Wednesday, November 27, 2019

17 Funny Halloween Quotes to Make You Laugh

17 Funny Halloween Quotes to Make You Laugh Halloween is a festival of chills and thrills. Gear up to meet people in bizarre costumes. Join the Halloween celebration with your own brand of freaky fetish. Bake skull cookies, mix dragon blood beverages, and eat eyeball scones. Surprise your guests with funny Halloween quotes scribbled on your wall as graffiti. You can make your Halloween party a memorable one with a touch of creativity. Halloween Around the World Halloween traditions vary by geography. If you are in Austria, you would probably leave some bread and water for the departed souls. Ireland, from where Halloween is said to originate, celebrates Halloween in spectacular style. Visit Dublin, Ireland, for the Halloween festival fiesta. In the U.S., Halloween is second only to Christmas. Children go door-to-door in spooky costumes, collecting treats from friendly neighbors. Adults have â€Å"Halloween nights† with themed parties and pumpkin pies. The Swedish like to celebrate Halloween by remembering their deceased friends and relatives. Honoring the dead by lighting candles by their graves is the Swedish Halloween tradition. Other countries like Russia, Mexico, Sweden, Germany, Japan, and Madagascar also celebrate Halloween in their own unique way. Whatever country you are in, make sure that you have a fun-filled Halloween night. Here are some funny Halloween quotes to get you into the spooky mood! Halloween Quotations Rita Rudner Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, Never take candy from strangers. And then they dressed me up and said, Go beg for it. I didn’t know what to do! I’d knock on people’s doors and go, Trick or treat. No, thank you. Fernando Pessoa Look, theres no metaphysics on earth like chocolates. Jean Baudrillard There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world. Rodney Dangerfield On Halloween, the parents sent their kids out looking like me. Richard Harris Barham Ghosts, like ladies, never speak till spoke to. Lloyd Douglas If a man harbors any sort of fear, it makes him landlord to a ghost. Miguel de Cervantes Fear has many eyes and can see things underground. Anonymous Ill bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween. Nina Willis Walter The witches flyAcross the sky,The owls go, Who? Who? Who?The black cats yowlAnd green ghosts howl,Scary Halloween to you! Scottish Saying From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us! Steve Almond Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night. Dee Snider Halloween is huge in my house and we really get into the spirits of things. Conan OBrien This Halloween the most popular mask is the Arnold Schwarzenegger mask. And the best part? With a mouth full of candy you will sound just like him. George Carlin There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. Henry David Thoreau I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. Mark Twain Everyone is a moon and has a dark side, which he never shows to anybody. Drew Carey I see my face in the mirror and go, Im a Halloween costume? Thats what they think of me? Source Morrison, Patt. Halloween is turning into a worldwide holiday. Why do so many people love to be scared? Los Angeles Times, October 31, 2018.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Japans change from being an isolationist state essays

Japans change from being an isolationist state essays Japan was a bright comet suddenly tracing a path across the sky, exploding into the vision of an outside world that for centuries had hardly taken notice of it (Duus 3). While most nations to the west of the land of the rising sun took time to reach their position as a superpower, Japan accomplished the task in a period of a generation. As a result of Commodore Perrys arrival on the island nation along with other European nations forcing Japan into commerce with the West, Japan had completely altered its entire structure of government, culture, and military. Japan had seen the power and strength of the western nations and reorganized itself to mirror these superpowers. The Meiji Restoration period brought about many changes to the traditionalist way of existence on the island, and the incorporation of these new and western ideas was quicker than anyone could have expected. Before the West knew what had occurred, Japan had built itself up a military and government that vied with a ny European nation. It was, in fact, the influence of the West that changed Japan from an isolationist state into the militaristic superpower it had become in the first half of the twentieth century. Before the arrival of Commodore Perry and his fleet, Japan did virtually no trade with outside countries. A few Chinese ships were allowed in here and there, along with a handful of Dutch merchants, but save for those few, the nation of Japan was a mystery to the Western world. Except for the few Dutch, all Europeans had been expelled from the island since 1640. In this time period, the Tokugawa shogunate had ruled over Japan, and the nation enjoyed a long period of peace (Colton and Palmer 544). This peace was lucrative to some Japanese, and yet was an unbeneficial period of history for others. The merchant class was second from the bottom rung in Japanese society next to the common foot soldier, and yet though this period of peace...