Notes On The Ohio State University - 1851 Words

Vy Do 4502 Leadership Paper The Ohio State University October 20th, 2015 Patrick Solitano is a married, middle aged, Caucasian adult male. Patrick is currently living at home with his parents. He is undiagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, experiences manic episodes, and angry and violent reactions. In his immediate household, Patrick’s father, Patrick Solitano Sr. seems to have obsessive compulsive tendencies and gambles on sport events. He is undiagnosed with any disorders, but the characteristics seem to be there. His mother Dolores seems to want to help her family, but she enables the bad habits and seems to make things worse sometimes. However, she is also a mediator, when the family argues. Pat’s older brother Jake seems to†¦show more content†¦It is unsaid, but she could have borderline personality disorder because of her extreme emotional reactions, unstable interpersonal relationships, compulsive and impulsive sexual activity, lack of anger management, and self-harm. Ronnie is dealing with a new child, a demanding wife, and dealt with Patrick when he went away. Ronnie’s wife, Veronica completely shreds Ronnie’s confidence and seems to control most aspects of his life. Pat met Danny, while he was in treatment, and Danny has an anxiety disorder, attention deficit disorder, used crystal meth, and was in treatment because he assaulted someone. Danny, as well as Pat’s friends and family have their own issues that they need to work out. However, Patrick is in denial that he has any issues, but he recently discovered that his wife was cheating on him and was involved in a physical altercation, with the man his wife was cheating on him with. The altercation resulted in Patrick being sent to a psychiatric treatment facilitation for inpatient treatment. After eight months of treatment, Patrick was released from the treatment center, but against his doctor’s recommendation. However, the court determined that he was stable enough to be released, as long as he was complying with his wife†™s restraining order, attend therapy and medicines prescribed. As Pat’s case progresses, we see many sides of him and how he handles certain situations and influences that come his way. Patrick seems to have

EA Games Free Essays

string(57) " seriously to the point they will do a complete rewrite\." Change is part of organizational growth and survival in our modern global economy. If an organization is going to grow and survive, it needs more than traditional strategic business plans. One of the principal drivers of competition is technological advancements. We will write a custom essay sample on EA Games or any similar topic only for you Order Now Company’s can develop a strong competitive advantage through the strategic use of information technology. This white paper will discuss information technology (IT) concepts that have successfully been utilized by other organizations. The purpose is to benchmark how other companies have successfully implemented information technology and how SaveWithUS can conceptualize these strategies. The focus of IT is not just on the internal applications or computer systems that reside on the network; rather the focus is the strategic approach that information systems can have to support the business plans, goals, and objectives of the organization. Ultimately, a strategic approach to information technology should improve a company’s competitive advantage, business intelligence, reduce costs, increase margin, streamline business processes speed, accuracy, and reliability, communication, data based decision making, and increase overall customer value (Mickler, 2008). Many start-up companies develop a business plan but rely heavily on their own experience when it comes to business decision making rather than facts that an existing company would use. As the company grows, mistakes become more costly, they will rely more and more in information to base sound decisions. SaveWithUS is at the juncture where business decisions need to be based on facts not guesses. To remain competitive and profitable, SaveWithUS needs to reduce costs of merchandise manufactured and products purchased for resale. Technology has changed the way information is captured, stored, processed, analyzed, distributed, communicated; and the organizational infrastructure which is used to reduce costs, increase profits, and gain a competitive advantage. The effective use of information technology requires an organization and cultural change. The most important component in the change equation is making the decision to change. If resistance to change permeates, this will lead to the breakdown and irrelevancy of what was once a strong organization (CTU Online, 2008). Change is forever part of business sustainability. Understanding the external business environment can improve the strategic approach that an organization should adopt in a competitive market. A highly competitive environment includes multiple firms targeting he same market to win the same business. The external environment has forces which business must contend with for survival. Michal Porter has devised a five forces model that focus on these external pressures. The five pressures are 1) rivalry among existing competition, 2) threats of substitute products, 3) bargaining power of suppliers, 4) bargaining power of channels and end users, 5) barriers to entry. This model can be very helpful to think of competition in its broadest sense which suggests areas for competitive