Letter of complaint Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter of complaint - Article Example However, they did not arrive in time, causing a lot of inconvenience to me. Moreover, the fact that they arrived after a few days in a damaged condition has caused major doubts in my mind regarding your reputation as a leading furniture dealer. I hope you understand the gravity of the situation. I would be grateful if you would take up this matter seriously and resolve it. I had called your service many times to settle the matter amicably, but to no prevail so far. I am forced now to send you an official complaint. If you fail to take action on the basis of this complaint, I am afraid I will have to move to the next step and file a case for damages. I would like to pursue the good relationship with you and order more furniture from you in the future if you would maintain the trust I had in you so far. Otherwise, I will be left with no choice but to take a legal move against you. It is my personal interest to avoid such an incident if it would be possible at any cost. I hope you will understand my good intentions and resolve this issue without causing further damages to me.

Communication styles Essay Example for Free

Communication styles Essay The impact of communication in marriage cannot be overemphasized as it is the main method of solving any crisis or conflict arising. There are different communication styles that can be applied in a marriage, expressiveness, driving, and relativity or analytical are forms of communication that may be used in marriage. Expressers get excited personal, waste time with too many facts or even show emotion to their partners while those with driving communication styles become very decisive and offer strong view points. Those who are relative in the way they are communicating, like positive attention and may want their partners to be helpful. This group of persons however, shies off when real problems come in especially when it comes to handling the children. This communication style is used by young marriages where partners just about 25 years of age get married. Communications styles can also be described as passive, assertive or aggressive. Passive forms communication involves putting the tights of the other partner before yours i.e. minimizing your own self worth at the expense of the marriage. Being assertive means that one partner in the marriage stands up for his or her rights while maintaining respect for the other i. e. all the partners in the marriage are all equal. Aggressiveness is a communication style that ensures that a wife or a husband stands up for his pr her right and in the process violate the rights of the other. This style of communication is usually the worst and may lead to divorce in extreme cases. Marriage resiliency Marriage resiliency is the couple’s capacity to develop and cultivate strengths from each other for the common good of the marriage in order ton meet their challenges . Resiliency can be defined to describe the responsive capabilities, social dynamics that foster health development of the marriage. Resiliency starts from an individual capacity to a family and community level making sure that the marriage bounces back after experiencing non-normative and expected challenges. Family resilience is characterized by invariant approaches that are dimensioned to help families resist any form of disruption in the face of change and become adaptive when a crisis occurs. Immigration and marriage Marriages are usually negatively affected by immigration procedures. Different countries have different laws governing the marriage of its citizens to non-citizens. It is usually an impediment to couples’ relationships because certain laws may offer recognition to one of the partner and the other is left out. However, with the emergence of dual citizenship rights, the issue may in the near future become a thing of the past. ‘Till death do us part? ’ This figure of speech is common in all wedding ceremonies and the couple getting married solemnly swear to the congregation that they will remain together till death do them part. Most critics believe that as long as there are increased cultural differences, modernization of societies and increases in domestic violence, the metaphor no longer makes sense. Every man and woman believes that they can live happily with each other especially when it is based on the performance of the two during courtship. This is not usually the case because immediately after marriage, the two members start quarrelling over this or that. This is the major contributing factor to the family problems and other domestic issues that families experience these days. It has been said that the more society becomes complicated, the more marriages become complicated and finally the more families become complicated. It is however, recommended that a personal commitment to each other within the marriage become the kingpin of the relationship. Lessons learnt from writing on marriage It has been interesting while researching on this topic. It is one of the research works that not only serves as an academic tool but also provides a learning opportunity for a person like me. Marriage is part and parcel of life and majority of the young people would dream of having better lives in future through marriage. Most young people believe that to secure there future and their old age days, they need to have married properly and have children who will look after the in future. Going through the types of marriages, its integration to the family setting and the importance of knowing the exact roles of each partner in a marriage is particularly useful. The various rules and boundaries that must be set to ensure the sustainability and stability of a marriage gives one an overview of how it is possible to develop them in real life situations through the experiences of other people and such kind of research. Therefore, this is one of the rare opportunities in life where one gets to learn more about what directly affects him or her in life. Personally, I feel grateful for the work I have done on this subject and I feel obliged to tell others about the integration of marriage systems in our families to enable them form good families now and in the future Questions for further research Marriage as part of a family practice continues to be complex especially with the emergence of contradicting legislation and