The fittest and dreams Essay Example For Students

The fittest and dreams Essay Steinbeck has shown a direct significance in chapters 1 and 6 to show his view on survival of the fittest and dreams. The novel is cyclical as we examine, begins and ends in the same place. The beginning included keywords such as ‘twinkling’, ‘sunlight’ and ‘golden’, which makes the setting seem almost like the Garden of Eden. It has also been quoted that ‘a path had been beaten hard by boys’, portraying the theme of the novel, where nature being the weak and man destroying it with their power, shows the weak never survive and it’s the battle of the survival of the fittest. Even throughout the novel, events are foreshadowed throughout. We will write a custom essay on The fittest and dreams specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Where the death of Candy’s dog foreshadows the death of Lennie, Lennie killing the mouse, the puppy, and then the girl, all show a link to what may happen. Both chapter 1 and chapter 6 feature animals to foreplay the story where Steinbeck can give us two ideas to the theme of the novel and where he introduces the water snake and heron. Where in the first chapter everything seems to be calm and under control and peaceful, but in the last chapter it seems as if good (being nature) had been destroyed, where the heron then eats the water snake ‘plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake’. This scene gives us a sense of the weak not being able to survive but then the scene is followed by ‘re-birth’ or a new life, ‘another little water snake swam up the pool’, which gives us another sense that even after death and the feeling of all hope being lost, there may still be a second chance. In chapter 6 on the other hand, the setting is completely different. All signs of hope seem to have been gone and highlights the end to the ‘American dream, which could link to how they have been destroyed throughout the novel. The whole heavenly-like atmosphere has disappeared where the peaceful surroundings have now turned into almost a hell-like vision with ‘the sun had left the valley’, ‘a pleasant shade had fallen’, symbolising the death of dreams and the use of pathetic fallacy. We know from just by looking at the scene where the whole novel had started, which was based in the location ‘Soledad’ meaning loneliness in Spanish, that loneliness is the main theme, where every man is for himself, where they dream of freedom that they can never really get.

How to Structure News Stories With the Inverted Pyramid

How to Structure News Stories With the Inverted Pyramid There are a few basic rules for writing and structuring any news story. If you’re accustomed to other types of writing – such as fiction – these rules may seem odd at first. But the format is easy to pick up, and there are very practical reasons why reporters have followed this format for decades. Inverted Pyramid in News The inverted pyramid is the model for news writing. It simply means that the heaviest or most important information should be at the top – the beginning – of your story, and the least important information should go at the bottom. And as you move from top to bottom, the information presented should gradually become less important. In the age of internet news, many online news outlets have tweaked this format to align with search engines. But the basic premise remains the same: Get the most important information at the top of the news story. How to Write with the Inverted Pyramid Let’s say you’re writing a story about a fire in which two people are killed and their house is destroyed. In your reporting, you’ve gathered a lot of details including the victims’ names, the address of their home, what time the blaze broke out, and possibly what officials believe may have caused the fire. Obviously, the most important information is the fact that two people died in the fire. That’s what you want at the top of your story. Other details – the names of the deceased, the address of their home, when the fire occurred – should certainly be included. But they can be placed lower down in the story, not at the very top. And the least important information - things like what the weather was like at the time, or the color of the home - should be at the very bottom of the story (if included at all). Story Follows The Lede The other important aspect of structuring a news article is making sure the story follows logically from the lede (this is a deliberate misspelling of lead, which prevented confusion among typesetters in the early days of newspapers). So if the lede of your story focuses on the fact that two people were killed in the house fire, the paragraphs that immediately follow the lede should elaborate on that fact. You wouldnt want the second or third paragraph of the story to discuss the weather at the time of the fire, for example. Details such as the peoples names, their ages and how long they had lived in the home would all be important to include immediately following the lede sentence. History of the Inverted Pyramid The inverted pyramid format turns traditional storytelling on its head. In a short story or novel, the most important moment – the climax - typically comes about two-thirds of the way through, closer to the end. But in news writing, the most important moment is right at the start of the lede. The inverted pyramid format was developed during the Civil War. Newspaper correspondents covering that war’s great battles relied on telegraph machines to transmit their stories back to their newspapers’ offices. But often saboteurs would cut the telegraph lines, so reporters learned to transmit the most important information – General Lee defeated at Gettysburg, for instance – at the very start of the transmission to make sure it got through successfully. The use of the inverted pyramid also grew in popularity because as the news cycle grew shorter with the advent of television and online news, readers attention spans grew shorter as well. Now, theres no guarantee readers will continue to the end of a story, so getting the most important information at the top of the story is more important than ever.

Bounty Land Warrants From 1775 to 1885

Bounty Land Warrants From 1775 to 1885 Bounty land warrants were grants of free land issued to veterans in return for military service from the time of the  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Revolutionary War through 1855 in the United States. They contained the surrendered warrant, a letter of assignment if the warrant was transferred to another individual, and other papers pertaining to the transaction. What Are Bounty Land Warrants in Detail Bounty land is a grant of free land from a government given to citizens as a reward for service to their country, generally for military-related service. Most bounty-land warrants in the United States were given to veterans or their survivors for wartime military service performed between 1775 and 3 March 1855. This includes veterans who served in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Mexican War. Bounty land warrants werent automatically issued to every veteran who served. The veteran first had to apply for a warrant and then, if the warrant was granted, he could use the warrant to apply for a land patent. The land patent is the document which granted him ownership of the land. Bounty land warrants could also be transferred or sold to other individuals.   They were also used as a way to provide evidence of military service, especially in cases where a veteran or his widow did not apply for a pension How They Were Awarded Revolutionary War bounty land warrants were first awarded through an  act of Congress on 16 September 1776. They were last awarded for military service in 1858, although the ability to claim bounty land previously earned extended until 1863. A few claims that were tied up in the courts caused lands to be granted as late as 1912. What You Can Learn From Bounty Land Warrants A bounty land warrant application for a veteran of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 or the Mexican War will include the individuals rank, military unit and period of service. It will also generally provide his age and place of residence at the time of application. If the application was made by the surviving widow, it will usually include her age, place of residence, the date and place of marriage, and her maiden name. Accessing Bounty Land Warrants Federal bounty land warrants are kept at the National Archives in Washington D.C. and can be requested through the mail on NATF Form 85 (Military Pension/Bounty Land Warrant Applications) or ordered online.

