Railway Journey By Schivelbusch Essays - Landscape, Topography

Railway Journey By Schivelbusch The thesis for Schivelbusch's book The Railway Journey seems to be that the railroad altered the traveler's perceptions of space, time, distance, nature and the senses. Although the means of a quick and reliable mode of transport was and is an important part of industrialization, it denaturalized and desensualized the passengers (Schivelbusch 20). Shrinking and reshaping the world it touches with industrial fingers and alienating the riders to the world around them. With fast and reliable steam power engines replacing previously expensive and unreliable natural sources of energy such as water or animal man is released from the constraints of nature. These engines do not succumb to the whims of weather or exhaustion and are reliable enough to keep and daily regulated schedule despite wind or rain. Yet, by replacing the age-old use of the horse and carriage and through sheer speed they have made the world smaller and more accessible to the people. Where in the olden days people experienced every step of the way with their senses now all they have to do is step on a train and step out onto a different place. The railroad has annihilated the space and time, which were characterized by the old transport technology (36). To the perception of the people who had previously experienced every step of their journeys the world seemed to have shrunk. The detachment of man from nature and his perception of nature is finalized in the construction of the railways (20). Since the ideal railway is hard, level and straight, they were not laid out sympathetically to the landscape but instead cut and carve their way through in a straight line. Nothing gets in their way, not river mountain or canyon. The riders of these straight speeding bullets see nothing but a disorienting sight of the landscape shooting past to quickly for them to focus on. The train creates a barrier between themselves and the landscape making them detached viewers of an untouchable scene. This barrier is later enhanced by the telegraph poles that began to be widely used to regulate railway traffic. Now"the traveler perceived the landscape as it was filtered through the machine ensemble (24)" The use of railways to transport goods began to be felt in the very architecture of the time. With the use of availability of previously hard to acquire items, such as glass and steel, the "railroad reorganized space (45)". These new materials bent the contrast between light and shadow making it uniform and absent of contrast, a disorienting combination to people used to rock and wood. In the very beginning of the book, culture is described as having an organic quality, if so it is now an inorganic culture. This culture is now detached from the organic. As the railways expanded their reach they began to affect the "special presence (40)"of various commodities and towns which were once associated with a certain region. This desensualization of the regions is described as losing their ?auras' and so no longer have the special qualities that it once has. No longer do people have to travel long and rugged distances for a certain fruit or to visit a certain town, now they only have to hop on a train then hop off. Thus the perception of individuality is lost. The changes of perception that the railway caused are precursor of the denaturalization and desensualization that is abundant is modern industrial society. Schivelbusch's book gives interesting evidence to this thesis. By its manipulation of the world by the railways which altered the old world views of travel and nature it changes the definition of man's world view and the place man sees himself as being in the landscape around him.

Cold Mountain Essays - Literature, Fiction, Cold Mountain, Films

Cold Mountain Essays - Literature, Fiction, Cold Mountain, Films Cold Mountain The setting for Cold Mountain is in the state of North Carolina during the Civil War time period. Most of the key events happen in Cold Mountain. Inman tries to go back to Cold Mountain because Ada's home is near Cold Mountain. When he reaches Cold Mountain he can go to Ada's home. The plot of Cold Mountain is to reunite Inman and Ada. Inman deserts the Confederate army a few years after the start of the war, and he tries to go back to Cold Mountain where he can find Ada's home. On his way to Cold Mountain Inman faces many challenges. Some of the challenges he faces are: 1. He has to hide from the home guard so they can't capture him and take him back 2. He has to hide from federal raiders so he won't get killed on his way back 3. He has to find food and shelter everyday The challenges stated above are just some of the challenges he faces, he faces many more challenges that I have not mentioned above. Also on the way to Cold Mountain Inman meets many different people. Some of these people help Inman and others just endanger his life. Ada Visible moisture- light haze, dense valley fogs, tatters of cloud hanging like rags on the shoulders of Cold Mountain (pg35). The third major difference is found the way they feel about small town life. Ada comes form city life. She lived in Charleston before moving to the country there for she had a view of the country that was not in the positive side (pg53). In the other hand Inman sees the country as his home. A place were every body is kind and peaceful. He is deeply attach to his small town life. But not everything where differences between the characters of Ada and Inman. There were also some similarities between them. The first similarity is found in their believe of the supernatural. Their characters both see superstition as a last resort for hope. Ada sees a man coming to town in a reflection in a well (pg49), this image she believe is the image of the person thats going to solve her problems. Inmans supernatural believe is the hope that Cold Mountain is a magical place were he can be reborn (pg23). They also agree in the thought that they need some one to help them continue their life. they need companion ship and some to express their feelings and believe to. One of the major points of the novel is the believe that nature is a the perfect shelter to protect them self from harm (pg66). In Adas case from the harm of public opinion, and in Inmans case from the

