Waiting for Superman free essay sample

I was crying because there was no one coming with enough power to save us. † Just as many children look up to fictional characters such as Superman, parents rich or poor, look up to our school system to educate their children. However, too many of these parents are beginning to realize that proper education, like Superman, is nonexistent. In Waiting for â€Å"Superman,† Davis Guggenheim addresses the teachers union about the failing public school system in America. Through the use of ethos, anecdotes, statistics and visual and audio elements, Guggenheim attacks a problem too precious to let slip through our fingers. Davis Guggenheim is a father. A father who chose to put his children into private education, but with good reason. He has experienced the public school system and how it’s teachers operate first hand. In 1999, he produced a documentary about these teachers, so he knows what conditions he is working with. We will write a custom essay sample on Waiting for Superman or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is a key component of Guggenheims ethos since he has the bias of a father who wants proper education for his children just as most other fathers would. He builds upon this by featuring well known, powerful people into the documentary. These people include: Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee and Bill Gates. Each adds their opinion to the subject. Geoffrey Canada is an educator who admit evens his first few years of teaching were rough. Because Canada states this, the audience is reassured that he knows what it takes to be a successful teacher. What better way to address the teachers union about the importance of high performing teachers than with a high performing teacher? Then there is Michelle Rhee. Rhee was the 7th new chancellor for the Washington D. C. public schools system in 10 years and claims she â€Å"knows they’re [kids] getting crappy education. † Her approach to changing the school system is more harsh than Canadas, but Rhee’s views are still important. By including a more political view of the problem, Guggenheim expresses his understanding of the multiple components that come with trying to solve it. And of course, we can’t forget Bill Gates. In fact his view may even have the most impact of all. Bill Gates is rich, extremely rich. He may have dropped out of Harvard University, but he’s rich. So it may seem senseless to include him in a documentary that is trying to prevent drop outs right? However if Gates was able to drop out of a prestigious college and then go on to be the second richest man in the world, what does that say about education? Perhaps if every child was given the opportunity to receive the same education Gates had, by the next few generations the U. S. could be spewing with millions of â€Å"Bill Gates† ready to become billionaires. These three individuals are great components that establish a strong sense of ethos for the film, but the personal stories of the five families’ struggles are what truly making it moving. Guggenheims use of pathos in the film is horrible. Horrible in the sense that the audience is sucked into a black hole of empathy for these five families. There is Anthony the boy who lost his father to drugs. Bianca, the little girl who couldnt graduate. Daisy, the girl who has the brains but not the school. Francisco, so adorable it breaks you’re heart he can’t receive proper education. Emily, the one who is almost out of time. It’s not a coincidence all of these children have at least one challenging condition they live with everyday. Nor is it coincidence that every single one is so darn cute. Guggenheim uses this pathetic appeal to his advantage causing the audience to empathize. Near the very end, Anthony is asked why he wants to get accepted. â€Å"I want my kids to have better than what I had I wanna go to school. † This one clip sums up a kids view of not being educated. It shows they are being forced to grow up because of the conditions they live in. With this, Guggenheim implants a gut-wrenching feeling about how terrible our country is for depriving these children from perhaps the one positive alternative in their lives. Once he has filled your brain with these array of emotions, Guggenheim humorously â€Å"enlightens† the tone with statistics. In many different parts of the film, Guggenheim takes a break and turns to cartoons to explain specific topics and other stats about our school systems. Some of the most important argumentative cartoons is about tenure. He first includes clips from The Simpsons and also School of Rock just to show how completely outrageous the idea of tenure is. These are comic relief, but there is a subliminal message. Each clip includes a teacher sitting back, telling the kids to teach(tend) to themselves and of course the kids do nothing. This symbolizes that as long as the U. S. continues to accept and protect crappy teachers, schools will produce failing students. Another tenure related cartoon was about â€Å"the lemon dance. † It includes characters with bodies of a teacher but the head of a lemon dancing around from school to school getting thrown out do to their lack of teaching skills, only to end up in another school where he cycle starts over. Again, Guggenheim uses this to mock the ridiculousness of tenure since it essentially causes â€Å"the lemon dance. † Parents wouldn’t allow their child to eat a sour lemon, so why should a lemon be able to teach, or in this case dance? All of these elements are like the leather pieces of a shoe. Sure, they look nice alone, but a shoe is only a shoe if the laces are tie d. Like laces filling the holes in those shoes, the visual and musical effects in the film create a huge emotional impact. As mentioned before, Guggenheim’s use of anecdotes is key. With these personal interviews, the camera angle is neither above or below the subject. It is a dead center, close-up view of raw emotion. This allows the audience to feel as if they are in a one-on-one conversation with the parents or children . So you can sense every flinch of pain, every hint of sadness in all of their voices and facial expressions. Guggenheim also makes effective use of â€Å"B† roll in the film. Often when he is narrating about the schools or family conditions, a school or neighborhood is being screened. The schools are completely run down and resemble miniature jail houses. The neighborhoods are also run down, lower income parts of town. What is interesting about this, is that in the first three minutes of the film Guggenheim drives past three public schools while taking his kids to their private school. Each public school is gated in, like a jail. Then the private school’s gate is wide open as if to symbolize an open pathway to a promising future. With this Guggenheim also has specific music selection including Green Day’s American Idiot representing America’s high ability to be over confident. He also includes the song Taking Care of Business as sarcasm to former presidents signing education reform bills. Which is ironic since the audience is well aware of the fact those bills definitely did not â€Å"take care of business. † Without the specific video archive and music selection, this documentary would only have been half-way effective and Guggenheim has realized there is already enough half-way effective products in our country. Davis Guggenheim has money. Davis Guggenheim has the privilege to choose. Davis Guggenheim chose private education for his children. Waiting for â€Å"Superman† immerses our population into the lives of those who don’t have the money or the choice to provide their children with proper education. Strong, emotional use of ethos, personal anecdotes , statistics and visual musical effects pulls Americans through the painful reality that our schools are failing students, failing our future. â€Å"Our system is broken and it feels impossible to fix but we can’t wait. The steps are simple. † Thanks to the work of Davis Guggenheim ,our country may finally start to realize that the future can’t be placed in our hands if we aren’t taught how to use them.

