Bruce Dawe Poem Analysis Essay

Decode the question: How has the composer represented the concept of heroism in the film Gladiator? Make specific reference to two key scenes in the film. You MUST NOT choose scenes which have been analysed already in the course work (i.e. scenes I-III, XI-XIII, and XXVI). Write approximately 1000 words. Select Two key scenes: XXXI -Maximus has defeated the greatest gladiator ever to fight XLVI – The Final Battle Create a mind map Organise ideas, texts & references: Summary, presentation of Heroic concept, references to 2 keyed scenes with quotes & notes Draft – Do the draft as needed above Edit draft – Edit as necessary Submit draft – in Final written essay The Essay: Maximus was a powerful Roman General (strong belief, inner strength never dies, stood up for his belief no matter the consequences), loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, known in history as the final of the Five Good Emperors. Before his death, the Emperor chose Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus in an attempt to allow Rome to once more become a Republic. Then a power struggle left Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful General was unable to save his family, and his loss let him captured and put into slavery and trained as a Gladiator  by Proximo until he died. The only desire that fueled him at the time was the chance to rise to the top so that he would be able to look into the eyes of the man who would feel his revenge and fulfill the dying wish of his emperor. The time came when Proximo’s troupe was called to Rome to participate in a marathon of gladiator games held at the behest of the new emperor, Commodus. Once in Rome, Maximus wasted no time in making his presence known, and was soon involved in a plot to overthrow the emperor with his former-love Lucilla, Commodus’ sister, after whom he lusted, and also the widowed mother of Lucius, heir to the empire after his uncle, and democratic-minded senator, Gracchus was reinstated for Rome to republic. The composer has set up the representation of the heroism concept (50-60%) throughout the Gladiator film, from the opening scene, when the Hero leaves his pleasant vision (his wife and child) to return to the Germania battle field and to: – face the 1st execution – 1st fight as a gladiator – release his name – fight against the greatest warrior – face Commodus – fight in the Final battle As the opening scene and the above listed 3 scenes where the heroic concept has been discussed in the course work, the responder can also find the concept of heroism in the fight against the greatest gladiator and in the Final battle. The fight against the greatest gladiator Tigris turns to Caesar’s box, with swords crossed, he bows, â€Å"We who are about to die salute you.† Maximus stands by, showing no salute whatsoever. As Maximus gets ready to fight the large doors to the arena are thrown open, surprising Maximus. From each door emerges a team of men, who run into the arena. Each team picks up a chain from the sand. Maximus becomes distracted and Tigris kicks sand into Maximus’ face and begins the fight. As the fight continues and as Maximus is thrown to the ground, a trap door opens and out jumps a large tiger, pouncing at the fighting gladiators. Maximus is now  having to escape the claws of the tigers as he battles Tigris. In the background can be heard â€Å"loose, loose, loose† and â€Å"pull, pull, pull† as the handlers coordinate their efforts in handling each of the tigers that are now on the arena floor growling and charging at Maximus.] [Maximus manages to disarm Tigris, switching his sword from one hand to the other, Maximus stands ready to finish off Tigris. Suddenly, a fourth tiger jumps out of a trap door and jumps at Maximus. In that split second, Maximus turns and the tiger is speared with his sword. Maximus is thrown to the sand as the large beast lays atop him. Maximus stabs the beast repeatedly, killing it. The crowds cheer wildly. Tigris moves in for an attack. Maximus, on his back with the beast still on him, manages to grab Tigris’ own hatchet and with great force spikes him in the foot. Tigris bends over in pain, blood pouring from the opening of his mask. Maximus stands and kicks Tigris over to the ground. He is finished. The Final battle The trap door to the arena opens as the lift rises, encircled with the Praetorian as they stand behind their black shields. In the middle, the white clad Commodus, gazing upwardly, basking in the sun and the wounded, dying Maximus stand. All the while, Quintus staring at Maximus. As they reach the arena, the Praetorian take their place at the perimeter of the arena. Maximus stumbles to the center, slowly stooping to pick up a handful of sand, with a watchful eye on Quintus. Maximus rubs the sand in his hands and reaches for his sword but Quintus tosses it aside, and out of reach. Maximus painfully moves to where the sword has been tossed and picks it up, immediately swinging at Commodus. The two do battle. Maximus roars as he attacks Commodus. Commodus manages to cut Maximus’ leg. Although wounded, Maximus cuts Commodus’ arm causing him to drop his sword.] [Maximus begins to drift into the after-life and as he sees the gate to his home, the sword drops from his hand. Meanwhile, Commodus is calling Quintus for his sword but Quintus does not comply. Commodus then turns to the Praetorian, calling out â€Å"sword†. The guards begin to pull their swords when Quintus quickly tells them to â€Å"sheath your swords† and they quickly comply. As Commodus reaches for his hidden dagger, Maximus quickly returns to this life and, unarmed but for his strength and determination, does battle with Commodus, turning Commodus’ knife against him. Commodus tries relentlessly to fight  Maximus off but Maximus slowly plunges the knife into Commodus’ throat, further and further until it can go no further. Commodus falls to the ground. The fight over, Maximus begins to drift as he reaches out his bloodied hand, to push open the gate that leads to hi s home. Peace, once again, overcomes Maximus when Quintus calls to him. â€Å"Maximus, Maximus.† Maximus regains consciousness.] To bring to life ancient Rome, director Ridley Scott employed great period costumes, chariots and horses, lots of dark-haired actors and actresses, and an amazing looking coliseum in the time period set in the movie. The musical score was possibly the best feature of this film, as the music is haunting and perfectly punctuates the dramatic action in soft, then ever-increasing tempos. It was a real trick to make music that would accentuate the flavor of this historical piece, and not distract it. The film used a very potent combination of long shots and close-ups to heighten the drama and yet propel responder into the immensity of the situation: the overwhelming doom that seems to be around any and every corner in Rome. For instance, at this scene where Maximus has defeated the greatest gladiator ever to fight, in a long, drawn-out battle. The bested warrior lies fallen at Maximus’ feet, awaiting his demise. The crowd chants â€Å"Kill, Kill, Kill!† The long shot shows E mperor Commodus watching Maximus, and in the shot, the emperor is shown in the foreground, and Maximus appears small in the background. In this way the responder get a sense of the power that Commodus holds over Maximus. Now a medium-long shot of the crowd to get a sense of how many people are chanting for the vanquished opponent’s death; they all appear in unison, willfully they crave blood. Next a close-up of the emperor as he dramatically steps forward, arm extended. If he gives a thumbs up, the opponent should live. If he gives a thumbs-down, the opponent should be killed. His arm hangs outward and all eyes in the coliseum fall upon his hand. He gives the thumbs-down, and the crowd goes wild with roars of approval. Finally, a close-up of Maximus as he throws down his own sword in complete defiance to the emperor and to the people. The skillful editing helps contrast the morals Maximus and Commodus possess: Commodus is ruthless and political, Maximus does only what he has to, no more no less, and he is a man of his own conviction. This scene helps responder to understand why earlier the dying emperor Marcus Aurelius wanted Maximus to succeed him, he knew Maximus would do the right thing and not be  swayed easily by popular opinion. A leader must lead, not follow. Whenever the composer wanted the responder to get a sense of the size of this coliseum, he employed the cinematographer to use long range shots. When he wanted responder to get a sense of the hustle and bustle of Rome, a hand-held camera was used. The Final battle: The composer used a number of different techniques during the filming of the Final battle, including muted, washed out colors in the Coliseum. The scene is bright and colour comes across perfectly, setting the mood for the scene of battle. The fighting is filmed replete with quick cuts and a frenetic filming process; it’s disorienting but not so much that we can’t keep track of who’s who and what each participant is doing in said battle. The fighting is realistic without zooming in on the gore, as the violence speaks for itself. The composer correctly makes the scenes exciting without the need for a barf bucket.. Combat is supposed to be jarring and disorienting and the filming process actually communicates this sense to the responder very well. The responder’d have to agree, as the scenes outstanding in special effects. They are seeing the Coliseum when it is a new(100 years old) and its grand structure, as it would have been in ancient Rome. Stunts are well coordinated and real tigers were used in a particular fight scene, grabbing out just inches from Maximus and his opponent. He earned his act on those days of shooting. Sound – The soundtrack with its haunting score, is very memorable its scope and theme. Sound track manages to take a main character theme and vary it depending on the action, making it subtle and sweet at times, brooding and depressing at others. Throughout the film, the same musical elements are applied, bring unity and depth to the story. Besides digital sound, Dolby 5.1 is also included on the same disc