posture. Porter’s five-force’s model provides the framework to judge an organizations position and analyze a business level strategy which will describe how an organization competes in the marketplace (Frenzel Frenzel, 2004). These are just a few reasons why information technology is the critical infrastructure of any organization. The case study referenced herein is Electronic Arts (EA), the leading independent video game publishing company, producing popular titles such as The Sims, Madden NFL, and Medal of Honor. They also publish games based on Hollywood franchises such as the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and The Godfather. Nestled in Silicon Valley, Electronic Arts is a very successful organization with more than 50 best-sellers that sold more than a million copies each. Many people would believe that Electronic Art’s is a video game development company which base its success from the rich talent pool of creative people, artists, animators, programmers, and technicians. This is a highly competitive industry and getting more competitive every year with a fickle customer base. EA has competitors such as Activision, Take-Two, and Vivendi Games which all sell strong in the marketplace. It would be reasonable to assume they also have a highly talented staff of developers and creative artists. EA is successful because they are the model of a stellar management company. According to EA president and COO John Riccitiello, â€Å"EA pulls it off by honing the way that it develops and markets games: by thinking of its products as emotional, cinematic experiences, not toys. † Electronic Arts is in the business of delivering a total entertainment experience. The company built its creativity on a foundation of management discipline (Salter, 2007). EA understands the completive landscape and performs extensive due diligence. Riccitiello has stated, â€Å"We often know more about the feature set of our competition’s products than our competition does. † Electronic Arts recognizes that gaining a competitive advantage will not materialize because of slicker graphics, audio, or better storylines than the competition; consumers expect these features to improve over time and that is part of the gaming industry. EA knows that the high-tech imagery features they develop today will only be copied tomorrow which will not provide long-term advantage. EA has strong competitive intelligence, forecasting, budgeting, timing, and methodical project management disciplines. EA uses information technology to store financial data, sales data, important customer data, competitive data, and offer access to share this information across business units. EA has the discipline of sharing best practices and technologies using intranet libraries. This enables data to become more accurate and to be shared or broadcast faster through a more reliable means (Mickler, 2008). An e-business strategy can be defined as the electronic means of internal and external communications for an organization. Internally, employees can use a private intranet to share information, facilitate knowledge dissemination, management reporting, collaborate with business partners, sales promotions, and competitive intelligence, all of these features and more can be used with the development of an intranet. EA is diligent to understand their customers. They know that what is real to their consumers is what is on TV. Electronic Arts believes in gaining better understanding of their audience through the use of focus groups. These are non-EA groups of gamers and EA takes their recommendations seriously to the point they will do a complete rewrite. You read "EA Games" in category "Essay examples" Traditionally, the gaming industry is male dominated. Industry demographics suggest the target audience is male between the ages of 16 and 24. EA wants to expand their market beyond the typical gaming demographics. However, EA proceeds with caution not to lose current customers that do not want to see dumbed down products. When making complex decisions on marketing strategies and tactics, it is important look at hard data to in decision making. Information technology can provide the means of using marketing intelligence, trends, economic data, competitive market data, technological, demographics, government sources, and cultural and social information to provide a solid foundation upon from which to draw (Salter, 2007). Using e-business strategies such as customer relationship management (CRM) tools can identify important customer data to develop products and service specific to their needs, wants, and desires. The result of their data was a game titled the SIMS which attracts customers of all ages, thus developing new markets with different set of wants, needs, and desires. In addition, e-business is a means to reduce customer and supplier expenses, meet customer and supplier needs in a defect-free manner, and improve the speed in which these functions can take place. Knowledge management tools are processes the organization will employ to collect, store, analyze, and distribute information. Information technology offers data mining technique which are the convergence of technologies that provide computations to make sense of all the information stored (Frenzel Frenzel, 2004). The maturity of an information system in an organization can have a direct effect on the speed, accuracy, and reliability of its data processing. Information technology can eliminate the manual logging of paperwork, eradicate human error and increase