The Personal Development of the Narrator in The Color Purple Essay Example

The Personal Development of the Narrator in The Color Purple Essay The narrator tries to persuade God she has done nothing wrong and she asks him for a sign or answer to the events of her life, I have always been a good girl maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me. She begins to find out what her stepfather is really like to live with and the demands of his sexual needs, which she also as to meet, he never had a kine word to say to me Your gonna do what your mammy wouldnt. The narrator only has a very vivid knowledge of sex, and therefore does not understand her stepfather raping her, first he put is thing up gainst my hip and sort of wiggle it around, Then he grad hold my titties. However she does know it is wrong and that she hates every moment of it:Stepfather: You better shut up and git used to itThe Narrator: But I never git used to it.As a result of these rapes the narrator becomes pregnant. On page 3 there is a subheadingwhich reads, You better never tell nobody but God. Itd kill your mother. And at the start o f the second diary entry (page 4) it begins My mammy dead, this seems to suggest the narrators stepfather has told her mother about the rapings and the baby? Her mother begins screaming and cussing at her. This give the impression that the story told could have been in the stepfathers favor and made to look like the narrators doing? Referring to the bottom of page 3 it says She happy (the narrators mother) this indicates she doesnt know anything about any sex and/or raping thats has occurred.After the death of the narrators mother the narrator is made to become the next motherly figure. She portrays this through the novel by explaining how big (pregnant) she is in terms of work and tasks within her daily life, By time I git all the tray ready the food be cold, By the time I git all the children ready for school it be dinner time. Both of these quotes refer to a typical mothers life. It is evident form the novel the narrator is quite religious as she refers to God at the beginning of every entry, Dear God. She talks about God doing good things and evil for example when she tells her mother the baby is Gods an when the baby is taken away she says God took it.The narrators linguistic skills are displayed on page 4 were she begins set the text out like speech, e.g.Dont nobody come see usShe got sicker and sickerFinally she ast where it is?I say God took itWith this she shows her level of intelligence and degree of education, even though she hasnt had much, what she has been tough she has retained. The narrator notices a change in her stepfather, He act like he cant stand me no more. This indicates he only likes her when she is looking nice, this seems not to be love, but lust Why dont you look decent. At this stage in the novel the narrator is feeling strongly emotional because she as just given birth, her body is flowing with nature, I of breasts full of milk running down myself, ready to feed the new born.The narrator hates her stepfather because all her troubl es relate to him and all she wants is for him to find somebody else, so she and her sister, Nettie are safe I keep hoping he find somebody else to marry. Throughout her letters she keeps her faith in God and she turns to him for help when ever she need to, Ill take care of you with God help. During the first three letters the narrator has been pregnant twice, this shows how frequently she writes the letters. This means when one is reading the novel things happen very quickly and each letter is full of significant events in the narrators life, he came home with a girl around Gray. She be my age but they be married.The narrator seems to have some kind of feelings for her stepfather even though he as abused her from such a young age, I think she though she loved him. But he got so many of us. All needing something this sounds like she has feelings for him. (not quite sure why?) The narrator is concerned for Nettie because she as a boyfriend and he has three children. With her witnes sing her mothers death coursed by a mixture of difficult children and her Stepfather she fears for Nettie, It be more than a notion taking care of children aint even yourn. And look what happened to Ma.Then narrator has been raped and beaten by her stepfather, he beat me today. She develops great abhorrence and hate towards him and men in general; I dont even look at mens. She begins to make the connection between her suffering and male-stream domination. (Stepfather) With this she starts looking to the female gender for comforting thoughts, I look at