Marketing Models Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Marketing Models - Essay Example These are responding to customer needs which will drive company success. Electronic marketing and technology will enable us to relate to the classics. Riley (2012) notes that cheaper and faster will allow businesses to execute strategies that would be impossible before. Consumer wants are constantly changing faster in the 21st century compared to past years. This is due to easy access to products through internet, electronic and print media. Industries are flooded with same products hence customers should to be aware of your business and what it offers. Consumer awareness can be fully achieved through marketing. So as a business person, one must always be focusing into the future. Most Small Micro Enterprises always sideline marketing citing expenses. Small businesses operate mostly on no-frills thus view marketing as expensive. Question that arises is how in absence of marketing one suggests to acquire the much wanted client base that affect sales. Many businesses are in operation and competition cut throat in the 21st century due to improved innovation. Without effective marketing of products, brand Image Company’s are deemed to fail in the start up stages, Riley (2012) Marketing campaign decisions must be drawn to sway sales and consumers. Generally a business could swap sales team size, price and advertisement budget. Marketing process invloves situational analysis, marketing strategy, market mix decision and implementation and control. Because the product already exists in the market and at its maturity stage, the market mix process would be applicable. Several tools are used by marketers to create the desired feedback from target consumers. These set of tools are called marketing mix. At the market mix level, planned decisions are drawn for controllable indicators. The most applicable indicator for the product is product promotional assessment. The main marketing

Personal Statement for Bioinformatics Graduate Program

For Bioinformatics Graduate Program - Personal Statement Example At High School, my plans for the future centered on my becoming a practicing doctor, with the skill of healing patients. I must admit that I had to overcome the disadvantage of a relatively weak foundation in Science, as a result of my Middle School curriculum in China, which did not include Biology. The language barrier also proved difficult to break during the initial years of my arrival in the USA, and my focus then was on mastering English and Mathematics, and understanding American culture. The scientific terms in Biology were difficult to come to grips with! However, my determination to enter the field of Medicine kept me going. The same determination is now my tool in my effort to overcome any shortcomings in my academic career. I am very aware that my GRE writing score of 3 could have been higher, and am determined to identify and address this through repeated practice of writing skills. A career in medicine continued to be my goal as I stood on the threshold of my freshman y ear at the University of California, Davis. However, the first Molecular Cellular Biology class I attended at the UC Davis, discussing gene therapy, proved to be a revelation to me: I had discovered the interest of my life! I was fascinated by the intricacies and application of genetics: especially in the area of finding epigenetic information. Here was a new front in the battle against chronic disease. As I continued to take additional technical electives in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, and Biotechnology, I came to realize that genetics is one of the most powerful tools available to humanity in the field of medicine. Gene association studies and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection can be used in disease prediction, thus potentially preventing disease formation. Genetics is the cutting-edge of health-care research and personalized medicine. The next step in my academic evolution was my realization of the power of technology. As the only child of immigrant parents who were focused on earning a living, the computer has been a good friend of mine, right from the age of twelve, when I moved to the USA. While working as a Laboratory Assistant at the Immunology and Histology Lab of UC Davis Veterinary School in 2009-2010, I became deeply aware of the vast amount of medical information stored and retrieved by accessing a database. This personal experience of the power and efficacy of computers impressed on me the importance of technology as a tool in research. I discovered that the hands-on processing of data gives me immense satisfaction. Gradually, my earlier interest in science and research shifted focus from the traditional bench sitting to a computer oriented approach. Therefore, in my junior year of college, I declared my major as Biotechnology, with a Bioinformatics option that combined my interests in both technology/informatics and biology/genetics. The Applied Bioinformatics course I took in the fall of 2010 confirmed that my special interest lay in the field of bioinformatics and its application in genetic/genomic studies. Craving further practical experience in this field, I opted for internships at different laboratories: Theg Lab, UC Davis; Molecular Anthropology Laboratory, UC Davis; Dubcovsky Wheat Genetic Lab, UC Davis;