speed, accuracy and reliability of the information stored (Mickler, 2008). Some of the mundane tasks can become completely automated through bar code scanners and other technology which will reduce labor costs, increase accuracy of data, and induce inventory cost controls (Mickler, 2008). I addition, information technology can improve the manufacturing process while meeting customer demands and reduce costs. In an effort to accurately control inventory costs, SaveWithUS should consider Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing and including technology to help reduce costs. JIT does not use the conventional ways of producing products with large batch sizes at high volumes. The JIT philosophy is where machine operators produce only the items needed, when it is requested, and on time. Information technology also plays a vital role in measuring the return on investment for these new processes (Frenzel Frenzel, 2004). Computer inventory management systems can control and coordinate delivery of raw materials or components from suppliers with production schedule, thereby minimizing inventory carrying costs. It is absurd to realize management can not track the percentage of repeat business, the accuracy of the expense of manufacturing costs, and sales goods of sold (CTU Online, 2008). The objective of SaveWithUS needs to be the development of a realistic business strategy that has full support of top management, established clear goals, development of long-term customer relationships, and provides maximum value. Bringing quality value to the customer is vital in the competitive and global business world. A competitive advantage is achieved when an organization has integrated information technology in the business activities with the value chain more cost-effectively than the competition. The goal of a business is to sell their products and services and keep customers buying in the future by means of adding value. Customers exchange something of value, such as money, for the products and services an organization produces. Strategic planning allows an organization to recognize how the customer sees the value of a company’s product or service and helps better position their goods in the market to make a profit (Frenzel Frenzel, 2004). Strategic plans will use resources of people, money, facilities, and technical capabilities that are required in order to achieve the goals and objectives. The goal of information technology is to support these efforts and add value of speed, accuracy, and reliability (Mickler, 2008). In the games industry, success, novelty, and great innovative designs do not automatically mean that a company will enjoy long-term success. In fact, the annals of the gaming publishing industry is eroded with once triumphant companies that currently are no longer existence. It takes a distinct mixture of success and business savvy to stay afloat and competitive. This review is hypothetical, created solely to fulfill course task requirements. The review of and title of an article depicts Electronic Arts (from now EA) as â€Å"Playing to Win†, the fact is that they are indeed playing the business game to win. EA is one of the world’s foremost reliant interactive software developing and publishing company. Since its inception, EA has garnered more than 700 awards for outstanding software in the U. S. and Europe. According to their own on-line career opportunity web site EA(2010) they say that EA markets its products worldwide under four brand logos and has over 33 product franchises that have reached more than a million unit sales worldwide. We will discuss more about their target market audiences in the next two sections. EA see themselves as a company that provides a product to it’s target market that appeals in the sense of interactive cinematic gaming experience. According to Salter (2002) Computer and video games are a bigger business than the movies, and the biggest force in games is Electronic Arts a company whose blockbuster titles dazzle millions of customers and generate billions of dollars in sales. As the world leaders in interactive entertainment we can say that EA’s most important competitive advantage is the fact they have lasted 20 years in the business and has gathered enough experience to leverage heritage into the entertainment gaming industry. Their other advantage is that they allow their 12 developing studios innovation freedom while impressing the discipline to meet deadlines. This means that it’s not all about gaming but also about planning, and management having a good business plan in place and a good vision is certainly a good competitive advantage. This is corroborated by Rabin (2010) when he says that the business plan developed was visionary and had three key elements: first, that the creative talent at the company would be treated like artists, involved in the marketing, and generally revered more than at other companies in the industry; second, that they would develop proprietary tools and technology that would enable them to quickly develop their titles cross-platform; and third, that they would handle the distribution to stores. Their primary target market (audience) is the users of advanced entertainment systems. The customary gamers are males in between the ages 16-through 24 year of ages. EA has continue to expand and move their traditional demographics As the market expands, their enthusiasts is to figure out how to publish products for people who are not the within the traditional demographic model. The fact is that EA’s present