Personal Budgets in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Personal Budgets in the UK - Essay Example According to the paper, in response to the increasing demand and the rising public expectations based on choice and quality, the government decided to act. It set out to transform the way in which care and support were offered for the older and disabled adults. At the heart of this transformation was a very powerful idea that would potentially revolutionize how the disabled and older persons received their care. The idea was basically based on personalization. That is, instead of commissioning care and support services for people living in its area, the local authority would provide eligible persons with their own personal budgets so they could acquire help and assistance that would be more attuned to their individual needs and circumstances. Personalization is aimed at giving the people more choice and control over the kind of support they acquire. It is defined as the ability of an individual to determine what type of support to get despite the mode of payment used by the one seeki ng healthcare services. These may include direct payment or personal budgets. Direct ayments are defined as the direct cash payments given to service users in lieu of community services that are in demand based on assessments done they are aimed at giving a wider choice to the clients. Personal budgets on the other hand describe the allocations given to users after assessment which meets their assessed needs fully. This is all in part of the government’s wider agenda to improve efficacy and responsiveness of public services. These personal budgets can provide flexibility, choice and control to the service users. Further, they can improve health and well-being and ultimately, user satisfaction.  

Describe Risks and Possible Consquences Essay Example for Free

Describe Risks and Possible Consquences Essay There are many risks involved for children using the internet. this may be that the child has innocently mistyped on the keyboard and are exposed to porongraphic images. Parents have the option to block certain things popping up on the computer screen Children use networking sites, such as facebook, they will state their name, their age, address etc, they will also post photos of themselves onto the wall. They should go onto the privacy settings and set to friends only this means that no frien that is on the list can see their profile. This is because a paedophile will pose as a teenager with similar interests and hobbies to gain friendship. They will try to gain your trust and want to meet you in person. They could also lie in wait for you if you have stated that you will be meeting friends in a certain park at a certain time. Paedophiles, groom children. Children can be bullied, either on the internet or by the use of a mobile phone Could be a lone person doing the bullying or a group of people. They can torment, threaten, tease etc anytime of the day or night. Always keep a copy of the types of messages and day and time thay were sent and inform an adult. This type of bullying will probably lower the childs self esteem and cause them to become depressed. Children can also be hooked on cult websites or a suicidal site where they make pacts with each other to end their own lives

