1812 Overture Essays

1812 Overture Essays 1812 Overture Paper 1812 Overture Paper The 1812 Overture, composed by Peter Tchaikovsky is the most widely regonized piece of classical music. The 1812 Overture was written to commerate the victory of Russia in the Napoleonic War in 1812. The defeat of this battle marked the start of the long and disastrous retreat that destroyed Napoleon and his army. In 1880, the Russian composer Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write an uplifting and patriotic piece to immortalize Napoleons defeat and celebrate the liberation of the Russians. Cannons would have been used during the actual conflict, they are very significant in the piece. Its first performance was in Moscow in 1882. Tchaikovsky was a respected musician of his time and was well-suited to accomplish this task. His sensitivity and excitable temperament, was so freely expressed in his music. By the age of 23, he had devoted himself entirely to music up until now. Living in poverty, he worked so hard that he suffered greatly from, depression and insomnia, with frequent nightmares. His great gift for melody, brilliant orchestral colour and strong emotional expression, delighted audiences. The 1812 Overture represents various aspects of the Russian involvement in the Napoleonic war. The composition is arranged to reflect specific battles and victories during this time. It calmly opens with an introduction of a Russian Church chant, recalling the declaration of war that was announced at church services. The introduction of the horns represent the marching armies. There is a section of this piece where the French national anthem is embedded and this is to represent the French victory in the war and the capture of Moscow. In the next section of this piece there is an overtone of a Russian folk dance theme, this is to commerate the Russian army battle beating back Napoleon. The music becomes noticably softer, this is used to reflect the retreat from Moscow by the French. The famous cannons are symbolic to reflect the Russian army advancing to the French border. This piece ends with a victorious Russian National anthem. The Russian anthem is to symbolic counterpoint the French anthem earlier in the piece. Tchaikovsky had successfully captured all the drama and emotions of war, from the battles to the victory, in this piece, which today has become one of the most recognized classical pieces.

5 Keys to Better Sentence Flow

5 Keys to Better Sentence Flow 5 Keys to Better Sentence Flow 5 Keys to Better Sentence Flow By Mark Nichol Sentences can be short. They can also be long. This is a good thing. Lack of variety is wearying. It may drive you to distraction. It’s a good thing that sentences can be short or long, because lack of variety is wearying and may drive you to distraction. Which paragraph was easier to read? If you’re like me (and why wouldn’t you be?), you’ll pick the latter example, which employs combination and subordination (the process of making one of two sentences part of the other). It’s easy to get caught up in a ratcheted conveyor belt of short, staccato sentences, but it’s also simple to introducing some variety of sentence length through these two frequently paired strategies. 1. â€Å"The money was doled out in what are known as State Revolving Funds. These are pots of cash that finance each state’s drinking-water and clean-water infrastructure improvements. â€Å" If a sentence constitutes a definition for a term introduced in the previous sentence, delete the subject from the defining sentence and link the two sentences: â€Å"The money was doled out in what are known as State Revolving Funds, pots of cash that finance each state’s drinking-water and clean-water infrastructure improvements.† 2. â€Å"The most famous was called the Wonder Fountain. The attraction shot river water 150 feet into the air from a round pool. It drew visitors from Charlotte and beyond.† This â€Å"See Dick run. See Jane run.† succession is easily folded together: Delete the first verb and make the noun phrase after it an appositive. Link the defining sentence to it as a parenthetical phrase, and emerge from that phrase to close with an additional phrase consisting of the final sentence shorn of its subject. The result: â€Å"The most famous, the Wonder Fountain, which shot river water 150 feet into the air from a round pool, drew visitors from Charlotte and beyond.† 3. â€Å"Religious or purely spiritual models are found in several faiths. They are often considered folk models because they derive from the rank-and-file citizenry.† A sentence that provides additional detail about the previous sentence can often, absent its subject, be inserted into the midst of the first sentence as a parenthetical phrase: â€Å"Religious or purely spiritual models, often considered folk models because they derive from the rank-and-file citizenry, are found in several faiths.† 4. â€Å"He stood in front of the half-empty San Luis Reservoir, built in 1962 to store water for the feds’ Central Valley Project. He painted a Dust Bowl-grim picture of Central Valley’s storied farming economy.† Replace a sentence’s subject with a participle (a verb with an -ing ending), then clip the following sentence’s subject and tack the rest of the sentence on: â€Å"Standing in front of the half-empty San Luis Reservoir, built in 1962 to store water for the feds’ Central Valley Project, he painted a Dust Bowl–grim picture of Central Valley’s storied farming economy.† 5. â€Å"Following the principles of Ayurvedic medicine, the flavors, numbering six, are defined as follows: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, astringent, and spicy. These flavors are divided into six categories, which are associated with earth, water, and fire.† When combining and subordinating sentences, look for opportunities to make a passage more concise as well. Stating the number of listed flavors is superfluous, and â€Å"are defined as follows† is a verbose and unnecessary obstacle between the reader and the list. Note, too, how em dashes are employed in order to avoid a bewildering succession of commas: â€Å"Following the principles of Ayurvedic medicine, the flavors- divided into categories associated with earth, water, and fire- are sweet, sour, bitter, salty, astringent, and spicy.† Successions of sentences don’t always merit these steps, but judicious application will improve the flow of your writing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguageConnotations of 35 Words for Funny PeopleRunning Errands and Doing Chores