their content to a wide general audience appealing to all key demographic market segments by logically brainstorming their products as an emotional experience, How do they create an emotional experience? The emotional experience is created through offering their target markets a highly targeted campaign contributing the opportunity for the user to interact with the game. It’s a simple but very radical idea in which the users is part of the cinematic experience, therefore the user does not see the game as a toy but as an appealing realistic experience. Currently, their specific target market audience comprises a wide general range of users utilizing advance game consoles, personal computer system, video game consoles such as Nintendo, Play Station, Play Stations, and numerous others. Let’s clarify one thing about game publishing companies. They are exactly just that â€Å"Publishers† , they don’t consider themselves to be developers. The game entertainment publishing arena is quite busy and extremely competitive. Beside having fun and playing games it takes discipline to be creativity and code award winning games. This is a fact that is corroborated by Salter (2010) when he writes that it takes a tough company to make entertaining games. Salter quotes the president and COO of â€Å"The forgotten aspect of creativity is discipline,† beside discipline it takes a good development team and a good project manager with a sense of scheduling, creating buzz about the product through a hard core marketing campaign. Everything centers around information technology especially the discipline of methodically managing their projects, their information technology systems play a large aspect of their success through regimented collaborative best practices across their an intranet library. In closing in my opinion what makes Electronic Arts a potential winner is their ability to take ingenious people who are highly motivated and talented and create excessive amounts of value. Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSâ„ ¢, EAâ„ ¢, EA SPORTS Freestyle â„ ¢ and POGOâ„ ¢. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3. 67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. We were tasked to improve the functionality of the site, both technically and visually. The technical aspects of keeping up with ncreased user demands and features and facilities offered by the site were all dealt with to everyone’s satisfaction. It was felt that the site architecture and the user experience still left room for improvement, and we have lots to offer to fill this need. It was also important to ensure that the CRM and frontend complimented one another visually. Above all, we wanted the access site to offer an equivalent experience to the Flash site, rather than an alternative one. Our reputation as designers with flair for translating a company’s brand onto their website and for creating great user experiences got us this project. We were given the responsibility of revamping the entire site to reflect the brand of the company. Creating a site that was easily scalable and low on maintenance was also one of the primary requirements. We made the site made very light and the download speeds were reduced substantially. Only a few colors were used through most of the site, and two other colours were used where some differentiation was needed. Style sheets were created to keep the vast amount of content consistent visually. A clean, slightly serious and professional look was given to the entire site. How to cite EA Games, Essay examples

Response to Reform Health System

Question: Discuss about the Response to Reform Health System. Answer: Introduction: Thank you for your response and I agree with your comment on implications of RSBY scheme for quality of care. The government should not only focus on the accessibility of the health care facilities by the beneficiaries of the poor families, but also on the quality of the care. However, presently just 53.9% of the below poverty lines families have enrolled for the scheme in India. It implies that the primary challenge is increasing awareness to ensure 100% involvement. In addition, minimising the fraud and corruption in India is a biggest challenge than thinking about accreditation right now. I agree that the out-of-pocket payment should be minimised. The coverage of Rs. 30,000 per family per would not suffice for treating chronic illness such as Diabetes and worsen the quality of care. Thank you for your response and I agree with your comment on safety and acceptability. Unnecessary services and fraudulent claims by hospitals as also mentioned by Girish would only lead to wastage of resources rather than enhancing health benefits. The other challenge for the government is to improve medical investment into unserved and rural areas rather than ubran areas. Therefore, the government should seek companies such as Global health care system to expand infrastructure in rural areas and improve the quality of care. People do face challenges such as delay in the settlement of payments, which is another drawback. Thank you for additional information on the improvement of out-of-pocket payment system. References Dror DM, Vellakkal S. Is RSBY India's platform to implementing universal hospital insurance?. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2012 Jan 16;135:56-63. Nandi A, Ashok A, Laxminarayan R. The socioeconomic and institutional determinants of participation in Indias health insurance scheme for the poor. PloS one. 2013 Jun 21;8(6):e66296.

