UPS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

UPS - Case Study Example The last part of the paper will sum up the main points discussed and recommendations will be given with regards to the measures that can be taken in order to effectively deal with the problems discussed. Description of the organization and problem identification United Parcel Service was founded in 1907 in USA and it specifically dealt with delivering an assortment of parcels and goods sent through its office to different clients. It started from humble beginnings where all packages were delivered by foot, street bicycle as well as street car. However, the company re-engineered itself to become a state-of-the-art delivery service when it introduced its first delivery car, a Model T Ford in 1913. The organization witnessed positive developments and went through different stages until 1980 which saw the passage of the passage of Motor Career Act which deregulated the whole trucking industry. The organization even introduced air services as it sought to diversify its activities to counter competition which was intensifying as a result of the deregulation exercise of this industry. However, increased competition as a result of deregulation compelled the organization to allocate large amounts of capital to modernize its data processing department. The deregulation of the freight industry also posed immense challenges to UPS given that the emerging entrants utilized low cost services such as the Federal Express Corporation. As such, it has been observed that data processing operated with poor equipment and the service provided was poor given that it fell beyond the competition that existed in technological and programming capabilities. Up until 1981, the department of information faced unprecedented challenges of technologically more advanced competition from Federal Express and RPS. It was realized that in order for UPS to remain the dominant carrier package delivery service, it had to join the competitors in the age of computer technology. Whilst UPS had the most extensive ground network, it had apparently been left in core areas such as technological innovations which included scanning, radio-dispatched pickups, package tracking, and data-acquisition devices. Despite the mission which was meant to â€Å"to provide management with the information it needs to meet the company’s goals in a responsive manner and at a reasonable cost,† the company fell short of achieving this goal given that it had limited numbers of employees with the requisite skills to execute the information requirements of the company. The main problem facing UPS is that it has to implement changes in order to meet the marketing and technological challenges that have been co mpounded by the deregulation exercise in this industry. It is facing a dilemma particularly in making decisions to hire or recruit talent from within the company or hire experienced people in information systems from outside. The problem with locating talent within the company is that most of the employees have experience in hub and package centers and have less experience in the new dispensation of information and communication technology. On the other hand, the problem related to hiring people from outside is related to re-orienting them to fit in the culture of the organization, training them, matching their expectations and helping them grow to meet the expectations of the organization. Stakeholder analysis The main players in this particular case are the employees who are responsible for executing all the tasks within the organization. Any change to the

Hammond Organ and the Leslie Speaker Essay Example for Free

Hammond Organ and the Leslie Speaker Essay Behind the Hammond organ is a man known as Laurens Hammond after whom the musical instrument is named. The Hammond organ is an electric organ that was invented in 1934. It was the work of Hammond Organ Company. The company originally made the instrument and sold it to churches. It was used as an alternative to the pipe organ used at that time in churches. The pipe organ was wind-driven. The new alternative was cost-effective. In the period between 1960 and 1970, the Hammond Organ became a standard keyboard and was popular in the playing of jazz, rock music, blues as well as gospel music (Laurens Hammond). Lauren Hammond, the man behind the Hammond Organ filed U. S. rights to manufacture a new kind of electrical musical instrument. His idea of an instrument could recreate the sound of a pipe organ. In the month of April 1935, his first invention was exposed to the public. Model A was also availed in June of the same year. Milt Herth used the instrument for playing his popular music live on WIND (AM) immediately upon its release. During World War II, the instrument was used by the military chapels in the US as well as the post theatres. It is therefore possible that the familiarity of the military with the organ could have contributed in making it popular in the period after the war (Laurens Hammond; Hammond organ history). For Hammond, creation of the organ was aimed at replacing the pipe organs with an affordable substitute in middle class residences. He also intended it as a gadget for radio broadcasting. The organ however began to be used by jazz musicians in the 1950s. Such musicians include Jimmy Smith. Its popularity in pop music led to its use in the British Radio 360 station. In that country, the organ was associated with ice rinks and elevator music. Later on, it became the organ popular with rock musicians Steve Winwood, Jon Lord and Keith Emerson in the 1960s and 1970s (Hammond organ history). The first Hammond organ that was