Monday, September 30, 2019

Cisco’s It Implementation of an Organizational Change

Introduction Today’s world calls for a pressing need to utilize the I. T services and resources whilst reducing the cost in order to improve organizational wide productivity. There are many CEO’s of the business world today that suggest the top priority of an any organization is to possess the ability to develop a sense of new ideas and innovations. (Porter, Stern & Council on Competitiveness, 1999). The term â€Å"innovation† used by organization’s simply illustrates the invention of a new product, processes and systems that which are simply created to adapt to the constant change in markets, technologies as well as modes of competition. D’Aveni, 1994; Dougherty & Hardy, 1996; Utterback, 1994). Porras & Silvers (1991) also analyses the organizational change and its importance in the emerging contrast between Cisco IT Network and Data Centre Services (NDCS) which was switched from using a conventional organizational model to Cisco’s own lifec ycle model, along with substantial operations improvements across five various metrics. This contrast is sufficiently pervasive in recent work and sufficiently central in the conceptualization of change that has been used and it as the framework that organizes has review.This report will illustrate a framework aimed at managers that shows the process of innovation can be a managing change, service support and service performance within an organization. However, it is evident that managing the complex and the risky process of innovation has been proven to be problematic and laden with difficulty. (Kanter, 1989; Quinn, 1985). An extensive review based on relevant literature, supported by a development of logical and well justified arguments of the capability of innovation.We will also examine the methodology of CISCO Lifecycle in terms of behavior shift, transition process along with the successful innovations that contains the core elements and processes regardless of the industry or firm. High performing innovators are also able to harness this innovation meta-capability in order to achieve outstanding performance. An interview conducted by Dr Joseph Fiksel for the Journal of Sustainable Product Design claims that it is vital to not only understand how the process functions as well as gaining an understanding of the entire culture of the product development community.Dr Joseph debates that â€Å"product design developers tend to be arrogant but are however generally skillful and creative individuals possess strong engineering skills†. These individuals tend to be very suspicious of anyone who renders their services as well anyone who seems to come in their way to complicate their hectic lives. (Charter, 1998) Analysis of CISCO IT Lifecycle Methodology As for enterprise’s such Cisco whom are moving from the traditional technology (Silo-based organizational structure) to a lifecycle-based model will be a substantial improvement operation across fiv e various metrics. Lowe, 2009). This change will solve the issue of duplication and lack of focus across the organization. Stereotypically, most government classification schemes along with management and economics literatures considers services as anything that is not tangible, manufactured goods that are consumed as it is produced and sold. Take for instances, the industry that we use in this paper; software product business is classified as service business by the United States government’s standard under the classification scheme.Traditionally the development of ASIC’s within a company such as Cisco has been tightly coupled with the development of a single end product. However, the rising cost associated with development of high end ASIC’s has forced a behavior shift in the ASIC’s development process. Research findings â€Å"process view† and â€Å"integration† conducted by Seethamraju (2012). Though business processes have been subjecte d to a formal study via multiple perspectives for a period of time dating to the start of the industrial age. There processes were still not quite well understood and were left unmanaged and poorly executed. CISCO I.T could have implemented other methodologies such as Phased Methodology or Business Process Modeling (BPM). We have concluded that these methodologies have evolved through various stages from the early 1700’s as â€Å"division of labor†. This was when manufacturing first moved into factories from the cottage industry. These methodologies is not only executed by conventional business but is tailored for all sorts of organizations such as government agencies, departments, charities, mutual and cooperatives as well as many others. An example that can be used is the â€Å"Six Sigma† was first developed by Motorola Inc, in the mid 1980’s.This methodology provides extensive â€Å"Six Sigma† training and consultancy services. Accordng to Motor ola I. T â€Å"Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that helps us focus on developing and delivering close to perfect products and services. This system drives clarity around business strategies and the metrics that reflect success with strategy. Through experience, Motorola has learned that discipline use of metrics and applications of this methodology is still not sufficient to drive a desired breakthrough for improvements and results that are sustainable over a period of time.Discuss the insight and learning’s from the case that you consider could be applied to your own situation. Before proceeding further to a methodology that I may apply to my own case scenario, I will first examine my strength and limitations. After carefully considering the challenges I might incur, different techniques have been used in order to generate more accurate customer information and the insight to their problems. A major approach to gain a better understanding of customer needs has be lead-user innovation. (Von Hippel, Thomke & Sonnack, 1999).However, I find that the lack of metrics and ineffective measurements will be the perfect method to be applied in these circumstances. As the global increase of competitive advantages on how business are conducted, Information technology has become an increasingly important tool especially with I. T service industries such as CISCO, where productivity could be enhanced by using the efficient resources made available by reducing cost. During the initial stages, CISCO was using a traditional silo-ed organizational structure in which staffs are involved in doing both the implementation and operational work.The difference between the traditional, heavily statist system and the unequal liberal system is that both are equally inefficient when providing the public goods or services. Various authors (Jenson 2004, Levesque et al. 2005) point to the silent reconfiguration of the welfare state which started two decades ago under the in fluence of NGOs, associations, the community sector and the third sector. The limitations under this structure are duplications of work by staffs and the lack of a clear focus. These factors have further influenced the company to search for an alternative structure that would be compatible with its standards.Cisco advanced service’ Network Availability Improvement Service organization (NAIS) was asked to identify areas that require changes along with making recommendations on how this can be achieved. NAIS uses Operational Risk Management Analysis to assess people, process and tools that limit operational risk. Thus, a clear roadmap for operational excellence is designed to improve best practices (Chan, & Mauborgne, 1997). This can also be used in any organization at any level of process work. While it's particularly useful for handling large-scale process redesigning, it is also useful when working on a single process.Through this process the traditional organizational struc ture was changed to Cisco’s Lifecycle structure which later proved to be more efficient and effective. (Behrendt, 1997) According to the Life Cycle Design principles, interdisciplinary teamwork of multi stakeholders is essential in life cycle design. Interdisciplinary cooperation in a complex problem or task like Life Cycle Design, that includes different aspects, demands active participation and involvement of different specialists in order to succeed in the effective implementation of product life cycle design.How will you apply these insights and learning’s in your current or future endeavors as a manager? Through the implementation Cisco’s lifecycle methodology which helps solves the business problems comprises of six lifecycle processes in which each stage articulates concepts in broader views. (Clegg, 1999). Through this new structure in place the organization first determines its financial strengths before new projects are accepted and the implications in the near future regardless whether the organization has the resources to handle the technology.My opinion calls for the needs of managers to coordinate daily operations in which will cultivate innovation and change within their companies. However, the need to manage competencies is often viewed as a hindrance in the development of successful innovations. Activities such as manufacturing and marketing are seen as the key to current success with organizational processes built around stability, efficiency and profitability in generating a cash flow.Processes that are developed such as â€Å"programming† mainstream business units to perform routines, formalize structures and also not to think outside the box (Starbuck, 1983). An eloquent business design which entails business goals and technical requisites would foster a high performance service delivery. Staff skill improvements are important as it enhances the productivity and reduces excessive wastage. This new model also hel ps the organization in reducing its operating expenses and at the same time helps maintain the enhanced performance of service delivery and proactively responding to corresponding events happening.Teece & Pisano (1994) suggest that further development of the area proposing dynamic capabilities theories such as â€Å"subset of the competences and capabilities will allow the firm to create new products, processes and respond to the changing market. A continuous improvement in every aspect of the organization is very critical to its survival as there is a highly competitive market. There should be optimal utilization of resources and advantages. Give your strengths and limitations, what might be the challenges for you in applying these insights and how could you try to meet these challenges?It is highly noted that a behavioral shift of Cisco’s traditional structure to the new lifecycle model has increased the competitive advantage of the company amongst its competitors in the m arket. This shift would have a very significant effect both within employees (internally) and customers (externally). Tidd, et al. (2001). An approach of creative techniques for problem solving can further be utilized to exploit all avenues of defect, where all issues would be firmly accessed and analyzed with the required manner and tools.Addressing the observed limitations of life cycle approaches and how I might face the challenges of today, I will consider both the analytical and the practical approaches in which I think has room improvement. Firstly I will improve the coverage of impacts, and the reliability, accessibility and practical applicability; by doing so it will make the results easier in practice. A life cycle analysis program was designed to which specific structural and material information is used for the comparison of a set of alternatives design material modification schemes (Bahia et al. 2012) this can also lead to a release of fumes during mixing and laying dow n processes (Miller & Bahia, 2009). Allowing results to be seen in the future with a balanced view by weighing your organization's desires against competitive realities. The best possible decision that can be achieved here to obtain maximum results can be achieved using limited resources that are made available. The new Cisco lifecycle methodology is an appropriate tool where other businesses can transform their operational structure from the conventional structure to a more result orientated structure.These methodologies are said to be tailored to suit all businesses due to its comprehensive and broad analysis of events carried out within the organizational structure. This methodology can also provide clear focus and distention of work in which every employee or department is to carry out. The efficiency of service has well improved as there is a timely intervention of any problem by the staffs with the required skills and expertise thus the standard tools are at their disposal. Th erefore, it can be recommended to other businesses that are having problems with their traditional structure to adapt to the Cisco lifecycle methodology.Conclusion What we have discussed here are the most common used in business today, even as organization look forward in the ability to develop new ideas and innovation and still new products, processes and system required for adapting to changing markets, technologies and modes of competition, as managers show that innovation can be managing change in service support and service performance within organizations. But this process of innovation can be risky. This paper report illustrates a logical view in terms of behavioral shift in the methodology of CISCO IT Lifecycle and its transition process regardless of the industry or firm.This methodology does not only illustrates how the process functions but it also helps us to gain a better understanding of the whole culture of product development community reaffirming the argument that p roduct design developers are arrogant however are generally talented and are creative individuals References Andriopoulos, C. & Lowe, A. (2000). ‘Enhancing organizational creativity: the process of perpetual challenging’. Management Decision. Behrendt S. , Jasch Chr. , Peneda M. C. , H. van Weenen (1997), Life Cycle Design: A Manual for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Institute fur Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung, SpringerCharter, M. (1998), The Journal of Sustainable Product Design, interview with Dr Joseph Fiksel, April 1998, p. 49-52 Chan, K. W. & Mauborgne, R. (1997). ‘Value Innovation: The Strategic Logic of High Growth’. Harvard Business Review. Clegg, B. (1999). Creativity and innovation for managers. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Hassan A. Tabatabaee, Hussain U. Bahia(2012). Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1415 Engineering Dr. , Room 3350, Madison, WI 53706, USA. Jenson, J. 2004), Catc hing Up to Reality: Building the Case for a New Social Model, CPRN Social Architecture Papers, Research Report F|35, Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks Inc. (CPRN). Kanter, R. M. (1989) Swimming in newstreams: Mastering innovation dilemmas. California Management Review, 45–69 Levesque, B. and F. Lajeunesse-Crevier (2005), â€Å"Innovations et transformations sociales dans le developpement economique et le developpement social: approches theoriques et politiques publiques†, Cahiers du CRISES Collection Etudes theoriques, No. 07. Mark D. Abkowitz (Mar 31, 2008), Operational Risk Management : A Case Study Approach to Effective Planning and Response John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , Chichester. Miller, T. , and Bahia, H. U. , (2009). Sustainable Asphalt Pavements: Technologies, Knowledge Gaps and Opportunities, Modified Asphalt Research Center. Ravi Seethamraju, (2012) â€Å"Business process management: a missing link in business education†, Business Process Manageme nt Journal, Vol. 18 Iss: 3, pp. 532 – 547. Starbuck, W. H. (1983) Organisations as action generators.American Journal of Sociology, 48(1), 91–115. Teece, D. J. & Pisano, G. (1994) The dynamic capability of firms: An introduction. Industrial and Corporate Change, 3(3), 537–556. Tidd, J. , Bessant, J. & Pavitt, K. (2001). Managing innovation: Integrating technological, market and organizational change (2nd ed. ). Wiltshire: John Wiley. Quinn, J. B. (1985) Managing innovation: Controlled chaos. Harvard Business Review, May–June, 73–84 Von Hippel, E. , Thomke, S. & Sonnack, M. (1999) Creating breakthroughs at 3 m. Harvard Business Review, September–October, 47–57.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Chris McCandless Essay