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Physiology research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Physiology - Research Paper Example In this regard, the articles primary focus was to establish the functioning underlying the aforementioned cellular mechanism. To this end, one of the methods used was electrophysiology in which all the procedures were concordant to the OHSU IACUC guidelines. This method was soon followed by a procedural process of perforated-patch recordings. The third method or procedure entailed targeted iontophoresis of Ni2+ or Na+. The primary chemicals used in the process were Alexa Fluor 594 hydrazide Na+ salt and Fluo-5F pentapotassium salt derived from Invitrogen. GF-109203X and (-) –Quinpirole hydrochloride were from Tocris Bioscience (Ellisville,MO,USA), NBQX, R-CPP, D- AP5, and SR95531 were derived from Ascent Bristol. The remaining chemicals were derived from Sigma-Aldrich. Finally, all the statistical data were tabulated as means  ± standard error of the mean (SEM). In addition, an ANOVA in tandem with a Mann-Whitney U test was used. Furthermore, Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test were changed to cumulatice probability distributions. To this end, the findings indicated that calcium-permeable ion channels played a pertinent role in the generation of spontaneous bursts within the auditory brainstem neurons. In this regard, the research exhibited that T-type Ca 2+ channels that were concentrated on the site of action potential initiation in the axon initial area plays a pertinent role in the spontaneous burst creations. Moreover, the calcium influx resulting evident as a block in the auditory system neuron was enough in the conversion of neurons bursting spontaneously within the neurons that fired and exhibited a regular pattern. Evidently, within the auditory brainstem interneurons, the influx of axon initial segment is down-regulated selectively through signalling of dopamine. The research equally showed that the block of calcium could be mediated through the assistance of the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

World History of the 18-19th century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

World History of the 18-19th century - Essay Example Gandhi’s view on the meaning of civilization was particularly shaped by the socio-economic events of the 19th century. Some of the events included the period of Enlightenment, American Revolution, and Industrial revolution and Western imperialism. Having undergone his education in London, Gandhi understood the western culture and consequently his views tended to compare between the Western civilization and the Indian civilization (Hardiman, 45). Throughout the book, Gandhi argues that the stability and development of a civilization, it should be free from any state of isolation. Unlike other Asian scholars of the time, Gandhi was opposed to the perception that Western civilization was superior to other civilizations and argued that it is a process that every culture must gradually go through. He also believed that civilization destroys morality and religion and came to the conclusion that â€Å"Immorality may sometime be taught in the name of morality†. Generally, the n arrative best captures the general perceptions of the events such as the Industrial revolution during the 19th century.As evidenced in the changes in English economic and social life after the industrial revolution, the revolution was more of a causatory factor than a co-relative factor for the changes witnessed in the 19th century. The transition after the industrial revolution caused a number of changes in the British society. For example as production becomes mechanized, many people migrated to the urban centers leading to increased urbanization. On the other hand, the quick urbanization in turn caused a number of social problems such as increased crime rates and poor sanitation. Generally the industrial revolution that was first witnessed in Britain significantly resulted in the conversion of the socioeconomic order of the time and some of the changes that took place eventually led the way for the industrialization in other parts of Europe and North America. Consequently industr ialization was not a co-relative factor but was a major causatory factor for most of the socio-economic changes witnessed in the 19th century.  

