“I know why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

The poem I chose to analyze was â€Å"I know why the Caged Bird Sings† by Maya Angelou. I chose this poem because even at first read, I noticed that there was a deeper meaning behind this poem and I instantly connected to it. The poem compares the life of a free bird and how different it is from the life of a caged bird. The free bird has the ability to be free and do what it pleases, while the caged bird is limited as to what it can and can't do. As I read this poem, I was confused as to why Angelou decided to write about birds, but by the end of the poem, I understood who the birds were supposed to be representing. After reading the poem I made the assumption that there were two birds, a free bird and a caged bird. The caged bird had â€Å"clipped wings and his feet were tied† (Angelou), so he only had the ability to sing, whereas, the free bird had the opportunity to fly anywhere he wanted, and eat whatever he pleased. In the first stanza, lines 1-3, Angelou describes the adventures of the free bird when she says, â€Å"A free bird leaps on the back of the wind†¦ and dips his wing in the orange suns rays.† These lines help me, the reader, picture a bird flying across a horizon, and just how free the bird is. Reading further ahead, Angelou says, â€Å"And dares to claim the sky as his own.† This line helps me further understand the extent of the freedom the free bird has. The second stanza Angelou describes the life of the caged bird, and how â€Å"his wings are clipped and his feet are tied.† The imagery in these lines helps me picture just how trapped the caged bird is. The caged bird has been stripped of its natural ability to fly and walk. Because of these restrictions, the only thing left for the caged bird to do is sing. Similar to the second stanza, in the third stanza, Angelou describes the singing of the caged bird, saying it is â€Å"fearful trill.† She also says, â€Å"†¦his tune is heard on a distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. Through these lines one can infer that the caged bird is singing is very loud, and through this trill one can hear the fear as well as the desire to be free. As the poem goes on, Angelou again emphasizes her point on how trapped the caged bird is. Line 19 says, â€Å"A caged bird stands on the grave of dreams† (Angelou). To me this line means that the caged bird is so confined to the caged life, that he has given up on all his dreams and buried them in a grave because he knows he will probably never get the chance to achieve them.. However, I was confused as to why the caged bird continued to sing about being free if he had already given up on his dreams. Did the caged bird's struggles describe Angelou struggles? Something that seemed interesting to me in the poem was how the caged bird sang â€Å"a fearful trill of things unknown† (Angelou). The caged bird has never been free, and has never experienced freedom, but still desires it. This led me to believe that even though the caged bird doesn't know exactly what it feels like to be free, he knows that anything will be better than the condition he is in now. After reading the poem for a second time, I wondered why Angelou decided to write about this topic, and if the birds represented something deeper. With further research I found out that Maya Angelou wrote this poem in 1983. During this time, segregation and racial differences between blacks and whites were still prevalent in America. Using this information, I concluded that the â€Å"free bird† used in the poem refers to the dominant white race, while the â€Å"caged bird† represents the oppressed black race. I can also infer, that since Angelou is a black women, she is referring to herself as the caged bird described in the poem. At this particular time period, whites were given more freedom and more rights compared to the blacks. The black people were segregated against and weren't given the same opportunities the whites were given. Due to this, one can infer that Angelou, being black and a woman, wasn't given the same opportunities, and therefore felt trapped like the caged bird. She felt as if the only thing she had the ability to do was use her voice and speak out about what was happening to her and how it made her feel. This is also why Angelou decided to write this poem. It was a way for her to use her voice to get her message out and express how she feels trapped in a society that is dominated by white males. The life of the privileged white male is representing the life of the free bird. The free bird can â€Å"claim the sky† (Angelou) and eats â€Å"fat worms† (Angelou) while the caged bird is not only enslaved in the â€Å"narrow cage† (Angelou), but has also been stripped of the ability to fly. Similarly, the black people during this time period, have been stripped of their fundamental rights as human beings, and are being oppressed by the whites. Singing, or writing, is the only way to validate their existence. The only right that these blacks posses is the right to use their voice and express themselves. In addition to being apart of the black minority, Angelou was a women. Women were given even fewer rights as compared to men, and often were looked down upon all over there world. Her voice was used as a way to demand attention to show the world the challenges she has to face as a black women. The poem † I know why the Caged Bird sings† is symbolic of the hardships Maya Angelou had to face during the time period when the black community was discriminated against. Angelou knows why the caged bird sings because she is the caged bird. She didn't possess the same freedom as the white people, and at the same time, the caged bird didn't possess the same rights as the free bird. Singing about freedom was the only way the caged bird could express its feelings, and writing was the only way Angelou could express her opinions. This poem is very meaningful to me because like Angelou I too often feel like the caged bird. I feel trapped in a society where I am a part of a minority group. Sometimes I feel as if my beliefs and opinions are overlooked and my feelings are not taken into account equally. This poem shows me how using your voice in order to express your thoughts can be a very effective way of commuting an idea, just as Angelou has done.

State and Poem

Journal: â€Å"Sun in My Skin† Robert Johnson The poem â€Å"Sun in My Skin† is a poem that comprises of a Bahamian man who expresses a love for his Bahamian culture. He portrays what it truly means to be â€Å"Bahamian. Johnson shows love of his culture when he states â€Å"But in my brash vibrating arm the cowbell dances† Also he shows pride in our country considering the state we are in when he states â€Å"And when I go to banquets, the food don’t agree with me†.The main focus of the poem is how the writer exquisitely expresses his way of life and how being Bahamian makes him proud. Johnson feels as though being Bahamian is not all about being rich, but to stand up rightfully as people maintaining a peaceful and tranquil Bahama land. The poem also talks about â€Å"rich and cultivated† which means Johnson feels no matter what state, race or situation our country is in, nothing makes him less of a Bahamian. I feel as though the poem is a commemoration of our culture and way of life.How as people, we must fend for ourselves rightfully as â€Å"Bahamians†. I also feel that Johnson had a sense of excitement towards the poem; expressing himself effectively. Other significances are the sun which reflects on our beautiful Bahama land and the cowbells signify the love for our culture and the excitement it brings to the lives of many. The poem â€Å"Sun in My Skin† is one of the many poems that reflect on what it means to truly be Bahamian.

Critique the literature on Intercultural (Business) Communication Essay - 1

Critique the literature on Intercultural (Business) Communication - Essay Example In business, there has to be a common language. Thus, English has emerged as the basic official language for businesses in the corporate world. This may seem as a step towards intercultural communication, but Charles (2007, p. 278) differs. He says that the choice of languages is a tricky issue. He highlights the complex nature of it and argues that that English is more present in multinational regions thus creating its own operational culture. In a sense, it merges the culture of a region with the required operational necessities of the business under question. One has to fully consider the regions and their cultures before venturing into that market. Without proper analysis of these factors, one will not fully grasp the market that is available. This makes entrepreneurs have to do quite a lot of research before venturing. According to Johnson (2006, p. 539), scholars and researchers have only looked at cultural competence as a collection of attributes that are measurable in terms of knowledge, skill and technical know-how of cross-cultural communication instead of paying more attention on the effectiveness the attributes if and when applied correctly. That is to say, rather than just talk/teach about it, those that are informed should practice these attributes in order to achieve maximum prowess as business people. Thus, now people should be educated in ways of making effective uses of these attributes rather than just being taught about them. This will help bridge the gap that occurs between the two cultures. Holmes (2012, p. 708) looks at the concept of cultural competence in another light. Though many scholars have come up with different ways looking at cultural competence, they have failed to take into consideration of the methodology used. He uses the PEER – Prepare, Engage, Evaluate, Reflect – model

Business Research Methodologies Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Research Methodologies - Coursework Example Research Methodology Various tools will be used to collect the extensive sets of relevant data that are required to proceed with the study. The two forms of research are primary and secondary research, where primary is based on questionnaire; interviews and secondary research is based on reports which are already made available through books, articles and internet (Goddard & Melville, 2004, p. 3-4). Research design A research design encompasses procedures and methodologies that are employed to conduct research. The research design defines the type of study: such as descriptive, experimental, semi experimental, correlation and others. Research design is also considered as a systematic and scientific search for precise information on a particular topic. One of the primary reasons for research is to find out the truth which was not revealed in due course of time. Each research has its own objectives and purposes, but in general the key objective of conducting research is to gain new ins ight and is also referred to as exploratory research. In addition, other forms of research are descriptive research, diagnostic research and to test the casual relationship which are conducted in the process of hypothesis testing (Kothari, 2008, p.2).Research design with regards to the study of management style of the supervisors to evaluate the performance of employees at Curry’s PC world is as follows: Research Philosophy: The research philosophy adopted is realism. The realism theory of philosophy was adopted because of its independent nature and is quite similar to positivism and tends to assume a scientific approach. It is mainly used because it underpins the collection of data and thereby understanding the gathered information (Collins, 2010, p.38). Research Approach: The research approach chosen for the study is inductive research approach. Here initial few observations are made and then it moves to broader theories and generalizations. It is also sometimes called the â€Å"bottom up approach.† Conclusions are usually based on premises and also tend to involve certain degree of uncertainty. Reasons for using such approach is that the researcher will be able to draw many approaches on his own as per the convenience of the study and meet with the challenges of the world (Anderson, 2004, p.103). Research strategy: Research strategy is referred to as decision about the tactics of data collection for a given study (Walsh & Wigens, 2003, p.70). The research strategy chosen for the study is through survey approach and case study analysis. Data collection methods: Data will be collected mainly through primary and secondary sources. Primary research will take into consideration the qualitative and quantitative approach. In case of primary research, data will be collected through questionnaires and interviews. For secondary approach, case study analysis will be taken into consideration to analyze the impact of supervisors on the performance of the e mployees at Curry’s PC World. Sampling method is of two types: probability sampling and non probability sampling methods. The study will take into consideration the probability sampling method also known as random sampling (Kothari, 2009, p.60). The study will adopt the simple random sampling technique, in order to gather data for the questionnaire and thereby analyze the result. For the survey, the target group will be the employees of Curry’

