Free topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Free topic - Research Paper Example The cultural as well as religious identity related to Hinduism is considered as quite broad. In Hindu mythology, there are more than 330 million role models that are most likely to validate the person’s identity who have been framed in pace with the developing mankind since ancient times (Doyle, â€Å"Hindu Mythology†). Two short stories have been considered in the discussion henceforth, i.e. the Story of Yayati and the Incarnation of Vishnu as a Fish with the sole intention to obtain a better knowledge regarding the linkage of cultural values, philosophies and beliefs perceived by Indians with Hindu mythology. Hence, the chief objective of the discussion will be to obtain a better in-sight to the rudiments of Hindu mythology. According to the Satapatha Brahmana, a Hindu sacred text determining account of Vedic rituals, the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu on earth is known as Matsya Avatar. The story narrates that when Hari, who was considered to be the preserver of the universe, discovered the deed of the prince of the Danavas, became bound to take the shape of the fish which was known as Saphari or Matsya (Wilkins 134-141). According to the myth, Brahma was sleeping one day when Hayagriva, a horse-headed demon, took away the holy Vedas that helped God in creating life. The demon ran away and concealed inside the deep oceans which obstructed Brahma from nurturing the establishment of the universe. Owing to the fact that He was incapable of doing so, Brahma called Vishnu for assistance. It was during that time when Vishnu took the form of fish in order to get the Vedas back from the demon. Consequently, Vishnu took the avatar of Matsya, a one-horned fish, and swam into the hands of Satyavrata, who has also been the king of ancient Dravida-desa and renowned as Manu. Lord Vishnu, in his Matsya avatar then asked Manu for shelter from the predators in the ocean. In order to save the life of the fish, Manu took it

Meaning of life - Human Essay Example for Free

Meaning of life Human Essay I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Throughout my entire life, I have wondered what the purpose is. Why am I and every other human being even on this planet in the first place? That brings me to my next question. Is there a God? If there is, why did he put us here? Any Christian asked will say our sole purpose is to serve God. First of all, what does that even mean? And second, I must ask why? Why would a supernatural being place us strategically on this planet strictly to serve him? That sounds pretty selfish to me. There has to be something more. Something concrete. Something greater. How could there not be? All my life I have worked hard to succeed. I have challenged myself and fought to do better than my best. Why? I asked myself. Why stress so much when I’m only going to die in the end? Pessimistic, I know. Finally, I thought, maybe the meaning of life doesn’t have to be so complex. Maybe the meaning of life is whatever we want it to be. Maybe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. I do what I do because I want to do it. It’s that simple. I do it because it means something to me. Everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal. The meaning of life is never complex. The meaning of life is actually quite simple to think about. Many people help the needy. Others play sports. Both activities add meaning to those lives involved. Purposes change, but the overall meaning of life will always stay the same. The meaning of life is simply to give life a meaning. This I believe.

A Rose for Emily By William Faulkner :: Free Essay Writer

A Rose for Emily The following paper analyzes the William Faulkner story called A Rose for Emily. The paper discusses my thoughts and ideas about the story, and evaluates different elements of the story. The paper analyzes the style that the author uses in characterization, and a few specific methods used to convey the plot and lay out the scene mentally, giving specific examples in the story. Finally, I give my overall opinion of the story. I found the first paragraph very enticing; first drawing me in with the explanations of why all the townspeople attended her funeral. Then making me want to get a look into her house that only a few others had seen for so many years. The descriptions of the house with its â€Å"cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies† sparked memories of old houses in my neighborhood when I was growing up. The story quickly created strong mental images of contrasting scenery with the mention of the encroaching cotton gins, garages, and gas pumps around Emily’s grand, but decaying home on what the author calls a â€Å"select street†, (Xroads, 2005). The Author’s smooth use of imagery and language drew me deep into the story after only the first paragraph, and it just kept getting better. I enjoyed this story for a number of reasons, which included how the author laid out the plot. The story was not told in a chronological order, thus allowing relevant information to be pieced together in an interesting and different way. It started with Emily’s death, then jumped back in time and finally led to her ultimate demise. This play on time was carefully constructed so that it built suspense and anticipation in a way that a chronological story could not, (Xroads, 2005). I also enjoyed the story because of its gothic undertones. The author’s use of dark images such as the decaying mansion, dead bodies, and the morbid attraction of Emily to dead bodies was only part of the carefully crafted multi-layered story line that used descriptive language, characterization, and chronology to keep you on the edge of your seat, (Xroads, 2005). I also liked the way the author portrayed the characters in the story, especially Emily. One example is Emily’s characterization when she purchases the arsenic, looking through her â€Å"cold, haughty black eyes† which peer from a â€Å"face the flesh of which was strained across the temples and about the eye-sockets†, (Xroads, 2005).

America’s Working Poor Response

Tens of millions of men and women in America struggle because they are stressed out about not making enough money even though they are working as hard as possible. In her book Nickel and Dimmed, Journalist, Barbara Rehiring writes about her research working as a minimum wage employee attempting to get by in Americas tough economy, she describes in depth the struggles that the minimum wage workers suffer through and she witnesses them first hand as she goes under cover and works these Jobs herself.Middle class Jobs are being replaced by low income bobs, the people in these Jobs are referred to as â€Å"the working poor†,and are not able to make ends meet at the end of the month. People in America working minimum wage Jobs struggle on a daily bases to get by, this causes them anxiety due to their lack of a health care plan, living situations, and injuries that occur at work. Health insurance premiums are rising and some employers no longer offer this benefit, the low wage worker s are the ones that are particularly affected by this major issue.Employees without health coverage, are unable to get preventative care r proper treatment for an illness, may become sicker later on. In chapter one of her book â€Å"Serving in Florida† Rehiring describes her co worker Sail's situation, â€Å"Gall, for example,†¦ Is supposed to be on the company health plan by now, but they claim they have lost her application form and to be beginning the paper work all over again. So she spends $9 a pop for pills to control the migraines she wouldn't have, she insist, If her estrogen supplements were covered. (27) Without the company behind them, employees will end up paying more for Individual health coverage than their employers would have paid to put them on group coverage. Similar to Rehearing's situation, Morgan Spurious and his flange Alex attempt to survive 30 days living of a minimum wage salary, as n the TV episode â€Å"30 days: Minimum Wage†. In the ep isode there Is a scene where Splotch's hand Is Injured and swollen because of the manual labor he is doing. Due to the lack of medical Insurance he chooses to try out a free clinic provided by the community for the low Income families Instead of the emergency room.Once he Is there he realizes that getting checked by a doctor wont e so easy since there Is so many people In line and the clinic only takes the first twenty. He then has to resort to the emergency room where he Is charged more that he can afford to pay because of his low Income. Even though the communities attempt to help the working poor, not everyone Is available to take advantage of the benefits. While there Is no easy solution to the problem of health Insurance, It Is obvious that leaving employees on their own to find Insurance, rather than Glenn them the benefit of group rates, Is not the solution.America's Working Poor Response By carpenter kook â€Å"Serving in Florida† Rehiring describes her co worker Sail 's situation, â€Å"Gail, for she spends $9 a pop for pills to control the migraines she wouldn't have, she insist, if employees will end up paying more for individual health coverage than their there is a scene where Splotch's hand is injured and swollen because of the manual labor he is doing. Due to the lack of medical insurance he chooses to try out a free clinic provided by the community for the low income families instead of the emergency room.Once he is there he realizes that getting checked by a doctor wont e so easy since there is so many people in line and the clinic only takes the first twenty. He then has to resort to the emergency room where he is charged more that he can afford to pay because of his low income. Even though the communities attempt to help the working poor, not everyone is available to take advantage of the benefits. While there is no easy solution to the problem of health insurance, it is obvious that leaving employees on their own to find insurance, r ather than giving them the benefit of group rates, is not the solution.

How do the writers present sexuality and gender in Tales Of Ovid?

