Black Swan: A Film Review Essay

Everyone has heard of ballet, some perhaps just that, while others practice it or just enjoy watching it on stage. Most people have also heard of Swan Lake, maybe even saw it performed in one or another adaptation, as there are many. Then there is Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofski, which leaves most other adaptations in the shade. Darren Aronofski is a most certainly an ingenious director; he’s proven that with Black Swan, as well as with his previous films which, according to Ryan Fleming, â€Å"can justifiably be classified as being disturbingly brilliant, or brilliantly disturbed depending on your point of view, and Black Swan is no different. † Darren Aronofski’s Black Swan is a psychological thriller; the main storyline revolves around Nina Sayers, portrayed by Natalie Portman. Nina is a ballet dancer in the New York City ballet company. Nina’s devoted her entire life to ballet, she does not care about relationships with other people as long as she can dance; she desires to be perfect in every possible way. Both her devotion to ballet and the longing for perfection are fuelled by her mother Erica, a former ballet dancer of moderate success. However, despite Nina’s self-imposed isolation from the rest of the dancers, she sees a rival in Lily (Mila Kunis) when it is announced the role of the Swan Queen has emptied. Much to Nina’s surprise, the role becomes hers. But there is a catch – the director, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), wants one dancer to play the characters of both the White Swan and the Black Swan, two opposites. In spite Nina’s excellent skills and performance, Thomas fears she is not entirely fit to play the role of the Black Swan, and thus he imposes his own methods to make Nina’s true self emerge. Nina is not aware of that, and when combined with her desire for perfection, it causes her psyche to fluctuate; she even begins to hallucinate, In the end, Nina achieves the so much desired perfection, but for a heavy price. Portman’s portrayal of the character Nina is, without a doubt, one of her best performances ever and truly breathtaking. The character is immensely expressive and she pushes everything from one scene to the other, from one point to the other, all the way up to the end. The film more or less follows the traditional dramatic triangle: the slow escalation and the build-up of the tempo towards the climactic resolve. Nina’s fluctuating personality ollows that path, and she drives everything with it; somewhere along the escalating way, her psyche splits and manifests itself in a surprising manner. It is difficult to draw a line between the reality and the imaginary, between the truth and the illusion. The story as such, Nina’s psychological development, is greatly supported by both visual and sound effects. The impact the film leaves you with would not be the same without those effects; they add an even more subtle feeling of mental exertion. Nina’s scratches and body deformations (a result of her fluctuating personality and hallucinations), for example, look as real(istic) as possible. The climactic end could as well resemble an avalanche. The tempo intensifies, it is almost without control; the rapid changes of scenes, colours and sounds, supported by music, leave the audience without much time to think about what is going on. In the climax, Nina becomes the embodiment of the Swan Queen, her winged shadow reflected on the back wall of the stage; and then the Queen falls. The downfall is Nina’s end after she has fulfilled her desires, wishes and dreams. All in all, if you want to get blown away, then Black Swan is indeed a film you must see. It is magnificent and, as Peter Bradshaw puts it, â€Å"ionospherically over the top, and some of its effects are overdone, but it is richly, sensually enjoyable and there is such fascination in seeing Portman surrender to the madness and watch her face transmute into a horror-mask like a nightmare version of Maria Callas. Brace yourselves before you watch it, make sure you are not one of those with a sensible disposition, it might be too much for you then. You will either like or hate Black Swan, the middle path is virtually impossible to take. It is a film you watch once as it shall remain in your head permanently. A true masterpiece worth every single minute.

Eng 157 Multicultural Analysis Paper

The Importance of Multicultural Literature ENG/157 David McCarthy The Importance of Multicultural Literature The introduction to multicultural literature into the broad world of differing walks of life, the reader may be surprised by the similarities between the cultures as well as the differences. Cultures are as eclectic as we are as individuals, each with their own quirks, intricacies, and uniqueness that inspires individuality regarding how the vast differences between cultures correlate to our own.Upon deeper examination of multicultural literature, however; we are also given the privilege to walk the path of the individual from whose perspective we are privy to through the written word. As many have wished at one point or another to know and understand what a particular individual is thinking, through reading multicultural literature, the opportunity to have such an experience and glean copious amounts of information. From the subtlest detail to major political agendas to perso nality quirks derived from current or past social standards of that culture.Although differences in points of view can prohibit understanding upon first contact greater exposure to literature from various cultures, one can find relation within themselves. One can empathize and humanize the characters that ultimately open the door to greater understanding of how a culture operates as well as attain the ability to relate those experiences to one’s own. To understand multicultural literature, one must first try to understand the cultural background of the author where he or she lives, what time, what their secular views are in a particular subject as well as their passions and influences.For instance, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’, author of the short story ‘The Return’ is heavily influenced by his negativity toward British colonialism in Africa. The â€Å"The Complete Review† (2010-2012) website had a list of the pros and cons of the author’s writi ng stating that he has a â€Å"Powerful anti-colonial voice, a strong stylist, a significant novelist, playwright, and public intellectual. † It also went on to say that â€Å"Angry Marxist politics creep a bit far into some of his work and older works can feel somewhat dated. † Kamau, the main character in this particular ork of Thiong’o’s, depicts what the people ultimately have suffered because of the colonial regime within Africa. The character represents not only what the people of Africa forced to suffer but also hope that the effect of what transpired can be overcome through perseverance despite devastation endured. The author, Ken Saro-Wiwa, also politically motivated which is a characteristic prominent within his short story â€Å"Africa Kills Her Sun†. Having sided with the minority Ogoni within his homeland of Nigeria, his protests and resistance against the dictatorship of General Sani Abacha led to his imminent execution.Within this pa rticular short story, though, he wrote the character Bana as one who sees his acts of criminality no different from that of those in more prestigious standing. This ultimately leads the reader to question how criminal activity, such as robbery is any different from that of the sly, underhanded actions of a politician or any other individual in a position of power. Readers also develop an emotional attachment to a character, such as the main character in Chitra Divakaruni’s â€Å"Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter†.From the direct perspective of the character, the reader looks through the eyes of an elderly widow from India who struggles to find balance between her ingrained traditions and customs from her native homeland to the vastly different culture of America. Mrs. Dutta struggles with her understanding of technology, culinary preferences, distinctively different parenting styles, and proper decorum regarding personal space. She finds herself lost within a struggle between wanting the companionship of her son and grandchildren and her yearning to return to the familiarity of home.Upon closer examination of this piece, the reader can identify with the character and the feeling of misplacement in foreign surroundings. This story also illustrates the struggle with diversity within The United States. As Mrs. Dutta’s son and his family try to maintain assimilation-disregarding their heritage and customs to avoid stereotyping, Mrs. Dutta reminds them of where they originate. The integration of cultures within The United States is predominantly why the United States viewed as the â€Å"Land of Opportunity†. Despite the years of being classified as ‘The Melting Pot†, diversity remains a struggle for many immigrants.This story is a prime example of the internal conflict between heritage and assimilation as well as the strength of familial bonds. The history of a culture is of huge importance within multicultural literature. The attac k on 9/11 within the United States is an event that had both shattered the United States as well as assist in the formation of the future history of the United States. Pride and patriotism after that particular event blossomed along with a heavy rift regarding diversity, especially those of the Islamic faith.Remembering such a tragic event honors those who have lived through it as well as lights a mental candle for those who did not. History is as important in other cultures as well. Understanding and appreciating facts as well as religious mythology, such as the Native American mythology described within Margaret Lawrence’s â€Å"The Loons†. The loons within this story represent a mythological representation of an omen of death in some Native American cultures. The character, Piquette, after staggering through life with two separate identities-Cree and French-ultimately succumbs to this omen.Much like the yellow ribbon represents the soldiers fighting to maintain our freedom battling terrorists and risking their lives, the loons in this story represent the battle between two different cultural backgrounds fighting against each other in a metaphorical sense. If a culture denies its history, the culture is denied its identity. History weaved within the yarns of multicultural literature shine a light upon the dusty background that assisted in the formation of the culture, therefore breaking down the barriers of the misunderstanding of ethics, principles, traditions, and mindset.Much like the dissemination of the history and politics of different cultures, multicultural literature also deepens the understanding of perspective, education, and view on controversial topics such as in Ha Jin’s â€Å"The Bridegroom†. The â€Å"Barnes & Noble† (1997-2012) website included an editorial review upon the short story stating that â€Å"The title story is perhaps the most telling indication of the clash of humanitarian feeling and bureaucr atic intervention.The protagonist, who has been taught to believe that â€Å"homosexuality originated in Western capitalism and bourgeois lifestyle,† is unable to credit his own sympathy for his son-in-law, who is sent to a mental hospital to cure his â€Å"disease. † Ha Jin has a rare empathy for people striving to balance the past and the future although caught on the cusp of change. (Oct. ) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. |† (Editorial Reviews). The story, set in China illustrates the ignorance of homosexuality. Considering the different sects within theUnited States and from other various countries and religious backgrounds that do not understand nor accept homosexuality, this story showcases how relative that misunderstanding can be. Although The United States has erred to the side of acceptance on this particular lifestyle, there are certain groups that due to the ignorance and neglect of education refuse to accept it. Aside from the topic of h omosexuality within the piece and the misinformation regarding that particular lifestyle, the story also initiates the question of what marriage in point of fact entails.With homosexuals fighting for the right to marry within the United States being the most controversial topic, the question that arises after reading â€Å"The Bridegroom†, is whether or not unwavering loyalty without sexual attraction predetermines a solid marriage. Beina, the main female character within the piece remains loyal to her homosexual husband despite his or her lack of physical intimacy instead based the relationship upon respect and companionship.Reading multicultural literature not only strengthens the bond between individuals, it also strengthens the bonds of diversity. Diversity allows individuals to learn and expand knowledge. It increases the amount of respect through first person narratives, memoirs, and the ideals within fiction. Contrary to popular belief, fiction does instill fact in a c omprehensive manner where the reader can walk for a short time in another individual’s footsteps, trace out the character’s heritage, and take a glimpse inside the mind of an individual from a foreign land.A writer puts themselves into their work and the readers having taken the time to examine the stories can see the particular voice of the writer to understand and appreciate the author as well as the characters. References The Complete Review. (2010-2012). Retrieved from http://www. complete-review. com/authors/ngugi. htm Barnes & Noble. (1997-2012). Retrieved from http://www. barnesandnoble. com/w/bridegroom-ha-jin/1102808435