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Stallings Culture of the Savannah River Valley Assignment

Stallings Culture of the Savannah River Valley - Assignment Example The names island is situated eight miles from Georgia. Since the 1850s, archeologists have been reviewing the site and eventually proved that the site is one of the utmost significant locations in the history of United States (Sassaman 79-104). Over the past 140 years, more than 12 excavations have been conducted on the island by archeologists and looters. The existence of intensive prehistoric habitation, shell mound, and archeological deposits makes Stallings culture as important. The author, Kenneth E. Sassaman has tried to focus on the activity of the people of the Shoals. The first argument of the author is to present a story about the fall and rise of the Stallings culture. The second argument is to discuss the story of archeology which helps to enlighten the history of Stallings. The author wants to highlight the Stallings culture and bring it back to life with archeological interpretations and excavations. The Stallings culture has gained attention for many decades by archeological. This is mainly due to its setting within a place and time of many archeological deposits such as soapstone artifacts and fiber-tempered pottery. The author vividly described the reason behind the importance and flourish of Stallings culture for over 300 years. The author initiates with the argument of the population of the South-east coast and America. Kenneth explains the history of the Late Archaic culture of the Savannah River valley with a chart. The chart is based on the radiocarbon age. The Stallings fiber-tempered pottery and its technologies are introduced by the author to provide evidence on the importance of Stallings culture. Kenneth also focuses on defining the geographical, typological and chronological parameters ceramics as an evidence to focus on the Stallings culture. Several controversial theories of the people of Stallings have been offered by Kenneth.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels The 1998 film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was directed and written by Guy Ritchie who would eventually create the reboot of the solid blockbuster series, Sherlock Holmes. His earlier movie is about four criminal friends who are roped into three dramatic events in their life that are going on at the same time. This film is very unique because of the simultaneous structure of the plot tied together with parallel editing. It has so many things to enjoy about it: the atmospheric East London locations, the lush visuals, and the distinctive camera angles employed by Ritchie. Everything in this film catches the eye. Ritchie’s movie is a thrill to watch because he keeps you constantly on edge. The theme of the film is about karma and the way fate plays its fickle finger on the characters’ lives. If the characters in the film have a certain set of moral standards, then their future fates are left to decide whether or not they live or die. If a person is of an â€Å"honorable† background (at least within the code of thieves) or has moral beliefs in loyalty to his friends, in the end they will triumph over the darker elements of the criminal underworld. As you watch the film, you start to understand that some of the characters in this film aren’t exactly great people but they are decent enough to do the right thing for themselves and for their friends in the end. The film starts off with four close friends: Eddy (Nick Moran), Tom (Jason Flemyng), Bacon (Jason Stathom), and Soap (Dexter Fletcher). They are getting 100,000 euro notes so that Eddy can get into one of the many sleazy card games put on by porn mogul Harry â€Å"the Hatchet† Lonsdale (played by P. H. Moriarty.) Harry botches the game so that Eddy losses the 100,000 that he handed them to enter. Now he has to pay an additional amount of 400,000 euros. Harry tells Eddy that he wants the money to be given to him at the end of a full week or else he’ll have to deal with his East End enforcers. This is the inciting action that triggers the entire plot. How are these friends going to raise that huge amount of money? This inspires a great mix of dark comedy and violence for the rest of the film. After several days with no luck acquiring the funds, Eddy comes home and overhears his neighbors, a gang of crooks led by a man named Dog played by Frank Harper. The gang is planning a robbery on some pot growers who may be loaded not only with drugs but the needed money to solve the debt problem. Eddy sends this information to his long-time pals. He is intending for them to rob the shady neighbors as they come back from the theft of the marijuana dealers. The gang of four installs taping equipment to monitor the neighbors. Tom obtains a pair of antique shotguns from a black market dealer, known as Nick the Greek (Steven Marcus) who also strikes a deal with Rory Breaker (Vas Blackwood), a sociopathic gangster, to buy the stolen drugs. Nick had purchased the guns from a pair of foolish small time criminals, Gary and Dean, who in turn had stolen them from a bankrupt British lord as part of a job for Harry â€Å"the Hatchet.† None of the characters realize that, of the entire stolen firearms collection, Harry’s only desire was those two extremely valuable antique shotguns now in the hands of Tom. After learning the guns had been sold, an enraged Barry â€Å"the Baptist,† Harry’s personal bodyguard, threatens the two idiots into getting them back. The plot thickens, pointing towards future mayhem. As a sad trivia aside, the film was dedicated to Lenny McLean who performed Barry â€Å"the Baptist.