Managing Projects - Universal Credit - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2914 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Economics Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Managing projects Introduction of Universal Credit Universal Credit is a new welfare system providing financial subsidies for the jobseekers and the low-income families in the United Kingdom. It regards TheDepartment for Work and Pensions(DWP) as a single government department being responsible for the operation of Universal Credit (Royston, 2012). In addition, it combines a variety of original relief payments and benefits, such as jobseekersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ allowance (JSA) and income support, to a single system (National Audit Office, 2013). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Managing Projects Universal Credit" essay for you Create order Due to integrate the original completed welfare systems into a single system, it provides a more effective and convenient approach to the masses and the government branches which allows them to simplify any application such as job searching and data collection. The Universal Credit system aims users to track the cash flow and transition under the well-defined regulations as well. In order to operate the system more automatically, the department of Universal Credit invested more than half capitals on establishing and developing IT online system. According to National Audit Office (2013) states, the functions of the IT system include claimantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ application system, claims administration and identification systems, financial information systems and information security systems. It also points out that the project of Universal Credit links the information from many government authorities, for example: DWP, HM Revenue and Customs (HMPC) and local governments. Because it is a complicated project, the IT system of Universal Credit needs to be supported by safety, quality-guaranteed and real-time software and systems to prevent error happened. The plan, which the department adopted, is to employ Accenture, IBM, HP and BT to be the system suppliers to build a multi-functional IT system for the department and the users. The advantages of Universal Credit are that it allows claimants, people who apply the financial assistance, to understand their welfare entitlements in an easy way. It also offers a simple channel with integrating numerous application accesses to the applicants which allows them to apply various allowances they should have. Moreover, Universal Credit promotes motivation of the unemployed to work that it ensures the out-of-work people can obtain more income compared to the period when they receive benefits while they start working (National Audit Office, 2013). In the British governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s point of view, the benefits o f Universal Credit are less expenditure and high efficiency. The report (2013) states that the operation of Universal Credit can reduce personnel costs and simplify the workflow about the claims. More importantly, this project can decrease the errors and the mistakes caused by man as well as detects the fraud created by the ill-intentioned individuals. With numerous advantages, the DWP decides to attempt to launch the Universal Credit program in Tameside, Wigan, Warrington and Oldham in April 2013, then plans to implement this program throughout the UK in October. The current state of Universal Credit program Although Universal Credit program seems to be a well-designed system, National Audit Office (2013) believes that the timetable of establishing Universal Credit online system is overly optimistic. It sternly points out the defects of its IT system which may lead to more spending on developing IT construction, it also questions about the capability of IT technique which may not achieve the purpose of simplifying the current welfare system. Without considering these issues, it will generate the loopholes in information security that may harm peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s interests and cause reputational damage to the UK governments. After assessment, the Major Projects Authority decided to suspend the national implementation of the program, set up a reset team to resolve the security risk of the IT system running in Tameside. The current IT system of Universal Credit In the early stage, the IT system of Universal Credit adopted traditional plan-driven approach, or called waterfall model, to build the system. According to Winch (2013), the traditional PM triangle is a process-oriented model which keeps quality as the priority. This model defines the steps that every project cycle should include the processes of selection, define, execute, test and operate (Szalvay, 2004). It regards every step as a complete cycle, which means the department has to ens ure one step is completed, or it cannot move to the next step. Because the waterfall model is a sequential process, every procedure should be well-defined with clear targets. This model also regards quality as the priority that it needs to manage and control each step with fully-planned documents to ensure high quality of the system (Boehm, 1988). Hence the waterfall model is suitable for the complex software systems. At the beginning of the Universal Credit program, the department understood its purpose that it had to integrate most IT functions related to online transaction to its system. As a result, it