The Country Husband

Literally Essay The Country Husband We all make choices in our lives. We choose who we will be, what we will believe and what social norms or values will guide our everyday lives. In making these choices, particularly about our value system , we do not question whether these choices (our value system)will be tested and found faulty because of our ever changing circumstance. In the story The Country Husband, Francis Weed found himself questioning his value system as dictated by his suburban living. Francis Weed, after a traumatic life event, became temporarily dissatisfied with his superficial world of social clubs and high society (suburbia) and acted to rebel against it. However in his fight, he realized that he needed the very thing he hated and resolved this conflict with distractions, unrequited love and woodworking. We all belong in a community in which our membership should mean we agree with the values/standards of that community and our participation is a choice. In this story, Mr. Weeds participation in his community appears to be forced After an alleged emergency plane landing, Mr. Weeds returns home to his family and community where his ordeal is ignored. He attempts to share this ordeal with his wife in stating, â€Å" [I] was nearly killed in an airplane crash, and [I[ don’t like to come home every night to a battlefield. † (Cheever, pg 65) Instead of inquiring about the accident or showing some degree of sympathy about his accident, Mrs. Weeds responds by stating that â€Å"He doesn’t come home every night to a battlefield. † (Cheever, pg 65) Mr. Weeds ordeal is ignored because it does not have a place in his suburban life in the community of Shady Hill. It neither adds to nor takes away from the values of this community and therefore it has no relevance. It appears that Mr. Weeds begins to question the values his community places on him and the consequence endured if they are violated. Thus, he recalled the war in Vessey, a day in which a woman who was socially humiliated for some apparent indiscretion for which her head was shaved and she was made to walk the street naked. He believes that woman who serves him dinner is the oman â€Å"punished at the crossroads, (Cheever, pg 67) but he know it would have been â€Å"a social as well as human error† to share this story at the dinner table because talk of war and trouble of the world was â€Å"unseemly and impolite† (Cheever, pg 67) in Shady Hill. Mr. Weeds understood the tenuous nature of his standing in his community/family but he no longer wanted to be a part of it. Mr. Weeds saw how pretentious his life had become and in his first act of rebellion was to fall in love with the baby sitter, Ann, which was an awesome slap in the face to the norms and values of his community. As he stated, there was no history for Shady Hill of such â€Å"turpitude†¦they had not even been a breath of scandal. † (Cheever, pg 71). But, Mr. Weeds imagined loving the babysitter and the ruckus it would cause, if he were caught taking advantage of the baby sitter. The mere thought however filled Mr. Weeds with so much energy/life that as a result of this newfound freedom, he impulsively purchased a bracelet for the baby sitter who seems to regard him only as an employer. Further, his escape from the pressure of conforming leads him to kiss this girl in the presence of the social misfit. In this new state of mind, Mr. Weeks finds courage and is finally able to say what is on his mind. He is temporarily able to free himself from the constraint of civility and express his innermost thought to the leading member of the Shady Hill society by stating to her that she should paint her windows curtain black and shut up. The feeling of being â€Å"deliberately impolite† made Mr. Weeds feel wonderful. (Cheever, pg 70) Francis has arrived another moment of truth when his wife Julia decides she is going to leave him because she cannot stand by and watch him destroy their social position that she has worked so hard to gain within Shady Hill. He confesses to her by saying Julia, I do love you, and I would like to be as we were-sweet and bawdy and dark-but now there are so many people. (Cheever, pg77) It seems at this moment with everything he has gone through that he has accepted his life and realizes his wife needs him and he needs her. He makes an appointment to see a psychiatrist where he is advised that he should take up woodwork as a hobby. Perhaps this is an outlet where there are no boundaries and he is free to create whatever he likes without having to fit into a standard. There comes a point in everybody’s life where we reflect on the values we adopt in becoming a member of a community and sometimes we are not satisfied with the decisions we make. I am sure for that when we initially decide to become a member of a community we do so with the hope that as we grow and our needs change, our community will reflect our new needs and growth. Mr. Weed’s community did not foster change and could not allow him to grow. He found himself trapped in the values of his community and his only escape was within his imagination.

Preparation and Reactivity of Sn1 2-Bromobutane

Preparation and SN1 Reactivity of 2-Bromobutane Paul DeJong Department of Chemistry, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4160 Submitted: April 4, 2013 Introduction The purpose of part 1 of the lab is to prepare 2-Bromobutane using SN1 reactions. The purpose of part 2 of the lab is to determine the relative reactivity of alkyl halides under SN1 conditions. Results and Discussion The Overall Reaction The Proposed Mechanism Experimental Procedure To prepare 2-bromobutane in part one of the lab, you have to set up a flask apparatus with a thermowell and a Claisen adapter.Attached to the Claisen adapter is a thermometer measuring the temperature in the flask and a vertical condenser for reflux. Add in the reactants to the flask, sulfuric acid, 2-butanol, and ammonium bromide. Heat to 95OC and then maintain temperature for 30 minutes. Then, water was added and simple distillation began. The aqueous layer of the distillate was removed leaving the product, 2-bromobutane. For part 2, two drops of each of the following were placed in 3 different test tubes: 2-bromobutane, 1-bromoutane and 2-bromo-2-methylpropane.In each of the tubes an even amount of silver nitrate is added. Observations of the reactions precipitate are recorded. Same process is done with 2-chlorobutane, 2-iodobutane, and 2-bromobutane. Experimental Stoichiometry Compound| Molecularweight| Quantity| Moles| 2-butanol| 74. 12 g| 7. 4 mL (6. 0 g)| 0. 081| Sulfuric acid| 98. 08 g| 20 mL (12M)| 0. 24| Ammonium bromide| 97. 94 g| 8. 0 g| 0. 082| The limiting reactant is 2-butanol. Yield Data 2-bromobutane| | Molecular Weight| 137. 02 g|Theoretical Yield (moles)| 0. 081 mol| Theoretical Yield (grams)| 11. 10 g| Actual Yield| 10. 11 g| NMR Table Signal| Chemical Shift| Multiplicity| Integration| A| 4. 11| Multiplet| 1H| B| 1. 85| Pentet| 2H| C| 1. 60| Doublet| 3H| D| 1. 08| Triplet| 3H| Reactivity of Alkyl Halides Compound| Observations at Room Temp| Observations upon Heating| 1-bromobutane| Clear| Very little change but some white ppt| 2-bromobutane| Clear| Moderately cloudy white ppt| 2-bromo-2-methylpropane| Brown tint| Very milky white ppt|Compound| Observations at Room temp| Observations upon heating| 2-chlorobutane| Clear| No ppt at all| 2-bromobutane| Clear| Moderately white and some yellow ppt| 2-iodobutane| Dark brown| Thick, milky white and yellow ppt| Conclusion Overall, the first part of the lab produced 2-bromobutane using SN1 reactions. This product was then used in the second part of the experiment to determine the relative reactivities of alkyl halides. Reactivity increases as follows 1O < 2O < 3O and Cl- < Br- < I –

US Intelligence Failure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

US Intelligence Failure - Research Paper Example ver did not carry out any immediate action such as keeping the terrorist by the name Khalid al-Mihdhar from entering the US even though they even had his passport number. They took that action too when he was already in the country and even registered as well as taking flying lessons (Zegart 96). There were several reasons that cause this failure in intelligence as will be discussed below in detail. The CIA is a very bureaucratic agency and had been so since the era of the cold war. The policies that had been formulated then were never changed even after the cold war was over. This therefore meant that they had no policies and directives of how to handle the terrorism situation if it arose or what mandate they had in the whole issue. Even though Clinton had formed an Al Qaida taskforce, it only handled issues to do with Osama bin Laden and it was still not an active group and would not have known how to handle the terrorist intelligence information about the 9/11 attacks. The bureaucracy in the federal government also led to delay in intelligence decisions and legislations and hence the reason there was delay in taking action in regards to the Khalid situation. Other than bureaucracy, the budgetary allocation for the CIA was limited hence leading to a flat budget. They could not therefore afford to start investigations on the terrorism planning meeting or even follow up on the situation in Afghanistan because they had limited agents in the field. The airport surveillance would also require a lot of money and manpower resources which they had a shortage of considering the number of work they had to tackle in the whole nation. Majority of the funds was dedicated to the defense and the wars ongoing in other parts of the Middle East and hence little remaining for intelligence purposes. The CIA and other intelligence organizations had their own fair share of other internal intelligence issues to deal with that demanded immediate attention. Since they had not

Marketing 4050 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Marketing 4050 - Essay Example Marketing strategy aims for advertisers to maintain and increase customers for their product. The media on its part aim to be the advertisers and consumers favorite in covering the advert. The advert of alcohol promotion is essential and should be done regularly to keep consumers loyal. Many more consumers will prefer that drink to other liquor brands in the market. The ad quality influences the effectiveness it will have on the market (Ware, Baron and Edge). An ad structured in a persuasive, and credible manner will most certainly be more convincing to consumers. Ads have some consistent features that appeal to customers or discourage them. These include alcohol content percentage and drinking age limit. The alcohol content appeals to consumers according to their preference while the warning on age will limit those who are underage. The leading title article relates to the ad as it is on tax increase mostly on alcoholic drinks. This ad focuses on alcoholic consumers and those interested in the drink. It also targets at investors. The ad influences the reader to pledge its loyalty to it. There are many competitive ads competing both for space in the magazine and consumers. This is a smart investment because it does not only market the company’s product but also its image in

Financial Planning and Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Planning and Control - Essay Example are how the financial planning is applied to an engineering business, the effect of financial information on decision making, and how other the use of other financial techniques such as standard cost and variance analysis are used to optimize the effectiveness of an engineering business. Three questions are answered derived from a textbook written by a scholar that provides information about the topics covered in this paper. Companies dedicated to offering engineering service solution have a business structure in which each individual talent represents a unique vendor that purchases unique solution that are typically independent of each other. Each contract is a peculiar project that must be design to obtain a gross profit that satisfies the income expectations of the stakeholders of the company. In order to better serve the needs of future customer the company has to plan the financial decisions that will allow the firm to expand its productivity capacity. For example the purchases of a new mega server worth $150,000 can provide engineering the opportunity to take more IT project to increase the company’s income. If a manager plans to make such a purchase other factors that have financial implication in the costs of the company must be planned for such as its facility layout and human labor require achieving expansion. When an engineering firm takes on a new job the project manager of the contract must perform financial planning for the project to determine the budget that is needed to be able to complete the project on a timely manner. A full risk management analysis is necessary to reduce the risk of unwanted events from occurring, while at the same time developing mitigation plans to have an action option that can implemented if an unforeseen event occurs. An engineering firm working on a construction project can mitigate risks from natural disasters by making the financial decision of purchasing insurance that covers 100% of the damage causes by such an

Benefits Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Benefits - Research Paper Example tended sick and vacation days, medical plan, profit sharing, stock option plans, pensions, IRA, 401k, maternity leave, paternity leave, wellness programs, flexible time, and telecommuting. A trend in the medical plans companies offer to its employees is increased costs. In 2013 medical costs in the United States are expected to increase by 5% (Mercer, 2012). Companies have to keep track of the medical profession since the government in the future might implement a universal health plan that would put the burden of the nation’s medical costs on the government, instead of the private industry. In the 21st century employees care a lot about having a work-life balance. A benefit that can help employees achieve that goal is flexible time. Flexible time is a work arrangement that gives the employees the ability to set their own hours during the workweek. Telecommuting is also a hot trend. Telecommuting involves having employees perform work from their homes. Telecommuters communicate and upload work tasks by connecting to the company’s information system using the internet. Some important factors to consider when designing a benefit plan are composition of lab or force, size of workforce, and budget allocated for employee