Has Realism got the big things right Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Has Realism got the big things right - Essay Example In relation to international politics or international relations (IR), realists are of views that states are the main actors reflecting the actions of the world. The states are meant to be sovereign actors thus meaning that there would be no other actor or regulator above the decisions of the states. All other organizations are hence supposed to follow the rules and regulations set by the individual states. The activities of different states lead to inter-state relations. According to realism, the nature of humans tends to be selfish and thus when the concept of international politics is concerned, it represents a struggle between the different states, each trying to make the most of their own interests Realism in relation to politics reflects the study and practice of international politics. Generally it discusses on the roles of the different states in a nation. It also assumes and makes statements on the states being concerned with their national interests and hence are carried away by these interests towards their individual actions. Thus according to realism, all states are concerned about their individual status in the world politics as well as their territorial reliability. Besides these, according to realists, the interests of the states may vary depending on their needs and circumstances. As far as neorealism and classical realism is concerned, there are certain differences between the two concepts. While classical realists are of the view that the reasons for international conflicts and wars are the imperfect behaviors and nature of the societies or the individual states, on the other hand, the neorealists have their belief in the anarchic system of international relations. According to the belief of classical realists, the state is considered to be more advanced against the entire system, while the neorealists believe that agencies hold greater space in the system than the states. Neorealists are of the view that the individual states act as unitary actors, on the other hand, classical realists make a distinction between powers of the status-quo and revisionist powers. Another difference between the neorealists and classical realists is that neo-realists make efforts to put up a more thorough and methodical advancement to the study of international relations, profou ndly predisposed by the â€Å"behaviourist revolution of the 1960’s while classical realism confine its analyses to subjective valuations of international relations† (Pashakhanlou, 2009). Realism and International Relations: Considering the relation of realism and international relations, there are four fundamental assumptions that realists have made for the international relations. Firstly, they assume that â€Å"the state is the most important actor in international relations† (Realism, n.d.). This reflects that the most important role in these states is that of the individual governments,

Business Strategies by Alex and Doreen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Strategies by Alex and Doreen - Essay Example With the company’s total sales of $597,123 compared with the average of best of three of the companies at $653,764 from the CRR, the company could be deduced to be nearly closed, although below, to the average. Since the company ranked third out of eight companies and yet below the average, it would mean the top and second ranking companies may have higher sales revenues than the company. Â  As to what the best companies are doing in terms of strategies, the facts case study is not also clear. There is also no information on industry or company growth from one period compared to others periods for the purpose of deriving information on whether the industry is characterized by growth or not. Â  In term of profitability, the company is observed to be performing less than the industry average using the best of the three from the other companies. With $39,227 as net income compared with $110,254 average of the best of three, the company is less superior. Thus the company can be considered performing less than the average, which indicates the weakness of its strategy. Since the company ranked fifth out of eight firms in terms of net income in relation to sales, it would mean that Sparke Electrical was performing less than half of all the total of the number of companies on the average. Â  Any strength of Sparke Electrical is not evident based on its revenue and profitability performance compared with an average of eight companies in the industry.