Epic of Gilgamesh †Brandon Barros Essay

The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered one of our first recorded literary pieces and I think it has shaped and influenced our present day lives in many ways. One thing that really caught my attention about this piece is the description of the main character, Gilgamesh. Very similar to movies and stories today, Gilgamesh, is described as a beautiful man. They mentioned him having the perfect body, â€Å"endowed† with beauty, courage†¦. and his beauty being perfect compared to others. He is described as being someone everyman wants to be, someone you can only dream of, they take it a step further and say he is two-thirds God and one-third man. He is the ultimate movie star. I think this began defining beauty and the type of person we would expect to see in stories, plays & movies. Gilgamesh is a manly man who is not perfect, he is relatable but he is also something you could never be. It leaves you wanting to be like someone you never could. How might our stories and movies be different if we didn’t set this standard of beauty with our first piece of written literature? The story and quest is timeless and we see the same framework used today in many movies, novels†¦etc. The creation of friendships, enemies becoming friends, death, questioning life, all are common in books and movies today. Gilgamesh’s questions about life and dealing with death reminded me of books like, â€Å"Tuesdays with Morrie†, or the movie â€Å"My Girl.† Both of these movies deal with the lost of a friend and take you through a dark period of grief and reflection. Last year I watched a movie called â€Å"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The lighting thief.† I couldn’t help but notice a very similar concept†¦ a boy is part god and part man, defying the Gods, but also seeks the Gods for wisdom and later becomes a hero. Throughout the story he is questioning the problems in his own life, but at the end he realizes decisions were made in his best interest. It seems that this type of literature has heavily influenced the Greeks as well. Another influence that is mentioned when people talk about the Epic of Gilgamesh is the similarities between characters in the story and â€Å"characters† in a modern day Bible. Utnapishtim seems very similar to Noah, he tells a story of the human society being beyond redemption and being punished by a great flood. Utnapishtim is instructed to build a boat, bring on all creatures and becomes a hero after the great flood. If this story has influenced the modern day bible, then its influence on modern times is priceless. The story of Noah is one of the most popular bible stories ever and is still being reinterpreted today. Within the next 24 months there is a big budget movie called â€Å"Noah† starring Russell Crow and Anthony Hopkins coming out. Over time, I think we will continue to recreate these stories and see them retold from different perspectives. Something that I find particularly interesting is how popular this story has become with Ancient Alien Theorists. The History Channel show, Ancient Aliens, goes into great detail about the Epic of Gilgamesh. They believe that what we consider as old myths and stories were once considered stories about our actual past. Is it a coincidence that the book of Genesis in the Bible has a very similar flood story? A great flood, a man who is not perfect given the order to collect animals, abandon riches, the flood seems to punish mans sin. There is an obvious relationship, is it possible that the Hebrew bible â€Å"borrowed† from this mythological story? Years ago in Iraq they found what many people believe could be King Gilgamesh’s tomb. If he really existed, is there any truth to the story? Is it simply a myth? ~ Brandon Barros

Leading Global Workforce Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Leading Global Workforce - Assignment Example important for the firm to shape its organizational culture in a way such that the capabilities identified can be employed to address the market challenges and emerging market opportunities. In the words of Becker, Huselid, and Beatty (2013), it is vital for an organization to identify its strategic capabilities effectively to set achievable short-term as well long-term goals in the light of its current resources and potentials (p.na). This process may also assist the business to forecast how long the organization would take to achieve the targets specified. Another importance of identifying strategic capabilities is that it can benefit the organization to determine the right time and method for initiating the next phase of business expansion. Identifying strategic positions is the second step in the process of developing a differentiated workforce. This phase is essential for the organization to deliver its strategic capabilities, employee competencies, and the key behaviors needed (Identify strategic positions). The major significance of strategic positions lies in the fact that they can have a great influence on one or more of the firm’s strategic capabilities. In addition, strategic positions can significantly affect the performance variability, which represents a substantial difference between high and low levels of performance in a given job. By identifying the strategic positions clearly, an organization can determine whether it needs to invest additionally in workforce management and differentiation. This process may also benefit the management to decide whether or not the organization is in a position to capitalize on its strategic capabilities (Becker & Huselid). Management professionals indicate that rec ognizing strategic positions is really inevitable for the organization to promote workplace collaboration and manage a culturally diverse worksite. Assessing strategic players is an integral part of developing a differentiated workforce. This process

FASB Standards Overview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

FASB Standards Overview - Essay Example The essay "FASB Standards Overview" talks about the FASB, and particularly Statement No. 116, in which over the vociferous objections of many of its constituent not-for-profit organizations, decided that unrestricted pledges should be reported as revenue in the period received. They should measure the pledges at â€Å"the present value of estimated future cash flows using a discount rate commensurate with the risks involved†. They should take into account both anticipated bad debts and the time value of money. If they establish an allowance for uncollectible(s), then they should use a risk-free discount. If not, then they should use a higher rate-one that takes into account the risk of being unable to collect the pledge. They should not both establish an allowance for uncollectible(s) and adjust the discount rate for risk. That would cause the default risk to be accounted for twice. Entities need not discount pledges to be collected within one year. To avoid recognizing contri butions as revenue before they are available for expenditure, not-for-profits should consider pledges of cash to be received in future period as subject to time restrictions. The FASB concluded that by promising to make payments in the future, donors implicitly restrict the donated resources to support of future, not current, activities. The recipient organizations should classify them as temporarily restricted. When the cash is received and available for expenditure, they should release resources from the temporarily restricted category.... Contributions also include unconditional promises-that is, pledges- to give those items in the future. Thus, pledges are regarded as contributions, although they exclude conditional promises to give these items in the future. A conditional promise depends on a specified future and uncertain event to bind the donor. For example, a university alumnus may pledge funds to construct a new physics laboratory if the university is successful in winning a government research grant. Contributions must be distinguished from exchange transactions. A contribution is a transfer of assets in which the donor does not expect to receive equal value in return. An exchange transaction is a reciprocal transfer in which each party receives and gives up resources of commensurate value. For example, if a private corporation were to give a not-for-profit research foundation funds to study the cause of a disease with the expectation that the results would be published in a scientific journal, the transaction would be considered a contribution. If, on the other hand, it gave the funds with the contractual agreement that it would have the rights to resultant patents, then the transaction would be an exchange transaction. The difference between the two is not always obvious. When people join the local Friends of the Library Association, do they do so to support the library's scholarly activities or to benefit for the right to attend member-only lectures Do they join the American Automobile Association to promote auto safety and good roads or to obtain emergency road service and travel directions Do they join the AARP to advance the interests of senior citizens or to take advantage of low-cost life and auto insurance

How do you define Academic Freedom and Academic Duty. How might these Essay

How do you define Academic Freedom and Academic Duty. How might these concepts contrast and what are some of the dilemmas that may arise as a result - Essay Example Academic freedom is the liberty to disseminate information or teach as someone deems fit, to do research in any of the area of choice of the researcher without any restraint and to ascertain and disseminate novel ideas irrespective of their controversial nature (Kennedy, 1997, Page 1, Line 3-6). As in other types of conventional freedoms, governments, individuals and authorities are required to permit the researchers to work with complete freedom and ensure that freedom in such work is not hindered.In fact, academic freedom requires the society to provide such an environment which nourishes novel notions and allows the scholars to freely express them. Historically, the world has seen quite a number of examples which depict the importance of academic freedom. Many famous intellectuals and researchers were sentenced to death or life imprisonment for preaching their novel ideas. For instance Socrates had to see the face of gallows for preaching and corrupting Athens’s youth. Similarly, Galileo advocated Solar System’s Copernican view and was thus imprisoned for life. Descartes had to restrain himself from writing controversial notes to avoid trouble. Many teachers had to lose their jobs for teaching Darwin’s theory to their students. Although ideas of these great scholars and researchers were able to survive, it is not known that how many ideas were not allowed to ne promulgated due to lack of academic freedom(Robinson & Moulton, 2002, Page 1, Line 7-12). The practice of inhibiting academic freedom can also be seen in the modern history. In 1950s, anti-communist sentiment broke and universities were pressurized by Wil ­liam Jenner and Joseph McCarthy in the house and senate respectively to fire teachers whose ideas were considered sympathetic towards aims of the communists. The authorities and governments of those times variedly reacted to the situation however, this pressurization led to the universities to protect the academic freedom of

