The Desert :: essays research papers

The human heart not only supplies life but it also represents feelings and emotions. In the Desert uses intense imagery to paint a vivid picture while also using point of view and symbolism to send a message about human emotion and feelings. Although this poem is brief it contains a very powerful point about the human heart and emotions. This poem appears to be written by a person that has just lost a loved one, although this poem does not seem to be about death. The poem opens with the image of a "naked" beast alone in a "desert". This paints an interesting image in the mind of the reader, but it also has a deeper meaning. This "beast" of a man was deserted and left alone by someone that he was obviously deeply in love with. He has lost all direction and purpose in his life. The author uses the point of view of the speaker to show just how pathetic this creature is. The speaker feels bad for the beast and attempts to speak to it, seemingly out of pity. He even calls the hopeless animal his "friend". This leads me to believe that maybe the creature is just an extension of the speaker, the part of him that cannot let go of an important love. In the Desert is a poem that is symbolic of the way people react when their "hearts are broken". The heart, in this instance, represents love and happiness. When the man loses this love he feels as though his heart has been wrenched from his chest and devoured by a monster (that represents his current emotional state). The man is broken, battered and left to fend for himself. He is also filled with resentment and anger as is made evident by his "bitter-bitter" heart. This whole scenario represents the dependence of man on the love of another and his state of total denial and sadness when it is taken from him. The only beam of hope that I could find in this poem is when the man says that he likes his heart despite its bitterness.

Journal Article Critique “From common to uncommon Knowledge: Foundations of Firm-specific use of Knowledge as a Resource” Essay