women. Im not scared of them.The narrator is thinking about her mothers death and she blames her stepfather, Trying to believe his story kilt her. This quote can also be used to link the first part of the essay, when I connected the first comment on page 3 (letter1) with the beginning of the 4th page (ltter2). I suggested that the narrators stepfathers had twisted the facts about the rapes and pregnancy and the above quote seems to rei nforce that analogy. If so, this would explain why the narrators mother was screaming and cussing her. In letter five the reader learns that the narrator is unable to have another pregnancy,Girl at church: You get big if you bleed every monthThe narrator: I dont bleed no moreThis makes the narrator in some way relieved because after her mother died with stress from children and her husband I believe she feels more secure.When Shug Avery is mentioned in letter six and the narrator expresses immediate interest, I ast out new mammy bout Shug Avery. With this her stepmother gets picture of her and the narrator stair at it all night. It is obvious from the novel she likes Shug Avery, also she said she doesnt look at man any more, but women. She seems to be going through a significant change in her life and quite easily the reader can work out that the narrator my be a lesbian. The narrator says Shug is the most beautiful woman she ever saw, she gives the impression Shug Avery is really s pecial and almost sacred to her, she be dressed to kill, whirling an laughing.Letter nine the reader finally learns the narrator name is Celie! Which is a relief from referring to her as the narrator constantly. She tries to protect her sister from the stepfather by offering herself to him, instead of Nettie, I ast him to take me instead of Nettie while our new mammy sick I can fix myself up, but he beats her and calls her trampy and rapes her anyway. This makes me think Celie feels she has nothing to lose because she has already been abused so much, but her sister is pure and Celie seems to be prepared keep it that way.Celies self-confidence is under attack when she over hears a conversation between her stepfather and Netties boyfriend. She feels second best, useless and used when her stepfather describes her as Ugly and Spoiled, it took him the whole spring from March to June, to make his mind up to take me. I think Celies love for Nettie is out standing because all through the n ovel Celie tried her best to protect her, she could come to me if I marry him. Nettie is an intelligent girl and we have evidence of this in letter 7 were she makes the link between Cucumbers and Columbus. This is a significant indication to Netties intellect and should be noted. In the novel there are many small phrases which have great significance.The men in the novel usually treat Celie with no respect and she gets used to being told what to do, Mr. _________ want another look at you. She is normally nervous when she is around men because she doesnt quite know what their response will be. Celie goes in to town and she sees a woman holing a baby Celie believes this is her baby. She begins to show great interest in the baby and she even notes the baby emotions, She fretting over something. She got my eyes just like they is today. Like everything I seen, she seen, and she pondering it. The babys mum tells Celie the baby is called Pauline, but she calls her Olivia. Then Celie tells the reader about the embroidery she did on the babys clothes Olivia, The mum says she calls her Olivia because she looks holy. This seems a feeble reason for calling her Olivia and the reader begins starts to think the baby probably is Celies. Celie and the babys mother are having a conversation, Celie is really enjoying herself, however when the babys dad comes he stops the fun immediately and Celie is yet again left with another male negative encounter.In letter 11 we learn that Nettie comes to stay with Celie and her husband because she has run away from Alphonso. Nettie presence makes Celie feel more comfortable. Celie shows evidence that she still cares more about her sister than herself, It nearly kill me to think she marry somebody likeMr.________. Even though Celie, much of the time, is by herself she says long as I can spell G-O-D is got somebody along. Eventually Mr.________ realises he has failed to seduce Nettie and thrown her out, there is a dramatic plead to let Nett ie stay but Mr. ________ ignores them and regardlessly splits the sisters up. This makes Celie feel lost unwanted and alone, because Nettie was the one who always passed on compliments to her and made her feel better about herself and intelligence.

