Saturday, August 31, 2019

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 27

While I'd been pretty confident in telling Seth that Dante had likely skipped town, I nonetheless stopped by his shop the next day. It had never been very prosperous looking to begin with, but now the signs of abandonment were clear. The neon PSYCHIC sign was gone. The blinds were also gone, showing a room even barer than before. The FOR LEASE sign on the door was probably the most telling clue that Dante was gone for good. In the wake of what had happened with Seth, it was hard to know what to think about Dante. My heart almost didn't have the energy for it. I had cared about him, absolutely. He'd suited my decadent phase, and despite his blackened soul, there were parts of him that were likeable. And above all, it appeared that he'd cared about me, misguided or not. I wasn't happy about the deal he'd made with Grace, but I was glad he hadn't been there to face Jerome and Mei's punishment. No one deserved that, not even Dante. I hoped wherever he was, he'd try to start a new life-maybe one that could lighten his soul a little. I well knew, however, that humans with damned souls rarely recovered. Later that evening, I drove over to Capitol Hill. Peter and Cody were hosting a cocktail party to celebrate Jerome's return, though I half-suspected they simply wanted to drink away the sorrows of losing the sun. â€Å"How can we celebrate Jerome being back when he's not even here?† Tawny wanted to know. She was back to her normal, Amazonian blond self and was holding her martini glass in a precarious way. Peter couldn't take his eyes off it. I was nursing a gimlet out of politeness. The vampires had gone out of their way to get Grey Goose and fresh lime, but truthfully, I was a little burned out on alcohol. It seemed like I'd been perpetually drunk these last four months. I was not burned out on cigarettes yet, but I was trying very hard to break the habit once more. â€Å"Jerome's got plenty to keep himself busy,† I said. â€Å"We're just drinking in his honor.† â€Å"But he is staying, right?† asked Cody. We all turned to Hugh. Like the rest of us, Hugh'd had his abilities restored, and I'd honestly expected him to be a lot happier having his imp vision back. Instead, he seemed very serious, and I could have sworn he was watching me when I wasn't looking. â€Å"Yep. He and Mei schmoozed the corporate guy pretty good and pulled in enough favors to get backing from others. Cedric and Nanette both swore up and down that no one else was better qualified to run Seattle than him.† â€Å"Nanette finally caved, huh?† I swirled the ice around in my glass. â€Å"Of course, knowing Jerome owes her now probably makes her feel secure in her territory.† Cody shook his head. â€Å"Still. Grace went through an awful lot to try to pull this off, between the Canadians and all the wheeling and dealing. And Dante.† He shot me an apologetic look that I waved off. â€Å"I don't know,† said Peter. He finally seemed convinced that Tawny wasn't going to ruin his upholstery. â€Å"She's a middle management demon with so-so power. Doing what she did-seizing the opportunity when she thought Jerome looked weak-was probably the closest she'll ever get to ruling over an area like this.† â€Å"What do you mean? Would she be stuck forever? Never have her own domain?† asked Tawny, frowning. â€Å"She might have eventually gotten assigned control of some nonexistent town in middle America, but I doubt much more.† Hugh still looked oddly speculative. â€Å"Clearly, she didn't want to. Neither does Mei, from the looks of it.† â€Å"So much for it being better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven,† I said, pleased with my own wit. â€Å"Of course, I think we're going to see a lot more in Mei's career. She might be so-so in power, but she's got a plan.† â€Å"Have you noticed how she's a lot less scary alone?† asked Cody. â€Å"It was the matching clothes,† said Peter sagely. â€Å"When they dressed alike, it was too much like those girls from The Shining .† More laughter and conversation ensued, though I eventually grew quiet and simply listened. Maybe I could be the life of the party, like Seth had said, but this group could do okay without me. I took a certain amount of contentment by being back with them and having our lives returned to normal-such as they were. I could never be human again, but these were the people I wanted to be damned with. At one point, I got up to trade my empty glass for water and discovered Hugh had followed me into the kitchen. He still looked troubled. The others were laughing and talking, providing cover for our conversation. â€Å"What's going on?† I asked. â€Å"I thought you'd be happy.† â€Å"I am, I am,† he said. â€Å"Believe me, I am. God, that was miserable.† I couldn't help a smile. Hugh had hit his stride with being a lesser immortal. He was past the novice stages of Cody and Tawny and could fully reap the benefits of his position. However, he wasn't old enough to have acquired all the jaded centuries Peter and I had. Out of all of us, I didn't doubt that Hugh had suffered the most. â€Å"Then what's going on?† He hesitated, and again, I was struck by how out of character he was behaving. â€Å"Georgina, has Seth done anything†¦bad lately? Rob a bank? Cheat on taxes?† â€Å"Of course not,† I said, more confused than ever. â€Å"Has he†¦or well†¦did he do anything, uh, bad with you?† To my chagrin, I blushed. You'd think nothing would make a succubus self-conscious, but I still tried to maintain that line between my private and business sex lives. My silent response was enough for Hugh. â€Å"Fuck.† â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"We did it when I was in stasis. I didn't take any of his energy. I didn't shorten his life. And we haven't done it since Jerome came back. It's over. He's back with Maddie.† Hugh raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Oh?† â€Å"I realized how impossible it was for us and convinced him to go back to her. I really laid on the guilt.† Just mentioning what had happened made me ache all over again. â€Å"I'm sure you did,† Hugh said dryly. â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He sighed. â€Å"There's no easy way to explain this. When I first met Seth, his soul was like†¦a supernova. It lit up a room. That guy had such a generous spirit, it was insane.† Had. â€Å"And now?† The answer was slowly creeping in on me. â€Å"Now, there's a shadow on him. A stain on his soul. He cheated on Maddie with you†¦and is back with her, keeping that from her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The room started swaying, and I forced myself to focus on Hugh. â€Å"What we did, it wasn't sleazy. We are†¦were†¦in love. It was sweet-that is, it meant something.† â€Å"Maybe it did, sweetie. Maybe the planets aligned when you made love. But regardless of what happened between you, he wronged her-and he feels it now. That sin is darkening his soul.† â€Å"How dark?† I asked, my voice almost a whisper now. â€Å"If he were a hit by a car right now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hugh's face was both hard and sad. â€Å"He'd head right to Hell.† â€Å"Oh my God.† I collapsed back against the counter. â€Å"I didn't think†¦didn't realize†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Since I hadn't been a succubus, I hadn't been thinking like one. I hadn't worried about shortening his life or exhausting him because there was no need. While I'd known we were both deceiving Maddie and had felt a fair amount of guilt over it, I'd never considered it in terms of damnation. I'd turned off that part of my life, the part of being a succubus that counted and tallied souls-the main part of my job. Which was stupid of me. Humans didn't need us to sin. They did it all the time on their own and did just as good a job-if not better-than we could. I didn't have to be a succubus to make Seth sin. I could have been any woman, any woman he'd had an affair with. Sin was subjective, too, and different people would feel it differently. For someone like Seth, doing what he did would leave a harsh mark-and me making him feel guilty about it hadn't helped. â€Å"This is worse,† I said. I laughed, but it was the kind of hysterical laughter that could segue to tears at any moment. â€Å"It would have been better if we'd had sex when we were dating. I'd have taken years off his life, but his soul would have stayed pure-and that's what matters in the long run. Instead, I was so adamant about refusing to do it†¦and now look. Look what I did.† Hugh caught my hand and squeezed it. â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"Is there†¦is there any way he can undo it?† â€Å"You know the answer as well as me. Sure, he can eventually swing the pendulum the other way. But it's hard. Very hard.† â€Å"He's a good person,† I said stoutly. â€Å"Maybe, but that may not be enough anymore.† â€Å"He'd need a deal with God,† I muttered. I stared at the floor, studying the tiles absentmindedly. What had I done? How could I have been so stupid? Had I been so blinded by love and lust that I'd been oblivious to the principles that had dictated my immortal vocation these long centuries? â€Å"Georgina,† Hugh said hesitantly. I looked at him. â€Å"There's something else†¦just a heads up. You know this as well as I do. When upright people screw up like this†¦they do try to rebound in their way. The guilt's got to be eating him. People like that try to do things to make up for it. Rash things. Something tells me he'll be like that.† â€Å"Thanks for the warning,† I said. â€Å"Though I can't imagine he'd do something that could make this any worse.† The imp cut me a look. â€Å"Sweetie, he's human. Don't underestimate him.† Hugh was right. The next day, I went to the condo builder's office and talked more in-depth with the real estate agent that handled their sales. We chatted for a while and talked numbers, though I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was doing this without thinking it through. The pictures were nice, the floor plan was nice, and the options were nice. Yet, I didn't know if this was just some impulsive reaction to the ups and downs in my life. Then, when he took me to the unit itself and showed me the balcony, I knew. It was a beautiful day, one that wasn't true summer yet but could give us enough hope that winter was just about finished. Puget Sound was deep blue, and the downtown skyline gleamed in the sun against a cloudless sky. To the west, the Olympic Mountains were visible for the first time in over a month, their peaks still heavy with snow. As often happened with this kind of weather, people turned out in droves, treating it like it was high summer. Families came out, shorts came out. This part of Alki didn't have a true beach-that was at a park a little farther down-but the water was still just a stone's throw away from my building, separated only by the small road and narrow strip of grass. I watched the waves break against the shore and realized this was where I needed to be. â€Å"I want to make an offer,† I told him. I knew Maddie would want to know, so I made sure she was the first one I told when I ended up back in Queen Anne later that night. It was early evening, my last day before returning to a real full-time schedule, and I swung by the store to catch her and tell her. Only, she sought me out first, with news of her own. â€Å"Georgina!