High School and Graduation Essay

Time gets closer to the day we move our tassels from senior to graduate. Graduation steps on the back of our heels like the annoying freshman running late for class. It acts as if it is going to creep up on us, but we all know it will be here soon. It tip-toes in the back of our minds. Graduation: a day of freedom, maturity, and proof that nobody is any better than another. â€Å"There are many different ways of following through†¦ Sometimes it’s about going there, not getting there. Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination. â€Å" –Drake. This quote says a lot. He actually spoke at a graduation, and told that graduation class this same thing. This quote reaches out to me because I know my journey will be a rough journey. Becoming the person I want to be after high school is a journey all its own. I hope I get to where I want to be. Even if I do not, I have learned. Although graduation is only a few months away, I am getting nervous. I am nervous. But graduation day will be the day I go from high school student to adult. Age is just a number. Intelligence proves adulthood. I am proud to say I am looking forward to graduation day. I am looking forward to becoming an adult. I am looking forward to taking that next step in my life. I want the rest of my class to be as ready and nervous as I am because I will not feel alone. I know I am not the only one who feels this way. Every senior all around the United States is put in this position. We all do the same thing. We all walk onto that stage, shake hands, smile, wait for a picture and walk off with our high school diplomas in hand. Adults and older siblings did not lie when they told me that my four years of high school will be the best four years of my life. I have had an amazing four years. I have lost friends, gained friends, met some amazing people, and even met some people that I did not want to meet. I got put in positions I was not sure I was mature enough to handle. I handled them though. I got forced to make choices I did not know I needed to make on my own, but I made them and I know I made the right ones because of the person I am today. I am already ready to walk on that stage and smile. Smile big for those who made choices that caused them to not be able to walk with me. I smile for the  people who have tried to bring me down in life so far. And most of all I smile for myself, I smile because I made it. I made it to this graduation day; a day full of freedom, maturity, and proof that nobody is any better than me.

Mozart’s “Clarinet Quintet” and Mahler’s Symphony no.1 in D major “Titan” Essay

The Music of the classical and Romantic era is a period of time where it shows the development and different styles of music. This can be shown through the manipulation of musical elements, (dynamics, pitch, tempo, rhythm, texture, meter, tonality, structure, melody, harmony, instrument) while contrasting them, but it can also be shown through the composers of the music, the size of the orchestra, musical directions, emotional content, and non-musical developments through that period of time. After the Renaissance and the Baroque era, the Classical era soon followed at around the 1720-1820’s. During these times in Europe, there were many non musical developments, ideas of the enlightenment, political issues, scientific discoveries and the reexamination of established ideas, including the existence of God. Many of these ideas and has got huge impact on the heavy Monumental baroque style and later developed with a more intimate rococo style, with its light colors, curved lines, and graceful ornaments, which greatly resembles the classical period. Shortly after the Classical period, the Romantic era appeared during the 1820-1900’s. At these times, non-musical developments such as cultural movements strongly expressed emotion, imagination, and individuality. People such as Romantic painters and writer often emphasized the freedom of expression; they often saw political revolution as a reflection of their own struggles for artistic freedom. This had made a huge i mpact on Romantic music, because the emotional subjectivity turned into a basic quality of Romanticism. Comparing the musical elements of Classical era and Romantic era, we would notice the many differences, and hence we can identify and recognize the music of both periods. The first musical element that I will discuss is rhythm. As we can see, the rhythm of the Classical era tends to be less complex and quite repetitive. Classical style usually includes unexpected pauses, syncopations, and frequent changes from long notes to shorter notes, and the change from one pattern of note lengths to another may be either sudden or gradual. As we can see in the Finale of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, we can see that during each of those variations, the rhythms are not very complex and quite repetitive, for example, the first 3 – 8 bars of the introduction in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet show a somewhat consistent rhythm  consisted 4 of crotchets each bar, the 2nd variation show a consistent rhythm of 4 sets of triplets between the 2nd violin and viola, the 3rd variation shows a consistent rhythm of 4 sets of semi-quavers in each bar, with the clarinet normally. Through what I have described just now, one could see that the pattern of note lengths have gradually changed to shorter and shorter, in this case, from 4 crotchets to 4 triplets to 4 semi-quavers. Also, in variations like Mozart’s clarinet quintet, triplets and syncopations can be found frequently. In contrast, romantic music tends to not emphasize that much on simple and consistent rhythms. There are often changes in the number of beats in a measure, cross-rhythms, syncopations, etc. For example in Mahler’s Symphony no.1 in D major â€Å"Titan†, consistent notes goes against syncopations, there are accompaniments with skips and staccatos etc. (p.116) Both Classical and Romantic eras have written musical directions, unlike Renaissance and Baroque which does not have any. Moreover, I have noticed that the musical directions of both pieces have extreme differences. As we see in Mahler’s symphony no.1 in D major â€Å"titan† 3rd movement, there are many written musical directions: dynamic, emotional, tempo directions. For example, in the first 20 bars, there are already 7 written musical directions, whereas in Mozart’s clarinet quintet, there are extremely small amounts of written musical directions, only 2 written musical directions in the first 20 bars. This significantly shows that there are differences in the use of written musical directions in the Classical and Romantic era. Classical and Romantic music has differences in melodies and structures too. In classical music, the structures emphasize more the grace of proportion and balance, moderation and control; polished and elegance in character with expressiveness and formal structure held in perfect balance. Furthermore, the forms do not vary as much as the Romantic era, they had forms like sonatas, symphonies etc. The melodic phrases are usually balanced and symmetrical made up of two phrases of the same length. For an example, in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, the music is very symmetrical and well balanced, in a variation form. However, in Romantic music, they rather emphasize on the emotional content than trying to sound balanced and symmetrical, and expanded their use of forms and created new forms, like impromptu, ballade,  etude, nocturnes etc,. Moreover, the melodies normally have either really long or short phrases, increased in range, but also increased in chromaticism. For example in Mahler’s symphony no.1 in D major â€Å"Titan†, we can see that except it is in a ABA form, the whole movement was not as symmetrical and well balanced as the Mozart, although it is in a variation form, the melodic phrases have increased in range, are either really long, for example in the first 18 bars, or really short, where the melody can be hardly seen in bar 134-137. Classical and Romantic era are very different in the use of harmonies too. In Classical music, harmonies were formed from the chords. If the chords in a music composition are all major chords, then the harmonies would create emotions that express bright, happy and positive feelings, in contrast, if the chords are all minor chords, then the harmony would express the emotion which is sad and depressed, negative feelings. However, in Romantic music, harmonies are more complex due to the development of the complex chords. For example, a diminished chord that is usually found in Romantic music would create a harmony that is rarely found in Classical music. In general, the use of harmonies is very different in both Classical and Romantic music. Another difference I have noticed between Classical and Romantic music is the range of dynamics used. In the Classical era, the dynamic range normally used was between pp – ff. This range was expanded in the Romantic period, ranging from pppp – ffff. This difference can be evidently proven in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, where the range was kept within the range of p – f, a small range of pitch in each part of instruments. However, in Mahler’s symphony no. 1 in D major â€Å"titan†, the range of dynamics increased to pppp – f, with a big range of dynamics in each of the instrumental parts. In general, the range of pitch of Classical and Romantic era varies when the classical as small range of dynamics, whilst the Romantic as a larger range of dynamics. The range of pitch of the Classical and Romantic era is used very differently too. In the classical era, the range pitch is not as big as the Romanic era, as he range of pitch in the Romantic era was expanded, as the composers seek  for more extreme high and low sounds. For example in Finale of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet as a Classical song, the range of pitch of the whole song was only D2 – C6 with little range of pitch in every instrumental part, but the range of pitch in Mahler’s symphony no. 1 in D major, as a Romantic song, is B1- D6, with a very broad range in every instrumental part. In general, the range of pitch of Classical and Romantic era varies when the classical as small range of pitch, whilst the Romantic as a larger range of pitch. The tempo of classical era and Romantic Era is used very differently too. In the Classical era, the tempo only changed when there are written musical directions to change the mood, but tempo of Romantic music changed the mood constantly with not only the written musical directions, which is often underlined by Accelerando, Ritardando, and subtle variations of pace: but there are many more fluctuations in tempo than there are in Classical music, which they also intensify their emotions by using effect of Rubato. As we can see in Mozart’s clarinet quintet, there are only 3 written musical directions: â€Å"Allegretto con Variationi†, which means a little lively, moderately fast, with variation, â€Å"Adagio† which means at ease: slow, and allegro, which means cheerful or brisk; but commonly interpreted as fast, lively, and there are no written musical directions which guide the tempo within the scores. However, in Mahler’s symphony no. 1 in D major, there are not only main musical directions to guide the tempo, like â€Å"Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen†, which means dignified but not too slow, but there are small ones in between the scores which appears constantly, like Zurluckhaltend which means holding back tempo, creating Rubato effect and Poco. Rit etc. These two pieces, Mozart’s clarinet quintet as a Classical music, Mahler’s titan as a Romantic music, clearly shows that there are significant differences in the tempo of the Classical and Romantic era, Classical with a less frequent change of tempo, Romantic with a frequent change of tempo. The texture of Classical and Romantic music can be contrasted. Classical music is basically homophonic; for example in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, we can see that the texture is basically homophonic, with a few that is  polyphonic, and the pieces shifted smoothly from one texture to another, like in the changes from variation 1 to variation 3, there is a gradual change from thin texture to thicker texture. In contrast, even though romantic music can be homophonic and polyphonic and most of the time between the two, the texture turns thicker, it has lots of changes in texture, more drastic and frequent, and they use a lot more instruments to exaggerate this thick and emotional content. As we can see in Mahler’s symphony no.1 â€Å"Titan†, the texture is pretty thick in general, due to the size of the orchestra which creates density, and during the bars of 134-137, the whole orchestra is used, which creates the intense and climax moment. In general, although both Classical and Romantic music are mainly homophonic, the thickness of the texture is contrasted significantly. Chromaticism was also used differently in the Classical and Romantic era. In the classical era, melodic chromaticism was used frequently (especially by Mozart) to balance the harmonic plainness. In its simplest form of chromatic scales, it occurs a lot in unaccented passing notes. Melodic chromaticism does not usually affect the harmony; it is mainly used for color-modification of diatonic notes, to add tone color by composers. However, Romantic music generally uses chromaticism to form the music’s harmonies and create chords. This helps the composer to expand the emotional contents and express a few different emotions of the musical piece. In general, chromaticism was used very differently in the Classical and Romantic era. Cadenza chords of Classical and Romantic music is similar, but you can say that cadenza chords of Romantic music are built on top of the cadenza chords structures of Classical music. In Classical music, they generally have a cadenza chord structure of I – V – I. In Mozart’s clarinet quintet, the cadenza chords can easily be recognized as chords I – V – I, as we can see in the first 16 bars. In Mahler’s symphony no.1 in D major â€Å"titan† however, the cadenza consist of only chord I from bar 158 to the end, 11 bars all written in chord I. This type of chord structure is seldom found in Classical music, because Classical music usually ends a piece of music in an authentic cadence, plagal cadence, or deceptive cadence. In Romantic music,  these cadences are still used, but composers like to end their music in their own unique way, just like Mahler’s symphony no. 1 in D major. Another difference that I have noticed between Classical and Romantic music is the size of their orchestra. In a Classical orchestra, there are normally only 20-60 players, which involve strings: 1st & 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses. Woodwinds: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons. Brass: 2 French horns, 2 trumpets. Percussion: 2 timpani. However, towards this end of the Romantic era, the orchestra might have included around 100 musicians. The constant expansion of the orchestra reflected composes changing needs as well as the growing size of concert halls and opera houses, due to technological advances. The brass, woodwind and percussion sections of the orchestra took on a more active role, calling for trombones, tubas, and more horns and trumpets. The woodwind took on new tone colors such as contrabassoon, bass clarinet, English horn and piccolo. Orchestral sounds became more brilliant and sensuously appealing through increase uses of cymbals the triangle and the harp. One of the most evident differences between Classical and Romantic music is how composers express their emotion and creating emotional intensity. Composers from the Classical Period tend to focus more on the structure of music, creating music that is structural and compact in form, and captures our attention by the beauty and structure of the music, which usually just expresses one emotion. However, composers from the Romantic Period focused more on depicting their emotions in their music, emphasizing on expression rather then structure, expressing several different emotions. When we compare Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet to Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major â€Å"Titan†, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet tends to be more focused on perfecting the harmony between the different melodies and also the structure and forms, while Mahler’s Titan emphasized much more on the emotional content. In short, Classical music tends emphasize on the beauty of balanced structures, expressing one emotion, while Romantic music tends to express more emotional contents, expressing several different emotions. In general, the music of Classical and Romantic era are very different in  many ways, in all aspects of the elements, dynamics, pitch, tempo, rhythm, texture, meter, tonality, structure, melody, harmony, instrument, and especially how they express their emotional contents. However, the Classical and Romantic eras are both historical developments of western music, which significantly contributes to the music that we listen to today. References Classical music. (2007, April 11). Retrieved April 15, 2007, from wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_musicClassical period (music). (2007, April 13). Retrieved April 14, 2007, from wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music_eraLogan, J., & Swann, J. (n.d.). Classical Music and Romantic Music – Part 1. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://trumpet.sdsu.edu/m345/Romantic_Music1.htmlRomantic music. (2007, April 12). Retrieved April 13, 2007, from wikipedia Web site: http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_musicSchmidt-Jones, C. (2006, January 3). The Music of the Romantic Era. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from connexions Web site: http://cnx.org/content/m11606/latest/Sexton, T. (2007, January 17). The Classical and romantic Eras in Music History. Retrieved April 4, 2007, from associatedcontent Web site: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/119869/the_classical_and_romantic_eras_in.html