Georg Baselitz, Creator of Upside-Down Art

Georg Baselitz, Creator of Upside-Down Art Georg Baselitz (born January 23, 1938) is a Neo-Expressionist German artist best known for painting and exhibiting many of his works upside down. The inversion of his paintings is a deliberate choice, aimed at challenging and disturbing viewers. According to the artist, he believes that it makes them think more about the grotesque and often disturbing content. Fast Facts: Georg Baselitz Full Name: Hans-Georg Kern, but changed his name to Georg Baselitz in 1958Occupation: Painter and sculptorBorn: January 23, 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, GermanySpouse: Johanna Elke KretzschmarChildren: Daniel Blau and Anton KernEducation: Academy of Visual and Applied Art in East Berlin and Academy of Visual Arts in West BerlinSelected Works: Die Grosse Nacht im Eimer (1963), Oberon (1963), Der Wald auf dem Kopf (1969)Notable Quote: I always feel attacked when Im asked about my painting. Early Life and Education Born Hans-Georg Kern, the son of an elementary school teacher, Georg Baselitz grew up in the town Deutschbaselitz, in what would later be East Germany. His family lived in a flat above the school. Soldiers used the building as a garrison during World War II, and it was destroyed during a battle between Germans and Russians. Baselitzs family found refuge in the cellar during the combat. In 1950, the Baselitz family moved to Kamens, where their son attended high school. He found himself heavily influenced by a reproduction of Interlude During a Hunt in Wermersdorf Forest by 19th-century German realist painter Ferdinand von Rayski. Baselitz painted extensively while attending high school. In 1955 the Art Academy of Dresden rejected his application. However, he began studying painting at the Academy of Visual and Applied Art in East Berlin in 1956. After expulsion due to socio-political immaturity, he continued his studies in West Berlin at the Academy of Visual Arts. In 1957, Georg Baselitz met Johanna Elke Kretzschmar. They married in 1962. He is the father of two sons, Daniel Blau and Anton Kern, who are both gallery owners. Georg and Johanna became Austrian citizens in 2015. Lothar Wolleh / Wikimedia Commons / GNU Free Documentation License First Exhibitions and Scandal Hans-Georg Kern became Georg Baselitz in 1958, when he adopted his new last name as a tribute to his hometown. He began painting a series of portraits based on observations of German soldiers. The focus of the young artist was the German identity in the aftermath of World War II. The first Georg Baselitz exhibition took place in 1963 at Galerie Werner Katz in West Berlin. It included the controversial paintings Der Nackte Mann (Naked Man) and Die Grosse Nacht im Eimer (Big Night Down the Drain). Local authorities deemed the paintings obscene and seized the works. The ensuing court case was not settled until two years later. Various Signs (1965). Hans-Georg Roth / Getty Images The controversy helped propel Baselitz into notoriety as a rising expressionist painter. Between 1963 and 1964, he painted the Idol series of five canvases. They focused on profoundly emotional and disturbed renderings of human heads echoing the emotional angst of Edvard Munchs The Scream (1893). The 1965-1966 series Helden (Heroes) represented Baselitz at top form. He presented ugly images that were designed to force Germans to confront the ugliness of their violent past during World War II and political suppression in East Germany. Upside-Down Art In 1969, Georg Baselitz presented his first inverted painting Der Wald auf dem Kopf (The Wood on its Head). The landscape subject matter is influenced by the work of Ferdinand von Rayski, Baselitzs childhood idol. The artist has frequently stated that he turns the works upside down to irritate the view. He believes that people pay closer attention when they are disturbed. While the paintings displayed upside down are representational in nature, the act of inverting them is considered a step toward abstraction. Some observers believe that the upside-down pieces were a gimmick to draw attention to the artist. However, the prevailing view saw it as a stroke of genius that rattled traditional perspectives on art. St. Georgstiefel (1997). Mary Turner / Getty Images While the subject matter of Baselitz paintings stretches far and wide and defies simple characterization, his upside-down technique quickly became the most easily identifiable element of his work. Baselitz was soon known as the pioneer of upside-down art. Sculpture In 1979, Georg Baselitz began creating monumental wooden sculptures. The pieces are unrefined and sometimes crude, like his paintings. He refused to polish his sculptures and preferred to leave them looking like rough-hewn creations. BDM Gruppe (2012). FaceMePLS / Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons 2.0 One of the most celebrated of Baselitzs sculpture series is the eleven busts of women he created in the 1990s designed to commemorate the bombing of Dresden during World War II. Baselitz memorialized the rubble women he saw as the backbone of efforts to reconstruct the city after the war. He used a chain saw to hack away at the wood and help give the pieces a crude, defiant