implemented plan-driven approach to design the IT system and began to propose the white paper with the purposes, functions, schedule, scope and budget of the program at the end of 2012. However, the department overestimated its capability of planning as well as overlooked the demand of the market, therefore it faced many challenges of modifying the schedule of building IT syste m in 2013. The Problems of implementing waterfall model in the IT system Although waterfall or called plan-driven model is an appropriate approach to design a complicated system, the department failed to implement this approach to develop the system. As the report (2013) indicates, the department made an error evaluation about the percentage of online claims. It designed the IT system which can accept 50% online claims, but actually the demand is approaching to 90%. The wrong decision with waterfall modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s approach made the department to experience dilemma. Under this model, the department cannot flexibly change the blueprint and schedule when errors occurred, which is the situation the department faced (Szalvay, 2004; Winch, 2013; National Audit Office, 2013). If the plan has to revise in one step, it has to return to upstage to amend relative strategies (Boehm, 1988). To the last, it might change the content in the first stage, then progressively modify the IT system in each process. Additionally, this flow modification needs time to negotiate with different suppliers and departments involving in the Universal Credit program which has strong possibility to add more spend on resetting the IT system. However, the department does not have sufficient budget to afford the additional cost of the project of Universal Credit. Consequently, without accurately evaluate about the market demand, waterfall model with a document-driven strategy brings difficulty to the department to reset the IT system. Reset the IT system by moving waterfall to agile approach The IT system of Universal Credit is a highly complex project that it is impossible for the department to consider the full range of required functions before design and coding. With high uncertainty of usersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ demand, the system developers would be stressed by unknown development direction in order to design a system to meet demand. This uncertainty brings high risk while changing. As Szalvay (2004) indicates that waterfall modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s approach is more suitable for use in low-risk, low-variance and well-defined project. The department identified the problem regarding to the inflexibility of adopting the waterfall model. Considering the timescale and budget, the National Audit office decided to introduce a more efficient approach to improve and complete the project. According to the report (2013), the department applied agile method to replace the waterfall model in order to reset the IT system. Because of uncertain demand forecast, agile development enables to solve the problem by responding to the rapid changes in demand, which means that agile approach is a highly feedback-oriented development model (Sy, 2006). As he indicates, the agile divides a large, complex project to many small phases, each phase has a specific target and can be executed at the same time. Every development cycle uses iterative information processing to b uild partial system. In other words, the development of Universal Credit can categorize the systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s functions to several aspects, then simultaneously resets the system based on demands and suggestions. This processing model only requires a short development lifecycle to complete the system (Winch, 2013). However, in the Universal Credit system, there is no indication to show the department appropriately implementing the agile model. Firstly, as Sureshchandra and Shrinivasavadhani (2008) state, the agile practice only has to check improved relevant documents and update them. But, the approach which National Audit Office choice is to review and alter all documents about the Universal Credit program. As previous explanation, waterfall approach is to correct all documents before modifying the system; agile is to quick response the demand without spending long time on document processes (Szalvay, 2004). The situation, which the department faced, is it cannot meet use rsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ demand. There are more than 90% of new online claimants, but the system cannot afford so many applications. Now the appropriate approach for the department is not to review and alter all documents. Instead, it has to update the documents associated with specific improved functions, then to modify the insufficient part of the system straightaway. Thus, the strategy which the department adopted does not implement agile, but waterfall modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s approach. Secondly, unclear target causes more uncertain design direction of the IT system. National Audit Office (2013) points out that the department did not have any clear plan about the functions which need to improve, although it had received feedback from users. This condition would obstruct the department to simplify and classify the complex IT system to small projects. Then the department cannot focus on improving on specific functions as well as recording them at the same time, which may lead to no agile. In addition, unclear plan has a strong