Yay essays

Yay essays By just reading the text associated with Yesterday by Boyz II Men, it is easy to understand that the song is about a lost love. A heart-broken man who has just lost a lover is expressing his pain and anguish. In the first stanza, the lonely man recalls the pleasant times when he was overcome by his feelings of love. There was no such thing as trouble and everything in his life was perfect. He wishes he could experience those times again. In the second stanza, the man expresses how he will never be the same. He will never be able to forget his wonderful memories and wishes he could live in them forever. He will never again be able to be happy again due to the loss of the only thing that mattered to him: his love. In the third stanza, the sad man questions why his lover was taken away? He doesnt understand his loss and blames himself for his misfortune. The fourth stanza conveys his longing for love again. He no longer wants to exist in his current state and wants to hide and fade back to yesterday. The man only believes in the past and cant accept his current state. The last few lines of the stanza express the mans acceptance of his loss. He realizes that his lover is gone and that the past is behind him. He has no choice but to be a dead man that moves on with a life he doesnt want to live. He only truly exists in yesterday. The musical setting certainly fits with the text. The slow, long, drawn-out notes facilitate the tone of longing, hopelessness, and loss. Although the music fits with the text, I felt Boyz II Men performed a horrible rendition of Yesterday. I felt that the original song expressed the sentiments of the speaker much better. The use of multiple voices by Boyz II Men was the main culprit behind my feelings. I felt the speaker was a lone individual. When I heard multiple voices, I felt that aspect completely ruin...

10 Interesting Facts About Nelson Mandela

10 Interesting Facts About Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela will forever be remembered for the key role he played in dismantling South Africa’s system of racial apartheid. The activist and politician, who died on Dec. 5, 2013, at the age of 95, became an international symbol of peace and tolerance. While Mandela is a household name across the globe and hes been immortalized in motion pictures documentaries and books, many aspects of his life aren’t particularly well known to the American public. This list of interesting facts about Mandela’s life help to illuminate Mandela, the man. Discover the impact his father’s death from lung cancer had on him as a youth or  why Mandela, a good student in spite of his humble origins, was expelled from university. Born July 18, 1918, Mandela’s birth name was Rolihlahla Mandela. According to Biography.com, â€Å"Rolihlahla† is often translated as â€Å"troublemaker† in the Xhosa language, but strictly translated, the word means â€Å"pulling the branch of a tree.† In grade school, a teacher gave Mandela the Western first  name of â€Å"Nelson.†The death of Mandela’s father from lung cancer was a huge turning point in his life. It resulted in the then 9-year-old’s adoption by Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo of the Thembu people, which resulted in Mandela leaving the small village he’d grown up in, Qunu, to travel to the chief’s palatial home in Thembuland. The adoption also allowed Mandela to pursue his education at institutions such as the Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Wesleyan College. Mandela, the first in his family to attend school, proved not only to be a good student, but also a good boxer and track runner.Mandela pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University College of Fort Hare but was expelled from the institution because of his role in student activism. This news upset Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, who ordered Mandela to return to school and renounce his actions. The chief also threatened Mandela with an  arranged marriage, causing him to flee to Johannesburg with his cousin and pursue a career on his own. Mandela suffered the losses of two close family members while imprisoned. His mother died in 1968 and his eldest son, Thembi, died the following year. Mandela wasn’t permitted to pay his respects at their funerals.Although many people associate Mandela with his ex-wife Winnie, Mandela actually married three times. His first marriage, in 1944, was to a nurse named Evelyn Mase, with whom he fathered two sons and two daughters. One daughter died as a baby. Mandela and Mase split in 1955, formally divorcing three years later. Mandela married social worker Winnie Madikizela in 1958, fathering two daughters with her. They divorced six years after Mandela’s release from prison for his anti-apartheid activism. When he turned 80 years old in 1998, Mandela married his last wife, Graà §a Machel.While in prison from 1962 to 1990, Mandela wrote a secret autobiography. The contents of his prison writings were published as a book called Long Walk to Freedom in 1994.Mandela reportedly received at least three offers to be set free from prison. However, he declined each time because he was offered his freedom on the condition that he reject his earlier activism in some way. Mandela voted the first time ever in 1994. On May 10 of that year, Mandela became South Africa’s first black elected president. He was 77 at the time.Mandela not only fought against racial apartheid but also raised awareness about AIDS, a virus that has ravaged scores of Africans. Mandela’s own son, Makgatho, died from complications of the virus in 2005.Four years before Mandela’s death, South Africa would observe a holiday in the activist’s honor. Mandela Day, celebrated on his birthday, July 18, marks a time for people in and outside of South Africa to serve charitable groups and to work towards world peace.

