Business Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Business Research Methods - Essay Example The research will have an interpretivist approach as the data collected do not address the subject fully and lack some information regarding luxury sells in emerging markets. The aim of the research will be to recognise these and investigate how the brands conduct their business to attract the target market to be brand loyal. Furthermore, this investigation will have an academic value adding to the limitation in material that is currently available around the subject. Key words Luxury Brands Internet E-commerce Emerging Market China Online Selling The Objective and Purpose of the Project The research will be created around the topic of fashion luxury brands and sale of products online. Currently the literature does not sufficiently address the strategy problem, brands deals with when expanding into other regions (such as emerging markets) online. The objective is therefore to gain an understanding of adaptations that the luxury fashion segment does online when enlarging to these coun tries. Therefore, there is a need to obtain first hand information in the form of interviews from luxury brands that are expanding towards emerging markets. That will be the feasibility in the dissertation. ... At first, luxury brands and the Internet do not seem to be a perfect match due to the fact that the internet is a mass communication medium whereas luxury tries to stay within a niche market and does not want to lose its appeal of exclusivity. Recently the internet has deeply changed the anatomy of branding and the overall marketing communications strategy of the fashion industry, from fast moving ones such as M&S and Zara to luxury brands such as Burberry and Hermes (Riley and Lacroix, 2003). Perterson et al argue that the internet is extremely efficient at building a sustainable brand identity and providing a forum giving consumers knowledge about the brand and its products. Additionally it is also necessary to point out that the internet provides a platform to build long lasting relationships with consumers. Traditionally brand management relied upon several media outlets such as TV advertising, print media and product placement on TV and movies. Marketing strategies focused on ma rket research, segmentation and positioning in order to create the perfect marketing mix. (Chaffey, 2000). Riley and Lacroix (2003) focus on the changes that online marketing brought to the marketing strategies of luxury industry. Access to information has become much quicker and consumers have become extremely demanding over the last 2 decades. Luxury brands used to have very stringent control over their brand, with an allure of exclusivity that would not allow â€Å"non-members† to enter. With the advent of internet and consequently, social networks, brand management has essentially changed in order to adapt to the new requirements of online marketing and its operational system. It is essential to any luxury company to

Bad Grades Essay Example for Free

Bad Grades Essay I am writing to offer an explanation for a change in academic performance that is noticeable on my high school transcript. From the start of my freshman year until the end of my junior year, it is evident through analysis of my transcript that I have been an above average student consistently throughout my high school career. However, starting at around August 2010, problems arose in my family of which I believe made it impossible for me to continue my 100% focus on school. Halfway into my senior year, my father was laid off from his job. Since he was the only source of income at that time, our family of five was forced to move from our comfortable lives at our four bedroom house into our grandmother’s two bedroom house. This was a drastic change for all of us, as we have never shared a house with anyone, especially one of this size. I no longer had a room in which I was able to do my schoolwork in silence. This drastic change, I believe, interrupted my focus on school because of the attention it required from me. During my first semester I was often required to miss school by my parents, reason being that I had to help out in the movement process and had to visit an ill uncle out of town. I take full responsibility of my underperformance during the first semester of my senior year and am not look to make excuses. My main goal in making this letter is just to offer insight on what it is I believe influenced my underperformance. I sincerely ask you to consider me as an applicant and to not let this recent semester define me as a student. I greatly appreciate your time in reading this letter.

