Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Cherry orchard vs. endgame essays

Cherry orchard vs. endgame essays Three men: a Greek philosopher, a Russian playwright, and an Irish man who speaks English but writes in French (kind of absurd isnt it?) are standing in line at a vending machine. The Greek philosopher, upon realizing that he doesnt have any quarters, turns to the others in line and asks, Can either of you change a five? The Russian playwright and the native Irishman, who now lives in Paris where he writes in French and then painstakingly translates his works into English by himself (what is this guys deal?), look at each other pensively for a moment and then say, No. Get it? In both Anton Chekhovs The Cherry Orchard and Samuel Becketts Endgame there is a complete lack of change in any of the characters lives. Under normal circumstances this lack of one of the most important elements of theatre would result in two plays that are utterly worthless and simply not deserving of the effort that one would expend while reading them. However, these are not normal circumstances, and these are certainly not your everyday, average playwrights. In both plays, the absence of any change is a deliberate choice that each author has made. In The Cherry Orchard the characters simply refuse to accept that the world around them is changing, and therefore never undergo any changes themselves while in Endgame Beckett uses numerous ambiguous elements to simply prevent any change from being achievable. Chekhovs manifests the absence of change in The Cherry Orchard through the characters simple refusal to change. The dialogue in the beginning of the play informs the reader that the Cherry Orchard and the estate must be sold because of Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskayas and the rest of the familys inability to pay their debts. From this simple circumstance the reader can infer that Ranevskaya was once wealthy but no longer is. This leads to another important factor of the p...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Spelling Tips 8 Words with Variant Spellings - Get Proofed!

Spelling Tips 8 Words with Variant Spellings - Get Proofed! Spelling Tips: 8 Words with Variant Spellings Spelling isn’t easy. It’s bad enough we have words that sound the same  but are spelled differently and have different meanings. On top of that, we have words that are spelled differently but mean the same thing! These are known as variant spellings. What Are Variant Spellings? Variant spellings occur when a word has more than one accepted spelling. This shouldn’t be confused with regional spellings (such as when the British spell â€Å"color† as â€Å"colour†). Nor is it quite the same as when a word has an old-fashioned, archaic spelling (such as when â€Å"jail† was spelled â€Å"gaol†). A better example is â€Å"donut,† which is a modern variation of â€Å"doughnut.† The older spelling is still more common in American English, but â€Å"donut† has been catching up in recent years (primarily thanks to the success of Dunkin’ Donuts). Importantly, though, both are â€Å"correct† spellings of this word. You cant go wrong with a doughnut (or a donut). 8 Words with Variant Spellings Other examples of common words with variant spellings include: 1. Among/Amongst This word has two accepted endings (similar terms include amid/amidst and while/whilst). The â€Å"-st† ending is much less common in American English. 2. Archaeology/Archeology The older spelling here is the â€Å"ae† one, which is also more common (especially outside America). There are other words in American English that allow the â€Å"ae† variation (e.g., esthetics/aesthetics). But with most similar terms, American English prefers the â€Å"e† version (e.g., encyclopedia, not encyclopaedia). 3. Axe/Ax â€Å"Axe† is the most common spelling of this word, especially outside North America. But, in American English, â€Å"ax† is a common variant. 4. Collectible/Collectable These spellings are both accepted in American English, but â€Å"collectible† is by far the most common. 5. Dialog/Dialogue These are variations of the same word, but â€Å"dialog† is more common in relation to computing (e.g., dialog box) and â€Å"dialogue† is used when referring to two people talking. Similar spelling variations include analog/analogue (with â€Å"analog† more common in all contexts) and prolog/prologue (with â€Å"prologue† most common). 6. Disk/Disc â€Å"Disk† is generally more common than â€Å"disc,† but there are some cases where this is reversed. For example, in computing, magnetic storage devices are spelled with a â€Å"k† (e.g., floppy disk), but optical storage devices (e.g., a CD or DVD) are â€Å"discs.† 7. Flyer/Flier â€Å"Flyer† is the most common spelling here, but â€Å"flier† is also used (especially when referring to something that flies rather than a leaflet advertising something). 