made by Hammond Organ Company was operating on additive synthesis of waveforms that were got from harmonic series. The harmonic series were in turn made by mechanical tonewheels that rotate in front of electromagnet pickups. On the two keyboards are mounted some drawbars. The drawbars are slid in order to mix the element waveform ratios. Different models of the Hammond organ were produced but the Hammond B-3 organ model was and still is the most popular. The B-3 organ was for instance used towards the end of the 1960s and in the beginning of the 1970s for its overdriven sound. It was popular in progressive rock bands as well as blues rock. These earlier version has been used for a long time. This is despite the fact that the last electromechanical Hammond Organ came off the assembly in the middle of 1970 (Hammond organ history). After the electromagnetic organ, the musicians of the 1980s and 1990s started using other electronic and digital appliances to reproduce the sound which was produced by the Hammond Organ. This was solely because the classic Hammond Organ is relatively heavy and difficult to move from one place to another. This imitation was made easier by the digital signal processing and sampling technology in the years after 1990 and musicians could now copy the original Hammond sound (Edward). Most of the existing traditional organ fanatics prefer the Hammond tonewheels. Some of the popular models of this organ have tube amplifiers. In addition some of the most recent of the Hammond organ have a combination of tonewheel and solid amplifiers. The Hammond Organ Company is now the property of the Suzuki Company. Now Hammond Suzuki, the company manufactures digital organs which reproduce the sound of the tonewheel organ (Laurent Hammond). The Leslie Speaker On the other hand, the man behind the idea of the Leslie speaker is also the person after whom the instrument is named. His name is Donald Leslie. The Leslie Speaker is a special creation. It is an amplifier or loudspeaker that is often associated with Laurent Hammond’s Hammond organ. It is used by musicians to create special audio effects that make use of the Doppler effect. Together with the Hammond organ, the two are a popular ubiquitous component in most of the existing varieties of music. Like the Hammond Organ, the Leslie speaker’s production has also been taken over by the Suzuki Musical Instruments (Henricksen). At the beginning, the Hammond Organ Company refused to hire Don Leslie. Nevertheless, the man worked under a contract with the Hammond Company for some time. Don Leslie did some work for the local electric company replacing the old fifty cycle rotor tone generators. Instead of these, they put in place the sixty cycle units in the homes of customers. When it was first invented, the Leslie speaker was called the Vibratone. This was in 1941 about six years after the invention of the Hammond Organ. Vibratone was later adopted by the Fender Guitar Company when they manufactured a speaker system and effects unit which included a Leslie rotating speaker. Soon after Leslie sold the company under which he manufactured the Leslie speaker, Fender Company also adopted the name Leslie in 1965. At this time, even Fender had been bought by CBS and it was under CBS that Leslie’s company as well as Fender now operated. The name was therefore used, to be precise, by the CBS Company (Henricksen). The Leslie speaker was not advertised. Don Leslie demonstrated a prototype with Bob Mitchell near the Los Angeles city. The prototype was a rotating baffle put in a hole in a small closet that had a big speaker. It was in the closet near Don Leslie’s organ at home. Bob Mitchell was an organ player at the radio station KFI near Los Angeles. After the demonstration was made, Don Leslie was contracted to put in another similar prototype in the studios at the radio station where Bob worked. Only Bob Mitchell would be permitted to use this new installation. This awed Mitchell so much that he made attempts to copyright that speaker. This he did not succeed in though. After this, Mitchell was employed by the Mutual Broadcasting System as an organist. During his shows, Mitchell played the Hammond organ together with the Leslie speaker. From this, the exposure of the two inventions to the public was quick and guaranteed. From then, most of the organ players regardless of whether they were professional or part-time yearned for the sound created by these organs. In the jazz community for example, Jimmy Smith, the jazz organ player assisted in popularization of the sound among the artists of rock-roll in the years between 1950 and 1960 and even at the beginning of the 60s. At this time, the Leslie speaker had a height of more than sixty inches. It was referred to as the 30A. Don Leslie was inspired by this to manufacture more of the series founded by this 30A. He called the series Tall Boys or the 31 series. Later in the 50s, Don Leslie also made the 21H. These were meant for use in homes, smaller radio sound stages and venues for concerts. The first units were produced in 1941. From this time, the Leslie speaker was known under several different names. Such names as might be used to refer to the same speaker include Brittain Speakers, Hollywood Speakers and Crawford Speakers. In 1946 though, the speaker went back to its old known, the Leslie Vibratone. After seventeen years of rejection, the man behind the invention of the speaker offered the company for sale to Hammond. Don Leslie had waited for seventeen years to sell the company and after declaring hi interest in selling it again to Hammond, he waited thirty days. After this period, he still had not heard from Hammond. He