Sunday, October 27, 2019

Relationship Between Architecture and Politics

Relationship Between Architecture and Politics Architecture is not only classified as describing the elegant and formal preferences of an architect, but it can also reveal the hopes, power struggle and the elements culture of the society. Although nowadays architecture tend to orbit around themes that represents neutrality in order to represent a healthier theme or image for the city without supporting any political regime ,it can be certainly maintained that using architecture as a major tool to symbolize power and authority for a society such as Nazi Germany and Rome power is a required and preferred tool in order to keep the legacy of the society or area alive as time passes by as the built environment is a text whose every word reveals a nation’s vicissitudes. As insofar the building that was only said to be a work or architectural earth can serve a purpose of being a visual metaphor, announcing something in its own way about the power, existence, strength, protectiveness and structure of the institution it represents. Firstly, architecture supports the system with a structural model which is used by the society to conceptualize the world which makes it connected with political power as said by Mitchell kapor â€Å"Architecture is politics†. Hence there is a structural relationship between the social and political sides, architecture reveals the power that is embodied in it and specifically the monumental architecture that is formed by the political powers. These monuments shows the power of the individuals accountable for their formation and they describe the nature of that power. For example, using axial architecture symbolizes consistently more to power which control the community as it directs people to that seat or that specific power. Whereas ,Non-axial architecture always maintain the equality of constituent parts and puts the choices always between people’s hands rather than the mastery of certain goal. Moreover non axial architecture is regularly connected to political power as mandate from the masses. Architecture that symbolizes top-down distribution of power is the opposite of an architecture that demonstrates control vested by the community as shown even in prisons as the warden’s power is over the inmate which shows the supreme edge of social control. As architecture can control the way we understand the world, looking at architectural history the relation between the monumental architecture and political power can consistently be seen. Architecture gives us the choice to visualize mentally and support societies to create systems that shows their social and cultural traditions and practices. Hence, leaders use it to express the way that they understand reality in and express how they crave to be seen by the people and enforce their opinion and view and carry their power over the populace. However, Nazi’s and Romans leaders in Germany and Rome in the old centuries used architecture in a way to exude power and domination in order to keep their legacy as a society with power and wealth in the world, hence their buildings had an enormous effect on the way architects designed their buildings in the western side of the world and still continues till this day. Nowadays along the western world the effect of Roman power is still manifest which shows how using architecture as a society power tool can be effective and is needed by the world, and many European cities still have souvenirs that remind them of the ancient Rome. Architecture played an essential role in bringing together the empire and was vital to the success of Rome as both formal architecture like temples and basilicas for example bridges and aqueducts had a major role in representing Rome power. Communication across the far flung was supported by the construction of the roads with their bridges. Moreover, clean and hygiened water was provided to the people in city by aquedects. Whereas, the basilica fulfilled administrative functions which was showed in American cities in town halls or court houses and other buildings also served roman power weather directly or indirectly. The basilicas had various characteristics and components such as a projection which the Romans called apse which acted as the seat of the magistrate accountable for dispensing the law and along with it comes a scene or an image of the emperor which is the source of the law. Then above the image is a curvy semi -circular line which acts as an echo in the form of the apse. The basilica in Roman city carried the concept of Roman authority for the people of the Roman Empire. The association with person was a prima explanation for the use of the basilica soft as the typical become of the Christian church from the abstraction of the Emperor Metropolis. The organization of the space and disposition of the buildings in the second century formed almost a symbolic map of Roman power which the study of this early second century building complex show us. To summarize the Roman architecture, the basilica with its apses points and symbolized to Roman law power; the authority of classical culture and literature is shown by its formal libraries; and the religion is reflected to the public life of the people by the temples. Also Trajan which is the Roman military leader and has images at the center of the city in the imperial axis has ordered the built of the markets on the adjacent hill which states an obvious statement about the emperor being the provider for the Roman populace. Reminders of the culture and traditions of the Roman Empire are still there throughout the western world cities. Most Leaders want to give intimidation and control through their built environment and visual testament to their strength and control to the people and the nation .Examples can be seen all around the world. In Paris after Napoleon became the king of the empire in 1804, he wanted Paris to become the new Rome so you can find various similarities in their buildings. The Arc de Triumphed, started to be built by Napoleon in 1806 but not finished until 1836, is the extremely famous example of the French taking of Roman formulas In Vendome in Paris, the leader Napoleon