8. Usable/Useable â€Å"Usable† is by far the most common spelling of this word, but â€Å"useable† is also accepted in all regional dialects of English. Nobody is quite sure why. How to Handle Variant Spellings The list above isn’t comprehensive, but it should give you an idea of what to look out for with variant spellings. Consistency is key with words like these, so pick one spelling and use it throughout your document. It’s also vital to proofread your work to make sure everything is consistent (you can use the ‘Find’ function in Microsoft Word to look for variant spellings). Beyond that, there are two things you can do when confronted with two spellings of the same word: Check your style guide (if you have one) to see if it specifies a preferred spelling Use Google’s n-gram viewer to check which spelling is more common You can then use this to guide your choice about which spelling to use. A doughnut-based n-gram.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Dow Corning Customer Value and Segmentation Essay

Dow Corning Customer Value and Segmentation - Essay Example The results of such re-evaluation are a new approach to customers and a newly formed customer segmentation. Basically, Dow Corning has classified their customers into three main categories. First, the company has clients who aim to become the first in the market to introduce certain innovative products and services. For instance, when a company wants to introduce a new product into the market, it may require the expertise of Dow Corning so as to hasten the entry of such product into the market. Such customers want specific innovations that will help them produce new products or develop new services. As cited in the case study, one such company was Reliance Industries. Through the services of Dow Corning, the said company was able to bring to the market a new fiber optic cable that that was easier to install and cost significantly less than other available alternatives in the market. The second customer segment of Dow Corning is composed of companies involved in fast-growing markets. Being involved in fast-growing markets, clients such as these require innovative solutions that will improve their own productivity and performance. These clients require Dow Corning's expertise so as to avoid being left behind by their competitors in their rapidly growing and changing industries and sectors.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Anzaldua and Kingstons Feminist empowerment Essay

Anzaldua and Kingstons Feminist empowerment - Essay Example Largely, a call for feminism marks the initiation of a long journey to empower women and to champion for their rights in a male dominated culture. Anzaldua and Kingston examine the topic of feminism in the context of â€Å"Borderland: La Frontera: The New Mestiza† and â€Å"Woman warrior: China Men† and ending to occupy strong empowering position in the post-colonial male dominated society. The works of both authors also traces the journey of women struggles for empowerment in a larger historical structure. Quite strongly, the works of both authors emerge to represent a defensive and generative debate that aims at countering women oppression of their cultures by providing a strong feminist voice of empowerment in a patriarchal society. â€Å"White Tigers† in the Woman Warrior brings to life the struggles of a woman warrior in the context of male dominated culture. In writing this chapter, Kingston is inspired by traditional myth exploring a woman’s struggl e in a patriarchal culture. Kingston creates Fa Mu Lan to defy traditional Chinese customs concerning the role of women in her society. In a precise manner, Kingston presents a traditional Chinese society that expects its women to merely be at the point of taking up already determined ideas and not being able to determine by their own ability what is best for them. Kingston creates a woman who goes beyond this traditional cultural limitation who can take up traditional roles that are largely perceived to be male dominated. Fa Mu Lan ties up her hair and being able to command a unit of army fighting under her. Kingston uses these acts cement the ability of a contemporary woman taking up the perceived male roles. The feminism that Kingston promotes is a complex one. Her creation of a feminist is one who is able to balance male roles and female traditional roles. This exemplifies a woman’s ability to function both in doing male roles and female roles. The ability to give birth a nd take it enables her to function as both a mother and a wife. By creating a woman who can double task the role of a woman and a wife, Kingston presents a strong feminist voice in Fa Mu Lan representing how feminist voices can go beyond the limits of time and liberty, but also past the rigidity of customs that the society sets for women. (Kingston) While Kingston works can be largely perceived as a strong opposition towards the oppression of women in the society, her writing can also be understood not just as a tool for attacking or competing for traditional male roles. Equally, their works look at the position of women in the society and a strong voice that creates an alternative platform for women empowerment in the contemporary society. As the