Research question: â€Å"How can managers create uncommon knowledge when rivals have access to similar, commonly available knowledge?† (page 425) Author’s purpose: The importance of knowledge is well established in research. The knowledge-based theory considers knowledge as the most strategically significant resource of a firm. Notwithstanding, the authors illustrate that it is not known much about â€Å"how firms create, acquire, and apply knowledge better than other firms† (page 421). Nag and Gioia set up a qualitative study to develop an inductive model to reveal the processes how and under which circumstances managers transform common into distinctive knowledge. The foundry industry in the northeast and midatlantic United States served as study population. The authors conducted 53 interviews with CEOs and other key members involving 22 different foundries. Major conclusions: The model developed three dimensions how executives differ in the process from common to uncommon knowledge: executive knowledge schemes, executive scanning and uncommon knowledge use. The study indicates the personal impact of executive behavior how they identified, searched for and used uncommon knowledge: Under same external circumstances they act in different ways to address strategic situations. (1) Interpretation of the results The interviews were structured like following. There are three aggregated dimensions (executive knowledge schemes, executive scanning and uncommon knowledge use). Each of these dimensions consists of two second-order themes. These feed on the first-order categories which are coded quotes. Executive knowledge schemes mean how executives are determined towards theirs perceptions of knowledge. They are also called knowledge structures. A more detailed view onto these structures reveals that they consist first of the second-order-themes knowledge significance (criticality and distinctiveness relate to the importance of knowledge to the strategic performance of a firm). The usage of knowledge is mostly seen in three areas: technical effectiveness, operational efficiency and customer responsiveness. Second, the knowledge schemes consist of knowledge source (external accessibility, personal competence and lower-echelon knowledgeability relate to the usefulness and quality of different origins of knowledge). Executive scanning means the activity to acquire additional knowledge. It differs in the quantity and the character how managers search to extend the strategic resources. Scanning intensity describes the amount of time and effort managers invest to acquire new knowledge. The other second-order theme scanning proactiveness goes beyond the intensity in order to get better and other information than competitors do. Uncommon knowledge use means the application of knowledge to a firm’s challenges. As long as a foundry does not know how to use common knowledge for its own problems it does not have a competitive advantage of knowledge (it does define about costs as differentiation). Only if it is using uncommon knowledge it becomes distinctive knowledge and therefore turns into a competitive advantage. In the second-order themes this dimension is separated into knowledge adaption and knowledge augmentation. The first one describes how to use new knowledge to solve specific problems and generate new methods. The second one goes beyond; it is about understanding problems in principle. When you are familiar with the principle you can adapt knowledge to related problems and through that it is possible to generate new knowledge by you. Different emphases in second-order themes are more likely to be linked with certain emphases on another second-order theme (e.g. strong believe in technological effectiveness is associated with engaging in proactive scanning). Through those linkages Nag and Gioia were able to draw tree knowledge pathways. The knowledge adaption pathways describe the track how managerial distinctions emerge to knowledge adaption. The knowledge augmentation pathways describe the way to the augmentation of knowledge and the third track describes how it happens that uncommon knowledge is not used. In the knowledge adaption pathways executives consider knowledge as most important for operational efficiency. They believe it’s hard to obtain from external sources and they have confidence in their own knowledge but limited trust in workers’ knowledge. They are scan-ning intensively for knowledge and personally they had a greater share in knowledge work. Firms on that pathway are adapting knowledge and come more likely to an incremental development. In contrast described before in the knowledge augmentation pathways leaders have a strong confidence on own knowledge, on workers capabilities and they believe their know-ledge is distinctive and hard to imitate for competitors. Therefore they are scanning pro-actively and engaging others to knowledge work. These companies use uncommon know-ledge through augmentation. Radical innovations are more likely in those companies. On the path for no uncommon knowledge use the executives contribute knowledge mostly to raise customer’s responsiveness. They have low confidence in company’s knowledge, their own and in workers’ knowledge. Through low and infrequent scanning activity they reduce the information available and therefore they avoid uncommon knowledge usage. Companies on that path are less cost efficient than companies on the paths described before. (2) Strengths and weaknesses of the methodological approach In general the study appears consistent and methodologically well done. While interpreting participants the authors included quotations (‘in vivo’ codes) of the respondents in the paper to underline their interpretations. For â€Å"member checking† they organized two group discussions with executives to verify the findings. They had a grounded theory approach. Starting from the interviews they developed inductively the model. In a quite good manner they developed graphics illustrating their model which make the study easier comprehensible for outsiders. It could be criticized that the authors did not reveal their bias and research background to the topic. In 2006 Nag published his dissertation with the title â€Å"From common to uncommon knowledge: An investigation into the socio-cognitive foundations of inter-firm heterogeneity in the use of knowledge as a resource†. Gioia was the chair of the dissertation committee. The dissertation had the same study population from the foundry industry with partially identical interviewees. In that dissertation more and less detailed sketches of the model in the current paper were presented. Against this backdrop the inductive approach could be suspected. It is more likely that there already existed some detailed ideas how the outcome could look like. Maybe here is the reason why the authors presented the literature review in the beginning which is unusual for an inductive approach. But nevertheless the developed model seems to be fully founded in the data. It could be mentioned more clearly when actually common knowledge becomes uncommon knowledge. The kind of knowledge which is spoken about is not clear enough. For example in the dimension knowledge schemes there are mentioned market insights as well as technological insights. But concurrent the dimension uncommon knowledge usage is all about technological and process effectiveness issues. Furthermore following there are detailed critiques concerning the sampling and the interviews. Sampling The study population like chosen in the study is well defined and concrete: Firms belong with the same industry Saturated industry with a lot of established common knowledge (=same basis) and where uncommon knowledge is the way to compete Foundries have a comparable (low) complexity (