probability to impact the department to adopt agile from waterfall model. In the Universal Credit case, due to the urgent requirement, the department has limited time and budget to reform the IT system. Thus, the efficient approach is to utilize existing infrastructure, move waterfall to agile to redesign the system. Under this condition, the department proposed the points that it would like to enhance the system functions, which means it finally set up the target for improvement. Unfortunately, the Cabinet Office did not accept this strategy because it believed the department had insufficient technique and a unclear proposal to improve the IT system. The department not only does not consider the point to reform in detail, also the plan about the IT infrastructures do not implement the existing system. This situation seems the department abandons the original system and stop continuing to improve, which is not the concept of agile. Hence, from above analyses, it can be concluded that the department misunderstood the meaning of agile, kept obeying waterfall model. It also neglects the importance of defining uncertain factors. Design with the test is also important In the early stage, it seems that the department did not consider testing as a crucial part while planning the Universal Credit project. Because it adopted waterfall modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s approach to design the project, system testing is implemented after execute. The current state of Universal Credit system used this method that it puts tests in the final stage, which belongs to waterfall modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s approach. In the execute phase, the system programmers have to ensure they fully complete all the system according to the blueprint and schedule, then they can proceed to the next stage (Sy, 2007; Sureshchandra Shrinivasavadhani, 2008). However, this approach raises several risks to the system. Firstly, the programmers cannot ensure whether the IT system will run. In this phase, the department outsourced partial functions to certain system providers and requested them to support setting. For example, HP is responsible for hardware and work service platform; BT contract telephony service (National Audit Office, 2013). Every IT supplier developed specific system functions without testing compatibility or not. When they completed and integrated the entire system without system error, it may produce the compatibility issues that allow hikers attack the system or cause data loss when users implement the system which is related to information security issue. Another hazard is about time, budget and the usersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ demand. If the system designers found that the developed system is not suitable for the requirements or it occurred error when integrating, the designers had to go back to design stage, changed the plan and rearrange the project to suppliers. This situation causes time waste, capital loss and usersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ confidence fell to the Universal Credit program. In the reset period, the Major Project Review Group understood this situation, thus it suggested the department to stop the plan. In order to avoid such risks and loss happed, it puts test and design in the same IT development stage. Although the department had considered test, it regards test as a subproject while coding. It also ran the system before fully completing to test whether the system had any error (National Audit Office, 2013). Therefore, the risk problem still did not be solved, although the department put test with designing the system. Poor planning and design in the early stage National Audit Office (2013) points out that the department not only had limited technique to code the system, it also had no ability to plan the whole project. In the reset state, the department rethought its original plan and proposed a new one. However, National Audit Office believed that the new plan is unclear. First of all, the department did not concern about scalability. Comparing to the previous plan, the system improvement is limited, which means that there were no significant change in the IT system. Secondly, the department did not consider thoroughly regarding to the system design. As the National Audit Office (2013) state, the department lost several information security functions, such as Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) which can aim to protect online transaction as well as to avoid data stolen by system intruders. This can show that the department does not have the capability to hold the plan, it also loses accurate determination of deciding an improvement plan. This disadvantage would impact the department to develop a strategic plan and implement agile approach to the IT system, it also raises information security issue the department, which may affect usersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ confidence in the system. Conclusion and recommendations Currently, the IT sy stem of Universal Credit has faced many challenges, and most of them come from moving waterfall model to agile approach. The department did not understand the essence of agile, it confused between waterfall and agile approach in the reset stage. Hence, the better solution to reform the system is that the department analyses feedback given by the system users, then it develops specific improvement goals based on the usersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ demand, and alter improvement