Revitalization & Tradition and Continuity & Perseverance and Essay

Revitalization & Tradition and Continuity & Perseverance and Transmutation - Essay Example Most religion see rebirth as a full membership to the religion. Rebirth can be done in so many ways; the first way is through initiation. When one undergoes some traditional methods of initiation he is considered to be mature and so moves from being a junior member of the religion to a senior member of the religion. By so doing the person is seen to have crossed the line from childhood to maturity and can do a lot of things including marriage. Some religions also baptize their members through fire and some through water and others through different methods. When this is done then the new member is now considered to be reborn and to have changed from the old self to the new self (OlupoÃŒ £na, 1991). A lot of traditions are still practiced by the modern African religions. Traditional activities such as circumcision that used to be done as an initiation process in the past are today done by the modern African religious sects as a religious activity and not as a traditional activity. Other activities such as worshiping objects have been turned into a religious practice whereas the same activities were done in the past as a cultural activity. Many activities that were done in the past as cultural activities have been replaced as religious activities. This shows that the African religion is in a way trying to preserve the traditional African culture by making them look as if the activities are religious. This is mainly done to make people to accept the culture and not consider the activities to be primitive as is always the case with most traditional African cultures (OlupoÃŒ £na, 1991). In most African traditional myths, death and suffering is as a result of sin that was caused by human disobedience. To them suffering is for all men and will only stop to the good people, the people who do good while they are still alive. When these people die they will be transformed into other people who will suffer no more. However to all those

Why does the Financial Services industry appeal to you Essay

Why does the Financial Services industry appeal to you - Essay Example This career option will give me the opportunity to enhance my skills, by providing me with challenges every day of the week, where every challenge will be another learning experience. The rewards will reflect my effort that will keep me motivated to do even better, and who in this world does not want to be appreciated for their efforts. The more experienced I become the more reputation I will built up in this industry, where talent is appreciated (Tom Hopkins International, 2010). I will be able to specialize in future according to my interests as the industry provides various opportunities, for example in investment banking, portfolio management, or in the field of insurance. Even though this job provides one with many advantages, one still has to keep the dynamic conditions of the current global market in mind, as this career knows no boundaries, and to us every market is a global market. Though on one hand, as mentioned in The Financial Times, there was a net profitability of 16 p ercent recorded in the UK financial market as a result of the rise in income and volume of some businesses, still there were some cynical views that were noted after the very first time since March 2009. It was the concern of many banks in UK that the new regulations are undermining the growth opportunities, which are expected to lead to a further drop of employment opportunities. This led to a definite raise of concern in the prospective employees’ minds for their job security, especially for those who are aiming for financial services as their career path. On the other hand, CNN Money reported a potential rise of maximum one million and a minimum of 600,000 job opportunities in the United States, if President Obama’s new bill relating to job plans was to pass through congress. This gave a hope to many economists, as well as to many prospective employees, which according to Joel Prakken of Macroeconomics Advisors, was both socially and individually beneficial.

Good fences make good neighbors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Good fences make good neighbors - Essay Example The neighbor believes that a healthy boundary between the two farms can make them better neighbors as he feels that the erection of good walls or barriers would prevent any of his things getting across to the speaker’s farm thus preventing any future argument, though this makes no sense to the speaker as he says that, â€Å"He is all pine and I am apple-orchard. My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.† (23-25). The speaker asks a question that he answers himself, â€Å"Where there are cows? But here there are no cows,† (30) The speaker believes that since the two of them do not rear cows that could eat up their pines or apples, there is no need for the erection of a wall. The neighbor still insists on his saying that, â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.† (44) The neighbor believes so much in his father’s saying, while the speaker sees him as somebody with a dark-age mentality. To him, good neighbors are the ones that have good fences between them, a good neighbor would not have any of his/her things interfering with their neighbor’s and to the neighbor, and it is only the erection of good fences that would make this possible.

Civil Disobedience Essay Example for Free

Civil Disobedience Essay Based on the writings of Henry David Thoreau it is very relevant that he is very opposed to government involvement of any kind. He doesn’t believe that the government should be involved in everyday life. Thoreau doesn’t understand the point of having a government system that will be useful to everyone and not just a select few. Thoreau proceeds to explain his many reasons as to why the â€Å"government is best [when it] governs [the] least.† He thought people should stand up to the very ones that made society so corrupt and weak. Thoreau believes the government puts personal selfish interests on a pedestal. Thoreau’s opening statement set the tone for his entire essay. He begins his essay by saying that the government, so far, has rarely proven to be useful. He believes that the power the government has derived from the majority rather than the few. This is mainly because the majority is the strongest group not because their viewpoint is right but because they have many in numbers. He then continues to express the fact that many people do what they believe is right and not to just follow the law created by the majority. He insists that people should do away with the law all together when the legal system becomes unjust. Thoreau then states that the United States is a perfect example of an unjust government. He believes that is because of the fact that they have shown support of slavery and they have participated in the practice of aggressive war. In regards to a man following his first obligation, Thoreau believes that a man isn’t obligated to get rid of the evils of the world, but he is obligated not to take part in these evils. This means that no man should feel the need to participate in an unruly government if he does not choose to do so. Thoreau asks, â€Å"Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think we should be men first, and subjects afterward.† He is basically stating that it is far more important to develop respect for what is right, rather than a respect for law. Thoreau sets a very powerful and aggressive tone by choosing to open his essay this way. Thoreau doesn’t see the effectiveness of reform within the US government. Thus, he wants his readers to feel the same way. He then says that he is convinced that petitioning and voting for change achieves very little. Thoreau uses a wide variety of examples, some personal, that depict the unjust system that he discusses. By using his own personal experiences, he is allowing the reader to fully understand everything he is trying to depict. He speaks on the fact that during a protest against slavery, he refused to pay the taxes that were issued to him. Because of his refusal to pay the taxes, he spent the night in jail. But, overall his thoughts and opinions dissociated him from the government because he chose not to participate in its institutions. He then states that one can’t see the government for what it really is because one is still working within it. And, in this way they believe that everything is justified because they are a part of the strong majority. He feels that having too much respect for law causes people to do wild things. For example, he believes that the government has turned soldiers into machines for their own personal use making them a shadow of what is real. Thoreau is very passionate and honest about everything that he says. He wants the reader to know exactly where in his heart these words are coming from. He never uses a harsh syntax or diction when writing because he doesnt want to sound angry. Throughout his essay, Thoreau uses an intense appeal to pathos. He mostly uses pathos when he describes a conversation with his cell mate. Thoreau asks his fellow prisoner what he got put in jail for and the man replied saying, they accuse me of burning a barn; but I never done it. Thoreau does this to appeal to the emotion of his readers by showing them that what the government does isnt fair. He also shows this when he says that he has been waiting 3 months for his trial, and he will probably have to wait another 3 months before he actually gets his trial. Thoreau describes the conversation to paint a picture in the minds of his readers, of an innocent man that had to wait a half a year to attempt to prove innocence. The fact that this innocent man was spending his waiting time in jail, draws a lot of sympathy from his readers. Thoreau also uses a great deal of imagery in this essay. When describing his  jail cell, he used the rooms were whitewashed once a month He was doing this to show his audience that his punishment really wasnt as bad as most people thought it would be. Thoreau even said that he viewed his cell almost as if it were an apartment, and the jail house, a city. This supports his idea that jail technically isnt a punishment for those in it. Thoreau, here, is trying to persuade the readers to stand together and revolt against the government because it is their duty to do so. He then goes on to say that neither him, nor his cell mate pose any real threat to society. This makes the reader question his place in jail. If he really wasnt a threat, then why was he locked up? Thoreau is very opinionated about his very broad views of the government. He believes that the government has only lasted this long because people refuse to execute their own will. And, until this happens, no changes will ever be made. Thoreau wishes for a society in which man makes decisions of his own mind and not the mind of those that are trying to suppress the truth. In some aspects Thoreau is right. Some current laws are not honorable. Overall, Thoreau just wants to conform to the laws set in place, but he feels that that phenomenon won’t happen. In his essay, Thoreau makes it very clear of his idea that government is best [when it] governs [the] least. He uses many rhetorical strategies such as imagery, symbolism and pathos as an effort to persuade the readers that the best kind of government is one of laissez-faire. His main ideas were present in his writing. He wanted to show people that a hands-off government is not the best thing for everyone. Because if he was thrown in jail for one night due to the fact he didnt pay poll tax for six years, then why dont people step up and revolt against the government? He wanted the reader to feel empowered by his words so that there could truly be a change in government policies.

