The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 4

â€Å"You're shaking. Let me do it alone,† Meredith said, putting a hand on Bonnie's shoulder as they stood together in front of Caroline Forbes's house. Bonnie started to lean into the pressure, but made herself stop. It was humiliating to be shaking so obviously on a Virginia morning in late July. It was humiliating to be treated like a child, too. But Meredith, who was only six months older, looked more adult than usual today. Her dark hair was pulled back, so that her eyes looked very large and her olive-skinned face with its high cheekbones was shown to its best advantage. She could practically be my babysitter, Bonnie thought dejectedly. Meredith had high heels on, too, instead of her usual flats. Bonnie felt smaller and younger than ever in comparison. She ran a hand through her strawberry-blond curls, trying to fluff them up a precious half inch higher. â€Å"I'm not scared. I'm c-cold,† Bonnie said with all the dignity she could muster. â€Å"I know. You feel something coming from there, don't you?† Meredith nodded at the house before them. Bonnie looked sideways at it and then back at Meredith. Suddenly Meredith's adultness was more comforting than annoying. But before she looked at Caroline's house again she blurted, â€Å"What's with the spike heels?† â€Å"Oh,† Meredith said, glancing down. â€Å"Just practical thinking. If anything tries to grab my ankle this time, it gets this.† She stamped and there was a satisfying clack from the sidewalk. Bonnie almost smiled. â€Å"Did you bring your brass knuckles, too?† â€Å"I don't need them; I'll knock Caroline out again barehanded if she tries anything. But quit changing the subject. I can do this alone.† Bonnie finally let herself put her own small hand on Meredith's slim, long-fingered one. She squeezed. â€Å"I know you can. But I'm the one who should. It was me she invited over.† â€Å"Yes,† Meredith said, with a slight, elegant curl of her lip. â€Å"She's always known where to stick in the knife. Well, whatever happens, Caroline's brought it on herself. First we try to help her, for her sake and ours. Then we try to make her get help. After that – â€Å" â€Å"After that,† Bonnie said sadly, â€Å"there's no telling.† She looked at Caroline's house again. It looked†¦skewed†¦in some way, as if she were seeing it through a distorting mirror. Besides that, it had a bad aura: black slashed across an ugly shade of gray-green. Bonnie had never seen a house with so much energy before. And it was cold, this energy, like the breath out of a meat locker. Bonnie felt as if it would suck out her own life-force and turn it into ice, if it got the chance. She let Meredith ring the doorbell. It had a slight echo to it, and when Mrs. Forbes answered, her voice seemed to echo slightly, as well. The inside of the house still had that funhouse mirror look to it, Bonnie thought, but even stranger was the feel. If she shut her eyes she would imagine herself in a much larger place, where the floor slanted sharply down. â€Å"You came to see Caroline,† Mrs. Forbes said. Her appearance shocked Bonnie. Caroline's mother looked like an old woman, with gray hair and a pinched white face. â€Å"She's up in her room. I'll show you,† Caroline's mother said. â€Å"But Mrs. Forbes, we know where – † Meredith broke off when Bonnie put a hand on her arm. The faded, shrunken woman was leading the way. She had almost no aura at all, Bonnie realized, and was stricken to the heart. She'd known Caroline and her parents for so long – how could their relationships have come to this? I won't call Caroline names, no matter what she does, Bonnie vowed silently. No matter what. Even†¦yes, even after what she's done to Matt. I'll try to remember something good about her. But it was difficult to think at all in this house, much less to think of anything good. Bonnie knew the staircase was going up; she could see each step above her. But all her other senses told her she was going down. It was a horrifying feeling that made her dizzy: this sharp slant downward as she watched her feet climb. There was also a smell, strange and pungent, of rotten eggs. It was a reeking, rotten odor that you tasted in the air. Caroline's door was shut, and in front of it, lying on the floor, was a plate of food with a fork and carving knife on it. Mrs. Forbes hurried ahead of Bonnie and Meredith and quickly snatched up the plate, opened the door opposite Caroline's, and placed it in there, shutting the door behind her. But just before it disappeared, Bonnie thought she saw movement in the heap of food on the fine bone china. â€Å"She'll barely speak to me,† Mrs. Forbes said in the same empty voice she'd used before. â€Å"But she did say that she was expecting you.† She hurried past them, leaving them alone in the corridor. The smell of rotten eggs – no, of sulfur, Bonnie realized, was very strong. Sulfur – she recognized the smell from last year's chemistry class. But how did such a horrible smell get into Mrs. Forbes's elegant house? Bonnie turned to Meredith to ask, but Meredith was already shaking her head. Bonnie knew that expression. Don't say anything. Bonnie gulped, wiped her watering eyes, and watched Meredith turn the handle of Caroline's door. The room was dark. Enough light shone from the hallway to show that Caroline's curtains had been reinforced by opaque bedspreads nailed over them. No one was in or on the bed. â€Å"Come in! And shut that door fast!† It was Caroline's voice, with Caroline's typical waspishness. A flood of relief swept over Bonnie. The voice wasn't a male bass that shook the room, or a howl, it was Caroline-in-a-bad-mood. She stepped into the dimness before her.

Comparative Study Between Waiting for Mahatma and Kanthapura

TITLE :- COMPARISON BETWEEN THE IMAGES OF ‘GANDHI’ IN KANTHAPURA AND WAITING FOR THE MAHATMA Name :- Purbita Bhattacharya M. A. 1ST SEMESTER ROLL :- ME 110042 PAPER – 2 SUPERVISED BY :- PROF. CHANDRANATH ADHIKARY The novel WAITING FOR THE MAHATMA deals with the story of a young man named Sriram whose life revolves round the influence of Mahatma on him during the years of Indian Freedom Struggle. In his age of twenty he meets a girl named Bharati, an ardent Gandhi follower and was collecting money for some funds. Her life is pretty much revolving around Gandhiji and his movement.By presenting Mahatma realistically in town Narayan has portrayed a concrete image of Gandhi. The people of Malgudi can see Gandhi, can touch him and even can spend time with him by attending his lectures and the shavas. Narayan, here, through this novel has shown the down-to-earth image of Gandhi. He comes to town, moves on his own whims and fancies, does not stay at the guest house nor wi th the rich persons, and prefers to stay in the untouchable colony, gives speeches and also meets with people. Even in this novel we are shown that Bharati takes Sriram to meet Gandhiji. And Sriram is told to do what Bharati tells him.She becomes his ‘Guru’. Later, Sriram moves to cave in hills, gets deeper into the Quit India Movement, tries to force the marriage issue with Bharati but gets rejected. Then he gets involved with a terrorist called Jagadish – who is wanted by the police. He visits his grandmother in disguise who survives a death scare and is rescued off dramatically in her funeral pyre when her toes start wiggling. Then Sriram gets arrested at the burial grounds and goes to jail. His only solace is that Bharati is also in jail somewhere. In jails he meets many different types of criminals and is finally released after the British leaves India.Then he again meets Bharati who invites him to Delhi. He there proposes her again and they seek the blessin g of Mahatma who promises to perform their wedding himself on the very next morning. On the next morning they go to the prayer meeting where a person rushes up to the stage to the Mahatma and shoots him. â€Å"WAITING FOR THE MAHATMA† dwells on the freedom struggle, the Mahatma and his ways, and the kind of an impact he had on the youth in those days. By the physical presence of Gandhi, Narayan brings up many arguments through different characters, those who embrace a violent route and those who follow Gandhiji.But such was the power of his conviction that they followed him and his words to death. â€Å"Love the enemy, and then will he change†, said Gandhiji and they all tried to love their enemy. They practiced non-violence, spun the charka and made khadi, shunned all foreign things, behaved like true Satyagrahis – all at an age when they would hardly understand the true importance of what they are doing. Gandhiji’s take on untouchability is shown impact ing Sriram as he wonders how his grandmother ill treats the boy who comes to clean the road.The much sacrifices were demanded from the youth and his followers, and they did try to be the perfect examples of what Gandhiji had asked for them. The Abstractness of Gandhi’s Image in â€Å"KANTHAPURA† by Raja Rao Till now we were concentrating on the concrete image and impact of Gandhi through Narayan’s â€Å"WAITING FOR THE MAHATMA†. Now in comparison with this image I have chosen â€Å"KANTHAPURA† , by Raja Rao, which also shows the impact of Gandhi on the villagers but not by his physical presence, but by the presence of Gandhi in the villagers’ mind.They have never seen Gandhi, but they are familiar by the name of Gandhi as the image of ‘God’. â€Å"KANTHAPURA† is also a document of the National Struggle of India for Independence. The man, who is struggling and bringing out the image and influence of Gandhi to the villager s, is Moorthy. Like â€Å"WAITING FOR THE MAHATMA† , â€Å"KANTHAPURA† was also written before Independence and is dealing with the magic of Gandhianism that changes India from a somnolent to an unquestionable battle ground for British Raj. Kanthapura is a village as traditional and self sufficient as any other Indian village.But the first sign of disturbance comes from outside but is brought to them by their own beloved Moorthy – a Gandhi-man. The villagers’ love for Harikatha is gently subverted by him and made into a tool to spread the message of nationalism and Gandhi’s principle. Jayaramachar, a popular harikatha singer sings the myth of Gandhi and his divinely task of driving the ‘red man’ from our land. Slowly the entire community warms up against the British rule. With the principle of non violence sullied by the villagers Moorthy – like the Mahatma – undergoes fasting, ritualistic purification in temple.Raja Rao has presented Gandhiji as a myth to the villagers of Kanthapura. Gandhi, was like the mythological character to them. They have not seen Gandhi, but Moorthy seems to them similar to Gandhi. In him the villagers can find out their Gandhi. So that at the last phase of the novel we can see that Moorthy has been mythicised like Gandhi by his village people. The Comparative Study between the Gandhian Impact on both â€Å"WAITING FOR THE MAHATMA† and â€Å"KANTHAPURA† :- Gandhi is often being cited more as a matter of form and convenience than a deep conviction.The Gandhian impact on contemporary Indian literature has brought about results at various levels, and in various direction. As regards the writer’s choice of language, we have seen that one result of the Gandhian influence has been a general preference for the mother tongue or the regional language, and occasionally a purposeful bilingualism, the same writer handling his mastery his own mother tongue as well a s English.Besides whatever the language medium chosen, the stress has been more on simplicity and clarity and immediate effectiveness than on ornateness or profundity or laborious artistry, and this has been as marked in English writing as in writing in the regional languages. As regards the choice of themes and the portrayal of character, the Gandhian influence has been no less marked. There has been a more or less conscious shift of emphasis from the city to the village, or there is implied a contrast between the two – urban luxury and sophistication on the one hand and rural modes and manners on the other.R. K. Narayan, however makes Gandhi himself a character in â€Å"WAITING FOR THE MAHATMA†. Gandhi materially and directly affects the fortunes of Narayan’s heroine – Bharati, and her lover Sriram; and the novel ends with Gandhi’s death at the hands of an Asian on the way to prayer. Whereas Raja Rao has made Gandhi a mythical aspect in his novel â€Å"KANTHAPURA†. The villagers of Kanthapura sacrifice their all while following the Gandhian ideology. They were betrayed. Because Gandhiji, after meeting with the Viceroy, withdrawed the Boycott. But still they followed the way of Gandhianism towards Nationalism.CONCLUSION:- In both the novels by these contemporary writers we can see that Gandhiji laid stress again and again on moral and spiritual values in contrast to material achievement, although this had its place too; he knew that too much industrialization must spell disaster to the seven lacks of Indians villages; and he adopted the loin cloth and the Sevagram way of life because he felt that, for the teeming millions of Indians, no other life is possible – yet he knew that even such bare colourless life could be made reasonably full and purposive.Although for at least 60 years, at least Gandhi has been the subject of biographical and expository studies – J. J. Doke’s M. K. Gandhi : The Man Wh o Became One with the Universal Being followed 15 years after the approach of the Gandhi birth cenetary had understandably stimulated of late a greatly increased flow of Gandhian literature. Mahatma Gandhi : 100 years , edited by S.Radhakrishnan, was brought out by the Gandhi Peace Foundation in 1968, and contained numerous tributes by Gandhi’s friends and admirers, all over the world. While several contributors – Rajaji, Richard B. Gregg, Swami Ranganadhananda, B. N. Rau, G. Ramachandran – have tried to stress one or another aspect of Gandhi’s life and personality, many others have bemoaned the fact that Gandhianism is hardly a live force in India today.

