Worship and Ritual in Christianity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Worship and Ritual in Christianity - Essay Example The Bible is the Holy Book Christians use to worship and has been used as the guide to everyday life. There are rituals and festivals that mark the manner in which Christians praise God (Pecklers 65). These rituals trade back to the festivities that are seen in the Bible, and to this day, many individuals still uphold the practices. However, not many people view these rituals as a way of worship. They see it is primitive and empty. Some go as far as suggesting that there is no Supreme Being to worship. This paper, however, will examine worship and rituals that mark the Christian faith, and why it is vital to live believing in something. Empty ritualism is the process of undergoing, or performing a ritual while there is the absence of sincerity or genuine meaning. A lot of this happens in many areas as individuals believe that they are doing this to fall in God’s favour. This, to a large number of people, is what is called ritualism (White 61). It is usually done to recover som e sense of religious feeling that was once lost. This is not condoned in modern Christian settings as it gives off a feeling of worship being violated. Whenever the pattern of worship is violated, people know that the design meant for ritual is not being followed. This gives the religion a terrible reputation among other religions that exist. Christians pride themselves with the thought of their religion being superior to other existent religions. They, therefore, follow most of the rituals in the Bible strictly so as to abide by the ways of truth. In the Holy Book, the New Testament ways are chosen over the Old Testament ways. This shows that some of the rituals that were once carried out; need no longer be carried out after the coming of Christ. He came to shed light on how Christians could live without some of the old traditions that ruled their lives (White 64). As such, modern day Christians follow the New Testament to guide them in everyday life. That is why; sacrifices and bu rnt offerings are not part of the rituals Christians carry out in modern time. They, however, still observe some of the rituals in the Bible. As with any religion, there are bound to be groups that choose to do things differently. This is according to how they view and comprehend the Bible. This is probably why there are diverse groups of the Christian religion, which choose to be different from others. This is through the way and manner of worship, and conducting of their rituals. All these groups view the other as a pervasion of the real Christian religion. What they do not seem to realise is that all these groups serve the same purpose, and the same God (White 76). Christians worship throughout the week, and the year. Even though, the styles of worship differ in all the denominations present, the services, worship ceremonies, and rituals, hold extraordinary meaning to Christians. Christians believe that the church is the dwelling place of God. This is where they conduct their ser vices. Many of the believers worship on Sunday as they believe it is the Sabbath, the day that Jesus rested. Others, for example, the Seventh Day Adventist, believe that Saturday is the blessed day. This does not make them any less Christian than the Catholics, who are considered the foundation on which Christianity is built. There is the use of art and decoration in these diverse denominations (White 76). The use of arts and decorations vary as they stand for different meaning and symbolism in these places of worship. They, however, serve the purpose of praising and worshiping God wherever they are used. Some of the ancient customs and traditions that are connected to Jesus are still practiced in