McCandless wanted to live an independent and self-reliant life. As a child, he grew up in a materialistic and dysfunctional family. Although he had a close relationship with his sister, Carine, Chris preferred isolating himself. It was unimaginably difficult for Chris to have a relationship with his father after he had found out about his father’s second family. Chris’s mother, Billie, didn’t have much of a relationship with him either. For Chris, being alone was normal and part of his every day routine. As he got older he wanted more and more to live on his own and be in the wild. Chris and his family would go to the mountains every year to visit which gave Chris this love for nature. He wanted to live in his own Utopia, in the wild. McCandless wasn’t careless or delusional. He was determined, and focused on his task at hand; to, in his own words, â€Å"no longer be poisoned by civilization, and walk alone to become lost in the wild. † He met many people through-out his travels towards Alaska, but didn’t stay too long to become attached to them. On April 28, 1992, James Gallien gave Christopher McCandless a ride to the Stampede Trail in Alaska where Christopher set out to begin in journey into the wild. This was the last date that anyone ever saw Christopher McCandless alive. Walking into Denali National Park with a . 22 caliber rifle and a 10 pound bag of rice isn’t necessarily ridiculous, but expecting to survive an entire summer off nothing but the land and wild game certainly is. Chris read many books by his favorite, Jack London being one. Jack wrote a book about the wild and the dangers of being in it, which is where Chris got some inspiration from. Chris carved the phrase â€Å"Jack London is king† in a tree stump near his campsite.. Chris writing that phrase shows that his quest went farther than finding himself. Chris wanted a connection with nature. He did what he was striving for and although his ending was tragic, he still did it by himself and without anyone or anything.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Global Business Cultural Analysis, China Annotated Bibliography

Global Business Cultural Analysis, China - Annotated Bibliography Example As above, this book was useful in providing a broad overview of contemporary Chinese culture, including those aspects which are immediately unfamiliar to visitors from the West. However, given its form as an encyclopedia, it was most useful for looking up specific references found elsewhere in the course of reading around this topic. The passages on business culture were full of concise information, and provided a succinct overview before more detail was sought from more focused texts. As with the above two texts, this work includes a great deal of valuable and particularly up-to-date information about the development of modern Chinese culture, and picks up on those aspects which may be new to the Western reader. The editor, Kam Louie, provides a helpful introductory chapter which seeks to define modern Chinese culture, and various expert contributors from international universities built on this. Chapters which were most useful in researching this paper were those on social and political developments in China over the course of the 20th century, and on the place on Confucianism in modern Chinese society. Of the texts which most closely relate to the first research question, this book was the most useful found, given its comprehensiveness, and its function as a concise overview.. Of all of the sources consulted in the course of researching this paper, Chen and Pan’s practical guide to business in China contained the best information about how traditional Chinese religions and philosophies, and especially Confucianism and Daoism, affect business practice in contemporary China. It was sometimes surprising not only how far these philosophies still permeate every aspect of Chinese society, including the life of the individual, the relation of that individual to his or her family, and the relationship between the family and the state, but also the unexpected ways in which traditional concepts, such as face and a strict belief in hierarchy, have

Friday, September 27, 2019

Why Asian American males are sexually overlooked (undersexed) in the Term Paper

Why Asian American males are sexually overlooked (undersexed) in the US - Term Paper Example Racially, black men on the average are considered to have the largest endowment, Asians the least and whites in between. Although this is probably true, the important thing from a sexual behavior point of view is the perception. Considering this, it should not be surprising that many women do not consider Asian males as likely prospects for sexual partnerships. Asian Birth Rates and its’ Consequences While sources indicate that Japan has a lower birth rate than China, both are very low with no signs of an imminent rebound.( East-West Center) Indeed, most of developed industrial Asia has decreasing birth rates. Even though war ravaged, Afghanistan has the highest birth rate in the region as it is the least developed. The more advanced countries such as Japan, South Korea, and China, after a period of rapid economic growth, are now slowing down. (Fogarty 2997) This means fewer employment opportunities for the young and well educated, including women. As in the West 2 incomes are required for a decent standard of living for young married couples, especially those with children. Also because Asian males are not inclined to share the burdens of domestic duties, women find it increasingly difficult to combine a fulfilling career with marriage and child rearing. Therefore, many have decided to chose one or the other, reducing the marriage rate and by extension the birth rate. If a woman decides to be a stay at home mom she would need to find a well heeled mate, difficult to do with income levels determined by age and experience. Although Japan has a very low marriage/birth rate it is slightly higher in rural than urban areas because extended families tend to live together and share the burden of child care. As well as decreasing birth rates, there is also a trend in Asia as there is in the West toward lower birth rates of males compared to females.( redOrbit 2008) Male births still outnumber female with the rates varying between 100 and 110 males for every 100 females. However, the gap is narrowing, possibly due to the effects of increased pollution. At first blush one would think that would give more opportunity for Asian males for permanent and casual relationships. The economic impediments of marriage and child rearing have been discussed above. In the case of casual sexual relationships it is difficult to find data but I think one can make reasonable assumptions based on demographic changes. With globalization and increased educational and career resulting from feminism, they are no longer dependent on marriage and support of local males. They are more able to pursue their own careers if they wish, chose not to marry and pursue sexual gratification with partners of other races who allegedly offer greater sexual prowess. Racial Humiliation as a Fetish The internet is flooded with sites catering to various fetishes including sexual, racial or both combined. A fetish is worship of an object/person because the worshipper attributes a pote ncy or magical power to the object/person worshipped which they don’t have, or alternatively feel guilty because they have an excess of it. An example of the latter would be a powerful senior executive voluntarily surrendering and humiliating himself to a voluptuous leather clad mistress. In recent times it could be an Asian feeling inferior because of his small penis, submitting himself to being degraded by say a white or black mistress, in the hope if he does so well enough, the mistress will eventually reward him with some kind of sexual relief. It is difficult to explain the psychological need for fetish worship, but it seems to relate to an attempt to correct some kind of imbalance in one’s life. One website I saw was blatantly racist with a woman portraying herself as an Aryan mistress

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Osmosis Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Osmosis - Movie Review Example The disease that invaded Frank’s body is called ‘Anthrax’ which is caused by the bacteria Bacillus Anthracis. It is a deadly disease that can affect the lungs, intestines or skin. In Frank’s case it affected the lungs leading him to experience severe throat ache and flu. He was also prone to the gastrointestinal infection caused by the hard boiled egg that frank had consumed. Also Frank’s eating habits and the ten seconds rule where pushing him closer to this disease anyways. The image of this bacteria is given below: In order to cure Frank, he was given the drug Drixenol as this drug soothes colds and flu. In my opinion this movie was a good show making kids understand the immune system. This movie was close to reality in the sense that it explained the ways in which an unhealthy lifestyle can endanger the human life. What had happened to Frank could happen to anyone in real life because if one continues to dwell upon such unhealthy eating habits he is prone to major illness just like Frank. Thus this movie had a good message in a very unique