The Central Role of Lurie in Coetzees Disgrace Essay

The Central Role of Lurie in Coetzees Disgrace - Essay Example Thus, a story â€Å"speaks to† each person in a similar fashion. â€Å"By reading a moral story, a child learns how important it is to â€Å"live† a virtue and gains a deeper understanding of the moral life†( Narvaez 157). On the other hand, Ormond (47) concurs with this notion when he suggests that â€Å"from a Vygotskian perspective, gradual entry into adult activities enables children to engage in behaviors and thinking skills within their zones of proximal development.† In this case, the author’s development of character revolves around the language, the perception and the thoughts of Lurie, who appears to direct the character associated with all the aspects of character development. Against this background, this paper will discuss the central role of Lurie in the author’s development of different characters throughout the book. The book clearly presents the position of men and women as well as sex and the disgrace that comes with it. The author writes these ideas through the eyes of Lurie, where the reader is exposed to his spoken dialogue as well as the unspoken thoughts – which portray his discourse, desire and passions. Even though the novel is written in third person, the language, perceptions and the thoughts of Lurie dominate the narrative, which shows that character development for all others is filtered through that of Lurie. However, exposure to Lurie’s person does not present intimacy; so much as it portrays his isolation. Through the story, Coetzee represents different characters through that of Lurie. For example, he presents the position of all others – through the subjective outlook of Lurie. However, this is not entirely true; as it appears that his shallow outlook of women is what has caused his two previous divorces and his inability to connect with women. This leads to the contrast that he is

Human Resources in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resources in Business - Essay Example Tests are generally perceived as a fairer to the selection decisions, because they judge everyone on the same basis, rather than being based on exams and results taken years ago at university institutions. When a candidate has completed a psychometric test, had passed a solid behavioral interview and personality profile and has been through a role play presentation with the recruiter, the human resources have covered all basic ground they need in order to make a reasonable decision about who to offer the position. They are cost-beneficial in the long term, because are relatively cheap and easy to supervise, because the answered are not monitored by correct answers. However, providing feedback can be tedious sometimes, because it requires concentration and evaluation, which takes more time. Standardized tests can often be subjective, because different people view differently test questions. Interpreting the question depends to a greater degree on the cultural and educational background, on its family values and personal attitude. Also results in assessing candidates could be different depending on the evaluator. This is so, because when answering the test questions, the candidates might be affected by their current moods, or being under stress, so the standartization of the tests might not answays interpret the results in favour of the candidates. Respondents can intentionally project and portray themselves in a light very different if they had a face to face interview. Some of the people can respond to the questions in a way that is not genuine, implies self-promotion and deliberately leaves wrong impression to the recruiter. There is a certain risk involved for the candidates when they have to engage themselves in lengthy tests, before they have the opportunity to first discuss their role and job position with the recruiter. Overtiredness and loss of time, if the

Leadership Skills Required For A Large Multi-Department Organisation Essay - 4

Leadership Skills Required For A Large Multi-Department Organisation - Essay Example To analyze the leadership response to trends and tensions, the paper looks at transformational and transactional leadership, and the leadership qualities needed to overcome changes trends and tensions. The skills to be analyzed will emphasize on building effective LMX, and becoming a transformational leader. The conclusion provides a logical summary of the contemporary leadership skills required for a transformational leader in a large multi-department organization. According to Halinen and Tornroos, the current business world has changed significantly compared to a decade or so ago. Furthermore, the aspect of new economy and globalization introduces continuous change, and this might indicate that organizations need to regularly monitor their strategies to incorporate change. Heller highlights that the new economy requires restructuring and reorganization of a former economy of primary extraction of resource and transformation of the industry. Leading within the environmental context characterized by globalization and a new economy, Brooks, reveals that leaders are expected to be swift in identifying resulting global and local tensions to avoid accepting a traditional isolationist status quo expecting success. Additionally, leaders must learn to balance their responsibilities within a global society with national and global interests. In this case, multi-department leaders are expected to simultaneously make long-term investments while continuously achieving short-term results. According to Phelps & Wood, global interests come with the integration of global economy which involves orchestration of business processes from above by an emergent transnational class which neglects autonomous involvements by sub-national opinionated coalitions reconciling between local and global welfare.

EUROPEAN UNION LAW Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

EUROPEAN UNION LAW - Coursework Example If we see, there are different articles In European Law Union which states the provisions regarding the free movement of persons inside the member states. Below is the critical evaluation and advice to the plight of a polish family who moved to UK Critical Evaluation and Advise to the Family Members a) Josef’s case Jozef, you came to UK with your partner Karolina on visit and eventually planned to find a job and settle here. You demanded financial support which was not legally available to you as per UK law and also expected a fair treatment from UK as to the wage scale and employment opportunities. But the major mistake on your part is that you were not aware of the UK laws with regard to the benefits the country offers to non nationals According to European Union Treaty (2006) â€Å"The Council and the Commission shall ensure the consistency of activities undertaken on the basis of this title and the consistency of such activities with the policies of the Union and the Comm unity, and shall cooperate to that end† The thing to be noted here is that many people cross the national boundaries with less knowledge about the legal procedures of UK and end being corrupted and humiliated. Jozef , you resorted to manipulate the tax system in eagerness to make financial gains and ended up being disobedient to the legal system of the country and got imprisoned. What can be suggested here is that, while moving to a developed, wealthy and expensive nation you should have been ready to initiate hard work and thoughtfulness to follow the legal system of the country and target to achieve success in long term and not attempts short cuts and end up in trouble. Generally, the legal system of free movement of people has some reservation to the nationals as compared to the people moved from other member states.Craig & de Burca (2008,pg.743) suggests that â€Å"The meaning and the scope of the terms ‘worker’ and activity as an employed person’ shou ld be thus clarified in the light of the principles on the legal order of the community†It is important for you to know the regulation set by UK government as to the worker’s right and employment so that you do not end up in trouble due to ignorance. b)Karolina Case : Karolina you moved with Jozef to UK and planned to stay in the country with him and started looking for a job and were asked to comply with certain demands of the UK government to procure a job. You are a trained teaching professional in Poland but to attain a teaching status in UK you needed to pass the English language proficiency test. You got distressed on this demand of the government and became adamant as to not to follow the test, instead took a job of language translator. Here you are not ready to accept the reality that UK needs the proficiency in their mother tongue to qualify as the country’s teacher. This is a minimum requirement which any teacher needs to obtain to occupy a professional teaching status. You should understand that you are not in your native land but in a country where the mother tongue is English. In real sense, you have lost the opportunity to be a professional teacher just because you neglected the value of the test demanded by the country which would have helped you in building your career and life in the long run. The UK government has not created hindrance in the growth of your

Internship Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Internship - Article Example Since then the concept has gained significant popularity in the operations of different organizations. Research has shown that there is no organization that can survive in the long run without learning. A learning organization is conceptualised as a place where the employees create, acquire as well as transfer knowledge in their operations (Garvin, Edmondson, and Gino, 110). Basically, a generally accepted definition of learning is â€Å"any relatively permanent change in the behaviour of a person that occurs as a result of experience (Robbins, 110). In an organization, employees can exchange ideas that in turn lead to the creation of knowledge that permanently changes their behaviour. This change in behaviour as a result of new knowledge created helps the employees in the organization to keep pace with the changes they may encounter as well as to deal with challenges they may also face in their operations. In order for learning to take place, three factors known as learning blocks should exist and they include the following: (1) a supportive learning environment comprised of factors such as psychological safety, openness as well as appreciation of differences. (2) concrete learning processes and practices comprised of measures that are designed to foster learning, and (3) leadership which mainly reinforces the process of learning. The behavior of leaders influences the learning process of their subordinates. The second article by Kolb Alice Y. & Kolb David A. titled â€Å"Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education† focuses on how experiential learning can be enhanced in higher education. The experiential learning theory manly draws from the work of 20th century scholars such as Dewey, Lewin as well as Pieaget among others. These scholars give experience in the learning process of humans.

