My Experience At The Age Of 17 - 885 Words

As I closed my eyes I felt the chill of the mud splattered on me. It was raining out and I was afraid that all my hard work had gone out the window. It was one of the first practices, that were much needed, in order to get the team educated on the game of soccer. I stood in a worn out men’s soccer uniform discouraged and frustrated. As I opened my eyes, I watched as several different girls started sliding face first through the puddles of mud. They were determined laughing and talking together. They embraced what the environment had bestowed upon us, and took the time to get to know each other. This mud had brought such a diverse group of girls together. In that moment, I felt the change with every gust of wind. There were 20 girls with a common goal and a love for the game, all from a diverse background brought together. But at this moment of frustration they all came together to enjoy life. At the age of 17, I had started a movement of change. Perhaps at that time I did not realize the magnitude of what I had started. I was able to put in place a girls’ soccer team, with no funding from the school and completely on my own. This in itself is an achievement and has allowed girls to still play on an all girls soccer team until this day. However, was it more to it than this? Did I do more than start a program? This was a diverse group of girls with a variety of different life experiences that came together for a common love of the game. Comradery, education, and exposureShow MoreRelatedThe Institute Of Museum And Library Services1490 Words   |  6 Pagesprovides federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. The IMLS motto is Reimagine. In my own words establishing a museum and library in today’s 21s century of technology and digital resources would be the new â€Å"REIMAGE†. The research and evaluation of this program targets each state museum and library needs and what they have to offer to the community. 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Interview With An Individual Who Works For Malmbergets Aif

I chose to conduct my interview with an individual who works for Malmbergets AIF (AIF = public sports club) in Malmberget, situated in the far north of Sweden. Established in 1904, the club is and have been active within numerous sports, from soccer to cross country sking, and throughout the club’s long history one will find stories of great success, such as when its Olympic handball team played in the highest division in the mid-seventies, or one of the clubs cross-country skiers, Lina Andersson, won Olympic gold in 2006. Today, most of MAIF’s efforts are focused on youth programs in various sports, with the ice-hockey team being the sole remaining adult team. Some adult skiers, boxers, and other individual athletes have amounted to some†¦show more content†¦During winter, he’ll get to focus on sports like ice hockey, and during summer, he can focus on their youth programs for soccer. Much like several other positions within the sport industry – at least in terms of working for a sport’s club –, what the job entails changes between seasons, but the difference for Johansson is that there’s never an offseason, which Johansson admits is challenging at times, but that he wouldn’t have it any other way, as he claims it â€Å"keeps [him] running†, despite his age. When asked whether or not he might be sugarcoating the truth a bit to make the industry seem more appealing, he pauses, before giving a lengthy explanation regarding the effort required to do the job, saying that â€Å"it’s going to require hard work at times†, before adding that that’s the reality for most jobs, but that he truly think his interest in what he does motivates him to push through it. He admits to have been lucky for – officially – entering the industry at a later stage in his career, and for a position higher up the chain, because he’s not sure his â€Å"passion for sports would have survived otherwise†, which I think might be the harsh truth a lot of individuals interested in a career within the industry might not get to hear. He quickly adds that apart from a strong interest in the industry, individuals’ looking to begin a career needs to have a plan. They need to know what they want, and why.Show MoreRelatedInt erview With An Individual Who Works For Malmbergets Aif1097 Words   |  5 PagesFor this assignment, I decided to conduct my interview with an individual who works for Malmbergets AIF (AIF = public sports club) in Malmberget, situated in the far north of Sweden. Established in 1904, the veteran club is and have been active within numerous sports, from soccer to cross country skiing, and throughout the club’s long history, one will find stories of great success, such as when its Olympic handball team played in the highest division in the mid-seventies, or one of the clubs cross-country