The UK has two legal professionals, solicitors and barristers. should Essay

The UK has two legal professionals, solicitors and barristers. should the professions be fused - Essay Example As perceived by the general public solicitors spend their time sitting in an office surrounded by legal tomes, whereas barristers lead a rather more active life. However there times when a barrister can act without being asked to do so by a solicitor, as so on such occasions does his own office work, as when for instance he is instructed by barristers in employment, when acting for patent agents or when instructed by Officers of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. (The Bar Council, undated). At the same time solicitors can, under certain conditions, represent clients in court. Should this practise of differentiation between these two ways of being a British continue or should the two professions become united and act as one? Discussion There are always those who want change and those who will always prefer the status quo. In 1990 the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (Act)2 became legislation. Thurman ( 1993) described this as a monumental change. The aim was to give the public of the United Kingdom a greater choice of legal practitioners. The act, a controversial one, especially among lawyers, gave not only suitably qualified solicitors , but also nonlawyer members of other occupations. There are a number of other important changes such permission being given for the establishment of multi-disciplinary law practices which could nonlawyer members. Even international legal firms were allowed using lawyers from other lands. The Lord Chancellor stated that the aim of the bill was â€Å"ensuring that ... a market providing legal services operates freely and efficiently ....† Green Paper, supra note 10,  § 1.1 as quoted by Thurman .( page 4) If solicitors are allowed to represent clients in the magistrates court why can they not do so in other courts? Firstly many would not wish to do so. They may have an excellent knowledge of the law , but would not want to be seen on a public stage, which to some extent is what a high court is. S econdly a solicitor’s company may have a wide variety of clients with an equally wide variety of legal needs. They will have a wide knowledge of the barristers available and their particular abilities and specialties – there may be those for instance who specialize in commercial law or be excited by criminal practice. Also many cases are heard in London or other large cities, whereas the magistrates courts are much more local for the majority, as well as dealing with by far the bulk of cases, 95% according to HM Courts and Tribunal Services ( 2009). Only when a case is considered to require a sentence exceeding 6 months in duration are cases passed on to the higher courts. Even then much of the work leading up to the actual court case is done by the solicitor, the barrister taking over for the actual higher court appearance. Another point is that advocacy is only a small proportion of the work undertaken by solicitors according to UK Law Online 1998 which describes how much more time is spent on other tasks:- Litigation is only a small part of the work of the solicitor’s profession as a whole. Most are involved in commercial work relating to business eg dealing with commercial transactions, corporate matters, land, share and other property dealings. There is also a large amount of private client work which does not involve any litigation (if all goes to plan!) such as the conveyancing of houses, making wills, advising on tax matters:- Apart

Agrument against lowering the drinking age to 18 in the United States Essay

Agrument against lowering the drinking age to 18 in the United States - Essay Example A behavioral argument in favor of lowering the drinking age cited the Prohibition experience and Engs (1998), for instance, has this to say: As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems†¦ These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes. Intentions behind the above arguments vary and some maybe legitimate as well but the issues raised by those in favor of restricting the age limit for alcohol access to 21 has so far succeeded in presenting a stronger case. The reason for this is simple: the empirical evidences and the statistics point to the fact that lowering the drinking age would have adverse effects on individuals and the society in general. In the United States, the current legal use for alcohol consumption is 21. The statutes covering this prohibition can be considered as those intended to influence individuals in regards to health-related behavior. A short review of its history will reveal that the minimum drinking age was implemented immediately after the Prohibition when all of the US states adopted a stringent policy against youth alcohol consumption. When the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution was introduced, lowering the voting age to 18, a number of states have also lowered the drinking age. But by 1984, the federal government implemented a drive to standardize the minimum drinking age to 21 through a congressional initiative. This has been supported by numerous governmental agencies, organizations and individuals such as the National Transportation Safety Board, the National Council on Alcoholism, the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving and the American Medical Association. Specifically, according to Wallander and Siegel

Fundraising Skills - Writing a Fundraising Bid Essay

Fundraising Skills - Writing a Fundraising Bid - Essay Example These include planning requirements early in advance, having sound conceptual framework, including the aims and objectives of the program and generally seeing everything from the perspective of the funder among others. All these need to be in the bid. Communication is key when one is fundraising. This is because one has to present their needs to the funders eloquently and clearly. Diplomacy is also important since fundraising includes interactions with other people. Proper management skills are also necessary. This is of the time of the funders and the money allocated for the program. For one to be employed there is need for grasp of the content, ability to be part of a competent, diverse and empowered workforce, being able to manage funds and having great vision and sense of direction. Careers need to be managed by ensuring one performs his or her duties as well as advancing in the level of education. If one does all this, then their future is somehow assured to be successful. The Make Them Smile Charity Organization. We intend to grow big and strongly influence our society. Therefore, we are requesting for funds from you, The Big Lottery, so that we can achieve our desires. We are filling this application form stating our request. We have identified a need in the society requiring our services to fulfill and we shall attempt to convince you on our mission and vision. Cleft lip and palate are developmental defects of the upper lip and roof of the outer mouth present at birth. They may occur separately or in combination. Incomplete fusion of the developing lip or the incomplete fusion of the hard or soft palate causes them. All this happens during the prenatal stage of a child’s life. This condition causes feeding problems, ear infections or even hearing loss, speech problems and dental problems (Howard & Lohmander 2012, p.56) Although rectifying this is done through a simple

Criminology in the Future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminology in the Future - Essay Example As criminals become more sophisticated in their use of technology, forms of crime committed by them also become increasingly complex and difficult to understand and manage. Thus police and security officials must stay current in their knowledge and understanding of emerging crime, and both well resourced and expert regarding their own technological capabilities (p.36). Schmalleger (2012, Chapter 13) considered technology to be one of the causes of new forms of crime, since it facilitates new forms of criminal behavior. In his Chapter 13, Schmalleger (2012) named several types of cybercrimes, including crimes requiring use of modern technology, such as identity theft. All of these types of crimes arose out of technological innovations. However, criminal justice system has been revolutionized too since the 1970’s, all due to new technologies (Peterson & Leggett, 2007, p.621). Modern technology has revolutionized the criminal justice system. DNA testing by forensic biologists has become crucial in many capital offenses, as it exonerated many innocent defendants and eliminated blind faith in the criminal justice system (Petherick, Turvey & Ferguson, 2010, p.309). In 1990, the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) was established in order to gather DNA of all convicted felons (Peterson & Leggett, 2007, p.635 - 636). Use of computers has been crucial in fighting crime as well. In the 1980’s, first computerized databases of forensic evidence were established (Peterson & Leggett, 2007, p.630). Database forensics evolved, and soon became crucial in fighting cybercrimes (Khanuja & Adane, 2011, p.170). More subfields evolved. Forensic toxicology enables testing of drugs and other chemical compounds found on the crime scene (Petherick, Turvey & Ferguson, 2010, p.432). Other forensic scientists conduct fire debris analysis, which is again a chemical compound analysis (Petherick, Turvey & Ferguson, 2010, p.434). Trace evidence analysis

Uses of Nursing Theory Essay Example for Free

Uses of Nursing Theory Essay I was fascinated by the quote above for in general, we can never go wrong in a practice that is based on a tested knowledge and guided by theory. Recorded history of Greece first developed its special uses; from Pythagoras to Aristotle, up to present, uses of theory still remains important. Nursing science, like any other field, is a melting pot of care and healing that has been moulded and preserved since the dawn of time. (Octaviano and Balita, 2008) Theory strives to explain the science and art of nursing. Nursing is as varied as the people who practice it, and is dynamic and diverse as kaleidoscope of ethnic, cultural and religious manifestations of people who receive nursing care. It is important that nursing is grounded on accepted scientific truths and principles in order to give safe and quality nursing care. (Octaviano and Balita, 2008) Implied as highly dynamic and undergoes change, as further research and studies are done and as they are enriched by practice, theory can change overtime. However, there are also theories that remain valid despites the passage of time. It is very important that theory guides and improves nursing practice, research and nursing education. Decision making, independent, dependent and interdependent functions, leadership, as well as further education for specializations are only few of vast spectrum nursing concepts that make up nursing theory. Considering my little experience, I would like to illustrate the use of Patricia Benner’s Theory of Skill Acquisition in Nursing. (I considered my current experience/skill as Advance Beginner. ) (Novice) When I was a student nurse on my senior year, I was assigned to take care and monitor newborn undergoing phototherapy. I was instructed by our clinical instructor to monitor the time and frequency the newborn is exposed to photolight, covered baby’s eyes and genitals, assess patient’s hydration by weighing diapers, monitor vital signs, check IV insertions and perform other activities with close supervision from clinical instructor. (Advance Beginner) After graduated, I took the licensure exam and became a registered nurse. I volunteered in a community hospital and Basic Emergency Obstetrics and Neonatal Care (BEMONC) and was hired by DOH-CHD as RN Heals nurse trainee. Months from now, I will be a DR Nurse in a provincial hospital, will be working hard and will aspire to be promoted (LOL) . I will attend seminars and trainings to enhance my skills and knowledge. (Proficient) I will be competent in the clinical area and academe because (two to three years from now), I already finished master’s degree in nursing. (Expert) Seven to eight years from now, I have finished my doctoral degree and will be a chief nurse and a part time professor in a university. (LOL) Theory encourages us to be inquisitive to investigate and explore what more should we know.