relevant documents at the same time. It processes only needs few days to complete. Later the department assigns the projects which are required to reform to the responsible suppliers. In the design stage, the department has to ensure that the suppliers have a test system while coding and return progresses to the department. Simultaneously, the department has to confirm that there are no compatibility problems between different IT functions to avoid security issue happened. If there is no necessary, the department tries to retain the original IT infrastructure, using existing hardware and software to enhance the IT system. This approach enables the department to save recoding time, reduce additional reconstruction funds as well as simplify the processes of rebuilding the system. In the system, redesigning period, the department should focus more on scalability. Because the target customers of Universal Credit are national people in the UK. There would be a large amount of user accesses to this IT system accompanied with storing large data. To consider the systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s flexibility in the future, the system must be allowed to easily extend the components of hardware and software when it is necessary, which has to define well in the design phase. The scalability also includes fast processing online data and maintains the systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance. For example, the department has to adopt multi-serversà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ approach, each host has to backup data simultaneously. This approach not only can share the load of each host, also can prevent abrupt termination of one server, so when an accident happened, the IT system still can operate. In order to prevent risks and maintain the system, the department has to consider future scalability and proposes a good system design scheme in the design stage. In summary, adopting the agile approach enables the department to efficiently change and recode the IT system. It also implements system testing to help the programmers to find errors and incompatibilities. Prior to this, well-defined plans and clear objectives are crucial. In the reforming phase. The department has to consider the long-term plan which will allow it to easily add more functions in the future. Besides, a good strategic plan can aim to avoid certain expected risks. If the department follows these suggestions, the IT system of Universal Credit program will not be a headache problem. References Boehm, B. W. (1988). A spiral Model of Software Development and Enhancement. Computer, 21(5), 61-72. Galen, R. (2010, 10 27). Agile Project Manager à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Traditional PM Triangle be Damned, Keep Quality First! Retrieved from Projecttimes : https://www.projecttimes.com/robert-galen/agile-project-manager-traditional-pm-triangle-be-damned-keep-quality-first.html National Audit Office. (2013). Universal Credit: earlyprogress. London: National Audit Office. Royston, S. (2012). Understanding Universal Credit. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 20(1), pp. 69-86. Sureshchandra, K., Shrinivasavadhani, J. (2008). Moving from Waterfall to Agile. In G. Melnik, P. Kruchten, M. Pppendieck, Agile 2008 Conference (pp. 97-101). Los Alamitos, Canada: IEEE Computer Society. Sy, D. (2007, 5). Adapting Usability Investigations for Agile User-centered Design. Journal of Usability Studies, 2(3), pp. 112-132. Szalvay, V. (2004). An Introduction to Agile Software Develop ment. Washington: Danube Technologies, Inc. Winch, G. M. (2013). Managing Construcion Projects (Second ed.). West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. 1

Salem Witch Trials Free Essays

What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria? 1692 was a year packed with excitement and terror for the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts. Belief and accusations of people being witches/warlocks under the possession of the Devil swept across the town and wreaked havoc among its settlers. There are many possible ways to justify this madness. We will write a custom essay sample on Salem Witch Trials or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, the 3 most valid and evidential reasons are: attention-seeking, jealousy (of one another and the amount of land owned), and lack of acceptance towards each other’s physical flaws and behaviors. Attention-seeking is bound to become an issue in a town such as Salem, merely due to the daily, mundane activities one must pursue in order to live properly. Document G states, â€Å"It was perhaps their original design to gratify a love of notoriety or of mischief by creating†¦ excitement in their neighborhood. † This quote is relating to the behaviors that people were displaying which made them a suspect. Document H revolves around the idea that maybe these young girls were acting out and faking the â€Å"convulsive attacks† that were believed to be evidence in order to give the public what they expected, or wanted. These young girls created an issue much larger than they’d planned to. They most likely were just trying to make themselves known and didn’t understand the impact that their actions would have on the vulnerable minds of their town. Although attention-seeking seems to play the most obvious role in the hysteria, jealousy was also a major contributor. Land ownership was a big deal in this time period (15th century), and the division between the farmers’ and the residents’ amount of property