Lennie & George in “Of Mice & Men” Essay

In the story â€Å"Of Mice & Men†, John Steinbeck creates a pair of low-class companionship as the story’s main character. This pair of companionship, George and Lennie is very different from each other, nothing alike, no matter talking about their figures, personality, IQ, etc, except that they both carry the same American dream as they spend their hard days traveling together and working in the ranch. Lennie is portrayed as being childlike. He looks up on George as a parental figure: â€Å"Lennie’s lips quivered and tears started in his eyes.† Lennie seek reassurance from George like a child does from their parents. He displays the excitement of a child: â€Å"Tell me about the rabbits, George. Tell me about the rabbits.† Steinbeck suggests that Lennie’s dependent on George and that we all need companionship even if the relationship is unequal. Not only is Lennie portrayed as being childlike, but also very forgetful: â€Å"I forgot, tried not to forget. Honest to god I did George†. Lennie always gets in trouble, and always needs George to help him out.: â€Å"Course you did. Well, look Lennie— if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like u always done before, I want you to come right here and hide in the bush†. Not only does he make himself in trouble but also gives trouble to George: â€Å"An’ whatta I got, I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Steinbeck wants to give the readers a hint or preparation that a serious event is going to occur with Lennie, he also wants to convey that although Lennie is big, it doesn’t mean that he has a big brain nor can he be independent and look after himself. Lennie is also being put in a character with characteristic’s like an animal: â€Å"His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.† Lennie enjoys keeping mice, but as a result always kills it:† They were so little, I’d pet them, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinch they heads a little and they was dead— because they were so little.† Steinbeck wants to show that a big man also has a sensitive side, and that being strong also has disadvantages, especially for Lennie who enjoys to pet mice and as a result kills it very quickly due to his big, strong hands. Lennie’s physique is described by Steinbeck as being big, strong looking, but is also described to have body parts in which imitating an animal: â€Å"A huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.† Although Lennie is very immature, but he is a very helpful and great worker : â€Å"Say, you sure was right about him. Maybe he ain’t bright, but I never seen such a worker.He damn near killed his partner buckin’barley. There ain’t nobody can keep up with him. God, awmighty I never seen such a strong guy.† Steinbck points out that even an immature, childish man like Lennie with low IQ, can also work better than a normal man, and that we should always give a chance to people like Lennie to work like a normal person with no prejudice against them. Lennie is a very simple minded man, and does whatever George tells him to do. He never thinks for himself and won’t bother to rate if it was dangerous or not, he simply just does as he says, like master and servant: â€Å"Tell you what made me stop that One day a bunch of guys were standin’ around Sacramento River.I was feelin’pretty smart. I turned to Lennie and says â€Å"Jump in† and he jumps, couldn’t swim a stroke. He damned near drowned before we could get him.† Not only does Lennie always listen to Georges demands, but he also never rejects him and never dares to argue with him. â€Å"He never got mad with it neither. I’ve beat the hell outa him, and he could bust every bone in me just with his one han’, but he never lifted a finger against me†. Steinbeck expresses to readers that Lennie looks up at George at a higher status, like an idol and believes that whatever George tells him to do, is  for his own good, which is why he listens to George not minding if it is dangerous or not. Where as the other main character in the story â€Å"Of Mice & Men†, known as George, is totally different from Lennie. George is suggested to protect Lennie too much, and that he doesn’t let Lennie talk when he is suppose to. When he sells Lennie too much, people might mistaken that George is hiding something about Lennie.: â€Å"Then why don’t you let him answer? What you trying to put over?†. George also uses a special technique to make Lennie listen to him, from this technique he gives pressure to Lennie so that he will always keep George’s words in mind.: â€Å"But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits.† Steinbeck points out that George is protecting Lennie too much, and that he should always let him try and let him communicate more, socialize more and approach the outside world more, or else he would depend on George too much and takes it as an advantage. George is also suggested to be smart, and has a lot of common sense. He uses his sensitive sensitivity to teach and lead Lennie to the right track: â€Å"Tastes all right, don’t really seem to be running though. You never oughta drink water when it ain’t running, Lennie.† Not only is George sensitive but he is also very smart in the ability to judge correctly: â€Å"You never had none, you crazy bastard. I got both of ’em here. Think I let you carry your own work card?† Steinbeck shows the readers that it is an advantage for Lennie to be looked after by George, for George has the power to untie him from troubles he makes, and knows what’s best for him. Steinbeck also tells the readers, that the people with the same problems as Lennie should always be helped and be guided to the right way, instead of being discriminated. George also gets very fed up with Lennie sometimes, having to escape with Lennie from the troubles Lennie has caused from time to time.: â€Å"God a’mighty, if I was to live alone I could live so easy. I could get a job and  work, and no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want.† But on the other hand, he also cares a lot about Lennie’s feelings, and always persuades him to think towards the positive side when Lennie is depressed.: â€Å"Aw, Lennie! I ain’t taking it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a while.† Steinbeck suggests that in order to be companionships, we will have to care for one and another’s feelings, Steinbeck also coveys that there aren’t any perfect pair of companionship, for there has to be arguments between people, since humans are born with these characteristics. George having to be a trustworthy companionship with Lennie, always believes in his partner no matter what happens. He will always trust Lennie for whatever he does, and the decisions he makes.: â€Å"Lennie never done it in meanness. All the time he done bad things, but never done one of them mean.† George makes the relationship between Lennie and him like a family, George tells Lennie about their dreams, and how they are different to other people, as if it’s going to come true. George gives hope to Lennie making him feel better and have a target so that he won’t feel that he is working for nothing and that they are working to make their dream come true.: † But not us! An’ why? Because †¦because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Steinbeck tells the readers that although these low-class workers are poor and lonely, they haven’t got a stable home. But George and Lennie are different. For they carry a hope, a dream. This is why George and Lennie are never lonely. Steinbeck also suggests that an American dream in those days, does not come true easily. Overall I think that John Steinbeck wants us to know that we should use Lennie and George as an example to how we should treat people with the same problems as Lennie is facing. Instead of discriminating them, we should always give them a hand of trust to help them. John Steinbeck also suggests  that although Lennie may have mental problems, but from this information, it doesn’t mean that Lennie is useless. He may be stupid, but he is very hard working and may be better than most normal workers working in the ranch. John Steinbeck also wants us to know that although people like Lennie often creates serious problems due to his stupidity, this doesn’t suggest that he can use his low IQ, and stupidity as an excuse to not face the problem and just find another job, not caring what he had done before.

