Huma short essay about Superman II vs. Man of Steel Essays

Jessie Hoang HUMA 1301.208 The optimism of Superman II vs. the x enophobia of Man of Steel Superman is known to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest superhero of all time. However, portraying the live-action version of him, Clark Kent, hasn't been easy. In fact, it has been quite a difficult task that DC films hasn't somewhat mastered. Therefore, Warner Bros. alongside with comic book writers, screenwriters, and directors decided to restart the Superman film series. In 2013, this individualistic character was reintroduced to us with the film named "Man of Steel." However, the discussion has been going on for decades about whether or not this technological-advanced adaptation could potentially overshadow the nostalgic original, Su perman II, with Superman played by the iconic Christopher Reeve. There are several differences between these two Superman movies. However, the biggest difference would definitely be the optimism of Superman II versus the xenophobia of Man of Steel. In 1980, Superman II was successfully released to the worldwide audiences. It featured cutting-edge special effects along with an amazing cast that accurately and splendidly showcased each and every character, leaving the audiences and spectators with a sense of respect and fascination. On the other hand, Man of Steel, directed by Zach Snyder, was another Hollywood megahit released in 2013 that tells a story about everybody's favorite illegal immigrant: Superman. Both of these movies inform us about his native planet, which is the planet Krypton. Unfortunately, this planet is in a huge danger of destruction because its political leaders want to extract the resources out of the core of the planet. Luckily, there is one person that notices and is aware of this approaching circumspection is a scientist as well as Superman's father: Jor-El. Knowing about this alert and how dangerous it is for his son, he embedded Codex, which carries the Kryptonians ' gene pool, int o Superman's body, and sends him to Earth. Coming from different planet makes Superman a foreigner, or even an alien, to the humans on Earth, especially with Codex, Superman is invincible and can only be destroy ed by kryptonite. So how similar Man of Steel and Superman II are? And what is the difference between the two movies if there is any. A lot of fundamentalists have quite a few critics about Man of Steel and how the overall concept of the movie originates from Superman II. Some audiences think that he doesn't fully understand and apprehend the origins of Superman. Some agree that little twists in Man of Steel add a little nice touch to the series, while the others believe that the storyline should stay the same. However, the biggest difference between the two films is the optimism of Superman II versus the xenophobia of Man of Steel. According to Engle, Superman is most American in the display of two identities (assimilated American and proud immigrant), whereas Man of Steel is more xenophobic. In Superman II, people acknowledge Superman as a courageous and powerful individual who helps them fight against the bad guys. It shows how optimistic the movie is trying to portray. In contrast, in Man o f Steel, people view him as a strange foreigner who has superpower that ordinary people could never possess. That is also the reason why people think he might be dangerous to the Earth because superpower can also be very destructive. For example, Jonathan Kent tells his son to be secretive about his power or else the world will fear him. It is not until later o n that they find the good in Superman and finally accept him.