How does the preliminary ruling procedure for the European Court of Essay

How does the preliminary ruling procedure for the European Court of Justice work - Essay Example It also ensures that the provisions laid down by the community institution are carried to the letter. Article 220 ‘Treaty of Rome† states that, the â€Å"court must ensure that, in the interpretation and application of the treaty, the law is upheld† The second role played by the court is hearing references from the national courts and gives preliminary rulings to show the scope and application of the law.2 The methodology of interpretation of laws by the ECJ is not specific. Some of the methods used include, teleological, historical and literal approaches. Teleological method of interpreting the law i.e. employed by the ECJ among other courts to interpret legislative provisions in light of purpose that these provisions seek to achieve1 another method used, albeit with hostility is the historical method. Its use is limited to the lengthy and complex process that is involved in the adoption of EU legal rights. Again, considerable changes will occur during the negotia tion period as well as the cropping of anomalies when the court relies on only one document in the midst of diverse legal traditions that inform the enactment of the of EU laws. Another methodology is the literal interpretation of the law as it appears. Moens and Trone Sate that when the provisions of the law are clear, the court will take the normal meaning of the words used.3 The procedures The preliminary ruling procedure involves a decision made by the ECJ when interpreting union law. This decision is usually made at the request of a high court in a member state of the European Union. Preliminary rulings are so called because the referring national court is the one that passes the verdict. The role of the ECG therefore is to provide guidance and clear understanding of what the law says.4 Article 267 gives the ECJ mandate to hear preliminary rules concerning the interpretation of treaties and the interpretation and validity of acts of institutions agencies of the union, offices e tc. Jurisdiction of the court The ECJ gives the single absolute clear and unambiguous interpretation of the law, and it cuts across all states. (I) Jurisdiction of the ECJ Article 267 TFEU states that a reference may be made with the regard to the interpretations of other the treaty and acts of the union. However, reference on validity can only be made on the acts of the institutions of the union. Purpose of Article 267 of TFEU Formerly under article 177of the treaty of Rome, article 267 of the treaty of the of the functioning of the European union states that national courts, during proceedings, can question the ECJ on interpretation of the relevant parts of TFEU, secondary legislation or even constitutionality of relevant secondary legislation.5 The ECJ is very cautious not to impose a given view on how its ruling will be applied in the national proceedings. Discretion to refer All rulings made by the ECJ clarify the scope and meaning of the bunion laws. Article 234 binds the cour t to accept all questions presented by member states. The court advises only on the interpretation and does not make decisions on the questions posed.6It is only a court or a tribunal that can make a referral to the ECJ. The ECJ has a generally harsh attitude toward referrals and only accepts them when there are ‘real and substantial doubts’ and the court feels that and inconsistent application of law if the ECJ does not intervene. However, according to Lord Denning MR (1982), the ECJ does not have the jurisdiction to ‘

America Business History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

America Business History - Essay Example Strategically designed and economical office furniture is therefore needed by all organizations. Getting custom built furniture and employing local labor and designers is both cumbersome as well as a painful process. Catering to the demands of office furniture for most organizations by provided prefabricated, custom designed and ready to fit furniture according to space availability and nature of organization is therefore the need of the hour. As mass production of furniture is already well established, particularly in some areas of New York, the company will have its headquarters at New York and will solely focus on office furniture for small and medium organizations, whose demands can be met in a timely and efficient manner. My company will commence operations from a hired shed in an area earmarked for small industry. A small workforce of 25 people composed of skilled and semi skilled carpenters and labor will be hired and their services utilized for designing and preparing small furniture items like office tables, chairs, filing cabinets, and foot rests ideal for small offices. Two engineers will be hired for visualizing and designing the components as per the type of raw material available, the present requirements of the upcoming US industries. The company will utilize only wood as the raw material as it is available in plenty with no resource crunch. Adequate quantity of raw material and hardware will have to be pro cured, stored and maintained by a single logistics manager of the company. The resources needed are wood as the principal raw material, hardware which includes tools and semi automation products, electricity and ideal premises for setting up the factory. Capital for setting up the industry can be procured as a loan from the bank which should be gradually paid off after meeting the initial sales targets. The focus of the company will be to become self reliant in terms of finances within a period of 5 years or even lesser,

Speeding cost Essay Example for Free

Speeding cost Essay I will never ever speed again. Speeding cost way too much time and aggravation to continue speeding. This ticket has made me realize that all speeding does is put me and other people in danger and waste a lot of gas. And in these economic times wasting gas isn’t the best idea. I can drive 55 in a 55. Statistics show that if the speed limit is 65 and you go 75 it will get you to your destination 10 minutes faster but you also increase your risk of accident by 25%. Honestly I don’t want to risk an accident over 10 minutes of time. It’s pointless. And I have learned my lesson from speeding in excess over the speed limit. This will never happen again Judge When you speed, you have less time to react to unexpected situations. Other drivers have less time to react to your situation. With that being said, you can easily harm someone or yourself if not kill them by not watching your surroundings. Because like stated before, you not only have little time to react at the normal speed of traffic, but now you are speeding which takes away from the normal time, in return gives you minimal to no time to react at all. Cars are not really designed for high speed even though they are capable. Braking systems are not designed for stops form high speeds. They can overheat and fail in an emergency stop, therefor the â€Å"perfect breaks† I thought I had are completely useless. Which means the poor person in front of me is probably fixing too suffer because I had too speed. In cases as concerned as running into the back of someone. I have heard of people getting paralyzed by careless driving mistakes such as speeding and missing a stop sign.