appearance. The emotional intensity of the series echoes the 1960s paintings of the Heroes series. Later Career In the 1990s, Baselitz expanded his work into other media beyond painting and sculpture. He designed the set for the Dutch Operas production of Harrison Birtwistles Punch and Judy in 1993. In addition, he designed a postage stamp for the French government in 1994. The first major U.S. retrospective of the work of Georg Baselitz took place at the Guggenheim in New York City in 1994. The exhibition traveled to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Georg Baselitz continues to work and produce new art in his 80s. He remains controversial and is often highly critical of German politics. Georg Baselitz exhibition at White Cube Gallery (2016). rune hellestad / Getty Images Legacy and Influence The upside-down art of Georg Baselitz remains popular, but arguably his willingness to confront the horrors of World War II in Germany in his art has the most enduring impact. The emotional and occasionally shocking subject matter in his paintings exerted a powerful influence on Neo-Expressionist painters around the world. Oberon (1963), one of the most recognized masterpieces by Baselitz, demonstrates the visceral impact of his work. Four ghostly heads stretched into the center of the canvas on elongated and distorted necks. Behind them, what looks like a graveyard is drenched in a bloody red color. Oberon (1963). Hans-Georg Roth / Getty Images The painting represents the rejection of the prevailing winds of the art world in the 1960s directing young artists toward conceptual and pop art. Baselitz chose to dig even deeper into a grotesque form of expressionism laying bare the emotional horrors that continued to impact post-war Germany. Discussing the direction of his work, Baselitz said, I was born into a destroyed order, a destroyed landscape, a destroyed people, a destroyed society. And I didnt want to reestablish an order: Id seen enough of so-called order. Sources Heinze, Anna. Georg Baselitz: Back Then, In Between, and Today. Prestel, 2014.

Laplace Transforms Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Laplace Transforms - Coursework Example Many Engineering applications which are not solvable using ordinary differential equations can be solved by Laplace transforms provided the Laplace transforms exist. The Laplace transforms seek the exponential order to exist. Many real life Engineering applications can be brought into the purview of exponential order and also it insists the derivative to exist and piecewise continuity must be present. The foremost advantage of Laplace transforms is it converts difficult differential and integral equations to simple algebraic equations which is easily solvable rather than the original differential/integral equations. It can be used in electrical circuit theory to know the original current passing through a circuit for a given electromotive force, inductance, resistance and capacitance. It is used in vibration theory because it resolves function into moments. It is used to find the bending moment of any RC column in Civil Engineering applications. In circuit theory it is more used. In harmonic oscillators, optical devices also Laplace transforms are used. In spring vibrations relating to Mechanical Engineering problems it is much used. In chemical reactions involving differential equations, Laplace transforms are used. Because of the nature of converting from time domain to frequency domain it is used in Biological (genetical) and stochastic applications. It is widely used in Engineering since many Engineering problems involve the complex differential and the integral equations.

Human Resource Management Analysis Questions on Movie "Office Essay

Human Resource Management Analysis Questions on Movie "Office Space" (1999) - Essay Example Instead of the company investigating their problems, it hires consultants Bob Porter and Bob Slydell to downsize its workforce. Tom Smykowski among other employees like Samir, Milton and others, suffer humiliations, indignities and now the downsizing threat. The HR could have undertaken a job evaluation or performance assessment so to determine the source of employees’ fatigue, their lack of motivation so as to improve their efficiency. Employee engagement is vital since it improves employee’s enthusiasm in the workplace (Dgj 2015). Lawrence withdrawal is illegal and unethical because it downgrades the work ethics. Since he was a displeased employee, he could have reached out to the HR and laid out his grievances for a mutual consultation. The work ethics stipulate the relevant procedures and channels of raising job grievances. He could also have utilized the Ombudsman or Labor Union for interventions (Dgj 2015). The consultants, Bobs; could have been the last resort of solving the inefficiency issues. The company suffers dysfunctional organizational culture and lack of effective employee development measures. The management employs autocratic leadership leading to disengagement of the employees (Dgj 2015). It also lacks employee development strategies to enhance their capabilities and motivational levels. Under the Contract Law, the company could sue Peter for Breach of Contract and lack of Due Diligence. Peter having signed the Contract of Employment at inception was bound to uphold the Company’s terms and condition of service which trickled to Breach of Contract. His absenteeism and work misbehaviors contributed to lack of care and conscientiousness which he could face lack of Due Diligence (Dgj 2015). The consultants abused their work ethics in a big way. First of all, they applauded Peter Gibbons misbehaviors like absconding work, coming late and neglecting the company’s dress code. Additionally, Milton relocation to the

