Boundaries Of Ownership Essays - Intellectual Property Law, Monopoly

Boundaries Of Ownership BOUNDARIES OF OWNERSHIP Nobody owns this essay. It is important that I make this very clear and that I do so at the earliest possible moment. I must do this because the essay that you are reading is about intellectual property, and that means that this essay must be self-referential. When one writes or speaks or communicates in any way about intellectual property, one is dealing with some of the most basic rules of the very medium in which one is operating. There is no neutral ground here, no possibility of genuine detachment or objectivity. Either I am going to claim the protection of the current laws that apply in the United States and under the World Intellectual Property Organization, or I am not. So here it is: I am not. There is a name just under the title of this essay, but that name has no connection with any concept of ownership. What you read here is not controlled by any copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets, or any other kind of intellectual property. The words on this page are not an authoritative version of this essay; no such version exists, and--as far as I am concerned--no such version ever will exist. The only limits on what you can do with this essay and the words in it are the limits imposed by the laws of physics and the extent of your imagination. As the available technologies advance, the limits will move outward, and you will be able to do more and more things with these words. No matter what you do with this material, I will not send lawyers chasing after you demanding royalties or anything else. If you do get into some sort of trouble for using something from this paper, that trouble won't be started by me. Why am I doing this? Why am I abandoning copyright protection for my own creation, for something that I might eventually be able to make some money from? I am not an independently wealthy dilettante doing all of my writing purely as some sort of hobby; my wife and I are both struggling along on the meager money we get paid for teaching. My bachelor's degree is in writing (technical writing, to be precise), and I am working on a master's degree in the same field--so why don't I act the way that you would expect a writer to act? Why should I toss away control over my own work with such apparent recklessness? The simplest answer is this: I don't think that I actually have any control in the first place. Any person with a cheap personal computer, a cheap Internet connection, and extremely cheap software has the ability to take anything that can be seen or heard, modify it in any way they choose, make unlimited numbers of copies, and send those copies anywhere in the world. If one reads the previous sentence carefully, one can find details to quibble over; but the proof of its basic truth stands in front of millions of people every time that they turn their computers on, whether these people notice it or not. I see the obviousness of it every day that I use a computer, which is practically every day. It is my inability to ignore this reality which has finally driven me to abandon the idea of intellectual property for my own creations and to write this paper. One of my favorite descriptions of the situation comes from an article by journalist Charles Mann in the September 1998 issue of Atlantic Monthly: The transformation of intellectual property into electronic form creates new problems. If the cost of manufacturing and distributing a product falls, economic forces will drive down its price, too. The Net embodies this principle to an extreme degree. Manufacturing and distribution costs collapse almost to nothing online: zeroes and ones can be shot around the world with a few clicks of a mouse. Hence producers of digital texts, music, and films will have trouble charging anything at all for copies of their works--competitors can always offer substitutes for less, pushing the price toward the vanishing point. . . . Even as digital technology drives the

How to Write an Exemplification Essay on Myths and Religion

How to Write an Exemplification Essay on Myths and Religion No one can write in a certain style he or she does not understand and any attempt to do that for an academic essay will definitely lead to failure. Therefore, any student assigned the task of writing an exemplification essay must first know the rules associated with such act and here is a brief explanation of what it entails. The term exemplification means to provide examples explaining something such as subject matter or topic. So an exemplification essay is one that attempts to make use of examples to prove a point about whatever is been written about. The key to writing an excellent exemplification letter is ensuring that you pay attention to details by using enough examples including facts to support your arguments. For example, if writing on the topic of myth and religion using examples on how ancient mythology found its way into mainstream religion is a good way to show the ties between both terms. Also, note that the examples used must be good and detailed enough to explain your point. So, here are some important guidelines you could put to use when writing your exemplification essay on basically any topic. Organize with Diligence First, it is important you understand the importance of organization and the part it plays in an exemplification essay. Organization takes into consideration three important factors; chronological arrangement, ascending and descending order of examples to be used. The chronological arrangement is mainly used in descriptive essays were the sequence of steps is crucial to understanding the topic been written about. In ascending order, the examples provided should be arranged from the least important ones to the more important examples while for descending order the examples should be arranged in such a way that the most important examples are first used to make your point before using the least important ones. Tackling Myths and Religion in Exemplification To clearly explain the chronological, ascending and descending order and their use in an exemplification essay let’s use ‘the role of ancient myth in religion’ as a sample topic. And the chosen example to explain this topic is: although, most religions have different creation stories, there is a constant factor which is a divine being, created the world out of nothing’. An observing writer can list three facts from this sentence and they are: Most religions believe the myth that the world was created out of nothing Religions believe in a divine being The creation stories in diverse religions are similar. Therefore, using the points in ascending other, we have 2,3,1 with ‘2’ been the least important and ‘1’ the most important while for descending order, we have 1,3,2 with ‘1’ as the most important and ‘2’ the least important example or fact that buttresses the importance of mythology to religion. Exemplify with Discussions Secondly, clear discussions should be used to lay out examples and connect their importance to the topic chosen. This eliminates the possibility of confusing the reader about the point you are trying to make without distorting argument. Lastly, been organized provides the basis for putting the right things in their places such as the introductory statement, essay body and the concluding statement. So here we come to the end of our guidelines on how to write an exemplification essay using myth and religion as an example.