† I'd barely entered when she grabbed my arm and pulled me off into the cookbooks. â€Å"Hey,† I laughed. â€Å"Glad you're in a good mood. I've got news.† â€Å"Me too!† Her face was radiant, and after all that had happened, it made me happy to see her like this. I couldn't help a return grin. â€Å"What's up?† She glanced around covertly, then lowered her voice. â€Å"You were right.† â€Å"About what?† â€Å"About Seth needing time-about him being preoccupied.† Oh lord. He'd finally slept with her again, now that things had ended with us. I can't say I was happy to have this news delivered to me, but for her sake, I was at least glad she could stop worrying. â€Å"Wow, that's great, Mad-â€Å" â€Å"He was waiting to propose!† She shot her hand up to my face so quickly that for half a moment, I thought she was going to punch me. But, no, there was no impact-unless you counted the brilliant glitter of the engagement ring dazzling my eyes. â€Å"Oh my God. But it†¦it's so soon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I know,† she said, breathless from her excitement. â€Å"I can't believe it. And I mean, yeah, we've only been going out for about four months, but Seth says we can have a long engagement, that he just wanted to commit things between us.† Of course he did. When upright people screw up like this†¦they do try to rebound in their way. The guilt's got to be eating him. People like that try to do things to make up for it. Rash things. How could I be surprised? I'd become a succubus because I'd cheated on my husband and been caught. I'd sold my soul in an effort to blot that act out, to make him and everyone else I knew forget me. Why was this any different? â€Å"You don't think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Maddie turned uneasy, once more seeking my approval and advice. â€Å"You don't think it's too fast, do you? Have I made a mistake? I mean, even if we wait awhile for the wedding†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I kept smiling. â€Å"It's fine, Maddie. There's no time frame that's set for everyone. If it's what feels right to you, then you've got to do it.† Her grin lit back up. â€Å"Oh, thank you. I'm so glad to hear you say that. I mean, I said yes, and I've been excited†¦I just didn't want it to seem like I was rushing in.† She glanced back down, admiring the ring. I realized something. â€Å"It's a diamond.† She gave me a curious look. â€Å"Of course. Why wouldn't it be? Most engagement rings are.† Last year, I'd teased Seth about getting married, and he'd said that if he ever did, he'd give his bride-to-be a ruby because he thought diamonds were ordinary, and getting married was extraordinary. I stared into the stone's glittering facets, puzzled. â€Å"Did you pick it out? Had you told him you wanted a diamond?† â€Å"Nope. It had never come up. He just got it for me. Why?† I shook my head and tried to look happy for her. â€Å"No reason. It's beautiful. Congratulations.† I turned to leave. â€Å"I'll see you tomorrow.† â€Å"Georgina, wait.† I paused and looked back. â€Å"What was your news?† â€Å"Wh-oh. Yeah. I'm buying the place in Alki.† â€Å"Seriously?† I swear, she almost seemed more excited about that than the engagement. â€Å"When will it be done?† â€Å"July.† â€Å"Oh, wow. That's great. You could have such great summer parties.† â€Å"Yep. Let's hope it gets finished on time.† She sighed happily and gave me a quick hug. â€Å"Isn't this a great day? Good news for both of us.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed. â€Å"Great.† I walked home, too stunned over the engagement news to process it much. Considering Hugh's prediction, there wasn't much to process. I'd convinced Seth that he and I were a fantasy, that he needed to settle into reality and take what good he had with Maddie. Seth had believed me and tried to make it up to her-make it up to himself, even-with this hasty engagement. He was not a rash person usually, but the extreme circumstances had turned him into one. My phone rang about half a block from the store. I could recognize Vancouver's area code by now, but I didn't know the number. For all I knew, Evan wanted me to smuggle them some spray paint across the border. To my relief, it was Kristin. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"How's it going?† â€Å"Fine. Well, better than fine. Great actually.† There were a few awkward seconds of silence. â€Å"Me and Cedric†¦we're†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The first spark of enthusiasm I'd felt in a while leapt up in me. â€Å"Really? You guys are a†¦thing?† â€Å"Yeah.† There was wonder in her voice, like she could hardly believe it. â€Å"He told me that you were the one who said that he should go out with me.† â€Å"Oh, well. I†¦just suggested he was looking in the wrong places.† â€Å"Georgina, there is no way I can thank you enough for this.† Her voice was brimming with emotion, something I wouldn't have thought possible of the businesslike imp. â€Å"This is†¦I've wanted this for so long. Loved him for so long. And he never noticed me until you made him just pause and look. That's exactly how he said it too. That he'd been so busy chasing everything else that he'd never seen what was in front of him.† I thought I might get choked up too. â€Å"I'm glad for you, Kristin. Really. You deserve it.† She laughed. â€Å"Most would say us damned souls don't deserve anything.† â€Å"We're like anyone else, deserving both good and bad. I'm not sure being damned has anything to do with it.† She was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was low, almost hard to hear. I actually stopped walking and stepped off down a side street to get away from the din of traffic. â€Å"It's funny you mention that,† she said slowly. â€Å"Because†¦well, I did something for you.† I suddenly had an image of Tim Horton's donuts showing up on my doorstep. â€Å"Er, that's really not necessary. I didn't do that much.† â€Å"You did, though. To me, at least. And so†¦I wanted to do something just as big for you. I, uh, went and looked at your contract.† I caught my breath. â€Å"What?† â€Å"We've had a lot of paperwork to file, and I managed to work in a corporate trip.† â€Å"Corporate trip† was a nice way of saying she'd visited the inner offices of Hell. â€Å"Kristin†¦if you'd been caught†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I wasn't,† she said proudly. â€Å"And I found your contract and read it.† I'd come to a complete stop now. The world around me didn't exist. â€Å"And?† â€Å"And†¦nothing.† â€Å"What do you mean nothing?† â€Å"I mean, there's nothing wrong with the contract. I went over and over it. Everything's in order.† â€Å"It can't be! Niphon was trying so hard to mess with me†¦to get me recalled. Hugh was certain it meant he was trying to shift attention from the contract.† â€Å"I don't know about any of that,† said Kristin, sounding truly sympathetic. â€Å"All I know is what I read. You sold your soul and took on standard succubus servitude in exchange for every mortal you knew forgetting who you were. That sound right?† â€Å"Yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"That's what it said. All the language was exactly as it should be.† I didn't really have any response, so I gave none. â€Å"Georgina, are you still there?† â€Å"Yeah†¦I'm sorry. I just thought†¦I'd been so certain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It had been a foolish hope, that maybe somewhere there was a loophole for me. But then, I seemed to fall for those things all the time, just like I had with Nyx's dream and the impossible chance of getting pregnant while in stasis. I was as naà ¯ve as Dante had said. â€Å"Thanks. I really appreciate you looking.† â€Å"I'm sorry you didn't get what you wanted. If there's anything else I can do for you-that doesn't involve breaking into records-let me know.† â€Å"Thanks. I will.† We disconnected, and I stared bleakly at my surroundings, at the quiet residential block I'd stepped off onto. â€Å"There is no way,† I said out loud, â€Å"that this day can get any worse.† A rustle behind me made me jump, and I spun around. I had thought I was alone and now felt like an idiot getting caught talking to myself. I saw no one, though. Then, a bush by the sidewalk twitched a little. I took a few steps toward it and knelt down. Yellow eyes peered out at me, followed by a piteous meow. I made the clicking sound that's universal to cat owners, and after a few moments, my observer emerged. It was a cat, a very scraggly one-and a cat I was pretty sure I'd seen before. It was smaller than Aubrey, maybe younger, and I could see its ribs poking out underneath the fur, which was matted and dirty. When I petted the cat's head, I noticed a dry texture to the fur that often indicated fleas. The cat seemed unsure of me-but not enough that it ran away. It mostly seemed curious for now, like it was trying to figure me out-and maybe score some food. Which was fine, because I was trying to figure it out too. Clearly, this cat had no owner, or if it did, that ownership needed to be revoked. I studied its yellow eyes and every frail line of its body. The cat looked so different and yet†¦I was certain it was the one. And in a musing that was worthy of Carter, I suddenly wondered if the universe might not be done with me after all. I let the cat sniff my hand a bit longer, and then I reached out and picked it up. It was a she. She didn't fight me as I held her to my chest and walked home. In fact, she started purring. Maybe she knew me. Maybe she was just weary of fighting all the time too. When I shouldered open my door, Aubrey's head immediately jerked up from where she'd been napping. She made no noise, but all the fur on her back stood on end as she studied our new visitor with narrowed eyes. Roman, lying on the couch as usual, also studied us. He looked at the cat, taking in her orange and brown patched coat. Then, he looked up and met my eyes. I'm not sure what he saw, but it made him smile. â€Å"Let me guess. That's a tortie.† â€Å"Yes,† I agreed. â€Å"This is a tortie.†

