Art Max Beckmann

Max Beckmann â€Å"Still-Life With Three Skulls† 1945. The ’Great War’ had a lasting and profound effect on Beckmann. In 1915 he suffered a mental breakdown and for this reason was discharged from the German army. In artistic terms, the sickening experience of senseless mass death on the battlefield brought new bleakness to his paintings. Beckmann’s use of a traditional Vanitas-style still life tells us a lot about what his thoughts are about the world he is part of, especially after his war encounters.This Vanitas work springs from his before mentioned terrible experiences during World War One, the political crisis of 1920s and 1930s Germany, the rise of Hitler and exile, a completely new area for Beckmann. After the rise of Hitler, Beckmann's popularity distinguished as Hitler would have no portrayal of what Nazi Germany was really like (violent and corrupt), even through art as the Nazi people deemed his work â€Å"degenerate†. It was in response to Nazi terror that Beckmann produced his first tripitch (a picture of three panels hinged vertically together), called Departure (1932-1935).The side panels depict torture and suffering, while the centre piece shows a woman and child on board a boat on a bright blue sea (although hinting at an unknown fate awaiting them). Beckmann fled Germany in 1937, taking refuge in Amsterdam, where he painted this still life during the final months of World War II. He combines a flat sense, and sharp, bold and intense colours with traditional Vanitas still life objects (the skulls). Also including an extinguished candle, playing cards-that possibly could suggest the gamble of human life that the war brought with it.The artist described these years as â€Å"a truly grotesque time, full to the brim with work, Nazi persecutions, bombs, hunger. † In the choice of objects, the prominence of black, and the thick, rough paint, this still life captures the grim mood portrayed by such words. . I t was in response to Nazi terror that Beckmann produced his first tripitch (a picture of three panels hinged vertically together), called Departure (1932-1935). The side panels depict torture and suffering, while the centre piece shows a woman and child on board a boat on a bright blue sea (although hinting at an unknown fate awaiting them).

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

IntroductionDialectical Behavioral Therapy is a cognitive behavioral model of psychotherapy used primarily to treat individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The treatment was manualized in 1993 (Linehan, 1993a; Linehan, 1993b) and met criteria as an empirically validated, well-established treatment for BPD in 2001 (Koons et al, 2001). DBT has also been found to be effective in a range of treatment settings with a variety of populations.The empirically based treatment of DBT is a series of cognitive behavioral strategies that are applied to BPD populations. The approach provides psycho-social skills training to encourage development of effective cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills. Learning DBT skills increases a client's ability to achieve positive outcomes by systematically developing effective coping mechanisms, and facilitating the decrease of maladaptive behaviors (Linehan, 1993a; Linehan, 1993b).The characteristics that distinguish DBT are: (1) t he immediate focus on acceptance and validation; (2) the emphasis on treating behavior that interferes with therapy; (3) the emphasis on the therapeutic relationship; (4) the focus on dialectics, synthesis, and process (Linehan, 1993a).DBT Theoretical FrameworkDBT is based upon a dialectal view of human behavior consisting of three primary principles. The first principle is one of interrelatedness and wholeness: a system must be analyzed as a totality, as the parts are temporary and only exist in relation to the whole. The second principle is polarity: reality is not static but is made up of opposing forces, that when integrated, create a new set of opposing forces.The third principle is continuous change: the tension between oppositional yet connected parts produces a process of change, rather than a structure, which is an underlying condition of human nature (Linehan, 1993a).In the DBT process, change occurs in the midst of dialectical tension. This tension is a process created by the client's attempt to maintain homeostasis, while the therapist uses persuasion techniques to support the client's process of self-transformation. The therapist overcomes the client's resistance by on-going dialogue with the client that is both encouraging and directive (Linehan, 1993a).One of the core components of DBT is increasing the capacity to regulate emotions (Linehan, 1993a). Among persons suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, the inability to regulate emotions results in emotional vulnerability and maladaptive strategies for coping. Emotional vulnerability is defined by (1) high sensitivity to emotional stimuli, (2) intense response to emotional sensitivity, and (3) difficulty reducing the sensitivity and returning to a normal emotional baseline.Similar to Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), DBT also includes ongoing self-monitoring of behaviors, realistic treatment goals, a strong therapeutic alliance, and treatment compliance. Client agreement in the manualize d treatment includes, but is not limited to the following: (1) A commitment to a one year, renewable agreement, (2) Compliance to the weekly meetings and attendance, (3) Notification to the therapist in advance if they are unable to attend scheduled therapy sessions, (4) Confidentiality in group settings, (5) Willingness to work on any and all problems that interfere with therapy, (6) Agreement in group treatment settings to not form personal or sexual relationships with other group members, (8) Commitment to not come to therapy under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and (9) Willingness to participate in both individual and group treatment if appropriate (Linehan, 1993a; Linehan, 1993b).Therapist agreements in the manualized treatment include but are not limited to: (1) Professional and reasonable effort to conduct therapy with client, (2) Adherence to ethical guidelines, (3) Attendance at all scheduled sessions, and if unable, agreement to reschedule with advance notice, (4) Agre ement to respect the autonomy and integrity of the client, and (5) Confidentiality within the confines of the law (Linehan, 1993a).DBT PhilosophyIn order to truly examine DBT, it is first important to examine how Marsha Linehan designed DBT to treat BPD. In her book Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, Linehan (1993 a) described DBT as the application of cognitive and behavioral therapy strategies to help work through problems.DBT is based on a dialectical philosophy that emphasizes reality as an interrelated system composed of opposing forces that are continuously changing. At the core of this philosophy is accepting the client as they are while assisting to promote healthy change. Linehan (1993a) further described DBT as:The emphasis on assessment; data collection on current behaviors; precise operational definition of treatment targets' a collaborative working relationship between therapist and patient, including attention to orienting the patient to the therapy program and mutual commitment to treatment goals; application of standard cognitive and behavior therapy techniques, (p. 19)DBT therapists use treatment procedures such as problem solving, exposure techniques, skill training, contingency management, and cognitive modification to help clients find new ways of working through the problems that brought them into therapy. DBT â€Å"requires that the therapist balance change and acceptance in each interaction with the patient† (Linehan, 1993a, p. 19).This treatment philosophy along with the application of problem-solving and validation strategies becomes the DBT process (Linehan, 1993a). DBT â€Å"blends a matter of fact, somewhat irreverent, and at times outrageous attitude about current and previous parasuicidal and other dysfunctional behaviors with therapist warmth, flexibility, responsiveness to the client, and strategic self-disclosure† (Linehan, 1993a, p. 19).DBT works to reframe suicidal and other dysfu nctional behaviors that had previously been part of the clients learned problem solving patterns. Therapy focuses on active problem solving and is balanced with a corresponding emphasis on validating the client's current emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses as they are in that moment. Focus on dialectics and the balance of acceptance and change are crucial elements of the DBT process (Linehan, 1993b).DialecticsAlthough DBT has similarities to standard cognitive and behavioral techniques, it also has many defining characteristics that make it a unique treatment. It is important to review the key elements of DBT in order to extend its application to a population such as BPD. For example, DBT emphasizes dialectics. Dialectics can be described as the â€Å"reconciliation of opposites in a continual process of synthesis† (Linehan, 1993a, p. 19). It stresses â€Å"interrelatedness and wholeness, parts of a system is of limited value unless the analysis clearly relates th e part to the whole† (Linehan, 1993a, p. 19).DBT therapists work with clients to examine a more global meaning to what had previously been polarized as extreme ideas or thoughts. Linehan stated that the most fundamental dialectic is the necessity of accepting patients as they are within a context of trying to teach them to change. Linehan continued by stating that â€Å"reality is not static, but is comprised of internal opposing forces, thesis and antithesis, out of whose integration (synthesis) evolves a new set of opposing forces† (Linehan, 1993a, p. 19).Linehan described how although dialectics focus on the whole, they also emphasize how complex the whole can be, including the oppositions they contain. With this notion in mind, DBT places an emphasis on acceptance as a balance to change (Linehan, 1993a). DBT therefore focuses on accepting the client for who he or she is in the moment, while also working toward more effective behaviors and ways of interacting with on e's present experience and the environment.In addition, DBT emphasizes the necessity of teaching clients to accept themselves and their world as they are in the moment. Linehan discussed how this unique strategy works well with BPD because it provides the validating environment so crucial to those with injured self-esteems. She also discussed the importance of providing a structured setting to learn and practice new skills.DBT includes both acceptance of the patient's experiences including validation of their emotional pain and suffering, and offering new psychological coping strategies that include a refocus on meaning and substance in their life, exposure to previously ‘intolerated' emotions, prevention of emotional escape, and introduction of a behavior focus. (Marra, 2005, p. 7) This behavior focus includes â€Å"goal orientation and new solution-based strategies to replace maladaptive coping skills† (Marra, 2005, p. 7).An important caveat to remember as treatment p rogresses is that there is a natural process of change that occurs as treatment progresses. Linehan discussed how DBT assumes that reality is a process full of movement and change. Therefore, immediate client stability and consistency are not a focus. Conversely, acceptance and movement with change are key elements of this process. The therapist and client work together in a changing relationship and a changing environment (Linehan, 1993 a).In her work with individuals who struggled with self-injurious and suicidality, Linehan utilized dialectics and the philosophy of balancing acceptance with change to enhance treatment effectiveness. She also observed that most of her clients presented with BPD characteristics. As such, she incorporated dialectical philosophy as the bedrock of her treatment when designing DBT for individuals with BPD characteristics.

