Terrible death of Abraham Lincoln

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman expresses the terrible death of   Abraham Lincoln. â€Å"And the great star early droop’d †¦. † taken from the second line of the poem demonstrates the reference to President Abraham Lincoln with â€Å"Great Star† as the representation being the 16th president of the United States. Whitman’s yearly reminder of Lincoln’s death is symbolizes by the blooming of the lilacs in April which justify the same month in which Lincoln was assassinated. Whitman makes use the imagery of lilacs to successfully convey the vigor of the poem.Lilacs here emphasize the things about the death and elegy of Lincoln. The first one is that the lilacs symbolize sorrow in the beginning but currently represent closure. It means the death of the president brought them sadness but the lilacs place on the coffin gives them hope because it is a symbolic gesture of honor and respect. It also signifies that even though the flower is rotten, again and again there will be new lilacs when spring comes. Just like Lincoln, through his elegy his memories will be revived. The turning point of this poem which was written by Whitman deals with death and acceptance of it.This line explains it â€Å"I leave thee lilac with heart-shaped leaves; I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring†. He proves his optimistic outlook here. Lilacs also indicate the repeated sequence of life. Whitman perceives from the lilacs, that passing away is an unavoidable factor of this cycle. The images of the lilac represent love, hope, life, despair, and rebirth. They also serve as a channel that leads Whitman to understand death. Through this poem, Whitman honors Lincoln as a magnificent leader and a noble person. Aside from this, it is also important because it provides end for the nation in bereavement.Above all, the poem of lamentation efficiently shows that Lincoln's heritage will alway s be reborn among the blossoming lilacs when spring returns. In my own opinion, Whitman changes poetry forever by having a concrete representation of his feeling about the person whom he adores and respects too much. The way he delivers the details of his poem, it shows that the whole nation involves here and he tries to comfort all of them even himself. In that aspect, it’s very hard for a poet or writer to address wholeheartedly the entire story of the person being emphasized.Because it may lead him to the wrong motives and implications, it can be a big issue to the readers or listeners, it maybe biased and more on criticism. But as he connects one line of the poem to the other, we will notice the strong feeling of Whitman that he is affected by the tragedy happened to the president. And he tries his best to put the details into figures of speech so that the true essence of poetry will not be erased. I do believe that Whitman change poetry forever by simply putting his hear t in his poem, his true feeling and the lesson that he learns after making the whole poem.

The Weather Underground

The 2008 U. S. presidential election brought the issue of domestic terrorism to national attention when it was reported that then-candidate Barack Obama was professionally linked to William â€Å"Bill† Ayers, co-founder of the Weather Underground. The Weather Underground was a militant faction of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a national organization representing the New Left on college campuses. The American public was forced to confront the actions of the Weathermen, as they were known, and decide whether or not these former terrorists could be accepted as members of society.Although 60 percent of voters said that it was not a valid campaign issue in an ABC poll, another 37 percent felt that it was. The Weathermen are unarguably an interesting lot, and a subculture worth exploring. At the time of their founding in the early 1960s, the SDS was a group that advocated nonviolence and followed the ethos of the civil disobedience. By 1969, the SDS had over 100,000 m embers, and was a leading anti-war group. At its peak, infighting severely fragmented the group during their 1969 convention.In the midst of the infighting, a sect that called themselves the Weathermen took control. They got their name from a Bob Dylan lyric, â€Å"You don’t need to know a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. † They were a group of college students that were keeping up to date with the revolutions in 3rd world countries, and believed that a world revolution was imminent. Bernardine Dohrn, a former leader and cofounder of the Weathermen, said that â€Å"White youth must choose sides now. We must either fight on the side of the oppressed, or be the oppressor. She believed that the Weathermen should join forces with the Black Panthers, but a prominent member said that he viewed the Weather Underground as a â€Å"kindergarten revolution,† and didn’t take them seriously.In the same year, several hundred Weathermen moved into houses, w hich they called â€Å"collectives,† in lower income areas because they saw working class youths as more valuable than students. Meanwhile, the privileged students already in the organization began learning to use weapons. Laura Whitehorn, one member who lived in a collective, said that they would â€Å"eat noodles with garlic butter every day for months. This was an attempt to harden them and â€Å"force us to give up our bourgeois luxuries. † In these collectives, monogamy was considered repulsive and Weathermen believed they were breaking repression with group intimacy. The mission was quickly underway in the collectives, with a campaign to â€Å"Bring the War Home. † The Weathermen attempted to make violence visible in U. S. cities by breaking windows while distributing their leaflets. One of the first major demonstrations the Weathermen planned was called â€Å"Days of Rage,† an uprising in Chicago where they planned to confront police using violenc e.Inflated reports from the various collectives led leadership to expect varying numbers from the 1000s to the 100,000s to attend the demonstration. In a â€Å"hard collision with reality,† only about 150 to 250 showed up. Leaders began to realize that they could be held personally accountable for the riot, but the event had become out of their control. The mob trashed windows while moving through the city of Chicago. After this, the FBI began to seriously assess the Weathermen. Don Strickland, an FBI agent in the 47th â€Å"Weathermen† squad, started conducting constant searches of the collectives.December of 1969 proved to be a difficult month in the United States. At a Rolling Stones concert, the Hells Angels gang started a riot. Charles Manson’s family had become news. Violent films from Vietnam were all over. Fred Hampton, a Black Panther in Illinois, was killed while in bed during a police raid of his residence. The last event in particular affected Bill A yers, as he realized that the U. S. government would kill people in it’s own cities when their power was threatened. The group began to divide again, this time because of fear. One faction felt that the bigger the splash, the better, while the other feared for their safety.The more radical element began to seriously arm themselves, with the slogan â€Å"Piece Now. † One member reflected on this buildup, saying that â€Å"When you feel that you have right on your side, you can do some horrific things. † Arguably the first major black mark in the Weather Underground’s history occurred in a Greenwich Village townhouse, where members were building bombs and planning to detonate them at a noncommissioned officers’ dance. A short circuit in the wiring caused the bomb to explode, killing members Theodore Gold, Diana Oughton, and Terry Robbins.This is when the FBI began to devote a large amount of resources to bring the organization to justice. In response , the leaders truly went underground and severed all ties to their families. They met at a collective in Northern California in order to reevaluate their mission. It was here that the Weathermen realized that it was wrong to commit random violence against ordinary people in order to penalize society for the war in Vietnam. Bill Ayers in particular began to ensure that no one would get hurt in future bombings and only chose relevant targets.Starting with a police station in New York City, the Weather Underground began bombing various police, military and other government buildings. Every time they’d call in to insist that everyone evacuate the building. It was here that the members of the Weather Underground became idealized, as most didn’t expect them to get away with it for more than a few months. Living as outlaws, they were often compared to Bonnie and Clyde or Butch Cassidy. The leaders, at the time called the â€Å"Weather Bureau,† began making trips to the various safe houses, sharing information with members on a strict â€Å"need to know† principle.This secrecy helped them elude the FBI’s standard law enforcement techniques, but the FBI was quick to adapt. They infiltrated the Weather Underground using undercover agents. These agents were accused of spreading â€Å"divisive stories,† and even physically attacking members. A group called the Citizen’s Commission to Investigate the FBI broke into an FBI office in Media, PA, and stole documents describing COINTELPRO, which covered a wide range of covert law enforcement tactics designed to divide both the anti-war movement and the black power movement.They leaked the information to the press. These techniques were effective, and the New Left began to lose its steam. As black power and anti-war sentiment faded, the left broke up into various causes, including the Women’s Liberation Front and gay rights. When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the Weather U nderground had entirely lost its sense of purpose. First, Mark Rudd turned himself in to the District Attorney in NY. Bernardine Dohrn soon followed. Eventually, the entire leadership turned themselves in, but very few were prosecuted because of the FBI’s proven misconduct.Works Cited Berger, Dan. Outlaws of America: The Weather Underground and the Politics of Solidarity. Oakland, CA: AK, 2006. Print. Rudd, Mark. Underground: My Life with SDS and the Weathermen. New York: William Morrow, 2009. Print. Varon, Jeremy. Bringing the War Home: the Weather Underground, the Red Army Faction, and Revolutionary Violence in the Sixties and Seventies. Berkeley: University of California, 2004. Print. The Weather Underground. Dir. Sam Green and Bill Siegel. Perf. Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Mark Rudd. The Free History Project, 2002. DVD.