Implementing a non tradional benefit to your organization Case Study

Implementing a non tradional benefit to your organization - Case Study Example The programs will consist of two parts: health=related benefits and a special financial aid for mother with toddlers. The first step is development of the plan and information gathering. The second step is needs identification. The benefits will be paid in accordance with age and family status of a mother. Single mothers with children will receive double benefits. Mothers with two children and more will receive benefits for all children. The third step is budget and compensation schemes development. Rather than one uniform benefits plan for every person, planners increasingly see a range of program choices for designing a compensation plan to meet the specific needs and requirements of each unique employee (Calvey and Jansz 2005). It is expected that plans will focus on one of three distinct goals: attracting and retaining qualified employees, motivating employees, and controlling costs. Although the planner would like to achieve each goal, it is also true that it is very difficult if not impossible to achieve the best in each goal simultaneously. This means setting benefits rates at or above the market average. . In addition, several of these exercises put you in the position of designing compensation and benefits plans to meet the specific operating requirements of the organizations in question (Robert Half International. 2007). In SunDusk, employers must pay attention to the prevailing wage and salary levels paid for various jobs and skills. Were employers to ignore what the market is paying, they would soon discover either that they cannot keep employees because their rates are too low, or they cannot make a profit because their rates are too high. Establishing a competitive wage and salary program is an essential building block for effective compensation planning and administration. Beyond grounding pay rates in competitive market conditions, benefits for women with children should be properly structured and designed to support organizational goals (Fakler, 2005). Such issues as how much money it takes to serve as a lure to more performance, ethical concerns in using incentive plans, and fully aligning incentive plans with organizational requirements are all vital ingredients to effective plan design. Benefits plans and designs are important in their own way. Such plans can consume a sizable portion of to tal compensation dollars. For that expense, employers would like to receive--but often have trouble obtaining--returns in employee goodwill and performance. For these reasons, effective benefits design is often a silent but important partner in human resources planning and administration (Calvey and Jansz 2005). Each month a single mother will receive $200 of benefits for one child till 5 years old. The expected outcomes of the non-traditional benefits are motivation and low labor turnover among women employees. The growth of the business is very sensitive to the overall quality of service provided in the unit. Customers who are satisfied with the service they receive will return to buy additional products and services, and will refer other customers to the stores (Robert Half International. 2007). The non-traditional benefits are in response to an employee's poor job performance and not because of perceived or suspected

Risk Assessment and Management Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Risk Assessment and Management Plan - Essay Example People suffering physical disabilities as well as having psychiatric problems are among the main sufferers of domestic violence. Furthermore, children are also directly or indirectly influenced by domestic violence (Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 2011). In accordance with the case, Janice, who is the mother of two and a half year child Sam was observed to be suffering from a problem of mental health i.e. bipolar disorder. Janice was least caring about the nutrition as well as the medical needs of Sam. Subsequently, Sam was removed from the care of Janice. After three months when Janice’s condition stabilised through medication, Sam’s care was restored to Janice. Moreover, for two years Janice and her partner Doug was together as well as had another child named Jessie but there were various incidents of domestic violence among them. Due to the stoppage of medication, Janice’s conditions worsened which led to further extreme violence among them. However, the partners were majorly concerned about their children. Domestic violence worker is required to support Janice in order to protect her goals and facilitate her to be able to take care of her children. The Mental Health Service is concerned about Janice and her children as she missed her two group support meeting consecutively. Moreover, it was observed in the last meeting that Janice was asking for money from other members of the group. The Police had approached o the Department of Child Safety in order to discuss about this family in the SCAN (Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect) meeting. The meeting was organised as they were concerned about the safety of children. The disability service provider and Child Health Clinic were concerned about the health of Evelyn and Jessie respectively. The Educational or School Counsellor was concerned about Sam who was negatively impacted by the acts of domestic violence, results of which were seen in his behavioural aspects towards the other

Hard Bob, Funky, Gospel Jazz Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hard Bob, Funky, Gospel Jazz Music - Essay Example Generally, however, Gospel Music themes covered areas of Christian religious worship, praise and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity. There were several main characteristic of Black Gospel Music that distinguished it from other Gospels. Throughout the years since its development, many artists have also sprung and they not only contributed to its development, but took this particular subgenre into the next level. Black Gospel, also called Urban Contemporary Gospel, like the mainstream genre it belonged to, sought to express the collective Christian beliefs of the community. It was deemed the Christianized version of the mainstream modern music of the earlier half of the 20th century. Though the themes were somewhat fixed, the main characteristics of this subgenre changed throughout the years. Tempo and beat often differed according to the taste of the artists and the particular music era they belonged to. For instance, in the early years of its conception (1920s-1940s), Thomas A. Dorsey, the â€Å"Father of Gospel Music, along with pioneer singers Willie Mae Ford Smith and Sallie Martin, popularized Black Gospel by mixing elements of Blues or Spirituals with the Christian religious experience (Petrie). With â€Å"happiness† as the prime element in testifying a religious experience, there was a good deal of dancing (mainly employing the Boogie-Woogie style to the accompaniment of Jazz instruments). In the 1930s, the religiosity of Gospel Music mingled with political and social commentaries as popularized by male groups called quartets, who usually sang A Cappella and in jubilee style. Unlike the less lively hymns of the 20s, groups such as the Soul Stirrers and the Golden Gate Quartet blended more melodies in their songs, giving them a playful rhythm as well as more social significance (i.e. background music for the civil rights movement) (Petrie; Warner 35-6). The 30s also saw the rise of creative Gospel singers like Sister Rosetta