Vision and Goals as a leader

The difference between a vision and a goal, one is abstract and one is concrete. Visions are essentially abstract, while setting a goal is more tangible. For an example of a vision, one would say they would like to plant a large garden that will produce a vast harvest In the spring; It will contain green beans, tomatoes and corn. This expresses an abstract desire for an outcome.Alternatively, a goal would sound like this, this springtime a large garden will be planted and time will be set aside to spend 5 hours a week hoeing the garden so the weeds will not interrupt the growth f the vegetables. This Is a substantial goal, meaning It Is a tangible and reachable, something you physically work towards. The subject of motivation can vary. In reality you will need to set the tone for the audience, in other words, different people will perceive different issues, and will be motivated by different things.Make sure you talk with your people regularly on a one-to-one basis to find out what m atters to them. Herbage's theory Is largely responsible for the practice of allowing people greater responsibility for planning and controlling their work. As a means of increasing motivation and satisfaction. The importance of visions is beyond dreams, It Is a statement of what or how you like things to be. Visions have a larger purpose and they share the core values that we hold at the center of our character. These core values are expressed to pave the road in the direction you want to see transpire.If a vision has been effectively communicated with precise and detailed direction and reason, others can see your mental picture to help you attain it and gain their commitment to it. ‘The only way to lead people Into the future is to connect with them deeply in the present. The only visions that take hold are shared visions-and you will create them only when you listen very, very closely to others, appreciate their hopes, and attend to their needs. † Souses, J. M. And Pos ter, 8. Z. To lead, create a shared vision. Harvard Business Publishing January 2009.This Is another important aspect of people seeing your vision is gaining their trust first. The significance of your vision and the excitement you display will help your team know where they are headed. This leads them see and become enthusiastic about the large depiction of your Image and gives them drive for a positive outcome. Nothing was ever created without vision. The importance of goals gives something to work towards to measure both personal and professional success.Without goals it is hard to believe in ourselves. Goals drive you forward, tells you what you truly want. Helps you achieve your desires by putting a large destination In smaller stepping stones to make it wealth a graspable reach. â€Å"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success. â€Å"- Pablo Picasso. Obtaining goals within a group who trust their leadership, are far more willing to share in and work towards reaching goals.Contribute all energies in same direction with the same outcome to have substantial results. When goals are agreed upon within a group the success will be immeasurable. The article setting. The first step talks about developing a vision. It is important to know where you are going as an organization. A leader must develop a vision with a positive attitude and be ready to present it with energy. They must also be effective in communicating that vision to their employees, who in turn will work together to achieve that vision. The second step talks about the importance of goal setting.

Rio Tinto Plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rio Tinto Plc - Essay Example Japan will be importing huge amounts of aluminum, iron, and copper for its reconstruction projects. Three commodities which I liked from its product portfolio are gold, silver, and diamonds. The current price of gold in the international markets is $1452 per ounce (Goldprice, 2011). Diamonds have always been one of the most valuable stones in the world. Diamond jewelry can last a lifetime. There were other factors that attracted me towards selecting Rio Tinto as part of my portfolio. The firm had excellent revenues of $60,323 and net income of $14,324 in 2010. The net margin of the company is 23.74%. The company has a global workforce of 102,000 employees. The firm minimizes its risk by having a global operation located in Australia, North America, Asia, Europe and Southern Africa. The business risks of the company are also minimized by having a variety of products and working all sides of the mining industry supply chain. Two strengths of the company are its wide product range and strong market position. Two opportunities for the firm are the surging demand for gold and new investment and innovations. Throughout its history Rio Tinto has been known for its innovation in the mining industry. Rio Tinto is a solid investment that should pay off dividends both in t he short term and long term. HSBC Holdings Plc HSBC Holdings Plc is a banking and financial sector provider. The bank has an impressive customer portfolio of over 100 million customers worldwide. The company differentiates itself by providing a diverse range of banking and financial services. The firm has its corporate headquarters in London, United Kingdom. I liked the fact that the client base of the company included personal, commercial, corporate, and institutionalize investors. The firm has a network of 8000 offices across 88 countries. The banking industry has gone through a lot of changes since the global recession. The banks are now more risk averse which is a strategy that minimizes the risk of default on loans. Despite the losses that the industry incurred between 2007 and 2009 the banking industry had a solid recovery in 2010 (Plunkett Research, 2011). HSBC was one of the banks that were protected by the U.K. government during the recession. The fact that the government owns 41% of HSBC is an indicato r that the government will invest in HSBC to ensure its success. The global penetration of the company of having a physical presence in over 40% of the world’s countries is a good indicator of the success of the firm. Normally banks are more conservative in their selection of global expansion. The revenues of the company in 2010 were $62,096 million with net income of $5,834 million. The net margin off HSBC is 9.39%. The company has a global workforce of 289,435 employees. The market capitalization of the enterprise is $201,000 million. Two strengths of the bank are its strong capital base and brand perception. The company could take advantage of strategic acquisitions and growth by expansion in emerging markets. The firm could achieve significant growth by penetrating new locations. The favorable forecast for the industry was a factor that made me invest in HSBC. BT Group Plc BT Group Plc is a UK based communication company. The firm is considered one of the world’s l eading communication companies. BT has been able to penetrate the communications marketplace at over 170 countries around the world. The services offered by the company includ

Groupon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Groupon - Essay Example eferral system which enables availment of Groupon bucks (Bulygo & Metrics, 2012); (6) offering purchases for a friend which could enjoin more to attest and appreciate the benefits accorded by Groupon; and (7) entrenching more awareness to products and services offered by merchants through word-of-mouth and through social networking sites; among others. As emphasized by Sviokla (2009), the keys to enhanced customer satisfaction stems from Groupon’s ability to: â€Å"(1) make the interaction simple; (2) create a sense of urgency; (3) energize customers to enjoin others to join; and (4) make the experience a lot of fun† (p.1). executed well? The quality of these activities fit with the overall strategy, which is consistent with the 5s of internet marketing, which are: to sell, to serve, to speak, to save and to sizzle (Andrew, 2013, p. 7). Its mission was to â€Å"treat our customers the way we like to be treated† (Groupon, 2013, par. 3). An important component of the strategy is adherence to â€Å"unbelievable customer service† (Groupon, 2013, par. 5). As such, Groupon pledged to achieve the 5s of internet marketing through implementing the activities above-mentioned. Based on the remarkable performance of Groupon as reviewed from their financial highlights, where it was revealed that â€Å"†record billings growth this quarter is a clear signal that customers love Groupons," said Andrew Mason, CEO of Groupon† (Business Wire, 2013, par. 4). As such, the sustained financial success proves that the strategies applied by Groupn were effective and fitted will with the organization’s overall strategy. In addition, since there were a lot of other organizations that mimicked or replicated their business model (Richey, 2010), it therefore attests to the effectiveness of the strategy in achieving financial

Business GP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business GP - Essay Example Other areas are also important so explained briefly; the blind spot is what others know about a certain individual, but which the individual does not know about himself, the hidden area which is known only to the individual himself, and the unknown area consists which is unknown to the individual and the others as well. The open area can be used to communicate effectively within the organization. The open area is very important because this introduces the new team members, which in this case would be the Working Better group. When we work in this area, we are at our best and also productive. The open arena is actually seen where good cooperation and communications occur. Also when different teams are grouped, the size of the open area can be expanded horizontally into the blind space so that individuals can learn more about themselves. This can be done by seeking and actively listening to feedback from other people. This can be done by anonymous slips so as to ensure privacy. This cannot be done immediately until or unless the people actually get to know each other first. Ice breakers heighten the effectiveness of training sessions, which will be particularly significant in this conference. On the first day, everyone needs to introduce himself/herself and this can be done in a comfortable manner through the ice breaker exercises. One exercise that can be done effectively is that after everyone has stated their names, a manual can be handed out to any random person that he/she should start with any word. That same person will ask the next person to continue with any other word. For example, the person with the manual states ‘I’, the person next to him might say ‘am’ and this continues on. Not only it shows dependency on other team members which illustrates that team work is important, it creates humor when people can come up with any random words, hence breaking

Truama room nurse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Truama room nurse - Essay Example The trauma room nurse certification helps the nurses to acquire essential skills, such as ways to stop excessive blood loss, and methods of stabilizing a critically affected patient. Trauma room nurses should also be able to prevent secondary infections. In a health facility, there is a high likelihood for patients with life-threatening issues to contract other illness. Patients with open injuries and those with weakened immune systems should be monitored closely to prevent farther infections (Andreassi, 2006). Education and certification Dealing with trauma is a technical issue which requires authenticated certification. One is required to train and acquire the professional skills required to accomplish all the responsibilities. One of the important qualifications of a trauma nurse room is the nursing certification. This certification entails a wide range of skills that are crucial for a trauma nurse room. The certifications range from two years to ten years depending on the skills that one intends to acquire. I am experienced in surgical nursing for more than ten years majorly in neurosurgical and burn intensive care unit. In the nursing department, I have come to realize that most health care institutions offer a reasonable rate of salary to the nurses (Andreassi, 2006). Although salaries may vary from one institution to another, the rate seems to have a minimum range of between $20 and $24. This applies to those nurses who belong to the same category depending on their grades and personal experience. Employment The health care department has the most chances of employment opportunities across the world (Briere & Scott, 2006). There are a number of health institutions that one can get a job. For instance, after graduating from a nursing school in the US one can seek employment in the government institutions or privately owned institutions. The government owned health institutions include St Paul Medical Centre which is located at Minnesota in the US and West mead hospital (Andreassi, 2006). There are also open chances for one to get employment opportunities in a nongovernmental organization like AMREF, WHO, Red Cross and St Andrews ambulance among many others. These organizations assist patients in different ways. WHO as a non-governmental organization help in providing food to those people cannot meet their daily requirements as food (Andreassi, 2006). The Red Cross helps to provide humanitarian needs to people who are affected by natural calamities or other accidents. In this department, there are many possibilities for one to advance both academically and salary wise (Briere & Scott, 2006). The nursing certificate holders take the shortest time possible to complete their course. Because of the nature of the training, they are given the lowest salary followed by diploma holders and the degree holders in the same order (Follette & Ruzek, 2006). This indicates that professional experiences increase in the same line with the salary earne d. As one progress to gain higher knowledge, the salary also increases. The nursing schools have the capacity to train and offer advancement opportunities to all practitioners to enable them deal with patients efficiently. There are also workshops that help educate the nurses on the best scientific nursing practices. For instance, AMREF

Contrast education (History of Education) Research Paper

Contrast education (History of Education) - Research Paper Example Massachusetts was the first state which implemented compulsory attendance laws in the educational sector. In 2004 their public expenditure for students per head was fifth in the country. They secured highest grade in the National Assessment of students as a mark of their progressive attitude towards education. As far as Middle East colonies in United States are concerned the education was the responsibility of church as well as the family to which the students belong. During that time the aim of education was to bring up children as god fearing individuals. The implementations of all educational schemes were focusing towards the religious matters. Education was only a tool to uplift the religion and its wild customs. It was from these educational institutions that the lifestyle of the people of Middle East states were got molded. As time passed the religion developed least interest on education and the system of public schooling has completely vanished from American colonies. Nowadays the government has proper control over all educational institutions in the states. Thus the history of education in old Massachusetts and Middle and Southern states have got some remarkable differences.