complex societies; there is need for further research on; the impacts of different types of marriages on the extended families, development of policies and laws, and the society in general . What are the solutions to these? And what could be the role of governments and learning institutions in maintaining and making sure that marriages serve the purposed they are intended to. Other issues of concern are the ability of people to adopt resilience as a way of recovering from married related violence such as divorce, is divorce the answer to breaking marriages? With advancement in technology including foster mothers, test tube babies and the like, what could be the implications of these in cultural marriages and societies? Conclusion Marriages are forming a family. Marriage roles, rules, resilience abilities, communication styles, and spouse differences are issues that can affect the formation, development and improvement. Good marriage values are important not only for family cohesion but also for societal cultural maintenance. Challenges regarding re-orientation of the marriages within a family are many and common in this modern society, the problem is the manner in which they are currently addressed. References Antonovsky, A. , Sourani, T (1988): Family sense of coherence and family adaptation.Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 79-92 Kaufman, J. , Ziegler, E. (1987): Do abused children become abusive parents? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 186-192 McCubbin, H. , Patterson, J. M. (1983): The family stress process; The Double Helix ABCX model of adjustment and adaptation, Social stress and the family: Advances in family stress theory and research New York pp. 7 -38. Nichols, M. , Schwartz, R. (2000): Family communications: Concepts and methods, 5th edition, Needham Heights press Rolland, J. S. , Weine, S. (2000): Kosovar Family Professional Educational Collaborative. AFTA Newsletter, 79, 34-43 Rutter, M. (1987): psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 316-330 Stacey, J. (1990): Brave new families: Stories of domestic upheaval in late 20th century America. New York: Basic Books. Walsh, F. , McGoldrick, M (1998): Families in later life: Challenge and opportunities. The expanded life cycle Needham Heights, MA: pp. 307-327 Walsh, F. , McGoldrick, M (1991): Living beyond loss: Death in the family. New York: Norton.

Strategic management defined as consisting of the analysis and decisions

Strategic management defined as consisting of the analysis and decisions INTRODUCTION Strategic management can be defined as consisting of the analysis, decisions and actions an organization undertakes in order to create and sustain competitive advantages. Key attributes of Strategic Management Directs the organization toward overall goals and objectives. Includes multiple stakeholders in decision making. Needs to incorporate short-term and long-term perspectives. Recognizes trade-offs between efficiency and effectiveness. Strategy can be developed at many levels in a multi-layered organisation there may be: Corporate level strategy Business level strategy Functional level strategy Corporate level strategy describes a corporations overall direction in terms of its general philosophy towards growth and the management of its various business units. Such strategies determine the type of a business a corporation wants to be in and what business units should acquired, modified and sold. This strategy addresses the question what business are we in? Devising a strategy for a multidivisional company like Sony involves at least four types of initiatives. Establishing investment priorities and steering corporate resources into the most attractive business units. Initiating actions to improve the combined performance of those business units that the corporation first got into. Finding ways to improve the synergy among related business units in order to increase performance. Decisions dealing with diversification. Business level strategy deals with decisions and actions pertaining to each business unit. The main objective of a business level strategy is to make the unit more competitive in market place. This level strategy addresses the question how do we compete? Although business level strategy is guided by upstream corporate level strategy business unit management must craft a strategy that is appropriate for its own operating situation. Miles and Snow(1984) identified four modes of strategic orientation: Defenders, Prospectors, Analysers and Reactors. These strategies can help explain why companies facing similar environmental threats or opportunities behave differently and why they continue to do so over a long period of time. In turn the different competitive or business strategies influence the down stream functional strategies. Functional level strategy pertains to the major functional operations within the business unit, including research and development, marketing, manufacturing, finance, and human resource productivity and addresses the question how do we support the business level competitive strategy? The three levels of strategy corporate, business and functional form a hierarchy of strategy within in a large multidivisional corporation. Different levels of strategy of Sony Sony Corporation was founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in 1946, now having head quarters at Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Sony is one of the biggest electronics in the world with revenue 7.7 trillion yen. Sony are making products like Consumer professional electronic equipments, Communication information-related equipments, Semiconductor, Electronic devices components, Battery, Chemicals, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music, PlayStation and Blu-Ray devices. Sony Corporation as a giant organization has divided its organization into five main business units as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, and Sony Financial. Sony Corporation has its own corporate strategy, and the each of its five business units having their own business strategy. Corporate Strategy Business level strategy Functional level strategy In Sony Group Corporate Strategy Update FY2008 FY2010 Sony has set out some goals and revealed about its corporate strategy. In particular, the company will focus on strengthening core businesses, enhancing network initiatives and leveraging international growth opportunities