Using Teams at the Engineered Materials Business Unit Essay Essays

Using Teams at the Engineered Materials Business Unit Essay Essays Using Teams at the Engineered Materials Business Unit Essay Essay Using Teams at the Engineered Materials Business Unit Essay Essay Amalgamate Products is a multibillion-dollar company headquartered in Atlanta. Georgia. which specializes in a big choice of merchandises and services. It is a planetary company with many locations around the universe. The company consists of a really little staff. and its organisational construction is really decentralised. with each concern unit held accountable for its ain P A ; L. In the early 1980’s the corporation began its scheme of geting several new companies. In 1999. Consolidated Products purchased a concern unit. Engineered Materials. from Andreas Manufacturing. Engineered Materials was the smallest of the five companies that were portion of the Consolidated Products acquisitions during the last two decennaries. Amalgamate Products recognized the differences in the company and its new acquisition from the beginning and understood that challenges would ensue in the integrating procedure. Engineered Materials brought along its civilization from Andreas Manufacturing. which was an old school manner of thought and rigorous hierarchal organisational construction. Over the past few old ages. it has focused its attempts on seeking to alter and incorporate the civilization of Engineered Materials in order to suit into the entrepreneurial manner of the overall company. Unfortunately. its attempts were non successful. In 2003. the company’s gross revenues consequences had decreased by eight per centum. while many of its rivals had gained over five per centum. Effective leading and cross-functional squads are ever of import factors within a company to derive success. An effectual leader is critical when it comes to running a company. It is highly of import for an effectual squad leader to possess great communicating accomplishments to be able to pull off several employees or squad members. Besides. a team leader must demo assurance when taking determination and giving out orders to his or her employees. Others look up to person that is confident and that provides the motive to act upon each and everyone one of its staff members to endeavor for success. At the same clip. a team leader should ever be respectful to others and ever cognize when to take the incrimination when something goes incorrect. Even though there is a strong relationship between leading and cross-functional squad leaders. leading it is non the lone of import feature in a cross-functional squad. A cross-functional squad leader must be able to put ends and aims for squad members to carry through. Since employees from different sections of a company are acquiring together to work as a group. it is highly of import for a squad leader to construct upper direction sponsorship and support. to be able to supply all the resources necessary for the squad. Besides. by adding positive squad kineticss with clear and broad communicating. a cross-functional squad leader can be able to accomplish the team’s ends. All these features of leading and cross-functional squad leaders will assist work out the issues in Amalgamate Products. Issues such as employees non being committed to their assignment. or non understanding squad ends. will no longer be a battle within the organisation. Therefore. Amalgamate Products can go even more successful and go on to turn as a company. In any cross-functional squad it is of import to be able to hold the right resources available at all times in orde r to be successful. doing certain that everything is in topographic point before a squad starts working together. Therefore. sing resources and logistics plays an of import function when it comes to a cross-functional squad. Some of the inquiries that cross-functional squad leaders should reply before piecing a group together are: Do you need dedicated squad infinite? Does the squad necessitate a budget? Does the squad member have entree to all the information from the different sections involved? Is a shared country needed for hive awaying information? These are some of the of import issues that can impact the effectivity of a team’s public presentation. By doing certain that upper direction is back uping and patronizing the team’s activities. a cross-functional squad leader would be able to supply the resources necessary to be able to public presentation successfully as a squad. When a company purchases a new division. it is of import that they provide change direction in order to do the passage go swimmingly. In this instance. the new Engineered Materials division is holding som e issues with the new squad based direction manner. One manner to assist passage this division is to supply preparation to the employees. First. you would desire to interview the employees and roll up informations on precisely why they are holding jobs within their squads. We would so desire to take analyze the information and understand which ailments can be fixed by direction. and which ailments are due to the deficiency of preparation in the squads. We would so take all of the factors that can be influenced by preparation and interrupt them up into classs. When analysing the instance. we decided that there are many countries that should be explained better and need extra preparation in order to hold an influence on the squad members. The