Customer Service Essay free essay sample

Excellence in customer service is the objective of all organisations wishing to be successful. However, there is often a gap between customer expectations and management perceptions of customer expectations. Organisations often fail to get close to their customers and correctly read their expectations. Customers expect certain things when they walk into a business, and those with the highest level of service will know how to identify those expectations and meet them to the customers satisfaction. However, this process is not as easy as it sounds – customer expectations are a dynamic feature that ebbs and flows regularly in accordance with a wide range of factors. However, when expectations are not met by the performance of your customer service representatives, customer dissatisfaction is the result. Customer Expectations + Service Performance = Customer Satisfaction The quality of your customer service is almost wholly determined by your ability to meet your customer expectations. You can have the greatest service team, but if your customers perceive their needs are not being met, your service reputation suffers. By the same token, companies that don’t spend much time worrying about customer service – but manage to meet customer expectations consistently – are perceived as offering good customer service. Service quality is largely determined by customers perception, which is why meeting customer expectations is an essential part of the process. Identifying Customer Expectations Because customer expectations are an ever-evolving process, it can be very challenging to know precisely what those expectations might be. The best course of action is to take the question directly to your customer base through a variety of customer service research techniques. Have customer’s complete surveys about your products and service. Provide incentive for them to complete that survey, such as entry into a drawing for an enticing prize. Next time you see a customer, ask if his expectations of your business are being met. If not, find out why and what you can do to make your service better. Common Expectations to Consider Some of the most common and basic expectations customers have for most businesses included: †¢ Fast, efficient and accurate service High quality products at a competitive price †¢ Friendly, helpful service staff to provide information and answer questions †¢ Prompt responses to their inquiries, whether online, by phone or in person †¢ Sufficient stock to meet their needs without long waits †¢ A trained staff that can handle their questions without referring them on †¢ A clean facility or easy to navigate website All of these expectations comprise the minimum of what your top-notch service should look like. Additional expectations may arise from your customer research, which you can address on an individual basis. Benefits of Meeting Expectations When you are able to accurately identify and adequately meet your customers expectations, your customer service reputation will automatically be enhanced. Some of the benefits of meeting your customers expectations include: †¢ Customers that transform from first-time visitors to loyal clients †¢ Increased sales as customers feel more comfortable doing business with you †¢ More referrals from satisfied customers who bring in additional business by word of mouth There is no doubt that adequately meeting customer expectations is an essential part of a robust customer service department. By accurately identifying those expectations, and meeting or exceeding them consistently, your company is likely to enjoy happier customers and a healthier bottom line. Other reasons for customer service problems include:not listening to or collecting information from customers * poor, or no, focus on the actual design of processes to turn identified customer needs into products and services * gaps between what the organisation intends to produce for its customers and what its systems do actually produce * gaps between what the system is intended to deliver for customers and what it actually does deliver * cost constraints, or failure to set and meet realistic performance standards, which affect what the organisation can actually deliver * poor staff attitudes, training levels and working materials * gaps between what salespeople promise and the actual service or product quality The Voice of the Customer (VOC) is a process that ensures the customers voice is deployed throughout a pro ducts or services design, production, marketing, delivery, and after-sales service. Listening to the Voice of the Customer and incorporating the customers input is essential to obtain lifelong customers. The process is best started by bringing together a cross-functional team of managers who spend several days creating a set of matrices linking what internal management believes are customers wants and needs to a set of product or service matrices which a company can then measure, track and control. As a result of these meetings, a list of customer needs is organized and prioritized. During this phase, the customers requirements, warranty data, product measurements, and competitive offerings are assessed alongside the companys technical ability to meet the requirements. The next phase is led by the product managers/engineering teams. Product concepts are created and specifications drawn with the most important customer needs addressed. In order to organize and evaluate the data, simple tree diagrams are often used. The next step in the process is critical and often neglected: conducting one-on-one, in-depth interviews with the customers. This technique deploys a structured interview lasting 30 minutes to one hour. The discipline behind the interview is to ensure that all areas in the discussion guide will be addressed without limiting the input from the customer to predetermined formats. Customers will often organize and prioritize their needs differently than the insiders.   In new product development, it is critical to solicit the Voice of the Customer to correct undesirable feature sets, determine most desirable value propositions, and understand future uses and applications of a new product. This also gives the customer an opportunity to offer innovative product/service ideas into the development process. Not only does this result in new perspectives, it also increases customer satisfaction and loyalty when their ideas are implemented. Additional research and refinement occurs until the product is launched. Now the Voice of the Customer is needed to assist the company in ensuring it is exceeding customer expectations. Exceeding expectations is extremely challenging as customers continually upgrade their expectations. The involvement in delivering products and services that exceed expectations is the responsibility of everyone in the company. In an on-going effort to dynamically measure customer commitment and track changes over time, Voice of the Customer tracking research was established. Telephone, mail and web surveys are the typical methods of collecting data from customers. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, all of which need to be evaluated. Speed, confidentiality and cost are the primary item trade-offs in the decision to use a specific method. Questions are developed to obtain information on importance and the satisfaction associated with each performance attribute. A ranking model is then developed to help set priorities. Each customer rates a list of key factors in terms of importance when deciding which of the vendors/suppliers products to buy. Second, each customer rates their satisfaction with the companys products and services as well as competitors products and services on each of the key factors. Customers are usually guaranteed anonymity when responding to Voice of the Customer studies. Care must be taken in the drafting of the documents since an expectation of follow-up and improvement can be created and any lack of follow-up will increase dissatisfaction. If response rates are not adequate, several procedures can be deployed to increase participation, including offering the customer an incentive for completing the survey. Some typical questions from a manufacturer/service provider include: * Why did you choose XXX? This type of question gauges impact and retention of main advertising messages, including point-of-purchase messages. * Have you had a problem with the XXX that required repair or return? If so, what was the general nature of the problem? * If a customer called for support, What was the nature of your contact with us? * How well did the experience match your expectations? A customer who has talked with others about their experience could be asked, What did you say? This type of open-ended question can be coded and then sorted into groups of positive or negative. A chart graphically depicts the overall results from the research. Each of the key satisfaction issues are plotted on the graph with the more important issues (as rated by the customers) being higher on the graph. In this manner, the key strengths and vulnerabilities are charted. An additional analysis is typically performed which determines which customers are likely to remain loyal and which are at risk. At risk customers are those the company is likely to lose because they are highly dissatisfied with the company. This gives a company a measurement of how many customers it may lose to competitors. Over time, a comparison of the results allows a company to see how its situation has changed. Feedback on results, implementation of improvements and areas where additional progress is still desired should be communicated to all employees on a periodic basis. Demographic household information can also be asked and age, income and geographic region can be reported. Listening to the Voice of the Customer and acting on the customers input is the secret to maintaining continuous improvement. Clear, consistent and systematic improvement is necessary to retain customers for life. There are always gaps between what the organisation intends to produce/deliver for its customers and what its systems do actually produce/deliver. So you should delivering products and services in line with customer specifications and the organizations’ business plan depends on: * Identifying customer specifications * Building business plans that will enable the organisation to meet customer needs and expectations * Developing, within the organisation, strategies to manage effective systems that will support delivery of products/service Sometimes organisations meet cost constraints, or failure to set and meet realistic performance standards, which affect what the organisation, can actually deliver. Organizational plans will therefore incorporate control elements designed to prevent disruption, overcome constraints and ensure product/service continuity, quality and consistency. The functions (processes) related to the organisation’s plans need to be of a robust design that is sufficiently insensitive to variation, so that the quality of products/services consistently, and on all occasions, meets customer expectations and needs. Knowledge of good customer procedures is not innate. An effective induction and training program, matched to appropriate performance appraisals will benefit you, your organisation and all the customer/supplier interface members. The best providers of customer service do not randomly employ people and leave them to interpret their employers’ philosophy in whatever way they see as appropriate. They do provide suitable training and support (resources) so that employees know what to do and are able to do it. Organisations should dedicate resources (time and money) for training and reinforcement. Employees should be fully informed about company goals, the products and services. Emphasis and training should be focused upon the importance of listening and responding to the customer’s requests. People can only do the job if they are given the right tools and objectives. It costs money to train people. It will cost more if you decide not to train them. You also should analyze the following gaps: †¢ Gap 1 is the lack of understanding between customer expectation and management perception, i. e. the management does not know what the customers need and expect from their service. Gap 2 is the lack of development between management perception and service quality specification. Here managers are aware of customer expectations but are not committed enough to utilize the knowledge of customer needs and expectations as the basis for defining and specifying service quality standards. This may occur due to ignorance, lack of vision, limited resources. †¢ Gap 3 indicates the gap between service quality specifications and service delivery where the management understands the customers’ desired level of service and specifies an appropriate set of standards. However, service delivery may be of poor quality owing to poor employee performance due to insufficient training. Gap 4 refers to the gap between service delivery and external communication which occurs due to pre-purchase promotional materials communicating unrealistic service levels which cannot be delivered in reality. Again it can stem from being poorly briefed about the service by the sales staff resulting in over promise and under delivery. †¢ Gap 5 is the gap between expected service and perceived service Gap 1 can be closed by: †¢ understanding customer expectations through research, complaint analysis, customer panels †¢ increasing direct interactions between managers and customers to improve understanding †¢ improving upward and downward internal communication For closing Gap 2 it is imperative to establish the right service quality standards by: * communicating and reinforcing customer-oriented service standards * providing requisite training to the managers to enable them to lead employees to deliver quality service * rewarding managers and employees for attaining goals * measuring performance and providing regular feedback * establishing clear, realistic service quality goals * ensuring that employees understand and accept goals and priorities * becoming receptive to new ways of doing business that overcome barriers to delivering quality service. Gap 3 is addressed by ensuring that service performance meets standards through: * clarifying employee roles * ensuring that all employees understand the importance of their jobs * providing employees with technical trainingn  developing innovative recruitment and retention methods to absorb the best talents and build loyalty * training employees about interpersonal skills for dealing with di fficult customers * teaching employees about customer expectations, perceptions and problems * eliminating role conflict among employees by involving them in the process of setting standards * measuring employee performance and link compensation and recognition to delivery of quality service * develop reward systems for employees * empowering employees with decision-making along with accountability * encouraging teamwork * treating customers as partial. Employees by clarifying their roles in service delivery, training and motivating them to perform well in their roles as co-producers. Gap 4 is bridged by  Ã‚  seeking inputs from operations personnel when new advertising programs are being created * developing advertising that features real employees performing their jobs * allowing service providers to preview advertisements before customers are exposed to them * ensuring that consistent service standards are delivered across multiple locations * identifying and explaining uncontrollable reasons for short falls in service performance * offering customers different levels of service at different prices and explaining the distinctions * ensuring that the communication materials reflect those service characteristics that are most important to customers in their encounters with the organization * getting sales staff to involve operations staff in direct interaction with customers * managing customer expectations by informing them the possible and impossible options and the reasons. Gap 5 can be effectively closed by minimal promise and maximum performance.

The Positions of Physicalism and Dualism

Introduction Physicalism and Dualism are two philosophical positions that are ever in conflict concerning the state of the mind and body of humans. The Physicalism view claim that an entire human being comprises of a physical entity with various physical properties.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Positions of Physicalism and Dualism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On the other hand, the dualism view claims that human beings have a dual entity comprising a physical entity (the body) and a non-physical entity (the mind). The aspect of the mind as a non-physical entity is often the cause of disagreement between these two conflicting positions. This paper will evaluate in detail the arguments entailing these two positions. The positions of Physicalism and Dualism Physicalism is a philosophical position that sees a human being as a physical entity made up of physical components. This school of thought compares t he human being with a clay statute. In this regard, a clay statute comprises of clay clumps and exhibits properties of weight and mass in addition to occupying a position in space. Similarly, human beings comprise clumps of biochemical, physical substances and exhibit such properties as mass and weight. This assertion by Physicalists claims that human beings comprises of a single entity, which is physical in nature (Graham, 73). Dualism is a philosophical position that tends to deny the position of Physicalism. This position denies that human beings have a single physical nature. Conversely, it asserts that human persons comprise of a dual nature made up of the physical aspect (the body) and a non- physical aspect (the mind) (Graham, 73). Dualism provides the assertion that the mind does not occur alone; rather it has a connection to the body. This means that human beings have two forms of reality, which are connected in someway. In this regard, dualists claim that the physical body is a machine comprising flesh and bone while the mind is equitable to consciousness and defines the real person (Lawhead, 220).Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Physicalists also claim that the whole or entire state of the world is a determinant of the physical aspect of the world. This position refutes the availability of a non-physical nature of the world. Physicalists claim that a non-physical nature of the world cannot be the determinant of the state of the world since the world is physical in nature. For Physicalists, the mental state of a human being cannot vary without the determination and control of the physical nature of human persons (Seager, 218). Physicalists claim that all aspects of the human nature and indeed aspects of the world are entirely physical and that science can actually explain them. This assertion rejects the claim by dualists that there are supernatural a spects of the humans. This means that Physicalists hold to science as a determinant and backbone of aspects of human beings (Lawhead, 228). Dualists on the other hand hold that even if there is a physical world or a real world, it is accessible to both perception and reflection. Dualism claims that there is no way in which a physical nature can perceive the physical aspect of the world. There must be another hidden force, which is non-physical in nature and which perceives the physical world. This means that there is a considerable difference between the known world and the perceived world. In this regard, it is improper to claim that we know something only because we saw or heard it. This causes human beings to ignore the sensation that accrues from perceiving the issue at hand with the mind (Bolton, 20). In general, Physicalists assert that the determination of all happenings logically occur by the physical aspect of human nature. However, there is a likelihood of more restricted forms while the general form is not above the logical sum of all the restricted forms. The current point of strength that Physicalism enjoys in philosophy accrues from the persistent absorption of ever more spheres of occurrences under the purview of Physicalism (Seager, 220).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Positions of Physicalism and Dualism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The dualism position presents another claim of the possibility of sensation and perception as determinants of phenomena. In this regard, the issue of sight and hearing creates a gap between human’s perception of an object and the real object. For instance, light from the Sun takes approximately eight minutes to reach us while that of the Moon takes one-and-a quarter seconds. However, light from the stars might take several years to reach us. This implies that it is possible that we could be looking at objects, which do not exist since the light we can see left them. Nevertheless, even the least slip of time between a perception and the basis of the perception is sufficient to confirm that we are not dealing with the actual objects (Bolton, 21). Physicalism also holds that an entirely physical world would appear to symbolize an entirely physical manifestation in total harmony with that of the actual world. This means that since the nature of the world is purely physical, then all occurrences would represent a physical expression. Physicalists also claim that there is no way in which the mind would effect changes in the physical world without inclusion of the physical state. This means that physical processes and changes occur without the help of a mind (Seager, 225). Dualists also deem that the mind is the foundation or medium of mental facts in relation to beliefs, hopes, and aspirations. On the other hand, they claim that the physical body is the foundation or vehicle of physical facts of height, posture and other physical properties (Graham, 73). This is what the dualists assert: â€Å"if I have a thought and the thought occurs to me, but it does not occur in my body or brain, it appears that there would have to be two modes or means of ‘being’ in a person† (74).Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Substance dualism maintains that there exist two fundamentally different forms of matter in the world. On the one hand, there are physical objects governed by and entirely explainable in terms of the concepts of physics. On the other hand, there are non-physical forms (minds or souls) and commonly understood to be self-formative. In addition, most dualists deem that the non-physical mind is capable of a dual causal contact with a physical body (Morris, 52). Physicalists do not refute that humans think and feel. However, they refute the claim by dualists that the mind occurs as a non-physical entity. They maintain that these thoughts and perceptions by a human being are species of physical facts rather than immaterial sensations. The most widely held physicalist position is that feelings and thoughts are the same with conditions of an individual’s brain. In this regard, they claim that the brain is the organ of feeling and thought. Since the brain is a physical entity, they th erefore provide the premise that there is no an immaterial aspect of human beings (Graham, 73). Concessionary dualists claim that even with physical manifestations, the laws are entirely deterministic but eventually broken by mental intercession upon occurrence. This eventually means that according to dualists, it would be rationally not possible to generate a perception of the real or physical world without including non-physical mental aspects (Seager, 226). There are nonreductive Physicalists who refute the likelihood of reducing mental aspects to physical aspects. In addition, they refute the possibility of any physical property co-existing with some mental aspect. The plain presence of manifold physical supervenience foundations for any mental aspect makes many Physicalists to assume a nonreductive approach (Morris, 8). Conclusion The conflicting philosophical positions of Physicalism and dualism present various arguments in support of each school of thought. Whereas the Physic alists describe the whole world and human beings in terms of total physical aspects, the dualists claim that there is a dual nature of the world and human persons. They claim that humans have a non-physical entity, which is the mind, connected to the brain and the body (which are physical aspects). Works Cited Bolton, Robert. Dualism and the Philosophy of the Soul. 2010. Web. Graham, George. The Disordered Mind: An Introduction to Philosophy of Mind and Mental Illness. London: Taylor Francis, 2010. Print. Lawhead, William. The philosophical journey: An interactive approach. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print. Morris, Dolores. Physicalism, Dualism and the Mind-Body Problem. 2010. Web. Seager, William. â€Å"Concessionary Dualism and Physicalism.† Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 67 (2010): 217-237. Print. This essay on The Positions of Physicalism and Dualism was written and submitted by user Fernanda R. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Apple’s Share Increases Essay