The Character of Carol Kennicott in Main Street Essay example -- Main

The Character of Carol Kennicott in Main Street The protagonist in this story is Carol Kennicott. She is a young woman attending college in St. Paul Minnesota. She wants to go somewhere in her life. She has gone out and gotten a college education so that she won’t have to be a house wife. She has an outgoing personality and is continuously trying to change the things around her. She meets a man named William Kennicott. They fall in love and move to the small town of Gopher Prairie. While there Carol tries to change her home, as well as all of the other buildings in town. Carol is identified as the protagonist because she’s the main character and she has a conflict to overcome. Paragraph 2 The antagonist in this story is Carol’s personality. She is always trying to stay in love with William, but at the same time she can’t stand the thought of living in a small town where the people don’t change. It’s important to the antagonist that she change the world one small community at a time. All of the attempts made by Carol are failures because she’s moving too fast for the citizens of Gopher Prairie. Paragraph 3 The conflict in this story is best described as Carol vs. Herself. Carol wants to love Will and be a loyal wife. She wants to love his mother and be a mother herself. Carol has the desire and willingness to stay with Will, but at the same time the thought of changing the town and not adapting to their ways is always implanted in her mind. Carol wants to change the town to a more contemporary time. She has always had this thought, even during her stay at college. The reason she attended college is so that she wouldn’t have to live the cliched life of being a house wife, with darling children, and an adoring husband. Carol has a desire from both ends of this argument. She loves her husband, but small town life doesn’t suit her. This conflict is internal because Carol is always at war with her conscience. Paragraph 4 The climax of this story comes in the last two chapters. Carol has moved to Washington and is pursuing a career that will help change the city. Will comes out to visit and he brings photographs of Gopher Prairie and the surrounding fields. It becomes apparent at this point that Carol no longer wants to stay in Washington. She realizes that all the time she spent in Gopher Prairie she never gave th... ...s two opposing opinions to the reader. The reader is allowed to make his own assumptions and opinions on the different situations that arise. The narrator tells the reader of Carol’s aspirations of changing small town America. At the same time he is able to give Will’s feelings about Carol being a â€Å"normal† wife. The narrator is also able to express the feelings of the other characters who occupy the town. These thoughts are very insightful and make for a better understanding of Carol. Paragraph 12 Personification: â€Å"the trees by Sam’s hardware shop reached out as to consume the daylight.† Simile: â€Å"Kennicott was as fixed in routine as an isolated old man.† Paragraph 13 This novel was interesting but at the same time it failed to really catch my attention and intrigue me. I was under the assumption that it was risky and questioned peoples values. My only thought on this is that I’m reading it in 2001 and the novel was published in 1948. My views are drastically different from those of a country who put women on a lower standard than men. I would give this book a moderate rating because it didn’t catch my eye but at the same time had a decent point to prove.

