Birch Paper Case Essay

The division can’t very well show a profit by putting in bids that don’t even cover a fair share of overheadcosts,let alone give us a profit. † Birch Paper Company was a medium-sized,partly integrated paper company, producing white and kraft papers and paperboard. A portion of its paperboard output was converted into corrugated boxes by the Thompson Division, which also printed and colored the outside surface of the boxes. Including Thompson,the companyhad four producingdivisions and a timberland division, which supplied part of the company’spulp requirements. For severalyears, eachdivision had beenjudged independently on the basis of its profit and return on investment. Top managementhad been working to gain effectiveresults from a policy of decentralizing responsibility and authority for all decisionsexcept those relating to overall companypolicy. The company’s top officials believed that in the past few years the concept of decentralization had been applied successfullyand that the company’sprofits and competitive position definitely had improved. The Northern Division had designeda special display box for one of its papers in conjunction with the ThompsonDivision, which was equippedto make the box. Thompson’sstaff for packagedesign and developmentspent several months perfecting the design, production methods,and materials to be used. Becauseof the unusual color and shape, these were far from standard. According to an agreement between the two divisions, the Thompson Division was reimbursed by the Northern Division for the cost of its design and developmentwork. When all the specificationswere prepared,the Northern Division askedfor bids on the box from the ThompsonDivision and from two outside companies. Each division manager was normally free to buy from whatever supplier he wished, and evenon saleswithin the company, divisions were expectedto meet the going market price if they wanted the business. During this period, the profit margins of such converters as the Thompson Division were being squeezed. Thompson,as did many other similar converters,bought its paperboard,and its function was to print, cut, and shapeit into boxes. Though it bought most of its materials from other Birch divisions, most of Thompson’ssaleswere made to outside customers. If Thompsongot the order from Northern, it probably would buy its linerboard and corrugating medium from the Southern Division of Birch. The walls of a corrugated box This case was prepared by William Rotch under the supervision of Neil Harlan, Harvard Business School. Copyright 158-001. by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Harvard Business School case i Case6-2 Birch PaperCompany 2 consist of outside and inside sheets of linerboard sandwiching the fluted corrugating medium. About 70 percent of Thompson’s out-of-pocketcostof$400 for the order representedthe cost of linerboard and corrugating medium. Though Southern had beenrunning below capacity and had excess inventory, it quoted the market price, which had not noticeably weakenedas a result of the oversupply. Its out-of-pocket costs on both liner and corrugating medium were about 60 percent of the selling price. The Northern Division receivedbids on the boxesof $480 a thousand from the ThompsonDivision, $430 a thousand from West Paper Company,and $432 a thousand from Eire Papers,Ltd. Eire Papers offered to buy from Birch the outside linerboard with the specialprinting already on it, but would supply its own inside liner and corrugating medium. The outside liner would be supplied by the Southern Division at a price equivalent of $90 a thousand boxes,and it would be printed for $30 a thousand by the Thompson Division. Of the $30, about $25 would be out-of-pocketcosts. Since this situation appearedto be a little unusual, William Kenton, manager of the Northern Division, discussedthe wide discrepancy of bids with Birch’s commercialvice president. He told the vice president:†We sell in a very competitivemarket, where higher costscannot be passedon. How canwe be expectedto show a decent profit and return on investment if we have to buy our supplies at more than 10 percent over the going market? † Knowing that Mr. Brunner on occasionin the past few months had beenunable to operate the Thompson Division at capacity,it seemedodd to the vice president that Mr. Brunner would add the full 20 percent overheadand profit chargeto his out-of-pocketcosts. When he was asked about this, Mr. Brunner’s answer was the statement that appears at the beginning of the case. He went on to say that having donethe developmentalwork on the box, and having receivedno profit on that, he felt entitled to a goodmarkup on the production of the box itself. The vice president explored further the cost structures of the various divisions. He remembereda comment that the controller had made at a meeting the week before to the effect that costs which were variable for one division could be largely fIXedfor the companyas a whole. He knew that in the absence of specific orders from top management Mr. Kenton would acceptthe lowest bid, which was that of the West Paper Companyfor $430. However,it would be possiblefor top managementto order the acceptance another bid if the situof ation warranted such action. And though the volume representedby the transactionsin questionwas less than 5 percent of the volume of any of the divisions involved, other transactions would conceivablyraise similar problemslater. Questions 1. Which bid should Northern Division acceptthat is in the best interests of Birch Paper Company? 2. Should Mr. Kenton acceptthis bid? Why or why not? 3. Should the vice president of Birch Paper Companytake any action? 4. In the controversydescribed,how,if at all, is the transfer price system dysfunctional? Doesthis problem call for somechange,or changes, the transin fer pricing policy of the overall firm? If so, what specific changesdo you suggest?

Example of Six-Step Decision Plan

Rainier Joseph S. Viacrucis. MBA-1 Managerial Decision Making Using the six-step Decision-Making process: 1. Identifying the Problem and its details: a. A teenager is asking his/her parents to buy a high-end gadget that is the trend/must-have of his/her generation (ex. I-phone or I-pad) as a present for his/her birthday b. The teenager is given an allowance of 200 pesos per school day. c. The family is living on a budget, and is cutting its cost – the parents do not want to spend beyond the allowance of the teenager. d. There are possible part-time jobs available though there are no known detailed facts on them. TASK: Help the parents decide on the best solution to the situation/ what to do in the situation. 2. Developing Possible Alternatives: a. Buy Gadget – Buy the gadget immediately; since it is the birthday of their child; he/she will only be a child once in a lifetime, this will show that you really care about him/her. b. Reward System – Negotiation of a reward system for better grades or exam results. The exams results or better grades must be worth the reward. . Buy Gadget Substitute – Parents can by a substitute of the high-end gadget; which may look like the real thing or have the same functionality with the popular one but with a much lower price. d. Garage sale proceeds – The parent and teenager can agree to sell old items of the teenager via â€Å"Garage Sale† and the proceeds of the endeavor will be used to buy the gadget the teenager wants. e. Part-T ime Job – The teenager can opt to do a part-time job. It may take time to gather up the money needed to buy the gadget. f. Installment Payment of the Gadget – The parents can buy the gadget via â€Å"installment basis† and will cut-off the allowance for a significant amount which will be used to pay/help pay the monthly installment. g. Matching Savings (50/50 savings) – The parent will match the amount of savings per day of the teenager and will deposit the amount to the bank for safekeeping, while the teenager can have the passbook and have a joint signatory with his/her parent. h. Payment by Service – in-house part-time job of the teenager. . Don’t Buy The Gadget – Let the teenager understand that you are living on a budget, and he/she must do his/her part. Make him/her see that the gadget he/she wants to buy is unnecessary. 3. Evaluating the Possible Alternatives: a. Buy Gadget – â€Å"We’ll buy it! Happy birthday†¦ we love you! † i. Positive: The parents can make the teenager know that they care for him/her. ii. Negative: The gesture will just spoil the teenager; he/she will not know the value of money/the gadget bought. iii. Negative: The Family is on a budget; expenses should only be on very necessary items – the gadget is more of a luxury the family can’t afford in this day and age. b. Reward System – â€Å"Good Job! Here’s your Reward! † i. Positive: The teenager will give additional effort in his/her studies and other activities. ii. Positive: The teenager will value more the gadget, since he/she worked hard in studying or do well in other activities to get it. iii. Positive: The System will encourage good behavior and more productive activities. iv. Negative: What if there is no reward? The reward will be the motivation of the teenager and this will complicate relationships, especially when the parent can’t deliver the assumed reward. v. Negative: could foster an unhealthy reliance on adult opinion instead of forming their own because they are constantly looking for reaffirmation or approval via an adult mandated award system. c. Buy Gadget Substitute – â€Å"Here†¦ It has the same features, but it’s more practical†¦Ã¢â‚¬  i. Positive: If the Teenager can well understand the situation of the family-being on budget; he/she will appreciate that he/she was still bought a gadget of the similar functions. i. Positive: The teenager will know the value of money. iii. Positive: the teenager will learn to be content on simpler things. iv. Negative: since the teenager knows that the gadget is cheaper, he/she will not value/take care the gadget. v. Negative: the teenager may become disappointed that he/she is only given a substitute of the one he/she wants. d. Garage Sale Proceeds – â€Å"To buy what you want, you must sell what you don’t need. † i. Positive: The teenager will value the object, since he lost something he had in order to get it. i. Positive: The teenager’s skill in selling items will be exercised – he is practicing to be a new entrepreneur. iii. Positive: The teenager’s room will be more in order. iv. Negative: What if the teenager’s want is not moral/not good? – He/she will sell what he/she has just to get it. Even worse, he/she may sell all the items in your house. v. Negative: Sense of Sentimental value for things will not be recognized by the teenager. e. Part-time job – â€Å"If you really want it, you must work for it. † i. Positive: It gives the sense of independence to the teenager. ii. Positive: The teenager will learn the skills of Time Management. iii. Positive: The teenager will have his/her own source of income. iv. Positive: He/she will learn the value of money – he/she will learn that it is not easy to obtain/earn it. v. Negative: It will be hard for the teenager to focus on his/her studies. vi. Negative: he/she will be tempted to drop out of school, since he/she has already started to earn money. vii. Negative: He/she will be stressed in handling both schools and work. . Installment payment of Gadget – â€Å"You’ll pay for it over a period of time with part of your allowance. † i. Positive: You can put it in your budget. Instead of paying the full amount, you can pay for it over the period of time. ii. Positive: Some networks/Company offers bundles including their service (Post Paid plans of Networks) iii. Positive: The teenager will learn how to budget his finances . iv. Negative: The interest is high when you pay for an item in an installment basis. v. Negative: The teenager may learn of other ways to earn money (which may not be good) – to compensate for the cut in allowance. g. Matching savings – â€Å"I’ll match what you save, so we can buy it. † i. Positive: It gives a sense of partnership between the teenager and the parents. ii. Positive: It teaches the teenager the value of savings. iii. Negative: He/she will be more eager to save; he/she may sacrifice his/her basic needs just to buy the item. iv. Negative: He/she may not exert more effort to extra-curricular activities which could enhance his skills and knowledge. . Negative: Since the teenager is saving, He/she may not mingle more with friends who could hurt the development of his/her social skills. h. Payment by service – â€Å"I’ll buy it, but you’ll have to do this†¦. † i. Positive: The teenager will learn that you need to do something before you can have something. ii. Positive: The teenager will learn how to be patient. iii. Positive: Teenager will learn the basic household skills which are very important in the future. iv. Negative: The teenager will not do anything inside the house if not paid/rewarded of some kind. . Negative: There will be no sense of responsibility for the child – since he/she will do the household chores for a price. i. Don’t Buy The Gadget – â€Å"We don’t need it, we must buy only necessary things† i. Positive: If the teenager will understand that they are in a budget – he/she will learn the value of thriftiness and buying only the necessary things. ii. Positive: The Money will be used to buy more necessary items. iii. Negative: If the teenager will not understand – the teenager may be disappointed and could ruin their relationship 4. Recommendation of An alternative (or Make the Decision) My recommendation is more of a combination of different Alternatives stated above. First is having a conversation with the teenager, it is very necessary to make him understand the situation – the family is on a budget. Second, it is also essential that the teenager has a part in buying the gadget – he/she must have a contribution, preferably money he/she earned. Third, the deal must be designed in a way that establishes more trust between the parents and the teenager, as well as prepare for his/her future. My recommendation is the Matching Savings Alternative combined with Part-time alternative – this motivates the teenager, as well as teaches him to save and to budget his finances. Having the Matching savings alternative minimizes the pressure to the teenager in his work, while the Part-time alternative minimizes the pressure of saving and sacrificing the school day allowance. This combination establishes a partnership between them, as well as teaching the teenager the important mindset and skills he will need in the future. Also this kind of joint venture could work for any other project and/or for his future needs. . What is required for the Alternative (Implementation of the Decision) To implement the combination, you must help the teenager find a part-time job, one that does not conflict with his studies – weekends. You will also want to open an account with the bank; some banks have these kinds of accounts (ex. WISE account of RCBC)- Joint account, while giving the custody of the passbook to the teenager – as a sign of trust. 6. How to Monitor Solution/What are the possible effects of the Alternative (Monitor you solution): It is very important to monitor/tract the progress of the solution, especially for this combination. The monitoring control could either be the weekly or monthly deposit of the Matching savings alternative – check to see whether the money is already enough; this recurring activity could also serve as a bonding moment between the parents and the teenager which could deepen the relationship. It is also very essential that the parent will motivate the teenager from time to time especially with him/her having a part-time job – on the road to his/her independence.

Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine - Essay Example Antique civilization contributed a lot to our modern science and laid foundation of modern scientific conceptions of the world inside and outside of us. Rhetoric is just one point of ancient heritage. Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine went through the phase of its origin and becoming when fundament of this art was laid. 2. Rhetoric in Greece was one of the three liberal arts. So it was a very important art. In Homer days rhetoric was not widely developed yet, but it is possible to say that Homer's contribution to rhetoric is obvious. His epic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were full of poetic dialogues, argumentations and word exercises for achieving different goals. His poetry influenced further poetic and rhetoric development in Greece. But in 5th century B. C. rhetoric became known for wide people through sophists. They thought people skill of argumentation. Sophists' work was valued rather high as they helped people to defend their personal interests, not always fair. So this form of teaching soon declined. Plato's teaching was another significant step to rhetoric development. He was an opponent for the sophists. ... Aristotle developed Plato's ideas and went further. He introduced rhetoric as a system of particular skills necessary for an orator. It was the next step of rhetoric development. Aristotle identified three main elements of rhetorical art: character of an orator, his emotions and his language. It is very important to feel the character of the audience, its structure - it will help to choose correct ways of influence on it. Orator's character and emotions must be directed to the goals of the speech - his speech must be emotionally-colored, bright and address everybody's hearts and feelings. The choice of appropriate language is also important. It in turn depends on the audience structure and goals to be achieved. So Aristotle's system influenced rhetoric very much and prepared fertile ground for its further rise and development.3. Rhetoric in Ancient Rome took much from that of Greece, but there were its own features. The main figures of Roman rhetoric were Cicero and Quintilian. Cicer o was one of the most brilliant orators of the ancient world. His speeches were full of expression, his influence on the audience was great, his oratorical methods were much imitated in his days and by later orators. Cicero's works on rhetoric were influenced this art in Rome and for further rhetoric development in general. Quintilian's treatise "Institutes of Oratory" was the next step of rhetorical skills systematization. He wrote about five main rhetorical canons. These are: development of an argument; its arrangement and organization for achieving an appropriate effect; definition of the speech style for a determined audience; speech delivery methods; orator's memory needed to keep in mind all elements of the speech. Quintilian's

LPI Analysis Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

LPI Analysis - Research Paper Example On the other hand – which was a surprise to me! Observers rated me higher than I had rated myself in the following categories: â€Å"Paints big picture of group aspirations†; â€Å"Recognizes people for commitment to shared values†; â€Å"Describes a compelling image of the future†; â€Å"Asks for feedback on how his actions affect people’s performance.† (â€Å"LPI: Leaderships Behaviors Ranking†, p.3) â€Å"Develops cooperative relationships (9.0)†; â€Å"Follows through on promises and commitments† (8.5); â€Å"Sets a personal example of what is expected† (8.5); â€Å"Treats people with dignity and respect† (8.3); â€Å"Makes certain that people adhere to agreed on standards† (8.3); and â€Å"Gives people choice about how to do their work† (8.0). These, then, are, presumably, my strengths (all of them falling in the categories of â€Å"Enable others to Act† and â€Å"Model the Way†). (â€Å"LPI: Leaderships Behaviors Ranking†, p.3) â€Å"Experiments and takes risks† (6.8); â€Å"Searches outside organization for innovative ways to improve† (6.8); â€Å"Talks about future trends influencing our work† (6.5); â€Å"Asks for feedback on how his actions affect people’s performance† (6.5); â€Å"Seeks challenging opportunities to test skills† (6.3). These, then, are my weaknesses, which I need to focus on to improve. The pattern, here, is that most of these behaviors seem to be in the â€Å"Challenge the Process† category, with one in â€Å"Inspire a shared Vision†, and the other in â€Å"Model the Way†. Nevertheless, the â€Å"Challenge the Process† category seems to be that which I most need to focus on (â€Å"LPI: Leaderships Behaviors Ranking†, p.3). On the whole, the Observers perceived my leadership ability as being more average than I perceived it to be myself. The categories, â€Å"Encourage the Heart†, and â€Å"Challenge the Process† toggled the line between Moderate and Low; the latter according to both Co-worker and Others, the former

FIN Unit 4 DB SA FWP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

FIN Unit 4 DB SA FWP - Essay Example Not only do the institution helps you to borrow capital, but also working with you to plan for the future as well as assure potential customers of the businesss steadiness and trustworthiness (Deshpande, 2004). Some banks offer incentives to keep a certain amount deposited besides others offer services to make the most of your profits, it might be wise to think through a bank that can offer those services (Deshpande, 2004). Certain institutions can even assist you collect financial information in your industry internationally. Or else, you would be wise to enlist a liberated financial advisor to identify your needs before choosing a global bank. Majority of those categories of banks provides the best tax rates which is less than the standard United States banks. Additionally, the interest rate charged on (for instance the Euro dollar deposits) depends on the bank’s lending rate, because the interest a bank earns on loans regulates its willingness as well as ability to pay interest on deposits, and finally on rates of return accessible on United States money market instruments (Massey, 2004). There is a wide range of investments policies capitalize on rewards not offered outside of an Investor’s home country. More frequently than not, there are no scarcities of money-markets as well as bond funds provided by banks out of the United States (Massey, 2004). The rewards of banking outside the U.S. also encourage a better investment atmosphere that appeals clients. An extra contribution to banking that way is the confidentiality that your money is safe (Stewart, 2011). However, the structured rules allow disclosures to prevent occurrence of money laundering and other unlawful activities. The Governments tend to be less harsh when regulating securities denominated in foreign currencies, since the bonds’ purchasers are generally more and most

DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Food and Regional Affairs) Essay

DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Food and Regional Affairs) - Essay Example Defra works in control and management of air quality across the United Kingdom. On 17 July 2007 the UK Government and local administrations published the latest Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This made it possible to move forward on air quality standards and the objectives that need to be achieved, including new policy framework for tracking fine particles and identifying new national policy measure for air quality in the UK and improved health for its citizens. Recently in August 2008 a Consultation on the UK report regarding plans for the country to comply with the European Union(EU) standards. Plans were submitted for meeting the EU ambient air quality limit values. The Air Quality Framework directive(1996/62/EC), where limit values plus a margin tolerance are exceeded, member states must produce plans and programs to show compliance within a required timescale, no later than two years after the end of the end of the year that the exceeded values were observed. The consultation document concerned exceeded values for nitrogen dioxide in certain areas of the UK for the calendar year of 2006. Local authorities have statutory duties for local air quality management(LAQM) under the environment act of 1995. They are required to carry out review and assessments of air quality according to the standards and objectives in the national Air Quality Strategy. Regulations for monitoring air quality have been established with, The Air Quality Standards Resolution 2007 No.64, The Air Quality Limit Values (Amendment) Regulations 2004-2000. Pollutants monitored and regulated include, Benzene,1,3-Butadiene, Carbon Monoxide, Lead, Nitrogen Dioxide, PM10, Sulphur Dioxide. Besides local regulating bodies many consulting groups providing guidance on the protection of Air Quality, these include the Air Quality Expert Group, Air Quality Forum, Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards and