A Synpsis of The foundation text of English literature, titled Beowulf

A Synpsis of The foundation text of English literature, titled Beowulf The foundation text of English literature, titled Beowulf (meaning â€Å"man wolf† when translated into the modern language), presents readers with a hero named Beowulf who fights three different battles, each with its own monster. Beowulf’s first battle awaits him when he travels to present day Denmark to save the Danes from a monster named Grendel that has been wreaking havoc on King Hrothgar’s men. Grendel’s defeat leads to Beowulf’s second battle with Grendel’s mother, who avenges the death of her son. Once Beowulf saves the Danes from the monsters they faced, Beowulf returns home to rule his land until he meets his death in a battle with a dragon, signifying the monster that overcame him. Although Beowulf’s success in battle with his literal monsters would name him a hero in almost any circumstance, Beowulf’s life and the situations that led him to battle fall into place with the same ideals that name him a classic hero und er Campbell’s hero archetype, where the hero must have a reason for departure, initiation through his defeat of an enemy, and a return from his journey. Beowulf’s journey of life, which was a battle until his death, relates to humans in the sense that although Beowulf’s monsters were real creatures, every individual faces their own version of a monster that phases them, but are conquered in the end. There is always one monster, however, that one can never overcome. Beowulf presents this monster as the dragon in the poem, which ties into every individual as the monster that has never been conquered: the monster of death. Campbell’s hero archetype is also known as the monomyth, or hero’s journey, that sets the framework of the traditional, classical hero. It defines a hero by the steps in the journey that the hero takes, which can be analyzed in three different stages. The first stage of the hero’s journey is his departure, which can be further explained by 5 further categories. The first of this five is â€Å"The Ordinary World,† which explains that the hero must come from an ordinary background, setting the level playing field for all heroes who fulfill Campbell’s criteria. It is important that the hero who fulfills Campbell’s archetype is an ordinary human in order for readers to relate to the story and identify with the hero. Beowulf achieves this criteria as he is known to be a Geat who lived in present-day Sweden as King Hygelac’s thane. He is described as, â€Å"of living strong men he was the strongest, fearless and gallant and great of heartâ €  (132-133), implying that Beowulf was an ordinary man except for his characteristics that set him apart from others. The second category within the departure stage is the â€Å"Call to Adventure,† in which the hero is informed of his need elsewhere. This call foreshadows the change from the character’s then-ordinary life to his journey as a hero. In Beowulf, this criterion is fulfilled when â€Å"[the] tales of the terrible deeds of Grendel reached Hygelac’s thane in his home with the Geats† (130-131), signifying Beowulf’s knowledge of the happenings with the Danes. Following this criteria is the â€Å"Refusal of the Call,† where the hero doubts his confidence with the challenge. This will cause the hero to refuse the call, but then face a shortcoming where he is forced to go on the journey. This, interestingly, is not completely evident in Beowulf, as Beowulf does not refuse the call to begin with. Much of the reason for his decision to travel to the Danes was because of his pride and reputation, putting him in a situation in which he could not refuse. If Beowulf had refused the call, however, he would have been faced with shame as he was described to be the â€Å"strongest, fearless, and gallant† (132-133), compensating for his incentive to travel in the first place. Because of this, the t hird criteria of the departure stage is fulfilled, as it can be seen that had Beowulf refused the call, he would have been pushed into seeking out Grendel anyway. The fourth stage in the departure level of Campbell’s hero archetype is â€Å"Meeting the Mentor,† where the prospective hero seeks guidance regarding the journey that he is about to begin. The mentor acts as a counselor who gives advice, re-instills confidence, or presents the hero with weapons that he will need to fulfill the quest. Although this is not seen in the very beginning as â€Å"counseling,† prior to Beowulf’s departure, â€Å"in the ship’s hold snugly they stowed their trappings, gleaming armor and battle gear† (149-150), meaning that Beowulf received weapons prior to his fight with Grendel, compensating for the lack of guidance he had received. This can also be paralleled by the way that prior to fighting Grendel’s mother, Beowulf was presented with Unferth’s Hrunting in order to kill the mother. This also fulfills the fourth criteria of Beowulf’s departure to become a hero. The fifth and final criteria in f ulfilling a hero’s departure is â€Å"Crossing the Threshold,† where the threshold is the line between the hero’s ordinary world and the alien world that he is about to enter. This is seen in the poem when Beowulf embarks the ship on his journey to the Danes, acting as if it was a journey that he could not go back on. In the poem, this is described as Beowulf â€Å"launched the bessel, the well-braced bark, seaward bound on a joyous journey† (151-152). This symbolizes the threshold that Beowulf crosses to embark on his journey as a hero. The idea of crossing the threshold also occurs when Beowulf jumps into the lake filled with sea creatures on his way to Grendel’s mother’s lair, marking the difference between the land is known and unknown. With the fulfillment of these five criteria, Beowulf embarked on his departure journey for the hero archetype. The second stage to Campbell’s hero archetype following the departure level is initiation, where the hero fulfills a series of tests and trials that will qualify him to fulfill his ultimate goal. This initiation can be more personal, such as maturing or gaining self confidence, or physical trials that the hero must endure. Like the departure level, initiation contains a set of criteria that the hero must meet in order to qualify for Campbell’s archetype. The first one is â€Å"Tests, Allies, and Enemies,† in which the hero faces challenges that test him. These obstacles can take almost any form and exists solely to disrupt the hero’s journey. In Beowulf, one of the obstacles that he immediately faces is Unferth’s challenging of Beowulf’s strength prior to Beowulf’s fight with Grendel. The poem tells this as, â€Å"Then out spoke Unferth, Ecglaf’s son, who sat at the feet of the Scylding lord, picking a quarrel for Beowulf†™s quest† (382-384). In this section, Unferth taunts Beowulf regarding a swimming match they had previously, ultimately challenging Beowulf’s honor. Beowulf overcomes this obstacle by being unfazed by Unferth’s comments and by reinforcing hope within the people in completing the ultimate goal. Following this, the bigger and more obvious challenge facing Beowulf is his fight with Grendel, his enemy. Beowulf fights unarmed and defeats him in the end, fulfilling the first criteria of the initiation journey by overcoming the challenges that he had faced during. Succeeding the tests is â€Å"Approach to the Inmost Cave,† where the hero must cross another threshold into an even greater unknown. Following Grendel’s defeat, Grendel’s mother wreaks more havoc on the Danes in order to avenge her son’s death, calling for Beowulf’s help once again. In order to fight Grendel’s mother, Beowulf first enters a lake that is filled with sea monsters that taunt him, described in the poem as, â€Å"the swimming forms of strange sea-dragons, dim serpent shapes in the watery depths, sea-beasts sunning on headland slopes† (937-939). The setting of this lake can be contrasted to Hell, emphasizing Beowulf’s crossing into the unknown. The measures that Beowulf takes in order to approach Grendel’s mother in the first place adds depth and foreshadows what is to come next, fulfilling the second part of initiation. The third stage of initiation is â€Å"Ordeal,† where the hero must overcome a physical test that will help the world he lives in. The hero often comes close to death and experiences some form of resurrection after overcomin g the dangerous task. In Beowulf, it was the defeat of Grendel’s mother. The significance of this scene in the text is that if Beowulf had not defeated the mother, he would have died and his kinsmen along with the Danes would have not been able to survive. Beowulf’s â€Å"resurrection† occurs when he comes back out of the water guarding the mother’s lair alive, which can be juxtaposed to the idea of floating up out of the water when baptized. The fulfillment of the dangerous task and thus the third stage of initiation immediately leads to the fourth, which is the reward from the task. Beowulf’s reward for slaying Grendel’s mother came in the forms of jewels and treasure from Hrothgar, along with a higher honor and reputation. Immediately following the battle, Beowulf returned with the sword hilt of Hrunting and Grendel’s slain head. With all the criteria fulfilled, Beowulf was ready for return. The final stage of Campbell’s hero journey is return, where the hero returns to where he began as closure of the quest. The first criteria of this stage is â€Å"The Road Back,† which is opposite of the â€Å"Call to Adventure.† Beowulf fulfills this stage by traveling back to his home with the Geats with ships filled with treasure from Hrothgar. Beowulf returns home with validation of his confidence and strength to be presented with the name of a ruler after King Hygelac dies. Following â€Å"The Road Back† is â€Å"Resurrection,† where the hero faces his final encounter with death. The battle in itself is a representation of a larger symbol that plays into the hero’s overall existence. In Beowulf, this is seen as the final battle between Beowulf and the dragon, which wreaks havoc on the Geats after 50 years of peace. Although Beowulf dies as a result of this battle, the dragon itself was supposed to symbolize death, and the true meaning of the battle would not have been fulfilled had Beowulf survived. The battle alone fulfills the â€Å"Resurrection† criteria of the return stage, and Beowulf’s death fulfills the final criteria in Campbell’s hero archetype altogether, which is â€Å"Return with the Elixir.† The Elixir is the lesson of death itself, which can only be fulfilled with Beowulf’s death. The overall lesson of this battle is that the hero’s journey will always and inevitably end with death, and the dragon symbolized the unconquerable monster that every individual will eventually face. Had Beowulf not died, he would not be considered a hero in the first place. Beowulf’s journey to become a traditional hero is non-traditional in the sense that instead of the journey encompassing a quest in which the hero returns to live a â€Å"happily ever after,† Beowulf’s journey was the journey of life itself, beginning with his departure to fight Grendel. He was a hero in the journey of life. This can be recognized as the most significant link between the readers and Beowulf: his story is reflective of the battles that people fight every day. Unlike other heroic stories, Beowulf’s connected with me in regards to his battles, especially with the last one being a symbol of death. As Beowulf himself declares, â€Å"death is not easily escaped from by anyone: all of us with souls, earth-dwellers and children of men, must make our way to a destination already ordained where the body, after the banqueting, sleeps on its deathbed† (1001-1007). The journey of a hero is his journey between life and death, encompassing all of the battles that he had faced to turn him into the character that he becomes when he dies. Beowulf’s journey of the archetypal hero is a representation of individual struggles we face, making humans heroes of our own life. Through Beowulf, we learn that death is the ultimate monster that overcomes us, and the quality of life is determined by the extent to which we live it.

Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of standardized testing Essay

Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of standardized testing - Essay Example The prevalent use of standardized tests has caused much controversy in recent years. Some feel that they have an important place in helping to assess student ability and school quality, while others feel that they have very little validity, and detract significantly from our children's educational experience. A great deal of studies have been published in attempt to understand the true effect that standardized tests have on education, yet there has been little consensus among opposing sides. No matter one's position on the subject, a clear understanding of both the pros and cons of standardized testing will aid our country in its quest to improve the quality of education for all of our students. If administrators and policy-makers would take into account both the benefits and the drawbacks of standardized testing, they could work to create educational policies that take advantage of the data that standardized tests offer, while not allowing test bias or an overemphasis on test scores to detract from our student's education. The driving force behind the prevalent use of standardized tests in school districts across the country is a belief that they will hold schools and teachers accountable for each student, and that no child will be allowed to slip through the cracks. This is essentially the premise of the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2002, which uses standardized test scores to determine whether or not schools are making adequate progress. In a recent report from the US department of education entitled "Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening the No Child Left Behind Act" (2007), George W. Bush reiterates that this policy is first and foremost an effort to end "the soft bigotry of low expectations" (p 1). In addition to bridging the achievement gaps between minority populations and wealthier populations, Bush also stated that: "NCLB is an important way to make sure America remains competitive in the 21st century. We're living in a global world. See, the education system must compete with education systems in China and India. If we fail to give our students the skills necessary to compete in the world of the 21st century, the jobs will go elsewhere" (Hursh, 2007, 498). Proponents of NCLB, argue that standardized tests are the best tool that we have at our disposal to determine whether schools are truly bridging the achievement gaps and preparing students to compete in the global economy of the 21st century. The reason that standardized tests are an indispensable part of school success according to proponents of NCLB, stems from their belief that it is impossible to know if students are learning anything without assessment. Grant Wiggins, author of Understanding by Design (2006), offers a humorous, but poignant anecdote about what happens when assessment is not incorporated into classroom instruction: A teacher claims to have taught his dog to talk, yet when the teacher's friend wants to see proof of the dog being able to talk, the teacher modifies her claim: "I taught him to talk, but I didn't say he learned it" (p. 228). Without evaluation, neither teachers nor students can ever know if they have grasped the material that has been taught, and they become the talking dogs that have not actually learned to talk. Without evaluation, teaching can become a dull and listless act that fails to take into account whether students are actually learning and whether they are able to analyze and cr eate meaning out of the new experiences they have had in class. Richard Phelps explains the benefits of standardized tests in Kill the Messenger: The War on Standardized Testing (2003), which has been called the definitive defense of standardized testing. Phelps and other proponents of standardized

Globalization and neoliberalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Globalization and neoliberalism - Essay Example With the Indian neighborhood, they act out their Indian culture. Specifically, the youth act out their Indian American youth culture. Such culture is characterized as musical and dance to the fusion of American hip hop, techno, and reggae with Hindi film music and bhangra. In addition, the Indian American youth they use Indian style nose rings and bindis to complete their cultural trimmings. The American Indians Indian body art to complete their Indian American description (Maira 33). John Clarke, Stuart Hall, and other theorists belonging to the Birmingham school emphasized the American Indians create a unique culture by setting up social rituals which underpin their collective identity and define them as group. The group adopts and adapts material objects and acknowledges them in distinctive styles which express the collectivity embodied in rituals of relationship and occasion and movement. This can be called ritual. Ritual is used in the sense of cultural practice that makes an â€Å"agreement† between enduring cultural structures and the current situation. The Birmingham theorists classified the second generation Indian Americans as a subculture. The latter blurred the link between the cultural construction of youth as a distinct category and the creation of a teenage market (Maira 34). The Birmingham theorists emphasized the Indian youth culture are based on rituals that resist the values inherent in the dominant culture or the overall disposition of cultural power in society as a whole. The creation of a subculture is to comply with the personal, economic, and political crisis that American Indian youth are confronted as they reach adulthood. David Harvey (Harvey 25) affirms the Maira theory of Neoliberalism. The American Indian youth must survive in the American Environment. To do so, the American Indian must comply with neoliberalism concepts. Under the concept, the American Indian â€Å"blends† into the American economic environment in order

Different view of Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Different view of Death - Essay Example Although death has been part of life for a long time, people have failed to acknowledge that death is inevitable. Living in denial concerning death has, therefore, existed as a common aspect of humanity. Lack to accept that death is an inevitable part of humanity is a major aspect that characterizes the two poems. This essay will, therefore, investigate the different views of death according to the two poems. Although the two poets agree on the inevitability of death, they have varying views concerning people’s preparedness towards death and our role in waiting for the inevitable death. According to Mary, death is the main challenge that affects humanity. Mary considers humans as helpless creatures in relation to death. Therefore, the only thing that people can do is to wait or prepare for their death. The poem When Death Comes shows that the author is concerned about the nature of life when death finally finds her. Unlike Mary, Donne considers death helpless thing though inev itable. According to the poet, people have a chance to challenge death. The poet view life as an opportunity to challenge death (Online-literature web). The work that people do during their life is a form of preparation for our death. The poet argues that people have a chance to challenge death by not dying as poor people. ... Unlike Mary Oliver, John Donne believes that life is a form of transformation from one form of life to the other. On the other hand, Mary has different views towards life and death. Her poem shows uncertainty about life and death. In the third line of When Death Comes, it is claimed, â€Å"death comes like a bear in autumn† (Panhala web). This line implies that she is not concerned with life after death as much as she is concerned with the nature of her death. Although death is inevitable, it is the only chance that humans have to come close to nature. Despite the numerous technological developments about humanity, it has been difficult to find or come up with a remedy for death. The two poets reflect this phenomenon. Death is the only thing that human beings have in common with the rest of nature. People start life the same way as the rest of nature but go through different process as compared to other living organisms. However, like other living organisms, we all have to mee t our death. The basic reason why people investigate death results from the fear that people have concerning death. Although most people do not fear their own deaths, it is evident that people fear losing a loved one. The fear of death is a common aspect that differentiates the views of the two poets concerning death. According to Donne, people should not be afraid of death because they have a chance of dealing with it. Donne considers people to have a chance of facing death or doing something about death. This indicates that the poet is not afraid of death or implications of death in his own life or the life of a loved one. On the other hand, Mary’s poem expresses her fears concerning the inevitable death and its implication in her life and the life of

Scientific Method Applied to Forensic Science Paper Essay

Scientific Method Applied to Forensic Science Paper - Essay Example The scientific method is applied to forensic science to help forensic scientists gather needed evidence to come to a conclusion about a criminal event. Though it follows the same basic ideas and techniques as the original tried and true scientific method, forensic science has their own tweaked version of the method, which is as follows: observation and description of a phenomenon, or a group of phenomenon; formulation of a hypothesis, or hypotheses, to explain the phenomenon; use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomenon, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations; â€Å"performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experiments (James, 2009)†. These methods aid forensic scientists in the solving and understanding of the events of criminal investigations. The first step in the forensic scientific method is to observe and describe phenomenon or a group of such. The forensic scientist needs to be able to understand what they are seeing when they are viewing the crime scene and the evidence that they inspect. â€Å"If they describe it wrong or relay the information incorrectly, they will botch the experiment, thus botching the investigation and lessening the chances of solving the crime accurately (Braswell, 2007)†. They have to focus on the entire crime scene, taking in every bit of information that they can and making note and taking pictures of the totality of the scene. The recording of what they find allows them to look back at everything later, giving them the chance to find new evidence that they overlooked during the initial inspection. They have to look at the scene as a whole, breaking the scene up into smaller sections to further their collection of evidence and comprehension of the crime scene. With closer inspection, they can begin to understand what did take place, so all

TV media and violence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

TV media and violence - Term Paper Example However, it is not enough to leave the subject vague and as such, there is need to weigh media positivity against its negativity. Focusing on media’s negative effects such as violence is particularly important in order to eliminate undesired moral values in a bid to build a better society. Televised media can arguably be considered the most influential form of media due to its ability to air in both audio and video forms simultaneously. Therefore, it is important noting that televised media does not only involve television programs and movies but also any other telecommunication medium that involves movements of images and sound such as video games among others. A large number of televised media platforms that people interact with in the modern have a form of violence. Violence refers to any form of aggression or activity that results to physical injury. In a bid to relate media to violence it is necessary to focus more on violence from the scientific perspective that seeks to lie more on determining causes of violence rather than the violent actions (Escobar-Chaves and Anderson, 2008, para. 2). This implies that media can arguably be considered as a source of violence in the society. Cases of violence especially among the young people have been on the rise since the introduction of televised media. Taking a keen interest in the development of people, televised media, which is part of the immediate surroundings of a developing person, can arguably be considered one of the factors that shape a person’s identity. This is to say that a person’s behavior is dependent on the ongoing activities relating to that particular environment. When people are born they do not poses personal identities. However, in the course of growth and as interactions increase, personal traits are developed based on an individual’s surroundings. A combination of self-discovery and the imminent environment leads to formation of self-identity (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2010, p.118).

Research paper2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research paper2 - Essay Example It is often argued that obesity is strongly associated with fast food. Irrespective of young or adult, fast food is getting more popularity among people all over the world. â€Å"A new study shows that toxicperfluoroalkyls, which are used in surface protection treatments and coatings to keep grease from leaking through fast food wrappers, are being ingested by people through their food and showing up as contaminants in blood† (Mercola). Above all, it is an accepted fact that fast food contains more fat contents than any other foods. Therefore, the logic of using fast food on a regular basis is highly debatable. Food is necessary for the sustainment of human life. At the same time, over food and limited food or lack of food are equally responsible for causing health problems. Moreover, modern farming methods are not so good for keeping the health of people. In order to increase the yield, farmers all over the world are using huge amounts of fertilizers, chemicals, and pesticides in their agricultural lands. Crops or food grains developed as a result of such unhealthy farming methods are causing huge health problems in many ways. Above all, increased use of fertilizers chemicals and pesticides is causing huge pollutions to air, land and water. In other words, improper farming methods have the ability to cause multiple problems to all living things in this world, including human beings. Genetically modified food or GM food is a new concept in the farming field. Genetically modified foods are capable of providing more yields. However, the safety of using such foods is still unclear or debateab le. Organic food is one of the most modern concepts developed in the farming field in order to eliminate all the concerns explained above. â€Å"The foods that are cultivated without using any chemical fertilizers and pesticides, processed without adding any of the artificial ingredients and packaged using natural means can be referred as organic foods†