International business & strategic management assignment - 1

International business & strategic management - Assignment Example The Danish political system focuses on increasing international security and stability, which will be essential in handling the demands and expectations of the international investors. Denmark has a population of 5.6 million with a GDP of $211.9 billion per annum. In addition, the region has approximately $37,900 income per capita with an inflation rate of 0.8 percent. Similarly, the nation has an unemployment rate of 7.1 percent and the FDI inflow of $2.1 billion (Denmark, 2015). Denmark is one of the global nations with low-context culture, which is essential in determination of the consumer behaviour. For instance, in Denmark, rules are important while knowledge is publicly accessible. In addition, message is delivered best verbally in comparison to non-verbal attribute. Technology continues to shape operations and transactions by business entities. In the banking industry in Denmark, technology plays a critical role in the automation of the operations. For instance, banking industry provides online and mobile banking and the private investment in accordance with the needs of the target audiences. Denmark focuses on the promotion of environmental protection mechanisms and strategies in the midst of global warming or climate change. This makes it essential for the internal and international investors to focus on the adoption of environmental CSR programs and strategies for protection and conservation of the environment. Denmark legal system focuses on the illustration of critical regulations and rules for the opening of retail banking. It is the obligation of the internal and international investors to adopt and comply with such regulations. Prior to 2015, South Africa had one of the most stable political systems in the world. In addition, the political policies and regulations provide the perfect platform for the growth and

The Concepts of Professional and Professionalism Essay

The Concepts of Professional and Professionalism - Essay Example The professions have fallen under criticism for being elitist and protectionist in their efforts to act as a barrier to entry into the profession and a social shield for their members to protect their income as well as their reputation. Professional associations today are required to be more responsive, informed, ethical, and conscientious in their role of protecting the profession from unwarranted disgrace while reinforcing the public perception of integrity and honor within the professional association. Technology and specialization have resulted in the fragmentation of many professions. Membership in a professional association is most often based on specific skills and qualifications. Today, an association defines the occupation and categorizes the knowledge and skills according to the rigorous guidelines set by the state or the industry. The traditional model of the Professional Association as a limitation to entry into the profession has evolved into a post-modern taxonomic mode l at the cost of producing a student's well-rounded experience in teaching and learning. The professional association (PA) has been a natural outgrowth from the antiquated system of apprenticeship that gained acceptance into the craft, tradesmen, and occupational guilds of the middle ages. With the advent of the 16th century, more complex systems of economics, trade, specialization, and accountability emphasized the critical need of specific occupations to maintain the social order and provide for the governmentality of the nation-state (Evetts, 2003, p.405). By the middle of the 19th century, professionals would form associations that would serve to differentiate their members from the excluded non-members. Scottish accountants were forming PAs under the Royal Charter system for the purpose of gaining legitimacy. The monopolistic hold based on mystification and cultural capital needed for membership has eroded as we have seen in the legal profession. Medicine has been exposed to greater outside pressures and has lost much of their power due to a diminished autonomy. The blurring lines in education between higher education and further education have weakened occupational closure in the field of education. New delivery systems, online learning, continued professional development, and specialty courses have made the professions more accessible than ever.  

The businesslike nature of the health care organizations including NHS Essay

The businesslike nature of the health care organizations including NHS - Essay Example The aim of the present study is to prove that NHS is a business organization which has implemented business principles in order to function effectively. The study begins with a discussion on how health care overall in a business and how NHS in UK is also functioning like a business organization. The business strategies being implemented in the organization to improve its performance and efficiency at a low cost are also explained. The trends in global health care are also explained and measures taken by NHS to keep up with the changes are also discussed. The conclusion of the study is presented in the end. Health care as a Business Health care is a USD 6 trillion dollar industry as is very much treated like a business in the global environment. Just like any other business, the health care industry provides provide returns on investments, creates jobs, provides insurance, and is often funded by the government (Ralston, 2007). Moreover, the services it provides are necessary for survi val of a society, thus it must be maintained as a business to ensure the future and present smooth running of the industry. In order to maintain health care as a business, the health care triangle must be maintained, which includes the â€Å"access, cost, and quality† of the services being provided to the consumers (Gandhi, 2012). Since health care is treated like a business, the individuals to whom it provides services are treated not as patients but consumers whose needs must be satisfied. Keeping this view of health care as a business in mind, the concept of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) was introduced by Dr. Elliot Fisher in 2006 (Fisher, 2010). According to this model, an ACO is a â€Å"local health care organization and a related set of providers (at a minimum, primary care physicians, specialists, and hospitals) that can be held accountable for the standards of care delivered to a defined population† (Devers and Berenson, 2009, p. 1). This modal has becom e a major part of the US health care system since its implementation under the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (Gandhi, 2012). The private health care firms operate more like business organizations than the public health care organizations as they provide quick quality care to the patients. Many patients whose treatments are delayed or denied often seek treatment from the private firms that charge their patients the desired price for their services. The private health care industries in the United Kingdom have been a victim of criticism in recently because of their inability to provide precise information of quality and price of their services (Ruddick, 2011).The business for the private health care firms is generated mainly through health care insurance and network agreements while some patients may also choose to pay themselves for the services (Ruddick, 2011). National Health Service as a Business The National Health Services (NHS) represents the three of the four h ealth care systems in the United Kingdom which is publicly funded through general taxation instead of health insurance. NHS is subjected to a number of health care services that are provided free of cost at the time of use. The NHS provides jobs to over 1.2 million people and allows patients with serious conditions, as indicated by the General Physician, a direct access to specialist treatment (Popper, Sutton, Whitnall, and Windmeiier,

Research Project, Focus, Type Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Project, Focus, Type - Essay Example An entrepreneur could not commence a new venture or expand an existing business without accurate and updated information. Nonetheless, the pertinent information about the chosen country, economy, political conditions, laws and regulations, environment, technology, demographics, psychographics, behavioral, cultural and social factors, competitors and market potential is obtained through secondary and primary research. For instance, this marketing research and data collection should be considered as a useful project, because it becomes essential for survival, growth and sustainability of a business entity. The marketers than analyse this information and use for innovation, branding and differentiation. The information garnered will be analyzed and evaluated to develop certain alternatives and policies that could benefit the restaurant as a whole. For instance, the research project will help identifying new business opportunities followed by gaps in market. This would later benefit in expansion and betterment. In addition, the research will study societal changes, purchasing power and consumption trends after which we could improve our existing marketing and advertising campaigns, internal display and food products. The research will include primary (through surveys, focus groups and interviews) and secondary (available online published articles, journals, reviews, reports etc.) information. In addition, it would be comprehensive and descriptive in nature because the researcher will cover all major marketing related issues and points. The economic recession has resulted in massive unemployment and decline in consumer purchasing power (real incomes); therefore, customers demand high quality food products at reasonably lower prices. In other words, price factor will now play the most important role in success and prosperity of the restaurant in tough economic conditions. The literature would be gathered initially through secondary research because it is easily available and cheaper than primary (first hand) information. Websites, online databases, digital communities (Face Book, twitter, my space etc) and web logs may provide sufficient literature that could be used as a starting point. Any weaknesses and irrelevance will then be removed through collection of primary data.

Business Aticate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Aticate - Essay Example tion and bribery in Saudi Arabia is rife but it is all because the Saudis â€Å"have different way of doing business and that has also contributed to the western perception.† Giving the genesis of the complaints the westerns he says that this perception was developed in the oil boom years and in modernization drive. Actually, those were the Americans European corporations which paid the huge bribes to the well connected Saudi agent to get lucrative deals in the kingdom. The complaints have become less common as the western have grown more familiar with the Saudi ways and it is relatively a â€Å"calmer business environment.† The reason of dying out the above mentioned perceptions was the â€Å"availability of excess cash† which helped promoting wasteful consumption. In the subheading â€Å"Business Ethics† (207) Well says, â€Å" the bottom line is that what a Western observer call bribery or influencing paddling does not have the same taint to Saudi. For the Saudi, providing a personal connection as legitimate business service, for which it is natural to expect be paid. In the past, payment has meant whatever the market would bear--------- in other words, whatever you can get away with. But in recent years, the Saudi government---- sensitive to the Western cries of corruption------ has regulated agents â€Å"fee† more closely. -------- For some observes, ‘corrupt† mean departing from locally accepted norms of behavior, in which case the Saudis are merely following their own cultural traditions. Such practices, indeed, are common throughout the Middle East. You might have a less forgiving view, but that’s your business. Literally.† Well coins a phrase of â€Å"mental compartment† to explain the pattern of thinking of the Saudis. â€Å"What this means is that the Saudis tend to see a choice from only one point of view at a time, and to ignore its possible consequences in different areas.†(214) Riad is of the view â€Å"since its[Saudi Arabia] out of the former Ottoman