Billy Beane Changing the Game Case

Based on Billy beane â€Å"changing the game† case, explain why and how the Oakland A’s economic situation after 1995 shaped its Compensation strategy In 1995, when the Oakland A team was sold out, Alderson realized that he had to adopt a different approach so that the Oakland A’s would be able to compete well with other teams. In this case, he went ahead and embraced the on-base percentage system, explaining that, if he could get every player to play his part on the production line, then he could pay less for runs than the going rate.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Billy Beane: Changing the Game Case specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moreover, the better the players played, the higher they were paid by the association. This was done to boost the players morale and increase loyalty, thus avoiding poaching of Oakland A’s players by other organizations. Staffing One of the roles of human resources department involves hiring the most competent employees for the firm through a formal and rigorous selection process, as well as creating a conducive working environment that ensures all the recruited staff remain in the firm for most of their productive life. However, in the contemporary business world, most organizations often outsource some of the processes to recruitment agencies, since they are cheaper to deal with, and the company will not have to undergo the entire process. In the Oakland A‘s organization, Billy Beane recruited the players depending on the skills they seemed to posses. He relied on a method called, scouting, in which, he used a five-tool theory that consisted of the following elements: hitting for average, hitting for power, running speed, arm’s strength, and the field ability. In this approach, he used a checklist to indicate how many tools a player possessed. In the system of money ball collected baseball experts that included: players, coaches and managers, and is often subjective.Runs battle in, and battling statistics were used to gauge players; they were the only statistics that were available at the time. Lewis (2003) argues that â€Å"the Oakland A’s’ front office took advantage of more empirical gauges of player performance to field a team that could compete successfully against richer competitors.†Advertising Looking for coursework on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The management of the Oakland A paid the best players well as a way of retaining them and keeping them from been poached by other competitive baseball agencies (Pedersen et al, 2010). This is in realization that well compensated players will tend to commit their efforts and loyalty to the team. Training and development strategies After Billy beane adopted the system of selecting players based on the 5-tool method, the players went through training. Keeping in mind that they were the best in their high school teams, they did not need much training. They had the notion that their capability in individual performances was crucial in winning games even without having to train for long periods. Primarily, baseball is usually dependent on individual performances. According to Lewis (2004, p. 423), â€Å"in football, a play can only succeed if all players on a team work together in terms of blocking, running, catching, and throwing,† while for baseball to be of numeric value, every pitch, hit, catch or throw depends on a player’s efforts. In this case, when a team comprises of player who are competent in hitting, catching, and throwing, there is a high possibility of being formidable in all games played. Explain how compensation, staffing, and training strategies were aligned with each other to create an overall HR strategy for the Oakland A’s organization Billy Beane employed the use of checklist as a way of hiring players due to the fact that the approach was relatively efficient and reliable. According to Lewis (2003, P. 423), the success of the Oakland was via the application of a unique scientific evaluation method and selection of athletics talent. A checklist assists an organization to systematize and perfectise its hiring process, depending on how many employees it wants to hire at that particular time. In addition, a checklist on how to hire an employee helps you keep track of your recruiting efforts, since one is able to choose between different character and ability of an employee. In addition, a checklist acts as a communication aid during the recruitment process all the way to the completion of hiring process. Moreover, it is employed in training programs for new players. Therefore, having merged the three strategies, the Oakland management was able to lead the Oakland A’s to various wins.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Billy Beane: Changing the Game Case specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, despite these few merits, there are some potential problems encountered with some human resource strategies used by the Oakland organization. These include staffing strategies, whereby, selection used checklist as a way of selecting potential players as they play. As much as there are advantages to this method, it also contains several limitations, thus it is a poor way of selecting players. First, the checklist method is a behaviorally based approach to performance appraisal that requires raters to observe employees’ behavior and record performance related judgments about these behaviors. The checklist method may be biased in distinguishing the best, average, and poor characteristics of employees. Secondly, it is expensive and time consuming, especially for an organization like Oakland which is large, and may need to rate several players. Moreover, some very ess ential characteristics may pass unnoticed since the method is conducted on sight, hence becoming difficult for the manager to evaluate the athletes effectively. References Lewis, M. (2004). Moneyball. Retried from https://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/reviews/books/0-393-32481-8.html Lewis M. (2003). Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. New York: W.W. Norton. Pedersen, P. M. et al. (2010). Contemporary Sports Management. New York: Human Kinetics. This coursework on Billy Beane: Changing the Game Case was written and submitted by user Eli Reyes to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Book Review Song of Solomon