Friday, August 30, 2019

Enterprise Architecture as Strategy

Executive Summary This report is an examination of change process prompted by MEG International, a large and reputable Finnish IT organization. This report explains Enterprise architecture and how it can be applied as a strategy. It explains Coachman's â€Å"framework for enterprise architecture† (Coachman, 1987) and the components of its two dimensional matrix.Criticism that Coachman framework is only a taxonomy follows on identifying next framework â€Å"The Open Group Architecture Framework† (known as TOGA) and it's criticism that can act as architectural process rather than a framework, this report recommends to apply Coachman Framework for economy and TOGA as architectural process for MEG to implement Enterprise architecture as strategy. This report then follows on defining Re-engineering process from the key organizational change perspective.The report follows on the next section explaining the critical risks to re-engineer an organization and how to make sure the re- engineering process has been implemented successfully. While analyzing the implementation of re-engineering process this report introduces Muckiness's seven â€Å"S† (Systems, Structures, Staff, Skills, Strategy, Style, Shared Values). The next section f the report then provides the Justification that change is inevitable in an organization and identifies four main reasons for it.Although most people said MEG international is successful, its poor profit results, poor management practice and lack of communication and teamwork contrasted those statements. 1. 1 Enterprise Architecture as strategy Enterprise architecture is the practice of applying a comprehensive and rigorous method for describing a current and future structure and behavior for an organization's processes, information systems, personnel and organizational sub- units, so that they align with the organization's core goals and strategic direction (Shaw, 2007).Similarly, Coachman (1987) describes enterprise arc hitecture as it is to pep the business from disintegrating; the concept of information systems architecture is becoming less of an option and more of a necessity. Enterprise is an independent, standalone entity comprising set of business functions and architecture is the underlying framework that provides the ground for the enterprise to operate efficiently to achieve organizational goals.The primary purpose of creating enterprise architecture is to ensure that business strategy and IT investments are aligned and provide long-term view of a company's processes, systems and technologies (Ross, Well & Robertson, 2006). Enterprise architecture is important because organizations need to adapt increasingly fast to increased competition, changing customer requirements, and business goals. Since MEG international was showing signs of reduction in sales and threatening market position by foreign competition were perfect examples that MEG was not adapting to rapidly changing environments.Thi s need for adoption has influence over the entire business processes; change in one business process may influence other business process. To keep enterprise architecture coherent, change should be managed accordingly in all architectures, and the relations between different architecture just be clear so it is vital for MEG to implement enterprise architecture as a strategy to be able to gain competitive advantage. Main difficulty in adopting enterprise architecture as strategy is to match business architectural alignment and IT alignment because of the differences in architectural modeling methods.Business analysts build complex business process models; similarly IT architects can design complex applications. These two groups of people may be best at what they do but they lack common language to understand each other's design. Mona Lisa although being Information Systems consultant didn't have he leadership capacity or vision on how she is going to approach the issue of aligning th ese two processes, or what framework to use for the enterprise architecture and what IT strategy to choose to move forward towards the change process.Some of the well known examples of enterprise architecture frameworks that can help to build the strategies around enterprise architecture in MEG are: Coachman's â€Å"framework for enterprise architecture† (Coachman, 1987) (Figure 1): This framework is a logical structure for classifying the different perspectives involved in enterprise architecture in a two dimensional matrix that are significant to TTS stakeholders.The matrix consists of levels or player perspective (scope or planner, business model or business owner, system model or designer, technology or builder, detailed representations or subcontractor and Functioning Enterprise) and six columns or aspects (data, function, network, people, time, motivation). From the Business owner perspective â€Å"data† represents information about customers, products, suppliers and relationships between these entities (Session, 2007).On the other hand â€Å"data† from the perspective of technical person implementing the database is rows and columns in tables which are linked together by Joins (Session, 007). If we move left to right on the grid we see different system descriptions from one player view whereas if we move from top to bottom it changes the different player perspective of viewing the system descriptions. Both perspectives are therefore critical for understanding the system's architecture that Coachman tries to address in his architecture.There are some criticisms about this framework that it itself doesn't define the methodology of the framework and is a complex process and can be applicable for large organizations only. This framework mainly acts as a template where goals, ales, processes, materials, roles, locations and events that organizations require must be filled in. Session (2007) argues that â€Å"the Coachman Framework is ac tually taxonomy for organizing architectural artifacts (I. E. Design documents, specifications, models) that takes into account both who the artifact targets (e. G. Business owner, builder) and what particular issue (e. G. , data, functionality) is being addressed†. The Open Group Architecture Framework (known as TOGA) (Figure 2): This framework mainly has four components such as: business architecture, application architecture, data architecture and technical architecture. Business architecture explains how business processes are aligned to meet the organizational goals.Application architecture describes how the applications are designed and explains the relationship between industry wide applications. Similarly Data architecture explains how the enterprise data are stored and accessed and finally technical architecture is responsible for explaining the interactions between software and hardware infrastructure. It mainly relies on already existing, proven technologies and pro ducts and tries to give a well-tested overall starting model which can be further extended.Although TOGA describes itself as â€Å"framework†, Session (2007) categorized TOGA as architectural process rather than an architectural framework. Session (2007) further extends Coachman explains how to categories the artifacts and TOGA gives the process to create them. So for an organization like MEG international Toga's Architecture Development Method (ADAM) (Figure 3) provides a strategic process for moving from generic to specific enterprise architecture.Therefore taxonomy like Coachman and an architectural process like TOGA seem very much appropriate for MEG to adapt Enterprise Architecture as strategy. . 2 Re-engineering Re-engineering could also be interpreted as reverse engineering or radical redesign of a business process which disregards all the traditions and assumptions of the past business processes or procedures and develops new one aiming to leap forward in performance and this seems essential for MEG International.Reengineering process involves in identifying the characteristics of an already engineered product or services and the processes involved in developing those, then redesigning all the processes from the scratch to improve current productivity or customer satisfaction. Hammer & Champs (1993) describe business re-engineering as the â€Å"fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of an entire business system to achieve dramatic improvements in critical measures of performance. Reengineering is most often called business process reengineering which is aimed to accomplish tremendous changes within an organization and underpins all the possible outcomes to maintain a true competitive advantage among the competitors. Reengineering focuses on identifying and abandoning outdated rules and assumptions and creating new rules, work methods and workflow to achieve organizational goals aiming to increase productivity, product quality and customer satisfaction drastically. Firstly company need to identify the problems and what can be the solutions to fix them.If that cannot be fixed by some other meaner or change process then a basic re engineering model must be developed, then company's core processes should be redesigned and final stage is to adopt the new design. Re-engineering is not a simple task to accomplish, it requires fundamental rethink and radical redesign of business processes. For effectiveness it requires structured and analytic approach to generate aromatic improvements in cost reduction, quality improvements, customer satisfaction, speed etc. Epic] Reengineering (Hammer & Champs, 2003, p. 2) Companies that are in deep competitive differences with their competitors, companies who have managers who can see problems arising like MEG and start on re-engineer the business before all their competitive advantage are wiped off. Hammer and Champs (1993)g's rhetorical question of reengineering is that â€Å"If I were re-creating this company today, given what I know and the current level of technology, what would it look liker.Focus on fundamentals, radical redesign element, the potential for dramatic results and business process orientation must be addressed while answering the question. Fundamentals like what the organization does, why it is done that way, what are the tactical aspects, should be addressed while designing re-engineered process â€Å"what should be†. Superficial changes and quantum leap in performance is the must while re-engineering not only marginal enhancements and improvements. These changes should address current business process, plus implement improved and simplified processes that improve value to he customer. . Critical risks to re-engineer organization and successful change implementation Re-engineering the organization processes or business process reengineering (BPR) can produce drastic change and improvement in the organizational processes if implemented suc cessfully. However if it is not implemented correctly it will not work as advertised and fail to meet the high expectations. Recent surveys show that about 70% BPR fail and some organizations that have put massive effort in BPR are only able to gain marginal benefits (Davenport, 1993).These figures indicate that re- engineering has high risk but also organizations are ready to take the risk because the output when executed efficiently can be astounding. Some of the risk that could derail BPR process can be no support from senior managers, focusing on automating current processes before reengineering process is identified, making technology alone dependent on change process and not identifying the limitation of the current Information technology infrastructure.Other directly impacting difficulties that BPR can face involves employee resistance to change, not addressing employee concerns, schismatic of strategy & goals, lack of leadership oversight and commitment. Including all these risks main critical factor is that organization must be truly committed to change in the re-engineering process with full support of senior level management. At Meg international even though Latino thought that everyone would be excited by the prospects of organizational change, only few expressed any enthusiasm for understanding general management.Most of the divisional heads were not clear on what re-engineering process is and were misinterpreting the concept in their own words which created an anxiety among most of the employees which resulted in loss of number of good technical staff. These were clear signs that most of the divisional heads were not ready to help in the re-engineering process that was very bad sign for Mona Lisa to start with. Since the BPR is a high risk process and involves high level of tasks to achieve, it can never be one man Job; it stresses the use of team throughout the process.Lisa