Globalization and the state. discuss - marxist Essay

Globalization and the state. discuss - marxist - Essay Example Marxism is a case in point. It argues that the system is rife with exploitation, greed and is destined for an inevitable demise. The position is that nation-states are rendered helpless as globalization forces wrest control of the social, economic and political spheres. These issues highlight the conflicting views on the link between globalization and the state. Is there an accurate approach to explaining the phenomenon and its impact on nation states and the world? This paper proposes that the Marxist perspective can be effective in answering this issue. What is a state? For the purpose of this paper, it is helpful to establish the concept of the state. Max Weber defined it as â€Å"an agency of domination† which bounds civil society together (Abinales and Amoroso 2005, p6). The domination variable is important because it guarantees and holds together what Weber called the state’s main attributes: territory, monopoly and legitimacy (Stewart 2001, p103). This is one of the most comprehensive and widely cited definitions. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels (2012, p3) also provided his own definition by explaining that the state is â€Å"a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.† Both of these definitions – as the rest of other conceptualizations – differ in elements, structure and they do vary according to politics. But there are commonalities such as territory and control and, interestingly, most of these elements are present in the modern world system under globalization. This factor along with the state’s response to internationalization underpins the relationship between state and globalization. Globalization and the Marxist View It is important to note that Marxism is fundamentally a critique of capitalism. It established how the economic organization of society defines and control the political and social system (Neack 2003, p21). Any society that adopts this system is said to b e characterized by stratified socio-economic classes. The Marxian analysis approaches globalization from this perspective. It maintains that globalization, as a capitalist system, is endlessly driven by the need to accumulate more. Here, the means of production and consumption is cultivated in such a pattern of expansion, where the market is pushed further from the local to the nation on to the international levels (Milward 2003, p23). In 1857, Karl Marx (1973, p524, p.539) published Grundrisse, wherein he predicted globalization by declaring: â€Å"capital by its nature drives beyond every spatial barrier,† in order to â€Å"conquer the whole earth for its market.† The Marxist theory accurately explained globalization as a phenomenon wherein the world comes together in order to create a system that is conducive to profit making and wealth accumulation. Marx has explained that capitalistic development cannot be confined within states. Ultimately, such development was e xpected to break free of its spatial constraints and this is supposedly underpinned by the nature of capital mobility. Marx and Engels (1973, p77) wrote: The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country†¦ [old industries] are dislodged by new industries, whose introduction becomes a life and death question for all civilized nations, by industries that no longer work up indigenous material, but raw material drawn from the remotest zones; industries whose

Java technology related to this tool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Java technology related to this tool - Essay Example Besides, java is advantageous because it is more secure. Unlike other programming languages such as C++, java has a highly protected interpreter, compiler, compatible browser and runtime environment. This is a good idea since it helps it to ensure that the safety of all records is taken into account. Thus, any data stored in the system can not be compromised whatsoever. In other words, it is very secure software which can be entrusted with the bank and the clients’ records at all times. Last, but by no means the least, java programming language can be useful in the designing and maintenance of the money tracker because of its simplicity. It has got several features that make it to be easier to operate. These include a small number of language constructs, garbage collections and an automatic memory allocation. At the same time, it is equipped with a very clear syntax. These actually make it easier to operate by the programmer, bank’s management and individual

Pph Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pph - Assignment Example Data relating to previous pregnancies and postpartum hemorrhage were obtained from population-based linked birth and hospital-discharge records that were identified. These data with a population-based design study were consisted of 4,000 participants, in which 300 cases of hemorrhage was identified, including 50 cases of severe postpartum hemorrhage. Purposive random sampling was done for the sample selection. Snowball sampling was done to assure randomization. This sampling method is conducted where each member of a criterion-defined population has an equal opportunity to become part of the sample. All randomly selected participants were analyzed using medical files and medication administration records (which includes the dose, time and route given) that were used for data collection. The use of these records was aimed to determine the effectiveness of the pharmacological treatment for postpartum hemorrhage. Chosen respondents from the aforementioned sampling method were personally informed by the researcher through direct interview, emails and phone calls. The study was carried out on from the medical records of women who have given birth in which active management of labor was implemented which include the administration of uterotonic drugs. Maternal age, parity, gestation, mode of delivery, cause of postpartum hemorrhage and grade of doctor managing the case were recorded. Specifically, the medication administration records were the main sources of data. With this, administration of uterotonic drugs can be closely monitored, as to the time, dosage, frequency and intervals. Actual medical files are also accessed to assess effectiveness of the treatment methods and the actual patient responses to the treatment strategy. The data obtained will be treated unbiased and the confidentiality of the information and identity will not be disclosed. Patient names will not be used; instead codes will be assigned to

City Planners Analysis Essay Example for Free

City Planners Analysis Essay The City-Planners is an indictment on the superficiality of progress, and the attribution of incorrigible rationality to the same. The poem views modern life as empty, artificial, and its inhabitants as robotic and lacking in spirit. The land in the city has a great contrast with the rural land. The influx of people moving from rural to urban areas keeps on increasing to this day. Living in such an environment with only concrete, steel and buildings, man consequently becomes more mechanical, stressed and partially dehumanized. The absence of vast land in cities deprives the harmony that a huge area of empty land provides. This absence of land in cities is severely criticized by Margaret Atwood in this poem where the houses in pedantic rows shows lack of warmth. The theme of this poem is perfection, uniformity, man’s attempts to control nature, and its lust of power (the city planners). As the poet moves about in a residential area, she is offended by the sanities of the area. The word sanities may possess a double meaning here. Firstly, it may allude to the unnatural sanitariness of the place. Secondly, it may denote the saneness of minds, or soundness that render them sophisticated, uniform and therefore boring. The dry August sunlight alludes to the province from which the speaker hails: Canada. The houses in rows appear too pedantic to be real. The trees have the appearance of being planted to render the scene picture-perfect. The levelness of surface further provokes the poetess as it appears to be a rebuke to the dent in their car door. There is no shouting there, no shatter of glass. No instinctive action takes place here: everything is after-thought and preplanned. There are no shouts here, no loud wants as people are economically well-off and complacent. The only noise is the rational whine of a power mower. It is that rationality that makes this noise a voice. In the era of applied technology, this sound is more pleasing to the ears than emotional echoes. The power mower cut a straight swath in the discouraged grass; and thus established the victory of Science over Nature. Throughout the second stanza there has been absolutely no mention of any human movement, making it seem as if the sub-division is empty. This could metaphorically indicate that the people living here live empty, monotonous lives that are without meaning. The driveways neatly revealing even roads, appear like mathematical units. Even a domestic entity like a coiled pipe appears as poisonous as a snake, as it is out of place. The windows portray a fixed-stare as though everything is static, and nothing is kinetic. The natural scenery appears to be at the back of this residential area. Mans mistakes seem to offer more than his creations in this stanza. The poetess seems to plead and demand at the same time when she opines give momentary access. The speaker hopes that the future cracks in the plaster will enable one to view the breathtaking natural view behind. She also admits that, â€Å"the houses in pedantic rows, the planted sanitary trees, offend us with their transitory lines, rigid as wooden borders†. Mans mistakes seem to offer more than his creations in this stanza. The poet is trying to give power back to nature here, and stating that nature will eventually, definitely rise once again and break down these suburbs. Margaret Atwood claims that there will come an inevitable stage when nature will ultimately conquer. Houses will capsize into clay seas. Is the poetess foreboding a natural disaster, most probably a Tsunami? It would only take a minute to put to years of city-planning to naught. They will appear like glaciers then. The speaker utilizes the metaphor of ice to connote transience. Nobody notices how fleeting all this is. Blizzards and snows are used as an extended metaphor for the blindness and confusion of a city that is completely bland and uniform, in which the people do not even realise how routine and structured their lives and the suburbia in general are in reality. These City Planners-calculating and manipulative in their approach to reach their ends are no less than political conspirators. In such a situation, they will be subjected to unsurveyed territories they had not even envisaged. They will be hidden from each other, where competitiveness will take a back-seat. The poem eventually envisages the city planners’ consequences of being greedy, and ends by saying that, the creations of these city planners will inevitably be destroyed by nature. To counteract the disturbing effect upon the human mind, land must be used in an effective manner. Land is essential to instil serenity in peoples lives. To sustain the availability of land in cities, housing must be carefully planned so as to minimize the use of land. Green architects are required to maintain this balance between building and nature. The driveways neatly side-step hysteria by revealing even roads that appear like mathematical units. Hysteria is conveniently side-stepped as nothing can defy logic. The roofs also display the same slant to the hot sky. The act of displaying a slant also means the projection of an angle. This angle of avoidance is everywhere whether it to the hot sun, the smell of spilled oil, or a faint sick smell lingering in the garage. Even a splash of paint on a brick is as amazing as a bruise. A domestic entity like a coiled pipe appears as poisonous as a snake, as it is out of place. The windows portray a fixed-stare as though everything is static, and nothing is kinetic.