Leadership Style and Performance Essay Example for Free

Leadership Style and Performance Essay An overview of the topic of leadership styles summarizes that the existing studies on how performance is affected by leadership style is separated into important phases. Early studies on leadership (frequently categorized as ‘trait’ studies on leadership) concentrated on identifying the personality traits which characterized successful leaders (Argyris, 1955; Mahoney et al. , 1960). According to them successful leaders are ‘naturally born’ and those they have certain native characteristics which distinguish them from non-leaders (see Stodgill, 1948). However, there was significant difficulty in validating these characteristics led to widespread criticism of this trait approach, signaling the emergence of ‘style’ and ‘behavioral’ approaches to leadership (Stodgill, 1948). Style and behavioral theorists shifted the emphasis away from the characteristics of the leader to the behavior and style the leader adopted. The primry conclusion of these studies is that adoption of democratic or participative styles by leaders are more successful (see, for example, Bowsers and Seashore, 1966). In this sense, these early studies are focused on identifying the ‘one best way of leading’. Similarly to trait theories, the major weakness of style and behavioral theories is the ignorance of how important role situational factors play in determining the effectiveness of individual leaders (Mullins, 1999). It is this limitation that gives rise to the ‘situational’ and ‘contingency’ theories of leadership (for example, Fiedler, 1967; House, 1971; Vroom and Yetton, 1974) which shift the emphasis away from ‘the one best way to lead’ to context-sensitive leadership. Although each study emphasizes the importance of different factors, the general tenet of the situational and contingency perspectives is that leadership effectiveness is dependent on the leader’s diagnosis and understanding of situational factors, followed by the adoption of the appropriate style to deal with each circumstance. However, recent studies on leadership have contrasted ‘transactional’ leadership with ‘transformational’. Transactional leaders are said to be ‘instrumental’ and frequently focus on exchange relationship with their subordinates. In contrast, transformational leaders are argued to be visionary and enthusiastic, with an inherent ability to motivate subordinates. Although the brief summary above indicates that research into leadership has gone through periods of skepticism, recent interest has focused on the importance of the leadership role to the success of organizations. Fiedler (1996), one of the most respected researchers on leadership, has provided a recent treatise on the importance of leadership by arguing that the effectiveness of a leader is a major determinant of the success or failure of a group, organization or even an entire country. It has been argued that one way in which organizations have sought to cope with the increasing volatility and turbulence of the external environment is by training and developing leaders and equipping them with the skills to cope. These claims are based on the assumption of a direct link between leadership and organizational performance. This assumption requires critical review. Widely celebrated cases of a direct leadership–performance link may be found in numerous anecdotal accounts of improvements of company performance attributed to changes in leadership (see, for example, Nicholls, 1988; Quick, 1992; Simms, 1997). However, empirical studies into the links between leadership and performance have been lacking. One notable exception is the detailed study of the impact of leadership on performance in the somewhat surprising context of Icelandic fishing ships. Thorlindsson (1987) suggests that variations in the performance of different fishing ships, under identical conditions, can be accounted for by the leadership skills of captains. Over a three-year period, Thorlindsson revealed that the leadership qualities of the ship captains accounted for 35 to 49 per cent of variation in the catch of different crews. Other studies which examine the links between leadership and performance coincide with the re-emergence of the ‘one best way to lead’ debate. Of particular relevance is the resurgence of interest into charismatic leadership, which is frequently referred to as transformational leadership (Bass and Avolio, 1993). A number of researchers theorize that transformational leadership is linked to organizational performance. Conceptually, it is argued that the visionary and inspirational skills of transformational leaders motivate followers to deliver superior performance. In summary, much of the above evidence presented as supporting the claim of a leadership–performance link is anecdotal and frequently over-concentrates on the ‘transformational’ role of leaders in corporate successes. It would appear that few studies have responded to the observation of Porter and Mckibbin (1988) that much of the research reported as supporting this claim is either inconclusive or empirically suspect. The limited or inconclusive character of research findings in this area suggests the need to investigate further the nature of the relationship between leadership and performance. Several different categories of leadership paradigms have been suggested by various researchers. For example, Bass (1985) stated that there are four dimensions of transformational leadership, three dimensions of transactional leadership, and a non-leadership dimension of laissez-faire leadership (Bass, 1985). Avery (2004) suggested categorizing leadership into four leadership paradigms, while Goleman (1995) prefers six leadership paradigms. Despite Bass’s (1985) model being acclaimed as making a major contribution to leadership, his theory has been criticized for various reasons (Yukl, 1999). One criticism is that his model overemphasizes the importance of one or two leadership paradigms (e. g. transactional and visionary), omitting the classical and organic paradigms Bass asserts that visionary (transformational) leaders are nearly always more effective than transactional leaders, but others (e. g. Judge and Piccolo, 2004; Wallace, 1997) dispute this. While this in itself does not invalidate the concept of visionary leadership, Bass attributes more to visionary (transformational) leadership than perhaps he should. As Avery (2004) suggested, both transactional and visionary leadership are valid forms of leadership, but visionary leadership may be applicable more broadly, including in situations where there are insufficient resources for the manager to rely on supplying external rewards (Judge and Piccolo, 2004), or where the situation is complex and ambiguous, and relies strongly on follower knowledge and commitment. Avery suggests that there are other situations in which transactional leadership is the appropriate form of leadership, such as when followers are unwilling or unable to commit to the leader’s vision. In contrast with Bass’s (1985) model, Avery’s (2004) paradigms provide a broad basis allowing for different forms of leadership that have evolved at different times and in different places. The paradigms are useful for showing that there is no single best way of thinking about leadership, rather that different kinds of leadership reflect social and historical roots. Avery’s paradigms allow leadership to depend on the context, respond to organizational needs and preferences, and involve many interdependent factors that can be manipulated (Bryman, 1992; Shamir and Howell, 1999; Yukl, 1999). Avery (2004) proposes 13 indices to differentiate between her four paradigms: classical, transactional, visionary, and organic. The nine indices included in this review are decision making, range of staff’s power, power distance between leader and the staff, key player of the organization, source of staff’s commitment, staff’s responsibility, situation of management and leadership in the organization, situation of diversity in the organization and situation of control in the organization. These nine criteria are considered more relevant for differentiating the four leadership paradigms than the other four criteria. Each paradigm is discussed in turn, including the distinguishing characteristics using the above nine criteria. Classical leadership is probably the oldest paradigm with its origins in antiquity, and is still used in contemporary organizations (Avery, 2004). This paradigm reflected the prevailing view in the business literature until the 1970s when the human relations movement led to more of a focus on followers and their environment. According to Avery (2004), classical leadership refers to dominance by a pre-eminent person or an ‘elite’ group of people. This leadership can either be coercive or benevolent or a mixture of both. This happens because the elite individual or group commands or maneuvers other members to act towards a goal, which may or may not be explicitly stated. The other members of the society or organization typically adhere to the directives of the elite leader, do not openly question their directives, and execute orders largely out of fear of the consequences of not doing so, or out of respect for the leader, or both (Avery, 2004). Classical leadership has some limitations. The first occurs where the leader cannot command and control every action, particularly as situations become more complex and beyond the capacity of one person; or when additional commitment from followers is needed to get a job done, such as in reacting to changing circumstances; or when ideas about leadership change and followers no longer accept domination, or follower commitment starts to wane for other reasons. Another limitation is that this paradigm often relies on the idea of a ‘great person’, implying that only a select few are good enough to exercise initiative, and this belief can encourage followers to deskill themselves nd idealize the leaders. Followers then seek and hold little power, leave the leader accountable for organizational outcomes, and make relatively little contribution to the organization (Avery, 2004). According to the nine distinguishing indicators, under the classical leadership paradigm leaders normally use an autocratic style for making decisions, involving followers in the decision making process never or very little; they do not empower followers. Followers have almost no power in the organization and as classical leaders tend to be highly directive, followers can be unskilled. The source of followers’ commitment comes from their fear of or respect for the leaders; the technical system becomes more regulating; the operations in the organization become more routine and predictable; and the organization is highly controlled by the leaders (Avery, 2004). A transaction or exchange process is the basis of the commonly employed transactional leadership paradigm (Evans and Dermer, 1974; House and Mitchell, 1974). The transactional leader recognizes subordinates’ needs and desires, and then clarifies how those needs and desires will be met in exchange for subordinates’ work. By clarifying what is required of subordinates and the consequences of their behaviors, transactional leaders are able to build confidence in subordinates to exert the necessary effort to achieve expected levels of performance. According to Judge and Piccolo (2004), three dimensions of transactional leadership are contingent reward, management by exception-active, and management by exception-passive. Contingent reward is the degree to which the leader sets up constructive transactions or exchanges with followers. The leader clarifies expectations and establishes the rewards for meeting these expectations. In general, management by exception is the degree to which the leader takes corrective action on the basis of results of leader-follower transactions (Judge and Piccolo, 2004). As noted by Howell and Avolio (1993), the difference between management by exception-active and management by exception-passive lies in the timing of the leader’s intervention. Active leaders monitor follower behavior, anticipate problems, and take corrective actions before the behavior creates serious difficulties. Passive leaders wait until the behavior has created problems before taking action (Howell and Avolio, 1993; Judge and Piccolo, 2004). According to Avery (2004, p. 34), under the transactional leadership paradigm, leaders adopt a consultative style for making decisions. They engage in different degrees of consultation with individual followers, but the leaders remain the final decision-makers. Leaders do not very often empower followers, and followers have very low power in the organization apart from being able to withdraw from or contribute more of their labor. Compared with classical leadership, under transactional leadership the source of followers’ commitment comes from the rewards, agreements, and expectations negotiated with the leader rather than from their fear of, or respect for, the classical leader. The technical system becomes more regulating, the operations in the organization become more routine and predictable, and the organization is mostly highly controlled by the leaders. Avery (2004) argues that under transactional leadership, the followers’ knowledge base can be somewhat higher than under classical leadership. Compared with classical leaders, transactional leaders require staff somewhat more skilled on specific tasks. In the last three decades, visionary (transformational, charismatic) leadership has received increasing attention (Bass, 1985, 1998; Burns, 1978; Conger and Kanungo, 1987; House, 1977). It added a new dimension to organizational studies, namely the visionary aspect of leadership and the emotional involvement of employees within an organization. The basic notion is that a visionary leader can create an impression that he or she has high competence and a vision to achieve success. Subordinates are expected to respond with enthusiasm and commitment to the leadership objectives, and may be recruited because they share the vision. Bass (1985, 1998) developed a theory of visionary or transformational leadership whereby the leader inspires and activates subordinates to perform beyond normal expectations. According to Avery (2004), visionary leadership has limitations, even with the current literature’s overwhelmingly positive view of it. Nadler and Tuschman (1990) pointed out that the unrealistic expectations followers often place on visionary leaders can create disappointment if things do not work out. Followers can become dependent on visionary leaders, believing that the leader has everything under control. Also, innovation can be inhibited if people become reluctant to disagree with a visionary leader. Avery (2004, p. 39) distinguishes the visionary leadership paradigm from the other three paradigms as follows. First, leaders employ a collaborative style for making decisions. They share problems with their followers and seek consensus before the leaders make the final decision. Visionary leaders empower their followers, giving followers a much higher level of power in the organization than classical and transactional leadership. This is essential because the leader needs the followers’ input and commitment to realize his or her goals. Followers of visionary leadership need sufficient power to work autonomously towards a shared vision. The source of followers’ commitment comes from the influence of the leaders’ charisma and/or the shared vision, the technical system becomes still more complex, operations become more uncertain and unpredictable, and the organization is jointly controlled by the leaders and their followers. Regarding the followers’ knowledge base, visionary leadership requires skilled and knowledgeable workers who are attracted to, and share the leader’s vision, and can contribute to realizing the vision. The fourth paradigm, organic leadership, is relatively new to organizational studies. Recently introduced by Drath (2001) and expanded by Avery (2004), organic leadership is likely to blur the formal distinction between leaders and followers. This paradigm relies on reciprocal actions, where team members work together in whatever roles of authority and power they may have, not based on position power (Hirschhorn, 1997; Raelin, 2003; Rothschild and Whitt, 1986). Employees become interacting partners in determining what makes sense, how to adapt to change, and what is a useful direction. Rather than relying on one leader, organic organizations are likely to have many leaders. Multiple leaders are valuable because as people cope with heterogeneous and dynamic environments, the knowledge and issues become too complicated for only a few leaders to understand (Avery, 2004). Organic leadership allows for people with different degrees of expertise on current issues to emerge and be accepted by the group as leaders. In addition, under organic leadership, there may be no formal leaders and the interaction of all organizational members can act as a form of leadership, held together by a shared vision, values, and a supporting culture. Under this paradigm where an organization has no formal leadership structure, an integrator role may emerge to actively link together the many parts of the organization (Avery, 2004). The emphasis is on emerging leadership rather than on people being appointed to leadership positions. However, Kanter (1989) argued that the downside of organic leadership that advocates autonomy, freedom, discretion and authorization may result in loss of control and greatly increased uncertainty. It is important to recognize that organic leadership is about generating a form of self-control and self-organization, where people have a clear sense of purpose and autonomy within a particular context (Meindl, 1998). This idealized organic leadership paradigm requires differentiating from classical, transactional, and visionary leadership concepts by not relying on formal leaders. Furthermore, the enterprise has to trust in the capacity of its members to solve problems and make decisions in the interests of the organization. This idea clearly relies upon self-leading organizational members (Avery, 2004). According to Avery’s (2004, p. 39) distinguishing characteristics, under organic leadership an organization adopts a mutual agreement style for making decisions. Decisions need not be unanimous but can be based on consensus. The members have a high degree of power as a result of this shared leadership. Accountability and responsibility are shared as well. The source of followers’ commitment is based on the values and visions shared by all the members in the organization; a strong, shared culture; a technical system that is highly complex; operations in the organic organization become more self-organizing and unpredictable; formal control is provided by peer pressure and group dynamics, and a shared culture, vision, and values. Members are self-managing. Organic leadership seems particularly appropriate for professional and knowledge workers in dynamic, chaotic situations. This leadership paradigm relies on attracting and retaining highly trained and knowledgeable staff with self-controlling capabilities.

Juvenile Delinquent Gangs :: essays research papers

Juvenile Delinquent Gangs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a kid I could remember walking to school every day. While on the way to school there was always a group of kids sanding outside of the school walking away. These kids dressed differently and they all whore the same type of clothes. It wasn’t until years later that I was told to stay away from them because they were gangsters. They were gangsters that caused problems to the community. These gangsters would go up to kids and try and jump them into their gang. For them the more members they had the more â€Å"territory they had.† One problem that major cities around the world have is gangs. Most of these gangs are made up of many juvenile delinquents looking for trouble. These gangs tend to hang out in certain places and claim it as their territory. Many of the gang members are drawn together by similar interests, and are brought up in similar neighborhoods. The Social Disorganization Perspective   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The social disorganization perspective follows the substance users to their living era and environment. Social disorganization perspective examines why individuals more from one environment to another and how they struggle to adjust to new environment, and how they are lured or forced into substance user, deviance, or criminal activity in the face of difficulty from the new environment or due to their individual maladjustments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other hand it studies how a particular environment causes stress, disillusion, and disorders among individuals who live in it, and why substance abuse, deviance, crime, and other social problems tend to increase in a time when or in a place where change occurs abruptly Social Class Most of the gang members that have been reported come from the lower social economical class. When these kids are out in the streets they have nothing better to do so they begin go commit delinquent behavior. Since these economically challenged kids have no money to go anywhere they tend to hang round their neighbor hood. These kinds of groups encourage each other to commit criminal activity. Since they feel that if one does it all of them can do it too. Drugs According to the social disorganization perspective gang members do drugs because they are forced into a substance. Drug offences are a common substance that is used and abused in gangs. Most people and kids that do drugs are because of peer pressure. Others reasons why gang members do drugs are because the environment that they are in forces the to do drugs to fit in.