Attributes Of A Global Brand Marketing Essay

Attributes Of A Global Brand Marketing Essay There are several attributes that makes Formula One a globalised brand. Firstly, it is highest class of one-seater auto racing in the world, driving the fastest cars on the planet. F1 holds the most exhilarating car races, young boys aspires to be F1 racers, millions of people buy tickets to the races and subscribe to media that streams every year to watch. According to Levitt (1983), different cultural preferences, national tastes and values, and business institutions are vestiges of the past; some inheritances die slowly; others prosper and develop into mainstream global preferences. F1 became a mainstream favourite sport of the world. The state-of-the-art technology used in the race such as engineering of the cars, time keeping, changing of tyres at the shortest time etc. attracts people of the current generation. Almost everyone everywhere wants what they have heard about, seen, or experienced via new technologies (Levitt, 1983). The unpredictability of F1 allows it to attract viewers constantly. It is a unique experience that cannot be duplicated easily e.g. crashing as different parts of the track, the seriousness of the crashes, different outcomes etc. Organising the race is very costly thus running a team is mostly and sometimes entirely sponsored by various big international brands that wish to gain exposure from F1. And thus, consumers of the brands would be aware F1, for the logo will be displayed on all kinds of products and media like advertisements, news and magazine interview articles etc., and promotions for F1 will include the brands logo as well; hence creating maximum awareness to F1 and the international brands market. F1 is a season consisting of series of races held around the world on purpose-built circuits and public roads. The annual calendar is global, taking 19 races in countries such as Australia, Asia (Malaysia, Singapore and Japan), the Middle East (Bahrain), Europe (the mainstay of F1), and North and South America (Canada and Brazil). It goes through major developed countries and with the gigantic scale of the event, F1 is known throughout the countries and their neighbours. Standardisation VS Adaptation According to Levitt (1983), most executives in multinational corporations are tactlessly accommodating; they wrongly presume that marketing means giving the consumer what he says he wants rather than trying to comprehend exactly what hed like, thus persisting with high-cost, customized multinational products and practices instead of pressing hard and pressing properly for global standardization. They are afraid to standardise for fear that the strategy will fail. But Levitt (1983) says that poor execution is often the cause of failure, not the standardisation. According to Levitt (1983), the worlds needs and desires have been irreversibly homogenized. This makes the multinational corporation outdated and the global corporation absolute. Thus we have successful global brands like F1 which are mostly standardised than adaptive to the countries and cultures they are in, with accurate execution. F1 is known worldwide for its attributes as mentioned above, and thus it does not have a need to adapt when entering a new market in another country as what is expected of them is their signature races. The products and methods of the industrialized world play a single tune for the entire world, and the entire world eagerly dances to it (Levitt, 1983). There are 19 races, half of which are held in other continents apart from its traditional base in Europe. Despite that, the only adaption is probably the nature of the course track built for the race or the public roads structure in the countries. For example, from the classic circuits, now countries such as Singapore, Monaco, Melbourne etc., have street circuits, using a combination of public roads and circuits for the race. F1 Grand Prix event spans over a weekend and throughout the practices sessions it has a specific set of rules and control. This set of regulations is by the F1 and is standardised. According to the case study, merchandizing is through specialist F1 outlets worldwide, selling replica model cars, baseball caps, jackets and other memorabilia, all custom-made and packaged with the F1 logo. These subsidiary products of the brand are also standardised, not adapted to whichever country the products are sold. Product Globalization Strategy Adapted from Jim Riley (2012), global strategy of F1 will involve appreciating that success demands a presence in every part of the world to compete effectively, which is what F1 had been doing; expanding to host the races at other continents. F1 make its product similar for each market by using the same set of regulations and control for the races, same technology and security and other elements in the operations despite being in different countries from Europe. Centralised control where the final say still belongs to F1 Management and F1 Administration. Ecclestone founded the F1 Constructors Association (FOCA) to fight for commercial control with Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de lAutomobile (FIA). Taking advantage of customer needs and wants across international borders as F1 fans are spread across the globe, instead of only watching from screens, F1 made it live by hosting at major countries where their target markets were. Locating value adding activities where F1 can achieve greatest competitive advantage, thus the expansion to the most developed countries in the world. Integrating and co-ordinating activities across borders, F1 does by having management and administration team to be there at each different location. This part is significant where Ecclestone established the F1 Promotions and Administration (FOPA). According to Levitt (1983), as long as the marketing is good, consumers would be influenced to accept the product no matter what they claimed they want. This is where Ecclestone succeed in influencing people to crave to watch the race. Conclusion The changing patterns and structures of communication typically related to the demands of globalization require flexibility, responsiveness, speed, and efficient knowledge production, generation, and dissemination (Cynthia Stohl, 2004). A global industry is where firms compete in all world markets in order to survive (Jim Riley, 2012). Thus be like F1 where they venture into all the potential markets. A successful global corporation does not abjure customization or differentiation for the requirements of markets that differ in product preferences, spending patterns, shopping preferences, and institutional or legal arrangements (Levitt, 1983). A global strategy is successful when there are very minor differences between countries and competition is global, it has advantages in terms of economies of scale, lower costs, co-ordination of activities and quicker product development (Jim Riley, 2012). Given what is everywhere the purpose of commerce, the global industry will shape the vectors of technology and globalization into its great strategic fecundity; companies that do not adapt to the new global realities will become victims of those that do (Levitt, 1983). Environment Qantas Identify the Marketing Environmental Factors This paper will state how factors in the environment affect each other in Qantas Moment. The global marketing environment consists of 4 main environments. Refer: Appendix A. Organization environment can be controlled by the firm. Structure Company Image and brand equity are a vital parts in marketing as they help raise finance, form joint ventures and alliances seeking marketing intermediaries, get purchase or sales contract, launch new products etc. (Ebstudies, 2012). From the case we can see it takes very long to build a good rapport, but just one incident to tarnish the reputation. Strategy The technological capabilities decide companys ability to innovate and compete. The design and safety of the Trent engines are extremely important as one minor mistake might tarnish the prestigious reputation and injure people as seen from the Qantas moment. Process Rolls-Royce and Airbus aim to manufacture the desired quality and quantity products. Factors which influence the competitiveness of a firm or to sustain the firm are production capacity technology and efficiency of the productive apparatus, distribution logistics etc. (Ebstudies, 2012). Marketing resources like quality of marketing and distribution network have direct link to marketing efficiency. They are crucial for new product introduction and brand extension (Ebstudies, 2012). In intermediate environment, it is semi controllable by organisation. Supplier Purchasing goods and services from reliable external sources to make the engines and maintain engines is important. Thus suppliers can alter firms competitive position and marketing capabilities e.g. raw material suppliers (for engine parts), energy suppliers, labour and capital. According to Michael Porter, the relationship between suppliers and firm epitomizes a power equation between them; this equation is based on the industry condition and degree to which each of them is reliant on the other (Ebstudies, 2012). According to Ebstudies (2012), the bargaining power of supplier gets maximized in the following situations: The seller is a monopoly or oligopoly firm. The buyer is not important customer. The suppliers product is important input to buyers business and finished product. The supplier poses real threat of forward integration. Every producer has to have several intermediaries for promoting, selling and distributing the goods and service to consumers (Ebstudies, 2012). The intermediaries for Rolls-Royce and Airbus are the airlines and the ultimate consumers are the flight passengers. Stakeholders In the case study, the Qantas Moment had affected the stakeholders greatly. Airbus parent company European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) share prices fell 3.5% when it happened. Rolls-Royce, the aircraft engine manufacturer fell 5% in share prices right it happened. Rolls-Royce tried to stop the slide in share prices by convincing the City and investors that the incident is a one-off thing than a design fault. However within 2 days, share prices dropped to 9%, losing  £1 billion in market value. When chief executive of Qantas blame the incident on the engine maker, the situation got worst. Rolls-Royce engineers had to decipher the problem in Singapore and London to find out what is the main problem to address the market positively within a few days. Pictures of the blackened, shattered aircraft engine shared all over the world damaged the consumers confidence on its safety record. Qantas grounded all its A380 aircraft fitted with Trent 900 engine for three weeks, other airlines delayed flights for extensive flights and expensive checks to be carried out. It was found out that it was indeed a design fault; the report into the Trent 900 failure states that oil fire is the most likely cause of the explosion, leading Qantas to seek compensation claims. It was also found that there was a potential manufacturing defect in the oil pipes. Thus Rolls-Royce is liable for financial compensation of at least  £19 million to ground and replace the engines for Qantas and Singapore Airlines. Hence, the incident in November 2010 has not only caused damage to Rolls-Royce in financial terms, as well as its hard-earned reputation and the trust of its clients and the public. Only until February 2011 did Rolls-Royce improve its situation when they won a  £1.4 billion service contract from Emirates to maintain the Trent engines on 70 Airbus aircrafts that the carrier was due to take delivery over the next few years, then a  £700 million service deal for Emirates and a  £3.2 billion engine deal for British Airways. Macro environment factors are external to the company and are uncontrollable. They do not affect marketing directly but indirectly influence marketing decisions of the company. Socio-cultural Marketers are interested in the size and growth rate of population in different cities, regions, and nations; educational levels; age distribution and ethnic mix; households patterns; and regional characteristics and movements (Ebstudies, 2012). Social forces attempt to make marketing socially responsible; means that Rolls-Royce and Airbus should take a lead in eliminating socially harmful products and produce only what is beneficial to the society (Ebstudies, 2012). Economic The economic environment also has an impact on the business of an organization; example would be the share prices of Rolls-Royce. Technology Technological changes have also become particularly significant in the post-millennium world; this is particularly true in terms of modern communication technologies (Business Case Studies LLP, 2013). Thus the share prices dropped almost instantly as information was transmitted very quickly. The technological environment consists of factors related to knowledge applied, and the materials and machines used in the production of goods and services (Ebstudies, 2012). E.g. Rolls-Royce and Airbus produce top-notch engines to support commercial planes. Political and Legal Marketing decisions have to take into account government, pressure groups, law etc. Laws influence production capacity, capability, product design, pricing and promotion. Usually government intervenes in marketing process regardless of what their political ideologies are (Ebstudies, 2012). Legal factors are vital as organisations have to work within legislative frameworks; legislation can hinder business by placing onerous obligations on organisations if not dealt with properly (Learning Marketing, 2013). The physical environment consists of ecological factors beyond the organisations control. Physical forces such as non-renewal natural resources are finite e.g. oil, coal, minerals etc. Especially resources that contributes to the fuel the engines need in order to operate, affects the production greatly. Pricing AirAsia Steps to Implement Pricing Strategy Firstly, pricing is one of the key global strategic decisions as the concept of exchanging money for goods and services received, in the form of exchange of bank notes or credit or other credit facility, is widely accepted in todays world (Lee Carter, 2009). Price element of the marketing mix is one of the more controllable and fast in effect, it is the element that generates revenue (Lee Carter, 2009). According to Lee Carter (2009), for a firm that develops and implement pricing strategy for services internationally, AirAsia should go through a series of steps: Identify and analyse factors affecting pricing e.g. cost and revenue models, customer perceived value, legal requirements etc. which is to apply the no-frills, low-cost strategy, a unique cost and revenue model that has been proven successful from short-haul to long-haul Set pricing in the context of corporate objectives which is mainly low-cost flying Develop and select most appropriate price option of low-cost long-haul and low-cost short-haul flights Implement selected option of low-cost long-haul with AirAsia X Manage and finance international transactions Account for terms of trade Factors to Consider in Pricing According to Lee Carter (2009), based on Terpstra and Sarathy (2000), there are some factors to be considered in pricing products and services globally. They are classified under three main categories; organization-specific, environmental and market-specific. Corporate and marketing objectives of AirAsia can be seen from the CEO, Tony Fernandes saying, Our group thrives on innovation in disruptive market by taking the opportunities to fly where others dare not fly or have given up. Thus AirAsia proposed clear-cut comparatively lower fares, going against the tide believing on brighter side of its future. According to the case, AirAsia also has very positive corporate culture, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills and the right management philosophy. Domestic and targeted countries government influences are not significant in AirAsias case except for the fuel hike however it was eventually offset by its unique pricing model. Consumers expectations; the management believe that most customers do not have loyalty to any particular brand, because their choice is driven by prices, location; AirAsias established network of flights to over 60 cities in 16 countries with 126 domestic and international routes from and within Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and connects to China, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia and United Kingdom caters to a larger target markets due to operations in these countries, ability to pay; targeting the regular budget travellers and new customers who switch from premium flights to AirAsia due to the big difference in flight prices, market growth potential; losing some regular travellers but gaining new travellers from premium flights, frequency of purchase; focusing on maximising sales during off-peak periods but setting attractive promotions and discounts. The cost structure of AirAsia is basically to cut down to leaveonly the absolute necessary costs to operate a flight, reducing fixed costs and eliminating most of variable costs. This is done by maintaining a simple aircraft fleet and a route network based on low-cost airports, without complex code-sharing and legacy overheads that weigh down traditional airlines. During economy fluctuations such as inflation and deflation, people always look for cheaper alternatives, especially in recession times. Fluctuations also depend on seasonal changes during summer and school holidays. AirAsia adapts to the market as it the main airline deals with short-haul flights and the new subsidiary is a long-haul carrier, suiting needs of more customer segments. Product range of AirAsia is from the main short-haul flights what they started with to AirAsia X where they focus on long-haul flights. As a low-cost carrier for short distances, they grew to fly further when they came up with AirAsia X, providing options to travellers from more countries to use the airline. AirAsia can be considered a monopoly in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia due to the large numbers of hubs they have, and the number of domestic and international flights from these hubs, dominating from other low-cost carriers like them. A hike in fuel prices caused several low-cost carriers to cease operations as they cannot cope with the increase and thus boost AirAsias market share and enhances its position as the ultimate leader in the regions low-cost airline sector. Market analysts predicted that the AirAsia group would have the marketing know-how and X-factor to capitalise on such opportunities that arise from its competitors falling out of the game. Marketing factors such as product positioning; positions itself as a top-notch low-cost carrier, segmentation of customers by catering to short haul flights in ASEAN and longer haul flights in Asia and UK, image maintained as a good and affordable airline and differentiation of long and short distances flights. When faced with competition in the market, AirAsia targets cities least ventured to, to gain a competitive advantage. And due to its innovative business model, it is able to tide through the fuel price hike better than their competitors. Cost Reduction Strategies According to Lee Carter (2009), we can identify how AirAsia has used cost reduction strategies to contribute to their profitability and sustain from the continuous potential fuel hike. Refer to Appendix A. Economies of scale can be found by the increased number of domestic and international flights after the establishment of AirAsia X to fly new cities in China, Australia and UK. Economies of size are shown when the case said that AirAsia has nine regional hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia instead of just one base in 2009. Learning curve can be seen from the shared service agreement where AirAsia and AirAsia X share pilots, cabin crew, service staff, website, IT platform, marketing and distribution to optimise efficiency on operating costs. AirAsia also invested heavily to build its brand and association with globally recognised organizations such as ATT William F1, British MotoGP etc. The significance in introduction of new technologies by AirAsia is the New Skies; a state-of-the-art booking system that contributed to expansion of booking capacity, allowing up to 1 million flights booking a day. The major competitive advantage over other airlines is that passengers can use the Kuala Lumpur hub to connect to a wide range of routes. And relocating by placing more regional hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, these are areas with low labour costs to achieve the same advantage over the airlines at the cities too. Appendices Appendix A Appendix B Economies of Scale When additional cost per unit of production reduced overall per unit cost, given similar fixed costs Economies of Size Achieved from larger scale of operation through greater bargaining power Learning Curve Cost reduction from greater labour productivity, improved designs, and resource mix Introduction of New Technologies Improved efficiency gained through new technologies in innovation and processes Relocation of Production Moving production facilities to countries with substantially lower labour costs

An Analysis of Roland Barthes’ Death of the Author Essay -- Death of th

An Analysis of Roland Barthes’ Death of the Author â€Å"The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author.† – Roland Barthes Must the Author be dead to make way for the birth of the reader? In Roland Barthes’ essay â€Å"The Death of the Author,† Barthes asserts that the Author is dead because the latter is no longer a part of the deep structure in a particular text. To him, the Author does not create meaning in the text: one cannot explain a text by knowing about the person who wrote it. A text, however, cannot physically exist disconnected from the Author who writes it. Even if the role of the Author is to mix pre-existing signs, it does not follow that the Author-function is dead. Moreover, Barthes attributes â€Å"authorship† to the reader who forms meaning and understanding. The reader is, however, an abstraction â€Å"without history, biography, psychology†(Barthes 1469). These contexts – history, biography, and psychology – can only be set by the Author. Thus, the Author is alive and well because the text cannot exist without the Author, the mix ing of signs is the Author’s art, and the reader’s meanings forming abilities are nourished by the Author. According to Barthes’ notion of the â€Å"cut-off hand,† a text’s origin is language itself (Barthes 1468). Moreover, â€Å"linguistically, the author is never more than the instance writing, just as I is nothing other than the instance saying I: language knows a ‘subject’, not a ‘person’† (Barthes 1467). What about the Author’s physical presence? Certainly, language itself does not know its physical creator, but it is akin to shutting one’s eyes on reality to not acknowledge the Author who is â€Å"out there.† Because his texts were considered â€Å"da... ...r-Response Criticism.† October 1998. The College of New Rochelle. March 27, 2004 . O’Brien, John. Milan Kundera and feminism: Dangerous intersections. Minnesota: University of Minnesota, 1995. Project Gutenberg. â€Å"What books will I find in Project Gutenberg?† March 28, 2004 . Zilcosky, John. â€Å"The Revenge of the Author: Paul Auster’s Challenge to Theory.† Studies in Contemporary Fiction 39, 3 (Spring 1998): 195-207. 1 â€Å"Himself†, â€Å"him†, â€Å"his†, and â€Å"he† are used for brevity in expressing pronouns of both the male and female genders. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1][1] â€Å"Himself†, â€Å"him†, â€Å"his†, and â€Å"he† are used for brevity in expressing pronouns of both the male and female genders.