EasyJet A No Frills Airline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

EasyJet A No Frills Airline - Assignment Example The disadvantages of the cost leadership strategy, as employed by EasyJet, include negative perceptions of quality, poor customer service, and unsustainable discounting systems. It is recommended that EasyJet adopt highly flexible strategic decisions, develop a more aggressive and direct strategy, and reevaluate its wage structure. Finally, it will provide a comprehensive conclusion, and make the necessary recommendations regarding the subject. This paper provides a comprehensive perspective of EasyJet as a company, including the cost leadership approach, which is the generic strategy favoured by the company. EasyJet is a leading budget airline that operates mainly in Britain and Southern Europe. The company’s headquarters are in Luton, Britain. According to Anderson (2014:41), as at December 2014, EasyJet employed almost 9,000 people and flew to over 600 destinations in 30 countries. In the financial year ended September 2014, the company posted revenues of  £4,527 million (Anderson, 2014:41). This represents a 6.3% growth in the 2013 financial year. Pre-tax profit, on the other hand, was  £581 million, representing a 21.5% increase in 2013. EasyJet’s 2014 financial results were positive to say the least, and reflected the strategic decisions made by the company to maximise efficiency and expand its services to more countries (Chen, 2013:34). The strategic plan implemented in 2013 was necessitated by changes in the global and European airline industries that complicated operating conditions for most airlines. EasyJet, however, has been able to not only adapt but also t o perform in spite of the conditions. As of December 2014, the company’s founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is the largest shareholder (Doganis, 2013:38). Apart from basic travel, EasyJet offers a range of auxiliary services. For example, it collaborates with Gate Gourmet for its in-flight products and services, Europcar, for car hire services, and booking.com that

The Capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is a very useful model and it Essay

The Capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is a very useful model and it is used widely in the industry even though it is based on v - Essay Example In this sense, a high quantity of a security’s beta would result in a high expected return of an asset and vice versa. After CAPM was published, and after actual returns were compared with expected returns, many economists have since then criticized the simplicity of and the reality of application of CAPM. The CAPM is still subject to empirical and theoretical criticism despite it being the basis for over a hundred academic papers and having affected non-academic fiscal community considerably. Although it has an apparent invalidity, the CAPM is still widely used by companies as a valuable model for computation of capital cost through justification of high returns in correspondence to higher beta. Therefore, this paper will discuss the implications with regards to the current developments in the area. The paper will first explain and discuss various assumptions in relation to the model and thereafter discuss the key theories as well as the whole debate that surround this area p articularly through the criticizing the assumptions. There are numerous economic applications of the CAPM. It is used in valuation of a company’s common stock, for acquisition and merger analysis, capital budgeting and the valuation of convertible and warrants securities (Naylor & Tapon 1982, p.1166). To ensure validity of the CAPM, William Sharpe came up with numerous assumptions designed for investors in the creation of market equilibrium. The supporters of the model postulate that the capital market functions as though the above assumptions were met. The model derives the price to be commanded by any asset to make the investors happy to retain the present market portfolio. Under the CAPM, each person carries similar risk in diverse amounts. Investors have different portfolios, and they will need a return for their portfolio’s systematic risk because the removal of the unsystematic risk has been done and therefore, can be disregarded. An investor will give a ranking to the portfolio in accordance with a utility function which is dependent on the expected return rate of this portfolio. Because everyone has the same risky assets’ portfolio; it is normal that everyone is exactly happy to purchase the market portfolio, that is, the portfolio of every asset available in the market. Furthermore, part of the risk can be diversified through purchasing many dissimilar assets. The level of stock risk not necessarily related to how variable its return is. The variability is an appropriate measure only if one investor invests all his/her money in one asset. In reality, part of the risk is diversified through purchasing many dissimilar assets. In fact, through diversification, there is a possibility of averting the risk associated with each stock as opposed to the risk which the whole market may decline. The non-diversifiable risk originates form macroeconomic factors which affect all assets simultaneously. For instance, in the credit-crunch many fir ms have the tendency of having negative cash flows and low profits. As much as the assumptions contained in CAPM permit it to concentrate on the relationship between systematic and return risk, they propose an idealized world that is different from the real world where investment decisions are majorly made by firms

Conceptualizing a Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Conceptualizing a Business - Essay Example Eating healthy is significant because it reduces the risk for certain diseases, improves the physical well-being, weight management, strengthen immune systems and extended life expectancy. The federal government spends a lot of money on maintaining a healthy nation; thus, the need for addressing the healthy eating habits is crucial. Many scholars argue that the increased fast food restaurants in the United States have contributed to increased diseases such as obesity and other related diseases. This is because the food is cheap, but it has many calories that pose health risks to citizens. Therefore, this aspect brings the writer to the choice of opening up a restaurant that has nutrient facts and serves healthy food at affordable prices. The restaurant will offer varied types of products, which will be served on different occasions. For instance, it will serve healthy products and services to customers such as colorful fruits and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins. It will also serve whole grains, and low-fat dairy product and other products, which have rich carbohydrates. Other products include fish, groundnuts, starchy, lean poultry and unsaturated oils like olive oil and canola that have low calories, hence reducing increased risks for diseases. These are beneficial because they have low calories; hence, they will help customers to have sufficient energy; thus living a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, the restaurant will target all categories of customers including students, civil servants and even tourists from varied parts of the globe. The mission of the restaurant is to offer customers nutritious products and services at affordable prices. This mission is significant because it will improve the health living standards of many people; thus maintaining a healthy nation.