first measure in the preparation procedure that we decided on would be implementing a wages system that would incentivize the members so that they will non hold the feeling that it is non in their occupation description. They should informed that the squad procedure is portion of their occupation a nd that they will each be held accountable for public presentation. Management besides should put up squad edifice exercisings for each squad. The squads do non cognize each other really good and hence they do non hold assurance in the other members. If the squads were to be involved in exercisings that help to construct relationships among them. so the members would work better together. The squads should be advised on what the ends are for them. Then the direction should include the benefits to accomplishing these ends. The squad members will respond otherwise if they are introduced to benefits that are individualized and non merely company benefits. There should be a scheduled clip for the squads to run into. and the squad public presentation should be evaluated. Management should hold a meeting that every squad member is required to go to. During this meeting. they should discourse the benefits to holding a squad based direction system. Management should besides portion positive experiences that other companies have had that would assist act upon the importance of the construct. During this meeting. companywide ends should be discussed. All employees are funny about what they are working towards in every section. It helps to supply an overview of the vision and what they are endeavoring towards. Whenever squads meet their ends. they should be announced throughout the whole company. Each member of the squad should be given acknowledgment. Last. the direction needs to be cognizant of what the squads need to be successful and should supply them back up to promote them to work difficult towards the ends. Our confer withing squad has decided that if the Consolidated direction follows our suggestions and gathers a farther apprehension of what it takes to construct and keep the squads. they should hold a successful execution of the squads. As we have stated. the company needs to work on doing the members understand the importance of the squad determinations. and they should besides supply them extended preparation. The squad leaders should be provided specific developing on how to take a group successfully. The squad leader must hold full committedness towards the squad. and must work with the members to come up with the best thoughts. Developing a squad typically goes through four phases. The squad goes through organizing. ramping. norming. and executing. The Engineered Materials division is presently in the storming phase. Once equal preparation and apprehension is provided. the company will travel onto the following phase. Transfering a concern from a hierarchal direction manner to a squad based manner is non easy. and takes clip. Plants Citedâ€Å"Setting up a Cross-Functional Team. † – Team Management Skills from MindTools. com. N. p. . n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Managing Cross-Functional Teams. † – Team Management Training from MindTools. com. N. p. . n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Bruce Tuckman: Forming Ramping Norming Performing Team Development. † Businessballs. com. N. p. . n. d. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. .

A Journal opinion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A Journal opinion article - Essay Example Knowing about the local and international companies and looking into the way these companies operate in terms of production, wages and information about dividends is the main economic issue that is of great interest to readers of the articles from this journal. Readers use the Wall street journal to compare companies in terms of their performance and reliability. Through the journals, readers are able to know which places to apply for employment considering their qualifications. What is more interesting is that the Wall street Journal while covering a story about a certain firm, gives sufficient information about a company for willing customers to have easy access to the companies’ premise or goods and services. The numerous information about different companies also enable readers to identify how competitive the market is. This information is particularly important to people who have interest in starting their own businesses since this help them to know up to what extend to invest in the business they wish to start. The Information that this journal communicate about business companies also help people who wish to start different businesses to know the expectation of the customers. Different buyers have different needs and therefore, it is important for manufacturers to come up with goods that satisfies the needs of the buyers. The information that readers get from this journal about different companies is very helpful in showing which industries form the largest market share in the production firm. This information is particularly necessary to investors who wish to invest in different companies. People invest to have shares in the various firms whereby they get high dividends in return (Melissa 64). The information about the different companies is also helpful to buyers because through the information that people read about the different companies, they will be able to decide on the one that they feel matches or meet their

