Wednesday, April 1, 2020

A Woman On The Edge Essay Research free essay sample

A Woman On The Edge Essay, Research Paper A adult female on the Edge Gender Inequality There have many elements of gender inequality discussed throughout the semester. One point that I found interesting was, the ideal that the generative ability of adult females created a power instability so strong that the society of the hereafter has to come up with a manner to take this instability by industuralinzing in a sense reproduction. ( Kimmer A ; Merssner, 1998 ) I have mixed feelings about this, because on the one manus I feel that work forces desires to suppress adult females does derive signifier choler fright over our generative ability and without that the root beginning of so much force against adult females would be gone, on the other manus a adult females # 8217 ; s birth is natural, sacred, and important function that deserves respect alternatively of cooption. Another thing along those lines is for many adult females who choose non to hold kids or can non ; the class has redefined what it means to adult females. We will write a custom essay sample on A Woman On The Edge Essay Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In other words we are non locked into out biological science. The class brought out the construct of maternity and parentage so that includes work forces and adult females, and people who don # 8217 ; t biologically have kids. Sometimes when regard is afforded to the adult females in society who have given birth to kids, it is non afford to those adult females who haven # 8217 ; t. ( Richardson, 1997 ) Besides we have seen and discussed whom adult females have been thought of as objects that can reproduce. We have seen how society has allowed it possible to make all kinds of inhumane things to them. These elements of gender in equality are addressed in the book Woman on the Edge of Time. In the society of Mattapoisett, Luciente # 8217 ; s topographic point of habitation, people live really merely in what we would see a sustainable mode. Every component of their life style is crafted with attention. From the minute a kid is brought into being to the minute of decease, community patterns and ritual screen all and yet, there is besides a great trade of room for independency and the exercising of free spirit. Nothing is predetermined. Initially, we are led to believe that Mattapoisett is a typical type of community of the hereafter. It is about the size of a small town, Connie is told that large metropoliss were deemed impracticable. It is arcadian ; veggies are grown and cow graze. Our first position even provides apparels drying in the Sun. In many ways it reminds Connie of the Mexican small towns of her childhood. For the most portion, the usage of fossil fuels is a thing of the yesteryear. Solar energy is chiefly used. Each community tries to be # 8220 ; owned, # 8221 ; i.e. , self-sufficient. Each grownup has a infinite of per ain. The pronouns his and her are no longer used # 8212 ; per, for individual, is the right term. Language, as we might anticipate, has evolved. Some of it, such as the word, # 8220 ; hereafter, # 8221 ; no uncertainty has its derivation from the look # 8220 ; for certain # 8221 ; popular in the # 8217 ; 70s. Fellow community inhabitants are referred to as memos. Even cats and other animate beings are colloquial ; individuals communicate with them by mark linguistic communication. Peoples live in close contact with their environment. By this clip, reproduction of the human species is carefully controlled and a kid is born merely when person in the community dies. Peoples are non encouraged to populate expanded Numberss of old ages and most don # 8217 ; t. While Connie is about, we experience the decease of two people, one old respected adult female who has reached the terminal of her yearss, and one immature beloved adult male who is killed in defence of his community. The subsisters mourn their loved 1s and care for their memories, but are besides joyful to welcome new members into the community. There is a diverse mix of racial types, instead than a blending into uniformity. There are still inkinesss and Whites, non simply light brown people. Th vitamin E rearing agreement is non of our convention. Three female parents are chosen from work forces and adult females who have volunteered to fuss. There is no reference of male parents. All female parents breast-feed and bond really closely with the kid. Reproduction and parenting, as we know it, is disused. Since mothering is a affair of pick, all female parents are eager and joyful in their undertaking. This doesn’t mean that kids are absolutely behaved and are similar small obedient automatons. To the contrary, it seems that kids are frequently froward and eager to wing from their comfy nests long before a kid of our clip would. There is a feeling that kids belong to the community, non to the female parents. Following a hebdomad on their ain in the natural state, their official independency ritual that takes topographic point when they are about 12, kids frequently do non remain or settle in the communities of their elevation, but move about. Youth is a clip for freedom and experimentation, settling down comes in ulterior old ages. The adult females # 8217 ; s motion developed from raised consciousness in the 1970 # 8217 ; s, a groundswell of altering political consciousness, and forming activity by adult females. Womans began to asseverate their rights to command their lives and organic structures. Practical applications included hotlines and crisis centres supplying a context for adult females to talk out. Shelters and houses of safety formed webs, and province and local meetings provided scenes in which adult females came together and created the beat-up adult females # 8217 ; s motion. As adult females defined and addressed their jobs ( low rewards, dead-end occupations, limited chances, inequality, societal unfairness, favoritism, and force ) as political issues, they were inspired to move. The private and societal domains were no longer dissociable. The adult females # 8217 ; s motion created and atmosphere where adult females could eventually talk about, their right of pick, banging and colza. In suc h an environment # 8212 ; free from bullying by their maltreaters # 8212 ; battered adult females could talk openly and shortly discovered the commonalty of their experience. Their bond ballad in their sense of isolation and demand for safety. The division of labour in our society has historically allocated domestic responsibilities to adult females. Womans have been responsible for supplying a happy household life, being caretakers, and the nurturers of their kids. Woman # 8217 ; s self-pride has frequently been dependent on her ability to be a # 8220 ; good # 8221 ; married