McDonalds use to help their employees Essay Example for Free

McDonalds use to help their employees Essay Staff are expensive and in McDonalds need to obtain permission to recruit a new member of staff. If McDonalds is struggling, they may also need agreement to replace someone who is leaving. Normally therefore there is a specific procedure managers must follow before the recruitment process can be started. Agree the Job Description The job being advertised may be new, in which case a job description needs to be devised. Even if someone is being replaced, it is useful to update the job description in case any task or duties have changed, Example of a Job Description Department : Marketing Job Title: Marketing Assistant Hours of work: 38 per week, normally 9am-5 45pm Monday-Friday with one hour lunch, but some flexibility required Salary scale: 12000-i 14000 Responsible to: Marketing Manager Responsible for: Not applicable Job purpose: to provide general support for the marketing team, to prepare marketing materials, to keep the website up to date and monitor online responses. The type of interview will depend on the job. a basic one stage interview is usual for manual or junior vacancies in McDonalds. A two stage interview in McDonalds would involve a panel of interviewers used for senior or high skill vacancies. Some interviews will include basic tests of aptitude or specific skills such as keyboarding or numeracy All interviewers in McDonalds should be trained so they know how to question candidates skilfully and fairly. They should know how to spot gaps on application forms, understand how to follow up inadequate answers and have the skills to encourage shy or reserved candidates to do their best. They must also be clear on all the laws e. g. sex discrimination, health and safety etc. They should also be able to be fair, ths involves same questions and discussions. Making an offer Once a person has been selected McDonalds makes a formal job offer. The other candidates are normally not contacted at this stage, in case the first choice refuses because then a offer can be given to the second best. Only after the offer is accepted 100% the other applicants are told they have been unsuccessful. McDonalds know that waiting for news is agonising for candidates they speed things up contacting candidates by phone so that the remaining letters can be sent quickly. Training The reason why McDonalds train there employees is to make sure there employees are learning knowledge and skills which can be used in employment. Training can be split into two parts On the job training This means that the employee is trained in the McDonalds. Many people enjoy this as it gibes them experience and enable them to do their job properly. Off the job training This means attending course elsewhere such as colleges or a training centre away for McDonalds. Skills Training Training is about gaining more skills Non transferable skills These are skills that are specific to the job held. They may be of little use in another job. E. g. training to make burgers in the restaurant provides the employee with a non transferable skill. This is not a problem unless they look for a new job, get made redundant, or skill becomes out of date. This is where McDonalds allocating people extra tasks in their jobs gives management a better idea of an employees true ability and determination. Job enrichment Where McDonalds add more interest and more difficult tasks to the job. This is done with an employee with promising potential to see just how capable the person really is. Understudying An employee is attached to a very senior manager to act as an assistant. Shadowing This is where in McDonalds an employee spends more time each week with a manager to learn what they do and to get a better idea of what problems they deal with. It is used in McDonalds to adapt a employee rapidly into a top job. Mentoring This is used in McDonalds a lot; it is where a senior manager passes on the benefits of his or her experience and wisdom to a younger employee. Project work Giving a promising employee a specific investigative project enables them to get appropriate many aspects of McDonalds and it enables them to get to know senior management. National Awards McDonalds are very keen to train and develop their employees. The government encourages McDonalds to invest time and money to be able to do this. Employees can achieve NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications. National training awards McDonalds and their employees can be granted National training awards for achieving excellence and success through training. The awards are aimed at people who have decided to improve their chances of success through learning new skills. National Vocational Qualifications The reason for NVQs is to create a national system of approved skills based qualifications for all employees. These qualifications are workplace based and they cover vocational areas such as McDonalds Administration. Training and development are vitally important for the overall efficiency and competitiveness of McDonalds. The way in which McDonalds recruit and train is excellent as there employees have generally improved. The appraisal is a good method which also helps the employees performance, because McDonalds do this every six months to analyse progression. For McDonalds, people are its most important asset. This is because customer satisfaction begins with the attitutudes and abilities of employees and committed, effective workers are the best route to success. For these reasons, McDonalds strives to attract and hire the best, and to provide the best place to work. All businesses experience staff turnover for various reasons e. g. career change, leaving the area, returning to education, a new opportunity elsewhere. Recruiting and training staff is very expensive and businesses will look to keep staff turnover to a minimum. One way of doing this is to choose wisely, and treat well. McDonalds needs people who want to excel in delivering outstanding service. To ensure the company recruits the right people, it has identified essential skills and behaviours that applicants should be able to demonstrate. For each position there is a job description outlining typical duties and responsibilities and a person specification defining personal skills and competences. Recruiting suitable applicants Under McDonalds recruitment policy, each individual restaurant is responsible for filling hourly-paid positions. The Management Recruitment department in East Finchley co-ordinates the recruitment of managers. For recruiting hourly-paid employees McDonalds use several avenues. Positions are generally advertised in the restaurant. The companys recruitment history shows this is the best method of hiring quality staff e. g. people living locally and/or friends of existing employees. McDonalds also uses local job centres, career fairs and other local facilities. It is vital to use effective hiring material with a clear message targeted at the right audience. A recruitment exercise often generates more applications than there are positions available. The manager will select the applicants to be interviewed and will conduct the interviews. Over 60% of restaurant crew are aged 20 or under and; for the majority of applicants, a job with McDonalds would be their first experience of employment. For many young people, McDonalds also offers a career opportunity. A well-run interview will identify an applicants potential to be a successful McDonalds employee. To find people who will be committed to excel in delivering outstanding service, McDonalds scripts an interview guide that helps the company predict how an applicants past behaviour is likely to influence future performance. It uses a fact-based decision-making process. The questions look for actual events or situations rather than allowing applicants to give a general or theoretical response. Interviewers look for behavioural evidence in the applicants life history that fits with the requirements of the job. The interviewer rates candidates on their responses and offers jobs to those who earn the highest ratings. McDonalds future managers come from two main sources. More than half of all salaried management positions are taken up by hourly-paid employees who earn promotion. The remainder are predominately graduates. Wherever possible, McDonalds directs applicants towards applying on line at www. mcdonalds. co. uk. People who cannot access the web can call the Recruitment Hotline, or pick up a pre-paid Business Reply Card from a McDonalds restaurant. The selection process includes an initial online psychometric test. This test produces an initial score. The applicant then attends a first stage interview and is offered On Job Experience (OJE). This is a 2-day assessment in a restaurant. Successful completion at OJE will lead to a final.