† Mr. McLean had died of cancer only one month before the film’s premie re. The neighbors robbery gets underway according to schedule. Despite the death of a gang member stupidly by his own gun and a shaky chance encounter with a traffic cop, the job against the pot dealers is a success. Thinking they’re finally safe when the crooks arrive back at their London apartment, that neighbor gang is ambushed by our four friends. They take the neighbor’s looted money and return later that night to stash the goods next door. It is now time for a crazy night of celebratory drinking. Socio Rory discovers that the drugs he was going to buy were actually stolen from him. The marijuana growers were in his employees. Rory interrogates/tortures Nick into telling where the four friends live. Meanwhile, furious about their loss, Dog throws one of his men through the wall of their apartment. They discover the taping equipment on the other side and eventually all the stolen money and drugs. As Dog counts the money, the crooked neighbors prepare an ambush. Meanwhile Gary and Dean, trying to recover the antique shotguns, call on a traumatized Nick, who directs them to the same apartment address. Big Chris, Harrys debt collector, leaves with his son to the same destination as the four friends drive home from their bar crawl. Fate has played all the cards on the fortunes of all the characters. This will be the climax of the plot. Rory and his gang assault the apartment and have a shootout with the neighbors, resulting in the deaths of all but Dog and Winston, Rory’s chemist. Winston makes off with the marijuana. Dog is robbed by Big Chris of the shotguns and money during his escape. Gary and Dean spot Big Chris with the guns and hastily follow him, while the four friends return to find their loot missing. Big Chris gives the guns and cash to Harry, but on his return to the car he finds Dog threatening to kill his son if he doesnt retrieve the money. Desperate to get the guns, Gary and Dean attack Harry and Barry at their office, not knowing what Harry looks like and not noticing Barry until after he retaliates. Within seconds all four men are dead. The four friends are arrested, but confirmed to be innocent after the traffic cop identified Dogs dead gang as the primary suspects. When they retreat back to the bar, they discover Tom is out on a mission to throw the priceless shotguns off a bridge into the River Thames. In looking at a catalog of antiques, the friends learn the guns are worth thousands of dollars. As they try to call, Tom puts the phone in his mouth and the film ends with him trying to throw the shotguns off the bridge that he failed throwing the first time. Now, with the guns are on a ledge and the phone is in Tom’s mouth, the film concludes with Tom not knowing what to do next. The movie fades to black in a hilarious cliffhanger making for a perfect ending The emotional tone of the film is that of fear, remorsefulness, and giddy happiness. Another emotional quality felt is ironic surprise. The irony that the characters have to face in nearly every scene is hilarious. The film has a delightfully quirky dark comedic quality. It always puts these characters that you sometimes feel sorry and sympathize, in uneasy situations that they have to pry their way out some manner. Similar and comparable films that share this unique gallows humor include Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. The structure of the film is fairly straightforward following a chronological development of the plot. There was one scene where Ritchie uses flash-forward in his story telling. The sequence involves a car crash. Then the next scene was about the same car crash only it details how it happened and who it happened too. It is a clever use of time manipulation. The musical soundtrack is mostly previously released music that wasn’t originally orchestrated for the film. The score contains a wide variety of music from rock to reggae with songs including â€Å"The Boss† and â€Å"The Payback† by James Brown, â€Å"Spooky† by Dusty Springfield, â€Å"Liar, Liar† by The Castaways, â€Å"I Wanna Be Your Dog† by The Stooges, and â€Å"Walk This Land (Remix)† by Ez Rollers. The use of these musical hits from the 1960s and 1970s is diverse and brilliant. The cinematography by director of photography, Tim Maurice-Jones, is excellent. The most memorable parts include the POV (point of view) camera sequence on Eddie when he is in disarray having just lost all of the money. When Harry dramatically dies, the production team slows things down. You can see the brutal action unfold while time is now going at a much slower intense pace using Slo Mo, a signature Ritchie technique later used in his successful Sherlock Holmes series. Also there is a sequence where a chunk of one of the robber’s hair is completely blown off. The way Maurice-Jones and Ritchie used smoke and lighting in that â€Å"hair-raising† moment was pretty charming. It was reminiscent of those old slap stick cartoons where something ungodly happens to a character. You think the cartoon character is badly damaged but they just have a slight burn or minor scratch. This film has to be one of the best films I’ve seen recently. It is an exciting take on the crime world and how most criminals get the barrel in the end. The film is stunningly balanced between being humorous and serious at the same time. Its use as a â€Å"hyperlink cinema† piece is one for the books. Ritchie does an excellent job in connecting all the different stories, playing with time, and interweaving surprising plot twists. He makes you feel joy when you like a certain character from a different part of the story. Then you see them interact with a dangerous character, you had no idea would ever see him or her again. He creates a feeling of immense tension. The film is a tightly constructed masterpiece. Ritchie’s movie just does not stop for a second. It is full of refreshingly dark humor and filmed with real style and flair. Like a great book, I didn’t want it to end. That is how much I enjoyed this film. You feel such a connection with the story and with the characters. In the paltry 107 minutes this movie is played, you want to watch these characters lives played out even more. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has a certain message or moral: to never be too greedy and always try to stick to an ethical path otherwise you might get the heat of life in the end. There are not moral choices being made in this movie. But nevertheless, there are moral people in this story. Even though they do bad things and sometimes pay dearly for it, their hearts are in the right place. Sometimes. Let’s just pray they won’t get into any trouble next time.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Benito Mussolinis Rise and Fall to Power :: World War II History

Benito Mussolini's Rise and Fall to Power Benito Mussolini had a large impact on World War II. He wasn't always a powerful dictator though. At first he was a school teacher and a socialist journalist. He later married Rachele Guide and had 5 children. He was the editor of the Avanti, which was a socialist party newspaper in Milan. Benito Mussolini founded the Fasci di Combattimento on March of 1919. "This was a nationalistic, anti liberal, and anti socialist movement. This movement attracted mainly the lower middle class."1 Fascism was spreading across Europe. Mussolini was winning sympathy from King Victor Emmanuel III. Mussolini then threatened to march on Rome. This persuaded King Victor Emmanuel III to invite Mussolini to join a coalition, which strongly helped him gain more power. Benito Mussolini brought Austria on Germany's side by a formal alliance. "In 1937, he accepted a German alliance. The name of this alliance was the Anti Comntern Pact. On April 13, 1937 Benito Mussolini annexed Albania. He then told the British ambassador that not even the bribe of France and North Africa would keep him neutral."2 The British ambassador was appalled and dismayed. On May 28, 1937, Mussolini strongly gave thought to declaring war. He then attacked the Riviera across the Maritime. "On September 13, 1937 he opened an offensive into British-garrisoned Egypt from Libya."3 On October 4, 1937, while the offensive still seemed to promise success, Benito Mussolini met Adolf Hitler at the Brenner Pass, on their joint frontier. "The two of them discussed how the war in the Mediterranean, Britain's principal foothold outside its island base, might be turned to her decisive disadvantage. Hitler suggested to Mussolini that Spain might be coaxed on the axis side, thus giving Germany free use of the British Rock of Gibraltar, by offering Franco part of French North Africa, and that France might be persuaded to accept that concession by compensation with parts of British West Africa".4 Mussolini seemed enthusiastic and very understandable why this was the case, since this scheme included the gaining of Tunis, Corsica, and Nice (annexed by Napoleon III in 1860) from France. Hitler then hurried home to his house in Berlin to arrange visits to Franco and Petan. "Back in the capital Hitler created a letter to Stalin inviting Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, to visit early, when Germany and the U.S.S.R. might then agree among themselves how to profit from Britain not having a defense.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Post-Industrialism, Summary

The sense of economic transformation within the western industrial economies had been present since the 1970s. Some say we are entering into a post-industrial era. That is, leaving behind the the world of industrialism and its imagery – the factories, the heavy machinery and overalled men. Others say we are looking at one specific form of industry disappearing – that of mass production, a Fordist manufacture.Neo – or post-Fordist society (as another discourse), is all together a different kind of economy; one which is organized around flexible forms of production, which is becoming important as a means of responding to the greater diversity of consumer demand and fragmented market tastes. To put it simply, it is a change from a ‘mass’ to a ‘pluralistic’ kind of society. Economies are always in a state of change, but they are less often in the midst of a radical shift in the direction of the economy.What characterizes this radical shift i s firstly in its interconnected nature of such changes, what happens in one part of the economy effects upon the rest of the economy. Secondly it implies that a different set of dynamics is driving an economy. For instance, with the rise of post-industrialism, it is claimed that a new kind of dynamic – the generation of knowledge and the control of information, has displaced the dynamics of manufacturing technologies and the making of things. In this article it introduces 4 main theorists and their characterization of this radical shift of the economy. Post-Industrial SocietyThe idea of a post-industrial society first took hold in the US in the 1960s. Daniel Bell clearly outlined the nature of this transition. He adopted a ‘stages’ model of development which identified three phases of economic progress: a pre-industrial – dominated by agriculture, an industrial – manufacturing and a post-industrial, that he suggests we have entered is dominated by s ervices. According to Bell, the general direction of economic change is towards a service economy. He also suggests the concept of ‘axial principles’ which refers to the mechanisms or dynamics that give shape to an economy.In a post-industrial society, knowledge and information is the driving force that stimulate economic growth, it also takes the form of a final product – reams of information. Bell also pointed out the consequences of this new economic dynamic. 