Impact of Organizational Culture on Strategic Advantage

Impact of Organizational Culture on Strategic Advantage Impact of Organizational Culture on the achievement of Strategic Advantages of ERP in Pakistan ABSTRACT This study looks at the relationship that organizational culture has with the achievement of Strategic advantages from implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. A sample of 30 organizations that implemented ERP was used to test the hypotheses. A competing values approach to measuring organizational culture was used to quantitatively measure an organizations culture profile. The results show that the organizations culture is significantly related to the achievement of strategic advantages from implementing ERP 1. Introduction This paper studies the relationship between Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and organizational Culture. ERP is buzz word now days with every company implementing from different models coined by different vendors in order to stay in the competition and to ensure that its operations are efficient and effective. Through ERP the organizations are able to achieve low costs of procurement, production, inventory distribution etc hence streamlines whole value chain that includes various primary secondary activities. These are pivotal in making any organization successful and taking it ahead of competition. Furthermore higher turnovers, reduced cycle times, inventory levels and financial operations can be given a face-lift to meet the challenges of the modern global recession the world is observing. ERP refer to the integrated way of carrying out all or major / core operations of the company. Organizations now regard ERP as a vital tool for the enhancement of their business operations by implementing most of its functions if not all of their processes under a single information system in an endeavor to benefit from the strategic advantages that ERP offers. Organizational culture is a vital notion in organizational analysis. In past few years, there has been a lot of focus on the development of organizational cultures that are conducive of achieving better results and higher performance motivational levels of the employees. Organizational culture can be described as an abstract composite of assumptions, values, and artifacts shared by its members [that] can be reliably represented by the valueswhich drive its members attitudes and activities (Howard, 1998, p. 234). The model proposed in this study advocates that there is an essential connection between an organizations culture and the achievement of strategic advantages from ERP. A Competing Values approach to measuring organizational culture is used to provide an empirical measure for an organizations culture (Quin and Spreitzer, 1991). The competing values approach provides a profile of four cultural archetypes occupied by a particular organization. These archetypes are group, hierar chical, developmental and rational cultures. The combination of the archetypes describes the organizations culture profile. The primary question this study attempts to answer is how does Organizational cultural profiles affects the achievement of strategic advantages of ERP. 2. Literature review: This segment will appraise the pertinent Literature touching ERP and Organizational Culture. 2.1 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is relatively a new concept however now a days almost every organization ranging from small to large enterprise, devotes a major portion of its developmental budgets on the implementation of ERP software. ERP is not merely software but an approach of carrying out business operations in the modern times where technology plays a decisive role in making an organization a success story or failure. However An ERP software system can be described as a set of integrated business applications, or modules, to carry out most business functions, including inventory control, general ledger accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, material requirements planning, order management and human resources, among others. (Martin et al., 1999). ERP is a technique to bring all of an organizations data and IS /IT resources under a single Information system (Oliver, 1999). The author affirms that ERP systems evolved to help organizations manage their information t hrough-out the Company, from the plant to the back office, and or the front office. (Oliver, 1999, pg. 12). ERP intends to integrate its core if not all of an organizations processes under a single ERP system. The processes can be seen in terms of a value chain (Porter, 1985), which connects the suppliers to the organization to the customers. For example, imagine a system where the customer orders a product over the Internet (ecommerce). As soon as the customer places the order, it is automatically sent to the manufacturing department, while at the same time sent to the accounting department for billing- The use of materials by the manufacturing department depletes the stock, therefore a parts order is sent automatically to the supplier when reorder points are reached for replenishment of the stock. In traditional systems, time would be required for the sending of the messages between departments, for the reordering of the parts, and the billing of the customer. ERP intends to automate these systems to achieve a number of strategic advantages- Implementation of ERP software can allow an organization certain strategic advantages (Radding, 1999, Stein 1998). The literature tells us that organizations can benefit from greater flexibility, increased efficiency (Radding, 1999), improved communication, Lower