Movie: Film and Book

Nowadays, when many good novels are turned into good films, it can be tricky to decide which to enjoy first, the book or the film based on it. Reading the book is an intimate experience that can challenge your mind and tickle your heart. But watching the film is often more convenient, especially if you don't have much time. Not to mention that you get to see beautiful scenery and often a fine leg and some nudity as well. † During summer vacation, I read the book the hunger games.It was a great book. The details were so well put together. In my opinion the movie was Just plain awful, I didn't think it went well with the book. The book gives you more a visual look at it. The movie Just made it seem more spasmodic then it should have. What I comprehended from the book, Catkins Evergreen, the main character, was strong and fiery. When she went into battle, she knew exactly what she was fighting for. Catkins sometimes was in some muddle situations.The dilemma was, that she had to su rvive the hunger games or die. Catkins survived along with PETA. What I comprehended from the movie, minors dying along with adults or teenagers. It made it seem like an awful environment to live in. It seems that everyone in the society was admonishing each other. Sometimes I like the movie better than the book. In this case, I liked more the book then the movie. But In my opinion, read the book first and then watch the movie.

The Fall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Fall - Essay Example The book explores the themes of redemption, self gratification and personal growth and offers a critical view of the protagonist’s views and experiences during the Second World War. This essay sets out to take an analytical survey at the character’s attempt at reinventing himself. Jean Baptist was a lawyer, who had built a reputation for himself as being a good defense lawyer, who helped the less fortunate fight for justice where they could not afford to hire the services of one. He used to give alms to beggars on the streets and offer his aid to blind people cross the streets. His good charitable deeds made him feel different from other people who he saw as being hypocritical and selfish. His kindly deeds fed his ego and made him feel righteous. One day when he was heading home, he came across a woman on the Pont de Art Bridge standing on the ledge staring down at the water. He did not pause to afford even the woman a glance, but just passed her, and after a few paces, he heard a loud scream and the sound of a body splashing the water down below. Jean Baptist did nothing to help the woman who was swept away screaming for help. The incident of the woman who committed suicide on the Pont de Art Bridge marked the turning point of Jean Baptist’s life. ... He came to the realization it was a form of show off to the passersby. At this moment, he realized that he was a far much worse hypocrite and selfish than those he criticized among his peers and government. He tried convincing himself that he failed to rescue the woman because rescuing her, involved risking his own personal safety, so it was better off that he did not help her so that he could continue helping others. No matter how hard he tried to justify his actions on that day, his conscience did not allow him to feel better about himself. Jeans Baptist Clemence’s realization that he was no different from leaders, in government and his peers, triggered the process of trying to justify himself by denouncing the exact principles that he stood by and jeopardized his career, in the process. No one believed his utterances because according to his reputation and how people knew him, he could only have been joking. He said, â€Å"I wish I could wring the beggar’s necks and beat them up in the streets† (Horton 48). Jean Baptist proclaimed that the poor and the oppressed were oppressing the decent working class of people, and wished they could be banished from the streets. People around him and his friends who knew him well and understood him well thought he was just making fun. This got Jean Baptist frustrated and he started avoiding his friends and immersing himself into alcohol. He stopped practicing law and ruined his reputation. The World War started during, his dramatic turn around, and France was occupied by the German forces. He endeavors to believe that he is a reputable man, but he finds himself in a society that is full of forgeries (Horton 35). Horton relates this to Jean Baptist’s situation because

Computer Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Computer Assignment - Essay Example (See PARC History) They have also partnered with SolFocus, Inc. to develop new concentrator photovoltaic systems, which may lead to the creation of less-expensive solar power. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are visionaries who helped to create the world of personal computers and computing as we know it today. Without both of their ideas, and their willingness to risk it all for those ideas, personal computers might not have become a staple in many homes throughout the world. Their enthusiasm proved to be infectious and as time has shown well merited. They were able to take the ideas and works of others and refine them, build upon them, and make them their own. If Steve Jobs had never gone to PARC users of computers wouldn't be able to point and click with their mice. If Bill Gates had not bought Seattle Computer Products' QDOS there would not has been MS-DOS and IBM's PCs might not have become such a big success. There biggest commonality is their ability to sell semi-functional products to people and make them believe that they got their money's worth. Apple's first computers crashed with some regularity and many people joke about having to open and close Windows to make it work. But people kept buying their products, knowing that they didn't function fully or properly because these men were dynamic salesmen. They were the P.T. Barnum's of the personal computing industry. These are just a few of their similarities, but they are two very different people, as is proven by the paths their lives have taken since their careers began. Steve Jobs is said to be attitudinal, conceited, and cruel to underlings, as is Bill Gates according to former staff members and writers, but Job's attitude has forced him to keep moving from company to company and idea to idea. His attitude and behavior forced him out of a project he was leading at Apple and led to his being forced into an office with nothing to do. Jobs' antinetworking attitude may have held him back from being a bigger success. Though the Next computer, introduced in 1988, had built in Ethernet networking capabilities, his insistence "that the proper use of his computer was to transfer data on a removable disk," led to his refusing orders for NeXT computers to buyers who