The Uses of The

The Uses of The The Uses of â€Å"The† The Uses of â€Å"The† By Maeve Maddox A reader has a question about the use of the definite article the: I have been searching without success for a good and thorough explanation of how and when to use the. I have an Iranian friend, and his English is excellent, save for his use of the. Neither he nor I have been able to find anything that clearly and comprehensively explains all of the different uses. Any suggestions? I doubt any source can be found that explains â€Å"all of the different uses of the clearly and comprehensively.† One researcher has called the English article system a psychomechanism, â€Å"a system through which native speakers use articles correctly but unconsciously.† The misuse of the does not impede communication, but it is a clue that an email purporting to be from an English-speaking friend supposedly stranded in a foreign country is a scam. The only suggestion I can offer about the use of the is that the secret lies in the concepts of definiteness and countability. Definiteness A noun has â€Å"definiteness† when there is something unique or specific about it. Here are some examples: The sun was worshipped by the ancient Aztecs. (In this context, sun is uncountable) The driver found an injured cat. He took the cat to an animal clinic. (First it’s â€Å"a cat,† one among many. Once mentioned, it’s â€Å"the cat,† the specific cat that was picked up by the motorist.) She’s waiting for the bus. (In this context, â€Å"the bus† is a service.) Other examples: We took the train to Chicago. I prefer the telephone to email. The Salvation Army feeds the hungry and ministers to the poor. (The is used with adjectives that are used as nouns to denote a group.) Countability Nouns are said to be countable or uncountable. Other terms are count nouns and noncount nouns. Because countable nouns can be counted, they have a singular and a plural form: one cat, two cats. The difficulty with this category is that some nouns can be both countable and uncountable, depending on context. Compare: Major crops are cotton and rice. Fido takes the cotton out of all his toys. You prepare the salad and I’ll cook the rice. I don’t much care for coffee. They ordered three coffees and a tea. Here, you take the coffee. I don’t want it. His brother is still looking for work. She quit her job because she didn’t like the work. ESL speakers struggling with the uses of the will benefit from the use of a dictionary designed for them. Regular dictionaries don’t always categorize nouns as to count and noncount, but beginners’ dictionaries do. Nouns that are usually noncount can be learned according to certain categories. For example: Agricultural crops: coffee, rice, sugar, etc. Natural phenomena: rain, snow, gravity, etc. Liquids: water, wine, blood, etc. Abstractions: honesty, courage, intelligence, etc. The British Council site offers a thorough discussion of the uses of the. 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 Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"Homogeneous vs. HeterogeneousUsing Writing Bursts to Generate Ideas and Enthusiasm