operating costs, increased revenue (Oliver, 1999). Reduced cycle times, better collaboration and higher profit margins (Stein, 1998). These strategic advantages affect not only the organization, but can affect all members of an organizations value chain. ERP is a system that seeks to unite all of a value chains disparate processes. An organizations value chain represents all of the different processes that involve organizational resources and that are needed to support the organizations operations. Porter(1985) developed a model of an organizations value chain. This model of the value chain contains 9 processes; 5 primary processes, and 4 support processes. The organizations primary processes involve the production and delivery of the organizations products to the consumer (Bergeron, 1991). The processes involved in the primary activity are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and customer service. The organizations secondary business processes represent the support processes for the primary activities and are, administrative coordination and support, human resource management, technology development, and procurement of resources. Implementation of ERP systems where carried a number of strategic nature of benefits, on the other hand it bears extreme risks. The growing numbers of Unsuccessful stories have compelled managers to take a deep look into the causes of it. ERP tries to push the logic that the system has which is conflicting with the Business. It may sometimes also lead to integration where decentralization fragmentation may best suite the organization. Furthermore, ERP may force the organization to go for generic processes than customization. Therefore ERP has to go along with technology and culture (Davenport, 1998). In contemporary organizations the data generation takes place at scattered places and the magnitude of the data is huge. Therefore a real time access to the data becomes imperative for the data in deal with such complex nature of information. ERP aligns all the information into various functions like finance, operations, sales, Customer relation etc subject to the nature of business an organization is into. Enterprise resource planning system (ERP), as a type III IS innovation, has strategic Significance for the organization due to their integration into the core business processes or strategies can directly impact the firms performance (Swanson 1994; Sambamurthy et al. 2003; Sample 1998). Consequently, many companies have started to develop strategy focusing on information technologies, with ERP adoption being a critical thrust (Bharadwaj 2000; Powell and Dent-Micallef 1997; Robey et al. 2002). on the other hand, whereas the firm is on the lookout for competitive advantages by adopting this sophisticated information system, the tangible experiences have reveal ambiguity – some organization are able to reap the true benefits of ERP whereas on the other hand majority of the firms face losses and failed to achieve the desired level of strategic and tactical benefits. (Scott and Vessey 2002). According to the survey conducted by Deloitte, the success rate of ERP implementation is le ss than 20%. Hence it is important for researcher to unlock the mystery of benefit realization in ERP adoption and theorize the important predictors effect on ERP implementation practice (Brown and Vessey 2003). Other than strategic benefit, ERP also contributes toward making an organizational structure more flatter flexible, enabling organization to streamline their management structures and more democratic organization. On the other hand it also involve the centralization of control over information and the standardization of processes, which are attributes more consistent with hierarchical command and control organization with uniform cultures (Davenport, 1998). 2.2 Organizational culture: Culture can be seen from a number of different levels. Of interest to business are the concepts of national culture and organizational culture. National culture is important due to a more global economy where communication technicalities have begun to evolve. It is also important to the study of information systems technology and management. For example, Watson et al. (1994) looked at national culture as king a dimension, in a study looking at Group Support Systems success. This experimental study involved looking at the differences between groups from the U.S. and Singapore. For the majority of the business Literature on culture the level of analysis has dropped to the organization. The importance of studying an organizations culture is, like ERP and BPR, a fairly new concept- An organizations culture can be defined by a number of constructs, such as the symbols, language, ideology, beliefs, rituals, and myths that affect an individuals behavior (Pettigrew, 1979). According to Pettigrew (1979), the culture constructs exist to provide some form of commitment to the established order. Hofstede et al. (1990) proposes a model of culture that is made up of values and practices. The practices reflect member beliefs about symbols, heroes and myths. In an exploratory analysis, Hofstede et aI. (1990) found three factors affecting the values, yet, the core of organizational culture was represented by six dimensions of organizational practices. The dimensions represent opposing ideologies as to what constitutes proper practices. Using the dimensions of organizational practices, Hofstede (1998) identified 3 distinct subcultures within 131 different work groups. The three subcultures represented include a professional subculture, an administrative subculture, and a cus tomer interface subculture. Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983) developed a quantitative measure of organizational effectiveness, which was later successfully used to study organization culture (see Kalliath et al., 1999, Howard, 1998, Quinn and Spreitzer, 199 1, Zammuto and Krakower, 199 1, Yeung et al., 1991). Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983) exploratory study revealed that organizational effectiveness cm be represented by three distinct dimensions, a focus dimension (internal vs. external point of view), a structure dimension (flexibility vs. control orientation) and a means vs. ends dimensions. The authors call the resulting approach the Competing Values Approach to measuring organizational culture. The model in figure 2 represents the competing values approach. In figure one, each quadrant represents an ideal type of culture. A particular organization need not be classified exclusively as having one type of culture, but can be considered as containing elements from the four culture types, yet one type may be dominant (Quinn and Spreitzer,1991, Cameron and Freeman, 1991, Yeung et al., 1991). Each culture type is measured using four items, which are aggregated to achieve a culture profile- The core values of the Group culture are belonging, trust and participation, which are motivated by factors of attachment, cohesiveness and membership (Denison and Spreitzer, 1991). Like the group culture, the developmental culture also emphasis flexibility but focuses its attention on the external environment. Productivity, performance, goal fulfillment and achievement are the important f actors for the rational culture. These cultures emphasize the pursuit and attainment of well-defined objectives. Finally, for the hierarchical culture, the focus is on the logic of the internal Organization and the emphasis is on stability- (Denison and Spreitzer, 1991, pg. 6) As the authors state, the motivating factors for this quadrant include security, order, rules, and regulations. A number of studies have been done, looking at and validating this framework. Quinn and Spreitzer (1991) performed a multitrait-multi-method analysis as well as multidimensional scaling on two competing values instruments (one using an ipsative scale measure, the other using a likert type scale measure), The authors found evidence for both convergent and discriminant validity. Zammuto and Krakower (1991) looked for relationships between culture and other organizational variables including, centralization, moral, administrator credibility, conflict, strategic orientation and culture strength- Authors state that evidence for construct validity exists due to the correlation of the competing values measure of cultur e and the other variables stated. Yeung et al. (1991) studied the competing values measure of culture in relation to organizational performance, culture strength and human resource practices- In a cluster analysis, the authors found that organizations from their study could be classified into 5 distinct culture types (or profiles). More recently, the competing values framework was again validated in two more studies (see Howard, 1998, Kalliath, 1999). The next section will look at some of the literature on assimilation and organizational culture change. Denison (1996) gave another perspective of culture by trying to research whether organizational culture and organizational climate were two different points of views or just a matter of perception. He further said that there are similarities differences at the time same time. Measurement of organizational culture is usually carried through qualitative analysis and deals with individuals set of beliefs, shared norms perception. Organizational climate on the other hand is measured through quantitative methods like questionnaire and print outs etc. Other factors also helped to differentiate these two topics in the literature. Culture researchers were more anxious with the progress of social systems over time (Mirvis Sales, 1990; Mohr, 1982; Pettigrew, 1979; Rohlen, 1974; Schein, 1985, 1990; Van Maanen, 1979), whereas climate researchers were generally less concerned with evolution but more concerned with the impact that organizational systems have on groups and individuals (Ekvall, 1987; Joyce Slocum, 1984; Koyes DeCotiis, 1991). The research also addressed to where does this organizational culture climate originates. Chatman (1989) says â€Å"In order for researchers to understand and predict behavior, they must consider both person and situation factors and how these factors interact. Even though organization researchers have developed interactional models, many have overemphasized either person or situation components and most have failed to consider the effects that persons have on situations. Using a Q-sort methodology, individual value profiles are compared to organizational value profiles to determine fit and to predict changes in values, norms, and behaviors†. By this we understand that both the organization individuals beliefs norms compliments each other and have an impact on over organizational environment which people and policies constitutes. Therefore the significance of any single factor can never be underestimated while evaluating the type of profile organization maintains in terms of its culture. Organizational effectiveness have long been a very vital area for the researchers to determine the causal relationship of organizational effectiveness higher level productivity with several variables. Among them organizational culture have well been under the consideration by the researchers. The increase in the research The intensification of research on