Book Review Song of Solomon Summary of the Book The central theme in Toni Morrison’s book, â€Å"Song of Solomon†, is the quest for self-identity. In the novel, the author narrates the life journey of a young man, â€Å"Milkman† Dead, who lacks enthusiasm for his life, is alienated from his relatives, his cultural roots and his community.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Book Review: Song of Solomon specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At first, Milkman appears psychologically and spiritually enslaved, but later, his aunt, Pilate, and his ally, Bains, help him to embark on a journey of self-discovery. It is through his quest for spiritual and physical restoration that Milkman is able to relate to his inner self and regain his sense of self-worth. The events of Milkman’s journeys span over thirty years. In part I of the book (Chapters 1-9), Morrison narrates Milkman’s early life in his hometown, a small town in Mich igan. From his birth to his early thirties, Milkman is spiritually empty; his aunt’s conservative tendencies and the father’s worldly lifestyle could not help him grow spiritually. At one time, Milkman’s father and his sister, Pilate, are forced to flee their home following their father’s killing over land. Later, following a disagreement, they go separate ways only to meet again in this small town in Michigan. The two still have a grudge against one another and could not communicate. Towards the end of part I, Milkman sets out on a quest to find his aunt’s hidden gold, which, according to his father, would become his inheritance. In part II, Milkman travels to the South ostensibly to search for gold (his inheritance). His quest leads him to a farm in Danville, Pennsylvania, his grandfather’s home. He would later trace his lineage to a small town, Shalimar, in Virginia and go there. It is in this small town that his quest ends when Milkman m eets his paternal relatives and discovers his true self-identity. Developing Milkman’s Quest Morrison uses many narrative elements in part I in developing Milkman’s quest in the American South in part II. One such narrative element is setting. The South harbors Milkman’s past history particularly slavery in the South. Morrison uses the name â€Å"Southside†, Pilate’s residence in the town, to denote their southern ancestry, the origins of the Black population. Thus, Pilate’s place gives Milkman a direct emotional connection to his ancestors in the South. Also, Morrison predicts the importance of Milkman’s journey to his southern ancestral home when he states that Milkman’s walk in the Not Doctor Street was dreamlike and strange following his quarrel with his father.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More His quarrel with his father marks a turning point in his life as he learns of his father’s materialistic tendencies over family traditions. Also, in part I, as Milkman walks down this street to his aunt’s Southside residence, he encounters people â€Å"all going the direction he was coming from (78). Here, Morrison signals that in order for Milkman to discover his identity, he will have to go against the grain and transcend not only the Northward migration of the Black population but also his selfish desires and pleasures. Morrison, in part I, narrates Milkman’s inquisitiveness to know the meaning of one’s name to signify Milkman’s as well as his ancestral origins. It is the South that harbors the secrets of Milkman’s ancestral past and the origin of his family name, which they lost because of their high mobility. As his father explains, Macon Dead, was the name given to his grandfather by a Freedman Bureau official, which the Macon family kept because Milkman’s mother insisted that it was new and would wipe out the past (53). His father’s explanation marked another turning point as Milkman later sets out to find his family origins and his true identity. By dropping their family name the Macon family lost their traditions and history. The surname is significant to the family as it gives them a sense of self-determination. Thus, Morrison uses Milkman’s urge to know his family name in part I to herald his subsequent quest to the South to discover his heritage and self-identity. Another narrative element Morrison uses in part I of the novel to herald Milkman’s journey in part II is sequencing of events. Milkman’s self-alienation and disaffection to his family and the black community required complete restoration. He had lost his sense of heritage and therefore, could not relate well with his family or community. Morrison first symbolizes Milkman’s uniqueness during his birth. He narrates tha t Milkman is born, the first Black baby, in an all-White hospital called Mercy Hospital. Morrison also narrates how Milkman’s prolonged breastfeeding distinguishes him from other children. At only age four, after Milkman learns that people cannot fly, he loses â€Å"all interest in himself and likewise has no interest in those around him (9). The author narrates how Morrison was excluded by other children while growing up. His siblings treated him with â€Å"casual malice† (10), which, ironically, made Milkman, from an early age, to develop the urge to seek answers about his true identity and familial origins. The social exclusion Milkman suffers marks a turning point in his life as he realizes that he is different from other kids. It also makes him to seek to find out about his ancestry, hence his quest to the South. As Milkman becomes older, his life is fraught with failures, partly because of his childhood alienation and lack of empathy and self-awareness. Morrison narrates that, at 22 years of age, Milkman still acts and behaves as a child. He writes that Milkman had not â€Å"thought of his mother as a person, a separate individual, with a life apart from allowing or interfering with his own (75).