Integumentary System Worksheet Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Integumentary System Worksheet - Coursework Example This is the most common skin cancer among people with fair skin. Patients with Basal cell Cancer have pink and waxy bumps that can bleed after a minor injury. This type of cancer originates in squamous cells. It is often in areas not in the sun such as feet and legs. However, for fair skin people, it appears in areas that have been in the sun. This is the most common type of skin cancer among dark skin people. Patients with this skin cancer have dull red, rough, and scaly skin lesions. The most common risk factor for skin cancer is exposure to sunlight, which is a source of UV radiation. The sun’s rays cause skin damages, which can lead to skin cancer. Individuals can protect themselves from skin cancer by avoiding outdoor activities when the sun’s rays are strong usually during the middle of the day. The rays can go through windows, clouds, windshields, and light clothing. We should also wear long pants, long sleeves, and particularly tightly woven fabrics. People should also wear sunglasses that absorb UV radiation to protect the skin area around the eyes. It is also advisable to wear wide brim hats that shade the neck and face. This is the least serious of the three types of burns. In a first-degree burn, the outer layer of the skin burns. The skin is usually swollen and red in color although the outer layer of skin is not burned through. There is often a swelling and there might be some pain. A skin injury is a second-degree burn if the first layer of the skin is burned through and the second layer is burned. Blisters develop and the appearance of the skin changes to a reddened, splotchy appearance. There is severe pain and swelling in the second degree burns. This is the most severe skin burn and it involves all layers of the skin. Third degree burn may affect muscle, fat and even bones. The burned areas may appear dry and white or may be charred black. Difficulties in exhaling or inhaling and carbon monoxide poisoning

Except for Native Americans Essay Example for Free

Except for Native Americans Essay These are very powerful words. Even though Native Americans were the first settlers’ of the continent, they were considered immigrants. This paper will discuss the issues these people faced, such as stratification, pluralism, discrimination, etc. It will also describe the role of politics, public policies and economics within this group. The tale of Native Americans, like other ethnic groups, is a tale of deceit. It began when Christopher Columbus and his European friends first came to North America. Columbus assumed he reached India; therefore he had no problems with calling the native people â€Å"Indians†. These indigenous people taught the Europeans how to survive on their continent. They were experienced in hunting and gathering so they felt it was only fair to share their knowledge to help a fellow man out. In return these men brought diseases to these tribes and forced them into a type of slavery. â€Å"As a conquered population, the subordination of Indians occurred through a highly conflictual process. An indigenous group invaded by a more powerful settler group can only capitulate or, more commonly, resist. This ordinarily makes for a high level of conflict and rejection of assimilation into the dominant group† (Marger, 2012). The North American settlers’ deemed the natives uncivilized and inferior (pertaining to technology). Contact and ethnocentrism is a factor of stratification but are not as important as competition and differential power. The land, as a valued resource, caused competition between Indian-white relations. The land was not viewed as private property. The Europeans’ technological skills are what gave them the advantage in war. â€Å"When the vastly superior arms of the colonialists were combined with the inability of Indians to resist the diseases introduced by the Europeans, it was inevitable that whites would prevail in the struggle for resources and that Native populations would decline† (Marger, 2012). The natives did not want to conform to the culture of the new settlers’. They were furious with them and did not want to take on anything they had. The notion of Indians as â€Å"savages† speaks to the prejudice and discrimination that was brought up earlier. This served as reasoning for stripping them of their land. Once it was established the â€Å"Indians† posed no threat to the Europeans, they produced a racist ideology that allowed them to treat these indigenous people as less than human. Some people were forced onto different reservations, thus birthing negative stereotypes, attitudes and actions. As if breaking the Native Americans down and shedding them of their land was not enough, the Europeans’ forced them to assimilate. Native Americans, in order to be a part of the American way, had to give up their religions and put Christianity in its’ place, â€Å"denying Indians native languages and substituting English, and reducing education to an effort to ‘civilize’ Indians† (Marger, 2012). Their children were separated from their families for years at a time when they were placed in boarding schools, run to by the government. They were taught to speak English, wear Westernized clothing, and pray as Christians (Marger, 2012). Government policies had two goals, in a nut shell, it wanted to â€Å"(1) eliminate the Native American population as an impediment to western settlement and the needs of an expanding American economy, and (2) eradicate Native American cultures and political forms† (Marger, 2012). No matter where the Native Americans reside, urban areas or on reservations, they are below the national average on majority of the socioeconomic measures (I.e. , income, education, health care, and etc. ) These give the Europeans more reasons to stereotype and discriminate. Indians were and are still on the bottom of the hierarchy and therefore the minority. To conclude, the natives have been through so much and have yet to come back from it all. Their land was taking over and they were forced to conform to the ways of the Europeans. The Europeans’ superiority meant their culture was more enhanced and therefore needed to be implemented. Discrimination was strong. The disdain for the natives was exemplified when their children were taking away from their families so they can be taught to speak English, and other ways of the West. Today, Americans are showing sympathy for the continued predicament of the Native Americans. Although we cannot take back what happened, expressing sympathy is a positive start. Reference Marger, M. (2012). Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspectives (9th ed. ). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Travelodge And Budget Hotels In The Uk Tourism Essay