to build for the future and drive further growth and profits. Main considerations in the strategy of Sony are, Further strengthening the core business Network initiatives Capitalize on Growth in BRIC Countries and Other Emerging Markets Environmental Initiatives Financial Strategies for the Mid-Term A good strategy always leads an organization towards success and improvement, in the other way a bad or inefficient strategy always takes that organization into losses and bad reputation. As we know that Japanese are good at management and most of other countries are try to implement Japanese management techniques. The term is a Japanese word adopted into English referring to a philosophy or practices focusing on continuous improvement in manufacturing activities, business activities in general, and even life in general, depending on interpretation and usage. Sony Corporation was good at strategic plans by applying these management strategies. As we discussed earlier a bad or inefficient strategy leads the organization into bad reputation, in the case of Sony they are failed to implement an efficient strategy which Sonys net profit for the July-September quarter for 2006 falling 94% to 1.7 billion Yen, compared to 28.5 billion Yen for the same period last year. From there they are tr ying to implement better strategies and to regain their reputation and brand value and to regain their number one position in electronics industry. Portfolio approach to strategy Portfolio approach was one of the early approaches to chart strategy and allocate resources in multi-business organizations. As corporate strategists jumped on the diversification bandwagon they soon found a challenge in managing the resource needs diverse businesses and their strategic missions, particularly in times of limited resources. Responding to that challenge the Boston Consulting Group pioneered an approach called portfolio techniques that attempted to help managers balance the flow of cash resources among their various businesses while also identifying their basic strategic purpose within the overall portfolio. The top managers at larger farms need a method for spotting product lines that deserve more investment as well as lines that arent living up to expectations. So they conduct a portfolio analysis, in which they evaluate they evaluate their companys products and divisions to determine which are strongest and which are weakest. Much as securities analysts review their portfolios of stocks and bonds, deciding which to retain and which to discard. Strategic business unit (SBU) Strategic business units are the key business units within diversified firms. Each SBU has its own managers, resources, objectives, and competitors. A division, product line or a single product may define the boundaries of an SBU. Each SBU pursues its own distinct mission and often develops its own plans independently of other units in the organization. BCG matrix To evaluate each of their organizations SBUs, marketers need some type of portfolio performance framework. A widely used framework was developed by Boston Consulting Group. This market share/ market growth matrix places SBUs in a four quadrant chart that plots market share against market growth potential. The position of an SBU along the horizontal axis indicates its market share relative to those of competitors in the industry. Its position along the vertical axis indicates the annual growth rate of the market. After plotting all of a firms business units, planners divide them according to the matrixs four quadrants as shown in the figure. Stars represent High market share and High growth rate. These products or SBUs are high growth market leaders. Although they generate considerable income, they need inflows of even more cash to finance further growth. Cash cows command High market share in Low growth markets. Marketers for such an SBU want to maintain this status for as long as possible. The business produces string cash flows, but instead of investing heavily in the units own promotions and production capacity, the firm can use this cash to finance the growth of other SBUs with higher growth potentials. Question marks achieve Low market share in higher growth markets. Marketers must decide weather to continue supporting these products or SBUs, because question marks typically require considerably more cash than they generate. If a question mark cannot become a star, the firm should pull out of the market and target other markets with greater potential. Dogs manage only Low market share in Low growth markets. SBUs in this category promise poor future prospects, and marketers should withdraw from these businesses or SBUs as quickly as possible. In some cases these products can be sold to other firms where they are better fit.

Race and Health Essay example -- Ethnicity Income Health Essays

Race and Health When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans a couple months ago the citizens of this country were bombarded with questions on race playing a responsibility of the survivors that were stranded for days to soon be plucked from their rooftops. These people who were living paycheck to paycheck did not have the same resources of the wealthy. They most likely had no insurance, no stable extended family that could lend them a house to stay or even a job to return to after the storm. The majority of New Orleans is African American and also in poverty and although it has been an uncomfortable subject to discuss it seems that if these people would have had the help to flee the city or been able to afford transportation to escape their health conditions might not have been so dire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Behind it all there lays health, race and income. The person who earns the most, wins right? Socioeconomic status determines our place in life and if the rules are not broken, the path is fairly predictable. The factor of money seems to not only promote a better education, but also better-quality health care, neighborhoods and sanitation. To better determine how health, race and income are correlated I analyzed these three concepts. The independent variable used was combined race/ethnicity records. The dependent was their overall health conditions. Finally, I used income as a control variable to judge how much of a factor income plays on physical conditions. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Measurement ...