Gender roles have been continually redefined throughout literary history. The evolution of sexuality and gender is presented in Behind The Scenes At The Museum, A Streetcar Named Desire and Tales Of Ovid as driven by context and in particular patriarchal society. From Hughes’ classical presentation of a ‘human passion in extremis’[1], so strong that it ‘combusts, levitates, or mutates into an experience of the supernatural’[2] to Streetcar’s ‘succes de scandale’[3], dealing with sex to an extent, and in a manner not yet encountered on the stage and then Museum’s sterile and comical view of sex, the mutability of sexuality and gender has transcended generations but has been subject to contrasting literary perspectives. The degree of fluidity of gender can be clearly seen to mirror the context of societal and historical change within which the three works were created. In the introduction of Ovid, Hughes describes the significance of the tales being written at ‘the moment of the birth of Christ within the Roman Empire. The Greek/ Roman pantheon had fallen in on men’s heads’[4] and Hughes makes a clear attempt to equate Adonis with Jesus Christ, describing him as ‘the miraculous baby’[5] and ‘perfection’[6]. For all its Augustean stability, Rome was at sea in hysteria and despair, caught in a tension between the sufferings of the gladiatorial arena and ‘a searching for spiritual transcendence’. This era of volatility is reflected in the marked fluidity of sexuality in Hughes’ Ovidian world, where men and women becomes birds and trees. As such, identity itself is problematic; gender can no longer be exclusively prescriptive. According to Leo Curran, Ovid recognised the ‘fluidity, the breaking down of boundaries, due to the uncontrollable variety of nature and the unruliness of human passion. ’[7] Hughes unsettlingly explores this in the story of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, where the carnal nymph Salmacis rapes the bashful boy Hermaphroditus. You can read also  Similarities and Conflicts in † a Streetcar Named Desire† As he continues to struggle, she prays that ‘we never, never/ shall be separated, you and me’[8]. Her plea is hubristically answered and, ‘with a smile’, the gods look on as ‘the two bodies/ melted into a single body/ seamless as the water. ’[9] The conjunction of the two sexes seems incompatible as observed in the drowning of what a modern audience would recognise as a hermaphrodite. Hughes’ selection of this myth, with the same destructive conclusion as Ovid’s original, conveys the commingling of the two sexes as resulting in the debilitation of the male qualities, rather than their strengthening, thus presenting effeminacy pejoratively. The dissolution of gender boundaries is reiterated by Hughes in his story of Tiresias. Tiresias’ passage through femininity, ‘having lived and love in a woman’s body†¦and also in the body of a man’[10] leaves him with the unique experiences of both sexes. His knowledge about feminine pleasure, that women do, as Jupiter contends ‘end up with nine-tenths of the pleasure’, angers Jupiter and his revelation proves damaging as she blinds him. It takes only one man, formerly a woman, to destroy the reassuring view that placed wives beyond the influence of pleasure. Social upheaval was also explicit at the beginning of the 20th century. Two World Wars had, temporarily, shifted the gender power balance with women filling vacant male roles only for these to be reassumed in the 50’s. William’ Streetcar is an astute depiction of the continual metamorphosis gender roles were encountering in the struggle for supremacy, both at home and nationally between the Old South and the New America. In Streetcar, Blanche, as a manifestation of the antebellum, is taken away, leaving Stanley holding his new son. The new decedent acts as a symbol of the end of the decaying Du Bois line and a sort of victory for the new Kowalski family. As the Cambridge Companion To Tennessee Williams states ‘Theatregoers†¦ did not easily shake off lingering apprehensions that were born of the 1930’s depression and nurtured by the 1945 unleashing of nuclear weapons†¦ in this climate, the loose structure and morale ambiguities of Streetcar struck a chord of truth. ’[11] Furthermore, when Williams describes Stanley shouting ‘Sttellah! [12] in a ‘heaven splitting voice’, we see the further power of the Kowalskis, who have rocked the status quo to the same extent as Venus’ ‘doomed love’[13] in Ovid, that means she has ‘neglected even Olympus’[14]. Ted Hughes’ exploration of gender fluidity is a more progressive one, in that a 21st century audience is much more open to transgender and sexual deviance than Tennessee Williamsâ₠¬â„¢ contemporaries. Williams’ homosexuality was illegal for the greater part of his life, but he found ways, open or oblique, of speaking of them in his plays. There is, indeed, a real sense in which Williams is a product of his work. When he began to write he was plain Tom. The invention of ‘Tennessee' was not merely coterminous with the elaboration of theatrical fictions; it was of a piece with it. In that sense it is not entirely fanciful to suggest that he was the product of the discourse of his plays. Indeed he created female alter egos, such as Blanche in Streetcar, before he began, as he did in later life, to dress up as a woman[15]. Where did his work end and his life begin? The man who consigns Blanche to insanity later found himself in a straitjacket. As critic Hana Sambrook more explicitly notes ‘there are those who believe that the tragic figure of Blanche Dubois is a transsexual presentation of the promiscuity of Williams’ himself’[16]. Certainly, Blanche’s many ‘intimacies with strangers’[17], her unfeminine like licentiousness and charade of hypocrisy aligns Williams with his protagonist. For a man for whom the concealment of his true sexual identity was for long a necessity, the fragmentation of the self into multiple roles offered a possible refuge. Blanche enters the play an actress and Williams creates her character as a series of roles, by using structural techniques to focus the audience upon her even when off stage; heard bathing ‘serenely as a bell’[18] whilst singing obliviously in ‘contrapuntal’[19] contrast to the lurid revelations of her past being detailed by Stanley in the adjoining room. Blanche’s desire for disguise is a phony pretension, using the smoke and mirrors of her alcoholicism and fine clothing, to concoct an elaborate alternative reality she can abscond to, enabling her to ‘put on soft colours, the colours of butterfly wings, and glow’[20]. This indirect, dramatic language and vivid imagery is typical of her escapism and her view of herself as ‘delicate’[21] reinforces the image of Blanche as a fragile moth that pervades Williams’ stage directions. Despite this, Williams does not wholly present Blanche as a ‘faded Southern belle’[22] as some critics claim, but rather sheds a favourable light on Blanche’s attempts to protect and preserve the genteel values of the old Southern civilisation. Williams’ states that â€Å"Blanche was the most rational of all the characters [he’d] created†, evident in her contradictory wilful ignorance of the causes of the loss of Belle Reve, yet her understanding that the root cause was her family’s ‘epic fornications’. Williams also reveres Blanche as his ‘strongest character in many ways’[23] and her unique internal integrity of ‘Never inside, I didn’t lie in my heart’[24] has seen her resist the brutality and savagery of a relentless modern society. Thus, even to the very end of the play, Blanche has never yielded to any coarse violent actions and rude behaviour, crying â€Å"Fire! Fire! † during Mitch’s attempted rape and fighting Stanley to her physical limit with a broken bottle when eventually violated. When the big Matron tries to subdue her physically on the floor, she never stops resisting until the Doctor gently offers her his arm like a real gentleman. Blanche’s dignified leaving further indicates her spiritual integrity, as critic Robert James Cardullo[25] claims ‘Blanche’s ascension from crucifix pinioning on the floor and her spirited leading the way out of the hell of her sister’s home creates a moving tragic catharsis for the audience†¦ Blanche’s defeat has considerable aesthetic dignity’. Williams’ literature was strangely unmoved by the issue of gay rights and the issue of homosexuality that was so prominent in his private life, while clearly a strand in his work, was never a central theme and certainly never defended or promoted, neither publically nor politically. He seems to use Blanche as an expression of a conflict which clearly existed between his morality and sexuality, never to be resolved and never aired fully in his plays, despite its pertinence in the play’s political context. By contrast, in Behind The Scenes many aspects of life seem constant and the stability of gender roles seems to reflect this. In Museum, the past permeates the present and the present is doomed to replicate the past. The shop ghosts and objects such as the pink glass button that goes rolling down the years act as chronological touchstones and history repeats itself through the lives of successive women. Sophia, Alice, Nell and Bunty all lead lives marred by misery, disappointment and domestic drudgery. None of these women marry for love and all encounter marital strife. Alice, an impoverished widower marries Frederick in order to give up teaching, Nell marries Frank out of desperation, her two previous fiances having been killed in the war, and Bunty marries George when abandoned by her American fiance Bick. Thwarted in potential, trapped and unhappy, the women share a sense that they are ‘living the wrong life’[26]. Parallels between past and present create a sense of historical inevitability that is endorsed by a series of echoes between the lives of different women. Nell falls for Jack who has ‘high, sharp cheekbones†¦ like razor clam shells’[27] and by the end of the novel, Ruby has fallen for a strikingly similar Italian with cheeks ‘as sharp as knife blades’[28]. Bunty looks like Nell and Ruby looks like Alice. The latter pair both believe in ‘destiny’[29] and embrace it in the mistaken form of men. Alice, Bunty and Ruby have all ‘had enough’[30]. With typically perceptive narration for her tender age, Ruby accounts for this hereditarily as ‘one of those curious genetic whispers across time dictates that in moments of stress we will all (Nell, Bunty, my sisters, me) brush our hands across our foreheads in exactly the same way that Alice has just done’[31]. The reference to genes by Atkinson implies that behavioural patters are inherent and inescapable. Even Adrian, as the sole gay man in the novel, is presented in cliched terms as having an interest in hairdressing, his intimate conversation with a barman prompting a dramatically ironic exclamation of ‘that’s queer’[32] from the unwitting Uncle Clifford. Gender roles within all three texts are enforced through the sexual dominance of men over their female companions. Critic C. W. E Bigsby noted that ‘the shock of Streetcar†¦lay in the fact that this was the first American play in which sexuality was patently at the core of the lives of all its characters, a sexuality’[33]. Williams presents sex as having the power to redeem or destroy, to compound or negate the forces, which bore on those caught in a moment of great social change. The ‘gaudy seed bearer’[34] Stanley is a bestial representation of the new South and he uses his intense virility and sexual power to great effect. His sexual magnetism is exemplified by the symbolic package of meat thrown to a visibly delighted Stella in the opening scene. The connotations of his sexual proprietorship over Stella and her sexual infatuation with him are not lost on the watching Negro woman. In stark contrast, Bunty feigns deafness at the butcher’s ‘innuendo laced conversations’[35], exposing him as a ‘bluff parody of himself’[36]. Her caustic description of him as ‘a pig†¦smooth shiny skin stretched tightly over his buttery flesh’[37] is both comical and telling in her uptight rejection of his smutty behaviour. This mordant tone continues into the awkwardly comical depictions of male sexual supremacy in Behind The Scenes’ fornications. Ruby’s conception by a typically tipsy George and equally typically stoic Bunty who is ‘pretending to be asleep’[38], summarises well Atkinson’s presentation of a tired female submission to male virility in the repressed society of 40’s England. George’s demise is with his trouser round his ankles, a less than dignified ‘epileptic penguin[39]’, as the World Cup final ‘carries on regardless’[40] in another typically callous death of Behind The Scenes. This dominance leads to a trapping sexual dependence of women upon men, symbolically reflected by Williams in the eponymous streetcar, ‘bound for Desire, and then for the Cemeteries’[41]. The streetcar stands for Blanche’s headlong descent into disaster at the hands of her lust. Like the streetcar’s destination, Desire, the stop called Elysian Fields is an obvious symbol; an ironic fantasy however, as the Elysian Fields – the abode of the blessed dead in Greek mythology – turns out to be a rundown street in New Orleans. The very same symbol of the ‘rattle trap streetcar’[42] is used by both sisters in scene 4, as a euphemism for sexual experience. They speak explicitly of the ‘blunt desire’[43] that decides their choice. In answer to Stella’s question ‘haven’t you ever ridden on that street-car? [44] Blanche’s bitter riposte of ‘it brought me here’[45] displays both self-knowledge and self-condemnation of her current destitution. Ominously the matter-of-fact Stella offers no words of self-criticism prior to the only fleeting moment that she confronts her guilt; ‘oh god, what have I done to my sister? ’[46]. Moments later, in the middle of her ‘luxurious’[47] sobbing, she yields to Stanley’s lovemaking, compounding her guilt. This dependence is echoed in ‘Tiresias’ from Ted Hughes’ Ovid where women are said to take â€Å"nine tenths of the pleasure†[48] during sex. Men are vital for women to experience any sexual satisfaction and female desire ultimately renders them reliant and weakened. Their dependence is compounded by a financial reliance. Marxist feminist theory argues an economic dependence on men deprives women of the right to dominate their own fate, reducing them to existence by male affiliation. On â€Å"a teacher’s salary†¦barely sufficient for her living expenses†[49], Blanche ‘had to come [to New Orleans] for the summer’ as ‘[she] didn’t save a penny last year’[50]. In the wake of her husband’s suicide and the ‘epic fornications’[51] of her ‘grandfathers and father and uncles and brothers’[52], she is forced again to turn to men for financial support, depending, as is her mantra ‘on the kindness of strangers’[53]. Her attempted allurement of Stanley is based on the recognition that ‘maybe he is what we need to mix with our blood now that we’ve lost Belle Reve’[54]. Her spiral of desperation turns to Mitch and finally the nebulous millionaire Shep Huntleigh who comes to stand as a symbol of material strength of dependence and guarantee for women, more exactly for Blanche. Blanche recognises that Stella could be happier without her physically abusive husband, Stanley, yet her alternative of Shep still involves complete dependence on men. When Stella chooses to remain with Stanley, she chooses to rely on, love, and believe in a man instead of her sister. Williams does not necessarily criticise Stella—he makes it quite clear that Stanley represents a much more secure future than Blanche does. That Shep never materialises strongly suggests that if women place their hope and fortune on men, their oppressed and subordinate status can never be changed. Bunty, like Stella, who has to request that her husband â€Å"better give [her] some money†[55], confirms her reliance on George in having â€Å"no intention of working after her marriage†[56]. Bunty’s quest for stardom and self-discovery conflicts with a mode of motherhood that requires service, sacrifice, and selflessness. As she moves into adulthood during World War II, Bunty tries out a series of different quixotic identities in the search for selfhood; Deanna Durbin[57], Scarlett O’Hara[58] and Greer Garson[59]. However, as her family grows, her dreams diminish, and Bunty is forced to forgo a self she has not yet fully realised. The erosion of self is symbolised by the abbreviation of her name for Bernice, to Bunty, which George truncates to ‘Bunt’[60]. Ironically, George marries Bunty only because ‘he thinks she will be a big help in the shop’[61] and thus Bunty is comically presented as trapped in the role of the ‘Martyred wife’[62] despite her belief that marriage to George would free her from the graft that she imagines herself to be ‘above’. Ruby’s mock expression of pity in her narrative gives an account of Bunty’s woes in a sardonic tone; her tranquilisers are ‘Bunty’s little helpers’[63] and Atkinson’s pathetic portrayal of Bunty as put out but ultimately accepting of her role as a married woman contrasts with Williams’ poignant subdual of Blanche and Stella. Sexual and financial dominance coalesces in another tool for the subjugation of women; rape. Hughes presents his women in terms of capital value; Philomena is a ‘priceless gift’, available to ‘cash in your whole kingdom for’[64]. As a result of rape in Streetcar and Ovid, the victimised females are presented as devalued and diminished in ‘worth’ in the views of patriarchal society. Myrrha, ‘utterly disgusted with her life’[65] is described as ‘polluted’[66] and ‘contaminated’[67] in the wake of her incestuous act, which ‘removes [her] from life and death†¦ in some nerveless limbo’[68]. Male exploitation of Blanche’s sexuality has left her with an equally poor reputation. This notoriety makes Blanche an unattractive marriage prospect, but, because she is destitute, Blanche sees marriage as her only possibility for survival, trapping her in the cycle of submission to men. It is telling that Blanche’s rape is not condemned, and it can be argued that Williams portrays her violation as inevitable in patriarchal culture and also self-inflicted by her provocative behaviour, a controversial thought for a modern audience. In her ingratiation of Mitch, she uses all kinds of strategies to â€Å"deceive him enough to make him-want†[69] and conceals her true age, because â€Å"Men don’t want anything they get too easy. But men lose interest quickly†¦ when the girl is over-thirty†[70]. This represents the internalisation of patriarchal society that her behaviour has precipitated. Her trunk, symbolic of her own displaced and materialistic identity, is full of the flashy pretension of fake finery that she perceives men to desire, and the Chinese lampshade softens the glare of the Mitch’s gaze on her fading beauty and adds to the ‘magic’ Blanche desires; the dressing up of ugly reality. However, both are ultimately violated with a strong sense of dramatic irony. When first Mitch and then Stanley tear off the paper lantern, she cries out as in pain. The opening of the trunk becomes a divesture of interiority – Stanley’s question ‘what is them underneath? ’[71] becomes a central one as the trunk functions as a metonymy for some unchartered territory about to be fundamentally disrupted, but to no condemnation from the playwright. Similarly, even when the male hunter Actaeon is punished upon inadvertently offending the nakedly bathing goddess Diana with his sight, Hughes suggests that Actaeon’s crime was one of fortune: ‘Destiny, not guilt, was enough/For Actaeon. It is no crime/To lose your way in a dark wood’[72]. Hughes suggests here that Actaeon’s death is the necessary ordeal to lead him through hell to paradise. When sexual aggression or rape is exhibited by females however, the result and portrayal are markedly different. Salmacis and Blanche are remarkably alike in this respect. Salmacis is a naiad (a nymph who presided over springs and brooks) and as such is described in typically natural imagery as ‘perfect / as among damselflies’[73], ‘gathering lilies for a garland’[74]. This peaceful language of the natural world is tinged however with a more foreboding aggression in the ‘viper’[75] like elegance of her ‘sinewy otter’[76] like body, which portends her sexual experience in contrast to the innocent young boy Hermaphroditus, who blushes at the naming of love. Hughes places the emphasis on the feminine snares of the lascivious water nymph, who is aggressively sexual in a very Blanche like manner. She knows ‘she had to have [Hermaphroditus]’[77] and proceeds to unashamedly flirt, ‘checking her girdle†¦ her cleavage’[78]. Her sensual language is heightened by its inference of a taboo love with the incestuous reference of ‘what a lucky sister! As for the mother/ Who held you, and pushed her nipple between your lips/ I am already sick with envy’[79], exemplifying her sexual command over the boy, who refuses her advances without really knowing what she wants. He desires only to bathe and his obliviousness to her advances are indicative of his youth and inexperience but also his male gender precluding him from the experience of passion, as echoed in the ‘nine tenths of the pleasure’[80] that the female takes in Tiresias. Thus he becomes an easy prey and ‘Like a snake’[81] she ‘flings and locks her coils/ around him’[82], a ‘tangle of constrictors, nippled with suckers’[83] – the disturbing organic metaphors further exemplifying her atypical literary position as the female aggressor of rape. Throughout this scene however, Salmacis is never rendered as in sexual control; Hermaphroditus ‘will not surrender/ or yield the least kindness/ of the pleasure she longs for/ and rages for, and pleads for’[84]. Hughes’ implication of their demise as a result of their unnatural union is clear – the only way in which a woman can rape a man is if he is not clearly male. To conclude, in the words of an anonymous critic ‘gender roles figure so prominently in literature that they begin to take on a life of their own, whereas to become fluid in the mind of the writer and reader alike†¦ it is evident that when working with ambiguity, man and woman, whose boundaries are few and far between, become locked in a dimension of transmutation’. These words said of Ovid, offer a concise summary of the three works, applicable mainly to Hughes’ characters such as Salmacis and Tiresias, and Williams’ Blanche. Ultimately however, despite the differing time periods in which they were written the role of gender is an inextricable fibre in ancient, southern and modern literature. The three writers posit sexuality and gender contrastingly; Williams’ uncompromising ‘personally and socially powerful’[85] play, Hughes’ matter-of-fact narration and Atkinson’s comically cliched bildungsroman. A prominent similarity in the treatment of gender by all three authors is the ability of each to manipulate and intertwine not only their ideas of the gender line but also those of their contextual popular culture in order to effectively and complexly examine its role.