Denver Airport bagage system Essay Example for Free

Denver Airport bagage system Essay This article discusses the fundamental design difficulties of the fully automated baggage system originally planned for the New Denver Airport, and their implications for airport and airline management. Theory, industrial experience, and the reality at Denver emphasize the difficulty of achieving acceptable standards of performance when novel, complex systems are operating near capacity. United Airlines will thus make the Denver system work by drastically reducing its complexity and performance. Automated baggage systems are risky. Airlines and airports considering their use should assess their design cautiously and far in advance, and install complementary, backup systems from the start. Ref: â€Å"The Baggage System at Denver: Prospects and Lessons,† Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 1, No. 4, Dec. , pp. 229-236, 1994. The City and County of Denver have built a massive new airport, the New Denver International Airport. It extends over 13,568 hectares (about 53 square miles); has 3 parallel North-South runways, 2 parallel East-West runways, and room for a total of 12 major runways. In many ways the New Denver Airport represents a model of the airport of the future (de Neufville, 1995). At opening, the Airport will have cost about US $ 5 billion including the US $ 685 million contribution of the Federal Government and the over US $ 400 million investment of airlines in fitting out their passenger buildings, catering facilities and cargo centers (US Government Accounting Office, 1994). At the end of 1994, the bonded debt of the municipally owned Denver Airport System was more than US $ 3. 8 billion (City and County of Denver, 1994b). A mechanized baggage system is at the heart of the New Denver Airport, as for all major new airports. In the case of Denver, this was to be something unique: the Integrated Automated Baggage Handling System, originally designed to distribute all baggage -including transfers automatically between check-in, the aircraft and pick-up on arrival. Unfortunately, massive problems plagued this automated baggage system. (See Henderson, 1994, for example. ) Consequently, the New Denver Airport did not open in October 1993 as scheduled. After missing later opening dates in April and May 1994, the Airport seems as of January likely to be open in March 1995. The delay would then be around 16 months. This delay costs the owners a lot. The interest on their bonded debt exceeded US $ 271 million for the single year of 1994 (Deloitte and Touche, 1994). The costs of maintaining the new airport are extra. A commonly accepted estimate of their costs of delay, endorsed verbally by officials in Denver, has been US $ 33 million a month. By March 1995, the delays may thus have cost them around US $ 500 million. A year after the original opening date for the airport, the City and County of Denver borrowed a previously unscheduled US $ 257 million (City and County of Denver, 1994b). This delay is also expensive for the airlines. United Airlines invested about US $ 261 million, and Continental 73 million, in peripheral facilities in anticipation of the 1993 opening (United Airlines, 1993; US Government Accounting Office, 1994). FedEx likewise created a sorting center for around US $ 100 million. By the time the airport opens, the opportunity cost of the idle investments may have cost the airlines around US $ 50 million. Both the airport owners and the airlines will also suffer losses to the extent that the automated baggage system does not deliver the productivity and efficiency that they had bargained for. Airline and airport management can learn much from this unfortunate experience. As indicated by the discussion that follows, the most fundamental problems with the automated baggage system designed for Denver had been predicted by theoretical studies and consulting reports, were avoidable, and should not be repeated. The basic lesson is that automated baggage systems are risky, and therefore that airlines and airports considering automated baggage operations should assess their design and performance cautiously, and should implement them with the insurance of backup systems from the start. Design of the Automated Baggage System The fully automated baggage system originally planned for the New Denver Airport was unique in its complexity, its novel technology, and its anticipated capacity. It was designed to deliver each bag, including transfers, individually from check-in or the unloading of the aircraft to the outward bound aircraft or baggage reclaim. The delivery mechanism consists of about 9 km. (5. 