Organizational Learning and Environmental Change Essay

Organizational Learning and Environmental Change - Essay Example Still, most of this is still commandeered by human intelligence however, networked computing is able to reap efficiency and outputs undreamt off earlier.Often new concepts are ignored till the time they translate into a competitive disadvantage. This paper examines the various approaches to learning which an organization can adopt so that learning challenges in the environment are not only recognized right in time but also ingrained into the operations of the organization and reflect in employees’ learning to derive competitive advantage. This paper examines the relevance of the Revans formula which emphasizes the importance of keeping pace in the learning process. All organizations can be viewed as offering some kind of solution to the problems of their stakeholders in the widest and deepest marketing sense. An essential blueprint for the organizational survival is derived from the writing of Revans(1980,1982). Revans(1980) posited that in order for an organization to succeed the learning(L) within an organization must be greater than or equal to the rate of change(C)in the environment (L ≠¥ C). This is called the Raven formula. This concept maintains that organizations must become learning organizations if they are to survive the changes in the external environment that affect the business and its operations. Revans recommended action learning to essentially mean removing the gap between ideas and actions, between thinking and doing, action and learning as parts of each other. Revans coined the phrase,† â€Å"helping each other to help the helpless†.Revans philosophy is based on three concepts of honesty about self, all know ledge ought to be action-oriented and most action should lead to camaraderie. An immediate example can prove Revans theory in relation to stakeholders of any organization. The organization  like airlines –offering the services of air travel-were faced with a new and emerging niche of customers who were upwardly mobile professionals with high spending powers in the  early 1990s.

Cultural Practices in Yanomamo Culture Research Paper

Cultural Practices in Yanomamo Culture - Research Paper Example This tribe did not have any contact with the outside world until the 1950s before which they lived in complete isolation. They were able to adapt themselves to their environment through means of cultural adaptation by following their cultural standards and practices (Trachoma among the Yanomami, Web). The Yanomamo tribe consists of hunters and horticulturists who frequently move to new areas when the soil becomes exhausted. More than half of the Yanomami live within the Amazon forest while some live along the major rivers. Similar to their living conditions, the Yanomamo also follow different rituals and beliefs. Their religious beliefs are also based on the principles of animism. They believe that the forests entail a spiritual existence along with its other uses of food and plants etc (Yanomamo, Varying Adaptations of Foraging Horticulturalists, Web). One of the main cultural practices followed by the Yanomami is Polygny which is the most common form of polygamy. Polygny is a practice in which a man has more than one wife at the same time. In the Yanomamo society, arranged marriages are common and the marriage is often based on survival and other economic factors. The men are given a higher position or role and the women are treated as servants and properties of other members of the society. The female members of this community are not allowed to participate in most of the activities but the preparation is done by the females themselves.

Government Expansion for National Security Essay

Government Expansion for National Security - Essay Example Law enforcement agencies across the nation are faced with the dilemma with countering terrorist threats based on information that are at best loaded with the scenario that any potential terrorist act may actually happen. Using any information, most of the time unverified and unspecified to issue alert warnings to the public has been justified on the premise that the September 11 attacks happened because the intelligence agencies were slow to issue warnings and release information to other law enforcement agencies. The pre-emptive orientation of the intelligence community has gathered force in the face of growing concerns that civil liberties are in danger of being trampled. In 2004, Congress passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, creating a Director of National Intelligence to be on top of the country's intelligence community. He also acts as the President's top intelligence adviser. While this move was meant to coordinate nationwide intelligence operati ons, there have been considerable areas of conflict among the law enforcement agencies. The public has recently seen the military and the Central Intelligence Agency encroaching too much on the sphere of domestic intelligence, which is the turf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Financial records of individuals and other parties who are suspected of being involved in terrorism have been examined by the FBI through the issuance of national security letters and for the most part, banks and other institutions have cooperated. However, it has been reported that even the Pentagon and the CIA have been issuing their own version of the national security letters (Lichtblau & Mazzetti 2007). Furthermore, the FBI has complained that the military have been directly dealing with the police, without proper coordination with the bureau in issuing warnings against possible terrorist threats. The White House is also mulling to give more teeth to an agency within the Pentagon called the Counterintelligence Field Activity or CIFA currently in-charge of coordinating security efforts by giving it authority to investigate crimes such as trea son, foreign or terrorist sabotage, including economic sabotage within the country (Pincus 2005). Moreover, a legislation is being pushed to allow the military access to the database on U.S. citizens gathered by the FBI. Concerns about this have been somehow mitigated by an amendment which will require the Pentagon to seek approval for this data-sharing from the Director of the National Intelligence and to report to Congress any of such activity. The question of whether executive powers should be expanded has come to pass because in fact the American public has indeed given its go-signal for this to happen. While the public has recently been against the War in Iraq and other reports concerning Government Expansion for National Security 2 domestic spying, the American people had been united right after the September 11 attacks in giving President Bush authority to deal with the terrorist threat

Immigration in the 19th Century vs. Now Research Paper

Immigration in the 19th Century vs. Now - Research Paper Example America is a secular democratic country with high levels of living standards and equal respect to all religions which makes America the paradise of immigrants now. On the other hand, poverty and poor living standards forced people from all over the world to immigrate to America in the nineteenth century. This paper briefly compares and contrasts the current and nineteenth century immigration to America. Nineteenth century witnessed industrial revolution in America. The evolution of better technologies and advancements in science helped America to focus more on industrial development in the nineteenth century. Factories and manufacturing units established large in number during this period which forced people from other parts of the world to immigrate to America because of the scope of getting better jobs â€Å"Majorities of immigrants came during the 1820s - 1890s were mostly from Ireland and Germany. Famine and poverty in Ireland, and political upheaval in Germany brought about fiv e million immigrants† (Immigration and Industrialization in the Nineteenth century). Though life in Ireland was cruel, immigrating to America was not a joyful event...it was referred to as the American Wake for these people knew they would never see Ireland again. Those who pursued this path did so only because they knew their future in Ireland would only be more poverty, disease, and English oppression. America became their dream (Irish Immigrants in America during the 19th Century) The nineteenth century immigrants mainly focused in getting jobs in American industrial units. However, current immigrants are not only exploring job opportunities, but also exploring the opportunities for establishing small scale businesses in America. Many of the current Indian and Pakistani immigrants have their own industrial units in America. Many of the people who are relocating to America at present are looking for opportunities to establish their own business units in America, rather than exploring the possibilities of getting a job. The nineteenth century immigrants got only lowly paid hard jobs with high amount of risks. The scope for a better future forced them to accept risky jobs (Immigration and Industrialization in the Nineteenth century). On the other hand the current immigrant community is not much keen in accepting risky jobs. They always give preferences to safe and secure jobs with the chances of getting a decent salary. Mexicans were another prominent community which started to immigrate to America during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Poor administration, low wages, poverty, increasing population etc in Mexico forced Mexicans to cross the border, both through legal and illegal channels. Mexico and America are neighboring countries which helped the Mexicans to cross the borders easily. Currently Mexicans are the largest minority groups in America. The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has declined sharply since mid-decade. T he Mexican-born population in the U.S., which had been growing earlier in the decade, was 11.5 million in early 2009. That figure is not significantly different from the 11.6 million Mexican immigrants in 2008 or the 11.2 million in 2007 (Passel). The recent recession problems in America are suspected as the major reason for the stabilization of Mexican immigration. The American economic growth was seriously affected