however didn't show any initiative in having a team; as a result her rig orous efforts were wasted and ultimately lead to her resignation. If I was in her position then my first priority of this project could be to create team of experts from different parts of organization to understand the business processes and technical infrastructure, and hire few members in the team from outside who have better understanding of re-engineering process who will be responsible for explaining the management team what re-engineering actually is and what we are planning to achieve.It is unlikely that an organization can ignore the existing infrastructure and implement a process from scratch. It is more realistic to acknowledge the resources available and any real constraints and develop fundamental understanding of their implications on the process redesign (Davenport, 1993). After the process is redesigned, available Information Technology should be used to facilitate the implementation of new process that rules out the possibility of technology to be the limited factor .While process re-engineering is not a technology endeavourer, IT is recognized as having a critical role to play in re- engineering efforts, primarily as an enabler of new operational and management processes (Davenport and Short 1990; Hammer and Champs 1993; Davenport 1993). However, IT in itself cannot be held responsible for the ultimate success or failure of the business strategy. When skillfully applied, IT can provide support for the intermediate processes that taken together comprise the execution of an organization's strategy.Since organization's culture is an important aspect and cannot be ignored in the change process, the framework that I will be using during re-engineering process is Muckiness's seven S diagram (Figure 4) because it encapsulates the key components of an organization and has Shared Values (or Culture) at its centre. 2. 1 Systems:- These are the processes, methods, procedures, rules, techniques, technology, manuals, etc. That ensures that work is undertak en efficiently and accurately. These are the essential part of an organization to guide the management and staff.Therefore key to BPR process is to understand current systems and redesign them, often as Davenport (1993) highlights, new processes are enabled by new technology which ultimately engages employees to learn new techniques. 2. 2 Structures:- After the key processes are redefined, the next step would be to restructure the organization to match along these processes. The new form of organizational structure that aims to break the traditional types of structure, particularly bureaucratic and divisional structures is required.Hammer & Champs (2003) recommend â€Å"a move to much flatter structures organized around the processes†, whereas Davenport (1993) recommends â€Å"a multidimensional matrix structure, with process responsibility as a key dimension† (p 160). To achieve this, Johansson et al (1993) states: â€Å"the new organization must accommodate a balanc e between functional expertise and process involvement† and goes on to say it is essential to remove functional barriers (IPPP). 3 staff:- As per Henley (1991) Staff is â€Å"the quality and quantity of people employed† and manager has the role of â€Å"motivation, reward systems, the structure of Jobs and team work† (pop). Davenport (1993) expresses â€Å"gain-sharing† (Pl 10), â€Å"lateral promotion†, upgrade from â€Å"role title to process title† (Pl 1 1), and interesting and challenging through â€Å"work role rotation†, he believes â€Å"encourages employees to redesign the processes to eliminate their own Job†. In contrast to Davenport's expression BPR to some extent will be involved in down-sizing and right-sizing the workforce. 2. Skills:- Henley (1991) defines skills as â€Å"The competences the organization needs in its people in order to perform difficult tasks to a high standard† (pop). The BPR redefines the roles that should enhance and provide space for skills development where Hammer & Champs (1993) add â€Å"New World of Work† where â€Å"Jobs change from simple tasks to multi-dimensional work†. This meaner â€Å"Job preparation changes from training to education, from rule following to exercising Judgment† and â€Å"manager's change from supervisors to coaches† and â€Å"executives change from scorekeepers to leaders†(p 169). . 5 Strategy:- The main task in BPR is to discover the organization's strategy and â€Å"of what drives competitive advantage in a particular industry; the industry's value chain and the basis for competition, and how a particular company seeks to gain competitive edge† Monsoon et al 1993, pop). BPR decisions and strategic decisions involving new processes new structure and new staff mindset is extremely difficult to achieve but managers should be trained to articulate their â€Å"Process vision† driven by â₠¬Å"Business Strategy† Davenport (1993, Pl 27). 2. Style:- By style Henley (1991) meaner â€Å"the philosophy, values and shared beliefs adopted y managers in their use of power† (pop). BPR should be able to change the way things are done in the organization and behavioral changes. â€Å"Process innovation involves massive change, not only in process flows and the culture surrounding them, but also in organizational power and controls† (Davenport, 1993, Pl 3). 2. 7 Shared Values:- Andrews & Stack (1994) state that in â€Å"successful reengineering business operations, individual belief systems become aligned with the stated beliefs of the organization† (Pl 15).Reengineering will definitely have a big impact on the cultural specs of an organization under new processes, structure, staff role, management strategy and style but â€Å"re-engineering demands that employees deeply believe they work for their customers, not for their bosses†(Hammer & Champs, 1993, pop). BPR should establish new process teams linked by common values where employees must believe in self empowerment, self management and rewards based on skills must be used.Following this structure would provide me path to develop perfect strategy that would enable me to lead my team to successful re-engineering process at MEG international that would significantly improve the performance of the equines processes. Change is inevitable in an organization, the organizations unable to keep up with the change; cannot match up with the fast changing market and their survival will be in question. There are many things, events, or situations that occur in an organization or its external environment that affect the way a business operates, either that can be positive or negative.To cope with these occurrences, situations or events; every organization has to fundamentally alter the way they do business. Thus we can say the statement ‘Change is an ever-present feature of organ izational life, both at an operational and strategic level. Therefore, there should be no doubt regarding the importance to any organization of its ability to identify where it needs to be in the future, and how to manage the changes required getting there. Consequently, organizational change cannot be separated from organizational strategy, or vice versa' is very true.There are mainly four reasons that organizations need to changes that can be market changes, increased competition, external forces, and internal forces. 3. 1 Market changes The international demand for quality products, low prices, better service and increased level of client satisfaction are the key for the organizations change the way they do business in current global economy. To match these ever changing needs companies are forced to form collaborative arrangements, cooperative ventures and even alliances.Social and political pressures have always been there for the organizations. Employee values, needs, prioriti es and their motivations are always influenced by the political and social events. To match up with their needs it's essential for managers to adjust their management styles and arrange comfortable environment for employees. . 2 Increased competition In past where there were technology was not advance enough and there was less global competition with slower moving business environment where change occurred incrementally and infrequently.But now challenges organizations face is different, globalization has created both opportunities and challenges forcing firms to make drastic changes not only to compete but to survive in the market. Globalization is basically driven by technological advances, international economic integration and domestic market maturation (cotter 1996). Even companies operating in small entries can feel the impact of global competition. 3. 3 External forces External driving forces are those kinds of situations or events that occur outside of the company and they a re beyond the control of an organization.External forces can be expressed under these sub-classifications: Demographic Characteristics: The change in population and their density come under this classification that can trigger organizational changes. This mainly includes changes in age, gender, race, and increase in diversity. Technological developments: In current business environment technology plays vital role in any organization. The Internet has revolutionized the way in which information is exchanged, communication facilitated and commerce conducted.Technology is rapidly changing and effective management demands more knowledge in these areas in order for companies to manage their resources and develop, maintain or keep their competitive edge. It is essential for organizations to adapt technology to improve productivity and market competitiveness. Since technology is fastest changing entity, any business missing to follow the technological changes might loose their competitiven ess or wiped off completely from the market. . 4 Internal Forces Internal driving forces are those kinds of situations or events that occur inside the company and they controlled if there is proper initiative taken.Internal forces can be expressed under these sub Human resource factors: -classifications: People change more frequently and they bring in their changed perceptions in the organizations. Their perceptions about the work and work environment, their expectations from their managers and colleagues, flexibility and balance between work and their life etc could act as important factor for organizational change. To increase employee motivation, and improve their commitment and education towards work, their stresses, sources of conflict, work overload, and ambiguity need to be identified and eliminated.Managerial behavior/decisions: Excessive interpersonal conflict is often a clear sign that change is needed. Due to the important role of the manager in introducing and managing c hange in the organization, skills training and capacity building programmed for both manager and employee might be necessary. It is suggested that a better strategic approach to change is where organizations and heir people continually monitor, sense and respond to external and internal environment in small steps as an ongoing process (Burners, 2004).Early model of change was developed by Lenin (cited in Burners 2004, p. 985) consisting of three- stage process. First stage is â€Å"unfreezing† which is mainly aimed at overcoming or dismantling the existing â€Å"mind set† that are resisting change. Secondly the change implementation which can be of lot of confusions where old ways are challenged and new ideas have not been fully stable. Final stage he called is refreezing stabilizing hanged within organizational culture, norms, policies and practices in order to ensure the new behavior is sustained in individuals.The unfreezing process is extremely important when intro ducing new technology with most failures occurring at this stage due to two factors; a lack of effective communication at the beginning and a failure to involve affected individuals in the change process. Therefore Cotter (1996) identifies that successful transformational change requires all of the steps in (Figure 5) and that the total time for the change is considerable. Skipping a step never reduces a satisfactory result and ‘critical mistakes in any of the phases can have a devastating impact' (Cotter, 199, p. 7). 4. Re-engineering Implementation In an organization there are various business processes which are usually fragmented into sub-processes and tasks. Re-engineering should identify these individual fragmented processes and tasks. Re-engineering should start with assessment of the organization's mission, strategic goals, and customer requirements main questions to be asked are â€Å"who are the customers? What are our strategic goals and are they aligned with our m ission? â€Å". According to (Hall, et al, 1993) five keys to re-