retracted his offer (The Hammond organ history; Edward). In 1980, the Leslie name and the Electro Music were bought by the Hammond Corporation from their present owners, the CBS Company. It is now the property of Hammond under the company name Hammond Suzuki in USA (Edward). The Leslie speaker is used even to the present day and is actually very popular. In the present day, the Leslie parts can be got from various sources besides the fact that there are websites that offer plans which could help individual to construct the speaker. The sites have even posted photographic examples to guide one through the process. The modern Leslie speaker now has more enhanced speakers as well as electronics. Henricksen writes that the web even has a 500 W high performance model. In addition, the classic Leslie speaker has continued to be made and availed in the market. Similar effects can nevertheless be obtained through analogue electronic gadgets and digital imitation. The sound produced by the Leslie Speaker can be imitated by phase and chorus shifter instruments. In spite of this, nothing has the ability to copy the sound of the Leslie speaker that is heard in person. The imitation of the sound by some digital gadgets can however make distinction difficult (Henricksen). Conclusion The Hammond Company had also designed a set of speakers to work with the Hammond organ. However, most of the organ players have a preference for playing the Hammond via a rotating speaker cabinet. This speaker cabinet is what is known as the Leslie speaker after its inventor Donald Leslie and after many changes of names. (Donald Leslie lived between 1913 and 2004). This speaker system is an integrated combination of amplifiers where sound is produced after rotating a horn over a treble driver that is not moving. This is in addition to a rotating baffle as mentioned earlier which is placed under a non-moving bass woofer. The resulting characteristic sound is due to the pitch shifts that are in constant alteration made from the Doppler effect produced in turn by the moving sound sources. The original idea was to imitate the complicated tones and constantly altering sound sources originating from the big group of ranks in a pipe organ. From this initial organ, the effects were different depending on the rotor speed. The speed can be fastened between fast and slow by use of a console. The most characteristic effect is heard either when the speaker starts or stops rotating. Paul Di Matteo is known for the modifications he made to the Leslie cabinets. He replaced the original transducers with what is now a woofer of about 18 inches that has dual high frequency drivers well-liked for the high power stage applications. Reference: Edward, Peterson. â€Å"The rich history of the electric organ. † â€Å"Hammond Organ History. † http://thehammondorganstory. com/chapterxv. asp (30 April 2009). Henricksen, C. A. , â€Å"Unearthing the mysteries of the Leslie cabinet. † Recording Engineer/Producer magazine, April 1981. http://theatreorgans. com/hammond/faq/mystery/mystery. html (30 April 2009). â€Å"Laurens Hammond. Electrical Musical Instrument. U. S. Pat. No. 1956350. † http://www. google. com/patents? id=NUlkAAAAEBAJ (30 April 2009).

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: essays research papers

In the opening chapters of â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird,† Harper Lee introduces several subtle instances of racism. However, when Jem and Scout are welcomed into Cal’s Church in chapter 12, the reader really gets to travel behind the false disguise of Maycomb County’s white society to see the harsh realities of the injustices suffered by the blacks. The black community is completely separate from the whites -- in fact, Cal lives in a totally different part of town! Another example of total racial segregation is the fact that Jem and Scout have never been to â€Å"that part of town,† so they are unfamiliar with the Church’s way of singing hymns (â€Å"lining†), and they don’t understand â€Å"nigger talk.† Even Lula, one of the black church members, says, â€Å"they got their church, we got our’n.† Poverty is another injustice suffered by the blacks. Their First Purchase Church is very old and worn out. The paint is cracked and peeling, it has no ceiling, there’s a rough oak pulpit, and cheap cardboard fans must be used to keep the congregation cool. There is no piano, organ or church program in sight, and the whole church has to share one hymnbook! The graveyard contains only a few expensive headstones, with most graves merely outlined by broken glass. A further degradation occurs during the rest of the week, when the church building is used by whites for gambling. A majority of the black community is illiterate because there are no schools for blacks in Maycomb County. Their only way of learning is from their parents or another elder. For example, Mrs. Buford taught Cal, and Cal taught her son, Zeebo. Consequently, only four blacks in the whole church can read. In Tom Robinson case, he has virtually no chance of winning strictly due to his race. During his trial, Bob Ewell accuses Tom of raping his girl. Even though the Ewells are considered to be the â€Å"white trash† of Maycomb County, nearly all of white community supports them because they are white and Tom is black. Despite all of these injustices, Chapter 12 also creates a feeling of support and sympathy for the black community. For example, even though they’re oppressed, the black community still has a sense of pride. Their church is called First Purchase because it was paid for with the first earnings of freed slaves. This shows the black’s great devotion to their religion.

Difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound Essay

What is the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound? Can they ever be confused? Discuss with reference to at least three recent films. For this essay I shall be highlighting the differences between the two terms; diegetic and non-diegetic sound. I shall also discuss whether or not the terms and their meanings could ever be confused. To help highlight my arguments within this essay I shall reference to films such as â€Å"The Italian Job†, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† and â€Å"Entrapment†. The final section will hopefully round off the essay with a critical conclusion of the given question and the evidence presented within the essay. Yet sound is perhaps the hardest of all techniques to study†¦ Our primary information about the layout of our surroundings comes from sight, and so in ordinary life sound is often simply a background for our visual attention. (Bordwell.D. & Thompson.K., 1947, Film art : An introduction, Fifth Edition, New York; London : McGraw-Hill.) Sound which can be implied or linked by a character or an action taking place within the context of a scene is often referred to as a diegetic sound. This can include music that is being performed within the ‘film’s world’, such an example could be taken from the film Titanic. The particular scene I am referring to, is when the ship has just started to sink and the band decide to continue playing. ON WALLACE HARTLEY raising his violin to play. HARTLEY Number 26. Ready and — The band has reassembled just outside the First Class Entrance, port side, near where Lightoller is calling for the boats to be loaded. They strike up  a waltz, lively and elegant. The music wafts all over the ship. (Anon, Titanic Script, http://sites.inka.de/humpty/titanic/script.html) Another prime example of music being used within a scene of a film as a diegetic source, would be in â€Å"The Crow†. Here we see a mysterious figure playing an electric guitar in a way that has quite a phallic relation to his character. She pauses as she hears a lilting, faraway GUITAR STRAIN. Across the street she can make out the figure of Eric on his roof playing the guitar. (Anon, The Crow Script, http://abahb.crowfans.com/TheCrow/crowmov.txt) Another form of audio use in films which falls under the diegetic category, would be when a character within the scene is talking, singing, shouting etc. My first example to highlight this is taken from Baz Luhrman’s adaptation of â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†. The scene in question is when the Montague’s and Capulet’s meet for the first time. ABRA Do you bite your thumb at us, sir! Sampson’s shaking hand hovers – ready to draw. SAMPSON I do bite my thumb, sir. (Baz Lurhmann’s â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†) Another example, can be taken from the film â€Å"To Die For†. However, with this example the character is talking directly to the audience. SUZANNE STONE MARETTO You aren’t really anybody in America if you’re not on TV. (iMDB, Memorable quotes from To Die For, http://imdb.com/title/tt0114681/quotes) A final criterion that helps define diegetic sound is the use of natural sounds. For example a car’s engine revving. When sounds like this are used they tend to be highlighted and amplified, so as to draw the audiences’ attention to the relevant action. My first example is taken from the recent re-make of â€Å"The Italian Job†. Here the echo, â€Å"ominous thud†, resonates the seriousness of the situation, i.e. the fact that they are at the worst of their troubles. UNDERWATER – SAME TIME The Humvee strikes the surface bottom with an ominous thud. (AllMovieScripts.com, The Italian Job Script, http://www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/italianjob.PDF) Another example can be taken from the film â€Å"Entrapment†. Here the sound we are focusing on is not amplified a great deal, in fact it seems the director wants the sound to be as quiet as possible. No doubt to tie-in with the secrecy and precision required within the context. †¦Nearby, an ALARM BOX softly BEEPS its 60-second warning to the pulsing of a green light, and the Thief attaches a small computerized DEVICE†¦ However, the interesting point that can be brought about with this example is that even though the sound stops, it receives almost the same if not more attention as when the box was beeping. †¦the right one STOPS. Illuminated in red. The beeping, the green light, go OFF. The device is removed. (AllMovieScripts.com, Entrapment Script, http://www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/14984220623f39e70a15fbb.html) The other side to looking at audio within the film environment is non-diegetic sounds. Non-diegetic sound is just as important within films as natural or diegetic sounds. However, it appears that you can spot a lot more use of non-diegetic sounds within science fiction or fantastical films, such as â€Å"Star Wars† and â€Å"Lord of the Rings†. Again this can be broken up into three main criteria. Sound effects are often used to create a ‘real’ sound from an unnatural object, such as a futuristic spacecraft, or as in my next example a light-sabre. Through Lucas’ perserverance and continuity of the light-sabre sound, the constant whirring, the audience is quite accustomed to believing that the light-sabre is an organic object. Just as the ice creature looms over Luke, the lightsaber  jumps into Luke’s hand. The young warrior instantly ignites his sword, swinging up,  and cuts himself loose from the ice. (Smith.K.B, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Script, http://www.wheelon.com/swscripts/scripts.htm) However, sound effects don’t just help out futuristic objects gain a realistc ‘life’ they can also be used to exaggerate the movement of a ‘real world’ object. This principle is explained in the following example that briefly talks