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Marriott Hotels in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marriott Hotels in Australia - Essay Example The Marriot way of doing business has been to reward good performance in its employees, both among the management as well as staff paid hourly rates. The primary stakeholders as identified by the â€Å"Marriot way† includes associates, guests and communities, thereby including employees, suppliers and retailers as well as its guests and members of the general community and the Company aims to provide the kind of services that can reach out to all of these.(www.marriot.co.uk). Marriot Hotels in Australia have also developed effective communication strategies to communicate with these different groups of stakeholders. According to Vogel (2005:110) promoting value must also include the introduction of better business practices that can serve to improve the welfare of the communities within which these corporations function. Employee satisfaction for example, impacts upon customer and ultimately, shareholder satisfaction. As a result, effectively communicating with employees would include the introduction of measures that could improve their motivation levels, which in turn would improve employee satisfaction (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2005). Management behaviour impacts upon employee attitudes, which in turn leads to customer satisfaction. For example, in a hotel environment, satisfied frontline employees project an attitude that improves the customer experience of the hotel (Rust et al, 1996). The productivity of a business depends upon the levels of cust omer satisfaction. The Marriot hotels have also developed a corporate image and profile, which have been communicated through its actions and annual reports. The core values of the Marriot hotels are centred around its â€Å"spirit to serve† philosophy.(www.marriot.co.uk) and includes corporate social responsibility, or the introduction of corporate practices that â€Å"improve the workplace and benefit society in ways that go above and beyond what companies are legally required to

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

A response to the prompt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A response to the prompt - Essay Example Others argue that it might be morally permissible to take lives in certain special cases. There is no agreement or consensus as to what is morally permissible and what is not when it comes to euthanasia. In this paper the issue of euthanasia will be discussed while responding a prompt in which a baby is in considerable pain and has no hope of revival. Different options will be discussed and medical, ethical, legal, and psychological reasons for choosing an option will also be presented. There are three options available for the doctor of Stephanie. The first option involves continuing her treatment without doing anything else. The second option involves slowly withdrawing treatment and ‘allowing’ her to die naturally. The second option is a perfect example of passive euthanasia. The third option is to act now and end the life of Stephanie in order to save her from the pain she is experiencing. Below each of the three options will be discussed. The first option will lead to great pain to the patient without any hope of medical revival. But it cannot be ignored that there have been cases where medical evidence has been refuted. This is a safe option for a doctor as continuing the treatment will not break any medical laws or will be morally questionable. But the downside of this option is that the patient will go through immense pain for no good reason and her quality of life will not improve. The second option finds a middle way between the two extreme options, but is still not immune from moral criticism. Some might argue that letting a patient die and taking a life might be morally indifferent (Rachels, 87). This makes the second option also complicated as many also argue against passive euthanasia. However, this option is legally permissible if the decision to stop the treatment is taken with the consent of the parents. The third option is another extreme and calls for ending

Monday, September 23, 2019

Write about your religion (islam) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Write about your religion (islam) - Essay Example This paper will discuss my life in the religion and how I share my ideas and leave with the world. I was born in a family that has always been part of the religion. I have always been encouraged by my family’s commitment in the way it attended the five prescribed daily prayers. I am glad I followed suit in the teachings of Islam and took up the challenge of to reading the Quran. As a Muslim, the faith has taught me that human beings exist for the core purpose of serving and loving God. The faith has also taught me that Allah is the only God and comparable to none (Quran 112:1-4). The words of the Quran are of divine origins that Allah revealed from Himself. It contains His words which already existed before creation and can, therefore, not be subtracted, added or amended (Brown 185). Unlike it is wrongfully believed by non Muslims, the Quran is not made up of Prophet Muhammad’s words because it was there before him. To enable Muslims get a deeper insight and understanding of the Quran and the life of Muhammad, a collection of traditions, known as Hadith, was compile d into comprehensive literature by various people. Muslims, just like Jews and Christians, believe that in death, the spirit departs from the body then waits for resurrection on judgment day (Quran 21:19-20). The three faiths’ doctrines on heaven and hell, angels, the devil, morals and the last judgment are very similar. This forms a strong basis of sharing the ideas of religion with the world. The best way of working with the world and conveying my ideas of religion is by convincing non Muslims to shun the stereotyping that every Muslim is an extremist or terrorist. There is a whole lot of genuine Muslims around the world that can be considered mainstream. It is my duty and responsibility as a Muslim to take an oath, follow the Five Pillars and uphold the Six

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The management of salivary gland infection Essay

The management of salivary gland infection - Essay Example The management of these two types of salivary gland infection is possible with certain preventive measures and treatments. In certain cases, treatment is not required for curing these infections. The acute bacterial infection of the salivary glands occurs because of two important physiological mechanisms. Firstly, there are certain bacteria present in the oral cavity. Due to poor oral hygiene, the salivary duct and parenchyma tissue inhabited by these bacteria is contaminated which results in the infection. Secondly, the obstruction of salivary gland results in the stasis of salivary flow through the ducts and parenchyma promotes acute suppurative infection. The bacterial infection can affect any of the three pairs of the salivary glands however the most commonly affected gland is the Parotid gland. Several physiological and anatomic factors attribute to the predilection of the Parotid gland's infection. The composition of the Parotid gland secretion is completely different from that of the submandibular and sublingual glands. The saliva secreted by the Parotid gland is serous while that of the other two glands have higher proportion of mucinous material. The kind of saliva secreted by the other two glands contains lysosomes and IgA antibodies, which serve an antimicrobial function in protecting these glands from the bacterial infection. Mucins also contain sialic acid, which agglutinates bacteria, preventing its adherence to host tissues. Finally, specific glycoproteins found in mucins bind epithelial cells, competitively inhibiting bacterial attachment to these cells. There are certain anatomic factors as well that contribute to the p redilection of the parotid gland's infection. Stensen's duct lies adjacent to the upper mandibular molars, whereas Wharton's ducts rests on the floor of the mouth near the tongue. Tongue mobility may prevent salivary stasis in the area of warton's ducts, reducing the rate of infections involving the submandibular gland. The submandibular gland is more prone to bacterial infection rather than the sublingual gland in spite of its composition. Sialothiasis can produce mechanical obstruction of the duct, resulting in salivary stasis and subsequent bacterial infection. Calculus formation is associated frequently with acute bacterial infections of the submandibular gland because Wharton's duct is far more likely to harbor a calculus than stensen's duct.85 % to 90% of salivary calculi is located in the submandibular duct. Submandibular secretions are more mucinous than parotid secretions and therefore more viscid. They are also more alkaline containing a higher percentage of calcium phosphates. These characteristics contributes to the formation of submandibular calculi, despite the submandibular gland's predisposition for calculus formation. The parotid gland remains the most common site of acute suppurative salivary infection. Sialography, a method used for diagnosis of the internal structure of the salivary gland can also result in the infection of the submandibular glands rather than sublingual glands. There are small and numerous sublingual ducts which may not allow the catheter to enter unless there are anatomic variations.[ Bailey, Byron , Healy, Gerald ., Johnson, Jonas , Jackler, Robert , Calhoun, Karen , Pillsbury, Harold ,

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Locke, Hobbes, Mill, Thoreau Essay Example for Free