ordered the built of a monumental free-standing column that was clearly based and similar in structure to the column of Ttrajan from the early second century.A bronze statue is on the top of the vendomne column and has a costume that looks like a Roman, like Trajan on his column. The service of the Madeleine. The designer Pierre-Alexandre Vignon plain supported his construction on the distinct strain of the Italian Temple. Secondly, Nazi’s and Hitler also used architecture in a way to threaten and intimidate the people and go forward in the power of their state. It is shown clearly in their projects as some element like stark facades, columns, pilasters, and clean lines is used in a massive scale by the project’s architects such as Albert Speer, Hermann Giesler, and Fritz Todt to form a new aesthetic and demonstrate power, control and domination. Moreover, the building’s sizes gave a huge effect and showed clearly the wealth and power of the Germans to anyone who ventured their buildings. Hence, the city of Berlin was to be the city of the Nazis corp, and as such, required to bonk and resemble the noesis, ascendancy, and caliber of the Fascist circle. Invoking images of the Catholicism Empire, the remade Berlin would be titled Germania, the old European plant for Deutschland. Domination of the world was the aim of Berlin so it required more monuments. So to ceremonialize the power of the German state a plan and models to create a city with an enormous number of public building were made by the architects responsible of the project. Many buildings are still surviving till nowadays although the Berlin plan did not fully succeed that represent the rare trend of the regime. The style of intimidaton architecture was the main style used by the germans while building and designing their buildings. Other buildings not representative of the Nazi vogue all the same reference Nazi aims by glorifying both the past of Teutonic and the culture of the rural as well. Always, Nazi architects worked to confirm that their buildings served the needs of the regime. Influenced by classical Hellenic Republic and Rome, they cultivated ANaesthetic of order, victimization lowest decoration and action straight lines. From the baroque era, they realised the facility of buildings as expressions of wealth and power, and they tried to include that expression into their buildings. Nazi desi gn served the state by actioning its values, demonstrating its power, and making edifices capable of lasting for hundreds of years. The Nazis tried to regulate each facet of Germans lives; design contend a key role during this. The order and plainness of Nazi facades mirrored the order perfect by Nazi theorists. Places designed for mass community experiences designed unity round the party. Buildings reflective rural and Teutonic pasts emphasised the Nazis glorification of these times. Constant aspects of Nazi buildings supposed to impress foreign diplomats served double duty by expressing the strength of the National Socialist German Workers Party to everybody United Nations agency lapsed. Adolf Hitler and Speer had faith that that design had the power to deeply infuence peopless thoughts and actions. In their neurotic plans for Germania, they showed expressly that design was a tool of the state. itdbeaccustomedpromote ideology, even at the expense of livability.Adolf Hitlerwishedbuildings to be the word in stone, durable, a clear representations of the Nazi ideals. Same all the antithetic varieties of art throug hout the Socialism programme, Structure was a puppet of both the state and the commonwealth as well as John Ruskin the English writer said â€Å"Architecture is the work of nations†. This shows that architecture can be used in a spectacular multiple of ways to provide the nation, culture and society its own characteristic and charisma. A major distinction between the classical state design of Third Reich|Reich} and classical design in alternative trendy countries in Europe and America is that in Germany it absolutely was however one aspect of a severely authoritarian state. Its dictatorly aimed to determine study order; grid iron city plans, axial symmetry, hierarchic placement of state structure among urban house on a scale meant to strengthen the interpersonal and governmental rule wanted by the Nazi propose, that anticipated the displacement of religious belief and moral values by a brand new quite worship supported the cult of Nazi martyrs and leaders and with a worth system near that of pre-Christian Rome In Mein Kampf, Germanic Nazi states that industrialised Teutonic cities of his day lacked high open monuments and a halfway accent for territory spirit. In fact, criticism of the fast manufacture of German cities once 1870 had already been voiced. The ideal Nazi town wasnt to be over large, since it had been to replicate pre-industrial values and its state monuments, the product and symbols of collective effort, were to lean most prominence by being centrally set within the new and reshaped cities of the enlarged Composer. Nazis comments in Mein Kampf indicated that he saw buildings such like the coliseum and also the Circus Maximus As symbols of the political would possibly and power of the Roman individuals. Potentate explicit, Architecture isnt solely the word in stone, however is also the expression of the religion and conviction of a community, alternatively it signifies the ability, greatness and laurels of an fantabulous man or individual. In Potentates cultural direction, The  Buildings of the Reich, delivered in Sep 1937 , in Nuremberg, he thoroughbred that the new buildings of the Reich were to bolster the authority of the National Socialist German Workers Party and also the state and at identical time give gigantic proof of the community. The subject proof of this authority may already be seen in Nuremberg, metropolis and Berlin and would become still a lot of evident once a lot of plans had been place into result. Hitler himself was as a girlish man was initially impresssed with the extremely formed, ornate, neo-Baroque vogue open in various Habsburg-era people buildings. Flat then, he matte that the key qualification for a morality public business was that it