Free Apple’s Share Increases Essay Apple’s Share Increases 1. Executive Summary: This paper attempts to review the Apple Inc. corporate operational strategies that have influenced it success in the marketplace, making it one of the leading Computer hardware manufacturers. It is focuses on Apples product development strategy, the iPod in particular. It also looks at how Apple can successfully apply Information Technology Metrics to enhance its business operations. It also evaluates whether there grounds exist to raise issues of Ethics should Apple decide to sell customer Information to other business and what would be likely repercussions in the event customer information ends up on an anonymous website. Moreover, the benefits iTunes- the on-line music business added to Apples balance sheet are scrutinized and how Apple can use environmental scanning to gather business intelligence. This paper further uses the porters five forces model to analyze Apples buyer power and supplier power, identifying which of the five forces Apple addressed in introducing the iPhone. 2. Introduction/Thesis: Apple Inc is an American multinational Corporation which designs and manufactures Consumer electronics and software products. The products include Macintosh computers, iPods and the iPhone, Pro line laptops (Mac Book Pro) and desktops (Mac Pro), consumer line laptops (Mac Book) and desktops (iMac), servers (Xserve), Apple TV, software, Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server operating systems. The Corporation was started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronaly Wayne. This was in the year 1976.The Corporation was initially called Apple Computer Inc but the word Computer was dropped reflecting the dynamic expansionism mood at the company at the time. Apple has about 35000 employees spread across the world. It had sales revenues amounting to US$ 32.48 billion in its fiscal year ending September 2009. One of the milestones of the Corporation was the selling of 6.9 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2008 (Marr, 2006). Apple s Corporate Mission is to provide exposure to emerging companies in order to achieve success in the Financial Markets and to help its clients, brokers, investors, and employees realize their true potential through mutual growth. The Corporations Vision combines the expertise of its Management Team with the industry knowledge and expertise of the managers of each individual company. The primary focus is to strengthen the operating structure of the entity and to lay the foundation for increased growth and profitability. Apple Corporation partners with a number of other companies including Intel. This partnership resulted in the production of Intel based Mac computers in the year 2006. Apple Corporation exhibits a strong corporate culture that influence performance of duties within the organization, this culture drives the corporate affairs of the company, its consumers, suppliers and stakeholders. Apple has also cultivated a culture of acceptance of the Corporations products all over the world. The culture cultivated by the Apple Corporation tends to facilitate the control of the Corporation as it establishes the standards and conduct of employees within the Corporation (Philip, 2009). Apple Company has a variety of business lines, the most successful being SBU with direct consumer products in the market. Apple also provides SBUs in line with its objectives and goals to the consumer. Its SBU has become an important commodity in the market. The Apple Advantage SBU as it is commonly known is dedicated to offering sales, technical and product management resources. Apple line SBU supports a complete line of Apple products and also provides access to hardware, software and service offerings. The SBU ensures professional audio/video installations, multimedia development, desktop publishing and key aspects of the healthcare system. The Apple base SBU recruits additional vendor business partners to ensure resellers have access to the products they need to deliver the latest most profitable Apple based solutions (Jerry, 2008). The Apple SBU makes it possible for the distribution of a full range of Apple products including desktops, notebooks, storage, iPods, accessories and software. The company ensures the efficiency of this strategy through training of the people and institutions that need to use the facility. The current products of the Apple Company in more detailed analysis include the Mac and its accessories which are the Macmini, iMac ,Mac Pro, workstation, Macbook, MacBook Pro and Mac Book Air. The iPod include the iPod Classic iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle and iPod Touch. The Apple TV is a good innovation from the Apple Company. It is a set top video device intended to bridge the sale of content from iTunes. The device syncs either a wifi or a wired network, with ones computers iTunes library (Earnshawon, 2009). These are the products that Apple churns out to stay ahead of its competitors. It also rigorously advertises in line with constant consumer education and enlightment. This clearly shows the effo rt that has been made by the Corporation in improving its performance. 3. The Questions: Q. 1 Apple Inc. as is known today would have long been resigned to history. iPods came around when Apple badly needed a product that would boost its image in a big way. That is exactly what iPod did. Apple was on a shaky financial ground, it had not released a major product for sometime (Earnshawon, 2009). Q. 2 Efficiency IT metric gauges the performance of the IT system itself including throughput, speed, and availability. Notwithstanding what is appraised, how it is appraised, and whether it is for the purposes of efficiency or effectiveness, there should be benchmarks. Benchmarks are pedestal outputs, comparing those outcomes to optimal system performance (standard values), and identifying steps and procedures that would improve system performance. Efficiency IT metrics focus on technology and include; throughput, transaction speed, system availability, Information Accuracy, web traffic and response time. The best mix of throughput transaction speed, system availability, information accuracy, web traffic and response time will definitely improve Apples business operation (Philip, 2009). Q. 3 Effectiveness IT metrics are trained on the organizations goals, strategies, and objectives and incorporate: Utilization, Consumer contentment, Conversion rates and Financial. Quality training of Employees will enable Apple to guarantee higher customer satisfaction (Philip, 2009). Q. 4 Information given to Apple by customers is privileged information protected by the laws regulating the handling and management of private and confidential information. For Apple to provide this information to a third party it would need at least a written letter of authorization from the owner of the information. If it fails to secure permission from the customer, it may face a civil suit from the client suing for breach of confidentiality (Jerry, 2008). Q. 5 Apple business would automatically suffer a decline. Customers will get worried about their information getting into the wrong hands. This will lead to many of them looking for alternative technology service providers, who appear to have more stringent mechanisms for safeguarding and protecting customer information (Asce, Library 2003). Q. 6 A competitive advantage is a tangible or intangible benefit a firm enjoys, which at the same time is complex or impractical for other competing firms in the same industry to acquire or enjoy. These advantages invariably include the company brand, quality care of customers, structural costs, and the brands patent. Whatever the advantage, for it to be regarded as sustainable it must both be proprietary and unique (Marr, 2006). iTunes provided Apple with a very unique and inimitable product. This definitely gave it a competitive edge in the market. No other company had come up with the product. It was a first. Apple consequently reaped maximum benefit and although other companys like Microsoft tried to release their own versions, Apples iTunes dominate the Market. Q. 7 Environmental monitoring is the attainment and scrutiny of happenings and developments in the settings outside of an organization. Organizations monitor their competitors through situational monitoring (Philip, 2009). Apple Inc. operates in competition with other companies. Thus it can only thrive when its in a competitive setting. For Apple to recognize its strengths and weaknesses, it invariably has to study its competitors. In the analysis of its competitors, the Corporation will most likely discover opportunities for and threats to its existence from its technological background (Marr, 2006). A SWOT analysis methodically analyses each of these dynamics and the approach that mirrors the most appropriate match between them. Q. 8 Buyer power is heightened when buyers have a number of choices of whom (suppliers) to procure from and deflated when their options are restricted (Earnshawon, 2009). Apple has lower buyer power for its products, especially the iPod. There arent many substitutes in the market. The ones that exist cannot match the quality and design superiority of the Apple products. Supplier power is heightened when buyers hardly have any alternatives of whom to procure from and diminished when their options are innumerable (Earnshawon, 2009). Apple is in a position of strength as far as the Supplier power is concerned. Apple products are differentiated. Consumers identify with these products and every one want to have the Apples iPod. Q. 9 Organizations in general adopt one of Porters three standard approaches when moving into a new market. These standard approaches incorporate; broad cost leadership, broad differentiation and focused strategy (Asce, Library 2003). Apple adopted two strategies; the broad cost leadership and broad differentiation. These strategies enabled it to create a competitive advantage over other plays in the market. Q. 10 Apple addressed the Buyer power and Supplier power. The buyer power for its products, especially the iPod is low. This guarantees that it can sell as many as the consumers wish to buy. There arent many substitutes in the market. The ones that exist cannot match the quality and design superiority of the Apple products. On the hand Apples Supplier power is very much heightened. It is the company that sells the original product from the original idea. The other competing companies are only copying from Apple. This ascertains market for the products. Conclusion: Apple Company has achieved a rare fit in the technology arena; it has been flexible in its management procedure, thus allowing creativity and innovation (Philip, 2009). As it continues to grow it is continually consolidating its strengths and opportunities while endeavoring to reduce both its internal and external weaknesses and threats, respectively (Marr, 2006).