British Management Styles

British Management Styles 1. Introduction Some would argue that since industrialization is a rational, orderly process, striving for universal efficiency with standardizing effect, managers would clearly be the same sort of people doing the same kind of things in the same ways. This assumption could be extended to the companies themselves. Manufacturing companies, these generic units of industrialization, would be much the same with regard to their structure and general features wherever they are located. At any rate, this would be true for countries at the same stage of industrial development having the same sort of political system. For example, organisations throughout Western Europe operate in similar contexts and under the same pressures which would lead towards uniformity. The accelerated volume of trade within Europe and increasing collaboration and overlapping ownership between EU organisations would, naturally, lead to the establishment of a common Western European management style. Of course, such a case assuming or alleging that industry, management and companies are everywhere and always the same is not accepted. On the contrary, the assumption that societal culture causes the business climate and approach to management is the prevalent one (Tayeb, 1993). Even the creation of the single common market of EU, requiring common technologies and similar modern distribution and marketing methods from each organisation, does not illustrate any visible cultural assimilation, but rather a cultural synergy1. European managers in general have been reared in societies with long and deep traditions and are too conscious of their past to put aside their diversities for the sake of Europeanisation2. There can be a similar managerialism, which could be called a European managerial culture, but how far this extends; how far managers in Europe do some things the same way is an issue of analytical purposes only. Managing and organizing are not activities isolated from society, carried out by automatons in executive suits according to the universal management principles, in some glassed-in managerial sphere (Hickson, 1993, p.252). Each manager is a person formed by a society, and so the processes of managing and organizing are not separable from societies and their cultures. Hence, the last few years have seen a renewed interest in national differences and a series of comparative studies of the extent of company structure and education systems, as well as the socio-cultural factors which impinge on management style. Nowadays, it is accepted that one can generalize across individual differences in various countries and generate characterizations, either normative or empirical or both, of management styles which particular countries exhibit (Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990). This paper aims to consider the distinctiveness of the British management style on a number of dimensions. The examination of managerial practices in the UK and the relevant issues addressed are based on the interpretation with the case of management application in The Body Shop. The experience of The Body Shop as an international retailer provides us with a fine illustration of both the strengths and weaknesses of the typical British management style. In order to familiarize himself with The Body Shop case, the reader is strongly advised to look over the companys case study written by Gibson-Sweet (1994, in Harris and McDonald), before continuing with the following sections of this paper. 2. UK management Because of the fact that the United Kingdom is a multi-cultural society, identifying the typical characteristics of English managers was never an easy task3. Nevertheless, several studies have been conducted towards that purpose. Hofstede (1984) and Tayeb (1988) for example have attributed to the English a list of distinctive cultural features with direct effect on the way they conduct business. This section discusses some of the most significant features attributed to the English management with references to the case of The Body Shop. Individualism: The origins of individualism, independent thinking and self-confidence in England should be traced long back into history. The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism were, in fact, the major driving forces behind the Industrial Revolution. Britons have a high regard for liberty and independence. Hence, they have cultivated a strong entrepreneurial mentality and flair. This is illustrated in the laissez faire economic context which they established for more than two hundred years, and which opposed government interference and supported unrestricted economic liberty and free competition4. Consequently, the English had traditionally developed considerable competences in dealing with export markets and responding to foreign competitors and to a flood of imports without going bust or requiring immediate trade protection. The surprising successful development and expansion of franchising in England is a clear reflection of this distinctive capacity of the British entrepreneurs. The Body Shop success owes much to this business formula. Managerial consciousness, anti-technical orientation: British managers are proud of being good all-rounders (Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990). They have a generalist outlook which is akin to the belief that management is something separable from the technical aspects of a job. Related to this idea of generalism is the notion of managerial consciousness, as against technical-orientation which is very profound in Germany. No wonder, therefore, why British managers do not tend to be especially technically minded, since such expertise is not deemed to enhance their managerial reputation or performance. Whereas German top executives would describe themselves first and foremost as specialists, British ones see themselves as managers in more generalist terms, and somewhat detached from production. Naturally, German managers are expected to be too narrow, while Britons have a much broader vision. Both Anita and Gordon Roddick had not any particular technical background but proved to be very successful all-round managers. Informality: In terms of personal exchanges, British managers are informal, especially by the standard of France or Germany. This is because British managers are in a certain way humanitarians. The Body Shop exemplifies this as it segments its market by factors such as the customers ideals and values, rather than by using technical standards. British take people as the point of reference, rather than systems objectives. In Britain, there is a conviction that management is based on individuals, not committees, systems or rule books. People are the frame of reference (Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990, p. 119). This in turn has meant that mush is achieved by means of social acceptance. Hence, influencing and conjoining is essentially persuasive5. That is why British managers take pride in showing off their ability to shape, influence and decide in informal ways and are marked by a strong grasp of political manoeuvring and manipulative skills. This attitude partly explains why British managers tend to have a negative view of conflict. Open conflict between managers is very rare as it is seen ungentlemanly rather than a means of correcting deviations, testing ideas and exerting creativity; the way it is viewed in say Germany or America. Coping well with uncertainty and setbacks: Americans and Japanese are famous for the systematic way into which they gather data and carry out market research in an effort to enhance strategic decision-making. This is not the British style at all. Environmental scanning, SWOT analysis and the like are not typical for Britain. This does not imply that strategy or forward planning is rejected, but rather that it is intuitive. Britons would argue that the full range of options, rationally conceived in an explicit and formal corporate planning, are unlikely to be realised in practice. Anita Roddicks decision to not enter Eastern Europe, for example, was mostly based on vague personal judgements and intuition, rather than market research evidences of the regions unprofitable potentials (in fact there are indications for the opposite; Alexander, 1996). In alignment to the above argument, British managers have a high tolerance for ambiguity and cope well with uncertainty and unexpected setbacks. Of course, this brand of intuitive pla nning becomes a powerful competitive advantage in todays turbulent, fast moving business environment where flexibility, initiative-taking and adaptability to change is paramount. But, exactly because the British feel comfortable in situations where not everything is explicit and space is provided for manoeuvring and exercising personal judgement, they tend to undervalue educational credentials. British companies put a stronger emphasis on pragmatism rather than professionalism, while personal qualities and background (a vague leadership quality and motivating ability as opposed to strict functional attributes), appear to receive the most frequent mention, both in relation to top and middle management. Decentralization: Bigness provides vital economies of scale, financial resources and muscle in the market. However, today it is more flexibility and responsiveness that matter for success. The argument of size is no longer all-pervasive6. Moreover, recession in the early 1980s made corporate restructure necessary for survival. British companies responded with leaner and fitter structures as well as a move towards decentralization7. SBUs were the most obvious manifestation of this transition. The application of decentralised management, in contrast to functional management, encourages autonomy and entrepreneurship and helps to motivate people by making them better informed, more responsible and giving them more control. Thus, UK companies witnessed their managers engaging in initiatives and nurtured the managerial talent they needed. Decentralization has been proved especially appropriate in sectors which are subject to rapid technical or market changes, notably services. In retailing, initiative inno vation adaptation are by far more significant factors of success than control and economies of scale, providing, thus, a strong argument in favour of decentralised structures and approaches to management which UK enterprises have mastered exceptionally well over the past two decades. The Body Shop case is a clear reflection of this: its success was built on creative initiatives and innovation, not on its size and say effective financial control. Democratic management style: There is a wide agreement that control in British business organisations is relatively dispersed. In other words, the democratic style, also referred to as participative or semi-constitutional is the prevalent one in British firms. It can be reflected on the fact that subordinates are consulted in decision-making and are given wide opportunities to exercise discretion in their work. Contrary to the autocratic, paternalistic approach that German firms share, top management in UK displays a willingness to delegate to lower management and counts on the subordinates strong sense of responsibility. Even in the case of UKs small, family-run firms (where a paternalistic pattern is supposed to emerge), British managers (and owners in most cases) do not portray a pure autocratic style, but rather a mixture of democratism autocratism, which is referred to as sophisticated paternalism. Thus, UKs family businesses manage to retain a decentralised decision-making approach while upholding their d istinctive social ethos and religious dissent. This is very evident in many UK firms (e.g. Cadbury, Clarks), but most of all in The Body Shop. However, there are many who suggest that Anita and Gordon Roddick should give up insisting on operating the company along what are essentially family-run lines as this seems to be inappropriate and potentially damaging for the companys future prosperity. Conservatism: The English are widely seen to be a nation with a love for the past, traditionalism, conservatism, and a reluctance to change. Anita Roddick refused to change the business practices applied to The Body Shop no matter how the City or the economic recession forced her to do so. Moreover, she seems not to take advantage of the possibilities offered to franchising from the Internet (Wymbs, 2000), mostly because of conservatism than of any other particular reason. The British conservatism partly explains their reluctance on applying modern technology in their businesses. However, due to this stubbornness on using outdated machinery, British firms missed the opportunity to become first movers in many industries and, subsequently, faced formidable catch-up problems. Lack of ambition: Despite the resurgence in their desire to do business during the 1980s, mostly as a result of the Thatcherism (The Economist, 1989), Britons display little love for business. Involvement in entrepreneurial activity for the purpose of making money has never been respectable. This should be traced to the English educational system and its dominant values. Traditionally, arts and classics were given high priority relatively to engineering and technology. In business conditions, the goal has been traditionally satisfactory rather than outstanding performance. Domestic rivalry is viewed as distasteful, vulgar and certainly ungentlemanly. Therefore, UK firms lack the strong profit orientation of the Americans or the market expansionism of the Japanese. Merging rather than competing is a common choice or perceived necessity. In this respect, the franchising system, on which The Body Shop relied much, fits very well the typical anti-rivalry notion found in Britain. Low value placed on education: Compared with their counterparts in other advanced nations, British managers are still under-educated and poorly trained, notwithstanding the recent growth in university and college provision8. In Britain there has been an anti-intellectual tradition which devalues training, particularly of a vocational kind (Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990; Lane, 1989; Keeble, 1992; Gospel, 1992). Porter (1990) comments on the British educational system as lagging behind virtually all the nations he studied! The country traditionally relied on practicing at doing the job to produce its managerial stock. Naturally, business owners provide very limited support to vocational training as they see it as a cost, a waste of their precious capital, rather than an investment with long-term benefits9. Industrial management in Britain did not attract the intellectual elite and had a relatively small intake of university graduates (Fitzgerald, 1993). The relative value placed on finance (a degree in accounting is he ld to be an ideal qualification for a top management post) suggests an emphasis on the short-term at the expense of the long-term, with research being the prime victim. The process of education is of central importance and needs some further elaboration. The continued under-investment in human capital provided little opportunities for the British economy to exploit its pool of gifted labour force and elevate it from the mere status of gifted amateurs (Jones 1997). One reason that explains the under-developed pattern of vocational education in UK lies at the, until very recently, states deliberate low involvement, even denial of responsibility to the issue. Consequently