woman, parent, and housewife. In the talk given by the guest lector on the # 8220 ; Women # 8217 ; s Place, # 8221 ; When adult females are battered, they frequently internalize the incrimination, experiencing that thy failed in their primary function. In this instance adult females assume their failure instead than unequal power kineticss is the cause of buffeting. While the function of power and privi lege that work forces have been given in our society is non expressed blessing for banging, it does non conflict with the stereotyped features of dominant behaviour. If adult females wish to guarantee that motions, of which they are a portion, should safeguard their cardinal and long-run involvements, they should aline themselves merely with such of them, which have an ideological attack in harmoniousness with the constitution of an equalitarian society. This is my idea on a solution. It is merely by take parting, in an articulate and argus-eyed mode, in such broader socio-political motions linked with other laden groups in their society that adult females can accomplish durable and basic alterations in their place. As adult females do non organize an independent category, they can non organize by themselves a motion, which will systematically contend for alterations in the place of adult females. I feel that any alteration in adult females # 8217 ; s place so far has come about as a consequence of broad-based motions in society and the engagement of adult females in them. This is what needed to do a alteration for adult females.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

VEGA Surname Origin and Last Name Meaning

VEGA Surname Origin and Last Name Meaning The Spanish surname Vega is a topographical name that means dweller in the meadow or one who lives on a plain, from the Spanish word  vega, used to refer to a meadow, valley or fertile plain. It could also be a habitational name for someone from one of any of the many places in the world named Vega or La Vega. Vega is the 49th most common Spanish surname. Alternate Surname Spellings: VEGAS, VEGAZ, DE LA VEGA,   Surname Origin: Spanish Where Do People With the VEGA Surname Live? The surname distribution map at Forebears, which includes data from 227 countries, pinpoints Vega as the 519th most common surname in the world. It identifies Vega as most common in Panama where it ranks 25th in the nation, followed by Puerto Rico (27th), Costa Rica (32nd), Peru (47th), Chile (47th), Argentina (50th), Mexico (55th), Spain (62nd), Cuba (74th), Equador (81st), Colombia (87th), Paraguay (96th) and Nicaragua (99th). WorldNames PublicProfiler identifies the Vega name in Spain as most frequently found in the northern regions of Asturias, Castille Y Leon, and Cantabria, as well as the southern regions of Andalucia and the Canary Islands. Within the United States, the Vega name is most common in the southwest, in the states bordering Mexico, along with Nevada, Idaho, and Florida, plus Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Famous People with the VEGA Surname Paz Vega - Spanish actressAmelia Vega - 2003 Miss UniverseJurij Vega - Slovene mathematician and physicist- Spanish playwrightGarcilaso de la Vega - Spanish poet Genealogy Resources for the Surname VEGA 50 Most Common Spanish SurnamesHave you ever wondered about your Spanish last name and how it came to be? This article describes common Spanish naming patterns and explores the meaning and origins of 50 common Spanish surnames. Vega Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Vega family crest or coat of arms for the Vega surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.   The Vega DNA Surname ProjectThis Y-DNA surname project is open to all  families with this surname, of all spelling variations, and from all locations, with the goal of using DNA matches to  help find the paper trail that leads further back up the Vega family tree. VEGA Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Vega ancestors around the world. Search past queries, or post a question of your own. FamilySearch - VEGA GenealogyAccess over 1.7 million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Vega surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. VEGA Surname Mailing ListThis free mailing list for researchers of the Vega surname and its variations includes subscription details and searchable archives of past messages. Hosted by RootsWeb. DistantCousin.com - VEGA Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Vega. The Vega Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Vega from the website of Genealogy Today. - References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David. Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph. Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H. A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back to Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Diegesis and the Artifice of Storytelling in Forrest Gump and Essay

Diegesis and the Artifice of Storytelling in Forrest Gump and Hairspray - Essay Example One of the original forms of this shift towards breaking this artifice of the screen, where audiences are aware of the work of art as existing in the form of artifice was the addition of sound to movies in the 1930s. Trying to draw the audience in to the world of the movie is not always beneficial, however. There are times when as a film maker one wants the audience to be aware of the story as a story – and non diegetic sound is a way to accomplish this. In Hairspray, the filmmakers went to extraordinary lengths to make much of the sound in the movie diegetic, trying to deflect the audiences attention from the artifice of spontaneous song and dance, while the film Forest Gump goes the opposite direction, using non-diegetic sound to draw the viewer’s attention to the artifice of the story, such as having a teller with biases and skewed perceptions. Musicals can sometimes struggle significantly with the transition into song and dance. It can sometimes simply be incredibly jarring for people to switch from normal dialogue – which we see every day in the world around us, to excellently choreographed dance accompanied by song that is so well performed that it clearly comes from a professional. Some musicals embrace this moment of awkwardness, using winks and nods at the audience to make emphasize and make light of the awkwardness of the transition; Hairspray, however, by making many of the songs diegetic, goes the opposite direction and tries to make the song and dance seem natural rather than out of place. This practice pervades the movie, starting with one of the opening scenes: the first song occurs on â€Å"the Corny Collins Show† a professional musical television event. Obviously in that case, singing and dancing makes perfect sense – as it does when the girls sing along at home. A viewer can even