verbalised the capability of its somebody. These buildings, with their immoderate volume of pilasters, porticos, columns, arches, and pediments, manifested the wealth and nation of the German and royalty states. Whereas these highly-decorated buildings square measure markedly totally different from those designed throughout Hitlers reign, they possess symmetry, a proper part of style that each designer and Der Fuhrer believed was essential to making order. The impressive Berlinerdom exudes any wealth, with palm in apiece character and carrefour. In block with Der Fuhrer, the cathedral, cerebration too tiny, was fittingly impressive. The nightlong arcades of the New Hofsburg and thus the deposit of Penalty Study, apiece in grapheme of Oes terreich, breathe at the lordly and colonnades entrances open in buildings subsequent in experience, peculiarly Designers New Reich authority’s structure. The New Hofsburg, Vienna Furthermore, Hitler, as a trained creator, was well-versed within the history of design. Within the Nazis seek associate orderly aesthetic, a lot ofattention was paid to the classical buildings of Balkan countryand Rome. It’s straightforward to examine the similarities between Albert Speers Zeppelintribune, shown higher than right, and therefore the Pergamon Altar of Zeus housed within the Berlin Pergamon museum: In fact, Albert Speer himself explicit that the apsis supported this Pergamon monument. There also are noticeable similarities between the coliseumin Rome and therefore the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Specially, the 2 buildings assets a layered grouping of pillars and arches. Notwithstanding, the sports bowl differs from the coliseum in its demand of curves or broadsheet arches. Olympiastadions outside is regressive, and depends on rectangles formed from healthy crosswise and straight lines to actualize its spic, organized lead. Further, the sports bowl exterior is scanty: theres no ornamentation of any good, only lines. These preferences for healthy lines and kosher exteriors are a regular boast of Socialism buildings, especially those organized by Designer, and businessman them as definite from the neoclassical structures that influenced them, Classic buildings were heavily with statues. Fascist buildings are placing for his or her nearly tot lack of honour. The coliseum in Rome Olympiastadion in Berlin To conclude, although after the mid century and the beginning of the 19th century urban architects and societies began to change their concepts and preferred to use architecture and design buildings in a way to make cities healthier and help in reducing crimes and deduct problems. Moreover architects had an aim to improve the attitude of the people and society and they wanted to use architecture to reduce poverty,crimes, and prevent revolutions .However, architecture can be used in both ways but I certainly agree that if architecture is used as a participatory tool to represent power and strength for certain society it would play a major role in changing history and effect vitally the culture of the world as Frank Lloyd the american architect said â€Å"The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization†. Also architecture in that way leaves legacies behind them that coming generations can look up to and that is why archi tects and leaders that time tried their best to serve strenghtfull testament through their designs and buildings.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Spoon River in History Essay -- essays research papers

With the coming of the new century America under goes a change led by many different events. The collection of poems written in Lee Masters book Spoon River Anthology portrays the typical small town at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Show the different social, economical, and political trend and influences throughout the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The city of Spoon River went through many of the same social trends that the United States experienced like social Darwinism and the change in woman roles in society. The idea of social Darwinism had its part in the country as well as in Spoon River. In Spoon River Anthology the character Felix Schmidt found out the hard way of the concept of social Darwinism where only the strong person wins or in this case the one with more money wins. Schroeder the fisherman also shows the example of the new concept spreading through the country. Schroeder tells of the conflict between many different types of animals in relation to the Felix Schmidt case how Schmidt was the weaker of the two and loses all his property including his little doll type house. Schmidt had to become a tenant farmer, since he became a tenant farmer he had to give a portion of his profits and income to Christian Dallman who was Felix’s landlord.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Spoon River grew the social conflict grew between men and women in contrast to the role women had during the time period. The typical roles of men and women had a very strong line of distinction between them. However with time comes change these roles slowly began to intermix, mostly the role of women began to change. Women become more active in the community and the work place. With women becoming more involved in the jobs such as teachers it led to a very new and different life style. Teachers during this time were mostly men, however with the involvement of women and the racial movement which lead the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote and to end woman suffrage. During the many different wars that the United States got into the wounded was cared for by nurses, which were most of the time women. Women’s roles in the beginning of the 20th century had changed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the economical ups and down took its tolls on the United States it also hit Spoon River hard. With the country going in and... ...talk with the most powerful man in the United States government shows that United States wanted to be more into the government policy. With many new presidents moving into office each had a different idea on how to help the United States. McKinley thought