Role of Pectic Enzymes in Fruit Ripening Process

Role of Pectic Enzymes in Fruit Ripening Process ABSTRACT Fruits are important natural sources of human nutrition for regulation of several metabolic functions and maintenance of good health. They are one of the significant commercial food commodities and their economic value depends on several limiting factors. They easily undergo ripening in a shorter period of time and have a limited post-harvest existence. Fruit ripening is a common phenomenon occurring in fruits based on which they are harvested, consumed directly or processed for various purposes. It is an intricate phenomenon involving extremely synchronized, genetically encoded and an irreversible process that results in a sequence of biochemical, physical and organoleptic alterations in a fruit. This finally develops into soft, palatable and a ripe fruit which possess necessary quality characteristics. On the other hand, excessive ripening results in spoilage of fruits. Ripening is related to the modifications of cell wall polysaccharides like starch, cellulose, hemicellulose and p ectins. Despite of several changes occurring in fruits such as loss of turgor, starch degradation and loss of contents during ripening, enzyme-catalysed variations to cell wall composition and structure are considered as main reason for softening of fruits. Pectic enzymes are a group of enzymes responsible for pectin degradation in fruits. They are termed as pectinase that includes pectic lyase, polygalacturonase, pectic methyl esterase and rhamnogalacturonase. Pectic enzymes degrade pectin resulting in softening and senescence in fruits. Pectins are the important polysaccharides occurring in middle lamella and primary cell wall. It contributes to the texture, consistency and quality of fruits. Degradation of pectin during ripening process was known to cause fruit tissue softening. Recent developments in molecular biology have helped in better understanding of fruit ripening mechanism due to enzymic activity. A review about the role of pectic enzymes on the plant cell walls to bring about softening during ripening process is discussed. Keywords: Fruits, cell wall polysaccharides, pectin, pectic enzymes, ripening INTRODUCTION Fruits are important sources of human nutrition and it is a commercially essential food commodity. Fruits are greatly specialized structures developed from a matured and pollinated ovary which have aesthetic characteristics with delicate aroma, striking colours, flavour, taste and juiciness from the edible seed vessels or receptacles (Prasanna et al., 2007). Prasanna et al., (2007) have indicated that fruits possess a wide variety of nutritional substances like vitamins (B-complex, C and K), phenolics and carotene providing higher energy value. They are classified as temperate, tropical and sub-tropical fruits based on their distribution in nature (Prasanna et al., 2007). When completely matured, harvesting of fruits is done. Maturity and ripening of fruits depends on their catalytic mechanism and based on the respiration pattern and biosynthesis of ethylene during ripening, harvested fruits are grouped as climacteric (capable of ripening after detachment from parent plant) and non-c limacteric (unable to continue ripening when detached from parent plant) type (Prasanna et al., 2007). Fruit ripening is an intricate irreversible phenomenon which is highly synchronized and genetically encoded causing biochemical, physiological and organoleptic alterations resulting in a ripened edible fruit (Prasanna et al., 2007). Several factors involved in ripening of fruits are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Factors involved in fruit ripening (Koning, 1994) Plant cell walls are complex structures which contain polysaccharides, proteins and enzymes. Pectin which contributes about one-third of the plant cell wall in dicots plays a crucial role in tissue development, adherence of cells, apoplastic porosity and so on (Almeida and Huber, 2007). Pectin is in control of maintenance of integrity of cell wall. It forms a cross-link between cellulose microfibrils and xyloglucans as shown in Figure 2. During ripening, pectin is greatly modified by the enzyme actions resulting in relaxing of cellular interconnections. This leads to loosening and hydrolysis of cell wall polymers which is the main reason for softening of fruit tissues (Gwanpua et al., 2014). Figure 1: Plant cell wall structure (Sticklen, 2008) Texture, an important quality attribute in fruits is altered leading to softening of fruits during ripening (Barret and Gonzalez, 1994). The mechanisms involved in fruit ripening were not understood clearly. It may be due to several factors like turgor loss, starch deprivation, loss of nutritional contents and so on (Ali et al., 2004). The major changes in texture causing softness where due to enzyme-catalysed changes in the cell wall assembly and composition, cell wall polysaccharides (pectin and cellulose) solubilization partially or completely (Waldron and Faulds, 2007). It has been studied by Rodriguez and Restrepo (2011) that, Pectic constituents is an important determinant of the firmness and consistency of the fruits (Van Buren, 1991). Pectinesterase (PE), polygalacturonase (PG) and Pectateliase (PL) are major pectic enzymes responsible for softening of fruit tissues during ripening (Rodriguez and Restrepo, 2011). Rodriguez and Restrepo (2011) have also indicated that, combine d action of these enzymes add to the final texture of fruit and when these enzymes undergo excessive reactions with pectin, it results in notorious softening and provides perfect conditions for microbial attack. Gwanpua et al., (2014) studied that softening is one of the significant changes occurring in climacteric fruit ripening. They were more prone to microbial infections and physical damages and may adverse during prolonged storage. Fruit firmness determines its economic value and considerable effects were taken to control softness of fruits due to enzymic action, metabolic changes and changes in storage conditions (Gwanpua et al., 2014). Softening associated with the ripening mediated by the pectic enzyme action on plant cell walls of different fruits is discussed in this study. 2. Pectic enzymes Pectinases are commonly referred to as pectic enzymes. They act upon pectin constituents of cell wall matrix resulting in softening of fruits. Polygalacturonase (PG), Pectin methyl esterase (PME), Pectin lyase (PL) are some of the major pectic enzymes classified based on their type of action involved in degradation of pectins. The modes of action of these enzymes are as shown in figure 2. Figure 3: Mode of action of pectolytic enzymes (Van Rensburg and Pretorius, 2000). PME causes de-esterification by catalysing the pectin methyl group hydrolysis (Prasanna et al., 2007). They were known to usually attack on the methyl ester linkages of a galacturonate entity which lies next to non-esterified galacturonate component. This process acts as a precondition for polygalacturonase activity (Prasanna et al., 2007). Rodriguez and Restrepo (2011) implicated that pectin methyl esterases (PME) were found to alter pectin in case of low methoxy pectin and in polygalacturonic acid by hydrolysis of methyl ester bonds in esterified carboxyls. It was observed that the softening process could be controlled by the control of this enzyme action in fruits like pear, grape, citrus, tomato, strawberry, arracacha, potato, papaya, kiwi and guava (Rodriguez and Restrepo, 2011; Prasanna et al., 2007). PG, referred as Pectolytic glycanase is an essential hydrolytic enzyme playing an important role in pectin termination (Prasanna et al., 2007). They act on pectic acids and ÃŽ ±-1, 4- glycosidic bonds are hydrolysed between the residues of galacturonic acid in galacturonans. They are categorized as endo-PG and exo-PG (Prasanna et al., 2007). Prasanna et al., (2007) studied that Endo-PG act randomly in pectin de-polymerization and exo-PG releases galacturonic acid by catalysing the glycosidic bonds hydrolysis from the non-reducing end of the pectic substances. It is recognized that middle lamella dissolution in the course of fruit ripening were done by PG. PL undergoes mechanism of ÃŽ ²-elimination of the glycosidic bonds (Prasanna et al., 2007). They also indicated that PL acts an endo-enzyme which acts randomly during cleavage of esterified galacturonate units. PL was known to act at methyl-ester bonds leading to beta-elimination of glycosidic bonds by formation of double bonds in galacturonic acids (Rodriguez and Restrepo, 2011). Rodriguez and Restrepo (2011) specified that pectin lyase (PL) enzyme were responsible for cell wall degradation resulting in softening of banana and strawberries. The changes in pectin due to these enzymes action were as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4: Action of Pectolytic enzymes on pectin (Prasanna et al., 2007) 2.1. Role of pectic enzymes in softening during ripening in different fruit varieties Pectic enzymes play an important role in ripening of fruit by degradation of pectic substances found in fruits. Several researches were conducted in different fruit varieties and in their respective juices to understand the role of pectic enzymes in softening of fruit tissues and their intended use in preparation of fruit juices to enhance mashing of fruits, for clarification of fruit juices and also to increase the release of flavours from fruits (Whitaker, 1984). Invitro-studies of some selected fruits and their pectic enzymic activity is discussed. Besford and Hobson (1972) studied the pectic enzyme activity in tomato fruit and concluded that action of PG/ PME or transelimination by pectic transeliminase were not responsible for tomato ripening. Almedia and Huber (2008) have indicated that softening of tomato fruit during ripening were not associated with the PG activity eventhough they remained active in ripened fruit. Enzymic activities of other fruits are studied comparing with tomato as model fruit (Ali et al., 2004). Pires and Finardi-Filho (2005) have extracted PE and PG from Peruvian carrots to understand the pectic enzyme activities in carrot and found that pectinases along with amylases would act together to bring about spoilage in tubers. Owino et al., (2004) have studied about the alterations in fig fruits during ripening due to changes in cell-wall polysaccharides. They have concluded that qualitative differences in both receptacle and drupelets were observed in pectic polymers compared to the hemi-cellulosic substances. This indicates that ripening of fig is associated with modifications in pectin. Several studies were done to understand ripening of strawberries genetically as it softens rapidly (Pombo et al., 2009; Bustamante et al., 2006). It was observed that cell wall degradation were due to pectin dissoloution by pectic enzyme activities in strawberries which enters ripening phase quicker overlapping with the senescence. Manrique and Lajolo (2004) discussed about the cell-wall modifications in papaya fruit during postharvest ripening. They found that several enzymic actions are involved in papaya fruit during the entire period. There were notable changes in pectic polymers during papaya ripening which were mainly due to PG activity and probably due to PME as there were charge density modifications in polymers (Manrique and Lajolo, 2004). Avocado fruit undergoes pectin depolymerisation in contrast to other fruits and it was observed that it was the only fruit in which huge amounts of pectin were readily solubilizing under milder conditions (Pesis et al., 1978; Huber at al., 2001). In case of apples, exo-PG, PME and PL activity were observed to cause changes in cell wall polysaccharides (Goulao et al., 2007; Oritz et al., 2011). Studies related to cell wall modification during ripening of apples reveals that exo-PG, PME and PL activity influences softening of apples (Goulao et al., 2007). Studies by Gw anpua et al., (2014) in jonagold apples have shown that increment of PG activity occurred late during ripening and PME activity did not influence the ripening process. Cheng et al., (2011) observed that banana fruit which enters softening during ripening were associated with pectic hydrolytic activity and it was mainly due to the combined effects of PG and PME activity. Abu-Goukh and Bashir (2003) have observed that softening of guava fruit and mango were mainly due to PG and cellulose activity during ripening which resulted in drop in firmness of the fruits. Similarly in case of peaches, softening is due to depolymerisation of pectin by endo-PG activity resulting in solubilization of cell-wall polymers (Yoshioka et al., 2011). 3. CONCLUSION Pectin polymers form a gel-like matrix which provides cell-wall integrity contributing to the firmness of fruits. It stabilizes the texture and colour of the fruit based on which freshness of fruits is determined. Commercial value of fruits is based on these quality attributes. Several researches conducted on different types of fruits indicate that pectic enzymes have an important role in softening of fruit tissues during ripening. They were known to cause pectin solubilization in cell-wall matrices by different modes of action like lysis, de-esterification and glycanase activity. Research studies conducted on selected types of fruits under in-vitro conditions indicated that Polygalacturonase activity is predominant in almost all-types of fruits compare to pectin methyl-esterase and Pectic-lyase activities. Pectic enzymes were not the only factor for softening of fruits during ripening as it is influenced by several other factors like changes in pH, temperature, harvesting period, st orage conditions, physical damage, microbial attack, presence of sugars, other hydrolytic, kinetic and amylase enzymes and so on. Better understanding of mechanism of pectic enzymes on primary cell-walls of fruits would enhance the control of softening and ripening process. This in turn, will improve the quality of fruits extending its shelf-life. Recent advancements favoured the isolation of pectic enzymes commercially which is used intentionally for accelerating the maturation of fruits, added in production of fruit juices to easily crush the fruits, to solubilize the complex cell-wall matrices, to release all nutrients, to control haze formation in juices, to enhance flavour and colour characteristics of fruit juices, and so on. Recent developments in molecular biology have paved a way for genetically understanding the pectic enzyme action on primary cell-walls in fruits. Henceforth, pectic enzymes play a determining role in softening associated with ripening of fruits.