Plato’s Republic Three Parts of the Soul Essay

In his book The Republic, Plato searches for justice within the individual and what makes a person just. By comparing his sense of what is just at a political level and what is just at a psychological level he proposes three virtues of the individual which will make that particular person just. The virtues are of wisdom, courage and moderation. A just man won’t differ at all from a just city in respect to the form of justice; rather he’ll be like the city (Republic 435b). Once Plato has found justice within the city he seeks to transfer it back into the human soul. Plato talks about the ability of a person to be indecisive about actions such as drinking when something in their soul forbids them to do so even if they desire it. This indecisiveness can be transformed into internal conflict between more than one part of the soul. One part of the soul is the rational part and the part that lusts, hungers, thirsts and gets excited is the appetitive part (439d). Plato then identifies a third part of the soul, the spirited part, which is used to create emotions. Appetite is a really big part of our souls. It contains both necessary desires, which should be indulged (such as the desire to eat enough to stay alive) and unnecessary desires, which should be limited (such as the desire to eat your entire birthday cake). Though the appetite lusts after many things, Plato says it’s money-loving, since money is required for satisfying most of these desires. It is therefore obvious to Plato that the rational part of the soul should rule, as the rulers in the city do, because they both display the virtue of wisdom and can therefore exercise foresight on behalf of the entire soul. 441e) Similarly, just as the guardians assist the rulers in maintaining justice within the city, the spirited part of the soul will use emotions in order to maintain order and harmony within the soul which is justice. These two parts of the soul will be able to control its appetitive part, which may, through its insatiable desire for money, attempt to overthrow its particular role and rule over the body and even tually the classes that it is not naturally suited to rule over (442a). Consequently, justice in the individual and justice in the city would be overturned leading to chaos and war. The rulers and guardians exist in order to control and direct the producers who are the majority of the population, as the rational and spirited parts of the soul rule the desires of the individual. Therefore a just person would be one with a spirited part of the soul that would persevere through pleasures and pains in order to carry out the rational part’s intentions on what should be feared and what should not (442b). This ability is identifiable as the virtue of courage, which is evident in the guardians. Moreover, this pattern of parallel virtues between the city and the soul continues as a person’s reason is most able to make decisions about what is advantageous for each part and for the whole soul when he/she has the knowledge associated with wisdom. As a result the desires should be kept in a state of moderation by the rational part of the soul so that the ruler and the ruled both agree that the rational part should rule and not engage in civil war (442c). In conclusion, justice in the individual is similar to justice within the city where a person puts himself in order, is his own friend, and harmonizes the three parts of himself like three limiting notes in a musical scale (443d). In the city, justice is obtained by the three parts of society each fulfilling their role as best they can, and displaying the same three virtues of wisdom, courage and moderation. This leads to a harmony between the parts, the best possible combination, which is described as justice by Plato both within the city and within the soul. This should be obvious as; after all, a city is made up of many individuals. The harmonious or rightly ordered soul, then, is one which practices the virtues of each part. The virtue of the appetites is moderation; the virtue of the spirit is courage; the virtue of the intellect is wisdom. Through these virtues the human soul attains a certain concord or integrity, which Plato understood as the only real happiness worthy of the name. The overall purpose of the Republic is for Plato to understand what makes people happy. He discovers this through the process of dividing the soul up and seeing how they work together. Ultimately, if you live a just life you live a life of wisdom and your rational side comes first. If you live an unjust life you live your life by honor, victory, or money. Most men and women living unjust lives have a one-track mind. They forget their other priorities and doing what’s right just so they get what they want. Just people always beat and unjust person and live a happier and fuller life. His separation of the soul is very simplistic altogether. However, his individual ideas were very complex. Plato wanted us to to think for ourselves to discover how we decide to arrange our parts of the soul.

John Hopkins OpenCourseWare (Free Online Classes)

John Hopkins OpenCourseWare (Free Online Classes) John Hopkins University OpenCourseWare Basics: John Hopkins University offers dozens of free health-related courses as a part of its OpenCourseWare collection. Students can use OpenCourseWare material such as syllabi, lecture notes, and reading schedules to study topics such as nutrition and mental health. These are the same materials used in traditional courses offered at the renowned John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.Like other OpenCourseWare initiatives, the courses available through John Hopkins do not provide interaction with instructors and cannot be used to earn college credit. They are designed for self-study. Where to Find John Hopkins OpenCourseWare: All free online classes can be found on the John Hopkins Bloomberg OpenCourseWare website. How to Use John Hopkins OpenCourseWare: Most John Hopkins OpenCourseWare classes contain a brief overview in the lecture notes, not an entire transcript. Since the lecture notes are limited, you may want to consider acquiring the suggested reading materials and following the syllabus to get a more complete understanding of the subject.Most lecture notes and readings must be downloaded to your computer in PDF format. If you don’t have a PDF reader, you may download one from Adobe for no cost. Top Free Online Classes from John Hopkins University: Self-learners have dozens of John Hopkins OpenCourseWare classes to choose from. Popular general interest courses include:Critical Analysis of Popular Diets and Dietary Supplements – An overview of scientifically proven weight-loss strategies preparing learners to analyze diet plans.Environmental Health – A survey of health issues in relation to the environment.Family Planning Policies and Programs – An explanation of family planning issues in developing countries. Students studying these materials study family planning as a human rights issue and learn how programs are implemented in poverty-stricken areas.

Whats Eating Gilbert Grape Essays - Films, Free Essays, Term Papers

What's Eating Gilbert Grape Essays - Films, Free Essays, Term Papers What's Eating Gilbert Grape Whats Eating Gilbert Grape portrays a family that is dealing with the trials, tribulations, and also great times of having a member with a disability. The Grape family consists of Gilbert, Ellen, Amy, Mama, and of course, Arnie. The Grape family lives in an isolated town of Endora in a house that seems to be in shambles since their father died. In the beginning, Gilberts voiceover states that living in Endora is like dancing to no music, which one can definitely relate to after viewing this touching film. Gilbert Grape is a young man that has been impeded by more burdens than any man ought to have in an entire lifetime. He stocks shelves and delivers groceries for a local store, Lamsons Grocery, whose business has been deserted by the new supermarket in town. The movie begins with the yearly ritual of Gilbert and Arnie watching the caravans that pass along the road. Gilberts adversity seems to have started when his father hung himself seventeen years ago in their basement, which in turn drove his mother to obesity and a life confined to only their home. His mother has become a burden on him and he feels ashamed and humiliated by her. Gilbert even regards to his mother as a beached whale, and at one point lifts a young boy to the window to experience the sight of her. Gilberts mother is not his only complication; he is having an aimless affair with a frustrated housewife, Betty Carver, whose rash sexual demands have placed much apprehension on him. Gilberts brother Arnie, who is mentally challenged, needs constant supervision, which places many ongoing responsibilities on Gilbert, as well. His oldest sister, Amy, is a very caring woman that tries to take on many responsibilities herself and the youngest sister Ellen, who is only fifteen, has many issues with her family that she is trying to overcome, as well. Becky, a young girl that traveled into town with her grandmother and their caravan found romance with Gilbert and a certain connection with Arnie accordingly. Arnie is not your average boy; he is mentally challenged and was not expected to live to see his tenth birthday, let alone, his eighteenth, which he surpasses in the movie. Arnie is associated with many heights in the movie as he is regularly seen dangling from the roof, climbing trees, and of course, his ritual of scaling the water tower. Although Arnie loves the heights, he can not seem to conquer the depths as he will not venture to the basement of the house. I dont want to go down there, Gilbert; Dads down there, thus voicing the repressed fear that no one in the family will, or can put into words. Arnies water tower escapades are a source of great aggravation to the police, yet are greeted by the locals with an understanding of occasion and courteous applause when his feet are firmly planted back on the ground. Arnie obtains a fear of water when Gilbert abandons him in the bathtub for the night, and does not over come his apprehension until he flees to Becky after a fight he had with Gilbert. Bibliography none