Intermediate Accounting Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Intermediate Accounting - Research Paper Example The following illustration provides a simplified view of the business model followed by Groupon: Comparison of this business model of Groupon with Wal-Mart reveals some fundamental differences in the approach followed by the two businesses. First of all, as mentioned earlier, the virtual operating style of Groupon through internet is a primary factor which distinguishes the extent to which both companies can target their respective customers. Based on the differences identified in the business model for Groupon in comparison with the approach followed by Wal-Mart, it is possible to determine how these differences influence the risks identified by Groupon in its financial statements under management discussion and analysis and also the translation of these risks into financial reporting of the company. Before initiating a discussion as to how risks faced by Groupon would influence its business model, it is pertinent to understand that the success of the business model of the company l argely rests on the revenue generating ability of the company through acquiring new subscribers to purchase coupons offered by the company. Since the company has only one product to offer, i.e. coupons, therefore any unfavourable changes in the circumstances may eventually lead to the disruption of whole business model. First of all, the company has expressly stated in its Form S - 1 that, â€Å"We may not maintain the revenue growth that we have experienced since inception.† (Groupon Incorporation 11). Although, the company would take measures to ensure that such a risk may not materialize in future; however, if such a situation is faced by the company where revenue growth becomes difficult, the business model may be affected severely, as there is no contingency plan for the company due to lack of its diversity in operations. Realizing the significance of influence this risk may have on the business model of the company, it has been mentioned that, â€Å"If we fail to retai n our existing subscribers or acquire new subscribers, our revenue and business will be harmed.† (Groupon Incorporation 12). In addition to this, it is also important to note that apart from growth in subscribers to the business, the retention and growth of merchants for the business is also a risk factor. The company has expressly stated that if it fails to retain or grow the number of merchant it deals with, the revenues may shrink considerably in the future and therefore place impact on the whole business (Groupon Incorporation 13). Apart from this, it is also pertinent to understand that Groupon is not alone in its market; in fact there are other competitors who are improving their customer base and market standing. The company, in this regard, states that it operates in a highly competitive environment where competitors may pose a significant threat to the operations and growth opportunities for Groupon in the future (Groupon Incorporation 13). Issues regarding Revenue Re cognition for Groupon The table presented as follows include information pertaining to revenues, cost of sales, other operating expenses and net profit / loss of the company for the financial years 2009 and 2010. Under each year, both gross and net based revenue recognition by the company has been presented so as to make the comparison possible between

La ci darem la mano a song fro the opera Don Giovanni Essay

La ci darem la mano a song fro the opera Don Giovanni - Essay Example The rhythm of this duet is very much like a sophisticated minuet, and in listening, we can imagine the coquettish movements of the female dancers. Mozart established a mood of gaiety and tryst with the accelerating tempo of the duet, even though this scene follows directly on the off stage rape of another young woman by Don Giovanni (Don Juan). The music requires a strong baritone for the male part and a female voice of strong timbre without losing the light quality required by the part of Zerlina, who may be strong and certainly quite excitable, but not â€Å"girlish†, as Zerlina, though somewhat innocent, is certainly a woman. The melody begins on a lower register and rises in pitch to add excitement. It is structured like a finely choreographed mating dance. The strong baritone opens with a gentle invitation. Zerlina’s reply is finished off with a lovely broken chord to the higher register and then tempered with a gentle melodic finish. The bridge is a quickening exchange that picks up the tempo and includes a triple reputation for punctuation. As the tempo accelerates the singers overlap each other until they reach a climax in the music together. Once Zerlina becomes interested in Don Giovanni’s proposition, she almost turns the tables on him, quite insistent, and each phrase near the end falls in pitch and gathers strength. The trills repeat and become a melodic harmony, followed by short phrases in accelerating tempo. The vocal trills get faster and the final phrase rises and falls quickly in a musical orgasm of wonder harmony. This is definitely one of the finest duets ever written. It almost defies classification, due to the mixture of styles and the catchy tunefulness of the melody. Some critics point out the differences in class among the characters and cite this as the reason for Mozart’s almost fusion opera. â€Å"When we moved to the lower class characters, especially Zerlina and Masetto, we noted some

Operations And Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Operations And Operations Management - Essay Example Certainly, all major serviceable areas of an organisation are somehow tangled; all interrelate with and supply support for the others, and the limitations are not for all time obvious among them. Slack (2004, Pg 9-10) suggests that the Operations Team is accountable for the everyday operations of the organisation counting scheduling jobs, coordinating service or goods transfers, updating or loading information, and monitoring organisation performance and security. ''Operations management,'' then, points to making the customary managerial purposes (development, organizing, directing, and scheming) on the organisation 's operations. ... Workforce personnel are accountable chiefly for arranging suggestions concerning the setting up, organizing, and control of operations, while process workers have the genuine ability to conduct the operations (Johnston, 1999, Pg 12-13). In Operations management, according to Johnston (1994, Pg 49-50), a great deal is made of the leader's responsibility in locating the idea, correspondence, engaging in the processes, situation and preserving prospects, and holding his or her answerability. A good deal also is made of nurturing accomplishments at the grassroots stage- authorizing employees to take actions, taking benefits of their additional precise awareness of the customer and market inclinations, importance given to employees from technical proficiency, and pulling down the organisation to go faster in decision-making. During conversion of organisation 's resources into services or goods, the occupied Operations manager must create the hardest options. It is most frequently the manager's judgment to modify a procedure that puts the jobs of a group of employees at danger because employees may not have the systematic skills to job successfully in the fresh progression. And it is the Operation manager's accountability to converse with those workers; to talk about the value on their jobs; to offer the foundation, resources, and alternatives accessible to employees; and to be rigid about the modifications while empathetic about the value. (Slack, 2004, Pg 36-37) If a purpose is recognized as more professionally and with a reduction of expenses carried out by a service provider, the Operations manager plays a position in that assessment and

A Farewell to Arms an Ironic Metaphor to Explore Physical and Literature review

A Farewell to Arms an Ironic Metaphor to Explore Physical and Emotional Death - Literature review Example   Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Farewell to Arms† is a novel set during World War I. It is filled with human despair, loneliness, and confusion (Bloom 17). It is told in the first person, using the character of Lt. Frederic Henry, who is an American serving in the Italian army as an ambulance driver. He falls in love with an English nurse, Catherine Barkley, and the whole story revolves around how each character tries to survive life, conquer death, and placate their loneliness and misery (Burden and Hemingway 9). If one is familiar with the life of the author, Ernest Hemingway, one could easily see several allusions to the events that occurred in the author's life, particularly in the relationship between the main characters Frederic and Catherine. Hemingway served in the Red Cross in Italy during the war (Hewson 53). Not surprisingly, he was an ambulance driver, much like the main character in the story, Frederic. Hemingway got wounded and during his hospitalization, met and developed a relatio nship with nurse Agnes von Kurowsky (Hewson 56). A large part of the story is based on the realities that Hemingway encountered during the war, and to explore this in the novel, he utilizes several metaphors (Harrington 60) mainly using rain or the weather to forecast major events in the characters' lives (Bloom 19). Rain, or water for that matter, is usually seen as something that supports life, yet Hemingway effectively utilizes this as an ironic representation of gloom, pain, and destruction (Harrington 60-1). From start to finish, rain symbolizes the many emotions associated with death. At the beginning of the novel, one can see the immediate turning of summer into autumn. Summer is â€Å"rich with crops,† while autumn is where â€Å" the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain† (Hemingway 7). This alone forecasts the turning of events from happy to desolate. This is because, in that same chapter, death is foreshadowed. â€Å"In the fall when the rains c ame, the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain† and â€Å"The vineyards were thin and bare-branched too and all the country wet and brown and dead with autumn† (Hemingway 7). This is followed by the line â€Å"At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came cholera. But it was checked and in the end, only seven thousand died of it in the army† (Hemingway 8). Here, the link between death and the pouring of the rain is stated clearly. However, there is no reference to emotions usually associated with death.  

Fate and Destiny Essay Example for Free

Fate and Destiny Essay The Epic of Sundiata is meaningless without the concepts of fate and destiny. When the Mandinka king receives the divine hunter at the royal court, and the hunter predicts that the king’s marriage to an ugly woman would grant him a mighty king for a son; the Mandinka king must honor the prophecy. It is for this reason that the king, before his death, gives to Sundiata – his son born of an ugly woman – a griot. When Sundiata is older, he too believes in the importance of harnessing powers of a supernatural nature (Niane). Prophecies are, of course, made through supernatural powers. Seeing that the kings of the Mandinka people believe in supernatural powers, their subjects must also be believers in the same. Moreover, fate and destiny appear real to the Mandinka people, which is the reason why the prophecy is honored by the king. But, even if most of the Mandinka people do not believe in supernatural powers, the belief system of the king is expected to be superior to that of his people. Belief in prophecy entails that one’s fate is determined, and there is nothing that one can do to change his or her destiny. Prophets are believed because they know the fate and destiny of others. By informing people about their respective fates and destinies, they save their people from being misled. At the same time, however, the concepts of fate and destiny entail that the Mandinka king would have married an ugly woman, with or without the prophecy of the hunter. The king would have had Sundiata, too, regardless of the prophecy. The only useful part about the prophecy was that the king gifted Sundiata with a griot because he knew that Sundiata would be a mighty king in the future. Just as the Epic of Sundiata cannot be understood without reference to fate or destiny, Things Fall Apart focuses on a hero and his community, unable to change circumstances in the face of destiny. Things Fall Apart makes repeated references to chi, a concept that refers to a personal deity that is available to all people to guide them to fulfill their individual destinies. It is impossible for a human being to struggle against the chi, or his or her spirit force. This is the reason why Okonkwo, a courageous and intelligent individual, cannot change his circumstances or that of his community even as things fall apart for everybody except the colonialists (Achebe). In other words, the human being is powerless against the decisions of the chi or his or her personal deity who establishes the fate and destiny of every soul. The personal deity of all people has determined that Okonkwo and his people would suffer, and there is nothing they can do about it (Achebe). Okonkwo is a distinguished leader of a village in Nigeria. He is rich, powerful, brave as well as wise. He has worked hard to achieve his high status in his village. Thus, the village elders choose him to be the guardian of a boy named Ikemefuna, who has been made prisoner by Achebe’s tribe. Okonkwo must keep the boy with him until the Oracle decides otherwise (Achebe). This shows that man has no free will, and that, in fact, fate and destiny are determined by another. Human beings are not even allowed to make decisions by themselves. If they attempt to make decisions by themselves, they must be severely punished, as Okonkwo was. When the village elders decided that Ikemefuna must be killed, Okonkwo went against the advice of the oldest man of the village by killing the boy himself. Subsequently, things started to fall apart for Okonkwo. He accidentally killed another individual at a funeral ceremony. For this act he had to be sent into exile with his family for a period of seven years. After all, he had offended the deities by committing the murder (Achebe). When Okonkwo returned to his village, he struggled for his people against the colonialists. In the end, however, he had to kill himself (Achebe). The forces of change were too strong for him to resist. This reveals that man’s determination, intelligence, and courage have no power over destiny and fate. Even though I believe in fate and destiny, I do not agree with this grim vision of the same. Neither do I trust the fact that man has been rendered powerless by fate and destiny. In my understanding of these concepts, God, who is all-knowing, has written the fate and destiny of all people. His knowledge of all people’s past, present and future is their fate and destiny, in fact. At the same time, He has given unto human beings the power to make decisions for themselves. The Bible confirms this view. Although there is nothing that a human being can do to fight destiny and fate, individuals are free to use their intelligence in the best possible ways. Our use of intelligence – in my belief – is also determined by God. He allows some people to prosper at the expense of others. All the same, in the Biblical sense, such circumstances are a trial from God. He cannot be blamed for giving one man a life of riches, happiness and peace while his brother is poor and living in a violent neighborhood. In the Biblical view, both men are loved by God. However, by severely testing the homeless man, He would like the man to turn to Him in prayer. The rich man, on the other hand, is required to be of help to the poor man. If he does not help his brother, however, God would continue giving him opportunities to do so in future. In this view of fate and destiny, God also knows the people who would go to Heaven as opposed to those who would enter Hellfire for eternity. Even so, I know that people have free will to choose what they would like to do with themselves and where they would like to go. God does not stop us from using our minds to do as we please. But, as I have already mentioned, it is He who ultimately decides what we would think. So, while one man concentrates on spirituality, another spends his entire lifetime thinking about the theory of relativity. It is our personal destiny to think, do, and wish as God pleases. Of course, my understanding of fate and destiny is not the same as that of the Mandinka king or the people of Okonkwo. I do not visit soothsayers, and neither would I believe in all of them. Furthermore, even if it is unfashionable in our times to believe in God and supernatural powers, I continue to believe in fate and destiny. Works Cited Achebe, C. Things Fall Apart. New York: Doubleday Co. , Inc. , 1994. Niane, D. T. (trans. ). Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Harlow: Longman, 2006.