Collapse of Lehman Brothers Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Collapse of Lehman Brothers - Term Paper Example The company was experiencing a mass exit by clients, dramatic fall in stock value and asset devaluation. Their bid for bankruptcy protection was the largest in the world history. Corporate Malfeasance Corporate malfeasance is a legal concept that denotes the art of falsely manipulating accounts such that the financial position of a company appears stable and progressive. Following their collapse, top executives of former corporate giants, such as WorldCom, Enron and AIG, faced civil suits and criminal charges with allegations of corporate malfeasance. Corporate malfeasance was one of the leading causes for the collapse of Lehman in light of the financial crisis of the late 2000. James Cramer calls the Lehman’s malfeasance case ‘financial engineering’ (Cramer 2). He believes that with the knowledge of top officials, CFOs and CEO Dick Fuld, the accounting department manipulated the financial records in a bid to make the company appear more venerable to attract inves tors and retain clients. Lehman’s financial engineering had gone on for a few years amid growing worries among top officials that the company was over-leveraged. The advice of chief financial officers and other top officials spearheaded the ‘financial engineering’ gimmick through counterfeit records to hide Lehman’s vulnerability to collapse (Taibbi 98). Sources retrieved from the Wall Street Journal indicate that CEO Fuld was aware of the imminent collapse. He was manipulated by a clique of shadowy bankers and top investors who wanted to be overnight billionaires by urging him to make money-losing decisions. Corporate malfeasance did not go far. The truth eventually emerged and Lehman’s estimated $619 billion debt was exposed. This was after the audit report of a court-appointed financial examiner was released. Fuld had admitted in writing that he had commissioned the financial engineering gimmick as a systematic ploy of buying the company more tim e. This was by creating â€Å"a materially misleading picture of the firm’s financial condition in late 2007 to 2008† (Cramer 2). Lehman’s accounting gimmick dubbed ‘repo 105’ allowed the sale of company securities through a signed obligation to re-purchase them after a while so that they can do so at a lower price. This would temporarily remove such asset securities from the balance sheet. Likewise, the untimely sale of securities allowed the influx of liquid cash into the bank thus effectively lowering financial coverage ratios. These subtle and corrupt financial gimmicks were done behind closed doors keeping investors and other stakeholders in the oblivion (Sorkin 8). The US Housing/ Subprime Mortgage Crisis Economic experts link Lehman’s predicament to the bursting the housing or real estate market bubble in the U.S in the summer of 2008. The untimely subprime mortgage crisis was another leading cause for the collapse of Lehman Brothers I nc. In 2007, the real estate market in the U.S had registered a remarkable progress amid the housing bubble. Housing prices soared, reached the elastic limit and Wall Street began to experience a huge increase in home foreclosure rates and equally high subprime mortgage delinquencies. Subsequently, securities backed by mortgages declined significantly. The steep decline made re-financing very difficult.

Art and Celebrity Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Art and Celebrity - Dissertation Example In terms of art, fame is often considered a double-edged sword, mostly because of the price attached to it and its impact on the artist in terms of his work. This essay shall discuss the impact of fame on celebrity and on art and the artist. This analysis will evaluate both the negative and the positive effects of fame on art, seeking to understand how artists have gained fame throughout their career and how such fame has changed them and their art. This essay is being carried out in order to help establish a clear and thorough understanding of art and fame, and their relationship with each other. Main body Fame, in this context is interchangeably associated with celebrity. Both refer to the general attention which an individual, an object, or a place gains from the general public (Conrad, 2012). Fame is derived from the word famous which often refers to popularity; while celebrity is associated with celebration, or how one person is celebrated by the general population (Conrad, 2012 ). Art takes on various forms of expression, including the performance, visual, and musical art. In association with each other, as a piece of art gains attention for its brilliance, fame or celebrity is often attributed to the artwork and the artist. Such celebrity and fame is however also attributed to different activities, even non-artistic activities (Conrad, 2012). Under these conditions, reality shows gain their celebrity and fame. The reasons for their fame are founded on their outrageous behaviour, their clothes, their controversial lives, their controversial or unusual jobs, and the fact that they are rich (Gibson, 2012). Celebrities are famous due to their prominent profile and such prominence often makes them a significant source of fascination for the media. They also often have a high degree of popular appeal as well as prominence in certain fields making them easily recognizable by the public (Gibson, 2012). For purposes of this paper, the associations shall focus on v isual art (painters) and fame or celebrity. In the general sense, it is crucial to evaluate how fame is felt by a celebrity over time. Based on the temporality, a progressive design is apparent in terms of fame being experienced in various phases (Rockwell and Giles, 2009). First, a phase of love/hate; second, the addiction phase with behaviour being geared towards more fame; third, the acceptance phase calling for more permanent changes in daily life activities; and finally, the adaptation phase where new attitudes and activities are established to secure life changes essential to one’s fame (Rockwell and Giles, 2009). The love/hate relationship is secured with participants wanting to ensure effective ways of adjusting to fame. Initially, becoming famous requires significant stoking of the ego. The newly famous are often warmly accepted by the people (Rockwell and Giles, 2009). There is often a guilty thrill seen in being admired, with participants wanting the attention and adoration even as they also analyse the good feelings they get from their fame experience. They love some parts of it, but also hate other aspects of their fame (Adler and Adler, 1989). The love/hate period is often followed by the addiction phase. When one is adored by the public, people often find it difficult to live without such fame. Some actually find their ‘high’ on such fame and adoration (Rockwell and Gil

Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management Essay Human resource is an extremely vital element in the success of any company. No corporation can attain prosperity if they do not take interest to develop their human capital. (Klose, 1993) This is the reason it has become significant to correctly administer the employees by evaluating their performance on a regular basis, provide them with proper training sessions, assisting them in accomplishing organizational goals and make sure the talent and expertise is retained within the organization. First off all it is essential for a company to pay competitive pay scales so it can attract loads of skillful people as a company always wants talented people to be a part of their corporation. Additionally the human resource department should evaluate the performance of employees regularly and in an accurate manner. Since a wrong appraisal of the employees is worst than having no appraisal at all. (Woods, 2005) The aim of the human resource department should be to provide incentive to employees on the basis of the quality of their work. A 360 degree method of appraising employees should be used; this includes getting feedback from coworkers, team leaders, supervisors and customers. This approach provides realistic views for the human resource department and they are able to judge the performance of the employees in an effective manner. The human resource department should give people possessing extraordinary skill a chance to prosper and develop. It is the duty of the HR department to make use of the human capital in the most appropriate way. As the employees are the assets of the organization hence they should be retained within the boundaries of the organization. The organization should not only have the mission to achieve success but it should also take their employees on the road to prosperity. (Klose, 1993) Learning is a continuous process and it should be constantly encouraged at the workplace. It has been proved that 70% of the things an employee learns is through informal ways. Hence organizations nowadays are giving more significance to informal modes of learning as compared to the formal ways. Volpe Marsick, 2000) Additionally proper training is also essential, for this purpose classes on conflict management and decision making should be provided to employees. The objective of these training is to equip the employees with a range of skills and capabilities so that they can prove to be more resourceful for the organization and have a collection of skills that adds to their value. The human resource department should help motivate the employees by providing them with monetary and non monetary rewards. They should ensure that the employees like their work and are satisfied with the organization. (Klose, 1993) The HR department formulates policies for the workplace they should develop just polices to ensure that the organization is giving appropriate rights to the employees. Moreover the policies should be free from any gender, age, color, disability discrimination. Also an employee facing any problem of that sort should be comfortable in expressing it to the HR department so it could take immediate actions to resolve such issues. Additionally their should be a proper rule book which contains the rules and regulations of the workplace so every employee is aware of the penalty they will get for breaking the rules. The rule book of the organization is very vital as it acts as authentication of why the employees was terminated or given a punishment. (Woods, 2005) To conclude, in today’s world the role of HR is increasing day by day as it has become highly important to attract capable people and retain them. Hence HR should ensure that the employees are satisfies with their work, the benefits they get and the work environment.

