Shweta Kataria Essays (1364 words) - Gender, Odia Literature

Shweta Kataria Dr. Smita Gandotra Modern Indian Writing 20 th September 2017 Rebati is the one of the first and major modern Oriya work by one of the great writer Fakir Mohan Senapati. The story contains the theme like feminism, girl education, superstition, etc. Story main theme moves around the protagonist girl Rebati, who wants to study. Girls and their education are one of the most controversial issues of Indian history. It had been 69 years of our independence and we are living in 21 century where we are talking about the smart cities and bullet trains. But the other-side government is forced to run the campaign like "B eti padhao, Desh Badhao aandolan ". This type of 21-century campaign shows that till today India did not totally change on the matter of girl's education. In this story, Rebati is the main character, a portrait of innocence. She belongs to an interior village of Orissa where education of a girl child seems to be a taboo. She invited the misfortune by just one forbidden thought of "learning". Once she decided to be educated, she w as heavily opposed by her grand mother. But irrespective of the strong opposition, she started learning. She has just one support that is from her teacher. But story turns tragic when the epidemic cholera hits the village. The whole village including the family of Rebati gets into the grip of this devil epidemic. It killed her father and her teacher! And the grand mother of Rebati blames her for the misfortune happens in the surrounding. According to her, all these happen because Rebati wants to be educated . The educational and cultural gap between literary Fakir Mohan and his child brides' remains at present an area of darkness and enigma. But the fact of the gap is certain to have shaped the novelist's thinking on the issue of woman's education and her place in society. The difference between the relatively advanced members of the Christian community and the more orthodox Hindu parents who confined their daughters to home was bound to be a matter of interest and concern for an educationist-novelist like Fakir Mohan. Education, especially female education, therefore, occupies a pivotal place in his life and art. P ublic education in Orissa was pathetically dismal; education for women was more or less absent. Whatever education was traditionally given to them was private and confined to home . For all others, formal education for girls was confined to a few members of the Christian community. For the first time in 1871, a school for Hindu girls was set up at Cuttack in the house of Abinash Chandra Chattopadhya. A school with mere 13 or 14 students. The number of girls increased merely to 25 . Fakir Mohan does not present a merely naive account of the joy that a restricted girl child feels in suddenly encountering the world of reading. He shows the powerful effect images produce upon the learner. "Some feel happy to ride an elephant or a horse, our Rebi delights in seeing their pictures," For Rebati, images as icons are important. For they help her escape from her entrapment and mediate with the outside world. That way, reality and fantasy get blurred. Education becomes the primary means of empowerment. Rebati learns her alphabet on the day of Sripanchami, traditionally observed as a day dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of learning. However, Rebati's plea for education was not a cry in the wilderness. It had much earlier echoes in neighbouring Bengal too. The early narratives of many upper-caste Bengali women, the Bhadramahila for instance, offer interesting tales of women's education. Rasundari Debi, a woman from a respectable upper-caste background, movingly narrates her travails of learning the simple Bengali alphabet. In a milieu where education was a male preserve, even handling the alphabet was perceived a political act. And so it was with a furtive excitement that Rasundari managed to steal a page from a primer left behind by her son in the kitchen. She concealed it within the fold of her saree and thus began her arduous and heroic attempt to learn the alphabet. On the other hand, the short story, "The Exercise Book",