organizational effectiveness has led to the formulation of theories about factors within an organization that can make a difference in performance. Organizational culture is one such variable that has received much attention in organizational behavior literature (Amsa 1986; Hofstede 1986; Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv and Sanders 1990; Jelinek, Smircich and Hirsch 1983; Kilman, Saxton and Serpa 1985; Ouchi 1981; Owens 1987; Schein 1990; Trice and Beyer 1984). This attention is mainly because researchers has postulated that cultural factors play a key role in determining levels of organizational outcomes. A common hypothesis about this r ole suggests that if an organization possesses strong culture by exhibiting a well-integrated and effective set of specific values, beliefs, and behavior patterns, then it will perform at a higher level of productivity (Dennison 1984). The development of theory to guide the definition of organizational culture, therefore, is of primary importance to improving organizational performance, espe- cially because the variables which comprise culture have been postulated to be under the control of organizational leaders (Deal and Kennedy 1982, Ouchi 1981, Owens 1987, Siepert and Likert 1973). Despite concern with achieving improved organizational productivity through fo- cusing on the development of cohesive organizational culture, determining the parameters of this construct has been problematic. The literature on organizational culture taps essential ideas, but the theory and technology to utilize the theory in improving organizations have remained fuzzy (Mackenzie 1986). As Trice and Be yer (1984) have argued, previous research on organizational culture has tended to focus on single, discrete elements of culture, while ignoring the multidimensional nature of culture, that is, a construct composed of several intimately interrelated variables (Schein 1990). Another problem has been that researchers are still not sure whether the association between culture and organizational performance reflects a cause-effect type of relationship (Saffold 1988). In fact, researchers have not really identified what specific variables comprise an effective organizational culture, nor have they provided convincing empirical evidence to suggest that if leaders in organizations increased the amount of time and quality of energy devoted to developing a particular type of organizational culture, then an organization would perform at a higher level of productivity (Barney 1986). There is presently little agreement, therefore, about what the concept of organizational culture means or how it should be observed and measured (Schein 1990). Because of the lack of agreement concerning theoretical formulations about organizational culture, its delineation, and its possible relationship to performance outcomes, no significant body of empirical research exists. Instead, researchers have primarily focused on defining and describing the variables of organizational culture and cautiously suggested a possible relationship between organizational culture and outcomes (Owens 1987). As Mackenzie (1986) argues, organizational culture as a concept may be a useful means of assessing the congruency of the organizations goals, strategies and task organization, and resulting outcomes. Without valid and reliable measures of the critical aspects of organizational culture, however, state- ments about its importance and effect on performance will continue to be based on speculation, personal observations, and case studies (Uttal 1983). As a consequence, management strategies and programs to cre ate organizational change through under- standing the organizations environment and strategically manipulating aspects of its culture will continue to be poorly focused and difficult to implement and evaluate.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy Beyza GÃâ€"LGE In todays, demand for electric energy has increased with growing world’s population. Modern society has depended on fossil fuels for energy. However, because of the fact that fossil resources are limited and cannot last a long time, human beings have been in quest for finding new alternative energy sources. Since 1939, they have performed lots of experiments and researches in this area. First of all, the atomic fission, which is today known as the most crucial scientific finding in the physics, was discovered. In the following years, chain reaction was controlled and eventually, electric power production came true. Finally, in 1958, first electric energy was produced and utilized thanks to nuclear energy in the USA and then it expanded to other countries such as France, Germany, England and Russia. Nowadays, 11% of electric in world is ensured from nuclear energy (Steven B. Krivit, 2011). Today, running nuclear energy has become most controversial issue among people because of its safety and nuclear waste. Even if there are advantages of nuclear energy that which is fallen back upon to overcome the lack of energy, there are more serious disadvantages that should not be ignored. First advantage of nuclear energy is that nuclear energy has lower greenhouse gas emissions. During the processes of building, processing and switching off, it releases less amount of greenhouse gases. All different types of electric production techniques give rise to be released greenhouse gas which may be various quantities. Comparison with other electric generation methods such as lignite, coal, oil and natural gas, nuclear energy emits less greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide ( see Figure 1) (Greenhouse gas emissions avoided through