Platos Repubulic- Music, Art, Literature Essay -- essays research pap

In The Republic, Plato uses many different aspects in Books II, III, and X including: art, literature, and music. These aspects play a huge part in the building of the â€Å"ideal city†. Plato includes what can and cannot be used and what is good and what is bad for the city. While building the city, everything is broken down and analyzed by Plato. Art as an imitation of real things, three types of imitation, the types of literature, art, and music allowed and not allowed in the city, and the impact of art on the people of the city will all be analyzed in this paper. Books III and X contain information on art as an imitation of real things. â€Å"Imitation, we say, imitates human beings performing forced or voluntary actions, and, as a result of the action, supposing themselves to have done well or badly, and in all of this experiencing pain or enjoyment† (287). Plato also describes art as the imitation of real things as a copy of an object. A painter paints a picture of a couch. The couch in the painting looks the same as the couch that was used for the painting, but the couch in the picture is a copy of the original couch. Plato makes it seem that art imitates the objects and events of real life. Plato furthers his point by introducing his theory that a copy of a copy of an object is imitation. For example, carpenters build a bed which they did not originally event. The carpenter’s bed was built by the carpenter but it was based off another bed that was originally created by God. This makes the carpenter’s bed a copy of another bed. When a painter is painting he also creates a copy of an object. If he paints the carpenters bed, it is a copy of a copy of an object. Plato includes, â€Å"imitation is surely far from the truth, and, as it... ...s that the people are very important to Plato. If degrading artwork, stories, or poems enter the city it could make the people weak, unhappy, and very depressed. On the other hand, if positive artwork is introduced the whole mood of the city changes. They could be come strong, happy, and vivacious. Plato made sure that there was no literature or music that sad or discouraging in the city. As seen in Books II, III, and X, art, literature, and music played a large part in putting the ideal city together. The imitation of art had a large impact on everyone in the city, each type of music had to fit the personality or job of each person in the city, and the literature had to be watched closely so that the women, children, and even men were not distraught by it. While building the ideal city Plato had to make sure everything was perfect so that everyone was happy.

Dark and gothic atmosphere Essay

In this essay I will show how Mary Shelley manipulates the reader’s view of the monster throughout her novel â€Å"Frankenstein.† I will show that Shelley creates many different impressions on the reader, through various methods, to change their opinion throughout the book.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Frankenstein† is a romantic gothic horror novel written in 1818 by a young woman named Mary Shelley. It includes the classic gothic themes of romance, horror, religion and good and evil. â€Å"Frankenstein†, however, is centred on a issue still debated today; whether trying to change life is playing God and if it will lead to dire consequences. At the time of writing Mary Shelley was 16, the wife of Percy Shelley and staying in the Swiss Alps with Lord Byron and her husband. One of the more classic methods Shelley uses to manipulate her readers is setting. In chapter 5 the setting gives a dark and gothic atmosphere, which tells the reader that the monster is horrifying and to be feared. â€Å"One in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out.† This quote is giving the reader the idea of isolation; something surreptitious and forbidden. Mary Shelley does this by using a classic gothic horror setting; the night which traditionally implies evil, secrecy and darkness, the bad weather, used to make everything more dank and dismal, and the burnt down candle, a symbol of long hours of frenzied work and manic concentration. This setting also reflects badly on Frankenstein’s character; the middle of a stormy night when most people would be in bed and he is up, furtively completing a long held ambition. The burnt down candle image heightens this idea but also adds the concept that Frankenstein himself may be close to burning out. The candle is used as a metaphor for his own exhaustion. This type of setting shows the reader that Frankenstein is doing something secretly, something offensive to society. This casts a negative shadow on his character. The setting is also used to put a negative slur on the monster and just about everything else in the scene. The setting is used to make everything worse. The strange hour of the night and turbulent weather show the reader that the monster must be weird and unnatural to be kept away from normal people. Overall the main effect of this setting is to make all the ideas Mary Shelley presents to her readers in this chapter seem twisted and dangerous. Another thing which Mary Shelley uses to influence the reader’s opinion of the monster is its appearance. We are introduced to the living monster in chapter 5 and this is where most of the description concerning its â€Å"horrid† appearance is used. The monster is repulsive and gruesome, which is described in horrifying detail, causing the reader to make negative judgements on its character. In describing the monster Shelley also uses the reference of â€Å"Dante†. This comparison introduces a religious element; in playing God, Frankenstein has produced something worse than can be found in Hell. This also reinforces the unnatural image. This is continued with the idea that the monster has not turned out the way Frankenstein expected. â€Å"Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The whole vivid description centres on the unnatural and freakish, especially the way the monster’s innards are described as visible through the monster’s sallow skin. This creates a dramatic image in the readers mind as something human shaped but ultimately wrong, different and scary, more animal than human. The monster is also described as having â€Å"watery eyes† which make us think of illness, or perhaps, in the case of the monster, crying. This idea makes the monster seem all the more wretched and repulsive. Mary Shelley also uses the reaction of Victor Frankenstein to prejudice her readers against the monster in chapter 5. â€Å"†¦the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.† The inventor turns against his creation immediately after giving it life. He takes no responsibility for the monster’s well being though he is the closest thing to a father the monster could have. He runs from his duty and breaks down, delirious with the shock of losing his dream and realising that he has done an evil deed. This adds to the fear felt by the reader; if even it’s creator cannot stand the monster, how evil would a stranger find it? The way Frankenstein turns against the monster the moment it comes to life signals to the reader that this is the moment when the sin is committed. Giving life is going against God so this is where all the negativity in this chapter, and in most of the book starts. The last influence on our opinion of the monster I will look at in chapter 5 is the monster’s own words and actions. In this chapter they are deliberately given a double meaning; animal, or baby? â€Å"His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.† This quote shows the monster as incoherent, whether due to a lack of intelligence or experience is unclear at this point. However the monster has, in effect, just been born and the behaviours Shelley describes are very similar to young children not quite in control of their movements, trying to pick up or chew on everything they find. When these movements are applied to the monster Shelley describes they become intimidating and threatening which gives the reader an even worse impression of the monster, when in reality it is just a scared child who has been called into the world and then rejected within minutes. Frankenstein is the first living creature the monster sets eyes on. This means that in its view Frankenstein is its father. This means that the monster reaches out to him for comfort and shelter. â€Å"†¦one hand was stretched out,† This quote shows the monster reaching for Frankenstein. However Shelley deliberately leaves the action open for interpretation as an animal attack to reinforce the overall impression received by the reader in this chapter that the monster is an ugly, evil, dangerous, horrifying animal. There are a lot of contrasts between chapters 5 and 10. The first is the setting which becomes a lot more dangerous and inaccessible in chapter 10. The setting is first portrayed in this chapter as enormous and amazing, as yet untouched by humans. â€Å"Solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial nature was broken only by the brawling waves or the fall of some vast fragment.† This quote shows why Frankenstein has come to this place; he wants peace and isolation, and to think about more than just his own personal tragedy. â€Å"They elevated me from all little ness of feeling, and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquillized it.† The language used to describe the setting is more elaborate in this chapter, which reflects the increased grandeur of the scene. This is done to create a sense of awe from the reader and to show them how isolated the setting is, which affects their perception of the monster when he is introduced to the c hapter.