Liquidity, Solvency and Profitability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Liquidity, Solvency and Profitability - Essay Example The level of current ratio for any particular organization is dependent on the industry it is operating in; usually the acceptable current ratio is 1.5 to 3. If an organization is able to maintain its current ratio between these levels, the lenders are of the perception that the company has the ability to meet its short term financial responsibilities. If the current ratio is low or in other words, the company does not have enough assets to meet its liabilities, the company is perceived to fail its financial obligations. This ratio is used by creditors while determining whether to provide loan to a company or not. Creditors perceive that if the company’s current ratio is high, it can pay off its debts and if it is low, it will fail to pay off its debts. This is why certain banks require an organization to meet the requirement of maintaining current ratio levels at 1 or above

The 21st Century Lifestyle in G20 Countries is Bad for Your Health Article - 1

The 21st Century Lifestyle in G20 Countries is Bad for Your Health - Article Example stress upon maternal health and also include eradication of severe poverty and hunger, universal primary education (helps in creating awareness through the basis lessons regarding health), Combat HIV, Malaria and other ailments, ensure a sustainable ambience and building global alliances or partnerships for overall development. Emerging economies of the world like China, India, Brazil and South Africa still depend on assistance from foreign developed nations in order to meet the health needs of its people. The major health concern for the G-20 countries in meeting the Millennium Development Goals is to combat infectious diseases like AIDS and malaria (Robertson, 2010). Leaving aside Brazil, all other G-20 countries have significantly failed in curbing the spread of AIDS. Moreover apart from the spread of AIDS, chronic diseases like diabetes, and fatal diseases like cardiac ailments and cancer are also increasingly affecting the people in the emerging economies (Garrett & Alavian, 201 0). Obesity is spreading fast as a symptom of health crisis. It is a significant problem for mostly the developed nations but the developing countries are also catching up. Three of the G20 nations have an obesity rate above 30 percent. These are United States with 46.5 percent of its population suffering form obesity, Argentina with 37.6 percent and Mexico with 35.5 percent. Across the world above one billion adult population are overweight and the obesity rates have risen three fold or beyond in regions of North America, East Europe and the Middle East mainly due to lack of proper nutrients and reduced level of physical activities. Seven amongst the G20 nations have obesity rates above 25 percent. These include Saudi Arabia (29.7 %), â€Å"Australia (28.8 %), Canada (25.6%) and the United Kingdom (25%)† (The Globalist, 2010) Obesity poses great risk for chronic diseases like type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, strokes, hypertension and sometimes, even cancer. Countries l ike

Explain how Steinbeck describes the differences in character between Lenny and George Essay Example for Free