Free Essays on Osteoporosis

Essay on Osteoporosis The topic I have chosen is Osteoporosis, a condition of increased skeletal fragility. Clinically Osteoporosis is ordinarily explained in relation to the bone density. In after growth the strength of the bone depends on two factors – the peak firmness of bone gained in early stages of life and later age related and hormone weakness related bone loss. In the event of calcium deficiency state (decreased dietary intake, malabsorption or increased loss) calcium requirements are met by skeletal calcium release leading to a negative calcium balance. Over a prolonged period of time this may lead to Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease of brittle bones. Loss of bone mineral (calcium) leads to weakening of the skeleton, fragility and bony fractures. In Osteoporosis the bone condition is characterized by a decrease in mass, resulting in bones that are more easily fractured than normal bones. The most common fractures are that of the wrist, spine, and hip. Nonetheless, all bones can be affected. Both men and women are at risk of developing Osteoporosis. Men tend to develop Osteoporosis later in life. White females are the most at risk, but other risk factors include low calcium intake; insufficient physical activity; certain drugs, such as corticosteroids, and a family history of the disease. Primary Osteoporosis is the most common form of the disease. Postmenopausal, or oestrogen-deficient, Osteoporosis (Type 1), which is observed in women whose ovaries have ceased to produce the hormone Oestrogen; age-related Osteoporosis (Type 2), which affects those over the age of 70; and Idiopathic Osteoporosis, a rare disorder of unknown cause that affects premenopausal women and men who are middle aged or younger. Secondary Osteoporosis may be caused by bone disuse as a result of paralysis or other conditions, including weightlessness in space; endocrine and nutritional disorders, including anorexia nerv... Free Essays on Osteoporosis Free Essays on Osteoporosis Essay on Osteoporosis The topic I have chosen is Osteoporosis, a condition of increased skeletal fragility. Clinically Osteoporosis is ordinarily explained in relation to the bone density. In after growth the strength of the bone depends on two factors – the peak firmness of bone gained in early stages of life and later age related and hormone weakness related bone loss. In the event of calcium deficiency state (decreased dietary intake, malabsorption or increased loss) calcium requirements are met by skeletal calcium release leading to a negative calcium balance. Over a prolonged period of time this may lead to Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease of brittle bones. Loss of bone mineral (calcium) leads to weakening of the skeleton, fragility and bony fractures. In Osteoporosis the bone condition is characterized by a decrease in mass, resulting in bones that are more easily fractured than normal bones. The most common fractures are that of the wrist, spine, and hip. Nonetheless, all bones can be affected. Both men and women are at risk of developing Osteoporosis. Men tend to develop Osteoporosis later in life. White females are the most at risk, but other risk factors include low calcium intake; insufficient physical activity; certain drugs, such as corticosteroids, and a family history of the disease. Primary Osteoporosis is the most common form of the disease. Postmenopausal, or oestrogen-deficient, Osteoporosis (Type 1), which is observed in women whose ovaries have ceased to produce the hormone Oestrogen; age-related Osteoporosis (Type 2), which affects those over the age of 70; and Idiopathic Osteoporosis, a rare disorder of unknown cause that affects premenopausal women and men who are middle aged or younger. Secondary Osteoporosis may be caused by bone disuse as a result of paralysis or other conditions, including weightlessness in space; endocrine and nutritional disorders, including anorexia nerv... Free Essays on Osteoporosis Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to fragile bones and an increased chance of fracturing the hip, spine and wrist bones. Osteoporosis affects not only woman but men also. One out of every two women and one in four men over fifty will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. Forty-four million Americans suffer from osteoporosis; sixty-eight percent of that number are women. A couple risk factors that you cannot change concerning osteoporosis are gender, age, body size, ethnicity, and family history. Your chances of developing osteoporosis are greater if you are a woman. Women have less bone tissue and lose bone more rapidly than men because of the changes involved in menopause. Age, the older you are, the greater the risk of osteoporosis. Your bones become less dense and weaker as you age. Body size, small, thin-boned women are at greater risk. Ethnicity, Caucasian and Asian women are at highest risk. African American and Latino women have a lower but significant risk. Family history, susceptibility to fracture may be in part, hereditary. People whose parents have a history of fractures also seem to have reduced bone mass and may be at risk for fractures. Some different risk factors that you can change to help decrease the possibilities of osteoporosis are sex hormones, anorexia, a lifetime diet low in calcium and vitamin D, use of certain medications, inactive lifestyle or extended bed rest, cigarette smoking, excessive use of alcohol are all risks you can prevent. Vitamin D and calcium are two main vitamins needed to keep your bones strong. Without each other, ones bones weaken. Vitamin D is needed for the body to absorb calcium. Without enough Vitamin D, we can not form enough of the hormonal calcitriol, which helps the calcium be absorbed. You can get Vitamin D from either your daily... Free Essays on Osteoporosis Osteoporosis The meaning of the word Osteoporosis is literally â€Å"porous bones.† This is explained as a disease in which proteins and minerals, especially calcium, are lost in excessive amounts. This results in the loss of bone mass, which leads to the breaking and fracturing of the bone(s). In order to understand Osteoporosis, you have to know about the stages of the bones (Boughton, 2116). Bone is living tissue in the body that has a two-staged process in order to constantly renew itself. The first stage of the bone process is called formation. The nutrients in the bloodstream build up new bone tissue. The second stage, called resorption, is where bone cells are broken down and then returned to the blood. Since Osteoporosis is a non-infectious disease, meaning that it is not a pathogen, it is the continuation or acceleration of the natural bone processes. There are two types of Osteoporosis that are both damaging to the bones. The first type of Osteoporosis is called Primary Osteoporosis. In this case, it occurs by the acceleration of the body’s normal aging process. The other type of the disease is called Secondary Osteoporosis. Other disease processes and certain medications are the causes of this type (Boughton, 2117). The process of Primary Osteoporosis occurs when resorption and formation becomes unbalanced. This is when bone is continually being removed, but no new bone is formed in place of it. This makes the bones weaker and smaller. Secondary Osteoporosis, on the other hand, has the same result as Primary, but occurs differently. Secondary Osteoporosis is when drugs and other diseases aid in increasing the rate of the resorption process (Boyden, 559). Although Osteoporosis is caused when the resorption rate is much greater than the formation processes, there are many factors that aid in developing the disease. Some of these influential factors include age, gender, diet, lifestyle, and figure ... Free Essays on Osteoporosis Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a bone disease in which bones become thinner and more porous. This disease is usually painless until a bone breaks or fractures. Fractures are the most common result of osteoporosis. These fractures are usually in the spine, hip and wrist. More than 1.5 million osteoporosis-related fractures occur each year in the United States, mostly in older women (). Although men do suffer from this ailment, osteoporosis is most common among older women. About 25% of women older than 60 years have this disease (Strange 25). Many times this disease goes undiagnosed until signs and symptoms arise, most commonly are fractures. Yes, but much less commonly than women. The cause of osteoporosis in men is often chronic alcoholism. Loss of testosterone (a male hormone similar to estrogen in women) is another cause. Although not all causes of osteoporosis are known, loss of estrogen, due to menopause, is a major known cause for women. Women who either have had early menopause or their ovaries surgically removed before age forty-five, who do not receive estrogen treatment, are also more likely to develop osteoporosis. Other factors causing osteoporosis include small body frames, excessive use of alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and enduring excessively strenuous exercise that stops menstrual periods. Additionally to these causes are factors known to lead to osteoporosis. These include a family history of the disease, a low dietary intake of calcium, the use of medications such as prednisone or other steroids, hormonal disorders such as hyperthyroidism, hyperparathyroidism, and Cushings disease, and other diseases such as chronic liver disease and intestinal disorders. Aging is another major factor in the cause of osteoporosis. Without treatment, men and women lose one to three percent of their bone s mass each year after age 50. As life expectancies increase, osteoporosis may become even more prevalent unless preventive measure...

Natural Selection Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Natural Selection - Lab Report Example eby the trait of interest has an optimum value, and finally, Disruptive curve in which organisms that have the largest and the smallest values of any given trait boots of highest fitness value and conversely, organism that have intermediate values are disadvantaged. Considering the above stated facts, it is seen that in the long term, Directional selection results to generation of the new type of species from the existing species. This is unlike stabilizing in which the given specie maintains its existing type without any variation over the long period of time. It has been found that stabilizing selection results in the refinement of the existing specie type. On the other hand, disruptive selection facilitates favouritisms of given individuals of a given phenotype (Williams). This experiment’s main objective is the comparison on how the population size varies in different generations depending on different environmental conditions, determination of the effect of different predator types on the population of prey, and the gaining of graphing and interpretation knowledge. In this habitat, the number of Clothespin is increasing linearly while knives and spoons are decreasing as the generation changes. However, number of spoons decreases from first generation to second generation, then it starts increasing. In this habitat, the number of S. pea preys decreases tremendously in all the generation. The number of White and pinto decreases from first generation to second generation and starts increasing from generation 2 to generation 3 The number of Forks and clothespin in this habitat is almost constant. The change in the number of spoons increases tremendously from generation 1 to generation 2 and decreases from generation 2 to generation 3 As the Number of predators increases, the number of preys decreases. This is due to the fact that an increase in the number of predators results into more preys being eaten and as a result, their (prey) number decreases. Also,

Plate Techtonics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plate Techtonics - Essay Example According to this theory, the Earths crust is composed up of about a dozen plates or big rock slaps on which the continents and oceans lies. Plate tectonics explains the big scale movements of Earths lithosphere. The theory comprises the developed beliefs of continental drift, urbanized throughout the initial half of the 20th century, and seafloor scattering, understood during the 1960s Wiki (2008). The furthest part of the Earths center comprises two layers: top layer is the lithosphere which surrounds the coating and the inflexible topmost part of the layer. Inferior the lithosphere the asthenosphere lies. While the hard, the asthenosphere has comparatively small thickness and shear potency and is able to stream like a liquid on geological time scales. The inner deeper layer under the asthenosphere is extra rigid yet again due to the higher stress / pressure ThinkQuest(2008). The lithosphere is divided tectonic plates, if we talk about the Earth; there are 7 main and important plates and many small/ minor plates. These plates are frequently shifting their position because the surface under them, the boiling, hot, soft layer, is changing position gradually similar to a conveyor strap/ belt, determined by heat and other forces at work in the Earths core/ center. These plates or slaps are changing their positions or moving at speed of approximately a centimeter (0.5 inch) to 15 cm (6 inch) per year in diverse directions. In scientific notations this movement is called as â€Å"cross motion of the plates is naturally at rate of 50-100 mm/a† Wiki (2008). Now we talk about the Continental drift. It is the movement of or change in the position of the Earths continents compared to one another. The idea that continents drift was originally proposed by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully urbanized by Alfred Wegener in 1912. However it is fully developed after the advancement of the assumption of plate tectonics in the