Development Of Metro Rail Tourism Essay

Development Of Metro Rail Tourism Essay The functioning of Mumbai depends mainly on the transportation system for the movement of people and goods in, out and around Mumbai. It is evident from the past that introduction of railways in Mumbai has resulted in the economic growth of the city. The current public transportation depends largely on the trains and buses. As per the data by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, 2003 and Indian Railways, 2002, Mumbai is the only exceptional city in India which has most extensive rail network carrying more than 5 million passengers a day- 58% of total public transport passengers as compared to 42% by buses (cited in Pucher Korattyswroopam, 2004). Even after a decade, the population of Mumbai is heavily dependent on the railways as their primary mode of transportation. The citys suburban railway was built to accommodate 1700 people, but today carries more than 3 times its actual capacity. Moreover, it is said that a fleet of around 200 railways make more than 2000 trips across the city which is still proving to be insufficient day by day. The suburban trains handle a commuter population of 6 million every day, which is equivalent to the size of Sydney city. The trains also run at a very good frequency providing the right kind of option for travel (Nallathiga, 2008 p. 38). Buses too are being exploited and the roads are not capable enough to hold the burden of ever growing population. The roads, railways and the buses are getting more and more congested due to urbanisation. Moreover, there is no scope to extend this city as it is geographically surrounded by water. So the only options which remain are either to shift the traffic under the ground, over the ground or on the water. Owing to this situation, it becomes essential to investigate the transport system and come up with solutions capable enough to handle the burden in the future. It would not only strengthen the backbone of this financial capital of a rapidly growing country but will also release a l ot of pressure on the current transport facilities. Over the years, there have been many suggestions and recommendations which have been given for the development of Mumbai. Many of these projects are successfully completed or are either under construction. This research will primarily focus on the upcoming Metro Rail project which is being considered as a subordinate to the overcrowded suburban railways. The study will revolve around the difficulties faced by the project managers in implementing their decisions on such a huge scale and the strategies they need to overcome these problems. At this current stage the construction of the Metros first line which is 11.7 km stretch is under construction and is considered to be almost ready for the testing. The original deadline for the project was August 2012, but due to delays in getting right of work (ROW) permits from the government and other clearances for the project, the project will eventually see operations by the end of this year (Kumar, 2012 [online]). This can be treated as the f irst failure of the project and its management as it will be not be able to deliver the Metro Rail facility as per the committed schedule. At this point of time, a comparison of the project reports of Delhi and Kolkata Metro projects can prove handy in avoiding mistakes committed in past. Critical analysis of these reports can help in foreseeing the approaching management issues and take necessary steps. Metro rail is a huge project (as seen in figure 1.1) with many expectations to fulfil. Efficient and scheduled performance will not only benefit the economy but will also provide relief to the people of Mumbai, Government and the over stressed suburban railway. The findings from the project reports of the Metro Rail in Delhi and Kolkata can help in recognizing the threats that might affect the development of the Metro Rail in Mumbai. It will also find out the main weaknesses due to which certain plans in those projects had difficulties in successful implementation. Similarly, it wil l also benefit to understand the strengths of this project as well as the opportunities it has or will have in the future to capitalise and develop the project in a way that will pass on maximum benefits to its consumers and stakeholders. Developing a sustainable and robust transport system will contribute a big deal by laying a strong foundation to the progress of this city. The success of this research is necessary as this may further instigate a movement for a better and an efficient model of transportation system in urban cities and bring out the importance of project management in government projects across the country. mumbai-map.gif Fig 1.1 Existing Suburban Rail Map with upcoming Metro Rail routes [Source: www.urbanrail.net] Theoretical Underpinnings: The pursuit for conducting this research began after watching a couple of documentaries on the city of Mumbai. The first one was a National Geographic production known as Megacities which looked into various aspects of working models of huge cities around the world. Mumbai was the city in one of its episodes. The transportation system portrayed in it fascinated me. This was followed by a bit of research and then I came across a documentary on Bombay Railways presented by the BBC. Being born and brought up in this city, I have experienced the crowd in the trains and other public transportation. But after watching the documentaries, it inspired me to conduct a research in this area to understand the way in which projects are planned and managed at such a high level where the pressure of performance and urgency to deliver is enormous. My next point of reference was a report published by McKinsey and Company in the year 2003 which laid a plan for rehabilitation of the city of Mumbai. The se few intelligence sources form a background to my research. The focus then shifted to one of the recommendations given out in the McKinsey report being constructed in Mumbai which is the Metro Rail. This forms the main topic and the research will be conducted to overview the project management difficulties and complexities faced while carrying out such a big project in the huge city of Mumbai. Mentioned below are the theoretical academic sources that form a part of obtaining knowledge for the chosen topic. Project Management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling (2009): To commence every research, one needs a solid foundation of understanding the subject area. For project management the above mentioned book stands to be a guide. After the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge), the official project management guide by Project Management Institute, this is referred as a textbook for the certificate examination. The book is in its 10th edition written by Harold Kerzner, with more than 2500 citations. This book explains projects in various stages and gives a systematic approach towards its management. This book suits a beginner level of understanding of Project Management giving an easy understanding of basic principles. It accepts and inculcates changes taking place in the current business scenario and moreover explains them by giving case studies. The main purpose of using this book is its thorough explanation on organisational structure which would prove beneficial to understand the complex organisational structure of the public sector organis ation in India. It also includes chapters on Time and stress management, risk management and quality management which can prove beneficial for the comparison of the ongoing metro projects and its various dimensions. Successful Project Management (2005): This research deals more with the success and failure of projects. For Government projects, many like the metro rail that is being analysed in this research, it is important to maintain the balance between demands of the public, project that has been undertaken and the final product that is being offered. Successful Project Management is a book written by Trevor L Young. It starts by defining success and what it means to various people measuring it. It even takes the reader through the technical terminologies of project management and leads its way through to the steps of managing projects successfully. This book has no more than 30 citations but will be very useful for this research because the Metro Rail project needs to be measured for its success. Success means a very big deal for the projects like Metro as it is being constructed to improve the present infrastructure of a city. Moreover it even uses public funds for its construction; therefore the expectations of return from the stakeholders will be higher than any other private projects. Mass Urban Transportation in India (2008): This journal article helps in shifting focus from the project management literature to understanding the issues in mass urban transportation system, especially in Mumbai. The article is written by Ramakrishna Nallathiga who explains the growth and urbanization of Indian cities and its relation with the development of three modes of transportation i.e. rail, road and water. It tests three different cities for its development in mass transportation systems and gives out recommendations for its growth. The author takes Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad as samples, defines the background of each of these citys transportation systems and tries to prove the importance of developing a robust transport system. Though the paper is not very well written, it can prove beneficial for this research as a source for a lot of valuable data compiled by the author, which would save a lot of valuable time and resources. Evaluation of Public Transport Systems: Case Study of Delhi Metro (2005): As the research gains more depth and focus, the next step will be going through the case studies. Since Mumbai Metro project is yet to be functional it might be difficult to gather all the required data. Also comparing similar Metro Rail projects already constructed in other cities of India can help in getting an idea of the issues faced by the management and examine the factors which can affect Metro Rails success when it starts in Mumbai. This journal article helps creating a literature base of the case studies. There are similarities in the objectives of this journal article and to what this research is trying to find out. The authors Mukti Advani and Geetam Tiwari try to test the success of introducing Metro Rails in three different cities in India. This will assist me in developing a critical vision to inspect the intelligence data and the documents collected from the respective organisations. This document has covered Metro Rail projects in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, two of wh ich shall form to be a part of this research too. Hence, linking this journal article with the Mass Urban Transportation in India article will help in gathering a lot of data and can create a platform to develop arguments once all the documents and intelligence that will be gathered. The academic sources mentioned above can set off this research with a strong base of knowledge and provide direction to further research and analysis of the secondary data and intelligence sources. These four sources are connected to each other in order of which they have provided guidance and focus for the topic of this research. The topic chosen will no doubt have many complexities, which will be systematically dealt with the proper use of research methodology. Research Methodology: This research proposes to look into the complex issues of the transportation system of one of the worlds biggest cities. It focuses mainly upon the upcoming project of Metro Rail in Mumbai and the factors affecting its construction and the problems that might affect its functioning in the future. Gathering secondary data and intelligence would prove insufficient because of the nature of this research. Collecting firsthand information and primary data particularly focussing on this research can actually help in understanding the difficulties faced by the local authorities in implementation of the plans. Hence, most of this research will be conducted in Mumbai where I will as a researcher involve myself as a part of it. Having interest in photography as well, I plan to even take some pictures for the research by myself. The research is related to social science shaping into the path of interpretive paradigm. This approach proves to be beneficial to the research because of various reasons. Interpretivists attempt to minimize the distance between the researcher and what is researched (Collis Hussey, 2009). This helps in accessing and analysing the information and is a part of the researcher himself. However as the participants are human beings, the reality is subjective and multiple depending on their view points. On the other hand it also provides a benefit to the researcher to keep an open mind and think in different directions as per the data collected. It also links to the methodological approach being used to conduct a research. Interpretivism uses an array of methodologies to help the researcher build up on a strong research. This research will be primarily based upon the intelligence such as documents provided by the local transport authorities, newspaper articles, etc. supported by the evidence in academic journals, research papers and books. Document research will be the methodology applied in analyzing Public documents. Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions have setup an initiative known as Right to Information Act, 2005 giving power to the citizens to avail the information published by the State and Central Government Legislation. This would prove beneficial to gain access to the documents related to the project. Mumbai Metro Rail project is the joint venture of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) which is a public body, funded by the Reliance Infrastructure, a public limited company. Familiarizing oneself with these kinds of research materials can be an extremely time consuming activity, mainly because of the vastness and det ail of documents associated with official events and enquiries (Bryman Bell, 2011 p.550). It stands to be the main drawback as it might prove costly in conducting research with limited time. This will need a lot of time management which no doubt is challenging but if followed properly, will turn out to be the main feature of this entire research. The other drawback of document research is the validity and credibility of the data being used. The question of credibility raises the issue of whether or not the documentary source is biased (Bryman Bell, 2011 p.550). At this point of time, intelligence sources like newspapers, websites and magazines will help in confirming the validity and the credibility which might help in getting a clear view of actual scenario. Critical analysis of the public documents will be a priority in conducting this research. The public documents provide a lot of information both qualitative and statistical which would help a great deal in understanding the si tuations in which strategic decisions are made. Kolkata was the first city in India to adopt the Metro rail system. Delhi is also equipped with this system in the recent past. Therefore a case study analysis will also form a part of this research in which the project management of the Metro Rail systems in Kolkata and Delhi will be tested to provide data that will help in suggesting recommendations to the Mumbai metro rail project and build up a strong base of literature for the research. Studying cases of Kolkata and Delhi will also help in understanding the change in the strategic decisions taken over the period of time while undertaking the construction of these projects. This data will be collected from the secondary sources like journal articles or periodicals written by the government authorities to review their decisions taken on a particular project or by the management researchers conducting independent research. This approach will slightly direct the research towards quantitative research methodology. But this method wil l help in acquiring a lot of useful quantitative as well as qualitative data within a very short period of time and within the available resources. Secondary analysis is the analysis of data by researchers who will probably not have been involved in the collection of those data, for purposes that in all likelihood were not envisaged by those responsible for data collection (Bryman Bell, 2011). There are various advantages for using this method of data collection. The most important one is that the data collected will be reliable and of high quality as it will go through rigorous examination and scrutiny being conducted by the organisation itself to analyse their performance. At the same time there will be some drawbacks of using this methodology too. Complexity and lack of familiarity with the data will need some attention while using this research technique (Bryman Bell, 2011). Analysing and filtering the data as per the need of this research will be important to ensure the quali ty of work. This particular research is being carried out for a taught masters dissertation which puts a restriction on the time limit. Taking this research to a further level it would have been interesting to interview people who have worked for this project and also to interview commuters to ask their experience by travelling in Metro. That would have helped in understanding the effort and planning applied by the project managers and also the true success of this project. Time Plan: The main research is planned to be undertaken after the proposal is marked and accepted. As it is planned to be in Mumbai, I will fly back there on the 30th of May 2012. I shall be returning home after almost 10 months, so I wish to take a break and go on vacation with my family for 15 days. From 15th of June 2012, I shall start with the data collection process of my research. I have divided the whole data collection process in two different stages. The first stage will be going to the offices of MMRDA and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and collecting as much data in the form of public documents relevant to the research. The process is quite lengthy and time consuming and shall require a lot of formalities too. Therefore, I have allotted around a months time for the same. I also wish to take some photographs of the site where this project is being constructed. In the meanwhile I will start with the stage two of the data collection process i.e. collecting literature on the Project Management and Managing Transport related projects. After having sufficient literature for the topic and gathering data, I plan to start with analysing the data. From 20th of July, I shall start with the analysis of the data with the help of intelligence sources like websites and newspapers. Simultaneously, I shall even start preparing the drafts of the dissertation. Co-ordinating with my tutor, I shall send my first draft by the first week of August. Once I start writing the dissertation I plan to send drafts to my tutor every 10 days for 3 or 4 times. I have set a deadline of completing the dissertation by the first week of September i.e. before the 9th so that it allows me ample time to get it proof read from my friends who work in organisations as managers themselves and also from professionals/ managers in the Mumbai Metro project if at all they are willing to help me with it. After it is finalized and approved the final copy will be printed and bound before submitting it on t he 25th of September 2012. I even plan to take up a job after going back home, which I look as a potential threat in my research process. But completing my graduation stands as a priority and as much as possible I shall stick to the plan that I have chalked for the entire process. Ethical Consideration: By conducting this research, I accept the responsibility of doing it professionally. I assure that the research shall be within the framing of Basic Research Principles. I also assure to do this research with honesty without abusing or exploiting the trust and knowledge of the respondents. I shall not make any false or misleading statements regarding my own information or my institution of research. There would be no harm, physically or mentally to any of the participant or to those of whom the information is being used. Its findings are unlikely to cause any damage to others who are not involved in it and the participation of the respondents shall thoroughly be voluntary. I ensure that the research shall be designed, carried out, reported and documented accurately, transparently and objectively. I take the responsibility of producing this research in limits and framework designed for research practice. The research will not use any kind of controversial interviews or questionnaires which could breach the personal space or integrity of the participant. The case studies and articles used to gather secondary data and samples will not be misrepresented in anyways and will be purely used to give out positive effects towards the research and society. This research will not violate any community standards by any means. (Source: www.esomar.org [online]).