stretch their imagination to believing that, inspired by this show, a talented girl could begin singing about her life. This patter n continues throughout the film, first with song inserted into detention by students who are bored, then later by setting dance numbers in a record store, or again on a television set several times. Throughout this entire film, the directors made every effort to make all of the music diegetic. This process breaks down the divide between the viewer and the action occurring on screen. It makes it easier for viewers to suspend disbelief, as the ‘physics’ in the world on screen correspond to the ‘physics’ in the world around us – sometimes there is music, and that music has a known source, one can identify it, and sometimes people sing and dance do it. All of this breaks down the artifice of the story and tries to blur the lines between the world of the screen and the world around the viewer. While Hairspray makes frequent use of diegetic sound in order to break down the artifice of storytelling and creates many reasons for the song and dance that occurs , Forrest Gump goes in the complete opposite direction, using the narration – (mostly) nondiegetic sound – as a driving force of the plot and thus emphasizing the artifice of storytelling inherent to film (there are a few occurrences where the narration is diegetic in that

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Develop a description essay about a narrator character in The Tale Assignment

Develop a description essay about a narrator character in The Tale Tell Heart - Assignment Example A person with psychopathic behavior is said to have a mental disorder by his ability to endure antisocial behaviors. The narrator in this story displays psychopathic behaviors in several situations. In the beginning of the story narrator says,’ I loved the old man! He had never wronged me! He had never given me insult!’ (Poe 1). The narrator kills the old man without any motive since he claims that the old man has never wronged him and that he loved him. In general society setting, this will be perceived to be an abnormal or psychopathic behavior. Similarly, he went to the old man house everyday for seven days just to shine the old man’s eyes which he claimed were ‘evil eyes’. This further illustrates the narrator Psychopathic nature. Remorseful nature of the character is also displayed in this context. When one is filled with guilt or regret about an act he was involved in, then he is said to be remorseful. At the beginning of the story, the narrator tries to proof his sanity. He tries to exclude himself from madness. This shows how much he regrets his behavior and tries to make the reader understand his position. He even claimed that he loved the old man and he had nothing on him. When the police came to check on the old man, the narrator is able to convince them that the old man was out of the country. However, the guilt and remorse of his act build up and he could barely hold on. He breaks downs and confesses. The situation was so intense that the narrator hallucinates. He claimed that the ringing in his ears were the old man’s heart beats. A character that is easily agitated or alarmed is said to be nervous. When nervous persons are caught in a challenging or difficult situation they become tense and anxious and it may result to the character behaving or acting abnormally. The character in the story is revealed to be a very nervous character. The narrator claims that he was sick. He said that he had a

Monday, January 27, 2020

South Africa World Cup 2010 Project Leadership

South Africa World Cup 2010 Project Leadership Executive Summary This paper analyses the project of the Soccer World Cup held in South Africa in 2010 on behalf of FIFA. An introduction to the project at hand is laid out to explain the situation in which the project took place. A critical evaluation of the project is made, determining the facets that the Government and organising committee had to effectively deal with, what type of leadership styles were implemented, how team building progressed, the project life cycle and the external factors influencing this project. Improvements are recommended for some aspects of this project that could have made the Soccer World Cup more successful than what it was deemed to have been. Some of these recommendations include; better team building, more effective planning, budgetary concerns and public relation issues. The World Cup Opening Ceremony was a major success, followed by the first goal of the World Cup in the first game between South Africa and Mexico. When Siphiwe Tshabalala, of South Africa, scored the first goal, South Africans deemed the project a success. Introduction to Case Study FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) has taken it upon themselves to be the guardian of the game all over the world, in every shape or form. According to FIFA World Cupà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ (2010), their mission statement is, Develop the game, touch the world, build a better future. They do not merely focus on playing the game but rather they have to focus on every aspect that may affect the game and all that the game stands for. Rules, laws, players, developing the game and using this sport to bring hope to people all over the world, especially those less privileged than others. FIFA World Cupà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢(2010) states that the World Cup started in 1930 in Uruguay and this inaugural World Cup was won by the host team. There have only been two times since the inauguration that the World Cup was not hosted and that was during World War II. South Africa recently hosted the FIFA Soccer World Cup. This is the project that will be used as a case study as I am a South African citizen and am currently residing in the country. Information that has been referred to on this project has been experienced firsthand. This was the first time that the FIFA World Cup that was hosted by an African Country. The Soccer World Cup was hosted in South Africa from June 11th 2010 to July 11th 2010. 