Atticus s Choice For Defend Tom Robinson - 1395 Words

When examining the morality of an action, one must consider several factors, including the consequences, intentions, intrinsic nature of the act, and the beneficial or harmful effects the action has on others. The classic film, To Kill A Mockingbird, depicts several instances where a character’s actions may be perceived as morally wrong, based on the fundamental principles of ethical theories. In the following, I will discuss the case where Atticus makes a choice to defend Tom Robinson, and I will apply two ethical theories to explain how his act could be considered morally wrong or morally right. Ultimately, I will illustrate that through a utilitarian perspective, Atticus’ action can be considered wrong, whereas a Kantian perspective†¦show more content†¦His action triggered greater pain among his family and to those of color, which stirred up tension and uproar and resulted in heightened prejudice and racial conflict. For example, once neighbors learned of A tticus’ choice to defend Tom, they increasingly condemned him with racial threats and insults, while others championed discrimination and encouraged lynching of colored individuals. Also, his children engaged in fights with others and encountered malicious remarks from neighbors. Because of the increased pain experienced by both white and colored individuals, and the lack of pleasure for the majority of people, Atticus’ choice to defend Tom Robinson was a morally wrong deed. Another critical component of utilitarianism that may characterize Atticus’ act as morally wrong involves examining the degree of conflict resolution. In evaluating the context of the film, it is clear that Atticus’ action did not resolve the racial conflicts and tensions between the white and colored individuals, but instead aggravated them. He violated the unwritten social rule of helping a colored man, which resulted in more harm than good. His action signified support for people of color, which left the prevailing white community in pain and anguish. Viewing this case through a utilitarian lens exemplifies that Atticus’ action did not provide any guidance to resolve the preexisting conflicts. Though utilitarianists would deem this act as wrong, one can claim that Atticus’Show MoreRelatedTo Kill A Mockingbird Closing Speech1580 Words   |  7 PagesAtticus’ Closing Speech As Abraham Lincoln once said, â€Å"The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every calling, is diligence.† Being thorough is a prodigious factor in being a lawyer. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the main character, Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout, portrays her life events and displays how much segregation occurred in her early childhood. Her father, Atticus Finch was a lawyer who was assigned to a case that dealt with a young adult,Read MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee1082 Words   |  4 Pagesstruggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch is a lawyer and a single parent at Maycomb town in the 1930’s. He was set by the judge to defend the guy who was charged with raping a white woman: Tom Robinson(Black man). Friends and neighbors of Atticus Finch were not happy with the fight Atticus was putting up to defend the man who was charged for raping a white woman. Not only does Atticus enjoy being a lawyer, Atticus even enjoy being a father of Jem and Scout. Atticus Finch is a excellent characterRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird Outline1206 Words   |  5 PagesMockingbird by Harper Lee. a. Now imagine, during the 1930s, that you were part of the trial of Tom Robinson vs. the Ewells. b. At that time, which side would you have believed? The side of the Ewells (because they were white people, or out of fear) or would you side with Tom Robinson (because you knew that he was innocent and ignored that fact that he was colored)? c. Honestly, if you chose to side with the innocent Tom Robinson, you would have not just been correct, but also brave andRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1713 Words   |  7 Pageslike that of Tom Robinson s. In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, which is based upon a true story, Tom Robinson, a man accused of rape, Scout Finch, a tomboy and lawyer’s daughter that observes occurrences in Maycomb, resists racist comments, and does not always understand things, who is also the narrator of the publication, both in a childish fashion and in an adult like fashion, and Atticus, a lawyer who is intelligent, respected and respecting, and defends Tom Robinson in his time ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1545 Words   |  7 PagesPublished in 1960 but set in the deep South during the 1930’s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was an instant classic that has endured for more than half a century. Still taught in schools and often referenced in popular culture, Lee’s story of the Finch family in tiny Maycomb, Alabama is known as a â€Å"Great American Novel† because of Lee’s entertaining examination of so many timeless, socially relevant themes. Through her characters of Atticus Finch, his daughter Scout, and their mysterious neighborRead MoreAnalysis Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1546 Words   |  7 PagesPublished in 1960 but set in the deep South of the 1930’s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was an instant classic that has endured for more than half a century. Still taught in schools and often referenced in popular culture, Lee’s story of the Finch family in tiny Maycomb, Alabama is known as a â€Å"Great American Novel† because of Lee’s entertaining examination of so many timeless, socially relevant themes. Through her characters of Atticus Finch, his daughter Scout, and their mysterious neighborRead MoreTo Kill A Mockingbird by Har per Lee Is an Inspiration for Students777 Words   |  4 Pages1930’s. This setting was in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama with people who did not get along. During this time there was a lot of segregation within America and different races. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family who believes in doing the right thing and being honest. There was a court case that had gone viral about a black man who raped a white woman. A white lawyer named Atticus Finch gave his all to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. There was no evidence that showed that Tom rapedRead MoreAtticus Finch Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird1310 Words   |  6 PagesLee’s, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, set in 1930’s Alabama during the depression error creates various representations of different racial and ethnic groups. The hero of the novel, Atticus Finch is shown to challenge the dominant racist and prejudice values of the Maycomb citizens through his representation as courageous, empathetic and carrying as well as his belief in equality. Using a variety of language features Lee skilfully positions the reader to view Atticus positively though his beliefs and actionsRead MoreRacism in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee Essay1497 Words   |  6 Pagessociety in the south during the 1930’s. Many colored people were thought of as less than their peers. Whites were considered better than African Americans were, and almost every white person accepted the unjust judgment. Racial discrimination hit hard in the south. Many of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird were impacted by racial discrimination, including Calpurnia, Scout, and Tom Robinson and his family. One of the more â€Å"accepted† sorts of racism in the 1930’s was in the home. Many familiesRead MoreThere Are Many Themes That Are Woven Throughout To Kill959 Words   |  4 Pagesnever understand his choice, so he made it easier for the townspeople by pretending to be the town drunk. Raymond states this himself when talking to Scout â€Å"Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that is the way I want to live.† While courage is a major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird, there are other themes like protecting the innocent and individuals subject to racial prejudice. Atticus shows courage by defending