Material manufacturing and analysis of engine crankshaft

Material manufacturing and analysis of engine crankshaft The report outlines the detail of material and manufacturing process selection exercise carried out on a typical car engine camshaft. Camshaft being one of the most important engine components requires careful selection of material. Moreover, owing to its specialized operation, the required geometry is relatively complex and certain improvements in mechanical properties are required to be introduced during manufacturing. This calls for and rather complex manufacturing route to be followed. The report initially mentions the operation of the component and describes its required characteristics. The material and manufacturing process selection is then carried out based on the intended use. A detailed description is provided in the end about the selected manufacturing route. INTRODUCTION The crankshaft is the part of an engine which converts reciprocating motion of the pistons into a rotary motion. The rotary motion has the advantage that it can be used rotate the wheel of the car. Crankshaft is an essential component in reciprocating engines because, rotary motion is simpler to mobilize the vehicle in which reciprocating engines is installed. Crankshafts are equipped with crankpins and additional bearing surfaces. The axis of bearing surfaces is offset from the crank. During operation, crankshafts are subjected to following mechanical stresses: Bending stresses due to up and down movement of pistons. Torsion stresses due to rotation of crankshaft and transmission of force to drive train, which subsequently transmit motion to various services. Owing to reciprocating motion of the pistons, bending forces on crankshaft are always cyclic in nature. Therefore, the stress behavior is further complicated due to constant fatigue factor hence necessitating higher fatigue resistance in the component. Friction of bearing surfaces is also important during the operation. The piston arms have to slide past the crankshaft surface. Therefore roller bearings are equipped between the sliding surfaces. However, as rpm of a typical engine reaches 4000-5000 during normal operation, an efficient lubrication is extremely essential for bearing. The crankshaft therefore contains holes for lubrication system. Operating temperature inside the engine is extremely high. Therefore, the material should be such that it retains required mechanical properties at elevated temperature. In order to suppress pulsating behavior of reciprocating engines, crankshafts generally connect to flywheel. In certain cases, a vibration damper is also installed at the opposite end to reduce vibration. Figure No 1: Engine Crankshaft Along with Connected Parts The analysis presented in this report focuses on crankshaft manufacturing which is feasible for large scale manufacturing. Figure No 2: CAD Drawing of the Camshaft MATERIAL SELECTION Based on the stress imposed on the component during the operation, operating temperatures and intended operation, the material to be selected for this component should posses following characteristics: The material should be strong in bending It must have excellent fatigue resistance. The material should be light weight so that it has small value of moment of inertia and transmit motion more efficiently. It must have lesser coefficient of thermal expansion so that the component can retain its original dimension at varying temperatures. The material should be easily machineable so that it can take complex shape (as required for the geometry of crankshaft) easily and without developing unnecessary stresses. After carrying out an extensive research of materials, following materials were short listed for crankshaft: Aluminum Copper Steel Aluminum Aluminum is an excellent machineable metal. It is light weight and can take complex shapes easily. Moreover, it can absorb vibration very efficiently. However, the metal has lower modulus of elasticity and higher coefficient of thermal expansion. Therefore, it will be subjected to larger strains at higher stresses and high temperatures. Moreover, it does not possess good resistance to fatigue loads and corrosion. Copper Copper possess very good corrosion resistant properties. It is easily machineable and has high strength. Moreover, it can possess good surface finish which proves helpful in achieving reduced friction properties. However, the biggest disadvantage of copper is that it is no corrosion resistant. Corrosion rate is significantly higher at higher temperature. It is therefore, not considered suitable for the intended use. Steel Steel is another option to be used as a material for camshaft. Steel is a better choice because, it possess excellent mechanical characteristics which suits best with the operational requirements of engine camshaft. It has the highest modulus of elasticity. It is tough, strong, easily available, cheap and it has very less coefficient of thermal expansion which makes it best suited for high temperature operation. However, steel itself has a large number of variants which posses large range of properties. Therefore, selection of most appropriate type of steel is also very important. An option for crankshaft material is carbon steel. However, these steels require additional heat treatments to acquire required level of strength. Iron crankshaft is also an option. However, iron cannot take higher loads therefore, iron crankshafts are suitable for low output engines where stresses are lower. They have the advantage of being low cost. In fact, the most widely used material for crankshaft worldwide is Vanadium Microalloyed steel. It has following advantages: Vanadium Microalloyed steel can be air cooled after reaching high strengths without further heat treatment. However, surface hardening is required for the bearing surfaces. Low alloy content also makes the material cheaper than high alloy steels. MANUFACTURING ROUTE SELECTION Crankshafts can be manufactured using following methods: Machining Forging and casting These processes are discussed separately in the lines below. Machining Process Machining is yet another process which can be used to manufacture crankshafts. Crankshafts can be machined out of a billet, often using a bar of high quality vacuum re-melted steel. Machining process has following advantages: Higher quality of steels, which cannot be forged can be used through machining process. No expensive tooling is required for machining process. Extremely high quality crankshafts can be manufactured. However, machining process also has following disadvantages: It is a highly expensive process because; it generally uses high quality material. Moreover, a significant quantity of material is also wasted during machining process. Additional heat treatments are required to get required material properties. Forging and Casting Process Forging is the most widely used process for manufacturing crankshafts today. It is due to the following reasons: The component has lighter weight The forged shafts have better damping characteristics More compact dimensions can be achieved The camshaft is a complex component. Therefore, it is not feasible to manufacture the complete component using a single process. Instead, the manufacturing process comprises of multiple steps encompassing various machining, milling, forging and heat treatment operations. The details are outlined in the next section. DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED MANUFACTURING ROUTE Following is the detailed outline of manufacturing process selected for the camshaft: The raw steel are required for a diameter range from 2.125 to 2.5 and 20ft in length (Figure No 1 in Appendix A). The raw steel bars are then turned on a lathe to remove the rough surface and then cut into the proper lengths depending on the engine size (Figure No 2 in Appendix A). Subsequently, the steel begins the process of becoming a camshaft as both the journals and lobes are cut and evenly spaced out. The Camshafts are then stack up and are prepared for the copper plating (Figure No 3 in Appendix A). The copper plating is done to keep the steel from becoming brittle and helps straighten the camshaft after the heat treating process. Once the copper is applied, the journals are lathe down to the thickness that is needed (Figure No 4 in Appendix A). The surfaces are then finished. Next, a special lobe milling machine is used to create the lift for the cam. These CNC machines use computerize programs that allow the manufacture to create the desired lobe and are precise at 0.0001 of an inch (Figure No 5 in Appendix A). Once the cams are roughly cut, they are placed in a furnace for heat treating. This process hardens the steel making the cam less likely to warp or snap when put under the stress of an engine. After the heat treating, the journals go through their final grounding stage and are milled to the correct dimensions (Figure No 6 in Appendix A). Following the journals are the lobes. They are grounded and polished to provide a smooth surface which reduces friction in the engine, freeing up horsepower. The last process uses a computerized scanner that checks the tolerances on the cams. Making sure that every lobe and journal are exactly the same.

Charles Dickens Hard Times :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Charles Dickens' Hard Times When we think of hard times in today’s world, our thoughts might consist of the number of days before we get paid, an argument with our spouse, or simply that our car is not operating so great these days. Most people today can not begin to imagine what hard times were like during the Industrial Revolution. In nineteenth century England, hard times to the factory workers may have consisted of watching one’s nine-year-old child tied to a machine in the mill for fourteen hours a day. It is no wonder why the writers of this period protested society through the voices of their writings. One of the greatest of these writers was Charles Dickens, who made his voice of protest through a literary masterpiece known as Hard Times. There are many aspects of Hard Times, and Dickens manages to capture what life was like for all of the social classes of his day through each individual character with his protests against the horrible ways in which people were treating one another i n the times that truly were hard. Dickens put a great deal of thought and research into all of his works, just as he did in Hard Times. As one writer states, â€Å"He visited Preston to get material for the industrial and trade-union aspects of the novel; a few weeks latter he began to collect circus slang† (Collins 29). He latter obtained the Educational Board’s series of questions for the examination of teachers in schools. On April 1, 1854, Hard Times appeared in a weekly journal, Household Words, which Dickens edited. Some people believe that Dickens â€Å"was determined to create a means where he could communicate his ideas on social reform so in 1850 he began editing Household Words† (Ford 16). One author states that â€Å"by 1851 the twenty-four page Household Words was selling 40,000 copies a week† (Gray 2). The weekly journal included articles on politics, science and history. To increase the number of people willing to buy Household Words, it also contained short stories and humorous pieces. Dickens also used the journal to serialize novels that were concerned with social issues such as Hard Times. The scene is a factory driven English town known as Coketown. The novel begins in a classroom where we meet Mr. Gradgrind, a wealthy parliament member, to whom the school belongs. Charles Dickens' Hard Times :: GCSE English Literature Coursework Charles Dickens' Hard Times When we think of hard times in today’s world, our thoughts might consist of the number of days before we get paid, an argument with our spouse, or simply that our car is not operating so great these days. Most people today can not begin to imagine what hard times were like during the Industrial Revolution. In nineteenth century England, hard times to the factory workers may have consisted of watching one’s nine-year-old child tied to a machine in the mill for fourteen hours a day. It is no wonder why the writers of this period protested society through the voices of their writings. One of the greatest of these writers was Charles Dickens, who made his voice of protest through a literary masterpiece known as Hard Times. There are many aspects of Hard Times, and Dickens manages to capture what life was like for all of the social classes of his day through each individual character with his protests against the horrible ways in which people were treating one another i n the times that truly were hard. Dickens put a great deal of thought and research into all of his works, just as he did in Hard Times. As one writer states, â€Å"He visited Preston to get material for the industrial and trade-union aspects of the novel; a few weeks latter he began to collect circus slang† (Collins 29). He latter obtained the Educational Board’s series of questions for the examination of teachers in schools. On April 1, 1854, Hard Times appeared in a weekly journal, Household Words, which Dickens edited. Some people believe that Dickens â€Å"was determined to create a means where he could communicate his ideas on social reform so in 1850 he began editing Household Words† (Ford 16). One author states that â€Å"by 1851 the twenty-four page Household Words was selling 40,000 copies a week† (Gray 2). The weekly journal included articles on politics, science and history. To increase the number of people willing to buy Household Words, it also contained short stories and humorous pieces. Dickens also used the journal to serialize novels that were concerned with social issues such as Hard Times. The scene is a factory driven English town known as Coketown. The novel begins in a classroom where we meet Mr. Gradgrind, a wealthy parliament member, to whom the school belongs.