Philosophical Anthropology Essays -- Philosophy Essays

Philosophical Anthropology ABSTRACT: Philosophers cannot avoid addressing the question of whether philosophical anthropology (that is, specifically philosophical inquiry about human nature and human phenomenon) is possible. Any answer must be articulated in the context of the nature and function of philosophy. In other words, philosophical anthropology must be defined as an account of the nature of the subject of philosophical thinking. I argue that if philosophical thinkers admit that they are beings in nature, culture, and history, then the possibility of a uniquely philosophical theory of human nature and human phenomenon should be discarded. Rather, philosophy's catalytic and integrative role in human cognition should be stressed. Anthropological interests on the part of philosophers can be explained on different levels. Since thinking in general is reflective, philosophical thinkers must naturally be interested in understanding the nature of humans, which they themselves are, including the nature of their own thinking. But non-philosophical theorists can also be reflective enough to seek an understanding of human nature and the nature of their characteristic thinking. On a deeper level, with their realization that cognitive functions including philosophical thinking are characteristically human, philosophers may come to reflect upon how such functions are conditioned by human conditions. But such conditions can be addressed by empirical sciences as well, sometimes with greater methodological care or seriousness than can be found among some philosophers, as in cognitive psychology or cultural anthropology. If, in the course of the development of philosophy as a discipline, human experience becomes the primary thematic ... ...y is partly explainable by different influences from outside philosophy. The juxtaposition and comparison of, for instance, the views of Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Marx and Nietzsche on human nature should make us despair of finding a philosophical essence of anthropological views. The distinct contribution that philosophy as a discipline can make to the understanding of humans is not so much special content or even a method as its ethos of valuing critical thinking and integration of human knowledge. Philosophical anthropology, as a special area of a unique discipline, should be held suspect. There only is a dimension to each inquiry where many, if not all, of the questions philosophers raise are significant. The mission of philosophy is to make all human inquiries, including the anthropological, maximally reflective in the given cultural situation.

An exploration of the theme of Deception, good or bad in ‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (William Shakespeare)’ and ‘THE ROVER (Aphra Behn)’

Deception, â€Å"the quality of being fraudulent†1 or†to cause to accept as true or valid what is false and invalid†2 is a major theme in both plays ‘Much Ado about Nothing' and ‘The Rover'. However there is a certain dichotomy for deception here as it is both malign and benign, intentionally good and intentionally bad. Another proof of this is that the two plays are comedies meaning some deceptions have got to be taken lightheartedly and blithely. These are shown in Benedick and Beatrice's gulling and Lucetta's gypping of Blunt aided by Sancho and Philippo. There are two main comic deceptions in Much Ado these are benign and harmless to the people they are directed against. When Claudio professes his love for Hero to Pedro who strangely, immediately offers his help to woo her for him, he at first sounds too eager to help his friend (as if he has something else in mind) but we soon learn his intentions are well meant. â€Å"I will assume thy part in some disguise, and tell fair Hero I am Claudio and in her bosom I'll unclasp my heart and take her hearing prisoner with the force †¦Ã¢â‚¬ 3 This of course acts as an introduction to the theme of deception and shows us, the audience how easy and tolerated deception is in the world of Messina .It shows how easy it is to control a person's life and manipulate anyone's feelings. This is reflected in the second example of the benevolent plans set by the characters; the gulling or tricking of the two, presumably past lovers, Benedick and Beatrice. This deception can be seen as a â€Å"white lie†4 .The two characters are tricked by a larger group of characters including the respectable and estimable Leonato whose involvement is one of the main reasons the gulling was successful: â€Å"I should think this is a gull but that white bearded fellow speaks it†5 This underlines that no character in Shakespeare's world or in Messina is above deception. A better example of this is the Friar's plan to deceive the prince and Claudio â€Å"Your daughter here the princes†¦, let her awhile be secretly kept in, and publish it that she is dead indeed†6 This shows that even a high-ranked holy/spiritual person could turn to deception. This is actually another example of deception with good intent. The Friar deceives the princes to change the nasty accusations for sorrow and make everyone pity her and remember all her civilities and people will see her loveliness as more precious after she has gone. Examples of deception in the rover include: Pedro's deception of his father's orders for Florida to marry don vincentio and instead finds her a better suitor, Antonio who turns out to be an even worse suitor for going behind Pedro's back to court Angelica, this causes them to fight and drives the two into a duel where Antonio yet again deceives Pedro by sending in Bellville to fight in his place. Bellville sees this as an opportunity to get Florinda, deceptively in Antonio's name â€Å"this minute let me make Florinda mine†7 and expectantly, Willmore blows Belville's cover and ruins their plan. The tricking of Beatrice and Benedick is shown in two of the most comic scenes in the whole play, these scenes are also the best examples of deception in the play and this goes to show that a lighthearted or benign deception is very possible in Messina. It underlines the fact that deceit can be useful and can bring two people together even if its â€Å"one of Hercules' labours†8. Beatrice and Benedick's scam can be used as a mirror for the gulling of blunt in ‘The Rover' but not in the sense that it brings two people together or in the sense that it ends happily but in the comic sense, it is the funniest scene in the play and so reflects that deception if taken lightheartedly can be benign or harmless. There are also examples of harmful deceptions which create the dark and ugly side of the world of Messina, the main catalyst for this is of course the Prince's half brother, Don John. One critic9 blames his evilness on jealousy and/or the bitter resentment of a society â€Å"that looks down on those like him who are conceived out of wedlock† I personally believe he is just a typical villain, â€Å"mere, unmixed evil†, an â€Å"ill-conditioned, base and tiresome scoundrel†10 created by Shakespeare for the audience to hate and fear. Don John's intentions are completely and utterly malefic. He tries to talk Claudio into thinking Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself- â€Å"I heard him swear his affection† in the masked ball. The audience is not so sure whether this is true or not since Don Pedro was very eager to get Hero for Claudio earlier but we soon learn Don John was simply being the scoundrel he is. One thing that can be noted is Don John's deceptive tongue or his ability to persuade many or most of the other characters in the play easily. This is also true for Willmore in ‘The Rover'. He woos Angelica Bianca and gets her to sleep with him even though she was infuriated by him minutes earlier for taking down her picture; he turns it against her and rails at her for seducing him and all the other poor men who cannot afford her. He also leads her to deceive herself and Moretta's soliloquy in this scene illustrates the extent to which Angelica has â€Å"lost† herself and her career which is â€Å"the fate of most whores†11 in her opinion. There is a certain parallel or mirrored idea in the two plays. Balthasar's song12 is of course echoed throughout Much Ado, it is around deception it speaks, or the deceptive nature of men. This is mirrored through Wilmore's defensive comment after being accused of cheating on Angelica he said â€Å"For I never heard of a mortal man, that has not broke a thousand vows†13. In another sense deception can be used to show who is boss, or to show off someone's authority. For example the Prince of Aragon immediately marks his territory in Messina by grabbing the first opportunity he could, and that is through wooing Hero. By wooing Hero for Claudio he showed that he was the dominator or leader figure. Don Pedro also does that with Beatrice and Benedick and he succeeds in creating his â€Å"mountain of affection†14 and proof for this is that the pair are lovesick for one another. It is when Leonato falls under Pedro and Claudio's side against his own daughter' that we see the effects of the dominance Pedro gained from his earlier deceptions. Even though Leonato has seen Pedro's deceptive nature in action he still follows him: â€Å"Would the two princes lie, and Claudio lie, who loved her so, that speaking of her foulness, washed it with tears? Hence from her, let her die†15 The audience here would feel compassionate to Leonato. He is trapped and does not know who to believe but shortly falls on the Prince and Claudio's side since the idea of the Princes lying is inconceivable to him. Lying was considered a much more serious offence in that time than it is nowadays;†it was a diabolical trick because Satan told Eve lies in the Garden of Eden, causing her to sin.†16 This is another type of deception the play talks about, deceptive reputations. The prince, Claudio and Leonato are Shakespeare's idea of the perfect gentlemen but they all seem to make up their decisions and take drastic measures to regain their â€Å"honour† almost immediately without any real tangible proof of Hero's crime â€Å"I stand dishonoured, that have gone about to link my dear friend to a common stale.† 17 Another example of deception we encounter in the plays is deception between friends. Benedick in a sense deceives his friends in breaking the â€Å"patriarchal code of friendship†. This is quite shocking since he has known his friends longer than any of the people in Messina. Beatrice asks the messenger in a pun â€Å"a good soldier to a lady, but what is he to a lord?†18 .A Shakespearean audience would find this repugnant and not the appropriate behavior for a gentleman. Bonds between men, especially ones that were formed in war, were especially valuable and tight-knit in the Elizabethan era. This is also mirrored in ‘The Rover, the cavaliers, almost one by one sell Don Pedro out by marrying his sisters and Valeria(their cousin) .Even though they are old friends, the cavaliers deceive Pedro, their friend for a woman. Some critics have argued that â€Å"distrust of women is the basis of all male bonds†19 this is true in ‘The Rover'; Fredrick warns Bel lville of Florinda's intentions when she gave him the note with the instructions to meet her: â€Å"Have a care, sir, what you promise; this may be a trap laid by her brother to ruin you†20 The cavalier's initial distrust of women is as clear as Benedick's initial misogynistic view of them. When Lucetta is introduced to Blunt all the men knew she was out to trick him, â€Å"cheat him of all, then have him well-favourly banged, and turned out naked at midnight†. They, however do not warn Blunt but instead get a front row seat to watch the humiliation of their friend begin. There are many instances of self-deception in both plays actually. For example Benedick and Beatrice undergo a huge change in perspective after their gulling. Both fall helplessly in love with each other even though they were self-declared heretics of love. Beatrice says she will not love a man until â€Å"man be made from some other metal than earth†21 and Benedick claims he will die a bachelor and will not be â€Å"converted and see with (the) eyes (of love)† only if he met the perfect woman which, as he describes, is quite an impossible scenario. It is important to note Shakespeare's placement of this scene exactly before the one with the deception so we can contrast the two views, before and after the deception. The difference is crystal clear, Beatrice says â€Å"Benedick, love on. I will requite thee†22and that â€Å"(her) kindness shall incite (him) to bind (their) loves up in a holy band†23. Benedick says that he â€Å"will be horribly in love with her†24 and that when he said he would rather die a bachelor than fall in love (the scene before) he didn't think he would live until he was married. We notice the same with Wilmore from The Rover. His whole life got turned around in the last scene with Helena when she convinced him to marry her and putting his past perpetually-amorous life behind him. He forgets his old ways and he is no longer the sexed up â€Å"Father Captain†25 who tries to rape Florinda†¦twice and is continuously rejected by almost every female character in the play! His promise which is â€Å"the bargain is now made†26 is his everlasting goodbye to women and a welcome mat to the woman. He is completely self-deceived. Another similar example is Fredrick: at the beginning of the play we feel he has an unnatural distrust in women. He seems to warn every one of his friends about women, he even tries to get in on the action when Blunt tries to rape Florinda†¦a barbarous revenge. Claudio also deceives himself into believing he is in love with Hero when really he has not even met her. He falls in love with her because of his esteemed first impression of her and mainly because she looks like a pure, good virgin which was considered of great importance in Elizabethan England, a girls honour was entirely based on her chastity, if she loses that she would â€Å"lose all social standing† which is why the second thing he asks about her is â€Å"is she not a modest young lady?†.Don Pedro also deceives himself in thinking his brother, john the bastard has been washed clean and is now a clean and changed man. In reality he is the villain and the person behind ev ery harmful deception in the play. The two plays both exhibit deception in the most ambidextrous of ways. It is both malevolent and benevolent, in the sense that the plays end happily through all the obstacles that have been set throughout it.