novel opens, Fa Mu Lan’s mother tells her daughter of the great stories of historical woman who have made it as swordsmen and shamans. At the same time, her mother is represented as a doctor who has accomplished her training in the male dominated society. These representations, however, do not exclusively aim at subordinating the societal concept of patriarchy nor to disprove its existence but rather to enable women have ways to give these women a voice of existing and empowering themselves in the patriarchal context. At the same time, Anzaldua creates a woman being who has to transcend the limitations set upon her by her culture and her customs to live beyond the â€Å"Borderlands† experience she finds herself into. While an Anzaldua’s piece is largely considered a generative story with appropriateness within different cultures, Kingston is more of a defensive essay detailing a woman’s refusal to be limited by her male society and chooses to rise above the occasion in defining her true

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Chinese History Essay Example for Free

Chinese History Essay The Tang dynasty came into existence after the collapsed of emperor Yangdi’s imperialist reign which unified China, and his death in the hands of his own trusted aid in 618 A. D. From the rubbles of rebellion and war against the emperor, a powerful General named Li Yuan; Duke of Tang and chief officer of Taiyuan City, emerged as the man of the hour. General Yuan joined the rebellion against the emperor and reestablished order and the authority of the central government when the smoke of rebellion had cleared. He became the founder of the Tang dynasty and reign as Tang Gaozu. Li Shimin (Tang Gaozong) on the other hand is the second son of General Li Yuan. Being thoroughly trained in martial skills and was very much acquainted of the administrative procedures he has acquired primarily from his exposure when his father was the principal commander of the Sue dynasty, appointed to command the army facing the Sue remaining forces, at the age of only nineteen. David Graff described his military skills as â€Å"one case where the use of the word genius does not seem at all inappropriate† Li Shimin was highly successful in his career as a military general and his military strategy according to Graff â€Å"is worth noting. † Before he became emperor in 626, he has displayed contrasting behavior with regard to his strategy, which was extremely cautious, and when he is in combat in which he always places himself â€Å"at the head of the final, decisive cavalry charge†¦. † How Well the Respective Career of the first two Tang Emperors fit to the Chinese Proverbs on Empire Building and Governance and Model to this Proverb. The proverb maybe fits rightfully to the first two Tang emperors in terms of the way they acquired the empire and how they built it to become the most prosperous and most powerful country in the world during this time. It was during the reign of these two emperors that China experienced its glorious period as their economy, culture, politics and military might attained an unequaled superiority level. Tang Gaozu seized the imperial power after a bloody rebellion that took the life of emperor Yang that mark the end of Sue dynasty, while it heralded the coming of a new dynasty under the able military leadership of Li Yuan. The reign of Tang Gaozu as the first emperor of the Tang dynasty spent its reign mostly in subduing the remaining forces loyal to Emperor Yang in different provinces and cities of the whole country. All throughout his reign he was facing major problems relating to the threat of war by the Eastern Turks and the Tibetans who posed serious challenges to China’s security, and major invasion was a constant possibility. Until his last moment in power however, Tang Gaozu’s hold in China was not sufficiently secure to risk committing the forces to war against the Turks, thus, his reign can be characterized as more on military maneuvering in order to survived the different challenges the empire were facing. The Emperor then being the chief of the military forces assigned his sons and relatives to command forces numbering thousands, and all throughout his reign, the empire did not perform political and economic activities; it was purely military that characterized this particular reign. That means, Emperor Tang Gaozu ‘conquer the empire on horseback’ but it was his son Li Shimin who ‘built the empire from horse back. ’ Tang Gaozu spent his reign in conquering the whole empire that was broken into many independent forces loyal to the former emperor. This situation has indeed proved to be difficult as the empire was unable to wage war against the Turks and the Tibetans. According to Warren Cohen, â€Å"Gaozu had little choice but to buy peace;† however, what Tang Gaozu had failed to accomplished, his son did. Tang Gaozong also known to most Chinese historians as Tang Taizong, came into power in 627. His ascendancy to the throne was not at all smooth and easy, rather marked by his murderous scheme