What Is The Lost God - 1005 Words

Loki was stirring a pot of soup. â€Å"Thank you for the Pajamas.† Said Kate in an attempt to make conversation. Loki nodded in acknowledgement. As Loki ate, he started to stare at Kates Necklace,â€Å"Asgard.† said Loki randomly. â€Å"Excuse me?† Kate inquired. â€Å"you asked me where we’re going.† explained Loki. â€Å"I asked you hours ago!† Kate moaned in displeasure, â€Å" Asgard, Isn’t that the norse version of Mount Olympus? How are we going to get there?† Kate questioned, â€Å"Well, We are gods. It’s kind of our home.† Kate was puzzled by his words. â€Å"Keeva, Daughter of Freyja.† Said Loki, trying to reason. â€Å"My name is Kate. And I’m not the daughter of some norse goddess.† Kate confidently said. â€Å"Oh? but your name has always been Keeva. someone like me would†¦show more content†¦Odin gave Loki a stern look, However he knew Loki was right. Kate Started to feel ill. She couldnt tell if it was due to the pressure that she could feel from all of the eyes of the gods bearing into her or if it was from being drained by her magic. The room started to spin, she could feel her legs giving out. Lokis strong hands reached out to catch her. Loki carried the unconscious girl to one of the guest bedrooms and layed her down gently before pulling the fur blanket up onto her chest and tucking a strand of her short hair back behind her ears before exiting. â€Å" I Better go check on her.† Loki said before. Odin gave him an understanding nod and continued fiddling with a map. Loki Stepped into the hallway where Kate was sitting on the ground. â€Å"Are you okay?† asked Loki before joining her on the floor. â€Å"Is this the world we live in now? Where we must fight our literal demons?†. Loki knew that it was up to him to comfort her but he was just as distraught as her even though he didnt show it. â€Å"I know, I know. Loki said as he sighed. â€Å"Tomorrow we’ll be back in Philadelphia. Are you not excited to see Darcy?† Said Loki trying to give her something to look forward to. â€Å"Yes. It’s been so long. I’m sure she’s worried about me.† Said Kate. The next morning Odin, Loki, Kate, Fen, and a few Guards left forShow MoreRelatedSatan Is Evil Or Evil?1330 Words   |  6 Pagespitchfork, and a tail; he is often visualized in the pits of the underworld surrounded by flames. Why does society picture him this way? Some may say â€Å"Because he is evil† or â€Å"Because he fell from heaven†, but people mostly believe this because this is what they were taught. Satan is a figure appearing in many texts of religion as someone who brings evil and temptation. He is known as the deceiver who leads humanity astray, like he deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. Some religious groups teachRead MoreSimilarities and Differences of Paradise Lost and Frankenstein.1282 Words   |  6 PagesBetween the two novels, Paradise Lost and Frankenstein, there are many striking similarities. What makes these two books so wonderful to read is the author s ability to write about the ultimate struggle; the struggle between God and Sat an, or Good and Evil. The characters in Paradise Lost and in Frankenstein seem to be very similar to one another. God and Victor Frankenstein have many similarities. One of their similarities is that they are both creators of new life. The monster, Victor s creationRead MoreThe Power And Lure Of Satan1365 Words   |  6 PagesMilton’s â€Å"Paradise Lost†. Milton’s epic tale of Paradise Lost has become biblical folklore and even Christians who have not fully read the Bible rely upon the representations and indulgences that Milton presented through his embellishments of fact. Milton’s paradise lost is considered by critics to be one of the greatest literary cannons of all time and is undoubtedly a source of debate with no foregone conclusion other than who’s side is Milton really on, God’s or Satan’s. â€Å"Paradise Lost† is consideredRead MoreMiltons Paradise Lost and His Justification of the Ways of God to Man.1418 Words   |  6 Pagesan epic. Paradise Lost is just that. It is Miltons own take on the biblical story of Satans fall from grace as well as mans fall. Milton was not only armed with an extensive knowledge on the Bible, but in everything a man of his time could learn. With his wisdom he emersed himself into his work, making Paradise Lost not only a tale of epic perportions, but one that would Justify the ways of God to Man. (I 26) Even before reading Paradise Lost, I had always wondered why God allowed evil, andRead MoreEvil in Disguise in John Milton ´s Paradise Lost793 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to the Christian religion the Devil, or Satan, is the source of sin and temptation. It is believed that there was a war in heaven against the rule of God and that Satan lead away many of the host of heaven to become fallen angels as God expelled the traitors from the heavens. John Milton wished to write a poem by which he could be remembered as the authors of the odyssey, Iliad, and the Aeneid. He did this in the form an epic poem about the story of Eden. Milton’s poem is written fromRead MoreParadise Lost By John Milton875 Words   |  4 PagesIn Paradise Lost there are many characters that are portrayed as a hero. What qualities can someone show to classify them as hero? A hero is someone who persist against all odds, someone who is willing to plunge into depth of his inner being. Satan is one part icular character people question as being a hero in Paradise Lost. In Paradise Lost, Milton explains the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Although in the book he shows Satan as being unheroic, but he still display hero qualities. Satan is ultimatelyRead MoreAnalysis Of John Orwell s Paradise Lost 882 Words   |  4 PagesLingle-Martin British Literature February 14, 2017 How Epic Conventions Communicate Messages How does a story display a message? Often while reading, people do not realize just exactly how a text displays a message or lesson. Most of the time people realize what the message or lesson is only after they are finished reading. But, in fact many aspects of a text communicate a message. Conventions of epics play a big role in sharing the message. One may not realize it while reading, but if one were to look atRead MoreJohn Milton: A View of Evil vs. Ignorance Essay797 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Milton’s Paradise Lost, he displays a thought of the Father being the evil being, and Satan a tragic hero. In Paradise Lost, Book 1 and 2, the minor areas where God is shown, He is displayed as hypocritical. He contradicts himself by creating the humans to be of free will, but when Satan displays free will, he is shunned. Satan could be described in many terms, and by many people, but all can be disputed. According to my sources, Satan is displayed as the hero, while God is the evil deity, andRead More Is Falling Failure or Freedom? Essay1279 Words   |  6 Pages Is Falling Failure or Freedom? What defines a â€Å"fall†? Some would say that a fall is a freeing from the restrictions of the oppression of a supreme being. Others would say that a fall is the punishment that comes from foolishly disobeying the one who is in authority over you. The falls in book nine of â€Å"Paradise Lost† and â€Å"Othello† both have parallels in the reasons and methods in which revenge was carried out and perfection was destroyed. But these stories end with different victors and very differentRead MoreEssay on Loss of Religion in Night, by Elie Wiesel1460 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is religion? The dictionary states that religion is: â€Å"Possessing beliefs concerning the nature and purpose of the universe and the supernatural† (A student’s Dictionary 268). Different cultures have different definitions for the word religion. However, they all have one characteristic in common, faith. The Jewish, for instance, believe in God and that the Messiah will come in the future to bring them once again to the land of Israel. They continue to wait for Him to come. Over time, the Jews

Joining Sports Free Essays

Below is a free essay on â€Å"Persuasive Essay On Joining Sports/clubs† from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Teenagers are blessed with the gift of limitless free time. Most of them fill that time slot after school with video games, television, and other distracting technologies. We will write a custom essay sample on Joining Sports or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, there is a much more beneficial option for after school activities. That option is joining co-curricular sports or clubs. These activities have proven benefits, and every student should join one. Sports are a excellent way to stay in shape. MayoClinic says that teenagers require at least an hour of physical activity per day. Physical activity is important for a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, more and more adolescents are neglecting their health every year. As of 2001, 25% of American children are obese. (Anne Collins). According to Anne Collins, new studies suggest one in four overweight children are showing early signs of type II diabetes and 60% already have one risk factor for heart disease. America’s youth is becoming substantially less healthy, but participating in a sport will decrease their chances of becoming obese. Joining either a sport or club will compel teens to become more sociable, and they can even make new friends. Dr. Phil himself says that a healthy social life helps keep teens happy, and they become less susceptible to depression or suicide. 5,000 teens die of suicide per year (Kidshealth. org). Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, surpassed only by accidents and homicide. Sports or clubs can strengthen social skills and friendships. Making new friends is always a positive benefit any day. It is proven that teenagers will be less likely to use drugs while enrolled in co-curricular activities (Athletic Association of Western Universities). The terrible reality is that 50% of teens use drugs regularly (Teendrugabuse. com). Alcohol is the easiest drug for teens to obtain, sadly, alcohol kills 6 ? times more teenagers than all other illicit drugs combined†¦ How to cite Joining Sports, Essay examples

Digital transformation free essay sample

Digital transformation, the Nike way marketingmagazine. co. uk I had the honor of sitting in on a presentation by a Marketing Specialist at Suite Partners in Chicago and Account Manager for Nike for the Chicago region. He spoke about Nikes new marketing strategies and it sparked an interest in me to learn more. I found an article titled, Digital transformation, the Nike way, which Id like to tie in with his presentation about Nikes new advertising strategies. The article is about a new book written by the vice-president of digital sport at Nike, Stephan Olander and ounder and chairman of AKQA, AJaz Ahmed, titled Velocity which is The Seven New Laws for a World Gone Digital. Digital transformation, the Nike way was written in May of 2012 by Nicola Clark of marketingmagazine. co. uk who interviewed the two authors of the book and I accessed it via the LexisNexis database. We will write a custom essay sample on Digital transformation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The book is all about how marketers can drive the innovation agenda in the digital age that were currently living in, as Nicola says. This book provides some of Nikes marketing strategies that he mentioned in his presentation and if they arent already, they will e a really important component to almost every companys success. Nike doesnt want to be that company that annoys people by over selling their products and services through obnoxious commercials. I mean how often do people now days actually watch a commercial? If youre anything like me, I DVR everything and fast forward through these obnoxious commercials, same with radio, whenever radio commercials come on l, more often than not, change the station. Those ways of advertising is nearly extinct or as they say in the article that way of doing things has een evaporated, say Olander. Our ways of communicating are different than they were Just 10 years ago and even Just last year. Companies need to adjust to the digital age that we are living in in order to survive and be successful. Nike is interested in attracting consumers through demand-creation. They want to add emotional value to their products and services through their advertising to connect with the consumer on a deeper level and to set them apart from their competition or, as we learned, theyre giving their customer the Why before they give them the What. By doing this, they are trying to attract consumers that that share their values and get them involved in a more active lifestyle. As he says its all about the story and Nike is bringing the story of their consumers to life and with these stories, they are making an emotional connection and they are doing this as, Ahmed mentions, with different social channels. They are connecting with their consumers in up to hundreds of millions of ways through these different social channels. You cant Just run a commercial now. You have to connect with your consumers in ways that are convenient to them and on their terms. They want you to come to them and entertain them, give them something that interests them. One of Nikes biggest connections with their consumers is sharing. Ahmend explains that its not only important, but necessary to have something worth sharing because its all about what everyone else is doing. He says that If someone doesnt want to share it, then it might as well not exist. This is done by utilizing social media such as facebook, Instagram, and interest and most importantly ot all is word ot mouth and g reputation. Mentions on a late night television show, as we saw on TED TV, can make all the difference to a product or service. Trendy hash tags can now take a brand farther than any 30 second commercial on TV or an ad in a magazine. Any company needs to fgure out how they can set themselves apart from your competition and Nike does this through the experiences and the meaningful connections that they provide to their consumers. A company also has to keep that direct connection with their onsumer because, as Olander says, When you give up the direct connection to your consumer, you give up everything because as weve learned, the consumer is the core of everything, they are the boss. A good majority of Nikes consumers are athletes and Olanders final remarks are about how Nike is keeping up with the times through their athlete consumers who inspire new ideas and keep them on their toes with our fast paced society. Olander states that mfou can never grow old when your consumer is young.