Albatross and Alcatraz Island

Albatross and Alcatraz Island Albatross and Alcatraz Island Albatross and Alcatraz Island By Maeve Maddox Even speakers who have had the misfortune of never studying Coleridges long poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) are acquainted with the figurative meaning of the word albatross: A source or mark of misfortune, guilt, etc., from which one cannot (easily) be free; a burden or encumbrance. Is Sarah Palin becoming an albatross around the neck of John McCain? Brown vs. Coakley Shows Obama Has Become a Political Albatross Ever since youve married me, Douglas, youve treated me like an albatross. Sleep has been the albatross around the neck of my parenting life for the past six years. Is Intellect an Albatross? albatross syndrome: when faith has been killed and the believer must now wear it as a dead albatross An albatross is a large seabird. In sailor lore, the albatross is considered to be lucky. In Coleridges poem, a thoughtless sailor shoots an albatross with his crossbow. The dead bird falls onto the deck. Shortly afterwards, the ship is becalmed and the crew believe that their predicament has been caused by the killing of the albatross. To distance themselves from the act, they tie the dead bird around the neck of the man who killed it: Ah! well-a-day! what evil looks †¨ Had I from old and young! †¨Instead of the cross, the Albatross †¨ About my neck was hung. The word albatross came into English in the 16th century as alcatras, from Spanish and Portuguese words meaning pelican: alcatraz. The Spanish word probably came from Arabic al-qatras, sea eagle. Since English already had the word pelican, the new borrowing came to be applied to different white birds. Eventually the spelling changed to albatross, influenced by Latin albus, white. The word pelican can be found in Old English, although the word didnt take on the meaning of a sea bird until Middle English. Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay got its name from the pelicans that once roosted there. A Spaniard, Manuel de Ayala, charted San Francisco Bay in 1775. He named the island La Isla de los Alcatraces, The Island of the Pelicans. The plural of albatross is albatrosses (ugh) or albatross. In golf, an albatross is a score of three under par on a hole, or a hole played in three under par Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Religious Terms You Should Know41 Words That Are Better Than GoodComma Before Too?

Operational Decision Making Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Operational Decision Making - Research Paper Example Cemex focuses on continuous improvement of the quality of its products to serve its clients better. Description of operations From the limestone minefields, limestone is transported to the several kilns operated by the company where it is processed to cement and conveyed to storage silos in Jebel Ali, Dubai. The process of cement production starts with the extraction of limestone in the mines. The limestone is then crushed through a milling process and addition materials are added. The milling process produces a fine powder known as raw meal that is preheated and then sent to kilns. At the kiln it is then heated to 1500 degrees celcius to form clinker. Gypsum is then added to the clinker and crushed before being sent to storage silos. Another trademark product of the company is the ready mix concrete. Cement comes from the company’s production plant while water, sand and ballast used in the production of cement mixes are supplied by contractors to the company.. The company ado pted a comprehensive production and distribution system known as GINCO. The system comes up with tailor made solution to every construction challenge with consistent quality. Construction materials such as cement, water, ballast and sand are mixed in the desired ratios by the company’s mixers to meet the specifications of various constructions ranging from buildings to bridges, roads and dams. Supply Chain Decisions The strategy of Cemex is to strengthen its global leadership by improving profit margins in all stages along the cement value chain and maximizing the overall performance of the company. A critical decision that could affect the company and its supply chain is whether to deal directly with consumers of its products or to enlist the services of distributors. Under the present system, the company manufactures and distributes its products in its main markets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The company also operates a delivery service and an ATM-like cement dispatch system th at is convenient for its clients. Cemex prefers this system because it allows the company to serve the needs of its final clients more efficiently by engaging directly with them and also gives them a variety of ways to satisfy market needs and keep up with competition in a very dynamic market. If the company is to expand its operations throughout the United Arab Emirates then the need to engage with distributors may arise. While profit optimization remains the focus of the company, subcontracting other firms to help in its expansion and distribution of its products could be critical to its success. Under the present system, the company eliminates additional costs of distributors thereby regulating the cost of its products but the distribution of the products is only limited to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The decision to expand the company’s supply chain could break the direct contact between the company and its final consumers which allows them to have a clear understanding of what the clients need and create more value for them but it could also open new grounds for expansion through the formation of new partnerships. The decision could also create new employment opportunities as well as giving local businesses an opportunity to grow in trade. Productivity The productivity of the company is measured in metric tonnes of its output. Cemex has a cement grinding mill with an annual capacity of 1.6 million metric tonnes. The company also has nine active