Research about plastic recycling Essay

1. Introduction The task for the students was to write about a topic that interested them, and to apply the learned knowledge and skills in connection with the course information literacy. First step was to get an idea of what to write, therefore brainstorming was the adequate method. With the gained information an own mindmap was created. Underneath, we can find both brainstorms, according to those brainstorms the topic has been chosen. Then the research question was formulated: â€Å"What should we do with our plastic rubbish?† Furthemore three subquestions were formulated: â€Å"What is the current situation of plastic pollution?† â€Å"How can we recycle our plastic rubbish?† and â€Å"Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic?† The purpose of this research is to find out the damage that is caused by plastic rubbish and how to avoid it. Plastic rubbish is a global problem and affects us all. This research will be based on secondary research, so by existing literature. The following chapters describe the findings of this report. Firstly it explains the search plan, made to lead the research. Secondly summaries of two main articles will be given and judged upon their professionalism due to the help of the CARS checklist. A literature review of one of the summarized reports will be given. The report will also contain a chapter about plagiarism and research ethics, which are very important to remember while writing a report. Finally the last chapter â€Å"discussion and conclusion† summarizes the findings of this report. Table 1:Samuel Thà ¶nnes, course Information Literacy. Table 2: Samuel Thà ¶nnes, course Information Literacy. 2. Search plan 1. Search question: What is the current situation in plastic pollution? How can we recycle our plastic rubbish? Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic? 2. Search terms: plastic rubbish worldwide, problems of plastic rubbish (worldwide), Recycling methods for plastic, most effective recycling methods for plastic, plastic recycling process, innovative plastic recycling methods 3. Information search method: internet search engines (google, bing), internet library HZ 4.Information sources used: scientific articles, reports, websites 3. Summary of the article â€Å"Global declaration on plastic pollution†. Nowadays people are in permanent contact with packages, bottles, toys and a lot more products consisting out of plastic. Most of the products end up as rubbish after the first hour they have been bought. About the question what  is happening to the plastic once it is thrown away, hardly anyone is thinking. The answer is simple, the plastic is coming back to cause even more damage. The way it comes back hardly anyone can imagine. It is coming back through our food chain, to fulfill its task, causing diseases to animals and finally to human kind, which is last in the food chain. For the last 60 years society has been using plastic in a wasteful way, with little concern in which ways this valuable, important and useful product can properly be disposed or recycled. The results are catastrophic, between 60 to 80 % of marine debris are in direct connection with plastic products. In the 5 largest gyres of our oceans enormous quantities of plastic are concentrated, with enormous consequences for the animals that live in the ocean. The consequences are going further to the food chain and human health. (Catto Fellowship Program, 2012, p.2) Plastic is not biodegradable, its decomposing into micro particles. Those tiny pieces are impossible to get out of the water, and the pollution degree is growing on a daily basis. The ocean plastic pollution can be identified as persistent, bioaccumulating and toxic substances. Due to chemical substances, as polychlorinated biphenol, PCBs, the pesticide DDT, several chronic health effects, as endocrine disruption, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity can be observed. (Catto Fellowship Program, 2012, p. 2) After summarizing the main facts of the pollution which can be traced to plastic rubbish, the next step is to find out what possibilities do we have to recycle the plastic. 3.1 CARS checklist on â€Å"Global declaration on plastic pollution†. CREDIBILITY: -Trustworthy source: As the article †Global declaration on plastic pollution† is a submission from the united nations conference on  sustainable development in advance of the Rio earth summit, I would call this source a very reliable one. – Author’s credentials: Detailed information are not given. Only given is that it is the Catto Fellowship Program an initiative from the UN. – Evidence of quality control: This article was published on the online site of the UN, which has to make sure that the quality of the published articles are good. – Known or respected authority/organizational support: The united nations are well known and have respected authority. Organizational support is also given through several experts, which is ubiquitous knowledge, that these kind of organizations have full access to any kind of expertise. Conclusion: The CREDIBILITY of this research is given. ACCURACY: – up-to-date(partially): The research was published in June 2012, nevertheless the used facts have not changed since then. – factual/detailed/exact: This submission contains detailed facts as it was prepared for the â€Å"Rio Earth Summit†. It is worked out in a very detailed way. -comprehensive: As 172 governments participated on the â€Å"Rio Earth Summit†, it was written in a very comprehensive way, which is also accessible to public. -Audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy: This document supports my own research, as it is giving me important facts about the world wide pollution of plastic rubbish. Conclusion: the ACCURACY of this research is given. REASONABLENESS: -Fair/ Balanced/ Objective/Reasoned: This document has been written in a very objective way, reasoned by facts, which have been researched through  experts. Furthermore that makes it fair and balanced. -No conflict of interest: We can find a conflict of interest between the research of the United Nations and large industrial companies, which are depending on the wasteful use of plastic. Despite the fact that this conflict of interest can not be found in the text, but relies on common sense. -Absence of fallacies or slanted tone: Nevertheless no slanted tone against anyone was found in the document, which makes it very objectively. Conclusion: The REASONABLENESS of this research is given. SUPPORT: – Listed sources: At the end we can find several companies which support the ideas of the United Nations. – Contact information: Contact information are provided through the United Nations itself, and can be found on their website. Conclusion: the SUPPORT of this research is given; as we could contact co-workers from the United Nations, to get more information. 3.2 Literature Review on â€Å"Global declaration on plastic pollution†. What is the specific topic of this article? The topic of this article is about the actual situation in plastic pollution world wide. What is the objective of this article? The objective of this article is to provide information about the world wide plastic pollution. In this case it was written for the â€Å"Rio Earth Summit. What are the theoretical assumptions? Assumption 1: Plastic pollution is a global problem. Assumption 2: A huge part of the ocean is affected by plastic pollution. Assumption 3: Plastic pollution is getting worse every day, and has to be stopped. How do the theoretical assumptions fit to your research? The theoretical assumptions do fit my research, because it answers the sub question â€Å"What is the current situation in plastic pollution?† Is there reference to specific concepts of theories/ What are the sources of information the author used? Unfortunately there are no specific information about the author. Only information about the organization, the United Nations, are given. What is the research method? The article has been written through expert opinions, which are working for the United Nations. Which type of material does the article present? As it is written from experts it contains their own field research. How did the author analyze and present the data? The data were presented relying on facts through expertise, so the author based the article on expertise. Does the author describe how the data could be interpreted? A clear description is not contain, the article only gives information about the actual plastic pollution situation and the consequences. What are the main conclusions in the article? As main conclusion it can clearly been identified that the actual situation is catastrophic and is even getting worse. 60 to 80% of marine debris are in direct contact with plastic pollution, the 5 largest gyres of our oceans show an enormous concentration of plastic pollution. This high concentration of plastic pollution results into our food chain being affected and finally being the cause for several diseases for animals and humanity. 4.Summary of the article „5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process† Defintion First of all it has to be clarified what plastic recycling means by definition: â€Å"Plastic recycling is the term given to the processing of waste plastic which turns old or scrap plastic in to a useable product which can then re-enter the manufacturing chain. In order for the plastic to be in a suitable format for re use in manufacturing environments such as by injection moulding companies the waste or scrap plastic, needs to go through several recycling processes†. (Daniel Marriott, 5 Stages of Plastic Recycling Process, 2011) Classify Numbers Before explaining the 5 stages of the plastic recycling process, the importance of the 7 numbers given to each plastic product while being produced, has to be explained. -Number 1 is used for â€Å"PETE†, which means Poly(ethylene terephthalate): Soda bottles, water bottles, vinegar bottles, medicine containers, backing for photography film. -Number 2 is used for â€Å"HDPE†, which means high-density Polyethylene: Containers for: laundry/dish detergent, fabric softeners, bleach, milk, shampoo, conditioner, motor oil.  Newer bullet proof vests, various toys. -Number 3 is used for â€Å"V†, which means Poly(vinyl cloride): Pipes, shower curtains, meat wraps, cooking oil bottles, baby bottle nipples, shrink wrap, clear medical tubing, vinyl dashboards and seat covers, coffee containers. -Number 4 is used for â€Å"LDPE†, which means low-density Polyethylene: Wrapping films, grocery bags, sandwich bags. -Number 5 is used for â€Å"PP†, which means Pol ypropylene: Tupperware ®, syrup bottles, yogurt tubs, diapers, outdoor carpet. -Number 6 is used for â€Å"PS†, which means Polystyrene: Coffee cups, disposable cutlery and cups (clear and colored), bakery shells, meat trays, â€Å"cheap† hubcaps, packing peanuts, styrofoam insulation. -Number 7 is used for â€Å"OTHER† Products labeled as â€Å"other† are made of any combination of 1-6 or another, less commonly used plastic and therefor very difficult to recycle. (Eco Reading, 2007) 5 Stages of Plastic recycling Stage one – Sorting the plastic In the first stage the plastic is collected by the recycling company and gets to the recycling plant. At the plant the plastic gets sorted out into specific types of plastic. In total 7 different numbers which are used to specify, which kind of plastic is maintained, can be identified: The problem in plastic recycling is that mixed recycled plastic cannot deliver good quality in manufacturing, therefore it is sometimes difficult or impossible to recycle the plastic to produce new plastic out of it. Recycling companies must therefore pay attention especially to sort out waste plastic. Stage two – Washing Waste Plastic Once the plastic has been sorted out, the washing process begins. Paper labels get removed, as adhesives and other impurities. Any third-party product on the plastic will lower the quality of the recycled plastic. StageThree- Shredding the Plastic In the third step the plastic is getting shredded through huge hoppers that funnel the clean scrap towards rotating metal teeth. The plastic is ripped in to small pellets, which are bagged and tested afterwards. Stage Four – Identify and Classify the Plastic After being bagged the plastic is getting tested chemically and labelled to its exact specification. Either the rGrade plastic can be used for manufacturing by adding a mix of virgin plastic, or it can be further recycled. Stage Five – Extruding In the last step the clean shredded plastic is going to be extruded in to form of pellets, so that it can be either used for manufacturing of for further recycling. (Daniel Marriott, 5 Stages of Plastic Recycling Process 2011) 4.1 CARS checklist on „5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process†. CREDIBILITY: -Trustworthy source: PR Log is an online press release distribution and press release submission service. Main objective of this site is to publish news from all over the world in the industry sector. The article â€Å"5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process† is supported by the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, which is a multi-national distributor of rGrade plastic. Therefore we can call this source trustworthy. – Author’s credentials: The author â€Å"Daniel Marriott† is mentioned, it is possible to contact him via email through a hyperlink and via his phone number. 0845 8730037. As a conclusion it can be said, if further questions are necessary, it would be possible to contact the author. – Evidence of quality control: This article was published on the online site  of â€Å"PR Log† and is supported by the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, which makes sure that the quality of the article is given. – Known or respected authority/organizational support: â€Å"PR Log† is a registered company and all the published content must be controlled. Furthermore it is supported by the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, which is in the recycling business. Conclusion: The CREDIBILITY of this article is given. ACCURACY: – up-to-date: The article was published in October 2011, we can not call this up-to-date, on the other hand it can not be called old, because the process has probably not changed. – factual/detailed/exact: This article only contains facts , is very detailed and exact about the whole process and the five steps. -comprehensive: The article is very easy to understand and to read , which makes is very comprehensive.the -Audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy: This article supports my own research, as it is giving me important facts about the plastic recycling process. Conclusion: the ACCURACY of this research is given. REASONABLENESS: -Fair/ Balanced/ Objective/Reasoned: This document has been written in a very objective way, reasoned by facts, which have been researched through the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, which exerts the written process. Furthermore the article is fair and balanced as no one is getting offended. -No conflict of interest: No conflict of interest can be found in the article, as it is only informing about a possible recycling process. No one gets offended. -Absence of fallacies or slanted tone: No slanted tone against anyone was found in the article, which makes it very objectively. Conclusion: The REASONABLENESS of this research is given. SUPPORT: – Listed sources: At the end of the article three hyperlinks can be found, leading to â€Å"Ck Polymers†, where the information is coming from. – Contact information: Either the possibility is given to contact directly the author of the article, or through the hyperlink from the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†. Conclusion: the SUPPORT of this research is given 4.2 Literature Review on „5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process†. What is the specific topic of this article? The topic of this article is the five step plastic recycling process. What is the objective of this article? The objective of this article is to provide information about how the five step plastic recycling process works in practice. What are the theoretical assumptions? Assumption 1: Plastic recycling is a great economically opportunity. Assumption 2: The recycling process is simple and effective. How do the theoretical assumptions fit to your research? The theoretical assumptions do fit my research, because it answers the sub question â€Å"How can we recycle plastic?