Environmental Health Historical Prespective Research Paper

Environmental Health Historical Prespective - Research Paper Example Chemicals are the most critical factors that policy makers need to address because consumers may not control their intake. The lack of control results from the fact that consumers are hardly aware of the chemicals they consume from commercially produced products. Consumption of high levels of chemicals may cause diseases such as breast cancer, which have not found a cure since the evolution of mankind. Rachel Carson, an environmentalist was the first woman to create awareness of the negative effects of environmental factors such as chemicals. Rachel was concerned with the relationship between health and environment because she was a victim of breast cancer that is caused by consumption of chemicals (Carson, 2012). Environmental pollution that results from spraying of insecticides, and pesticide is one of the major factors that produces negative effects on health. This is proven by the study conducted by Silent Spring to find out the effects of pollution on health. The study found out that when human beings inhale air that contains chemicals, they are likely to contract cancerous diseases such as prostate and breast cancer. The institution compared the spread of breast cancer among women of Cape Cod, an area that grows cranberries with other regions in Massachusetts. The regions were chosen because growers of cranberries in Cape Cod often spray their farms to prevent pests from destroying their crops; while the rest of Massachusetts does not practice farming, hence consumers in these regions inhale uncontaminated air (Carson, 2012). The research found out that the rate of spread of breast cancer in Cape Cod is fifteen percent higher than that of other regions. The breast cancer results from estrogen compounds that lead to the growth of tumors in the human body. Human beings do not have the capability to control consumption of chemicals in the environment thus, the government should take measures to control air pollution because this reduces the negative conseque nces of the act (Van Holle, Deforche, Van Cauwegan, Goubert, Maes, Van, & De Bourdeaudhuji, 2012). The chemical products that affect the health of human beings may also be found in consumer products such as food and cosmetics (Schakowsky, & Markey, 2013). The products are made of various components, and some of them may disrupt the hormonal balance of the human body leading to cancer. Satura is an example of a cosmetic product that was developed in 1956, and it contains an estrogen compounds that causes breast cancer. Tobacco is another product that harms anyone who comes into contact with the smoke together with the direct consumer. The smoke from this product leads to discomfort on persons who inhale it, and it causes lung cancer. Consumers may prevent the negative consequences of these products by avoiding their intake; however, some manufacturers do not disclose all the chemical composition of their products (Harlid, Butt, Ivarsson, Eyfjord, Lenner, Manjer, & Carlson, 2012). Thi s means that the government should intervene through policies that ban the sale of chemicals that are harmful to the human body. The reduction of consumption of chemical products leads to improvement in the health of a nation’s population (Geoffrey, & Cockerham, 2010). This phenomenon has been proven by a research conducted by the United States center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The institution conducted several researches

GBST300 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

GBST300 - Essay Example s relevant nuclear technology in manufacturing atomic energy and fundamental information to states that are not known as Nuclear Weapon countries by the conformity on the Reduction of Nuclear Weapons, is one of the major ways in which non-nuclear powers and terrorists build nuclear weapons. The upkeep of global stability and security is an essential part of the United Nations’ mission. Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) chemical, biological, nuclear, or radiological weapons that can bring harm to large figures of people and infrastructure have been at the forefront of worldwide security concerns since the advent of the UN. The production of viable nuclear weapons means of delivery, threatens incalculable consequences for global stability and prosperity especially from countries, which part of the NPT possess important unsafeguarded nuclear activities. Countries such as India, Israel and Pakistan are normally categorize as states that are not part of the NPT. The growth of international terrorism has added a new dimension to an old problem, as global and regional tensions rise, technology improves, and security falters in critical areas, giving rise to an international black market for WMD.Dr. Khan, a metallurgist and the architect of Pakistan bomb is considered the mastermind of the largest illicit nuclear proliferation network in history who had begun selling nuclear technology to Iran in the late 1980’s. This signaled the opening of business for an enterprise that eventually spread to North Korea, Libya and beyond to

