Rhetorical Analysis Ap

Rhetorical Analysis Essay: 2008 AP Question 2 John M. Barry argues that scientists need to embrace uncertainty within the passage; he asserts that they need the courage and will to overcome the intimidating uncertainty of exploring new fields. With an honest and clear tone Barry highlights the divide between certainty and uncertainty in the passage, discussing the importance of â€Å"pioneers†, individuals who are willing to adventure into the unexplored to further their researches.Courage and wit are indeed two crucial factors for the biologists, chemists, and engineers of today to further develop science; it is important to â€Å"probe† the unknown in order to search for answers, and it is important to embrace failure instead of fearing it, for mistakes and faults help in perfecting research techniques. In The Great Influenza, Barry employs extended metaphor, repetition, and juxtaposition to deliver his message on the need for scientists to explore the unknown.Extended metaphor is used to highlight the intimidation brought from exploring undiscovered aspects of science, furthering her argument that researchers require courage. Barry claims that â€Å"real scientists† are â€Å"on the frontier† and must therefore â€Å"deal with the unknown† and develop â€Å"tools and techniques needed to clear the wilderness†.He describes the harshness and fear-inspiring nature of conducting foreign and novel experiments by comparing it to a â€Å"frontier†, describing it as the â€Å"unknown† and the â€Å"wilderness†Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬Å"frontier† connotes a barren landscape, insinuating the vast and unexplored characteristic of performing ambitious researches, and â€Å"unknown† and â€Å"wilderness† imply fear and intimidation, deterring scientists away from furthering their hypothesis. In doing this Barry emphasizes that courage is a crucial requirement for scientists to have in developing science.Furthermore, Barry mentions â₠¬Å"shovel†, â€Å"pick†, and â€Å"dynamite† as examples of â€Å"tools one needs†. All of the utilities are used for grating and arduous purposes, which furthers the idea that scientists â€Å"must create . . . everything†; scientists must work diligently and face the challenges they are given with perseverance; to execute successful experiments one must preserver in the face of failure by utilizing whatever means of tools that is available, and by connecting this to the â€Å"wilderness† and â€Å"frontier† at the beginning, Barry suggests that scientists might be afraid of this ailure and onerous work. The extended metaphor portrayed the larger idea that scientists must be courageous in dealing with unexplored areas and topics.Repetition was used to enforce the precarious nature of exploring new areas, insinuating that doing so required a strong mentality by researchers. Barry contends that even a â€Å"single laboratory findingâ⠂¬  can destroy a seemingly monumental belief, saying that it â€Å"can also take one off a cliff†, while arguing that it is also beneficial in that it â€Å"can take them through the looking glass into a world that seems entirely different . . crystal to precipitate an order†. In repeating â€Å"single† and describing many effects that can arise from it, Barry reasons that even a small, isolated finding can destroy a monumental belief that had been upheld for a long time, and that scientists must readily acknowledge this. He also repeats the notion of fragility in using â€Å"sharp edge†, â€Å"glass†, and â€Å"crystal†, implying that new experiments are delicately balanced; he contends that such a brittle nature by intimidate scientists.Barry introduces obstacles that must be overcome by scientists not only through a smart mind, but also through a daring heart. By juxtaposing the two mentalities of following a pre-established road and pi oneering a new one, Barry argues that scientists need to have an adventurous and brave spirit to truly expand the horizons of current models and research techniques. He contrasts â€Å"Certainty† and â€Å"Uncertainty†, describing the former as â€Å"strength† and â€Å"something upon which to lean†, while distinguishing the latter as â€Å"weakness† and â€Å"mak[ing] one tentative if not fearful†.From the very onset Barry describes two very different paths that scientists are faced with in facing â€Å"certainty† and â€Å"uncertainty†. These two significant but strikingly different ideas are posed as the difference between comfort and fear, and Barry argues that scientists need to push themselves into stepping into â€Å"uncertainty† and facing the possibility of disproving their own hypothesis, or the possibility of using the wrong equipment, or even the possibility of making a crucial mistake in order to further dev elop not only science but also their own research techniques.Barry conveys his argument that scientists must overcome the obstacle of â€Å"uncertainty† and must be willing to embrace the fear that entails it through juxtaposing the two ideas of â€Å"uncertainty† and â€Å"certainty†. Through using extended metaphor and repetition to highlight the stark and intimidating conditions of conducting innovative experiments, and juxtaposition to emphasize how the difficult obstacles to overcome, Barry reasons that scientists not only need intellectual curiosity and bright wit, but also a courageous and adventurous spirit.Today education is emphasizing on spoon-feeding children; it teaches children what to think, not how to think; standardized exams pressure students into abiding by â€Å"proven† methods, and creativity and critical thinking are left in the back seat. Barry’s dissertation on the necessary qualities of a scientist indirectly but gratingly points out this flaw within the system, admonishing us that at this rate there will be a lack of â€Å"investigators† or â€Å"pioneers† in the future.

Karsanbhai Patel

Entrepreneurship Development- assignment 2013 Entrepreneur Profile-Mr. Karsanbhai Patel NIRMA- From Rags to Riches -Gitika Kolli(1225112321) -MBA-C-GIM Gitam institute of management(2012-2014) Introduction: Nirma is one of the few names – which is instantly recognized as a true Indian brand, which took on mighty multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules to win the heart of princess, i. e. the consumer. Nirma, the proverbial ‘Rags to Riches’ saga of Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, is a classic example of the success of Indian entrepreneurship in the face of stiff competition.Starting as a one-man operation in 1969, today, it has about 14, 000 employee-base and annual turnover is above Rs. 25, 00 crores. Way back- Nirma and its existence: India is a one of the largest consumer economy, with burgeoning middle class pie. In such a widespread, diverse marketplace, Nirma aptly concentrated all its efforts towards creating and building a strong consumer preference towards its ‘value-for-money’ products. Innovation, Creation and Foundation: It was way back in ‘60s and ‘70s, where the domestic detergent market had only premium segment, with very few players and was dominated by MNCs.It was 1969, when Karsanbhai Patel started door-to-door selling of his detergent powder, priced at an astonishing Rs. 3 per kg, when the available cheapest brand in the market was Rs. 13 per kg. It was really an innovative, quality product – with indigenous process, packaging and low-profiled marketing, which changed the habit of Indian housewives’ for washing their clothes. In a short span, Nirma created an entirely new market segment in domestic marketplace, which is, eventually the largest consumer pocket and quickly emerged as dominating market player – a position it has never since relinquished.Rewriting the marketing rules, Nirma became a one of the widely discussed success stories between the four-walls of the B-school class room across the world. Marketing Miracle: The performance of Nirma during the decade of 1980s has been labelled as ‘Marketing Miracle’ of an era. During this period, the brand surged well ahead its nearest rival – Surf, which was well-established detergent product by Hindustan Lever. It was a severing battering for MNC as it recorded a sharp drop in its market share. Nirma literally captured the market share by offering value-based marketing mix of four P’s, i. e. perfect match of product, price, place and promotion. The year 2004 sees Nirma’s annual sales touch 800,000 tones, making it one of the largest volume sales with a single brand name in the world. Looking at the FMCG synergies, Nirma stepped into toilet soaps relatively late in 1990 but this did not deter it to achieve a volume of 100,000 per annum. This makes Nirma the largest detergent and the second largest toilet soap brand in India with market share of 38% and 20% respectively. Strateg ies: It has been persistent effort of Nirma to make consumer products available to masses at an affordable price.Hence, it takes utmost care to provide finest products at the most affordable prices. To leverage this effort, Nirma has gone for massive backward integration along with expansion and modernization of the manufacturing facilities. The focal objective behind modernisation plan is of up gradation with resource-savvy technology to optimise capabilities. Nirma’s six production facilities, located at different places, are well equipped with state-of-art technologies. To ensure regular supply of major raw materials, Nirma had opted for backward integration strategies.These strategic moves allowed Nirma to manage effective and efficient supply-chain. Nirma has always been practiced ‘value-for-money’ plank. Nirma plans to extend the same philosophy in categories as commodity food products, personal care products and packaged food. Distinct market vision and ro bust infrastructure allowed Nirma to have cost leadership. Apart from this, lean distribution network, umbrella branding and low profile media promotions allowed it to offer quality products, at affordable prices. Organisation Structure: In present scenario, an inspiring 59-year-old persona, Dr.Karsanbhai K. Patel, leads Nirma, playing role of key strategic decision-maker, whereas his next generation has already skilled management capabilities. Shri Rakesh K Patel – a qualified management graduate, is spearheading the procurement, production and logistic functions, whereas Shri Hiren K Patel – a qualified Chemical engineer and management graduate, heads the marketing and finance functions of the organisation. Shri Kalpesh Patel, Executive Director, leads the professional organisational structure. Awards and Accolades: The man behind the success of Nirma phenomenon – Dr.Karsanbhai Patel is a recipient of various awards and accolades. He has been bestowed with var ious awards like†¦ * Udyog Ratna by Federation of Association of Small-Scale Industries of Gujarat, New Delhi. * Outstanding Industrialist of Eighties by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahmedabad (in 1990). * Gujarat Businessman Award in 1998 by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahmedabad. * Excellence in Corporate Governance Award by Rotary International District 2000. * A&M Hall of Fame, _______.Shri Karsanbhai has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Florida Atlantic University, Florida, USA in the year 2001 in recognition of his exceptional accomplishments as a philanthropist and businessman. This world has also recognised his ability, acumen and wisdom and in recognition of the services rendered by him in his various capacities. Dr. Karsanbhai Patel has also served as a Chairman for two terms to the Government of India’s Development Council for soaps and detergents, as a Member of Bureau of Indian Standards Committee for Soaps and Detergent Indust ries and President of Gujarat Detergent Manufacturers Association.Conclusion: Karsanbhai Patel stands to be a source of inspiration and provides insights in setting up an industry with the spirit of self-confidence and fulfilling the criterion of a budding entrepreneur in evolving his conceptual knowledge into a practical approach by using creativity and innovation, which has accolades of praises in due for him. REFERENCES: http://www. nirma. co. in/genesis. htm http://www. slideshare. net http://www. iloveindia. com/indian-heroes/karsanbhai-patel. html http://toostep. com/insight/success-story-of-nirma http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Karsanbhai_Patel