Effects of Alzheimers and Risk Factors

Effects of Alzheimers and Risk Factors Alzheimers disease (AD) is a chronic degenerative disease process that is currently affecting upwards of 5.3 million people in the United States (Alzheimers Association, 2010). This disease can cause physical and mental hardships on not only the client but on caregivers alike. In the following paper we will discuss the disease process including causes and risk factors, the effects on the clients activities of daily living, the challenges with social, family, spiritual and cultural life, disease prevention and treatment along with long term management, and lastly, nursing care and interventions that can facilitate the life of a client with Alzheimers. Because the disease results in cognitive impairment, psychological effects will be referred to throughout the paper. In order to grasp the needs of a client with Alzheimers disease, we must first understand the disease process itself. According to Mosbys Medical Dictionary Alzheimers disease is defined as, a condition characterized by progressive mental deterioration (2009). As individuals age numerous variations in the brain occur. Some of these changes include a decrease in brain size, deterioration of the cerebral cortex, and a loss of neurons that is dramatically hastened in the patient with AD. A decline in production of acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin is common in patients with this disease (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 970). These things can subsequently cause brain cell death which leads to rapid memory loss (Mayo Clinic, 2011). There is inconclusive evidence on where the impairment occurs when processing information in the brain. A recent journal article, published in Brain Imaging and Behavior, comments on this ongoing mystery and writes, [It is unknown] whether t he memory impairment results from failure of encoding, consolidation or the retrieval mechanism (Blacker, OKeefe, OBrien, Pihlajamaki, Sperling, 2011. p. 37). The etiology of AD is unfortunately still unidentified. It is known, however, that people with this disease actually do have a smaller amount of living brain cells than a person without the disease. Connections in the brain are also diminished and cannot transmit as easily (Mayo Clinic, 2011). Professionals have speculated many risk factors that they think contribute to a diagnosis of Alzheimers disease. The two most important factors include an age over 65, and being of the female gender. However, genetic factors, chemical imbalances, being of an African American descent, lower educational level, environmental agents (such as viruses like herpes zoster, herpes simplex, exposure to zinc and copper), and immunological changes are all also potential causes (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 970). AD is easily identifiable by its signs and symptoms which manifest in different stages. There are three stages that occur. The first stage is the early onset of Alzheimers in which patients will have simple forgetfulness and often will deny that there is a problem, resulting in seclusion. Stage two is progressively worse; the patient will soon become disoriented to time, place and events. In this stage incontinence as well as speech and language become problematic for the patient. The patient begins to become progressively more embarrassed and agitated. In the final stage, or stage three, the patient is no longer able to care for him or herself and is often unable to verbalize needs or able get out of bed without assistance (Ignatavicius Workman, 2009, p. 971-972). This stage of Alzheimers significantly affects patients activities of daily living. Simple tasks such as brushing teeth, combing hair and changing clothes are impossible for the patient to do. Because of their self-care d eficit, the patients family may have to provide personal cares along with ADLs and psychological reassurance. This can cause both emotional and financial stress for the family. Forgetting peoples names or faces can have a debilitating effect on a patients social life. Patients will often have little to no social etiquette demonstrated by screaming obscenities, playing with their own fecal matter and other aggressive behaviors as an example. Sleep patterns are often disturbed and patients usually take frequent naps during the day and are active at night (sundowners syndrome). This disrupts the patient and his or her familys daily routine (Ignatavicius Workman, 2009, p. 973). This type of diagnosis could likely affect their cultural beliefs as well. For example, cultures, such as Hispanic, strongly believe in elder respect and taking care of the elderly. Extended family will often live under one roof. For these cultures a patient with AD may become more of a burden to the whole family rather than a culture that might accept assistance from a nursing home or assisted living center. Spiritual life can also be affected. The client may no longer be able to go to religious services due to their potential social inappropriateness or because the family may have to closely accompany them. The client may forget, or find it unnecessary, to partake in practices that they previously carried out. This may make the client and family feel very frustrated. Whereas there is no known way to prevent AD, there are many interventions to prevent the complications associated with the disease. Since memory impairment is the main symptom of Alzheimers the client is expected to be very confused and disoriented. The nurse should be prepared to answer all the patients questions truthfully and keep him or her oriented by possibly providing single date calendars and keeping them on a non-changing routine. These things will help them to become more comfortable in their environment and be familiar with what is going to happen (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 975). Validation therapy is one way that health care providers can achieve both of these goals. This therapy entails the staff member recognizing the patients feelings and concerns without lying to them or dismissing the fear. For example if the client has already eaten breakfast, and returns to the dining hall expecting a second breakfast, an appropriate response from the nurse would be something along the lines of, I notice you are still hungry, I will get you another piece of toast. It would be inappropriate for the nurse to tell the client that he or she has already eaten because this may cause the client to become very agitated. The response does not dispute the client, but it also does not support the idea that he or she has not eaten breakfast (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 975). Caregivers should also promote self care management. Sustaining independence in the clients ADLs is very important for the client with AD and can sometimes help to prolong self physical management. The nurse will also need to instigate bowel and bladder programs. It is important that these clients are toileted every two hours and as needed. Incontinence can be very embarrassing for the client and anything the staff can do to prevent this is encouraged. Staff should keep the client well hydrated and may need to remind the client to drink often. If on a 2 hour and PRN schedule the client is l ess likely to acquire an injury by trying to get up and go to the bathroom on their own. Next, it may be helpful to regularly take the client on walks and to provide them with something to do. Be sure to minimize stimulation and ensure safety. As for long term management of the disease it is likely that the client will eventually need to be placed in a long term care setting such as assisted living. Interestingly enough, in a journal article from The International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry it states that recent evidence suggests that behavioral interventions and techniques are more effective than any other means of care including pharmacological approaches. They affirm that staff should be well trained to deal with these clients and that they play a huge role in the clients overall disposition and how he or she will cope with managing their disease (Ayalon, Arean, Bornfeld, Beard, 2009, p. 118-123). For some psychological management, caregivers should promote memory training and assist with facial recognition. It is important that they use redirection techniques and promote effective communication that has been tailored to that client specifically (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 974-978). Alzheimers disease is very complex and has many components to successful nursing interventions, but when followed can lead to great results. Two creative nursing interventions that we were able to come up with are (Pts. with AD should be involved in social interaction to decrease feelings of boredom, anxiety and decreased self-esteem. A possible intervention the nurse can use to help a pt. with AD is to encouraging the pt. to sing with others and help pick out music; this can possibly improve the pts. mood and behavior. It is believed that listening to enjoyable music during routine activities can decrease agitated behavior. Fun activities such as playing musical instruments ( triangle, maraca or even a toy hand drum) can be easy for the pt. to do and also entertaining. ) I am not sure what to do about the other one but with my grandpa we used to put a picture on his door to help him remember what room was his, but that kind of similar to what we talked about above. By 2050 it is expected that the prevalence of Alzheimers disease will increase to 14 million people (Ignatavicius Workman, 2010, p. 970). As healthcare providers it is important that we educate ourselves on this disease because it is nearly inevitable for anyone of us to avoid caring for a client diagnosed with it. In this paper we discussed the disease process including causes and risk factors, the effects on the clients activities of daily living, the challenges with social, family, spiritual and cultural life, disease prevention and treatment along with long term management, and lastly, nursing care and interventions that can facilitate the life of a client with Alzheimers disease.