Travelodge And Budget Hotels In The Uk Tourism Essay Travelodge is the first budget hotel launched in 1985 in UK. It operates 380 hotels with 26,500 room in the UK. Travelodge is planning to grow 1000 more hotels by 2020. It employs above 5500 people and 87% of the booking are made online. The UK hotel market is estimated around 700,000 rooms (source: Melvyn Gold, Qualification of serviced accommodation supply in UK, December 2007) UK hotel market is segmented mainly into four categories, Brander full service which has 14% of the market share, branded budget 12% branded mid market 62% and unbranded independents 62%.the current economic environment has seen increase in drop out of unbranded independents and people prefer to book with branded budget due to network coverage, brand strength strong balance sheet and distribution. Grant Hearn, Travelodge CEO, commented: 2008 was another record year of growth for the Travelodge brand with over 19% revenue growth. Room sold increased by 9 percent to 6 million The growth of Travelodge has been incredible but company faced a few challenges and one of the major challenge company is facing is overbooking. Overbooking is one of the important revenue management tool in hotels operation management to operate effectively and enhance profitability. Revenue Management is seen as an important technique in the hotels operation and therefore to maximize their revenues, hotels are increasingly implementing Revenue Management practices (Hwang and Wen, 2009). As a consequence of implementing such systems, many companies in the service sector such as hotels systematically overbook capacity in order to maximize the revenue at one particular point in time (Wangenheim and Bayà ³n, 2007). If overbooking is not implemented correctly it can result in loss of room revenue, loss of hotel reputation, decreased customer loyalty and decrease hotels profitability. This report discusses the main characteristics of overbooking and its impact on the company in theoretical and practical prospective. Theoretical insights of overbooking One of the central concepts in Revenue Management is overbooking. The practice of overbooking can be defined as confirming more reservations than the hotels available physical capacity to provide the service. (Ivanov, 2006; Ivanov, 2007; Chiang et al 2007; McGill, van Ryzin,1999; Kamath, Bhosale, Manjrekar,2008). Hence, the objective of overbooking is to improve the expected profit and instead of selling each room once, profit can be increased by selling it several times (Birkenheuer, 2009). In fact, overbooking as an integral part of Revenue Management has received significant attention from literature. From a historical perspective, overbooking is present in the studies of Falkson (1969), Simon (1968), Vickrey (1972) and many others. The major objective of these studies was to outline a control practice for cancellations. Nowadays, overbooking has become an emerging matter in industries with perishable products. It yields considerable impacts on companies performance. In terms of the hospitality industry, the profitability of hotels is largely dependent on their utilization of capacity. Conversely, demand for rooms and extensions of stay are very unstable and are hard to predict (van Ryzin, 2005). Hoteliers are challenged by how to determine the occupation of rooms for customers who are financially unequal and meanwhile maintain a stable rate of demand given the hard to predict circumstances (Okumus, 2004). This is all possible utilizing overbooking, which enables proper allocation of resources and optimization of sales. However, maximizing the number of sold rooms per night cannot be easily accomplished. One of the most challenging tasks of the hotel operation management is to deal with the unpredictable nature of the customers, because not all booked reservations will turn into real service consumption (Lai et al, 2005). To this end overbooking may entail a company from the hospitality industry not being able to serve all its customers properly because of lower number of initially expected people that do not appear as agreed. In this respect, overbooking may have both positive and negative impact. On the one hand, it may result in refusal to provide a service, but on the other, it can also take the form of compensation for those bookers, who cannot received the value package they have agreed on and paid for (Kimes and Wagner, 2001). From their practical experience managers know that all not bookings confirmed for a particular date will be really used (Ivanov, 2006). There are several possible scenarios that can cause this. Despite of their reservations, because of different circumstances some guests cancel their stay and terminate their reservations, some does not cancel their booking but fail to show up, or other guests reduce their stay and as a result the room remains unsold and hence capacity not utilize is lost forever (Ivanov, 2006, Talluri et al, 2004; Chiang et al, 2007; Hung, 2004; Bitran; Leon, 1989). Therefore hotels adopt overbooking in order to protect against losses with no-shows and to offset the effect of cancellations and shortened stays (Hwang and Wen, 2009; Kamath et al, 2008; Selmi, 2008; Chiang et al 2007; Hung, 2004; Sulistio, Kim, and Buyya, 2008). Impacts of overbooking on hotels operation management Apart from the opportunity of the hotel to minimize the effect of reservation uncertainties there are possibilities the number of cancellations and no shows to be less then the number of overbookings, then some of the clients will not be accommodated and should be walked to other hotels (Ivanov, 2006). Thus, if a hotel decides to employ overbooking in its operations it should manages carefully not only the opportunity cost of the unsold room but also the overbooking costs for alternative hotel accommodation and transportation that the hotel has to pay in order to compensate a customer in case of overbooking (Ivanov, 2006; Hung, 2004). Besides the evident financial costs occurring in case of walking a guest having already booked, costs the lost hotels goodwill and reputation and the risks of dissatisfaction, loss of trust, loss of future customer loyalty are much more expensive for the hotel (Selmi, 2007). Overbooking policy and control According to Selmi (2007), the risk of customer refusal appears if the overbooking is no realized precisely. In this regard, Kimes (1989) emphasized on the importance of a clearly stated overbooking policy within the hotel operation management. The objective of overbooking policy and control is to find an optimal overbooking level to maximize the expected revenue and to minimize the potential risk of denied service (Chiang et al 2007). Netessine and Shumsky (2002) as cited by Ivanov (2006; 2007) proposed a basic mathematical model for calculating the optimal number of overbookings and according to his findings the optimal overbooking level is inversely related to the amount of cance llation charges applied the closer the cancellation charge to the room rate, the lower the missed benefit from the unoccupied room and the less stimuli to overbook. In case of presence of guaranteed and non-guaranteed bookings, Ivanov (2007) suggests that the optimal number of overbookings has to be set separately for each type. Alternatively, according to Hung (2004) factors that could be considered while setting overbooking limits include: probabilities of cancellation and no-show; room demand distribution over time and conditions of length of stay; stay extension probabilities influenced by the intended length of stay. Moreover Hung (2004) assumes that the proportion of cancellations depends on the customer category, intended length of stay, day of week of first stay over, and time until first stay over. Impact of overbooking on customer behavior According to Talluri et al (2004) overbooking is frequently cited in customer complaints and remains the primary source of dissatisfaction. Moreover, results of an experiment made by Wangenheim and Bayà ³n (2007) confirm that the practice of overbooking is likely to be perceived as unfair by service customers. Wangenheim and Bayà ³n (2007) analyze behavioral consequences of the fairness towards overbooking by proposing and confirming several hypotheses. According to their research the negative consequences of service failure arising from overbooking are stronger for the high status customer than for the low status customers and therefore, hoteliers have to carefully overbook its high-values classes. Additionally, Wangenheim and Bayà ³n (2007) emphasize on the importance that if a hotel ignores the log-run behavior consequences of overbooking, this may lead to negative consequences on its operations. One such negative consequence is proposed to be a customer who faces a denied service due to overbooking and still remains hotels client because of either high fixed switching barriers or current loyalty membership programs. However, in response to the service failure the customer may adjust its investment into the exchange relationship not only by decreasing the number of sales, but also by trying to take advantage of discount offers or purchasing lower level services from the hotel (Wangenheim and Bayà ³n, 2007). On the other hand, Hwang and Wen (2009) analyze the effect of the perceived fairness toward hotels overbooking and compensation practices by examining customers reactions toward hotel overbooking. Some of their most vital findings from this study are that women are more likely than men to feel that overbooking is unfair, customers perceptions to the fairness of overbooking is not affected by other customer variables including length of stay, membership status, payer source, reservation channel, and reservation time; participants perceived fairness toward the hotels overbooking and compensation policies were strongly correlated with positive word-of-mouth publicity. One of the most important results of the research shows that the perceived fairness of the participants toward the hotels compensation policy is related to their loyalty. Therefore, Hwang and Wen (2009) propose that hotels should consider designing compensations that help positively influence customers perceived fairness t oward overbooking and that encourage customers ongoing patronage and loyalty. In a conclusion, issues like determining the optimal number of excess reservations, minimizing compensation cost, and dealing with the negative effects from customers facing a denied service are considered as the most challenging areas of the practice of overbooking and every hotel striving to maximize its profitability should not underestimate them (Sulistio, Kim, and Buyya, 2008). Practical Implications of overbooking As the hospitality industry is evolving, hotel owners and hotel managers are constantly seeking to update their approaches in order to achieve optimal allocation of resources. Novelli, Schmitz and Spencer (2006) have discovered that hoteliers make every effort to employ contemporary technologies in their business. By this implication, hotel managers and owners do not only sustain competitive advantage, but also create new products and services. In view of this, it can be concluded that implementation of new technologies that create new products is a technological innovation (Evangelista, 1999). On the other hand, the implementation of innovative technologies to a service company can have a significant influence in terms of operational efficiency (Freeman and Soete, 1997). Additionally, Porter (1990) supports the latter thesis by highlighting that the performance of a company is highly dependent on new technologies. In view of technological innovations today many hotels recognize the importance of overbooking practice and thus its implementation has become generally accepted step toward hotels successful operations. The practical application of Revenue Management and Overbooking incorporates the following integral elements (Vinod, 2004): Figure 1 Revenue Management application C:UsersamadDesktopCapture.JPG Source: Vinod, B. (2004), Journal of Revenue Pricing Management Market segmentation: Segmenting customers according to their preferences and spending patterns is a must to make sure the most appropriate customers with perfectly fitted attributes are sold the proper rooms that can maximize revenues (Oliveira, 2003). Defining rate classes (inventory pooling): Involves creating groups of the existing rates that close in terms of value (Vinod, 2004). Demand forecasting: demand forecasting is essential to determine room occupancy. In the context of Revenue Management it is important as it can control occupancy using the data of length of stay. This can be achieved by possessing data on rate class demand and duration of stay (Vinod, 2004). Supply forecasting: earlier and late checkouts can also determine room occupancy, which is an element also involved in Revenue Management. Overbooking control: encompasses sales of rooms exceeding the maximum available number of rooms to offset for no shows and cancellations. However, there are some risks associated with overbooking as it may result in grievances from unsatisfied customers who have received an inappropriate room. In such cases hoteliers offer compensations and fringe benefits (Smith, 1982). According to Vinod (1992) Revenue Management can bring 20% of the total revenues. Revenue mix control and exception processing: involves planning important future dates with discretion and matching them with overbooking levels (Vinod, 2004). Performance measurement and management reporting: closely scrutinizing the Revenue Management processes is essential to track down the data quality and future planning basis. However, in order to lead a hotel into a winning direction, overbooking has to be managed and controlled very carefully. Ivanov (2006) defines the management of overbooking as a set of managerial techniques and activities connected with continuous planning, reservation and control and he outlined two main groups of activities that should be performed in the daily hotel operation. The hotel managers should on one hand, to define an optimal number of overbookings for each date and continuously to modify it according to the market changes of the hotel and the specific demand and booking patters and on the other hand, to manage carefully decisions and operational activities related with walking guests with overbookings. In this regard, Ivanov (2006) proposes that factors such as length of stay, rooms rates and client status have to be considered by hotel managers while dealing with walking a guest with confirmed reservation. Additionally, Kimes (1989) analyzes several managerial concerns essential for an effective overbooking practice and states that top management cannot assume that Revenue Management will just happen, it requires careful planning and training. Thus employees have to be i ntensively trained in order to clearly understand the aim and characteristics of overbooking. Moreover, employees who are directly dealing with overbooking decisions have to be periodically trained how to behave in possible customer conflicts and to take their own decisions in an unfamiliar situation (Ivanov, 2006). In order to be minimized the possible customer dissatisfaction in case of overbooking, it is vital for the hotel to establish service recovery programmes with standardized procedures and to make employees to be aware and follow them (Ivanov, 2006) For a profitable applied overbooking in the hospitality industry, hotels must understand not only consumers behavior but also to consider the impact of competition and the currently economic situation that imposes significant supply and demand fluctuations. As hotels compete with each other in order to attract more customers, Revenue Management decisions of one hotel inevitably influence the demand for other hotels in the same region or area. However, recent trends propose that hotels should collaborate with is competitors that result in increased number of formed alliances with each other to maximize their revenue (Chiang et al, 2007) Revenue Managements challenges in the hospitality industry As explained before, Revenue Management finds application to two significant industries: hospitality and airline. The first one, however, is much more complex in terms of industry saturation and rooms management. This creates hurdles for the optimal operation of Revenue Management techniques. I n the hotel industry Revenue Management can be applied either locally or via centralized system. The second one involves gathering data and taking decisions from a focal site for other properties. In practice only a limited number of hotels and hotel chains are able to manage centralized data processing and therefore the majority of players on the hospitality industry opt for property based Revenue Management. Recommendations for future research Despite of the acknowledged importance of overbooking as one the most effective successful Revenue Management techniques used in hotel operation and widely discussed topic in research literature, there are no current studies discussing the overbooking management of Bulgarian hotels and its impact on their operation. Therefore, future research may focus on the possible application of Revenue Management techniques to the Bulgarian hospitality industry. Future studies may also focus on the demand side of Bulgarian tourism as the country has witnessed fluctuating visitor rates during the past two decades despite the growing profits generated by the particular industry. Conclusions In order to survive in the furious competition and to generate more revenue while using the same amount of recourses it is necessary and critical to the hotels operation management to use effectively its reservation inventory and to increase its occupancy rate (Hung, 2004). Revenue Management techniques and the models of overbooking if applied appropriately would maximize the revenues of hotels (Kamath et al, 2008). However, the possibilities of customer dissatisfaction, and risk of loss of reputation because of denied service, force many hotels to avoid the practice of overbooking. Therefore, before hotel managers to deicide whether or not to implement overbooking they should first consider what Birkenheuer (2009) explained the best estimation of risk and opportunity will provide the best profit. In this study we have outlined the dynamic nature of service industries and have demonstrated the importance of Revenue Management and most notably one of its most significant aspects ove rbooking. We have narrowed the scope of this research down to the hospitality industry and have found major differences in the demand patterns towards such companies in the former industry. Some customers prefer flexible cancellation terms, while others are not much attentive to that. Hoteliers offer differential pricing to their own advantage to hedge against fluctuating demand. We have also found that substitution is one of the most effective method of managing overbooking practices, but yet a cost/benefit analysis must be performed in order to track down the real consequences. Essentially, within the current dynamic decision making situation in the hospitality industry, overbooking levels have been found to have significant revenue maximizing properties. In view of this, through this study we have discovered some of the chief management objectives that could be achieved through overbooking in the framework of Revenue Management: profit maximization; capacity allocation; maximizat ion of average revenue per customer; maximization of net present value; and minimization of customer grievances. Finally, as hospitality industry on a global scale is a mass volume-driven business, overbooking has become an emerging topic as vacant rooms do not bring any profits. However, perhaps even more significant remains the problem how to manage customer disappointment, in cases they cannot be relocated to similar hotels as a result of overbooking.