Chicano Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chicano Culture - Essay Example It was the only instrument that was popular among the Chicanos in Texas in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Later on saxophone was also used by the conjuncto groups. The conjuncto style was considered similar to the norteno music which was common in Northern Mexico. Although initially the conjuncto style was popular among the Chicanos working class, it gradually spread to other regions of America and became well known among the non-Chicanos. (Castro, 63) The band concept was like a ritual process in the East Los Angeles and the eastside musicians satisfied the passion for music of the audiences. The eastside sound was formed with adopted genres like â€Å"rhythm and blues, soul, rock, funk, salsa and Mexican traditional forms†. Eastside music was influenced both by American and Mexican cultures. It was more popular among the â€Å"lowrider car clubs, street gangs and high school teens†. (Loza, 95) Narciso Martinez who was born in Mexico but grew up in Texas is known as the one who was gave birth to conjuncto music. He was a professional accordion player and he did his first recording in 1935. As the recording proved to be a huge success, its date is considered as the birth date of conjuncto music. Another popular contemporary accordion player was Santiago Jimenez who did his first recording of songs in 1936. (Castro, 63-64) The success story of the eastside music is of tragedy as musicians like Ritchie Valens who popularized Mexican rock and roll version with hits like Donna died early in a plane crash. Another important person was producer Eddie Davis who recorded eastside groups in the 1960s and 1970s. (Loza, 96) By 1962, eastside music was made popular in nightclubs by Davis and his partner Billy Cardenas. One popular eastside musical group was formed by Salsa brothers who sang Mexican rancheras and boleros in family reunions. (Loza, 96-97) Conjuncto music became more popular among the ballroom dance culture

Analysis of the Theoretical Concepts of Scientific Management Assignment

Analysis of the Theoretical Concepts of Scientific Management - Assignment Example Scientific Management came to be known after the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor (1911), an engineer by profession. In his book The Principles of Scientific Management, he proposed the fundamental model along which assembly-lines of large-scale manufacturing factories should be made. His model focuses on the standardization of work through an emphasis on division of labour, time, motion studies, work measurement and piece-rate wages (Drury, 1915). Scientific management, or Taylorism, is a management theory aimed to streamline workflow. The fundamental objectives of this theory were to harness the true potential of economic efficiency and labour productivity. Since early 1700s people have been working on formal management principles, but the most significant development in this endeavour came with the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856 – 1915). He along with his associates merged the fields of science and business (work). They set out with observing workers productivity in a work setting. Taylor believed in the optimization of work rather than forcing people to work harder or extra. In his book, he proposed the simplification of work in order to enhance or improve workers’ productivity. He proposed a closer association between managers and employees whereas earlier this was least of anyone’s concerns. Managers used to keep a wide distance between their workers and themselves. Due to the lack of standardized work, workers found no real motivation towards their work (Head, 2005). Above all, job security in all cases also added to the worker's disengagement from work. Consequently, in order to raise the bar of motiva tion Taylor proposed the linking of pay with performance.

Expression Of Recombinant Tick Histamine-Binding Protein Lab Report

Expression Of Recombinant Tick Histamine-Binding Protein - Lab Report Example To facilitate further studies regarding the structure and function of HBP, there should be an efficient means by which HBP can be made available. For this, Pichia pastoris expression system was assessed for its competence in producing recombinant HBP. This was chosen for its effectiveness in glycosylating recombinant proteins. On the other hand, the HBP gene sequence used for this particular study was from cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, which is considered to be an agricultural pest. If found to have therapeutic effect, the despised insect will be given a newly-discovered purpose. Culture and induction of transformed P. pastoris was able to produce c-myc epitope-containing proteins, potentially containing TC11485, as detected through dot blot and Western blot analysis. Future researches involve purification and characterization of the recombinant TC11485. Introduction Lipocalins 1. The structure-function relation in lipocalins Lipocalins are monomeric globular proteins compris ed of a single polypeptide with 150-200 amino acid residues, and ubiquitous in all life forms. In fact, these proteins are abundant in plasma, tissue and secretory fluids of humans. Despite its weak sequence homology, they are characterized by a tertiary structural level of a conserved ?-barrel configuration with an amino-and carboxy-terminal ?-helix attachment, contributing to their similarities in function, which will be discussed in the later sections. The barrel is shaped like a cone, in which the tip is a hydrophobic core that protects the parcel, and the base open to solvent acts as an entry point into the cavity. In fact, the term lipocalin is derived from ‘calyx’, which is the Greek and Latin word for drinking vessel (Cheng, 2010; Schlehuber and Skerra, 2005). Classification of lipocalins is based on variations in the length of the terminal segments. Aside from the highly conserved tertiary structure, lipocalins also exhibit similar arrangement of exons and intr ons in their genes’ coding sequences (Cheng, 2010). Understandably, each lipocalin has a distinct amino acid sequence. For human lipocalins, a single unpaired cysteine (Cys) residue allows intermolecular covalent binding of a lipocalin to another protein. Apolipoprotein D (ApoD) binds with apolipoprotein A-II, and NGAL associates with matrix metalloproteinase IX Other than being differentiated based on amino acid sequence, lipocalins vary in the shapes that their structures can assume. Logically, capability for such changes influences the function of the protein. For example, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) opens more widely to become more funnel-like, while the mouse major urinary protein (MUP) closes the opening of the barrel to totally encapsulate the ligand (Schlehuber and Skerra, 2005). 2. Physiologic role of lipocalins This family of proteins primarily functions to transport or store compounds that are insoluble or chemically sensitive. Among the compo unds transported by lipocalins are hydrophobic vitamins, pheromones, bilins, retinoids, lipids and steroid hormones, play significantly in transcription, enzymatic reactions and metabolism (Schlehuber and Skerra, 2005; Cheng, 2010). They deliver their ligands to the cell membrane receptor or to the targets (such as DNA) themselves. For example, the human plasma retinol-binding protein (RBP), the first lipocalin structurally characterized, transports the insoluble and highly oxidative vitamin A from the stores in the liver to the target tissues . ApoD transports progesterone and arachidonic acid, while NGAL has Fe(III)-enterobactin as its ligand (Schlehuber and Skerra, 2005). 3. Medical significance of lipocalins Because of their

Persuasion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Persuasion - Essay Example Under such circumstances, it is likely that the other person will be willing to reciprocate and do something in return. Hoy and Smith (2007) observe that people who are engaged in such a relationship usually use words such as, â€Å"oh yes! I am ready to assist. I know you will also assist when my time comes†. Such a person creates the sense of a future commitment for the person who has received the assistance. In other words, it can be inferred that a person who can not reciprocate immediately or in future may not be able to persuade others whenever he needs assistance. Under such perspective, people will say for example that â€Å"Assisting him is useless. He can not assist anyone in need†. This has helped in developing a sense of togetherness in the society today, since people are always ready to assist in order for them to be assisted in future. On the other hand, a person may ask for a favor in order to do something. Under such circumstances, the one who wants to influence the other is compelled to offer what has been requested in order to persuade the other to perform a particular task (Goldstein et al 2008). For example, a person may be requested to be sent for a far away mission to perform a particular task over several months in the place of work. The DIF persuasive strategy applies when the person asks for the first favor in order to give in to the request, such as, â€Å"Promise to take care of my kid for the months I will be away†. The management may not be willing to undertake this request due to the complexity involved, but it is not ridiculous. However, upon the first offer being declared impossible, the person may make a second request, such as, â€Å"then give me one week off duty to look for a person to care of the kid†. This offer is practicable for the management, and the person is allowed the short leave after which he promises to come back and undertake the responsibility as requested. The second

Illegal immigrants who commited violent crimes and have U.S. Citizen Essay

Illegal immigrants who commited violent crimes and have U.S. Citizen - Essay Example America's â€Å"Birth Right citizenship† rule is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment and has turn illegal immigration not only into a gray area, but a sad one for those illegal immigrant status parents who are forcibly separated from their children who are then placed in the foster care system. From January to June of 2011, more than 46,000 parents with illegal immigrant status were deported by ICE with 21,860 parents asked to leave the country but leave their children as well. These parents are mostly illegals who have violent crime convictions as the government has chosen to concentrate on the the reasons for deportation rather than just simply basing the deportation on not having legal documents to be residing in the United States(Gonzales, â€Å"Report: 22% of Deportees Have U.S. Born Children†). One must point out that the Obama administration has been the most compassionate when addressing the issue of illegal immigrant parent status for the American born childr en. According to Gonzales (â€Å" â€Å"Report: 22% of Deportees Have U.S. Born Children†): ICE statistics show that 74% of the 46,486 parents of U.S.-citizen children deported had been convicted of crimes. Another 13% had been previously removed from the country, and 4% were fugitives — immigrants who failed to comply with deportation orders. As proven by the aforementioned statistics, selective deportation may be the key to controlling our illegal immigrant problem in terms of those having U.S. born children. It is an acknowledged fact that being born on U.S. soil does not automatically bestow citizenship on the parents of the child. But it does so for the child and by deporting the parents and keeping the child on U.S. soil, our government has a hand in one of the most inhuman and cruel acts that can be committed by an individual. That of separating a parent from a child and breaking up a family. Further complicating the situation, is the fact that the Fourteenth A mendment, which was drafted after the Civil War in order to ensure that the citizenship of freed slaves and their descendants would be protected. The â€Å"birth right† law has not seen even an iota of amending since it was conceived and thus serves the purpose of the illegal immigrants whose children are born in the United States. This is because the law was enacted during the time when the United States still had vast resources in terms of land, food, water, etc., and thus had unregulated immigration. Since our government has kept that law intact to this very day, then the government has no right to deport illegal immigrant status parents from the country (â€Å"Should Birth Right Citizenship Be Denied for U.S. Born Children of Illegal Immigrants?†). This unamendended law has become the basis of heartlessness within our government in terms of dealing with illegal immigrant status parents. In fact, it was U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif who said that the repo rt on the statistics pertaining to the illegal immigrant parent removals shows: â€Å"... the terrible toll our broken immigration system is taking on families...We can't continue to claim to value families while deporting parents in the tens of thousands.† (Gonzales, â€Å"Stats Detail Deportation of Parents†). The problems posed by the situation are clear to all those concerned. The real question is, â€Å"