Classroom Field Study Report Essay

General Description Disston Elementary School, located at Knorr and Cottage Streets, in the Tacony/Wissinoming neighborhood of Philadelphia, is a four-story brick building. The school, K through 8, has a gym, auditorium, and library. There is also a computer lab, consumer education classroom, and a music room. The floors are organized by grade levels, starting with the lower grades on the first floor and working their way up the building. The ground floor, or basement, is reserved for specialty classes, such as music, etc. The school, built in the early 1900’s, has very few modern improvements, mainly because it is a historical landmark. There are no elevators or ramps making it inaccessible to those with walking disabilities or are wheelchair bound. The school, which has approximately 800 students and 40 teachers on staff, is maintained well and kept clean. The staff members I encountered at the school were well informed and professional. The neighborhood is predominately middle class, but does include some low-income families. In addition, about 15% of the students are bussed to Disston from neighborhoods that are at or below the poverty level. The cooperating teacher, Ms. Bledy, was happy to share her classroom as well as her experiences. She provided a pleasant atmosphere and gave me the opportunity to observe her seventh grade science, mathematics, and social studies classes, and fifth grade reading and English classes, which she also instructed. Her seventh grade classes consist of 29 students and her fifth grade RELA (Reading/Language Arts) class consists of 25 students. Learner Differences In the 7th grade class, there are 26 students with average or near-average ability and three students who have been identified with reading and math disabilities. These 3 students attend special classes for those subjects and return to Ms. Bledy for science and social studies. Ms. Bledy adapts the content in science and social studies according to each of the special education students’ I. E. P. (Individual Education Plan). Since all three students are at, or below a second grade reading level, Ms. Bledy uses the school library to find appropriate stories, books, or articles at each students grade level. She looks for material that is parallel, or as close as possible, to the content that is being covered in science and social studies. While lower grade level books have less detail, the teacher tries to provide the special education children with some reading material on the same or a related topic. For example, in a science class on metamorphosis, Ms. Bledy found a story called â€Å"The Very Hungry Caterpillar† by Eric Carle. This grade 1 story, through pictures and words, shows the four life stages from an egg to a butterfly (Surprisingly, the students of average ability also enjoyed this 1st grade book). Ms. Bledy also provides daily hands-on and visual learning experiences for all her students; therefore she finds it easy to adapt lessons for the special education students mainstreamed into her classroom. With the exception of the 3 special educations students, the remaining 26 students in Ms. Bledy’s math class are instructed on a 7th grade level. The teacher uses various visual, auditory, and hands-on learning techniques to adjust to each students learning style. Disston School provides a â€Å"reading cycle† for 90 minutes each day from 10:15 to 11:45 a. m. During this time, students throughout the school change classes to attend reading and language arts at their ability levels. Ms. Bledy teaches level 5 reading, writing, and English. In this class, there is a mixture of 28 students from grades four through eight. Within the groups of students I observed, there were no students with physical handicaps, nor did I observe anyone with severe emotional behavior differences. Ms. Bledy did inform me that 2 students receive the prescription drug Ritalin daily, administered either by the school nurse or a parent. There were very few behavior difficulties in Ms. Bledy’s classroom. She has created a structured, firm and fair atmosphere that the students find comfortable. Motivation Techniques Ms. Bledy facilitates safety, belonging, and positive self-worth to each of her students on a daily basis. The atmosphere in the class is one of calm, encouragement, respect, and unity. During the entire time I attended her classes, I saw students actively engaged in learning, any disruptions were addressed quickly, quietly and effectively. The children seemed to have little difficulty in dividing work in cooperative learning groups and they readily helped each other during class activities. I observed Ms. Bledy’s classes in the last few weeks of school, but it was apparent that the students had become accustomed to routines and had a sense of trust among them. The special education students mainstreamed into the regular education classes were not afraid or embarrassed to show their group members any lower level materials they were using. Although the students were grouped heterogeneously, Ms. Bledy is careful to place the special education students in groups with students that are more patient and have a kinder disposition. These easy-going students are more compassionate toward a special education group member who might take longer to complete an assignment. Some examples of motivation techniques I observed are: Safety: While Ms. Bledy was giving directions for a map activity in social studies class, one of her students, Brandon, rolled up a few small pieces of paper and was proceeding to put them into an empty pen tube. Just as he was about to put the pen to his lips, Ms. Bledy made eye contact with him as she continued giving directions for the activity. She walked over to Brandon and put out her hand so that he could hand over the â€Å"spitball† tube. She never stopped giving directions, but did stop this young man from throwing spitballs around the class causing a disruption. She then pointed to the behavior book and motioned for Brandon to sign it. He shrugged, but quietly walked over, found the page in the book with his name on it and wrote the date and what he did. Brandon wrote, â€Å"trying to make spit ball tube, but Ms. Bledy took it from me. This is a warning, if I do something disruptive again today I will receive a penalty. † At the beginning of the school year Ms. Bledy taught and practiced with her students the class rules and what was expected of them. She feels that if the students write down what they did and make some notation of either a consequence or some other thing that helps them improve their behavior, that there are fewer disruptions in class. Effort and Improvement: Eric is having difficulty creating a circle graph from information on a complicated bar graph. Ms. Bledy gives Eric some individual attention. She goes over to his desk and helps him create some simple circle graphs from simple bar graphs. She then has him practice a few more circle/bar graphs escalating the difficulty each time. She gives encouragement and approval when he is correct and guidance as needed. In a short time, Eric is on his own, confident that he can probably handle the