it was left as a matter for employers and unions. But, as explained above, line management was never persuaded of the direct link between profitability and competitiveness through training and regarded training schemes as an overhead to be cut when profits were threatened. The deepening recession in the 1980s made emp loyers even les willing to invest on training. Moreover, criticism has been levelled at the wide variety of inappropriate training schemes existing in Britain (Lane, 1989). For example, the apprenticeship system was highly inefficient in terms of responsiveness to changing production conditions and contributed even further to the generation of low-skilled labour. Several quotations (Bierhoff and Prais, 1993; Roffe, 1999; Matlay, 1999) for improving both the quantity and quality of vocational education in UK, arguing for the need of a more systematic and homogenous system have been occasionally proposed but not headed. Short-termism: English managers have a very short-term perspective in business planning relative to their major competitors, especially the Japanese and German. In middle management this can be seen in the flair for improvisation. Higher up in the company it manifests itself in the willingness to cut or defer such thing as advertising or RD expenditure in order to meet year-end budgets without worrying about the long-term repercussions of such a course of action10 (Gordon, 1990; Handy, 1988). In this respect, emphasis on growth (as this is seen in France), market share (as in Japan) and continuous quality improvement (like Germany) is not evident in British enterprises. Anti-industrial orientation: British culture has a large alleged impact on the development of anti-industrial orientation, evident on the low esteem that traditionally a career in British industry carried. Hofstede (1984) provides an element of explanation on the basis that British rank very high in the individualistic and uncertainty avoidance cultural dimension. Therefore, Britons have an inherent inclination on risky and entrepreneurial, rather than manufacturing, capital-based activities. British managers continued to prefer old machinery and production processes exactly because of this personal value system which favoured trading, rather than manufacturing. However, this attitude meant the downfall of the British manufacturing industry and a relative decline in the indigenous economy in a sequential manner (Van Ark, 1990; Dintenfass, 1992) as this can be portrayed by stats such as: GDP growth, national income, volume of trade exports and so on (Davis et al, 1992, Dicken, 1999). The Body Shop, on the other h and, illustrates a very good example of how British firms establish competitive advantages not by using modern, hi-tech machinery, but rather through intuition and originality. The Body Shop managed to promote the green issue in a genuine and passionate way, promoting wider societal issues through sponsorship and captured the imagination of consumers worldwide. The companys advertising expenses were grounded to zero; still its marketing approach was highly successful. The Body Shop case, then, moves us to a consideration that will be further elaborated in the following chapter: that British firms have lost their edge on manufacturing but, in the mean time, enhanced their worldwide competitive position in the service sector and in industries like retailing. In this respect, the British economy has mastered a transition from an industry-oriented one to a services-oriented one. 3. UK management and retailing: an integrated approach Insufficient investments in modern technology, industrial relations problems and low level of skill and motivation in the labour force affected productivity and condemned Britains manufacturing industry. However, when it comes to the service sector, the whole picture is very different. For example, while in heavy manufacturing the German labour productivity is found to be 22% higher than that of British as a result of differences in physical capital and engineer-related human capital (OMahony, 1992), such a difference has not been experienced in less capital-intensive and less engineer-related industries (food, drink tobacco, textiles, chemicals). Britain experienced a rapid growth of the service sector as early as in the 19th century, but was exceptional in the 1980s and 1990s (Godley and Fletcher, 2000). Today British firms outperform most of their counterparts in the service sector. In regards of specific industries, such as retailing and financial services, this is very profound (Millward, 1990). The typical British personal capitalism (Chandler, 1990) concept suits the purposes of such industries where the production process is relatively straightforward, offers few opportunities for economies of scale but many opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives (Jones, 1997). Take as example the creative ideas of Anita Roddick and the originality of her business practices. Without having sufficient funds, she built the companys success only by relying on her wits. More importantly, since The Body Shops competences are not based on technology and machinery utilization but on its founders creativity, intuition and entrepreneurial capacities, the companys business model is very hard to be imitated and the competitive advantages deriving from it are highly sustainable. British firms, especially in 1970s and 1980s pursued successful strategies of product differentiation and product diversification and possessed capabilities in brand management and distribution, which they employed both in extensive exporting activity and through extensive multinational investments (Alexander, 1997). The British competitive performance in the service sector contradicts the image of British enterprise lacking organisational capability in manufacturing industry. Indeed, research by Balasubramanyam (1992) shows that British corporations in retailing appeared to possess competitive strengths in highly developed management skills, in effect, financial management and marketing management, rather than in production management. Jones (1993) adds to the list of Britains core competences the following: incumbency, experience, and powerful intangible assets, most notably reputation for honesty and stability. Jones and Morgan (1994) suggest that such entrepreneurial and trading skills may have been inherited from the family-firm tradition. The culturist hypothesis suggested in previous sections of this paper might explain the outstanding British performance in such kinds of managerial skills. The above clearly suggest that a distinction must be made between the competitiveness of the British firms in manufacturing and in services (Jones, 1994). Throughout the postwar period and into the 1990s the British retailers were the largest sectorial direct investors in the United States, a position maintained by extensive acquisition activity (Lipsey, 1993). This must have involved considerable organisational and management skills, or else it could not have been sustained. Britons possess skills that evolve into strong core competences when it comes to the service sector and particularly the retailing. Hence, generalizations such as those of Porters slide of Britain (1990) and the Chandlerian critiques should consider more thoroughly the British strength in the less capital intensive and technology oriented industries such as: consumer branded goods (including beverages, confectionary products, cosmetics, perfumes, household products and so on), retailing, financial related servic es, auctioneering, entertainment, publishing, leisure products, consultancy, advertising. Britains broad strength in services partly reflects demand conditions. In business services, a combination of skilled human resources and early industrial strength has given British firms a solid position. In retailing, strength in high-end consumer goods (luxury and wealth-related products) was further supported by a sophisticated domestic demand retained, especially around London. Many of the industries in which Britain still has competitive advantage, technological change has not been significant enough to provide worldwide competitors with a lever to supplant British firms on the basis of their technological superiority, especially in the high-end segments that are not price-sensitive and where buyers value traditional methods. Finally, those areas where UK firms have sustained competitive advantage partly owe it to related and supported industries. In consumer goods and services, a vibrant retail sector has created pressures to innovate. This environment has been a fertile one for British firms to develop skills in consumer marketing. The City of London illustrates a classical example of a sector built upon the concept of clustering11. The dynamism of the cluster has attracted firms from all over the world, solidifying Londons position as Europes financial centre. 4. Conclusions Overall, in response to historic, ecologic and evolutionary processes, UK has created a culture and social climate which stand English managers and their companies in good stead in many respects, but handicap them in some others (Schneider and Barsoux, 1997). Their honesty, trust, self-control, and creativity are their major cultural assets, while their individualism, professionalism and reserve give an impersonal and formal air to business dealings. However, in their effort to deal with competitive markets, they are hampered by unhelpful aspects of their culture and their society. These include capital market short-termism, less-than-favourable attitudes to business, traditionalism, reluctance to embrace new technology wholeheartedly, and ill-prepared school leavers and university graduates. Of course, in retailing, as the case of The Body Shop clearly illustrates, UK management style is highly successful, as most of the negative cultural influences do not affect their performance i n the industry, while the positive ones are those that really matter and provide them with a competitive edge. We have looked at the British management style as at a national level, but this is not the only option. Style may also be construed diachronically, as an expression of a society -and a world- in transition. With this in mind, one might ask what the future will bring in British management. The chances must favour a gradual convergence with Western Europe in ways of managing and organizing, if only because so many influences lead that way. But it is likely to be drawing together that will never completely come together. In other words there are likely to be more similarities, but differences will persist. 5. Notes In fact, Hofstede (1993) explicitly argues that culturally, Europe does not exist. In his studies (1984), the EU countries seem to broaden diachronically their already well-established heterogeneity in terms of cultural values. He also comments on a paradox: despite the fact that Europeans are genetically more homogenous relatively to North Americans, culturally they are significantly more heterogeneous. The notion that Europeans are culturally alike, even if they look more or less alike, goes against the initial optimism of the founders of the EU, who believed in cultural convergence through economic activity. It is still in conflict with the assumptions of many national politicians, journalists, members of the public, and particularly, many non-Europeans. Moreover, the traditional conflicting nature of the relationship between the working and the middle class puts in question even the existence of a homogenous English culture. However, similarities between the two classes are far greater than their differences. Also, their exposition to common social institutions and a constant fusion of values and attitudes among them is such that, in the end, their only basic difference lies to their family upbringing (Tayeb, 1993). It would be, therefore, safe to assume that the two classes are sufficiently alike to talk about an English culture. Besides, there is possibly no nation in which total class homogeneity exists, but historically, this fact did not pose serious threats to the emergence of distinctive national cultures. Of course, the contemporary economy can hardly be called a pure version of capitalism since it is characterized by a mixture of freedom and control, and of private and state enterprise. The emphasis on freedom or control shifted from time to time depending on the policies pursued by the government of the day (conservative governments applied no control beyond fiscal policies, while labour governments tended to use direct control mechanisms). The strongest weapon the British employ for their persuasion to be as gentle as possible is, of course, their humor. Their readiness to joke about business matters is very distinctive. Efficiency, productivity and profit are constant targets for wisecracks. Humor is seen as a device for distancing the unpleasant parts of business life and a safety valve for preserving managerial sanity, perhaps a means of coping with defeat. However, as Barsoux and Lawrence (1990) argue, exactly because jokes suspend reality momentarily, British managers are left with the option not to react. The subversive impact of jokes prevents them of being effective as change agents. The theme of Big Business which was dominant in Europe till the early 1980s failed to respond to the changing European environment since then (low labour productivity growth, high unemployment, slow innovation and low profit margins). The transaction cost theory (Hennart, 2000) or internalisation theory (Buckley and Casson, 1978) provides us with a consistent explanation based on the premise that variations in transaction costs alter the optimum size of firms. Hence, falling transaction costs since 1980s forced a fall in the optimum size of firms making the National Champions highly uncompetitive and SMEs (mostly family-businesses) the emerging pattern. According to others (e.g. Lane, 1989; Jones, 1994), the decentralised nature of UK management is mostly a result of the way British firms actually grew, in effect, through mergers and acquisitions rather than organic growth. This pattern created large firms consisted of a number of small firms, which did not undertake a thorough rationalization of production activity. Such a structure necessitated a decentralised mode of decision-making, regardless of what sentiments top management had on this matter. Lane (1989) provides data from the IMS which illustrate that in contrast to Germany and other advanced European economies, British young people have until very recently gone straight into employment after finishing their compulsory secondary schooling without receiving any vocational education at all. Investment in training by industry has been estimated by Porter (1990) at far less than 1% of revenues in Britain, compared to 2% in Germany and 3% in Japan. For comparative purposes, Germany is found to be far more ahead than UK in the rate of enterprises using the technically most advanced processes and machinery, such as CAD, CNC tools and flexible manufacturing systems. The faster adoption of sophisticated technological devices and processes by Germans can explain their superiority over British firms in high-technology products (Lane, 1989). Porter (1998) uses the term cluster to refer to the geographical concentrations of interconnected companies in a particular location. Other terms used in bibliography for the same purpose, more or less, are agglomeration and industrial districts.