Calls for Protectionism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Calls for Protectionism - Assignment Example World Trade Organization (WTO) advocates eliminating tariff and nontariff barriers to international trade and 157 countries in the world are its members. These governments are committed to follow WTO tariff guidelines and formulate trade friendly policy environments in their countries. Tariffs constitute a substantial source of protectionism in the world. In 2008 imposing tariff barriers was constrained by WTO agreements. Â  Subsidies which reduce the cost of producing automobiles enable decreasing their market prices. Low price can gain a competitive advantage in the world market while increasing the welfare of local producers. It also affects the welfare of producers and consumers in abroad. This is not a viable economic solution because subsidy incurs a cost to the government. Free markets which have no price distortions are preferred in economic theory because resource allocation is optimum there. Producer subsidies which create price distortions in the market can also misallocate the resources in these countries and subsequently worsen their already contracted economy. Â  Protectionism compels local consumers and producers to depend on each other without facing influences from abroad. Thus protectionism avoids economic impacts of different natural resource endowments across countries. Countries can grow independently, self sufficiently and politically strong under protectionist policies. However, free trade enables efficiently using of limited, natural resources. Efficient allocation of depleting natural resources is a major challenge in front of the world today. Therefore eliminating the barriers to free trade at present is more important than ever in the world history. Â  5. The volume of world trade rebounded sharply in 2012 on the back of a fairly modest growth rate in the world economy.

Responsibilities of parenthood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Responsibilities of parenthood - Essay Example And all of the above values and etiquettes are well inculcated by kids during common meal times. Thus, importance of having meal (and more preferably "dinner" because of its end of the day aura) together as a whole family is quite beneficial for children in terms of nutritional richness of food provided and the family conversation at the dining table. As cited from Rocketts article [1]: "Family dinner has been identified as a foundation of healthful food choices, possibly because of the higher quality of food served and the family conversations at the dinner table about healthful eating."[1] Family dinner has been from historical point of view important for that "special" interaction between its members that makes the bond between them stronger and everlasting in times of distress or threat. From the children's point of view, family dinners are important to understand the family values as well as other family members. meals together send the message that citizenship in a family entails certain standards beyond individual whims. This is where a family builds its identity and culture. Legends are passed down, jokes rendered, eventually the wider world examined through the lens of a family's values. In addition, younger kids pick up vocabulary and a sense of how conversation is structured [4]. The meal time ritual is important for both its social a... There are other benefits of taking the last meal of the day together, as explained; family dinner has opposite effect on weight gaining ability of adolescent children [1]. The direct relation is still under research (as of when the article was written), but taking a meal with family ensures a healthy and appropriate amount of meal goes inside children and adequate eating habits are formed from childhood itself. However, all is not said and done regarding family issues. There are many variables involved in the working of homes and families & every individual has to mould him/herself according to the circumstances prevalent at home. Double-income parents who have evening meetings that take them away from the table, workaholic spouses who don't come home at all, ringing telephone and last-but not the least- those ghastly memories of how children particularly when they are very small, behave when theyre at the table [3]. Historical aspect of family dinner [4] Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room. For most, meals were informal, a kind of rolling refueling; often only the men sat down. Not until the mid--19th century did the day acquire its middle-class rhythms and rituals; a proper dining room became a Victorian aspiration. When children were 8 or 9, they were allowed to join the adults at the table for instruction in proper etiquette. By the turn of the century, restaurants had appeared to cater to clerical workers, and in time, eating out became a recreational sport. [4]. Family dinner can be a respite from the hectic lives of family members to gather for a meal; it can improve the diet of the

The Lesson by Tony Cade Bambara Essay Example for Free

The Lesson by Tony Cade Bambara Essay We all learn differently. We can learn from books, from other’s life. We can also learn the hard way and easy way. Either way, learning can be painful for all of us. Especially for children who have to experience the real life around them. The short story â€Å"The Lesson† by Toni Carde Bambara, shows seven poor children who experience where they are a level of economy the hard way. Even though it hurts for the seven children to force the lesson down their throats, such lesson become the lesson that is necessary and valuable for them to change their life in the future. Bambaras short story The Lesson, starts out with seven children: Sylvia, Sugar, Junebug, Fat Butt, Mercedes, Rosie Girrafe, Flyboy, who live in a poor neighborhood. Sylvia is the main character in the story, from the way she speaks in the story; she is an uneducated child, same as the other six children who are with her at the time. Miss Moore is the educated woman in Sylvias neighborhood with the college degree. Miss Moore usually calls all the children to learn some information, such as arithmetic, money and other educated information. None of the children enjoy Miss Moores lecture when Miss Moore gathers them up at the mailbox. After the lecture, Miss Moore decided to bring the children to the expensive toy store called F.A.O Schwartz. All children are stunned at the expensive toys, especially Sylvia. Not only Sylvia is amazed, but also angry and ashamed at the same time, but not sure where she should express her anger to. Sylvia learns the hard way what kind of economic position she is in. From that lesson, she learns a way to make herself work hard to compete and survive in her economic life. The symbolism in The Lesson starts out with the mailbox that the children gather around with. Before Miss Moore takes them out to see a toy store called F.A.O Schwartz, all of the children, Sylvia, Sugar, Mercedes, Junebug, Fat Butt, Q.T, Flyboy, and Rosie Giraffe come together at the mailbox to learn a lesson from Miss Moore. A mailbox is a box where a mail can be sent or received. The children can be seen as the mail ready to be sent out to learn some new knowledge about life. Another symbol is the toys that the ch ildren observe while they are at the toy store. One of the toys is a sailboat. Sailboat is used to bring people out to the sea to travel or learn new experiences. The Sailboat represents the children being sent out to discover new experiences about life. Another toy that the children observe is the microscope. Microscope is used to see invisible bacteria. The microscope represents some kind of reminder for the children to see their real life and what kind of economic position they are in. Another symbolism is the clown toy that Sylvia admired. The toy is a clown which can be represent as a joke to Sylvia. The clown costs $35, which is expensive for Sylvia at the time. She imagined how many foods and home appliance can her family buy with that $35. The clown represent as a joke and a reminder at the same time to Sylvia economics position. Each character is represented differently in the story. In addition, the children also respond differently to the toys that they have been seeing. The main character, Sylvia, is the character who is stubborn and bad mannered. However, she can also be the clever one because she stole four dollars from Miss Moore’s taxi change. Even though Sylvia complain and criticize Miss Moore, in her mind, she realizes that she actually learn a valuable lesson after her visits to F.A.O Schwartz, only she does not want to express it to Miss Moore. In the end of the story, Sylvia mentions at the end â€Å"†¦ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nothin.† Sylvia knows that deep in her mind, she needs to work harder in order to compete against other people who are above her economic level. From the way Sylvia is angry at the store, it is clear that it is not easy for Sylvia to see where she is economically. Even though the lesson that Miss Moore gives can be a stab in the heart for Sylvia and the other children, the lesson becomes to be the valuable one for them because they will remember to work harder and change their life. In page 2001, Miss Moore gives a lecture about money and how poor they are. Sylvia, on the other hand, seems to disagree on that because she is trying to speak and talk back to Miss Moore until the taxi came. The children do not seem to respond very well to Miss Moore’s lectures. However, they respond and understand the lesson better after they experience the reality of where they are economically. The children’s characters show that even though learning a lesson can be a pain for children, it is still important for them to learn. When the children complain about not being able to buy the toys, the complaints show that they are in different level of economy. Mercedes seems to be the only ones with positive thoughts. For example, in page 2002, when they talked about  paperweight, Mercedes is the only one who mentions that she has stationery and a desk, while the others say that they do not even have a desk to place a paperweight with. Also in page 2004, Mercedes is pushes out of the group when she said she will go back to the store when she has the money. In addition, Flyboy seems the be to most poor child in the group because he mentions he does not have a home (2002). The group, however, do not seem to favor the ones who is too rich or too poor. For example, Sylvia says that the white people just want to feel sorry for Flyboy when he mentions he does not have a home. The group also pushes Mercedes out of the circle because she is the one who has enough. This show the children started to be able to discern the different level of economy, and start to see how unfair their life is in a democracy country. From â€Å"The Lesson,† we can see how hard, yet important it is for children to learn real life experiences. Bambara uses the children characters because they are the ones who have more chances to change to way economy works in the future. Even though it hurts for children to see where they are economically, especially the poor ones, by giving them a lesson, they will remember and learn what they must do to change their life.