Johann Sebastian Bach Essays (815 words) - Music, Classical Music

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the greatest composers in Western musical history. More than 1,000 of his compositions survive. Some examples are the Art of Fugue, Brandenburg Concerti, the Goldberg Variations for Harpsichord, the Mass in B-Minor, the motets, the Easter and Christmas oratorios, Toccata in F Major, French Suite No 5, Fugue in G Major, Fugue in G Minor ("The Great"), St. Matthew Passion, and Jesu Der Du Meine Seele. He came from a family of musicians. There were over 53 musicians in his family over a period of 300 years. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany on March 21, 1685. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a talented violinist, and taught his son the basic skills for string playing; another relation, the organist at Eisenach's most important church, instructed the young boy on the organ. In 1695 his parents died and he was only 10 years old. He went to go stay with his older brother, Johann Christoph, who was a professional organist at Ohrdruf. Johann Christoph was a professional organist, and continued his younger brother's education on that instrument, as well as on the harpsichord. After several years in this arrangement, Johann Sebastian won a scholarship to study in Luneberg, Northern Germany, and so left his brother's tutelage. A master of several instruments while still in his teens, Johann Sebastian first found employment at the age of 18 as a "lackey and violinist" in a court orchestra in Weimar; soon after, he took the job of organist at a church in Arnstadt. Here, as in later posts, his perfectionist tendencies and high expectations of other musicians - for example, the church choir - rubbed his colleagues the wrong way, and he was embroiled in a number of hot disputes during his short tenure. In 1707, at the age of 22, Bach became fed up with the lousy musical ezdards of Arnstadt (and the working conditions) and moved on to another organist job, this time at the St. Blasius Church in Muhlhausen. The same year, he married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach. Again caught up in a running conflict between factions of his church, Bach fled to Weimar after one year in Muhlhausen. In Weimar, he assumed the post of organist and concertmaster in the ducal chapel. He remained in Weimar for nine years, and there he composed his first wave of major works, including organ showpieces and cantatas. By this stage in his life, Bach had developed a reputation as a brilliant, if somewhat inflexible, musical talent. His proficiency on the organ was unequaled in Europe - in fact, he toured regularly as a solo virtuoso - and his growing mastery of compositional forms, like the fugue and the canon, was already attracting interest from the musical establishment - which, in his day, was the Lutheran church. But, like many individuals of uncommon talent, he was never very good at playing the political game, and therefore suffered periodic setbacks in his career. He was passed over for a major position - which was Kapellmeister (Chorus Master) of Weimar - in 1716; partly in reaction to this snub, he left Weimar the following year to take a job as court conductor in Anhalt-Cothen. There, he slowed his output of church cantatas, and instead concentrated on instrumental music - the Cothen period produced, among other masterpieces, the Brandenburg Concerti. While at Cothen, Bach's wife, Maria Barbara, died. Bach remarried soon after - to Anna Magdalena - and forged ahead with his work. He also forged ahead in the child-rearing department, producing 13 children with his new wife - six of whom survived childhood - to add to the four children he had raised with Maria Barbara. Several of these children would become fine composers in their own right - particularly three sons: Wilhelm Friedmann, Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian. After conducting and composing for the court orchestra at Cothen for seven years, Bach was offered the highly prestigious post of cantor (music director) of St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig - after it had been turned down by two other composers. The job was a demanding one; he had to compose cantatas for the St. Thomas and St. Nicholas churches, conduct the choirs,

Throes vs Throws - Commonly Confused Words

Throes vs Throws - Commonly Confused Words The words throes and throws  are  homophones: They sound alike but have different meanings. The plural noun throes means a great struggle or a condition of agonizing pain or trouble. The idiom in the throes of means in the midst of some painful or difficult experience.Throws is the third-person present singular form of the verb throwto toss, hurl, or discharge. Examples They simulated agonized death throes, rolling around on the ground, twisting their bodies into grotesque shapes and making hideous faces. (Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth)In the late 1970s, Uganda was in the throes of economic collapse, and there were long lines in Kampala for even the most basic goods.A young lady appears at the window and throws kisses to the crowd.A sacrifice bunt should be attempted only when the pitcher throws a strike. Practice: My four-year-old son whines and _____ a fit every time we try to take him to the playground.The country was in the _____ of revolution, and the king was compelled to abdicate.Gertrude _____ flowers into Ophelias grave, saying, Sweets to the sweet. Farewell.If you are in the _____ of a hurricane, steer for the calm spot. Answers My four-year-old son whines and  throws  a fit every time we try to take him to the playground.The country was in the  throes  of revolution, and the king was compelled to abdicate.Gertrude  throws  flowers into Ophelias grave, saying, Sweets to the sweet. Farewell.If you are in the  throes  of a hurricane, steer for the calm spot.

Critically review the evidence of multi stakeholder governance of the Literature

Critically the evidence of multi stakeholder governance of the sustainability. issue of population and the issue of mega - Literature review Example The largest cities of the world are found to be growing at the fastest pace. However, it has been observed that large cities are not concentrated in the developed nations but mostly in the developing countries of the world. The process of urbanization has resulted in a number of issues associated with most of the mega cities which have been discussed in this study. The issues discussed are mostly related to the various sustainable problems and governance issues faced by the megalopolises of the world. Sustainability and Mega Cities Sustainability development refers to the fulfilment of needs and requirements at present without compromising on the future generations’ ability to satisfy their needs (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Sustainability is a concept of achieving simultaneously the objectives of an improved environment, a good economy and a society which is more participative in nature. Although the primary context of sustainability is global in n ature, it becomes more meaningful when it is given a global significance through local initiatives and practices. As regards the cities, metabolism can be used as a metaphor to sustainability. A city is adjudged to be more sustainable if it has the ability to reduce its resource inputs in the form of materials, land, water, energy, etc. and waste outputs in the form of air, solid wastes and liquid and at the same time has the capacity to bring about improvement in its liveability in the form of employment, health, housing, income, community, public spaces, etc. (Newman, and Kenworthy, 2003, pp. 235-242). The research study by Williams and Haughton (1994) suggested the various roles played by cities towards the process of sustainability and examined the different issues associated with environmental degradation taking place in the urban areas. In today’s world people living in cities surpass the total number of people living in rural areas. There has been a significant rise in the urban population of the world. It has been estimated that the urban dwellers would increase up to around five billion by the end of the year 2030. The most interesting trend related to this rise in urban population is that it is mostly concentrated in the cities of the developing nations of the world. The primary reason behind the growth of urban population is that the urban fertility rate has increased at a greater rate than the urban mortality rate, especially in cases of the mega cities of the world (Renner, 1998). The future prospects of world community are dependent upon the urban sustainability (McGranahan et al., 2001). New risk dimensions along with physical, social and economic dynamics are created through the increasing mobilisation of people, capital, goods and information. This results in the importance of cities for the creating sustainable development. Mega cities are not confined to the aspect of concentration of people only. Resources that are available all over the world are absorbed by the mega cities; this leads to the generation of huge amounts of sewage and waste. It thus uses environment as a sink to dump all its waste. The increasing per capita income of people living in the cities has resulted in the increase of resources consumed and the residues produced as a result of such activities. The data related to evaluation of the resource demands which has been

Cross-Cultural Issues in International Business.The Audi organization Essay

Cross-Cultural Issues in International Business.The Audi organization - Essay Example Finally, the paper will propose a solution that details the management style, structure and reporting methods that will provide a solution to the issues identified. The Establishing organization will have to work routinely with the new culture and background of the established company in China. Usually this relationship works well since the differences in culture are enriching and interesting. However, things may go wrong in some cases for reasons that may not be understood by the organization’s management. This is the reason why mastery of cultural differences is important, in order to work more effectively with people, and avoid misunderstandings (Ray, 2010). The Seven Dimensions of Culture is very essential in enhancing the mastery of cultural differences when effectively applied. The model was identified by Trompenaars Fons and Hampden Charles, management consultants, who published it in their book, "Riding the Waves of Culture." The founders found out that majority of peo ple coming from different cultures do not just randomly differ from each other; but they are different in very unpredictable and even specific ways. This is due to the fact that every culture has its own way of thinking, its own beliefs and values. Different cultures also place different preferences on different varying factors. Trompenaars Fons and Hampden Charles concluded that wherever these preferences fall is what makes the differences in culture compared to one another as described on each of the seven dimensions of culture. These cultural dimensions include: universalism versus particularism, specific versus diffuse, individualism versus communitarianism, neutral versus emotional, sequential time versus synchronous time, achievement versus ascription, and internal direction versus outer direction (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003). The organization in Europe that wishes to establish an organization in the Far East can use this model to understand and master people from this region , who practice a totally different culture. This will enable the Audi Car Company to avoid misunderstandings with the people and enjoy a good working relationship. This is very significant when the company will be doing business with different people around the region who have different cultural background. Hence, it will ease the management of the diverse groups of people from different cultures. The Seven Dimensions of Culture will also help the management of the organization to understand that there is no particular culture that is worse or better than the other; this is because of the assertion of the model, that people coming from different cultural backgrounds are not necessarily different, but simply make differing choices. In contrary, the Seven Dimensions of Culture does not explain how the management can measure the preferences of people on the seven dimensions (Hampden and Trompenaars, 2000). Therefore, it will be in the best interest of the establishing company to simply use the Seven Dimensions of Culture as a general guide when dealing with the people coming from different cultural backgrounds. The model will enable the organization to explore the strategies that can be used among people fitting the highlighted characteristics of each of the dimensions as described below: The seven dimensions of culture The first cultural dimension is universalism and particularism; according to the model, universalism is characterized by people who place much emphasis on rules, obligations, laws, and values. These people attempt