Angel in the House Essay -- essays research papers

Coventry Patmore believed his wife Emily was the perfect Victorian wife and wrote "The Angel in the House" about her. Though it did not receive much attention when it was first published in 1854, it became increasingly popular through the rest of the nineteenth century and continued to be influential into the twentieth century. The Little House series reflects what Patmore originally wrote and strongly believed. â€Å"The Angel in the House† theme is both introduced and intertwined throughout the series. It begins in The Little House in the Big Woods and continues to reveal itself throughout The Little House in the Prairie, thus giving to audience a view of nineteenth century culture. Patmore wrote that â€Å"Man must be pleased; but him to please is woman's pleasure.† This common concept of the nineteenth century reveals itself in this stanza. Women held one position in society, and it held constant throughout the eighteen hundreds: Please man. Ma, in The Little House series, is a prime example of the â€Å"Angel in the House.† Ma is always there for Pa. She realizes that he provides and she obeys. Ma, in The Little House in the Big Woods, had a schedule for each week. .She washed on Monday, Ironed on Tuesday, Mended on Wednesday, Churned on Thursday, Cleaned on Friday, and Baked on Saturday. On top of those chores, Ma prepared food and tended to Pa and the children. There wasn’t a day for Ma’s needs and desires. Ma presents herself as the stereotyp...

Graduation Speech: Go Where There is No Path -- Graduation Speech, Com

My fellow classmates, the magic word today is commencement. This is the big finale to a hectic, overwhelming yet no doubt unforgettable four years at County High School. Robert Frost once said: "The best way out is always through," and similarly we have also learned in our math classes that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. There will always be an infinite number of paths we can take to arrive at a desired destination. Yet, the decision we make to continue looking ahead, instead of behind or around, is ultimately what determines how quickly we will get there. As seniors, we have successfully traveled "through," and though our paths have not all been identical, they have indeed taken us to the same place, our graduation. In retrospect, high school will fondly be looked upon as a time of memories or a time of discovery. Yet, when it's a gorgeous day in June and one happens to be a student plagued with a severe case of senioritis, "Show me to the nearest exit" "Get me outta here!" is a little more accurate. Whatever you may be feeling right now, I'm sure...

The Portrayl of Women in the Media and the Effects it has on Young Girls

Young girls of today’s society are being severely negatively affected by the portrayal of women in the media. With the media playing a large role in young girl’s body images, more and more girls are having a negative image of themselves. They believe they are not sexy and attractive enough according to society’s standards. As a result of this they try to make themselves perfect and go to ridiculous extents to try and make that desire a reality. Girls will even decide to not pursue interests because they believe them to be unattractive and unsexy.The media’s blatant disregard for the real female physique needs to be dealt with quickly before it gets too far out of hand. Being exposed to the media daily through television, magazines, and advertisements, young girls base their body image largely off of media. The problem, however, is that the media displays unrealistic body images of women. Heavily photoshopped pictures in magazines are seen as the ideal body type, and women in movies and television shows are airbrushed to perfection. Along with the unrealistic beauty that women in the media hold, they are often dressed and posed in a provocative manner.On many magazine covers, women are seen with little to no clothing on, with only the lettering of the magazine title stamped across their chests to cover their exposed breasts. With these images constantly being shown in nearly every aspect of their lives, young girls create the illusion that they must look like these women in order to be considered â€Å"feminine† and â€Å"sexy.† Young girls begin to believe that their self-worth is based solely off of how they look.The inaccurate portrayal of women in the media would not be a problem if young girls were not trying to model themselves after these women. As a result of the unrealistic women in the media, young girls are often dissatisfied with their own bodies. This dissatisfaction can begin at a  surprisingly young age. A university of Central Florida poll (2006) found that fifty percent of 3 to 6 year olds worry that they are fat. Another study (2008) of 819 boys and 791 girls, ages 14 to 16, revealed that a far higher percentage of the girls were ashamed of their bodies than the boys. They revealed that they constantly monitor their weight, what they eat, and how often they eat. This constant policing of their bodies can potentially lead to unhealthy habits.Girls try to make themselves look like these â€Å"perfect† women in the media, and often times they put being â€Å"sexy† or â€Å"feminine† above their own health. They resort to strict diets as young as eight years old. Young girls with dress according to what the media portrays as â€Å"sexy† and â€Å"feminine,† even if it is clothing that is considered too provocative and mature for their age. With young girls putting their desire to be sexy above their own health, the portrayal of women it the media c an lead to serious ill effects.Often times this obsession with their body image can lead to eating disorders such as bulimia, a disorder where a girl purges her stomach immediately after eating, or anorexia, another disorder where a person will outright refuse to eat anything. They will be hospitalized for such disorders, and yet they will still find themselves to be unattractive in their own eyes. The media has drastically harmed the self-esteem of young girls.Along with needing to become â€Å"perfect,† young girls are not pursuing their own interests for the fear that it is â€Å"unsexy† and â€Å"unfeminine† according to the media. A study done by the Women’s Sports Foundation (2011) found that six girls drop out of sports for every one boy by the end of high school based on the sole reason that they feel it doesn’t make them look â€Å"sexy.† Another study done by the Women’s Sports Foundation (2011) found that twenty-three perce nt of girls between the ages of elven and seventeen don’t even attempt to play sports they may be interested in because they believe that it would be â€Å"unfeminine† of them to try.The media tells young girls that they should be into activities such as fashion design and modeling, putting emphasis on professions that show off their bodies and not their intellects. While modeling and fashion design are perfectly acceptable job professions, the problem lies in the fact that activities such as those are  the only ones being portrayed as acceptable in media. Young girls are getting the message that to pursue any typically male dominated activity would be â€Å"unfeminine,† and therefore would make them seem unattractive.Despite women making up half of the world’s population, we still live in a male dominate culture were women can be portrayed on unrealistic Barbie dolls in the media. This portrayal is having ill effects on the young girls of future genera tions. Media is playing a progressively larger role in a girl’s body image than ever before, and with the unrealistic images they are shown they being to be dissatisfied with their own bodies. Young girls begin to worry about being sexy and attractive at ages as young as eight years old, and worry about being fat as young as three. As a result of their dislike for their own bodies, young girls begin to try and make themselves â€Å"perfect.†They will starve themselves and work out, almost to an unhealthy extent. Putting this desire to be sexy above their health, some girls even develop eating disorders because of the unrealistic images they compare themselves to. Along with never finding themselves to be beautiful, girls will even deprive themselves of pursuing their interests because they believe them to be â€Å"unfeminine.† The unrealistic portrayal of women in the media needs to put to an end before the situation that young girls are put in gets any more out of hand.

Finding my father

My clothes felt like a cold, damp extension of my body, as I lay panting on the floor. Blood, water, sweat, I wasn't sure what it was. At this moment, I was just glad to be alive. As I attempted to pick myself up off the rough asphalt, I felt a warm liquid well up in the depths of my throat, as I retched onto the ground. Oddly, this wasn't how I normally felt at 11am on a Thursday morning. My name is Alex Watson. Alex was after my father, a man who I heard a great deal about, but never met. My mother was only a college girl when she met my father. He was dead before I was born. When I asked my mother about it, she got angry, or said she was tired, anything to avoid my questions. In the end, I just had to get on with my life. I moved to New York, into an apartment block which encapsulated the bleak misery of city life. You eventually learn to block out the sirens, gunshots and screaming. About a year ago, I got an urge to discover who my father was, beyond the facade of distorted facts my mother decided to disclose to me. For some reason, I needed to know. I needed to know the truth, and seeing as nobody was going to tell me, I decided to look for myself. The task turned out to be the proverbial needle in the haystack. The problem with my father was, he liked to keep a low profile. So much so that, until I was sixteen, I had no idea what he did for a living. Anything I did find out about him was on a need to know basis. Discovering my father wasn't going to be as easy as I first imagined. Home was not exactly an awe-inspiring. My roommates where cockroaches, and a stray cat who I had named Takeshi. These more than minor inconveniences allowed me some pleasures, such drowning my sorrows in â€Å"The Manhattan†, a bar so close to my apartment that I could wander out if it drunk and fall into my bed†¦or at least the floor. This was my escape, my salvation from the nine to five drudgery of my life. I was never good at working in boxes. I worked as a retail technician for a major electrical appliance company. I answered phone calls from people whose children had put jam sandwiches in their VCR's, or people phoning me asking why the cup holder on their new computer was broken. I was supposed to respond to them in a cheerful, knowledgeable manner, but most of the time I had to concentrate on not screaming and slamming the phone down. However, their phone calls did break the monotony of staring at a prefabricated cardboard wall, rules and codes of conduct staring at me in the face. I felt trapped. I felt like I needed to escape, a release from my life. It's probably normal to, at some point or other, question your existence on this planet. Why are you here? What's so special about you? In my case, I took a long hard look at myself, and found nothing. Nada. Jack shit. I could find no real reason for me to be on this earth. And to be completely honest, this didn't surprise me. I had always been decidedly average. My only sense of purpose was finding the truth about my father, but to do that I needed money, and to get money I needed to work. Unfortunately, as I've already stated, my job was like a nine to five lecture on the art of watching paint dry. What I needed was a miracle. What I got was a blessing in disguise. â€Å"Sir, you can't stay here, it's public endangerment!†. I can't say I ever heard these words, my drunken demeanour, as well the cacophony of the halted cars horns, prevented them from reaching my ears as I wandered down the middle of a road. I tripped over my own feet, and landed back first. â€Å"Back owf!† I warned, â€Å"I'm armsed!†. I swung my whiskey bottle wildly, until it flung off and hit the floor. â€Å"Crap† I murmured before passing out. Two hours later, conscious and sober, when I was informed of the events, I can't say I was surprised. My excuse? I was bored. However, when I told this to the police, they were less than impressed. I was expecting them to throw me into one of their first class, luxurious cells for the night, and maybe, if I'm luck, beaten to a pulp for saying I supported the wrong football team. But if I've learnt anything, it's that life's a bitch, and you never get what you want. Simply a clip round one ear and a â€Å"Don't do that again!† in the other. Jesus, my mother gave me better telling off than that when I was seven! Slightly disheartened at the state of the judicial and law enforcement services, I made my way towards the door, and the unbearable natural light of the afternoon. As I did this, I glanced over at the desk. She was there. The woman who arrested me last night, when I decided to take a walk on the wrong side of the road†¦figuratively and literally. Suddenly, I felt something I hadn't expected. I felt a twinge of guilt. It was a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time, not since before I started destroying my mind with drink. I felt guilty for what I had done, I felt like I needed to apologise. I crept over to the desk, unsure of what to say, but sure of what to do. â€Å"Excuse me miss. Er†¦I just..er†¦wanted to say that†¦er†¦I'm sorry about last night.† Normally I'm a little more articulate than that, but the effects of last night's binge hadn't quite worn off. â€Å"That's ok.† She said, as her face broke into a smile. It was at this point I noticed something that had escaped me last night, (possibly because my eyesight was in a less than perfect state). This woman, smiling at me from behind the desk, was beautiful, not in a catwalk super model kind-of-way, which had never appealed to me, but in a regular, every day kind of way. Her smile was kind and gentle, and her deep brown eyes sparkled in the hazy mid-day sun. She was stunning in a subtle way. I was falling for her, and I could feel it. Her smile broke as she spoke again, â€Å"Normally, I get a nasty sneer off people, and that's off the nice ones. But I could tell you were different, even when I first saw you.† Her face broke into a smile again, and I just hoped I wasn't staring at her. â€Å"I don't know†¦I just knew you where different.† I returned the smile, the first real smile I had had in months. â€Å"Thank you. Hopefully, I'll see you around.† She smiled at me, â€Å"Hopefully not under the same circumstances, but we can live in hopes otherwise.† As I walked out of the door, the painful brightness of the midday sun couldn't dampen my mood. I was no closer to finding my father, but maybe a step closer to finding myself.

