Larkin and Abse write about the society Essay

‘Larkin often seems to criticise society’. In the light of this statement, what connections have you found between the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about the society in which they live? In your response include at least two of Larkin’s poems. Larkin criticises society in many of his poems and also does it from a superior place in an attempt to distance him from the society which he criticises and this can be seen in Nothing To Be Said. On the other hand, Abse writes about society and community whilst he participates in it and is a part of it. Larkin tries to stunt and remove the parts of society he criticises whilst it is clear Abse attempts to preserve many of the positives in society, for example in The Story of Lazarus, a story that surrounds the optimistic tale of someone surviving something so horrific. Abse is also very proud of the society from which he grew for example he is proud of being Welsh. Larkin labels and stereotypes the working class with a superior view in Nothing To Be Said, for example in the first stanza he describes the working class as ‘small-statured cross-faced tribes’, giving the impression that he views the working class as poorly developed, and a sense of savagery and it is possible to assume that Larkin viewed them as not very intelligent also. In addition to this, the use of the word ‘tribes’ is particularly powerful and evokes this idea of animals and removes their traits as a human being. Larkin’s use of ‘slow dying’ also helps to emphasise his views that these people aren’t contributing to society, just slowly dying as they trudge on in their day to day lives, however it could also be Larkin’s view that for him these type of people aren’t going fast enough either. It may be true of Larkin’s opinion that the only thing he shares in common with these people is death and it is possible that Larkin resents this and doesn’t believe he should share anything at all with them. Larkin uses enjambment in the first verse to emphasise the steady rhythm at which everybody cruises towards death. In comparison, Abse likes to preserve people in time and focuses on the positives in society. Not only does Abse focus on positives but he presents them in a more favourable way unlike Larkin, in addition to this Abse takes people from history and gives them life again in his poetry for example ‘The Story of Lazarus’. This poem aims to continue the legacy of Lazarus, a survivor of the holocaust, ‘he showed us the number on his arm’. Abse’s views on society here suggest that he is upset that people are becoming less interested in preserving the tale, ‘soon they merely nodded’. In comparison, Larkin doesn’t want to preserve the tale of the people he mentions in ‘Nothing To Be Said’, it’s as though the repetition of ‘Slow dying’ is emphasising that for Larkin, it wasn’t slow enough. Abse also hints at the biblical tale of Lazarus, suggesting that this tale should be savoured and of its significance. On the other hand, in ‘Nothing To Be Said’, the title and final line diminishes any significance of the society and can be interpreted that there is nothing more to say on the subject. In the ‘Whitsun Weddings’, an observational poem, Larkin takes superior views upon the wedding party, as he does in ‘Nothing To Be Said’, and he makes bold and unkind judgments such as ‘mother’s loud and fat’. Unlike Abse, Larkin distances himself from society, for example in Whitsun Weddings, ‘I leant More promptly out next time’ – he tries to be involved in society but never feels like he fits, and the train in the poem separates Larkin from community. In the Whitsun Weddings Larkin shows a slightly more sympathetic side as he discusses the train journey from Hull to London and how much it has changed and perhaps shows a sentimental side regarding how time has changed the things he knew. In addition to this, the train journey could be a metaphor for Larkin’s inability to adapt to ever changing society and the fast pace that it moves. To conclude, Abse celebrates people within society and relishes the opportunity to be a part of it, where as Larkin tries distinctly hard to distance him from the ever modernising world, in attempt to disguise his insecurities and promote his sense of superiority. This superiority removes any doubt in Larkin’s mind that he could be wrong and therefore missed out on so many things in life. Abse on the other hand is proud of the society from which he came, especially emphasises his Welsh nationality and in addition to this his Jewish faith. To conclude, Larkin’s poems reflect on all that is missing in society, while Abse is in the middle of it and making the most of everything positive society has to offer.