32 teams participated in the World Cup with the final game being played between Spain and Netherlands. Spain reigned victorious. It was a major project for South Africa, as although the country had previously hosted the cricket and rugby World Cups, it was the first time that this type of World Cup was hosted in the country and the event was made up of many projects. Many project defining aspects needed to be started from scratch. The project management was run by the Government who recruited a number of different resources, companies, personnel and task teams with the hope of making the project a success. Most importantly they assigned the role of project coordinator to Danny Jordaan. The areas that needed to be addressed included, amongst others, stadium construction and improvements, airport construction and refurbishment, infrastructure and logistics, transportation, accommodation, policing and justice, immigration, finance and health. Each of these projects needed to be successful in order for the event to be a success. This project consisted not only of these internal projects but was also influenced by external factors such as the countrys image to the world, opinions of South Africa by other countries and contractual agreements with FIFA. Therefore media and marketing were also part of the project. The success or failure of the project would impact on the economy and general well-being of the country for many years to come even after the event had taken place. The project management team needed to ensure that the projects that were undertaken would have a positive outcome on the countrys operations even after the event had taken place and concluded. Transportation and the creation of jobs could be highlighted as the most crucial aspects of the World Cup. These components are highlighted as crucial as their impact would be felt most notably once the event concluded on July 11th 2010. The construction of the stadiums was crucial as although many rugby and cricket stadiums already existed in South Africa a lack of soccer stadiums was obvious. Transportation also needed to be improved as although the government felt that roads were acceptable pre-World Cup with the influx of people from all over the world, roads and transportation systems needed to be improved. Highways were expanded and refurbished, additional buses were bought and coincidentally the construction of another transportation project, the Gau-train, would be fast-tracked to be used for the World Cup. The benefit that South Africa did have was that the country was also selected to host the Confederations Soccer Cup during June 2009. The country was able to use this event as a type of a trial run for the World Cup. The rapid bus transfer system was tested in Pretoria and errors or faults that occurred were able to be rectified before the World Cup the following year. The projects success will be analysed in order to determine the factors of project management that were used, the elements of team building that are available and how the leadership aspects, styles or type of management could be changed to make improvements to the project. Critical Evaluation According to Kerzner (2009) project management and in turn project success can be defined as completing a project within the allocated time frame, within budget, meeting a specified performance level, with as few changes to the scope as possible. Project management and team building go hand in hand when dealing with any type or any form of a project. This is because almost all projects, even when operating in a virtual environment, have people involved. When dealing with a project such as the Soccer World Cup, a third aspect fits into project management and team building just as critically. This aspect is public relations. According to the Independent institute of education (2010) although public relations can be seen as its own concept away from project management, the people involved in the project need to be aware of the standings with regards to public relations. With the World Cup being such a worldwide event, with sold out stadiums and an estimation of over a billion people wat ching, what the media says, or what the world thinks will be of critical importance to determine whether the project was gauged as a successful or failure. The main problems or areas of improvement that the South African World Cup organizers had to deal with were construction, ticket sales, transportation and crime. According to Cooke Tate (2005) project management can be defined as a culmination of knowledge, skills, expertise, systems and programs that ensure that the work that is being done, by a team of people, is in fact working towards accomplishing the strategic goals of the organization or fulfilling the aims of the project to which they have been assigned. Project management will need to bring together different areas of an organization, or that of a number of different organizations such as finance, administration, human resources, marketing or operations to work in unison to achieve the aims or goals. Project management has been developed so that a single department or person working on a project has control and visibility over all the other departments to ensure that the project runs smoothly, for the Soccer World Cup 2010 that person was Danny Jordaan. The project manager will oversee all departments and actions to try and produce a successful outcome. Project management is made up of many sections and sub headings that need to be considered. The following subjects need to be addressed when developing a project and have been summarized from Shtub Globerson , 2005. Communication guidelines and the hierarchy of leadership need to be established. Lifecycle planning needs to take place to ascertain which model would be best suited to your project. Implementation and monitoring is the next area that needs to be addressed. When and how the project will be implemented and how this will be monitored to establish control. Then cost estimates and budgeting need to be developed and contingencies need to be established as to where the cost can exceed budgeted amounts and where cut backs could be implemented if needed. Variance is an aspect that all projects need to be aware of as nothing in life is certain, external environments are constantly changing and a project needs to know where it can change and where there is no room to adjust. The project needs to have prepared for any expected changes that may affect their plans or any unexpected changes that could drastically impact the outcome of the project. An important and final aspect that many projects o ften forget to include is the closeout. In the case of the soccer World Cup in South Africa, the closeout will happen in varied stages but need to be included in the planning. The initial closeout occurs when FIFA approves the set out requirements, other close outs occur at the closing ceremony, and then when projects that were included in the World Cup preparations are complete, this may be months or even years after the final whistle had blown on the final game. All projects have a project life cycle and they can vary in length. A project lifecycle is typically made up of the following 5 stages, (Gray and Larson, 2006); Project Management can be divided into five parts: Project charter development Request for Proposal Development and Process Planning Design Project team creations, Project kick-off Planning (Work Breakdown Schedule), Budget Implementation/monitoring/control Project termination, hand-off to operations management. In the case of