Aspects And Subcultures Of Digital Culture Media Essay

Aspects And Subcultures Of Digital Culture Media Essay Today digital trends are increasingly connected with the world of culture and arts, involving different aspects of culture, media and information technologies, and influencing new forms of communication. This course paper will review 3 fundamental aspects and particular subcultures of the digital culture. The term digital culture includes 3 main aspects digital culture in videogames, in music and in the Internet. It also includes the vast array of subcultures that have grown up in the last years around these aspects. These new trends have deeply modified all of our day to day activities. In the Digital culture: pragmatic and philosophical challenges Marcelo Dascal speaks about the changes that are transforming the nature of international communication and are modifying the way in which we carry out research, engage in study, keep our accounts, plan our travel, and so on. This article depicts the changes in todays digital culture and that is why it is the article this course paper st arts with. The relevance of the issue is explained by the pace of technological evolution which is much more rapid than the cultural one. No one controls the direction that technological development is taking, it is directing us (Dascal, 2006) This phenomenon of the digital culture influences all the spheres of our life. Today people cannot imagine their lives without digital culture. In the work Youth culture, music, and cell phone branding in China (2005), Jing Wang admits that nowadays music, Internet and video games are all connected with each other. The article examines the place of music in an emerging youth culture. As for the games culture, this course paper will refer to Live in your world, play in ours (by Sheila Murphy and What is video game culture? Cultural studies and game studies by Adrienne Shaw. Besides, the course paper also relies on the work by J.A. McArthur A geek meaning of style (2008) that considers the culture today should be understood as an open and dynamic process that is based on interactive communication. It changes every minute. This means that digital culture is a living system that always changes. That is why it is interesting to discuss the so-called geek subcultures. The present research is a brief review of the articles and an attempt to define how the digital culture and subcultures are reflected in academic studies. This paper summarizes various aspects of digital culture in two steps. It defines three key aspects of the digital culture and demonstrates three main subcultures of digital culture. Aspects of digital culture In the study of digital culture one thing can be pointed out is the sociological aspect. Digital culture is considered to be a socio-cultural phenomenon. There are three main aspects in digital culture. These are video games, music, and the Internet. Video games It is possible to say that computer and man communicate. To the question How will man and computer work together? there is an answer: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦through speech. (Dascal, 2006) Today there is a tendency for the newspaper articles to point out that video gamers are not necessarily who we think they are. As one article asserts, the stereotype of the gamer as a glaze, incoherent teenage boy is wrong (Shaw, A. 2010) What is video game culture? Cultural studies and game studies, p407). In the culture the gamer identity is defined by technical proficiency, geek cultural capital and maleness. While the games that they play make up a wide range of genres there is little diversity among the gamers themselves. According to the data, released by the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), 62% of PC gamers are male and 60% of those gamers are under 36 years old (Murphy, 2004). Dovey and Kennedy (2006) define video games culture by the way of the major discourses used by members of th e video game development industry. Games culture isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a critical site, where discourses around technology, technological innovation, and technological competence converge with dominant conceptions of gender and race (cited in Shaw, 2010, p405) 1.2. Music Music is definitely an aspect of digital culture J. Wang claims according to a BRANDchild study nearly 50% of wired urban teenagers frequently download music from the Internet.(2005, p 187) Basing on this statistic data, no doubt it is important for the youth. We can even say that it has become a new way of communication communication through music. Today people all over the world buy music from iTunes and it is a major part of digital culture that is growing form year to year. The changes happen in music sphere extremely fast and the reason for that is the computerization of the modern world. Almost everybody has a computer and an Internet access, and therefore has unlimited (free or paid) access to music. Such an access is very convenient although uncontrolled. Besides, music has become mobile with the wide spread of portable phones and other gadgets. Mobile music is said to be the panacea that cuts across cultural borders, able to attract global cool youth. (Wang, 2005, p 188) Actually, the world youth prefer music, which is well-known in many countries, therefore music becomes international, no matter what language it uses. Gadgets are developing very rapidly, new mobile means and new opportunities for listening to music arrive. Music has become a field in which tastes and preferences have become more eclectic than ever before (McArthur, 2008) Transnational marketers consider music as the fastest way into the mind and soul of todays youths (Wang, 2005) It rarely needs to be argued that music is the global language of the Now Generation. Internet Of course, it goes without saying that Internet has changed the world we used to know. Today it is one of the main parts in digital culture. Such a global phenomenon as Internet culture has appeared thanks to development of the net and has become a social event in human history. The Internet today is not only huge quantity of computers, but also the improbable quantity of the people, for which network is an essentially new way of dialogue almost not having of analogues in the material world. (Silver, 2004, p 57) The Internet gave everybody a chance of self-realization in this vast space: digital youth subcultures can not be centered round musical preference. (McArthur, 2008) The Internet may be a new resource for the affiliation and expression of sub-cultural identity. It may serve as a place for sub-cultural development. Moreover, it is a place where some subcultures (such as hackers) are born. The use of the Internet as a resource for subcultures suggests that subcultures today are able to affiliate across location and time constraints. It is no doubt effective across time and space.(McArthur, 2008) Subcultures Gamers Video games have produced a variety of subcultures. Some authors look at games as a social practice. For example, T. Taylor (2006) describes an outline gaming culture as a social practice and a shared identity created in the game space. (cited in Shaw, 2010). In the gamers culture, subcultures are marked by their look, specific linguistic jargon, and a sense of solidarity. Gamers often wear clothing that reference specific games, comics, television shows, or movies that are not widely known outside of a small following (Shaw, 2010) One of the biggest subculture of video gamers in the world is the World of Warcraft Community. As Hackeleman (2011) claims: As game developers have strived to create engaging environments and immersive stories for players to experience, independent machine producers have taken an unofficial and sometimes controversial role by expanding the game universe from a different perspective: tinkering with the game engine itself. The demand for this type of user generated content has risen as the addictive qualities of games like World of Warcraft have stimulated the creation of vast social networks and thriving online communities that provide gamers with the ability to stay connected while outside the virtual space. (2011, p 2) To understand the size of the community one can look at its Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/warcraft) where 1,430,549 people (assessed on April 26 2011) claimed their affiliation with the game by following the games group page. According to the official website, more than 11 mln people play World of Warcraft around the world (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com) That is a size of a big city and if we bear in mind that they meet offline, buy different objects form each other and have their own language, they are a real culture, which is only one example of the video game culture. Many other communities of video gamers (such as Second Life, Sims Online, Grand Thief Auto Online) have their own subcultures which include almost 300 mln people playing online (based on estimate provided in Yahoo Answers). In different countries people have different attitudes to this. According to my observations, in Russia most of these players are thought to be computer geeks because they are different non-gamers and communicate with other gamers much easier. But when looking at the worlds most advanced video game culture South Korea à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it is stressed that Koreans are very different from Americans because they treat pro-gamers as heroes, unlike U.S. sports culture that values real athletes. (Shaw, 2010) Music fans The next digital subculture which is considered is connected with the aspect of music. Studies of youth subcultures during the past 30 years have typically coincided with studies of popular music preferences. (Bennet, 1999, cited in McArthur, 2008. p. 58) There are many different music genres, which vary respectively to the style of music. For example, there are widely known rappers and rockers, but in modern world we commonly associate them more with their look and outfit, than the music genre. Those features, which show belonging to certain music style, allow to identify the typical representatives of different music subcultures. That means that there is not only music it is backed up with the different types of culture. One of the most influential musical subcultures existing nowadays is punk. From the Wangs point of view there are 2 types of punk-lovers: originals and wannabes. First group focuses generally on the punk music itself, while the other is more concerned about the fa shion code, and punk music is simply part of their lifestyle. This process went further so much that it has become common to treat punk as a sociological rather than a musical phenomenon from start. Punk is often considered as implementation of youths rebellious moods, but often their interest in punk culture symbolizes the search of band that will help them [students] say I am unique without making them look weird or socially unacceptable. According to Jing Wang, there is a so-called punk syndrome, which refers to the mentality, culture, lifestyle of punk-lovers. The typical representatives of this subculture are angry young high school kids, and the music is their way to show disobedience or the way to cope with the pressure they receive at school. In his article Jing Wang talks about several high school kids, who managed to pull through their entrance exams with the help of punk music. The anger of music, played with drums, bass guitars and songs performed in the aggressive or even shouting ways affects enormously peoples emotions. Online communities An online culture has developed as online social relationships have deepened and matured (Silver, 2004) The net is an accessible and user-friendly area in which subcultures can form, meet, and interact both in online and offline mode. Different groups of users appeared: anime geeks, hackers, flooders and etc. The Internet provides an opportunity for would-be members of cultural groups to seek out people who have similar thoughts to them. As Parker (1989) claimed computers have become a part of the genesis of a new crime from that has added computer programmers, computer operators, and electronic engineers to the traditional categories of criminals. (cited Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2005). Hacking is a widespread international phenomenon, and hackers actions occasionally reach the media headlines. They are one of the most interesting subcultures that appeared on the Internet. According to Turgeman-Goldschmidt (2005, p 8) the hacker community is clearly male dominated and hackers are typically young adults. Moreover most hackers have no previous criminal record, are White and nonviolent, and come from middle- to upper-class backgrounds. The subculture can be divided in several communities of different type hackers. First ones hack the computer system to achieve fame jokers. Not likely to cause serious harm to the system, and express themselves making various humorous captions, viruses with different visual and sound effects (music, shaking or turning the screen, drawing all sorts of images, etc.) Next community type is professional crackers they carry out hacking a computer system to steal or substitute information stored there. They are characterized by systematic and organized action. The last ones are called vandals they carry out hacking a computer system to its destruction: delete data, create viruses or Trojan horses. But no matter what their type of hacker community is according to Taylor (1999, cited in Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2005) there are six motivators for hackers : feelings of addiction, urge of curiosity, boredom with educational system, enjoyment of feelings of power, peer recognition and political acts. During his research Turgeman-Goldschmidt (2005) gives an explanation to each motivator in the hacker subculture. First of all, he says is the feeling for addiction to anarchy and anarchy is extremely entertaining. Secondly, their curiosity for hackers lies in the desire to learn and know as much as possible. Overall, it is stated that original hackers mostly do it not for revenue, but for the idea of free knowledge. They fight against Microsoft and help Linux in any way they find. They are trying to change the world the way the can, fighting with globalization, starting wars against the multinationals, and just by helping to find bugs in the anti-virus software. The considerable group of hackers regularly organizes hacker conventions. It operates a conference in Las Vegas which is annually visited by several thousand participants from all over the world from the U.S. to Australia. Each year the World Congress takes place in Germany is the of hackers, under the auspices Computer Chaos Club. CCC is a three-day conference on technology, society and the future of mankind. (Coleman, 2008) During these meetings hackers even manage to create their own outlook, own language, and made their own bible. For the hackers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ hacking is a new form of entertainment based on the play-like quality that characterizes the use of digital technology and is a new form of social activity. Hacking can be considered a new form of entertainment that could not have existed before the development of an adequate technology. (Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2005) Today hackers became a wide dangerous subculture. Conclusion Digital culture is a largely modern phenomenon. It should be understood primarily as part of general culture, one of the most important aspects of cultural activity in general. There are many other subcultures in the digital culture, but my research is focused primarily on three most popular ones. These three subcultures demonstrate aspects, which are more or less typical for other subcultures, associated with digital culture. As for my experience, during the research I have found out a lot of new about aspects and subcultures in general to particular differences inside different type of subcultures. In general, it was unexpected to learn that every subculture consists of those who are original and those who are posers. Every subculture does have a group of people that are a part of it only because they adore how people of this subculture look like not even understanding the main idea of it. This can be proved by a subculture I have analyzed in my course paper punks. I did not know that there are so many posers that just like the outlook, not knowing the history, nor understanding the main idea of the subculture. Besides, I have never heard of the attitude towards pro gamers in South Korea. They are thought to be almost national heroes there. The interesting fact is that every year they have a championship, in which anyone can participate. It is as popular as watching the hockey matches in Russia. Special TV channels translate news for gamers and computer geeks, youths and aged watch the championship matches together. In result the winner gets a major gift from the sponsor (which reaches $500,000) and incredible respect. The amount of money for winning the tournament motivates people to play professionally from early childhood. As a result, different kind of gamers all together are a tremendous size subculture in South Korea. In Russia digital subcultures are just getting born because our Internet and technology evolution is several steps back from the United States of America or South Korea. But I am sure that in several years we are going to have our own specific subcultures that would be interesting to analyze. Drawing to the conclusion, it is necessary to remember that this issue is extremely complicated and it worth more research. It is always interesting to analyze people, there communications, and new subcultures that reflect current situation in the country. That is the reason why I plan to keep on my research work in a slightly different way after I finish this course paper to analyze the digital subcultures in Russia and their influence on businesses for the next course paper.