more difficult work. Ms. Bledy moves on, but keeps a watchful eye out for Eric. By the end of class, Eric is successful in completing his graphs. Rewards: Ms. Bledy makes positive comments to her students regularly. She also gives students simple, but effective, rewards. One student, Melissa, not only was helpful to the teacher, but she went out of her way to help Antoine (a special education student) locate the Allied countries of WWI on a map. At the end of class, Ms. Bledy used her cell phone to call Melissa’s mother and told her what a wonderful person Melissa is. Multiple Intelligence: Like most classrooms Ms. Bledy’s class has a variety of intelligences. One of the techniques she uses to address this is by having students divide up work in cooperative learning groups according to their interests. In science class where the students were working on a project on acid rain, the students in each co-op group were required to provide research, complete an experiment, keep a daily journal of results and conclusions, make drawings and graphs of the results, and complete a cover page. Each group is permitted to divide the work according to their talents, although all group members must share in the experiment. Behavioral Learning Principles Ms. Bledy’s classroom atmosphere stresses learning, from the various information provided on classroom bulletin boards, posters, and at workstations to the organization and structure of daily activities she creates for her students. Here are some examples I observed: Fact Learning: Ms. Bledy begins each math class with a math warm-up. The students complete a few simple questions (no more than 5) in two or three minutes. These warm-ups are designed to practice various skills. Students practice basic multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division skills by playing the math game â€Å"24†. Students prepare study cards, usually for homework. They are similar to a flash card, where they put a definition on one side and the term on the other side. This is done on 3Ãâ€"5 index cards. In class, the students play a memory game either in pairs or small groups, using these cards. Reinforcement: Ms. Bledy uses positive reinforcement in her classroom. When she praises a student she uses concrete words that describe the achievement made. One student, Regina, who struggles with math but excels in social studies, was trying to figure out the average winter temperature in Celsius in the country of Germany. She knew the temperature in Fahrenheit. Regina recalled that during a math and science class, Ms. Bledy had shown them how to convert Fahrenheit into Celsius. During this social studies class, Regina applied those skills and was successful in finding the answer. When she told Ms. Bledy the answer, the teacher complimented her on her math skills. Regina beamed the rest of the afternoon and took pride in showing her classmates how to convert the temperatures. Punishment: I observed Ms. Bledy use both presentation and removal punishment techniques. She regularly removes items from the students that can cause them to be disruptive, such as when she removed Brandon’s spitball tube. But, I only saw her need to remove one student to a time-out area. Patrick refused to cooperate with his group and Ms. Bledy had him complete a writing activity (presentation punishment) on cooperation in a time-out area (removal punishment). When he completed this activity he was eager to get back to his group. Ms. Bledy allowed him to rejoin the group where he participated mannerly. Schedules of Reinforcement: Ms. Bledy uses a variable ratio as the schedule of reinforcement in her classroom. She calls on students randomly who offer answers. Although Ms. Bledy schedules particular educational trips with specific dates, she randomly assigns points that students need to earn toward that trip. At the beginning of an activity on statistics in math class, Ms. Bledy told the class that each student could earn 10 points toward Spirit Day, by completing the activity in a timely and thorough manner. One of the requirements she listed was that each group member helps each other complete the assignment. Behavior Modification: Ms. Bledy uses a daily report for students to help them improve behavior. On this report the students identify the behavior they are trying to improve, whether it is disciplinary or academic. The student presents the daily report to all teachers throughout the day. Each teacher writes whether or not the child improved that targeted behavior for that class and lists any suggestions the student can follow for further improvement. At the end of the day, the child takes the daily report home for a parental signature (This is not always a requirement. It is done on a case-by-case situation). Ms. Bledy and the student review the daily report each morning and discuss other ways the child can help him/herself. Modeling: Ms. Bledy uses modeling as part of her direct instruction at the beginning of most classes. In one instance, the students were to create a time line of their future. Ms. Bledy created a time line for herself and shared it with the class. She showed them how she started out by making a list of 10 goals for herself on paper. Then she explained how long she thought (realistically) it would take her to achieve each goal. Finally, she picked 2001 as a starting point and systematically set up her time line. The students grasped the idea and went quickly to work. Cognitive Learning Principles Ms. Bledy increases her students learning by using a number of cognitive learning principles. Concepts are learned through practice and examples, information is processed by using chunking, categorizing, etc. and her students regularly participate in meaningful activities linking new information to existing knowledge. Concept Learning: Ms. Bledy writes a list (or row) of terms that are related and adds one that is unrelated. In a science lesson on solutions she listed the terms â€Å"dissolving, hard water, soft water, bacteria, solute, solvent. † The students identified the term â€Å"bacteria† as the one that did not fit into this list. She continued by listing 3 or more groups. Information Processing: Ms. Bledy makes constant use of charts and graphs. The students created bar graphs for a math class I observed based on statistical information they collected. Students surveyed Ms. Bledy’s class as well as seven other classrooms on how they would like, or wish, to spend their summer vacations. They combined their information and converted it into percentages. Then they created bar graphs and later in the week made circle graphs. Constructivism: Ms. Bledy’s students went on to accumulate information on how they actually spent their summer vacations (meaningful activity) and created graphs using this information. As a conclusion to this assignment, Ms. Bledy had the students compare the way they actually spend vacation to how they wish their vacations would be like. Classroom Management Ms. Bledy’s classroom is well organized and well managed. She has three osters above the side blackboard that lists rules, penalties, and rewards (see attached copy of Ms. Bledy’s Discipline Plan).