the soccer World Cup the project life cycle would have been spread out over a number of years, even before the World Cup was awarded to South Africa. The government had to tender a proposal to FIFA against other competing countries to be allowed to host the World Cup. Therefore the project life cycle would have started pre-2004. As different projects were started and came to an end, each would have had their own life cycle as well. Each project had to go through a tender process as well. An example of a tender used for Green Point stadium has been attached in Appendix A. Different projects will also take on different life-cycle formations or models. The most commonly accepted of these models are the waterfall project lifecycle model, the agile project lifecycle model, the iterative model and the spiral project life cycle model. Each model has different strengths and weaknesses and therefore some models are better suited to different working environments. Each sub-project, underneath the main World Cup South Africa project, would have made use of different life-cycles. The World Cup would have to have implemented the Spiral project lifecycle model as Mall (2009) explains; this model combines elements of design and prototyping-in-stages, in an effort to combine advantages of top down and bottom up concepts. This model can also be referred to as the spiral development model; it is a systems development method. This model of development combines the features of the prototyping model and the waterfall model .The spiral model is intended for large, expensive and complicated projects. The World Cup was expensive, intricate, and took place all over South Africa. The stages of the project also overlapped and did not have to wait for the completion of one project to start the next. For example the building of the airports and stadiums were not contingent on the completion of the roads or other transport projects. The project was awarded to South Africa on the 15th of May 2004 and the start of the project began soon after however some parts of the project are still busy being completed, even after the World Cup. Although the highways and roads were open to be used at full capacity during the World Cup, the construction of these roads and highways are still taking place today. In comparison to standard projects that organizations will take on, and the case study at hand, the soccer World Cup in South Africa, certain aspects of normal operations will differ quite substantially from this type of project. The teams that worked on the World Cup in South Africa were not working in a normal business environment. Their end product was not intending to gain a competitive advantage over other competitors in the same market. The products they were producing were not to be resold yet a profit needed to be made. The product could not become obsolete, however there was a deadline date, that of the opening ceremony. The deadline date however was not that of the opening ceremony because South Africa was dealing with FIFA, FIFA required that all stadiums or any structures or projects relating to the World Cup were completed a number of months in advance. As South Africa was in control of hosting the World Cup, they were also responsible of reporting to FIFA to ensure that the FIFA World Cup was a success. Stephen Blatter, the president of FIFA, was heavily involved in the operations taking place in South Africa and Danny Jordaan was the project coordinator for the Soccer World Cup. With regards to leadership styles, two main types of leadership styles generally exist, autocratic or exclusive and democratic or inclusive. A democratic leader takes other individuals opinions and ideas into consideration before making the final decision. Danny Jordaans style of management can be seen to be democratic. His involvement with the World Cup showed that he had South Africas best interests at heart. He took into consideration other leaders opinions and advice and worked in close unison with Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela when securing the tender bid to host the World Cup. Reports needed to be presented on weekly and monthly basis and he was the spokesman for interaction with the media in relation to World Cup activities. FIFA however are deemed to be autocratic. FIFA can be seen to be a franchise. Every four years a different country is elected to host the World Cup. FIFA has certain contractual requirements that each country needs to meet in order to be granted the privi lege of hosting such a prestigious event. Although South Africa could decide what the stadiums would like and how the upgrades would take place, FIFA required a certain number of stadiums to be erected or improved, for certain activities to take place and other similar requirements. The project management team needed to be compiled of a number of individuals with different areas of expertise. Although the project had a start and end date (11th June and 11th July), a budget and a scope as most projects do, the areas that this project needed to delve into were vast. The South African government had tendered to organise the World Cup. In order to successfully accomplish this, a number of facets needed to be improved, developed or started from scratch. These areas include, (Media Report, 2010), amongst others; Infrastructure stadiums needed to be built and renovated. Health Although no pandemics were forecast, they needed to be prepared. Transportation the highways needed to be improved, as well as public transport. Finance- a developing country would need to analyze budgets with high scrutiny. Technology- new fibre optic cables for televising the games worldwide. Electricity- Eskom had guaranteed power for all games, through the use of generators. Safety and Security Xenophobic attacks sent shocks throughout the world, this needed to be stepped up. Immigration- a new type of visa was created to allow access to more foreigners. Hooligans were banned. Accommodation availability and standards were a worry. Media and marketing- people needed to feel safe coming to South Africa. The South African Government identified the dramatic changes to transport logistics in South Africa as the legacy that would remain for years to come. The issues identified above are just a few examples of the projects that the overall project manager or project coordinator, Danny Jordaan, would need to have expertise on, and it would seem highly unlikely that one person would have this type of knowledge; however general management could appoint a number of sub-project managers to oversee each department and report back to one project manager. Danny Jordaan might not have had the expertise in each sub-section of the project however he was able to employ other team members to take control of those areas. Information taken from the Background