Swot Of Virgin Atlantic And The Airline Industry

Swot Of Virgin Atlantic And The Airline Industry For its service company is well recognized and has been getting rewards which are providing them with a strong brand image. Zagat, 2009 ranked them as leading players for international inflight services like entertainment and flyer program. Also by travel weeklys 2009 virgin Atlantic was ranked as the best international airline. http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2009/01/28/30064/globe-travel-awards-2009-all-the-winners-by-category.html Also in Western Europe, company has been ranked on first place in comparison to British Airways, Air France and Lufthansa. Also in January 2010, company has received award of Best Scheduled Airline and Favourite Airline. A good brand is a competitive advantage for the company to make position in global market and also to compete with its competitors. http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2010/01/20/32852/globe-travel-awards-2010-the-winners-in-full.html Comprehensive Services Company provides a good service to its customers. Services like check in facilities, baggage handling, meal catering, and in-flight entertainment. It is one of the largest British companies which provide long haul international airlines. Sometimes they also provide passengers with special treatment i.e. providing them with the special meals, mobility aids and also with the health camps at the time of departure and arrival. Virgin Atlantic also offers flying clubs on which they can earns miles and after having a specific number of miles they can have a free ticket. It is one of the largest airlines that provide long haul tours all over the world. Strong financial performance Company is enjoying a strong financial performance even during the financial crisis and economy crisis. 2007 2008 2009 Turnover 1,816,200 2,010,900 2,238,800 Profit Before Tax 31,400 6,000 49,800 Profit Margin 1.73 0.30 2.22 In 2009 the company turnover has increased by 10.17% as compared to 2008. Also the profit before tax increased by 87.95% to reach  £49,800 in fiscal year 2009 compared to  £6000 in 2008. Also profit margin increased from 0.30 to 1.73 in 2009. From the financial analysis we can see that company is enjoying the strong financial performance that has allowed the company to expand its operating activities in both markets i.e. domestic and international. WEAKNESSES Private Ownership Its really difficult for the company to raise capital as it is private owned, which gives unfavourable position to a company in comparison to publically owned company. Publically owned company have healthier access to capital market, and also superior financial flexibility in funding initiatives. Virgin Atlantic airways needs extensive capital to grows its business market for that they have to be under public ownership rather than private ownership as private ownership provide limited amount of financing option for the company. Lack of Scale Virgin Atlantic airways in its operation is lacking behind with large players in the market i.e. large players like British Airways and Air France- KLM operates in 300 and 249 destinations whereas Virgin Atlantic is only functioning in 30 worldwide destinations only. Also British airways and Air France- KLM got fleet base of 245 and 635 aircrafts whereas Virgin Atlantic got fleet base of 38 aircraft only. So we can conclude that its competitors are large in size which gives them a competitive disadvantage. OPPORTUNITIES Growth of Global Airlines Industry With the help of research it has been found that airlines industry has got a tremendous growth in past few years and is expected to grow more in future. Researchers found that airlines industry worldwide had total revenue of $467.4 billion in year 2008. By 2013, the airlines industry globally will get the revenue of $609.3 billion i.e. increase of 23.30%. In 2008, 2.1 billion passengers travelled with the source of airways. Researchers forecasted that by 2013 the volume of passengers will increase to 2.6billion i.e. by 19.23% since 2008. Right now Virgin Atlantic is only operating in 30 destinations globally. In future as the global airlines industry is growing, it will provide an opportunity to company to increase their operating destinations which help them to increase their revenue and market. Global travel and tourism industry is growing Air travel industry is well-known within the transport and tourism industry, as it is the only source of transport for international travellers. With the help of research it has been found that in 2009 over half of the UK population had travel by the source of air travel, which tells that the demand for the air travel is very strong. Even at the time recession, the outlook for the air industry remains stronger for the long term prospective. With the help of World Travel Tourism Councils Tourism Satellite Account research we are able to discovery that the revenue passenger-Km has grown to 11.9% in June 2010. This has helped air industry to recover from the volcanic eruption in April. Also it has been found that the Real GDP for the Travel Tourism Economy was -4.8% in 2009 and now in 2010 is expected to be 0.5%. Also they have predicted that the world travel and tourism will produce over $13trillion for the period of 2008-2017, i.e. is the average growth of 4.3% per annum. We can conclude that in future increasing of global travel and tourism industry will generate additional revenue for the virgin Atlantic airways. (http://www.wttc.org/eng/Tourism_Research/Economic_Research/Monthly_Update_of_Tourism_Indicators/) THREAT Intense competition and price discounting Intense competition and price discounting The airline industry is characterized by substantial price competition, especially in domestic markets. Carriers use discount fares to stimulate traffic during periods of slack demand.Virgin Atlantic competes on the basis of price, customer service, costs, frequency and convenience of scheduling, frequent flier benefits, efficiency and productivity. Some of its major competitors include, AMR, Air France-KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines System, Lufthansa and UAL. In recent years, the domestic market share held by low-cost carriers has increased significantly and is expected to continue to increase, which is dramatically changing the airline industry.The increased market presence of low-cost carriers, which engage in substantial price discounting, has diminished the ability of the network carriers to maintain sufficient pricing structures in domestic markets to achieve profitability. In addition to price competition, airlines also compete for market share by increasing the size of their route system and the number of markets they serve. The increased competition in these markets, particularly to the extent the companys competitors engage in price discounting, may have a material adverse effect on the companys results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. EU regulations The European Union has passed legislation that came into effect beginning early 2005, for compensating airline passengers who have been denied boarding on a flight for which they hold a valid ticket. The legislation also imposes fixed levels of compensation to passengers for cancelled flights, except where the airline can prove that such cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances, such as weather, air-traffic control delays or safety issues. Passengers subject to long delays (in excess of two hours for short haul flights) would also be entitled to assistance including meals, drinks and telephone calls, as well as hotel accommodation if the delay extends overnight. In addition for delays, over five hours, the airline would be required to reimburse the cost of the ticket or provide rerouting to the passengers final destination. The imposition of the regulation would significantly increase the expenses incurred by Virgin Atlantic and may affect its profitability. Rising aviation fuel prices Due to the rising oil prices globally, the prices of aviation fuel have gone up substantially in the past few years. The average cost of a gallon of commercial jet fuel in the US has increased since 2000, from $0.7 per-gallon in 2000 to $1.9 per-gallon in 2006. According to the Air Transport Association (ATA), at a usage rate of 19.5 billion gallons of fuel a year, each penny increase in price per gallon adds $195 million in annual costs for the airline industry. Aviation fuel, which comprises the largest cost component for a transporter, is responsible for the declining margins of most air transportation companies. As a result, some logistics companies incurred huge overheads while operating in many low-volume destinations. This trend could impact Virgin Atlantics margins too as it is mostly reliant on air freight business. Slowdown of global economy According to the IMF world economy outlook, the world economy will slow sharply in 2008 and in 2009, with the US likely to slide into recession triggered by the current financial turmoil. The IMF forecasts, that the global economy, which grew by 5% in 2007, will lose considerable speed slowing to 3.9% in 2008 and 3% in 2009, marking the lowest growth rate since 2002. In the past, the IMF has called global growth of 3% or less the equivalent to a global recession. Virgin Atlantic operates through 30 countries globally. A weak global economic outlook is likely to impact demand for air travel and the company cannot offer any assurances in regards to the performance of its business model under changed economic conditions. Therefore, Virgin Atlantics business is likely to be adversely affected