Persuasive Essay

Persuasive Essay Persuasive Essay Peyton Duersel English III Mr. Wyss 21 September 2014 Audience: Administration Such a Strict School at Sporting Events Jesuit has many sports clubs and teams. Each one of these teams plays competitively against other schools. Most of these, such as football and basketball, have games every week; and Jesuit encourages its students to supports their fellow blue jays at those events. But why would a student want to attend one of these games if he has a chance of being disciplined for doing something wrong? Every one of Jesuits students already has to cope with at least 8 hours of intense supervision and strict discipline each day at school. Obviously, less discipline at sporting events would bring an increased crowd of students. Therefore, Jesuit disciplinary actions against students should be less strict at games, the band should be able to play a wider variety of songs, and the students should be given the opportunity to show their school pride. First, Jesuit disciplinary actions against students should be much less strict at games. The fact that those who attends extra-curricular activities have to b e overly worried about being disciplined is unnerving. Students should feel free and fully focused on supporting the team throughout the game. No fan at the LSU game, or even the Rummel game, is remotely worried about breaking any rules; and that is a huge factor to the on-field success. Our job in the stands is to support the players with everything we have, but Jesuit takes this away from us. Some restrictions, such as those concerning body paint and student section chants, are unnecessary. Having a few students paint â€Å"Jesuit† on their chests does not defame the tradition of Jesuit High School. Also, student section chants with actually meaning would bring fun to the games. No one wants to say â€Å"Blue Jay† continually for half the game. Although there should be a reduction of discipline, still having a control on behavior is very important. Students should not be given complete freedom, for complete chaos would erupt. But body paint and new student section ch ants would certainly help the students support their fellow classmates. There is no reason why these things are not already allowed, other than Jesuit’s anal retentiveness. Ridiculous strictness at sporting events only hurts Jesuit’s fans and team. Therefore, disciplinary actions against students should be much less strict at sports games. Second, the band should be able to play a wider variety of songs. Our band plays music from old bands like Journey, but that lame music does nothing for anyone on the field. Unless the chess team is playing, no one is hyped for the competition. These songs are classics, but I want to hear some modern rap and hip-hop songs. The band members and the band itself would be a lot cooler if they were able to play modernized music. Last year, St. Augustine’s band was playing an explicit song by Jay-Z, while Jesuit’s band was playing grandma music all night. I do understand that Jesuit will never have the same rules as St. Aug, but we don’t always have to look like a school full of nerds. However, Jesuit should never play and advocate explicit music. Just a few songs from this century would be nice to hear at the football and basketball games. Except for songs containing explicit or foul language, the Jesuit band should be able to play any and all modern music. Finally, Jesuit students should be allowed to completely show their school pride. Persuasive Essay Persuasive Essay For writing a persuasive essay, the most important thing is to write a good thesis statement. For writing a good thesis statement for a persuasive essay, you have to follow the following guidelines: a. The thesis must be a complete sentence. By definition, a thesis makes a claim about a subject. You have to stick your neck out and make a point. Therefore for a persuasive essay, description of the subject is not sufficient; it should have a valid thesis statement. b. A thesis must be an assertion, not a question. A question may be used effectively in your title or introduction as a way of creating interest, but a thesis is a statement that answers the question in your persuasive essay. c. The thesis must be a generalization or an opinion, not just a statement of fact. A fact is something that can be verified as true or false; an opinion is something that must be supported or proved. So, the thesis statement for a persuasive essay should be an opinion or generalization. d. Thesis on a controversial subject should not be wishy-washy. You may feel that there are good arguments on both sides, but you should make some assessment of the issue for a persuasive essay. e. A thesis should make a point, not just promise to do so. For every claim, you should give justifications for your claim for writing a good persuasive essay. f. Ideally, a thesis should be stated as a single statement that should also give the main idea. g. Learning to combine a group of ideas into a single sentence takes a bit of practice. Therefore, for writing a persuasive essay, you should write a clear and understandable thesis statement that will make your essay a persuasive one.

International Events-Stem Cells essays

International Events-Stem Cells essays Over the summer months of the year two thousand and one something extraordinary happened. An event that will have such an impact to change lives forever. No soul on earth thought that curing diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinsons would ever be possible, until today. Breakthrough research has determined that it is possible to cure these diseases, but consequently it would destroy the life possessing human embryo. Opinions are numerous when it comes to this controversial episode, some are opposed it and some are in support of the research. It all starts with the question, when does life start? Does life start at the moment on conception? Or does it start when an embryo can be defined as a child in the uterus of a woman with a beating heart. And even people will argue a child becomes a child only when it can survive by its self. The process its self is costly, mainly because the only way to save the disease stricken patient is to take a human embryo that holds life for the f uture. This has been the basis of the most controversial events of the summer. Should the federal money be used to research this new way of curing patients? To briefly explain how the process works, it is rather simply. As embryos grow, numerous molecular pulses direct and instruct cells to make proteins that end up turning into particular cell tissues, such as bone and muscle tissue. The stem cells are extracted from the human embryo to form a line where they can be placed with other cells. If the cells are cultivated and cared for in the proper ways they can be implanted with other damaged cells and regenerate and repair the damaged tissue. Consequently the embryo that supplied the stem cells die. Now attention is focused on weather of not human embryos should be used in scientific research. The question arose, is it ethical to take ones life in order to save anothers? Many think so but others have quickly ...

Banking Essays - Systemic Risk, Bank Regulation In The United States

Banking Essays - Systemic Risk, Bank Regulation In The United States Banking Banking So Much for That Plan More than 70% of commercial bank assets are held by organizations that are supervised by at least two federal agencies; almost half attract the attention of three or four. Banks devote on average about 14% of their non-interest expense to complying with rules (Anonymous 88). A fool can see that government waste has struck again. This tangled mess of regulation, among other things, increases costs and diffuses accountability for policy actions gone awry. The most effective remedy to correct this problem would be to consolidate most of the supervisory responsibilities of the regulatory agencies into one agency. This would reduce costs to both the government and the banks, and would allow the parts of the agencies not consolidated to concentrate on their primary tasks. One such plan was introduced by Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen in March of 1994. The plan called for folding, into a new independent federal agency (called the Banking Commission), the regulatory portions of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). This plan would save the government $150 to $200 million a year. This would also allow the FDIC to concentrate on deposit insurance and the Fed to concentrate on monetary policy (Anonymous 88). Of course this is Washington, not The Land of Oz, so everyone can't be satisfied with this plan. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and FDIC Chairman Ricki R. Tigert have been vocal opponents of the plan. Greenspan has four major complaints about the plan. First, divorced from the banks, the Fed would find it harder to forestall and deal with financial crises. Second, monetary policy would suffer because the Fed would have less access to review the banks. Thirdly, a supervisor with no macroeconomic concerns might be too inclined to discourage banks from taking risks, slowing the economy down. Lastly, creating a single regulator would do away with important checks and balances, in the process damaging state bank regulation (Anonymous 88). To answer these criticisms it is necessary to make clear what the Fed's job is. The Fed has three main responsibilities: to ensure financial stability, to implement monetary policy, and to oversee a smoothly functioning payments system (delivering checks and transferring funds) (Syron 3). The responsibilities of the Fed are linked to the banking system. For the Fed to carry out its job it must have detailed knowledge of the working of banks and financial markets. Central banks know from the experience of financial crises that regulatory and monetary policy directly influence each other. For example, a banking crises can disturb monetary policy, discouraging lending and destroying consumer confidence, they can also disrupt the ability to make or receive payments by check or to transfer funds. It is for these reasons that it is argued that the Fed must maintain a regulatory role with banks. The Treasury plan would leave the Fed some access to the review of banks. The Fed, which lends through its discount window and operates an interbank money transfer system, would have full access to bank examination data. Because regulatory policy affects monetary policy and systemic risk, it is necessary that the Fed have at least some jurisdiction. The Fed must be able to effectively deal with current policy concerns. The Banking Commission would be mainly concerned with the safety and stability of the banks. This would encourage conservative regulations, and could inhibit economic growth. The Fed clearly has a hands on knowledge of the banking system. The common indicators of monetary policy - the monetary aggregates, the federal funds rate, and the growth of loans - are all influenced by bank behavior and bank regulation. Understanding changes and taking action in a timely fashion can be achieved only by maintaining contact with examiners who are directly monitoring banks (Syron 7). The banking system is what ultimately determines monetary policy. It is only common sense to have personnel in the Fed that have a better understanding of the system other than just through financial statements and examination reports. The Fed also needs the authority to change bank behavior that is inconsistent with its established monetary policy and with financial stability. This requires both the responsibility for writing the regulations and the responsibility for enforcing those regulations through bank supervision. State banking charters have already started to be affected. Under the proposed plan, state chartered banks would be subject to two regulators. While the federal bank would have only one. Thus, making the state bank charter less attractive. However, an increasing