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

Personal Statement - Essay Example They feared that if they antagonized the majority white community in which the school was located, there would be a backlash. But I convinced them that such a racist comment, if went unquestioned, would lead to inner hostilities and would in the long run affect the very communal harmony that they were trying to preserve. And once the complaint was filed, I could suggest to the school authorities that the daughter (student of this school) of the accused parent had to be taken into confidence, as I knew that she was a very good-hearted girl. She in turn persuaded her father to apologize to my friend personally and in this manner, the issue was resolved peacefully, without any ill feelings and disturbing the communal peace. 2. Knowledge or creativity in a field: I have a very special interest in anthropology. I used to read, from a very early age, travel books that described different civilizations and geographical communities like mountain people, sea farers etc. It was Gulliver’s Travels (Swift) that inspired me into this taste for diversity in human life and behavior. When I grew up I started to acquire knowledge in the field of anthropology by reading books and later I started using internet. Though I am not academically following this area of study, lives of other people continue to fascinate me and I have a few friends among the scholars in this field who patiently answer my queries and doubts sent to them via email. I will describe my creativity as my ability to look at old things in a new way. It is my constant attempt to experience every moment of life as if it is the first moment in my life. For example, when I decided to make a video documentary on Native Indian community, I decided t o tell their history and story through their cuisine. I could in this manner, show how the changing environment forced them to

Googles Human Resource Activities And Its Business Objectives Research Paper

Googles Human Resource Activities And Its Business Objectives - Research Paper Example Google has abandoned the age-old practice of simple delegation; instead, it has adopted a vigorous practice of training and developing strategically important skills of its middle-level executives. Thus, the study has established a substantially positive and dynamic correlation between the former and the latter. In the modern service industry, the role of human resource management (HRM) has been found to be invaluable in meeting the organizational objectives. By taking Google as a case study, it is projected that the needs of the service industry depicting the modern information age industry will be captured in terms of objectives within the context of HRM. In the creation of the appropriate relationship between the organizational objectives at Google and the role of the HRM function, this study makes the inference that the global status that Google occupies will give the best picture of a successful link (Verma, 2006). Therefore, the choice of Google Company for this research study was inspired by its global success in different spheres of operations as its growth trajectory illustrates. Google’s Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is said to have been formulated from a desire of the top management to harness its resource allocation policies so that positive functional synergi es could be achieved. Google Company has been in existence since 1996 circa and the founders - Larry Page and Sergey Brin – have been in charge of its most critical technical operations. After 15 years of operations, the company has evolved into a gigantic multinational company (MNC) with its stakeholders spread throughout the globe. Its HRM function is influenced by the company’s global operations inspired by its rare market brand positioning unmatched by several of its rivals.