5 miles) of conveyors and over 27 km. (17 miles) of track on which circulate 4000 individual, radio-controlled carts, the so-called destination coded vehicles or DCVs (US Government Accounting Office, 1994). The capacity of each track was supposed to be 60 DCVs per minute, one a second. The essential layout of the automated baggage system at Denver is that conveyor belts feed the central network of DCVs. The bags do not flow continuously from the conveyor belts, however, as they do in traditional systems. Each bag must independently be placed on its exclusive cart, and thus the delivery of the bags from the conveyor belts must be carefully controlled. Furthermore, the conveyor belt can only advance when there is an empty cart onto which the leading bag on the conveyor belt can be placed. The speed at which the conveyor belts can advance and thus the performance of the entire system depends on the rate of delivery of empty carts to each conveyor belt. This is a crucial point, at the root of the deeper difficulties with the original design. The destination of each bag and its individual cart is defined by bar-coded labels, and transmitted by radio to tags (the radio frequency identification or rf ids) on the constantly moving vehicles. The operation of these vehicles is to be entirely controlled by a network of about 150 computers (Myerson, 1994; US Government Accounting Office, 1994). Speed in handling baggage is critical to achieving acceptable boarding and transfer times at Denver, since the distances are much greater those at other airports. The space between the midfield concourses provides for two taxiways (one is standard) between the tails of the aircraft parked at the concourses, and the terminal building in which passengers check-in and pick up their bags is separated from the first concourse by an office block, a garage, and the Customs and Immigration (FIS) facilities. Speed has been considered crucial to the commercial success of the New Denver Airport, which the owners have marketed to the airlines as a highly efficient platform for hubbing operations because of its multiple parallel runways and prospective ability to 1 turn around aircraft flights very rapidly. United Airlines, the dominant airline at Denver, insisted on a rapid baggage handling system before signing its lease with Denver (Flynn, 1994b). The Denver system was thus originally designed to deliver bags much faster than current norms at major airports at up to 38 kmh (24 mph) (US Government Accounting Office, 1994). The maximum delivery time was apparently set at 20 minutes for narrowbody and 30 minutes for widebody aircraft (Leigh Fisher, 1994). The installers are quoted has having planned a design that will allow baggage to be transported anywhere within the terminal within 10 minutes (Airport Support, 1993). Despite the central importance of the automated baggage system, its design was largely an afterthought. This is a common practice, unfortunately. The Denver system was detailed well after the construction of the airport was under way and only about two years before the airport was to open. Being late, the design was thus subject to two important constraints. First, the geometry was tight. The automated system had to fit within the confines of the airport passenger buildings and the underground tunnel connecting the concourses and the terminal; in many instances it was shoe-horned in at considerable inconvenience. Second, the schedule was tight. The system was to be implemented within 21 months, since Denver executed the contract only in January 1992. This schedule precluded extensive simulation or physical testing of the full design. Remarkably, the design of the fully automated baggage system at Denver did not include a meaningful backup system. The planners provided neither a fleet of tugs and carts that could cope with the level of baggage expected, nor even access roads between the check-in facilities and the aircraft. Obvious Problems Highly visible mechanical problems have plagued the automated baggage system at Denver. As shown by television and widely reported in the trade and popular press, the baggage carts have jammed in the tracks, misaligned with the conveyor belts feeding the bags, and mutilated and lost bags (Flynn, 1994; Henderson, 1994; Myerson, 1994). In 1994, United Airlines accounted for well over 60% of the passengers at Denver. Continental Airlines, which was the launch tenant for the New Airport and which used to operate a considerable hub at Denver, has largely canceled this operation: as of November 1994 it closed its crew base in Denver and cut its daily departures to 23 about a tenth of the number offered by United. The airport consultant to the City and County of Denver predicted that by 1995 the United System will account for 90% of the passenger traffic at Denver (Leigh Fisher, 1994). To deal with these difficulties, the contractors are installing additional equipment. For example, more laser readers will reduce the probability of misreading the destination of each bag. More controllers will slow down the carts, reduce misalignments with the conveyors feeding bags, and minimize the momentum that tossed bags off the carts. Overall, solutions to the mechanical problems come at the price of increased costs, reduced performance, and lower cost-effectiveness of the