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration Research Paper - 1

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration - Research Paper Example By August 2012 the number of Syrian refugees was believed to have reached 200,000. By March the following year, the number had reached to 1.2 million with a gradual increase expected, according to the statistics on the rate of their increase. By the end of the year 2013 there were more that 2 million Syrian refugees. About 12.5% of the total Syrian population are believed to be refugees in foreign countries. The destination of Syrian refugees includes: Lebanon; Turkey; Jordan; Iraq; Egypt; Algeria; Sweden; Bahrain; Germany; Libya; Italy; Bulgaria; Argentina; Armenia; Romania; Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Russia; Gaza strip; Macedonia; and the United States of America. These destinations are arranged in the descending order according to the number of refugees accommodated. The digits used are believed to be estimates since the Syrian refugees have been moving to other countries through both legal and illegal means. Most of the people who fled Syria are those that have no ability to face the violence that is in Syria. Statistics have proved that more than half of the refugees who flee Syria are children. Children are always the most affected by civil wars, especially due to the fact that they are naà ¯ve and physically incapable to cope with the hard situations that are always brought about by civil wars or any other kind of long term violence (Ullah 167). A majority of the remaining refugees are women. Despite the fact that they might not be naà ¯ve they do not have the physical capability to cope with their male counterparts during civil wars such as that has been experienced in Syria since 2011. The kind of work that Syrian refugees do in the foreign countries highly depends on whether or not they have working permits. Most of the Syrian refugees lack a work permit as a result of not being able to get residential papers. In most host countries, it is always harder for the

Current macroeconomic situation in the U.S Essay - 1

Current macroeconomic situation in the U.S - Essay Example dy track, it won’t be until a couple of years later that the economy will be moving towards growth such that it would create jobs and resolve the ever increasing unemployment (Perlo, 2012). The recovery is expected but after two years, and this recovery will continue for a long period of time and even reinforce it eventually (Perlo, 2012). A critical view point to this whole situation is that the profits have been restored at the expense of social benefits and salaries, but it will eventually have an impact on investments resulting in an increase. When looking at the real estate, there has been no new housing construction. But when the up surging demand from family household is considered there is a good chance that there will be a boom in the real estate market in the near future. One should always be kept in mind when analyzing the current situation of the US that this is the recovery session after the financial crisis, so circumstances are definitely abnormal. As mentioned earlier, job creation is of paramount importance. According to an estimate, over 300,000 new jobs need to be created every month if a significant change is to be observed in the near future. The FOMC or the Federal Open Market Committee met in August 2012. The statement given in the form of press release suggests that â€Å"economic activity has continued to expand at a moderate pace in recent months† (federalresesrve.gov), quite an objective statement but it definitely tells why the word ‘moderately’ has been used here. The economic activity is not that helpful, the other factors have played a part in better results of the recent quarter. However, the economic activity is also not going wayward. Certain easy money policy tools have backfired for economy. For instance the total income factor (wage rates) has been declining because of the tools that have been used to handle the finances (Mauldin, 2012). After the financial crunch of 2008, the falling prices of homes have troubled the

Emotional intelligence- emotional intelligence vs. IQ in effective Research Paper

Emotional intelligence- emotional intelligence vs. IQ in effective mangers - Research Paper Example As it has always been, academic excellence has always been stressed as an appropriate preparation for an individual to make it life. Emotion on the other hand has been traditionally viewed as a weakness and irrelevant. It has been traditionally thought that emotion has no bearing nor use in professional endeavor and as such, been relegated as inferior to IQ especially in a workplace setting where leadership and management has always been equated with problem solving. This has been the case until EQ was introduced that it is now beginning to change the paradigms about leadership and work efficacy. II. Literature Review The idea of Emotional Intelligence can be first traced on the work of Thorndike (1920) who theorized that intelligence is not only confined to academics but also includes emotional and social component (qtd. in Mandell & Pherwarni, 2003). Later, investigators like Guilford (1967) and H. Eysenck (1995) presented that intelligence is such a multifaceted construct that it is composed of one hundred and twenty varying types of intelligence (qtd. in Lyusin, 2006). In 1971, Shanley, Walker, and Foley (1971) already hypothesized that social intelligence was distinct from academic intelligence, but could not support it with empirical evidence that emotional intelligence is a separate construct. This was later provided by Howard Gardner when he articulated his theory of multiple intelligences categorizing it as intra personal and interpersonal intelligences within within the framework of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983). His concept on intrapersonal intelligence or the capacity and competence to understand one’s self and apply it effectively in its relationship to others and in life in general as articulated in his concept on interpersonal intelligence served as the basic building block upon which future theorists built their research on (Carmeli & Josman, 2006). Gardner also proposed that there are eight types of intelligences that includes à ¢â‚¬Å"spatial, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, bodily—kinesthetic, naturalistic, and the traditional academic intelligence: linguistic and logical-mathematical. . . Later, Riggio, Murphy and Pirozzolo (2002) propose that these multiple forms of intelligence are possessed by effective leaders and these allow leaders to respond successfully to a range of situations† (Mandel and Pherwani, 2003:388). It was however Peter Salovey and John Mayer who formally developed the term â€Å"emotional intelligence† which landed its model in the field of Psychology that researchers later expaned on. The first version of the model was defined as the as the â€Å"the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action† (Salovey and Mayer, 1990 qtd. In Lyusin, 2006: 55). It was interpreted as a complex construct consisting of three types of abili ties; (1) the identification and expression of emotion as; (2) the regulation of emotions; and (3) the application of emotional information to thinking and action (Lyusin, 2006:55). This was later clarified by Mayer and Salovey that emotions contain information on how people or objects could connect at them (Mayer et al., 2001). The ability of connecting these emotions has led Salovey and Mayer to identify the four components of emotional intellig

Technology Fundamentals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Technology Fundamentals - Essay Example O’Bannon (2007) identifies four essential components of instructional objectives: They should be specific, outcome-based, measurable, and describe student behavior. With this in mind, the following bipartite objective is defined for this lesson: General objective: Students will be able to identify five types of multimedia content, give an example of each related to multiculturalism, and describe their characteristics with reference to the examples. The process of ‘identifying’ pertains to the ‘remembering level’ in Bloom’s taxonomy; the process of ‘giving an example’ pertains to ‘applying’ the knowledge, ‘describe’ to ‘understanding’, and ‘classify’ to ‘analysing’ â€Å"Children, in this lesson we are going to look at different types of multimedia. Can you name any?† [Wait for responses before naming all five] â€Å"To get to know these better, we are going to look at examples of each that show some aspect of a particular culture.† â€Å"Let’s begin then with some artifacts that we can touch. *Look at these Mexican pià ±atas. [^] *Pass them round so everyone can hold one and see what it’s like, and while you’re doing that, let me give you a little background on the Pià ±atas because ‘They have an interesting history. During the 16th century, the pià ±ata was used by missionaries to attract converts. However, the Mayans were already using the pià ±atas for their sports events that the missionaries utilized for their own purpose. The pià ±ata originally represents Satan who is adorned by wonderful colors in order to attract people. The traditional pià ±ata has seven horns, which represent the seven deadly sins, namely: greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath, and lust. The stick used to hit the pià ±ata symbolizes virtue, which is needed to break the evil. After the pot is broken, the candies serve as a reward to those who have been faithful.’ (Devlin, 2007) So how di d you feel holding these artifacts?† [Listen