COMMUNITY CARE OF THE ELDERLY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

COMMUNITY CARE OF THE ELDERLY - Essay Example Insufficient basic care for the elderly, and the strains and anxieties of their care-givers are important issues in society. This topic is very relevant in societies all over the world today, where globalization and new technology find their way to. Due to scientific advancement in all fields, including medicine, the life expectancy of humans rises steadily, and the greying population is predicted to grow in proportion over the next few decades. It becomes imperative that problems which are unique to the aging and elderly should be dealt with, so that quality of life can be improved for the infirm and old, and also for their care-givers. This is reiterated by Belle, S.E; Rogers, M.(1999) who state that the ageing of the population presents both fiscal and health challenges; therefore it is incumbent upon our global society to create an environment that enables older adults to develop and maintain healthy life-styles and behaviours. THE EAST END OF GLASGOW: Ineichen (1993) states that Glasgow – described by a parliamentary committee in 1840 as a place where â€Å"penury, dirt, misery, drunkenness and crime culminate to a pitch unparalleled in Great Britain†- was probably the dirtiest and unhealthiest of all British cities. Fever was prevalent, and the population density was excessive. Because of squalor and overcrowding, diseases like malaria and typhus were not unknown. The buildings were crowded together, and the drainage system was poor. 1According to the BBC News aired on 4 August, 2002 9:25 U.K. the flood caused by rains and poorly functional sewers in the east end of Glasgow, resulted in hundreds of people losing their homes and hundreds being forced to spend the night in emergency accommodation. The aging sewer system of the east end of Glasgow had to be replaced in order to avoid similar national emergency situations from arising in the future. ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE EAST END OF GLASGOW: An empirical study of old people in

Color and the Visible Spectrum and Rainbows & Blue Sky Research Paper

Color and the Visible Spectrum and Rainbows & Blue Sky - Research Paper Example Other colors that come in the same sequence includes green Blue, Indigo and lastly violet (The Physics of Color n.p.). Electromagnetic radiations having a wavelength that is more than seven hundred and fifty nanometers are referred to as infra-red. On the same note, these with less than three hundred and fifty are termed as ultra-violet. The colors in the spectrum have varying lightness, saturation, as well as darkness. In trying to understand the color spectrum, a color wheel can be used. It is a color spectrum that has been twisted around so as to have the violet and the red terminal joined. It is significant in helping to understand how the color relates and interact with each other. One can create new colors by mixing two existing ones. A rainbow is a meteorological-optical phenomenon formed by the refraction, reflection and dispersion of sunlight in the raindrops causing a spectrum of colors in the sky. The process of rainbow formation shares similarities with the spectrum obtained from the dispersion of light using a prism. The essay highlights the process of rainbow formation with reference to water droplets and sunlight. White light originating from the sun hits the water droplets at a particular angle. The angle is significant for the formation of the rainbow because it affects the direction that the light travels after striking the raindrops. When sunlight hits a water droplet in the air, some of the light-rays get reflected according to the law of reflection. The rest of the rays obey the law of refraction as they cross the air-to-water interface. The refraction occurs as the light slows down due to the density variation between the water droplets and the air; water has a higher density compared to the air. As such, the speed of sunlight reduces causing its path to bend towards the normal line (Lee and Alistair 254). White light is comprised of a spectrum of colors with varying wavelengths. As such, each

Trainspotting by Danny Boyle, 1996 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trainspotting by Danny Boyle, 1996 - Essay Example This paper will discuss Boyle’s use of parallel editing. According to visual arts and film studies, parallel editing is a technique whereby two or more scenes happen simultaneously, but in different locations co-currently (Smith 6). In some cases, this technique is also known as cross-cutting. In most cases, when the scenes are simultaneous, they culminate in a single area whereby the parties are involved in a confrontation. Cross or parallel editing is used to create suspense hence, adding interest and excitement to a film scene. In this case, Masahiro Hirakubo was responsible for editing this film. Boyle employed the parallel editing technique in several scenes, in the film. Trainspotting the film captures the insolent and amoral intelligence of Welsh as portrayed in the cult novel by Irvine Welsh. The beginning of the film contains severe editing hence; the audience notices that the film significantly affected Britain and it did not dent America. The most probable reason why the movie did not affect America was that it was too apparent for those conservatives. The scenes in the film clearly assert that Trainspotting is the most liberal film that is connected to drug-related issues. Boyle juggles parallel character strands and juxtaposes several images (Smith 23). The film centres on the youthful disaffection with the verve of an exemplary pop culture. According to the events presented in Trainspotting, Boyle developed the technique of using cross editing to provoke suspense. In the introductory section, McGregor and Bremner were running down Princes Street after they were being pursued by security guards. However, after being sober from the induced state, McGregor decides to quit heroin (Smith 34). Later on, he decides to buy opium rectal suppositories and decides to undergo withdrawal in a small hotel. However, when he is close to his friends in a sober state he feels like an outcast. He later goes to the bar and has sex with a woman called Diane (Macdonald) who later refuses to let him sleep in his house.     

Group marketing plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Group marketing plan - Assignment Example The company also improves customer loyalty through frequent discounts and promotions. After sales services has given the organization an upper hand through customer awareness. Clear reinforcement and tradeoffs service provision offers a competitive market ground. Significant influence is by the company’s founder who advocated cost cutting (Henry & Mayle, 82). Cost cutting has been vital in securing a large market compared to its competitors. Warehouse location selection is important in determining customer growth rate (Henry & Mayle, 72) and hence the organization’s trade flow. The company mainly has established its warehouses in the rural areas, which reduces expenses compared to its competitors in urban areas and hence more financial gains. The major drawback in the organization is in the application of the shareholders model regarding its workers. Low workers’ pay has made them compromise with service delivery compared to its competitors. The company has extensive market empire achieved by the exploitation of advantages from cost differentiation, use of better technology and excellent location choices for warehouses. Maintenance of market domination by the organization is vital. Keeping ahead of the competitors will be crucial for better growth rate of the

Color and the Visible Spectrum and Rainbows & Blue Sky Research Paper

Color and the Visible Spectrum and Rainbows & Blue Sky - Research Paper Example Other colors that come in the same sequence includes green Blue, Indigo and lastly violet (The Physics of Color n.p.). Electromagnetic radiations having a wavelength that is more than seven hundred and fifty nanometers are referred to as infra-red. On the same note, these with less than three hundred and fifty are termed as ultra-violet. The colors in the spectrum have varying lightness, saturation, as well as darkness. In trying to understand the color spectrum, a color wheel can be used. It is a color spectrum that has been twisted around so as to have the violet and the red terminal joined. It is significant in helping to understand how the color relates and interact with each other. One can create new colors by mixing two existing ones. A rainbow is a meteorological-optical phenomenon formed by the refraction, reflection and dispersion of sunlight in the raindrops causing a spectrum of colors in the sky. The process of rainbow formation shares similarities with the spectrum obtained from the dispersion of light using a prism. The essay highlights the process of rainbow formation with reference to water droplets and sunlight. White light originating from the sun hits the water droplets at a particular angle. The angle is significant for the formation of the rainbow because it affects the direction that the light travels after striking the raindrops. When sunlight hits a water droplet in the air, some of the light-rays get reflected according to the law of reflection. The rest of the rays obey the law of refraction as they cross the air-to-water interface. The refraction occurs as the light slows down due to the density variation between the water droplets and the air; water has a higher density compared to the air. As such, the speed of sunlight reduces causing its path to bend towards the normal line (Lee and Alistair 254). White light is comprised of a spectrum of colors with varying wavelengths. As such, each

Group marketing plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Group marketing plan - Assignment Example The company also improves customer loyalty through frequent discounts and promotions. After sales services has given the organization an upper hand through customer awareness. Clear reinforcement and tradeoffs service provision offers a competitive market ground. Significant influence is by the company’s founder who advocated cost cutting (Henry & Mayle, 82). Cost cutting has been vital in securing a large market compared to its competitors. Warehouse location selection is important in determining customer growth rate (Henry & Mayle, 72) and hence the organization’s trade flow. The company mainly has established its warehouses in the rural areas, which reduces expenses compared to its competitors in urban areas and hence more financial gains. The major drawback in the organization is in the application of the shareholders model regarding its workers. Low workers’ pay has made them compromise with service delivery compared to its competitors. The company has extensive market empire achieved by the exploitation of advantages from cost differentiation, use of better technology and excellent location choices for warehouses. Maintenance of market domination by the organization is vital. Keeping ahead of the competitors will be crucial for better growth rate of the

Writing Discussion Essay Example for Free

Writing Discussion Essay * How do your surrounding affect your reading comprehension? How might you minimize distractions while you are reading for your class assignments? Many things may affect your reading comprehension. Your surroundings and environment play an important role in your ability to comprehend when reading. Anything can be a distraction if it causes you to lose focus and draws your attention to something else. Distractions can be visual, physical, and auditory. To minimize distractions while you are reading first make sure you are in a place that is comfortable and away from electronic devices; television, computer, and phone. Be sure the temperature is not too hot or cold. If you are continually distracted while reading, you may not have a strong understanding and may need to reread the assignment or article. * Do you think freewriting is a good first step to take when approaching a writing assignment? Do you think you might use freewriting as a part of your writing process? Why or why not? Freewriting is a good first step to take when approaching a writing assignment because it brings out ideas and creativity in a short period of time. I will definitely use freewriting as part of my writing process. Not only will it help me with â€Å"writers block†, but it will allow me to be more creative and inspired with my thoughts. No need to waste time editing, formatting, and organizing-just jot down thoughts and ideas. There is no wrong or right way to do it. It is another form of brainstorming, but on paper.