Comparison Of Napoleon And Hitler Essay

The world as we know it has seen the likes of the most feared and infamous dictators and military geniuses. Some of these people have even shaped the way the world is today and their influences are still felt. Among such dictators are Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler, leaders of France and Germany respectively at two different periods. Adolf Hitler’s reign of power begins in 1933 when he is appointed Chancellor of Germany and his reign ends with his suicidal death on April 30 1945. Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign of military power begins in 1783 until he resigns in 1814, yet he has a slight military rebirth after that but it only lasts for a very short time. Both leaders’ careers are filled with massive successes yet they are also littered with massive defeats that truly change the way the world is today. Although these leaders can be considered geniuses, it does not mean they are perfect and not susceptible to the pull of human nature. Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte are two of the foremost military strategists and totalitarian leaders yet both had lapses in their judgment, both exhibit episodes of cowardice and both fail in their battles with Russia, ultimately ending their reigns. Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte both have several lapses in judgment on the battlefield, and in the planning rooms, during their reigns. While these lapses in judgment immediately may not result in the defeat of an army, when they are added together the results can and often were disastrous. Though Hitler had a strong army that could fight well, the mismanagement of that army and the people around it eventually lead to his personal demise as well as his army’s demise. Napoleon too is responsible for making several irresponsible and debilitating decisions during his reign. The Rhineland, a buffer zone between France and Germany that was formed at the end of World War I in the treaty of Versailles, is a very sensitive area that cannot be occupied by any German military forces. When Adolf Hitler announces to his political party and advisors that he wants to occupy this area, they are incredibly shocked and disappointed at their leader, as this would bring massive retaliations from the French and its allies. Amazingly enough, Hitler gambles on this decision and wins, as the French are initially shocked and eventually just let it go, giving Germany a front in which to attack France from. This action is discussed by all of the leagues and officials at this time and it still is accepted and Germany receives no penalty for occupying the Rhineland. If there had been opposition stemming from this incident though, the Germans would surely have been destroyed, as their army is not even close to being prepared for a major battle. The second decision that Hitler puts into effect is the occupation of Czechoslovakia, an occupation that sends to the rest of Europe the message that Hitler is hungry for land. Most states do not voice their opinion at this stage of Hitler’s reign though, and the one of the only areas that at least thinks about stopping Hitler is France. Hitler’s decisions continue to upset France and throw the balance of European power into a chaotic state. First the Rhineland is occupied by Germany, and now Czechoslovakia is taken by force; these tactics taken by Germany make France decide that the next detrimental decision made by Hitler should have a detrimental effect on his own forces, an effect that will be delivered personally by the French forces. The third decision that Hitler executes improperly is the invasion of Poland at the precursor of World War Two. With Germany simply ignoring the previous alliance with Poland it makes it very hard for Hitler to convince other nations and people to trust him. He also makes it seem that he is only running military maneuvers in the area, which is another example of how other political leaders can distrust him. Because of these decisions, Italy will not fight on Germany’s side and Germany’s unwillingness to back from Poland prompts France and Britain to prematurely enter into direct conflict with Germany, a conflict that Hitler does not believe will take place. Although the Germans easily win the Polish War, it sets an ominous tone for the events to come. Perhaps one of the biggest lapses in judgment that Hitler makes during World War II is the Battle of Britain. Operation Sea Lion definitely is not a success for Germany as they lose their battle as well as fully bring Britain into the war. The people of the beleaguered Great Britain, which is under constant attack at all times, are drawn together to fully strengthen the war cause. If there was ever any doubt about why Hitler and Germany should be  stopped it is pushed away and full on hatred for Germany forms. Germany’s Luftwaffe loses quite heavily as its planes and equipment simply is not up to the English advances in technology, such as radar. The Battle of