that if he would make a tariff that would raise the price on manufactured goods by 48% that it would scare off the people from buying products that were not American made, which would help raise the economy. What it did was just make things worse because other countries were putting high tariffs on American products so it hurt the United States businesses both large and small companies. . The people of Spoon River had encountered many different trends that had shaped the community into a typical town in the Unites States. From social Darwinism to the depression of 1893 to many different ways the railroad influenced the people and society of Spoon River. As Spoon River grows and ages with the country there will be many more and different trends and influences on the thriving little town. With many things to come from all of the different social, economical and political fields in the Unites States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Community Medicine: Much More than a Mere Clinical Subject Essay

Abstract: Medical doctors bear a great burden of caring for both the healthy and ill in the society. An avaricious doctor who has thrown basic ethics to the winds is an abomination to the profession. Over the years as knowledge progressed, the art of medicine slowly changed from a â€Å"philosophy† to a â€Å"technology† with emphasis on machines and procedures. There is a danger of a contemporary doctor running amok, treating his patients as diseases and harassing them with the latest technology. The fathers of the medical world after careful thought put together some rules, principles and precepts to help make a modern doctor behave rationally and responsibly. Community Medicine was thus born of a need to help medical professionals strike a balance between man, medicine, society and environment. It is the â€Å"religion† of the medical world! Community Medicine helps us adopt at different times promotive, preventive, curative or rehabilitative roles depending on the need we perceive in the world surrounding us. It may be overwhelming to realize that our understanding of clinical tools(diagnostic or therapeutic; preventive or curative) must be much more than all the specialists put together if we are to do any justice to the common man in his family or community! It may be sobering thought to realize that when medicine finally becomes thoroughly commercial, we will have to play a significant role in moderating our colleagues and the medical industry to ensure that our communities remain healthy. Key words: Community Medicine, philosophy, religion, clinical subject Dr. Samson Sanjeeva Rao Nallapu, Associate Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine, NRI Medical College, Guntur District, AP State, India Man is made in God’s image and is essentially good. However due to the various stressors of every day life, man tends to stray from being good. His socio-economic position, expectations of life, experiences in life and desires etc. make him behave anywhere between â€Å"not so good† to down right evil†; from â€Å"not so satisfied† to â€Å"immoral†, â€Å"covetous† â€Å"greedy† and â€Å" self-indulgent†. To overcome this we have religion. All religions fundamentally advise man to be contented and moral in his relatively short span of life. Every religion propagates a set of laws which help man choose between good and evil. They show men a way to live in harmony with his neighbor and his environment. Religion also promises man eternal life and riches in the hereafter as awards for a life spent being and doing good. By now, if you are still reading, you may wonder where I am heading. Well. This simple analogy can be applied to o ur subject i.e. Community Medicine and the medical world at large. Medical doctors bear a great burden of caring for both the healthy and ill in the society. Doctors have to be exemplary people teaching their patients to lead healthy lives and helping them to overcome illnesses. Doctors therefore have to lead lives of moderation, always willing to help those in need and ready to give necessary advice. The grateful community in turn respects and even deifies their doctors. A greedy, money grabbing doctor who has thrown basic ethics to the winds is an abomination to the profession. The same applies to a doctor who is only interested in the curative aspect of disease due to the pecuniary benefits it fetches him. Over the years as knowledge progressed, the art of medicine slowly changed from a â€Å"philosophy† to a â€Å"technology† with emphasis on machines and procedures. The precepts of medicine which are nothing but what we read today as principles of Community Medicine, are slowly becoming irrelevant and obsolete to today’s pr actitioner. There is a danger of a contemporary doctor running amok, treating his patients as diseases and harassing them with the latest technology which is his ammunition. The fathers of the medical world after careful thought put together some rules, principles and precepts to help make a modern doctor and the learned people in the community behave rationally and responsibly with regard to health and healthcare. So there we have it. Community Medicine was born thus and it is the â€Å"religion† of the medical world! As all religions go, however, some believe and many do not; some accept it and many do not. Many even revile it and belittle it. Religion is all encompassing to the believer but terribly boring to the skeptic. Therefore we find ourselves defending our religion, trying to propagate it, searching for converts and disciples. We are dealing with the truth, but circumstances and the state of affairs hinder people from recognizing the truth. So here we are today, all of us in the profession of medicine, basic doctors first and only then specialists. Community Medicine puts things in perspective. Our field talks of comprehensiveness, inclusiveness and wholesomeness. We can neither divide the body from the mind nor man from his society, his culture and his environment. We as priests of this medical religion are compelled to uncompromisingly put forth our thoughts and ideas to the world at large and especially to our hospital colleagues and others. As teachers of the subject we cannot undermine