The top-paying cities for teachers

The top-paying cities for teachers Whether you’re a teacher or not, you’ve likely heard some variation on the theme of â€Å"teachers are underpaid.† Given what all that they do and the power that they hold over the education of children, teens, and adults alike, this is a very true statement- especially when you factor in all of the unpaid hours of prep and care that go into a teaching career outside of the classroom. But while teachers will always be comparatively underpaid in a world where Kardashians get multi-million-dollar endorsement deals, the good news is that if you are a teacher, you can seek out regions and cities with higher-paying opportunities. Teacher salaries can vary pretty widely across states- according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest-paid 10 percent of high school teachers earn more than $92,920, while the lowest-paid 10 percent of high school teachers earn $38,180. For reference, the national median annual salary for secondary teachers is $58,030. And whil e pay isn’t necessarily the only consideration as you plan (or advance) your career as an educator, having this information at your disposal can help you make the best career decision for yourself- or at least help set expectations.Let’s look at teacher pay across the country, by region.The NortheastIncludes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and VermontIn terms of teacher salaries, the Northeast is the top region in the entire country. This region features some of the highest teacher salaries in the nation, holding four of the top ten national cities in WalletHub’s most recent annual â€Å"Best Worst States for Teachers† rankings. However, these states also have a higher cost of living- particularly in the highest paying states: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.Here are the median annual teacher salaries by state in the Northeast, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics :New York: $81,410Connecticut: $76,260New Jersey: $75,250Massachusetts: $74,040Rhode Island: $65,490Pennsylvania: $64,320New Hampshire: $57,570Vermont: $56,670Maine: $52,410According to WalletHub, these states also rank high in other quality of life categories for teachers, such as â€Å"opportunity and competition† for teaching jobs, as well as academics and work environment. New York, the first-place state for teachers overall, is also ranked the best in terms of opportunity, and is in the top ten for academics and work environment.For secondary school teachers in this region, here are the highest-paid metropolitan areas:Nassau County, New York – $99,090Kingston, New York – $86,470Danbury, Connecticut – $83,890New York City – $83,660Leominster-Gardiner, Massachusetts – $82.630For elementary school teachers in this region, here are the highest-paid metropolitan areas:Nassau County, New York – $106,970Kingston, New York – $86,0 80Waterbury, Connecticut – $82,080Danbury, Connecticut – $81,450Brockton, Massachusetts – $79,640All of these cities have annual teacher salaries that are well above the national median- and in some parts of New York (particularly New York City and Long Island), nearly double the national median.The SouthIncludes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C., and West VirginiaIf you’re looking at living and teaching in the South, there’s some good news and some less-great news. The good news is that national teaching shortages are leaving open many teaching opportunities in the region. The less-great news is that as a region, the South features some of the lowest teacher salaries in the nation- well below the national median.Here are the median annual teacher salaries by state in the South, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:Maryland – $63,770Virginia – $62,940Washington, D.C. – $61,610Delaware – $58,260Georgia – $55.640Texas – $55.030Kentucky – $53,860South Carolina – $50,470Alabama – $49,870Tennessee – $49.770Florida – $49,550Arkansas – $48,870Louisiana – $48,560West Virginia – $44,480North Carolina – $44,410Mississippi – $42,860Oklahoma – $40,780On the WalletHub ranking of best states for teachers, two southern states make the top 20: Kentucky and Texas. Both of these states are slightly below the national median, salary-wise, but get high marks for opportunity and low competition for teaching jobs.For secondary school teachers in this region, here are the highest-paid metropolitan areas:Washington D.C./Arlington/Alexandria, Virginia – $73,310Silver Spring/Frederick, Maryland – $72,130Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – $65,450Charlottesville, Virginia â₠¬â€œ $65,030Jackson, Mississippi – $62,760For elementary school teachers in this region, here are the highest-paid metropolitan areas:Washington D.C./Arlington/Alexandria, Virginia – $75,590Silver Spring/Frederick, Maryland – $65,940Houston, Texas – $58,510Athens, Georgia – $58,360Richmond, Virginia – $58,170In the South, the key to finding the best teacher salaries seems to be in densely populated areas, like the northern Virginia/Washington D.C. area, and large cities like Houston.The MidwestIncludes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and WisconsinSecond only to the Northeast, the Midwest has a number of states featured prominently in WalletHub’s survey, with Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Iowa making the top 20. The Midwest also ranks well on the teacher opportunity scale, with Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa in that top 20 as well.Here are the median annual teacher salaries by state in the Midwest, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:Illinois – $66,470Michigan – $60,790Minnesota – $60,750Ohio – $58,700Wisconsin – $55,800Iowa – $54,290Nebraska – $54,240Indiana – $50,360North Dakota – $47,910Kansas – $47,900Missouri – $44,710South Dakota – $42,270As you can see, about a third of the states in this region match the national median salary for teachers.For secondary school teachers in this region, here are the highest-paid metropolitan areas:Mankato, Minnesota – $84,550Rockford, Illinois – $79,090Chicago, Illinois – $75,750Milwaukee, Wisconsin – $65,740Detroit, Michigan – $65,320For elementary school teachers in this region, here are the highest-paid metropolitan areas:Rockford, Illinois – $77,160Detroit, Michigan – $67,220Elgin, Illinois – $66,340F lint, Michigan – $65,870Grand Rapids, Michigan – $64,980Cleveland, Ohio – $64,480The areas with the highest salaries in the Midwest are not necessarily the big cities themselves, but rather large suburban districts just outside the big cities.The WestIncludes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and WyomingAnd last but certainly not least, we have the Western parts of the United States. The region is highly diverse geographically and population-wise, and their teaching career stats are no different.Here are the median annual teacher salaries by state in the Midwest, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:Alaska – $79,400California – $75,060Washington – $64,850Oregon – $63,730Wyoming – $58,480Hawaii – $57,900Utah – $56,070Nevada – $55,450New Mexico – $52,150Colorado – $50,790Montana – $49,930Arizona – $46,070 Idaho – $45,500That’s a pretty broad range from Alaska to Idaho, but outside of the Northeast, the West has the most states at or above the national median salary for teachers. On the WalletHub survey of teachers’ quality of life in different states, four of these western states are ranked in the top 20 best states for teachers: Wyoming, Oregon, Utah, and California. However, in the list of top states for teacher opportunities and low competition for teaching jobs, that number grows to include six states in the top 20: Oregon, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, and Alaska.For secondary school teachers in this region, here are the highest-paid metropolitan areas:Fairbanks, Alaska – $92,110Anchorage, Alaska – $89,570Anaheim, California – $87,280Yuba City, California – $85,820Fresno, California – $81,130For elementary school teachers in this region, here are the highest-paid metropolitan areas:Fairbanks, Alaska – $110,420Ri verside, California – $81,320Modesto, California – $80,810Anaheim, California – $79,840Los Angeles/Long Beach, California – $75,800As you can see, the highest teacher salaries can be found Alaska’s largest cities. But while Alaska is tops on the salary scale, it ranks 48th on WalletHub’s survey of academics and work environment- so if you’re thinking about heading to a classroom way up north, it’s important to consider the teacher quality of life issues as well.Whether you’re a seasoned teacher looking for a change of scenery, or a future teacher trying out where to stake your career, we’re hoping that this salary info helps you make the most informed decision for your teaching career.