Brave New World Essays - Social Science Fiction, Utopian Novels

Brave New World Essays - Social Science Fiction, Utopian Novels Brave New World The ideas presented in Huxleys Brave New World are expressed as fundamental principles of utopia, which could be achieved by classism. However, living in a so-called utopia, comes with a price. In this society, every beings destiny is planned out while they are still in their bottles. Depending on their caste, each person has his or her clearly defined role. Community, Identity and Stability is the motto and prime goal of Huxleys utopia. This goal can only be achieved by having a society divided into five caste social groups, because in such a society it is easier to maintain overall control of the people. Classism is the key to achieving the three goals of utopia, because it helps the world controllers have control and power over the people. Every society needs individuals with different talents and capabilities to perform different functions. The class system makes it easier for the world controllers to categorize the people they create. That way, the society isnt lacking any talents. Mr. Foster said, Im working on a wonderful Delta-Minus ovary at this moment. (6) Due to classism, the creators know what kind of people are necessary to fulfill the particular needs of the time. They even have control over how people in each caste think. The director was talking about Deltas when he said, Theyll grow up with what psychologists used to call and instinctive hatred of books and flowers. (18) Classism is a way of organizing and keeping track of people so that the world controllers are in charge of achieving utopia. The new world maintains community by enforcing classism because each person belongs to a certain caste, which is their community. The lives of the people are organized in a way so that a person is almost never alone. The World States motto emphasizes the importance of the group and the subsequent unimportance of the individual. Community stresses the importance attached to the individual as a contributor to society. Everyone works for everyone else. We cant do without anyone. Even Epsilons are useful. We couldnt do without Epsilons. (66) This way, the Alpha community is no more important that the Epsilon community. Reference is made to the contribution the individual makes even after death. Now they recover over ninety-eight percent of it [Phosphorus]. More than a kilo and a half per adult corpse. Fine to think that we can go on being socially useful even after death. Making plants grow (65) The body is cremated and the phosphorus is obtained equally from every class, thus making each caste equally important. Therefore, a class system provides an organized way of insuring that everyone belongs and is useful to a community in this perfect world. Identity is in large part the result of having the ability to create different castes due to genetic engineering. A particular character is often spoken of as a Beta or an Alpha, as a means of identification. Peoples castes can also be identified by their job. Alphas invariably rule and Epsilons invariably toil. Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machines, the director s voice was almost tremulous with enthusiasm. (5) From this quote it can be concluded that the director has intelligence and must be an Alpha, while the workers must be either Deltas, Gammas, Epsilons or Morons. If the quote mentioned what kind of uniforms the workers were wearing, one could determine exactly what caste they belonged to. Eight-month-old babies all exactly alike (a Bokanovsky group, it was evident) and all (since their caste was Delta) dressed in khaki. (17) Castes are also distinguished by their uniforms. Although there are different ways of identifying people in the society, the true identity is determined by the class they belonged to. Stability means minimizing conflict and classism ensures that people in each caste are conditioned the same, because that way they could understand each other and conflict would be avoided. Since the individuals (according to their caste) had been conditioned physically and psychologically to perform specific tasks, they functioned happily in that capacity. Im so glad I am a Beta. Alpha children work much harder than we do because theyre so frightfully clever. I am really awfully glad Im Beta because I dont work as hard. (24) Conditioning definitely programs people of each caste to be in

Herbert Lehman Post-Racial Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Herbert Lehman Post-Racial Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Half a century ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dared to imagine what few others of his time would venture to consider; he dreamt of a society in which one is judged not by the color of ones skin, but by the content of his or her character. Has Kings dream manifested itself as reality? Because President Barack Obama was elected in 2008, can a man of color walk anywhere in this, the United States of Americathe greatest nation on Earthwithout the slightest consideration as to the pigment of his skin? Contrary to popular belief, ones race was and still is a significant part of ones lived experience, despite the election of Barack Obama. Analysis of elements of popular culture and societys perspective substantiates this claim. Forty-three men served as president of the United States of America prior to the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Of those forty-three men, how many are addressed as the first of their race (Irish, German, English, etc.) to win the presidency? Yet, when society names the 44th president of the United States of America, perspectives change and the topic of race takes precedence. President Barack Obama is not merely another serving his country in the office of president; rather, he is a black man before the word president is even mention. While the fact that he is an African-American is significant, it should not characterize him more as president than it does as a person. Evidently, society still sees the color of the presidents skin, before noticing his title, his achievements, and even his failures. Elements of popular culture share a similar myopic view. Music, being one the most defining aspects of a culture, contributes significantly to the development of a society, in which race is almost always a factor. Ironically enough, African-American artists can be blamed for the attention given to differences in race and even racist mentalities. For example, Hip-Hop artist, Young Jeezy in his song titled My President, tells about the triumph African-Americans have made with the election of President Barack Obama in 2008. The first line of the song: My president is black. What is that to say to the millions and millions of African-Americans that seek refuge in the words of Jeezys music? The song did not focus on the fact that Americans elected a competent man, but rather, a black man. Such music, so vast a fan base fed with little more than transient triumph on a racial level, discourages the growth and maturation of society; rather it encourages the ignorant and stereotypical views t hat have come to characterize a race. With the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, headlines and talk shows were fraught with the excitement of an African-American being elected president of the United States. Yet, the headlines about a Harvard graduate and Civil Rights activist garnered significantly less emphasis. In addition, artists and musicians sought to proclaim the triumph of African-Americans as a people, and not America as a nation with Obamas election. Evidently, the road to a race-blind society is a long one, littered with cultural distractions and unyielding racial perspectives.