Labour market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Labour market - Essay Example AUSTRALIAN LABOUR MARKET Introduction There are several ways through which a person gains human capital. However, the two main ways are education and the second is experience or on the job training. Various skills are required to perform different jobs and the basics skills are acquired through studies or formal education. However, without experience or practice the education is not as effective. Therefore, even at work, the worker is always in the process of learning. Considering the level of skills in the labour force in Australia, the government has been consistently undertaking various projects to support the workers in various areas and trying to expand and equip the workforce. Australian Labour Market There are a number of programs and workshops to assist organizations and also to train workers such as Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL). They train workers in English language and numeracy skills linked to various jobs. Similarly, WORKERS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIAT ION, SYDNEY (WEA Sydney) has been operating for the past century assisting organizations and providing wide range of public lectures and lectures in various subjects although it has not been funded by the government a lot. Also training has expanded to fields relating to communication technology and digital communication. (IMMI, 2010) The relaxed immigration policy of Australia is the evidence that the Australian government is attracting immigrants from abroad to work in Australia as the country is deprived of fully skilled workers for respective jobs. The Australian Human Resource Institute (AHRI) on skill shortages conducted a research. According to the report it was found that seven out of ten Australian employers surveyed are still experiencing a skills shortage, and more than 85% believe  skilled migration  is necessary to the success of their organizations. Therefore, research results from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations are working to find out the area where the skills are lacking at state and national level as the ability to work matters on various factors such as season, geographical base and also knowledge. That is there might be a worker with a certain skill; however he or she might not be able to find the respective job in his or her locality and would be unemployed for sometime as he/ she would also not be aware of the job in some other locality. Therefore, there has been a shortage of workers in Australia. (IMMI, 2010) The Australian government therefore introduced a visa policy known as 457 visas in 1996 under which immigrants were given working opportunities in Australia. They allowed skilled people to temporarily work in Australia under an approved sponsor for up to four years. During times of economic progress the use of this policy was very effective as skillful employees invited from abroad could easily fill the demand gap. However, over the years it has undergone many changes since hiring employees from foreign countries reduces the opportunities for the local workforce. During times of the global economic recession like during 2009 the demand for the 457 visa workers fell and the usage of the policy reduced, but so did the demand for the