Thomas Malthus Biography

Thomas Malthus Biography Early Life and Education: Born February 13 or 14, 1766 - Died December 29, 1834 (see note at the end of the article), Thomas Robert Malthus was born on either February 13 or 14, 1766 (different sources list both as a possible date of birth) in Surrey County, England to Daniel and Henrietta Malthus. Thomas was the sixth of seven children and began his education by being home schooled. As a young scholar, Malthus excelled in his studies of literature and mathematics. He pursued a degree at Jesus College in Cambridge and received a Masters of Art degree in 1791 despite a speech impediment caused by a hare-lip and cleft palate. Personal Life: Thomas Malthus married his cousin Harriet in 1804 and they had two daughters and a son. He took a job as a professor at the East India Company College in England. Biography: In 1798, Malthus published his best known work, Essay on the Principle of Population. He was intrigued by the idea that all human populations throughout history had a section that were living in poverty. He hypothesized that populations would grow in areas with plenty of resources until those resources were strained to the point that some of the population would have to go without. Malthus went on to say that factors like famine, war, and disease in historical populations took care of the overpopulation crisis that would have taken over if left unchecked. Thomas Malthus not only pointed out these problems, he also came up with some solutions. Populations needed to stay within appropriate limits by either raising the death rate or lowering the birth rate. His original work emphasized what he called positive checks that raised the death rate, such as war and famine. Revised editions focused more on what he considered preventative checks, like birth control or celibacy and, more controversially, abortion and prostitution. His ideas were considered radical and many religious leaders stepped forward to denounce his works, even though Malthus himself was a clergyman in the Church of England. These detractors made attacks against Malthus for his ideas and spread lies about his personal life. This did not deter Malthus, however, as he made a total of six revisions to his Essay on the Principle of Population, further explaining his points and adding new evidence with each revision. Thomas Malthus blamed the declining living conditions on three factors. The first was the uncontrolled reproduction of offspring. He felt families were producing more children than they could care for with their allotted resources. Second, the production of those resources could not keep up with the expanding population. Malthus wrote extensively on his views that agriculture could not be expanded enough to feed the entire population of the world. The final factor was the irresponsibility of the lower classes. In fact, Malthus mostly blamed the poor for continuing to reproduce even though they could not afford to care for the children. His solution was to limit the lower classes to the number of offspring they were allowed to produce. Both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace read Essay on the Principle of Population and saw much of their own research in nature being mirrored in the human population. Malthus ideas of overpopulation and the death it caused was one of the main pieces that helped shaped the idea of Natural Selection. The survival of the fittest idea not only applied to populations in the natural world, it also seemed to apply to more civilized populations like humans. The lower classes were dying due to lack of resources available to them, much like the Theory of Evolution by Way of Natural Selection proposed. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace both praised Thomas Malthus and his work. They give Malthus a large portion of the credit for shaping their ideas and helping to hone the Theory of Evolution, and in particular, their ideas of Natural Selection. Note: Most sources agree Malthus died on December 29, 1834, but some claim his actual date of death was December 23, 1834. It is unclear which date of death is correct, just as his exact date of birth is also unclear.

Psychology (Personality) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Psychology (Personality) - Essay Example The types of questions asked by lay people include the following. What is a personality clash Do people with opposite personalities find each other attractive Can someone have little or no personality Academic questions are also of interest to the lay person, and might include the following. Does personality change much over time What causes (shapes, determines) an individual's personality What are the fundamental dimensions of personality To what extent do personality differences (alone) determine such things as health What causes a person to be an introvert or extravert (more likely an ambivert) Can neurotics be cured effectively Personality psychology is often a child of its investigative method. The couch and the laboratory use different methods, and hence develop different concepts and theories of personality. Personality psychologists, unlike many of their biological and cognitive colleagues, are often 'whole-person' psychologists, not focusing exclusively on beliefs, emotions or cognitions. Many have tended to ask 'big' questions, such as the following. What is the relative importance of the past, the present and the future to the development of personality What motivates human behaviour How important is the concept of self How consistent is human behaviour (Hergenhalin, 1994). As Cook (1984) notes, there are many different and important reasons for studying personality - obviously to gain a scientific understanding, but also to assess people accurately and to try to change people. He also argues that some theories look at the development of personality and others examine the structure of personality, w hich attempts to get below the surface of observable trait-type behaviours by examining biological, phenomenal or motivational factors. Carver and Scheier (1992) argue that, whereas some personality theorists (especially trait theorists) are interested in the structure of personality, others are more interested in its functioning. Both are important, but the result is often the development of separate theories and approaches. Personality theorists and researchers have influenced and have also been influenced by many other disciplines. Indeed, there is evidence that personality differences are related to different interests in psychology. Thus Zachar and Leong showed that pure (scientific) vs. applied (practitional) graduate students had quite different personalities. Pushing graduate students into strong practitioner-personality orientations to become scientists makes as much sense as trying to convert an introvert into an extravert. However, introverts may benefit from some training and social skills, just as practitioner-orientated graduate students can learn to think and evaluate their interventions scientifically without having to become a practising scientist. (Zachar and Leong, 1992, p.676) Sociologists and anthropologists have influenced some personality theories by discussing what goes on 'outside, around and among' individuals, rather than what goes on inside them. Lately, however, it has been biologists and geneticists whose ideas and discoveries have most influenced personality research. Certainly this trend looks likely to continue. Behaviour genetics, cognitive neuropsychology and multivariate statistics probably represent the most influential contributions to the discipline at the moment (see Section 1.11). Personality psychology aims to provide viable