Adapting Poe :: essays research papers fc

Differences in Film and Literature Today there are many differences between stories and film adaptations. When people read a book like Lord of The Rings they use one of the mind’s greatest things, the imagination. When people read the story they imagine how the characters look, the way they act, where the story takes place, and other of the setting. Then when a movie such as â€Å"Lord of the Rings† comes out, they see the movie and see how the director has interpreted the story, many people are either impressed because it is how they imagined it or they don’t like it because it is so different from the story and what they thought it would be. In most cases of a book or story gone Hollywood, the fans of the book generally don’t like it because it doesn’t fit the liking of the reader/viewer. Some reasons for a director to adapt the movie from its original literary counterpart may be that the description in a section of the book may be to elaborate or not elaborate enough and to expensive for a director and his/her company to create. The director will take something that he does not like or can not do and adapt it so that it fits his/her liking or the movie in general. The director may also add things that were not in the movie for other reasons like character development or a stronger plot line. One example of this is in Edgar Allen Poe’s short story Hop-Frog, also known as The Eight Chained Orangutans. This short story was adapted and turned into a one hour long TV movie called â€Å"Fool’s Fire† that aired on PBS in 1992. The was written and directed by Julie Taymor, based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe(New York Times). Page 2 In "Fool's Fire," the story revolves around Hop-Frog a jester. He is the one who must be the kings pet and must follow every command of the over weight king and his seven councilors, each who are very rude and mean to Hop-Frog. When a tiny dancer named Trippetta enters the picture, Hop-Frog has a secret crush on her and be-friends her. Then when the king throws a cup of wine in her face it pushes Hop-Frog to the edge. He plans his revenge in an elaborate plot that is thought up for one of the kings pranks.