The Vietnam War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Vietnam War - Essay Example The Vietnam War was the long-drawn-out clash between pro-self-government forces endeavoring to amalgamate the nation of Vietnam under a communist administration and the United States, with the assistance of the Southern Vietnamese, struggling to thwart the blowout of communism. Involved in a conflict that many regarded as having no way for victory, U.S. leaders suffered the loss of the American community's cooperation for the war. From the time when the war ended, the Vietnam War has turned out to be a point of reference for what one should not do in all forthcoming U.S. external battles. The Vietnam War was an era during the Cold War period of great military divergence that happened in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and lasted from 1955 to the plummet of Saigon in 1975. This war came after the First Indochina War. It was a fight between North Vietnam, reinforced by its communist allies, and the administration of South Vietnam, where the United States and other anti-communist nations reinforced it. Like many wars fought during this time, the reason for it was mainly the division of a desire for communism, and the desire for democracy. It was known to be a war much â€Å"tougher than-and different from-World War II and Korea.† The foremost military establishments tangled in the conflict were the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, also known as ARVN and the U.S. military on one side, and the Vietnam People's Army or VPA also known as the North Vietnamese Army or NVA), and the Viet Cong, or National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF), a communist paramilitary group in South Vietnam, on the other side. There had been a lot of hostility in Vietnam for a long period of time before the Vietnam War started. The Vietnamese people had undergone suffering from the French colonial ruling for almost sixty long years when eventually, Japan conquered parts of Vietnam in 1940. It was a year later when Vietnam had two external supremacies dominating them, that communist Vietnamese avant-garde leader Ho Chi Minh came to Vietnam in return after expending roughly three decades travelling the world. Once Ho Chi Minh was now back in Vietnam, he started centers of operations in a cave in the northern part of Vietnam and founded the Viet Minh, whose purpose was to divest Vietnam from the Japanese and French inhabitants. Having increased support for their goal in Northern Vietnam, the Viet Minh proclaimed the formation of a self-governing Vietnam with a new administration named the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the September of 1945. However, the French colonists were not disposed to hand over the ir colony so effortlessly and fought back. For many years, Ho Chi Minh had endeavored to ingratiate the United States to back him up as opposed to the French, such as supplying the United States with military intellect concerning the Japanese throughout World War II. Notwithstanding this assistance, the United States was completely devoted to their Cold War external policy of suppression, which meant averting the increasing spread of Communism. Ho Chi Minh, aware of this, did not want to draw the United States into the conflict. The Americans, though, could not allow their client state to fall and the road to war began. (Wiest 16) The â€Å"domino theory† of the United States, which specified that if one nation in

Technology Fundamentals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Technology Fundamentals - Essay Example O’Bannon (2007) identifies four essential components of instructional objectives: They should be specific, outcome-based, measurable, and describe student behavior. With this in mind, the following bipartite objective is defined for this lesson: General objective: Students will be able to identify five types of multimedia content, give an example of each related to multiculturalism, and describe their characteristics with reference to the examples. The process of ‘identifying’ pertains to the ‘remembering level’ in Bloom’s taxonomy; the process of ‘giving an example’ pertains to ‘applying’ the knowledge, ‘describe’ to ‘understanding’, and ‘classify’ to ‘analysing’ â€Å"Children, in this lesson we are going to look at different types of multimedia. Can you name any?† [Wait for responses before naming all five] â€Å"To get to know these better, we are going to look at examples of each that show some aspect of a particular culture.† â€Å"Let’s begin then with some artifacts that we can touch. *Look at these Mexican pià ±atas. [^] *Pass them round so everyone can hold one and see what it’s like, and while you’re doing that, let me give you a little background on the Pià ±atas because ‘They have an interesting history. During the 16th century, the pià ±ata was used by missionaries to attract converts. However, the Mayans were already using the pià ±atas for their sports events that the missionaries utilized for their own purpose. The pià ±ata originally represents Satan who is adorned by wonderful colors in order to attract people. The traditional pià ±ata has seven horns, which represent the seven deadly sins, namely: greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath, and lust. The stick used to hit the pià ±ata symbolizes virtue, which is needed to break the evil. After the pot is broken, the candies serve as a reward to those who have been faithful.’ (Devlin, 2007) So how di d you feel holding these artifacts?† [Listen

Business Ethic - Flag of convenience Coursework

Business Ethic - Flag of convenience - Coursework Example matters over ships flying its flag.† Prevented by the odium linked with flags of convenience, several new shipping registries have placed themselves up as tax havens, more suitably pertained to asquasi-flag of convenience registries that is provided with firm maritime laws and the administrative machinery to enforce and implement them. There are three foundations when it comes to. The first one is that the ship registration conveys nationality to a ship and carries it within the command of the national law of the country of registration. Article 6 of the Convention of the High Seas (1958) particularly indicates that ships shall sail under the flag o one country solely and shall be subject to that flags special jurisdiction. Another is that a ship should also comply with international laws embodied in conventions that have been approved by the flag state and that is enforced. Apart from this, a ship could also be subject to the laws imposed by a country in whose territorial waters or port it is at present functioning. However the "law of the flag" often has supremacy over the "law of the port of call." Since the country of registry together with the law of the flag primarily influence ship operating economics, the option of register is critical to ship-owners. Ship registries could be divided into two broad categories: closed and open registers. Closed registers limit flagging only to nationals, such that a German would not be able to register his ships under the Russian flag. On the contrary, open registers are available to any ship-owner in spite of nationality. For instance, the United Kingdom is considered as an open register in that an American shipowner could register his vessels in the name of the British flag. Amongst open registries, there are national registers which deal with shipping companies in fundamentally the similar manner as any other business in the country. It is also noted that there are international registers which have been particularly

Some Factors That Lead to Success in College Essay Example for Free

Some Factors That Lead to Success in College Essay What should we do to make a good impression at a job interview? Last year, my cousin, Jake, went to a bank to apply for a job. As you know, when you apply for a job, you must be ready to answer a lot of question. Some of the questions that an interviewer may ask you include: educational background, previous jobs, and salaries you earned. The problem with Jake was that he was not prepared for the questions. The interviewer asked Jake a lot of things that he could not answer. Because Jake was not prepared for the interview, he did not get the job. If you do not want to be in that situation, you may want to follow these steps. As you can see, it is necessary to be well prepared for the job interview. Having the answer ready, being properly dressed, and being on time can all help to make a good impression on the interviewer. If you follow these steps, you will soon find yourself sitting behind the desk at that coveted job. Topic:Career you choose after leaving school October 21st, 2010Leave a comment Go to comments Career you choose after leaving school What career would you like to choose after leaving school? (Teacher) Today, it is not easy to choose a career. Hundreds of students pass various examinations every year and compete with one another for positions in the various professions which are not so many as there are applicants. I would, however, like to choose teaching as my career. There are several reasons to consider teacher an interesting job. Being a teacher, we have to learn more. If we teach History or Geography, it is important to read many books to make our teaching lessons more interesting to our students. We therefore gain more knowledge of the subjects that we teach than what we can get from the text books. A large amount of text books for the subjects we teach are not likely enough to help us to become an exciting teacher. In other words, a good teacher often reads many other books which are not related to the subjects he or she is supposed to teach. The large extent of knowledge on different fields make students admire the teacher and love the subject of which he or she is in charge. A teacher has to speak well and clearly so  that students can be able to understand instructions and lectures. This would be a motivation to improve our powers of expression. Even our pronunciation of words will be much better. Moreover, a teacher has more free time to read, learn and take some examinations to acquire more qualifications. Finally, as a teacher we are respected as educated persons. Others will show their respect to teachers and have their great regard for them and opinions that teachers give. For the reasons mentioned above, being a teacher can help me to live a happy meaningful life.