Britain is an unnecessary and disastrous venture for the Germans and they are faced with heavy losses and morale issues, as Berlin is counter attacked by British warplanes with relative success. Another small defeats adding up to a huge failure in the long wrong include losing the campaign in North Africa, and leaving forces in the area for quite some time while the rest of the war continues. These supplies could have been used for other campaigns occurring at the time and the tanks that are being utilized in North Africa can also be used in the defence of Germany when Allied forces invade it. Napoleon Bonaparte too is susceptible to making bad decisions. While his early military career is littered with amazing and wild successes, his first campaign in the East is a miserable failure. While the initial invasion is a success, the British forces catch most of France’s navy anchored and destroy it, thus leaving much of France’s army stranded in Egypt, Napoleon included. With plague and the constant destruction of French forces, Napoleon knows that the campaign is doomed to failure and leaves his men to die in Egypt while he makes his way towards France once again. The way Napoleon and his soldiers conduct themselves in their occupied Spain is also quite disturbing. After taking over Spain there are continual attempts by the people to overtake their new French government. Napoleon does not take kindly to such actions and begins the slaughtering and torture of his enemies. Napoleon and his men before simply did not practice this type of warfare and now getting into this type of war is definitely the wrong thing to do. There is no definite winner or loser in Spain as Napoleon simply keeps it occupied with soldiers for five years. The most incredible lapse of judgment of both Hitler and Napoleon occurs when they both decide that they want to conquer Russia. Hitler and Bonaparte both failed in Russia thus ending their full-fledged military advancement. The  Russian campaign is considered a huge failure asked for by Hitler and Napoleon. Each leader’s decision for invading Russia is very different with Hitler invading for lebensraum (space for living) and Napoleon invading to somewhat defend France with Russian forces on France’s borders. While both reasons can be seen as rational to a totalitarian leader, neither leader could decide just what to do while inside of the Red country. Although both campaigns lasted much longer than expected, with Hitler and his advisors expecting Operation Barbarossa (the German codename for the invasion) to be a success in eight to ten weeks and Napoleon prophesized his battles would be complete within twenty days. While both can be reasonable estimates while simply looking at the equipment, training, and manpower involved, the leaders of both campaigns do not factor in human resistance, weather, and simply sheer luck. Both campaigns immediately take the same face from the get go, with both forces finding very slim lines of defence to stop them. While Hitler simply engages and destroys the forthcoming Russian defence, Napoleon is faced with a much more daunting situation as the Russian forces employ a strong scorched earth policy, leaving nothing behind for Napoleon’s forces to use for the remainder of the campaign. Because of this policy Napoleon and his forces dwindle on a massive scale, as soldiers fall out from exhaustion, sickness, and desertion at a staggering rate of five thousand per day. After two months, and before Napoleon’s forces could fight a single major battle, one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers are out of action. One of the most disabling situations that occur in Germany’s quest for Russian supremacy is the continual confusion and debate occurring between Hitler and his cabinet, something that many believe cannot happen in a totalitarian regime. Hitler continually intervened on his advisor’s decisions and made all final decisions on his own, something that is very dangerous when you consider Hitler’s mental stability. In Russia he changes his mind several times before settling for Leningrad as the primary objective and Moscow as the secondary objective in Barbarossa, much to the chagrin of his advisors. In what could be one of the unlikely and unusual decisions of the campaign, Hitler decides to merely surround Leningrad  instead of taking it by force, something that could be accomplished within weeks. Instead of actually taking Leningrad, Hitler then decides that Moscow is the primary objective after all and sends a bulk of his forces towards it. The first of Germanyâ €™s weather problems occurs in the taking of Moscow as heavy rainfall hinders the German offensive. An additional major mistake that can be attributed to Napoleon’s downfall in Russia is the fact that great portions of his fighting forces are not even French. Due to this situation most of these soldiers simply left because they did not have a personal attachment to the cause. The fight was being fought simply for the fulfillment of their