Homage to My Hips Essay Example for Free

Homage to My Hips Essay The theme of Lucille Clifton’s â€Å"Homage to my hips† concentrates on a proud, strong, and powerful woman who is absolutely in love with her hips. Clifton’s tone throughout the poem focuses highly on her big hips. Not once does the she speak negatively about them. She feels absolutely wonderful about her big hips, making her feel so confident and full-bodied all at the same time. She gives off many reasons to why her hips make her modest, but full of pride. The beginning of ’Homage to my hips† illustrates the confidence that the speaker has about her hips. â€Å"These hips are big hips† (1) demonstrate how the speaker is proud of her big hips and does not mind what others may think about her hips. I feel like the speaker would be disappointed if she had little hips. The speaker knows that her hips are big and they need additional room when she explains â€Å"they need space to/move around in† (2/3). The speaker knows her hips do not fit into little places. The speaker of â€Å"Homage to my hips† is definitely not ashamed of her considerably large hips. After the speaker talks about her proud qualities as it pertains to her hips she moves on to speak about why her hips make her strong. In the lines â€Å"these hips/are free hips (5-6) the speaker demonstrates that her hips do what they want to do. Her wide hips have no limitations. â€Å"These hips have never been enslaved† (7) shows the speaker has never been controlled and she can uphold her freedom by herself. The speaker shows her strong side by stating â€Å"they go where they want to go/they do what they want to do† (8-9). The big hips do not make her feel weak. Finally Clifton speaks about how her hips make her powerful. I think that when the speaker states that â€Å"these hips are mighty hips/these hips are magic hips† (11-12) would give a sense that she can get certain things from a man or give a man a certain feeling. Also, the magic of the hips could attract a lover perhaps. I have known them/to put a spell on a man and/spin him like a top† (13-15) suggests that she knows her big hips are sexy and she can still have a sense of sexiness despite her big hips. She knows that her big hips can be a great turn on for a man. Her hips could make a man go wild if she so desired. In conclusion, the theme of Lucille Clifton’s poem gives a woman of bigger hip nature a sense of pride, strength, and prowess. Despite the need for additional room for movement, the woman in this poem is neither disappointed nor ashamed. She has the freedom to explore wherever she wants. She does not allow anyone to hold her back. Finally, the powerful natures of her big hips coincide with both sex appeal and an attraction. In the end she is satisfied with her big hips. Works Cited Clifton, Lucille. â€Å"Homage to my hips.

Black Holes Essay -- essays research papers fc

Black holes are one of the many things in the universe that scientists still have a muddy understanding about. However, with the incredible advances of technology, we are able to understand more than what we have in the past. Today, the only way to observe these incredible objects are by looking for radiation from the gas surrounding it. What are they? Black holes are no more than a  ³dead star. ² A star that is considered  ³alive ² would be our sun. The sun still produces energy by converting hydrogen into helium, thus considered to be  ³alive. ² Once a star has run out of hydrogen, it begins its dying process. The final stage may result in a black dwarf, which is a small cool object no longer radiating energy, or if the star harbors enough mass it could result in a black hole. Black holes are defined as a collapsed star. The difference between a black dwarf and a black hole is the original mass of the star, which determines whether or not that star will have enough gra vitation force to collapse upon its self and form a suction, or to remain as that small cool object, a black dwarf. Why do black holes suck everything in? To understand why material that enters a black hole is unable to escape, one must understand the concept of escape velocity. This is the velocity (speed) at which any material needs to exceed in order to escape from something. Because, as Einstein said,  ³What ever goes up must come down! ² In other words, in order for a space craft to exit the Earth ¹s atmosphere so that it must not come down, it must exceed a certain speed. In order to figure out the Earth ¹s escape velocity one takes the square root of the planet ¹s mass divided by the planet's radius. PLANET ¹S MASS / PLANET ¹S RADIUS = ESCAPE VELOCITY On Earth with a radius of 6,500 km, the escape velocity would be 11 km/sec. Therefore to launch any object away from Earth, the object must travel (escape) faster than 11 km/sec. All of this is of course the result of gravity. However, imagine a huge vise that squeezed the Earth to one-quarter its present size. What would then happen to the escape velocity? The velocity would increase because the mass would increase as the radius increased. Thus, taking the square root of a larger number, ending up with a larger number that being the escape velocity. The actual escape velocity of this hypothetical question would double it making it 22 km/sec. Taking ... ... horizon, which would emit radiation because of this. The thermal radiation is so hot that it is expected to be x-ray types of radiation. Once the radiation surpasses the even horizon, the x-rays cease and the material inside continues in great distortion. This is what scientists are trying to link to their observation of such radio active areas within out universe today. Bibliography Abell, George O. Exploration of The Universe. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975. Berger, Melvin. Quasars, Pulsars and Black Holes In Space. Canada: Longman Canada Limited, 1977. Bisnovatyi-Kogan, G.S.  ³At The Border of Eternity. ² Science. February, 27, 1998: 1321- 1322. Chaisson, Eric. Relatively Speaking. Canada: The Readers Digest Association Ltd., 1990.  ³Down The Galactic Drain. ² Discover. April 1998: 25. Shipman, Harry L. Black Holes, Quasars, and The Universe. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976. Sullivan, Walter. Black Holes- The Edge of Space, The End of Time. New York: Anchor Press, 1979. Taylor, John G. Black Holes: the End of The Universe?. New York: Random House Inc., 1973.  ³The Astronomers- Searching for Black Holes. ² Community television of Southern California, 1991.