O-Fold Essay Example for Free

O-Fold Essay 1. As a part of the management team, how would you handle distribution and marketing of the O-Fold? Within the text I really liked the 2nd and 3rd option of distribution, which was going an online route or advertising I travel magazines. Although the adverting in magazines option is appealing when it comes down to it I don’t think it would reach as many people as online distribution. I would chose to create a website and distribute the O-Fold product through there. Creating a website would be extremely cost effective. I believe there are even some sites you can use for free, such as weebly.com. However, this option is risky because marketing would have to be very effective in order to generate the business he is looking for. Since the cost of a website is low, he should consider advertising in travel magazines. He probably would not need large ad space, which would help with the cost. If he could get a small section in the Sky Mall magazine on aircrafts with the link to his website, that could be a rewarding starting point. Another option is advertising on other large online retail sites, such as Amazon.com who now gives consumers an option to purchase provides from other retailers by providing a link to that product on their site. 2. At what points should Alex consider bringing on additional management? What positions should he fill and in what order? Defend your answer. I am a supporter of Alex’ crawl-walk-run strategy. I think initially he should partner with his brother and begin to make the product together and sell online through a website he creates. This way he can get an idea of how he can proceed with next steps and be able to create a business plan to present to Anger investors. Once he can seal the investment funds he should bring on a sales and marketing manager. This is one of the most important positions in a company. Alex needs to have someone with experience in sales and marketing, especially not having experience himself. He’s already contemplating different options in this area; someone who has worked in this department can give him real examples of the outcomes and weigh in on the best decision for O-Fold. Next, after he gets an investment, he should go with the outsourcing route. He already had a connection to hire a barn full of employees. He will need to hire a manager to oversee the production of these employees, and also a Human Resources Manager since he will have employees. He cannot manage everything himself so a good candidate for the productions manager would be his brother since he should have a good understanding by then of how to produce the items. 3. What are some pricing strategies you would consider utilizing in order to get the O-Fold to market? Do you agree with Alex’s pricing point? I would consider giving a special price to first time customers, or a discount when purchasing more then one O-Fold at the early stages of marketing. Alex will want to be competitive and the first thing that customers probably look for is good deals. If he creates a website and is directing people there through advertising he should try to close the sale with a discount. An option would be first time users get free shipping, or $5 off shipping. Customers buying more then one could receive $5 off their second purchase. I like the 123 percent market with the outsourcing options at $12.50 However, that would only be beneficial at wholesale, so he should price his products per item at $25, and offer the discount for the first 100 customers. He does not need to advertise the part about it only being for the first 100 customers but he should price out shipping costs for 100 people or costs of giving discounts and set a budget for it.

Community Healthcare Strategy

Community Healthcare Strategy Crystal Gill Healthy People 2020, Long-Term and Short-Term Goals, and Intervention Identify one health problem you believe to be the most prevalent in your community. You may want to check with your local health department or a community health nurse. Also consider researching the morbidity/mortality rates health problems in your community. School nurses and are an excellent resource person to contact. Analyze the problem using Milios framework for prevention from the module 1 readings (Chapter three in your text, pp 41) Choose one of your nursing diagnoses and describe how your identified community health problem applies. Consult Healthy People 2020 to find the national goals that are closely related to your chosen diagnosis (p.90) One long-term goal, minimum of three short-term goals and Intervention(s) (p.89) Minimum of four (4) total references: two (2) references from required course materials and two (2) peer-reviewed references. All references must be no older than five years (unless making a specific point using a seminal piece of information) The purpose of this paper is to discuss a prevalent health problem in Fairfield County, Ohio and discuss how Nancy Milios framework for prevention addresses the health care problem. The paper will incorporate the Fairfield County health challenge to my week one cardiovascular nursing diagnosis, and will cover long and short term goals and interventions as pertaining to the health care issue and in accordance with Healthy People 2020 guidelines. Fairfield, County Ohio Community Health Problems In week one of this class, I formulated two nursing diagnoses related to disease in Fairfield County, Ohio. One of my diagnoses focused on cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease has a number of attributing factors, including hypertension, obesity, and the use of tobacco. According to a Fairfield County Community Health Assessment, in the year 2010, 23% of Fairfield County adult residents had a cardiovascular disease diagnosis, with heart disease accounting for 28% of resident deaths (Ohio Department of Health, 2016). In the same assessment, 34% of Fairfield County residents had the diagnosis of hypertension, 7% were told they were pre-hypertensive, 33% were obese, and 17% of adults reported they used tobacco (Ohio Department of Health, 2016). Milios Framework of Prevention Problem Analysis Nancy Milio, PhD, RN, was a public health nurse who formulated a framework for prevention, which aimed to explain the connection between the individuals state of health and that of the community (Nies McEwen, 2015). Milio formulated six propositions in an attempt to explain the interrelation of a persons choices as they corresponded to the resources available in the community. In researching the topic of cardiovascular disease, I saw three specific Milio-propositions could be applied to my county. In her first proposition, Milio theorized that a persons state of health is directly influenced by too little or not enough of health-sustaining resources (Milio, 1976). Milio reported that the affluent members of her 1976 society indulged in too much food, soda pop, and alcohol. Similarly, in 2017, people are likely to indulge in the convinces of fast food restaurants, soda machines in every breakroom, and drive through liquor stores. Fast food is not only convenient; thanks to dollar menus, it is affordable even to lower income individuals. Most meals have the option to super-size the French fries and soda. In my city, there are two fast food restaurants directly across the street from the high school. Each restaurant is packed at lunch time with high school students escaping the cafeteria for cheap fried foods and caffeinated drinks. Regular consumption of foods high in carbohydrates, fat, salt, and sugar largely contribute to hypertension and obesity, leading factors of cardiovas cular disease (Pencak Murphy, Coke, Staffileno, Robinson, Tillotson, 2015). Milios second proposition stated that a person forms habits based on their actual or perceived choices. In the example above, the high school students flocked to the fast food restaurants at lunch for a variety of reasons. The restaurants are easily accessible, the food is fast and cheap and the student may perceive no other option for lunch. Going out to lunch with peers is comfortable, routine and habit forming. In my experience, it is easy to form bad habits because many of these habits are comfortable and automatic. In order to make positive changes, the actions need to be conscious. It is difficult for many people who face time-constraints to make advantageous eating habits a priority. Even though most fast-food restaurants now offer healthier food alternatives, such as salads, people do not view that food as convenient. It is much easier to eat salty French fries while committing than to eat a salad. Another Milio proposition discussed that people make choices based on their perceived personal or community resources (Milio, 1976). In my city of Pickerington, the population was recorded as 19,085 residents in 2013 and the city itself is 9.58 square miles (http://www.ci.pickerington.oh.us/Pages/Departments/Economic_Development/Demographics/). Pickerington hosts 19 fast food restaurants, with approximately 60 fast food restaurants in Fairfield County (https://visitfairfieldcountyoh.org/fastfood.php). This is compared to eight work-out facilities in Pickerington, and approximately 13 licensed workout facilities in the county, as per a Google web search. Most individuals crave expediency factors, whether related to food, shopping, commuting, or physical fitness. The Fairfield county statistics on cardiovascular disease and obesity can easily be correlated to the amount of fast food restaurants, deficiency of physical fitness facilities, and very likely, lack of community education on healthy lifestyle choices. References Milio, N. (1976). A framework for prevention: Changing health-damaging to health-generating life patterns. American Journal of Public Health, 66(5), 435-439. http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.66.5.435 Nies, M. A., McEwen, M. (2015). Community public health nursing (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders. Ohio Department of Health. (2016). Fairfield County Community Health Status Assessment: Fairfield county community health status assessment: Examining the health of Fairfield county. Retrieved from http://www.myfdh.org/pdf/2016-Fairfield-County-Community-Health-Assessment.pdf Pencak Murphy, M., Coke, L., Staffileno, B. A., Robinson, J. D., Tillotson, R. (2015). Improving cardiovascular health of underserved populations in the community with lifes simple 7. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 27, 615-623. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2327-6924.12231

Free College Admissions Essays: I Am Very Smart :: College Admissions Essays

I Am Smart and Jewish (Is that Redundant?) Â   As my application shows, I am an above average student in most areas. I have particularly excelled in mathematics, earning good grades throughout high school. When pondering about my future, I thought that I might be able to use math to be successful in business. So after my sophomore year, I decided to take some business courses with the goal of attaining a solid background in the field. High school, however, has not adequately prepared me to enter the world of business. This is the primary reason I am applying to the University of Connecticut: I hope to further expand my education in the field of business. Â   Outside of school, I have a wide variety of other interests. One of my favorite things to do is to play sports, especially baseball and basketball. Since I was about seven years old, I have played in many baseball and basketball leagues. While I join an intramural baseball league every spring, I play competitive basketball year-round. I play these sports not just to enjoy myself, but also to learn how to be a better leader. My leadership in basketball was formally acknowledged last year, as I received the sportsmanship award. This award meant a lot to me, especially since my team won the league championship that year. Not only did it show that everyone on the team recognized me for my leadership, but also it made me feel good knowing that I had helped lead a team to a championship trophy. This was my third year being on a championship basketball team, and I have also been on championship baseball teams, but winning the sportsmanship award was an added bonus. Â   Beyond my competitive sports, I have been skiing and playing golf recreationally since I was about eight years old. Every summer I take golf lessons to improve my abilities on the golf course. I also took ski lessons every winter for about five years until I felt I was skilled enough to compete on my own. During my sophomore year in high school, I went out for the high school ski team. I did pretty well during the season, although I might have done better had I taken a few more lessons earlier in my life. Unfortunately, that was my only year skiing for the team.