Description of Bus Stop

The play, Bus Stop, is set in a diner in the mid 1900’s during a big snow storm. It begins with a girl named Elma (who works at the diner) whom is talking to lady, that also works at the diner, named Grace. There is a big snow storm in the midst and they both ponder whether to keep the diner open incase the passengers need a place to stay. They decide to keep it open. Next the town’s experienced and humble sheriff comes to the diner to watch over the bus’ passengers, also to inform Elma and Grace on the storms activity and increasingly worse conditions. Cherie (a chanteuse from Topeka, Kansas) enters the diner frantically in effort to escape her sleeping captures. She convinces everyone that a man named Bo, whom fell in love with her when he saw her perform at the Blue Dragon nightclub where she works, and his friend Virgil kidnapped her after she got off of work. She explains that Bo wants to take her to his home in Montana where he has a significant amount of money and get married. Bus Stop takes on its plot from there with love, frustration and comedy. Bo tries to understand why the chanteuse Cherie does not love him. He realizes that no lady has ever turned him down because of the wealth he inherited. Virgil is constantly trying to make Bo comprehend what he is doing wrong in the ways of love, and how to treat a woman right to win them over. Dr. Lymann becomes progressively drunker throughout the first night at the diner and becomes flirtatious with naive Elma. Grace and Carl end up leaving to â€Å"rest† and â€Å"take a walk†, when they both conspicuously imply that they will be with each other during that time. By reading this far in the play, the reader expects to learn what will happen with Bo and Cherie’s relationship and what this snow storm will entail for the rest of the characters.

Project Management Tools/Methods Essay

Over the years, Information Technology (I. T) projects has been known to fail, that is, they are either completed with over budget or not completed within time and budget. Information Technology projects are often complex and detailed in nature and require cognitive knowledge and skills for its accomplishment. I. T projects are often difficult to estimate and manage as some projects are either cancelled or reduced in scope because of over budgeting and time overruns or failure to produce anticipated benefits (Kumar, 2001). Failure of I. T projects is often characterised by the inability to meet the customer’s requirement or change in requirements during the project. To achieve a successful project, monitoring and control process performance is important, that is, control of Information Technology projects involves the use of appropriate management frameworks/methodologies and planning tools. In this report, we are going to look at the various ways of we can monitor and manage I. T projects, evaluating some management frameworks/methodologies and planning tools used with critical analysis on their functions, benefits as well as their weaknesses. Project monitoring and control are steps taking to keep track of a project process to ensure its success. Project monitoring is the gathering of information to determine the current state and progress of a Project in relation to its expected state and success (McBride, 2008; Aljibouri, 2003). Despite efforts put into project planning, things do change or occur that cause our project to derail. At this point, an effective monitoring and control process is useful and required to get the project back on course. It is in the control and monitoring process that we keep track of the project process, identify deviations, and determine and implement corrective actions. Many Organisations tend to manage I. T projects in an unstructured or ad hoc manner throughout its life cycle with limited understanding of the relationship between I. T project implementation and traditional business performance metrics (Stewart, 2008). The attention to schedule and cost are of utmost relevance in project monitoring and control as well as the scope of the project, risk and change control plus the overall performance measurement and reporting. The essential purpose of project monitoring and control is to alert the project manager to any project inter-dependencies that are becoming critical in terms of delivery date, resource allocation, cost or benefits (Lycett et. al, 2002). The basic challenge of project management in achieving its goals it based on managing effectively its typical constraints which include time, scope, budget. The following activities are involved in monitoring and control of I. T Projects; * The adoption of appropriate management framework/methodology – reporting structure, assessing progress, communication. Use of Planning and scheduling tools/techniques e. g. Gantt chart, PERT, CPA, WBS e. t. c * Data control – reporting progress of risk or staff activities MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS/METHODOLOGIES Project management methodologies can be said to be a set of principles or guidelines that can be defined and applied in monitoring and control of projects. Project management framework defines and determines how to initiate and run a project. These various methodologies ensure; * Clearly