Unit 1 – a Managerial Approach to Marketing

Kimberly Bell American Intercontinental University Unit 1 Individual Project MKT640 – A Managerial Approach to Marketing November 11, 2012 Abstract This paper reflects challenges brought on by starting up a new product, the effectiveness and efficiency of technology when marketing, and the battle of legal and ethical complication. Given are examples of different situation of each topic to demonstrate how each take place when starting a new product or service. The Marketing Scenario IntroductionWhen bringing a new product or service together there are certain aspects to be considered for a successful product or outcome. Those aspects may include target, sector, location, creating an effective marketing plans and advertisement strategies. There are also certain issues and challenges that may arise when bringing this new product or service into existence. Challenges in New Product Launches When bringing the new product or service into the market, without a plan in place for its t argeted consumers, sector, location, sales and distribution tactics there will be several issues and challenges to face.According to Bloom, if all these problems are anticipated and handled creatively, social marketing efforts can succeed (Bloom, 1981). Challenges: Target Market and Sector. One challenge that is very distinct is target consumers and sectors. These two challenges differ where ever you go. When bringing that new product into existence you must do the research of the market for the sector and target market. Therefore, realizing the market sectors as well as the target consumer can determine the difference that one or the other may cause for a major challenge.For example, 1990’s McDonald’s launched a product called Deluxe line to target the older people and launched a tag line â€Å"Especially for the grown up taste† to market it but the launch failed disastrously due to wrong selection of target market. Challenges: Effective Marketing Plan Another challenging task is creating an effective marketing strategy. Creating a effective marketing strategy when initiating a new product is all about keeping the consumers needs in mind. The information presented in the marketing should so explanatory that it gives precise information to the consumer about the details of the product.To give misleading information will cause product failure. Therefore, the marketing will be unsuccessful. For example, Levi Strauss came out with a product called type1 jeans with some different features in 2002 but the marketing and advertisements wasn’t properly devised and erroneously lead consumers in turn leading to failure of the product launch (Bonander, 2010) Challenges: Competition Another challenge is competition, when initiating a new product in the market because the market is constantly changing, entrepreneurs are constantly taking risks (ThinkQuest : Library).For example, in 1985 Coca-Cola launch a new version of the drink with a tag line â€Å"The best just got, better†, but the taste and quality of the new drink was not accepted by the consumers as the strongest competitors PepsiCo took the advantage and maximized its sales (POM final). Technology and New Product Development Marketing efforts can be enhanced by the use of technology. While sales and profits are progressing, it can also help the organization succeed in its marketing campaign. For example most companies are using social media and networking site like LinkedIn to market their business and services.These social networking sites can make the new product campaign even more effective. Technology: Distribution Technology can also allow way for distribution of products or services. Therefore, through desk top advertising, e-marketing, and online marketing, technology has led the way to easy access marketing (Herbert and Grace, 2008). For example, a software Gold Fire Innovator, developed by Invention Machine has three modules and comprises of tools that make use of value engineering and well formulated problem-solving methodology (TRIZ) to provide assistance to the users concerning the problem definition.Its second module called researcher Facilitates Engineers in executing semantic searches related with the powerful databases for finding appropriate resolutions and concepts (Frey, 2006). Technology: Efficiency and Effectiveness Technology also helps in the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of product data. For example, in the banking industry several models based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) have been developed to help with the analyzing and processing of data (Yang, 2009). This process not only helps the organization to be more efficient but also more effective when servicing its customers.Technology: Display Technology can also help to display your new product in an arena