Strategic Management: Business Level and Function Level

Strategic Management: Business Level and Function Level Strategic management deals with important and main initiatives taken by managers on behalf of owners. These initiatives involve resource utilisation so that performance of their firms is enhanced in external environment. Organizations vision, mission and objectives are specified by strategic management. Not only this but also developing plans and policies for organization, projects and programs that are due to fulfill these objectives and also allocating proper resources to implement plan, project, programs and policies is also tasks of strategic management. To evaluate the whole performance of the business and its growth towards objectives, a balanced scorecard is frequently used. Strategy needs to initiate with stakeholders expectations and use a customized balanced scorecard which takes in all stakeholders are also stated by latest studies and foremost management theorists. Strategic management is nothing but a level of managerial activity that is responsible for setting goals and all the necessary strategies. Providing the overall direction toward which the business or the organization vision to move forward is also the responsibility of strategic management. According to Gary Hamel and Michael Porter, the role of strategic management is to figure out the core competencies, and then bring together a set of assets that will offer a competitive advantage and increase value added. It is also stated that to make it happen innovation, organizational structure and reputation, these 3 types of capabilities are essential. Enterprise strategy has its own three levels. It is formulated and implanted in these three levels. These levels are: Corporate level, Business unit level, Functional or departmental level. At the business stage, people are accountable for creating value through their businesses. People do so by managing their portfolio of businesses, which ensures that businesses are winning over the long term, rising business units, and from time to time ensuring that every business is well-matched with others in their portfolio. Business units are the core of product or service development. Products and services are developed by business units. The role of the corporation is to manage its business units, products and services so that each is competitive and so that each contributes to company purposes. Corporate level strategy basically is alarmed with choice of businesses in which company should struggle and with development and harmonization of that portfolio of businesses. Strategies: Corporate level strategy is concerned with: Defining the issues that are corporate everyday jobs. These might include identifying the on the whole vision, mission, and goals of the company, the type of business firm should be concerned, and the way in which businesses will be integrated and managed. Its known as Reach. Defining where in firm competition is to be limited to a small area. Its nothing but Competitive Contact. Business strategy seeks to develop synergies by sharing and bringing together employees and other assets across company units, investing monetary possessions across business units, and using trade units to harmonize other commercial business activities, its Managing Activities and Business Interrelationships. Corporations make a decision, how business units are to be governed: through direct corporate intervention (centralization) or through independent government (decentralization). And it is Management Practices. Business Unit Level Strategy A tactical industry unit may be any profit center that can be designed separately from the other business units of business. At the business unit level, the planned issues are about both realistic management of operating units and about developing and at the bottom of a competitive advantage for the products and services that are produced. Functional Level Strategy The functional level of your organization is the level of the operating divisions and departments. The strategic issues at the functional level are related to functional business processes and value chain. Functional level strategies in RD, operations, manufacturing, marketing, finance, and human resources involve the development and coordination of resources through which business unit level strategies can be executed effectively and efficiently. Functional units of your organization are involved in higher level strategies by providing input into the business unit level and corporate level strategy, such as providing information on customer feedback or on resources and capabilities on which the higher level strategies can be based. Once the higher level strategy or strategic intent is developed, the functional units translate them into discrete action plans that each department or division must accomplish for the strategy to succeed. Whittingtons and Mintzbergs strategy concepts: Now, to perform well, some strategy models are really important. Not necessarily all models are quite good or updated with modern business but they do influence either internal or external or both environments. But to treat an organization properly managers have to think it as a whole being. Measuring different parts can lead to misjudgment and further situation where loss can occur. As Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel stated, the story of blind men is not new to anyone. To them different parts of the elephant felt totally different. As, one felt the leg as a tree, other one felt the trunk as a big snake. But they got a wrong perception coz they were blind and with touch they only could perceive limited parts. But managers of organizations are not blinds; moreover they are very conscious for everything. But the developed models that are already in market is limited to different parts of the organization. If those models are not updated according to recent times, it would be not only h ard to use them but also less profitable. Now if we consider mintzbergs comparative analysis of ten schools, the n we need to know first about the schools. There are total ten schools, The Design School, The Planning School, The Positioning School, The Entrepreneurial School, The Cognitive School, The Learning School, The Power School, The Cultural School, The Environmental School, and The Configuration School. These schools focus on different aspects of the total business reminding managers that one part remains untreated and the business can fall very quickly. Mintzberg thought of strategic planning thoroughly but he was unable to come to one point. So he drove more deep and then he found out that there may not be only one strategic planning while so many people are using it too differently to match. So, he concluded that there is no one strategy there is five types of strategies. These are listed as: Strategy as plan, Strategy as ploy, Strategy as pattern, Strategy as position, S trategy as perspective. These five types of strategies were actually developed in process of 10 schools of thoughts which are already given above. These ten schools were grouped into three categories. It goes like this prescriptive or normative (informal design and conception school, the formal planning school, and the analytical positioning school), 2nd group (entrepreneurial, visionary, or great leader school, the cognitive or mental process school, the learning, adaptive, or emergent process school, the power or negotiation school, the corporate culture or collective process school, and the business environment or reactive school) it mainly focuses on how strategic management is actually performed rather than how its hypothesized as to be done. The 3rd group (the configuration or transformation school), its more like a hybrid of other schools. According to Mintzberg, strategies are less theoretical and more practical and thats why its more dynamic and flexible than management per ceives it. In 2001, Whittington, categorized the strategy concept in four approaches: Classic approach, evolutionary approach, process approach, systemic approach. There is nothing more to describe about these approaches but what is important that Whittington himself put an end to his perspectives like elaborating strategy is hard enough and there is no one or another way. But when it comes to real life, implication and performance is well influenced by each of these approaches. So we can say that each of these approaches has a place in reality. Strategic management is also not above limitations. When it comes to hard situation that demand instant act, fluidity is much appreciable than rigid methods or direction to do the work. It not only make the performance non-innovative but sometimes it also pay by loosing many opportunities. It also ends up defining the organization narrowly. Now, if it comes to strategic theories, its always not so dependable. Modern business is so dynamic that one or two theories cant possibly cover all the fact or parts equally. It covers some parts but not full. But if we think a business as a being, we cant possibly look at only one or two parts; we have to look for the whole thing. A part or parts may lead to many misconceptions, when the full views can give totally a different view. As a matter of fact like theorists there is more to say about limitation. Gary Hamel in 2000 coined the name strategic convergence to give details of the incomplete range of the strategies being used by competitors very much differing circumstances. He mourned that strategies converge further than they should, because the more flourishing ones are mimicked by businesses that do not recognize that the strategic process involves scheming a modified strategy for the particulars of each circumstances. Ram Charan, arranging in a line with a admired marketing tagline, considers that strategic planning must not lead action. Just do it!, whereas not quite what he intended to mean, is a phrase that on the other hand comes to mind when fighting analysis paralysis. In the real world in which strategies have to be put into practice, the three fundamentals are mutually dependent. Means are as likely to determine ends as ends are to determine means. The objectives that an organization might wish to follow may be limited by the lack of feasible approaches available out. There is typically only a little number of approaches that will not only be technically and administratively achievable, but also acceptable to the full collection of organizational stakeholders. In turn, the choice of feasible implementation approaches is determined by the accessibility of resources. Conclusion: Till now all the factors, analysis, theories has been collected, its quite clear that strategic management is not as much powerful as it seems in theories or when someone is describing it. After all nothing can be in ceteris paribus when its the real business world we are talking about. So, why it has to be different than journals if one might say, its obviously has to be different coz the journal cant be updated in every second but unfortunately the world is changing, creating new opportunities and threats in every second. So many things are happening in one second that its quite unimaginable. So itll be quite awkward and foolish to think that itll be always like as it is said in case of strategic management after all strategic management is not so different than other theories or conceptual works. It must to have its own lacking. Dynamic business world demands process that can be changed so easily that one might be able not to pay the price for time limit. As time restriction is so terrifying that one moment one have an opportunity to grasp the next moment its taken by someone else. So if there is no much flexibility, opportunities are going to be lost in the depth of abyss. So, this statement Strategic Planning makes little or no contribution to the firms prosperity in todays turbulent environment, may not be so wrong a statement if we really consider all of the scenes. At the end its the full matter of means and end. Ways that allow the means to meet the ends is suitable for the dynamic world whether it is so called theories or something new.

Political Momentum :: essays research papers

"Only YOU can prevent forest fires". This famous quote, by Smokey the Bear, is a statement that essentially defines momentum. Momentum, in the case of forest fires, is detrimental momentum. We've all seen the commercial, the bright red Ferrari driving down the road, flicking a cigarette out the window. It rolls onto a pile of dry leaves, and suddenly, the leaf is smoking! Oh no! The leaves have caught fire and it is spreading to a nearby tree! Soon, nearby trees have caught fire, and thus the momentum that results in a forest fire of gigantic proportions begins from a single spark. Such is the case with recent interest in campaign finance reform. Only the momentum it has gained in recent months is anything but detrimental! So, to answer the question, "WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF MEANINGFUL CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM IN THIS SESSION OF CONGRESS?" My answer is that the chances of this are slim to none, however, this answer is somewhat incomplete. Allow me to expand upon this by first, citing past evidence of questionable campaign fund raisers. Second, I will use the examples to explain WHY we need a reform. And finally, I will describe how the recent take off on this large issue has ensured its eventual resolution. First, allow me to cite examples of corrupt campaign financing. The campaiging 'business' is not a cheap enterprise. The money that is required to publish and distribute phamplets, hire campaign workers, and buy airtime from the media is enourmous! It has always been a concern of candidates of major elections. More recently however has such a controversy surfaces. Allow me to use this as an example: According to the Sep. 29th 1997 issure of Time, in 1995 and 1996, videotapes were made of presedential coffees with Asian executives, personal donors, and business owners. A total of 103 coffees for the Democrats equals 27 million dollars for their fund raisers. There are more recent events. Accroding to the Oct. 13th 1997 issue of Bus. Week, including Blue Plate Dinners whose prices ran from 1,000 to 10,000 dollars a plate! The most recent developements in the Justice departments research into President Clinton's phone calls that supposedly prove that he elicited funds from private donors from the White House, thus making it illegal. All this evidence is merely a handful compared to the complete list of occurances. But let me move on to why we need a reform.