Explain how Steinbeck describes the differences in character between Lenny and George Essay Explain how Steinbeck describes the differences in character between Lenny and George The author, John Steinbeck described Lenny as the opposite of George. Lenny and George are good friends but mostly have nothing in common except that they both share the same dream, the American dream. Steinbeck described what the characters are wearing at the beginning of the story. Then he started describing the difference in characters between George and Lenny. George is the smart one and Lenny is the one whos childlike. Lenny always depends on George because George is the only friend hes got and George is like the only family of Lenny. At the beginning of the story, Steinbeck first described what George and Lenny are wearing at the beginning of the story as Both dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Then he started describing the difference between George and Lenny. First he defined George as small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Then he described Lenny with no similarity to George as a huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders. Steinbeck uses a simile to describe Lennie. He tells us how he walk by dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws, he described Lennie by comparing him to an animal. Steinbeck wants us to draw an image in our mind of how Lennie moves. In the next paragraph he compares Lennie to an animal again, when he drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse. The author described Lennie like an animal so that well imagine it clearly by picturing Lennie like the way an animal move. The role of George in novel is like a parent to Lennie whos a big guy but has a mind like a child. Since Lennies Aunt died, George is the one taking care of Lennie. When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin, George said to Slim. Sometimes he tells Lennie the things to do and thing hes not supposed to do. Lennie, for Gods sakes dont drink so much, George told him off like telling off a child. George acts as a parent to Lennie. Lennie imitates George sometimes. He copies George by the way he acts and the way he tells Lennie something to do, as if hes also looking after George. You drink some, George. You take a good big drink, he told George. Steinbeck told us many things that describe how childish Lennie is. For example, when Lennie found out what Lennie had in his pocket. Its only a mouse George, Lennie said nervously. He is afraid that George might take the mouse from him. Lennie love to pet animals like the way a child pets an animal, but Lennie doesnt realise his strength. He accidentally kills the animals he pets because hes stroking them to hard. George and Lennie argue sometimes. And when they did at the beginning of the story, George told Lennie about all the stuff he would do if Lennie was never with him. if I was alone I could live so easy, George described what it would be like without Lennie because George always gets in trouble because of Lennie. George said to Lennie angrily, You keep me in hot water all the time. George would like to be alone, but he doesnt know how it feels to be a loner, he imagines what it feels like to take care of nobody except himself and he wants to know how it feels without the trouble of Lennie. He also wants to know if he would be happy or he might be lonely without Lennie. This is the feeling of George that Steinbeck wants us to know. Although, George is not the only one who would like to have a feeling of being alone. Lennie is a very confused man that cannot think very well. However, Lennie sometimes feel that George hates him because George doesnt want him by his side. If you dont want me, you only jus got to say so and Ill go off in those hills right there right up in those hills and live by myself, Lennie talks like hes defending himself. Hes acting strong and hes trying to show George that he can live and he can take care by himself alone. But then George realises how mean he was when he talked about the things he would do if Lennie wasnt with him. George changed his mind in the end. Then George replies, I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebodyd shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. George replies to his thinking of living alone. George feels bad about what he said to Lennie. He is still worried about Lennie. He only imagines the bad things that might happen to Lennie if he was by himself. Steinbeck wants us to know that George dont want Lennie to go, not only because Lennie cant take care of himself alone, but its because George and Lennie are also best friends and have already known each other since childhood. Steinbeck tells us that George is the only that describes Lennie the way he is. George is the only one who knows him very well. Hell of a nice fella, but he aint bright. Ive knew him for a long time George described Lennie proudly. When he tells someone, like Slim, about Lennie, he doesnt use the word crazy to describe Lennie because he already know what ways to describe Lennie. He even tells Slim that having Lennie isnt so bad at all because they got each other to take care of. I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That aint no good. They dont have no fun. George was sincere when he was talking to Slim about them being friends. I think Steinbeck wants us to know that even though George and Lenny have nothing in common, they always had each other as friends. The author wants us to realise how strong George and Lennies bond. Their friendship cant be broken by anyone, easily. The two characters played a good role to people to show how important friends are. Even though Lennie wasnt bright, George accepted Lennie as he is because he is his friend. Both of them know that they have each other to take care of. Compare to other people who are alone, are the loneliest people. John Steinbeck described each of the character uniquely, unlike any other character in a novel. At the very beginning of the novel, Steinbeck described the surroundings of the Salinas River. He wants us to picture in our mind what the place looks like. He creates an image in our mind that relate to the senses, including sight and touch. The Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too He also uses a metaphor to describe things clearly. the golden foothill. He wants the reader to imagine what its like and because he knows that well understand what it means because its just a metaphor. The writer did all this at the beginning of the novel to make the target audience want to read this novel. And once they become really interested in reading the beginning of the story, theyll plan to read the whole book.

Pizza: A Brief Historical Overview and American Culture Essay

2005 will mark the 100-year anniversary of the first pizzeria in America. Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, which is about 350 slices per second. According to an American Dairy Association random sampling survey, pizza is America’s fourth most craved food behind cheese, chocolate, and ice cream. American’s obviously love pizza; we have even designated the month of October as National Pizza Month. But whether you bake your pizza in your kitchen oven, in a wood-burning stove, eat it in a restaurant, or choose delivery, there is no denying this phenomenon has become as American as apple pie. Although we love our modern-day version pizza pie, where did it all begin? In my research, I found several opinions of the origin, but there is a consensus that this baked goodness is over one thousand years old. Ed Behr of Art of Eating newsletter states, â€Å"The written record of the word pizza, in the sense of foccacia, goes back to the Codex Cajetanus of the year 997.† And there is speculation that even Plato spoke of pizza in his Republic: â€Å"They will provide from their barley and flour from their wheat and kneading and cook these†¦ they (the cakes) will also have relishes – salt†¦ and of olives and cheese; and onions and greens.† Although this is probably not the case, it is interesting to imagine one of our great minds of history philosophizing about something so miniscule. Behr continues to suggest that â€Å"pizza is an alternation of the Greek word pitta, which was int...