our role in shaping the young minds entrusted to us. It is a great opportunity to help these young ones to look at medicine again as a philosophy and not purely as a technology. Looking at it from this angle we realize that Community Medicine is much more than a clinical subject. It may be promotive, preventive, curative or rehabilitative roles that we adopt at different times depending on the need we perceive in the world surroundin g us. We have to however keep in mind that all these approaches carry equal weight when evaluating the bigger picture. Yes! We are clinicians! But it is just one facet of our function. We need to be clinicians because that makes us better health educators, better preventive medicine practitioners and better rehabilitators not just for our patients but their families and even their communities. It may be overwhelming to realize that our understanding of clinical tools(diagnostic or therapeutic; preventive or curative) must be much more than all the specialists put together if we are to do any justice to the common man in his family or community! From a practical point of view, as we can think comprehensively and are rooted in reality, understanding the patient in a complete way, we can help the narrowly thinking curative specialist in our hospitals to effectively counsel his patient. (The above specialist came into being because we failed to convert him when he was our student). We can strive towards empowering our colleagues to inculcate promotive and preventive aspects into their practices. If they show reluctance, we can do it ourselves; mainly to help them see that it works and their patients will be more satisfied and self reliant. However our ultimate goal has to be the transfer of responsibility back to their shoulders. If we hold on, we will again be the cause of separating medicine into unwholesome sections. We need to remember that only a small proportion of people suffering with diseases come to the hospitals. The rest are out there undiagnosed, uncared for and untutored. Again if our approach is to â€Å"keep people healthy† and not â€Å"cure people with disease†, the community is where we have to be. To reach out to the masses we need to first go out to where they live and use all our skills – communicational , diagnostic, curative, persuasive etc. to empower them . In this process we may draw on health care facilities at different levels, primary, secondary, tertiary etc. or even the grass root level people like the Village Health Guide, the trained Dai or the ASHA. Just like a surgeon can teach a student, practical and functional anatomy better than an anatomist, we can teach our students better because of not only our clinical assessment and skills but also our comprehensive knowledge of the patient. In the debate whether we are clinicians or not, there is no doubt at all. We are more than clinicians. We are the glue that puts the various aspects of medicine together. We keep hearing that there is a stigma attached to Community Medicine. We hear complaints that other specialties do not respect us. In today’s world, we feel that a person becomes the temple priest because he was not good for anything else. People become priests for various reasons, one being the desire to show others the way to heaven. It depends on the priest to show his knowledge, understanding and ways to gain the respect of the devotees. Similarly we need to find appropriate spaces; be it the hospital or the community to showcase our substance. First and foremost we should stop putting ourselves down. It may be sobering thought to realize that when medicine finally becomes thoroughly commercial, we will have to play a significant role in moderating our colleagues and the medical industry to ensure that our communities remain healthy. Simply put, we hold the key to the future of medicine in our country.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Part Two Chapter III

III Gavin cooked for Kay at his house that evening, opening tins and crushing garlic with a sense of ill-usage. After a row, you had to say certain things to secure a truce: those were the rules, everyone knew that. Gavin had telephoned Kay from his car on the way back from Barry's burial and told her that he wished she had been there, that the whole day had been horrible and that he hoped he could see her that night. He considered these humble admissions no more or less than the price he had to pay for an evening of undemanding companionship. But Kay seemed to consider them more in the light of a down payment on a renegotiated contract. You missed me. You needed me when you were upset. You're sorry we didn't go as a couple. Well, let's not make that mistake again. There had been a certain complacency about the way she had treated him since; a briskness, a sense of renewed expectation. He was making spaghetti Bolognese tonight; he had deliberately omitted to buy a pudding or to lay the table in advance; he was at pains to show her that he had not made much of an effort. Kay seemed oblivious, even determined to take this casual attitude as a compliment. She sat at his small kitchen table, talking to him over the pitter-patter of rain on the skylight, her eyes wandering over the fixtures and fittings. She had not often been here. ‘I suppose Lisa chose this yellow, did she?' She was doing it again: breaking taboos, as though they had recently passed to a deeper level of intimacy. Gavin preferred not to talk about Lisa if he could avoid it; surely she knew that by now? He shook oregano onto the mince in his frying pan and said, ‘No, this was all the previous owner. I haven't got round to changing it yet.' ‘Oh,' she said, sipping wine. ‘Well, it's quite nice. A bit bland.' This rankled with Gavin, as, in his opinion, the interior of the Smithy was superior in every way to that of Ten Hope Street. He watched the pasta bubbling, keeping his back to her. ‘Guess what?' she said. ‘I met Samantha Mollison this afternoon.' Gavin wheeled around; how did Kay even know what Samantha Mollison looked like? ‘Just outside the deli in the Square; I was on my way in to get this,' said Kay, clinking the wine bottle beside her with a flick of her nail. ‘She asked me whether I was