good versus evil :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the chapter titled Rebellion (or his book title), Feodor Dostoevski’s character, Ivan Karamazov, demonstrates that his angry and resentful attitude is the by-product of his very choosing. The fundamental principal of our own humanity is God’s acknowledgment of our expression of free will. Found between the boundaries of man’s ownership of worldly acts and thoughts, which can lead him to an eternity of joy or damnation, is that critical choice of what attitude we will wrap ourselves in for our finite time here. The extreme, and perhaps somewhat all too common, result of this human choice between simple joy and compounding suffering is presented in Ivan. As highlighted in Genesis account of Gods’ pure joy and pleasure of man, and His authoritative command for man’s dominion over all of His creations, it is impossible to imagine our Creator desiring our willing choice for suffering.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  God’s divine plan for man starts and ends upon love. God provides overflowing and unconditional love so we can grasp the extent of His love for the purpose of developing our own love of self. The evolvement of our personal faith instills in us the divine sense of worth and desire, we some how come to â€Å"know† originates from our Creator. Ivan has neither grasped nor developed this love, let alone experienced this instilment. Genesis states God said, â€Å"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness† (KJV Gen 5:26). In the shared likeness of God Himself, we must assume we all have the full capacity to experience and share God’s innate love and joy. God’s sending of His son in order to redeem us, His children, is the ultimate act of both heavenly and earthly love. Through His written word and through His son, God explicitly teaches us that love and joy are the nature of His being. Man, in God’s likeness, must activel y counter this nature in order to derive an attitude of suffering, through the denial of natural joy and love. Ivan is a clear example of this suffering activism, as he clearly stands against most issues rather than necessarily in agreement or support of any higher principal. In Feodor Dostoevski’s book The Brothers Karamazov, this excerpted chapter is appropriately titled â€Å"Rebellion†. Rebellion is defined as the willful resistance or defiance of an established principal or authority. In our definition of activism, Ivan’s rebellion would be considered the most aggressive and destructive form of activism.

Building Community on the Net :: Internet Web Cyberspace Essays

Building Community on the Net All sorts of reasons have been advanced in recent years to explain the decline of community in America, from the way we design our neighborhoods to the increased mobility of the average American to such demographic shifts as the movement of women into the labor force. But the onslaught of television and other electronic technologies is usually cited as the main culprit. As Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam observes, these technologies are increasingly "privatizing our leisure time" and "undermining our connections with one another and with our communities."[1] In his essay "The Strange Disappearance of Civic America," Putnam draws a direct parallel between the arrival of television and the decline of what he calls "social capital" -- the social networks, trust, and norms of reciprocity that are the essence of healthy communities. As he points out, a "massive change in the way Americans spend their days and nights occurred precisely during the years of generational civic disengagement."[2] It follows that computers, VCRs, virtual reality and other technologies that, like television, "cocoon" us from our neighbors and communities exacerbate the loss of social capital. With the advent of computer networks and "virtual communities," however, some feel that electronic technologies can actually be used to strengthen the bonds of community and reverse America's declining social capital. Advocates stress that electronic networks can help citizens build organizations, provide local information, and develop bonds of civic life and conviviality. While the claims are no doubt overstated in many cases, as they always are when new technologies are involved, there is growing evidence that this may be the case, particularly in local community networks. The social and political ramifications of electronic networking has become a favorite topic of speculation in recent years. Cover stories, conferences, books, Web sites, and radio and television programs devoted to the subject have grown exponentially. In looking over the burgeoning literature on the political uses of the Net, I find that most of it falls into three general categories: 1) questions of democratic culture and practice, such as the pros and cons of direct democracy, issues of privacy and social control, and the changing nature of public opinion; 2) how on-line petitioning, electronic voting, information campaigning and other forms of "netactivism" can promote politics more narrowly defined; and 3) the implications of networking technologies for communities. This paper leaves aside the first two categories[3] and focuses specifically on the third: whether computer networks can be used to strengthen and enhance the bonds of community.

Rh Bill Case Study Essay

There are 6 bills pertaining to reproductive health and/or population management that have been filed for deliberation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the 15th Congress. The most controversial of these bills is House Bill No. 96 authored by Rep. Edcel Lagman. House Bill No. 96, also known as the proposed â€Å"Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2010,† will cover the following areas: * midwives of skilled attendance * emergency obstetric care * access to family planning * maternal death review * family planning supplies as essential medicines * benefits for serious and life-threatening reproductive health conditions * mobile health care service * mandatory age-appropriate reproductive health and sexuality education * responsibility of local family planning office and certificate of compliance * capability building of barangay health workers * ideal family size * employers’ responsibilities * multi-media campaign * implementing mechanisms * reporting requirements * prohibited acts * penalties The bill is controversial, as it is being opposed by concerned citizens, especially the pro-life, pro-family and pro-God groups, regardless of creed or religion. The Roman Catholic Church expresses its opposition against the bill on many counts, most especially the procurement and distribution of family planning supplies for the whole country, when the available evidence from peer reviewed medical journals supports the hypothesis that when ovulation and fertilization occur in women taking oral contraceptives (OCs) or using intrauterine devices (IUD), post-fertilization effects are operative on occasion to prevent clinically recognized pregnancy. Hormonal contraceptives and/or IUDs directly affect the endometrium. These effects have been presumed to render the endometrium relatively inhospitable to implantation or to the maintenance of the preembryo or embryo prior to clinically recognized pregnancy. These make pills and IUDS abortifacient. Pro-life groups, and many professionals in the medical and nursing fields, believe that physicians and policy makers should understand and respect the beliefs of patients who consider human life to be present and valuable from the moment of fertilization. Patients should be made fully aware of this information so that they can consent to or refuse the use of artificial contraceptives. However, the position of the Catholic Church and the pro-life groups does not mean that they espouse the attitude of â€Å"natalism† at all costs, as if the â€Å"number† of children, in itself, were the unmistakable sign of authentic christian matrimonial life. The sexual act, properly exercised within marriage only, is ordained primarily to the propagation of life. If there are reasonable motives for spacing births, such as serious medical conditions in the mother, or extreme poverty, then the Catholic Church teaches that married couples may take advantage of the natural cycles of the reproductive system and use their marriage precisely those times that are infertile (natural family planning). Other aspects of the bill being contested by concerned citizens include the classification of family planning supplies as essential medicines when their safety/toxicity profile and legal permissibility are questionable. At the same time, more importance should be given to the prevalent diseases, the top ten leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines, namely, infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. Financial resources allotted by foreign donors to assist the Philippine government programs could actually be better spent towards pursuing health programs targeting communicable diseases than purchasing artificial contraceptives. Very pertinent to the debate about reproduction rights is the right to life. The Philippine Constitution says that the State â€Å"shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. If artificial contraceptives are medically proven to induce abortion as one of their mechanisms of action, then procurement and distribution of such family planning supplies are unconstitutional and illegal. INTRODUCTION The international aid environment has undergone considerable change in recent years. Internationally, principles of development cooperation. In some countries, civil society has achieved success in navigating the aid architecture and advocating effectively on behalf of sexual and reproductive health (SRH). In other countries, interacting and participating in key development processes has been more challenging due tolack of sufficient data or evidence to make a strong advocacy case, and weak understanding of terminology and processes, making access and influence difficult. For the past two years, WHO has supported the AHEAD project (completed in January 2011) implemented through the German Foundation for World Population (DSW). DSW had provided financial and technical support to civil society organisations (CSO) for developing and implementing locally devised advocacy action plans to raise levels of government funding for SRH in three countries. The countries are Bangladesh, the Philippines and Uganda. This report is a case study from the AHEAD project in Philippines. The case study begins by describing the socio political context in which the AHEAD project was implemented. The context covers three themes – an account of civil society movements, situation analysis of sexual and reproductive health and rights and background to the policy environment in the Philippines. The subsequent sections highlight findings from evaluation of the project including achievements from the implementation of the advocacy action plan, the challenges faced by AHEAD and finally the lessons learned. Literature Review The Reproductive Health Bill (RH Bill) has drawn opposing opinions from different sectors of the society. There are people who propose and support the RH Bill and there are those who strongly oppose it. Some find themselves in a crossroads wherein they agree on certain components of the RH Bill but remain doubtful about the other parts. Moral, economic and political conflicts continue to rise between opposing sectors. The debate goes on and on. The primary goal of the RH Bill is to guarantee universal access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care. There are six bills sharing common goals. There seems to be a general agreement when it comes to maternal and child health care but conflicts have risen concerning the proposal that the private sector and Filipino taxpayers fund the nationwide distribution of family planning devices to help control the country’s population. Meanwhile, the government shall continue giving out information on their uses through he alth care centers. Issues and arguments †¢ Population The Philippines has the fastest growing population in Southeast Asia. Studies have shown that most pregnancies in the Philippines, especially among the poor, are unplanned. Supporters of the RH bill claim that the increasing population of the country is something that cannot be ignored anymore. RH bill principal author Edcel Lagman said, â€Å"The Philippine population is growing at a much faster rate than can be sustained by the government or the country’s resources.†Lagman said that the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia that does not have a national reproductive health bill. Based on studies made by the University of the Philippines (one example here), the country tops the fertility rate in Southeast Asia at 3.3 percent. Following are Malaysia at 2.5 percent and Vietnam at 2.1 percent.