Marketing Plan Phase Essay

Marketing increases awareness of an organization’s products and services. In the current technology driven market, organizations must constantly develop and promote new products and services to meet customer needs. The following plan outlines a proposed Kids’ Area for Best Buy. Company Overview Best Buy is a growth company focused on better solving the unmet needs of our customers, and we rely on our employees to solve those puzzles† (Best Buy, 2009-2015). In 1966 Robert Schulze and his business partner James Wheeler opened Sound of Music Inc. in an effort to produce a share of the home and car stereo retail market. In 1970 Schulze decided to buy out his partner and continued to develop his retail chain. Schulze began to realize that he needed to alter the direction that his company was going in, so he attended a seminar that brought him to turn the possibilities into a reality. The first change was to expand the offerings of the organization that would include VCR’s, and appliances, which would ultimately bring in more revenue for the company, about 9.3 million for the year to be exact. In 1983 Sound of Music changed their name to Best Buy, and aimed toward a broader more comfortable customer base. As of today Best Buy has more than a dozen brand names, operates on four continents, in over 3000 stores (Best Buy, 2009-2012). Best Buy’s mission is to continue to profit and grow as a team by providing their customers with exceptional value and a great shopping experience (Best Buy, 2009-2012). Service Proposal Kids Corner will give parents a valuable service who have the desire to get in and out of Best Buy without acquiring the hassle of going from place to place to find items for their children. Kids Corner comes as a benefit to parents and their children who want to buy the hottest games and other little gadgets for their children. This particular area is a place where parents and children can find the electronics and accessories that kids want in one location instead of running all over the store to find what they need. Another added perk of Kids Corner is the online features and service that will give children the opportunity to play online games, parents can evaluate different products and modify their online profiles. Kids Corner will be separated according to age groups ranging from: 3-17 year olds. Grouping according to age is how Best Buy will decide what products go where. The three to five year old sections will consist of mostly educational and some electronic games, kid’s movies and dvd’s. This area will add an extra touch with decorated pictures of Disney, marvel, and educational characters. For the six to ten10 year old area it will feature educational games, software, video games, music and dvd’s. The 11-14 year olds (pre-teens) will have music, dvd’s, gaming accessories, educational games and software, cell phones, and cameras. The 15-17 year olds (teens) area will consist of music, music accessories, video games and accessories, dvd’s computers, cell phones, and other gadgets. Marketing Approach Approaching marketing research for the idea of a Kids Corner for Best Buy would need to include different fundamentals, such as consumer analysis for demographics, psychographics, behavioral patterns, including buying habits, and geographical scenarios. The goal of marketing a Kids Corner for Best Buy is to make Best Buy widely known and recognized for promoting a kid friendly environment. Another important aspect for research is the competition of competing with other electronics stores that offer the same service. Researchers perform psychographic research by engaging the consumers to say yes or no to activities, personal interests, and personal opinions about the marketing research conducted. When research has been completed the results are shared in regard to geographic and demographics, according to characteristics of the target area (Business Dictionary, 2013). Psychographics will generate an in-depth profile of the consumers who participate in the research. The research will p resent an opportunity to collect data on activities, interest, and opinions that will be advantageous to both the consumers and Best Buy’s sales power. The success of Kids Corner will depend on a solid marketing plan that must be focused on the consumers more rather than the power of the service offered. The plan will cover advertising, promotions, public relations, and sales. Strategically, although quality service is also crucial, the buying public still has their personal preferences Clancy, 2008). If Kids Corner targets more of the consumers needs, they will come back again and bring along potential customers. The research plan will include research on other competing electronics stores to allow Best Buy to identify if the needs for a Kids Corner would be beneficial to the organization’s needs. If the data collected shows the service is already offered by the competitors than Best Buy can shift is marketing strategies to accommodate consumers, by marketing a scenario that the other electronics stores does not offer. The marketing strategies will also need to focus on the contributions of consumers who in turn will contribute to the success of Best Buy Kids Corner and their needs. Pricing is another important aspect of the marketing strategy, and it will need to be affordable. The results of the surveys conducted as well as the needs of services will help determine Best Buy Kids Corner geographical areas depending on Best Buy stores locations. Understanding the markets needs, consumer contributions, developing, and building upon the strategy proposed, and implementation of the plan, to include monitoring the plan are the marketing steps used to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the marketing approach (Clancy, 2008). SWOTT Analysis A SWOTT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and trends) analysis on the new Kids Corner service offered at all Best Buy store locations: Strengths: Best Buy’s internal strengths include their available resources and capabilities that can be used in the development of a competitive advantage. * The innovative development of a new service called Kids Corner * Best Buy is a $50 billion Fortune 100 company (Best Buy, 2009 – 2015). * Best Buy has an average of 1.6 billion visitors per year via in-store, on-line, and mobile device (Best Buy, 2009 – 2015). * Best Buy continues to experience