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Book Review: Song of Solomon specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Also, Morrison portrays Milkman’s perceptions as inaccurate and self-centered. He assaults his father to please his mother but learns that â€Å"there was no one to thank him-or abuse him, his action was his alone (68). This marks another turning point in his life, as he learns that he is responsible for his actions and by extension, his destiny. Morrison also gives his point of view regarding Milkman’s actions. He states that Milkman’s â€Å"sleeping with Hagar had made him generous, or so he thought, wide-spirited, or so he imagined (69). The author’s poin t of view portrays Milkman as a self-absorbed and selfish young man, with no dream in life. It is no wonder the prospect of hidden treasures (gold) makes him set out on a quest to find it. Morrison also gives his views about Milkman’s adulthood dream. He states that Milkman contemplated relocating from the Not Doctor Street to a new place with â€Å"new people, new command. That was what he wanted in his life† (180). The author’s views and sequencing technique to herald Milkman’s future quest to the South. Magical Realism in the Book Morrison uses many examples of magical realism to advance the novels’ themes. One such example relates to his use of descriptions that appeal sense perceptions such as odors, tastes and colors. For instance, he describes the realistic, yet the mysterious quality of the smell of ginger, when he compares his hometown in Michigan with a mystical place in the Far East. He writes: â€Å"An odor like crystallized ginger, or sweet iced tea with a dark clove floating in it†¦ made you think of the East and striped tents and the sha-sha-sha of leg bracelets†¦.† (184). His magical description evokes emotions of Milkman’s lost personal identity and culture. It helps to elaborate the novel’s realistic themes of bemoaning lost culture and personal identity. It underscores Milkman’ and his friend’s (Guitar) search for self-identity, which is a key theme of the book. Another example of magical realism occurs in chapter 11. In this scene, Morrison describes the sounds made by the hunting dogs during the hunt. He describes the sounds as â€Å"all those shrieks, those rapid tumbling barks, the long sustained yells, the tuba sounds, and the drumbeat sounds†¦ (278). His depiction of the voices, though, distinctive and realistic, is, in time and space, shrouded in mystery. Morrison also links the conscious experiences and the memories of the characters’ past li ves. Morrison uses this approach to advance the novel’s theme of the search for one’s self-identity as exemplified by Milkman’s search. It is through his epic search for self consciousness that readers understand the significance of familial and communal identity in his life.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another example of magical realism that involves personal consciousness occurs in chapter 10. Morrison describes Circe’s house as â€Å"looking as if it had been eaten by a galloping disease, the sores of which were dark and fluid† (220). She then proceeds to describe what is going on in Milkman’s memory including his flight from his hometown in Michigan to Pennsylvania, his final chat with his personal friend, Guitar, his journey on to Circe’s house and his interaction with his father’s friends before returning to Circe’s house where Milkman is. This approach of superimposing past memories with the present is an important magical realism technique that helps Morrison to describe the dynamics of the characters’ conscious experiences. A new sense of self-identity transforms the once narcissistic Milkman into an empathic man as shown in his realistic interaction with his girlfriend, Sweet: â€Å"He made up the bed. She gave him gumbo t o eat. He washed the dishes†¦ He scoured her tub (285). Here, Morrison encourages greater consciousness among the black people to seek to understand their history and community identity. Her description of how Milkman connected with his personal and familial consciousness borders magical realism. Milkman, in chapter 15, on completing his quest, reflects on the people he has interacted with and how they helped shape his destiny. He becomes conscious of his familial and community origins as shown in the list of names of his black kinsmen. Morrison uses this mental imagery to illustrate the book’s theme of personal and community sense of identity. Toni Morrison’s Female Character Portrayal Morrison depiction of the female characters in the novel illustrates the defects of gender relations among the blacks. She portrays female characters as crucial in the development of personal and community identity. All the females Milkman interacts with, though he mistreats them, help him discover his self-identity. One such female character is Pilate, an influential figure in Milkman’s life, who, unlike Macon Dead, is conservative and disdainful of Macon’s materialistic lifestyle. Morrison uses Pilate to represent the deep connection that females have to their people and ancestors. A stark contrast to Pilate values her ancestry and longs for a reunion with her relatives in the South. However, to her brother, Macon, kinship is not important. Pilate plays a crucial role in Milkman’s life. Her incomplete song makes Milkman to seek for the missing words of the song later in the book. The words of her song are symbolic because she is attempting to assist Milkman discover his identity. At the end of the book, Milkman gets all the words and is able to sing the entire song, which makes him feel that he has found his true identity. Pilate helps Milkman, who had lost all personal and cultural consciousness because his father was ‘deadâ€⠄¢ emotionally, to discover himself. Thus, Pilate helps to develop an emotional connection to his ancestors. Morrison also portrays female characters as role models. In the novel, all of Milkman’s role models are females who guided him throughout his life. Even his close male friend, Guitar, is a rogue murderer who could not guide Milkman. In the end, Milkman discovers that Pilate’s teachings were relevant to his final destiny, though, initially, he had sidelined her. As it turns out, Pilate is the most influential figure in Milkman’s quest for self-identity. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Vintage International, 1977. Print.