in connivance with some of the high-ranking military officials particularly those in-charge of the palace gates. Xueshi Guo noted that Li Shimin found himself at a â€Å"disadvantage in challenging his brothers,† to be heir to throne. After getting support from some powerful military generals, he staged a military coup against his brothers in 626 after which he killed both his brothers. According Guo, bare two months after the successful coup, â€Å"Gaozu was forced to to appoint Li Shimin as his successor and two months later he handed over his power completely to Li Shimen. † Taizong Ascended to the throne in 627, which marked a new era for the Chinese society. Having warned by the officials who recalled the disastrous consequence of Sui Imperialism, they urged the new emperor to concentrate on domestic affairs. Warren Cohen noted that Taizong or Gaozong listened to their advice and implements a more diplomatic policy in relation to the Turks. Because of this diplomatic policies, Cohen Pointed out â€Å"in due course China was prosperous again, its people well fed and responsive to his rule. † Taizong was indeed a great leader but he was moderate in his expansion policies compared to his father who. Taizong had more time to economic activities that bolstered China’s growing prosperity, he re opened trade routes, and the eliminations of tolls once exacted by those who had previously controlled passage across central Asia. Cohen further noted, â€Å"Student of Tang history will note the peaceful expansion of China’s contacts with rest of the world during Taizong’s days on the throne and China’s power and wealth attracted people from all over Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. † Based on these historical accounts, the implication of the Chinese proverbs rightly fits these first two Tang emperors. They were both powerful military ruler. Li Yuan curved out the empire on ‘horseback’, that is; through rebellion and war, and reestablishing the empire through conquering every forces that challenges the new power, while Tang Gaozong or Tang Taizong, the successor, strengthened the empire and brings more prosperity, stability and peace through a more enlightened civil and military administration. They may have some difficulty to be model of this Chinese proverb, for some reason. Both had acquired imperial power through violent means. Li Yuan had staged a rebellion against the emperor Yang and had perhaps connived with some palace officials to murder the emperor. Tang Gaozong on the other hand, conspired with some powerful military generals and orchestrated a coup against his own brothers and killing them and forcing his own father to hand over to him imperial throne. Nevertheless, on the ground of their accomplishment, they can fit to be model of this proverb. Gaozu was able to curve out a new empire that has more regard to its citizens, unlike with its predecessor who was ruthless and oppressive. An empire that was willing to take on new economic challenges that brought stability, peace and prosperity to its citizens. These two Tang emperors must be credited in their efforts that has brought enormous prosperity, and respect to Chinese people all over Asia, and to the world and if making them heroes will be a compensation of their achievements for the Chinese society, then they were very much deserving of such compensation. They deserved to be model of the proverb.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Beauty Veiled :: Personal Narrative Essays

Hot and sticky, on an early September afternoon, I was sitting idly in traffic waiting for the light on Pensacola and Jefferson to turn green. With the music blaring, windows down, and a line of sweat slowly trickling down the back of my neck, my eyes were drawn to a group of people chatting in a run-down parking lot to my right. Behind them lay an old building into which the people were slowly making their way. It wasn't the building that held my attention it was the women in front of it. They were too fully dressed for the sweltering September afternoon, wearing long sleeved dresses and most with scarves covering their heads. All I could see of their bodies was the skin of their faces and hands. As the light turned green, I slowly inched forward hardly able to tear my eyes away from the women. I couldn't help but be intrigued as to why they would be dressed in such a manner at this time of year. As I rolled forward, my car came to a stop in front of a small sign, written first in g reen Arabic lettering and then in English: Al-Ansar Mosque: The Islamic Center of Tallahassee. Later in the week about the same time of day, I returned once again to the mosque, curious about the small building and hoping to grab another glimpse of the women. Stealthily, I spied from my car in a parking lot across the street from the mosque. While I waited, I again noticed how small the building seemed from my vantage point. So small, in fact, that I couldn't help but wonder how any more then twenty or thirty people could fit within its walls. The paint was a dirty eggshell color, with what looked like rust or dirt streaked in various spots along the walls. Some of the green shutters, surrounded by and Arabic-like design, were broken, and one of them was hanging haphazardly from its hinges. A window was smashed and there was an illegible scrawl of graffiti on the left side of the building. Not only was the building small and run down, but the parking lot was as well. There were only a few spaces, enough to hold about ten compact cars, and small rocks and a few potholes were scattered across the lot. It looked as if it was in need of a new repaving.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Approaches to Decision Making Essay