† The article shows me a clear opportunity how to recycle plastic? Is there reference to specific concepts of theories/ What are the sources of information the author used? There is a reference existing, linking to a company using the five step recycling process. The author is basing his information on this source/company. What is the research method? The research method is secondary research, the author made a research by contacting the company to get detailed information. Which type of material does the article present? The article presents detailed knowledge about the recycling process. How did the author analyze and present the data? The data were presented relying on facts through expertise from the company â€Å"Ck Polymers†, so the author based the article on the expertise of the company. Does the author describe how the data could be interpreted? An interpretation is not available, the article only gives information about the five step recycling process. What are the main conclusions in the article? The main conclusion in this article is that we can make the difference between 7 different numbers every plastic material contains for the recycling process. Furthermore we get a detailed explanation about the five  step process, in which the plastic gets sorted, washed, schredded, identified/classified and finally extruded. The end product is called rGrade plastic, which can either be manufactured by adding virgin plastic, or being used for further recycling. 5. Summary of the article â€Å"Startups make plastic rubbish to oil†. This article is about the possibility to transform plastic rubbish into oil. Oil is one of the most used and important products and nowadays called the â€Å"black gold†. Oil relies on 10% of the world wide plastic production, so the main question should be. Why don’t we recycle it back to oil? The possibility for this recycling process is given now. Pioneer companies as â€Å"Agilyx† and â€Å"Vadxx† developed a process, in which plastic can be transformed to oil again. The result is out of 5 kilogram plastic, 3,8 liter oil can be won.. Looking at the yearly production of 265 million tons of plastic, which moves right away to our garbage 1.5 billion barrels of oil, could be recycled. Only in Europe around 70 million tons of plastic rubbish are ending up on landfills. Looking at the actual landfills, which could be seen as giant oil pits. The process is simple. In a first step the plastic gets assorted. In the second step the assorted plastic gets shredded and heated up to 400 degrees. The resulting synthetic gas cools down and is transformed into the end product, oil. According to â€Å"Agilyx† 75% of the oil, which is located in the plastic, can be recycled. Not forgetting the CO2 emission, which is 60 % lower as if we would simply burn the plastic. (Innovation: Startup makes plastic to oil, 2013) Meanwhile this plastic recycling noise is spreading all over the world. In Germany for example the company â€Å"Nill Tech† situated in Mannheim has opened a factory, which is using the same procedure.(Company in Mannheim makes plastic to oil, 2013) 5.1 CARS checklist on â€Å"Startups make plastic rubbish to oil† and â€Å"Company in Mannheim makes plastic to oil†. CREDIBILITY: – Trustworthy source: Both articles are written by the German author â€Å"Benjamin Reuter†, who is working for the magazine â€Å"Wirtschafts Woche Green† , the information are coming from an interview with the named companies, which makes the article trustworthy. – Author’s credentials: Unfortunately, no details about the authors can be found in the report itself, only his name. More information about the author can be found through the Magazine â€Å"Wirtschafts Woche Green†. – Evidence of quality control: This article was published on the online site of the magazine â€Å"Wirtschafts Woche Green†, this magazine is focusing on reporting over innovative technologies and companies. A quality control is guaranteed. – Known or respected authority/organizational support: The magazine â€Å"Wirtschafts Woche Green† is a registered company, which means that the all the online articles are controlled. Conclusion: The CREDIBILITY of these articles are given. ACCURACY: – up-to-date: The articles were posted on January 2013, 11 month ago. – factual/detailed/exact: These articles were made from interviews with the named companies concerning their technology and procedure. -comprehensive: These articles can be called comprehensive as a lot of important information for my report are given. -Audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy: These articles supports my own research, as it gives all detailed information about the possibility , how to recycle plastic. Conclusion: the ACCURACY of this research is good. REASONABLENESS: -Fair/ Balanced/ Objective/Reasoned: These articles are fair, balanced,  objective and reasoned, as direct information from the mentioned companies were given. -No conflict of interest: These articles do not contain any conflict of interest, as it is written to inform public and does not offend anyone. – Absence of fallacies or slanted tone: No slanted tone was found in these articles. Conclusion: The REASONABLENESS of this research is given. SUPPORT: – Listed sources: a list of references is not given. – Contact information: No contact information of the authors, only the magazine can be contacted directly. Conclusion: the SUPPORT of this research is partially given 5.2 Literature Review on â€Å"Startups make plastic rubbish to oil† and â€Å"Company in Mannheim makes plastic to oil†. What is the specific topic of this article? The topic of this article is the process making oil out of recycled plastic. What is the objective of this article? The objective of this article is to provide information about how the process making oil out of recycled plastic works in practice. What are the theoretical assumptions? Assumption 1: Recycling is a great opportunity to gain raw material. Assumption 2: Oil is one of the most important resources nowadays. Assumption 3: The resource oil will even become more important in the future. How do the theoretical assumptions fit to your research? The theoretical assumptions do fit my research, because it answers the sub question â€Å"How can we recycle plastic?† and â€Å"Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic?† The article shows a clear opportunity how to recycle plastic and make oil out of it again. As Oil is an important resource nowadays it can be seen as the best possibility together with the five step process of recycling plastic. Is there reference to specific concepts of theories/ What are the sources of information the author used? The article contains a link to the companys â€Å"Agylix† and â€Å"Vadxx†, which can be seen as a reference. The recycling process is explained with a video, which can also be seen as a reference. The sources the author used are definitely coming from the above mentioned companies. What is the research method? The research method is secondary research, the author made a research by contacting the company to get detailed information. Which type of material does the article present? The article presents detailed knowledge about the recycling process. How did the author analyze and present the data? The data were presented relying on facts through expertise from the company â€Å"Agylix† and â€Å"Vadxx†, so the author based the article on the expertise of the company. Does the author describe how the data could be interpreted? An interpretation is not available, the article only gives information about the recycling process making oil out of plastic. What are the main conclusions in the article? Main conclusion of the article is that there is possibility to get oil out of recycled plastic. Oil is one of the most wanted resources nowadays. Pioneer companies made it possible to develop a process, where 3,8 liter oil can be produced out of 5 kilogram of plastic. Furthermore the process is being explained, working as follows: The plastic gets assorted and shredded. The shredded plastic is going to be heated up by 400 degrees. Due to this heating up process, results synthetic gas. In a next step the synthetic gas cools down and results into oil, which can be used again. A last point is the CO2 emission, which is 60%, then if the plastic would simply be burned. 6. Plagiarism First of all what is Plagiarism? Definition found on â€Å"Dictionary.com†: Plagiarism is an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author. In short, plagiarism is all about stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterwards. During my research on how to recycle plastic rubbish, I tried to prevent plagiarism by summarizing the article into my own words. Furthermore every used source is given in APA style, at the end of the text. In short I used someone else’s knowledge, but summarized it into my own words. 7. Research ethics According to the known information the used sources did not break any common research ethics. The author of this research used information, which were freely obtainable for everyone on the Internet. In order to prevent plagiarism and only use the sources for knowledge and information, no common research ethics was broken. It was not necessary to ask permission to use the mentioned sources. 8. Discussion and Conclusion Then the research question was formulated: â€Å"What should we do with our plastic rubbish?† Furthemore three subquestions were formulated: â€Å"What is the current situation and why is it like that?† â€Å"How can we recycle our plastic rubbish?† and â€Å"Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic?† The main research question was â€Å"What should we do with our plastic rubbish?† The first sub question â€Å"What is the current situation of plastic pollution?†, was answered as follows: It was found out that the actual situation is catastrophic and is even getting worse. 60 to 80% of marine debris are in direct contact with plastic pollution, the 5 largest gyres of our oceans show an enormous concentration of plastic pollution. This high concentration of plastic pollution results into our food chain being affected and finally being the cause for several diseases for animals and humanity. This fact lead to the next sub question, â€Å"How can we recycle our plastic rubbish?† The answer to this question has been found in the two other summarized articles. It has been found out that there are companies, which are specialized in plastic recycling, following a five step process. In this five step process the plastic gets sorted, washed, schredded, identified/classified and finally extruded. The end product is called rGrade plastic, which can either be manufactured by adding virgin plastic, or used for further recycling. This further recycling leads us to a second effective possibility of plastic recycling. Transforming plastic into oil, which is one of the most wanted resources nowadays. Pioneer companies made it possible to develop a process, where 3,8 liter oil can be produced out of 5 kilogram of plastic. This process works as follows: The plastic gets assorted and shredded. The shredded plastic is going to be heated up by 400 degrees. Due to this heating up process, results synthetic gas. In a next step the synthetic gas cools down and results into oil, which can be used again. An important aspect of this process is also the CO2 emission. It uses 60% less CO2 emission, then if the plastic would simply be burned. The last sub question â€Å"Which are the best possibilities to recycle plastic†, has also been answered. We can say that the â€Å"five step recycling process† is the basic, which should be consequently applied all over the world. The possibility to gain oil out of used plastic again, should be seen as a continuation on the â€Å"five step recycling process†. To answer the main question â€Å"What should we do with our plastic rubbish?† It can be said that the answer is recycling as much as possible. Recycling due to innovative techniques, which can be further developed and ameliorated. The reason humanity has to focus on plastic recycling is not only because of the fact humanity is polluting his earth, which is our source of life. Furthermore the wasteful use of resources will create economical crises, prices of essential products will rise into immeasurable circumstances and make life on earth much harder. All people do need to start thinking long-term and more important in a sustainable way! 9. Reference List 9.1 Summaries, Literature review Catto Fellowship Program (2012). â€Å"Global declaration on plastic pollution† SUBMISSION TO UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT In advance of the rio earth summit. Written on June, 2012, from http://www.uncsd2012.org/content/documents/621Cattos%20Plastic%20Pollution%20 Submission.pdf Benjamin Reuter (2013). Wirtschafts Woche Green, Startup company makes plastic to oil. Written on January, 2013, from http://green.wiwo.de/kreislaufwirtschaft-plastikdeponien-werden-zu-olfeldern/ Benjamin Reuter (2013). WirtschaftsWoche Green, Company in Mannheim makes plastic to oil. Written on January 31, 2013, from http://green.wiwo.de/innovation-fabrik-in-mannheim-macht-plastikmull-zu-ol/ Daniel Marriott (2011). Pr Log, 5 Stages of the Plastic Recycling Process. Written on October 27, 2011, from http://www.prlog.org/11708649-5-stages-of-the-plastic-recycling-process.html 9.2 Other articles Technikatlas.de. Plastic recycling from http://www.technikatlas.de/~tb4/recycling.htm Diana Bocco & Bronwyn Harris (2013). How is plastic recycled? Written on December 20, 2013 from http://www.wisegeek.org/how-is-plastic-recycled.htm Eco Reading (2007). Reading Recycles 1-7 Plastic. Written on June 7, 2007, from http://ecoreading.blogspot.nl/2007/06/reading-recycles-1-7-plastic.html Ck Polymers. Website from recycling company : http://www.ckpolymers.co.uk/ http://www.ckpolymers.co.uk/polymers http://www.ckpolymers.co.uk/polymers/plastic-identification-information 9.3 Pictures Front page picture: https://www.google.nl/search?hl=de&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih= 621&q=Plastikm%C3%BCll&oq=Plastikm%C3%BCll&gs_l=img.3..0l10.2259.6057.0.6372.13.10.1.2.2.0.119.949.7j3.10.0†¦.0†¦1ac.1.27.img..0.13.998.sgL6hhgqFyY#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=UKWSgudQNm8SGM%3A%3BIHIxbqd3Gq6txM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wz-newsline.de%252Fpolopoly_fs%252F1.1289863.1365710844!%252FhttpImage%252FonlineImage.jpg_gen%252Fderivatives%252Flandscape_550%252FonlineImage.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wz-newsline.de%252Fhome%252Fpolitik%252Fvermuellte-meere-kampf-gegen-kostenlose-plastiktueten-1.1289876%3B550%3B328