The Importance of Latin in the Curriculum Essay -- Latin Language Educ

The Importance of Latin in the Curriculum My memories of Latin in high school are less than fond. I remember slouching in my chair, staring blankly at my desk as I tried to remember the form of the word agricola (farmer) in the ablative plural. Much of the class consisted of mundane activities like this. We translated endless Bible passages from Latin, translated what seemed like the entire body of Greek mythological literature, and read hundreds of lines from The Aneid, The Odyssey, and The Iliad. I signed up for Latin because I was considering going into medicine, and I had heard that doctors need to know Latin. As high school progressed, though, a medical career seemed less and less likely so it appeared I had no real use for Latin, except that I knew the meaning of phrases like carpe diem and semper ubi sub ubi (always wear underwear). When someone would ask me why I took Latin, I would either mumble something about how Latin is the foundation on which all modern languages are based, or I would laugh and agree w ith them that it was a waste of my time, and that it’s a dead language. And it is a dead language, at least in spoken form. Regardless of what Dan Quayle thinks, Latin is not the official language of Latin America. Latin has dropped from being the language spoken by almost the entire known Western world to an obscure language known mainly in scholarly circles. After the fall of the Roman Empire to Germanic invaders in 476 AD, Latin began a shift from being the common tongue to a language used mainly by upper-class and learned people (Hammond 243). Because the Church used Latin extensively, it became, along with ancient Greek, â€Å"the sheath in which the sword of the Spirit is lodged,† as Martin Luth... ...s managed to escape from the wrath of the approaching Greek army. Works Cited â€Å"Amo, Amas, Latin – How Schools Are Using the Ancient Tongue to Teach English.† Time 11 December, 2000: 61. Culham, Phyllis, and Edmunds, Lowell, ed. Classics: A Discipline and Profession In Crisis. Lanham: University Press of America, 1989. Davis, Sally. Latin in American Schools: Teaching the Ancient World. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991. Hammond, Mason. Latin: A Historical and Linguistic Handbook. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1976. Kopff, E. Christian. The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition. Wilmington: ISI Books, 1999. Smith, Sharwood. On Teaching Classics. London, Henley and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977. Waquet, Francoise. Latin Or The Empire Of A Sign. Trans. John Howe. New York: Verso, 2001

The Chosen One :: Enders Game Matrix Movie Essays

The Chosen One Can you imagine if something terrible is going to happen to the human race and there is only one person who could stop it? And that person happens to be you. What would you do? At first, there must be a person who can sense that something terrible is about to happen and knows that there is somebody who is able to stop it. Nobody knows whether he or she was born to be that person that could do something. Something that others arent able to do and he or she is the only person who can do it. NOBODY KNOWS! Basically, that is the story Im going to talk about. It is all about that one chosen person. Its all about the chosen ones belief, faith, and the difference between good and evil. The story comes from the novel "Enders Game" and The Matrix movie. "Enders Game" novel is the winner of both Hugo and Nebula awards by the New York Times best-selling author, Orson Scott Card. And The Matrix movie was written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. "Enders Game" is a novel about a young boy named Ender who was chosen and trained to fight the buggers or aliens in order to save the human race. Neo is the main character in the movie The Matrix. Neo is a single independent man who was also chosen to save the human race, not from the "bugger" but the "matrix". In my point of view, both of these stories are all about the Christian religion. It represents people's beliefs in God. People must believe in God, or in something, and their beliefs will help them go through their life. Their beliefs will bring them happiness; keep them from struggling and divert them from danger. Their beliefs will give them faith, help them follow the right path and stay away from the evils. Both of the stories are science fiction and shows what can lie in the future. Orson Scott Card showed his main point in his novel by its title, "Ender's Game". Ender means the person who will or eventually would end something from happening and Ender's Game is the game of that person. Enders real name is Andrew Wiggin. Andrew is the third child in the family and is known as the THIRD. He knew that he was testing to be the one to fight the aliens after he was born. The Chosen One :: Ender's Game Matrix Movie Essays The Chosen One Can you imagine if something terrible is going to happen to the human race and there is only one person who could stop it? And that person happens to be you. What would you do? At first, there must be a person who can sense that something terrible is about to happen and knows that there is somebody who is able to stop it. Nobody knows whether he or she was born to be that person that could do something. Something that others arent able to do and he or she is the only person who can do it. NOBODY KNOWS! Basically, that is the story Im going to talk about. It is all about that one chosen person. Its all about the chosen ones belief, faith, and the difference between good and evil. The story comes from the novel "Enders Game" and The Matrix movie. "Enders Game" novel is the winner of both Hugo and Nebula awards by the New York Times best-selling author, Orson Scott Card. And The Matrix movie was written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. "Enders Game" is a novel about a young boy named Ender who was chosen and trained to fight the buggers or aliens in order to save the human race. Neo is the main character in the movie The Matrix. Neo is a single independent man who was also chosen to save the human race, not from the "bugger" but the "matrix". In my point of view, both of these stories are all about the Christian religion. It represents people's beliefs in God. People must believe in God, or in something, and their beliefs will help them go through their life. Their beliefs will bring them happiness; keep them from struggling and divert them from danger. Their beliefs will give them faith, help them follow the right path and stay away from the evils. Both of the stories are science fiction and shows what can lie in the future. Orson Scott Card showed his main point in his novel by its title, "Ender's Game". Ender means the person who will or eventually would end something from happening and Ender's Game is the game of that person. Enders real name is Andrew Wiggin. Andrew is the third child in the family and is known as the THIRD. He knew that he was testing to be the one to fight the aliens after he was born.

Make Death Penalty Legal Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"And thine eye shall not pity, But life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,† the Book of Deuteronomy 19:21. When the word â€Å"death penalty† or capital punishment is mentioned, so is morality. Others claim that there is no morality in such punishment. However, what is more moral than the Bible? The Bible encourages condemning sinners. The golden rule practically sums it all up: do unto others as you want done unto you. If you choose to kill, then you had better be ready to accept the consequences. California is a state built on a foundation of justice and equality. It is only fair that when an innocent life or lives are taken, some kind of compensation is given. In most cases, the death penalty is a matter of justice and equality. With most crimes, the purposes of the punishment are to rehabilitate the convict and to send a warning to others who would commit similar crimes. According to the U.S. Department of Justice statistics, 60 to 80 percent of all convicts will continue to commit more and generally worse crimes when released. Violent con...