Communication Style Case Study

Aggressive/ Passive AggressiveIn scenario number one two styles of communication was used. The RN at the psychiatric care group home was very aggressive when she told the aide that his role is to just do what he is told to do and not to think. She used a firm raised voice probably making the aide feel unimportant. Her aggressiveness made him believe that only the RN role is important not his. While this was a team meeting, his part of the team was minimal. He responded to her aggressiveness by being passive by sitting quietly and not responding. He needs his job so he does not want to cause any trouble at work. His position at work was just as important as hers but he kept quiet.He plotted to get revenge which now made his communication style change to passive aggressive, but the idea of not doing anything without being told is not a positive outcome to this situation. There maybe an emergency where a patient might fall or become aggressive with staff and help is needed and if there is no one around to tell him what to do he might not help out. Gabbey (2013), â€Å"Aggressive behavior is intentional, meaning it’s done on purpose, violates social norms, and causes a breakdown in a relationship† (What is Aggressive Behavior?).Passive/ NonassertiveAccording to â€Å"The College of New Jersey Anti-Violence Initiatives â€Å"(n.d.), â€Å"people often chose nonassertive behavior to avoid unpleasant situations, tension, conflict, and confrontation† (Assertive, Nonassertive, and Aggressive Behaviors). Pamela the school nurses acted passive/nonassertive when she decided to do the work herself instead of confronting the volunteer. She could have saved time and money by placing her trust in the volunteers work and the accuracy of it. With this type of communication more problems arise. Her concerns and actions not only inconvenienced the students, it showed the volunteer that she did not trust her work.It  caused the school nurse to do more work which caused the school to spend more money. Speaking to the volunteer could have help avoid the discomfort of this situation. To see if the results the volunteer got were accurate she could have set in on one of the test. If the volunteer performed the job inaccurately, then she should have re-tested the students. If the volunteer’s performance of the test were accurate, the results could have been used faster and the students who needed glasses or hearing aids could have received them quicker. Her choice may have seemed right at the time she made the decision, but the outcome of it made her decision wrong.Assertive/ AggressiveIn this scenario both assertive and aggressive communication was used. Working in an ambulatory care surgical unit can be a controlled environment and at times an extremely busy one. Team work is essential to good patient outcome. Since Mabel was the granddaughter of the chairman of the board she felt entitled to do what she wanted to do. She used her aggressive behavior to boss her boss around. She felt that she could pick and choose the cases she scrubbed in on and she wasn’t going to work on the cases that required extra work.Her boss Rosa used her assertive behavior to explain that everybody worked as a team in the unit and everyone would use their strengths to make the work environment enjoyable and bring the best outcome for the patient. Being assertive is the best communication there is. You can effectively get your point across without hurting anyone’s feelings. â€Å"Because this style of communication addresses the problem in the situation, real problems get solved and stay solved.†(Hansten & Jackson, 2009, p. 282). Rosa’s assertiveness was a good way to let Mabel know that she was not intimated by her or her threats of serving her head on a platter.Aggressive/ AssertiveWorking in a busy Trauma/Surgical ICU emergencies happen frequently. Patients are very sick and with the emergency room real ly busy a lot of patients come to the ICU for resuscitation. I was receiving one of those patients and the emergency room nurse called to give report. In the report she said that the patient was receiving a blood transfusion and had two more units that needed to be given. I asked where the units of blood were, and she said she would bring them with the patient. I then informed her per policy the blood can come with the patient as long as they have been primed and are hanging. She said they didn’t have time for that because the doctor really wanted to bring the patient now.She told the resident who got on the phone and told me that he was bringing the patient now and that I would have to hang the blood when the patient arrived. I told him about the policy and he said he didn’t care. The patient arrived with the two units of blood lying on the bed. The attending arrived with the patient and told me to hang the blood. I then informed him about the policy and since I wasnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t the nurse to verify the blood I could not hang it. He screamed at me that I had to hang it or go get my change nurse. One of my co-workers went to get my charge nurse who he then told that I refused to hang the blood. I told her that we had just had our yearly clinical competencies and that per policy the blood should have been hung before the patient was transferred.I was not refusing but I was protecting my license. The resident was capable of hanging the blood himself. She then hung the blood for the patient. After the patient was stabilized, my charge nurse went to retrieve the policy. After reading the policy she shared the information with the attending and she apologized to me for the miscommunication. Monegain (2010), â€Å"An estimated 80 percent of serious medical errors involve miscommunication between caregivers when responsibility for patients is transferred or handed-off, according to the Joint Commission’.If the doctors would not have been so aggressi ve and communicated better the situation could have been avoided. We could have worked together to hang the blood. I could have shown them how to prime the line or the emergency room nurse could have accompanied the patient to the unit to hang the blood. The patient outcome was good and he eventually was discharged from the hospital.