Issues facing european low cost airlines

Issues facing european low cost airlines As predicted in the beginning of the millennium year by the International Air Transport Association, the low cost airline sector has grown at a rapid pace during the last decade from carrying 6.3% of the domestic and international passengers within Europe in 1999 predicting to increase to 16-18% in 2005 and has become the order of day in Europe. Although the European airline sector was dominated by flag carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France etc. with a share of 70%, this fact transformed with the deregulations coming into effect, increasing the need for an optimal model of operation. That is, as the average airfares in the low-cost airlines sector account for just 3% of the average monthly EU industrial wage, customers turned towards these airline services (Datta Chakravarty, n.d). 3.0 Ryanair Profile in brief Ryanair Airlines, founded by the Ryan family was initially a full service conventional airline in 1985 which was introduced as an alternative travelling between Ireland and the UK to then state monopoly Aer Lingus. However due to financial issues it successfully restructured itself in early 1990s as the first low-fares, no frills carrier in Europe modeling based on Southwest Airlines. The responsibility of Ryanair was taken over by a management team lead by Michael OLeary and was soon floated on both Dublin and London Stock Exchanges in 1997 and admitted among NASDAQ 100 (OHiggins, 2007). Ryanair as a leading low-fares airline offers cheap flights to 150 destinations up-to-date along 1000 low cost routes and provide its customers with cheap and fast air travel excluding fuel surcharges with 100% possibility for online check-ins (Ryanair website, n.d). Although Ryanair has not published its vision and mission clearly, they look to find the big picture and set a broad direction and OLearys direction is to be the largest Low Cost Leader in the European airline industry. This vision is supported by absolute dedication to low cost performance in every element of the value chain, quick gate turnarounds, nonunion operations, performance-based incentive compensation plans, standardization on one type of aircraft, and flying (in most cases) to secondary airports, which provides significant savings for Ryanair (Box Byus, 2007). 4.0 Internal Analysis 4.1 Organizations Strategic Capability Analysis Ryanair has positioned itself as the largest low-fares carrier in Europe and as a business which returns value for money to its fare-concuious leisure and business customers. That is, as Ryanair explains, At Ryanair we guarantee you the lowest air fares on the internet. However our success is due not just to our low fares but also a winning combination of our No.1 on-time record, our friendly and efficient people and our new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft (Puget, 2003) which all add up to its value. Its ancillary services improve its value which is 13% of the total revenue. Although there are low-fares airline services in the European market due to the effectiveness of Ryanair it has been able to become market leader with 29.9% of market share in 2006. Their competitors have not been able to effectively copy the low cost strategy and usage of secondary and regional airports. Inimitable Organised Ryanair holds its uniqueness in its operating strategy which is based on low-cost. It adopts point-to-point flights to secondary or regional airports which no other service follows and occupies a one-way pricing policy which eliminates direct comparison with competitors (Ryanair, n.d). Ryanair is well organized within its low-cost strategy. It offers 100% online check-ins and flies to 150 European destinations along 1000 routes. There is no physical check in where passenger is required to forward his passport and reference number (Marketing Teacher Ltd, n.d). It has one-way pricing strategy which eliminates minimum stay requirements within airports (Ryanair, n.d). Valuable Rare 4.2 Company Resources The resources of Ryanair could be categorized and explained according to the following. Type Ryanair resources Physical resources Head office at Dublin airport Ireland 202 Boeing 737-800 aircrafts with 189 capacity 150 destinations through 1000 routes (as at 2010 April) Financial resources Total assets worth à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬4,634.2 million Shareholder equity of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,992 million Total operating revenues worth à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,693 million (all as at 2006 March) Human Resource Over 6,300 employees (2008) CEO Michel OLeary Intellectual resources Market share of 29.9% (2006) Customer base of 34.9 million (2006) Largest travel website in Europe The fifth most recognized brand on Google Most profitable airline in the world based on operating and net profit margins on a per-airplane and per-passenger basis (2006) 4.3 Company Competencies No frill, low cost leadership could be considered the most significant aspect of Ryanair and thereby cater from low to middle level customers The ancillary revenue methods such as accommodation services, care rental, in-flight sales etc. which add up to 15.3% (2006) which had a 36% increase during 2005-2006 Possessing the preemptive advantage and being the market leader provides opportunity to expand into other markets including USA, Asia and Africa. Allowing internet access to its consumers leads to elevate sales and reduce the per-units cost Point-to-point short haul flights and usage of secondary and regional airports reduce passenger congestion and thereby avoid high airport charges. The personality of Michel OLeary has a great impact on the success of Ryanair where he personally looks into unique marketing strategies. 4.0 Industry Analysis 4.1 Porters Five Forces 4.1.1 Competitor rivalry -High and increasing The direct and main low-cost competitors of Ryanair include easyJet, Air Berlin, Germanwings, Lufthansa and Tranavia and the industry was joined by approximately 60 new low-cost airlines in 2004 (Experience Festival, n.d). A major reason for the development of this sector was the airline deregulation in 1997 due to which many companies were attracted towards the industry. This resulted in full-service airlines adopting the low-cost strategy eg. Aer Lingus 2002. The economical recession increased the aggressiveness of all competitors as they were compelled to survive in the market which resulted in frequent flyer programmes by many competing businesses including Lufthansa, Aer Lingus etc (flyertalk, n.d). However the attractiveness of the industry is high for Ryanair due to its low-cost structure, use of secondary airports and first-mover advantage along with experience of almost 2 decades. 4.1.2 Threat of new entrants Moderate Although it is accepted that the European budget airline industry is healthy with huge potential and incremental growth, the effect on Ryanair from new entrants could be considered as moderate due to its position in the market, its strong brand name and economies of scale achieved with time. For instance, Ryanair saved 42.6% of marketing and distribution costs through direct bookings in 2002 (Brophy George, 2003). Although the deregulation practices minimized the barriers of entering the industry challenging the market leader would consume both time and resources of the new companies. 4.1.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Low to Moderate Types of suppliers of Ryanair would mainly be fuel suppliers, aircraft suppliers, airport authorities and suppliers of support services. Travel agents would not count at present due to on line bookings. Ryanair has no control on fuel prices which is totally governed by world trade and Middle Eastern countries. However it has a very healthy relationship with the main aeroplane supplier, Boeing (Brophy George, 2003) which also provides the company with ancillary goods and services including technical support and training, spare parts support, training of flight crew etc. Accordingly it could be said that the power of suppliers is at low to moderate level. Eg. Ryanair cancelled its contract with OnAir, the supplier of the on board mobile communication service due to financial issues (Robertson, 2010). 4.1.4 Bargaining power of consumers High The passenger base of Ryanair was 34.9 million in 2006 and 58.5 million in 2008 (Ryanair, n.d) and increasing due to recessionary effects and current recovery stage resulting in attraction towards low-cost air travel. As Brophy and George (2003) explain, the power of buyers depends on standardization of product, elasticity of demand, brand identity and the quality of service. The switching cost is very low for customers due to the parity of services and online bookings. Accordingly Ryanair is compelled to practice competitive pricing. 4.1.5 Threat of substitutes Low to Moderate The major substitutes for air travel in Europe are rail, road and to some extent boat travel. With advantages such as ability of localization, easier accessibility along with safety railway is significant but may take longer to reach the destination. Ryanair with its low-fare structure is comparatively cheaper than railway which directly substitutes its services through excellent continental services. Road travel would provide similar benefits but Ryanair could overcome it through emphasizing on effective short haul schedules. Development in communication could also be a threat to some extent as business professionals could communicate through video conference etc. from one corner of the world to the other instantly sitting at their office desks. 5.0 Macro-environmental analysis 5.1 PESTEL analysis 5.1.1 Political Government laws and regulations regarding increase of airport landing charges The law for carbon emissions passed by the government on the aviation industry charging environmental taxes EU regulation to reduce the inconvenience caused to passengers by delays, cancellations and denied boarding where airlines are to provide standardized and immediate assistance to them Severe security measures imposed by UK authorities due to terrorist attacks 5.1.2 Economical Real GDP growth rate of EU at a reducing trend since 2007 -4.2% in 2009 (eurostat, n.d) Reduction in inflation rate of the EU from 3.7% in 2008 to 1.0% in 2009 (eurostat, n.d) Recessionary effects and current practices for recovery and depreciation of the US dollar 5.1.3 Social Increase in numbers of business travellers Negative perceptions on air travel due to safety issues Attraction to low-cost airlines after the economic recession 5.1.4 Technology Internet competition for online bookings Fuel efficiency, low carbon emissions and low noise emissions from Boeing aircrafts Other technological expansions e.g. Web sales 5.1.5 Environmental Cancellation of thousands of flights due to spread of volcanic ash from Iceland Strict regulations on carbon emissions Considerations on global warming and noise pollution 5.1.6 Legal Laws relating to airport charges and route policies Safety measures taken by governments due to terrorism regarding passengers and airline staff Regulation regarding misleading advertising 6.0 SWOT Analysis 6.1 Strengths Brand image and reputation Ryanair possesses the privilege of being the initial company to the low-fare air travel industry in Europe and thereby has the advantage of being the First Mover or preemptive mover. Most importantly as the market leader Ryanair presents its brand as a bundle of functional benefits including punctuality and efficiency (Puget, 2003). Pricing strategy As the first low-fares airline in Europe their pricing strategy was extremely unique where 70% of the seats are sold at lowest two fares and the rest is at higher prices with 6% sold at the highest and customers are ruled out of fuel surcharges (Marketing Teacher Ltd, n.d). Customers are content with the aspect of value for money and best prices compared to other competing airlines. Marketing strategy They utilize adverts which basically communicate the low-fares factor to its customers. Mostly they use controversy as their promotion method where for instance, bidding to purchase Aer Lingus, the Irish rival of Ryanair, charging  £1 per person for the use of washroom on board from 2010 (Crouthamel 2010), publishing controversy calendars with female cabin crew for charity purposes etc. Also another important factor is the ancillary services or non-flight scheduled services such as hotels, car hires, in-flight sales etc. 6.2 Weaknesses Cost Structure Ryanair is at continuous attempt to reduce costs at any possible situation and therefore it has a negative impact on customer satisfaction due to this high cost consciousness. According to a poll by TripAdvisor in 2006 Ryanair was voted as the worlds least favourite airline and Ryanair is ranked as a 2 Star low-cost airline by airlinequality.com (n.d) which also explains the negative perspective of customers about low quality. Also this cost structure is constantly challenged by the fluctuations of fuel prices. Staff issues Ryanair scores low regarding industrial relations where they are alleged of providing poor working conditions. Ryanair recruit young pilots who could work hard and with experience and knowledge gathered at Ryanair they tend to move on as a result of low commitment. 6.3 Opportunities Expansion to the USA The low-fares structure is not common in the US as it is in Europe and therefore Ryanair would be the first mover to the US domestic airline market as it plans to extend itself under a different brand for long haul flights between US and Europe (McGrath, 2007). It is said that Ryanair would be the cheapest USA flights in history and its popularity and success in Europe would spill over to the new brand. Recession Price has become an extremely important factor in making purchase decisions and therefore Ryanair could score due to its low-fares nature during and at the aftermath of the global economic recession. The grid (Appendix B) illustrates the increased demand towards Ryanair where its passenger numbers has grown by 13% from 2007-2008. New aircrafts and focus on business professionals Ryanair currently owns 189 Boeing 737-800 which are more environmental friendly and larger in capacity. Also discussions are underway for an order for 200-300 aircrafts for 2013-2016 requirements (centre for aviation, 2009). Also with changes in the business world and focus on countries such as China and USA the demand for long haul flights have increased. 6.4 Threats Fuel prices and other charges As Ryanair does not pass on fuel surcharges to its customers, the unpredictability in fuel prices and inexperience in effective hedging compared to its competitors it is at risk of continuing with lowering costs. Also increase in airport and handling charges and route charges due to expansion would also threaten its cost structure. Political influence As Ryanair operates in more than one country it is influenced by various legal requirements which are different to one another and therefore faces difficulties in standardizing processes and practices. 7.0 Recommendations Considering a much more structured marketing strategy which does not depend on controversy publicity. Taking measures to reduce negative publicity through practicing CSR projects and demonstrating ethical behaviour moving away from merely being profit conscious Proving customers with benefits of the low-cost structure through effective customer service which would increase numbers and thereby would positively affect profit margins although costs may increase in the process. 8.0 Conclusion Ryanair as the largest low-fares carrier and the market leader of the European budget airline market has been able to succeed due to its unique and out-of-the-box thinking. With a high rate of rivalry within the industry with big players such as easyJet, Lufthansa, Air France practicing competitive strategies time-to-time Ryanair is required to follow the correct strategies in order to remain at its throne. Accordingly effective analysis of its internal, external and industrial aspects would increase its possibilities. Ryanair with its low-cost strategy and powerful brand reputation could match its strengths with the opportunities in the market, especially those which have arisen due to the economical downturn increasing the demand for low-cost travel. Furthermore, due to its capabilities the industry attractiveness is at a high level for Ryanair. However the business is at a spotlight due to its controversy practices which they utilize as a means of publicity could negatively affect its brand in the long run and therefore should take steps to reduce these effects.