The Devil Wears Prada

Office-Politics lessons from â€Å"The Devil Wears Prada† Think you have the world’s worst boss? How does your boss measure up against the Boss-from-Hell? By Franke James, MFA The Devil Wears Prada will no doubt fuel some hot, haute water-cooler chat. Based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger, the film is a wickedly funny tale about working for a boss who is a tyrant (rumor has it that the book was inspired by Weisberger's stint at Vogue Magazine working for Anna Wintour). Meryl Streep stars as Miranda Priestly, Editor-in-Chief of Runway Magazine. Think Cruella de Ville with Medusa eyes. While the movie is an entertaining romp about the travails of working for a tyrannical boss, it raises some important questions: If you work for a Boss-from-Hell how do you cope? Is your boss a Boss-from-Hell? Is your boss bullying you or simply delivering a tough-love message? Are you a victim or just paying your dues? Does your boss thrive on chaos? Does your boss make impossible demands? Does your boss play the office politics game 1. Is your boss a Boss-from-Hell? Miranda quickly established her role as the ‘Master’ over her ‘Slave’ employees. She lived, ate, and breathed her career. Work and life had merged into one unified and indivisible whole. She expected everyone to have the same devotion to Runway Magazine. Employees time with family and friends was an expendable commodity, a frill. Miranda refused to address her new assistant Andy (Anne Hathaway) by her proper name, and substituted the name of her other assistant. She demanded that Andy be on call 24/7 (without adequate compensation) She gave a long list of demands without allowing any questions and expected employees to know the details of each task, but did not provide any training. She sent Andy on multiple errands, without clear instructions, and an impossibly short time-frame under threat of being fired if she did not deliver. She insulted her intelligence and mocked her style of dress, publicly and privately She forbade any employees from riding in the elevator with her, which further underlined a Master/Slave relationship. While some of these incidents, if taken alone, could be dismissed as ‘minor irritations’, collectively they amounted to psychological warfare. All of these ‘power-plays’ shared one thing in common: a lack of respect by the boss for the employee. How to cope: Stand up for yourself You have to stand up for yourself to get what you want with a Boss-from-Hell. Remember that they are more concerned about themselves than you. They are the ‘center of the universe'. So don’t take it personally that your boss can’t remember your name, or won’t take the time to delegate tasks properly. Your best strategy is to be quietly persistent and firm. Repeat back what tasks have been requested, and the expected timeline. If the boss is too impatient to listen, then send them a summary email or memo, before and after the task. Document everything. 2. Is your boss bullying you or simply delivering a tough-love message? No one likes to be ‘dressed-down’, especially in public. Miranda routinely demeaned Andy in front of the other employees by calling her insulting names, mocking her style of dress, her level of intelligence, and her ability to handle the job. The funny thing was that there was a grain of truth to Miranda’s criticisms. You can’t expect to work for a fashion magazine if you don’t know the product. The belligerent delivery was inexcusable but the underlying truth was that Andy was ignorant of fashion and she would not survive without changing, learning and growing. Miranda’s criticisms (but not her bullying tactics) could be viewed positively as a tough-love approach. How to cope: Share the company values (or exit) Miranda was setting up a challenge to Andy and every employee: conform to my standards or you are fired! This is not as unreasonable or evil as it appears at first glance. It raises a question that every employee should ask themselves. Am I not fitting in because I don’t share the company values? An extreme example: if you wanted to join the Hell’s Angels, you know that you’d have an easier time being accepted if you rode a motorcycle, dressed in leather, adorned your body with multiple tattoos, drank a two-four daily, and (perhaps) had some illegal activities on your record. Clearly if you are working in the fashion field then it is a safe assumption that you share the value that fashion is important. Andy rejected that value. She did not fit in because she did not wear the uniform. She knew it, but she didn’t care. She thought her brains were what really counted, not the surface decoration. Showing up for work in outfits that look like she rescued them from a thrift store was akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull. Unkempt hair, shapeless argyle blend polyester sweaters, frumpy plaid skirts, and clumpy clogs labeled Andy as an ignoramus of the fashion world. Andy needed to embrace the fashion culture in order to survive, and ultimately to be accepted. Not knowing that a Manolo Blahnik is a brand of shoe is like a carpenter not knowing what a hammer is. Dumb, dumb, dumb. But it does make for good comedy in the film. (Just don’t make the same mistake in your career. ) Since the product in this case was fashion, it was elementary logic that Andy should show respect by following the dress code. She was part of the Runway brand, as surely as the clothes-hanger models and glossy pages of their magazine. Andy’s career turned around in the second half of the movie after a fashion makeover. She finally accepted that she needed to ‘be the brand’ in order to excel at her job. She accepted the ‘shared value’. Miranda won a battle that should never have been an issue. If you don’t accept the shared values of a company then that company is not the right place for you. 3. Are you a victim or just paying your dues? In the movie Andy frequently told her boyfriend (whose birthday party she missed), that she had no choice. She whined constantly, â€Å"But I had no choice! Miranda called! † You don't have to be a tyrannical boss to want to wallop Andy with a big designer purse and yell, â€Å"Don’t answer the phone! Turn it off. † Andy was a willing victim. She chose to put her boss’ needs (and her career) ahead of her boyfriend. She decided that to climb the ladder she needed to work 24/7. Was that wrong? Not necessarily (besides the boyfriend is about as exciting as a heap of half-eaten mashed potatoes). But for Andy, whose true dream was to be a ‘serious’ journalist, the pain was not worth the gain. How to cope: Decide if it is a reasonable price To cope with a tyrannical boss, the most basic question you should ask yourself is whether the price in aggravation and stress in exchange for your weekly paycheque is worth it. If it’s not worth it, then you have two choices. #1. Create an action plan