Wild Horse Round-Up in Nevada Essay Example for Free

Wild Horse Round-Up in Nevada Essay The rounding up wild horses and leading them to their new destination, howbeit, for the slaughter or sales, has created a rift of an US (i.e. particularly; citizens of Nevada) and THEM (i.e. Federal Government, BLM) mentality. The animal activist is citing cruelty to animals and stifling the â€Å"First Amendment, Freedom of the Press†, on the part of BLM. The following article was quoted from USA Today: [A federal roundup of wild horses in Nevada was scheduled to resume Thursday and to continue through this weekend despite nearly two dozen animal deaths since it began. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) says three of the deaths were due to injury and 18 due to severe dehydration following a drought. Horse activist Laura Leigh, whose lawsuit put a temporary halt to the roundup July 14, blames the deaths on the BLM, which she says allowed the horses to become dehydrated and held the roundup during the hottest season of the year. This is foaling season, it could have been done earlier, it could have been done last fall, Leigh says. This is not following the mandate to manage and protect our horses. Its just wrong. She and other activists also complain that the BLM has blocked them from observing the roundups to control the flow of images and public opinion. The BLM will escort up to 20 members of the media and the public to observe roundup operation today and Saturday for the first time since the roundup began July 10. The BLM says the roundup of wild horses is a necessity because the mustang population is growing so fast that horses are running out of food and harming the native land and wildlife. Agency estimates show 38,000 mustangs and burros roam 10 Western states; half are in Nevada. Leigh and other activists say the agency is moving the animals to clear the way for livestock grazing and energy interests. Elliot Katz, founder of In Defense of Animals, which filed a separate lawsuit, says wild horses are a low priority nationally because they dont produce a profit. Theyre just in the way of corporations who have cattle interests or want to do mining, Katz says. Theres been a gradual continuing effort to get rid of them.] (Dorell, 7/29) BLM’s stands its ground by stating they are â€Å"required by law to balance the needs of multiple interests on public lands, including wild horses, wildlife, mining and livestock. Wild horses, which have few predators and double their population every four years, can damage habitat shared by endangered and threatened species such as the pygmy rabbit and the lahontan cutthroat trout, says Heather Emmons, a spokeswoman for the BLM in Nevada.† (Dorell, 7/29) One of the many law suits that have been filed comes out of New Mexico and has gone to the Supreme Court. KLEPPE v. NEW MEXICO, 426 U.S. 529 (1976)  426 U.S. 529 KLEPPE, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR v. NEW MEXICO ET AL. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO No. 74-1488. Argued March 23, 1976 Decided June 17, 1976 The Wild Free-roaming Horses and Burros Act (Act) was enacted to protect all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands of the United States from capture, branding, harassment, or death, to accomplish which they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands. The Act provides that all such animals on the public lands administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or by the Secretary of Agriculture through the Forest Service are committed to the jurisdiction of the respective Secretaries, who are directed to protect and manage [the animals] as components of the public lands . . . in a manner that is designed to achieve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance on the public lands, and if the animals stray from those lands onto privately owned land, the private landowners may inform federal officials, who shall arrange to have the animals removed. Appellees, the State of New Mexico, its Livestock Board and director, and the purchaser of three unbranded burros seized by the Board (pursuant to the New Mexico Estray Law) on federal lands and sold at public auction, and whose return to public lands had been  demanded by the BLM, brought this suit for injunctive relief and for a declaratory judgment that the Act is unconstitutional. A three-judge District Court held the Act unconstitutional and enjoined its enforcement. Held: As applied to this case, the Act is a constitutional exercise of congressional power under the Property Clause of the Constitution, which provides that Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States. Art. IV, 3, cl. 2. Pp. 535-547. (FindLaw, June) (a) The Clause, in broad terms, empowers Congress to determine what are needful rules respecting the public lands, and there is no merit to appellees narrow reading that the provision [426 U.S. 529, 530] grants Congress power only to dispose of, to make incidental rules regarding the use of, and to protect federal property. Pp. 536-541. (FindLaw, June) (b) In arguing that the Act encroaches upon state sovereignty and that Congress can obtain exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the public lands in a State only by state consent (absent which it may not act contrary to state law), appellees have confused Congress derivative legislative power from a State pursuant to Art. I, 8, cl. 17, with Congress powers under the Property Clause. Pp. 541-546. (FindLaw, June) (c) The question of the Acts permissible reach under the Property Clause over private lands to protect wild free-roaming horses and burros that have strayed from public land need not be, and is not, decided in the context of this case. Pp. 546-547. (FindLaw, June) A law suit filed and made it to the U.S. Courts of Appeals, Federal Circuit was initiated from a rancher family of Fallini who states in the following law suit the cost of the wild horses to them personally: FALLINI v. UNITED STATES Susan L. FALLINI, and Joseph B. Fallini, Jr., in each of the following capacities:  as an individual person and successor to the interest of Helen Fallini as sole heir of Helene Fallini, deceased, executor of the last will of Helene Fallini, and Trustee of the Helene Fallini Living Trust and the  Helene Fallini Living Trust as the sole distributee of the last Will of Helene Fallini, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee. No. 94-5110. June 08, 1995 Before MICHEL, LOURIE and BRYSON, Circuit Judges. William F. Schroeder, Vale, OR, argued for plaintiffs-appellants.   With him on the brief was William A. Schroeder, of Boise, ID.Peter A. Appel, Attorney, Environment and Natural Resources Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, argued for defendant-appellee.   With him on the brief were Lois J. Schiffer, Asst. Atty. Gen., John A. Bryson and Dorothy R. Burakreis, Attorneys.   Of counsel was Laura B. Brown, Office of the Sol., Dept. of the Interior, Washington, DC. James L. Huffman, Dean and Professor of Law Director, Natural Resources Law Institute, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College, of Portland, OR, was on the brief for amicus curiae, Water for Life, Inc. (FindLaw, June) In this Fifth Amendment â€Å"takings† case, the Fallinis, who are engaged in cattle ranching in Nevada, argue that the federal government has taken personal property from them without compensation.   The Fallinis contend that the government affected a â€Å"taki ng† by requiring them to provide water to wild horses living in the area in which the Fallinis conducted their ranching activities. The Court of Federal Claims ruled against the Fallinis, concluding on motion for summary judgment that they had no property right that was taken by governmental action.  Fallini v. United States, 31 Fed.Cl. 53 (1994).   We conclude that their complaint was not filed within the applicable statute of limitations period and that the complaint should be dismissed on that ground. (FindLaw, June) The suit alleges the wild horses are costing their family approximately $1 million between 1971 and 1991 for the watering of the animals which they have not been allowed by the BLM to fence off the watering areas in such a way to grant cattle access by deny horses from accessing the water supply. In conclusion of the law suit filed by the Fallinis family states as follows: What the Fallinis may challenge under the Fourth Amendment is what the government has done, not what the horses have done. The only governmental action that could constitute a compensable  taking in this case is the governments directive forbidding the Fallinis from shooing the horses away from the water that the Fallinis have produced at their developed water sources.   That governmental action cannot be regarded as recurring with every new drink taken by every wild horse, even though the consumption of water by the wild horses imposes a continuing economic burden on the Fallinis. See Delaware State College v. Ricks, 449 U.S. 250, 258, 101 S.Ct. 498, 504, 66 L.Ed.2d 431 (1980) (proper focus, for statute of limitations purposes, â€Å"is upon the time of the [defendants] acts, not upon the time at which the consequences of the acts became most painful†).   Because the Fallinis identify the enactment of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act as the governmental action that prevented them from fencing the horses away from their water sources, and because they admit that they suffered injury from the date of enactment, their claim must be regarded as accruing long before they filed their present suit. (FindLaw, June) III Based on our analysis of the Fallinis takings claim, we conclude that their claim was time-barred.   We therefore vacate the judgment and remand this case to the Court of Federal Claims with instructions to dismiss the complaint as untimely. (FindLaw, June) Each party shall bear its own costs. VACATED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS BRYSON, Circuit Judge. (FindLaw, June) The round-up of the wild horses is complex with legitimate issues on all sides. I see four distinct (legitimate) sides in this fight. They is the BLM, the animal activist, the media, and the cattle ranchers. The BLM cites it has a legal responsibility to round them up for control of population and preservation of public lands, including wild horses, wildlife, mining and livestock. The animal activists cite cruelty on the method used by the BLM with the time of year the round-ups are conducted to how they are treated while in captivity. The Public News Media cites they are being denied the first amendment right to the â€Å"Freedom of the Press† by being restricted access during the round-ups. Lastly, there is the cattle rancher that is citing a Fourth Amendment violation by the seizure of the water without their permission. Somehow there needs to be a balance of the issue. In my  opinion, the Public News Media doesn’t have a say in the matter because they twist any issue for the selling of their news and that is why they are in the fight. The animal activist have no place in this matter either because they are not any different than the News Media. I see two main players that have a stake in the holdings. The BLM and the cattle ranchers. Those are the two entities that are directly affected by this ordeal. The BLM has to strike a delicate balance of their responsibilities to Federal and State Law and to accomplish this with disturbing anybody’s ZEN. The cattle ranchers are trying to make a living in an economy that is seeing less and less profit. References Dorell, O. (7/29/2010). Federal roundup of wild horses resumes in Nevada. Retrieved from http://http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-07-22-wild-horses_N.htm FindLaw. (June 08, 1995). United States Court of Appeals,Federal Circuit, FALLINI v. UNITED STATES. Retrieved from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-federal-circuit/1336480.html FindLaw. (June 17, 1976 Decided). U.S. Supreme Court, KLEPPE v. NEW MEXICO, 426 U.S. 529 (1976). Retrieved from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin-getcase.pl?court=usvol=426invol=529