Proposal to Save the Environment Essay -- Environmental Pollution Alte

Proposal to Save the Environment Ever since Ford put out the first main line production car, there has been a market for gasoline. Since then, the automobile has made a humongous impact on the United States, as well as the entire world. This new invention allowed the average citizen to commute to work without the hassle of mass transit and horses. However, with this new supply of automobiles came the demand for the fuel they required to run. It was not known back then that the consumption of these fuels could actually hurt the environment, or even run dry. Today it is commonly known that these fuels aren’t unlimited, or good for the environment. Action must be taken to reduce and eventually eliminate these threats to human existence. That is why I propose to increase the tax on gasoline by one dollar per gallon. The money generated from this taxation would be spent on programs to find an alternative source of energy, stop pollution, and reduce the need for fossil fuels that the earth so heavily depen ds on. Man has used fossil fuels for thousands of years. For millions of years they have rested beneath the earths surface, however, recently man has began to consume these fuels at an incredible rate. The rates are so high that many experts say the earth’s fossil fuel supply will run out in the next century unless alternative forms of energy can be found. Currently one of the most consumed fossil fuels is oil, which in a refined state provides power to a majority of the cars, buses, and planes used every day on this planet. (#1) The consumption of oil is increasing every year, and the earth’s oil reserves are becoming less. With the danger of depleting the planet’s oil supplies, humanity must keep searching fo... ...states where you may find wind turbines, but there are also others were you wouldn’t find them. This is why I would invest more money into the alternative energy sources than alternative fuels. Alternative energy is the future for our nation as well as the earth. By taxing each gallon of gas by a dollar and investing the money into development of my programs would help protect the environment while still supplying the United States energy needs. If you think about it, isn’t it worth one more dollar per gallon to help preserve the earth? Works Cited: # 1 http://www.bydesign.com/fossilfuels/links/html/oil/oil_use.html C 1998-1999-2000 byDesign and PowervisioN for The Greening Earth Society #2 http://www.crest.org/bioenergy/index.html REPP-CREST #3 http://www.afdc.doe.gov/altfuel/biodiesel.html Alternative Fuels Data Center Proposal to Save the Environment Essay -- Environmental Pollution Alte Proposal to Save the Environment Ever since Ford put out the first main line production car, there has been a market for gasoline. Since then, the automobile has made a humongous impact on the United States, as well as the entire world. This new invention allowed the average citizen to commute to work without the hassle of mass transit and horses. However, with this new supply of automobiles came the demand for the fuel they required to run. It was not known back then that the consumption of these fuels could actually hurt the environment, or even run dry. Today it is commonly known that these fuels aren’t unlimited, or good for the environment. Action must be taken to reduce and eventually eliminate these threats to human existence. That is why I propose to increase the tax on gasoline by one dollar per gallon. The money generated from this taxation would be spent on programs to find an alternative source of energy, stop pollution, and reduce the need for fossil fuels that the earth so heavily depen ds on. Man has used fossil fuels for thousands of years. For millions of years they have rested beneath the earths surface, however, recently man has began to consume these fuels at an incredible rate. The rates are so high that many experts say the earth’s fossil fuel supply will run out in the next century unless alternative forms of energy can be found. Currently one of the most consumed fossil fuels is oil, which in a refined state provides power to a majority of the cars, buses, and planes used every day on this planet. (#1) The consumption of oil is increasing every year, and the earth’s oil reserves are becoming less. With the danger of depleting the planet’s oil supplies, humanity must keep searching fo... ...states where you may find wind turbines, but there are also others were you wouldn’t find them. This is why I would invest more money into the alternative energy sources than alternative fuels. Alternative energy is the future for our nation as well as the earth. By taxing each gallon of gas by a dollar and investing the money into development of my programs would help protect the environment while still supplying the United States energy needs. If you think about it, isn’t it worth one more dollar per gallon to help preserve the earth? Works Cited: # 1 http://www.bydesign.com/fossilfuels/links/html/oil/oil_use.html C 1998-1999-2000 byDesign and PowervisioN for The Greening Earth Society #2 http://www.crest.org/bioenergy/index.html REPP-CREST #3 http://www.afdc.doe.gov/altfuel/biodiesel.html Alternative Fuels Data Center

Magical Realism: History and Theory :: Realist Latin American Literature Essays

Magical Realism: History and Theory Magical Realism to me is the world's view of literature and art combined. It has a vast amount of characteristics that most, if not all, Magical realist fiction shares. Magical Realism has a lot of content to be studied in order to fully understand it. The term magical realism was first introduced by Franz Roh in 1925. He was a German art critic who started the idea of magical realism when he saw a new direction in painting. He used the term to characterize his paintings. Franz Roh states, "We look on it with new eyes"(17). To me, this statement is saying that we look on the world with a different approach. There is magical realism in everything we do. Literature and art are two main topics magical realism occurs in often. If studied thoroughly, we realize that there is magical realism in our lives everyday. Many articles have the main definition of magical realism stated in them. These articles are by Franz Roh, Angel Flores, Luis Leal, Amaryll Chanady, and Scott Simpkins. Most of the information in these articles is repetition from the articles however, they still include important information and feedback about each authors' views on the term. One of my favorite texts that we read was the article by Luis Leal. Leal which states, that magical realism is to express emotions, not to evoke them(121). Leal disagrees with many authors. Leal says that he does not believe magical realism was started by Borges in 1935(120). There are many added characteristics of magical realism. Some of these characteristics are to express emotions, do not use dream motifs, innocence has no logical or physiological explanation, and feelings are unexplainable. Magical Realism differs from fantasy because it is set in a normal world with descriptions of humans and society. Luis Leal states, "Strange how people are under the impression that making a bed is exactly the same as making bed, that to shake hands is always the same as shaking hands, that opening a can of sardines is to open the same can of sardines"(121). Everything is an exception. In Franz Roh's discusses many characteristics of magical realism in paintings.. "Both kinds of miniaturist paintings, the one that reconciles is to the world and the one that tries to horrify us"(qtd.in Roh 29). The way I view the world through art is a big characteristic to magical realism myself.

The Inmate - Original Writing :: Papers

The Inmate - Original Writing The sounds of the keys echoed across the hallway. Past each set of bars the keys rang a wanted freedom. As the keys and the guard strolled past, almost motionless bodies turned, all drawing closer to the keys. Closer, closer à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ stop. The cold bars formed the wall that could not be broken. The freedom. All hands were on this wall except one. One set of hands lay quiet, still and with no movement. These hands belonged to a tall, dark-haired person, a man, and a ghost? ===================================================================== As the guard reached the end of the hallway this sly-looking being whispered, "It's mineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦" Laughter spread across the cages as usual. " You on the high again, Mark?" sniggered Jon. " Wait and see, wait and see." The evil laugh that sounded after seemed to be from the movies. The voice trembled. Everyone just lay quiet. The next morning appeared as quickly as the routine it was accustomed to. The inmates were gathered for breakfast, given time outside for some exercise and then brought back to their cages. Same routine, same times, same people-but today something was different. Something was just not right. " What is it 'bout today?" questioned Henry, " It's just so strange. I can't put my finger on it". The other men nodded in agreement " Yeah, it feels like some one jus' died," replied Mark The hall filled with an uneasy silence. Mark got up and looked outside the small window, in the back of is cell he stood there gazing. He said to himself, "I've spent too long in here, 20 years of my life, 20 years for something I didn't even do." A strange voice then called, " Mark! Mark! I will set u free" he turned but nothing again the voice " Mark, Mark" still nothing. Mark turned to his fellow inmates and shouted, " Who is that? " they all looked at him blankly. He ran to the cold

Big Time Sports Essay

Big time sports in colleges are governed by guidelines and regulations. These sports are mostly in campuses and colleges. Big time sports can sometime lead to violent behaviour and undeserving behaviour, which are morally questionable. Most athletics can start using alcohol or drugs as incentives so that they can be able to practice for long hours without getting tired. These college athletes want to be the beat during tournament hence they will do everything possible to fulfill the goals, targets of the team. The players want to be selected because only the competitive and talented players make the team. In tournament you will find that violent behaviour is experienced in the field and university principles like discipline are undermined. Big time sports have its vices. Lack of discipline is one of them. Lack of discipline is constant practiced by the team players but the campus or colleges can avoid this and as a penalty to the players who misbehave they should not be allowed to play for the team until they are disciplined. Big time sports have been commercialized by the colleges and campus that participate in them because they compete with professional players. Many institutions end up using a lot of resources financially to build big stadiums. These can sometime lead to corruptions as sport grants and aid to these colleges and campus do not follow a procedure. Big time sports have programs, which govern the sports in the campuses and colleges. These programs do not receive a positive public exposure due to recruitment scandals, favourism based on gender issues, other students who participate in the sports end up performing badly academically, which is not good for the college. Colleges compete against each other between highly skilled teams of students halting scholarships. (Murray, 70) Big time sports can lead to conflict between academic performance and athletics. Colleges and campuses offering courses in liberal arts and sports have shown that the students who participate in college sports do not do well academically. This has led to college to tag the students in the graduation list who participate in college sports so as to compare them with the other students who don’t participate in sports. (Murray, 70) Big time sports cannot be successful if it wasn’t for the role the coaches play in these college sports. The coaches train the students with talent because they know the success of the team depends on the athletes’ talent. So if it is nurtured well, the more successful the team will be. If the team players are good that will reflect on how well the coach is because they learn from him as he guides them. Big time sports open opportunities. Most players are discovered while still in high school hence if recruitment is done properly the most talented players are got easily. Recruitment plays a major role in the success of a team taking into consideration that the team has competitive players hence stakes are set high for new players because if one is a good player possibility of being bought by a sport body to play for them are high. Other players are bought while still in high school, which can make them not finish high school, which is not right. High school athletes have to follow guidelines. Official visits are limited due to costs and if the player decides to have an official visit, it will be at his own expense. Big time sports have benefits to both colleges and campus and the players. These sports in terms of cost, consume a lot of resources in the campus budget. At the end, regardless of the high cost, when the colleges win in the college sport, there is usually an increase in application of students who want to join the college, donations also increase, teamwork is enhanced among the players, opposing teams are also united especially during the tournaments and lastly, it attracts athletes from diverse background. (Murray, 70) Big time sports are governed by guidelines and procedures. Due to technology, talented athletes are spotted even before they get to college and recruitment starts. They start the recruitment process by viewing the videotapes of applicants, dossiers, transcripts, which they sort. The ones short-listed are met in person. The final list is submitted to the admission office and also those who are academically qualified are admitted. The colleges also have committees to answer questions about college sports or any issue related to it. Issues to do with recruitment, complains and corruption, are also looked into by the committee. Works Cited Page Murray, S. College Sports, Inc. : The Athletic Department vs. the University. Henry Holt & Company. 1990.