Carnival Cruise Lines Today

Carnival Cruise Lines Today This document is based on the Harvard Business Case study about Carnival Cruise Lines Applegate, Kwortnik, Piccoli, 2006. It is written as a master thesis for the Master of Information Management (MIM) studies by Christianne Aussems, Nathalie Claes, Eric Janssen and Cornà © van Schaik, under the supervision of Piet Ribbers, Professor of Information Management, all at TiasNimbas Business School in Tilburg. 1.1 About this report This report describes the information management strategy for Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) for the period 2007-2011. It proposes changes in organization, management, systems, and governance structure for CCL and describes the implementation plan, including prioritization and a costs and benefits analysis. The target audience of the report is Myles Cyr, CIO of Carnival Cruise Lines, and in addition for the strategic management level of CCL. 1.2 Assignment description | Aim and Scope [Bob Dickinson informed the board about the goals for the next years. He wants Carnival Cruise Lines to stay the market leader and to improve the repeat guest rate. He is convinced that the potential value of customer data is growing. Therefore he is looking for a way to manage customer relationships more adequately. In the meeting he also mentioned the desire to reduce the gap between quality improvements and customer perceptions of the services. Myles Cyr agrees on establishing a new sales strategy for the years to come and on the necessity to know the customers better. He wants to incorporate an overall vision on and evaluation of the information architecture and the existing information systems. At this moment he and Dwayne Warner are thinking of starting the preparation an extensive revision (possibly a rebuild) of the shipboard systems (Property Management System and Point of Sale Systems) including the replacement of the Sail Sign card (with magnetic strip) by a chip card in combination with the introduction of portable equipment based on the IP protocol. Myles Cyr explicitly asks to elaborate on the opportunities of IS to contribute to the business and to the value chain. The board is expecting that the relative IT operating costs can be reduced in the next years. He expects an analysis and evaluation of the current state of IT/IS. What is good? What possible weaknesses are there? What problems have to be solved? Which improvements are opportune? He expects a balanced report containing your proposals to enhance the quality of data processing and information provisioning (including handling customer data). Carnival Cruise Lines can only resist and beat the market forces, if the company is innovative, acts agile and reacts fast and effectively to changes in the markets.] Topics to be incorporated in report: -Existing bottle necks that have to be removed. -Changes in organization, management, control concept and governance. -Changes in systems, data processing and data provisioning. -Change management process to meet the proposal. -Implementation plan including prioritization. -Risk assessment of the components of your advice. -Improvement of security and risk management (especially privacy protection). -Costs and benefits analysis of the proposed alternatives. 1.3 Structure Beschrijven van fase naar fase Cindy 1.4 Approach To gather extra information on IT in the cruising sector there was the opportunity to do qualitative research at another cruising organization being Royal Caribbean. Gekozen voor andere maatschappij om huidige bedrijfsvoering niet te verstoren/verontrusten? The research performed here was qualitative research trough semi structured interviews As described in the bookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ p467. For this research the entire IT executive team (see appendix) was found willing and able to participate. Interview guides were created, for these interviews. These described the goals and topics of the interview and the questions to be asked. This gave the researchers a structure to ask the questions, not to forget important questions and not to get distracted from the goals of the interview. On the other hand this approach also gave flexibility to discuss unforeseen but relevant topics. On forehand it was not clear for all the interviewees what their role and responsibilities where and what to ask them . This approach also gave the flexibility to start the interview with just a few questions but in the end having gathered a lot of information. Being able to interview more than 10 different IT executives in different roles and on different levels also gave an insight on important topics on that moment. Interview guide interview minutes For the execution of the interviews there was a clear division of the roles between the interviewers, there was one interviewer in the lead for asking the questions, one checking whether all the questions were asked and one making notes for the meeting minutes. Ruimte Literatuur 1.5 Constraints Timing Tool selectie reeds gedaan 2. Carnival Cruise Lines Today Carnival Corporation plc is a global cruise company and one of the largest vacation companies in the world. Carnival generates all of its revenues from the cruise industry. The companies wide-ranging product offerings provide guests with exceptional vacation experiences at an outstanding value. The success in providing quality cruise vacations has made Carnival the most profitable company in the leisure travel industry. Carnivals stock is dually listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and on the London Stock Exchange under symbol CCL. Carnival is the only company in the world to be included in both the SP 500 index in the United States and the FTSE 100 index in the United Kingdom (Carnival Corporation PLC, 2012). Carnival Corporation operates a fleet of 100 ships, with another seven ships scheduled for delivery between now and March 2016. With approximately 200,000 guests and 77,000 shipboard employees, there are more than 277,000 people sailing aboard the Carnival fleet at any given time (Carnival Corporation PLC, 2012). For the purpose of our report it is crucial to understand how the Carnival Cruise Lines corporation works today. We need to understand how the various aspects of the business are set up and how they work together. Only after a true understanding of the current situation, we can come with proposals for improvement and indicate the impact on current ways of working. In literature one can fine many models that can be used to look at an organization with an internal perspective. In appendix X we provide an overview of some management models we have found in literature, with an explanation why, when and how it should be used. Since our report needs to cover the implementation of a new IT management strategy, we have decided to use McKinseys 7S model. This model, developed in the 1980s, involves 7 factors, which can be categorized as hard and soft elements. Hard elements can be identified and influenced more easily. They would be driven by the organization charts and reporting lines within the business and they may include the systems you use to get work done. Soft elements are, by their very nature, more difficult to manage and may be affected by the culture of the organization. But you have to apply yourself to these as much as the hard elements, as they provide the support structure for the successful implementation of any change, and they are al l interdependent on each other. Figure X 7S framework (McKinsey) The hard elements in the 7S-model are Strategy, Structure and Systems; the soft elements are Style, Shared Values, Skills and Staff. In order to understand the 7S-model better a brief explanation is given below. Hard elements:   Strategy by using mission and vision the organizations objectives become clear.   Structure how is the organization structured and which hierarchical layers are there   Systems all formal and informal methods of operation, procedures and communication flows Soft elements:   Style this is about leadership and management styles   Shared values the standards and values and other forms of ethics within an organization in which vision, corporate culture and identity are the key elements   Skills these concern both the skills of the organization and those of the employees   Staff this is about the employees, their competences and job descriptions 2.1 Strategy of CCL The mission of Carnival Corporation is to take the world on vacation and deliver exceptional experiences through many of the worlds best-known cruise brands that cater to a variety of different geographic regions and lifestyles, all at an outstanding value unrivaled on land or at sea (Carnival Corporation PLC, 2012). The vision statement of Carnival is the following: to consistently deliver fun, memorable vacations at a repeat value. Derived from this mission and vision, Carnival Cruise Lines has set up the following strategic objectives: to be the leading cruise operator in all segments entered and to maintain the most up-to-date fleet of cruise ships in the world to develop new cruise segments and innovative cruise packages to reach a larger number of potential and past cruisers employ sophisticated promotional efforts to achieve a greater awareness by the public concerning the availability and afford ability of cruise travel attract the first-time and younger cruisers (Carnival), experienced cruisers (Holland America), upscale cruisers(Seaborne), and cruisers wanting a sailing vacation (Windstar) promote cruises as an alternative to land-based vacations provide a variety of activities as well as ports of call be innovative in all respects of operations of the ship. BRON Dominant market share Carnivals biggest strength is its huge scale and scope. It is twice as large as its biggest competitor and competes in nearly every market and segment worldwide. This gives Carnival enormous power over the cruise industry as a whole. It enables the company to undertake projects that grow the industry, gives it a platform for continued mergers and acquisitions activity, and helps Carnival negotiate with major manufacturers of cruise ships (Levin, Jones, Slade, 2011). Strong acquisition strategy Carnival has the ability to obtain companies through acquisitions. By using an acquisition strategy, the Corporation has been able to position itself in each geographical market in the world and rank itself as number one in the cruising sector. Comprehensive portfolio The corporation has a large fleet capacity and operates 11 of the most recognizable cruise brand names. Carnivals portfolio of brand names appeals to almost every niche market, from budget minded, contemporary to luxury cruises. Each cruise line operates globally and is targeted at one or more nationalities (see Appendix X). 2.2 Structure of CCL Carnival Corporation plc has two main headquarters, Carnival Place in the US and Carnival House in the UK. The constituent Corporation and plc are separate listed companies with different shareholder bodies, but they jointly own all the operating companies in the group. Carnival Corporation owns the majority stake. As part of the merger between Carnival Corporation and PO Princess Cruises in 2002, it was agreed that PO Princess would be relisted as Carnival plc in London, remaining a separate company with a predominantly British shareholder body. Both headquarters have their own management team, strategy, and IT organization. Uncoordinated business operations Historically, Carnival has been run by the Arison family as a coalition of largely independent businesses. Each cruise line largely manages its own customers, marketing, distribution, sales, ports, and logistics. This approach has had benefits: internal competition means that each line operates better than any would in isolation. The business operations of the cruise lines are not centrally managed. Better coordination of these business operations could generate additional benefits for Carnival (Levin, Jones, Slade, 2011). Strong financial position Carnival is one of the most profitable cruising companies. The companys average net income (FY2005 to FY2009) amounted to 18.1% compared to the industry standard of 6.3% (Marketingteacher, 2012). The firm is dual listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange under the symbol CCL. Since the company is dual listed, it has the ability to raise more funds from investor than its competitors. With this also come greater stability due to different markets being affected by different economic occurrences, political issues, and societys views (Corporate information, 2006). Decreasing profit The profit of Carnival has diminished over the last years. The net profit was $1,790 million in FY2009, a decrease of 23.2% as compared to 2008. Another weakness is that Carnival reports their financial statements in dollars. About half of their revenue is generated in a non-US currency, but is reported in terms of US dollars. The value of the dollar against Euro appreciated from 1.60 in January 2010 to 1.53 by April 2010 against the Pound. If the dollar strengthens it would record a lower revenue than is actually earned (Marketingteacher, 2012). Clear focus cost leadership Carnival Cruise Lines has a clear focus on Cost Leadership, i.e. CCL offers its product to the mass market. Therefore the highest focus is put on the price and keeping the price as low as possible. Once the customer is on board the ship, additional revenue is created by having the customer pay for everything that was not covered in the base price. Carnival is such a large company that it has significant cost advantages over most of its competitors. Strong marketing Carnival invests explicitly and effectively in print and television media. Their promotions target the lifestyles of each group of customers (Marketingteacher, 2012). Over-dependence on US market Carnival derives a majority of its revenue (nearly 52%) from US customers. In 2009 the revenue from the North American market registered a double digit decline. The over-dependence on the US market makes Carnival vulnerable to the economic fluctuations of the American economy and this company is dependent on customers disposable income] (Marketingteacher, 2012). Poor safety record There is no public database of major cruise accidents, but Carnival has a notably worse safety record than other cruise companies. The Costa Concordia tragedy has been the most recent in Carnivals safety woes. The Center for Disease Control does track all major viral outbreaks on cruise lines. In the 2009-2011 period, Carnival-owned companies accounted for 56% of all viral outbreaks, compared to a 48% average market share. The company is also thought to have a worse safety record for persons lost at sea, especially in the Carnival brand: of the 179 disappearances since 2000, Carnival Cruise Line alone accounts for nearly 30% of them (Levin, Jones, Slade, 2011). Incidents/Bad press In 2009, Carnival experienced bad press when three passengers fell off ships in a three week period. There were a total of 22 incidents of passengers falling overboard in 2009. In December 2008, passengers on the Carnival owned Oceania cruise ship were attacked by Somali pirates. Such events reflect negatively on the company and the industry. 2.3 Systems in CCL Within Carnival Cruise Lines every brand is seen as a separate business unit, with its own profit and loss statement. Decentralized systems This decentralization translates into a decentralization of systems as well. Decisions arent always communicated from the one cruise line to the other, which leads to duplication of effort. This decentralization of the business organization translates to the IT organization as well. Every brand has its own IT department with own systems and infrastructure. Legacy systems There are many legacy systems, since there arent many players in the cruising sector, most of the strategic important applications are custom made. This leads to a spaghetti landscape in which integration is very difficult and which affects the speed to market significantly. No integrated CRM system Carnival doesnt use an integrated CRM system for the whole corporation. Customers from the one cruise line arent recognized as a repeat customer with a different cruise line within the group, this has an immediate effect on the pricing for repeat customers. The yearly capital planning of investments is done on US and UK Headquarter level as well as on the different cruise line level. This will most likely lead to lack on synchronization and duplication of costs and efforts. 2.4 Style within CCL The leadership style at Carnival Cruise Lines can be called family-like. People with the right skills are hired and are giving the support and room to do their jobs correctly. This family-like leadership style is a management style that Ted Arison already used when he was still steering the company. Ted Arison had a non-hierarchical approach to management, meaning that he delegated a lot of work downwards in the organization, allowing him to oversee the bigger picture. People are encouraged to be hands-on and take calculated risks. Taking risks also means that mistakes can occur, however Carnival uses a no blame culture through which people feel empowered (Managementparadise, 2012). Carnival has a separate training and development department set up in the organization. The corporation invests heavily in coaching of high potentials by giving them learning opportunities that are fit for their personal needs. 2.5 Shared values of CCL Derived from the mission and vision of Carnival (see 2.1.1) the company has set some company values that wear a high priority. These values are: Honesty, integrity, fairness, hospitality and teamwork. The values are deemed important to do their job in a correct manner. Carnival, as all other cruise lines in the industry, takes much proud in the focus they put on the environment. They invest heavily in health and safety, both for customers and for employees. There is a very strong focus on the environment and to work in a greener way. Charity is also one of the key components of their social responsibility strategy. 2.6 Skills at CCL Working in the leisure industry requires some specific skills that you cannot always learn. Most important skills that someone working in the leisure industry would need, are the following: Customer focused Empathy Team work Stress resistant Multi-cultural Service orientation Multi linguistic Since Carnival Cruise Lines wants to be seen as the cruise line that delivers fun, the attitude of the employees is very important as well. The employees need to be cheerful and enthusiastic. 2.7 Staff at CCL Cruise ships typically operate with three classes of crew. The first is the officers: these professionals are highly paid and given ultimate command of the ship. The second is entertainers and wait staff: typically lower-paid, but from the same countries as the cruisers that they serve. Finally, most of the ships crew is drawn from developing countries. While pay is low, the salary can represent an attractive opportunity for these workers, who often work 10-month contracts without being able to see their homes and families. Turnover is high, and few of the crew see working on a cruise ship as a viable long-term career. Staff remains 24/7 on board of the ship, have their own cabins at the lowest two decks of the ship. Only officers are allowed to mix between guests, this at special occasions and in formal attire. Other crew members have dedicated times during which they can be present on guest decks. Operational excellence experience Carnival has achieved below-industry-average costs and above-average revenue historically. This is largely due to the companys immense experience in owning and operating cruises, as well as some smart strategic plays. That advantage makes expanding into new markets vastly easier for Carnival than for a smaller player or upstart firm. Carnival has the largest pool of data to draw on to determine what does and does not work and has the most experienced marketers of cruises in the world. These soft advantages let Carnival potentially segment its customers more efficiently than competitors (Levin, Jones, Slade, 2011). 3. Carnival Cruise Lines Competitive Position 5 forces model of Porter (Levin, Jones, Slade, 2011) According to Michael Porter, the state of competition in an industry depends on five basic forces (Porter, 1980). These forces are: Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Bargaining Power of Buyers, Threat of New Entrants, Threat of Substitutes, and Rivalry among Competitors. The collective strength of these combined forces determines the ultimate profit potential of an industry. The following paragraphs are based on Levin et al. (Levin, Jones, Slade, 2011) and interviews at Royal Caribbean. 3.1 Bargaining power of suppliers Supplier Power within the cruise line industry is moderately strong. Most of a cruise ships supplies are bought on an open, competitive market. The threat of integration by these suppliers is very low. One notable exception is Carnivals new builds. There are only 6 major shipyards that have recently built cruise ships, and 2-3 more that either perform conversions or have built ships before 2000. Capacity and capability at these main builders is also limited, so Carnival Corporation relies on a limited number of manufacturers for its new builds. The high supplier power within the shipbuilding is weakened because the relationship is symmetrical: cruising is a similarly concentrated market. Additionally, the massive purchase value of a new ship provides a sizeable incentive for ship suppliers to provide cruise liners with competitive pricing. Additionally, cruise ship companies such as Carnival face extensive switching costs, both in building and running a ship. Switching a ships manufacturer is hugely expensive for cruise companies because, typically, the shipbuilder owns the right over a ships design, which means that, in switching shipbuilders, cruise line companies have to incur high monetary and time costs in redesigning the ship. Such a switch can cost the cruise line company millions of dollars. Further, there is high input differentiation between ships, meaning that, while there are alternatives for the majority of supply components (both in ship construction and in cruise service), the cruise ship company markets specific ships and amenities to the consumer, thereby increasing switching costs and supplier power. 3.2 Bargaining power of buyers Buyer power within the cruise line industry is relatively low. By contrast to most other vacations, more than two thirds of cruises are still booked through travel agents. Further, customers are spread around the world and do not have any mechanisms through which they can express a collective voice or exert collective power, leaving them with minimal control. Additionally, customers do not have the ability or resources to create the cruise experience by themselves it is, by nature, a highly packaged deal. In addition, the experience offered by a cruise is very unique, and differs from other types of vacations enough that customers who prefer cruises are likely to choose them over other types of vacations, so long as the cost is not a substantial barrier. Buyer power is increased by internet search engines which enable comparisons of price and specifications across multiple locations, brands, and companies. In addition, the continued high reliance on travel agencies increases buyer p ower because travel agencies make volume purchases and can demand lower prices based on the volume of customers they refer to specific companies. 3.3 Threat of new entrants The risk of entry of new competitors to the cruise line industry that could provide a plausible threat to Carnival Corporation in core markets is low. Entry into the high-end cruise line industry requires capital of approximately $1 billion since it costs, on average, $400 million to build a ship. Further, large cruise ships employ hundreds of sailors and crew that are trained for sea duty, which creates an additional cost. Since brand recognition is very important in the cruise line industry, it would take a new competitor valuable time to build an identity and reputation in order to be able to compete with the incumbents. Lastly, there are strict government and international regulations that are involved with a cruise company. Obtaining proper permits to operate, as well as the political connections, would also cost a company a large amount of time and resources. In Asia, however, Carnival might be more concerned about new entrants. Asian operations, markets, and customers are much less defined than in the Americas or Europe, and expectations of cruise quality and scale are lower. There are numerous Asian entrepreneurs and companies that might be able to tap into this fast-growing market. 3.4 Threat of substitutes There are many substitutes, such as all inclusive, Club Med, and alternative vacation packages. However, market research indicates that cruise lines provide higher customer satisfaction than land based vacation packages. Cruisers express an overall 94.8% satisfaction rate with their experiences. Any vacation can be substituted for, and there is not a high cost to change, which makes the threat of substitution seem very high. This trend has fueled the continuing evolution of the cruise vacation experience. Over the years, cruise lines have expanded itineraries to include more diverse ports of call and have introduced innovative onboard amenities and facilities to compete with land based travel. These onboard experiences include cell phone access, Internet cafes and Wi-Fi zones which allow passengers to feel as if they are connected on land. They have also added onboard experiences such as rock-climbing, bowling alleys, surfing pools, multi-room villas, multiple themed restaurants and expansive spas, health and fitness facilities that easily rival land-based options (CLIA, 2012) Although there are many substitutes to the cruise line industry, they cannot replicate the cruise line experience. 3.5 Rivalry of competitors Carnival is the leading company within the cruise line industry due to its multiple fleets and significant international presence. There are significant barriers to entry and exit within the cruise line industry, which has resulted in a high concentration ratio. The cruise line industry is effectively an oligopoly market, where several major cruise liners make up more than 90% of the market shares. Carnival is constantly engaged in marketing and pricing battles with these competitors, making internal rivalry central to the industry. Additionally, cruise lines have historically been subject to heavy mergers acquisitions activity, and Carnival sometimes competes to acquire even more share. Overall, Carnivals branding is strong within the industry, and even stronger within its market category (contemporary). When compared to its competitors, Carnival continues to remain a formidable force in the cruise industry. Figure X: 5 forces model for Carnival Cruise Lines 4. Cruise Industry Developments We will use a PESTEL analysis to provide the context of the cruising industry as a whole, in order to understand the organizations role in relation to the external environment. The PESTEL analysis provides a context for the organizations role in relation to the external environment. The PESTEL analysis technique is often used in conjunction with a SWOT analysis to assess the situation of a business. PESTEL covers Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors. The analysis consists in carefully determining all factors and finding out exactly in what way and to what extent these factors influence the company. Each category of factors is of crucial importance to advanced strategic management (Marketingminefield, 2012). Figure 2 gives an overview of PESTEL factors for the Cruise Industry. The PESTEL analysis is further explained in the following sections of this chapter. Political Economic OPPORTUNITIES Growing market in Asia Multiple trade organizations and lobbyist: -Cruise Lines International Association -Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (trade organization) -International Council of Cruise Lines; Cruise industry lobbyist -North West Canada Cruise Association (trade organization for Hawaii and Pacific North West) -Passenger ship Association -International Maritime organization (IMO) part of the United Nations OPPORTUNITIES Profitable business; cruisers spend typically more on vacation then non cruisers Pricing based on data analysis Big market share to capture; cruising industry is the fastest growing branch of the total leisure industry THREATHS Global economic recession Decrease in growth for South of Europe due to bad economy High fuel prices THREATS Geopolitical instability -Terrorism actions Tax loopholes Social Technological OPPORTUNITIES Strongly favorable Demographics Changing consumer trends: more focus on health, spa arrangements, more diversity in dining and other selling points Changing role of travel agent Number of online bookings is increasing and increasing more every year OPPORTUNITIES Changing consumer trends: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), connectivity Technological development in satellite communication: -State of the art technology possibilities on the ship -Higher connectivity on the ship THREATHS Due to the exploding market in Asia, systems need to be set up in Chinese characters. This is a challenge for most systems Outsourcing level 2 b 3 support is difficult because the knowledge is very specific THREATHS Overblown media attention when something happens on a cruise ship Environmental Legal THREATHS Events in the outside world (9/11, Costa Concordia crash and Ash cloud Iceland) OPPORTUNITIES Complex diversity of environmental, health and safety legislation Figure X: PESTEL analysis Cruise Industry 4.1 Political Factors Political factors represent the way and extent to which a government influences the economy and the business. Specific areas are: labor law, tax policy, tariffs, trade restrictions and environmental law. Geopolitical Instability [In 2011, the Arab Spring revolutions ca