The Answer to Petals Around the Rose Is ...

The Answer to Petals Around the Rose Is ... Petals Around the Rose is a puzzle game you play with dice and a friend who already knows how to play. The challenge is to answer the question how many petals are around the rose following each roll of the dice. The new player must use inductive reasoning to figure out what the rose is, what the petals are, and how to answer the question posed by the name of the game. How to Play Petals Around the Rose You need five dice (or more, if you want a harder game). They should be traditional dice with from one to six spots on each side. The player who already knows the answer to the game tosses the dice, looks at them and then tells the new player how many petals are around the rose, without revealing the logic behind the answer. The new player then tosses the dice. The player who knows the answer to the puzzle states how many petals there are around the rose of the new players toss without explaining how he arrived at the answer. The players continue to take turns tossing the dice. The player who knows the answer to the game states the number of petals around the rose of both his and the new players tosses, after giving the new player a chance to study his toss and figure out an answer. Eventually, the new player should figure out the secret and give the correct response. Just to confirm the player has solved the puzzle (and didnt make a lucky guess), he tosses the dice a few more times and states the correct answer each time. The Secret to Playing Petals Around the Rose When the dice are rolled, they come to rest with a single side facing upward. The rose is the dot in the center of an upward facing die side. The dice that show a one, three  and five sides each have a rose; the sides with two, four or six dots do not have a dot in the center of the die, so they do not have a rose. The petals are the dots that appear around the center dot (the rose). The one die doesnt have any petals because it doesnt have any dots other than the rose in the center. The two, four and six dies dont have any petals because they dont have a center rose. The three die has two petals around the center rose, while the five die has four petals around the center rose. On each toss of the dice, you need to look only at the dice that display a three and a five. They are the only numbers with both a rose and petals. Count the spots that are not in the center- two on a three die and four on a five die- and speak the total. That is the secret to playing the game.

Arab and Israel Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Arab and Israel Conflict - Essay Example Chapter threeIntroduction 23 Over View 24 Conflicting Issues 26 Conflict Resolution 28 Relation with Iran 32 Conclusion 33 References 38 Bibliography 41 It is rightly observed by the research scholars all across the globe that the word ‘change’ is the only constant thing in the world of today. The massive changes in the arena of international politics, information technology and communication process have immense influence upon the terms and the trades of the present day business and life. The impacts of globalization and privatization have made the world a small place to live in. The developments in the segment of information technology have proved to be very beneficial for other inventions and discoveries. Huge successes in the domain of communication processes have facilitated the general public to have access of the instant information. But the most important factor has been that of international politics that has considerable influence upon the life of all the people. The international politics of the last century

- Text The Handmaids Tale (Atwood) What is the purpose of morality Essay

- Text The Handmaids Tale (Atwood) What is the purpose of morality What are the pros and cons What is morality - Essay Example Whether it results in the reinstatement of moral values to the creation of a better world is the matter of concern here. Based on the principle that â€Å"no society ever strays completely far from its roots† (Curious Pursuits, 91), Atwood has created a future society reviving the trends and practices of the Nineteenth Century Puritanism. The novel, which is the outcome of composite factors like vast and thorough reading of history, extensive travel, first hand experiences of real despotisms and experience acquired through a membership in the Amnesty International, perpetrates the author’s conviction that totalitarian regimes breed fear and silence. In such an atmosphere, morality is also a degenerative instrument of torture at the hands of the dictators. Morality, when enforced, becomes nothing but oppression and invariably fails to serve its purpose. The term morality implies the ability to discern right, good and virtue from their counterparts. Human beings are endowed with the ability to rationalize and the free will to face crucial situations in life demanding the exercise of these faculties. Every society has its set of standards in morality, so also each individual. Various factors like cultural parameters, contemporary trends and individual preferences play vital roles in deciding and setting up these standards. The revival of Puritanism in the novel, with its dictatorial enforcement of standards of living pose an outrageous, dismal and despicable picture of an impending possibility fulfilling a dystopia’s mission of warning the world. The simulated American theocracy in the novel is patterned after the Old Testament standards. In the imaginary nation ‘The Republic of Gilead’ which is the United States of America in the distant future, women are withdrawn from the public spheres and are categorized according to the duties they

International operation and competition study of GlaxoSmithKline plc Essay

International operation and competition study of GlaxoSmithKline plc - Essay Example It is critical to increase the accessibility of the different pharmaceuticals and medicinal drugs manufactured by various countries across the world. Therefore, the international marketing processes followed by the companies in the global pharmaceutical industry and the analysis of the pharmaceutical industry are important aspects of the pharmaceutical industry landscape across the globe. The commercial success of the pharmaceutical company depends on reaching more number of customers and ensuring innovation of new medicines and other pharmaceuticals. Therefore the international marketing process of this giant company in the pharmaceutical industry is an interesting and challenging topic for studying. The aim of the study is to evaluate and assess the competitive and operating situations of GlaxoSmithKline plc. This study includes identifying and analysing the various challenges faced by the pharmaceutical company in its international marketing and operational processes. The different types of barriers and opportunities in the external environment of the company and the potentials and capabilities of the company are studied. Also, the various strategies followed by GlaxoSmithKline plc. to increase a diversified business across the world and to maintain sustainable competitive advantage in the changing global scenario are identified and analysed. The report is prepared with the aim to understand the international competitiveness and the global challenges and opportunities in the marketing processes of GlaxoSmithKline plc. Therefore the analysis of the macro environmental factors and the competition levels is done by the use of various popular tools like Michael Porter’s five forces, PESTEL analysis and Porter’s Generic Strategy. These tools have been implemented to understand the global competitive levels in the pharmaceutical industry and the impacts of these factors

Legal Forms of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Forms of Business - Essay Example In addition, where a single person can raise entire capital required to start a business in which he/she is the central service provider and wants full control. A partnership would be appropriate if the business’ ownership lies with a family or if capital contribution is done by more than one person (Ennico, 2010). Partnerships are typical in instances where the entity’s business line is not risky enough to warrant a more complex model. Limited liability partnerships are recommendable for small businesses that start off with one person or company as the owner but the need to expand by soliciting investments from other persons or companies. These new entrants are referred to as limited partners as their liabilities are limited to the business entity since they have no control of business operations. In such a scenario, the business’ daily operations are run by a general partner who is, therefore, liable for business debt unless the general partner is a company. Limited liability companies, on the other hand, are suitable for persons wishing to set up a business entity where owners’ liability for business debts and court judgements made against the company. This business form is appropriate for persons or companies that require a separate legal and tax entity from the owners , hence owners file their personal taxes from salaries and bonuses earned by the company (Mitchell, 2009). This is the most suitable form in instances where owners have massive assets that they wish to protect from business creditors, or the business conducted by the company is risky to warrant constant law suits from customers. S corporations would be suitable in instances where shareholders or owners would like to receive salaries that are considered â€Å"reasonable† by law. S corporations can also be set up when owners wish to make additional funds because funds retained by the entity after paying its

Homeland Security Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Homeland Security - Coursework Example The paper tells that signed by George Bush, The Patriot Act aims for uniting and strengthening America by providing appropriate tool required intercepting and obstructing terrorism. The United States Northern Command or NORTHCOM is a branch of the US military that defends the US against any possible mainland invasion. This unified Combatant Command is responsible for safeguarding the US from any air, land or sea attack that could potentially come from Mexico, Canada, Alaska or Puerto Rico. The National Infrastructure Protection Plan or NIPP is plan developed by the Department of Homeland security. The plans aims to bring together critical infrastructure and key resources in the country to act as protection for the country against any potential attacks According to this plan, the public and private sector needs to form a unified front in order to minimize risk for the country. Risk Management is a systematic task of identifying, evaluating, prioritizing and minimizing risk while also taking into consideration financial and other resource constraints that an organization may face. Signals Intelligence o SIGINT, as opposed to HUMINT, is intelligence gathered through the help of technology or more specifically signals. This includes both communications intelligence and electronic intelligence. National Response Framework or NRF is a part of the strategy developed by the Department of Homeland Security to bring the country together in the case of a disaster or emergency. The framework aims to improve the country's ability to manage incidents by covering all aspects of a disaster. The Posse Comitatus Act is an Federal law act enacted by the Congress in 1878. This act prevents the US military personnel to act as law enforcement agents within the United States. In this capacity, the law limits the power of the Federal government to enforce any state law in US.

Counseling clients Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Counseling clients - Essay Example The offenders used in this context and to which the assessment tool applies are adult offenders. The Prevention Assessment Tool or PAT has various domains that help explain the criminal behavior among adults. In the first domain, charges as well as referrals are employed to assess the possibility of re-offending by the adults. Referrals are included here if they have a qualifying disposition that may include adjudication withheld. The second domain helps to assess information. In initial assessments, behavior is assessed for the past six months. In the final assessment, behavior is assessed in the last four weeks and may incorporate a program administered for four weeks or less. The third domain focuses on employment and use of free time. It establishes what the adult offender does during his or her free time. Community service is also included in this domain and this information helps to evaluate the practicability of various programs used to correct conduct (Phipott&Grimme 2009). Incorporating this assessment tool will identify the various areas that require technical assistance. This action is possible because the tool is designed to evaluate various crime prevention needs. This tool is particularly helpful because it can access four basic sectors of justice. They include; cross-cutting issues, custodial and non-custodial measures, access to justice, as well as policing. This assessment tool is administered through paperwork. The assessment tool is, however, not designed to give an in-depth analysis of the offenders and their behaviors. The tool is meant to provide an initial assessment. This assessment is based on aspects such as crime concerns, problems and capacities, and the socio-economic situations. The tool also provides a concrete guide on issues that examine the needs for preventing crime both locally and nationally. The application of this tool also has

Homeland Security Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Homeland Security - Coursework Example The paper tells that signed by George Bush, The Patriot Act aims for uniting and strengthening America by providing appropriate tool required intercepting and obstructing terrorism. The United States Northern Command or NORTHCOM is a branch of the US military that defends the US against any possible mainland invasion. This unified Combatant Command is responsible for safeguarding the US from any air, land or sea attack that could potentially come from Mexico, Canada, Alaska or Puerto Rico. The National Infrastructure Protection Plan or NIPP is plan developed by the Department of Homeland security. The plans aims to bring together critical infrastructure and key resources in the country to act as protection for the country against any potential attacks According to this plan, the public and private sector needs to form a unified front in order to minimize risk for the country. Risk Management is a systematic task of identifying, evaluating, prioritizing and minimizing risk while also taking into consideration financial and other resource constraints that an organization may face. Signals Intelligence o SIGINT, as opposed to HUMINT, is intelligence gathered through the help of technology or more specifically signals. This includes both communications intelligence and electronic intelligence. National Response Framework or NRF is a part of the strategy developed by the Department of Homeland Security to bring the country together in the case of a disaster or emergency. The framework aims to improve the country's ability to manage incidents by covering all aspects of a disaster. The Posse Comitatus Act is an Federal law act enacted by the Congress in 1878. This act prevents the US military personnel to act as law enforcement agents within the United States. In this capacity, the law limits the power of the Federal government to enforce any state law in US.