Developing Yourself as an Effective Learning and Development Practitioner Essay

The knowledge that HRPs in Band 1 show or demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of training and learning needs analysis at the organisational and individual levels but it ensures that the activities are carried out effectively and to / with the right level of knowledge. With my organisation it is imperative that I know the organisation is structured, what products and services the organisation provides to enable the understanding about the way the company works and objectives it has. This is to ensure the service provided is accurate and effective. He/she also has to have knowledge of relevant employment l and discrimination law to minimise risk within and to the organisation. The Serco HR and L&D manager must demonstrate their knowledge about how to collect and collate cost data and how to analyse feedback from training programmes in order to demonstrate a return of investment. HRPs in Band 1 must be someone who is driven to deliver as they need to actively plan, prioritise and monitor key performance (KPI) areas of each employee in order to prompt employees when training opportunities that are in line with and when their personal development arises which should be reflected within the staffs’ appraisals. They must also need to work effectively at all levels within the organisation and work closely with external training providers for example:- Chartered Management institute, Northbrook and Chichester College. Behaviours The behaviours required the L&D practitioner to deliver a successful service. The team needs to be clear, accurate and positive when communicating messages within the organisation but in a way that also motivates all staff to perform their job roles well. Also under the heading of behaviours it is very important that the L&D manager and his/her team needs to have a fair un-biased view and be non-discriminatory at all time but, be assertive, curious and have the confidence to challenge but most of all be approachable to colleagues and managers and lead by example and act as a role model to others. www.cipd.co.uk/cipd.hr.profession/hr.profession-map/example.map.aspx Activity 2 – Understand customer needs (including examples of 3 different customers and 1 need for each, and explain how you would priorities conflicting needs) Customer Needs It is important that the Serco HR practitioner provides a timely and effective service. Therefore; the he / she must understand each of their customer’s needs and how to prioritise them in accordance to urgency but, also how to manage the customer’s expectation. Table 5:- 3 examples of three customers: needs- Customer Needs Customers’ needs Customers are:- 1. Participants (Learners, Candidates or Students) of the training programme 2. The training development coordinator 3. Line Managers, supervisor of the L&D practitioner practitioners time urgent information regarding training results from training analysis 1. All three customers may need the L&D practitioners time, this need may happen where by the customers may wish to see the Practitioner at the same time. This might cause a conflict where the L&D Manager may have to prioritise which is more important and what needs are to be addressed urgently and which could be handled later 2. The L&D training coordinator and facilitator may need to see urgent information regarding the training from the Lead L&D practitioner. 3. The L&D supervisor may need to see and speak to the L&D practitioner to know whether the training has achieved its intended results from training analysis 2.2:- Effective communication (include: examples of three different communication methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each) Effective Communication The examples of 3 different communication methods together along with the advantages and disadvantages of each are listed below in Table 6:- Communication Methods: Advantages & Disadvantages

Relationships between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

The play â€Å"Macbeth† by William Shakespeare is about cruelty, greediness, and desire of undeserved power. Actually, the main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both representative of the abovementioned qualities. Relationships between Macbeth and his wife are complex and tangled; moreover, they are changing over the play progress. Their relations play important role in the play as they aim at setting necessary atmosphere, creating moods, attitudes and feelings. It is seen that their relations aren’t perfect, though they stay with each other till the end: Macbeth: â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honour'd me of late; and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon†.  Lady Macbeth: â€Å"Was the hope drunk wherein you dress'd yourself? Hath it slept since? And wakes it now, to look so green and pale at what it did so freely? From this time; such I account thy love. Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor; Letting â€Å"I dare not† wait upon â€Å"I would,† Like the poor cat i' the adage?† (Act I, scene II) Apparent disagreement is seen in the family and it continues throughout the play. Lady Macbeth is horrifying in her ruthlessness and cruelty, whereas she calls her husband a coward when he decides not to kill Duncan stressing that his decision is final and shouldn’t be discussed any more. In contrast to Macbeth, his wife is decision and leads everything to the end. She always makes her mind and only then acts. Lady Macbeth is provided with the power of persuasion and we see that she is more powerful than her husband as she convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan and he agrees. So, relations of the couple are based mainly on Lady’s Macbeth will as she is natural leader, whereas he husband is simply executor. Macbeth is presented to listen to his wife in such a way admitting her leadership and intellectual superiority. Nevertheless, their relations are based also on the sense of openness and mutual trust. It is hardly believable that Lady Macbeth talks her husband into murdering a person and their relationships are worsening as the mood of love is replaced by hatred. Macbeth is timid and fearful failing to go on: Macbeth: â€Å"I'll go no more: I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on't again I dare not.† Lady Macbeth: â€Å"Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers: the sleeping and the dead Are but as pictures: 'tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil. If he does bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt†. (Act II, scene II) Nevertheless, their relations are on the peak only when Macbeth becomes a king and they are filled with joy and happiness. They are shown to free of guilt and full of love and desire of more power. They are happily discussing the number of guests from Scotland to be invited to the feast. Their relations are improving and now they are loving family rather than guilty murders. However, there are pure evil, despite they are wrapped up in a luxurious exterior. Premeditated murder is the first step into darkness and Macbeth and his wife have taken in without stopping. As far as they are free of guilt, they are agreeable and happy together. They are both presentation of masculinity in the play. They think if they are happy, their evil would turn around and â€Å"nip them in the butt†. Only after Macbeth experiences a tale of woe, his attitude towards wife is changing. It is evil which comes back and haunts him. Then Lady Macbeth is visited by Banguo, the ghost, who creates the feeling of discomfort and urgency to act: Macbeth: â€Å"Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that which might appall the devil?† Lady Macbeth: â€Å"O proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear: This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said, led you to Duncan. O, these flaws, and starts, – Impostors to true fear,–would well become A woman's story at a winter's fire, Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself! Why do you make such faces? When all's done, you look but on a stool†. (Act III, scene IV) Lady Macbeth supports and defends her husband. When she sees that her husband is ready to reveal everything, she lies to honored guests protecting her secrets. She loves her husband and in her speech we see she is really downcast and uncomfortable, though she is still full of love. Together they are trying to fight against the sense of guilt, the rumors supporting and nourishing their love. There are shown as united and bonded couple and it may seem that evil is succeeding. It is necessary to outline that relationships between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are directly affecting their actions, decisions and behavior. In other words, they are interconnected not only by family ties, but also common secrets. Their relations are the block of the whole play. When they are getting into detailed conversation, they always find mutual decision, though it is not a good one. Macbeth loves his wife and his life is mutual; they always try to please each other. Sometimes they relations are on the peak, though sometimes they meet the flat line. Macbeth is obsessed with greediness and Lady Macbeth is overfilled with desire to make her husband a king. So, their mutual support results in catastrophe for the country of Scotland. In the end we see that Macbeth becomes obsessed with greediness more than his cruel and demon-infested wife. He even doesn’t talk to her making Lady Macbeth commit suicide. Even then the evil in Macbeth is flourishing and he simply doesn’t notice that his beloved woman has gone. Shakespeare shows that Macbeth is on his stairway to the hell collapsing the whole empire built by Duncan. Macbeth is left alone: soldiers and his trust companion abandon him. It seems that Macbeth should feel ashamed and guilty, though he is obsessed with evil. So, desire of power and money splits up their family relations. Evil and darkness appears to be more powerful than love and happiness. Works Cited Damrosch, David. Longman Anthology of World Literature. US: Longman, 2004. Greenblatt, Stephen. Renaissance Self Fashioning: From More to   Shakespeare. US: Chicago Press, 1984. Shakespeare, William. Plays and Poems. London: Spring books, 1966. Taylor, Edward. Literary Criticism of 17th Century England. London: Universe, 2000.               