for a big or small audience. For example, with a web page the new product can be advertised and sent over the internet, whereas it will be disp layed in a database to allow a professional and systematic presentation to a large audience and sharing the of a wealth of information on a continued bases. Legal and Ethical Implications in New Product Development Many legal and ethical implications are faced when launching a new product or service.For example, packing, labeling regulations, disclosures, and standards. There are difference regulations set forth in different countries. There is a must that organizations understand the responsibilities regarding regulations are crucial to ensuring worldwide compliance and sustained economic edge (Akin-Ogundeji, 2010). Legal and ethical implications: Packing and labor There are various countries, which have specific regulations regarding packaging and labeling. There are also stipulates on how and where the labels should be placed on a products.For example, in the US the PDP, is that portion of the package label that is most likely to be seen by the consumer at the time of purchase (G eneral Food Labeling Requirements). This PDP must appear on the front of the product. Legal and ethical implications: Advertisement or Display The media also creates controversy due to interpretations of the signage used to advertise. For example, baby food called Gerber, when it was launched in the France, it means stack or vomiting, which had very bad impression on the customers and led to the reduced sales of the product (Perlman, 2008).Legal and ethical implications: Media Advertisement and Display can really damages the launching of a new product because the audience can misused or misunderstand the given information. For example, when Coca-Cola entered china with the same name, the characters revealed the meaning as â€Å"Bite the wax tadpole† which was very unfortunate and misinterpreted by the people resulting in a controversy (Bite the Wax Tadpole). Conclusion It is to be concluded that from the above discussions that product development is extremely important.It als o determines the organizations success and failures. Therefore, it can provide a great advantage to the company success. However, in technology can provide a huge advantage and shorten the time of developing and marketing a product. Technology allows an organization to customize their product in the market. Lastly, the product should comply with the legal aspects to avoid problem with its success. References Akin-Ogundeji, D. O. Get Your Business Ethics Articles and Articles on Corporate Social Responsibility From Ethicsworld. rg. Get Your Business Ethics Articles and Articles on Corporate Social Responsibility From Ethicsworld. org. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www. ethicsworld. org/ethicsandemployeesBhasin, H. (2010, January 22). Bite the Wax Tadpole – Why we chose a silly name. Web Development Ireland. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://www. bitethewaxtadpole. com/bitethewaxtadpole. htm Bloom PN, Novelli WD. Problems and challenges in social marketing. J Mark. 1981 Spring;45(2):79-88. PubMed PMID: 12280283. Retrieved November 11, 2012.Bonander, R. 2010. Top 10: Failed Product Launches. Retrieved on November 11, 2012 from http://ca. askmen. com/top_10/entertainment_100/139d_top_10_list. html Brand Failure – McDonald's Arch Deluxe. Marketing Strategy, Marketing Management, Marketing News, Advertising reviews. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www. marketing91. com/brand-failure-mcdonalds-arch-deluxe/ Competition in the Market   The laws of supply and demand are bestevident in a competitive market. ThinkQuest : Library. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://library. hinkquest. org/C008486F/iiid. htm Frey, C. (2006). Goldfire Innovator takes product development, process innovation to the next level. Retrieved November 11, 2012 from http://www. innovationtools. com/Resources/ideamgmt-details. asp? a=147 General Food Labeling Requirements. U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from htt p://www. fda. gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodLabelingNutrition/FoodLabelingGuide/ucm064866. htm Herbert, H and Grace, A. (2008).Technology. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www. npgoodpractice. org/Topics/Technology/Default. aspx Perlman, C. (2008). 10 marketing Faux pas. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www. level2wo. net/? p=35 POM final. Scribd. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www. scribd. com/doc/75844842/POM-final Yang, Z. Bank Branch Operating Efficiency: A DEA Approach. Bank Branch Operating Efficiency: A DEA Approach. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from www. iaeng. org/publication/IMECS2009/IMECS2009_pp2087-2092. pdf