FDA Authorization for the Next Generation Sequencer Essay

FDA Authorization for the Next Generation Sequencer - Essay Example It is apparent that different people respond differently to different drugs, and the use of genome sequencing will not only reveal the nature and susceptibility of illnesses, but it will also provide physicians with the specific prescriptions required (Collins & Hamburg, 2013). This technology could be used to develop the most appropriate treatment combinations for different patients suffering from cancer. With genomic sequencing, it is possible for doctors to identify the nature of cancer and predict its spreading patterns; hence, the new system will be instrumental in helping doctors deal with different forms of cancer more appropriately (Collins & Hamburg, 2013). The authorization of marketing for the genomic sequencer is a step closer to developing clinical care that is individually oriented. It is; however, clear that some issues like the absence of legal and regulatory policies for the new system will arise (Collins & Hamburg, 2013). There are signs that the authorities are com mitted to developing the most conducive policies to enable the effective and ethical application of the genomic sequencer. The use of the genomics sequencing technology has the potential to attract ethical issues like insurance companies being acquainted with genomic information about their clients, which could cause the development of exempted services that might be discriminating (Collins & Hamburg, 2013). Access to genomic information by physicians may also lead to substandard applications of the system. It is required that the development of accurate genomic information must be attained through thorough processes that may require recurrent experimentation (Collins & Hamburg, 2013). The FDA is collaborating with the National Institute for Standards and Technology to design the required interpretive material for physicians.  

The Importance of the Study of Literature to the Christian Essay Example for Free

The Importance of the Study of Literature to the Christian Essay After listening and reading lessons about the importance of the study of literature to the Christian, I agree with the fact that electronic media, mainly television is not valuable to study literature and there are two reasons that can validate my opinion. First of all, electronic media makes the society gets lazier. It is due to the fact that Lesson 2 states when people watch television, everything is done for them. People only use the emotional side of their brain and they do not have to think logically. As a result, people are getting lazier because they just accept without thinking by their own will. Second, people today are becoming reliant upon over using electronics. When it comes to actually hands on learning, people need to think for themselves and form images and then they can totally comprehend. Unlike watching television goes to short-term memory, it goes to long-term memory. For instance, it has always been benefiical for me to learn from reading and mirroring practice. When I was a seventh grader, my history teacher let us watch a documentary about modern history. I was dozing off in the middle of class. Also, during watching the documentary, it was easy to be distracted and let my attention wander. Hence, I could not concentrate on my class material and the memory was lasting no longer. It shows that studying with electronic media is not effective. Consequently, studying through electronic media is not essential to learn literature because society is becoming lazier by the day using electronic media to study and reading allows people to do critical thinking. If people start to realize that they do have choices, people should not have to depend on electronic media, especially television to study. All in all, people can think logically with their own volition and make their own decisions.

The Changing Role Of Women

The Changing Role Of Women Gender inequality is one of the enormous puzzles of contemporary society. In last several decades, a significant alteration has happened in higher education throughout much of the industrialized world. For the first time in history, females are completing their educational studies more than males are. However, the university majors are still highly gender separated. Nonetheless, the creation of womens studies programs at university level helps women to reach the gender equality. Also women have to overcome many restrictions connected with the business issues. Despite the fact, that in general, women participation in the Fortune 500 board seats has grown, on the average, the rate of increase is quite slow. Moreover the wage gap and the glass ceiling issues are still exist. Furthermore gender disparity in family remains an issue, despite the fact that the inequality has shifted and became less pronounced in the family life. Keywords: gender inequality in education, college majors, womens studies, sex disparity in business, Fortune 500, wage gap, glass ceiling, gender inequality in family, households, childrens gender, child custody. Gender Inequality: The Changing Role of Women throughout the Last 30 Years in U.S. Gender inequality is one of the enormous puzzles of contemporary society. Gender inequality refers to the unequal perceptions of individuals according to their gender. Males and females are unequal in every possible way in infinite circs, both immediate and enduring, by both objective aspect and subjective practice. Thus, what we can count as gender inequality? Can we describe it in methods that let us surely and fairly assess when there is more or less of it? Gender disparity occurs in the all areas of modern world. Education, business and family evoke the enormous amount of controversy in terms of gender disparity. Gender inequality in education has received significant consideration during recent years from researchers and educators. There are three main points that describe the gender inequality in education: preponderance of women who graduate from university compared to number of men, gender gap in terms of college majors and creation of womens studies. Although women overcame many restrictions connected with the business issues, however the gender gap in the managing positions, wage gap and glass ceiling are still exist. Moreover, gender disparity within the family remains an issue. Despite the fact, that women and men try to share all households, eventually females still doing more than males. Also the sex disparity appears in the perception of childs gender. In addition, the decision-making that refers to childrens custody after d ivorce shows the changing tendency that connected with gender inequality. Gender roles: are they really changing? Gender inequality in education In last several decades, a significant alteration has happened in higher education throughout much of the industrialized world. For the first time in history, females are completing their educational studies more than males are. Up until the 1990s, men have surpassed women in the number of undergraduate and graduate degrees that were completed in US. Since the 1990s, women have begun to attain greater equality with men and, in many cases, have exceeded men in regards to their educational achievement. According to a recent study by the U.S. Congress, females are now prospering as well as, or better than, males on many of the indicators of educational achievement. Interestingly, the huge gaps in educational achievement between males and females that once prevailed have been generally eradicated. In the United States, women currently earn 67 percent of all bachelors degrees. In a recent study McDaniel(2010) found that the demographics were that 61 percent Hispanics, 61 percent Native Am ericans, 54 percent Asians, and 57 percent White females attained college. Changing educational achievement rates for men and women could reinforce gender gaps in salary, the involvement of women in the labor force, and a huge variety of other labor market issues. The increasing ratio of college-educated women compared to men could change social tendencies in marriage: more women delay marriage, divorce or completely deny marriage. As we can see now, the traditional roles of woman are being altered because of the impact of educational access for women. The tendency for increasing numbers of women in higher education should explain not only how females have caught up to males in graduating from college, but also why the female percentage of the population surpassed and continues to increase as compared to the male rate for college graduation. Researchers have looked at sociological and economic ways that the study of educational achievement has evolved. The significance of women increasing their educational opportunities shows in changes in the labor market, where women need to have a higher degree than men to have an equal wage, or the goal to develop their special skills and talents. The second determinant of educational achievement is access to resources. The numerous studies confirmed that family-based financial, social, and cultural resources all play an important role in educational attainment (McDaniel, 2010). Research has begun to concentrate on a females advantage in education in the United States, but it is necessary to emphasize that womens rising tendency of graduation does not mean that the parity in the area of education has finally been reached. University majors are still highly gender separated. In most cases, women choose fields of study which usually bring in less money. The fields that are predominated by men are engineering, law, medicine, natural science and mathematics. The majors that are predominated by women are nursing, social science, teaching, and the humanities. The variety in choices of university majors between males and females is highly striking. In 2007-2009, among recipients of bachelors degrees in the United States, 13% of women majored in education compared to 4% of men, and only 4% of women majored in engineering compared to 14% of men (Evertsson et al., 2009). Unfortunately, in different mens majors women face the problem of gender inequality that connected with the gender perception. The sex differences in choice of major have recently been at the top of disputes on the reasons behind womens under-representation in science and engineering (Evertsson et al., 2009). Females are still considered as being less capable in succeeding in mathematics and natural sciences than males. However, the gender gap in math and science achievement tests is quite insignificant. It is also known that the gender gap has been declining over the past 20 years. One more important change that is connected to gender inequality in education is the creation of womens studies programs at university level. Since the first womens studies program was founded in the 1969-1970 academic year, over 600 schools have established programs (Carell, Page, West, 2010). Undoubtedly, the number of womens studies courses has continued to increase, from 449 in 1984, to 626 in 1994. Colleges and universities now offer about 2,000 womens studies programs (Carell et al., 2010). Today, womens studies are offered in many countries, though the extension of its institutionalization varies widely. The researchers state that the rise in high rate of womens studies has occurred due to the fact that women were always treated as a minority in the society, whose rights have been violated. So now it is considered as a great opportunity to learn about women. An appraisal of the disciplinary impact of womens studies will necessarily be continuous process, as womens studies and associated academic fields further develop. The researchers state that womens studies majors help females to enhance their feminist consciousness and personal self-esteem. Some researchers also point out that females who take part into womens studies changed their attitude towards the perception of men. Women became more likely to compete with men, despite the existing gender disparity. Its important to expand end develop womens studies in order to displace the harsh oppression often made regarding women and reduce the gender inequality. Gender disparity in business One substantial indicator that a society has achieved gender equality would be the existence of approximately equal number of males and females in executive positions. Despite the fact that in Western countries females have far more access to management positions than at any other period in history, equal picture is surely not present. Nonetheless, in recent decades the number of women entering the executive, managerial, or professional ranks in the U.S. has increased. However, these females are concentrated at lower levels of management. Across all economic areas, compared to males, females rarely occupy positions conferring major decision-making authority and the ability to affect others salary or preferment (Duehr Bono, 2006). During the last fifteen years, progression wasnt fast for females in the boards of the largest 500 US firms. The Fortune 500 is the rating of the top 500 United States publicly traded companies as measured by their gross incomes and is complied per annum by Fortune magazine. Women held 9.6 per cent of the Fortune boards seats in 1995, though by 2011 women held 19 per cent seats (Van Der Lippe, De Ruijter, Raub, 2011). Despite the fact that in general, women participation in the Fortune 500 board seats has grown, on the average, the rate of increase is quite slow. According to this rate of increase, it may need at least 70 years for women to attain equity with men on Fortune 500 boards. Females actions can encounter with greater examinations and their performance may be more sharply judged as long as women are not well represented on the board. In spite of the progression women have made, gender pay parity in the workplace is still a problem. In 1990 women earned only 60 cents for every dollar that men earned, implying a gender pay gap of 40 cents (or 40 percent). Although the gender pay gap had stood at roughly that level for decades, the 1995 a striking thing happened: the raw pay gap shrunk rapidly, and it has continued to shrink to this day ( Dey Hill, 2007). Economists analyze the gender wage gap using wage regressions-that is, statistical analyses specifying the relationship between wages and productivity- related characteristics for men and women (Hoque, DuBois, Fox- Cardamone, 2010). The survey concludes that some of the raw wage gap is due to varieties in the measured characteristics of males and females. The gender pay gap has become an essential attribute of the U.S. workstation and is so wide spread that many people believe that it is normal. In most fields college-educated females still earn less than their male co-workers earn, despite the equal working conditions that connected with hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors that are normally associated with payment system. Women tend to work in the nonprofit and local government areas, where salaries are statistically lower than those in the for-profit and federal government areas (Hoque et al., 2010). The pay parity is particularly a question of fairness. Women dont have enough resources to provide themselves and feed their families, when they are paid less compared to men for equal work. A lot of women experience deficiency is terms of savings as a result of the wage gap, especially when they reti re (Van Der Lippe et al., 2011). The pay inequality is an obstacle for females opportunity to negotiate in the workstation. Most couples tend to prioritize the higher-earning husbands well-being in child care, selection of residence, and other household decisions, because women earn less. The term glass ceiling was used in 1984 by the author of the Corporate Woman column in The Wall Street Journal to describe the process in the work area in USA and other countries. This author reported that an invisible obstacle serves to prevent all but a disproportionately few females from reaching the highest levels of the corporate hierarchy, oblivious of their achievement and merits ( KepHeart Schumacher, 2005). Researchers state that the glass ceiling in corporate America shows a few cracks now, but it is still firmly in place. The point is that the glass ceiling is not a hurdle for a person based on an individuals failure to cope with a higher-level job. It refers to females as a group who are kept from promoting because they are women. Unfortunately, many women who plan their promotion and expect high work positions may not be promoted not because they cant handle the higher-level job, but because they are women. This refers to a special kind of gender discrimination connecte d with the working area. Many researchers also report that despite the glass ceiling there is one more hurdle for female leaders today. That is the peculiar wall that exists at the top, in other words when women succeed in the process of the destruction of strong glass ceiling, then she face another barrier, which is the brick wall between their success and the traditional male hierarchies on the other side. Sometimes as a result, women are choosing to leave the workplace on their own consent, to participate only in family matters, or because they do not want the burden of the leader positions. Actually, women choose to leave corporate America, not so much because of the obvious obstacles previously outlined, but because they choose to establish their own businesses. In fact, the foundation of the owning a business is a very prosperous way of avoiding the glass ceiling concepts. Researchers state that 23% of the women interviewed providing disillusionment with the glass ceiling as the incentive for establishing their own businesses, also between 1997 and 2008, the number of women-owned companies increased by 19 % nationally, in addition, since 1999 there has been a 190 % increase in construction businesses and a 130 % increase in manufacturing businesses started by women ( Terjesen, Sealy, Sinqh, 2009). Moreover, over 2.46 trillion dollars in commerce are generated from female owned businesses. Females are also owners of 12.6 million privately held and majority owned corporations (Terjesen et al., 2009). Its impressive that women serve as employers to 19.5 million employee s; it means that the quarter of all employees work for a woman entrepreneur. These indexes prove the tremendous shift in direction of women entrepreneurism as the chosen approach to crack through the glass ceiling. Sex inequality within family During the last decades womens responsibilities within the family have changed a lot. Therefore, gender inequality acquired a new form due to participation of women in the labor force. The researchers claim that womens employment leads to more equal participation regarding households. Presently, females dont have enough free time to participate in a household as before. Thus, gender inequality has shifted and became less pronounced in the family life. Actually, it took a lot of efforts for women to acquire the same status as men have today. There are two aspects that underlie this change. The first aspect is connected to the womens position of power that she reached as a result of getting independent income. Women now have access to money resources, the opportunity to negotiate the allocation of responsibilities and tasks and became an important and reputable participant in the process of the decision making within the household (Minques, 2012). The second one refers to the females limitation of free time that led to the increase of mens participation in child care and other activities connected with the household. However, researchers state that the disproportional share of the burden of household still exists. Females are assigned more labor-intensive and time-consuming chores. Despite the increase of males participation in a household, men tend to be responsible for familial obligations that take less time and concentration (Mi nques,2012). It means that in spite of the fact that men share the households with their spouses, women still spend a lot of time doing their domestic duties. Another factor that shows the gender inequality within the family is connected to the gender of children. In spite of the statement that the contemporary families are less concerned about gender of their children and tend to have one child of each sex parents still have some preferences. Dahl and Moretti (as sited in Raley and Bianchi, 2006) argues that a number of pieces of evidences suggests that there continues to be a preference for sons, at least among fathers in the United States. For instance, they investigated that couples with two daughters proceed to a third birth than those with two sons. The researchers consider this finding as consistent with a preference for boys over girls. Whether or not parents have a preference in terms of gender of their child, they subconsciously set more hopes on boys than girls. Given past gender differences in adulà Ã‚ µ economic achievements, parents may assume that one gender, most often sons, will have higher economic achievement in adulthood (Raley Bianchi, 2006). In spite of the fact that a lot of couples emphasize that girls will be caregivers for them in the future, parents also suppose that their sons will help them financially, while daughters will spend most of the time in their own families doing households and taking care of children. The presumption that girls will devote the life to their own families as caregivers leads to another area in which couples seem to differentiate the involvement in house-work activities by sex ( Raley Bianchi, 2006). Although parents state that they allocate chores equally, girls do more household work overall. Because girls do more feminine households like cooking and cleaning and boys do more masculine chores as household repairs and outdoor works, its obvious that daughters will do more chores, because cleaning and cooking is a kind of everyday activity, what we cant say about repair. It is an obvious fact that during the long time in US gender inequality in terms of custody of children after parents divorce was in favor of women. However, that tendency has endured a huge surge of changes 25 years ago. National estimates in the 1970s and 80s indicated that women had sole custody of the children approximately 85% of the time, and men retained sole custody 10% of the time, with the remaining 5% spread over a variety of custody arrangements, including grandparent, split or joint custody ( Kalmijn, 2007). The rights of males in this issue has increased and changed for the better over time. Affected by fathers complaints of gender discrimination in custody decisions, constitutional concerns for parity protection, the feminist movement, and the entry of large numbers of females into the labor market, most states had replaced the standards that were based on the gender. Women lost one of their few benefits that refer to gender inequality. The researchers state that the fact that women became more independent and anxious about their career played not a good role for child custody decision-making. In 1980, 2.9 million mothers got sole custody of their children; by 1995 that situation had almost tripled. Nevertheless, by 2007 the number of fathers with sole custody increased by 4 times, while the number of mothers who got the sole custody decreased (DeGermo, Patras, Eap, 2008). Although the number of mothers who have the sole custody substantially prevails, the number of fathers who get the sole custody of children unceasingly grows. Despite all the changes and reforms, gender inequality still exists. Women are trying to avoid many obstacles that they face on their way to success and power. Unfortunately, women need to prove their capabilities in all areas much harder than men do and it does not matter if it is an education, or business, or family scope. Today women still face the gender inequality in terms of leadership positions, pay gap and glass ceiling. They also are unequal with men in area of different college majors and family responsibilities. Nevertheless, due to tremendous efforts, the gender disparity gave a crack in point of womens attendance to college and establishment of womens studies programs. It is well known that the modernity is a time of change and it is obvious that change in gender inequality will continue. But the question is how much time and efforts it will take and will we be satisfied with the results that we will finally receive?