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero - Essay Example According to Aristotle, there are six major elements required to make up a tragic hero – three character elements and three behavioral elements. To begin with, the hero must have a noble stature. He must also have excessive pride in some aspect of his being. Finally, he has to have a tragic flaw, usually something related to his source of pride. These three character traits combined lead the character to his or her downfall through a three-step process that comprises the behavioral aspect of Aristotle’s definition. This process begins with a mistake in judgment or action that will eventually cause the hero’s ruin. The second event is when the hero realizes where he made his mistake. The final event is the reversal of fortunes the hero experiences as a result of his mistake (â€Å"Aristotle†, 1998). With this definition in hand, it is easy to see how Shakespeare’s character Hamlet fits within this definition. Hamlet meets all three of the character requirements to be defined as a tragic hero. He is noble first because he is truly of noble blood being the only son of the reigning king and queen and second because he is dedicated to doing the right thing. Although everyone else has come out of mourning less than two months after King Hamlet’s death in honor of the new royal couple, Hamlet is accused of wearing black to seem more upset than the others, showing that he is still mourning the death of the old king which was only proper this early after he died. A lot of his inability to act throughout the play is based on this insistence that he act correctly rather than allowing himself to be fooled by the devil. Hamlet’s pride is in his intellectual abilities. However, his fatal flaw is in allowing himself to analyze a situation too much, which slows his actions considerably and provides his uncle with the knowledge that Hamlet suspects his actions. Hamlet also meets all of the behavioral requirements of Aristotle’s definition of

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

He similarities and differences between autosomal recessive and Essay

He similarities and differences between autosomal recessive and sex-linked recessive conditions - Essay Example Autosomal recessive conditions manifest themselves only when an individual is homozygous for the affected allele that causes a certain condition The alleles that cause these conditions are not found on the sex genes (the X or Y chromosomes), and the affects are generally masked in the heterozygous parents who possess both a normal, dominant allele and the affected recessive allele. Only offspring with both recessive alleles, meaning both parents are heterozygous carriers of the recessive genes will be affected. These disorders are present in only about 2.5 per 1000 live births, and will not be manifested is the offspring receives a dominant allele from either parent. Sex-linked recessive conditions are found on the sex chromosomes. Females, who have two X chromosomes will only show the condition if, like autosomal recessive conditions, they inherit a recessive allele from both parents. Males, having only one X chromosome, are always affected by X-linked recessive alleles because they have no other dominant allele to mask the affects of the single affected X chromosome (Kumar and Clark 2009, p. 43). The primary difference between autosomal recessive and sex-linked recessive is how males and females are likely to be affected, and how likely each are to inherit, a condition. Examples of autosomal recessive conditions include cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease. Examples of sex-linked recessive conditions include hemophilia and red-green color blindness.... This means that heterozygous parents may be carriers for certain conditions. Only if both parents pass the recessive allele onto the offspring will the offspring express the condition. This results in the chance that two heterozygous parents pass on an autosomal recessive condition of only 25%, whereas there is a 50% chance that a single heterozygous parents will pass on the condition to the offspring (Kumar and Clark 2009, p. 42-43). Examples of autosomal dominant conditions include Huntington’s disease. 3. Describe the differences seen between benign and malignant tumours. Use appropriate examples, with rationale, to support your points. Tumors arise from changes in a single cell that proliferate to affect areas of the body or even the whole body. Oncogenesis is a multistep process in which the malignant phenotype is expressed, which may occur due to both genetic and environmental factors. Anaplasia and metastatis are characteristics of malignant tumors, but no benign tumors . Anaplasia refers to the reversion of cellular differentiation and often includes an increased ability to multiply without differentiation. Metastatsis refers to the capacity of malignant tumor cells to spread across the body to adjacent and non-adjacent organs, often but not always through the bloodstream (Kumar and Clark 2009, p. 49). Benign tumors are nonprogressive and do not metastatis to other areas of the body. Some common examples of benign tumors include the common mole. Moles may sometimes develop malignancy over the course of an individual’s lifetime, however, so regular examinations by a physician are recommended. 4. Define with suitable examples, the following terms: aetiology,

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Essay assignment #1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment #1 - Essay Example His answer to the given question sounds unambiguously and strictly, that is â€Å"Absolutely not!† (Phillips, 2010). William D. Phillips suggests a widespread opinion that with an evolution of technical and scientific progress there are a lot of people who do not find a phenomenon of supernatural God and His world creation as a relevant explanation of the universe ordering (2010). Such ideas made God obsolete and defend the concept of logical explanation to each thing occurred in the world. On the other hand, religious people stay a strict idea that science is mistaken. To such an extend religion and science are considered to be â€Å"irreconcilable enemies† (Phillips, 2010). William D. Phillips claims that such concept is totally wrong and ridiculous. This scientist tries to persuade us that it is possible to keep in your soul and mind the idea of God and the relevance of science (Phillips, 2010). He considers himself as an example of such person. He claims that he is a physicist and he connects all his life with scientific researches and investigations (Phillips, 2010). He deals with nature and makes tries to know how the nature works (Phillips, 2010). Moreover, he delivers his knowledge to other people and trains them in science. Still, he convincingly declares that he attends church, prays and believes in faith (Phillips, 2010). He is sure in the existence of God and works with the science. According to such ideas William D. Phillips delivers two questions that he considers to be pertinent. He explains how he can believe in God and why he believes in God (Phillips, 2010). These two points seem to be relevant for William D. Phillips and his attitude to religion. The answer of the first question is easy and clear. Phillips stays the idea that believe in God does not require scientific matter and logical confirmation (Phillips, 2010). He thinks that it is necessary just to believe with