1. 1. Shift in the kinds of work that people do. From manual, manufacturing jobs to non-manual work in the service sector, where people no longer work upon things but work with each other to deliver a service. 2. 2. Shift in the occupational structure as manual jobs give way to white-collar and professional occupations. Skills and physical work requiring strength -> ‘think’ work. . 3. The emergence of a new class, the knowledge elites. As knowledge and information are the key sources of a post-industrial society, and they are the ones who control those resources. The intellectual work would be specialized, the new hierarchies of technical elites will be formed alongside the increased professionalization of work and the bureaucratization of ‘think' work. Alain Touraine also discussed about the post-industrialism. Like Bell, he also gave central place to the control of knowledge and information and identified the agents of change, the ones with control of knowledge as a ‘technocracy’.However at this point, they differ in their treatment of social conflict. In Touraine's analysis, there will be a new social divide between technocrats and bureaucrats on one hand, and a range of social groups such as workers, students and consumers on the other hand. This division is because the principal opposition between social group is no longer stem from the ownership and control of private property, but from access to information and its uses. So, the dominant cla ss would have power over the livelihood and lifestyle, not only in the sphere of economic production.Because of this, the social conflict and the social movement in post-industrial society will also be changed to that they are not so related to industry or particular material needs. New types of social movements such as environmental and feminist movements that are beyond the class politics will take form. Whereas Touraine sees post-industrial society as a setting in which the lack of power among certain social groups provides a basis for new lines of social resistance, Bell identifies a contradiction between the economic and the cultural realms of post-industrialism.While there is still a protestant work ethic, the committed, hard working spirit which also focused on economic efficiency, Bell points out that this is now at odds with the desire for a more hedonistic lifestyle, supported by overall material sufficiency, and the new emerging culturally expressive, individualistic life style of the post-modern culture. The Information Society Daniel Bell is again, a key contributor to the debate of information society, saying that this is a recent expression of post-industrial society.He claimed that the information society rested upon a knowledge theory of value. This means that knowledge has replaced productive labour as the source of value that creates future profits. Here, knowledge and its application is the resource, and this is integrated with the adoption of new information technologies which can reshape the ways we consume and produce, as well as where we perform these activities. However for Bell, information is regarded more than a resource but also a commodity which can be bought and sold in the market.This leads to the emergence of information occupations – consisting of professional, technical workers concerned with the production, processing and distribution of information. Manuel Castells also draws his opinion on the information-based socie ty. But he argues that information society is not necessarily matching with post-industrial society which the manufacturing sector is being replaced by the service sector. Rather, he identifies the role of knowledge and use of information as the ‘dynamics’ of the coming society. Knowledge, is both the base of production and the outcome of production.That means knowledge, as a resource and commodity in its own right, is a central means of improving economic performance and intensifies the process of economic innovation. Castells also identified the role of the new technologies enabling multinational companies to operate in new ways. The development of communication technologies, management system and technologies of production gave them opportunities to work in a more ‘footloose’ way. They joined multiple networks with other companies which enabled them to develop products jointly or serve specific markets.What Castells saw here was the concentration of powe r (information) among a knowledge elite in the corporations. Where, on the one hand, automation of low-skilled jobs especially among the workforce in maufacturing was undergoing. In other words, he distinguished a trend towards the polarization and segmentation of the social structure. The Divided Society Andre Gorz defined the change in the structure of employment and the change in the role of work in the post-industrial society. He claimed that there is a social division of secure, well-paid workers and a growing mass of the unemployed.In between them are the new post-industiral working class whom the work is no longer meaningful nor of any identity. In his view, the source of the problem is the emergence of new technologies that brought about automation at the workplace. It left the people with no jobs, creating ‘jobless growth’. If this continues, it would decrease the quality of the remaining working class jobs even more. Work in