Effective Leadership and Social Identity Theory Essay -- Leadership

There are many definitions with regards to leadership, but what defines 'effective leadership' and how is it evaluated? Chemers (2000) explained that effective leadership is "follower satisfaction and group performance." (p. 28) G. Yukl expalined "there is no correct definition of leadership; it is only a matter of how useful it is increasing our understanding of effective leadership."(Yukl) How does an organization establish effective leadership? While some leaders of organizations direct considerable resources to find, train, and mentor managers to be effective leaders, many leaders of organizations put little research into the subject of effective leadership. Whatever the organization's policy on selecting the leadership group is, such as to promote from within or to hire from outside, most organization's leaders make decisions without a full understanding of leadership theories. The missing aspect that many leaders and developers of leaders ignore is that the construct of lead ership is not an individual endeavor, but rather one that must include the organization as a whole. Leadership is not just the sum characteristics of an individual (leader) but should include the leaders, the followers, dyadic relationships, and group relationships. Hogg and Terry (2000) explained that "organizations are internally structured groups that are located in complex networks of intergroup relations..." (p. 121). Leadership directly impacts an organization's bottom line, employee satisfaction, and turnover; it can impact how the organization is viewed by society and in particular its marketing audience. This is particularly significant during a downturn in economic markets. Organizations must meet budgetary controls, and need to communicate... ... M. & Terry, D. (2000). Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25, 121-140. Lord, R. (2000). Leadership. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology, vol. 4. (pp. 499-505). Doi:10.1037/10519-216 Reicher, S., Haslam, S., & Hopkins, N. (2005). Social identity and the dynamics of leadership: Leaders and followers as collaborative agents in the transformation of social reality. Leadership Quarterly, 16, 547-568. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.06.007 Hogg, M., & van Knippenberg D. (2003). Social identity  and  leadership processes  in groups. Advances in Experimental  Social  Psychology,  Volume 35,  1-52. Yukl, G. (2002). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 1-19. Retrieved from http://www.blackdiamond.dk/HDO/Organisation_Gary_Yukl_Leadership_in_Organizations.pdf

Whaling: One of the Big Issues in the World

Whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales and it is one of the big issues in the world. Japan is one of the pro-whaling countries and a majority of the Western countries are objecting to Japan. However, this essay would like to insist that whaling is a part of the Japanese rural traditional culture, so it is important for some Japanese people. Therefore, the essay support the idea that whale hunting should not be prohibited.This essay aims to tell people who do not know about Japanese whaling well that the true Japanese attitude toward whaling is very different from what they imagine, and o clear up an opponent's misunderstanding of it. What are the motivations for whaling in Japan? What are the social implications of whaling in Japan? I will answer to these questions. First of all, the biggest reason why a lot of countries oppose whaling is that whales are endangered species. However, the truth is Japan is hunting adequate numbers concerning the numbers of whales to prevent them from becoming extinct.In the world, it is said, â€Å"there are 84 species of whales† and â€Å"out of all of the 84 species, only a limited number traditionally have been hunted, such as blue whales, fin whales, inke whales, humpback whales, sperm whales and gray whales† Oapan Whaling Association). According to Gardiner, â€Å"When whales were over-hunted, species such as blue whales and right whales were reduced to very low population levels, but these species now have been fully protected for decades â€Å"(21). Then, Japan is not hunting these species and strongly believes that they should continue to be protected.On the other hand, there are species which are abundant enough that marine management is needed, † such as the Antarctic and northwestern Pacific minke hales and northwestern Pacific Bryde's whales† Oapan Whaling Association). Gardiner also said that â€Å"there are three times as many minke whales as there were 30 years ago, and humpbacks are increasing by 17 percent a year† (21). Actually, for example, â€Å"Antarctic minke whales are hunted 850 out of 442,000 by Japan, and this amount is only 0. 2% of 442,000† Oapan Whaling Association).Thus, thanks to the advanced use of computers, we can obtain precise and clear data of the numbers of whales, so IWC, The International Whaling Commission, is the global ntergovernmental body charged with the conservation of whales and the management of whaling, can determine appropriate numbers of whales to catch quotas on a stock by stock basis. Therefore, Japanese whaling will not harm the health of the whale populations. No whales have ever been hunted to extinction, nor will they be. Then why is Japan still hunting whales in spite of being opposed by many countries?It is because hunting whales and eating their meat is the Japanese traditional culture. Japanese people have been living with whales from prehistoric age until now. During this long history, whaling culture such as songs, dances, and traditional crafts have begun through whaling. On the other side of the coin, Japanese people have received benefits from whaling. In fact, there is a faith in whales which is for holding a memorial service for whales by way of warning because Japanese people know that taking their lives is a really serious matter.Peace said that â€Å"the Japanese do not attach the same significance to the whale as Westerners do because of the way it is culturally categorized† (7). Then, â€Å"the whale falls into the ategory of fish rather than mammal: the character for Whale' has two parts, the first being the sign for a fish† (Peace 7). Therefore, it also shows clearly that there is a big cultural difference between Japan and Westerners, and it is very difficult to bridge the gap.Morishita also argued that â€Å"Japan, with limited grazing land and adherence to Buddhist teachings that prohibited eating of land mammals, has long resorted to the oceans to supply its animal protein. This is why we consider our food culture a ‘seafood culture' in contrast to the European and US' cattle culture'. † We recognize hat there are diverse food cultures in the world, and some people only accept eating of pigs and cattle while others regard eating animals as normal, so eating whales is almost the same for Japanese too.Whale dietary culture has begun from â€Å"around 1952, whale meat was officially included in school lunch-boxes nationwide, staying there for a couple of decades† according to Blok (56). Consequently, older generations in Japanese society widely share memories of eating the meat of whales during childhood. It is said that â€Å"Japanese dietary habits have changed drastically, with beef, ork and chicken, taking over and whale-meat all but disappearing, then whale-mean has become a highly â€Å"select† food, usually enjoyed at special occasions or at specific whale cuisine restaurants† (Blok 56).Th us, whale-meat eating became more special, traditional, and valuable action for Japanese, so this tradition should be passed down the generations. Some people might say that Japan is the only country, which is hunting whales, but it is wrong. Actually, Norway, Iceland, and Alaska are hunting whales too though, â€Å"Japan seems to take the blame for all the whaling in the world† (Gardiner 21). He also continued to say â€Å"Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Canada take twice as many whales as Japan.Yet the Japanese are seen as taking more than everyone† (Gardiner 21). It means that maybe the argument of whaling is almost the one-way conversation and other countries ignore a Japanese insistence. Gardiner also said â€Å"many articles written on whaling in major Western magazines seem to have an anti-Japanese bias and such media have manipulated various governments over the years into believing that the majority of New Zealanders oppose whaling† (22). Therefore, un fortunately this makes people get the wrong mpression of Japanese whaling.For preventing this, the media must report opinions of the both sides about whaling and have to stick with a neutral position, so that people also can understand there is a big cultural difference. Whaling is very controversial issue in the world and it is very difficult to say whether that action is right or wrong, because, needless to say, there is a difference in values between the pro-whaling and the anti-whaling communities. However, this essay aimed to dispel the misconception about Japanese values toward whaling and understand their point of view.Then the research supports the idea that whaling should not be banned, because some species of whales are not endangered and furthermore, Japan knows very well about how many whales they can hunt without threatening them with extinction and the country also protects endangered species. In addition, eating whale-meat connects to the Japanese tradition and Japan considers whales as fish compared to Western countries as mammals. Therefore, the essay would like some people to know that these truths and not be manipulated by the biased media. Japanese whaling nas social implications, such as culture, tood, and employment.Some people live because the Job of whaling, so if it is banned, they would lose their jobs and some young people have to leave their town, because they would not be able to get a Job. Therefore, whaling is important for Japan so should not be banned. Furthermore, it is important to educate the Western world about this topic, because there are many values in this world, so people must not to be biased when they think about a world issue. Then discussing and exchanging views of the both sides with each other not by attacking mentally and physically would also create cross-cultural nderstanding.

Computer Information Specialist Essay

Computer Information Specialist, Inc. (CIS) filed a protest of the award of a contract to Open Technology Group, Inc. (OTG). CIS responded to a request for proposals (RFP) No. NLM-030101/SAN by the Department of Health and Human Services for telecommunications support services at the agency’s Bethesda, Maryland facility. The solicitation specified a requirements contract with fixed hourly rates for a base year with four 1-year options. The agency intended to award the contract based on â€Å"best value† with several non-price criteria as the most heavily weighted factors. Proposals were to include fully-loaded, fixed hourly rates for labor categories. The agency received numerous proposals and established a competitive range of four firms after initial evaluation. The range included CIS as well as OTG the eventual awardee. Following the contract award to OTG; CIS underwent an agency debrief and subsequently filed a protest asserting that both its proposal and the propos al of OTG were misevaluated. Issues Agencies are required to evaluate proposals based solely on the evaluation factors identified in the solicitation. Furthermore, according to Federal Acquisition Regulations, they must adequately document the reasons for their evaluation conclusions (FAR § 15.308). GAO recommended to the agency was to, at a minimum reevaluate both proposals to ascertain if they were evaluated based on the evaluation factors and to determine if adequate rationale were articulated. Decisions (Holdings) Anthony H. Gamboa, General Counsel wrote the recommendation. The protest was sustained. Reasoning (Rationale)   GAO concluded that the Department of Health and Human Services misevaluated the proposals of both CIS and OTG, contract awardee. In addition, they found that the agency’s misevaluation was prejudicial to CIS, â€Å"since there is a reasonable possibility that, but for the agency’s errors, CIS might have been selected for award notwithstanding its higher price.† Separate Opinions No dissenting opinion was published with GAO’s decision. Analysis GAO analyzed the proposals from both CIS and OTG against the RFP’s stated evaluation criteria. The Department of Health and Human Services’ source selection team consisted of five evaluators. In the case of the proposal by CIS, the initial evaluation criticized the proposal for not offering personnel that met all of the solicitation minimum personnel experience requirements. CIS revised their proposal to cure this deficiency. In further evaluation, four of the five evaluators scored this area higher than the initial proposal. However, the fifth evaluator scored the proposal dramatically differently. In the first evaluation, only cursory notes were provided to support conclusions. In the second evaluation, most evaluators still provided limited support. However, the fifth evaluator provided comments. Many of the comments were either inaccurate or held not relation to evaluation criteria. With regard to the OTG proposal, GAO determined that the solicitation failed to meet two of the evaluation criteria and should not have been accepted in the competitive range. It was also recommended that the agency terminate the contract awarded to OTG for the convenience of the government and make award to the firm found to be in line for award. Furthermore CIS was to be reimbursed all costs associated with the protest to include legal fees.