Management of Information and Technology Assignment

Management of Information and Technology - Assignment Example NEFM is a reputed manufacturer, which is highly dedicated towards satisfying the varied desires and requirements of the customers, both for commercial or domestic purposes. It includes a wide range of imported products such as customised readymade assembled tables, reception tables, executive chairs, shelves and conference tables. Apart from this, it also includes various stylish office chairs, with wide-ranging features such as wooden base, hydrolic equipments, push back, high back, revolving chairs, and knee tilt with wooden armrest among others at reasonable prices. It also presents numerous types of office sofas as well, such as visitor sofa, slalom sofa, two seater sofa, sofa nat, sofa vivi, taco two -seater sofa and eye-q-eye sofa among others. NEFM also presents diverse office interior facilities such as floorings and false ceilings along with wooden and aluminium partitions as well (New Era Furniture Mart, 2010). Other than this, it also offers a variety of domestic furniture s, such as bed and dining tables, storage units along with assorted sofa sets. Moreover, it also presents numerous customised furnitures in order to satisfy the customer needs with the intention to differentiate in the market. NEFM also presents an array of services to its customers including space planning and designing as well as varied furniture installations (Global Manufacturers, 2012). Thus, in order to present innovative products and/or services to the customers, NEFM attempts to offer high concentration on its business processes. Business process is referred as the assortment of activities which focuses on developing a specific product and /or service in order to gratify the end-users. It includes sequences of activities that are included to present the end-products and /or services to its target consumers which begins with a particular objective and ends with an achievement. There are mainly three types of business processes which are related with managing, supporting and operating (Farid, 2007). In this regards, the prime operations of NEFM are concentrated on manufacturing and circulation of varied office and domestic furnitures being entirely dependent on labourers (New Era Furniture Mart, 2010 ). Before instigating the manufacturing process of any furniture, a specific design is selected by the customer. It is extremely essential in order to receive a striking finished product as per the desire of the customer. Another important fact is that the process of manufacturing commences only after the order is placed by a customer (Farid, 2007). The manufacturing process of furniture includes variety of raw materials namely teak wood, walnut wood or keekar wood along with

Spouse Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Spouse Abuse - Essay Example Definition. Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) is a variation of the self-defense claim in assault and murder cases where a woman asserts an affirmative defense based on her psychological state as the result of a pattern of abuse by her batterer. BWS seeks to justify a woman's criminal conduct as excusable due to a diminished mental capacity combined with an understandably urgent need to end the abuse. Standard Self-Defense Claim. In a traditional self-defense claim, the accused has the burden to show that they were in fear for their life, in imminent danger of physical harm, and had no recourse but to respond with reasonable, even deadly, force. This differs from BWS in that the former is based upon the facts surrounding a single event and the latter is predicated upon a psychological condition caused by extended abuse. In BWS, the accused is not required to demonstrate that, at the moment of the criminal activity, she was in immediate danger. Her proactive violence against her batterer, which would otherwise be inconsistent with the perilous situation-derived self-defense claim, does not have to be undertaken at the moment of suffering actual harm. Argument for BWS. A victim of habitual assaults over the course of time is viewed in a sympathetic light by a judge or jury. While her actions may not be within the letter of the law, they are understandable when presented as the result of a diminished psychological state brought on by repeated abuse. Any human being, be they judge or juror, can identify with the drive to commit a violent act to escape an abusive situation. No reasonable person wants to punish a woman who has endured physical abuse over the course of months or years just because she chose to end that abuse by assaulting her attacker when he was asleep, for example, and not posing an immediate danger to her at the moment. Surely, if given the chance, he would likely pose a threat in the future and her actions seem appropriate. Argument against BWS. Where BWS is flawed as a legal defense is within the scope of its analysis and the absence of empirical diagnosis. A BWS defense focuses solely on the state of mind of the abuse victim where she, while not in imminent danger, chooses to engage in an otherwise criminal act. This requires a judge or jury to suspend consideration of all the facts of the matter, as well as any available non-violent remedies to an abused woman, and accept that her state of mind would not permit her to escape the situation while it simultaneously allowed her to attack her attacker when he wasn't being abusive. Further, there is no definitive medical or psychological protocol to determine BWS, especially in self-reporters of abuse, making it impossible to obtain a sure diagnosis of the condition that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. My Position. I believe the BWS is a valid defense. Even though it may be hard to diagnose as a psychological impairment, the fact is that any woman who has endured sustained physical abuse could exercise a traditional self-defense claim if she acted in the moment. The fact that she chose to wait until she was not being attacked before taking action does not mitigate the obvious; she would be battered again and the state of mind created by continued abuse should be considered when she comes before a court of law.