The Human Microbiome Project

The Human Microbiome Project Microorganisms are important for animal and plant life, their presence in the surroundings is essential for survival of all life forms. This importance can be proved by the large number of prokaryotes in human body, mainly bacteria, it was found that there are ten time more bacteria than human cells. Normal flora describe the microbes that colonize human body, during birth and after, and remain for life. Microbes of normal flora are found in many body sites, such as moist skin, gastrointestinal tract, mouth, respiratory tract, urinary tract, and vagina, but other important human organs, such as lungs, brain, and heart are free from microbial flora. Number of microorganisms living in skin is small compared to other sites, because skin medium is dry, and contain dead cells, with slight low pH. The human respiratory tract, mainly nose, is colonized by Staphylococcus aureus , which is main cause of surgical wound infection. The mouth contains biofilms of Streptococcus mutans, which are p resent as plaque on teeth surface. Similar to the skin, and unlike small intestine, not many microbes live in the stomach, because of the gastric acid, Helicobacter pylori is an example of stomach bacteria. Human microbial flora are important to the human, staphylococci and propionibacteria, release fatty acids to prevent growth of skin fungi, bacteria in respiratory tract can cause infections when epithelium of respiratory tract get damage. Vaginal flora, mainly lactobacillus protect host, as women with low lactobacillus levels taking antibiotics to treat infection develop other infections. Human flora also benefit the host, they colonize body sites, making it difficult for external microbes to colonize and infect, they also help in vitamin production, and cause small antibody release , which help in immunity. Oral microflora produce substances as fatty acid, peroxides to protect from external microbes, and also cause disease such as gingivitis, and dental plaque. Normal flora spread from site to another can cause deadly infections, as from wound. Bacteroides of the gastrointestinal tract produced substances that are carcinogens, and can cause cancer for colon. Human Microbiome Project (HMP) Researchers found, usually that everybody carries huge number of pathogens, and microorganisms as possible to cause diseases. While most of these microorganisms coexist with the host body (healthy individuals) and remnant of the human microbiome without any diseas and living with each other in the human body, which are play important vital role in human health. Researchers sampled of healthy volunteers in USA had included total samples was from 15 body sites in men, while in women was 18 body sites, from each volunteer was collected three samples at different body sites. Collect the samples from a total of 18 body sites, in 5 major body areas, in males were sampled from the skin, mouth (oral cavity), nose, two sites behind each ear and each area inner elbow, lower part of gastrointestinal tract(stool), and tinal tract regions. On the other hand, in females additionally sampled from three vaginal sites, as following: nine sites in the oral cavity with saliva, four sites on the skin, three sites in the vagina, a pooled sample of the anterior nares (airway), and one sample of stool. In late 2007 with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) roadmap for biomedical research community, represent important issues that affect human health in general, launched the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), which focuses on describing the different types of microbial which are associated with human health and disease. Human Microbiome Project is to study the microbes which are living in and on the human body and included catalogue the genetic identity and characterize of many organisms such as bacteria, viruses and live in intimate contact with human body. The Human Microbiome Project is became able to uncover microbes and the National Institutes of Health launched the results of the five-year project. Also, has been developed metagenomic protocols through generation a population-scale framework to produce metagenomic data and large group of quality-controlled resources, during standardized methods. Have been isolated around 800 reference strains from human body sequences. Although, these data are biggest resource to develop of current and future studies and represent a diversity of the human microbiome. Since launch HMP in late 2007, HMP has received $153 million from Common Fund of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $20 million an additional. The main goals of this project are: This project is to prove if there is a shared core microbiome between different groups of people and in and on the different sites of the human body, also to studying different medical conditions  and explain whether there are a correlations between changes in microbiome and disease. To take benefit of recent technologies by studying samples from different sites of the human body to characterize the human microbiome, to provide new technological approaches from a standardized data resources, and HMP is working to manipulation of the human microbiome to improve human health. In addition, Human Microbiome Project provided contribution important to develop new fields in the technological and bioinformatic tools, through five year effort. The first stage of this initiative was included the sequencing of many hundreds of microbial reference genomes which isolated from human body sites. This information acquired from the reference genomes can help to functional annotation and classification of 16S rRNA from microbiome samples. In human body microbial partners carry out a several of metabolic reactions which are important for human health, still are not encoded in the human genome. Although, the large number of microbial kinds existent in the body did not isolated, because, the inability in the lab to reproduce suitable growth conditions for microbial. Therefore there are huge number of microbial are still undetectable. It is important the study of microbial communities directly from their natural habitats by benefit of advances in sequencing technology. The HMP is working to characterize the human microbiome communities by using different complementary analyses included: 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), metagenomic sequencing and whole-genome shotgun (WGS), which focused on examination of the intestine microbiome through the use of WGS data. The metagenome is includes the collective genomes of the human microbial flora. Generating a huge amounts of data from the sequencing and analyzes of reference genomes about the complexity of the human microbiome which are isolate from different sites of the human body and providing more information about human health and disease. 16S and wgs sequencing occurred in a four stages are: containing of a mock data pilot stage, a clinical pilot stage, in July 2010 stage 1 completed and clinical stage 2 currently in progress. Has been funded Fifteen demonstration projects to explain the nature of relationship between the microbiome, health and disease. It is known that the human microbiome is consists of the genes and genomes of the microbiota which resident throughout human body. The Human Microbiome Project resources, includes the following: 600 microbial reference genomes, 700 metagenomes, 60 million predicted genes, and 70 million 16S sequences from healthy adult microbiomes. The human microbiome including of microbial genes, genomes, and gene products of the microbiota which interact with the human body host to prime immunity and in same time to maintain host health. Also, the microbiome is contribute to maintenance and development of the immune system. The HMP is surveying the microbiomes pass the bodies of a group of healthy adults to produce data groups of microbiomes, to developing of reference strains by a classification of microbial genome sequences, and evaluating the properties of microbiomes which associated with specific skin diseases, gastrointestinal tract, and urogenital. Recently, has been developed three programs in technology are: the ethical, legal implications, and computational tools to support this field (microbiome research). In addition, there are four projects listed under the HMP program, depending on the four data sets produced, including: data sets produced in individual demonstration project activities; targeted 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences; reference strain microbial genome sequences; and whole-genome shotgun metagenomic sequences. Whereas, the second major resource of the HMP is include five major areas of the human body (healthy adults) are: skin, mouth, nose, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina. In spite of, in the early years at birth, the generating of the microbiome, occurs through interact between the diet, maturing immune system and microbial communities. (Koenig et al., 2011) (Dominguez-Bello et al., 2010) . Difficult to understand what is happening through interactions between the microbiome function, early microbiome events and changes during the stages of life, such as using antibiotics possible to be predisposing factor to allergies later in life (Bisgaard et al., 2011). Also, because microbiome disorders might occur in childhood can lead to many diseases such as asthma, and type 1 diabetes. Each site of the body contains a unique microbiome important to maintain for the host health, for example the gastrointestinal microbiome which directly interacts with the immune system of the host (Round and Mazmanian, 2009). In addition to many functions as energy supply for host cells and digestion of food. The microbiome acquired be through anew each generation but it is not inherited. Currently, a lot of international efforts focused on enhance the understanding of the complexity of the human microbiome and determining the multiple pathological mechanisms for explore in human health and disease. The International Human Microbiome Consortium (IMHC) is open to support most research programs of human microbiome, the aim of the IMHC is the collection of information and understanding how the human microbiome is working to maintenance of human health and occurrence of diseases, for the purpose of illustrate that the relationship between the human microbiome, human health and disease. Also, other goals are in- depth study in the complexity of the microbiome in health and disease in general, make a full analysis of the human microbiome about human health and/or disease, creating the novel diagnostic tools of the disease and development of new methods to prevent and treat diseases and therapeutic interventions. In addition, that future researches aims to detect and to look for the important role of metagenomic analyses to defining DNA sequences and help to detected human infections because of the complexity of the human microbiome.