Financial Managment worksheet 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Managment worksheet 1 - Essay Example If a company can also cut down on the accounts receivable period and convert the accounts receivable into cash in a much faster time, the less cash it needs to maintain as it can meet its current obligations with the cash that comes from the collections. However, revising the credit policy will entail a cost, that is, the possible reduction in sales as customers are given shorter time to pay for their purchases. There has to be a balance then, as to what will be the new policy and the effect of it on sales. The cash conversion cycle is the sum of the inventory period, the accounts receivable period less the accounts payable period. Therefore, in order to improve working capital management, the company can do something with the inventory period, the accounts receivable period or sometimes with the accounts payable period. If a company cuts the production time and convert them into sales, the less cash the business needs in order to meet its obligations. Cash from operations is generated by selling inventories, then receiving cash, or receiving a promise to receive cash in the form of receivables. The cash generated from operation depends on how fast the firm converts inventory into cash, therefore using cash to pay for additional purchases in inventory, and help meet short-term obligations. By increasing the inventory turnover, the firm can have inventories converted into cash. However, there is also a cost to resorting to this option. This means that, in order for the firm’s inventory to be sold faster, it has to increase its efforts on marketing and promotion of its products, thus incurring additional expenses. By ensuring that sales come in faster, and inventories turned into cash are reinvested for additional purchases of inventory, the effort is on generating sales mostly with cash payment. In order to match short-term needs with short-term sources of financing, another option can be to borrow for short-term.

Sky broadband Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sky broadband - Essay Example In theory and practice, IMC strategies are aimed at combining or integrating the elements of the communication mix, such as advertising and public relations in order to create a balanced and consistent marketing communications message that strengthens the brand. IMC, if managed correctly gives an organization a competitive advantage because of its cost effectiveness and its ability to maximize the impact of its product and services development and the communication of the organization's messages within the marketplace (Ireland, 2002). There is no shared definition of integrated marketing communications in the scholarly literature, but the tenets of IMC have been adopted by businesses globally, and scholars do agree on the theoretical underpinnings of the IMC model (Kitchen, Schultz, Kim, Han, & Li, 2004). The literature offers some outlines for conceptual frameworks that can guide agencies and organisations to ensure an effective implementation of an integrated marketing communications program (Kitchen, Schultz, Kim, Han, & Li, 2004). According to Fitzpatrick (2005), "... According to Fitzpatrick (2005), "one of the defining features of IMC is that it uses all forms of communication and all sources of brand or company contacts as prospective message delivery channels. The ultimate goal is to influence buying behavior through directed persuasive communication targeted to a broad range of stakeholders that influence brand image and organizational reputation" (p.94). Scholars and practitioners of marketing communications believe that the increase in the number of communication channels, media fragmentation, segmentation of consumer preferences, sophistication of consumer databases and analysis, and importance of relationship building to strengthen brand image has forced institutions to consider and adopt a more sophisticated, strategic, and integrated marketing communications effort (Kitchen, Schultz, Kim, Han, & Li, 2004). Integrated marketing communications has evolved from a concept of bundling all of an institution's communications in order to speak with one voice, to a strategic management effort that utilizes detailed consumer information to develop relevant communication (Kim, Han, & Schultz, 2004). Kim, Han, and Schultz (2004) stress the need for organizations to speak to their consumers with an integrated approach because today's consumers are not dependent on organizations to provide them with information. Technology has helped to fragment the current media environment and to increase the speed of information gathering. The result is that consumers are able to integrate their product information consumption without the aid of the organization. In addition to message integration, effective IMC must be supported by marketing budgets and appropriate staffing, skills, and