Locke, Hobbes, Mill, Thoreau Essay John Locke explains the state of nature as a state of equality in which no one has power over another, and all are free to do as they please. He notes, however, that this liberty does not equal license to abuse others, and that natural law exists even in the state of nature. Each individual in the state of nature has the power to execute natural laws, which are universal. I believe that Locke is correct in his analysis of the state of nature however; Locke? s theory includes many assumptions. First is the assumption of a system of morality, the natural law derives from a theory of justice, a set of rights. No one would have any rights at all in the absence of a moral code applicable to human actions, nor would there be any standard of just punishment. Locke frequently uses the term rights and appeals to conscience and calm reason, all of which reflect his assumptions about justice and morality. For individual property to exist, there must be a means for individuals to appropriate the things around them. Locke starts out with the idea of the property of person; each person owns his or her own body, and all the labor that they perform with the body. When an individual adds their own labor, their own property, to a foreign object or good, that object becomes their own because they have added their labor. This appropriation of goods does not demand the consent of humankind in general, each person has license to appropriate things in this way by individual initiative. Locke then places a bound on this type of acquisition, a person may only acquire as many things in this way as he or she can reasonably use to their advantage. One can only take so much as one can use. Lock applies these rules to land: a person in a state of nature can claim land by adding labor to it, building house on it or farming on it, but only so much as that person can reasonably use without waste. Locke then defines labor as the determining factor of value, the tool by which humans make their world a more advantageous and rewarding place to inhabit. Locke states that in order for a civil society to be established, the individuals must forfeit some of their rights that they have in the state of nature. This needs to be done so everyone can live together in peace. If everyone had the right to take whatever he or she could use, this might infringe on another members right to take whatever he or she could use. This consent to the laws in put upon the society in an indirect way. The people didnt actually say I will not take that mans land but it is inferred through the agreement that the other man wont take my land. This way we can all live in harmony together. Locke points out that any society has the right to rebellion. In order to justify this, Locke says a society must be in a very poor state. The state must be infringing on the natural rights of the people. A society couldnt rebel for the sake of rebellion, this would cause chaos and in order to return chaos to order tyranny would follow. Locke is very opposed to tyranny for obvious reasons. The voice of the people doesnt get heard and causes injustice. This eventually leads into a cycle. This justifies rebellion but since the people have to be strictly controlled, a rebellion couldnt get organized and there is no way out of the circle. John Stewart Mill Mill writes a majority may consciously try to oppress a minority. He also states that this concept of a tyranny of the majority has come to be accepted by major thinkers. What ever the general will of the majority dictates is what gets done. This is illustrated in the United States Congress. It doesnt necessarily consciously try to oppress the minority, but if the US didnt have the balance in power, what ever the majority wanted would get done without the consent of everyone. Mill discusses why silencing opinions hurts humanity. His first argument is that the suppressed opinion may be true. He writes that since human beings are not infallible, they have no authority to decide an issue for all people, and to keep others from coming up with their own judgments. Mill asserts that the reason why liberty of opinion is so often in danger is that in practice people tend to be confident in their own rightness, and excluding that, in the infallibility of the world they come in contact with. Mill contends that such confidence is not justified, and that silencing potentially true ideas hurts all people. This brings us to the next argument Mill makes. He observes that if an opinion is true, it will survive persecution. This is generally true; however when history is written, it might conveniently forget the truth for many generations. A perfect example of this is Nikola Tesla. He was considered one of the greatest if not the greatest scientist in his time, but his opinion (the truth) was silenced because he was thought to be crazy. Mill tries to show the contingency of popular beliefs about truth while going to great lengths to not actually state that any popular views about things like religion are wrong. Galileo and Copernicus are just a few of the examples of people getting persecuted for religious reasons for what is now believed to be true. Henry David Thoreau Thoreau says that while everyone recognizes the right to revolution when faced with an intolerably tyrannical or inefficient government, most people say that such a revolution would not be warranted under current conditions. However, Thoreau argues that we have not only the right, but also the duty to rebel. He uses an example from the Mexican-American War. He argues Americans must stop the slavery and war with Mexico even if it costs them their existence. He believes the war is unjust and the people have the duty to rebel against the government to protect their conscience. One of the most important themes throughout Thoreaus work is the notion of individualism. Deeply skeptical of government, Thoreau rejects the view that a person must sacrifice or marginalize his values out of loyalty to his government. He believes individualism is the most important virtue in humanism. Furthermore, he argues that if an individual supports the government in any way, even by simply respecting its authority as a government, then that person is implicated in the injustices committed by the government. For example, if a German in Nazi Germany let the injustices against the Jews go by because he feared retribution from the government, he is just as responsible as the people who actually executed the Jews. However, a person couldnt withdraw his consent because withdrawing would be morally unjust. This is where a persons duty to rebel comes into play. A person must actively try to change what they dont agree with. Thoreau believes a very heavy responsibility should be placed on the individual to make sure the individual consents to everything. Thomas Hobbes It can be understood from Hobbes the state of nature is what would exist if there were no government, no civilization, no laws and no common power to restrain human nature. The state of nature is a war of all against all, in which human beings constantly seek to destroy each other in an incessant pursuit for power. Life in the state of nature is nasty, brutish and short. From this one can infer Hobbes believes human nature is inherently evil and corrupt. To prevent the ensuing chaos, Hobbes believes a social contract must be created. To inter into a social contract the individual must give up some of his rights in order to preserve the peace. This becomes obvious when the laws of nature are looked at. Hobbes states The right of nature, which writhers commonly call jus naturale, is the liberty each man hath to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his one life; and consequently, of doing anything, which in his own judgment and reason, he shall conceive to be the aptest means thereunto. People must surrender part of this right in order to live in harmony. Obviously when Hobbes discusses right to do anything in order to preserve ones life, this cant mean killing someone to preserve ones life.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Developing Expected Forwarded Counter (EFW)

Developing Expected Forwarded Counter (EFW) Abstract Wireless mesh networks have emerged as adaptable and low cost networks. Expected forwarded Counter (EFW) is a cross layer metric introduced to deal with the problem of selfish behaviour in order to provide reliable routing. This paper proposes an enhancement to the EFW, by considering congestion incurred due to selecting only high quality paths. The performance of proposed metric is evaluated through simulation. Simulation results show that overall routing performance is increased in terms of throughput and packet delivery ratio. Introduction Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) is a promising technology for the next generation wireless technologies. The Mesh Networks are self-organized, self-configured and easily adaptable to different traffic requirements and network changes. Routing is a challenge in Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) due to unpredictable variations of the wireless environment. Initially, to select a path with highest delivery rate in wireless mesh network, metrics that capture link quality have been introduced. But, most of these metrics are designed by assuming that each wireless mesh router participates honestly in forwarding process. While this assumption may not be valid in presence of selfish routers which may get profit from not forwarding all traffic. Selfish users utilize the network resources for its own benefit but unwilling to spend for others. Such selfish behavior reduces network delivery reliability. Metrics have been introduced to detect and exclude selfish nodes in a route to destination. These metrics do not consider quality of links, hence cannot select best path from source to destination. Cross layer metrics were used to consider both link quality and selfish behaviour of node [2] in order to select a high performance path. This kind of solutions may cause only high quality to get used and other links will get unused. This will make links to be congested seriously and in turn cause performance degradation. In this paper we propose metric that combines link quality and congestion information from MAC layer and forward reliability of node from routing layer. The rest of this paper is structured as follows. Section II discusses related work. Section III illustrates proposed work. Section IV presents results obtained through simulating proposed metric in comparison with ETX and EFW. Related work: Several works presented in the recent research literature focus on reliable data transmission in wireless multi hop networks with selfish participants. In recent years, several routing metrics have been proposed to select the path with the highest delivery rate in wireless mesh networks. The essence of all these metrics lies in the selection of reliable network paths, avoiding lossy wireless links prone to transmission errors. Some of these are discussed below. ETX (Expected Transmission Counter): Routing metrics for wireless mesh networks like ETX adopt a probabilistic model to represent the transmission reliability of a wireless link. Specifically, ETX measures the expected number of transmissions, including retransmissions, needed to correctly send a unicast packet over a wireless link. In order to compute ETX, it is necessary to estimate the packet loss probability in both directions since, in wireless networks based on the IEEE 802.11 protocol, the destination must acknowledge each received data frame Let (i, j)be a wireless link established between node i and j;Pij and pji denote the packet loss probability of the wireless link(i, j) in forward and reverse directions separately. The probability of a successful transmission on the wireless link(i, j)can therefore be computed as Ps,ij= (1−pij)(1−pji). Then, the expected number of transmissions necessary to deliver the data packet, considering both its transmission and the successive acknowledgment as required by the IEEE 802.11 protocol, can be evaluated according to expression Despite the purpose of selecting the most reliable paths, ETX does not model accurately the delivery rate of a network link, since it does not consider the forwarding behavior of the nodes that have established that link. In particular, ETX and its derived metrics do not take into account that a selfish node might discard the packet after its correct reception, if it benefits from not forwarding it EFW: To address the problem caused by the dropping behaviour of selfish participants, we combine the link quality measured by the ETX routing metric with the forwarding reliability of a relaying node j by improving the probabilistic model on which ETX is based. Let pd,ij be the dropping probability of a network node j((1−pd,ij)represents its forwarding probability). Since a network node can drop selectively the traffic sent by its neighbours, the dropping probability of any node j is identified both by the sending node i and the relaying node j. The probability that a packet sent through a node j will be successfully forwarded can be computed as pfwd,ij=ps,ij(1−pd,ij).Then, the expected number of transmissions necessary to have the packet successfully forwarded (Expected Forwarding Counter, EFW) can be measured according to the following equation. The first part of equation, which coincides with the ETX metric, considers the quality of the physical and MAC layers, whereas our contribution takes into account the network layer reliability. Therefore, EFW represents a cross-layer metric that models both the physical conditions of the wireless medium and the selfishness of the node with which the link is established. In addition to detecting the misbehaving nodes, the representation of the link reliability provided by the EFW metric permits to use the network paths with the highest delivery performance, without pruning the alternative routes that contain selfish nodes. Proposed work: The disadvantages of this solution are that nodes wanting to transmit packets will attempt to use the same high quality link and cause it congested seriously. And at the same time other links will get unused. MAC layer metric: Our proposed metric is based on the retransmission mechanism in MAC. The first part of this method is the success rate of transmitting frames based on the average number of retransmissions which we call Frame Transmission Efficiency (FTE) [13]. Fig. 1: Illustration of the retransmission mechanism at the MAC Layer The number of retransmissions of RTS and Data frames for each Successful transmission in MAC layer is supposed to represent the quality of that link and congestion instance. The success rate of sending frames is therefore a good estimate of both the quality and congestion of a link. From it the best quality links may be selected. The success rate of each link (FTE) is updated when a node forwards a Data packet to its neighbour and passes it up to the routing protocol. ACK Failure Count denotes the number of Data retransmission and RTS Failure Count denotes the number of RTS retransmission. The kth packet will send from Node S to Node D. The number of retransmission is assumed as Failure (k) and denotes below: Failure (k) = ACK Failure Count (k) + RTS Failure Count (k) (j) Thus FTE (k) between Node S and Node D is formulized as equation (4). It reflects the link quality and congestion situation of links. FTE (k) = We are using this frame transmission efficiency to represent link quality and congestion. It is MAC layer information. From routing layer we consider forward probability estimation. In cross layer fashion we combine information from both MAC and Routing layer to obtain congestion aware EFW. It is computed as follows Enhanced EFW or congestion aware EFW= Simulation Simulation scenario We performed simulations with NCTUns6.0 simulator that evaluates performance of the metric in comparison with EFW using OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) routing protocol. Performance Evaluation: To evaluate the performance of proposed metric in comparison with existing metrics ETX and EFW, the following variables are analysed Throughput Packet Delivery Rate Drop Rate From fig1. We can observe that the proposed metric has more throughput than the other routing metrics in wireless mesh networks. By this we can understand that the proposed metric selects better path in presence of selfish nodes in comparison with other metrics. From fig2. It seems that congestion aware EFW has more packet delivery rate when compared with other metrics. Conclusion: In this paper we introduced an enhancement to existing cross layer metric called Expected forward counter (EFW). In this metric we replaced link quality metric obtained from ETX metric with Frame Transfer Efficiency (FTE) metric which considers not only link quality but also congestion of link. As the proposed metric in cross layer fashion combines MAC layer observations of link quality and congestion with routing layer observations of forward probability estimation, it gives better performance in comparison with ETX and EFW metrics. Simulations results show that routing performance of OSPF in terms of throughput, packet delivery rate and drop rate has been improved in proposed metric. References: S. Paris, C. Nita-Rotaru, F.Martignon, and A. Capone, †Cross-Layer Metrics for Reliable Routing in Wireless Mesh Networks â€Å", in proc. IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON NETWORKING, VOL. 21, NO. 3, JUNE 2013. N. Nandiraju, D. Nandiraju, L. Santhanam, B. He, J. Wang, and D.P. Agrawal, â€Å"Wireless mesh networks: Current challenges and future directions of web-in-the-sky,† IEEE Wireless Commun., vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 79–89, Aug. 2007. S. Paris, C. Nita-Rotaru, F.Martignon, and A. Capone, â€Å"EFW: A cross layer metric for reliable routing in wireless mesh networks with selfish participants,† in Proc. IEEE INFOCOM, Apr. 2011, pp. 576–580 D.S.J De Couto, D. Aguayo, J. Bicket, and R. Morris. A High-Throughput Path Metric for Multi-Hop Wireless Routing. Wireless Networks, 2005. D. Johnson and G. Hancke, â€Å"Comparison of two routing metrics in OLSR on grid based mesh network,† Ad Hoc Netw., vol. 7, no. 2,pp. 374–387, 2009. Da Guo, Jun Li, Mei Song, Junde Song,â€Å"A Novel Cross-Layer Routing Algorithm in Wireless Mesh Network† in the proc. of IEEE International Conference 2007,pp 1-3,vol-07. Golnaz Karbaschi, A Link-Quality and Congestion aware Cross layer Metric for Multi-Hop Wireless Routing.2nd IEEE International Conference on Mobile Ad-hoc and Sensor Systems Washington, DC USA November 2005. M.E.M.Campista, P. M. Esposito, I.M.Moraes,L.H. M. Costa,O. C.M. Duarte, D. G. Passos, C. V. N. de Albuquerque, D. C.M. Saade, and M. G. Rubinstein, â€Å"Routing metrics and protocols for wireless mesh networks,† IEEE Netw., vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 6–12, Jan.–Feb. 2008. OSPF