use of nuclear energy, 2014). Therefore, it is clearly understood that nuclear energy is less harmful for environment in terms of gas emissions. Other advantage of nuclear energy is job opportunities. It provides lots of job opportunities so many people. While nuclear power plant is being constructed and operated, a lot of employees and engineers take in charge. In addition, container houses are built to live staffs in this process. By this means, itmay be dealt with unemployment by giving a chance to people out of work. Figure 1 On the contrary, there are also serious disadvantages of nuclear energy. First disadvantage is nuclear waste. Some metal materials transform to radioactive state during some operations such as cooling reactor, cleaning of storage pool and also, running of nuclear power plants. These radioactive stuffs are called nuclear waste. Two types nuclear waste occurred: low level and high level radioactive wastes. Low level nuclear waste has same amount of radioactivity which emerging from schools, laboratories and hospitals so it is not remarkable issue. When chain reaction cannot be pursued effectively, power plant reactors induce to be occurred high level nuclear wastes which are fuel bundles. When the reactor fuel forms, in the sequel, it takes a 45 billion year to become harmless (Radioactive Waste, 2014). As a result of that, people and other living things will expose to these radioactive waste products in a long time. The situation also will cause irreparable damage to the environment. Because of this, people should be protected from radioactive waste products and radioactive wastes must be buried in private storages under the surface and remote from ground waters. Reactor accident is other disadvantage of nuclear energy. When something in the system fails, nuclear accident may happen. Failures in plant organization and management, operator errors and lack of quality and also education of employees may give rise to nuclear accidents. Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima can be given as examples for nuclear accident in the world. Fuel melt down in accidents makes nuclear accident harmful. Bernard (2005) states that amount of fuel melt down determines number of those who are affected from accident and died because of the cancer. If there are in 2 out of 3 melt downs, nobody dies. However, if average of melt downs, it brings at least 400 deaths. For instance, 50.000 people died due to 1 out of 100.000 melt downs. Therefore, it is not contestable that there is always a risk to become nuclear energy accident. Also, effects of nuclear energy accident are indestructible and continue for a long time. As a result of this, it is a considerable thre at on people health. Last disadvantage of production electric by utilizing nuclear energy is nuclear weapons. Nuclear energy can be used with the purpose of war and terrorism. In todays, lots of countries such as USA, Russia and Israel are disposed to produce nuclear weapons. If these nuclear weapons are used against other countries, it brings calamity of nuclear war. Up to now, human beings have borne witness to two atom bombs. These atom bombs were dropped by the US against Japan on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities during World War II. Consequently, so many people lost their live. According to researches, it is estimated that number of people who died from nuclear bombs reached 250.000 in Hiroshima and 150.000 in Nagasaki in 5 years (Effects of nuclear weapons, n.d.). These events show that nuclear weapons create indestructible issues. Moreover, radioactivity occurs as a result of the nuclear bombs. Effects of radioactivity on humans and environment last too many years. To illustrate, numbers of peopl e who have cancer have increased after the tragedy of using nuclear bombs in the World War II. This tragedy has created genetic abnormalities in the individuals and it will also affect the future generations. Therefore, to prevent possible disasters, the nuclear energy should not be utilized. To sum up, it is difficult to fulfill the electric needs with increasing population day by day. People have tried the different forms of energy to find a solution. One of these energy forms is nuclear energy. Through nuclear power plants, not only a large proportion of electricity needs in the world can be supplied by not releasing greenhouse gases but also it provides employment for many people. Yet, it should not be ignored that nuclear energy may lead to disasters by reason of nuclear wastes, reactor accidents and nuclear weapons. That is true maybe nuclear energy can meet energy need but dangerous, fatal and persistent effects of nuclear energy should always be considered in the first plan. If it is not done, it will bring huge and irrevocable disasters rather than its benefits. REFERENCES Effects of nuclear weapons. (n.d.). Retrieved from Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament: http://www.cnduk.org/campaigns/global-abolition/effects-of-nuclear-weapons Cohen, B. L. (2005). Risk of Nuclear Power. Retrieved from University of Michigan: http://www.umich.edu/~radinfo/introduction/np-risk.htm Greenhouse gas emissions avoided through use of nuclear energy. (2014). Retrieved from World Nuclear Association: http://www.world-nuclear.org/Nuclear-Basics/Greenhouse-gas-emissions-avoided/ Radioactive Waste. (2014, October 24). Retrieved from Governmental Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/radwaste.pdf Steven B. Krivit, J. H. ( 2011). Early History of Nuclear Energy. In Nuclear Energy Encyclopedia: Science, Technology, and Applications (pp. 15-23). Canada: John Wiley Sons.