Final paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 10

Final paper - Essay Example Therefore, in this paper, I will be discussing institutional racism based on stereotypes and how it has come to affect Middle Easterners. I will attempt to make a comparison between past and present treatment of students of Middle Eastern origin in the United States as well as show different places where this type of discrimination might take place. Furthermore, I will discuss how stereotypes of these individuals often affect these individuals in both their public and personal lives based on my own experiences. In the United States, institutional racism has become a part of everyday life for many individuals especially from the Middle East or for those Americans who have origins in this region. In my experience as a student of Middle Eastern origin, institutional racism enforces stereotypes of people from this region without necessarily taking into account their individual differences. I have been faced with many problems during my stay in the United States and this has been based on beliefs by ordinary Americans that because of the way I look, I am a threat to them. There was an instance where after going into a restaurant to get something to eat, I was viewed suspiciously by not only its staff, but the customers as well. Many of these customers actually moved away from the table that I took and despite waiting for a long time, no one seemed to be willing to come to my service. This was within my first few days in the United States and my dreams of this country being a bastion of liberali sm were shattered as I came to realize that the stereotype of Arabs as terrorists had become firmly entrenched in American viewpoint (Oswald 1775). I later came to experience open discrimination at the University of Arizona when attending classes, and this became a trend because whenever I entered a classroom, and took a seat, the students who had been sitting all around me would move away from me and take other seats. Only those who did not seem to have a problem with me or my

The Whiskey Rebellion 1791 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Whiskey Rebellion 1791 - Essay Example Congress agreed and President Washington chose to appoint Henry Knox as the Secretary of War, Thomas Jefferson as the Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton as the Secretary of the Treasury. The appointment of Jefferson and Hamilton would later have a great impact as the two had conflicting views about the future role of the American government. It was Hamilton’s goal and responsibility as Treasurer in this new government to reduce or eliminate the massive debt incurred by the Revolutionary war. Hamilton was a very smart individual. He devised and implemented several strategies in order to reduce the national debt and provide stability to the American economy (Henretta †¦, n.d.). Overall, his policies worked very well and the nation prospered as the debt was paid down. However, his fiscal policies divided the government and the people into distinct groups with opposing political views, those who sided with Hamilton and those who supported Jefferson’s small government views. One of Hamilton’s policies included an excise tax on spirits in order to pay the interest on the national debt. This tax did not sit well with western Pennsylvania distillers whose main source of income was the production and sale of whiskey (Whiskey Rebellion, n.d.).

Financial Performance Comparison Research Proposal

Financial Performance Comparison - Research Proposal Example It should be noted that both of these business organizations are important players in the global pharmaceutical industry. Astrazeneca is involved in the "discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals primarily for the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neuroscience, oncology, respiratory and inflammation, and infection areas in the healthcare sector worldwide" (Astrazeneca Plc Profile 2006). GSK is the major competitor of Astrazeneca as the former engages in the "creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical and consumer health related products worldwide" (GlaxoSmithKline Plc Profile 2006). In comparing the profitability of investing in these pharmaceutical companies, financial ratio analysis will be conducted. Financial ratio analysis is a very essential tool in assessing the financial health of a business entity. It enables a financial analyst to spot trends in a business and to compare it with the performance of similar business enterprises within the same industry. This tool is currently utilized by business managers, investors, creditors, suppliers, and other decision makers in order to determine the financial performance and well being of a business organisation. Financial ratios are grouped into five categories, each showing a different aspect of a company's financial operations. These are profitability ratios, financial leverage ratios, liquidity/solvency ratios, efficiency ratios, and investor ratios. 2.1. Profitability Ratios Profitability ratios measure the ability of the company to generate income from its investments less the costs incurred (Fraser & Ormiston 2004). Return on capital employed is a variant of return on investment. Return on capital employed (ROCE) is a measure how well the company is utilizing its capital. The computed sales profit margin, which is the ratio of operating income to sales measures as a percentage of sales, the excess revenue from sales over cost of normal operation excluding financing. Asset turnover measures the amount of sales generated by every pound in the company's assets. Net profit margin, on the other hand, is the ratio of net income to sales showing the company's ability to efficiently manage cost and turn its revenue into profits (Fraser and Ormiston 2006). Logically, higher performance ratios indicate a healthier financial condition. Table 1. At first look, it becomes apparent that GSK is more profitable than Astrazeneca. GSK reports higher return on capital employed, gross profit margin, and net profit margin from 2003-2005. Astrazeneca only manages to overtake GSK in asset turnover ratio during 2005, implying that the former is more efficient in utilizing its resources to generate revenue. Looking at the ratios more closely, it can also be deduced that even though GSK shows higher profitability than Astrazeneca, this ability to make profits has been significantly declining over the years. From the ROCE of 78.28% in 2003, GSK's performance has slumped attaining an ROCE of 38.06 last year. Gross profit margin and asset turnover have also dropped from 78.28% and 2.48 times to 76

Defining African Religion and Insiders and Outsiders Essay

Defining African Religion and Insiders and Outsiders - Essay Example African theology is highly felt in present day America due to the presence of the African Americans. Most of the religions are an affirmation of the existence of natural law. Natural laws are sets of unwritten laws that place emphasis on morals and obedience. The cultural practices are passed on from one generation to another. Africans practiced their religions before the interference from the white colonialists. At this time, there was no knowledge of factors such as the Holy Trinity or the Bible. Religious practices are geared toward having prosperity, peace and happiness in the community. Each type of religion has a different set of rules that should be followed to the T. lack of commitment to the religion displays disregard for the community. People who are caught committing an offence face a number of punishments which range from minor punishments to cases of exile (Magesa, 1997). Jacob Olupona offers an alternative view of the practice of African religion in most of the African communities. The writer takes a different outlook towards the practices of different communities. The book thus gets its inspiration from countries like South Africa and Nigeria. Despite the difference of locations, the two countries have some common similarities. Some of the similarities are seen in the use of proverbs. Africans value the opinion of the elder members of the society. Most of the proverbs are created by the ancestors and passed on to the offspring’s. The use of proverbs has thus been incorporated into the religions. They act as a way of guidance in that they have moral codes of behavior. The book mentions the importance of rituals in the African community as a whole. Rituals are reserved for several occasions and celebrations in the community. Each celebration has a special ritual which acts as a symbolic example. In the case of religion, Africans dedicate an immense number of rituals to worship.

Management Decision Support System (DSS) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Management Decision Support System (DSS) - Essay Example s this system uses internal sources of information but it also use external sources of information that are vital to the organization for instance reports regarding current stock prices and reports which give competitors information. The fundamental difference between Decision Support System and other information systems is that Decision Support System has more analytical capabilities. It has multiple models to analyze and synchronize large amounts of data. This action of Decision Support System allows decision makers to view the data in a form which allows data to be easily analyzed. This has far reaching consequences because the decision that comes out is more justified and rigorously tested (Sauter, 159). Decision Support System employs interactive and user-friendly software. This software allows the user the luxury to ask multiple questions, modify key assumptions and add new data set into the scenario. Some Decision Support Systems are heavily model drive whereas other Decision Support Systems are model-driven and are focused more on extracting vital information from heaps of data to enable mangers to take effective decisions. It is this very reason why Decision Support Systems are also known as business intelligence systems because these systems focus on helping users to make better business decisions (Laudon and Laudon, 490-505). Since high quality decision making has become imperative for the survival of an organization therefore organizations these days are investing heavily on Decision support systems, more renowned as business intelligence systems. These systems consist of technologies and applications which enable better decision making. Business intelligence systems provide firms with the capabilities to collect large amount of information and using this generated information to develop new knowledge about operations and bring changes in the decision making behavior of people so that they achieve success in achieving profitability target and

Information Systems management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Information Systems management - Research Paper Example expenditure from 10 to 6 billion dollars and development time from 6 to 4 years (Tang &Zimmerman, 2009).Supply chain integration is basically the â€Å"approach of technically linking supply chain of vendors and customers† so as to make sure the â€Å"process is streamlined and to increase efficiency and accuracy.†(Pearlson & Saunders, 2010, p.152).However the final outcome was a complete opposite. As things stand now, apart from the project being in over budget of billions of dollars, it is also behind schedule by 3 years (Steve, 2013). Boeing’s Chief of Commercial Airplanes, Jim Albaugh, explains that they have spent so much more money than anticipated trying to recover than they ever would have used had they tried keeping major technologies nearer home (Steve, 2013). The main problem facing Boeing is shortfall in supplier oversight due to enthusiastic embrace of Integrated Supplier Information System, which allows suppliers to log in a portal, provided by Boeing, and thus need not necessarily meet with Boeing’s main team in US (Steve, 2013). Boeing further, rather than planning for face-to-face basis of communication, or on-site communication relied so much on their information systems with a web-based communications instrument known as Exostar that required suppliers to feed the latest information regarding their work progress (Steve, 2013). This IT equipment was to offer improved control, supply chain visibility as well as integration of important business processes, thus reducing development cost and time (Steve, 2013).Thus, instead of face-to-face kind of communication, the information technology tool was supposed to, in real time, flag problems. Not surprisingly, this technology miserably failed. As a result of this â€Å"remote con trol† outsourcing business, Boeing 787 encountered several Information systems problems that included electrical system faults in addition to battery issues that resulted to the Dreamliner’s grounding (Dominic, 2013). This