Comparing British Airways With Virgin Atlantic Airways

Comparing British Airways With Virgin Atlantic Airways Marketing is everywhere.formally or informally ,people and organizations engage in a vast number of activities that we could call marketing.(Philip kotler 2009) The assignment focuses on analyzing summarizing and comparing two companies which deals in same sector or industry with a marketing aspect. The purpose states that the study of the module Marketing Management needs to be implemented in virtual front by providing meaningful process to the company chosen and revise the value proposition. The assignment is divided into step-by-step parts towards preparing a plan for the organization under study. Select two companies in the same sector/industry. Answer: The requirement of the question speaks about the two companies to be selected of the same industry which can be compared on various aspects particularly marketing strategy on a global scale; I have chosen the following two companies: British Airways Virgin Atlantic airways The reasons for selecting these companies are: The value proposition of both the companies can be compared and differentiated based on their marketing assets. Both the companies are intense competitors in the business of airlines and in providing superior quality of services to the customers . British Airways- Company profile British Airways is the airline company of the United Kingdom. It has its headquarter in Waterside which is near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport and it is the largest airline in UK on the basis of fleet size, international flights and international destinations. Its second hub is London Gatwick Airport. The British Airways Group was formed on 1 September 1974. BA was formed by the merger of two large London-based airlines, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways Corporation (BEA), and two much smaller airlines, Cambrian Airways Cardiff and Northeast Airlines Newcastle upon Tyne. BA was one of only two airlines to operate the supersonic Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde inaugurating the worlds first supersonic passenger service in January 1976. BA became the worlds most profitable airline under the slogan The Worlds Favorite Airline. Rather it was earlier Boeing customer. The formation of Richard Bransons Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984 began a tense relationship with BA. The main activities of British Airways Plc and its subsidiary undertakings are the operation of international and domestic scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers, freight and mail and the provision of ancillary services. Franchisees Comair, based in South Africa, franchisee since 1996. Sun Air, based in Denmark, franchisee since 1 August 1996. http://uk.reuters.com/business/quotes/companyProfile?symbol=BAY.L Virgin Atlantic Airways- Company Profile Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited (operating as Virgin Atlantic) is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group (51%) and Singapore Airlines (49%). It is headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, England, near London Gatwick Airport. It operates between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from main bases at Gatwick and London Heathrow Airport, using a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft. The company holds a CAA Type A Operating License to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. In the year to February 2009, Virgin Atlantic carried 5.77 million passengers and made an annual profit of  £68.4 million on turnover of  £2,580 million. Question 2. Analyze, evaluate, compare and contrast their mission statements, value; comparative differentiation, position and marketing assets. Answer: On a preliminary note it is important to understand the concepts of Mission and Vision for a particular organization. Vision Statements and Mission Statements are the inspiring words chosen by successful leaders to clearly and concisely convey the direction of the organization. By crafting a clear mission statement and vision statement, you can powerfully communicate your intentions and motivate your team or organization to realize an attractive and inspiring common vision of the future. According to Wikipedia- The Free Encyclopedia a Mission Mission, which includes a statement of company values, is an important tool for managers to assert their leadership within the organization. By authors- Mary Klemm*, Stuart Sanderson*  and George Luffman* University of Bradford Management Centre, USA While a Vision Vision is an independent, non-profit motive. Its main efforts are dedicated to strategic thinking on the transformations triggered by technologies and globalisation. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_(Italian_think_tank) Definition of Mission Statement by Alan Gleeson defines as the essence or purpose of a company what it stands for i.e. what broad products or services it intends to offer to satisfy the customers need . The mission statement also gives readers an idea on the  raison dà ªtre  of the company and was initially designed as a means by which potential shareholders and investors could understand the purpose of the company that they were considering investing in.   A Mission Statement defines the organizations objectives and primary motives. Its prime function is internal to define the key measure or key to measures the organizations success and its prime shareholder is the leadership team as stockholders. Wikipedia- The Free Encyclopedia defines Mission statement as a formal, short, written statement of the purpose of a  company  or  organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a sense of direction, and guide decision-making. It provides the framework or context within which the companys strategies are formulated.  Historically it is associated with  Christian  religious  groups; indeed, for many years, a  missionary  was assumed to be a person on a specifically religious mission. The word mission dates from 1598, originally of Jesuits sending (missio, Latin for act of sending) members abroad. Definition of Vision statement by Wikipedia- The Free Encyclopedia  outlines the organization it wants to be, or how it wants the world in which it operates to be. It focuses on the future Or a source of inspiration to the organization. It provides clear decision-making criteria to the organization. Vision Statements also define the organizations purpose, and values are been guided in beliefs about how things should be done. The vision statement states about both the purposes and values of the organization. For employees, it states about how they are expected to behave and motivate them to give their best. Communicate with customers, it shapes customers understanding of why and how they should work with the organization. The difference between Mission and Vision statement is a Mission statement contains the information of the company in a nutshell about its products and services to customers while a Vision statement offers the future perspectives of the company or organization, the purpose or broader goal for being in existence or in the business. Mission and Vision Statements of the British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are discussed below: Mission statement of British Airways- There is no official mission statement from the companys website instead the social blogs have various statements out of which the best one chosen To be the undisputed leader in the world of airlines for the next millennium Vision statement of British Airways- The Worlds Favourite Airline Mission Statement of Virgin Atlantic- Safety, security and consistent delivery of the basics are the foundation of everything we do. Vision statement of British Airways- To grow a profitable airline, where people love to fly and where people love to work Analyzing the Mission and Vision statements The mission and vision statements of British airways seems to be in the line of business as both focus on world class operations not just local or domestic functioning, hence it is recommended that being a company which caters large scale audience/customers British Airways has to focus on its principles of functioning to achieve its vision. As far as Virgin Atlantic is concerned, nowhere it mentions about the functioning and catering the audiences of the world, it is known fact that Virgin Atlantic is more of a British nature and caters or prefers services priority to British audiences hence it needs to change its mission and vision statement which though is appealing but doesnt come in the line of business. Question 3: Benchmark the two companies. Answer: Benchmarking  is the process of analyzing , summarizing and comparing ones business processes model and performance metrics to industry bests or best practices from other industries in same sector. Dimensions are use to measure quality, time, and cost of the organization. Learning from experiences mean doing things better, faster, and cheaper. Benchmarking involves management identifying and evaluating the best firms in their area of work or any other industry where similar processes exist and comparing the results and processes of those studied (the targets) to ones own results and processes to learn how well the targets are been performed and more importantly, how they do it. Mission and Vision Statements and the Customer (Client) Surveys are the most used (by 77% of organisations) of 20 improvement tools, followed by  SWOT analysis(72%), and Informal Benchmarking (68%) for benchmarking.( www.bashares.com) 34`

Vocational Education via Internet is the Next Big Thing! :: Sell Websites Buy Web Sites

Vocational Education via Internet is the Next Big Thing! As Eric Parks says, 'I'm certain cybertechnology will replace all the other learning technologies that exist today.' (Caudron 1996, p. 35) The Internet is a network of networks including the World Wide Web (WWW), listservs, newsgroups, and discussion forums along with electronic mail and electronic journals. To help vocational educators make the best use of the web, this essay makes suggestions for using the Internet in the vocational classroom and provide a list of websites of interest to vocational educators. It does not pretend to be an exhaustive list of vocational education resources on the Internet--that list changes daily. As in the earlier digest,much of the information that is included was received as a result of messages sent to several listservs asking how the Internet was being used in vocational education and corporate training. Previously, respondents indicated that they were just getting started and students were spending time surfing the Web, making use of electronic mail, and participating in listservs. The times they are a changin'! Now, in addition to all of the above, students are developing and main taining websites, using digital cameras to evaluate teachers, delivering training to industry, and using materials found through Web searches. A survey by Market Data Retrieval determined that approximately one-third of all public schools are online; that the larger the school, the more likely it is to use the Internet; and that the Internet is used mostly for research. If the integration of the Internet into the classroom is to be successful, teachers must be involved and work with it (Leiken 1996). The examples here show how vocational teachers and trainers are using the Internet. Examples of Current Use It has been suggested that increased use of performance support systems, sophisticated computer simulations and multimedia training programs are changing and diminishing the role of the traditional corporate classroom (Wulf 1996). Companies are discovering that they can use the Internet to distribute information, resources, and learning tools to employees worldwide with relatively little end-user support (Caudron 1996). A high school teacher in Minnesota has developed a website for use in doing career research. Students look for career opportunities on the Web and check the classified ads in the local newspaper, which is also on the Web (M. Savchenko, Internet message, July 3, 1997). In Australia, the Certificate in Workplace Leadership is offered through the Web.