The Enron Managers’ Mistakes

Looking for mistakes is a very difficult thing to do, especially if the case in point is something which is as successful in one point of its existence such as the Enron. Companies such as Enron employ the best managers because work at these levels leaves very, very, very little room for error; unless it was a calculated and deliberate error in the part of the erring managers.If such was the case, then it would lead to the identification of malice and fraudulent motivations in the part of the managers, since no manager wants to commit knowingly a mistake. The identity of the ‘mistake’ shifts now from what used to be as poorly thought-of action plan made individually and independent of other people’s orientation and influence resulting to losses to the general course of action, attitude and mental alignment of some the managers in Enron that made the collapse as something which is highly improbable.Still there were mistakes in general, and still, it will be manager s at the end of the day who will be answerable and liable for these mistakes, from what was claimed as accounting processes that are bogged down by innocent human error, to deliberate cover ups and last minute action recourse that was a minute too late always people are thinking that at worst, it was a well schemed, well planned, internal sabotage. Yes, they made mistakes. And former Enron Corp.Chairman Kenneth Lay himself was among those who ‘admitted to mistakes’ which are by and all bereft of malice as he insisted that despite the mistakes, any wrongdoing in running the energy giant was not part of his activities while servicing Enron (Emshwillerm, McWilliams, 2006). Companies and business management executives adhere to a particular paradigm or accepted practice in the daily undertaking of business and commerce because it is a necessary tool in the check and balance system that guarantees that the interests of the company, the investors and the public are protected. The main idea behind the collapse of Enron Corporation is its managers’ deviance from these paradigms due to fraudulent intentions, and because of this, investors and the public in general placed Enron’s managers and chief executives as the one who erred and the ones who are criminally liable, leading to one of the most controversial debacle in Wall Street history.Enron willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or unknowingly kept analysts, investors and other people from the business industry outside and in the dark. Some of their actions made them accountable according to the letter of the law while some can interpret the entire fiasco as a mere case of incapable and incompetent managers.The partnership and the role of these partnerships and the failure to see how it will work out in the long run is one of the biggest mistakes of Enron and its managers along with i5ts move to inflate its reported profits and manipulate its profits, and at some extent the managers knew of t hat this move was a potential mistake but the earnings are just to tempting for them not to wager and give it a try, providing Enron suddenly with a way to hide the true amount of its debts through these partnerships with companies who are people and managed by the same executives found in Enron (Rouleau, 2002).The managers’ mistakes are assessed using two perspectives – first, their mistakes that contributed to the downfall and worsening of Enron as a company, and second, the mistakes that they made that lead to the conviction of the criminal charges that were slapped on them. What did they do wrong? Many.Just for starters, Smith (2006) wonders about the foolhardy risk of Enron in booking profits using means which are considered as generally volatile, risky and perfectly lawful and legal; this alongside Enron’s racking up of â€Å"mark-to-market† gains, a steady real-cash influx based model for accounting, as reflected on the company’s trading boo k which do not reflect the use an accounting system which is based on the flow of actual money like the accrual system,CRIMINAL LIABILITIES – The mistakes of Enron’s managers are reflected on their criminal records as their miscalculated mistakes led them from blue chip executive managers to criminal convicted felons, which may have cast light on the guilt of certain crimes of the Enron managers but was unable to bring to light fully other important details.And by 2006, Smith (2006) still considers that it ‘isn't clear how much Enron made or lost off its vaunted energy-trading, energy-services and broadband units’ or the extent of the earnings of Enron over what Smith considers as the exploitation of ‘the California electricity market during the 15-month crisis’ which started in the spring, year 2000 (Wall Street Journal, pA9).And when several business mangers that are all capable and willing to commit criminal acts to the company and its inve stors are housed inside one company, it is the perfect recipe for an impending financial crisis. To be able to analyze the mistakes of Enron’s managers that lead to the collapse of the company, it is important to take a look at two things – the crimes for which every manager was accused of, and for the alleged crime that they made but were acquitted from.The management and the managers were, after all, responsible for letting Enron be ‘dependent on paper trading gains’, which, according to Smith (2006) actually had ‘little real cash attached to them and so vulnerable to credit calls that made it incapable of riding out a crisis’ (The Wall Street Journal, pA9), something which is not very much explored since the trial focused on the liabilities of the leaders and managers who kept on insisting throughout the trial that Enron was merely a ‘victim to a run on the bank’. Smith, A9). Before making a scrutiny overall individual mistakes by Enron managers, one of the mistakes of the board of directors should be mentioned since it was symbolic to the law-bending and law-twisting nature of doing business inside Enron that put them in this mess in the first place.This particular incident which symbolizes the many other similar erratic actions and costly mistakes made by the board of directors is about the time when the board of directors opted to waive the aspect of conflict of interest and allowed Enron's very own Chief Finance Officer Andrew Fastow to head a business that is directly in dealing with Enron since the board of directors may have seen the merit, however temporary, of the strategy that allows Fastow's LJM to acquire by buy out Enron's assets which it considers as underperforming, in truth the company of Fastow is no more than a smokescreen so that the debt of the Enron is shielded and the profit improved on paper. The most significant person and Enron manager who made the most telling mistakes en route t o the downfall of Enron is no other than Kenneth Lay.Others were just a notch lower than Lay’s stature in the mismanagement department, and these include others like Jeffrey Skilling, Greg Whalley, Mark Frevert and Andrew Fastow – they may or may not be included in Lay’s excuse list of what he considers as ‘deceitful underlings’ (Emshwillerm, McWilliams, 2006). For Lay and all the involved Enron managers, their mistake was to wager their career and the future of Enron in exchange for whatever financial gains they experienced resulting from undertaking fraudulent actions and strategies while inside the company and holding key positions in Enron. Lay faced eleven criminal charges as an aftermath of the Enron scandal, all of which he pleaded not guilty.During the sentencing, Lay was found by the jury guilty of securities and wire fraud. This reflects Lay’s two main mistakes which he made throughout his Enron career – the mistakes that he made that caused the downfall of Enron considering that all of the accusations hurled against him are false, and the second mistake, the inability to protect himself for worst case scenario, whether or not he is truly guilty of criminal actions. Another managerial mistake of Lay is his show of support and trust to the operations of Lou Borget, who was later convicted of money laundering. Lay was notorious for undertaking questionable and shady workings that are hardly transparent to those who need to see and understand it.Even before his Enron days, Lay was always full of suspicious and strange actions, like how he still managed to control Internorth despite the fact that it was his small company which the Internorth brought and how insurance companies point to Lay's questionable dealings in foreign countries like Peru where Enron formerly do business in. This resulted to Lay's career being capped with losses, sales of what is otherwise considered as a very profitable operation, emp loyee lay-offs and shady partnership deals which analysts consider as Lay's way of hiding debt. If Lay is synonymous with shady accounts, questionable transactions and strange partnership moves, Skilling seemed to be haunted by a curse which is just as bad as that of Lay – failed business operation. Skilling joined Enron in 1989. Prior to that, his career was inside a banking institution, the First City Bank of Houston, which collapsed as he left.If Skilling’s excuse was that his mistakes were made without malice and as a result of some human error factor, then he was misled and confused at least 19 times, the same number of times he was acquitted for wire fraud and securities fraud. Even with the fact that it is close to impossible for Skilling to have an excuse for such number of instances pertaining to erroneous but not malicious managerial actions inside Enron which can prove that he is innocent after all, his capability as a top tier manager will be put to questio n next, as well as the authority and prudence of those who hired him since Skilling, after all, is close to being moronic with the nature of the job he was signed up to work in, if it is true that he did not have any acts with malicious or destructive nature towards the company for all of the times he was said to have committed securities and wire fraud.This is the case of someone stupid being smart enough to land a position of power, something which is not just convincing and realistic enough as it was plain dumb. Regardless, it is still Skilling’s mistake that burdens him with such load. Andrew Fastow's mistakes was opting to do things which are not designed to answer Enron's brewing financial problem but to provide a mat under which Enron managers can sweep the dirt when business visitors and investors come in for a visit. This is true with the case of Fastow's creation of the so-called off-book entities. Even before Enron crashed, Fastow was already showing the company ho w he is mistake prone. Example of which was the 1996 job that he bungled, described by Barboza and Schwartz (2002) in detail; ‘Fastow†¦ as nearly fired for the poor job he did running a retail unit that aimed to put Enron into competition with local utilities around the country' (The New York Times).The same poor sense of long term outlook despite the innate financial wizardry inside Fastow’s head led Fastow to create an escape for Enron when its Calper’s interests are not being addressed to as planned and expected by Enron his wife's family posing as outside investor and a low level Enron employee who was promised a hefty 10 million profit, the use of Chewco as the hiding place for Enron's debts and as a way to help in the inflation of Enron's profits which were both impossible in the first place, .Again, maybe Fastow was guiltless after all of the crimes stacked against him after the Enron collapse; but the one sure thing is that despite his intelligence, he committed too many mistakes that netted him in a web and be ‘wrapped up in a series of complex transactions that ultimately doomed him' (Barboza, Schwartz, 2002), and the doom that came as a result of his mistakes amounted to an indictment of 78 counts of crimes that included fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. Paula Rieker was one time the managing director of investor relations of Enron. She was guilty of the criminal charge set against her (criminal insider trading charge) as she was guilty of the mistake of allowing herself to join her colleagues in what was called the exercise of self enrichment inside the company wherein managers use the situation at hand to make the most out of one's profit.Former Enron CAO Richard Causey, Enron treasurer Ben Glisan Jr. nd energy trader John Forney were all guilty of securities fraud as he was guilty of the mistake of failing to do what is right for the company or the mistake of failing to act upon constructively using one's sou rces and capabilities to keep Enron alive. OUTSIDE CRIMINAL LIABILITIES- Aside from the analysis of Enron’s managers that led to convictions to criminal acts, a look at the Enron situation without the malice of fraud will also reveal little things that help compound the growing mismanagement of Enron and made the fall a bit faster. The mistakes of the Enron managers can also be stacked together in either of the two categories – financial management failure and poor people management.For now, the idea that the company may have been sabotaged directly behind fraudulent intentions from the top executives will be put aside in the name of management strategy assessment, and also because of the fact that common sense business dictates that no business entity or individual would risk building a blue chip firm that it will take down so hard so fast. The assessment of the errors is based on the fact that the top executives and managers of Enron did something hugely erroneous an d disastrous for the company sans the malice that some economic and business conspiracy theorists are exploring or what the criminal convictions simply proved.Simply said, Enron top brass made big time mistakes particularly because they are running a big time firm, and the paper will try to look at these big time mistakes and how it affected and contributed to the fall of Enron and their eventual conviction. Poor Financial and Overall Management – Despite the fact that companies are indeed legit, it is difficult to prove that 100 percent of all the legit businesses, may it be in the United States or anywhere in the world, operates using strategies and methods that are 100 percent legal. Some of these companies tweak and bend the law here and there, and the reason why some of them are not caught is because they are prudent and good enough that no fall-out in the magnitude of crisis level would result from such law-bending actions.Having established that, Enron and its managers are plainly not good enough to sustain the good financial position of the company and they were not able to balance out with good management maneuver and strategy whatever downside and ill-effect the results of their ‘criminal acts’ has on the company’s performance even before it hit crisis-level. It was just a case of poor financial management. Considering that Enron did not have any fraudulent intentions, the management of the company is still guilty of hiring incompetent individuals which they used to fill in key positions since none of them were capable of salvaging what was left of the fast sinking company. â€Å"Financial fraud is often a team sport. It took a host of banks, lawyers and accountants to hide Enron's problems from investors† (The New York Times, 2007). They are guilty of maneuvering poorly Enron inside the trade and stock exchange landscape with or without the illegal and criminal transactions that they did.They are guilty of sticking to a team of financial executives and their strategies and capabilities even when it appears that these personnel and their strategies are taking Enron nowhere but down, that is with consideration to the fact that again, they did not have any fraudulent intentions in the first place. The fact that Enron was poorly managed is hardly challenged as the proofs are just overwhelming and the tale of the stock price of Enron says it all – before the crisis, Enron shares stood at 90 US dollars; by November 21, 2001 the stock price of Enron is down to just seven US dollars. A week later the price was down to 0. 61 US dollars as the trading day closed along with the withdrawal of Dynegy Incorporated from previous deals with Enron and the awarding of the junk status rating to the company.Adding to these are other happenings that bolstered the claims that Enron was poorly managed before and during the crisis; the debt repayment obligations that amounted to 9 billion US dollars at the clo se of the year 2002, an amount which cannot be covered by the company's available cash at that time, the decimation of five billion US dollars in just fifty days of the amount that Enron borrowed from financial firms and banks which was originally planned for use in buying its commercial paper and other strategies to resuscitate the company's financial standing. Even the pattern of its financial behavior is reeking of the foul odor of poor management – the big third quarter loss followed by the company's announcement that it has actually overstated Enron's earnings in the last four years, and then followed by the making public of Enron's $3 billion obligations to its several partnerships.Questionable Business Strategies – The Enron debacle highlighted not just Enron managers’ poor financial and business acumen; it also showcased the poor people management skills of the managers of Enron reflected by its strategies and its inability to protect the company and its investors from long term and short term losses which they may have failed to predict or foresee in the first place. The only thing it appears they do best is confuse the company, confuse the public and in the end confuse even themselves that even when they wanted to, they cannot explain to the public, particularly to the SEC and to the investors, what is really going on inside Enron.Public Assurance – Credited to the faults of the Enron managers is the fact that the company’s managers were unable to convince the investors in the time of crisis that everything is being done to create or maintain stability. The investors were not waiting to be told that everything at Enron is ok, since they would not believe it if it was said in the first place owing to the fact that the company is not transparent enough to even convince the investors and the public in general that they are even telling the truth. The managers were not able to control the mounting unrest and it was the case because of their refusal to divulge important information that can convince the people about the state of the company.And this attitude is not impossible to think that many of the Enron managers were all in denial on what Enron, their milking cow, their cash cow, has become, ‘Mr. Fastow was reluctant to acknowledge what was happening'(Barboza, Schwartz). Deterioration of Credibility – Another important and noteworthy fault that the Enron managers, particularly Kenneth Lay, committed is that they allow their credibility to deteriorate in front of the public and in the face of the investors. How did they, particularly Lay, do that? Through a lot if different ways that merely exacerbated the situation and compounded the growing negativity of the people towards him owed to his being overly shady and secretive of the many aspects of Enron’s operation and financial status.With the breaking of the credibility of the top management tier of Enron comes the decreasing level of respect the people has for Enron managers, not just because of the result of the impending loss and the financial impact it has on investors some of which has there whole future in it, but because Enron managers themselves are creating inter-personal friction between them and those who are pushing for answers to unresolved questions. This attitude is reflective of how Enron’s top management people like Skilling treated investors who are merely calling for transparency by asking balance sheets and detailed earnings and was instead treated with expletive words over a conference call.Breaking of Ranks – During Enron’s financial battles, one of the aspects that greatly crippled them as an organization is the massive breaking and falling apart of their own ranks. In any battles – corporate or not – it is important that managers and top tier executives show a united front, especially when it comes to addressing the public and providing the assu rance that everything is alright, and that whatever minor problems are being addressed immediately through the unity of the top management brass. In the case of Enron and its managers, it is either top brass people are leaving or they are simply being replaced during the most critical part of the company’s financial battle when senior and long time veterans are expected to hold the reigns and maintain control.