Physics And Engineering In I.T. Power Management Essay Example for Free

Physics And Engineering In I.T. Power Management Essay The cost of energy continues to increase with shrinking in corporate budgets and need for more energy input. At times like this, even IT industry is affected and the stakeholders are starting to look for new ways of cutting down the cost as they keep the quality of work high and efficiency maximized. Implementation of a good energy policy in an organization’s premises can lead to reduced costs of ICT infrastructural costs in terms of capital required in setting up servers and cooling systems. If the right energy saving and proper utilization habits are adopted and effective construction and installation ideas implemented in natural air flow optimization and proper heat insulation can lead to less cooling facilities requirements, cutting on costs (Greenguard, 2009). Efforts of energy conservation in IT infrastructure have been initiated through: †¢ Technologies like PoE (Power over internet) and midspans; this is a technology that enables gadgets like phones to receive power together with data through the Ethernet connection. Midspans are stand alone gadgets that are used to interface the Ethernet switch with the power sources for optimized power distribution to the ports as required. †¢ Implementation of Smart energy and lighting technology in huge company premises with many workers using ICT equipments. †¢ Efforts of IEEE-the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, to set standards for manufacturers of electronic and electrical gadgets (IEEE 802. 3-at) to ensure optimized energy utilization at the design level. †¢ IT technology in energy auditing and virtualization of power management †¢ Use of Integrated circuits (ICs) to control magnetic and pulse width modulators for external power connection in devices. †¢ Use of Power Source Equipment (PSE) and Power Devices (PD) in network classification during powering of new connections to ensure only PoE connections are powered in wireless and telecom devices. Electrical Power With the introduction of Power over Ethernet (PoE), many electronic devices that work in direct connection with computers through Ethernet cables have shifted from use of external power cables to reception of power together with data on the Ethernet connection. The (IEEE) has established some standards (IEEE 802. 3-at) for such technology, contributing to encouraging the manufactures of electrical and electronic products to contribute in efforts of making ICT infrastructure environment friendly, through less energy consumption. This is a strategy which if adopted can lead to very improved efficiency in power delivery in devices’ interconnection. The manufacturers of such devices, for example Texas Instruments, are manufacturing devices with power capabilities of choosing either to use PoE or switch to standard mode when the option is not available. This is in the effort to become compliant with the IEEE 802. 3-at. Even when PoE is a better option than external cables, a more detailed power saving strategy can be applied through use of midspans, which interface the switches with power sources, injecting power to the ports using way much better technology and hence more efficient. Such consciousness is needed in order to contribute to the overall infrastructure. According to (Conner, 2008), for the manufacturers of the gadgets, the design of PoE can contribute to making of smaller boards and reduce the cost of inputs on large scale. The technology shift there in the physics of electronic gadgets is the replacement of impedance power reduction through dissipation with the magnetic and switching methods in pulse width modulators, controlled through ICs. In efforts to increase power efficiency, the cost of production is also bound to reduce in the long run. The application of PSEs and PDs in network in power control centers gives an option to do power budgets and determine the proper management strategies to be applied. These are such refined levels of control that give the way to streamline and generally control power use. With the current state of globalization in online business, the ICT infrastructure has grown to very complex networks, especially with emergent of mobile devices. Power systems for these networks are as huge as the extents of the networks while management is done manually at physical points of contact. The samples provided in the cases of Highmark and the University of Minnesota (Greenguard, 2009) form a small part of the global business ICT infrastructure that interact with the environment. Educating people/employees A huge effort should go to changing the habits of power use in a working environment. The employees can too contribute to the efforts of a greener ICT infrastructure by ensuring proper use of power. Switching off devices when not in use can help accumulate huge power savings with time. This is not a common thing in most IT departments and will take the initiative of the management to organist fro training of the power users on good use of energy sources. When organization becomes too huge with thousands of employees, energy efficiency becomes a major issue. Such a high number of users of the infrastructure can accumulate a high energy demand and proper management for cost effective and sustainable operation. An example of such a firm is the Highmark with 11000 employees. Energy Computations and Software Virtualization Right from the Physics hardware, the availability of interfacing in ports control to enable remote power on and power off (Ronen, 2009) in PoE makes complex networks manageable. In the Highmark case the Company strategized on extra careful management method on using software technology like energy auditing tools and virtualization as well as new technology in smart energy and lighting systems (Greenguard, 2009). According to the report, there has been increase in need for organizations to use power consuming ICT infrastructure with new technologies to do business as compared to the traditional methods. This has led to ratings of about â€Å"61 billion kilowatt-hours in 2006† by data centers (Greenguard, 2009). The figures could even increase with more ICT use, alarming the corporate to strategize on conservation and efficiency. Owing to this, there have been numerous instances of application of IT solution in power management. Highmark installed a system for collecting rain water and using it in a datacenter cooling system and virtualized the servers to monitor PC usage by employees. This strategy helped adopt the method of remote powering down of equipment not in use, to minimize wastage. The company consulted with IBM to do computations of server spacing for maximum utilization of cooling systems. It appears clearly that many organizations have massive equipments powered up even when not in use because of poor management policy. From these results, it is important to carry each of these computation and software analysis methods with weigh while considering efforts to manage such massive data infrastructures. In many cases, the companies rely on employees to be reliable in implementing the energy conservation policies but even that cannot be enough. If software methods are used to monitor use of powered resources and power them down remotely, a great deal of energy could be saved. A perfect example here is the IT organization of the University of Minnesota which could â€Å"switch off about 25,000 devices each night† (Greenguard, 2009). Conclusion The IT infrastructure comprises of billions of gadgets that use electrical power to operate and network equipment to keep them connected. Power consumption is therefore starts from a single device’s design and connection to the system and spans to the networking level. The physical electronic power consumption can be managed and through standardization methods such as those by IEEE. It is at such low levels that interaction with the environment can be analyzed and energy consumption optimized. The physical arrangement of power consuming data facilities is also of significance importance as clogging them closely together reduces the ability of natural air flow to take care of cooling done by electrical motors in fans. The relationship between IT and these physical sciences is so direct when it comes to practical application fields. The application of software power computation, management and control also helps ICT fit into the practical idea of conservation and greener infrastructure. From the cases analyzed, there is enough evidence that application of technology from the physics and engineering of devices and systems, software tools and ICT infrastructure can be managed in away that can lead to more environment friendly use. References Conner, M. (2008). PoE for high-powered applications. Electronics Weekly, (2263), 18 Retrieved from: http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=truedb=cphAN=36122010loginpage=Login. aspsite=ehost-live Sani Ronen, (2009) Midspans for next-gen PoE,An inside look at technologies and standards, Tech update, Available: www. networkworld. com Samuel Greengard, (2009), Building an Energy-Efficient IT Infrastructure, Baseline Magazine Available: http://www. baselinemag. com