National Business Systems Variations

National Business Systems Variations In this essay I will explore how Porters diamond model explains the variations in national business systems and comparative economic performance and to what extent other ideas and approaches will be required. Porter introduced the diamond model of national competitive advantage (1990) to explain why a number of countries are more competitive than others and why a number of businesses within the countries are more competitive. The model proposes that the national home base of an industry plays an important role in achieving an advantage on a universal scale. This home base contributes the essential factors that will support the organisations in building advantages in global competition. Japans automobile industry and US semiconductor industry have both been linked to Porters diamond model in creating unique business systems and gaining competitive advantage over other industries. Porter (1990) identified four determinants in attaining a national competitive advantage he concludes that a combination of the four determinates within a nation has an enormous influence on the competitive strength of the firms located there. Porter (1990) argues that competitive industries take the form of specialised clusters of home based firms. Clusters are correlated through vertical relations such as buyers integrating with suppliers or through horizontal relations through customers, technology, skills, distribution channels etc (Chen et al 2008). These specialised clusters will enable a nation to create business systems which will lead to competitive advantage and economic success. Factor condition is the nations position on factors of production that is necessary to compete in a given industry, for example skilled labour or infrastructure. These national factors often provide initial advantages for the nation. Each nation possesses particular factor conditions that are more favourable. For example, Japans large pool of engineers is reflected by the number of engineering graduates. These engineering graduates have been essential to Japans success in variety of manufacturing industries. Porter (1990) points out that these factors dont have to be nature made or inherited. Home demand conditions can influence the creating of specific factor conditions which can affect the direction of the innovation and advancement of product development. Porter argues (1990) that home demand rests upon three major characteristics. First the mixture of customers needs and wants. Second the demanding buyers in the home base will pressure companies into meeting high standards. For example Japanese consumers value space-saving gave the nation a lead in compact products and Americas long distances have led to competitive strength in very large truck engines. Third, an industry will have an advantage in market segments which are more important at home than elsewhere. In each of these instances, it is not the size of the home market that is important, but the extent to which it encourages firms to innovate. A large home market which meets all three conditions will be highly supportive of international competitiveness (Davies and Ellis 2000). A related and supporting industry is when one globally successful manufacturing company can create advantages in other similar manufacturing companies. A nation industries will be better able to compete internationally if there are clusters of industries in the home base economy which are linked to each other through vertical or horizontal relationships amongst suppliers, customers and distribution channels. For example Germany has a cluster in chemicals and USA in the semi-conductor industry. Dyer (1994) found in his research that the Japanese network relationships with their suppliers can enable the company to send their workers to assist customers with the work, position the factory near the customers or even invest in physical assets that are customised. This will therefore allow the Japaneses auto businesses to keep up with the inventory and transportation costs low enabling them to improve the product development. For example Toyota was able to benefit from their production net works as they created assembly factories that are geographically close with their suppliers. The firm structure, strategy, and rivalry are the conditions governing how businesses are shaped, managed and deal with domestic rivalry in a nation. The cultural factors are important for each nation. For example each country will have different cultural traits in which the business is structured. This will create benefits for each nation and industry. In Japan the automobile industry rivalry is strong, has seven major companies: Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Mazda, and Subaru which all fight for the market share. These seven businesses compete intensely in the home nation, and within other nations and markets. Strong domestic competition demands all these businesses to have superior technologies, products, and management practices to compete and survive, for example there is high number of engineers in management that emphasis on improving manufacturing processes. The US has only two main businesses in automobile industry which are Ford and General Motors. The US manuf actures have stated that the quality of the automobiles of Japanese cars is better than the US cars. Toyota and other automakers in Japan were able to grab 25% of the US auto market industry while the US home producers for the cars were unable to compete with the Japanese price and on the quality of the product (Buffa 1984). In addition to the four conditions, Porter (1990) points out two important components which are the role of chance which are important as it allows nations to shift their competitive position and alter the conditions of the diamond model. Chance events have different impacts on nations for example the oil shock helped to upgrade Japanese industry (Porter 1990). The role of the government is an important influence on modern international competition. The governments can put forward the policies a nation should follow to create advantages, enabling the industries in a nation to develop a strong competitive position globally. For example the government policy for Japan and US has created success for these nations. According to Porter (1990) governments can progress the advantages by ensuring there is high potential of product performance, ethical standards, or encouraging reasonability and negotiation between the suppliers and buyers on a domestic level. For example the US governments g ave large support in semiconductor industry in focusing on specific products that meet consumer demand for example the missile system in the US national security. Nations can use Porters (1990) diamond model to identify which businesses systems they can build to generate a competitive advantage and compete with others nations globally. The Japanese have considerable advantages in Porters diamond factors. The semiconductor manufacturing and software services are key industries that have contributed greatly to US growth and productivity in the 1970s. Okimoto, Sugana and Weinstein (1984) research found that the US businesses were able to obtain competitive advantage in key industries such as steel, automobiles and consumer electronics. These businesses had the ability to set the standards of each industry, create new technology and control shares of the world market. The markets and industries that Japan have chosen or created a competitive advantage are the autos, steel, motorcycles, cameras and small appliances. The success of Japanese automobile industry is due to the close relationships with their suppliers. For example both Toyota and Nissan are able to work closely with their supply production network to produce high quality cars; this gives the Japanese manufacturers an advantage over the US automakers (Dyer 1994). Research found on Numakura (2004) article has shown that the Japanese automobile companies have greater higher profit margins than the American companies. This is because the Japanese production systems such as Just in time (JIT) and Kaizen have enabled the industry to increase their productivity and cost