Technology Forecasting Essay

Technology Forecasting Essay The various mathematical models being used to carry out forecasts sometimes lead to significant errors. This occurs because the development of new relationships is not taken into account and possible trends changes are considered negligible. A major failure in forecasting arises from the fact that social and political issues are not taken into consideration when forecasting is carried out. It is impossible to predict the future based only on past data. The models that do that are actually excluding qualitative parameters such as the opinion of the individuals. Therefore it is essential to use a different method for dealing with these problems. According to the theory of Godet, the future is not a continuation of the past but an â€Å"outcome of the wishes of various actors and the constraints imposed on them by the environment† (Godet 1982). The configuration of prices within an energy market depends a lot on the balance between the supply and demand for energy. In order to evaluate future energy price scenarios, it is necessary to mention the parameters that affect the supply-demand balance. In 1, some typical parameters are presented. Economic growth refers only to the quantity of goods and services produced. Energy is actually the driving force that moves every economic activity. The economy can be set in motion by specific activities that convert energy from naturally sources (e.g. solar, heat, wind, running water, fossil fuels and chemicals) into forms that will be used to produce goods and services. Eventually, a high economic growth rate implies urgent needs concerning the uninterrupted supply of energy. In response to that, the infrastructure network may choose to readjust the price of energy in order to cover the demand for stable power (Alam 2006). According to Shafiee and Topal (2008), high prices might indicate the threat of a physical scarcity of fossil fuels (e.g. oil, gas). If production cost increases, then producers will try to pass this cost to customers. Eventually, the price of energy will rise. When the population increases steadily and in combination with the desire for better living conditions, the demand for energy will increase too. This leads to the requirement for additional energy production which eventually will increase prices. When an energy market is characterized by the domination of one or at least two or three suppliers, then these companies may take advantage of the surge in demand and increase prices in order to make profits and cover financial losses. Environmental taxation is a tool that can be used to meet environmental and national objectives. In the case of energy production, the pollutant will try to pass this additional cost to the customer. Eventually, the inability of the producer to comply with specific rules concerning the environment, will force the consumers to pay more for the same amount of energy. 2) Among the elements that can influence the procedure of energy price planning, there are some parameters that can be quantified, such as population, economic growth, energy consumption, type of market and greenhouse gas emissions. According to 2, three possible scenarios concerning the evolution of the earths population are presented. By taking as a typical reference point the year 2050, the difference between the final results of the three scenarios is rather large. The current population of earth according to U.S. Census Bureau (2009) is 6,792,134,536 billions. This number compared with the three different results reveals three different change rates. Table 1: (Source: United Nations 2004). Current Population Scenario High Scenario Medium Scenario Low 6.79 billions 10.6 billions 8.9 billions 7.4 billions Change concerning current situation + 56.11% + 31.07% +8.98% Taking into consideration the current population of earth and the three scenarios, someone may conclude that the low scenario is impossible to occur in the future. If something unexpected takes place (e.g. fast spread of a certain virus, war, births control etc.) slight changes may occur and the three scenarios might arise in a different form. Another parameter that can affect the future scenarios of energy pricing is the magnitude of economic growth. Economic growth is often measured through the measurement of gross domestic product (GDP).According to 3, the average annual increase for the period 1981-2008, compared to the GDP of 1980 is 1334.56%. If someone takes into account the projections indicated by the red color, the average increase for the 34 year period is 1773.29%. The PPC S.A. (2009) generates 85% of the countrys electricity and holds 91% of lignite exploitation rights in Greece. Despite the liberalization of the electricity wholesale market which started in 2001, the PPC continues to enjoy a monopoly over access to lignite (EUbusiness 2009). Partially affected by this phenomenon, the price of electricity in Greece started to rise after the so-called liberalization (RIZOSPASTIS 2002; NAFTEMPORIKI 2005; RAE 2007; Media2Day Publishing S.A. 2007; iNews.gr 2009). The emissions of carbon dioxide are a parameter that can introduce an additional cost for every country. This is because the emissions that occur from the consumption of fossil fuels, provided that they are greater than a specific limit, are accompanied by a certain amount of money that will have to be submitted by the pollutant. According to the most recent plan for the emissions rights from 2008 to 2012, the following limits/emissions rights are attributed to the sector of electricity generation (Voutsadakis 2008): Total quantity: 328 million tones of carbon dioxide Electricity generation sector: 230 million tones of carbon dioxide PPC: 220 million tones of carbon dioxide If the structure of the electricity generation sector in Greece remains the same, beginning from 2013, 2.2 billion euros will have to be submitted for purchasing additional emissions rights. This is equal to 35 more euros for every MWh produced. Consequently the price of electricity will increase by approximately 45% compared to the current prices (Voutsadakis 2008). As mentioned in section 1, numerous parameters, some of which can easily be quantified, have to be taken into account in order to form future scenarios concerning the price of energy. Godet in â€Å"La Prospective† (Godet 1982) emphasizes on the lack of a global and qualitative approach concerning the forecasting process. Although quantitative methods are characterized by a high reliability, especially in short term forecasts, in the case of long time periods quantitative methods present many blind spots. This is justified by the fact that in a long time period, the probability for a person to face unexpected events is rather high. For this reason, it is not proper to depend only on mathematical methods to make forecasts. What is needed is a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. This is exactly what Godet (1982) proposes in his written work. Price of energy can not be cut off from the existence of phenomena, that even though can not be easily quantified, do affect in a significant level any action related to the energy scheme. For this reason, I totally accept the view of Godet, according to which forecasting apart from numbers should be based partially on assumptions, insight and judgment; each one of these factors depend a lot on the opinion of the individual. Experience curves can make accurate estimates about the evolution of technology cost. This requires the inclusion of the methodology limitations. Once the limitations are taken into account, experience curves can be an effective tool for every private or public firm dealing with technology issues. Experience curves describe the relation between past costs and cumulated production. This way it is possible for someone to estimate future costs through the extrapolation method. An important observation is that in order to obtain reliable experience curves, it is essential to apply the specific method to a wide set of cost-cumulative production numbers. Otherwise, the forecasts will be of low reliability. On the other hand, even when the learning curve is evaluated over a wide range of data, relatively dissimilar fits of the same set of numbers are possible to occur; each one of them is equally justifiable. The conclusion is that the output of a process can be described as the total of a procedure through which experience is gained and one for which no cost reductions occur. The experience gained from individual components explains why experience curves usually bend towards the horizontal axis; this indicates the slowdown of the cost change when a technology matures (Ferioli et al. 2009). The use of experience curves based on a single countrys data might designate many difficulties and uncertainties. When dealing with specific sectors of the energy market (e.g. wind energy) a global industry analysis is more useful; especially when someone is trying to forecast global cost issues related to the energy market (Junginger 2001). As mentioned in the first paragraph of this section, limitations of experience curves have to be taken into account. First of all, lets mention the advantages of this tool (Neij et al. 2003). 1. Experience curves describe how cost declines with cumulative production; the curve emphasizes the need of experience to realize cost reductions. It clearly illustrates that RDD programs cannot stand alone. 2. Experience curves can be used as a support in strategic decisions. 3. Experience curves can be used to analyze the effect of combined policy measures in terms of installed units and cost reductions. 4. Experience curves can be used to investigate the existence of national and international systems through which experience is possible to be obtained. 5. Experience curves can assist many individuals, such as financial analysts, industry, researchers and policy makers, in analyzing and assessing strategies and policy measures. Correspondingly, the limitations of the experience curves are the following (Neij et al. 2003): The success of this method depends on high-quality data. Unfortunately, uncertainty is an element that dominates in the international literature. Constructing trustworthy experience curves requires a basic understanding of the technology in question. In order to avoid misinterpretation during data analysis, specialists should be asked for their opinion before drawing any conclusions from experience curve analysis. Experience curves are a tool that must be combined with other methods of analysis of cost reduction sources. Even when a vast amount of data is available, it is possible to draw just conclusions on an aggregated level. For a detailed analysis, other data and tools are required. Experience curves do not show the effects of individual parameters, but the combined effect of several elements. The analysis of individual parameters requires additional analysis tools. The limitations of the experience curves arise from data availability. Due to their limitations complementary methods should also be taken into account. Experience curves should be considered as a generic tool for energy technology analysis. Technological forecasting is an effective tool in setting technology strategies. A large number of techniques have been evolved for technological forecasting. The quality of forecasts depends on the selected techniques. The selection can affect the accuracy and reliability of the forecast. According to Levary and Han (1995), a good choice of forecasting method should be based on the following factors: * Data availability * Degree of data validity * Number of variables affecting technology development * Degree of similarity between proposed technology and existing technologies According to the international literature, the elements that reduce the efficiency and accuracy of technological forecasting are the following (Mishra et al. 2002): Insufficiencies of Technological Forecasting I. Limitations of Quantitative Techniques  · Adaptability to current rate of technology change is low. * Many degrees of freedom in a rapid changing environment are difficult to address. * Complex mathematical models are difficult to comprehend and practice. * Accuracy, stability and reliability are negatively affected by long-term forecasts. * Lack of adequate past data. II. Limitations of Qualitative Techniques (Exploratory)  · Definition and selection of experts is difficult. * Individual bias enters into subjective assessment methods. * Validity of assumptions in scenario development tends to be uncertain with time. * Social, political and economic factors are usually neglected. * Sharp disruptions in trends and unexpected events are usually avoided. * Forecasts are sometimes carried out by someone who belongs to a specific organization. III. Limitations of Qualitative Techniques (Normative)  · The chosen data may be conveniently selected to fit a particular technology. * Technology at the bottom of the tree may be preconceived. IV. Human Related Problems with Forecasters * Selection of forecasters team is not correct. * There is a tendency to avoid information gathering and scanning prior to forecast. * Some forecasters lack imagination and/or nerve. V. Problems in Selection of Techniques * Monitoring prior to selection is lacking. * Validation of one technique by another is not carried out to reduce subjectivity. * Techniques do not incorporate performance measures. * Failures are not considered during the forecasts. According to the previous issues, the process of forecasting will deliver low reliability results if the limitations are not restricted. In order to improve the accuracy of technological forecasts, one of the issues that need to be addressed is the proper selection of technique. Apart from this, the complexity of technology has to be taken into account as well. Finally, in order to increase the validity of the