Strategies for Password Cracking

Strategies for Password Cracking Abdulmalik Nasser The aim of my project is to give ICT students an idea of the mechanism of cracking password using an using John the ripper. I will also explain the process that the application does to crack a password. Moreover,I will talk about password complexity. how does the complexity increase the cracking time? are there intractable passwords? why? encryptions . Finally , I will explain different types of cracking like brute force, dictionary attack etc. Password cracking is one of the oldest hacking arts. Every system must store passwords somewhere in order to authenticate users. However, in order to protect these passwords from being stolen, they are encrypted. Password cracking is the art of decrypting the passwords in order to recover them. Passwords are the most common means of authentication. Passwords are protected by using one-way cryptographic algorithms that produce a hash of set length. Cryptography can only protect something to the point where the only feasible attack on the encrypted secret is to try and guess it. However, in the case of passwords guessing is easy. Passwords are insecure by nature because they are used for preventing humans from guessing a small secret created by humans. To understand how to get a good understanding about password, we have to understand how they are stored in a system. To store a password in a text form is strongly unacceptable. The same thing when storing the passwords deep in tree of directories that would result in Security through Obscurity and this is also unacceptable. Unix management file system gives an acceptable solution: one of the main distributions of Multicast (the precursor to Unix) stored the file of password in a clear text, but it can be seen by a super user only. This was a improper solution. Also caused a bug to which switching some temporary file and showed the password in text being printed for all the clients when they login. Unix instead of doing that, saves the passwords that were hashed in the password file and not the actual passwords. After that, as the user puts his password , the system has the ability to simply compare the hash of the user password input and it will be compared with the stored hash value [1]. Â   Â   3.1 What a complex password should include. Figure 1 what password combination should include. A strong password should include what is listed in Fig1 in order to be complex password. so, what complex password means that password that include :Upper lower case letters, symbols and numbers getting that password is an extreme power consumption and time wasting for any password cracker [2]. 3.2 Common passwords Figure 2 : the most common passwords According to a study that was accomplished by David Bisson in 2014 . The result shows the most common passwords that are used on the Internet which any cracker would definitely add to his word list. These are typical example of an obvious passwords and easy to crack unfortunately. Easy passwords like what is shown above is very easy to guess it would not even use processor of the cracker it will be in his word list, because these passwords are the most common passwords at all time. So, any password cracker would definitely start cracking the password with guessing such passwords [3]. Figure 3: TOP 100 password hints by category [4] Fig3 shows the result of a study that was done by Troyhunt shows how people choose their password. Guessing a password from the E-mail address: Figure 4: Passwords derived from the email address [4] Figure 5: Number of Password combinations alphanumeric Password [5] The table above shows number of possibilities based on the password length so, any digit of the password is considered as process loop. Each digit can have 64^ the number of digits. Imagine having 13 characters that 64 raised to the power of 13 its an extremely big number of combination that the cracker has to try. Its extreme based on the source of the cracker processor and its also based on time. 3.3 Password complexity and Time Complex password is extremely important for securing your data and information. Most of the people think their password is being hacked or sniffed but the main reason for their password was not complex so, the depending on the assigned password the time will be proportional for example, three digit numeral or alphabet password ahc, 897, or even abc432 would take less than a second for cracking. However,[emailprotected] would take almost a month to be cracked, because the cracking cycle will go checking numbers,alphabet,and symbols and that is why complex password is strongly required [6]. The quicker your PC can hash passwords, the more you can crack in a given certain of time, and that results in a better chance of having of cracked passwords. We used John The Ripper because it is an open source cracking tool which is available on almost all Linux distros. However, it is not usually the best choice. John runs depending upon the CPU, but password hashing can be launched really efficiently depending upon graphics cards. Hashcat is password cracking tool that can run on graphics cards, and on the right hardware can do much better than John. Password cracking computers most of the time have number high-performance GPUs and depend on these for their rapidity . You might not find Hashcat in your distros repositories, but its downloadable on www.hashcat. net (itsfree as in zero cost, but not free as in free software) [7]. 5.1 Cracking tools and applications 5.1.1 Aircrack-ng its a free network hacking tool which include packet sniffer,detector, and various of encryption types cracker. Moreover, it includes Analysis tool that works with WLAN. In addition, this tool can sniff and monitor packets which travels from one person to another. This tool can run in a verity of platforms eg, FreeBSD, OSX, Wubdows, OpenBSD and Linux. Maemo, Zaurus and Android platforms 5.1.2 Crow bar This tool is exclusive on Linux operating systems. It is a free tool that runs a type of password cracking technique called Brute Force. It doesnt save a list of passwords, but try every possible combination of a password. this tool is supporting remote Desktop Protocol with NLA, VNC key authentication, open VPN and SSH private key authentication. 5.1.3 L0phtCrack This is a recovery password auditing app designed by Mudge. It was written to crack windows encrypted passwords. Moreover, it can crack from Primary domain controllers, and network servers or Active Directory. It also allows the user to sniff a password off the wire. This tool can go further and create many methods for guessing a password. It can work only on Microsoft Windows OS. 5.1.4 Medusa It a tool that is designed to be a strong, fast login using brute force. The purpose of this tool is to work with a lot of services remotely at the same time. That means this tool can not only brut force only one host but multiple hosts and passwords at a time. The targeted information can be registered in different methods. So each entry can be single information or file with many entries.Each mod file is for separate mod file . Meaning , this is needed for brute forcing. It is a free tool and Medusa works on Linux and MAC OS X operating systems. 5.1.5 Ophcrack This is a rainbow table that discovers passwords and crack a complex passwords. Moreover, it can crack simple passwords within minutes.In order to get the great advantage of this tool the user has to buy what is so-called rainbow tables to crack complex passwords.This tool is free runs on Linux,Microsoft Windows and MAC operating system. 5.1.6 RainBow Crack This tool is free and runs on Linux,Microsoft Windows, and MAC OS. It is specialized in hash cracking . It is a common brute force cracking tool that tries every combination of plaintext and that results in time consuming for complex passwords. It does not only crack passwords only but store the result in a library called(Rainbow tables).The brute force process takes extremely long time to be done but when using precompute tables it is one of the fastest cracking tool. 5.1.7 SolarWinds This tool works on Windows only .It is also known as FireWall Security Manager. It is the best solution for any company that needs reports and advanced management on their sensitive devices. It can be configured to allow multiple clients to be deployed at Multiple system administrators at once. It also features network discovery router password decryption , SNMP brute force cracker and TCP connection reset application. 5.1.8 THC hydra This tool is free and works on all the operating systems except MAC. This tool allows the user to remotely break into a system and crack a password using different protocols. It crack using fifty protocols. it can crack a network login. it crack the password using the dictionary or brute force attacks. It also features login brute force attack. 5.1.9 Wfuzz This is a free tool that works on Linux Windows and Mac Os. it features the following :multiple injection points capability, recrusion when doing dictionary brute force, Post headers and authentication data brute force, out put to HTML, Proxy and SOCK support. It is usually used to brute force web applications and to find user name and password [8] [9]. 6.1 Overview John the ripper is the best cracking tool ever. John the ripper comes with two versions the popular version is free and there is a pro version which is commercial version. It runs on many platforms like DOS, Unix, BeOS, Win32 and OpenVMS. It is similar to THChydra but the main difference is that Hydra is Online password cracker whereas John the ripper is offline password cracker. It is usually used by hacktivists for penetrating passwords. John the Ripper is a fast password cracker. Period. In fact, you can consider John The Ripper as the definitive password hacking tool. Johnny is a graphical interface that can replace John the ripper to simplify the cracking process instead of using the command line interface. it comes by default with kali Linux. 6.2 John the ripper features Decrypt most guessing hashes using wordlist dictionaries. Ability to specify guessing with certain letters and symbols assigned by the user without using the dictionary. Ability to decrypt more than hash at once. Automatically detect the type of the hash. Rapidly crack passwords. ability to continue guessing process that has started earlier from another device [10] [11]. 6.3 How does John the ripper work? John the ripper cracks the password in four main Modes: 6.3.1 WordList Mode Its the simplest technique that mainly allows the user to assign what is so-called word lists which is a text file includes a password in each line and some password files. Also features the ability of generating other likely password files. 6.3.2 Single Crack Mode this is the mode a user should start cracking with. It assigns the login names. Moreover, it uses GECOS which contain personal information about the user, user home dictionary, also several of rules applied. It also have got the ability to crack other password hashes if guessing is success, it would try the same password for all the hashes because more likely there will be another user with the same password. Usually the administrator should have an access to the a file which contains the users information and passwords. Finally, single mode is much faster because it cracks single password at a time. The user can also use this mode in two different files at the same time [12]. 6.3.3 External Mode To define an external cracking mode you need to create a configuration file section called [List.External:MODE], where MODE is any name that you assign to the mode. The section should contain some functions programmed in a C-like language. John will compile and use the functions if you enable this cracking mode via the command line 6.3.4 Incremental Mode. This is the most effective and powerful cracking mode. It assigns every possible combination of characters for cracking passwords . but it still have a disadvantage which is the cracking process will keep running and will never stop because the tried combination password characters are too large. there for, crackers usually limit the character combinations to lower case so, it doesnt take as much time as if its not set. It uses what is so-calledtrigraph process for example: (aa, ab,ac,etc,), (ba,bc,bd,be,baa,bba etc,) it would not miss any password combination every combination will be tried. Its main advantage is to crack a password in a limited time [11] [10]. 7.1 Brute force attack This technique of password attack That is not actually decrypt any data, but also continue trying a list of password combination eg, words, letters .A simple brute force could be dictionary of all words commn passwords. doing trying cycle until it gets the access to an account. the complex example of brute force is trying every possible combinations of numbers, letters and symbols. However, this technique is the has to be the last option for any cracker because it can take long and the bigger number of encryption (64-32-265)bit the longer time it will take for cracking. 7.2 Dictionary attack This type of password where the cracker can assume the password consisting of string of words, Years, or special number that is chosen from the dictionary. This tool has to be included with what is so-called dictionary input list. The cracker can download a big database including specific vocabularies for example, Sports, movies, and so on. 7.3 Password sniffing This technique called sniff because the the crackers have the ability to sniff the authentication packets that are travelling from the client to the server among the Internet or the local area network. This technique can provide the cracker with hashes or other authentication data necessary for cracking process. There are verity of sniffers tools such as Wireshark,ScoopLM,KerbCrack. The NTLNv2 authentication traffic cannot be sniffed neither by ScoopLM nor Kerbcrack. 7.4 Password capturing Alot of crackers get passwords easily by launching a keyboard sniffing Trojan horse or buying a physical keyboard logging device.According to many reports 82% of the most widely used viruses steal critical data.Most of them sniff passwords. Less than a $100 anyone can get key logging device which is very small and can simply fit between the keyboard and the computers keyboard port. Its also extremely easy to sniff password even from wireless keyboards [13]. To conclude, First, There are verity of applications and tools that you could crack any password. Second, protecting your password requires using strong password. Moreover, there is nothing called uncrackable password its just a matter of time and resources. Finally, the only thing you can do is using strong password and keep changing your password from time to time. [1]M. Tokutomi and S. Martin, Password Cracking. [2]Chit Ko Ko Win, Password management for you, 08:57:17 UTC. [3]D. Bisson, Cracked Ashley Madison passwords consistent with years of poor security, Graham Cluley, 16-Sep-2015. . [4]The science of password selection, Troy Hunt, 17-Jul-2011. [Online]. Available: https://www.troyhunt.com/science-of-password-selection/. [Accessed: 16-Feb-2017]. [5]jsheehan2014, Choosing a Password: Needle in a Haystack, MACED Tech Resource, 15-May-2015. . [6]How Long Would it Take to Crack Your Password? Find Out! Randomize, Random ize. [Online]. Available: http://random-ize.com/how-long-to-hack-pass/. [Accessed: 15-Feb-2017]. [7]B. Evard, JOHN THE RIPPER, linuxvoice, 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.linuxvoice.com/issues/008/john.pdf. [Accessed: 13-Feb-2017]. [8]Wfuzz, Concise Courses. . [9]10 Most Popular Password Cracking Tools, InfoSec Resources, 27-Dec-2016. [Online]. Available: http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/10-popular-password-cracking-tools/. [Accessed: 27-Feb-2017]. [10]ports, John the Ripper, 18-Feb-2014. [Online]. Available: http://tools.kali.org/password-attacks/john. [Accessed: 19-Feb-2017]. [11]John the Ripper cracking modes, openwall. [Online]. Available: http://www.openwall.com/john/doc/MODES.shtml. [Accessed: 20-Feb-2017]. [12]passwords What exactly is single mode in John the Ripper doing?, Information Security Stack Exchange, 2014. [Online]. Available: https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/37072/what-exactly-is-single-mode-in-john-the-ripper-doing. [Accessed: 20-Feb-2017]. [13]Types of Password Attacks, windowsitpro, 30-Jan-2006. [Online]. Available: http://windowsitpro.com/security/types-password-attacks. [Accessed: 02-Mar-2017].