of â€Å"Mr.Hulot’s Holiday†. Although the door doesn’t make a realistic noise, the sound that replaces it is organic, i.e. natural. much humor arises from the opening and closing of a dining-room door. Instead of simply recording a real door, Tati inserts a twanging sound like a plucked cello string each time the door swings. (FilmSound.org, Dimensions of film sound, http://www.filmsound.org/filmart/bordwell2.htm) Narration within a film is also considered a non-diegetic sound, for although it could quite easily link to what is taking place within the scene, it is not an ‘actual’ part of the scene. Such as the characters are not normally aware of this external voice or sound. It is used to best effect when thinking of an adaptation of a classic book or story. An example of a story that used narration throughout the film is â€Å"The Englishman who went up a Hill but came down a Mountain†. Narrator: For some odd reason, lost in the mists of time, there’s an extraordinary shortage of last names in Wales†¦To avoid widespread confusion, Welsh people often add an occupation to a name†¦ But one man’s name was a puzzle, and it wasn’t until I was 10 years old that I asked my grandfather about the man with the longest and most enigmatic name of all. (iMDB, Memorable quotes from The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain, http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0112966/quotes) Another take on narration within film, is when the narrator is actually part of the story, but is say, recounting previous events. This normally takes  the audience through the story to the present moment that the narrator/character has found themselves in. For example in the film â€Å"Carlito’s Way†, the main character, Carlito Brigante, is recounting his story of failure from free man, through to his imminent death, Sorry boys, all the stitches in the world can’t sew me together again. Lay down†¦lay down. Gonna stretch me out in Fernandez funeral home on hun and ninth street†¦Getting the shakes now, Last call for drinks, Bars closing down Sun’s out Where are we going for breakfast, Don’t wanna go far Rough night Tired baby†¦ Tired†¦ (iMDB, Memorable quotes from Carlito’s way, http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0106519/quotes) You also tend to find that with this kind of narration, i.e. story recounting up to present day, the opening lines or quotes are echoed in the final closing lines. One of the final main criteria of non-diegetic sounds within a film is background or mood music. This is also known as the soundtrack or score. Any attentive filmgoer is aware of the enormous power music holds in shaping the film experience, manipulating emotions and point of view, and guiding perceptions of characters, moods, and narrative events. (Hill.J. & Church.P., 2000, Film studies : critical approaches, Oxford : Oxford University Press) This part of non-diegetic sound is probably the most under-estimated, through the use of mood music the audience can be taken on a rollercoaster of emotions. This use of audio is an essential ingredient to any film. It is very hard stretched, certainly with Hollywood blockbusters, to come across a film that doesn’t employ the technique of atmosphere music or score to shape the feeling of a scene. This next part to this essay should hopefully try and cover similarities between the different criteria of diegetic, and its counter-part, non-diegetic sound. Through this section I shall attempt to answer the question as to whether these two distinctive forms of audio can ever be confused. The way in which I shall do this will be through using the obvious links that are the defining criteria of the different audio types. The comparison shall follow the form of; defining which diegetic criterion and how it relates to the example scene, then the comparison shall follow with the non-diegetic link using the same scene and instance. The first of the three links to be compared shall be the natural voice or sound of the character within the scene. The opening scene of Baz Lurhmann’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet uses a news reporter, being portrayed as a news programme through the use of the medium close-up of the T.V. set. Here we see a news report that at first glance would seem as a typical bulletin. However, this is when the two different types of sound categorization can become blurred or confused. The reason for this is because the news reporter is actually taking on the role of the narrator as depicted by Shakespeare’s original work. This is also evident through the type of language being used and how it is brought to life with the tone and emphasis. The second example that can be used to highlight when the two conventions become blurred is when a natural or organic sound is reproduced and accentuated through the use of sound effects. We can take a closer look at this argument with a typical western film that has a Hollywood budget attached to it, such as â€Å"Young Guns 2†. When watching a spaghetti western, it’s an unconscious convention that we expect the gun to make quite a prominent sound, from either the initial bang through to the ricochet twang. My feeling is that, the natural sound produced by a gun, particularly props, would not be enough to convince the audience, especially with modern expectations. I feel its at this point when you could call the sound effect that replaces the original sound non-diegetic in respect to it being created artificially. My final example links back to a film I have referenced frequently throughout  this essay, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet†. Music that is rooted within the scene, a band for example, is classed as being diegetic, however mood music is known as non-diegetic. The scene in which Romeo and Juliet first meet is that of a house party. In this house party there’s a typical mini-orchestra and singer performing (Desree – Kissing You), so for arguments sake we could class this as being diegetic for the moment. Yet, when Romeo and Juliet are first engaging each other in secret conversation, the music becomes the mood setting for the background. This is emphasized more when a natural break in the song, serves as an intensifying moment between the two characters. This could then be classed as non-diegetic as it serves to put across the mood between the two lovers of excitement and intrigue. To round of this essay I’m going to finish with a short conclusion about how I feel regarding the essay question. It seems to be that it’s easy enough for us, as the audience, to pigeon hole a sound at first glance. However as with my last cases these sounds might not always fit into the categories you first think they would. It could be a fair point to say then, that rather than being confined to one standardisation, these sounds might actually fluctuate and vary, depending on the scene’s mood and context. Bibliography Books Bordwell.D. & Thompson.K., 1947, Film art : An introduction, Fifth Edition, New York; London : McGraw-Hill. Hill.J. & Church.P., 2000, Film studies : critical approaches, Oxford : Oxford University Press Online Sources AllMovieScripts.com, Entrapment Script, http://www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/14984220623f39e70a15fbb.html AllMovieScripts.com, The Italian Job Script, http://www.allmoviescripts.com/scripts/italianjob.PDF Anon, Titanic Script, http://sites.inka.de/humpty/titanic/script.html Anon, The Crow Script, http://abahb.crowfans.com/TheCrow/crowmov.txt FilmSound.org, Dimensions of film sound, http://www.filmsound.org/filmart/bordwell2.htm iMDB, Memorable quotes from Carlito’s way, http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0106519/quotes iMDB, Memorable quotes from The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain, http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0112966/quotes iMDB, Memorable quotes from To Die For, http://imdb.com/title/tt0114681/quotes Smith.K.B, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Script, http://www.wheelon.com/swscripts/scripts.htm Filmography Amiel.J., 1999, Entrapment Gray.F., 2003, The Italian Job Lucas.G., 1980, Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back Lurhmann.B., 1996, Romeo and Juliet Monger.C., 1995, The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain Palma.D.B, 1993, Carlito’s Way Proyas.A., 1994, The Crow Sant.V.G., 1994, To Die For

War Destroys Trust: a Long Way Gone

War Destroys Trust In the book Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah struggles between trust and survival in the midst of a gruesome war. He laments how, â€Å"the war had destroyed the enjoyment of the very experience of meeting people† throughout the book there are many examples of this upsetting truth. The consequences of this mistrust in people are clear as he travels through Sierra Leon while being incessantly threatened and assumed a member of the RUF. Most of this book is about the ongoing struggle within Ishmael between trying to stay alive and deciding who to trust.The phenomena of war and trust can coexist only if you have an ability to differentiate your friends from enemies. Ishmael struggles throughout the book to stay alive, and thus decides to trust no one, but this could be detrimental to his survival. Ishmael gives an example of the repeated mistrust he encounters saying â€Å"Many times during our journey we were surrounded by muscular men with machetes who almost kill ed us before they realized we were just children running away from the war†. A repose old man in a village once told Ishmael and his friends, â€Å"My children this country has lost its good heart.People don’t trust each other anymore† explaining just how much trust had been destroyed and replaced with fear and accusation. Because of the continuous mistrust in the country when Ishmael has any contact with a new person they automatically suspect each other, and things become very tense. In chapter fifteen Ishmael and his travel companions come across the ocean for the first time, but the excitement is short lived. They soon find themselves in a virulent fishing village which heard the rumor about the, â€Å"seven boys† and believed them to be rebels.They attacked the boys and took away their shoes, chased away from the village they were forced to walk on burning sand for hours. The mistrust of the fisherman caused these boys great pain and suffering, but lu ckily they got through it with the help of a benevolent fisherman, â€Å"we stayed in the hut for a week. Our host brought us food and water every morning and night†. After spending months in the forest a morose Ishmael finally comes into contact with some young people his age, Alhaji, Musa, Kanei, Jumah, Saidu, and Moriba.They all immediately froze in fear until Ishmael smiled to break the tension, and then talked about how they were going to Yele and he decided to follow them. This was most likely a lifesaving decision, he decided to trust them and in turn they trusted him and helped each other survive. They provided emotional support for each other throughout their journey such as when Kanei tried to talk to Ishmael for the first time, â€Å"He tapped me on the shoulder as if he knew what I had experienced.Circumstances will change and things will be fine, just hold on a little more, he said, tapping my shoulder again and nodding†. Mistrust and war are two inseparab le concepts, mistrust leads to war and war leads to mistrust. This is clearly shown throughout the novel; Ishmael conveys how war and fear combined can lead to savage thoughts and behaviors. He did not recognize himself any longer because he did not trust others or even himself. Through what he had seen and what he had done he was permanently separated from who he once was. Within a three year span Ishmael became in his own words, â€Å"a long way gone†.