growth via acquisitions and mergers, i.e. Magnolia Hi-Fi, Inc. and Geek Squad (Best Buy, 2009 – 2015). * Best Buy leads the way in Consumer Electronics compared to other discount stores such as Walmart and Target. Best Buys largest competitor is RadioShack Corporation. * Reorganization of the existing space in the already large Best Buy stores to make room for Kids Corner. * Use existing â€Å"sample/interactive† products, i.e. hand held video games, toys, etc. as tax write-offs. * Knowledgeable customer service and highly trained/tech savvy staff to serve the customers. * Competitive edge over other electronic department stores with the existing branded image and children’s focused department. * Best Buys Trade-in program compensates consumers in a variety of ways for used electronics products. Weaknesses: Best Buy’s internal weaknesses are items not as transparent to consumers and may be viewed as weaknesses. * Lack of knowledge specific to children’s electronics/toys. * Undifferentiated products or services in relation to Best Buy competitors. * Interactive displays may expire quickly with overuse in the Kids Corner. * If RadioShack Corporation were to offer a similar service this could lead to confusion of consumers and possibly damage the brands. * Training staff specifically to children’s electronics and toys ma y lead to additional funds for re-training the Kids Corner if the strategy is reconsidered. * Success of the Kids Corner is dependent upon consumers seeking child specific products. Opportunities: Best Buy has many external opportunities with the addition of the childcare center. * Best Buy could expand Kids Corner to online and mobile service with children’s electronics/toys customer service readily available via online chat or by telephone. * Increased sales by customers simply spending more time on their personal shopping by having the ability to have a highly visual Kids Corner in-store where knowledgeable staff is available to assist with products specific to the Kids Corner. * The implementation of the Kids Corner opens doors to other growth opportunities, such as mergers or acquisitions pertaining to children’s products. Threats: Best Buy’s potential threats from the external environment * Competitors could develop a similar service and cause consumer confusion of the brand and possibly damage the brand. * Increase in labor costs specific to hiring and training for children’s electronics/toys offered in Kids Corner * Online competitor’s ability to sell consumer electronics at lower prices. * Online gaming sites are reducing the consumers need to purchase games. Many websites offer free games for children, i.e. Disney.com and Nickelodeon.com. Trends: Best Buy’s management team has various avenues of marketing research available to determine the success of the Kids Corner service. * Demographically, Best Buy stores are generally located in city suburbs that encompass large amounts of families. The large amount of families in a close radius to Best Buy locations encourages the implementation of the new Kids Corner service. Changes in demographics could lead to Best Buy restructuring or reconsidering the Kids Corner service. * Economic environments of city suburbs include both large corporations and small business with low amounts of unemployment. Best Buy’s m anagement can review the markets economic status by assessing various publicly available reports both finance and employment rates. Management can make decisions to develop new strategies to encompass the changing economic environment. * Best Buy practices sustainability in their Trade-In program available to customers who want to trade used electronics to receive in-store credit or check on site to refurbish or recycle used electronics. *Children’s electronic products are included in the Trade-In program. * Best Buy’s primary focus is on technology and offering the most advanced consumer electronics to consumers. Best Buy learns about consumers needs and wants by performing extensive research by in-store customer interaction and consumer purchases, online research of publicly available survey results, reviewing the success of their primary competitor’s products, and by conducting online surveys available on the Best Buy website. This data allows Best Buy to determine what products and services to offer next such as the Kids Corner. Marketing Strategy â€Å"8- to 12-year-olds spend $30 billion of their own money each year and influence another $150 billion of their parents’ spending† (Lagorio, 2009). Best Buy is making their kids products easier to find and to purchase. With the marketing strategy, Best Buy notices a high conversion rate of children’s products, but doesn’t want to dilute their other client segments by turning the culture of Best Buy into a kid’s store. Best Buy has found a way to grow their child customer base, while making it easy and convenient for the parents, children and other customer segments. Location of the Kids Corner will be a major part of executing this strategy. By consolidating the children’s products into a specific part of the stores globally, called the Kids Corner, it offers a better overall culture to the client segments Best Buy has identified. The parents who are looking for their children can get all their children’s needs at one, convenient place, while Best Buy continues to cross sell and up sell. Pricing causes challenges and in many cases, Best Buy and other stores have hard times cutting prices in the latest and greatest electronics and toys. Offering a specifically targeted shopping convenience is proven to increase revenue with new and loyal customers. Promoting with both in store and online ads will drive awareness. Online marketing will make it easier to market toward those you know have kids. Emails and banner ads showcasing the Kids Corner will be sure to keep parents coming for more. Conclusion The Kid’s Area seeks to enhance the shopping experience for Best Buy’s customers. By conveniently gathering products for children, Best Buy targets products more accurately. This accuracy increases the likelihood of success for Best Buy’s overall market strategy. Reference About Best Buy. (2009 – 2015). Retrieved from http://pr.bby.com/about-best-buy/ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500823_162-2798401.html Lagorio, C. (2009). Resources: Marketing To Kids. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500823_162-2798401.html