Women and the development of canada in the 20th century essays

Women and the development of canada in the 20th century essays Women had a very significant impact on the development of Canada in the 20th century. Although women were often looked down upon, and disrespected, they demonstrated bravery and strength in many historical events. During World War I many women volunteered abroad as nurses, while others maintained Canadas economy by taking over the jobs of the men who enlisted in the army. In the Persons Case of 1929, five determined women illustrated the strength of their will power during their struggle to fight against the prejudice towards women. Lastly, not only did the women show immense support in the home front during World War II, but they also enlisted in the army overseas. Their might and determination significantly developed Canada to her prosperous state in the 20th century. The commencement of World War I greatly changed the role of Canadian women. It brought forth new and unanticipated opportunities. Since there was a lack of male workers, women were able to enter the workforce in non-traditional jobs. Between 20,000 and 30,000 worked in munitions factories, on aircraft and lifeboat assembly lines, and other war production industries. Thousands more worked in the civil service, in banks, offices, factories and farms, which maintained Canadas economy. The women showed tremendous support to the Canadian soldiers abroad through their deeds, which may seem very negligible, such as community fundraisers, bazaars, card games, dances, and much more. Numerous women volunteered for the Red Cross, rolling bandages, knitting socks, and packing food parcels to be sent overseas. Not only did thousands of women work at home to contribute to the war effort, but thousands more served abroad as nurses, ambulance drivers and running the military canteens and clubs . The contributions of these patriotic women made the burden and the pain of the war seem much lighter. Very prominent for their compelling determination, the Famous ...