The Misconceptions Of The Jungle By Upton Sinclair Essay examples -- e

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upton Sinclair had always insisted that The Jungle was misread but did he ever think it could have been miswritten? The style of writing is not effective when addressing issues in a capitalistic society but proves to be very effective when exposing the secrets of the meatpacking industry. The novel is not remembered for being a classic work in literature but rather an important book in history in that it changed the way America looked at food in the early part of the century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sinclair loses his argument for Socialism at around the time when the characters in the book lose their humanity. The multitude of unfortunate situations and events makes the story more and more unrealistic and the reader loses a sense of compassion for the characters. Now, instead of being characters, they become objects in which the most you can do is pity them. When Jurgis comes home from jail to find his barely eighteen year-old wife dying, the third person omniscient narration guides the reader through the mind of Jurgis: â€Å"She was dead! She was dead! He would never see her again, never hear her again! An icy horror of loneliness seized him.† (190) After Ona’s death, one could not anticipate anything more to go wrong, but it does. In just a short time later, Jurgis’ son Antanas drowned in the street. It is extremely obvious that Sinclair is a Socialist himself. Anything and everything that could go wrong in the first three quarters of th...

Laurel Ulrichs A Midwifes Tale Essay -- Laurel Ulrich Midwife Tale E

Laurel Ulrich's A Midwife's Tale   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before I watched 'A Midwife's Tale', a movie created from the diary found by Laurel Ulrich chronicling the life of a woman named Martha Ballard, I thought the women in these times were just housewives and nothing else. I pictured them doing the cleaning and the cooking for their husbands and not being very smart because of the lack of education or them being unable to work. My view on the subject changed however when I watched this specific woman's life and her work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To know that there was a woman such as Martha back in those days is very interesting to me because I especially did not think there were women who were as brave and independent as she was. The lives of women in general, not just in Martha?s case, were busy and at sometimes hard during these times. They had to do an array of things from keeping the house under control and raising sometimes several children to working on a farm and spinning. Sometimes, some women would even work to make a second living for the family, as in Martha?s case. And even though the women were able to work, they still did not hold as much power as men did, which is still evident today. And if the women were recognized as much as they should be I?m sure we wouldn?t need a completely different subject for Women?s History because they would cover it in the regular history classes, instead of the subject consisting of 99.9% males.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martha?s day was a pretty long one and consisted of many jobs to do, anything from cleaning the house to delivering a baby. The fact that she never lost a mother during any of the childbirths is astonishing in itself since it was the number one cause of death in women. Among those jobs she also spun, raised her children, worked on her farm, and treated illnesses, coming up with her own remedies. For example when Parthenia was sick and she had her drink the last milk from the cow in hopes of her getting better which unfortunately she wasn?t able to make her get better and Parthenia died. Martha?s own children however all lived into their adulthood which was also a very rare thing to add to her list of unique facts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Martha did have different jobs to do, her real job was being a midwife. She got paid high for a woman at this time and she was a well respected person in the town. This job was the most demanding and it?s not like... ...because I probably would have if my kid took over my house and I missed my husband.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Martha Ballard died, she was definitely missed and even though her diary sat in the back stacks of a library for a very long time because authors thought it was useless, her story was told and it was a good one at that. It wouldn?t be a surprise to me if her story has inspired women and I know it has definitely educated people about women?s lives at this time. It?s just a shame that more women?s stories from this time will never be told. I?ve learned from Martha Ballard?s story that she must have been a very good, decent, and smart woman and I would have loved to have met her. She is a good example of what some women were like back then and it?s good to see that not all of them were powerless housewives as some people think and how I, myself, thought before I saw this movie. I saw her struggle and her get through the hard times. The things she had to live through throughout her life were astonishing and I?m really glad I got to see this woman?s work. I realiz ed how easy we have it now and how women like Martha paved the way for us and we have to appreciate them for what they?ve done.