Microsoft Corporation Case Analysis Essay

Industry Evaluation Software is an integral part of today’s uncertain economy, as the push for greater globalization and efficiency drives much of the spending in business markets around the world. In order to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly competitive global market, companies are spending more and more on hardware and software infrastructures (Yahoo!Finance, 2006). Microsoft is among 413 companies that produce and distribute application software products and services. These companies are all part of the Application Software industry within the technology sector, which is dominated by one software giant; Microsoft. More specifically, Microsoft is categorized into the Developmental Tools, Operating Systems, and Utility Software subindustry, which includes companies that â€Å"design, develop, market, and support software for developing, testing, and debugging applications; for computer maintenance; and for desktop management† (Hoovers.com, 2006). Microsoft, Oracle Corp, CA Inc., and SAP Aktiengesellschaft, with a four-firm concentration ratio of 39% dominate the industry. Most of the other 411 firms in the industry specialize in smaller niches, providing specialized software services such as accounting, business management, etcetera, and have profits under $1 billion per year. For this reason, the computer application industry has monopolistic competition (MSN Money, 2006). The top-selling software company is currently Microsoft, with $41.4 billion in sales in 2005, and is joined in the competitive arena by other top sellers such as Oracle Corp. with $12.9 billion and SAP Aktiengesellschaft with $10.4 billion. Other industry leaders in sales include CA Inc., Intuit Inc., Adobe Systems Inc., B.M.C. Software, Compuware Corp., and Novell Inc., each experiencing revenues exceeding $1 billion during 2005. Within the Developmental Tools, Operating Systems, and Utility Software subindustry, top competitors include Microsoft, International Business Machines (IBM), SAP Aktiengesellschaft, and Computer Associates International, who ranked a respective first, second, third, and fourth in application software sales (Yahoo!Finance, 2006). The Computer Software industry is largely dominated by Microsoft, which commands 54% of market sales among its top ten competitors, as listed above. The following chart details the market share of these ten main players in the industry (Yahoo!Finance, 2006): Within the legal environment, the software industry has been shaken by  several recent regulations that are revitalizing industries within the business market of the United States. Among them are the US Patriot Act, which dictates that companies providing financial services must have the ability to detect the occurrence of money laundering; the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which mandates that companies provide â€Å"real-time disclosure of events that might affect their financial performance and deep records of e-mail and instant messages exchanged between employees† (Yahoo!Finance, 2006). Finally, antitrust laws have been an ongoing threat to the industry. Microsoft has finally reached a settlement after an ongoing antitrust investigation, and agreed to allow manufacturers to include competing software with Windows and uniformly license its operating systems (Antitrust Case Filings, 2006). New technological developments are revitalizing the software industry. The most recent and significant development includes a new set of web-friendly applications that, as of yet, has no official name. These web services can be assembled from standardized building blocks, meaning that any number of applications may be assembled in a variety of ways. Because of this, companies are able to develop enterprise applications to run on a wide range of software and hardware infrastructures and cater to the specific demands of their respective market segments. The companies that will maintain market share in the up-and-coming web era are those that are able to develop products that will be compatible on a wide range of hardware platforms. Massive consolidations have recently become characteristic of the software industry. Largely due to acquisitions, IBM’s software holdings have grown a great deal. Small specialists companies face the greatest danger from large software providers such as Oracle, who recently acquired PeopleSoft and Siebel for $10.3 and $5.9 billion, respectively. If growth slows in their subindustries, these small companies who cater to specific niches become vulnerable to large companies offering extensive suites of enterprise applications that serve a variety of functions such as the industry leaders (Yahoo!Finance, 2006). Following suit after other mature industries such as electronics and apparel,  a large number of IT and software providers have begun outsourcing much of their manufacturing and R&D functions to countries outside of the United States. Software companies are now able to hire manufacturers and product developers in countries such as India, Mexico, and China for much less than it would cost in the U.S. (MSN Money, 2006) The tragedy of the September 11 terrorist attacks as well as other post 9/11 attacks prompted another significant trend in the software industry when the United States government cranked down on security. By restructuring their communication systems, they opened a door to struggling software providers who began to provide new, more secure applications to governmental departments and agencies (Yahoo!Finance, 2006) A final trend reflects the popularity of Linux and other open-source code operating systems. While the Linux operating system is probably the most widely known and widely used open source code, the idea of open source is gaining momentum and popularity. Companies that provide their products for a nominal subscription fee and generate income based on training and support services have adopted the open source concept as a counter-intuitive business model, with which they counter the more traditional selling of products for profit model (Hill and Jones, 2005). Once online collaboration and word processing applications are fully developed and grow in usage and popularity, the researchers predict that the software industry will see a rise in sales of those kinds of products, and possibly a decline in the sale of PC compatible product that serve the same types of functions. The reason for this is that once these tools are available, consumers will realize that they may access and edit their documents or projects from any computer or PDA with internet access, without having to worry about being on the specific machine or machines that contain the documents they need. Currently, almost all users of open source software are computer-savvy programming professionals. In the future however, more consumers will use this type of software for business and personal use. This is forecasted by a  growing number of applications developed from open source codes such as Linux, as well as increasing popularity of these programs. If this comes to pass, then Linux and other open source applications and operating systems may accumulate market share, thus depriving it from Microsoft and Oracle. Strategic Evaluation Microsoft supports a number of values that translate into goals that the company strives to attain. These goals include doing business with honesty and integrity; to have passion for customers, partners, and technology; to be open and respectful, to take on big challenges and see through them; constructive self-criticism, self-improvement, and personal excellence; to help foster growth and innovation, and to be accountable to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees for commitments, results, and quality. These goals, however, are immeasurable, intangible, and unspecific. There is no timeline for achieving them, and no way to determine whether or not they have been acheived. There are, however, more specific goals that the company hopes to attain that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and tangible. Goals for the future include making technology available to one quarter of a billion people by 2010. Another goal is to fuse together Windows development and Web development to enrich Windows applications (Stu, 2003). By doing this, Microsoft may be able to convince consumes to use the rich application features of Windows. Another goal is to unify the disparate Windows communications and enterprise technologies into a common and simple framework that is competitive with Java Enterprise Edition. Microsoft needs to provide an alternative to this model unless it wants to see Java retain its lock on the server software market. This goal is consistant with Microsoft’s approach of taking the lead in developing a new computing standard. (Microsoft, 2006) The mission statement of Microsoft Corporation is â€Å"At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world  realize their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible.†- Microsoft, 2006 The mission statement is clear in representing Microsoft as dedicated in providing the best products to help its customers achieve and â€Å"realize their full potential†. The mission statement is strong, and is very personable by saying â€Å"At Microsoft†, and repeating that this is Microsoft’s mission statement. The statement repeats itself in the third sentence, saying, â€Å"everything we do reflects† helping everyone in the world understand his or her â€Å"full potential†. Using words to repeat parts of the mission statement makes it bolder to the reader. The statement is broad enough to allow the company to expand into unfamiliar markets or businesses, or both. However, it is narrow enough that it focuses the company on aiding people in reaching their fullest potential. By adhering to this mission statement, employees at Microsoft look to the customers, not the shareholders, as the reason the company exists. It is clear to express that the company does not exist solely to make a profits or please shareholders. It reflects the desire of the management at Microsoft to make a difference in the world and help those who wish to success do so. Functional Review Marketing Analysis Microsoft focuses on the development of software, which includes products such as Office, Project, Visio, FoxPro, and more. The software packages aide in the creation of business documents, databases, and projects, as well as helps consumers manage their day-to-day lives. Microsoft has seven different product divisions: Client, Server and Tools, Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solution, MSN, Mobile and Embedded Devices, and Home and Entertainment (Microsoft, 2006). The Client segment has responsibility for engineering, product delivery, and technical architecture for the Windows product family. It also handles Microsoft’s  relationships with personal computer manufacturers, including multinational and regional original equipment manufacturer accounts (SEC, 2006). Server and Tools is responsible for the server system products and all related services. These services include providing advice for requirements needed for the system to operate properly, custom solution services, and business application planning for the operating systems. Information Worker involves licensing software to several types of users such as small to large corporations, homes, and specialized categories like students. This division releases a major change in software every two to three years. Microsoft Business Solutions deals primarily with â€Å"developing and marketing offerings to manage financial, customer relationship and supply chain management functions for small and midsize businesses, large organizations and divisions of global enterprises. MSN is accountable for delivering online services that look to empower users by bringing them to the people and information that matter most. The Mobile and Embedded Devices section is responsible for the marketing and development of products that extend the advantages of the Windows platform to many types of devices. The Home and Entertainment segment is in charge of production, development, and marketing for the Xbox video gaming system (SEC, 2006). Another way Microsoft is continuing to broaden their customer base is by establishing itself into the gaming industry. An example of this is the innovative Xbox 360 Microsoft launched during the 2005 Christmas season. Microsoft has begun to explore new markets, like television, with the rising success of the Xbox 360 and the changing demographics. Microsoft realizes that demographics are changing to a younger generation and efforts must be made to accommodate their needs as well. (Wikipedia, 2006) In the past, Microsoft’s target market has been men of the ages of eighteen through thirty-four. The company is currently expanding the market it targets by experimenting with two methods of reaching the seventeen and younger age group. The first is through the gaming industry, with the release of the Xbox gaming system. The company is also developing a television show to reach this age group (Goo, 2006). Another strategy Microsoft is pursuing involves meeting its global clientele where they are  in terms of their economic and financial needs (Evers, 2006). These changes in strategy and products reflect Microsoft’s goal of expanding its target market. While there is risk involved with these changes, there is also the potential for returns above a normal profit. Another way Microsoft is continuing to broaden their customer base is by establishing itself into the gaming industry. An example of this is the innovative Xbox 360 Microsoft launched during the 2005 Christmas season. Microsoft has begun to explore new markets, like television, with the rising success of the Xbox 360 and the changing demographics. Microsoft realizes that demographics are changing to a younger generation and efforts must be made to accommodate their needs as well. (Wikipedia, 2006) Microsoft has established a presence in the international market. The headquarters, including most of the research and development centers, is located in Redmond, Washington. The company has several manufacturing facilities to meet supply needs on a global scale. These facilities are located in various places such as: Dublin, Ireland, Humacao, Puerto Rico, Reno, Nevada and Singapore just to name a few locations. Microsoft currently employees 40,081 in North America and 63,564 world-wide to help them meet growing demand for their products (Microsoft, 2006). Microsoft uses a wide variety of media to influence the demand of their products. Traditional types of advertising are used for global campaigns including television, print, and Internet (Microsoft.com, 2006). The company uses computer magazines to compare companies or products such as the case of Linux versus Microsoft. Microsoft’s goal is to reach a certain target market. In addition, Microsoft is implementing a new advertising campaign using the Internet in competition with Yahoo and Google. In the campaign, customers will be asked to fill out a survey; from there the data will be used to display personal ads of interest to the consumer. If a consumer chooses not to fill out the survey the company will provide them with general ads that are generated from the search. The goal in the long-run is to learn the customers want and needs for future purchases (Oser, 2006). The manufacturing function for most of Microsoft’s products is outsourced. A vendor supplies the parts needed to assemble the Xbox gaming system. This outsourcing strategy can be a drawback on two counts. Firstly, Microsoft relinquishes some control of the pricing of this product because it cannot control the manufacturing costs. Secondly, there is a threat of the manufacturer leaking product knowledge to Microsoft’s competitors. At the same time however, Microsoft has no legal obligation to the manufacturer, and can manufacture these products internally. Microsoft employs several vendors to supply parts that Microsoft manufactures. These components are purchased at a discount rate, and Microsoft keeps excess inventory in stock in case of shortages (Microsoft, 2006). The company has decided to do an 18 month campaign to advertise the differences between Microsoft and Linux giving the benefits of using our products. Some advantages to Microsoft’s products include: being user-friendly software and applications, as well as having a strong reputation in that area. Therefore, the cost would be greater to retrained employee how to use Linux software in the business industry for server application use. In dealing with more recent security issues, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) has a code-flaw in the browser that makes it vulnerable to hackers. This flaw can allow hackers to infect a system with various code-scripts, which puts the system under attack. To have security issues associated with the company’s name can produce a bad reputation. Microsoft’s goals are to have compassion for customers, for partners, and