A Marxist Philosophy of Life - Reading Mao’s Three Essays

From Mao’s three essays, namely In Memory of Norman Bethune, Serve the People, and The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains, we can see that the two defining themes of Mao’s rendition of Marxist philosophy towards life are altruism and pragmatism, both of which are in line with Marxist theories. However, considering the historical context of the three essays, Mao’s philosophy of life as shown in the aforementioned essays can be seen as propagandistic and does not necessarily reflect Mao’s true opinions on life. In Mao’s essays, the idea of pragmatism is shown mainly by Mao’s emphasis on the importance of practice. The word pragmatism comes from the Greek word pragma, which means "deed, act"; the latter, in turn, derives from the Greek word prassÃ… , which means "to practise, to achieve". Advocates for pragmatism argue that the value of an ideology or proposition lies in the fact whether it works satisfactorily in practice (McDermid). Such principle is evident in most of Mao’s works. For instance, In In Memory Of Norman Bethune, Mao commended the Canadian doctor for â€Å"putting this Leninist line into practice† (Mao, In Memory Of Norman Bethune). In Serve the People, Mao stressed again on the significance of practice. He argued that â€Å"Anyone †¦ if what he proposes will benefit the people, we will act upon it† (Mao, Serve the People). Here Mao suggests that an idea, as long as it is in line with the Communist Party’s goal of serving the p eople, should be put into practice, no matter of its origins. This has once again shown the stress Mao had laid on the importance of practice, which is in line with pragmatism principles. Altruism is another element in Mao’s philosophy of life shown in the three essays. Altruism is the tendency t... ... the two themes of Mao’s philosophy of life as is featured in the three essays, namely pragmatism and altruism, reflect Mao’s true opinions on life, they are in line with orthodox Marxist teachings and can be seen as a Marxist philosophy towards life. Works Cited Mao, Zedong. "In Memory Of Norman Bethune." 21 12 1939. Marxists Internet Archive. 2 12 2013 . —. "Serve the People." 8 9 1944. Marxists Internet Archive. 2 12 2013 . —. "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains." 11 6 1945. Marxists Internet Archive. 2 12 2013 . McDermid, Douglas. Pragmatism. 15 12 2006. 5 12 2013 .