reduction. Compared to US, rather than having a close relationship, the businesses are more likely to influence their supplier by a number of strategic polices (Buffa 1987). In the 1970s the Japanese had labour cost advantages, strong networks of suppliers, very demanding consumers which enabled them to gain competitive advantage over other nations. However Porter (1990) underplays the role of history, late development theory, globalisation, culture and managerial enterprise in determining the competitive advantage. As a result of defining the problem incompletely, he offers an incomplete solution (O Shaughnessy 1997). This shows other approaches are required to explain various business systems and comparative economic performance in nations. Gerschenkron (1962) theory on late industrialisation could be another approach to Porters theory to explain the economic performance of a nation. The theory shows how Japan as a nation was able to go through a period of rapid growth during 1951-1990 that helped them to compete globally. Japans economy boosted after the US declined as in the 1970s the Japanese companies was able to replace the US leaders in key industries. The production and operation management enabled the Japanese industries to become a competitive nation. This was done through their production systems and manufacturing products at a low cost. The Japanese companies were able to do this by offering the consumers good quality products at cheap prices. Table 1 (Capdevielle Alvarez 1981) shows a comparative evidence of how US companies productivity averaged at 2.7% in 1960 and decreased at -0.3% at 1980. While at the same time Japan averaged a productivity increase of 9.4%, Germany and France productivity also increased at 5.6% and 5.4% (Buffa 1987). The reasons for US decreasing in their productivity growth in industries and their capability to compete globally are due to many reasons. One factor could be the difference of the work ethics values between US and Japan or Germany showing us how culture can also have an effect on the nations competitive advantage on various business systems. Bosch and Prooijen (1992) have paid attention to the role of national culture and impact it has on Porters diamond. Porter agrees in that national culture is an important determinant in the competitive advantage of nations, but does not include national culture in his descriptive framework of the diamond. National culture has an important impact o n relations between related and supporting industries (Bosch and Prooijen 1992) therefore to an extent Porters theory doesnt account how culture is another explanation for the variations in national business systems and comparative economic performance for a nation. For example, Hofstede (1980) found Japan compared to Western and Northern Europe, is a very strong uncertainty avoider. Hofstede (1980) argues that the variations in values between cultures will require the difference organisational responses. The economic environment of a nation can be determined by the cultural values. Gerschenkron (1962) theory also states that history is important in measuring economic success and performance for a nation. Porter (1990) neglects the role of historical cause in his diamond model. In the case of Germany and Japan for example, there is probably a direct connection between past militarism and the present industrial domination. Militarism has contributed to industrial excellence by creating a tradition of discipline in the labour force for both of these nations. Germanys and Japans competitiveness owes a great deal to its amoral military past (O Shaughnessy 1997). Particular historical events can be unique to a country which can determine its character (Saunders et al 1986). The occurrence of invasion and revolution is a shared experience amongst many successful nations in history. O Shaughnessy (1997) argues that there are limitations to Porters (1990) methods. For example the diamond conditions emerged from examining the history of 100 industries, but to do this tho roughly histories would have to be written in the form that would allow such analysis. The detail would require the company histories. Neither the references nor the acknowledgements suggest any such documented histories of 100 industries. The four histories quoted from Porters are just sketches that illustrate rather than test the theory (O Shaughnessy 1997). Chandler (1992) also agrees that the history is important for any organisation and industry. He argues that significant analysis of a business or nation today must be based on the understanding of its past. Reich (1991) agrees on the concept that Porter theory on national competitiveness (1990) to an extent doesnt account for various business systems and comparative economic performance. He argues that economic success or performance is due to national purpose rather than national competitiveness. Nation competitiveness depends on globalisation and the skills, training and knowledge commanded by its workforce, the key to success is the people of the nation. Reich argues that national industries dont exist in any meaningful sense, as it is global corporate networks rather than national industries that now dominate economic activity. Resources are placed in those nations offering the best production and marketing advantages. For example Reich (1991) points that US decline in productivity is due to the changes of the world competition structure as by 1980s more than 70% of the products consumed in US had to be competed with similar goods that were produced abroad with standardised producti on systems. Chandler (1977) stated that a globalised firm can allow other nations to learn and benefit from the same sources of their national competitive advantage. For example in the 1960s, America and other western countries were amazed by the rapid speed of Japans growth and how it was able to manage its economy to become a successful competitor in the globe. America and other European nations started to learn from Japanese management structure and operation. However Porter (1990) makes a strong case of the importance of the home country in todays global economy. Porter argues that by providing a favourable environment for the successful organisations, home countries can play a vital role in wealth creation in the context of international competition. Chandler (1992) looks at a different perspective to explain the economic performance in nations and the development of business systems. His theory argues that large managerial enterprise had a significant contribution on national competitive advantage through exploitation of economies of scale and scope. Chandler states that in order for large managerial enterprises to gain and keep competitive advantages, top managers must commit to the three-pronged investment. This is because these large enterprises have a large market to sell their products to. These large enterprises can create a competitive advantage by producing more at a lower cost with the same outputs. The cost per product is decreased due to mass production and the diversification of the production line. Chandler (1992) explains how the US lost their competitive advantage to the Japanese companies in the semiconductor industry. Chandler (1992) states that many of the US companies in the semiconductor industry such as Inte l and Silicon Valley failed to make long term investments in production, distribution and management that was important for them to become the first movers in the industry. Chandler (1992) therefore explains how the Japanese companies were able to make the investment that was required from them to become a first mover in the semiconductor industry. This enabled the Japanese companies to develop their organisation ability to quickly demolish the American competitive advantage. Overall Porters model (1990) of national competitive advantage to an extent does account for the variations in national business systems and comparative economic performance across different nations and industries. However the model doesnt consider and explain how culture, history, late industrialisation and globalisation can have an impact on the economic success of a nation and the variations of business systems.