technology. The company wants to train and make technology available to a quarter of the billion people in the world by 2010. In addition, Microsoft shows passion towards customers by offering specialized advertisements to expose the varied selection of products to the consumer. Another goal is to exhibit openness and respectfulness, which will gain a huge amount of respect from the consumer. This is achieved by receiving feedback from our employees, government agencies, and community leaders which will lead to improve Microsoft’s business. Microsoft is staying on task of taking on large challenges by endeavoring to change their demographics of customers. In addition, the  company takes constructive criticism, and uses this as a way to improve; criticism in forms of comments and suggestions. Microsoft will accomplish this task through research and development and feedback. Other goals are to give personal excellence, and have accountability to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees for commitments, results, and quality. These achievable tasks would help Microsoft stay in the business for years to come (Microsoft, 2006). Production Analysis Microsoft alters its products to me needs of its global customers. The company translates the text and changes the appearance of its applications to make them understandable in that language. This is one reason Microsoft has a reputation for being developing user-friendly applications for its consumers. Other tasks the company is involved with include processing orders, payment options, processing needed information, and supplier management (Microsoft.com, 2006). These tasks are essential to maintaining good relations with Microsoft’s customers and suppliers. In addition, these tasks make it possible to make necessary changes when there are problems in distribution or manufacturing of Microsoft’s software. Microsoft outsources all of its manufacturing function except for a few, including the assemblage of the Xbox 360. A vendor supplies the needed parts for this product. This action can be a drawback because it limits Microsoft in its ability to control pricing aspects of this product. There is also the threat that suppliers will share the knowledge of this product with Microsoft’s competitors. Although this is a threat, Microsoft is under the no legal obligation to continue working with that supplier. Several vendors supply parts for all other products Microsoft assembles. Components for these products are purchased at a discount. Microsoft keeps an inventory of spare parts on hand if needed (Microsoft, 2006). Management Analysis Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in 1975, and in a few years, they  expanded to Bellevue, Washington from Albuquerque, New Mexico. From there, Microsoft began creating and developing new and revolutionary technology. In 1981, â€Å"IBM introduced its personal computer with Microsoft’s 16-bit operating system, MS-DOS 1.0† (Microsoft, 2006). Because of its quality, this operating system became popular. Microsoft’s stock went public. Over the next twenty years, Microsoft created more technical and versatile operating systems such as Windows 95, 98, and the current Windows XP. This success has lead to worldwide expansion creating thousands of jobs. â€Å"Microsoft is the world’s largest software company with over 50,000 employees in various countries as of May 2004† (Microsoft, 2006). Microsoft has become a needed portion of the personal computing market in which many PC retailers have sold their machines pre-equipped with Microsoft’s software. Because of its large and substantial business, Microsoft was found to be a monopoly among computer software and because of this, Microsoft has experience financial success. In 1998, a lawsuit found that Microsoft was using its â€Å"monopoly power to defeat its competitors† (Reference.com, 2006). Microsoft appealed and showed how changing their company’s operations would bring the financial success down increasingly. A board of directors, who play a major role in decision-making and many fundamentals of the company, run Microsoft. The Chief Executive Officer is Steven Ballmer who â€Å"joined with Microsoft in 1980 and was the first business manager hired by Bill Gates† (Microsoft, 2006). In 1998, Ballmer was appointed President and this gave him full responsibility for running the corporation. 2 years later, he became CEO (in 2000) and this gave him full privilege over all the managers and staff of Microsoft. Following Ballmer is James I. Cash, Jr, Dina Dublon, Bill Gates, Raymond V. Gilmartin, Ann McLaughlin Korologos, David F. Margaurdt, Charles H. Noski, Helmut Panke and Jon A. Shirley. A lot of talent and skill is required to work in any position at Microsoft. They seek out motivated individuals who are experienced in communications and leadership. The purpose for finding such trained individuals is to lower training costs of the company. The â€Å"Corporate Operations is Microsoft’s backbone, constructing, managing, and running the various services that support the company’s 50,000 employees† (Microsoft, 2006). This statement shows that Microsoft is dependent on two sections of their management staff; the corporate and administrative services. These departments are responsible for management, public relations, providing company-wide administrative support, building new office space, and other tasks. Financial Analysis Microsoft Corporation has achieved excellence in since 1975 in the application software industry. They finished the 2005 fiscal year with a market capitalization of $288.20 billion, doubling the closest competitor, IBM which came in second in market capitalization with $131.00 billion, and an industry average of a low $136.51 million (Hoovers, 2006). Microsoft Corporation has been enjoying a steady growth in revenue over the past three fiscal years. This has been achieved with the growing popularity of PC use in the world over this time period. Microsoft’s preliminary estimates showed a growth of worldwide PC shipments from 11% to 13%, â€Å"and total server hardware shipments grew approximately 13% to 14%† during the 2005 fiscal year compared to fiscal year 2004 (Yahoo! Finance). This has caused a growth in revenue of 8% from $36,835 million to $39,788 million from fiscal year 2004 to 2005 (U.S. SEC). This revenue growth was â€Å"driven by growth in licensing of Windows Server operating systems and other server application, licensing of Windows Client operating systems through OEMs, and increased licensing of Office and other Information Worker products† (Yahoo! Finance). The 2004 fiscal year ended with an overall growth of $4,648 billion from the previous fiscal year 2003, an increase of over 12%. Over the past five years, Microsoft Corporation has generated revenue of over $162 billion. This is an increase of 73% and about $75 billion of this is derived from net cash flow from operations. Shareholders received a return of $69 billion of this revenue in dividends and stock repurchases. With the launching of the Xbox 360, Windows Vista, and newer versions of existing software in 2006 fiscal year, Microsoft expects to have an equal or larger  increase of the past five years in the next five years (Microsoft, 2006). Net income for the fiscal year 2005 was $12,254 which is an increase of $4,086 million from the 2004 fiscal year. This is due to small decreases in operating expenses from the previous year with emphasis on research and development, a decrease of over $1.5 billion. Although decreasing in fiscal year 2005, a large jump in expenses occurred from fiscal year 2003 to 2004. Microsoft increased their total operating expenses by $5,159 million to $27,801 million in fiscal year 2004. Although decreasing expenses worked for the fiscal year 2005, decreases in research and development in the future might cause the industry to get the edge on Microsoft and revenues decrease (Microsoft, 2006). Operating income has also increased substantially during these two fiscal years with a total increase of 61%. Although it had a 5% decline from fiscal year 2003 to fiscal year 2004, operating income jumped from a marginal $9,034 million in 2004 to an excellent $14,561 million in fiscal year ending 2005 (U.S. SEC). According to Yahoo! Finance, the operating income increase for fiscal year 2005 was driven by a decline in stock-based compensation expense; increased revenue in Server and Tools, Client, and Information Worker; and a reduction in legal costs associated with major litigation. Some key ratios will point out Microsoft’s position in accordance to the industry. Holding a total debt to equity ratio of 0.00, compared to 0.03 of the industry, Microsoft has showed that they have successfully controlled their assets without any debt, dating back as far as fiscal year 1996. The total debt to total asset ratio also confirms these successes with a low 0.33. This has a great statistic from an investor or shareholders eyes because there is potential for a high payout. Microsoft has a current ratio of 2.8, compared to the industries average of 2.3. This shows us that Microsoft can pay off any debt that may occur, and can continue operating with cash left over. The quick ratio is currently at 2.5 with an industry average of 2.1. Because this number is so close in comparison with the current ratio, this tells us that Microsoft is not dependent on their inventory. These three financial ratios show us that Microsoft Corporation  is achieving excellence in comparison to the industry (MSN, 2006). Both the gross profit margin and the net profit margin percentages will show us the financial health of the company. Microsoft Corporation’s net profit margin is over 7% higher that the industries average, at 30.8% compared to 23.5%. This tells us that 31.6% of the company’s revenue can be kept as profit. Fiscal year 2005 is an increase of 8.6% from fiscal year 2004 and a small decrease of 0.2% from fiscal year 2003. Their gross profit margin is 87.3%, compared to 82.6% of the industries average. Although the industries average of these two ratios is healthy as well, Microsoft still holds better percentages (MSN, 2006). The company’s price ratios will show some different trends in comparison to the industry from the other ratios presented. Although the earnings per share (EPS) are currently much higher than the industry average and the previous year, it is lower than some of the direct competitors. The EPS in the fiscal year 2005 was 1.13, which is considerably higher than the industries average of 0.15. This is not a bad ratio if you own share in the company, but two of the closest competitors is producing a much higher rate; Google’s EPS is at 5.021 and IBM’s is at 4.875. Although this might turn some investors away, numbers have been improving over the past three years. Fiscal year 2003 had an EPS of only $0.70 but increased to $0.76 in fiscal year 2004. The large increase came in fiscal year 2005 when EPS increased almost $0.40 to $1.13. With the latest innovations Microsoft has developed, these numbers will increase as investors see the future of Microsoft. Microsoft price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is more attractive than EPS with a ratio of 22.9. Although conservative investors may feel this number is too high, this ratio is much better than the industry average of 27.3 which might influence these investors to invest in Microsoft instead of the direct competitors (MSN, 2006). Management effectiveness ratios like return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) will show us how well the management at Microsoft Corporation is doing. With an ROA of 19.4%, over 5% higher than the industry average of 13.9%, Microsoft is very profitable in relation to the total assets of the  company. This is a substantial increase from 8.8% and 12.6% in fiscal year 2004 and 2003 respectively. The profit per dollar, or ROE of Microsoft, is 29.5%. This is close to 7% higher than the industry average of 22.6% and 18.6% than fiscal year 2004. This shows that Microsoft Corporation is achieving a higher profit from their investors per dollar in comparison to the industries. Although there was a large increase from fiscal year 2004 to 2005, a decrease of 5.5% occurred between fiscal year 2003 and 2004 (MSN, 2006). The efficiency of the company is struggling in comparison to the industry in one way, inventory turnover. The inventory turnover is currently much lower than the industries. With a low 8.1 compared to 28.4 of the industry average, Microsoft’s inventory turnover might indicate poor sales. Both Microsoft and the industry average of asset turnover are 0.6, indicating that 0.6 of every dollar is revenue. Microsoft is doing a better job than the industry in comparing the accounts receivable turnover, but not a significant amount. The accounts receivable turnover is at 5.7 with an industry average of 5.2. Both Microsoft and the industry are collecting payments from its customers in a timely manner. They are, however, significantly behind S&P 500 which has an accounts receivable turnover ratio of 7.5 (MSN, 2006). A thorough research of cash flows will show the company heading in the right direction. Net operating, investing, and financing cash flows all increased from the fiscal year 2004 to 2005. Fiscal year 2005 showed an increase of 14% to $16.61 billion in cash flow from operations. This is derived from an increase in cash receipts from customers driven by the 8% revenue growth of the company. Cash payments decreased by approximately $1.8 billion from the previous year from binding legal settlements. These factors played the major role in the increase of operating cash flow. Keeping operating cash flows down was payments to the 7% increase in full-time employees added during the fiscal year 2005. This is a great recovery from fiscal year 2004 considering operating cash flow dropped by $1.17 billion from fiscal year 2003. Over two billion of this was from the Sun Microsystems settlement and the European Commission fine. The small offsetting gain is from increases cash receipts  from customers. Net financing cash flow showed a large increase from $2.36 billion in fiscal year 2004 to $41.08 billion in fiscal year 2005. This increase is driven by an additional $34.38 billion of cash dividends paid, and an additional $4.67 billion in cash used for common stock repurchases in fiscal year 2005 from fiscal year 2004. Net financing cash flow did have a substantial decrease from fiscal year 2003 to 2004 of almost $3 billion. However, this decrease is due the company not repurchasing common stock in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2004 and an increase of $628 million from stock issuances of employee stock option exercises. An increase of $872 million in cash dividends during this fiscal year offset the numbers provided. Net investing cash flow for fiscal year 2005 was $15.03 billion, an increase of $18.37 billion from the previous year. Investment maturities that occurred to fund cash dividends paid increased by $23.59 billion in fiscal year 2005. Offsetting this figure was the decrease of $5.32 billion in cash from sale activity and investment purchases. Cash used for investing was $3.34 billion in fiscal year 2004, a decrease of $3.88 billion from fiscal year 2003 (Microsoft, 2006). Model Analysis The Boston Consulting Group Matrix is a representation of the status of Microsoft in the current market. There are four different categories that fall under the matrix, Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks and Dogs. The highest category and most self-efficient is the â€Å"Stars† with very high growth and high share. Next in the matrix: â€Å"Cash Cows,† which are low in growth and high in shares. The third category in the matrix is the â€Å"Question Marks† which are high in growth and low in shares. Last are the â€Å"Dogs† which are very low in both growth and shares. Microsoft would be placed in the â€Å"Stars† category simply because the company is constantly growing and is very self-sustaining. Strategic Alternatives 1. Develop a Microsoft version of open source software by exploiting Microsoft’s distinctive competency for developing software. This will give  Microsoft an edge in the open market by allowing it to effectively compete with current alternatives to Microsoft products, such as Linux, Sun Systems, and other open source/free software products. This alternative will give Microsoft the opportunity to increase its revenues by offering support services and training for these products. 2. Acquire Red Hat Inc. or another successful Linux provider. By combining the rising popularity of the open source concept with the ongoing success of Microsoft’s application software, the image of Microsoft will improve and launch the company into the increasingly popular open source market. 3. Improve current product line. Increase research and development spending to improve the dependability and security of current products. Then, implement an advertising campaign through several mediums to stress the superior quality of Microsoft’s products.