Of Mice and Men Study Guide

Of Mice and Men Study Guide Of Mice and Men is a 1937 novella by John Steinbeck. Set during the Great Depression, the book tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two migrant workers and long-time friends employed on a ranch in California. Through its use of colloquial language and detailed characterization, Of Mice and Men offers an unsparing portrait of its characters and the violent and harsh conditions they face. Fast Facts: Of Mice and Men Author: John SteinbeckPublisher: Viking PressYear Published: 1937Genre: Literary fictionType of Work: NovellaOriginal Language: EnglishThemes: The nature of dreams, strength vs. weakness, man vs. natureCharacters: George Milton, Lennie Small, Curley, Candy, Crooks, Curley’s wifeNotable Adaptations: 1939 film directed by Lewis Milestone, 1992 film directed by Gary SiniseFun Fact: John Steinbecks dog ate an early draft of Of Mice and Men. Plot Summary George and Lennie are two farm workers traveling through California in search of work. When the novella begins, they have just been kicked off a bus while journeying to their latest ranch. They spend the night in a makeshift shelter and arrive at the ranch in the morning. The ranch owner is initially hesitant because Lennie, who is physically strong but has a mental disability, doesnt speak, but he ultimately accepts the men as workers. Lennie and George meet fellow ranch hands Candy, Carlson, and Slim, as well as Curley, the son of the ranch owner. Curley, a diminutive but confrontational man, verbally targets Lennie. Carlson shoots Candys old, dying dog. Lennie reveals that he and George have a plan to buy their own land someday, and Candy offers to join them, pitching in his own money. Slim gives Lennie a puppy from his own dog’s recent litter. The next day, Curley attacks Lennie once more. Out of fear, Lennie grabs Curleys fist and crushes it. Later, the ranch workers go out drinking, and Lennie stays behind. He talks to Crooks, an African American farm hand who lives separately from the other workers. Curleys wife approaches and asks what happened to her husbands hand. When none of the men tell her, she berates Crooks with racial slurs and threats. The following day, Lennie accidentally kills his puppy by petting it too hard. Curleys wife finds him with the puppys body in the barn. Lennie and Curleys wife begin to converse. Curleys wife reveals her former dreams of Hollywood stardom and offers to let Lennie touch her hair. While doing so, Lennie unintentionally breaks her neck and kills her. When the farm workers discover Curleys wifes body, Curley begins a vengeful pursuit of Lennie, with the other workers in tow. George takes Carlsons gun and breaks away from the group in order to meet Lennie at their predetermined spot. George tells Lennie all about the beautiful future in which they have a farm of their own to tend to rabbits, then finally shoots Lennie in the back of the head. Major Characters Lennie Small. Contrary to his surname, Lennie is an extremely large and physically strong man. However, he is also gentle-hearted and often fearful. Lennie has a mental disability and is dependent on George for protection. He loves rubbing soft materials and small creatures, from mice to puppies to hair. This desire leads to unintentional destruction and even death. George Milton. Crafty and resourceful, George is both the domineering leader and loyal protector of Lennie. Although he sometimes complains about taking care of Lennie, he is deeply committed to him. At the end of the novella, George decides to kill Lennie in order to protect him from greater harm at the hands of the other ranch workers. Curley. Curley is the son of the ranch owner and a former Golden Gloves boxer. Despite his small stature, Curley picks fights and struts around confidently. He is a jealous husband who rages at his wife. He also targets Lennie, despite the fact that gentle Lennie doesnt want a fight. When Lennie accidentally kills Curleys wife, Curley seeks out Lennie in a murderous rage. Candy. Candy is an old farm worker who has lost a hand. He owns an aging dog that Carlson insists upon shooting. When Candy overhears Lennie talk about his plan to buy some land with George, Candy offers up $350 of his own money to join them. Crooks. Crooks, the only African American character on the farm, lives away from the other workers in segregated quarters. He is world-weary and skeptical of Lennies dream of buying land. Crooks faces racism on the ranch, most notably when Curleys wife verbally attacks him with racial slurs and violent threats. Curley’s wife. Curleys wife, whose name is never mentioned, is treated badly by her husband and warily by the other farm workers. She has a flirtatious nature, but she also expresses loneliness and lost dreams during a conversation with Lennie. When Crooks and Lennie refuse to tell her what happened to her husbands hand, she verbally attacks Crooks with racial slurs and threats. She ultimately dies an accidental death at Lennies hands. Major Themes The Nature of Dreams. Dreams play a key role in Of Mice and Men. Most significantly, George and Lennie share a dream of owning their own land, but their perspectives on this dream differ significantly. In Lennies mind, the dream is sure to become reality; for George, discussing the dream is a way to comfort Lennie and pass the time in a harsh environment. Strength vs. Weakness. In Of Mice and Men, strength and weakness have a complex relationship. This relationship is most evident in Lennie, whose physical strength is a direct contrast to his gentle and guileless personality. In the tough world of the book, strength- particularly mental toughness- is essential. Man vs. Nature. Tension between the human world and the natural world exists throughout Of Mice and Men. Sometimes the characters exert control over the natural world, and sometimes, the natural world rises up to overpower the characters. Ultimately, the novella suggests that the natural and human worlds- the worlds of mice and men- are not so different after all. Literary Style Of Mice and Mens literary style is largely simple and straightforward. The dialogue is written in a colloquial dialect intended to reflect the working-class backgrounds of the ranch workers, whose speech is also peppered with slang terms and vulgar expressions. The novella is also notable for its use of foreshadowing. Lennies accidental murder of the puppy parallels his accidental murder of Curleys wife; the apparent mercy killing of Candys dog mirrors the mercy killing of Lennie. Of Mice and Men has been the subject of censorship due to its harsh subject matter, but it remains one of the most widely-read works of American literature of the 20th century. About the Author Born in 1902, John Steinbeck is one of the most prominent and widely-read American writers of the 20th Century. Much of his work focuses on everyman protagonists in California during the Great Depression. He said that Of Mice and Men was inspired in part by his own experiences alongside migrant workers during the 1910s. In addition to Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck penned over two dozen books, including The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952).  He won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Nobel Prize.