became a cause for vengeance (Document J). Documents K L are perfect examples of people feeling the need for revenge. The Putnams must have believed that Rebecca Nurse did them terribly wrong when her family took over some of their land, so (as one of the wealthiest families in Salem); they used their word against hers by accusing her to be witch. They probably wouldn’t have done so if they did not genuinely believe she had something more than they had or she did something to personally attack them. This kind of resentment towards one another must’ve became a common issue in Salem, for it seems that many accusations came from people being jealous of each other. Along with jealousy, unacceptance and judgment of people’s features and behaviors became a leading cause for someone to be called a witch. Document E uses statistics to show that a majority of the accused were middle-aged, married women. This document’s information alone gives clues related to sexism and discrimination of age and marital status. In Document M, Linda Caporael suggests that Ergotism, an illness caused by a parasitic fungus called â€Å"ergot,† caused people to hallucinate, become delirious, and go through manic episodes. Perhaps these symptoms were misjudged to be evidence that someone was possessed. Or perhaps the people who ate and retracted the sickness from the food contaminated with ergot were the accusers, and they simply weren’t in their â€Å"right mind. In any event, there was a massive amount of judgment and lack of acceptance to one another, and this played a key role in the chaos of the Witch Trials. Accusations of witchcraft and possession put a scare and a drive to defeat into the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts that year. 20 people were killed, and more than 100 people were accused. There’s a multitude of different explanations as to why. All in all, though, the whole thing could have been avoided if it weren’t for people’s desire for attention, envy, and judgmental mindsets. How to cite Salem Witch Trials, Essay examples

Settings Analysis of Rothschild Fiddle Essay Example

Settings Analysis of Rothschild Fiddle Essay The Story The setting of â€Å"Rothschilds Fiddle† is a squalid little village where Yakov Ivanov, a Russian coffin maker, and Rothschild, an equally poor Jewish musician, both live. Yakov lives in a one-room hut, which contains his gloomy wares as well as his humble domestic possessions. Childless, the dour Yakov barely notices Martha, his downtrodden wife of fifty years. Yakov has an unexpected side to his character, for he is a gifted, if rude, violinist who is sometimes invited to join the local Jewish orchestra to play for weddings. Although the coffin maker needs the occasional money, he dislikes the Jewish musicians—especially the flutist Rothschild, who turns even the merriest songs into lugubrious plaints. Yakov abuses Rothschild and is once on the point of beating him. The quarrel ends Yakovs association with the orchestra, apart from rare occasions when one of the Jews cannot perform. Yakov sees his life as an endless succession of â€Å"losses. † Sundays and holidays when he cannot work represent losses; a wedding without music represents a loss; a rich man who inconsiderately dies and is buried out of town is another loss. We will write a custom essay sample on Settings Analysis of Rothschild Fiddle specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Settings Analysis of Rothschild Fiddle specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Settings Analysis of Rothschild Fiddle specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Yakov keeps an account book of his losses, even calculating the interest he might have received on his lost opportunities. At night he arises from his sleepless bed and seeks relief by playing his violin. One morning Martha feels ill but carries on with her chores while her husband plays his fiddle and gloomily calculates ever new and more distressing imaginary losses. That night the wife cries out that she is going to die. Her feverish face gives the impression that she looks forward to deliverance from her hard, loveless lot and Yakovs endless â€Å"losses. Horrified, the coffin maker takes her to a hospital, where the medical assistant shrugs her off as hopeless, refusing Yakovs pleas that he bleed her as he would a rich patient. Realizing the worst, Yakov takes his wifes measurements and begins work on a coffin, duly entering the loss in his account book—two rubles, forty kopecks. Before her death, the wife calls Yakov to her bedside and asks whether he remembers the baby with curly golden hair that God had given them fifty years before. The couple would take the child down to the river bank, sit under the willow, and sing. Yakov has no recollection of the dead child or the willow. That night, Martha dies, and Yakov arranges a miserly funeral, admiring the coffin as he takes final leave of his wife. Yakov, feeling unwell as he walks home from the cemetery, reflects on his lifelong neglect of his wife in spite of her uncomplaining labor and help. At this point, a nervously bowing and scraping Rothschild approaches with a message from the Jewish orchestra leader, inviting Yakov to play for a wedding. The coffin maker once again abuses and threatens the cowering flute player, who flees pursued by a horde of small boys screaming â€Å"Jew, Jew! Yakov now walks down by the river for the first time in many years, where he, too, is heckled by the village boys who address him by his nickname, â€Å"Old Man Bronze. † Suddenly he