Gavin's girlfriend.' Kay said it archly, but actually she had been heartened by Samantha's choice of words, relieved to think that this was how Gavin described her to his friends. ‘And what did you say?' ‘I said – I said yes.' Her expression was crestfallen. Gavin had not meant to ask the question quite so aggressively. He would have given a lot to prevent Kay and Samantha ever meeting. ‘Anyway,' Kay proceeded with a slight edge to her voice, ‘she's asked us for dinner next Friday. Week today.' ‘Oh, bloody hell,' said Gavin crossly. A lot of Kay's cheerfulness deserted her. ‘What's the problem?' ‘Nothing. It's – nothing,' he said, prodding the bubbling spaghetti. ‘It's just that I see enough of Miles during work hours, to be honest.' It was what he had dreaded all along: that she would worm her way in and they would become Gavin-and-Kay, with a shared social circle, so that it would become progressively more difficult to excise her from his life. How had he let this happen? Why had he allowed her to move down here? Fury at himself mutated easily into anger with her. Why couldn't she realize how little he wanted her, and take herself off without forcing him to do the dirty? He drained the spaghetti in the sink, swearing under his breath as he speckled himself with boiling water. ‘You'd better call Miles and Samantha and tell them â€Å"no†, then,' said Kay. Her voice had hardened. As was Gavin's deeply ingrained habit, he sought to deflect an imminent conflict and hoped that the future would look after itself. ‘No, no,' he said, dabbing at his wet shirt with a tea towel. ‘We'll go. It's fine. We'll go.' But in his undisguised lack of enthusiasm, he sought to put down a marker to which he could refer, retrospectively. You knew I didn't want to go. No, I didn't enjoy it. No, I don't want it to happen again. They ate for several minutes in silence. Gavin was afraid that there would be another row, and that Kay would force him to discuss underlying issues again. He cast around for something to say, and so started telling her about Mary Fairbrother and the life insurance company. ‘They're being real bastards,' he said. ‘He was heavily insured, but their lawyers are looking for a way not to pay out. They're trying to make out he didn't make a full disclosure.' ‘In what way?' ‘Well, an uncle died of an aneurysm, too. Mary swears Barry told the insurance agent that when he signed the policy, but it's nowhere in the notes. Presumably the bloke didn't realize it can be a genetic thing. I don't know that Barry did, come to †¦' Gavin's voice broke. Horrified and embarrassed, he bowed his flushing face over his plate. There was a hard chunk of grief in his throat and he couldn't shift it. Kay's chair legs scraped on the floor; he hoped that she was off to the bathroom, but then felt her arms around his shoulders, drawing him to her. Without thinking, he put a single arm around her, too. It was so good to be held. If only their relationship could be distilled into simple, wordless gestures of comfort. Why had humans ever learned to talk? He had dribbled snot onto the back of her top. ‘Sorry,' he said thickly, wiping it away with his napkin. He withdrew from her and blew his nose. She dragged her chair to sit beside him and put a hand on his arm. He liked her so much better when she was silent, and her face was soft and concerned, as it was now. ‘I still can't †¦ he was a good bloke,' he said. ‘Barry. He was a good bloke.' ‘Yes, everyone says that about him,' said Kay. She had never been allowed to meet this famous Barry Fairbrother, but she was intrigued by the show of emotion from Gavin, and by the person who had caused it. ‘Was he funny?' she asked, because she could imagine Gavin in thrall to a comedian, to a rowdy ringleader, propping up the bar. ‘Yeah, I s'pose. Well, not particularly. Normal. He liked a laugh †¦ but he was just such a †¦ such a nice bloke. He liked people, you know?' She waited, but Gavin did not seem able to elucidate further on the niceness of Barry. ‘And the kids †¦ and Mary †¦ poor Mary †¦ God, you've got no idea.' Kay continued to pat his arm gently, but her sympathy had chilled a little. No idea, she thought, what it was to be alone? No idea how hard it was to be left in sole charge of a family? Where was his pity for her, Kay? ‘They were really happy,' said Gavin, in a cracked voice. ‘She's in pieces.' Wordlessly, Kay stroked his arm, reflecting that she had never been able to afford to go to pieces. ‘I'm all right,' he said, wiping his nose on his napkin and picking up his fork. By the smallest of twitches, he indicated that she should remove her hand.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Essay Leighton Holdings Entry to China

Essay Leighton Holdings Entry to China Essay Leighton Holdings Entry to China Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 2 2. Introduction 3 3. Background 4 3.1 Environmental Sustainability 4 3.2 Competitiveness of Chinese construction industry 5 3.3 Relationship-Based Business Culture 5 3.4 Insufficient Law and Regulation 6 4. Discussion of the Issues 7 4.1 Chinese Cultures 7 4.2 Cultural Impacts 8 4.3 Sustainable Development 8 5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations 9 6.0 Reference 11 1. Executive Summary It is in the best interest for Leighton Holdings to understand the Chinese cultures to avoid missing any business opportunities in China. In the recent years, the construction industry has been playing a leading role in the Chinese rapid economic development. The increase in economic activity has resulted in a heavy demand for construction, providing Leighton Holdings a good opportunity to expand its construction business in China. However, China’s incomplete regulatory system, cultural differences, as well as a relationship-based business culture were among the factors identified as making China a challenging project environment. This is due to the national culture of Confucius, which affects the way the Chinese people doing business. Some of the salient principles of Confucius are highlighted below: * Submitting to authority; * Respecting the concept of â€Å"big family† * â€Å"middle way† to preserve harmony in one community; and * Maintaining harmonious