results of the selected technique, it is recommended to use another technique; this will increase the reliability of the forecast (Mishra et al. 2002). It is generally accepted between forecast researchers that the combination of methods improves forecast accuracy (Mackay and Metcalfe 2002). Experts having access to high quality data and by taking into account the previously mentioned issues are able to make relatively high accuracy forecasts concerning the evolution in the sector of technology. On the other hand, someone may wonder how come people with no expertise in a specific technological sector, have the ability to make, most of the time, an almost accurate forecast about the technological changes that will occur in the future. There are many experiments carried out in various scientific areas that justify the ability of non-experts to make an accurate prediction. A research carried out by Austin Grigg, involved specialists, trainees and people with little to none expertise. The result of the experiment was the negligible difference (in favor of the experts) in the accuracy of the prediction between the specialists and the people with little knowledge (Armstrong 1980). This phenomenon is justified by the fact that people who do not have the necessary experience and tools for a scientific forecast, depend mainly on their insight (including myself) when they are asked to make a prediction. In the third section of this assessment project, the importance of the qualitative parameters was accepted. The most significant part of the qualitative element in a forecasting process is the insight. Its about the ability to predict something, not by depending on mathematical models and numbers, but on the identification of relationships and behaviors within a model, context, or scenario (Reay 2009). Therefore, when an individual is fully aware of the interactions among the qualitative parameters, that affect the evolution of an under-study issue and the issue itself, then a prediction carried out by this individual will have a high reliability degree, concerning the proper use and explanation of the qualitative data. The chosen case study for this section is the California electricity crisis of 2000 and 2001. The deregulation of the electricity market in California was expected to reduce the high retail prices of electricity. The result was exactly the opposite compared to the initial purpose; wholesale prices increased even more, customers experienced interruptions in supply of energy and utilities bankrupted. Among the crisis roots, the following factors are included:  · The absence of additional generating capacity.  · The unexpected dry season and spikes in natural gas prices (California was greatly depended on the operation of hydro plants and natural gas).  · The market infrastructure allowed power generation firms to control wholesale prices in the power exchange market.  · The delay and inability of regulators to predict the crisis and appropriate respond to this phenomenon. In 4.2, someone may observe that power plant outages increased during the crisis period; this affected in a high degree the magnitude of blackouts that customers experienced. The yellow strip bars indicate an average increase of 8759 MW for the months January, March and May of 2001 compared to the corresponding months of 1999 and 2000. According to 7, the dawn of deregulation indicates a rather smooth trend concerning the evolution of wholesale market prices; what was expected to occur had nothing to do with the sharp increase of prices that took place after that period. The increase in retail prices ( 8-2001 to 2003) was not expected, either because the deregulation was expected to establish low prices or because past data indicated that low prices ( 8-red dots) were likely to occur in the years to come. A key point, totally irrelevant to statistical data and concerning the flaws of forecasting techniques applied before the incident of California, will be analyzed in the next lines. When the State and the regulators of California implemented the deregulation system that was successfully adopted first by other countries (Woo et al. 2003), they proceeded in specific changes (e.g. imposition of retail price caps, partial deregulation) without trying to carry out a detailed study about the complex Californian energy scheme. In other words, what might had been successful somewhere else, it was considered as a guaranteed success in the case of California. Additionally, if the adjustment of energy market infrastructure and potential manipulations had been taken into account by examining the validity of alternative scenarios concerning the risk of deregulating the Californian electricity market, certain mechanisms able to respond to a future crisis would have probably been developed. According to the previous comments, it is obvious that forecasting methods that rely exclusively on historical data trends, they ignore the opinion of individuals and do not take into account the conditions that prevail in the environment where the under-analysis phenomenon develops. Thus, any forecasts made are of low validity and reliability. The following table contains the data for the installed nuclear capacity between 1965 and 1985. These data have been highlighted with the green color. Table 2: (Source: Nuclear Energy Agency n.d.). Years Installed Capacity (GW) 1965 5 1970 16 1975 72 1980 136 1985 253 1990 326 1995 345 2000 352 2002 359 2005 368 By using the available data of table 2, the period 1965-1985 will be used as a reference time (instead of 1967-1987). Respectively, predictions will be made for the period 1990-2005. Forecast method: Trend Source: Excel Years Installed Capacity (GW) 1965 5 1970 16 1975 72 1980 136 1985 253 1990 281.20 1995 342.80 2000 404.40 2002 429.04 2005 466.00 Forecast method: Linear extrapolation Source: Excel Years Installed Capacity (GW) 1965 5 1970 16 1975 72 1980 136 1985 253 1990 280.80 1995 342.40 2000 404.00 2002 428.64 2005 465.60 Forecast method: Logarithmic extrapolation Source: Excel Years Installed Capacity (GW) 1965 5 1970 16 1975 72 1980 136 1985 253 1990 282.64 1995 343.67 2000 404.55 2002 428.86 2005 465.28 Forecast method: Polynomial extrapolation Source: Excel Years Installed Capacity (GW) 1965 5 1970 16 1975 72 1980 136 1985 253 1990 ≈ 400 1995 ≈ 590 2000 ≈ 790 2002 ≈ 900 2005 ≈ 1000 It is obvious that among all the extrapolation-forecasting techniques, the one with the lowest divergence from the actual data is the logarithmic extrapolation method followed by the linear technique. On the other hand, none of the used methods was able to give high accuracy forecasts because the nuclear installed capacity evolution was highly affected by the incident of Chernobyl. The various mathematical methods can not express the fear of the scientific community to abandon the development of nuclear sector. According to 9, knowing that the incident of Chernobyl occurred in 1986, it is obvious that the rapid increase in nuclear installed capacity started to decline approximately 4 years (1990) after the incident of Chernobyl. Based on 10 and table 3, someone may conclude that the energy balance in Europe is highly depended on the operation of Gazprom. Table 3: (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration 2008). Country 2006 % of Domestic NG Consumption Germany 37% Turkey 64% Italy 25% France 20% Czech Republic 79% Poland 47% Hungary 54% Slovakia 100% Austria 74% Finland 100% Romania 28% Bulgaria 96% Greece 82% Serbia Montenegro 87% Croatia 37% Slovenia 64% Switzerland 12% Skopje 100% According to table 3, Greece dependency on Gazproms natural gas is approximately 82%. This share indicates that a potential crisis in natural gas supply could lead to significant problems in sectors such as domestic heating and gas-fired power plants. Greece as a major energy user Greece has insignificant domestic reserves of oil and gas and relies greatly on energy imports. In 2006, the total energy consumption was 1.4 Quadrillion Btu. The distribution of this amount of energy can be located on 11. Although the share of natural in total energy consumption is not very high ( 11), the high dependency degree on Gazprom supply and the decreasing reserves of Greece in natural gas, would result in significant impacts in the energy balance of Greece. Provided that I would be somehow involved in the coordination of the energy planning of my country, I would propose the following measures. 1. Greece already has one natural gas import terminal situated at Revithoussa (DESFA 2007). The supplier is the Algerian company Sonatrach. The first thing that someone would have to do is to estimate the additional quantity that this company could provide to Greece on an annual basis. Then, proceed in reducing the imported natural gas from Gazprom by the same amount. 2. The countries currently facing problems with the natural gas supply from Russia are Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Skopje, Romania and Turkey. Partial supply decreases have also been reported by Austria (90%), Slovakia (70%), the Czech Republic (75%) and Hungary. Another solution to the problem could be the restart of Unit 3 at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant. Kozloduy-3 was shutdown in December 2006 as part of an agreement with the European Union, which was concerned about inadequate safety levels. However, Bulgarias EU accession treaty apparently allows closed reactors to be temporarily re-started in the event of an acute energy shortage (Resnicoff 2009). 3. Rational use of energy, especially in sectors being supplied by natural gas, would be the last recommendation by my side. 9) The first and the third proposed measure can be characterized as a necessary but conservative approach. The proposed energy policy of Greece towards an energy crisis must ensure the energy security of the country. Taking into consideration the great dependence on energy imports in Greece, the out of the box solutions seems to be enough risky. More precisely, the improvement on the penetration of RES is a conservative and safe solution. Additionally energy efficiency and rational use of energy can be described as an incremental approach too. The out of the box solutions in the proposed response include new natural gas suppliers and improvement on energy storage capacity. The first solution is possible to lead to disturbances between Greece and Russia and the second one might require a large capital invested in various storage methods. Regardless the type of the response (out of the box or conservative-incremental approach) that someone might propose, both approaches have their merits and limitations. The adoption of a conservative approach offers a sense of security. Usually this kind of solutions can be accomplished easily due to the fact that includes measures that have been tested in previous similar situations. Also there are various limitations for this kind of approach. For instance, the increase of RES in Greek fuel mix has the following barriers. The legal framework and the authorization procedure can be described as complex procedures. In many cases this can frustrate many small investors. Another limitation is the inhibitive cost for the interconnection to the grid (mostly for reinforcement or construction of new network lines). Additionally for larger stations (more than _20MW) and in certain areas with very high wind potential there is lack of sufficient High Voltage (HV) system capacity. Due to enviro nmental restrictions and local community protests, expansion of the HV system is in some cases completely blocked. Finally, in the case of wind farms, public acceptability is also an issue in certain cases, basically due to visual impact or other reasons (Hatziargyriou, 2007). The adoption of an out o box solution in the case of an energy crisis might be risky. For this reason, this type of approach could be followed by conservative solutions ensuring that the energy security of the country will remain sufficient in any case. As it is mentioned before, Greece began receiving gas from Azerbaijan and the relative imports will likely increase as the Turkey-Greece interconnector is further utilized. This can be described as an out o box solution that can lead to imbalances between Greece and Russia, reducing the amount of Russian natural gas in Greece. On the other hand, the competition among various natural gas suppliers will have a positive effect on the corresponding energy prices. T o sum up, both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. The selection of an appropriate crisis management scheme is a complicate procedure and requires mature choices taken by veteran politicians. In addition an out o box solution for Greece may be a conservative incremental approach for another country that is an energy exporter or a country that has a stronger economy or better international relationships than Greece. 10) References Alam, S.M. (2006). Economic Growth With Energy [online]. [Accessed 24 December 2009]. Available from: . Armstrong, S.J. (1980). The Seer-Sucker Theory: The Value of Experts in Forecasting [online]. [Accessed 1 January 2010]. Available from: . Cabral, L. (2002). The California energy crisis. Japan and the World Economy [online]. 14(3), [Accessed 5 January 2010], p.335-339. Available from: . California Energy Commission (2009). Utility-wide Weighted Average Retail Electricity Prices [online]. [Accessed 6 January 2010]. Available from: . Consumer Watchdog (2002). How Deregulation Let the Power Industry Steal $71 Billion From California [online]. [Accessed 5 January 2010]. Available from: . DESFA (2007). Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal at Revythousa [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2010]. Available from: . Energy Information Administration (2009). Greece Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal [online]. [Accessed 7 January 2010]. Available from:

Robert Frost’s Poem, The Road Not Taken Essay -- The Road Not Taken Es

Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken, is a descriptive poem about a person’s conflict with the right path to take throughout life. The choice that this person makes can affect him forever. There are lots of choices like this throughout a person’s life that are made that piece together the future. What they do with these choices and the decisions they make are up to them. Although the narrator of this poem is faced with a dilemma, he still makes the best decision possible and takes the best road, which happens to be one that no one else has chosen to take. The title, â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, symbolizes the decision that he must make to take a path throughout life that no one else has or would choose to take. The majority will always follow one another, so the option to do so also is imminent. The narrator however, chooses to be different. He decides that taking the â€Å"less traveled by† path will change his life prospectively. The narrator is faced with temptation to take the wrong path. He says â€Å"long I stood / and looked down one as far as I could / to where it bent in the undergr... Robert Frost’s Poem, The Road Not Taken Essay -- The Road Not Taken Es Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken, is a descriptive poem about a person’s conflict with the right path to take throughout life. The choice that this person makes can affect him forever. There are lots of choices like this throughout a person’s life that are made that piece together the future. What they do with these choices and the decisions they make are up to them. Although the narrator of this poem is faced with a dilemma, he still makes the best decision possible and takes the best road, which happens to be one that no one else has chosen to take. The title, â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, symbolizes the decision that he must make to take a path throughout life that no one else has or would choose to take. The majority will always follow one another, so the option to do so also is imminent. The narrator however, chooses to be different. He decides that taking the â€Å"less traveled by† path will change his life prospectively. The narrator is faced with temptation to take the wrong path. He says â€Å"long I stood / and looked down one as far as I could / to where it bent in the undergr...

Analysis of The Count of Monte Cristo :: The Count of Monte Cristo Vengence Power Essays

Analysis of The Count of Monte Cristo The theme of The Count of Monte Cristo is one of vengeance and forgiveness, power and powerlessness. When Dantes is unfairly given a life-prison sentence by his enemies (Villefort, Danglars, and Fernand), he spends every waking moment planning his revenge. As soon as Dantes miraculously escapes and returns to the world with riches, he sees it as a sign that God has opened for him the door of revenge. He is no longer his former self. Fourteen years behind bars in a dark cell has given him a criminal’s mind. Instead of the innocent, carefree, life-loving boy of nineteen, Dantes is now a hardened, cynical, and mistrustful man in his mid-thirties. It seems a reverse baptism of sorts takes place instantly as Dantes hits the water after being thrown off the cliff by the prison guards. Immediately Dantes begins lying to and using those around him. No longer is Dantes the clear-cut hero. To show that he is a different person, Dumas refers to Dantes as the Count of Monte Cristo once he returns to society. Now the count, now he has enemies, and plays games with those he dislikes. Though he rewards those who treated him and his father well, most of the story is devoted to Monte Cristo’s desire for vengeance. Throughout the story, Dantes changes disguises in order to deceive those around him and further his own agenda of punishment for his enemies. Yet when he sees Villefort’s dead son, a truly innocent victim, the count realizes that he has gone too far. For the first time he comes to the realization that perhaps he doesn’t have the gift of Providence, the right to punish others. In efforts to reconcile these feelings, Monte Cristo arranges the marriage between Maximilien and Valentine. At first he hopes to punish himself by committing suicide, but when Haydee admits her love for him, the count takes it as a sign from God that he is forgiven. Analysis of The Count of Monte Cristo :: The Count of Monte Cristo Vengence Power Essays Analysis of The Count of Monte Cristo The theme of The Count of Monte Cristo is one of vengeance and forgiveness, power and powerlessness. When Dantes is unfairly given a life-prison sentence by his enemies (Villefort, Danglars, and Fernand), he spends every waking moment planning his revenge. As soon as Dantes miraculously escapes and returns to the world with riches, he sees it as a sign that God has opened for him the door of revenge. He is no longer his former self. Fourteen years behind bars in a dark cell has given him a criminal’s mind. Instead of the innocent, carefree, life-loving boy of nineteen, Dantes is now a hardened, cynical, and mistrustful man in his mid-thirties. It seems a reverse baptism of sorts takes place instantly as Dantes hits the water after being thrown off the cliff by the prison guards. Immediately Dantes begins lying to and using those around him. No longer is Dantes the clear-cut hero. To show that he is a different person, Dumas refers to Dantes as the Count of Monte Cristo once he returns to society. Now the count, now he has enemies, and plays games with those he dislikes. Though he rewards those who treated him and his father well, most of the story is devoted to Monte Cristo’s desire for vengeance. Throughout the story, Dantes changes disguises in order to deceive those around him and further his own agenda of punishment for his enemies. Yet when he sees Villefort’s dead son, a truly innocent victim, the count realizes that he has gone too far. For the first time he comes to the realization that perhaps he doesn’t have the gift of Providence, the right to punish others. In efforts to reconcile these feelings, Monte Cristo arranges the marriage between Maximilien and Valentine. At first he hopes to punish himself by committing suicide, but when Haydee admits her love for him, the count takes it as a sign from God that he is forgiven.

AOL Time Warner Essay -- essays papers

AOL Time Warner On January 10, 2000, one of the largest, most powerful mergers was announced to the world. Media giant Time Warner will join forces with the Internet superstar, America on Line. The $183 billion dollar deal is the biggest in history. In the recent past, there has been a wave of merger-mania, both in the United States and in Europe. The merger of the Millennium is between America on Line and Time Warner. The AOL Time Warner deal represents the joining of the Old Media with the New Media. Not only is it a marriage of different approaches, the two CEO's are very diverse individuals. The two companies are quite different, in nearly every aspect. Some of the divisions of Time Warner have been around since the 1920's, while the youngster, AOL is a mere fifteen years old. The quick paced, new up starting Internet companies never thought in a million years they would ever need the old stand-by media organizations. "The Internet will revolutionize everything", that is what their beliefs were. They were fearless and believed themselves to be invincible, but things have changed. The Internet has put the world only a mouse click away and it has changed the world. The fact of the matter is the world of the Internet is extremely competitive and in order to survive, you must invest huge sums into your marketing campaign, in some cases up to seventy percent of a budget. The one thing that you can always could on in this word is change, and there are going to be some major changes in the realm of the high tech companies. The 'techies' are going to have to realize their need for and have to learn how to form lasting relationships with the 'old stand bys' in order to keep up with today's world. Time Warner is, for the most part, a stable reliable organization. Time Warner's holdings include many magazines, Time, Sports Illustrated, Money and Fortune just to name a few. Time Warner also possesses Warner Brothers Studio, Warner Music (which recently acquired EMI Music), Turner Classic Movies and an array of television stations. A partial list of the broadcast networks includes CNN, TNT and HBO. Time Warner is also the second largest cable television provider in the country. They have also recently invested huge sums of money into their cable system to prepare it for Roadrunner technologies. Roadrunner is an alternative to a standard Internet se... ...ast year crossed national borders. Experts expect this trend to continue in Europe. One French banker made the bold prediction that one third of the top forty blue chips in France will either gobble up, or be gobbled up by another company in the coming year. I believe that the mergers and super mergers are going to continue in the future. I also believe that these transactions are going to become necessary for businesses to remain competitive and to not fall to the wayside. The joining of mega media giants AOL and Time Warner is going to start a trend and I believe we will see many more combinations of similar companies in the future. Companies will be forced to play this merger game if they want to stay alive and remain successful. This, I believe, is the trend for the new millennium and it is a trend that will become a new way of doing business. Bibliography: Sources: Businessweek Jan 24, 2000: "Welcome to the 21st Century" "The Big Grab" "The Great Irony of AOL Time Warner" Jan 31, 2000 "Burying the Hatchet Buys a Lot of Drug Research" The Economist "The Record Industry Takes Fright" "The Net Gets Real" Time "The Big Deal" Wall Street Journal Assorted articles