that will change the aspects of your job you find most difficult. #2. Ask yourself what better job you could move to — and what skills you need to acquire before you make the leap. 4. Does your boss thrive on chaos? Miranda did not have a well-oiled system. Things were constantly springing leaks. Tyrannical bosses need help — and not just psychiatric. At Miranda's company there was a crisis every hour. Employees were running around in a frenzied panic. Sadly, Miranda demanded perfection but was unwilling to develop a system to train her employees. Although many people admired her ability to run a fashion magazine, she was a poor manager of people. At the end of the movie she expressed relief that she would still be at the helm — saying under her breath that no one else could handle the job. Which was probably very true. She was irreplaceable because she ran the business on fear and chaos, and it would have imploded on her exit. How to cope: Create a well-ordered system To cope with the Boss-from-Hell, realize their shortcomings and compensate accordingly. In Miranda's case, the company lurched from mini-crisis to mini-crisis. A smart employee could have created systems to help run the place efficiently, smoothly and to minimize crisis. And then that employee would have been highly valued, and very marketable. 5. Does your boss make impossible demands? Miranda was forever making impossible demands of her employees. One hilarious example was when Miranda’s plane was grounded by a hurricane. Andy’s dinner with her out-of-town Dad was interrupted, while Andy tried valiantly to schedule another flight. Of course, the only thing that flew that night was the s–t hitting the fan when Miranda’s request for a flight was not met. How to Cope: Can you think two steps ahead of the boss? Putting aside the truly impossible demands, how do you stay two steps ahead of the boss? Anticipate what the boss will need, before they've even thought of it. That was the key to Andy's turnaround success. When Miranda asked for the impossible, a copy of an unpublished Harry Potter manuscript, Andy pulled strings to get it. But she proved herself to be a proactive thinker by getting the manuscript duplicated and bound (just in time for Miranda's twin daughters to read it on the train-ride to Grandma's). The coping strategy in this is not to take your boss' requests at face value. Think further down the road to what the next logical step is going to be. That devil-boss will be eating out of your hand. 6. Does your boss play the office politics game? Miranda is an expert office politics player. The climax of the movie occurs when Miranda becomes aware of an imminent coup that threatens to topple her (the magazine owner wants to give Miranda’s job to his sexy new mistress). But Miranda checkmates the move very effectively by threatening to steal ‘her’ high-profile fashion designers away to a rival publication. The owner grudgingly allows her to keep her Editor-in-Chief job, and offers his mistress an alternate, if largely titular, job. An unlucky pawn caught in the crossfire is Nigel, Miranda’s loyal design assistant. His ambitions get decimated, prompting Andy to virtuously claim that she could never backstab someone like that. Miranda corrects her and says, â€Å"Oh, but you already have. You did it to Emily. † This uncomfortable truth forced Andy to look in the mirror and make a decision as to what she wanted out of life, and how far she was willing to go to get it. How to Cope: Learn to play the office politics game To cope with the Boss-from-Hell, employees need to learn how to play office politics, whether they want to or not. Burying your head in the sand will not make it disappear. It is in your best interests to be aware of the shifting agendas, imbalances of power, hidden motives, and swift-moving unseen forces that are shaping your workplace. You need to become a student of human nature, which is ultimately what office politics is all about. Oh yeah, and to survive the Boss-from-Hell, document everything†¦ You never know when you may be able to turn it into a best-selling book or a hit movie starring an Oscar-winning actress. About the author: Franke James, MFA is the site founder of Office-Politics. com, and inventor of the Office-Politics Game. Office-Politics lessons from â€Å"The Devil Wears Prada†  © copyright 2006 Franke James. First publication: July 2006 ICFAI University Press, Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India. All photographs: The Devil Wears Prada – 2006 copyright 20th Century Fox. The Devil Wears Prada starring Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Emily Blunt. Directed by David Frankel. Based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger. The Devil Wears Prada The novel â€Å"The Devil Wears Prada† by Weisberger is about a girl named Andrea moved to New York and found a job as a junior assistant of a fashion magazine editor. However, Andrea has a hard time on her job. Furthermore, her relationships with her family and friends get very bad because she is too hard-working. However, at the end of this novel Andrea makes her own way out by her careful and wisdom. After reading the novel, I found myself and the protagonist of the novel, Andrea are both too hard-working and careful. Andrea and I are both so hard working that we forgot our families and friends. In the novel, Andrea is working very hard that she put all her time and energy into her job, so Andrea does not have any time for her family and friends. For example, in the novel Andrea promise to call her boyfriend at three o’clock, but she was very busy at her work that she never gets to call her boyfriend the whole day. I was very busy at work once, and I totally forgot to tell my mother that I will be getting off from work one hour later than usual. My mother was waiting for me at the supermarket one hour. Furthermore, I found myself and Andrea are both very careful that we notice or remember small things that others do not. Andrea finally made her boss approve with her ability because Andrea is very careful and she notices and remembers things that her boss does not. For instance, Andrea and her boss went to a big fashion party in Paris, and there were so many famous fashion designers. Many people came and greet to Andrea’s boss, but her boss does not recognize any of them. However, Andrea memorizes all guests name by flipping through guests list. After that her boss was very impress on Andrea’s careful. I found myself is very similar to Andrea. I always remember to check the address of the place we are going to, when all of my friends forgot to check. I enjoy reading this book very much because I have the same personality characteristic, too hard-working and careful, with the protagonist, Andrea. I will recommend this novel to English-second language readers because the novel is easy to understand and interesting.