Supernatural in Shakespeares Macbeth - The Three Witches :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth: The Three Witches William Shakespeare has been by far the world's most popular playwright for more than 350 years. His ingenious ability as a playwright has captivated audiences and will captivate audiences for years to come. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564. The specific date of his birth is not known but is celebrated on the feast of St. George, April 23. Little is known about his boyhood, but through examination it is thought that he collected a lot of his information from books and from daily observation of the world around him. During his life Shakespeare wrote many brilliant tragedies. He died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52. One of these brilliant tragedies was Macbeth. It is thought to have been written between 1603 and 1606. Macbeth is considered the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, but not less powerful in its depiction of evil, greed, jealousy, and the madness these emotions bring to a person. (Shakespeare, pg. v) In any work of literature or drama there is usually foreshadowing. Foreshadow can be defined to be, "a sign of something to come: indicate or suggest beforehand; prefigure; presage." (Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia) Playwrights use this technique to give the audience a sense of what is to come or what exactly is going to happen to a character. Foreshadowing can be easily detected or it cannot be noticed at all until the end of the play or story. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the prophecies of the witches and thoughts of Macbeth himself to foreshadow within the play. And Macbeth himself detects them somewhat as does the audience. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the three witches as main sources foreshadowing. In the play they are conveyed as prophecies. The audience experiences a little of these prophecies almost immediately in the opening scene and act of the play. When they talk about meeting Macbeth they say they will greet him, "when the battle's lost and won." (Shakespeare, pg.1) And then they yell together, "fair is foul, and foul is fair."(Shakespeare, pg.1) These two examples foreshadow that some sort of evil will be coming and that there will also be a victory of sorts, but the audience doesn't know specifically what yet. These also suggest a great battle is to be fought against good and evil and the events that follow will unfold at a rapid pace. This foreshadowing can be detected by the audience because they can feel the emotion of doom and evil rising. The actual prophecies given by the witches occur in the third scene

Hotel Opening Human Resources Case Study Essay -- Business Management

A. Tall Pines Corporate Strategy and Human Resource Management Strategy mutually interact through direct influences on each other and both are subject to effects of the economic conditions within their environments. Major economic conditions that exist in favor of Tall Pines are the growth in population and local government programs. The local population is at 1.9 million which is forecasted to steadily increase for the next fifteen years. Riverton has also put an Economic Development Committee into action which is highly supportive of the Tall Pines Center, especially considering the tax revenue they will be giving the city and the state. Other aspects of corporate strategy that may interact with HR strategy are Industry Structure, Distinctive Competence, Competitive Advantage, and Product/Market Scope. HR strategies that may interact with Corporate Strategy along with Economic Conditions are Skills and Values, Culture, and Labor Markets. B. "Any hotel is only as good as its personnel." This statement made by Gordon McGregor, the hotel manager, clearly portrays Corporate Strategy influencing HR policies and procedures. When Natalie Sharp the Director of Personnel, Gordon and the Supervisory Staff adjourned their meeting on contemplating how they might develop a good HR strategy to attract good work candidates, and fill the remaining available positions at the hotel. Another way corporate strategy influences HR strategy is through Distinctive Competence. Gordon has 15 years experience with this chain and for the last two years he has been highly involved in the planning of Tall Pines Center. Natalie has worked with 2 other hotel chains and helped open a new 100-room motel in the southwest recently. Their experience combined wi... ... portrayed to the work force. For this reason it is imperative for employees to understand the HR motto that "a hotel is only as good as its staff." The third stage is the evaluation stage, in which the workers training results are measured and compared with criteria. In the future Tall Pines should plan weekly staff development meetings, and problem solving conferences to help workers get used to common and not so common problems that may occur at Tall Pines. Help workers develop problem-solving skills, develop a mentor program that can discuss employee concerns and also be great feedback to the training program. Adding a training professional to the Tall Pines staff would be a huge benefit to all involved management and workers. This would highly benefit future training programs by learning from past mistakes and help in perfecting future training programs.

Women Of Ancient Greece Essay examples -- Females Role Femininity Hist

Women in Ancient Greece Women’s role in Greece can be seen when one first begins to do research on the subject. The subject of women in Greece is coupled with the subject of slaves. This is the earliest classification of women in Greek society. Although women were treated differently from city to city the basic premise of that treatment never changed. Women were only useful for establishing a bloodline that could carry on the family name and give the proper last rites to the husband. However, women did form life long bonds with their husbands and found love in arranged marriages. Women in Athenian Society Women are â€Å"defined as near slaves, or as perpetual minors† in Athenian society (The Greek World, pg. 200). For women life didn’t extend far from the home, which was thought to be their sole realm of existence. Though they ranked higher than slaves did, they were treated in many of the same ways. Just like slaves, their mothers trained women as adolescents what their domestic dutie s were. They were secluded from all males, including those in their family. They lived in gynaikeion, which were women’s apartments in Athens (Daily Life in Greece, pg. 55). They were kept at home where they were taught the proper manners and duties of a desirable wife. â€Å"Marriage was the inevitable goal to which her whole life tended. To remain a spinster was the worst disgrace which could befall a woman† (Everyday Life in Ancient Greece, pg. 82). However, it was seen as more of a disgrace on her father who ‘owned’ her until she was married. Although Athenian women were completely in charge of their household and slaves, they didn’t have much freedom. They rarely left the house, unless they were part of some sort of religious procession. They could only walk abroad in the streets if accompanied by a slave or other attendant. It was improper for respectable women to share the same social entertainments as men. Even if caught in the courtyard of the house by a male visitor, they would return to the seclusion of their own apartments. Pericles once said, â€Å"it was their business to be spoken of as little as possible whether for good or ill† (Everyday Life in Ancient Greece, pg. 82). This sentiment describes the extent of the importance of women in society. Marriage was their only major role in the lives of men. Marriage The betrothal was arranged by the parents as a strictly busines... ... between a wife and her husband. â€Å"The greatest pleasure to me will be this, that, if you prove yourself my superior, you will make me your servant and there will be no fear lest with advancing years your influence will wane; nay the better companion you are to me and the better guardian of the house to our children, the greater will be the esteem in which you are held at home; and all will admire you, not so much for your good looks as for your good deeds in practical life† (Everyday Life in Ancient Greece, pg. 86). â€Å"Atthis, who didst live for me and breathe thy last toward me, once the source of all my joy and now of tears, holy, much lamented, how sleepst thou the mournful sleep, thou whose head was never laid away from thy husband’s breast, leaving Theios alone as one who is no more; for with thee the hope of our life went to darkness† (Everyday Life in Ancient Greece, pg. 87). Works cited Bibliography Everyday Life in Ancient Greece; C.E. Robinson. 1933. Pages 81 – 87. The Family, Women and Death; Sally Humphreys. 1983. Pages 33 – 79. Daily Life in Greece; Robert Flaceliere. 1959. Pages 55-83. The Greek World; Edited by Anton Powell. 1995. Pages 199 – 273.

Lewis’ Babbitt as a Conformist

In 1922 Sinclair Lewis published the book which won the Nobel Prize portraying the very special personage whose surname – Babbitt – became a household word, a symbol of middle–class Philistine. For the first time we meet George Follanbee Babbitt at his bed going to awaken and dreaming of the fairy child. And here, from the very beginning of his novel Lewis gives occasion to an attentive reader to realize that something is wrong with this 46 years old businessman. Babbitt likes to escape from reality which means the reality is not too attractive to him.He is often becoming angry and irritated by everything and everybody – by sullen wife, by impossible children. And then in the course of novel Lewis gradually expose a tragedy of a man who is in deep disbalance with himself. George Babbitt has obtained all required to match precisely the template of social expectation, except entire comfort with it. Distracted by the feeling that there must be more, Babbitt s tarts pushing limits. But he has no choice. He could not help but be what he was.Near the end of the novel, after a brief rebellion which included a furtive, adulterous love affair he sits in the train returning back to Zenith and suddenly realizes that he couldn't escape as he is able to do only things which all could do. He failed to tear himself away from the vicious circle of Philistinism. That is his cardinal problem. It is the typical problem of a middling person who lives own life without passion or satisfaction to his heart's content and going with the stream. However Babbitt is not stripped of imagination, and he knows for sure his own weakness and the dismals.The personality of Babbitt is totally controlled by the force of conformity. It is so dominant that even after Babbitt realizes the stifling nature of the society in which he lives he is powerless to change his fate as a member of conformist society. Pressure to conform lies in all aspects of Babbitt's life. Relations hips, family, social life, and business are all based on his ability to conform to Zenith's preset standards of thought and action. All of his thoughts are those of society, and thoughts that are not of society are ridiculed hence they are frowned upon by him.Babbitt works simply to raise his social status by means of increasing his material worth. He goes about his normal routine praising modern technology, material possessions and social status only as ways to measure the significance of an individual. He belongs to many popular clubs, the purposes of which he does not even completely understand. Why does Babbitt do these things? He does these things to perform for the other members of society. He does everything expected of him even if he does not expect those things of himself.Babbitt does these things in hope of improving his social status. This conformist man is exactly who Sinclair Lewis wanted to show the reader, a man whose life is based on the ideals and standards of other s. The goals set by society are economic and material worth, social standing, and conservative thought. Since Babbitt has achieved, at least in part, these goals he is in a sense fooled into believing he is truly happy. But†¦ Every minute and calorie not needed for plowing, sawing and bolting can be spent playing the cello, gazing at the stars, learning to draw, fishing, making love.If only someone started thinking about it, the future could be full of both material wealth for everyone and more, also for everyone, more of what the materially wealthy George Babbitt knew he lacked when he declared, that never in his life he done a thing which he wanted to do. By his George Babbitt Lewis shows us how we oughtn't to live, he gives us a vivid specimen how dissimulation and sanctimony could ruin a person's own life. The image of Babbitt is unforgettable, and the book is for sure worth the highest praise.

Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun

â€Å"May I never wake up from the American dream. † Carrie Latet describes the most sought after dream: the dream of a house surrounded by a white picket fence, the dream people work their entire lives for, the dream people fight wars for: the American dream. However, America’s rise to industrialism in the 19th and 20th centuries replaced this dream with the desire to get rich fast. This change led people to believe that it is possible, common even, to obtain wealth rapidly; yet this is not the case. Sometimes, when an individual is unable to acquire such extreme wealth, he create a sense of false reality for himself, his common sense is blurred, and he sees opportunities where there are none. Characters Walter Lee Younger and Willy Loman are prime examples of this, both pinning their hopes on unattainable dreams to hide the feelings of failure. The theme of illusion versus reality is present in both Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman through the portrayal of main characters Walter and Willy in their struggles for happiness and prosperity. Although the two characters have similar dreams, Walter, a dynamic character, breaks through the fantasy while Willy, a static character, remains trapped in his illusion. Willy Loman has a very specific dream, a contorted version of the American dream. Willy dreams of being successful and providing for his family, but also to be popular and well liked: a spin off the classic American dream, which is generally just to have a happy life. Driven by his need for success and popularity, Willy ignores his calling for nature and throws all his heart into becoming a salesman. Willy is enthralled by the story of Dave Singleman, his inspiration and idol. â€Å"I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want. ‘Cause what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people† (Miller 81). This story is the sole reason for Willy’s desire to be a successful salesman, but what he does not realize is that Singleman’s case is one in a million. Although he doggedly pursues a career in selling, Willy also recognizes his need and desire for nature in his retirement plans. As he tells Linda, â€Å"Before it’s all over we’re gonna get a little place out in the country, and I’ll raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens . . . † (72). However, his failure to acknowledge nature as his true passion fuels his failure in the business world as well. Denis Diderot concludes, â€Å"Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things. † Tempted by success and money, Willy veers from his passion for the outdoors towards business, for which he has little passion. The theme of nature is prevalent from the play’s beginning as, â€Å"A melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon. †(11). This specific tune is often associated with Willy’s character, distancing him from the environment, but emphasizing the connection Willy has to it. Many would argue, Willy has set himself up for failure by choosing the business career. In order to escape the feeling of dejection, Willy reverts to his falsely joyful past and creates multiple illusions for himself, seeing the world through a glass clouded with desire and failure. One of Willy’s greatest regrets is refusing to accompany Ben to Alaska. â€Å"If I’d gone with him to Alaska that time, everything would’ve been totally different† (45). Ben’s success in Alaska not only presents Willy with the possibility of money, but it would also satisfy his connection with nature. Ben’s voice in the play continually represents Willy’s resentment of his decision to stay, and his longing for a second chance to take the opportunity. Next, Willy fondly retreats to his past, a past glossed over in gold. Willy imagines a happy and cheerful history with his family, including his father, whom he never actually knew. Ben! Please tell about Dad. I want my boys to hear. I want them to know the kind of stock they spring from. † (48). This is ironic, because Willy doesn’t remember his father aside from his beard and his flute, so he would not know if his father would be someone to admire. Even though Willy does not have a job, he wants so badly to continue being a salesman that he still drives out to Boston and other cities, deluding his faithful wife, Linda Loman, and in part, himself, to think that he is going on important selling missions. Willy lies so convincingly that, when Ben proposes the idea of going to Alaska, a shocked Linda exclaims, â€Å"You’re well liked, and the boys love you, and someday – why, old man Wagner told him just the other day that if he keeps it up he’ll be a member of the firm . . . † (85). Linda is clearly oblivious to the fact that Willy is crestfallen and miserable. Willy even tries to prove to himself that he is happy, but the only true reason he remains a salesman is to gain the money he believes accompanies the job. Throughout Willy’s struggle, Charley, a FOIL to Willy, is constantly at Willy’s side helping him. Charley is Willy’s crutch, his reality check, and basically his only friend. While Willy fights to keep his family afloat, Charley has a steady job; while Willy manages his children’s lives, Charley leaves his only son, Bernard, to find his own path; while Willy loses his grip on reality, Charley has a firm grasp and a level head. Charley is the true example of the hard working, happy man achieving the American dream. Willy’s failure to recognize his own despondent state is primarily what causes his tragic downfall. As the play nears the end, Willy is faced with a decision. He knows that he will not be able to work much longer, and that at some point, he will have to rely on his sons. Willy also realizes that he has nothing to pass down to his sons. The solution he comes up with is suicide. Willy determines that this proposition is legitimate because it benefits his whole family. While talking with Ben, Willy justifies his decision by saying, â€Å"[Linda’s] suffered. . . Remember, it’s a guaranteed twenty-thousand-dollar proposition† (125-126). When Biff confronts him, Willy comes to an astonishing realization: â€Å"Biff – he likes me! (133). This only further deepens Willy’s desire to commit suicide, which would allow his family to collect the insurance money. However, the real reason for Willy’s tragic end is his static personality. His refusal to see the world as it is and his refusal to change means that he is veiled by his distorted vision of life forever. Willy is never able to break through his illusio n, truly believing that he is more valuable dead than alive. Finally, the decision is made and Willy commits suicide. â€Å"The car speeds off . . . moving away at full speed. . . The music crashes down in a frenzy of sound, which becomes the soft pulsation of a single cello string† (136). The rest of the Loman family is left alone, without the insurance money. As Charley sums up at the funeral, â€Å"He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong† (138). Willy died because he didn’t know how to forge his own path. Although he had the chance to turn back, he remained a salesman because he was in it for the money. Had he changed his mind and followed his heart, he would certainly have had an entirely different end. But that was his predicament: Willy Loman did not have the ability to change, something that Walter Lee Younger does have. Walter Lee Younger has dreams that are very similar to Willy’s: to provide for his family and to be successful. Unlike Willy Loman, though, Walter’s dreams of happiness for his family in addition to success. As an African American man, Walter constantly struggles against racial boundaries. The pressure to support his struggling family, including his sister and mother is a constant weight on his back. Walter informs Mama, â€Å"I want so many things that they are driving me crazy . . Sometimes it’s like I can see the future stretched out in front of me . . . Just waiting for me – a big, looming blank space – full of nothing† (73). Like any father or husband, Walter desperately wants a comfortable and content life. The tension between Walter and his wife, Ruth, partially stems from Walter’s inability to deal with his low income, low class job. â€Å"I open and close doors all day long. I drive a man around in a limousine and I say ‘Yes, sir; no, sir; very good, sir . . . that ain’t no kind of job . . . that ain’t nothing at all† (73). Not only is Walter dissatisfied with his job as a limousine driver, but he is embarrassed by it. Walter is desperate, but as a black man, his options for a new occupation are limited to those of a similar caliber to his current job. However, Walter finds an opportunity that could turn his life around. â€Å"I been out talking with people who understand me. People who care about what I got on my mind. † (87), â€Å". . . we got it figured out, me and Willy and Bobo† (33). Inspired by this new hope, Walter envisions a future of prosperity and happiness. This is mostly fueled by Walter’s idol: Charlie Atkins. Similar to Willy’s infatuation with Dave Singleman, Walter believes that Atkins, who owns a dry cleaning business which grosses $100,000 per year, is success incarnate. Atkins is Walter’s inspiration for his own dream of buying liquor store with Bobo and Willy Harris, which could be made possible by the insurance money from his father’s death. In addition to his dreams for himself, Walter also has dreams for his son. Like most fathers, he wants a better life for his son, â€Å"Just tell me where you want to go to school and you’ll go. Just tell me, what it is you want to be – and you’ll be it . . . Whatever you want to be – Yessir! You just name it, son . . . and I hand you the world! † (109). Although Walter has all the same dreams as a white man of his age, they are harder to obtain due to racial boundaries, and Walter must find a way to overcome these limitations. With so many things unperfected in his life, Walter sees money as a solution to his problems. For the Youngers, the symbol of money represents a new house, new clothing and shoes for everyone, especially forWalter’s son, Travis, more food for their table, education for Travis and Walter’s sister, Beneatha, as well as the down payment on Walter’s liquor store. When Mama questions Walter â€Å"How come you talk so much ‘bout money† (74), Walter responds, â€Å"it is life, Mama! . . . it was always about money, Mama. We just didn’t know about it† (74). It is ironic that Walter comments that money is life, because the most significant money in the Younger family comes from Big Walter’s $10,000 life insurance check. As Asagai explains to Beneatha, â€Å"Isn’t there something wrong in a house – in a world – where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man? † (135). The illusion Walter holds that money is life contrasts with the reality that the money comes from death. Later, Walter becomes very frustrated as he realizes how unfair the world is, â€Å"Somebody tell me – tell me, who decides which woman is suppose to wear pearls in this world. I tell you I am a man – and I think my wife should wear some pearls in this world† (143). Because of all this pent-up regret and disappointment, Walter reverts to Willy Harris and Bobo’s plan for a source of comfort and hope. His desperation clouds his common sense, and when Mama entrusts him with the remaining insurance money, Walter invests all of it in the liquor store, even that intended for Beneatha’s education. Despite his poor decision, Walter has a â€Å"newfound exuberance† (112). He truly believes that this new deal will turn his family around in a new direction, â€Å"I got wings! You got wings! All God’s children got wings! † (125). However, things take a spin when Bobo arrives with the despairing news that Willy Harris, revealed as a con man, has disappeared with the money. Walter’s incredulity is clear as he realizes that all of the hope he has built up over the liquor store has disappeared like a flash of lightening. Now that all of the insurance money is gone on Walter’s watch, he is even more responsible for his family’s desperate state. Luckily, he is presented with a chance to redeem himself. Before the disheartening news that Willy Harris stole the Younger’s insurance money arrives, Walter is extremely confident. He is even willing to cooperate with Mama’s plan to move into their new house in Clybourne Park, a plan Walter had previously opposed. When Karl Lindner arrives to persuade the Youngers not to move into their new house, Walter confronts him. â€Å"We told him to get out! . . . Oh, we was some proud folks this afternoon . . † (142). However, after the terrible news of the lost insurance money is disclosed, Walter is not so sure-footed. He realizes the difficult financial situation, not to mention the peril that this move will put them in. Ruth, who desperately wants to move, reads her husband’s hesitation and questions him, â€Å"You talking ‘bout taking them people’s money to keep us from moving in that house? † (142) and Walter replies, â€Å"I’m telling you that’s what’s going to happen! † (142). Despite his strong opinion about not moving, Walter experiences a change of heart when Lindner returns. He realizes how much the chance to live is really worth as he sees the potential for Travis, Beneatha, and even for himself and Ruth, and how much the new house will help each of them to grow and flourish. Counter to Willy Loman, Walter learns to value life, learning that money does not necessarily give you a blissful, carefree life. Walter asserts to Lindner, â€Å"We have all thought about your offer . . . and we have decided to move into our house because my father – my father – he earned it for us brick by brick. . . . Travis . . . my son . . . he makes the sixth generation of our family in this country . . And that’s my sister over there and she’s going to be a doctor – and we are very proud . . . we are very proud people† (148). Walter’s dynamic character allows him to emerge from his black hole of despair, a trait that Willy Loman lacked, therefore triggering his own tragic downfall. Now that he is able to accept his mistake of losing all of the insurance money and has shattered the illusion that it is possible for everyone to be as successful and rich as Charlie Atkins, and that excessive wealth does not equate to happiness, Walter can fully appreciate his life, especially his loving family. From a first look, the Younger and Loman families could not be more different. Through careful analysis, though, one finds that they are astoundingly similar. Both working class families, they consistently struggle to maintain their current standards of living, a struggle made much more difficult by the expectant illusions Walter Lee and Willy cling to. The theme of illusion versus reality is vital in both A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman, demonstrating the harsh reality that a person’s life will never be perfect, and that some people will use heir imagination to fill in the gaps. The sad truth is that some people, like Willy Loman, are never able to break through the illusion. Bent on success and popularity, Willy renders himself victim to his mind forever, ending in death for him, and tragedy for his family. Others, such as Walter Lee Younger, possess the inner strength necessary to break free from this perfect, imaginary world to see that all they want, all they need, and all they seek, is right before them.