K3 Bahan Kimia

Diss. ETHNo. 17186 Decision-making Framework for Chemical Process Design Including Different Stages of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Assessment A dissertation submitted to ETH Zurich for the Doctor of Sciences degree (Dr. of ETH sc. Zurich) presented by HlROKAZU SUGIYAMA Master of Engineering, The University of Tokyo born 30. 09. 1978 citizen of Japan accepted on the recommendation of Prof. Dr. Konrad Hungerbuhler, examiner Prof. Dr. Masahiko Prof. Dr. Alexander Hirao, co-examiner Wokaun, co-examiner 2007 Acknowledgement This thesis is the result of almost four years of research at the Safety and EnvironmentalTechnology group at ETH Zurich. During this time, many wonderful people provided me with scientific and personal support. appreciation to I would like to express my sincerest Konrad Hungerbuhler for giving me the opportunity to conduct this thesis work at his group. He guided my research with a well- balanced amount of critical and creative, broad and in-depth to commen ts. My deepest gratitude also belongs my work with Ulrich Fischer who was most dedicated in supervising was so precious ideas, great atmosphere enthusiasm and steadfast our leadership, and besides important for the great in process group.My special thanks go to Masahiko Hirao who provided the other essential pillar from Japan I was under the international and multicultural collaboration framework. The opportunity given I am to conduct parts of this project to at his group is very much appreciated. a also particularly grateful as Alexander Wokaun for his kind acceptance to be on second reviewer of the thesis well as creative comments this work. The financial support from Nagai Foundation Tokyo greatly is gratefully acknowledged. this work of CIBA Numerous people from industry contributed to by giving Specialty me insights from industrial practice.I would like to thank Gerhard Giger Chemicals for the Go Inoue big picture of industrial process development, Koichi Nagai, Kunihiko Shigem atsu, and Hisanori Watanabe of Sumitomo Chemicals, Hermann Siegelt and Dirk Sarcinelli of Degussa for specific experiences on MMA production processes, and Karl Straessle of Zurich am Financial Services for know-how of industrial hazard assessment. I Iwao Matsumoto of JEEL for his IDEF also very grateful to expertise, and Yoshio Kumagae of PreFEED for his valuable comments on process design heuristics. My research further profited greatly from Volker Hoffmann at ETH Zurich for any academic researchers. Special thanks go to Tetsuo providing at his economy-oriented perspectives, Institute of Fuchino, Atsushi Aoyama and Yuji Naka Tokyo Technology for encouraging the direction of integrated process design, of and all members of Hirao for Laboratory especially working-time Yasunori Kikuchi at the University Tokyo sharing joyful and creative whenever I returned there. During my work I had a constant support from ETH Chemistry Library I would like to express my to access to various kinds o f literatures, and representatively appreciation Engelbert Zass for his enthusiastic help. workingI I had a most wonderful time in the creative and am hearty atmosphere of the Safety and Environmental Technology Group. most thankful to Elena Antonijuan, Isaac Kweku Adu, Andrea Bumann and Thomas Albrecht for their excellent performance in master theses and/or post-master database projects. My special a thanks go to Shailesh Shah who set up the EHS ready as perfect information-basis of this work. Many thanks I want to give to Ramon, Laurent, Fabio W, Fabio V, Georg, Valerie, Annette, Maximilian and Stefano who made my starting phase at ETH great and easy, and likewise to Matthias, Heike, Judith, David,Harald and Roland who shared the office G136 but also the ups and downs of research with me. I am particularly powerful thankful to Prisca for her IT friendly help in all administrative issues and to Erol for his and troubleshooting. My great appreciation belongs experiences and discussi ons as Andrej M, Levente Andrej S who shared many members of the process group, also to Christian, Martin, Stefanie and Matthew who helped I would like to me through their environmental expertise. and dearly thank all members of our group for all the magnificent days nights including SOLA, bike-tours, ski-weekends, and Toggele. ove, support My deepest appreciation and gratitude is reserved for and their my parents, for all their unwavering faith in me. Zurich, May 2007 Hirokazu Sugiyama Abstract In recent years, chemical a core companies have adopted the concept of sustainable development as business value. The basis of various decision-making in their entire business has been extended to cover aspects, especially non-monetary issues, the in addition to economic performance. sustainability This thesis From the viewpoint of chemical engineering, big challenge is to integrate criteria early a in process design for as design objectives. rocess presents framework of chemical design, whi ch incorporates multi objective consideration economic, and environmental, health and safety (EHS) different aspects in decision-making over design stages. With a focus on the early design according phase, to four stages, Process Chemistry as a I/II and Conceptual Design I/II, modeling are defined the available information basis for process and assessment. For each defined to economy, stage, appropriate modeling methods and evaluation indicators with respect lifethe cycle environmental impacts, EHS hazard and technical aspects are selected. Based at on evaluation esults, multi objective decision-making is performed systematically the each stage. A case study on methyl methacrylate (MMA) production study, which processes is applied throughout routes this thesis. This case uniquely offers 17 potential synthesis and various types of chemicals in the reaction network, is applied for demonstrating the framework. Starting with 17 an possible synthesis routes, optimized inferior routes are eliminated step-by-step and at is the last stage flowsheet of the route with the best multi objective case performance produced. observing Another part of the the evaluation study alidates decisions made within the framework over by profile of six routes when different stages. Most routes are correctly selected at earlier routes. cause design stages are compared are to the detailed assessment results of all six Several factors identified that to available in detail only at later stages, and which significant updates the results. Among these are the magnitude of energy consumption, EHS investment cost, the amount of loss of valuable of materials, and the monetary and a implications newly considered substances. For these parameters there is measures need to have better estimates in the form of proxy lready at earlier stages. Two what-if analyses are presented to examine how the assessment results are change when the different process options or evaluation settings considered. One ana lysis investigates l impact of specifying process options at the detailed conceptual design stage, i. e. the rigorous flowsheeting stage, economy and and the effect of choosing different setups in evaluation for the criteria of The MMA case life-cycle environmental impacts. options study quantitatively reveals that, among different types of process and evaluation settings, specifying alternatives in reaction chemistry, e. . synthesis path, has the most significant impact. This result confirms the importance layouts of reliable proxy indicators for for different forecasting unknown aspects, e. g. detailed process synthesis paths, in early design stages. the As the second part of the assessment what-if analysis, Several and impact of method selection can on the EHS results is presented. simple methods that The be applied in the early phases are compared qualitatively on quantitatively. assessment results change significantly depending The overall the hazard evaluation method in the ap plied in each of the EHS aspects. scope, iscrepancy mathematical result stems from the differences in the manner considered mass parameters, formulation, and especially own that process no information is treated. However, each method has its merit of one background and there is unique or method a over the other in any of the EHS aspects. The appropriate simplicity can degree only of detail of method considering early design phases where it be applied is the characteristic that separates the methods. Finally, the developed framework is serves as represented by using a a standardized activity modeling use technique, IDEFO, enables the which of blueprint f the business model. The same of IDEFO The description complex activities in detail and at the time transparently. activity model is defined for the four I to design stages as of the framework, i. e. from Process Chemistry Conceptual Design II, the activities to which appropriate case instructions and are resources are provided by as a project manager. Findings in the from the studies included in this activity model, know-how to be exploited design. traditional economic criteria with In summary, this dissertation demonstrates how to integrate non-conventional environment, health and safety criteria in ecision-making over different the stages of process design. This systematization will support chemical industry to undergo paradigm shift towards sustainability in developing processes. 11 Zusammenfassung Wahrend der letzten als Jahre hat die chemische Die Industrie Basis fur das die Konzept der nachhaltigen Entwicklung Kerngeschaft eingefuhrt. um Entscheidungsfindung besonders im gesamten Geschaftsbetrieb wurde finanzielle verschiedene zu Aspekte erweitert, nicht ¬ Gesichtspunkte des wurden zusatzlich den okonomischen Kriterien erfasst. Aus der die grosse von Perspektive Chemieingenieurwesens liegt in Herausforderung ahrend in der die Prozessenticklung Entwicklungsziele. Diese Dissertation welches die der fruhen Integration Nachhaltigkeitskriterien prasentiert ein Rahmenkonzept Zielgrossen fur die aus Entwicklung chemische Prozesse, aus Berucksichtigung mehrere Wirtschaft, sowie den Bereichen Umwelt, Gesundheit und Sicherheit (UGS) wahrend verschiedener Entwicklungsstufen fur eine Entscheidungsfindung beinhaltet. Mit einem Schwerpunkt auf der fruhen I/II Planungsphase den werden die vier Stufen Process Chemistry eine Stufe I/II und Conceptual Design entsprechend und verfugbaren definiert. Informationen als Basis fur dieProzessmodellierung Bewertung und UGS Fur jede definierte werden entsprechende Modellierungsmethoden okologischen Auf der Bewertungsindikatoren Gefahren und bezuglich Wirtschaftlichkeit, Belastungen, Grundlage in technischen wird Aspekten die ausgewahlt. dieser Stufe Abschatzungsergebnisse multi-kriterielle Entscheidungsfindung jeder systematisch durchgefuhrt. Die Produktion Dissertation von Methylmethacrylat (MMA) Diese wird als Fallstudie wahrend der ganzen 17 verwendet. F allstudie, welche um potentielle Synthesewege zu und verschiedene Chemikalien aufweist, wird benutzt, werden das Rahmenkonzept demonstrieren. o Ausgehend von 17 Synthesewegen minderwertige Wege systematisch eliminiert, fur den dass in der letzten Stufe ein multi-kriteriellen optimiertes Flussdiagramm Syntheseweg mit der besten Leistung erhalten wird. Ein anderer Teil der Fallstudie validiert wahrend des Entwicklungswerdeganges Evaluationsprofile Synthesewege detaillierten Detail nur von gemachte Entscheidungen durch Beobachtung der sechs Synthesewegen uber verschiedene Stufen. Die meisten der 6 wurden in fruheren Stufen korrekt ausgewahlt, wie der Vergleich mit den im Abschatzungsergebnissen zeigt. verfugbar Mehrere Faktoren wurden identifiziert, die er in spateren Stufen sind und die grosse Veranderungen Ergebnisse verursachen. Solche Faktoren sind das Ausmass des Energieverbrauchs, Investitionskosten, in der Verlust von Wertstoffen, sowie finanzielle Auswirkungen und UGS-Einfluss von neu berucksichtigen eine bessere Substanzen. Diese Parameter sollten deshalb schon in fruheren Stufen fur als Einschatzung Proxyindikatoren verfugbar prasentiert um sein. Zwei wenn what-if Analysen unterschiedliche werden abzuschatzen wie sich die Ergebnisse andern Prozessoptionen oder Bewertungskriterien berucksichtigt werden. Eine d. h. in sowie der beiden der die Analysen rforscht in der detaillierten die konzeptionellen Entwicklungsstufe, von rigorosen Flowsheeting Stufe, Folgen der Wahl von Auswirkungen bestimmten Prozessoptionen verschiedenen Bewertungskriterien bezuglich quantitativ Wirtschaftlichkeit und Umweltbelastung. Typen von Die MMA Fallstudie lasst und den erkennen dass unter verschiedenen Prozessoptionen Synthesechemie fur verlassliche Bewertungskriterien grossen Einfluss in die Spezifizierung Dieses der Alternativen bestarkt die bezuglich Wichtigkeit Aspekte hat. Ergebniss um Indikatoren z. B. fruhen Entwicklungsstufen unbekannte verschiedene abzuschatzen, wie e taillierte Prozess-Auslegung fur Synthesewege. Als zweiter Teil der what-if Analyse prasentiert. wird die Einwirkung einfache der Methoden-Wahl auf die UGS Abschatzungsergebnisse Planungsphase Mehrere Methoden, die in der fruhen benutzt werden andern konnen, werden qualitativ und quantitativ verglichen. Die sich bedeutsam Abschatzungsergebnisse abhangig Die von der verwendeten UGS Bewertungs-Methode bezuglich stammt von aller UGS Aspekte. allgemeine Abweichung von im Resultat Unterschieden des und besonders berucksichtigten Bereiches, von Parametern, mathematischen Formulierungen der Art, wie Informationen ezuglich es Masse behandelt werden. Jede Methode hat Vorteil einer Methode an jedoch ihren eigenen Hintergund und gibt keinen eindeutigen gegenuber den anderen. Die entsprechende Einfachheit oder der Grad Genauigkeit einer Methode in Bezug auf die fruhe „Planungsphase†, ist die einzige charakteristische Grosse mit welcher die Methoden unterschieden werden konnen. Zum S chluss wird das entwickelte Rahmenkonzept mittels einer standartisierten Aktivitats Modellierungs Technik, IDEFO, prasentiert, Die die als ein Entwurf des Busienss Modells dient. die detaillierte Das Nutzung von IDEFO ermoglicht und

Poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

To read and understand the literature, it must be read slowly and using all the senses in it. Literature could teach us several things to understand life and their situations. The purpose of this writing is to discuss a literary work through a personal experience. The poem that will be discussed in this essay will be â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou. This is her famous poem ever known. This author is a very good writer, I am reading her poems for the first time and I liked her poems so much. This poem suggests that we can overcome difficulties in life, despite rejections and injustice. It also discusses racism and all the problems black people could have because of the discrimination and all the things that involve racism. It is a call for the blacks to be proud of their origin. The black person (the author), seems liberated from her color. This poem also tells to us the importance of being strong in front of the worst circumstances. And no matter the situation, you can overcome and learn from it. In this case, the author exposes the racism in the time of slavery. The poem has a very positive tone. Also, it is written for all type of people, I mean that anyone could read it and would understand its purpose very easily and quickly. The author says that no matter what, she will still rise. This poem has a lot of feelings; you can feel it when you are reading it. I think that the author had a painful past to have written this poem. Also, it is written for all type of people, I mean that anyone could read it and would understand its purpose very easily and quickly. You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise. † Maya Angelou in this verse openly shows the white people discrimination towards black. Everyone has had a moment of discrimination in life, where we have spent many negative things. I have being identified personally with the author. Although I was not present at the time of sla very, I have been a victim of much other discrimination. I have been a victim of many other negative things that I have passed. About a year and a half ago, I lost my boyfriend because of a chronic disease. Now, my dad has the same disease and that makes me feel very sad, because I'm living the same situation. It is a very difficult situation, because I am reviving all the things that I passed along his disease. But I have been overcoming and willing all of it with my Lords help. Sometimes, we feel that we can’t live with a very strong emotional charge. That is when we have to be reborn and rise as the author says in her poem. We have to rise and overcome all the problems and situations in our life even worse than the most. In conclusion, life is not easy as it seems. Life is full of obstacles and setbacks that we couldn’t avoid because fate wants it that way. I think that people have always to believe in themselves and don’t let other people to put them down. As the author, Maya Angelou has rise despite all the bad and painful that ever happened her life. We need to learn from this poem and take example. I think it's a very good poem to enhance and analyze the meaning of life and our purpose in it.

Bless Me Ultima Ultima Is a Witch Essay

In the book Bless Me, Ultima, Ultima is an old woman who was invited to stay at our protagonist house, Antonio, to live the remainder years of her life with the Marez family. But there is a controversy to who is Ultima, a witch or curandera? Ultima calls herself a curandera, someone who uses herbs and old customs to heal someone else, but some people in the book call her a bruja, which is Spanish for witch. Ultima is called a witch many times in the novel but neither denies nor accepts the accusation. The Author of the book, Anaya Rudolfo leaves us with the question of who really was Ultima, a witch or curandera? In my opinion I believe that Ultima is a witch. Throughout the novel Ultima shows many characteristics of being a witch and in this essay I will show you how Ultima is a witch. First is the relationship between Ultima and the owl. In the book when Ultima moves in with the Marez family, an owl follows. The owl can be a symbol of witch and is even said so in the novel, â€Å"In many cuentos I had heard the owl was one of the disguises a bruja took†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg13). Ultima has a very strong connection with the owl and is even said that the owl was Ultima’s soul or life force. An example of Ultima and the owl being the same person is at the end of the novel when Antonio buries the owl, â€Å"†¦ and after mass we would take her body [Ultima] to the ceremony in las Pasturas for burial. But that would only be prescribed by custom. Ultima was really buried here. Tonight† (pg262). That quotation means that when Antonio buried the owl he was also burying Ultima because they shared souls. If Ultima has the soul of witch then she herself has to be evil. Another evil connection between Ultima and the owl is when in page 134 of the book Ultima’s owl rips out Tenorio’s eye. If Ultima was really a curandera would she really hurt a man, when her duty of a curandera was to help and help people? Next are the acts of Ultima. Ultima shows many witch like personality when she was curing Lucas. First was that she had dolls of the three witches and she had used them like voodoo dolls, â€Å"†¦and when he breathed on them they seemed to squirm in her hands. I shuddered to see those clay dolls take life. Then she took pins†¦she stuck a pin into each doll† (pg101). Here Ultima appears to do some evil voodoo ritual. A curandera relies on herbs and nature to heal people and not evil voodoo. Second is the fact that she cursed someone, â€Å"†¦ and what you sought to do will undo you† (pg101). Here is where Ultima was removing the curse that was placed on Lucas, Antonio’s uncle. Ultima does not only remove the curse but sends it back to witches that cursed Lucas. If she was a curandera shouldn’t she have the intents to only heal Lucas instead of also cursing the witches too? Last is the quote â€Å"You must understand that when anybody, bruja or curandera, priest r sinner, tampers with the fate of a man that sometimes a chain of events is sent into motion over which no one will have ultimate control. † This happens and it leads to death of Tenorio’s daughter, enraging him, to kill Narciso. Ultima knew this and it ended up killing a man. Could this have been an evil plot by Ultima? Last is the source of Ultima’s powers. The idea of Ultima’s powers are brought up in page 93, â€Å"Toma, Tenorio shouted. He crossed his fingers and held the sign of the cross in front of Ultima’s face. She did not budge†¦Either she was not a bruja, or their way of thinking, she had powers that belonged to the devil himself. † It is possible for Ultima to have the powers of the devil because off all the past reasons listed. She has done evil for the reasons show before and now since she can take the cross you can see that she has powers stronger than a witch, or even powers â€Å"from the devil himself†. To further proof of her devil gifted powers you can see from this quote, â€Å"Would the magic of Ultima be stronger than all the powers of the saints and the holy mother church†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg97). Here you can see that Ultima’s powers are not of the church and are stronger. Last is the ultimate test that was made in the book. Ultima was given the test to walk through a door that had the mark of a cross made by two blessed needles. She successfully goes through the door but with an exception. Everyone goes home thinking she is not a witch, but Antonio finds the needles on the ground. If the needles were on the ground then Ultima could have walked through the door with ease. Ultima could have sabotaged the needles when the idea of the test was first brought on. Her knocking down the needles can prove her fear of God and everything holy, saying she is a witch. In conclusion you can see that Ultima is a witch. She has a spiritual connection with an animal that is said to be a witch, which is her owl. Ultima also has the soul of a witch. Ultima has practiced voodoo in the book along with cursing other people. Finally her powers are from the devil himself. Because of all the reasons stated I believe that Ultima is a witch in the story Bless Me, Ultima.