Childhood Memories of Dad :: Descriptive Writing Examples

Cold winters, hot summers, pokey gravel, darkness, inconvenient tools and deterioration of the old hotrods. All of this came to an abrupt hault when a father and son's dream became a reality. A place of our own to operate without distractions. A place to bring our thoughts together and mechanically reconstruct cars and repair them within our own limits. This place that my dad and I started building would be known as "The Shop" or a.k.a. "Hopshop." This shop is the last project that my dad started and I was going to finish it. It all started by excavating the ground that would one-day support this shop. The shop plans had been previously made and were followed exactly. After the concrete was poured and steel beams were secured, it was ready to put the metal siding on. Within the concrete is our handprints and names, which makes it even more special to me. This sturdy architecture was unable to be finished because of the lack of expenses, after my dad's death. After that cold lonely winter, leading to the on coming year flew by very swiftly. I finally overcame my fear and decided that it was time to step up and find the will to complete the project. It took some time and money, but finally it was completed. It included automatic garage doors, sophisticated lighting system, a pellet stove for the cold winters and an air conditioner for the scorching summer. I moved all of our air tools, craftsman wrenches, sockets, vises, grinders, and the vehicles. In addition to the shop, there are things within the shop that have stories to them, making it what it is, such as the toolbox, Mustang, and Bronco. The Mustang was my dad's and it has been his since it was first manufactured. We were going to restore it to its original look that was established from my dad's artistic ability. Designing it with gloss black and flames coming from both fender wells. It had 20 inch racing slicks with a 4:11 positive track pushing 400 horses with its 302 boss engine. I remember how it used to smell, like hot dust leather and it used to suck me back in the seat almost giving me whiplash. We called The "Stang." It has been wrecked but only has a minor dent in its front right fender. The engine is now in my dad's 79 Ford but the

Monks Mystic Coffee Essay

1. Has Father Daniel Mary established a future direction for the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming? What is his vision for the monastery? What is his vision for Mystic Monk Coffee? What is the mission of the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming? Yes, Father Daniel Mary has established a future direction for the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming since he had a concrete and detailed vision and mission for the Mystic Monk Coffee and the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming. His vision for the monastery is to create a new Mount Carmel in the Rocky Mountains. He would also want to transform the small brotherhood of 13 monks living in a small house made as makeshift rectory into a 500-acre monastery that would include accommodations for 30 monks, a Gothic church, convent for Carmelite nuns, a retreat center for lay visitors, and a hermitage presented a formidable challenge. His vision for Mystic Monk Coffee is to be able to overcome his financial obstacle in buying the nearby ranch. The mission of the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming is to dedicate a life of prayer and worship, to live out their lives in the monastery, to vow on obedience, chastity and poverty and to sacrifice by living a cloistered religious life. 2. Does it appear that Father Daniel Mary has set definite objectives and performance targets for achieving his vision? Father Daniel Mary did not have a complete definite objectives and performance targets for achieving his vision, but then he had some like in wanting to obtain the ranch. He sold Mystic Monk coffees online (www.mysticmonkcoffee.com) in 12 ounces of bags for a price of $2.99. Their target was appealing to the Catholics, and about more than 69 million Americans were members of the Catholic Church. By producing high quality Arabica and organic Arabica beans, the monks were able to produce ground caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties in dark, medium, and light roasts and in different flavors as well making them to make great coffee. 3. What is Father Prior’s strategy for achieving his vision? What competitive advantage might Mystic Monk Coffee’s strategy produce? Father Prior’s strategy for achieving his vision is to use the $250,000 donation and the $75,000 they have earned during the first year of Mystic Monk Coffee-roasting operations then the remaining money, they would be getting from the Mystic Monk Coffee profit to buy the ranch for monastery. Strategies to promote Mystic Monk Coffee would be word of mouth, website (internet), calls/telephone, it offered a secular website. The competitive advantage would be the market niche that is focusing on the Catholics worldwide and the convenience of delivering the coffee into your home. 4. Is Mystic Monk Coffee’s strategy a money-maker? What is MMC’s business model? What is your assessment of Mystic Monk Coffee’s customer value proposition? Its profit formula? Its resources that enable it to create and deliver value to customers? Yes, Mystic Monk Coffee’s strategy is a money-maker. Its business model tends to maximize all the resources that they have so that they could buy a larger coffee roaster to produce larger amount of coffee. Resulting to an increase in coffee sales and bigger market. The sales will be then use to buy the Irma Lake Ranch. This plan, as like what is stated in the study, will minimize the effect of the monk’s monastic constraints and maximize the potential of monastic opportunities. 5. Does the strategy qualify as a winning strategy? Why or why not? For this particular question, there is actually a three tests for this. All three questions must be first answered to know if MMC’s strategy qualify as a winning strategy. a. How well does the strategy fit the company’s situation? It perfectly fit the company’s situation. They need funds for them to be able to buy the ranch. So what they are planning to do is to expand the coffee business by buying a larger roaster, targeting more people, and including wholesales to churches and local coffee shops. This strategy is suitable to the internal and external situation of MMC. b. Is the strategy helping the company achieve a sustainable competitive advantage? Yes, it is. By targeting people from the Catholic community, they already have acquired loyal customers who keeps on purchasing their high quality and organic coffee. It also helped in advertising MMC products through word-of-mouth. And these makes MMC more appealing to consumers rather than any other brands of coffee. c. Is the strategy producing good company performance? I believe it is. The company’s financial performance did well in its first year of operation by having an average of $56,500 sales of coffee and coffee accessories. 6. What recommendations would you make to Father Daniel Mary in terms of crafting and executing strategy for the monastery’s coffee operations? Are changed needed in its long-term direction? its objectives? its strategy? its approach to strategy execution? Explain. I would recommend Father Daniel that in the next period of MMC, he should broaden his target market. Still, the Catholic community will be its major market. But, it might create some â€Å"discrimination† factor to other religious groups in years after. They might think that just because they are not Catholic, they cannot buy MCC’s products. On the other hand, the strategy must be changed if the goal is different because it might not worked if it is already not fitted to MCC’s goal/s.