visible and defined management process for project execution * Defined line of reporting and decision making Risk management * Staff are appropriately trained and suitable to handle and run projects * Commitment to the proposed project. There so many various methodologies available as it all depends which suits the organisation practice. Here are a few of some well known ones below: PRINCE 2 – It is an acronym for Project IN Controlled Environment. PRINCE 2 is a structured project management methodology and a widely used standard for managing I. T projects. It significantly provides assistance with the optimal usage of resources with risk management initiatives to manage projects. Elkington and smallman (2000), argues that though the PRINCE 2 method has greatly increased the success rate of projects, but it has little in the way of directing project managers in handling project risk. It offers no advice to project managers on risk estimation. PRINCE 2 promotes consistency of project work and also facilitates staff mobility, reduction of personnel change impact. The method also provides for the absolute recognition of project responsibilities in order for participants to understand each other’s role. The Prince 2 method helps you work out who should be involved and their responsibility. Due to the numerous changes attached to I. T projects, PRINCE 2 has a technique of controlling the impact of change in a project so as to prevent the project from derailing from the right direction. SSADM – Structured System Analysis and Design Method is a method widely used in information system development in the U. K. it is based on data flow diagram. SSADM divides a system development project into stages, steps and tasks and provides a framework for analysing projects in a defined way to manage project. It aims at improving project management and control, develop quality systems, and establish a framework for good communication among personnel in a project team. It also ensures project continuity if there is a loss of staff without any effect on the project success (Middleton and McCollum, 2001). However, some limitations occur in the use of SSADM as it puts much emphasis on the analysis of the system and its documentation. This causes the impact of over-analysing, and can be cost and time consuming. Also, due to various types of description method, consistency checks cannot be carried out. The outline diagram can become very unclear, especially with large systems because all relevant data flow have to be included. Agile Methodology – Agile Development is a term that covers several iterative and incremental software development methodologies. This agile methodologies includes Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), Dynamic systems development method (DSDM), Crystal, Feature-Driven development (FDD) e. t. c â€Å"Agile Software development represents a major departure from traditional plan –based approaches to software engineering â€Å"(Dyba and Dingsoyr, 2008). Each of these Agile methods is unique in its specific approach, but they all share a common core values and vision. Agile method is a new system development methodology which is used by software development teams to improve the software development process in terms of increased productivity of I. T personnel and higher quality of the final I. T solutions (Chan and Thong, 2008). According to Chan and Thong, (2008); Reifer, (2002), agile methodologies, such as Extreme programming (XP) and Scrum have received praise from practitioners because of their abilities to deal with volatile requirements. Although the deployment of these agile methodologies by I. T personnel is still resistance, industry surveys have indicated that its acceptance in I. T organisations is still at an early phase with many respondents indicating a limited knowledge (Chan and Tong, 2008). Also, in as much as the agile method have generated quite a bit of controversy, but since its entrance into the software community, most projects have continued to deliver high quality software systems within time than the traditional processes. BASIC I. T PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND SCHEDULING TOOLS Different types of planning and scheduling tools exists, but we are going to discuss some of the basic one used in managing Information technology projects like Gantt Charts, CPM, PERT, WBS Gantt chart and Critical path Analysis flow diagrams are two commonly used tools for detailed project management planning, scheduling, costing and budgeting. Gantt chart is a typical scheduling method for most types of projects. A Gantt chart provides a graphical illustration of a schedule which helps in planning, co-ordinating and tracking specific tasks in a project. A key feature of Gantt charts is its focus on systemic rather than algorithmic solutions to utilisation problems† (Wilson, 2003). It specifies complex task sequence, that is, a task or more can be required to be completed before other tasks can start. According to Maylor, (2001), he emphasizes that the use of Gantt chart in controlling information systems projects is beneficial as it shows clearly the overlap of scheduled task s, which commonly occurs in system development. Gantt chart supports modification