Purple Loosestrife Essay -- essays research papers

Purple Loosestrife The scene is breathtakingly beautiful, a thick brush of purple flowers blankets Canada's wetlands. This blanket silences the expected sounds of the wetland environment, birds chirping, ducks splashing, insects buzzing and animals thriving. This unnatural silence is disturbing, the favourite flowers that used to litter this landscape are no longer visible, the water that used to ripple continuously is perfectly still. The wetland is dead, except for this overpowering, hardy purple flower that has choked out all other vegetation and species. Purple loosestrife now controls this landscape. Purple loosestrife is an exotic species that was introduced to North America from Europe during the early 1800's. Europeans sailing to North America would fill their ships ballast with wet sand taken from shores of Europe, a habitat where purple loosestrife thrived. Upon arrival in North America the ballast would be dumped overboard on the shoreline. By 1830 the plant was well established along the New England seaboard. Purple loosestrife seeds were also found in sheep and livestock feed that was imported from Europe during this period. This new organism was introduced to a new habitat free from traditional parasites, predators and competitors, purple loosestrife thrived in the environmental conditions and by 1880 was rapidly spreading north and west through the canal and marine routes. Purple loosestrife stands also increased due to the importation of seeds and root stalks by horticulturists. It was introduced to many communities as an herb, an ornamental garden flower and as a desirable honey plant. One of the earliest reported studies of purple loosestrife being a problem in Canada was documented by Mr. Louis - Marie, in 1944. He stated that purple loosestrife was invading the St. Lawrence flood plain pastures between Montreal and Quebec. At that time Louis - Marie conducted a study to find suitable control methods for purple loosestrife. His results indicated that repeated mowing, continuous grazing, deep discing and harrowing were effective in keeping the spread of purple loosestrife controlled on agriculture land. Since the 1940's purple loosestrife infestations have increased greatly and the plant is now a major problem threatening many wetland ecosystems across North America. Figure 1 - Purple loosestrife flowers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ... ...ie will destroy a lot of wetland and farmland. With biological control we can only hope that the ecosystems can be brought back under control. Purple loosestrife is a very serious problem. It's rapid invasion is threatening wetlands, waterfowl and fisheries as well as the diversity of Canada's flora and fauna. If this plant is not brought under control quickly then the result of this exotic species being brought to Canada could be disastrous. The use of cultural and chemical control has not been effective so we now rely on the success of biological control to stop the spread of this hardy invasive plant and to replenish the diversity of Canada's wetland ecosystem. As a country we must do everything we can to reduce the spread and growth of purple loosestrife. As a concerned Canadian you can report any local purple loosestrife stands, spread your knowledge about the problem, strongly discourage the plantings of any new plants or the selling of the weed in nurseries and join the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. By doing this you are donating money and support the tests that are being conducted. We must work together to remove the purple blanket that silences our wetlands.