Factors Influencing Family Lifestyle

Factors Influencing Family Lifestyle The family issues can always attract public attention, because it is so close to peoples life. As Kephart claimed that the family is one of the older social institutions which could be found in almost all societies (1961:3). This report will argue that the family turned into diversity as a result of the varied demands of individual while the alterations of household could affect society in social services, government policy and social safety. There is no denying that the development of society could also influence the family lifestyle. Initially, this report will look at the history of the family. Secondly, this report will introduce the changing nature of the family and the situation of several types of household( cohabitation, lone-parent families, homosexual families ) that have appeared recently. Specifically, what family means to society will be illustrated-family is not an abstract word, but a basic part for society. Finally, this report will analyse the role of the family has played in society and the impact of changes on British society. 2. History Generally, family is categorized as two basic models: nuclear family and extended family. Nuclear family includes parents and their children while extended family is a family group with a close relationship among the members that includes parents, children and relatives (Oxford , 2005). As Eversley and Bonnerjea (1982:75) said, Victorian family (between 1830 and 1870) has played an important role in the development about the modern family: whatever forms the contemporary family takes, it is usually considered as a deviation from this supposed former norm, in other words, the Victorian family is the earliest ancestor for families of British society. Until the 1980s, it was popular within sociology to talk about the family cycle. Inherent in this notion was the idea that people typically followed a similar family pathway (Allan and Crow, 2001:2). In contemporary society, families have changed from formation and conditions over time. The average household size fell from 2.9 persons per household in 1971 to 2.4 in 2006 (ONS Focus on Families, 2007). Nowadays, there is no typical example of families, such as single-parent families, cohabiting, step-families, and so on (Harding, 1996). Actually, family could provides a wide range of functions which include socialization, social placement, material and emotional security, child rearing and economic cooperation (Morris and Winter, 1978:46 ; Allan and Crow, 2001:19-20). Families determine the outcomes for children, adults, community and society. Such as in the family, parents bring up children, give them encouragement with love and a good relationship between family members could contribute harmonious development on the community and society as well (Cabinet Office Families in Britain, 2008). So that family could be seen as valuable to the society and to individual. 3. Current Situation A recent survey showed that 80 percent of people really think that family is more important to them than their friends in British society (Ipsos MORI Real Trends, 2008). As an institution, family is altering continually. Since 1971, the proportion of all people living in traditional family households of married couples with dependent children has fallen from 52% to 37% in Britain (BBC, 2007). Today, people usually get later marriage, the one possible factor of this situation might be women paying more attention to their career. It is a common phenomenon to live together without marrying. The number of cohabiting couple families increased from 1.4 million to 2.3 million between 1996 and 2006 (ONS Focus on Family, 2007). More and more children are born outside of marriage, especially occurred among cohabiting couples families. A recent survey showed that the rate of births outside marriage has risen from about 10% in 1971 to over 40% in 2006 (ONS Population Trends No.132, 2008). Meanwh ile, married couples also have some problems. According to a statistics, there is a increased number of divorces around 26 thousand in 1950 to over 155 thousand in 2005. Compared with many other developed countries, Britain keep the higher rate in divorce until 2005 (ONS Marriage Stats 2006 (Provisional), 2008). 4. Analyse the Effect The family could be claimed as an economic and social institution (Jagger and Wright, 1999:3). No matter which form the family is, it seems that family could influence the society both in positive and negative aspect whilst be impacted by social environment. 4.1 Major institution in society In order to support the family, people have to hunt for a job. Individual plays essential role in different working areas, such as the large number of workers are employed in the services sector, a minority in industry and a little proportion in agriculture (Oakland , 2006:170). Those people create necessity for public need and make income for their family, thus there is a situation that the family workers fulfill the social demands while create wealth. Meanwhile, the family could be impacted by the external environment. For instance, financial crisis hit British families since 2008. According to research, the conflict between parents occurred frequently due to them worrying about the economic risk, therefore, a number of children suffered a hard period during the financial crisis (Hawthorne et al, 2003). Furthermore, families contribute childrens growth. The new generation is the force of the society continually developing. In order to make sure the better outcome for children, pare nts have to balance childrens state of being fully developed while make the children being a part of family and society by providing love, encouragement and guidance (Bornstein and Bornstein, 2007). 4.2 Cohabitation In contemporary society, public attitudes of sexual relationships have moved forward, thus cohabitation has been accepted by a majority of people (Allan and Crow, 2001:64). Review the recent two decades, the number of people who cohabit has rapidly raised (Oakland , 2006:190). When the divorce were difficult to achieve, people likely choose cohabitation (Kiernan, 2002:3). There are several factors enable adults to cohabit, one of the factors is decreasing the living cost. Men and women live together and share the expenses of daily necessities. Moreover, living together lead to learn more about each other. It is an opportunity to test whether the person suit to the other party (Allan and Crow, 2001:67-68). In turn, there is not any data (no data) shows that cohabitation could be helpful to marriage living, meanwhile, some statistics prove that if some people married after cohabiting, they had higher rate to divorce (Popenoe and Whitehead, ?:2 [reference: should we live together]). Peo ple in cohabitation families maintain the relationship rely on 4.3 Lone-parent families The proportion of children living in lone-parent families in Great Britain more than tripled between 1972 and spring 2006 to 24 per cent(11 _04_07_social_trends) Children living with single parents may be at higher risk of experiencing physical and sexual abuse and neglect than children living with two biological parents. Single parent households are substantially more likely to have incomes below the poverty line. Lower income, the increased stress associated with the sole burden of family responsibilities, and fewer supports are thought to contribute to the risk of single parents maltreating their children. In 1998, 23 percent of children lived in households with a single mother, and 4 percent lived in households with a single father. A strong, positive relationship between the child and the father, whether he resides in the home or not, contributes to the childs development and may lessen the risk of abuse. In addition, studies have found that compared to similar non-neglecting families, neglectful families tend to have more children or greater numbers of people living in the household. Chronically neglecting families often are characteriz ed by a chaotic household with changing constellations of adult and child figures (e.g., a mother and her children who live on and off with various others, such as the mothers mother, the mothers sister, or a boyfriend). (http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/foundation/foundatione.cfm) 4.4 Homosexual families 5. Recommendation As a result of what have mentioned, the government is considered that should establish reasonable policy for different type families. Trying to improve the marriage rate, create employment opportunities for lone parent, pay more attention to the mental health of single-parent children and provide help for them. Ensuring each kind of families getting equal rights include homosexual families. Honestly, family is the fundamental part of the society, making each unit running normally is one possible way to boost the development of society. 6. Conclusion In summary, under several period changing, the family developed into many forms, it all depends on individual needs, so that the changing to the family is an inevitable phenomenon. For the society, its development rely on each familys growing, such as changes to household required a development of services, domestic variety created new demands on government policy, and some of the new type families led to social crisis. Meantime, it could be found that the social environment influenced family lifestyle. Therefore, a interaction between families and society could be discovered. Allan, G. and Crow, G. (2001). Families, households and society. New York: Palgrave. BBC (2007). One-parent families on the rise. Retrieved October 7th,2010 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6542031.stm Bornstein, L. and Bornstein, M. H. (2007). Parenting styles and child social development. Encyclopedia on early childhood development. Montreal: Centre of excellence for early childhood development. Cabinet Office/The Strategy Unit. (2008). Families in Britain: An Evidence Paper, Department for Children, Schools and Families. Elliot, F. R. (1996). Gender, family and society. London: Macmillan Press Eversley, D. and Bonnerjea, L. (1982). Social change and indicators of diversity. in Rapoport, R. N. , Fogarty, M. P. and Rapoport, R. (1982). Families in Britain.(p.75). London: Routledge Kegan Paul Harding, L. (1996). Family, State Social Policy. London: Macmillan Press Hawthorne, J., Jessop, J., Pryor, J. and Richards, M. (2003). Supporting children through family change: a review of interventions and services for children of divorcing and separating parents. London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Ipsos MORI Real Trends (2008) self-completion and online. Base: 2,019 British adults 16+, 9th May 5th June. Jagger, G. and Wright, C. (1999). Changing family values. London: Routledge Jenkins, DRS. , Pereira, I. and Evans, N. ( date unknown ). Families in Britain, The impact of changing family structures and what the public think. London: Ipsos MORI and Policy Exchange. Kephart, W. M. (1961). The family, society, and the individual. Cambridge: The Riberside Press Morris, E. W. and Winter, M. (1978). Housing, family, and society. Canada: John Wiley Sons Oakland, J. (2006). British civilization: an introduction. New York: Routledge Office for National Statistics (2007) Focus on Families: increase in families mainly cohabiting couples. Retrieved October 7th,2010 from:http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/fofam1007.pdf Office for National Statistics (2008) Marriage Stats 2006 (Provisional) cited in Cabinet Office/ The Strategy Unit (2008) Families in Britain: An Evidence Paper, Department for Children, Schools and Families. P26. Office for National Statistics (2007) Population Trends 132. cited in Cabinet Office/ The Strategy Unit (2008) Families in Britain: An Evidence Paper, Department for Children, Schools and Families. P28. Oxford Dictionary of English. (2005). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rowlingson, K. and Mckay, S. (2002). Lone parent families: gender, class and state. Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited

Augustine’s Divided Line Essay -- Essays Papers

Augustine’s Divided Line Augustine’s contention that man cannot possibly come into truth by reason in his temporal life constitutes his initial departure from the ancients, and results in the need for an entirely new structuring of the relationship between man and the good. In differentiating between the nature of God and man, Augustine argues that man’s nature—unlike God’s—is corruptible, and is thus â€Å"deprived of the light of eternal truth† (XI, 22) . This stands the thought of Plato on its head, since now no amount of contemplation and argument will be capable of getting man closer to a truth that exists on a plane that â€Å"surpasses the reach of the human mind† (XXI, 5). If reason is an instrument as flawed as man himself, how, then, is man to know the supreme good if he is forced to grope blindly for it in a state of sin without any assistance from the powers of his own mind? It is this question which serves as the premise for Augustine’s di vision of existence into the City of Man and the City of God and articulation of a system of vice and struggle against vice that keeps man anchored to the City of Man and prevents him from entering the City of God in temporal life. In order to explain man’s path from the one to the other, he sets up a system of dichotomies that originate from Adam’s fall and are hinged upon the role of the will in earthly life. At the top, God is the source of the â€Å"supreme good,† and evil is its opposite (XII, 3). Up to this point, he is in agreement with the ancients, but he diverges again when he equates the good with nature, and evil with a defect of nature—an absence of the good (XII, 3). In this we have the first division of what â€Å"supremely is† between nature and vice, with nature arising ... ...ty† (XII, 22). This is ultimately what is so shockingly egalitarian about Augustine’s Christianity in contrast to the thought of the ancients. The Supreme Good—eternal life—is accessible to both the simple and the sophisticated. One may either contemplate the duality of the universe and figure out where each aspect of creation fits into the scheme, or one may bypass the attempt to understand the temporal world in relation to heaven, but so long as one finally accepts faith and, through it, becomes obedient to God while discarding self-will, the extent to which one used reason in his life is irrelevant. Reason, except insofar as it is necessary in a basic sense for man to use it to accept faith to and differentiate himself from beasts, is not necessary for eternal life. What is necessary is the choice to stop exercising the self-will—to stop making choices. Augustine’s Divided Line Essay -- Essays Papers Augustine’s Divided Line Augustine’s contention that man cannot possibly come into truth by reason in his temporal life constitutes his initial departure from the ancients, and results in the need for an entirely new structuring of the relationship between man and the good. In differentiating between the nature of God and man, Augustine argues that man’s nature—unlike God’s—is corruptible, and is thus â€Å"deprived of the light of eternal truth† (XI, 22) . This stands the thought of Plato on its head, since now no amount of contemplation and argument will be capable of getting man closer to a truth that exists on a plane that â€Å"surpasses the reach of the human mind† (XXI, 5). If reason is an instrument as flawed as man himself, how, then, is man to know the supreme good if he is forced to grope blindly for it in a state of sin without any assistance from the powers of his own mind? It is this question which serves as the premise for Augustine’s di vision of existence into the City of Man and the City of God and articulation of a system of vice and struggle against vice that keeps man anchored to the City of Man and prevents him from entering the City of God in temporal life. In order to explain man’s path from the one to the other, he sets up a system of dichotomies that originate from Adam’s fall and are hinged upon the role of the will in earthly life. At the top, God is the source of the â€Å"supreme good,† and evil is its opposite (XII, 3). Up to this point, he is in agreement with the ancients, but he diverges again when he equates the good with nature, and evil with a defect of nature—an absence of the good (XII, 3). In this we have the first division of what â€Å"supremely is† between nature and vice, with nature arising ... ...ty† (XII, 22). This is ultimately what is so shockingly egalitarian about Augustine’s Christianity in contrast to the thought of the ancients. The Supreme Good—eternal life—is accessible to both the simple and the sophisticated. One may either contemplate the duality of the universe and figure out where each aspect of creation fits into the scheme, or one may bypass the attempt to understand the temporal world in relation to heaven, but so long as one finally accepts faith and, through it, becomes obedient to God while discarding self-will, the extent to which one used reason in his life is irrelevant. Reason, except insofar as it is necessary in a basic sense for man to use it to accept faith to and differentiate himself from beasts, is not necessary for eternal life. What is necessary is the choice to stop exercising the self-will—to stop making choices.