Racism Against Native Americans and African Americans Essay

Racism against natural Americans and African Americans sometimes I imagine that racial mixture would be a boon to humane strain if at that place was no such(prenominal) thing c completelyed racial hat reddish. without delay if you tell me that if t here(predicate) was only champion kind of escape then I go forth tell you that if all roses were red then what you would contribute given for a funeral? My point is that diversity is what makes this world grip going amusingly and these nonions of washables and socialities as big and small, upper class and start class, superior and inferior ar besides mere aspects.In my opinion there is only one kind of race and that is Human Kind and we all be doing these bombilatees because we lack unity in diversity. at that place atomic number 18 no race-specific DNA traits which show my view that racialism is social nevertheless not biological. From the Roman Empire to at onces ultra modern age, from Hitler to Osama put in Lade n, and from Thomas Jefferson to Rev. Jeremiah Wright pot never close up to show this acquired sense of racism. wherefore I called it acquired? Because a white man is not born to hate black or a black man is not born to hate white.But we be the mere appointee of this prejudiced perspective we have been taught by our family, neighborhood, and society for long time and years. Society has never been sufficient to apprehend away from this prejudice merely we gamble exchangeable we dont safe concuring more or less it calling ourselves trans-racial society but I doubt the truthfulness of our intention. Why? Because the ghosts of our bitter experience of racism any towards Native Americans or towards African Americans keep on haunting us with the events like one in Rosebud and Pine rooftree counties in South Dakota or even worse event like Jena 6 in Louisiana.It looks like this thing will go on and on unless the voiding of social prejudice to judge people by show but not the content of character they have as MLK used to say. But I have to be optimistic that we have been able to institutionalize this racial distinction by creating Civil Rights Act which prohibits the discriminatory discourse in employ handst decisions on the harm of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. You have posed a very important question in the tantalize that- How is that so much discrimination exists, when there argon laws to protect it? The Jena 6 incident answers this query because a psyche who is obliged to protect the juveniles start treating them on the basis of their skin color distinctly demonstrates that the laws are very weak and weak to protect one as a free citizen. I think that race is not a problem here but racism is the problem. When we use the terms race and color why it does this instant applies to blacks and browns which makes me think that whites are the status quo of all races.As you have mentioned in the lecture that the history of the Nati ve Americans often gets overlook is true because the act of ethnic cleanse by the white European settlers was kind of victory to them but I truly consider it an inhumane act. And the act of Americanizing the Native Americans is an invasion of culture and norms which is the true color of a colonist. The racist images and stereotypes by the European Americans against the Native Americans as explained by the authors in chapter 6 clearly proves the Dominant Rules slogan. Recently, the unanimous world seemed obsessed talking about death chair Obama.Why? Because he gained stupefying success in his short policy-making career or he is a very skilled orator or he is a very good for you(p) man who was also the death chair of reputable Harvard Law Review. I think these are superficial creators but the real reason is that he is the first black president in the history of United States. Anybody who runs for president should be a good orator, intelligent, and chicness but Obama gained much more buzz than usual because he broke the status-quo as I have mentioned earlier. The black neighborhoods are generally considered poor and the white neighborhoods rich.These patters of thought have the general consequence of institutionalizing racism in terms of poverty. The stereotype that two-year-old black men are criminals and medicate abusers has tho ghettoized the African- American partnership and has finished any possibility for normal family and community relations. As a result it has contributed in the disruption of the family, prevalence of more ace parents, children raised without a father in the ghetto. Inability of these people to get jobs has further complicated the living standard of the people.If you are from the Boston area, its no force that there are more shootings and stabbings in Dorchester and Roxbury than Newton and Beacon Hill. So, it sends a r repulsivenesse message that young black men are violent and hostile. The place where I was born and raised never had racial problem but immense ethnic and set problem. The south Asian countries are in great turmoil of caste developing and ethnic exploitation which I think is new to most Americans. So, its very interesting for me to draw the comparisons in between racial and ethnic exploitation in terms of forefinger.Usually, the higher castes shadow the glower castes and virtually enslave them for their benefits. The lower castes are regarded Untouchables which I think is an evil and the ugliest form of humanity. In case of race, I think discrimination and privilege portrays the power. At the individual level someone who is an advantaged element of a disadvantaged group could sort out against someone less privileged than him/her or against someone with less power from a privileged group and at the institutional level that cannot happen because it is the groups in power who do the discrimination.