leaders’ alliance with Napoleon. Hitler could not crush the Russian cities while he had the chance and Napoleon waited too long to retreat. This fact coupled with Russia’s troops fighting in a religious manner results in a downshift in Russian morale. Although Napoleon successfully takes Moscow he accomplishes it in a ridiculous manner. He does not fight the strategic battle style that he is greatly known for and simply throws throngs of his soldiers at the inspired Russians and although his forces do win the battle it does not come with massive personnel and morale losses. The scorched earth policy being employed by the Russian forces definitely takes a dramatic increase when the French forces take Moscow. When Napoleon and his forces enter Moscow they find it mainly abandoned and by the end of the night it begins to burn with fire, fire lit by the Russians themselves. French forces cannot stay in Moscow and use its shelter, food, and water resulting in a losing situation for France. The scorched earth policy also takes a very crucial part in Russia’s victory in Operation Barbarossa as Stalin implores his soldiers and citizens to employ such a tactic that would deprive the oncoming Germans of important supplies. This can lead one to believe that the Russian campaign is won on the basis of nationalism and the idea of helping your fellow citizen the same that you help yourself, a very basic and fundamental communist belief. While all of the other factors involved in taking Russia are very important and crucial, by far the most important of them is the Russian winters that decimated both offensive forces. The winter to Napoleon means the end of his campaign in Russia, and the end of his military supremacy. The Tsar of Russia uses the winter as a great defensive tool as he knows that the French forces cannot take a winter battle and he is definitely correct. The French forces disembark from Moscow in the fall and three weeks later the harsh Russian winter arrives. The temperatures quickly fell and so too did the number of soldiers. The French simply cannot survive with starvation, fatigue, and the extreme cold constantly hounding them. With few French soldiers behind him, Napoleon finally returns to the French capital faced with the daunting task of rationalizing his disgusting defeat. The few Russian winters that Germany has to deal with are among the worst the world has ever seen. In the December 1941 to March 1942 portion of the campaign Germany suffers heavy losses and cannot take Moscow, Hitler’s prime directive and the German forces now have to halt their offensive. In the winter the German forces take a huge blow as the Russians accomplish counter offensive attacks. These attacks are highly successful due to the failing equipment of the Germans coupled with the lack of personal equipment such as jackets and proper footwear coupled with Hitler forcing the soldiers to not retreat and make the soldiers fight as long as they can. The German military commander resigns during this time due to Hitler being overbearing and Hitler takes full command of the forces. Finally realizing his forces are being decimated on a massive scale, Hitler calls for full withdrawal in January, a task that is much easier said than done. Oddly enough, Hitler actually gains more support from his soldiers and the citizens at home because of his actions. Again, though, Hitler begins the spring and summer offensive with relative success and then begins to lose it again. The Russian front is much too large for Germany and its now dwindling supply of soldiers and forces are being spread much too thin. The country is simply much too large to be taken for Germany and Hitler soon begins realizing this. Russia forces Germany  into a war of attrition that is simply cannot compete with and Hitler must withdraw all offensive troops except ones stationed at Stalingrad and other very important points. Eventually, during the following winter the Germans are once again decimated by Russian forces and are forced to evacuate from Stalingrad after many requests to Hitler. Although Hitler makes many plans and tries to implement them with relative success, the German withdrawal takes place between 1943-1944. The German forces are finally removed from the Russian territory with a resounding sense of success emanating from the allies. The defeat of Germany in Russia very greatly depletes the Germans of supplies and forces the Germans to now fight on many fronts while throwing the German military strategists into a state of confusion. Further bombing runs by England begin to eliminate most of the raw materials processing plants employed by the Germans. The invasion of Normandy is carried out by the Allied forces with success and the liberation of Germany begins, and all simply because the taking of Russia is not accomplished. While both Hitler and Napoleon are widely considered military geniuses their lack of effective judgment, courage, and success in Russia equaled a long and tiring end to their military careers.