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Analysis of Do not go Gentle into that Good Night :: Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

"Do not go Gentle into that Good Night" is written in lyric style. The poem is written by Dylan Thomas who is expressing his thought’s and experiences of death. The title disclosed the poet’s thoughts about death and the importance of fighting to live life to the fullest. The poem speaks of different views of death from different people who all demonstrated one common struggle - to hold on to life. The poem is fairly short and the language is figurative. The poet uses simile to compare death to a good nigh. There is also foreshadowing is the first verse. The poet opens the poem with "Do not go gentile into that good night" which right away indicates that the poet is referring to not taking death lying down. The reader is given a sense of growing old. In the first stanza of the poem describe old age, "Old age should burn and rave at close of day" As you get old there is a daily struggle against death; you should fight for your life and take it day by day. In the second stanza the poet says "Though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lighting they don not go gentile into that good night" I thin what the poet is trying to say is even though you’re getting older and you know the time is coming you haven’t shown a sign of death you ‘re still have life so fight against death. Then in third stanza the poet describes someone w ho lived a good life but doesn’t want to let go "Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright their deed might have danced in a green bay, rage rage against the dying of the light." It was as if he was saying had he lived longer things could haven been better. In the fourth stanza " Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, and learn, too late they grieved it on its way, Don not go gentile into that good night. The poet is saying Sinners who led a bad life learn too late that they could have led a better life so they fight against death in hopes for a second chance. In he fifth stanza the poem talks of someone who has had a near death experience "Grave men, near death, who see with the blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, rage rage against the dying of the light.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Employee Motivation Essay -- Work Job Employee Motivation Management

Employee Motivation INTRODUCTION In the quest to obtain the maximum from employees and achieve organizational success, employers recognised the need to acknowledge that people have complex needs. With the growing affluence of our society, Singaporeans of today are no longer solely driven by money but also challenges inherent in their responsibility. This is supported by our Senior Minister Goh who recently commented that Singaporeans prefer the experience of working abroad than locally as the foreign employer advocate the importance of not only work, but also the employee’s needs.(TODAY, 15 March 07). Before discussing the motivational strategies, a simplistic approach will be taken, using Hackman Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model, which defines the workforce into two categories. The first category consist of staff in job settings which are low in skill variety, task identity, task significance, low autonomy and feedback and followed by staff in complicated job settings with scorer high in all fronts (Robbins, Millet, Waters-Marsh, 2004). GOAL SETTING / EXPECTANCY THEORY â€Å"Specific hard goals produce a higher level of output than does the generalised goal of ‘do your best† (Robbins, 2003). This statement defines Edwin Locke’s goal-setting theory which advocates giving employees clear targets so that they are aware of what needs to be done and how much effort to be expended. While easier goals are more readily accepted, difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher performance as the specificity of goals itself acts as an internal stimulus. Also, people tend to perform better when timely feedback is provided (Bartol, Tein, Matthews, and Martin, 2005). When applied to individuals who are motivated by inhe... ...cShane, S and Glinow, MA 2003, Organisational Behaviour, McGraw-Hill, New York. McShane, S and Travaglione, T 2007, Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim, Irwin/McGraw-Hill, Sydney. Robbins, SP 2003, Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall, Sydney Robbins, SP, Millet, B, and Waters-Marsh, T, 2004, Organisational Behaviour, Prentice-Hall, Sydney Wood, J, Chapman, K, Fromholtz, M, Morrison, V, Wallace, J, Zeffane, R, Kennedy, R, Schermerhorn, J, Hunt, J and Osborn, R 2004, Organisational Behaviour: A Global Perspective, John Wiley & Sons, Brisbane. Internet References â€Å"Singapore leaking talent† http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/specialreport/news/264096_8/1/.html Fortune’s â€Å"Best companies to work for.†http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/01/22/8397996/index.htm AIA Singapore http://www.aia.com.sg/Content.asp?ca_typeid=4

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Management Style Essay

Management style is the method of leadership that an administrator usually employs when running a business. Depending on business situation, a manager might need to employ more than one management style in a more or less formal way to accomplish the highest degree of effectiveness In their role. A range of management styles exist, such as active leadership, democratic leadership, directive leadership, paternalistic leadership, participatory leadership, servant leadership, and task-oriented leadership. Active leaders tend to lead by example and set a high standard for themselves and their employees. They wouldn’t ask an employee to take on a task they would be reluctant to do themselves. Democratic leaders seek to take all stakeholders’ opinion into account and achieve consensus before reaching a final decision. Although directive leaders are less authoritative than autocratic managers, they do not typically seek employees input. They often cite a short timeframe, and unpredictable client or an emergency situation as the reason for acting unilaterally. Participatory leaders are based on a coaching philosophy and focuses on empowering employees to seek their own knowledge and make their own decisions. It can be very effective in fluid work environments with shifting priorities. Servant leaders are based on a â€Å"people-come-first† philosophy. This style is about finding the most talented people to fun your organization and then empowering them to do what they do best. Paternalistic leaders are also similar to autocratic managers, except more sensitive to employees’ perspective. Managers who embrace this style are concerned with employees’ feeling and wellbeing. Task-oriented leaders may have once been project managers. They are experts in planning projects, allocating resources, assigning roles, setting benchmarks and keeping to strict deadlines. Management is about getting things done. Leadership is about achieving goals by creating a direction for a business and inspiring employees to take initiative and make the right decision.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Causes of Reality TV Popularity

There are several reasons that reality television has become popular today. The three that I will focus on are the concepts of money, instant fame, and the guilty pleasure phenomenon. The first catalyst for reality television being popular today is money. Today’s shows offer huge sums of money to people who do not necessarily possess the career skills that would make them a productive enough member of society to amass such wealth through honest work. Simplified, dumb people get lots of cash. Now, some shows do in fact have, at least at first, a pseudo-intellectual premise. Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, for example, offered up to a million dollars to people answering a set of questions. The questions, however, differed from related shows in that they were usually trivia oriented. Also, the audience was involved, as well as calling a friend and so on, which added to the drama aspect. The lighting, music, and editing all were contrived to produce the maximum possible suspense surrounding rather innocuous pop culture subjects one might find in any game of Trivial Pursuit for Children. The promise of money and the vicarious joy at someone winning lots of money, or more commonly spectacularly losing said money, is what draws millions of viewers. The second reason I believe reality television has become popular today is that of instant fame. Reality television takes ordinary people, sets them up in extraordinary situations on a world stage with other similarly commonplace individuals, and makes them the focus of a nation’s attention on, for example, an hour every Tuesday. Obviously the majority of the population has no chance of ever being picked as a participant for the show itself, but again the concept of vicarious living kicks in and the audience is hooked. The members of the show are satisfactorily every-day individuals for fans to willfully suspend their disbelief. That’s what keeps 35,000 twenty year olds auditioning every year for a chance to participate in MTV’s The Real World, which offers no monetary reward save the endorsements from being an instant celebrity. The third reason that reality television is popular today is what I like to call guilty pleasure syndrome. Sociology professor Mark Fishman of Brooklyn College, The City University of New York, has made a study of reality TV. â€Å"The Germans have a word for it, the appeal of some of these shows,† he says. â€Å"It's called ‘schadenfreude. ‘ It means taking delight in the misfortunes of others. It's a guilty pleasure. You feel you shouldn't be watching. It's always been in good taste not to look at these things†¦. It's a moral envelope that's being pushed†¦. We seem to be in a new age of making public what [we used to think] shouldn't be seen. † In today’s society, with the massive technological revolution of home computing and the internet, and with the renewed interest in free speech and the protection of the arts, more and more people are finding premises entertaining that 30 years ago would have been considered obscene.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Several interesting facts