this sense, is just an instrumental activity for the majority. To earn money but with no satisfaction or content. Here we see a similar picture with that of Castells’s, the segmentation of the workforce.A privileged minority who obtains and controls the information and a casualized and marginalized majority of the working class. Gorz identifies this vision by referring to a society polarized between an emergent ‘servile’ class and a securely employed, professional class. The economic elites can now purchase at low cost the services that they’ve been capable of doing by themselves in the past such as domestic work. So the working class moves in to this service sector to ‘serve’ the economic elites. Their jobs – the new service jobs, lack dignity and are often not even considered as real jobs.And this line of argument by Gorz thus stresses a growing social inequality as a marking feature of post-industrialism. Conclusion ; Summary Despite the different aspects that these w riters each concentrated on, they agree on the fact that post-industrialism signals a number of distinguishing changes. Shift away from industrialism, a shift in the number of manufacturing economies to a service base. The growth of new occupations leading the economy, the white collar, professionals also categorized as knowledge elites. Gorz puts an emphasis here, on the fate of a deskilled working class forced to serve these elites.And the social and economic polarization that is also part of the general direction of the change. Lastly the shift in the types of social movements. From the attention on industrial forms of class politics to something beyond what we call class politics. Such as the green movement. If we refer to the beginning again, we can see it is not just a change, but a radical shift of the economy – the interconnected nature and changes in the dynamics of the economy. In this case, what all 4 writers agree on is that information and knowledge has become th e dynamics, the driving force of our economy.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Stalins Five-year plan essays

Stalin's Five-year plan essays Joseph Stalin, leader of Russia (1928-1953), created a Five-Year Plan that included methods and goals which were detrimental to Russian agriculture in 1928. Stalin wanted to transform individual farms into large collective farms because he saw that the government was losing money to private traders. This required that the majority of farmers would have to work and live together on large state-run farms. Through these farms Stalin hoped to increase agricultural productivity, to create grain reserves for Russia, and to free many peasants for industrial work in the cities. In order to begin collectivization Stalin had about 5 million wealthier peasants, or kulaks, deported and/or killed and their equipment and livestock sent to collective farms. Many of the remaining peasants were forced into collective farms to work where they faced disease, starvation, and death. The effects of Stalin's collectivization resulted in mass disruption of agricultural productivity and incalculable hu man losses. The decision to collectivize the farming sector had its origins in the grain crisis of 1928. Private traders offered better grain prices than the government did . "It was calculated that the prices of agricultural products in private trade, which in 1927-1928 exceeded the official prices by about 40 per cent, were almost double the official prices in the following year" . Due to the increase in private trade, the government began providing bread cards to workers only . Stalin realized a new system had to be devised in order to protect the governments' interests. One problem that was suppose to be solved through the Five-Year Plan was the methods of farming. Only two methods of farming were recognized in the Plan, the state farms and the co-operative farms. The state farm, also known as solkhozes, "contained the state-employed peasants, whose produce was directly destined for the State" . The co-operative farms, otherwise known as...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Indispensable Interjection Oh

The Indispensable Interjection Oh The Indispensable Interjection â€Å"Oh† The Indispensable Interjection â€Å"Oh† By Mark Nichol An interjection is one or more words uttered or written as an exclamation or an expression of emotion. I already provided a lifetime supply of them in a previous post, but here are some additional notes about one of the most ubiquitous of them all: oh. Whether this all-purpose exclamation is followed by a comma or not depends on its purpose. â€Å"Oh, my† and the like are expressions of any one of a variety of emotions or comprehensions, including pain or repulsion, or surprise or wonder. Oh is also a placeholder that signals dismissiveness (â€Å"Oh, don’t mind me†) or indicates an approximation (â€Å"He was, oh, about this tall†). Say is employed in a similar usage (â€Å"What if I were to offer you, say, twice as much?†). Its poetic equivalent, known as the vocative O a stylized form of direct address meant to evoke a classical lyricism, is rarely followed by a comma: â€Å"O Lord!† is the utterance of someone asking for attention from a deity; â€Å"Oh, Lord† might be a more mundane request for consideration from a nobleman, though it often serves simply as an oath or a variant of â€Å"Oh, my.† Some usage guides omit the comma when oh is used for the latter constructions, but the punctuation is a pertinent marker for a slight pause in this case and for similar utterances like â€Å"Oh, right† or â€Å"Oh, crap.† Likewise, a comma separates oh from a lengthier phrase: â€Å"Oh, where did I put it?† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 "Home" Idioms and ExpressionsHang, Hung, Hanged30 Words Invented by Shakespeare