Computer Simulation :: essays research papers fc

WARSIM 2000 is simulation software, used by the armed forces. Extensive, thorough, and tiring work has been done on thgis program. It covers almost all aspects and situations required for realistic, meticulous and a complete simulation. Information Technology has lead to the advancement of the tools required to build the simulator. Information Technolgy’s guideleines and technolgy have reinforced this creative simulator General Description of Operational Capability. WARSIM 2000 will increase the effectiveness of commander and battle staff training by dramatically increasing the realism and the scope of the available training environment. In conjunction with other services' simulations, WARSIM 2000 will provide a complete operational environment with scenarios drawn from the entire operational continuum to support Army, joint and coalition force training distributed across the globe. a. The WARSIM 2000 simulation system will use a computer-based simulation and associated hardware to support the training of unit commanders and their battle staffs from battalion through theater-level as well as to support training events in educational institutions. Designed and built using modern computer technology, modern software engineering techniques, and validated algorithms and databases, it will allow units world-wide to train using their organizational equipment. A key feature of the system will be its use of technology to minimize the total Army's overhead associated with supporting training. The system will be designed to meet emerging Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) standards and protocols to facilitate linkages with DIS compliant simulators and live training events. b. The WARSIM 2000 simulation system will consist of, or use, several components: (1) Computer-based battle simulation models that portray the joint and combined environment needed to support Army training events. (2) Software modules for linking WARSIM 2000 to other simulation models to expand the training environment for joint force training exercises. (3) Databases. (4) Computer systems to run the simulation models and support the databases. (5) Technical control systems/workstations for use by personnel in an exercise support function e.g., simulation controllers, analysts, and opposing/ surrounding forces role players. (6) Flexible and responsive terrestrial/satellite communications gateways and media for transmitting voice, data, facsimile, and video between different elements at remote locations involved in supporting a training exercise. c. WARSIM 2000 will meet the Mission Need Statement's (MNS's) requirement for providing a training environment that will allow unit commanders and battle staffs to focus their warfighters and systems in countering threats across the operational continuum. WARSIM 2000 must provide an environment that presents problems to stress and stimulate

Responsibilities Essay -- essays research papers fc

Life is full of adventure and triumph, but sometimes the grass is not greener on the other side. Sometimes many sacrifices must be made in order to accomplish our own goals. We may all have duties that we have to deal with just to make it by, but we can acknowledge them through our personal experiences. In, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck creates symbolism through George's journey leading him to the eventual realization that everyone has responsibilities. Many themes occur throughout the novel, but one can apply to everyone: we all have tasks we must perform in order to achieve a better life. Initially, this theme becomes apparent through Candy and his dog, "' That dog ain't no good to himself. I wisht somebody'd shoot me if I got old an' a cripple'" (Steinbeck 45). The theme is you gotta do what you gotta do. Candy recognizes that it is his responsibility to put down his dog. It is the same with George when he has to kill Lennie: he knows that he will miss him, but he also knows that it must be done. Similarly, one critic agrees that actions such as, the dog being shot out of Candy's compulsion, predict the future demise of Lennie (Lisca). Lennie does not understand why certain things cannot be done and it only causes trouble for him. George comprehends his duty towards society, and the sacrifice that must be made in order to achieve his own utopia. Our own duties can become clear when we relate to this conceptual them e. ...