relationships with neighbours. Based on the identified issues, some recommendations are provided for Leighton Holdings to expand its business in China: * Make the right connections in China and hold implementation plan workshops and follow-up sessions with Chinese team members to establish and maintain trust and respect at the start of the project; * Develop a clear and appropriate plan and well defined a project’s scope and design before agreements or contracts are signed to avoid cultural misunderstanding or future disputes; * Employ people who have educational and working experience in both Australia and China to be the communication channel; * Establish price competitiveness by sourcing environmental-friendly resources globally to meet the Chinese demand for sustainable construction; * Cooperate with international association such as World Trade Organization and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation to lobby the Chinese government for policy changes and to call for the transparency during the bidding proces s. 2. Introduction Leighton Holdings is one of Australian’s largest construction firms and one of the world’s largest contract mining companies. It operates with a number of subsidiaries in Australia including Thiess, John Holland Group and Leighton International, providing a wide range of construction operations in heavy industry, engineering and commercial construction (IBISWorld, 2013). With the goal of being renowned for excellence across the construction, mining, and operations and maintenance markets, Leighton Holdings is committed to the achievement of high quality standards, and strives for integrating environmental, social and governance factors into decision making to create short and long term shareholder value, pursuing sustainability of its business (Leighton Holdings, 2013 a; Leighton Holdings, 2013 c; Leighton Holdings, 2013 d). In recent years, the rapid increase of the world’s population, in addition to the expansion in global economic activity and falling trade barriers, has led to massive increases in demand for construction around the world, especially in Asia where large amounts of social commercial infrastructure are being developed (Ochieng, Price Moore, 2013). According to the Global Construction Report (2011), China surpassed Japan as the world’s largest construction market in 2003, and it will overtake the US as the world’s largest construction sector in 2018. These indicate a great opportunity for Leighton Holdings to export its construction

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Boeing Business Analysis Essay Example

Boeing Business Analysis Essay Example Boeing Business Analysis Paper Boeing Business Analysis Paper Boeing Business Analysis MGT/ 521 10/10/11 Boeing Business Analysis Before take the decision whether or not invest money in a company it is imperative to analyze the overall situation of the company. Boeing was selected for study because, as representing American big business at the millennium, the company was reputable an unsullied by financial scandals. Boeing is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, sale and support of the commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense systems and services. Boeing is situated in the 36th position out to the fortune 500 which is very suitable however as the economy is changing it is imperative to perform a SWOT analysis in deep in order to know the company better and understand they overall situation. Strength By their power and influence Boeing has several strengths and one of them is the leadership in innovation. Inside the commercial jet industry and government sector Boeing is known a leader in innovation models of technology defined by their performance an supported by their technical expertise. Another one is that Boeing has a strong reputation of quality and long-standing costumer relationships. Therefore they have built the image of being a company constantly capable of delivering exciting new models that meet the stringent demand of their many and widely varied costumers. To finish whit strengths it is their successful participation in multiple, diverse market segments. Not only are they the market leader in the commercial jet industry, they have increased their share of the military and space markets. Lastly, the multiple markets allow them to preserve synergy between these businesses. Weaknesses As well as strengths Boeing has weaknesses that are important to address. First weakness and the most relevant to aim is the development cost for new products. Because this company is innovative and have a strong reputation in providing high quality the cost to produce their invocation is high. Second material to work whit. As a result these provoke a domino effect causing the delay in the conclusion of their projects production and the inability to predict a new production cycle. Lastly, Boeing has a strong position in the aerospace and defense industry. This strong position provides the company a competitive advantage. However, intense competition across all business segments of Boeing could erode the market share of the company and could also affect its profit margins. Opportunities Inside the opportunities Boeing has increasing demand for the commercial airplanes. This is derivate of the world challenge changing market and the rise of the new air business, as well as the rapid growth of air travel in the world’s wide. Also the emerging economies such as India and China are expecting to increase military modernization therefore this become an opportunity in the defense sector. Threats One of the threats is the intense competition in the aircraft market and the airline industry. The commercial jet aircraft market and the airline industry remain extremely competitive therefore Boeing faces aggressive international competitors being Airbus it principal competitor. Another threat is the great east Japan earthquake impact. Japan were forced to halt their operations due to severe damage caused by earthquake to their buildings and manufacturing facilities. Boeing is dependent on Japanese suppliers for aircraft components. Lastly threats is the increasing jet fuel prices. In recent past, the prices