Reflect on Hedonic act utilitarianism and Kant's formula of Essay

Reflect on Hedonic act utilitarianism and Kant's formula of humanity...evaluate whether or not you believe torture - Essay Example Many proponents against torture focus on the absolutist requirement that it should not be permitted under any circumstance and that enforcing torture given the possibility that the person to be tortured is innocent or that he does not have the information needed fails to give a concrete argument on the other side of the what if question. Deductively, what if he is not totally innocent or that he truly does have the information and there are others whose lives are at risk. Founding on the singular basis of Kantian formula of humanity undermines the correlation of impending critical decisions at crossroads in favor of moral predispositions. The â€Å"ticking time bomb thought experiment† presents a direct and unfaltering inquiry on our appreciation of utilitarianism and thus supposes that the second premise, â€Å"it is not morally permissible to torture the terrorist† is false. Sussman presents a perceptive description on the effect of torture and the existing relationsh ip between the victims of torture and the tormentor as being one of passivity as the suffering and its inherent pain brings the person to a state where he no longer has control of his body and emotions brought about by sheer pain and fear. In the book, â€Å"Torture: When the Unthinkable is Morally Permissible,† suggests what the very title given by the authors mean. Bagaric, Mirko and Clarke provided for five variables that must be present to make torture morally permissible.... Additionally, if there are little to no other means to acquire information as discussed in the third variable, harm may be brought upon him in any form but maintaining the lowest possible degree of torture and pain towards him (Bagaric, Mirko and Clarke 34-35). In contradiction to this stance, Jeff McMahan maintains that torture must be prohibited without classification. That the use of torture is more abused by those who proliferate unjust means and that even the government cannot be trusted to be cautious in their use of torture, however noble their intentions are. McMahan affirms that to think that any government, no matter how civilized or democratic, could be trustworthy enough to be tasked to carry out torture to prevent terrorist activities and other such threats is nothing short of delusional. In this discussion, the author does not fail to mention notorious and well-known incidents such as the Guantamo Bay and Abu Ghraib torture controversies where the prisoners were subject ed to inhumane acts of torture. â€Å"Throughout human history, torture has been very extensively employed, but the proportion of cases in which the use appears to have been morally justified seems almost negligible† (McMahan 125). This argument illustrates realistic and current predilection toward the abolishment of torture as guaranteed by international and local laws but it does not address in any material way the ticking bomb predicament. McMahan deviates from negating the permissible morality aspect of hedonic act utilitarianism by raising contentions founded on barbarism and human dignity (McMahan 111) and instead focuses on torture abolition base on factual relevance of its ineffectiveness but it nevertheless falls short on concluding how

Law - court Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Law - court - Essay Example The tests were namely horizontal nystagmus test, walk and turn test, and one leg stand test. While performing the tests stated above, the patrol officer, the one who spotted Muniz on the roadside, asked him few questions such as Muniz's name, address, height, weight, eye color, date of birth. These questions were not intended to elicit information for investigatory purposes but it focuses primarily upon the perspective of the suspect and therefore not incriminating. After giving Muniz the various tasked, which he poorly performed, finally the patrol officer asked Muniz to submit himself for the breathalyzer test which is designed to measure the alcohol content of his expelled breath, Which is under the Commonwealth's Implied Consent Law. The result of this breathalyzer test will be used as real or physical evidence. The implied consent concept refers to the idea that when you get your driver's license, you agree that if you are ever arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI/DWI) of drugs or alcohol, you will submit to a blood, breath, or urine test (depending on availability and whether the suspected chemical was drugs or alc

Contributions to Misunderstanding Psychology Essay Example for Free

Contributions to Misunderstanding Psychology Essay Rose (1992) has accused psychology of â€Å"Engineering the Human Soul† (p. 351). This is a very odd statement for a sociologist to make because science, whether hard or social, by definition, requires conclusions to be based on use of the scientific method. Alas, the hypothesis that there is a human soul is one that that the scientific method cannot address because there is no way to provide empirical evidence that either confirms or disconfirms it. Indeed, even the phrenologists Gall and Spurzheim (discussed below), who mapped the brain into areas controlling all sorts of human attributes, found an area for â€Å"spirituality† (Myers, 2004), but not for the soul. Rose is, however, in the company of a medical internist with a Ph. D. from Yale in physical chemistry, i. e. , Collins (2007, as cited in Snyder, 2007), who has claimed there is evidence that â€Å"moral law is implanted in our brains by God† (p. 6). Nonetheless, despite psychology being unable to engineer an entity for which there is no scientific evidence, one purpose of this paper is to argue that Rose (1992), along with other critics of psychological research, has failed to recognize that the continued influence of the studies of individual differences beyond the early part of the last century, mainly the development of tests to measure intelligence, i. e. , IQ testing, has not been on psychology, but on education. Indeed, later psychological research on intelligence and cognitive development has been largely ignored in education (Perlmutter Burrell, 1999). There is no disagreement that IQ testing had and continues to have a negative influence on education, but this paper addresses the waning of the influences of IQ testing within psychology itself not long after the development of these tests. What is psychology? Rose (1992) defined psychology as the study of individual differences, based on a â€Å"paradigmatic technique of . . . the psychological ‘test’ . . . (pp. 358-359). The goal of psychology, according to Rose, is â€Å"the isolation, intensification, and inscription of human difference† (p. 359). This definition is not the same as the one used in most textbooks on introductory psychology, where the discipline is defined as â€Å"the science of behavior and mental processes† (Myers, 2004). While psychological questions have been of interest from the time of the ancient Greek philosophers, psychology as a science did not develop until the latter part of the 19th century (Myers, 2004). Psychologists eventually conducted research in areas that began in other disciplines – and also came to be blamed for the wretched excesses of still other disciplines, notably education. In the early 19th century, phrenologists Gall and Spurzheim mapped out brain areas supposedly controlling attributes from acquisitiveness to sublimity and measured people on these attributes by feeling bumps on their heads (Myers, 2004). Despite the embarrassment phrenology caused scientists, late in the 19th century French and German neurologists, notably Brocca and Wertheimer, provided evidence of left-hemisphere dominance in tasks involving language (Deutsch Springer, 1997). They used autopsy findings of those who suffered language deficits following strokes to areas in the left cerebral hemisphere (the dominant hemisphere for more than 90% and 70% of right- and left-handed people respectively). These findings were followed by further research on deficits in spatial abilities following strokes in the right cerebral (usually non-dominant) hemisphere (Deutsch Springer, 1997). In the next century, researchers studied the performance of those who underwent a surgical procedure where the connecting fibers (the corpus colossus) between the two hemispheres were severed to control the spread of severe seizures (Deutsch Springer, 1999). Later research, using equipment such as evoked potentials, was conducted using samples from the general population. The research provided evidence not that only one hemisphere was activated during performance of most tasks but evidence that one hemisphere was more activated than the other, for example, in language comprehension, the left hemisphere is more activated, but the right hemisphere also is activated in comprehending the emotional, metaphoric, and humorous content of language (Deutsch Springer, 1997). Individual differences also were rare, for example, listening to music results in greater activation in the right than left hemisphere, except there is the reverse pattern for trained musicians (Deutsch Springer, 1999). However, the history of research related to the cerebral hemispheres is an example of psychologists falsely being blamed for the nonsense propagated by those in education that there were left- and right-brained people – and teachers somehow were supposed to adjust their teaching for their right-brained students (Connell, 1990). In outlining the history of psychology, introductory textbooks place its beginnings in Wundt’s establishment of a laboratory in Vienna in 1879 for the purpose of applying the scientific method to the study of human mental processes: â€Å"On a December day in 1879 . . . Wundt was seeking to measure . . . the fastest and simplest mental processes. Thus began what many consider psychology’s first experiment† (Myers, 2004, p. 4). However, those in other disciplines, such as Rose (1992), seem to believe not only that psychology began – and ended with the early work of those studying individual differences, but also that research in psychology actually is used in education. Individual Differences One important difference between the early work of neurologists on the human cerebral hemispheres described above and early work on individual differences is that the former research was based on beginning with basic or shared mental processes. Put another way, the law of parsimony is that main effects are studied prior to interactions (Kirk, 1995). The early work on individual differences in intelligence began prior to research on basic cognitive processing. Galton’s definition of intelligence (White, 2006) was based on an assumption drawn from Darwin’s evolutionary theory of the survival of the fittest, both between- and within-species (1859, as cited in Myers, 2004). Between-species, humans clearly are advantaged with superior intellect. However, if human intelligence had been defined as those characteristics that increase the probability of an individual’s survival, predominant attributes would be those related to the attainment of economic and political power. From the beginnings of civilization, world history has been a struggle for power, with members of prevailing powerful groups inhumanely dominating members of less powerful groups (Braudel Mayne, 2003), a concept perhaps best expressed by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever as â€Å"everybody always has to have somebody to dump on† (Wexler, 1977). Being powerful certainly does enhance one’s chances of survival, but how did anyone reach the conclusion that power was related to what we usually think of as intellect?