Notes for Key Assignment Outline

Phase 4 DB & Brief on Phase 5 IP Chapters 7, 8, 9, 17 & 18 This task is an important first step to the Phase 5 IP. The phase 5 IP is your final task for the class and will incorporate aspects of several of your other tasks. Phase 5 IP OVERVIEW This task has several parts that are designed to create one complete and comprehensive opinion of your chosen company. Further it is an examination of any global opportunities the company may have and what issues might come up as a result of expanding globally. The project will have 5 parts: I.Executive Summary II. Current State of the Company III. Change IV. Implementation Program V. Future Opportunities Based on what you have done to date you should be able to complete the Executive Summary and the Current state of the company for the Phase 5IP as part of your 4 DB. The executive summary includes: * Create an executive summary about the current state of your company. Include the following information: * Overview of the company includi ng size and revenue * Leadership team * Mission statement * Business ethics and social responsibilityThe current state of the company should include: * Product mix * Current financial state * SWOT Analysis components All of which you have already talked about. Remember this is just an outline so you do not need to create a cohesive flowing story. This is designed to help you create the order under each section that you will talk about the issues. Now I would try to have as complete of an executive summary and current state of the company as possible at this point in time. The rest of the Phase 4 DB document will be much more generic and less defined as hey will incorporate issues you will be dealing with this week and next week. Review on your own the sections of the Phase 5 IP prior to doing the Phase 4 DB and begin to gather some information regarding Change, Global issues and future opportunities for the company. Part 3 will be dealt with in your Phase 4 IP we will be discussing on Wednesday. Also begin to look at global issue such as culture and norms of other parts of the world and try to begin to make the connection as to how these issues will effect the company and the way they do business. Going GlobalIn today’s business environment with global expansions it is important for organizations to take a different approach with their employees. Today’s business is made up of people from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe. It is very important for multi-national companies to understand cross culture issues and even more important is the training and development of its workforce. For our discussion regarding global issues we will focus on the people factor rather than that of legal and economic issues that are far more obvious and understood.The people issues are what is usually overlooked. In our discussion we will explore communication issues, look and explore an analysis of Hofstede measures and translate that to some manageme nt style conclusions. Communication comes in many forms through body language, facial expressions, hand signals as well as written and spoken. Each culture interpretation of facial, body and hand signs is different from one country to another. It is very important to learn what forms of communication can become disastrous.Some cultures also see the way you dress as communicating who you are or where you are such as in statues. Some cultures giving gifts is a must from just a simple invitation to dinner. Approaching business in any country, other than the county of origin, can be problematic at best and disastrous at worst for companies that do not do their research into the culture of the desired country. â€Å"Culture is simply the set of values, attitudes, and beliefs shared by such a group, which sets the standards of behavior required for continued acceptance and successful participation in that group. (Scarborough, Jack, 1998) It is normal to seek out individuals or in this ca se companies that know the culture and norms of a country to learn from, much like a child learns of acceptable norms from a parent or some other authority figure. In this way a company might gain some insight into the common values, attitudes, and beliefs of the country in question. Although research in this way is necessary, the following discussion revolves around recommending business approaches by drawing conclusions from Hofstede Measures.It is important to understand that the goal of a company is to develop a stereotype for the society in question. While this word has a stigma attached to it, it simply means properly and accurately characterizing one group of people as being different from another. In this way a company can begin to identify the cultures core values, attitudes, and beliefs. Regressing for a moment, it is at this time that the company should look for a â€Å"mentor† of sorts to research in order to better identify those parts of the population that my n ot necessarily conform to these stereotypical norms.This added step will help the company to differentiate between conforming to cultural norms and embracing the underlying values. A prime example of the difference is located here in the United States. One could argue that a cultural norm in the United States is that the population is Protestant Christian of course we that live here know this not to be true the country is comprised of virtually all manor of religious beliefs, however by and large the Protestant Christian work ethic and business values are what is commonly embraced by the successful business person, regardless of their religion or background (Scarborough, Jack, 1998).These core values are at the hart of what defines a population’s expectation with regard to all aspects of business and personal life. Although there are several aspects to core values