There are two common ways to make decisions regarding changes in an organization, especially when others are involved in the end result. The two ways would be to make decisions individually, making the decision by yourself or by creating a committee, getting others involved in the process. Knowing that something needs to change, means that there has been a problem identified, evaluating alternatives and then selecting the solution. Depending on the problem and the criteria that will be evaluated in making the final decision, this will play an important factor on whether individually making the decision is better than a group decision. When making decisions and changes that are going to effect many, it typically is better to make group decisions. For larger companies, it is typical that a committee or a team would be created. Bringing together individuals of the organization that would be effected by these changes. Having a committee involved in the decision brings more views, thoughts, past experiences and suggestions to the table to be evaluated for optimal solutions. Advantages of a group decision is there are more options contributed, the better chances that decisions made would be accepted by those involved in the decision as well. â€Å"Quantities and diversity of information are greatest when group members represent different specialities†. (Robbins, DeCenzo, & Coulter, 2011, p. 71). Finding a suitable solution is half of the battle, the next half would be implementation. By having a group decision enforced, will increase the success of changes since they were a part of it and will encourage change. In the example provided about budgetary concerns, it would be suggested that a committee be created with upper management from finance, human resources, and department managers to discuss how overhead such as employees, supplies and other capital costs are effecting our business. Before having the initial meeting it would be suggested for each manager to evaluate their department and be ready to give suggestion of where they would be able to make individual changes without sacrificing the well being of the patients care. Once all contributions are made from each department, hearing the options of solutions would allow the committee members to discuss the  changes and place value on which options could be most beneficial. Options like reducing employee head count or hours, re-evaluating vendors where supplies are purchased from, eliminating overtime costs by having back up staff available or changing processes by reducing paper trails and going electronic. Each of these will need to be analyzed on immediate consequences or benefits and what the longer term effects will be. The disadvantage of working with a committee is that there will prolong the process of making a decision, more meetings, more time and there could be more resistant from individuals that will need to be â€Å"talked into† this decision. In the example about making budget cuts, one could make the decision alone and not consult with any other departments. The individual making decisions to cut staff, supplies or capital costs would need to have a comprehensive understanding of all costs associated with the organization and what implications could be by reducing budgets. Even though it is just one person making the decision, it is very important to still do a thorough evaluation of what the problems are, evaluate multiple solutions and weigh the benefits or consequences of these changes. It would be very important to obtaining financial monthly statements/costs that are associated with each department. The benefit of making decisions solely is that multiple meetings would be eliminated, do not need to â€Å"sell† your idea or solution to others, and a decision could be made quicker which will save time and money for the organization. The disadvantages of making a decision like this where it effects a group, out weigh the benefits. You do not have access to others input and past experiences who have dealt with similar situations or hearing what concerns your management will have. By not including others, you have a higher chance of the decision not being welcomed by all and having resistant to the change and implementation. References: Robbins, S., DeCenzo, D., & Coulter, M. (2011). Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications (7th ed.).