How to Write an Outline for an Expository Essay

How to Write an Outline for an Expository Essay How to Write an Outline for an Expository Essay It may be quite easy to consider an essay a very simple task to complete. Most of the students think that it is not worth their attention and they can complete their essay in the last minute. However, it is not that simple, in most of the cases students fail, and are forced to rewrite their paper anew. Such a task requires not only possession of written skills and knowledge of the subject but also accurate following of the structure and rules, required for each type of an essay. The same is applied to an outline, which is a necessary part of every assignment. This article will tell you how to write an essay for your expository essay with ease and how to enjoy the process without any worries! Definition of an expository essay There are tens of essay types and it is quite easy to get lost in their definitions. If you don’t know what type of an essay you are required to complete, you will most likely make dozen mistakes and will waste days or even weeks in vain. An expository essay is a classical model of an assignment, where a student should describe a matter in a clear manner, backing every argument with reliable sources. The main aim of such an essay is to give the reader data on the topic in an objective and informative way. This means that you need to put all your feelings aside (even if you disagree with the subject) and provide all the facts in a clear manner.   It is quite simple to detect such an essay, as it usually starts with the words ‘explain’ or ‘give a definition’. Structure of an outline Being able to create an outline is a vital skill, when competing any sort of a written assignment. Moreover, it is very useful for an expository essay, which should consist of many elements that interlink with each other. Below is a list of the key elements of the main sections of your work. Introduction The majority of students think it is not important how smart your introduction is, as the only thing that matters is the body paragraphs. However, the audience simply won’t read them if your introduction is boring and contains no intrigue. Remember the saying that the book is judged by its cover? The same applies to the introductory section and you won’t simply start reading a book, a magazine or any other paper if its beginning is not catching your attention! You should always start your introduction with a so-called hook. It is an element, which will catch interest of the reader and will make him want to go on. However, the hook sentence should have a direct relationship to the topic, so you need to select it properly. Analyze your topic thoroughly, go through all the hook types and choose the one, which fits you better. It can be an interesting fact, an anecdote, a rhetoric question and so on. After the hook sentence, you need to write the key features and a brief background of your subject. Use simple vocabulary and understandable phrases, considering that not every reader knows the matter you are going to discuss. Finish your introduction with a thesis statement. It is probably the most important section of your work, as it gives the reader a direction, which you have chosen. Your thesis should be not more than two sentences long and describe the main goal of the whole work in a clear and informative way. Main paragraphs Once you have completed a catchy and powerful introduction, you can start writing the main part of your work – body paragraphs. They should contain a deep and full analysis of the data you have collected on the topic. Evidence is the key element of an expository essay, so you need to act like a real journalist, gathering necessary data step by step. The number of your body paragraphs depends on the number of arguments you need to include to your essay. It can be a particular requirement of your professor or your own decision. If there are no strict rules and the size of your essay is regular, try not to add more than three arguments, as it will be difficult for the reader to process more. The key elements of a body paragraph should include: A topic sentence, which contains the key idea of your paragraph and argument; The main feature of an expository essay is that every statement you provide should be backed with supporting facts. You can’t simply provide your own thoughts without an evidence. Your topic sentence should always interlink with the thesis statement and your evidence should have a direct relation to the topic sentence; Analysis of data. Once you have mentioned all the facts, statistics and other supporting details, you need to analyze them. Always provide the facts as if the reader doesn’t know the topic and make a thorough analyze of the obtained facts, deciphering their meaning to the audience; Smooth transition. When you have finished working on the paragraph, you need to write a sentence, which will provide a transition to the next chapter. Such sentences will make the text readable and smooth. Make sure your text is not watery and contains only related facts and materials. It is very important to structure every fact and evidence, revealing the topic step by step. You can put everything in a chronological order or depending on the importance. Remember, providing a clear order of evidence is crucial, as the reader may simply get lost in the facts and information you provide, closing your essay with a bad ‘aftertaste’. Conclusions When you have completed your body paragraphs, you can start working on the final section of your paper. It should be the size of your introduction and a sort of a summary of the obtained results. If you want to leave a nice impression, you need to follow a few simple rules: Make a short summary of everything you have discussed in your work. However, be brief and highlight only the key elements; Write about the importance of the topic and explain why the reader should pay attention to it; If there are still questions to be discussed, mention them. You can think of the topic in a broader perspective and remember the things that you have not discussed in your work. This will make the reader think of the topic; If the topic allows, call the audience to action. This can be a brief advice on how they can change the situation or contribute to the topic. Remember, your conclusions should only repeat the information you have provided in your expository essay and not contain new facts. That is why this section should be very brief and informative, without watery sentences and wordiness. Questions to be asked Completing an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusions isn’t enough and you need to proofread and edit your essay properly before submitting it. There are a few common questions, which will be of a great use on the last stage. They include: Is my topic relevant and interesting? Have I excluded all the details, which are not related to the topic? Did I manage to create a smooth transition between the paragraphs? Is my essay clear, informative and unbiased? Did my conclusion contain a summary of all the body paragraphs? Did I eliminate all the lexical and grammar mistakes? Once you answer these questions, you will manage to see what the strong and weak sides of your essay are. You can even make a list of the imperfections and improve them one by one. When all the mistakes are fixed, proceed with proofreading and editing. This includes fixing typos, grammar and spelling mistakes. If you doubt, ask someone else to check the paper once again and make all the necessary corrections. As you see, an expository essay is not as difficult as it may seem at first. Knowing its outline and the key elements each section should contain, it is very simple to provide a strong and catchy argumentation of the topic.