Being Charlie Kaufman: A Glimpse into the Mind of a Genius :: Essays Papers

Being Charlie Kaufman: A Glimpse into the Mind of a Genius Movies suck these days. All Hollywood seems to care about anymore is making profitable movies, not thinking twice about what the movie might actually be about. Whether it’s another special effects-ridden clunker, a giddy romantic comedy, or another lame-plotted action flick, they just don’t seem to get it. Although a small handful of films over a year’s time are occasionally worth seeing, for the most part it’s all about making money and not about the true art that filmmaking can be. Charlie Kaufman is exactly the kind of anomaly that the film industry needs. Kaufman was born in November 1958 in Massapequa, Long Island and spent his childhood there. Later his family moved to West Hartford, Connecticut, where he went to high school. After graduating, he attended Boston University for a short time, but soon transferred to New York University to study filmmaking. Kaufman got his start in writing for television for sitcoms such as Ned and Stacey and The Dana Carvey Show (Couzens). After his work with sitcoms, however, he began writing some of the oddest scripts that have ever been conceived. It was just over four years ago when Kaufman presented his very first film, Being John Malkovich, which was nominated for both Oscar and Golden Globe awards, as well as winning many others, such as the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and Best Screenplay from the National Society of Film Critics. That is not something every screenwriter is able to do with their first script. His fortune of being nominated came again with his third film, the genre-bending Adaptation, which was a fictional movie about him working on writing the screenplay for a movie adaptation of a book that was based on a true story. His work on this won him the Golden Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. His latest work, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, is being hailed as â€Å"remarkable† with â€Å"groundbreaking performances,† which gives it a very likely chance of being nominated for awards (Travers, 2004). Although his reputation is already respectable, Kaufman didn’t easily get to where he is now. His struggles of becoming a film screenwriter were not without boundaries, but every time he tripped, he got back up and kept going. Being Charlie Kaufman: A Glimpse into the Mind of a Genius :: Essays Papers Being Charlie Kaufman: A Glimpse into the Mind of a Genius Movies suck these days. All Hollywood seems to care about anymore is making profitable movies, not thinking twice about what the movie might actually be about. Whether it’s another special effects-ridden clunker, a giddy romantic comedy, or another lame-plotted action flick, they just don’t seem to get it. Although a small handful of films over a year’s time are occasionally worth seeing, for the most part it’s all about making money and not about the true art that filmmaking can be. Charlie Kaufman is exactly the kind of anomaly that the film industry needs. Kaufman was born in November 1958 in Massapequa, Long Island and spent his childhood there. Later his family moved to West Hartford, Connecticut, where he went to high school. After graduating, he attended Boston University for a short time, but soon transferred to New York University to study filmmaking. Kaufman got his start in writing for television for sitcoms such as Ned and Stacey and The Dana Carvey Show (Couzens). After his work with sitcoms, however, he began writing some of the oddest scripts that have ever been conceived. It was just over four years ago when Kaufman presented his very first film, Being John Malkovich, which was nominated for both Oscar and Golden Globe awards, as well as winning many others, such as the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and Best Screenplay from the National Society of Film Critics. That is not something every screenwriter is able to do with their first script. His fortune of being nominated came again with his third film, the genre-bending Adaptation, which was a fictional movie about him working on writing the screenplay for a movie adaptation of a book that was based on a true story. His work on this won him the Golden Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. His latest work, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, is being hailed as â€Å"remarkable† with â€Å"groundbreaking performances,† which gives it a very likely chance of being nominated for awards (Travers, 2004). Although his reputation is already respectable, Kaufman didn’t easily get to where he is now. His struggles of becoming a film screenwriter were not without boundaries, but every time he tripped, he got back up and kept going.