Information on Government Preparations for the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUPà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ (2010) shows a breakdown of each element that the government was dealing with. The government had weekly and monthly report sessions for each area of development. In order for a project to be successful the team that works on the project needs to be selected in a certain manner. Dr. Meredith Belbin defined a team role as: A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. He spent a number of years working on the theory about teams. Dr. Meredith Belbin has written a number of books and one of his fundamental theories is based on team roles. The roles that individuals will fill when placed in a certain situation when trying to achieve a certain goal. Individuals have different personalities and different strengths and weaknesses. Belbin initially believed that the success or failure of a project would rely on the intellectual levels of the team members. According to Belbin associates, (2010), he ran a simulation test at a university for over ten years to determine the grounds of his theory. The theory is that a teams success or failure is not reliant on intellect but rather on the balance of roles that each individual will assume when in a certain environment. This team roles can be divided into three sub-sections and then into 9 individual team roles. The three main sections are Action-oriented, People oriented and Thought oriented. Action-Oriented roles include Shaper, Implementer and Complete-Finishers. People Oriented Roles include Coordinator, Team Worker and Resource Investigator. Thought oriented roles include Plant, Monitor Evaluator and Specialist. Advantages and disadvantages that make up each team role need to be discussed and understood in order to create the most effective team for the project at work. According to Belbin Associates (2010) and Belbin himself, (1993) the different roles have different pros and cons. The shapers advantages include the drive to challenge team members to improve, they are dynamic people, who are extroverted and who stimulate others. They also avoid complacency by introducing new attributes. Negative characteristics include that they are argumentative and are not sensitive to other peoples feelings. The implementer is characterized by people that get things done, those who take ideas and turn them into actions. They are conservative, disciplined and work systematically. The disadvantages however are that they show inflexibility and resist any kind of change. Complete finishers have the advantageous characteristics that ensure that a project is completed with all the small details completed. They are focused on deadlines and can be seen as perfectionists. These characteristics lend themselves to worry unnecessarily and these individuals find it difficult to delegate tasks to others for the fear of losing control of the task at hand. Belbin also identifies advantages and disadvantages for the other roles too. The coordinator leads the team to achieve the goals and objectives that they perceive as realistic. They are excellent listeners, calm, good natured and are able to delegate tasks, however sometimes the coordinator delegates away too much authority and may be seen to be manipulative. The team workers provide support to the team and ensure that all the team workers are able to work together effectively. They are able to be flexible, diplomatic and perceptive. Their disadvantages have been identified as having tendency to be indecisive and do not commit to any major decisions. The resource investigators are innovative and curious. They explore other options available to them and handle negotiations. These team members may however be overly optimistic and lose their enthusiasm for the team and their own roles rather quickly. The final three roles also each have advantages and disadvantages. The plant role is cr eative, flourishes on praise and invents new ideas or advances. The disadvantages however are that this team member finds criticism very hard to handle or accept, they are introverted and prefer to work alone. Their communication skills are poor and often ignore restrictions or restraints that they are given. The monitor evaluators strengths include that they are ideal at analysing and evaluating other team members ideas, they are successfully able to weigh up pros and cons of different possible investments, and are critical thinkers. Their drawbacks are that they can be detached and unemotional; they are poor motivators for their team members and wait to react to events rather than instigate them. Finally the ninth role, the specialist, that was added on later by Belbin include advantages of that they pride themselves on their skills and abilities, they are focused on their professional status and are an expert in a certain area of knowledge. Their disadvantages include that they m ay limit their contribution purely to what they consider themselves to be expert in and may lead the team to become pre-occupied with technicalities and small detail rather than the overall plan. In relation to the World Cup information on which techniques were used for team building are not readily available, however it has been assumed that Belbins theory was used when selecting the teams that were brought together for this project. Each team involved with the project would need a careful balance of the team members in order to be successful. A key element of team building is the stages of team development as developed by Tuckman (1977); Forming, Norming, Storming, Performing and finally Adjourning. Each individual team that is part of the World Cup development project needed time to adjust to each stage to team development. It is clear that the construction teams on site had not properly adjusted to team development as they coordinators of these projects had to deal with strikes and unrest at many of the stadiums. The projects where the majority of teams were based, transport and infrastructure is what the world watched most with regards to development projects, it is here where nation branding took place. The way in which South Africa wanted to portray itself was largely reliant on what was reported in the media and in the news. Strikes, delays and xenophobic attacks were in the news for a large majority of the time leading up to the world cup. Due to this the branding of the country was portrayed in negative lighting for a lot of the time that should in fact have been used for positive and encouraging reporting. The influx of foreign tourists to South Africa missed the original goal by a large number. Due to many of these factors the income to the country was much less than the expenditure and much less than what was expected. According to an article in the Telegraph, South Africa made