Biblical Movie Versus Biblical Story

The process of translating a book story into film is known as Film or Movie Adaptation. Movie adaptation gives meaning and life to the stories that are confined in books. It is basically spoon-feeding a viewer of scenes and characters in contrast to the tedious imaging demanded of the reader in the written accounts. What is observable in Movie Adaptation is that there are an obvious similarities and differences with written accounts.Primarily, the reason is due to the fact that written accounts are too long to fit into the usual time runs or that although the topic was interesting, it lacked entertaining scenes that would draw a crowd of modern viewers or does not evoked the kind of emotion that is expected of such a situation or incident. That is why stories taken form books oftentimes were not literally translated into films. Story revision however must be done carefully and with a degree of discretion especially involving historical events.Fictional stories can be easily manipulat ed but true stories should stick to the truth (Dudley 95). The Biblical movie the Passion of the Christ based on the historical crucifixion of Christ, true to its nature as an adaptation, had similarities and differences from the written account. Similarities and differences can be observed on the personality and characters of the Biblical figures as well as portrayal or delivery of certain scenes. II. Discussion A. Similarities 1. Biblical CharactersThe most prominent Biblical characters portrayed in the film are Jesus, Mary and Mary Magdalene, Jewish religious leaders, Roman soldiers and Pilate. In the gospels, Jesus is presented as a humble, loving, compassionate and forgiving person whose origin is both divine and human. He was born for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for man’s redemption (Thompson 1085). In other words, the defining moment of his life is his death through the crucifixion. Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ strictly adheres to the Biblical personality and character of Christ.Christ’s is never seen as vindictive in spite of the abuses and insults heaped upon him by the persecuting Jews and Romans. His love and compassion goes forth freely as he asks God to forgive them for according to him they do not know what they were doing. He humbly accepted his cruel fate at the hands of his creation.. His love for Mary was extraordinarily communicated through his eyes. But what the movie had enforced in Jesus character was his unbelievable restraint in the midst of angry mobs.His refusal to speak, to call the angels of heaven to save him, or to his divine powers to smite his accusers was very admirable and worth emulating. Another prominent figure of the story is Mary, Jesus’ Mother. The Biblical movie coincided with the written presentation of Mary as a devoted, sacrificing and loving mother, pure and simple at heart. Her compassion and anguish at the plight of his Son and her willingness to surrender to the will of God can make a viewer appreciate Mary more in the movie. Alongside Mary was the devoted Mary Magdalene whose penitent heart showed forth in the movie.Another prominent character from which the popular â€Å"washing of hands† idiomatic expression is taken (signifying a person’s way of removing guilt or participation of an action or decision) is Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Like the Bible Pilate is portrayed as a cowardly, fearful man who cannot stand up to his convictions (Thompson 1019). The last groups to have made a deep impact in the movie are the persecuting Jewish religious leaders and the Roman guards. They can be described as the blatant antagonist of the story (Satan is the prime antagonist but his wicked ways were more subtle).The Jewish leaders and the Jews were portrayed as a group of men hungry to see Jesus crucified. These vengeful and hateful attitudes are faithful to the description of the Bible. The Bible clearly said that they even prefer to see Barabas free, the notoriously convicted thief, than to let Jesus escape the crucifixion. Portraying Jews in such a manner arose protest from the other races, especially the Jews, declaring that it has anti-Semitic undertones (Carroll 2004). The Roman soldiers on the other hand were also seen to as cruel.Although not directly involved with Jewish skirmishes on religious matters, they were also eager to take part in the vicious carnage. Some of them however showed signs of a tender side. 3. Dialogues and Setting The entire movie was devoted to the final hours of Jesus on earth. It began with his prayer in the garden at Gethsemane, his arrest at dawn upon the betrayal of Judas, to his being brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin, his appearance before Pilate, his agony on the way to cross and finally his crucifixion. Generally, these scenes are faithful to the Biblical account.Some dialogues spoken fits the biblical statements, such as Jesus words â€Å"Father forgive them for they do no know what they do† , as well as the dialogues of Jesus and his disciples during the last supper and many others. The whipping of Jesus on the way to the cross, his being nailed in it between the two convicted thieves , the casting of lots of the Roman soldiers are also found in the Bible. The way Jesus was being scourged and bloodied invoke man’s deepest sympathy or appreciation for his suffering and passion for humanity.The bible even said that due to flogging â€Å"he was so deformed that he does not resemble like a Man†(Thompson 714 ). B. Differences Although the Biblical movie has many similarities with the Biblical story, it also had many obvious differences. Many people may argue that the addition of such a scene may be excused as â€Å"Hollywood’s artistic liberties† for the purpose of expanding the Biblical text or widening the confines of the story in order to draw more appreciation and understanding of the topic on hand. 1. Portrayal of the crucifixion.The movie was focused on the final hours of Jesus, from dawn to three o’clock in the afternoon when Christ’s died. The agony and torture on the way to the cross and Christ’s eventual crucifixion was shown in a vivid, horrifying detail: flesh come off after whipping, Christ’s hand was stretch beyond limit when nailed on the cross, constant whipping from beginning to end of the journey, a bloodied Christ’s keep falling off, and a nailed Christ was turned flat on the ground with such forceful brutality sending a cloud of dust in the air.It was the first time that such a bloody and cruel portrayal of Christ’s crucifixion ever hit the big screen. Though the Bible did mention whipping and nailing, it did not evoke the same imagery of torture as seen on the movie. The movie seems to be too brutal and full of bloodshed( Carroll 2007). One reason perhaps is because the Bible did not exactly offer a detailed account of suc h event while the main focus of the movie was the crucifixion itself. The problem may be due to the fact that it was easier more to picture what really occurred on screen than on paper.In other words, the emotion of the moment is easily communicated and understood through the big screen. There is a possibility that such forms of cruelty are experienced by Jesus in the hands of the Roman soldiers for Roman soldiers are known to be cruel executioners (Perry 98). What the movie was trying to achieve though is that the viewer will appreciate what Jesus did for them, and not to treat Jesus crucifixion as just another historical event of his life. 2. Scenes not found in the Bible.There are countless scenes not found in the Bible. Some of the notable scenes are: Jesus crushing the serpent with his foot in the Garden of Gethsemane. This scene can never be found in the Bible (Thompson 1017). The significance of the serpent could be that since it is a popular symbol of Satan, it signifies tha t Satanic influences are near, ever ready to dissuade Jesus from fulfilling his supreme mission of dying in the cross . When Jesus crushed the serpent’s feet, it means that he was victorious over the devil.The scene may help the viewer to realize how hard it must have been for Christ to surrender to the will of the Father with regards to the way he was going to die. A sensitive reader may then appreciate how strong and noble Christ’s really was. Satan , in the form of a beautiful woman, did came to tempt Jesus to forego his mission in saving men for she argued that it was a burden too hard to bear for a single man. Both the conversation and satanic appearance in the Garden were not recorded in the Bible. What is disturbing in that scene (and in many scenes afterwards) however is that Satan was represented by a beautiful woman.Nowhere in the Bible is Satan portrayed as such though he may â€Å"appear as Angel of Light:† It would have been more realistic and relig iously fitting if Satan was portrayed as a male. The scenes on the way to the cross were full of incidents that can never be read in the Bible. For instance, Mary and the traditional Veronica wiping the face of Jesus with a fresh linen handed to them by the wife of Pilate. Although not found in the Bible, this is clearly an accepted tradition in the life of Christ by the Catholic Church.According to traditional Catholic stories the face of Jesus became imprinted in the linen and was then preserved( . The female Satan also kept appearing on the way to crucifixion, obviously taunting Mary. Another scene worth mentioning is that Jesus met Mary on the way to the cross. This is not mentioned in the Bible, nor was it implied that she was there at all. Biblical account tells of the appearance of Mary at a later time, when she stood at the foot of the cross of Jesus with the disciple John at her side.The arrest and trial of Jesus happened so fast so that probably Mary did not arrive until J esus reached Golgotha. In the light of this argument, the much earlier appearance of Mary is a clear deviation of the Biblical account and may not be considered as Hollywood artistic liberties. In the movie the nailing of Jesus on the cross was very brutal wherein the Roman soldiers stretched his hand beyond its limits to match the hole on the cross so that his arms was literally broken. Aside from that, Jesus and his cross was turned together in order to hammer the protruding nail at the back of the cross.It was a very pitiful and painful sight indeed. What was notable and sickening is that amidst that scene is a bird, probably a vulture that plucked the eye of the crucified men. III. Contribution of Movie Adaptation to Biblical Story In the movie the passion of the Christ, the reader was brought into a live and detailed enactment of the sufferings of Christ during crucifixion. Some scenes were added to draw a heightened emotional response which the director or the creator of the s tory believed was originally present in the situation( Dudley 95).But since the movie is based on the Bible which is believed to be the inerrant Word of God, certain scenes not mentioned in the Bible should not be included unless strongly implied, because they may bring confusion or disrespect to the faith from which it was based. Also, Jesus is indeed a historical figure whose events mentioned in the Bible truly occurred so that truth is essential to the movie. III. Conclusion The Biblical movie The Passion of the Christ revolves around the final hours of Christ based on the Biblical story.Naturally, since it was derived from the Bible, it depicts scene mentioned in the Biblical account. However, some scenes were added that can be classified as â€Å"Hollywood’s artistic liberties†. In some scenes, particularly the nailing of Christ where his hand was stretched beyond its limitation so that it crunched or when the cross from which he was nailed was turned upside down so that Jesus was beneath the cross, the reader cannot help but appreciate what Jesus did. In other words, that scene evokes the rightful emotion of gratitude for what Christ did for men.However, some scenes may not be rightfully expanded but actually deviates from truth like when Satan appeared as a beautiful temptress. Work Cited 1. Dudley Louise and Austin Faricy. The Humanities. New York: MacGraw-Hill, 1973. 2. Carroll, James l. An obscene portrayal of Christ's Passion. Globe Newspaper Company. February 2004. Retrieved November 9, 2007 from http://www. boston. com/ae/movies/articles/2004/02/24/an_obscene_portrayal_of_christs_passion/? page=2 3. Perry, Marvin. A History of the World. New York: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1988. 4. Thompson, Frank Charles. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1983.