Approach to Software Architecture Description Using UML

The 3+1 Approach to Software Architecture Description Using ML Revision 2. 2 Henries B ¦Arab Christensen, Anion Sorry, and Klaus Marcus Hansen Department of Computer Science, University of Argus Beograd 34, 8200 rush N, Denmark May 2011 Abstract This document presents a practical way of describing software architectures using the Unified Modeling Language. The approach is based on a â€Å"3+1† structure in which three viewpoints on the described system are used – module, component & connector, and allocation – are used to describe a solution for a set of architectural requirements.Introduction Software architecture represents an appropriate level of abstraction for many system development activities [Bass et al. , 2003]. Consequently and correspondingly, appropriate software architectural descriptions may support, e. G. , stakeholder communication, iterative and incremental architectural design, or evaluation of architectures [Bass et al. , 2003], [Clement et a l. , Bibb], [Clement et al. , AAA].This document represents a practical basis for architectural description and in doing so, we follow the IEEE recommended practice for architectural description of software-intensive systems [Software Engineering Standards Committee, 2000]. Central to this recommended practice is the concept of a viewpoint through which the software architecture of a system is described (see Figure 1). A concrete architectural description consists of a set of views corresponding to a chosen set of viewpoints. This document recommends the use of three viewpoints (in accordance with the recommendations of [Clement et al. AAA]): A Module viewpoint concerned with how functionality of the system maps to static development units, a Component & Connector viewpoint concerned with the runtime mapping of nationality to components of the architecture, and an Allocation viewpoint concerned with how software entities are mapped to environmental entities In addition to the views on the architecture, we recommend collecting architecturally significant requirements (see Section 2) in the architecture documentation.This corresponds to the mission of a system as described in [Software Engineering Standards Committee, 2000]. The views corresponding to these viewpoints are described using the Unified Modeling Language standard (ML; [OMG, 2003]). This reports provides examples of doing so. The ML has certain shortcomings in describing software architectures effectively , but is used here to strike a balance between precision/expressiveness and understandability of architectural descriptions. Figure 1 : Ontology of architectural descriptions 1. Structure The rest of this document is structured in two main sections: One introducing the â€Å"Architectural Requirements† section of the documentation (Section 2, page 3), and one introducing the â€Å"Architectural Description† section of the documentation (Section 2, page 3). These sections are introduced in general and a specific example of applying them to the documentation of a system is provided. The examples are created to describe a point-of-sale system (Next POS) for, e. G. , a supermarket point-of-sales. The example is inspired by the case study of Alarms [Alarms, 2002].The system supports the recording of sales and handling of payments for a generic store; it includes hardware components as a bar code scanner, a display, a register, a terminal in the inventory hall, etc. More details of the functionality of the system can be found in Section 2. 1 This is in particular connected to the central Component & Connector viewpoint [Clement et al. , AAA] 2 Architectural Requirements Two types of descriptions of architecturally significant requirements are appropriate: scenario-based and quality attribute-based requirements.The architecturally significant scenarios (or use cases) contain a subset of the overall scenarios providing the functional requirements for the system. These ca n possibly be augmented with requirements on performance, availability, reliability etc. Related to the scenarios. Moreover, â€Å"non-functional† scenarios, e. G. , describing modifiability of the system may be useful as a supplements . All requirements cannot be described as scenarios of system functionality, and we propose supplementing the scenarios with a set of the most critical quality attributes that the system should fulfill.Since quality attributes (such as modifiability and performance) are often in conflict, this needs to be a subset of all architectural quality attributes. The goal of describing architectural requirements is to enable the construction of a set of â€Å"test cases† against which deterrent architectural designs may be compared and/or evaluated. 2. 1 Example In the Next POS case, a scenario is a specific path through a use case. An example of such a scenario is: Process Sale: A customer arrives at a checkout with items to purchase. The cashie r uses the POS system to record each purchased item.The system presents a running total and line-item details. The customer enters payment information, which the system validates and records. The system updates inventory. The customer receives a receipt from the system and then leaves with the items. Critical architectural attributes for the Next POS system area : Availability. The system shall be highly available since the costiveness of sales depends on its availability Ђ Portability. The system shall be portable too range of deterrent platforms to support a product line of POS systems Usability.The system shall be usable by clerks with a minimum of training and with a high degree of e science 3 Architectural Description It is beneficial, when documenting software architecture, to apply deterrent viewpoints to the system. Otherwise the description of the system will be incomprehensible. 2 Architecturally significant scenarios are the basis of many architectural evaluation appr oaches [Clement et al. , Bibb] 3 Note that this choice of quality attributes excludes, e. G. Performance, scalability, security, safety, reliability, intolerability, and testability.Taken this into account, it is first important with a viewpoint which describes the functionality of the system in terms of how functionality is mapped into implementation. Secondly, it is important to describe how the functionality of the system maps to components and interaction among components. And thirdly, it is important to see how software components map onto the environment, in particular hardware structures. These three viewpoints are the module, component & connector, and allocation viewpoints respectively in concordance with [Clement et l. AAA]. The viewpoints used in the architectural description section are defined as proposed in [Software Engineering Standards Committee, 2000]: for each, we first have a section describing the concerns of this viewpoint, then a section describing the stakeho lders, then a section describing the elements and relations that can be used to describe views in this viewpoint, and finally an example of a view. 3. 1 3. 1. 1 Module Viewpoint Concerns This architectural viewpoint is concerned with how the functionality is mapped to the units of implementation.It visualizes the static view of the systems architecture by wowing the elements that comprise the system and their relationships. 3. 1. 2 Stakeholder Roles This viewpoint is important to architects and developers working on or with the system. 3. 1 . 3 Elements and Relations The elements are units of implementation including: Class: A class describing the properties of the objects that exist at runtime. Package: A logical division of classes in the system. This can refer to packages as we find them in Java or Just give a logical division between the classes of the system.Interface: A classification of the interface of the element that realizes it. It can refer to the interfaces found in e. G. Java or Just a description of an interface that a class can conform to. The relations describe constraints on the runtime relationships between elements: Association: Shows that there is a hard or weak aggregation relationship between the elements and can be used between classes. Generalization: Shows that there is a generalization relation between the elements and can be used between two classes or two interfaces. Realization: Shows that one element realizes the other and can be used from a class to the interface it implements. Dependency: Shows that there is a dependency between the elements and can be used between all the elements. 3. 1 . 4 Examples The module view of the POS system can be described using the class diagrams of JIMS, which can contain all the above mentioned elements and relations. It is possible to describe the system top-down by starting with the most top-level diagram. In figure 2 the overall packages of the system are shown.Figure 3 and figure 4 show furthe r decomposition of the Domain Model package and the Payments package in the Domain Model package. Figure 2: Package overview diagram for the POS system Dependencies among packages are also shown; these dependencies arise because of relationship among classes in deterrent packages. As an example, consider the association between figure 4 there is an association from classes in Payments to the Customer class of the Sales package. This relationship gives rise to a dependency from the Payments to Sales package as shown in figure 3.Figure 3: Decomposition of the Domain Model package of the POS system Typically, class diagrams such as figure 4 will suppress detail and also omit elements for clarity, since a major purpose of architectural description is come annunciation. In figure 4, e. G. , details of methods and attributes of classes have been suppressed and certain classes have been omitted. Figure 4: Decomposition of the Payments package of the POS system 3. 2 3. 2. 1 Component and Co nnectors (C&C) Viewpoint This viewpoint is concerned with the run-time functionality of the system?I. . What does the system do? This functionality lies as the heart of purpose of the system under development, thus this viewpoint is of course a very central viewpoint, and architectural design often starts from tit . In this viewpoint, software systems are received as consisting of components which are blackball units of functionality and connectors which are first-class representations of communication paths between components. Components embody functional behavior while control and communication aspects are defined by the connectors.Paraphrasing this, you can say that components define what parts of the system is responsible for doing while connectors define how components exchange control and data. It is important to describe properties of both components and connectors in the documentation. This is done using a combination of textual descriptions (listing susceptibilities for exa mple) with diagrams showing protocols, state transitions, threading and concurrency issues as seems relevant to the architecture at hand. 4 Hoverflies et al. Hoverflies et al. , 1999] defines a process where this viewpoint is the first to be considered and other viewpoints are derived and elaborated from it. 6 Figure 5: C&C overview of the POS system 3. 2. 2 This viewpoint is important to architects, developers, and may also serve to give an impression of the overall system runtime behavior to customers and end users. 3. 2. 3 The C&C viewpoint has one element type and one relation type: Component: A national unit that has a well-defined behavioral responsibility.Connector: A communication relation between components that defines how control and data is exchanged. Both are first class citizens of this viewpoint and both may contain behavior. This is obvious for components, but connectors may exhibit behavior as well. Examples of connectors with behavior are those that provide bufferi ng of data between a data producer and consumer, data convention, adoption of protocols, remote procedure calls, networking, etc. A connector defines one or more protocols. A protocol defines both incoming and outgoing operations and mandates the ordering of them.Thus a connector's protocol is radically deterrent from a class' interface that only tells what operations its instances provide (not uses) and does not describe any sequencing of method calls. 3. 2. 4 The POS system has four major functional parts as shown in the C&C view in figure 5. Components are represented by ML active objects, connectors by links with association names and possibly role names. Active objects are typically processes or threads in the operating system or programming language, and links the communication paths between them.The diagram cannot stand alone, as component names and connector names are only indicative of the functional responsibilities associated with each. We 7 therefore provide an descripti on of component functionality in terms of responsibilities: Barded Scanner. Responsible for 1) Control and communication with bar code scanner hardware and 2) notification providing ID of scanned bar code for items passing the scanner. Sales. Responsible for 1) keeping track of items scanned; their price and quantity; running total of scanned items and 2) initiation and end of sales handling. Ђ Presentation. Responsible for 1) displaying item names, quantity, subtotals and grand total on a terminal 2) printing item, quantity, subtotals and grand total on paper receipt 3) handle key board input for defining quantities when only one of a set of items are scanned. Inventory. Responsible for 1) keeping track of items in store 2) mapping between bar code ID's and item name and unit price. Likewise, the connectors' protocols needs to be described in more detail. The level of detail needed depends on the architecture at hand.For some connectors, it may be us cent with a short textual d escription (for instance if it is a straightforward application of the observer pattern; or if it is a direct memory read); others may best be explained by ML interaction diagrams; and still others may have a very large set of potential interactions (like a SQL connector) of which only a few may be worthwhile to describe in more detail. The POS example names three connectors: MFC. A standard MFC patterns is the protocol for this connector that connects the Sales component serving the role of model and Presentation serving as controller and view. Ђ JDBC. This connector handles standard SQL queries over the JDBC protocol. BPCS. This connector defines a protocol for connecting with a barded scanner. Data and control is exchanged using ASCII strings in a coded format containing control words and data elements. Sequence diagrams can be used to describe connector protocols. Depending on the system, it may be relevant to document connector protocols individually (a sequence diagram for each protocol) and/or to provide the â€Å"big picture† showing interaction over a set of connectors.Typical use cases as well as critical failure scenarios may be considered for description. In our point of sales example, an overall sequence diagram (diagram 6 seems most elevate, as the individual connectors have rather simple protocols. The scenario shown in the diagram is the event of a single item being scanned and registered. Further detail can be provided, like a sequence diagram showing observer registration and steady state operation for the MFC connector; perhaps table layout or SQL statements for the JDBC; or command language for the BPCS connector.However, most likely this information does not provide architectural insight (they do not eject architectural qualities) and their details should be found in more detailed documentation instead. 8 Figure 6: POS â€Å"item scanned† scenario 3. 3 3. 3. 1 Allocation Viewpoint This architectural viewpoint is concerned with how the software elements of the system – in particular the C&C viewpoint elements and relations – are mapped to platform elements in the environment of the system.We are interested in what the software elements require (e. G. , processing power, memory availability, network bandwidth) and what the hardware elements provide. 3. 3. 2 This viewpoint is important to a number of stakeholders: Maintainers needing to deploy and maintain the system, to users/customers who need to know how nationality is mapped to hardware, to developers who need to implement the system, and to architects. 3. 3. 3 The deployment viewpoint has two primary element types: Software elements: These may be, e. . , executables or link libraries containing components from the C&C views. Environmental elements: Nodes of computing hardware Furthermore, there are three main relation types: Allocated-to relations: Shows to which environmental elements software elements are allocated at runtime. Thes e relations may be either static or dynamic (e. G. , if components move between environmental elements). Dependencies among software elements Protocol links among environmental elements showing a communication protocol used between nodes. 3. 3. 4 Figure 7 shows the deployment of the Next POS system using a ML deployment diagram. The deployment is a typical 3-tier deployment in which presentation is run on a client, domain code is run on a JEEZ application server, and data is stored on a database server. Figure 7: Deployment view of the Next POS system The following elements are of interest Environmental elements (shown as ML nodes) – The Barded Scanner is the device used for inputting sold items into the system.It s read via an ROARS connection to the POS Terminals – The Terminal is the main point of interaction for the users of the Next POS system – The Application Server is a machine dedicated for serving all Terminals on an application level – A Databa se Server provides secondary storage Software elements (Shown as ML components) – The POS executable component runs the client part of the Next POS system including presentation and handling of external devices (biz. The Barded Scanner). It communicates with the Application Server via RMI over IIOP – Jobs is an open source application server which is used for running the domain- elated functionality of the system. It uses the Database Server via JDBC 10 – Myself is an open source SQL database which handles defenestrated functionality (storage, transactions, concurrency control) of the system. 3. 4 Overview The three viewpoints and their associated elements and relations are summarized below.Module c Deployment Elements Class Component Executable Interface Computing node Package Relations Association Connector Allocated-to Generalization Dependency Realization Protocol link +1 view: Architectural requirements The mapping to ML is straight forward for the module a nd deployment viewpoint UT less so for the C viewpoint. For the C viewpoint, components are show by ML Active Objects (that represent run-time entities with their own thread of execution, typically threads and processes), while connectors are shown by ML links (that represent control- and data flow using some protocol). 2