SAT Writing - PrepScholar 2016 Students Encyclopedia

SAT Writing - PrepScholar 2016 Students' Encyclopedia SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The Writing section of the SAT consists of multiple choice questions and a 25 minute essay. The Writing section was added to the SAT in 2005, changing the maximum composite score from 1600 to 2400. It was based on, though not directly comparable to, the old SAT Subject Test in Writing. Note: this article is a series in the PrepScholar2016 Students' Encyclopedia, a free students' and parents' SAT / ACT guide that provides encyclopedic knowledge. Read all the articles here! To prepare for the Writing section, students benefit fromfocusing ontwo main areas: their understanding of grammar rules and their ability to present and support their point of view in a 5-paragraph essay. In terms of grammar, students mustidentify specific rules, like subject-verb agreement and dangling modifiers, and fix sentences that containerrors. Students willalsobe called upon toexhibit correct grammar and varied sentence structure in their essays, as well as to provide thoughtful examples to supporta thesis. The Writing section, like the Mathematics and Critical Reading sections, is scored on a scale of 200 to 800. The essay contributes about 30% to the total Writing score, while the multiple choice counts for approximately 70%. In addition to their scaled Writing score, students receive a separate subscore for the essay between 2 and 12. Two readers grade the essay on a scale from 1 to 6. These scores are then added together. If there is significant disagreement on an essay grade, then a third reader is called in to give his/her opinion. The average reader spends less than 3 minutes gradingeach essay, so structure and clarity are key to communicating a point of view and giving a strong impression to readers. An essay score of 0 is possible if the space is left blank or if the essay is illegible, completely off topic, or written witha prohibited instrument (ie, not a Number 2 pencil). Highly scoring SAT essays typically demonstrate a 5-paragraph structure, with an introduction, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. The 25 minute essay is always the first section on the SAT. The essay section begins with a short blurb or quote, followed by a question asking for the student's point of view. The following essay prompt was given on the June 2015 administration of the SAT. Sample SAT Essay Prompt While the prompts differ, every essay assignment asks students to develop their point of view and to support it with reasoning and examples from various sources. As in the above example, the prompts are broad and often philosophical or related to a social issue. According to College Board, the essay is graded on several components. The first is the development of a point of view with strong supporting evidence. Graders look for organization, focus, and a logical and smooth flow of ideas. The essay is also graded on the skillful use of language, varied vocabulary and sentence structure, grammar, usage, and mechanics. An essay with a score of 12 will excel in all of these areas, while those that receive lower scores may have weaker development and organization, along with errors in grammar and usage. Despite College Board's claims to the contrary, several SAT critics and tutors have stated that longer essays often automatically garner higher scores. Many of these criticsalso recommend the insertion ofhigh level vocabulary words, like "provincial," "myriad," and "plethora" into essays to increase scores into the 10+ points range. Lee Perelman, former director of writing at MIT, assertedthat longer essays almost always score higher. He also suggested that students "pick a side," rather than argue a moderate opinion, follow a predictable 5 paragraph structure, and not concern themselves with accuracy in order to gain a strong essay score. In 2010, then 14 year old Milo Beckman examined115 SAT essays and concluded that longer essays almost always achieve the strongest scores. In addition to the essay, the Writing section consists of 49 multiple choice questions, divided into one 25 minute section and one 10 minute section for a total of 55 minutes.Both of these are entirely multiple choice, and the 10 minute section always comes at the end of the test. Students may encounter an additional 25 minute Writing section when they take the SAT. If this is the case, then one of the 25 minute sections is the experimental, or variable, section and will remain unscored. Since there is no way of knowing exactly which section is experimental, students benefit from assumingall SAT sections count toward their scores. These questions take three forms: identifying sentence errors, sentence improvement, and paragraph improvement.Writing questions mainly draw on a student's understanding of grammar, sentence structure, and organization within a paragraph or passage. There are 18 identifying sentence error questions on SAT Writing. All of thesesentences are independent of one another. They will have four words or phrases within them underlined, comprising answer choices A, B, C, and D. Answer choice E will read, "No error." Students choose the answer choice that corresponds to an error in grammar, usage, or mechanics or selects "E" if the sentence is correct as is. Sample SAT Question The 25 improving sentences questions test similar skills of grammar and usage, but they take a different form.In each of these questions, answer choices B, C, D, and E present an altered version of an underlined portion of the sentence. Answer choice Amaintains the underlined portion as it is and is the correct answer choice if the sentence containsno error. Sample SAT Question The 6 improving paragraph questions have a similar format, but they refer to underlined portions of an entire paragraph or short passage. In addition to errors within sentences, improving paragraph questions may ask about the placement or order of sentences, along with the organization and sequence of ideas. According to College Board, the Writing multiple choice questionsrequire students to demonstrate the following skills: To communicate ideas clearly and effectively To improve a piece of writing through revision and editing To recognize and identify sentence-level errors To understand grammatical elements and structures and how they relate to each other in a sentence To recognize correctly formed grammaticalstructures To clearly express ideas through sentence-combining and use of transitional words and phrases To improve coherence of ideas within and among paragraphs Most of these skills overlap with the stated expectations for the essay. Students also benefit from having the ability to recognize and revise rules of English grammar. The following include what SAT experts agree are themost commonly tested grammar rules on the SAT Writing: Subject-verb agreement Subject-pronoun agreement Parallel sentence structure Subject/object Proper verb tense Comparative/superlative Number agreement Dangling modifiers Idioms While the Writing section has been a part of the SAT for almost ten years, some colleges do not consider it with the sameweight as they do the Mathematics and Critical Reading sections. Students may research the standardized testing scores of their institutions of interest in order to learn whether it is a significant, or even required, factor in their college applications. Redesign Alert The new SAT starting in Marchof 2016 relocates the essay to the end of the test and makes it optional. The essay will be 50 minutes and will ask students to analyze a given passage. Furthermore, the new SAT will no longer have single sentence questions, instead testing skills of grammar, usage, and mechanics within the context of longer passages. Finally, the new SAT will return to a scoring system out of 1600, combining Critical Reading and Writing scores together on a scale from200 to 800. Read more from the SAT Encyclopedia! Further Reading The 12 Hardest SAT Writing Questions Ever How to Write an SAT Essay, Step by Step 6 SAT Essay Examples to Answer Every Prompt