comes on the willow and recalls the dead child. Yakov now falls into regretful reflection of his lost opportunities. Nothing waits ahead of him, and there are only losses behind. Now, however, Yakovs distress over his losses takes a new turn: â€Å"Why shouldn’t men live so as to avoid all this waste and these losses? † He belatedly regrets his harsh treatment of his wife and the Jew: â€Å"If it were not for envy and anger [men] would get great profit from one another. In the morning, seriously ill, Yakov returns to the â€Å"doctor. † As the sick man walks home, he bitterly thinks that after his death he will â€Å"no longer have to eat and drink and pay taxes, neither would he offend people any more, and, as a man lies in his grave for hundreds of thousands of years, the sum of his profits would be immense. † He concludes that life is a loss; death, a profit. Yakov is not sorry to die but regrets leaving behind his violin. At home he sits on the threshold and plays his violin with tears streaming down his face. Once again, a quivering Rothschild approaches Yakov on behalf of the orchestra director. This time, however, the Jew is greeted kindly. Yakov tells him that he is ill and continues to play. So plaintive is his song that Rothschild also begins to weep as he leaves. Later that day, when the village priest asks the dying man if there is any particular sin of which he wishes to repent, Yakov asks that his violin be given to Rothschild. Time passes, and the townsfolk begin to wonder where Rothschild obtained the violin that he now plays instead of the flute. An even greater mystery is the source of the song he plays, which is so entrancingly sorrowful that wealthy merchants vie in having him come to their homes to play it over and over again. Themes and Meanings Anton Chekhovs major theme in this, as in many others of his works, is the isolation of the individual within himself and his often vain attempts to break out of his shell and establish meaningful contact with others. Yakovs anti-Semitism is but a particular example of this more general malaise. Yakov finally succeeds in reaching out to others and does so in the form of his music: first to his archenemy Rothschild through his death song and the gift of his violin, and then through Rothschild, who brings Yakovs harrowing melody to many others. Art is the means by which the two men, both deeply unattractive characters, surmount their isolation and manifest their shared humanity. The theme of Yakovs losses is also important. â€Å"Losses† is the most frequently used word in the story, and through repetition it assumes symbolic meaning, referring to far more than Yakovs hypothetical financial setbacks. He is obsessed with his so-called losses. They have poisoned his life, and he has lost the capacity for love and simple pleasures (apart from his music). In fact, the death of his wife is the sole real loss that Yakov suffers, and it is only with this that he begins to reflect on his profitless, ill-spent life and his ill-treatment of his wife and Rothschild. This realization, especially in the face of his own imminent death, leads to his remorse and his final haunting melody. The final irony is that it is the Jew Rothschild rather than Yakov himself who profits and recoups the coffin makers â€Å"losses. Style and Technique The story is told by an omniscient narrator the year after Yakovs death. Its formal structure is tripartite: the brief introduction that establishes the setting and the hero; the story itself, that is, the relationship between Yakov and Rothschild and the deaths of the wife and husband; and the ironic, bittersweet ending in which Rothschild plays Yakovs song. As in many Chekhov stories, a key event (Yakovs interaction with Rothschild) is repeated three times. The first two encounters are hostile, while the third depicts a reversal of the earlier ones. The last carries the storys message—the breaking down of the isolation of the two men through art and the establishment of their shared humanity. The narrative technique through which Chekhov makes his thematic statement should be noticed. Superficially, Yakov and Rothschild seem very different: The coffin maker is big, strong, and aggressive, while Rothschild is gaunt, frail, and cowering; Yakov prefers merry songs, Rothschild, mournful ones; the Christian Yakov despises Rothschild the Jew. The narrative, however, poses a series of parallels that point to their essential sameness. Yakov is obsequious to the â€Å"educated† medical assistant, just as Rothschild is to Yakov. Also noteworthy are the parallel scenes in which the Jew fleeing from Yakovs fists is jeered by the village boys, who moments later jeer the bereaved Yakov. Both are â€Å"outsiders. † The most important parallel scene, the one demonstrating their common humanity, is that in which the two men cry together as Yakov improvises his own death dirge. This evolving pattern ends in the identification of the former enemies, each of whom had lived in his own profitless prison of the self. Chekhovs language is sometimes considered rather â€Å"flat,† a feature of much realistic prose. On close inspection, however, Chekhovs language is not, in fact, â€Å"realistic† but rather evocative and impressionistic. The reader comes to know characters and their lives not through accumulated description but through the carefully chosen, evocative detail that suggests far more than it says. Similarly, the carefully elaborated formal structure contributes to the readers sense of a meaning that goes far beyond the limits of the brief tale.