Frankenstein and Blade Runner Essay

The texts, Frankenstein and Blade Runner reflect changing contextual values; however the treatment of content remains the same. Mary Shelley’s didactic Frankenstein published in 1818 centres on scientific advancement of the Industrial Revolution, as presented through a consolidation of Gothic and Romantic elements in response to the shifting paradigms of the Enlightenment Age. Similarly, Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, transforms the notions of Frankenstein to position its postmodern audience to consider the negative ramifications of the Cold War and the rise of capitalism. These contextual ideas will be explored through the thematic concerns pertaining specifically to the destructive potential of abusing scientific power, the flawed responsibility of man as creator and the nature of humanity. Indeed, Blade Runner is a realisation of the sublime warnings highlighted by Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818. Destructive potential of abusing scientific power Frankenstein highlights the destructive potential of abusing science through overpowering human morality and provoking irresponsibility. The 18th Century Age of Enlightenment was a social movement where logic and reason was advocated as the primary source of authority, characterised by scientific advancements such as Galvani’s concept of electricity as a reanimating force and theorists such as Erasmus Darwin. Hence, Walton’s metaphor, influenced by Age of Enlightenment, â€Å"What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? † is mantric for both Walton and Frankenstein who display a â€Å"thirst for knowledge† in their respective scientific quests. The metaphor and symbol of â€Å"eternal light† represents the mysteries the pair wish to uncover and accompanied with rhetorical question it reflects the optimism of society embracing the Age of Enlightenment. However, the irrevocable consequences of abusing scientific power is highlighted when Frankenstein says, â€Å"â€Å"All my speculations and hopes are as nothing, and like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained to an eternal hell. † as he is tormented by the â€Å"filthy daemon† he creates; a monster â€Å"even Dante could not have conceived. The allusions to John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Dante Alighieri’s Inferno through metaphor and simile emphasises the destructive potential of abusing scientific power as Frankenstein’s environment decays into hell. This caution of the destructive potential of abusing science is realised in Blade Runner through Scott’s mise-en-scene of the dystopian urban wasteland of 2019 Los Angeles, emphasising the destruction of the natural environment as a result of the Cold War’s nuclear threat and rise of consumerism. In the opening sequence, the slow-panning panorama shot, under chiaroscuro lighting, captures a hellish megalopolis with huge smokestacks spewing fire into the atmosphere and large pagan corporate edifices towering over the city. This disorienting imagery is coalesced with violent, non-diegetic sounds and visuals of constant rain, symbolizing concerns of acidic rain and the burning of the environment. Hence, Scott’s utilization of futuristic â€Å"film noir† cinematography establishes a grim, claustrophobic environment that is completely devoid of the natural world. By depicting such dystopia and understanding contextual concerns such as the capitalist deregulation and the ‘trickle down’ theory of Reagan’s era, Scott applies Shelley’s â€Å"Promethean† motif to caution viewers about the potential environmental dangers of abusing modern technology and nuclear warfare, which were widespread social concerns at the time due to the climax of the Cold War. Flawed responsibility of men as creator Frankenstein highlights how unrestrained science undermines man’s responsibility as creator. Shelley’s era was a time of religious revival where philosophers such as Kierkegaard asserted spirituality was more than â€Å"objective appearance† and demanded engagement. In both texts, several biblical allusions are made to the image of man usurping the title of â€Å"creator† and creation becoming the forsaken â€Å"fallen angel. † Hence Victor’s Godly damnation reflects man as illegitimate to play the role of God: â€Å"Wretched devil! You reproach me with your creation; come on, then, may I extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed. Through the emotive biblical language and poetic allusion to â€Å"Milton’s Paradise Lost†, Shelley evokes the retelling of Satan’s fall from grace, where the monster’s likeness to the â€Å"fallen angel,† exacerbates the notion that man, corrupted by the moral insensitivity of science, is flawed as creator. Moreover, the â€Å"spark† alludes to the â€Å"eternal light† which irresponsibly leads to the immoral creation of a monster that is both extravagant and aberrant. This is illustrated by the graphic imagery of the monster’s impurity such as â€Å"skin arely covered† and â€Å"yellow eye† alongside the creature’s painful personal recollections through direct use of the first person, â€Å"I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch. I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides. † Hence, Shelley highlights to readers in the Enlightenment period that innate selfishness of men corrupts the moral grounding of scientific pursuit rendering man as illegitimate to play the role of God. The issue of mankind as selfish creators, disengaged from institutionalized structures such as Christendom, is extended in Blade Runner in the â€Å"meeting of the maker’ scene. Tyrell ruthlessly exploits his economic power by separating himself from the decaying dystopia of Los Angeles. Tyrell’s fundamentally flawed intentions are personified in the Tyrell Corporation’s edifice of a Grandiose, Mayan style pyramid physically exerting a powerful dominance over the city. It is presented through an upward panning low angle shot, spliced with close up shots to reinforce the dominance of consumerist progress in dystopia. The pyramid’s historical association