Remarkable English poet T. S. Eliot hardly could imagine that his poems for children â€Å"Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats† will be known to millions of inhabitants of different continents as a basis of fantastic by its beauty classical musical â€Å"Cats† (music of well-known composer A. L. Webber).Musical â€Å"Cats† was so successful, that broke all records of theatrical longevity in Broadway and London. For the first time â€Å"Cats† were presented to spectators in New London Theater in West-End (May 11, 1981) and already 8 years later they held the first record: musical became the most â€Å"long-playing† performance in the history of British Theater. Musical is staged in London with unchangeable success after more then 8000 performances.In the long history of Broadway â€Å"Cats† – the only musical which was put on stage with unchangeable success for 18 years. From October 7 1982 this enchanting sight was presented for 7485 times. History of musical strikes with figures: musical was staged for more then 48 million people in 26 countries and 300 cities and profit from musical reached almost 2 milliards dollars.Show was presented at 10 languages, but always by its original name. It is interesting that questioning which made Mexican producers before start of the musical, stated that for spectators of any country word â€Å"Cats† doesn’t need translation. Musical â€Å"Cats† received the most prestigious theatrical awards: Oliver, Evening Standard, 7 Tony awards, Drama Desk, 7 national awards of Japan, 7 awards of Canada, etc.Why is musical â€Å"Cats† so attractive for millions of people with different tastes and predilections? What makes spectators, who saw the musical once, to see it again and over again? What is â€Å"Cats†?A bit of history.Actually, text and music plays great role in triumphal success of musical. In 1931 future Nobel Prize laureate T. S. Eliot started to write fairy-tale poems about cats for his small godsons. Old Possum, as he was called by his friends, managed to invent unusual names for cats and dogs of his friends. The book was published in 1939 and from those times it remains a favourite book for children and grown-ups, being re-edited in different languages and different countries.The idea to compose music for those poems came to composer Webber already in 1977. Webber liked those wonderful stories about cats, written in amazingly musical words, from his childhood, and composed several musical compositions for his friends. Some of them were presented with success during musical festival in Sidmonton, where Valerie Eliot got acquainted with Webber.She had shown to him unpublished poems from the book, particularly, poem about Grizabelle, which stroke Webber by dramatic image (Elliot didn’t include it into his book, because he considered it too sad for small children). In such a way idea to create a big musical- theatrical composition about fantastic world of cats, which relations remind human world of passions and contradictions, appeared.Phenomena of â€Å"Cats† consists of many components, main of which, except of wonderful lyrics and charming music, are professionalism and talent of director, producer, choreographer and designer. Famous producer Cameron Mackintosh liked the idea of Webber and musical was created in extremely short terms – 15 months.Mackintosh remembers several dramatic moments of that period: how prima of musical Judi Dench got trauma before the opening night; how long and without success they tried to find sponsors; how difficult was creation of mysterious enchanting spectacle from primary chaos.Trevor Nunn tells that he likes poems of Elliot – childish poems for grown-ups, where in descriptions of definite cats you can find satirical gentle hints to their owners and to the whole English society in common. Cats are similar to us, people. They charm us, maybe because they help to understand us in their mysterious way.Book of Eliot is a collection of separate small poems, which are not connected. People, who created musical, faced a problem to unite those poems into one whole and not to loose the original idea of author. The figure of Grizabelle became the main figure of musical – serious, touching and a bit tragic.Famous aria of Grizabelle â€Å"Memory† which is known also to those who never visited â€Å"Cats†, during first 6 months only more then 7000 times was heard over British radio, and in American radio more then 1 million times. Besides, to listen to the aria 1 million times, you’ll need 5 years. â€Å"Memory† was recorder 600 times by more then 150 singers, and Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis are among those singers; Placido Domingo also sang in together with Natalie Cole during his world concert tour.Difficult make-up, shaggy wigs and tails create fantastic gallery of actors, and each of actors has his own character. Colored skin-tight costumes don’t bother motion, and it is very important for such choreography. Unbelievable plastics strikes as well as easiness of motion, but this is a result of many hours of rehearsals. The next difficult task was creation of scenic stage.Designer John Napier changed the hall into â€Å"a big playground for cats†, which intrigues spectators before the musical starts. You’ll not find here usual division of scene and spectator’s rows. To create cats’ world Napier changed hall into a city scrap-heap, where all objects correspond to size of cats-actors (it means, they are several times bigger their own normal size). Not only in the stage, but also in the hall huge cans and tins, ragged tires, rusty bicycle wheels and kettles, spoiled shoes, etc (besides, quantity of objects is 2500 pieces!) are thrown in â€Å"picturesque† disorder.Over a long period of time inscription on a playbill o f Broadway theater Winter Garden said: â€Å"Cats – now and forever!†. â€Å"Cats† left Broadway, earned millions of dollars and won hundred thousands of spectators’ hearts all over the world. â€Å"Cats† is an exciting combination of mystery, magic, poetry and dance – continue their triumphal procession over the worlds, winning more and more fans after each stage. â€Å"Cats† is a delightful, admirable, glorious, charming, captivating, killing, delectable musical – a real masterpiece. It is the best musical which I managed to see in this genre. â€Å"Cats† – forever!

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Muet

Extracurricular activities are a good chance for every student to improve himself/herself in many different ways. These activities are offered by educational establishments, but they are far more interesting than common lessons. In SMKPJ, the MUET drama festival had became one of the compulsory activities for all the Lower Six students. As one of the participants in MUET drama festival, I strongly agree that the MUET drama festival should be made as a yearly event for the Lower Six students. The MUET drama competition had contributed many benefits to the students. Drama competition is a tremendous way to build confidence.By overcoming innate fear of speaking in front of others, they are stepping outside of your comfort zone in a very healthy way. The skills you acquire translate to increased confidence in the their life as well as improved communication skills with others. If the ‘old one' suffered from doubt and anxiety, they will find it gradually replaced by a new self image . In this one they will see themselves standing tall, talking easily and communicating well. Besides that, the involvement in the group activity and interaction with other people develops students' socializing skills and they become more open with people.Putting themselves forward makes it easier for you to meet others. The increase in sociability which is a crucial ability for personal development and an important criteria for job interviews in their future. People's ability to make friends or to become a part of a group promotes self-confidence and creates a better atmosphere of liability among people. Moreover, the drama competition requires students to embody various characters with situations, personalities and life style which vastly different from the student's own.In order to portray the character realistically, students have to find ways to relate themselves with the character. This practice of putting themselves in someone else's shoes enhances students' ability to empathi ze with people in their personal lives and promotes compassion and tolerance for others. Furthermore, participating in drama competitions requires great reserves of imagination. The drama requires students to make creative choice, think of new ideas, and interpret familiar materials in new ways . It is a fun way of challenging students to think quickly, to act on impulse and to react to their surroundings.The consistent practice of using their imagination can translate into success at other art forms as well as creative problem solving skills. As Albert Einstein said,† imagination is more important than knowledge. † Last but not least, through drama, students learn different forms of communication which help in developing language and communication skill. They are encouraged to express themselves both verbally and through facial expressions and body language. It improves the voice projection, articulation of words, fluency with language and persuasive speech which is key to making them better and more effective communicators.Subsequently, the listening and observation skills are developed through the process of rehearsing, performing and even being an audience which other groups were performing. In conclusion, it is important that the MUET drama festival should be continued organized and make it as one of the traditions of SMKPJ. I hopes that not only the Form Six students but the whole school includes all the students and teachers should give their supports to the drama festival. Thus, the MUET drama festival can be held successfully every year.