Gullivers Travels Essays - Gullivers Travels, Houyhnhnm, Yahoo

Gulliver's Travels Essays - Gullivers Travels, Houyhnhnm, Yahoo Gulliver's Travels Swifts Gullivers Travels is without question the most famous literature to emerge from this 18th century Tory satiric tradition. It is the strongest, funniest, and yet in some ways most despairing cry for a halt to the trends initiated by seventeenth-century philosophy. In Book IV, we discover how Gullivers journey into a discovery of what man is becomes a journey into madness. We encounter, here, a cruel attack on man. This is an attack using two of the most striking literary metaphors for man: the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos. The first are beings in every way like horses except for their possession of absolute reason; the second are creatures bearing an uncanny resemblance to man except for their animalistic brutality. Swifts use of these creatures, Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos, as an approach to the problem of the nature of man, has attracted more critical attention than has any other part of his work. Now, the first important question to ask of any satirist is how he or she achieves the necessary comic distortion, which transforms the familiar into the ridiculous. And Swifts main technique for achieving thisand a wonderful technique for satireis the basic plot of science fiction: the voyage by an average civilized human being into unknown territory and his return back home. This apparently simple plot immediately opens all sorts of satiric possibilities, because it enables the writer constantly to play off three different perspectives in order to give us the reader a comic sense of what is very familiar. It can do this in the following ways: If the strange new country is recognizably similar to our culture, then comic distortions in the New World enable the writer to satirize the familiar in a host of different ways, providing, in effect, a cartoon style view of our world. If the strange new country is some sort of utopiaa perfectly realized vision of the ideals often proclaimed but generally violated in our worldthen the satirist can manipulate the discrepancy between the ideal New World of the fiction and the corrupt world we live in to illustrate repeatedly just how empty the pretensions to goodness really are in our world. However, the key to this technique is generally the use of the traveler, the figure who is, in effect, the readers contemporary and fellow countryman. How that figure reacts to the New World can be a constant source of amusement and pointed satiric comment, because, in effect, this figure represents the contact between the normal world and the strange New World of either caricatured ridiculousness or utopian perfection. We can see Swift moving back and forth between the first two techniques, and this can create some confusion. For example, in much of Book I, Lilliput is clearly a comic distortion of life in Europe. The sections on the public rewards of leaping and creeping or the endless disputes about whether one should eat ones eggs by breaking them at the bigger or the smaller end or the absurdity of the royal proclamations are obvious and funny distortions of the court life, the pompous pretentiousness of officials, and the religious disputes familiar to Swifts readers. At the same time, however, there are passages where he holds up the laws of Lilliput as some form of utopian ideal, in order to demonstrate just how much better they understand true reasonableness than do the Europeans. In book II, he does the same: for most of the time the people of Brobdingnag are again caricatured distorted Europeans, but clearly, the King of Brobdingnag is an ideal figure. This shift in perspective on the New World is at times confusing. Swift is, in effect, manipulating the fictional world to suit his immediate satirical purposes. It is easy enough to see what he is doing, but it does, in some sense, violate our built-up expectations. Just how are we supposed to take Lilliput and Brobdingnaas a distorted Europe or as a utopia or what? This lack of a consistent independent reality to the fictional world which he has created is one of the main reasons why Gullivers Travels is not considered one of the first novels (since one of the requirements of a novel, it is maintained, is a consistent attitude