St. Thomas Aquinas Third Way Modalized :: Aquinas Third Day Philosophy Papers

Aquinas' Third Way Modalized ABSTRACT: The Third Way is the most interesting and insightful of Aquinas' five arguments for the existence of God, even though it is invalid and has some false premises. With the help of a somewhat weak modal logic, however, the Third Way can be transformed into a argument which is certainly valid and plausibly sound. Much of what Aquinas asserted in the Third Way is possibly true even if it is not actually true. Instead of assuming, for example, that things which are contingent fail to exist at some time, we need only assume that contingent things possibly fail to exist at some time. Likewise, we can replace the assumption that if all things fail to exist at some time then there is a time when nothing exists, with the corresponding assumption that if all things possibly fail to exist at some time then possibly there is a time when nothing exists. These and other similar replacements suffice to produce a cogent cosmological argument. Aquinas' Third Way is a cosmological argument for the existence of God which "is taken from possibility and necessity." It is surprising therefore that philosophers of religion have not shown much interest in applying modal logic to its analysis. (1) There are a couple of reasons. First, Aquinas does not always use the words 'possibility' and 'necessity' in the same way that they are used in modal logic. Second, cosmological arguments generally purport to build a bridge between some property of this world and a supreme being, making it unnecessary, it might be thought, to appeal to modalized features of other possible worlds. Modal logic has of course been applied extensively to the analysis of ontological arguments. Ontological arguments purport to build a logical bridge between thought and a supreme being. Most ontological arguments proceed from the assumption that it is possible for God to exist. They then link this assumption with some rather "strong" and controversial principles of modal logic in order to prove that God must exist in all possible worlds, from which it follows that God exists in the real world. (2) It might be possible, however, to prove the existence of God with the use of a weak and noncontroversial system of modal logic if we root the proof with some plausible possibilistic principles about what might be true of the cosmos. The Third Way is not sound per se.