Linde and Nora essays

Linde and Nora essays Linde and Nora: Compare and Contrast After reading   A Dolls House by Hendrik Ibsen. I see that there is both a parallel and a contrast style in the characters of Mrs. Linde and Nora. A contrasting difference in the characters, are shown not in the characters themselves, but the role that they play in their marriages. These two women have different relationships with their husbands. Torvald and Nora have a relationship where there is no fairness. To Torvald Nora is an object. Therefore, she plays the submissive role in a society where the lady plays the passive role. Her most important duty is to please her husband, Torvald, making her role similar to a slave. Torvald also considers himself to be superior to her. Nora was raised in such a way that her role in their day and time required her to do whatever her husband said to do. It all started when she young, her father never gave her the opportunity to think for herself and to be independent. That lead to her being so submissive and the results was her not being able to have her own mind. As for Cristine and Krogstad their relationship is much more open to us. It is clear that if Cristine and Krogstad were to engage in an argument, it is more likely that that they would come to an agreement soon after. When Mrs. Linde and Nora are put in comparison, both are willing to sacrifice themselves for other things that are dear to them. Mrs. Linde shows her loyalty to her family when she knew that she had the right to refuse her husbands marriage proposal. But after taking into consideration her sick mother, her brothers, and Krogstad having money, she married for the wellbeing of her family. Which means that in this society family is top priority and loyalty to their loved ones is highly expected. Then, we have Nora, who cares very much for her husband, saves his life, which shows again, how women sacrificed for their families. Both Mrs. Linde and No...

Are You Free or Enslaved Maybe Its All in Your Head.

Are You Free or Enslaved Maybe Its All in Your Head. Freedom vs. Bondage It’s Passover and the theme of freedom is on my mind. This holiday celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery and their successful crossing of the Red Sea- a story we are commanded to tell every year at this season. Why is this tale so important that the Bible commands we retell it again and again? While there are many answers to this question, the one that struck me most this year was that we have choices every day between freedom and bondage. Passover is our opportunity to look at our lives and see where we are stuck, in a rut, giving up, or otherwise enslaved, both in our circumstances and in our own minds. Once we identify these â€Å"narrow places,† (the word for Egypt, Mitzrayim, means â€Å"narrow places†), we can do something about them. A Unique Seder Experience My family’s Passover seder was itself an expression of freedom. Some context: Passover is a food-focused holiday. In the order of the service, there are multiple instructions to eat certain foods at certain times; and the conclusion of the first part of the service is a big meal. A BIG meal. It’s like Thanksgiving in the extent to which people indulge themselves on food. The seder also includes four cups of wine (though in my family it was grape juice all the way). Since my nephew Daniel has Crohn’s Disease and is currently ingesting nothing but Pediasure peptide drinks, my brother-in-law Michael created- drumroll please- a food-free seder. This feat, you can imagine, required a huge amount of creativity. Michael designed a board game, complete with a deck of cards that held debate questions and other contests to see who could answer a â€Å"Passover Pursuit† question first. He dressed up as Moses, which was way out of the box for him. And he led an evening of learning, singing and debate. Even without a meal, we managed to spend three hours on our seder talking, laughing, and debating. Breaking Out of the Box One of the debate questions that came up in the Passover Pursuit card deck was what freedom means in the modern age. I was pitted against 16-year-old Daniel for the battle. He pulled out a djembe (an African drum) and made up a rap song. I don’t remember his words; what struck me was his approach to the debate. In my world, debate means talking and arguing. Daniel broke out of that cage with his drumming and rapping. Inspired, I countered with an interpretive dance of freedom vs. bondage. I stood for a few seconds with my arms crossed, strait-jacket-like over my chest, head down. Then I took a step to the side and danced my heart out. I did this about three times. Then I talked about how two people, or even the same person, can be in the same circumstances and choose to feel free or imprisoned. Enslaved by Circumstances? I’ll admit I got some help from a video by Chabad.org that I had watched in preparation for Passover, where a person in a picture was labeled â€Å"Free† and then the same person in the same picture was labeled â€Å"Burdened.† Other identical pictures were labeled â€Å"Liberated† and â€Å"Enslaved,† and â€Å"Pain† and â€Å"Pleasure.