system. Deeper Problem of Reliable Delivery The blatant difficulties with the automated baggage system designed for the New Denver Airport are almost certainly only the tip of the iceberg. There is a deeper, fundamental problem associated with all complex systems of handling baggage, cargo or materials. The more extensive and long-term difficulty is that of reliable delivery times. The fully automated system may never be able to deliver bags consistently within the times and at the capacity originally promised. This difficulty is a consequence of the extreme complexity of its design combined with the variability of the loads. The entire system consists of well over a hundred waiting lines that feed into each other. For example, bags can only be unloaded from the aircraft and put into the system when the unloading conveyor belt is moving, this belt will only advance when there are empty carts on which to place bags, empty carts will only arrive after they have deposited their previous loads and have proceeded through the system, and so on. In short it is a complicated cascade of queues. The patterns of loads on the system are highly variable. These depend on the season, the time of day, the type of aircraft at each gate, the number of passengers on these aircraft, the percentage traveling with skis, etc. , etc. There may be over a thousand reasonable scenarios! Managing a complex network of interacting, fully loaded queues efficiently for any single scenario is complicated. Managing these flows under all the realistic scenarios is exponentially more difficult. Learning how to do this appears to be a major, long-term research project. Both airports, such as Frankfurt am Main, and companies attempting to automate their materials handling, have routinely spent years trying to make their systems work correctly under all circumstances (Auguston, 1994; Zitterstein, 1994). It is not clear that anyone, anywhere, is currently capable of managing a fully automated baggage system one without any backup system or use of tugs and carts for transfers to ensure full capacity, on-time performance, or is likely to be able to do so anytime in the near future (Knill, 1994). Causes of Reliable Delivery Problem Any automated baggage system is subject to risk. The difficulties at Denver are not due to any obvious bad luck or incompetence. On the contrary, the contractor responsible for the installation (BAE Automated Systems) had enjoyed the reputation of being among the best and, on the strength of its good work, has been responsible for most of the major baggage systems recently installed in the United States.

Essay --

â€Å"The Judge’s Wife† a short story written by Isabel Allende presents many of the necessary techniques required to write an effective short story. Alledende’s keen use of setting, character development, and point of view dramatically affect the way the reader perceives the story during crucial turning points throughout the story. Alledende uses these devices to make the theme of fate being inescapable, no matter how hard on tries to avoid it. setting, character development, and point of view play a vital role within the story and without them it would be impossible to fully understand the story. In The Judge's Wife Nicolas Vidal is the main character. He was born a fatherless to a prostitute and was foretold at birth that he would lose his head to a woman. Keeping this in mind, he hardened his heart to allow no woman to come close to him emotionally. As Vindal grew up he became an outlaw and leader of a gang. On the wedding day of Judge Hidalgo, Vidal looks down on the judge’s bride, Casilda, and is not impressed. Vidal's gang have been plaguing the judge’s jurisdiction as well as surrounding areas despite the numerous attempts to stop Vindal. To solve this problem judge Hidalgo set a trap by caging Vidal's mother in the town square surrounded by guards. The judge believes that Vidal will come to rescue his mother, but after three days it is clear that he is not going to fall for the judge's trap. Vidal's mother hangs herself out of embarrassment that her son did not come to save her. As a result, Vidal hunts down Hidalgo. During Hidalgo's escape he suffers a h eart attack loses control of his car and dies. Only his wife and kids survive. Casilda hides her children in the nearby caves for safety as she awaits Vidal's gang, with the i... ... also allows for deeper plot development with the characters back stories and ties two seemingly unrelated events into one flowing story removing the need to use in medias res. The shared point of view is extreamly important in connecting the story with the theme and allows for the reader to pick up on the foreshadowing and irony present throughout the story. â€Å"The Judge’s Wife† is not a long story, but in those few pages Allende creates a piece readers can understand to the point of empathy. Throughout the piece the use of theme, setting and character development make this story effective in developing a deep story in a small amount of time. Allende does an excellent job of writing a short story. Even though the story lacks symbolism it makes up for that lacking by making effective use of setting to really pull the story together and develop the story completely.