Essay about Dickinson Paraphrase

Essay about Dickinson Paraphrase Essay about Dickinson Paraphrase Raquel Olmedo Professor Cook English 165 NT 18 October 2011 Emily Dickinson Paraphrase/Commentary â€Å"668† By Emily Dickinson â€Å"Nature† is what we see- The Hill- the Afternoon- Squirrel-Eclipse- the Bumble bee- Nay- Nature is Heaven- Nature is what we hear- The Bobolink- the Sea- Thunder- the Cricket- Nay- Nature is Harmony- Nature is what we know- Yet have no art to say- So impotent Our Wisdom is To her Simplicity. Paraphrase: This so-called â€Å"Nature† thing everyone seems to talk about is usually defined by everything we can see. For example, these hills, this afternoon, that squirrel, the eclipses, that Bumble bee; All of this is what we, humans, like to call â€Å"Nature†. But I think Nature is more than that. Nature is also what we can hear. Nature can also be Heaven. Nature comes from the sound of bird’s singing, the ocean splashing, thunder striking, and even a cricket chirping, but Nature is more than that. Nature is peace. Nature is what we comprehend, but at the same time have no ability to describe. As humans, we always overthink and complicate things and this is why we will never fully understand the beauty and simplicity of Nature. Commentary After reading the original version by Emily Dickinson, I am convinced that she was a master of brevity. Saying as little as possible, but still holding substantial meaning is an aspect of this poem that I truly loved. I felt that my prose version was the complete opposite of what Emily Dickinson was able to do. The version I wrote was lengthy and involved more articulation, but at the same time I felt it lacked the imagery that Emily Dickinson’s poem had. When I reread the poem, I thought that one of the reasons why the original version seemed more clear even though it said less was because the words she chose were all descriptions. For example, when she describes nature as being something we see, the next two lines are strictly examples of what we see every day that can constitute as nature. After that, she counters her thesis of nature being something we can see by saying that Nature is Heaven. â€Å"Heaven† in itself is a powerful word and the fact that she