Monday, August 26, 2019

Art History since 1945 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Art History since 1945 - Essay Example This study will evaluate two art pieces; Bed, by Robert Rauschenberg and Wall Drawing 17, by Sol Lewitt, to show how visual rhetoric can structure and convey ideas and pass on messages through sight. In addition, it will discuss how to classify and evaluate between two art pieces and correctly placing them in different contexts depending on the attributes they present. One graphic artist and painter, Robert Rauschenberg, an American who lived from nineteen twenty-five to two thousand and eight, created this art piece. He is famous for his unique art works called â€Å"combines† in which he would employ non-traditional objects and materials in creating rather interesting and rare art pieces. He also featured in other disciplines such as photography, painting, papermaking, printmaking and as a performer as well. He lived his entire life in America where he resided in New York until he died. His piece of focus, Bed was created back in nineteen fifty-five and is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art. It is an Oil and Pencil on pillow, quilt, and sheet held on wood supports. It measures 191.1. X 80x 20.3 centimeters. In its construction, Rauschenberg used a pillow together with a quilt and sheet framed in wood, paint and a pencil to create it1. From a distant view, the art piece looks like an actual bed because in addition to its fram e, Rauschenberg combined the other â€Å"beddings† so well, similar to a neatly-spread bed. At what should be the headrest, he folds upwards to expose layers of cloth resembling the beddings. They are cast aside, allowing one to see what should be the mattress. In addition, there are splashes of paint in some specific areas, which seemingly help in merging the â€Å"sheets† to the underlying mattress and bed. When it comes to the historical context to which it fits into, the Bed may fit perfectly in the Dadaism Art

Sunday, August 25, 2019

A Detailed Analysis of Mental Illness and Madness within One Flew over Dissertation

A Detailed Analysis of Mental Illness and Madness within One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and Rain Man - Dissertation Example One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 3.1 The context of the book and the film 3.2 The film’s representation of mental illness 3.3 The reception of the film 4. Rain Man 4.1 The context of the film 4.2 The film’s representation of mental illness 4.3 The reception of the film 5. Conclusion Bibliography A detailed analysis of mental illness and madness as they are presented within One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Rain Man.1 Introduction Every human society draws boundary lines between different categories of people, and the fictional works that are produced in each generation both reflect and contest these prevailing categorisations.This study examines the concept of mental illness, sometimes labelled as madness, deviance, or disability, with particular reference to the way that these issues are represented in two films.The literature review in section 2 explores the history of madness, and the extensive theoretical literature on madness as a social phenomenon f irst of all, and then examines its literary and film representation, showing how films represent tensions and changes in social categorisations.Theoretical debates on the subject are summarised, and the ambivalence of contemporary society towards mental illness is explained in the light of these at times conflicting perspectives.This review therefore provides a firm theoretical foundation for analysis of the representation of madness in films.... two films and their reception are compared, showing how an evolution in social attitudes towards mental illness has taken place over the last fifty years in the United States, and arguably also across the Western world which is heavily influenced by mass market films such as the two under discussion in this study. The implications of this change for modern Western societies are considered, as well as the limitations of these filmic representations and the considerable tensions and ambiguities which still remain and are carried into the new millennium. 2. Literature review There is a vast literature on the way that madness has been defined and dealt with throughout history, and another huge amount of material available on literary and cinematic representations of madness. It would not be feasible to cover all of this ground and so for the purposes of the present study a two part literature review will suffice. Part one deals with the history of madness and therapeutic treatments meted out in different historical periods, with an emphasis on the last two hundred years. The contribution of psychology and sociology are discussed, and the gradual evolution from an absolute concept of â€Å"madness† to a more relative concept of â€Å"mental illness† is described. In part two the role of fictional representations of madness is discussed, showing how they both reflect prevailing opinion and in some cases also challenge it. The particular context of modern mass market film is emphasised, with some the underlying theories about its role in contemporary society. The scope of the literature review is to summarise early theories very briefly and concentrate on the period immediately after the Second World War, and on the debates and issues that were important in the specific context

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Economic - Essay Example This article was about the slight drop in China’s passenger vehicle sales in February. 2. Introduction Economics is very essential because it affects our life everyday. As a worker and a consumer, we will have to make economic decisions like how to spend our income. Sometimes, the cost of all the goods and services that we need and want to buy is greater than our income. So, we have to analyze the situation and choose among our choices carefully. We make decisions about learning, working, earning and spending. And we can make all these decisions more effectively if we have better understanding of economics. A good way to start understanding economics is by examining how markets work and who participates in them. All these market participants come into the marketplace because they specific goals to satisfy. They have to pursue their self-interests; buyers maximize their incomes while suppliers maximize their profits. These maximizing behaviors are the driving force of market ec onomies. But it is not just about the buyers and the sellers; governments can also affect the individual choices or influence the marketplace in terms of taxes. This paper will try to figure out how markets, specifically the auto markets, work and examine the factors that may affect the decisions of the participants in the auto market. Economic concepts like demand, supply, price and tax will be the primary tool that will be utilized in this paper. 3. Analysis A. Market The term market simply refers to a place or situation where an economic exchange occurs – where a buyer and a seller interact (Schiller 2006, 47). It exists wherever and whenever an exchange takes place. The exchange of money or resources with goods and services is the market transaction. And in every market transaction, there must a buyer and a seller. The buyer represents the demand side because they demand goods and services in exchange with their money while the seller represents the supply side as they wi ll supply goods and services in exchange for the money. In this paper, the market to be examined is the auto market in China and its participants – the buyers of cars and the sellers or the auto makers like General Motors Co, Ford, Toyota and Mazda and the government. B. Demand â€Å"The Chinese lunar new year also bolstered demand for big-ticket items, but the following months could be challenging for automakers† (usa.chinadaily.com 2011, 2). For us to understand such statement, we should have the basic idea of what demand is. Schiller (2006, 48) defined demand as the buyers' willingness and ability to buy specific quantities of a good at alternative prices in a given period of time. It is inversely related to price. This means that the quantity of a good demanded in a given period of time increases as its price falls. This relationship is also referred to as the Law of Demand. In one of our articles, there was a recorded increase in demand for cars between December a nd January brought about by the tax incentives imposed by the government. Tax like sales tax affects the quantity of goods and services that consumers may demand. As it is an addition to the actual price of a good, the higher the tax imposed on the good the lesser quantity of that good the consumers will demand. For this purpose, Table 1 shows the effect of 10 per cent tax imposed on different prices of car. Price of

Friday, August 23, 2019

Case study in ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case study in ethics - Essay Example Thus, the popular appeal of a certain depiction that is rendered in an advertisement creates a condition of biased, shallow perception. This kind of perception is highly reductive. In this case study, I shall focus on the issue of the image of Obama in an advertisement that has a certain pedigree of racism and political labeling. This discourse shall be explained and engaged further in the succeeding parts of the paper. At the same time, aside from the construction of the image, the impression derived thereof shall be put into account by looking into the formal elements that make up the image. At the same time, there is also a need to clearly assess why the image creates an impression through certain sensibilities, which are political, cultural and sociological in nature and must be discussed in conjunction with the signs that parts of images create for the spectator to gaze. Looking at the elements of the image, Obama’s image is presented with sickle and hammer, which are embodiments of communism (â€Å"Image†). Another crucial thing to look at the image is the use of the terms â€Å"somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot Obama† (â€Å"Empty Suit†). Together with the image comes the face of Obama, smiling and wearing formal attire that befits the campaigning needed for the elections. The advertisement has these elements that evoke a totally different level of problematic propositions and discourses of representation. To understand the points to be raised in this paper, there is a need to understand that the context of presidential elections must be duly considered since this defines how the image works and creates a certain standard for judgment. The first thing that must be understood is that the image is highly offensive, given that the signs and symbols that have been incorporated in the advertisement are tantamount to

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Depend on the movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Depend on the movie - Essay Example The idea of human inner fear to look differently and stand out against a background is shown in the Japanese movie â€Å"Shall We Dance?† by Masayuki Suo. This film tells a story about happily married accountant, who starts to feel himself discontent with his current life. Everyday for Shohei Sugiyama seems to be a little piece of routine, which he knows by heart. Getting tired of insipid life, he enrolls in a dance school. Mr. Sugiyama’s doubts and embarrassments of his new liking can be seen in episode, when he reads an article about waltz stealthily from his family. The prejudice of being unconceivable for others compels him to keep in a secret his new hobby. It seems to Shohei that it is abnormal to go for dancing, when you are a grown-up and so serious person as he is. However, interest and desire to change something in his life conquers all inconveniencies. From the first minutes of watching this movie you can conclude that Shohei is rather successful person, havi ng nice work position, family, good relationships with wife. But the thing is that Mr. Sugiyama faces the situation, when his days turn into casualty without any changes and suddenly the man begins to feel depression and aggravation.