by the table, he concentrated on drying his sock over a candle flame†.

Essay --

Conclusion ​The execution of the above recommendations (Appendix D) will aid in resolving issues in the implementation of the new systems. These recommendations will create change and generate further discussion on how C&B can improve execution of their new systems. ​​Word Count (Report Only): 1182 Appendix A KAT SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES †¢ Specialists can give in depth, technical advice to customers, customers have detailed information about product o value proposition o tailors to customers needs and questions o gives more credibility to products by having specialists give expert knowledge †¢ Tasks can be divided up, more efficient †¢ Team serves as members’ incentive to boost sales in area of specialization o Specialists can devote time to knowing own product better o Figure out strategies to best promote and sell product †¢ Customer’s have more complicated transactions o have to deal with multiple specialists instead of one generalist o complex chain of communication †¢ Specialists not used to teamwork since they worked independently before o don’t have effective group dynamic and communication skills †¢ Team attitudes o Members have varying viewpoints on new organization both negative (Callahan, Oates) and positive (Jen) o Nominal head Callahan is pessimistic, could affect group perceptions and behaviors †¢ Limit’s employee’s abilities, natural strengths may be in selling genera products †¢ Commission based on sales volume for specialist’s specialization o Individual motivation may decrease OPPORTUNITIES THREATS †¢ More attention to firm wide priorities leading to increased profitability †¢ Sharing customers makes tasks faster †¢ Specialized knowledge on products, especially emerging products, may increase customer base beca... ...ships. Staff members who usually don’t get along well should be put together. Tank Driving: A handful of light objects that are easy to throw (paper balls or beanbags) should be placed randomly around on the ground of a large room. Participants would then be paired off into groups for this activity. One person from each group would be the â€Å"tank† – they are blindfolded and are not allowed to talk. The partner would be the â€Å"tank driver† and they control the tank through communicating verbally. Once the game starts, the tank driver would direct the tank to pick up the objects scattered around the room and throw them at the other tanks. However, the tank drivers are to stand along the walls of the room and are not allowed to move. If a tank gets hit by an object, they would sit out until all the other tanks are eliminated. The last pair to survive would be the winners.

Applying Leadership Theories Essay

According to Wikipedia, leadership has been described as â€Å"a process of social influence or persuasion by which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task†. Studies of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision, values, charisma, and intelligence, among others. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership). There are various leadership theories that have been created that encompass how a leader relates to others within and outside of the educational organization. There a six that were specifically proposed by Martin, Wright, and Danzig (2003) that are appropriate when describing educational leaders. They are Directive, Participative, Collaborative, Coaching, Affiliative, and Laissez-Faire. A leader can possess all of these styles depending on the current situation. For example, a leader can use a Directive Approach when dealing with low assessment scores especially when being pressured from his or her superiors, when deadlines are not being met, or when a teacher or staff has neglected their duties. But also display a Participative or Collaborative style by taking input from others. The leadership style that is displayed can have a negative and positive influence on the school community and the organization. It is very important to understand the styles indivially and in detail to know which ones are more and less effective in your environment. The school where I currently work just received a new principal, but prior to her there was Principal R, who had inherited her position as the leader because her entire career was built at the school. She started off her teaching career there, three years later was advanced to Reading Coach, and then was assigned as Vice Principal. The Superintendent, formal principal, and others felt that she was the best fit for the job because of her years spent there and her experience as Vice Principal. Prior to her receiving the role of prinicpal, we were excelling in reading, writing, and mathematics. The principal prior to Principal R had moved us from a failing grade of an â€Å"F† to an excelling grade of an â€Å"A†. Principal R indeed knew the ends and outs of the school because she was trained and mentored by our previous principal, Principal P. Not knowing that once the school was completely turned over to Principal R, we will be on a descending trip to failure. Principal R took a Directive approach, very similar to the Autocratic Leadership Style. By her having experience, she insisted on doing it all herself even though she had an administration team which consisted of a vice principal, reading and math coach, and an ESE liaison. She felt that the ultimate decision in any situation should be hers regardless of whom or what it affected. Research states, that Autocratic Leaders often maintain authority by force, intimidations, threats, rewards, punishment, or position (http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx). If you challenged Principal R in any way, regardless of how simple or how large the issue may have been your evaluation would be affected. Principal R used this role for her own personal gains. Principal R had built many personal relationships prior to her taking on the leadership role, those relationships were soon affected when she became principal. Favoritism became a common word around the school. Things that we thought we would never get away with, was done often by the people in Principal R’s circle. This leadership style brought a negative image to the school. The morale went down and teacher’s lost their drive for teaching. Our school grade went from an â€Å"A† to a â€Å"C†, then to a â€Å"B† to an â€Å"F†. Principal R was transferred to another school where we hope her style would change for the benefit of the vision of the school. While under the leader of Principal R, we also had Vice Principal E, who was a very sweet person with more than 16 years of experience in the education field. Our school was labeled for having struggling readers which put more accountability upon the teachers. Regardless of what issues the st udents had years prior or even home structure that affected their abilities to read, we were held accountable for them if they were below average or even failing. Vice Principal E shared many strategies with us that were very beneficial to our students. Her education specialty was ESE and autism; we were able to use those same strategies to assist our students. Vice Principal E displayed a Coaching Leadership style also very similar to an Instructional Leadership style. Her main concern was teaching and learning and assist us in relaying information in a way that the students comprehended. Instructional leadership focuses on modeling, monitoring, professional dialogue and discussion (Bush, 2002). She mentored us on what routes we should use to assist our students. She increased our confidence and also our test scores. When the results came in and we seen how much gains our grade level had shown, Vice Principal E took no credit, even though it was all because of her. She remained in the mentor role and assisted us in anything we may have needed. Vice Principal E was surplused to another school due to budget issues and was missed dearly when she departed. We are currently under the leadership of Principal K, which is the true reason why I am pursing my master’s degree. Principal K is a new principal, but has 12 years experience as a vice principal in secondary education. Principal K is a true leader that models and motivates others to accomplish goals, while at the same time encouraging others to work toward their own professional goals. Principal K, came ready to work but with little knowledge of what direction to start. Principal K created groups of those teachers and staff, whom prior had experience at the school to assist her with understanding the vision and desegregating the data. Once Principal K understood the vision and the direction of where the school should be headed, she quickly took the Collaborative approach, also known as the Democratic Leadership style. She involved the faculty, staff, and stakeholders in the decision making process. Even though the final decision would be ultimately made by Principal K, she allowed everyone to be a part of the process. She allowed them to have the sense of belonging of being a part of the team. She encourages participation, values our opinions, group discussions, and motivates us to become leaders as well. Principal K’s leadership style provides direction and guidance. She states often that even though her title is principal her job description is to work for us and whatever we need to give the students a quality education, she will make sure it is provided. Overall, leadership styles is the manner and approach of providing direction, creating visions, implementing and acting on plans, and motivating people to excel beyond their comfort zone. Leaders styles will vary based on situations. A leader does not strictly lean toward one style, however one may seem to be dominate over another, but it all depends on the situation at hand. My goal is to use the styles that are most effective and meant to strengthen the performance of the teacher, staff and students and also the styles that will bring improvement on student achievement. References . http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx http://www.leadership-with-you.com/directive-leadership.html Bush, Tony 2003. Theories of Educational Management, 3rd edn. London: Sage.