of task dependencies, creation of new task connector as well as re-scheduling individual tasks. It also helps to evaluate the progress of a project. Although, Gantt chart is a widely used and beneficial tool which gives clear illustration of project status, it also has some limitations. Gantt chart do not show task dependencies of one task to another, that is, it is difficult for you to see or tell the effect of a task falling behind schedule of which PERT chart does. Also, Gantt chart does not show the necessity of completing one task before the start of another as Critical Path Analysis will do. Gantt chart is also often used as a reporting tool. PERT and CPM Type Program Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM) are useful tools that help to manage and schedule complex projects. Activities of a complex projects can be performed parallel and some sequentially. The collection of these activities can be modelled as a network. PERT type network looks for the schedule to minimize the objective function of the total elapsed project time, that is, it determines the start and the finish times of each activity or task. CPM type is based on the critical path method. It looks for the schedule with the minimum cost in a definite period of time (a case where the cost is associated with each task). CPM provides a graphical view of a project, helps predict the time required for project completion and shows which activities are critical to maintaining the schedule and which are not. â€Å"CPM execution can enable monitoring and control over various topics uniquely related to software projects† (Gelbard et al, 2002). The CPM considers a set of precedence relations between the tasks of a project, that is, some tasks must be finished before other tasks can be started (Conde, 2009). CPM helps to plan all tasks that must be completed as part of a project. When managing I. T projects, CPM helps to get a project back on course by showing you where remedial actions need to be taken as in the case of Gantt Charts. CPM type is deterministic as it uses a fixed time estimate for each activity. According to Chanas and Zielinski, (2001); Yakhchali et al (2009), they emphasizes that the importance of CPM is that the activities duration time are deterministic and known, but the assumption cannot always be fulfilled with satisfying accuracy. Therefore, in order to deal with imprecise durations, they suggested that PERT method be used, which has conception of random variable with beta distribution to model the activity times. However, CPM is simple and easy to understand, but it does not consider the time variations that can have a huge impact on complex project completion time. For less routine projects, there is more uncertainty in the completion times of which PERT network is an alternative as it allows a range of durations to be indicated for each activity. The reduction of time and cost required for project completion is one of the capabilities of a PERT network. PERT assumes that the time estimate for an activity lies within the range of earliest time and latest time. It uses a three time estimates (optimistic, most likely, pessimistic) to compute the expected average time. However, PERT technique provides less benefit if the uncertainty of time estimates is relatively small and irrelevant. Chanas et al, (2001) and Conde, (2008) agrees that the PERT assumes beta distributions for the individual task completion times but also that the assumption and some other conditions are not exempt for criticism. â€Å" Apart from that, PERT provides a scheduling mechanism that is based on resource reallocation and ordering the project activities for cognitively driven task like software projects and research/development projects. â€Å"The main drawback of PERT technique is the difficulty of obtaining the time estimates† Changes do occur in I. T development projects, of which most often result to failure of the overall project. Controlling changes provides stability to projects. Changes to project agreement must be evaluated and recorded accordingly. According to Wang et al, (2008), change control facilitates software flexibility by controlling risks due to unstable scope and run-away requirements. Change control is necessary in project monitoring as it ensures; * Prevention of unauthorized use of resources * Proper update of project plan, its scope, budget expectations, schedule and quality * That the recommended change is consistent with external agreements. Monitoring and control process is no doubt necessary in project development by use and application of methodologies, tools and techniques. However, evaluating the various ways, their functions and characteristics, it can be said that there is no better of f methods as they have their benefits and weaknesses in various areas which other encompasses and vice versa, in other words, there is no-one –fits-all methodology. In practice, project managers have found out that it is difficult to simply use a methodology or tool exactly as it stands. But, it can be said that a good and successful project which delivers quality result, within time and budget are generally dependant on the quality and effort of participants from the project board down to the individual team members.