Innovation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Innovation Management - Essay Example Not just the adjustment in the earth is making organization receive new patterns, for example, it increases spending to have the capacity to meet the aggressive basic, yet these patterns additionally add to an increment in the instability. From a systemic point of view, the outcomes of these activities can be opened up past desires by the interrelatedness of the components prompting the conclusions that the very results of organizational activities are progressively eccentric. This clear mystery of innovation is normally a common marker of complex systems at work. For this situation, the utilization of innovation to improve the possibilities of survival of the firm, by endeavoring to control its surroundings, winds up compounding advance nature rendering it more turbulent. This expanded vulnerability prompts multilevel flimsiness with direct outcomes: both new dangers and new open doors for organizations. Expanding the turbulence in a situation does not mean actuating a change in all measurements consistently in the meantime. These adjustments in the earth can be seen as instabilities for a few organizations and consequently make dangers. Then again, these progressions can likewise be "arranged" to bring open doors for the organizations that made them. Turbulence might frequently be close to genuine rivalry from organizations in full control of the commercial center. This is what is known as the test of the hypothesis to see how organizations change and change themselves while in the meantime changing and changing their surroundings.

Economics Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics Paper - Essay Example On the other hand if the local currency is strong, the foreign rate of exchange will be high thus making company's products to be expensive. At this situation, the company may opt for a domestic market for its products. In domestic market, the company has some power to decide on the price of its products. However this will depend on market structure of its product i.e. Whether it is a perfect competition, monopoly, or duopoly. In perfect competition market, the pricing strategy will be based on the forces of demand and supply of its product, which will be determined by the level of competition from other players in the market. Perfect competition market has a perfect elastic demand curve. Here the market determines the equilibrium price level. At this equilibrium price, the company will sell as much as it can. A slight increase in price will mean the company will sell nothing. In monopoly market structure, the company has the sole power to decide on the price it will sell its product. That is why monopolist is known as notorious in charging higher price of their products. Monopoly can interfere with the demand of its product by lowering it's output here the prices will go up and make more profit. In case of the company being a duopoly, it may collude with the other company that produces the same type of product and charge high prices provided that, there is trust between them. Therefore pricing strategy here will be dependent on trust and cooperation among the two market participants. Question two Most companies are profit maximizing and therefore their core objective is to maximize profit. However others aim at maximizing their sales. Profit oriented searcher will aim to produce the quantity and charge the price given by the point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. This is as illustrated in the diagram below Price searcher aiming at maximizing sales will produce as a point total cost curve (TC) cuts total revenue curve m (TR) i.e. at the highest point possible. This is as illustrated below. Price searcher aim at maximizing sales, if his intentions are to promote the welfare of the producers i.e. to create the market to the producer's products. In a nutshell, price searcher must therefore choose between maximizing profit and maximizing sales. Question three Elasticity refers to the responsiveness of quantity demanded or supplied due to change in prices or income i.e. Change in quantity demanded or supplied due to a unit change in price or income. In this scenario I would expect demand for a specific brand of running shoes to be less elastic than the demand for running shoes in general. This is because specific brand limits the taste and preferences of a customer. This in turn limits the ability of the customer choice from a wider variety. Therefore a change in price of that specific brand is likely to be highly elastic. Consumers do not have substitute. Demand for a general brand of shoes will be more elastic since customers have