Jackie Kay ”Owl” Essay

The faint, almost invisible, line between child and adult, carefree and responsible, becomes more and more blurry and grey the closer you get to it. First, it is said that you reach adulthood and step into the real world, when you confirm your faith in God, but thrusting that threshold yourself, you just know you are not yet an adult. So then, you postpone it until the age of 18. By then you should be starting your career, or at least have an idea of where you are going, and more importantly you are now legally an adult, with the right to vote and take care of others, but also with the hard realities of facing up to your mistakes. Coming to terms with who you are as you grow up and as an adult is not always the easiest thing. The short story â€Å"Owl† by Jackie Kay treats exactly this subject, of whom you end out to be, and what things you choose to hold on to in life. Jackie Kay chooses in her story to make use of the first-person narrator, and this makes it easier as a reader to identify yourself with the main character Anita. The reader reminisces to own childhood memories and feel like they are in close contact with Anita’s feelings, almost as if they were the reader’s own. When Anita tells her story, she does so by starting out in a flashback from her childhood, with the memory that started it all. The time she went on holiday with her parents and Marion and hers, and they first discovered the screeching barn owl, which would become the foundation for their lifelong friendship. This use of flashback gives the reader a more precise conception of who Anita was as a child, and what made her Barn. As most children Barn was selfish and unable to sympathize. She was not held back by leaving out Sandra when it came to who caused the crowd, and keen neither on giving her an owl-related nickname to include her or even changing her own. When it came to telling white lies to uphold the sacredness of her and Tawny’s new best friendship, she did so without the blink of an eye. As Barn retells the stories of their childhood she leaves little comments, which tells the reader that the pettiness and uncompromising attitude she possessed as a child is no longer with her. She has made a development from child to adult, even though she cannot see it  herself. She notices and analyzes, as she retells, the feelings she put Sandra through by excluding her. This also indicates the change she has made from her age of ten until her forty’s; in spite her own lack of recognizing it. It is later on revealed that the same holiday where Barn and Tawny discovered the barn owl, they also found out that their parents had swapped. This collision of two worlds and confusion over splitting parents keeps coming up in Barns mind. She tells Tawny that she cannot stop thinking about that summer, and at first, one might think that this has to do with the owl that tied their friendship together. However, when looking closer you will realize that her own recent split from a man causes her lingering to this memory. It is briefly brought up by her and Tawny but not really spoken of, which is caused by Barn’s conflicting emotions from her parents split. On one hand, their splitting brought her closer to her best friend and gave her something consistent in her life that she knew would never fail her. On the other, she is scared to be alone, and taking over all the responsibility for herself, becoming an adult. Therefore, she leans on Tawny to be the only trusty thing in her life. The owl in this story seem to have significant meaning to the friendship between Barn and Tawny, and while the owl does symbolize the friendship and the passage between child and grownup, it holds a deeper and more hidden meaning. It symbolizes the burden they have both been carrying on their shoulders ever since that night where they found out about their parents. They have never talked about it and the ignorance of what happened and insecurity about love that followed, all of which yet unexplained, is a contributor to Barns insecurity about who she is even now in her forty’s. As they talk about it and decide to move on they both wake up feeling like the weight have been lifted of their shoulders. And this sweet release is exactly what the heron by the Mersey river resembles. The burden flying away, soaring up, up, up in the sky releasing them from their agony, and taking them back to the simplicity of childhood. Therefore, it seems to be the owl that catches them, brings them in while it is yet another bird, the heron, that is bound to set them free. Tawny’s last comment on how Barn will soon need her wings is Jackie Kay’s way of saying that life is not over just because, you are middle-aged, or you split from your partner or your parents get divorced. Life is only just begun, and I believe that this is the message that Jackie Kay wishes to leave the reader with. You cannot, you must not let the bad things bring you down. Cause if you let them do that then how are supposed to fly?