Victim Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Victim Interview - Essay Example The organization formulates policies and standards as well as provides training programs in order to encourage employers to offer effective working environments to their employees. However, the issue of health and safety in the working environment has not yet been fully achieved because many workers lack access to effective occupational health services. The interviewer is a victim of an occupational injury that has caused him to be absent at work for one week. The victim was employed last year in one of the manufacturing companies, and he has been working as an engineer. The victim was handling machines at the workplace when the accident happened. The victim reported in the morning at the 8.a.m. and started working in the engineering department with other engineers. The victim was working under pressure from the supervisor in order to finish repairing the machine since it affected the company. The company wanted the engineer to repair the machine in time to avoid causing inconveniences in terms of the organizational performance. However, the victim suddenly burnt his left hand after an hour of working because of the overheated machinery. The machine was too hot; unfortunately, the victim slipped and burnt his left arm. This is because he was working without using protective clothes such as gloves, helmets and other necessary protec tive garments for injuries. The victim revealed that many workers working in the industry including him does not have protective working clothes. The company reassured employees to be careful when they are working to avoid injuries, but they have never taken any steps of providing protective attires. The accident took place in the morning on 12th, November of this year. The victim burnt his left arm and sustained serious injury; thus, he immediately started bleeding heavily. However, the wound was treated, but it left him with a big scar. The victim spent for about two weeks in the hospital nursing the wound. The victim

Case Study for Total Quality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Study for Total Quality Management - Essay Example Ever since 9/11 this industry has seen radical changes and movements towards downsizing and cost cutting. A company in this industry that was able to maintain a high level of customer service is Orbitz Corporation. This paper provides two answers to discussion questions of the case study Customer Service Processes at Orbitz. Mr. Patton was very satisfied with the level of service that he received. Corporations that provide good customer service are able to achieve higher levels of customer retention (Achievemax, 2009). There were various aspects of the experience Mr. Patton encountered which made him happy. First of all when he approached the company about the double billing problem the company was apologetic. After a short verification process which took a few minutes the firm admitted they were wrong. This is somewhat unusual because companies love to blame the customer. I once had a problem at an ATM that stole my money. I went to the bank and they claimed it was not their fault because they were the owners of the ATM and the protocol was for an investigation to occur. I was not satisfied with this response at all since all they had to do was contact the other bank that owned the ATM to check the video camera in order to verify that cash was not disbursed. Mr. Hatton was surprised that the company ad mitted the wrong doing so fast. Another dimension of the customer service at Orbitz that impressed Mr. Hatton was the short waiting time on the phone and the efficiency of their voicemail system. Inefficient voicemail system that keep routing the customer through way too many options typically anger customers to the point that at times the customer prefers to hang up than to continue the ordeal (Crestcapital, 2006). Another aspect of the customer service that impressed Mr. Hatton was that the company apologized for the mistake on various occasions. At the end of the process Orbitz send Mr. Hatton a letter apologizing with a

FDI attraction in Chile Affected by the Country's Socio-Economical Essay

FDI attraction in Chile Affected by the Country's Socio-Economical Inequality - Essay Example In 2006, the nominal GDP per capita of Chile was recorded as the highest in Latin America. The country however is undergoing a lot of economic inequality (Trading Economics, 2013b). The socio economic inequality is the gap between the rich and the poor. The income difference of a group of individuals, society or the residents of a country is called the socio economic inequality. The economic inequality varies by the economic structures of the countries (Mankiw, 2009). According to several economists the inequality of the distribution of wealth is very essential. This improves competition and increases the efficiency of the individuals. The wealthier individuals tend to save more and spend more which helps the economy in growing. Inequality amongst the individual also increase the social and health related problems of the individuals. The economic growth of a society is also affected (Froyen, 2009) The social inequality has a direct impact on the social cohesion of the individuals, th e population’s productivity and crime rate of the society, cultural and civic participation and economic welfare as a whole (Wessels, 2000). The analysts such as Martinez (2011) are of the view that high growth rate is no excuse for the economic inequality. According to a recent report about three million Chileans