a return of just  £323m on the  £3bn it spent. In conclusion to the critical reflection; the sustainability that FIFA brought to South Africa for the World Cup was not incorporated into the countries national strategy and therefore many of the strides that the country made during the World Cup were quickly eliminated when the final whistle was blown. Recommendations The specific details of the areas of which project management, project leadership or team building activities used during the World Cup were not readily accessible. Therefore the overall outcomes of the world cup and which practices should have been more heavily included can be deduced. Although information about the World Cup as a whole was available the smaller projects techniques and tools were not made available to the public. In critical review of the World Cup one of the most unsuccessful areas of the project was the budget or cost aspect of the iron triangle. To illustrate the point, (Pedroncelli, 2010), Soccer City Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the World Cup was completed at R1 billion over budget. Strikes at other stadiums such as Green Point, forced organisers to bring in negotiators for increases in salaries, and the lost time then forced the Government to enforce additional shifts at higher costs to finish on time as the completion deadlines were non-negotiable. Imports of construction materials ran over budget as the rand lost strength to other currencies and prices escalated higher than what the budget had predicted. Therefore although the scope and time were met, the cost was extraordinarily higher than predicted. This could be due to two reasons, either the budget was not well planned out and the estimates and actual costs were not realistic and not well researched or revised, or the variance of aspects discovered in the project was vast. It seems that the variance was the reason to blame for some of the over spending on the project. Poor planning could be blamed for this. Elements such as strikes or increases in costs of materials could have been realised beforehand and more concisely included in the budgetary stage of planning. A recommendation for future projects is to research and predict more accurately about future fluctuations, or to buy materials in bulk at a known price so that variances do not occur at a later stage. A number of projects were not completed on time which can be viewed as contrasting as other projects managed to finish ahead of schedule. A recommendation for future projects of this nature is to learn from other projects which developed similar end products and were produced under similar circumstances. Green Point Stadium organizers could look at the development techniques used by the project co-ordinators of the Soccer City Stadium. Work breakdown schedules and organisational breakdown schedules should have been more precise and shared amongst projects with similar outlines. Managers in control of stadiums or projects that ran over budget or over time should take note of the way in which projects were executed which ended on time, on budget and had no scope creep. It is clear that as the sub-projects of the World Cup were each significant in their own right therefore each project was governed by different managers or by different planning committees. Some stadiums were handed over to FIFA ahead of schedule and other projects such as the construction and refurbishment of highways are still being completed after the event has ended. It is a recommendation that the tenders for the construction or refurbishments should have been sent out earlier. The tender, as attached in Appendix A, shows that although a very thorough and positive process was followed, it was only started in 2006, 2 years after the World Cup project was given to South Africa. If more time had been given to the constructors and those parties, the costs involved may have escalated less. The teams may have had more time to form The leadership style of FIFA cannot be changed. They are a corporate body that acts as a franchise in relation to the World Cup. They have a formula that works and they expect participating nations to follow this plan. This autocratic style is suitable to the environment in which FIFA operates. Danny Jordaans leadership style and approach to the World Cup was successful. Nelson Mandela said, when South Africa was awarded the privilege of hosting the World Cup that, South Africans should treat this decision with humility and without arrogance because we are, after all, equal. Danny Jordaan focused on bringing South Africans together. From the construction workers on the roads and in the stadiums to fans to corporate CEOs funding different projects, all parties felt part of the World Cup, because the country felt proud to host the World Cup as one nation not separate races. The final recommendations that would be made however include; Better planning for variance conditions. These conditions include: working environments and severance, stability of the Rand against currencies or then bulk buying. Earlier tender dates for highway construction. Improved communication with the media for a positive reflection of the host nation. Incorporating FIFA changes into the national strategy in order to retain the positives. Increased time for team development on different projects. If projects were tendered and started earlier, strikes and delays may have been less severe. Ensuring the project coordinator is democratic or inclusive when dealing with a force as strong as FIFA in its autocratic behaviour or tendencies. Conclusion In conclusion the Soccer World Cup hosted by South Africa, on behalf of FIFA, in 2010 was a successful project. As indicated in the recommendations a number of improvements could be put forth that could have eliminated some of the problems that the Government and other parties experienced. A focus on public relations should have been highlighted. The xenophobic attacks prior to the World Cup should have been better handled by the Government to reduce the negative image that is portrayed of the country. Communications between the sub-projects could have been better established so that problems experienced on one site could be avoided on another. The leadership styles executed by the parties involved were well executed and appropriate. FIFA is a corporate organization that operates as a franchise when dealing with the World Cup. Their style therefore needs to be autocratic. They need the country which is hosting the World Cup to fulfill certain goals and expectations. Danny Jordaan, the project coordinator, executed a democratic or inclusive style of management which worked well in the environment in which he was operating. He was able to successfully execute the project, although over budget, by incorporating all South Africans into the buildup of the World Cup. Budgetary problems experienced by the organizing committee could have been overcome through better planning and better time management. Tenders and start dates of the projects could have been brought forward to an early date, relieving the tensions of deadlines and fluctuating prices. If the start dates had also been brought forward it may have allowed teams more time to go through the development stages of forming, norming, storming and performing. The construction of the highways may also have been completed to a better schedule. To summarise one moment of the World Cup that truly showed the success of such a tournament being hosted in Africa for the first time was when South Africas striker, Siphiwe Tshabalala, scored the first goal of the tournament. The country celebrated as one, and brought the African spirit alive.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Comparison of Film and Book 1984 :: essays research papers