Francisco de Orellana, Discoverer of the Amazon River

Francisco de Orellana, Discoverer of the Amazon River Francisco de Orellana (1511–November 1546) was a Spanish conquistador, colonist, and explorer. He joined Gonzalo Pizarros 1541 expedition that set out from Quito headed east, hoping to find the mythical city of El Dorado. Along the way, Orellana and Pizarro were separated. While Pizarro returned to Quito, Orellana and a handful of men continued traveling downriver, eventually discovering the Amazon River and making their way to the Atlantic Ocean. Today, Orellana is best remembered for this journey of exploration. Fast Facts: Francisco de Orellana Known For: Spanish conquistador who discovered the Amazon RiverBorn: 1511 in Trujillo,  Crown of CastileDied: November 1546 in the Delta of the  Amazon River (Today  Par  and  Amap, Brazil)Spouse: Ana de Ayala Early Life Francisco de Orellana was born in Extremadura sometime around 1511. Its reported that he had a close relationship with Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, although the exact relationship is not entirely clear. They were close enough, however, that Orellana could use the connection to his advantage. Joining Pizarro Orellana came to the New World while still a young man and met with Pizarros 1832 expedition to Peru, where he was among the Spaniards who overthrew the mighty Inca Empire. He showed a knack for supporting the winning sides in the Civil Wars among the conquistadors that ripped the region apart in the late 1530s. He lost an eye in the fighting but was richly rewarded with lands in present-day Ecuador. Gonzalo Pizarro’s Expedition Spanish conquistadors had discovered unimaginable wealth in Mexico and Peru and were constantly on the lookout for the next rich native Empire to attack and rob. Gonzalo Pizarro, Franciscos brother, was one man who believed in the legend of El Dorado, a wealthy city governed by a king who painted his body in gold dust. In 1540, Gonzalo began outfitting an expedition that would set out from Quito and head east in the hopes of locating El Dorado or any other rich native civilization. Gonzalo borrowed a princely sum of money to outfit the expedition, which left in February of 1541. Francisco de Orellana joined the expedition and was considered high-ranking among the conquistadors. Pizarro and Orellana Separate The expedition did not find much in the way of gold or silver. Instead, it encountered angry natives, hunger, insects, and flooded rivers. The conquistadors slogged around the dense South American jungle for several months, their condition worsening. In December of 1541, the men were camped out alongside a mighty river, their provisions loaded onto a makeshift raft. Pizarro decided to send Orellana ahead to scout the terrain and find some food. His orders were to return as soon as he could. Orellana set out with about 50 men and departed on December 26. Orellana’s Journey A few days downriver, Orellana and his men found some food at a native village. According to documents that Orellana kept, he wished to return to Pizarro, but his men agreed that returning upriver would be too hard and threatened to mutiny if Orellana made them, preferring instead to continue downriver. Orellana did send three volunteers back to Pizarro to inform him of his actions. They set forth from the confluence of the Coca and Napo Rivers and began their trek. On February 11, 1542, the Napo emptied into a larger River: the Amazon. Their voyage would last until they reached the Spanish-held Island of Cubagua, off the coast of Venezuela, in September. Along the way, they suffered from Indian attacks, hunger, malnutrition, and illnesses. Pizarro would eventually return to Quito, his troop of colonists decimated. The Amazons The Amazons- a fearsome race of warrior women- had been legendary in Europe for centuries. The conquistadors, who had become used to seeing new, marvelous things on a regular basis, often looked for legendary people and places (such as Juan Ponce de Leà ³ns fabled search for the Fountain of Youth). The Orellana expedition convinced itself that it had found the fabled Kingdom of the Amazons. Native sources, highly motivated to tell the Spaniards what they wanted to hear, told of a great, wealthy kingdom ruled by women with vassal states along the river. During one skirmish, the Spanish even saw women fighting: they assumed these were the legendary Amazons who had come to fight alongside their vassals. Friar Gaspar de Carvajal, whose first-hand account of the journey has survived, described them as near-naked white women who fought fiercely. Return to Spain Orellana returned to Spain in May 1543, where he was not surprised to find that an angry Gonzalo Pizarro had denounced him as a traitor. He was able to defend himself against the charges, in part because he had asked the would-be mutineers to sign documents to the effect that they did not allow him to return upstream to aid Pizarro. On February 13, 1544, Orellana was named governor of â€Å"New Andalucia,† which included much of the region he had explored. His charter allowed him to explore the area, conquer any bellicose natives, and establish settlements along the Amazon River. Return to the Amazon Orellana was now an adelantado, sort of a cross between an administrator and a conquistador. With his charter in hand, he went looking for funding but found it difficult to lure investors to his cause. His expedition was a fiasco from the start. More than a year after gaining his charter, Orellana set sail for the Amazon on May 11, 1545. He had four ships carrying hundreds of settlers, but provisions were poor. He stopped in the Canary Islands to refit the ships but wound up staying there for three months as he sorted out various problems. When they finally set sail, rough weather caused one of his ships to be lost. He reached the mouth of the Amazon in December and began his plans for settlement. Death Orellana began exploring the Amazon, looking for a likely place to settle. Meanwhile, hunger, thirst, and native attacks weakened his force constantly. Some of his men even abandoned the enterprise while Orellana was exploring. Sometime in late 1546, Orellana was scouting an area with some of his remaining men when they were attacked by natives. Many of his men were killed: according to Orellana’s widow, he died of illness and grief shortly after that. Legacy Orellana is best remembered today as an explorer, but that was never his goal. He was a conquistador who accidentally became an explorer when he and his men were carried off by the mighty Amazon River. His motives were not very pure, either: he never intended to be a trailblazing explorer. Rather, he was a veteran of the bloody conquest of the Inca Empire whose considerable rewards were not enough for his greedy soul. He wished to find and loot the legendary city of El Dorado in order to become even wealthier. He died still seeking a wealthy kingdom to plunder. Still, there is no doubt that he led the first expedition to travel the Amazon River from its roots in the Andean mountains to its release into the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, he proved himself as shrewd, tough, and opportunistic, but also cruel and ruthless. For a time, historians deplored his failure to return to Pizarro, but it seems that he had no choice in the matter. Today, Orellana is remembered for his journey of exploration and little else. He is most famous in Ecuador, which is proud of its role in history as the place from which the famed expedition departed. There are streets, schools, and even a province named after him. Sources Ayala Mora, Enrique, ed. Manual de Historia del Ecuador I: Epocas Aborigen y Colonial, Independencia. Quito: Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar, 2008.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. â€Å"Francisco De Orellana.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., 13 Feb. 2014.Silverberg, Robert. The Golde. Dream: Seekers of El Dorado. Athens: the Ohio University Press, 1985.

Challenging disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Challenging disability - Essay Example The challenge which is presented is based on defining the idea of disability from a social perspective, as well as how this can change the perception of the abilities one has. Medical Model and Definitions of Disability The traditional perception of disability is one which is defined by the social capacities one has as well as the experiences which one goes through. According to Crow, the concept of disability is one which is limited, specifically because of the definition of disability that is interpreted within society. The main focus is that one who is disabled has gone through a personal tragedy, specifically which leads to disadvantages, oppression of opportunities and impairments that don’t allow for the same experiences of life to be a part of what one needs. The problem which occurs is one which is based on the medical model of disability, specifically which is interpreted in society as a social context which impairs one from life experiences (Crow, 1996). The definiti ons of disability are one which is defined specifically through a medical application. One who has impairment has a loss of psychological, physical or anatomical structures or functions. One who has a disability is restricted or has a lack of performance of activities, specifically which relates to an impairment. ... Crow shows that the medical model is one which doesn’t align with the social model, which creates the attitude that the individual who is suffering from impairment can’t overcome the difficulty or struggle. Instead, the impairment creates a lack or loss in all activities that one can do within a given environment (Crow, 1996). The main challenge which Crow shows with the concept of disability are that the social stigma surrounding a handicap means that an individual is incapable of everything. For instance, if one has impairment with hearing, then this leads to the inability of all functions both mentally and physically and eliminates the individual from activities that are within society. The experiences which one has differ from the social stigma which has arisen around the concept of disability. The assumptions that are made within society then create a stereotype of the experiences and ideals which are based around the handicapped and impaired. This leads to a belie f that the quality of life that one has who is impaired is limited in experience. However, those who are disabled may not have the limited experience or restrictions which others in society have labeled them with (Crow, 1996). Social Context of Disability The main stereotypes which are taken with the terms of disability are furthered by the ways in which society responds to the given labels which are created outside of medical terms. The first stigma which is created is one which leads to a sense of oppression. When one believes that an individual is disabled, then there is a perspective that this means all the functions and abilities of the individual are limited. The response is to oppress those who are in this state, such as not providing the same