Ignatius and Myrna in Toole’s Confederacy of Dunces Essay -- A Confede

The Relationship between Ignatius and Myrna in A Confederacy of Dunces One of the most unique and strange relationships in modern literature exists between Ignatius Reilly and Myrna Minkoff, the two perceived dunces in John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces. The correspondence between them runs throughout the novel. In the beginning, Ignatius feels a certain air of superiority over her, yet she feels that he has lost touch with reality, and her suggestion begin to control his actions, as he tries to win at her own game. She genuinely cares for him and writes her opinion of how to transform his life. In three separate attempts to quiet her unrelenting criticism and suggestions, he heeds her advice, each time failing miserably and causing greater adversity for himself. Yet, at the end of the novel, in a comedic irony, she saves him from mental and physical captivity. At the beginning of the relationship between the reader and the association between Ignatius and Myrna, Ignatius writes an egotistical letter to explain his adventures working at and grand plans for Levy Pants. Ignatius explains: "I have several excellent ideas already, and I know that I, for one, will eventually make Mr. Levy decide to put his heart and soul in the firm" (pg. 90). In Ignatius's own fantasy world, he honestly supposes that his changes will cause a revolutionary transformation of Levy Pants. He believes that his innovative contrivances can transform the forgotten Levy Pants into a Fortune 500 company, and he writes to Myrna in an attempt to clarify and reinforce his deranged world view. Reality does not allow for Ignatius's idealized rebirth of the factory, but Ignatius fails to see the actuality of the situation, and ... ...r Myrna physically enters his life. She saves his mind and body from imminent institutionalization. Relationships sometimes have profound effects on the people in them. At the beginning of the novel, Ignatius feels a great deal of superiority over Myrna. However, as the relationship between them develops through the novel, it causes a tremendous amount of hardship in his life, due to Myrna's critical letters to Ignatius, and his perseverance to take her advice. Like a naughty boy unable to learn his lesson and the consequence of his actions, Ignatius continues his pursuit to fulfill Myrna's suggestions on three separate occasions, each ending in horrible failure. Yet, in a ironic twist, Myrna becomes Ignatius's only escape from a life troubled by taking Myrna's advice. Her letters affect Ignatius in a manner that only her car and body can remedy.

The Birthday Party, a comedy of menace

â€Å"Comedy of menace† was a term first used to describe Harold Pinter's plays by the drama critic Irving Wardle. He borrowed the term from the subtitle of one of David Campton's plays, The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace. A comedy is a humorous play which contains variations on the elements of surprise, incongruity, conflict, repetitiveness, and the effect of opposite expectations and so on in order to amuse and make the audience laugh. A menace is something which threatens to cause harm, evil or injury which seems quite incompatible with the idea of a comedy. However, as The Birthday Party shows, it is quite possible for a playwright to create both humour and menace in the same play, and even at the same time, in order to produce certain effects and to transmit ideas to the audience. Comedy is present in The Birthday Party from the very first scene; it is a way of gently introducing the audience to the world which Pinter is trying to create. The humour is quite subtle at first, for example the exchange between Petey and Meg about whether Stanley is up or not plays on the words up and down: â€Å"Meg: â€Å"Is Stanley up yet? Petey: I don't know. Is he? Meg: I don't know. I haven't seen him down. Petey: Well then, he can't be up. Meg: Haven't you seen him down? â€Å". Although the repetitions in this short exchange will not make the audience burst out with laughter they can make them smile and the humour also lulls them into a sense of comfort. A joke with a similar effect is made through another short dialogue between Meg and Petey in which Meg continually asks who is having a baby with Petey insisting that she won't know her until finally saying it's â€Å"Lady Mary Splatt†, to which Meg replies anticlimactically â€Å"I don't know her†. This anticlimax as well as the incongruous name of the woman (we do not imagine a â€Å"Lady† having the surname â€Å"Splatt†) creates humour and again lulls the audience into a sense of peace and normality. As well as this we get a sense of Meg's stupidity, Petey's resignation to it and their relationship being unfruitful and routine from their humorous yet uninteresting dialogue. Indeed, half the reason what they say seems funny is because of how pointless it is. Thus, Pinter highlights the uselessness of Meg and Petey's conversation and in extension the uselessness of everyday small talk. The worrying thing for the audience about this comedy is that it evidences a kind of futility: Meg does notseem to have much of a life beyond these pointless conversations. Thus, while the humour of the dialogue lightens the tone of the scene it also poses a question on the passivity and futility of the lives of the characters and the lives of many people in general. Humour also serves to draw attention to the strangeness of Meg and Stanley's relationship. Indeed, Meg treats him like a child despite his being a man of thirty. We are made aware of the fact that Stanley is not a child when he comes on stage for the first time. Before this Meg's calling him â€Å"that boy† and trying to get him out of bed by calling â€Å"Stan! Stanny! Stan! I'm coming up to fetch you if you don't come down! I'm coming up! I'm going to count to three! One! Two! Three! † makes the audience think he must be a child. Thus when we see him for the first time the incompatibility between the reality and what we have been lead to believe creates humour. The inappropriateness of Meg's treatment of Stanley and his being a fully grown man also creates humour at other moments of the play, for example when she asks him if he â€Å"pa[id] a visit this morning† (went to the toilet). While Meg and Stanley's conversation has some comedic value it could also make the audience feel slightly uneasy, perhaps they will ask themselves why this woman of sixty treats a man of thirty like a boy and why he plays along with her at times. Their exchanges, for example, the dialogue revolving around Stanley calling Meg a â€Å"succulent old washing bag† and Meg's reaction to it, seeming to believe that it's a rude word is quite funny for the audience as again it highlights her silliness but makes their relationship even stranger as she speaks â€Å"coyly†: she does not only play a maternal role but is also somewhat flirtatious. Thus humour, while seeming quite light can have a deeper meaning and cover up something a lot more serious about a character and problems they may have. Likewise, Stanley's attempts at humour when talking to Lulu are a kind of proof of his social inadequacy. When she says that it's stuffy he replies â€Å"Stuffy? I disinfected the place this morning. † And when she talks about his getting under Meg's feet he says he â€Å"always stand[s] on the table when she sweeps the floor†. These two lines are both untrue and when saying them Stanley's aim seems to be to make a joke. However, they both fall flat with Lulu and we could also imagine with the audience. Consequently, comedy, or rather attempts at it, evidence Stanley's lack of social skills. Therefore humour can be a way to introduce the audience to characters and their relationships with each other, and also make the audience think about these characters and perhaps their problems while keeping them interested in the play itself. The parody of small talk also allows Pinter to pose questions to the audience about the futility of many of our lives. Comedy does not just appear alone in this play, humour often appears during a somewhat frightening scene in which characters menace another. Some of these scenes are power struggles between characters or scenes where one character asserts themselves over another. For example, in the scene where Stanley tells Meg about the wheelbarrow he is obviously trying to menace her with his repeated questions (â€Å"Do you know what? â€Å", â€Å"Have you heard the latest? â€Å", â€Å"And do you know what they've got in that van? † etc), the anonymous â€Å"they†, the imminence of â€Å"today† and his actions as he â€Å"advance[s] upon her†. Despite the menacing aspect of this scene the fact that what he is threatening her with is a wheelbarrow adds a slightly bizarre and humorous tone. Indeed, the audience could laugh at Meg, thinking only she could be afraid of a wheelbarrow. However, her reaction to the threats is quite strong as she becomes â€Å"breathless† and cries out â€Å"hoarsely†. She seems to be afraid of it because it's new and different, an example of human fear of the unknown, and also perhaps of being â€Å"taken away† as Stanley repeats twice â€Å"They're looking for someone†. Either way the humorous aspect of someone being afraid of a wheelbarrow heightens the menacing atmosphere for the audience as we don't understand her fear; if she was afraid of something more normal we would not feel so ill at ease. Thus in this scene, Pinter makes use of a comedic aspect with a menacing atmosphere in order to make the audience aware of our own fears of what we do not understand. Comedy and menace also appear together in both the first music hall scene and just before it. In the â€Å"sitting down scene†, a certain amount of humour can be derived from the fact that three grown men are playing a childish game about who will sit down first, but what this game represents is a power struggle. As with the wheelbarrow, this silly game is symbolic of something much more serious; here, the person who sits will lose power. This menacing part of the scene is shown by the insistence of Goldberg and McCann that Stanley sit down and McCann's yelling â€Å"That's a dirty trick! I'll kick the shite out of him†. Interestingly, Stanley seems to try to lighten the atmosphere with the joke (â€Å"Now you've both had a rest you can get out! ) which causes McCann to say this, but he only succeeds in heightening the tense and menacing atmosphere of the scene. Again, humour does not take away from the threat but adds to it, making it worse. The fact that Stanley's joke doesn't lighten the scene as he hoped can also show the inadequacies of language. Indeed, o ne would not expect a joke to create more threats and menace. Thus, through the pairing of humour with menace Pinter shows the audience how words do not always achieve the desired effects and therefore is evidence of our own shortfalls as we do not always accomplish what we would like to through our speech. However, Goldberg does achieve what he wants to with his use of comedy and threats. This is because he wants to create a more menacing scene in order to completely destroy Stanley. His humour comes from the common expressions that he sometimes modifies, such as â€Å"You're beginning to get on my breasts†, and the different registers of these expressions, for example he says â€Å"Why are you driving that old lady off her conk? † which seems very colloquial compared to his normal speech. He also makes an ironic joke when he says that McCann is â€Å"the life and soul of any party†, which is evidently false as the audience can tell that he isn't from how little he speaks. Goldberg's jokes contrast with the serious and controlling man who makes Stanley sit down simply by saying quietly â€Å"Webber. SIT DOWN†. Indeed, we feel more menaced by Goldberg than by McCann because as McCann has already yelled at Stanley we feel as though we know what he is capable of but we don't really know how much Goldberg can do with his power of speech. The power which comes from the paradoxical pairing of humour with menace can be seen in the first music hall scene and in the scene with Lulu. In the music hall scene, the fast pace of the short, nonsensical questions creates a sense of urgency and fear as we do not know what the point of all these questions is. While some of the questions and accusations seem serious, such as â€Å"Why did you leave the organisation? â€Å", others create humour such as, â€Å"When did you last have a bath† or â€Å"McCann: You throttled her. Goldberg: With arsenic†. At the end of the scene the question they are asking him is the well known joke: â€Å"Why did the chicken cross the road? â€Å". It is this question, one of the most unanswerable of all the ones they ask him that finally makes him break down; he can no longer answer. The fact that a joke question is one of the causes of Stanley's destruction shows the strength of humour. Indeed, Freud theorised that â€Å"[in] addition to the one who makes the joke, there must be a second [person] who is taken as the object of the hostile aggressiveness, and a third in whom the joke's aim of producing pleasure is fulfilled†. In this scene, Goldberg and McCann make the jokes to amuse the audience while Stanley is the victim. However, the audience does not really laugh at these jokes, in fact they serve more to make us uneasy, but we still recognise the humour in them and perhaps even appreciate it. The same three person structure is found in the scene where McCann menaces Lulu. In that scene, Lulu is the victim while McCann tells her â€Å"savagely† to confess while Goldberg creates humour by picking up everything she says and turning it against her. For example she says â€Å"You taught me things a girl shouldn't know before she's been married at least three times! , to which Goldberg replies â€Å"Now you're a jump ahead! What are you complaining about? â€Å". The audience will appreciate Goldberg's humour while also finding what Lulu herself says funny despite the fact that she is evidently upset and angry, as it says in the stage directions. This humour followed so quickly by McCann's threats will again make the audience uneasy. This uneasiness of the audience is partly caused by our finding Goldberg, and perhaps even McCann, funny when we feel perhaps that we shouldn't. By being amused by them we ally ourselves with them, the two characters who we know to be manipulative and controlling. Indeed, through their (Goldberg's especially) humour we are manipulated by them to laugh at the other characters. Thus, Pinter shows by placing comedic elements with menacing ones that humour can be powerful and creates relationships between us: relationships which have a strong element of control to them, as our feelings and reactions are manipulated by Goldberg, just like the other relationships which we see in the play. Therefore, we can say that Pinter's â€Å"comedy of menace† is a way to show us how he believes that all relationships revolve around one person asserting their power over another. The atmosphere of menace which is present in this play does not only appear in conjunction with humour. Instead it often relies on the unknown or things not being fully explained. For example, when Goldberg and McCann first arrive, they come through the back door without knocking, which is in itself quite odd, then Goldberg says he wasn't looking for a number when McCann asks him how he knows it's the right house. This is quite an eerie thing to say as the audience can ask themselves what he was looking for as normally you recognise a house by the number. Indeed, it is this abnormality and not knowing how Goldberg knew which house he wanted which creates a sense of a threat or that something bad will happen. This can show the audience how we feel a need for things to be â€Å"normal†, we fear things that we don't understand or that are new. Likewise, McCann's refusal to join Stanley in conversation at the beginning of the second act, giving short answers and asking little in return is really a refusal to make normal conversation. These short responses seem quite menacing because they contrast against Stanley's seemingly open discussion. The audience could believe that Stanley's trying to tempt McCann into conversing with him properly is not only to get information about why he is there but to also make McCann seem more normal and thus less menacing. Like the opening scene with its pointless dialogue this scene shows the human need for speech in order to keep the fear of a threat, in this case represented by McCann, at bay. Language is not the only menacing thing, there are also several small actions or events which add to the menacing atmosphere of the play: the synchronised whistling, McCann's tearing the newspaper into strips and the lights during the birthday party. None of these things should seem that menacing by themselves but the context in which they are placed makes them seem so. Two â€Å"strangers† whistling the same tune together while talking, a grown man sitting at a table tearing paper, a light being shone on a man at his own birthday party as though he is a police suspect and finally a blackout which makes Stanley become violent all seem abnormal and strange for the audience: we do not understand why they happen (except for the blackout, and then we only find out later). It is this not understanding and abnormality of the events which adds to the menacing atmosphere of the play. Therefore we can say that the threatening ambiance of the play is created through language, in particular humour and the unknown, but also through certain eerie and strange events or deeds. The reason Pinter uses these things to make the audience afraid is to show us our fear of what we do not know and the abnormal. However, Pinter makes sure that some of the menacing atmosphere is elevated at times, which actually emphasises how strong this atmosphere is. The threatening ambiance is lessened by the use of humour. This humour can be found in the first dialogue between Goldberg and McCann, for example, when McCann says that Goldberg, who is obviously a Jew, is a â€Å"true Christian†. There is also humour with the dialogue between Goldberg and Meg, after the first music hall scene, when he is admiring her dress and slaps her bottom, as well as before when he calls her a tulip and she asks â€Å"What colour? â€Å". Pinter uses comedy at these moments in the play in order to reassure the audience and to keep some suspense: if the whole length of the play was filled with a menacing atmosphere we would know that Stanley will lose the power struggle from the beginning. The humour also brings a certain level of normality back to the proceedings of the play so that the menacing atmosphere can increase slowly, again creating more suspense. Thus, I agree completely with the description of The Birthday Party as a â€Å"comedy of menace†. While comedy and menace both appear separately in the play it is together that they affect the audience most. The association of two seemingly opposing themes in one play allows the audience to realise some of Pinter's preoccupations concerning the inadequacy of language but also its power, how we have some irrational fears concerning the unknown and the abnormal, how relationships work through manipulation and power struggles and the passivity of so many people throughout their lives. As well as this, the fact that we can associate these two terms, finding something menacing yet humorous at the same time, could also be a way for Pinter to show the paradoxical nature of human beings.