Kingfisher Case Study

EISSN 2277-4955 THE KING WITHOUT FISHES†¦!!! [CASE ON CRISIS OF KINGFISHER AIRLINES] Prof. Bhavik M. Panchasara Marwadi Education Foundation’s Group of Institutions, RajKot, [email  protected] com ABSTRACT Indian Aviation Industry is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. But nowadays it is in the news due to different reason. And that is the failure of one of the leading aviation player – Kingfisher Airlines. The airline has been facing financial issues for many years. Till December 2011; Kingfisher Airlines had the second largest share in India's domestic air travel market.However due to the severe financial crisis faced by the airline, it has the fifth largest market share currently. Even the company have no funds to pay the salaries to the employees and is facing several other issues like fuel dues; aircraft lease rental dues, service tax dues and bank arrears. This case outlines the financial turmoil of the Kingfisher in detail. Keywords: Aviation industry, Kingfisher Airlines, financial turmoil, financial issues, crisis and debt restructuring INTRODUCTION: Kingfisher Airlines is an airline group based in India.Its head office is The Qube in Andheri (East), Mumbai; and Registered Office in UB City, Bangalore. Kingfisher Airlines was established in 2003. It is owned by the Bengaluru based United Breweries Group. Kingfisher Airlines, through its parent company United Breweries Group, has a 50% stake in low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red. The airline started commercial operations in 9 May 2005 with a fleet of four new Airbus A320-200s operating a flight from Mumbai to Delhi. It started its international operations on 3 September 2008 by connecting Bengaluru with London.The airline has been facing financial issues for many years. Till December 2011; Kingfisher Airlines had the second largest share in India's domestic air travel market. However due to the severe financial crisis faced by the airline, it has the fifth largest market s hare currently, only above Go Air. Kingfisher Airlines is one of the only seven airlines awarded 5star rating by Skytrax along with Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Hainan Airlines. Kingfisher operates 250 daily flights with regional and long-haul international services.In May 2009, Kingfisher Airlines carried more than 1 million passengers, giving it the highest market share among airlines in India. Kingfisher also owns the Skytrax award for India's best airline of the year 2011. BAUDDHIK VOLUME 3, NO. -1, JAN-APRIL-2012 84 EISSN 2277-4955 STARTING OF THE CRISES: Ever since the airline commenced operations in 2005, the company is reporting the losses. But the situation became more horrible after acquiring the Air Deccan in 2007. After acquiring the Air Deccan, the company suffered a loss of over Rs. 1,000 crore for three executive years. By early 2012, the airline accumulated the losses of over Rs. ,000 crore with half of it s fleet grounded and several members of its staff going on strike. Following table 1 highlights losses of the company since inception: Table 1: Net Reported Losses and debts since inception (Rs. In Crores) Year Loss Secured Loans Unsecured Loans Mar-11 -1027. 4 5,184. 53 1,872. 55 Mar-10 -1646. 22 4,842. 43 3,080. 17 Mar-09 -1608. 83 2,622. 52 3,043. 04 Mar-08 -188. 14 592. 38 342. 00 Jun-07 -419. 58 716. 71 200. 00 Jun-06 -340. 55 448. 16 3. 50 Mar-05 -16. 79 159. 42 125. 06 DEBT RESTRUCTURING: In the situation of loss and tough financial condition, the company went for more loans.Table 1 shows the portion of secured and unsecured loans taken by the company. Due to heavy burden of debt and interest, in November 2010, the company adopted the way of debt restructuring and under that total 18 leading lenders, those have landed total Rs. 8,000 crores, agreed to cut interest rates and convert part of loans to equity. As per the contract, lenders have converted Rs. 650 crores debt into p reference shares which will be converted into equity when the company lists the on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange by selling global depositary receipts (GDR).Shares will be converted into ordinary equity at the price at which the GDRs are sold to investors. Besides the 1,400 crore debt which will be 800 crore converted into preference shares, another CRISIS TILL CONTINUE: Debt restructuring also couldn’t change the game. By restructuring, company had reduced the interest charges by Rs. 500 crores every year, but due to the high leverage condition and increase in cost, the company started to face the liquidity problem. The company had no funds in hand and it created the following payment problems.DELAYED SALARY: Kingfisher Airline has staff strength of 6,000 and spends 58 crore on salaries a month. According 173. 66 to the first quarter financial results, it has increased from crore under the employees cost head, which has 163. 40 crore during the same quarter last year. Kingfi sher Airlines delayed salaries of its employees in August 2011, and for four months in succession from October 2011 to January 2012. Kingfisher also defaulted on paying the Tax Deducted at Source from the employee income to the tax department. debt has been converted into redeemable shares for 12 years.Due to debt restructuring, the company able to down the average interest rate to 11% and to save Rs. 500 crores every year in interest cost. BAUDDHIK VOLUME 3, NO. -1, JAN-APRIL-2012 85 EISSN 2277-4955 FUEL DUES: In the past several years, Kingfisher airlines had trouble paying their fuel bills. Due non-payment, several Kingfisher's vendors had filed winding up petition with the High Court. As on Nov 2011, winding up petition of seven creditors was pending before the Bangalore High Court. In the past Lufthansa Technik & Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) had also filed winding up petition against Kingfisher Airlines.Here are some cases: ? ? HPCL: In Jul 2011, Hindustan Petrol eum Corporation Limited (HPCL) stopped the fuel (ATF) supplies for about two hours to Kingfisher airlines owing to the non-payment of dues. Situation was later resolved. ? BPCL: Bharat Petroleum Corporation in 2009 had filed a case against Kingfisher airlines for non-payment of dues. High court in an order said that the entire amount 245 crore had to be paid by Nov 2010 and the airline paid it in instalments. AIRCRAFT LEASE RENTAL DUES: Since 2008, it has been reported that Kingfisher Airlines has been unable to pay the aircraft lease rentals on time.Due to that, the Kingfisher Airlines has grounded 15 out of 66 aircraft in its fleet as it was unable to meet the maintenance and overhaul expenses. Here are the some major issues with: ? GECAS: In Nov 2008, GE Commercial Aviation Services threatened to repossess 04 leased planes in lieu of default. Kingfisher Airlines initially BAUDDHIK On 9 December 2011, S. K. Goel, chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) announced that CBEC is considering legal action against Kingfisher for not paying service tax. As on 10th Jan 2012, Kingfisher Airlines has service tax arrears of 70 crore.The Ministry of Finance has given a concession to Kingfisher and instructed them to pay the dues by 31st Mar 2012. In Jan 2012, SERVICE TAX: Kingfisher received a notice from the Airports Authority of India on February 2012 regarding accumulated dues of 255. 06 crore. The airline was operating on a cash and carry basis for the last six months, with daily payments amounting to 0. 8 crore. AAI REPORTS: DVB: In Jul 2010, DVB Aviation Finance Asia Ltd (a lessor from Singapore), sued Kingfisher Airlines for lease rental default.Case was filed in a UK court on Jul 16, 2010 after Kingfisher did not pay for three month lease rental for A320 aircraft it leased from DVB. denied that it missed the payments. GECAS had filed a complaint with DGCA saying Kingfisher had defaulted on rentals for four A320 aircraft, and sought repossession of th e planes. In Jan 2009, The Karnataka High Court rejected petition by Kingfisher Airlines to restrain GECAS from taking any step to deregister and repossess the 04 aircraft in dispute. As a result, Kingfisher had to return the A320 aircraft to GECAS. VOLUME 3, NO. -1, JAN-APRIL-2012 87EISSN 2277-4955 Kingfisher paid 20 crore towards its dues for operational by February 20. With this, Kingfisher's market share clearly dropped to 11. 3%. The cancellation of the flights was accompanied by a BANK ARREARS: Kingfisher Airlines had not paid some bankers (Lenders) as per the Debt Recast Package (DRP) with lending banks. Till the end of Dec 2011, the arrears were estimated to be 260 crore to 280 crore. Lenders hence had told Kingfisher Airlines to clear its dues before they can release any more money sought by the Airline. Ravi Nedungadi, chief financial officer of UB Group however said that the arrears were 180 crore.State Bank of India (SBI) on 5th Jan 2012 declared Kingfisher Airlines a NP A. SBI is largest creditor and the leader of the consortium of banks in the DRP (Debt Recast Package) and has an exposure of NPA by following banks: State Bank of India Bank of Baroda Punjab National Bank IDBI Central bank of India Bank of India Corporation Bank THE CRISIS CONTINUE: During late February, 2012, Kingfisher Airlines started to sink into a fresh crisis. Several flights were cancelled and aircraft were grounded. The airline shut down most international short-haul operations and also temporarily closed bookings.Out of the 64 aircraft, only 22 were known to be 1,457. 78 crore. Thus, by Feb 2012, Kingfisher has been declared 13. 