Religion and Hoon ho Chung Essay

Religion and Hoon ho Chung Essay Religion and Hoon ho Chung Essay Hoon Ho Chung EWRT1A Written Response #1 Mythology’s Application Compared to the past, modern society often overlook comparative mythology because people focuses more on â€Å"the news of the day and the problems of the hour (Campbell 1).† Thus, not many people look back and see the similarities between their lives and the ideas that are shown in myths. For example, as a Christian, I believe that there is a God who holds the power over all humans; however, this idea conflicts with different religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and more. Interestingly, all religions have a God but just portrayed in a different way. Although this is true, in many regions around the world, people still collide because of different perspectives of God. In my experience, the different perspectives gave me a hard time reconciling between some of my family members. My grandparents believe in Buddhism while my family and I worship God as Christians. We used collide sometimes because of the different view of religion. According to Joseph Campbell, we all share the same God; however, not only countries are in conflicts but also families fight over who is right. Besides religious aspects, imperfection is the element that keeps people lovable. In many cases, people care for those who need help such as the homeless or children who can barely walk. For example, as a child, I got a lot of attention because I was so imperfect; however, as I moved further from imperfection, less people started to adore me. According to Joseph Campbell, God is perfect, so people follow the imperfect Christ more than God. The imperfection in human is the beauty and the reason why people are able to share love. Moreover, the disappearance in myth influenced not only the adults but also teenagers who create their own myth. While students go

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Italian Slang Dictionary Adult Words 'A' In every language, native speakers know more than newbies will ever learn in from textbooks, dictionaries, or from respectable tour guides. Often referred to as the language of love, Italian is no exception. Obviously, there are many ways to talk about seduction, flirtation, a little naughtiness, and sometimes get  downright raunchy in Italian. These Italian slang words and phrases are not found in standard texts, but most native speakers know them well (whether theyll admit it or not is another question entirely).   Most likely, however,  you dont want to begin your Italian lessons with these words; youre better off first learning some basic survival phrases  if Italian isnt your native tongue. Greetings are another list of must-learn words and phrases, particularly if you want to make friends while traveling in Italy. If you want to partake in all the culinary delights Italy has to offer, learn a few phrases related to dining out and food. And of course, before you unleash the naughty words below on your new Italian friends, youll want to at least get to know one another with some  basic introductions If youre pressed for time, focus on the fundamentals. Study the Italian ABCs and Italian numbers, learn how to pronounce Italian words and ask questions in Italian, and brush up on the euro. Adult Italian Phrases Now that youre ready with some fundamentals, you can spice up your language skills with this uncensored guide to Italian colloquial expressions, shocking idioms, hard-core curses, scatological words for body functions and parts, expletives, off-color phrases, and euphemisms. Because of the very nature of slang, this feature necessarily contains expressions that some readers might find offensive.  Heres the list of words beginning with the letter A. allupato  adj.  (familiar) hungry for sex, especially after a long period of celibacy.ammucchiata  f.  orgy.arare  v.t.(familiar) to possess sexually.arrapato  (familiar) horny, sexually excited.arruso  m.  [Palermitano] (vulgar) buttocks.  Tta a facc,arruso  Ill strip your face, [buttocks].assatanato  m.  sexually aroused, excited.avere rapporti sessuali con  (familiar) to have sex with.

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High and Lows of Bangladesh Textile Industry - Essay Example The move to join was seen by many as a setback to the economy, but this was not the case. The textile export in Bangladesh continued to grow while, in 2008, the rest of the country suffered economic recess, but Bangladesh enjoyed an export rise. The textile industries rose to 5000 factories that provided employment to about 3 million people (2). The developed countries underwent economic recess in 2008-2009 and were forced to import low- cost garments from Bangladesh to meet the demand of their customers who wanted low prices. These companies included Walmart and as a result, a Hong Kong manufacturing company- Li & Fung enjoyed a 25 % rise in 2009 as compared to China whose sales dropped by 5%. The underlying factors that triggered an increase in the exports were based on the fact that labor costs were low due to the presence of hourly rates of wages. The wages were low in Bangladesh with the minimum of $ 38 a month as compared to China that went up to $138 a month. Other factors included; few regulations that are equivalent to no rules at all, a good network of supplies which saved on transport costs, import duties and time. Bangladesh also benefited from not being China as the importer had become too independent on their imports and wanted an alternative. This came as a result of an increase in costs if the problem was no t addressed. All these factors favored Bangladesh, and it became the second largest to China garment exporter (2). Some of the main setbacks to economic development include power disruption, poor infrastructure since the government has underinvested as compared to China. Apart from these, Bangladesh underwent economic crisis after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building that hosted five garment factories. The collapse came as a result of not following construction procedures as the building could only hold five floors.

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