Norse Mythology in Modern Culture Essay

Amon Amarth is one of the most blatantly Norse Mythological metal bands in existence. In fact, they are probably the only band in the world that is this closely tied to Norse Mythology. Everything from their album names, to their song titles, to the lyrics embedded in the gut wrenching brutality of their fast-paced melodic guitar riffs, screams Odin, Thor, Loki and all the other gods and characters spoken of in the sagas and stories passed from generation to generation through both written and vocal methods. In true saga style, with the oral tradition of the most ancient establishments and peoples in the Nordic region, they sing the stories of the Eddas and send praise to the gods long after the time of their magnificence. The introductory album from Amon Amarth, entitled Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds, has many different references to the gods Odin, Loki and Baldr throughout the album. One of the more obvious references is from the song â€Å"Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds†, which refers to the universal weeping from the story Baldr’s Dreams in the Poetic Edda by Snorri Sturluson. In Baldr’s Dreams, Baldr, the second of Odin’s sons, dreams of dying and the Aesir are so disturbed by this that they send Odin down to Hel to figure out the meaning of the dreams. Subsequently, he is in fact murdered by the hand of his blind brother Hod, facilitated by Loki and the spear he fashioned out of mistletoe. Following the death, Hermod goes on a quest to return Baldr to the realm of the living. He meets with Hel, daughter of Loki and ruler of Niflheim, and, after much pleading, she makes a deal with him stating that only if â€Å"all things, living and dead, will weep for himâ₠¬ (Lindow), shall he be able to return to the land of the Aesir. The first song on the album shares the album title and lays out Baldr’s Dreams in a modern poetic way that is also exceedingly heavy metal. The lyrics play out the dream and then the revealing of the culprit, Loki, as follows: â€Å"Nightmares, demons haunt my taunted mind, I’m scared, my death’s foreseen ungloryful. Please Father make my demons disappear, please Mother, death is everywhere.† †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The evil force around us still wants to destroy me. Who is the evil slayer, I cannot see? Loki, the deceitful God, discover the arrow of death. Pointed for the Hod the blind by the jealous Loki the arrow cut through the skin and into the heart of the bright one. Silence spread throughout the hall Aesir as the God of Light fell to his knees dying! Sorrow throughout the nine worlds the bright God is gone, sent to Niflheim by the deceitful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dark Lyrics) When looking at the orig inal story and the lyrics, the connection is painfully obvious. The subsequent albums are entitled, Once Sent from the Golden Hall, The Avenger, The Crusher, Versus the World, Fate of Norns, With Odin On Our Side, Twilight of the Thunder God and Surtur Rising. Once Sent from the Golden Hall is a hint to Valhall and the great halls of the many Aesir. The Avenger, The Crusher and Twilight of the Thunder God are referring to Thor who is commonly known throughout Norse Mythology and Nordic histories as the god of thunder. Versus the World is about Ragnarok, the epic impending battle between the world of the Aesir and the world of giants colliding to determine the future of the universe. Fate of the Norns is self-explanatory. The Norns in Norse Mythology are the determiners of the fate of everything in existence. With Odin on Our Side is another Ragnarok reference of sorts in that a couple songs on the album speak of fighting on Odin’s side during the great battle to end all time. Lastly, Surtur Rising is about the rise of the giants right befo re the start of Ragnarok. Surtur, or Sutr as it is spelled in the Eddas, is the final opponent of Freyr during the battle of Ragnarok. He weilds his giant sword that has a glow so bright that none can look upon it without a squint as described in both the Poetic Edda (Voluspa) and the Prose Edda (Gylfaginning). Not only does Amon Amarth do a great job of relaying the stories from the Eddas and the Sagas as the pertain to the gods, but they also describe all of the characters that act as help to, and also those made to antagonize, the gods. Odin’s Ravens, Hugin and Munin, are mentioned in the song called â€Å"As Long As The Raven Flies† which says that the â€Å"sky belongs to Asagods as long as the raven flies†. (Dark Lyrics) â€Å"Risen From the Sea 2000† is about the Midgard Serpent stating that when â€Å"He’s risen from the sea. The beasts of hell are here. Come to rule the world. And you will be in fire.