Kraft and Cadbury Merger Essay

What is the role of the government in this merger? What is the impact on the shareholders, what are their thoughts about it and is it a successful merger or not. Other than Kraft and Cadbury four aspects of doing business internationally has been discussed and their influence in an international business career. 1. 1 How and why Kraft identified Cadbury as a potential partner? On 19th January 2010 Kraft the American Giant, acquired Cadbury the most popular and one of the most selling brand in chocolates for $11. 5bn. The reason for Kraft to identify Cadbury as its potential partner and even after Cadbury rejected its first bid on 7th September 2009, and then came up with a higher bid, was that Kraft wanted to bring in the most loved British Chocolates to USA, because the chocolates that America produces are only loved by American’s and are not so loved around the world, while they targeted the British company because they make better chocolates plus they wanted to get into the British market and to get into the British market remaining into the food industry they could not identify a better option than acquiring Cadbury by merging these two companies one they capture the British market of dairy food plus they introduce their products into Britain and the Cadbury products into USA having the plus points of both cultures. Expected benefits Kraft is the second largest Food beverage company in the world, which produced revenue of 49. billion USD in the year 2010 (Kraftfoodscompany, (2011) and is operating in more than 150 counties worldwide and has an Employee number of around 100,000. Where as Cadbury on the other hand is the second largest Confectionary Company in the world, which produced revenue of 5. 38 billion USD in the year 2008 (Cadbury annual report, 2008) and has a very strong hold in Asia Pacific and Latin America and has an Employee number of around 70,000. When these two giants combine, one American Giant and other British Giant, they both can conquer the food industry if they both are managed well. In 2010 Kraft already made revenue increase of 0. 7 billion USD from 2008 to 2010 after the take over of Cadbury (CNN, 2011). Kraft and Cadbury can both work very well and can avail a lot of benefits from each other provided that both them work together, because Kraft has its own management too large in scale and Cadbury as well. 1. 3 Synergies for both companies involved? After the merger of Kraft and Cadbury, both companies are expected to have revenue synergies and have an increase of the net revenue of up to 5% or more. They are targeting the long-term output for it. Which as a result will increase the net revenue. The combined company (Kraft and Cadbury) is targeting to increase their per share cost in 2011 of approximately $0. 05 and on the basis of cash. These two companies combined can make a lot of revenue. Parliament publication, 2012) Other than that Cadbury has other channels of gaining revenue like gas filling stations, corner shops which are well being forced by Cadbury and on the other hand Kraft has a strong hold on supermarkets and groceries. As they are merged now the overall distribution will be higher for Kraft and Cadbury and their revenue will increase. Both of the companies has opposite markets that they have captured for Cadbury they have a large influence in Asia, Africa, Mexico and Turkey and for Kraft they have more influence in Brazil and China. By combining together they both can capture almost every market around the globe. The total value of the British chocolate confectionery sector amounts to approximately EUR 3. 9 billion. In the UK, the parties’ activities overlap only in the markets of tablets and pralines. Kraft is active in tablets and pralines mainly with its brands Milka, Toblerone and Terry’s chocolate Orange, and Cadbury with its brands Dairy Milk, Roses and Green & Black. (http://ec. europa. eu/competition/mergers/cases/decisions/m5644_20100106_20212_en. pdf page 9 ) (Kraft Foods Official 2011 Report) 1. 4 The risks associated with the choice of acquisition as an approach to this particular ‘partnership’ The first and last risk which is associated with this particular partnership is of keeping their word. The official position of the Fairtrade Foundation is the following: â€Å"The Fairtrade Foundation is very proud of our relationship with Cadbury, and what we have achieved together, including the conversion of Cadbury Dairy Milk to Fairtrade in the UK and Ireland in 2009, now being extended to three other international markets – Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This has had a tremendously positive public response, and is delivering major benefits to cocoa farmers in Ghana, quadrupling the amount they are able to sell on Fairtrade terms in 2010, compared to 2008. The Fairtrade Foundation and Cadbury have a shared vision for the future, and there are contractual commitments in place, which will form part of any intellectual property transfer between Cadbury and Kraft in any takeover. We believe that the progress we have made together in strengthening cocoa farmers to deliver long term sustainability of the cocoa supply chain, along with a fast growing level of consumer demand for Fairtrade products, not just in the UK but globally, present a unique and compelling case for continuing to pursue the Cadbury commitment to their Cocoa Partnership and to Fairtrade, and taking it even further in coming months and years. † Treehugger, 2012) According to the Official Statement, they will perform Fairtrade for both the companies and Kraft confirmed that it would uphold Cadbury’s commitments to Fairtrade which were that: †¢ Dairy Milk will continue to be Fairtrade in the UK and Northern Ireland and in three more markets, Canada, Australia and New Zealand by early 2010; †¢ Green & Black’s (which is owned by Cadbury) will move its entire range to Fairtrade by the end of 2011. (http://www. publications. parliament. uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmbis/234/234. df ) But no one is quiet happy with the outcome of the merger. Because Kraft did not really act upon what they stated to do before the merger, expression of the former first Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell asked Kraft in the Scottish Parliament to Honour the Fairtrade Part of the deal, he said â€Å"There have been concerns expressed for many years that Kraft has never shown any enthusiasm for fair trade and therefore this must be under threat as a result of the takeover. † (Treehugger, 2012). Warren Buffett isn’t too keen now either. Discussing the CEO of Kraft, he said â€Å"She thinks this is a good deal, I think it’s a bad deal. † Mind you, he is probably not worrying about the fairtrade aspect. Cadbury’s 6,000 UK workers are also worried, because it is a hi risk for the workers to now work at Cadbury under the American Management which has already influenced the Cadbury management. 1. 5 Feasible alternative? The most feasible alternative to Kraft for Cadbury was Hershey Chocolates, which is also an American Chocolate brand. In 2009 before the hostile takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, Cadbury talked to Hershey personal to include themselves in the bid so they can recommend Hershey over Kraft to its shareholders and are taken over by Hershey, but unfortunately Hershey did not want to be the part of the bidding war over Cadbury with Kraft because Hershey is its self weighing up. Even for Kraft Hershey was a good alternative over Cadbury because both are American Companies and would understand eachother easily rather than taking over a company is a completely different region, Ferrero maker of Rocher chocolate and Nutella is also a very good alternative for Cadbury but at the time of bid according to Trevor Datson the spokesperson for Cadbury said the company had no comment. No one at Ferrero was immediately available for comment. Involvement of National and corporate cultures Neither is the Nation nor the Corporate section is happy with the merger of the both companies, because for public there is a fear of cutting off more than 6000 jobs is Britian and more than 46,000 globally so people working at Cadbury are really afraid to work at it and other than employees the Corporate personal are also in fear of that the world leading brands like Dairy Milk, Flake and Wipsa are at risk with this merger and the shareholder are also not very happy with the $11. 5 bn deal. Critical Evaluation of both the companies about this Partnership Both of the companies had their own management and their own way of doing business around the world. As Kraft is majorly dairy products maker and is being loved by that around the world. Where as Cadbury is also a very well known name in the chocolate industry, because a lot of people in United Kingdom and at other major parts of the world such as Asia and Africa Cadbury is really loved for chocolate. As through the analysis this is a very hostile takeover i. e. , between Kraft and Cadbury, after taking over Cadbury Kraft accepted some of the points that they will do and keep is at it is and after that takeover they did not manage to fulfill those commitments which lead to misunderstanding between these two companies after their merger. As Kraft agreed that they will stick to Faretrade organization and to keep the same cocoa supplier as Cadbury had before and before the merger Cadbury was to close one of their plants but after merger Kraft did not do so and now they are facing these problems which are not very good in the long run for both of the companies. Involvement Of the Government In this hostile takeover not just the employees and shareholders but also the government, had and also has issues with this mergers. With the merger of Kraft Foods and Cadbury a number of important issues have bin highlighted in the way through which the foreign takeovers of UK companies are conducted.

The Ethics of the Media

The purpose of the media has become an ongoing question since the large amount of conflicts between the consumer and media. Why is the original purpose of the media so damn hard to figure out? It is time to confront this issue instead of blowing it off by saying, â€Å"We can never change the media, so why bother? † What kind of chickenshit statement is that?! If there are so many people with so much power, surely one of them realizes the downward spiral of the ethics of the media. I feel my sole purpose of this paper is to tell everyone my ideas and viewpoints on censoring the media. Ooooooo, censor. What a bad word that is when used in the same sentence with media. So many people believe censorship is a bad thing, but there is no other solution in stopping the â€Å"bad press. † When I sit back and look at the stories about stories that are bad and offending to someone, I realize something needs to be done. The media is out of control. True, there are many informing and needed stories, but, my god, how many times a day to we need to hear and read about how much money O. J. Simpson has to pay the family of Ronald Goldman? We, as consumers, need to sit back and ask ourselves, â€Å"What was the point of hearing or reading that story? Back to the censor issue. I, as an aspiring journalist, do not believe in total and complete censorship of the media, but also, as an aspiring journalist, I am embarrassed of some of the stories that are run, for instance, when the crime scene photos of Jon-Benet Ramsey were run in Globe magazine. Was there not anyone, an editor, a writer, or even a custodian at Globe who thought, â€Å"Uh, oh. These photos may get us into some trouble. † Was there not a single sole who had enough ethics to try and stop these pictures from being printed? This is where censorship comes in. If I could do anything in the world, I would first, stop world hunger, and second set up some guidelines and laws that the media must obey. Guidelines such as, no digging through peoples trash and no peeking in windows. Of course, we know that by law, there is to be no peeking in windows, or over fences, but there is no one at the editors desk to implicate these laws. There is supposed to be someone there to prevent these stories from running, but remember, their paycheck depends on how many copies are sold or how high the ratings are. This â€Å"censor person† needs to have a set wage. If there was someone to stop these types of occurrences, half of my problems with the media would be taken care of. This may sound like a lame solution, but we need to start somewhere. Obviously this is not a complete solution to these problems with the media, so the next step would be to start using the editors for weeding out the stories that are not giving some type of information that the consumer wants and needs to hear or read. This is also easier said than done. This solution also brings up questions like, how does the editor know what stories the consumer wants to hear or read about? That is the responsibility of the media. Let them take polls and give every effort to find out what we want. Journalism will only survive if it establishes a more valuable and clearly defined mission, (Morality of Mass Media, Ellen Hume. ) I could write a book about all the things I want to see changed in the media before I become a part of it, but I will not. There should be a line drawn so that the media can be punished for their wrongdoing. Many people agree that there should be a line drawn and like it or not, that line is called censorship. Our founding fathers did not want censorship on the media, but they probably did not think that the media would be doing such a crummy job. I do not want to say that all media is doing a bad job. Overall, they are doing a fairly good job, but there is still a large amount of dirty press that needs to be cleaned up.