Blood Brothers

The past few weeks I have been reading the play Blood Brothers written by Willy Russell. It is the story of twin brothers who are separated at birth. Wealthy Mrs Lyons, who is not able to have her own children, blackmails her maid, Mrs Johnstone into giving her one of her new born twins. Mrs Lyons says all Miss Johnston’s other children well benefit, as the Johnston’s have little money. The women agree that it should be their secret and no one else will ever know the truth. The play explores many themes, some being, superstition, friendship and social class.This essay will discuss the changes in the relationship between Edward and Mickey, while also looking at the conveyed themes. The first time Edward and Mickey meet is when they are seven. â€Å"My best friend always had sweets to share. † Mickey is describing Eddie as his â€Å"best friend. † When the brothers first met Edward shared sweets with Mickey, this small gesture started their friendship. If Ed ward had not shared his sweets the brothers might have never became friends. When they find out that they were born on the same day Mickey asks Eddie to become his ‘blood brother'.The boys both made a small cut on their hand, then linked the cuts together, making the blood from the boys join. Both mothers find out about their friendship and are fast in telling their sons to break it up. Edward tells Mickey, ‘My mum says I haven’t got to play with you’ Mickey replies ‘Well, my mum says I haven’t to play with you’. Both mothers are trying to get the twins to stop communicating. By this time the brothers are good friends and blood brothers. Against their mothers wishes the brothers continue to have a friendship until Mrs Lyons even decides to persuade her husband to move the family away.Soon after, the Johnston’s are moved to a house in the country – unknown to them it’s the same area in which the Lyons moved to. The br others meet again in a field at the age of 14, not knowing who the other is. After the move the Johnston’s life has improved, Mickey still has a crush on Linda but doesn’t know how to ask her out. This is another part of fate, they live close by and were both excluded from school at the same time. The twins go to the cinema together, then they finally realise who the other is and meet up with Linda.Mrs Lyons spots Mrs Johnston and tries to kill her. The boys friendship is still strong but the time gap has left a toll. Edward’s vocabulary is not as posh/strong. Also the contrast in backgrounds shows. Mickey smokes, while Edward doesn’t. Edward lives in a ’posh’ area Mickey lives in the estate. Also Edward attends a private school while Mickey goes to the county school. The next time Edward and Mickey meet is when they are 18. ‘If I was Mickey I would have asked you years ago. ’ Edward is jealous of the feelings Linda has for Mick ey.He knows Mickey feels the same for Linda and puts his ‘best friends’ feelings over his own and persuades him to ask her out. While Edward is away at University Linda falls pregnant and Mickey looses his job. This pushes Edwards life further away from Mickey’s. Edward socialises and is in further education. Mickey is on the dole with a pregnant wife, he’s a lot more pressured than Edward. When Edward returns Mickey doesn’t have any money, ‘The Christmas Party’s gonna be on me. ’ Mickey had promised to take Edward out for a treat.Edward said he would pay, but if anything, this put more pressure on Mickey and it pushed him into participating in a ‘hold up’ with his brother, Sammy. The job goes all wrong, Sammy shoots someone and they both end up in jail. While in jail Mickey is put into a depression and ends up on antidepressant drugs. ‘I get depressed an’ I need to take these cos they make me better. â €™ Edward helps Mickey and Linda get a house and gets Mickey a job. This puts a strain on Mickey and Linda, Mickey feels he is a failure as his wife had to get help off a friend. ‘I’m not stupid, Linda. You sorted it out.You an’ Councillor Eddie Lyons. ’ He thinks Linda and Edward are having an affair. Mickey gets a gun and goes to confront Edward. ‘I’ve been thinkin’ again, Eddie. You an’ Linda were friends when she first got pregnant, weren’t y’? Does my child belong to you as well as everythin’ else? ’ The police enter, and try to convince Mickey to drop the gun. Mrs Johnstone enters, and pleads with Mickey to not shoot. She blurts out that they are brothers, and that she couldn’t afford to keep them both. Mickey’s jealousy is shown, ‘Why didn’t you give me away!I could have been †¦ I could have been him! At this point Mickey’s gun goes off accidentally, th e police open fire. Both brothers are dead. In conclusion the relationship between Edward and Mickey has its up’s and downs. At first they are close friends and are then separated, at fourteen they meet up again and are coincidentally separated once more. By the age of eighteen Mickey realises the differences and is betrayed by Edward. In the end realisation hits the brothers as they are told the truth, a childish pact was for real. The overall message is that although everyone has secrets, if they really matter they will be found out. Blood Brothers Blood Brothers is a musical by Willy Russell which was written and first performed in 1981. The musical is about twin brothers, separated at birth, with one kept in a low-class family and the other adopted into a wealthy family. The characters of Mrs Johnston and Mrs Lyons, the mothers, are total opposites. Mrs Johnston is a struggling, single mother of seven, with another two on the way, whereas Mrs Lyons is a privileged, yet childless, married woman. One of the main themes of the musical is superstition for example; the song ‘shoes upon the table’ is all about superstition.Another big theme of the musical is fate. Eddie and Mickey meet almost as if they are meant to, and instantly take a liking to one another. When they lose contact, they meet again, proving they are supposed to be a pair. Also the narrator plays the role of the devil and he sings the song lyrics ‘you know the devil’s got your number’ and that is implying that no matter what, fate i s going to happen wherever the characters are living or whatever they are doing. The last theme to the musical is social class, the whole way through the musical we are being reminded about how different these characters are to each other.Willy Russell shows this by their clothes, accent or speech. The opening scene started with a funeral we saw some men dressed in black suits putting two bodies into coffins (Mickey and Eddie) however the gauze curtain was still not raised. This seemed like the past and present of the story, as this first scene was the inevitable end. I think that was effective because it immediately gets your attention and you become eager to know what’s going on. Mickey and Eddie lay side by side both dead. The narrator then tells us the story of what happened. This is cross-cutting as it shows a different time period then returns to the current one.When we are first introduced to Mrs Johnston, she is a single mother ever since her husband left her for a yo unger woman. She is not dressed in the best of clothes as she does not have much money and her job is cleaning Mrs. Lyons house. Mrs. Johnston is a low–class Liverpudlian, who is extremely hard working. Mrs Johnston is shown as a woman in her thirties but a very worn out woman because of the stress of work and her children. Mrs Johnston stutters at times because of her being under pressure, like when Mrs Lyons is persuading her to give away one of the twins.And by Mrs. Johnston stuttering it shows she is unsure and pressured into something she doesn’t want to do. Willy Russell presents Mrs Johnston to the audience as a decent woman, who gives lots of love to her children, but she can’t give them more than that because she hasn’t got a well-paid job and she is working as Mrs Lyons’ house maid, which takes a lot of her time, which could be spent with her children instead. That is why Mickey and his siblings are left to learn about life themselves on the streets. That makes the audience sympathise with the poor people.She shows that to the audience after she learns she is going to have twins by saying: â€Å"With one more baby we could have managed. But not with two. The Welfare have already been on to me. They say I’m incapable of controllin’ the kids I’ve already got. They say I should put some of them into care† so because she loves her children and wants to keep them she makes the sacrifice of giving Eddie to Mrs. Lyons with hope that he will have a better life then what she could give him. Even though she regrets giving Eddie to Mrs. Lyons her superstitions stops her from telling anyone about what she has done out of the fear of killing her own children.Mrs Lyons contrasts really strongly against Mrs Johnston. At first, Mrs Lyons is shown as a bright person in her thirties, unlike the stressed Mrs Johnston who is the same age. Mrs Lyons is an upper middle-class woman. She is dressed very smartly as she has the money to have nice clothes. Mrs. Lyons is a very patronising woman, who is forceful and pressurising. Mrs Lyons uses negative views about extra children so that Mrs Johnston will have to give away one of the twins to her. She doesn’t do this in an aggressive way, but in a dangerously sweet way. So that Mrs.Johnston doesn’t feel like she can cope any more. Willy Russell also shows Mrs. Lyons to be self-centred as Mrs Lyons is willing to take a child away from its mother, so that she can save herself. Mrs Lyons is a very sly and devious woman, as she uses superstition against Mrs Johnston, so that she can keep one of the twins. Her facial expressions are very stern and persuading and her body language comes across very confident as she knows that’s she is manipulating Mrs. Johnston. The Narrator is also a very important part to the musical; he acts as a shadow of the other characters. Firstly he was like the host.He constantly kept appearing and kep t the performance flowing. It seemed as if he had the remote to slow things down and also to speed things up when he wanted. He wore a smart black suit which gave him a high profile. His voice was used quite well because he adjusted it to make it loud and directive as a narrator should have but it also had a bit of power in it. During the performance he popped up here and there just to clarify things for the audience. The Narrator is there as a reminder of Mrs Johnston and Mrs Lyons’ agreement. The other characters don’t acknowledge him which shows he is of a ghostly nature.The Narrator raises suspicion and builds up tension between the characters. The Narrator also has no emotions and he comes across as a very cold person which makes the audience feel as if he is like a devil type figure. Although he is a devil like figure, he is a neutral character because he doesn’t choose sides and we don’t know anything about him, other than he knows the fate of each character. The Narrator is trying to tell Mrs Johnston and Mrs Lyons that their pact won’t work, because the truth will be known. He uses repetition and rhyme, so that his lines are more catchy and memorable.The character of Mickey was portrayed really well as the person playing this role was showing great child like movements such as pulling his jumper over his knees and also by the way he was speaking. The way Mickey was speaking came across very child like as he was doing a lot of rhyming and simple sentences. Mickey also plays childhood games, like mounted Police and Indians, and runs around with a toy gun. When Mickey was playing his cowboy like games he pretended to have a horse between his legs and he galloped around the stage like a child would do.As Mickey got older he showed he was acting more mature and he understood that life wasn’t going to be easy for him and he needed to work for things unlike Eddie who had everything sorted out for him. When Mickey has got out of prison he is really unsteady and has to take pills to calm himself even though he doesn’t need the pills, he just thinks he does. But when Mickey takes the pills, Willy Russell uses stage directions to give the characters emotion with their physical movement, so when Mickey takes the pills the lights come up on Mickey.We see him go to take his pill, we see him struggle not to take it’’ Russell does this to get the audience to feel sad and sympathetic for Mickey. So in this scene the lighting is really dim, which reflects on Mickey’s thought processes which are slow and aged. You can see from this scene that prison has aged Mickey beyond doubt. Mickey used movement and his voice to really portray Mickey’s vulnerability. Mickey’s movements were slow and it seemed like every step he took was agony. His speech was slow, and his voice was extremely quiet.He walked hunched over, as if trying to protect himself from an unknown fear. Edd ie is the complete opposite to Mickey as he was raised in a wealthy family and he shows this in his body language because he stands up straight, speaks politely and is never rude. When Eddie first meets Mickey, Mickey speaks in common English and uses slang around Eddie and he finds it amazing because he has never heard any one talk like that. Eddie seems to have grown up very fast because at the age of seven, he is already very polite and well spoken. His parents have influenced him because he is like a miniature adult.Throughout the whole of the musical Mrs. Johnston sings about Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe is a very clever icon to use throughout the musical. This is because using her as a reference sets us in the correct time period. She is also a good symbol, because she has links to many of the themes in the play including death, addiction and beauty. All the scenes were set in the same location; and the set design remained the same for the whole performance, even when the ba ckdrop changed however, the insides of houses, occasionally descended from the ceiling to show the insides of each home.One the right side of the stage was a wall which had graffiti on it and that represented the lower class type of area that Mickey and Mrs. Johnston would live in. Class difference is displayed very clearly in Blood Brothers, in particular the difference in wealth between the two families. Eddie's parents ensure that he has a comfortable upbringing and is able to study at university and receive a qualification, resulting in a highly paid job. This is completely different to Mickey.He comes from a poor family which meant that he was stuck in a dead end job in a factory. â€Å"I bleeding hated it, standing there all day never doing anything apart from putting cardboard boxes together. † This reflects Mickey's frustration and highlights the lack of opportunities open to him, which adds to the dramatic effect of the musical because it prepares us for trouble in t he future. A good example of dramatic irony in the musical is when Eddie and Mickey decide that as they are such good friends they will become blood brothers. Hey, we were born on the same day. That means we can be blood brothers. † The audience knows that they were actually brothers so that creates dramatic irony. I really enjoyed the musical Blood Brothers and it helped me understand the class difference which is displayed very clearly in the difference in wealth between the two families. I also liked the way the actors never came out of role when bringing in props e. g. chairs, tables and carpets. I also loved how the lighting would make a very serious point feel more real and intense. Blood