Comparison of a Film and Book After reading the book and watching the movie 1984 there were similarities and differences between the two. The novel is about manipulating people in believing in something that isn’t really there and about erasing history. Both the book and film focused on: authority, government, and war. The book and film follow the theme of conformity to control society. Authority was used as a form of intimidation between the working class societies and to keep society from corruption. The authority figures mentioned in the book and film were the thought police, â€Å"Big Brother†, and the tele. The thought police were in charge of capturing the people who did things that were forbidden and against the laws of the government. Some of the laws that the society couldn’t go against were having impure thoughts, overthrowing the government, and not loving or believing in â€Å"Big Brother†. In which committing these crimes are punishable by death. Authority was used to conform and control society. The government portrayed in the book as well as in the film is referred to as â€Å"Big Brother† the mastermind of establishing a totalitarian government. A totalitarian government is a single party that rules over everything and is superior to everyone. The totalitarian government was created to prevent corruption in the society and keep the people believing in what â€Å"Big Brother† wants them to believe. â€Å"Big Brother† kept the society in believing his reality by intimidation and brain washing. Also the lack of privacy was enforced by the use of surveillance like system known as the tele. The involvement of the government helped in conforming and controlling the society. The war contributed to making the working class society believe that they were doing they’re part in helping â€Å"Big Brother† stop corruption and keeping the society in an orderly state. Big Brother manipulated the society by making up a war using previous pictures and images of a war that happened years ago. The war was also used to erase existing history that the government did not want the society to know. Furthermore, the war was used to keep the government and economy as the basis of power and maintain the balance of â€Å"Big Brother’s civilization†. The war mentioned in the film and book led to a conformed and controlled society. The film and book 1984 focused on the theme conformity to explain how society was controlled by mentioning the enforcement of authority.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Pedestrian Essay

Pedestrian Task: Unusual setting, interesting characterisation, vivid description, throughout-provoking themes show in detail how each of these aspects contributes to your understanding of â€Å"The Pedestrian† By Roy Bradbury. In the story â€Å"The pedestrian†, Bradbury uses unusual setting, interesting characterisation, vivid description and throughout-provoking themes, to capture the reader and presenting an interesting insight on a future society. Throughout the story, Bradbury introduces characters in a specific strange setting through imaginary techniques such as: simile, metaphor and personality.This essay targets to analyse how Bradbury’s choice of setting, characters, themes and his vivid descriptions help us to picture/understand the story. Plot outline â€Å"The Pedestrian† by Ray Bradbury, pictures a story of a lone man in an empty city were streets have been abandoned, at 8’oclok on a November evening. The story imagines how technology has affected society in the future. The story is set in 2052 on a November dark evening in a city of 3 million people. The main character Leonard Mead is made out to be a loner when in actual fact he’s a normal one, that gets accused for being a strange person.The city is taken over by technology however Mr Leonard is different. Mini essay. In â€Å"The Pedestrian† Ray Bradbury presents a unusual setting with an abundance of great imaginary writing and interesting description’s which gives us the upper hand to imagine it our own way and this is what Bradbury is trying to achieve: â€Å"And on his way he would see the cottages and houses with their dark windows† This is strange as its only 8pm and people should at least have the lights on if there not out or walking about the house.This helps me understand that Bradbury wanted to hint over a strange city. He also compares the city to a desert: â€Å"He could imagine himself upon the centre of a plain Ari zonian desert with no house within a thousand miles†. This is especially strange as it’s a city of 3 million. This helps me to picture what Bradbury is trying to set across. Invisible â€Å"people are there but not really there â€Å"Bradbury means by this that people are there but not as if would be in 2012 there hypnotised and as if drugged by TV etc.This helps us understand and picture what life must be like. Appealing characterisation is another key point Bradbury’s â€Å"The Pedestrian† The pedestrian sisplays this appealing characterisation on the form of Bradbury’s description of his main character as a loner and a strange man while presenting other society as â€Å"Ghosts†, hypnotised by technology. Plus he presented the car as evil, threatening and suspicious. Leonard Mead is categorised as a ‘lone’, â€Å"In ten years of walking, by night or day for thousands of miles.He had never met another person walking, not on i n all time. † This indicates he’s the only person that walks.. â€Å"There was a good crystal frost like invisible snow†. He enjoys the cold weather. The word good indicates he enjoys it. â€Å"The light held him fired, like a small specimen needle thrust through his chest. † This simile implies there’s light, other mankind out the house. â€Å"What is it now? † he asked horses . He hates the way other beings are brainwashed by Tv around the city except him. Other people are described as ‘phantoms’ as they are practically lifeless.