True Human Nature (criticism Of Lord Of The Flies) :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reading Lord of the Flies, one gets quite an impression of Golding’s view on human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong, true or not, is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. This opinion, in fact, is a point that many have disagreed with when reading his work. There are many instances throughout Lord of the Flies that state Golding’s opinion suggesting an evil human nature. Each of these instances are the bricks holding together his fortress of ideas that are constantly under attack.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding’s to construct the idea of human nature in the minds of his readers. Throughout the novel, it is stated that all humans are evil. It is said that this evil is inescapable and will turn everyone evil. At one point in the book, when the Lord of the Flies is representing all evil, this theory is stated as, â€Å"The Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon† (Golding 130). Along with this idea is the religious symbolism that is used for ineffectively confronting the evil. At a point in the book, Golding has Simon, symbolic of Jesus Christ (a Christian deity), confront the Lord of the Flies. This is a pig’s head on a stick that is imagined to talk and represent the evil in all humans. Simon tries to act and spread the knowledge of this evil to others but is killed. This is a direct reference to the death of Christ, alluding to the Holy Bible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At many points throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding writes for the characters to become gradually more and more evil. This attribute even reaches the symbols of goodness and order, such as Ralph. Once, when Ralph and Piggy go to the feast on Jack’s beach, they begin to meld with the others and their evil ways. â€Å"Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society† (Golding 138). This really only proves their common longing for a place with others, not any depth of evilness. Golding also has all of the characters eventually participate in the hunts, his representation of an evil ritual that humans perform. By having all of the characters practice this, he illustrates his belief of everyone being susceptible to turning evil. This fact is not necessarily true. Humans develop their own dedications to their own beliefs, morals, and ethics.

stephen crane :: essays research papers

Stephen Crane was a forerunner of the realistic writers in America after the civil war. His style included the use of impressionism, symbolism, and irony which helped credit him with starting the beginning of modern American Naturalism. Crane’s most famous writing is his war novel The Red Badge of Courage. He is also known for the novel Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and short stories such as â€Å"The Open Boat† or â€Å"The Blue Hotel.† â€Å"Crane utilized his keen observations, as well as personal experiences, to achieve a narrative vividness and sense of immediacy matched by few American writers before him (5). His unique style did not always follow a plot structure and focused on mental drama as well as external. Stephen Crane was born in Newark, New Jersey on November 1st of 1871. He was the youngest of fourteen children. His father was Reverend Jonathan Crane, a Methodist minister, and his mother Mary Crane was active in church reform. His uncle Jesse Peck was a Methodist bishop and the president of Syracuse University. Even with this religious influence Crane enjoyed playing cards, dancing, drinking, and smoking. â€Å"Crane shunned organized religion but did not reject so much as humanistically redefine God and religious experience† (14). In 1880 his father passed away and the family moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey. That is where Crane began his higher education at Claverack College and the Hudson River Institute. He began to develop an interest in Civil War studies and military training. Crane then went to Lafayette College for a semester followed by Syracuse University for another semester. To earn money he worked as a freelance writer for his brothers who worked at the New York Tribune. He spent most of his college time playing baseball and studying the humanity of people rather than school work. Before leaving college Crane wrote the foundation for his first novel Maggie. Working part time for the New York Tribune Crane gained first-hand knowledge of poverty during this time. He studied city life in the slums of New York and was able to realistically portray this in his writings. During this time he finished the novel Maggie: A Girl of the Streets which was about a young women’s descent into prostitution. The story was rejected by numerous editors as the felt it was too cruel and honest and would shock readers. Eventually he borrowed the money and had it printed under the alias Johnston Smith in 1893.