What Is Content Hacking (How to Be a Content Hacker) - CoSchedule

What Is Content Hacking (How to Be a Content Hacker) Have you ever heard of growth hacking? Its a  marketing technique developed by technology startups that uses creativity, analytical thinking, and social metrics to sell products and gain exposure. Its a bit scrappy, and completely focused on results. Does that sound familiar? Growth hacking isnt too far off from its counterpart, content marketing, a technique that we all know and love. In fact, its so close that it just might call for an entirely new breed of hacker:  The content hacker. Wait, hacking? Cant you go to jail for that? #ContentHacker = A growth-focused content marketer. #growthhacking #infographicListen, if you want your blog to grow, you may want to learn a thing or two from the content hacker. He or she is traffic-obsessed and focused on nothing but growth. In my upcoming book,  The 10x Marketing Formula, I describe in depth how to combine the best of growth hacking and content marketing. Heres an excerpt from the book that sheds more light on how to become a content hacker. Becoming A Content Hacker In 2010, Sean Ellis, co-author of Hacking Growth and CEO of GrowthHackers, coined the term growth hacking in a blog post entitled, â€Å"Find a Growth Hacker for Your Startup.† Ellis wrote: â€Å"A growth hacker is a person whose true north is growth. Everything they do is scrutinized by its potential impact on scalable growth.† He further explained, â€Å"An effective growth hacker also needs to be disciplined to follow a growth hacking process of prioritizing ideas (their own and others in the company), testing the ideas, and being analytical enough to know which tested growth drivers to keep and which ones to cut. The faster this process can be repeated, the more likely they’ll find scalable, repeatable ways to grow the business.† From its inception, growth hacking described people whose sole focus is growth. And whose process is a thousand short-sprints that methodically test ideas. Keeping what works; killing what doesn’t. Growth hacking has never been code for being irresponsible and unaccountable. Running fast doesn’t mean running without strategy. But strategy in this context isn’t traditional fare. In marketing, growth strategies are confused with 52-page internal documents that spell out how often you’re going to blog, publish to social media, and push ad campaigns. The stuff of marketing plans. But think about this. Every second you’re not finding ways to directly benefit your customer base and audience is wasted effort. Because once the strategy is submitted, reviewed, and approved by your boss, it’s over. Now, instead of assuming responsibility for the results, you’ve passed it off on your boss. He or she now owns them, not you. In the bureaucracy, so long as you have a strategy, you’re safe. I see this happening all the time. Writing it down feels safe. But the problem with feeling safe is it becomes the goal rather than results. After you’ve spent a week or more in documentation mode, all that’s left is working the strategy. But in the digital landscape, what’s the likelihood said strategy will be viable three months from now? This is the primary fault line in the marketing-plan mindset. Ready for the good news? You can become a superhuman marketer by merging the best of growth hacking and content marketing. The Three Constraints Growth hacking is about turning clever tactics into fast-paced growth. Content marketing is about creating, publishing, and sharing valuable content with your audience to convert traffic into customers. But as we saw in chapter one, with its rising popularity, content marketing alone may not be enough. This means marketers need to take a page from the growth hacker’s playbook. We need to become content hackers. A content hacker is a results-or-die! marketer who merges agile growth tactics with high-converting content to achieve rapid 10x growth. And they never stop doing this. All you need to start are the three constraints: One Metric that Matters + Goal + Timeline = Content Hacker One Metric that Matters The first constraint is focus. Content hackers doggedly pursue growing one, and only one, metric. It’s the gas pedal to slam on- the one metric that will accelerate your business more than any other. Goal The second constraint is specificity. Content hackers set specific goals for measuring the one metric that matters. They’re not looking for â€Å"more† users or â€Å"increased† revenue. They are dead-set on a $100,000 increase in monthly sales. Content hackers set hard numbers to reverse engineer from. Timeline The third constraint is speed. Content hackers define a clear timeline for when their goal will be a reality. It’s a specific month, day, and year. And ideally, it’s much shorter than what sounds safe or comfortable. And there you have it. The three constraints are your new documented marketing strategy; and the tactics and communication between your team remains fluid. People are usually stunned by this. But it’s the happy truth. It’s neither complex nor gangly. Instead, it’s simple, messy in the middle, and effective in the end. We hope you realize that you can do this, too. That doubling your sales, tripling your email list, or increasing users tenfold isn’t outside of your grasp. And even better, you can start sprinting toward 10x growth in the time it takes you to drink a cup of coffee. This infographic will give you a peek inside their inner psyche and help you become a content hacker. The Tweetable  Characteristics Of A  Content Hacker The #ContentHacker doesnt see product/market fit, he sees content/audience fit #contentmarketing The #ContentHacker eats, sleeps, and drinks blog growth #contentmarketing An opportunistic #ContentHacker turns contacts into connections #contentmarketing Where a #GrowthHacker sees scale, a #ContentHacker sees sustainability #contentmarketing The #ContentHacker eats data and only settles for moving the needle forward  #contentmarketing An SEO-minded #ContentHacker has been leveraging the search base since 1991  #contentmarketing Viral growth can be manufactured if youre a real #ContentHacker  #contentmarketing

Conference and banqueting management Assignment

Conference and banqueting management - Assignment Example The emergence of banqueting and conference sector has resulted in the generation of huge employment in the entire U.K. The scope of hospitality industry in U.K. is very high. It has been recorded that the UK hospitality sector has generated employment for more than 1.6 million people. In Britain the hospitality industries play a crucial role towards the growth of employment as it is the third largest sector that provides employment. Most of the places in UK are also famous tourist spots and this factor attracts many people to the countries. The hotel and banqueting sector has helped to receive foreign capitals from tourists and business owners. It is clear that conference and banqueting companies have great advantages but there are some issues that are affecting the sustainability of the sector in UK. For example, the Venice Carnival has resulted in the increase of the level of pollution in the lagoons and the Adriatic Sea. The traffic and crowd control has increased the expenses of the government drastically. This factor has affected the banqueting business as government has initiated policies to protect the environment and water and reduce the pollution level by imposing some restrictions on people and banqueting businesses. Most of the catering companies act as a third party to the hotels and the restaurants. The catering companies also allow their employees to participate in events organized in hotels or private get-togethers and parties. In the modern world the catering business has received huge attention from people because the catering companies are easy to hire and they are capable of performing high standard service for costumers. Conference and banqueting managers and assistants offer their service to every customer during the progression of events and private functions such as parties, weddings, dinners, business functions, trainings, product launches and presentations. The business organizations prefer to hire the banqueting