Choosing the one you love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choosing the one you love - Essay Example After the completion of their college studies, both Tom and Julie started their search for employment. Tom succeeded in getting a good job in a highly reputed company located in a city around 200 kilometres away his home. It was difficult and painful for Tom and Julie to separate each other; but both of them agreed to contact each other at least twice in a day. Tom started his career as a computer programmer in that company. Initially, it was difficult for Tom to execute his responsibilities in a timely manner. Diana, another experienced programmer working with Tom, helped him a lot in managing his initial problems in that organization. Both Tom and Diana became good friends within a month. Diana was a charming girl and her mannerisms and behaviour were very much attractive to everybody. She liked modern dresses and looked pretty in her dress codes. Tom’s innocence and mannerisms were caught the attention of Diana. Tom was a strongly built, 6 feet taller handsome young man and Diana slowly started to fall in love with him. Tom realised the intentions of Diana, but it was difficult for Tom to avoid her considering the assistances, he was receiving from her in professional matters. Tom never said anything about his love affairs with Julie. He was afraid of the consequences. He never told Julie also about Diana and her intentions. But he maintained his deep love affairs with Julie. Diana started to give Tom the company on holidays. It was difficult for Tom to avoid the invitations of Diana for watching movies, shopping and spending time on parks and other public gathering places. Diana never asked Tom anything about his past life and Tom never said anything to Diana about his love affairs with Julie. As time passes, Dina’s love towards Tom strengthened and once she revealed her intentions and feelings to Tom. Tom was also started to love her; however it was difficult for him to avoid