The Architecture Studio :: Personal Narrative Writing

The Architecture Studio All my life I had dreamed of this day. I had spent countless hours playing â€Å"architecture firm† and designing various buildings on my â€Å"Home Design 2000† program. Today was the commencement of the fall 2003 semester at State University’s College of Architecture, Planning, and Design (or CAPD for short). I stood in studio #323, affectionately known to architecture majors as the â€Å"Loft Studio.† I felt lucky to get the studio with the coolest layout and the most space, for it was well known that other classes were sure to envy this room. With the best view because of the huge picture window that spanned almost two stories, (the lower level along with the height from the loft) we were able to see the towering evergreen trees just outside the building, and had a great view of the sky (much to our dismay, we often saw the sunrise and sunset and the sunrise again all in the same day). As I lounged in my chair, feeling completely awkward but trying to look like I fit in, my eyes scanned the room full of eager faces that I would soon consider my classmates, and hopefully, friends. Right now though, each of them intimidated me. I couldn’t help but think they had all spend their entire lives preparing for the year, when all I had were dreams and ambition. Katrina Lewis was our professor, and each of us had heard rumors of how picky she was (â€Å"anal retentive† were the exact words, I believe). There were horror stories of her always giving the class busywork, and expecting total perfection, despite our lack of knowledge or experience. I pictured in my head a short spinster who wore horn-rimmed glasses and nothing but black pantsuits, but my eyes widened with surprise as she walked in the room. A tall, thin frame accompanied by short, stylish blonde hair took the place of my gray-haired visions. She couldn’t have been more than 30 years old, and she wore cute plastic-rimmed sunglasses (which, by the way, she wore every day of class†¦and never took them off). She called us over to the area where she taught, and we all grabbed chairs, being careful not to pop anybody’s bubble. She proceeded to lecture the entire three hours of class, while each of use struggled to keep our eyes open. I knew by the end of class that the rumors were true, and this would not be an easy first semester.

The Significance of Chapter 5 to Mary Shelleys Frankenstein :: Papers

The Significance of Chapter 5 to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Chapter 5 has a significant part in the novel Frankenstein as a whole because it links to what happens later in the story. This is shown by the language, setting, character's behaviour, the relationship to gothic tradition and contemporary issues. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which is a very well know gothic horror story was first published in 1818, where traditional gothic conventions are used. Mary Shelley was born on the 30th, August, 1797 and she first met Percy Bysshe Shelley and immediately fell in love with him and later on got married. However society didn't approve with their marriage because he was already a married man and she was only 16 and they weren't married to each other. Victor Frankenstein was born in Genevese, which is mentioned in the opening paragraph, "I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic." The basic story of Frankenstein is about a monster that was created by Victor and when he discovered this he was shocked. Since this day close family has been murdered and the monster has been following Victor. A lot of suspicious things have happened and until the end of the story Victor is fighting against the Monster. The monster finally dies and Victor's ambition is complete in destroying the monster. The past of the novel gives a contemporary significance as it brings forward the subject of cloning and stem cell research, which is a controversial subject matter today. Frankenstein's monster is created by Victor, this brings the matter forward of cloning and stem cell research, as Victor would have needed to do a lot of research before completing his creation. The novel shows that by creating clones, it doesn't always turn out to plan, as Frankenstein's monster turns out to be evil and commits several murders. In the novel it has many modern gothic conventions. In Frankenstein there are boundaries between life and death and emphasise on real horror. Mary Shelley explores the darker side of the human psyche and

An Analysis of Robert Bresson’s a Man Escaped

Robert Bresson’s 1956 film A Man Escaped, is a film that is based on the true story of Andre Devigny, a member of the French Resistance who managed to break out of prison just hours before he was to be executed. In the opening sequence of the film the viewer is able to establish that the main character Fontaine, (Played by Francois Leterrier) has been escorted to prison. Fontaine notices that the men beside him are cuffed, but he is not. He tries to get away when the car stops but is recaptured and beaten upon the head.From his actions, the viewer is able to recognize Fontaine’s intelligence and that he is insistent on making an escape. The title of the film is a forewarning to the viewer and that â€Å"A Man Escaped†, and that warning causes the viewer to question if the title alludes to Fontaine, or another prisoner. The drama is built upon that upfront information and it is heightened the further into the duration the viewer gets, up until the final escape seq uence. The scene for analysis takes place at approximately Twenty minutes into the duration of the film.The scene opens with a medium shot focused on Fontaine amidst his isolation. Fontaine looks up toward the ceiling with a facial expression that reads as saddened or lonesome, which slowly fades out, and fades back in, to a medium long shot of the character crouching in a vulnerable position next to the door. A close shot of Fontaine’s face really shows his emotion, very saddened and depleted of hope. It appears that Fontaine is analyzing the wooden door.From his remarks, the viewer can gather that the character has previous knowledge of wood and that dismantling the door is a possibility in his plan to escape the prison. Bresson is persistent on the close-up of the potential escapist’s hands, feeling the wood, working with tools, etc. The character receives an iron spoon, an item that will aid him in moving the panels in the door. Followed by another close-up of the main characters hands, sharpening his new tool, which dissolves into the next medium shot of him standing in his prison cell.Fontaine is able to pry the panels of wood apart. Fontaine hides his new tool and moves toward the window in his cell, The camera pans up, following him, and the scene fades out. This is one of the most important scenes in the film, and really is the turning point for Fontaine because he acknowledges the possibility in getting through his prison cell door and acquires a tool that is capable of helping him â€Å"dismantle† the panels in the door. I think this gives him a small amount of hope and a goal to work towards.Bresson’s minimalist approach to the cinematography intensifies his use of non- diegetic sound in the film. Bresson uses sound beyond the image, to inform the viewer of actions going on around Fontaine’s prison cell. like footsteps outside the cell or noises made by other prisoners. Sound is used to put emphasis on Fontaineâ⠂¬â„¢s actions, like the chiseling of the panels or the sharpening of the spoon. As with the images, dialogue is reduced to the essential. Fontaine does the narration in the film and he only indicates the most important details to the viewer.

A Singer I Admire

As we grow older, we find someone to looks up to. Some of us admire celebrities, family, and friends. I admire Andy Lau. A star of over 100 films and one of Asia's most popular singers, Andy Lau was born on September 27, 1961 in Hong Kong. He grew up in a very poor area where there was not even running water. The young Andy had to make up to eight trips a day to collect water for his family. Despite financial problems, Andy's parents encouraged him to do well in school, and upon graduating, he entered the TVB academy, where he studied acting and martial arts. After appearing on television for a couple of years, Lau moved onto films with 1982's Boat People. As was the norm for many young stars at this time, there was an attempt to diversify Lau by having him record an album. While these types of albums usually provide some extra publicity and money for the actor, for Lau they became a second career. His first album I Only Know I Love You came out in 1985 to a minor buzz. It was not until 1990, when Lau had established himself as one of Hong Kong's top actors. Lau's musical career intertwined with his acting, as he began to record songs for the movies he appeared in. Despite his success, Lau's career almost suffered a fatal flaw early on when he refused to sign a contract with TVB. Lau was blacklisted from Hong Kong television, and it was only through the intervention of Chow Yun-Fat (who was a friend of the director of Boat People, Ann Hui) that Lau began to find more work in movies. Despite having a reputation of being hard to work with, Lau continues to be one of Hong Kong's most prolific and bankable actors. In fact, there were times when Lau was so popular that he was working on multiple films as well as recording songs all at once, sleeping in his car as time allowed. This dedication to work seems to have finally paid off in one respect; in 2000 Lau won the Hong Kong Film Award for his work in Running Out of Time. In 2004, he won the prestigious Golden Horse Award for his performance in Infernal Affairs III, the sequel to the popular Infernal Affairs. Western audiences may also be familiar with his performance in the House of Flying Daggers. His singing career reached stellar status in 1990 with the release of the album entitled Would It Be Possible, and his subsequent releases only solidified his status as a marketable singer. [5] For that song, he would win his first 1990 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards. He would then win at least one RTHK award category every year consecutively until the year 2007. From Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards, he has won the â€Å"Most Popular Hong Kong Male Artist† award 7 times and the â€Å"Asia Pacific Most Popular Hong Kong Male Artist† award 15 times. He also entered into Guinness World Records for â€Å"Most Awards Won By A Cantopop Male Artist†. By April 2000, he had already won a total unprecedented 292 awards. Andy's success did not come easily. He is known most by insiders for his hard work and drive. Catching some sleep in his car between the midst of recording an album and making a movie is not uncommon for the singer-actor. Yet, Andy managed to excel in both games. As an actor, Andy never settled for two-bit roles or stereotypical characters who only excelled in kung fu. As a singer, Andy never seemed to be satisfied with status quo. Through the two-plus decades that Andy gave to the entertainment world, he persevered, he advanced, and he conquered. In a race to be the best of everything, Andy is the only one crossing the finish line. Andy Lau is an exemplary person. He is multi-talented actor, comedian, and even singer who has come a long way. His past amazes me and his diligence touched me. In my mind, Andy Lau is the role model which is why I admire him.