Critical Review of Danger Boy Essay

Mark Williams’ â€Å"Danger Boy: Ancient fire† is set in 2019. It is a science fiction and time travelling novel. The text explores the effects of building a time machine. In Mark Williams’ novel, he examines the negative impact of futurist technology. Although the concept of time travelling may seem appealing at first glance, there is an ultimately destructive consequence that comes with it, like losing a love one. The novel opens with an argument between Eli’s father, Sandusky, and Mr Howe, a representative from a government department. Mr Howe persuades Sandusky to invent a machine that can slow down time in a force field. Sandusky’s wife, a scientist, assists Sandusky to invent the time travelling machine but she is sucked into the machine and travels back in time. Therefore, Sandusky is urged to produce another time machine that can slow down time with a more stable core. Upon starting up the machine, a piece of old paper emerges. Eli reaches for the newspaper and gets sucked into the year of Alexandria (415 C. E). Eli and his companion, a dinosaur and an Alexandrian, seeks to reunite Sandusky’s wife, returning to the present day life and save the world from the fatal disease that has slipped through time. The novel is structured by different narrative perspectives, in which different characters narrate the story from their personal point of view and experience. This type of structure of narrative point of views offers the reader a different perspective of the world from three characters: Eli, Clyne and Thea. The writer’s intention here may be to demonstrate the reality is never black or white, but can be interpreted and understood in different ways in different individuals. However, the one limitation to this type of structure is that the reader may experience confusion in attempting to understand the flow of the story, in which disputes the coherency of events. There are no obvious clues to indicate the change of the protagonist. The only visible clue available is the chapter title and the narrator’s name. Hence, this confuses us in terms of identifying the protagonist. As the reader continues to read, they will encounter an acronym many times before it gives its meaning. There are instances in the text when certain words such as â€Å"WHOMPEs† suddenly appear, which disrupts the flow of the story. Reading this novel for the first time will confuse the reader. As the reader progresses through the novel, Sandusky explains to Eli what a â€Å"WHOMPERs† is. It is a â€Å"Wide Orbiting Massless ParticlE Reversers. † The writers intention suggest that the scientific invention is an abstract idea which is foreign to humanity. The author uses a stream of consciousness to enable the reader to engage with the thought process of the character. When Sandusky answered Eli’s question about time, he replied ‘you go into the Fifth Dimension†¦hard to tell the difference between time and space, or when and where. Or even who and what. † This encourages the reader to think and be in the mind of the narrator. This is a really good idea for advanced readers who want to think beyond the novel. Williams’ got inspired to write the novel by his son. He got the idea when his son was running down the hallway yelling out â€Å"I’m a Danger Boy! † The novel’s setting is based on where he lives, which is LA. There could be a connection between the novel’s setting and where he lives. One connection is that LA is a place for relaxation and tourism. The main character travels to LA with his father to relax a bit after the tragic incident. One of the major themes in â€Å"Danger Boy† is time traveling. Time traveling is frequent in the novel. It happens when ever Eli puts his â€Å"WHOMPER† charged baseball cap on. Another theme them is history. History is shown in this novel from many perspectives. It is seen by going back in time to Alexandria (415 C. E). The main motif in the novel is a baseball cap. It is a motif because it’s a device that allows Eli to time travel. Without the baseball cap, Eli would just be like any other ordinary kid. This novel can be compared with Audrey Niffenegger’s â€Å"The Time Traveller’s Wife†. The two novels involve the same themes; history and time travelling. In â€Å"Danger Boy† Eli becomes a time traveller after he touches a time machine. He travels back in time to Alexandria. He can control when he wants to time travel, but can’t control on where it’ll take him. In â€Å"The Time Traveller’s Wife† Henry is born with a genetic disorder. This genetic disorder allowed him to time travel. There was one thing that he can’t control. It is where he lands from time travelling and when he time travels. Ultimately, Williams has created an adventurous and exciting novel. The book was exciting because it produced tension into whether the protagonists find Margret or not. The writer produced a text that was a bit difficult to read and establishment of the main character. The author shaped the words in the sentences really strangely which sometimes doesn’t make sense or it is not suitable, so the reader needs to re-read it to understand it. This novel should be raising questions about time travel, especially in the future.