with Egyptian royalty links them with the divine, typifying Tyrell’s ‘God-like’ role as creator. This is reinforced in Tyrell’s costuming of white clothing amidst long shots of a candle-lit church atmosphere, typifying his glorified religious status. Moreover the low-angle shots of the ‘artificial owl’ with dark shadows emphasises the extent to which the natural environment has been artificially remodeled due to the rise of consumerism in the 1980s. Hence, the dehumanised portray of Victor Frankenstein and Tyrell demonstrates that despite differering contexts, science leads to an abandonment of moral responsibility and man is flawed as creator. What constitutes humanity in an individual Frankenstein highlights the true nature of humanity as influenced by the 18th Century Romantic Movement. The 18th Century Romantic Movement was a social reaction against the 18th Century Age of Enlightenment, characterised by stressing the beauty of the natural world and emotional feeling. The natural world’s splendour is highlighted as Frankenstein flees to Mont Blanc for conciliatory peace away from his torment. â€Å"The unstained snowy mountain-top, the glittering pinnacle †¦ the eagle soaring amidst the clouds. † The Romantic and emotive language, imagery and allusion to Edmund Burke’s On the Sublime and the Beautiful portrays the beauty of the natural world, free from destructive science. Further humanity’s emotions are romanticised through the benevolent portrayal of the Monster. â€Å"No father had watched my infant days; no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses†¦ What was I? † Through the combination of emotive language, a personal tone created through the personal pronoun â€Å"I† and a rhetorical question to question what constitutes humanity within a being, Shelley transcends the Gothic stereotype typically bestowed upon a monster to emphasise the monster’s human longings for parental love and companionship. Hence, as the Romantic Movement and its fascination with the sublimity of nature, was being overcome by the strict rationality of the Age of Enlightenment, Shelley foreworns of the destruction of the magnificence of humanity, both in the natural world and in human emotions, as a result of rampant science and irresponsibility. Similarly, the â€Å"more human than human† portrayal of Roy in Blade Runner also highlights our mistreatment of scientific creations as artificial commodities, blurring the distinction between humans and products of artificial intelligence. In the final scene, Scott uses a close-up shot at Roy’s nailed hands, literally portraying him as a Christ-like figure, as he is enslaved and morally detached from humanity from the goals of â€Å"commerce†. The condescending aphorism in Tyrell’s comment at Roy’s desperate cry for life, â€Å"the light that burns half as long, burns twice as bright† alludes to the â€Å"eternal light† in Frankenstein’s Age of Reason and its effects on humanity’s disregard for the human consequences of its actions. Hence Roy asserts â€Å"I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe†, which reflects about his personal, human pain and suffering as a result of the commoditised world. Furthermore, a close up of Roy, alongside the pure white background creates a cathartic moment as Roy becomes ‘the fallen angel’, magnanimously giving life to Deckard and instilling human qualities within him. It is through illustrating Roy’s sensitivity that Scott ‘appropriates’ Shelley’s dilemma of what constitutes humanity within any being, questioning the morality of the technology-dependent audience of the 1980s; as they take scientific creations for granted. Hence after suffering and succumbing to brutal dehumanisation, both Replicant and Beast have emotively evoked pathos and senses of profound solemnity. Ultimately, both Frankenstein and Blade Runner are products of their cultural milieu and forewarn us of the destructive potential of abusing science, illegitimately playing the role of God and the values of humanity that degrade our morality and responsibility. More subliminally, however, each text embodies the moral limitations of being human through the oppressive nature of scientific and technological advancement.

This is a pro and con essay about weather there should be gun control in the united States

This is a pro and con essay about weather there should be gun control in the united States No Longer NeededAudience- The English 101 teachers and anyone who supports the use of guns.As life began humans only knew two things, they must survive and mate. In the survival category fell gathering food and protecting themselves from other creatures. As humans began to develop, weapons were invented. For example, first there were spears, then bows and arrows, and eventually guns. Guns became a necessity to hunt for food and to protect themselves from other, harmful people. This was the case when the United States of America was formed. Since then, over 200 years ago, the military has become very powerful and the need to hunt has been eliminated by ranches and slaughterhouses. For this reason, and many others, the question to ask is why guns should be illegal for the public to use and possess in the United States.As guns become more common in the household, they because more available to kids.Kids with gunsIn today's society kids have to go to school scared, no knowing if they wil l be shot by a crazy classmate. Over the past ten years there has been a huge rise in school shootings. Something else very alarming is each year more than 35,000 people are killed by guns (Gun Control par. 2). Attacks made with a gun are five times more likely to result in death than similar attacks that are made with a knife (Gun Control par. 2) and in 1997 guns were used in approximately 70 percent of the murders in the United States (Gun Control par. 2).The statistics about un violence are alarming, even with these outrageous statistics, supporters of the right to bear guns always turn to the second amendment of the constitution. It states "A will-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state,