Achilles & Hector Essay

The art in the vase painting in Harvard’s collection depicts an anguish-stricken King Priam pleading to a triumphant and irreverent Achilles for the return of the already desecrated body of his son, the Crown Prince of Troy, Hector. The artist of the vase painting wants to illustrate an image of nullifying status, even more so, it characterized a reversal of stature — a King kneeling and pleading to a common warrior and the body of a prince dishonored. In Book 24 of Homer’s Iliad, it narrated the weeping King Priam virtually throwing himself at Achilles’ feet beseeching the latter to release the body of his dead son. In the text, it did not state however, that the body of Hector was in the same room as King Priam and Achilles. It is noteworthy to mention at this point however that the primary reason that Hector is dead is because Achilles avenged the death of Patroclus whom Hector killed mistaking him for Achilles. Moreover, in Book 22 of the narrative, Achilles threatened Hector of the situation he will be in if he suffered death in Achilles’ hands, to wit, â€Å"dogs and vultures shall work their will upon yourself†. Achilles’ grief for the death of Patroclus has fueled his wrath towards Hector and that as an ultimate insult to Hector’s person, Achilles have left the body untended outside his tent to make good on his word of â€Å"dogs and vultures shall eat you utterly up†. Furthermore, the text speaks of Achilles â€Å"taking it [Hector’s body] to a place where Priam should not see it†. In the vase painting, we see Hector’s body below Achilles, who is holding a knife and apparently eating raw meat with blood dripping from the knife’s blade unto the dead body below. This scene can be gleaned from a prior heated exchange of words between Achilles and Hector. In Book 22 of the Iliad, Hector in his last breath spoke: â€Å"I beg you, Achilles, by your own soul and by your parents, do not allow the dogs to mutilate my body. By the Greek ships, accept the gold and bronze ransom my father and mother will give you and send my body back home to be burned in honor by the Trojans and their wives†. To which Achilles angrily uttered: â€Å"Don’t whine to me about my parents, You dog! I wish my stomach would let me cut off your flesh in strips and eat it raw for what you’ve done to me. There is no one and no way to keep the dogs off your head, not even if they bring ten or twenty ransoms, pile them up here and promise more not even if Dardanian Priam weighs your body out in gold, not even then will your mother ever get to mourn you laid out on a bier. † The vase painting seems to draw out from this war of words between Achilles and Hector and displays the aftermath and the realization of Achilles’ enraged threats. It depicted also an arrogant Achilles eating meat over a dead body — an act way beyond being rational. Whereas in the text, upon hearing Priam’s heart-wrenching plea, Achilles displayed empathy and even went as far as telling Priam that he, Achilles himself, is also in sorrow for the death of Patroclus and showed endearing sentiment when he mentioned that Priam reminded him of his own father. Moreover, in the text, Achilles even admired Priam for his candor in going defenseless and alone amidst the enemy’s lair. One of the major themes of Homer’s Iliad deals with revenge, reparation, and compensation. In portraying Priam’s plea to Achilles, the vase painting essentially captured these three themes. Achilles’ disrespect for Hector’s body speaks of revenge. Achilles, blinded by deep sorrow, did what he thought would best vindicate Patroclus. Hector’s legs were bound at the ankles as in the ultimate act of deliverance, Achilles dragged Hector’s lifeless body around the tomb of Patroclus. Hector’s death itself is the reparation for the death of Patroclus — the proverbial â€Å"an eye for an eye†. Whereas, Priam’s ransom is the compensation for and in exchange for the possession of Hector’s body. Works Cited Homer, and Stanley Lombardo. Iliad. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1997. Wilson, D. F. Ransom, Revenge and Heroic Identity in the Iliad. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Learning and Memory.An introduction to theories of learning Essay

Learning and Memory Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cleaning the room is the target behaviour in Bobby’s case. Mr. Kelly tries to keep on reminding his eight year old child to clean his room but it is always in vain. Since Mr. Kelly needs help in increasing the frequency of his child cleaning his room it could be assumed that bobby is trained and knows how to clean his room. The possible reason as to why he keeps on refraining from this task is however unclear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Operant conditioning is a method of learning that incorporates acquisition of behaviour and facing the consequences of the behaviour. In this type of learning rewards are given to the learner either to encourage or discourage future repetition of the same behaviour (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2013). Operant conditioning can be used to encourage Bobby in cleaning up his room. Through the various components of operant conditioning Mr. Kelly can apply to encourage Bobby clean his room. Operant conditioning has two major concepts, reinforcement and punishment, which could be used in different ways to encourage bobby to clean his room.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reinforcement involves using reward that would otherwise increase the chances of bobby cleaning his room more often. Mr. Kelly could use various rewards such as giving bobby time to watch T.V, buying little gifts that are issued each time bobby cleans his room. Such motivating factors will encourage bobby to clean up his room. Reinforcement is of two types, positive and negative reinforcement, both ways can be capitalised in changing the behaviour of bobby. In positive reinforcement for instance Mr. Kelly needs to look for items such as toys or bars of chocolate, preferably Mr. Kelly could choose some of the items bobby loves most and use them to reward bobby after cleaning the room.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Continuous use of negative reinforcement over a long period of time would lead to Bobby developing an attitude towards cleaning his room. Thus positive reinforcement could be applied. For reinforcement to be effective both method should be used concurrently. Fixed ratio schedule and variable ratio schedules can be used to implement and encourage bobby to always clean the room. Fixed ratio schedule will always reward bobby after a number of times he has cleaned the room. This method will give immediate positive responses from bobby but would be consuming for Mr. Kelly. Variable ratio schedule would award bobby after irregular intervals of response from him. This can be very effective to reinforce Bobby to clean the room because the reinforcement can come all through the first week and make the reluctance of cleaning the house an extinct behaviour.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I will apply the operant conditioning to account for Jackie’s development of the behaviour of phobia towards dogs. This is because the operant conditioning shows or explains why the organisms will acquire learned behaviour that they exhibit. The vital focus of operant conditioning is by use of reinforcements as punishments or reward so as to increase or decrease the likelihood of occurrence or repetition of certain behaviour (Staddon & Cerutti, 2003). In the case of Jackie, she received a negative reinforcement from the dog bite and hence the phobia towards dogs development. Also the stitches and the time that she spent on medication made her develop the negative attitude towards dogs. This is because, in operant conditioning, it is clear that continued use of negative reinforcement will lead to the victim developing an attitude towards that object or behaviour.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some of the behaviour modification that could be designed to help Jackie to overturn the phobia that she has with dogs could be: Jackie could first of all spend time with her spouse with a company the trained dogs. This will help Jackie to see that dogs were not wild and they always do not bite any time you had an encounter with them. This will somehow help her reverse the phobia she had towards dogs and also help her see the positive side of the dogs. She should also be allowed to spend time with the trained dogs with the dogs being guided by the trainer to remain lively, obedient and helpful to Jackie. This will act as a positive reinforcement towards Jackie’s behaviour. She will slowly by slowly start liking dogs and hence they will have a happy life with her partner thereafter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are two main principles of operant conditioning that are evident in the case of Emma. First by the parents trying to offer Emma some kind of reward, they are trying to positively reinforce the behaviour of cleaning her room and toys through the principle of positive reinforcement. Also through putting her out, they are applying the principle of positive punishment by trying to add something bad so that she cannot repeat the same mistake.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Operant conditioning theory could be applied in this case to correct Emma’s behaviour through application of the four main principles of operant conditioning. The parents could apply the principle of negative punishment which is to take something good away so as to decrease certain behaviour. Through application of this principle, they could cut away buying of toys to Emma so that she could be reinforced to clean the room. Also through negative reinforcement principle, which is taking something bad so as to reinforce behaviour could be applied by Emma’s parents. They could stop putting her in time any time that she cleans her room so that she can be reinforced to always clean her room and toys.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Extinction of behaviour in operant conditioning theory can be defined as the disappearance of previously learned behaviour if the behaviour is not reinforced (Hunt et al, 2008). As we have earlier said, reinforcement is the necessity for learning and in which certain behaviour grows. It is either a means to encourage or discourage certain behaviour (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2013). For instance, the Emma is conditioned to the behaviour that when she screams hard and through the toys away, her parents will collect them and clean them up for her. If the parents stopped this behaviour, Emma could not adopt this behaviour because it will lack reinforcement and slowly it will cease and become extinct. References Hunt, Elgin F. and Colander, David C. (2008). Social Science, An Introduction to the Study of Society. Olson, M. H. & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2013). An introduction to theories of learning (9th ed.). Upper Saddle; River, NJ: Pearson. Staddon, J. E. R., & Cerutti, D. T. (2003). Operant conditioning. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 115-44. Source document