The Legacy of Louis Leakey

The search for the explanation of human origins is the goal and often life long commitment of many Anthropologists. Every time a major discovery is made we move closer to discovering a piece of the puzzle that is human evolution. Major contributions have been made by a number of men and women. Some of the more famous names like Raymond Dart, and Tim White are known for the huge discoveries they made. However, no name is more famous in the search for human origins then Leakey. The Leakey legacy began with Louis Leakey more then seventy years ago when he graduated from Cambridge University. Mary Leakey became part of the legacy with her marriage to Louis in 1934. Richard Leakey, son of Mary and Louis, and his wife Meave Leakey further added to the accomplishments of his family by following in his parents footsteps. It is the amazing dedication of each member in the Leakey family that separates them from other anthropologists, and makes them the greatest contributors in the search for an explanation to our past. Louis Leakey was born near Nairobi, Kenya in 1903. His birth was the beginning of a family legacy in Archeology that still continues today. Some people say he was born to be an archaeologist. L. Leakey went to school at Cambridge University, majoring in Anthropology. After graduating in 1926, Leakey got a job as an African expert on an archaeological mission to Tanzania. Afterward, he returned to Cambridge to continue his studies of Anthropology. While studying again at Cambridge Louis began to develop his view that early man had developed in Africa. Louis left Cambridge returning again to Tanzania to study the Olduvai Gorge and the Homo sapiens skeleton. He was amazed with his work at Olduvai but decided he could always come back so he left to go on his own expeditions. Louis Leakey was now 23 and studying many sites where he found many interesting things, such as tools, bones and other artifacts. A few years of this fieldwork gained Leakey honorable recognition from other archaeologists, and subsequently he was awarded with a two year Fellowship at St. John†s College in England. Louis was now a very busy man, he published his first book The Stone Age Cultures of Kenya Colony during this time. Also, while working at St. John†s Leakey got a grant to return to Olduvai Gorge. Louis Leakey was beginning to become a big name in the world of Archeology. Working at Olduvai Gorge he discovered the oldest Homo sapiens in the world. However, many people had begun to contradict his theories on human origins and their roots in Africa. Louis continued to make discoveries in Africa where he found older skulls that could be proved of their age. On returning to England, Louis was shocked to find out that his reputation was in great danger. However, these doubts did not last long after he argued his reputation back at a conference in Cambridge. People were once again starting to believe in his discoveries. Louis Leakey†s problems were not over after the conference in Cambridge. In 1936 he encountered financial problems, so he was forced to write his autobiography, White Africa. That book along with another, about the Kikuyu culture, was enough to bring him out of debt. At this same time he met his wife to be, Mary Nicol. Mary was also interested in human origins and would go on to further enhance the Leakey legacy (see later section focused on Mary Leakey). In 1939 Leakey became a Civilian Intelligence Officer for the Kenyan government, and was later drafted to the African Intelligence Department. At the end of WWII his work included collecting information for the government as a spy. In June of 1947, Leakey returned to Archaeology at an excavation site on Rusinga Island. He discovered the first Proconsul skull with a complete face in 1949. Unfortunately for Leakey this was not the missing link, but it was a link between monkey and ape. The discovery also blessed Louis with an increase of research funds. With the much-needed money Leakey continued work at Rusinga where he found more artifacts, and more Proconsul remains. In 1951 Louis decided to return to the site were he began his work. He and Mary went back to the Olduvai site, here he searched for the man that created tools. This is where Louis would make his greatest discovery. In 1959 his excavations paid off, Leakey and his wife found a new skeleton that he called â€Å"Zinj†. The skeleton was put on display at the fourth Pan African Congress where it caused madness among the people there. It also caused Louis and Mary some new worldwide fame, and a considerable amount of money to continue excavation work at Olduvai. In his final years Louis worked at the Corynkon Museum and Mary took over the excavation with Louis visiting in all of his free time. Louis died in 1972 of a heart attack at the age of 69. Louis had only begun to uncover the many mysteries that the Leakeys are known for. His wife Mary continued the work he started and began her own legacy with many new discoveries. Mary D. Leakey was born Mary Nicol on February 6, 1913 in London, England. She lived a difficult childhood which saw her growing up in a number of different countries, and finally in Dorgogne. It was there at the age of eleven that her interest was sparked in prehistory after meeting Abbe Lemozi, who was excavating at the Cavrerets. Upon her father†s death in 1926, Mary†s life changed drastically. Her mother sent her to Catholic convent after convent where she was repeatedly expelled. Although Mary†s childhood education was not all that impressive, she vowed to earn a degree in prehistory after seeing the caves of Dorgogne. As a result of amazing determination, she began attending lectures at the University of London concerning archaeology and geology. Mary†s first opportunity to enter the field occurred when her incredible drawing skills were discovered by Dr. Gertrude Canton-Thompson who asked her to illustrate her book The Desert Fayoum. Dr. Canton-Thompson changed Mary†s life forever by arranging for her to meet Louis Leakey while he was giving a talk at the Royal Anthropologists Institute. Mary impressed him with her illustrations from The Desert Fayoum and he in turn asked her to illustrate his book, Adam†s Ancestors. Her acceptance was the beginning of a relationship that only grew from there. In May of 1934, Mary began her first important excavation at Hembury Fort in Devon. Mary learned many things from her leader Dorothy Liddell, who was an expert in excavation techniques. In the September of the same year, Mary began her own excavation at Jaywick Sands near Clacton in Essex and also published her first scientific paper. Mary joined her husband to work at Olduvai Gorge from 1935 to 1959. Together they worked to reconstruct many Stone Age cultures dating as far back as 100,000 to two million years ago. Their documentation of stone tools covered primitive stone-chopping instruments to multi-purpose hand axes. In 1947, Mary and Louis unearthed a Proconsul africanus skull on Rusinga Island. The twenty million-year-old skeleton led to Mary and Louis jointly being awarded the Stopes Medal from the Geological Association. Mary continued work with her husband making numerous discoveries. In 1959 they discovered a 1. 75 million-year-old Australopithecus boisei skull. Not long after that discovery, a less robust Homo habilis skull and bones of a hand were found. Both fossils were believed to be of stone-tool peoples. Continued efforts blessed them with the uncovering of a Homo erectus cranium in 1965. The sample is thought to be one million years old. Mary made her first trip to the United States in March of 1962, when she and Louis once again jointly receive honors with the Gold Hubbard Medal (the highest honor from the National Geographic Society). Mary continued her amazing career by earning her first Honorary Degree from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Mary†s life was turned upside down in 1972 when Louis died. Mary decided to continue the work her husband loved so much, and proceeded on with work at Olduvai and Laetoli. It was at Laetoli where she discovered Homo fossils more than 3. 75 years old, fifteen new species and one new genus. Mary†s greatest achievement was the discovery of the famous Laetoli hominid footprint trail, which was left in volcanic ashes 3. 6 million years ago. Mary and her staff worked for years to uncover the footprint. The find at Laetoli was huge in the argument for bipedalism in hominids. The years that followed were filled with research at Olduvai and Laetoli, the follow-up work and preparing publications. Mary retired in 1984, and spent the rest of her time writing until her death in 1996 at the age of 83. Mary†s death could have signified the end of the Leakey legacy. However, Mary and Louis†s son Richard has followed right behind his parents and continued the Leakey tradition. Richard Leakey was raised by the world†s best-known archaeologists. He grew up observing and tracking Africa†s rich diversity of wildlife while his parents were discovering ancient pre-human bones in Tanzania†s Olduvai Gorge. Richard left high school at the age of seventeen to begin a career working with wildlife and leading a photographic safari company. Richard eventually began to focus more on Archaeology and in 1968 he made his first important fossil finds when his team uncovered unusually well preserved ancient human remains in Kenya†s Lake Turkana region. In the same year, Leakey, then only 23, was hired as director of the National Museum of Kenya which, over the course of 21 years, he was to build into one of the most respected museums in Africa. In 1984, Richard and his â€Å"Hominid Gang† of fossil hunters discovered fragments of a boy†s skull that were more then 1. 5 million years old. They soon unearthed virtually the entire skeleton of what was dubbed the â€Å"Turkana Boy†, which is recognized as one of the most significant paleoanthropological discoveries of all time. In 1970, Richard married Meave Leakey who he had worked with for about a year at the Koobi Fora site on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana. They had two children, Louise and Samira, in 1972 and 1974 respectively. Meave became the final ingredient in the Leakey legacy. As well as continuing with the fieldwork at Turkana, Meave†s research has focused on the evolution of east African fossil mammals and mammalian faunas as documented in the Turkana basin. Meave became the coordinator of the National Museum†s palaeontological field research, when Richard Leakey left his job as Director of the National Museum to take over the management of Kenya†s wildlife. She has focused her work on sites between 8 and 4 million years old. Her work led to the 1994 discovery of the earliest known hominids. These finds represent a new species, Australopithecus anamensis, likely an ancestor of afarensis. Richard and Meave still to this day are carrying on the Leakey tradition of excellence in Archaeology. Louis, Mary, Richard, and Meave Leakey truly are the greatest Anthropologists to ever share one name. Between them they have made countless discoveries which each dramatically contributed to our understanding of human origins. The Leakey tradition is one of dedication, honor, and amazing accomplishment. Their involvement in our search for an explanation of human evolution has truly become a legacy. The Leakey legacy will always be remembered as the greatest contribution to the search for answers.