Brothers The past few weeks I have been reading the play Blood Brothers written by Willy Russell. It is the story of twin brothers who are separated at birth. Wealthy Mrs Lyons, who is not able to have her own children, blackmails her maid, Mrs Johnstone into giving her one of her new born twins. Mrs Lyons says all Miss Johnston’s other children well benefit, as the Johnston’s have little money. The women agree that it should be their secret and no one else will ever know the truth. The play explores many themes, some being, superstition, friendship and social class.This essay will discuss the changes in the relationship between Edward and Mickey, while also looking at the conveyed themes. The first time Edward and Mickey meet is when they are seven. â€Å"My best friend always had sweets to share. † Mickey is describing Eddie as his â€Å"best friend. † When the brothers first met Edward shared sweets with Mickey, this small gesture started their friendship. If Ed ward had not shared his sweets the brothers might have never became friends. When they find out that they were born on the same day Mickey asks Eddie to become his ‘blood brother'.The boys both made a small cut on their hand, then linked the cuts together, making the blood from the boys join. Both mothers find out about their friendship and are fast in telling their sons to break it up. Edward tells Mickey, ‘My mum says I haven’t got to play with you’ Mickey replies ‘Well, my mum says I haven’t to play with you’. Both mothers are trying to get the twins to stop communicating. By this time the brothers are good friends and blood brothers. Against their mothers wishes the brothers continue to have a friendship until Mrs Lyons even decides to persuade her husband to move the family away.Soon after, the Johnston’s are moved to a house in the country – unknown to them it’s the same area in which the Lyons moved to. The br others meet again in a field at the age of 14, not knowing who the other is. After the move the Johnston’s life has improved, Mickey still has a crush on Linda but doesn’t know how to ask her out. This is another part of fate, they live close by and were both excluded from school at the same time. The twins go to the cinema together, then they finally realise who the other is and meet up with Linda.Mrs Lyons spots Mrs Johnston and tries to kill her. The boys friendship is still strong but the time gap has left a toll. Edward’s vocabulary is not as posh/strong. Also the contrast in backgrounds shows. Mickey smokes, while Edward doesn’t. Edward lives in a ’posh’ area Mickey lives in the estate. Also Edward attends a private school while Mickey goes to the county school. The next time Edward and Mickey meet is when they are 18. ‘If I was Mickey I would have asked you years ago. ’ Edward is jealous of the feelings Linda has for Mick ey.He knows Mickey feels the same for Linda and puts his ‘best friends’ feelings over his own and persuades him to ask her out. While Edward is away at University Linda falls pregnant and Mickey looses his job. This pushes Edwards life further away from Mickey’s. Edward socialises and is in further education. Mickey is on the dole with a pregnant wife, he’s a lot more pressured than Edward. When Edward returns Mickey doesn’t have any money, ‘The Christmas Party’s gonna be on me. ’ Mickey had promised to take Edward out for a treat.Edward said he would pay, but if anything, this put more pressure on Mickey and it pushed him into participating in a ‘hold up’ with his brother, Sammy. The job goes all wrong, Sammy shoots someone and they both end up in jail. While in jail Mickey is put into a depression and ends up on antidepressant drugs. ‘I get depressed an’ I need to take these cos they make me better. â €™ Edward helps Mickey and Linda get a house and gets Mickey a job. This puts a strain on Mickey and Linda, Mickey feels he is a failure as his wife had to get help off a friend. ‘I’m not stupid, Linda. You sorted it out.You an’ Councillor Eddie Lyons. ’ He thinks Linda and Edward are having an affair. Mickey gets a gun and goes to confront Edward. ‘I’ve been thinkin’ again, Eddie. You an’ Linda were friends when she first got pregnant, weren’t y’? Does my child belong to you as well as everythin’ else? ’ The police enter, and try to convince Mickey to drop the gun. Mrs Johnstone enters, and pleads with Mickey to not shoot. She blurts out that they are brothers, and that she couldn’t afford to keep them both. Mickey’s jealousy is shown, ‘Why didn’t you give me away!I could have been †¦ I could have been him! At this point Mickey’s gun goes off accidentally, th e police open fire. Both brothers are dead. In conclusion the relationship between Edward and Mickey has its up’s and downs. At first they are close friends and are then separated, at fourteen they meet up again and are coincidentally separated once more. By the age of eighteen Mickey realises the differences and is betrayed by Edward. In the end realisation hits the brothers as they are told the truth, a childish pact was for real. The overall message is that although everyone has secrets, if they really matter they will be found out. Blood Brothers Blood Brothers is a musical by Willy Russell which was written and first performed in 1981. The musical is about twin brothers, separated at birth, with one kept in a low-class family and the other adopted into a wealthy family. The characters of Mrs Johnston and Mrs Lyons, the mothers, are total opposites. Mrs Johnston is a struggling, single mother of seven, with another two on the way, whereas Mrs Lyons is a privileged, yet childless, married woman. One of the main themes of the musical is superstition for example; the song ‘shoes upon the table’ is all about superstition.Another big theme of the musical is fate. Eddie and Mickey meet almost as if they are meant to, and instantly take a liking to one another. When they lose contact, they meet again, proving they are supposed to be a pair. Also the narrator plays the role of the devil and he sings the song lyrics ‘you know the devil’s got your number’ and that is implying that no matter what, fate i s going to happen wherever the characters are living or whatever they are doing. The last theme to the musical is social class, the whole way through the musical we are being reminded about how different these characters are to each other.Willy Russell shows this by their clothes, accent or speech. The opening scene started with a funeral we saw some men dressed in black suits putting two bodies into coffins (Mickey and Eddie) however the gauze curtain was still not raised. This seemed like the past and present of the story, as this first scene was the inevitable end. I think that was effective because it immediately gets your attention and you become eager to know what’s going on. Mickey and Eddie lay side by side both dead. The narrator then tells us the story of what happened. This is cross-cutting as it shows a different time period then returns to the current one.When we are first introduced to Mrs Johnston, she is a single mother ever since her husband left her for a yo unger woman. She is not dressed in the best of clothes as she does not have much money and her job is cleaning Mrs. Lyons house. Mrs. Johnston is a low–class Liverpudlian, who is extremely hard working. Mrs Johnston is shown as a woman in her thirties but a very worn out woman because of the stress of work and her children. Mrs Johnston stutters at times because of her being under pressure, like when Mrs Lyons is persuading her to give away one of the twins.And by Mrs. Johnston stuttering it shows she is unsure and pressured into something she doesn’t want to do. Willy Russell presents Mrs Johnston to the audience as a decent woman, who gives lots of love to her children, but she can’t give them more than that because she hasn’t got a well-paid job and she is working as Mrs Lyons’ house maid, which takes a lot of her time, which could be spent with her children instead. That is why Mickey and his siblings are left to learn about life themselves on the streets. That makes the audience sympathise with the poor people.She shows that to the audience after she learns she is going to have twins by saying: â€Å"With one more baby we could have managed. But not with two. The Welfare have already been on to me. They say I’m incapable of controllin’ the kids I’ve already got. They say I should put some of them into care† so because she loves her children and wants to keep them she makes the sacrifice of giving Eddie to Mrs. Lyons with hope that he will have a better life then what she could give him. Even though she regrets giving Eddie to Mrs. Lyons her superstitions stops her from telling anyone about what she has done out of the fear of killing her own children.Mrs Lyons contrasts really strongly against Mrs Johnston. At first, Mrs Lyons is shown as a bright person in her thirties, unlike the stressed Mrs Johnston who is the same age. Mrs Lyons is an upper middle-class woman. She is dressed very smartly as she has the money to have nice clothes. Mrs. Lyons is a very patronising woman, who is forceful and pressurising. Mrs Lyons uses negative views about extra children so that Mrs Johnston will have to give away one of the twins to her. She doesn’t do this in an aggressive way, but in a dangerously sweet way. So that Mrs.Johnston doesn’t feel like she can cope any more. Willy Russell also shows Mrs. Lyons to be self-centred as Mrs Lyons is willing to take a child away from its mother, so that she can save herself. Mrs Lyons is a very sly and devious woman, as she uses superstition against Mrs Johnston, so that she can keep one of the twins. Her facial expressions are very stern and persuading and her body language comes across very confident as she knows that’s she is manipulating Mrs. Johnston. The Narrator is also a very important part to the musical; he acts as a shadow of the other characters. Firstly he was like the host.He constantly kept appearing and kep t the performance flowing. It seemed as if he had the remote to slow things down and also to speed things up when he wanted. He wore a smart black suit which gave him a high profile. His voice was used quite well because he adjusted it to make it loud and directive as a narrator should have but it also had a bit of power in it. During the performance he popped up here and there just to clarify things for the audience. The Narrator is there as a reminder of Mrs Johnston and Mrs Lyons’ agreement. The other characters don’t acknowledge him which shows he is of a ghostly nature.The Narrator raises suspicion and builds up tension between the characters. The Narrator also has no emotions and he comes across as a very cold person which makes the audience feel as if he is like a devil type figure. Although he is a devil like figure, he is a neutral character because he doesn’t choose sides and we don’t know anything about him, other than he knows the fate of each character. The Narrator is trying to tell Mrs Johnston and Mrs Lyons that their pact won’t work, because the truth will be known. He uses repetition and rhyme, so that his lines are more catchy and memorable.The character of Mickey was portrayed really well as the person playing this role was showing great child like movements such as pulling his jumper over his knees and also by the way he was speaking. The way Mickey was speaking came across very child like as he was doing a lot of rhyming and simple sentences. Mickey also plays childhood games, like mounted Police and Indians, and runs around with a toy gun. When Mickey was playing his cowboy like games he pretended to have a horse between his legs and he galloped around the stage like a child would do.As Mickey got older he showed he was acting more mature and he understood that life wasn’t going to be easy for him and he needed to work for things unlike Eddie who had everything sorted out for him. When Mickey has got out of prison he is really unsteady and has to take pills to calm himself even though he doesn’t need the pills, he just thinks he does. But when Mickey takes the pills, Willy Russell uses stage directions to give the characters emotion with their physical movement, so when Mickey takes the pills the lights come up on Mickey.We see him go to take his pill, we see him struggle not to take it’’ Russell does this to get the audience to feel sad and sympathetic for Mickey. So in this scene the lighting is really dim, which reflects on Mickey’s thought processes which are slow and aged. You can see from this scene that prison has aged Mickey beyond doubt. Mickey used movement and his voice to really portray Mickey’s vulnerability. Mickey’s movements were slow and it seemed like every step he took was agony. His speech was slow, and his voice was extremely quiet.He walked hunched over, as if trying to protect himself from an unknown fear. Edd ie is the complete opposite to Mickey as he was raised in a wealthy family and he shows this in his body language because he stands up straight, speaks politely and is never rude. When Eddie first meets Mickey, Mickey speaks in common English and uses slang around Eddie and he finds it amazing because he has never heard any one talk like that. Eddie seems to have grown up very fast because at the age of seven, he is already very polite and well spoken. His parents have influenced him because he is like a miniature adult.Throughout the whole of the musical Mrs. Johnston sings about Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe is a very clever icon to use throughout the musical. This is because using her as a reference sets us in the correct time period. She is also a good symbol, because she has links to many of the themes in the play including death, addiction and beauty. All the scenes were set in the same location; and the set design remained the same for the whole performance, even when the ba ckdrop changed however, the insides of houses, occasionally descended from the ceiling to show the insides of each home.One the right side of the stage was a wall which had graffiti on it and that represented the lower class type of area that Mickey and Mrs. Johnston would live in. Class difference is displayed very clearly in Blood Brothers, in particular the difference in wealth between the two families. Eddie's parents ensure that he has a comfortable upbringing and is able to study at university and receive a qualification, resulting in a highly paid job. This is completely different to Mickey.He comes from a poor family which meant that he was stuck in a dead end job in a factory. â€Å"I bleeding hated it, standing there all day never doing anything apart from putting cardboard boxes together. † This reflects Mickey's frustration and highlights the lack of opportunities open to him, which adds to the dramatic effect of the musical because it prepares us for trouble in t he future. A good example of dramatic irony in the musical is when Eddie and Mickey decide that as they are such good friends they will become blood brothers. Hey, we were born on the same day. That means we can be blood brothers. † The audience knows that they were actually brothers so that creates dramatic irony. I really enjoyed the musical Blood Brothers and it helped me understand the class difference which is displayed very clearly in the difference in wealth between the two families. I also liked the way the actors never came out of role when bringing in props e. g. chairs, tables and carpets. I also loved how the lighting would make a very serious point feel more real and intense.