Strategic Management and Personal Media Players

Apple, Inc. in 2010 Assignment Questions 1. What are the chief elements of Apple’s overall competitive strategy? How well do the pieces fit together? Is the strategy evolving? 2. What are the key elements of Apple’s strategy in computers, personal media players, and smartphones? Have its strategies in its core businesses yielded success? Explain. 3. What does a competitive strength assessment reveal about Apple’s computer business, as compared to the leaders in the personal computer industry? Use the methodology in Table 4. to support your answer. Does it appear that the company’s competitive positions in personal media players and smartphones or stronger or weaker than its position in computers? 4. Does it make good strategic sense for Apple to be a competitor in the computer, personal media player, smartphone, and tablet computer industries? Are the value chain activities that Apple performs in computers, personal media players, tablet computers and smar tphones very similar and â€Å"compatible† or are there very important differences from product to product?Which of the four products lines—computers, tablet computers, personal media players, or smartphones—do you think is most important to Apple’s future growth and profitability? Why? 5. What is your assessment of Apple Computer’s financial performance the past three years? (Use the financial ratios in Table 4. 1 on pages 94-96 of the text as a guide in doing your financial analysis. ) 6. What recommendations would you make to allow Apple to strengthen its position in its most important markets? What steps should it take to ensure that the iPad becomes a success in the marketplace and a major contributor to the company’s overall performance?Google’s Strategy in 2010* Assignment Questions 1. Discuss competition in the search industry. Which of the five competitive forces seem strongest? weakest? What is your assessment of overall ind ustry attractiveness? 2. How is the search industry changing? What forces seem most likely to bring about major change to the industry within the next three to five years? 3. What are the key factors that define success in the industry? What are the key competencies, capabilities, and resources of successful search engine companies? 4. Describe Google’s customer value roposition and profit formula linked to its business model. What strategies has Google relied upon to build competitive advantage in the industry? 5. Have Google’s business model and strategy proven to be successful? Should investors be impressed with the company’s financial performance? How does the company’s financial performance compare to that of Microsoft and Yahoo? Please conduct a financial analysis to support your position—you may wish to use the financial ratios presented in the Table 4. 1 of the text as a guide in doing your financial analysis of the company. . What are the company’s key resources and competitive capabilities? What competitive liabilities and resource weaknesses does it have? What opportunities exist? What threats to its continued success are present? 7. What recommendations would you make to Google’s top-management team to sustain its competitive advantage in the search industry? How should it best capitalize on its strategic initiatives in mobile phones, cloud computing, emerging markets, and other ventures? Southwest Airlines in 2010: Culture, Values, and Operating Practices Assignment Questions . Is there anything that you find particularly impressive about Southwest Airlines? 2. What grade would you give Southwest management for the job it has done in crafting the company’s strategy? What is it that you like or dislike about the strategy? Does Southwest have a winning strategy? 3. What are the key policies, procedures, operating practices, and core values underlying Southwest’s efforts to implement and execute its low-cost/no frills strategy? 4. What are the key elements of Southwest’s culture? Is Southwest a strong culture company? Why or why not?What problems do you foresee that Gary Kelly has in sustaining the culture now that Herb Kelleher, the company’s spiritual leader, has departed? 5. What grade would you give Southwest management for the job it has done in implementing and executing the company’s strategy? Which of Southwest’s strategy execution approaches and operating practices do you believe have been most crucial in accounting for the success that Southwest has enjoyed in executing its strategy? Are the any policies, procedures, and operating approaches at Southwest that you disapprove of or that are not working well? 6.What weaknesses or problems do you see at Southwest Airlines as of mid-2010? 7. Does the AirTran acquisition make good strategic sense for Southwest? 8. What strategic issues and problems do Gary Kelly and Southwest executiv es need to address as they proceed to close the deal with the AirTran acquisition and contemplate how best to integrate AirTran’s operations and AirTran’s employees into Southwest? 9. What recommendations would you make to Gary Kelly and Southwest executives as the company heads into 2011? Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages Assignment Questions 1.What are the strategically relevant components of the global and U. S. beverage industry macro-environment? How do the economic characteristics of the alternative beverage segment of the industry differ from that of other beverage categories? Explain. 2. What is competition like in the alternative beverage industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? 3. How is the market for energy drinks, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced beverages changing?What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those forces individually or collectively make the industry more or less attractive? 4. What does your strategic group map of the energy drink, sports drink, and vitamin-enhanced beverage industry look like? Which strategic groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions? 5. What key factors determine the success of alternative beverage producers? 6. What recommendations would you make to Coca-Cola to improve its competitiveness in the global alternative beverage industry? to PepsiCo? to Red Bull GmbH?