Expatriation, expenses, advantages and disadvantages

Expatriation, expenses, advantages and disadvantages Expatriation, the practice of sending home country managers to other country locations, is a popular, albeit expensive practice among multinational corporations. Expatriates are charged with facilitating the bidirectional flow of knowledge and resources between company headquarters and overseas subsidiaries. Typically, the company expects its expatriate managers to infuse company philosophy into the local subsidiary, as well as to impose policies and procedures consistent with headquarter operations. They are often responsible for the movement of financial resources, whether this be physical capital or the ability to tap local debt and equity markets. They bring with them managerial as well as technical expertise, functional capabilities, or the training necessary to develop these among the local personnel, and structural and control systems. Among these are appraisal systems and motivational tools and incentives. Either while on assignment or upon repatriation, the expatriate should be able to share information with the parent company regarding local infrastructure, such as roads, housing conditions, and transportation systems. In addition, knowledge regarding the political climate, negotiating techniques, host government concerns, and consumer preferences is passed on to the parent. Finally, expatriates should learn a great deal about business practices specific to the regions where they have been assigned, including holidays and observances, accepted business attire, and the appropriate ways to communicate and socialize with co-workers and locals in general. Background: Given the rapid rise in the internationalization of markets, competition, and technology, expatriates—and in particular long-term expatriates—can provide much of the value-creation opportunities global firms are seeking. But as the numbers of assignments increases, along with their annual cost by some estimates, two-to-four times the individuals base salary, there is need to assure such assignments are being effectively utilized in achieving Companys strategic goals. Only 57 percent of the global firms responding to a 2005 survey by GMAC Relocation Services perceived their return on investment (ROI) in expatriates to be â€Å"good† or â€Å"excellent,† with only 43 percent indicating they had specific programs in place to improve it. Other surveys show that up to 85 percent of managers do not even attempt to demonstrate the ROI of long-term international assignments, nor do they measure it. Thus, expatriate ROI appears to be, not only rarely calculated among global firms but also not widely used as a tool to reduce expatriate costs, despite a growing economic environment of global uncertainty, cost cutting, and risk. Introduction: This report is designed to investigate effectiveness of expatriate remuneration in a multinational organization. For this purpose I have chosen ICI, as this company is operating in many European as well as Asian countries and still in continuation of expanding its operations. Goals for the expatriates in ICI, with the study carried to analyse the effectiveness in achieving those targets are featured in this small study. This study will examine how the expats are remunerated and what bases are used in doing so, furthermore basis opted for rewards system. Others matters considered alongside are considerations for the costs of family residency, insurances, childrens education, properties, and other expenses; including incentives. Gains and nuisances of the expats are issued for the consideration from expats points of view. Moreover explanation of the research methodology coupled with justification for the research is complied in. Due to the nature of the topic, secondary sources of information are used as the primary sources were difficult and time consuming. ICI has many expatriates around the world in various countries of different continents, which includes Asia, Europe- as required by its diverse operations. Sending expatriates on long term assignments is complicated as it triggers diverse needs (i.e. social needs, ethical issues, religions, family commitments and backgrounds, etc). Therefore on one side selecting, enticing, and retaining expatriate staff for long duration of their foreign assignment and on the other designing rewards system for such complex and diverse roles adds difficulties for the organization. Aim and Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of expatriate remuneration at ICI. In order to achieve this aim, the following objectives have been set: * Develop a model for measuring expatriate remuneration. * To assess the current expatriate remuneration for ICI. * To conduct fieldwork and collect data on the effectiveness, ethics, etc. * Analyse the results of the fieldwork and present the results of the investigation. Model for measuring Expatriates Remuneration A large studies conducted by the researchers concluded that only 51 out of many global firms participating in the study desired to obtain an acceptable ROI from their expatriates. ROI determinations should also include nonfinancial costs and benefits in order to capture the long-term, post assignment benefits— such as skills transfer, global leadership capabilities, succession readiness, and other talent management objectives. McNulty and Tharenou have defined expatriate ROI as â€Å"a calculation in which the financial and nonfinancial benefits to the firm are compared with the financial and nonfinancial costs of the international assignment, as appropriate to the assignments purpose.†This definition implies two important conditions: * Managers must know the intent for using expatriates—how the purpose of an international assignment is linked to a firms overall global strategy—in order to then track the benefits and costs. * Managers must include both tangibles and intangibles when calculating and comparing costs and benefits. Accurate rates of return are then more likely to be determined when the benefits are compared with the costs, even if a cost is financial (e.g., the cost of cross-cultural training) and the corresponding benefit is nonfinancial (e.g., the benefit of improved performance). In turn, these conditions imply a robust system for creating, approving, documenting, tracking, and evaluating international assignments. Assessment the current expatriate remuneration for ICI During the course of my study I focused my study plan on remuneration of 10 Individuals designated as expatriates with a responsibility of transferring ICI system IT-based skills to other subsidiaries/ offices located across the regions. The individuals selected were salaried Approx. around  £ 4,000 per month during course of their normal office routine work. When and as employee designated as expat, a separate remuneration model was designed for each keeping in view the following * Working hours * Job specifications * Number of travels/locations to different sites * Period for which the expat assigned for the special assignment The model devised without considering as exception circumstances is illustrated below * If the expat tenure for the special assignment is for a period covering more than 2 years, the expat is allowed to take is family (wife and children) along, at his discretion. The salary package of the said expat will be 180% of his gross salary during this tenure. * If the expat tenure for the special assignment is for a period less than 2 years, the expat is not allowed to take is family at COs expense. However he will be allowed to claim return air tickets thrice a year with 20 days paid leaves and will be remunerated at 140% of his original gross salary. * All the medical and other facilities entitled to the employees during routine office duty shall retain and other expenditure related to the business such as travelling, out of pocket expenses shall be reimbursed to the employees. Problems faced by expatriate while implementing head office system/ rules * Expatriates were charged with either learning the host language or communicating through gestures or other non-verbal methods, or they may invoke the services of translators or interpreters * Psychological types of strains, including the negative psychological reactions of anxiety, anger, and frustration when not been able to deliver or transfer knowledge due to national/ regional differences. * Relationship between sociability and cross-cultural adjustment makes them feel alienated. * Understanding of the values and norms of the local nationals was hard to follow and observe.  · Patience was required to build the relationships and the trust. Fieldwork and Ethics Issues Meeting the Senior Manager Finance Manager during their valuable busy working hours and requesting them to give some guideline by providing knowledge about the Expats and the remuneration model designed for the assignments. Moreover during discussion session with the managers, I insisted on asking more details and insights that were not available documented, for which the senior manager was hesitant of doing so, as in their opinion certain information was very sensitive and arise tax sensitive issues. The analysis also involved use of companys IT resources like internet, desktop and other ancillary equipments. Moreover in gathering information about my research/field work I had to make certain quality compromises, as the information was not readily available and the management was hesitant over concerns regarding its secrecy. Following is the data gathered and analysed of the employees during their services as expats. Name of the Employee/Expat ID # Gross Salary Special Assignment Allotment Salary for m/o Dec ‘09 Medical Travel plus Misc Total John Desusa 345 3,500 140% 4,900 100 450 5,450 Ali Kirmani 6576 3,000 140% 4,200 1,110 367 5,677 Patric Mandela 356 4,000 140% 5,600 521 1,200 7,321 Keith Ronaldo 6787 5,000 140% 7,000 124 290 7,414 John Ferry 754 4,000 180% 7,200 413 300 7,913 Harban Bhaveja 7564 4,500 180% 8,100 20 394 8,514 Research Methodology: Data are analysed through primary and secondary data research. This is where financial value i.e. quantitative data or the brand image i.e. qualitative data for ICI will be inspected in those countries where expats are doing the work. This will be done by individual countries examination of customer base and/or business base; depending on what expats have been sent for and what is meant to be achieved there. Knowledge of all countries is brought together for expats as well as all costs incurred; are part of this study. It has complete similarities and differences within this duration of expatriation. These include currency evaluations differences in other countries and the amount that has been spent in those countries is worth the effort. However, this should mean that the expats are giving identical efficiency level as they would have while being in the UK in the away country depending on the targets being given. In most cases, ICI gives a smaller pay due to the economy being down. However, still pays well even after slump where GBP is strong. Data Collection Methods: Due to the nature of the topic, both primary and secondary sources equally provided appropriate and valuable information. Although using the former source was difficult and time consuming. Primary Source An interview was held with Mr. Zawan Navade Senior Finance Manager ICI. The primary purpose of this interview was to assess the potential benefits expats providing to the Organisation with the cost being incurred. Moreover, a meeting was arranged with the Human Resource Manager to gain information regarding the design of the remuneration packages related to the potential benefits to the entity. Secondary Sources These consisted of the following * Payroll Sheets * Documented Reward system * Special assignment contracts Limitations: Financial data by itself may not be sufficient for the purpose of my research work, therefore expert input from Companys senior executives was required but most of the information in my research report is secondary as I was not able to directly approach the companies executive all the time and have limited use of their valuable time due to their tight official schedules and their reservations.

Hamlets Tragic Flaw is Death and Tragedy Essay -- essays research pap

Does Hamlet have a tragic flaw? If so, what is it and how does it effect his surroundings and how does it effect Hamlet himself? What is the outcome of his flaw? Hamlet has a tragic flaw in his personality and behavior. His flaw is that he is overly concerned with death and tragedy. This flaw or weakness in Hamlet leads him into a world of chaotic surroundings and madness. Hamlet's flaw and his mad personality led to the death of several people, including his mother and the King of Denmark! If Hamlet did not have this fascination with death and tragedy, the deaths of the several people would not have occurred--including his own. Hamlet did not always have this flaw in his personality. The flaw was presented to him by a ghost. The ghost of Hamlet's father told Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius and asked Hamlet to avenge his murder. This is where the flaw is adopted by Hamlet and begins to effect his life. Hamlet begins to dig deeper and deeper to find the truth. He puts on an act of madness to disguise his revenge. Hamlet becomes so over-whelmed with death that death is all...