Literary Analysis of the poem Beowulf Essay

Beowulf is considered as one of the longest poems in literature with more than 3,000 lines. It is has no known author, but it was considered as the national epic of England. Beowulf is a man – a hero who faced three major battles in the poem. These battles were not against other humans, but were against monstrous creatures (The Norton Anthology of English Literature). It is a poem that deals with legends, of hero and his men, and his great battles. It is composed mainly to entertain, a work of fiction with several relations to historical context. And with this, some speculations were raised, saying that Beowulf was something more that a poetic narrative of the hero, Beowulf. The epic poem was then related to a Christian context, saying that it was a Christian allegory. The poem takes place in the late 5th to 6th century, following the Anglo-Saxon’s settlement in England, after making contact with Germanic tribes in Scandinavia and Germany. Beowulf may be based on real people and real events at that time in Scandinavia. The clans mentioned in the poem were clans which are found in the area, as well as some of the prominent personalities in the story. So basically, the epic poem is a work of fiction but was based on factual characters and events during that time. The time of Beowulf was a time of Paganism, but Beowulf himself addresses a higher being rather than man, wherein he presents himself to the Father Almighty. According to Helterman, â€Å"As the view of the intellectual setting has shifted from a pagan to a Christian context, this ‘something more’ has been seen as a Christian allegory or didacticism†¦yet the tone of the poem and the lack of specific Christian allusions cause difficulties for such an approach (Helterman). The poem didn’t mention anything regarding Christianity, and Beowulf was a pagan. But there were several â€Å"Christian sentiments of a general sort† which were attributed to the hero. Because of the Christian-like characterization of the hero Beowulf, there were several speculations saying that the author was a Christian in England who wrote about Scandinavian history, which then became the epic poem Beowulf. But some said that the Christian attribution in the hero’s character could mean that he was an archetype, the generic, idealized model of a person (Chickering). And at that time, Christianity was a budding religion, wherein Beowulf’s character could have been patterned into that of an ideal Christian. Beowulf as the hero of the epic was made the way he is, the ideal person. But then again, every hero has its counterparts. And just like Beowulf, his counterpart can be seen in a Christian context. The epic poem Beowulf is divided into three major battles. The first one is his battle with the monstrous creature called Grendel, which was the reason why he went to Hrotgar. Just like Beowulf, Grendel also has a Christian context. He is to be the descendant of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve which was banished for killing his own brother. Because of this, Grendel is given an antagonistic comparison with Cain, who was the first person to commit murder in the Christian bible. Grendel, along with his mother, was compared to as the kinsmen of Cain, whereas Beowulf was the pagan hero considered as the archetype of a human being. Beowulf and Grendel were great opposites, as manifestation of the forces of good battling with the forces of evil, or in the context of religion and Christianity, will be righting the wrong. Beowulf’s character is the manifestation of Christianity’s good; wherein his defense of Heorot was an act to â€Å"order the chaotic universe,† where Grendel and his mother on the other hand, were the forces that bring chaos, falling into pattern of disorder (Batchelor). This is manifested by their physical appearance wherein they do not resemble or have any human characteristics. They were monstrous in size and strength. They can kill people with the swipe of their hands, and they even eat people, as to what Grendel did to Hrotgar’s men. Another possible association with religion and Christianity was during the creation of Heorot, the great hall which was built for the people of King Hrotgar (Helterman). The creation of the hall was because of the word of the king. It is the same as that of the Christian’s Genesis, wherein with the word of God, there was light. And it was with that word that He was able to create day and night, and everything that he wished and commanded. Just as with Hrotgar’s word, Heorot was created, all for the sake of the people, since in this hall they dined, ate and sang, until the time that Grendel came into the story. When Grendel came, it was like introducing chaos into order so that you could cleanse it, just like the cleansing of the sins of the people, just like the Great flood, where chaos or the flood was added in order to cleanse the world of the sinners. When Grendel came into Heorot, chaos caused destruction, thus it would require reconstruction, where after reconstruction was the cleansed state. Grendel, even though he caused a great deal of devastation to the people, has served a purpose, which was to strengthen the then destroyed Heorot. His chaos has led to a good outcome in the story. It could also be viewed on another angle, where the battle between Beowulf and Grendel was actually the same as to that of the myth of creation, where light and darkness mixed and â€Å"fought† in order to create the earth and everything in it. Another instance that relates the epic poem Beowulf to Christianity was during the battle against the mother of Grendel. Beowulf was definite on the losing end at that moment, since his sword, Hrunting, lost its powers and cannot harm the creature he is up against with. In his desperation, he was able to locate a sword in the Grendel’s lair, which only he could be able to use. It was a heavy sword of the giant, which he used to behead the mother of Grendel and eventually prolong his life. Even though he was able to slay the monster and keep his life, he gives the credit of his victory to the â€Å"higher being,† the â€Å"Wielder of Men. † It was an indirect association to God in Christianity, since he recognizes His powers and that his victory wasn’t possible without him. Beowulf being a pagan is just a characteristic, since there was no evidence of him knowing about Christianity (Batchelor). But the fact that he addresses to a higher being is a manifestation of being Christian even in his beliefs. The epic poem Beowulf is truly a literary piece that was made to entertain, with the life of Beowulf as a hero, his adventures, his battles, and even his death, makes it a wonderful read. But there are other underlying concerns that could come about while reading the epic. It is undeniable that there are other meanings in what was written, rather than just to entertain. The poem Beowulf is associated with religion, especially Christianity. The main character’s recognition of a higher being is but one of many manifestations of this underlying messages.