that are required to be questioned one question must be the first from a marketing standpoint. This question is w eather the culture is high-content communicators or high-context communicators. Western life business is generally high-content or very precise written and documented communication. This is due to the fact that usually in western life there is a high degree of diversity amongst the population.With high-context communication the people communicating must have a high degree of commonality in experiences and expectations. Research indicates that Middle Eastern and Asian countries have a high level of high-context communication which depends heavily on unspoken, implied communications through other means such as facial expressions and body language (Scarborough, Jack, 1998). The measurements of Geert Hofstede that are going to be examined are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/ collectivism and long term orientation.Power distance in a culture is the degree to which people accept unequal distribution of power. In high power distance societies pe ople feel dependent on those in power and expect direction from them. It is important to understand this when choosing management styles because in a high power distance culture managers do not involve their subordinates in a decision making or group collaboration setting. In contrast if a manager takes this view in a low power distance culture they might be looked at as arrogant and with resentment.Uncertainty avoidance is a measure of tolerance for ambiguity and the unfamiliar. The lower the score the more accepting of variety and opinions the society is. Oddly enough, as will be shown, the countries that are recommended have a significantly lower than average score in this regard but based on the ideology of the governing bodies in question one would not initially think this to be the case. This fact combined with some other facts will lead to an interesting theory that will be proposed later. Masculinity of the culture is the next measurement.A masculine culture is interpreted a s aggressive, decisive, and confrontational with well defined gender roles placing great value on achievement outside the home. While a feminine culture is more amiable placing great emphasis on harmony. This type of culture is more likely to have flexible gender roles and utilizes compromise and negotiation over conflict to resolve disputes. Individualism will be explored next. This score represents the level at which the population thinks of the individual over the collective or visa versa. The lower the score the greater the likelihood that decisions will be made in the best interest of the collective.Finally Long Term Orientation refers to how engrained is tradition in the cultural norms. Hofstede Measures As the above scores indicate all three countries show an above average Power Distance rating. This insinuates that western style management practice of team opinions might not be advantageous. The employees will be looking for decisive leadership and direction from the managem ent staff and will expect direct and structured instructions. As one would expect with a power distance rating significantly higher than average, the Uncertainty rating is significantly lower than average.This indicates that the establishment will be more open to managers making decisions without consulting other authorities, leading to a potential for differing opinions on how situations should be handled. Earlier a theory was mentioned. It has been observed that the Asian cultures utilize more contextual communication rather than content oriented communication. Combined with the information from the figures above one might conclude that cultures having a high power distance and low uncertainty rating could be more likely to use contextual communication.The reason for this potential relationship might be that the historical governing bodies combined with the seemingly uniformity of the population allows for the possibility that experiences and thought patterns amongst the populatio n will be similar and therefore be less likely to make radically differing decisions; just food for thought. The final measurement is long-term orientation. As the numbers indicate China is drastically higher than average, India is moderately higher than average and Singapore is slightly lower than average.The reason for this is simple, China has been closed for so long, India is very entrenched in religious issues and therefore has been somewhat closed while at the same time Singapore has specialized in import/export endeavors. China being the new kid on the block will somewhat detach themselves over time to some of there traditions as India has however unlike Singapore China is unique in that it is a gigantic consumer and will continue to play a substantial role in that regard and for this reason will not be required to disinherit their traditions in stead it will fall to the sellers to understand, if not embrace, their traditions.In conclusion, all three countries require a stron g management approach. Taking western style management of team play and group participation is not recommended, initially. I think given time this technique is and will be more productive, but not until the culture catches up with the times. It will be critical to pay close attention to the communication given and received; all three countries are context communicators not content like estern society. Management must be involved personally as well as professionally with the employees. This will improve company production and increase communication avenues between all parties involved. In short a clear chain of command, well structured with defined rules is required. The managers must be strong and independent, and the company should position itself to be community oriented.