Carlos Ghosn Nissan Ceo

Carlos Ghosn as CEO of Nissan and Renault: Can He Rework the ‘Nissan Magic'? â€Å"We knew some people were concerned about the potential for culture clashes, between the French and the Japanese, but it was not an issue. Cultural differences should be used as a catalyst for change, not as a crutch that inhibits change. You can learn a lot from somebody who is not like you. â€Å"1 – Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Nissan. â€Å"Make sure you are focused on your own people. Bring in them motivation and sense of ownership, then you can do your miracle. 2 – Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Nissan. Introduction In 2002, Louis Schweitzer, CEO of Renault announced that Carlos Ghosn, the president and CEO of Nissan would also take over the reigns at Renault in April 2005, while Schweitzer would remain the chairman of the board. With the new position , Carlos Ghosn would lead two companies Nissan and Renault. As of 2004,Renault held 44%stake in Nissan and Nissan owned around 15%of Renault's shar es. ‘Turnaround artist', as Carlos Ghosn was called was behind the industry's most remarkable turnaround at Nissan.After he became the CEO of Nissan in 1999, he had brought in many un-Japanese changes in the Japanese company and had actively persuaded the employees to accept change. Carlos Ghosn was credited for reviving the company from$254million losses and $19billion debt in 1999 into profits within two years. After taking up his position as the CEO of Renault in April 2005,CarlosGhosn is likely to face many challenges. Heading two different automobile companies from two different countries was first of its kind and industry observers expressed doubts whether Ghosn would be able to take up the pressure and rework the ‘Nissanmagic'.Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic'In March 1999,Renault, the then ninth carmaker in the world announced its alliance with Nissan investing $5. 4 billion. Nissan was in losses for many years from 1990-1999 except for profits reported in 1 997(Annexure I) and looked out for partners to recover from the troubles. The brand recognition was very low and it was estimated that Nissan was losing $1000 for every car it sold in US. By the end of 1990s,Nissan exported cars to Europe and Australia and some parts of Asia. The company was in losses to the tune of $5. billion, had debts totaling around $19 billion and was suffering from a poor product portfolio and diminishing brand value. Nissan’s market share had dropped from 6. 6 %in 1991 to 4. 9%by late 1990s. Renault at the same time was expanding internationally through acquisitions. After the unsuccessful merger with Volvo, Renault under Louis Schweitzer entered into an alliance with Nissan acquiring a 36%stake in the company. Triggering the alliance was Nissan’s strength in product designs and sophisticated manufacturing that blended well with the engineering quality at Renault.For Renault, the alliance would help in international expansions in the long-term while for Nissan; it was to get rid of its short-term troubles that had accumulated. Initially industry observers were skeptical about a non-Japanese manager successfully leading a Japanese firm. While Carlos Ghosn was successful in cutting costs and had sometimes imposed hard regimes during his tenure atMichelin3  , many were apprehensive if he would be successful in Japan. | | He was 46 when he joined Nissan and was far younger than the middle-level managers in the company.Carlos Ghosn knew nothing about Japan and had no knowledge of the culture there. He once said that he had a ‘very vague' idea about the country and accepted, â€Å"I did not try to learn too much about Japan before coming, because I didn’t want to have too many preconceived ideas. I wanted to discover Japan by being in Japan with Japanese people. â€Å"4  On the first day, when Carlos Ghosn arrived at Nissan, he took an elevator to reach his office. As he entered the lift, which was already pa cked with workers who were coming up from garage, everyone knew he was the new CEO. To his surprise, at every floor the lift stopped, none got down.Finally, when he got down, the employees bowed as he left and went back to their floors. After such an unexpected incident, which reflected major cultural difference, Carlos Ghosn realized how important it was to understand them. Since the first day, Carlos Ghosn had made the cultural diversity a catalyst rather than a crutch for the company. 5 Next >> 1]Carlos Ghosn's interview, â€Å"Interview: The road to ruin†, www. themanufacturer. com, December 2002 2]Parachkevova, Anna â€Å"CEO outlines Nissan’s resurgence†, www. thedartmouth. com, May 12th 2004 3]Carlos Ghosn joined Michelin in 1974, where he was chairman and CEO ofNorth American operations and had undertook several cost cutting initiatives. 4]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, http://web-japan. org, April 5th 2002 5]†Th rowing away the culture crutch†, 2000 Automotive News World Congress, January 18th 2000 Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ However, since the beginning, Carlos Ghosn was in a Catch-22 situation as Japanese were not used to dictatorship kind of leadership. He knew that if he tried to dictate terms, that could lead to bruising employee morale, and if he remained lenient, it could hinder the required change.Instead of imposing change ,CarlosGhosn brought about the need for urgency in operations by mobilizing   them an agers. Carlos Ghosn identified that the basic flaw with Nissan’s culture when he took over was that employees were reluctant to accept the failures and held other departments or economic conditions responsible for them. This resulted in a lack of urgency among employees as everyone assumed the other would take action. He found that instead of solving the problems, they were trying to live with them.Nissan throughout 1990s, had been concentra ting on short-termmarket share growth rather than long termgrowth and instead of investing its profits towards product portfolio improvement itwas spending themtowards equity purchases of other companies especially its suppliers. Its product profile was comparatively outdated with old designs when customers craved for stylish designs while competitors were steadily focusing on new product designs. By 1999, it had around $4 billion held in the form of shares while its purchasing costs remained very high, around 20-25%more than that of Renault's.The employees openly resisted cross-functional teams, as they strongly believed in territories and sectionalism, which was a major part of their culture. Carlos Ghosn explained, â€Å"Engineers work very well together, financial people work very well together, salespeople work very well together. But when you start to add an engineer, a marketer, a salesperson, and a manufacturer, here all the strengths of Japan in teamwork disappear. â€Å" 6  To overcome the resistance, he had to explain to the employees why the cross-functional teams were important and how they would impact the overall benefits.Carlos Ghosn believed that the general human tendency was to resist anything different. He considered that by accepting change, people tend to become stronger, as they understand the differences and try to analyze the causes for such differences. Cross-functional teams were formed and employees were involved in the revival process. This helped Carlos Ghosn explain his plans and gain acceptance easily. Through these cross-functional teams, employees were made to look beyond their line of responsibilities, understanding the nitty- gritties of the other departments as well.After the cross-functional teams were in place, people owned up responsibility whenever something went wrong. â€Å"The solution to Nissan’s problems was inside the company. The main [idea] we would have for revival of the company would be a rebuilt m otivation of Nissan employees and partners,† he explained. 7| | Immediately after appointing the teams, they were asked to submit plans to achieve the maximum possible output in each area and within a week decisions were made. The outcome was the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP).After the NRPwas announced, every aspect from the timing, the plan schedules and the commitments as well as targets were clearly stated. Shiro Tomii, vice president, Nissan Japan remarked, â€Å"He establishes high yet attainable goals; makes everything clear to all roles and levels of responsibility, works with speed; checks on progress; and appraises results based on fact. â€Å"8 Next >> 6]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, op. cit 7]Saadi, Dania â€Å"Nissan's miracle man offers clues to solving national economic woes†, www. lebanonwire. com   8]David Magee, Turnaround: how Carlos Ghosn rescued NissanCarlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ Listening to the employees and facilitating their participation in the decision-making process, was key aspect of Carlos Ghosn's leadership. By avoiding impersonal meetings through mails, he stressed the need for face-to-face communication. He believed that the people close to the company could come out with better solutions than an outsider like him. In contrast, the Japanese were polite, reticent and never spoke about the plans to their boss. Carlos Ghosn had to repeatedly explain to the employees that he needed their viewpoints and would not mind if they speak out.This, according to him was the greatest hurdle. While in France at Renault, he emphasized on teamwork, in Japan he believed it was not required and instead individuality was given more prominence. Price Water house Coopers in a report on change management listed Carlos Ghosn's key human resource management techniques calling them very simple and straightforward By maintaining transparency from the stage of planning to action, he ai med at the best possible out comes while also lifting the morale of the employees who were particularly distressed after the crisis at the company.He invited suggestions from every influential individual from suppliers, Nissan’s ex-employees, dealers etc. He explained, â€Å"As you know credibility has two legs, performance, and transparency. Performance, we had none to show at the time, so we were determined to be highly transparent. â€Å"9  He called the NRP, an ‘organization's collective effort' involving thousands of employees at every managerial level. To show his commitment to the plan, he declared that he would resign along with other top executives if the plan fails in bringing in the benefits. Carlos Ghosn wanted immediate results by fixing short-term targets.While he called the passive style of management-by-consensus a killer, an active and constructional version could work miracles, according to him. He believed that an 85%consensus was enough and 100%w as not always essential. While cultural adaptability had been his key, he was also at the same time affirmative about giving more priority to the bottom-line growth rather than just to the cultural aspects. He remarked, â€Å"I do not want to intentionally offend people, but I am more concerned about making Nissan profitable again than being culturally sensitive. â€Å"10| | The first phase of NRP focused on cutting the costs and improving profits.The first major step Carlos Ghosn undertook was divestments from subsidiaries to reduce the debt. Suppliers accounted for major part of costs of production and the age-old Keiretsu system and the obligations that came with it were adding to heavy costs11  . Deviating from the system, Carlos Ghosn opened the purchasing offer to all the suppliers encouraging new suppliers who were ready to supply at low prices. As part of the revival plan, suppliers were forced to offer discounts to the tune of 20-30%and the number of suppliers was broug ht down to 600 from 1145 while the purchasing costs were reduced by 20%.During a meeting with the dealers of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn announced, â€Å"I don't want any excuses. I want to know what you are going to do to make things better. â€Å"12  Cost cutting at each stage began to be regarded as the need of the hour as the employees were encouraged to reduce expenses through all possible ways. The cross functional teams were given one month time to identify areas to cut costs and increase the profits through bottom-line growth. Next >> 9]Ibid. 10]Larimar, Tim â€Å"Japan, Nissan and Ghosn revolution†, www. sb. columbia. edu 11]The Keiretsu system, in which the companies maintained partnership with each of its suppliers, holding shares in those companies, transferring managers characterized the big family of companies and its suppliers were both shared relationships 12]Larimar, Tim â€Å"Japan, Nissan and Ghosn revolution†, op. cit. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Ni ssan Magic' Cont†¦ The most un-Japanese practices like closing plants and cutting work force, in a country, which believed in lifetime employment, were the biggest of all challenges.When he planned to close five plants which included both assembly plants and power train plants, the board of directors were not informed until the night before, as Carlos Ghosn knew some people within the company wanted his plans to fail. After he announced, he was reported to have threatened, â€Å"If this leaks out, I'll close seven plants, not five. â€Å"13  For Carlos Ghosn, convincing the labor unions over the disadvantages of rigid job definition was a big task. The seniority-based promotion that was entrenched in the Japanese firm was replaced by a performance based and merit-based incentive system.Instead of sacking people, which was against the culture in Japan, 21,000 jobs were cut through retirements, pre-retirements and golden handshakes out of which 16500 were in Japan alone. The plants were closed, while offering alternative jobs to the employees in other plants of the company. The complex manufacturing structure, which involved 24 platforms at seven assembly plants, was brought down to 12 platforms, which were shared by four plants. Around 10%of the retail outlets were closed and 20%of the dealer affiliates was streamlined to further reduce selling and marketing expenses.After the phase one of the revival plan was over, Nissan reported profits of $1. 5 billion for six months between April to September, which was the best results the company had ever seen. At the same time, Carlos Ghosn began to be called an iconoclast, who had brought in some un-Japanese, western style of culture in the company’s operations. He, in contrast to the traditional Japanese business etiquettes, shook hands with his partners and other executives. As a result, there was discontent among the traditionalists and other industry associations in the country.And his bold decision s like closing plants, had invited repugnance among many including the insiders and Ghosn began to take along a bodyguard wherever he went| | The cross-cultural merger between a French and a Japanese firm, raised several other challenges. The alliance aimed at cost savings through sharing of platforms and engineering capabilities. Initially though the employees and the design engineers were convinced over the superiority of the platforms brought in from the Renault plants, they were reluctant to adopt them.To overcome resistance, regular meetings were conducted among the Nissan and Renault employees. While at the same time, Carlos Ghosn began to recruit more designers from Japan to design new models. He maintained that the best way to solve the cultural differences was to avoid forcing the cultural blend. Rather, he believed in appreciating the differences between the cultures and minimizing the cultural clashes by bringing in a performance-driven management. To ensure that the Japa nese staff understands what the French managers spoke, English was made the common language in the company.A dictionary of 100 key words used by them management was prepared to solve the differences in the way each work was interpreted by French as well as Japanese. The words included ‘commitment', ‘transparency', ‘objectives', and ‘targets' etc. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ In Japan, attending all formal parties of suppliers was very important and one was not supposed to miss them unless there was a strong reason. When Carlos Ghosn missed the New Year Party hosted by the suppliers’ association, it was considered as a sign of disrespect to their culture.Carlos Ghosn had attended all such gatherings since then. Carlo sGhosn understood all these subtle aspects, which were an essential part of the culture, as he began adapting to them. In the second phase of the revival plan, which started in 2001, Carlos Ghosn stressed on selling mo re cars, improving the top line growth as well. Dropping non-performing products from its portfolio, the company introduced trendy new models in SUVs and minivans category. An updated Z sports coupe was reintroduced in the market. The phase two increased sales by one million and debt was brought down to zero.With his unconventional leadership style and charisma, he began tow in praises from the employees of the company as well as from the industry and the public. Sometimes, people in streets would stop him and wish him success saying, ‘Gambatte [go for it]'. TIME magazine named him the most influential global business executive and more and more Japanese companies were embarking on the gaijin [Foreigner]-Ghosn’s style for attaining maximum benefits in a short time. His colleagues at Nissan were particularly impressed by his dedication towards achievement of targets and his 24/7 work ethics reinforcing the importance of hard work.His devotion towards the revival of the c ompany from problems, for which he was not in any way responsible, encouraged his peers to work hard and contribute towards a common goal. Toshiyuki Shiga who was made in charge of the Nissan’s expansions in China had once remarked, â€Å"He told me to make a clear strategy for Nissan in China, and he gave me two months to do it. †Ã‚  14  While he ensured that the progress was undertaken without holding any individual responsible for the past crisis, he was also at the same time particular about results. | Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, Nissan Europe, said, â€Å"To people who don't accept that performance is what is at stake, he can be ruthless. â€Å"15 Calling his turnaround at Nissan a ‘near death experience', Carlos Ghosn said he had experienced extensive cultural diversities during his tenure at Renault, Nissan, Nissan’s North American business and Samsung motors, a Korean based company acquired by Renault. His management style is wov en around two attributes- ‘value and motivation'. He believed in motivating employees and demanding performance by empowering them. Your employees must be interested in what is going on in the company. Nothing is more inefficient than a boring company. You have to create an interesting environment where people are interested in the story you are creating and want to hear the happy ending†, he said. He was called ‘Ice Breaker' by Daimler Chrysler's Chairman Jurgen E. Schrempp because of his unconventional thinking and implementing western style of management in Japan breaking the prevalent myth in the industry. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦The biweekly comic series, ‘The true life of Carlos Ghosn' featured Nissan's CEO Carlos Ghosn, depicting his popularity in the industry as well as the country. Some others called him ‘an ambassador of change', ‘the troubleshooter' and considered him as a role model for all those business exec utives who were seeking solutions to the poor state of their companies in Japan. After the implementation of the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP), within two years, the company recovered from the losses and reported a 10. 2%increase in its revenues and nearly 84%increase in its operating profits .Though the sales had not considerably improved, the cost cuttings contributed towards improving the bottom line. In May 2001, the company reported its largest net profit of $2. 7 billion. Carlos Ghosn was named the ‘Businessman of the year' by Fortune magazine in 2002 and Auto mobile Magazine called him' man of the year' for his contributions to Nissan. Renault increased its stake in Nissan to 44. 4%while Nissan owned 13. 5%of Renault's share capital. However, by 2003,Nissan started experiencing a downward trend in its sales, as the volume of goods that passed out from dealers was dropping in size.Customers regularly complained of quality defects and Nissan’s rank in overall quality ( as per a survey by J. D. PowerAssociates) dropped to 11th in 2004 from6th in 2003. It looked as the rigorous emphasis on the faster execution of the restructuring had resulted in these quality defects while Ghosn assured he would fix them. To counter the situation, in May 2004, he sent a quality control team of 220 engineers to the Nissan plant in Smyrna (Tennessee) and every part of the assembly line went through a detailed scrutiny.Subtle issues like the workers who wore studded jeans and rings causing scratches to the freshly painted cars, etc came to light. Ghosn was amazed at some very obvious ones, which could be rectified at the plant, like defective doors and reading lights etc. Carlos Ghosn had already achieved two of the three goals that were set for NRP, the debt was cleared and profitability was achieved. | | The Nissan 180, an extension of NRP was launched and aimed at additional sales volume of one million annually from 2005, the third objective of NRP. US market was c onsidered to play a key role in achieving the goal of additional one million sales.A new plant was set up in Canton, the first in North America where Nissan was facing challenges from other Japanese automakers, Toyota and Honda. Mean while, Nissan was planning an alliance with Mitsubishi after Daimler Chrysler gave up its plans of partnership with Mitsubishi. The partnership would help Nissan enter the mini car segment while Mitsubishi would be able to reduce cost burden of new product development. The shortage of steel supplies forced Nissan to reduce its production in 2004, affecting production of 15,000 units amounting to $58. 5million of loss in sales.Nissan closed its plants for five days following the shortage of supplies, as steel prices in creased with demand for steel increasing after the economic boom in China. While halting production was considered a sign of mismanagement many felt that Carlos Ghosn's attempt to bring down the number of suppliers as part of NRP, had resu lted in over-reliance on few suppliers . However, Ghosn defended himself saying that the savings achieved during that phase were far more [$9. 7 billion] than the losses incurred due to loss of sales. Renault – The French Automaker Renault was a state owned government enterprise since 1945.It was started as a motorized vehicle assembler in 1898. Renault built trucks, airplane engines and heavy vehicles during the World War II and after the war and with the economic boom, Renault achieved high volume sales with its low cost cars like 4CV, Renault 4 and Renault 5 through the 1970s and 1980s. During early 1980s, Renault expanded into US by acquiring half the shares of American Motor Corporation. However, the deal was unprofitable and the company had to withdraw from the market in 1987. A similar deal failed in Mexico, and with both the deals financed through debts, Renault was left ith huge debts accumulated by the end of 1980s. It reported losses of $3. 5 billion between 1984 a nd 1986. Further, because it was a state owned business, obligations with labour unions led to more costs for the company. When Louis Schweitzer joined Renault in 1986,Renault had accumulated debts to the tune of $9 billion and was in huge losses. Its proposed merger with Sweden based ABVolvo in 1993 failed due to unfavorable French political climate and with Swedish shareholders expressing reservation. The company continued to be in losses till 1996,when Schweitzer brought in Carlos Ghosn as the executive vice president.Under the duo, product quality was improved, outsourcing secondary activities and overheads were reduced along with reduction in workforce. The same time, French government started setting ground for its IPO when Louis Schweitzer discovered that privatization of the company could only save it. In July 1996, the IPO was completed. By 1998,with the midsize model Scenic, Renault was successful in European market and in 1998 alone it made profits of $1. 4 billion from$4 0 billion sales. 16 While Renault became the No. 1 automaker in Europe, to be a global player, it had to expand its operations further.By the end of 1990s, it had a very small presence in Asia and was totally absent in the North American market. After the merger of Daimler and Chrysler in 1998, for Renault, expansions became a requisite. And, Nissan seemed a lucrative opportunity, as an alliance with Nissan could help in easier market expansion for Renault in developing markets. While others including Ford and DaimlerChrysler had earlier attempted a deal with Nissan, they later withdrew keeping in view the huge debt that Nissan held and its culture that was inflexible. | After the alliance, Renault managed to reduce its launching and warranty costs for new product introductions by recruiting managers from Nissan to undertake the launch. At the same time, it sent its employees to Nissan to oversee manufacturing, to achieve cost efficient production. Later Renault acquired Samsung Mot ors in South Korea and Roman automaker, Dacia as part of its international expansion. With the launch of multi purpose vehicles, Laguna II and A van time in 2001 and Espace IV in 2002 , and after its association with Formula One racing between 1992 and 1997, its brand popularity improved.By 2004,Renault held strong foothold in European market and reported a 6. 5%increase in sales by the first half of 2004 and was the fourth largest auto company in the world. It held nearly 11%market share in Western European market in passenger car and light vehicle cars. At the same time, Renault performance in large cars segment was sluggish and was struggling to achieve operating margin of 4%, when the demand for cars in the European market was low. Some of the new launches like the Vel Satis, a tall saloon luxury model, were not very successful in the market. Are launch in the US market was also underway.Renault was facing other challenges along with Nissan and other automakers. Environmental fr iendly cars, which seemed a likely potential opportunity, were costly to manufacture at the price the customers were ready to pay. Renault was planning for expansions in Chinese market and South Korea and other parts of Asia through alliance with Nissan. Next ;gt;;gt; 16]†For Renault, a new chance to take on the world†, www. businessweek. com, November 15th 1999 Carlos Ghosn as CEO of Renault and Nissan By 2010, Nissan and Renault would build their cars using the common building blocks.Ghosn viewed the alliance as â€Å"managing contradiction between synergy and identity†17  and confirmed that while gaining synergies, the individual identity of each brand would be safeguarded. The other major alliances in the industry, the DaimlerChrysler and the GM/Fiat had not proved to be very successful because of improper management of merged assets, trans-atlantic product development and failed attempt in understanding local market; Ghosn confirmed that Nissan's alliance w ith Renault would creatively achieve it. At the same time the alliance would avoid merger and would maintain ‘a spirit of partnership'18  .The alliance would be the fourth largest automobile group in the world. In October 2004, the first car was built using a common platform of Nissan and Renault. Modus, a subcompact minivan of Renault shared its base with Nissan’s Micra saving $500million for Renault every year. After Carlos Ghosn succeeds Schweitzer at Renault's in April 2005, he would also continue as the CEO of Nissan. Carlos Ghosn was affirmative that he would not leave the company unless he finds the right person who would succeed him at Nissan. He stressed on the need for a Japanese as the CEO of Nissan in such a culture sensitive country.While at Nissan, he had transformed himself into a Japanese, adapting to the culture, analysts feared if he would breach the French business etiquettes as he takes up the rein at Renault. 19  Two of the five vice presidents at Renault would retire soon, and Carlos Ghosn was to take up the reigns at both the companies, during such senior level management changes. At the same time, many feared if the sense of urgency brought through NRP would continue at Nissan or will the company slip back to its old habits, when Carlos Ghosn leaves.The pressure was considered to be very high, as an analyst stated, â€Å"He will be less present at Renault than he was at Nissan, and less present at Nissan that he used to be. I believe this challenge will be more difficult. â€Å"20 The alliance had helped both the companies equally, in terms of cost savings from not requiring to construct new plants where the alliance can use common buildings, common platforms etc. This had also helped them enter new markets faster and gain other synergies . The purchasing power had also increased as they ordered and bought components through Renault-Nissan purchasing organization for both the companies at a time. | The alliance had fr om the beginning ensured that the inter-company cultural clashes do not exist, by maintaining individual cultural identities. While a merger had been avoided since the beginning, Carlos Ghosn confirmed that it would be its agenda in future also. Carlos Ghosn remarked that when he takes up the two positions, he would blend the strengths of the people at the companies, the innovation excellence of the French and the dedication towards manufacturing of the Japanese. 21  He affirmed that his tenure at Nissan had allowed him to learn the real essence of successful leaders, and would drive his success in future also.He called himself, ‘not a theorist of citizenship but an expert in multi nationality’. 22 Carlos Ghosn called the three major attributes, ‘Value, Transparency and Performance' as the ones that would determine the competence of any CEO. He believed that they act as standards for leadership in global business, in the light of growing corporate scandals, when the top executives of the companies were increasingly coming under scrutiny. He explained that the actual results that are delivered along with simultaneous value creation to the customers and the other stakeholders through maintaining transparency, reflect an efficient leadership.By communicating every strategy to every person concerned, he maintained that it would facilitate a faster reaction to dynamics in the fiercely competitive global market place. An analyst once called Carlos Ghosn, ‘amanager without borders, polyglot and cosmopolitan'. Talking about his dual roles and the cultural barriers that he will have to face as he moves to Renault while also heading Nissan, Carlos Ghosn said, â€Å"Global is global. In my opinion, this is going to be the story of the twenty-first century.This is what's going to happen in the twenty-first century – you're going to see the emergence of more ‘global' standards, some kind of global references; you're going to see mor e and more of it. But ‘globality' doesn’t mean ‘uniformity. ‘ It doesn't mean that. You’ll still have different cultures, you’ll still have different tastes, and you’ll still have some adaptations to make to different countries, but you'll have some basic things that will be common globally, especially in the economic area. â€Å"23 17]†Renault's alliance with Nissan†, www. economist. om, August 16th 2001 18]Parachkevova, Anna â€Å"CEO outlines Nissan's resurgence†, http://thedartmouth. com, May 12th 2004 19]†Carlos Ghosn- Nissan motor†, www. businessweek. com, January 8th 2000 20]Tierney, Christine â€Å"Leadership, bold moves help Renault save Nissan†, www. detnews. com, October 24th 2003 21]Smith, Duvergne, Nancy â€Å"Nissan Renault alliance faces down few challenges†, http://web. mit. edu, November 18th 2004 22]Abescat, Bruno â€Å"I am an expert of multi nationality†, http://liv res. lexpress. fr 23]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, op. cit