Free Essays on Saturn

Introduction How did Saturn become a strong brand in only a few years? What were the key decisions, policies, and programs? Below is a description of some areas of strategy that were potential contributors. The goal is not only to describe what was done but also to suggest the logic behind the strategies, why they were pursued, and how they were intended to contribute to the brand. Although certainly some elements of the Saturn strategy may have been critical, it was the union of the total program rather than the power of any single element that led to its success. THE MISSION: A WORLD-CLASS PRODUCT From the beginning, the driving concept behind Saturn was to create a world-class compact car that could match or exceed such Japanese imports as the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla in quality. The car needed to have the reliability, safety, feel, appearance, and overall excellence that people expected in the top imports while remaining competitive in price. This quality was one of the defining dimensions of Saturn's corporate culture and brand identity. Too often there is an illusion that brands can be created by advertising without a product or service that really delivers quality and value. In reality, the product drives the image. The Edsel of the 1950s would have been a symbol of quality today if it had been an excellent product in that key first year; some very good Edsel advertising and marketing was wasted because of a shoddy product. The Volkswagen Beetle phenomenon of the 1960s very likely could have been transferred to the Rabbit in the mid-1970s if it were not for the initial mechanical problems that plagued the Rabbit during its early years. These problems doomed the effort to use advertising and the rabbit symbolism to transform the Beetle equity to the Rabbit. Saturn did not make the mistake of the Edsel or the Rabbit; its product was good from the outset. Reviews in car magazines provided objective judgments th... Free Essays on Saturn Free Essays on Saturn Introduction How did Saturn become a strong brand in only a few years? What were the key decisions, policies, and programs? Below is a description of some areas of strategy that were potential contributors. The goal is not only to describe what was done but also to suggest the logic behind the strategies, why they were pursued, and how they were intended to contribute to the brand. Although certainly some elements of the Saturn strategy may have been critical, it was the union of the total program rather than the power of any single element that led to its success. THE MISSION: A WORLD-CLASS PRODUCT From the beginning, the driving concept behind Saturn was to create a world-class compact car that could match or exceed such Japanese imports as the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla in quality. The car needed to have the reliability, safety, feel, appearance, and overall excellence that people expected in the top imports while remaining competitive in price. This quality was one of the defining dimensions of Saturn's corporate culture and brand identity. Too often there is an illusion that brands can be created by advertising without a product or service that really delivers quality and value. In reality, the product drives the image. The Edsel of the 1950s would have been a symbol of quality today if it had been an excellent product in that key first year; some very good Edsel advertising and marketing was wasted because of a shoddy product. The Volkswagen Beetle phenomenon of the 1960s very likely could have been transferred to the Rabbit in the mid-1970s if it were not for the initial mechanical problems that plagued the Rabbit during its early years. These problems doomed the effort to use advertising and the rabbit symbolism to transform the Beetle equity to the Rabbit. Saturn did not make the mistake of the Edsel or the Rabbit; its product was good from the outset. Reviews in car magazines provided objective judgments th...

robert frost essays

robert frost essays There have been millions of writers and millions of books filed with short stories and poems and life experiences. But one the most recognized poets of his time and so on was Robert Frost. Most Americans are familiar with his name and may be a piece or two, but to the avid reader of poetry or novels Robert Frost is to be pinned as one of the greatest, if not the very greatest of American poets ever. Born in San Francisco, California, in 1874 Roberts parents were involved in journalism and politics and teaching. Robert attended high school in Lawrence, where his first poems where published in the school newspaper. He graduated co-valedictorian and soon after married the valedictorian. Robert tired a few colleges but never finished. He attended Dartmouth and Harvard both for short periods of time but with drew do to children. Growing up Robert work a wide variety of jobs Including mill hand, newspaper reporter, and teacher at his mothers school. His big break in 1894 when his poem My Butterfly was published in the New York Journal. His big break turned out to be 20 years of isolation and neglect. He endured many deaths in his life between 1899 1907. His wife, child, mother and grandfather all past in those few years. Perhaps no poem by Frost is more anthologized and studied and taken apart more than Stopping by the Wood on a Snowy Evening. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening was written in just about that way, after I had been working all nigh long on New Hampshire. But I must admit, it was written in a few minutes without any strain (Robert Frost). There are four possible meanings to this poem. First, the driver contemplates the purity of life without sin (snow), but decides one must move on-spurred on by the horse-before living as sinless a life as if one were sleeping or dead. Or the interpretations can just the opposite: the reader contemplates a fallen nature represented b...