5% drop in the stocks of the company on 20 February 2012. The CEO of the airlines, Sanjay Agarwal was summoned by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to explain the disruptions of the operations. The State Bank of India, which is the lead lender to Kingfisher airlines said that they would not consider giving any more loans to Kingfisher unless and until it comes up with a new equity by itself. Political activists also claimed that bailing or helping a private airline would lead to problems within the Government.By February 27, Kingfisher operated only above 150 out of its 400 flights and only 28 aircraft were functional. Reuters reported that if Kingfisher were to shutdown, it would be the biggest failure in the History of Indian Aviation. It was announced that the direct flights to the smaller airports of Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Nagpur and also to Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport were all shut down and only one/two-stop flights from its main hubs of Delhi and Mumbai would operate. In response to a situation as bad as bankruptcy, Vijay Mallya announced that he had organized funds to pay all the employees' overdue salaries.With bank accounts frozen and huge debts due, it is unknown so as from where he arranged the money. But he apologized to his workers and said that he would pay them immediately. By thi s time, kingfisher had accumulated losses of 444 crore during the third quarter of the fiscal year 2011-12. December 2011 and part of the arrears. BAUDDHIK VOLUME 3, NO. -1, JAN-APRIL-2012 88 EISSN 2277-4955 FROZEN BANK ACCOUNTS: On March 3, 2012, The Central Board of Excise & Customs of India froze many more Kingfisher accounts as it was unable to pay all the dues as per schedule. Kingfisher was meant to pay 1 crore per working day.Aviation minister Ajit Singh warned the airline about the temporary suspension of the license until the crisis was sorted out. He announced that the rest of the airline's fleet would be grounded and all flights cancelled until the crisis came to an end. This would be only one step from permanently closing the airline. IATA SUSPENSION: On March 7, 2012 IATA suspended ticket sales of Kingfisher airlines citing non-payment of dues as the primary reason, and they said that sales services will only be restored once Kingfisher settles ICH (IATA Clearing House) account.IATA also immediately directed all travel agents to stop booking tickets for Kingfisher. This would affect Kingfisher's business by around 30%. Kingfisher claimed that frozen bank accounts was the main cause of being unable to pay the IATA, and the airline started making alternate arrangements for the sale of tickets. Soon it became difficult for the airline to follow the much smaller schedule that it earlier released as even more pilots began to go on strike. UNCERTAINTY AHEAD: After analysing the entire scenario, there are strong possibilities of more difficult situation in the last month of fiscal year 2011-12.The company is in dilemma of finding help, but from where? 2. TEACHING NOTES 1. The purpose of the case is to make the students aware about the situation of financial crisis in any organisation. The issues involved in the case are about the financial turmoil and its effects on the business and market share of the company. 3. 4. 2. 1. Is the Problem of Kingfisher Ai rlines Industry Specific or Company Specific? What is the Impact of High Level of Debt on the operating performance of company? Should Government bailout Kingfisher Airlines? According to you, what are the possible ways for the company to overcome this situation?QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: Government has refused for bailing and all the lenders and bankers have no more trust. The employees are also not able to tolerate the salary crisis and the slipping market share leads the more difficulties. Promoter Vijay Malya has to decide the way ahead. Whether is it possible to save the company? There are very few alternatives. As per the previous news, Etihad Airways was interested in investing in Kingfisher by providing equity in exchange for a stake in the airline. Also involved in the talks was the International Airlines Group, owner of British flag carrier British Airways and Spanish flag carrier Iberia.But the question is the permission by Government. So at present there is very tough situ ation for Vijay Malya and for the company. Will new fiscal year bring any solution for the company? Let’s wait and watch. BAUDDHIK VOLUME 3, NO. -1, JAN-APRIL-2012 89 EISSN 2277-4955 3. The case would be first given for individual reading for 15 min and then for 15 min the case can be discussed in groups of 4-5 students. 4. The case can be taught along with the concepts like ways to overcome the crisis and surviving strategies required to save the organisation keeping in mind the possible different options available. 5.The students can come prepared with topics of prevailing crisis in Indian aviation industry and REFERENCES: 6. other factors related to the aviation industry in detail. Cross reference can be made taking into account the strategies used by the local, market of the falling organisation. national and international players to capture the slipping http://www. flykingfisher. com/mediacenter/press-releases/kingfisher-airlinesannouncement. aspx http://in. finance. yah oo. com/news/kingfisherairlines-q3-loss-widens-033419822. html http://timesofindia. indiatimes. com/india/Kingfi sher†¦ /12258986. cms http://articles. economictimes. ndiatimes. com/2 011-12-08/news/30490358_1_pilots-industrialaction-kingfisher airlines http://profit. ndtv. com/News/Article/aai-warnskingfisher-airlines-to-settle-dues-297284 http://articles. economictimes. indiatimes. com/2 010-09-26/news/27585421_1_cash-and-carrymode-bpcl-s chairman-kingfisher-airlines http://timesofindia. indiatimes. com/business/indiabusiness/Kingfisher-may-have-to-weather-pilotstorm-next/articleshow/12214372. cms Annexure 1: Market share of Kingfisher Airlines as on January 2012 in the domestic Aviation Airline/Company Jet Airways (Including Jet Lite) Indigo Air India Spice Jet Kingfisher Go Air Share 28. 8% 20. 8% 17. 1% 16. 3% 11. 3% 5. 8% Source: http://in. finance. yahoo. com/news/kingfisher-airlines-q3-loss-widens-033419822. html BAUDDHIK VOLUME 3, NO. -1, JAN-APRIL-2012 90 EISSN 2277-4 955 Annexure 2: Price Movement and Performance Charts of Kingfisher Airlines Annexure 3: Index Comparison and Ownership Pattern of Kingfisher Airlines Source:http://www. bseindia. com/bseplus/StockReach/AdvanceStockReach. aspx? scripcode=532747 Annexure 4: Comparative Balance Sheet of Kingfisher Airlines [Rs. In crores] Sources Of Funds Total Share Capital Equity Share Capital Share Appl.Money Pref. Share Capital Reserves Net worth Mar '11 1,050. 88 497. 78 2. 95 553. 10 -4,005. 02 -2,951. 19 Mar '10 362. 91 265. 91 7. 48 97. 00 -4,268. 84 -3,898. 45 Mar '09 362. 91 265. 91 8. 11 97. 00 -2,496. 36 -2,125. 34 Mar '08 135. 80 135. 80 10. 09 0. 00 52. 99 198. 88 Jun '07 135. 47 135. 47 0. 00 0. 00 249. 23 384. 70 Jun '06 98. 18 98. 18 0. 00 0. 00 125. 95 224. 13 Mar’05 16. 20 16. 20 0. 00 0. 00 -2. 54 13. 66 BAUDDHIK VOLUME 3, NO. -1, JAN-APRIL-2012 85 EISSN 2277-4955 Secured Loans Unsecured Loans Total Debt Total Liabilities Application Of Funds Gross Block Less: Accum.Dep. Net Block Capital WIP Investments Inventories Sundry Debtors Cash & Bank Bal. Total CA Loans & Adv. FDs CA, Loans & Adv. Current Liabilities Provisions Total CL & Prov. Net Current Assets Misc. Expenses Total Assets 2,254. 26 682. 37 1,571. 89 673. 35 0. 05 187. 65 440. 53 88. 18 716. 36 5,380. 19 164. 18 6,260. 73 4,463. 86 62. 11 4,525. 97 1,734. 76 125. 84 4,105. 89 2,048. 14 493. 62 1,554. 52 980. 61 0. 05 164. 88 322. 49 50. 91 538. 28 4,604. 31 155. 56 5,298. 15 3,908. 03 46. 77 3,954. 80 1,343. 35 145. 64 4,024. 17 1,891. 80 316. 29 1,575. 51 1,630. 95 0. 05 147. 5 229. 84 49. 41 426. 50 3,640. 42 122. 45 4,189. 37 3,814. 63 45. 55 3,860. 18 329. 19 4. 51 3,540. 21 322. 33 43. 55 278. 78 346. 25 0. 00 48. 64 27. 16 5. 84 81. 64 832. 49 274. 29 1,188. 42 687. 31 9. 52 696. 83 491. 59 16. 64 1,133. 26 340. 77 33. 74 307. 03 357. 62 0. 41 61. 62 35. 24 422. 05 518. 91 149. 77 395. 00 1,063. 68 449. 15 6. 94 456. 09 607. 59 28. 75 1,301. 40 247. 33 16. 40 230. 93 286. 53 0. 41 57. 2 6 13. 06 181. 17 251. 49 232. 03 75. 31 558. 83 434. 05 5. 93 439. 98 118. 85 39. 08 675. 80 55. 25 4. 52 50. 73 153. 09 0. 45 36. 40 8. 27 47. 08 91. 75 47. 8 35. 85 174. 88 108. 77 1. 07 109. 84 65. 04 28. 83 298. 14 5,184. 53 1,872. 55 7,057. 08 4,105. 89 4,842. 43 3,080. 17 7,922. 60 4,024. 15 2,622. 52 3,043. 04 5,665. 56 3,540. 22 592. 38 342. 00 934. 38 1,133. 26 716. 71 200. 00 916. 71 1,301. 41 448. 16 3. 50 451. 66 657. 79 159. 42 125. 06 284. 48 298. 14 Source:http://www. moneycontrol. com/financials/kingfisherairlines/balancesheet/KA02#KA02 Annexure 5: Comparative P A/c of Kingfisher Airlines [Rs. In crores] Income Net Sales Other Income Total Income Expenditure Raw Materials Power & Fuel Cost Employee Cost Other Manu.Exp. Sell. & Admn Exp. 56. 69 2,274. 03 680. 54 1,192. 80 997. 34 40. 89 1,802. 99 689. 38 1,108. 82 996. 85 51. 19 2,602. 62 825. 42 1,112. 85 1,062. 74 43. 79 889. 30 244. 96 408. 21 180. 39 45. 94 979. 50 247. 72 617. 56 146. 78 36. 73 625. 45 163. 04 42 5. 48 114. 38 5. 77 92. 98 31. 76 104. 78 29. 13 Mar '11 6,233. 38 81. 58 6,314. 96 Mar '10 5,067. 92 -333. 30 4,734. 62 Mar '09 5,269. 17 598. 90 5,868. 07 Mar '08 1,456. 28 113. 62 1,569. 90 Jun '07 1,800. 21 342. 10 2,142. 31 Jun’06 1285. 42 59. 64 1345. 06 Mar’05 305. 55 14. 73 320. 28 BAUDDHIK VOLUME 3, NO. 1, JAN-APRIL-2012 86 EISSN 2277-4955 Misc. Exp. Total Expenses PBDIT Interest PBDT Depreciation Other Written Off Profit Before Tax Extra-ordinary items Tax Reported Net Profit Shares in issue (lakhs) EPS (Rs) Equity Dividend (%) Book Value (Rs) Per share data (annualised) 4,977. 79 -20. 64 0. 00 -70. 46 2,659. 09 -61. 95 0. 00 -150. 54 2,659. 09 -60. 50 0. 00 -83. 88 1,357. 99 -13. 85 0. 00 13. 90 1,354. 70 -30. 97 0. 00 28. 40 981. 82 -34. 69 0. 00 22. 83 31. 06 -54. 05 0. 00 43. 96 87. 94 5,289. 34 1,025. 62 2,340. 32 -1,314. 70 203. 02 38. 01 -1,555. 73 72. 99 -455. 35