are very poor. About 500,000 of the people of the Chilean population are those who are extremely poor. The economic model of Chile and the progressive growth which the economy has shown with time is sufficiently appraisable but still the growing inequality in Chile has caught attention of various economic analysts. Chile is categorised amongst a few countries which have a worst income distribution system. The percentage of the poor population is very high in the economy (OCED, 2002a). According to OECD (2002b), Chile is a nation of population of more than 17 million people. It comes under the category of developed countries and has the worst income distribution syst em amongst those countries. Several economists are of the view that the economic system of Chile would not improve by the economic growth. To improve the economy’s income distribution the government would have to take decisions to redistribute the wealth of the individuals by placing higher taxes. Another economist was of the view that Chile must focus on economic growth and nothing else. The increase in the level of the per capita income of the individuals will surely increase the well being of the individuals. The person who is a resident of Chile and lives on less than $64,134 pesos (US$135) per month is considered to be poor. But a person who lives on less than $32,067 pesos (US$67) monthly is considered to be destitute, according to the official data (Martinez, 2011). A few of the economists are of the view that creating opportunities is a part of the economic growth. Those who are utilising that opportunity are competent. For the incompetency of the rest of the individu als it is unfair to impose taxes and burden those individuals who prove themselves and are the contributing factors fro the economy. ETHICAL FAMILY INCOME TO IMPROVE SOCIETY Felipe Kast, minister of planning for Chile called the ranking by the OECD (2002b) report â€Å"shameful for its levels of inequality.† He added that Chile has plans set in line to take the people out from extreme poverty. The government plans a program of IEF – Ethical Family Income which will use a series of bonds and cash incentives for the children

Microsoft and Nokia Merged Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Microsoft and Nokia Merged - Research Paper Example Microsoft and Nokia are both renowned and well-known ICT companies, where the former specializes in user convenient communication software systems and the latter holds a distinct position amid its customers in the mobile communication industry. As per analysts’ reviews, the merger between Microsoft and Nokia also served the purpose of meeting the needs of their customers and further expanding their business size, along with bringing success in their own respective fields2. In order to gain an in-depth understanding about the merger process between these two ICT giants, i.e. Microsoft and Nokia, it is necessary to overview the background of the companies and to understand their needs of entering into the contract. Microsoft, founded in the year 1975 in State of Washington, operates its business through the development, manufacturing and licensing of variety of software products and also computer hardware devices3. Apart from this business, the company has recently expanded in t he fields of manufacturing telephonic devices such as tablets, which can also be considered as one of their recent expansion strategies that required a beneficial market penetration strategy. Due to its huge turnover and advanced technology innovation capacity, Microsoft has emerged as one of the successful technology companies in the entire world in the current decade4. Correspondingly, Nokia is a Finnish company, which placed itself in a remarkable position in the history, by creating the first radio phone in 1963. Since then, the company has been successful in manufacturing more of the modern and advanced technological communication appliances in the international market. Nokia became more popular in the entire world with the production of small and comfortable mobile phones and following the introduction of the integrated technology. It is also considered as one of the fastest growing companies in the present competitive environment and also as a responsible company, which accep ts the suggestions of its customers as well as believes in equal treatment to all its employees5. THESIS STATEMENT This research paper has been prepared with an intention of gaining knowledge on the incident of the merger that has recently taken place between Microsoft and Nokia in the year 2012. Correspondingly, the major sections that have been described in this research paper are the reasons for the merger, advantages that both the companies have derived and also the possible drawbacks of the incident to critically assess the worthiness of the strategy. REASONS FOR MERGER BETWEEN MICROSOFT AND NOKIA In recent news article named â€Å"Why Microsoft really bought Nokia† one of the journalists named Robert X. Cringely remarked that the incident of the merger between Microsoft and Nokia was somewhat like â€Å"two stones clinging together trying to stay afloat†6. The reason for quoting these words implies that the incident was really a matter of interest for all the gia nt companies around the world. In the process, Microsoft acquired Nokia at a compensation price of 7.2 billion US dollars in 20127. A tender offer was considered as the major mode of acquisition in case of merger between Microsoft and Nokia. Subsequently, Microsoft made a proposal to the majority of the shareholders of Nokia with an intention to buy the