Project Management and Virtual Teams Essay Example for Free

Project Management and Virtual Teams Essay Athabasca University Abstract Due to advanced communication technologies, globalization and outsourcing most of the project management teams are based on groups of individuals called virtual teams who work across time and space using communication technologies. Members of virtual teams may be employees of same company from same country, or they can be contractors, suppliers and company employees around the globe. Managing projects using virtual teams have some advantages and disadvantages. Also several studies have been done to try to determine the factors that are positively co-related to the effectiveness of virtual teams (Schwalbe, 2011). To manage virtual teams successfully in project management, the project manager must manage these factors successfully and also minimize the impact of disadvantages. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual teams in project management and outlines the factors that are positively correlated to the success of projects based on virtual teams. The paper also outlines some of the recommendations to successfully manage the virtual team in information technology projects. Keywords Globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, video conferencing, telecommuting, Project Management, Trust and relationship, Advantages of Virtual teams, Disadvantages of virtual team. Introduction Imagine that you are a project manager in a multinational organization and managing a project to upgrade the server operating system and your team members are from different countries with different cultures and working in different time zones. To complete the project successfully that is based on virtual teams, project manager must understand the advantages and disadvantages of managing virtual teams and factors that positively affect the team members. Today most of the project management teams are based on virtual teams whose members work across time and space using communication technologies and project managers cannot rely on previous methods of project team management where they were able to build trust between team member by social interaction, face-to-face meetings, and direct observations of fellow team member commitment. Literature Review Virtual teams do have some advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages outlined by Kathy Schwalbe are: 24/7 availability of workers increasing competiveness and responsiveness, lowering the cost of project as many virtual team members do not need office space and support, providing more flexibility and expertise as project managers have access to the talent around the globe and increasing the work/life balance for team members by eliminating fixed office hours and the need to travel to work. (Schwalbe, 2011). Communication and trust are the most important factors that influence the virtual team performance. Saonee Sarker and others discussed the â€Å"theoretical linkages among trust, communication, and team member performance in virtual teams†. (Sarker1, Ajuja, Sarker, Kirkeby, 2001). To prove their argument the researchers identified and tested three proposed models (additive, interaction, and mediation) describing the role of trust in its relationship. The results of the study indicated that the â€Å"mediating† model best explains how communication and trust work together to influence the performance of virtual team members. In simple words them study proves that â€Å"a communicative individual will be more likely to be trusted and will therefore be more likely to be a high performer†. (Sarker1, Ajuja, Sarker, Kirkeby, 2001) Radostina K. Purvanova reviewed experimental literature and emerging field research on virtual teams. Author compared the â€Å"results from both type of literature and found that experimental literature has largely reported negative results for virtual teams, whereas ? eld investigations and case studies of real virtual teams employed by business organizations report positive outcomes for virtual teams. According to the article although results reported by experimental versus field studies are quite different, author concludes that both literatures have revealed negative attitudes toward virtual communication media. Advantages of Virtual Teams The main advantages of virtual teams include: The biggest advantage of virtual team enjoyed by an organization is the associated cost savings. The organization can save huge expenses on real estate, office spaces, utility bills such as gas, electricity, water etc. and executive’s travel. Team members can work from anywhere and anytime of the day. They can choose the place they work based on the mood and the comfort. You can recruit people for their skills and suitability to the job. The location does not matter. There is no time and money wasted for commuting and clothing. Physical handicaps are not an issue. Another advantage is the labour laws, some organizations prefer to have virtual teams because of strict local labour laws. Since the members span the time zones, there could be different team working on the same project 24/7, so when one member sleeps there will be another one somewhere else who would start work where the former had left. This shortens the product development time as well as faster response time to demands in both global and local markets. Disadvantages of Virtual Teams Disadvantages of virtual teams include: Since team members do not frequently meet or do not meet at all, the teamwork spirit may not be present. Some people prefer to be in a physical office when working. These people will be less productive in virtual environments. To work for virtual teams, individuals need to have a lot of self-discipline. If the individual is not disciplined, he or she may be less productive. The cultural difference between the members of virtual teams gives rise to number of conflicts. For example, while an employee from one part of the world would write a straightforward email describing a bad situation; this would be perceived as impolite by a member of the team from other part of the world. This would lead to conflicts, mistrust and difficulties in fruitful collaboration which is so vital for the success of virtual team functioning. These challenges are also precipitated by the absence of non-verbal cues so intrinsic to face-to-face interactions. Many members of virtual teams are adversely affected by the lack of physical interactions. Most of the communications in virtual environment is task-oriented. In today’s society where job is an important social force for most of us because many of our workplace colleagues also constitute our close friends, this gives a not-so-good feeling of social isolation. This in turn counter-effects productivity as well as leads to stress. In the virtual environment, it is better to communicate, clarify, and confirm everything to make sure that all members have the same understanding about the task at hand. This produces of ton of paperwork and files that could quickly fill your archives. Factors that positively affect virtual teams Succession planning and promotions involving virtual team members are important factors and if managed properly, virtual team members will feel that they are receiving recognition and credit and as a result they will be satisfied and their productivity will be increased. (Leonard, 2011) Since team members are not communicating face to face, constructive team and individual feedback early and often becomes more important and if managed properly can avoid many problems before hand. Trust between team members and project leader is an important factor that can affect the performance of team members. One important way to build trust between team members is effective communication. The more they communicate with each other and with project more they build the trust. Well defined and documented team process also important which saves a lot of time for especially new team members to find answers to their questions related to policies and procedures. A team member selection and role preference is also important factor to successfully manage the virtual teams. â€Å"Dr. Meredith Belbin defined a team role as a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. 15 It is important to select team members carefully and to form a team where all roles are covered. Each virtual team member must also understand his or her role(s) on the team. † (Schwalbe, 2011) Discussion and Conclusions Organizations such as IBM, Microsoft, Whirlpool as well as SMEs are reaping the benefits of virtual teams for some time now. It has been a well-recognized fact that virtual team is not a passing tide but it is here to stay. Virtual teams are rising in numbers nowadays and even small technology companies are now adapting virtual team practice for recruiting the best people from all over the globe and reduce the cost. As outlined in previous sections, virtual teams do have advantaged and some disadvantages as well. To benefit from advantages and to minimize the impact of disadvantages a project manager can focus on factors that positively affect the virtual team’s performance. As indicated by previous researchers, increase in trust, comfort level and communication effectiveness leads to better project success. All of the above discussed disadvantages can be overcome by following a different leadership approach, trainings, greater role clarity and effective communication strategies. Also earlier discussed factors that affect virtual teams, if managed properly can result in a successful project. In addition, the companies using virtual teams can minimize their operating costs and maximize the profit margins. Additionally, the employees working in virtual teams are at advantages when it comes to working in their own home, own time, and reduction of commuting costs. Therefore, organizations should look into setting up virtual teams for different tasks whenever possible. To reap the benefits of virtual teams in projects and minimize the impact of disadvantages virtual team managers should manage the outlined factors properly and should also follow best practices outlined in next section. Best Practices When running virtual teams, some of the best practices include: An instant messaging program can be used to create a sense of presence amongst members of the team. Chat is a good way to have side conversations during meetings to gain consensus, confirm understanding or ask questions. Quick questions can be asked through instant messenger as a substitute for popping into someone’s cubicle. Services for syncing files, bug tracking, project management, source control, web conferencing, conference calls, screen recording, usability testing and so on. A virtual phone system allows mapping of phone extensions to any phone number. Advance features allow callers to dial by name, get placed into a phone queue or get recorded answers back from a phone tree. In-person meetings are also a good option; it helps build team cohesion and trust and can help people get to know each other on a deeper level. But they are by no means critical. Bringing everyone together once a year may cost a little, but it’s still often cheaper than paying local salaries and rent, and increases the efficiency of team.