Movie vs books Essay

From our mouths, to writing and finally to film, the way we tell stories has evolved over time and I must say thank God for its advancements. Reading a book can be nice but thanks to movies all the work of deciphering the message of the story is done through the director of the motion picture. He is responsible for researching the story to find the intent of the writers and will often consult with the writer to bring you the true meaning of the story. The director brings the story to life on screen with words, images, and sounds, leaving little to wonder, taking out the questions of what the story is about and leaving us with little or no debate. Examples of this can be seen in the Hollywood productions of the movies â€Å"Holes† and â€Å"The Great Gatsby†. The movie Holes (2003) was directed by Andrew Davis who used the writer of Holes, Louis Sacher as a consultant on the set during production (Movie Hole Interview October 6, 2003). The movie follows the life of a boy, Stanley, who due to a family curse, ends up in a juvenile detention center out in the middle of nowhere after being falsely accused of stealing shoes. A witch has placed a curse on Stanley’s family causing this turn of events; the curse can’t be removed until he completes certain tasks for his best friend. At the detention center he is brought together by fate with a boy named Zero who will become his best friend. Through trials and tribulations he and his friend are able to stay united, break the family curse, and get out of the juvenile detention center. Holes was one of my favorite movies growing up, and I have also read the book, I believe the movie follows the storyline of the book down to its minutest details. The movie provided all of the key factors that the book Holes was trying to convey, and in comparing the two I was almost stunned at the realization that the two were one in the same. The movie gives the reader and viewer the same theme time and time again throughout the story; friends will get you through the day, and stick to your goals. The Great Gatsby is another movie that I’m sure many people are familiar with and the story is one I myself have fallen in love with. Like holes I have also read the book that was based on the most recent Great Gatsby (2013) movie remake by director Baz Luhrmann. It is a marvelous movie that evokes a person’s passion, yet wills you to move on past lost love. In the movie we follow the narrator who takes us into the world of Gatsby, a Debonair Millionaire. From watching the movie we may conclude that everything Gatsby does throughout the story is for a woman name Daisy, whom is in love with and desires. To impress her he throws luxurious parties and to be closer to her he buys a mansion across the bay from her. Unfortunately due to his misplaced love, a love that should have been for God, he moves to corruption and swindling to attain his love, alas the only love he receives is the one who loves all, Death. Director, Baz Luhrmann tells the New York Times (May 9, 2013) â€Å"That he sticks close to the details of the story and lifts dialogue and description directly from the novels†. In doing so he is helping to provide us with a view of the story that the writer envisioned. Yet personal interpretation can be a problem within itself when comparing a movie to a book. While there is normally one message you can take away from a movie, with a book readers are able to decipher messages differently possibly coming to a conclusion the author never intended in the first place. Take the book 50 shades of Grey, which is rumored to be a movie soon, while discussing it with several women I have gotten several different interpretations of its meaning. Many saw the book as a romance novel with a main character that falls deeply in love. While some saw the main character as a scary control freak who liked to beat up his women. As for myself, I took it as a trashy love story reminding us of things we all secretly wish for, like the change to be a millionaire and to have incredible sex. So in conclusion, I can say with certainty that movies are the media in today’s society that can create a clear and concise message closely delivering what the writer had intended for its audience. While books can tell a story and allow the reader to use their imagination when determining the message of the writer we are often unsure about what message the writer was truly trying to convey when we finish the book. Movies provide us with words, sights and sounds that give us a clearer picture as to what the writer is trying to tell us. When we finish watching a movie we are left with little room for interpretation or argument and when we leave the theater we are satisfied that we have a good understanding of the writers true message was.

Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist: A Few Reflections Essay

All of us, no matter what our station in life, have dreams. These dreams may be vibrant and alive, pulsating in our entire being; or they may be dead, perhaps worn down by the weight of the years and the affairs of daily life. For the people who nourish great, expansive dreams in their heart, each day is full of meaning and direction. But for those who have let their dreams fade, life, no matter how pleasurable it may be, is empty of real fulfillment. Only those who chase their dreams, no matter what the difficulty, will be able make something of themselves, living a life of their own choice. In Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, we have the story of Santiago, a young shepherd who dreams of buried treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt. He chases his dream, leaving behind all that he knew. He encounters difficulty after difficulty, and more than once comes face to face with his imminent death. Indeed, until the very end of the novel, it seems as if Santiago will perish in a distant land without having reached his goal. And yet, through circumstances that he could not have foreseen, he eventually obtains his treasure – both in gold and wisdom. The Religious Journey Called Life There are many parallels between Santiago’s experiences in the book and the spiritual journey that we all must take up. His journey, set off by a recurrent dream, speaks to us of the goals and aims that we hold dear to our hearts. And, like him, we may ignore the persistent voice of our inner self in order to pursue short-sighted objectives, being aware of our possibilities but afraid of leaving a familiar world behind. We all have a purpose in life that no one else can fulfill but us. We are put on earth to carry out particular mission, a task that we are well-suited to, in spite of our limited self-concept and our current circumstances. And, oftentimes, the most important thing we can do is to simply get started. Christians have no difficulty believing in a purpose set by God, and yet too many people shrink from what seems to be the Herculean efforts that will be required of them to see it through. When they do this, they show how little faith they have in the wisdom and grace of God. After all, would an all-knowing, all-powerful being set a task for a man that he cannot bear? In all actuality, it is man who doubts his capacity, seeking to make his life more manageable by circumscribing it, rather than making it the exquisite and meaningful adventure that it was meant to be. Like Santiago, we all have to be able to give up our day-to-day affairs in order to pursue a higher goal. In and by itself, the routine of daily life is not very meaningful, especially if we are aware that there is something greater that must be accomplished. The first time that we step out to do something about our goals, we will be hit by the fear of uncertainty, which will be aided in large part by the opinions of people around us. If, for instance, you feel called to travel the world for a few years, you will be hit by myriad concerns. Where will the money come from? Will I have a job when I get back? What will people think of me? These concerns, relatively trivial when beholding a one’s purpose in life, appear much more important to us than they should, in part because there will always be people around to convince us that what we propose to do is impractical – even crazy. Even Jesus’ injunction to â€Å"take no thought for the morrow,† though well-known by all who profess the Christian faith, has often easily been swept aside by more pragmatic considerations. The Alchemist: A Christian Book? Christian similarities notwithstanding, those who wish to see The Alchemist as a purely Christian book are bound to be disappointed. Indeed, the book makes as much out of Islamic principles as it does Christian ones. Also, the very title itself is suggestive of the occult, for established Christianity has historically viewed alchemy as little more than the work of the Devil himself. Putting these narrow considerations aside, however, anyone should be able to see that the true value of The Alchemist lies in the universality of its message. All religion, in it purest form, aims to transcend daily life and come into communion with the divine reality. In the end, connection with the divine cannot be distilled into practiced systems of moral behavior, or in the practice of rituals. One must learn to listen within, to get in touch with the divine spark that resides in each person. Only by persisting in this quest – this journey – can we gain the inner strength required to find our own individual â€Å"treasure. †