† (Dark Lyrics) Skoll, the wolf eternally chasing after the sun until Ragnarok, when he is finally able to catch and devour it, is mentioned in the song, â€Å"†¦And Soon the World Will Cease to Be†, when it is said, â€Å"Across the western sky he runs, a wolf so grim and mean, devours the eternal sun, and soon the world will ceas e to be.†(Dark Lyrics) One last example of the inclusion of all the elements of the mythology is the power of Thor’s hammer, Mjollnir, which is hinted at and blatantly mentioned various times throughout all of the albums they have put out up to this day. Coincidentally, the number of albums they have out so far happens to be nine. The number nine is a sacred number in Norse Mythology and other mythologies around the world. In Norse Mythology there are nine worlds; Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Midgard, Jotenheim, Svartalfheim , Nidavellir, Muspelheim and Niflheim. Skadi, the â€Å"snow-shoe-god† and her husband Njord, ruler of â€Å"the motion of the wind†(Lindow), would spend nine days in the mountains at her home and then spend nine days at his home by the sea, continuing with the nine trend. In Ragnarok, Thor is fighting the Midgard Serpent and as he is engaged in battle with the serpent, he is struck by it. While he is dying, he takes nine final steps bef ore falling to his demise. A final example of this fixation with nine, and perhaps the most important example, is the nine days that Odin spent hanging from Yggdrasil to gain knowledge and power. Amon Amarth’s lyrical rampage in â€Å"Thousand Years of Oppression† tells the story of Odin’s sacrifice to himself as follows: â€Å"He hung on the windswept world tree whose roots no one knows, for nine whole days he hung there pierced, by Gugnir, his spear. Swimming in pain, he peered into the depths and cried out in agony. Reaching out he grasped the runes before falling back from the abyss. He gave himself unto himself in a world of shearing pain. Go that we all may live our lives by the wisdom that he gained.† â€Å"The Fate of Norns† is a shining example of how the band also integrates their personal lives into the myths that they constantly, and consistently, reference in all of their music. This song portrays a mourning of the loss of a son of only six years old that was the only chance of continuing the legacy of the father’s name. In the middle of the song the lyrics state that â€Å"the fate of Norns await us all there is no way to escape the day to answer Odin’s call or walk through Hel’s gate.† The Norns â€Å"established laws, they chose lives for the children of the people, fates of men†, meaning they were involved in the fortune of every man’s life, or death as it may be. (Lindow) Ragnarok, the final hoorah for the world of the Aesir and the gods themselves, is a huge influence on the musical flavorings of one of the most amazingly brutal, and yet melodically pleasing, metal bands in existence. Would you expect anything less? Hailing from Sweden, one of the metal capitals of the world, Amon Amarth is one of the most Norse mythologically inclined bands in the world. They use Norse mythology in every aspect of their music and truly epitomize the image of a modern day Viking. They pillage every stage that they bless with their presence and ravage the eardrums that their melodies touch. A live show from these guys brings you back to a more primal time of humanity where the gods were made from and of nature and there was still a mysticism in the hearts and souls of the people. To conclude, Amon Amarth is blatantly Norse and they deserve to be recognized as one of the major contributors to the continuing interest in Norse mythology and love of the past heritage of a great region of the world. â€Å"The wait is soon at end, always charge, never bend. Morning is here, make your stand. Live for honor, glory, death in fire!† Works Cited Dark Lyrics.â€Å"Amon Amarth Lyrics†. Metal Lyrics. http://www.darklyrics.com/a/amonamarth.html Larrington, Carolyne. The Poetic Edda. New York, New York: Oxford University Press 2008. Lindow, John. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. New York, New York: Oxford University Press 2001. Sturluson, Snorri. Edda. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing 1995.

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