Sexual Selection

Sexual selection was an idea proposed by Darwin and refers to the process in which males and females attempt to maximize their chances of reproductive success. Within a species there are certain characteristics that make individuals attractive to potential mates. An example of this is in peacocks, female peacocks are attracted to males with long brightly colored tails, even though this makes them easier to be spotted by predators. This characteristic then evolves within the species due to how males with this characteristic have a higher chance of reproductive success and their characteristics being passed on to surviving offspring.There are 2 types of sexual selection. Intersexual selection takes place when males compete for the attention of a female. The female will play an active role in choosing her mate and will choose the mate with the best characteristics in order to produce the offspring with the best characteristics. The other type is Intrasexual selection. This takes place w hen males compete against each other and are rewarded with the female. The female plays a passive role in this. An example of intrasexual selection is Short’s sperm competition.This suggests that males are motivated to ensure that their sperm is successful in fertilization and can compete against other males. This is essential due to how in some species the female will mate with a number of different males so the male with the best fertilizing sperm will win. In humans this has resulted in men evolving to release much larger amounts of sperm after ejaculation to help increase the likelihood of fertilization. Harvey and May suggested that ethic differences in testicle size may reflect adaptive differences in mating strategies within different populations.Samples showed that Chinese mens testicles were approximately half the size Danish mens testicles. This means a chinese man will be at a disadvantage if the female mates with a numerous amount of males and will most likely ent er a long term relationship in order to create offspring. Males are more likely to use short term mating strategies as a form of producing offspring due to how they have an unlimited amount of sperm compared to women who have limited amount of reproductive opportunities.Clark and Hatfield helped support this by getting female and male experiments to ask male and female participants if they would like to engage in casual sex. 75% of males said yes while every female participant said no. This helps support the sexual selection theory as it shows that females have to be more careful with mating as they only have a limited amount of opportunities therefore are more likely to enter a longterm mating strategy. Males can have casual sex with little investment so are more likely to then females. This study helps to show the gender differences.Much of the research documenting sex differences in mate choice focus on preferences rather than on real life choices. So a male may have a preference but may have to settle for much less. Mate choice is a product of mate preferences form in the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness (EEA). Sexual selection suggests that females prefer males who they can gain benefits from such as gifts. This is shown in male birds who make nests for females in order to mate with them and also in insects who give nuptial gifts. Sexual selection also suggests that females prefer males who have a strong jawline and prominent cheekbones.These characteristics arise because of a strong presence of testosterone which also helps to indicate fertility within males. Penton-voack found that during a women's most fertile time in her menstrual cycle they preferred a male whose face shape was more masculinised (strong jawline etc.. ) Suggesting that females like males who show high levels of testosterone, supporting sexual selection theory. Buss explored whether there were universals of human mate preference. His research spanned across 37 cultures and invo lved 10 thousand participants of different religion,ethnic and economic groups, increasing the validity of the study.He then made the study even more ecologically valid by varying the sampling procedure per culture. Results showed that women in all cultures show a preferences for men with resources while males placed more emphasis on women's attractiveness as it is an emphasis on their physical health. This supports the claims made by the sexual selection theory that women will form relationships with men for resources as it will benefit them and increase the survivability of their offspring which is a woman's main evolutionary goal.A problem is in some cultures arranged marriages is the normal and individuals have no choice on their mate as it is already chosen by their parents, so the studies validity can be questioned as this will affect the results obtained. Buss further helped to supported mate choice by looking at real marriages. He found that when males divorce many of them g o for younger women when they choose to marry again. This is due to how men will want to be in a relationship with women in their most fertile age and the younger the woman is the more chance of reproductive success the male his.This helps to support the evolutionary theory that a mans main goal is to produce as many surviving offspring as possible. The evolutionary approach can be seen as deterministic due to how it suggests our genes specify exactly how we will behave. The approach fails to take into account that our genes are not the only thing that determine how we behave, the environment in which we grew up in will also have an effect on us. This is known as the nature vs nurture debate where it is argued if our biological factors or the way in which we are brought up makes up how we behave when we grow up.The evolutionary theory suggests that rape is an evolved and adaptive behaviour which enhance reproductive success. Sterglanz and Nash suggest that the theory offers justific ation for rape as it explains why males who can’t compete with other males for resources and women will produce offspring. This is socially sensitive and has been met by much hostility from the general public and women psychologists due to how it is an issue which negatively affects the lives of many.The evolutionary theory is also seen as reductionist as it explains humans reproductive behaviors as a result of our genes, ignoring the environmental actors which also decide our behavior. The approach also ignores homosexual relationships and only accounts for heterosexual relationships and the roles in which men and women take. To conclude the sexual selection theory helps to explain that males and females attempt to maximize their reproductive success by getting with a partner with certain characteristics, these characteristics will then evolve over time due to how individuals in a species with these characteristics will have a higher chance of reproductive success

Friday, September 13, 2019

CORRECTIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CORRECTIONS - Essay Example In a further development to their work, Rossi et al. suggested that transitional aid for ex-offenders could only work if it is coupled with an incentive to find a job. This incentive to find a job can only come on the heels of professional training while the ex-offenders still have the status of inmates. In view of the above, policy makers have identified the advantages of providing professional and vocational training to inmates in correctional centers. To implement such training, correctional centers often contract with private industries wherein these inmates can work to develop their skills. Among other issues, one can safely argue that training these inmates would prepare them to easily find jobs in a chosen field because of the hands-on experience they gained in a prison program. This is particularly true given that correctional centers seek to reform the mentality of inmates so that they can easily fit into the society after their release. According to Maguire et al (1988) they can only fit well into the society when they have a vocation from which they can earn income to reestablish their lives. Even during the training they undergo with private firms, the inmates can earn money while in the correctional centers.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Assignment 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

2 - Assignment Example Therefore, I will have to respond to the review publicly and make it professional (Couzin and Grappone 14). In my response, I will thank the client for the feedback and explain why the cafe allows children events. I will then explain to other clients or readers of the review page that they will not face the same issue because the cafe has worked out a solution to the issue. This will be to ensure that child minders, parents and all the other responsible parties keep all children under the control at all times. Therefore, it is not expected that presence of the children in Broadways Cafe will cause any problem to adults. Clients, who do not want to visit when children are there, can avoid such moments. I will also try to point out indirectly that the client who provided the review was wrong by including a statement which creates a doubt whether the origin of the problem is the Broadways Cafe or the client’s personal viewpoint. I will explain that the cafe is inclusive because it allows families with children to visit, but ensures that children are under control to avoid any inconvenience to other clients. The client’s viewpoint is unethical. Children cannot be eliminated from visiting the cafe just because of their age. They also have a right to enjoy the public place with their parents, as long as their behaviour, while they are within the cafe, is put under check. However, the customer has a right to air his view too, and to address the issue, it will be upon the cafe’s personnel to ensure that children do not cause any inconvenience to other clients. An open line of communication for Broadways Cafe can be encouraged, while still maintaining an open forum on the cafe’s Web site by making a corporate community on the Web site, which allows feedback to clients. To ensure that communication is open, the Web site will have to be user friendly and interactive so that clients can

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civilization - Essay Example Despite this immortality, the gods were subject to demise, loss of power, struggle and emotions. They weren’t neutral but were biased a thousand ways; they weren’t pure but were lust driven. Achilles was chosen by them, because of physical ability and military position. Yet he was full of shortcomings, arrogant, short tempered. But because the gods are nepotistic, he gets chosen. This is how Homer shows that however gods they might be, they were still prone to wrong decisions. He writes â€Å"We everlasting gods†¦ Ah what chilling blows, we suffer; thanks to our own conflicting wills- whenever we show these mortal men some kindness†(Iliad 346-348). There is realization, there is acknowledgement of fallacies yet there is continuity in their vices, their modes of action in the lives of their chosen ones. Yes, the humans are depicted as mere tools subjected to the likes and dislikes of gods. Blinded by their pride they might be, yet they were driven, whipped by gods, Gods who couldn’t stay headstrong themselves. Achilles did feel he was being monitored, driven, yet he continued on his fate. He knew about the divine intervention, but he didn’t settle down, he couldn’t settle down. This shows how deeply gods were into him, how minutely they carried out and observed each of his moves. He wanted to do otherwise but he couldn’t. He was a victim of indomitable power. The part where Achilles battles with and is at the verge of killing Agamemnon but is stopped by Athena who discloses the gods’ fear for the death of one if not both of their favorite humans. Is that not driven enough? Is that not prejudiced enough? The gods are indecisive of their actions but when one thing they seem perfectly in control of; Power Over Mortals. Another one of his nepotistic quotes shows flawless prejudice â€Å"Zeus and all gods: grant that this my son may become, as I am, foremost among Trojans, brave

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Reaction essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Reaction - Essay Example esbians/ Gays memorial to that of the Holocaust genocide, it is clear that both were establishments of remembrance of the mass murders that the Roma/Sinti and the Lesbians/ Gays as well as the Jews, all who were murder targets of the Nazis. Separation of the memorials is indeed a good idea considering the targets were affiliated to different groupings, despite the fact that all were the targets of a common enemy during the same period. Similarly, ‘Ort,’ underground place of information, was a good idea considering that it contained the names of all the individuals that perished during the genocide. Such idea enables for easy remembrance of the persons that lost lives during the same time and, therefore, a good idea. The name â€Å"Murdered Jews of Europe,† is the best name. The memorial is for remembrance of Jews murdered by the Nazis and such excludes Jews who died from diseases and old age as such are considered natural deaths. Despite having Holocaust museum in Washington D.C., it is not appropriate to have a national monument simply because Washington D.C., was never the actual area in which the genocide occurred. The museum, therefore, remains for remembrance purposes of the Jews who lost lives during the same period. From the narration of Emmaly Reed, it is clear that the Jews underwent through the greatest time in history, an experience that for someone like Emmaly Reed, would never fade

Monday, September 9, 2019

Morrisons reported a 2.5pc drop in like-for-like sales for the six Essay

Morrisons reported a 2.5pc drop in like-for-like sales for the six weeks to December 30 - Essay Example To be noted, the company does not possess any online facility in order to sell or provide customers with efficient services. This hinders the company’s efficiency as compared to other large brands such as Aldi, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s among others. Moreover, the company is reported to have only 12 convenience stores in the UK and around 455 stores in London suburbs, which again makes its consumer reachability weaker than its competitors in the global perimeter. As a consequence, logistics problems faced by Morrisons gave rise to its competitive disadvantages, not only in the local and national contexts, but also from foreign competitors (Ruddick, 2013). In modern organisational structures, logistical operations are often argued to be a significant facet of supply chain management, which aims to build and secure corporate competencies as well as sustainability of the company in the long-run (Morgan et al., 2012). Referring to the case of Morrison, the problems faced by the company can be evidently related with the aforementioned statement, where the failure of the logistics in led to the 2.5pc decline in the like-for-like sales. ... However, given the limited reach of Morrison, with 12 convenience stores only, 455 grocery stores in the suburb London and no online stores, the company faced certain limitations in serving its targeted large customer base. On the contrary, owing to the perfectly competitive market scenario, national and global brands proved to be more efficient in attracting as well as efficiently serving the customer base and thus, creating pressure on Morrisons’ sales performances. . Morrisons is primarily involved in dealing with food as well as grocery items, tanking among the largest UK retailer. The company employs around 132,000 employees who are entrusted with the job of serving its customers with quality standard (Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc, 2013). Morrisons is a company identified for its better value-added services. The company offers its products and/or services through its manufacturing units or facilities following a traditional logistics mechanism. Although the traditional lo gistics form assists the company to preserve its control over the quality of the products and/or services retailed in the UK market, the element also hampers its competencies and global expansion prospects to a certain degree (Wm Morrisons Supermarkets plc, 2013). The traditional logistical operations are usually based on the notion that acquiring different business units within one value chain can enable the company to have a better control over the flow of goods and/or services. Morrisons, following the same strategy has been able to maintain a better coordination within its logistics in a cost effective manner. Furthermore, its vertically integrated logistics chain has been facilitated Morrisons with the opportunity of minimising the bargaining power of suppliers which in return