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Marketing Management Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing Management - Research Proposal Example This paper provides an overview of the crisis encountered by Sainsbury's and aims to assess the company's recovery plan. Furthermore, this paper analyses the firm's internal and external environment through the use of analytical tools such as the PEST and SWOT methods of analysis. In view of the results of the industry analysis, this paper also recommends some strategic options that the company may undertake in order to facilitate its full recovery. Sainsbury's chain of supermarket was once the market leader in the UK supermarket sector. However, it currently occupies the third place, behind its major competitors Tesco and ASDA. The firm has been struggling to keep hold of its market share since the mid-1990s. With this, the company posted dramatically declining profit margins (Wikipedia 2005). Indicative of Sainsbury's lackluster performance, the firm's pretax profit as at end-March 2005 plunged by almost 98% year-on-year, from 610 million in 2004 to only 15 million (Profits collapse at Sainsbury's 2005). To note, it would have generated a negative bottom-line if not for the extraordinary gain on the disposal of its subsidiary in the United States (Wikipedia 2005). According to recently appointed Chief Executive Justin King, the bleak financial result is attributed to Sainsbury's diminishing competitive edge. He cited that in the past years, as the company's competitors have substantially improved, Sainsbury's failed to keep up. (Madslien 2005) Recovery Program In view of the much needed improvement in the company's operations and marketing strategy, King spearheaded a 400-million recovery program. The proposed program covers a three-year period and aims to enhance Sainsbury's marketing strategy (Profits collapse at Sainsbury's 2005). To start off, King launched a direct mail campaign to about a million customers as part of its business review. This is undertaken in order for the company to be aware of customers' expectations as well as identify the critical areas for improvement. The result of this campaign was consistent with the contention of retail analysts that Sainsbury's has severe problem ensuring stock availability. (Wikipedia 2005) This perceived weakness as revealed by the business review is immediately communicated to all store managers. Aside from this, the outcome was also announced publicly and was generally well received by the market and the media. With this, King pushed through with the recovery scheme by laying off about 750 headquarter staff and recruiting around 3,000 shop floor staff to ensure quality customer service and efficient replenishment of stocks. Since the firm's main problem is keeping shelves fully stocked, Sainsbury's management activated two distribution centres to enhance logistics and address issues on stock availability (Wikipedia 2005). It was also reported that Sainsbury's opted to end its ten-year contract with Accenture. After the system in place was deemed ineffective, the firm decided to bring its IT infrastructure back in house over the upcoming months (Ranger 2005). Apart from this, Sainsbury's also announced the halving of the fund allocated for dividends. This is because the firm's earnings would be plowed back to finance the recovery program. (Wikipedia 2005) In addition, to keep up with the competition, King appointed industry experts to join the

Friday, November 1, 2019

Schizophrenia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Schizophrenia - Essay Example What sets the two forms of schizophrenia apart is that the person who is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia believes themselves to be wanted or hunted, usually by the voices that they hear in their head or the people that they believe they can see. They develop schizophrenia as well as paranoia. Schizophrenia affects at least one per cent of Americans, with the majority of them being teenagers or young adults. Schizophrenia is most common in people during their late adolescence until their mid-twenties if they are men and their late twenties if they are female. The chance of getting schizophrenia is equal between gender and ethnic groups. Schizophrenia is also a disease that can be passed down from someone who already has the disease, or has had it. This can be done genetically, or if someone, especially a child, is subjected for great lengths of time to someone who has schizophrenia. A person is more likely to get the disease themselves if they are related, even distantly, to someone who has already had it. As there is no real definable cause of schizophrenia, it is difficult to predict if somebody will get it. People are often misdiagnosed due to the lack of understanding that comes with schizophrenia; there have been many cases when someone has been diagnosed, come to later find out that it was something unrelated to schizophrenia. It is a very shaky disease to diagnose properly. With all types of schizophrenia, the majority of the symptoms remain the same. There are only one or two striking differences that set the different branches apart from each other. There are considered to be three branches of symptoms, which are positive, negative, and cognitive. Positive symptoms are considered to be the obvious behaviors that are not normal to a healthy person. These symptoms are easy to spot and are easiest to treat. Positive symptoms include unusual thoughts, hallucinations, and delusions. They are symptoms that verbally and visually pull a person