Where are you going, where have you been joyce carol oates Research Paper

Where are you going, where have you been joyce carol oates - Research Paper Example The story is reflection of the dangers faced by people during the Civil Rights movement during the mid 1960s. During this period, people started challenging the moral and social conventions after the World War II. This was a time of Civil Right Movement and popular cultures. Some of the incidences that proved the dangers of rebellion includes JFK killing. Just like Connie in the story, JFK died for being rebellious during the same era in which Oates wrote her story. Lyndon and Kennedy were both the presidents of the United States who fought for Civil rights. Kennedy supported the campaign against racial segregation and supported civil rights. However, he later distanced himself from the movements because many Southern Whites were not happy. He thought it would be difficult to pass civil rights laws with the strong opposition from the whites. Fighting for civil right led to his killing in the year 1963. Lyndon also fought by signing the civil right bill which prohibited discrimination on racial grounds (Gaines 3). Oates was also inspired to write her book during the time of Martin Luther and Malcolm X. The two leaders demonstrated the dangers of rebellion during the era of civic right movements. Malcolm was rebellion because he used violence when fighting for freedom and rights of his supporters. He supported civil right in a violent way. This led to his assassination in the year 1965. His character is reflected in Connie in the story. It was important for Connie to get her freedom. However, she acquired it in a wrong way. Martin Luther also supported civil rights. However, he did not believe in violence. He fought for freedom in harmonious and passive way. However, he was still opposed the existing laws. He rebel against racist and lack of freedom in a verbal way. His fight for civil right led to his assassination during the same era Oates wrote her book (Gaines 2). In addition, Oates was motivated to write his

General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 Term Paper

General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 - Term Paper Example Eventually, the impact of GARA 1994 on the socio-economic welfare of the manufacturers of general aviation aircraft before and after the Act was enacted will be thoroughly discussed. About General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) of 1994 With the purpose of amending the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 (GARA)1 was enacted (Angelley, 2011; Clinton, 1994). Under GARA of 1994, the term â€Å"general aviation† includes all types of aircrafts with no more than 20 passengers that had received an airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (Kovarik, 2008; Clinton, 1994; Kister, 1998). The said Act applies to all aircrafts 18 years old or more when the accident happens (Angelley, 2011; Clinton, 1994). GARA is an Act of Congress that was made under the Senate Bill S. 1458 – 103rd Congress. Aside from preserving the rights of the pilots and passengers, the main reason why the Act was created is to protect the aircraft manufacturers from the prolonged adverse socio-economic impact of product liability in small aircrafts of not more than 20 passengers (Angelley, 2011; Kister, 1998). ... In fact, the enactment of GARA 1994 has made a lot of general aviation aircraft victims and their attorneys become frustrated for failing to receive justice for losing the lives of their loved ones or facing the consequences of physical injuries caused by the general aviation aircraft accidents (Kovarik, 2008). The main purpose of implementing the GARA of 1994 is to create some exceptions wherein the general aviation manufacturers can be protected from the risks of lawsuits caused by manufacturing designs created more than 18 years since the aircraft was released from the warehouse of general aviation companies2. On top of the number of years when the general aviation aircraft was manufactured, other important considerations that will not protect the general aviation manufacturers under the GARA of 1994 include the following conditions: (1) in case the manufacturer of general aviation aircraft can prove that there has been a misrepresentation or withheld information coming from the F AA that could somehow have triggered the plane to crash; (2) in case the victims of the plane crash is a passenger who is at the time of the crash receiving emergency or medical treatment; (3) in case the person who died or was physically injured in the plane crash was not a passenger of the aircraft; and (4) in case the lawsuit has a written warranty that directly involve a specific aircraft3 (Angelley, 2011; Kovarik, 2008). With regards to the future maintenance requirements of the aircraft, the said Act does not protect the owners of the general aviation aircraft for not being able to perform their responsibility in maintaining the quality of the aircraft’s engine