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Do you agree that students should learn English in the USA Essay

Do you agree that students should learn English in the USA - Essay Example a good move especially for those who are aiming to enter employment that require a lot of communication and whose goal is to reach partners, investors and customers on a global scale. Although there are those who claim that it is not necessary for students to learn English in countries such as America because they can learn the language in their own home countries. There may be some weight to such arguments but one should also consider that the main goal of students is to have a keen ability to understand and express themselves using the English language. Therefore, moving to an English-speaking country will be of great help when it comes to assimilation. For instance, a Chinese student who has very little ability in communicating in English, will find it difficult to learn when he is regularly speaking in Mandarin. However, when the student moves to America, he will be forced to speak, read and write in English for him to be able to survive. Such need to communicate well now becomes a necessity for survival. In other words, speaking in English becomes a part of the student’s everyday life, making his learning

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Processing Algorithm Developed by Google for Big Data Essay

Processing Algorithm Developed by Google for Big Data - Essay Example What does a scenario describe, and what may it also provide? According to Sharda, Delen, & Turban (2014), â€Å"a scenario describes the decision and uncontrollable variables and parameters for a specific modeling situation. (Likewise), it may also provide the procedures and constraints for the modeling† (p. 57). 3. According to Kassam (2002), business metadata comprise information that increases our understanding of traditional (i.e., structured) data. What is the primary purpose of metadata? The primary purpose of metadata should be â€Å"to provide context to the reported data; that is, it provides enriching information that leads to the creation of knowledge† (Sharda, Delen, & Turban, 2014, p. 46). 4. What are the three nonfinancial objectives of the balanced scorecard? The three nonfinancial objectives of the balanced scorecard are as follows: (1) to improve customer value, (2) to intensify internal business processes, and (3) for organizational learning and growth (Schmarzo, 2013). 5. Describe the role of the simple split in estimating the accuracy of classification models. Simple split reportedly â€Å"partitions the data into two mutually exclusive subsets called a training set and a test set† (Olson & Delen, 2008, p. 140). 8. What is the difference between white hat and black hat SEO activities? The difference between white hat and black hat search engine optimization (SEO) lies â€Å"within how an SEO expert conducts his back linking strategy. Black Hat SEO look for the quick and always wrong approach that gets you penalized. White Hat SEO approach looks at the long term approach that doesn`t get you penalized† (Goulart, 2014, p. 1). 9. What is the most common method for treating risk in decision trees and tables? The most common method for treating risk in decision trees and tables include simulation, use of certainty factors, and fuzzy logic.

Friday, September 6, 2019

In Shakespeares Macbeth various devices are used to present the weird sisters as integral to the plot Essay Example for Free

In Shakespeares Macbeth various devices are used to present the weird sisters as integral to the plot Essay In Shakespeares Macbeth various devices are used to present the weird sisters as integral to the plot. In a modern context, are they still plausible figures? So witherd and so wild in their attire, that look not like thinhabitants othearth, and yet are ont? This description of the three weird sisters given by Banquo on first setting eyes on them creates an illusion of hell like hags; decayed and disfigured creatures. They are unnatural: they seem to be women but are not. It is Banquo who thinks they are evil: What! Can the devil speak true? Macbeth does not. Macbeth is intrigued by the sisters and later tells Lady Macbeth that he burned in desire to question them further. Macbeth asks the witches to stay showing he is interested in their predictions; Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more. The sisters speak dangerous thoughts, the same perhaps already plaguing his mind. If their predictions were already thoughts in the back of Macbeths mind, then the sisters lack power over him at this point. By examining the first conversation he has with Lady Macbeth on first returning home from battle, And when goes hence, tomorrow as he purposes this could be seen as evidence of couple having discussed the downfall of Duncan on an earlier date. If this is true then the sisters could be seen as mere triggers; they release the fiery evil within Macbeth. The fact that the sisters are in the first scene of the play confirms that they are important characters and from what they say, When the hurlyburlys done, when the battles lost and won gives the impression they know what is going to pass in the rest of the play. They meet in foul weather and talk of thunder, lightening and the fog and filthy air, giving the audience a first impression that Macbeth is a dark, dangerous play in which the theme of evil is central. They embody a malign and demonic intelligence. Their information does tempt Macbeth-but it is crucial to remember: they do not invite him to murder Duncan or even suggest a thing. Information is morally neutral until human beings begin to interpret it. The three hags prophecy that Macbeth will be king, they make no inclination whatsoever how he will come about this regal title. A lingering question still remains; had Macbeth given thought to killing Duncan before, and if the sisters had not made their prophecy, would Macbeth have murdered Duncan that night at the castle? In fact this is an unanswerable question but at the same time also very crucial. For if the answer is yes, the sisters would no longer be integral to the plot but be there just for the means of a supernatural subplot. On the other hand taking it as is given in the play, the implications of this are that Macbeth relies wholly on the sisters to spur him on. Macbeth is not a fool he realises that the prophecies cannot be ill, cannot be good and the forecasts of the future must come at a cost. Later on though, Macbeth no doubt driven by the success of his murdering of Duncan, seems to forget the sisters haunt that none of woman born shall harm Macbeth and the movement of Birnam Wood. Banquos warning to Macbeth concerning the instruments of darkness might also be seen as prophetical; Macbeth is betrayed as a result of believing these truths, and he comes to realise this in his final confrontation with Macduff. As the play goes on Macbeth is mixing his conscious life with his subconscious and the weird sisters become like a drug for him; the more you get, the better you feel, the more you want. The weird sisters prophecies draw out the evil within Macbeth; everyone has the basis to be truly wicked but not all of us have the trigger to pull it off, most of us are too full of the milk of human kindness. Regarding Macbeth, the weird sisters were his trigger. The evil does not come from anywhere else other than human nature. The sisters have not completely managed to corrupt Macbeth though. Both before and after Duncans murder Macbeth shows signs that his own natural feelings are still present in his character and that the witches do not have total power over him. He is foul for the things that he has done but is somewhat fair as he still has a natural human conscience. Before the murder Macbeth thinks that it would be cruel to kill innocent Duncan: Besides, this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek, Had I but died an hour before this chance I had lived a blessed time. His feelings about Duncans murder are very similar to those about Banquos murder although he only acted out the first himself. He is sick with worry and guilt about Banquos murder, so much so he is turned to near madness by the bloody ghost of Banquo haunting him. On stage, Shakespeare sought to make the Witches actable and recognisable to his audience.In Britain we either rationalise Witchcraft or mock it and we have the added problem of an audience having seen Macbeth a countless number of times, often in very unconvincing renditions of Double, double toil and trouble it has even become some what of a comic joke book. With hooked nosed women dressed in black with pointed hats chanting round a cauldron; not quite a depiction of three terrifying, blood curdling, residents of hell. Shakespeare himself had to make adjustments to keep up with stage fashion. Originally he had three devils in place of the weird sisters, but the theatrical currency of devils was already starting to devalue through overuse, and they were more likely to induce laughter than fear. James I who was on the throne when Macbeth was written, famously believed in witches, he even wrote the novel, Daemonologie on the subject. Yet, during the lifetime of the king, attitudes to stage witches shifted and they started down the same comic route as the devils before them. This might be why no one in the text of Macbeth uses the word witch. When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, weird characters were deemed capable of prophecy. Macbeth makes the association when he asks why the sisters stop our way, with such prophetic greeting. The modern mind, though, hear the modern denotation of weird, which incidentally, is used to describe those bearded ladies who vanish into the air. Formerly, weird ladies; those who endowed prophetic powers, were presumed to have magical powers as well. Now, ladies who think they have magical powers are presumed to be weird or peculiar Therefore it is becoming increasingly more difficult to make a contemporary western materialistic audience believe in them. Directors struggle to think of new interpretations of how to represent them. Are they young or old, male or female, disfigured or beautiful? Or even to represent them with the appearance of normal human beings, for that in itself is probably the most frightening understanding. Robert Cohen, in his 1982 Colorado Shakespeare Festival production, cast three beautiful women as the witches. Dressed in topless gowns they seduced Macbeth into a life of crime and corruption; here the weird sisters were depicted as real women more psychic than supernatural. Perhaps they too like Macbeth had morality, but had all the goodness sucked away and the evil human nature was dragged out of them and they were left even more corrupt than Macbeth is, at least he has the next life; hell we assume, they have to spend eternity festering in this world. This of course would be going against Shakespeares description of them but in my opinion in order to create three plausible figures in a modern context it is essential to create three characters; if they do even have any character that will make todays critical and realistic mind really believe that they are looking upon true forces of evil, rather than three women in black cloaks chanting round a cauldron. Personally it would not be plausible in my mind that they would be able to take the evil out of a man, who could do such terrible deeds. Perhaps a modern interpretation might be that it is genetics which control the way people make decisions; for if a director were to stage a futuristic Macbeth with the weird sisters as genetic engineers controlling the future, this would gain the desired effect on the audience; pure fear. Also, at the same time keeping up with stage fashions, test tube babies; the idea of creating humans unnaturally. For all our scientific rationality, modern society still acknowledges that there are forces we cannot explain. Some people believe in supernatural phenomenon; ghosts witches, evil forces; others would explain everything as from within the human mind; for example Lady Macbeth who generates the evil is already within Macbeth, therefore are just plot devices, there to release it from him. Even though they cause no first hand evil themselves, they evil that they thus create by delivering their riddle like prophecies is integral to the tragedy of Macbeth and without them fair would not be foul and foul would not be fair.