In Cold Blood – Creativev Writing

I was standing in unity of New Yorks vast jets, terminal nights shabby app arnt from the w agreee freezing that lightly cover the norm anyy green grass. My next victim s tood forrard of me, silhouetted by the low, early morning, autumn sun. I do sure that I traced his steps, placing my shoes in the imprints do by his in the grass. This meant that I didnt leave my let footprints and that I also did non crunch the arctic dew on the grass, making my approach that well-lightedtle silicon chip more stealthy.I was yards from him when I reached inside my portentous Ar earthly concerni waterproof, my give way grasping the artillery unit, placed inside the holster humannesstled around my shoulder, the harsh c experiencedness of its metal enshroud non felt through my black slash g comes. I degradedly with draw the weapon and, with pr makeised ease, took a fix on my repoint. He was oftentimes belittleder than me, although most mint were, and I could see the wisps of h is overcast breath, fogged by the early morning chill, rising slope up above him. I had to aim approximately floorwards to get a fix on the base of his skull. This read would kill the man instantly.I didnt realise until I happen a railroad carriagely released it, barely I had been holding my breath. I applied minimal tweet to the undersize piece of metal that would start the reach reaction soon to follow. The phut of the weed difference the tympan of the hired natural gas was hardly heard, quietened by the silencer screwed into the oddity of the device. Only the birds seemed to pick up on this speech sound as they all flocked from their morning resting groundworks of a large oak tree nearby. The bullet enquire in the man at the point where the neck and skull met and his corpse and, although completely momentarily, went taut well-nigh as if he had been expecting such a thing.His body past fleetly slumped to the ground, his life draining quickly from the new hatch focal point in the thorn of his head. Blood oozed from the fresh, smoking scandalise and go away deep, crimson stains on the ground, the white frost a great contrast to it. A bee busied itself amongst the jobless flowers beside me, its monotonous dr atomic number 53, a testament to the normality of the day. up of it, birds dodged between the trees, almost chasing each other in some game that yet winged creatures could play. above me, an aeroplane, carrying its passengers to a paradise destination no doubt, carried on regardless.How could the day take no note to the act of violence that had been perpetrated how could this vicious act not smirch the air itself? Funny as it whitethorn seem, former(a)r(prenominal) delivering terminal upon this man, I myself considered life. As I stood in the beauty of the park, the some different colours of the leaves as they died and condemnable from the tree staining on my attend, I wondered, for what footing was I placed upon th is Earth? What was the point of life? Was it cyclical? Is there such a thing as reincarnation? Would this dead man get his second materialize. would I? possibly I would be ease offn the opportunity to undertake my redemption, to ask for the for introduceness that I hardly deserved, to abye my past indiscretions. If I could, would that not mean that I would spend my life paying for the awful things make in my past lives? Repaying the debt to society that I give birth amassed in a different cadence? The solution was no I would repent my sins in this life, not having another chance, full now. I eternally had the spot that my past would catch up and haunt me. I was, how eer, totally indifferent to just how close this time was. So what was this past that would catch up with me?Im not leaving to blame my childhood for the life I now led. I grew up in Brooklyn, a poor black boy in the purport of the gang run ghetto. My mother died when I was truly(prenominal) young, and the and memory I arrest, the only reason I knew that she existed, was that life was once good. by and by she died, my contract grew distant, guaranteeing me that I was too some(prenominal) of a resemblance of my mother. I was an only child so had no cronys or sisters to turn to for help.Soon after this time, when I was ab egress 7, my draw would invite his friends around, they would give him things, beer, specie, whatsoeverthing that he wanted at the time, and he would give theme. I was ab utilize mentally, physically and sexually and my father sat thorn and let it occur mend he gained everything and I lost my innocence and my childhood. He sold me as a possession, rented me to anyone willing to pay. This happened some times over the years- too umteen to count, too many to ring, too many that I could remember- until I finally ran away. I move to cleansing to backup man myself, not because I was forced to or because of the things that had happened to me, merely because I chose to. The first person I ever killed was the first man that ever laid his repellant march ons on me.I can remember that day like it only happened seconds ago, I make sure that I remembered it. He was walking home, it was late at night and I seem to constantly remember the smell of him. Even now, to this day, the smell of whisky turns me sick. I will save you the details of merely what I did to him hardly when they demonstrate him in the morning, they involve to use his dental records to discover his identity. I was only s stock-stillteen years old. I almost love that night, remember that I enjoyed that moment so much, drew it fall out for almost two hours, torturing and injure him, before finally putting him out of his bereavement. that why did I put him out of his misery? Did he show me the same compassion? It was, I realised, because I was ashamed of myself, what I had through to a human being. I was twenty-two when I accredited the news of my fathers death and h ad made a comparatively good life for myself. Despite all the things he had done to me, I cried when I was told. To this day Im palliate unaware of the reason I cried. Maybe it was residuum or possibly it was grief of losing my father. But back to now, this time, back to the park where another cadaver lay, felled by my hands.I was not cleanup position nowadays for me, but for others. They would pay me to kill their tormentors. Many people would give tongue to that I was nil more than a chartered killer, but I saw myself as so much more. I would only except cases where I was cleanup position a true fiend, although people would neer know this. On the exterior, I was a in(predicate) stockbroker, rich in life, rich in money. but it was my shady interior that nobody knew about. The money I won in the stock market was used to supply my weapons. I made a killing in the stocks and through this, made a killing on the streets.I go away the serene park behind me, walking at a quick enough pace to distance myself from it and withal slow enough to make it seem I was not. lot walked by me on the streets and, when I reached the hop out office, were happily holding accesss easy for me and wishing me a decent day. If only they knew of the horror I had just committed. In the mail office, I had my give birth personal mail box, own by myself and under the come upon gourmandize and Wood enterprises. This meant that I could receive information on future hits without getting my own name or address involved. at that place was one letter in my box, I removed it, placed it in my sacque and go forth.My apartment building was not harsh or an eyesore to the skyline of New York. In fact, it seemed to make it better. It was a very tall structure, with large glass windows and a sprawling lobby which was decorated with white stain and gold-look metal. Each floor housed its own apartment. I owned the apartment on the acme floor, the penthouse. It had sweeping realizes of the solid of New York City and possibly the best view of the Statue of Liberty in the whole of Manhattan. My keys slipped into the lock and turned with the ease I expected. I threw the door open and the comforting smell of home greeted me.I placed my keys onto the small table in my hall, unlikeable the door, hung up my raincoat and started towards the luxurious bathroom. The large living room stretched out ahead of me, my expensive furniture seemingly radiancy due to the light in there. It was well lit due to many factors. Firstly I was so high up that hardly any other building could block the light, secondly, the sprawling glass windows penetrate around the apartment let in much light, often too much and so I had blinds installed to occasionally block the sun. I give noticeped suddenly, someway aware of a presence in the apartment.My gun was swiftly out of the holster and, like I had many times before in other peoples houses, was walk around, jumping around corners, hopin g to catch the crook who was here. After a thorough search of my premises, I nominate nothing out of place, nothing stolen and no one in any of the rooms. I put it squander to the recent hit I had performed and it was just the screaming meemies or the high I got from killing. I made my way back toward the bathroom and noticed that the front door was still open. Had I closed it when I walked in? I was sure I had. I then remembered the letter in my coat pocket.It must have been my imagination playing tricks on myself. I closed the door, grabbed the letter from my coat pocket, formattled into my reclining lather soften and began to read. Dear Mr Johnson it read. People were always formal even though they knew they were writing to a killer. The letter went on to describe the man I was to kill, the air in which they would like me to do it (I never did do any personal requests) and the time and place. People always seemed to claim that I was uneducated or dim because they always to ld me every detail, as if I wouldnt research the hit myself.I decided to take this one on as the man to be killed was nothing shortly of scum. He had raped the woman asking for his death and had beaten her and stolen from her on many occasions. To make matters worse, it was her own uncle. I called the woman, from an untraceable safe cell phone, to tell her I would do the hit, not letting her take anything and hanging up as soon as I had finished. I finally had the chance to take a well deserved shower. It was a sunshine and I would not be working today. succession in the shower, I suasion of the new target I was to kill.Normally I didnt take on a hit so quickly to date this man was too vile to keep on this Earth any longer. I would squash this forget me drug in 3 days time. A joyous crept across my face as I impression of eradicating another life that shouldnt have been started at all. I slept that night, a dream alter slumber. My head was filled with memories, old and new, and some, I realise now, were thoughts of events that had not yet happened. Thoughts that would lead to my demise. It was mere hours before the job was to be done. I had followed the target for the past 2 days. His name was Attis Jones and he was, it seemed, a recluse.He lived in an old lighthouse that he had converted himself. His wife had left him many years before due to his drink and his children had severed all contact with him soon after this. He drunk even more firmly following this and even turned to drugs, a flushed lifestyle he was still continuing to this day. He was now only forty yet seemed much older. His white hair seemed that it hadnt seen a pair of scissor in many years as it was mound to his shoulders. It was thinning on the top of his head and seemed to abandoning him, just like everyone else in his life.I was in my car driving towards the coastline where his lighthouse was situated. I had already frame a way around his poor security. The string link fen ce was easily climbed and although he had a security camera pointing at the drive way to the lighthouse, it was simple to a overturn. In any case, I was a helpful man and so parked screen out of a distance from the lighthouse and walked the final naut mi or so. I had my trusty 9mm silenced baretta in its holster around my shoulder where it was always kept. However, today I brought my colt revolver also, just because it was a secluded country and I hardly ever had the pleasure of earreach the gunshot well.It was beginning to get dark by the time I had reached the lighthouse and there was a light rain starting to fall. As I approached the tall structure, a rather stereotypical lighthouse with its red and white patterned stripes going down its shaft, I noticed that the grounds were be with many skeletons of cars that had been left to rust. The grounds themselves, surrounding the lighthouse seemed to be in a state of disrepair, widows weeds choking the last of the wild flowers gr owing around. I also noticed, for only the second time, a small jetty.It was secluded around the back of the structure and was very neglected. This time, however, the jetty had variegated for now there was a gravy boat at it. A figure stood hunched on the shock, pouring diesel into the engines fuel hatch. The rain, now heavier, fell on its bare skull, onto the white hair that laden its face and shoulders, onto its black coat and black leather boots. He must have sensed me feeler for he looked up, a smile slowly hand out head across his face. He was, I guessed, about 6 feet tall, with long, white, tapering fingers and pale, elongated features.In the dusk, his eyes were a deep, dark blue, bordering on black and his almost unlipped mouth seemed to start just where his nostrils ended. It was, of course, Attis Jones. Diesel spilled onto the deck of the boat as he had momentary sneak off in concentration. I wondered why he was smiling and it was only when I noticed the handgun in his other hand that a smile spread across mine. Clever boy, I yelled Have you been expecting me? We all have, was the only reply. The gun in his overcompensate hand was quickly increase an aimed at my head.I was faster however as my gun was up and releasing a bullet before he realised. It tore through his reform arm, shattering it, sending the gun to the watery depths below. You are going to die tonight, sinner, called Attis Your mistaken, it is you who will die, I have nothing to answer for. God did not send demons to kill the firstborn in Egypt, he sent angels. I am an angel, sent by God to clear up the mistake he made by allowing you to be born. I was golden with this reply and was seconds from releasing another bullet, this time toward his authority when he mouthed 4 simple words to me, inviolable bye, Mr Jones.It was then that something hard struck the back of my head, leaving me sprawled across the floor. A brown shoe stamped down hard on my fingers, causing me to rel ease the gun from my grip. It was kicked away from me and a huge weight seemed to instancy down on me. There were knees in my back and my face was being pushed into the mud. The water and mud burn down my eyes and the weight on my back was circumscribe my breathing. I fought hard and managed to throw the being from my back. I quickly remembered the colt tucked into my sock. It was out and shooting my assaulter before he could say, or do, anything about it. again I was struck from behind, only this time, it was more than one person. I was thrown to the ground again and kicked and punched repeatedly. I lost the grip of the gun in my hand and this one, like the first, was kicked from my reach. I tried in unprofitable to fight back but was overpowered by the many people around me. I was held to the floor by my captors and then Attis Jones was standing over me. Despite his right arm being splintered by the bullet from my barreta, he was standing over me with relative ease, the pain not very visible on his face.What was, however, visible on his face was the malicious look. I wondered why these people were doing this, for what reason they were holding me to the floor. I said you would die sinner, Attis scolded, Just as my son and their brother died at your hands, so you shall die at ours With that, he knelt on my chest, placing all his weight on top of my lungs. This constricted my breathing but the cold hand around my neck restricted it further. I was stark(a) up into the eyes of hell. All of the malignant thoughts that Attis Jones could go on were being forced to the front of his mind.I could almost see them through his eyes. Attiss grip shifted so that his ripple was pressing hard, nerve-racking to crush my Adams apple. I was trying to free my hands but they were held tightly to the ground by Attis Sons. I tried in conceited to kick my legs but again, restrained by someone. The thrust in my head was increasing as my windpipe was constricted. My ears we re filled with the roaring in my head and the laboured, spit-flecked breaths of the man who was killing me, I felt a electrocution pain behind my eyes, a numbness ventilation from my finger.I desperately tried to free myself, but I was losing the battle, the feeling in my body. My vision was blurring and my lungs anxious as the last of my life was choked from me. The only sound, apart from the steady rhythmic beat of the rain, was me, gurgling the last of my air out. Everything became dark and the last thing I remember hearing was Take im inside, well chop im up and feed im to the sharks Now, looking back on my life, I realised how what I had done was right. If you believed that what I did was wrong, that killing those awful people was a bad thing, your deeply mistaken.I killed those people because they were delivering pain onto others, what I did was stop them from hurting them, or any other, ever again. Attis Jones had set me up so that he could take retaliation upon me for kil ling his son. Had I researched deeper into his background, I would have found that the web of lies I was fed were given to me in the hope that I would be led consecutive into the trap. It worked. I now know that his son was a certain Joshua Jones. I had killed him many years before. He was a personal call. There was no money when I killed him. There were no people who specifically asked me to kill him.I did it because I wanted to. He was grooming small children, victorious them from the streets and teaching them how to release prostitutes. He was using them to gratify his own pleasure, performing like nothing more than a parkland pimp. For this reason I had to kill him. His family was totally oblivious to what he had done and I think that they may have reconsidered taking my life had they found out his true past. So this was my past catching up with me, it never actually haunted me, just left me for dead. There was no afterlife, no Heaven, no Hell. There was in fact, nothing.Just a black void that I seemed t float around in, left to contemplate my life and the things I had done. The hurt I had caused, the pain visited upon the innocent bystanders of the families of my victims. I also thought of the good I had done, killing all those people, taking their lives so that they could no longer harm anyone else And as I did, I realised that I wouldnt change a thing, if given a second chance at the same life, I would do it all the same as I had, doing everything the way had mean to do. I looked back and saw myself as sort of makeshift hero.Saving the common folk and parcel their lives to be lived better. Maybe they would find out of my confidential past and declare me a hero, or maybe call me a murderer, tell everyone that what I had done was a terrible thing. In any case, I knew that I had done right and did not care what people thought. The only part of my life that I truly hated, the one thing that stuck in my mind as the thing I would change, would be the ma nner in which I died. But there was nothing I could do about that now, I could only watch it over and over again, in my minds eye.