of jet fuel have increased sharply, hurting the bottom lines of most airlines. After reviewing the SWOT analysis, it is important to determine which stakeholders are most important in particular whether their interest and needs coincide whit the Boeing viewpoint. Internal stakeholders Employees: Boeing employees demand a safe and secure work environment that fosters communication, productivity, creativity, teamwork, and employee engagement. Also, employees require compensation and benefits that are fair and equitable for the type of work and geographic location (local market) where the work is being performed and competitive whit other word-class companies. Shareholders: The shareholders expectation is to obtain a profit and superior return on their assets. External stakeholders Government: which is the primary corporate stakeholder and the final arbiter of what corporations must do and Boeing is aware of their necessities. Because government is constantly changing and no government last forever, Boeing is entailed to complete all government ordinances such as taxes, employment law, international relationship, quality on their military instruments etc. Customers: Boeing deals whit its customers in a fair and impartial manner their business are won or lost on the merits of Boeing products and services making special efforts and focus on providing customers whit accurate and valid information. Communities: Corporate citizenship is the responsibility of the entire Boeing community. The Boeing Company recognizes the critical role it plays in the many diverse communities where they have presence, and they take that role seriously. Their sustained involvement in the community is an important element of Boeing culture and integral part of the way they do business. Boeing maintains their commitment to good citizenship by contributing cash, in-kind and surplus donations, and the expertise of our people. Also, they support programs that encourage the charitable generosity and volunteer spirit of their employees and retirees. Workplace giving is focused through the Employees Community Fund, which is the largest employee-owned charitable organization in the world. Boeing people at every level are encourage to become involved in their communities, and they recognize outstanding community service through annual awards for employee and retiree volunteers. Suppliers: The relationship whit their third-party providers, including consultants and contact labor, are definite by contracts, which are base on lawful, ethical, fair and efficient practices. Boeing relationship whit suppliers are based on mutual trust, integrity and comminent to the highest ethical principles. Procurement decisions are made based on factor such as quality, service, price, delivery, and best value. Care is taken to avoid conflicts and the appearance of partiality. Also the expectation of the supplier are based in three main proposes. First, to promote full and open competition based on their specification and evaluation criteria that allow suppliers to respond. Second, to obtain the best possible products and service at the best value. Third, to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. In summary Boeing is committed to the highest standards of ethical and business conduct as it relates to the procurement of goods and services. Boeing ensures their success by satisfying their customers and increasing shareholder value. In addition Boeing is committed to the highest standards of ethical and business conduct as it relates to the procurement of goods and services. The relationships whit their costumer, employee, third-party providers, including our consultants and contract labor, are defined by contracts, which are based on lawful, ethical, fair and efficient practices.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Brain Cancer

When thinking about brain tumor, what do you think? I remember millions of people being killed each year. It is difficult to imagine that someone you love will die because of it, but that will happen. Brain tumor is a malignant tumor that leads to death. There are some which can be deleted and others which can not be deleted. Therefore, over the past few decades, they have tried to be friendly to people. It's going well, but it's not always the case. People suffer from cancer, sometimes they can not control it, people may die. Brain tumors are truly deadly, killing millions of people each year. Brain tumors - Brain tumors can be roughly divided into two types. Primary brain tumor occurs in the brain. Metastatic brain tumor begins at the rest of the body and moves to the brain. According to the American Brain Oncology Association, brain tumor is the most common solid tumor in children, the second most common malignancy in children. Brain tumors are the second leading cause of cancer-r elated deaths in men under the age of 40 and are the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women under the age of 20. There are various kinds of brain tumors. Some brain tumors are noncancerous (benign), and some brain tumors are cancerous (malignant). Brain tumors may arise from your brain (primary brain tumor), or cancer may originate from other parts of your body and spread to your brain (secondary or metastatic, brain tumors). Acoustic schwannoma (neuroma) is a well-balanced auditory nerve, a benign tumor that progresses from the inner ear to the brain. These nerves intertwine to form the vestibular cochlear nerve (the eighth cranial nerve). Stress from the tumor to the nerve may lead to hearing loss and imbalance Benign brain tumor is non-cancer. Malignant primary brain tumor occurs in the brain, usually grows faster than a benign tumor, invasively invades the surrounding tissue. Brain tumors rarely spread to other organs, but they can spread to other parts of the br ain and the central nervous system. Benign brain tumors usually have clear boundaries and usually do not enter deep into the brain tissue. Assuming that it is located in an area of ​​the brain that can be operated safely, this will facilitate removal by surgery. However, even after they are removed, benign tumors are less likely to recur than malignant tumors, but they may still recur.