† As humans, I argued, we can have illnesses and consider them burdens or find our own liberation within them. We can work a job and feel trapped by it or find our liberation in it. We can win the lottery and gain joy or misery. I won the debate. Part of it was that I made a good argument. But more than that, I think the group was impressed that I didn’t let myself fall into a typical debate mindset and took the risk of dancing my argument. An Octopus’s Story: Existential Anxiety vs. Existential Guilt Perhaps this is a coincidence, but just last week an octopus named Inky escaped from a national aquarium in New Zealand, squeezing through a 50-meter drainpipe into the sea. What might be more remarkable, given that octopuses are famous escape artists, is that Inky’s tankmate, Blotchy, did not budge. Was Blotchy content to remain in captivity? Was he unaware of his free will and the freedom available just down the drainpipe? Had he given up on the chance of an unfettered life? Of course the answers to these questions are more for us to ponder for ourselves. When we are feeling shackled, do we choose to take extreme action, like Inky, or to submit to our lot? Fundamentally, we have a choice between existential anxiety and existential guilt. Taking action, especially action that scares us because it is so unfamiliar and takes us into unknown, potentially risky territory, produces existential anxiety. We rarely regret making a conscious, risky choice regardless of the outcome. In contrast, existential guilt arises when we take the safe path. Submitting to our existential guilt produces existential regret: â€Å"a profound desire to go back and change a past experience in which one has failed to choose consciously or has made a choice that did not follow one’s beliefs, values, or growth needs.† That’s the kind of choice Blotchy made. It’s not the kind of choice I like to make. The Choice is Yours We human beings have clear freedom of choice in every moment, at least over our own mindset about our circumstances. In the end, the ability to think what we think and believe what we believe is the ultimate freedom. The choices we make to break out of the box and into unchartered territory are the ones that move us forward, out of our personal narrow places, and toward a life unbound.

Motherhood and Mothering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Motherhood and Mothering - Essay Example A woman cannot feel herself fully realized if she is not a mother – the message is. As time passes and all your friends get married and start having children, you cannot help feeling pressure and feeling a kind of outcast. Everybody persuades you that being a mother is the greatest happiness in a woman’s life and that if you do not have children you cannot consider yourself a real woman. At that most of women give birth to their children just because it is prescribed by the society. There are certain scripts as to the number of children to be born, and to the age of becoming a mother. These scripts are transferred in families from generation to generation. Certainly, women usually do not realize that it is not quite their desire but merely the scenario imposed on them, believing that it is high time for them to have children. Many women give birth to children because they cannot find their way and mission in life. Children provide an opportunity to occupy one’s l ife-time with seemingly important things. As a result many mothers give no freedom to their children, interfering with their lives and imposing own worldviews and beliefs, not realizing that their children are quite different people, who came into this world to have their own experience and follow their own path. My interviewee is a usual representative of her time. Her understanding of motherhood reflects the common approach. She is not absorbed wholly with the idea of becoming a mother, but it is only because she is very young. It is clear from her utterances that she is simply waiting for the time when she will be ready to deny her freedom in favor of her children. My friend does realize that being a mother is a hard work, as she puts it â€Å"you have to work more than full-time employment.† Yet she starts thinking of children already dreaming of the reward in a form of children’s happy faces and mutual trust. The question is

Financial Decision Making Process within the Organisation Essay

Financial Decision Making Process within the Organisation - Essay Example Apart from generating profits from the shareholders, financial management also aims to maximise the profitability of the company to ensure a sustainable growth in future. Ensuring the sustainability of the organisation through proper reserve creation and re-investment of the profit amount is one of the crucial tasks in the realm of financial management. Financial Statement analysis and making investment decisions are two most crucial responsibilities of the financial managers. Financial Statement analysis includes the analysis of various ratios and financial statements like balance sheet and profit and loss account. A balance sheet discloses the financial condition of an organisation in a specific period of time. It mainly shows â€Å"what is owned by a business, what is owed, and the owner’s share (or net worth) of the business† (Langemeier & Klinefelter, n.d.). A profit and loss statement of any company discloses the organisation’s revenue and expenses for a specific period of time. Financial ratios assist in the evaluation the financial reports like balance sheet and profit and loss statement (Brigham, Ehrhardt, 2008). There are four types of ratios. These are liquidity ratios, solvency ratios, efficiency ratios and profitability ratios. Liquidity ratios are those ratios which measure the liquidity state of the organisation by evaluating the company’s liquid assets against its current liabilities. Financial leverage has certain important implications on the performance of the organisation. This mainly takes into account the long term liabilities against the total capital employed. This is also known as the ‘gearing ratio’ (Financial Times, 2009). A certain level of financial leverage can result in huge profitability; however, the company must be aware of the risk attached to it.