Sophocles shows a dramatic play

Recalling what had happened to Oedipus about finding out the he killed his own father and that he married his own mother and had children with her, Oedipus finally realized that the prophecy is true. Before, he ruled the city of Thebes, and because he wants to escape from the dirty life that he had been through, he poked out his eyes and went away. The question now is who deserves to get his protection, what city will be fortunate and will the prophecy prevail?Sophocles, shows a dramatic play for a tragic death of a hero and his mystical importance to the city of Athens. During the play, Oedipus who was now blind and frail had transformed to a beggar after he exiled himself from the city of Thebes. He was only with his daughter, Antigone, who guides his way. While they stand on the holy ground, Oedipus remembered the prophecy of Apollo that he will come to rest on that ground.By that time, Eteocles, the younger son of Oedipus, had overthrown Polynices to rule the city of Thebes. As a little description of Polynices, he was the older son of Oedipus and the twin brother of Eteocles who want to reconcile with his father for a selfish reason.He compared himself with his father which he considered as an outcast. Polynices attacked his brother in troops who is now under the rule of Creon, the brother –in- law of Oedipus. There is a prophecy which was known by Creon and Oedispus’ sons, that the place where Oedipus body will be buried will bring fortune to the city.Since they already knew about what’s going to happen, Polynices as well as Creon decided to go to Oedipus and take him back with the same reason of getting him in their custody and bury his body in their kingdom. However, Oedipus swears that he won’t give his two sons any support because they had done nothing to   he will never give his support to either of his sons, for they did nothing to prevent his exile years ago.By that time, Oedipus also called King Theseus and he arrived he pitied Oedipus because of the fate that has happened to him. Oedipus asked Theseus to keep him in Athens until the day he dies and at the same time he warned him by doing this favor. Without any hesitations and not thinking twice, Theseus accepted the favor and Oedipus promised him that the city will receive great blessings once his body will be buried in Colonus.Creon wants to seize Oedipus but because he knew that he can’t do that, he kidnapped Antigone and Ismene. Theseus promised that he will get oedipis’ daughters back.   Creon threatened to start war and used the two daughters as hostage, but then the king of Athenian drived Creon off, and soon freed Antigone and Ismene.Soon after Creon left, Polynices appeared, and he asked for his father’s favor to be in his custody. Since Oedipus gained his trust to Theseus he asked him to drive Polynices away, but Polynices wanted to explain his side that he did not condone his exile and the reason why the men of Thebes turned against him was because of his brother Eteocles.The worst thing that happened to Polynices aside from not winning his father back was the curse that his father gave him (Lines 269-576). Polynices asked his sisters support to give him a good burial after he dies as what the curse of father uttered.Suddenly, Oedipus hears a terrible thunder and declares that the time of his death has come.   Oedipus prepared for his death as he led Theseus, Ismene, and Antigone into a hidden part of the grave where he would lay to rest. The on witness to the death of Oedipus was Theseus and before he died, Theseus carried certain rites on the body of Oedipus so he received a divine protection to Athenes.Oedipus told Theseus that he must not reveal the spot where his body was placed and in order for the city to be safe for the next generation to come, he must pass it to his son when he dies and pass it to his son at his own death. When Oedipus finally died, Theseus took his daughter to their fathers’ grave.In giving my own view about who should really have the chance to be given the protection for either of the two cities, I would say that it should really be Athens. It is because as I am looking in Oedipus perspective; he has the will to choose to whom he will give his protection.There are several reasons why his decision was the right thing to do: First, when the time that he has planned to exile himself from the city of Thebes, his sons especially Polynices who is the eldest, did not even show any ability to stop his father from exiling himself and wander outside the city of Thebes. Greediness has been seen in the character of Polynices as well as with Creon and Eteocles.Polynices had the chance of getting the protection of his father’s corpse however, because of his self-serving reason, he disregarded his fate. He made a vision of invading Thebes and because his father knew his plans, he unfortunately cursed his son, which had caused his death. The other reason was that during that time, Oedipus already believed in the prediction of the oracles since his identity has been revealed and the prophecy had come to pass. He remembered that his prophecy was to die in the near the city gate located in Athenes is located.The third reason why his body stay in Athens is because, he should leave his bad memories in Thebes, where his prophecy had all started, which all draws back from his father’s oracle, Laius was murdered, Thebes was plagued by Sphinx, Oedipus became the king but then he turned to be the queen’s own son, famine came, Oedipus become blinded and soon exiled and finally her wife hangs herself;.Several memories which led to his suffering came ultimately from Thebes. And finally, the king of Athenes, Theseus, had shown his humbleness and kindness to Oedipus who asked for his help and gratefully accepted the favor of keeping him inside the city until he dies, although Oedipus warned him about a possible venge ance of the other city.