SWOT Analysis on Chase Bank Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SWOT Analysis on Chase Bank - Research Paper Example (Funding Universe, 2011) The merger in 2000 cemented the creation of one of the world’s biggest financial concerns. The company’s mission statement is (Company Statements and Slogans, 2011): "At JPMorgan Chase, we want to be the best financial services company in the world. Because of our great heritage and excellent platform, we believe this is within our reach." II. Strengths and Weaknesses One of the greatest strengths of the J. P. Morgan Chase banking line is the vast consumer base. J. P. Morgan Chase is the biggest bank in the United States. (Tully, 2009) The iterative mergers of banks to form this financial behemoth have meant that the infrastructure and access of the J. P. Morgan Chase enterprise is huge. The bank sports total assets of some $2 trillion while the total equity has been placed at $176 billion. (Forbes, 2011) Currently Forbes has declared J P. Morgan Chase as the world’s largest public company. (Forbes, 2011) These facts point to the bankâ₠¬â„¢s stability as a premier finance institution which ensures that it can deal with fiscal shocks in the short and long term. Currently, J. P. Morgan Chase sports branches as well as ATM facilities around the globe. Moreover, J. P. Morgan Chase is effectively present in over 60 countries globally. The number of employees is well over 200,000 globally. This ensures that the bank is connected to multiple markets. Problems in one market cannot force the bank into a corner as it has other outlets. One of the reasons that J. P. Morgan Chase fared better than the competition during the recent economic crunch was because it was present globally. Markets with internal consumption patterns helped J. P. Morgan through the worst. (J. P. Morgan Chase, 2011) On the downside, J. P. Morgan Chase has damaged its reputation over the years. A number of scandals have tarnished the bank’s reputation. In 2002 J. P. Morgan Chase had to pay the United States government some $80 million as fines fo r deceiving investors through biased market research. Similarly, the J. P. Morgan Chase hand in financing Enron caused heavy losses as well as $2 billion in compensation and legal settlements. (Market Watch, 2002) Another instance of consumer’s breach of trust occurred when J. P. Morgan Chase admitted to having overcharged military personnel’s mortgages. Families that had been overcharged and foreclosed were compensated through payments totalling $27 million in 2011. (Mui, 2011) These failures to protect the customers have been repeated over and over and may erode customer base in the longer run. J. P. Morgan Chase needs to review its policies constantly and should rely on consumer feedback extensively to judge the reputation and consequences of policies. Another weakness displayed by J. P. Morgan Chase has been their IT infrastructure. The system has proved to be inadequate to sustain business operations. The cancellation of an outsourcing agreement with IBM caused qu ite a stir. Employees were transferred to IBM’s payrolls which cause massive employee dissatisfaction. New consultants were hired to take the outsourcing bid forward but this caused additional expense and lost time. Productivity at J. P. Morgan Chase was seen to have decreased as well due to IT problems. (Kawamoto, 2004) This problem could be relieved by letting a large IT corporation such as IBM, Microsoft etc. deal

How P&G Brought the Diaper Revolution to China Essay Example for Free

How PG Brought the Diaper Revolution to China Essay When Procter Gamble set out to sell Pampers in China more than a decade ago, it faced a daunting marketing challenge: PG didn’t just have to persuade parents that its diapers were the best. It had to persuade many of them that they needed diapers at all. The disposable diaper — a throwaway commodity in the West — just wasn’t part of the cultural norm in the Chinese nursery. Babies wore cloth diapers, or in many cases, no diaper at all. And that, says Bruce Brown, who’s in charge of PG’s $2 billion RD budget, is why China presented — and still presents — such a huge opportunity. Today, after years of exhaustive research and plenty of missteps, Pampers is the No. 1-selling diaper in China and the company, in many ways, is just getting started there. The diaper market in China is booming. It stands at $1. 4 billion — roughly a quarter the size of the U. S. market — and is projected to grow 40 percent over the next few years, according to research firm Datamonitor. PG’s success in China has helped CEO Bob McDonald set some bold goals. Last October, he laid out a plan to add one billion customers over the next five years by promoting PG brands throughout some of the poorest corners of the world. How will PG go about doing that? To get a sense, just look at the way it cracked — and to a large degree created — the market for disposable diapers in China. Learning From Failure When PG first launched Pampers in China in 1998, the effort flopped. Instead of developing a unique product for the market, PG made a lower-quality version of U. S. and European diapers, wrongly assuming that parents would buy them if they were cheap enough. â€Å"It just didn’t work,† Brown says. Chinese split-pants, or kaidangku. Photo by The Wus Photo Land on Flickr It didn’t help that Chinese families had always gotten along just fine without disposable diapers. There, potty training often begins as early as six months, and children wear what’s called kaidangku — colorful open-crotch pants that let them squat and relieve themselves in open areas. Pampers’ pitch wasn’t compelling people to try something new — and neither was the product itself. â€Å"We scrimped on the softness in the earlier versions,† says Kelly Anchrum, director of global baby care, external relations, and sustainability. â€Å"It had a more plasticky feel. It took us awhile to figure out that softness was just as important to moms in a developing market. † PG had tried a similarly watered-down approach earlier in the decade, when it launched laundry and hair-care brands in several emerging markets. Those products also failed, Brown says. After these experiences, the company in 2001 came up with a new approach to product development: â€Å"Delight, don’t dilute. † In other words, the diaper needed to be cheap, but it also had to do what other cheap diapers didn’t — keep a baby dry for 10 hours and be as comfortable as cloth. So PG added softness, dialed down the plastic feel, and increased the absorption capability of the diaper. To bring down the cost, the company developed more efficient technology platforms and moved manufacturing operations to China to eliminate shipping costs. The revamped diaper, Pampers Cloth Like Dry, hit retail shelves in China’s largest cities in 2006, selling for the equivalent of 10 cents in local currency, less than half the cost of a Pampers diaper in the United States. The Universal Pitch PG had the right diaper and the right price point. Now it faced the bigger challenge. â€Å"You have to convince someone that they need this thing,† says Ali Dibadj, an analyst who covers PG at Sanford C. Bernstein Co. For Frances Roberts, global brand franchise leader for Pampers, every trip to China was (and still is) an opportunity to learn more about Chinese nursery habits. It’s part of the PG ethos that brand leaders visit consumers in their own homes — something Roberts has done in dozens of countries, including Germany, Russia, and Jakarta. The goal is to uncover the nuances of each market, and early on in its diaper research PG discovered a universal need. â€Å"Moms say the same things over and over,† Roberts says. Their cry: We want more sleep. With the help of the Beijing Children’s Hospital’s Sleep Research Center, PG researchers conducted two exhaustive studies between 2005 and 2006, involving 6,800 home visits, and more than 1,000 babies throughout eight cities in China. Instead of cloth, the research subjects were tucked into bed with Pampers. The results: PG reported that the babies who wore the disposables fell asleep 30 percent faster and slept an extra 30 minutes every night. The study even linked the extra sleep to improved cognitive development, a compelling point in a society obsessed with academic achievement. PG then put its marketing machine into motion. Pampers launched the â€Å"Golden Sleep† campaign in 2007, which included mass carnivals and in-store campaigns in China’s biggest urban areas. A viral campaign on the Pampers Chinese web site asked parents to upload photos of their sleeping babies to drive home the study’s sleep message. The response was impressive: 200,000 photos, which PG used to create a 660-square-meter photomontage at a retail store in Shanghai. The ad campaign boasted â€Å"scientific† results, such as â€Å"Baby Sleeps with 50% Less Disruption† and â€Å"Baby Falls Asleep 30% Faster. No diaper brand, not even rival Kimberly-Clark, maker of Huggies, has come close to spending as much on advertising in China, according to CTR Market Research, the China-based division of American media researcher TNS Media Intelligence. Since 2006, Pampers’ measured media spend topped 3. 2 billion yuan, or about $476 million — more than three times as much as any other brand. In 2009 alone, PG spent $69 million, compared to Kimberly-Clark’s $12 million spend for Huggies. Ruling the Nursery — in China and Around the World Today, Pampers is the top-selling brand in China, a country where about a decade ago the disposable diaper category hardly existed. PG does not release sales figures for specific countries, but Datamonitor estimates that the company has captured more than 30 percent of the $1. 4 billion market. Karl Gerth, an Oxford professor who researches the spread of consumerism in China, says PG’s marketing campaigns strike the right tone. â€Å"You don’t want to come off as paternalistic,† says Gerth, who wrote the book â€Å"China Made: Consumer Culture and the Creation of the Nation. â€Å"The idea that Pampers brings a scientific backing and gives children an edge in their environment — that’s a brilliant way to stand out from the competition. † You could argue that it’s easy being No. 1 when the market is still small. But PG still has a lot of work to do. The company faces challenges from private-label and domestic brands, including the No. 2 market leader, Hengan International Group, which has steadily grown its market share to 20 percent. Local brands, meantime, are catching up with better products, marketing, and distribution. Chinese consumers are going to want to root for the home team,† Gerth says. And there’s still the challenge of making disposables a habit. On average, diaper use still amounts to less than one a day. â€Å"We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface [in China],† Dimitri Panayotopoulos, vice chairman of global household care, told investors in a 2008 analyst meeting. There’s even bigger potential in India, where the birth rate is almost double that of China but the diaper market remains tiny at about $43. 4 million. (Pampers is the top-selling brand there, too. So now, PG plans to take the sleep argument throughout rural and poor areas in India and elsewhere. The company also makes its case by positioning itself as a baby-care educator. Pampers sponsors healthcare-outreach programs such as a rural immunization program in China and mobile medical-care vans in Pakistan and Morocco. In India, there’s a door-to-door program that offers baby-care tips and diaper samples for moms. Of course, PG tweaks the sales pitch to fit different markets; that’s what the company is known for. In India, for instance, the convenience of disposable diapers doesn’t resonate with parents. The company’s consumer research found that many Indian mothers think that only lazy moms put their babies in disposable diapers that last a full night. As Pampers brand manager Vidya Ramachandran reported in an internal video shown to employees, â€Å"We really had to change that mindset and educate [mothers] that using a diaper is not about convenience for you — it’s about your baby’s development. †